//Fortress of Steel - Gloriana-class
//Shuttle Bay
//Orbit of Sarghall
//Sarghall Status: Pacified

The contingent from the Honorbound would have completely left the Fortress of Steel in order to complete their protested withdrawal from the proceedings and the campaign against the Eldar Craftworld… only there was a slight snag. Namely, the shuttle they had flown in on was currently in the middle of being refueled and a maintenance check. 

It made perfect sense that they would get the process over and done with while the planning meeting was going. Such things tended to take time to organize after all and the crew hadn’t expected one of the Primarchs to leave early for any reason. Strahlender for his part wasn’t upset by the delay and was inclined to let the crew finish their rather important checklist of tasks to make sure that the shuttle could fly safely. Dying in the void due to a technical error was not the heroic ending that a child of the Emperor deserved after all.

So he and his battle brothers found a place in the hangar to take a seat and wait while Strahlender himself softly began to sing “Möge der Imperator bald kommen, um uns Munition, Tee und Rum zu bringen. Eines Tages, wenn die Reinigung beendet ist, werden wir uns verabschieden und gehen.”

Huo's arrival was announced not by their voice, but by the mournful tune of a masterfully plucked [i]guqing[/i], an instrument few - if any - primarchs would have heard if they hadn't spent time around Huo. They entered the shuttle bay the same way they entered the meeting room, accompanied only by a strange, beautiful young man in golden robes, the masked musician, and, of course, General Wei. 

The moment they entered, they glanced across the pay to a large, vermillion-gold shuttle, emblazoned with the Dragon's head of the legion on each of its stubby wings, only to quickly turn back to Strahlender, the tip-tap of their feet and the mortal man beside them announcing their approach while Wei and the musician proceeded toward the shuttle.

"Brother," Huo began, "are you well?"

Glancing towards his sister, Strahlender seemed to ‘jerk’ out of his current headspace. “Oh. Oh yes I’m fine. The crew of my shuttle decided that our planning meeting would be the perfect time to do a refill and maintenance check of the shuttle. In fairness to them, I don’t think anyone could have predicted the rather… [i]disappointing[/i] turn of events that has transpired to result in my walking out on our siblings and withdrawing support.” 

There was a moment of silence before he tilted his head to the side slightly. “But then, I am not the only one who decided to take a stand and walk out. How are [i]you[/i] going, sister?”

"Ha!" Huo laughed, shaking their head as they glanced toward the young man next to them, then back to their sibling. "Terribly. I failed in the very thing I came here to do, and I saw a handful of my siblings refuse to acknowledge clear evidence that their actions would lead them and us to ruin. It is... Disheartening," they said, shaking their head. "But we must press on, I suppose. I have... Work to do in the Agripinaa sector, but before that, I have words to share with father. This Eldar and his visions will be of interest, I think."

There was a small shrug from Strahlender as he answered “Maybe. I confess I do not put much stock in the visions and words of those who claim to see the future. Even if they are not charlatans, interpretation generally cannot be trusted. After all, the one having the vision has their own bias and agenda. But I must agree that interest might be shown… though if I can make a recommendation, you might wish to seek out and speak with Malcador first. Father does tend to listen to his counsel after all and he might be able to word it so that it’s better received.” 

"Oh, yes - of course. I [i]should[/i] do that," Huo said, clicking their tongue. "I cannot say how Malcador would react, but he is a measured man, at least, and I hope that he would understand better that I intend no insult by my message. It is not preventing the siege, but... Perhaps we can mitigate further disaster."

Strahlender for his part politely shook his head. “It is hard to say. I suspect there is little we can do to save our Brother Usriel from his future folly. One cannot hit what they cannot see and hate blinded him years ago at Atis.”

"Indeed. Not only does he seek revenge, but he refuses to acknowledge literal facts," Huo sighed loudly. "He will not learn, I fear."

“Or he will learn too late. It is the lives that are going to be lost in the process that I mourn.” Strahlender offered in return… before he decided to change the course of the conversation from things that could no longer be avoided. “So what is happening in the Agripinaa sector?”

"Things the Mechanicum is most enthused about," Huo said, smiling almost giddily, glad for the distraction. "As I have been aiding Voss Prime in bringing the forgeworld Agripinaa itself back to operational capacity, we've been discovering data leading us to other objects of value - though there is one in particular that interests me, as of present, and one which I intend to inform Malcador of as soon as I can."

It had to be said, it seemed that some of Strahlender’s excitement had dimmed slightly at Hou’s answer. “Oh. It sounds like you have things under control. With this campaign against the Eldar being withdrawn from, I was rather hoping for a chance to give my brothers in arms another battlefield to prove themselves on. Not saying that your discoveries on Agripinaa aren’t important… If anything, the furtherment of knowledge and science can only be for the betterment of Mankind and the Imperium at large! But you don’t need a bunch of valor seeking warriors to get underfoot.”

"Ah, but you see, brother - Agripinaa is not where we stop! Once the sector is secure, I intend to push further to the north, and there are certain to be a great many foul things there to bring to heel, no?" Huo said, smirking playfully. "If the data we have uncovered on Agripinaa is any indication, there are a great many bounties to be found.

“Oh really?” Strahlender began while trying to sound disinterested. His ‘ploy’ wasn’t a very good one though. “That’s starting to sound more and more like a perilous quest to benefit all of humanity.”

"It [i]is[/i]," Huo said, "we reach into the unknown, brother! There is no telling what threats we could find, and I would hate to be caught unprepared. Besides, if I may entirely frank with you..." Huo began, leaning in to whisper. "We had best remain productive, in lieu of participating in the siege."

That little tidbit was more than enough to seal it. “Well… I have thirty thousand battle brothers who need something to do. If you would have us I would be more than happy to help secure Agripinaa and beyond!”

"And I would be honoured to have you," Huo said, smiling to themselves. With the aid of Strahlender's Astartes, they could push deeper into the Segmentum Obscurus ahead of schedule - the more that could be claimed for the Imperium, the better. "There is an abundance of plunder to be claimed, and surely many xenos to be defeated. I know not exactly what, as the records on Agripinaa are incredibly fragmentary, but... They speak in whispers of places of incredible technological might in a sector to the east - its name as-of-yet undesignated, though we know its location. Perhaps you will win the rights, eh?"

“Perhaps. I’ll make the arrangements to meet up with you once-” One of Strahlender’s human crew took a few steps towards the pair of Primarchs. Rather than interrupting the conversation, he merely gestured towards the shuttle before Strahlender finished “-aw, it seems that they have finally finished their check. I trust we will be in touch shortly sister?”

"We will, brother - and, as always, I wish you luck and safe travels," they said, smiling serenely as they bowed in thanks.