Aboard the Shadow's Sovereignty, Rosicky stood outside the landing pad prepared for the Alpha Legion, a blue-green spherical metal object cradled in his left hand.
At the center of this mystical item, personally crafted by the Forge Lord, was a single drop of blood, shimmering like a ruby, taken from the Primarch Omegon.
He activated his Spirit Vision, gazing into the metal sphere. Around the blood at its center were nine 'little serpents' containing faint red lines within.
Their outer skins were made from Omegon's tissue samples, and the bloodlines were strands of Omegon's blood, drifting aimlessly.
The Forge Lord's focus returned to the sphere's exterior: layer upon layer of runes, each engraved by his own hand.
Suddenly, a voice from the landing pad's metal announcer sounded in his ear.
"Prepare! Prepare!"
"The Alpha Legion's Aquila Lander is arriving. Pay homage to the Primarch Omegon..."
As the rousing announcement played, the ruby blood within Rosicky's sphere trembled slightly, turning a deeper, more vibrant red.
Five of the 'little serpents' suddenly sprang up, simultaneously striking the metal casing in the same direction. Rune after rune lit up.
Rosicky noted the five gleaming runes, all located in the same area.
He looked up quickly, confirming the runes' direction aligned with the landing pad's deck.
He glanced at the distance indicator on the pad, which showed twenty kilometers.
'Adding my distance from the landing zone, the maximum effective detection range is 20.2 kilometers.'
Rosicky examined the blue-green metal sphere again. The inscribed emerald runes glowed increasingly brightly.
'The closer it gets, the brighter the glow.'
His mechadendrites moved rapidly, precisely recording the runes' brightness on the data-slate in his right hand.
When the distance display on the pad dropped to one hundred meters, Rosicky retracted his mechadendrites and turned to leave.
The arriving Primarch's Aide exchanged nods with the Master of the Forge. The "Polymath's" gaze lingered on the gleaming metal sphere for a moment before he continued forward.
At the same moment, Roboute Guilliman, in a pleasant mood, entered Nareth's palace ahead of Omegon and Lion El'Jonson.
Fighting alongside Nareth, the key figure among the Dauntless Few brothers, filled him with anticipation for the campaign to purge the xenos at Taxal.
'Hmm?' Guilliman frowned slightly. Obsidian pillars, defying the laws of physics with their irregular angles, supported a seemingly damaged dome.
Twelve Chapter banners were arranged asymmetrically: three on the left, four on the right, and five in the center.
Guilliman examined his surroundings. The complete disregard for the Fibonacci sequence, this aesthetic of calculated beauty, made him slightly uncomfortable.
As a seasoned politician, Guilliman quickly suppressed any micro-expression that might betray this discomfort.
He had long heard that besides a penchant for all things strange and peculiar, Nareth favored asymmetrical, disordered architectural styles.
Shadow of Order's Legion Fortress, Shadowhold, was reportedly the Imperium's most unique structure. It was said that outsiders would be affected by some supernatural force and become lost within.
"Guilliman, welcome."
"Father."
"Nareth, it's a pleasure to fight alongside you."
After greeting the warmly welcoming Nareth, Guilliman glanced at Gren Vosotho, who stood beside Nareth, and nodded slightly.
"You have performed well."
Hearing Guilliman's affirmation for the first time, Vosotho felt a complex mix of emotions.
Guilliman had never favored the Terran-born. The first time he acknowledged him was because of his performance serving Lord Nareth.
In this war, he had won honor for the Ultramarines, all thanks to Lord Nareth's trust.
Vosotho lowered his head as he walked to stand behind Guilliman, his gaze sweeping over Marius Gage.
'Father will never trust me or the other Terran-born.'
'My decision to swear fealty to Lord Nareth was right. Only He gives me opportunities.'
'I must secure support for myself, and for the Terran-born of the First and 2Second Chapters. Otherwise, we will forever be merely tools for carrying out Exterminatus.'
He lifted his head and sat down beside Gage, on either side of Guilliman.
After Nareth had spoken with Guilliman for a while, Omegon and the Lion arrived.
The Lion, expressionless, looked at Urian Vendraig, who had come to greet him alongside Nareth.
The moment their eyes met, Urian instinctively looked away.
The Lion's gaze, sharp as a blade, lingered on Urian for a moment before he walked to his reserved seat.
Urian silently followed, sitting down, separated from the Lion by the First Sword Corswain and Chaplain Nemiel.
The council began. Guilliman spoke first.
"Based on intelligence gathered by Shadows of Order from engagements with the xenos and Alpha Legion infiltration, I have formulated an operational plan."
"First, the combined fleet will use its overwhelming naval superiority to breach the gateway to Taxal. The specific plan is..."
Gage cooperated with the Primarch's narration, connecting a data-slate to a cogitator.
A star chart appeared. Data scrolled.
Vosotho watched Gage, clearly involved in formulating the plan.
It was always like this. He had never been allowed to participate.
Thinking of how, since meeting Lord Nareth, he had been involved in operational planning, Vosotho felt his resolve strengthening.
Guilliman explained his plan with appropriate detail, covering fleet deployment, operational zones for each fleet, logistics, and other aspects.
"Then, we will launch the planetary assault."
"According to Imperial records, Taxal was a mountainous world before xenos occupation."
"The xenos will certainly use the terrain to build fortifications. Orbital bombardment will be of limited effectiveness. We must..."
Just as Gage displayed the Imperial records' hololithic star chart, with mountains categorized and marked, the silent Lion suddenly spoke.
"Wait."
"The ground operations plan should be formulated after we arrive in Taxal orbit."
"The xenos have occupied it for a long time. Taxal is no longer what it was."
Guilliman looked at the Lion. "A plan should still be prepared in advance, to be adjusted according to the situation."
Nareth watched as Guilliman, who habitually handled multiple tasks simultaneously, clashed with the Lion, who focused on one thing at a time. He had anticipated this.
"Guilliman, you can prepare a plan in advance. After we reach the Taxal system, 'Alpha' will conduct infiltration to gather intelligence."
Nareth looked at Omegon, drawing him, who had remained silent, into the discussion.
After Omegon nodded in agreement, Nareth continued.
"After obtaining the scan results, we will finalize the decisive battle plan."
"Good." Guilliman and Omegon agreed. The Lion nodded silently.
The three Primarchs rose. The Lion was the first to leave, alone.
Guilliman was about to speak with Nareth when Omegon spoke first.
"Nareth, I have something to discuss with you."
Guilliman nodded to Nareth and left with Gage, Vosotho, and the others.
Twenty minutes later, in the Primarch's private sitting room.
Omegon entered and chose the third seat on the right, in the asymmetrical arrangement of five on the left and six on the right.
After sipping the finest Sea-Cradle black tea, he spoke.
"Nareth, I thank you once again for rescuing me from the clutches of those evil xenos."
"Welcome back," Nareth set down his black teacup, scrutinizing Omegon. "You seem to have settled in well."
"I have familiarized myself with the current state of the Imperium, including all of my brothers." Omegon's eyes were deep.
"I think you must already know that our Father, the Emperor, intends to leave the front lines."
"He will appoint a Warmaster to continue leading the Great Crusade."
"Horus, Lion, Ferrus, they have all already taken action. Guilliman's pace of conquest has also accelerated."
Seeing Nareth's smile unchanged, Omegon was briefly taken aback before continuing.
"I will support you to become Warmaster."
"Not only because you rescued me, but also because we share a similar emphasis on information."
'And your Court has many secrets.' When he and Alpharius had discussed it, they had reached a consensus: only the Dark Angels and Shadows of Order had attitudes towards information and secrecy similar to theirs.
The worst candidate for Warmaster was Guilliman, followed by Ferrus and Perturabo.
They were good at calculation, but unlike Nareth, they would not respect their secrets.
The cost of hiding secrets would be too high; they would lose many intelligence agents.
"You also mediate conflicts between brothers, allowing us to fight together while respecting each Legion's culture."
Omegon voiced the reason the two brothers had ultimately chosen between the Lion and Nareth.
"I have no interest in the position of Warmaster. I will follow the Emperor's choice and obey the commands of whoever is appointed."
Nareth waited for Omegon to finish, then immediately declined.
'Even though Alpharius has followed the Emperor the longest, he still doesn't know him well enough. How could the Warmaster be chosen by 'vote'? The Emperor chooses whoever He wants.'
'But if there were a vote, who would I support...?'
Nareth considered all possible candidates with interest.
'First, exclude three: Lion, Ferrus, and Guilliman.'
'They are all excellent military commanders. They could serve as Warmaster and lead the Expeditionary fleets to victory.'
'The only problem with Guilliman is that if he held that position, it would be harder to conceal the Legion's secrets in reports. He's the type who would read every report thoroughly, including appendices and logs, even in his spare time.'
Nareth thought of original Ferrus's Gardinaal Campaign to win the Warmaster position, which ultimately made him realize he was unsuited.
'Ferrus would calculate all factors and make the most 'rational' choice.'
'But this would be too harsh for other Legions. He treated Guilliman's sons as completely expendable. He didn't consider the lives of millions of Auxilia soldiers.'
'Even without the Gardinaal Campaign, there would be other battles. Ferrus would quickly realize he wasn't suited to be Warmaster.'
Though Ferrus was on friendly terms with Nareth, he wouldn't support someone so cruel for Warmaster. He would never allow his sons to be used as cannon fodder.
'The Lion's issues are even greater. Perhaps the version of him ten thousand years from now, I would support. But not the current one.'
'His arrogance is not the main issue. To win victory, he completely does not consider costs or sacrifices. Not only for other Legions, but for most of his own sons as well.'
'He can't even manage his relationships with his own sons. Luther, Zahariel, and most of the Terran-born, the flying fist that knocked Nemiel's head off is just one example...'
Nareth reviewed the three he would not support, giving his assessment.
'Guilliman would just be a bit troublesome.'
'If Ferrus or the Lion became Warmaster, even without the Four, many Primarchs would rebel. At least, I couldn't accept being led by them.'
'Hmm... Fulgrim would support Ferrus. As for the Lion... besides Perturabo, whom he deceived, who would support him?'
Nareth then thought of the remaining two: Horus and Sanguinius.
'Either would be fine. Neither would hinder my development.'
'Setting aside foresight, Horus's achievements, his attitude towards the other Primarchs, he's still the most suitable candidate.'
'The Emperor's choice wasn't wrong. It's just that Horus was eventually corrupted by the Four.'
Reining in his thoughts, Nareth spoke to the puzzled Omegon.
"I would prefer intelligence support from the Alpha Legion."
The Alpha Legion excelled at infiltration and had cultivated numerous agents across many worlds.
Setting aside psychic acquisition and Shadows of Order's divination, the Alpha Legion was unmatched in conventional intelligence gathering.
Omegon was silent for a moment. Compared to the Warmaster position, information and secrets had greater value.
"Good." He agreed, deciding to consult with Alpharius later on the scope of intelligence to provide.
As Omegon's Aquila Lander departed, in the Primarch's Office.
Nareth instructed Arsena. "Omegon has agreed to provide intelligence, but we cannot trust it completely."
"Each piece of intelligence must be reviewed by your aides, and you must make the final determination."
"By your command, my Lord." The "Polymath" acknowledged. Then Rosicky spoke.
"My Lord, I have conducted the first test of the Alpha Legionnaire detection device."
He displayed the metal sphere before Nareth.
"The test was successful. It can detect Alphas. The detection range is..."
Nareth nodded slightly, thinking to himself.
'Omegon, you not only support me for Warmaster, but also help me create the Alpha detection sphere.'
'Though you don't know it, I suppose this counts as repaying my favor.'
"Continue your research. Conduct the next tests at Taxal."
Considering that Rosicky's ability to create mystical items would improve with sequence advancement, and that the Alphas would only begin large-scale infiltrating other Legions after being convinced by the Cabal to rebel, Nareth decided against producing all detection spheres at once.
His plan was to create thirteen before the Heresy began, distributing twelve to the Chapters and keeping one on his flagship.
.....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
[email protected]/DaoistJinzu