Chapter 4.4 For His Own Good
Abaddon strode into the Red Tear's Mournival chamber, full battle plate clanking as he entered. The scars left by Curze on the walls and furniture had long been cleaned away, and once again the room was pristine. In a corner of the chamber, the Primarch's foremost Sanguinary Guard Askaellon stood waiting, his arms folded and an impatient scowl on his face.
"Ezekyle, what is this about?" asked the Sanguinary Guard, his patience clearly thin, "You arrive alone, aboard a simple Frigate, asking to speak with the 'Primarch' and when you are told he is unavailable you barge onto this ship saying that you have been instructed to meet him here."
"Yes, I am aware the Primarch is still away on Prospero," growled Abaddon, "It was YOU I came here to speak with, but I needed a pretext to be here. I knew Raldoron would be off on campaign at this time so we could speak on the Primarch's behalf. Alone."
"Why?" asked Askaellon, his eyes narrowing, "Unlike your Legion we are not one for skulking around in the dark. Speak plainly, Ezekyle."
"You know as much as I that the Primarch is in danger," replied Abaddon, ignoring the insult, "If his path turns against the Emperor he will need his sons, LOYAL sons, at his back. Even if he does not, his Legions need to be ready to serve his will absolutely."
"Any man who raised a hand against the Primarch would be struck down by me," hissed Askaellon, "Or do you doubt my skill?"
"Not your skills, Honour Guard," retorted Abaddon, "Just your numbers. Imagine the Ninth Legion tearing itself apart. Imagine the Wolf King riding in with his united Legion to slaughter you all in your weakened state, beheading the Primarch before your very eyes with his blades. The Ninth and the Sixteenth cannot be divided. Both Legions need to remove all weakness so that when the Primarch calls on us we will all obey without question, whatever the order."
"I see your point, Ezekyle," flinched Askaellon, "And I propose you have a solution to this problem?"
"I do," said Abaddon, "And I have already begun enacting it on my Legion. A purge. Any elements whose loyalties are questionable must be eliminated. I have done so subtly, deploying disloyal troops to combat zones where they are eliminated outright, or alongside those inner circle forces who can ensure they do not return from the battle field. It is mostly complete, though I will have to personally deal with Sejanus and the remaining forces before the month is out. We must do the same with your Legion so that when the Warmaster returns, whatever his decision, both his Legions will stand behind him. Unified."
"I see…" said Askaellon cocking his head to the side, "You are ungracefully ruthless, Ezekyle, but I cannot deny your outcome. The Primarch must be certain of loyalty above all else. The ends justify the means, given the circumstances, I can see that. How do you propose to purge the Ninth? Raldoron will never stand for such a thing."
"Why do you think I waited for him to be on campaign to come here," said Abaddon, giving the Sanguinary Guard a wicked grin before falling back to his stoney expression, "You will need to deal with him personally when the time comes. The Ninth are soon to make for Isstvan to deal with a rebellion there I believe. My Sixteenth should be ready shortly. There we can resolve the issue. The Sixteenth will arrive, stating we have commands from the Warmaster to assist in the compliance. You will confirm this to Raldoron so he does not suspect any treachery. From now on you will work with Raldoron to subtly move disloyal units into older, less effective combat ships and where possible get them committed to fights where they will be sacrificed. At Isstvan we shall commit as many disloyal Ninth units as possible to planetary operations, and when the command is given, we shall turn on them, destroying what vessels in space house the weakness, and on the ground wiping them out to a man with orbital bombardment."
Askaellon was silent for a moment, musing over what had just been said. It was a lot to take in. His loyalty to the Primarch was unquestioning, yet he knew Raldoron and others would not be so direct. Raldoron would probably follow the Primarch regardless, but there would be some like the remaining Wardens that would see this action as crossing the line.
They were on thin ice as it was. Following the death of High Warden Dahka Berus many Wardens had wanted the heads of those who had been involved with the Primarch's revival. The fact the High Warden had been murdered by Askaellon had been necessarily been kept quiet. The sorcery alone made them uncomfortable, but fortunately the Primarch had managed to pacify them, for now. They had been convinced it was some Pre-Dark Age technology that had revived the Primarch, which in turn had attracted too much attention from the Mechanicum Adepts who had also needed pacifying.
If it was known the Warmaster was considering full blown rebellion, the Wardens would take off for Terra at once, to warn the Master of Mankind of the treason. And as much as he loved his master, Askaellon knew Sanguinius would let them go, until such time he they stood against him on the field of battle.
The First Captain of the Sons of Horus was right. These dangers needed eliminating before they could be a problem. Word could not be allowed to get to Terra before the Primarch was ready. Unfortunately the Primarch would never sanction such an action. But the Primarch wasn't here…
Raldoron would defend the Wardens under almost any circumstance, and even more so the ordinary Astartes units that might stand against him, especially if a purge was conducted without the Warmaster's leave. Whilst he would be a strong asset for the Primarch, he couldn't be brought over without the direct orders which would never be given, and the Primarch would lose far more having the Wardens and other traitors escape to Terra to rally a unified opposition. Raldoron would have to go.
"We will invite units from the Sixteenth aboard the Red Tear," he concluded, "Raldoron's favourites will be aboard with him and will outnumber those I can find reason to keep here, but with your forces it should be balanced. I will need your aid in securing the Red Tear given this. We must seize the flagship in the opening moments. The longer it remains out of our control, the longer the enemy will resist and more sons will consider joining them. We need this to be a clean, decisive blow. With no leadership against total loyalty to the Primarch, those whose loyalties are wavering will fall in line. Without any figureheads for opposition none shall speak against the Warmaster, no matter what his orders are."
"Agreed," nodded Abaddon, "I will bring my most effective units aboard for a joint command. Provide us with key locations throughout the ship and we shall seize those areas at the moment we begin the operation. Once the operation is complete we will turn the Red Tear back over to your command, along with the rest of the Ninth Legion."
"The Primarch will not be happy about this…" mused Askaellon, "He might well take our heads. He has done similar for far less…"
"It is for his own good," replied Abaddon matter-of-factly, "When the Primarch returns he may punish us, but we will accept it. Even if he executes us for our actions the fact he has 2 Legions completely loyal will be worth the price. He will have everything he needs to begin whatever path he takes, with or without us."
"Ezekyle…" said Askaellon warmly, "I had always put you down as blunt headed brute. But I see now your spirit is one of the noblest I have ever met. Very well. I concur with your plans. Even if it cost us our lives, we shall protect the Primarch. Even from himself."
"That's all I need," grunted Abaddon, "I will return to my Legion and complete the operation. I may leave some of the Sixteenth I came here with to assist you in formulating your plans based upon our own experiences. Does your Legion make much use of Lodges?"
"I do not think so, though I do not know for certain," said Askaellon, puzzled, "What is a Lodge? One of those Warrior Lodge type cult things the Emperor banned? Perhaps Nassir Amit might know. The Flesh Tearer knows much of how the Legion operated during the times of the Revenant Legion."
"I can't say," said Abaddon, "But regardless we could use such a structure to build out a bulwark of those we know we can trust and then expand it outwards to the rest of the Legion. Those I leave will be able to assist you in this matter, they may have knowledge you can find useful."
"Very well," nodded Askaellon, "I will see you at Isstvan then."
Abaddon nodded and turned to make his departure.
"The Primarch shall enter this conflict with a united force of two Legions at his back. If the 'other wolves' come for us, they will not find us so easily cowed. The Warmaster will be victorious, whomever his enemies might be."
