Warhammer 40: Doom

Chapter 213 The Strange Brothers

The tall figure remained silent, yet his dark eyes seemed to hold a thousand unspoken words. He stared intently at the subspace, his thoughts drifting elsewhere.

"Sir, should we inform our allies of our arrival?" The legion commander hesitated, not daring to presume to know what the Father of Genes was thinking.

“No need, they already know.” The tall figure finally spoke, his tone slow and heavy.

Just as the giant had said, Doom and Ruth learned of the fleet's arrival.

"My lords, a fleet is approaching from the warp." Franshka's gentle voice rang out from the ethereal space. This navigator rarely left her hibernation pod, constantly monitoring the movements of the warp.

Upon hearing her report, Doom paused in his hand holding the wine glass, without clinking glasses with Ruth.

The latter frowned, his golden eyebrows furrowing as he pondered who would come here at this moment.

The representatives sitting at the same table as the Primarch immediately fell silent, stopped what they were doing, and waited for the Primarch to make his move.

Doom raised his hand and waved, and Ruth nodded to indicate that they should not be nervous and that the banquet should continue.

Neither of them suspected that it was the enemy. Ran Dan could not have made a comeback so quickly; the fleet that came could only be friendly.

“It’s an Imperial ship.” Sophia’s projection slowly approached, holding up an image of the warship: “The mark of the Second Legion.”

"The Second Legion?" Russ relaxed his brow and raised a slight smirk, pouring a drink into his mouth as he spoke. "A rare guest indeed."

"What?" Doom continued drinking, sensing an unusual calmness in his brother's tone.

He asked Ruth, "Do you know anything about him?"

“I don’t know much about him.” Ruth shook his head and shrugged helplessly. “I’ve never met him, but I’ve heard a lot of rumors about him.”

Horus fought alongside him and spoke highly of him, saying that our brother, whom we had never met, was a "warrior."

"Isn't this a good evaluation?" Doom was slightly puzzled as to why Russ was so cold to his brothers from the Second Legion.

“His behavior is a bit strange.” Ruth put down her glass and refilled it as she spoke. “I always feel like he doesn’t fit in with us.”

“After he came back, he rarely communicated with others and was indifferent to everything around him.”

"Hmph." Ruth snorted coldly, looking at Doom with indignation, and said, "Once when I went back to Terra on business, he was also in Terra at the time. I sent him a visit invitation, but he refused to see me."

"Such a thing is true?" Doom frowned. That brother had indeed gone too far.

Refusing a visit from a blood relative without considering the consequences would indeed be somewhat heartless.

He believed that Ruth's invitation was not problematic; the brother's rudeness was superficial, but his heart was passionate and sensitive, far surpassing those seemingly elegant nobles.

Ruth pointed to his nose and scoffed, offering a reason with displeasure: "Maybe he's afraid I'll smell his weird odor."

Doom chuckled at his words, then shook his head helplessly. It seemed Ruth had quite a problem with that brother.

“He’s a very strange man.” Ruth didn’t seem to care and continued to describe the various anomalies: “Before and after his return, the Second Legion’s military system and style remained unchanged.”

"The paint scheme hasn't been changed, the legion insignia is gone, and they haven't even given their offspring a proper name."

"As if everything were irrelevant to him, he isolated himself from the empire."

Doom's expression grew increasingly grave as he listened, and he put down his wine glass on the table, realizing the seriousness of the situation.

The actions of this brother, whom I have never met, are truly perplexing.

There might be a reason not to change the paint scheme, perhaps because they find it too troublesome, or perhaps the legion insignia could also be an explanation, as there isn't a suitable one at the moment.

The name of the legion struck Doom as incredible.

The Primarch is the father of the Legion, and the Legion is his own child; therefore, the Legion needs to be given a proper name.

Just like an ordinary father naming his child.

Not only is it a matter of responsibility to the Legion, but the Legion name is also one of the Legion's important honors, a symbol that enhances the cohesion and sense of belonging of the Space Marines.

It is too strange and incomprehensible for a father not to name his offspring.

Seeing his brother deep in thought, Ruth shoved a mouthful of meat into his mouth, his eyes filled with intense disdain: "He probably doesn't really respect the Empire, trying to portray himself as an innocent man who doesn't want to get involved in our dirty business."

"How did the Emperor find him?" Doom asked Russ softly, as all indications suggested that the brother's origins were the root of the problem.

“A ship,” Ruth replied immediately, clearly having done his research and harboring his own suspicions.

"a ship?"

“Yes, a ship.” Ruth nodded emphatically, a hint of hesitation in his voice. “Then Father killed all the crew and took him back to the Empire.” Doom leaned closer to Ruth and asked in a voice only the two of them could hear, “An alien?”

Although he spoke with a question in mind, he was already certain in his heart.

Aside from the aliens, there was no other reason that could have enraged the Emperor and led to the killing of all the crew members.

Even with artificial intelligence, the emperor would scrutinize it, then hand the hot potato to Nur, and leisurely extract some benefits.

“Yes.” Ruth leaned closer to Doom, the two Primarchs whispering to each other: “He was with the Xenomorphs back then, wandering aimlessly through the universe.”

"Aimless?" Ruth scoffed again, asking Doom, "Do you believe that?"

Doom slowly shook his head. He naturally did not believe that a Primarch would not wander aimlessly.

Most likely, he was exploring the universe with the Xenomorph when he was unexpectedly encountered by the Emperor, thus interrupting the original plan.

Perhaps to protect the alien, the brothers chose to remain silent.

“I can’t understand it,” Ruth continued in a low voice. “Why would he choose to associate with the Xenomorphs and distance himself from us, who are connected by blood?”

"Even though we grew up in different environments, the hatred for aliens is ingrained in our genes by our father. Why would he give up his dignity?"

Doom remained silent, only shaking his head repeatedly.

Without having met him in person, he cannot presume to know a brother, even if the first impression comes from another close brother.

"Keep your mouth shut later, don't reveal too much information about the Legion." Doom thoughtfully reminded Russ, "I have a feeling things aren't that simple."

“You know I’m a barbarian.” Ruth smiled knowingly and asked softly, “What have you noticed?”

“No.” Doom denied Ruth’s question and said slowly to him, “Our brother is shrouded in an unfathomable shadow, and it’s best to keep your distance until we understand him.”

Ruth listened without saying much, but nodded in deep agreement.

“Sophia.” Doom pondered for a few seconds before finally summoning the person he trusted most: “Bring Urian to me.”

He gave Ruth a wink, signaling his brother to cover for him.

Ruth understood immediately, picked up his glass and stood up, drawing everyone's attention to him.

"Let us toast to victory!" he shouted, downing his drink with a triumphant air.

The Space Marines raised their glasses and all stood up to toast the Primarch.

The Primarch's sudden action left the Space Marines bewildered; they simply assumed the Wolf King was in high spirits.

As for why the other Primarch disappeared, that was not within their scope of consideration.

Doom moved swiftly, disappearing the instant Ruth stood up, so fast that the Space Marines couldn't react in time.

In a secret room, Doom quickly issued instructions: "Prepare a path to the garden without revealing our important information."

"Secretly inform your own people to be careful and not to reveal too much in conversation."

Sophia nodded silently, noting down all of her master's instructions, and the data center began issuing commands.

Amidst the clinking of glasses at the banquet, the Destroyer, having received a telepathic communication, sent a coded message to the Night Guard, secretly transmitting instructions.

They remained calm and collected, only mentioning a few secret codes in conversations with their compatriots and colleagues.

The Grand Master quietly left his seat and went to the secret room to meet the Primarch. He did not know the meaning of the sudden summons.

Doom looked at Urian, who had not yet stepped down, and asked with a serious expression, "Grand Master, do you trust me?"

Urian's knees buckled under the weight of the heavy topic, and he immediately knelt on one knee: "I trust you completely."

Doom crouched down and helped Urian up, indicating that the Grand Master did not need to be nervous: "If you trust me, try to avoid revealing specific information about your legion in front of the Second Legion Primarch."

Urian was filled with confusion and was about to ask a question when he was interrupted by the Primarch.

"There's no reason why, it's just simple trust." Doom didn't explain, but looked down at the Grand Master: "How you interpret it is up to you to figure out, I won't force you."

Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, Urian nodded, realizing that the First Legion seemed to be caught in a vortex.

Doom nodded without saying anything more, turned and left the secret room, returning to everyone's sight.

(End of this chapter)