NOVEL NEXT Chapter 140: Chapter 140
---Next Day---
Meeting with Imperial Commander Kalendela Tola, once the security issues on Sangua Terra had been resolved, we sat down and went over what was required of her planetary forces. Enthusiastic about the prospects of returning stability to the sector, Tola was immensely relieved to know Terran leadership had not abandoned them to a slow, painful death. Agreeing to do all she could to assist us, my logistics division quickly began to disperse much-needed firepower for the impending operation. Leaving Commander Dance's men to give them a crash course on operating the energy weapons, I took the New Genesis and half of my armada to Vigilus to speak with leadership there.
Upon our arrival in Vigilus' orbit, we discovered that the situation here was far worse than I anticipated. Lacking a prominent leader to rally the defenders behind, the various Imperial factions on the planet were all vying for authority and power. The Ecclesiarchy currently held the most sway of all the factions, but with enemy forces all around the sole surviving Imperial Hivesprawl, their control fluctuated almost daily. While the factions argued and bickered for control, the planets' inhabitants and ever-increasing number of refugees were left in limbo, uncertain what the future held for them.
(AN: I did my utmost to research Vigilus and figure out who was still active here, but the details are vague. Since most of what I could find dealt with the War of the Beasts and War of Nightmares, that is what I am going to run with. My apologies if I screw something up here lore-wise.)
"Who… who are all of you!?", acting Planetary Governor Deinos Agamemnus inquired as he and dozens of other people walked out of Saint's Haven.
"It is good to see you again, Sister Superior Ionica.", Canoness Corinn Hrethnar spoke up, looking at her with an arrogant smile. "When I last saw you, the Order of Divine Lamentations was just a handful of people. I was almost certain they would dissolve your Order and reassign those that were left elsewhere."
"Canoness Hrethnar, please address me as Canoness Superior Ionica.", Ionica corrected her with a glare. "Abbess Vahl saw fit to promote me and rebuild our Order after we assisted in the capture of the Seventh Blackstone Fortress. As for who he is, this is Primarch Stark of the Second Legion."
Scoffing at Ionica's words, the local leaders believed she was trying to screw with them. Since news had yet to reach Vigilus, they were blissfully unaware of what was going on elsewhere in the Imperium of Man. Having foreseen this possibility, Ionica had been given official documentation to verify who I was. Retrieving said papers from the pouch on her hip, she unfurled the scroll and held it up for them to read. Instead of reading the contents, their attention fell squarely on the seal at the bottom of the paper.
"That… that is the God-Emperor's personal seal…", Hrethnar gulped, realizing she and the other leaders realized their grave error.
Dropping to their knees, all of them immediately apologized for their rudeness toward us. Forgiving them, as they were working with outdated intelligence, I took a moment to look each of them in the eyes. While a few outright refused to meet my gaze, the rest met my gaze and showed me they could be trusted.
"My plan for today was to meet with Vigilus' leadership and lay the groundwork for an upcoming military operation, but now those plans have significantly changed. When I arrived in orbit, I saw with my own eyes that there is no real leadership here. Instead of bettering our position here on the planet, you chose to fight amongst yourselves for authority, influence, and power… that ends now!", I said, my voice booming like thunder, "From this point forward, by the power vested in me by the Emperor of Mankind, I am taking command of all Imperial operations on Vigilus. If you have a problem with that, you can explain to the Emperor why you have continued to let Hyperia drown in despair, fear, and hopelessness. My first order of business is to purge the abscess that has been festering amongst you…"
Drawing Dawnbreaker from my hip, I slowly walked toward the obese members of the Ecclesiarchy at the back of the group. Unable to move without the aid of their hoverbikes, due to their size, the Imperium of Man had no use for pigs like these. Hitting them with a powerful surge of killing intent, a few men fell off their bikes and began to spasm, while the rest attempted to fly away.
"You fat cows have feasted upon what meager supplies remain here and left only scraps for the Emperor's people! They lay dying in the streets from starvation, while you gorge yourselves on what is rightfully theirs!", I roared, my rage causing the planet to quake in fear. "Your positions and titles are hereby revoked. For your crimes against the Imperial people, I sentence you to death!"
Listening to their former colleagues' choked cries for mercy, the former leadership began sweating profusely, fearing they might be next. Cutting all the men in half with a single blow, they were immediately engulfed by hellish flames. No longer able to speak audible words, they began releasing agonizing, gurgled screams as I cast them out into the Ring of Nothingness. Listening to their pathetic cries, until they splattered on the bottom of the chasm, the sound of flesh hitting stone silenced everything around us.
"Now then, all of you rise to your feet. We have much to discuss.", I commanded as I sheathed Dawnbreaker.
Doing as I commanded, every one of them shot to their feet and followed me inside. Taking over where Chapter Master Calgar had formerly established his base of operations, I began handing out marching orders to everyone. Starting with Acting Planetary-Governor Agamemnus, his duty was to show my engineers where all Hyperia's vital systems were. Needing all systems evaluated and critical repairs carried out immediately, they were to report back to me after it was completed.
"While my engineers work on bringing the hivespire back to full operational capability, we have a few matters to deal with. Firstly, there is a dug-in Genestealer Cult that needs to be eradicated. Several members of my legion are already working to locate their primary base of operations; I should have more information here shortly about them.", I stated, quickly bringing up a holographic computer display. "Secondly, we need to deal with the Dark Eldar raiders that continue to harass our people. My Eldar partner, Amallyn Shadowguide, is en route to speak with them about a temporary truce. This will buy us much-needed breathing room for the impending military operation I spoke of earlier. Lastly, we need to- "
"My sincere apologies, Lord Stark. Did you say Eldar partner?", Canoness Superior Temperance Blaise asked, "Do you mean your Eldar ally, or do you mean…"
"Amallyn Shadowguide is my lover and trusted partner.", I acknowledged, staring her down. "Do not interrupt me again. You may ask all the questions you wish once I am done speaking. Is that clear, Canoness Superior?"
"Yes sir!", Blaise acknowledged immediately.
"As I was saying, the last problem on my list is cleansing Lake Donotor.", I said, looking at the leaders.
Looking at each other with concern, most of them likely thought I was unaware that the water of the lake had been tainted by the forces of Chaos. While it was true that normal means would be ineffective against the powerful toxins, I had the magical tools necessary to remove even the hardiest biological contamination.
"My Lord, are you certain you can purify the lake's contaminated waters?", Rogue Trader Delarique du Languille questioned. "I mean no disrespect, but even the Ecclesiarchy and Mechanicus were unable to produce drinkable water from it."
"You have my word that by the end of this day, the lake will be cleansed and completely safe to drink from.", I swore to her. "Moreover, I will personally drink from the lake to show you it is safe to drink."
Surprised by my utmost confidence, the leaders were satisfied enough to simply wait and see. Inquiring how they could best assist me in achieving these goals, I requested they summon all available personnel to Saint's Haven. Under the guise of meeting with the troops, my real goal was to eliminate any Genestealer Cultists or traitors that were hiding within the hivesprawl's defenders. Once I was certain only true loyalists were left, the fight for Vigilus' future would begin anew.