Watchers of Akhet Ambush

Due to the unexpected and tumultuous nature of the Claws of Xipac and Blight Wardens betrayal of the Watchers of Akhet reports have been erratic at best. Primarch Khnum Anhuret ordered all possible information gathered together to fit into a report that best pieced together the events that had taken place. In this report lies various texts from primary and secondary accounts.

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*After escaping betrayal and attempted Assassination Khnum arrived in the Crimeani sector. Before addressing his Legion, Khnum took council with the Warmaster Almire. He told his eldest brother of Lu Yueh’s treachery and asked what he should do. Almire, expressing sorrow, told Khnum to gather his Legion and find Lu Yueh. Once they had found him, Almire ordered his younger brother to purge the Second Legion.*

*At first, mighty Khnum protested the insanity of the task asked of him. For who could blame him? The act of raising khopesh against a brother was unthinkable to him. However, it was here that Almire showed him images of a battle site known as Istavaan V. Images of Palatine Wings being slaughtered in droves, the treachery, and finally, the slaughtering of his beloved brother Bartosz.*

*Knowing it would take more than just the First to carry this mission out. Almire dispatched Necalli and the Claws of Xipac to reinforce Khnum once Khnum had made contact with Lu Yueh.*

*A month after Khnum was given his orders, orders that weighted heavily on him, the First had rallied the Legion in full. Normally, a sight like this would have marked for a grand occasion, but not this time. The Watchers gathered around as Khnum instructed them of the reason he had rallied the Legion. It was here that they learned of Lu Yueh and the Second Legion’s betrayal. With steely resolve the First Legion set forth into the Warp.*

*Khnum-Anhuret coming forth in his glory proclaimed rousing speech after speech to ignite the fires of justice to spread through the Legion. His children roared and battered their chests like they were to deploy to face any other foe. Their gaze set on nothing but their new sacred duty.*

*-Notes from a first draft of Remembrancer Kalrin Mitell’s later censored book [REDACTED]*

*————*

*I’ve never been one for serious introspection and pondering. My brothers Iyp and Hori-Re were always the ones to sit down and write their thoughts in long flowery prose that allowed them to express their thoughts better than most of the Legion ever could. A gift they share in common with father.*

*The nature of the task we have been assigned by Almire has prompted me just enough to pick the pen up and at least get what follows down onto this pad of paper.*

*It is no secret that the First and their remembrancers have been close. Dare I say, maybe among the closest of the Legions. We know they over spin the tales they craft in our image. However, there was always some semblance of grounded nature to the task we had to undertake. Not this time.*

*It’s like they’ve forgotten what sin we are about to commit. The feverish desire to be the remembrancer that commits the “arrest” of a Primarch to memory. They’re almost like children. Unknowing. Naive. Foolish. We know what we are about to go do. You don’t send the Cutter of Men for a peaceful surrender when it involves another Legion.*

*What I’ve seen them report so far is beyond skewed. One might even say fictional. Would you like to know what we felt when we were told of our task?*

*Fury.*

*Betrayal.*

*Sorrow.*

*No grand fire in our stomachs, just the feeling of our hearts dropping into them as our cousins once so beloved by us had thrown our bond away like dirt off their boots. Even when facing the Medjund and the handful of Blight Wardens during our trek I had not fully comprehended what had happened. Not until now. Not until Almire gave the order.*

*Is this what the Wisps felt when they were forced to march on Lorgar and his sons? Was this panic the same as watching failure unfold in front of Galvarian? What will my brothers do once we are actually faced with the task of striking down those we held so dear?*

*Even Iyp shut his loud motormouth. None of us are truly ready for it, but the order has been given. We will follow it. It is our duty. A terrible duty, one that will haunt us for years to come.*

*-Excerpts from a journal belonging to High Steward Imothes*

——————

Purpose: To plan the initial stages for the imprisonment of the Second Legion. Meeting occurred at 1600 hours M31.056.

Personnel present: High Steward Imothes, Forge Master Mekhit, Equerry Petamn, Lord Commander Khnum-Anhuret, Captain of the Wisdom of Techu Monza Orso, Lieutenant Mayet, and Ninth Company Captain of the First Host Taheli Rai. The rest of the Djenn were absent due to previous orders stated by the Primarch during Meeting 315-A.678

Summary of events: the Primarch began opening statements consisting of the purpose of the meeting while restating points from the last meeting. First comments and reports were stated by Petamn. Informing the Primarch that each of the Hosts had been organized to board the Blight Wardens’ ships to prepare and instruct the crew onboard for the convoy back to Terra.

For the next half hour the Primarch and Petamn went into detail over squad placement for each currently known and archived Blight Warden ship. Upon the conclusion of this it was deemed satisfactory (roster lists containing this information can be found in APPENDIX 12-B).

The meeting concluded fifteen minutes later. Primarch Khnum ordered the annihilation of the Second Legion if hostile negotiations were enacted.

—Fragments of a military document recovered after the attempt capture of the Second Legion

——————

The remembrancer sat idly by as he attempted another sketch of a pictograph taken during a Watchers of Akhet compliance. This one was a personal favorite of his. It was a picture of Equerry Petamn and former Chief Hecatti Hori-Re during the triumph over the Ròj. The two stood with weapons pointed in the air signaling victory. A bit forced, but it held a certain charm to it nonetheless.

What he was doing was idling his day away in the great library of the Wisdom of Techu. Rows of books and ancient texts lined the walls filled with information and inspiration for any who would pluck it from their hallowed pages. The book shelves were fashioned from a special type of tree grown on Avalon. The materials were a gift from Artellion of the Fifteenth. Expertly crafted and carved by the Legionnaire’s of the First’s own hands to make this a place of learning forged by them.

The First Legion knew what they were partaking in and the rememberancers were abuzz with excitement. Clashes between brothers wept of dramatic tragedy that could be brought forth as one of the deepest muses that existed.

A quiet noise arose a few stacks over. Not excessively noisy, but loud enough to be of a sort of distraction to him. With an adamant will, the remembrancer stood and went to tell the offender to quiet down in the name of silence. His bones creaking as he moved along quickly but silently. Upon turning the corner and seeing who it was he immediately ducked back behind the stacks.

Sitting at a desk specifically made for him and his brothers was Equerry Petamn. The remembrancer was able to hear him with a bit more clarity as he looked at the spread out papers in front of him.

“Day after day, / day after day, / we stuck, nor breath nor motion; / as idle as a painted ship upon a painted ocean.” Petamn muttered to himself as his hand twirled an autoquill. The remembrancer knew that he was quoting a poem. What it was or who it was by remained a mystery to him.

He should have pulled away, but there was something mysterious about the Equerry studying the reports like a student studying for their exams. It seemed almost too human of an activity for such a high ranking Astartes. The remembrancer leaned in closer as he heard the Equerry begin what he assumed the next line of the poem was.

“The many men, so beautiful! / And they all dead did lie: / And a thousand thousand slimy things / lived on; and so did I.” he finished the stanza before stopping for a moment to look up. Not at the remembrancer, but at a new presence joining them.

The remembrancer felt this new addition before it came into view. Few beings held that kind of power, and it was one that he had seen only on a handful of special occasions. From behind a bookshelf the Primarch of the First came into view. The remembrancer’s breath skipped for a moment as he took in the beauty and presence of such a grandiose being.

Khnum stopped right in front of Petamn, “I looked upon the rotting sea, / And drew my eyes away; / I looked upon the rotting deck, / And there the dead men lay.” he said to him as he readjusted the great beast pelt wrapped around his shoulders.

Petamn put the autoquill down and looked at his father. Brown eyes normally full of mischief and humor now deadened. “I closed my lids, and kept them close, / And the balls like pulses beat; / For the sky and the sea, and the sea and the sky / Lay dead like a load on my weary eye, / And the dead were at my feet.”

“I see that you have been reading your Coldridge still,” Khnum responded as he sat down criss cross next to Petamn as if he were solely a close friend. “I always assumed that you lied to me when I asked you if you ever read the works of the nearly forgotten Romance authors.”

“Father, as someone at your side, it would be almost considered a matter of survival to read the works of Coldridge and Werdsworth.”

“Now you’re making me sound like some tyrannical schola instructor,” Khnum finished with a small, forced chuckle.

There was silence for a moment or two before Petamn broke it, “I assume you didn’t come here for a poetry reading father,”

Khnum looked at him and slowly shook his head. “You’ve never sweet coated or hidden your thoughts about my behaviors or plans. Even now, you’ve seen through the insecurities of my plans and my actions on our flight from my once noble brother.”

“Is it the nature of the task that we are to undertake?”

“No,” Khnum replied as he straightened himself to look at his son. “I talk of the events that would lead Lu Yueh to commit high treason against our father, and most importantly our family. How could I have stood with him on his homeworld with my nieces and nephews clamoring upon me and not seen the darkness dwelling within him?”

“Because he is your brother, father, and you trusted him.” Petamn responded with a serious look in his eyes.

“Trust? Such a fickle word and philosophy in these times.”

“Is it? He welcomed you to his home, a being like you, one of only twenty, forged to be the representation of humanity and treated you like any brother should. Is it little wonder that you placed your trust in him so completely like you did the rest of your brothers.”

“Are you stating that it was only inevitable that I would trust him?”

“Not just trust in him father, but any of your brothers.  Similar to how I would place my trust in any of mine. Unlike you, there are over two-hundred-thousand more of me with more on Nuceria and Nephtis being trained as we speak. There were only ever nineteen others like you and that’s all there ever was going to be.”

“So it truly was then,” Khnum muttered to himself as he absently picked a book up and began shuffling it in his hand.

“If you couldn’t place your trust in them, who could you? Even when you and the Twins fought you still thought of ways to mend that bridge. Even now, you seek to fix the Broken Crow despite the foolishness of the task.”

“I’ve never been one to truly shrug away in the face of adversity when it comes to my brothers. A trait Hori-Re seems to have inherited.”

“The fool,” Petamn said with a smile as he slowly stood up and collected his papers. “If memory serves we are needed on the bridge. We will be exiting the Warp soon.”

“Indeed, I equip my armor for what I hope will be a painless operation.” Khnum said dryly and without his normal humor.

The Remembrancer came forward as he watched the two demi-gods walk off towards the bridge. Few had witnessed such a casual conversation between a Primarch and their sons. He went back to his table and pushed aside the drawing he had been doing to begin anew.

—————

Khnum: Tighten up formations around the Blight Warden’s fleet after the fleet has fully exited the Warp, and hail the Zi Zhi Baoqi.

[Noise of shuffling feet and background chatter]

Captain Silas: Hailing my lord.

Petamn: Least they can’t say they’re not home.

Wodjen: Not now Iyp.

[Near silence as attempts to raise the Zi Zhi Baoqi go ignored]

Khnum: Hail them again, if they ignore us then begin arrest of the-

[The holovid in the middle of the room clicks on with an image of Lu Yueh]

Lu Yueh: Brother, even after how we parted last it is good to hear your voice again.

Khnum: You know why I’m here Lu Yueh. Almire has ordered the extermination of you and your legion. Especially after what you did to Bartosz after Almire shared the events of Istvaan V. Even then, some small part of me still can’t order the open fire upon you.

Lu: Brother, after everything I told you and the events that you know have transpired. Have you not rethought every event leading up to this point? I know you do not see the foolishness of treading in our father’s boot steps, yet. Did the Council of Nikea not give you any doubt in his plans?  Did the purge of Lorgar and Sanguinius show you not what our fate will be? Even after Malcador, the one person who knows the Emperor’s will like no other, nearly killed you when you tried to save our brother? Did it not prove to you just how little the Emperor cares for us? Are you unable to see the seeds of hate he has sown between the legions? Have you not seen this hatred fester and infect us?

[Lu Yueh repeats some words said before here. Though less roundabout.]

Khnum: You sit here and speak of family. You throw Lorgar and Sanguinius’ deaths in my face as though they were meaningless strangers that I was too blind to see the tragedy of their stories end. Yet, here you stand, the hypocrite who is too self righteous to admit all the foul deeds he has already committed. When we met not more than a month or two ago was it me who tried to corner you as though you were a beast in the midst of a hunt? Did I fill you full of toxins designed to weaken a Primarch until they could no longer stand? Did I slaughter the Fourteenth like it was sheer and simple whimsy? Explain how I tried to kill you when I spoke and you disagreed?  You sit there and lecture me about family, about the seeds of hatred our father has sown between us, and you have the arrogance to assume I am naïve enough to not see the wretchedness of your own seeds slowly festering within you to commit violence against the very people you act like you want to protect. Don’t lecture me about who is willing to kill who on a whim when you are so ready to commit fratricide as though it was another simple compliance.

[In the background the hiss of machinery can be heard.]

Lu: The last time we spoke, I told you that a storm was coming. That was a lie. The day Jacinto cut Lorgar’s head from his body the storm began to brew and rumble. When we last spoke the storm was no longer coming, it was already here. All I desired was to protect you from it no matter the cost, but now it is too late for that. I do have one question left for you brother, if you will indulge me.

[A heavy sigh is heard.]

Lu: I will take that as a yes. [Chuckles.] You have never known me to act on a whim. Yet to you I suddenly ask you over and resort to threatening your life. Suddenly I couldn’t let you walk away. Why do you think that is?

Khnum: I have heard enough brother. Surrender.

Lu: Brother, after everything that has been said and done did you really think I would surrender? All I have left to tell you is this brother, survive the storm that rages beyond your sight. No matter how hard the Emperor and our brothers make it.

[A loud clicking noise like machines falling into place overpowers all other sounds in the recording.]

Lu: Goodbye.

[Panicked muttering is heard in the background. The sounds of a lance cracking across the Wisdom’s shields and causes several people to panic. Lu Yueh has severed the connection.]

Imothes: The fools are firing on us!

Anukeps: Father, what are your orders?

Khnum: Return fire.

[There is a momentary silence before in the distance klaxons begin to wail]

Khnum: Remember this as the day the legacy of the Second Legion became naught but ash.

-Vocal Transcription recovered after the battle had finished

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For hours the Blight Wardens and the Watchers of Akhet clashed with each other. Scorned cousins ruthlessly advancing on the Second Legion as inch by inch they carved through their defenses. The Blight Wardens lost what little advantages they had after the larger Watcher fleet entered close range. Broken and destroyed ships littering the space above the unnamed planet they chose to do battle over. Close to half of the fleet the Second Legion had brought with them lay ruined before the overwhelming numbers the First Legion had rallied. Yet still the Zi Zhi Baoqi remained unharmed in the backlines. The traitors fired endless barrages of coordinated lance fire into the melee. Felling many, though unable to beat the might of the truly loyal.

From the Warp appeared the Claws of Xipac soon appeared. The reinforcements that Almire had promised Khnum in the wake of Lu Yueh’s betrayal. With the arrival of another Legion victory was all but assured for the Watchers of Akhet.

—Snippets from an unofficial report from Lieutenant Calwom of the *Sorbek’s Fury*

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Smoke, blood tinged saliva, the ringing of klaxons were all that filled the enhanced senses of Ronten as he slowly returned from momentary unconsciousness. His vision still blurry as the roar of bolts and plasma roared down the hallway. He crawled forward, his helmet split in two by some tremendous force, fell off of his head and onto the floor. He spat, the floor sizzling in reaction to his acidic spit landing on its surface. There was shouting; it sounded far away from him even as it grew nearer as he stood.

A bolter was thrust into his hands. Ronten looked up, a sergeant, decorated with a solid blue helmet, stood before him. His normal sandstone colored armor coated in crimson blood and dents as he wielded a combination bolter and melta gun.

“Ammunition remaining?” the sergeant asked quickly as he turned and fired off two quick shots in succession. “Now.”

“Three bolter magazines on my person now, Sergeant.” Ronten responded as he loaded a fresh magazine into the weapon. His haze was slowly pulling back. Last he remembered, the Watchers were attempting to arrest the Blight Wardens. Then a lucky strike had penetrated their shields and knocked him out cold.

“Good, you can help buy us some time as we repel boarders to prepare for a jump into the Warp. Move!”

Ronten obeyed, he moved down the hallway where in the middle a mixture of Watchers and human soldiers stood firing at the oncoming enemy. Someone had assembled a ramshackle barricade out of parts of the ship and supplies they could find. Smoke heavily obscured the enemy presence and without his helmet it would be harder to track targets moving through the thick cloud. Shots cracked as shadows danced through the clouds before disappearing once again. The smoke becoming still and silent.

“Establish fire lanes, do not let these hamaran engage you in melee range. Keep them at a distance.” The Sergeant ordered as he checked his magazine for ammunition count. “They come again.”

Figures began to move in the smoke that was slowly subsiding little by little. A nervous human soldier shot a las beam into the cloud and was rewarded with a bolt from the enemy, causing him to explode, leaving only the legs where they once stood. From within, howls and roars bellowed. Another explosion boomed as smoke began to creep forward once more until the curling tendrils were mere meters from the barricade. The noise within stopped except for the occasional sound of clinking chains.

Then from that silence hellish pandemonium sprung forth.

“BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!” a voice roared as a cacophony of chain weaponry revved and power weapons ignited. The smoke erupted with light and bolter fire that crashed into their lines. Several soldiers falling to the ground as little more than fleshy paste.

A heavy chainaxe erupted from the smoke and bit into the weaker neck point of the Watcher standing next to Ronten. The teeth roaring as they cut through armor and flesh with a sickening grinding, pulpy noise. He turned, unleashing bolter fire upon the foe. The chainaxe stopped its infernal grinding as their foe finally revealed themselves. It was too late though, the Watcher’s head hung halfway off as his spine had been severed by the weapon.

Ronten voice caught, the armor was familiar. There was no mistaking the red and white armor of the Third Legion. How many people had Lu Yueh and the Second roped into their betrayal?

As the Claw fell to the ground, Ronten felt something nudge against his foot. He looked down to see the helmet of the Sergeant with his head still encased inside pooling blood from the wound. As he moved to face whatever had just cleaved the Sergeant’s head from his shoulders, Ronten felt stabbing pain as he slowly was lifted from the ground.

Ronten looked down, at the end was an Astartes infamous among the Legions. The right hand of Necalli stood before him as metal piercings glinted even under the blood coating his face a bright crimson. The chains in his braid softly tapping against the side of his armor as his teeth clenched in a half smile and half grimace.

“*Tetzahuitl*,” Ronten gasped as blood filled his second and third lungs.

“I expected you bastards to be a lot more fun to fight.” Xoticue said as if he was telling a small child he was disappointed in them. “You were barely a warm up along my path to face your weakling High Steward.”

Ronten felt Xotixue’s claw slip up and slice his vocal chords in half. He was unable to speak anymore as he choked on metal and blood. He was slammed down onto the deck as he felt the claw pull out of him for a moment before slamming into his body once more. Unable to scream as Xoticue and the Claws of Xipac ripped him and the soldiers near him apart limb from limb. The sound of chains clinking against each other was the last thing Ronten heard as he went dark after seeing his heart in Xoticue’s hands.

———

*We have been betrayed. It would be suicide for us to attempt to win an ambush where we are corned on two sides by two Legions. Order the fleet to retreat to the Warp and rally at coordinates 00089-112-16577. There is no honor in a senseless death when we have been so clearly fooled by so many different players. After we rally we hail Terra to inform them of the Second and Third Legions’ treachery.*

——Final Order of Khnum before the Watchers of Akhet’s full retreat

———

In the aftermath of that atrocious battle close to 90,000 Astartes of the First Legion were labeled KIA/MIA. The Claws of Xipac’s sudden ambush accounted for 55% of the Legions casualties while the battle with the Blight Wardens accounting for 30%. The remaining 15% was due to the injuries taken during the retreat.

The Watchers emerged over Kovárna IX where they repaired their ships and took stock of the tremendous casualties their proud Legion had sustained. During this time Astropathic messages flooded in from all over the galaxy seeking help and telling stories of betrayal from half of the Legions.

Khnum ordered the First Legion to move to Terra. He knew the traitors were on the march and growing closer, but it was his father and Shaaa’s only chance if he could arrive with reinforcements. As he began his flight to Terra he sent out message after message to anyone remaining loyal to the Emperor to find him. If he could pull it off, Khnum would arrive with the largest gathering of Imperial forces seen since the Triumph of Ullanor. If he failed, then he could only pray that Shaaa’s fortification could hold Terra until he could make his way there.

—an excerpt from Records of Homecoming written by Rememberancer Teir Riu