Chapter 19: Tactics and Expeditions
"Y.e.s!" Upon hearing this, the Space Wolves immediately recalled the Emperor's strict prohibition against inter-Legion duels and fearfully lowered their weapons.
It had started as a simple test of martial prowess, but who would have expected that astartes to draw and fire?
Hmph, no honor in that.
The Space Wolves squad leader stood up and watched as Omega and his companion boarded the transit craft and sealed the door. He slapped his chestplate heavily and snorted.
"Squad leader, that one might be a company commander," the pack leader analyzed, moving closer.
The squad leader pulled his helm back on, irritated. "I know! Why else would he be traveling with a Magos? I knew it! How could he fight me to a standstill? He was hiding his strength the whole time, argh, that infuriating bastard!"
"This Alpha Legion is so secretive, they won't even remove their helms. Makes me really curious what they look like!"
"So, should we get the company commander?" The pack leader also showed a wolfish grin, intrigued.
The Space Wolves weren't afraid of being reported for unsanctioned duels. It was normal for warriors from two Legions to engage in martial combat to test their prowess, even if firearms got involved.
As long as it didn't escalate into a full squad brawl, the Emperor wouldn't intervene. That was the Fenrisian way.
Hearing this, the squad leader exchanged a glance with his pack leader and nodded with matching mischief.
The group of Space Wolves immediately abandoned their guard post and departed, intent on finding their company commander and forcing the Alpha Legionnaire to remove that damned helmet.
In the airborne craft, the Sage seated by the window rotated his augmetic optic, tracking the Space Wolves' position, and relayed what he observed to Omega.
"Astartes warriors come in many varieties," Omega said, exasperated.
After the two flew back to the starport and returned to the bridge, they found that no Legion-related incidents had been reported.
All issues had been resolved independently by their subordinates. Indeed, as the Sage had said, they were pretty secure on Shana.
Thinking of Horus's policy of clear rewards and punishments, Omega directed the Astra Militarum to compile records of those who had distinguished themselves in the previous campaign and forward them for his evaluation.
The next morning, Omega, who hadn't slept at all, discovered a deeper understanding of the Legion's composition by studying the Astra Militarum's officers and meritorious personnel. Clearly, simply understanding the Legion's organizational structure, warship capabilities, and administrative procedures was far from sufficient.
To truly comprehend a Legion, one needed to understand its people. Horus's methodology held significant practical value.
Just then, Alpharius, who hadn't been seen all night, returned.
He approached, picked up a sheet of parchment, and upon closer inspection found it to be a roster of Astra Militarum officers.
He asked, somewhat surprised, and Omega explained his reasoning.
"I didn't expect even you to admire Horus so much?" Alpharius said, his expression darkening.
The other Adepts paused, exchanging glances. Omega remained calm.
"I haven't met Horus and don't know him personally. I simply think his method of managing the Star Realm Army fleet has practical applications. This is standard military management doctrine; any planet with armed forces possesses this knowledge. Horus isn't the only one who employs it."
"It's just that Space Marines are so vastly superior to ordinary soldiers that when they encounter this knowledge, it seems novel."
"Really? Is that accurate, Magos Russell? Tell me." Alpharius, hearing this, realized his reaction had been excessive.
He glanced at the Apothecary, feeling somewhat embarrassed, though he already knew the answer.
The others looked to Russell, who responded with perfect composure. "Indeed, planets with standing armies generally possess such a military doctrine. Even tribal warriors dwelling in forests exhibit similar organizational behaviors."
Alpharius's mood darkened further. He sat heavily in a chair and, thinking of primitives again, said irritably, "Space Marines are transhumans, not barbarians! Of course, the recruits the Space Wolves draw can be considered uncivilized savages; they only induct warriors from barbaric tribes, which is why they attack warriors from other Legions without provocation!"
"I encountered them on my return this morning, and I nearly killed those wolf whelps. Truly an infuriating bunch!"
"I strongly agree," Omega said with a surprised but decisive expression.
Alpharius looked at him suspiciously, and Russell turned away. To encounter two Primarchs consecutively and get into a brawl with them? Those Space Wolves were either extremely fortunate or unfortunate.
Several days later, Omega rewarded and promoted the meritorious and capable warriors of the Astra Militarum based on his evaluations. The fleet's morale improved dramatically.
Although the warships already operated under the Imperium's standardized merit recognition system, its implementation was far less equitable than when Omega personally oversaw it.
More importantly, this was direct recognition from the Alpha Legion itself, making its significance profound.
Alpharius observed that the results were positive and accepted this modification. He had always possessed the wisdom to heed sound counsel from others.
There was wisdom in listening to others, as he described it.
Omega theorized that additional tactical doctrine might exist within the Astra Militarum's archives. Rather than maintaining the Astartes and Astra Militarum as two disconnected elements, he considered combining their tactics for greater efficiency.
For an entire month, Omega cycled through the archives of various warships, absorbing vast quantities of information. He annotated sections on conventional vehicle coordination, troop movement patterns, and supply line management, details that Astartes rarely considered.
The work was methodical, almost meditative. Alpharius, meanwhile, periodically descended to the surface to manage operational matters.
That month brought Omega not only qualitative improvement in fleet command but also, under the Mechanicum Sages' direction, substantial repairs to their fleet and replenishment of military supplies and armaments.
Missing personnel were recruited from Shana's hive cities. The warship complement recovered to just over eight hundred and twenty vessels.
A major factor was that all warships constructed by Forge World Shana had been requisitioned in advance by frontline Legions, and the Alpha Legion had barely secured a portion of the allocation.
With preparations complete, Alpharius determined their subsequent operational route: proceeding directly toward the Rangdan throneworld, Whirlwind-Mols, and its surrounding star systems to rendezvous with the Dark Angels. En route, they would eliminate and compress the Rangdan civilization's territorial holdings.
Over eight hundred and twenty void-craft gradually departed Forge World Shana, their ion drives blazing in formation as they accelerated to sub-light velocities and exited the system.
Before long, they arrived at a designated Warp translation point in the system's middle and outer regions.
One by one, the voidships performed their translations and entered Warp transit.
Compared to their previous Warp journey, which had felt turbulent and filled with bizarre psychic emanations, this warp's passage seemed remarkably calm and suitable for travel.
A month later, they arrived at a resource-depleted Rangdan world.
The total population of xenos, including slave populations, did not exceed ten million, and no void fleet was present. The Alpha Legion required less than a month to eliminate the alien presence.
After another translation, they arrived at a world half-covered in forest, half in ocean. This served as a Rangdan outpost. Even with a million xenos forces garrisoned there, it took less than a month to eliminate them.
They destroyed over fifty enemy voidships while the Imperial forces suffered no losses. This victory energized the Alpha Legion and shattered their previous assumptions about their Rangdan enemies.
This success stemmed largely from Omega synthesizing Alpha Legion doctrine with Astra Militarum tactics, creating more efficient strategic and tactical frameworks.
Alpharius understood everything about intelligence operations and covert warfare.
Still, when it came to Legion-scale tactics, he had been somewhat inflexible, not prioritizing the Star Realm Army vehicle crews and officers.
This posed no problem when facing less technologically advanced xenos civilizations.
However, when confronting a peer-level advanced civilization like the Rangdan, which was superior to humanity in certain weapons technologies, severe casualties would result. Alpharius was impressed by the rapid advancement in Omega's command capabilities and tactical acumen within such a compressed timeframe.
More importantly, he released his resentment toward Horus and began extensively studying the Astra Militarum's military command doctrine and strategic theory.
After all, these tactical principles weren't invented by Horus. Any Primarch could employ them.
Thanks to the enhanced strategic and tactical understanding of both Primarchs, subsequent campaigns saw numerous innovative approaches developed through a series of continuous victories.
The two even began dividing their forces, leading separate battlegroups to operate independently in adjacent star systems.
Some Rangdan worlds fell quickly, requiring only a month. Others, like Mylosak, demanded approximately half a year. Heavily defended Rangdan fortress worlds took several years.
The closer they advanced toward the Rangdan throneworld of Whirlwind-Mols, the longer each planetary conquest required.
Months became years. The casualty counts rose. Supply lines stretched thin across conquered territory.
Yet the Alpha Legion pressed forward, their forces refined by experience, their doctrine sharpened by each hard-won victory.
Ten years of relentless warfare. Thirty major and minor Rangdan worlds conquered. Hundreds of millions of Rangdan were eliminated. not counting countless slave armies caught in the crossfire.
Ten years of strategic campaigns, tactical innovations, and the gradual transformation of Alpharius and Omega from rivals into a formidable unified command.
Finally, after a decade of conquest along their operational corridor, the Alpha Legion arrived in the star system where the Dark Angels operated: Basiank.
[End of Chapter]