Ferrus Manus: The Strongest of Them All? – Part 8

Title: Battle of Brothers: Ferrus Manus, Fulgrim, and the Fate of the Diasporex

In the twilight of the Great Crusade, a historic event unfolded in the depths of space, shaping the future of the Imperium forever. The 10th Legion, the mighty Iron Hands, led by the indomitable Ferrus Manus, made contact with a civilization known as the Diasporex. This multicultural confederation was a beacon of peace in an otherwise war-torn galaxy, where humans and xenos lived side by side in harmony.

The Iron Hands, champions of the Imperial Truth, attempted to persuade the human faction of the Diasporex to break their bonds with the xenos races. The proposition was rejected, leaving Ferrus Manus no choice but to initiate war. As much as the Iron Hands despised the traitors to humanity, they couldn’t help but acknowledge their enemy’s masterful battle tactics. For five long months, the Diasporex fleet skillfully avoided any encounter with the 10th Legion, earning grudging admiration from even the sternest of the Iron Hands’ captains.

Ferrus Manus knew that the destruction of the Diasporex would be a tragedy. Yet the high-caliber space combat skills demonstrated by the enemy compelled him to call for reinforcements. Enter the Emperor’s Children, led by the proud Fulgrim, who joined forces with the Iron Hands to attack the Diasporex fleet, cornering them in their own space sector.

The reason behind the Diasporex’s refusal to flee soon became clear: hidden solar energy generators, their main fuel source, kept them tethered. In the ensuing large-scale battle, Ferrus Manus valiantly safeguarded his brother’s flagship with his own vessel, the Iron Fist. Fulgrim, already tainted by corruption, rejected Ferrus Manus’s selfless act, mistaking it for prideful boasting and an insult.

The final battle saw the Imperium forces drawing the Diasporex into open combat near the star Coralis. The enemy fleet was destroyed, xenos survivors executed, and their human allies enslaved and sent to the nearest Imperium world. A bittersweet victory, tinted with the onset of the Horus Heresy.

In the aftermath, Fulgrim made a promise to sway Ferrus Manus to the traitor’s side. Aboard the Iron Hands flagship, the Phoenician and the Gorgon engaged in a tense conversation that culminated in a confrontation. Fulgrim, declaring the emperor a liar, shattered their bond of brotherhood. This drove Ferrus Manus to despair, pulling him into a duel with his former friend.

In the heart of their duel, Ferrus Manus managed to split and detonate Fulgrim’s Fireblade. The resulting explosion threw the primarchs apart. Fulgrim was the first to recover, seizing a warhammer and raising it over Ferrus Manus’s unconscious body. Yet, at the last moment, he hesitated. Fulgrim confessed his willingness to follow Ferrus into death, but couldn’t comprehend why the Gorgon wouldn’t reciprocate. Ferrus Manus retorted that he no longer considered Fulgrim his brother.

In the end, Fulgrim struck, but not to kill. Despite Ferrus Manus’s harsh words, Fulgrim couldn’t suppress the memory of their shared past, a testament to the complex bonds and brutal battles that define the Warhammer 40,000 universe.

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