Free The Flight of the Eisenstein by James Swallow Page B

represented below, in whole or in part. Garro caught sight of Ullis Temeter and his comrade threw him a salute. Garro nodded back.
    'You are a respected man, Nathaniel,' said the pri-march. 'There's not a captain in the whole of the Legion who would not acknowledge your combat prowess.' He smiled slightly again. 'Even Commander Grulgor, although he may hate to admit it.'
    'Thank you, lord.'
    And the men. The men trust you. They look to you for strength of character, for leadership, and you give it.'
    'I do only what the Emperor commands of me, sir.' Garro shifted uncomfortably. As honoured as he was to have a private moment with his master, it troubled him in equal measure. This was not the direct, clear arena of warfare where Garro understood what was expected of him. He was in rarefied air here, loitering with a son of the Emperor himself.
    If Mortarion sensed this, he gave no sign. 'It is important to me to have unity of purpose within my Legion. Just as it is important for my brother, Horus, to have unity across the entirety of the Astartes.'
    The Warmaster,' breathed Garro. There had been rumours aboard the Endurance for some time that elements of the Death Guard's flotilla would be sent on a new task after the jorgall interception. At the forefront of this talk was the possibility that they would join the 63rd Expeditionary Fleet of the Great Crusade, commanded by none other than the chosen son of the Emperor himself, Horus the Warmaster. It was clearly more than rumour, he now realised. Garro had fought side by side with the warriors of Horus's XVI Legion in the past, and had only admiration for men like Maloghurst, Garviel Loken and Tarik Tor-gaddon. 'I have served with the Luna Wolves in the past, lord.'
    They are the Sons of Horus now,' Mortarion corrected gently, 'just as the Death Guard were once the Dusk Raiders. My brother expects great things of our Legion, captain. A battle is coming that will test all of us, from the Warmaster to your lowly housecarl.'
    'I will be ready'
    The primarch nodded. 'I have no doubt of that, but it is not enough to be ready, Nathaniel.' His fingers knitted together over the iron balustrade. 'The Death Guard must be of one mind. We must have singular purpose or we will falter.'
    Garro's discomfort deepened and he wondered if the after-effects of the cup's contents were not still upon him. 'I... I am not sure I understand you, lord.'
    'Our men find solace in the lines of command with their superiors and inferiors, but it is important that they also have a place in which the barriers created by rank can be ignored. They must have freedom to speak and think unfettered.'
    All at once, the insight Garro had been lacking came to him in a cold rush. 'My lord refers to the lodges'
    'I have been told that you have always eschewed membership. Why, Nathaniel?'
    Garro stared at the deck plates. 'Am I being ordered to join, lord?'
    'I can no more command the workings of the lodge than I can the motion of the stars,' Mortarion said easily. 'No, captain, I do not order you. I only ask why. Illuminate me.'
    It was a long moment before he spoke again. 'We are Astartes, sir, set on our path by the Master of Mankind, tasked to regather the lost fragments of humanity to the fold of the Imperium, to illuminate the lost, castigate the fallen and the invader. We can only do so if we have truth on our side. If we do it in the open, under the harsh light of the universe, then I have no doubt that we will eventually expunge the fallacies of gods and deities... but we cannot bring the secular truth to bear if any of it is hidden, even the smallest part. Only the Emperor can show the way forward.' He took a shuddering breath, intently aware of the primarch's unblinking stare upon him. 'These lodges, though they have their worth, are predicated on the act of concealment, and I will have no part of that.'
    Mortarion accepted this with a careful nod. 'What of your battle-brothers who feel differently?'
    'That is