Legends of the Smoke Jaguars Chapter 154

Silence fell across the Senatorial dome as the defeated worthies knelt before Von Tor. Their high-backed chairs had been overturned, the eternal flame extinguished and the Nalwood table shattered into kindling. The wall paintings of the God-Emperor as a warrior were riddled with pockmarks from stray shots, but dead bodies were conspicuously absent. There had been a lot of shouting and shooting over the notables' heads, but the fight had gone out of them quickly. Only one had put up any real resistance, Furix of the Adjudication, but Vorshaan had neatly broken his arms without even seeming to try.

Von Tor looked about the dozen faces, seeing sullen resentment and outrage writ upon the mightiest leaders of Nova Terra, but fear was the most prevalent emotion. The Disquisitor held the power now, and they knew he was not a forgiving man. Furix glared angrily, but gritted his teeth as he nursed broken arms against his chest. Dothkoi of the Regularum had a good card-face, giving nothing away, but doubtless making calculations behind those cold eyes. Dolel of the Orthopraxy couldn't meet his gaze, averting her eyes in submission, she'd never held any real power before and now had lost what little influence she had. The rest were of no consequence, save Archmagos Zobatten, who said nothing.

Von Tor addressed the crowd of kneeling politicians, "I regret that it has come to this."

"Save us your lies," Furix hissed through his pain, "You traitor!"

"You call me a traitor; you who had squandered every chance we have had to win the war with the Terrans?! I told you we needed to be decisive, to fight them with every weapon we had, but you wouldn't listen!"

"Listen to a mad fool?!" Furix snapped, "Look at what've done, you brought Chaos into the heart of Nu Zantium!"

"Vorshaan and I have an agreement," Von Tor dismissed, "I had to resort to extreme measures, you forced me into it."

"Excusing your guilt, I have heard such talk a million times from the damned."

Vorshaan sounded amused, "He's got you there."

Von Tor glared at the Traitor Marine, "Whose side are you on?!"

Vorshaan quipped, "I'm on the side that kills these witless fools and gets on with taking over the city."

One of the lesser dignitaries rose to her feet crying, "Kill us?! You can't! This is madness, you..."

Vorshaan casually backhanded the woman and pulverised her skull into a spray of gore. Red splatters landed across the line and they gasped in terror. The blow had been so swift and yet lazy, a shrug almost. The Chaos Marine obliterated a noble as lackadaisy as they signed off on demolishing tenant slums to make way for their private villas. Realisation crept onto the faces of many as they grasped that all their lifetimes of amassing wealth and influence meant nothing, that their lives could be snuffed out and the killers would barely notice. They'd never had to face the consequences of their choices before, Von Tor understood, sheltered all their lives by coin and connection, now they knew what it was to be powerless.

The Disquisitor faced them with his sword drawn, "You were supposed to be better than the High Lords, Nova Terra was supposed to be better! We cast off the indolent corruption of the old and embraced the dynamic culture of the new. That was what we believed, those born here and those of us who came to see the beauty of what this world represented. But look at yourselves, bickering in the face of calamity, squabbling over positions and prestige, while your empire is taken from you and your world dragged back under the yoke of ignorance. You are no better than the High Lords, you are exactly like them!"

Furix spat, "You dare speak to us of corruption?!"

Von Tor sighed, "It seems his mind is set, Kazial do keep him quiet."

The gunslinger pressed a bolt pistol into the back of the Adjudicator's head and forced him to close his mouth. Dothkoi spoke up instead, "You propose a new strategy?"

Von Tor smiled knowingly as he saw the politician playing for advantage, "Nova Terra needs firm leadership, a single visionary who can drive out the invaders and restore our world to glory. Nova Terra can still win this war, and when we do a thousand worlds will see Terra was defeated. Our empire is suppressed but the fires of rebellion smoulder. If we can show the galaxy that the Terrans can be defeated then the collective uprising will sweep across the stars. From the ashes of defeat we can be reborn, into new and better forms!"

"You dream," Dothkoi snorted, "Nobody will support a disgusting traitor like you."

"They already have," Von Tor grinned, "Archmagos?"

Zobatten rose from his position, "It is confirmed."

Dothkoi gasped, "You... you side with this filth?!"

Zobatten rotated on the spot, "Astronomical prophecies are in perfect alignment, the Ur-Council can only lead us to defeat. The Moirae Schismatics choose to live, we choose the option with the greater probability of success."

It was then Dolel whispered, "You embrace Chaos."

Von Tor countered calmly, "I use what tools I must. Vorshaan here has dabbled with the Warp for millennia but he retains a rational mind. I do not suggest we swear loyalty to his creed, but our goals align temporarily. He has agreed to eliminate the Terran Astartes for us, at a price. If he removes that obstacle, the armies of Nova Terra stand a fair chance! Join me, not for your own sakes, but for the survival of your world!"

"Madman!" Furix spat earning a hefty clip across the back of the skull by Kazial.

"This is not madness!" Von Tor implored, "It is the hard truth. We cannot win without aid, and we must win. To fail is to condemn the galaxy to the rule of the High Lords. Stagnation, indolence, bureaucracy and the eternal campaign of the Ecclesiarchy to erase every thought save obedience from the minds of humanity. Another millennium, two perhaps, and the Imperium of Man will fall, it deserves to fall!"

Dolel finally looked up at him, "You don't see what you've become, the corruption you've embraced. You speak as the Traitors do; your lips move but Vorshaan's words come out."

"I do not serve the Night Lord," Von Tor sneered.

Vorshaan chuckled, "I've had slaves before, trust me, they smelled better than he does."

Dolel lifted her chin, "I may have the body of a weak, old woman, but I have the heart and soul of a true servant of the God-Emperor! I think foul scorn that the filth of Chaos has set foot in the hallowed halls of Nu Zantium, and spit defiance at the honeyed lies of this traitor. You are an abomination and all righteous souls must stand against you! Do what you will to us, but we shall never serve."

"Now hold on!" Dothkoi protested.

But Furix growled, "Kill us now, we all know you will sooner or later."

"They do not speak for me!" Dothkoi yelped.

"No," Von Tor sighed, "I'm afraid they do."

He nodded to Kazial and a pull of a trigger demolished Furix's head. Vorshaan leapt into action, viciously murdering the other dignitaries with rapid sweeps of his Chainglaive, but the two leaders he left to Von Tor. The Disquisitor lifted his pistol and saw the horrified look of denial pass over Dothkoi's face, before a purple ray passed through it and bored a neat hole through his braincase. Dolel had closed her eyes and was praying devotedly. Von Tor was surprised, he had thought her a vacuous idiot, scrabbling for morsels, but in her last moments she showed herself to be a woman of unshakable faith. It was quietly impressive, but that didn't stop Von Tor from removing her head from her shoulders with one sweep of his sword.

Silence fell as Vorshaan stood among the grizzly pools of blood, "That was entertaining."

"Save me the sarcasm," Von Tor sighed, "It had to be done, I hoped they would see sense, but if they were capable of such rationality then none of this would have been necessary."

Zobatten agreed, "Prophetic calculations are in agreement, any allegiance they swore would be false, they would seek to undermine you at every decision-pathway."

Von Tor scowled, "Go secure the city, put your Skittari on the streets and make ready for war."

"You suspect the Wardsmen will attempt a counter-coup?"

"It's the Terrans I worry about, the Inquisition has spies everywhere, they will soon learn of these events, then they will come for us."

"Your logic is flawless," Zobatten agreed as he trundled off.

"Clear these bodies," Von Tor ordered, leaving Kazial and his two retinue mercenaries to clean up. The Disquisitor moved away, walking towards a painting of the God-Emperor upon a wall. He looked up at the magnificent image and wondered if He would approve of Von Tor's decisions. The Disquisitor had read histories even Astartes Chapter Masters did not have access to, secret lores and buried truths. The Emperor had made plenty of morally questionable choices, issued many outright evil orders, but they'd all been necessary to save humanity. Von Tor told himself he was following the same path, all in order to preserve a species the High Lords and Ur-Council had epically failed.

Vorshaan strolled over, "You seem very sure the Terrans will come for you."

Von Tor shrugged, "I made sure their spies learned of a change in government. They will assume we're weak and disorganised and won't squander a chance to destroy our capital."

"I didn't know you had a death wish."

"Nu Zantium is our greatest military asset, any force that dares attack us will find out what two Imperators can do. Plus I have allies that are diverting regiments and Titans our way, and emptying the Eversor vaults."

Vorshaan's helm turned slightly, "You intend an epic battle royale?"

Von Tor agreed, "A war of attrition can only end in Terra's favour. One massive battle is our only chance. Let them crash against the defences of Nu Zantium, and be broken. We will roll over their crushed remains and drive into their bases and spaceports. Men, machines, Knights and Titans we can handle but the danger is their remaining Space Marines. That's where you come in."

Vorshaan snorted, "Fire Lords, Smoke Jaguars, they won't be a problem. I might not even need Empex and his Dark Tusks."

"Call them anyway," Von Tor affirmed, "Call everyone, we have but one chance to change the course of history."

"If you insist, but after the battle is won, I expect my payment in full," Vorshaan growled.

"Yes, yes," Von Tor averred.

Vorshaan turned and strolled away, leaving the Disquisitor alone. He looked up again at the image of the Emperor and wondered if He would approve or condemn what had been done to continue the mission of saving the galaxy. But it no longer mattered, Von Tor's feet were set on the road he'd picked and there was no choice left save to follow it to the bitter end. For better or worse there was now only victory or death.