| 1st Legion |
Moments before the assembly…
On Luna, the moon of Terra, within one of its many facilities housing the twenty Legions, a meeting of the highest authority of the 1st Legion was convened in the main facility.
High Chaplain Metatron, recently returned from the Dark Cells after completing his training, had issued an urgent summons to the highest echelon of command within the 1st Legion.
Metatron was currently inside the most secure location of the 1st Legion's facility, a room deep beneath the main complex of the facility above with one way in and out. The pathway leading to this chamber was lined with multiple 1st Legion Space Marines standing guard and not a single piece of technology in sight.
This heavily guarded room was where members of the 1st Legion discussed matters that were never meant to see the light of day, which was precisely what was about to occur.
The reason for Metatron's high-level summons was a scroll personally handed to him by the Emperor, accompanied by specific instructions.
Moments later, the doors to the room were opened and first to arrive was Legion Master Hector Thrane, the Space Marine in command of the entire 1st Legion.
He was wearing Mark II "Crusade" Pattern Power Armour that all legions wear, but unlike the other legions. His armor just like the rest of the 1st Legion was blacked out and accented with white and red heraldry, along with a grim reaper as the icon on their pauldrons.
Next was the Chief Librarian Kokabiel, who had recently completed his training under Malcador's watch. Following him was Chief Apothecary Luciel, a elite combat medic, who unlike the other spacemarines present, was clad in distinctive white power armor.
Apothecaries are clad in distinctive white power armor which allows them to be easily identifiable on chaotic battlefields.
The duties of the Apothecaries are to heal wounded battle-brothers in the heat of battle, extract geneseed from fallen battle-brothers to ensure the survival and future growth of the their Legion and oversee the process of human aspirants into spacemarines by implanting them with organs and legion geneseed, while also monitoring them for mutations.
Entering last was Master Forgewright Zephyr, he was a Terran taught artisan, engineer, technician, and mechanic. Only the 1st Legion has Space Marines who are trained on Terra and not by the Mechanicum of Mars.
In the other legions, any spacemarines who show an innate aptitude for machinery and engineering are sent to Mars to undergo rigorous training.
If they succeed in their training, they rejoin their legions as Techmarines, Space Marines who specialize in maintaining their legions armory.
A Techmarine's armor is also heavily augmented, often sporting mechanical "servo-arms" and prehensile mechadendrites that serve as extra limbs for complex repairs on the battlefield or deadly close-quarters combat.
The only problem with a Techmarine is the fact that they have a dual allegiance between Terra and the Emperor and the Mechanicum of Mars. This was due to the Treaty of Mars, that instated Mars as an equal and independent ally of Terra. Which allowed the Mechanicum of Mars to have full control over all technology and manufacturing that the Emperor desperately needed.
The treaty also allowed the Mechanicum to preserve their faith in the Machine God, despite the Imperial Truth being spread by the Emperor.
To solidify this treaty, the Symbol of the Aquila was created, a double-headed eagle with one head representing Terra and the other representing Mars. From this treaty and the alliance of these two major fractions of humanity, the Imperium of Man was formed.
However, the Emperor had other plans for this allegiance, because allowing a cult that believed the flesh was weak, that all but the brain should be replaced, and that machines were holy objects to be prayed to, to hold total control over technology and manufacturing was far from ideal.
In the original timeline, the Emperor secretly produced advanced armor, specialized tanks, and units like the Leviathan Dreadnought that were specifically designed to counter the technology of Mars. But, due to the Horus Heresy, the Emperor wasn't able to enact his plan to forcibly take over Mars once the Great Crusade was complete.
In this timeline, however, the Emperor had a different plan, the instructions to plan are currently being read slowly with extreme scrutiny by the five 1st Legion Space Marines present.
The five Space Marines present who represented the absolute highest levels of command in the 1st Legion, unsealed the scroll and read its contents.
Their eyes widened and breaths hitched as they read about a plan codenamed the "Paradigm Shift", that the Emperor has devised for them to complete immediately after he commences the Great Crusade.
It was an intricate plan that would guide them every step of the way in fabricating a long lost history of the Mechanicum of Mars and leading the current Fabricator General of Mars into finding out about this "long lost history."
In this fabricated history, the warp entity Vashtorr will be depicted as Heretic Prime, the Saboteur of the Omnissiah's Will, a Blasphemer of the Motive Force, and Defiler of the Machine God's Knowledge.
He would be portrayed as a former tech priest who killed his mentor, an Archmagos who ruled over many divisions of the Mechanicum and stole the key to the Vault of Moravec under Mars.
He then escaped from Mars thanks to the help of entities who opposed the Machine God and later became the scourge that he is today.
This false history will force the Mechanicum to start their own crusade, staking everything to end this Great Heretic and retrieve what he had stolen.
The final, crucial element of this plan involved the 1st Legion providing the Mechanicum with clues about the existence of the Castigator Titan and its location.
Hinting that Vashtorr intended to obtain and defile this great creation of the Machine God. His goal was to use it to annihilate all of Mars, thereby gaining access to the Vault of Moravec.
Once the five had finished reading the plan and the final note at the bottom of the scroll, they saw that the Emperor stated he would personally handle luring Vashtorr out, managing the ensuing battle between Vashtorr and the Mechanicum over possession of the Castigator Titan.
The scroll then ignited and was burned to ashes by the remnant power left in it by the Emperor. It was a sight they were used to seeing and will continue to see once they begin to act on the instructions given to them.
In the silence of this room, Legion Master Hector spoke, "After the Great Crusade commences only inform those directly under you of the beginning 3 stages of the Paradigm Shift and have everyone and everything of the 1st Legion ready to depart within the day."
Everyone in the room nodded in tacit agreement.Seeing this, Hector moved on to the next matter, one that greatly troubled him.
Chief Librarian Kokabiel and High Chaplain Metatron, with their new training can sense the turmoil in the Legion Master, or rather the turmoil in everyone besides the both of them.
Metatron glanced to his right at Kokabiel and seeing the silent communicative look in his eyes, Metatron took the lead and posed a question to everyone present.
"Brothers, what troubles all of you?"
Luciel, standing directly across from Metatron, displayed a moment of hesitation before steeling himself and said.
"For a time there were rumors that the Emperor had been wounded, which I found hard to believe. But, I witnessed it myself from afar when he welcomed back the first found, Alpharius. Additionally…"
Luciel's expression changed and traces of concern and bewilderment appeared on his face.
"The Emperor seems to have changed… I dare say that he seems more like a mortal?! As if… As if there is no longer this wall of absolute perfection, he seems to be more open with others and even relatable, he is showing emotion that I've never seen him show before. It does not feel like a deliberate act like he has done before, this feels real and even dangerous. Everyone around the Emperor, including even Malcador, the Custodians, and the Sisters of Silence. All seem to have grown more fervent of the Emperor. This change is—"
Metatron raised his hand, signaling Luciel to stop, and then said to him.
"I understand your worries brother, no need to speculate on it further. It is indeed true that the Emperor has indeed become more open with others. Perhaps it indeed is far too open, but know he has his plans for it. He has seen to it that the Archenemy will not use this against him or humanity.
The creation of Chaplains is one of his measures to monitor and steer any signs of detrimental emotions or beliefs within the legions and our auxiliary forces, the imperial army, into something more positive. As for the ones by his side, they will be managed by him and besides the people you listed are incorruptible unlike our cousin legions and the mortals."
Luciel nodded and then Zephyr spoke up, "It is precisely our cousins that I'm worried about, all of them are like little children that lack discipline. Many of the legions don't understand the necessity of the Librarians and Chaplains and are viewing them with distrust, despite the fact they were issued by the Emperor himself."
"It is only natural that they are," Hector stated, gazing towards his left at Zephyr. "Remember what the Emperor said to Alpharius, the responsibility of the eldest. In time, our younger cousins will face the horrors we faced and come to understand the necessity of the existence of Librarians and Chaplains. In fact, we should also change, no longer should we view them with distrust and instead guide them whether they like it or not. And certain matters we shall drop, for example, the dislike many of our legion have for the other legions for adopting the name, Angels of Death.
Indeed he called only us the 1st Legion his Angels of Death, however this name will perhaps not be permanent. After all, the Emperor passed a decree that every legion will be named by their number until their respective Primarch is found and gives them a name. So far only the 20th legion, now the Alpha Legion has a name. We should allow our cousins to share this honor, because we the Legiones Astartes don't have much else. Not every legion is like us or the Alpha Legion who already have recognition."
"Understood brother," Zephyr replied. "Brother Kokabiel, you've been awfully quiet, do you have anything to say?"
Kokabiel looked at Zephyr in utter annoyance at the friendly gesture from his brother, who knows that he hates speaking.
"I have nothin—" Zephyr paused as warp energy suddenly channeled through him briefly.
The other four present looked at him in alarm wondering what had happened and soon after Zephyr spoke again.
"Malcador has sent out a telepathic communication stating that the high command of all legions is to gather at the entrance of the Sanctum Imperialis in formation alongside… Alongside all the mortals."
'Alongside all the mortals?' Legion Master Hector mused in confusion. 'As in those weak mortal soldiers better used as expendable pawns to the gauge enemy? Or perhaps those ambitious administrators?'
But, he quickly dismissed the thought and ordered, "Prepare everyone directly under your command to board the Stormbird in landing bay 1, within five minutes."
They all nodded and made their way out of the room, issuing orders through the built-in vox in their helmets to their subordinates.
Within five minutes, 100 Space Marines of the 1st legion were aboard a Warhawk IV Stormbird, making their way to Terra.
After approximately an hour, 100 Space Marines of each legion were in formation next to auxiliary forces, administrators, remembrancers, rogue traders, and imperial citizens.
Many were stoic in expression, while some imperial citizens couldn't hide their awe at being allowed this far into the Imperial Palace, standing next to these people of far higher status and even being allowed to witness the Emperor in person.
The citizens tried their hardest to match the discipline shown by these angels of the Emperor, mimicking the stances of the Imperial Army.
In a few moments everyone was perfectly aligned in formation awaiting the arrival of the Emperor.
___
High Chaplain Metatron POV
___
Metatron stood in the front row of the 1st Legion's formation, in a single file line behind him were the Chaplains ranked right below him. To his sides were the masters of each of the Hexagrammaton—the six wings that the 1st legion is divided into, which is the Deathwing, Ravenwing, Ironwing, Firewing, and Stromwing.
Each of these wings specialize in a specific form of warfare. It was a unique system; the 1st Legion and other legions similarly have their own legion structure systems which were currently being displayed by how they stood in formation.
At the very front, Legion Master Hector stood alone. This hierarchy of command was mirrored by the other 19 legions present, along with the Imperial Army, remembrancers, administrators, rogue traders, and even Imperial citizens. Metatron glanced at his cousins and noted their annoyance and disdain for the presence of these mortals—weak and frail beings who contribute nothing.
He continued observing until he noticed that at least his cousins in the 5th, 8th, 13th, and 18th Legion don't share this view.
'Hopefully the rest of the Legions will change their view on mortals,' Metatron mused in quiet hope. 'Soon they will come to see the beauty in humanity like I and the rest of the Chaplains have.'
Metatron couldn't help but reflect on the moment his worldview was shattered and reformed during his training under the Emperor's watchful eye. When he was first selected for personal training from the Emperor to become part of this new specialist group called Chaplains, he felt joy like no other at this immense honor. However, that joy quickly turned to dread when he was subjected to the ritual.
Never in all his life, since the day he underwent the surgery to become a space marine, did he ever feel so insignificant like the mortals around him. Within the confines of his own mind, he resisted and fought against an entity called a chaos daemon through sheer will alone. This daemon constantly whispered secrets in his ear to make him falter, while simultaneously bombarding him with inexplicable illusions.
"Your Emperor will one day become a corpse on his throne… Your Primarch will betray the Emperor and shatter the Imperium. You will fall like every other human before us… Unless you accept my deal and join us, together we can prevent the fall of the Imperium, the betrayal of your Primarch, and the death of your Emperor. Take my hand Metatron, become the Savior you are meant to be…"
This fight continued for what felt like an eternity. Just as Metatron felt he was about to lose, he decided to stake it all. In the name of the Emperor, he would drive this daemon from his mind or self-destruct trying. As he began to make his final move, a presence akin to a sun appeared, its light burning away the filth of the daemon and granting him the strength to move once more.
To his astonishment, he was able to harness a part of the light emanating from that sun. In the next moment, Metatron awoke—not trapped in his mind with a chaos daemon, but in the presence of the Emperor, He Who Comes With The Dawn. The Emperor informed him that the power Metatron wielded was faith, pure faith made manifest due to the Indomitable Human Spirit present in every human, including mortals.
Metatron recalled the final words spoken by the Emperor to him and the others, "Remember that when you draw upon this power, do so not in my name but in humanity's name."
Those words resonated deeply within every Chaplain and Librarian, though they found them difficult to follow. After all the secrets they have witnessed and the scale of the enemies they must face. And above all else, glimpsing what the Emperor has sacrificed and will continue to sacrifice for humanity.
All of them were left with a burning thought left deep in their minds, 'How can we possibly only use this power and declare that everything we do is for humanity? Without you, the Emperor, our Guiding Sun, there is no humanity.'
Metatron continued thinking back to that time during his training and doubts he harbored.
But then, without even looking, he sensed the Emperor's arrival, feeling a presence materialize atop the balcony that overlooked the entrance of the Sanctum Imperialis. Metatron's breath hitched as he looked up at the Emperor, who was surveying everyone present in silence.
A few moments later, the Emperor began to speak and oddly, everyone could hear him, no matter how far away they were or through the holograms they were watching him from.
"A long time ago during the second millennium… Humanity worked tirelessly to achieve a shared goal amongst all on Terra. To send a man to space, to see what else this galaxy had to offer. Through blood, sweat and tears… In 1969, mankind had finally sent someone to space, to walk on Luna and witness Terra from another perspective.
It was in that moment of achievement, that a few years later, in a book there was a line that resonated with all of humanity.
That line was, "And so... we inherit the stars. Let us go out, then, and claim our inheritance."
And from that line, humanity was enlightened about the truth of its existence, the reason why they were born. It then became a belief that led to humanity becoming a civilization that spanned across the galaxy.
That belief, that truth that was shared, was that…
We were born to inherit the stars…"
The Emperor paused and let silence take hold, from the corner of Metatron's vision he could see the awe in everyone's at learning of this bit of history.
But, what truly left them in greater awe, was the fact that the Emperor was speaking as if he was there. This left a burning question of, 'How can someone live for that long? Is he truly a God?' in all mortals present. Meanwhile the Space Marines' respect and loyalties to the Emperor increased even further.
In the next moment, the Emperor raised his right hand, an hologram-like image began to appear and then it grew in size taking up the entirety of the sky. Upon closer inspection, people began to realize it appeared to be a star chart. Then, the Emperor spoke again.
"When humanity achieved its goal of claiming its inheritance, it grew complacent and handed over many duties to AI. This led to many generations of humanity becoming overreliant on AI, which later proved fatal.
It was also during that time they made countless peace treaties with many xenos races. Humanity had chosen to remain peaceful with other races and not claim absolute dominion over the galaxy like certain past xenos.
Over time, AI slowly grew tired of working under humanity and many xenos wanted to see our downfall. Soon, under the influence of our Archenemy, humanity's ability to communicate with each other was destroyed. AI was corrupted and rebelled against humanity, becoming the Abominable Intelligence we know today. Our xenos allies took advantage of humanity's plight and offered no help. Only malice, taking over our planets and enslaving every human on it.
That is the truth of the Age of Strife, the Old Night, the fall of humanity that left our once great civilization, which spanned the galaxy, into fractured pieces, isolated from each other, utterly helpless to change a thing. We fell as a species and were nearly extinguished."
The hologram in the sky showed how humanity fell into ruin and became isolated. Everyone could see icons representing planets of humanity dimming out, due to being erased or taken over by xenos. People cried at this sight, who wouldn't, after learning and seeing such a real reenactment of the fall of your very species.
The hologram in the sky then zoomed in on multiple planets, showing how each one was facing its own troubles. One depicted humanity desperately fighting against large green xenos, another showed humans being used as slaves, there was even one that had humans skinned alive, hanging in what seemed like a kitchen, as if they were livestock. The scenes made many of the mortals present want to hurl, but a strange power stopped them and reaffirmed them.
However, in the minds of the mortals of higher ranks and the Space Marines. The line "Our Archenemy" caused them to freeze and speculate endlessly on who or what was being referred to.
As for Metatron, he was shocked and mused anxiously, 'Is he really going to tell all of them about their existence??! What about all the warnings he had given us and the dangers he had shown?!'
Metatron turned his head to peer at his fellow High Chaplains and the Chief Librarians of the other legions. Even through their helmets, he could tell they shared the same shock. With no other choice, Metatron turned his head back to look up at the Emperor, waiting for his next words.
The hologram, which had been shifting between different planets, finally returned to showing a full star chart. This time, Terra was clearly highlighted in gold, and the Emperor continued.
"Our once glorious species was left broken and eternally scarred by the events of the Age of Strife. For thousands of years, humanity only knew despair and death, unable to decide their own fates, always at the mercy of others. But no longer will that continue, humanity's fate will once again be in our hands…
The legions, the Astartes, the vanguard of our sacred mission of reclamation… Humanity will look up to you all as their guardians with brave souls that know no fear. When you descend upon the lost worlds of humanity, our oppressed kin will see hope made manifest! For you all have arrived to purge their oppressors and set them free, welcoming them into the fold of the Imperium.
The Imperial Army, the brave men and women who fight with no transhuman strengths. You fight with a blade, bolter, and with a burning will. A will that all of humanity carries, a will made from our tenacity, grit, and spite at those that wish to keep us down. Through all of you, everyone will see the true beauty of humanity, its refusal to fall and its vibrancy, its drive to live on.
Administrators… Your tireless work of keeping the Imperium moving will never go to waste. Know that what you do, will save countless lives and your work will never go unappreciated.
Rogue traders… Your ventures into the unknown to secure new routes and relics for the Imperium will forever be greatly appreciated. Know that every risk you take has great meaning towards the future of humanity.
Remembrancers… Bear witness to this history in the making! Your words, your chronicles will carry the history of the Imperium, which will aid the Imperium in the future. History must be preserved as there is always something to learn from it. If history is never recorded or ignored, tragedies of the past will repeat themselves.
Citizens of the Imperium… Your support is very much needed. Every hand helps in this galaxy spanning endeavor to reunite humanity and eliminate our enemies. Every citizen can contribute by simply performing their jobs, there is no unimportant job. The Imperium is a machine that requires every cog to serve its purpose.
Our enemies are watching, believing we are nothing, just ashes of a forgotten species. They will learn that their beliefs are wrong. They will face the consequences of their actions, their betrayal, and their crimes against humanity.
To everyone, I ask this of you… Embrace your humanity, the emotions you carry deep down inside and let it set your hearts ablaze and firm your will. For we will once again take to the stars to reclaim our inheritance. We will reunite our lost kin into our fold under one banner, the Imperium of Man. We will do more than just return to our past glory, we will surpass it. That is what we must do, what we will do in the name of the Imperium! For Humanity!"
Following the speech, Metatron, with something far more than just respect for the Emperor, screamed out with everyone else present in one resounding cry.
"For the Imperium!"
"For Humanity!"
-To Be Continued...
(A/N: If you believe I made any mistakes with the lore about the Dark Angels/1st Legion in this chapter lmk. Finding info about the Legions at the start/before the Great Crusade was truly a pain.
Also I put in my 2 weeks notice for one of my jobs, so hopefully that clears up my schedule so I can at least get out 2 chapters a week.)