V2 Chapter 111: It Seems My Forbearance Has Made You Forget I Am Still a Commissar.
The encrypted screen in the communications room lit up. Marshal Slaydo's projection appeared before Duvette.
Duvette came to attention and saluted, then laid out his request in full. The Tanith recruitment mission technically required only Gaunt, but he wanted the 112th Combined Battle Group's advance fleet element and Admiral Villent's detachment to go together, completing the regiment receipt while simultaneously running a full land-sea coordination exercise.
Slaydo's brow came together visibly when he finished.
"You've barely made Major General and you're already adjusting routes on your own initiative?"
Duvette did not step back. He held the salute.
"Marshal. This is to complete a land-sea coordination exercise with Villent's fleet. The 112th Combined Battle Group has only just been formed. It will need to work closely with the Navy on a regular basis going forward. If we wait until the first actual engagement to work out the friction, our soldiers will pay that cost."
Slaydo looked at him and said nothing for a moment.
Duvette continued. "This will not delay the assembly timeline you have designated. I am simply handling the recruitment task, fleet escort, orbital communications, fire requests, and transport sequence integration as one combined operation rather than separately."
"That does read like a competent military report." Slaydo was quiet for a moment, and the darkness in his expression eased somewhat. "The three Tanith regiments are destined for your battle group anyway. You going to take a look in person is reasonable enough."
Duvette looked at the projection.
"So you agree?"
Slaydo gave a short laugh.
"You always manage to dress your own reasons up as official military business."
Duvette allowed himself a quiet breath of relief.
The Marshal seemed to have settled back into himself. At least at this moment, Slaydo was still reasoning clearly and still using the same tone he always had when he wanted to make Duvette feel the weight of his own scheme.
He was just about to say his thanks when Slaydo appeared to remember something.
"Now that you're a battle group commander, you can't rely on Leman Russ tanks alone for your heavy support."
Duvette paused.
Slaydo continued. "The expedition's armoured reserve is going to issue a Baneblade super-heavy tank to the 112th Combined Battle Group. It nominally remains part of the expedition's armoured reserve, but campaign use authority passes to you. The Eisenmark Armoured Regiment takes responsibility for receipt and maintenance."
Duvette's expression shifted.
"A Baneblade?"
"Yes." Slaydo said. "An old machine, restored after the Battle of Balhaut. Its name has already been assigned."
The Marshal paused.
"Fury of Balhaut."
Duvette saluted immediately.
"Thank you for your trust, Marshal."
"Don't thank me yet." Slaydo waved a hand. "A super-heavy tank is not a standard vehicle. It requires extensive maintenance, supply, ammunition, and escort. If you lose it, the paperwork the Departmento Munitorum produces will be heavy enough to bury you."
"I'll have Kleist watch over it."
"Good."
Slaydo glanced at something that had apparently just been passed to him, then said: "One more thing. Since you're going to Tanith as well, don't be in too much of a hurry to leave. I've just received a communication. The Sons of the Fire Drake are on their way."
Duvette was quiet for a moment.
He had known this day would come eventually.
Entropy's Song had never truly belonged to him.
"Understood, Marshal."
"Wait until they arrive, then arrange your departure."
"Yes, sir."
The communication ended. The projection went dark.
Duvette turned to Gaunt and gave a slight shrug.
"I told you the Marshal would agree."
Gaunt looked at the dead screen and gave a quiet nod.
"So it seems."
Duvette walked out of the communications room, his manner a degree lighter than before.
"The Marshal has settled his state back down."
Gaunt fell in beside him. He was quiet for a moment before he spoke. "I hope so."
Duvette glanced at him and let the subject go.
He notified Admiral Villent first, confirming that Slaydo had agreed to the Tanith route adjustment. Villent replied quickly, saying only that fleet scheduling would begin shortly and a complete transit sequence would be submitted within three hours.
After that, Duvette and Gaunt returned by shuttle to the 112th Combined Battle Group's quarters.
He did not stop to rest. He went directly to the equipment receipt area, bringing most of his officers with him.
The area was packed with newly allocated vehicles and replenishment supplies.
Rows of Chimera troop carriers, Leman Russ chassis, ammunition carriers, and maintenance vehicles stood along the temporary steel-plate road on both sides. Departmento Munitorum quartermasters stood nearby with data-slates, wearing the particular expression of practiced indifference that military logistics staff develop over years.
But every eye in the area was drawn almost immediately to the enormous machine at the centre.
The Baneblade super-heavy tank Fury of Balhaut.
It sat there, its hull taller than anything else in the area, the rough armour plate still carrying the marks of restoration work. The enormous main gun extended from the turret, its barrel freshly ground and weighted with menace. A new number had been cut into the vehicle's side, and the commemorative insignia of the Battle of Balhaut was mounted beneath it.
The moment Kleist saw it, his breathing changed audibly.
The Eisenmark noble officer could barely contain himself. He looked at the hull, the tracks, the turret, and the main gun with the expression of a man confronted with an object genuinely worthy of reverence.
Duvette looked at him and said, not unkindly: "Stop standing there gaping. Get up there and inspect it."
Kleist came back to himself immediately, saluted, and walked directly toward the Baneblade.
Several Eisenmark technicians and Mechanicus priests followed him up.
Duvette stood where he was and watched Kleist climb the hull and begin running through the main gun, the fire control systems, the tracks, the engine compartment, and the maintenance logs.
He had already developed an unpleasant feeling about what was coming.
This would not reach the scale of what happened at Parmenio, but the Departmento Munitorum's particular failings had never truly been cured.
Sure enough, the problems surfaced one by one.
Several Chimeras had obvious pre-existing damage, but their transfer documentation listed them as recently repaired and in good condition. Three Leman Russ tanks had fire control systems that had not been calibrated, yet were still marked as combat-ready. Ammunition crate seals had expired, and some of them showed signs of having been opened and resealed. The Baneblade was missing a spare track set, and the main gun cooling component records had been altered.
Duvette looked at those data-slates and felt his expression go cold.
Someone had actually dared to skim his supplies.
Interesting choice.
He had just been promoted to Major General. A great many people were still testing where his limits were. This was a convenient moment to make the position of the 112th Combined Battle Group very clear.
A Departmento Munitorum quartermaster stepped forward and attempted to explain.
He produced a great deal of administrative language: post-war supply constraints, the complexity of allocation procedures, the possibility of clerical errors in the records.
Duvette listened to several sentences of it, then raised a hand.
"Evan."
"Take a squad."
"Bring me the senior logistics officer responsible for this batch."
Duvette paused and looked at the quartermaster, who had begun to sweat.
"If he won't come voluntarily, take his office door off its hinges."
Evan left immediately with the squad.
Ten minutes later, the senior logistics officer was brought into the equipment receipt area between two 112th veterans.
His expression still carried residual indignation. His personal data-link had not been removed in time, clearly because he had been pulled out of his temporary office without warning.
"Major General, I must point out that I report to the expedition Departmento Munitorum Logistics Division, not to your battle group."
Duvette looked at him with cold eyes.
"Good."
"Then you should know military law better than my own people do."
He gave the man no further opportunity to speak.
"Kleist."
Kleist came down from the Baneblade hull with the maintenance data-slate.
"Read it."
Kleist looked once at the logistics officer and began going through the list point by point.
"First. Seven Chimera troop carriers with documented pre-existing damage. Transfer records indicate recently repaired and in satisfactory condition."
"Second. Three Leman Russ main battle tanks with uncalibrated fire control systems, listed as immediately combat-ready."
"Third. Two Hydra anti-aircraft vehicles with missing main-axis maintenance records."
"Fourth. Twenty-seven ammunition crates with expired seals. Nine of those show signs of having been opened."
"Fifth. Trojan ammunition carrier spare parts inventory does not match documentation."
"Sixth. Baneblade super-heavy tank Fury of Balhaut missing one spare track set."
"Seventh. Baneblade main gun cooling component records have been altered. Actual spare components were not delivered with the vehicle..."
By the seventh point, the senior logistics officer's legs had begun to fail him.
The crowd around them had grown.
The 112th Combined Battle Group's officers stood behind Duvette. Officers from other Astra Militarum regiments and Departmento Munitorum personnel stood further out. No one spoke. Every person present was watching to see what this newly promoted Major General-Commissar would do.
Duvette narrowed his eyes and looked at the senior logistics officer in front of him.
"This is equipment going into battle."
His voice was not loud, but it carried clearly to everyone in the area.
"You have two choices."
"First. Acknowledge that this materiel was released under your signature."
"Second. Tell me who forged your signature."
"But think carefully before you answer."
"Because once Colonel Kleist finishes reading the list, if you change your account, I will treat it as deliberate deception of a wartime commander."
The logistics officer's mouth opened.
Duvette continued. "Was this specifically directed at me, or was it simply greed?"
His hand had come to rest on the plasma pistol at his hip.
The logistics officer went rigid.
He understood that his answer would determine whether he lived.
Sweat ran down his forehead. His colour left his face. His voice broke as it came out.
"Major General... it was... the new materiel was prioritised for General Hector Delavere."
Duvette's eyes shifted slightly.
"Continue."
"He ordered it." The logistics officer was nearly shouting now. "It was a reallocation order from General Delavere's staff. They had higher priority. I was only following the documentation. I was only following the documentation!"
Duvette held his gaze on the man in front of him, sweating and shaking.
General Delavere.
That name brought a number of things to mind.
The general who would later work with Inquisitor Heldane in the pursuit of the Men of Iron STC was very possibly already aware of something. Perhaps he had already begun moving against a Commissar known to be working alongside Lord Inquisitor Juno. Or perhaps this was nothing more than an ordinary act of Departmento Munitorum supply competition.
Either way, it was interesting.
Regardless of which it was, Duvette understood that he had to make his position absolutely clear. Otherwise they would continue to assume he was something that could be pushed around.
He drew the master-crafted plasma pistol slowly and levelled it at the senior logistics officer, whose eyes had begun to lose their focus.
The crowd went quiet.
A considerable number of officers from other regiments were watching all of this, but no one dared to step forward and obstruct a newly promoted, highly decorated Major General-Commissar who enjoyed the Warmaster's personal favour.
Duvette's voice was flat.
"It seems my forbearance has made you forget I am still a Commissar."
The logistics officer's lips trembled. He seemed about to say something further.
Duvette did not give him the opportunity.
"A battle group about to go to war received defective vehicles, expired ammunition, and substituted spare components."
"This is wartime sabotage of military supply."
He paused.
"Wartime sabotage of military supply is equivalent to aiding the enemy. Those who aid the enemy are executed."
The blue-white plasma discharge was brief.
The senior logistics officer's head and upper neck vanished in the thermal burst. The headless body swayed once and fell heavily to the ground.
For a moment, the equipment receipt area was silent except for the distant sound of engines.
Duvette turned. His gaze moved across the crowd.
He was looking for anyone among those officers whose face suggested they were Delavere's people.
No one in the area met his eyes.
Duvette gave a quiet sound of contempt.
"Evan."
"Sir."
"Deal with the body. Compile the charges against him, the full equipment discrepancy list, the transfer documentation, and Kleist's receipt record. Submit the complete package to the Warmaster's office, Macaroth's Chief of Staff office, the Departmento Munitorum Inspectorate, and the Commissariat."
"Yes, sir."
"Simultaneously notify the Departmento Munitorum to prepare my materiel again."
Duvette looked at the Departmento Munitorum personnel, whose faces had gone various unpleasant colours.
"I do not want any further irregularities."
No one responded.
Duvette continued. "As for this matter, if anyone wishes to raise an objection, they can come and speak to me in person."
Evan stood to attention.
"Understood, Major General."
Duvette holstered the plasma pistol and did not look at the body on the ground again.
"Kleist. Continue the receipt inspection on Fury of Balhaut. I want it moving, firing, and capable of crushing the enemy before we depart."
Kleist straightened.
"Yes, sir."
Duvette turned and left the equipment receipt area.
Gaunt followed behind him in silence, glancing once at the headless body on the ground, then at the Departmento Munitorum personnel who had their heads lowered.
He finally understood what Duvette had meant when he said he was not difficult to work with.
Duvette offered no explanation.
He simply walked out with his people.
There was something else to deal with next.
The Sons of the Fire Drake were on their way.
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