ASIER TERMINUS
It was a quiet day upon Inwit that found Torian patrolling his fortress and making certain that each and every detail was as it ought to be. He had been in charge for decades at this point and not a single issue had cropped up in that time, but he was resolute in his desire to keep things that way and ensure that anything that might threaten them or their secrecy was dealt with immediately. Others may grow lax with years of inactivity, but he was a security officer of the Imperial Fists and would make certain to uphold the scrutiny and standards Rogal Dorn himself would expect.
A new recruit to the base named Katus was quite enthusiastic about fending off any possible threats, though given his station he mostly was assigned menial tasks that kept him away from the major locations that Torian was primarily observing in his security sweep. While Torian was firm in his desire to be ready for any possible attack and had security protocols in place to react to such an event in a regimented, orderly fashion Katus on the other hand was convinced they
would be attacked and was constantly on-edge about such a possibility. Torian made use of the younger Imperial Fist's concern to have him handle the grunt-work related to maintaining the facility to ensure that any would-be attackers could not force their way in, and fortunately Katus took well to such duties and was grateful to be of use.
Their armory was a primary concern of Torian's since in the event of an attack they would need to access it, and so he made certain it possessed the greatest concentration of forces besides the front gates where they would be fending off any foes. Heavy bolters and such weapons were primarily to be found in these locations as a result, as they were unnecessary and got in the way of other duties that required one's hands to be free. The entire garrison was armed with master-crafted boltguns, and even their mortal servants possessed boltguns and bolt pistols, so they could mow down even Astartes in standard Power Armor if it came to such a situation.
While visiting the armory Torian made certain that Sevald and the others stationed there were vigilant given their important role in the base's protection, and he light-heartedly jested about them not using their assignment there to test out their various weapons against
Tempest's Claw, Sevald's personal chainsword modeled after their Primarch's own. Sevald pridefully noted that he had no such need to test it on other weapons in their armory as he knew it could carve through anything, just as its predecessor had disarmed a Primarch and cleaved through their armor according to the records they kept. Torian nodded in approval and left Sevald to take care of his duties there, knowing that while Sevald desired to be a frontline soldier that he was reliable and would not shirk his duties here.
The base's communications had separate components, with one array being in their command center so that their officers could properly contact others outside of the base as needed, and their primary communication systems in an area opposite the armory that had the strength to reach Imperial Fist forces across the galaxy. If anything were to happen they would warn their kin and seek aid in defeating any foe that threatened the secrets of Rogal Dorn. The lack of usage of this system did not mean it did not function, and regular tests were carried out for it with one such test scheduled to occur in another day's time. For the meantime overlooking it was one of the more menial tasks asked of Katus, and so Torian was content that someone so diligent was ensuring its safety.
When all else was finished Torian returned to their command center, its members all standing as was expected on Inwit for its warriors, and he saluted them all before granting them permission to return to their work. Proper discipline and respect was called for even in a garrison deployment such as this, and his men were some of the finest Imperial Fists that Torian had ever known.
"Welcome back, dear leader. Did you enjoy toying with the newblood's rampant paranoia again?" Adon smirked as he greeted his old friend, the apothecary and second-in-command of the base glad to be joined by Torian once again.
"You must be taking a liking to Katus if your japes now extend to him," Torian rebutted as he took his place and began to overlook the recent seismic activity. There had been some earlier and while it was not out of the ordinary it deserved to be taken seriously, since even if they were not attacked a serious seismic event could damage their structure.
Wanzar chuckled as he joined in on their conversation, pounding one mechanical hand into the other, "The boy needs some experience under his belt or he'll continue leaping at shadows! Who in their right mind would attack Inwit of all worlds, and this base of all those upon it! Why, if they did I'd crack their skulls one after another!"
Out of their primary staff it was only the cool-headed Trius who did not partake in the casual dialogue which ensued, it being a way for the Imperial Fists stationed there indefinitely to unwind and ease off some of the tension they felt day to day wondering if that would be the day someone tried their luck at taking the facility. The few lower ranking members present also stayed quiet out of respect for their commanding officers, not desiring to interrupt them as they spoke.
Their conversation only came to an end when suddenly the entire base shook for a moment, nearly dislodging the Imperial Fists from where they each stood before suddenly quieting down. The lack of chairs meant that whenever something like this happened they had forcibly learned to grab onto something, but sometimes it was so sudden that they could not react in time and fallen Fists would be reprimanded for sitting while on duty.
This was one of the most severe seismic disturbances Torian had experienced in all his time stationed here though and so he took another look at the readings, addressing Trius simultaneously, "Damage report and expected activity for the rest of this week's cycles."
"Seismic activity is within calculated projections. It should pass momentarily," just as Trius said this another tremor shook them all, this one even more violent than the last, "I have observed an increased frequency of disturbances over recent decades and this correlates with the data of Inwit's natural tectonic shifts."
Something in his gut told Torian that this was not natural however, as right after Trius spoke the tremors resumed and grew in size.
"I do not believe this is natural..."
Trius' eyes lit up as his sensors revealed new information, though by the time they could be read it was too late.
"Numerous heat signatures from beneath—"
Before the typically cold and reserved officer could report the full readings something none of the Imperial Fists had experienced cut him off: sudden freefall. Within a moment they felt the surface beneath their fortress crumble and the structure plummeted down as one would expect something so heavy to. The Fists slammed into the ceiling as their base raced to collide down into the depths beneath it, its descent so rapid that even though it fell for what must have been miles it soon slammed into another thick layer of ice.
As it collided down so did the Imperial Fists throughout the base, though the impact damaged the structure enough to knock out their primary power generator which left them without vision as they writhed in pain and attempted to climb back up. Within moments their backup generator brought primary systems back to life, and in doing so revealed to the dazed and injured Torian that some of his brethren had not survived the fall. From what he could see his fellow officers had survived the fall, but half of their support staff had perished and the other half were injured as well.
What in the Emperor's name was that?
Just how many of the nearly one hundred Imperial Fists stationed within the base even survived the sudden collapse? It could not have been natural as they strictly monitored the condition of the ice beneath them and it showed no signs of such a breakage, so what had happened? Trius had mentioned heat, so had someone blasted the ice? The amount of explosives to disrupt that much territory and drop them this distance was nigh inconceivable, so how could anyone have accomplished that without anyone on Inwit noticing? This could not have been sanctioned mining operations gone awry, as they would have been informed of such an activity and been able to quash it...
So much remained unknown, and as Torian struggled to get back up his mind would soon be filled with entirely different thoughts. Within moments of their crash their outer wall burst open, having been softened up during the blackout by a concentration of melta-weaponry that even its reinforced hull could not endure.
Wanzar had been the first to recover thanks to his mechanical augments, and in doing so he was able to climb back up to his feet in time to witness an armored pair of hands tearing through the debris, further breaching the gap opened as if tearing apart soft clay. As the behemoth ripping through the wall drew closer Wanzar's eyes widened in shock, as he knew well from history the armor he was looking at: the Logos.
"Perturabo!?" Wanzar spoke dumbfounded as he finished shaking off the impact he had suffered, though the surprise did not halt him from his duties. Wanzar leapt at the wall's breach as his kin all regained their bearings, knowing that if the Primarch of the Iron Warriors was able to finish breaking through and pave a path for his kin that they would be able to rapidly carve their way through his comrades. So that his kin could know what they were facing he yelled out to them in warning.
"Heretics!"
Unfortunately for him the mighty
Dwrniâ, the fists of this incarnation of the Logos, were more than capable of finishing off the remains of the wall in short order. By the time Wanzar could close half the distance between them 'Perturabo' already stood within the fortress, his soldiers piling in behind him as he rose his arms to aim the
Peleneira wrist cannons he carried at the Imperial Fist charging straight for him.
"Fall, Imperial slaves!"
Had Wanzar been able to strike his foe he could have inflicted severe damage with his enhanced fists, but such an outcome was doomed from the start: a powerful bolt caught Wanzar in the shoulder and upper abdomen with enough force to twist his body back, during which time more of the incoming bullets from the Logos tore into Wanzar's back and ripped what remained of him in half. Wanzar fell to the ground as blood oozed out of his torn body, expiring shortly thereafter with his final thoughts being of how he hoped his action and warning had bought his fellow Fists the time they needed to react.
As Wanzar fell Trius recovered from his own shock, having been able to brace himself better than the others since he was reading the seismic activity at the moment their fortress fell. While somewhat dazed he possessed a resolute will that allowed him to shake it off, his cool and calculating disposition allowing him to draw his plasma gun and aim it immediately as he moved to face the Iron Warriors. From his position he had a clear line of sight to the Iron Warriors filing in behind 'Perturabo', and since he doubted he could scratch the Logos with his gun he decided instead to pin down those entering.
Right behind the believed Primarch of the Iron Warriors was a figure even taller than him, having to lower their head to properly make their way into the breached wall, and since knocking such a foe down would stall further invaders Trius aimed for their head. His shot sailed across the room with surprising accuracy given the shock his body had endured, superheated plasma striking true at the face of the colossal Iron Warrior...only to harmlessly dissipate right before him thanks to a set of shields that could absorb far more damage than what a single plasma shot could accomplish.
In retaliation the Iron Warrior lifted a weapon integrated into his armor's forearm the way Devastator Centurions carried Heavy Bolters and Lascannons, its appearance unfamiliar to Trius but its general design reminiscent of Tau technology. After taking aim for a moment the unknown weapon fired, revealing itself as a railgun via the noise left in its wake being like that of a whip cracking with its projectile breaking the sound barrier. The kinetic force imparted upon its target was such that it tore through Trius' Power Armor without issue and without him being able to react at all to the shot, his upper abdomen reduced to fragments.
Blood spurted from Trius' mouth as his eyes lost focus and his remains fell to the ground, not an ounce of life left within him after a single shot had destroyed much of his superhuman physiology. By now the other Iron Warriors breaking through this part of the fortress had entered and begun to lay down covering fire, heavy bolters and storm bolters both tearing apart the command center without relent. Imperial Fists unable to react thanks to the concussive damage taken previously by their fall were cut down, while those who could took cover behind terminals and even the remains of their kin, evoking a similar image to the Iron Cage where the Imperial Fists led by Rogal Dorn ended up forced to protect themselves with their mountains of dead from the Iron Warriors assailing them.
Among those still capable of battle were Adon and Torian, the former so torn with grief over his fallen comrades he was barely able to restrain himself from lashing out as he took cover. The latter had drawn his plasma pistol and begun firing over the table he now hid behind, the remains of Trius laying nearby him with vacant eyes and the lower half of his face covered in the blood he coughed out upon death. The retaliation by Torian drew enough attention his way for Adon to open fire as well with his pistol and that of another Imperial Fist who had fallen nearby him, slain in the initial fall that had started this invasion.
Where had these heretics come from? Just how had they slipped by their early warning systems and managed to invade Inwit of all places? Foul sorcery? Brute force? If not, then how? Who could have possibly overcame all of the defensive systems and security checkpoints Rogal Dorn himself had arranged for the protection of his home planet?
Such thoughts faded from Adon's mind as Torian caught a glancing blow from a third giant amongst the ranks of the Iron Warriors, one who Adon had not even noticed until the towering Astarte's plasma nearly slew Torian. He tried to cry out to Torian but caught a shot to his chest that knocked the wind out of the apothecary's chest instead.
The Battle of Inwit only just had begun and already it was looking ever more grim for the sons of Dorn.
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Selection for the participants of the Inwit conflict was strict, as only around twenty Astartes would be able to make the journey undetected and so Jarn brought many of his top soldiers after objectively observing their performance. To this end it was little surprise that Levente would end up chosen.
While possessing less than a century of service it was no exaggeration to say that Levente had already obtained more kills than some of his Iron Warrior peers who had fought in both the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy. In every battle he took part in Levente tore apart his opposition without mercy or hesitation, appearing almost as if he was a force of nature rather than a mere mortal enhanced to possess superhuman might. Strength was part of what carried his efforts, but it was mostly his bursts of speed that allowed him to surprise foes and overwhelm them before they could mount a proper defense that saw so many fall to his blades and hammers.
Upon being assigned to serve under Khyr the Triarch member had taken Levente under his wing and taught him how to best utilize his shock tactics and how to duel foes of all stripes that they might encounter. Weakpoints were highlighted, the most effective ways to disorientate a foe in close combat studied, and the most effective ways to deal crippling or killing blows practiced at length all so that Levente could serve the role he was chosen for: to serve as a champion of the Iron Legion, one who could best whatever foe he was met with. He possessed the skill and speed to match blows with experts in close-quarters engagements that the slower Tristan and Warsmith would struggle with, and so not only was he a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield it also meant that Levente could entangle such threats that would pose danger to the Warsmith.
Almost entirely lacking in subtlety, Levente won his engagements with head-on tactics and swiftly ended them before his foes could mount a proper defense. Few could break their way into a guarded fortress and extract something valuable the way he could with all the dead he would leave in his wake, and so when time was not a resource that could be spared Levente was deployed for whatever the task might be. His blitzkrieg methodology to everything was frighteningly efficient in such instances, and while his near reckless charges would often result in those around him perishing to enemy gunfire or in melee it did not detract from the reality that Levente was always victorious.
Some conflicts had to be ended immediately and without delay, and so while there was a cost upon their personnel Levente never lost more soldiers than what his objectives were worth taking. He might be headstrong, but he was no fool and knew how to best insert himself and his teams where they needed to go in order to obtain the greatest degree of success. It was this form of genius that saw him also within the ranks of the Dodekatheon, as not every battle was one that could be solved in the same way and thus a diversity of viewpoints and tactics had to be brought to the table for all of their members to properly dissect the optimal way to approach a situation.
One mission Levente was assigned to was of the utmost secrecy, with only a small strike team of six Astartes being chosen for the task. Besides Levente they were joined by Brechung, Gunnar, two other Astartes Levente did not know, and Khyr himself. Of them they would be divided into two teams, with Levente following Khyr alongside Gunnar while Brechung led the other team with Khyr holding overall command of their force. From what little information he was given beforehand they would be raiding some kind of Imperial vessel and extracting valuable intel it was carrying before escaping under the guise of having failed their objective. Khyr's team would obtain the data while Brechung's would steal a separate and useless set of data to keep attention from them, thus facilitating the process and hiding their true intentions if any of them were discovered.
To board the vessel in question the Iron Warriors first infiltrated a Mechanicus facility that would be providing it with resources, using the shipments in question to hide themselves and escape attention. To mask their vitals they entered a temporary state of hibernation thanks to their Sus-an Membranes that they would be aroused from upon their arrival by medical patches procured by Ossus and sit beneath their armor to kickstart their systems again with the proper chemical solutions. Chameoline cloaks provided for the mission would shroud their actions once they emerged from hiding, at which point it would be a simple matter of carefully evading their security systems and obtaining the data.
Hiding and staying quiet went against Levente's nature, but the knowledge that they would have to likely fight their way out after taking the data helped ease him. Using codes granted to him by the Warsmith Khyr was able to get them where they needed to go and slip past a myriad of security terminals without issue, after which they found what appeared to be a laboratory where various organs sat in tubes for study and observation while elsewhere the bodies of Astartes could be seen. Their deceased nature meant they were next to irrelevant to their mission, but Levente could not help but notice that they were all particularly large for Astartes: they might not possess the height of the Warsmith or that fool Tristan, but they were each approximately eight feet or taller from what he could estimate.
Actually obtaining all of the data without leaving a trace was more difficult than it might sound, for it required Khyr to have brought special tools with him to extract the data held within the console he was interacting with while also not interfering with the native system whatsoever lest he leave a digital fingerprint that someone had tampered with it. As he did this Levente and Gunnar kept watch and made certain no-one interrupted him, though to Levente's irritation not a single soul came their way thus depriving him of a battle. As he was idle Levente noted that the data they were taking had the title of 'Magna Mater', whatever that meant, and he was left to wonder just why it was so important to the Warsmith.
Destroying the original might be preferable in Levente's eyes once they got their own copy, but he understood that if it truly was of importance the Imperium might go to lengths to get it back. This way at least they would not draw the ire of a force they could not overcome, but Levente would be damned if he did not crave for the chance to prove his martial might.
Once Khyr finished the Triarch gave the other two the signal to begin heading out wordlessly, not even risking the chance that a private communication might be intercepted and heard onboard this enemy ship. Just as quietly as they slipped in they escaped back to where they would then depart, meeting with Brechung's team and boarding a vessel carrying seemingly prototype vehicles from the look of things, as they did not seem to be Predator tanks yet shared in some design to them. From what Levente could see they were not treaded, but rather seemed to possess some form of hovering capability that would grant them smoother movement so long as their equipment remained undamaged.
From Brechung's report he had stolen the files for such vehicles and so any who discovered their actions on board would be led to believe that they had meant to steal the schematics, not the Magna Mater. Using the Imperium's own weapons against them was something Levente could get behind, though he remained uneasy on the way back to the world they would then depart to meet back up with their own fleet. Not only had he not yet gotten the opportunity to distinguish himself in this expedition, he also got the feeling that something was suspicious about the Warsmith being able to so accurately plan out this operation. Had he obtained some kind of vital intel to inform their proposed actions? Levente did not doubt the Warsmith himself, he just felt that there must be something else at play for such a thing to be carried out as while Iron Warriors were capable of subterfuge and such they were not known for it.
Once they landed Levente indulged in his desire for a battle when on their way to their own ship they were discovered by the planet's garrison, a garrison that would lose hundreds of men by the time the Iron Warriors were able to reach their destination. This made the flight back to the fleet far more bearable for Levente, who was able to boast about the dozens he cut down in mere moments with his favored set of weapons, those being a Thunder Hammer and Chainsword wielded together in tandem with one in each hand thanks to his impressive might. His fluid movements in combat allowed him to utilize one, both, or swap between them in each moment which made his movements difficult to read and made them far more deadly, and while the sword could carve through lighter targets the hammer could bludgeon more resilient ones such as Astartes.
Upon their return from the mission they immediately reported to Ossus to pass along the data they acquired, their chief Apothecary carefully locking it away in a hidden vault within his lab along with a data module labeled 'Raptor', another named 'Bile', and the last titled 'Selenar'. What they were for was beyond Levente, but if he had to guess they were going to be methods of improving Astartes given the size of the ones he saw corpses of.
Perhaps that was why the Warsmith was so interested in it all and would send them on such a mission, but Levente balked at the idea of someone creating Astartes superior to those designed by the Emperor himself. From what Ossus said he had now what he needed to begin putting into development Project Humanity, to which Khyr nodded and appeared to understand what he meant but made no verbal response to that would illuminate Levente.
So long as they continued to crusade throughout the stars there would be plenty more aspiring Astartes they could recruit to their cause, just as Levente himself had been, and so whatever the truth was it was beyond Levente's care: he just needed his next target that stood in the way of their conquest, and that was all that mattered.
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Tristan was the unwitting architect of the assault on Inwit and so was almost automatically chosen for inclusion in the raid, though his performance following his promotion certainly helped secure his place amongst the top operatives the Iron Legion possessed.
In his role as one of the officers under Archimedes it was natural that Tristan was inducted into the ranks of the Kheledakos, the Iron Warriors' "Brethren of Cold" who commanded their vessels. Aboard their mighty vessels the strategic forces of Archimedes could achieve their objectives and orchestrate campaigns, and while it took time to acclimate towards Tristan found himself comfortable in the position granted to him. To command a squad of individuals in the field was not something he particularly enjoyed or believed himself skilled at, but aboard the bridge of a vessel he could give orders and have them possess far grander effects than when he was on foot. This also meant that mistakes were compounded and far more disastrous, but Tristan's careful nature helped mitigate such instances.
Whereas many vessels possessed mortal crew members upon their bridges the many injured and otherwise disabled among the ranks of the Iron Legion meant that they had Astartes to fulfill such roles aboard many of their ships. The technical and machine mastery of the Iron Warriors in question meant that they were quite skilled at their tasks and could carry out orders near flawlessly, directly interfacing with their vessels and controlling their every movement and action as if they were extensions of their own being.
The strict adherence to orders and one's superiors within the ranks of the Iron Warriors also meant though many of those aboard the bridge were Tristan's senior they did as they were told, and Tristan made certain to prove himself so that they would not doubt him even within their minds. Operations were carried out in meticulous methods of organization and deployment of their resources, and while they had not yet come to face an equal foe in space itself to properly judge his capabilities in ship-to-ship combat not one of the Astartes deployed from the
Eisernen had perished under his watch. Archimedes had left their flagship under Tristan's command since it would allow Jarn to better guide his student, and given that most of their fleet comprised the same model of Battleship it meant little to the rationally minded Archimedes which vessel he commanded the overall fleet from.
That none had fallen in battle might seem impossible given the constant battles of attrition the Iron Warriors waged, but Tristan had been deployed to ensure the maximum and efficient acquisition of resources to build their fleet. While other groups and squads such as those led by Khyr, Levente, and Urkamus might be deployed to a specific location to extract something of importance it was Tristan's assigned duty to ensure that their fleet finished obtaining the materials Jarn asked them to. Many minerals could be mined from worlds without any population present which thus with the proper safety precautions granted to planet's nature and the mining operations themselves meant no casualties would be incurred.
Tristan had learned from Jarn who in turn was a student of Forrix who was a master of deployment and organization, and as Tristan's mind was well suited to data and minutiae he was able to strip these planets of every valuable resource they possessed before leaving the barren worlds behind for others to find rendered worthless to settlement. Everything was analyzed, performance in every field studied, methodology tested and improved upon, and so Tristan made optimal usage of the forces left under his command through iterative improvement like he utilized to improve everything else he worked on. With the Warsmith's guidance this process was even faster, learning from his experience and wisdom, and so Tristan flourished in the administrative role granted to him.
To avoid the Imperium's watchful gaze meant that not every sector or planet was available for their needs, and thus to acquire certain requisite materials Tristan did have to occasionally strike at a world with some form of antagonistic presence. That these encounters did not result in casualties over the course of years would seem implausible as well, if not for the fact that Tristan did not have the compulsion for honorable or direct combat that many Astartes did. He simply lacked the care for it when there were more efficient manners with which to reach the same outcome without sacrificing anything in the process, and so Tristan's particular style for warfare was realized: mass orbital bombardment until not a single foe remained to possibly threaten his forces.
This method was first employed when a beautiful forest world had an abundance of rare minerals required for the construction of the Iron Warriors' fleet with the only thing keeping them from harvesting these resources being a native population of primitive Xenos. Said Xenos had proven their danger by their possession of Eldar technology taken from slain Exodites, and despite possessing vaguely Humanoid forms possessed far greater strength and speed than even the Eldar they slew had.
When attempts were made to open communication with them they scorned the Iron Warriors in orbit, possessing a deep hatred of 'outsiders' that bordered on irrational, and threatened war instead of acquiesce to Tristan's offers of peacefully landing and taking the resources that these Xenos had built their technologically backwards habitats upon yet made no use of. A peaceful solution was not possible even if the Iron Warriors would not disturb their way of life, and so these Xenos previously undiscovered by Humanity instead used the technology left behind by the fallen Eldar Exodites to send grandiose speeches of how they would repel these new invaders just as they had slain those of the past.
It was while listening to their screeds about communing with nature and the evils of those who would dare trespass upon it that Tristan gave the order to begin orbital bombardment. He was there for resources, not lectures by some Xenos too unintelligent to realize that the offers of peace were a mercy, not begging for it. They mocked technology and yet used that of a conquered force of Eldar far smaller than their own thriving tribe, and what did these Xenos who claimed to date back tens of thousands of years have to show for any of it? They were still stuck on a single world without any noteworthy technology born from their own hands, an entire civilization that could not find its way forward while countless others had.
Tristan could invade and subjugate these Xenos, but what point was there in doing so? Honor? Glory? Those would detract from efficiency, and the resources would still be there once the world's surface was cleansed of threats to the Iron Warriors. It was cold and calculating, lacking sympathy and heart, but Tristan prioritized his survival and that of his fellow Iron Legion members over some random species of Xenos who would meet peaceful overtures with threats of violence. If he could find some manner to respect them, even in a minor sense as he had the Coryza, perhaps he would have had a compelling reason to spare them but no, they possessed nothing worthy of a second glance to his technical mind. No marvels of engineering, no discoveries from the stars, no wonders of technological engineering, they had chosen to remain shackled to the past and their world and so they would be left behind by a galaxy at war that had no use or place for them.
If they were not in the way Tristan would have been fine leaving them to their rock for they were no threat in the long-term, content to leave them to wither away until their world no longer could sustain them. Humanity, or more specifically the Iron Warriors, would be conquering new stars and new worlds throughout the cosmos under the Warsmith's vision and so such insignificant specks were unimportant.
An unintended side-effect of the orbital bombardment that Tristan came to appreciate was that it cut off the Xenos attempting to lecture him, replaced instead with silence as in a single military action Tristan opened the path to his objective and secured the lives of any forces sent down to reclaim it. He did not hate Xenos for being Xenos, but that did not mean he was going to accept even a single Iron Warrior casualty when he could just remove the threat from existence. If it was antagonistic Humans in the way he would do the same thing if the situation called for it, and so Tristan's first true 'battle' as a commanding officer was met with complete success. The resources were obtained and nothing had been lost in the process, completely encapsulating Tristan's approach to such endeavors.
If there was a fight that would be too costly he would avoid it entirely in favor of conflicts he was certain would possess a positive outcome by going over all relevant information and data, and so while he saw it only as doing his job properly he came to possess a growing reputation amongst some of the Iron Legion for his pragmatism and rational solutions. That most were veterans of the Great Crusade where Humanity's expansion throughout the stars necessitated brutal wars and the eradication of entire civilizations (Xenos or Human) meant that Tristan's methods were wholly accepted by them, especially those who had lost their kin in otherwise avoidable ways. That the Warsmith gave his own approval helped solidify this reputation, as the fervent support the Warsmith possessed resulted in his views being widely spread and shared amongst their ranks.
So long as they did as they were told Tristan did not particularly care as to the specifics in his current station, and with zero losses to speak of few could argue with his results. Their bombardments that they occasionally would have to undertake cost them nothing in terms of resources except for time, and Tristan was very thorough to ensure that they eliminated every last possible threat before moving onto the mining operations. This process would be far less efficient if they were not informed of vulnerable or useful planets to pillage by the Warsmith, who Tristan presumed was receiving intel from Asier or other such agents under their command. It was beyond Tristan's domain to care about that either as the information was always reliable for their forces across decades, so he would continue entrusting the Warsmith with his life and focusing his efforts not on questioning him but rather in achieving results.
With his increase in rank and station within their forces so too did Tristan's access to resources they acquired, and while he was already given a quite lenient affordance of them before thanks to Jarn desiring to see what Tristan could create now Tristan was capable of actually picking and choosing things from conquests for his own personal usage. This meant that the technically minded Tristan would come over the years to acquire a veritable armory of weapons, armor, technology, and vehicles spanning the various factions and groups they crossed paths with. Mostly he just used Brechung's connections to trade raw materials they possessed excesses of for contraband from Xenos species and the Imperium so he could better inspect and learn from them, and in this manner he came to possess bits and pieces of Tau technology that had particularly fascinated him: most specifically their various models of railguns, intact copies of their drones, and their shield generators.
In the span of a few hundred years the Tau had managed to rapidly improve their technology in a manner akin to how Humanity once did tens of thousands of years ago, and since Tristan's specialty was intuitively understanding how various technologies worked after observing and tinkering with them much of the Tau's handiwork was easy to grasp. The Xenos were quite technologically proficient, but they had not actually yet reached the heights Humanity's technology had reached at its peak and Tristan had already deciphered the functionality of everything in the Dodekatheon's wide array of contraptions and weapons. The notes and research of the Warsmith combined with decades of restless study with a mind suited for such tasks all came together to grant Tristan deep understanding of everything from lasguns to Basilisks to Kastelan machines, and every free moment Tristan was not spending honing his other skills was spent on furthering his grasp on them all.
Tristan's interest in the Tau technology for railguns was born of his studies into effective counters to Astartes, upon which he learned that the Tau's rail weapons were notorious for their ability to not just rip through an Astarte but also to destroy their physical form to such a degree that recovering Gene Seed from them would be nigh impossible. That his armor's form was not that much smaller than a Broadside Battlesuit that could carry two such weapons gave Tristan the idea of incorporating one such weapon into his arsenal to be used as an upgraded form of the autocannons he had been utilizing until then. The concept was the same after all, rapidly firing a projectile such that it could deal considerable damage to a target, the difference primarily was that the railgun was the ultimate form of that idea by propelling the projectile at a pace well past what mortal senses could properly conceive.
If he could properly utilize a railgun in battle Tristan was quite certain his foes would be unable to dodge it, and that whomever was struck no longer would pose a threat. It might even put a dent in Palamedes, though his Warp-infused form might possess some resistance to the weapon. Tristan, until he could test it on a Daemon, would content himself with properly integrating it for the time when he would possess such an opportunity. Ammunition was not particularly an issue, but energy to fire the weapon and maintenance of it would be the primary limitations he would have to overcome. Tau technology was quite powerful and in many ways superior to the mass produced weapons and tools utilized by the Imperium, but it required a lot of power to use properly. An issue with railguns from numerous species was the fact that they tended to wear themselves out faster than other weapons, so they would need proper maintenance to remain operational.
The second issue was something Tristan could handle by his own tinkering between deployments until he could find a more permanent solution, but the former was particularly limiting since Tristan's armor already possessed limitations on its power expenditure. Power Armor typically had long operational times and could recharge itself in the field, but Tristan's bled power far faster than other suits given his redundant systems of shielding and protection. This was made worse when he had integrated easily the Tau Shield Generators he reverse-engineered as it was yet another system for his suit's power to run at the same time, though Tristan considered it worth-it given that the only thing that kept him alive against Palamedes before was his defensive capabilities. As one might expect the Xenos shields functioned by projecting an energy field around their bearer to redirect incoming attacks, dissipating and even absorbing energy based attacks, or halting kinetic energy for weapons utilizing it, and so it provided generalist and powerful coverage that Tristan could not afford to ignore.
With all of his systems accounted for Tristan would only be able to fight for some hours before needing to replenish his suit's supplies, but this was acceptable at the moment given that he rarely was in direct combat for that long and when he was not he did not need each and every subsystem active. In his search for a manner of improving this facet of his suit Tristan decided to incorporate a secondary power generator from reverse-engineered Tau Crisis Suit power supplies, though it would be some time before it could properly be implemented into the rest of his chimeric armor. It was to his fortune that not all Kroot were particularly scrupulous and their members found amongst pirates and smugglers throughout the stars combined with their relations to the Tau meant he could acquire occasional salvaged parts, though it was Brechung who saw to the actual dealings and so the specifics of their acquisition were often unknown to Tristan: he just made lists of things necessary for his study and experimentation and he let Brechung work out the details.
While his armor was not yet finalized in many regards it was fieldable and surpassed the iteration which Palamedes had carved apart, and to match its improvements Tristan made certain to improve his own capabilities as well. Further reinforcements to his physical form had been made including Tristan dabbling in the usage of mithril in place of the metal subdermal implants he had already incorporated, having been granted some access to their limited supplies within the fleet by the Warsmith. Jarn said that when Tristan perfected his armor he would grant him enough of their mithril stores to fashion a version made out of the resilient substance, but for now Tristan only had enough to reinforce his body itself.
Ossus assisted in the implementation of this upgrade to ensure that the implants would possess no ill side effects upon Tristan, and after ensuring that the necessary surgeries were carried out to implant the mithril directly into him. The weight of the metal was severe and it took Tristan time to get used to the new weight he carried, but he was fine sacrificing agility if it meant a blade that might penetrate his armor could be turned away by implants just beneath his skin. It had the side-effect of making his strikes carry more weight as well, balanced by the fact that they were slower now, but his physical strength was still not in the same league as that of the Warsmith: he just possessed greater overall mass now that could be thrown around as a weapon in its own right.
Tristan knew that he never would be invulnerable to harm entirely, but that did not mean he could not take every single possible precaution to minimize incoming damage. With his size it was not as if he would be able to avoid most incoming strikes anyways, so shrugging them off was far preferable to the alternative. Thus the next step of ensuring he would be ready for a threat such as Palamedes was training with and against a wide variety of weapons and fighting styles, as once he understood what it was like to use them he also had to possess experience encountering them.
While he would never be capable of mastering them the way Brechung, Levente, or Khyr might be able it was still within Tristan's capability to go through the motions and experience various weapons and how they felt to be wielded. This, in addition to observing them when wielded by Brechung in a variety of styles he had learned from various Legions and factions during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy, built up a sizable library of information for Tristan to utilize in his defensive endeavors by knowing how to best block, parry, or otherwise mitigate their attacks. With that understanding he could then begin to work on how to best utilize his shielding to better intercept strikes, and so he relentlessly practiced and honed his reactive skillset so that even if he could not best his opponent in battle they would find it difficult to take him down.
Integrated into all of these exercises were Tristan's mechatendrils, now able to treat them like natural limbs attached to him with great precision without particularly focusing on them. He could always improve further like training a nondominant hand to do a specific task, but for general usage they were just like using his left hand instead of his dominant right. With six extra limbs with which to block, four mechatendrils and two servo-arms, it gave Tristan far more ways to block incoming strikes, and by attaching his modified Karceri shields to the mechatendrils he was capable of redirecting them at a moment's notice and shift their positioning to protect him at any angle. To facilitate this and to better block attacks from the sides or behind him Tristan incorporated cameras into the mechatendrils as well, training to see through them in addition to his natural eyes taking time but being worth it by allowing him to have 'eyes in the back of his head' figuratively.
It was only natural for Techmarines to heavily augment their physical form with all sorts of contraptions and tools, Tristan merely did so with the singular goal of 'survival'. His armor would naturally block most of his vision so gaining vision all around him was the logical solution in his view. With his mechatendrils capable now of firing Heavy Bolter rounds, shielding him, and granting vision they became a threat entirely on their own in addition to the armor he made.
For every weapon and technique shown to him Tristan devised counters and ways to at least lower the damage they would inflict while retaliating in turn, using his analytical mind to create countless scenarios that he gained experience of and could call upon later to properly handle any given attack. To master such a system would be difficult and take time, but his uncertainty in battle that had allowed Palamedes to eviscerate him by always being two steps behind would prove the most difficult challenge to such a type of battle. He was not as skilled as Levente but that did not mean he could not try and find ways to shore up his severe weaknesses. Tristan just would have to find a way to make up his mind faster in actual battle so he would be two steps ahead, not behind, as if he was not reacting properly he would be opening himself up rather than protecting his vulnerable areas. To that end practice was the manner by which he decided to see to bridging the gap, but his results were minimal so far.
At the end of one day's sparring Brechung sat down beside Tristan in a relaxed manner, not appearing exhausted in the slightest even after he spent eight straight hours picking apart and dismantling Tristan's defenses to help him further improve his reactive capabilities. Tristan lay defeated as he usually did, content at no longer having to stand after enduring such a beating since now gravity was no longer fighting his injured legs.
"You remind me of the Imperial Fist Alexis Polux, an Astarte of humble beginnings who was thrust into a position of leadership in a turbulent era. Records inform us he stood equal to the Primarchs, that he was capable of crushing an Astarte's skull within his palm, and that he possessed the skill and intellect to defeat the vastly more numerous Iron Warrior force at Phall as led by Perturabo himself," Brechung noted as if he knew Polux himself, and while Tristan did not like being compared to a Fist from what Brechung said the comparison sounded apt.
Tristan turned his head over as much as he could manage with his stiff neck to face Brechung, "I may now lead to some degree, but I am no leader: I am merely an Iron Warrior who serves his Warsmith, nothing more. I could never hope to match him."
Brechung could at least agree that the Warsmith was worth following, "Trahaearn Jarn is a man meant to lead others, but that does not mean he will be the only one to ever have such impact upon our ranks. Some day you might find that you can increase the impact you possess on your fate if you take charge and seize the opportunities that lay before you. It is the place of some to stand in the sunlight, others to remain in the shadows, and contrary to your nature I believe you to be the former."
For some time the two spoke of ways for Tristan to continue improving upon his defensive skillset until eventually Brechung rose and prepared to leave, though not before mentioning that the Warsmith was going to be assigning Tristan and Brechung both to a high priority assignment along with Urkamus Squad, Khyr, Archimedes, Levente, and other handpicked members of their ranks. Within that group Tristan and Brechung were being assigned to the securing of valuable items from a vault, and that they would be carrying out this endeavor alone while the others all handled their own tasks before meeting up together after. Tristan accepted this with a nod, not able to deny Jarn anything after the debt he owed the Warsmith for saving him numerous times already. Each time Tristan felt even more indebted to the Warsmith and his Legion, and Tristan hoped that when the day came that the Warsmith might need saving that he could do so in return.
With Brechung's departure Tristan got up sluggishly given his injuries and sat down on his bench in the Dodekatheon, understanding for all his pride that sitting was sometimes necessary, and while he began tinkering with his armor's damage he came to pause. Something was off now that he was alone, but what and why confused him as he looked at his tools and inventions before him.
Tristan had created his own version of the workstation his father once possessed at their forge, yet something felt missing. He could not quite grasp what it was for the longest time, but he could feel that something was different. It was only while watering DOTS that day that Tristan realized that his father would sometimes take a moment from his work to show Tristan a quiet method of affection like giving Tristan something to toy with, or running a hand through his hair. He did not always work in complete solitude the way Tristan had been these past decades, and Tristan vividly remembered times when his mother would sit atop his father's workstation just to watch him work.
It was a weird sensation, as while Tristan did not particularly care for or even seek out conversation with others he did still feel the lack of companionship from time to time. While Tristan was deeply loyal to his fellow Iron Warriors, Brechung and Quidel were two of the only Astartes he could consider 'friends', and they often had duties of their own to attend to. It was not a particularly crippling loneliness given who Tristan was, but it was one that now that he noticed he could not particularly shake. He was skilled at technical matters to the point that he had been able to create a nearly perfect replica of his father's workstation from memory albeit scaled up for his own needs, yet he struggled to even understand his own emotions and feelings at times.
Perhaps, he contemplated, beneath the augmentations and superhuman enhancements he was still Human at the end of the day, and Humans were social creatures even if Tristan himself was far less so.
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Getting past the defenses on Inwit was surprisingly easy, for while they were limited to only bringing a handful of Astartes on a specific ship they were able to pretend to be a civilian shuttle transporting cargo to be traded on Inwit. Apparently this ship had been used for that very purpose for decades like many of its kind, and so with the right connections they were able to be completely unnoticed. After that was more difficult as they had to hide within cargo containers that were brought by mortal servants to outside the spaceport in which they landed, though with the right individuals in place in the right organizations and certain favors acquired over time they escaped to the wilderness where they were far freer to act.
The longer they remained on Inwit the greater the chances of their discovery, and so they instantly set about following the Warsmith's decrees and traveled covertly across the world's frigid landscape. The training on the now-named planet of Coryza left the Iron Warriors quite prepared for such an excursion across Inwit, and so thanks to preparations set in motion decades beforehand they continued uncontested to where their destination was.
To prevent any possible leak of their plans to the enemy the specifics of their missions were kept from the Astartes brought along on the mission, a group which included Ossus and Richter as well as top soldiers from both Khyr and Archimedes' forces. From what Tristan was beginning to piece together however this world was the one Jarn asked him about when he was still a Neophyte, as the conditions matched those of the base schematic he asked about then.
This suspicion would prove correct when they entered a well-maintained tunnel passageway that after a long journey through snow and ice brought them to a wide expanse of hollowed out ice. Mithril Dragoons were present and working on various tasks, while above one could see far up was a fortress that rested upon miles and miles of ice...ice that now possessed strategically placed explosives and had been hollowed out at specific sections that while beneath notice would help the damage to the glacier the explosives were primed for.
Now that they were present the Warsmith explained their operation's true nature: they were to invade a hidden base upon the Imperial Fist world of Inwit, where Rogal Dorn hailed from, and to do this they would split into three groups to attack the facility from numerous angles and keep their enemy off-guard. By focusing fire on the sides of the facility rather than its gateway where it was most reinforced they could breach the base and wipe out its defenders swiftly while also ensuring they would not have access to their heavy weaponry immediately and that the Fists would have their communications taken offline.
Within the fortress Jarn explained was a vault with valuable items within that they were here to retrieve and bring off-world, as shown by the presence of transportation vehicles present within this section of the hollowed glacier. The three teams would stand approximately where their designated targets within the base were located and would secure their sections before moving on to support the others, the multi-pronged attack hinging on creating mass confusion and chaos within the fortress given that the Fists would still possess greater numbers. The fall would disable or kill many of them, but the current estimated count was 100 Imperial Fists to 20 Iron Warriors, so the element of surprise was crucial here.
The areas the Astartes would stand were protected by deployable shield generators that would mitigate the seismic force of the base crashing down as well as prevent ice and debris from crushing them, so once everyone was in place and knew their role they activated the explosives and Tristan watched in amazement as his plan from so long ago was put into action. The rapid chain of explosions was a sight in and of itself to behold, but so too was the calculated and controlled fall of the facility that took decades to properly set up without raising suspicion. The sudden impact was severe and would have killed everyone present outside the base if not for their shielding, but every variable had been accounted for and so instead of perishing the Iron Warriors leapt to action.
Tristan and Brechung stood behind Jarn as the other three members of their team used multi-meltas to tear through the wall before them and all of its supplemental armor. Tristan had to admire how hardy the base was made to be, though he did not let that feeling shift to mercy as Jarn broke down the remainder of the wall before them by tearing and bashing his way through it. The Warsmith would be the first through the breach, and what a terrifying sight that would prove to be for the Imperial Fists within.
A short volley of fire was traded thereafter which saw Jarn eliminate one Imperial Fist while Tristan returned fire against another with his newly acquired railgun, utterly evaporating the Fist's chest with his shot. The weapon was not capable of rapid fire and so he switched to using his mechatendrils to lay suppressing fire while the other Iron Warriors filed in behind him, Brechung soon taking a shot with his plasma gun that would have slain most foes it was fired at yet only grazed this one thanks to Torian's intuition leading him to avoid most of it. Striking that Fist, who appeared by his Terminator armor to be highly ranked, distracted one of the others which Jarn immediately took advantage of.
Adon's momentary distraction proved costly when his attention diverted to Torian saw the Apothecary struck by Jarn's gunfire, knocking Adon back for a moment before he could stabilize himself and take aim to fire with both pistols again. His bullets harmlessly impacted the Logos Secundus despite their power, and in return Jarn his full firepower onto the Apothecary with far superior effect against Adon's Power Armor.
As well-crafted as Adon's armor was it was still not even in the same league of armor copied from a Primarch's own, and his pistols lacked the same stopping power that the accurately described cannons upon Jarn's wrists possessed. The end result was that the Apothecary was riddled with shots that tore through him one after the other until he slammed into the wall behind him and slumped down, unable to withstand the onslaught that the Warsmith unleashed. It was telling that most of the forces in the command center had all targeted Jarn and yet the Warsmith stood as if he was unharmed, though much of that could be accounted for by the fact they were just dropped miles and their response to the ambush was uncoordinated and inaccurate.
With Adon's fall came the retreat of the remainder of the Imperial Fists present in the command room, realizing that they could not hold off the Iron Warriors present there and that falling back to regroup with their surviving comrades was more intelligent. It would sting at their pride, but they had no other choice when they were seemingly faced with Perturabo himself, Jarn's helmet preventing them from seeing just who wore the Primarch's armor and their relative isolation from the conflicts of the Imperium meaning that those within the Inwit base did not know that Perturabo's Daemon Primarch form had long since morphed from being capable of even wearing the Logos as it once was.
Jarn was fine preying upon their misunderstanding however and gunned down those fleeing from them while also giving his orders to the Iron Warriors beside him, "You have your objectives, and I expect you to fulfill them swiftly: leave none alive, and confirm it with your gunfire for any whom you come across no matter their condition."
Brechung retrieved from Adon's limp body his credentials and nodded to the Warsmith, departing the command center with Tristan following behind him so they could carry out their own role assigned to them.
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From a different angle Khyr launched a simultaneous attack with Levente and their other forces to breach the Imperial Fists' armory and deny them their stronger weapons that they would not naturally be carrying around with them while at ease. Levente was the first into the opening made and tanked a shot from a bolter against his Terminator armor as he leapt at the Fist who shot him and crushed their torso beneath his Thunder Hammer, reveling in the battle already as they attacked their bitter rivals.
"He may be an unruly upstart, but that brat had a good idea for once! Kill them all!" Levente commented about Tristan's plan of attack that now was seeing this seemingly untouchable location completely swept and cleansed by their relatively smaller forces, being prideful but not outright delusional concerning his personal rival's capabilities.
Within the armory the Imperial Fist Sevald reacted to the invasion by drawing
Tempest's Claw and counter-charging them, quickly engaging Khyr and tying him up as the other members of their squad finished entering and began to engage the other Imperial Fists present. It was obvious to Sevald that to fail here would mean to sacrifice the base entirely, and so he would put his life on the line and the skills he had honed all this time to ensure that such a fate did not come to pass.
"What a fine blade you have there, it reminds me of when I once saw
Storm's Teeth...I look forward to taking it," Khyr spoke to Sevald, a grin beneath his helm as he swung his Power Sword swiftly at Sevald and forced the Fist back.
The infiltrators each had their parts to play, and while Khyr's team took care of this location Archimedes would be neutralizing the Fists' ability to call for help while the Warsmith locked down their command center to prevent coordination and eliminate their leadership. This fortress would fall, and now it just remained to see how much of a fight the Imperial Fists could mount in response.
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(Part 1 thanks to arbitrary space limitations)