Chapter 10: The Conquest of Luna

Chapter 10: The Conquest of Luna

The Legiones Astartes surpassed their Thunder Warrior predecessors in every measure of war—stability of gene-seed, lethality of purpose, and the cold perfection of their craft. Where the Thunder Warriors had been instruments of brute conquest, the Astartes were instruments of calculated annihilation.

They were wrought for war in flesh and spirit alike.

The gene-cultists' defenses crumbled beneath the inexorable advance of transhuman might. Bolt-rounds thundered in disciplined volleys, each shell finding its mark with the precision that only post-human reflexes could deliver.

Defense turrets were silenced, their twisted machine-spirits stilled by concentrated fire. The abominations birthed in the cult's gene-forges—creatures that violated the sacred human form—were put to the blade without hesitation or mercy.

The Selenar Gene-Cults' final bastion, their pride and their folly, fell within the span of a single hour.

Imperial forces pressed their advance toward the sacred precincts of the gene-cultists' primary temple complex, crushing the last vestiges of resistance beneath ceramite boots and the righteousness of Unity.

Within the sanctum of the Gene Core, Matriarch Heliosa-54—supreme hierophant of the Selenar Cults—summoned her most cherished acolyte, Ta'lab Vita-37, to her presence.

"The Tyrant's legions have breached our final ramparts," the Matriarch intoned, her voice carrying the weight of inevitable defeat. "Soon they shall stand within these very halls. You must depart, child, and bear with you the Primordial Mother-Gene."

The ancient woman's gaze fell upon the young initiate before her, and in that look was both command and benediction.

"Why does the Tyrant seek our destruction?" Ta'lab Vita-37 asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"He does not seek our destruction," the Matriarch replied, shaking her head with weary certainty. "He would have us kneel. He would bind us to his grand design, make us servants to his vision of Unity."

"Then why do you remain, Matriarch? Why must I flee alone?"

The Matriarch extended one pale, needle-thin finger to touch the girl's forehead. At the point of contact, spiraling helixes of bio-luminescent data flowed like liquid starlight, pouring the accumulated wisdom of centuries into Ta'lab Vita-37's mind.

The young acolyte gasped as the vast repository of gene-lore flooded her consciousness—the sacred knowledge of human enhancement, the forbidden secrets of genetic manipulation, the pure templates that had guided humanity's children since their exodus from Terra.

"The Primordial Mother-Gene contains the untainted essence of baseline humanity and all genetic wisdom gathered since our ancestors first looked beyond Terra's sky," the Matriarch spoke, her words carrying the weight of prophecy. "It must never fall into a tyrant's grasp."

"The Selenar must endure, but the Mother-Gene must remain free. I have given you all that I possess. Should the day come when the Tyrant's madness consumes him, when his grand Unity crumbles to ash, the Mother-Gene may prove humanity's salvation."

Ta'lab Vita-37 pressed her palms together and bowed deeply, the gesture formal and reverent.

"I shall not fail you, honored Matriarch."

She turned to depart, but the Matriarch's voice called after her one final time.

"Remember us not as we were, child, but as we should have been."

As the young woman vanished into the shadows, the Matriarch turned to her neural interface and began the methodical erasure of all data pertaining to Ta'lab Vita-37.

Every record, every memory trace, every whispered reference—all were consigned to the void, ensuring that no interrogation or psychic probe could reveal the girl's existence.

When the last synapse had been severed and the final data-fragment purged, the Matriarch wept. She had loved Ta'lab Vita-37 as a daughter, and now she could no longer recall why tears fell from her eyes.

The deed complete, she activated the sanctuary's vox-casters and broadcast across all frequencies:

"Cease your assault. The Selenar Cults surrender."

Meanwhile, Ta'lab Vita-37—bearing the accumulated wisdom of her people and the precious burden of the Primordial Mother-Gene—made her way through hidden passages toward freedom. Yet her flight was destined to be brief.

As she emerged from the concealed exit, golden-armored figures awaited her—Custodian Guard in their burnished auramite plate, silent as death and twice as inevitable.

Their leader, Captain-General Valdor, stood at their fore like a statue wrought in precious metal and deadly purpose.

Ta'lab Vita-37 knew not how her escape route had been discovered, but the sight of the Emperor's chosen guardians filled her with primal terror.

She had heard the whispered legends—that these were not merely warriors, but extensions of the Master of Mankind's will made manifest in flesh and gold.

"I have no wish to cause you harm," Valdor spoke, his voice carrying the authority of Terra itself. "But you will surrender the artifact."

"What artifact?" she managed, though her voice betrayed her fear.

"The Primordial Mother-Gene."

The words struck her like a physical blow. Ta'lab Vita-37 stumbled backward, clutching the precious vial to her chest.

"Never!" she cried, turning to her escort guards. "Protect me! Stop them!"

Her guardians obeyed without question, launching themselves at the golden giants with desperate courage. Their loyalty was absolute, their skill considerable—and their deaths instantaneous.

Custodian guardian spears moved in perfect arcs, and in less than a heartbeat, the defenders lay bisected upon Luna's ancient stone.

The disparity was so vast as to mock comprehension. Even with her gene-enhanced reflexes and augmetic implants, Ta'lab Vita-37 could barely perceive the Custodians' movements. They were swifter than thought, more deadly than nightmares.

The vial was plucked from her grasp with contemptuous ease. Golden gauntlets closed about her arms with implacable gentleness, and she was borne away to an Imperial transport like a child in the grip of armored gods.

"How did you divine their intentions regarding the Mother-Gene?" Valdor inquired of the raven perched upon his shoulder guard, his tone carefully neutral.

"The universe unfolds before me like a scroll," the corvid replied, preening obsidian feathers with its beak. "I possess the gift of reading its patterns."

"This woman now carries the complete genetic archives of the Selenar and possesses the Mother-Gene. More significantly, the Cults have purged all records of her existence."

"Her identity is unknown to any save us, making her ideal for the position you require."

"Indeed," Valdor acknowledged, though his tone suggested little enthusiasm for receiving counsel from such an unconventional source.

"Now that Luna's business is concluded, might we procure some of those fried tubers? They would serve to lighten the mood considerably."

"You possess an inordinate fondness for that particular foodstuff," Valdor observed.

"One must find pleasure in something, lest existence become unbearably tedious," the raven replied with what might have been amusement.

"One is born to fulfill duty. How could such a purpose prove tedious?"

Valdor's incomprehension was absolute. The concept of seeking enjoyment beyond the execution of orders was alien to his nature.

The raven tilted its corvid head, studying the impassive Captain-General with keen intelligence.

"Tell me, Golden Corn Cob—if you were no longer required to guard the Emperor, what would you do?"

Valdor considered this for a long moment before shaking his head. "Such a day shall never come. Duty ends only with death's embrace."

"Ah," the raven sighed. "I should have known better than to discuss philosophy with you. It is akin to reciting poetry to stone."

"Nevertheless, procure those tubers upon our return. The previous batch's sauce was inadequate—find untainted tomatoes for the preparation."

"Your requirements grow ever more specific."

"As the advisor of The Great Emperor, The Master of All Mankind, across this galaxy and soon all the multiverses, do I not merit properly prepared condiments? Fail me in this, and I shall speak unfavorably of you to the Emperor. Perhaps suggest you would be better employed guarding some distant reservoir."

"Very well," Valdor conceded with the faintest hint of what might have been amusement. "I shall have the Guard collect tomatoes from across Terra and prepare various sauces for your evaluation."

"Golden Corn Cob, that is precisely the attitude I hoped to hear. When I have grown sufficiently powerful, I shall persuade the Great Master to take you beyond this reality—to broaden your rather limited perspective."

The Matriarch of the Selenar Gene-Cults, alongside all surviving cultists, formally submitted to the Emperor's authority. The Imperium's dominion expanded once more, claiming another world for the cause of Unity.

Upon receiving word of victory, Malcador the Sigillite immediately dispatched reconstruction teams from Terra to Luna. Ancient machinery, dormant for centuries, was coaxed back to life.

Specialized units cleared the gene-spawned abominations that roamed Luna's surface, while atmospheric processors labored to create a habitable environment once more.

When Luna had been restored to productivity and proper Imperial order, the Emperor convened His war council.

"The Selenar Gene-Cults have sworn eternal fealty to Our cause," the Master of Mankind declared, His voice carrying the weight of absolute authority. "With their genetic lore and bio-forges, the mass cultivation of Legiones Astartes may commence in earnest."

"Yet warriors alone shall not suffice for the Great Crusade. We require vessels—a fleet to carry our legions across the void to reclaim humanity's scattered children. Our next conquest must be Mars."