Chapter 6.2 A Gorgon's Ire
Andronius. Callidora. Erewhon. Longinus. Proudheart. Ravisher. Stealth. Sybarite. Wage of Sin.
Ferrus scowled as the list of ships scrolled passed his eyes. So many ships. So many dead. This wasn't simply a battle. It was a massacre. A massacre of his brother's forces. Of Fulgrim's forces.
The Tenth Legion, the Iron Hands, had arrived as swiftly as possible at Isstvan following the communications received from Fulgrim. The message had been distorted by data corruption within the warp, and the warp storms that plagued this part of space had slowed their approach significantly, but Ferrus knew such a message from his favourite brother would not be sent idly. What could be uncovered from the message was that the enemy would likely flee, and that the Tenth Legion would need to hunt down enemies of the Imperium.
The word traitor had been implied, but this had not made sense for Ferrus. There wasn't a commander in the region who commanded enough forces that Fulgrim could not handle by himself. Also the Ninth fleet was reported to be at Isstvan under the command of the Warmaster. It is impossible that with both the Ninth and the Third the enemy would have presented any problem, whomever they were.
The survey had taken over a week, with crews working around the clock to recover debris from around the Isstvan system. Ships of various sizes and shapes, close to almost a Legion and a half's worth of warships. Recovering all of it would have been a massive task, but Ferrus had ordered the recovery of as many nameplates as possible to confirm identification. The corpses of the fleets would have to remain in their graveyard around the Isstvan system, for now.
A lot of questions remained unanswered. The damage patterns and expended munitions made it clear that this was Legion on Legion warfare. At first, Ferrus refused to accept it. To suggest the Legions would war with each other was the cruelest of jokes, which he did not find amusing. However, the evidence was plain. Forces of the Third, Fifth, Ninth and Sixteenth Legions had fought here, and they had fought amongst each other.
The Gorgon's rage had been rising since the confirmation came back regarding Third Fleet ships being involved in the conflict. When news returned regarding the remnants of a Gloriana class ship had been discovered, the rage of the Gorgon had resulted in significant damage to his quarters aboard his own flagship, the Fist of Iron. This had calmed when the unique structure and design confirmed the ship had been the Vengeful Spirit, and not the Pride of the Emperor. With no other Gloriana class remains he held some comfort in the knowledge that Fulgrim did not perish here, in this ambush.
At last, he was getting a full run down of ships. The analysis he had ordered had also come in, building up a reconstruction of the predicted battle lines. Data poured forth for his analysis to understand exactly what has transpired, and whom had fought whom. They raised… further questions.
"From what we can surmise…" said Ferrus to his Equerry and First Captain Gabriel Santar, "There appears to have been two clashes here within the Isstvan system. The first was between the Sixteenth and the Ninth. Of this it appears the Sixteenth won, though at the cost of their command ship. From there the Emperor's Children appear to have arrived, only to be encircled by forces of the Fifth Legion. We have not found the Pride of the Emperor, and given the trail of wrecks leading out of the system it is likely Fulgrim's sons sacrificed themselves to ensure his escape."
"That is good news, my Lord," said Gabriel Santar, "But the losses are catastrophic. The Third Legion is…"
"Careful with your words, First Captain," warned Ferrus, "I will not have anything said against my brother or his Legion."
"Forgive me, my Lord, but I do not think there is much left of the Third Legion left to insult," replied the Equerry, bluntly, "It will take an age to rebuild the Legion from such losses. The Astartes alone represent a massive blow, let alone the ships and auxilleries. It is good the Primarch lives, but it be a long time before he has any forces to command again. I weep for the losses of our cousins in the Emperor's Children. So many good men, warriors I fought along side almost as close as any brother within the Iron Hands. This is the greatest travesty one can imagine. That is to say nothing of the Ninth, the Sons of Sanguinius. Whilst more of their ships may be still sailing the void we can assume they too have been all but annihilated."
"But why…" growled the Gorgon, "Why has my brother suffered so. Who attacked the Warmaster? What craven treachery led to this outcome? Who is responsible, so I might crush his skull beneath my fingers…"
The metal fingers of Ferrus Manus tapped out a rhythm of frustration on the desk before him. The Gorgon was a blunt man, with blunt desires. He had no patience for this slow investigation, especially with the life of his brother unknown.
Forgebreaker, his gift from Fulgrim, would shatter the bones of any man, Astartes or Primarch that had brought this calamity down upon his most favourite of kin. He would devote his energies almost entirely to helping Fulgrim rebuild the tattered remains of his Legion. IF he could find his wayward brother that was…
"A pertinent question might be WHERE is the Warmaster?" indicated Santar, "We see forces of the Ninth here, but I cannot believe the Warmaster would lose such a battle, even against the Sixteenth. And why would the Sixteenth turn on the Warmaster so?"
"I heard rumours of the Warmaster's injury at Davin," murmured Ferrus, recalling discussions heard uttered by Remembrancers embedded within the Tenth Legion, "A fact that would have been well known by the Sixteenth. If they exploited such an injury perhaps they felled my brother Sanguinius, our Warmaster, with the aid of Jaghatai. The War Hawk has always been fickle. I did not think that he would defy our Father when he appointed Sanguinius Warmaster but perhaps he has…"
"The Primarch of the Fifth is a master of war, and collected many tribes to his banner prior to his rediscovery by the Emperor, or so I have read," agreed the First Captain, "He was a proud warrior who proclaimed himself a title similar to Lord of Lords, Khagan. He may not have taken kindly to have been made secondary to one he considered unworthy. The Sixteenth, without the guidance of their Father the late Horus may he rest forever, may well have been swayed by his persuasions."
"He is not one to take prisoners, at least not ones who could challenge him…" considered Ferrus, "It is very likely Sanguinius is dead. The Sixteenth would have no reason to keep him alive. His ship, the Red Tear, is not amongst the dead so it did not fall in battle. There was likely a boarding, perhaps even before the treason was unmasked, which would have allowed the commanders of the Sixteenth close to the Warmaster. It would explain why the Vengeful Spirit fell, the Sixteenth would not have allowed it to fall if its senior commanders were present. They were likely aboard the Red Tear at the time. The death of the Primarch was probably the initial blow. Other ships of the Ninth had likely been boarded and seized as well. After defeating the Ninth, the fleet began to regroup when Fulgrim and his Legion arrived…"
"And shortly after that, the Primarch of the Fifth and his forces came to regroup with the Sixteenth, only to discover the Emperor's Children preparing to engage them," concurred Santar.
"So it is likely the Fifth might also have been engaging other forces before coming here. This begs a question," growled the Gorgon once more, "Whom else is engaged in this… treason, and whom else might have fallen victim to the machinations of the traitors? Jaghatai is no fool. He would not perform this act alone. Whom could he persuade to engage in this endeavour? Whom would defy their oaths to our Father and side with the War Hawk to kill the Warmaster?"
There was a long pause. Gabrial Santar felt unworthy to even begin to answer such a question. A Primarch, even one who wasn't his Lord, was a son of the Emperor. Such a being should be beyond such mortal passions as treason. To even countenance such a thought was a form of blasphemy almost, against the Emperor himself and his sons.
"I cannot say my Lord. I cannot believe any would turn against the Emperor," admitted the Equerry finally, "It is incalculable that a Primarch would betray the Emperor."
"Yet the evidence is before us," said Ferrus with distain, "We can be certain Fulgrim is a victim of this treachery, his loyalty I would never have questioned regardless. Rogal on Terra, I cannot see him favouring the War Hawk in such a way. I won't say I consider his loyalty as great as Fulgrim's, but Jaghatai would never be the one Rogal would turn for. The Emperor trusted him with duties on Terra, so that alone speaks for his character. Certainly there are those like Curze and Angron whom would be easily persuaded to join Jaghatai from what I know. The rest… we must be on guard with. We can trust no one beyond Fulgrim out here in the void."
"It would be wise to inform the Legion to consider all bar the trusted few that we decide here amongst the Astartes to be considered a possible hostile until proven otherwise," suggested Santar.
"Agreed," nodded Ferrus, "The question now falls as to our next course of action. I would follow Fulgrim's trail, but it is likely cold now. It took us too long to get here, and we have lost a week piecing together this jigsaw of battle. If treachery of this magnitude was unmasked he would likely have made for Terra to warn our Father, regardless as to the danger to himself. The War Hawk and his allies would know this. We can expect a threat to our Father sooner rather than later. We are divided, the various Legions scattered across the galactic plane, and with the warp storms it will take us time to reach Terra. But reach Terra we must."
"We shall set a course for Terra then, my Lord?" asked the First Captain, rising to fulfill his Lord's command.
"Yes," confirmed Ferrus, "The storms may hold us back, our path may be indirect, but we must find a way to Terra. Any Legion forces we encounter shall be interrogated by any means to get to the truth of the matter, and any traitors shall be punished accordingly so that none dare defy the rule of the Emperor again. Fulgrim will be found, and with him we shall eradicate those that through cowardice and deceitful means dared to assault the Children of the Emperor."