TFS: Chapter 35 — Storm over Gahevarla

I moved quickly through the corridors of the Athena towards my quarters; we were close, so we did not take the trams and elevators that could take you from one side of the ship to another. Ariana walked beside me, speaking without pause, a constant stream of information that I received with focused calm.

“Reports from Colchis keep coming at a steady pace, my divisions are doing a good job!” she said, letting her peppy attitude slip through her professionalism, eyes flicking up to mine as we turned a corner. “The operation proceeds exactly as ordered. City-states fall in succession. Resistance has been sporadic, poorly coordinated, and swiftly crushed. Our casualties remain minimal; enemy losses are near-total.”

I inclined my head slightly, allowing the datapad I carried to display the planet beneath us. The priesthood was being purged root and branch. Temples burned, shrines razed, and any attempt to flee intercepted. There would be no sanctuary.

I remembered movies where technologically inferior forces resisted an alien invasion.

This time, we were the aliens. And there was no resisting us.

Hopefully, the Necrons will stay sleeping for the next ten millennia unless we fuck up. By then, we should be able to kill most of them as they sleep or advance our tech enough to defend ourselves.

I listened in silence, noting the precision with which she reported and the confidence in her tone. I was very proud of Ariana. She had taken her job as a Marshal like a fish to water. Even though I knew she missed being near the frontline commanding and fighting.

It was certainly better for my mental health, though.

We passed the observation deck doors, the light shifting as we moved. I kept my gaze on the spinning globe of Colchis on the following holo, letting Ariana’s voice carry the details of the populace: predictable fear, confusion, disbelief, and compliance. Without their priests and leadership, they had no banner under which to resist; many were already kneeling, seeking mercy or guidance.

“And Gahevarla?” I asked.

The city of Gahevarla had been the last city Lorgar had conquered in another universe. It had something I wanted.

Ariana’s eyes narrowed slightly as she continued. “Our armies encircle it. Fortifications are formidable; the city has pre-fall fortifications, but orbital bombardments have weakened them. We will begin the assault soon.”

“Good, remember the report from intelligence. We have yet to encounter any surprises, but they certainly have them.

“I’ll join the men on the ground,” she added, nodding. “There’s only so much I can do from behind a desk in orbit. I need to see things on the ground.”

A faint nod was all she needed.

“Be careful, Ari, and call me if things go south.”

I need to figure out teleportation. Either psychic or technological…

“Alex…” Her voice softened, the professional edge gone. “I’m still not completely sure about this. I don’t like attacking a human planet.”

I sighed, rubbing a hand over my face. “I understand. I really do. But this is something we are going to face more and more as we expand. Most of the world's under the Dereniks' submitted without a fight, and the ones that resisted were brought in through diplomacy. That won’t always be the case. One day, we were bound to find people who refuse to talk, people we cannot reason with. Colchis is one of those worlds, even if they are still primitive.”

She nodded slowly. “I get that. It just… it doesn’t sit right with me. I think I got used to being the obvious good guy. Fighting xenos, pushing them back, freeing humanity.”

“You are still doing that,” I said gently. “The warp entities have the Colchisians under their control. We are freeing them too, even if it looks different this time. You’ve read the reports, same as I have. You know how they live.”

Her expression tightened. “Yeah. Their lives are hell.”

“Imagine how much better we can make things once they are free of the parasites,” I continued. “We are more advanced, and with that comes responsibility. It is our duty to guide them into the light. You are still a hero, Ari. The only difference now is that the enemy is wearing human skin.”

She let out a breath, then nodded, a small smile breaking through. “Thanks, Alex. I needed to hear that.”

She rose onto her toes and kissed me softly, and for a moment, the weight of command felt a little lighter.

We rounded another junction, and the hum of the engines seemed louder here, vibrating through the floor. The datapad flashed rapidly, and the hololith flickered to life, dissolving the map of Colchis and flashing an urgent message.

A medical officer appeared, her pallor sharp against the sterile lights of the infirmary.

“King Alexander,” she said quickly, saluting, eyes alert despite the fatigue lining her face. “Forgive the intrusion. Lady Aurelia has regained consciousness. She asks for you.”

She is awake.

“Go, Alex, your little sister can’t wait. Not after everything she went through… Apollion, what a mess…” Ariana said. She and Penelope had been surprised that Aurelia was actually a girl; they had assumed, much like me, that she was a man.

“Go to the planet Ari. I will call you in a few hours.” I told her. And she nodded before sprinting towards the nearest elevator. It would take her to the tram station and then to the bay.

“Tell me how she is later!” She shouted after I began to speed walk towards the infirmary. “Oh! And tell her that Aunt Ariana says hi!”

I would not be doing that...

Ariana could not be allowed to corrupt Aurelia with her peppiness.

The galaxy would thank me if I stopped this.

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I stepped into the infirmary after a short talk with the doctor.

She had told me Aurelia had almost had a panic attack when she woke up, and she had bent the steel in her bed without realizing. They had managed to calm her down by explaining that I was coming and telling her where she was, and now she was waiting for me.

And there she was. Aurelia.

Reclining against the soft sheets of the bed, her hair spilling across the pillow, eyes wide and shining. Again, her powers were touching the souls of the staff, and I could see how they had gotten so scared of her.

She stirred as I approached, her movements brisker than I expected from someone who had slept for so long. But she was a primarch; she could have been sleeping for nine millennia and gone straight into battle.

Yeah, I am talking about you, Guilliman… he was kind of a badass.

“Alexander!” she exclaimed, voice bright and full of life, a smile breaking across her face. “You… you’re here!” She pushed herself upright and reached for me.

I closed the distance in two strides, gently taking her hands in mine. “I am,” I said, my chest tightened with relief. “And you’re finally awake. I had begun to get worried.”

Her gaze darted to my face, searching, hungry for reassurance. I squeezed her hands gently, feeling the faint tremor in her fingers. “How do you feel?” I asked, keeping my tone calm and patient.

Aurelia exhaled, leaning into my palm. “Stronger… better.”

Her words steadied me, though I could still see the fear with my developing warp-fueled empathy, like a storm waiting to break. She was trying to be brave, but her breathing betrayed her.

I understood a bit better how so many of us would come out so fucked up. We were so different from everyone around us, we felt different, could control our feelings differently, we had powers, we were stronger and faster, and smarter.

Yet we were also deeply human; we felt, feared, loved, and hated. And we needed to have stability in our first few years. We could not be treated as weapons or sponges for information.

“You’re safe,” I told her, letting the weight of my voice carry the truth. “No one here will hurt you. Not now. Not ever. These are my people, and I trust them with all my heart. Please, trust them too.”

Her lips parted, and for a moment she looked as though she might cry. Instead, she swallowed and whispered, “Where… where am I? This place doesn’t feel real.”

I hesitated, then smiled faintly. “That’s because it isn’t like anything you’ve known before. Come. Let me show you.”

She blinked, startled, as I rose and guided her carefully from the bed. Together, we crossed to the far wall where a dark screen waited. At a gesture, it flared to life, bathing the infirmary in cold light.

Her gasp was sharp. I knew that feeling.

I had felt it too when I first saw Athenia from space.

Below us hung a world, its small oceans glimmering sapphire and its deserts wide and vast, encompassing everything else. Clouds coiled in great spirals above mountain ranges and sprawling wastelands.

“That,” I said softly, “is Colchis.”

Her eyes widened further, breath catching in her throat. “I… I’ve never seen anything like it.” Her hand lifted as though to touch the glass, trembling inches from the projection. “We’re… we’re above it. In the heavens.”

“In the heavens,” I echoed, letting her hear the certainty in me. “This is space, Aurelia. You are on a ship that sails between the stars.”

She laughed then, a sound of disbelief and joy tangled together, half a sob. Her gaze remained fixed on the planet below, drinking in every detail as she might never see it again.

“It’s beautiful,” she whispered. “It’s incredible.”

I smiled at her reaction. “From up here, it all looks so small, doesn’t it? That ocean there, that’s the sea near where you grew up. And that dark stretch is the northern wastelands. That thin line cutting across the continent, that’s what you called the Great Wall of Gevera.”

Her eyes widened as recognition set in, light blooming across her face. “I see it… I really do. But how is this possible? How are we here?”

“With enough dedication and effort,” I said, smirking slightly, “almost anything is possible. Humanity has walked among the stars for thousands of years. Even when we lost our way, even when we fractured and scattered across different suns.”

I let my gaze return to the planet turning slowly below us.

“Now we are finding each other again.”

For a while, we simply stood there, silent except for the hum of the ship and her soft breaths. Finally, I broke the stillness.

“Aurelia,” I said, turning her gently toward me. “When I found you… You were preaching. In the plaza. Tell me… what is this ‘One’ you spoke of?”

Her expression shifted, the awe in her face folding into something deeper, something old and fervent. She turned back to the vision of Colchis below, her voice soft yet filled with fire.

“The One…” she began. “I had visions. I saw a golden God… a being of light, coming to save me.” Her voice dropped slightly, as if admitting this to me made it real. “He… he came, and I knew… he would. And now you are here!”

I tilted my head, studying her carefully. The intensity of feelings was undeniable. She radiated excitement, awe, a mixture of fear and wonder. “Aurelia…” I began, choosing my words slowly, “You must understand. I am not this… golden figure you saw. I am your brother, nothing more, nothing less. There is no god here on this deck, only me.”

Her eyes narrowed slightly, incredulous, and she shook her head. “But… it felt so real. You… you are magnificent! You took me away like in my visions! Surely you can only be a god, or—”

I raised a hand, cutting off her cascade, and rested it lightly against her cheek. “Listen to me, I am not a god, Aurelia. You and I are Primarchs. Stronger, faster, smarter, and with some special abilities. But we are as human as everyone else.” I said gently. “We have been scattered across the stars, you and I, and our other siblings. There are many of us. And the one who truly created us is the Empress of Mankind.”

She blinked slowly, the corners of her mouth twitching as she tried to absorb my words. “The Empress…” she whispered, as though remembering what she had seen. Her gaze rose to mine again, and I could see her imagination igniting. “So… she is the one. Is she… is she the god?”

I exhaled softly and pinched the bridge of my nose, internally facepalming.

This is going to be a long lesson.

I crouched slightly, lowering myself to meet her gaze. “No. She is not a god either. She is our creator, yes, and she is incredibly powerful,” I said, remembering when she saved me from the warp rift in Hive Athenia. Thousands of light-years away, and she had managed to close that portal. “But she is flesh and will just like us and everyone else. She has given us all a purpose and abilities that reflect that purpose.”

How are you supposed to explain to someone whose whole life has been filled with talk of Gods and preaching that there are no such things? And the things that want you to believe they are Gods are unspeakable horrors?

Especially when you have visions of them coming to save you…

Her hands gripped mine tighter, her excitement undiminished. “So… she’s real? She watches us? And you… You’re really my brother?”

I nodded. “Yes. I am your brother, and I will always protect you.”

Her eyes glimmered, stars reflecting in their golden depths. She seemed to shrink in thought for a moment, then flung her arms around me impulsively. I felt her heart hammer against my chest, her body trembling.

I held her, firm but gentle. “Aurelia, listen to me,” I said, pressing my forehead lightly to hers. “You are not alone. You never will be. Your visions do not show things as they are. That golden figure you saw is a reflection of your own hopes. Do you understand? You were seeing things as you wanted to see them, not as they are.”

Aurelia nodded, though her lips trembled with residual emotion. “I… I think so. But it felt so real. I could see him, his golden light, the way he… he was everywhere, Alexander!”

I chuckled softly. It was easy to forget she was probably barely a few years old. She seemed so childlike in a moment, and in others, she seemed way more mature. “I believe you. That vision… it is part of your soul, your instincts speaking to you. It does not make you mad. But you must learn to distinguish between what is real and what is drawn from your fears or dreams.”

She leaned back, just enough to search my face again, as though to measure if I truly believed my own words. “What… what will happen now?”

I smiled faintly. “Now? Now you’ll learn. You’ll study, just like I did. You’ll have your own chambers, near mine, so you won’t ever feel alone. You will meet new people and make friends. And you’ll have guards, men sworn to protect you.”

Her eyes widened with that childlike wonder again, though there was a firmness growing beneath it, a spark of defiance.

Aurelia drew in a deep breath, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly, a fragile smile appearing through the tension. “I want to see it. All of it. The ship. The stars. Everything.”

I chuckled softly, though inside, I felt a pang of pride. She was only hours awake, and already her spirit reached outward like wings, testing the air. “Then you shall. But first, we make sure you are strong enough.”

I turned my head toward the staff who had been silently hovering nearby, doctors, nurses, attendants who had seen too much in too short a time. They flinched under my gaze while we were speaking, I had let my aura out to encapsulate Aurelia’s, and she would have to learn how to control her power like I had. I kept my voice calm.asn she leave the infirmary?”

The head physician straightened immediately, words tumbling from him in haste. “Y-yes, your majesty. She shows remarkable vitality. She may need to come back every few days so we can finish our tests, but… she can walk with you.”

I nodded once, satisfied. “Good.”

When I looked back, Aurelia was already half out of the bed, her bare feet brushing the cold deck plating. She looked down in surprise at the sensation, then laughed quietly, as though the very floor of the Athena was some marvel to her.

“Come,” I said, extending a hand. She clasped it eagerly, her fingers small but strong in mine.

We left the infirmary together, Aurelia clinging close at first as the doors parted to the bright corridors beyond. Crew members paused, staring in awe as we passed.

I felt her shift under their gazes, shoulders tensing, that old instinct to shrink back rising in her. I squeezed her hand firmly.

“Walk with pride, Aurelia,” I murmured so only she could hear. “They see you as I do. My sister. A Princess.”

Her steps grew steadier, her chin lifting by degrees.

We stopped at the doors to her new quarters. They slid open with a soft hiss, revealing a chamber already prepared: silken sheets, walls hung with warm light, polished steel softened by touches of wood and cloth from Athenia itself, selected by Penelope.

It was not extravagant, but it was hers.

Aurelia gasped softly, then darted past me into the room, turning in slow circles as she took it all in. “It’s beautiful,” she breathed.

I leaned against the doorway, arms folded, watching her explore. “It is yours,” I said. “This will be your home now until we arrive back at Athenia, my home. My quarters are just by the corridor, there.”

She spun to face me, her golden eyes wide with wonder. “My home...”

“For now,” I said softly, “let me introduce you to someone very dear to me. I have much work to do, and she will be with you and answer every question you might have. Is that all right?”

Aurelia doubted for a moment before nodding. “What do you have to do?”

“We are taking over the planet, and taking down the ruling priesthood. It is a hard job, and I need to be there if there is any problem.” I said, and smirked when she slightly swayed at the information.

I could imagine how shocking it might be.

Hey, yeah, so I am your brother. We were both created by a very powerful and old woman. I came to save you and destroy everyone who has ever hurt you. Why did you pass out?

I glanced toward the corridor.

It was time for her to meet Penelope.

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A week later, I was at the observation gallery overlooking the education center aboard the Athenia. Glass panels stretched from floor to ceiling, encasing the classroom in a transparent dome. Inside, Aurelia sat at a polished desk, her posture straight but relaxed, eyes scanning the holo-scrolls projected before her.

Around her, instructors moved like well-trained conductors, orchestrating a symphony of data streams, historical records, and tactical diagrams. Junior officers were seated at adjacent desks, learning alongside her, or attempting to.

I had ordered them into the classroom to get Aurelia more comfortable around young men and women instead of singling her out.

It was clear they could not keep up with Aurelia, even if she was learning basic information. They were there to make her feel more comfortable for now. But they would not be there in future lessons.

It was remarkable. Each word, each diagram, each holographic map seemed to lodge itself into her mind effortlessly.

She asked questions, clarified points, and even offered insights that caught the instructors slightly off-guard.

The subject today was history, the creation of the Terran Federation as we best understood it. I had insisted on starting with the rise and fall of ancient civilizations, the mistakes, the triumphs, the wars that shaped our current galaxy.

Aurelia’s eyes widened at the tales of ingenuity and folly, at the brutality of conquest and the brilliance of strategic vision. I could see her mind spinning, forming connections, weighing cause and consequence.

The Warp-imposed faiths that dominated her people before she met me, those teachings have left scars, but nothing too deep to reshape.

The priests she had once believed to be divinely inspired, her childhood captors, had implanted ideas of submission, worship, and fear.

Now, I was planning to systematically remove those foundations and replace them with a belief in merit, in human ascendancy.

Her questions were relentless, her curiosity almost insatiable. She asked about ancient governance systems, the reasons certain empires collapsed, and the social dynamics that led to both innovation and oppression.

I found myself smiling behind the glass. This was how a primarch acted.

I was conditioned by a past life without all the advantages I have now, and that had held me back. It still did sometimes. Aurelia had none of that; she had been like this all her life. It was all she knew.

Her hunger for understanding was intoxicating.

I observed as she worked through a case study on planetary integration, analyzing how newly acquired systems were incorporated into the Terran Federation’s structures. Her solutions were elegant, efficient, and occasionally daring, even if she was far from knowing everything she needed to solve the problems the instructors presented.

I made a mental note: she could be an unparalleled speaker, a vector of influence.

A well-prepared Aurelia could unify populations through intellect and charisma, rally systems that had known only oppression, and turn public perception into an extension of the Athenian Federation’s will. She had the potential to sway entire sectors of space with the right mentorship.

The instructor nodded at her, pleased. “Excellent, Aurelia. Your insight into interstellar logistics rivals officers twice your age.”

She beamed, a faint blush rising to her cheeks, and I allowed myself a brief, private smile.

Her potential as a speaker, a unifier, and a symbol would only be realized if she internalized strategy, morality, and empathy.

I barely noticed the time passing as I watched her, until a junior officer approached the observation deck. He held a commpad, and his face was tight with urgency.

“Your Majesty,” he said, voice tense, “urgent transmission from Gahevarla. They request immediate strategic input.”

Aurelia glanced up from her holo-scrolls, curiosity flickering across her face. I gave her a brief nod.

“Patch it through,” I instructed the officer.

The hololith flickered, lines of static cutting through the image as Ariana’s face appeared. Behind her, through the distortion, I saw a titanic wall of black clouds forming, lit from within by veins of unnatural lightning. The horizon itself seemed to writhe.

“Alex…” she said, her voice sharp with urgency, though the transmission stuttered with interference. “I need you here. It’s—” The words fractured into static, then returned, half a syllable behind her lips. “—not natural. We can’t hold it without—”

The feed cut again, then steadied for only a moment.

“I’ll be there in five minutes,” I said to the dark screen.

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Aurelia pressed her hands against the cool glass of the Athena in her quarters, forehead nearly touching the surface as if proximity could carry her closer to the events unfolding below. Colchis sprawled beneath her, and she could see the massive storm in its southern hemisphere.

The storm stretched wider than some continents she had studied, a churning vortex of black clouds laced with veins of violet lightning. The heart of it pulsed like a wound in the planet’s skin, a slow, circular rhythm that made her stomach tighten.

She had studied planetary sciences in her lessons, had been shown images of Athenia’s skies, the frozen squalls of Eaena, the tropical storms of Phoberya. Yet none of them looked like this.

Her lips parted, breath fogging the glass as another ripple of lightning forked in the storm.

“Why does it look like that?” she whispered, more to herself than to anyone else.

The Spartan guard stationed near the door shifted. He had stood motionless since she had entered, more like a statue than a man.

She could almost forget her guards were there most of the time. The four Spartans who followed her everywhere were quiet and still most of the time. Though Alexander had told her that they could talk to each other and she would never hear them because of their sealed armor.

The last few days had been… bliss.

That was the best way she could describe them. Aurelia had never known such peace. She had learned more in a day than in all her previous life. And she had met new people. Like her new friend Penelope.

“Where is Alexander, Rax?” She asked.

“King Alexander has gone to the planet, Princess Aurelia.”

Her head snapped toward him, eyes wide. “He’s there? In the storm?”

The Spartan gave the smallest nod, but his posture remained steady, impassive. “His majesty went to deal with it.”

She turned back to the glass, pressing her palms against it again, heart hammering. Of course, he was there. Who else could be? Who else would walk willingly into a storm that could swallow continents whole? She searched the roiling mass, straining as though her sight could pierce the clouds. But she saw nothing but chaos.

Her throat was dry, but her thoughts swirled fast, almost frantic.

Aurelia hugged herself tightly, eyes never leaving the storm. “He’s… he’s fighting it,” she murmured in awe.

The Spartan did not answer. Perhaps he did not know, or perhaps it was not his place to speak.

Minutes passed, or hours, she could not tell.

What if even he could not stop it? The thought crept into her mind, unwanted. What if this storm consumed him?

Then it happened.

The first sign was light. A pinprick at the center of the storm, barely noticeable at first.

But it grew. Slowly, inexorably, the spark widened into a flare, and the flare swelled into a radiance that tore through the black clouds. Aurelia gasped and pressed harder against the glass as golden light poured outward, surging in great, concentric waves.

Her skin itched, and she instinctively knew it was because of Alexander’s power.

The storm shrieked against it. She could almost hear it through the vacuum, or perhaps her imagination filled the silence with sound. Lightning thrashed violently, clouds bucked and split apart, but the golden glow only grew stronger.

And then, with a suddenness that stole her breath, the storm broke.

The clouds tore open, unraveling into wisps that dissolved in the glow. The lightning ceased, the vortex stilled, and in its place spread a vast plain of shimmering calm, bathed in light so pure it seemed to wash the scars of the storm from existence. For a moment, the whole hemisphere of Colchis glowed, brighter than dawn, and Aurelia’s chest tightened until tears welled in her eyes.

She whispered without meaning to, “Brother…”

The word tasted strange on her tongue. Brother. That was what he had called himself to her, what he had claimed her as. She wanted to believe it, she did believe it, and yet when she looked upon the golden light that had consumed a storm larger than empires, the word felt too small.

Too human.

What kind of man could command the skies?

Her thoughts twisted painfully. She wanted to cling to Alexander’s words. That he was a man. That he was like her. Yet part of her felt as though she should fall to her knees, should worship, should declare him divine. The conflict pressed against her heart until she wiped at her cheeks with trembling hands.

She looked again at the fading light. Already the storm was gone as though it had never existed.

Her Spartan guard spoke again. “The King has prevailed.”

Just like that, like it was already written in the stars. Like, there was no outcome other than King Alexander Apollion, Supreme Director of the Athenian Federation, prevailing over every enemy of his people.

Aurelia’s lips curved into a smile, though her eyes still glistened. “Of course he has.”

She would have to ask him how he did that. How could he claim not to be divine if he wielded such power?

And in her heart, awe bloomed at Alexander's actions.

Her Brother.