Editing Hektor Cincinnatus (section)

==The Unification Wars==
[[File:Space Marines by The First Magelord.jpg|250px|thumb|The Space Marines]]
''It is the Emperor's will that you, my gene-sons and the gene-sons of my lost brothers, shall form a Sacred Band under my command.  We begin our journey as a family, born from the waters of an artificial womb.  But the blood we shed together will make us a brotherhood!''

- Hektor Cincinnatus

{{See also|Unification Wars (Hektor Heresy)}}

The end of Hektor's childhood education meant his introduction into the ranks of the Emperor's warriors.  For a time, he served among the Imperial bodyguard and distinguished himself at his Father's side.  But the Emperor had greater plans for Hektor and his genetic legacy, and soon gave the Primarch command over the neophyte Space Marines.  Unlike the Legions that would follow, this [[Sacred Band]] of superhuman warriors was a mix of all twenty gene-lines.  As the training of the Sacred Band proceeded, the Emperor noticed that Hektor's own gene-sons prospered under the Primarch's command far more than the Space Marines derived from other lines.  This observation was the root of the eventual decision to form the different lines into distinct Legions, allowing their own unique strengths to develop.  However, with the survival of the other Primarchs still in doubt, the Emperor deemed it best to play out the tale of the Sacred Band as a means of acclimatising his Space Marines to Hektor's overall command.

As it was, the Sacred Band would only see combat in one campaign.  Gathering up the brightest recruits into twenty squads - one for each gene-line of Space Marines - Hektor was dispatched to assist the Thunder Regiments in the '''Pacification of the Merican Hives'''.  Although the operation was a modest success, the shocking performance of some squads led to the experiment being ended immediately.  From then on, each gene-line would be deployed as an independent part of a greater army.  But the Sacred Band did not entirely vanish from the Galaxy.  The survivors of the battles of the Merican Hives would forever remember Hektor as their battle brother.  Even after meeting their gene-sires many would still see the first of the Primarchs as their natural lord and master.

Hektor's own sons were called on to form the First Legion.  His favourites, '''Ajax Camillus''', '''Hephaestion Horatius''', and '''Leonidas Manisicus''' were appointed as the Legion's Lieutenants and the ten veterans of the First Squad of the Sacred Band became Sergeants, leading their own squads into battle.  This cadre would be expanded again and again as the Unification Wars pressed on towards their climax at Mount Ararat.  Although most of the other Legions were activated during this period, none grew so swiftly as the First or were entrusted with such significant missions.

===Sun and Moon===

[[File:Dark_queen_by_dularif-d3gudqw.jpg|250px|thumb|Pallas Eugenesis, Eclipse Queen of Luna]]

Toward the end of the Unification Wars, the Imperium began to look to the heavens above Terra.  The first objective was Luna and its mighty gene-forges, a resource that could be used to greatly increase the ranks of the Space Marine Legions.  Securing this prize would be no easy task.  Terra's satellite was under the dominion of fractious gene-cults, jealous of their independence.  Repeated attempts at negotiation ended in failure, with the last envoys returned to the Emperor as a screaming biological soup.  Yet one of the rulers of Luna was intrigued by the tales of the Emperor's genetically-engineered son and general.  [[Pallas Eugenesis]], styled the Eclipse Queen, dispatched an agent to Terra to meet with Hektor Cincinnatus and offer one last round of negotiation - provided that the Primarch attended in person.

Still busy with the Emperor's wars on Terra, Hektor replied that he would consider the invitation and gave it little further thought.  However, the First Legion was soon assigned the task of leading the Pacification of Luna, forcing its proud rulers to submit to the Imperium.  Confident that the Eclipse Queen's willingness to negotiate would give him an advantage, Hektor argued that his Legion could conquer the satellite alone, but the Emperor insisted on dispatching the fearless [[Scions of Europa|Seventh Legion]] and mobile [[The Crusaders|Tenth Legion]].  If Hektor was disappointed at the prospect of sharing the glory, he did not let his feelings spoil the plan.  Informing his command that he and a hand-picked band would go ahead to secure the landing zone, the Primarch made a stealthy landing on Luna and presented himself to the court of the Eclipse Queen.

As a negotiation, the matter was initially straightforward.  Pallas Eugenesis all but brushed aside the demands Hektor brought on behalf of the Imperium of Man as already accepted, readily agreeing to her territory being used as a springboard for the pacification of Luna and signalling her willingness to submit to the Emperor's will.  Her request to be recognised as the satellite's ruler and enforcer of the Imperium's laws was not unreasonable, but her final condition was a great surprise.  She asked that the pact be sealed by her marriage to Hektor, thus symbolising the unification Terra and Luna.  Though he found the Eclipse Queen to be a compelling ally, Hektor Cincinnatus had never considered the prospect of seriously romancing any woman, let alone marrying one.  Discovering exactly what Pallas Eugenesis expected of a husband took a lengthy and delicate discussion, but at the end of their talks Hektor was satisfied that his prospective bride was mainly interested in the political significance.

As he left the Eclipse Queen to organise the military operation, Hektor was also struck by how much he had enjoyed speaking to her.  In many ways, the Primarch's life had been a lonely one, ever deferred-to by his inferiors and rarely taken into the confidence of his Father or Malcador the Sigilite.  His gene-sons could be beloved comrades, but there was always a line between them and their Primarch.  Pallas Eugenesis spoke to him as a peer and, as Hektor considered the matter, deservedly so.  She was also the product of miraculous genetic science, and her own works were astonishing in their artistry.  Though Pallas was not a soldier, when their conversation had wandered into the intricacies of military organisation her brilliant mind had readily grasped the problems, and even ventured some of the same novel conclusions that Hektor had himself reached.  Their marriage would not - could not - be of the kind that mortal men and women enjoyed, but as an alliance and meeting of equals it answered a need that had Hektor had unknowingly carried for many years.

Following the Pacification of Luna, Hektor spent the next few years separated from his betrothed and fought in the last hard campaigns of the Unification Wars.  The Emperor put increasing trust in His son, assigning regiments of mortal auxilia to the command of the First Legion and giving the combined battle group considerable latitude in interpreting His orders.  This freedom was critical when the warriors of [[Mars (Hektor Heresy)|Mars]] invaded Terra under the command of newly-elected Fabricator General Valran Burija.  Hektor used the newly-acquired Stormbird to swiftly move his Legion to attack and caught the Mechanicum while they were still disembarking from their transports.  The suddenness and violence of the First Legion's assault overwhelmed Burija's forces and the Fabricator General himself met his end on Hektor's spear.  Following this victory, Hektor was hailed as the Sol Regis, the Sun King, the mightiest warrior of humanity's home system.  The Primarch humbly remarked that if it was his place to be king of the system it would only serve to further honour his master, the Emperor of Mankind.

Hektor would also be present to see the end of the Thunder Warriors at the '''Battle of Mount Ararat'''.  Not for the last time, he paused to wonder at the fate of the gene-forged defenders of the Imperium of Mankind.  Yet such melancholy thoughts were soon brushed aside.  Terra was at last unified and great celebrations were organised.  At the height of the pageantry, the Emperor Himself presided over the wedding of Hektor Cincinnatus and Pallas Eugenesis, and in turn the newly-weds pledged their loyalty to His great plan.  As a dowry, Pallas presented Hektor with tithe-rights to her domain, allowing the First Legion to recruit aspirants from among the hive-dwellers of Luna.