Leman Russ, also known as the "Wolf King" and the "Great Wolf" during his lifetime, is the currently missing Primarch of the Space Wolves Chapter of Space Marines. He led the Space Wolves Space Marine Legion during the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy and is famed in Imperial history for his hatred of psychic powers and sorcery, whose use in battle he viewed as dishonourable and unworthy of true warriors. After receiving a disturbing vision in 211.M31, Leman Russ disappeared with the warriors of his bodyguard, his destination and fate unknown.
Russ, along with his brother Primarchs Angron and Vulkan, were considered to be the greatest warriors one-on-one amongst the Primarchs. Known for his fierce and sometimes barbaric personality, Leman Russ considered himself the Emperor of Mankind's most loyal son and executioner. he viewed his role as unquestionably carrying out the punishments requited by the Master of Mankind. Among the forces of Chaos he was known as "the Brawler."
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"Right..." Rey said as though the answer had been obvious. In truth she wondered how exactly she would fare against him. It's not that she was overconfident in her abilities, but she could use the force, and Russ could not; at least, as far as she knew.
"Sure, I'll join," she said with determination as she chose one of the staffs and made a few practice swings and twirls with it. She could've used the lightsaber that clung to her belt, but worried she might actually hurt something or someone. One slice from a Jedi weapon could be fatal.
"I don't plan on making any mistakes," Rey added with a slight grin as she stretched her arms and neck. She then took a defensive stance as she waited for the training bots to be activated. This would be interesting.
Rey said a quick goodbye to Leia before following Russ out of the room and into the halls. As she listened to him speak, she got the sense that he had witnessed many deaths, and perhaps some of them were even his fault. Rey pondered over this information and felt his anger and frustration. Was the Emperor lying to Leia? Was he using her love for Ben as a means to an end?
"It does seem very unfair...and impossible," Rey commented but said little else on the matter. She was too deep in her thoughts to properly converse with him, that was, until they reached the sparring room and the subject abruptly changed. She marvelled at the size, and had never seen anything like it before. It made sense that a warrior race would need such an accomodating sparring room.
Rey followed him over to the weapons and she glanced at them. They seemed impressive, yet now more than over she desired to hold her faithful quarter-staff, which had been destroyed in a previous battle. "Oh...you mean...with you?" Rey asked, surprised at his question as she raised an eyebrow. Surely this would not be a fair fight, even if it was just a training match. "I get the feeling you wouldn't go easy on me," Rey said with a nervous laugh as she walked over to pick up a staff that almost reminded her of her old one.
Even after Russ finished speaking, Leia said nothing for a little while. Her eyes were fixated on Ben's lifeless body, and she seemed to be assessing the situation and how much she was willing to believe in someone that she had technically never met.
"No price is too high..." she repeated after a moment of silence. She seemed to decide something before nodding and looking back at Russ. "I feel the same about the Resistance, the Republic...and my son..." she said before turning her gaze towards him again. "I will put my faith in your Father, Lord Russ...I see no reason not to trust him at this point," she said before finding herself a chair and sitting down, intending to wait there until she was needed.
"Rey, go with Russ....find out what our next steps must be. I will stay here with Ben," she said before lowering her head, almost as though she were intending to go to sleep. Rey said nothing but looked up towards Russ for some kind of instruction on what should happen next.
Leia and Rey gave a soft smile and a light chuckle as Russ made his point with a joke. He claimed to not be good with words, but in truth he seemed a very intelligent and articulate person. Either way, there was never much question in regards to what he was trying to say, at least not to the two women in front of him.
However, their smiles faded as Leia and Rey followed him to where Ben was being kept. While Leia continued to cling onto the words of hope the Emperor had spoke to her, Rey was skeptical and unsure of what would happen. As they walked into the room where Ben was, Leia said nothing but lifted a hand to cover her mouth, as though she were seeing him dead for the very first time.
Hearing Russ's words, Leia cleared her thoat and turned to him, feeling deeply emotional about this situation all over again. "I don't know what kind of person your Father is, or if he's known for keeping the promises he makes...but he told me there was hope for my son, and I believed him," she said strongly. At last Rey finally understood what had happened on Hoth. Somehow, the Emperor was tied to Ben's fate. If he had tricked or deceived Leia in some way, Rey would see to it personally that he answer for such a terrible deed.
Both women looked slightly confused as Russ began to speak. It seemed they were wrong in their thinking, but they knew what he was trying to say and had similar thoughts of their own. It was a disappointing realization, to think that even after everything they had been through, there was still more fighting to be done.
"Yes, Lord Russ....forgive our lapse in judgement," Leia said with a short nod, speaking on behalf of both of them. "You are completely right, now is not the time to be idle," she agreed but found her thoughts turning towards Ben. She had tried very hard to resist asking this question, but considering what they had been talking about, she wanted to see him now more than ever.
"I have a request," she said, changing the subject. "If time and resources allow it, I'd like to see my son."
Rey sat silently, watching to see what Russ would say. She too, was interested in how Ben was doing, but to her, there were more important things to worry about.
Leia didn't seem to mind in the least as she proudly shook his hand while making eye contact with him. "Very well, Lord Russ...we await your instruction. Of course, there's no real haste I suppose. I feel like we have achieved enough balance in order to make the galaxy safe again, at least from the First Order."
Rey nodded in agreement. "With their leader gone and their numbers down, they definitely won't be attacking anytime soon." Both women recognized that it was very possible the First Order would rise again, but hopefully by that time this alliance would be strong enough to match any foe.
When he arrives? Rey thought to herself. The Emperor was going to come here, to the ship? It seemed quite unlikely given her experience, but on the other hand...maybe it wasn't so strange. If Russ said it was going to happen, she believed him.
Rey lowered her head as Russ spoke, feeling the weight of the sadness that surrounded him and his men. "I'm sorry to hear that," she said after a time, mostly dwelling on Lucia and wondering if she would be alright. "I hope the injured recover well, it's not right that you should reap the penalty of our war," she said, showing a hint of wisdom that existed beyond her years.
"It's their war, too, Rey..." Leia said quietly before standing up, ready to make an announcement to all that could hear her. "Lord Russ, I wasn't able to answer your question before, but now I have my answer," she said, standing confident and proud. Rey gazed up at her as she suddenly realized what she was about to say next.
"From this day forth, our Rebellion and your Imperium will join together. I look forward to a brighter future with you by our side, and us by yours..." Leia said, ending her small speech with a gentle smile as she reached out for Russ's hand to shake as a formality. Meanwhile, Rey was quite shocked, but knew that Leia would not have agreed to this without some basis of thought. Perhaps it was the right decision after all.
Since they knew where the main hall was, it didn't take long for Rey and Leia to find themselves there. It seemed there was already a large group of people here, and both women were surprised that they had gathered here so quickly, and seemingly not in a state of mourning, but the complete opposite.
Once they spotted Russ, both Leia and Rey gave a polite smile before walking over to him and sitting down amongst his men. "Thank you, Lord Russ," Leia said as she briefly thought about what to tell him. "Well, all of the fallen storm troopers have been disposed of; we also buried our soldiers and held a short ceremony. I believe we have done all we can," she added with a slight nod, although it was clear that her heart was heavy with much grief.
Rey also shared the same look, and although she wondered about Lucia and Ben, she thought it best to ask Russ how his side was doing first. "How are your people doing?"
[ No worries at all! ]
Leia gave the order and soon all of the available and less injured Resistance fighters came to respectfully gather all of the deceased allies they could find. They would bury them next to the Hoth base, it seemed only right. Both Leia and Rey listened to Russ when he mentioned how they should get rid of the dead storm troopers. "Yes...it's what they deserve," Rey agreed before looking over at the ones who were still alive and had been taken prisoner. "I'm not sure what's going to happen to them," she thought out loud.
"We'll hold them on the ship and worry about it later," Leia said rather casually with a short nod as she began to assist the others in finding bodies. Rey nodded and said farewell to Russ before joining in the collective effort.
It took a great deal of time out in the cold, but eventually the Resistance had found all of their fallen friends, and there was grief everywhere they looked. They also collected the storm troopers and, as per Russ's instructions and their own desire, they tossed the white-armored bodies into a nearby precipice, one so deep that they could not see where their enemies had landed. There wasn't much time for a proper ceremony, but Leia tried her best to give a dignified speech, even as the winds picked up. Rey, Finn, Poe and all of the other Resistance members bowed their heads collectively and said a final goodbye to those who had passed on.
After this, there was nothing left to do but board their shuttles and fly back to the Hrafnkel. There was a sense of joy and victory on the way there, but it was somewhat overshadowed by the great losses they had suffered. Still, Leia would remind her friends and colleagues that there was no victory without sacrifice, no matter how hard it was to take. As the last of the shuttles landed in the hangar bay, Rey stepped out and immediately wondered where Russ and Lucia were. She also wondered where Ben was, and if they had found a way to bring him back.
Leia sensed these thoughts and placed a hand on Rey's shoulder. "Let's go find them..." she said with a slight smile and the two women left the hangar to explore the ship.
"Thank you," Leia said and gave Russ a knowing look before turning her attention to Haegar's body. "I'm truly sorry for your loss...he seemed a good and honourable man," she added, not entirely sure if he could be referred to as a man, but hoping that her meaning came across all the same.
"Yes...he will not be forgotten," Rey added as she reached up to quickly wipe a tear that was escaping her eye. She looked and saw that Ben was being placed on the stretcher. He looked entirely lifeless, and so she was still confused as to why Leia had requested this. But if there was a chance that Ben could still be saved, that brought up many conflicting emotions for her, considering that she was the one that hurt him.
Did he deserve to live? Did he deserve another chance? Perhaps she couldn't answer these questions, perhaps no one could. Both Rey and Leia detected the strong anger inside Russ, but they thought it best not to mention it. "Well...I suppose we should assist in carrying these bodies back to the base," Leia said, gesturing to their deceased allies that were scattered across the snow. "They deserve a true burial," she added, although it seemed to bother her how little emotion was in that sentence. She had been through this so many times that it seemed she was now numb to the emotions that followed.
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