[h2]Revelations and Revivifications[/h2]The Solstice's End - Legio XVII Flagship

[i]“Hateful to me as the gates of Hades is that man who hides one thing in his heart and speaks another.”
- Assigned to a pre-M1 Terran remembrancer, identity unknown.[/i][hr]Days had passed since the end of the Council’s deliberations and yet still the Solstice’s End and her expeditionary fleet drifted silently over the budding planet of Nikaea. Things had been tense the last time that Nelchitl had set foot on the planet below, and though her own self-imposed isolation from the continued meetings and debates that followed even after the final day had appeared to have been for the best, it had become clear to the Emerald Priestess that now more than ever she needed to make herself available. To strengthen and even maintain her relations with her own siblings was appearing far more vital than it ever had since her discovery 19 years before. She had watched the holovids of the duel between her Augor and Eiohsa, and she had watched and listened as the pictfeeds and the Remembrancer’s data streams set dangerous trends following her brother’s foolish choice to make such an event public. Sides were being chosen between the mortals of the myriad expeditionary fleets over Nikaea, no doubt between the Astartes themselves, and though Nelchitl was starkly lacking the cut of cloth for politics that many of her siblings had been gifted by their Father, she was not so dull as to miss the lines of war being drawn in the sand even as many of her sibling’s legions departed to return to the Crusade writ large.

It was this realization of the precarious position His realm stood in that prompted her to make requests to several of her siblings. A chance to maintain herself in their good graces, and even to figure out where they themselves were beginning to draw their own lines.

Thus she found herself in an Auxiliary bay of the [i]Solstice’s End[/i]. Not one for the pomp and circumstance of her favored sister or the theatrics of her practically machine brother she stood with a small hand-picked retinue of her daughters at her side and a single cohort of Solar Auxilia hoisting a number of honor rolls and regimental colors of the 685th Expeditionary Fleet.

Far above her, in the bridge of the Solstice’s End, the officer of the watch would receive a request to land in the auxiliary bay of the mighty warship. Upon examination of the request, the officer would no doubt see the requestor, and automatically approve it. Under these circumstances, the battered iron-grey Thunderhawk of the Tenth, the Pact of the Lance found itself being waved into position by the Army auxilia crew as Nelchitl and her retinue no doubt watched. 

As the ship touched down, the access ramp on the side banged open, allowing passengers to climb out, and so they did. Arnulf Wode, clad for once in his powered plate armor, jumped to the deck, the boots mag-locking to the ferrosteel decking with a whump-clang that echoed throughout the cavernous hall. It was a subtle, but entirely intentional disregard of Crusade protocol - it was unbecoming and dangerous for the genefather of a Legion to precede his escort, but Wode did it anyway, for it was his way. Two more forms followed him out, an Astartes in the Pact’s iron-grey plate, and a smaller, human form in an armored vacuum suit. After them, an honor guard of the Saturnyne Auxilia, all of them bearing the close-boarding axe that was one of their feared weapons. They carried no banners or symbols, as was the Tenth’s tradition. 

Wode took off his helmet, hooking it to his belt and replacing it with a tattered, ochre-yellow field cap that he had worn since the Salient deserts, and strode across the bay, his countenance grim. He stopped short of his sister’s entourage, and saluted, fist to breastplate. 

“Sister.” He said, “Thank you for allowing us to board on such short notice. To get formality out of the way…”

He turned his head as his retinue caught up. “This is Johann Kohl, my… third in command, and Saul Imogen, my sixth.”

The other Astartes nodded, removing his helmet. Thin, white hair billowed from under it, revealing a weather-lined face with a sour expression. Saul flipped the faceplate of his vacuum suit up and smiled, his teeth dazzlingly white against his dark tan Salient complexion. 

“I don’t remember if you’ve met them, but here they are.” He smiled, and looked around. “Fine ship you’ve got too, you don’t mind me saying.”

Nelchitl found herself smiling as the tattered Thunderhawk of the Tenth passed through the hangar’s integrity field and touched down, the unceremonious entrance of her brother widening her smile even more as he placed himself out front of the normal Imperial procedures for meetings such as these.

She shook her head and laughed lightly as her brother cut through the formality even further while he quickly introduced his own small retinue.

“I have seen your Saul at the Council floor Wode, though I can not say the same for your Third. An honor to be in your presence again Imogen,” she said as she stepped forward and offered the mortal an armored hand on his shoulder, “And to you, Praetor, a fine day to meet.” she swept a hand out behind her to her own retinue, passing briefly over the few assembled Astartes as she introduced them as the master of the Tenth had.

Saul, boldly familiar with the Serpent’s mistress, placed his hand on hers and inclined his head. “Honored you remembered me. I’ll have to show you the sketches I drew of you in profile sometime, I think you’d like them. I had plenty of time with all the bickering to get them right.”

“I would like that very much.” the Emerald Priestess assured Saul as she slipped an oversized hand out from under his and across the mortals cheek with a genuine smile.

Kohl, for his part, cracked his whipcord smile, an expression devoid of any real mirth or pleasure. “After I watched you fight my father on the pict-recordings, I had to meet you. If it had been me in that chamber instead, you might not have had such an easy time.”

“Can it.” Wode said, casting a withering gaze at his second, though the gaze softened. Kohl simply returned to neutrality, but there was a palpable, smug aura surrounding the Astartes.

“Captain Itzel Mayalen of the Second Company, along with a distinguished Sergeant of hers, Arabel Santino and her squad.” she passed over the assembled Solar Auxilia, aware that they needed no introduction with their regimental colors held proudly before them.

The Pact’s complement of Auxilia held their axes in front of them to silently salute their own comrades, for these men and women had shared the same horrors, albeit in different places. Wode nodded to all of them, beaming at his sister’s retainers. He was about to shake hands with all of them, but his sister quickly disabused that notion. Comradeship would have to wait, given the nature of this meeting. 

Turning back to Wode and his entourage her smile became clipped as her tone dropped from it’s earlier levity, “Come Brother, there is much to discuss before I wish you to depart.”

Wode’s face turned grim. He nodded.

“No doubt what you wish to speak of is what I wish to speak of.” He said, replaying the footage of the duel he’d watched, along with everyone else in the Crusade. “We’ll, of course, allow our retainers to speak of this as well? I brought my men here specifically for their input.”

Nelchitl nodded to Wode, a sly grin creeping across her features even as her tone remained serious, “I would ask for nothing more, I find the insight of those I am not accustomed to all the more enlightening.” she affirmed before turning to make for the exit.

In lock-step, Nelchitl’s own retinue of Solar Auxilia, Saturnyne to the last, came to brisk attention and shifted cleanly to allow the Primarch’s and their retinues to pass between them. As if an afterthought Nelchitl turned as she reached the door and addressed the mortal retinues as they were about to be left behind, “Saturnyne, drink and make merry with your kin while your Scions speak, there is alcohol enough to go around on the Solstice’s End. Though do be sure to make it back to your ship before the Lord Wode.”

“Do not.” Wode said, with gravity, “Get anyone pregnant.”

With that, she smiled. Turning to lead on Wode and his retinue with little in the way of a conversation she guided them to a well-adorned chamber of luscious couches and well-stocked tables of food. Reclining in a chair obviously built for her she motioned to a similarly constructed chair for Wode and allowed Captain Mayalen and Wode’s own retinue to chose their own positions.

As the doors shut behind them and the group found their places Nelchitl eyed Wode before she spoke, “This duel, it bodes ill for all. I’m sure you are aware.” she inclined her head to the side and gazed over Saul and the Praetor, “I wish to hear your thoughts, all of you of course.”

Wode sighed, pulling his cap off and running a gauntleted hand through what little hair he had. Saul made a sad frown, and Kohl, ever the stoic, simply gazed straight ahead.

“I admit, I am naive about…” Wode started, wishing he didn’t have to voice what he thought, “...almost everything, concerning our father’s war. I have had to change a great deal. My legion has had to change a great deal, but under no circumstance, no possible situation, can I ever say that what I saw today was favorable for us.”

He looked his sister, beloved Nelchitl, in her eyes. “There was real hatred. It was not like our duel, not even close. Irreconcilable grievance. How could those two ever share a room, let alone a battlefield ever again?”

“It’s like the bickering of merchant princelings on my homeworld. Our homeworld,” Saul said, looking to Wode, “And we both know how that ended up.”

Kohl spat. “Interesting that our father tolerates such behavior, these days. He was not like this in the old times.”

Nelchitl turned her gaze to each as they spoke, her features betraying nothing beyond the vague interest in almost any topic she expressed at most meetings, though her nodding betrayed a more serious intent behind her as she sat slightly forward in her seat. 

“I admit, our duel was nothing but the bonding of kin. I had no intent in causing any great harm to you during it, though I took pleasure in doing so anyway.” she laughed slightly, a flash of her violent nature passing across her eyes as she relived the duel with Wode, “But I agree fully. What was on display, for all to see nonetheless, was nothing short of hatred.”

She shifted and turned to Saul, her dark eyes falling upon him as her lips parted in a soft smile, “Your Princelings, they killed and killed did they not? Perhaps not at first, but eventually, they would bring ruination to their rivals, and to their own.” she allowed a small frown to grow as she continued to address the mortal, “That you see the writing on the wall with this, it displeases me.” she admitted.

Saul nodded. “I’m sure you’ve researched our planet since meeting Arnie, but yes. They were well on their way to ruination when the Premier found us. I’m ashamed to say that we were using war to end war ourselves, but…”

He smiled, looking into his lap. “The Legions thankfully made our efforts obsolete. I’m just worried that that solution won’t work again.”

Finally, and without turning to Kohl, she answered his words, “That you believe it is [i]our[/i] Father that orchestrated this sits ill with me Praetor. He would allow no such thing, this was our dear sister’s doing, our newly crowned Warmaster’s first blunder if you may.”

Kohl inhaled sharply at this mild rebuke, but nodded, looking towards the deck. “I apologize. But my intent remains the same. In the old times, it would be decimation. Whole legions of good men burned for far less, and believe me when I say that.”

Wode turned to Nelchitl as Kohl finished. “Johann was with our father on Terra. He… well. The stories he tells of that time are disquieting, to say the least.”

“My greatest pride.” Kohl said, the flat disinterest in his voice momentarily defeated, “And in a lot of ways, my greatest regret. The old legions had many good men, and none as fractious as our brothers and sisters now.”

“So, that is our thoughts, sister.” Wode rumbled. “Is this prelude to war? Civil war?”

Nelchitl, her hair entangled in her fingers as she listened, brought herself to sit fully upright as Wode finally brought forth what they had all be thinking of, what every individual in the room feared.

“My… Our Father’s dominion has changed since you last tred upon the dirt of Terra, Praetor, and though I envy you for everything you bore witness to in the footsteps of the Emperor, I am pained to say that the Imperium you once knew is gone.”

The Emerald Priestess leaned forward and snatched up a goblet of wine before rising from her seat and making to walk around the room, “He guides us, as he always has, yet he leaves the Crusade for Terra,” she swallowed a gulp from the goblet and features twisted slightly as it hit with a far more sour flavor than usual, “why I can not say. Though I know he does everything for good reason Praetor. He leaves our dear sister Daena at our head, Warmaster of his armies, surely he knows that she can handle this position if he laid it at her feet. And yet…” she shrugged and waved to the assembled group. “She appears to have allowed our siblings to take a step down a dark path.”

“Civil war.” she shook her head, “I do not see it coming so quick, but I see the signs. I listen to the whispers of the mortals, I see that my own Daughters have been on edge since the pictfeeds, and I fear we are not the only of our siblings meeting as such.”

“Perhaps we are on an unavoidable path, or perhaps we worry too much Wode, perhaps we lack faith.” the Emerald Priestess stopped behind her brother and leaned over the side of his seat, “Do you think me mistaken? Am I wavering in my faith in Father?” she asked in a tone far more personal than her earlier words to the group at large.

Faith. The word had a pronounced reaction in all three Lancers. Wode’s hand flew to his neck, intending to grasp the Catheric cross beneath his shirt, but his armor blocked it. Saul closed his eyes, his face a grimace of pain, and Kohl simply sneered. It was a long time before anyone spoke.

“I have faith in Father.” Wode said, slowly, choosing his words with care. “But I do not have faith in us.”

Saul nodded. Kohl, his humors choleric, chimed in. “Faith is ridiculous where our Father is concerned. He is a man, like any of us, though he is the greatest of us.”

Wode glared up at Kohl with anger. “Can it, Johann.”

The Praetor directed his sneer to his father. “With respect, father, I won’t. Do you expect me to sit here and listen to this Salienti drivel? Have you parade around a ghost of humanity’s past when we’re supposed to be putting it behind us?”

Nelchitl stood to her full height as Kohl directed his ire to his own genefather, sorrow filling her features as she cut into the display, “Perhaps you too, Praetor, should have been left on Terra among the killing fields and the bones of dead empires.” she stated coldly, though her pain was evident as she spoke, “I pity you my nephew, that you lack the vision to behold as we do, to [i]believe[/i] as we do. So stuck in your old ways, those wonderful and terrible times long gone, you miss the galaxy marching on without you.” she finished as she slipped around Wode’s seat to sit on one of its arms, cutting only a small sorrow filled smile to Saul as she did.

Wode looked up to her, face filled with worry. Without thinking, seeking the solace of touch, he replaced his arm that had been on the armrest onto her lap. Kohl shook his head, and spoke again. 

“I think, Aunt, you speak true.” He eventually said. “But my disgust has never affected my loyalty. I can only hope it brings me death before I witness these great works perish.”

This time turning her attention to her brother she continued her sorrowful tirade, “To lack faith in us, in our own siblings, and in His Warmaster… Is that not to be shaken to the core brother? To have our faith in Him questioned at its most base?” she sighed and placed a gentle hand on his armored thigh, “It pains me to say this, so much so I can not express it, but I see His realm spiraling out of control following our own siblings actions. And I yearn for Him to fix it. Yet here we are,” she smiled softly, “alone and with only one of our own to set right these wrongs.”

Wode sighed, the exhalation implying great pain. “You’re not wrong sister. This Council, our sibling’s duel, I have to say, my faith has been sorely tested. I don’t like seeing our work undone, even if my involvement in it is new. But…”

He gritted his teeth. He looked into Nelchitl’s eyes, then Saul’s, then Kohl’s. He found three different emotions in all of them, but each was their own comfort. He slammed the fist not resting on his sister’s body into the armrest of his chair, startling everyone in the room with a rifle-crack noise. 

“But god dammit! War’s what we do, isn’t it?” He bellowed. “Does it matter who we fight? Truly? Saul, you and I kicked every other Salient bastard’s ass on our world, didn’t we? And you Johann, you killed the thunder warriors when you were asked, didn’t you?”

Both nodded. Wode continued his tirade. “And Nelchitl, you damn near killed me. Any enemy. We swore to fight -any- enemy for this crusade. And I don’t know about all of you, but I fucking meant it. For our father’s work, I would kill any god damned thing he pointed me at, whether I was related to it or not. Augor and Eiosha want to start a war with family?”

He leaned forward. “I’ll unmake them, if I have to. For a galaxy that is truly ours, I’ll kill a traitor as gladly as I’ll kill an alien, mark me very god damn well.”

Saul nodded at this, his smile terse but serious, and Kohl merely offered his knife-slit, psychopath’s grin. Wode looked to his sister.

“And you?”

“Was there ever a question of it?” the Emerald Priestess beamed, herself reinvigorated by Wode’s display of his dedication to all they held dear. Silently, she felt foolish for having doubted that she would end up somehow arrayed against her Father, that she could ever truly be shaken to her base and lined up to wage war against that which she held most dear.

“If need be I’ll end even you, my dear Wode.” she smiled as she lifted his arm from her lap and placed it back on his. Standing up she moved back around the room, stopping this time before the form of Wode’s implacable Praetor. With a flash of movement, she had him between her arms, the Terran veteran held aloft from under his arms by the Primarch of the Seventeenth with ease.

“I would expect and hope for no less.” Wode growled, but good naturedly. He grinned as Nelchitl approached, then picked up his frustrating 3IC. Kohl was his most difficult son, but his brilliance could not be denied. That the man’s icy exterior had cracked, even so slightly, at this meeting made Wode’s heart soar with hope.

“Perhaps you have use still,” she stated as she spun him in her hands as if some tool, “You have seen many an upheaval in your time, that you see this any different, I find hard to believe.” she placed the Praetor back down and smiled upon him with the warm of the sun, “Those unnecessary were purged once, to do it again would not be unheard of. You may prove very useful to help us keep our Father’s realm, [i]your[/i] Father’s realm.” she finished happily before moving now towards Saul.

Kohl bore this attention with the barely-tolerated demure of a poorly behaved cat, but he did bear it. When she smiled at him, he blinked, nonplussed, but quickly resumed his facade. 

“It is the nature of warriors to complain.” He said, quietly, “And the oldest ones complain the most. But I would not have you think of me as anything but the weapon I am. My only desires are a worthy cause, and a worthy death. The details…”

The praetor pursed his lips, nodding to himself. “I’ll leave to you and my father, and our father of fathers.”


“Your father will no doubt use you at your best Praetor, of this I have no doubt.” she replied as she stopped in front of Saul.

Wode beamed at Kohl, his approval for the taciturn Astarte’s words evident in the pride in his eyes. Saul, for his part, looked up at the Emerald Priestess as she approached him, blinking and smiling, seeming confused, even now, as to why she would bother approaching him.

Looking down upon the mortal frame of Saul Imogen, Nelchitl felt a pang of regret at allowing him to attend this meeting, though the feeling quickly passed as she realized the absurdity of it. If one such as Saul could stand at Wode’s side up to this point, then there was no use keeping his mortal mind blind to the wider Imperium that moved around his greatest friend and brother. 

“You and I, we share something very precious.” she began as she took a seat on the couch next to the mere man, “Our brother that is.” the massive form of the Primarch loomed over Saul as she brought an arm around his shoulder, “To trust you as he does leaves me no doubt I can do the same. And trust you I do, for who better to ensure my brother’s safety than one with very real reason to fear the maelstrom that may be coming. Your mortality is your strength, and I expect you to wield it where we can not.” she motioned to the other three functional immortals in the room, “And ensure he remains breathing as best you can.” 

“I still fear Wode, that what has begun can not be stopped. It is insidious, the nature of these things. It creeps in veiled in righteous fury and bruised pride, and it leaves behind only ashes. Like the great wastes of your homeworld,” she leaned forward and inclined her head toward Kohl, “or even yours Praetor.”

“I trust I can count on you Wode, on your Praetor and the Tenth,” she clenched Saul’s shoulder softly, “And on you as well Saul.”

Saul’s body trembled with emotion, but he choked it down as best he could. He nodded, and when he spoke, it was gravelly with barely contained feeling.

“When I met the Premier, I knew. I saw him before Arnie did, you know. I surrendered to him.” He swallowed. “I was nothing before all of this. No family, no money, no hope, no future. I don’t think what Arnie and I were trying to do would’ve worked without the Premier and what he’s done. He gave us back everything. All I can do now is give him everything. It’s what our Pact means, after all.”

Her gaze remained light as she turned to await the answer of her brother, a hint of anticipation evident as she studied his grizzled features.

“Saul’s right. We can’t go back on our promise.” Wode said, simply. “And now, I make the same promise to you, Nelchitl. I will die before I let the Imperium fall.”

Nelchitl smiled, the warmth spreading through her features as she pulled Saul in close almost out of instinct rather than any sort of grand display.

“As will I, Wode, death before dishonor, or the collapse of all our Father holds dear. To give this Imperium a million years, I’d gladly give myself.” The Emerald Priestess released Saul from her embrace, tears running down her face as she did. With a hint of confusion, she wiped the tears away and composed herself.

“I must ask, though I feel I have asked much, of which of them do you feel more likely? To turn on our Father?”

Wode folds his arms, staring at his knees as he thinks. “I suppose Augor. Though I don’t have great faith in either, I admit, if Augor’s accusation is true. But my brother, with his… machine idolatry, it makes me uncomfortable. The Mars technocracy does great and good works, and there are many good people in my brother’s legion. I certainly couldn’t make war without them.”

He looked up at the ceiling. “But I don’t trust Augor. I don’t like what his legion does - the braining. As for Eiosha…”

He shook his head. “So much talent, but she spreads it so far. Always a great work here, an invention there, a campaign here, psyker magicks there. She spreads herself too thin, and a woman that works with too many tools at once eventually injures herself grievously. They both, I fear, are due for a fall from grace.”

“Augor is chained by his dogma, by his Priesthood. I do not fear him. Though I understand your views.” she paused and waved a lazy hand, “Eiohsa however… She is broken, a craven in a position made for the stalwart. She does not act as we do, only in half measures and broken promises.” she turned to Saul and then her own daughter for the first time since this meeting had begun.

“Mayalen, how many worlds does she possess?” she asked of her Captain.

There was no hesitation as the Serpent spoke for the first time, “777 inhabited worlds, many of which are self-sufficient forges or fortress worlds. She maintains her own shipyards and war industry my Lady.”

“This is what I fear of the two. The one with the means, and the broken mind, to go against our Father. Augor is misguided, but he is constrained by the Martian Priesthood. Eiohsa lacks the restraints he has on him. This is what worries me.”

“Seven hundred and seventy seven worlds?” Wode said, aghast. He put his hand to his temple, closing his eyes. “Forgive me, but I can hardly imagine the scale. I only had the one, and ‘had’ is a strong term. I wasn’t even the master of it until Father came. Seven hundred seventy seven…”

Kohl and Saul seemed to blanch at this as well. Wode grinned at the two of them. “The things we could’ve done with all those worlds, eh?”

Kohl shook his head. “Administration is a waste of our talents, and our lives. Like tying a racehorse to a plow when a grox bull would do.”

Saul laughed at this. “And I’m the beast of burden then, I suppose?”

Kohl looked at the human, and spoke. “You’re wasted on a human’s lifespan, Imogen. If we’d found you as a youth, we would have given you apotheosis, but alas, you had to go and get old before we could get to Salient.”

Saul bowed his head in mock penance. “I’ll do better next time then.”

“See that you do.” Kohl said, and tittered in an odd giggle. At no point did any of this emotion ever reach his eyes, but, it seemed as genuine as the Praetor could get. 

“I have to say I agree with my Praetor, Nelchitl.” Wode said eventually, “But I do have something else to say on the matter. Seven hundred and seventy seven worlds fly Eiosha’s banner…”

He leaned forward in his seat. “But do they fly the Imperial eagle? Salient was one world, but it was a fractured world, broken up into city states only loyal to their merchant princes. The concept of loyalty to Salient itself, to view every Salienti citizen as an equal, was an alien concept. True loyalty to the planet, and to the Imperium, was only forged in war.”

He closed his eyes. “I do not believe it is as simple as seven hundred and seventy seven worlds, itself a huge chunk of any given galactic sector, being loyal to our Father’s cause just because the woman who owned them swore fealty. And with all those forges, all of those weapon manufactorums cranking out material, how difficult would it be to amass an army large enough to stall the Crusade? To stop it even?”

“Nothing is ever so simple brother.” Nelchitl agreed as she leaned back into the couch, its frame creaking beneath her armored weight as she did, “A holding so large, and for so long in her hands… I doubt their loyalty has ever truly been in the light of Imperial rule. She bends them to her own needs. It’s Industry [i]already[/i] provides for all of her Legion, for all of the units they claim attached as well.”

The Primarch shook her head and placed an arm over the back of the couch, “The armies you speak of already walk the stars. They wave the Imperial Aquilla on their banners, stamp it to their armor and arms. But for how long...?” she trailed off, allowing the others to speak if they wished.

“Not much longer, if recent events are anything to go by.” Wode rumbled. He crossed his arms. “What I’m suggesting, Sister, will be considered traitorous speech if overheard by the wrong people, but it needs suggesting nevertheless. These contingencies I’m going to suggest your legion take as well as mine were thought up by our very own executioner, Praetor Kohl here.”

The Astartes nodded, dipping his head.

“Of all of us, and I include you as well sister, I believe he has the best idea of the internecine nature of Imperial rule.” Wode continued, “I believe in father’s dream, but dreams are rarely realized without acknowledging the nightmares either. I am proposing including within our Legions training for anti-Astartes combat. All the way down to where to stab with a knife, all the way up to the weaknesses of Legiones Astartes tactical and strategic doctrine.”

“This is, not, of course, to suggest that warfare like this will become commonplace.” Saul said, “Just that knowing what that kind of conflict will look like and how to prosecute it may be a boon in the coming days.”

“That’s right.” Wode nodded, “The Imperium of our dreams will be vast, encompassing all of humanity, of all cultures, races, and creeds, including Homo Sapiens Astartes. They will rub up against one another. They will come in conflict with one another, and if a legion as large as the Daughters of Iron decides they’re tired of their gene-mother taking in on the cheek, they can be met without surprise, without shock, with nothing except what a noncompliant world would meet; resolve, and determination.”

“And meeting such…” Kohl began in his reedy voice, “...hopefully they can be brought to their senses before final censure is needed.”

Nelchitl kept the surprise from her features well enough. A hint of her emotions only making itself known in the sudden shift in her position as Wode and his Praetor spoke. She scowled at the Praetor as he finished, the taste of shame rising in her throat as she did.

“You have started this, haven’t you?” she asked, her eyes narrowing, “Your Legion already trains, or is at least prepared to, for Astartes on Astartes then?” she disliked the proposition greatly, some childish part of her believing that deal with only Eiohsa would be enough to solve this problem, but she knew better than that, even if she was remiss to admit it.

“Even before all of this, you have been preparing. How distrusting you must be of us all Praetor,” she slipped her arm down and around Saul at her side, and though the action was simple it carried with it all the promise of violence that the Emerald Priestess was known for, “I wish not for cousins to come to blows if it can be avoided. To cut the head off of the snake is my ultimate goal if it comes to such.” she gently squeezed Saul’s shoulder as she spoke.

“But if it must, if it is unavoidable for my daughters to fight their cousins, I will agree to this. But not yet, there is still time to avoid this.” 

Kohl met the accusation with his usual stoicism. If her words bothered him, it would’ve been impossible to tell without biometrics screenings, but nevertheless, he responded. 

“My personal company has always trained like this.” Kohl said, “And only recently have I gotten approval to give what I know to the rest of the Lightnings.”

Wode cleared his throat at that, and Kohl dipped his head in response. “The Pact, I apologize. It may not seem sincere, but I have no desire for Astartes civil war either. But my father is, despite his many flaws, a practical man, and eventually he let me have my time in the sun. If this conversation ends, and the only result, Aunt, is that you think less of me for being paranoid, then let it be so.”

Saul nodded, hoping to dissipate the tension in the room. He didn’t recognize fully the danger he was in with Nelchitl so close, but he knew that the paradigm had shifted in a way that was not healthy. He spoke next.

“We are a warfighting legion.” He affirmed, “And it is the job of any group of soldiers to prepare for the conflicts that seem realistic. I think it would be a sad day if the Astartes Legion, the finest weapon produced by man, goes the way of horse cavalry or biplanes because we didn’t accurately predict the kind of wars we’d have to fight.”

“Training is also not warmongering, sister.” Wode said, fixing her with his steel-grey gaze. “The Tenth would never advocate for war to fix the dispute between the Stargazers and the Daughters. Merely that if open conflict does erupt, that the dissent is put down as efficiently as possible, with minimum time and loss of life. If our legions can burn whole systems of aliens and non-compliant cultures, what could they do to our own worlds, many of whom are only guarded by a token levy of Imperialis Militia? And how much destruction could they reap if our response is inadequate?”

“We are [i]all[/i] warfighting Legions, Saul. Though some admittedly more than others, and yet I know of no others that think as you do.” she shook her head, a sigh escaping her lips, “Perhaps that is our flaw.” she admitted.

The grip on Saul’s shoulder waned and Nelchitl continued, “I do not think ill of you Praetor, I am just… surprised, that an Astartes can think as you do. My daughters do not imagine a day when they would fight their cousins.”

“We only relish that which takes place in a sparring cage, I must admit.” Captain Mayalen chimed in from her corner of the room. Nelchitl nodded to her daughter and continued.

“My Serpent’s are perhaps the most well suited for the violence of our Father’s Crusade, and yet I admit, I think they would be hardpressed to raise a bolter against a cousin.” Nelchitl’s features became weary as she pulled Saul in close as if for some sort of comfort, “I have no issue putting down one of my own siblings. I would do it in a heartbeat were it to maintain the Imperium, to further His goals. Here I have been, daydreaming of the day I truly fight one of you to the height of our abilities, nothing pulled or redirected. Yet I failed to see the obvious in that eventuality Kohl. I missed the logic that drove your decision.” 

“I think you wise beyond credit, even if your area of expertise has a niche application.” she smiled at Kohl now, Saul still being pulled against her armor as she did, “Never could I hate a nephew with such promise.”

“The Serpents I have had great respect for since before they reclaimed you, and it has only grown since then.” Kohl said, with more grace than the two Lancers with him ever thought possible, “...and fratricide is never a quality someone should feel regret for not possessing the capability to do. I too crave the honor of single combat, but in reality, it’s never as simple as simply beating someone in a contest of arms. Every champion slain inspires one of his spears to take his place, and it is those spears he leads who are the true strength in his arms.”

There was silence from the Tenth delegation, until Wode broke it. “I wish I did bring a remembrancer for that line, Kohl. Where have you been hiding that chestnut?”

“Oh, around and about.” Kohl said airily, and he tittered. 

Wode directed his attention back to his sister. “As for you, Nelchitl, I understand your fondness for Praetor Imogen, I would hold him that close all the time if I could. However, I do ask that when we leave, you return him to us, alright?”

“Oh, you don’t -have- to.” Saul said from between the Emerald Priestess’s arms, “It’s quite nice here.”

“I have several Remembrancer’s aboard if you’d wish to repeat your wisdom for the masses, Praetor.” Nelchitl smiled deviously as she made the ridiculous offer.

Turning now back to Wode the Emerald Priestess’s mind was made up, her path set in the outcome of all she had garnered from those assembled. “I would like your training regiment, everything you have. Though I wish not to spread it far, I will begin with those daughters I trust most.” she nodded to Wode and then his Praetor.

“And I wouldn’t mind keeping Saul for a while. Perhaps he could even be elevated beyond his kin, I see only wasted potential in allowing you to remain fragile as you are.” she admitted, a sly grin creeping over her lips as she pulled him closer in mock protection at Wode’s request.

The 5th army praetor, a mere human and a short one at that, was held fast by what seemed to be a casual hug. Nelchitl’s muscles were like steel cable, and although they exerted almost no force in the gentle hug, it was like being tied to a hospital gurney. Wode raised both eyebrows at this gesture, then looked to Kohl, who seemed very interested in the point where the bulkheads met the overhead of the space. 

“As much as I would like to be abducted by a host of warrior women who are the peak of genetic perfection…” Saul started, and Wode laughed, throwing his head back and bellowing laughter. Kohl closed his eyes and his shoulders shook, and Saul grinned. 

“Well, alright, put like that there doesn’t really appear to be a downside.” Saul said, and Wode howled again with laughter. 

“What a problem you’ve developed, Saul.” Wode said through tears, “Reminds me of those old terran myths about kings and how goddesses would steal their life’s essence in bed. What an absolutely terrible problem to have.”

“Oh, so I’m a king now?” Saul said, then looked up, craning his neck, to look Nelchitl in the face. “See? I’m royalty. I got prospects, so you wouldn’t even have to be embarrassed.”

Voice wavering with suppressed humor, Kohl spoke up. “If you two would stop thinking with the little spears, I believe we were asked a question? Are we simply to let my aunt steal Saul away because she can flutter her eyelashes at you, Father?”

Wode rolled his eyes, and it was Saul’s turn to laugh, and he did so generously. “In other legions they behead warriors who talk like that to their genesire, Johann.”

“Oh?” Kohl tittered. “I do hope it’s the Stargazers that practice such ways, so they can put a new body on me so I can do it again.”

Saul shook his head and responded. “Dearest Nelchitl, Emerald Priestess, I know you’ve been wooed by my galaxy-level charms, but, if it’s all the same to you, I’d like to stay as I am. Just a little rejuvenat every so often. Mortality gives me the onus to complete the Premier’s vision, you see. If I have a deadline, I just do better work, you know?”

Nelchitl allowed her brother and his sons their time to speak candidly to one another, enjoying the banter as she held Saul with a waning smile. “A shame to be sure,” Nelchitl stated with dismay as she passed a hand along the curve of Saul’s cheek, “you’ve so many uses only given the time to realize them. A man like you…” she allowed her words to trail off unfinished as she smirked at Wode.

“Besides, I wouldn’t treat you like one of those Terran kings. What use would you be to me if I stole the essence of your soul as you slept, simply a dead husk is worth nothing to me.” she stated seriously, the more subtle meaning of Wode’s ancient reference lost on the Emerald Priestess as easily as such other subtle ideas.

With a sigh, she released Saul from her embrace and stood. Passing her gaze over Wode’s chosen sons and then to Wode himself she frowned, “Were we able to spend more time together, I would have you all stay with me as long as the Council kept us tied up here.” she shook her head and her frown warmed slightly at the action, “But we have all been delayed here too long as it stands. My daughters have their own issues beyond the confines of this system that I must see to personally.” she strode across to Wode where he sat and placed a hand on his shoulder as she stopped at his side, “Next time we meet, I pray that our conversation here was unneeded.” she smiled and took her hand from Wode, “Till next time, my favored nephews.” she finished as she left the chamber, the hum of vox chatter emanating from her suit as she disappeared around the corner.