It was an icon that showed the face of the great hero of Cadia, Lord Castellan Ursarkar E Creed. His face stared out, as if assessing the new recruits.

‘Repeat after me,’ Shand declared.

As the words were read out, the Whiteshields repeated them word for word, and saluted.

Shand nodded. ‘Welcome. You have now joined the Cadian Shock Troopers – the finest body of fighting men the Imperium has at its command!

‘Today you will be sent into battle once more. It has been decided that you will fight as a body. My Commissariat staff shall accompany you into combat. Any of you who survive will be assigned to units if your performance is deemed suitable.’ Shand paused to wet his lips. ‘I should add that many Cadians, myself included, do not believe you should be allowed to wear the Cadian badge. There are many others who are wishing for this programme to fail. Which means that you will have to prove your worth. You will have to be above and beyond reproach.’

They greeted his words with stony silence.

Shand turned to the toughest disciplinarian he had. ‘Knoll, when we go into combat, I want you to accompany this lot.’

Knoll’s eyes were already narrowed. He had a hard face. He nodded – a brief, simple movement, like the chop of an executioner’s axe.

‘It will be a pleasure, sir.’

As dawn broke, an Imperial Navy battleship started to fire on Crannog Mons. A few shots hit the void shields. The energy crackled out across the void-domes. But most of the shots veered wide. Where the lance strikes hit the sea, plumes of super-heated water erupted. This went on for hours, until the air became thick and soupy with humidity, and then, at last, the battered naval ships pulled back to a safe orbit.

Dreno had been watching the whole thing. ‘Well, that was a waste of time and effort,’ he said. ‘What is wrong with them? They couldn’t hit the side of a kasr. Lieutenant! They’re not supporting our attack, are they?’

Dido pulled a face. She had no control over this but she appeared confident. ‘Not a chance.’

An hour later, the whole regiment moved off.

Minka spent some time in the Chimera’s cupola. In the distance a bombardment was hammering Tor Tartarus. She lifted the auspex to see one of the shots hit a section of roadway that clung to the old bridge. Section by section the surviving rockcrete slabs fell away. The column remained standing. Minka could just make out the old suspension cables, dark against the sky. Above she could see the diamond pattern of a high-altitude squad on morning patrol.

That battle was far away. Hers would be on the island of Tor Kharybdis. She found it through the auspex. The outline of the island’s defences was just visible on the horizon. It appeared quiet and unsuspecting.

Not long now, she thought.