The Space Wolves were no fools. They were not like the World Eaters, whose heads were filled with nothing but killing. They simply reserved their cunning for their enemies.
Evan's approach would clearly lead to him passing the Space Wolves' gene-seed on to them, but...
The heart of Evan's psychological manipulation lay in this almost annihilated Space Wolves Great Company: I carry its rightful legacy. I will lead a new generation of wolf cubs to avenge it.
It had to be said, that was an enticing prospect.
Looking at the photograph of the four men beside him when they were rescued, then at the magnificent hall around him, Rogier recalled the sorry Astartes warriors who had rescued him.
Perhaps... I could help train them while I'm here?
Gene-seed... new wolf cubs... those matters can wait. This Chapter's recruit transformation vats are full anyway. The next round of transformations is still several years away.
The Space Wolves repaid kindness. Aside from hearty words of thanks, however, they tended to express their gratitude through rather more "substantial" actions.
Rogier's final line in the sand was that Space Wolves had to be elite warriors from Fenris. Every wolf agreed on that.
Seeing that his pitch was about to succeed, Evan relaxed instead. He would leave the rest to Kazhaniv.
Kazhaniv and Rogier might not have been birds of a feather, but their personalities were compatible. Apart from the fact that the Sons of Horus had caused this Great Company's destruction...
A fellow blessed by the Emperor should be fine, right?
The warship remained above this death world. After bombarding it, the enemy had dragged away the Space Wolves' battered warship and departed.
What did that mean? It meant the planet had not been searched.
Most things on the planet were unusable now, but