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Chapter 209: So Ambitious
🕑 Added 2025-09-29 10:23:44 +0000 UTCChapter 209: So Ambitious
"That is a Primarch!"
Huron gazed up at the knight enthroned on high, his resolute face filled with undisguised reverence and pride. The figure had just finished explaining the main points of the first phase of the conference to the Chapter representatives and was now looking down at something in silence, giving the delegates time for private discussion.
"This is the first time I have seen a Primarch," Thorin, Chapter Master of the Scythes of the Emperor, murmured in a low voice. "And five of them at once."
Huron glanced at Calgar's back and smiled. "Except for the Ultramarines, it is the first time for everyone."
The Maelstrom was an immense distance from Macragge. If not for this war against the Hive Fleet, his duties as a Guardian of the Maelstrom would not have allowed him to make a special journey to Macragge for an audience with Guilliman. Only the Ultramarines had such an honour. But he firmly believed that in the long years of campaigning to come, he would have more such opportunities.
"Brother Thorin," Huron said, a fire igniting in his heart. "After this conference, we representatives will return to the Maelstrom. The High Lords have dispatched the Minotaurs Chapter to oversee us and have invited a joint force to garrison the region, in the Karis Cephalon sector. Are you interested?"
As the first test site for the "Ultima-Obscurus Cooperative Support Project," the Maelstrom, with its unique geographical location and its leader with a prior record, had drawn considerable attention from the Imperium.
Romulus had already prepared a comprehensive industrial development plan, which included not only the production of Mark X pattern wargear but also equipment for the Astra Militarum. The "Tyrant's Legion," the mortal auxiliary force that Huron had raised himself, would also be disbanded. No longer an Imperial defense force, it would be reorganized into a training institution.
The Maelstrom region was a complex environment, with frequent Ork and Chaos threats. The quality of the various Planetary Defence Forces and Imperial Guard regiments was uneven, making it impossible to establish a reliable defensive system. There was a reason why Huron had constantly demanded reinforcements from the Imperium; he had seen the weakness of these forces. Terra's inaction had only further enraged him.
But now that the Dawnbreakers and the High Lords had formally established a connection, Romulus would certainly not allow an ambitious man like Huron to hold such unchecked power. In the Maelstrom, those worlds that could not raise Imperial Guard or PDF units to the standards of the Astral Claws would, under the new policy, only need to provide personnel and basic planetary resources. Their training, equipment, and military deployment would all be handled by the Maelstrom Military Council.
The High Lords were naturally willing to accept such a change, as it improved the quality of their troops and reduced their own workload. And after careful analysis, the delegates also agreed that the Maelstrom's location at the galactic core, along with its rich network of trade routes, made it suitable for a more important role. The losses from the Tyranid invasion were still fresh in their minds, and the High Lords had to consider the possibility of these extragalactic xenos breaking through into the Segmentum Solar from other regions. They also had a desire to turn the Maelstrom region into a strong, composite defensive system that could continuously export resources.
All of this had not initially been in the High Lords' considerations. It was only the presence of the Primarchs that had forced them to focus their attention on this 'unremarkable' sector. They had to conduct an analysis, so that the time they had pulled away from the countless files marked 'Important,' 'Urgent,' and 'Top Secret'—files that would take them until the next century to get through—would not be wasted.
However, delegating power meant that power was in local hands, which also meant that a local rebellion could be even more destructive. So the composition of the Military Council was a given. In addition to the Guardians of the Maelstrom, the Departmento Munitorum, the Administratum, the Dawnbreakers, and, as the parent Chapter, the Ultramarines, would all have a hand in its management.
The High Lords had dispatched the Third Company of the Minotaurs Chapter to act as overseers, and the other powers had naturally reacted. The wrangling over interests had been going on for some time, and in the future, all parties hoped for a relatively satisfactory outcome. And Huron, on this day, before the dust had settled, had undoubtedly become the biggest beneficiary of this negotiation.
He was already the leader of the Guardians of the Maelstrom, controlling the most military power in the sector. And now, he would become the true leader of the Maelstrom Sector, nominally administering all its affairs on behalf of the Imperium. His relationship with the High Lords had thawed, and the Dawnbreakers valued his operational skills. Although the Primarch's attitude still carried a hint of distrust for a would-be rebel, Huron didn't particularly care.
As long as the Astral Claws could reach new heights under his leadership, as long as his name, Lufgt Huron, could go down in history, as long as he could achieve deeds that would make others green with envy, he didn't care. The stage was now large enough to accommodate his ambition. And he had no love for mortals anyway. Having a Primarch and the Ultramarines to handle the political wrangling was a good thing.
"I am afraid not," Thorin replied. "Sotha still needs our protection. And as members of the Greater Ultramar defense system, we bear important responsibilities that cannot be neglected."
"You don't need to station a company. A representative is enough," Huron said with a smile. "And I will not ask for a favour for nothing. The Maelstrom will be focusing on military-industrial development. I can smooth the way for you in any equipment trades."
Sotha is a third of a galaxy away from the Maelstrom. And I'm right here in Ultramar. Thorin looked embarrassed. He knew what Huron was trying to do. He was trying to gather his one hundred and eight marshals, to build up his own power base.
"I know Ultramar is wealthier," Huron continued. "If you don't need it, you can store it. The Maelstrom is at the galactic core; it's convenient for everyone. Not everyone is a son of Guilliman. The disparity in resources between Chapters is an objective reality." Huron's main targets were the Chapters of the Second Founding. With a few exceptions, these Chapters had both a long history and considerable strength. "A quota can be reserved for you. When your representative has finalized a plan, you can provide support based on your own judgment."
The lifespan of a Space Marine is long. Even an act of aid that occurs only once every few decades, or even once a century, is a part of a Chapter's living history for many of its members. And so, through these back-and-forth exchanges, relationships are gradually built.
"Very well," Thorin said, seeing that Huron had laid all his cards on the table. As the son of a farmer, his thinking was simple. If they had surplus grain, there was no harm in helping out a brother.
"It's the Adeptus Mechanicus," Thorin said, changing the subject and frowning at a document. "Are the Imperium and the Primarchs planning to bypass them in this construction?"
All of these plans involved the Dawnbreakers providing the master templates and the plans, the Imperium providing the manpower and oversight, and both sides providing military security. The Imperial Navy, for all its abstractions, was still an intimidating force.
"Mm," Huron nodded, a flicker of glee in his heart. He had been screwed over by the Mechanicus in the Maelstrom more than once. "Many factions in the Imperium have been unhappy with the Mechanicus for a long time. But this kind of wrangling is not something we can get involved in."
The Mechanicus would certainly be unhappy, but the Maelstrom would mainly be supplying basic equipment for the Astartes and the Astra Militarum. It didn't touch their core interests. A few forge worlds would certainly throw a fit, but the rest would be up to the High Lords and the Primarchs.
He then whispered to Thorin, "And I have a feeling the Primarchs will definitely let us be the first to break free from the Mechanicus's control."
In Huron's view, his little scheme of calling in favours to fulfill his personal ambition was nothing. What the Primarchs were doing was a world-changing, ambitious undertaking.
'Why didn't you have this kind of emotional intelligence when you were wrangling with the Imperium?' Arthur thought to himself. He was currently studying the Icarus Protocol and a series of 30k-era combat logs on anti-Mechanicus operations submitted by the Ironwing. He looked up and scanned the Astartes present. His gaze lingered on Huron for a moment, then fell on the Ultramarines contingent as a whole.
It had to be said, they truly lived up to their reputation as the Legion that made up 70% of all Space Marines. The representatives of the other successor Chapters were in small groups of two or three. The Raven Guard successors, like the Carcharodons, were completely alone. Only the Ultramarines, behind Calgar, had nearly forty successor Chapter representatives seated in their section.
From any angle, Guilliman was an ambitious figure in the eyes of the various Imperial factions. And he had already achieved his goal of "satisfying his desire for power."
