'My brothers,’ called Fulgrim, his voice lilting and golden, 'this day you have shown the accursed greenskin what it means to stand against the Children of the Emperor!'
More applause rolled around the cargo decks, but Fulgrim spoke over it, his voice easily cutting through the clamour of his warriors.
'Commander Eidolon has wrought you into a weapon against which the greenskin had no
defence. Perfection, strength, resolve: these qualities are the cutting edge of this Legion and you have shown them all here today. This orbital is in Imperial hands once more, as are the others the greenskins had occupied in the futile hope of fending off our invasion.
The time has come to press home this attack against the greenskins and liberate the Callinedes system. My brother primarch, Ferrus Manus of the Iron Hands and I shall see to it that not a single alien stands upon land claimed in the name of the Crusade.'
Expectation was heavy in the air as the Legion waited for the order that would send them into battle with their primarch.
'But most of you, my brothers, will not be there,’ said Fulgrim. The crushing disappointment Tarvitz felt was palpable, for the Legion had been sent to the Callinedes system with the assumption that it would lend its full strength to the destruction of the invading xenos.
'The Legion will be divided,’ continued Fulgrim, raising his hands to stem the cries of woe and lamentation that his words provoked. 'I will lead a small force to join Ferrus Manus and his Iron Hands at Callinedes IV. The rest of the Legion will rendezvous with the Warmaster's 63 rd Expedition at the Isstvan system. These are the orders of the Warmaster and of your primarch. Lord Commander Eidolon will lead you to Isstvan, and he will act in my stead until I can join you once more,’
Tarvitz glanced at Lucius, unable to read the expression on the swordsman's face at the news of their new orders. Conflicting emotions warred within Tarvitz: aching loss to be parted from his pri-march once more, and excited anticipation at the thought of fighting alongside his comrades in the Sons of Horus.
'Commander, if you please,’ said Fulgrim, gesturing Eidolon to step forwards.
Eidolon nodded and said, 'The Warmaster has called upon us to aid his Legion in battle once more. He recognises our skills and we welcome this chance to prove our superiority. We are to halt a rebellion in the Isstvan system, but we are not to fight alone. As well as his own Legion, the Warmaster has seen fit to deploy the Death Guard and World Eaters,’
A muttered gasp spread around the cargo bay at the mention of such brutal Legions.
Eidolon chuckled. 'I see some of you remember fighting alongside our brother Astartes. We all know what a grim and artless business war becomes in the hands of such men, so I say this is the perfect opportunity to show the Warmaster how the Emperor's chosen fight,’
The Legion cheered once more, and Tarvitz knew that whenever the Emperor's Children had a chance to prove their skill and artistry, especially to the other Legions, they took it. Fulgrim had turned pride into a virtue, and it drove each warrior of his Legion to heights of excellence that no other could match.
Torgaddon had called it arrogance and on the surface of Murder Tarvitz had tried to dissuade him of that notion, but hearing the boastful cries of the Emperor's Children around him, he wasn't sure that his friend had been wrong after all.
'The Warmaster has requested our presence immediately,’ shouted Eidolon through the cheering. 'Although Isstvan is not far distant, the conditions in the warp have become more difficult, so we must make all haste. The strike cruiser Andronius will leave for Isstvan in four hours. When we arrive, it will be as ambassadors for our Legion, and when the battle is done the Warmaster will have witnessed war at its most magnificent,’
Eidolon saluted and Fulgrim led the applause before turning and taking his leave.
Tarvitz was stunned. To commit such a force of Astartes was rare and he knew that whatever foe they would face on Isstvan must be mighty indeed. Even the thrill of excitement he felt at this opportunity to prove themselves before the Warmaster was tempered by a sudden, nagging sense of unease.
'Four Legions?' asked Lucius, echoing his own thoughts as the squads fell out to make ready for the journey to join the 63rd Expedition. 'For one system? That's absurd!'
'Careful Lucius, you veer close to arrogance,’ Tarvitz pointed out. 'Are you questioning the War-master's decision?'
'Questioning, no,’ said Lucius defensively, 'but come on, even you have to admit it's a sledgehammer to crack a nut,’
'Possibly,’ conceded Tarvitz, 'but for the Isstvan system to rebel, it must have been compliant at one stage,’
'What's your point?'
'My point, Lucius, is that the Crusade was supposed to be pushing ever outwards, conquering the galaxy in the name of the Emperor. Instead it is turning back on itself to patch up the cracks. I can only assume that the Warmaster wants to make some kind of grand gesture so show his enemies what rebellion means,’
'Ungrateful bastards,’ spat Lucius. 'Once we're done with Isstvan they'll beg us to take them back!'
'With four Legions sent against them,’ replied Tarvitz, 'I don't think there'll be many Isstvanians left for us to take back,’
'Come, Saul,’ said Lucius walking ahead of him, 'did you lose your taste for battle against the green-skins?'
A taste for battle? Tarvitz had never considered such an idea. He had always fought because he wanted to become more than he was, to strive for perfection in all things. For longer than he could remember he had devoted himself to the task of emulating the warriors of the Legion who were more gifted and more worthy than he. He knew his station within the Legion, but knowing one's station was the first step to bettering it.
Watching Lucius's arrogant swagger, Tarvitz was reminded of how much his fellow captain loved battle. Lucius loved it without shame or apology, seeing it as the best way to express himself, weaving between his enemies and cutting a path of bloody ruin through them with his flashing sword. 'It just concerns me,’ said Tarvitz. 'What does?' asked Lucius, turning back to face him. Tarvitz could see the hastily masked exasperation on the swordsman's face. He had seen that expression more and more on Lucius's scarred features recently, and it saddened him to know that the swordsman's ego and rampant ambition to rise within the ranks of the Emperor's Children would be the undoing of their friendship.
'That the Crusade has to repair itself at all. Compliance used to be the end of it. Not now,’
'Don't worry,’ smiled Lucius. 'Once a few of these rebel worlds get a decent killing this will all be over and the Crusade will go on,’
Rebel worlds... Whoever thought to hear such a phrase?
Tarvitz said nothing as he considered the sheer numbers of Astartes that would be converging on the Isstvan system. Hundreds of Astartes had fought on Deep Orbital DS191, but more than ten thousand Emperor's Children made up the Legion, most of whom would be journeying to Isstvan III. That in itself was enough for several war zones. The thought of four Legions arrayed in battle sent shivers up Tarvitz's spine.
What would be left of Isstvan when four Legions had marched through the system? Could any depths of rebellion really justify that?
'I just want victory,’ said Tarvitz, the words sounding hollow, even to him.
Lucius laughed, but Tarvitz couldn't tell if it was in agreement or mockery.
BEING CONFINED TO his quarters was the most exquisite torture for Kyril Sindermann. Without the library of books he was used to consulting in Archive Chamber Three he felt quite adrift. His own library, though extensive by any normal standards, was a paltry thing next to the arcana that had been destroyed in the fire.