V2 Chapter 108: Mankind's Destiny Is Manifest. It Will Always Return to Humanity.
On the forty-fifth day after Operation Hellstorm began, the main void engagement above Balhaut had long since concluded.
The Imperial fleet had shifted from direct engagement to orbital blockade, fugitive pursuit, and escort operations. The transport vessels, pirate craft, and Chaos light warships still attempting to flee Balhaut were being dragged out of the dark one by one and destroyed.
With orbital strikes and ground advances working in combination, the major enemy concentrations on Balhaut's surface had been effectively eliminated. What remained were scattered holdouts still sheltering in underground complexes, ruins, and derelict industrial facilities.
At this moment, inside the High Palace of the Oligarchy Zone, the throne hall was still under Ecclesiarchy and Inquisitorial seal for purification.
The investiture ceremony had been arranged for the plaza before the High Palace.
A sufficient area had been cleared for it. Countless engineering vehicles and servitors had laboured day and night, pushing rubble and wreckage to either side, laying steel plate over craters, and hanging coloured banners from fractured stone steps and scorched columns.
Imperial regimental colours, Saint Sabbat banners, and the expedition's battle standards hung throughout the plaza.
Ministorum priests stood before a hastily constructed altar and chanted. Mechanicus servo-skulls carrying small censers and sacred oil dispersers drifted slowly above the assembled ranks. The sacred oil mist and incense mixed together and left a sharp smell hanging in the air.
Duvette walked into the plaza with his inner circle.
In his assessment, the scale of the occasion came second only to the post-battle commemorations on Macragge. The one difference was that at some point a statue of Saint Sabbat had appeared in the centre of the plaza.
It was tall, and whoever had carved it had clearly made the effort. Duvette could still see the signs of rushed work. Several details had been handled roughly, and the inscription on the base even had a few freshly re-cut lines.
He looked toward the core position further across the plaza.
Marshal Slaydo was standing there, flanked by Chief of Staff Macaroth and several senior expedition officers. Duvette noticed that when Slaydo's gaze moved to the statue, a brief expression of displeasure crossed his face.
It disappeared quickly.
Duvette put it down to Slaydo holding the ceremony to a high standard and thought nothing further of it.
He directed the people he had brought to their designated positions and walked toward the Warmaster himself.
"Marshal."
Slaydo turned and found him, and smiled.
"Duvette. Good timing."
Duvette drew closer and looked at his face.
"You don't look well. Not sleeping?"
Slaydo waved it off.
"Age, and the fact that I personally went to the front line not long ago. The wounds ache occasionally. Light sleep. Nothing to concern yourself with."
Duvette looked at him steadily.
"Does the medicae staff know?"
"They know far too much." Slaydo gave a short laugh. "Which is precisely why I prefer to keep my distance from them."
Duvette laughed once as well.
The two of them spoke briefly about the new appointments.
Slaydo confirmed that both the Departmento Munitorum and the Commissariat had approved Duvette's position adjustment. Major General's rank, retained commissarial authority, special Commissar-General powers across the expedition, and command of the 112th Combined Battle Group would all be formally announced today.
At that point, Slaydo looked toward a different section of the assembled ranks.
"Ibram Gaunt will also receive his commission today."
Duvette followed his gaze.
Gaunt was standing in the Hyrkan officer formation, back straight. Not far from him, Commissar-General Oktar was present as well. The old Commissar's expression was composed, if anything even more settled than Gaunt's own.
"Colonel-Commissar?" Duvette asked, already knowing the answer.
Slaydo gave a nod.
"The Oligarchy Gate is sufficient. He saw the opportunity, and he personally went into that drainage channel. The 8th Hyrkan opening that gate is significantly his achievement."
Duvette allowed himself a smile.
"He's earned it."
"The 8th Hyrkan's survivors will be integrated with the 11th Regiment." Slaydo continued. "Commissar-General Oktar will oversee the reorganisation. As for Gaunt, I intend to give him the authority to command an Astra Militarum regiment independently."
Duvette said nothing to that.
Slaydo glanced at him and continued. "The Departmento Munitorum is still reviewing candidates for the new regiment's origin world. There are several suitable planets in the Sabbat subsector. The specific list hasn't been confirmed yet."
Duvette only smiled.
He knew perfectly well what one of those names would be.
At that moment, a clear peal of horns rang out across the plaza.
The sound echoed above the High Palace forecourt and was carried by the wind toward the still-smoking ruins of the Oligarchy Zone.
Slaydo clapped a hand on Duvette's shoulder.
"Fall back to your position. It won't be long before your name is called."
Duvette gave a nod and returned to where he was meant to stand.
The weather on Balhaut was unusually clear. No cloud cover, and direct sunlight fell across the entire plaza. Duvette stood at the front of his formation and felt the heat of it on the back of his black commissar's greatcoat, pausing occasionally to wipe his forehead.
The ceremony began quickly.
First, a Ministorum priest read the victory prayer. Then a Departmento Munitorum clerk read out the principal achievements of the Battle of Balhaut. Nadzybar's death, the fall of the High Palace, the pacification of the Takk Islands, and the return of orbital facilities to Imperial control were each announced in turn, each met with a measured salute from the assembled ranks.
Then Marshal Slaydo took the stage to confer the honours personally.
One general after another stepped forward. Their distinctions were pinned to their chests. Some were expressionless, some could not contain the feeling in their faces, and some still had bandaging visible beneath their uniforms.
Duvette heard the name.
"Commissar Ibram Gaunt."
Gaunt walked up the steps.
He did not look at those around him. He paused for only a moment in front of Commissar-General Oktar. Oktar said nothing. He simply gave a quiet nod.
Gaunt squared his shoulders and continued forward to stand before Slaydo.
Slaydo looked at him. His voice carried to the edges of the plaza.
"The 8th Hyrkan opened the Oligarchy Gate, and you stood at the front of them."
"The Imperium needs people who can see the moment of victory. It also needs people who will personally walk toward it."
"From this day, you are promoted to Colonel-Commissar. You will carry the authority to command an Astra Militarum regiment independently."
A Departmento Munitorum clerk stepped forward with the decoration.
Slaydo took the black and gold cross and pinned it to Gaunt's chest himself.
"You are also awarded the Maccabian Cross."
The officers across the plaza looked at this young Commissar.
Many of them thought of someone else.
Another young Colonel-Commissar.
More than a few glanced instinctively toward Duvette, only to find Duvette smiling and applauding.
The applause spread quickly.
Gaunt stood in it and completed his oath.
"For the Emperor."
He paused.
"For the men of the 8th Hyrkan who gave their lives."
Slaydo looked at him and said quietly: "Keep proving you deserve the rank."
Gaunt saluted and stepped down from the stage.
The plaza settled again.
Everyone present knew who the final recipient would be.
A moment later, Marshal Slaydo called out his name.
"Duvette Erdmann."
Duvette walked forward.
Countless gazes came to rest on him.
Hyrkan, Mordian, Krieg, Eisenmark, Cadian, Departmento Munitorum, Ecclesiarchy, Mechanicus, and representatives from the White Scars and the Silver Guard alike.
Among those watching, some regarded him with admiration. Some with wariness. Some still could not reconcile how a young Commissar had arrived at this position.
Duvette paid none of it any particular attention.
He walked onto the stage, came to a halt before Slaydo, and rendered a formal salute.
Slaydo looked at him. His expression carried more weight than it had a moment ago.
"From Farrak IV to Balhaut, you have changed the course of engagements more than once."
His voice was steady.
"You led the 112th through survival on countless battlefields, earned glory at Macragge, broke the enemy's plans at Ashek II, saved hundreds of thousands of Imperial citizens at Balhaut, supported the Silver Guard, suppressed the Bane Engines, and participated in the killing of Nadzybar at the western fortification of the High Palace."
Slaydo paused.
"You have saved civilians. You have saved soldiers. You have saved Astartes. And you have saved me."
The plaza went very quiet.
Slaydo continued. "But from today, I no longer need you only to be a sharp blade."
"I need you to become the one who commands the blade."
A Departmento Munitorum representative unrolled a new commission document. The Commissariat representative and the Departmento Munitorum clerk stepped forward simultaneously. A Mechanicus record-skull oriented its lens toward the investiture stage.
Slaydo raised his voice.
"Effective this day, Duvette Erdmann is promoted to the rank of Major General, with commissarial authority retained and special Commissar-General powers granted across the expedition."
"He is authorised to form and command the 112th Combined Battle Group."
The expressions of a considerable number of officers below the stage shifted.
They understood what this signified. It meant Duvette had formally crossed the threshold and become a commander capable of independent strategic authority.
It also meant that the forces under him, once regarded as a temporary patchwork, would now carry an official designation, a formal staff structure, and formal campaign-level operational authority.
Slaydo took the first decoration from the tray.
"The Imperial Honour Cross is awarded, with the Battle of Balhaut clasp."
The second honour was presented.
"The Balhaut Victory Laurel is awarded."
Last was a campaign ribbon.
"The Nadzybar Decapitation Campaign Ribbon is awarded."
Slaydo pinned the decorations and the ribbon to Duvette's chest with his own hands and placed the laurel on his head.
"Congratulations, Duvette."
Duvette looked at the old Warmaster standing before him and was silent for a moment.
Then he turned to face the plaza.
The sunlight fell on the new decorations at his chest.
He raised his hand in salute. His voice went out across the plaza.
"For the Emperor."
"For humanity."
He held the pause for a moment, then called out clearly:
"Mankind's destiny is manifest. It will always return to humanity!"
The applause and the shouts came almost simultaneously.
Whatever those assembled generals thought of Duvette, they could not deny that the man standing on that stage was no longer simply a legendary Commissar.
He had become a commander capable of leading armies in his own right.
Below the stage, Gaunt watched Duvette and quietly applauded.
Duvette saw him.
Their eyes met briefly.
Duvette smiled.
Gaunt gave a small nod in return.
Behind them both, the regimental colours across the High Palace forecourt opened in the wind. The statue of Saint Sabbat stood at the plaza's centre, the rough toolmarks in the stone lost in the direct sunlight.
In the distance, Marshal Slaydo looked toward the statue again.
His brow furrowed briefly, for the second time.
Again, no one noticed.
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