Erebus took a few steps forwards and reached for the crystal, but Alpharius snatched away his hand.
‘It is for the Warmaster only,’ said Alpharius, his smile fading.
‘Watch your step, Alpharius,’ said Abaddon. ‘Your attitude will earn you the Warmaster’s displeasure.’
‘No words for your brother, Horus?’ said Alpharius, looking at the Warmaster, who had been fixing Alpharius with a neutral gaze throughout the exchange. ‘Do your minions do all of your talking for you now?’
Horus stood up and Alpharius thought for a moment that he had pushed things too far. His doubts were dispelled by Horus’s smile, as he beckoned the stranger to come out from behind the throne.
‘This is Apothecary Fabius,’ said the Warmaster. ‘You will entrust your prize to his care. On my behalf, of course.’
Alpharius tossed the data crystal to Fabius, who caught the glittering shard and looked down at it with a covetous smile.
‘We shall see what secrets Corax unearthed, for certain,’ said Fabius. He bowed to Horus and withdrew into the shadows.
‘Is there anything else, Warmaster?’ said Alpharius.
Horus’s eyes narrowed with suspicion as he regarded the Alpha Legion’s primarch.
‘You hand it over so easily, I suspect you are hiding something,’ said the Warmaster, stepping closer.
‘I do have another confession to make,’ said Alpharius. ‘I have retained the original gene-material for myself. I thought it wiser to share our fortune. You will find the research of Corax quite extensive. I do not understand much of it, but I am sure Apothecary Fabius is as talented as rumour would have us believe.’
‘Oh, he is,’ said Erebus. ‘He will unlock the primarch secrets, and with that information we will destroy the Emperor.’
‘A worthy use of such a thing, so hard-fought for,’ said Alpharius. He met his brother’s penetrating gaze with a stare of his own. ‘I believe we have concluded our business here. Unless there is anything else you wish to discuss, brother?’
Horus jerked his head towards the door to dismiss Alpharius, and returned to his throne.
‘Good,’ said the Alpha Legion primarch. ‘Now that this matter is settled, perhaps we could actually begin to prosecute this war. Even now, I am sure the Emperor is getting impatient for our visit.’
‘He will wait,’ said Horus. ‘The war is well under way already, Alpharius. Just because you have not been fighting it does not mean that others have been idle. The Ultramarines will be destroyed and the Blood Angels will join our cause. We will be ready to make our move soon.’
That seemed unlikely to Alpharius, but he said nothing and left without further comment.
THE COMMAND DECK of the Avengerwas filled with people. As well as the officers and functionaries of the Raven Guard, the battle-barge was hosting the command corps of the newly-arrived Therion Cohort. Sub-Caesari Valerius had shuttled across to the capital ship with a small army of notaries, praefectors, tribunes and vice-tribunes to compile the orders for his force.
It had been a tortuous journey from Therion, negotiating the storms that still raged across the warp. Several ships had been lost entirely and more than a dozen more had been waylaid or forced to translate, scattering the fleet over light years of space. Despite the problems, Valerius had managed to hold the vanguard intact, and as per Corax’s instructions had redirected while en route to Deliverance to rendezvous with the Raven Guard in Taurion, a system neighbouring Narsis.
His previous encounters with Corax had left Valerius awestruck, but as sub-Caesari he felt his station better suited his position within the command council. His promotion had not, however, done anything to quash his amazement at the primarch’s strategic abilities. While Valerius needed his contingent of advisors and adjutants to keep everything in order, Corax was able to control the whole council with nothing more than a few notes on a data-slab. The dispositions of dozens of ships and thousands of warriors, their armaments and their commanders were all locked inside the primarch’s mind and even the smallest detail was retrieved effortlessly.
The order of battle and general approach had already been agreed, with the Therions forming the first wave, the reflex-shielded Raven Guard vessels following behind. So far it had been as Valerius expected, having fought alongside the Raven Guard for several years during the latter stages of the Great Crusade.
The final approach and landing was giving him a lot of trouble.
‘If I understand you correctly, Lord Corax, there is to be no preparatory bombardment?’ said Valerius. Pelon appeared at his shoulder with a glass of water, which Valerius took without comment. He took a sip to calm his agitation. ‘Our drop-ships will be shot out of the air.’
‘Orbital defences will be eliminated as normal,’ replied the primarch. As was his habit, he stood to one side while the commanders were crowded around the central table. ‘Once orbital supremacy has been established you will have to conduct a landing under fire.’
‘I have three battleship-class vessels, lord, each quite capable of eliminating any ground defences. There will be no need for your Legion to reveal its presence at the onset, I guarantee that. Isn’t that right, Captain Willhelms?’
The commander of the battleship Resolutenodded.
‘Torpedoes and lances will do the job,’ said Willhelms,
‘Can you guarantee the lives of the ten million people living in that city?’ asked Branne.
‘We will endeavour to avoid any civilian casualties, of course.’ Valerius glanced at Praefector Antonius, who made some quick calculations on his data-slate and handed it to the sub-Caesari. ‘Perhaps no more than five thousand?’
‘This is not an ordinary city,’ said Corax. ‘Fulgrim was not idly boasting when he named it the Perfect Fortress. My brother declared that it was not enough for a fortification to house a garrison, it had to protect the population. The Perfect Fortress is not an area within the city, it isthe city. Fulgrim reasoned, quite rightly, that the populace was best protected if they were integral to the fortress’s design.
‘He decided to use the civilians as shields?’ said Valerius, horrified by the thought.
‘That was not his argument at the time,’ replied Corax. ‘In the case of an invasion, they would spontaneously form a militia to help with the defence. That is of no matter. There is no separation of defence and civilian construction. Habitat towers house defence lasers. Factories are protected by bunkers and concealed trench lines. The layout of the roads was the work of Perturabo, to allow swift response from the defenders whilst hindering attack.’
‘To destroy the fortress we have to destroy the city,’ said Branne.
‘Which we will not do,’ said Corax. ‘The people of Narsis are innocent in this. We are here to act as messengers for the Emperor’s cause, not to kill his followers. We cannot spread our message by obliterating the populace.’
‘A thorny problem,’ admitted Valerius. He finished his water and absent-mindedly handed the glass back to Pelon while he pondered. He gave up with a shrug. ‘I cannot see a landing without orbital support being anything but a disaster. We will be dropping right onto their guns.’
‘There is a potential landing site,’ said Aloni, bringing up a schematic of the area surrounding the Perfect Fortress. He pressed a key and a crosshair appeared on the map. ‘Here, in the hills to the north-east.’
‘That is at least twenty kilometres away!’ said Valerius, standing up to examine the diagram. ‘We do not have that many tanks and transports.’
‘Twenty-eight, actually,’ said Agapito. Valerius did not like the hint of amusement in the commander’s tone.
‘You will attack on foot,’ said Corax. ‘You will land under cover of night, though do not expect that to be much of an advantage because the enemy will have scanners and thermal imaging.’