"Father, no matter which of your brothers returns, it cannot shake the Emperor's trust in you as the First Son. After all, you are the Vice Commander of the Great Crusade. The Wolf King Russ and Lord Ferrus, Master of the Tenth Legion, do not share this honor," Abaddon, with his distinctive topknot, asserted to his Primarch.
"Watch your words, Abaddon! Russ and Ferrus are no less capable than me in any aspect!" Horus rebuked, unwilling to allow anyone to belittle his brothers, not even his First Captain.
Horus's rebuke was meant to deter Abaddon from disparaging his brothers, yet Abaddon's words about the Emperor's unwavering trust and favoritism towards him were not lost on Horus and were indeed quite pleasing.
During the thirty years he had spent with the Emperor, Horus had, in a sense, monopolized the Emperor's attention. With the return of the Wolf King, Horus initially felt a flicker of displeasure, but he quickly overcame his desire for the Emperor's exclusive affection. However, learning that he had twenty other brothers brought him immense sadness. Horus was heartbroken at the thought of his father's love being divided into twenty-one shares. Fortunately, the Shepherd God soon realized his true feelings and swore to be a good elder brother.
"Father, I misspoke." Abaddon's face conveyed extreme trepidation, yet he felt immense joy watching his father's left hand unconsciously caress the Centaur ring on his right hand.
Abaddon was delighted that he had instinctively understood his father's heart. He even planned to compose a poem within the Sixteenth Legion's warrior lodges about the profound father-son bond between his Commander and the Emperor. Abaddon had already decided on the poem's title and content:
Half a Lifetime Gone
Author: Abaddon
Thirty years, oh thirty years, First Son, oh First Son. Centaurus, oh Centaurus, golden ring, oh golden ring. I love my Father, my Father loves me. Slurp, slurp.
"No, I must make those freeloading bards and record-keepers in the fleet collect this poem!" Abaddon thought of those idlers who did nothing all day, neglecting their duties and constantly harassing the Shadow Wolves warriors!
"Father, the War Council has ordered Ferrus to support the Wolf King, and they have also deployed the Custodes and an organization called the Silent Sisterhood," Loken informed Horus, ignoring Abaddon's internal musings.
"The Silent Sisterhood has been deployed? It seems things are quite unusual," Horus clearly knew of the Silent Sisterhood's existence and their mission.
"Father, what does this organization do? I have never heard of this strangely named organization," Abaddon inquired of his genetic father.
"Abaddon, this is not something you should know." Horus frowned. The Emperor's vigilance towards the Mechanicus was, naturally, not something that could be openly discussed.
"Yes, Father." Abaddon observed Horus's expression and immediately understood that this was information beyond his current clearance.
"Alright, no matter what, let's first do our part. Once the Eighth Legion arrives, have them fill the vacant position of the 19th Legion. Intelligence work is very important to us. For the rest, we will reclaim the lost human worlds according to our plan." Horus then concluded the meeting.
The Warp
A massive fleet was speeding along a stable Warp current towards its destination. Leading the fleet was a terrifying behemoth of a ship, twenty-five kilometers long. Twin super-heavy lance systems mounted on its spine constantly guarded against potential threats from all directions, and the menacing muzzles of the macro-cannons on both sides of the hull swallowed the surrounding light like abyssal maws.
"Fahr, in five days we can jump out of the Mandeville Point and reach the homeworld of our great genetic father, hahaha, we finally have our own dad," Elton, Fahr's old comrade of several decades, laughed.
"Yes, our Primarch has finally returned. We no longer have to live under someone else's roof. Every time I see Abaddon, he annoys me. The way he orders us around, anyone who didn't know would think he was our dad! When I see his topknot, I just want to yank it off!" Davidson, wearing Mark II Power Armor, vented his dissatisfaction with Abaddon without restraint.
He had long been fed up with his days in the Shadow Wolves. "You brag about your dad, fine, but what's with acting like you're our dad? Now our dad is back." Davidson paced back and forth on the bridge, a little agitated, and he had even decided to show off his own dad when interacting with colleagues from other Legions in the future.
"You guys are lucky, I was assigned to the First Legion. Is that a life for a human? The First Legion prides itself as the leader of all Astartes, extremely strict. Just remembering their ciphers and passwords made me want to explode. Their nesting doll technique, one layer inside another. And they often have to do black ops. Who knows, one day you might mysteriously disappear. Heh, they'd never guess how many little secrets I've memorized about them. Thanks to the traits our great genetic father bestowed upon us, allowing me to survive on the brutal battlefield." Sambor recalled the cruel wars he experienced in the First Legion with some trepidation.
The Captains who had returned from various Legions and gathered on the Legion flagship saw that their Commander had already started discussing, so they too began to share their respective experiences.
Some complained about the Seventh Legion's members, saying their mouths and tempers were as stubborn and foul as rocks in a latrine. Others mentioned seeing the Ninth Legion secretly eating corpses. There were also those who said the Space Wolves only appeared rough but were actually very cunning. Most importantly!!! Fenris has no wolves!!!
"What's the point of talking about Astartes? Listen to me, listen to me. I'm going to drop a huge bombshell on you. I went to the 20th Legion, and I personally saw a giant dwarf Primarch. His height was the same as mine, but no one believes me. He said he was just an ordinary Alpharius. Do you believe him? Clearly, I am Alpharius, we are all Alpharius!!" The Captain who went to the 20th Legion spoke without restraint.
"Everyone shut up! Apothecary, drag him away and check if Alpharius has infiltrated him!!" Fahr's face darkened as he looked at his colleagues who had opened their mouths. "Are they really not afraid of getting lost in the Warp?"
Soon, amidst the Captain's shouts of "We are all Alpharius," the Apothecary directly pulled him aside and began a thorough examination.
"Even though you all know many little secrets, can't you give me a break? Do you think I don't know the 13th Legion is ambitious? Did I say anything? Answer me, answer me!!" Fahr roared directly. " Keep your little secrets safe, or don't come crying to me when you're not included in the boarding action!" Fahr roared at the group of guys who had no idea how many little secrets they had recorded in their notebooks.
"No, Commander, we haven't recorded any little secrets of other Legions! That's not true! We're just ordinary scouts!"
"No! I want to go on the boarding action. I want to be a grunt."
The company Commanders of the Pale Nomads let out tragic wails, all claiming they were just ordinary grunts.
"Alright, let's discuss another issue first!"
Our Primarch was raised by slaves. In other words, our composition is a big problem," Fahr roughly explained the situation of their gene-father to the Legion Commanders.
The 19th Legion's recruits were all conscripted from the young and strong in the tribes of the Middle Eastern desert region. The tribes in that region survived by raiding and practiced slavery. They treated slaves as if they were livestock or goods.
Now, the problem arose: their gene-father was raised by slaves, which meant that in the future, those slaves would become their comrades. This was something they had to consider. A new emperor brings new courtiers.
The air fell silent as Fahr posed the question. They were Astartes, war machines born for slaughter. They were articulate when it came to what they were good at, but they had never really considered this problem.
Now they recalled the series of major changes within the Legions after the gene-Primarchs returned. There would inevitably be a major power shift between the Terran-born and the companions brought from the Primarch's homeworld. Some Terran-born were still heavily relied upon, but most were marginalized, and there were plenty of instances where disobedient Terran-born were sent on missions with no chance of survival.
The Primarchs needed absolute control over their Legions, and they carried out these actions without any psychological pressure. They understood the principle that mercy does not command troops.
In this context, Corax was considered overly merciful to the 19th Legion's Terran-born. Obeying Horus's strategic arrangements and opposing his own gene-father's combat plans was practically indistinguishable from rebellion. Corax merely exiled them, even providing them with ships, personnel, and supplies.
Even when half of the Legion within the Khan wanted to rebel with Horus, he decisively sent these individuals on the most brutal cannon fodder missions, including the unfortunate act of decimation. Of course, this unfortunate act didn't care whether you were Terran-born or from the homeworld; in his eyes, they were all useless.
"This shouldn't be a big problem. We are Astartes. From the day we completed our modifications, those mundane matters have little to do with us. The Primarch's brothers are the same. We just shouldn't use those mortal auxiliary forces as bait in the future," Davidson said with some uncertainty.
"Yes, since Father was raised by slaves, he should be very benevolent, right? In the future, brothers, just work harder and control the casualty rate of the mortal auxiliary forces. It shouldn't be a big problem," the other company Commanders also chimed in.
"Alright, things will sort themselves out. Everyone pay attention these past few days. If the Primarch wants to blame anything from before, I'll take the fall. But if the Primarch wants to punish something later, and I've warned you and problems still arise, then you'll have to bear it yourselves. All of you, return to your companies. Meeting dismissed!" Fahr finally sent all the Legions back to their companies.
"Yes, Commander!" All the officers present responded and then began heading to the transport platform to return to their warships.
Fahr's prestige remained very high during his years of commanding the Legion.
...
...
A Terran week passed in a flash.
"Gryphon IV really went all out! Kiavahr is nothing compared to them!" Swain looked up at the enormous mechanical platform in orbit and sighed.
Gryphon IV was going to construct a global orbit around Lycaeus to house various defensive weapons and handle all transportation tasks for the mining planet. On the ground, gigantic mining equipment, like ravenous beasts, brutally tore open Lycaeus's surface, frantically extracting the various minerals buried underground.
Swain calculated that one scoop from that huge shovel would be enough for him to painstakingly mine for ten years.
"They kept their promise. The Mechanicus are reliable," Swain was very satisfied with Gryphon IV's efficiency and speed.
When the global orbit on Lycaeus was completed, the miners there would be transferred to live on the orbital platform. Next, the Mechanicus would re-plan and transform Lycaeus. Except for the high tower, all other buildings would be demolished, essentially rebuilding Corax's homeworld from scratch. This was definitely a massive project.
The extracted ores were continuously being sent to the foundries on Kiavahr for production. The transformation of Kiavahr was also underway; Gryphon IV directly dismantled the largest forge there and installed a new casting furnace.
Unlike Lycaeus, Kiavahr's project progress was much slower. Kiavahr was already a mature industrial world, so the transformation could not be a complete demolition and rebuild like Lycaeus. There were too many things to consider.
"leader, my Father sent me a message. My Legion has already jumped out of the Mandeville Point and is heading this way. I'd like to invite you to meet my sons," Corax hurried over from another construction site inspection and said to Swain.
"Oh, oh, your Legion is here! This is fantastic news! I definitely have to go and see them with you," Swain immediately became interested.
Astartes can be said to be the most representative element in the entire Warhammer universe. Others, whether Custodes, Mechanicus, or Inquisitors, cannot compare to these large, two-hearted, three-lunged fellows. Equipped with heavy ceramite power armor and roaring boltguns, they gallop across battlefields filled with gunfire, swinging their chainswords to hack various xenos and heretics into pieces.
Just thinking about this scene gave Swain goosebumps all over.
Several golden Stormbirds carried Corax, Swain, and some senior Dark Raven Guard administrators towards the 19th Legion's flagship, the Emperor's Shadow, which was already docked next to the Imperial Fleet.
"They're here! The Primarchs are here!" Davidson said excitedly, watching the golden Stormbird fly towards the landing pad.
The gene-Primarch, whom the 19th Legion had longed for day and night, was finally returning. At this moment, not only Davidson, but even the steady Commander, oh, acting Commander Fahr, couldn't help but shout along.
A Legion without a gene-Primarch is incomplete. Now, the 19th Legion was finally about to welcome their soul, their backbone.