Outside the gates of the 10th Company's encampment, the atmosphere was completely frozen.
Saul Tarvitz stood at the very front. The fading evening light cast a cold sheen across his purple power armor.
His gaze cut straight through the hundreds of Emperor's Children Astartes gathered before the gates, locking dead onto the smug, arrogant smile at the front of the pack.
"Lucius."
His voice was a low growl. "What exactly are you trying to pull?"
Lucius stood at the head of the formation, his flawless face practically glowing with a mocking smirk.
Behind him stood the combined force of three full Emperor's Children companies...
The 13th, the 17th, and a detachment of sergeants from the 20th Company.
A sea of purple power armor stretching into the dusk.
"Surrounding my camp with this many men."
Tarvitz enunciated every syllable. "Are you trying to start a mutiny?"
Lucius's smile hitched for a split second.
Mutiny was an incredibly heavy word.
Even as the Captain of the 13th Company, and even with Fabius Bile and several other officers backing him up, he didn't dare let that label stick.
"Heh."
He let out a cold scoff, taking a deliberate step forward as his purple cape whipped in the wind behind him.
"Tarvitz, I don't think I'm the one staging a mutiny here. I think you are."
His voice suddenly spiked in volume, ensuring every single Emperor's Children legionnaire present could hear him clearly:
"We received a report..."
"This so-called Iron Hands support detachment is a complete fake!"
Tarvitz's brow furrowed tightly.
"Harboring criminals impersonating an Iron Hands company..."
Lucius narrowed his eyes, his violet pupils flashing dangerously as he stared Tarvitz down.
"It really makes me question your loyalty to our Primarch!"
Both inside and outside the camp, hundreds of Emperor's Children tightened their grips on their bolters in unison.
The air felt like it had turned to solid ice.
Tarvitz didn't immediately respond.
He instinctively glanced back toward the silver-grey tents deep inside the camp.
Gabriel Santar's rugged, hardened face surfaced in his mind, along with those steady eyes and that calm acknowledgment: I'm looking forward to seeing you in action.
In just a few short hours of interacting with him, he had already gotten a feel for the man's aura.
That kind of presence wasn't something you could just fake.
It was something forged into a man only after surviving countless bloodbaths, constantly walking the razor's edge between life and death.
That Iron Hands Captain was a man who completely ignored Lucius's outstretched hand, choosing instead to offer his right hand to Tarvitz.
The corners of Tarvitz's mouth pulled downward.
He didn't believe they were fakes.
That aura, that gaze, that absolute tactical command while standing over the holo-map...
How could any of that possibly be staged?
He was far more inclined to believe that this was just Lucius throwing a petty tantrum to get revenge for being humiliated.
"Lucius."
Tarvitz's voice suddenly cracked like a whip, carrying the sharp authority of a Legion Master dressing down a recruit:
"Enough with this!"
The smile froze completely on Lucius's face.
"Just because Lord Gabriel didn't give you the time of day..."
Every word out of Tarvitz's mouth was a knife twisting directly into Lucius's ego:
"...you're framing Lord Gabriel as an imposter?!"
Lucius's face began to flush red.
"You are causing severe damage to the bond between the Third and Tenth Legions!"
Tarvitz's voice grew louder and louder.
"Is there anyone in the entire Imperium of Man who doesn't know that our father is closest with Lord Ferrus Manus, Primarch of the Tenth?!"
"Even the flaming sword our father wields was forged by Lord Ferrus's own hands!"
"And now, when Lord Ferrus dispatches a company to aid our assault on Laeran..."
Tarvitz took a heavy step forward, his purple cape snapping loudly.
"You pull a stunt like this just because Lord Gabriel ignored you!"
"When our father makes landfall..."
His voice boomed across the camp gates. "I will report this exactly as it happened and let him judge you!"
Lucius's face was completely crimson from his neck to the tips of his ears.
It was the sheer, blinding rage of having his deepest insecurities dragged out and stomped on in public.
His hand tightened around the hilt of his power sword at his waist.
But he didn't draw it.
Because he knew that if he pulled his blade right now, it would be a direct admission that Tarvitz was absolutely right.
The Astartes of the 13th Company behind Lucius exchanged uneasy glances.
Tarvitz's counterattack was brutally effective, using the untouchable bond between Ferrus and Fulgrim to crush Lucius's argument entirely.
But Lucius was still Lucius.
His voice dropped to a freezing chill.
"Tarvitz, don't you dare try to use the relationship between our father and Lord Ferrus to hide behind."
Just then, a hand lightly clapped onto his shoulder.
Fabius Bile stepped out from behind Lucius.
The Chief Apothecary of the Emperor's Children was wearing his deep purple Apothecary robes. His face was sinister, and his eyes gleamed with a dangerous, surgical sharpness.
A faint smile hung on his lips.
It was the kind of smile that reminded you of a corpse on an autopsy table.
"Tarvitz."
His voice was incredibly soft, carrying an uncomfortably smooth quality.
"There's no need to be so hostile."
Tarvitz's gaze shifted to him.
"We merely received a report and are expressing our concerns."
Fabius spread his hands, adopting a casual posture like he was discussing a mild academic disagreement.
"Why not simply invite Lord Gabriel out here? I can lead a team of Apothecaries to conduct a minor verification process..."
"Just to confirm that they are, in fact, Astartes warriors of the Imperium."
He paused, a glint of cunning flashing in his sinister eyes.
"How about it?"
"It will guarantee the absolute security of our operation tomorrow."
Fabius's voice took on a hypnotic, subtly persuasive tone:
"After all..."
"Having a completely unverified detachment of Astartes suddenly appear out of nowhere... that's a massive tactical liability for our upcoming assault."
A deeply uncomfortable silence settled over the camp.
Tarvitz stared at Fabius, his eyes heavily scrutinizing the Apothecary.
He didn't answer immediately.
Because he knew that whatever "verification" Fabius had in mind was absolutely not a simple identity check.
A verification conducted by a Legion Apothecary...
Every single Emperor's Children legionnaire knew exactly what that meant.
Autopsy tables.
Genetic sequencing.
And experimental procedures that would make even the most battle-hardened Astartes scream in agony.
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