Lovehammer:SPATHIA ALPHA

Episode 5:Meeting of Fate

Iron Warriors Compliance

Segmentum Obscurus

Perturabo stood on the walls of the keep, he had the city surrounded. His siege weapons trained on the place. Inside was one of a thousand-fold tyrants. Perturabo looked from this keep to the others. They had been here months already; his methods were getting him nowhere. She had said it would be a matter of time before the walls came down. Perturabo looked, turning in his huge Logos terminator armor to face her the her in question. He had argued with the Wordsmiths of his inner circle. Falk, and Forrix and the others. He looked at her and a small smiled graced his lips. He looked at Tekhene, they had been married, a rarity that had caused his father no end of interest. In things that his logical mind had ignored. The fact was, he was a soldier and a commander, and his duty was to subjugate worlds that resisted. Perturabo had intimidated some worlds into compliance. But this small world was unimpressive in its outlook, but it was killing his sons.

"We can't go on like this Tekhene..." He looked down into the yard of the keep, Apothecaries looked over the corpses from the latest assault. His officers had raised the issue. Forrix most vocally.

"The men are at breaking point Sire, we need relief, the bastards open up at the most inconvenient times, and I don't know about the success of the current assault... we need to keep moving in this war."

"I won't have us have a rebellion on our rear when we move on."

"I know, that's why Allanor is coming to help us."

"Artouron..." He had heard of his brother and his glories, in the West, Perturabo was more toward the east pressing out from the Segmentum Solar. Perturabo had the map of the Galaxy in his head and he had read the dispatches brought by the supply fleets that Serenity oversaw. She had known that the Iron Warriors were at the breaking point. With a Senshi of her court within the upper strata of Imperial society. There were still perhaps more to be found.

"I hope that he can bring and end to this thing, for us, we need relief at least Tekhene."

The shriek of shells echoed, a battery duel, routine, the Iron Warriors had plenty of massive cannon, and the Iron Warriors attacked cities with them. Tekhene was quick to notice the shields on the keeps flickering. She hoped that they would not go out as sergeants ordered the guns into action to respond. There was no squads in the no man's land, Perturabo made sure all his dead sons were recovered. He had built a mausoleum of his legion, the Palace of the Skull in the capital. They would be returned home, buried with honor. His legion was also assigned numerous garrison duties across the galaxy. As the siege had ground on, his assaults broken, the Legion was pressed hard.

Allanor was sitting in his sanctum and he looked at the report. Serenity had tasked him with relieving a siege detail of the IV Legion. Perturabo had been married to a Senshi. Father had been a bit shocked to find that there was a married one among his sons. But he had passed it by.

He looked at his brother, a conclave of the War Council, the Primarchs and the Senshi. The Emperor considered them all his children. It had been called to discuss the threat of Nemesis and the mysterious man that Allanor had encountered. The one with three eyes. Perturabo was the newest one present and he was grim and quiet, distant from his brothers.

Allanor had spoken and Perturabo had asked questions about the black psycho conductive crystal and had perused the records deeply.

"Well, I suppose Davien we have work to do, this is going to be a hard thing, Perturabo is the best of us when it comes to the cracking of Cities."

"Yes sire, and Perturabo tends to throw the regiments that displease him into the meat grinder...hes a soft spot for his dear Lady Tekhene."

"His Wife." Who was an interesting being, Serenity had dreams of the past. Rarely did she share them with her brothers. Mostly for years they had been running away from something. Dragged by a black-haired young man. A mortal human. Not like Allanor. Horus had been told, Allanor had been told as had Leman, but Leman knew the least of it. Thora knew a lot. Tekhene was a Senshi. Serenity had dreams of the past, on the moon, Allanor had gone to Luna looking for the signs of the Palace. Nothing.

"And what does Perturabo want?"

"His legion needed rest last I checked the report from the Astropaths said they were laying siege to a world, hes not at full strength... hes got the legion spread out across the galaxy."

Most of the Imperium required not but the Imperial Army, but the Iron Warriors with their siege specialty could also and did build fortresses rather than bring them down. And they were left to man them. There was a lot of consideration of Perturabos plight, the legion was spread out. And the bulk of the Fourth was perhaps tired. The Primarch would need help.

"Dropping out of warp now sir." The internal comms from the bridge indicated that the fleet had arrived. "All is looking good sire, no sign of problems." Tularan was a very good watch officer and Allanor was greatful to have him.' "Well..." The priamrch rose from his chair. "We have a brother in need of help." He would soon leave for the surface of the planet with his First Battalion in tow to see to the needs of the Iron warriors. He was excited to see the IV Legion in the thick of battle. And the glory would go to the Imperium sooner rather than later. Victory to the warriors of Terra. Ave Imperator.

Tekhene looked at the two Primarchs across the hololith in the strategium. Allanor was deploying more and more of his warriors to the battlefront. The city had been surrounded, artillery, void shields and those massive adamantium looking walls were barring the IV Legions way and the arrival of the II Had made Perturabo wary. The Shining armor and the smile on Allanors face. He knew war that much was clear. But they were a different legion, and he was not liking what Allanor was proposing.

"They will hear us coming."

"So you've tried to mine the walls?"

Perturabo stopped, "Adamantium probably, does not seem to be a thing I can bring down without waisting a whole lot of ordinance."

"You want to end this siege with one definitive strike, outer defenses are not like the walls that you are now facing."

"Hmmm." Allanor looked at Tekhene. "My Lady, I wonder if you have any ideas."

Tekhene looked at her husband and the brother. "Well, we dig with drills sometimes, why not make the odd boarding torpedo that could move under the ground. Get a few squads inside the walls."

"Ill see what I can do." It was rare for Perturabo to smile, he'd taken Tekehene with him on campaign partially for her own protection. Her writings on the need for technology to be improved had caught the eye of the Fabricator General of Mars. There was also Cyro Kypas the Fabricator General of Megea and the Chief Magos of the 411th. Perturabo left for the armor staging grounds where there could well be a way to modify the boarding torpedoes.

Perturabo charged forward, bullets pinging harmlessly off his armor flanked by several terminators. He had to handle this himself. His sons sacrifice would demand nothing less. The sound of a barrage echoed. They'd emerged in a plaza in the heart of the city, near to the large and towering structure. The gate. Capture this and the last bastion would be theirs. He led a wedge through the crowds of soldiers pouring fire at him. They veered out of the way of him and the detachment of the elite veterans of the Iron Warriors who rushed the tower. Breaching was an easy matter. Shooting the lock with the bolts that he had. "On me..." He ordered and the bombardment coming from the outside was something good, causing havoc. Though Perturabo hated chaos, it made his foe hard to predict. Then again, he had set the chaos in motion.

The might of two legions would assault the city from within and without and the Iron Warriors after fighting up several levels reached the control room. Perturabo deactivated the shield and the way was open.

"GO. By Our Father Artouron, you are GO!"

"Affirmative brother." The First Swords advanced with armor and the assault was up to the walls and Titans fired on the walls. Melting them with explosive cannon fire and then the armored vehicles of the First Swords entered. Battle was terrible and to the Imperials it would be a victory. And the Iron Warriors would be greatful.