Daniel looked at Chapter Master Selesian of the Scythes of the Emperor. The Chapter Master's face was a map of hard living, weathered and rough, etched with scars. A shocking cross-shaped wound ran across his face, intersecting right at the white of his eye.
Behind Selesian, the remaining Scythes warriors tried their best to stand tall, intent on presenting the best possible discipline to the Saint. They wore alien trophies—bones, teeth, and faded chitinous shells—on their patched-up armor. A banner bearing two crossed sickles was held tightly in the hands of one marine.
The Second Tyranid War had wiped out the Scythes of the Emperor's homeworld. They lost the vast majority of their Chapter assets, leaving them with only two companies of warriors. After the Kraken Hive Fleet was defeated and the war ended, they refused Imperial resupply and declined to train new recruits. Their numbers kept dwindling in subsequent brutal battles. Today, only thirteen fighters remained.
Many Imperial forces were scratching their heads, wondering why they were going down this road—unwilling to rebuild and refusing Imperial aid. It was a shame, but the Scythes never offered an explanation, leaving others helpless to watch them march toward extinction.
"Chapter Master Selesian, thank you for the welcome," Daniel said.
"I could not refuse a Saint," Selesian replied. "Your word is the Emperor's will."
"Loyalty deserves a payoff. Give me the lowdown on Sotha." Daniel asked.
"This way, please. The space station still has a functional strategy room. It will give you the big picture of Sotha's situation."
Selesian ushered Daniel and the others into the station. The facility was also home to ordinary civilians who served the remaining Scythes. On the way, they passed several Tech-Priests and servo-skulls repairing damaged parts of the station, sparks flying and tools grinding. They were clearly making do with severely limited resources.
"These are all Sotha survivors," Selesian explained. "They came back with us because they long to be buried on Sotha one day." They were displaced people, clinging to this desolate place, hoping for a final rest in their former home.
"That's strangely sad," Rigby muttered. "Is this going to be a tearjerker?"
Yuji shook his head. "No chance. On Sotha, you've got Tyranid sentinels, Necron constructs guarding the Pharos, and a half-dead C'tan. Where's the room for drama?"
"I think you should cut the bad luck talk," Little Alpaca, told Rigby. "Don't jinx us with those negative vibes."
"Look at these," WrongHammer said, pointing to a wall. "These claw marks have to be Tyranid remnants."
With her prompt, the players looked around and saw numerous traces of biological weaponry: gouges, acid corrosion, tooth marks, and scratches—the whole nine yards.
"You can tell the fight here was brutal," Rigby remarked, reaching out to touch the marks, wondering how many Tyranids it took to leave such damage.
In the strategy room, the machine spirit was awakened, emitting a tired, faint hum. The machinery was ancient, and the wetware of the data-slaves lining the walls trembled in their nutrient fluid. As indicator lights flickered, the projection device whirred to life.
A dancing light outlined the planet Sotha and displayed captured images. Everything on Sotha had been plundered. What were once oceans were now dry basins. The stripped-bare land revealed a desiccated hydrological network and spiderweb-like mountain ranges. It looked like an accurate, lifelike geological model, minus the life.
"We have been hunting these hateful enemies since the Second Tyranid War," Selesian said. "Every time they devour a planet, they leave behind sentinels to continue providing coordinates or intelligence to the Hive Mind. So, Sotha still has sentinels left by the Kraken fleet. That's the first obstacle we'll face."
"Where is the Pharos?" Cawl's mechanical voice demanded.
Selesian rotated the projection, illuminating a lonely mountain peak. "The Pharos is here, adjacent to the Scythes of the Emperor's former watchtower. We guarded the Pharos Lighthouse until the Swarm arrived."
The Scythes of the Emperor's predecessor was the 199th Company of the Ultramarines Legion—the Shield Company. During the Horus Heresy, with Warp Storms isolating the loyalists, Guilliman tasked the loyal Iron Warrior Barabas Dantioch with repairing the Pharos Lighthouse. The goal was to use the Xenos technology to guide Imperial ships through the Warp.
Dantioch was a legendary hero of the Imperium. A Warsmith from Olympia, he was one of Perturabo's trusted advisors in the Iron Warriors. During the Great Crusade, he commanded the 51st Expeditionary Fleet.
In a battle against the Hrud, his main force suffered heavy casualties from their entropy decay weapons. He personally aged from his prime to the point where he required an armored life support system to survive.
When Perturabo accused him of incompetence, he angrily questioned his Primarch, asking why he was so focused on fighting a pointless war and refusing sound advice.
Perturabo, humiliated, was furious. He dismissed Dantioch on the spot, exiled him, and erased all his achievements and his very name. He was ordered to wear a mask and never show his face to others. For a veteran who valued honor, this was the ultimate indignity.
Dantioch left the Fourth Legion with his remaining men to conquer his own land of exile. During the Horus Heresy, he swore allegiance to the Emperor and inflicted heavy losses on the rebels who tried to seize his territory. Later, Dantioch arrived in Ultramar and helped Guilliman repair the Pharos. This was a game-changer.
With the Pharos lit, many Imperial loyalists lost in the Warp arrived at Ultramar, including Lion El'Jonson, Primarch of the Dark Angels, and Sanguinius, Primarch of the Blood Angels.
The three Primarchs, believing Horus had killed the Emperor, decided to establish the Second Imperium and swore vengeance on all traitors. Dantioch earned the respect of the other loyal Legions.
Later, the traitorous Night Lords invaded Sotha. Dantioch fought bravely but was ultimately overwhelmed by the Night Lords' reinforcements. Worn out by the war, he died in his brother's arms. Afterward, Guilliman removed the mask that had shamed him, swearing that the Imperium would remember the hero. He was posthumously recognized as the 'Guardian of Pharos'.
The Shield Company received the Double Scythe Banner from the Battle of Sotha and took the Shield Guard Oath, swearing to guard the Pharos Lighthouse and the relics of Dantioch. During the Third Founding, this Company officially became the Scythes of the Emperor.
"The Tyranids are humanity's biggest nightmare. You've done great work," Daniel said, nodding.
"It is our duty," Selesian affirmed.
"We are going to the Pharos Lighthouse to take it back from the Xenos," Daniel announced, moving the projection. "I don't think this will take too long."
"Please let us join you," Selesian pleaded.
"Fine. Go suit up in new Power Armor. We brought quite a bit with us," Daniel consented, though his voice was tinged with sorrow. The hero had chosen his exit music, and it shouldn't be stopped.
"We don't need it, these pieces are good enough," Selesian refused.
Daniel spoke patiently. "This journey is dangerous. If this is to be a hero's end, I hope he can maintain his dignity and honor. Magos Cawl will give you brand new Power Armor. You can paint it with your Scythes of the Emperor pattern. In the name of the Emperor, I forbid you to refuse this order."
Selesian looked at Daniel. He noticed the other person's eyes were profoundly deep, containing the wisdom of the universe, mixed with sadness and compassion. The visitor seemed to know their secret. After a moment of silence, Selesian yielded. The other party had given an order in the name of the Emperor; disobedience would be a slight against the Master of Mankind.
With the help of the accompanying Mechanicus staff, the change of armor was quick. They spray-painted the same double-scythe pattern onto the new Power Armor. After preparations were complete and the action plan was set, Daniel and the group boarded a gunship and headed for the surface of Sotha, making for the former Fortress-Monastery of the Scythes of the Emperor, where a path led into the Pharos Lighthouse.
Arale went with them. After all, she was the only one who could reverse-engineer the Necron technology. Without her, the mission was dead in the water. Cawl had built her a beautiful mechanical body, allowing her to remotely control it and store a mental clone. Arale was thrilled to have a body, jumping and dancing. Daniel had to order her several times to stay close and not go running off.
The gunship successfully reached the once-magnificent Fortress-Monastery, but now only bare stone remained. The Tyranids had devoured everything.
As Daniel and the others advanced toward the monastery, Tyranids rushed out from the shadows and attacked. They were numerous, but facing the players' intense firepower, they were quickly defeated and retreated into the darkness.
"Is that all these bugs have? This mission is going to be a walk in the park." Rigby, controlling his brand-new Exoskeleton Armor, unleashed heavy fire, tearing the swarms to shreds.
Unlike Warmaster and Yuji, who were schmoozing with different chapters, Rigby had been hanging around Cawl, acting as the great Magos's loyal sidekick. After helping Cawl complete several tasks, the Magos had upgraded his Exoskeleton Armor, equipping it with various destructive weapons—some utilizing technology strictly forbidden by the Mechanicus.
Cawl generously set him up with the armor. The only price Rigby paid was giving his data logs and combat video to Cawl after every return.
"Talk about a huge score," Rigby thought. He didn't realize that his thoughts perfectly aligned with Cawl's own calculations, otherwise, he might have at least been surprised at their meeting of the minds.
The Imperial forces successfully entered the former Fortress-Monastery of the Scythes of the Emperor. Just when everyone thought everything was smooth sailing, a grotesquely large Genestealer Patriarch, big as a truck, lumbered out of the darkness. Behind it were hordes of Genestealers.
Dense swarms surrounded Daniel's group. Most were purebreds, their claws glowing with the power to tear through force fields and shred metal with ease.
Clearly, they had let Daniel and the others in on purpose, intending to use the narrow confines of the fortress to limit the players' firepower and wipe them out in one fell swoop.
Accompanied by a shriek from the Patriarch, the Genestealers howled and charged toward the players like a tidal wave.
"Kill, for the Emperor!" Rigby controlled the Exoskeleton's output. Dense lasers and explosive shells tore apart groups of enemies.
"Feel the power of the Warp!" Yuji yelled, psychic flames expanding rapidly from him, igniting the alien monsters that lunged his way.
The battle was fierce, and the fighting quickly became intense. The Scythes of the Emperor warriors pushed forward and encircled the Genestealer Patriarch.
"It was you who led the swarm to Sotha!" Selesian glared at the Patriarch, his eyes burning with the rage of vengeance. He raised his bolter, aiming to shoot, but he only held it up—he couldn't pull the trigger. The other Scythes warriors were similarly frozen.
Selesian's face twisted in despair. "Even the nerve suppressant doesn't work? Are we only meant to bear this shame until we die?"
The hidden secret was out. The Scythes of the Emperor were unable to fire upon the Genestealer Patriarch because the flow of polluted blood in their veins—a deep, ancient Tyranid psychic influence—held them back.
"Ugh!!"
"Go, in the name of the Emperor, seek revenge!" Daniel sighed when he saw the tragic scene. Divine power flowed from him, injecting itself into the bodies of the Emperor's Scythe warriors.
Selesian felt the bonds snap. He tried to pull the trigger again.
Boom!
The bolter roared, fire flashing from the muzzle. The explosive shell struck the Genestealer Patriarch's body. The creature let out a painful wail, its yellow eyes showing a hint of disbelief. We're blessed by the Hive Mind, how can they shoot at us?!
"Kill it!" Selesian screamed.