‘I thought if I had him wait an hour, he might take the hint. He is supposed to be overseeing the other incident sites and tracking down the masterminds of this. They will be acting to Mortarion’s orders, we can be sure of that. This is a protest movement on the surface – rot lurks beneath. Very well. Calleduus will regret remaining here. Send him to me.’

Julio inclined his head slightly within the cowling of his armoured suit. ‘Send the vigilator optimare to us,’ he voxed. ‘Lord Macragge will speak with him.’

It took seconds for the vigilator optimare to come up from the rear of the position. His hurried walk revealed his desire to speak.

Calleduus was dressed ready for action in pale-cream combat fatigues and blue carapace, the same uniform the Ultramar Auxilia wore, though without their markings. A heavy respirator hung by one fastening from the side of his helmet. Calleduus halted and saluted smartly.

‘Vigilator optimare,’ said Calgar. ‘You have performed your role well for the five years you have held this office, until today. Today you must stand aside. The Ultramarines will handle this.’

‘My lord, with all due respect, the suppression of local unrest is the role of the Vigil Opertii,’ said Calleduus. ‘We are ready to bring the situation to an end. Do not trouble yourself with the resolution of this event. It is a minor matter, below your attention.’

Calgar looked up the pass.

‘From a certain point of view, Calleduus, you are right. Ardium is besieged and our fleet fights daily battles with Mortarion’s voidcraft in this system. The enemy has penetrated to the heart of Ultramar. Every day I lose more Space Marines to the enemy in the capital system alone. But this…’ He pointed at the museum. ‘This is not beneath my notice. There are fifteen current incidents across Macragge, all involving this group. The enemy is so clearly involved in agitating them that I am dumbfounded the rebels cannot see it themselves. The purpose of your organisation is to prevent these incidents before they happen, not to contain them afterwards. Your eagerness to resolve this stand-off suggests to me that you want to distract from your mistakes, or seek my approval for suppressing it. I assure you, my approval will not be forthcoming.’

‘My lord, we cannot catch every dissident. This year we have foiled–’