V2 Chapter 83: I Think He Has Earned a Promotion to Major General
"I did not expect it would be you, in the end, who came to relieve Nev City."
Duvette walked up to General Petrov and looked him over, the blood, the ash, the state of the man, and let the expression on his face settle into something between exasperation and acknowledgement, with a brief raise of his shoulders.
"I didn't expect you to get yourself stuck in quite this bad a shape either."
Petrov produced a sound that was aimed at being a laugh but came out with a trace of blood in it.
"I had no choice."
"Doesn't matter. At least you held on until I got here." Duvette said.
Petrov looked at the Black Shields beside Duvette. He looked at the Krieg and 112th soldiers moving in behind him.
"The trouble you bring with you feels considerably larger than it did at Formal Prime."
Duvette smiled.
"Don't worry about it. For the moment they're all on your side."
Petrov was quiet for a moment. Then he used the barricade to push himself upright and rendered Duvette a salute that cost him something to produce.
"Nev City is still standing."
Duvette returned it. "Well done, General Petrov. From here forward, command of this sector transfers to me."
---
Marshal Slaydo stood on the flag bridge of the Absalom.
The holo-strategic display ahead continued its constant changes, the Sveren system's various fronts rendered in different colour bands across the projection.
Nadzybar's counter-offensive had not ended. The Cossiminus direction was still producing bad news. But in the middle of that continuous flow of tense reports, Slaydo had his head down over a data-slate in his hand, and the expression on his face was gradually shifting into something different.
A moment later, he broke into a sudden burst of laughter.
The bridge officers looked up simultaneously by instinct.
They had not heard the Marshal laugh like that since Nadzybar launched his counter-offensive. Many of them could not immediately work out what kind of report could produce that expression on the expedition's supreme commander at a moment like this one.
"I said he could do it!"
Slaydo raised the data-slate as he laughed.
"I said he could do it! Macaroth, come and see this."
Chief of Staff Macaroth walked over and took the data-slate from Slaydo's hand.
He did not speak immediately. He read quickly through the combat report. The text and the attached tactical diagrams were concise, but they were sufficient to convey what had happened in the Nev City direction.
Assault launched at midnight.
Main advance element reached the inner city's outer perimeter the same afternoon.
Northwest corridor opened. Enemy outer commander killed. First temporary relief passage established. Nev City gate remained in Imperial control. Water station, underground maintenance conduits, and temporary medical points all uncompromised.
"Well?" Slaydo pointed at the data-slate, the excitement in his voice barely contained. "The northwest corridor that Bleddin couldn't open in a month. He put it through in one night and half a day. Airborne strike, frontal advance, enemy commander decapitated, temporary corridor established."
He looked around the bridge.
"Who among us present could have done that?"
No one answered.
Slaydo laughed again.
"Remarkable talent."
Macaroth kept his head down over the report. His brow gradually came together. His fingertip tapped slowly against the edge of the data-slate.
"The tactical arrangement is standard," he said. "Airborne plus frontal advance, infantry-artillery cooperation, armoured spearhead, enemy rear interdiction. Every element is in the expedition's tactical manual."
He paused.
"The question is why it went so smoothly."
Slaydo did not argue with that.
Macaroth continued reading. "The advance efficiency of the Krieg 1173rd Provisional Siege Combat Group exceeds normal assessment parameters. The 771st Siege Regiment maintained an assault tempo in high-intensity combat that exceeds documented baseline. The 112th's armoured battalion direct fire coordination was unusually precise. And then there is the gate defence record from the thirteen Black Shields."
He was still working through it when a new priority report arrived directly on Slaydo's personal panel. The data source carried multiple encryption layers, flagged as a direct uplink from a front-line commissar, with a temporary sealed classification request attached.
Macaroth glanced at it and did not open it.
He returned the data-slate to Slaydo.
Slaydo took it back and ran his finger across the panel. The report was short, but as he read it the expression on his face quietly drew back from the laughter.
Under the direct command of Colonel-Commissar Duvette Erdmann, the 1173rd Provisional Siege Combat Group exhibited anomalous improvements in physical capability, target identification capability, and advance efficiency.
No overt Chaos contamination detected. Duvette personally characterised the phenomenon as the Emperor's grace.
The report recommended restricting this information to the expedition's supreme command and designated Inquisitorial representatives.
Slaydo read it. He was quiet for a moment.
Then he deleted the copy from the bridge's shared record system, transferred the original into his private sealed archive, and applied the highest classification seal under Warmaster's authority.
Macaroth watched the Marshal's actions, did not know what was written in that report, and did not ask.
Slaydo raised his head again. His expression had returned to neutral. He looked at the holo-strategic display and let his gaze settle on the indicator marking Duvette's position in the northwest Sveren sector.
"Record the following orders."
The scribe beside him lowered their head immediately.
Slaydo said: "Effective immediately, the Krieg 1173rd Provisional Siege Combat Group is temporarily detached from General Bleddin's ground order of battle and transferred to the Warmaster's direct mobile combat reserve."
"For the duration of the Sveren campaign, the unit continues to operate under the tactical command of Colonel-Commissar Duvette Erdmann."
"All combat reports, commissarial records, and operational assessments from this unit are to be submitted directly to me. They are not to be distributed to General Bleddin, the Departmento Munitorum inspection staff, or any other front-line command without my personal authorisation."
The scribe wrote quickly.
Macaroth gave a nod.
"Understood, Marshal."
Slaydo continued: "Notify General Bleddin of the adjusted strategic objectives for the Nev City direction. Counter-offensive operations and relief corridor stabilisation in that direction are to be coordinated by Duvette Erdmann. General Petrov retains responsibility for inner city defence. Duvette is responsible for external advance and counter-attack tempo."
"I will see to it."
Macaroth turned to leave. Slaydo held him.
"What is your assessment of Duvette?"
Macaroth stopped and showed the expression of someone genuinely considering the question.
But Slaydo did not appear to need the answer. He said quietly, almost to himself: "My original plan was to give him a general's appointment when the Sabbat Crusade was approaching its conclusion."
Macaroth looked up, surprised.
Slaydo was not looking at him. He was looking at the indicator on the strategic display.
"Within the expedition's structure, an individual who simultaneously holds Commissar-General authority and a general officer's command rank is extremely uncommon. Even within Imperial military history as a whole, an arrangement like that would be enough to make a great many people uncomfortable."
His finger rested lightly on the data panel.
"So when a certain woman first proposed this idea, I was not willing."
Macaroth remained silent.
Slaydo continued: "But I have changed my mind."
He turned and looked at his Chief of Staff directly.
"Duvette Erdmann has earned a promotion to Major General."
Several senior officers nearby on the bridge raised their heads slightly, then looked down again quickly.
Macaroth's expression shifted at last.
"Marshal, if you do this, the Departmento Munitorum will object. The Commissariat will watch him with considerably more concern. And there may be..."
"Let them object." Slaydo raised a hand and cut him off. "I will submit the recommendation directly to the High Lords' Council on Terra."
"And the Inquisition?"
Slaydo said: "Someone is already standing behind him."
Macaroth fell into silence again.
Slaydo simply moved his gaze from the Sveren sector across the holo-display toward where Balhaut sat on the projection.
"After Balhaut, I will formally confer the rank of Major General on him, and grant him special Commissar-General authority within the expedition."
Slaydo allowed himself a smile again and looked at Macaroth. "Go and carry out the earlier orders."
Macaroth inclined his head.
"Understood, Marshal."
He took the data-slate and turned to leave.
The bridge returned to its working pitch. Orders began moving in every direction. Vox channels lit up one after another. General Bleddin would receive his reassignment instructions shortly. The Krieg 1173rd would be temporarily detached from the ground order of battle.
Slaydo stood before the strategic display, his gaze still on the indicator marking Duvette's position.
The indicator was moving slowly outside Nev City.
It was small.
But to Slaydo's eyes, it was no longer the position marker of an ordinary formation.
It was a blade.
A blade he intended to sharpen personally, once Balhaut was done.