V3 Chapter 59: The Crybabies' Bad Luck, Right on Cue
At the last Imperial world before the crusade fleet bound for Terra was set to reach the Maelstrom region, Guilliman had already ordered the fleet's Astropathic choir to send word ahead to the Maelstrom defence zone.
This served both as a formal notice from the Imperial Primarch and as a way to keep the Wardens of the Maelstrom from misreading the crusade fleet's approach. A fleet of that size appearing suddenly at the edge of the Maelstrom would be enough to put any defence zone on its highest alert.
After several weeks in transit, the fleet finally dropped out of the Warp at the edge of the Maelstrom.
The veil of realspace closed back over the hull, and the Macragge's Honour's outer sensor arrays gradually settled into stability. On the bridge, reports came in one after another from the Navigator and the Astropaths.
The Maelstrom lay ahead.
That region appeared on the star chart as a great sprawl of chaotic markers. Many old routes had already been struck out, and far more areas were labelled unreliable, hazardous, long out of contact, or subject to frequent hostile activity.
Guilliman stood on the command bridge, listening to a report from his fleet adjutant.
"My lord, we have received responses from the Astral Claws, the Mantis Warriors, and the Lamenters, each in turn."
Guilliman gave a slight nod.
"Read them."
The adjutant unrolled the data-scroll at once.
"The Astral Claws' Chapter Master, Lufgt Huron, responded personally. He welcomes the noble Son of the Emperor, Supreme Lord of Ultramar, to the primary Badab defence zone, and states that the Astral Claws and the Badab defence zone are willing to provide the crusade fleet with resupply, refit, and navigational assistance."
The adjutant paused, then continued. "Huron also volunteered to personally brief you on the Wardens of the Maelstrom's combat record over the past century, and on every threat currently facing the Badab defence zone."
Several officers on the bridge exchanged glances in low murmurs.
The response was formal, and beautifully composed.
Duvette stood a short distance away, his face expressionless.
He could catch a familiar scent in that reply. Huron wanted Guilliman to come to Badab. He wanted the Primarch to see, first, the military bearing, the accounts, and the battle reports he had prepared.
The adjutant continued his report.
"The Mantis Warriors' response was comparatively brief. They led with the star charts they had surveyed of the Maelstrom region over the past century, enemy activity records, and information on concealed transit routes."
A new star chart was projected at the centre of the bridge.
A great many green lines appeared along the edge of the Maelstrom, some of the routes running nearly flush against the storm's own boundary, markings that did not appear on old Imperial star charts at all.
"They state they will send a delegation and a reconnaissance detachment to greet the Lord of Ultramar's arrival. As for why their full strength cannot come, it is not out of neglect, but because Chaos warbands, xenos raiders, and pirate fleets have recently been pressing hard against the Endymion sector."
The adjutant raised his head.
"The Mantis Warriors state that their main strength must remain to hold the defence zone."
Guilliman looked at the star chart.
"Pragmatic."
That was his first judgement of the Mantis Warriors' response.
What they had offered was not flowery language, but routes, enemy intelligence, and an honest account of the pressure on their zone. A Chapter like this might be cautious, but it knew exactly what it needed to hold.
The adjutant then brought up the third message.
"The Lamenters' response comes from their Chapter Master, Malakim Phoros."
The bridge grew quieter.
The adjutant's voice dropped slightly as well.
"Chapter Master Phoros states that the Lamenters would be more than willing to come and greet the Son of the Emperor and the Imperial Primarch. But they are currently pinned down by Chaos warbands and xenos raiders in an Imperial system on the verge of falling, and the Chapter fleet is covering the evacuation of local civilians and transport ships."
On the star chart, a red marker lit up somewhere to the west.
The adjutant continued reading. "Chapter Master Phoros states that the situation on the ground is chaotic, with a great many Imperial citizens still trapped on the planet's surface. The Lamenters cannot abandon them to come greet the Primarch, and can only beg the Imperial Primarch's forgiveness for their discourtesy."
The message ended there.
The bridge fell silent for a few seconds.
Duvette let out an inward sigh.
Just as expected: the unlucky, good-hearted Lamenters.
Even in a situation like this, their entire reply consisted of apologies, without a single word requesting aid.
Pinned down by Chaos warbands and xenos, in the middle of covering a civilian evacuation in a system on the brink of falling, and they still treated their inability to come greet the Primarch as a discourtesy.
Guilliman looked at that red marker, and did not speak right away.
He was thinking through the route ahead.
Badab was the core of the Maelstrom Wardens, and the centre of Huron's power. The Astral Claws had already extended an invitation, and given that the focus of this leg of the crusade was the Astral Claws' tithe defiance, heading straight for Badab would seem the safest diplomatic route.
But the besieged system also lay near their transit route.
Just then, Duvette stepped forward.
"My lord. Permit me to offer a suggestion."
The moment he spoke, the officers and Astartes on the bridge turned to look at him.
These people had all grown accustomed to the weight Guilliman gave this mortal officer. But speaking up unprompted while a Primarch was still weighing his options, let alone offering a direct route recommendation, still caught more than a few of them by surprise.
Duvette paid no mind to those looks.
He simply looked at Guilliman.
"Since the goal of this crusade is to bring order to the chaos along the road to Terra, then this leg of the journey through the Maelstrom might well begin with the besieged Lamenters."
He raised a hand and pointed at the red marker on the star chart.
"That system lies directly along our course once we enter the western edge of the Maelstrom. Clearing out those xenos and traitors, while at the same time saving a loyal Chapter and the local Imperial citizens, is entirely in keeping with the crusade's objectives."
Guilliman looked at Duvette.
Duvette's expression remained calm.
He did not frame it as an act of pity, nor did he make any mention of what history had once had in store for them. He simply folded it into the crusade's objectives and its military route, making the suggestion sound reasonable enough on its own.
Guilliman was silent for a moment, then nodded.
"Very well."
The officers on the bridge bent their heads to record it at once.
Guilliman turned to the Astropathic communications officer.
"Notify the Astral Claws and the Mantis Warriors."
"The crusade fleet will enter the theatre from the western edge of the Maelstrom, clearing traitor, xenos, and pirate forces along the way, before finally arriving at the primary Badab defence zone."
"The primary objective of the first phase will be for me to lead support personally to the Lamenters, and stabilise the system they hold."
The Astropathic communications officer saluted at once.
"By your command, Lord Guilliman."
Guilliman then looked to his fleet adjutant.
"Order the vanguard fleet to adjust course. Send the reconnaissance fleet ahead to confirm the scale of enemy fleet strength in the system the Lamenters hold."
"Bring the fleet to standby. Astra Militarum landing forces are to prepare for a rescue operation. Neither the fleet nor the ground forces are to think only in terms of destroying the enemy; protecting the local civilian population is likewise a combat objective."
"Yes, my lord."
The orders went out swiftly.
The bridge of the Macragge's Honour immediately grew busy. The new course was entered into the navigation system, and the escort fleet began adjusting formation. The Astropathic choir's response was likewise sent down to the deep communication chamber, ready to carry through the unstable Warp echoes to the Wardens of the Maelstrom.
Duvette stood at the side of the bridge, looking out through the viewport at the stars beyond.
They looked calm enough, out there.
But he knew the chaos of the Maelstrom was already waiting for them ahead.
In the original history, the Lamenters would be devastated by the Minotaurs Chapter during the later Badab War. Their Chapter flagship and battle barges would be seized, leaving barely over three hundred surviving battle-brothers, who would then carry the burden of a century-long penitent crusade.
That fate should not fall upon them.
The loyal did not deserve an end like that either.
Duvette drew his gaze back.
Since he had already come this far, this time it would begin with the Lamenters.