Warhammer, Emperor's Chosen

Badab Primaris.

Back in the meeting room of the fortress-monastery, Noah pondered for a moment before speaking:

"Captain Huron, if possible, I would like to depart immediately."

"I'm afraid that's not possible at the moment."

Huron shook his head and explained: "I'll have the Astropaths send a psychic message to Macragge. If all goes well, they should receive the warning within a standard month."

Noah's guard didn't drop. His voice was firm as he replied:

"Captain Huron, you should know that Astropathic communication is unreliable. My ship also has Astropaths, and if that method were effective, I wouldn't risk traveling through an uncharted, unverified, and ancient route that hasn't been used for over ten millennia!"

Imperial Astropathic communication is far faster than navigating through the warp. Leaving a star system takes mere moments, crossing sub-sector zones takes a few hours, and interstellar distances can be crossed in a matter of days. If the signal is strong enough, interstellar communication can be completed in weeks.

Huron's claim that Macragge would receive the warning within a month was not a lie.

However—

All of this depended on the assumption that Macragge would actually receive their psychic message!

Just like with the frequent mishaps during Webway travel, Astropathic communication is equally unreliable because it too is heavily dependent on the Warp. Essentially, Astropaths channel psychic energy from the Warp to project symbols or images across vast distances in the void.

To prevent the interception or tampering of psychic signals by the Emperor's enemies, Astropaths usually employ highly complex encryption. Even if intercepted by the enemies of the Imperium, the message would be nearly impossible to decode quickly.

But the complexity exists for Imperial Astropaths as well.

Some information can only be fully translated after weeks of study of esoteric tomes, filled with augury and symbolic meanings. Only the most skilled Astropaths can translate the messages word for word by themselves.

In other words, even if everything went smoothly, the Astropathic signal would likely take two months to reach the Ultramarines and be translated. Even then, the information would probably be vague.

Of course.

If the Astropath is powerful enough and in perfect sync with the receiving Astropath, they can project psychic communications across hundreds of light-years with relatively low delay. But this method is incredibly difficult, and only the most exceptional Astropaths can manage it. Furthermore, the strain it places on the Astropaths is immense, and they cannot maintain it for extended periods.

Badab was far too distant from Macragge, and the Astral Claws and the Ultramarines had little interaction in thousands of years. Relying on such a psychic expert was, at best, wishful thinking.

Thus, if they wanted to warn the Ultramarines, it could not rely solely on Astropathic communication. They would have to travel personally through the Warp, even if it meant taking a much slower approach. The intelligence would be far more reliable and complete.

Huron noticed Noah's growing discontent and patiently explained:

"Of course, Lord Noah, I understand your urgency and I know that Astropathic communication is unreliable. But I think there's been some misunderstanding. I am not trying to prevent you from heading to Macragge. On the contrary, I just need some time to assemble my forces!"

"Gathering your forces?"

Noah raised an eyebrow.

"Yes."

Huron nodded slightly, "In fact, I have already sent Astropathic messages to the Mantis Warriors and the Lamenters. If all goes well, they should already be assembling fleets and heading towards the Badab system. Additionally, the warriors of the Astral Claws are already on their way back to Badab..."

"Meaning..."

Noah's tone softened slightly.

"Yes."

Huron smiled, "I will lead the fleet with you to Macragge, bringing reinforcements from three Space Marine chapters!"

After a brief pause, Huron added: "In fact, the Ultramarines are the progenitors of the Astral Claws."

"How long will it take?"

"A week or less."

Noah fell silent for a moment and then replied grimly: "If you are not ready in a week, I will not wait for you!"

"Of course!"

Huron's expression became serious. "If the reinforcements haven't arrived within a week, I won't wait for them either!"

Noah glanced at Huron, already realizing that Huron was determined to accompany him to Macragge.

As for the reason, it wasn't hard to guess.

Huron wasn't concerned about the safety of his chapter or worried about the threat to Macragge. If that were the case, he would have let Noah go ahead, and then gathered his forces to follow. Instead, he insisted on keeping Noah there, waiting an extra week to depart together.

In the end, Huron's goal was straightforward—he simply wanted to have a favor owed by the Ultramarines.

Concern for his chapter might exist, but it was surely not as pure as his desire for practical gain.

Noah was well aware of this little game of Huron's, but he didn't call him out on it, because it suited his own plans.

In the vast galaxy, it was rare for several Space Marine chapters to be stationed in the same star system. The Maelstorm was one of those rare instances. And Noah specifically chose this region as a waypoint because it housed not one, not two, but three Space Marine chapters!

Huron wanted to travel to Macragge with Noah, or rather, he wanted to reach Macragge with Noah, because he wanted to create the impression that the Astral Claws, upon receiving the warning, immediately assembled all their forces and rushed to assist.

As for Noah, like Huron, he knew the value of this impression—after all, a warning delivered by a Rogue Trader was not as impactful as a Rogue Trader bringing three chapters of Astartes to aid Macragge!

Noah was not just helping Macragge, he was ensuring that the Ultramarines and the three chapters he was bringing with him would owe him favors.

In fact, the moment Noah arrived in the Maelstorm system and alerted the others to Macragge's crisis, the favor was already in motion. Because of this, Noah would not only have the Ultramarines' favor but also the favors of the Astral Claws, the Mantis Warriors, and the Lamenters.

In other words:

The former scenario would leave Noah with a single favor from the Ultramarines—enough to request their help once.

But the latter situation would multiply the favor into four. Not only would the Ultramarines owe him, but three other chapters would owe him as well. He could ask for one favor from each!

As for the Ultramarines, even though they would go from owing one favor to four, they wouldn't complain. In fact, they'd be grateful—after all, someone had gone through great risks to bring them aid, and if they quibbled, it would be seen as bad manners!

In the end, though Huron and Noah were scheming, the result would be a win-win—Noah would win twice.

....

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16. Guardians of the Maelstrom.

17. Three Chapters Serving Me Alone—What Greater Fortune Could There Be?

18. Xenos Invade Macragge!

19. If You Think You Can, Then Do It.

20. Disclaimer: Proceed at Your Own Risk!