The Emperor’s malice had been focused on the Legions, and not the Marshal Worlds, those systems under the aegis of the Battalions that protected them, and from whom they got their recruits. Indeed, if the Legions were taken, the Marshal Worlds would soon follow, so there was no need to focus heavily on them.

Putting down the undead Legionnaires was a grim and necessary task, but the survivors went to it with a will, a way, and the potential to develop Sun Strikes and Sun Shots to help them out and along.

Weapons were Named and advanced. Slots began to open. The slow rise to power began.

The surviving Marines found themselves working astonishingly closely with Ranthas and psions, which began to upend their millennia-long ascetic culture, and the independence the Legions had from other forces of the Empire. From independence to integration to interdependence was a new road, but after combined efforts showed them the power and use of such tactics, and the Doctrines of Thunder were passed down and put in place, things began to shift for the depleted Legions of the Empire.

Securing supplies of the Imperial Infusion was something long put into effect, and replicating it was definitely not beyond the TL20 reach of the Fantastic Kids and specialists in genetics and biotech. Their future, such as it was, was secure, and the weight of the past was lifting from them as the machinations of the Emperor were laid bare, and resolved.

A massive reorganization of the Battalions and the Legions began to take shape. There was little doubt that the Empire’s allocation of Marshal Worlds and Battalions was undertaken to weaken the Legions and divide them at moments of crisis. The independent nature and governance of those systems did give them a greater measure of self-reliance than many Imperial worlds, but also poorer coordination and cooperation where required.

The Six Legions were officially reformed, but this time, they were not divided along Bloodlines.

Briggs joined directly in the Markspace discussions on this topic, laying out the broad strokes of what he wanted, and given his mental abilities and status as a Twenty, even the battle-hardened Eighteens who made up the most experienced of the Legion Commanders paid careful note to his designs and aspirations.

Although they had long disdained the mutates and gene-mods who often were relegated to the lowest orders of the Empire, Briggs pointed out and displayed to them that their own genetic codes contained the exact same kinds of legacies from various animals that were their namesakes, meaning that genetically they were closer to those wild-bloods, who were themselves descended from gene-soldiers the Empire and humanity had once used, than they were to actual humans.

It was discomfiting, but it also meant that the instinctive rivalry between their Legions was in essence once again hard-coded into them, puppets dancing to a genetic tune. They were definitely the most elite gene-soldiers ever made... but it was direly, firmly obvious that the Emperor just considered them tools to make stronger undead, in the end, not His valiant children protecting all of humanity.

But with psionics, the Emperor’s Gift, this kind of thing could change. All of them had at least passive ability with psionics now, and a rare few even proved to be Powered and could wield the full strength of humanity’s internal gifts, not just those who had advanced to be Ministers.

There was no shortage of teachers and guidance in the Markspace on these topics, so there was no need to attend some meditative school or dojo to learn such things. Mentats from across the galaxy, biopsis, psychic warriors, Coronals, Umbrans, and specialists could all dispense guidance and direction for them to unleash their internal powers... and tap into the powers of the faith and goodwill the Markspace represented.

Tremble, for they were coming...

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Six Tribute-class Star Carriers: The Brotherhood, the Courage, the Vigilant, the Faithful, the Watchful, and the Wisdom. These were the primary gifts to all of the shattered orders, and would form the headquarters of the Six Legions.

The Legions would be based on territory covered, and conferred on the size of Legions versus the populations being protected, noting now that the numbers of systems and worlds of humanity had fallen cataclysmically, and with it their writ. There was no need to align themselves to Sectors; they were to spread themselves according to who and what they protected, and if it was determined that more than six Legions were needed, then that was what they would do.

The legacy gene-lines were broadly re-written as genetic inclinations for specific modes of combat, that were to be emphasized, but not rigidly adhered to. They were Legionnaires, the ultimate soldiers, and cross-training was to be one of their mantras. However, the Battalions were to be used to develop expertise in key areas, with seven of the ten Companies within them devoted to the specialty of their gene-lines.

The Legions themselves were to be combined arms, gatherings of broad strength, with the different types of expertise and views on combat to be used as a wellspring and a resource that each Legion could draw on to address a situation where the need arose. There was no superior combat doctrine, there was only the one that was appropriate for the situation at hand.

Only the most basic forces would be mono-lineal. The enemy was not to know what to expect when the Legions were dispatched. Forces were to be mixed and matched to suit the demands of the moment. Supremely coordinated Hounds, fast-charging Lions, brutally powerful Bulls, swift aerospace control of the Falcons, stealthy precision of the Panthers, or the ruthless efficiency of the Serpents... it was all to be on the table if the Legions were sent, and had to make a difference.

In addition, the Legions were to once again start working closely with the Imperial Marines, and advancement to a Legionnaire was to be a source of promotion for the most talented of soldiers... as records clearly indicated it was before the Emperor actually sat on His crystal throne. Those who aspired to officer status as Legionnaires would have to display those command capabilities working with human troops, so as to know their limitations and make use of them, instead of expending them so ruthlessly. The human troops in support of the Legions were to be the elites of humanity, Sixes and higher on the scale, and completely worthy of being nurtured to Tens and higher.

Once focus on primacy of gene-line was removed, the gathered Commanders rapidly began to organize themselves within the new Legions under the eye of Briggs, treating the gene-lines as resources within the Legions, just like tanks and airpower, adjusting their thinking.

Direct use of non-Legion psions, and the presence of Nulls and Sources, was to be integrated into their battle plans; one of the goals of elite status was to gain their own Triad of Forsaken and Psion to form a truly dangerous force on and off proper battlefields.

Seconding experiences to serve with the Umbrans and Coronals became experiences for cross-training and activity outside pure battlefields, experience in human society that could prove vital in the wider war of souls that they had once ignored, and now had to step forward and take a leading role in.

As the Legions were reorganized one by one, they were integrated into Corunsun Fleets and forces, and dispatched to the Warped Worlds to finish prosecuting the destruction and liberation of all of them... and to Grow their Arms and Armor.

Their Marshal Worlds were watched over by Corunsun light cruisers, staffed for now by normal humans. It was time for the Legions to grow their Weapons, work out the kinks in inter-geneline cooperation, and give the finger to the Emperor even as they developed their gifts and stayed true to the original purpose of the Legions.

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The noose gathered about Tellus as the forces of the Warp wore down the supporting systems and forces, making certain that the Emperor could not strike them in the back when the time came to attack.

They all knew the Corunsun forces were out there, but they also knew those forces were quite busy. The Gardeners could not survive the sheer amount of killing power present in Sol, nor prevail in ship-to-ship combat so easily. The lost Imperial ships were disregarded by both forces; only the new, high TL ships of the Corunsuns raised unease in the commanders of both forces, while the specialist White and Black fleets optimized to deal with pure undead were not considered serious threats with enough mixture of conventional and empowered forces.

The assaults on the Warped Worlds entered a new phase when over four hundred thousand Corunsun Legionnaires began to stream into the fighting arena, and integrate, and in many cases, take over local control of the conflicts, if such would prove useful to the ongoing battle.

Mostly, they wanted to get into fights, and grow the Names of their Gear...

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It was the Imperial-made ships whose numbers dominated the fighting in the Warped Worlds.

Oh, they might have a new Tachyon Drive, and exult at no longer being forced to Helldive, and the tactical possibilities a Harmonic Drive offered... but for the most part, the weapons and defenses were the same thing the Empire had been using for thousands of years, possibly with more munition types than in the past.

There were some of our vessels serving among them, and the Tribute-class vessels served as the operating centers of strike groups, serving as nice distractions and targets for the defenses of the enemy while the Worlds were picked apart, worn down, and overwhelmed.

There was no reason to press mercilessly, so the attacks went off with precision, some daring, and an inexorable feel to them. Land wars raged here and there on worlds with enough shielding to withstand bombardment; these were the main targets of the Legions when they arrived.

The Warped Worlds were going to fall; it was inevitable, and they knew it. That’s why they were streaming into Gloom, and opening up a new front against the Emperor and His remaining worlds as they did so. The populations of dying worlds, moving into Gloom, and immediately making war against one another as they did so.

Both sides had built massive citadels in Gloom, commanded their local airspace, and basically killed anything that moved in between them. Armies marched, guns fired, missiles roared across shadowed space, and pretty much anything with sense got out of the areas between them if at all possible.

If they didn’t, the Emperor took their dead bodies and sent them against the Warp, or wandering demons sniffed them out and devoured them for a moment’s entertainment.

Our forces in Gloom preyed on both sides, while we slowly and methodically blew up those active Portals and isolated the worlds and their armies. Shadowfire burned across the fallen, and Gloom ignored the minor light shows of atomics and antimatter lighting off, taking what was given freely.

The kids and the Marked fed their Weapons and grew, while everyone held their breath and waited to see what the next move from the Demon Princes and the Emperor would be.

---

The Emperor had already won the fight. He just needed to bring the Princes in, and He could wipe them all, take their forces, and try to turn the fight around. The instant He did that, our attacks on the Warped Worlds would end, and we would have to return to protect our worlds, or also take up the attack on Him.

That would be extremely stupid. Unlike the Princes, we didn’t have the direct power of the Warp Gods there to stave off the massive psionic power of the Emperor. Sure, we had the Great DM, and Shrineworlds praying for us and our forces, two forces that had kept us remarkably clear of inter-galactic sabotage from psionically suborning key individuals within our forces. The Great DM was watching and without a locus to focus His power on, the Emperor simply couldn’t reach out far enough to, say, make an engineer detonate the power core of a ship in mid-battle... or the primary reactor of a mega-city.

But that didn’t mean we couldn’t strike at Him...