Jeremiah knew Ragnar was right. There was more to Cadmus than he was saying, but his hands were tied. He could not divulge the commander's true nature.
Two Chapters of Space Marines waging war meant nothing compared to what would happen if the terrible secrets of the Dark Angels were revealed. Ragnar had proven himself to be a man of conviction and courage, a far cry from the barbarian that he expected a Space Wolf to be.
Jeremiah weighed the situation up in his mind.
He could not reveal to Ragnar the whole truth. Perhaps however, he did not need to. He might be able to tell some of what he and the Dark Angels knew without betraying his Chapter.
You are correct; I have chosen to withhold some of our information in regards to Cadmus.'
'Jeremiah, do not betray the honour of our Chapter!' Nathaniel protested.
Jeremiah held up his hand to silence Nathaniel. The history of distrust between our Chapters is long. In a very short time, I've discovered that the mutual distrust we share for each other may be unwarranted.' Jeremiah stepped towards Ragnar. 'I will tell you what I can and nothing more.'
Well, get on with it, then.’ Haegr shouted at Jeremiah.
'Haegr.’ Torin warned, realising that Haegr wasn't helping the situation.
All mis cloak and dagger makes my head hurt.' Haegr walked towards the elevator shaft. 'I don't know why Ragnar was so excited about getting back into the galaxy anyway! Doesn't seem any different than Holy Terra! Everyone has a secret.'
Torin followed Haegr to the elevator. 'Ragnar, I'll take Nathaniel and Elijah and maybe we'll reconnoitte the rest of the palace.' Ragnar nodded in agreement.
'Nathaniel, you and Elijah should go with Haegr and Torin.' Jeremiah's words were more a request than an order. Nathaniel looked concerned as his gaze passed from Jeremiah to Ragnar and back. Jeremiah crossed the floor to stand next to his oldest warrior.
'Do you trust me?' he asked.
'I always have.’ responded Nathaniel.
Then trust me now, brother.’ said Jeremiah.
Nathaniel nodded and walked towards the Wolfblade.
'Come on, little one, let's help these Space Wolves. At least that way we can all keep an eye on each other.’ Elijah looked annoyed as he stepped into line with the others.
As the four of them reached the elevator doors, Torin gave Ragnar a last look. Ragnar nodded. Torin returned the affirmation and entered the elevator.
We'll meet up in thirty minutes or less, Torin.’ Ragnar said as the elevator doors slid closed.
Jeremiah turned his back to Ragnar. Dropping his gaze to the floor, he began, 'Cadmus and the Dark Angels have a history. My team was dispatched here to confirm our suspicions, capture him and if possible deliver him to my superiors for questioning.'
Ragnar judged Jeremiah not only by his words, but if the Dark Angel wasn't telling the truth, his scent gave no indication of it. His body language was another matter: he was holding something back.
'What do the Dark Angels need with the commander of a planetary defence force?'
We believe that he has been conspiring with the dark powers of Chaos.’ Jeremiah explained.
'Chaos?'
Ragnar's mind travelled back to the Chaos temple and the sacrificial altar that the Wolfblade had discovered. He had distrusted Cadmus from the start. Now all the pieces of the puzzle started to fit together. When he and the Wolfblade had made the discovery of the Chaos temple and entered the kill zone, the planetary defence forces had instantly engaged them. The attack was not an accident as Cadmus had claimed, but must have been an attempt to destroy the Wolfblade as he had suspected.
Jeremiah turned to face Ragnar. 'I believe that Cadmus lured my team here intentionally, and allowed us to gain entry to the city wall and reach the palace unhindered.’
This caused Ragnar a momentary pause. 'Why would he lure you to Hyades when he knew that there were Wolfblade here, and that the Space Wolves would be conducting a patrol of the system?'
'I believe he has orchestrated this conflict from the beginning, using the Space Wolves and Dark Angels' ancient distrust to spark this conflict.’ Jeremiah continued. 'Perhaps he intended to create a full-scale war between our Chapters.’
Ragnar pondered Jeremiah's words, trying to fathom what Cadmus could possibly gain by setting such events into motion. What could be gained by a conflict between two of the Emperor's greatest servants? Ragnar had learned enough about the forces of Chaos to know that if what Jeremiah was saying were true then there had to be a reason. Ironically, the forces of Chaos did nothing random. There was always a plan, always a reason. The same had to be true here. If Cadmus had set these events into motion, there had to be something to benefit him. The difficulty would be determining what that was.
'If what you are saying is true then we must no longer allow ourselves to be manipulated.’ Ragnar said.
'Yes, but blood has been spilled on both sides. How can you and I bring this to an end?' Jeremiah's question was valid. How would they achieve this?
'Your team and the Wolfblade have managed to set aside our differences and forge an alliance, fragile as it is. If we can do it, then so can our Chapters. We must find and defeat the true enemy. We must succeed, Jeremiah. We must.’
Ragnar headed for the elevator. They had to move and move quickly. Each moment that the battle raged would make ending it even harder. Reaching the control panel to summon the elevator, Ragnar realised that Jeremiah had not followed. He turned to face his new Dark Angel ally.
'Ragnar, there is one more thing I must ask of you. Cadmus is an enemy of the Dark Angels and I must complete my mission,' Jeremiah said with guarded confidence.
'Cadmus killed Magni and abducted Gabriella, his life ends at the point of my blade.'
'I understand how you feel, Ragnar, but you must understand that I am a Son of the Lion, and Cadmus is mine.' Jeremiah's voice was unwavering and firm. He could see the anger cross Ragnar's face. His eyes were filled with rage.
He made one last attempt to gain the Space Wolfs understanding.
'You just told me that we must get our brothers to set aside their ancient distrust and bring this conflict to an end. We're not even out of this room and already we're back to this.' Jeremiah continued. 'I, like you, have made an oath to serve, an oath of loyalty! I cannot – will not – set that aside. I pledge to you that I will stand by your side and do anything we need to bring this conflict to an end, but I personally must deal with Cadmus.’
Ragnar considered what the Dark Angel had just said. Evaluating the events of the last few days, he put himself into Jeremiah's position. Again, he asked himself what he would do if things were reversed. He
would not allow anything to deter him from his goal. Jeremiah was not what he would have expected from a Dark Angel. In fact, he was surprised at how alike they actually were, and if this was about redemption… He wondered what he would do to make up for the Spear of Russ.
Ragnar extended his hand to Jeremiah. Jeremiah accepted his gesture of friendship and trust.
'I know that there is more between the Dark Angels and Cadmus than you have told me.’ said Ragnar. 'I also know that you've risked much in sharing with me what you already have. I understand what it means to risk something for the greater good, and that I cannot ignore. Cadmus will be yours to deal with as you see fit. You have my word as a Space Wolf.’
TEN
A Thousand Pains
Cadmus stood among servitors wired into the monitor systems, in one of Lethe's command bunkers. These former criminals served out their sentences for cowardice, heresy and their other crimes by helping to power the many surveillance systems of Lethe's defences. They were more machines than men and as such, they were beneath Cadmus's notice. As far as he was concerned, he was alone, surveying the carnage throughout the city. Watching the battle unfold gave Cadmus a sense of power. He had orchestrated everything that had happened.
The door behind Cadmus opened, and Lieutenant Carson of the Hyades planetary defence force hurried inside. Carson was a young man who had risen quickly through the ranks, a tall charismatic man who had earned his rank. Carson's bravery and calm