Abaddon returned to his lounge.
Of course, it had now been converted into an officers' office.
He stood in the doorway, his gaze sweeping over the furnishings as a tangle of emotions he could neither name nor explain welled up inside him.
This room had once been his private space, where he handled official business, received his subordinates, and rested briefly between battles.
The walls had once displayed his collection of trophies: a serrated blade seized from an Ork Warlord, an Aeldari warrior's banner, and a crown taken from the head of a rebellious Planetary Governor.
But now, all those things were gone. The walls had been repainted dark green and hung with the new insignia of the Sons of Horus Legion. Neatly arranged documents and dataslates sat on the desk. Everything was orderly, yet it felt alien to him down to his very bones.
Abaddon's old subordinate, Falkus Kibre, was already waiting there.
Kaebo stood in a corner of the room, wearing a suit of dark green power armour without any Legion markings.
As Abaddon's most loyal subordinate, Kaebo had always been willing to fight for him.
Whether during the days of the Luna Wolves or those of the Sons of Horus, no matter how the Legion's name changed or how orders from above shifted, his loyalty had never wavered.
He believed in Abaddon, in his judgment and his leadership, and was willing to follow him anywhere.
And that loyalty had become the very reason the new Justaerin Terminator Force ostracized him.
To those newly inducted warriors who knew only Brutus and not Abaddon, Kaebo was a "relic of the old era," a "man who couldn't keep up with change," an "obsolete piece of junk that should have been discarded."
"I'm back, Kaebo." Abaddon entered the room, his gaze