‘No, my son, not forever,’ said Guilliman. He turned his face upon Marneus Calgar. Calgar struggled to hold eye contact. ‘The task of presiding over all the tetrarchs I leave to you, Master Calgar. You remain Lord Defender of Greater Ultramar. You are the ruler here, as you always were. Do not judge yourself by my standards. I am a primarch, you are not. I must lend you the weight of my authority and the warriors to keep Ultramar safe. The Imperium needs Ultramar, but it also needs me. I cannot remain here, but I will leave you in a position of greater strength when I leave. We have lost many warriors here, and three of the realm’s six star forts. I will let my attention linger a little on our home, until I am satisfied.’

Another subtle rebuke cloaked in kind words. Calgar bowed his head. Guilliman should not need to do this. Calgar should have managed the realm himself; having the primarch intervene was humiliating.

‘As you command, my lord,’ said Calgar.

‘And now, to the war,’ said Guilliman. ‘My brother retreated from Macragge at the first sign of my ships. The siege of Ardium is almost over. I will return there to conclude its relief when we are done here. After the situation is stabilised in the home system, we will counter the actions of the three enemies who dare to invade our realm. We must attack on every front, even if it means defeat within certain theatres. Mortarion’s forces must be prevented from moving to reinforce themselves. They must all be occupied.’

‘Cut them off and cut them into pieces,’ said Quentus Carmagon, Third Captain of the Knights Cerulean. ‘Only you could do this, my lord.’

‘My preference is to unite and lead,’ said Guilliman grimly. ‘But where I turn from peace to war, I shall divide and conquer.’ He tapped the map. ‘I shall run my brother down, and I shall kill him for all the evil he has done. If I could slay him a hundred times, I would. No suffering is too great for his crimes, the first and greatest of which was his treachery.’

‘Where first, my lord?’ asked Bardan Dovaro, Chapter Master of the Novamarines.

‘Where first indeed.’ Guilliman crooked a giant finger. The gates of the hall opened, and a hololith emitter floating on a suspensor field was pushed in by a pair of Chapter serfs. A quartet of Sisters of Silence bearing tall spears escorted it, each forming the corner of a hollow square around it. The machine was guided to a gentle stop not far from the table.