Homecoming
Rainbow laughed as she raised her mug once more, taking a swig of the amber liquid inside. It wasn’t anywhere near as potent as Re’ka, but considering the aim wasn’t to get drunk but rather to act as a social lubricant, it did its job fairly well. She had been with the Windrider clan for a few days now, and it already felt like as much of a family, of not more, than the Floating Assault ever had. Then again, that could have easily be due to the fact that both Tar’nek and Juhani were here with her.
“So we were scouting out this planet,” Anira said, her speech becoming slightly slurred thanks to the alcohol in her system, “some world out past the halo stars that had some odd near-humans on. We go down, start checking it out for plunder and riches when suddenly this group of armed men comes over the hill and demanded we go with them on charges of Witchcraft.”
“Witchcraft?” Tar’nek snorted. “That’s rich coming from someone like you.”
“Tell me about it.” Anira said around her mug.
“So what did you do?” Juhani asked. “From what I’ve heard uncivilised brutes like that burn witches most of the time.”
“Well what do you think I did? I showed them that I actually was what they would call a witch and killed half of them, before the rest of the crew lay into them. It wasn’t exactly hard for us to take them out and move on from there.”
“So Rogue traders pretty much do what they want, when they want, and for no reason other than to turn a profit?” Rainbow asked, finishing her drink before grabbing hold of the tap on the barrel in the middle of the table and pouring herself another ale.
“Pretty much yeah.” Anira nodded. “The human authorities give them these quaint little Warrants of Trade which give them a carte blanche to go to new planets. After that, the Imperium doesn’t care what they do so long as they do it for the Imperium. They want to take in Xenos, fine by them. They want to colonise whole worlds and place themselves as the governor of them all, that’s great, as long as tithes are paid. They’re the closest any human under the Imperial system gets to being free, other than maybe Inquisitors.”
“Sounds like they really have it good.” Juhani laughed. “Well, good by human standards anyway.”
“Humans can be good people as well.” Rainbow defended.”
“Oh that’s right, you made a friend on Verbatim VIII didn’t you.” Juhani chuckled. “Some human soldier who you think cared.”
“He did care.” Rainbow snapped.
“Rainbow, let me let you in on a little secret.” Juhani said, leaning closer to Rainbow. “Humans don’t care for aliens, they kill them. Oh there are some who claim they do, they get close to you and your friends, then suddenly you have a regiment of Guard breathing down your neck and blasting you into oblivion. Nothing changes.”
“He’s not like that.” Rainbow replied, keeping her voice steady. “Goge came back for me, he pulled me out of that hell and forced others to save me. He could have left me to die then and there, but he didn’t. I don’t blame you two for not finding me, it was chaos down there and I doubt Tar’nek could have carried both of us, but don’t talk about Goge as if you knew him.”
“Ok, let’s stop this conversation.” Tar’nek cut in. “No arguments over whether humans can be nice or not.”
“For what it’s worth, I’m with you here.” Anira whispered to Rainbow, leaning over so she was right next to the Pegasus’s ear. “Humans can be just as loyal and upstanding as Eldar can be.”
“Point proven.” Rainbow smirked to herself, but didn’t vocalise the thought. Tar’nek was right, she didn’t really want to get into a big argument here.
“So go on you two,” Anira said, finishing her own drink, “you must have some interesting stories from before the clan.”
“I didn’t do much before I joined the temple, and Tar’nek was there before me, so nothing you won’t have heard from him.” Juhani said dismissively.
“Well, there was this time I appeared on a strange planet and was almost eaten alive by Tyranids.” Rainbow said thoughtfully.
“Yeah, I don’t think you ever really told us about what happened on Hannibal.” Tar’nek said thoughtfully.
“Yeah, you always said you wanted to forget about it.” Juhani added.
“There are things I’d rather forget now, like nightmares.” Rainbow chuckled, shuddering as she thought about what tonight would bring once more. “But you know, the one thing that I’ve really learnt quite well while being out here is that not facing something only makes it bigger than it really is.”
“Go on then. Regale us with tales of Tyranids and Exodites.” Anira said, resting her head in her hands.
“Ummm…there was the time we fought the Tyranids at Aspoh fields.” Rainbow said, casting her mind back. “That was the first time I saw combat, not the first time I killed something though mind you.”
“Tell us of your first kill then.” Tar’nek sighed, a smile creeping across his face.
“Well I remember I was terrified.” Rainbow laughed. “We were on Hannibal, in Elarique’s village to be precise, and we heard a scream and a roar. Elarique went to investigate, and we found a ripped apart body. It was a Lictor, and bloody fast one. I managed to get myself separated from the group, and the thing found me.”
“Wait, hold up there.” Juhani said, raising a hand. “Are you seriously telling us your first kill, the first time you ever spilled blood properly, was a Lictor in a close urban environment?”
“Yeah, that’s pretty much what I’m saying.” Rainbow nodded. “Someone threw me a blast pistol and I managed to kill it. I can’t for the life of me remember who gave it to me though.”
“Bloody hell. Talk about starting off big.” Juhani said is amazement. “You know how many Eldar it usually takes to down something as large as a Lictor?”
“One lucky warrior.” Anira answered, a smug smile gracing her face and drawing looks from the others. “Hey, I’ve fought Tyranids as well. We ran from them, one Rogue Trader fleet wouldn’t exactly present much of a challenge to a hive fleet, but I still got some kills. I got a Carnifex, so I think that means I’ve got the largest kill.”
“Oh yeah, you got the biggest kill did you?” Tar’nek smirked. “I took out a Macharius Heavy Tank on my own, game on.”
“I got a Dreadnought.” Juhani added. “Chaos one, Black Legion I think, remember Tar’nek. They were busy failing at yet another invasion into real space.”
“Yeah, I remember, although I’m not sure that a Dreadnought is a bigger kill than a heavy tank.”
“I think it is.” Juhani reasoned. “You ever try killing one of those things in close combat when it gets mad? It’s not easy. But I do believe that both are a bigger kill than a Lictor. Sorry Rainbow, but you don’t win this time.”
“Trygon.” Rainbow said simply, before going back to her drink.
“Wait, did you just say you killed a Trygon? On your own? Give over.” Anira asked disbelievingly.
“Come on Rainbow, let’s not lie here.” Tar’nek chuckled. “A Lictor isn’t bad for a big kill.”
“A Trygon.” Rainbow insisted.
“Fine then, if you did this, tell us how.” Juhani said smugly.
“We were retreating from the last village on the planet, it had just fallen. We managed to get an evac ship down from the remainder of the Eldar fleet, but we were followed. A Trygon emerged, Elarique was killed, I may have gone a bit crazy. I haven’t done it since, but that was the last time I performed a Sonic Rainboom, and I ripped through the things chest, killing it.”
“Holy crap you’re serious.” Tar’nek murmured.
“I think we have a winner.” Anira chuckled. “Although, Nar’bok’s got everyone beat.”
“What did he kill?” Rainbow asked out of interest.
“Have you heard of titans? Specifically Reaver-class titans?” Tar’nek asked.
“You’re kidding right.” Juhani said in disbelief.
“Nope.” Anira shook her head. “He piloted his Jetbike straight into the cockpit of one and killed everyone on the bridge. Don’t ask me how he survived, we all thought he was going to be nothing more than a stain on the hull, but then after the titan fell, he dragged himself out of the wreck, a crazy grin on his face. He’s crazy that guy.”
While Rainbow was trying to picture Nar’bok felling something as massive as a titan, a single Eldar, clad in the robes of the seer council, walked into the room. He was unassuming, not announcing his presence as he approached Nar’bok. The pair exchanged words, Nar’bok’s eyes growing wider as he listened to more of what the Seer was saying, before he suddenly sprang to his feet. Quickly, the other members of the Windrider clan quieted down, looking to their chief as he opened his mouth.
“Windriders! I have great new! A world thought lost to us has been found to live again, its spirit crying out for salvation. This world was devoured by the Tyranid menace, and we believed that would be the last we ever heard from it, but it is not so. The other Windrider clans have turned down this opportunity, and the aspect warriors are not being mobilised, but we can.”
“Why would we ride for this world?” An Eldar called, while realisation dawned on Rainbow.
“Because this world holds meaning to one of our newest members, and even though she is new, it is a slight to her, and therefore a slight to all of us.” Nar’bok explained.
“What’s the world called?!” Rainbow shouted, flapping her wings as she looked straight at Nar’bok.
“Hannibal.”
***
Equestria
***
“Hold on, I thought Hannibal was destroyed.” Luna said in confusion.
“Hannibal was yeah, but the world spirit, that somehow managed to survive.” Rainbow smiled.
“So you went back?” Twilight asked.
“Hell yeah I went back, to be honest I would have probably gone even without the clan. I would have died, but I would have gone.” Rainbow laughed, before standing up. “can you guys excuse me for a second, I need to go get my armour.”
“Are you still self-conscious about what you look like?” Rarity asked. “You know we don’t think any less of you for it.”
“It’s not that.” Rainbow shook her head. “I don’t like looking like this, hell I hate it, but I need my armour for another reason. It’s easier to show you when it happens rather than trying to explain it. So can I go?”
“You don’t need our permission Rainbow.” Celestia chuckled softly as Rainbow walked out of the room.
Fifteen minutes later, Rainbow re-entered the room, once again clad in the armour of the Swooping Hawks, her helmet attached to her waist. Sitting down once more, Rainbow looked around.
“So where was I again?”
***
Saim-Hann
***
Rainbow mouth hung open in shock as she fell back to the floor, landing heavily on her ass. She could hardly believe it, and yet she wasn’t going to turn this down. Hannibal, the first planet she had set foot on other than Equis, and it was the home of her first friends in this new galaxy. She owed it to them to return.
“As you can see, our Pegasus sister has a history with this world, it is important to her, and its destruction was a slight to her honour. A slight to one, is a slight to all, and I plan to ride with her, if the clan is with me.” Nar’bok proclaimed. “As you know, each of you gets one vote, if we cannot quickly tell the answer, while my honour guard and I receive two. Do we need to put it to a vote? Or will we ride with our sister?!”
“We ride! We ride! We ride!” The Windriders roared back, and Rainbow could suddenly feel tears starting to come into her eyes as she stood back up, smiling maniacally. Slowly, she joined in the chant, shouting at the tops of her lungs with the rest of the clan.
“We ride!” Rainbow screamed.
“Windriders! We shall ride to Hannibal!” Nar’bok roared, before raising a hand above his head and clenching it into a fist, silencing the hall as the member of the seer council stepped forward.
“The world spirit of Hannibal is of particular interest to us, not least because of the Exodite souls it contains and the stories it can tell us, but for the fact that the souls of those Eldar we believed lost under Ren’lof may have been saved.” The seer announced. “I will accompany you on this attack, and when we get there, we will seek out the central node, where I will be able to transfer the souls to Saim-Hann and record the data. As we have said, this planet has been thought lost to the devourer, its surface lifeless, and its atmosphere poisoned. We do not know what we will be expecting when we get to the planet, but we are to assume hostiles are there, and must be ready to face them.”
“Who would be left on a dead world?” Rainbow whispered, looking at Tar’nek, Anira and Juhani.
“Humans sometimes do, they like the worlds for scientific pursuits. Orks, for no more than because they’re Orks, a lot of the races actually try to claim dead worlds as they think they are safer to test things on, and in that respect they’re right.” Tar’nek explained.
“So when he says we’re expecting enemies, does that mean he thinks there actually will be combat, or that it’s just better to be prepared?” Rainbow asked.
“It’s always better be overly prepared Rainbow.” Anira replied. “Once you start a fight, you want to finish it quickly, not drag it out for longer than needed, so we make sure to bring everything. When Nar’bok hits, he use anything we have at our disposal to demoralise the enemy.”
“Shock and awe.” Rainbow nodded. “Humans use it to overpower their enemies quickly and efficiently, and if that doesn’t work they grind them down with numbers.”
“How do you know so much about human tactics?” Anira asked.
“Goge.” Rainbow replied with a smile. “After I got my new leg, he sort of took me in, kept me away from the other humans just in case. He used that time to teach me humans battle plans, how to set ambushes, how to coordinate large bodies of soldiers and keep them ready for combat at a moment’s notice. Compared to Eldar tactics it’s barbaric, but it works.”
“Uncivilised.” Juhani smirked. “What did I tell you?”
“Shut it.” Rainbow shot back, but it was in good nature.
“Stop fighting and wait here please.” Tar’nek ordered, before turning and pushing his way through the masses of Eldar towards Nar’bok.
“What do you suppose he needs to ask the chief?” Rainbow asked, looking at Anira.
“Well, if we’re riding, then that means a week, maybe two, to get ready. Tuning bikes, fixing weapons, sharpening swords, the works. My guess, he’s making sure that you two have armour weapons and anything else you’ll need.”
“A bike?” Juhani asked excitedly.
“Possibly. I don’t know.” Anira shook her head.
“Looks like it didn’t take long, he’s coming back.” Rainbow pointed.
“Right, come on.” Tar’nek said, gesturing towards a door where Windriders were already exiting the room. “Gear’s ready, I’ll show you where your stuff is.”
“Anything interesting?” Juhani asked, following Tar’nek out of the room.
“You could say that.” Tar’nek nodded.
“Tar’nek, I’ll see you later.” Anira called, before disappearing into the crowded hall and being lost from sight.
“In here.” Tar’nek gestured, walking inside a long room filled with small cubicles, each one with an Eldar in. Most were working on bikes, tweaking little bits on them, while others were looking over weapons and checking over their armour. Quickly reaching the end of the hanger, Rainbow spotted two empty bays, Tar’nek stopping just in front of them.
“Juhani, Rainbow, these are yours.” He said, pointing behind him. “Your equipment gets stored here, you can work here, hell you can even sleep here if you really want. Each cubical is yours and yours alone, and even Nar’bok himself would heed your will while within.”
“And you got this all in a few days?” Juhani asked.
“For you it was easy.” Tar’nek replied. “Armour, a weapon and a bike. Rainbow would have been hard, but she has armour of her own, so it’s all fine.”
With a twinkle in her eyes, Juhani surged forward, walking into the small one person garage and placing a hand on the armour that was stored within. While it was not as thick as the armour she had worn as a Swooping Hawk, it would still do the job of protecting her. Catching Tar’nek’s gaze, Rainbow walked into her own garage, looking at her own armour on its stand. It looked just the way it had when she had taken it off for the duel, and she had been wondering where it had been taken to. She guessed she had the answer now.
“Want an inventory of what’s here?” Tar’nek asked.
“I thought it was just my armour.” Rainbow said in confusion, looking around at the garage.
“Nope.” Tar’nek smiled, pressing a button on the wall. Instantly, a draw slid open, surprising Rainbow as it emerged from the wall. Peering inside, Rainbow smiled as she saw a las-blaster nestled within.
“Now, I’m sure you recognise this, although it’s a bit different from the one you used.” Tar’nek started as Rainbow pulled the weapon out, looking over its surface. “It’s a mark seven, while you’re used to the mark nine. More stopping power, but fewer shots per charge pack. You have your sword, you have your armour, so that leaves only one more thing.”
Pressing another button, Rainbow stepped back as she heard a loud hiss. As she watched, a section of the floor slid open, revealing an alcove with a large shape in it. Slowly, the shape began to rise, until it was completely out of the floor, the panel sliding closed again beneath it.
“Rainbow, this is your new bike.” Tar’nek grinned.
***
Eleven Days Later
***
Rainbow stepped back as she looked over her Jetbike with a happy smile on her face. The thing was a glorious machine, sleek and deadly, its wing sending in sharp, vicious blades. Apparently, this was a Reaver-class Jetbike, more commonly associated with the Eldars dark kin than with the Craftworld kind, but Nar’bok insisted that for all their faults, the Dark Eldar knew a thing or two about Jetbikes, and had managed to procure them instead on the standard Jetbikes. Each one was even shaped like a blade, the front ending in a point while the wings swept forward as wicked blades, ready to cut down any who got too close.
Rainbow had been practicing on another bike for the past week and a half, in between modifying her own bike, and had steadily been getting the hang of it. It was difficult, but being both a Pegasus and an ex-Swooping Hawk had its advantages. Going fast meant you had to have split second timing to fly one of these things well, and Rainbow had experience with going fast. That wasn’t to say that she was perfect, but both she and Juhani had taken to them like a duck to water.
Rainbow however was much more interested in her own bike at the moment, and looked over its surface with a loving eye. It still resembled a Reaver, but only in the broadest of terms, the Pegasus spending every waking moment she had working on it, tweaking it to make sure it fitted with her exact specifications. If there was one thing that Rainbow really did enjoy about the Windrider clan, it was the amount of freedom they got to do what they wanted to do, and how much they could actually modify their own equipment. There was little to no standardisation between each members stuff, and while this made them look a bit chaotic when they were all assembled, Nar’bok believed that the morale boost was much more important.
Rainbow had known exactly what she had wanted to do with her bike as soon as she had got it, and had instantly set about modifying it. First, the bodywork had been removed, and she had set about moving the engine over to the side, before attaching a second engine beside it, although she did need a lot of help to do that so quickly. Unfortunately though, the weight of the second engine had offset a lot of the benefits of the craft, and she had been forced to cut back on the armour, and even the weapons mounted on it. Instead of the shuriken cannon that it had mounted before, Rainbow had been forced to downsize, replacing the weapon with a pair of slightly outsized shuriken pistols. While they were not nearly as deadly, Rainbow was pleased with the decrease in weight, and loved her bike due to the speeds it could get up to. While she hadn’t properly ridden it yet, she had run tests on it, and it should easily be the fastest, if least armed and least armoured, bike in the Nar’bok fleet.
To cap it off, Rainbow had decided to customise the paint job on the bike, keeping the majority of it the deep shiny black that it had been originally, but breaking it up with a Rainbow all the way down the middle. On the nose of the craft lay the rune of the Swooping Hawks, something she had done to honour her temple as almost all ex-aspect warriors did, while above that was her rune, that of the Swooping Pegasus. All in all, she was more than pleased with her modifications.
“You still in here Rainbow?” Juhani asked, poking her head around the corner, her jaw dropping as she saw the Jetbike. “Whoa, that thing looks…amazing.”
“Thanks.” Rainbow said, turning to face her.
Juhani was wearing the guardian armour she had been provided with, the red and black surface flowing over her body. It was indeed a lot less bulky, but it somehow looked more at home on her than the Swooping Hawk armour ever had. It also covered up her bionic limbs, something that Rainbow knew she would be grateful for. It was ok at first when you were getting used to them, you thought that everything would be ok, but then the looks started, people staring at you as if you were some sort of freak. Eventually you just wanted to cover it up.
“Anyway, the ships are ready, Nar’bok has ordered everyone to load up. Full battle dress, weapons checked and bikes ready. They’re calling in everyone, even the aspect warriors affiliated with the clan. Kudos for getting so many behind a cause.”
“I didn’t ask them to do this.” Rainbow pointed out. “Nar’bok decided to ride, and the rest of the clan supported him.”
“Because of you.” Juhani pushed. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining, but the only reason Nar’bok and the rest of the clan chose to ride was to help you. They seem like the sort of people who band together a lot in times like this, honour and all that. How would you put it…um…loyalty. They’re loyal.”
“But they’re not the element of it.” Rainbow smiled, before looking over her bike. “Give me ten minutes to get my armour on and we can go find Tar’nek, load up together.”
“Just like old times.” Juhani grinned.
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so many updates, so fuckin awsome BUT its rogue trader. rouge is make-up
4056963
Thanks, I'll go back and change it.
4056849
Hey, maybe you can create it.
4057118
I may do that. I'll ask around the other people who have made them and see if they're happy with me adding their stories to it. Can't have a group without stories after all.
I am so tempted to try and paint up dash's new bike, but I've got so many other models to work on it wouldn't get done in time. Dammit, why did I have to live so close to the lgs?
Welp I guess I going to add 'brain aneurysm due to terrible spelling' to the list of hilariously underrated deaths
4062674
I thought it was spelled like that.
Thanks for pointing it out though
While reading this, I was listening to something that happened to have this theme on it. I thought that it fit the epic feel of this:
it already felt like as much of a family, of not more
“Humans can be good people as well.” Rainbow defended.”
It was a Lictor, and bloody fast one
When Nar’bok hits, he use anything we have
Instantly, a draw slid open
had managed to procure them instead on the standard Jetbikes
but breaking it up with a Rainbow all the way down the middle
1. If.
2. Extra closing quotation mark.
3. And a bloody fast one.
4. Uses.
5. Drawer.
6. Of.
7. Extra capitalisation.
Just like RD to find herself in a clan that's so loyal. I mean what better place for Best Pony seeing as how she IS the embodiment of the Element of Loyalty.