Chapter 226: On the Move
The column formed into two segments. The advance element: four Chimeras running point. The main body: the remaining Chimeras mixed with cargo haulers carrying the thousand infantry, with the three Mechanicus repair vehicles embedded in the formation.
Kian rode in the command Chimera, managing the operation from inside.
The command variant was the right tool for this. Limited weaponry, but every cubic centimetre of internal space given over to electronics — vox equipment for unit-to-unit communication, a vehicle-mounted auspex for forward threat detection, internal storage containing planetary maps and a gravitational positioning system. Using all of it, Kian could manage his force the way a strategist manages a tactical display — unit positions, terrain overlays, communication channels to every squad with a handset.
He was working the map, plotting the route, when Antonius's voice came through the helmet vox.
"You're routing around the direct path. Why? You're adding hours to the march."
Kian kept working the map.
"Antonius — the force has one voice. Mine. I don't explain my decisions to you."
A pause. Then, with controlled irritation: "You'll regret this, Voss."
"I'm the Chapter Master."
He cut the channel and raised the lead vehicle.
"Front element — confirm road surface condition ahead."
"Sir — heavy vehicle track marks throughout. Road has seen significant recent traffic."
"Good. Hold speed, maintain vigilance. Our threat list includes both rebels and our own people."
The routing logic was straightforward: stay on the PDF supply lines. Heavy track marks meant regular traffic, which meant the road had been recently used and was unlikely to be freshly mined. Going cross-country in rebel territory invited both enemy improvised devices and the kind of attention from other PDF units that Kian had personally demonstrated was dangerous.
The column wound forward on the longer but safer path. When PDF checkpoints appeared, the procedure was consistent: present the movement documents, offer five bags of grain, advance. Two more checkpoints after the first, same result each time. No shooting.
By evening they had reached the forward edge of the active PDF advance — the point where the controlled territory ended and the contested ground began.
Kian ordered a halt in a flat cultivated field. The Chimeras formed a defensive perimeter, vehicles and personnel inside. He ordered food out — tinned guana-meat, quality bread, a measured allocation of amasec. The soldiers ate well.
Antonius appeared.
"We're a hundred kilometres from the objective. Our night systems are superior to anything the rebels field. Night movement gives us the advantage. Why are you stopping?"
Kian fixed him with a flat look.
"One voice. Mine. Get out of my sight."
"Voss — you will regret this."
"I'm the Chapter Master."
Antonius left with the energy of a man who was cataloguing grievances for later presentation.
Kian's reasoning was sound and he didn't feel obligated to share it. The auspex systems were good, yes. But darkness was darkness — in rebel territory it meant roadside devices that sensors might miss, guerrilla ambushes positioned to exploit limited visibility, and a dozen other complications that cost lives rather than time. His soldiers were his investment. He wanted them rested and at full capacity for whatever came next.
Day two. The advance resumed, but slowly.
Kian's solution to the ordnance problem: Big Kae ran three kilometres ahead of the column at all times, his mechanical legs' ground vibration sensors and active detection capability sweeping the road and verges. Clear signal — column advances three kilometres. Kae moves forward again. Stop, scan, advance. Repeat.
The pace was geological. The last hundred kilometres took most of the day.
It worked. Big Kae flagged multiple roadside devices during the advance. The explosive content was crude — but devices measured in hundreds of kilograms of low-grade explosive were not something armoured vehicles survived intact. Each one was destroyed in place: the heavy reactive suits advanced, the autocannon grenade launchers put two or three high-explosive rounds on target, and the road opened again after the crater was assessed.
Big Kae's voice came over the vox, unhurried.
"Boss — stopping. Three kilometres ahead, significant ground vibration. Footstep signature. Count exceeds four thousand."
[End of Chapter 226]
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