Contents

Cover

Cadian Honour – Extract

A Black Library Publication

eBook license

Two

‘Don’t record this,’ Lord Militant Warmund said to his scribe as he entered Bendikt’s private chambers. They were on the mid-levels of C Quadrant, and Warmund was chief Cadian on board the Imperial Heart.

He was a slab of a man. Solid, ruthless, deeply loyal to everything that his home world had once been. Behind him trailed an entourage of attendants, savants, scribes and a pair of hovering servo-skulls. The sudden bustle within his private quarters shocked Bendikt.

‘Bendikt,’ Warmund said as he strode inside. ‘I had to take a lighter from A Quadrant and it’s still taken me an hour and a half to get here. You’ve caused me a lot of trouble.’

Bendikt leapt to his feet. ‘Sorry, sir.’ He saluted smartly.

Warmund waved him back to his seat. ‘I said don’t record this,’ he repeated, and the bald-headed savant nodded. His metal claw lifted the stylus from the parchment roll. There was nothing organic about the movement.

Warmund’s voice had been enhanced for battlefield audibility, but he kept it to a low rumble now, like the purr of a giant feline. It made the wood-panelled walls tremble. ‘Bendikt. I’ve been told that you struck Lord General Reginald Monstella de Barka with your fist. Is that true?’

Bendikt paled. He cleared his throat. His voice betrayed him. ‘Yes, sir.’

‘Good man!’ Warmund’s face broke into a huge grin. ‘We’re all glad you hit that pompous prat. He’s been challenging our leadership since day one!’ He seized Bendikt’s hand and there was power within his handshake that Bendikt had not felt before. Warmund’s hand had been augmented, he realised, and as its grip closed on his own, grinding bone and gristle together painfully, he felt the unspoken threat.

Warmund let go and paced up and down, hands behind his back, head thrust forward on a thick, bull neck. He had a brisk, businesslike manner that was familiar, even though he and Bendikt had never met before. It must be, Bendikt surmised, a Cadian trait. ‘We’ve all been celebrating your punch, General Bendikt, but I’m not beating about the bush here. You’ll have to go to that damned Praetorian fool and apologise.’

Bendikt nodded. He understood.

Warmund went on. ‘You don’t have to do it publicly. I can arrange a private venue. It doesn’t even have to be particularly profuse. Sorry if, all that, you know…’

Bendikt tried to speak, but Warmund kept talking.

‘We’ve allied with the Saturnine Dragoons and together we’re petitioning people with influence. Navigator House Benetek are with us. They tell me that this is going to be the next front line. The new Cadian Gate! El’Phanor is on the shortest route from the Cicatrix Maledictum towards Holy Terra, apparently. It’s going right to the top. The High Lords of Terra.’

Bendikt coughed to clear his throat. ‘I’m afraid I cannot do that, sir.’

‘Do what?’

‘Apologise. In all good conscience.’

Warmund stared at him for a moment. ‘I don’t care about your damned conscience. The position of the Cadians has become precarious. Vultures are circling and they wear the two-headed aquila of the Imperium of Man. De Barka might be the most pompous but he is not alone. There are a number of other lord militants and lord generals who think they deserve command. Our representatives are fighting round the clock to make sure Cadian generals retain control of this front. This is the chance we need, to repair the loss of Cadia. A chance to regain our glory!’

Warmund went on at length. At the end Bendikt nodded. ‘Yes, sir, I understand, but I’m afraid I cannot do as you wish.’

Warmund stopped pacing and fixed an augmented eye on him. ‘Can’t or won’t?’ There was threat in Warmund’s voice now and the water glass on Bendikt’s bedside cabinet rattled. ‘I don’t care about your pride, Bendikt. I’m ordering you to apologise.’

Bendikt’s voice seemed quiet in comparison. ‘I am very sorry, sir. I cannot.’

‘Bendikt–’

Bendikt cut him off. ‘Sorry, sir. If you would excuse me, but someone has to make a stand. It’s not just the ownership of this front that is at stake here. It is the honour and pride of every Cadian who still draws breath.’

Warmund started to laugh. ‘Bendikt. Be serious. You’re a soldier, not a preacher.’

‘I’m a Cadian,’ Bendikt said. ‘And, with respect, this is beneath you.’

Warmund turned his whole body towards Bendikt and his voice was low and deep and made the whole room rattle. ‘What do you mean, exactly?’

Bendikt felt the vibration in his gut. ‘Cadians have nothing to be ashamed of. We held the Cadian Gate since time… for as long as anyone can remember.’

‘Yes. But the Cadian Gate fell.’

‘Not through any fault of the Cadians.’

Warmund waved a hand in a dismissive gesture. ‘Don’t be an idealist. We’ve lost whole sectors of Imperial space. Let’s face facts. Maybe de Barka has a point.’

Bendikt felt his blood rising. ‘Lord militant, were you on Cadia?’

‘No. You know I wasn’t.’

‘Well then. With all due respect, sir, you cannot say the Cadians failed. De Barka is wrong. You are also wrong. I was there. I know. We were winning. Creed was winning.’

Creed was a word that everyone used once. Now his name was passing into memory. But it gave Bendikt strength.

Warmund laughed caustically. ‘If you were winning, how did we lose?’

Bendikt could barely control himself. ‘The Imperial Navy let us down. The Imperium let us down. Throne be damned! Every Cadian who was not there let us down. Lord Militant Warmund, if you were not there, then you let us down!’

Bendikt found that he was shouting into Warmund’s face.

There was a dangerous look in Warmund’s eye as he stepped forward. Bendikt swallowed, but he did not back down. He was done with manners. He was a soldier, and a fighter, and he fought his corner.

‘How dare you accuse me, Bendikt. If anyone failed, it was you and Creed and all the other defenders. Cadia fell on your watch, not mine!’

Warmund was shouting too now. The vibrations were sickening and the bedside lumen cracked. Bendikt had to swallow back his nausea as he returned the lord militant’s stare. He remembered Ursarkar Creed’s words about the dreadful old waxworks who ran the Cadian forces, how hidebound they were, how their warfronts were on Holy Terra, in the infernal politicking of the Administratum.

He started to speak but Warmund put up his hand. ‘I am fighting the war for the survival of our regiments. That is why you must go and apologise. Today.’

Bendikt took in a deep breath and paused for a long moment. ‘I am afraid I cannot, sir.’

All the charm had fallen from Warmund. He bristled. ‘I am giving you an order, Bendikt.’

Bendikt looked to see if there was a commissar in the room. There was. Warmund had planned this all along. Bendikt had been cornered. He took a deep breath. This was now a matter of life and death.

Bendikt spoke deliberately. ‘I understand that, sir. But still, I cannot allow the name of the Cadians to be impugned in this way.’

‘That was a command.’

From the corner of his eye Bendikt could see the commissar put his hand to his bolt pistol. Bendikt nodded. ‘I know that. If it means me dying, then that is what I shall do.’

He watched as the bolt pistol slid from its black leather holster, then looked away.

The commissar stepped forward. Bendikt drew in a long breath. The barrel of the bolt pistol was cold against his skin.

Warmund watched his face almost eagerly.

‘Do it,’ Bendikt hissed, and quoted an ancient song. ‘Weep for those whose faith is weak. I rejoice, for my faith is bottomless.’

He heard the click as the firing pin was brought back. Bendikt closed his eyes. There was a long silence. Lord Militant Warmund paused and turned to the savant. ‘What is General Bendikt’s old unit?’

His savant answered without a moment’s pause. ‘Cadian 101st, tank regiment.’

‘And where are they serving?’

‘The Gallows Cluster.’

‘Bendikt. Consider yourself under house arrest. I shall leave you now in the guard of my men. You have three hours to apologise to Lord General Reginald.’

‘Or what?’

‘Or you will be sent to the penal colonies and your name shall be struck off the Imperial monuments. Your regiment will be disbanded. Their colours will be consigned to the regimental shrine on Ophelia IV, and the companies will be broken up to fill the ranks of other, more reliable regiments. The name, the proud legacy, the existence of the Cadian 101st shall be no more. The whole regiment shall die with you.’

There was a twitch under Bendikt’s left eye. It pulled once, twice, three times. He felt his throat tightening. He felt tears welling up and by sheer force of will he drove them back. He dared not blink. He could not show weakness.

From somewhere he felt stillness within him. He closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath. ‘I will apologise,’ he said at last, ‘when de Barka does likewise.’

‘That’ll never happen.’

‘Then I leave the fate of the 101st in your hands, sir. There is only one way to resolve this honourably. We leave it for the Emperor to decide who is right.’

‘Don’t think I’m making empty threats, Bendikt.’

Bendikt opened his eyes. ‘Unfortunately, I don’t.’

The lord militant sighed. He had tried threat and bluster, and neither of them had worked. Now he tried a different tack. ‘He’ll kill you, you know.’

‘That is not certain.’

‘Have you seen him fight?’

‘No, sir.’

‘Well, that’s one thing Praetorians are good at. And de Barka is the best duellist on this quadrant.’

Bendikt nodded. He was strangely calm. ‘The Emperor will decide.’

Bendikt stood at the door as the lord militant and his staff filed out.

Warmund’s handshake was brief. ‘You’re a stubborn fool, Bendikt. It’ll be a shame to lose you.’

Bendikt nodded and said nothing. He did not trust his voice not to betray him.

Warmund gave a curt nod. ‘Goodbye then, General Bendikt. I do not think we shall meet again.’

Bendikt nodded and shut the door, closed his eyes, and tried to swallow back the grief.

But nothing could stem his pain and humiliation.

He was Cadian. The Holy Emperor had entrusted his people with a sacred duty: to defend the Imperium against the enemies of mankind. To do this they had been given the best weapons, the best training, forge worlds devoted to furnishing their every need.

And they had all failed.

Click here to buy Cadian Honour.

For Beth and Alex. Just read the Emperor’s Tarot, and it’s looking good.

A Black Library Publication

First published in Great Britain in 2018 by Black Library, Games Workshop Ltd, Willow Road, Nottingham, NG7 2WS, UK.

Produced by Games Workshop in Nottingham.
Cover illustration by Darren Tan.

Cadian Honour © Copyright Games Workshop Limited 2018. Cadian Honour, GW, Games Workshop, Black Library, The Horus Heresy, The Horus Heresy Eye logo, Space Marine, 40K, Warhammer, Warhammer 40,000, the ‘Aquila’ Double-headed Eagle logo, and all associated logos, illustrations, images, names, creatures, races, vehicles, locations, weapons, characters, and the distinctive likenesses thereof, are either ® or TM, and/or © Games Workshop Limited, variably registered around the world.
All Rights Reserved.

A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN: 978-1-78030-808-1

This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental.

See Black Library on the internet at
blacklibrary.com

Find out more about Games Workshop’s world of Warhammer and the Warhammer 40,000 universe at
games-workshop.com

eBook license

This license is made between:

Games Workshop Limited t/a Black Library, Willow Road, Lenton, Nottingham, NG7 2WS, United Kingdom (“Black Library”); and

(2) the purchaser of an e-book product from Black Library website (“You/you/Your/your”)

(jointly, “the parties”)

These are the terms and conditions that apply when you purchase an e-book (“e-book”) from Black Library. The parties agree that in consideration of the fee paid by you, Black Library grants you a license to use the e-book on the following terms:

* 1. Black Library grants to you a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, royalty-free license to use the e-book in the following ways:

o 1.1 to store the e-book on any number of electronic devices and/or storage media (including, by way of example only, personal computers, e-book readers, mobile phones, portable hard drives, USB flash drives, CDs or DVDs) which are personally owned by you;

o 1.2 to access the e-book using an appropriate electronic device and/or through any appropriate storage media; and

* 2. For the avoidance of doubt, you are ONLY licensed to use the e-book as described in paragraph 1 above. You may NOT use or store the e-book in any other way. If you do, Black Library shall be entitled to terminate this license.

* 3. Further to the general restriction at paragraph 2, Black Library shall be entitled to terminate this license in the event that you use or store the e-book (or any part of it) in any way not expressly licensed. This includes (but is by no means limited to) the following circumstances:

o 3.1 you provide the e-book to any company, individual or other legal person who does not possess a license to use or store it;

o 3.2 you make the e-book available on bit-torrent sites, or are otherwise complicit in ‘seeding’ or sharing the e-book with any company, individual or other legal person who does not possess a license to use or store it;

o 3.3 you print and distribute hard copies of the e-book to any company, individual or other legal person who does not possess a license to use or store it;

o 3.4 you attempt to reverse engineer, bypass, alter, amend, remove or otherwise make any change to any copy protection technology which may be applied to the e-book.

* 4. By purchasing an e-book, you agree for the purposes of the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 that Black Library may commence the service (of provision of the e-book to you) prior to your ordinary cancellation period coming to an end, and that by purchasing an e-book, your cancellation rights shall end immediately upon receipt of the e-book.

* 5. You acknowledge that all copyright, trademark and other intellectual property rights in the e-book are, shall remain, the sole property of Black Library.

* 6. On termination of this license, howsoever effected, you shall immediately and permanently delete all copies of the e-book from your computers and storage media, and shall destroy all hard copies of the e-book which you have derived from the e-book.

* 7. Black Library shall be entitled to amend these terms and conditions from time to time by written notice to you.

* 8. These terms and conditions shall be governed by English law, and shall be subject only to the jurisdiction of the Courts in England and Wales.

* 9. If any part of this license is illegal, or becomes illegal as a result of any change in the law, then that part shall be deleted, and replaced with wording that is as close to the original meaning as possible without being illegal.

* 10. Any failure by Black Library to exercise its rights under this license for whatever reason shall not be in any way deemed to be a waiver of its rights, and in particular, Black Library reserves the right at all times to terminate this license in the event that you breach clause 2 or clause 3.