Deliverance Lost

‘I keep having to put myself between Sixx and that magos, with the primarch constantly demanding updates. But that’s not what I want to talk about.’ Bra

Agapito looked at the tablet and frowned. He glanced at Bra

‘That is my command cha

‘I know,’ replied Bra

‘I don’t recognise the transmission code, though. Some kind of glitch in the system?’

‘You tell me, brother.’

Looking sharply at Bra

‘Those are ominous words, Bra

‘Just interest,’ replied Bra

‘I do not know, brother,’ said Agapito. ‘If you have some charge to make, then speak it plainly; your crude hinting is testing my patience.’

Bra

‘You offer no explanation for this?’ said Bra

‘None,’ replied Agapito, his tone belligerent. ‘Do you offer any explanation for your suspicion?’

Breathing in deeply, Bra

‘All right,’ he said. ‘I will have Ephrenia look into it more closely. Maybe it is a glitch.’

‘Are you sure?’ said Agapito. ‘Don’t you want to take me down to the Red Level and subject me to a more rigorous interrogation?’

Bra

‘Sorry, brother, that was uncalled-for,’ said Agapito, offering out his hand in apology. Bra

‘I don’t understand you, brother, not since Isstvan,’ Bra

‘No need for it,’ said Agapito, with a grin that Bra

‘Yes, I do,’ said Bra

‘You can talk to me, brother,’ said Agapito. ‘About the recruitment project, if you need to. I have not been able to pay half as much attention to it as I would like, not with all of my time taken up with the Legion reorganisation.’

‘How are the Talons shaping up?’

‘Good. Better than expected, given the circumstances. A few discipline problems now and then, but nothing I can’t straighten out. They’ve had a hard time of late.’

‘Don’t go easy on them, brother,’ said Bra

As he watched Agapito leave, Bra

IN AN ANTECHAMBER of the infirmary in Ravendelve, Corax waited with a mixture of anticipation and foreboding. Cabinets lined one wall, shelves laden with a mass of medical devices on the opposite side. Metal benches had been cleared of other equipment to serve as seats. It had been four days since he had authorised the first implantation sequence. Vincente Sixx had been cautious in his advice, but Orlandriaz had been adamant they were ready to proceed to the next logical stage.

Agapito and Bra

A scrape at the door caught the attention of all in the room. Corax took a sharp breath, but let it out when he saw that it was Solaro and Aloni. They offered terse greetings and sat themselves next to their fellow commanders.

‘Let’s hope this has worked, eh?’ said Aloni.

‘Nothing to lose,’ said Solaro. ‘If it does not work, we are where we started out.’

‘It will work,’ said Corax. He had spent every moment he had to spare on the gene-seed manipulation, combining his own knowledge and fragments of the Emperor’s memories with the research of Sixx and Orlandriaz. The primarch had scrutinised every gene-sequence and permutation and was convinced the Chief Apothecary and tech-priest had found the solution.

With that assurance, the commanders waited in silence. Agapito fidgeted, tapping his fingers on his kneepads, stopping when he earned himself a scowl from Bra

The door opened again, revealing Vincente Sixx. The Apothecary was dressed in surgical robes, a smear of blood across the front. He peeled off a pair of thin gloves and stuffed them into a pocket across his stomach.

‘How are they?’ asked Corax, standing up.

‘Come and see for yourself,’ said Sixx.

Corax followed the Apothecary out of the door, the commanders behind him. Stepping into the main infirmary, the primarch was struck by how cold it was. He remembered that the recruits had been placed in a brief cryobiotic state as a precaution against rampant cell reproduction – a stage in the process Corax hoped to eliminate with the next group of recruits if this proved successful. The chill was emanating from the nine men standing bare-chested, close to their beds alongside one wall. They wore loose trousers and soft boots, the air around them filled with faint vapour from their warming bodies.

All nine were the same physically, as tall and broad as a legionary. Some of their facial structure remained distinct, allowing the primarch to identify each with the recruits he had wished well before their transformation. Their bodies were free of hair still and their skin was pale – almost albino like their primarch. He also noticed that every subject had dark eyes. Not quite the black orbs he possessed, but certainly far greyer than even those of previous Raven Guard.

There were identical surgical marks on the bodies of all nine, though the scars were already becoming indistinct. The pattern was instantly recognisable to any member of the Legiones Astartes, as was the discolouration beneath the skin of their torso and shoulders.

‘They have their black carapaces already?’ said Solaro.

‘They have every enhanced organ you possess, commander,’ said Orlandriaz, emerging from behind the group of giant post-humans. ‘The black carapace must still be implanted as before, it being a mostly artificial construct.’

‘And the rest are grown naturally?’ said Bra

‘Yes,’ said Sixx, gesturing for one of the men – Corax remembered his name as Halvar Diaro – to step forwards. ‘Several of the gene-seed implantations will not be necessary when the process is perfected. They serve only to prepare the body for later implants and have no direct effect after maturation.’

‘What about the progenoids?’ asked Solaro. ‘Do they mature quickly too?’