Power Armor was being packed into the shattered Knight suits in an orderly fashion. Some suits were simply disguised as the Knights' weapons.
The Honour Guard veterans toured the warship and found nothing beyond a few Neophytes.
When they asked Evan, he promptly slapped down the records of the IV Legion's invasion.
"My damn Homeworld was blasted into a desert planet! It'll take centuries for the population to recover. This ship has to keep serving as our Chapter Monastery. How could I possibly recruit from my Homeworld?"
"If the war situation weren't so urgent, I should be back home planting trees to hold back the sandstorms, restoring the ecosystem and increasing the population."
Evan's grumbling was interspersed with whispers, and he kept muttering into the veterans' ears for a long time.
In the end, the veterans could only comply with the "Adeptus Custodes' orders." After all, Victor hadn't objected while Evan was speaking.
While the Power Armor was being loaded aboard, the warriors raced around in Scout Armour. There were barely any suits of Mark X Armour in the entire Chapter.
Don't ask. If you did, the answer was that all those resources had been "coordinated" over to the Carcharodons Chapter. They needed that armour more than we did. The Crimson Tide had always dealt honestly with others. We would never hoard treasures and leave them gathering dust in a warehouse.
Armour grinding a xenos' face into the dirt was Power Armor. Armour sitting in a warehouse was scrap metal.
The Ultramarines veterans were left utterly bewildered, while Evan kept declaring that they should understand this better than he did. Nobody could do it better than their great Gene-Father, Roboute Guilliman.
With a mixture of flattery and deception, he bundled the Victrix Guard aboard a transport ship and sent them