Two giants in burnished steel-coloured power armour led them down the corridor. The giants were men. One could be forgiven for mistaking them for demi-gods, but they were men.

The colonel knew they were men because of their faces.

The entire officer cadre of the 88th Armageddon Steel Legion was being led down the corridor: 36 men and women, as the enginseers and Sierck had joined them. Yet, even if they wanted to, the colonel was certain that his officers could not over-power and kill the two Astartes.

The one that lead them was a leonine red-head, his features regal. Yet for all that, he had freckles. Freckles! He had introduced himself as Chosen Gistavus and bluntly told them that they were to follow him and his battle-brother, Chosen Reinhard.

Chosen Reinhard brought up the rear; no doubt making certain none of them strayed off the set path to go spelunking in the deeper depths of the Chronos. Reinhard was hard-faced and blond-haired, his face akin to the blade he carried at his waist. His face was crossed by a fair few number of scars.

The corridors they were being led through were remarkably bare. In some part of his mind, the colonel had thought the grand cruiser to be more decorated. Yet one glance at the armour plates of the Astartes watching them as they walked down the corridor was enough of an answer. These Iron Warriors did not care much for decoration.

The corridors were a reassurance. You could see the ceiling. Born of the Hive world Armageddon, none of them had probably even seen the sky prior to enlisting in the Imperial Guard. The colonel himself had been well into his 30s before he saw the vast, sickly yellow openness that was the sky of Armageddon.

The entire officer cadre had been ordered to meet with the lord warsmith of the 14th Grand Company, to be briefed on regulations on board and what was expected of them. Being relaxed when meeting the supreme commander of these post-humans was essential in the colonel's mind.

Gistavus stopped by a portal-door with the grinning iron skull of the Iron Warriors set on a golden 14-spoked cogwheel on its surface. He tapped a sequence into the data-pad by the door's side and it slid open without as much as a creak.

The officers of the Steel Legion followed the red-headed Astartes inside. The colonel was not surprised it was the observatorium of the ship, the blue-green ball of Sycorax visible through a vast dome in front of them, the planet framed by the twinkling of stars and the glittering debris of the Berus.

There was a lone, fully armoured Astartes in the chamber, his back turned towards them.

'As ordered, my Lord Warsmith,' Gistavus said, bowing slightly, 'I have brought the mortal commanders.'

'Good, though I believe I ordered you and Reinhard both to bring them here?' The warsmith's voice was low, almost impossibly low, and strangely muffled. He had not turned to acknowledge them.

'I am here, lord,' Reinhard said, stepping forward.

'Excellent.' There was a hint of a smile in that voice. 'I don't want a repeat of last time, Reinhard.' It was no request.

The colonel dared a glance at Reinhard, only to catch a glimpse of a sour expression, before the Astartes had collected himself again.

'You're dismissed,' the warsmith said, meaning his two brethren.

The two Astartes bowed and then left, closing the observatorium door behind them. Once they had left, the lord warsmith finally turned around. The colonel noted that the large, lumpy shade over the man's right shoulder was a servo-arm, a larger and bulkier cousin to Sierck's ditto. What caught the colonel's attention the most was the yellow eyes, which almost seemed to glow in the dimmed lighting.

'Lights to 60 %,' the lord warsmith commanded. 'Glare shield to 80 %.'

The internal lighting of the observatorium increased and the bluegreen ball of Sycorax behind him faded away until it was barely discernible. The glow of the warsmith's eyes seemed to dim too. The reason of his muffled voice was revealed: he was wearing a heavy rebreather unit over his face. The colonel couldn't help but wonder if the warsmith was also covering up an injury, like himself.

The lord warsmith looked over the gathered mortals, his gaze lingering on each one of them for a fraction of a second. The colonel realised what he was doing: memorising faces to go with names. He had little doubt that the lord warsmith already knew them all by name, but he found it remarkable that this being even bothered with it. He'd met generals in his time that cared less about what the men they sent to death were actually named.

'I am Lord Warsmith Ludwig Todt,' the Astartes suddenly announced. 'You will address me as Lord Warsmith, my Lord, Warsmith Todt or sire, and never any other way. The same applies to my subordinates, who you will address with proper rank and respect.'

'We are all career soldiers, Lord Warsmith,' the colonel said, trying to contain a sudden flare of anger against this arrogance. 'We are well-aware of the decorum and method of address within a military hierarchy, sire. With all due respect, I doubt that the 14th Grand Company is that much different from the Imperial Guard as far as these things are concerned... sire.'

Todt gave the colonel a long, calculating look.

'Then I assume you know what is expected of you on board this vessel? That you are to keep to your assigned quarters and never stray from them? Should you wish to visit any other part of the Chronos, you require the permission from an Iron Warrior battle-brother?'

'Aye, my Lord,' the colonel replied. 'To be perfectly frank, your… technomancer and warp-counsel informed us of this when we boarded, sire.'

Todt raised two fuzzy eyebrows at that, clearly surprised.

With that, the matter seemed concluded to the Warsmith, who directed his attention to the enginseers instead. The colonel knew a disciplinary slight when he saw it.

The colonel couldn't hear anything, but he saw in the corner of his eyes the stunned reaction of Shaern, Sakkle and Sauer. Sierck seemed less moved. Obviously, the warsmith had sent something that only they could hear. Sierck's lack of reaction to this didn't pass the warsmith by.

'I am glad to see you back on board, Magos Sierck,' Todt said, trying to sound amicable. It failed. Sierck managed to somehow pale at the direct address. It spoke of the complexity of his augments.

'Believe me, lord, the pleasure is all mine,' Sierck replied stiffly. 'I hope that the optic implants are to your satisfaction?'

Todt nodded. 'Quite. I have optical capacity I could hardly dream of before. You kept true to you promise.'

Sierck couldn't stop the self-satisfied smirk that crept over his face.

'That'd be because I built them, Lord,' he said. It seemed like a cue to the colonel.

'As the genius you are,' Todt replied, obviously picking up on the cue too. That bit of ego-stroking seemed to calm Sierck down, but the stiffness of the magos' stance remained.

'Now,' Todt said, addressing all the officers again, 'seeing as the good technomancer decided to inform you of our practices ahead of me, continuing to waste time here is pointless. You are dismissed, to rejoin with your companies and make certain they arrive at their billeting on board in an orderly fashion. Your adjutants will, by now, have been informed of where this is going to be by my chosen. Failure to comply with your orders will be met with death.'

They all started to move out of the observatorium, when Todt raised his voice again.

'The colonel will stay.'

Now, what's this? he thought.

The colonel complied, watching the backs of his officers as they left the observatorium, immediately directed the correct way by the waiting Chosen Gistavus on the outside. Of Reinhard there was no trace.

The door closed after the last of his officers and the colonel turned back to look at the lord warsmith.

'I hope you understand you are in a position of debt, colonel,' Todt said without preamble.

The colonel nodded and added, for good measure, 'Sire.'

'Good, because what I tell you next is not a request. I hope you understand as much?'

The colonel curdled his rising anger at the post-human's arrogance and simply nodded his confirmation again. Something about the warsmith was deeply off-setting and only got worse the closer the Astartes came to him. Todt had walked up to him during their conversation, trying to seem familiar. It failed utterly as far as the colonel was concerned. The lord warsmith was an Astartes, so far removed from human as it was possible to be without being xenos. Yet there was something more, an... air? Something about him that set the colonel's teeth on edge.

'What is your will, lord?' the colonel asked.

'You're getting the gist quick. I like that.' There was the hint of a smile behind that mask again. 'For all the things my warp-counsel has told you, he did not inform you about the fact that something is chasing us. Or rather, it is coming to Sycorax. What for, I do not know.'

The colonel had a hunch he knew what it was.

'I have an idea what it might be,' the colonel muttered. The comment seemed to pass the warsmith by.

'What is chasing us was enough to unnerve my warp-counsel to such a degree he refuses to explain what it was in a coherent manner. He was clear enough on how long it will be before they are in-system.'

'I get the feeling this is where the 88th comes into the picture, sire.'

'Indeed. The estimated time to gather up all of the 88th on board the Chronos is just above two weeks. That includes all armour and support units. It excludes any hangers on and other useless eaters, of course. The trouble is that our pursuers will arrive within that time-frame. It can be safe to assume that they will come with enough fire-power to reduce the Chronos to scrap metal, at least in a fair fight.' The warsmith paused and looked back toward the dimmed screen behind which hid the blue ball of Sycorax.

'We have no idea the true composition of their forces, but something with them is unnerving my warp-counsel. That alone is a bothersome thought...' The colonel said nothing as Todt seemed to ponder the issue with the fearful technomancer. Himself, he could not see the problem. Soldiers were frightened all the time. Courage and deeds of valour came from overcoming that fear.

It took him a while to remember the legends about the Astartes.

They were not only men beyond humanity.

They were also men beyond human emotions.

Emotions like fear.

And they shall know no fear.

The colonel tried to picture what could frighten an Astartes, especially one such as the technomancer, but he could only come up with bigger, stronger Astartes. The process of imagination made him swallow hard, and the sound of that turned Todt's attention back to him.

'I need you to leave behind one company as bait for these Imperial lackeys, colonel.'

The flatness of the statement snapped the colonel out of his line of thoughts.

'I beg your pardon, sire?' he asked. Had he misheard?

'One company. So that the Imperials are tricked to believe the "heresy" isn't as grave as they think, giving us time to pick off their ships with the Chronos.' Todt made a pause. 'You choose yourself.'

The colonel couldn't believe what he was hearing. He had just struggled to save the lives of his soldiers against an uncaring, wasteful Imperium, and they were now going to used as decoys.

He was just about to respond when the warsmith waved him away.

'You are dismissed, colonel. I expect to hear your choice of company to stay behind within the next... what's a good amount of thinking time for a mortal? Half day cycle?'

The colonel bowed stiffly and left the observatorium, leaving the lord warsmith to his musings.

Corporal Ipswitz was waiting outside of the observatorium, the enormous bulk of another Iron Warrior hovering just behind her. This was one the colonel had not seen before. He was wearing a helmet, the left side of which was covered in optical augments which clicked whirred as they brought the colonel into focus. It gave the colonel the uneasy impression he was being targeted.

'Sir, we need to talk,' Ipswitz began, and then saw the look in her commanding officer's face. 'Uhm, this is Tawreich,' she said, indicating the Astartes behind her. 'He's a havoc, whatever that means. He insisted in coming along.'

'Mortals are not allowed to roam freely on board the Chronos,' Tawreich rumbled behind her. 'Move along, both of you. Back to your deck.'

The colonel cupped Ipswitz' elbow, leading her with him as Tawreich herded them back to the mortal's decks.

As soon as they got back to their decks, the colonel took Ipswitz to the side. He had a hunch – a drums' hunch – that she wanted to talk in private about something.

'Let's hear it, Trudi,' he said as they were safely out of ear's shot of anybody else.

'Firstly,' she began, 'I want to apologize for breaking protocol while the officer's were meeting with the warsmith.'

'Breaking protocol?'

'I got nervous. I needed something to occupy my mind.' Ipswitz bit her lip. 'I occupied myself with my vox-set.'

The colonel sighed at that. He took off his helmet and ran a hand through his cropped, dark hair. 'What did you listen in on, Trudi?' He so hoped he wouldn't have to punish the girl. At least not severely. She was skilled with that set and her loss would be acute to the regiment. Which wasn't even touching on his current order from the warsmith.

'The warsmith...'

The colonel gave her a sharp look.

'He sent a data burst! I just happened upon it!' The frantic tone Ipswitz spoke in told the colonel all he needed to know. It had been an accident. But what had she caught? He asked her as much.

'Binary. A burst of binary, so I have no idea what it is, really.'

So that was what the warsmith had sent to Sierck and the enginseers. Of course, the warsmith knowing binary could only mean one thing.

'Our new lord and master,' the colonel mused, half to himself, 'is a former techmarine. Interesting.'

He looked at Ipswitz, who in turn looked apprehensive.

'This is good information, Trudi.'

'So... I won't be punished for this?' She didn't sound too certain she was going to be spared.

'You did break protocol, yes, but considering the circumstances, I am willing to let it pass. Now, could you tell me where Magos Sierck is?'

'I think he's setting up a machine shop of his own in some corner. Not exactly certain where, sir. Hoss would know.'

'Thank you, Trudi.' The colonel put his helmet back on and walked back into the corridor. He turned around to face the vox-corporal one last time. 'And corporal; this will strictly stay between you and me.'

'Yessir!'

Technomancer Xavier was intrigued by mortals. Their minds, though woefully slow and small at times, contained an amazing spectrum and he could not help himself but adore the way they looped around and swirled in their emotional eddies.

He was standing on a gallery some 30 metres above the hangar that served as the main billet for the 88th Armageddon Steel Legion. He was unseen up in the shadows, seeing the humans mill around like ants below him. They smelled of fyceline and sweat, of gun powder and hormones.

The smells the mortals brought with them no doubt troubled some of his brethren, but not Xavier. He had almost missed having mortals on board the Chronos. Of course there were some around, quite a lot in fact; the crew of the large Retaliator-class grand cruiser numbered nearly 100 000 souls, with almost as many servitors. They crew was however an ilk unto their own, and something about them made Xavier doubt they were still wholly mortal.

Xavier realigned his weight and carefully leaned against the railing. The gallery was groaning slightly under the weight of his Terminator armour. He closed his eyes and reached out with his mind, delicately brushing against the humans below him, mindful that he could scar them all if he wasn't careful.

He felt the mind of a man named Isak Brant, an apothecary – doctor, Xavier corrected himself – eager, dutiful and intelligent. Next to him, a captain, Kai Raesch: he too dutiful, but pragmatic and clever.

Not that far from Raesch was a mind Xavier knew: Adalbert Sierck. He didn't dwell on that mind. Xavier had made the mistake of trying to pry deeper into Sierck's mind before. He had only come upon an insurmountable wall of regret.

Xavier left Sierck to whatever he was doing and found others. Most were eager, relieved or slightly apprehensive. He could not blame them entirely for that. How could they know what they had gotten themselves into? Or what was coming?

A flash of pure fury seared through Xavier's mind as one particularly strong will came within range of him.

He opened his eyes and looked towards the source of the anger.

The colonel himself had entered the hold.

Xavier sighed. It would seem the warsmith had not been the most tactful in his orders. Then again, most people that dealt with Warsmith Todt took an instant dislike to him, something that was completely natural considering the circumstances; not that many things on board the Chronos were natural.

Xavier decided to leave the mortals to their doings. The colonel was going to take out his anger on some poor fool – Xavier hoped it to be Sierck – and then he would have to decide which company to leave behind to act as decoy for the Imperial dogs.

Xavier sighed again. There would be less hope on board the Chronos after that was revealed. He had been looking forward to feeling hope again.

It was such a rare emotion.

The colonel's punch connected with Sierck's chin, sending the magos sprawling backwards. The hard impact hurt his knuckles, but the colonel was silently glad he had managed to hit in the first place, Sierck standing head and shoulders taller than him.

'What was that?' Sierck complained as the gathered himself up, his mechadendrites flailing around trying to find purchase to push him up.

'That,' the colonel said as he shook out the tingling from his fingers, 'was for keeping crucial information away from me, magos.' He walked over to Sierck and hoisted him up to eye-level. The soldiers around had backed off, careful not to get in the way of their enraged commander-in-chief.

'Why did you not tell me what the warsmith sent to you?' the colonel hissed as he pushed his face close to Sierck's.

The magos looked confused for a brief moment until realisation dawned. His face fell.

'I did not think it important, yet. You were still to receive your orders.'

'When were you intending to tell me then?'

'Now?' Sierck squeaked. The colonel nodded.

'He asked me, specifically, to chose one of the enginseers to go with the company you have to pick out!' Sierck's voice was hushed. "It's not a decision I will enjoy. I hardly know them!'

The colonel's reaction to the revelation was to drop Sierck down on the floor. He looked around, appearing to see the gathered soldiers for the first time.

'Get back to your duties!' he roared. 'We still have chimeras, basilisks, hydras and a company's worth of MBTs to get on board! Get a move on, troopers!'

The crowd around him dispersed with a clatter as the soldiers and their officers went back to their assigned duties in stowing the regiment on board the Chronos. Without the serfs and hangers-on usually accompanying an Imperial guard regiment, it was hard and slow going, but it had to be done.

The colonel looked back down at Sierck.

'When the warsmith summons us,' he checked his chrono, 'in about 5 hours, you will be coming with me and have an answer to your question as well.' The implied threat in the sentence that if Sierck didn't or had no answer, was plain.

Sierck swallowed.

'Very well, sir.'

A good half hour before the allotted time ran out, Havoc Tawreich appeared at the colonel's office, saying he was to take the officer to see the lord warsmith. The colonel followed without question or delay, leaving his army roster dataslate lying open on the desk. Sierck was already with Tawreich, having joined up by his own accord. The Astartes gave the magos a suspicious look, but as the colonel made no move to reprimand the machine-man, Tawreich decided that everything was as it should be.

They stepped into the dimmed lighting of the observatorium, which the colonel now guessed was a favourite location on board for the lord warsmith, if a post-human really could have such trivial things. He could not fault it.

Tawreich left them, needing no prompting from his lord.

Warsmith Todt stood watching Sycorax again. He made no attempt to increase the lighting this time, and the colonel guessed it was because they both possessed bionic eyes. At least they shared some common ground, as their creator stood next to the colonel.

'You have reached a decision, colonel?'

It was not quite a question.

'Yes, I have, sire.'

'Let's hear. What company?'

'12th company, under Captain Kai Raesch.'

'Why?'

'They are a mechanised infantry company, with a good mix of anti-infantry and anti-tank weaponry, as well as some artillery pieces. Captain Raesch is also a very resourceful man. I trust him to carry out his duty to the dot. Were I to order him to march into the Eye of Terror, he would. And believe me, Lord Warsmith, he would find a way in!'

Todt actually chuckled, a strange sound, and turned. He did not seem surprised to see Sierck standing next to the colonel.

'I have no doubt. There is a further reason?'

'Yes sire. 12th company were also stationed within a gorge some 1000 kilometres to the north-west of Sycorax City. By my estimate, they would not have the time to fully collect themselves and board the Chronos within two weeks. That is time we do not have. I have, in preparation for this, carefully nudged my ADC to stall any actions pertaining to the orbital transportation of just 12th company, putting focus on the artillery companies 20 through to 27 instead.'

Todt nodded. 'Sound. And what about you, Sierck?'

Sierck gave the colonel an anguished look before replying.

'From what I have learned of the senior enginseers in my weeks with the 88th Steel Legion, my choice for who is to go with 12th company and maintain the sanctity of their vehicles and gear, would fall on Magda Shaern.'

The colonel could not hide his outrage.

'What!'

'I'm sorry, colonel,' Sierck muttered, casting his eyes down, not wanting to meet either his or the warsmith's gaze. 'It is the most logical choice.'

'She's my most senior, most seasoned enginseer!' the colonel hissed.

'A fact the magos no doubt has taken into account, colonel. However, he is the most senior Mechanicus representative on board this vessel. You have no say in matters concerning them.' The warsmith's voice was level, but low. The colonel bit back the urge to point out that Sierck, and his enginseers, were not quite members of the Adeptus Mechanicus any more, seeing as they all now served under the insignia of the eightfold path and not the skull and cogwheel. He was certain the warsmith knew of the discrepancy, but could not shake the feeling he was simply baiting him.

'Very well, sire,' the colonel finally managed.

'You are dismissed,' Warsmith Todt said and turned back to viewing the blue ball of Sycroax.

As the colonel and Sierck came back out into the corridor, to be lead back to the mortals' decks by Tawreich, the colonel could not quite shake the feeling that had creeped through his being as he stood to face Todt. What was it with that man that made him feel such intense loathing for him? Even Sierck had seemed more subdued than anything, and that struck the colonel as highly irregular.

Perhaps he would eventually find out.

Right now, however, he had more pressing concerns.

12th company was to be sent back down, without their morale in tatters, and his most valued enginseer was going with them.

'Frag this shit,' the colonel muttered to himself.