-Charon - The young bloods
"Affirmative." Charon, said raising his shotgun further up he took aim loading in buck shot rounds and aimed to send any ants flying if they got close to his brothers, Fire once sent ant skidding as they continued to try to swarm, another pump and a round chamber, Charon Grimaced. Alright Alexander show me it like this. Charon thought as he lower his shotgun and raised his arm letting the energy in him flow outwards and into the earth, he then took one hand off his shot gun and began to raise it for a moment trying to raise the earth as he put his palm out, then as he did curling his fingers except for his pointer and pinky finger then raised it up causing the earth to raise in spike slightly sending several ants back and up into the air. putting his hand back on his shot gun he began once more firing into the hordes of ants. That should help to a degree. Charon thought.

The last few years and months have been a blur and oddly stiff compared to there time on the fang a time that Charon felt odd, from the paranoia to the odd sense of familiarity, to the stinking smell of that damned artifact that they were suppose to recover, and the feeling of comradely that was built from surviving and relying on each other was oddly positive for the young scout among the storm of horrors that he would have to face alone, the voices, the whispers and the things that scratched at the edge of his mind.





- Maximillian
Maximilian went silent as there threats came into view he gritted his teeth a bit when he heard of Guilliman being slain, by Fulgrim, They owed him and his cousins ones for the new chance at life, and the armor and equipment as loyal Astarte. As Maximilian heard his orders he nodded, Before looking over to chief librarian and hearing his concerns. "We will make the traitors pay for for Guilliman, We will make em as we were any of the legions that lost fathers and come at em as mad as there sons, Though we wont let it get to our heads." Herchel said looking to Diokeletius.

"These bugs sound like quite a problem if they into infestation size, Gotta ask, but how fast do these bugs breed and come out of the warp?, and how long do you estimate before it become out of hand?" Maximillian asked looking to him wondering how difficult it would be for a problem to handle, if they needed to bring out the gas and star ship weapons to help stop a infestation before it gets out of hand

Call an Exterminator​

"The rate at which Enchirids breed is still something of a mystery to us, however rough estimates put the xenos presence on Cera somewhere between the upper hundred thousands and the lower millions. Travel time, well that would vary, contact and conflicts, ones actually recorded, are few and far between. As we have seen here their ability to tear their way out of the Warp and spill out onto vulnerable planets can make them an overwhelming foe." Alexander's eyes widen briefly at the mention of using their cache of virus bombs. "As a last resort, I doubt I need to lecture anyone here on the care we must take with world killers."

Kremnar allowed his mouth to twist itself into a smile at the news, even if his helm and hood covered his face.

Guilliman was no less a usurper than Horus, and a much more cunning one at that. With a penstroke, he broke the legions, those that spearheaded his father's Great Crusade, into thousands of fragments. Brothers that would die for one another suddenly became cousins, and how long before cousins became strangers, and strangers became enemies? Justice was a curious and satisfying mistress, though Kremnar wanted to shake his head at Fulgrim's triumph; Guilliman couldn't even get killing that piece of filth right before he went down.

Still, this meant that the Imperium had a noticeable lack of leaders. Kremnar had hoped that if, and truly when, Guilliman falls from power El'Jonson would step up as the head of the Imperium and lead them forward. Yet the primarch had mysteriously stepped away from the public's view after the Heresy, and the First had been close to hostile to anyone trying to inquire about his status. Thus any hopes of that had been dashed. News of other primarchs disappearing or falling had not bode well either. Regardless, the 2nd Company of the Dawnbringers had a job to do.

Having appeared first on the transmitter, Kremnar ignored all the serfs around the projection. Those brothers that gave him a nod, such as Akar and Marcus would receive a small one back. Oherwise, he seemed more like a transparent statue at the meeting as the council debated options and such. The more keen-eyed occupants of the room might notice a slight change to his usual: the power scythe attached to his back had its blade extended, and while nothing dripped off of it, it did glisten slightly.

What the projector didn't capture was the corpse-filled room in which the Second Company Captain stood. Bodies, or pieces of bodies, along with armor and weapon scattered around Kremnar as he stood there attending the council. Though seemingly alone, he had no less than three members of the company with him, all out of sight, not just from the projector, but from anyone that might walk in as well. The former meeting room had been converted by a traitorous Son of Horus after he escaped with a sizable amount of battle brothers from the traitor legions and auxillary from the purge immediately after the Battle of Terra.

Kremnar had caught wind of such a warlord deciding to settle in this insignificant world, and, never one to leave an enemy alive, diverted their original course to Zeussar. Their original target had been a mining world under attack from xenos. After slaying their targets, the Second Company Captain wished to perfect their fledgling fighting doctrine. This had been the third diversion from their course, after receiving news of oppressed Imperials nearby. Each engagement led to more surprise attacks upon the enemies in question, fewer casualties, and more methodical executions.

Such scenes of wanton destruction of the betrayers had spread across the galaxy during the Great Scouring, but Kremnar had never heard of another chapter, outside of perhaps the Raven Guards, able to annihilate an entrenched enemy without having a single aimed shot fired at them. They had systematically isolated sections of this particular traitor's fortifications and struck with overwhelming force in each one. Patrols got wiped out without a single scream, killboxs turned into tombs as shadows swept into their interiors, sacrificial chambers got covered in a bit more gore, but from their builder's blood, rather than their victims.

The fear the stretched across the traitorous band's faces increased with each victory, and soon fingers and weapons began to point at each other. Two of the warlord's lieutenants turned upon one another, and as they fell upon one another, Kremnar had positioned his own astartes within striking distance. He had rose himself behind the throne itself, his robed figure, along with his power scythe extended, drew upon the ancient hatred and fear of death, and one of the traitors had spotted him as they gazed upon death incarnated when they had expected to address their leader.

The silent signal came, heads fell off shoulders, skulls exploded from a single, precise shot, knives drove into necks. In an instant, the last of the enemies bled out on the ground. As quickly as they struck, nearly all of the Iron Reapers returned to the shadows, leaving Kremnar to attend the meeting today as a lone servitor came into the room and alerted him of the time of the council summons before setting up the projector in the room. Thus, the Second's commander watched from the grusome scene even as the loyal mortal forces closed with their position, cleaning and cleansing the traitor's taint as they retake their world.

"Let Guilliman's sons deal with avenging their father; Emperor knows he has no lack of these... chapters. We end this Enchirids problem before it spreads. Let the hammer fall upon them now, and the scythe to take the head off of the xenos. If the Ultramarines have a problem with us killing the enemies of man, they can come to Zeussar and complain themselves." In truth, Kremnar cared about the actual deployment as much as Akar, but the council required all members to vote and voice their opinion, so he kept it short. Once he had his orders, he would go back to overseeing their departure from the world, and see if any other enemies of man wished to appear on this scenic trip home.

"We will not ignore the call to aid in our brethren's desire for justice, and insult our covered heritage." The sudden, booming voice of Theodosius said to the room itself, the helm doing little then stare downwards at his companions. "Whether we like it or not, we have decided to hide behind the gene-heritage of the Ultramarines; this means we must be as they are. A simpler solution would be to ask for aid from our other allies such as the Imperial Guard and Navy, to help us in this sector, with one full company set to aid them; were our true kin to remain loyal, would we not scream to have our entire chapter go as one in an attempt to avenge our Father?"

"It has been many years of us turning this into a defense that our lineage can find acceptable; even I have been focusing my efforts to remembering old ways of siege defense. I do not wish for us to find ourselves losing this home. However, I do not wish that we appear distant and gain the ire of our brethren; for all many of them know, we truly are Ultramarines. What would it be to them, to see that one did not wish to bother offering much more than a token force?"

"One company - perhaps with some of us members, if we so wish, remaining to aid; I know I will not - with the Guard, our home defenses, and the possibility of aid from our other allies. I see no reason we would lose this home that we have built, moreso if we are to continue our attempts at fortifying this. Even one squadron may turn the tide of battle, surely a full company shall do the job for this."

"Do remember our own fight against Daemons; the Emperor's Children have them plenty, and their Primarch himself is one such beast. Do not be so arrogant as to think that merely one company would make a different against them. Fellow Astartes; every man we can offer against that, would truly help."

"Even if we are to discard this facade, I would suggest sending our aid. Not only is it a show of good will, but a way of finding new allies. How would it be, if we were to come back home not only victorious, but with a brotherhood shared with the White Consuls, or the Inceptors? It is far more likely if we were to show our full force in this, as any brother would, rather than to send merely something that barely acknowledges we even exist, to them."

Strategic Council One: Final Call​

With everyone having voiced their thoughts on the matter there was little left to do save come to a decision. One by one the votes cast and priorities are laid out for all....

Deployment Vote:
Avenging the Avenging Son: The Dawnbringers deploy in pursuit of the traitor Primarch Fulgrim and his debauched sons. At the very least First Company and several supporting companies will deploy. Following combat with the Emperor's Children several units will redirect to Macragge and pay homage to Guilliman. One or two companies will be entrusted with blockading the advance of the Enchirid, or if tenable, annihilating or driving the xenos off. Deploying in support of the Ultramarines will surely be a large boon to inter-chapter relations and perhaps even clear away any suspicions among their adopted cousins.

Enchirid Extermination: The Dawnbringers shall commit the majority of their forces to fighting the nearby Enchirid threat infesting the planet of Cera-8-1. Primary objectives will include infiltration of the planets data vaults to capture or at the very least deny the enemy any sensitive or tainted information and extermination of the Enchirid. First Company and prominent figures of the chapter will ship off for the vengeance crusade against the Emperor's Children. Alexander believes that pursuing this objective may yield critical gains in the Dawnbringers ability to combat daemons and other Warp beasts.

"We do not have time to jostle about our forces in order to create an ad hoc honour company. The 3rd and 4th Company are already far out on their deployments, which is nothing to say of the 2nd, who are always known for their long range objectives. Furthermore, the magnitude of force that we can bring to bear against either threat is going to be perhaps three companies worth of astartes, no matter which choice we make. Less, if we go along with the plan to create an honour company, which will take another hundred of our brothers either way. I see no reason to dawdle in our duty, and waste time moving around our forces when we already have a perfectly good company ready to perform each task.

Send the second in to deal with the Enchirid threat, Kremnar has proven himself more then capable of single handily facing threats with the limited resources he puts on himself. Send the First onwards to face The Emperor's Children, as Kerberos Company has been formed to face foes such as these, and our relations with The Ultramarines and our cousins. When The Torch Bearers and The Half-Steel finish with their current campaigns, of which we are not about to abandon so lightly, their deployment will be determined then, with more relevant information on the situation.

Brothers, you talk as though we have the numbers to sally forth in any great number to either battlefields. We do not, as a third of our total forces could be counted among The First and The Command you wish to send. Another third is made up of The Third and Fourth, already on their own, far enough away that their aid will not come for some time, and the final of Second and the scouts we train here on Zeussar itself. Alexander, you talk as though we must pour all of our efforts into this xenos threat, but at the end of the day, we do not have the numbers or the time to make a notable contribution on either front. The present is here, and with it we must make a choice, and to heavily support either would be folly.

Send the First after Fulgrim, Send the Second against The Alien.

Both battlegrounds will be hard fought, both task monumental, but we will endure, we we preserve, and we shall face the hardship despite it all."


​

OOC: Avenge The Avenging Son, if only because it is the simplest option, and the most balanced.

Kremnar appreciated the direct answer from their Iron Master. As the Second needed to depart from the world soon, he spoke up to officially cast his vote. "I maintain my stance: Let the Sons of Guilliman avenge their father; we shall see to the threat at our own doorstep with these vile xenos. We have overstayed on this world and I go to oversee the preparation for our departure. I shall await orders onboard The Coming Dawn." With that, Kremnar gave a general nod to those that acknowledged him, and the image of the Second Company's Captain cut off from the Council Chamber. The servitor on the world quickly packed transmitter, even as the massive doors to the throne room opened and a group of Imperial Guardsmen rushed in with their commander, one Commissar-Captain Marrius.

The guardsmen seemed surprised and dazed at the massacre around them, while the member of the newly formed Imperial Commissariat seemed to hold his composure as he saluted the lone hooded marine standing in the room. "Area secured. No surviving elements of the enemy sir!" Kremnar looked down at the smaller figure, and began speaking.

"Burn anything and everything suspected of corruption. Nothing is to be spared, regardless of estimated value. Use adequate protection to covered exposed areas at all times. You have my permission to execute anyone that disobeys that order, especially those caught with contraband." Marrius snapped a quick salute.

"Yes sir!" With a heel spin, the Commissar-Captain cast his gaze upon the wary troops around them. "You heard your orders! Get your hazard gear on! Gather all corpses and burn everything of these traitors. Gear, bodies, the relievers they pissed in. Everything! Now!" With that the mortal troops quickly gathered their gear. Some ran out to pass on the orders and to gather reinforcements to carry on the task in the Throne Room and beyond. As Commissar-Captain Marrius turned back to the astartes, his eyes widen in surprise at the empty space before him. How someone so large and heavily armour can move that quickly and silently he would wonder for the rest of his life.

Overhead, a lone Avenger Cruiser in orbit began its trajectory away from the planet, towards their next warp jump point out system.


OOC: Enchirid Extermination

Thy Hands Shall Be Clad in Vengeance Most Righteous​

"I will have our Astropaths deliver the coordinates for Codicier Omon and his team's monitoring vessel at once Brother-Captain. I trust he will provide sufficient guidance in addressing any difficulties borne from the Immaterium or sorcerous in nature." Alexander manages to squeeze one last comment out to Kremnar before his projector disperses with the Iron Reaper's image. "Hunt well."

"Let the record stand: Diokletious, Epimonos, Menelaus, Maximillian, Elpidius, and Akar have voted in favor of joining our adopted cousins in pursuit of vengeance for Roboute Guilliman. Chapter Master Diokletious, First Captain Maximillian, Soul Smith Epimonos, Chief Librarian Alexander, and Master of the Recruits Akar will deploy immediately to join allied fleets near Thessala. Third and Fourth Captains Menelaus and Gario will join them once current deployment is completed. Second Captain Kremnar shall be entrusted with tasks against the Enchirid threat on Cera-8-1." Master of the House reads off the report, paper still warm having come straight off the printer installed in the abdominal cavity of a Servitor.

"Give me an hour to muster the Scouts and appoint a head to look over the runts in my absence." Akar rises and takes his leave without further debate, out of the room with a swiftness approaching Kremnar's sudden dismissal.

"I must do the same for the Librarius. Once my brothers are in order we shall attempt to establish communications with Ultramar and the vengeance fleet." Alexander strides out next, forming Aquila in salute to the rest of the council before seeing himself off. Epimonos looks about the room before wordlessly making to leave, his work needed no announcement for they all knew well what the Soul Smith and his Temperers would be up to in preparation for combat with a Daemon Primarch.

Back to the Boys​

"Toasty." A flamer toting Scout lights up an Lho-stick with his pilot light. Boot grinds down an ashen ant corpse. "Mighty busy work all this." Proto-Astartes looks over and blows a gust of smoke at Tiro. "Wouldn't you say big guy?" Nearby Kenemon kneels alongside the slumped corpse of a Queen, insect easily the size of a battle tank, if not larger thanks to the grotesque maggot-like egg pouch anchoring it to the wall of its chambers. Antennae are sizzling stumps, mandibles have been blown apart by heavy caliber bolt shells, and one of its eyes blown out by a well placed shot from Arrauth. At once every single Sergeant puts a hand to their ear, micro-beads activated.

Crrrrunch. Charron looks over alongside several others, a Squat in a flak mining helmet uses his bare hands to crack and pry apart the carapace on a dead ant's leg. Exposed meat steams and Squat chuckles to himself, leaning in and taking a raw bite. One of the other squad's Sergeants looks on as if in disbelief, no doubt appalled by the filthy appetite of the abhuman; or is it something else? Kenemon shares a similiar look, brows knit together and mouth open in confusion. Soon it becomes apparent there is another cause for all the shock.

"Squad Kenemon, back to the bikes immediately. We're being deployed, possibly all the way to Ultramar."

"About damn time!" A young man clad in carapace armor, Relcos, exclaims. "The hell took so long?" Sergeant Javeran steps past him, using a solid smack to spin the Scout towards the nearest breach in the hive walls.

"Double time!" Javeran replies while Relcos jogs along, arm grinding against his bruising face. Only when all three squads have mounted up on their bikes and began the long drive back through the Underway are they given any answers.

"Guilliman is dead. We're going to return the favor."

The Adopted and the Disavowed​

Tulian Aquila was many things, First Chapter Master of the Doom Eagles foremost among them. Post battle- post slaughter of Thessala, he is wounded in both body and mind, face pocked with skin raw and pinkish-red from the recent implant of a new cybernetic eye and several grafts. Elsewhere his head and upper body betray signs of chemical burns, exposed head splotchy and pale where skin was eaten away along with whatever hair he may or may not of had. While it was hard to gauge just how fresh these additions were, they'd been around long enough to at least pick up the marine's sunken features and wrinkles. Mouth set in a thin line and eyes caught in a thousand yard stare that seemed to track everything and nothing at once Tulian looked upon Diokletious through one of the Astra Drakon's extended communication screens. From what little the Master of the Dawnbringers had been able to gather, this was entirely normal for the Doom Eagles' leader, and indeed their entire chapter. It did nothing to distract from the fact that the bridge of the Doombearer, Battle Barge of the Ultramarine's successor, looked greyer and more muted of color than a space full of blinking lights and uniformed crew ever ought to. Whether this too was normal, or an aura brought on by the recent tragedy, was the real mystery.

"We are beginning the first attack run on the Virtue of Arrogance now. Is the Astra Drakon still on course for Yuka-Rie?" Yuka-Rie, one of several planets in the systems surrounding Thessala being plundered by Fulgrim's sons. Perhaps this one more fortunate than most for the presence of two loyal chapters out to avenge the fallen Primarch. Greater portion of surviving Ultramarine void craft and their reinforcing cousins had set course for Ultramar, in pursuit of Fulgrim whom in turn pursued both mortally wounded brother and no doubt worse ends. The fragmented left overs thus had to pursue wayward legion forces that had splintered off from patriarch's forces in a desperate lust to raise hell on any worlds in reach. In this case the Dawnbringers comparatively small force paired with the fatalistic and badly mauled Doom Eagles to chase a trio of IIIrd legion cruisers and put an end to whatever terrible ecstasies they pursued.

In response to the Doom Eagle's question a Squat manning a navigator's seat just a few feet below Diokletious and Captain Starbraid's thrones and nodded in the affirmative. Not that it was needed, a complex series of sub-system void charts hovered in the open air to either side of both Squat Captain and Chapter Master. Upon entering the system the two chapters had divided up duties thusly: Both craft would engage the traitor vessels, with the Doom Eagles taking the main responsibility for boarding and crippling the enemy while the Dawnbringers provided long-to-mid-range fire support and closed with Yuka-Rie to deploy the First Company in defense of the planetary capitol, which even now was seeing its first boots on the ground delivered by drop pods and air craft wearing the colors of the IIIrd legion. Time was of the essence if they were to unseat the enemy from their landing zones and disrupt the traitors before they might gather momentum; to address this Akar had already seen that thunderhawks were sailing towards the cities outskirts where squads carrying precious teleporter beacons would be deployed. Their goal, simple in its objective, charged the Dawnbringers' Scouts with deploying the beacons near or in areas of interest and objectives of opportunity so that Captain Maximillian's formidable hand picked task forces of Terminators could teleport into the heart of their foe... whether it would be so simple to execute remained to be seen.

Ten Minutes to Touchdown​

Thunderhawk quakes violently, initial sign of atmospheric entry. Through thick ceramite plated walls the living cargo of Fifth Company can hear the burning roar of the descent. Bodies yet to earn their black carapace jostle about in their assault couches, some clutching on for dear life in what is the first such deployment into an active war zone; the simulators back on Zeussar did not quite catch the feeling gripping many of the Scouts no, functionally identical the practice flights had lacked the mental punch of knowing that they may very well be getting shot at by full fledged Astartes once the ramp dropped. In contrast Akar and his subordinate Sergeants were all handling things swimmingly, conversing and plotting casually despite the turbulent conditions.

That was one aspect the younger Dawnbringers mostly managed to emulate. Aside from a meager handful of seemingly unbound spirits most of the Scouts were similarly grim and even irritated in appearance. Some may think it anxiousness, hopelessness, or impatience; truth of it was that the Master of the Recruits had just been that good at breaking the bulk of them down and then laying the framework for his own sort of miserable stoicism that had characterized many of the Iron Warriors before them.

OOC: Arming Phase:
Each Scout will be equipped with Two Krak and One Frag for grenades. Each Scout has Carapace Armor, a Bolt Pistol, and his Combat Knife by default.
Everyone may pick one of the following weapons for their primary load out: Bolter, Sniper Rifle, Flamer, Heavy Bolter, Missile Launcher, Shotgun, Chainsword/Chainaxe
The following are limited dispatch items: Cameoline Cloaks x2, Melta Bomb x1 (replaces grenades), Prey-Sense Goggles, Det-Charge x1 (Replaces the Kraks), Teleporter Beacon x1

@Vlayden @BruticusTheGoreHound @WanderingJester @Redthirst @Vulpas @RuinaImperii