Steel & Oil: Warhammer 32K

The Imperial Fists had seized a Forge World?

When had Sorn seen through it?

Zebyrean was stunned. He had still been fixating on the Forge Director who had seemed somehow off — he hadn't imagined that Sorn had already seen something far deeper.

But what he had seen was that they had seized a Forge World?

Even as an Astartes, Zebyrean felt a profound unease settle over him.

Were the Imperial Fists not afraid of burning their bridges with Mars?

His thoughts raced. He connected the Ultimate Wall's call-to-arms with the Imperial Fists' failure to even organise an honour guard, and began to turn the problem over in his mind.

Behind him and Sorn, the warriors of the Exemplary Fists had begun to murmur amongst themselves.

Whether or not to obey the Ultimate Wall would clearly determine the fate of their Chapter going forward. Though on the journey here, the Chapter's senior officers had already explained to every warrior exactly what the Ultimate Wall was — the question of whether to once again fall under the Imperial Fists' command was something each man had his own opinion on.

When it came down to it, they were no longer Imperial Fists.

From the moment the Exemplary Fists had been founded, they had ceased to be the Praetorians of Terra. They had been given new heraldry, a new home world, and a new purpose — to safeguard the transit lanes of the Solar System.

They had long since stopped marching beneath the same banner. The only tie that remained between them and the Imperial Fists was their shared blood as sons of Dorn.

And now the Imperial Fists had once again called them together, invoking a purpose their Chapter had long since left behind, demanding they submit to the Imperial Fists' authority?

As First Company Captain of the Exemplary Fists, Zebyrean had more to consider than the average warrior.

The Imperial Fists had clearly taken grievous losses. More importantly, they had seized a Forge World belonging to the Mechanicus.

If the Imperial Fists' numbers were now fewer than those of the Exemplary Fists, yet the Exemplary Fists were expected to answer to the Imperial Fists' orders — then their Chapter would very likely be thrust to the forefront, left to absorb the full fury of the High Lords and Mars alike.

"We can cooperate on the basis of equal exchange," Zebyrean said, stepping forward. He addressed Kurande, giving voice to what the vast majority of the Exemplary Fists' warriors were thinking.

"After all, we are all Chapters now. The Codex Astartes is clear that each Chapter stands as an equal — we can negotiate a framework for joint operations..."

They would fight, of course. But not folded back into the Imperial Fists' order of battle.

To reconstitute a Legion in that manner would not only be a grave violation of the Codex Astartes — it would see the Imperial Fists and every Chapter descended from them condemned as traitors.

He could not allow the Exemplary Fists to walk that road to ruin. The wisest course was to draw a clear line between themselves and the Imperial Fists.

His words, voiced as part of a collective deliberation over the Chapter's fate, were quietly gathering support. Kurande looked on in silence at the warriors of the Exemplary Fists as his fears crystallised into reality before him.

The Ultimate Wall's call-to-arms had met resistance at the very first Chapter to answer it.

The swell of his brothers' agreement bolstered Zebyrean's confidence. He was about to say more — but Sorn, standing at his side, raised a hand and stopped him.

Every eye in the gathering turned to Sorn.

Sorn drew the relic Power Sword that marked him as Chapter Master. He set its tip against the ground, rested both hands upon the hilt, and lowered himself onto one knee, bowing his head slightly.

"I have never forgotten the duty of Dorn's sons, Chapter Master Kurande. I am, and will always be, a warrior of the Imperial Fists."

It was, without question, an oath of fealty.

Kurande's eyes went wide. He was astonished that a veteran who had once championed the breaking of the Legion would now make such a choice.

"Is this your decision as Chapter Master, or merely your own personal choice, Brother Sorn?" Kurande pressed.

"In my own name alone. But I would have every warrior of the Exemplary Fists know what truly flows in their blood."

Sorn rose to his feet and turned to look back at the four hundred-odd remaining warriors of the Exemplary Fists.

"We failed to fulfil the Exemplary Fists' purpose. We could not hold our home world. Tell me, warriors of the Exemplary Fists — what do we have left?"

Silence fell across the entire gathering. But one by one, warriors of the Exemplary Fists began to follow Sorn's lead, kneeling and swearing their fealty to Kurande.

Zebyrean did not kneel. He felt as though a bone were lodged in his throat. Kurande's gaze settled on him — he was now the only warrior still standing.

"And he is?" Kurande asked.

"Brother Zebyrean, First Company Captain of the Exemplary Fists. He follows the Codex faithfully — he is a reliable warrior," Sorn said, unsurprised by Zebyrean's stance. "But I believe he simply needs a little time to come to terms with this."

Kurande gave a single nod. "Then please, join us for the tactical council first, Chapter Master Sorn. We will brief you on our plans and deployments going forward."

He turned to lead the way alongside Lin and Hays, leaving Lifar with orders to escort the remaining Exemplary Fists warriors to their designated quarters. Sorn moved to follow Kurande, but Zebyrean reached out and seized him by the arm.

"You're insane," Zebyrean said in a low growl. "They seized a Forge World."

"That is precisely why I believe they can save Terra."

"Your choice will drag the entire Chapter into the abyss."

"Then I will see that every warrior dies where he belongs."

Sorn pulled free of Zebyrean's grip.

"Brother Zebyrean, I have good reason to think you are arrogant, lacking in humility, and brimming with ambition — rather like Guilliman."

"But your ability is beyond question. I hope you will accept the reality of our situation sooner rather than later. We are warriors — our minds should be turned to fighting the Orks, and nothing else."

With those words, he pulled away and strode after Kurande. Zebyrean was left standing alone.

Unlike most of Dorn's sons, who spoke their minds without restraint, Zebyrean had always made a habit of keeping certain grievances unvoiced. But this time, he found it almost beyond endurance.

He knew Sorn — or rather, every warrior in the Exemplary Fists knew the legend of this man.

As a veteran who had served as captain of the Imperial Fists' Twenty-Second Company during the final days of the Horus Heresy, Sorn had initially supported the decision to break up the Legions.

He and another captain who likewise embraced the Codex had founded the original Exemplary Fists — yet after joining the Chapter, he had turned against the systematic, Codex-prescribed style of warfare, becoming an outlier within the very organisation he had helped create.

That conduct had kept Sorn as nothing more than Second Company Captain of the Exemplary Fists for fifteen hundred years. It was only recently, after Chapter Master Alamida had fallen in a boarding action, that he had assumed command of the Exemplary Fists as Alamida had instructed before her death.

Zebyrean had never understood why Chapter Master Alamida had decided, before launching that boarding action, that Sorn should be her successor.

Just as every previous Chapter Master had chosen someone else as their heir, there were clearly other candidates who could have upheld the word 'Exemplary' far better.

Candidates such as himself.

The Exemplary Fists' submission to the Ultimate Wall was now a done thing. But darker thoughts had already begun to take root, quietly, in the depths of Zebyrean's heart.

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