Choose Your Enemies, page 31
For, no doubt inspired by the example of the booby-trapped spacecraft among the flotilla in which he arrived, Governor Fulcher had secreted a small but effective fusion warhead in his residence, which he detonated as soon as the invasion’s leaders arrived in his presence.
The effect on the eldar was catastrophic. Decapitated and leaderless, its pirate fleet fled into the void, while their compatriots on the surface of Ironfound fled equally precipitately, by whatever arcane means they’d first arrived. From that day to this, the entire Ironfound System remains free of their depredations, a lasting monument to the sacrifice of the hero of the hour, Governor Septimus Fulcher.
TWENTY-NINE
I’d been expecting a lot of awkward questions from both inquisitors once the eldar had, for reasons which still escaped me, broken off their assault and left the system. To my relief, however, Vekkman seemed satisfied that my intervention with the null rod was what had broken Emeli’s link to the spirit stones, which rather neatly allowed Amberley to keep the secret of my aide’s peculiar gift to herself.
‘It wasn’t exactly a lie, anyway,’ she told me, over the dinner table in her villa. ‘Jurgen’s gift alone would not have been enough to dispel a daemon that powerful.’ A shudder only someone who knew her as well as I did would notice rippled through her, as she contemplated how close we’d all come to damnation, before her usual insouciant demeanour returned. ‘But the null rod strengthened it, or supplemented it, or something. According to Vekkman it’s supposed to have the same kind of effect as a living blank.’
‘Talking of Vekkman,’ I said, a trifle indistinctly round a mouthful of poached ploin, ‘how is he?’
‘Recovering,’ Amberley said, a touch of something curiously close to admiration in her voice, ‘in the medical bay aboard the Externus Exterminatus. He’s a lot tougher than he looks.’
‘I suppose he must be,’ I conceded, ‘tackling things like Emeli all the time.’
‘Or barking mad,’ Amberley said. ‘But probably in a good way.’ She pushed her dessert plate aside.
‘Sounds like the beginning of a beautiful friendship,’ I said, unable to resist teasing her a little.
Amberley sighed, with a hint of regret. ‘Inquisitors tend not to be friends,’ she said. ‘But I’d certainly ask his advice under similar circumstances.’
‘Even though he thought it was a good idea to detonate a fusion bomb on a crowded habitat?’ I asked.
Amberley shook her head. ‘That was me. He wanted to vaporise the entire orbital, just to be sure the Chaos taint had been completely eradicated. I persuaded him just the estate would be enough. For the time being, anyway.’
I nodded, sipping at my post-prandial amasec. ‘At least it gave you a convenient martyr.’ Something which stuck in my craw, I have to admit. By rights, Fulcher’s name should be execrated for as long as the Imperium endures, which means pretty much forever, not be venerated as a hero. ‘Someone to take the credit for the eldar buggering off.’ I took another mouthful of the smooth, fragrant spirit, finally getting to the question I’d been longing to hear an answer to. Not just me, either; Kasteen and Broklaw had both been vocal in their bafflement, not unmingled with relief – it seemed the war on the surface had begun to tip in the xenos’ favour before their sudden and unexpected withdrawal, even the 597th being forced to give ground in the face of their advance. ‘So why did they? They seemed pretty determined to take the planet.’
‘They were in our debt,’ Amberley said. ‘You saved countless eldar souls from being devoured by a daemon, or possibly Slaanesh itself. Sambhatain wasn’t entirely clear on the distinction.’
‘So they renounced their claim to Ironfound in exchange for the souls we saved?’ I asked, not entirely believing it. It sounded pretty weird, even for xenos.
But Amberley nodded. ‘Pretty much. Besides, they weren’t too happy about the state we’ve left it in. I got the impression that even if they did succeed in taking it, the time and resources they’d need to get the place to their liking would be too great.’
‘Really?’ I thought about that. ‘I’d always got the impression that they think pretty much in the long term.’
‘They do.’ A faintly troubled look ghosted across Amberley’s face. ‘But something’s coming. Sambhatain wasn’t specific, but it had him rattled.’
‘How soon?’ I asked, and Amberley shook her head.
‘He wasn’t specific about that either.’ Then she grinned, in her usual carefree manner. ‘But it’s not going to be tonight.’
‘Good,’ I said, and finished my drink. ‘Did he say why they sent those Vypers to get the assassins off my back?’
Amberley nodded. ‘That made sense, at least. In all the futures he could see where they killed you, the daemon manifested, and they couldn’t fight it off. Even though he couldn’t see how you’d make the difference.’
‘Because I was holding the null rod,’ I said, to show I was able to make at least a simple deduction.
‘Or because you were standing next to Jurgen.’ Amberley shrugged, with the usual distracting effect. ‘Either way, it affected his ability to see precisely what would happen.’
‘So, what next?’ I asked.
Amberley looked thoughtful. ‘I’ll drop Vekkman off on Drechia, to mop up the cult there, then I’m heading out-system. I’ve still got heretech smugglers to chase.’
‘And I’d better get back to my regiment,’ I agreed, with a twinge of regret. Once we parted, there was no telling how long it would be before our paths crossed again. ‘I’m sure there’s a war somewhere we’re needed.’
‘No doubt there is.’ Amberley smiled in a manner I knew well, and I found myself responding in the usual way. ‘But I’m sure it can wait until tomorrow.’
‘I’m sure it can,’ I agreed.
[On which heart-warming moment of accord, this portion of his memoirs comes to a natural end.]
<<<< END >>>>
NOTES
[1] – Other than my customary footnotes.
[2] – Though Cain encountered both the so-called dark eldar and their more civilised craftworld and Exodite kin several times in the course of his career, he seems never to have noticed the distinction; although, as in most of these instances they were equally intent on killing him, I suppose he can hardly be blamed for that.
[3] – As I’ve noted before in the course of my editorial duties, Cain had an uncanny affinity for complex tunnel systems, apparently acquired in the course of an early childhood which he claims to have spent in the underhive of an as yet unidentified world.
[4] – Though they appear to be propelled entirely by gravitic manipulation, these vehicles have been referred to as jetbikes for as long as humanity has been aware of the eldar and their wargear and, Cain’s pedanticism notwithstanding, the nomenclature is unlikely to be changed at this late stage.
[5] – A naturally occurring substance much prized on forge worlds for its ability to bond almost immovably to just about anything.
[6] – Like most Imperial Guard officers, Cain had a somewhat jaundiced view of the average planetary defence force, tending to regard them as barely competent at best. There were exceptions, of course – and when he found himself serving alongside local units which exceeded his expectations, he generally gave credit where it was due.
[7] – An Imperial Guard staging system, where most regiments in the Damocles Gulf would periodically return for resupply and reassignment.
[8] – There are apparently no fewer than thirty-eight thousand vessels named Indestructible in service across the Imperium as a whole, several of them assigned to the Damocles Gulf and adjacent sectors, so despite Cain’s obvious and pessimistic conclusion, the name of this particular example doesn’t necessarily imply the existence of three predecessors which failed to live up to it.
[9] – Actually a highly unusual occurrence: a body that size, capable of radiating its own heat and surrounded by moons which, in a few instances, were comparable in size to minor planets, would normally be found much closer to the system’s primary than its fringe of cometary debris. Whether this was due to gravitational perturbation early in the system’s formation flinging it outwards, or some interference with the natural order by means now unimaginable during the Dark Age of Technology is a matter of fierce debate (mixed, I suspect, with a great deal of wishful thinking) among the Adeptus Mechanicus acolytes of the region.
[10] – Not to mention the fact that diverting significant numbers of ships to transport military assets to the fringes of the system would adversely affect their own economic output, lower their tithing revenue, and attract the unwelcome attention of the Administratum at a subsector level. Something few planetary governors would be prepared to contemplate in order to help out a regional rival, even without their own jobs on the line.
[11] – At this point in her career recently promoted to major, though remaining in command of the 597th’s First Company.
[12] – Whether from atmospheric refraction or its own internal processes Sekara seems either unaware or indifferent.
[13] – Kilometre: one of the Valhallan colloquialisms he picked up over the course of his long association with regiments from that world.
[14] – Not to mention several others, but as usual Cain seems less interested in those.
[15] – Presumably because the local defence force lacked the training or morale to respond aggressively to an attack of this nature.
[16] – See my previous comment about his lack of awareness of the distinction between the civilised eldar and their Chaos-tainted kin.
[17] – Although Cain was an exceptional marksman, who I saw hitting targets most people would have considered far out of range or too fast moving on more than one occasion. Typically, when complimented on the feat, he would ascribe it simply to blind luck.
[18] – Or possibly neither, as eldar technosorcery tends not to rely on anything so basic as volatiles to power its engines; nevertheless, their devices do explode as satisfactorily as any other race’s when given sufficient encouragement.
[19] – An odd choice of phrase to anyone but an iceworlder, though the meaning seems clear enough: on a world like Valhalla, ice would indeed often be as unyielding as rockcrete, acquiring the same sort of metaphorical meaning as steel or the like in everyday Gothic.
[20] – Quite literally so, in many cases, this being a favourite ambush tactic of iceworlders, who are the only people hardy – or foolhardy – enough to lie in a snowdrift for an extended period of time.
[21] – A remark which I doubt was actually made in jest.
[22] – An appellation she seems quite fond of when referring disparagingly to most xenos species, although – since the eldar were perfectly clear in their intentions – one which seems quite unmerited here. Perhaps it doesn’t mean what she thinks it means.
[23] – Eldar attacks notwithstanding, the flow of materials to Ironfound had to continue as uninterrupted as possible, which meant that transport shuttles would be arriving and departing in an almost continuous stream. Some disruption and delay was inevitable, of course, given that the cargoes had further to travel, but to the credit of all involved – not least the mine workers who found themselves attempting to do their jobs under rather more trying circumstances than usual – throughput was down by a mere three per cent. Not counting the fairly substantial amount filched by the eldar, of course, which put rather more of a dent in the overall economic picture.
[24] – Being so reliant on aerial assets, the eldar had no doubt made the specialised anti-aircraft vehicles high-priority targets, destroying or disabling almost every one in the defenders’ inventory; had the local militia more of an inclination to take the fight to the enemy, or simply venture out of doors, no doubt they would have been repaired with a great deal more alacrity.
[25] – Unless you were one of the people maimed or killed in the initial attack run, of course.
[26] – A phrase surely only a Valhallan could use with a straight face.
[27] – From which it’s safe to assume she’s describing Wraithlords. Interestingly enough, Cain also refers to these engines of destruction as ‘Dreadnoughts’, despite having encountered them frequently enough over the course of his chequered career to be aware of the distinction. But then he also uses the same name for t’au battlesuits several times in the course of his memoirs.
[28] – Or, more likely, concerned for her own position now that her mismanagement of the situation had been noticed by the Administratum.
[29] – Which, coming from a man who once jumped blind through a necron warp portal, is saying quite a lot.
[30] – Which is hardly surprising. The Valhallan beverage, which Cain had developed a taste for over the course of his long association with regiments from that world, has a flavour best described as ‘acquired,’ although a number of other adjectives also spring to mind.
[31] – After Action Reports: summaries of the incidents compiled by the unit commanders concerned, for later evaluation.
[32] – Something of an oversimplification, but as the ranking Imperial Guard officer in the system, her discretionary powers would be wide – not to mention being backed up by a large number of people with guns, which generally inclines civilians to listen.
[33] – Typically a few lightly armed non warp-capable vessels maintained by the local authorities, in the same way that the planetary defence force takes care of the worlds themselves. In practice, their main function seems to be keeping an invasion force occupied with target practice until the Navy arrives.
[34] – The Commissarial symbol of office.
[35] – Slate of Organisation and Equipment; not actually a physical data-slate, but a concise summary of the various subunits making up the regiment, their relationship to one another, and their assets.
[36] – A curious saying, presumably common in whatever underhive he was native to judging by the context in which he uses it – although, since extensive research by my savant Mott has failed to find any trace of the phrase in everyday usage, the world and hive of his birth remain obscure.
[37] – Presumably a humorously expressed refusal rather than an actual intention, since there were no orks on Drechia at the time, and anyone planning to tackle one would need more than that in the way of protection.
[38] – Presumably so the ore being mined could be moved to the processing plants on the surface by truck.
[39] – A quotation often attributed to Macharius, although it appears in no primary sources, and he hardly seems to have been the type to indulge in horticultural metaphors.
[40] – Pockets of methane gas, which, when mixed with the air surrounding them, become highly explosive. Feared by most miners, with good reason, as even a single spark can wreak untold devastation in such a confined space.
[41] – Presumably a reference to his adventures on Simia Orichalcae, which, since the relevant portion of his memoirs has already been edited and disseminated, need not detain us any further.
[42] – Two of his fellow instructors at the schola progenium on Perlia, where he spent the bulk of his occasionally eventful retirement.
[43] – The Simia Orichalcae incident again.
[44] – Either Cain is rounding down here, or the platoon had already taken a number of casualties in fighting the eldar; the five infantry squads a full-strength platoon in the 597th consisted of would have come to fifty troopers alone, plus five more for Grifen and her command squad, while Cain and Jurgen would have raised the total to fifty-seven.
[45] – Like many regiments with extensive experience of fighting in urban environments or close terrain, the 597th habitually split its squads into two teams, the second under the command of the assistant squad leader while detached from the other, when it made tactical sense to do so.
[46] – Casual term for vox-operator, a specialist attached to Imperial Guard command squads, generally responsible for carrying and using the long-range communications equipment which keeps the troops on the ground in touch with the higher echelons of the command chain.
[47] – The dead being content to wait for the rest of the platoon’s return to the surface, presumably.
[48] – The 597th issued comm-beads to every trooper, which probably contributed in no small way to their outstanding effectiveness. Most regiments reserve them for unit commanders, or don’t use them at all, relying instead on the bulkier backpack sets issued to the vox-operators at squad, or even platoon, level, making effective coordination far more difficult.
[49] – It’s questionable whether or not orks actually do suffer from hangovers, since they’re so ill-tempered by nature it would be hard to tell the difference.
[50] – A gesture common in the Damocles Gulf and adjacent sectors, where the thumb is folded into the palm of the hand to form a stylised aquila wing in the hope of invoking the Emperor’s protection or favour.
[51] – The Valhallan ice weasel, which has spread to many other worlds with a similar climate over the millennia, does indeed emit a peculiar wailing sound when looking for a mate.
[52] – Exaggeration for humorous effect. I’m fully aware that neither of us were entirely able to set our own schedules as a consequence of our respective vocations, and that our social interaction was inevitably disrupted from time to time as a result. That said, he really could have made more of an effort.
[53] – Not entirely true, according to some of the less deranged among my colleagues from the Ordo Malleus, but his earlier encounters with the sorceress-turned-daemon might indeed have left him unusually sensitive to such emanations.
[54] – Which would of course have access to most, if not all, the channels open to Cain by virtue of his Commissarial status – a fact which probably went some way to explaining how Jurgen was able to anticipate events quite so presciently on occasion, even those for which a trooper of his rank would have no security clearance.
