[REDACTED] Hours Earlier...
It had been a Warp Storm that had caught them. The Navigators had been killed as the entire fleet was ripped away from Realspace, and the Warp Drives had shattered. It was a miracle that the Gellar field had remained intact, and that they had survived the transition to the Warp at all, but it would take far more than a simple Miracle to save the Astartes of the Fulminata Guard.
"Status report" Chapter Master Kaeso demanded.
The technicians around the Bridge scrambled across their screens, trying to answer the Chapter Master. But none could fathom what had happened.
"I believe," Cicero, Captain of the 1st Company responded, "The Warp has snatched us up."
Kaeso nodded. His was cold, cut from granite. It conveyed no emotions, as it always had. Kaeso had never been an emotional man, a man bred of logic and strategy. The kind of man that could lead a Legion like the Fulminata Guard.
"Thank you for your stunning observation," Remarked Gladio.
"Sir," One of the technicians finally spoke, "The Gellar field holds, but only just. If we don't get back to Realspace soon, we'll be swallowed up completely."
"How long do we have?" Kaeso asked.
"Its impossible to tell, they shouldn't even be active in the first." The technician responded.
"Find out." Kaeso replied. He turned to Cicero. "Prepare the defenses. I doubt that the Ruinous Forces will sit idly by."
Cicero nodded, and turned on his heel. He pulled his helmet from off his waist, and slid it onto his head. The visage of Cicero's helmet was instantly recognizable across the legion. It bore a mark of honor upon, the Black Mask. The faceplate, up to the eyes, had been painted a stark black. It garnered respect from among his fellow Astartes, even more than his rank as 1st captain.
His armor was the stark white of the Fulminata Guard. The unblemished armor was only broken by his left shoulder guard, the lining painted the same black as his Mask, the symbology of the 1st company.
As his helmet slid onto his head, he clicked into the Vox networks. The ship-wide Vox was silent. Perfect for protocol, not dirtying up the comms unnecessarily. The Fulminata were well-trained, and it showed. Cicero broke that silence.
"All crew to battle stations. Expect sorties. Report all Daemonic incursions immediately, and don't give them any ground. This is our ship, and we'll keep it that way."
Affirmations clicked across the Vox network. As he walked through the tight halls of the Egregium Cicero called Kaeso on his Vox.
"Have we heard from the other vessels in our fleet yet?"
"Negative. They either didn't fall to the Warp Storm like us, or they got swallowed up completely."
Cicero cursed under his breath. Thankfully the entirety of the Fulminata Guard chapter was on the Egregium, but they lost any supplemental [things] that had been stored across the other ships in their fleet.
No matter. They would have enough. It would not be easy to fell the Fulminata Guard.
Gladio lingered on the bridge. The Captain of the 2nd Company inched toward the Chapter Master.
"Sir," Gladio asked, "If I may ask, what are your plans? How can we get back to Real Space?"
"Is it doubt I hear in your voice?" Kaeso asked simply, his visage unbroken.
"Of course not," Gladio said, "I only wish to be on the same page as you for the upcoming battle."
Kaeso nodded, a smile cracking his stone face. "You squirm too easily, Gladio. Do you wish pure honesty?"
Gladio paused. Of course, he should want honesty, truth was a core tenant of the Astartes. But at the same time... Hope was sweet, and his basest human desired it. Should an Astartes desire hope?
"Honesty, of course." Gladio responded.
Kaeso sighed. He left his place at the center of the bridge.
"Titus, I give you control of the bridge."
The Chapter Master pulled Gladio along with him. They stalked through the halls of the Egregium and found their way to the Court of Thunder.
The Court of Thunder was a magnificent room. It was a large, octagonal room, with a slab of pure marble from Terra in its center. It was the room where the Fulminata's conquests were planned. It was here that the Chapter Master would meet with his captains, and any other relevant personnel, to plan their grand strategies.
Now, however, it was empty. Now was not the time for glorious campaigns or honorable battles. Now was a time for pure, white-knuckled survival, at any costs.
"I don't know." Kaeso said.
"What?" Gladio responded?"
Kaeso turned to face the 2nd Captain. For the first time Gladio could ever remember he saw fear in the Chapter Master's eyes.
"I don't know how we'll get out of this alive. I ran out of ideas as soon as we were trapped in the warp. Emperor, we shouldn't even be alive right now. You heard the technicians; our Gellar field shouldn't even be active right now. I've no idea how much longer we have."
Gladio froze. If the Chapter Master was this discouraged...
No. Gladio refused. He would not lie down and die, he was an Astartes. And dammit if hope didn't course through his body right now.
"So you plan for us to die? Cowed by the powers of the Warp we've fought so many times? Wait here until we drown in Chaos?"
Kaeso chuckled. "Of course not. That's why I sent Cicero away. He does his best thinking while he's fighting. Either way, I'm sure we'll be occupied soon enough. Something will present itself soon enough. Perhaps the Servitors will manage to repair our Warp Drives. Or maybe our Gellar field will fail before they get the chance. Don't mistake my uncertainty for failure."
Gladio nodded slowly. "I apologize for my outburst."
Kaeso nodded. "I appreciate your thoughts. As you know, it is not becoming of a Fulminata to not think for himself."
Gladio could hear Kaeso's Vox click. After a moment, the Chapter Master responded.
"I'll be right there." He turned to Gladio. "Ready your company. Expect battle soon."
The harsh thumps of Bolter fired died out the moment the Daemons fell. Theos spat a curse as he kicked over the corpse of one of the red-tinged Daemons.
"Bloodletters. So Khorne has taken notice?"
"Calm yourself, lieutenant," Cicero spoke, "There will be more."
"Have you told Kaeso yet?" Theos asked.
"Vox has been spotty. I haven't been able to reach him, but I told the bridge. Titus said he'd pass the message on."
Theos cursed again. "If our Vox-nets aren't working, that will make things a whole lot more complicated."
Cicero nodded as he reloaded his Boltgun. "We've dealt with worse. Remember Korus IV?"
Theos shook his head in amusement as he walked around his fellow Astartes, checking to see if any needed medical attention. "We weren't a single Gellar malfunction from being crushed by the Warp then. Pardon me if I don't have much hope in this situation."
"You don't need hope," Cicero said as he cocked his Bolter. "You just need to follow orders, and right now those are to defend the ship. Start securing the area and readying defenses. I'm heading to the Armory to see how Anius is handling this."
Theos smiled. "Bring me back a set of Terminator armor, will you?"
The same smile spread to Cicero's face as he marched down the hall, picking his way to the armory.
When Kaeso returned to the bridge, Titus immediately approached him with a dataslate, ignoring all pomp and circumstance usually afforded to a Chapter Master entering the bridge.
"Numerous squads have reported Daemonic incursions around the ship. Mostly Bloodletters, but a few Plaguebearers are also showing up."
"Any patterns showing up?"
Titus shook his head as the pair walked back to the center of the bridge.
Kaeso picked his helmet up from off the console and slid it onto his head.
"Stay here and keep trying to find a way back to Realspace," he commanded, his voice muffled through the Vox, "I have some Daemons to kill."