Chapter Text
In a long, dimly lit hallway stood Leman Russ, Primarch of the Space Wolves. Before him a large unadorned door without hinges or handles. Two of his sons stood behind him, a hover table covered with a sheet between them. None said a word.
Soon into the hallway strode Jaghatai Khan, Primarch of the White Scars. He too was followed by two of his sons with a sheet covered hover table as well. He took his place to Russ’ right, that way the Wolf King wouldn’t have to turn his head so far to look at his brother seeing he was missing his left eye.
“Brother.”
“Brother.”
“Cousins.”
“Cousins.”
The Primarchs did not carry their weapons or armor, for they would not need them where they are going.
Giving the warriors a quick look, the four nodded in understanding. Turning away from the door they walked back until they were halfway down the hall. Jaghatai pressed a secret key causing the door to swing silently open. The brother Primarchs walked through the door with the hover tables, leaving the warriors standing guard behind them as the door silently shut.
The elevator that lay waiting just past the door was spacious enough to accommodate half the Primarchs and some cargo comfortably. There was only one button on the controls. As it continued its descent, no words spoke between the Brother Primarchs. Going down, down, down, down, down, down, with seemingly no end in sight. For being so deep into the planet, the air was cold. Eventually the elevator reached the bottom, opening the doors to a clean and well lit room.
A 3-dimensional hologram of a young girl appeared before them. Wearing long boots, a long sleeve shirt, a short skirt, with a freckled face and short bobbed hair, her otherwise cute appearance has an abnormal effect given the occasionally glitchy holographic nature of her.
“Russ. Khan.” She did not curtsy or kneel to them. Her tone, while respectful, didn’t have its normal chipper tone that those who knew her were familiar with.
“Penny.” They both responded.
“Welcome back to the Crypt. How may I help you today?”
The duo respectfully removed the covers of their tables, revealing the bodies underneath. One held an Astartes, easily recognizable by the size and the surgical incisions indicating the successful removal of his Gene Seed. The other held a woman, while normally shorter in stature compared to a normal man, seemed diminutive on the Astartes sized hovertable.
“Identify them, please.” The Khan requested, stepping away to sit with his brother by the wall.
At a glance from Penny, a group of droids, filled with ‘Dumb Abominable Intelligence’, made their way towards the tables with various tools. Quickly, efficiently, yet respectfully gathering data from the bodies, they worked in the same silence that is the norm of the Crypt.
Penny’s eyes were vacant as the Droids’ information was gathered, analyzed, and cross examined. Her eyes refocused as she determined their identities.
“Ren. Nora.” Her eyes shimmered as if she were ready to cry.
The Wolf and Warhawk nodded at her proclamation. “As I expected.”
Without looking away at the deceased duo, Penny asked “What happened to them?”
Several beats passed before Russ spoke. “Nora was an Auxiliary to one of my Chapters, the Ice Leviathans. The unit she was part of regularly dealt with reconnaissance for the Chapter, as the Chapter is still trying to rebuild their few numbers from the incompetence of the last Chapter Master. Loud enough for a Wolf, twice as crazed, and just as loyal from their words. Had a penchant for explosions. A surprise attack of Greenskins ambushed the Chapter, leading to a bloody conflict. Her unit fought bravely alongside the Chapter, but were driven back. They’re only mortal after all. At some point she acquired a fallen Marines Thunder Hammer and used it to fight. How someone so small could wield such a colossal weapon is impressive. However it still wasn’t enough and the unit was apparently destroyed. It wasn’t until the Warboss was in combat with the current Chapter Master did she reappear. She snuck behind the Ork and with the weapon activated this time, broke its leg. If the Hammers recoil didn’t shatter her body, then the back handed power claw did. The Brute wanted to finish her off, but she just smiled. Her last words were ‘Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom!’ Each Boom punctuated by explosions she had apparently rigged while she disappeared. Strangely the bombs that she used did not have such a capacity for such destructive force. The lamed Warboss and subsequent detonations gave the Chapter enough of a distraction and respite to rally and eradicate the Orks. Her body was dug out of the ice and snow a week later.”
Penny shook her head, her hair bobbing in a very realistic fashion. “That sounds very much like Nora. Stronger than she should’ve been, eccentric, a horrendous sweet tooth matched only by Ruby, kind, sharper than you’d expect, and loyal to a fault. She could always bring out more boom than what should’ve been possible with her explosives, and instinctually know where the best places for maximum damage as well. She was a Kappa level Psyker, she probably unconsciously used her powers to enhance the explosive strength of her bombs.”
“What of the rest of the Chapter?” Khan inquired.
“The battle left a mere 42 of the 287 before the battle. In their pride as Sons of Russ, and their shame of their previous Chapter Masters failures, they refused to call upon any of their brother Chapters for aid. It was the locals that made the call for my attention. I made sure they accepted aid this time.” His tone mixed with sorrow and annoyance.
“And what of Ren?”
Jaghatai nodded at the body of her friend. “Ren was a member of the Desert Scorpions Chapter. A hunter of mutated beasts and insects infesting that world. His weapons of choice were a pair of bolter pistols and a pair of knives. He later added a modified bow to his kit when a new xenos species made planetfall.”
“Why a bow?” Leman asked with a cocked eyebrow.
Jaghatai pulled an arrowhead from his pouch, giving it to Leman. The arrowhead was the length of a human hand, an elongated spade design with the middle removed, and twisted in a corkscrew fashion.
“The bow was originally a ceremonial weapon of the world that he altered for his needs. He used it to shoot these particular arrows at his prey. The carapace of these new xenos turned away bolter rounds, yet were pierced by these which then weakened the xenos carapace allowing their bolters to work. These arrowheads are made of an unknown material mixed with some Xeno or archeotech. The Mechanicus are currently investigating the specifics. Using this archery technique he could reuse his finite supply of arrowheads, extending their usefulness.”
Leman passed the arrowhead to an Droid standing nearby.
Jaghatai continued, “He learned the best ways to hunt this prey, spreading this knowledge to the rest of the Chapter once they finally understood the danger of them. They eventually pushed the infestation back to its source. He died fighting the matron of these pests, severely damaging it for his brothers to finish it. The Chapter is scouring the rest of the planet and nearby worlds for more of these creatures.”
Penny gave a grave nod at her friend. “If it’s the same xenos from my records, then it is a good thing he preferred prevention to a cure. His Soul Imprint may have influenced his conscious mind, altering him of the threat and aiding his capabilities of hunting them. His father, his Core father that is, would use a bow to hunt for food when he was a boy and taught him the same.”
“A good hunter. I wonder if he could become one of mine Wolves?” Leman absently wondered.
“I’m sure he’d get along with you, you are blonde after all.” The two chuckled at the connection. “According to his Brothers, he seems he could be a fit for Corax’s Birds. I met her once, in a life before this one. She was an artillery officer, louder and more forceful than the guns she commanded.”
Russ smirked at him then eyed Ren. “Same with him, on Ethia IX. He was a medic that stood out to me for reasons I didn’t understand until after.”
Penny’s smile was laced with happy reminiscence and sorrow. “These two were always together. They were real peas in a pod. For as different as they were, they were never separated from each other for more than a day. Ate together, fought together, bathed, slept, and even died together. Chief did not take their passing well. He blamed himself for their deaths as he did all the others.”
The Wolf King gave her a soft smile, “The Valian Wolfhound truly does have an eclectic pack.”
After composing herself Penny bowed deeply to the Primarchs. “Thank you for bringing them to me. I will let them rest in their appropriate tombs.”
“You’re welcome, Penny. Until next time.” The Khan responded in kind.
The elevator door slid closed behind them, leaving Penny alone once more in the lifeless Crypt. Her hands ghosted over the bodies of her companions, so close yet so far from touch. She once again cursed her lack of physical form.
The Droids moved the bodies down the corridors of the Crypt. The appropriate Tombs for these compatriots were side by side. They wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.
Each doorway was decorated according to each occupant’s Core personality and culture. A carved sculpture marking both the Tombs occupants and a statement of their person. Nothing excessive or opulent befitting of Fulgrim, but tasteful in her humble opinion.
Their passions, histories, best memories, dreams, songs written in the language of their Core Homeworld before converting to Imperial Gothic, and more. Everything she could gather was preserved here.
The Datastick detailing everything the Primarchs could uncover of their most recent Cycle were added to the collection, the history, of her companions lives. Her hologram touched the Datastick, accessing the records within. It was a mere glimpse of their lives, but every little bit was precious to her.
Ren has no records prior to his induction into the Astartes as a boy, barely passing the trials and surviving the surgeries by the skin of his teeth. A respectable term of duty for his Chapter. An avid attendee of the local poetry club again. While the styles and subject matter obviously differed between Cycles, the feeling was consistent. His calm demeanor and quiet personality made him seem standoffish to his more energetic Brothers, but it also aided him in his hunts of the Xeno threat thus earning an appreciation for it. He posthumously earned a great honor for his foresight of the Xeno threat and actions therein.
Nora was raised in what was the equivalent of a bakery on that icy world. At least she wasn’t abandoned out in the cold. As a youth she volunteered at the local retirement home, she was very popular with her ever upbeat attitude and fantastical stories. An impressive scouting record for her short time of service. Also had a record for drunken and disorderly conduct, unsurprisingly. She tried dating several blondes? Ah, that planets biosphere encouraged a much fairer complexion. Finding someone like Ren would’ve been impossible, so she settled for her other best friend.
With a final gaze upon their faces, the tables were slid into the stasis field compartments. She wishes to cry, but doesn’t possess the means.
As the doors closed Penny couldn’t help but look down the hallway. Down at the very end was where his Tomb was. The Chief of the New Dawn and lynchpin of this new future, Jaune. The last of their crew to fall and the first to be laid in this Crypt. Would it be an oxymoron to say that he has the most and least occupants of his Tomb? The Primarchs searched for him more often than any of the others, yet met little success. How many of his bodies had they recovered vs the number they had no idea existed? They theorized if certain events were the subject of his Cycles, but they could only speculate.
She wondered what he was doing this current Cycle, for she knew that he would never stop until he knew his job was done plus a year. Where was he? Was he well? How old was he? Does he have a good family? Is he making worthy friends? Is he making good progress towards his goal? How long-
Shaking her head to stop these pointless questions she knew would not be answered. This spiral of worries that would lead to nothing conducive. Chief wouldn’t accept her worrying over him like that anyway, despite him constantly worrying over the rest of the crew like that. Too self sacrificing for his own good. Too much of a good thing can be a poison itself.
Putting the Droids into their paces maintaining the Crypt, she closed her eyes and turned her attention back to another location. This one far away from the hallowed resting grounds.
Opening her eyes she was now in the Workshop. This was her little ‘playground’, where she worked in secret to the wider galaxy. Projects needed to be continued, theories tested, experiments done, predictions calculated, when Ren’s arrowhead arrived that too would be added to her research, and much more. Her father and his colleagues left her with a plethora of data and notes of their research, their legacy to remember them by, and she acquired far more from others. She would continue their work. Granted they would be altered somewhat to better serve this current situation of humanity, some of the aspects curbed or outright removed for safety precautions, but she was sure they would understand. None of them could’ve predicted this current state of affairs anyway.
Armed with the knowledge of many, gifted with hindsight, tempered with caution, protected by her benefactors, unbound from the dogma of the Mechanical Cult, inspired by the enduring spirit of her companions, she would aid the galaxy in this way.
None of her friends remained idle, and neither would she.