03 - Savage Scars (24 page)

“The Greater Good, awaits.”

“I’m going alone, Naal,” said Brielle. “This is complicated enough already.”

Naal turned his back on her, stalking to the opposite side of Brielle’s
quarters to stand at the wide viewing port. Dal’yth Prime glinted in the
distance, and the blue plasma trails of a hundred tau vessels formed a blazing
corona around the planet.

“You won’t be coming back,” said Naal.

Brielle forced down a blunt reply. He was right, but she had to make him
think she was sacrificing herself for the Greater Good, and not thinking of her
own future.

“I may be,” she said softly. “If I am able, I will.”

“They won’t let you, Brielle,” said Naal. “Grand will have you in his
excoriation cells the instant you step foot on the
Blade of Woe
.”

Brielle sighed, knowing that the possibility was all too likely. “Not if my
father is willing to protect me. He wields the Warrant of Trade. That still
means something.”

“And Grand wields the Inquisitorial rosette,” Naal replied. “As well you
know.”

“We are beyond the borders of the Imperium,” said Brielle. “The rosette
grants no formal power here, just influence.”

Naal turned his back on the viewing port as he replied. “How much influence?”
he said bitterly. “You’re counting on your father carrying the will of the
council. That’s a pretty big assumption to make, given the charges Grand will
level on you, and on anyone who supports you.”

Brielle closed on Naal and took his hands in hers as she replied. “I have
faith, Naal. I have to do this.”

“For the Greater Good?” he said, his eyes locked on hers.

Brielle held his gaze, but hesitated to answer.

“Or for your own, Brielle?”

She let go of his hands and walked back to the centre of the living area.
“Perhaps both,” she said finally. That was as much as she would give him, though
she knew inside that he deserved more. Since the two had met on the Imperial
world of Mundus Chasmata, they had gone from co-conspirators to lovers and
eventually to friends. But Brielle knew enough of herself to see how this would
all end. Naal had sought, through genuine conviction, to show her something
different from the Imperium. He served the Greater Good even though it made him
a traitor to the entire human race. He sincerely believed that humanity could
change, could embrace the Greater Good and stand side by side with the tau and
others, rather than simply exterminating any race it could not enslave.

She knew he was wrong. She was leaving, but not on the shuttle the tau were
even now preparing for her diplomatic mission.

“I’m to leave soon,” Brielle said. She turned, a coy smile at her lips. “That
gives us just enough time…”

She was in his arms before she had finished speaking, his kiss stealing the
words from her mouth. The tau would have to wait a little longer.

Lucian stood in the midst of his battle group’s command post, Major Subad
nearby poring over a large map while the voice of Sergeant-Major Havil bellowed
in the background. A gaggle of Departmento Tacticae specialists had joined the
Rakarshans and were busy attempting to disseminate the reams of intelligence the
crusade had gathered, and learn what they could of the aliens from those who had
fought them. The Rakarshans had done a lot of that recently.

Putting some distance between himself and the anarchic command post, Lucian
brought the vox-set to his mouth. “Go ahead, Korvane.”

“Father,” Lucian’s son replied. “Would you prefer the good news, or the bad?”

Lucian scowled, knowing that his son rarely joked about such things. “Give me
the good news, son. Sugar the pill.”

“I have two more candidates for the council, father. It looks like they’ll be
accepted at the next sitting.”

“Who?”

“The first is Pator Ottavi. He found me in fact. He’s been pronounced Pator
Sedicae’s successor by his House, making him the senior Navigator in the
crusade.” Sedicae had been killed when the
Regent Lakshimbal
had been
destroyed by tau warships, and it made sense that his successor would desire a
seat on the crusade command council. Well enough, thought Lucian, so long as he
showed a little more interest in the running of the crusade than his
predecessor, who was almost entirely concerned with predicting the currents of
the warp.

“He’ll support us?” Lucian said, lowering his voice and moving further away
from the command post.

“I believe so, father,” Korvane replied. “He seems to agree that this region
should be exploited, not put to the torch.”

“Well done, son,” said Lucian. “And what of the other?”

“The Explorator, Magos Gunn,” Korvane said. “I sounded him out and eventually
discovered that he’s a member of a Mechanicus faction that seeks to study the
type of technology the tau use. He doesn’t care if they all die, but he wants
something left behind to study, and that puts him on our side as far as I can
make out.”

“I know the man,” said Lucian. “Something of an outcast amongst the wider
Mechanicus, but not so much for an Explorator. Make it happen, then.”

“Did you want to hear the bad news, father?” said Korvane.

“Not really, son,” said Lucian. “Give me it anyway.”

There was a pause, during which Lucian guessed that his son was checking the
channel was secure and the conversation was not being listened in on.
“Something’s happening,” Korvane said.

Lucian glanced back at the command post, and the Tacticae advisors busying
themselves at their temporary cogitation-stations. “Go on.”

“I think the fleet is preparing to face another force, father,” Korvane said.
“I think it’s a big one.”

“The tau?” Lucian said, though he knew it could be no other. “They’re
reinforcing?”

“More than that, father,” Korvane replied. “I think the Tacticae are in the
process of re-assessing the tau’s capabilities.”

“Re-assessing?” Lucian said. “As in, voiding themselves because they’re
coming to realise the tau aren’t dirt-grubbing primitives that can be rolled
over with a single crusade?”

“Well, I wouldn’t put it quite like that, father,” Korvane replied. Lucian
wouldn’t expect his son to, for he had been raised in the Court of Nankirk, one
of the most refined in the quadrant. “But essentially, yes.”

“Have they informed the general?” Lucian asked.

“No, father,” Korvane replied. “I don’t think they’ve told anyone yet.
Perhaps at the next council sitting…”

“Leave this with me, Korvane,” Lucian said, his mind racing as a hundred
possibilities sprang into being. “See about calling a council session as soon as
possible, even if we have to conduct it remotely. Understood?”

As Korvane signed off, Lucian walked back to the command post, his eyes on
the Tacticae advisors all the while. There was certainly something… furtive
about them. It was as if they were desperately trying to piece together a puzzle
they really didn’t want to complete.

It all made a kind of sense, Lucian thought as he stepped back into the post.
The crusade had already met far greater resistance than any had thought
possible, first in space, and then here on the surface of Dal’yth Prime. The
landings had started off well, but the advance had all but ground to a halt
along the northern bank of River 992. Tau reinforcements were by all reports
flooding east from the world’s other cities, and now it appeared that a new
fleet was inbound for Dal’yth Prime.

Things were just about to get interesting…

“Lucian,” said Sarik as the White Scar strode into Battlegroup
Arcadius’ bustling command post. The staff were preparing for a session of the
Damocles Gulf Crusade command council, with each councillor attending from a
remote station. Large pict screens were being erected in the centre of the
tented command post, each connected by snaking cables to a central
field-cogitation array.

The rogue trader turned from the tacticae-station he was leaned over, and
grinned when he saw his friend. With a last word to the Rakarshan trooper
manning the station, Lucian crossed to the Space Marine, and the two clasped
hands.

“How goes the war?” asked Sarik.

Lucian’s expression darkened before he replied. “We’ve been ordered to dig
in,” said Lucian. “The whole operation’s grinding to a halt.”

“Aye,” said Sarik. “It’s the same along the whole front. The tau have
evacuated non-combatants and their reinforcements are flooding in. We’ve been
fending off probing attacks all night.”

Lucian nodded, and leaned in conspiratorially. “Have you spoken to any of
Gauge’s staff?”

Sarik noticed that the command post was manned by a large number of
Departmento Tacticae staff, and guessed that the rogue trader was not entirely
happy about the fact. “Indirectly. Talk plainly, friend.”

“Well enough,” Lucian replied quietly. “I think something’s up. I think the
Tacticae are reassessing the strategic situation.”

“To what end?”

“I think they’re coming to realise that the crusade is overextended,” Lucian
said. “My son reports that the fleet is struggling to protect the supply trains,
and if things get any worse dirt-side will be hard pressed to support orbital
and ground operations together.”

“It’s only a matter of time before Gauge receives this information, then,”
Sarik said. “And when he does?”

“Hard to say,” Lucian said. “If I read Gauge right, I think he’ll press for a
breakout, but something will have to be done quickly. My son believes there is a
substantial tau war fleet inbound, so time is at a premium.”

“Is this to be the crux of the council session?”

Lucian grinned. “Possibly, but there is other business too. My son has been
busy, finding prospective replacements for the vacant council seats. I aim to
propose three new members, all of whom are sympathetic to our faction’s agenda.”

Something inside Sarik stirred, for he disliked being dragged into the
crusade’s politics. Far better to leave such things to Chapter Masters and their
peers, he believed, and leave sergeants such as himself to lead the troops.
Still, he had accepted the responsibility of a seat on the command council, and
could scarcely expect to avoid such things, no matter how tedious he found them.

Before Sarik could answer, one of the Tacticae staff called out, reporting
that the pict screens were all in place and the council session ready to
convene. Sarik and Lucian strode to the centre of the command post, the screens
arrayed in a circle around them. “Ready?” Lucian asked.

“Ready,” Sarik replied. The advisor gestured to a technician, and the screens
burst to life as one.

A respectful quiet descended on the command post, and the static on the
screens resolved into a dozen images of the face of the council’s convenor. The
man’s expression looked distinctly stern, and he was obviously unhappy with the
nature of the session, which was being conducted with each of the councillors
widely separated rather than together in the council chamber aboard the
Blade
of Woe
.

After a brief moment of silence, the convenor spoke. “This extraordinary
session of the Damocles Gulf Crusade command council is hereby convened. In
attendance are Inquisitor Grand of the Most Holy Ordos of the Emperor’s
Inquisition, General Wendall Gauge of the Imperial Guard, Admiral Jellaqua of
the Imperial Navy, Captain Rumann of the Adeptus Astartes Iron Hands, Lucian
Gerrit of the Clan Arcadius, Veteran Sergeant Sarik of the Adeptus Astartes
White Scars, Logistician-General Stempf of the Adeptus Terra and Cardinal Esau
Gurney of the Adeptus Ministorum. Cardinal Gurney has the chair.”

With that, the convenor slammed his staff of office against the deck, and his
face disappeared from the pict screens, to be replaced by the councillors. Four
of the screens remained blank.

Cardinal Gurney now addressed the council, the scene behind him indicating
that he was near the front line, his attendants gathered around him. “It is my
honour to chair this session of the council at this most auspicious of
junctures. The first order of business is to answer the petition of Korvane
Gerrit Arcadius regarding the election of three new councillors to our august
body. I call Korvane Arcadius to address the council in this matter.”

Now one of the previously blank screens showed Korvane’s face. Lucian’s son
was stood on the bridge of his vessel, the
Rosetta
.

Something occurred to Sarik, and he leaned in to speak to Lucian. “Was that
too easy? Would we not expect the cardinal to place obstacles in the path of
this petition?”

Lucian appeared to be thinking the same thing. “Aye, Sarik,” he replied in a
low voice. “Something isn’t right here…”

“Honoured members of the command council,” Korvane said. “It is my intention
to propose Tacticae-Primaris Kilindini of the Departmento Tacticae, Explorator
Magos Gunn of the Adeptus Mechanicus and Pator Ottavi of the Navis Nobilite be
called to serve the council. I would like to—”