"Even if we win today, there will be no peace tomorrow. No rest. This war is eternal and victory will become reality once our bones are swept away like dust in the wind. Does that make me fight less hard? Is it diminishing my determination? No. The opposite is the case. It reinforces my defiance, my will to stand up and prevail. I was made for it and I will forever strife to achieve it."
Imperator of the First Legion
<Aegis-1-Actual>
Armor | Weapon
Final Eclipse - Annihilation of Exegol
Imperial Ground Assault - Operation Anvil
Exegol - Sith Citadel - SE Titan District - Final Dawn Factory
Allies: Aron Gowrie ,
Nukth Kelga'an,
Laine Gowrie ,
FN-999
Opposition: Eschara Ren,
Marlon Sularen
Force Commander of Strike Force Grammaton
Vandemarian Shield Legions
Skytrooper Cohorts
Would he have changed direction if he would have known that the imperial main force would direct their attention into the opposite direction he was going? Would it make a difference to the assessment he made? In retrospective, Primarion would say no to this. He trusted his troops more than the allies and he needed to resupply and reform them to reestablish a proper fighting unit which could conduct offensive operations.
Primarion stepped through the rubble of the district, his unit resting for a few minutes so the unaltered could catch breath. He had sent out some scouts to elevated positions to warn them in case of incoming enemies as the attacks have died down, not so much that the district was clear, but they were right now not engaged. So the towering figure in his scorched golden cuirass walked through the sitting ranks of his improvised company, he saw the hands of hardened battle veterans shiver in their stormtrooper armour, Legionaries checked on their ammo and energy supplies. The Imperator walked towards the ruin of a wall, shot through dozens of times with varying caliber weapons, joining the Death Trooper who conversed with one of the Legionary officers.
The Legionary offered a nod when he noticed the tall warrior close in, the Death Trooper just offered a silent stare from behind his black lenses. Primarion did not see any benefit in sticking to rank etiquette during a heated battle, it would not save anyone and served no-one.
"The cults are kinda withdrawing, they will make space for another wave."
The Death Trooper seemed neither tired nor stressed, very serious. Admirable for an unaltered in this situation. But he also implied some action, the statement was not with a further motive and intention.
"Indeed, Sergeant. Get them up again, we take the moment of breathing to get to the landing zone." While saying it quite calmly, it was an order, direct and clear.
The Death Trooper and Legionary both nodded and turned around to rise the soldiers, with some moaning, clanking of armour plates and some aye, ayes. The soldiers were winded and worn down, their armour cracked and weapons nearly empty. But they were not broken. Far from it. There is no time for it and because they are veterans, they know it. If they falter now, if they make mistakes, they will die here and now. It is only death or triumph, there is no middle-ground today.
Commanders closer to the troops they commanded and those who were more empathic and emotional would offer an inspiring speech at some point, maybe even now to boost morale. But Primarion was not such a commander. He was not selected for his inspiring personality or great social skills - he is leading by example, he is leading from the front and he is commanding efficiently. Thats it. The troops feel it, something greens and recruits would not actually, they feel his confidence and they appreciate this form of leadership more than a pompous speech. So instead, he is doing.
So he would now. He led the way, stepping ahead in a moderate pace which would make the unaltered have to be jogging along the others. Primarion led them through ruins of buildings, cracked by bombings and direct fire, over streets which had holes big enough to hide a tank and finally into a large factory complex which was surprisingly unscathed aside from the outside. Inside the main hall they found that a single bombed had punched a clean hole into the roof and shattered much of the interior.
Yet something was odd here. They were less than half a klick away from the landing zone, it was right on the other side of the factory and usually when the goal came close to grab, it would evade the last step and instead blow up.
The factory was, after a second look, incredibly well intact. What seemed as major damage by the explosives of the bomb seemed to be more shatters of floor and some small pieces of equipment, but big machines would have a lot more parts laying around and much more debris in the hall, while also some big wreckage would be left to see. But there was none. The factory seemed almost empty.
The unit slowly entered the building and by a hand gesture Hyperius had singled them to be on alert. His superior senses picking up something. Slowly they spread out, their weapons ready as they looked for an enemy they neither saw nor heard, only made aware of by their leader. Sabatons cracked glass shards into a million pieces, the sound softly echoing through the large hall.
Primarion acted before the others were capable of a reaction, his movement blurred as he sprinted forward, mere milliseconds later the others reacted, the Stormtroopers, unaltered as they were, last, a handful of them killed before actually given a chance.
In the aftermath the Imperator would estimate that the ambushers were not planning their attack, it was a coincidence in the chaos and confusion of the massive assault going on. Judging by some crates and the empty factory, they were evacuating equipment when they spotted the imperial company heading for them and decided to use the opportunity instead of running away.
The blade of his spear blocked the first blaster bolt aimed at him. He saw that the origin of the bolt, a savage looking soldier in a kind of stormtrooper armour, was quite surprised that his target was moving before he did and especially that it blocked the initial attack. The surprise on his exposed face was the last image Primarion had from the attacker before the mono-molecular blade sliced cleanly through the torso, bisecting the Mawite. He did not stop or slow down then and there.
From several sides, from behind fake walls the Mawites assaulted the company, resulting in an intense melee fight with weapons fired at point blank, blades being crossed and brutal close combat. The Legionaries were decently protected and their improved reaction times were enough to stay on par with the attackers, overwhelming them through pure strength and endurance.
The Stormtroopers were not so fortunate, they got notion of something going on the moment it started happening and while their drill was quite good, it was difficult to compete with the altered who had improved reflexes and senses. Several of them were gunned down right at the beginning, the enemy apparently aiming for the weaker links.
Hyperius cut through several of the ambushers in an equal amount of seconds, his mighty warspear never stopping its fluent motion. It was the first bleeding, its baptism of fire just as Primarions. But he was not thinking about it, not thinking at all to be fair. He functioned, his muscles responded to the situation as he was trained for many years, day by day, he directed his efforts with maximum efficiency. For any viewer it would be a stunning view. It looks like a proper dance, a fluid single motion of a massive golden titan.
His motion was first stopped when the blade of his halberd was actually parried by a savage looking blade, glowing red. The Knyght of the Maw was apparently the commander of these troops and engaging the mighty champion of the Hegemony.
Primarion did not hesitate or react to the parry in any way except for continuing his attack, adjusting his focus to a more competent opponent. The Knyght was a lumbering brute with a massive broadsword in thick armour, the beast of a man was certainly trying to amplify himself with the Force to overpower the Imperator, but the disturbance of the Force Dead was decisively interfering with that and distracting the focus. It was the ace every of the Grand Legion would have against the mutated and it was one of the components which ended this fight swiftly.
After the blade was parried, it directly came back to a vertical strike which moved diagonally down, using the momentum to crash the end of the staff, an eagles head, onto the shoulder of the Knyght, landing the first hit and luring a deep roar from the Mawite. He tried to follow up with a heavy swing, powerful, but lacking technique and focus, which Primarion blocked and countered with a relatively simple stab towards the Knyghts thigh, opening armour and flesh. It immediately smelled of burned skin, the plasma filament cauterising the wound with its intense heat. It angered the Mawite warrior even more, but he was not able to express this anymore, while trying another powerful strike, the Legionaries foulte danced back and forth two times, cutting through an arm and leaving a deep gash in the chest. The mutated warrior was staring in surprise as he seemed not to believe what just happened.
But Primarion did not give him the honour of even looking or remaining with him, continuing the fight which had now decisively turned in the imperials favour. The Legionaries pushing the enemies back through their simple stubbornness. They took losses, not only the Stormtroopers, but the Legionaries as well. Ultimately they were evened up in the number of casualties, as the Stormtroopers showed a better understanding of cover and evasion than the brutes of the first legionaries who relied heavily upon their armour and improved resilience. More than two dozen overall were dead, including the Death Trooper Sergeant who took with him another of the murderous Knyghts.
He heard the breathing, the groaning and then the shouting of one of the Legionaries who suffered minor wound from a sword at his side. He was raging. Squinting behind the blue lenses of his helmet, Primarion was ready as he approached the warrior who seemed to be losing it. Was this the issues Aurelian had talked about? He was still two dozen paces away when the stupid met the failure. The Imperial Knight had approached the Legionary and tried to calm him which put events in motion for which Primarion was too far away to prevent.
In the matter of a second, the Legionary had punched the Knight, shattering every bone in his face, killing him instantly. But this did not calm the Legionary who started to aim at the corpse he had just produced. Before his finger was pulling the trigger completely back, the weapon was falling to the ground, two hands still holding it. A blink of an eye later, the head of the Legionary followed. Primarion stood next to the two corpses, one still falling and looked around, sure of a situation which resembled that of a powder keg.
"Back in line, proceed towards the landing zone. Immediately." Primarions speakers were set on a slightly louder than necessary setting, trying to bring across a tone which would not tolerate the slightest of doubt or hesitation.
And they did, moving on. But the sour taste in the mouth of both the Legionaries and Stormtroopers remained.