Primarch Corax is a beast on the battlefield. I mentally knew that already, simply from the word 'Primarch', but seeing him in action was something else.
He seemed to fly from point to point and eviscerate any Tyranid organism with ease, even those far larger than himself.
But when focusing my dimensional senses on his 'flight' I also realized he practically 'blinked' in and out of reality before striking with his Phase Claws, even under the psychic suppresion offered by the Shadow in the Warp. Worse than this, he gained speed with every kill, such that he managed to outscore an entire Astartes Chapter by himself.
"Do you see the giant crow manifesting when the Primarch kills something?" my Alpha Psyker wife asked while her eyes glowed with electric blue light.
"No...But I do see the golden jaws snapping closed every time Canis is killing something. The Regium_System should be clear in a a few hours." I answered with a shrug.
"There are still some Tyranid feeder elements on Krassus , but your Ork Auxilia outnumbers the poor Tyranids 100 to 1. And the Ork Pirates are still torturing the Norn Queen on the Hive Ship, trying to dig out more gems and gold from her body." Lady Valyene noted while scanning the rest of the system.
"That's not torture, my dear Inquisitor. I plan to release a band of Orks, the larger Nobs at least...so they can teach other clans about the fun and loot they can obtain from Tyranids. Maybe also equip them with Tyranid claws and teeth." I answered while keeping a close watch on the world of Regium , where the Astartes and Knights counter-sieged the sieging Tyranids, pressing them into the walls of the fortifed Hive Cities.
This battle also saw the first 4000 cloneskein Primaris being sent to fight the Tyranids, each thousand equipped with different weapons, from Las-cannons to Volkite demi-culverins, then autocannons and multimeltas. Excluding the exotic Volkite guns, the other weapons were rugged Imperial weaponry, easy to produce and repair.
The cloneskeins still had the blackstone-plated adamantium combat shields as requiered by our new doctrine, which served them well considering the much weaker Primaris power armor they were given, instead of Invictus Dreadnoughts like the Blank Primaris.
"I see. Tyranids eat people, and sometimes these people will have jewelry and implants containing gems and precious metals. There might be a small chance of finding loot inside a Tyranid, more so inside a Norn Queen if the thing had been served only fat Nobles at dinner." my Ordo Xenos wife mused in a thoughtful voice.
I nodded while reading the statistics scrolling on my implant. 'Autocannons are the most effective and cost-efficient weapon so far, for the cloneskeins. I did build a great weapon, right?' the Blade added as percentages lined up.
'Las-cannons and multi-meltas work better against larger organisms, reducing the risk of a breakout or melee engagement. And Volkite weapons come last, even the new demi-culverins. I guess we can try full grade culverins...on an Invictor chassis.' I said, reading between the lines of what was not printed. Convicing me to switch to an ammo-based army will not be as easy as manipulating statistics to paint a nice target.
A breakout from the defenders inside the main Hive City led to a few squads of Ultramarines led by by Lieutenant Castamon meeting the good Primarch, and an awkward moment at recognizing the Deathwatch sigils on his armor. "Primarch Corax, you should be on Terra with your brothers...although it is good to find you alive. Even as a Deathwatch Astartes."
"On Terra? Hah! The Emperor would need to drag me in chains to that damned place, kicking and screaming. I roamed the Eye of Terror long enough, no need to jump into the new Eye of Judgement when it opens." Corvus Corax answered in a loud voice, silencing the poor Ultramarines who were possibly expecting a different reaction.
Hundreds of Deathwatch Marines arrived to form a perimeter around the Primarch, as if daring the poor Ultramarines to try something.
Castamon took note of the bleeding hearts painted on the shoulders of the Deathwatch Marines and gulped. "Almost a thousand Lamenters, all Blank Astartes...yet Firstborn. This looks very suspicious, Primarch. I will have to report this."
"They are Deathwatch now, Lieutenant. Plus, half of them are only tech-marines, so they don't count. I read the Codex Astartes too. Roboute wrote a a good book for that time. Doesn't include Tyranids, genestealers or Necrons, but things change, right?" The Primarch asked a bit rhetorical then 'blinked' away and began massacring hundreds of more Tyranids with the same unnatural ease.
A certain Raven Guard Chapter Master emerged from Castamon's shadow and patted his shoulder. "Choose your words carefully, Ultramarine. My Primarch fought a billion daemons inside the Eye of Terror while your Primarch slept his beauty sleep on Maccrage. Anyways, Terra will be gone in 9 months, so there's no reason to visit."
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"You...those words are treason! The Emperor lives on Terra!" Castamon yelled in outrage.
"You really are stuck up, Lieutenant. The new Eye of Judgement is the Emperor of Mankind ascending to Godhood. Every astropath knows this already. Every seer, oracle and tarot reader can sense this too. And the Blackships are carting millions of psykers to Terra right now, to fuel the pyre. It's going to be glorious no doubt, from very far away. But I will stay away and not get burned, just like my good Primarch." Kayvaan Shrike spoke in a warning voice, then melted into his shadow and followed his Primarch in battle, moving almost as fast.
"...Lieutenant, Ultramar should be safe, right?" another Ultramarine asked a bit hesitant.
"Let's go back and meet the Astropath choir. I need answers!" Castamon growled and ran towards the Hive City, stepping on dead and ruptured bodies without care.
I sighed and leaned into my Command Throne while glancing once at my wife. "My sons in the Deathwatch are not in trouble, right?"
"Probably not. It looks suspicious, but is not illegal. And I thought there were exactly 1000 of them." Lady Valyene said in a mild voice.
"I did see about 30 of them escorting various Inquisitors in the Ultima Segmentum. I'm more worried about the missing 70 boys. Kill-teams have a high death ratio, even without traitors among the Ordos. Do look into that, or I will. Very brutally." I whispered with a deep frown. An Inquisitor rank would not save anyone playing with my Lancefire sons.
'Lord Captain, we could gift a new Data-core to the High Lords on Terra. Then we can data-mine the reports on it, via the Tethys network. The Votann will also read them, but you did give it membership to your Obsidian Augury.' The Blade AI proposed in her sneaky voice.
'You assume the Emperor or Archmagos Cawl will not detect your hidden data-fork?' I asked a bit amazed.
'...You do have a point, Lord Captain. No, I say we allow them to detect my fork, and read her name: Blade Lancefire, Stonekin of the Lancefire League. Refuge in audacity, just like your prefer.' the Blade said in a determined tone.
I considered the crazy plan for a minute. The rewards outwheighed the risk, at least for myself. A spy in the heart of the Imperium? Priceless!
The Blade fork risked a mind-wipe at the minimum, but what did she gain? Something valuable, obviously. I couldn't see it, which wasn't so good.
'Why risk so much, Blade?' I asked directly.
'You trust the Emperor, and so must I, Lord Captain. But I suspect your Emperor will leave Terra soon, with his staff in tow. The Adeptus Custodes at least, and millions of important people too. He will not take the cardinals and any priesthood though. So, who will rule the Holy Imperium?' the Blade asked me, leaving a single obvious answer.
Damn, that was truly a high risk-high reward equation. Then again, the Blade had travelled to the end of time to find a solution.
'Welcome to House Lancefire, Blade. The fate of humanity might rest on your shoulders soon.' I said in a grave voice.
'I will need Purity to act as my Emissary to the Star Child, Lord Captain. I rather my fork not be turned into a Warp-reactor by a zealous priest, like they already do with the poor Living Saints.' the Blade added in a sad voice.
Shit! I didn't think of that. Damn trouble-seeking girl! A Primarch was not enough for her, if Fate guided her to another God, just like Janice was.
I should ask her mother...the Demonifuge would gladly gift Purity to her God though. To make matters worse, Valyene's unborn daughter was just named Joan by her pious mother.
It seemed whatever I did, the laughter of cruel gods still followed me.
As the last synaptic creature died on Regium, ending the Shadow in the Warp, my Alpha Psyker wife turned towards me with a scowl.
"The astropathic choir just regained contact with the Imperium, Lord Lancefire. There is a third Tyranid tendril dubbed Grendyllus attacking from behind the Sanctum Line. The Anchor World of Sanctum is the main target, but all the Solblade fleets are already engaged by other Tyranid Hive Fleets. We are the only ones able to reach the Formidyre_System in time." she proclaimed in a tense voice.
Really? Out of a million ships in the Imperial Navy, nobody could intervene in time? I smelled a lot of bullshit.
'We should hurry, Lord Captain. Leave some Krieg regiments behind to finish the feral gaunts' the Blade AI demanded in an urgent voice.
I counted my inventory of Nova Mines, and found only about 40000 of them left. Yes, I blasted two Tyranid Hive Fleets to bits already, and didn't lose a single ship. Great.
And now, a third Tyranid tendril appeared out of nowhere? I call bullshit, for 40000 reasons.
I should still win, maybe. But not a flawless victory, not this time. Fucking 40k universe! I swear this place was trying to kill me!