"So," Atharion said towards the Shadow Captain, while all that arrived on the fortress sit around him. "care to tell me what's happening?"
Currently, they all are back into the hall, sitting on their previous assigned seats, but with the Shadow Captain and his men standing at the center of it. Their armors bore fresh scorch marks, with some even missing parts of their power armors.
Since Atharion exited his personal chamber, the situation in the fortress quickly return to normal. Luckily, not many of those inflators have arrive so that's why they detonate their cruiser in hope to inflicting damage to the Crusade.
After a couple of hours, preparing resources and star ports to repair the strike cruisers, and give reparations to those affected, Atharion reconvened the war council. The atmosphere in the hall was no longer one of celebration or camaraderie, but vigilance. Each Astartes and mortals are equipped with their weapons, ready to deal with any intruder.
"Some of you might still remember, there are a Alpha Legion warband, Shadowed Ones that operated near this area." He said, bringing memories of some Astartes that live through that times. "Other than helping the Crusade, my mission that have been given to me by Master of Shadow is to find out where the warband at and destroy it."
Hearing this, all turn their eyes upon Atharion, seeing if he knew about this.
"I know about this." Atharion nodded. "But, the Captain have promised me that they will not neglect their duty just to complete their mission, and they have performed well in the Crusade."
"Isn't that right?" Atharion finished, his gaze sweeping across the gathered commanders and officers.
The hall remained silent for a moment, long enough to feel the weight of scrutiny, but eventually, a few nods came.
"Acting as the Crusade vanguard, I have successfully find out where is their last know location and set out to destroy them." The Shadow Captain continue after seeing Atharion nodded at him. "But when we arrive at Apollyon, we already find the cruiser Occam's Razor crash on said world over a valley."
The hololith once again activated and display the pictures and videos that Raven Guard have taken.
"And within the valley is filled with the shattered bones and armor of thousands of Alpha Legionaries." The pictures and video now showing the gruesome view.
"As me and my men trying to understand what's happen to them, we got ambush by another Alpha Legion warband." He said, with a saddened tone. "They kill many of my brothers, and have taken control of my strike cruiser." He look out the window, the destroy hull of the cruiser floating in the void.
"They sabotaged the generators of our escort ships, leaving us stranded on the planet for a significant time." He continued. "And according to our Astropath, the warp around the system became unstable, artificially, I believe. It disrupted all communication, making it impossible to send word back to the Crusade."
"Then," Grand Master Tristan said, his voice low and laced with suspicion. "how did you manage to return?"
At his word, Tristan and his men were shifting in their place, hands resting not too subtly on hilts and triggers. Ready to kill the Raven Guard if they said anything suspicious.
The Shadow Captain didn't flinch. Instead, he turned to face Tristan directly, his expression solemn. "When the warp storm finally lifted, we finally able to contact the escorts that still floating in the orbit, trying to fix their generators. They then dispatch Arvus Lighters to extracted us from the surface."
He paused, glancing at the flickering hololith still projecting images of the valley of bones. "They informed me of what had transpired in orbit. The traitors had fled, taking with them our strike cruiser."
As the Captain finished the sentence, Atharion can see that Tristan still want to ask questions, sill suspicious about the Raven, talk before Tristan can said anything.
"Understood, Captain," Atharion said, his voice firm yet composed, cutting through the tension before Tristan could speak. He looked at the Shadow Captain with a nod of acknowledgment, then slowly turned his gaze across the chamber.
"We will honor your vigilance and the sacrifice of your brothers." Atharion continued. "Though I believe there's no Alpha Legionaries disguise as Raven Guard in your retinues, but with how the situation and how they operate." Atharion look at the Shadow Captain. "I hope you and your men can stay on your vessel until further confirmation can be completed."
The Shadow Captain gave a slow, respectful nod. There was no offense in his bearing, only understanding, and perhaps a weariness earned from betrayal too many times endured.
"Of course, Lord Atharion." He said. "We will comply with any security measures you deem necessary. My men will remain aboard our escort frigate and submit to whatever scans or interrogations required."
Atharion gave him a short nod of gratitude. "Your cooperation is appreciated."
After this meeting, Raven Guard is confounded in their escort with the rest of the crews the same. Extensive screening is conducted upon them, both genetically and psychicly.
Apothecaries, Chaplains, and Librarians from the Dark Knights, Angels of Wrath, and Howling Griffons formed joint investigation teams. Every Raven Guard Astartes was subjected to rigorous examination. Gene-seed samples were taken and compared to Raven Guard records stored in the crusade's vaults. Neural pathways were scanned for inconsistencies, for any evidence of tampering, mind-wiping, or duplicity.
The Chaplains led rites of confession and spiritual interrogation, invoking ancient catechisms to test the faith and mental integrity of their battle-brothers. Meanwhile, Librarians delved into the aether, searching the warp-traces that clung to the minds and souls of the screened warriors. Each warrior's past, recent memories, and emotional imprints were examined with precision.
While this process going on, Atharion have dispatch messenger to Raven Guard's homeworld, Deliverance. As the Raven Guard mainly operate in silence and don't normally leave one company behind to protect their homeworld like normal Chapter is. Atharion can only hope that there is one Raven Guard company at Deliverance, or at the very least, they're someone that can contact the closet company.
At the same time, Atharion also requested Nine to prepare a meeting with the 12 members.
≠==================
"So, there's still an Alpha Legion warband operating at that region?" 'I' said with a puzzled and amuses tone. "According to the reports in Inquisition and from the Ordo operating near that region, there are no traitor elements sighted or operating there."
"Well," 'XII' replied dryly, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "that can only mean one of two things, either the agents in that region are utterly incompetent... or they've already been infiltrated by the Alpha Legion."
"Are you accusing the Inquisition, boy!!" 'II' roared, slamming a gauntleted fist onto the table.
"Enough!" 'V' said with a calm but firm tone. "We are here to understand and decide what to do, not accusing each other with baseless accusations."
"Confirm." 'VII' said with mechanical voice. "We should see what we must do to make sure the region is clear of traitor elements."
With that, the meeting resumed, each member offering differing strategies on how to deal with the potential threat. Some proposed scouring the entirety of the Dark Marches and its surrounding territories, while others suggested long-term surveillance and indirect purging operations. The suggestions ranged from the pragmatic to the extreme, with some bordering on madness.
In the end, the consensus was reached, not only due to strategic concerns, but because the region lay within the Dark Knights' domain, and by extension, within the influence of the Twelve themselves. For some of them, it was an opportunity to consolidate their power and extend their reach under the guise of vigilance.
Thus, a final decision was made, an Inquisition Conclave would be established within the Dark Marches. It would serve as a permanent presence, a watchful eye tasked with monitoring the region and ensuring no trace of the Alpha Legion, or any other threat, could fester in the shadows.
Though the bickering continued for some time between I, II, and VI over who should lead the Conclave, a compromise was eventually reached. Two Inquisitors, one from the Ordo Xenos and one from the Ordo Hereticus would share command of the Conclave.
This dual leadership structure risked creating a divided command, but it also served as a deliberate failsafe. By preventing any single Inquisitor or Ordo from gaining full control, the Twelve ensured that the Conclave would remain balanced, its authority kept in check by internal oversight and mutual suspicion, just like how the Inquisition operate.
But before the meeting could be adjourned, 'VI' suddenly called out to Atharion, halting the proceedings.
"Atharion, there's something you need to know," 'VI" said, his voice firm as the hololith at the center of the chamber flickered and shifted, their attention drawn to the new data.
The hololith show the domain, the 400 worlds. At its heart pulsed the familiar Warp Rift, separating a cluster of worlds. But now, the southern region of the map lit up in green, spreading across ten systems and highlighting approximately twenty worlds.
"There's been a long-standing Ork presence in this region." 'VI' continued. "Multiple reports was filed years ago, but because you hadn't declared where you wanted your domain to be located, and the area had no strategic value to the wider Imperium, those reports never made it to this table."
The hololith shifted again, now displaying fragmented data from various sources across different times. Vox logs, pict-feeds, fragmented astropathic warnings, all confirming the presence of Orks over centuries.
"The greenskins have been living in that area for nearly five hundred years. The only reason they haven't spilled over into Imperial-controlled space is because there's been no Warlord powerful enough to unite them, at least not since the first one was slain."
He tapped a rune, and a new image formed, jagged glyphs of Orkish dialect, satellite captures of primitive meksites, and crude banners raised over fortress-mountains.
"But that's changing. Now, there are three Warbosses, each gathering strength, fighting one another for dominance. If one of them wins, or worse, if they decide to stop fighting and join forces, no matter how impossible that is, we may see a Waaagh! explode out of the region."
A heavy silence followed.
"You're telling me we've had a brewing Ork empire growing on our doorstep for five centuries, and no one thought that was worth escalating?" 'XI' muttered in disbelief.
"Again," 'VI' replied dryly, "the area was irrelevant. Until now."
Though none could see beneath his helm, the edge of Atharion's lip twitched at the remark.
Ah yes, He mused silently, the mindset of much of the Imperium. If it hasn't become a catastrophic problem yet, it can always be someone else's responsibility later.
He let out a soundless sigh before turning his attention toward 'VI' once more.
"So, by your deduction," Atharion said calmly, "the Orks will not spill out of that region unless one of these Warbosses manages to unite them under a single banner?"
'VI' nodded once. "Correct. For now, their infighting keeps them contained. It's brutal and constant, but localized. Should one Warboss gain enough power or momentum to dominate the others, the Waaagh! instinct will take hold, and they'll explode outward like a green plague."
"And how long do we have before that happens?" 'X' asked.
"No exact measure," 'VI' admitted, pulling up a projected timeline based on observed Ork behaviors. "Could be decades. Could be months. All it would take is the right mekboy inventing something unstable, or a particularly 'kunning' Nob convincing the other Orks that he's better than the other Warboss or Nobz."
Atharion's gaze lingered on the green zone displayed in the hololith, his mind already spinning through possible responses.
"Then we don't wait for the Warlord to rise," He said coldly. "We strike before any of them can become a threat."