"Tell me, where is their destination?" Horus asked.
"Warmaster," the Chaos Sorcerer responsible for surveillance reported, "according to our calculations, their fleet's destination is the planet Prospero."
Under the protection of the Four Chaos Gods, the sorcerers could monitor every movement within the Immaterium. They saw the trajectory of this particular fleet with perfect clarity.
"A report for the Warmaster!" another sorcerer, this one monitoring the primarchs' worlds, announced, "The Space Wolves have also mobilized in full force. Their target is the same as the fleet from Holy Terra: the planet Prospero."
Everything was proceeding as he had foreseen. His father truly wanted to bring Magnus back, a fact he could now exploit to its fullest.
"Excellent!" Horus exclaimed, his face alight with excitement, "Immediately conjure a Warp Storm in that sector. Block all astropathic communications between Holy Terra and other regions."
His plan could finally begin.
When it came to grand strategy, he was the first and foremost in the entire Imperium. The boy the Emperor had been grooming these past years was no match for him. In truth, not even the Emperor himself was his equal in the art of war, a fact of which Horus was unshakably confident.
He would set a trap, one that would, even if it could not defeat Axis, cause him immense grief.
I will make you suffer, Axis, he seethed internally, because you have stolen everything from me!
Though his rebellion was waged under the banner of rescuing his mother, the true reason was a certain detestable upstart who, over the years, had stolen his father's affection.
The Emperor had even shown signs of grooming the boy as his successor, a role that had once belonged to him. For this, and for everything else, Horus wanted him dead.
"Now," Horus said with a cold sneer, "send a message to Lion El'Jonson. The content is as follows: Magnus has joined Axis in a great betrayal. Axis, having spent ninety-eight years in the domains of Chaos, has been utterly corrupted by its power. The moment he was rescued, he turned Magnus to their cause, and now the two of them are in league.
"They have used their psychic might to destroy the Webway portal on Holy Terra. Order the Lion to proceed to Prospero and carry out a purge."
"Hahahaha! A cunning scheme, indeed," Mortarion commented from the side. "But the Father should be able to tell that it was not Magnus who destroyed the Webway. The taint of the Chaos powers we used is far too obvious."
The energies they had unleashed were undeniably of the warp. The Emperor would have no reason to suspect Magnus, even though Magnus was certainly capable of such a feat.
Horus's idea was clever, but Mortarion knew Lion El'Jonson would execute the command without question, for the threat of Chaotic corruption could never be taken lightly.
"Besides," Mortarion continued, "if they meet with Leman Russ's fleet and the two brothers confer, the Lion will quickly discover he has been deceived."
"Do not worry, Mortarion," Fulgrim interjected smoothly, "I am certain Horus has a solution. He is our Warmaster, the most brilliant strategist and tactician among us."
"Haha! You know me best, Fulgrim," Horus laughed, "That's right! The Wolf King will absolutely side with Axis; there is no doubt about that. What you may not know is that Leman Russ and Axis share another, deeper bond. Before Axis was a primarch, he was the adopted son of Leman Russ."
Horus dropped this bombshell into the chamber. Few in the Imperium knew of Axis's true origins, but Horus happened to be one of them. He had met Axis years ago, when the boy was still a child.
"What are you saying, Horus?" the Eleventh Primarch asked, bewildered, "Axis is Russ's adopted son? How is that possible? Is he not a primarch, like us?"
"Indeed, he is a primarch," Horus confirmed, "But he was born naturally. He was later elevated to the status of primarch through our father's modifications. Therefore, he is not our brother in the same way we are to each other. He was once the Wolf King's foster son."
He desperately wanted to see the drama of a father and son forced to destroy each other.
However, the bond between Axis and Leman Russ was not something that could be broken by mere words. Though impulsive, Leman Russ was no fool. That was precisely why Horus had chosen the Dark Angels and Lion El'Jonson.
The Lion was certainly no match for Axis, and neither was his Legion. When the two forces clashed, Axis would not simply surrender. He would fight back.
Even if he did not kill the Lion, the Dark Angels Legion would be crippled by his hand, and from that day forward, a bitter feud between them would be forged.
"There is a vulnerability in this plan," Fulgrim pointed out, "Leman Russ would be able to see at a glance whether Axis has been corrupted by Chaos. If the Wolf King and the Lion arrive together, your plot will fail."
"No, no," Horus chuckled coldly, "Who said the Space Wolves would ever reach Prospero? I have no intention of letting them arrive. A terrifying Warp Storm will blow them off course, all the way to the Galactic West. And there, an empire awaits Russ and his fleet."
As he spoke, he glanced at the Eleventh Primarch. This brother had displeased their father on multiple occasions and had once been on the verge of being expunged from all records.
This was because he had always advocated for peaceful coexistence with xenos, as the world he was raised on was one where humans and aliens lived in harmony. It was this very reason that had allowed Horus to win him over to their great rebellion.
"Horus," said the Eleventh Primarch, "do you mean to say you will form an alliance with a xenos power to pin down Leman Russ?"
"Precisely," Horus replied, "I have already negotiated with a certain xenos power. They will be responsible for tying down Leman Russ. Once I have seized the Imperium of Man and become its new master, I will cede the western segmentum of the galaxy to this xenos empire."
"This is not your style, Horus," Mortarion questioned, "Though we have betrayed our father, are you truly prepared to cede imperial territory to those creatures?"
"It is merely a temporary measure," Horus said dismissively, "Once the war is truly over and I have full control of the Imperium, should they dare to come and demand their territory, I will simply exterminate them. I am only using them."
In reality, it was a plot of mutual deception.
This xenos empire, once Horus became the new Master of Mankind, would also face annihilation. Perhaps they would even cripple themselves fighting Leman Russ.
"This is getting interesting," Fulgrim mused, "Could this xenos power be the Rangdan?"
Horus merely smiled and said nothing.
"In fact, we have our own people within the Dark Angels as well," Horus added, revealing another layer to his plot, "Lion El'Jonson's own adoptive father Luther. He can turn against the Lion at any moment."
There were already several corrupted Dark Angels around Luther, constantly speaking ill of the Lion and poisoning his relationship with his Legion. This, too, was a seed planted long ago by the Chaos Gods, and now Horus could reap its power.
"In one month," Horus commanded, "we will send a message to the Sisters of Silence and the Adeptus Custodes dispatched from Holy Terra. Tell them that Leman Russ is trapped in a Warp Storm and cannot rendezvous with them, and that I have already diverted Lion El'Jonson to support their mission.
"At the same time, inform them that Axis has been corrupted by the powers of Chaos and that he, along with Magnus, destroyed the Webway. Let the Sisters of Silence and the Custodian Guard join the Lion in putting down this rebellion. Tell them Axis has committed treason."
For now, his identity was still that of the Imperial Warmaster. No one yet knew he had betrayed the Emperor, and he had to make full use of his authority while he still could.
"A truly venomous scheme," the Eleventh Primarch commented, "No wonder you needed to divert Leman Russ. Without doing so, this plot would never succeed."
"Our Legions contain many veterans from Terra who served with the Emperor from the very beginning," Mortarion brought up another matter, "These old soldiers are loyal to him to the death. We must deal with them."
"I have already considered this," Horus said with a nod, "Calculate how many Terran veterans each of you have in your Legions." He knew the Astartes veterans who had fought beside the Emperor before their primarchs were rediscovered were unshakably loyal and had to be eliminated beforehand.
"My Legion has twenty thousand," said the Eleventh Primarch.
"Mine has thirty thousand," Mortarion stated.
"As does mine, roughly thirty thousand," Fulgrim added.
"And my Legion has twenty-five thousand," Horus tallied, "That is roughly one hundred thousand in total. Here is the plan. We will find a star system and purge these loyalists. We will simply fire virus bombs from orbit."
Nurgle had just provided them with a large supply of viral weaponry, which would now serve its purpose well.
"Then where shall it be done?"
"Istvaan III," Horus declared. "There, we will purge all the loyalist elements from within our Legions."
…
Lion El'Jonson stared at the message in his hand, his mind reeling in disbelief.
Axis had been rescued, but he had been corrupted by Chaos. In league with Magnus, he had destroyed the Webway on Holy Terra, leaving the Emperor on the brink of death.
And now came the order from Horus himself: proceed immediately to Prospero, purge the planet, and kill both Magnus and Axis.
"My Lord Primarch," a Dark Angels Captain said firmly. "It is an order from the Warmaster, acting on the Emperor's authority. We must carry it out."
He believed the task was perfectly suited for the Dark Angels; it was, after all, the kind of grim work they were created for.
"My Lord," said Lucifer, who stood at the Lion's side, "Something about this feels wrong. You know Lord Axis."
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you guessed it! ps?