V3 Chapter 3: Calgar Again
The Sabbat Worlds were a long way from Ultramar, and the fleet had to pass through multiple Warp transit corridors, with pauses along the way for the Navigators to correct their heading and steer clear of several unstable Warp tides.
Close to three Terran standard months passed in the Warp before they finally approached the borders of the Ultramar region.
During that time, Duvette received a small number of intelligence briefs from Juno about Ultramar. The material was sparse, but it was enough to tell him what Calgar had been doing in the intervening years.
Several years prior, Calgar had personally commanded the Quintarn Cleansing: an operation to drive out the ork armies that had moved into the Quintarn, Tarentus, and Masali systems in the aftermath of the First Tyrannic War.
The main fighting had long since ended.
But the clearance of surviving greenskin bands, the restoration of transit routes, the reconstruction of defensive infrastructure, and the overhaul of administrative systems had continued until recently. The latest round of post-campaign consolidation had just been completed, and Calgar had returned to Macragge from the relevant warzone to oversee the ongoing reconstruction of Ultramar.
The timing was workable.
On the surface at least, Calgar had enough room in his schedule to receive Duvette and the others.
The cover reason for the visit was also prepared. Officially, Duvette was executing a special Inquisitorial task, with a remit covering residual risks from the First Tyrannic War and anomalous reports from Ultramar's outer worlds.
The second reason was simpler.
Archmagos Belisarius Cawl wished to meet with the Lord of Ultramar.
Which was to say, not the Lord of Ultramar currently in stasis.
What Duvette had not fully anticipated was that not only Werner but Juno had also proved willing to help him fill out the Inquisitorial task chain.
The woman had even taken the initiative to revise several of the documents herself, filling in details that might otherwise have drawn scrutiny from Ultramar's administrative apparatus.
Duvette looked at those documents and raised an eyebrow. He knew perfectly well that she had her own reasons for helping.
Juno rarely assisted anyone without cause.
Her willingness this time was almost certainly an extension of wanting to see exactly what they were doing. Or more precisely, she wanted to see how far Duvette would push things.
He hoped Guilliman was still standing when the moment came, and that she would manage to stay quiet about it.
Duvette closed the documents and stopped thinking about it.
He left the temporary office and went alone to walk through the 112th Special Operations Legion's billeting areas, doing his daily inspection. Given the choice between sitting in the command suite and going to look at soldiers, vehicles, ammunition stockpiles, and training records, there was no real contest.
He had no interest in being dragged into chess with Villent again.
The old man played badly and took far too long about it. A deeply tedious combination.
The Mandeville point at the outer edge of the Macragge system tore open.
The vast Ark Mechanicus forced its way through the Warp breach, deck lighting coming up in sequence along its hull. Behind it came the Salamanders strike cruiser, Villent's flagship, the black cruisers of both Lord Inquisitors, and the trailing supply and transport vessels.
Once the fleet had completed its initial orientation, it immediately transmitted a docking request to Macragge.
The response came back quickly.
Ultramar granted them access to the designated approach corridor, and the fleet moved in a slow, steady formation toward the rebuilt Macragge orbital dockyards.
Duvette stood in the Resolute's strategic chamber and began drafting the initial list of personnel for the transit down to the Fortress of Hera.
Cawl had to go.
Juno and Werner had to go as well. One on the stated grounds of Inquisitorial business, the other simply announcing he would attend as a witness.
The Salamanders had also put forward a request.
The warriors Harath Shen had sent indicated they would transfer Entropy's Song directly back to Duvette and continue accompanying the group as observers.
Duvette had no objection to this arrangement. Entropy's Song was already listed in his equipment, and it was a useful thing to have in hand. If the Salamanders were willing to let him carry it for a while longer, that was a welcome development.
As for the two Aeldari.
He looked at the edge of the list, paused, and struck through Yvraine and Sylandri's names.
Not yet.
Calgar did not know what they were actually here to do. Macragge would not permit two Aeldari to walk into the Fortress of Hera without any preparation or context.
He would deal with the trust problem with Calgar first, and then arrange for them to meet.
The alternative was a firefight within thirty seconds of introduction.
The rest of the list was straightforward.
Evan would accompany him. A small staff for documents and communications. The escort could not be too large. Arriving with what looked like a military retinue entering the Ultramarines' home was not the impression he wanted to create.
With the list confirmed, the fleet eased into the Macragge orbital dockyards.
Looking out through the viewports, the scale of the facility was evident. Numerous semi-automated traction arms, orbital platforms, and assembly docks moved in their prescribed patterns. The engineering structures left over from the post-war reconstruction were not entirely gone, but most of the facility had returned to normal operation.
Ultramarines Chapter serfs were waiting in the docking bay.
Duvette, Cawl, both Lord Inquisitors, the Salamanders representative, and their respective escorts disembarked from their separate vessels and assembled at the docking area. Under the guidance of the Chapter serfs they passed through the connecting corridor, entered a transit bay, and boarded a transport shuttle for the descent to the surface.
As the shuttle broke through the cloud layer, Macragge City spread out below them.
Duvette sat at the viewport and looked out at the world he had spent lives to defend more than a decade ago. He reached into his inner coat pocket and touched the edge of the Macragge Honour medal, the metal rim pressing against his fingers through the cloth.
Time moved quickly when you weren't paying attention to it.
This was his second time here, and more than a decade had passed since the first.
He had been a Colonel-Commissar then. Now he was a Marshal-Commissar. Many people had not made it this far. Many names were in the casualty records. Many battlefields had been reduced to a single line of text in a file somewhere.
Evan stood behind him, also looking out through the viewport.
His expression was much the same as Duvette's.
From Farrak IV to the Sabbat Worlds, from Formal Prime to Balhaut—they had been through too many difficult warfronts. That they were both still standing was something that defied the odds any reasonable analyst would have given them.
Cawl's mechanical limbs shifted at the back of the compartment.
He looked at Duvette, then at Evan, then produced a modulated sound through his vocaliser that passed for a laugh.
"One of humanity's classic maintenance routines."
Duvette turned.
Cawl continued. "Gazing at the past and imagining it more reliable than it actually was."
Duvette blinked.
Cawl's optical lenses rotated faintly.
"If you would like to continue reminiscing, I can supply tactical records from the relevant period. Though most of them will leave you in a worse mood than you are currently in."
Duvette was quiet for half a second, then shrugged.
"That won't be necessary, Cawl. I think we should probably focus on how to get Calgar to agree to let us near the Lord of Ultramar."
Cawl's mechaoptic lenses flickered several times. A brief string of binary came out of his vocaliser, sharp and discordant, and then he fell silent.
They landed shortly after.
As the group stepped out of the shuttle, the Fortress of Hera stood before them.
Duvette glanced back at Macragge City behind them. The evening sun lay across the buildings in the distance. Newly restored roads, dome structures, plazas, walls, and defence towers were arranged in clean and ordered lines.
From this height, the wounds the war had left were well enough healed to be invisible.
A decade and more of reconstruction had made the city thrive again, to the point where a first-time visitor might have no reason to suspect what it had survived.
Duvette found himself acknowledging, without much surprise, that the Ultramarines' capacity for civil administration was genuinely impressive.
Under the guidance of the Chapter serfs, they entered the Fortress of Hera.
The path was long.
The Ultramarines' fortress monastery was unlike most Imperial military or administrative structures. It carried the weight of war in its bones, but it also carried the weight of governance. Every corridor, every checkpoint, every serf standing post was a reminder to anyone passing through that this place belonged to the Ultramarines.
Duvette paid it no particular attention.
He kept pace with the serfs ahead of him, his stride even. Evan moved alongside with the staff. Vakur, the Salamanders representative, remained silent. Entropy's Song was on Duvette's person.
Cawl spent the entire walk observing the structure of the Fortress.
His optical lenses turned occasionally toward a wall surface, a floor section, a ventilation shaft, an automated door. He offered no commentary. But Duvette could see perfectly well that the Archmagos had been forming a great many opinions in silence.
They were brought at last to a council chamber.
Inside, mortal lords, administrators, and Chapter officers were processing the business of the hour. Hololithic projections above the data-consoles showed reconstruction progress across multiple Ultramar worlds, fleet deployment schedules, and defence reports.
At the centre of the chamber, Marneus Calgar was working.
His armoured frame was considerably taller than any mortal in the room, and even seated he occupied the space like a piece of machinery built for war that had temporarily been installed in an administrative hall. His face held its usual severity. His gaze came up from a document and settled on Duvette and the group.
The sound in the chamber began dropping.
Duvette stepped forward and rendered a measured salute.
"Lord Marneus Calgar."
Cawl, Juno, Werner, and the Salamanders representative offered their own formal greetings in turn, each according to their custom.
Calgar rose.
His gaze moved across Duvette first, then across Cawl, both Lord Inquisitors, and the Salamanders. Nothing overt crossed his face, but Duvette felt the scrutiny.
"Macragge welcomes the loyal."
Calgar's voice was level.
"I have read the reasons you submitted for this visit. An Inquisitorial special task, residual risks from the Tyrannic War, anomalous reports from the outer worlds, and a request by the Archmagos for technical discussions with Ultramar."
He looked directly at Duvette.
"I do not consider myself to be a man easily deceived, so tell me what you are actually here for."
The group held their silence for a moment. Then Duvette raised his head.
"The Inquisitorial task and the Archmagos's discussions are genuine purposes. They are among our reasons for coming."
Calgar continued looking at him.
"Then explain the others."
Duvette did not answer immediately.
He glanced at Cawl. The Archmagos said nothing, only rotating his head sensor assembly slightly, as if passing the next line to Duvette.
Duvette looked back at Calgar.
"We wish to see the Lord of Ultramar."
Calgar's expression settled into something heavier.
"I am here," Calgar said.
Duvette drew a slow breath.
He knew that once these words left his mouth, the meeting would no longer be a courtesy visit.
But he had come this far.
"I know, my lord."
Duvette shook his head slowly.
"But the one we wish to see is the one whose existence made Ultramar possible."
The council chamber went completely silent.
Calgar did not speak.
His face had become very still, and every person in the chamber felt the shift in the air.
Duvette stood where he was and held the Chapter Master's gaze: the scrutiny and the suspicion of an Ultramarines Lord in full force.
Then he continued.
"We wish to see the true Lord of Ultramar."