Chapter 261: The Forgery
General Hadrian Kest arrived at the Vanguard command complex before the sun rose over Bastion One.
He did not wear his ceremonial silver armor. He wore a heavy, dark wool coat draped loosely over his shoulders to hide the fact that his right arm hung dead at his side.
He sat behind his polished desk, reached for a heavy iron pen with his left hand, and began to draft a formal directive.
He filed a comprehensive procedural review of the Capital naval supply lines.
It was a standard Vanguard administrative audit. It was well within his legal authority as the operational commander of the strike fleet. Kest did not cite the impending war.
He did not mention Bastion Seven. He cited minor discrepancies in the grain requisitions and demanded a full accounting before any further cargo could be moved.
The heavy runic orders were dispatched to the northern shipyards.
