"That was horrifying! I'd rather wrestle Rangdan Xenos than take another bite of Company Captain Akurduana's 'cooking'!"
Lucius dragged Chelast along as they sprinted through the broad, opulent corridors of the Pride of the Emperor, their boots making muffled thuds against the soft, dark red carpet.
Pale-faced, Lucius growled at Chelast as he ran, his voice filled with the lingering dread of a narrow escape and a profound terror of that pot of food.
"Hey! You lot! Don't go that way! Take a detour! Now!" Sharp-eyed Lucius spotted several recruits around the corner ahead, carrying Dataslates and apparently heading toward the training area, and immediately shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Company Captain Akurduana just went into the kitchen to 'express himself' again! Turn around unless you want to spend the rest of your lives traumatized by food!"
"That's right!" another Emperor's Children veteran who had escaped with them added breathlessly.
"Ansla, Howard, and those other fools who have no sense of self-preservation were just 'kindly' invited by the captain to 'taste-test' it! The infirmary's busy right now! Run unless you want to end up like them!"
Panic spread through the area like a plague.
At Lucius's warning, a dozen or so Emperor's Children warriors who had been heading for training or other duties instantly joined the fleeing group, surging toward the ship's compartments in the opposite direction from the training ground and officers' lounge.
In their blind panic, they burst into a relatively secluded little observation lounge adorned with additional silk drapes and exquisite sculptures.
Soft starlight poured through the enormous observation window, illuminating a tall figure standing quietly before it, holding a crystal-clear stemmed glass and leisurely savoring the amber liquid within.
It was Fulgrim.
The Third Primarch, lord of the Emperor's Children Legion, the embodiment of