By the time Sanguinius and Konrad Curze returned, they were a full ten minutes past the scheduled time. The Archangel was very apologetic about it, but he did not say why.
Judging from Curze's reluctant yet ramrod-straight posture, the reason was obvious. Corax was quite pleased about that, as could be seen from the rare smile on his face at that moment.
However, where some rejoiced, others naturally had cause to worry.
"What do you mean, there's no way?"
Roboute Guilliman glared furiously at his Personal Terminal. On the screen, an official from the Administratum, drenched in sweat, began explaining, "We simply don't have enough manpower, Your Highness!"
"Are fifteen thousand officials in the southern sector not enough to handle the reconstruction of one-quarter of Terra? It isn't as if the Rapid Construction Modules haven't been distributed!"
Guilliman's voice was not loud, but his expression was stern enough. "The materials, the manpower—even the planned zones—have all already been prepared. All you need to do is assign people to the sites and carry out the reconstruction. Are you telling me you're trying to pass the buck even for that?"
"No, no, Your Highness, you've misunderstood!"
The official shook his head with a miserable expression, grabbed a respirator from his right and pressed it to his mouth, taking a deep gulp from it. From the look of him, he had nearly gone into cardiac arrest.
He explained, "If the sector still had its full fifteen thousand personnel, then of course we could complete the task you gave us within two days. But the problem now is that six thousand two hundred and thirty officials have already gone into Medical Pods."
"Since the Vengeance Crusade began, we have barely rested at all. Many people have even had no choice but to move into