Double Eagle by Dan Abnett

Author:Dan Abnett [Abnett, Dan]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, pdf
Tags: Warhammer 40k
Publisher: The Black Library
Published: 2011-10-21T23:00:00+00:00

Lake Gocel FSB, 09.33

Kautas sniffed thoughtfully. “Do you know what’s happening on Herodor right now?” he asked.

“Herodor? Where’s that?”

“Down in the Khan Group, about nine weeks from here.”

Marquall shrugged. “No idea. More fighting?”

Kautas sighed. “It’s a trait I’ve often observed in the—excuse me saying this—common fighting man. He seems to have precious little idea of the big picture. Of the great scheme of things. He seems content to leave that to tacticians and nobility, and the priesthood.”

“The common fighting man tends to have a lot of filings to occupy his immediate attention,” said Marquall.

Kautas smiled. “Fair point.”

“Isn’t the true calling of the Imperial warrior to serve and fight? Not to question?” asked Marquall.

“Yes. But a little curiosity never went astray. Why are you fighting?”

“To wrest Enothis back from the clutches of the Archenemy.”

“Of course. And beyond that?”

“To… to prosecute the great Crusade and liberate the Sabbat Worlds?”

“So your greater purpose is…?”

“To win.”

Kautas took a drink from his flask. This time, he offered it to Marquall. The Phantine shook his head.

“Why are the Sabbat Worlds important?” the ayatani asked.

“Well, strategically—”

“No, Marquall. What is their significance?”

“Thousands of years ago, Saint Sabbat purged these worlds of Chaos in the name of the God-Emperor. We are reclaiming what she once established for us.”

“Exactly. These worlds are Saint Sabbat’s. They are blessed with her touch. My first duty, as an ayatani, is to the God-Emperor, but I am specifically a priest of Sabbat, the Beati. We ayatani come in two kinds. Those that dwell in the great templums and shrineholds, and those, like me, who are ‘imhava’—roving priests, sworn to follow her path through the stars and spread her teachings.”

“Okay,” said Marquall.

“This Crusade’s been going on for almost twenty years. Warmaster Macaroth, if my information is correct, has pressed ahead, taking a huge gamble in directing an attack into the heart of the Archenemy’s core systems. But his flanks are exposed, and the enemy has driven his forces into those weaknesses, hoping to behead the thrusting Crusade force, and leave Macaroth alone and vulnerable. We are those flanks, Marquall: Enothis, the Khan Group. It is the fighting here that will determine the overall success or failure of the Crusade. If we fail here, it doesn’t matter if Macaroth achieves victory at the front line. All will be for naught. The enemy knows this. But now, according to rumours, the enemy has an even greater incentive. On Herodor, it is said, the Beati has been reborn.”

Marquall blinked. “Is that… possible?”

Kautas pursed his lips. “It tests even the faith of an imhava ayatani, but it seems to be the truth. Right now, Herodor, like Enothis, is under desperate assault by the hosts of Chaos. If either world falls, then the flank is ripped open and the Crusade is doomed. If Herodor falls, and the Beati dies with it, then the Imperium suffers an even greater loss.”

“And you wish you were there?” asked Marquall.

“Oh, indeed. How I wish. In his heart, every ayatani longs to be on Herodor, at Sabbat’s side.

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