1.16- Preparations
Preparations
A grand battleship had been set aside as the Empress’ flagship (at her request, much to the surprise of the assembled Space Marine Chapters). It was well over four times the size of the Sanguinium Martyres, and from what the captain and others had boasted it carried enough firepower to obliterate a planet, as well as the fleet that would be guarding it.
Using planetary destruction as a unit of measurement had killed a bit of Twilight’s enthusiasm, but she made no objection as of yet.
As Celestia and the others prepared for their departure, Twilight had turned to research. From what the war meeting had told her, they would be heading south towards the planet of Deliverance, and from there onto an ork empire that had started to expand towards some important Hive Worlds. Travelling there would take several months, after which they would spend as much time as it took dealing with the orks.
It would be almost two years since Twilight had left Equestria... thoughts of her home and her friends lingered from time to time, but never as long as she would have liked. They were not fading, just... drowned out by all that was going on around her.
She had made a note to ask Princess Celestia about that once she had time. For now, she had studying to do.
The first order of business was to find out what they would be dealing with, so she made herself comfortable in one of the libraries Mattias had shown her and started studying, especially after he provided some reports from his previous encounters. Mattias’ notes had quite a lot to say about orks, and none of it seemed very pleasant. A warlike race that only ever seemed interested in killing things, orks resembled Diamond Dogs in a way, with hunched postures and overly long arms, and most of their weapons and armor were cobbled together from garbage and spare parts. Every one of them had varying shades of green skin, red eyes, and mouths filled with tusklike teeth. They seemed to get bigger and stronger with age, with some notable ones being as big as a small vehicle.
Perhaps most troubling of all, there was no such thing as “one ork”. The stories and reports always spoke of hordes of them, with the smaller ones numbering in hundreds, rushing forth without fear or care for death. She saw tales of planets savaged by orks, entire armies wiped out for nothing more than a few more days slowing the hordes, and many a mighty hero dying valiantly battling against the “Green Tide”.
But now humanity had its greatest hero again. Surely Celestia could help them against something like the orks.
Twilight was shaken from her thoughts by a knock on the door. “Is someone there?” there was a pause before Sister Rebecca stepped in, a small tray held in her hands.
“Pardon for the intrusion, Lady Tara,” she said. “But my sister and I felt that you might need some food and tea.” Twilight turned her attention to the tray. Though the food had probably been reprocessed several times, Sister Rebecca was skilled enough to make it look appetizing, and the tea would always be welcome. When a small growl rose from Twilight’s stomach, her mind was quick to put studying aside for a few moments.
“Thanks.” Twilight said. “I could use some food right now.” Rebecca nodded, crossing the room to set the tray down at Twilight’s side. “You can join me if you’d like.”
“I...” Rebecca chewed her lip for a moment before giving a small smile. “Thank you, Lady Tara.” Rebecca found a chair and sat down next to Twilight, the chair creaking slightly from the weight of the Sister’s armor. “What is it that you’re researching?”
“I wanted to know more about where we were going, and what we would find once we got there.” Twilight said, taking the tea and giving it a sip. It was a bit stronger than she usually liked, but it would suffice. “What do you know about orks?”
“They’re rather hard to kill if you are not well prepared.” Rebecca leaned her head back slightly as she continued. “I remember one of our earlier missions was intercepted by a band of their pirates; I broke my combat knife and dented my bolter trying to kill one that got too close, and it would have killed me had Sister Naomi not taken its arm off with her chainsword.”
“That’s not exactly what I was looking for...” Twilight said quickly, her face growing a bit pale.
“I’m sorry, Lady Tara; we have not fought many xenos during our time under Naomi’s guidance.” Rebecca said. “If it is knowledge of them, I would say that the Lord Inquisitor would be one to speak to.”
“Mattias sent me here first. Other than that, I haven’t seen him around all that much.”
“Oh...” Rebecca looked away for a moment. “I wish I could have been of more help to you in that regard.”
“That’s okay...” Twilight took a sip from her tea. “I just wanted to be ready, that’s all.”
“I’ve always found that turning towards the Empress in worship is a perfect way for one to prepare for what they may face.” Rebecca said, smiling. “She is the Light of the galaxy, after all; we would be fools to hide from it.” Twilight regarded Rebecca for a moment, the Sister giving her a confused look. “Is something the matter?”
“No, nothing’s wrong.” Twilight started, stopping only when Rebecca gave a short nod.
“I keep forgetting; you’re still getting used to this.” she said. “I promise you, we will educate you as best we can.”
“I’m sure you will, and I’m thankful for that.” Twilight started. “There are times, though, that I wish that the Empress was just present a little more for these sorts of things.”
“She is always present in some form or another, though,” Rebecca pointed out. “... Though I suppose you mean physical presence.” Twilight gave a nod, taking another sip from her tea.
“This is pretty good,” she said. “Where did you get this blend?”
“Oh, that?” Rebecca asked, blushing slightly. “It’s... a bit of vanity, really. Sister Naomi allows me and my sister to care for some tea plants from our homeworld. I think it’s much better than that tanna tea the Inquisitor’s henchmen offered us.”
“I doubt that they would be very appreciative of that...” Twilight started. “... Though, their tea is really bitter; it’s like drinking a bowl of vinegar.” there was a pause before the two women giggled.
“I cannot believe I have ever heard anyone describe tanna tea like that,” Rebecca said as she tried to compose herself. “Oh my, look at me. I don’t remember the last time I have spoken to anyone like this, let alone laughed over tea.”
“I’m sure you have some time with your Sisters, right?”
“Well...” Rebecca’s face grew a bit more serious. “Only really with Veronica; Sister Naomi is rather stern in regards to matters of the squad, Ruth does not exactly have knowledge beyond such matters as fighting for the Empress, and Judith...” the Sister shook her head. “I love my Sisters dearly, but they are not always the best for conversations.”
“Maybe you just need to engage them a little more.” Twilight offered. “I know I’ve had my problems with opening up to people in the past, but talking to them can go a long way.”
“I’m sure,” Rebecca nodded. “I have always been open to my Sisters; Veronica and I were always taught that that was the polite thing to do when around those whom you trusted. But I suppose it can be a bit frustrating when you open yourself up to others and they are unwilling to be open in return.”
“I guess it can...” Twilight finished her tea and set it aside. “You can always come talk to me if you want; helping people with problems like this is... kind of a thing I’ve gotten good at.”
“Oh? The Empress has had you act as a counselor?”
“... Kind of?” Twilight gave a sheepish grin. “She felt it would be helpful if I got out a bit and... gained a good understanding of how people are supposed to work together.” a gross oversimplification of her Friendship Reports, but divulging everything would take far too long and might not go over well, even with the Sisters.
“That is a wonderful task.” Rebecca nodded. “I know my sister would love to learn from you; Veronica has always had a passion for helping others, even if she does not get much of a chance to show that in ways other than fighting the enemies of Mankind.”
“Well, perhaps once this business with the orks blows over, then we can have a nice talk about it.” Twilight’s smile faltered when she saw Rebecca grow stern.
“Though we may not always fight against the alien, it is a threat that does not always ‘blow over’.” she said before her smile returned. “But I am sure that my Sisters would love a chance to talk to you in a more... informal setting.”
“Oh...” there was a pause before Twilight spoke again. “I should probably keep studying. Do you think you can help me?”
“I would be honored to, Lady Tara.”
...
It was back to combat drills for Mattias and his entourage. As dumb as the Greenskins could be, taking them for granted had gotten many a soldier he had encountered during his career killed. With the Empress having no pending missions for him, he and the Valhallans practically lived in the training halls, practicing every combat maneuver and training regimen they could think of short of challenging one of the Astartes accompanying them on the journey.
As he watched Nikolai and Alexis sparring, Mattias caught sight of Sister Naomi and two of her squadron enter the training room. Surprisingly, the Sister Superior had removed her helmet, revealing the brand of the Bladed Lotus on her cheek. It is not only Angelique that has benefitted from Tara’s influence, I see, he thought, not moving as the Sisters approached him.
“Lord Mattias,” Sister Naomi began. “I spoke with the Sister under your command, and she told me I could find you here. I had hoped that my Sisters might have some time to train with you and your men.”
“They are always welcome,” Mattias replied. “Though I am not certain that the sparring methods of the Valhallans would be adequate for your Sisters.”
“Any form of training is valuable if a soldier is to survive on the battlefield,” Naomi countered. “And as Lady Tara and the Empress are currently occupied, there is no better way to keep my fellow Sisters occupied.”
“Fair point.” Mattias turned to the Valhallans. “Alexis, Nikolai! The Sisters will be training alongside us; pair up and continue the drills from before.” The two Valhallans nodded, breaking away from one another while Sisters Ruth and Judith approached.
“Your troopers will be up to the task of sparring with my girls, no?” Naomi asked.
“As you said, any form of training is valuable if a soldier is to survive on the battlefield.” Mattias replied, watching as Sister Judith picked up Alexis and tossed him to the floor like a sandbag. “And as for training, I am surprised that not all of your Sisters have joined us today.”
“Veronica and Rebecca felt it best to tend to Lady Tara as she continued her... studies.” Naomi shook her head. “I care for the girl deeply, but she must understand that she cannot hope to save the Imperium solely through reading.”
“I will admit, that is one of my fears as well,” Mattias looked back towards Naomi. “Tara has had little real world experience in defending the Imperium, even with the Empress’ tutelage to fall back on. I can only imagine what will happen when she is placed in her first combat situation.”
“Had she more zeal about her, perhaps she would hold, but she is still quite apt for questioning different aspects of our faith.” Naomi sighed. “I do not wish to rush her in this matter. She is the Empress’ student; taking care around her is more than just trying to teach a normal student.”
“I know, which is why I have decided to take matters into my own hands.” at this, Naomi raised an eyebrow.
“What do you mean?”
“I have spoken with the Empress and asked that Tara be assigned to one of the rearguard regiments in the upcoming battle. I figured that with her head for knowledge, she would be perfect for coordinating supplies, vehicles, and men for the Empress’ offensive. Once we have our victory, we can move forward for some easy mopping up actions and ensure that Tara is not harmed or swamped by conflict.”
“I can see logic in that.” Naomi looked away from Mattias for a moment. “With such experiences, she would be more ready to take on heavier loads in the future.”
“That was my intention.” Mattias turned back to the others. The Valhallans were holding their own, but could only do so much against the unrelenting push of the Sisters. “Sister Naomi, I would like to apologize.”
“For what?”
“For my actions during our hunt for Primarch Corax.” Mattias turned back towards Naomi. “I understand that it was a sensitive topic for you to discuss, and perhaps I was a little too forward in pushing you to admit to what had happened-”
“Lord Mattias,” Naomi started. “I understand what you are trying to say, but... I realize that I had been acting foolish myself. Lady Tara spoke to me on the matter, and she made me realize... perhaps I had been relying too much on my own fear to operate to my fullest capacity. I may not fully accept what happened to me in my childhood... but then, I am still working towards making my peace with it.” Mattias remained silent, watching the Sister intently for several moments. Sensing that Naomi had nothing further to say, he turned back just in time to see Ruth pin Nikolai with a swift strike.
“I wish you the best of luck in that regard.” he said. “I understand that you do not think highly of Inquisitors, but I am more than willing to offer my help in any way possible.”
“I will keep that in mind, Lord Mattias.” Naomi replied. “For now, I would like to focus on preparations for our battle against the Greenskins.”
“Of course.” there was a pause before Mattias spoke again. “You know, Sister Naomi, that there can only be so much preparation from merely watching others train.” the Sister looked to Mattias, one eyebrow raised.
“Is that a challenge, Lord Mattias?” she asked with a slight chuckle.
“If you see it as such.” Mattias replied. “Let the others train for a little longer, and then we will have our opportunity.”
...
With Grand Strategy settled on, now was the time to speak of “smaller scale” operations.
Celestia had forgone her armor for the day, choosing a white and gold uniform her Custodes had procured for her. Before her was a map of the target system, a larger world named Caesaria IV, sections controlled by invading orks highlighted in a garish green. Those sections controlled by the Imperium, highlighted in red, had shrank down to control of only a few of the larger hive cities backed against the strip mines that fueled the planet’s economy.
Even with the forces she had brought to bear, it would take some time to fully cleanse the planet of the aliens.
“Still planning?” Celestia did not look up as Corax stepped into the room.
“As always,” she said. “You know as well as I do that one cannot be too careful when preparing a military campaign, especially against an enemy as unpredictable as the Greenskins.”
“Indeed.” Corax nodded. “Though I believe my original suggestion of assassinating the ruling warlord and letting the aliens fight among themselves should not be dismissed outright.”
“I never said I was dismissing it, Corax.” Celestia looked up from the map at the Primarch. “Merely that it needed some work to better fit the strategy I have prepared.” She looked back to the map, her chin resting on her folded hands as she thought.
“From what we have been able to discern from earlier probes,” she said. “The Guard divisions deployed to Caesaria IV have managed to stop the orks from advancing any further. I have no doubt that they will be able to hold the aliens there until we can arrive and organize our counterstrike.
“Your task in this will be to link up with the elements of the Raven Guard positioned on the planet; start taking apart the orks supply lines and keep their focus off the cities until we are ready to launch the attack.”
“Easy enough.” Corax leaned over the map. “I will need air support if this disruption plan is to be effective.”
“The Imperial Navy and the Minotaurs will be at your disposal.”
“Are you sure?” Celestia raised an eyebrow at this as Corax continued. “The Minotaurs have seemed somewhat... resentful of the position you have placed them in, at least from my own observations.”
“I have seen no real resentment other than Moloc’s hesitance to accept me as his Empress.” Celestia turned back to the map. “Perhaps it is that the Minotaurs still hold lingering loyalties to the High Lords, but this will be a test to see how well they can operate under my command. Should they fail to heed your commands, they shall answer to me.”
“If you feel that is best,” Corax said. “And what of your student, Tara?”
“She will be under the watch of Inquisitor Mattias for the initial stages of the campaign. Some work coordinating the divisions needed for our attack will be well within her skills.” There was silence for a moment as Celestia looked to Corax. “You do not approve?”
“Only in the extent that you appear to be shielding her from the truth of the galaxy.” Corax replied. “I respect you greatly, but there are times when you seem all too eager to push others away when they could be of great help to you.”
“This is nothing like the Heresy, Corax,” Celestia said. “You know as well as I do that she is not ready to be placed into a combat situation; were I to throw caution to the wind, she could panic or worse die before I could do anything to help her. Tara’s role in the Crusade is far too great to risk right now.”
“And when will you find a suitable time?” Corax moved closer to Celestia. “While I do doubt the girl's martial capabilities, I saw within her an earnestness and willingness to help that I have not seen since Sanguinius. That is something that cannot be so easily stifled, and she will find ways to stretch your watch until she breaks free completely. And if she is not bloodied by then, she will die, and unfortunately then her blood would fall upon your hands.” Celestia’s breath caught for a moment, her hands tightening.
“I did not expect a lecture from you, Corax,” she said.
“As one who is no stranger to having blood on their hands, I believe I am the only one qualified to speak to you in such a manner.” there was a lengthy pause before Celestia sighed and lowered her head.
“I have made mistakes, probably more mistakes than any mortal in this realm.” she said. “Not a day goes by when I am not reminded of the wrong I have done, and even my attempts to do good only leave shattered lives behind.” there was a pause before she looked up to Corax. “For once in my life, I want to know that I preserved some small sliver of innocence.”
“For the sake of Tara, and for you, I hope that you are right.” Corax turned to leave before hesitating. “I suppose I should prepare to face my sons once more... I hope that I can still face them as I did before.”
“You will, Corax.” Celestia turned back to the map. “I may not hold faith in many things, but I have come to see that reconciliation is still strong in the universe.”
Stats
Page generated in 0.035 seconds
Total duration
1,000 users online
1,765,885 hits today, 2,280,440 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
This is gonna get gud....
Ok I just realized something that makes me extremely happy. They've got the Minotaurs right? Well they're the guys that the High Lords of Terra give all the good shit (no joke, they pretty much have termie armor coming out the ass) and use as their personal beatstick for whenever a chapter gets uppity. Not to mention that they ALWAYS deploy at full chapter strength (1000 marines). That combined with the fact that Space Marines are demigods of war ( http://www.factpiletopia.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=1825 not even joking) and Asterion, "Fuck You" Moloc means that those Orks are just dead. No competition whatsoever. They are going to get massacred. I don't care what they have, a full chapter Deep Striking your ass will always be a game over.
1d4chan.org/images/3/34/Moloc.JPG
BETTER START PRAYING GREENSKIN SWINE!!!!
Truly the only story that matters on this site right now. Great is the God Empress of Mankind!
Just when I was getting ready for bed I saw this had updated. Well, sleep is for the weak anyways.
Oi yo git! Bring da hummie pnoy an da hummie wiv da funny hat.
I got t'sho them I iz real orky an giv them a proppa ork gretin'
... Wiv my choppa !
WAAAAAAGH !
... I Wana hug da pnoy...
Wha ?! Huggin' pnoy iz real orky!
'spchaly da prp...pupr...purpr...DAT COLOR YOZ HAV WEN YOZ MAK' DEM SMURF GO KRUNCH pnoy.
I have the strangest feeling Horus will come back at some point. Just my opinion, however. Anyway, nice work so far. Really loving it.
7792900 Well, he certainly could, but he's probably busy being Luna's spirit buddy for a little while longer.
So, and I may have asked this previously, but will any other Primarchs be returning? Cause Sanguinius, if you subscribe to the Sanguinor is in some way Sanguinius, then he could return. Vulkan, if he ain't the Primarch stuck with the Collector Necron whose name escapes me at the moment, could also return. Lionel and Gulliman, if Empy can find some way to get them up and running, probably by breaking Gulliman's stasis field, allowing himself to possibly regen, then they could be of help too. Leman, my fav Primarch, MIGHT be alive and could help. As for the other possible Loyalists, like Alpherius and Omegon, maybe.
7792977 Primarchs will be returning; we saw the Lion off in the wings a few chapters ago, and Celestia has expressed her desire to revive Guilliman. As for Vulkan, Russ, and the Khan, she has plans
7793006 I mean, Khan COULD be on Commoragh, giving the finger to the Dark Eldar. This is going to get even more epic
7793006 Please tell me, will we get to see the glorious Full-Chapter Strength deployment the Minotaurs are known for?
7793076 At some point, yes. Celestia's battle strategy is more than just "one frontal attack at point x", but I'm saying too much
7793095 HELL YES!!!
media.giphy.com/media/fM1mmdgH3sDAY/giphy.gif
I AM READY FOR THE ONE-THOUSAND TERMINATOR DEEP STRIKE!!!
7793395 You should probably read the first story "The God Empress of Ponykind".
Did someone mention Best Primarch?
Good chapter. Nice character development, and I'm eagerly awaiting the spectacle of the
Emperor'sEmpress' Hammer falling on the xenos scum.And now, it is time.
*A universe or so over*
Unleash the Pink Psyker Brigafde!
7792885
Pnoy?
*new chaptering intensifies*
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ljdg1J0XBSs
I've got a bad feeling that 'Tara' is going to make the mistake of thinking it is possible to reason with an Ork and one of her friends will pay the ultimate price. I think that she's going to take a certain... pleasure in purging them from that point onwards.
Either that or she's going to be one of those frighteningly intellectual warriors. After reading all the battle reports (and listening in to the com channels during battle), she'll realise that Orks are so chaotic and destructive as to be near-irredeemable and treat the whole thing as an intellectual exercise in pest control. She's shown the same cold reasoning in MLP canon, notably in 'Swarm of the Century', 'Too Many Pinkie Pies' (I can see the Sisters nodding in approval here and intoning 'Suffer Not the Clone to Live!') and 'Bats!'.
With regard to the Orks, maybe someone more WH40k knowledgable can answer: I get the impression that they're basically innumerable; do they breed super-fast and mass conquest is necessary for their survival?
7795910 Orks are basically the ultimate bio-weapon. They constantly shed spores, like a fungus, though they shed even more upon dying. The spores go on to make more orks, as well as other creatures such as squigs (little monsters that are about 70% teeth which the orks use for a variety of tasks, such as food/pets/hair extensions, depending on the subspecies) and grots (40k's goblin equivalents) so a single ork can create an entire ecosystem without even trying. And the precursors that created them forgot to install the "off" switch, so orks are always looking to fight and kill things, which results in more of them dying and making more orks.
It's said that if all the orks in the galaxy were ever to be united, they could easily crush every other faction in an unending Green Tide. But they'll never get to that point, because orks love fighting themselves just as much as they love fighting everyone else.
Dude, I haven't read this in such a long time, I am glad I found it again! Well Good story, and I hope you update soon
7796682 I'm glad to see that someone agrees with me about this.
Due to my own hype, I have to ask: Are you in any way altering your story because of things like the new Wrath of Magnus storyline and how the Thousand Sons seem to be coming back together and such?
7799579 Not likely; I started God Empress when 6th Edition was still new, and retconning everything would be a lot more work for me.
7799708
Alright, fair enough. But on a personal level, what was your response to the story being advanced?
7799729 About damn time. Especially as I was just starting to build a Chaos army (though I am going for Word Bearers instead of Thousand Sons)
Possible Sister Judith stats for perusal.
WS 4, BS 4, S4, T 3 (4), A 2 (3), W 2, Ld 10, Sv 3+/6++
Wargear, Bolter w/ Sarissa, Bolt Pistol, Chainsword, Frag and Krak Grenades
Special Rules (Standard SoB), Chosen of the Student
Chosen of the Student (basically a catch-all for any special rules you eany to add, like the Last Chancers)
Just as the Student gas been marked by the God-Emperor for great things, so have her protectors, if in a different way.
As a consequence of her great experience and the Emperor's Light, Judith counts as having +1 S, T and W, but for the purpose of Instant Death is T3.
I´m extremly torn between hidding in my citadel in Commoragh, hugging my skin-pillow for comfort or rallying every fighter my cabal has to offer and all my allies to take as many spoils from the ensuing chaos as possible.
Seriously, those prep chapters are great, take your time and then deliver some good, oldfashioned 40k meat-and-steel-apocalypse to us.
I can just imagine the training Twilight will receive later. I got it in my head she starts taking some PT from the soldiers and comes into Celestia's room one day. She lifts up her shirt and says, "Look, Celestia! I have abs!"
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_3040330805&feature=iv&src_vid=d91I65BFtsY&v=FCPEGDbziFM]
Wait. If Celestia is the Emperor, what about the corpse on the golden throne? What about the Astronomicon, and the fact it's power is fading? What about the countless atrocities the Imperium has committed, and it's rampant corruption? Labeling magic as witchcraft? The COMPLETE stagnation of all technology and the fact that there is no 'understanding' of said technology, and believing things work due to rituals or a machine spirit?
Revamping the forge worlds is nice, but it doesn't fix the horrible ignorance of technology or magic. Or the horrible waste of resources putting statues, copious amounts of gold, and skulls all over ships.
Heck, the Imperium is so ignorant about technology, that they can't even produce true battleships due to not knowing the how and the why behind them (compartmentalization, etc). They have battlecruisers, but they are pale imitations of the battleships they try to mimic.
So many questions.
7862062 Quite a lot of that will be answered or has been answered (if not here, then in a blog post I might have written in the past).
7862062 Read God-Empress of Ponykind
Will Roboute Guilliman be making an appearance seeing as he is alive again?
7923011 Yes, but my plans for how and when he shows up were developed long before Fall of Cadia hit the shelves, so it probably won't be in the same manner
7796051
All orks vs. all nids?
8268332 Well, the War for Octarius shows what happens when those two factions throw down (granted, on a smaller scale than if a Galaxy-wide WAAAGH!!! crashed into the full might of the Hive Mind, but it's a good case study).
Do Raven guard get a cqc bonus from edgyness?
"smile"
8865339
They radiate such an aura of edginess that it deals Slashing damage, additionally, this damage carries the trait of Razor Sharp.
Generosity hint?
9524456
SSHhh! Damn it man! Are you trying to pull the Inquisition down on us again?! You remember the last time! Don't tell me you don't!