//------------------------------// // Chapter X // Story: The Marks of War // by DungeonMiner //------------------------------// Apple Bloom took a long, slow breath. Massive, brightly colored, armored figures moved quickly in the vision of her M40 Targeter System. The thermal/night-vision scope all but set the monstrous soldiers alight, showing them clearly to her bionically-enhanced eyes. The Stalker Pattern Bolter, a sniper variant of the Godwyn Pattern Bolter, sat carefully cradled in her hooves, the handle of her knife resting right above the trigger. A scout, new, maybe three months into training sat next to her, nervous. She could smell the nervousness, and it disgusted her. She had come a long way since she had been that nervous little rookie. Almost twenty-five years of actively scouting for the Honorable Blood Raven Chapter. She had even grown a mark on her flanks, a black bird surrounded by a crosshair. The snow bit into her naked flank, the cold stinging the neural ports on her skin, and the wind howled into her ears. None of these bothered her, nor broke her concentration. Her enhanced mind had already identified the rock beneath her. It was a sedimentary rock, whose chemical compound was unique to this planet. It would support her nicely. Even as her mind observed the nervous scout beside her, the hill beneath her, and the snow around her, she skimmed across the war between the Blood Ravens and the traitors beneath her, trying to pick her target. There he is… “Scout Sergeant Galaar, I have a visual on the target, requesting permission to give him the Emperor’s Peace?” she asked, speaking into the microbead that connected her to the vox systems. “Scout Apple Bloom,” came the response through her ear, “the answer is the same as always.” She smiled, and as she did, she pivoted her knife, the handle squeezing the trigger expertly. There was a soft crack, and over one thousand meters away a Chaos Marine Sergeant fell, his helmet split in half by a well-placed bolt, and his mind shredded into jelly by the resulting explosion. ---=][=--- Gabriel Angelos sat in front of his desk, reading the reports he had received, of which there were many. The Blood Ravens were always meticulous when it came to records and reports. No sentence of knowledge was lost, and no period was out of place. The stack was growing larger and larger by the hour as more and more versions of the same battle came in. It wasn’t something that he couldn’t get through by the end of the day, but it would take him a week, if only for the distraction on the other side of his desk. “Gabriel…” Chaplain Baltus said in the fatherly tone that reserved for his spiritual lectures. He tried to ignore him, and read through yet another report, his mind processing the words at an incredible rate. “Gabriel…” Baltus called again. The Chapter Master tried to bury his nose into one of the reports. “Gabriel.” “What do you want from me, Baltus?!” he cried, slamming the parchment down on his desk, and nearly knocking an inkwell to the floor. The Chaplain sat down before the Chapter Master and spoke. “Honorable Chapter Master, I would request the same thing I have requested twice now. It is time to make Apple Bloom a Battle Brother.” “She is under surveillance, Baltus. We need to be sure that she will not spread xenos taint amongst us.” “She has been under surveillance for twenty-five years, Gabriel,” Baltus pointed out. “She has infected no one with any taint and has, in fact, abandoned many of her own beliefs for ours. She is no more likely to infect anyone than I am.” “Then she is going to remain a scout until she proves herself,” Gabriel said. “Proves herself?” Baltus asked. “Gabriel, she is the one being sent to kill some of our most high-priority targets. She all but has the rank of Scout Sergeant. In fact many of the Scout Sergeants consider her an equal in skill alone. She has over 9000 confirmed kills. That is almost a target a day.” “And while that is very commendable, it is not necessarily—” “One was an enemy Dreadnought, and she killed it by kicking a blade through its visor.” Gabriel hesitated. “And...that is...quite commendable.” “Commendable? Gabriel, you would give any other marine a promotion for such a legendary feat.” “That’s not…” Gabriel began. “She can’t...We...we don’t have a set of power armor that she can wear,” he said. “And it is unlikely we ever will,” Baltus said. “Of course you have neither tried to fix that issue nor given her the proper respect for her deeds. However, the fact remains that every other recruit I taught alongside her became Space Marines. Two of them have even become Tactical Marines.” The Chapter Master lowered his head back down to the reports in front of him. “Gabriel,” Baltus said, “we gave her a test. A test she passed nineteen times. If she is not a gift from the Emperor, then I know not what would be. To waste her talent would be wasting one of the Emperor's gifts. If she remains a scout, then so be it, but allow her to at least become a Scout Sergeant. She has earned that much at least.” Gabriel sighed, and shook his head. “Baltus...I…” It just felt so wrong. Baltus stood. “I will trust you to make the right choice, Chapter Master. After all, you have made such decisions before. I will leave you to your work now.” Gabriel nodded and sighed after the door closed behind the black-armored chaplain. It seemed that all of the hardest decisions were his to make. ---=][=--- Apple Bloom smirked. The Scout Sergeant across from her strained. The crowd of armored figures around her surged and roared. Aldwil the loudest among them. “No Marine can best her without armor! No arm can beat her! Even the mightiest of the Primarchs tremble at her name! Apple Bloom!” The earth pony smiled. “Sorry about this, Sergeant Galaar,” she said, even as he strained against her arm, his hand tied to her hoof. Galaar growled as his arm bulged and strained as he tried to bring Apple Bloom’s arm to the table. “No, you’re not sorry at all, filthy xeno,” he grunted between smiling, clenched teeth. Apple Bloom smiled. “Yeah, you’re right,” she said, before driving his arm down to the table. Many in the crowd groaned while others cheered. Aldwil swooped in, grabbing Apple Bloom’s arm. “Gentlemen! The winner, and reigning unarmored champion of the Barge, Apple Bloom!” She laughed and gave a wave, as though it were to a civilian crowd, and Galaar stood next to her, holding her arm up as the victor. “Captain on Deck!” A cry went out, and every marine quickly stood to attention. Chapter Master Gabriel strode down the galley, escorted by a librarian, and a couple of techmarines. The Chapter Master seemed to glide down the galley, his adamantium weave cloak billowing, and his mechanical eye glowing as he searched the crowd. His armor, from the glit pauldrons down to the magnetic soles of his boots was covered in wards and litanies describing his many victories against Chaos, and the words “My Faith is My Shield” was written just above the belt and along the cuffs of his hands. A massive hammer hung loosely in one hand, while his bolt pistol sat, magnetized to his side. The only sound in the entire room was the thud of his approach. He paused as he came to the table, and then spoke, his voice both soft and commanding. “Scout Apple Bloom, it seems that my bionic eye is malfunctioning, and I require your aid as an escort to a forge world for repairs..” “Yes, m’lord,” she answered quickly, before falling in line behind the techmarines. Gabriel glanced around the room. “As you were, brothers,” he said and then turned to leave. The escort followed, with Apple Bloom at the back. Though, as she walked, she couldn’t help but wonder, “Why do we need to go to a forge world? Surely our techmarines could make repairs?” But she was a Space Marine. She knew better. “A questioning servant is more dangerous than an ignorant heretic.” ---=][=--- Gabriel Angelos and his escorts stood on the bridge of the Strike Cruiser Aquila Tonitrus. The ship, one of the many the satellite ships that followed the Omnis Arcanum, slammed out of the warp after a mere two weeks of travel. Another two squads were on standby as they entered realspace in orbit around a large, desert planet. Dynax Primus. Her enhanced mind already told Apple Bloom everything she needed to know about the green-sand world. Of Segmentum Tempestus, in the Amerikon Sector, Dynax Primus was the primary world in the Dynax system. A forgeworld, Dynax Primus was first considered for a forge world because of its high concentration of copper found on the surface, but otherwise there wasn’t anything noteworthy of the planet. That changed when further samples found high concentrations of all the metals needed to create adamantium. The planet was instantly claimed, and the Adeptus Mechanicus, the branch of the imperial government in charge of the protection and upkeep of technology, allocated no small amount of resources to transform the planet into a massive factory. Even from this height, Apple Bloom could see the massive clouds of smog that stretched from one end of the planet to the other. “M’lord!” a serf said, hunched over a console. “We’re being hailed.” Gabriel nodded, before glancing at the pony scout. “Scout Apple Bloom, stay out of the pict feed.” She nodded, before dipping behind a console. “On screen.” From her position, she couldn’t see the screen, but she could still hear. “Attention Venerable Strike Cruiser, identify your passengers,” came a rather haughty voice through the vox speakers. “This is Strike Cruiser Aquila Tonitrus of the Blood Ravens chapter. I am Chapter Master Gabriel Angelos, and I require an audience with the Fabricator-General. Immediately.” There was a pause. “I...I...ab-absolutely, m-m’lord...I’ll-I’ll notify him posthaste. Blessings of the Omnissiah unto you and your crew, m’lord.” Gabriel nodded. “Omnissiah’s blessings indeed.” The vox went dead, and Apple Bloom emerged from behind the console, her mind abuzz with questions. “This makes no sense. Why would he need to speak with the Fabricator-General? Why would he need to speak with the king of a planet-wide factory?” Gabriel turned to a different serf. “What is the status of the Thunderhawk?” “It’s ready m’Lord,” the answer came. “Excellent. We’ll make planetfall. Have the remaining marines on standby,” he said, before taking a step towards the back of the bridge. The techmarines and the librarian followed. “Scout Apple Bloom, you are to come as well.” She followed. Gabriel led his small entourage down to the massive launch bay, where a large, almost boxy ship sat waiting for them. It’s engines purring as the Thunderhawk sat ready. “Are all systems ready?” he asked. “Yes, m’lord!” came the reply from the pilot. “The machine spirit is prepared and ready for launch!” Gabriel nodded, as he walked into the open rear end of the dropship. “Excellent. Twenty seconds to launch.” “Yes, M’lord,” came the pilot's answer over the vox. Apple Bloom followed quickly, not daring to let the door close behind the Chapter Master and leave her behind. “Hurry Scout, time will not wait for us.” She followed, strapping herself in as the door hermetically sealed behind her. ---=][=--- Dynax Primus was far more impressive from the surface than from orbit. Massive spires that scraped the sky, and enormous stacks that billowed smoke and steam from the billions of workers in the laboratories, factories, and mills below. Skulls in massive cogs covered the face of every building, and monolithic, copper statues of hunched figures wielding cog-shaped axes stood tall in every plaza. Massive, towering, gothic buttresses supported the four-miles-tall spires, whole towers in and of themselves, and were covered in pipes and wires that went from one tower to another in gigantic webs that spanned the smog-filled sky. The Thunderhawk landed with only a slight jostling, and Gabriel was quick to unbuckle himself from the cargo bay of the ship and stepped out as soon as the door opened. Apple Bloom followed him down onto a large catwalk, with a wimpy, almost thread-like railing being the only thing that separated her from a three-mile drop to the surface below. With that in mind, she stuck to the center. The others quickly followed behind her, leaving her directly behind Gabriel, who continued to stride forward as if he were going into battle. Forward, unto the massive spire decorated with the Mechanicus skull where a door opened, and a red-robed figure approached. The door itself was massive. A towering portal that would have easily accommodated three armored Space Marines stacked on each other’s shoulders, yet, even so, its presence was commanded by the figure that stood in it. A tall, almost looming figure, one that would be downright terrifying to mere mortals, glided through the open door. His long, red robe trailed behind him, almost like a river of blood, while the very end of the train was held almost daintily aloft by a pair of skulls, floating above the ground, with a stream of mechanical arms descending from the upper jaw. Two other skulls followed the figure more closely, one with a roll of parchment descending from it, and an auto quill working furiously as he approached. The other skull ran ahead, and began scanning the visitors, a red beam descending from its right eye. A network of metallic tentacles, ending in spikes, drills, quills, saws, and a thousand other tools, hovered from outside of the figure’s back, waiting for instructions. Meanwhile, the figure's face was hidden by his blood-red hood, but even so, Apple Bloom could see vox grill that had replaced his mouth and the glowing red light where his eye should be hinted that only one was still organic. He stopped maybe one-and-a-half meters away and gave a slight bow. “Chapter Master Angelos,” he said, in a mechanized, almost tuneful voice, “you do me and my planet an honor with your visit. The friends of the Adeptus Mechanicus are always welcome here.” “Fabricator-General Romulus Augustus, the honor is mine,” Gabriel said, offering his own, slight bow. “While polite, that is incorrect,” the Fabricator-General noted. “I also notice that you seem to be in the company of a strange xeno. Do you wish us to dispose of it for you?” “Actually, the situation is not so clear cut, I’m afraid,” Angelos said as he set the head of his hammer down on the catwalk. “Brother, come forward,” he said, motioning to Apple Bloom. The title “Brother” confused her, but she obeyed instantly none-the-less. “This xeno you see before you,” Gabriel said, “is actually one of my marines.” The Fabricator-General went silent for one hundred and twenty milliseconds before speaking again. “This seems incorrect.” “Sadly, it is the truth. We were facing heretic forces when one of the blasted creatures brought forth this odd weapon. That is when my brother was hit, and his body was transformed into what you see before you.” “What!?” the Techpriest roared, his tentacles flying through the air and writhing in fury. “They created what!? What kind of heritek is this?! There are no words!” He said before his voice simply exploded into bursts of static. The servo skulls trembled at his tirade, and his tentacles danced in the air, threatening to smash the railing apart, or anything else that might get too close. “What did you do with it!?” he demanded suddenly in high-gothic. “What did you do with that vile monstrosity?!” “We destroyed it,” Gabriel said, his voice even. “We were even so lucky as to find the template for that weapon, and we burned that as well.” Romulus Augustus seemed to take a breath and sighed. “Thank you, Chapter Master, I knew you and your Blood Ravens would do the correct thing concerning this...heresy of the highest order.” Gabriel nodded. “However, this does leave my chapter with an issue. My chaplains have evaluated this marine and found his soul to be human yet. Even still, this marine wishes to perform an atonement to purify his soul before the Emperor. “Now,” Gabriel continued, “Normally this would be a matter of simply sending this marine on a most dangerous mission. Yet as of now, the Blood Ravens do not have the strength to allow such inefficiency.” Romulus nodded, understanding. “And so I find myself being forced to treat this Marine as any other, yet I cannot, for he is not properly equipped.” Romulus had another long pause. “What are you suggesting, Chapter Master?” “A trade,” Gabriel said simply, “with hope, perhaps you might find, amongst the many templates you have, one for a design that may perhaps fit him. In exchange, of course, we would be willing to dedicate some troops to aid you with the upcoming crusade for an STC.” Romulus regarded Gabriel for a moment. “That is...most dangerous talk, Chapter Master.” “How so?” “Are you feigning ignorance? Or is your organic mind not privy to the obvious complexities of our order? If such a design did exist in our records, then the price for release would be high. If it did not exist, then you are asking for heresy, and the only way for it to feasibly pass to you without it existing amongst our records is if the Omnissiah himself were to bless me with a vision.” “How high a price, if it were to exist?” Gabriel asked. “Hypothetically.” “We would need a company,” Romulus said. “At least.” “I cannot offer you that,” Gabriel said. “I can send you two squads,” he offered. “Two squads?” Romulus asked, and Apple Bloom was sure that if he could sound offended by the meager gift, he would. “No this is not enou—” “Of the First Company,” Gabriel finished. Apple Bloom’s eyes went wide.“Two full squads of First Company Marines?!” Any one of the veteran Marines, is worth ten times that on the field of battle alone, but two squads? That was almost worth two companies. Romulus was quiet for a full second. He then turned to the scanning servo skull and released a burst of static from his vox. The servo skull then went to work, scanning Apple Bloom from nose to tail. And then Romulus spoke. “It seems that both the Omnissiah and probability favor you, Chapter Master, I have been blessed with a vision.” And then the Fabricator-General turned and simply said. “Follow me.” ---=][=--- With almost 10% of the planet's factories dedicated to this project, and this project alone, the creation of Apple Bloom’s Armor took five weeks. It had taken fourteen different scans, twelve different “moments of clarity” where Romulus altered measurements and “gained insight” on the vision he had received. But finally, it was done. “Well? Is the Marine comfortable?” Romulus asked. Apple Bloom tried to hide her eye-rolling at his insistence of talking to the armor. So far the bright, freshly-painted, red plates neither complained nor whined as she was inserted and ritually sealed into the suit. Other than the quadruped design, the only truly unique part of her suit was the pair of mechanical arms that poked out of her sides. Mechadendrites, they were called. She had learned from the techmarines that calling them metal octopus arms was frowned upon, so learning their actual name was worth the time. With a thought, they moved and obeyed, grasping and waving around as she needed. Romulus checked the length of the mechadendrites, making sure that the armored plates didn’t interfere with their movement or ability. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Romulus was satisfied. “Very well, it is finished, then,” he said, as a mechadendrite reached back towards a table, a helmet sat. It was a Mark VI Corvus Pattern helmet, with the very notable, beak-like faceplate. Personally, she didn’t like the aesthetic, but it was a helmet model that would accommodate her snout. It slipped on, and with the proper rituals, was then hermetically sealed. She took a deep breath of canned, filtered air, and then watched in awe as her autosenses activated. Rangefinders, targeting assists, audio-filters, and tactical displays all hummed to life. A warning in the corner of her vision alerted her that internal oxygen supply was being used, and should be switched to the respirator vox grill from maximum efficiency. She could feel the mechadendrites move and respond to her commands. She was also surprised to see that they showed up on her life signs monitor. “Well Brother, is all well?” Gabriel asked. Apple Bloom nodded, taking a moment to feel the strength in her hooves. “Everything seems in order, M’lord.” “Very well,” he said before bowing to the Fabricator-General. “Thank you, Fabricator-General Augustus. Your generosity concerning this matter is most appreciated.” “Noted,” the Mechanicus answered. “I will send for my marines at once, and then we shall take our leave.” “And my social protocols dictate that I must thank you for your generosity.” Gabriel nodded. “You are most welcome,” he said before turning to the now armored Apple Bloom. “Come brother, we must return you to your squad.” She nodded, and began to follow. They moved towards the Thunderhawk, Apple Bloom’s every step echoing in her ears. Gabriel and his entourage quickly made their way into the waiting bay doors. Apple Bloom stepped inside, and waited quietly as the door closed behind them. “Well, Apple Bloom,” Gabriel said, turning to look at her. “Yes, M’lord?” “Congratulations are in order,” he said. “You are now a Devastator Marine.” ---=][=--- “You are not required to think, only to act.”—Imperial Thought of the Day Alright guys, that’s another chapter done. “Is there a reason the Mechanicus guy had to get a vision?” Huh? “Why did he need a vision to design armor?” Oh, well, that mostly belongs to the idea that any new creation is not approved by the STCs, or the Standard Template Constructs. “What?” Essentially big blueprints. “Oh.” So for anything new to be made, and I mean at all, the Adeptus Mechanicus need to receive a vision from the machine god. Because those are automatically approved. “Oh…” Anyway, as a final announcement, I will be slowing down a bit. Mostly because I need to focus on my own story. I’ll keep going, it’ll just be slower. Anyways, we’ll see you next time guys! “Bye!”