Chapter 11: Secret
Omega smiled, a knowing expression crossing his features. "Why did our father choose to keep news of your return concealed? To lead the Alpha Legion from the shadows rather than stand openly among your brothers, was it because I had not yet returned?"
"The Alpha Legion is unlike any other among the Legions forged from the Gene-Seed of the Primarchs," Alpharius explained, his voice carrying that particular timbre of mystery that defined their nature.
"Our work exists in shadow and silence. A secret revealed is no secret at all. But now—" his expression brightened, "—now I have you, my brother."
"It mirrors my organization on Balsavor," Omega replied with understanding. "Agents and intelligence operatives, all of them. Everything must be conducted in secrecy, before and after. I understand completely."
"Ha! As I knew you would, brother!" Alpharius's laughter rang genuine and warm. "Our minds move as one."
Much of this alignment stemmed from the Observer's gift, the psychic ability that inclined both Primarchs toward intelligence gathering and covert operations.
After his initial surge of joy subsided, Alpharius composed himself, regarding his twin with a more measured expression.
"Now that both Primarchs of the Twentieth Legion have returned," he said carefully, "should we make this known? For over a century I have awaited this reunion, yet now that we stand together... the urgency of revelation has...faded."
"A secret loses its power once spoken aloud," Omega offered, his thoughts aligning with the fundamental nature of their Legion's work.
"Perhaps we should keep this hidden a while longer. For operatives like us, public recognition is unnecessary."
"Ha! You truly do think as I do."
Alpharius was deeply pleased by his brother's response, though beneath his satisfaction lay darker considerations.
The fate of the Second and Eleventh Primarchs, expunged from Imperial records following the Rangdan wars, had cast a shadow across all the gene-forged sons.
That erasure had sent a clear message: the Emperor could unmake what He had made, and Alpharius...carried too many secrets to ignore such a warning.
The Emperor had known for over a century that Alpharius was the first to return and had chosen to remain concealed. It remained his duty to stay hidden until his father required otherwise.
He would obey with absolute loyalty.
Yet the reunion of the twin Primarchs made Alpharius's hearts race with barely contained excitement. There was so much they could accomplish together. He even felt the urge to demonstrate their combined strength to the other Primarchs, particularly Lion El'Jonson of the First Legion.
The Lion, master of the Dark Angels, understood secrets as few others did. Alpharius had always felt a kinship with those who valued discretion, who saw silence as strength.
The Dark Angels operated much as the Alpha Legion did, and Alpharius considered such Primarchs kindred spirits in methodology if not in blood.
By contrast, Legions like Guilliman's Ultramarines or Ferrus Manus's Iron Hands fought openly on the front lines, too straightforward, too exposed. They would be vulnerable if targeted by those who understood how to exploit such transparency.
Guilliman, especially, with his mounting achievements and growing influence, seemed dangerously visible. Alpharius did not particularly favor such approaches.
As Omega confirmed his identity as the twin Primarch of the Alpha Legion, he also came to understand the origin of his demigod-level strength. At this moment of return, he realized that a far larger and broader world was about to enter his life and vision.
With the war still raging, the brothers allowed themselves only an hour of rare conversation before resolving to eliminate the Rangdan fleet in this sector completely.
After donning the Alpha Legion's distinctive blue-grey power armor, Omega's weapons were replaced, a bolter and power sword now, with a monomolecular combat blade at his waist.
The Pale Spear was temporarily set aside.
A defining characteristic of the Alpha Legion was uniformity; their weapons and equipment maintained deliberate similarity. Using the Pale Spear would expose Omega's uniqueness, and he accepted this necessity without complaint.
The Alpha Legion, despite not being clones, cultivated an uncanny sameness. It was still somewhat strange, even as one of their Primarchs.
Omega's first void engagement was a boarding action.
Alpha Legion gunnery had already crippled an enemy frigate several kilometers in length, causing it to drift from the main fleet's formation, perfect for assault.
Inside a small boarding craft, Omega felt as if they were being compressed into a metal coffin.
The craft's prow mounted a sharp, powered grapnel. Dozens of these attack craft streaked through the void at extreme velocity, their automated systems guiding them toward the wounded vessel.
The craft shook violently in the vacuum, a movement that would have pulverized an unaugmented human's internal organs.
Boom!
The grapnel craft punched through the frigate's failing energy shields and slammed into the hardened hull. The powered spike drove deep into the alien vessel's armor like a blade through flesh.
Crash!
With the grinding sound of tearing metal, the boarding craft breached the frigate's corridor. The moment Omega emerged—
Crack!
An ion beam struck him. His armor's energy field absorbed the impact, though power reserves drained rapidly.
He moved with transhuman speed, firing without conscious aim. Bolt rounds struck several armored Rangdan warriors with perfect accuracy.
The bolter's explosive shells were devastatingly effective. Each impact on unshielded aliens created a crater of torn flesh and shattered chitin. He didn't need to aim carefully; reflex and enhanced perception guided each shot. A dozen enemies fell within seconds.
Clad in power armor, Omega was like a storm given form. He moved through the corridors as an apex predator, killing everything in his path.
Bolt rounds, ion beams, and laser fire filled the ship's interior. Many aliens died before they could finish acquiring their targets.
By the time he reached the main corridor, four Rangdan elite warriors were preparing to fire heavy ion weapons. Omega flickered from their sight, the Observer's gift allowing for a brief displacement, and drew his power sword.
Energy wreathed the blade. A casual swing marked an alien's chest with a glowing line before its body fell in two pieces.
When others launched psychic attacks, Omega ignored them, charging forward to cut down two more in swift succession.
It became a massacre. The power sword's arc left alien fragments scattered across the deck. Wielding the blade in his left hand and bolter in his right, Omega killed every enemy that appeared in the main corridor while clearing side passages with methodical efficiency.
He fought his way to the bridge control room. The power sword struck the sealed blast door, carving a massive gouge through reinforced metal. After the heavy ion weapons exhausted their energy packs, a gap finally appeared. Fire poured through from inside as the aliens targeted the breach itself.
Omega positioned himself to the side as the defenders' own attacks widened the gap.
When more than a dozen fist-sized explosive charges tumbled through the opening, Omega displaced himself instantly.
BOOM!
The explosion destroyed what remained of the door. Omega emerged unharmed through the smoke, phantom-like, entering the control room to the sound of bolter fire and the flash of his power sword.
When the smoke cleared, alien corpses littered the deck. Only the ship's warning lights continued flashing their intermittent red.
Alpha Legion warriors who had heard the explosion and moved to reinforce saw one of their own standing amid the carnage.
They exchanged glances behind their helms, and one offered the traditional greeting with evident amusement: "Hail Hydra!"
"Hail Hydra!" Omega looked up and replied.
The words carried weight among the Legion, a recognition that brought immediate brotherhood.
After the Alpha Legion swiftly secured the Rangdan warship, they returned to the human fleet. Throughout the void battle, whenever a large alien vessel sustained critical damage, Space Marines conducted boarding actions to eliminate the crews inside.
Under the separate leadership of their twin Primarchs, the Alpha Legion quickly gained the upper hand against the Rangdan forces.
After three full days of engagement, the surviving Rangdan capital ships began fleeing the star system.
Before long, the alien fleet, hundreds of vessels strong, abandoned countless slave soldiers and Rangdan warriors on the planet's surface, executing emergency warp jumps to escape the system.
In this war between humanity and the Rangdan, the human fleet was victorious.
All that remained were planetary surface operations to eliminate the abandoned forces.
[End of Chapter]