Rise to Glory - II: Threats in the Darkness

After defeating the Orks on Cthonis, Captain Stefanos Van Alessian is sent to quell a rebellion on the Imperial Hive World of Unbound, where corrupt militia and crazed citizens wage a brutal war of destruction against the Imperium. Van Alessian and a few handpicked Battle Brothers are selected to aid the loyalists in reclaiming Unbound. But unbeknownst to Van Alessian, a deadly plot is about to unfold. A plot aimed solely at the Crimson Fists. And himself.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Part I: Seeds of Rebellion
Three weeks before the Unbound Insurrection...

The blasted plains before him were still riped with corpses of slaughtered foes, and smoking with large pillars of black from destroyed hutts and vehicles. The skies were still darkened by the mere prescense of him and his followers, and the ground still seemed to shake and tremble upon his each step.

On a world unknown to him by name, or even by nearly any other means, the Lord of the Black Legion stood over the carnage before him, gazing across the fields scattered with the results of his doings. Thousands of blackened and torn bodies of Imperial Guardsmen and ordinary folk who had been too foolish to align themselves with his cause lay everywhere. Smoking and burning hutts dotted the sea of corpses, along with vast, burning craters that had obliterated most of the forests and other flaura around him, replacing them with fowl craters and stone spires that had grown out of the very ground itself as the Dark Powers grasped this world into their iron fist. Sorcerers deovoted to serving the Gods whom the Lord and his followers worshipped enacted rites and rituals that began to transform this planet into a Demon World. An accomplishment that he could be proud of.

Demonic ichor seeped from newly formed cracks in the planets surface, and altars and shrines dedicated to the Dark Gods began to appear, surrounded by cultists and slaves, who were begging for a chance to further serve their masters.

And serve them they would.

"Lord Abaddon." A voice said from behind him.

Abaddon, the Warmaster of Chaos and the absolute leader of the Black Legion, turned to face the visored eyes of an Aspiring Champion, clad in the pitch black power armor of the Black Legion with a menacing red eyed helmet. Abaddon recognized this warrior instantly: Vartius, the warrior who he had chosen to be speartip of this invasion. He had saught to prove himself in the face of his Gods. And proved himself he had, at least in Abaddon's eyes.

"What is it Vartius?" Abaddon asked and turned around, his massive suit of ancient Terminator armor landing every step with a loud thud.

"Forgive the intrusion my Lord," Vartius said. "but they are here."

Abaddon merely walked next to Vartius, his land instinctivey held over the hilt of his sword. "Then let them show themselves."

There were moments of silence, in which nothing moved apart from the dozen Chaos Space Marines who moved behind Abaddon, holding their Bolters firmly in their armored hands, finger still on the trigger. Even Vartius had drawn out his Bolt Pistol from his holster. Abaddon understood their frustration more then they knew perhaps. These warriors whom he was about to meet were no great friends of him, nor of any servant of Chaos, or anyone in particular. But they were mercenaries, they had no allegiance to anyone except themselves. Still, they were useful and skilled warriors, as much as despised secretly to admit it, and could easily cover up his part in the coming battle for as long as needed. While these guns for hire were taking care of their business, his enemies would point the blame at anyone who they knew had a reason to hire mercenaries like this to attack them. True, he too was at the top of that list, but so were thousands of others. They would take little note to him specifically.

But these were no ordinary mercenaries.

Soon, a Thunderhawk gunship bearing the eight pointed Star of Chaos on its side swooped in from the skies, colored in a mixture of grey, purple and gold. The missiles under its great wings were still poised to kill anything that made a single false move against this craft, and the Heavy Bolters and the massive canon mounted on the top were equally capable of doing that as well. As long as everything went as planned, there would be no need to bring those weapons to bear.

The gunship landed, and stood immobile for a few moments before the rear hatch lowered and thudded to the ashy ground with a puff of dust and black dirt. Abaddon felt his lips twist into a smirk as he saw the trio of armored figures step out into view.

They were Astartes, like his warriors around him, and beared on them some icons of their allegiance to the Chaos Gods. Their armor was colored in the same manner as their Thunderhawk, purple and gray plating with golden trimming. Two of them appeared as elite bodyguards, their Halberds held high and their armor in fair condition. They didn't certainly look as much like servants of Chaos as he had perhaps expected, but the icons on their chestplate spoke to itself, and the tall Halberds spoke of immense martial skill and cunning in battle. As fairly impressive as they were, the warrior in the middle was the one who Abaddon was most interrested in.

He wore an ancient suit of Terminator armor, and still wore the helmet as well, masking his face. At his side he had a great Thunder Hammer that hung from a belt on his armor, and although it seemed out of reach perhaps, Abaddon knew that this warrior could easily reach out for it in a split second and raise it to the fight. His armor had been stripped of all its former Imperial insignias and markings such as the golden Aquila on the chestplate, and the Crux Terminatus on the right shoulder, now replaced by the Star of Chaos. The warrior and his Honor Guard marched forward to meet Abaddon, as he and his Black Legionnaires stood still like grim statues, and still appearing ready for combat.

"Lord Abaddon." The warrior in the middle said and came to a halt. "I got your message, although i can still scarcely believe it. What is it that you want?"

Abaddon curled his fist in anger. Even just speaking to these warriors seemed somewhat despicable to him. "Lord Caustos." He said, calming himself, barely. "I have an urgent matter that requires immediate intervention, and you and the Damned Company can ensure that i can intervene with that matter without the Imperium pointing fingers directly at me. To be blunt, i am looking to...hire...you."

It seemed almost ridiculos to say that. Abaddon had never used methods like this to himself, he much more preferred to take care of problems that would prove painful for his plans himself. But this was a matter that required a swift response, and Caustos and his Damned Company Astartes were the only ones he felt could get there fast enough and still do it right.

Caustos merely laughed. "You, wish to hire someone? Since when did Abaddon the Despoiler turn to hirelings and mercenaries to do his work for him?"

"Silence!" Abaddon boomed. "I have no time for games Caustos. You may living your lives as were hired muscle, but you are still servants of Chaos just as any other!" He took two steps forward, looking deeper into the visored eyes of Caustos. "I need warriors such as yourself to deal with this, and fast. The target i am about to give you is an affront to my plans, and i cannot afford mistakes for what is to come. Also," He continued, lowering his voice and adding to the anticipation. "i know how much you are willing to strike back at the Imperium, and its False Emperor. Have you so soon forgotten what the Inquisition did to your Astartes? Have you forgotten how all others abandoned you, and when the Dark Gods saved you from your plight?"

"I have no immediate desire to risk the lives of my few remaining Astartes to strike a blow at an enemy i can wound any time i please, and i have no relation to the Dark Gods except how they can help my men survive in this hostile galaxy. Now please, Lord Abaddon, i have wasted precious time and ships coming here to see what you want, and i am not reading an contract on your lips. And i expect payment upfront." Caustos replied.

Abaddon felt enfuriated. This man spoke of the Chaos Gods with a mocking tune, used only by those not truly willing to throw in everything they have in favor of the Gods. But Abaddon could hardly be surprised. He already knew how little these Astartes truly cared of worship to Chaos, and that the only reason they worshipped them was because it had at the time been their only hope of survival against the Inquisition. All they truly cared about, was how much money they could make. It seemed even Astartes mercenaries had that same attitude.

"Very well then." Abaddon said and nodded to a Chaos Marine behind him, who immediately turned around to lift a great metal crate into the air. The crate, had been one of the reasons Abaddon had invaded this planet. The Damned Company expected money. So monet they would have. The Chaos Marine threw the crate to the feet of Caustos, and it landed with a metallic clang, and shattered open. Fresh golden coin poured out onto the ground, clinging against the armored boots of Caustos and his Honor Guard. Under his helmet, the massive Astartes Lord raised an eyebrow, and nodded over to the Guard to his right to check the amount of gold.

The Honor Guard bent down to examine the value of the coin, and ran his fingers through the pile of cash below his feet, occasionally picking up a fistfull of coin to take a closer look. Moments later, he stood back up and faced Caustos with a silent nod, and then went back into position. The other Honor Guard began piling the coin back through the crate's shattered top, and Abaddon felt a flush of success run through him as he saw the mercs take into his offer.

"Lord Abaddon, you have my attention, and that of the Damned Company." He took a low, almost irrecognizable bow towards Abaddon. "What is it that you wish us to do?"

"You are travelling to the world of Unbound." Abaddon began without further hesitation. "It is an Imperial Hive World, unstable, not safe, and most certainly susceptible to any form of attack. The population there will be in a full fledged strife within a few weeks, as the Warp travel will become...hazardous...for its supply convoys. Handpick some of your best men, i dont care how many, only that they do their part. Incite rebellion there, uplift riots, overthrow the Loyalist scum. All of these things will attract your ultimate objective. He will be forced to lend his aid."

"Of course." Caustos said. "I still fail to see who it is you wish to get rid of, you mentioned you wanted to have someone slain, am i correct?"

"Yes." Abaddon growled. "Because of this particular loyalist, my plans on this fringe of the galaxy have struck a dead end, and as i cannot salvage the situation fully, i must make ammends my killing this warrior."

"I see." Caustos said. His attitude had suddenly changed the moment millions of golden coin had been thrown before his feet. Even as mighty of a warrior as him appeared to have a part in him that was a  regular hireling at heart. "Do you need proof that he is dead?"

"Of course!" Abaddon spat as if it was obvious. "The rebellion you will cause will act as your shield, use it to get to your target. It will take some time until he arrives, but as no one else is close enough fortunately, he will have no choice but to come to you."

"Very well, what is it that you want us to do then?"

"Bring me the head of Stefanos Van Alessian."