Chapitre 55: Chapter Twenty-Three: On Silver Wings (Part IV)
Location: The Seraphim, flagship to the IX Legion - In orbit of Vostroya.
Date: 890.M30 (One Solar Week before the assault on Hossak)
The IX Crusader Fleet left Vostroya with as much data as the Imperium could squeeze from the ghost fleet. All added to the rapidly growing Lexancium archive. Vostroya also had another gift for the IX Legion as they prepared to leave. The industrial world provided fifty Auxilia Cohorts to join the IX Crusader Fleet. Each cohort was composed of 120,000 trained soldiers and equipped with the best weapons and supplies Vostroya had, swelling the Imperial Fleet by six and a half million.
Dante noted with a grim acceptance that these numbers would be needed in the coming battles. The shifting tides of fate obstructed his foresight, but not enough to blind him of the huge amount of death to come. The future seethed with inevitable carnage. Data gained from the Mechancium analysis of the ghost fleet indicated the nature of the threat and the fleet's system of origin. A Xeno-Horribilis known as The Khrave were to blame. These nocturnal mind-eaters had been encountered before, yet never with power or numbers to conquer an urban world capable of warp-travel. They had mainly been wandering predators, picking off weak worlds or populations similar to how the Eldar hunted. Analyzing the data, Dante felt his father's cryptic words echo through his mind. "We will face three great threats in the Great Crusade. The taint of Chaos, the Greenskin hordes and festering horror of the Rangda Cerebvore along with their spawn."
Much like Dante, the Emperor's psychic foresight was diminished by the sheer complexity and variability of multiple, simultaneous, galaxy-wide wars. The Master of Mankind had done his best to warn his sons but trusted them to use their own judgment. Malleable visions of possible futures would do more to harm than help. Still, foresight was useful in both immediate and especially for long term use, where the trends of destiny were more set. Foresight had become a valuable tool of the IX legion, its Primarch forming a pact of students both Human and Astartes to assist him. This Grigori Choir as it became known was composed of Librarians and sanctioned Psykers who worked together to enhance the potency and accuracy of Dante's visions.
The Choir had storied history and showed its worth yet again as the IX Prepared to journey to the Khrave infested system. In the great resonant amphitheater at the heart of the Sephirah, the flagship of the IX Legion, hundreds of psykers stood in attendance arranged into choruses of one librarian aided by nine psykers. The Grigori prepared to work as Dante stood in the center of the amphitheater, acting as the focal point of the ritual. Clothed in white robes, the Primarch flared his wings out and started to chant. At this signal, his sons and students joined him. Inhumanly beautiful voices harmonized in a meditative song. As the Archangel, angels and anointed humans sang their minds drifted into the immaterial. Just as their voices added to each other in the material, their minds worked together to peer into the future.
This choir of angels and angel-touched added their power to the gilded inferno that was the IX Primarch, allowing the superhuman intellect of Dante to pluck details and information from a thousand possible futures. Dante's goal wasn't to predict or change the future. Instead, he sought to gather as much tactical data as possible. If in a hundred futures, an enemy fleet opened fire upon the IX Legion, Dante had a hundred visions to learn the formation and tactics of the enemy.
Learning all he could, Dante started to feel the strain of this task upon his choir. They would be needed in the battles to come. With a soothing whisper to their souls, the Primarch guided the Grigori to end the ritual. It was no easy thing to touch a Primarch's soul, even with his consent and guidance. As was their tradition, the psykers each grasped the metal wings of their overseeing Astartes who in turn formed a chain of hands around the room, connecting all the Librarians, and ending the chain at the two Coryphaeus Librarians. In turn, the two leaders of the left and right side of the choir touched the Primarchs wings to form a great chain through which thoughts and memories could pass, feeding into the Primarch's mind and expanding his view of events past his own interpretation and perspective.
Ending this process by folding his wings, the Primarch bowed to the Grigori and offered words of appreciation and kindness. Leaving the Choir to recover from the ordeal, Dante left to consult with his officers. Within the strategy-deck of the Seraphim, Dante met with the four battle masters of his Legion, known as the Hayyoth. These Astartes were personally selected as his closest subordinates after a grueling vetting process, and each was a master of a distinct breed of warfare. First was Raldoron-bin-Vir, master of the Legion's elites. The second was Asmodei-bin-Tauri, master of the Legion's armor-skeletons. The third was Sahaqi-bin-Avis, master of the Legion's winged and mounted warriors. The fourth was Verchiel-bin-Leo, master of the Legion's warriors of the blade and claw. Fifth in attendance was not a member of the Hayyoth brotherhood of generals. Azkaellon-bin-Vigil, the leader of the Ophanim. The Primarch's own guards stood in the shadow of his gene-fathers wings.
The five Astartes saluted their Primarch and sat at the grand holo table in the room's center. Each of the Astartes was proud noble warriors, but they were nothing compared to the radiant splendor of their gene-father. Even after over a century of close exposure and companionship, the warriors of the IX's inner circle were awestruck by Dante's aura. The Primarch was an Angel given flesh and struck awe and devotion into the hearts of mankind.
Each of the chosen Astartes felt a sense of pride that they had been trusted by their Primarch to be his closest advisors. They, who were tasked to hear of his visions first, tasked with helping Dante share his prophetic burden. Knowledge of these visions and seats at the Holo-Table would soon be expanded to the Lord-Commanders, Chapter Masters and other elite of the Legion. The nature of the Primarch's visions sometimes required only his most trusted sons to learn the full truth. Mortal and Astartes alike seeking to alter the future could easily become sources of calamity. It took a skilled hand and deft intellect to weave new futures. Knowledge alone of possible futures without the ability to handle that information had spelled the doom of countless seers across species and millennia. Dante sought to prevent that fate befalling himself or his sons.
With a gesture, Dante produced a psychic illusion of the world they sought. A projection of information compiled from countless visions turned into a military briefing by a demigod's mind. Combining words and psychic messages the Primarch spoke. "The Ghost Fleet's origin is a civilized world called Hossak of the Hossak system. It is less than a week of Warp-Travel away and will be relatively easy to navigate too. The scar upon the Warp left by the Ghost fleets final voyage is still visible to Navigators and me. The Hossak system is under the control of the Xeno species known as the Khrave. They are mind-eaters. Some of my brothers and the Expedition Fleets have encountered them before."
Dante pulled up a flurry of images pulled from the Imperial Lexicanum and his visions. Depicting the Khrave and all their depravity. "The actual Khrave are a species of parasitic worm. They capture other sentient species and consume their neural tissue and psychic activity through an unknown process. Horrifically, they also use bodies of sentient species found acceptable as hosts." The displayed data cut to a helm-recording of a VI Legion Astartes ripping the limbs of a horrific hunched over bat-like Xeno. The Astartes paused for a moment and let out a primal roar before plunging an armored fist into Xenos's chest and ripping a wriggling white worm free of its husk.
Returning the images to projections of the Hossak system the Primarch continued: "My visions and psychic senses indicate the Khrave are using Hossak as a farm of sorts. They are using the local humans as some sort of livestock, keeping part of the population as hosts and enforcers, while the rest are herded into concentration camps. We will face a combination of modified STC equipment used by the indigenous humans and more exotic Xeno weapons. Tyric and his sons reported the Khrave using psychic weaponry that turns warp-energy into blades and bolts."
Taking a deep breath Dante let the image fade and spoke somberly: "My sons, I fear this coming battle. Not because what we will face or what must be done to the lost and damned humans upon Hossak. I fear it for what it will ignite. We will win this battle, from a logistical, tactical, and strategic perspective, the Khrave lack the resources to stop the might of an Imperial Legion. There was not a single future where I saw us take substantial losses or damage of any kind. What happens after this battle is what disturbs me."
The golden light that accompanied the Primarch seemed to dim. The Archangel of Mankind feeling the weight of his burden. "My sons, we have fought for decades to ensure the survival of mankind. Faced horrors and evils beyond count. Bringing judgment to all through blade and flame. Our liberation of Hossak will set forth a chain of events that will start a conflict beyond anything any of us have seen. Beyond anything, any living being aside from my Father and his contemporaries have witnessed. Mankind seeks to claim this galaxy as our domain. We are not the only ones. My visions have seen our foe. Xeno's capable of evil and destruction comparable only to the Orks and Chaos dwell in the galactic north. A festering empire that conquerors and kills in the cruelest manners possible. The Khrave are but a vassal and a tool to this enemy. Until now, the Imperium and this enemy have not come in contact. By striking the Khrave, we will start a war that will threaten mankind and the entire galaxy."
"The Rangda await us, they will unleash bio-terrors and war-breeds upon mankind. They will make no distinction between civilians or soldiers. We will suffer horribly in this endeavor. The Rangda will corrupt entire worlds with their gene-plagues, forcing us to butcher innocent humans by the billions. We were made to protect and help mankind. The coming war will make us defile that oath in order to fulfill it. My sons, I have seen the atrocities that must be done. Cities of millions burned with phosphex for fear of a single infected. Seven Legions, including us, will suffer greatly in the coming Xenocides. All of this will be- no, must be started when we bring death to the Khrave upon Hossak."
Pausing for a moment, letting the impact of his words fall like hammer blows upon his chosen advisors, Dante slowly stood up from his throne at the head of the holotable and spread his wings. "Raldoron, Asmodei, Sahaqi, Verchiel, Azkaellon, my loyal sons. I tell you this not to dishearten or dismay. We are the Angels of Death. Our Legion perhaps more than any other is worthy of that title. My father created us to do what must be done in the service of mankind. The trials before us will be great. The consequences for failure is the death of our species. In the times to come the Imperium will need us more than ever. The IX Legion will be Angels of Death. Just as we were always meant to be. War against the Rangda will test us, and I trust you all to do your duty. Telling you all these dire visions is meant to help you steel your souls and help me guide the IX Legion. We will start this war with a full understanding of what it entails. That does not just mean the destruction that will come from it. When we bring steel rain to Hossak and a thousand more worlds touched by the Rangda, we will save lives and end suffering. In the ancient texts of Terran cults, the Angel of Death was not always a figure of destruction. It was sometimes a figure of mercy and protection. The IX Legion will fly upon Silver Wings where even Daemons fear to tread. We will do so with righteous fury and just mercy. We will do this not just because our Emperor commands it, nor our Imperial Truth demands it. We will fight because it is what is right. There are people we can save and monsters we can slay. I will spread my wings and shed my blood to save all I can, I ask you to do the same. Take to the skies with me, my sons. For we shall know no fear and our enemy will know our wrath."
As one, the five angels knelt before the Primarch and swore oaths to their genefather. This trust would not be misplaced and they would not fail. Raldoron the first of the Hayyoth and Equerry to Dante spoke: "It honors me my Sire you trust us with this knowledge. I still must ask why you should risk your life for the possibility of saving the lives of a handful of holdout across Xeno infested worlds. Dante, my Primarch. I would rather die a thousand deaths than watch you fall to a threat as dire as this. Let us Astartes enter the fray in your sted."
Smiling a sad smile the Primarch responded: "My role to play is this. If an Angel does not bring judgment or guard the innocent it cannot be called an Angel. The Emperor created me to save those I can, and destroy those who I must. Your love and care for me is felt my Son, but I cannot ask anyone to face what is to come if I do not. The path will be hard but we will triumph. I would spread my wings and fly to my death gladly for mankind."
Nodding solemnly the Hayyoth saluted the Primarch and Azkellon spoke: "By our blood, are blades, and our brotherhood we will not let such a thing happen. We will fly wingtip to wingtip with you wherever you go for however long we can father."
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone