Chapter 9: Chapter 9

The meeting did not get off to an appropriate start, just as Horus had half-expected it to, and just as Angron and Sanguinius worried it would become. Their Father had considered the peace treaty of the Nexus, despite that had still chosen to take the route of using His psychic might to awe the Nexus into submission.

Judging from Sev’s unimpressed glare, and how his soldiers behind him shifted to a more antagonized stance, Horus suspected that his Father’s ploy had failed. These mortals had not been affected by his primarch aura from before, and it seemed they were highly resistant to even the Emperor’s blinding radiance.

“Peace, we mean you no slight,” Malcador spoke up, trying to soothe their hosts. Horus hoped that the Sigillite was not using his psychic skills to augment his words. Around them, the Custodes shifted ever so slightly, ready for an instant assault.

Sev’s glare shifted towards the Imperial Regent, and then back to the Emperor. “Then, turn it off. Either that, or we cancel this whole thing and skip straight to the shooting route.”

There was a dreadful silence, with the Emperor giving a slow glance to Malcador, who in turn nodded slowly. Then His radiance began to fade, the pressure of it lifting like a solid weight of Horus’ mind.

Sev gave a wry smirk. “Consider more diplomacy points knocked off.”

“We apologize,” the wizened Sigillite offered with a bow, while Horus felt his Father’s confusion at Sev’s temerity. “We did not mean t-”

“Sure, sure,” Sev interrupted with a gesture, “You people conduct ‘peaceful’ diplomacy by cowing the opposition with metanatural mindfucking to speed things up to your favor. A perfectly fair and honest thing to do diplomatically.”

More silence followed, and Horus couldn’t help trading worried glances with his brothers. Even Rogal betrayed concern in his eyes, though there was only…amusement?... in Angron’s. It seemed that perhaps the restoration of his mind did not cleanse the resentment his brother had for their Father.

“Now, do you have any more threats to display, or do we talk?”

Another awkward pause, and then Malcador stepped forward to formally introduce the Imperial delegation as if the earlier misstep hadn’t occurred. “We humbly appreciate the hospitality of our hosts. I am Malcador, advisor to His Majesty, the Emperor of the Imperium of Man. We thank the Nexus Unity for the opportunity of conducting peaceful negotiations.”

For a moment there, Horus feared that Sev would respond with another antagonizing remark, but thankfully the ruler of the Nexus remained silent.

The Emperor nodded once. “I…apologize for my previous misconduct.” Sev still kept silent, dragging out the awkwardness a bit more, after which his opposite number finally continued. “On behalf of the Imperium of Mankind, I offer my respects to the Nexus Unity.”

Horus hadn’t expected his Father could sound so…petty in his insincerity.

Sev’s grin returned, brimming with vindictiveness. “And on behalf of the Nexus Unity, I, Sev, greet my…guests from the Imperium of Mankind. It’s good to finally meet you, Emperor of Mankind, the Perpetual Revelation, Molech Dealer, and Father of the Twenty-One.”

Surprise struck both the Emperor and the Sigillite like a solid blow, and from his place just behind them, Horus noticed the restrained panic on Malcador’s face as he exchanged looks with his Father. Which meant that the foreign titles that Sev had pinned on the Emperor, names that the primarch had never heard before, were of some important significance.

And knowing now that he did not know exactly what that significance was troubled Horus.

“You know of…”

Sev gave Malcador a cheery nod. “And quite a bit more besides.”

“So you know of them?” asked the Emperor with some concern.

“Who is ‘them’?” Sev replied cryptically. “The dragon under the mountain? The four anarchic manifestations? The sleeping angel?” The ruler of the Nexus gave a light shrug. “You’ll have to clarify which of your mistakes you think I know.”

The brief silence that followed was suffocating, and it was easy to imagine the Emperor gulping before his next words. “The Four. If you know of them, then you know the threat they represent.”

“Enough to not make stupid deals with them like some people did,” Sev snorted, and then shook his head. “We are derailing here. Future threats for later, I’m more interested in dealing with the present threat. So. What does the Imperium want to discuss with the Nexus?”

Finally being dragged back to the point of the meeting, it was Malcador who cleared his throat and spoke up. “We wish to offer our thanks for the gracious treatment of the primarch Horus of the Luna Wolves, as well as the selfless aid provided to the primarch Angron of the World Eaters. At the same time, the Imperium would extend an invitation towards the Nexus Unity to join as a-”

“Vassal?” The Nexus’ ruler interrupted. “No deal, no way.”

“Your advancements might be great, but there are countless threats among the stars that would overrun you,” the Emperor reasoned. “The Imperium has the resources to shield your world, your people.”

“Your Nexus Unity would retain many of its freedoms,” Malcador added. “We only wish that your advancements could be used to help the greater Humanity.”

It was Sev’s turn to be thoughtfully quiet. “Does the Imperium tolerate slavery from those who surrender willingly to it?” he finally asked after several seconds. “Does it uplift its people to a more than just a basic level of dignity? Does it tolerate the devolving beliefs of insane cultists for the sake of fuelling its materiel?”

“Our relationship with the Mechanicum is…a necessary union,” the Emperor replied instantly. “With your aid, reliance on the Machine Cult could be lifted, and their monopoly broken.”

Horus blinked. Sev detesting the Mechanicum was new to him. Perhaps it’s no surprise, he wondered, considering how freely their technology here contrasted with the tech-priests’. And having his Father so easily offer to cast aside their alliance was equally surprising.

“I can almost believe that,” the man said. “But the point stands. The Nexus Unity does not tolerate the crippling delusionals, the enslavers, or the oppressors. And from what I’ve gleaned about the Imperium, it harbors such elements freely in exchange for war support.” Sev gave the Imperial delegation a heavy glare. “We cannot, will not, tolerate such things, no matter how desperate we are. We will not stain Nexus Laws by associating with the diseased fruits of humanity.”

“And you would allow countless others to perish for the sake of those principles?”

“You say that as if you haven’t done that yourself. I’m not the one taking it upon himself to conquer all humanity ‘for their own good’. Plus, your principles are arguably more flexible than mine, and I’m not the one exterminating whole cultures on a galactic scale for simply refusing to bend the knee to you.”

“Humanity needs to be protected from itself, as often as it does from outside threats.”

“And I’m sure you’ve taken the slower, peaceful route of diplomacy when you encountered other quiet civilizations that rejected your offer of annexation.”

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Horus winced at the sarcasm as a pang of guilt stabbed into his core. Now that he thought about it, how many worlds had been brought into the fold through force after their rulers stubbornly held out against Imperial envoys? How many of them had his own legions enforced Compliance?

Too many.

But it was for the sake of Humanity, was it not?

Then why was the primarch now feeling a hint of shame?

His Father stiffened at the implied insult. “It was for the best. Their existence would have been precarious otherwise.”

Sev didn’t miss a beat. “And more importantly, you got more meat for the grinder and looted all the tech that the Mechanicum couldn’t achieve with their rust-brains, right?”

Malcador tried to slip in and diffuse the situation. “I will admit that enforcing the will of the Imperium on others through violent means was- is distasteful, but due to the threats we faced, time was of the essence. Humanity needs to be united, lest its many enemies would descend and pick us apart piecemeal.”

Sev scoffed, but the Sigillite leaned on his staff to emphasize his words, “And would you not admit to using such rationale to enforce your own rule?”

The ruler of the Nexus grinned. “Not with such two-facedness. The Nexus expanded by exterminating monsters and restoring the wasteland. Those who joined us did so willingly. We only wiped out the slavers and the predatory scum of humanity, or those who met us with hostile intent. We gave aid without the price of loyalty or obedience, we uplifted any who joined us.”

Horus noted how the humans behind Sev were nodding in vehement agreement. “The choice between a broken wasteland or my Nexus might have been one-sided, but it remained that: a choice. None of the petty kingdoms or scrap cities were coerced or strong-armed in their decision making, only the fact that they lived in a hellhole and we didn’t.”

Horus frowned as he had a glimpse of Sev’s beliefs. He was as much an idealist as the Emperor, except that he seemed far more…reclusive in achieving his goals.

Sev straightened as a grave seriousness descended on him. “Let me be clear. I do not pretend to hold ambitions for a greater humanity, not when I’m still trying to ensure a lasting peace in my own world. That is a delusional luxury that I and my Nexus cannot afford. The Nexus Unity will strive to aid anyone within reach and shield them as per Nexus Laws, so long as they are willing to abide by those same laws.”

He relaxed a little, but the tension remained amongst the Imperial delegation. The Emperor took the pause to voice his opinion on the matter. “You accuse us of delusion, yet you withhold your advancements from securing the rest of Humanity from dangers both within and without.”

Sev drew in a slow breath before he answered. “We have long learned not to drown ourselves in what-ifs and if-onlys for people we have never met. Right now, our reach is short, and it is clear that your Imperium’s practice is incompatible with ours. We will not be party to destroying whole worlds simply because they don’t want to join you.”

The tension grew thick in the air as both rulers stared at each other, and the primarch felt like combat would follow very soon. But then Sev backed away, and gave a smile as he spread his hands.

“Of course, I also cannot accept any dealings with the Imperium as its equal, what more its lesser. After all, why would a God bow before an Emperor?”

Anger finally radiated from the Emperor of Mankind, of a potency Horus had never felt before and that stunned him and his brothers. The Nexus humans shifted their stances, but otherwise did not seem cowed at the slightest.

“You dare?” He boomed.

Sev gave a short chuckle. “Dare? I have already accepted it from those who fervently follow me.” And then an alien force slammed into the Imperial delegation, staggering the Custodes and Sisters of Silence, and caused the primarchs to reel in shock. Magnus in particular wore a mask of dumbstruck amazement. Even Malcador took a surprised step back. Only the Emperor remained still from the sudden wave of…something that radiated from Sev.

“What…what have you done?”

“I told you, I accepted the mantle that was insisted on me.”

Horus stared at Sev and found an unfathomable power in the form of a man. Was this his true-? No, this was but a hint of it. Somehow, the primarch knew that this false mortal that claimed himself a god was still holding back, just as sure as he knew that his Father was currently dumbstruck.

Whatever fuelled Sev, it was beyond psychic witchcraft or world-shattering archeotech. It was potent, a power that affected even the Silent Sisterhood, that left the Sigillite and the Emperor mute with incomprehension.

The overwhelming force vanished in an instant, and the ruler of the Nexus kept a plain, almost condescending smile pasted on his face. “Here is what I propose instead: The Imperium leaves the Nexus Unity alone. The Nexus Unity will remain its own independent entity, not a vassal nor subservient in any way to the Imperium of Man. The Nexus Unity will not infringe upon Imperium space, even to offer much deserved liberation and aid, so long as the Imperium does likewise. You will respect our borders, and in exchange, we will respect yours. The Imperium of Man will be allowed to establish an orbital embassy above our world, and through said embassy make requests or negotiate for aid from the Nexus Unity, which we are entitled to freely accept or reject as we see fit.”

Those were demands that should have been arrogant beyond measure, even verging on the delusional. But the man offering the proposal was far from that, with power might prove to be more than an equal to the Emperor.

“You presume much,” the Master of Mankind uttered severely.

“So do you,” Sev replied with condescending lightness.

A cold menace descended on him as he glared straight at the Emperor. “You have nothing we want or need, and I will not offer up my people or my hard-earned advancements to parasites and petty warmongers with a savior’s complex. Let the stars send their worst nightmares at us…”

Horus felt a shudder run up his spine as the ruler of the Nexus took a step towards the Emperor, and despite physically looking up at Him, his presence seemed to look down on the Master of Mankind. “Or if you dare, throw yourselves at us. You will find that the Nexus Unity will be more than prepared to enforce its peace. Through. Power.”

The rulers of the Imperium and the Nexus Unity locked stares for a moment, and the tension climbed almost to its boiling point. Finally, it was the Emperor who shook his head and turned away. “You will regret your words.”

“Right back at you.” Sev’s triumphant grin was the last thing Horus saw before he turned to follow his Father back to the Stormbirds.

It was right as they left the Tupile’s hangars that the Emperor’s voice chimed through the vox’s command channel.

“Ready the fleet. Once we have reached the designated mark, commence the assault.”

Horus blinked, sharing surprised looks with his brothers. The Emperor had planned for an assault beforehand, without informing them?

“In my name, prepare for Exterminatus on the Nexus Unity.”

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