Warhammer 40k: Ours Journey

Chapter 23: Did You Guys Just Finish Fighting the Great Crusade?

Colonel Kovek had a reason for regrouping his troops. Once the soldiers had familiarized themselves with their newly modified bodies, he planned to lead them on a cleansing sweep of the remaining heretics and xenos in the other sections of the ship.

Only with that victory under his belt would he feel he had the right to ask Librarian Ramesses to use the astropaths to contact the nearest Cadian supply depot for reinforcements.

According to Departmento Munitorum regulations, Astartes were technically not allowed to interfere with the operational decisions of the Astra Militarum. Theoretically, an Imperial Guard Lord General was equal in rank to a Space Marine Chapter Master.

But regulations were regulations, and reality was reality.

For example, right now, Colonel Kovek felt it was absolutely necessary to inform the Angels of his plans. He hadn't expected Romulus's sudden question to cut him off before he could even begin.

"?"

Despite his confusion, Kovek answered swiftly. "Absolutely, Lord Romulus."

Cadians were, of course, trained in armored vehicle operations. With sufficient supplies, any Cadian infantry regiment could seamlessly transition into an armored regiment. For the Cadian Shock Troops, it was always the men waiting for the equipment, never the other way around.

"Follow us. You too, Sister Arabella."

Having received his answer, Romulus turned and led the group towards a ship hangar they had cleared not long ago.

It was a well-known fact that the baseline capabilities of an Astartes far exceeded those of an ordinary mortal. Therefore, a battlefield that was manageable for a Space Marine was often hell for a mortal. Mortals lacked the reaction time to evade damage, the mobility to reposition, and the armor to withstand most attacks.

So, what could allow the Astra Militarum to compensate for these shortcomings and keep pace with Astartes advancing through a high-intensity battlefield?

The answer was, inevitably, sufficient armor.

Enough armor to equip every single soldier.

"By the Emperor... is that a Stormblade? And a Sabre? A Malcador... what is that? Emperor preserve us! A Glaive Super-heavy Tank! I've only ever seen such a machine in the Munitorum's tactical manuals!"

The Commissar, being an old veteran who had seen his share of horrors during the First War for Armageddon, was at least able to maintain a stoic expression.

But the younger Colonel Kovek could no longer control his face. He stared in awe at the rows of super-heavy vehicles with their beautiful, angular designs, so much so that he didn't even notice the Leman Russ Executioners in the corner. Never in his memory had he seen so many relic-class vehicles gathered in one place.

"Why are they all plasma versions?" Romulus muttered, already familiarizing himself with the characteristics of the various Imperial units.

"Couldn't be helped," Ramesses shrugged. "These cog-boys were all from Ryza. When I dredged the Warp, the blueprints I unlocked were all skewed in that direction. But the Ryza-pattern plasma versions are actually better than the originals, at least according to their specs."

"Psycho-materialization only cares about the constituent materials, not the technical complexity," he continued. "For the same mass, it's not going to pick the inferior option, right? That would be an even bigger waste of points."

He then pointed to the Glaive Super-heavy Tanks and the transport vehicles.

"And it's not like they're all plasma. Look at that Glaive. I just dredged that blueprint from the Warp. Its volkite carronade is incredible. One shot can take out a bio-titan."

"And that Mastodon over there," he added, pointing to a massive troop transport. "Pop its void shields, charge into the enemy line, and a whole tide of tin cans can pour out to wipe the floor with them. You could bring twenty Land Raiders and they wouldn't be as reliable as one of these."

Romulus nodded in agreement.

"It's like we're still fighting the Great Crusade," Arthur said, scratching his head.

Compared to the current Imperial arsenal, which consisted of Land Raiders, Rhinos, and their variants, with maybe a few Leman Russ and Chimeras if you were lucky, the equipment they could now produce was absurdly luxurious. Of course, it was a necessary measure in their pursuit of combat effectiveness. Just as Ramesses said, if you're spending the same amount of money, why pick the worse option?

And when they eventually refitted their own Space Marine bodies... a full complement of Tartaros and Cataphractii armor would make any knowledgeable person drool. That was the power of psycho-materialization.

"The Cadians should be able to operate these vehicles, correct?"

"Absolutely, my Lord," Colonel Kovek replied.

Aside from the Glaive, which was now only held in small numbers by Astartes Chapters, Colonel Kovek was confident his troops could master the other armored vehicles in a short amount of time.

"Excellent."

Romulus led them to another hangar and pointed at the neat rows of combat armor.

"This is Solar Pattern Void Armour. It will provide your soldiers with better protection. You should all pick a suit for yourselves as well."

"This armor?" Kovek instinctively refused. "I do not need it. My duty is to command from the rear. Give them to the lads on the front line; they need it more than I do."

"There's enough for everyone. And if it gets damaged, we can replace it."

Romulus then pointed to the weapons depot. "Oh, and go over there and pick up the associated weapons and equipment. There are user manuals for everything, including the vehicles. Make sure you read them."

"...My Lord," Kovek said, looking at Romulus, who had the air of someone saying, 'My gear is awesome, and now it's all yours.' He couldn't help but urge caution. "This equipment is far too precious." His gaze fell upon the suits of Solar Pattern Void Armour. He had only ever seen similar gear on the elite enforcers of the Adeptus Arbites. The Arbitrators were the best of the best from the Schola Progenium, superhumans among mortals, much like the Commissars. Even the elite Tempestus Scions were considered their inferiors.

"No matter how precious it is, it needs people to use it," Romulus said, unable to resist reaching out and stroking the 1:1 scale, real-life wargear he could never have obtained in his past life. Back then, he thought, if he'd had this power, he would have driven both Bandai and GW, those two black-hearted companies, out of business. The cost-per-gram of their models was approaching that of precious metals.

This gesture, however, was misinterpreted by Colonel Kovek as one of wistful remembrance.

"I understand, my Lord!"

"Hm? Good, that's good." Romulus withdrew his hand, looking with some surprise at Kovek, who now seemed to be filled with a sense of profound duty.

"Have your troops equip themselves from the armory and familiarize themselves with the vehicles. We need an armored force that can provide us with sufficient fire support."

He then turned to Arabella.

"Sister Arabella, we have also prepared replacement equipment for the sisters of the Order of the Sacred Rose. Until reinforcements arrive, we will fight together to exterminate the remaining enemies on this vessel and coordinate our tactics."

"Understood, Lord Romulus!"

"Then, I leave this to you."

With that said, Romulus turned and led his battle-brothers away.

Their little meeting wasn't over yet.

(End of Chapter)