Warhammer 40: Shattered Steel Soul

Chapter 69 Treasured Things 2.0
A few days ago, Perturabo began to think secretly about what kind of punishment his legion could accept.

It is not necessary to be too heavy, only crazy people will let their soldiers waste their lives needlessly; but if the punishment is too light, Perturabo doubts that these loyal soldiers will feel even more guilty.

Should the person who made the mistake be pushed to the front line?

This set of punishment was very effective in Olympia, but it seemed hard to call it a punishment for the brave and fearless Astartes in front of him.

Order the person who made the mistake to go to the rear to take care of the logistics?

That would interfere with the normal operation of the logistics support system.

And now, he had a whole new inspiration from Morse—though he would have preferred that the dreadful inducement for which it had been inspired had never happened to this world.

"You think it was your mistake to ask for help when you first met me. This is your insistence, so I will not bluntly emphasize your innocence."

"At the same time, I have looked through your battle records over the years. Even the most tolerant commander here cannot praise your battle decisions for being flawless and error-free."

"So I decided to let you remember the mistakes you made."

Perturabo's breathing slowed, and the sea of ​​steel fell into a demoralizing silence with him.His fingers tapped lightly on the platform of the auditorium, as if he was mastering the breathing rhythm of the Legion.

"I hope that each independent team will have a warrior who can clearly remember the mistakes he made in the battle - one is enough! It doesn't have to be a step forward for everyone."

All the members of the Iron Legion collectively moved forward in a silent tacit understanding, and gradually some of the iron shells that had just been painted with new yellow and black paint reluctantly stepped back at the request of the original body.

Even so, ten seconds later, the number of Iron Warriors standing in the front row still exceeded 30.00%.

Perturabo simply calculated in his mind the space he reserved for the city design, and whether his hand would hurt when he went back later, so he had to give a clear indicator: "One out of ten people can stand, and the rest Return all the ones you placed! Don’t let me choose them myself.”

After the next ten seconds, the number of people willing to accept punishment finally dropped to a level that Perturabo could accept.

He picked up the heavy notepad that had been placed on the podium in advance, grabbed it in his palm and walked off the stage, and came to his heirs, looking down at the group of flesh and blood in steel.

"What's your name?" he asked calmly. "What mistakes have you made?"

The Iron Warriors loudly reported: "Bonan Gaines, the third battalion of the fifth battalion, in the battle against the alien, once misjudged the alien's body structure, causing the opponent to survive after being hit, and injured ten combat brothers. "

Perturabo nodded, wrote down the name and corresponding situation on the paper, and ordered: "You take one step forward."

Then he came to the next Astartes.

"The first battalion of the seventh battalion, Ribeiro Evans, ran out of ammunition at the end of a battle due to wasting explosive bombs, so he had to use the gun itself as a cold weapon to attack."

"You retreat to the team."

"Eric Anderson, the Ninth Battalion of the Second Battalion, was stuck in the middle of the building materials due to a miscalculation of the hardness of the building materials, and missed the opportunity to fight."

"Why is it stuck?"

"Half on one side...half on the other side."

"You also move forward. In addition, the formal part of this collective meeting has ended, and the remaining statistics will take a long extra time. Other fighters can leave the field early."

No one moved the length of a sage leaf, and Perturabo didn't care.Instead of leaving the theater to rest rationally, these heirs wished to be in the same space with him forever.This is the first formal meeting with them, so let's satisfy their unspoken wishes for the time being.

By the time all the personnel statistics were completed, the time had passed from early morning to evening.There were less than a thousand soldiers who did not return to the team, and they remained motionless in the evening wind.

Perturabo's notebook was also full.He exhaled, his warm breath floating in the cool air.

Perturabo returned to the stage, looking at his legion.He no longer pretended to be harsh, on the contrary, his tone softened a little.

"I will announce the specific punishment next, my warriors. You have been waiting for a long time."

"The warriors who just returned to the team under my order listened to my order. I have left an open space in the core area of ​​Lokos Capital City. Before we leave Olympia and sail to Terra, I hope to build a grand enough Iron Warriors Memorial there. .”

"It's up to you to design the building. It must be stable and solid, easy to maintain and repair, and allow large numbers of space warriors to visit."

"If there is any damage caused by the loopholes left over from the construction within a hundred years, I hope that you will still be alive to accept my new round of investigation."

"And the soldiers who stayed in the front row will come back here tomorrow to get your sculpture designs. Likewise, before we set sail, I hope to see each of your statues with your names engraved on the base. , displayed in the memorial hall, the object of the carving and the author must be the same person.

"Whether it is the momentary image of misjudgment, or the momentary gesture of unnecessary attacks, I hope that the scenes of your mistakes can be permanently preserved in physical form, and at the same time serve as a warning to yourself and your descendants. At least a hundred years later Inside, I hope that the first sculptures are still intact."

He saw his sea of ​​steel collectively sink into the stillness after the cement solidified, and a trace of relaxed and pure happiness involuntarily rose in his heart.

This may be the mood Morse felt when he kept his growth record.

"Each of you pays attention to honor and disgrace, so I will help you to remember all this further. Considering that you today have not studied the art, I personally designed statues for you-and also, My respect to Eric Anderson The shape described was so intriguing that I will carve his one myself."

Anderson shook his whole body.

"The same is true thereafter. After the end of the staged battle, or the end of the large-scale battle, I will select a fighter who performed particularly well and performed particularly badly in each independent team, and share their most brilliant or worst moments with The form of stone carving is preserved forever."

"Normally, you will carve your own statue, and I will approve your finished product and leave an evaluation. You need to engrave my evaluation on the base of your statue."

"Some situations that interest me, I will do the carving myself in my free time. For example, in this battle, in addition to the statue of Anderson, I will also personally carve the group portraits of you shooting the enemies I throw. Participate in the shooting later Those who come to me to report, I want to leave your name on the pedestal."

"The sites of the memorial are not limited to Olympia either. Terra, the solar system, and all the places we have conquered and allowed our troops to garrison, including my future flagship, will have room for the Iron Warriors memorial."

"From now on, we will open the memorial hall for large-scale events such as recruitment of recruits, internal celebrations, legion exchanges, and the emperor's visit, and welcome any new combat brothers to enter the museum with the rest of the fighters for humanity."

"This is my unique punishment and reward. I don't mind writing it into military regulations."

"We shall remember our glory and our shame, and treasure our history and time, till the end of all things in the world, by the stone that never changes."

-

"Do you regret it?" Morse leisurely looked through the hundreds of drawings that Perturabo had drawn all night long, and then glanced at Perturabo who was drawing with both hands at the same time. "Imagination Is it enough? Does your hand hurt?"

"No." Perturabo replied quickly and continued drawing.He had to hand over everyone's statue designs before dawn.Anyway, it was just such a special situation, and they would be left to design it themselves in the future.

"Well... yes." Morse shrugged, "Then you go on. After you finish painting, let's discuss that I need to leave temporarily to help your father with some work."

(End of this chapter)