Iax turned his head toward the somewhat worried Cawl beside him and slowly replied.
"Under the peace agreement, they are considered neutral so long as they have not violated its terms."
Neutral.
That was the best outcome Cawl could hope for.
"If I requested that you provide them with combat support, would that be feasible?"
"Negative." Iax's response was no surprise to Cawl.
"I can assign an additional Chapter to cooperate with you. They may possess extensive secret records that could prove useful to you, but you must first complete this support mission and return. Would that be acceptable?"
Iax fell silent for a moment, then gave Cawl a questioning look.
"Does this cooperating party possess additional historical information that I currently lack? Requesting revised terms. The Aeldari may possess records spanning a longer period. Can access to additional information from the Aeldari be made a condition of mission cooperation?"
Caught in a difficult position, Cawl turned toward Guilliman beside him.
Cawl had no idea whether the Aeldari would agree to provide Iax with the historical information he needed. Besides, Cawl had little fondness for the Aeldari.
Still, the Aeldari Reaper Host currently needed something from Guilliman. Perhaps he could give it a try.
Guilliman's thoughts were more complicated. Although he did not know exactly what had happened before the Imperium's founding, the Men of Iron had clearly decided to leave the Milky Way because something they could not accept had occurred.
He had read some accounts of that bygone dark age in Terra's archives. If the Man of Iron before him reached the same conclusion as those past rebels, would that make the Imperium's situation even worse?
As Imperial Regent, Guilliman had to think further ahead.
Yet there seemed to be no better solution at present. There were too