Chapter 203 - Hard Evidence — Face to Face
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"During the Great Crusade era, we Space Wolves dealt with a batch of Alpha Legion warriors who had infiltrated the Legion."
"That was still in the time when our Wolf King, Leman Russ, yet lived."
"The Wolf King identified the infiltrators. But he didn't kill them. What became of them afterward was never recorded, though by our reckoning, the Wolf King sent them away."
Logan spoke as they walked, recounting a buried chapter of Space Wolves history.
"Sent them away?"
Loken frowned.
"Lord Russ should have killed them."
"Yes. He should have. But he chose a different way, and we can't fault him for it, perhaps he had his reasons."
Logan licked the corner of his mouth and rasped out a grin.
"Lord Loken, as a veteran from ten thousand years past, what's your impression of us Space Wolves?"
"Forgive my bluntness. I've had little direct contact with your Legion, so my understanding is limited to... executioners. Warriors from other Legions told me that during the Great Crusade, before the Heresy broke, you were involved in certain... matters that got people talking."
Logan laughed at that.
"One correction — the All-Father's executioners."
"Rumors? Only natural. The world has always seen us Space Wolves as symbols of savagery and brutality. The same way they see Fenris itself."
"No. You are not savage. Like your Wolf King, you hide wisdom beneath a barbaric surface."
"Hah, you flatter me."
Logan let out a booming laugh and raised a hand to clap Loken hard on the shoulder guard. The dull thud rang out through the corridor.
Unfortunately, both men wore heavy Terminator armor. The ceramite between palm and plate reduced what could have been a warmer gesture to something purely formal.
No Astartes would refuse being compared to his Gene-Sire. The Space Wolves were no exception.
"That aside, how did Lord Russ detect them, back then?"
Loken asked. The answer he got wasn't words.
The Wolf Lord simply raised a hand and tapped his nose.
"Smell."
The group arrived at the attack site.
The area was already cordoned off. Luna Wolves warriors held the perimeter, but so did a contingent from each of the other two Legions, combing the scene for evidence.
"Company Captain Cullen."
Loken called out.
Cullen was directing the Legion warriors in organizing the search. He turned.
"Loken."
He nodded, then frowned when he saw the Space Wolves behind him.
Logan and his Wolf Guard, for their part, stared at the black-armored Dark Angel for a half-second before bursting out laughing.
"Well, I didn't expect this, Lord Loken. You Luna Wolves have a big cat mixed in among you?"
Cullen's face darkened at a visible rate.
Loken stepped forward quickly.
"Company Captain Cullen is my commanding officer and a friend of Lord Kaelen. He is a son of the Lion, yes — a member of the Dark Angels — but he now serves as Second Company Captain of the Luna Wolves Legion."
He was unaware of the long and quietly fraught history between the Space Wolves and the Dark Angels.
Then he added, his tone turning deliberate.
"He is also a knight personally pardoned by the Emperor."
The laughter cut off.
The Wolf Guard exchanged glances. Something stiffened across Logan's rugged face for just a moment.
Cullen's expression shifted in the other direction entirely. The smugness was undisguised.
"If you wish to humiliate me, Space Wolf, you are welcome to propose a duel, in the name of our respective primarchs, fought by chosen champions."
Cullen squared his shoulders, stepped forward, and met the Great Wolf's eyes directly.
Logan gave a cold snort. But the slight curve at the corner of his mouth gave him away.
"That rule applies to joint operations and disputes between sides. My respects to you, Son of the Lion."
The Great Wolf extended his hand. His expression was not entirely willing about it.
Cullen let out a proud breath through his nose, but he gripped the rough, large hand firmly all the same. The ceramite gauntlets ground against each other with a faint scrape.
"Glad you're here, Space Wolf. I trust you've come to help."
Cullen withdrew his hand. His tone reset to businesslike.
"In the All-Father's name, what's the situation?"
Logan didn't continue the previous thread. His gaze swept past Cullen toward the smoke-blackened ruins further down the corridor.
"Bad. The meeting room was blasted to pieces. All surveillance equipment destroyed in the explosion."
He led the group toward the edge of the debris field.
Several Legion warriors were working through the rubble, turning over each fragment with care. But their empty hands and tight brows said enough. Progress was poor.
When they saw the two Company Captains approaching with the Great Wolf of the Space Wolves, the warriors stepped aside without being asked.
Logan turned and gave his Wolf Guard a look. They read it instantly, spreading out to assist the warriors of all three Legions in sweeping the scene.
The Space Wolves went to work.
It didn't take long before leads emerged.
The Wolf Guard turned up several pieces of suspicious evidence. Logan himself struck something bigger.
While Loken directed warriors to clear away a section of debris, Logan shoved his head into the rubble and sniffed for a long moment. By sheer fortune, he came back out holding a fragment of inner power armor plating.
The scent on it left no room for doubt. It was Alpha Legion. Logan knew the Iron Hands' characteristic machine-oil smell well enough to tell the difference.
"Found evidence. The explosion didn't finish them all."
Logan grinned and passed the fragment to Loken.
Loken placed it carefully into a sealed vial he was carrying. The cap clicked shut with a clean snap.
"Thank you, Lord Logan. This evidence matters."
"That said." Logan shook his head, his tone going careful. "Kardan won't be convinced easily. The Iron Hands are stubborn to the bone. The world calls us Space Wolves savage, ha. They're the ones most likely to let rage do their thinking for them."
"Sons of Ferrus, after all. Unless you can find someone with real ties to the Iron Hands, someone who can put in a word before things get loud."
"My word won't carry much weight in front of a furious Kardan. But that's only a suggestion. Take it for what it's worth."
"Someone with real ties."
Loken and Cullen looked at each other.
Where would they even find someone like that now?
Though, when Loken thought about it, this was already more than they'd hoped for. Physical evidence secured, and the Wolf Lord Logan willing to personally testify for Horus. Loken genuinely could not picture Chapter Master Kardan of the Iron Hands standing unmoved before proof this solid.
"Company Captain! Company Captain!"
A Luna Wolves warrior jogged over to Loken.
"A Night Lords warrior has found a piece of surveillance footage. It's short, but after analysis, it's them. The attackers disguised as Iron Hands."
"Who is he?"
"He says his name is Sharrowkyn." The messenger's expression went a little strange. "He also said he's been monitoring Lord Fulgrim."
Loken's thoughts ground to a halt.
Sharrowkyn. Monitoring Fulgrim. What in the name of,
The questions could wait. This warrior named Sharrowkyn had turned up surveillance footage, evidence even harder to argue against than physical fragments. Right now, that was what mattered.
If Loken was being honest, even with the Great Wolf's backing and the physical evidence in hand, some part of him had still been worried Kardan would find a way to reject it all.
Surveillance footage was different. More evidence, higher credibility. That was just logic.
"Tell him we're on our way. We move to the Iron Hands Chapter garrison now."
"Yes, sir!"
➤ Next: Iron Hands — Words Unspoken
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