V2 Chapter 117: A Forest That Migrates. Fascinating. Sociology +10.
The training deck was quiet for a moment.
Duvette had expected the Salamanders to carry at least some anger over what had just happened. A fully armoured veteran Astartes taken to the deck by a bare-chested Black Shield was, by any assessment, not a flattering outcome.
But Vakur simply steadied himself, rotated the wrist of his knife hand, and looked down at Markus.
"I learned a great deal." The Salamanders veteran said.
His tone was even. Nothing unnecessary in it.
Markus extended his hand again and gripped it. "Your fighting was not poor, brother. On an actual battlefield, I would not have fought it that way."
"Defeat does not need excuses." Vakur released his hand. "I lost."
Duvette stood to the side and let out a quiet breath. The Salamanders were considerably more measured than he had anticipated. The sparring match had not turned into a confrontation between two Astartes squads.
He stepped forward and cleared his throat lightly. "Now that you have at least had a preliminary introduction, I need to confirm the deployment arrangements going forward."
Vakur and Markus both looked at him.
Duvette gestured toward the dragon-skull sceptre at his hip, wrapped in cloth. "Vakur. You and your brothers are responsible for my personal security and the security of Entropy's Song. You may record the relic's status and observe its resonance with me. You may not interfere with my battlefield orders."
Vakur gave a nod. "Acceptable."
Duvette looked at Markus. "You remain my blade. If there is an enemy assault at Tanith, enemy commanders, Chaos Astartes, psykers, and critical nodes are yours to handle first."
Markus showed his teeth. "That is considerably more interesting than standing at your door."
Duvette glanced at him. "If the two groups reach a conflicting assessment, my orders are what matters. No one makes decisions for me."
Vakur said in a low voice, "If Entropy's Song shows any abnormality, we will alert you immediately."
"Alerting me is fine." Duvette gave a nod. "Knocking me unconscious and carrying me off is not."
Several 112th veterans on the training deck grinned without making a sound.
Vakur paid no attention to the mortal reaction. He simply nodded. "I will of course consider your position on the matter."
With the responsibilities confirmed, Duvette looked toward the armour stands further across the deck. Several suits had taken considerable damage. The outer plating carried the marks of bolt rounds along various surfaces. Joint cabling had been forced into the open in more than one section.
"I will have the ship's Mechanicus priests send someone over." Duvette said. "You need armour stands, servo-arms, replacement cabling, and standard repair tools, is that correct?"
Markus had just started to answer when Vakur spoke.
"The Salamanders can provide the maintenance and repair."
Duvette paused and looked at him.
Vakur's gaze had settled on the old armour frames. "Every son of Nocturne is a craftsman. We do not disregard weapons and wargear, least of all a combat brother's wargear."
He paused, then looked at Markus. "A moment ago I held suspicion without evidence. Wariness has its place, but doubting a combat brother who has renewed his oath to the Emperor, without cause, is not something we should do. Consider this compensation for my earlier presumption."
Markus did not agree immediately. He looked at Duvette.
Duvette understood what he was worried about.
The Black Shields' armour was ancient. Fully opened up, it might expose old registration numbers, old interface designs, and old markings they had every reason to keep concealed. If the Salamanders took it apart completely, more questions would follow.
Duvette considered it for a moment, then gave a nod. "You have nothing to concern yourself with. Outer combat damage, servo-joints, cabling, and plating can go to them."
Markus looked back at Vakur. "Agreed. External maintenance and repair are yours."
Vakur did not press further. He simply gave a nod. "Understood."
Duvette noticed that Vakur's gaze paused for a brief moment on the archaic interface fittings of several of the suits. But he said nothing, and that was enough for Duvette to let the tension ease a fraction further.
The two groups confirmed a brief maintenance schedule. The Salamanders would come to the training deck in rotating shifts during free time to help the Black Shields with their damaged equipment. The one fixed condition: a minimum of two Salamanders had to remain at Duvette's side at all times.
That was not negotiable.
Vakur replaced his helmet quickly, and departed the training deck with two of his brothers, following Duvette. Markus stood where he was and watched them go, the trace of a smile fading from his face.
He looked down at his own hand for a moment, as though still running through the brief exchange in his mind.
Then he turned to look at his brothers. "Bring the armour over. If Vulkan's sons are willing to help, let them see whether the Black Shields' gear can still fight."
The fleet moved through the Warp tide.
The low hum beyond the Gellar Field did not stop. The entire ship advanced in a continuous faint tremor. The transit was not long, but for every soldier aboard, being inside the Warp was not something that permitted relaxation, not for a single minute of it.
When Duvette returned to the command bridge, the two Salamanders were still at his side.
On the bridge, naval officers were busy at their positions. Data flowed continuously through the cogitator arrays.
Gaunt was in conversation with Admiral Villent.
Duvette gave him a nod. "No need for that. What are you two discussing?"
Gaunt lowered his hand and looked back at the planetary data on the tactical table. "We were discussing Tanith's ecology. According to the recruitment records and the reports submitted by the planetary governor's office, the forests on Tanith are unusual."
A green hololithic projection rose from the tactical table.
Gaunt continued. "The local forests are primarily composed of a species called the nalwood. They are capable of relocating with their root systems intact, and entire forest sections migrate in search of better light or water. Because the trees move, making paths, maintaining roads, or marking routes through them is very difficult to sustain over time."
He paused. "The paths are erased by the moving forest."
Duvette nodded with every appearance of genuine interest, while internally letting himself note: not bad, interesting phenomenon, sociology plus ten.
He had known the Tanith forests moved. He had also known this planet was going to be hit by a Chaos fleet in the original sequence. Neither of those things could be said aloud, so he did what was required and listened as though hearing it for the first time.
Gaunt offered his own assessment. "This may be precisely why the Marshal chose this world for recruitment. Every person raised on Tanith has a near-instinctive sense of direction. They grow up in an environment where the terrain never holds still. They are natural scouts."
He looked at the green continent in the projection. "If these reports have not overstated the case, Tanith light infantry will be a significant asset in the Sabbat Crusade. As long as this world can supply soldiers on a continuing basis, the expedition will have a force well suited to forest operations, reconnaissance, and infiltration."
Admiral Villent stood to the side with his arms folded, and his expression was less than enthusiastic.
"For ground forces, it may well be natural cover." He said. "For the fleet, this planet is a headache."
Duvette looked at him. "What makes it a headache?"
Villent raised a hand and pointed at the hololithic projection. "Landing coordinates will shift. Transport guidance beacons may be blocked by the canopy. Low-altitude reconnaissance will be disrupted by the vegetation layer. If the forest migration speed is faster than what is written in those reports, a clear ground confirmed by a transport yesterday may be covered by a stand of walking trees today."
He continued, expression flat. "Orbital fire support has the same problem. The fleet needs fixed reference points, and what Tanith offers us is a forest that moves on its own."
Gaunt did not argue with that.
Villent looked at Duvette. "During the exercise, we will need to be careful. All landing zones must have at least three sets of backup coordinates. Transports are not to push into the canopy without good reason. Low-altitude reconnaissance must be paired with ground beacons, and it would be best to have Tanith personnel involved in coordinate correction."
Duvette gave a nod. "I agree on that. Tanith personnel need to be part of the exercise. They know the forest, and they know which paths disappear."
After he said it, he looked at the vivid green planet in the hololithic projection.
It looked impossibly peaceful.
If he did not know what was coming, he might have treated this entire operation as a straightforward recruitment mission and a joint exercise. Instead, all he could feel was time pressing forward.
At that moment, the entire ship shuddered once.
Warning lights flickered briefly on the bridge and then stabilised. The sound of Mechanicus prayers reached them from further within the hull. Naval officers began calling out readings in quick succession.
"Gellar Field stable. Preparing to disengage."
"Realspace anchor confirmed."
"Fleet exiting the Warp."
"Stellar chart calibration underway."
Admiral Villent moved immediately to the command position. "Confirm our position."
A naval officer reported promptly. "We have arrived at the outer Tanith system. Deviation from the designated translation point is within acceptable parameters."
Villent gave a nod. "Issue heading correction orders to the full fleet. Contact Tanith orbital control and the governor's office. Notify them of the expedition fleet's arrival."
"Yes, Admiral."
Duvette watched the Tanith projection enlarge on the hololithic display.
After notifying the planetary governor of their arrival, the fleet began its approach at standard cruise speed. Escort warships spread ahead. Scout vessels began calibrating the approach. The transport clusters held position behind the main fleet.
Gaunt stood at the tactical table. His gaze remained on the green planet.
Duvette glanced at him and said nothing.
This time, he had no intention of letting Tanith end with only one regiment.
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