Hopebringers of the 41st Millenium (IC)

[Emperor Ing]

Episode 1: Iconoclasm

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Grammaton. The 5th world from the Sunder system's blue sun. A frontier world to be sure, its inhospitable terrain is almost not worth terraforming, save for the abundance of heavy metals and minerals that are plentiful on the surface of the world due to its semi-constant volcanic activity, which double in function to provide much-needed heat and geothermal energy to allow humanity to survive on the otherwise desolate frozen, rocky landscape. Since the Hopebringers' conquering of the Sunder system and the founding of the Sunderian Confederacy, the Mechanicus mining facilities have been sold to private ownership. Although even the Mechanicus grudgingly admits an increase in productivity and resource availability following this, it has not stopped their remaining centers of power from lobbying Archon to return control of the facilities back to them if they continue to be unwilling to put a stop to unfaithful hands touching the sacred machine-spirits the mining corporations surely know nothing about. Expansion has also been slow, largely due to the logistical complications of building new hab blocks and machines on potentially mineral-rich but inhospitable land.

For the time being, however, this is not your concern. For years the Sunderian Confederacy has stood at odds with the Lords of a neighboring Star-System. The Renegade Astartes chapter the Gold Ravens have long since defected from the Imperium in their sympathy and solidarity with the xenos Tau's ideas of the Greater Good, or at least how the Farsight Enclaves interpret it. From a distance, it would seem that the Gold Ravens and the Hopebringers are the last groups that need to fight each other as both seek to bring humanity into a brighter future, neither faction having any love for the Imperium, or at least the status-quo. Yet in the Grim Darkness of the 41st millenium, suspicion is wisdom. The Gold Ravens see the Hopebringers as conquerors and cutthroats, while the Hopebringers think of the Gold Ravens as fools who may very well turn on them at any moment to enter back in a bid to return to the good graces of the Imperium.

Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed before this tension could come to blows, and the Chapter Master of the Gold Ravens agreed to begin talks with Archon of the Hopebringers. They agreed to meet on Grammaton, on the major mining citadel of Tetra. Were one to look outside they may be able to spot one of the Gold Ravens' mighty battle-barges in orbit. But for the time being the facility stood largely empty, with only a skeleton crew of workers left to ensure basic maintenance was maintained while the Archon and the Chapter Master used Tetra for their purposes.

Halberd Squad was attached as part of the security detail to keep watch for suspicious activity, one of several Hopebringer squads deployed for this purpose, in parallel with several Gold Ravens squads meant to watch for suspicious behavior.


However during your briefing, Archon never mentioned being suspicious of the Gold Ravens at all.


When two squads from either side were next to each other, the contrast was stark. The gleaming, disciplined, and uniform Gold Ravens were notably different from the Astartes and humans of the Hopebringers, whose armaments and armor colors as well as markings seem to come down to personal preference rather than any sort of standardization.

While the Archon and the Chapter Master of the Gold Ravens, along with their entourage of the Councilors and Honor Guard respectively, move to convene their peace talks, you are all patrolling down a hallway. A simple affair, wide enough to accommodate your whole squad comfortably as it curved around the bend of the spire, dark metal walls to your left and peaked archways with thick glass windows frosted, a small pile encroaching on the glass, struggling to maintain its integrity even as winds inaudibly blow loose snow around in such a way that one could mistake the current weather conditions for a blizzard, even as the blue sun visibly shined in the white sky above.

However, what calm there was quickly stopped as the unmistakable sound of an explosion is heard, rattling the floor beneath you.


You have a pretty good idea which direction it came from and can lead the rest of your group towards there.

[MichaelGoldclaw]

Brentus moved along with the Patrol. He didn't have any suspicious about the Hopebringers. If Torchstar sent them here, she must have thought we would be accepted. Still, one or two of them might be allies to the Imperium or worshipers of Chaos. He was mostly keeping eye out for something like that. He scanned the hallways with the Hopebringers. making sure....

"What was that!?" The assault mare just heard something. An explosion of some sort. He managed to get the direction of it. He acted quick. "It came from this way!" he called out to the other members of the patrol as he ran to it.

[bluntpencil]

Casamir slams his helmet into place, a red heads-up display blinking into life as he focuses his sixth sense, attempting to find out if the cause of the explosion was something unnatural, like a Throne-damned witch. Like himself.

"The Emperor protects," he whispers, pointing in the direction of their charge, believing that such protection may be needed.


Certainly passed Awareness, and probably passed Psyniscience.

Failed to manifest Noble Praetorian.

[TheFallenSon]

Skatar'var was moving with Halberd squad taking a bit longer than most to assess his counterparts in the Gold Ravens. He would make small talk now and again, searching for any clue into the ideas that were floating around in these Xenos loving marines. He was a bit unnerved about the whole situation, he wasn't sure how much you could trust someone dedicated to this idea of the "Greater Good"...it was so different from anything he had ever heard or tried to understand. The Imperial Truth may be a hard philosophy, but it was the one by which he lived...or at least the Promethean version of it. He wasn't impressed by the pristine armor or weapons of those warriors that passed by them. Nor was he truly impressed with the gathering of renegades this "Archon" had collected. He was in an awkward place personally of late. He hoped that it wasn't his personal failings that were clouding his mind this moment.

[Emperor Ing]

Skatar'var, Casamir, and Brentus can easily discern the general direction of the explosion, and are able to lead the loyalist Iron Warrior Halroxxus, as well as your various human subordinates through winding corridors and around groups of civilians as well as Astartes moving in seemingly every direction. It's unclear whether they believe the blast came from a different direction or they are staging a rally point, but despite weapons clearly in hand, none that you have seen have come to blows.


Peering through your mind's eye, you spot about two other psychic presences. Their auras are weak, nothing that screams daemonic. The exact source is unknown, but a probable hypothesis is that at least two Hopebringer and Red Eagles* psykers have attempted to manifest their powers.

The source of the blast does not appear to be psychic. It is entirely possible a psyker could have detonated it with their powers, but it is also probable said psyker could have used a remote detonator, or not be a psyker at all.


You all arrive at a large chamber that rings around the large central chamber the talks would have been held in, if they weren't blasted to smithereens, as seen behind the huge chunk burnt out from the wall, superheated metal still glowing orange around the edges as small bits of loose metallic debris fall in the background. The focal point is a standoff, as the various, multicolored ranks of the Hopebringers forces draw their weapons, trained on the Red Eagles* who stand of roughly equal number opposite them, their uniform and disciplined ranks watching their counterparts, weapons ready for the slightest movement. At the front of their ranks respectively are the Chapter Master of the Red Eagles and Archon, their respective Honor Guard on either side surrounding their leader with weapons trained. Despite being the most obvious targets of the attack, they appear to have been unscathed.

-should I expect. You're just as ruthless as the corrupt 'Lords' of the Imperium! You catch the tail-end of the Chapter Master berating his counterparts.

How am I supposed to expect your thoughts are not of treachery against your hosts. Archon replies. What DO you stand to gain from our alliance that our destruction would not serve equal purpose?

The destroyed remains of one of your own sits near the blast site, Turqouise Armband intact, yet you claim I the fool. Were it not for his incompetence we would be yet another conquest under the 'Hope-Bringer's' fist. The bantering back and forth does little to diffuse the situation.


Among the blasted remains, you happen to spot the charred remains of what used to be an Astartes' arm with black armor, the Turquoise Armband on the upper arm. The Chapter Master seems to be telling the truth.



Michael, if you want to give the Chapter Master a name, go ahead.

[MichaelGoldclaw]

With Antonius throwing out wild accusations, Brentus felt disappointed in his chapter master. He had to speak up. They were clearly overlooking the more likely cause. The Gold Raven took a step forward, acting before thinking "Have you two gone mad? Yes, we possibly may be opposed, but you are overlooking the more likely cause of this! I wouldn't be surprised if we searched around and found signs of the Inquisition. The Imperium would not want us working together and they wish to tear us apart! I don't know about you, but I'd rather search for the one who did this than argue about it!"