Location: Strategium of the flagship Eidolon Triumphant. The storms have cleared; the 813th prepares to surge outward along multiple axes of conquest.
Chapter Master Aleksandros
“The storms break, and at last the 813th is free to prosecute the Great Crusade in earnest. Each task force has its objective: the Wolves to harry the southern marches, the Fists to secure the new lanes, the Alpha Legion to dismantle resistance in the east, and the Granite Guard to safeguard the rearward territories while I bring the sword to the throat of the Star-King's court. All worthy aims. And yet… the Mechanicum demands we divert to the backwater they call the Cindral Expanse.”
Magos Explorator Luthyre Daelus
“Backwater? No, Chapter Master. The Expanse hides vaults of forgotten knowledge, relics of the Dark Age of Technology. My auguries confirm anomalous energy signatures. We must commit.”
Magos Domina Kaelith Varros
“Logistically, the Expanse is an indulgence. Long resupply lines, hostile warp routes, poor staging points. Yet the Fabricator-General himself has signaled interest. That cannot be ignored.”
Wolf Lord Hrothvar Ironhand
“Passed by? Better never seen! My companies are ready for true war, not relic-hunting. The Draxian Marches to the south breeds warriors who still fight. That is where I’ll make my name.”
Captain Alaric Varun (Imperial Fists)
“My battalions will raise bastions among the Heliox Worlds, securing our rear and our supply routes. The Expanse? It cannot be fortified. I will not abandon the spine of our advance for a hollow side-path.”
Captain Zetharion (Alpha Legion)
“My operations in the east require subtlety, not distraction. The Kharaxis will not go willingly into the night. The Expanse offers nothing of note; we shall pay it no heed.”
Captain Damaris Veyr (Granite Guard)
“This is folly. The Expanse lies beyond storms and ruin. To chase it is to tempt fate, and fate is not merciful. We will proceed to pacify the vastness of the Veyl Nebluae, as was agreed.”
Admiral Severian Holt
“Our hulls are stretched already. To tie up major assets in this Expanse is… unwise. I advise restraint.”
Field Marshal Hestian Kord
“My regiments fester in their holds. I will not see them wasted on rocks the Mechanicum covets. Send them against men, not dust.”
Quartermaster-General Erya Lank
“Every convoy I dispatch bleeds resources. If the Expanse must be supplied, someone else must go without.”
(Cassian Thryne rises, voice smooth, cutting across the chamber.)
Special Envoy Cassian Thryne
“My lords, your fervor honors the Emperor. Yet unity must prevail. The Sigillite will not have it said that the 813th bickers while other fleets claim glory. Here is my counsel:
Send a vanguard — a fast ship, sufficient to pierce the storms and mark the way. The path will be established. Then, whichever task force completes its charge with haste may extend its strength to claim the Expanse outright. Thus Mars is appeased, Terra satisfied, and none are stripped from their appointed work.”
(A murmur ripples through the council. Aleksandros’s eyes narrow, but he inclines his head.)
Aleksandros
“Very well. A vanguard only. With Brothers of each Legion assigned, so that all partake equally in this endeavour. The Expanse shall be marked, but our true strength falls where it must. When our objectives are fulfilled, let the swiftest among us seize this prize. And let none say the 813th spurned its duty.”
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