Aboard the Vengeful Spirit, in the Warmaster's office.
Yellowed parchment filled the cabinets against the walls. Worn books stood on the shelves.
An old, faded wooden desk held a stack of operational orders awaiting signature.
The Warmaster, clad in gleaming white armor trimmed with gold, his pauldrons covered in bronze script, listened to Maloghurst's report.
"You say the Raven Guard took Gate Forty-Two with only two thousand nine hundred and forty dead?"
"Correct. That number is six thousand fewer than our most optimistic projections," the Twisted said.
Horus rose, walking to the window. He drew back the velvet curtains, looking out at the reception hall.
His hands clasped behind his back. "Have you analyzed why?"
"The Tenth Chapter of the Shadows of Order deployed almost all of its Terminators, breaching the defenders' key strongpoints."
"It was entirely unexpected. I did not anticipate Nareth and Ramsey committing their elite."
Horus did not blame the Twisted. He hadn't expected Nareth's full support for Corax, with whom he had no close ties. "The Shadows of Order had only four thousand men. Their casualties must be significant."
"Yes. One thousand and twenty-five killed, two hundred and sixteen of them Terminators."
"Fewer than I calculated," Horus said, impressed. "The Shadows of Order is more formidable than I thought."
"The Tenth Chapter's Terminators are all powerful psykers, as strong as the First Captain's Justaerin," Maloghurst said.
"Ezekyle would not agree," the Warmaster said with a smile.
He turned, his eyes gleaming.
"A warrior's resolute will is a more powerful weapon than sorcery."
"Of course. No one can match your will," Maloghurst said, looking at the Warmaster with admiration.
"Relay the order: the Shadows of Order is to launch an immediate, full-scale assault on Merseyside."
An image of Drune flashed through Horus's mind, Nareth had slain the multi-tentacled monster before he or Mortarion could.
"All five hundred and ninety-two designated target nodes," he emphasized.
"As you command" Maloghurst turned to relay the order.
Horus glanced at the wall clock. It was time for his meeting with Sanguinius.
He strode from the office to the reception hall.
He pushed open the door, a smile on his face.
"My brother, forgive me for keeping you waiting."
"Warmaster," Sanguinius said, his tone distant.
Horus watched Sanguinius offer a mocking bow, frowning.
"Sanguinius, we are brothers. Don't call me Warmaster."
"If you have an issue with my approach, speak plainly."
"Don't make me pluck those wings," he said, his tone softening to a laugh.
"Without them, I'd only be as handsome as you." Sanguinius smiled, looking at Horus's smooth head.
Having lightened the mood with a joke, Sanguinius spoke seriously.
"I understand you need to assert your authority. But you cannot continue like this."
He saw Horus remained silent, and continued.
"There are better ways. Remember the Emperor's advice?"
Horus stroked his left little finger. "You mean, Sons of Horus?"
He shook his head. "Naming an entire Legion after myself alone is too ostentatious."
"The Lion believes he should be Warmaster, and..."
Sanguinius stepped closer. "You said I was the embodiment of your conscience. You said I was your counselor."
"Now, please listen to my counsel."
"Your displays of authority will only cause misunderstandings and friction."
His persuasive voice made Horus think.
"You are the Warmaster. The Emperor granted you the power to rename Legions."
"You could openly declare that the 16th Legion is indivisible from you and your title."
"Sons of Horus, having a Legion named after you would establish your authority more effectively than any other method..."
Sanguinius didn't finish the thought. "Compelling your brother Primarchs to obey your orders."
Though they were close and in a private setting, he knew he still could not offend the Warmaster.
Horus was silent for a few seconds. "I will consider your counsel seriously."
"Now, let us finish this war."
"I will personally deal with the rebel leader!"
At the same moment Sanguinius was counseling Horus, Nareth, in his office aboard the Shadow's Sovereignty, reviewed the battle reports on his datapad.
'Tenth Chapter actual casualties: nine hundred and forty-three, with one hundred and fifty-eight Terminators.'
Due to the joint operation with the Raven Guard and Horus's presence in the system, his inflated casualty reports were modest, focused more on Terminator losses.
He hoped to mislead Horus's assessment of the Shadows of Order's combat strength, leading to potential miscalculations in future conflicts.
Nareth scanned the Raven Guard's loss report, then leaned back.
'The greatest gain is the reduction in Terran Raven Guard casualties.'
Though he only knew the Battle of Gate Forty-Two had cost thousands of lives, not the exact number, he knew that two years later, when Corax exiled the Ashen Claws Chapter, along with a few Deliverance-born he found unsuitable, it numbered only a little over four thousand.
This meant his intervention had reduced Terran casualties from around nine thousand to under three thousand.
'Indeed, 'thousands' means nine thousand. Losses caused by the conflict between two Primarchs, and Corax's sacrifice of his Terrans, were not something to be proud of, so naturally the losses were downplayed.' Nareth thought, satisfied.
'I saved the lives of over six thousand Terran Raven Guard.'
'Crucially, they will be a potential force for me.'
'The Ashen Claws, loyal to neither their gene-father nor Horus, will be a wild card.'
His comm-bead buzzed. He answered, hearing Arsena's voice.
"My Lord, a communication has arrived from the Vengeful Spirit."
"The Warmaster orders us to simultaneously assault all five hundred and ninety-two target nodes on the Merseyside tactical map."
Arsena specifically emphasized 'simultaneously'.
"I see." Nareth smiled. "Arkhas and Nerat will be familiar with this."
"Horus has two objectives. One is to pressure the Unsighted Kings with our full deployment, forcing them to counterattack."
"He can then exploit this to locate and decapitate the enemy leader."
"Horus's goal is maximum glory at minimum cost. This is how he used the 19th Legion before Corax's return."
The full-fledged "Detective," Arsena, reached the same conclusion.
"You are correct, my Lord."
"Your command?"
"To follow the Warmaster's orders, of course, and launch a full-scale assault," Nareth said with a smile.
"But as for the decapitation... that is not necessarily his to perform."
Nareth's smile faded. If Horus had not chosen him to make an example, if the Unsighted King were not a potion ingredient, he would have yielded.
Regrettably, there were no ifs.
....
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