a"I know ita's not meaningless to them. Thata's why Ia'm breaking him in like this. Ia'll turn the insult into a blessing.a"

a"How does he seem? From first impressions?a"

a"Sincere. Cold. Astute.a" Thade grinned. a"Cadian.a"

Lockwood saluted, too stoic to say much more in front of his men. Hea'd never allow his iron-hearted reputation to take a dent like that, though his admiration for Thade was an open secret. a"Ia'm not arguing against the idea. It will work. Prove hea's a warrior, and may the Thronea's light guide your blade.a"

Minutes pa.s.sed as more men came to speak to Thade before the bout. Tionenji stood silent, waiting, no hint of impatience across his features. Finally Thade stepped into the circle made by the watching men and their tanks. Dead Mana's Hand and several other Sentinel squadrons towered above the crowd, their pilots watching through vision slits or open hatches.

Tionenji folded his greatcoat and set both it and his peaked cap in a neat pile by the edge of the circle. He stood in his black uniform, his oiled hair still perfectly arranged.

Thade was still in his body armour. Seeing that, Tionenji wondered if he had already failed some kind of test. On Garadesh, honour duels were fought unarmoured with curved blades, with any additional protection considered ign.o.ble and base. Tionenji watched the captain now, suspecting that the opposite was true of the Cadians. They probably adhered to some code where only a fool would enter a fight without the best protection available. Or perhaps a short lecture on how a soldier should always train weighted down by full armour.

A serious bunch, these Cadians. In Thadea's hands was his weighty chainsword, long and straight, with a single cutting edge. In Tionenjia's own hands was the blade hea'd named as a nimcha, thin and curved like a crescent moon, also silent in deactivation. Two live chainswords meeting would risk shattering and tearing the teeth from one another. Powered down, they could be used to duel without risk of damage to the precious weapons.

Tionenji advanced aggressively, his footwork graceful, immediately revealing himself to be a skilled swordsman. Thade kept his own footwork light, slowly circling and making theatrical cuts in the air that had a few of the men laughing at the obvious display. Most of them expected a casual bout, perhaps with the captain showing this newcomer who was really in charge, and the lord generala's orders be d.a.m.ned.

The first strike and parry happened so fast that everyone except the combatants missed it. Tionenji sprang back from the blocked blow and slashed again, the flat of his arcing blade clattering against the side of Thadea's bulkier sword. It was the moment the fight began in earnest. Thade trained with his sword daily, as did Tionenji. The Cadian was a product of his home worlda's Youth Legion, as were all soldiers of the Shock regiments, and had been reared to fight since his pre-teens. The Garadeshi commissar had been taken in by the Schola Progenium in his own youth, and trained to the exacting standards of the Imperial commissariat. Thade fought with a blade gifted to him by Cadiaa's finest leader and the hero of Scarus Sector. Pride and reverence flooded him each time the sword cleared its sheath. Tionenji fought with his fathera's nimcha, a weapon of the tribes of Garadesh, and honoured his fathera's shade with each victory the blade brought for the Emperor.

The swords met again and again, reflecting slivers of moonlight each time they cracked snake-fast against each other.

Scout-lieutenant Vertain had parked his Sentinel close to Taan Darrick in the crowd. He leaned from his vehiclea's side hatch, watching the fight with unblinking eyes. a"I cana't tell whoa's winning,a" he said.

a"I think theya're both winning.a"

Vertain broke his gaze long enough to look for Ban Jevrian in the crowd. The Kasrkin sergeant was regarded as the regimenta's finest swordsman, but if the Sentinel pilot had hoped to glean some insight into the duel by reading Jevriana's expression, the measured stare of the Kasrkin leader offered no answers. Vertain turned back to the fight.

The fighters ducked and weaved, their deactivated swords slashing through the air to meet with metallic clanks once, twice, thrice a second. Both men were panting less than a minute after the duel had begun, neither used to facing a swordsman of equal skill.

In one of the moments when their swords met, both men came close, pushing their weight against each other. Tionenji had smiled as he looked into Thadea's eyes.

a"Youa're doing very well.a" His teeth were clenched in effort, as were the captaina's.

a"Ia'm better when my blade is live,a" Thade grinned.

a"Arena't we all?a"

They flew apart, neither gaining the advantage from the sword-lock. More blows were traded, each one ending in a parry or a block that locked the two weapons together. The next time they met face to face, Tionenji was grinning mirthlessly and breathing hard.

a"You look tired my violet-eyed friend.a"

a"Not at all,a" Thade smiled back, sweat stinging his eyes. Five minutes of this was as tiring as the whole night in the monastery. a"But if you want a rest Ia'll be a gentleman and let you take a break.a"

As with the opening strikes, the finishing blows came with such speed that those watching only realised what had happened several seconds after it was done.

Tionenji threw himself backwards at the last instant to avoid a throat slash of Thadea's sword that he had no chance to block. The Cadian was overbalanced in the strikea's wake, and a single stumble heralded the end of the fight. The slender crescent blade licked out to crack Thadea's sword from his hand, sending it spinning away to hit the muddy ground.

All of this happened in a heartbeata's span.

Tionenji had meant to rest the tip of his sword on Thadea's chest. Hea'd meant to ask in his delicious oratora's voice, a"Do you yield?a" and make a short speech on what an admirable opponent the captain had been.

Admittedly, these plans would have gone down well with the watching regiment. The men were already impressed by the commissara's skill, and Thade had been right a- in showing Tionenjia's battle prowess as their first impression of him, the commissar was walking into a warmer welcome among a band of soldiers from a warrior culture than if he had simply presented himself at a mission briefing.

However, his plans of gracious mercy never came to fruition. Believing hea'd won, his defences were instantly lowered. It took him a split second to realise Thade wasna't finished. He remembered the captaina's words then.

To first blood.

By the time he was bringing his blade up to block the continuing threat, Thadea's roundhouse kick connected with bone-jarring force. Tionenjia's head snapped back and he staggered away, blinded by his watering eyes and the web of white-hot pain his cheek had become.

He spat a mouthful of thick, coppery saliva, knowing from the taste that he was spitting redness. A thousand men roared their approval. As the commissara's eyes cleared, he saw Thade offering his hand a- again, it was his left hand. His real hand.

a"First blood to Cadia,a" the captain said, still catching his breath.

Tionenji took the hand, flashing his short-lived grin in a display of blood-pinked teeth. a"First blood to Cadia,a" he repeated, sensing a tradition behind the words.

The men cheered again.

CHAPTER VII.

War Council Reclamation Headquarters, outside Solthane They met in the lord generala's command bunker a- a prefab structure just a short walk from his tent. Around the rooma's edges, servitors and adepts worked the banks of vox-scanners and tactical cogitators necessary to plan the Reclamation and remain in contact with the vessels in orbit. Several officers of the Hadris Rift 40th flanked the Overseer, spreading around the central circular table and its cl.u.s.ter of maps. Each one was attired as the lord general himself: a dress uniform of jade green with gold tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs. Overseer Maggrig gleamed in the reflected light from the console screens. He was wearing his finest dress uniform (and the accompanying gold that made up Hadris Rifter rank markings) for this meeting with the inquisitor. Hea'd ordered his men to do the same.

Inquisitor Caius had arrived early. He stood apart, his hands resting on the table as he pored over the maps. Upon entering hea'd saluted politely and immediately ignored the pomp before him. The only words hea'd spoken in the last five minutes were to ask where Captain Thade was.

Colonel Lockwood was present as Thadea's commanding officer. The senior officer of the Cadian 88th stood impa.s.sive in his battle gear, watching the regions of the map that drew the inquisitora's attention. He was here to learn where a sizeable portion of his regiment was being dispatched to, and to plan for actions undertaken while they were seconded to the Inquisition. His displeasure at the situation was invisible. The colonela's face was an emotionless mask.

Thade arrived exactly on time, coming into the room wearing his battle armour and bearing his weapons. He saluted to all present, taking a position opposite Colonel Lockwood. Several men filed in after him. On his right were four junior officers in the same battle uniform as the captain.

a"Inquisitor,a" Thade said. a"This is my command team: Scout-Lieutenant Adar Vertain. First Lieutenant Korim Horlarn. Second Lieutenant Taan Darrick. And this is Master Sergeant Ban Jevrian of the Kasrkin.a"

Each officer made the sign of the aquila as his name was spoken. Jevriana's bulky carapace armour rattled as he saluted.

a"And these,a" Thade gestured to the figures at his left, a"are Tech-priest Enginseer Bylam Osiron, Sanctioned Psy-Advisor Seth Roscrain and Commissar Adjatay Tionenji.a" Once more, Imperial salutes were offered, though not by Osiron. No one was surprised at that. Tech-priests were famously loyal to the Cult of their Machine-G.o.d, the Omnissiah, and worshipped the Emperor in their own secret, Byzantine ways.

Osiron bowed, at least. The motion caused a mechanical purr from his augmetic joints.

a"Gentlemen, thank you all for coming.a" Inquisitor Caius gestured at the main city map. a"Lord general, if you would be so kind as to provide a summary of the current tactical situation. How is the Reclamation proceeding throughout the capital Solthane?a"

Maggrig stepped closer to the table. He held everyonea's attention, though in a different way for each man there. His pompous self-importance bored Caius, whose attention was given grudgingly, while he was the figure of the perfect tactical genius to his own Hadris Rift officers. By and large, the Cadians considered him amusingly overdressed. Colonel Lockwood was especially unimpressed by the tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs and wealth adorning Maggriga's dress uniform. Hea'd seen less gold on paintings of the G.o.d-Emperora's throne.

The Overseer took a moment to compose himself, ensuring he had the attention of all in the room. He cleared his throat and calmly met the inquisitora's eyes, hiding his inward smile at his own mastery of the situation. Bold, a.s.sured, calm, collected a- he was the very representation of everything n.o.ble in the way the soldiers of the Hadris Rift went to war. He felt the gazes of his own men upon him. He could sense how he inspired them, and a- a"The delay is boring me,a" Caius said. a"Colonel Lockwood, please appraise me of the fighting within the city. Specifically, the main cathedral district.a"

Lockwood was Cadian enough not to smile as he stepped forward. a"The purge of Archenemy elements within Solthane proceeds on schedule to date, all in accordance with Lord General Maggriga's designs.a" Lockwood took up a pointer and started making gestures to certain southern sections of the city.

a"Here, here and in this grand concourse here, resistance has been far heavier than expected.a"

a"Why?a" The inquisitor looked up into the colonela's violet eyes. Lockwood had pointed to three sectors scattered across the cathedral district, which was the size of a city in itself.

a"These are habitation areas of the monastic sector. Tens of thousands of citizens and pilgrims died in their homes there. Orbital picts suggested a- and Reclamation tacticians antic.i.p.ated a- intense numbers of the plague-slain in these areas. No surprises there, but while building-by-building purges were planned for, wea've discovered that the remains of the Kathurite Planetary Defence Force are entrenched in force there, too.a"

a"The so-called a'Remnanta'.a"

All of the officers nodded. All except Maggrig, who was struggling to contain his fury and shame at being treated so shabbily by the inquisitor.

a"Whata's this section? Why is it so much more detailed?a" Caius asked.

a"My Sentinel squadron mapped several square kilometres of the city on our recent advance,a" Thade said. a"That is the region leading up to the monastery lost by the Ja.n.u.s 6th.a"

a"Which brings us to the latest development,a" Lockwood continued. a"Since we made planetfall, every vox-channel has remained scrambled and p.r.o.ne to extreme interference from an unknown, untraceable source. Additionally, no auspex or serve scanner has given us a reliable reading. Wea're hunting half-blind.a"

a"Until last night,a" Thade said.

a"Until last night. The 88tha's attempted extraction of the Ja.n.u.s 6th was the first time the interference was cleared for any significant period of time over a confirmed span of territory. It was also the first time any Reclamation units have come into contact with primary-cla.s.s threats.a"

a"Traitor Astartes,a" nodded Caius.

a"Exactly, inquisitor. It stands to reason the presence of the Death Guard is linked to the clarity of the scanners. Thade?a"

The captain spoke up again. a"Either the Traitor Legion cleared our scanners for a reason wea're not aware of, or something theya're doing in the Shrine of the Emperora's Unending Majesty disables their own jammers as a side effect.a"

a"Best guess?a" asked Caius.

a"We think theya're scanning for something. And they cana't jam us while they scan,a" Thade said.

a"I concur,a" said Osiron. a"The tech-adepts of every regiment are working on methods to counter the interference based on the latest development.a"

a"As expected. But what is there to scan for?a" Not a man failed to notice the edge to Caiusa' voice as he asked that question.

a"We have tacticians, savants and teams of research servitors working on that, sir,a" said the lord general. Caius waved the reply away.

a"Does the Inquisition know?a" asked Thade suddenly.

a"What?a" Caius was momentarily blindsided. The silence that followed was intensely awkward.

a"The plague has ravaged Scarus Sector for months now, on worlds closer to the Warmastera's front lines. Now we know the Death Guard are present; the Legion historically responsible for the other outbreaks and the likeliest source of this most recent one.a"

a"Thata's guesswork,a" said Maggrig.

a"It matches the facts,a" Thade replied. He was careful to keep the irritation from his voice.

a"I respect your position, Captain Thade,a" Caius began, a"but the Holy Ordos of the Throne will make you aware of what you need to know when the time comes for you to know it.a"

a"Ia'll take that as a a'yesa',a" Thade smiled. Commissar Tionenji pointedly cleared his throat. Thade quieted down and worked hard to kill his smirk.

a"The Ordo Sepulturum is here to sweep the reliquaries and places of greatest faith within the cathedral sector. I seek the source of the plague. Indeed, I seek any information at all that can help us better understand this grave threat.a"

a"Understood, sir,a" Thade said. How very rehea.r.s.ed, he thought. And vague. Thade had never worked with the Inquisition before. It was a record hea'd been keen to keep. Following orders was one thing; he was used to it and it rarely rankled. But information was power, and going into a fight without the facts was not the way any soldier wanted to make war.

a"Wea're not children,a" Thade said. a"If youa're keeping the truth from us to save our sanity, I tell you now that wea'd rather know exactly whata's going on.a"

a"Thade,a" Lockwood warned.

a"I mean no offence,a" the captain said. a"But wea're not some green unit on our first campaign. Wea'll fight and die or fight and win, no matter what the truth is.a"

a"Thade,a" Lockwood warned again, frowning now.

a"Your stubborn insistence is noted, captain.a" Caius gestured to the Overseer. a"Lord General Maggrig, what are your current intentions?a"

There were no hesitations from the lord general this time. a"I am ordering the remaining forces at this position into the city to take and hold several key locations along the western edge. We will establish a forward base within Solthane by the end of the week.a"

Over the course of the following two hours, the lord general detailed his plans to retake Solthane, street by street, building by building.

The plans drew no criticism. The goals were ambitious but realistic, uninspired but tactically sound. A series of implacable advances preceded by Sentinels and sniper teams, to secure defensible structures within each notable district nearby. At one point, Lockwood and Maggrig debated the merits of dividing the Reclamation forces so thoroughly.

a"Ia'm not disagreeing, lord general,a" said Lockwood. a"But wea're all aware that the forces we command here are just the Reclamationa's spearhead. We have a mere month left before the main attack force arrives in support. The regiments en route should be made aware that theya'll be landing in a hot zone with several outposts along an urban front line rather than the single stronghold theya're expecting.a"

a"Duly noted,a" said one of Maggriga's colonels a- a handsome, unscarred man in his mid-thirties.

a"Is there a final count of the arriving regiments?a" Thade asked. The rumours circulating put the numbers at the wildest outcomes.

a"An additional two hundred thousand men in total,a" the same colonel said. a"They entered the warp earlier in the week, and are currently estimated between twenty-five and forty days distant.a"

Thade nodded, while Lieutenant Darrick whistled low. a"Throne,a" he said, a"now we know theya're taking this seriously.a"

a"This is a shrineworld to the G.o.d-Emperor and one of His blessed saints,a" said Maggrig. a"Nothing could be more serious.a"

Thade wasna't done. Hea'd been waiting for this. a"Will the 88th be allowed to return to Cadia to fight there, once the main forces arrive?a"

a"I will make my decisions based on deployment data at the relevant time, captain,a" Maggrig said.

The meeting proceeded, with the officers ignoring the hustle of the meeting room as they talked on. Adepts and junior officers leered into the eye-straining, flickering screens of wall cogitators, absorbing streams of jade green letters and numbers spilling across the black screens. Regiment positions, lists of the dead, city plans a- data in all its relevant forms.

Only one new arrival broke the briefinga's flow.

They heard his footsteps before they saw him: resounding clunks of heavy metal that thudded on the plasteel decking of the prefab command structure. When the newcomer came through the doorway (after needing to duck to do so), the head of every officer present was turned to see the man make his entrance.

In his armour, Brother-Captain Corvane Valar was just over two and a half metres tall. a"Ma.s.sivea" barely described him. He was broader than even Osiron, whose bulky body augmentations in many ways mimicked the suit of powered armour worn by the brother-captain. He was also almost half a metre taller than Ban Jevrian, the tallest officer present, and Jevrian was tall by anyonea's reckoning.

Corvanea's bulk was alien, threatening, and spoke of raw power no mortal man would ever achieve. While Osirona's augmetic joints clicked and whirred according to their own intricate, arcane workings, there was no over-complex devotion to the Machine-G.o.d in the armour of the Astartes warrior that now stood among the Guard officers. The thrum of his power armoura's joints was an angry murmur a- an agitated growl that buzzed with a waspish edge.

The armour itself was the un-colour of onyx or jet, somehow as dark as volcanic gla.s.s without obsidiana's sheen. Every mana's vision seemed to bore into it, as though trying to see deeper, the way the eyes stare hard into the worrying black of a lightless room, a depthless ocean or a moonless night, seeking any detail at all to cling to.

The Astartesa' face was hidden behind his helm, a muzzle-mouthed bone-white relic reverently maintained down the millennia. Red eye lenses regarded each man in turn.