Ironically, in canon the Imperium had been divided by the Great Rift, but this time... the divide was psychological and ideological. On one side was Imperium Sanctus (the Southern and Western Imperium) and the other was Imperium Nihilus (the rest of the Imperium). The Imperium Sanctus was headed from Terra consisting largely of the Solar, Pacificus and Tempestus Segmentums, and Imperium Nihilus, consisting of the Ultima and Obscurus Segmentums. The ones on Terra declared themselves Imperium Sanctus, the asses.
I, however, realized at this point that I may have made a mistake: Abaddon might gain territory at the Imperium's expense if a civil war started. I had already gotten in touch with any intelligence-gathering contacts on our side, to assassinate key members of Abaddon's army.
Ultramar and Cadia had become the pivotal force in the campaign against Imperium Sanctus. As it appeared:
a. Ultramarines disliked the fact that Ultramar was being used for the benefit of a few decrepit High Lords and senile Inquisitors, and distrusted the Imperial Cult anyway, and despite religiously following the Codex Astartes, truly wanted nothing to do with the Word Bearers.
b. Black Templars despised that the True Faith of the Empress was being defiled by corruption.
c. Dark Angels were loyal to the Empress and to the Lioness of Caliban, and I appeared to be a gateway.
d. Blood Angels, Salamanders and Lamenters cared about civilians.
e. The Army and the Navy hated what had been done to Macharius.
f. The True Ecclesiarchy, under Decius, and the Sisters of Battle, had the same reaction: namely that some corrupt bastards had defiled the faith.
g. The Inquisitorial Elements actually wanted a benefit to the Imperium (though they were a large minority).
h. The Blood Ravens wanted to steal--- I mean, get gifts for themselves (probably).
i. The Custodians were... Custodians.
j. The Adeptus Mechanicus, under elements (including Belisarius Cawl), were eager to innovate instead of being stupid toaster-fuckers.
Now, note: after the purges, this was but a little more than half of the strength of the original group of dissenters. Many had been lost in the purges.
Which brought me to the major conflicts being fought around this point: The Octarius War, the Third War for Armageddon, the Cadian War, and the War of Jericho Reach.
The Octarius War was an ongoing Ork-Tyranid Conflict which was following canon, thanks to Inquisitor Fidus Kryptman and Imperial non-intervention. The Third War for Armageddon was also an ongoing conflict, the Orks slowly winding down over time as Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka had withdrawn after escalating.
The Cadian War was also winding down as Kars Partox faced increasing resistance: Big Humie-Krumpa, the Warboss, surrounded on all sides, his fleet surviving boarding actions multiple times. Yet his second-in-command had alone taken nine Space Marines with him, you can imagine what this Warboss can do.
I was finally able to do what I liked most: politics. I would, of course, kill the Warboss, especially after he had been forced backwards away from Kars Partox.
What truly worried me was the Jericho Reach: the strategic Jericho-Maw Warp Gate could be a formidable source of transport if the Great Rift was triggered, and Lord-Admiral Heinz of the Calixis Sector was leading a new Crusade, with the help of the Death Watch and the Black Templars, the Jericho Crusade, to secure the Sector. Not to mention with the Thirteenth Black Crusade less than six months away, Daemon activity became more rampant in these areas. But Heinz's campaign was becoming more and more difficult after only a month, and that was telling: to delve further we needed greater resources.
The Imperial Military Council was doing surprisingly well: I had immediately ordered the creation of two new Battlefleets, named Seraphim and Hyperion, which would be far more powerful and well-equipped than standard fleets (except Cadia). Technically... that should take years. I also ordered, with the complete support of Veers and Rampart (and Olga), that a new set of military orders(Directives) could be passed.
The new Directives included:
a. Directive Primus, that the Chapters were allowed to become Legions again through recruitment. This was opposed by certain Codex-worshipping Chapters, but I reminded them that this was a necessity in the State of Emergency.
b. Directive Secundus, the creation of three new planet-sized Regiments and the two Battlefleets.
c. Directive Tertius, the blasters, body armor, etc STCs I had received were rolled out through Matthias. These would be used to set a standard for the PDFs and make them powerful enough to resist invasion, while freeing up other powerful weapons for the Imperial Guard.
d. Directive Quartus, all tithes would be duly paid and all oppression that made potential candidates too weak to be conscripted had to be avoided, and all rebellions against this would be put down.
e. Directive Quintus, the Tech-Priests would donate significant resources to talented Fabricators for innovation: this was not difficult to pass, considering that the Reformist Class of Tech-Priests were the ones who had joined us mostly.
f. Directive Sextus, devoting significant resources to expansion and exploration beyond the Halo Stars, the Eastern Fringe and beyond.
Now, this was basically a blueprint: the implementation had yet to begin.
(A/N:
1. The Directives were easy to pass because this is a State of Emergency and everyone is concentrated on the corruption of the Inquisition. Also, Hades is playing behind-the-scenes games.
2. The primary motivations of some of the main groups that had joined Imperium Nihilus are here.)
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A Monster in Hell: A 40K Story
FanfictionI am an amoral person with psychopathic tendencies. I have had an inglorious life. After my death in an unremarkable neighborhood crossroad, mowed down by a car, I have been sent to suffer in the 41st Millennium. Yet in suffering comes blessing... a...
