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V2 Chapter 147: The Light Is Coming. I Promise.
When Slaydo said those words, the surprise on Macaroth's face was visible.
He stepped forward almost without thinking.
"Warmaster, the crusade is still at a critical stage."
"Replacing the supreme commander at this point will destabilise morale. If the new Warmaster cannot command the loyalty of the senior generals, unnecessary conflicts could break out within the crusade's own structure."
Slaydo lay in the medicae bed and looked at him.
"I am stepping aside."
"I am not dead."
His voice was still tired, but the judgement behind it was clear.
"I will nominate you as the next Warmaster."
"Anyone who questions you is questioning the last decision I make for this crusade."
Macaroth started to say something more.
Slaydo raised a hand and moved it slightly.
"Enough, Macaroth."
"Let this old man do one last thing."
He closed his eyes briefly, as though gathering what energy remained.
"I will submit a Warmaster succession report and confirmation request to the High Lords' Council on Terra. Until Terra's formal response arrives, you hold the crusade as acting Warmaster."
"The crusade cannot wait for Terra to write back."
Macaroth went quiet.
He knew Slaydo was right.
The Sabbat Crusade's battle lines could not pause. The fleets could not pause. The hundreds of millions of Astra Militarum soldiers could not be left waiting because of a change of command.
Juno spoke then.
"The reasoning must be carefully chosen."
She looked at Slaydo, her voice measured.
"The report can only state that his physical condition deteriorated following the Battle of Balhaut, and that long-term high-intensity command is no longer appropriate for the crusade's supreme commander."
"The High Lords' Council on Terra cannot be given any indication of Chaos corruption."
"If they detect it, what follows will be very difficult to manage."
Slaydo smiled slightly.
There was still exhaustion in it.
"I assumed you would have dealt with me without any hesitation."
As he said it, he glanced at Werner, who stood half a step behind Duvette.
Werner did not speak.
He stood where he was, like a witness who had chosen silence. A Thorian Lord Inquisitor's presence was enough to make every word spoken in this medical bay carry weight.
Juno produced a short, cold laugh.
"This is in consideration of our prior working relationship."
She paused, and her gaze moved across Duvette.
"You will also remain under observation at all times going forward. Any residual signs must be addressed immediately."
Slaydo took the thread from her.
"And you want to see whether this young man can genuinely clear the Chaos corruption from my body entirely. Don't you."
Juno did not deny it.
She simply looked at Duvette with an expression that suggested she was reassessing him.
Slaydo also looked at Duvette.
Duvette had been standing to the side throughout, saying nothing. He understood this was not a moment for him to make decisions on Slaydo's behalf, or to accept anything on Macaroth's behalf.
Slaydo looked at him and said slowly: "This time, I owe it to you."
"If you had not moved when you did, I do not know what I would have done as the corruption deepened."
The medical bay was quiet.
Slaydo's voice continued.
"Everything you have done during this period, I have seen all of it."
"Tanith. Menazoid. Delavere. And now this."
"You have been operating without direct orders from the crusade command structure, and you have still been able to assess each situation quickly and make the correct decision."
He looked at Macaroth, then at Juno and Werner.
"Duvette has demonstrated that he is capable of acting independently."
Duvette raised his head.
Slaydo said: "I am promoting you to Marshal-Commissar."
"The 112th Combat Group is to be reorganised into your directly commanded Special Operations Legion, placed under the crusade's special operations order of battle."
"From this point, you hold full independent operational command authority. You may deploy your forces according to strategic necessity, coordinate fleets, requisition logistics, and execute tasks outside the crusade's standard strategic framework as required."
Duvette was quiet for a moment.
This was not simply a promotion.
This was Slaydo acknowledging that Duvette held the right to make judgements independent of the ordinary crusade command chain. The 112th Combat Group was no longer a temporary composite formation: it was a genuine operational legion under Duvette's own command structure.
Slaydo continued. "You submitted a request to leave the crusade temporarily some time ago. I never responded to it."
"I am approving it now."
"You may take your fleet and go."
Macaroth's brow tightened slightly.
Juno and Werner said nothing.
Slaydo's gaze had not left Duvette.
"The Sabbat Crusade has passed its most dangerous point. What follows will still cost blood, and there will be much more fighting ahead, but the crusade now has the foundation it needs to keep advancing."
"I do not know what weight you are carrying behind all of this."
"But I can see that what you are carrying weighs more than the Sabbat Crusade itself."
He raised a hand and pointed at Duvette.
"Then go and do it, Duvette Erdmann."
"You have already earned the right to determine your own future."
Duvette was quiet for a moment.
Then he came to attention and gave a military salute to Slaydo.
It was correct in every detail. It was given with full deliberateness.
"I hope you live well enough to witness my future. The Imperium's future. Humanity's future."
He paused.
"The light is coming soon."
"I promise."
Slaydo looked at him, and something shifted in his eyes.
He thought back to a long time ago, to the first time they had spoken privately, to the things this young Commissar had said then. At that time, this man had not yet held the power he held now, and had not yet carried the weight that made him impossible to look past.
But his eyes had not changed.
Slaydo knew what Duvette was telling him.
He made a sound halfway between a laugh and a curse.
"You presumptuous wretch."
"I am not ready for the coffin just yet."
His breathing was still heavy, but his voice had found something of its old quality in it.
"I will be watching."
"Whether what comes next is darkness or light, I will be there to see it happen."
Duvette said nothing more.
He lowered his head and came to attention a second time.
Two weeks after that conversation, Slaydo convened a full senior strategic conference of the Sabbat Crusade.
The venue was the main strategic hall of the crusade flagship.
Every senior commander in the Sabbat Crusade was in attendance. Naval representatives, Astra Militarum theatre commanders, Departmento Munitorum officers, Inquisitorial representatives, and the commanders of all major fleets and combat groups were either present in person or attending via hololithic strategic projection.
Many had already heard that the Warmaster's health had deteriorated.
What they had not anticipated was that Slaydo would appear in the conference hall himself.
He looked considerably older. He needed a medical servo-harness to stand for any extended period. But when he walked to the head of the main strategic platform, the entire hall went quiet.
That was Slaydo.
The first Warmaster of the Sabbat Crusade. The man who had made Balhaut possible.
His presence alone was enough to make most of the generals in the room lower their heads.
Slaydo looked at all of them and spoke slowly.
"In the period since Balhaut, I made certain errors."
That sentence produced immediate low conversation across the hall.
Slaydo paid it no attention.
"Following the Battle of Balhaut, my physical condition deteriorated significantly. Long-term high-intensity command is no longer appropriate for a supreme commander in my current state."
"To ensure the Sabbat Crusade continues to advance, I am relinquishing the supreme command."
The hall erupted.
Several senior generals rose from their seats almost simultaneously.
"Warmaster!"
"This is too sudden!"
"The crusade cannot change its supreme commander at a time like this!"
Slaydo only raised his hand.
The conference hall settled again quickly.
"I am still alive."
"I will also remain with the crusade."
He looked at Macaroth.
"From this day, Macaroth assumes the position of acting Warmaster of the Sabbat Crusade and commands the crusade's full engagement across all fronts."
"The formal confirmation documents have been transmitted to the High Lords' Council on Terra."
"Until Terra's response arrives, this appointment takes immediate effect."
Someone else began to speak.
Slaydo's voice came down over it.
"This succession was decided by me personally and witnessed by the Inquisition."
"Anyone who wishes to question this appointment may begin by questioning me."
The hall was silent again.
Macaroth stood below the main strategic platform, his expression carrying considerable weight.
Slaydo gestured him forward.
Macaroth walked up to him step by step, and came to attention.
Slaydo placed the Warmaster's command seal in his hands first.
Then the primary command authorisation codes were transferred through the encrypted terminal. The crusade's supreme command authority formally entered Macaroth's name in full view of every senior commander present.
Finally, Slaydo removed the power sword from his hip.
He lifted it in both hands and held it out to Macaroth.
"Take it."
"And take this crusade with it."
Macaroth received the sword in both hands.
"I will hold it, Warmaster."
Slaydo gave a nod.
"From today, I step back from direct command and serve as the Sabbat Crusade's senior strategic adviser."
"I will offer counsel. I will not be signing theatre-wide operational orders."
The hall's reaction this time was considerably more contained than before.
Slaydo remaining with the crusade gave most of the generals something to hold on to. Macaroth's succession, backed personally by Slaydo, was not something that could easily be challenged.
Slaydo then announced a second appointment.
"Duvette Erdmann is promoted to Marshal-Commissar."
"The 112th Combat Group is reorganised effective immediately into the crusade's directly attached Special Operations Legion, under his sole command."
"He holds independent operational command authority. In special strategic tasks, he may operate outside standard theatre allocation and execute the crusade's highest-priority missions independently."
This appointment prompted a further exchange of quiet voices.
Many people knew the name Duvette.
Tanith. Menazoid. The Delavere incident. And the recent affair at the Warmaster's quarters that had been sealed before anyone outside could form a clear picture of it. All of it had made this name heavier with each passing month.
But Duvette himself was not in the conference hall.
Before the appointment was formally announced, he had already returned to the Resolute.
The fleet was assembling in the outer reaches of the Balhaut system. The heading had already been reset for Menazoid Epsilon. Juno and Werner's black cruisers were in the formation.
Duvette stood on the bridge and watched the Warp transit corridor opening ahead of him.
Evan placed the official appointment document from the Warmaster's quarters in his hand.
Duvette looked at it briefly, then closed it.
He did not show much expression.
Balhaut was receding behind them.
The Sabbat Crusade had a new Warmaster. Slaydo would remain with the crusade to see what came next. The road that lay ahead of Duvette was no longer bounded by this warzone.
He would return to Menazoid.
Cawl was still there.
Yvraine was still there.
Duvette looked up at the star chart and the distant region of Ultramar beyond it.
It was time for Guilliman to wake.
****
[Current Command Authority: 112th Special Operations Legion]
[Total Strength: 55,000 personnel (including: Black Shield Squad, Eisenmark Armoured Regiment, 112th First Infantry Regiment, 112th Second Assault Infantry Regiment, 112th Third Assault Infantry Regiment, 112th Fourth Reconnaissance Infantry Regiment, Krieg 1173rd Combat Group, Armageddon Mechanised Infantry Regiment, Elysian Drop Troops Regiment, Catachan Hunting Company, Mordian Iron Guard Combined Defence Group, Storm Trooper Companies, Tanith First Regiment, Tanith Second Regiment, Tanith Third Regiment)]
[Heavy Vehicles: "Fury of Balhaut" Baneblade super-heavy tank, 200 Leman Russ main battle tanks, 650 Chimera armoured transports, 70 Hydra anti-aircraft tanks, 50 Trojan ammunition carriers, 500 Mars-pattern Sentinel walkers]
[Skills: [King of War] [Eye of Judgement] [Purification] [Silence] [Augustus] [Flesh Engine] [Iron Crusade] [Blessing of the Omnissiah]]
[Equipment: Master-crafted power sword, Master-crafted plasma pistol, Macragge Honour Medal, Token of the Wind, Sabbat Worlds Honour Medal, Star of Terra, Gift of the Ocean, Entropy's Song]
Commanders:
Black Shield Squad Captain -- Markus
112th Legion Chief of Staff -- Evan
112th First Infantry Regiment Commander -- Dylan Perry
112th Second Assault Infantry Regiment Commander -- Anderson
112th Third Assault Infantry Regiment Commander -- Elias Hawthorne
112th Fourth Reconnaissance Infantry Regiment Commander -- Stroud / Deputy Commander -- Finn Valentine
Eisenmark Armoured Regiment Commander -- Kleist von Ludwig
Krieg 1173rd Combat Group Commander -- Colonel Holst / Chief Commissar -- Rein
Tanith First, Second, and Third Regiment Colonel-Commissar -- Ibram Gaunt
Key associated figures:
Lord Inquisitor Juno Karol
Lord Inquisitor Werner
Archmagos Belisarius Cawl
Admiral Villent
Carpé Dynasty Head -- Venus Carpé
Shadowseer -- Sylandri
Ynnari Leader -- Yvraine
Salamanders Fourth Company Captain -- Harath Shen
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