Warhammer 40k: Shattered Steel Soul

The final outcome of this evening banquet was undoubtedly beyond Perturabo's expectations, because a name that had not been mentioned for a long time and had no connection whatsoever with what was happening in Macragge suddenly appeared. Landed in the center of the dining table.

Leman Russ, only Perturabo and Mors present had seen with their own eyes the true appearance of the Wolf King of Fenris, and how the wild wolf suddenly set off from Terra with the entire fleet after a small banquet. The voyage left only Magnus and the palace kitchen that he needed to clean with a flamethrower; however, through the mouths of Horus and Leman Russ, they shared all the joy and interesting stories of the primarch gathering back then. It came to Macragge's table ten years later, raising the atmosphere of the family gathering to a level of heartfelt rapport.

"I think that's true, Robert Guilliman." Mors held up the wine glass and leaned back, leaning his whole body weight on the back of the chair. "Of course the wolves raised by the original body Leman Russ are better than those raised by Leman Russ." Wild beasts have a higher level of intelligence, and Russ himself is a representative of informality. If they let the ice water temper their strong bodies in the same ice lake in Fenris, then they will be in the palace of Terra. It’s not necessary to bathe in the same bath. Also, the mead is good, dear Macragge.”

"Thank you for your recognition, Olympian," Robert replied, sipping his tenth glass of wine of the day, his cheeks flushed with the joy of the conversation. "I never thought someone would bring a wolf into the bathhouse..."

"Because there are no wolves in Macragge." Morse put the empty cup back on the table. "But I imagine there are very few recipes that call for a wolf on the table, so the presence or absence of such a beast shouldn't affect your lives."

Perturabo glanced at Rogal Dorn, who was eating next to him and listening intently, and Angron, who was letting his thoughts wander. He used a conical gold cup to cover his slight smile, not sure whether he had found the host of Horus that day. The same joy at the palace banquet.

Calculated according to the order of the original bodies, excluding the second original body that happened to miss the meeting time of all the brothers, he found that he was actually the first brother among the brothers who returned to the empire.

This sudden and wonderful knowledge suddenly hit him from an unimagined angle, and coated everything in his field of vision with a soft light - this should also be taken into account that the Moon of Macragge had already appeared. Their heads were rising slowly, while the white decorative stone pillars and the green grass leaves in the shadows were picking up the bright glow of the stars from the sky.

"I have also heard a saying that there are no wolves on Fenris." Perturabo said, "But no one knows what this means except Leman Russ himself."

"Like a secret language in politics or military." Conor Guilliman guessed. The two mortals occasionally joined the conversations between the primarchs, hoping to touch the edge of a more distant realm. And the Primarchs present each had their own reasons to like such a respectable mortal who could converse with them freely.

"I don't think so," Morse's soft voice penetrated everyone's ears accurately, "In my observation, it may be closer to an investigation and revelation of the essence of things."

"But that can't be an absolute truth, unless there are differences in the definitions of some of the words." Robert said, "You just said that Leman Russ was raised by a she-wolf."

"He even has two wolf brothers," Morse shrugged. "Just remember not to invite him to your bathhouse, especially after drinking Fenris mead."

"We're not supposed to drown in drunkenness?"

"You don't want to see him slapping the hand he just finished grabbing the barbecue on your brand new bathrobe." Morse added a bit of playful sincerity to his tone, getting it from Robert's wide eyes. his pleasure. "Besides, I'm not so sure whether the poison in Fenrisian mead is enough to plunge a Primarch into a state of unconscious carnival."

"I don't understand why our party turned into Ruth's joke time," Perturabo said.

"Because there is a hidden principle here." Morse's fingers brushed the upper edge of the gold cup, and Perturabo began to feel that the craftsman's technique of making a friction sound like a musical instrument was also assisted by psychic runes. "Well, I can tell you that around twenty-three thousand years ago, I killed an entire hive city, as well as a locksmith."

"What did the locksmith do?" Robert couldn't help asking.

"You see, the story of a locksmith is more entertaining." Morse shook his head unhurriedly, not hiding his smile.

"No, I think in the hidden condition of this sentence, you put a hive and a locksmith on the same level, which invisibly highlights the locksmith's..."

"Would you like another drink, Dorne?" Perturabo asked.

"Oh." Dawn put the wine glass on the tray brought by the waiter.

Mors smiled: "Actually, I can also turn this party into a little story time for Perturabo. Ms. Euton, on the way here, you also mentioned Robert Guilliman's childhood. There have been many things that parents can be proud of. Do we want to communicate?”

"My mentor, you underestimate me if you think this will excite me."

"Then shall I begin?" Morse leaned out of his seat and patted Perturabo's hand, which was resting on the armrest, almost like a piece of steel.

The craftsman retracted his upper body, slid down a little in the chair, raised his left hand on the armrest to support his head: "Okay, no one wants to make a joke, so let's discuss how to deal with Markkula while waiting for the arrival of the War Child. issues of development and reform in Macragge and the entire Ultramar sector, and promote friendly and constructive merger negotiations between the Empire and Macragge, striving to reach an effective agreement that is in the interests of both parties and maintain the financial stability and economic growth of both parties. Avoid the negative impacts of integration, reduce trade frictions and currency barriers, and explore bilateral trade opportunities and investment potential.”

"What new paperwork has the Emperor assigned you lately?" Perturabo pinpointed the source of this sudden turn of events.

"Actually, I just helped our Imperial Chancellor organize his file box." The craftsman made a yawn gesture, "But I'm not joking now. Otherwise, why would we have a secret meeting here?"

Robert glanced hesitantly at Connaught, Connaught nodded, and Euton summoned an attendant.

Within the next few minutes, the empty plates and remaining food and wine were removed from the table, and then the attendants retreated. In addition, this also caused Roger Dorn, who had just agreed to have another drink, to innocently lose the wine he had not yet started drinking.

It's surprising how quickly the topic changes, but Morse is just the kind of guy who can do that. Perturabo easily switched from his mind to another set of thoughts and matching data and examples. If he had brought a data tablet here today, he could now connect the black cable on his head to the data tablet and show the Macragge people present something that was more practical than illusory promises and promises. Charts and overview.

The Iron Lord was pleased to see that Robert Guilliman and his adoptive parents had entered into a state of negotiation. As for the black-robed craftsman who dropped the topic to the private discussion before the formal meeting and began to take a nap with his eyes closed. He decided to ignore it.

"Robert mentioned to us that Macragge is promoting a comprehensive reform of the system recently." Perturabo said, his hands resting easily on his legs, "Therefore, I think that before the reform is completed, it is necessary to cooperate with the existing horse The dialogue on the Kurag system is inefficient and redundant. I hope that the real consultation on the cooperation between the two parties will start after your reform situation is stabilized. The representative of the military system led by the Primarch should not be me. , which is a different system from the imperial civil service system.”

"Do you hope that in a few years, when Macragge will be completely new, you can return to our country and continue the current issues?" the consul asked cautiously and sincerely.

"No, there is no point in making such a long-term agreement." Petula responded with unreserved honesty. "My hope is that you will complete the reforms you need as soon as possible, and if necessary, you can ask for help from the Imperial military. The Primarch's home world naturally has such privileges. Before we are too busy in the nearby sectors to have nothing to do , I hope you have achieved the reform of internal affairs, so that when Robert Guilliman joins us in the expedition, he will not be obsessed with the home front, or even secretly complain about the Empire. "

He had no intention of playing politics in front of anyone. From the moment he took military power in Olympia, no, earlier than that, from the very beginning, he has never been patient with all kinds of things that wasted construction efficiency and wasted energy in the undercurrent. And under the silent protection of Damex and Morse, he easily retained his persistence in this regard - the Primarch suddenly realized this clearly, and a corner of his vast mental network supported He was distracted at this time.

His words immediately elicited a secretly happy expression from the primarch wearing a laurel crown.

"Thank you for your understanding, Perturabo," Robert said, reassuring himself to side with his home planet. "The Senate will do our part, and Macragge will remember any favors from the Empire. And responded accordingly. But I have a few questions.”

"Please speak." Perturabo raised his hand.

"First, I think Macragge has a right to know what the Imperium is up to in our neighboring sectors. Even if you want to conquer our neighboring sectors," Robert said, speaking of the possibility of being unable to resist. With a good calm tone to cover up his worries, "Macragge would also like to know about this."

"Second, you mentioned before that the troops assigned to me by the empire will arrive within a month. But the changes in the political structure of the entire planet cannot be completed in a month. Even if absolute force is resorted to, it cannot be completed in a short time. Verifying the effectiveness of various policies, not to mention force will bury vicious hidden dangers in the foundation of Macragge's reform. Then condemnation and tricks will follow. Therefore, it is impossible for me to lead them to join as soon as they arrive. Your expedition."

"If you have regarded the planets around Macragge as part of your future pocket empire, we can leave this place to you. You can later draw the boundaries in your mind." The Iron Lord's thinking speed made him see It almost sounds like you’ve already prepared the answer to the question, “And regarding the second point, what’s your solution?”

Perturabo could see a hope for the future in Robert's expression. "I want to know what kind of people my troops are," said the Primarch. "I will then decide between leading my troops and the priorities of advancing reform."

"Reform is not just your job, Robert," Conor said, looking at his adopted son. "Macragge will continue to make progress while you are away from home."

"But if I were involved..." Robert heard his father's comfort.

"Is there a possibility," the craftsman suddenly spoke, his eyes still closed, his fingers tapping rhythmically on the armrest, "before you start making some reluctant statements that sound like a farewell, can you consider that the Empire has a means of cross-galaxy communication?"

He attracted the attention of the people of Macragge, but unfortunately, this was not enough to make the craftsman, who always regarded etiquette as nothing, open his eyes.

"Within the same star sector, the efficiency of the astropaths is quite good; if the reform of Macragge is not completed until the War Sons incorporate the entire star sector into their territory and have to truly join the "Great" expedition, I don't think this is the Empire's problem." Morse said.

When Perturabo was about to cooperate with the black-robed craftsman and play a role that shows the tolerance and kindness of the Sky Eagle, Morse unexpectedly threw a new thing to him.

"And you, Perturabo, Kaliphon's reply has been delivered to the Iron Blood. She delivered a diplomatic general statement and asked why you suddenly thought of this matter, and also handed over new special matters." Some golden light entangled between Morse's fingers. The craftsman used supernatural means to read the report that was being held in the hands of the war blacksmith on the track and sent to Perturabo's office. Robert Guilliman looked at the conspicuous beam of light and silently added some notes to the Imperial Truth in his mind. "Kaliphon said that recently, Melatara near Olympia came all the way to submit a document to the Lokos Palace. The title is "Melatara Cluster Citizen Petition". The content is that their cluster recently applied to join a planetary alliance led by Olympia with a voting approval rate of more than 90%. She is not sure whether the Empire will allow your planet to begin to expand the influence of the Primarch, so she has not accepted it for the time being."

In Perturabo's surprise, Morse opened his eyes, and the golden light composed of runes faded from his eyes: "You might as well take advantage of Macragge to do their own things and see the development of Olympia, my Lord of Olympia."

"Angron," Morse then mentioned the name of another Primarch, "Nukeria's culture is similar to Olympia and Macragge. Although you have no intention of expanding your territory, I personally still suggest that you see if there is anything you can refer to in the development plans of these two sides."

"As for Rogal Dorn..."

"It's time for the Phalanx to do routine cleaning." Rogal Dorn took the initiative to find something to do for himself.

Perturabo quickly realized what his brother was referring to, and no golden cup could help hide his smile.