(Brothers, the official Warhammer timeline has been updated. In the original setting, Guilliman was still chasing Abaddon around in 42K 100. So let's move our timeline to 42K 500, during Abaddon's Fourteenth Crusade—which I made up.)
Gunfire had grown scarce on the battlefield. Everyone was conserving ammunition instead of shooting pointlessly.
The fortresses were packed with people, and quite a few contestants had climbed the metal pillars outside.
How were they supposed to deal with this monster that shrugged off blades and bullets? William glanced at Chapter Master Evan atop the tallest pillar. How would this lord handle it?
He had no idea. Lord Evan would probably tear it apart with ease.
Only meltaguns and ion guns could do much damage to it, but getting a steady shot was difficult. Their only real opportunity came when the Phenos Stone Serpent stopped moving.
By now, the giant serpent was growing increasingly familiar with the arena. Getting it to repeat its earlier mistake of crashing into a wall would be difficult.
Enke hid up high. He had several possible ways to kill the serpent, but this was not the time to mention them. Too many people were still alive. Once the serpent died, they might well start shooting one another.
That would put Enke, armed with nothing but a little laspistol, at a serious disadvantage.
Enke had already made up his mind. As long as the method of killing would destroy a few Aquila Emblems, he would immediately run for the finish.
The Phenos Stone Serpent darted around the arena. Its powerful body and tremendous speed meant it needed no other moves. Simply ramming into an enemy was enough to kill them.
Under normal circumstances, a Phenos Stone Serpent living among rock and earth would devour its prey and leave once it was full. But surrounded by nothing but metal, it had become utterly frenzied, desperate to tear every enemy apart.
Anything that made a noise was its enemy—including Evan cracking sunflower seeds!
Several times, it had wanted to charge at Evan, only to be drawn back by intense gunfire.
While battle raged on the ground, those in orbit were wrestling with important matters of their own.
In fact, as soon as Evan and the other three had left the Forge World Stolov, the Chief Apothecary and the Techmarine had begun negotiations with the Adeptus Mechanicus. Neophyte Transformation could not be completed by the Chief Apothecary alone. The Adeptus Mechanicus's Tech-Priests, particularly its Magos Biologis specialists, would have to commit enormous effort and precious stockpiled resources, working alongside the Chief Apothecary, to complete such a massive task. Under their current circumstances, transforming the next hundred recruits would be extraordinarily difficult.
Although everyone wanted to transform a large batch of recruits in one go, this Forge World did not specialize in Astartes augmentation. Even working with Situval, a hundred subjects per round was their limit.
The Storm Will Chapter had previously "ordered" these organs to replenish its fighting strength, so Stolov had some in stock. The Archmagos simply refused to mention them. They were his strongest bargaining chip.
"Hmm, we can provide the supplies you need within the specified time, but as for the price..."
He had clearly proposed a condition that shocked everyone.
If they truly wanted the Forge World's full support, it would have to switch all its production over to Astartes-related goods.
For the Imperium, a genuine Founding required roughly two hundred and fifty years of preparation. The designated Forge Worlds would begin manufacturing all the military supplies a new Chapter needed, including battle barges-by standard, a complete Space Marine Chapter possessed three battle barges or suitable substitutes-varying numbers of strike cruisers, assorted transports, escort ships, and other warships. Mortal troops also had to be recruited and their equipment manufactured, among other things.
This would draw on the strength of the entire Imperium. Even the resources of a single sector could not sustain a complete Founding.
But they were clearly not building an entirely new Legion now. They already had a battle barge that could serve as an Astartes monastery, and the Dawn Angels had donated the Imperialis Militia and their equipment. What they needed now were the supplies for the other augmentation procedures, aside from gene-seed. Even power armour could wait.
Make the recruits first. Everything else could come later.
Stolov World had begun accelerating its biological manufacturing as soon as it heard that the Space Marine Chapter had suffered devastating losses. But since the "price" remained unsettled, it had not committed its full production capacity.
After all, equipping newly recruited Skitarii also consumed enormous resources.
Transforming an Astartes required at least four years and at most eight, depending on each boy's constitution. (The first procedure began at ages ten to twelve, and the nineteenth took place at ages sixteen to eighteen.)
Transforming one into a Primaris Astartes took even longer. (There were three additional procedures.)
The good news was that ordinary Astartes could undergo further augmentation to become Primaris Astartes. In other words, Evan did not have to rush. He could turn them into ordinary Space Marines first, then perform the remaining procedures when circumstances allowed.
First, they needed enough men to restore the Chapter to a reasonable strength. The more members they had, the greater the chance that Imperial authorities would recognize them as a new Chapter rather than merge them into another one.
Secondly, if they made Primaris warriors, each round of augmentation would take a full twelve years. Yet another batch of biological organs would be available in just ten. There was no reason to leave the organs sitting in refrigeration.
Meanwhile, the first batch to complete augmentation could begin studying the knowledge required of Apothecaries and Techmarines. Being born a few years earlier meant becoming Apothecaries a few years earlier.
Cases like Evan, who had been transformed directly into a Primaris Astartes, were actually rare. At the beginning of 42K, when the Chapters received the technology, they first augmented their veterans to increase their strength. Several decades had now passed, and the Adeptus Mechanicus's great sage Belisarius Cawl had improved the procedures again, raising the success rate and considerably increasing the chances of creating a Primaris Space Marine in one go.
But having just one Forge World supply biological organs for a hundred recruits in such a short time-even including the materials previously "ordered" by the Storm Will Chapter-would require Stolov to operate at its absolute limit, delivering the organs as soon as they were produced.
Warship construction would therefore have to grind to a complete halt. In other words, the Dawn Angels' order could not be completed on schedule.
"Either you pay our breach-of-contract penalties, or you transfer some of the warships you ordered to the Dawn Angels." Those were the Adeptus Mechanicus's exact words, followed by some strange binary profanity that seemed to express displeasure at having to halt research on the Aeldari vessel.
With the selection trials nearing their end, the Techmarine and Chief Apothecary had no choice but to make their final decision. Their final order retained only one battle barge and one strike cruiser, to be delivered in a hundred years. Everything else would be transferred to the Dawn Angels Chapter.
When the Archmagos heard this, he laughed so hard that he spilled his machine oil. Under normal Imperial procedures, they would have had to help the Crimson Tide Chapter "free of charge"-at least, the Chapter would not be paying. But under the present arrangement, they had effectively traded one battle barge and one strike cruiser for a precious Aeldari treasure.
A killing. An absolute killing.
The Magos Biologis specialists immediately increased their workloads, and most of the Forge World's resources shifted to biological production.
With the stock originally intended for the Storm Will Chapter, they did not actually need such a high output. But was the Crimson Tide short of merely a hundred Astartes? No, it was short of nearly a thousand. Factoring in failed augmentations, they would need almost two thousand sets of biological organs.
Surely you'll come to us again in the future? Heh. First shear the fat sheep, then eat its meat, drink the broth, and suck out the marrow.
The Archmagos felt that his long-term funding was secured.
(Under Imperial law, aiding unidentified Astartes was a grave crime, as they might well be part of a Chaos plot. So this amounted to a "black-market deal.")
Evan watched the selection trials with keen interest. Although the boys' casualties pained him, he also wanted to know what method they would ultimately use to win.
William watched Evan as he considered his options. Suddenly, he looked at the tallest metal peak in the arena—the pillar beneath Evan's feet—and then at the meltagun in his hands. An idea struck him.
"Lord Evan, could you move to another peak?" William shouted at the top of his lungs. Under ordinary circumstances, a mortal who dared shout at a Chapter Master like that would have been dragged away and shot for five minutes straight.
But they were on a "battlefield," after all, so Evan leaped gracefully onto another metal pillar.
William shouted to the people inside the fortress, "I have a way to beat it! Everyone, listen!"
Despite the noise of the battlefield, quite a few people heard him.
"What? You can deal with that monster?"
"I am a son of William. Everyone, hear me out."
Yes, that worked much better.
"We lure the serpent to the foot of the metal pillar, then melt through the pillar with meltaguns and pin it underneath. After that, we burn it to death with melta fire."
Everyone looked at the towering metal pillar. With melta weapons-several meltaguns firing together-it might actually work.
"What makes you so sure it'll hit?"
"I need heavy gunfire as bait to draw it over. Look, it goes wherever the noise is loudest."
For example, the Phenos Stone Serpent was currently moving toward William, but two volleys from the boys in the distant battle fortress drew it back.
"Why should we help you? Once only a hundred people are left alive, we'll qualify."
This time, William answered with a genuine sneer.
"Do you think Chapter Master Evan would choose cowards?"
Exactly. These trials were meant to select the Imperium's bravest, strongest, most fearless Space Marines. Would they ultimately accept cowards who hid in holes and dared not come out?
The boy who had asked the question immediately realized that Chapter Master Evan was watching right there in the arena. Shame overwhelmed him. He would have to prove his courage in the coming fight.
Enke realized he could no longer remain silent. William had proposed a highly workable plan, and just as William had said, his own performance so far was unworthy of a Space Marine.
Enke shouted, "I'll guide you to the serpent's position! You prepare the trap!"
William waved to Xiao Lan atop a metal pillar, signaling for him to bring his ion pistol and help.
Xiao Lan thought quite highly of this Upper Hive boy. The fact that he was willing to work with someone from the Underhive was enough to show that he was a remarkably open-minded man.
With the ion pistol slung on his back, he slid swiftly down the metal pillar.
Compared with a weapon like a meltagun, whose ammunition supply was limited, an ion pistol's endurance was rather mysterious. Supposedly it could fire ten shots, though in most cases it managed five, with an interval of roughly half a minute between shots. After that, continued firing carried a sharply increased chance of "self-detonation." Usually, however, an ion pistol's owner died before it did.
Of course, firing directly on overload was a function of the "machine spirit" in a Chapter relic. Ordinary ion pistols generally "did not have it."
There were, however, ancient models preserved from long ago, like the one Evan had used in his earlier battles.
Five shots would be enough to bring down five of the smaller metal pillars.
There were still many boys outside, around eighty of them. Most answered William's call and joined the fight. Those still skirmishing outside were brave warriors, constantly searching for weaknesses in the Phenos Stone Serpent.
Enke continuously reported the serpent's position, occasionally firing a couple of laspistol shots to draw its attention.
Between the largest metal pillar and the nearest battle fortress, William and Xiao Lan had already toppled four metal pillars, forming a crude corridor to restrict the Phenos Stone Serpent's movement.
Once the serpent entered that area, it would have only one route to follow, and at the end stood the metal fortress it had just battered its head against.
Then the Phenos Stone Serpent would be trapped, unable to advance or retreat. All they would need to do was melt through the largest metal "peak" and bring it crashing down.
William handled the tactical deployment, while Enke somehow became something like a commander. He directed gunfire from different positions, constantly drawing the serpent back and forth to keep the Phenos Stone Serpent away from William and his "pillar-cutting" squad.
Self-organized "message relays" had also formed beside the pillars to pass information along.
Evan watched them with interest. When facing a common enemy, they could all unite. But how would they react once that enemy was dealt with?
Through careful calculations, Enke worked to lure the Phenos Stone Serpent into roughly the right position by the time William's group finished preparing the trap. For most of that time, he directed the fortresses and the self-organized skirmishing teams to keep the serpent between the other two metal fortresses.
William's group completed the trap. As the Phenos Stone Serpent approached the "corridor entrance," Enke signaled everyone to get ready.
The instant the serpent showed its head, a massive barrage engulfed it. Whether it did any damage or not, it certainly made plenty of noise.
Enraged, the Phenos Stone Serpent charged straight at the fortress. It was utterly frenzied now. Despite killing so many enemies, irritating noises still rang out all around it. Charge, charge, charge! I'll smash everything down!
William and the other meltagun wielders immediately began cutting through the tallest metal pillar. One shot each, and almost instantly, ninety percent of the pillar's cross-section vaporized under the melta fire. The enormous pillar began to topple slowly.
When it first began falling, the Phenos Stone Serpent continued its frenzied charge. When the pillar was halfway down, the serpent hesitated. As the pillar was about to strike it, the giant serpent surged forward like a creature possessed.
With a clang, another tremendous impact struck the metal wall the serpent had already dented. Unsurprisingly, the wall was completely breached. The serpent's powerful collision and the fragments of the metal wall instantly killed half the people in the fortress. The rest barely clung to life beneath the crushing mass of "human flesh."
The severed metal pillar finally slammed down onto the Phenos Stone Serpent's body.
The parts that had escaped the impact thrashed wildly, apart from its head, which was wedged inside the metal fortress.
Inside the fortress, the serpent's massive head tried to open its jaws and devour the human flesh. But the moment it opened its mouth, the first boys to recover fed it a mouthful of bullets.
William's melta squad advanced swiftly and aimed steady melta fire at the joint between its second and third segments, successfully burning the giant serpent in two.
The people from the other two fortresses also arrived. The ninety-five people outside, Enke included, quickly began cutting up the corpse in search of Aquila Emblems.
Although one Aquila Emblem had been destroyed by melta fire, they dug another out of the Phenos Stone Serpent's second body segment and quickly ran for the finish.
Huh? The ten badly wounded people trapped in the fortress? Who was going to bother with them? They had to qualify first.
Only four Aquila Emblems and the ten badly wounded people inside the fortress remained. The situation seemed impossible. In their condition, they probably could not even push the serpent's head aside. They would likely all die in there.
Evan was already preparing to rescue them. At worst, once their injuries healed, he could hold another contest to choose four out of the ten.
An ion pistol shot blasted through the metal fortress's opposite outer wall. Xiao Lan looked at the great hole he had made, its edges still glowing red with intense heat. Contestants were already enduring that heat to leap out. Those whose main injuries were not in their legs immediately clambered over the metal pillar, pried out the remaining Aquila Emblems, and made their final escape.
Interestingly, the boy who would originally have been the hundredth qualifier searched for ages without finding an Aquila Emblem, then sat down where he was and burst into devastated sobs.
One clever, badly wounded contestant, however, noticed that Evan was still in the arena and decided to gamble that an Aquila Emblem had been destroyed. Dragging his battered body to the final exit, he secured the last place.
What followed hardly needed telling. Medical personnel rushed in to treat the wounded. These trials were unlike previous ones: more than a dozen contestants had suffered disabling injuries and needed immediate treatment.
Of course, with their current technology, that was not a major problem. Some Chapters even held their own secret rituals after recruiting new members. An extreme Chapter like a certain Hands, for example, practiced ritual limb removal.
Naturally, the Shadow Blades' Techmarine said this was no great problem either. After all, he was here, and it was his specialty. (As a successor Chapter of the Iron Hands, the Shadow Blades had a gene-seed defect that left recruits with a high probability of disability. Prosthetic limbs and mechanical arms had always sold very well.)
Evan finally let out a relieved breath. No, wait—another breath stuck in his throat. Those Mechanicus bastards fleeced me out of so much. This feels awful.
These trials had been far too bloody. Half the contestants had died.
Yet people showed surprisingly little sorrow over those casualties. My son fought to his death beneath the gaze of an Astartes Chapter Master. He upheld the dignity of an Imperial man.
The parents and relatives of those killed earned enormous respect from everyone around them. These were noble deeds worthy of being recorded in their family genealogies, and the families held grand funerals to commemorate the children.
Of course, those who qualified were overjoyed. Normally, the families of recruits who failed augmentation were not notified. To the people of this world, the hundred selected in the final trials were the final list.
The nobles of the Upper Hive threw lavish banquets. This was something they could boast about for three generations, an enormous asset that could secure their standing in the Upper Hive.
For example, Grand Duke William's household allocated funds overnight. Build it! Right in the middle of the desert! Build me a gigantic statue of the Emperor! For several days straight, the current head of the William family grinned like a chrysanthemum in full bloom. A banquet! We must hold a banquet! Twenty days of the finest delicacies! (Please keep this quiet. Don't tell Xiao Lan.)
When the white-collar workers of the Mid Hive learned that their children had passed the Space Marine Chapter's final selection, quite a few parents fainted from excitement. In the days ahead, they would gain enormous respect, promotions, and pay raises. With the right maneuvering, they could become residents of the Upper Hive.
Enke's friend Frosa had already caught the Astra Militarum's attention. She would soon enter an academy for senior officers, with a boundless future ahead of her.
As for the children of the Underhive... most had neither father nor mother. Only the owner of the Steam Bar suddenly became remarkably generous, offering free-flowing drinks throughout the entire bar for a day.
Before you continue