Marneus Augustus Calgar was standing next to his Primarch in the throne room. Any second, Uriel Ventris would arrive and they would hopefully get some answers to their questions. Calgar just hoped that Knight House Hastings really had had the required information.

“Do you think the captain was successful?” Guilliman suddenly asked.

Calgar turned to his Primarch and answered:

“If there was any information to get, Uriel certainly got it, your Excellency.”

“He has a little bit of an eventful past, doesn’t he?”

“Even though that is true - or perhaps because it is true - captain Uriel Ventris is one of the best Ultramarines to ever serve the chapter.”

Now there was a knock on the door and the captain entered the room. He walked up to Guilliman’s throne, then he knelt down.

“Your Excellency, my Lord”, Ventris said,
“I am reporting back to you. My missions have been successful. Allow me to add my congratulations on your return.”

Calgar smiled. He knew Uriel would not disappoint him.

“Thank you, Captain Ventris,” Guilliman answered,
“and welcome back to Macragge. Now rise and tell me what you found out about the activities of the ‘Hastings Brothers’.”

Uriel rose and started talking:

“Your Excellency, though a lot of data has been lost in the Age of Strife, there fortunately are still records telling about a deep space colony and scientific base. Its location is unknown now, but there is information about the research they did there. Perhaps you would like to hear it from a member of Knight House Hastings?”

Guilliman raised an eyebrow.

“So one of them accompanied you?”

“Two, your Excellency. They are sons of the princeps: Jeffrey and Frederick Hastings. They are waiting for your permission to enter.”

“Actually, we just wanted the information, not members of House Hastings nosing around here…”

“I am aware of that, my Lord, but it was the price for the information. To ease our worries about their loyalty, they became Freeblades and vowed fealty to us.”

“They turned their back on their House?”

“They did, though with the consent of their father.”

“Well, send them in,” Guilliman said.

Now two humans entered the room. While one of them was taller than the other, it was easy to see that those two men were brothers, and both had neural interfaces implanted into their heads that became even better visible when they knelt down.

“Jeffrey Hastings, at your service,” the smaller one said.

“Frederick Hastings, at your service,” the other one added.

“Welcome to Macragge, Freeblades,” Guilliman greeted them,
“I heard you swore featly to the Ultramarines?”

“We did, your Excellency,” Jeffrey said,
“it was the best way to assure you of our loyalty and trustworthiness. Our father sends his regards and asks you to allow us to join your enterprise.”

Guilliman glanced at Uriel, but before he could say a word, Jeffrey continued:

“Your Excellency, it was not too difficult for our father to figure out that you were planning something. The Ultramarines are simply too pragmatic to ask questions about an ancient deep space colony without a specific reason.
He also realized that you were not too keen on the company of the Adeptus Mechanicus, which means that there is something they would probably feel compelled to claim for themselves or even destroy. Since our House is sworn to the Mechanicum, becoming Freeblades was the only way to regard your obvious wishes. In return, our father just asks you to share your knowledge once this enterprise is over.”

“What about the Adeptus Mechanicus?” Guilliman wanted to know.

“Officially, the visit of your Strike Cruiser was labeled as a courtesy visit. I have to admit, though, that it is still possible that they came to the same conclusions as we did.”

“Well, be that as it may, please tell me know everything you know about this deep space colony.”

Jeffrey cleared his voice and started:

“The colony was a science colony with a base called ‘Phoenix’ at its heart. It was created late in the Golden Age and quickly became the main science facility of my family. Well, back then, the Knight House Hastings was just a corporation called ‘Hastings Brothers’, but this corporation still was very important and market leader in many areas. They did most of their research in this remote facility, as secrecy was quite easy to maintain that far out. They invented lots of STCs and played a vital role in humanity’s success as a species…”

“As our teachers never grew tired telling us…” Frederick mumbled in annoyance.

Calgar grinned. Knight House Hastings had a reputation for being quite proud of themselves. It was funny to see that even some of its members were somewhat fed up with their attitude. Despite their pride, though, they were still seen as reliable and very capable fighters, so at least they were proud for a reason.

Jeffrey gave his brother a dirty look and continued:

“Well, they surely worked for the good of all mankind. They created armor plating, weapons, but also communication systems and studied various phenomena, from the Warp to…”

“Genetics research.” Guilliman said calmly.

The Hastings brothers looked surprised.

“Indeed, your Excellency,” Jeffrey confirmed.

“Might we ask how you got to know about this base and its projects?” Frederick asked.

“Just a dream,” Guilliman told them flatly, causing the brothers to look even more dumbfounded,
“I accept your services and allow you to take part in this ‘enterprise’ of ours. Still, the details will remain a secret, for the benefit of mankind. Now, go and get your Knights onto the surface. In the meantime, we will prepare quarters for you and your entourage.”

Jeffrey and Frederick bowed deep and left the throne room.

Guilliman turned to Uriel:

“You have indeed successfully completed this mission, Captain. Albeit in a rather unexpected way, it was still well done. Now, tell me about the patrol you have originally been on.”

About a month later, a ship entered the system. While this fact alone would not have been worth mentioning, as countless ships entered and left the system every single day, this specific ship drew quite some attention:
It was an Ark Mechanicus, identifying itself as ‘Zar-Quaesitor’.
At first Calgar had thought it to be an attempt of the Mechanicum to find out what the Ultramarines were planning, but the Primarch had told him differently. The Zar-Quaesitor was the ship of Belisarius Cawl, the archmagos Guilliman was expecting.
Even more attention drew the ‘present’ the archmagos had for Guilliman, for it was something unheard of, yes even unthought of:
Primaris Space Marines.
Bigger, faster and stronger than ‘regular’ Astartes, Cawl praised them as the next step in the evolution of the Space Marines. While this could not really be denied, some Ultramarines were less than happy about their new brothers. Some were worried to be obsolete now, others thought that the Primaris were a deviation from the Emperor’s Space Marine concept and therefore heresy. Even the fact that Primarch Guilliman himself had ordered Cawl to create them right after the Horus Heresy had ended was not too successful in easing their worries.

Now, Marneus Calgar, Guilliman, Cawl, Varro Tigurius, Ortan Cassius and every captain not on a mission were gathered in the throne room, discussing the matter.

“Their performance speaks for itself,” Cawl stated,
“I heard one of the Primaris battle-brothers was able to defeat a far more experienced sergeant in a training fight.”

That was true. The sergeant had lost that fight, and the Primaris had fought honorable and had even reached out to him once the fight was over.

“Though he was unable to defeat a captain after that,” Cato Sicarius interjected.

That was also true. After the first fight, Cato had seen that this loss had been anything but good for the morale of the Ultramarines, so he had challenged the Primaris to another fight. Despite the Primaris’ physical superiority, Cato’s experience and prowess granted him victory, and he also had reached out to his beaten opponent.

“They may be lacking experience, but time and combat will change that,” Cawl stated.

“The question is not if they are superior to us ‘normal’ Marines - which they are, by the way - the question is how to integrate them into our ranks,” Cassius said,
“there are still some resentments against them, though I can say that their honorable behavior was of advantage.”

“Still, what about the ‘normal Marines’, as the chaplain put it?” one of the captains asked,
“they deserve better than to be seen as some kind of inferior predecessor.”

“They are inferior predecessors now,” Cawl told him coldly.

This caused quite some turmoil, until Guilliman silence everyone with a wave of his hand.

“My sons,” he said,
“calm down. Nobody has ever doubted your courage or your honor. But the Primaris were created for the darkest of times, and that time is about to come. We have to use them, just as you are used to guard mankind against the heretic, the mutant and the xeno. I assure you, no one will ever disvalue a traditional Ultramarine, nor will that Ultramarine ever be considered expendable. The Primaris may be superior, but that is no reason to reject them.
Say, do battle-brothers despise their sergeants because their prowess is superior to their own?
Do sergeants hate their captains for the same reason?”

“Of course they don’t, your Excellency,” another captain replied,
“but I think the situation is a little different here; an Ultramarine can strive to increase his prowess and be promoted, but he can’t strive to become a Primaris.”

“Can’t he?” Calgar suddenly asked.

Guilliman looked at Calgar, then he turned to Cawl:

“You heard him. Can’t he?”

“According to my calculations, such a conversion is possible, but the chance of failure is 61.6%.”

“And failure means?” Uriel Ventris asked.

“Death,” Cawl said,
“even in the case of success you will consider the process to be agonizing.”

“Yeah?”

“Probability: 99.4%.”

“Sounds like fun,” Sicarius mumbled sarcastically.

“I volunteer,” Calgar said without sarcasm,
“hopefully, this will set an example and make the integration of the Primaris easier.”

“Beyond that,” Cawl added,
“the data I will collect during the operation will help me increase the chances of success.”

“Then, it is settled,” Guilliman said,
“Cawl, prepare everything for the procedure.”

“At once, Primarch Guilliman.”

Calgar entered the surgery after the preparations had been finished. The intense smell of counterseptic almost made him cough as he looked around. The room was lined with equipment along its walls and in its center, an artfully carved marble slab was standing, surrounded my Apothecaries, Tech-Priests, medical servitors and Belisarius Cawl.

“Very inviting,” Calgar noticed drily.

Cawl, who was standing directly next to the slab, turned to regard him:

“The room is prepared for the operation, everything else is a coincidence. Please take your place now so that we can start.”

Calgar nodded and did as he had been told.

The operation was extensive, difficult and fatal - at least for a few dire minutes in which Calgar’s life slipped away, but in the end, he lived, forced back to life by his new, even more transhuman physique.
He wasn’t sure if it had been Cawl’s skills, sheer luck or perhaps a blessing of the Emperor that had allowed him to survive, but now that he was alive and had been allowed to leave the infirmary he was on his way to the throne room.
His armor had been adapted to his new size and he quickly adapted to his altered body, too. As he entered the room, he was greeted by Guilliman:

“Calgar! Good to see you up and about again.”

The Primarch had honored him with a visit when he had still been in the infirmary. Now was indeed the first time since the operation that Calgar was not lying in a sickbed - partly to recover, partly to be examined by Cawl.

“Thank you, your Excellency,” Calgar replied and bowed,
“I am just thankful that the Fortress of Hera was built with creatures of your size in mind, otherwise it might have gotten seriously annoying.”

Guilliman laughed and waved Calgar nearer, then he turned to a guard:

“Please tell Tigurius that he may come now.”

The guard bowed and got busy with his vox while the Primarch turned back to Calgar:

“He said he has an idea concerning the mission we are planning, and since this will be your mission, we thought it wise to wait until you are ready for duty again.”

It took Tigurius a few minutes to make it to the throne room. After greeting them and the guards leaving the room, he told them what he had been thinking about:

“As you know, the creatures brother Varus - and we - have to deal with are equines. So I thought it would be a good idea to include someone who has experience with horses.”

“Such experience is rare in our ranks,” Calgar noted,
“there are not many horses in the Realm of Ultramar, just a few living on rural planets in the outskirts. We barely recruit Space Marines from there.”

“Yes, but I have found one Ultramarine who knows horses, as his family had some.”

“Who is this Marine?”

“Brother Parvus.”

“Parvus!” Calgar exclaimed.

“Is something wrong with brother Parvus?” Guilliman asked.

“Well, I would not call it downright ‘wrong’, your Excellency,” Calgar told him,
“it is just that brother Parvus is a dreadnought, and becoming this mighty machine of war has… taken its toll.”

“‘Toll’?”

“His memory is somewhat… unreliable. While he still is great in combat due to the support of cogitators, talking to him can be a little… stressful. But I am confident we will be able to handle the situation. With your permission, I will visit him and see if he still knows something about equines.”

“Permission granted. Keep me up to date.”

A few minutes later, Calgar was standing in front of the giant dreadnought. He had already ordered the Techmarines to awaken him, and now he was waiting for a sign of life. Or whatever.

Staring at the machine, Calgar contemplated the fate of Parvus and the other Ultramarines who had been deemed worthy to continue their duty as dreadnoughts, bringing death to the enemies of mankind even after their own deaths. If he was completely honest with himself, he had to admit that he would not really mind being denied this honor. Death was probably not that bad, after all…

Suddenly, there was a sound from the dreadnought, and Calgar focused on Parvus.

“I HAVE RETURNED!” Parvus roared with the typical mechanical voice of those machines of war.

“Greetings, brother,” Calgar said friendlily.

“IS IT TIME FOR WAR?”

“Nowadays, it is always time for war, but that is not why I need you.”

A few seconds of silence, then Parvus replied:

“WELL, THAT IS RATHER UNUSUAL. WHAT DO YOU NEED?”

“First of all, please lower your volume a bit. Second, tell me if you know anything about horses.”

“HORSES? I mean: horses? That is a surprise. Who asks such a question? Wait, you are Chapter Master… Caligar?”

“Calgar, Brother.”

“Have you grown?”

Calgar sighed and answered:

“Sort of, but that is a long story. Please tell me, do you have knowledge of horses?”

“My family had horses when I was just a boy. Interesting creatures, but unsuitable for the kind of wars we fight.”

“This is not about using them for wars. We just have to be able to deal with them.”

“With whom?”

“Oh, here we go. With horses.”

“My family had horses when I was just a boy!”

“Yes, that’s why I want to know if you still know anything about them.”

“Of course, Lord Calgary. I know how to look after them, how to feed them and so on. Why do you want to know?”

“That is a long story, too.”

“Well, I have got time as I don’t think I will suddenly die… again.”

“Sorry, Brother, but this information is strictly confidential. Still, we will go on a mission once everything is prepared, and we would like you to join us. As soon as we are on our way, everything will be explained to you.”

“An important mission, I presume? That would explain all the secrecy.”

“A very important mission, Brother.”

“Then count me in! I will aid you with my strength, weapons and my knowledge about bovines!”

“Equines, Brother.”

“Equines? You mean, horses? I know those creatures quite well! My family had horses when I was just a boy!”

“What a coincidence…” Calgar sighed.

After this slightly arduous conversation, he returned to the throne room.

“And?” Guilliman inquired,
“will brother Parvus be helpful?”

“I think so, your Excellency,” Calgar replied,
“according to him, he still knows about horses and is willing to join us, even without knowing what really is going on.”

“Good. Then, we just have to wait for the Sword of Iax to be ready, then you can start.”

“Yes, your Excellency. I have to admit, I am looking forward to this mission.”