No such reinforcements had come to the aid of the heretic forces. But then it seemed that their task here was completed: there was no need to continue the fight in this arena. There were greater objectives for the Despoiler's armies to conquer elsewhere.

'It is good to have you back aboard, Iron-Father,' Strake proclaimed in the sonorous voice that he was renowned for, the booming tone at odds with the crippled body locked in its augmetic shell.

'It is good to be back.’ Gdolkin admitted with uncharacteristic candour.

'For a moment there I doubted that anything could have survived such a destructive energy wave, particularly after what happened on forge world Fornax,' Strake said.

'You doubted?' Gdolkin challenged. 'Where was your faith in the primarch, brother-captain?'

'Where it has always been,' Strake growled, 'in my heart, in my mind, in my very soul. It is just that I have seen enough in my centuries of service to the Emperor to know that there are darker forces at work in this universe - as should you, Gdolkin - that can change the course of events beyond our control, no matter how strong a warrior's faith might be.'

Their failure to see eye-to-eye rankled Gdolkin. Maybe his own faith in Strake had been misplaced? They were not of the same clan - that was more certain. The iron-captain had risen through the ranks of the Chapter from amongst the brethren of the Raukaan clan. Now, as commander of the Ajax, Strake served all Iron Hands' battle-brothers, no matter what clan they might have come from originally, carrying them wherever the call of war took them.

'Be careful, captain.’ the Iron-Father snarled, 'what you say smacks of heresy, and heresy is weakness of the soul. And weakness-'

'Is the ultimate sin.’ Strake interjected. 'I know, I have read the Scriptorium of Iron, Iron-Father. And I am no heretic! Doubt does not necessarily imply weakness. A healthy dose of scepticism can aid a commander in battle and help him win the day, in my experience.’

The atmosphere on the bridge had become very tense. None of the other Iron Hands dared speak. Such challenges between the more senior members of the Chapter were not uncommon, just as open conflict between the Iron Hands clans was a part of every day life of Medusa, and were another means by which the Chapter kept-itself free of complacency and internal corruption. However, they were also another example of just why it was so dangerous to leave the overall command of an Astartes Chapter in the hands of one Chapter Master. If that individual was flawed then the danger was that the whole Chapter could become flawed as a result.

Gdolkin took a deep breath to calm himself. 'How is the ship?' he asked grudgingly, doing his best to make relations more cordial between himself and the captain of the Ajax, so that they might progress their mission more effectively.