Chapter 51: Gathering of Brothers
At Xenkoulia, the armies and naval forces of the Imperium were gathering at a rapid pace. When he had heard that it was the Rangda that Baldur had found, the Emperor spared no resources in sending reinforcements.
It took 2 months for the entire force to arrive but once they did, it was a sight to behold. Thousands of different vessels, hundreds of millions of soldiers, hundreds of thousands Mechanicum soldiers, nearly 150,000 Astartes, several thousand Titans, several hundred Custodes, and 5 Primarchs had all gathered in one place.
Astartes from The First, Grey Knights, Emperor's Children, Space Wolves, Iron Hands, The Horde, War Hounds, Thousand Sons, Luna Wolves, and Dragon Warriors were all present. 5 of the Legions were a part of the 2nd Legion's campaign while the rest were the personal Legions of the other Primarchs as well as the 11th Legion, which was known for their bloody and ruthless way of fighting, had all been gathered.
Leman Russ, Horus, Ferrus Manus (lmao! I can't deal with games workshop naming), Fulgrim, and Baldur had all gathered on the bridge of the Invictus with the Legion Masters of the other Legions present as well as the captain of the Custodes and Archmagos that had accompanied them.
"Fulgrim," Ferrus greeted. "It is our first time meeting. Baldur has been hogging you all to himself," the large man joked, second only to Baldur in size.
"Nice to meet you as well, Brother," Fulgrim smiled toward Ferrus. "Father told me about your accomplishments and how you began to wage war with your Legion after only a year under Horus's education."
"Of course," Ferrus nodded. "I can't just sit around and do nothing. The thrill of battle always called for me. I learned as much as I could so I could lead my own armies and obtain glory for myself."
Fulgrim nodded, feeling eager to wage war as well. He had yet to experience a single battle, even when Baldur saved the 7th Fleet from the Rangda. He was forced to stay on the ship since Baldur was only planning on rescuing his men and not engaging in an all-out battle.
Ferrus walked over to Horus and Leman, greeting them as well.
"Leman. Horus. Our Father has spoken high praise toward both of you," Fulgrim told them, happy to see his other brothers for the first time
"A pleasure to meet you as well, Little Brother," Horus shook Fulgrim's hand, happy to meet another one of his brothers while feeling a little bit of superiority when Fulgrim mentioned how the Emperor had praised him. "This shall be an important and glorious battle. It will be an excellent chance for you to earn some achievements."
"I hope to do so as well," Fulgrim nodded in agreement. "Perhaps we will have the opportunity to fight side by side."
"We can only hope, Brother," Horus nodded, secretly harboring thoughts about that very matter
Leman looked Fulgrim over and nodded before patting the 3rd on his back.
"Look a little thin but if Father gave you permission to use his name in the Legion, there must be something special about you. Hope you prove it in these upcoming battles."
Fulgrim nodded with a smile but was gritting his teeth inside. He could tell that Leman did not expect much of him but he wanted to prove his brother wrong.
While all of them were talking and getting along, Baldur was looking over the number of men that they had as well as the ships. He was also looking over the map of the area where the Rangdan were located. They were only able to do a quick scan when they entered the area so Baldur only had an idea of where the planets and moons were located but he was not sure how many of those moons were actually Rangda battle stations.
"Greetings, Lord Primarchs," Azalach Besius stepped forward and greeted the Primarchs. He was the Captain of the Custodes who the Emperor had assigned to the campaign. They were not only to act as another unit to support them but also act as honor guard for the Warmaster. (so I know this is gonna get a lot of comments but there was indeed a Warmaster before Horus during the war with the Rangda but that person is unknown.)
The Warmaster was a special rank amongst the Imperium. They were given full command of all Imperial forces. It had only been invoked once for another major enemy of the Imperium that consisted of a small empire of humans that could beat back a Legion. The Emperor was busy dealing with Orks so Horus was given this title to lead the campaign against them.
This was especially important now as Primarchs were all equal in ranks while the Mechanicum and Custodes fell outside the scope of their control. Only by assigning a Warmaster could the success of the campaign been ensured because to disobey the Warmaster was to disobey the Emperor himself.
The 16th Primarch was secretly expecting to be given the rank once again since he had proven himself competent with it before. But unfortunately for him, Azalach had disappointing news.
"The Emperor has decreed that Lord Baldur shall take command of this force until the Rangdan species has been wiped out," Azalach turned to Baldur and gave him a small bow. "My men and I shall obey your orders as if they had come from the Emperor."
"Warmaster! Our Legion is at your command!" the Legion Masters around them fell to their knees and greeted Baldur with his new title.
"As are the forces of the Mechanicum," the Archmagos greeted, a feminine voice said from behind the metal covering her face
"The Iron Hands shall follow your words, Brother," Ferrus gently punched Baldur's shoulder to show his support for his brother
"My 3rd Legion has already been under your command," Fulgrim smiled and agreed, silently wishing that Horus was the one placed in command
"The Luna Wolves and I shall obey your orders," Horus slightly bent at the waist to show his support for his brother while inside, he was burning with jealousy
Leman grunted to show that he would obey the orders of the Emperor but he did not say anything. He also wished that Horus was given command of the campaign.
Baldur nodded at all those on the bridge.
"Good. Gather all the leaders of the various Great Companies and Magi under you. I'll begin going over the invasion plan once everyone has gathered."
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