Chapter 279 — The Age of Endless War
Tony leaned back slightly in his chair.
His mind wandered through the timeline Gaius had been describing.
The Emperor confined to the Golden Throne.
The Primarchs disappearing one by one.
Guilliman struck down and placed into stasis.
Then ten thousand years passing.
Ten thousand years.
An amount of time so vast that entire civilizations could rise and fall within it.
Surely more had happened during that period.
Eventually he looked toward Gaius.
"What about those ten thousand years after Guilliman was put into stasis?"
The question immediately drew everyone's attention back toward the Ultramarine.
Gaius met Tony's gaze.
"Many things happened."
His answer was simple.
"Countless wars."
"Rebellions."
"Xenos invasions."
He paused briefly.
"But one of the most significant threats came from the Traitor Legions."
His expression became slightly more serious.
"And they remain active to this day."
That immediately caught their attention.
Tony straightened slightly.
Naruto stopped absentmindedly spinning a screwdriver he had picked up from the workbench.
Mindy looked up as well.
If they were ever sent to Gaius's universe, understanding the enemies of the Imperium was just as important as understanding its allies.
Gaius continued.
"After Horus died, the Traitor Legions fractured."
"For a time they fought amongst themselves."
"That part sounds familiar," Tony muttered.
Civil wars after a leader's death were hardly unique to the Imperium.
Gaius nodded.
"But eventually a new leader emerged."
"Abaddon."
"The former First Captain of the Sons of Horus."
Tony frowned slightly.
"The successor to Horus?"
"In practice."
Gaius nodded.
"But he rejected becoming another Horus."
That immediately drew their interest.
"He destroyed the identity of the Sons of Horus and forged a new Legion."
"The Black Legion."
Naruto crossed his arms.
"And then?"
"He began launching what became known as the Black Crusades."
"Thirteen in total."
Mindy blinked.
"Thirteen invasions?"
"Thirteen major campaigns," Gaius corrected.
"Most Imperial citizens believe the first twelve failed."
That earned several confused looks.
"But Lord Guilliman and many Imperial commanders do not see them that way."
Tony leaned forward.
"Why?"
"Because each Crusade achieved something."
Gaius answered immediately.
"Ancient artifacts recovered."
"Imperial defenses weakened."
"Strategic objectives completed."
"Enemies positioned for future campaigns."
The room slowly grew quieter.
This sounded less like a series of failed invasions and more like something else entirely.
Something planned.
Something deliberate.
Gaius's expression hardened.
"The Thirteenth Black Crusade was not the beginning of Abaddon's plan."
"It was the culmination of ten thousand years of preparation."
Silence followed.
Even Halsey felt herself paying closer attention.
A military commander planning across decades was impressive.
Across centuries was extraordinary.
Across ten thousand years was almost impossible to comprehend.
This was not a warlord throwing armies at a wall until it broke.
This was a strategist building toward something for millennia.
Gaius continued.
"And when the Thirteenth Black Crusade came..."
He paused.
"Cadia fell."
For the first time since beginning the explanation, a noticeable weight entered his voice.
"And the galaxy has never been the same since."
The room remained silent.
Even Halsey looked more interested.
The history itself was not her primary focus.
Technology remained her greatest interest.
But understanding how civilizations survived catastrophic events was valuable knowledge.
Especially when that civilization happened to be one of the most powerful she had ever encountered.
Mindy frowned.
"What do you mean, never the same?"
Gaius shook his head.
"I will explain later."
"It happens much later in the timeline."
"If I explain it now, it will only create confusion."
The others nodded.
That was fair.
The discussion was already spanning ten thousand years of history.
Jumping too far ahead would only make everything harder to follow.
Gaius continued.
"There was another major event before that."
"The Age of Apostasy."
His expression hardened slightly.
"One of the greatest internal crises in Imperial history."
"Second only to the Horus Heresy."
Tony raised an eyebrow.
"Another civil war?"
"In effect."
Gaius nodded.
"A man named Goge Vandire rose to power."
"He became both the political and religious ruler of much of the Imperium."
"At first he promised order."
"Instead, he ruled through fear, fanaticism, and purges."
"Entire worlds suffered."
"Billions died."
The room fell quiet again.
Naruto frowned.
"And nobody stopped him?"
"Many tried."
Gaius answered.
"Most failed."
"He controlled vast military forces and much of the Imperial government."
"By the time opposition could organize, the damage had already been done."
Nobody found that difficult to believe.
History was full of powerful individuals who had done terrible things before anyone could stop them.
The scale was simply larger.
Far larger.
Then Gaius continued.
"Among his followers was an elite military order known as the Brides of the Emperor."
"Highly trained warriors."
"Completely loyal to Vandire."
Mindy tilted her head.
"So what happened?"
Gaius paused briefly.
"Eventually, they learned the truth."
"Vandire had been using faith and authority for his own ambitions."
"When they realized what he was, they turned against him."
"That decision ended his rule."
Tony slowly nodded.
"So they helped stop the civil war."
"Yes."
Gaius replied.
"Afterward, the organization was reorganized."
"The Brides of the Emperor became the Adepta Sororitas."
"The Sisters of Battle."
That immediately got their attention.
Gaius continued.
"They are not Astartes."
"They are ordinary humans."
"But they are among the most respected military forces in the Imperium."
"Fanatically devoted."
"Highly disciplined."
"And equipped with some of the finest wargear and powered armor available to non-Astartes forces."
Tony smirked.
"So power-armored warrior nuns."
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then Gaius nodded.
"In simplified terms."
"Yes."
Naruto immediately laughed.
Mindy laughed as well.
Even Halsey looked mildly amused.
Tony looked entirely pleased with himself.
"I'm glad we're all in agreement."
"That's literally what they are."
"They would object to that description," Gaius replied.
"That means I'm correct."
The room laughed again.
Even Gaius seemed faintly amused.
The humor faded after a few moments.
Because Gaius continued speaking.
"After that, the Imperium endured."
"War against Xenos."
"War against Chaos."
"War against rebellions."
"For ten thousand years."
The laughter disappeared.
The way he said it made something clear.
This was not a list of separate conflicts.
It was a state of existence.
A condition.
The Imperium had not known peace.
Not truly.
For ten thousand years, it had simply continued fighting.
One war ending only for another to begin.
Generation after generation.
Century after century.
Millennium after millennium.
Then Gaius's expression became serious again.
"And then came the Thirteenth Black Crusade."
"Cadia fell."
Tony frowned slightly.
He had heard countless worlds mentioned throughout the discussion.
Destroyed worlds.
Lost worlds.
Conquered worlds.
So why did this one matter so much?
"What made Cadia so important?"
Gaius looked toward him.
"Because Cadia stood before the Eye of Terror."
"The largest gateway through which the forces of Chaos could enter Imperial space."
That immediately caught everyone's attention.
"For ten thousand years, Cadia was one of the greatest fortress worlds in the Imperium."
"It stood as a barrier between the Imperium and countless horrors beyond."
Naruto blinked.
"So it was basically holding the line?"
"Yes."
Gaius nodded.
"For millennia."
"Generation after generation of soldiers were born, trained, and died defending it."
His voice grew quieter.
"Then Abaddon came."
Nobody interrupted.
"The Thirteenth Black Crusade was unlike the previous twelve."
"It was the culmination of everything that came before."
"Cadia was attacked."
"The defenses were overwhelmed."
"The pylons that protected the region were destroyed."
Tony frowned.
"Pylons?"
"Ancient structures."
Gaius replied.
"They helped restrain the influence of the Warp."
Tony slowly nodded.
He still had questions.
Many questions.
But the important part was obvious.
Something that had protected the galaxy had been destroyed.
Then Gaius paused.
"When Cadia fell, the consequences were catastrophic."
"The Great Rift was born."
The room became completely silent.
"A massive warp storm split the galaxy in two."
"Entire sectors vanished."
"Countless worlds were isolated."
"Communication collapsed across vast regions."
"Travel became far more dangerous."
Even Halsey sat a little straighter.
Now she was thinking less like a scientist and more like a strategist.
A civilization spanning an entire galaxy depended on communication, transportation, coordination, supply lines, and administration.
Remove those foundations, and entire sectors could collapse.
The scale of such a disaster was difficult to overstate.
Gaius continued.
"The Imperium was effectively divided."
"One half remained connected to Terra."
"The other was cut off."
"Imperium Sanctus."
"Imperium Nihilus."
No one spoke.
Tony slowly exhaled.
"So when you said the galaxy was never the same..."
Gaius nodded.
"Yes."
"Because after Cadia fell, the galaxy itself changed."
Tony shook his head.
"Damn."
That was all he could really say.
A million-world empire effectively split in half.
The scale was absurd.
Then Gaius continued.
"As you already know, Lord Guilliman was revived during this period."
The others nodded.
That part had already been discussed.
"After his revival, Lord Guilliman fought his way back to Terra."
"The galaxy was in chaos."
"Warp storms were everywhere."
"Entire regions had been cut off."
"But he eventually reached Terra."
"And there he became Lord Commander of the Imperium and Imperial Regent."
"The Emperor remained upon the Golden Throne."
"So the burden of governing the Imperium fell largely upon him."
Tony nodded slowly.
"So he basically inherited a empire."
"Yes."
Gaius replied.
"Then he launched the Indomitus Crusade."
"The largest Imperial crusade since the Great Crusade."
Naruto frowned.
"What was the goal?"
"To stabilize the Imperium."
Gaius answered.
"To reconnect isolated worlds."
"To reinforce Imperial defenses."
"To push back Chaos."
"And to prevent the Imperium from fragmenting completely."
The room fell quiet once more.
The scale was staggering.
An entire galaxy in crisis.
And one Primarch attempting to hold it together.
Then Gaius continued.
"It was also during this period that the Primaris Space Marines were revealed."
Tony, Naruto, and Mindy exchanged brief glances.
They already knew where this was going.
Halsey immediately focused on the familiar term.
"Primaris?"
Gaius nodded.
"A new generation of Space Marines."
"Created through the work of Archmagos Belisarius Cawl."
"His research was conducted in secret over thousands of years."
"They were designed to be physically superior to traditional Astartes."
Halsey's eyes narrowed slightly.
"So even after all the restrictions you described, the Imperium was still capable of creating something new?"
"In this case, yes."
Gaius answered.
"Lord Guilliman authorized their deployment after his return."
He paused.
"I am one of them."
That immediately drew Halsey's attention.
She had known Gaius was an Astartes.
Now she knew something else.
He belonged to an entirely new generation.
"A Primaris Marine."
Gaius nodded.
"Yes."
"Created during the era of the Indomitus Crusade."
Then he added another detail.
"I have also served for over three centuries."
Halsey stopped.
"Three centuries?"
"Yes."
She studied him quietly.
Three hundred years.
Not ceremonial service.
Not retirement.
Not administration.
Actual military service.
More than three centuries of campaigns and wars.
It explained something she had noticed from the beginning.
Gaius spoke about these events differently than he spoke about the Horus Heresy.
The Great Rift.
The Indomitus Crusade.
The return of Guilliman.
Those were not distant historical events to him.
He had lived through them.
Gaius continued.
"The Indomitus Crusade remains one of the largest military campaigns in Imperial history."
"It reconnected isolated worlds."
"Reinforced Imperial defenses."
"And prevented further collapse after the Great Rift."
Nobody immediately spoke.
The workshop remained quiet.
A realization had finally settled over the room.
Gaius was not merely describing history.
He was describing his own era.
His own wars.
His own lifetime.
~~~
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