Dan Abnett - The Horus Heresy - Horus Rising

Their weapons caused more remarks. Most of the soldiers had swords sheathed across their backs. Some, the gleves, carried long-bladed metal spears with heavy ball counterweights on the base ends. The others, the sagit-tars, carried recurve bows wrought from some dark metal. The sagittars had sheaves of long, flightless darts laced to their right thighs.

'Bows?' Torgaddon whispered. 'Really? They stun us with the power and scale of their vessels, then come aboard carrying bows?'

They're probably ceremonial.’ Aximand murmured.

The soldier officers wore serrated half-discs across the skulls of their helmets. The visors of their close-fitting helms were all alike: the metal modelled to the lines of

brow and cheekbone and nose, with simple oval eyeslits that were backlit blue. The mouth and chin area of each visor was built out, like a thrusting, pugnacious jaw, containing a communication module.

Behind the slender soldiers, as a further escort, came heavier forms. Shorter, and far more thick-set, these men were similarly armoured, though in browns and golds. Loken supposed them to be heavy troopers, their bodies gene-bred for bulk and muscle, designed for close combat, but they carried no weapons. There were twenty of them, and they flanked five robotic creatures, slender, silver quadrupeds of intricate and elegant design, made to resemble the finest Terra-stock horses, except that they possessed no heads or necks.

'Artificials.’ Horas whispered aside to Maloghurst. 'Make sure Master Regulus is observing this via the pict feed. I'll want his notes later.’

One of the flagship's embarkation decks had been entirely cleared for the ceremonial meeting. Imperial banners had been hung along the vault, and the whole of First Company assembled in full plate as an honour guard. The Astartes formed two unwavering blocks of white figures, rigid and still, their front rows a glossy black line of Justaerin Terminators. In the aisle between the two formations, Horus stood with the Mournival, Maloghurst and other senior officials like Ing Mae Sing. The Warmaster and his lieutenants wore full armour and cloaks, though Horus's head was bare.

They watched the heavy interex shuttle move ponderously down the lighted runway of the deck, and settle on polished skids. Then hatch-ramps in its prow opened, the white metal unfolding like giant origami puzzles, and the envoys and their escorts disembarked. In total, with the soldiers and the meturge players, there were over one hundred of them. They came to a halt, with the envoys in a line at the front and the escort

arranged in perfect symmetry behind. Forty-eight hours of intense intership communication had preceded that cautious moment. Forty-eight hours of delicate diplomacy.

Horas gave a nod, and the men of First Company chested their weapons and bowed their heads in one, loud, unified motion. Horus himself stepped forward and walked alone down the aisle space, his cloak billowing behind him.

He came face to face with what seemed to be the senior envoy, made the sign of the aquila, and bowed.

1 greet you on-' he began.

The moment he started speaking, the meturge players began sounding their instruments softly. Horus stopped.

Translation form.’ the envoy said, his own words accompanied by meturge playing.

'It is disconcerting,' Horus smiled.

'For purposes of clarity and comprehension.’ the envoy said.

We appear to understand each other well enough.’ Horus smiled.

The envoy nodded curtly. Then I will tell the players to stop.’ he said.

'No.’ said Horus. 'Let us be natural. If this is your way.’

Again, the envoy nodded. The exchange continued, surrounded by the oddly melodied playing.

'I greet you on behalf of the Emperor of Mankind, beloved by all, and in the name of the Imperium of Terra.’

'On behalf of the society of the interex, I accept your greetings and return them.’

Thank you.’ said Horus.

'Of the first thing.’ the envoy said. You are from Terra?'

Yes.’

'From old Terra, that was also called Earth?'

Yes.’

This can be verified?'

'By all means.’ smiled Horns. "You know of Terra?'

An odd expression, like a pang, crossed the envoy's face, and he glanced round at his colleagues. We are from Terra. Ancestrally. Genetically It was our origin world, eons ago. If you are truly of Terra, then this is a momentous occasion. For the first time in thousands of years, the interex has established contact with its lost cousins.’

'It is our purpose in the stars.’ Horns said, 'to find all the lost families of man, cast away so long ago.’

The envoy bowed his head. 'I am Diath Shehn, abbro-carius.’

'I am Horus, Warmaster.’

The music of the meturge players made a slight, but noticeably discordant sound as it expressed 'Warmaster'. Shehn frowned.

'Warmaster?' he repeated.

The rank given to me personally by the Emperor of Mankind, so that I may act as his most senior lieutenant.’

'It is a robust title. Bellicose. Is your fleet a military undertaking?'

'It has a military component. Space is too dangerous for us to roam unarmed. But from the look of your fine soldiers, abbrocarius, so does yours.’

Shehn pursed his lips. 'You laid assault to Urisarach, with great aggression and vehemence, and in disregard to the advisory beacons we had positioned in the system. It would appear your military component is a considerable one.’

ЧУе will discuss this in detail later, abbrocarius. If an apology needs to be made, you will hear it directly from me. First, let me welcome you in peace.’

Horus turned, and made a signal. The entire company of Astartes, and the plated officers, locked off their weapons and removed their helms. Human faces, row after row. Openness, not hostility.

Shehn and the other envoys bowed, and made a signal of their own, a signal supported by a musical sequence. The warriors of the interex removed their visors, displaying clean, hard-eyed faces.

Except for the squat figures, the heavy troops in brown and gold. When their helmets came off, they revealed faces that weren't human at all.

THEY WERE CALLED the kinebrach. An advanced, mature species, they had been an interstellar culture for over fifteen thousand years. They had already founded a strong, multi-world civilisation in the local region of space before Terra had entered its First Age of Technology, an era when humanity was only just feeling its way beyond the Solar system in sub-light vehicles.

By the time the interex encountered them, their culture was aging and fading. A territorial war developed after initial contact, and lasted for a century. Despite the kinebrach's superior technology, the humans of the interex were victorious, but, in victory, they did not annihilate the aliens. Rapprochement was achieved, thanks in part to the interex's willingness to develop the aria to facilitate a more profound level of inter-species communication. Faced with options including further warfare and exile, the kinebrach elected to become client citizens of the expanding interex. It suited them to place their tired, flagging destiny in the charge of the vigorous and progressive humans. Culturally bonded as junior partners in society, the kinebrach shared their technological advances by way of exchange. For three thousand years, the interex humans had successfully coexisted with the kinebrach.

'Conflict with the kinebrach was our first significant alien war.’ Diath Shehn explained. He was seated with the other envoys in the Warmaster's audience chamber. The Mournival was present, and meturge players lined the walls, gently accompanying the talks. 'It taught us a great deal. It taught us about our place in the cosmos, and certain values of compassion, understanding and empathy. The aria developed directly from it, as a tool for use in further dealings with non-human parties. The war made us realise that our very humanity, or at least our trenchant dependance on human traits, such as language, was an obstacle to mature relations with other species.’