The Return

Dragging along a half-sized giant and avoiding the rougher stretches of road so Ogedei wouldn't be jolted out of the trailer meant the return trip took longer than the journey there.

By the time Fu Qinghai and the others reached the colony outpost, it was noon on the third day.

Their arrival caused a commotion throughout the outpost.

There wasn't much to do in this little settlement of a few thousand people, so even the most trivial matters became topics of conversation over dinner.

Now, two orphans who barely registered in the outpost had dragged back a Space Marine.

Strictly speaking, half a Space Marine.

It was about as likely as the sun rising in the south.

The residents put down their work and flocked over to gawk.

"Isn't that little Locke and Feiyi? My goodness, they've done something huge!"

You don't think I captured a Space Marine, do you...? Fu Qinghai thought.

"I always knew this kid would amount to something!"

Who are you? I didn't even know you when I was a kid... Fu Qinghai thought helplessly.

"Make way, everyone! Come on, make way!" Fu Qinghai called, waving from the back seat of the Jetbike at the gawkers blocking their path.

Ogedei, sitting in the trailer behind them, listened to the residents gossiping about him. He felt a little humiliated.

As a veteran of more than two hundred years' service, he had taken part in Imperial reviews and victory parades—propaganda events meant to show ordinary Imperial citizens the might of the Space Marines and the discipline of the Imperial Army.

But he had never before been dragged around in a beat-up trailer and gawked at by a crowd of backwater Hive City yokels.

During the Great Crusade, the Imperium of Man had always embraced militarism. The Space Marines were the backbone and elite of the Imperial military. Each one was not only a consummate warrior but also had the tactical training to command a small-scale campaign. Even an ordinary Space Marine was effectively an officer to most rank-and-file Imperial Army troops, able to take command of mortal forces on a battlefield where the chain of command had collapsed.

Ogedei was more than that; he held middle-ranking officer status in the Space Marines.

To ordinary Imperial citizens, he was practically an exalted figure.

So it was only natural that Ogedei felt like a fallen lord brought low.

Fu Qinghai could more or less understand how he felt, so he didn't waste time. He headed straight for the small villa of Calvin, the colony outpost's administrator.

The residents gossiped among themselves, but they didn't dare point at a Space Marine. The bullet-scarred armor covering Ogedei and his towering, inhuman build silently proclaimed his strength. The people looked at him with awe and curiosity.

Fu Qinghai and the others arrived at Calvin's villa.

Calvin had already come outside to see what was happening after receiving word of their arrival. When he saw Ogedei sitting in the trailer, his expression turned uncertain. He instinctively straightened his administrator's uniform.

Feiyi brought the Jetbike to a stop. Fu Qinghai introduced Ogedei to Calvin. "Sir, this is Noyan-Khan Ogedei Mangnut, a Space Marine of the V Legion whom I rescued from the wreck."

"Ah... well, um... that's good." Calvin had no idea what to say.

Ogedei, sitting in the battered trailer, looked at Calvin and spoke calmly in a hoarse voice:

"I am Ogedei Mangnut, Captain of the Falcon Brotherhood, White Scars, V Legion. I hereby declare the 17-974 colony outpost under military rule by the Imperial Army. I order you to transfer control of the colony outpost to me immediately."

Calvin bowed with complete deference. "It would be my honor, sir."

Calvin had originally been a junior administrator left behind by the Expedition Fleet to liaise with the colony world and any future colonization fleets. But since no follow-up fleet had ever arrived, he had been thrust into the role as the highest-ranking official on site.

He was more than willing to hand over control when Ogedei asked.

Fu Qinghai even felt that after transferring control to Ogedei, Calvin had shed his usual anxious, dispirited air and become full of energy.

When Ogedei ordered him to organize the residents and have them bring vehicles and equipment to the wreck to salvage anything useful, Calvin quickly assembled a sizable team.

Before sending people to the wreck, Ogedei and Calvin had a private discussion in the villa, exchanging what they knew. Mostly, Ogedei explained the situation facing the Imperium of Man: Warmaster Horus had rebelled, half of the Legiones Astartes had turned traitor, and Warp Storms were raging across the galaxy, cutting off communications and travel between the various corners of the Imperium and its hub, Terra. The White Scars had chosen loyalty and sided with the Emperor.

The news left Calvin reeling.

Warmaster Horus's rebellion, half the Legions turning traitor... the implications were far more overwhelming than watching two groups of Space Marines fight. Thankfully, someone who could take charge had finally arrived.

Ogedei still didn't know that the sudden outbreak of the Warp Storms had been caused by the machinations of the four Chaos Gods, much less how it was connected to Warmaster Horus's betrayal. It was even unclear whether an officer of Ogedei's rank would know of the Chaos Gods at all.

After all, Ogedei wasn't a Librarian Stormseer of the White Scars. In fact, even many Librarians from other Legiones Astartes—military Psykers capable of manipulating the Aether—still believed the Warp was simply a physical dimension with no life, thoughts, or consciousness of its own. They thought its energy and material laws were merely beyond the understanding of people in realspace.

Calvin, for his part, told Ogedei about the current state of the colony outpost.

There wasn't much to report: a few thousand civilians, a ship low on fuel, and a small outpost with little in the way of defenses. That was all.

If they faced a ship capable of orbital bombardment, a single shot would be enough to wipe out the Cheslatan colony outpost. They wouldn't need a second.

Fu Qinghai was also present for the private discussion. Ogedei had allowed him to attend, and Calvin had taken that to mean he was welcome to stay.

Calvin even felt that, compared with him—a proper civil servant and administrator for the 17th Expedition Fleet—Ogedei seemed to trust Locke, a poor Underhive boy, more.

That was only natural. Faced with the shipwreck and the infighting among the Space Marines, Calvin had chosen to watch in silence and wait passively. Fu Qinghai had taken the initiative to investigate and had even rescued Ogedei. Trapped as he was, Ogedei could have survived for who knew how long by eating corpses.

Fu Qinghai didn't explain the truth about the Warp Storms to Ogedei. There was no point; why would Ogedei believe what an Underhive boy with no psychic talent had to say about the Warp?

For now, the top priority was contacting the White Scars ship in orbit.

As he watched Calvin lead Ogedei toward the colony ship's communications room, Fu Qinghai's mind filled with questions.

Were there White Scars ships still in orbit?

If so, why hadn't they sent anyone down to investigate?

Which side had the crashed ship belonged to?

Neither the White Scars nor the Sons of Horus seemed to have any reinforcements. One lonely escort ship had crashed on Cheslatan. Where were their respective fleets?

Ogedei hadn't explained any of this to Calvin, and Calvin hadn't asked. He simply went off to carry out Ogedei's orders.

Although his mind was full of questions, Fu Qinghai still didn't ask anything. He pressed his lips together and watched Ogedei disappear into the communications room.

Ogedei had gotten out of the battered trailer and was now sitting in a modified wheelchair. He looked at the communications equipment before him, worry in his eyes.

The colony ship's captain had also been stranded on Cheslatan. He was a bearded man who introduced the equipment to Ogedei:

"Sir, this is the most powerful communications equipment we have. Its range is greater than the unit at the outpost and it can send messages to neighboring planets. We've kept it running, but we haven't received anything."

Ogedei frowned. There were no Astropaths in the colony outpost. Besides, Astropathic Communication depended on the Warp being stable, so long-distance astropathic messages were out of the question.

The civilian communications equipment aboard the ship had a limited range, too.

Fu Qinghai came in as well and studied the machine, but this time the sea of his electronic soul stirred no ripples.

Even Iron Man couldn't do everything.

Ogedei pressed a button and switched the ship's broadcast signal to a military frequency. He leaned toward the colony ship's microphone and said:

"Short Sword, this is Ogedei Mangnut. I'm on the planet's surface. Please respond. I'm on the planet's surface. Please respond."

Then he turned to the captain. "Keep this broadcast on a loop until we get back from the wreck."

The captain answered, "Understood, sir."

The colony ship's broadcast could reach the space around Cheslatan. Although it was on a military frequency, the enemy could hear it too. If they were unlucky, it might even draw an enemy ship to land on Cheslatan. But they had no other choice. Fu Qinghai suspected that Ogedei had other duties and objectives; otherwise, he wouldn't have resorted to such a risky measure.

The next day, the residents of the Cheslatan colony outpost drove all manner of strange vehicles toward the wreck in a great procession.

Whether it was manufacturing or agriculture, both depended on a complete supply chain. On an isolated colony world, every scrap of metal was a resource—let alone an entire warship.

Ogedei also needed military-grade communications equipment and an Auspex from the escort ship.

Fu Qinghai joined the salvage team.

By now, he had figured out two things.

First, there really was a White Scars ship in orbit, named the Short Sword. Otherwise, Ogedei's broadcast would have had nowhere to go.

Second, the crashed escort had belonged to the Sons of Horus, a ship of the XVI Legion. The insignia and heraldry on the wreck made that clear.

They began salvaging from the outside. Fu Qinghai had already dealt with the automated defenses still operating inside the ship, shooting them one by one while pushing Ogedei's wheelchair.

The residents worked with great enthusiasm. All salvaged materials and supplies belonged to the colony outpost; only weapons and military equipment had to be handed over to Ogedei.

Meanwhile, Ogedei watched over them with a furrowed brow and a worried expression.

Two days passed, and the colony ship's broadcast still hadn't received a reply.

"One, two, three, heave! One, two, three, heave!"

The people chanted as cutting machines, Servitor laborers, and humans worked together to pull a half-buried hatch free, revealing the dark compartment within.

Someone stuck his head inside for a look, then quickly pulled it back out.

"Sir!" the man in charge called to Ogedei. "It looks like a communications room."

Ogedei immediately sat up straight and turned to Fu Qinghai. "Come with me."

Fu Qinghai pushed the wheelchair over with a great deal of effort.

Ogedei grabbed the upper edge of the hatch with one hand and hauled his upper body inside. Fu Qinghai followed close behind, ducking in and switching on his flashlight.

The light illuminated a compartment crammed with equipment, buttons, and black screens. A crewman in a gray-green uniform lay dead off to one side.

Ogedei casually pushed the corpse aside and examined the communications equipment. This wasn't the bridge, the warship's command center, but it still had communications equipment.

Ogedei pressed a couple of buttons at random. The screens showed no response. He clicked his tongue and frowned.

"Let me try," Fu Qinghai said, squeezing past him.

Fu Qinghai began fiddling with several devices that were still in decent condition.

It was his first time handling communications equipment from the Imperium of Man in the Warhammer 40K universe, yet he seemed remarkably familiar with it. As he explored, he asked Ogedei questions. Ogedei could tell that Fu Qinghai had never seen this sort of thing before, since he didn't even recognize the symbols on many basic buttons.

Fu Qinghai opened up the casing and leaned halfway inside. Following the train of thought in his mind, his hands nimbly worked among the cables and circuit boards.

Before long, Fu Qinghai crawled back out of the casing, covered in dust. He dusted off his hands and stared at the screen, still black and lifeless. "That's strange. I thought I'd fixed it."

You thought... Ogedei had no idea what to make of those words.

Fu Qinghai narrowed his eyes at the device and thought, What, even Iron Man can't fix you?

Suddenly, Fu Qinghai raised his foot and kicked the communications device hard. The casing went BANG!

Ogedei stared, startled.

Zzzzt... A burst of static flashed across the dark screen. Then all three screens lit up.

Watching the text flicker across the screen, Fu Qinghai turned to Ogedei and asked:

"So this is the famous Logis Engine?"

"You've never let me down," Ogedei said, looking at Fu Qinghai with approval. "Is Levant a Forge World with technology on par with Mars? Why have I never heard of it before?"

Even an Underhive pauper could repair military communications equipment.

The Levant Hive City was terrifyingly advanced!

"Talent, that's all," Fu Qinghai said with a chuckle.

Time was short, so Ogedei didn't press him further. He picked up a headset from the floor and put it on, then worked the communications equipment. When it asked for verification, he lifted the corpse with one hand and used its fingerprint and eye to pass the checks. He was clearly familiar with the process.

Ogedei pressed a button, took a deep breath, and leaned toward the device. "Short Sword, Short Sword, this is Ogedei Mangnut. Please respond. Please respond."

Then Ogedei leaned back against the bulkhead.

The communications room was silent. Apart from the quiet hum of the equipment, there wasn't a sound.

In the dim compartment, Ogedei and Fu Qinghai stared at each other. The atmosphere turned awkward.

Zzzzt... A burst of static broke the silence and awkwardness. An excited voice called out:

"Ogedei!? You're alive?"

Ogedei let out a breath of relief and laughed despite himself. "Of course. Talal, you idiot, I'm hard to kill."

The voice on the device sounded urgent. "How are you? Why are you using the Sons of Horus signal to contact us? What about China and the others?"

"My condition..." Ogedei looked down at his empty lower half and sighed. "It's bad. I'm aboard the Gryphon. The warship crashed in the atmosphere. China and the others were all killed."

"I'm the only one who survived."

The voice fell silent for a moment. "All right, understood. I'll arrange a lander to pick you up from the surface."

Ogedei said, "Track this signal to pinpoint our location on the surface. Once you descend to a certain altitude, you'll be able to see the wreck."

"Understood."

P.S. The Warhammer 40K IP has been around for so long that there are countless tabletop wargame rulebooks, original novels, related PC games, and so on. Official lore often contradicts itself, and new editions sometimes retcon older ones. So for this book, I'll use the official novels as the main reference, since the rulebooks and games' numerical mechanics and such aren't convenient to use directly in a novel. I'll try to stick closely to the novels. Where I think the official lore is unreasonable, I'll change it according to my own ideas—especially when it comes to GW's awful math. Please don't get hung up on the details, but feel free to point out anything that seems really outrageous or that I've gotten wrong because I don't know enough about it.