Benefactor Supreme Yuni'Gov relentlessly stomped his way through the subterranean alien structure like a toddler who'd just been denied a sugary treat. He gripped his Magna-suppressor in his overly-tightened, gloved hands. He glared through the heads-up display of his helmet with a boiling ferocity, his temper emulated by the gleaming red glow of his visor lenses. The military officer was in no mood to be held up another second longer than he had to, he hated poor punctuality, and he was hours behind his predetermined schedule. The mission had been so simple to: Allow the ponies to descend into the dead-end cave, leave them down there searching foolishly for a few minutes before sending in the Eliminators to kill two of the Elements' number, the Immortals following close behind to disable or if necessary destroy the princesses and then have the troops follow lastly to secure them for arrest and escort them back to the on-world research facility. It was a cinch of an objective, one they'd walked right into perfectly, and the Federation forces had formed up and into position flawlessly. The only disturbance was the store manager, who's shop the troops had raided prior to entering the basement, tried hitting one of the Benefactors with a vase if some kind, but a magna-round to the knee seemed to set him straight.

However, after the Eliminators had been deployed, the shady squad of assassins had reported the natives were nowhere to be seen. What they had found down in the caves below the store was a large crystal wall that read on the Feds scanners to be made of some form of high-density polymer. So strong was the material that even after a squad of Benefactors had pummeled it with several volleys of firepower, the surface remained unscathed, and a ricochet round had left a single soldier with a wounded leg. For hours the Feds had tried to cut or digitally hack their way through the door, but with no luck of response. The Eliminators, chemically augmented soldiers, mad creatures barely considered Feds at all, had become positively itchy with the need to spill blood, and the other soldiers had started to grow very uncomfortable around the ever-aggressive, unfeeling monsters. The Immortals had managed to keep the assassins in a deadlock exchange of one-ups and threats for long enough for something to happen behind the large crystal wall which had seen in slide apart and open a way into what looked like a gigantic underground structure. The underground city had appeared to be completely alien in nature, and scanners had dated the internal residue as over a thousand years old. Th soldiers had proven a great annoyance in regard to their behavior shortly after entering the structure, many of them gagging and wretching at the smell of the structures inside or complaining about the cold that reached the thinner parts of their battle cloth. All that he'd experienced had led Yuni'Gov to grow to the impatient and fiery state of mind he was currently in.

"What direction are they in?" The Benefactor Supreme hissed through his helmets respirator.

"Take a left, you will have to increase you current travelling speed to reach the trespassers in a tolerable level of time." The alien AI said calmly, the constructs hologram floating besides the officer.

"I'll be the one to decide what is tolerable and what isn't, alien." The Fed growled back.

"You will do well to keep in mind that this is my facility, and it is my function to maintain its stability. If you'd have listened to my briefing on the nature on this station, perhaps you could better appreciate the situation before you. Just what exactly has possessed a creature like you to believe you can simply do as you please in a domain that does not belong to you?" The alien chirped frantically.

The officer stopped, turning to the creature and pressing his carbine into its non-solid face.

"Because I have the gun!" He barked before storming off again, leaving the hologram behind.

"I do believe you are not the only one." The alien intelligence replied to the Benefactor's back.

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Thirty-six. Thirty-seven. Thirty-eight. Thirty-nine. Forty.

Adventios loaded the final bolt round into the straight-cut magazine for his storm bolter, a ferocious automatic firearm he'd named 'Shade-snatcher'. He'd been most grateful Brother Techmarine Unycrios had been able to locate a doorway hidden within the walls of the containment room they'd been held in for Throne-knows how long, the techmarine using his servo-harness mounted plasma cutter, followed by the titanic strength of his servo-arms to breach the doorway and access the small containment room. Within was what the marines of the Hospitalers chapter seventh company had hoped for dearly, their sacred armaments. Boltgun, chainsword, grenade, shotgun and thunder hammer all were locked within the crystal contraptions which required a fair bit of 'physical persuasion' to release their desired equipment. Adventios himself had been happily reunited with Shade-snatcher, his combat blade 'Sworn blood' and his chainsword entitled 'Wind-singer'. All sixty-three space marines that had been found and freed from their alien prisons were returned to their weapons, Terminators to shields and hammers, tactical squads to bolters and meltaguns, and most notably the chapters own Sanguinary Guard, five of which graced the strike force's ranks, had once again found their most holiest of weapons; the Glaive Encarmine relic weapons and their Angelus boltguns also. The wrist mounted boltguns had found to be, upsettingly, removed from the guard in a most unsanctioned manner, yet the Brother Techmarine handed his efforts into refitting the weapons to their hosts. Though it was far from the lengthy and ceremonial rituals expected to be put into practice when initiating the weapons with their masters, Unycrios' efforts were highly praised and seen fit enough for the Sanguinary guard to feel comfortable using the firearms if the need arised.

The brethren ranks of the Hospitalers almost filled the large hall they'd been released into, all of them checking and conditioning their weapons. Everywhere Adventios now looked, brothers of white and red plate paid close attention to their own and each other equipment as charging slides were locked back, ammo feeds cycled, armour power packs vented and power cables locked down. Banter and cheers of reunion were still abound, the Astartes glad to finally be in each others company. At least consciously.

The command squad, Captain Errithius accompanied by Brother Chaplain Tyreth, Honoured Sanguinary Priest Nitheleon and a host of veterans all were gathered next to the strange, small natives the Emperor had no doubt sent to set the space marines free, to once again set forth to do his holy work. Before the natives, some said among the ranks to be the equivalent of planetary royalty, knelt Squad Frivitor, the five space marines presenting their weapons to the small, colourful creatures, most of whom seemed rather taken aback by such sentimental gesture. Adventios allowed himself a moments grin, followed by a short huff before turning back to his weapon.

"What are you so happy about?" Brother Herathor growled grimly from Adventios' left, the marine carefully tending to his heavy bolter in whatever ways he knew how.

"What are you so upset about?" Adventios asked back, a degree of surprise, if not worry in his tone.

"I've been asleep a millenia. Not so much as a scrap before we were snatched from reality. Are we truly so helpless as to be caught by a snotty rabble of degenerate xenos scum so easily? Without fight? Without even realizing it? Now, would you grace me with an answer, sire?" Herathor replied in a tone lit by embers of frustration.

"Huh, very well. I'm happy we were stuck in this blasted place only a millenia, and not ten. Or a hundred. Or an age of eons! We could have been locked in that stone for so long the galaxy would have spun itself into scattered dust, to a time when even blessed Terra itself is nothing but a ash-blown orb of ruins and wastes. And we are not helpless. Surely the reason we are here speaks for that in itself! The xenos who built this place could not save themselves, so they turned to us to find a way to preserve themselves." Adventios responded, though not angered he certainly made sure to add a certain emphasis to his words so his whole squad would hear them.

"So says these people. They claim many things. And we have not seen a shred of evidence to support their words." Brother Revitheon added, the brother kneeling as he inspected a pouch full of trinkets he'd collected in battle over the years, ensuring nothing of worth had been stolen from him.

"Because not one of us has stepped foot outside this hall." The sergeant replied, slightly exasperated.

"I'll confess I've taken quit the liking to these creatures." Brother Denethios perked up, turning himself from observing the natives and those who presented themselves before them.

"Do tell, dearest." Herathor said with a chuckle, calling Denethios by the pet name the heavy weapons wielder had coined for him.

Denethios, his face unhidden by his helmet, eyes of dark bronze, hair cut short and wildly unkept, face born with long, strong features along with a heavy, light brown stubble having been grown out, gave his blood-bonded brother a humored smile before breaking into a calm, slow wandered through the gathered squad.

"I've smelled their fear before. It's not the fear I taste when a thing lies to me, nor that of another thing being graced by my blade across its throat. They reek of an honest fear, one that leaves little room for doubt." The marine said as he walked.

"You have a true gift, brother." Adventios applauded with a warm grin.

"At wasting my time with his words." Herathor grunted, though his voice tinged with a slight humour.

"And what's your gift, Herathor?" Adventios asked.

"Taking action." Herathor finalized as he cycled the bolt of his heavy bolter.

"Brothers! Form up!" Errithius barked from next to the natives to those within the crystalline hall.

"Come." Adventois ordered in a soft tone as he put his battle helmet over his head.

His vision was reduced to small, constrictive slots that made up the eye lenses of his helmet, however not two seconds after the fastening clamps and pressure valves had powered up the pink tinge of the sergeants vision shone with a deep neon glow, a number of translucent runes and symbols flitting through his vision as the helmets auto-sensor array linked with his HUD. A softly lit targeting reticule swept passed his sight as he swept his storm bolter around to fasten it to the magnetic plat to the rear of his hip as the weapons machine spirit meshed with that of his armour, a clear feed to the weapons ammo counter and firing setting shown in the upper right of his HUD. Adventios and his brother made a short, non-uniform march over to the gathering of marines that gradually grew larger by the second. All around a thunderous growl rang through the air as heavy boots punished the floor beneath them, a chorus of titanic bootsteps almost seeming to create a disorientating smog of sound in the air, one that appeared to have an grave effect on the natives, as those that weren't cringing from the assaulting noise had their hands firmly clasped over their flattened ears. All of the marines had their weapons holstered and locked to their belts, a custom the Hospitalers chapter practiced with great vigilance when not in the fires of battle, only the heavy weapon units had their weapons held aloft in their armoured gloves. Adventios and his brethren stopped just behind another squad who had come to a halt about ten feet from the command squad and the group of aliens next to them.

Brother Captain Errithius, Lord Commander of all armed forces of Thestrilas Plateau, entitled twice, first as 'Undoing hand', then again as 'The One of Denying', took a single step forwards to separate himself from his command crew, his shadowy face partially concealed by a fine-crafted hood sweeping across the ranks to address all before him.

"Our current situation is more perplexing than any of us could have ever feared, and its details are yet to be confirmed in any solidity I find acceptable," The captain turned his head slightly, looking to the side towards the natives, who seemed understandably uneasy beneath his gaze, "So from this point in time, unto a time when I deem it acceptable to share with you all the full, finer details of what we are facing, I expect complete verbal and tactical competence, regardless of the obscurity of our situation. Unnecessary opposition to your superior's orders, inappropriate and/or unwelcome verbal exchange and any other form of misconduct that proves counter-productive to our efforts will be met with immediate dismissal of any current promotional conditions in effect along with a disciplinary course upon our return to Imperial space. We are to assess our situation, the command team and I will convene to propose an appropriate response to the situation at hand, then we will initiate such a response with the precision and valiance we have always done. Can I count on you to do well by these conditions?" The Captain said, his husky, almost gravelly tone ringing in the ears of all who heard him.

The surrounding marines gave a chorus of affirmative responses, or at the very least a confirmatory grunt.

"Very good. Now what we do know so far is we all, at some point were imprisoned by whatever xenos inbreds that built this facility, and we have been unconscious for a length of time that...has yet to be entirely determined. These people claim to be of the native population who dwell on the planet we are currently on, and have discovered and freed us after finding this alien installation in a subterranean cave network. They claim to have come into contact with the station's automated computer system, of which has informed them we have been held within this place over a millenia," A small number of, presumably the younger, brother marines made a small rumble of banter kept in a low tone, "Quiet, all of you!...I can only speak for myself in saying I trust the word of these people, at least for the most part, and yes, this does imply our situation to be worse than it could be. But we are not here to wish and wonder what could have been, things just simply are. Now, they also claim to have found our ship, and say that Remergence is not far from this very room. Have weapons in hand, but kept safe, we are headed to our craft to try and find a way inside."

"Captain, are we to expect hostile resistance?" Another, young sergeant called out from beyond were Adventios could clearly observe.

"Possibly. The Princess here has informed me the artificial intelligence became erratic and has possibly malfunctioned after our release became apparent. She has told me that in response the computer opened an entryway that allowed a number of possibly hostile alien military units into the structure as a form of defensive response to our awakening. If encountered, I expect contact to be handled in an appropriate and conductive manner, that means no bolt flies unless you are ordered otherwise. If these units prove aggressive, however, spare no time in determining what lives can be spared. This is a dire situation indeed, brothers, and the approach to combat our chapter has ever prided itself on must be, for a moment at least, put aside. I understand this is a troubling development, and I do not expect you all to be comfortable with the conditions, but you have stood by my side through worse and remained unshaken. Form combat squads, file in for narrow advancement." The captain finished his words with a softness he managed to always achieve, his tone managing to ease the minds of his marines in at least a small way.

The marines reformed and merged to create their predetermined squads of five, some being graced with an extra marine in their ranks as a supportive unit. Adventios and the rest of squad Defedor were such a squad, and not long had passed until a figure wearing a wonderously well crafted set of power armour, robed and bearing the equipment of the haloed order of the Sanguinary priesthood strode up to the sergeant and his squad. Sanguinary priest Feidfor's face was wonderfully healthy, holding slightly more colour than some other of the chapter, his one visible eye was a bright, yellowy gold that almost seemed luminous and his features were wide and welcoming to the eye, His right eye was a bionic augment, however one that was not carved into the socket of his skull, but a simple heads up display goggle which sat locked to a locking groove neatly implanted into the side of the priests skull. Like the eye lenses and energy weapons of the rest of the chapter, his bionic eye was aglow with a bright pink fire that came from within the lens. Feidfor wandered up casually before almost lazily patting a hand over Adventios' farthest pauldron with a wide grin on his face.

"Brother Feidfor, it'll be good to be under you care once again." Adventios said beaming, returning his brothers one-armed hug with his own.

"I am to keep especial eye on Herathor as usual, I assume?" The Sanguniary priest's voice was unnaturally soft, if a little quiet, almost like there was little life left in him.

"Only if I run out of ammunition." Herathor growled back as the squad began the march forward towards the exit of the containment hall.

"Yes, brother, especial care." The sergeant replied with a chuckle.

The sergeant and his squad began to slow, however, as they reached the exit. Before them waited the command squad, letting all before them passed. Adventios could clearly see, even without his augmented eyesight, that the captain's eyes were locked on him and his squad as they approached, leading the sergeant to mod his head to the side to signal his squad to divert to meet the captain.

"Lord Captain?" The sergeant said as he saluted his commander with a clenched fist brought to the center of his breast plate.

"Sergeant, I have a request to ask of you." Errithius said in his usual gravely tone.

"Request, sire?"

"No, not an order, just a request. The princesses here and their cohort are in need of escort through this facility, I feel your squad would be best fitted for the task."

"Of course, my lord. Any particular conditions I should be aware of?" Adventios inquired.

"None I can foresee, however whatever resistance we may meet down here might well identify them as priority targets. Be ready to take up a firm defensive position should we meet anything of significant danger."

"Understood." The sergeant said, looking to the group of small creatures that stood just behind the captain.

"I am also dedicating Brother Unycrios to your squad. His expertise may be of great importance in time, and he will need to be kept near to the native beings." Added Errithius.

"Captain?"

"It's not important. Not yet. Stand by for situational development." The captain finalized before moving aside.

"Yes, sir." Adventios replied quietly as the aliens cautiously approached.

There were nine in total, ranging greatly in height and overall body type. Adventios gave them a quick study through the scowl of his helmets mask, noting important information that could change his tactical perspective.

Moving quickly could be difficult. They look too scared to reliably take cover in efficient time. We'll have to remain behind the column, sticking close to the wall. Thought Adventios as he observed some of the more disproportionate members of the group before him, their bodies clearly not built for speed.

A single member of the group, one of the slightly taller aliens with a vibrant, almost floral purple colourization to her coat, hair and tail stepped forward, apparently gathering her composure enough to walk up to Adventios and extend a small, dainty hand forward as a greeting.

"Princess Twilight Sparkle." The alien said in a soft, yet solid voice thick with education.

Strange name Thought Adventios.

"Honoured Brother Sergeant Errelio Adventios, squad Defedor. We will be your escort." The marine replied simply.

"Good to know we'll be in good hands, thank you for helping us." The princess replied with a warm, if a little forced smile.

Another individual approached from the sergeants side, a wide, imposing frame that seemed even more alien than the creatures in front of him. The techmarine was adorned with thick, segmented plates that composed his expertly crafted power armour, his plate painted a deep, dangerous red besides his chapter colours he held on his left pauldron. His belt was a garden from which a vast number of mechanical tendrils poured from, most hanging about his armoured legs lifeless, say for a few that occasionally swiped of flicked in the air out of some strange instinct born into the machinery. Upon his power pack was an enormous harness bearing six mechanical arms which hummed with unnatural life as they occasionally swiveled or snapped like the claws of a sea crustacean hungry for food, two of the upper set larger than their smaller, pincer-like brothers ending in mechanical claws, the lower pair being a wielding assembly and a thermal torch. The marine marched up to the squad with a terribly strange preciseness that would make any who didn't know better think the Astarte was a synthetic being. This was, at least not entirely, true of course.

"Sergeant." Unycrios' voice was composed of purely mechanical clicks, grumbles and growls with an ever present sound of slight static disturbance.

"Brother Unycrios, glad to hear you are joining us." Adventios said, though being honest, did well to hide his slight discomfort he felt in his machine-loving brother.

"Inconclusive. You cannot be truly emotionally stimulated by my occupation within your battle gathering due to your inability to understand the purpose of my occupation. Perhaps you should wait until significant situation development has occurred before committing to any verbal conviction on my presence." His tone was utterly methodical, sentences so precise you'd think they were straight from a field manual. However, for as much as the techmarine's voice and tone was utterly mechanical, it was not entirely devoid of emotion.

"Noted. Princess, gather your companions, we should get moving." Adventios said before starting his march out the hallway that lead outside.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

The breach had obviously been made by a melta charge, and whoever activated it had apparently been under heavy fire while trying to escape. The strike force of marines carefully made their way out through the large hole in the wall were the path through the crystal vase chamber came to an end. The crystal had been partly molten down into a soupy substance a fraction of a second before being blasted open into a shower of white-hot slag and crystalline shards, leading out into a massive hall that rivaled the size of an Astarte chapters mausoleum. Outside the breach, Adventios could see multiple signs of weapons discharge, both bolt and alien in nature, along with blood stains that were so old there could have been anything to the untrained eye. Yet Adventios could plainly see the way the fluid had dried, its consistency and colour, and knew for certain a space marine had been wounded, and most likely killed at this very spot.

"Captain?" A marine from further ahead asked, his single word heavy with implication.

"Brother Pilot Vitron is the only member of our number absent. Keep moving, we shall mourn him when we have time enough to do so." Errithius growled back, his voice ever so slightly shaken.

Adventios turned his thoughts for a moment to prayer, hoping his brother had found his way to the Emperors domain in the life beyond death, even in this far-flung, forsaken place. The sergeant held a a hand out for a moment as he advanced, leaving his squad and escortees behind as he checked the area ahead of them. Turning to peer around the corner, his HUD's auto-senses highlighting wall corners and surface areas of interest as his vision swept around to view the gigantic room before him. Remergence sat beyond the wide walkways before him, silently held aloft by alien machinery, having long awaited the return of her crew. To Adventios' left stood and knelt his brethren, white, red and gold armoured Astartes formed up in a manner that would have been nightmarishly awkward to have assaulted from the front, firing line crossing and overlapping to provide the frontline with a solid, sustainable defensive position. Adventios turned the corner, storm bolter held close to his breast plate as he quickly walked forward to a conveniently waist-high structure than spanned out from the wall to his left. As he turned the corner his waved his hand forward slightly to have all behind him follow, the rumble and thunder of power armoured boots coming from his rear.

"Defedor squad moving to the rear." Adventios announced over his comm-link.

"Roger. Remergence appears to not have sustained damage, at least." Another sergeant chimed back through Adventios' earpiece.

"Inconclusive. I will need to initiate a full internal assessment before determining the status of our vessel. Assessment pending." Unycrios chattered through the radio.

"I cannot see a way into the ship without airbourne assistance. Typhis squad is the only unit capable of reaching across this chasm." One of the command veterans added through a thick, low tone.

"I cannot promise our expertise will meet the requirements needed for such a task, Captain." Verilios, Sanguinary guard sergeant of Typhis squad replied, his voice a waterfall of serenity.

"We will need to activate this facility's systems, extend a path over somehow. Brother Techmarine, can you harness these alien mechanisms?" The captain asked.

"Inconclusive. Most promising option for us would for me to locate and access this stations server core. This could prove difficult to locate." Unycrios replied.

Squad Defedor reached the rear of the assembly of marines, the Astartes and their companions weaving through a small selection of raised pieces of terrain that lie scattered about near the observation wall of the room. The group came to a rest about ten feet behind another squad of marines, Adventios and his brother taking firm defensive positions as Feidfor gently pressed a hand against the stomach of the nearest native, the one known as Celestia to push her lightly further into the wall to their left, the others following behind following by example.

"Doorway isn't going to budge without persuasion. We'll need a melta charge." A marine said over the radio, presumably being nearer the doorway at the end of the path ahead.

Adventios could just about see a marine near the one knelt before the closed door unlock a chunky, cylindrical item with a carrying handle from his belt, hurrying over to his comrade to hand over the device before hurrying back again.

"Charge is in place. Charge has been armed, returning to safe distance for detonation." The Astartes announced before turning to join his brothers.

Just as his heavy footfalls ceased upon him stopping to kneel besides his squadmates a loud, mechanical squeal could be heard coming from the doorway. The sudden, insulting noise caused Adventios to flinch slightly in a manner of disgust at the seemingly unnecessarily awful noise, less than a second later, however, the sergeant had his storm bolter's iron sights firmly lined up down the middle of his vision. His brothers did the same, target painters and crosshairs being lined up to hover over the door than now slid apart into multiple segments that drifted and darted into the wall that surrounded them, opening up the way ahead to leave the marines unobstructed.

Besides the dozens of alien footsoldiers that stood before them.

All marines had weapons raised and pointed at the aliens before them, reticules plastered over heads and torsos with unnatural degrees of steadiness. Adventios himself had his target painter locked solid over the torso of one of the larger aliens as his HUD revealed, with small icons, which targets his squadmates had chosen. A moments careful observation revealed the aliens to be, mostly, very much mortal sized, being perhaps a couple of inches taller than the average civilian, but far more slender in build, looking almost frail. Most were wearing a battle armour that resembled a more clean-cut, angular variant of what the troopers of the Imperial Army wore, painted white with blue patterning, powered lighting emanating from portions of the armour bearing an angry red colouration. A handful wore lighter variants of this armour pattern, painted entirely black and wreathed in portions of clothing that included a dark hood, said individuals looking the most skittish and high-strung as well as being slightly hunched in posture. Another small selection stood just over seven feet tall, wearing a light variant of some form of powered armour that held vastly less area coverage than that worn by the space marines, yet Adventios had a feeling some form of energy shielding may be incorporated into the armour's systems. The alien's stood there, many with their bulky, black weapons raised, some without, but one in particular catching the sergeant's eye. One, who did not stand the closest to the marines by far, but who stood in the middle of the alien formation, arms crossed and with no other soldiers obscuring the line of sight before him, Adventios saw it safe to assume this was the alien commander.

"Did you really think you could escape the Federation, Celestia? Nice to see the ever-benevolent tyrant hiding so nobly behind these...things." The commander said in a slightly high-pitched, croaky alien voice. The fact he was hearing another, entirely different alien species speak low gothic caused a full second of complete confusion within Adventios' mind before the marine refocused his conscious on the target ahead.

The princess who the officer mentioned slowly stepped away from the group, wandering nervously, but steadily forwards to see the commander for herself. Feidfor reached an armoured hand out to catch Celestia's arm, but slowly, gently released the graceful alien as she looked up at him with a look of both pleading and reassurance. Celestia turned slowly and continued on, walking forward to a point where both alien looked at one another from afar.

"What did you hope to find down here? There's no way you can hope to defy the path of reason and progress, not against us. Turn yourselves over and you will be spared for detainment. Resist and we'll destroy you." The alien said, as though the space marines before him didn't even exist.

"It looks like I found exactly what this planet needs, a way to rid ourselves with something none of us even asked for, a way to return Equestria to the way it used to be, the way it was always meant to be." Celestia responded with an admirable degree of strength in her voice that carried remarkably well across the significant space between the two beings.

"You mean being a regressive world who's culture is based on the illusion that magic and fairytales are real? Don't make me laugh. Your kind are truly pathetic, I hope you know that, not to mention easily predictable." The alien boasted.

"I do not believe we have been introduced!" Errithius' thunderous voice caused the alien commander to jump noticeably before slowly turning to address the captain, arms still crossed.

"I am Benefactor Supreme Yuni'Gov, and I am the commanding officer of all Federation military stationed on this planet. I advise you get back to your ship and return to wherever you came from, as you have no legitimate business in these affairs."

"You're standing between me and my way out, so I'm making this my business. Stand aside, leave us to our business and no harm shall come to your company." The captain replied, though his voice was still difficult to consider in any way comforting he was certainly doing his best to sound reasonable.

"No problem, just hand over those criminals you are harbouring." The alien spat back.

"I need these people to find the control center in order to release my ship from it's cell. After I have freed my ship, we may re-discuss the terms of their release into your custody." Replied Errithius.

"Liar."

The brash, insulting statement made Adventios' own blood boil, causing the marine to make a special note to carve this creatures name into a bolt shell he intended to use on the arrogant alien with great satisfaction. Adventios knew at this point that salvaging this exchange was almost impossible, seeing the sergeant slide his trigger finger from the side of his weapon to around the trigger. The captain's face must have been etched deeply with anger as he took a couple of slow, steady steps forward.

"Excuse me?" Errithius said slowly.

"I know you have no intention to hand those terrorists over, you'll free you ship and simply leave with them. Bad decision to be honest. If you don't hand them over this instant we will kill you all and take arrest them anyway."

Adventios was utterly perplexed. Surely no creature living could be so delusional and arrogant to see any hope of victory in the situation like that which lie before this commander creature. Unless these aliens appeared a dozen times less capable than they actually were, then the marines easily outmatched and outgunned them a dozen times over. However, if this creature was in fact not the incompetent moron it sounded like, then perhaps the marines should be more worried than they actually were.

"You'll just...kill us? That's an entertaining notion." Errithius said, his stance squaring out.

"Well it is for us. Do you even see the armour you're wearing? First, it looks like something from a pre-digi age story, and second it's made of three bright colours. I mean, do you want to get shot or something?" The alien cackled, a number of the others joining its tire-screech for a laugh.

"That's the idea." Errithius growled, expression tight.

"Hah! Well I wouldn't want to disappoint you all. But first-" The alien hissed as he raised his stubby, blocky firearm towards Celestia, lining up its sights with her shock-stricken face and fired.

The weapon fired with the sound of a red-hot ball bearing being dropped onto an ice block, a sizzling, squealing sound cutting through the air as a red flash blasted from the weapons barrel. Behind what Adventios assumed was some form of projectile was left a red trails of chemical-based mist that hung in the air for a moment before dissipating. The projectile sizzled through the air at supersonic speeds towards the princess, and doubtlessly would have cut clean through her cranium had not the captain already have been on the move. The round came to a sudden, climactic halt as it struct an invisible barrier that seemed to surround the space marine commander, his iron halo icon mounted upon the back of his power pack glowing almost white hot with a strange energy, a rippling energy field of pink and violet shimmering outward from were the round had struck. The captain, sunk in the power of his momentum, turned his kinetic conviction on his heel, spinning inward and then around to bring up his right arm in line with the alien who'd fired his weapon. In his hand, held in his iron grip, was his master crafted boltgun. To parallel the screeching sizzle of the alien weapon, the captain's barked with a thunderclap roar, like the bellow of a mythical beast from nightmare and shadow. The bolt round soared through the air, almost as fast as the shot fired by the alien, the round's propellant lighting the round up like a fiery thunderbolt as it sped forward towards the alien officer. However the bolt was intercepted by one of the power armoured troopers, the round detonating with a crack as it struck the soldiers own energy shield, the shielding shimmering an angry red as it rippled from the kinetic barrage.

Not a moment later bolters and alien weapons rang out in a fierce exchange of fire, thunderclaps drowning out chemical squeals as projectiles stitched their way through both ranks. Adventios was among those committed to the exchange, forgoing any desire to burden his bolts with prayer, instead choosing to simply charge them with hate. The sergeants jaw clenched, sharp teeth grinding against one another as he squeezed his bolters trigger, the weapon kicking against his armour's stabilizers along with his own strength, making the shots come steady and straight. The alternating firing chambers of the storm bolter mechanically doubled it's rate of fire when compared to its single barreled brother. The weapon gave a ferocious burp of fire as it spat a flurry of bolt round across the hall and into the alien ranks. The aliens had taken a poor tactical approach, choosing to present themselves in full before the space marines as a show of force, convinced they'd somehow prevail, in what manner remained a mystery to the sergeant. The rounds fired cut into three of the alien, sinking deep into their bodies, cutting clean through their armour, before their forms burst apart from within, red alien gore spattering into the air as their broken, pulped bodies fell. Two fell to the floor in a mangled, shattered state, organs burst from bodies, bones split and shattered among the piles of red and pink they'd been turned into. One however was struck halfway up the bicep, the thin limb popping apart, the twisted limb spinning in the air a moment before landing wetly on the crystalline floor. Though the space marines firepower was fierce, their motivation was but slight, for no daemon menace, nor ravenous hoard of unthinking xenos stood before them, but instead misguided alien usurpers. They all had parents, some had families, perhaps even children, and each successful hit from a bolt round was one more family broken, one more child who must try and shake themselves to sleep without the comfort of their mother or fathers presence. Each kill was in the Emperors name, for the idea that all thinking, feeling people in the galaxy could live free from darkness and doubt, but each kill rang hollow in the sergeant's mind. But such sentiment did not belong, not at this time

About a dozen aliens fell before they'd finally managed to take solid cover, scrambling and scattering desperately before the savage brutality of the Astarte guns. Adventios noted how the hunched, twitchy soldiers and the taller, power armour wearers both had some form of energy shielding that had failed to give into the marines firepower so far, red energy flaring around them with each round hit.

"Now, you alien dumbass! Do it now!" Yuni-Gov barked, apparently to no one in particular.

The ground beneath the marines shuddered, throwing Adventios off his next target and bringing his sight down towards his feet. His HUD read clearly off the the side in the segment dedicated for priority information: Surface Instability - Brace. The shudder calmed down to a slow grind, then to a steady sense of movement as the floor beneath the marine slid off to the side and inwards towards the wall. Adventios looked up to see his fellow marines also having been shaken slightly, some off their footing, and the walkway beneath them being pulled apart into irregular, yet predetermined segments, all of which were being moved away from one another and into the observation wall. The massive surface, stared at by Remergence for over a thousand years broke apart into various pieces, sliding apart to reveal several dark holes waiting to consume the marines being brought ever closer to them.

"Sergeant!" Brother Herathor called from behind Adventios.

Adventios snapped his head around to see his platform split in two, swiftly drifting apart, soon becoming too far for a safe jump to be made from one to the other. On the other platform knelt Brother Herathor, heavy bolter braced on the floor, alongside the small, light yellow native with pink hair who remained curled up, eyes clenched on the floor. The platform beyond also formed another segment, this one with Unycrios stood, seemingly in a stupor in the middle of the platform with the bright pink native darting to each edge of the platform in an attempt to find a way off.

"This ride is awful!" The small pink creature squealed with fists clenched.

"Brother! I will find you!" Herathor called out as his platform was enveloped into the darkness it swam into.

"Sergeant! Server room is the singular priority! I will attempt to locate its interface so we can free Remergence! Keep hostile forces engaged for as long as you can!" Unycrios called out through static feedback.

"Are we going on an adventure?" The pink native asked in a chipper tone.

"Affirmative." The techmarine replied simply.

"Yay!" She cheered in return as they both flew into the darkness.

"Pinkie! Fluttershy!" The light blue, winged native had taken flight and dashed overhead, speeding towards her friends before a crystal slab the size of a thunderhawk gunship slammed down in front of her, blocking her way forward.

"Dash! Dash, git back here!" The larger, orange alien yelled as the platform the rest of Defedor squad and the locals were stood on slid backwards, deeper into the dark mouth that awaited them.

The winged alien growled in frustration before taking a sharp turn around and darting back to the others. She returned just in time as another giant crystal wall slid down, tearing away Adventios' sight of his brothers. As the alien natives huddled together, whispering promises of safety and reassurance, the last thing Adventios heard was the chorus of calls from his fellow Astartes, all trying to contact those they'd been taken from, trying to reach out to those stolen away from sight or sound. Adventios scowled at the gathering dark around him, a booming sound of stone hitting stone ringing out as all light vanished, silence crept in, and hope of seeing his brothers again fluttered dimmer in the cold winds of despair.