V2 Chapter 110: The Warmaster's "Explanation" for His Condition
After leaving the command bridge, Duvette did not return directly to the 112th Combined Battle Group's temporary quarters.
He intended to visit Admiral Caspar Villent's flagship, the Lunar-class cruiser Resolute. The Tanith recruitment mission ahead looked straightforward on the surface, but if he genuinely wanted the entire fleet to go there together, he needed to reach an understanding with the Admiral first.
In the hangar, Duvette sent the other officers back ahead, keeping only Gaunt.
"Wait for my orders." He looked at them. "The moment the order comes down, move immediately."
The officers saluted at once.
"Yes, Major General."
After they left, Duvette turned to Gaunt and clapped a hand on his shoulder.
"You're with me."
Gaunt blinked, but fell in quickly.
The two of them boarded a shuttle. The hatch sealed behind them. A brief shudder, and the shuttle disengaged from the hangar rail and crossed the short distance to the Resolute.
Through the viewport, the expedition fleet was rearranging itself in Balhaut's orbit.
Enormous transports, cruisers, escorts, and supply ships moved slowly under command signals. The cloud cover below Balhaut still carried the grey of the aftermath. The wreckage of several orbital elevators hung at the edge of the atmosphere like snapped black threads.
Duvette looked away from the viewport and toward Gaunt, sitting across from him.
This Colonel-Commissar, roughly his own age, sat in silence with his back straight and his hands on his knees, looking somewhat more reserved than he had on the bridge.
Duvette studied him for a moment.
The man in front of him would go on to become one of the three most celebrated Commissars in the Imperium. The other two had not yet been born. At present, the only person who could claim to be a legendary Commissar was Duvette himself.
In a certain sense, then, this was the first legendary officer who would serve under him.
Duvette knew exactly what Gaunt was capable of.
He needed to establish a working relationship properly.
With that in mind, Duvette spoke first.
"Relax, Gaunt. You don't need to sit like that."
Gaunt looked up at him.
"My apologies, Major General. I simply did not expect that I would one day be serving under your command."
He paused.
"It makes me somewhat nervous."
Duvette laughed once.
"You give too much weight to reputation. I'm not difficult to work with."
Gaunt looked at him without immediately answering.
Duvette continued. "For this Tanith recruitment, I'll be going with you. I'll coordinate with Admiral Villent to have the fleet assemble at Tanith first before proceeding to whatever offensive axis the Marshal designates."
Gaunt's brow came together.
"It's a recruitment mission. Why does it need to be done on that scale?"
He paused, then pressed the question. "I could go alone. And would the Marshal agree?"
"On the surface, it is recruitment." Duvette said. "In practical terms, it is also the 112th Combined Battle Group's first full coordination exercise with Villent's fleet. Transport, escort, orbital reconnaissance, fire requests, fleet response: all of that needs to be worked in together."
Gaunt turned this over.
Duvette kept his tone level and added: "I also want to see what the three Tanith regiments will look like. You can only command the soldiers under you properly if you understand them."
"As for the Marshal, I'll handle that."
Gaunt was quiet for a moment, then gave a nod.
"I understand."
The shuttle entered the Resolute's hangar approach zone shortly afterward.
This Lunar-class cruiser dwarfed the transports at a distance. Its hull sat in the void like a steel fortress suspended among the stars, the gun lines along its flanks casting a heavy silhouette in the light, and the Imperial Aquila at its prow standing out sharply under the sweeping beams.
After the shuttle docked and the hangar door opened, a detail of naval officers was already waiting outside.
Duvette and Gaunt disembarked and were escorted without delay to Admiral Villent's section of the ship. Along the way, Duvette found the Resolute's decks considerably more orderly than he had anticipated. Naval crew and servitors worked at their stations. Tactical warning lamps and shipboard prayer scrolls alternated on the walls.
They reached Caspar Villent quickly.
The Admiral was in a dark naval uniform, his shoulder boards and chest decorations aligned precisely. He smiled when he saw Duvette and walked forward to meet him.
"Major General Duvette."
Villent extended his hand.
"It's a pleasure to be working with you again. The fighting at Ashek left a very strong impression on me."
Duvette took his hand.
"That battle owed a great deal to your fleet."
Villent smiled.
"The fleet did what fleets do. Your boarding action was the part that actually caught me off guard."
They talked as they walked toward the Admiral's private meeting room.
Gaunt followed quietly. He could feel that Villent's manner toward Duvette was not ordinary courtesy. It was the respect of one senior commander for another, and it carried a trace of careful assessment alongside it.
Inside the meeting room, Villent gestured to his aide to close the hatch.
The room held a tactical table, several banks of data-screens, and near the viewport, a regicide board. The pieces were cast in black and white metal, each one carved into the image of an Imperial noble, a warrior, or a figure from a heretical force.
Villent moved to the board.
"Do you play regicide?"
Duvette glanced at it.
"Not well."
"It doesn't matter." Villent gestured to a seat. "Just something to pass the time. We can talk while we play."
Duvette sat down across the board. Gaunt took the seat to the side and kept quiet.
Once the game was underway, Villent came to the point quickly.
"You didn't come here purely for conversation."
"I didn't." Duvette moved a piece. "I intend to go to Tanith first."
Villent glanced at the board, then at Duvette.
"Tanith?"
"Colonel-Commissar Gaunt is going there to take receipt of three light infantry regiments." Duvette said. "Those three regiments will subsequently be attached to my battle group. I want to go and see them in person, and at the same time give the fleet a complete coordination exercise."
Villent did not respond immediately.
He was quiet for a moment, then pushed a knight piece to the flank.
"For three new regiments alone, I wouldn't move the whole detachment." Villent said. "But if this is the first coordination exercise between the 112th Combined Battle Group and my fleet, that gives it value."
Duvette looked at the board.
"So you're willing."
"I can be willing." Villent said. "But has the Marshal agreed?"
Duvette shook his head. "I intend to go to him immediately after speaking with you."
Villent looked at him briefly and said nothing further for a few moves.
The only sound in the room was the quiet click of pieces on the board.
Several moves later, Villent pushed a piece to a position that was obviously wrong. He looked at it and gave a short laugh.
"Mis-played that."
Duvette said nothing.
Villent stopped as well and did not continue the game. "The Marshal will very likely not agree."
Duvette looked up. "Why?"
Villent gestured to his aide, who produced a pipe and lit it. The aide passed it over.
Villent drew on it slowly, then let out a drift of sharp white smoke. "The Marshal is being extremely aggressive about the expedition's next phase."
He said: "He wants to pursue the Chaos fleet elements that escaped from Balhaut as quickly as possible, and take the remaining worlds at the fastest pace he can manage. I don't believe he has any appetite for pauses, or for anything that looks like a diversion."
Duvette's brow tightened. "That's understandable enough."
"Of course it is." Villent leaned back. "Nadzybar is dead. The Chaos forces have lost unified command. Pressing the advantage now is not wrong strategically."
He raised the pipe and pointed it at the mis-played piece.
"Sometimes the move itself isn't wrong." Villent paused. "What's wrong is that the player is too impatient."
Duvette looked at him.
Villent drew on the pipe again and leaned slightly toward Duvette, dropping his voice. "I've heard some rumours."
He emphasised it. "Only rumours."
Gaunt, sitting to the side, let his gaze shift slightly.
Villent continued. "After the Marshal returned to the flagship, he lost his temper badly over something. He has replaced his medicae team several times. Several medical officers who had served with him for years were removed from the core decks entirely."
Duvette's expression became more serious. "The medicae team?"
"In all probability it has something to do with his age." Villent said. "Or more precisely, his lifespan."
The room was quiet for a moment.
Villent lowered his voice. "The Marshal has been through several life-extension procedures. His body has reached its limit again. And then Balhaut on top of that..."
He did not complete the sentence.
He simply leaned back in the chair and drew on the pipe again.
Duvette turned it over.
He had noticed something wrong with Slaydo's condition earlier. But there had been no red contamination light on the Marshal through the Eye of Judgement, and no abnormal markers on the strategic map. Hearing Villent describe it now, it seemed this could all be explained by the pressure of physical condition, age, and wounds.
Villent pointed the pipe at him. "Don't tell anyone you heard this from me."
Duvette came back to himself and looked at him. "I wouldn't."
Villent gave a short laugh and turned the pipe toward Gaunt. "That includes you, young man."
Gaunt produced an appropriately blank expression. "I'm not sure what you're referring to, sir."
Villent looked at him for two seconds, then waved the pipe with a smile. "Good. You'll make a decent Colonel-Commissar."
He stood and set the pipe aside.
"I'll lend you the communications room. Go and speak to the Marshal now."
Duvette nodded and rose. "Thank you for your assistance, Admiral."
"Don't thank me yet." Villent said. "If the Marshal refuses, I'm not taking the blame for you."
Duvette smiled. "I'll make this look like standard operational scheduling."
"Best if you do." Villent looked at the mis-played piece on the board, reached out, and straightened it. "One thing to keep in mind, Major General."
Duvette paused.
Villent said: "The fleet will support your plans. But the fleet needs to understand why it is sailing. Give me a sufficiently formal reason, and I can have the entire detachment at Tanith with you."
Duvette gave a nod. "112th Combined Battle Group naval coordination exercise."
"Good." Villent said. "Add Tanith light infantry regiment receipt and escort operation. That combination will be enough to keep the Departmento Munitorum quiet."
Duvette turned to Gaunt. "Let's go."
Gaunt rose and followed.
The two of them left the meeting room and were escorted by a naval aide to the communications room.
In the corridor, Gaunt was quiet for a moment, then spoke.
"Major General. Do you genuinely believe the Marshal will agree?"
Duvette did not answer immediately.
The communications room hatch ahead opened. The encrypted channel was warming up inside. Several naval vox operators had already vacated their positions.
Duvette walked in and looked at the screens as they came to life.
"He'll agree."
Gaunt looked at him.
Duvette continued. "Because I'm not going to let this cost him any time on his crusade."
The hatch closed behind them.
Duvette stood before the screen, Villent's words still turning in the back of his mind.
The Marshal's condition. Was it truly only a physical problem?
A moment later, Marshal Slaydo's image appeared on the communications screen.
Duvette came to attention and saluted. "Marshal. I have a request regarding a temporary route adjustment."