Murder's official Imperial designation was 1-40-20, the 20th world brought into compliance by the 140th Expedition Fleet.
In reality, however, the world had never been compliant. All three Blood Angels companies that had landed had been annihilated.
Following Warmaster's orders, Nareth arrived in the system with Howard Fender, Chapter Master of the First; Szczesny, Chapter Master of the Ninth; Ramsey, Chapter Master of the Tenth; and High Chaplain Pat, boarding the Weeping Needle.
Though Chief Librarian Thomas had accompanied the fleet, in the presence of other Legions, during what would be their last joint operation, it was best to feign compliance with the Emperor's edict. So, he had not come as a senior commander.
Nareth had barely reached the strategium door when Horus greeted him.
"Nareth, my brother. Welcome." Horus's smile was warm.
"Warmaster." Nareth's tone was flat, and he sidestepped Horus's embrace.
Horus's arms froze for a moment. He knew it would not be easy to mend the rift left by the Battle of Gate Forty-two.
Quick to recover, he lowered his arms, still smiling.
"Sanguinius had already dispatched the main strength of his Legion to the Kayvas Belt to destroy a rising Ork empire before he received the 140th Expedition Fleet's message."
"I had no choice but to call on you. Only your Legion, with the Kalium Gate, can arrive quickly."
Sanguinius, his wings folded like a great eagle's, the silver chains and beads upon them dim in the shadow of the lumen strips, added, "We all must adapt to the new era." He seemed to have recovered from the blow of Ullanor.
Nareth glanced at Sanguinius's hands; he wore no golden ring.
'The Emperor didn't offer Sanguinius any consolation. Hmm, my achievements are close to Horus's. With two Council Lords and numerous nobles supporting me, the Emperor did need to appease me more. Hence, the Deus Ex.'
He entered the strategium with the other two.
"Lord Nareth." Lord Commander Eidolon, in his purple armor, the golden Palatine Aquila emblazoned on his chest, bowed.
"After pacifying newly discovered worlds in the Satrasensa Belt, we were en route to Caroles to rendezvous with Fulgrim and the Legion's main force, preparing to strike at the Sub-Double Cluster."
Horus stood beside Eidolon, clapping him on the shoulder.
The Emperor's Child puffed out his chest, the Palatine Aquila gleaming in the light.
"But en route, they received a distress signal. Eidolon, after requesting Fulgrim's permission, immediately diverted to reinforce. He arrived even before I did."
Behind him, the "Weapons Master," Lucius, also bowed.
Both Akurduana and Lucius were still merely "Weapons Masters." They could have advanced to Sequence 6 "Dawn Paladin" long ago, but they had not.
The mid-Sequence advancement to "Dawn Paladin" would cause a significant physical change.
And Fulgrim, unlike Lorgar Aurelian who saw Zardu Layak's transformation as a miracle, would not be so accepting. The Emperor's Children had long suffered from genetic instability; Chief Apothecary Fabius Bile would certainly notice any changes.
More importantly, both had roles to play in Nareth's plan for the Heresy.
Horus looked to his attendant, Maloghurst.
As Maloghurst raised his control rod, Nareth's gaze swept past him.
In the front row of the shadows stood the other three members of the Mournival: 2nd Captain Tarik Torgaddon, 4th Captain Hastur Sejanus, and 5th Captain Horus Aximand. They could not stand at the center like 1st Captain Abaddon.
Behind them were 3rd Captain Kruz, 7th Captain Togusta, 10th Captain Garviel Loken, and others.
"The xenos of Murder have the ability to control the planet's climate. They have created a thick layer of thunderclouds, which they call the Shieldstorm."
"The clouds not only disrupt communications, forcing the Blood Angels who landed earlier to fight alone, and block orbital bombardment by scrambling the scans, but they also create a storm that will instantly swallow any landing craft entering the atmosphere."
"The only viable method of insertion is drop pods, which can get us to the surface quickly, but we'll likely be scattered."
"The Emperor has forbidden the use of psychic communication." Nareth's tone was matter-of-fact.
Sanguinius's eyes dimmed. The disbandment of the Librarius had rendered many effective tactics unusable. His Legion was being forced to fight with unfamiliar methods, and hundreds of his sons had already died because of it.
Horus saw his friend's frustration. "We can bring Astropaths with us. Their power can help counter the interference caused by the Megarachnids' control of the weather."
He turned to Nareth. "I'd like to hear your plan."
Nareth was taken aback. The Warmaster who had forced him and Corax into compliance just a year ago was a distant memory.
"Astropaths rarely set foot on the battlefield. We cannot rely on them entirely."
"We should all drop simultaneously, forcing the enemy to fight on multiple fronts, rather than allowing them to concentrate their forces and pick us off one by one."
Nareth proposed this plan not only to force the Megarachnids to scatter, but also to avoid having to restrain his Extraordinary abilities in a joint operation.
Horus nodded, smiling, as he traced the holographic image Maloghurst had projected.
"I agree."
"How large a zone do you want?"
The augur scans couldn't fully map the Megarachnids' territory, so it was unclear if they had a leader.
With a decapitation strike impossible, he would let Nareth choose his own zone.
Even if Nareth chose a small zone to minimize casualties, the Luna Wolves could shoulder the main burden.
Horus watched as Nareth raised his jade-like hand and traced a circle on the green image.
"All of the northern hemisphere?" Horus asked, startled.
"Yes," Nareth nodded. The Megarachnids were powerful, and it had taken almost the entire Luna Wolves, along with Eidolon's Emperor's Children and part of the Blood Angels, six months to defeat them.
But the Megarachnids were an essential, irreplaceable ingredient for the "Affliction" potion. The number he captured would determine how many "Affliction" he could create.
He was willing to take the main assault, leaving the other half for the three Legions.
'Though Nareth has only brought three Chapters, he has the largest, the Tenth, and the elite First. His total strength must be at least... sixty or seventy thousand.'
'That's Legion-level strength, only a little over ten thousand fewer than the entire Raven Guard or Thousand Sons...'
"I agree."
"While we prepare, would you be interested in seeing the warriors spar?"
He smiled. "Before you arrived, Erebus defeated some of the finest Luna Wolves, Torgaddon and Aximand, and then beat Tarvitz of the Emperor's Children's."
"Tarvitz brought in his brother, Lucius."
"I hear he's one of the best in the Emperor's Children, perhaps second only to Akurduana."
Nareth's gaze swept over Lucius, then Solomon Tarvitz, flanking Eidolon, and finally settled on the Word Bearers' Chief Chaplain, Erebus, his crozius in hand.
He stood beside Abaddon, representing Lorgar Aurelian, Malcador's intervention made manifest, as the Warmaster's advisor and Lorgar's voice.
Horus considered Sanguinius, Fulgrim, and Lorgar his close brothers, and the Mournival had inducted Eidolon and Erebus into the inner circle.
Abaddon, Aximand, and Torgaddon all knew Erebus, and held him in high regard.
"Very well."
....
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