The Empty Crusade (Horus Heresy)

Idealism in the face of reality. That is what some accused the high lords of as they agreed to the abolishment of slavery in all Imperial Subjects. Many polities railed against it and that made going into talks about what would be classified as slavery a hazardous affair. Even as war battered the Imperium its heart was tearing into itself, the arguments were so great and so heated that Guilliman had needed to pull back from preparing the logistics of the invasion to herd the cats that called themselves the Imperial Council.

"Slavery must be banned with a broad a brush as we can create no person should live in unwanted labor." The voice of a young man only a century into his life echoed at the heart of the empire.

"What is a person? Surely you would not ask we release horses from their bondage under this edict." The quip returning from one of the managers of an agrisystem, it was clear he was exaggerating his opponents position but whether he did so to point out a perceived flaw or to create a straw man to break down was unclear.

"Of course reason is needed to be considered to be beyond the rightful bonds of ownership." The young representative spoke again his time on the floor going from a place to sway others to a shooting gallery from those many times his senior.

"Reason is a low bar, one can claim computators, and servitors are able to reason they process logical commands as is their creation as is their make. But surely anyone who has interacted with them would not claim them as a person." One of the representatives of one of the many Mechanicum planets put out her voice deeply hissing with static as she spoke.

The speaker shouted a smile overtaking his face and a glint in his eyes when some sort of plan came together. "But are not servitors created from humans from those that we would wish not to enslave. Rather than argue that servitors are people and therefore slaves I will argue that the process of creating a servitor is the same thing that we are trying to disallow with that edict to disallow slavery."

The hall was silent for nearly a second before everyone bursted out shouting and yelling with their own responses to that statement. This went on for nearly a minute before the hall was silenced as Guilliman spoke, his voice not raising to yells but overpowering all others who wished to interject. "The exact legality of servitor creation is not the precise purpose of this gathering. So we will have to return to it at a later date. For this time I will state that it is clear that servitories created from vat grown humans never tasting awareness are clearly not in the remnant of what we wish to disallow here."

"It's your broadness of what can be classified as slavery when you use the term involuntary service is ridiculous as to make it meaningless. Many of us, the Imperium itself especially in emergencies or as a general tool to increase the amount of soldiers needed for the Crusade." An old general put out clearly concerned that to open a definition would disallow this practice and hamper the ongoing wars.

"Why should slavery be allowed mearly because the slaves are made into soldiers." The speaker responded with his voice trying to mask the frustration at the Emperor ending the tangent of the servitors.

"You would rather see ten dead to one in service to his world or the empire without consent." The general snapped back.

"What I think he means to say is that there are many places to draw forces such that if one doesn't mind the delay or slight reduction in numbers we could switch worlds over to a voluntary service system." All turned as the Matriarch of Selenar cult's spoke her voice strangely alluring and drawing all eyes to her. The Selenar rarely got involved in debates and often would not dane to send a representative merely because they had many things to do and thought that any who could speak on their behalf had enough skills it was a waste to send them.

"I… yes the Matriarch is correct, for all but the most backwater worlds the necessity to draw civilians into combat doesn't exist." The speaker caught himself but was quickly returning to the groove.

"How would we pay the manpower tithe?" It was a simple voice from one of the Uranian representatives, his disfigured form tight around the cane as he stood. He looked passionate despite the lack of tone to his voice. "If we can not draw on our population how do we keep up with the demands of the Imperium and retain our own defensive forces."

Guilliman had returned to his throne as the conversation settled down working out when drafts were slavery and when not. He looked over to Constantine who stood beside him in his black armor silent and still. "How goes the war?" He had been stuck in the council chamber for nearly a week, his superhuman physiology keeping him from getting tired or worn out by the constant awareness required to manage this rabble but his mind grew weary. And he was annoyed that the Imperial Council couldn't manage itself so instead of helping to recover Magnus from the heart of this Ork infestation he was trapped here. He could only hope that Perturabo was able to conduct the first grand war of the Imperium by himself and that his brothers escaped the Orks alive.

"Many things are happening my liege though I feel that the most pressing is…" The custodian began to give Guilliman details of the war and of its notable events focusing on.

[]The Front
The state of the Imperial Army as they grind against the forces of the Orks.
[]The Spear
The Legionary forces pushing into the ork fighting back.
[]The Mind
Of actions of the Sigillite who had begun to act off Terra in response to the Orks.
[]The Heart
Of scattered reports and scoutings hinting at the fate of his brothers trapped behind enemy lines.

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The walls of the imperium held back the tides, and while they took damage the Imperium can move on. Those in power see that they can use their control over important resources to bludgeon those they dislike below them. While the Imperium itself begins to shift and consider itself as an ideological group more than just a defensive pact.

However rebellions and discontent of some groups has required Guilliman to leave the front line to keep the empire together leaving Perturabo as the Master of War, only time would tell if he would take to the appointment. At the heart of the Orks the fate of Magnus and Ferrus is unknown.