“Very well, Commander, the Orbital Ring it shall be. May the Emperor guide you. Admiral Red out.”
It didn’t take long for Red to assemble an escort of guards, namely the Final Line superheavy infantry along with some regular personnel. Might as well make a suitable impression.
Using the Blink array to save time, Red and his escorts arrived near the dock where Vespus’ ship would arrive.
This being an Imperial vessel, the dock in question was on the outer docking zones, which easily accepted large vessels.
After some time, as Vespus emerged with his Battle-Brothers out onto the dock, Red saluted crisply, as did his escort. It may have made for a strange sight, given that the Final Line troops were clad in large black battlesuits.
“Welcome to Eden, Commander.” Red said respectfully.
Vespus’ escort comprised of his Techmarine, his Librarian, and a squad of Tactical Marines. “Greetings, Admiral Red,” Vespus declared to his new companion. “Good to see you did not come without an escort.
“I am aware of the Xenos that exist within the GDI, and I wish to tell you that it should be no trouble for us. Despite what many people think, the Imperium does not hate all Xenos mindlessly. In fact, we have Xenos in our ranks. It is simply that the vast majority of Xenos we meet either wish to kill us or destroy our culture, or manipulate events so that many humans die to save a small handful of Xeno lives, so our hostility towards the Xeno is borne out of necessity.
“So long as the Xenos here on Eden do not attempt to do any of these things, I can assure you, no harm will come to the Xenos who live on this world. We are not so violent that we would attempt to destroy any attempts at peaceful negotiations, after all, at least when the Xeno is willing to respect our lives.”
“An understandable outlook, Commander,” Red nodded, “and one I had surmised myself to be the case. We appreciate your understanding, and you will find that the Xenos in Initiative society are indeed peaceful.”
Red let his salute drop, his escorts following suit.
“In any case, if you wish to learn more about the Initiative we will be more than happy to enlighten you and your Brothers along the way.”
As the two groups entered the current sector of the Ring, Red inclined his head towards Vespus.
“If I may enquire, Commander Linneaus, which Chapter do you and your men represent? I apologise for my less-than-stellar knowledge of the Astartes Chapters. Also, I would like to inform you in advance that we heavily integrate what the Imperium would call Abominable Intelligences into many aspects of our civilisation.”
“Fear not, however, as they are universally structured to respect sophont life. Their purpose is to aid and live alongside us, never to harm.”
Initiative Archival Network 