Bastion Wars by Henry Zou

Author:Henry Zou
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, pdf
Publisher: Black Library
Published: 2014-05-22T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

‘Look at this glorious land,’ said Cardinal Avanti, sweeping his arms in a gesture that took in the expanse of broken, deforested earth before him. ‘Waiting for the seed and harvest of honest Imperial folk.’

Brigadier Kaplain watched as his fellow officers Montalvo and de Ruger nodded in clockwork agreement. Inwardly, Kaplain sighed. The land before him had been freshly chain-felled by Caliguan transport tractors and the spillage of broken trees all lay in one direction like the unburied dead, the smell of sap still strong in the air. Guardsmen of the Caliguan Motor Rifles were still in the process of registering and loading native tribesmen onto waiting troop-trucks. These men and women had, until the morning of that day, been ancestral owners of this land for thousands of years. But by mid-afternoon, the Ecclesiarchy had already moved in on one of Bastón’s many rimward islands and declared it annexed for the glory of the Imperium.

‘Where will these people go?’ Kaplain asked, pointing at the miserable line of homeless tribesmen at the edge of the clearing.

‘Oh, don’t worry, brigadier,’ Avanti said off-handedly. ‘We have settlement camps set up waiting to train them in the methods of agriculture and mining. They will soon be under the employ of the Administratum as labourers so they need not go hungry.’

Kaplain rubbed the bridge of his nose wearily. He had been a soldier for long enough to recognise a conquest when he saw one. But the people of Bastón had been loyal to the Imperium before the insurgency and now the remaining loyalists were being punished for the actions of a rebellious minority.

From their observation deck atop a Caliguan tractor, Avanti and his three senior officers watched the clearing process under the shade of servitors bearing lace parasols. Eight Adepta Sororitas bodyguards, including Morgan Fure, stood to attention with them, aiming their boltguns at the tribesmen in the far distance, although in Kaplain’s opinion there was clearly no need.

‘Do you think that perhaps by taking the land away from the remaining loyalists, we are aiding the insurgency with new recruits?’ Kaplain asked gently.

‘Are these not loyal citizens of the Imperium? What use are they to the Imperial cause if they languish in their primitive ways? Are they not better put to use on worthwhile tasks?’ Avanti questioned, raising his stark white eyebrows.

Kaplain didn’t answer. He could feel Palatine Morgan Fure penetrate him with her silent stare.

‘Besides, this insurgency is only a by-product of our administrative efforts here in Bastón,’ Avanti continued. ‘It is unfortunate, but inevitable, that rebellion should arise when we are only doing it for their own good. Some people will never learn.’

At this, even Montalvo and de Ruger started in confusion. ‘Your grace? The rebellion began as a consequence of your efforts?’ de Ruger spluttered.

Avanti waved his hand dismissively. ‘Oh, yes. I thought I might as well inform you all now, that this rebellion began as a result of the indigenous population’s protest at our plans to transform their primitive island nations.

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