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Chapter 3 - Preparations for a Expedition

As the weeks passed, Caelion firmly established temporary control over the various military forces operating under the Adeptus Ministorum. Those who were investigated and found to be disloyal or corrupt were executed on the spot resulting in tens of thousands of people dying throughout the Ministorum. Caelion only planned to maintain this control for a few more weeks before he appointed a new Ecclesiarch.

As the weeks turned into months, Caelion tirelessly pursued the massive task of reshaping the Imperium alongside Guilliman. Each decision carried the weight of billions, every reform sending shockwaves across the Imperium. Word of his relentless drive and merciless approach to corruption spread quickly. He became known by many names, The Reforger, The Emperor's Judge, and The Blade of Truth.

Caelion's next significant step was the reinstatement and reformation of the XI Legion, his very own legion which was also known as 'The Penitent Blades'. But before he pursued this, he needed to assemble a fleet and army. Karthax, his ancient homeworld, was located deep within the Imperium Nihilus. He needed to reclaim his homeworld and bring back the original 1,000 remaining legion members of The Penitent Blades.

Once he took back Karthax and the surrounding sectors, he could re-establish Imperium control within the Nihilus and lead them against the forces of chaos and other aliens which invade the region.

For this, he assembled a fleet consisting of 4 Battle Barges, 3 Battleships, 20 Strike Cruisers, 12 Cruisers, and 25 Escorts. His capital ship would be one of the Battleships which was renamed to The Emperor's Reproach. Over the course of 6 months, the crew and other staff for the fleet were assembled above Terra and were engaging in exercises to get them prepared for travelling through the Warp and into the other side of the Rift which is considered to be near impossible and extremely dangerous.

At the same time, Guilliman had assembled together 10,000 Space Marines from the Unnumbered Sons. The Unnumbered Sons are the Primaris Space Marines created by Archmagos Belisarius Cawl under the orders of Guilliman made up of the nine original Loyalist Primarchs' gene-lines. Guilliman had used these Primaris Space Marines in the Indomitus Crusade, a massive Imperial Crusade which saw Guilliman defend and reclaim the regions of the Imperium from the forces of chaos and the myriad of xenos assaults that threatened to consume it.

From that crusade the remaining number of Unnumbered Sons were reduced to just some 20,000 Primaris Space Marines which were used as a reserve force. But now that Caelion is present, Guilliman decided to transfer 10,000 of these Primaris Space Marines to Caelion's command to support him on his own crusade into the Imperium Nihilus. These 10,000 Primaris Space Marines were a mix of various Primarch gene-lines but were still Space Marines all the same.

They had learned to work together during the Indomitus crusade, but it would still take a Primarch to lead them to victory once again, against the forces of chaos.

Within his own office within the Imperial Palace, Caelion wore his power armor, which was a mix of white, blue, and gold. On his back was his Hammer of Truth and on his side was the his broadsword called The Forged Repentance or Repentance for short. Both of these weapons were a relic from the past and were very powerful psychic powered weapons. While not as strong as the Emperor's psychic powered sword, they were still quite powerful.

In front of him were the key figures of his expeditionary force. The table before him displayed a holographic projection of the Imperium Nihilus, completely cut off from central Imperium and constantly under attack by chaos and xenos. Communication with the other side has been very limited and travel to and from has been considered impossible. On the far edge of the map, blinking red was Karthax, their main objective.

"Let us begin," Caelion said as High Admiral Darya Velkorr, commander of the Battlefleet Nihilus Reclamation, stepped forward.

"My Lord," she began with a crisp bow, "All vessels are ready. The Emperor's Reproach is fully crewed, and the High Strategos of the vessel have compiled warp projections calculations. It is estimated that there is a 43% risk of fleet scatter upon Rift entry." she had to admit that she was a little worried as most Admirals consider it impossible to reach the other side.

"Don't worry Admiral. I have a way to get us through safely; all you need to do is follow my command get rid of any xenos in our path."

"Yes, my lord." she bowed once again.

Next was Lord General Militant Vorn Castellan, the Imperial Guard commander, clad in his armor bearing medals from various battles. He was a man in his mid-fifties. "My Lord Caelion." he began.

"The contingents of are in place and training is proceeding as scheduled. The tactics you introduced are out of the norm, but the men and women are adapting well. We have four million Guardsmen across fifty-five regiments, all hailing from various worlds and motivated to serve under a Primarch once again."

"Good. Those tactics will help the Guardsmen fight the various enemy forces that we will face and ensure that most of them survive the battle to see the next day and next battle." Caelion explained. He didn't want to lose his entire army after just one battle.

Next was Archmagos Omnix. "Per your request my Lord, the Adeptus Mechanicus has allocated four Mechanicus Ordinatus war-engines, eight Legio Cybernetica cohorts, and six Skitarii Battalions for deployment alongside your forces. Your proposal for further integration of the Adeptus Mechanicus, Adeptus Astartes, and Imperial Guards has gained a lot of traction among the Priesthood of Mars. As such we will be using this expedition as a testing ground to improve this cooperation. If all goes well, the Priesthood has promised more support. In addition to this, Fabricator-General Kurnax has sanctioned a noospheric link to Karthax's ancient forges, assuming we can reclaim the Noctis Data-Spires intact."

Caelion nodded. "We will. And if they have fallen to heresy, we shall cleanse them until it is completely wiped off the planet."

He then turned to the far end of the room, where the Shield Captain Valerion of the Adeptus Custodes stood. "Will you join me?" he asked.

Valerion stepped forward and saluted. "By the Emperor's command, my lord, we will join your crusade and fight alongside you against the enemies of the Imperium."

"Then it is time. The galaxy burns, and my father's dream is mocked by madmen and monsters. But we, will be the retribution which reignites that light and strike down our enemies and deliver the truth." The chamber erupted into salutes.

In the weeks that followed, Caelion would meet privately with the 11 Chapter Masters of Adeptus Astartes accompanying him. He mainly wanted to get to know them as they were going to be fighting together for the next couple of years. For the Chapter Masters, it had been quite a while since they sat in front of a Primarch and had a conversation. They mainly talked about the centuries of battles that they participated in and the hundreds of brothers that they had lost.

The Chapter Master of the Reborn Swords, one of the successor chapters of the old White Scars, was first to break the solemn air. He had a reputation for boasting, but his words were filled with grief. "We have fought the Black Crusades on starless worlds, torn down Chaos legions and warlords both. And yet I have never felt as sure of victory as I do now, with you to lead us into the Great Rift."

Caelion accepted this as he accepted all things: with a nod, then steered the conversation to the deeds that needed doing. "The enemy will not fear my return, until they see what we have become together. Remember this, when the light of the Imperium dims behind us and only the darkness of Nihilus remains ahead."

The Chapter Master of the Infinites Maledictum was next, a stoic veteran with bionics lacing his face. He did not speak of the enemy, but of the civilians they would leave behind. "The void will claim many before we restore order, my lord. Do we have orders regarding the unprotected hives, and the refugees that will multiply behind our fleets?"

"A question of mercy," said Caelion, "or a question of logistics?"

The Chapter Master answered. "Both. The Adeptus Ministorum authorities of the region will not welcome your reforms. Mass proof of doctrine change will shatter compliance. It may create more unrest than the enemy alone."

"Let them riot," said Caelion, without affection, but not without understanding. "Let them scream of heresy for as long as it takes to burn out their taste for it. We will not trade the future of men for the peace of their jailors. If the unprotected are threatened by starvation or xenos predation, you are authorized to use any appropriate force to maintain order, but avoid mass reprisals against the flock, unless there is no other recourse. The Ministorum may be a powerful force, but we have representatives from the newly reformed Ministorum that will spread my reforms. If they don't accept, then we will proceed as I have stated before."

The Infinites Maledictum Chapter Master simply nodded, and Caelion marked him as a man who would be loyal to death. The rest asked their own questions, some mundane—spawn rates of Tyranid incursions, mechanisms for wargear resupply, breakdowns of Mechanicus support chains—some deeply philosophical. In these, he found glimpses of what his Father's dream was meant to be.

As this ended and a few more weeks passed, preparations were finally complete. The Ships of the Penitent Crusade loomed above Terra. The Emperor's Reproach stood at the heart of the formation ready to point its weapons at the first sign of enemies.

With the Lex Veritatis in one hand and the Blade of Judgment in the other, he stepped aboard his vessel and took his place upon the bridge. The vox-channels were alive with the prayers of a thousand voices — but they were no longer prayers for miracles. They were declarations of duty.

"Engage the warp drives," Caelion ordered.

And thus began the first great crusade of the XI Legion in ten thousand years. The Imperium Nihilus would be united against the forces of chaos and all other forces. And Caelion, the Reforged Son, would walk its broken stars as both judge... and savior.

Accompanied by the Ultramarines Chapter given to him, the 10,000 Astartes of the Unnumbered Sons, millions of Imperial Guards, support from the Adeptus Mechanicus, and other supporting forces, he was ready.

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