Theo came forth adding his honesty with Isaiah and there sergeant. "I too like Isaiah supported the Sergeant decision, To let the xenos live so they would know to flee if they ever saw any of humanity to flee from them and know that we will strike them down if they ever engage us in combat." Theo said continuing to speak. "I accept any punishment along with Isaiah, and Caphen for supporting the decision." Theo said looking to the captain now. He would not let him self simply abandon Caphen and Isiah for he to knew he supported the decision.

<Briefing chambers - Pride of the Emperor>
@matt23 @EvicusDasan1 @DeranVendar @Grall_Stonefist @Avenging-Angel @Uriel1339 @Vulpas @Casavay

"Thank the Emperor you started talking, it was quite boring while you did the silent treatment to Vespasian over there," a melodic voice spoke from a shadowy gantry nearby, "But I respect you following the chain of command. Anyway, glad that's over."

Stepping down, dressed in finest purple silken robes was a perfection made manifest. First among equals, a god of war, powerful like the bird he was given name by. Fulgrim walked down the steps, loosely followed by his ever-vigilant Phoenix Guard. Even thought he was out of his armor and had no weapons on him, there was a barely hidden threat radiating from him, his fluid movements telling as if he could jump to combat in less then a heartbeat. His steps were perfectly matched, the weight distribution flawless and some of them who saw Striking Scorpion Exarch or even the dark eldar Archon could see that those aliens possessed something like that, or in better words they hoped to match Lord of the III Legion in it, but it was clear as a day that if he was the one fighting them on X077, none of them would be able to flee for Fulgrim was a light year ahead of them all.

Vespasian, Valerion and Charmosian all bowed their heads as their Lord approached them, standing taller than all of them in the room. His face was powdered, the color of whitest marble and his hair was framed loosely around his head while his purple eyes spoke of both destruction and salvation in equal measure.

"I have read the report given to us by honorable Father Korda, as well as reports given about your squad and exploits during your first deployment and I must say, my mind is in conflict. Basically, everything you did you did half way. During first mission, you fought admirably and killed many greenskins as well as their big contraption, however you failed stopping the artillery guns from firing. During this mission you had to fight three different enemies and despite the disadvantage you succeeded in killing most of them, but you let few of them go. Maybe this list of "accomplishments" could be attributed to your youth, but becoming a battle brother in the III Legion means that there should be no excuses anymore. You either do it and achieve perfection or you die trying."

"And another thing," Fulgrim said and eyed Caphen in particular, "I understand you were given rank by means of battlefield promotion but know that Vespasian here must now confirm it so it becomes final, and I also understand you had to do some hard choices. I will not comment them at all, your choice of saving the eldar speaks for itself, however what I would like to talk about is how your squad mates see you."

"I'm sure you understand that half of your squad at the moment would like nothing more but to see you getting stripped of your rank, not because they hate you or envy you, but because they don't trust you. And here lies the problem. A leader cannot be second-guessed by his warriors but in order to achieve that, they first must believe in his every decision. And in order for that to happen, they must first respect him. Respect as you know, is not something given but something earned through action and words."

"Your brother Destroyer acted on his own not in spite, but because he believed your choice of action was wrong and what do you do now? You speak ill against him in front of your Chaplain, your Captain and your Lord Commander, not to mention me as well. That sparked the reaction in others and now you have a disorder. You must learn one important thing. You must treat every brother in your squad like your equal and you must protect their lives more than you protect your own. They are yours to guide and shape and if they go against you, it doesn't speak of their misdoings but of yours. By all intents and purposes, a squad is a mirror of its leader same like a legion is a mirror of its primarch, and like a primarch is the mirror of the Emperor, beloved by us all. Which means that if you treat it with disrespect, it will backfire in worst possible moment."

"Because of this, Vespasian will not give you your rank just yet. We'll stay in Ullanor system for couple of weeks in order to get on with the parades, to receive a number of human artists from Terra and I have to do some business with my brothers. During this time you will talk to your brothers and you will work it out with them. You will earn their respect and they will earn yours, and when all of that is done, you will come to your Lord Commander and report it. However, if only one of them, after this period of time, speaks up against you, you will give back the sword and rank of Sergeant will be given to someone else of Vespasian's choosing."

"I hope this is satisfactory, no?" Fulgrim asked all of them, but from his tone it was clear he demanded only one answer.

Arnock, of course, had no objection to Fulgrim's words. He merely lowered his head and thumped the banner's pole on the ground in a sign of understanding and submission.

"Of course my lord. Apologies for my ignorance. I shall strive to better myself and amend the situation." Caphen made the sign of the aquila and bowed his head to his lord in awe of his perfection. Others had seen him after the battle woth the greenskins, Caphen had not had the honor, this was the closest he came to perfection incarnate.

Elijah like many others knelt down and bowed his head for a moment to honor the appearance of the greatest of all of them, and to be blessed with a second meeting with Lord Fulgrim was truly miraculous, even if the reason was not. In support of his brother, he placed a hand on the shoulder pauldron of Caphen, show him his support and trust. He dared not speak in the presence of Fulgrim, but if he would dare. The only thing he would even dare inquire from the Primarch was why not anyone was taken under disciplinary measurements, after all disobeying in the theatre of war should be addressed as a true crime and almost annihilated him. But then again, Fulgrim would counter with something along 'it was your choice, Devastator, to desire to sacrifice yourself. And that was careless.' Yet the irony was that as a Sergeant, as Fulgrim had explained a mere moment before, that would be the exact thing one is supposed to do. Protect one's fellow Astartes more than himself. He could stand up now and demand leadership, attempting to convince the Primarch himself that there was no one better. The older Job had the wits, tactical capabilities and diplomatic talents as he made friends among the Iron Hands. But there was one thing Elijah also knew and what ultimately stopped him from starting even such argument. He felt he was not ready for leadership, not convinced that anyone would listen to him like his younger brother, that all would go against whatever he had to offer in the shape of stratagems. And such pain, such treason, he was not ready to feel. Thus, out of fear of failure, out of fear to be betrayed by his own men like Denatus, he remained silent. Acting to be strong and resilient.

Denatus bowed before their lord, and wise words he spoke as ever, Denatus would never have acted in spite of his brothers.
So instead, with the words of their gene farther, Denatus just kept his confident smile, he had always known that he had not been wrong in his actions.

Golden Eagle
Hadrian knelt when Fulgrim appeared, actually making the sign of the Aquila this time, and lowered his head.

The inevitable jockeying for leadership was about to begin, the ambitious among them no doubt eager to push Caphen from the position of sergeant. The sergeant had shown himself to be wanting, having plans but not telling any of his squad, and had put everyone in unneeded danger. On the other hand so had some of the others, such as Denatus.

Hadrian hadn't said anything the last time a squad leader was chosen from among them but when the time came this time round he definately intended to voice his opinion.

Much like his twin, Isaiah could not help but be surprised that no punishments were dealt out, but on the other hand, he also was not one to complain about that. Yes, it robbed this tale of closure, but it also meant that any existing resentments for Caphen did not grow larger from it. Silently, he thanked Lord Fulgrim for it as he knelt and lowered his head, waiting for the Phoenician to leave.

<Briefing chambers - Armory, Pride of the Emperor>
@matt23 @EvicusDasan1 @DeranVendar @Grall_Stonefist @Avenging-Angel @Uriel1339 @Vulpas @Casavay

"Good, then it's settled," Fulgrim smiled, "I'll take my leave now. Vespasian, come with me, we need to talk. I'm sure Captain Valerion will be able to take if from here. Ah, I almost forgot," he turned around and pointed at Arnock, "You kept that banner safe and held it against all odds. Because of that I name you the standard carrier - you will replace Rylanor with that charge and from now on, you will carry the old symbol of our legion in battle. I take it you know your new responsibilities yes? Good! Alright, good luck and remember what I said here." And with that, the Phoenician and his Phoenix Guard alongside Lord Commander Vespasian left the chambers, soon after Charmosian did the same leaving the 6th squad all alone with their Captain.

"You maybe think you got off easily, but you didn't," Valerion growled and for the first time he let emotions show on his face, and it didn't look he was happy. "If it were up to me, you all would be flayed alive and executed for insubordination and lack of honor. Your actions even brought Rylanor to the brink of death and you can thank the Emperor that our Champion survived because if he didn't, we wouldn't be having this conversation. Now follow me."

Captain of the 19th Company led them deeper into the ship and eventually they reached its main armory. Rows upon rows of various weapons stood aligned on the walls while legion's Techmarines worked day and night, supported by an army of servitors and personnel from Mechanicum to keep everything in pristine condition. They were led directly into a section with infantry weapons where one of the Techmarines from their 19th Company greeted them and presented them with various choices of gear for them to pick up, while also taking the standard from Arnock and placing it in a stasis capsule for safekeeping until the next deployment.

"Once you are done with the arming report back to me for final orders before you all go on your short leave," Valerion said and went to one corner in the armory where he checked various pieces of gear including a plasma pistol and a big 2-handed single-bladed power axe, weapons of his own choosing.

OOC Okay, you can now take weapons\items we already talked about in PMs and write some cosmetics if you wish. All of the weapons are of standard quality to begin with. Once that is over, Valerion will send you on your merry way to chill during this intermission phase

"Caphen, Isaiah. Excuse me for a moment while I attempt to have a word with our venerable captain on the topic of leadership." Elijah told the two and gave them a significant nod before marching off to approach the captain, his twin hearts were beating in high adrenaline. Not sure whether he was really supposed to do this, but his last words were simply too much. Especially after his conversation with the Iron Father.

Elijah had enough of Captain Valerion and he clenched his fists before speaking up. "By all due respect, Captain Valerion. But I believe you haven't learned a thing of what Fulgrim just taught young Caphen here, because you believe to know it all. You are not listening to your men, you are not putting their lives before yours and you were not even in the theatre of war, you are unknown to what have happened, while Rylanor fought with us, led by example and gave it everything he was capable of. You are just a power hungry prideful Astartes who believes to have it all. This squad perhaps lacks the proper cohesion, because the only example we have is a Captain who insults us and threatens us all the time instead of teaching us by example how we should be acting. And last but not least, to quote Primarch Fulgrim:"

Elijah expected after the last word was spoken anything to happen to him, perhaps even being thrown out of the Legion or publically executed just so this idiot of a captain could demonstrate his power. But more likely he would throw him unarmed into the brig and let him cower, starve and torture until he would break. But the irony was that Valerion would be the bad leader if he would dare do any such thing. A leader who must imprison and torture his own men to get them back under control? Hah! That would make of the most pathetic display of all.