Chapter 32 — The Treacherous Minister Malcado
"So why do you want me to accompany you?"
"Horus believes your Legion is too small. Acting alone would be dangerous. Coordinated operations allow mutual support."
From an observation gallery high above the Martian shipyards, Yuki and the Emperor looked down upon the vast docks below. Workers, servitors, and Mechanicum adepts moved like flowing currents of metal and light as the newly commissioned flagship of the XVI Legion prepared for transfer of command.
Below them, Horus and the warriors of the Sixteenth Legion stood before their new vessel — the Vengeful Spirit — a warship whose name would one day echo across the stars.
Yuki rolled her eyes.
"Am I some lost scout needing an escort? I coordinate with other Legions when necessary. Why would I need protection?"
A year had passed in what felt like a single breath. The Great Crusade was about to resume in earnest. Their visit to Mars was to claim newly completed warships before departure.
Yuki had intended to join Horus below, but the Emperor had stopped her, insisting she remain. He wanted her to travel alongside Horus and himself.
She did not understand.
"Father, I am a Primarch. Wouldn't it be more efficient for me to operate independently?"
The Emperor remained silent.
Yuki narrowed her eyes.
"This isn't Horus's idea… is it yours?"
Silence answered her.
Horus had expressed a desire to campaign beside his father and sister, but had also insisted he would obey whatever decision they made. Today, it was the Emperor who did not wish Yuki to depart alone.
"Father," she said slowly, "are you worried about your relationship with Horus… and want my help?"
"…Yes."
She sighed.
"You could have said that sooner. Don't worry. Horus practically has 'I love Father' carved into his soul. With my assistance, I guarantee a perfect father-son dynamic."
Her mind drifted to a recent sparring match.
The Emperor had disarmed Horus with a single, effortless stroke — a lesson in precision and restraint. Afterward, he silently offered his hand.
To Horus, it felt like a father lifting his fallen child, brushing dust from his shoulders, and asking with quiet concern:
Did I hurt you, my son?
Horus had replied, stunned, "No, Father. It did not hurt at all."
The Emperor had stared at him, baffled.
Had he struck the boy too hard? Why was he speaking like this?
Watching from the sidelines, Yuki had nearly laughed herself breathless.
The Emperor's care was quiet, awkward, almost invisible.
Horus, blessed with instinctive emotional intelligence, sensed it instantly.
The Emperor, meanwhile, remained completely confused by his son's earnest responses.
Without Yuki, the two might have spent decades silently misunderstanding each other.
Departure Plans
"Inform me when you depart," Yuki said. "The Imperial Wing will operate alongside the Vengeful Spirit. Coordinated command structures will improve fleet response times."
(The Emperor's personal flagship would not be completed until later; at this stage he commanded from a grand battle barge comparable in scale to the Legion flagships.)
Horus Receives the News
"Truly, Father?" Horus smiled openly.
"Yes," the Emperor replied. "You will campaign beside me."
They stood shoulder to shoulder while officers of the XVI Legion looked on with undisguised pride. Among them spread a quiet certainty:
The Sixteenth Legion now stood closest to the Emperor.
The First Legion's old prestige suddenly felt… less absolute.
Meanwhile — Burden of Empire
Yuki did not linger.
While father and son shared rare quiet moments, she faced an avalanche of work. The genetic stability of the Legiones Astartes remained unresolved. Imperial governance structures were still incomplete.
Inside the Sigillite's residence, Yuki discussed administrative frameworks with Malcador while Alpharius prepared tea.
Outwardly, Alpharius maintained the formal distance expected between Astartes and Primarch.
Privately, Yuki treated him as a younger brother.
It was a silent understanding:
You know who I am.
I know you know.
And we both know we will never say it.
"Uncle Ma, what about this?" Yuki handed him a document.
Malcador read it, exhaled slowly, and closed his eyes.
"It will function… but only with difficulty."
She sighed.
Politics was not her strength. She longed for the return of a brother suited to governance.
Come back soon, Guilliman. Your sister is drowning in paperwork.
(Somewhere across the void, Roboute Guilliman paused, feeling an inexplicable sense of impending responsibility.)
Alpharius remained seated quietly to one side. Espionage, infiltration, and intelligence he understood.
Imperial bureaucracy was a battlefield he wisely avoided.
Horus Arrives
"Sister?!"
The doors opened abruptly as Horus pushed past the guards and entered.
There were only three chairs.
Alpharius began to stand, but Yuki pressed his shoulder.
"Stay."
She dragged in a larger chair and set it beside Horus.
"You should be with Father. What's wrong? Why the rush?"
"We've just returned from Mars," Horus said. "I heard you were working with the Chancellor. I came to see if I could help."
He spoke to Yuki, but his eyes repeatedly flicked toward Malcador.
As for Alpharius, he dismissed him as a silent attendant.
Since arriving on Terra, Horus had investigated Malcador thoroughly.
He learned of the Sigillite's centuries of service, his role in shaping the Imperium, and his absolute loyalty to the Emperor.
Horus nearly concluded he had misjudged him.
Then he noticed something troubling.
A growing number of Imperial officials owed their positions to Malcador's patronage. Many were mediocre. Some were incompetent. Yet they remained insulated from accountability.
Horus traced the chain of protection.
It led back to Malcador.
The conclusion seemed obvious:
Either power had corrupted him…
or he had always been corrupt.
Horus had raised the issue repeatedly with the Emperor.
Each time, the Emperor replied:
"Do not trust appearances alone."
And dismissed the matter.
But to Horus, the truth seemed clear.
Malcador was a treacherous minister.
And he would expose him.
Malcador's Burden
Malcador sipped his tea quietly.
He understood exactly what Horus believed.
The officials in question were compromises — necessary ones. Their families held influence. Their regions required stability. Their education, though flawed, exceeded that of many alternatives.
The Imperium did not yet possess the administrative depth to replace them.
Someone had to make these decisions.
Only three individuals possessed the authority to do so:
The Emperor.
The Vice-Emperor Yuki.
Malcador the Sigillite.
And only one could bear the blame.
Malcador accepted the burden.
Still, being judged by a newly returned son stung more than he expected.
Yuki's "Help"
"Help? That's perfect!" Yuki said brightly, unaware of the silent tension.
She handed Horus a thick stack of administrative documents.
"We're designing governance structures for an empire that will span millions of worlds. Take a look and tell us what you think."
Horus flipped through the pages.
Every word was familiar.
Together, they formed something incomprehensible.
Horus: ?
"Well?" Yuki asked.
"Any thoughts?"
Sweat formed at Horus's temples.
"Ahem… well… I… this is…"
Malcador closed his eyes.
What a catastrophe.