Chapter 122 - Chapter 122

---3rd Person POV, A Week Later---

Returning to Terra, having received a vision from his father, Lion El'Jonson looked upon the once shining example of humanity's achievement with disgust and disdain. Ten thousand years ago, the city was full of life and hope for a bright future, but what lay before him now was anything but that. Thousands lay dead and dying before him from starvation; not a drop of clean water could be found anywhere, and the people were barely clinging onto the promise the Emperor of Mankind made humanity back then. Trembling with rage, Lion could not fathom how the nobility could fail to live up to the Emperor's carefully laid plan.

'All of those brave soldiers that died during the Horus Heresy… Sanguinius' death… All their noble sacrifices have been tainted by the corruption and greed of the nobility.', the Lion thought, recalling the scenes from back then vividly, 'How dare those fat pigs say this was the future that the Emperor saw for humanity! They have used his name to force humanity to accept their shameless actions, but no more. We will paint these walls red with their foul blood and do right by our people before it is too late."

More than ready to start executing corrupt government officials and nobles, the Lion began calmly walking toward the Golden Palace while his anger boiled beneath the surface. Glaring at every fat pig he came across, all of them fled from him as if they knew what would happen if they uttered a word to him. As he drew near the palace's gate, Lion slowed his pace as he came across a group of Sisters and Tech-Priests arguing with the gatekeepers. Demanding to be let inside, as they had a very important meeting with Roboute, the gatekeepers had none of it and told them to wait outside.

"Lord Guilliman is in a very important meeting with several high-ranking members of the military and nobility. I highly doubt all of you are meant to be at that meeting.", the gatekeeper scoffed.

"I have the proper documents right here!", Ionica spat, showing him her papers.

"You are not on the list today; someone must have filed your paperwork improperly.", the other gatekeeper shrugged. "Best we can do is send a messenger to confirm, but it will have to wait until after the meeting is over."

Gritting her teeth in anger, Ionica could see straight through their bullshit. These gatekeepers had been paid off by the nobles to keep them out of the meeting. Opening her mouth to berate them further, Lion stepped in for her and demanded answers from them.

"Let them pass.", Lion ordered, walking up to the gatekeepers and guards, "Or would you tell me that my word is no good here?"

"Lord El'Jonson!!", they gasped, stumbling over themselves to get out of his way, "By your orders, sir. All of you may enter!"

Entering the palace behind him, Ionica and her subordinates glared at the men with annoyance and anger. The Abbess of the Adepta Sororitas was in attendance for this meeting, and their tardy appearance would surely upset her greatly. Having just regained their honor by aiding the capture of a Blackstone Fortress, they were none too happy that all their efforts might have been ruined by these fools.

"Thank you, Primarch El'Jonson.", Ionica said as they approached the meeting room.

"Think nothing of it; those idiots were clearly delaying your appearance before my brother. I will deal with this matter personally when we get inside.", Lion assured her. "My father told me about your deeds within the seventh Blackstone Fortress. If we are to rebuild the Imperium properly, we need hard-working, loyal people like you in our ranks."

Startled to hear that the Emperor of Mankind spoke to the Primarch about them, Ionica and her subordinates were overcome with happiness and joy. Hiding their unbridled excitement behind cold expressions, they planned on celebrating this momentous occasion later this evening.

"Primarch El'Jonson, is that you!?", two Ultramarines said, snapping to attention. "Lord Guilliman is currently in a meeting; shall we inform him of your arrival?"

"No, I will do it myself. When the cockroaches come skittering out, make sure they are escorted from the palace immediately.", Lion ordered.

"Of course, my Lord.", they acknowledged, requesting backup to expedite the process.

Nearly ripping the doors off their hinges as he threw the doors open, the Primarch calmly walked into the room to see who was present. Glaring at every noble and officer present, most managed to meet his gaze while a few turned away in fear and shame. Marching over to them, Lion seized them by the neck and proceeded to throw them out of the room. Screaming and shouting for him to stop, their pleas fell on deaf ears as they flew across the room.

"All of you cowards are not fit to grace these hallowed halls. Leave the palace immediately, or I will send you back home in boxes.", Lion growled as he cracked his knuckles.

Bolting for the palace entrance, a few Ultramarines escorted them out without uttering a word. Taking a seat beside Guilliman, he let out a frustrated sigh as he continued to glare at everyone else.

"Explain to me why Terra is in such a sorry state. It looks even worse than after the Siege of Terra.", Lion asked.

"There is no excuse to be made; the blame falls on the shoulders of our predecessors and us.", Abbess Morvenn Vahl answered, knowing that no answer would soothe his rage.

Looking around the table, those present nodded their heads in agreement, which surprised Lion. He had expected them to make many excuses about the state of Terra and the Imperium at large, but they accepted responsibility without hesitation. Glancing over at his brother, Guilliman nodded his head in confirmation.

"Apart from the pests you ran off, everyone at this table has been vetted thoroughly by me. They are all working to fix millennia of poor leadership and decision-making, but as with all things, it will take time before we see any meaningful changes.", Guilliman assured him, noticing the group that followed him in, "Ah, there you all are. Our meeting started nearly twenty minutes ago. Where have you been?"

"You can thank the gatekeepers and guards for that. They were being held up at the gate.", Lion answered.

Letting out an exacerbated sigh, Guilliman and a few other nobles knew the opposition were the ones that caused the problem. Bowing their heads to all those present, Abbess Vahl inquired why they did not just push past them and enter the palace.

"You have the proper paperwork for being here; anyone with a brain would have let you pass without issue.", Vahl stated.

"Forgive me, Lady Vahl, if we were anywhere else, I would have done so without hesitation. As this is the Golden Palace, I felt it inappropriate to start a conflict on these hallowed grounds.", Ionica said.

"I understand; next time people prevent you from attending meetings you are summoned to, do not hesitate to reeducate them. When we schedule these meetings, we are taking time out of our normal duties to be here.", Vahl reminded her.

"By your command, Lady Vahl.", Ionica acknowledged, saluting the Abbess.

"Now that you are here, let us hear your report on the expedition to the seventh Blackstone Fortress.", one of the nobles requested.

Nodding her head, Ionica set a small spherical object that Victor gave down in the center of the room and pressed the red button on the backside. Slowly rising into the air, the device began projecting footage and pictures from their expedition. Requesting that those present wait until the end to ask questions, Mane and Ionica began sharing everything that had occurred during the expedition.

---Forty Minutes Later---

Once they were done speaking, Ionica produced the corpses of the slain Chaos Marines and one of the destroyed Fenrir from the storage device Victor gifted to each of the Sisters. Startled by their sudden appearance, the group was equally interested in the mech and the storage devices. Before anyone could begin asking questions, though, Guilliman ordered his men outside to shut the door once again. Waiting until the door was sealed, he looked at his brother with a complicated expression.

"Did my eyes deceive me, or was that the Eleventh Legion's emblem emblazoned upon that armor?", Guilliman asked, referring to the mutated Space Marine at the end of their report.

"That was his emblem, no doubt about it.", Lion agreed, with a pained expression. "We already had enough to deal with as it stood; now we have a fifth faction within the Warp to contend with."

"Just so I understand things correctly, Primarch Stark says these new daemons are freely able to come and go from the Materium?", Kleopatra Arx inquired.

"According to Lord Stark, they are inherently different from all the forces of Chaos we have fought thus far. They possess advanced technology from a higher plane of existence, torture their captives to make more demons, wield powers similar to psykers, and yes, they can freely come and go at will.", Ionica confirmed, "On top of this, they are able to imbue raw Void Energy into their troops to further strengthen them."

"For reference, the mutated marine was on par with mid-ranked Greater Daemon.", Mane chimed in.

Fully aware that the Imperium had limited resources to deal with Greater Daemons, those present were uncertain what to do about this situation. As they were about to start throwing out plans, Guilliman's communicator began to ring. Noticing that it was a call from Dorn, he answered it and projected his brother's image so everyone could see him.

"Guilliman, our nephew appears to have gone a bit overboard for our return to…", Dorn began to say, before catching sight of Lion, "Holy Terra, is that our brother Lion?! Why does he look so old?"

"Fuck off; some of us did not have the luxury of being placed in stasis all these years.", Lion chuckled, happy to see his brother again. "Now what were you saying about the boy?"

"I think it will be easier to show you… Give me a moment; I am still learning to use this communicator thing.", Dorn mumbled.

A few moments later, the image of a rebuilt Imperator Somnium appeared before them, causing the room to fall quiet. Recognizing the vessel from ancient records, many officials dropped to their knees in reverence while others began to weep over its glorious visage. Forgetting all about the current dilemmas that faced the Imperium, they were all brought back to a better time in Imperial history.

"Just as the Imperium of Man will be rebuilt, so will the Imperator Somnium.", Victor remarked, flying over to Dorn. "I felt the people of the Imperium needed something tangible to rally behind during these dark times, and what better than the vessel that brought the nation back together during its darkest days? When they see this ship, they will know that the Emperor of Mankind has not forgotten them, nor has he given up on his promise to their ancestors."

"Well said, boy!", the Lion proclaimed, slamming his fist on the table. "Our people are in desperate need of hope, and that is exactly what our father's vessel brings us."

"Captain-General Trajann Valoris, please look after her until the Emperor of Mankind is able to take charge of her once again.", Victor requested, "She is outfitted with the latest technology you will find anywhere in this region of space and will be sorely needed during the military campaign ahead of us. Thanks to the technology in the fortress, I am certain now that we can close the Great Rift and begin lifting some of the burden off the Emperor's shoulders. Once I have a chance to study one of the pylons, we can begin preparing to rejoin the two halves of the Imperium."

Hearing the absolute confidence in his tone, those present felt they had a clear path before them once again. Giving them one last gift, Victor teleported a data cube over to Roboute. Picking it up with a confused look, he inquired what this was.

"Not only did I rebuild the Emperor of Mankind's flagship, but I also made designs for all the Titans you have lost schematics for over the years. Using that data, the Adeptus Mechanicus should be able to begin producing new units and replacement parts again.", Victor told him.

"TITANS!?", Oud Oudia Raskian spoke in an electronic voice.

"You have the plans to begin making them once again; I expect to see parts rolling off the production line within a month's time. Until your organization can meet demands, my production worlds will produce parts to get as many Titans back online as possible.", Victor informed him, "If you have anything to say on the matter, blame your predecessors for losing the plans in the first place. Their incompetence has led to the rapid decline in the Imperium's arsenal, and under my watch, it will not fall any lower. The Emperor and the citizens of the Imperium deserve better than the crap you have been giving them since his internment on the Golden Throne. Strive to do better, or I will replace you with someone more competent for the job."

Agreeing with Victor's words, Guilliman gave the order to begin production of the Titans once again. Handing the cube over to Raskian's caretakers, they swore to ensure it was sent to Mars immediately. Shivering with excitement, Mane and his subordinates looked forward to improving further upon the Titan's designs.

"The ship will be ready in a week's time; we will see all of you then.", Victor promised.

"Understood, thank you again for your help, Victor.", Guilliman said as Dorn ended the call.

Meeting the Primarch Aremus' heir, those present felt confident now that the Imperium would weather the coming storm. Feeling a sense of renewed vigor that came with Dorn and Stark's arrival, they eagerly began planning out how to best prepare to rejoin the two halves of their nation.