The Emperor Preserves

by Centurion Pike-Wall

8~First Contact

Author's Note:

Imperial Thought of the Day: There is no being so foul as the Traitor.

Anton awoke to what sounded like screams.

He leaned up, climbing out of the small alcove he had dug inside the pillbox, throwing the fur blanket off of him as he grabbed a lasgun. He cast a brief look around the interior of his pillbox.

The structure was made up mostly of intact blocks of stone he had dragged from the ruined fortress, complimented by bits of wood. A small slit covered most of the wall facing the entrance of the canyon, giving him a great view over that entrance. He flicked on the lamp-pack next to his makeshift bed, which cast light over the faint carvings over his new entrenchment. He slipped on his webbing and grabbed the lasgun leaning on the crude wall, before peeking out of the slit.

Outside, he couldn't see too much. Despite the lack of the forest canopy over him, the darkness was so oppressive that he could barely see the entrance to the canyon. Muttering to himself, he grabbed his helmet, which rested on a box he had dragged from the crashed valkyrie. Sliding it on and lowering the visor, he once again looked outside.

This time, he was able to see clearly as the Photo-Visor brightened up the dark like a torch lights up shadow. Ahead, a pair of faint shapes ran towards him. One he recognized almost instantly; the glowing eyes and shifting form of one of those wooden beasts. The other he didn't recognize, though he somehow felt it was vaguely familiar. It was smaller and brightly colored, standing out even amongst the darkness of the night.

Whatever the second figure was, it must have seen the light from his lamp-pack emanating out of the pillbox. It raced towards him, the wooden beast on its heels. Anton crouched down slightly, propping his lasgun on the edge of the pillbox wall and aiming down the sights.

The second creature jumped over the abatis, stumbling and falling to the ground just beyond the wooden spikes. The beast slammed into the spikes at full force, snarling and reaching past the barricade in a desperate attempt to claw at its prey. Anton closed an eye as he lined up his lasgun, muttering, "Bringer of death, speak your name; For you are my life, and the foe's death". With the manipulation of his aura, he pulled the trigger once. The bright red bolt of energy slammed into the beast, which tore out a chunk of wood and leaving the planks around it scorched black. It pulled itself free, dark green sorceries swirling around it, before it lumbered off.

Anton set down the lasgun, before pulling the Power sword he had strapped to his webbing. He didn't ignite the blade, yet held it in his aura as he headed out the doorframe. He climbed out of the trench and started walking down the hill towards the second figure, who was only just then starting to stand.

Through his visor, he was able to make out much more of it than he had been able to before. It was a vaguely equine shape, with dark orange fur and blonde hair and tail. With a start, he realized that it looked similar to him in terms of body structure. It lacked a horn, yet besides that, it was almost exactly like him. He clenched his teeth, before activating the energy field of his sword.

The other creature, who had been moving towards him, stopped dead in her tracks. By the blue light of his sword, he was able to make out more features about it better. It had white freckles amid its face, along with a red band holding a ponytail behind its head. A small amount of blood covered its side, while sweat poured from its hair.

After a short amount of panting, it said in an odd accent, "P-please. Ya gotta help me!"

"What?", Anton asked, lowering the tip of his sword. That wasn't what he expected.

"T-timberwolves", it said. "Th-they attacked me, mah ma and pa out on the road. Y-ya gotta help them!"

Anton looked at it once again, focusing on its features specifically. Fear showed on its face, eyes wide as portholes and tears mixing with the sweat running down its face. Still, Anton snorted. He said, "If they're not with you, then they're probably dead or dying."

"Wha?", she grunted. "N-no. Pa ain't like that. Ma neither. Th-they're alive!"

Anton studied the creature, a war waging in his head. On one side of the conflict was his zeal, urging him to kill this Xeno filth now in order to prove his worth to the Emperor. On the other side was a surprise force; pity. He felt somewhat sorry for it, and wanted to help it. Perhaps because it was like him, and was in need of aid.

No!, his mind protested. I am a human! A divine soldier of the Immortal Emperor! Not some Xeno-loving heretic. I am to protect humanity and the realm of the God-Emperor, not play rescuer to some Xeno. However, the traitorous thoughts that pitied this thing rang back with the reply that he was a Xeno, and so his oath of service and protection would apply to this thing too. The war waged in his mind as he turned his head away from the other creature, gritting his teeth. After a bit, he finally reached a resolution.

He slid his sword into its sheath, before walking up the hill. The other creature followed him, practically yelling, "Please! Ya can't just leave 'um out there!"

"And I'm not going out there without my armor and a medkit", he snapped back, shocking the thing into silence. He winced involuntarily at its reaction, mentally berating himself. Not that it was wrong or mean or anything like that, but the fact that he seemingly cared for the feelings of some Xeno degenerate.

He hopped into the trench, the other thing climbing in behind him. As he walked into the pillbox, shucking off his webbing and grabbing his flak cuirass, he asked, "Where are they?"

"The road is almost straight ahead from here", the orange creature said. Anton had found what he believed it was discussing; a path of mud and dirt he had found one time, yet disregarded it. He slipped on his cuirass, with the webbing going on top of it. He also grabbed a medkit and, almost as an afterthought, picked up one of his spare combat knives and tossed it at the feet of the orange creature.

"Turn off the lamp-pack", he said, pointing to the switch on the side of the lamp. "Try to stay out of sight of the clearing. If one of those beasts gets inside the outer perimeter and comes up here, aim for the eye. And, by the Golden Throne, whatever you do: Don't enter the cave." He was already committing heresy by letting this thing live, let alone hiding it. He would go before the Emperor, with or without his redemption, if she so much as touched any of more Imperial Hardware than was needed.

The creature nodded, shell-shock on its face. Anton pushed past it, before climbing out of the trench and heading out of his canyon.

+++++~+++++

As he walked further and further from the structure of the canyon, the more and more his faith was knawing at his sudden and treacherous mockery of a conscience.

Why was he seeking to aid this Xeno? Furthermore, why was he helping that Xeno by helping other Xenos!? They were nothing but scum, and deserved to die in this Emperor-forsaken wood. Just like him, their presence was an affront to the Emperor!

And yet, he kept walking. His mind protested vehemently, urging him to turn around and put a las-bolt in the head of that orange thing. He didn't stop and turn around, however; he kept walking in the direction that the orange creature had directed him.

Finally, he heard sounds of conflict ahead of him. Crouching down, he stalked forward, the sounds of wood cracking, snarls, and crude battle cries echoing through the trees. Even though the near-total night vision that his Photo-Visor gave him, he couldn't fully see what was going on. However, he made his way closer to the path before he finally had a good view of the altercation.

In the middle of the road was a basic wooden cart, its lead laying limp against the ground. Around it was a small assertion of sticks and branches, while a half-dozen of the wooden beasts stood opposite the cart, further down the road. Standing in front of the cart, facing the beasts, stood a larger version of the same creature he had saved, albeit differently colored. As opposed to orange and blonde, this one was yellow and some shade of red; it was hard to tell through purely the night vision. What he could see was he was soaked in blood and sap, a strange hat crooked on its head, standing in front of something else that laid crumpled on the road.

As he watched, a larger beast stalked out of the woods. It towered over the other beasts, its green eyes shining on the other creature like neon searchlights. The creature snorted, not digging in its hooves and readying to charge. Despite himself, Anton couldn't help but admire its bravery. Still, he would not want to risk killing it, his own reasoning argued back and forth within his head.

He pulled a grenade from his belt, bringing the cylinder up to his mouth and latching his teeth around the pin. With a muttered prayer, he jerked his head to the side, the pin going with his mouth, before chucking the grenade onto the road amid the wooden monsters. Instinctively, he yelled, "Get down!" The other creature somehow picked up on what he meant, and dove to the ground, wrapping his limbs over the thing on the ground.

The wooden beasts weren't as fortunate. Shrapnel ripped through the cluster of them, the splinters from their shattered wooden frames only adding to the damage done to the ones further from the detonation. Most of them were blown into little more than splinters, with big one the only beast with any consistent form. Anton emerged from the treeline, squeezing the trigger on his lasgun a few times. The bolts scorched the wooden beast, which snarled and ran back into the woods.

Anton walked out onto the path, his lasgun switching direction from where the beast had fled and onto the other creature. It seemed to notice, as it held up a hoof at him, a pained look on its face. It spoke in the same accent that the other creature had, saying, "Please. Ah don't mean ya any harm. It's mah wife. She's-" He cut himself off as he tried to kneel, falling fully to the ground and hissing in agony.

Anton pulled his cogitator from his medkit, he walked up next to the fallen creature and activated it. He passed the whirring bio-scanner over its body, soon receiving the damages that were done to it. "You're either thick-skinned or have the Emperor's grace. Most of your wounds are superficial; small cuts and whatnot. You have a few deep cuts along your side, but nothing that time and faith can't heal."

The creature fixed him with a puzzled look, before shaking his head. "Please. Mah wife. She bought some time so our daughter could run, and one of um got her pretty bad."

Anton sighed, before turning around and looking at the other one. What he originally been unable to make out was another one of these creatures: female, if a few features around the head were to be believed. This one was two shades of orange, with her curly hair being a darker shade than her fur. She laid against the back of the cart, wheezing and gasping around a small trail of blood that ran down her mouth. He once again activated the bio-scanner and ran it over her, before grimacing and shaking his head.

"She won't make it to dawn", he said, standing up and looking over at the other creature. "You were right about her being hit. Deep strike, just below the throat. Between that and a few bite-marks near internal blood vessels? It'll be slow, but there's nothing I can do." Both of them looked at him, looks of shock gracing their faces.

"What!?", he almost screamed, trying and failing to hoist himself up. "Th-there 'as to be somethin' ya can do!"

"She is as good as dead", Anton insisted. "Her wounds are internal and very serious. I don't know if I can do anything. Even if I can, there's no guarantee that she'll live."

"Th-then we can get 'er to Ponyville Hospital!", the creature said. "Y-you're a unicorn! You can carry 'er wit' your magic!"

"How far is this hospital?", Anton asked, putting his cogitator back and undoing the holster of his laspistol.

The creature winced in pain, before pointing down the road. "A few more miles. We-we can find mah daughter, then ah can pull the cart. T-they can-"

Anton shook his head, saying, "She's still as good as dead. At this point, it's just a matter of long you want her to remain before she goes to meet the Emperor." Why am I trying to comfort this Xeno? It clearly has no concept of the God-Emperor's glory, and even if it did, the Emperor offers no mercy to their kind, he thought, scowling. "Besides, I said most of your wounds weren't serious. You're still not in any condition to do anything serious."

The creature looked at his wife, who in turn looked at him. Looking down, Anton saw her faintly... smile? He shook his head, before returning his eyes to him, eyes pleading so much that words were not even necessary. Still, he said, "Please. Th-there really ain't anythin' y'all can do?"

Anton looked at him, and saw a look that he had never expected to see on a Xeno. Desperation. He knew that Xenos had some facsimile or approximation of emotions: Hate, Cruelty, Joy at the deaths of the citizens of the Imperium. He stole a glance at the crumpled form of the female, who was shifting slightly as her body processed the air brought in through ragged breaths. Try as he might, he could not help but draw parallels to the troopers he had helped load onto the Valkyrie on Veylend Sinstre. Wheezing, clinging to life out of something beyond their own ideas of self, but for a cause.

Anton scowled, biting his tongue. Not in indecision, but in penance for his new sin. "Fine. I'll try. But not here; don't want them coming back. If you can, grab her legs."

Comments

[Josiador]

Wasn't expecting him to meet a young Applejack, but I guess now the tags make more sense.

He is surely committing heresy, but I somehow get it. If the aliens are beyond redemption for existing, then isn't he? He can not accept that.

Edit: Are we going to get Applejack: Servant of the Emperor?

[paladinwolf]

I am happy to see this update! I don't see anything he is doing as heresy. The Emperor protects, and would never allow one of his faithful to be transformed, unless it served Him. The plans of the Emperor are far beyond us mere mortals, as long as Anton holds fast to his faith and follows his instincts, which are just the Emperor's guidance, then he will accomplish the Emperors will. Perhaps the Emperor wishes for these ponies to be saved... it is not for us to wonder why, only to do or die.

img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/awXRbx4_460s.jpg

[Maulet Paya]

Yea! A positive first contact. And now we know the timeline

[Maulet Paya]

And another thing, the Emperor policy wasn't total xeno aniquilación .If the Xenia are a lesser power and kneel to the Imperium they are granted a vasall
Contract

[Magos Xenos Disathairne]

10827175
Hence, the Jokaero

[Xanderfox]

The other Warhammer 40K MLP crossover fic I am following solved the Xeno issue quite neatly by having Equestria actually be a ancient Bio-lab planet in a space sector far from the Warp. Thus the ponies and in fact Al of Equestria's species didn't count as xenos, Space Marine main character even concluding ponies where to be explicitly protected. The fact the Luna managed to psychicly contact the Emperor and do some long distance healing and reawaken a Pirmarch who vouched for them sealing it. When your God Emperor and the Primarch of the Ultra Marines says "These creatures aren't xenos" you believe them.

[Silent Wing]

11041708
you are talking about My little Xeno aren't you?
That is one hall of an impressive story I must admit, and honestly, what I have read so far, this is of equal quallity.

[RanBro]

11081323
Yes that is my little xeno That pretty much describes the whole thing but if there was another one I would like to know

[mlpengineer]

11129895
is you profile pic from day shift at freddy's

[FridayPie]

11081323
There was another where Celectia was apparently ancient friend of Emperor and Elements were actually Virtues. Equestria was a warp realm far away from Terra,

[RidiculouslyOP]

Shame he doesn’t know about sanctioned Xenos.

[Yo Mommy so fat]

I was expecting something like -
"Please help me!"

"No."

"But you're a Guard! Please ya have tah help!"

"...wut?"