The Rebel Faction

Ferrus Manus noted the distinctive shift in the ship as they entered atmosphere. This brings back memories, he thought. It had been too long since he'd made planetfall... the old feelings of adrenaline rushing through his veins warmed him.

The slight jolt of landing roused him from his brief reverie. Shortly afterward, he was standing at the opening of the civilian transport, bellowing orders to his men, keeping them in line and organized as they moved out.

"Squads Eiwaz and Raido, scout ahead and look for shelter. Inguz, Thurisaz, and Isa, make sure this area is secure, hide the evidence of our presence, and proceed to the rendezvous point."

Ferrus scratched his chin thoughtfully. So far, things had gone off without a hitch. As soon as word came from Command, they'd move out.

Jander watched from another part of the cave where one of the Galofree transports was unloading the newly arrived troops. By this time the Gand knew that the small group of natives that followed him everywhere would remain silent. They had been commanded to watch over him by thier tribal councils, who seemed to worship the large insectoid.

Sunstar continued to watch the unloading troops. They were certainly unique, just like their master, and he could already tell they were fanatical. As Kaalif of Gand, Jander was used to that sort of thing, certain Gandish tribes had a tendancy to be that way in thier worship or Ara, God of the Mists. It usually was a good thing, though fanatics sometimes took things too far. Fortunately in the time since he'd met John they had come to respect and trust each other, at least to some degree. From the beginning thier age had been a factor that drew them closer than other people, who tended to be freaked out by the far away look in John's eyes, and the Gand's looks in general.

Without turning Phantom Leader broke into the native language, which wasn't too different from his own natural dialect. It was full of clicks and pops, but was thankfully usually devoid of whistles, which carried far too far in these tunnels. One of his bodyguards replied with a double click and scampered off, returning a few moments later with two dozen more of the natives.

The Galofrees were just launching again to return for the next wave of troops. They dissapeared from sight before leaving the caves, thier near silent engines fading away shortly after that. Sunstar approached the area where the troops were massing, and where Manus and Kurtz were standing. "Primarchs Manus and Kurtz correct? Jander Sunstar, as I'm sure John had you informed. Split these natives out amongst your troops, and let me know when you need more. I'm aware you have excellent intelligence, but only a native can really properly navigate these tunnels. Thier knowledge should be extremely useful."

He waited for a while to give them a chance to reply, but pulled out his comlink while he was waiting. "Hey Tripwire, how are the conversions coming," the Gand asked, looking forward to when they were finished. His R2 unit tweeted back an affirmative, they were nearly complete.

He picked up the welding torch...securing the last part to the last droid. It was ready. The conversions were completed, and he was ready to get things rolling. He rose to his feet, standing tall, covered in soot. He knew things were going to get bad, very bad. He turend again, looking at the droids, knowing what must be done.

The droids were like him, instruments of war, the tools of conquest and conflict, Weapons of mass destruction, disposable heroes. He wasn't afraid of what was going to happen, he was ready. He knew the order of things.

He walked quietly down the tunnel, securing the room behind him as he went. He showered quickly, changing into a dark robe, walking through the tunnels. If the time table was correct, things should be almost ready, the rest of the legions were almost here.

They were massing, ready, preparing to bring war to this world. That is the nature of what he was, he knew this, this was something that could not be changed. All would fight, some would die, but things would change.

He sat quietly in the meetting hall, looking over his plan, checking reports with the diggers. All that was left was to place the charge and light the fuse. Business was about to pick up......