A Surprise? A Scare!

In the dim corridors of the warship, cold white light spilled from a lamp only every so often.

Ogedei pushed his own wheelchair along the steel walkway beside Talal.

"I want to give that boy a chance to rise through the ranks," Ogedei said, getting straight to the point without taking his eyes off the path ahead.

"I noticed," Talal replied. Ogedei's words didn't surprise him. "But doing that wouldn't follow Legion regulations or the Administratum's laws."

Talal continued, "To start with, he isn't from Chogoris. He comes from a Hive World we've never even heard of. By the rules, he has to undergo training and testing at Quanzhou Monastery before he can be promoted. He needs to stand out among all the candidates before he can earn the chance to become a neophyte."

"Oh, right." Talal remembered something and added, "Before the surgery, he also has to pass an Administratum political review. That's an essential part of the process, too."

Talal's tone was stern. "Let me be blunt, Ogedei. You're an Astartes company commander. This isn't your responsibility, and it's not your place to meddle."

Ogedei slowly shook his head. "No, Talal. Things have changed."

"How long has it been since we lost contact with our homeworld? Have you seen any new recruits join the fleet? Our warriors, meanwhile, keep dying!"

"Talal, my brother, I'll tell you plainly: the times have changed. This isn't some localized rebellion. It's a war sweeping across the entire galaxy—the rebellion of Warmaster Horus!"

"The whole Imperium has descended into chaos. Nobody gives a damn about the Administratum. Nobody cares about our sacrifices. Nobody cares how many White Scars are left. Nobody but us!"

By now, Ogedei was worked up. His eyes reddened as he said,

"If you're going to talk to me about Legion regulations, then let me tell you this: if the Khan were aboard the Sword, he'd support my decision."

"What's more," Ogedei continued, having steadied his voice, "the Sons of Horus have already sent their warships to some remote, savage world to find supplies. You can see it for yourself: by this point in the war, the rebels are starting to run short, too. If we don't replenish our own ranks, how are we supposed to take part in the fighting in the Solar System?"

At that, Talal fell silent for a long while.

For a moment, the corridor was quiet. Only their footsteps broke the silence, a stark contrast to the storm of argument that had just passed.

At last, Talal shrugged helplessly. "Fine, fine, Ogedei. You know me—I'm convinced again."

At those words, Ogedei's lips curved into a faint smile. "Besides, I saw something different in that boy's eyes. I have a feeling he's going to surprise us."

The hatch slowly opened, and Ogedei pushed his wheelchair into the rest compartment.

As soon as he entered, he saw Fu Qinghai sitting in a chair, cradling a boltgun in his arms, its muzzle pointed squarely at him.

!?

Ogedei was stunned.

A boltgun was a weapon a Space Marine could sometimes wield one-handed. But for Fu Qinghai, it was far too large. He had to hold it with both arms, as if he were hugging an enormous grenade launcher.

"What are you playing at? Be careful you don't shoot yourself," Ogedei said, looking utterly baffled.

Fu Qinghai gave a cold laugh, pointed at a silver coin on the bed, and asked, "What's this?"

Ogedei looked at the coin and slowly frowned. "A silver coin. What about it? Do you know what it is?"

"It's a token of a warrior lodge. You know what role the lodges played in the White Scars' Legion civil war, don't you, Khan?"

The confusion on Ogedei's face deepened. "How do you know about this?"

"Never mind that. I know a lot more, too. For example, why you have a complete set of Mark IV Power Armour. Or why you didn't travel with the Legion fleet."

As he spoke, Fu Qinghai thought, Let's try bluffing him first. If he's a traitor, I'll shoot him, then go on a killing spree across the ship. I'll kill as many as I can, earn enough Reincarnation Points, and then kill myself. I've still got another life anyway.

Putting aside the fact that the Reincarnation World had assigned him to the Emperor's side, Fu Qinghai demanded a great deal of independence in his emotions and thoughts. In his previous life, he had despised people who wallowed in the highs of certain drugs. He had a kind of mental fastidiousness. If he were going to become a fanatic whose thoughts and feelings were controlled by the Chaos Gods, he'd rather die.

He also remembered the bizarre activities of the Slaaneshi Daemons described in the novel, and shuddered.

He tightened his grip on the gun. He would never throw himself into Chaos's embrace, even if it killed him!

Ogedei raised both hands to show Fu Qinghai he shouldn't get worked up, then said,

"That suit of Power Armour was a trophy I took from the Sons of Horus. I had another one, but it was destroyed at Cheslatan. We didn't travel with the Legion fleet because we had a separate mission. Its details are classified, so I can't tell you. As for that silver coin..."

"You're right. I was part of a warrior lodge. I don't know how you found out, but the lodges did play a very shameful role in that uprising. Still, not everyone who joined one chose to betray the Great Khan. Isn't that right?"

Ogedei looked Fu Qinghai in the eye and countered, "How can you conclude I belong to a traitor Legion based on that alone?"

"Or is it that you still resent the fact that I ate human flesh?"

That's true. This still isn't enough to confirm anything. I tried bluffing Ogedei to see whether he'd panic or get angry when exposed, but he's so calm... Fu Qinghai thought for a moment, then said, "Then tilt your head back and shout three times, 'Horus is a fucking idiot!' and 'Chaos is a bunch of fucking idiots!'"

Ogedei looked like he was about to laugh from sheer exasperation. "Why would I do something so childish?"

Click! The boltgun was cocked.

"Horus is a fucking idiot!" "Horus is a fucking idiot!" "Horus is a fucking idiot!"

"Stop hitting me... I was wrong, I was wrong. Please, just stop..."

"Damn it, I was even thinking of giving you a chance to rise through the ranks, you little brat. I can't believe I misjudged you..." Ogedei lifted Fu Qinghai up one-handed and smacked him while cursing.

"You little runt, threatening people with a boltgun! If I hadn't stopped you, the recoil would've torn your arm off the moment you pulled the trigger!"

A Space Marine's hands were incredibly strong. Even while holding back, Ogedei managed to leave Fu Qinghai's face bruised and swollen in just a few slaps.

Warrior lodges were a form of organization, a phenomenon common to many Space Marine Legions.

Using secret tokens, Space Marines from different ranks, companies, and even Legions would meet privately to talk and socialize. That was what a warrior lodge was.

On the positive side, an expeditionary fleet was a relatively closed environment. By attending warrior lodges semi-anonymously—masked, but without voice changers—Space Marines could strengthen their fraternal bonds with their comrades. They could occasionally vent and complain, say things they couldn't say in formal settings, and relieve the stress of prolonged combat. In a warrior lodge, there were no distinctions between neophytes and officers; everyone spoke as equals. That helped new warriors integrate into the Legion more quickly, among other things.

Once any army grew large enough, it was quite likely to develop this kind of private organization, one that operated outside the chain of command and the rank hierarchy. By analogy to Earth in Fu Qinghai's previous life, it was somewhat like the Kuomintang's Central Club clique... (just kidding)

The Emperor himself and the Administratum had expressly forbidden Space Marine warrior lodges. Some Primarchs had turned a blind eye to them, while others had firmly opposed their existence.

But in the early stages of the Horus Heresy, warrior lodges had played a very sinister role. Among the Sons of Horus, the White Scars, and other Space Marines harboring rebellious thoughts, they had been used to secretly conspire, spread rumors, voice opinions that ran directly counter to the Imperium's official stance, and plot rebellion.

The silver coin in Ogedei's personal box was a typical token of a warrior lodge.

At last, Ogedei set down the blue-nosed, swollen-faced Fu Qinghai and said irritably, "Clean yourself up. You're coming with me to meet someone."

Fu Qinghai followed Ogedei deeper into the warship.

Compared with the brightly lit bridge, this place was dim. Apart from a crude white light overhead, everything around them lay in darkness. A few red warning lights on the walls were the only signs that this was off-limits to ordinary crew.

At the end of the corridor stood a thick gray steel door, its edges marked with yellow-and-black hazard stripes.

They had reached their destination.

Fu Qinghai noticed that the guards at the door weren't crewmen in White Scars uniforms, but two towering, heavily built robots.

The upright robots were painted deep red, with thick limbs and enormous three-fingered Power Fists at the ends of their arms. A shoulder-mounted cannon extended from the left shoulder of each one. They stood a full two times as tall as Ogedei.

Castellan Robots were guarding the door instead of crewmen... Fu Qinghai immediately started thinking. There was probably a high-ranking member of the Adeptus Mechanicus inside.

The robot's short, squat head, shaped like an upside-down pot lid, turned toward the two of them. Its cold mask scanned them, then turned away.

"Psssh—" The steel blast door slowly opened.

As they passed the two hulking machines, Fu Qinghai couldn't resist glancing at them. Their deep-red shoulders bore a white insignia: a cog with a skull in the middle.

From Mars, home of the Adeptus Mechanicus.

P.S. The Central Club of the Chen brothers and the warrior lodges have nothing in common. I'm just joking around here.