The Cost of Command

Warhammer 40,000

by Sandy Mitchell

The Astral Knights can trace their genetic heritage back to the Imperial Fists. They are stubborn and tenacious, but their highly developed sense of honour can lead to friction between battle-brothers. When a mission goes wrong, two Astral Knights decide the only way to settle the matter is to fight a duel, even though Chapter law frowns on this course of action. Can a fight to the death really resolve the question of who was right, as the victor will be exiled from the Chapter in disgrace?

Read it because
It's two Space Marines coming to blows, and that's not something you see every day. The story contrasts the ebb and flow of their duel with the twists and turns that led to it in a tale that tells you a whole lot about the Astral Knights and their code of honour.

Genres: Science Fiction

29 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 17, 2015

About the author

Sandy Mitchell is a pseudonym of Alex Stewart, who has been a full-time writer since the mid nineteen eighties. The majority of his work as Sandy has been tie-in fiction for Games Workshop's Warhammer fantasy and Warhammer 40,000 science fiction lines. The exceptions have been a novelisation of episodes from the high tech thriller series Bugs, for which he also worked as a scriptwriter under his own name, some Warhammer roleplaying game material, and a scattering of short stories and magazine articles.

His hobbies include the martial arts of Aikido and Iaido, miniature wargaming, role-playing games, and pottering about on the family allotment.

He lives in the North Essex village of Earls Colne, with his wife Judith and daughter Hester.

Reviews

[Gianfranco Mancini · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ritual fight to death is the only sanctioned way for an Astartes of the Astral Knights chapter to kill another space marine with just a shameful exile waiting for after that. The bloody duel between sergeant Lanthus and his hate-blinded battle-brother Aldwyn opens and ends this great and intense tale, far darker and more serious than other Sandy Mitchell's Black Library stories.
The central part is a long action-packed flashback set in a previous military campaign of the Astral Knights against orks and showing you the events and motivations that pushed impulsive Aldwyn to challenge his battle-sergeant to a fratricidal duel.
Well developed and flashed characters, an intense and tragic story and I liked a lot Mitchell's description of orks' "lifestyle" too.

[Andrew Alvis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A decent turn by Sandy Mitchell writing Space Marines. A rather interesting take on Astartes honour and sacrifice.

[Anthony Giordano · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Cost of Command focuses on the Astartes Chapter known as The Astral Knights; doughty descendants of Dorn who met their demise against the monstrous Necron ship known as the World Engine. One interesting point here is that Mitchell is best known for his Ciaphas Cain novels, which have a distinct comic touch; whereas the Astral Knights are known as some of the most dour of Dorn's children. So how does the story turn out in the end? Let's take a look...

The Cost of Command opens with a very solemn Astral Knights tradition: a duel to settle a grudge between two battle brothers. The stage is set very well here; we meet our combatants, the taciturn Sergeant Lanthus and the seething brother Aldwyn. We know right away that the duel is predicated upon an affront that is truly festering, due to Aldwyn's setting the terms as "to the death". At this point, no matter the infraction, we know the result will be too much to bear; Astartes should not kill Astartes, as brother should not kill brother. Alas, the terms are set and the duel begins."

You can read my full review of this short here:

http://hachisnaxreads.blogspot.com/20...

[Michael Dodd · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first in a week’s worth of new short stories for Black Library’s Summer of Reading campaign, Sandy Mitchell’s The Cost of Command features the Astral Knights way back before their fateful all-out assault on the necron World Engine. Here we see two of their number duking it out in an honour duel, the reason for which gradually becomes clear as the protagonist looks back on his squad’s last mission and the toll it incurred on each of them.

Read the rest of the review at https://trackofwords.wordpress.com/20...