The Crimson Fist (Novella)
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This article is about the novella. For other uses of Crimson Fist, see Crimson Fist (disambiguation). |
'True strength is born in pain.'
– Ancient Terran proverb[2b]
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| Author | John French | |
| Performer | Jonathan Keeble | |
| Publisher | Black Library | |
| Series | Horus Heresy Series | |
| Released | September 25, 2012 May 4, 2014 | |
| Pages | 93 | |
| Length | 3 hours | |
| Collected in | Shadows of Treachery | |
| Editions | 2012 softcover ISBN 9781849703475 September 2012 e-audio June 2014 hardcover | |
The Crimson Fist is a novella by John French in the Horus Heresy Series. It was first published in Shadows of Treachery (Anthology) on September 25, 2012, and re-published in June 2014.[1]
Cover Description
Becalmed in the backwater Phall system, the Imperial Fists' relief fleet originally headed for Isstvan III has been waiting out the warp storms that waylaid them so many months ago. Under the assumed command of Captain Alexis Polux and seemingly forgotten by the rest of the Imperium, they hope yet to complete their mission and report back to their primarch Rogal Dorn, so that they might return to the greater conflict. But destiny calls as old rivalries are rekindled, and the treacherous Iron Warriors await their moment to strike – the feud between Dorn and his wayward brother Perturabo promises now to erupt into open war.[1]
Notable Characters
- Rogal Dorn — Primarch of the Imperial Fists, and Praetorian of Terra[2a]
- Perturabo — Primarch of the Iron Warriors[2a]
- Sigismund — First Captain[2a]
- Amandus Tyr — Captain, 6th Company, Commander of the Halcyon.[2a]
- Pertinax — Captain, 14th Company, Commander of the Hammer of Terra.[2a]
- Alexis Polux — Captain, 405th Company, Master of the Retribution Fleet.[2a]
- Raln — Sergeant, 1st Squad, 405th Company.[2a]
- Imperial Personnel
- Armina Fel — Senior Astropath.[2a]
- Calio Lezzek — The Retribution Fleet's Master of Astropaths.[2a]
- Halm Basus — Navigator Primus of the Tribune.[2a]
Plot Summary
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The following paragraphs contain spoilers for: | The Crimson Fist (Novella) |
In a dream, Alexis Polux experiences once more one of the tests to join the Imperial Fists: journeying across the Splintered Lands of Inwit. He has been wounded by a local carnivore and is helped by his twin Helias. The latter sacrifices himself to save his brother.[2c]
~006.M31. Polux awakens drifting in space, one of the few survivors of ships wrecked by warp storms. He is rescued by remaining elements of the Retribution Fleet sent by Rogal Dorn to punish Horus Lupercal after the Battle of Isstvan III. With fleet master Yonnad dead, command falls upon Polux aboard the Tribune, and he suspects the force has been trapped in Phall System.[2d] First Captain Sigismund, who asked to be relieved of the Retribution Fleet's command prior to its departure, is charged by his Primarch to secure materiel from Mars before it falls to traitor Mechanicum.[2e]
53 days later. While the Retribution Fleet's astropaths pay a heavy toll trying to contact Terra, Captain Amandus Tyr repeatedly advocates for a massive break through the storms. Polux maintains his decision to favour static defense, considering the risk to the fleet too great as they have already lost ten ships to reconnaissance missions. The fleet is assaulted by a wave of psychic bursts.[2f]
60 days later. Polux's boarding drill is interrupted by news from scouting parties: they have found a machine made up of sensor arrays and psi-amplifiers, built around a now deceased human. The fleet master understands it is an elaborate form of transmitter, meant to gather intelligence prior to an attack.[2g] Dorn receives word of the Drop Site Massacre, and insists Terra's astropaths make contact with the Retribution Fleet.[2h] The Iron Warriors receive the intelligence from Phall's psi-array, and Perturabo elects to lead an attack on the Imperial Fists, believing Sigismund to be in command.[2i]
27 days later. Sigismund tells Dorn the truth: he asked to remain on Terra because Euphrati Keeler told him his primarch would need him, and otherwise he would die at Phall. Furious, Dorn declares the First Captain to be no son of his but orders him to go on as usual, so none will know of his weakness.[2j]
The day after. The Iron Warriors attack, driving a wedge of voidships into the defensive sphere maintained by Polux for over four months. While the IV relentlessly destroy everything in their path, ships of the VII begin eating away at the traitors. Upon learning that Perturabo is leading the assault, Polux orders Tyr to execute him. Orders to return to Terra reach the Retribution Fleet, whose master complies and signals a general withdrawal. Tyr, who has boarded the Iron Blood, refuses to fall back and is killed by Perturabo. Loyalist losses are high, and the Tribune is boarded. Polux has the ship scuttled and leads a boarding of Erasmus Golg's Contrador, killing her captain and commandeering her before running away from the traitor fleet.[2k]
After an indeterminate amount of time, the Contrador emerges from the warp, believing to have reached Terra but finding herself far from home.[2l]
See also
Sources
- 1: Black Library - The Crimson Fist (saved archive page, dated 9 April 2017, last accessed 07 September 2024, original link: https://www.blacklibrary.com/the-horus-heresy/quick-reads/the-crimson-fist-ebook.html)
- 2: The Crimson Fist (Novella)
- 2a: Dramatis Personae
- 2b: epigraphs
- 2c: Prologue – The Nightside of Inwit
- 2d: One hundred and forty-one days before the Battle of Phall – The Phall System
- 2e: One hundred and forty-one days before the Battle of Phall – The Imperial Palace, Terra
- 2f: Eighty-eight days before the Battle of Phall – The Phall System
- 2g: Twenty-eight days before the Battle of Phall – The Phall System
- 2h: Twenty-eight days before the Battle of Phall – The Imperial Palace, Terra
- 2i: Twenty-eight days before the Battle of Phall – The Isstvan System
- 2j: The eve of the Battle of Phall – The Imperial Palace, Terra
- 2k: The day of the Battle of Phall – The Phall System
- 2l: Epilogue – [time/location unknown]