The Longest Journey The return journey of the two legions is an epic tale of great deeds and terrible tragedy for both. There are many tales of valorous deeds and devastating battles with great implications for the both legions in the future. At times both fleets diverged from each other, but continued their arduous journey as they had planned. Travel through the warp is perilous at best, even with the Astronomicon shining as a beacon from terra. Time flows differently in the warp travelers may spend months to years in real-time while traveling what appeared to be only hours within the warp. Jonson and Russ had conferred prior to their return journey and extensive plans had been made for relatively short warp jumps to maintain accuracy as well as contingencies if the fleets were separated. Everywhere they made landfall, rumours and signs of a galaxy in flames were evident. A million worlds swayed to the warmaster and fought under his banner. Russ intervened in Tallarn to relieve the factory world of Roxburg, where his single-handed destruction of a warlord titan went in to the legends of the Spacewolves. Jonson fretted that every battle they intervened in, delayed them further. Russ countered that their need to refuel and restock their fleets meant that the time spent was indeed essential, and the relief of important loyalist strong holds were a strategic necessity. Both knew that the other was right yet the tension remained. Their thoughts were with their father and their worst fears were being realised as they raced closer to Segmentum Solar. Their next rendezvous was Kalidus, an imperial staging planet with a massive orbital fortress that acted as both a defense station and a re-supply dock. As the combined fleet tore out of the warp near the planet of Kalidus, their scout ships reported a massive bombardment of the planet being undertaken by the space fortress. A small escape pod drifting in open space was retrieved by the captain of the leading scout ship, and the single occupant, a man called Tarus brought before the Primarchs. Tarus related his experience aboard the space-fortress, where he worked as a weapons maintenance officer. The entire crew of the fortress had apparently been possessed by daemons and he was the only survivor of those who had ejected in escape pods during the take over. The daemon-possessed crew was now slowly destroying the planet of Kalidus, city by city, by orbital bombardment. The planet was an important one with massive factories and armamentorium, which were important for re-supplying imperial fleets. The loss of such a focal logistics base would be catastrophic for imperial control of the sector and segmentum. Though the impact was not lost on Jonson he wanted to make haste towards terra. Russ on the other wanted to destroy the fortress and relieve the populace of Kalidus. His honour as a Spacewolf demanded action. Both primarchs again found themselves at odds. The stress of their responsibilities and the tension of prolonged travel in the warp was telling on them. Suddenly both brothers were on their feet and exchanging blows. This time both were ready, and faced each other with their combat knives. The onlooking angels and wolves could not intervene. Russ slashed across Jonson's cheek and return had his arm ripped by the lions knife. The combat continued for just under an hour, when the suddenly both primarchs stood still, staring unbelievingly in to each others faces. A veil had lifted from their minds and looking around they saw chaplain Uzziel of the Dark Angels standing over what was previously a man called Tarus. The smoking plasma pistol in his hands was proof of the demise of the escapee, who turned out to be a mind-warping daemon. The chaplain had observed the Tarus' reaction to the primarchs' fight and had surmised correctly that chaos was at work. Both primarchs agreed that to leave such a dangerously powerful entity aboard the space-fortress was not acceptable. Rapidly a combined force of Spacewolves and Dark Angels assaulted the space fortress. In the airless corridors of the massive structure spacemarine fought gibbering daemons. Primarchs fought greater daemons. Inch by bloody inch they smashed their way in to the reactor core, with Jonson personally placing the melta charges before the assault teams departed. The massive mushroom that followed signified the banishment of the daemons back to the warp and relief for the embattled citizens of Kalidus. Near the world of Lemora the loyalist fleet was assaulted by a mighty armada of corsair, pirates who were making the most of the confusion caused by the civil war. Jonson's astute conduct of the battle virtually annihilated the corsair fleet and captured their leader, "Ghoran the Navigator". Jonson spared his life and made him swear fealty to the emperor, after which Ghorana and the surviving corsairs accompanied the loyalist fleet. "Seeing Crystal" The combined fleet made planet fall at the Shield worlds as their last major refueling stop. As they approached the Shield worlds they once again realized that the imperial governor was no longer in power. Tyrant Mashashi pronounced an ultimatum to the primarchs. As a sorcerer of the dark powers he had foreseen the arrival of the loyalist fleet and had prepared to meet them with the intention of denying them the supplies needed for their onward journey to terra. The galaxy wide conspiracy of the dark powers was becoming more evident by the day. Horus was on his way to terra and the loyalist fleets had to be delayed at all costs. Mashashi had reckoned without the tactical genius of Jonson and the unbridled fury of Russ. A single thunderhawk gunship loaded with plasma warheads penetrated the defence grids as the fleet began bombarding defence laser sites. The thunderhawk gunship penetrated the air defences at ultra low level and successfully deployed the entire payload on to the reactors supplying the massive defense shields. As the gargantuan mushroom explosion consumed the generators and the brave pilot of the gunship, a massive strike force of Deathwing terminators teleported directly to the only spaceport on the mainland. The timing was so accurate the spaceport was within loyalist hands in a matter of minutes. Within the hour drop ships were deploying spacewolves in large numbers. The entire pacification of the Shield World took no longer than a few hours. The tyran Mashashi lay gurgling in his command center, his windpipe destroyed by Russ' claws. As the tyrants cursed life passed away his "Seeing Crystal" began to glow. Curiously both primarchs looked in to it and saw their worst fears. They saw their brother Horus swaying others with his oratory to fight against their father. They saw the terrible virus bombing of Istvaan IV. They saw with tears in their eyes the fall of the Salamanders, the destruction of the Ravenguard and the demise of the Iron hands as they were caught in Horus' trap. Russ trembled with rage at the treachery perpetrated by the four accompanying legion. They saw honourable Guilliman decoyed to the eastern fringes. They saw Horus embark his armada for the invasion of Terra. Then they saw the fallen emperor and the crystal dimmed and darkened. Russ was beside himself with anger. Jonson questioned the validity of such a blasphemed object. However they could not ignore what they had seen, in the light of their current experiences. Ghoran the Navigator, who was accompanying them, described the powers of the "Seeing crystal". For decades he had sought it as it was said to possess unique powers that allowed rapid travel in the warp. He offered to use himself as a vassal to utilize the crystal which may well allow them to reach terra faster than by any other means. They convened the greatest of the legions' librarians and after deep discussion decided to travel on to terra. They would attempt the longest uninterrupted warp jump in the history of mankind, using the "Seeing Crystal" to predict their way. Without another word both primarchs assembled their legions and grimly set upon the epic voyage, praying to their father, that they arrive on terra in time. The voyage was one that could not be described in detail, for the events would drive most men in to insanity. Assaulted by daemons in the warp, thrown off course by the tides of the immaterium, the combined fleet took a battering. The psychic shields that protect each ship by keeping them invisible to the warp entities were constantly attacked by all manner of warp creatures. Whirlpools of warp tides, psychic assaults directed at the navigators and complete disintegration of physical barriers caused constant casualties. Men driven mad had to be killed to maintain order. It is said that only the indomitable will of both primarchs kept the fleet on course. |
CHAPTER IV BROTHERHOOD BETRAYED Chronicled By ( Shadow Guard ) |
APOCRYPHA CALIBAN |
This entire section is one attempt to describe the long history of the Dark Angels in a linear form. Every known piece of history and event based on GW publications has been written in my own words and linked together in a reasonably plausible manner by additional fiction. This is in no way the official GW version nor is it in anyway an attempt to infringe on their IP. There are many versions of imperial history buried within the sands of time and this is but just one of them. Read on if you dare! |
