Warhammer The Iron Empire (Warhammer 40k)

[PsihoKekec]

Well, Alpha Legion Astartes are known for being taller than other legions and there is the Hydra insignia on the book.

 

[PsihoKekec]

I was thinking about the blueberry gauss rifle, that the Tristan is experimenting with. Tinkering with master-crafted, single issue artifacts for heroes is all nice and dandy, but hardly impactful on larger scale. However if he manages to solve issues with power supply and getting it more widespread production, so they can at least equip some terminator squads with it... Combined with Astartes helmet sensors and their improved eyesight it would be a really potent long range weapon, allowing them to take out individual armoured targets or targets behind cover from kilometres away, without having to resort to artillery.

 

[The Whispering Monk]

I was thinking about the blueberry gauss rifle, that the Tristan is experimenting with. Tinkering with master-crafted, single issue artifacts for heroes is all nice and dandy, but hardly impactful on larger scale. However if he manages to solve issues with power supply and getting it more widespread production, so they can at least equip some terminator squads with it... Combined with Astartes helmet sensors and their improved eyesight it would be a really potent long range weapon, allowing them to take out individual armoured targets or targets behind cover from kilometres away, without having to resort to artillery.

Just how the Tau use them!

As for the Great Robbery of Dorn...I'm a fan! Tristan did what he knows how to do, take a lot of punishment and keep going. My money is that the Fist Captain gets speared or manfully retreats while Tristan somehow gacks the Dreadnought while it's distracted.

 

[Thunderscourge]

Well, Alpha Legion Astartes are known for being taller than other legions and there is the Hydra insignia on the book.

This is true and certainly fits.

I was thinking about the blueberry gauss rifle, that the Tristan is experimenting with. Tinkering with master-crafted, single issue artifacts for heroes is all nice and dandy, but hardly impactful on larger scale. However if he manages to solve issues with power supply and getting it more widespread production, so they can at least equip some terminator squads with it... Combined with Astartes helmet sensors and their improved eyesight it would be a really potent long range weapon, allowing them to take out individual armoured targets or targets behind cover from kilometres away, without having to resort to artillery.

It will take some time and a lot of work to get to mass production scale, because even the Tau who made them are having troubles with the technology. They break easily and the energy sink is massive, so the only reason Tristan can use it at the moment is that he hand-makes all his gear and maintains it personally so he can keep it functional while using his massive armor's own energy supply to power it.

Once they figure out a way to make it more mass-produced it will be a ridiculously powerful precision weapon however. Give it some time and Tristan's mechanical savant autism will shine through.

As for the Great Robbery of Dorn...I'm a fan! Tristan did what he knows how to do, take a lot of punishment and keep going. My money is that the Fist Captain gets speared or manfully retreats while Tristan somehow gacks the Dreadnought while it's distracted.

Rogal Dorn hid away some major stuff for ages, but now someone with a personal score to settle has come to take back what is "theirs". The Fists were prepared for a battle, but they aren't engaged in traditional warfare, they are getting ambushed within their own base by an elite force that is abusing the laws of physics to win the fight before it even truly began. The Alpha Legion are like Batman, give them prep time (in this case decades) and they can engineer the downfall of just about anything that they have access to or could gain access to. The Fists would win against almost any conventional force invading them...but the deck was stacked against them here and now they are suffering the natural outcome.

 

[Thunderscourge]

SPEAR OF REFORMATION

The sudden raid upon Fakultat by the wayward Yormungaros was a swift yet brutal affair which saw to the utter eradication of the defensive garrison put into place by Isolde. When she responded to the alarm she had rallied the available forces present as best as she could, but despite attempting to requisition the aid of both the local Mechanicus and the Wostyn mercenaries present she was denied on both fronts. Shetth had denied the deployment of any Mechanicus force to instead focus their defenses on the Mechanicus facilities alone, sacrificing the efficacy of the Fortress City's already depleted defenses to cover his own resources, fully content to allow the incoming Yormungaros to slay thousands of civilians before being stopped if it prevented a single loss on the part of the Mechanicus' primary stronghold on Kimara.

As to be expected of an important member of the Conomor's inner circles the mercenaries allegedly tasked with defending the city were instead deployed solely to the inner segments of the Fortress City along with Shetth, locking down and fiercely defending the sectioned off pieces of the city that would be the last to be invaded. This division of manpower was only foolish if one's objective was to ensure a united defensive front that would minimize casualties, but such were not the concerns of Shetth or the Wostyn mercenary leader Priomb deployed to handle the situation.

Despite their power the Yormungaros would be no doubt wounded and in a frenzy by the time they reached the innermost portions of the city, at which point the fully prepared and fresh garrisons there could deploy and wipe them out. Shetth was already working alongside the Governor to requisition able civilians from Wostyn to supplement his workforce and increase production, so any Kimaran civilians slain in the conflict would just make room for a less resentful servant class for his needs.

Callous and cruel, it nonetheless would not result in direct blowback because Isolde would serve as a more public face to the lives lost as the one directly leading their defenses. That she asked for help and was denied was something that could just be conveniently covered up so long as she was dealt with as well, and that was another reason for this decided inaction: they were to stand by and be ready should Isolde and Isolde alone be in danger, for the Governor had asked that she be delivered to him alive if possible: if she perished in battle with the Yormungaros then it would be regrettable but ultimately acceptable, with the only direct prohibition being directly killing her. Even that could be eschewed if the circumstances called for it, but Governor Conomor was quite serious when he spoke with Shetth and Priomb concerning the matter and he was not someone to be crossed.

Ultimately the reason behind why Conomor desired Isolde to be captured did not matter to Shetth, only that it would earn him the Governor's favor and that it would assist his own political needs. Perhaps it was a way to keep her father in check, perhaps it was to have her punished for some crime, whatever the reason it was just another task to be carried out and an easy one at that. Even should Commissar Kohlenstoff survive the Yormungaros she would be likely weakened by it and be easy prey, and while the loss of some of their artillery batteries would be regrettable they could always forge new ones to replace them after gathering their pieces. Fakultat had survived attacks in the past and would stand even after some of its more expendable segments were breached, and any blame for the damage would come at the expense of the young brat trying to give commands to those her senior. Shetth had arranged for the circumstances to play out as such, and now just needed to wait out the coming storm.

Deprived of support by design left Isolde with little to work with in regards to manpower and equipment, but the civilian garrison of Kimarans she gathered beforehand would prove to be enough while not ideal. Their Basilisks peppered the incoming Yormungaros as they surged forth through the ice and snow beyond Fakultat's exterior to reach the prey within, downing some of the beasts and stripping chunks off of others where impacted. If every artillery battery was properly manned by a trained and seasoned operator the beasts never would have reached the city's walls, but with only around half of the Basilisks properly utilized by fairly fresh faces to conflict it was inevitable that some would slip through the cracks.

Basilisks were utilized to fend off Yormungaros because once they closed the gap they were nigh unstoppable, making long ranged bombardment to slay or deter them necessary just to survive even with the thick defenses of Jarn's Fortress Cities. Resorting to direct fire once they savage animals were close by was necessary to continue fighting back, but it was also dangerous because the Yormungaros were crafty enough to target any opening in the city and would lash out at the artillery that so harmed them.

By the time they had broken through the wall the Yormungaros had been considerably thinned in their numbers, but so too had the militia formed by Isolde: most of their cannons were disabled from the brute force of the Yormungaros as they made their way within, either the artillery being damaged or its crew outright slain. This was not a fight these civilians had been personally prepared for, and the soldiers who ought to be protecting them instead were using them as shields to wear their foes down for them.

Hundreds were slain in mere minutes as the final few Yormungaros laid siege to them, an outright frenzy of battle commencing where cohesion was broken and everything became a desperate fight for survival that saw Isolde and her rallied forces stand firm and refuse to retreat since to abandon their artillery at the walls would be a death sentence. They were the most effective method to slay the beasts, and so Isolde had the remaining cannons face inwards and target the Yormungaros within the city without care to the collateral damage: civilians not fighting the beasts had already been evacuated from the closest segments of the city, and so victory took precedence over making certain the interior remained spotless. Such an endeavor would be fruitless anyways given the damage to the city's walls letting a blizzard beat down upon the garrison fighting for their lives and those of their kin deeper within the city, harsh winds tearing at some more fragile equipment and objects within this block while also limiting vision for some minutes that only heightened the massacre faced.

It was when the downpour of snow began to soften that Isolde found herself the sole remaining combatant against the last of the Yormungaros alive, the beast lunging at her as she in turn finished turning a Basilisk to face right at it. The sudden explosion ripped through the beast's maw and exploded out of the back of its already damaged skull, its body crashing down upon the instrument of its demise and forcing Isolde to try and move out of its way to no avail. Her accurate and last second shot had done its job and ended the conflict, but in return she found herself knocked from the Basilisk's platform and slammed down into the ground nearby.

The hardened carapace armor Isolde had brought with her dulled the impact fortunately, but Isolde had not come out of the battle completely unscathed. Bruises lined her body where the battle had taken its toll, and she could tell from how it felt that her helmet was close to having its silver visor crack. She had driven a Tauros into a Yormungaros and the crash had dealt the majority of her injuries, but by driving it back momentarily it had bought others time to fire back at it and fell it utilizing the armor-piercing shotguns Kimarans favored. Wostyn soldiers used a derivative variant which possessed far greater spread to fell humanoid targets, but on Kimara where large beasts roamed the ability to punch through their thick hides and kill them even on foot was vital.

With her rank and station came additional responsibilities as well as benefits, with the most pertinent of them being the fact that Isolde's helm possessed an enhanced communication suite and a paired visual recording system that both were added to its exterior. The former allowed Isolde to better command the forces around her and also better coordinate artillery strikes, while the camera was a tool with a more multi-faceted purpose: with it the owner could record anything the helmet was present for, thus allowing replay of events and locations to learn from them as well as further military operations. As a Commandant who very well might need to execute soldiers on the battlefield it also allowed for Isolde's actions to be captured and recorded as evidence in the instance that they were called into question, though such a function was merely theoretical thus far since while Isolde was willing to pull the trigger on any who dared deserve it her role had yet to call for such internal strife yet.

Despite the damage she incurred herself it was to Isolde's surprise that the communications of her helmet were not damaged to any noticeable degree, the fact of which made her realize quickly how she was the only one left. Blood from both Yormungaros and Kimaran militia members soaked the snow around her all throughout this city segment, only the wind greeting Isolde as she attempted to hail anyone else. Anyone that was alive was too injured to respond, and given that she did not see any medical aid incoming those same survivors were likely to expire soon enough.

A lifetime of training and her armor were all that truly kept Isolde alive and not those she had rallied together, and so she was left quietly observing the carnage in its aftermath. They had so few soldiers to begin with, and they sacrificed their lives to defend the city walls...the realization of which would come to gradually replace Isolde's quiet shock at the horrors of half-eaten corpses and Yormungaros flesh strewn about the locations they were felled. All the others were gone, leaving an eerie silence beyond the winds blowing through the cracked dome of the city she now stood under.

Isolde took a moment to catch her breath after the hectic conflict came to a close, gathering herself and doing what she could to shake off the aches and pains in her body that had resulted from it. Her armor had saved her from much of the damage she would otherwise have incurred, but to remain unscathed in such a dire battle was simply out of the question. Her leg had suffered the worst of it and while it was not broken Isolde could tell that running on it would be ill-advised.

Her surroundings mirrored her own status, with the reinforced buildings and structures of the Fortress City having largely endured even the overwhelming might of the leviathan Yormungaros that had assailed it. Even so scars of the conflict remained, with a few smaller structures having been crushed beneath the weight of the fallen Yormungaros while yet others bore markings of Basilisk fire that had not quite hit the mark in the desperation to fire upon the beasts. The sheer mass and raw strength of the Yormungaros was their greatest tool in battle, for they could break through even Terminator armor with their jaws while the impact of their serpentine bodies striking a target could crush a Dreadnought given the difference in size. Kimara's reinforced walls were made to resist both them and the weather, but years of neglect and weakened infrastructure had allowed the damage to pile up and eventually result in the vile creatures breaking through.

If all the Yormungaros desired was food they would not lash out at Fortress Cities, but their seemingly unique sadism for bestial creatures meant that they thrived off the opportunity to slaughter panicking prey in quantities only the cities could grant them. They seized upon weakness like the predators they were, and so when presented the chance to breach a damaged outer wall they could not help but go for the kill. Their self-preservation instincts would go by the wayside when presented such a bounty, all but emphasizing their vicious nature at their core.

Kimara's days were quite short and its nights long, so darkness began to creep down upon Isolde as she stood in the conflict's ruins. The blue moon shone brightly above her, a luminous orb that captivated Humans and Ixolotls alike with its beauty. Even through the subsiding storm it could be seen, and so Isolde stood under its reflected light observing it in the moment of calm she had now. The literal blue moon served as a calming influence to one who had just witnessed a deluge of death and suffering, bodies of the fallen having already bled out entirely from what small pieces of them remained.

The upper torso of one militia member some feet away from where it had fallen when bitten as a short trail of blood showed how they had crawled forward afterwards, an arm of another victim all by its lonesome as all that remained of its owner, and a mangled corpse that had been slain through sheer force after being struck by the body of one of the beasts as they charged forward, these and more filled the landscape around Isolde and wholly contrasted the beauty that radiated from above them.

Death was something Isolde had known almost her entire life, her father's killing of three trespassing mercenaries who dared harm his staff still vividly in her mind all these years after. The death of Umida, the loss of civilian life thanks to the current regime, and more all dotted her life and so death itself was not something that particularly gripped her or shocked her. Even still the sight of so many dead, of their shredded remains, when it all was preventable had an effect on her. The initial shock and sorrow naturally shifted to fury, but one wouldn't know from looking at her face even if her faceless helmet did not cover it: her expression mirrored the lack of one possessed by her helm as Isolde stood amidst the wreckage caused by the inaction of both Shetth and that dog Priomb.

The tranquil fury she possessed made her understand how her father had once so calmly walked up to three men and gunned them down without betraying his true feelings until the moment he began their execution. Rather than explosive rage that was unchecked by any form of restraint it was the kind their people were known for, the deep-seated grudges they would hold towards those who wronged them culminating in controlled and precise retribution.

It was only natural that someone cultivated as an embodiment of Kimaran virtues would also possess their vices, and a complete unwillingness to forgive was part and parcel to being Kimaran. It made relations with other worlds and people within the Imperium difficult for them as they would resent those enemies they once held until something was done to rectify the grudge earned, and it was why Kimara stood alone with no support throughout its history outside of the Astartes that had once brought it into the Imperium. Their nature had it that such accounting and calculation was a virtue in their eyes when to all others it was a deep flaw, but that too was met with the typical Kimaran pride that saw them sneer at the opinions of outsiders.

Isolde's peripheral vision caught sight of movement, and given that none of the militia she raised had answered her calls she knew it to be the Wostyn garrison fanning out instead. Shetth would keep his own forces close to the heart of the city until he was absolutely certain there was no threat to them or his own person, while the mercenaries would have to at least make a token appearance at the end of the battle if they hoped to claim credit for it.

What initially seemed to be an attempt to lock down the breached portions of the city wall would immediately be revealed as a feint to surround Isolde from all sides, one which she caught in time to check her personal shielding was active. She did not know their direct intentions, but she was now alone as perhaps three dozen men were deployed against her and as skilled as she was trained to be there was zero chance she could win a direct battle with them.

At the head of the pack of soldiers was Priomb, the veteran enforcer whose brutality and instability was well known by now to Isolde. He at times would be accompanied by his brother Osin who served as a restraint of sorts, reigning in some of Priomb's worst behavior where possible though unable to fully control his brother's paranoid delusions at points. The ravages of war took their toll on all, good and bad, and what had already been a brutal soldier without moral fiber had become a chained attack hound under the command of others within the Wostyn forces.

Priomb was thought to be behind the disappearance of Kalles recently, but no effort had been made to discern the truth given her disloyalty to the other members of the Schola earning no fondness in return from those who could make such an effort. Information had been leaked to Wostyn soldiers that only been granted by a member of the Schola and she was believed to be behind it given her fondness for the outsiders, and so her disappearance saved them the effort of having to execute her for betraying the trust of their institution to those who sought to destroy it. Fortunately none seemed to desire to fill her shoes and show their 'allies' from Wostyn the same degree of trust, mercy, and affection and so while it was unfortunate one of their number sided against them it helped deter any such behavior from repeating.

That Priomb was present meant that the men furthest back and forming the outermost edges of the encirclement were his personal crew of veteran soldiers, assigned to Priomb to finish whatever was left in his wake so that the prized hound of their forces could continue forcing their foes into submission with sadistic brutality. Unlike most of the other elite teams within their ranks who deeply valued their members and saw them each protecting one another like family the group assigned to Priomb had a fair turnover rate as he was assigned to locations that called for intense conflict.

Whereas other such teams had not lost a single soldier since they were honorably discharged from the Imperial Guard, Priomb's group had none of its original members still in it since even with only one or maybe two dying per deployment it was only natural that given enough time and missions they would lose their members and need replacements. That some were lost to Priomb's own instability was another issue entirely, and one which went unaddressed lest the unfortunate soul who dared to mention it be added to his list of victims.

Even still the soldiers clad in gold and purple customized armor were some of Wostyn's finer members, they just were the ones considered the most expendable amongst their elite and thus assigned to serve under a man who was their blunt instrument for dealing with rebellion whether it be believed or realized. Outnumbering these men by two to one were the mercenaries Isolde was most used to, the ones hired to serve more menial roles and who were not missed if one or two went missing thanks to Kimaran 'weather conditions' every now and again. Even Kimarans would at times be lost to the absolutely unforgiving nature of their world so it was actually expected and planned for the soldiers from Wostyn to lose members here or there, replacements prepared and kept at the ready for such instances.

Unlike the personalized outfits of the veterans present with their gold and purple these lesser members of the Sons of the Emperor were all clad in the same set of desert fatigues and uniforms that were given to them standard issue from Wostyn. They each wore them in their own unique way and did what they could to personalize the uniforms, which when compared to the nigh indistinguishable sets of armor at the Schola it stood out all the more despite these men having little in the ways of resources to properly tailor their outfits.

Personally Isolde thought they looked ridiculous wearing gear meant for the desert on a world that had been frozen over for more than ten thousand years, and she would mock them if she was not preoccupied reading their movements and preparing for whatever it was they were planning. They were prideful in their own way of their own origin, that was something Isolde could understand and sympathize with, but it did not make it any less foolish in her mind. To wear the multi-layered uniforms standard on Kimara on a world like Wostyn would be ill-advised as well, though Isolde had no desire to ever be on such an dry and arid planet.

Most of the mercenaries kept their distance and displayed their experience on the battlefield by taking positions that while allowing them a clear shot at Isolde would prevent return fire from reaching them, while the more novice members stood closer where their shotguns' spread would have a better chance of hitting their target. With each position they took it became more and more obvious that they were intending to take her into custody, as not one had opened fire yet and they maintained proper trigger discipline as they did so. In her wounded state Isolde could not just run from them, and her gear was damaged enough that even if she fled into the wild of Kimara she would succumb to the cold sooner rather than later.

She could not run, but Priomb was stepping forward and now approaching her on his own: a mistake, but a forgivable one given how surrounded Isolde was.

"You left us to die," Isolde commented, her voice cold but restrained as she leered at him from behind her silver visor.

Despite his violence and unstable nature Priomb dressed as if he was a nobleman in regal robes, flaunting the wealth he had come to acquire through taking on duties that needed raw violence for success. As such despite his hulking body frame and reputation it gave him an almost noble patrician persona as he scoffed, "Was the battle not won? Traitors like your kind ought to perish first, it is your penance for the sins of your forefathers against the God Emperor. For a culture shaped by the Iron Warriors I have always found it fascinating that your kind are unwilling to throw your lives away."

The distinction between throwing one's life away for nothing and sacrificing it to achieve something was apparently lost on Priomb if he was not just being purposefully ignorant to insult both Kimara and the Iron Warriors at once. Isolde refrained from informing him on the nuance of such matters, for her attention was focused entirely on something else as he loomed closer.

"Nothing to say? Here I thought the daughter of that insubordinate fool might make for better quarry, but you Kimarans are all the same...silent, dull, it is a tragedy really that you do not make for better company," at half a foot shorter than Isolde Priomb had to look up to meet her gaze when he came close enough to reach her, Isolde not having moved or said anything since she pointed out his inaction, "Are you not going to acknowledge your place and bow to the Captain appointed by Governor Conomor himself? Even in silence your lot are impudent...you devils born of ice and iron ought be grateful that your lives are spent like this protecting those who stand beside Him in all his glory."

Isolde remained still and silent as he drew ever closer, having already sent a message to a group of Tempestus Scions practicing their drills in a neighboring region to extract her from this situation. She doubted they could reach her in time, but to not utilize every tool in her arsenal would prove unwise. The sons of Wostyn were indoctrinated to a fault, and a lifetime of listening to their abuse had left Isolde largely immune to it, especially in light of other, greater crimes.

This man was to blame for those civilians' deaths who fought so bravely to save their home, he hid and cowered while everyday members of the Imperium fought on his behalf. Such cowardice was...

Priomb lunged forward and grabbed Isolde by the throat in a sudden burst of violence, though rather than follow through on it he then brushed his hand across the cold metal of her helmet as if to gently brush her hair.

"Now what to do with you..." he spoke as if savoring every moment of Isolde's complete lack of reaction, "Orders are to bring you to the capital in chains, but while they specified they want you alive they did not say in how many pieces or in what state."

A newer member of his retinue stepped forward as if to move between Priomb and Isolde, his hands holding restraints to secure the Kimaran they were tasked with capturing, "I will secure the target, sir."

It was evident that the mercenary was dutifully carrying out his role, but it was also just as evident from his body language that he was purposefully keeping Isolde from Priomb: if they had been given orders to make certain she stayed alive then not allowing the unstable and violent man free reign to her would be vital, even if that man was his superior officer at the moment.

As if out of polite courtesy the mercenary also gave a nod to Isolde, the warrior aspect of his culture appreciating how Isolde slew the last of the Yormungaros herself, "You have fought bravely, but for reasons unknown to us it is the wish of his majesty that you be taken into cust—"

Anything further he may have said died along with him when Priomb impaled an elongated dagger up through the man's neck into his skull, the man's shackles hitting the ground while his body slumped over and the firearm he kept behind him dislodging from his back.

"Foul heretic! There is no forgiveness in the Emperor's eyes for questioning one's superiors, and to do so is heresy. The words of the Governor are law, and those who dare cross his holy guidance deserve naught but summary execution!" Priomb barked as he began to kick and stomp at the corpse beneath him now, his men stunned and uncertain what to do as their superior thrashed the remains. Isolde remained impassive, waiting for the right moment to make a move that could further ensure her survival. Priomb was unpredictable but his instability gave openings, openings which Isolde sought to exploit after she had stalled for as much time as she could.

Once Priomb's bout of violence ceased and he regained his former calm veneer Isolde gave a small bow, finally taking action and playing off his words and mentality since despite everything Priomb was close to the mark regarding obedience towards one's superior officer.

"I agree: to question one's superior in the Imperium is tantamount to treason. Respect ought to be earned, not given freely, but I shall grant you the respect and dues you are owed as a servant of the Imperium."

This earned Priomb's attention and interest, with the powerful man smirking as Isolde's lowered nature left him momentarily above her in height. She was beneath him in not only station but stature now in his view, the way it ought to be, and so he gave his approval immediately to such a display.

"It seems that you are not so unreasonable after all. If only all of your putrid kind could be so obedient then this would all be easier."

Isolde kept her head bowed as she prostrated herself before him, a simple ploy to drag things out while also lowering his guard at the same time. She removed one gauntlet to expose the eerily pale skin that lay beneath as well as the ring she wore upon it given to her as a seal of authority by her father, a relic dating back to the time of the Great Crusade with craftsmanship since lost to the Imperium. Running her other hand over it briefly, Isolde extended her hand forward with her fingers clenched as if she was holding something to give to Priomb.

"I, Isolde Kohlenstoff, Commandant of the Kimaran Krakens, impart to Priomb, formerly of the Wostyn Hounds and now of the Sons of the Emperor, the following judgment..."

In a fight at this range and with all of his men supporting him Isolde knew she had no way to defeat Priomb, a man built to slaughter his way across a battlefield with a hulking physique to match. That did not however mean she was helpless, and so as Priomb moved closer to accept whatever it was she was offering him Isolde activated the digital weapon within her ring to fire a piercing blast straight through his torso with power enough to crack a vehicle's hull. His luscious robes were suddenly coated by blood as he coughed and lurched forward in sudden shock, only for his resulting instability to cause him to fall back and leave him vulnerable to Isolde's bolt pistol which now pointed down at his skull at enough of a distance that he could not disarm her from where he lay.

"Execution is the greatest reward one of your ilk could hope to receive for your dereliction of duty and cowardice in the face of Humanity's foes. Be grateful you have been treated so generously," Isolde commented ruthlessly, possessing not a single shred of sympathy for the man before her. Perhaps she could have handled things differently, perhaps she could have opted for a peaceful solution if such a thing was possible, but ever since the battle's end this moment had been on her mind. Justice must be meted out, the guilty ought to be punished for the slaughter which could have been avoided, and now Priomb was at her mercy and her hostage.

Now addressing the other men present Isolde began to get a better look around to see how the others reacted to her sudden attack, surprised to find them surprisingly meek in its aftermath as not a single one stepped forward or opened fire, "Lay down your arms or you all shall face Imperial justice! This is your only opportunity, and those who do not take it shall be granted no mercy!"

They did not know that her ring only held a single charge like most digital weapons, with some of those dating back to the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy possessing raw power equivalent to plasma guns or even lascannons. Recharging it would prove difficult, but it had fulfilled its purpose by blindsiding Priomb who instead of receiving an offered gift was pierced through his lung and had a hole punched out of his abdomen. Without medical attention he would die soon, and that was just fine with Isolde so long as he lasted long enough for her to secure a way out of this situation.

Unfortunately for her Priomb possessed a powerful relic of his own, with his fallen form disappearing and then reappearing behind some of his men as if he had teleported. The benefits of piracy and fighting Xenos as a part of the Imperial Guard included access to technology that few others could ever have access to, and despite his belief in himself as a morally righteous member of the Imperium such artifacts were not beyond Priomb's interest for usage in dire circumstances. The ability to teleport short distances and avoid danger was not something many knew about given that he tended to kill all foes who would witness it, but now it allowed him to get out of being Isolde's hostage in a way she could not have foreseen.

Isolde cursed to herself as she realized what happened and grabbed a stray lasgun nearby her to open fire on the Wostyn soldiers who wasted no time in firing back now that Isolde no longer had their superior officer in her clutches. As this firefight began Priomb tried to bark orders to them only for his grievous wound to continually interrupt him as he limped away from the battlefield.

"Get...her...dead or alive...I don't care, just..."

He disappeared into the ruins beyond, likely utilizing his personal technology to flee to safety while he left his men to clean up the mess left behind. Isolde had not fired through his heart out of the desire to use him against his own men, but now she found herself regretting that she lost her window to repay him for what he did. Another in her place may have tried to handle it all differently, but for Isolde there was no option except to swiftly carry out her duties as Commissar since that was what Priomb was owed by his actions. Her authority as Commissar placed her above almost every other Imperial servant on the planet and so Priomb had been right that opposing one's superior officer was liable to result in punishment, and it was so fitting to put him down like a rabid animal following it but such an ironic twist was not meant to be.

A commissar had to be judge, jury, and executioner at times to properly carry out their duties and that was something that fit to Isolde's unforgiving nature. If someone needed to be dealt with she would without hesitation no matter who they were, a heartless witch to the craven and a cold executioner to those who drew her ire. Unlike the civilians who currently lingered at the edge of this block observing the conflict unfold she took action, and while it might not always be ideal it was always calculated to best uphold her values while not sacrificing her life needlessly. Had she simply submitted the chances that the governor would kill her were slim given the circumstances between him and the Commandant, and in fact her likelihood of survival would have been far higher than the route she chose to follow instead.

Pragmatism was valued on Kimara, but Isolde had her father's ideals, those of the Kimara of years passed by, instilled in her since her earliest days and she proudly carried them in her. The tenets, the traits, the very core of what it meant to be Kimaran was who she was and it was simply inconceivable to abide by certain injustices. Dairine might handle them in her own way in the dark, and Verita her own in the shadows, but Isolde was front and center in every activity she engaged in. She would kill a Kimaran the same as she would a soldier from Wostyn if either of them dared to cross the line, for her sense of justice was absolute and did not abide half-hearted responses.

It was very likely about to get her killed in a firefight she could have avoided, but that was irrelevant: it was the right thing to do in her books, and it would spare her whatever fate the Conomors had in mind for her. If she died she died upholding her virtues, and if she lived she will have put them to action by slaying those who stood in opposition.

The distance between them and the fact that she possessed a personal shield atop her reinforced armor meant that much of the incoming firepower never even laid a scratch on her, but those utilizing shotguns slowly closed in on her to make their pellets better strike at her and her shielding. She was fortunately able to return fire out of said shielding, but things that drew too close to her would be far more difficult to deter like the bullets and lasgun fire now impacting the shield harmlessly.

Isolde focused her own lasgun fire on the closest of the mercenaries to stop their approach, rushing towards him as her weapon tore through his desert tunic thanks to his lack of refractor shielding. While he stumbled Isolde bashed her gun down on him to knock him down, then fired into his exposed throat to finish him before leaping away from him to keep moving and lower the chances of being struck by more incoming fire. She could not absorb it all with her defense field, but by lessening the amount that made contact with her shield Isolde could perhaps further stall for time.

Unfortunately for her the injury to her leg made her sudden movement make her leg buckle beneath her when she landed, Isolde gritting her teeth as she forced herself back up to accurately gun down the next closest soldier as his compatriots all continued to shoot her. The target she chose tried to avoid her lasgun fire but rubble from the prior battle slowed his movement and allowed Isolde to strike him in the side and cause him to trip and fall over a corpse. Unable to properly finish him off given where he fell, Isolde twisted around and fired at the first soldier she saw. It was a losing battle even if she was preying upon some of their more vulnerable members, but that did not mean she had to give up.

Her shielding faltered momentarily given the sheer volume of fire output by the Wostyn soldiers present, their approach to the battle being simple yet effective by just overwhelming her with sheer numbers and strength while not taking risks. Their orders from the governor himself made it dangerous to act without a certain degree of control, and the fact that she was desired alive meant that they had to control their shots to focus on her lower body to lessen the chance that they might strike her heart or head. This limitation did not mean no stray fire struck at her helmet when her shield would fall for a moment, but it was by chance rather than design as the two sides exchanged fire.

Isolde grit her teeth as she could feel her armor get seared at various points by the lasguns firing at her, the carapace mostly stopping the shotgun pellets thus far but already she could feel some of their ilk having embedded into the protective gear. They stopped the bullets thus far and undamaged parts of it likely could take even more punishment, but her defenses which far outstripped those of her opposition were not perfect and would eventually fail. That inevitability did not mean she had to surrender though, as the inevitable moment when she began to take the damage herself only further inspired Isolde to continue fighting back to delay it.

To have survived the Yormungaros and then die to these rats would be pathetic in Isolde's mind, and so she tossed aside the lasgun in her hands when a stray shot damaged it only to then pick up another and keep firing. Perseverance was key and so even as her body became bruised beneath the armor protecting her Isolde kept fighting on against her foes whose mission hamstrung their lethality: they were fighting to capture but Isolde was fighting to kill, and so she held back nothing.

A shotgun wielding soldier approached Isolde with the intent of blowing her legs off only for her to twist around and engage him next, firing at him a split second before he properly aimed at her legs: the resulting exchange saw her lasgun tear through his torso and arm, throwing his aim off and firing far higher than initially intended. While they exchanged fire the other mercenaries continued their own attacks in a coordinated volley of lasgun fire that together overloaded her shielding, a ploy by the soldiers to finally deal with her formidable protection and open Isolde up for debilitating shots that could then cripple her and make capturing her simple.

The lack of coordination between the veterans who knew to time their shots with one another to get past the shielding and the more rookie member who fired the shotgun meant however that they opened the path for his blast to rip across Isolde's upper torso and head with minimal shielding to protect her. Her helmet had fulfilled its purpose: the shotgun blast had struck across its armored plating and visor both, but no projectiles penetrated fully through it. The lack of proximity had caused the pellets to spray across Isolde's body and lessened the overall concussive force to any one part of her, allowing her armor to properly mitigate almost all of the damage sustained. What impact still remained forced Isolde to stumble from a bout of disorientation, and her visor had been further damaged to the point of obscuring her vision where the pellets cracked it.

Faced with either protecting her head and being blind to the threats around her or discarding the helmet and regaining her vision, Isolde rapidly removed the piece of equipment impeding her ability to respond to the Wostyn soldiers. Years of training with the very same gear had taught Isolde how to efficiently handle it both in the comfort of the Schola and in the field. While grateful to the helmet which just saved her head from being torn to pieces Isolde considered it a tool to be discarded once it no longer was fit for purpose: to hold onto it for even a moment would be unnecessary sentimentality and for those trained at Kimara's Schola Progenium pragmatism and efficiency were core tenets of their doctrine.

This tossing of her helmet aside was made possible by her personal shielding restarting and deflecting the other projectiles fired at her for the short duration it took. It might not stop every single shot heading her way, but it was powerful and more capable than the typical refractor fields utilized by Imperial officers. If not for her present circumstances Isolde would ponder the possible requisition and feasibility of numerous such devices, as the Imperial Rosarius was not particularly large yet possessed significant stopping power on its own and could perhaps further her defensive prowess.

Once her head was free of her helmet Isolde swept down to grab the shotgun of one fallen soldier while her shield redirecting a blast of pellets headed her way from the same soldier who damaged her helmet. In response Isolde lifted her own acquired shotgun and opened fire right back at him, blowing the man off his feet and tearing through his abdominal armor. Despite being shot at by the very same model of weapon the damage inflicted was severely different simply due to the fact Isolde's shielding could shrug off most of the incoming fire she faced while the soldier's lack of such protection meant he had to endure the full blast.

A hail of energy striking from behind forced Isolde to momentarily shift forward, some of the lasgun fire managing to strike through her shielding and hit the back of her armor where it dissipated. The damage to her own body was minimal, but scorch marks showed where it had struck the hardened carapace she wore.

From where she was struck Isolde could estimate the position of who fired at her, allowing her to twist around and open fire as one fluid motion that obliterated the arm of the lasgun wielder. The man had been rushing towards her as he fired to try and bypass her shield which in turn made her retaliatory shot tear through his armor and body. This did not deter him however, as with his uninjured arm he grabbed a Power Sword from his side and lifted it up to swing down at Isolde.

With no tool to parry the blade and her shotgun in need of reloading Isolde followed her training and lunged forward where the blade would slip past her. The soldier's arm overextended and his other in tatters, Isolde slammed her armored forearm and the shotgun she wielded across his face and upper torso with all of her strength. While nowhere as strong as the Astartes she nearly stood as tall as Isolde still had trained her body since her earliest years and possessed enough mass behind her colossal form to slam the shorter man off his feet with one sudden strike.

Another Wostyn soldier approached Isolde from behind, roaring in anger likely at the death of one of his comrades or kin, but that very Human emotional response clued Isolde into where he was. Before she could finish off the soldier she had just knocked prone she was forced to kick out a leg back into this new threat, catching him off-guard as her lengthy limb extended with the force one would expect given the raw muscle packed in her thighs. The swinging kick back twisted him around and gave Isolde the opportunity to pivot on her other leg to smash her shotgun across his back and knock him onto the ground like his comrade.

While possessing her own form of grace it was evident from her movements that Isolde was on the backfoot and was scrambling from moment to moment to eliminate whatever threat was closest to her at that point in time. Any finesse or precision was being sacrificed for rapid responses that would buy her the next window of time to react to another threat, and if not for her personal shielding Isolde would have already been overwhelmed. As much as she was a peak example of the female Kimaran form Isolde was still just a Human at the end of the day, one trained for years to reach her potential and to have the skills necessary to fend off whatever threat she faced, but she lacked the superhuman reflexes and swiftness her close friend possessed. It was everything she could do to just hold these soldiers off while they impeded themselves to try and take her alive, while if Dairine was in her place they would likely have been cut down with ruthless efficiency already.

The lack of ammunition in the shotgun she held forced Isolde to grab her bolt pistol from her side to fire down at the soldier in front of her, executing him before he could regain his footing as his cranium and blood splattered across the snow that had fallen into the Fortress City's exposed block. By now the lasgun soldier had begun to lift himself back up with his blade in hand, forcing Isolde to then deal with him even as incoming gunfire struck at her shielding and bits broke through to strike her armor. Twisting around again, Isolde collided her foot into his face in a makeshift roundhouse kick that knocked him down again and bought her the moment she needed to fire a pistol round through his skull with the practiced talent of a Commissar.

Despite eliminating the two closest threats to her Isolde still stood in what had become a crossfire from the Wostyn regiment, and so even as she finished off the two men she had only a moment to reload the shotgun with stray ammunition on the corpses around her before she had to stand again and return fire. The near success at reaching her had emboldened the remaining soldiers and so they were closing in on her while snap-firing their weapons at their target, trading raw accuracy for proximity with which they could fully overwhelm Isolde. Her mental fog from the impacts she had already taken and the near panic her situation thrust upon her blinded Isolde to the fact that she was winded and breathing fairly heavily, but it was evident to her foes thanks to her lack of helmet which revealed her features.

Prioritizing the one closest to her as their lasgun fire harmlessly dissipated off her shielding, Isolde fired thrice into him before he finally fell dead right before her feet. A man right behind him caught her next shot directly in the chest and so his charge was halted momentarily, but his armor fulfilled its purpose and saved his vitals from any damage. While Isolde had fired that shot into him another nearby soldier had managed to draw blood from her with a shotgun blast that caught her side. The hardened carapace armor she wore negated much of the damage, but it was damaged in the process and so in an ironic twist it was the armor's deformed nature from the blast which directly cut into her. Like her helmet before it the armor did its job, but now that portion was more impeding than beneficial with how it was actively cutting into Isolde's side and restricting her movements to a degree.

Rather than risk taking another hit from the same angle that would risk her actual flesh Isolde shifted her stance to have armor facing the shotgun, taking another hit that was partially blocked by her shielding but also had some pellets strike through and impact across her still protected midsection. In retaliation Isolde lifted her own pillaged shotgun to fire back at him, securing her feet to the ground with her boots' ability to lock down for ice and snow-filled terrain. With her feet secured in a more open stance it allowed Isolde to hold the shotgun in one arm and to brace its kickback with her body while simultaneously grabbing her pistol from where she had reflexively holstered it at her side. With bolt pistol in one hand and her shotgun cradled in her other arm she traded shotgun fire with one target while gunning down the other with her pistol, the kickback of both weapons straining her body but it being the only way she could properly deal with both threats.

Isolde paid more attention to the shotgun wielder rather than the other soldier whose firearm had been knocked away from him and who sought to instead swing a curved blade at her. The training she had to undergo to become a commissar saw her relentlessly train with the bolt pistol and so without even directly looking she was able to use her peripheral vision to fire shots into his center mass. The damage already done by her prior gunfire saw the bolter rounds tear through his chest before Isolde weaponized the recoil to fire a shot up into his skull with the final round in her clip.

Her shotgun fire eventually broke through the armor of the opposing shotgun wielder as she focused her efforts on wielding that firearm, its raw firepower and resulting force back upon her necessitating such attention as compared to the relative nature of the bolt pistol in her hand. Despite his armor being shredded the man's zeal carried him forward and he managed to stab at Isolde with a custom Power Sword that was half the size of a typical one. Isolde's shielding failed for a moment after trying to respond to this threat, and so she was forced to sacrifice the shotgun in her hand to stop the blade from
reaching her body. Wrenching the shotgun up and over the soldier's head, Isolde forced the Power Sword up as well and grabbed down at his side where a laspistol was holstered.

As Isolde grabbed hold of the laspistol her own sidearm hit the ground, discarded because its lack of ammunition and time to reload made it worthless to her. She struggled to properly aim the stolen laspistol for a moment as she and the Wostyn mercenary struggled over the shotgun his nimble Power Sword was embedded within, its size making it adept for extremely close-quarters situations but lacking the full strength of a larger blade. His usage of two hands meant that he was winning the struggle, and while he sought to tear free from the damaged firearm and strike directly at Isolde she was only able to alter the path of his swing and have it graze her arm. The armor there was completely sheared off, but thanks to its reinforced nature Isolde herself was spared more than superficial damage right as her faltering shielding managed to block his follow-up strike and buy her the moment she needed to fire his own pistol right into his chest, neck, and chin with a desperate flurry of shots.

So focused was she on the power struggle over the shotgun that Isolde did not at first notice that she had dislodged one of her feet from its anchoring to shift and avoid the Power Sword's swing, or that she had been sustaining concentrated lasgun fire into her back where the shielding only managed to now impede parts of it. The heat of the gunfire reached her as the lasguns finally overcame her back armor, but by the time Isolde could dislodge her other foot and properly respond she was face to face with a brute of a man far larger than his kin tackling her off her feet.

Isolde slammed down onto the cold snow and felt its wet nature sneak into her semi-exposed back, her outer armor penetrated at points but not yet shot through thanks to the emphasis on protection Kimarans had in their personal armor. A typical Imperial Guard flak jacket would have been fully destroyed by this point, but the armor prepared for her by the Commandant was well beyond the standards of the soldiers thrown into war by the Guard and instead was second only to a suit of Power Armor. While he did not outwardly show much warmth or favoritism for his daughter it was evident to all that the Commandant prioritized her safety above almost anything, and he would not have her deploy in anything less than the best he could requisition for her specific duties.

As the snow began to seep into her tunic Isolde brought a leg up to her chest and planted it into the man who tackled her, dislodging him with a forceful kick straight into his gut beneath where his armor plating protected. Unlike Isolde whose abnormal size was accounted for by the Schola for her personal gear, the large size of this Wostyn soldier was not as compensated by his own superiors who likely viewed him as nothing more than a grunt given the prison tattoos and markings he possessed which showed that he was recruited from less than ideal circumstances on his part.

The kick was strong, but thanks to the sizable mass possessed by the former criminal he was not knocked off his feet and instead was just forced back onto them from his position atop Isolde. He had struck at the moment he had due to noticing her boots were not stabilizing her, showing that despite his massive physique he was also crafty and a greater threat than the fodder that was being thrown at Isolde to wear her down.

As he regained his footing two others reached Isolde and stabbed down at her prone form, seeking to disable her arms during this period of limited mobility and its resulting vulnerability. The first instead saw his dagger disarmed near reflexively by Isolde's years of training at the Schola which included how to wrench a foe's weapon from them, while the second had his own blade stopped at the last moment by the dagger Isolde had just stolen. Throwing her shoulder up into the chin of the man now looming inches above her, Isolde slashed her dagger across his wrist not on purpose but as a result of her conditioning and training. She was fighting on instinct alone and while her foes were seeking to possibly take her alive their lives meant nothing to her in return, giving her an edge to exploit even if she was not rationally thinking in the moment.

His blade fell at Isolde's side as the damage done to his wrist forced him to drop it, and Isolde used the opening to smash the blunt end of the weapon into his skull and knock him away as she used her other arm to resist the other man's attempt to reclaim his weapon. His efforts were successful in that he did take back the dagger, but the manner he achieved this was through having it shoved into and through the back of his throat. Isolde shoved his dying form away from her as she twisted over to punch the man on her other side in the face, his attempt to grab his weapon again drawing him in close enough to Isolde for her to reach him.

While he was stunned for this brief moment Isolde retrieved his weapon before him and slashed upwards at his torso, abusing his attempt to take her in alive and slaying him outright. Any respite this may have bought her was vanquished as the leviathan man returned, his height almost matching Isolde's own and his general breadth and depth far greater such that he likely possessed a mass equivalent to five of Isolde. With a kick to her exposed side Isolde was sent tumbling over before she could stop herself against the dead body of a soldier she had already slain. Now laying face down, Isolde tried to rise up only to have the man's boot stamp down into her spine.

This impact forced the air out of Isolde as she fought to struggle against the weight stepping down upon her to no avail. Reaching down, the giant grabbed Isolde by the back of the head and slammed her face down into the snow that already had formed a thick layer atop the city's surface. Isolde twisted her head so that her nose would not be broken upon striking the hard surface, the snow helping to lessen the damage but her head still ringing from the impact.

Focusing his efforts on Isolde's right arm, the soldier stepped down onto it and moved to snap it with leverage...only to realize a moment too late that Isolde had rolled over to draw her body closer to the arm and had with her other arm twisted her lengthy limb to stab into his groin with a hastily grabbed blade. Isolde's breath was ragged, her body was bleeding from numerous points, her armor was in tatters, but so long as she could still fight she would do so.

It was already the nature of Kimarans to fight to the end rather than surrender, but Isolde's childhood had included her observation of videos that the Imperium would no doubt consider heretical: she saw how the Iron Warriors fought, endured, and in particular admired the way that one Neophyte refused to give in. Even if every bone in her body was broken in the process she would not admit defeat, and that was a weapon in and of itself. Her enhancements may not have made her considerably stronger than a Human of her size ought to be, but she did possess raw toughness beyond what one would expect and so by treating her like a normal woman her foes had underestimated her durability and resolve.

Each moment in the fight so far had been a desperate struggle for survival, a conflict between those of competing motives and emotions and their foe whose only goal was to live. Instead of fighting to kill her foes Isolde instead prioritized whatever bought her that next moment of life, and so while she did eliminate her targets it was only when the opportunity presented itself and another threat was not directly presenting itself.

That the 'Sons of the Emperor' or whatever they called themselves held back their underlings carried out their orders, expendable troops who had yet to climb to the upper echelons of their society. It was evident that the veterans only held back from fighting because they were commanded to, their lust for glory almost overpowering their resolve. Lowly mercenaries like those being sent forward were cheap and expendable to a planetary force which had countless more to draw from while the veterans of numerous wars and conflicts could not be so easily replaced, so they would rather a dozen of their goons
fall than one of their own even if their superior training and coordination would overwhelm Isolde immediately. It was ruthless and cutthroat, but it was the ideal option from a point of resources: slain mercenaries did not have to be paid after all, and it was not like the Conomors were so foolish as to pay them upfront given the risk of mercenaries fleeing once their monetary compensation was acquired or no longer tenable for them.

If these conscripts to their force wanted to enter into their esteemed ranks they would have to prove themselves and earn the right to not be thrown away like trash, and so despite their rising casualties the eager young men continued to fight for their own future prosperity and comfort. The rising star that was Wostyn in the sector held boundless possibilities for its sons who served upon Kimara, and so it was vital that they seize upon whatever opportunity came their way before someone else did and claimed whatever high bounty that would follow.

That very same greed was not lost to even those who had secured their future however, and so one of the veterans broke rank and leapt into the conflict the moment Isolde was knocked off her feet. All that mattered was who captured her in the end, not who brought her down, and so while she wrenched and twisted the blade lodged within the behemoth the opportunistic veteran seized the opportunity granted to attack Isolde from a different angle.

All Isolde could do in the short window of time she had to respond to the sudden threat was to roll over and elbow his wrist to force his stab downward aimed at her shoulder to instead impale the ground beside her with his Power Sword. She could feel its energy radiate from where it lay as the snow around it melted, but it was not enough to stop him. The veteran stomped down on her upper torso and pinned her down once again through force, drawing a more personal dagger to cut down at her and negate her as a threat.

Instead a shotgun blast knocked the veteran off his feet mid-swing, not killing him outright but the force strong enough to carry his body through the air as it punched a hole straight through his armor. Unlike its descendant utilized by those from Wostyn, the original model of shotgun used on Kimara was concentrated and traded area of effect for penetrative power.

A confused Isolde was given reprieve finally thanks to an unknown source, and it took her a moment to gather herself given her lack of breath and her dizzied head. After a few moments Isolde managed to at least lift her upper body up enough to look around, finding that other veteran soldiers had moved in to assist their fellow comrade or possibly to claim the glory for themselves. They were greedy, but there was a genuine brotherhood between those with a cultish reverence for the Emperor of Mankind, and after fighting together for years their bonds were deep.

This all would mean immediate defeat for Isolde in her condition if not for the source of the shotgun blast that knocked one of their members back. Beyond the veteran members Isolde's blurred vision could make out the forms of the local civilians who had gathered around the conflict, and in their hands were the weapons of the fallen from the Yormungaros battle. They might accept the seeming righteous punishment of a lawbreaker or rebel, but the Commissar who had just saved their city was under assault by those who refused to stand in its defense: the Emperor of Mankind's servant and extension of his will was under threat, and their personal debt accrued by Isolde's actions that day meant that their competing loyalties in the conflict won out in her favor. It was unorganized and organic, but once one drew a weapon so too did the others who had gathered until one became ten that became fifty and more.

Like Isolde the veteran soldiers had their own personalized gear and for many that included refractor fields and reinforced armor, each of them personally capable of going toe to toe with the well-equipped Tempestus of the Schola who had superior training even if they lacked the same field experience and knowledge one accrued through actual conflict. These were some of the top soldiers of the Imperium, a small fraction of the veterans who were mostly kept cloistered around the Planetary Governor, but when fired upon from behind unexpectedly even they could fall.

The sudden turnabout caught the Wostyn soldiers off-guard, having spent years knowing the Kimarans to be blindly obedient to their authority figures and thus mistakenly presuming themselves safe from backlash. Individuals might rise in defiance when pushed to the brink, but no large group had ever formed because so often those lording over the Kimarans were the sole authority figures present. By considering themselves above Isolde in importance and jurisdiction the Sons of the Emperor had erroneously thought that those around them perceived the situation the same way.

That they were wrong in such a presumption was why some of them were caught unaware by the shotguns pointed at their backs.

While potent in their own right, refractor fields were inferior to the personal shield protecting Isolde through much of the battle until it was worn down. As such the initial volley of the growing group of rioters barely scratched most of their targets, but two Wostyn men were cut down immediately as they closed in on Isolde while a third had much of his leg removed.

In response to this the veterans commanded their lesser counterparts to redirect their attention on the crowd gathered, the natural result of which was a widescale firefight. While the veterans had mostly been protected by their individual gear the conscripts had been largely torn apart when suddenly they were fired upon from behind, a cowardly tactic perhaps but one which no Kimaran present cared to consider as such: it was simply the smart move if one was to engage the soldiers present, to attack them while their attention was all diverted to one point. Pragmatism won over concepts such as glory or honor, and that was exactly why they had formed such strong bonds with the Iron Warriors once upon a time. Such traits had only been honed over the years and so the rioters took up arms without reservation or a single ounce of guilt concerning how.

Isolde had fought for them and had executed a military officer for daring to not do the same, and so it was only natural that even these civilians who had never seen her before that day would possess feelings of loyalty towards her. Isolde had struck a memorable figure throughout the prior battle, leading her forces directly and only outlasting them due to her superior training rather than cowardice and hiding behind them the way the Wostyn garrison had. Those who had fought and perished were their kin, friends, and coworkers, and to have lost them in such an avoidable way was not only heart wrenching to even the icy Kimarans, it was also a waste and wasted lives and sacrifices were anathema to their culture.

A Fortress City could possess a wealth of civilians within its walls, and while their access to firearms was limited every Wostyn soldier who fell granted one or more to the mob forming around where the Yormungaros struck. It was inevitable that some more of the civilians rising up would fall, but as they did more stepped forward to take their place and their weapons to overwhelm the mercenaries the same way they had done to Isolde. Unlike Isolde however no reinforcements were to come for the Wostyn soldiers, for despite the screeching of Shetth the Skitarii stationed within the inner walls did not deploy to put down the riot. His commands had been overridden by others who sympathized with the plight beyond their facility, and while he possessed followers within their ranks not all within their own upper echelons were subservient to the planetary governor. Other members of the Wostyn garrison found themselves locked out in other segments of the base, their command codes overridden by other members of the Mechanicus.

The conflict was brief given its circumstances, but as it drew to an inevitable, swift conclusion Isolde found herself rising to join those who were following what could be considered their biological programming in fighting back. Her injuries prevented her from contributing a great deal more than she already had, but simply standing tall and towering above all the others within the ensuing chaos gave the rioters a rallying point. The only kill she would personally see to throughout the remainder of the fight was that of the giant who sought to avenge his severe wound to his lower body, with Isolde coldly gunning him down with her retrieved and reloaded bolt pistol. It had been passed along to her by a Kimaran woman whose wrinkles and silver hair showed that they had survived many years upon the Death World and that they were a veteran in their own right, and Isolde appreciated the gesture of handing her the weapon to continue fighting even merely standing was difficult now.

That the Kimarans were cowed into subservience was not because they were meek by nature or too weak to protect themselves in any manner, but rather it was their conditioning all their lives to believe that they carried the guilt of their ancestors and had to repent even if in their hearts they did not believe what they were told. To survive on Kimara was to fight for your life every time you stepped outside the safety of your city to carry out back-breaking labor and fend off abominable creatures as well as nature itself, and so while many of the civilians now rising up did not have official military training almost all knew the basics required to see to their continued existence on a world that actively sought to kill everything upon it.

Enduring upon a world that so violently treated all those upon it was the shared legacy and tradition of their people, and so when given reason to fight back they did so with the same cold-hearted and ruthless way they would engage any of the wild beasts they could encounter in the wilderness. Stoic endurance was not just bred into them at this point, it was actively enforced by Kimara itself as a planet as excess energy wasted was energy that could have been used to see to your very survival. A blizzard did not care if its sudden tempest of winds and its frigid particles unfairly caught you in a vulnerable moment, the Yormungaros would actively prey upon your misery, and weakness would be instantly exploited by Hoarverns and more as soon as it was sensed.

Most of those who rallied around Isolde were not anywhere near as capable as their lost husbands, their brothers, or their sons who were now lost to Kimara, but they had survived these past decades without them and so possessed a fair modicum of experience. On the surface they were simple civilians with only menial skillsets, but the fact that they were alive at all spoke to their resilience. They might be utterly lacking in certain other traits such as the willingness to attempt diplomacy as evidenced by their opening fire rather than dialogue, but what they could do they did well. This very trait was part of what made them readily act in Isolde's defense, her firefight having only spanned a brief span of time despite all that happened in those dire moments.

Dire moments which happened to have been captured by the integrated camera of a helmet discarded in the battle. Said helmet was now worn atop Bo's head after he joined his master in the conflict's aftermath, the creature desiring the object for its shiny visor and how it smelled of his owner even if the exterior was cracked and had shotgun fragments lodged in it.

By the time Isolde was retrieved by the Tempestus team she contacted she had nearly collapsed from her injuries, only still standing thanks to the support of the civilians who came to her aid. It was not a long wait at all but it did reinforce to Isolde that she made the right decision, as for the first time in her life she saw her people smiling. They had fought and saved someone in had already fought to save them mere minutes before, and they did so with full legal support of the Imperium by helping answer the call for justice the Commissar put out.

They were alive and for many this was the first taste of victory they had in their entire lives, an addicting taste to those who had never had such a spark illuminate their existence or bring warmth to their frozen spirits. Isolde had been sent to acquire allies for the future the Commandant sought, and by carrying out her civic duty to her fellow Kimarans she had earned favor that would see all of Fakultat rally behind them in honor of the young woman whose stubborn, unforgiving and merciless stand mirrored the feelings they had kept buried within them for years.

Isolde had nearly gotten herself killed for principle and pride, but the risk she took paid off and would carry forward in ways she could not have imagined in the tumultuous days to come.

(Part 1)​

 

[Thunderscourge]

Verita was the first of the their personal group to return to the Schola that day, pleased with her findings within the former capital fortress and through her investigation of the present day one. There were still numerous unknown digits to the mysterious box she carried around, but she was a step closer to discovering the truth behind it. Not only that, how many could truthfully claim they discovered direct proof to show that the crown prince of the Jarn family survived the massacre that removed them from power?

Despite the implications of her discovery Verita did keep the secret to herself for the moment, as to share it without further corroboration and research would be reckless and could cause political purges to ensue. The truth was a powerful tool, and if she was right the Conomors' hold over Kimara was far more precarious than any of their people might imagine. Should a Jarn rise from the ashes of Kimara and take their rightful place among the people they once ruled the entire political paradigm of their world would change, and civil war would become inevitable.

Whether that would be a positive or negative thing would be determined by the involvement of the Imperium, as their resources and power would greatly outstrip anything rebels might hope to possess upon Kimara and serious enough escalation could result in exterminatus or further pogroms like those done previously to the Kimarans under the guise of 'conscription' and 'service'. For now Verita would keep this truth to herself until she could unveil it properly to her people without that revelation resulting in their execution, but it would take time and planning to properly handle such information after further verifying it.

Verita checked in with the Commandant about the information she secured earlier from her contact concerning a possible riot in Fortress City Alpha-KO-35 and after finishing her report left his office to allow him to handle his own duties, though not before noticing that there was a portrait in the room that matched the style of two others she had seen that day that seemed to be of Isolde but subtle differences an untrained eye wouldn't notice set them apart. What it all meant was something else Verita would have to mull over as she recovered, and so she made no mention of it as she departed.

While used to it by now the traveling she engaged in across Kimara's landscape and the storms she passed through left Verita aching, and so as reward for her success she collapsed down upon a bed allegedly set aside for Ixolotls but in reality was used to house agents working for the Commandant. Given the tendency of Ixolotls to gather in groups it was a large bed and it was far more comfortable than the ones typically used at the Schola, thus making it a satisfying way to relax after a long day for her.

Seta joined her with a running start to allow the Ixolotl's short legs to properly leap up onto the bed, it being somewhat low to the ground but not enough for a juvenile Ixolotl to easily get on top without an owner or mature Ixolotl's aid. Reunited with her master, the creature began trying to forcefully give the tired Acolyte the daily news it had been giving others at points that day, quite insistent that its master receive the same seemingly important object that Seta was supposed to give to Kimarans on the street. After all it must be important, as Seta was given them to hand out nearly every day and people seemed to like receiving them, so 'gifting' the master who first gave her the news was only natural to the still developing animal.

Verita grinned to herself as she accepted the paper before setting it aside, Seta's interest in it fading the exact moment that the Ixolotl was certain it had been handed out, and so Verita shifted her attention to holding her squishy companion while processing everything she had witnessed throughout the day. So much had happened, so much had been inspected, and so much was left in question that she felt the need to further digest it with her inquisitive brain. Perhaps by stringing the facts and data she acquired together she could come upon further truths...but such dissection of her findings would have to wait, as the bed shifted suddenly and she found herself joined by a collapsed Dairine.

It was evident from Dairine's body that she was quite wounded, though said wounds had already been medically treated and her condition did not appear so severe as to require further medical aid. Hospitalization within the city itself was definitely out of the question given that Dairine was officially dead, and whatever battle Dairine engaged in which saw her obtain these wounds was definitely not something they wanted tying back to the Schola or any of its members. Fortunately the Schola's own medical staff knew how to keep a secret, so should the occasion come that Dairine needed their full care she could receive it without question. After all, Kimarans shared so many physical features that passing Dairine off as another student would be laughably easy to handle within their own walls.

"Seems like you had an interesting night out in the town. Make any friends?" Verita mused to her fellow orphaned daughter of Kimara, the years they spent living, training, and toiling together making them closer than many actual siblings might be.

The exhausted Dairine buried herself face down into a pillow and pulled it in closer to her, "Dozens, but unfortunately our meetings were quite short-lived. They just couldn't keep pace with my dancing."

"How do you ever expect to get a husband if you keep trampling on feet like that?"

"You are one to talk, Ver. You do know that you cannot marry secrets and your other discoveries, right?" Dairine scoffed, "And before you say it, no, being married to your work does not count."

"At least I bring a refractor field with me on my assignments. You are fast, but you cannot outrun a bullet Dairy."

"Where is the challenge in it if their weapons cannot even touch me?"

Verita sighed, knowing she would not win that argument based on emotion rather than logic and so pivoted back, "You know, Clausura is a part of an all-female organization of zealots and still will likely get married before either of us. That boy she grew up with is an Inquisitor now and working alongside her Order."

"He can't be older than what, eighteen, twenty? Can you even be an Inquisitor at that age?"

"All it takes is other Inquisitors agreeing to it, and I hear he is a Psyker and those are always in short supply...of all the Inquisitors to have work with the Sororitas why they would pick the Psyker is beyond me."

"Keep digging on this guy. Clausura might be a stuck-up, self-righteous bitch with a boltgun, but I need to know if I have to go hunting."

"When I know more so will you...until then try not to splatter his brains across her Power Armor?"

"When it concerns one of our own I promise nothing."

Dairine's proclamation of protection and loyalty was followed by her own Ixolotl noticing her presence, with the rambunctious salamander-creature cleanly leaping atop the bed in a single bound before jumping up and down atop his owner's back. While Zeno, as he was called now after much deliberation on Dairine's part, meant to rouse her to play with him he instead obliviously stamped down upon wounds which prompted Dairine to roll over and scoop him up in her arms to both restrain and hold him. His name came from how Dairine had due to her particularly lithe features mockingly been called a Xeno by Kalles in days long since past along with how those of Wostyn considered Ixolotls to be Xenos, so to satiate her own brand of humor Dairine named her pet something which was pronounced the same way.

Content instead with this arrangement, Zeno began to wag his tail, not caring as it slapped into Verita's side until his sister Seta's wagging of her tail struck his. This collision confused them both but prompted no reflection, instead resulting in them noticing the other was present and brushing up against one another between their owners. While Zeno was energetic and as thrill-seeking as the mellow species he belonged to could be Seta reflected her owner as well by being quite inquisitive in most instances.

The sweet and loving Seta also had been known to have evolved the games of hide and seek children played with Ixolotls into one involving shiny objects: she had a habit of moving the 'shinies' that belonged to other people, but she never took them for her own collection. Instead objects would just disappear on occasion and reappear somewhere else in the same room without explanation, prompting theories of ghastly apparitions until a video recording caught Seta running around a hallway haphazardly before placing an object in a completely different area than it originally had been.

That Seta only did this when alone and was happy to see others find the misplaced objects told Verita that her pet indeed thought it was a game, and since it did not really hurt anyone she allowed it to continue even if it did cause the occasional headache. It was just nice to return to the Schola and rest beside an animal companion that was wholly affectionate. Even the stoic daughters of Kimara could not endure brushes with the underworld and the darkness that had befallen their society without moments to take their minds off of it. In this way their pets were like batteries, giving them the strength to carry on to the next day of hard but necessary work to restore Kimara to how it ought to be.

Last to return was Isolde, whose arrival was not heralded by suddenly appearing beside the others but rather by Bo looking up at the bed with a confused look, as if he was not quite certain how he was supposed to get up. If told to he would jump up without hesitation once the command registered, but despite possessing a far greater breadth of training than Seta or Zeno actually using his training was the question with Bo. Without guidance he would just sort of do whatever he pleased as was typical of his species, but it was especially pronounced with Bo which was likely a reflection of his owner for much of the past decade.

Just as Isolde had her own directive and pace she followed so too did Bo do things as he wished, such as occasionally sitting down in the dining hall where the Schola students were supposed to sit and then await food as if he was one of the ones dining. Intelligent but sporadically oblivious and moving at his own tempo, Bo was the most Ixolotl of all the Ixolotls at the Schola and the top of his class the same way Isolde was for her own. He worked hard and did as instructed which was what made him a successful learner, the only times he ran into problems was when he had to apply that knowledge and either did not feel like it or was distracted by something else.

Eventually Bo came to the decision that the comfy mattress and soft blanket covering it were worth burying his face into, resulting in the 'thud' of his head pressing into the soft surface that gave Ixolotls the sensation of touching others of their kind. This was what clued Verita and Dairine into his arrival and thus Isolde's, as when they arrived there were no Ixolotls other than Olym present in this section of the Schola. Given that Olym was tall enough to just climb on top of the bed if he so desired and that he was presently with the Commandant in his nearby office it meant it had to be some other Ixolotl, and of them only Isolde's would feel so comfortable trying to join them.

Verita shifted so she could peer out the door and found herself seeing something quite memorable: the Commandant bringing Isolde into a firm hug, casting aside his strict disciplinarian persona for a moment to instead embrace his daughter. In all their years living together such glimpses at the man behind the title were few and far between, and Verita could scarcely remember seeing such relief and physical contact shared between the two before.

With them was of course Olym but also the Commandant's personal assistant Iota who lurked in the type of shadows that Verita usually spent her days uncovering, though despite their positions being at odds Verita held no ill will towards the woman. They were Dairine's handler and primary trainer these days, and while no explanation was given as to who she was or why she aided the Commandant her aid was welcome and appreciated. Verita got the feeling that Iota had always been there and it was only because they now worked alongside the Commandant in his off-the-record operations that she revealed herself at all.

Isolde gave her father something which Verita recognized as a recording given the technology they shared at the Schola, and for but a brief moment Verita thought she caught a trace of a smile on Iota's face as she looked at the father and daughter. Verita was smiling as well from the dark room she lay in at seeing her friend, or rather sister, receive validation and affection from her father so perhaps it was just a natural response...but what bond did Iota have with Isolde that would result in a flicker of warmth?

"What matters is that you are safe," Verita heard the Commandant say to Isolde in response to her filling him in about the events which lead to her entire uniform and armor being as disheveled and damaged as they were. It looked as if Isolde had just been in the fight of her life and it was obvious she would never have made it home if some of her injuries had been worse, if her armor had not been reinforced as per the standards of the Schola and of Kimara, and if she had not spent hours and hours every day her entire life training and preparing for battle.

That alone was a relief to Verita, who had very nearly lost her dear friend without even being aware that she was in such danger, and while Dairine was similarly harmed and now resting the haughty assassin also had moved to glance over at the scene before them. Dairine smirked in approval, as she would have thought less of the Commandant if he had just ignored Isolde's wounds.

"Seems like you are going to have a long night patching Isolde up, Ver."

"Don't remind me," Verita sighed, knowing that she was the healthiest of the three on this occasion but also aware that she could have died just like them given the risks she took. Despite her own pains though she would abide by their trio's agreement from years ago that saw Isolde mend Dairine's injuries, Dairine mend Verita's, and Verita mend Isolde's own. Isolde created the system for a degree of efficiency as they could not apply the proper medical care to their own body at times, and also the fact that Dairine was utterly untalented at medical aid. Thus she was assigned to the one of their group whose careful nature and focus at the Schola saw Verita come to the least harm, while the other two assisted their kin of choice.

"Upa?" Zeno vocalized as he wrested himself out of Dairine's arms to begin jumping up and down on the bed, obviously desiring to engage in some form of activity. Bo might overall be the top of his class at the school set up by the Commandant for training Ixolotls, but Zeno was without a doubt the most gifted for athleticism and related matters. Having to keep up with Dairine out of all Kimarans meant Zeno had to be fast from a young age, training certain muscles that other Ixolotls would never fully exert in their entire lives because they never were in a hurry. Ixolotls just tended to never be bothered to be concerned about anything in their entire lives, so unlike Dairine whose prowess came from both training and her uniquely crafted body in Zeno's case he largely was the most physically fit because he had no true competition amongst his peers. The only one even close was a female Ixolotl in his class that had a similar personality, though Zeno was still a fair bit more capable given his master.

Dairine fell back down onto the bed, having no energy left to play after killing a veritable horde of soldiers and collaborators and knowing that this was going to become a heated debate in moments.

"No upa."

"Upa."

"No upa."

"Upapapapapapapapapapa—"

Verita grinned as she held her own calm and pleasant Ixolotl who seemed wholly content just laying down and being held while her brother worked off his remaining energy from the day, not having accompanied his owner or had much to do unlike Bo and Seta. Soon enough Isolde joined them and lifted Bo up onto the bed, his face showing wonder and amazement as if he just learned how getting on the bed worked even though he had done so hundreds of times before.

Immediately after Isolde crashed down onto an open part of the bed and buried her face into a pillow like Dairine had, unintentionally also mirroring the way Bo had planted his face into the mattress. Her exhaustion was to be expected given her physical condition that looked even worse up close now that her armor had been stripped off and she had changed into a clean set of garments. Black and blue bruises lined her pale body while deep cuts marred her elsewhere, with the way Isolde held her weight showing that some of her bones were likely close to broken if not broken outright. Her leg in particular seemed injured, and Verita could only imagine what warzone Isolde survived to have returned looking like this.

Dairine was sent on extremely dangerous missions because she could kill scores of foes without perishing in return, but Isolde largely held leadership positions thanks to being a Commissar. She offered no explanation as she settled in and neither of her friends pressed it, their shared exhaustion making such discussion unnecessary at the moment and something they could partake in later. Instead Isolde used her lengthy limbs to reach around the other two and pull them close to her, still having just enough strength to manage this while their Ixolotls shifted to fit wherever they could to be a part of the resulting pile.

As trying as the day was for them they were safe and alive. Each had their own struggles with Dairine wiping out an outpost of enemy combatants, Isolde fending off Yormungaros and then mercenaries, and Verita having to slip past guards and shake off possible pursuers using horrible storms, but at the end of it their years of training and their skills kept them as a part of the mortal realm. For that Isolde was grateful, and while Dairine somewhat struggled against the forced hug even the braggart did not have it in herself to fully resist.

The three of them were aware that one day one of them might not come back, or two of them, or even all three of them, and so moments of quiet comfort and sisterhood like this had to be cherished while they still could.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________


As revealed by the now silenced informant that had met with Verita before meeting his fate at the hands of an assassin tensions had been stoked among the members of the Alpha-KO-35 garrison, the very Fortress City which the Schola's second location inhabited. Propaganda, agitators being planted, and other such methods all would culminate in a circumstance that would see the city's sizable force of mercenaries up in arms. To some it was because they were made to believe that some local Kimarans had forsaken the Emperor, to some who had done no wrong it was because they were sick of being resented by the locals, and yet others just possessed a bloodlust born of the millennia spanning animosity between their worlds.

This event was crafted by members of the Conomor regime to provoke the Schola into action that could ensnare them in a political trap as well as reasons only known to their highest ranking members, as it was obvious that they wanted to instigate mutual violence between their own soldiers and their civilians which typically would not be advisable unless one possessed an agenda. To those who would have their tempers stoked and blood raised they would think it was all their own idea to go out and make their chorus of voices heard through force, but in truth many of their number were as much victims of the scheme as the civilians they would go on to brutalize since all were but puppets having their strings pulled by the regime.

Groundwork had already been laid for this incident when word came of Priomb's entire team having been wiped out by Kimaran rioters in another Fortress City, the nuance and circumstances left out by the agitators put in place by the Conomors to escalate matters further. This spark would make the kindle wood erupt into an inferno of passionate anger, the deaths of some of their most notable members at the hands of Kimarans unforgivable in the eyes of many of the mercenaries. That many of Priomb's unit were fine letting their underlings die in place of them, both Kimaran and Wostyn alike, was completely lost on the riled up crowd of hundreds of mercenaries who all gathered together and began a rampage across their Fortress City, many of whom were calling for the head of Isolde Kohlenstoff for daring to harm their comrades.

Buildings were burned, civilians brutalized, house windows smashed, and gunfire rang out as innocents were dragged out into the street from their beds and violence inflicted upon them in alleged penance for the actions of Kimarans elsewhere on top of their own supposed crimes. This savagery engineered by the Conomors would continue for what felt like eons to the citizens of the city forced to endure it, but in truth only thirty minutes passed by before it was answered.

The trap had been set, and the Schola answered it by walking straight into it...but the Commandant was ready for it, and so were the Tempestus Scions deployed in full force.

Every single Tempestus Scion under the Commandant's charge departed at once from the Schola, the boys whose training was kept so separate from that of the women in the Schola not meaning their training was any lesser. In fact for many of them it was more difficult, for while only the women who would follow martial paths such as the Sororitas ended up with specialized combat training nearly every boy at this Schola was raised until he was a man to become the stormtroopers of the Imperium. The rapid deployment forces known as the Tempestus Scions were among the Imperium's most capable regimented forces, dropping into hectic warzones and annihilating their enemies with their honed skills and improved equipment.

While those of Kimara differed from the stormtroopers of other worlds in some ways they still possessed the same general doctrines, each member wielding a hotshot lasgun that was modified for increased range at greater expense but also resulting in greater effect. They traded the ability to drop into warzones for jetpacks that could allow them to redeploy on the field of battle and traverse terrain, more useful for worlds such as Kimara that would make dropping men through blizzards suicidal at best. Unable to properly charge through a battlefield that had snow nearly as tall as a man their armor was made to instead be reinforced to not only combat the climate, but also to provide protection as their men would march through mounds of snow to confront the enemy.

It was the very same type of Carapace Armor which Isolde had worn earlier that each and every member of the Tempestus Scions were deployed with, as a Commissar was a part of their ranks and thus permitted to utilize that armor if they so wished. While lacking the personal shield Isolde had given to her by her father these suits of armor had more conventional refractor fields built into them, providing further protection to the users who could walk through incoming gunfire undeterred while on occasion using short bursts from their jets to close the distance and finish off their wounded foes.

A force of hundreds of these elite soldiers deployed at once was a daunting threat for an organized military to face, and what they were sent to deal with was not a military but a riot. Before those engaged in the violence knew it the heavy suits of armor belonging to the stormtroopers announced their arrival, each in a squad of five that walked forward in unison side by side while the leader of each team offered any nearby rioters the opportunity to surrender and be placed into custody under the authority of the Imperium. Once engaged there would be no mercy to any combatants, so they were given an initial warning before the conflict could escalate further: it would be better for everyone if it would end there, but for so long the mercenaries had been pushed and prodded by their own leaders that none of their ranks would surrender that night.

One might think that once gunfire broke out that the wills of the rioters might be shaken and they might realize the danger of the situation, but for many of them they knew these Tempestus Scions to be young boys. The oldest of them were only in their mid-twenties given the mass conscription years back, while many others were between sixteen and twenty. These boys had never fought a war, they were green to the core, and so their capability was discounted by soldiers who had decades of experience under their belts.

Unfortunately for them, the reason none would surrender after the initial warning was that the raw firepower of the hotshot lasgun greatly outstripped that of the normal lasgun. Even more powerful than that was the volley gun utilized by the Tempestus which many of their members wielded for the occasion, and so between these two weapons once squads opened fire there was simply no-one left among the lightly armored off-duty mercenaries. The Scions were under orders to not open fire first and given their years of indoctrination and training they followed what they were told to the letter, making it apparent for all to see in the city that while they came to bring order back to it they were not simply shooting without reason.

Rocks, makeshift fire bombs, laspistols, autoguns, shotguns, lasguns, crowbars, bayonets, swords, and more all were held by the mercenaries as they pleased since their actions were goaded by their superiors but no actual personal planning took part on the men who got agitated into action. Those who instigated handed out weapons where they could to fan the flames, but such was the chaos of the matter that they could not uniformly arm the men. As such the Scions had plenty strike at them but their armor held just as Isolde's had, full military gear facing off against what amounted to rabble who thought they could overcome the Scions with numbers.

They would be proven wrong when another squad would appear, and another, and another, as each and every street was swept in a methodical manner that saw the Scions put the entire force of rioters in minutes. This was why they were trained since birth, this was why they were fielded against Yormungaros and other severe threats as a part of everyday training, it was all so that when the time came they could brutally and efficiently wipe out whatever it was they were pointed at.

A wholesale slaughter like this of the mercenaries in question would be just what the Conomors were looking for to take action against the Commandant, but as the riot came to a swift end something else unexpected arose for not only the citizens of Alpha-KO-35 but all of Kimara: a broadcast.

Screens across the planet lit up in unison as the Commandant appeared before them, the live broadcast coming from the Schola's external base and utilizing transmission lines not utilized since the downfall of the Jarn family but which had once been used to address the entire world at once. Since the Conomors did not possess the full knowledge of how to access them they created their own versions, but the originals still existed and simply had no-one accessing them...until now, when a priority address forced itself onto every screen it could and despite the attempts of some could not be cut off without fully shutting down the power grids themselves.

The uninterrupted speech which followed was presented as follows:

"I address the citizenry of Kimara and all Imperial forces upon this world. I am Eisen Kohlenstoff, Commandant of this world's Schola Progenium and Commissar-General of the Departmento Munitorum and Militarum Tempestus. Like all of you I am a son of Kimara, raised here within the very Schola I now lead to serve not only this world but the Emperor of Mankind. By now word will be reaching you of widescale violence and rioting within one of our Fortress Cities, an event that has brought me to grant this broadcast."

"Kimarans are known in local sectors for our pride, pride which borders upon hubris and threatens to become arrogance. We will readily aid one another, but to admit that we are in need is no easy task for our kind, especially from those we consider to be outside of our clan. We are anathema to change, which keeps our traditions strong and alive, but leaves us vulnerable to change thrust upon us."

"Heed my words clearly my fellow compatriots: for years this world has been under the yoke of a disquieting feeling, one that has gripped each and every one of us, oppressed our every action, and that is carried with us no matter where we go. A feeling that something is wrong, that while we are the sons and daughters of Kimara that this world is not the one we once knew it to be."

"Whereas once our cities were almost entirely the same such that any one of us could know them like the back of your hand, now they are nigh unrecognizable. Stores that had existed for centuries or millennia are now absent, vacated, or otherwise transformed to some unfamiliar purpose. Whether you are walking through our streets, attending our learning institutions, reading through the books that have been changed or replaced, going through military checkpoints in every sector of our cities, as you see mothers and their daughters cloistered together, or be it through going to work in our mines or in our agriculture, you can sense the shifting tides even if you cannot put them to words. An atmospheric shift where much of what you know remains, yet is no longer what you knew or held dear. That this is not the Kimara you once knew."

"Despite the tumultuous era we live within there are still many among us who remember how this world was in our time, in the time of our forefathers before us. It is a world which you would have found and learned of in the tomes and records kept of our history, of our triumphs as a people, and of our defeats. A time in which our traditions were at the forefront of our civilization, the very foundation upon which we hold our well-deserved pride given all our ancestors have sacrificed such that we may now inherit their legacy and fortune. Kimara has contributed throughout the ages to Humanity's cause, dedicating the lives of our kin and our planet's resources and production to fuel the never ending wars of the Imperium. Famous admirals, political leaders, soldiers, and more have all come from our struggles against nature itself here upon Kimara. Upon our home. But how many remember them now, where their achievements are forgotten, their sacrifices overlooked, and their legacies cast aside? Among our youngest generations how many can name one of our greatest heroes of ages past apart from nobility?"

"Kimara is a harsh world, one without mercy, but that is not all it is: this world possesses beauty and natural wonders unlike any other such as the Sapphire Mountains or the awe-inspiring Twin Falls. We have advanced technology for both military and civilian usage, innovating through rigorous trial and error what others have been unable. We have honed the gene-crafting of ten-thousand years ago and have excised any genetic flaws within our people to save our children from ailments outside of their control. We have exported a naturally recurring mineral found almost nowhere else throughout the Imperium, Mithril, and seen to its usage in armor that exceeds that of the Emperor's Angels of Death. We are a world of dedication and endurance, persevering through all that might stand in our way, never bending until we break. A world of ambition and intelligence, of the strong and those of unshakeable resolve."

"That is the Kimara we knew once, and that now we find ourselves seeking for. A time and era spanning thousands of years that has come to a close within our lifetimes, within a short few decades where even though our children do not know it firsthand they grew up understanding it through us. A world that try as we might is slipping through our grasp, and which may never be realized again once its last glimmers have faded despite our reverie and desires."

"Even so you remain. When you could have fled you stayed not by law, not by mandate, but by loyalty. By duty, family, and honor. A political revolution took place and yet records show that not one of our people fled this world in the aftermath, being loyal to our institutions and this world above all else. That is something to be proud of, for to run from an uncertain future is natural to some, but not for us. This is our home, even if it no longer feels as such. For Kimarans there is no other world for us to go, no other place for our people to be, other than here where we have been born and where we will one day expire. As the circumstances around us have shifted it may feel natural to feel at unease, as if you were a stranger walking down the very streets you were raised upon."

"At first it may have been a whisper in your mind, a thought of how something had changed, and whether you liked it or not it stayed with your thoughts. Then another incremental shift took place, and another, and another until the feeling and ideas permeated your mind. Our stoicism and quiet fortitude are often strengths, but in this instance it is a fatal flaw: for if we were an open society, one which always spoke its mind and let known its every thought, we would have heard and known from our kin that something was off. Instead we buried these feelings of discomfort, as when we would turn on the news we would see how great things are getting, of the improvements promised to us moving forward, of how our lives were growing ever greater and wonderful even as our eyes witnessed an erosion of all those very things."

"Before long you would be left thinking that you were the only ones to feel this way, believing it to be a personal failing and sign of weakness to feel so discomforted by minor changes in our surroundings. To voice such an opinion would not only invite possible censure, but condemnation from your kin for lacking resilience and pride. In burying the feelings in our hearts so too was the truth buried within, gnawing away at our spirits each and every day. The truth that Kimara was no longer Kimara, but rather a phantom wearing its remains as a mask. A secret known by all yet spoken of by few if any. Those who did would face persecution from the government or their peers, further driving down such thoughts and any potential reform that might be had, for it is only by bringing light to a problem that it may be solved in totality."

"All along we have been told there is no conflict, there is no change, and that to oppose such things would mean to oppose the Imperium and the Emperor of Mankind. Our most powerful, the elite, our politicians, our journalists, members of our academia, local ministers, and many others all spoke of how you were delusional for questioning this narrative. In their self-righteousness they would proclaim each of you liars for noticing snowfall during a severe blizzard, all the while stating that instead there was a drought upon this arid world."

"But their many decrees of knowledge were only part true, a series of dangerous lies by omission, with the truth more complex than any would dare admit. That those very things being shifted in increasing scale every day had once served the Imperium loyally and dutifully since the Great Crusade. How could it be that to serve the Emperor of Mankind we must cast aside the very traditions, institutions, and other pieces of our culture that were to his benefit and worship for longer than anyone living within the Imperium can remember?"

"The day our brothers, husbands, fathers, and sons were sent away to a conflict from which they would never return stood as a turning point in our civilization. Within days our men were conscripted and sent off to battle the enemies of the Imperium, half of Kimara's population vanishing overnight and those who remained being forced to pick up the pieces of our now shattered infrastructure. It was then that the specter haunting us for a century truly came to light, that the authority figures we had blindly pledged our loyalties toward had not earned it, that they had merely inherited the goodwill of those before them which was then used to lead us astray with falsehoods."

"Industries almost entirely populated by men crumbled, wives having to pick up the trades of their husbands, daughters having to learn from what remained of their father's craft, all such that we could keep our civilization from total collapse. Fortress Cities were abandoned, outposts left unattended, and our once impervious defensive grid now has fallen into disarray with rising Yormungaros encounters every year. Our factories plummeted in productivity, our mining operations requiring years to get back on track, and our the resulting shock to our agriculture resulting in bouts of famine throughout Kimara. In one act of alleged servitude to the Imperium of Mankind our future was ripped out from under us. The seeds were planted for our societal decline and collapse, and we have been enduring ever since to stave off their rapid growth. Our infrastructure was built to last, but without the manpower to maintain it Kimara has eroded to the brink."

"Future generations have been denied to us by the removal of our male population, and so Kimara stands at a precipice where the futures of our young remain ever more uncertain and worrying. If Kimara is to be sustained, if we are to continue contributing to the Imperium, we must take action before it is too late. Our stalwart fortresses should not decay into the state of most Hive Cities, our populace should not grow poorer and poorer as the elites prosper. What makes Kimara and its sons powerful, what makes it unique, should not be dismantled and thrown to the winds. Why must we suffer the ills of others when we have our own burdens to carry? The sons of Wostyn have suffered throughout the ages, but it is not our place to lift them up at our own expense. Kimaran culture should not fade away just because we have allowed it to, for to give up without a fight is to deny our own indomitable will and purpose!"

"It is for the future of Kimara and the the Emperor of Mankind's vision that I declare on behalf of the Departmento Munitorum that I am reclaiming Imperial sovereignty in Fortress City Alpha-KO-35, now to be known as . This location and its surrounding area will have law and order re-instated through military force, returning civility to it after rioting and civil conflict sparked today. This is not a ploy for personal power or status, nor am I taking action against the civilian appointed government of Kimara and its rightful rulers. Rather I am acting to protect the Schola Progenium and its pupils from these escalating conditions as well as Imperial citizens in the local vicinity who have suffered from the moral weakness of those rioting mercenaries."

"Those very criminals have been dealt with as any who turn from the Emperor's will ought, and I ask that their comrades elsewhere police the actions of their kin: I do not wish to take arms against any fellow servants of our Emperor, and have only rose to action in this instance out of necessity born of lawless brigands and fools who think they are above Imperial law. If you serve His will truthfully and honestly then we are your allies, and I hope that we can prevent any further conflict that would shed the blood of our people."

"We were promised a society where our voices would be heard, that our government would be one of the people, for the people, and by the people, but such platitudes have been proven false. Our hold over our government is weaker than it has ever been, and for this reason I invite any of Kimara's lost sons and daughters to join us here at Eisengard. Your voices will not be ignored, your grievances will not go unanswered, and you will have the protection of the Imperium as we work towards the prosperity of both our world and the empire of Humanity we owe our allegiance. It is the right of our people to choose their fate and not suffer the ills of decline and decadence. Our circumstances will never improve if we do nothing to seize the future we seek, and so I implore you to open your eyes to the truth that has been withheld for so long from you. Do not suffer the delusion that is cast from the comfort of nobility, do not allow those who would take everything from you to do so without resistance."

"It is the duty of each and every Kimaran to preserve the legacy of those who came before us, for if we do not then there are none who shall. We must preserve our traditions, our way of life, and our history so that Kimara remains Kimaran in perpetuity. We must have families that we can pass our stories and inheritance onto so that they too can one day pass it on to their children, and forevermore continue this to improve this world we share. For whatever shame our past may possess there is plenty for us to be proud of as well, facets of our existence that have been hidden and buried so that we will keep our heads bowed and our tongues silent. Our children, our grandchildren, should not have to suffer from barbarism visited upon them such as what was witnessed today. Our daughters should not have their virtue besmirched by animals. Our sons should not be sacrificed for the greedy desires of a few."

"We Kimarans are a proud and accomplished people, and it is together we have made this world possess its great history. For ten-thousand years we have endured, we have remained unbroken, and here we stand in spite of every trial and tribulation placed in our way. It is not us that must change, for this is our home, our people. Our loyal animal companions should not be restricted and shunned because of the comfort and superstitions of those visiting our world. Our history should not be rewritten to make us the sole perpetrators of the conflicts in our past just to appease the descendants of those we conquered in ages past after they first attacked our home out of greed and envy. We are not the monsters our elite would tell you we are, we are loyal subjects of the Emperor who have always acted in what we believed to be the accordance of his wishes, and for that we should not be ashamed."

"Do not allow those who would have gladly killed each and every one of you to dictate how you should live your lives, for we have only ever acted in our own defense and that of our kin, and never have we been the ones to start the battles of our past: we are merely the ones who end them. There is honor in having fought bravely and lost still, but to strike at an enemy and cry foul when they crush you in retaliation is moral cowardice of the highest order, and it is not befitting of the pride Humanity ought to exude throughout the stars. Would a loathsome Necrontyr or Tyranid care about such grievances? Of course not, for in this universe we live there is no quarter that can be given, it is kill or be killed, and to allow one's foes to wage a one-sided war is to invite extinction. I will not allow Kimara as a planet, as a people, and as an idea perish. I will not stand idly by and allow such an asset to the Emperor's cause be wasted, and I ask that you do not as well."

"No doubt this broadcast will be censured in time, but do not simply accept what they will say about us in retaliation: they will play upon your pride, your fears, and manipulate you just as they have for years. Use your own mind, your own feelings, and face their accusations with clarity rather than the indoctrination they have sought to instill. Do not be intimidated into inaction, do not allow them to riddle you with guilt born of our forefathers, for where they cannot find crimes they will drudge of those of the past to weigh you down."

"I cannot speak to each and every circumstance of those listening, and while some in your situations cannot make your voices heard I ask only of you what you can: above all else, survive. It may not be easy to question everything you are told by those who control the narratives, it may not be comfortable, but it is necessary when evidence is sufficient to suggest that they do not have your best interests in their hearts. This is not a call to political revolution, but rather a call to restore order in a landscape that has lost it. I will not abide or accept senseless violence from any party and state this as your only warning so as to avoid escalation. I will not see Kimara's snow run red with the blood of our people, and so any who break the peace will be punished with the full severity of Imperial law."

"Any action taken by the Kimaran government in response to the Imperium's protection will be taken as acts of heresy and rebellion. Any crimes brought to the attention of Imperial forces will be handled by our justice system, not yours, for our authority takes precedence over your own. Your courts that serve as legislative bodies rather than judiciaries will be watched for any attempt to work around this, and such actions will be considered interference with Imperial law and handled accordingly."

"Kimara has been brought to its knees with the loss of half our population, but while it may not feel empty you are not alone. Together we may stand again, together we may endure the harsh realities of this world, and together we can ensure the future of not only ourselves but of the Emperor and his Imperium of Mankind. Here at Eisengard the loyal men and women of Kimara will protect you no matter your background or status, as you are His majesty the Emperor of Mankind's subjects, and it is our duty to protect you from all that would threaten you."

"Survive. Survive so that tomorrow will be a better day for us all. Long live Kimara, and glory to the Empire!"

Until the Conomors would wrest control forcibly hours later the speech would continue on loop, though between showings video footage of the events at Eisengard and the earlier conflict between Isolde and Priomb's forces played to show the truth of these matters to the public. What had been a trap set by the Conomors had been twisted into a rallying cry, one which the Commandant was forced to make in light of the rioting and the demands given to him by Desmia to turn Isolde over to the regime, but a rallying cry nonetheless.

Kimara was on the precipice of crisis, and it was in part thanks to the relative restraint shown by the Commandant that this incident would not escalate further. A casus belli was present but not utilized, as only further bloodshed and total annihilation came from that path. For now they would settle down this region and keep the regime in check, limiting their ability to abuse the population of Kimara further while unable to fully oust them with the Imperium's shadow looming over them all.

To the average Kimaran his words resonated with them, for the focus of his speech was on the feelings gripping their society and thus addressed much of what was on the minds of their stoic people. That video footage shown to all completely dispelled any ability the Conomors had on spinning the issue helped public reception, but not all were so patriotic or loyal to the planet or its people.

Rather, some were furious.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________


"Those thrones-damned, iced-over iron pipes, pots, and pans dare to wage war on us!? Let us wipe them out once and for all and be done with it!"

Loelaus slammed a fist down upon the eagle-shaped table he and his fellow cohorts sat at within the Conomor palace, having been summoned for an emergency meeting following the broadcast's first moments.

Beside him Osin sat in a more reserved manner, fixing his glasses as his eyes looked over data he brought with him, "The revenue loss of Alpha-KO-35 will be noticeable, but will not effect our margins significantly. We should think of a reasonable response given that we have lost so little compared to our greater resources and military might."

From across the table Bludol growled at Osin's call for a measured response, "You are half the man your brother is, Osin, and if he was here I know he would agree that we must take action! Loelaus has the right of it, we cannot abide by the deployment of hundreds of armed military forces within our city!"

"Priomb failed to obtain the daughter as ordered. He ought to be punished following his augmentation and subsequent survival of his wounds," Shetth stated at random, the member of the Mechanicus seemingly on a completely different tangent now that Priomb had been mentioned.

Wost was absent from the table, being the one in charge of their communications and thus the one dealing with the broadcast as it aired on repeat, along with Priomb who as Shetth mentioned was undergoing surgery and mechanical organ replacement to survive the wound granted to him by Isolde. This left the final member of this particular meeting as a tanned man with blonde hair who sat at the head of the eagle, his purple dress different from the garb he wore more publicly and far more revealing of his toned physique.

"Gentlemen, we need not fight amongst ourselves over realities we all knew would come to pass. The Kimarans are in fact behind the projected schedule for revolution, which shows that their people have no heart for it."

With his words having silenced his companions the Planetary Governor stood up and gave a smile, gesturing to the wall across from him where details about their various plans were being projected for their shared viewing.

"The Iron Warriors led by Trahaearn Jarn ought be arriving in the coming months or years, travel through the Warp being what it is. They will arrive to find their supposed 'utopia' in ruin, for our enterprise accomplished what they could not in a century: we have made this world ours, and prepared it for their inevitable appearance. They will arrive ready for a prolonged war against the defenses they once rose, but we have agents already in place to draw upon the Imperium's might and crush them while they attempt to lay siege. Our orbital defenses will ensure none ever set foot upon this planet, and our fleets will outnumber the pitiful one amassed by the Warsmith. The Word Bearers we have granted information to still follow at their heels, and so we need only let them rip each other apart once they arrive."

Detailed information about the Iron Legion's movements, those of the Word Bearers, and also of the Imperial Navy all coalesced in the diagrams and information put on display. Paperwork and related matters were a point of pride for the Conomors, the meticulous detail presented only possible thanks to the expertise of the one sharing it.

"They are pragmatic and intelligent, but there are methods we can employ to mitigate these traits," his handsome face broke out into a bright albeit wicked smile as he reminisced over the past, "For all their faults the Jarn family do truly love one another, and I doubt their founding member would so readily abandon his descended sludge to certain death."

He leaned forward over the table and moved his gaze across his cohorts one after another as he continued to speak, his voice's volume and intensity increasing bit by bit as he did.

"My family has suffered for eons at the hands of the traitorous curs that have for so long ruled Kimara, but now it is our turn. Our revenge will be thorough and leave nothing in its wake for them to recover from, not like they foolishly allowed some of the Conomor family to survive their treason. They think they face an unprepared and incompetent puppet government, completely unaware that this world belongs to the Emperor's Children. Our Legion will arise from the shadows it has hidden within and pledge Kimara in all its turmoil and suffering to our Goddess, the seeds we have sewn taking root and taking everything from those who would stand in our way!"

Standing up straight again, the figurehead of the Conomor family lightened his voice and offered a smile that held a dangerous implication even as his words became soft and familiar.

"If the Imperium believed Kimara to be nigh impossible to conquer before they will shudder upon its transformation into a Daemon World from which we can extend our tendrils throughout Imperial space, even reaching to Terra itself. Half of our pledge has already been fulfilled, so it is indeed time that we prepare to finish what we started. The lords of the Immaterium do not tolerate failure, and I will have our operations carried out with complete and utter perfection. Am I understood?"

Any traces of the arguments breaking out before disappeared in an instant, none at the table daring to question their leader and each bowing their head instead while pledging their allegiance to his vision once more. With this done he dismissed them, but not before ordering them to make certain that this current incident did not spiral further out of hand. There was an order to things and while this ultimately fit within his schemes it possessed the potential to threaten all they have built towards, to waste all the suffering and torment they had inflicted, and such possibilities however narrow were unacceptable.

Despite it all the governor could not help but keep smiling, ever so pleased to have seen the Commandant's face after so long. With his cronies having cleared the room he began speaking to himself, only a single other man still remaining within.

"Oh, old friend, it is so good to see you again...I wondered when you would find your spine and save your people, but now I have my answer. You have been waiting for your betters to come and yet they have left you to your lonesome all these years even as your people suffer and cry out for a savior to be visited upon them. A trusting fool to the last..."

The other who remained towered over the governor and stood in brilliant purple armor at his side, golden sigils marking it and gemstones engraved upon it to make the armor appear as if it was a work of art. Now looking down, the Astarte known as Phrixus leered at his servant.

"You had best uphold your vow, for we may share a lineage but everything you have is thanks to my hand."

"You as well as I know just how difficult these animals are to kill. The Jarns have but one virtue, and that is a seeming inability to die in a reasonable amount of time," the governor responded with a sigh, "We may not have acquired his daughter, but soon enough you will have the three remaining Jarns in your grasp. The hour of our ascension draws ever nearer, Forebearer, I just ask for your patience this one last time so that we may visit upon them suffering unlike anything they have ever known. What will the proud Trahaearn Jarn think when he has to put his own Daemon-infested kin down the way Perturabo once visited genocide upon his own world?"

Sitting down, the lesser Conomor brought a glass of wine to his lips, content with the knowledge that it was not only the Jarns who benefitted from the day's many events. Soon years of planning, scheming, and more would come together all at once...and when the theater began no effort on the part of the Iron Warriors could bring it to intermission.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A/N: Another huge update, this one was originally planned to be released before the Asier Terminus one but I wanted to work on the speech and the response from the regime afterwards so I have been doing that. As such you may notice that here Verita has yet to discover the truth behind the box because this in the finalized codex will be before that update, but how things get released due to production timelines and delays does not always match the actual order I will be placing them in. And also, didn't I say Trahaearn Jarn would be giving a speech?

Hope you all enjoyed, and I hope to hear your thoughts in the comments below!​

 

[PsihoKekec]

Did the bastards lure Yormungaros into attacking the city in order to capture Isolde or was that just a happenstance that they tried to take advantage of?

"Any action taken by the Kimaran government in response to the Imperium's protection will be taken as acts of heresy and rebellion. Any crimes brought to the attention of Imperial forces will be handled by our justice system, not yours, for our authority takes precedence over your own. Your courts that serve as legislative bodies rather than judiciaries will be watched for any attempt to work around this, and such actions will be considered interference with Imperial law and handled accordingly."

Good, he stole the march from them, clad his action in legality and both calmed the population and primed them for the rising when the time is right.

This left the final member of this particular meeting as a tanned man with blonde hair who sat at the head of the eagle, his purple dress different from the garb he wore more publicly and far more revealing of his toned physique.

Do I smell the taint of a certain warp entity?

They think they face an unprepared and incompetent puppet government, completely unaware that this world belongs to the Emperor's Children.

I did, I did smell warp entity corruption! I expect a job offer with inquisition, any day now, any day now.

"You had best uphold your vow, for we may share a lineage but everything you have is thanks to my hand."

The erased Conomor I presume?

 

[ATP]

Now it is logical,Conmors worked for Chaos all that time.And IoM was too stupid to see that,as usual.

Chaos knew,that Iron Warriors would come,so they prepared trap and should win.Or not,it is for author to decide.
If they die,they die,but if author need them alive....

Conmors serve Emperors Children and Slaanesh,and manipulate World Bearers as their tool.What if they see that and attack Conmors first? then IoM could come, see corrupt governor,and remove him.
Iron Warrirs do not need do do anything in that case,becouse world would be ruled by loyal commissar.

 

[Thunderscourge]

Did the bastards lure Yormungaros into attacking the city in order to capture Isolde or was that just a happenstance that they tried to take advantage of?

Actually a bit of both: it was known that Yormungaros were going to attack which is why Isolde was assigned there by the Commandant to organize its defenses, but without authorization he could not mobilize the Tempestus Scions to assist. As such Isolde only had what was there to work with which should have been enough since there was a wealth of mercenaries and Skitarii...but the people in charge of those purposefully withheld them until they could seize an opportunity to capture Isolde (and in the case of the Skitarii, by then those opposed to Shetth in the Mechanicus then prevented him from mobilizing them).

Basically it was less a 'plan' and more them knowing the circumstances and adapting to them: if Isolde died, then she died and that would be that, but if she survived they could force her into their custody since chances were that the Yormungaros would have already worn her down and eliminated the militia members that would defend her. While their lowliest members may have drug addicts, alcoholics, and others who are thriving off satiating the pleasure centers in their brains the people on top actually know what they are doing which is why they have been able to function all these years even if people resent them.

Sacrificing some civilians and allowing your city's defenses to be harmed is a small price to pay to win the governor's favor by capturing the daughter of your political enemy. As such the normally impervious defenses of the city were purposefully left open to either cause Isolde's death or capture, either result being acceptable even if the latter would be preferred by Phrixus. Shetth can always make more of the materials lost and is already aiming to bring in new workers for his city so the loss of hundreds of innocent civilians would actually benefit him and aid that cause, while also being able to lay the losses at Isolde's feet for not protecting them properly.

If Isolde won without any losses and could not be captured that would be an acceptable outcome as well, so however the situation went it would be to Shetth and Priomb's benefit...except they did not expect that the Kimarans who had spent two decades subservient to them to view Isolde as the ranking authority. Not only was she a Commissar, she also had come bearing the authority of and was a stand-in for the Commandant (something she alluded to when tricking Priomb), so while she was lower in the Conomor's hierarchy as viewed by those atop it she actually outranked them in the eyes of a normal Imperial citizen. That miscalculation allowed for Isolde to fight them off for the few moments it took for the civilians to take action, and so the regime missed their window just barely.

Sure they failed in the end, but it was a very near win all things considered.

Good, he stole the march from them, clad his action in legality and both calmed the population and primed them for the rising when the time is right.

Everything he did was technically by the book and within his authority so he completely negated any recourse the regime could have against him that would not just spark civil war that they do not desire...yet.

They also are aware of the information he has in his possession since they had to silence the informant who gave Verita information on the riot and allowed the Commandant to gather all his forces in one place as a show of force, showing that he was able to act on it and also has the documents to prove they engineered the conflict. If they try and take actions that would further inflame the issue he can just reveal that it was one of their own creation, thus they took a black eye and cannot punch back until they find another avenue to deal with him. Capturing Isolde and persecuting her in a political trial would have given them leverage as an example, but that plot failed and now the Commandant's faction will be on their guard for such sabotage. They already expected foul play, but in this instance it went well beyond even their expectations.

Do I smell the taint of a certain warp entity?

Minor details about the Wostyn soldiers and their higher ups have always had traces of it, but now that we actually see them directly behind closed doors it is much more obvious. Hedonist drug addicts obsessed with sensual pleasure and have tattoos and heraldry related to eagles? Yeah, the only reason people on Kimara don't know it is that knowledge of Chaos is censored by the Imperium and so everyday people have no clue what any of that stuff implies, but for outside observers such as readers who do know about the servants of Slaanesh it is far easier to read into.

I did, I did smell warp entity corruption! I expect a job offer with inquisition, any day now, any day now.

Okay Tweetie bird.

Now it is logical,Conmors worked for Chaos all that time.And IoM was too stupid to see that,as usual.

The Imperium has noticed, it just so happens that the Imperium members who have noticed are the ones in on the corruption and facilitating it. The people on Kimara who would stamp out and stop Chaos corruption instead are the ones spreading it, and since the Conomors are good at arranging things to look good on paper they can avoid most outside suspicion by making everything seem fine.

Chaos knew,that Iron Warriors would come,so they prepared trap and should win.Or not,it is for author to decide.
If they die,they die,but if author need them alive....

Just because you set a trap does not mean it will play out how you intend it to, as shown by the trap intended for Isolde in this update. It was clever and almost worked, but through unexpected circumstances it narrowly failed.

The Iron Warriors are preparing for a major conflict and may not seem to be aware of the Emperor's Children presence on Kimara, but they might have tricks up their own sleeve to counter the sons of Fulgrim.

Conmors serve Emperors Children and Slaanesh,and manipulate World Bearers as their tool.What if they see that and attack Conmors first? then IoM could come, see corrupt governor,and remove him.

The Word Bearers are being used as a tool, but they are not directly being led around: they want to hunt down the Iron Legion already and so when given information to attack them they act on it, but they have no real reason to go after the Emperor's Children yet.

Iron Warrirs do not need do do anything in that case,becouse world would be ruled by loyal commissar.

A Chaos vs Chaos conflict on Kimara would result in dire consequences from the Imperium and be impossible to not notice, so unless attention gets shifted elsewhere it would not be a good circumstance for the Iron Warriors to arrive after.

 

[PsihoKekec]

I was thinking about two things, Kalles disappearing to Priomb, could be chalked up to mad dog getting off the leash, as she was too useful to be just killed off casually, but with the chaos corruption of the inner circle? I reckon she will return in later chapter as Slaneeshi abomination.

Cunt promised the three surviving Jarns to Praxis, gloating how Trahaearn will have to go against his own kin, once they make them demonhosts. We have Commandant, Isolde and who? Is Verita perhaps from a cadet branch of the family?
Despite the recent setbacks the asshole seems to be fully certain of the plan, showing poor understanding of people and not taking the Deathwatch outpost int equation, it seems they are unaware of Iron Legion infiltration, probably considering it far beyond their capabilities..

 

[Thunderscourge]

I was thinking about two things, Kalles disappearing to Priomb, could be chalked up to mad dog getting off the leash, as she was too useful to be just killed off casually, but with the chaos corruption of the inner circle? I reckon she will return in later chapter as Slaneeshi abomination.

You may be onto something there, but I cannot confirm nor deny. It would certainly fit given the observations you have made!

Cunt promised the three surviving Jarns to Praxis, gloating how Trahaearn will have to go against his own kin, once they make them demonhosts. We have Commandant, Isolde and who? Is Verita perhaps from a cadet branch of the family?

Those two matters are separate: he promised the three remaining Jarns, but it is Kimara as a whole he intends to become infested with Daemons and have its people twisted by them. That includes of course whatever Jarns are on the planet, but he never said the third one was present: I hear there is an Iron Warrior Warsmith by the name of Jarn somewhere out there, which when combined with the context of Conomor's statement would make three when the Commandant and Isolde are taken into account. He seems to think they are Jarns after all.

Despite the recent setbacks the asshole seems to be fully certain of the plan, showing poor understanding of people and not taking the Deathwatch outpost int equation, it seems they are unaware of Iron Legion infiltration, probably considering it far beyond their capabilities..

He actually did take the Deathwatch into account, the issue is that he thinks they are Imperials since they are a part of the defensive grid protecting the planet he mentioned. He has a lot more going for him than we know however, so his confidence is not unfounded even if some bits and pieces here and there have not gone his way.

 

[ATP]

So,Conmor is certain that his perfect trap would work,but is unaware on Iron Legion arleady being there.Some Dark Eldar friends you mentioned could help,too.
Interesting possibilities - all we lack is corrupted Iron Legion coming too.

P.S is it only me,or Kimaran are kind of davi,at least mentally?

 

[Thunderscourge]

So,Conmor is certain that his perfect trap would work,but is unaware on Iron Legion arleady being there.Some Dark Eldar friends you mentioned could help,too.

Eldar fighting against Slaanesh followers makes sense, though we will have to see if they will be involved with the Iron Warriors and/or Kimara at that point in time.

P.S is it only me,or Kimaran are kind of davi,at least mentally?

What is davi?

 

[ATP]

Eldar fighting against Slaanesh followers makes sense, though we will have to see if they will be involved with the Iron Warriors and/or Kimara at that point in time.



What is davi?

Dwarves.They build fortyfications,hold grudges,are stoic...all they need are beards.
And,thanks to new version of LOTR made by amazon,you could have female dwarves fighting picture for,let say,Isolda

 

[Thunderscourge]

Dwarves.They build fortyfications,hold grudges,are stoic...all they need are beards.
And,thanks to new version of LOTR made by amazon,you could have female dwarves fighting picture for,let say,Isolda

Someone looking like Isolde would never get hired in modern day Hollywood because Isolde actually is attractive and was very likely genetically engineered to be so. Can't have attractive women these days, they all have to look and act like men.

As for the Dwarf thing, yeah they do share a bit in common. Mining too. Wasn't intentional as demonstrated by the fact that Kimarans are nearly Abhuman level tall, but they are tough like Dwarves typically are and hold a grudge in perpetuity until that score is settled.

 

[PsihoKekec]

Situation on Kimara will certainly get more ugly before it gets better as neither side has exhausted their bags of tricks. Conmor doesn't fully understand people he oppresses (partially due to Slaneesh corruption I guess), doesn't fully get the level of Commandant's preparation (but I guess the previous shadowboxing clued him at least to some of it), doesn't know about Alpha Legion shenanigans and orbital defences he thinks he controls play important part of his plan.

Commandant on the other hand does not know about chaos corruption and involvement of the Emperors Children

Plot convergence is going to be brutal, Kimara/Iron Legion vs Wostyn/chaotic degenerates vs Word Bearer dupes vs Imperium. Perhaps some orky orkz will sense good fun brewing and decide to join in.
Problem for the Iron Legion is that while defeating chaos scum is fine, having Imperium know they hold Kimara would be very bad, as the resources Imperials possess far outstrip Kimara, they need time to rehabilitate the world and gradually expand, before they can launch their own Grand Crusade. Perfect way would be to defeat the Word Buggers and Conmor scum, then have a mock battle between Iron Legion fleet and orbital defences, so Commandant can claim that loyalist forces and Deathwatch defeated all attempts of heretics to take the world, thus no need for further Imperial forces. The only problem would be Imperial tithe, perhaps they could convince Munitorium to switch the tithe from personnel to weapons, due to heavy casualties amongst the population.

Someone looking like Isolde would never get hired in modern day Hollywood because Isolde actually is attractive and was very likely genetically engineered to be so.

She is also very tall, can't have actress at whose tits, eyes even more so, Tom Cruise couldn't look without straining his neck.

 

[Thunderscourge]

Situation on Kimara will certainly get more ugly before it gets better as neither side has exhausted their bags of tricks. Conmor doesn't fully understand people he oppresses (partially due to Slaneesh corruption I guess), doesn't fully get the level of Commandant's preparation (but I guess the previous shadowboxing clued him at least to some of it), doesn't know about Alpha Legion shenanigans and orbital defences he thinks he controls play important part of his plan.

Yeah, things are going to be messy for awhile until one of the factions at play is gone for good, so lots of politics and conflicts are on the horizon. The Commandant knows more about the Conomors than vice-versa, though Governor Conomor is still capable in his own right which is how he was able to conquer Kimara behind the scenes and transform it to its current situation that is to his benefit.

Outright battle and warfare to bring Kimara to heel would have been nigh impossible for just some nobleman, but Kimara had a weakness gained since the Horus Heresy: the Imperium. Kimara's defenses might be nigh impenetrable for a conventional army, but they have to do as the Imperium bids, and the Imperium is rife with corruption and internal politics to exploit. The Emperor's Children were good statesmen in the past so it makes sense that their allied group would be able to seize upon such opportunities to get installed above everyone on Kimara, winning the planet without civil war or conflict after the coup.

Commandant on the other hand does not know about chaos corruption and involvement of the Emperors Children

He may know, but if his knowledge of that becomes known by others it can spread and result in Kimara getting a healthy dose of Exterminatus. Basically such a thing is information to hold onto until you can engineer your circumstances to not immediately get your people annihilated then using it as a powerful weapon.

Plot convergence is going to be brutal, Kimara/Iron Legion vs Wostyn/chaotic degenerates vs Word Bearer dupes vs Imperium. Perhaps some orky orkz will sense good fun brewing and decide to join in.

Chaotic degenerates is a good term for them. 😁

But yes, when the time comes that these forces clash it will be a bloody affair, and this being 40k it won't be done without great cost and loss to all of those involved.

She is also very tall, can't have actress at whose tits, eyes even more so, Tom Cruise couldn't look without straining his neck.

Found some art that can sort of serve as an example of Isolde's height/proportions. Super tall, thin, muscular but not hulking, that sort of thing. Bit more mass missing at pieces of the image, but yeah Tom Cruise would need a stepladder. This is what happens when you are genetically engineered to be the hyper version of your planet's various traits.

 

[ATP]

Since Conmors belive that their trap is perfect,they would get bloody noose at first.
About Chaos - there is Inquisitor there,right? all commander need is told about his suspiction and offer support of loyal Kimarans.At that polint,Mechanicum would follow,and they could wipe out Chaos on planet without Iron Legion help.
If there would be corrupted Iron legion for them to repell,they would prove their loyalty.

P.S Isode image - good,but need more abs!

 

[Thunderscourge]

Since Conmors belive that their trap is perfect,they would get bloody noose at first.

Plans tend to never survive past the beginning of a conflict, so we will have to see how theirs go when the battles actually commence. They are preparing to make things go in their favor, so while not everything will likely go as planned they stand a good chance at accomplishing some objectives to an unwary foe.

About Chaos - there is Inquisitor there,right? all commander need is told about his suspiction and offer support of loyal Kimarans.At that polint,Mechanicum would follow,and they could wipe out Chaos on planet without Iron Legion help.
If there would be corrupted Iron legion for them to repell,they would prove their loyalty.

Inquisitor Kravin, who in the official lore of 40k is suspected to be an Alpha Legion agent.

P.S Isode image - good,but need more abs!

It is just a rough approximation of her features, actual Isolde has the muscles you would expect of someone who has trained all their life. Not bulky muscles, lithe ones that are more fitting to someone conditioned for endurance.

 

[ATP]

Plans tend to never survive past the beginning of a conflict, so we will have to see how theirs go when the battles actually commence. They are preparing to make things go in their favor, so while not everything will likely go as planned they stand a good chance at accomplishing some objectives to an unwary foe.



Inquisitor Kravin, who in the official lore of 40k is suspected to be an Alpha Legion agent.



It is just a rough approximation of her features, actual Isolde has the muscles you would expect of someone who has trained all their life. Not bulky muscles, lithe ones that are more fitting to someone conditioned for endurance.

So,Chaos is controllong Inquisition there.That made their chances better.Pity for sister who loved him there.
Or maybe not? Alpha legion had its own goals,so they could be interested in Kimara saved by Iron Legion.

About abs - i knew,efficient one could not look like young Arnold.Rather like greek statues,mens during war was hoplites and looked normally.