I
THE CALLING

1
Trojus, Ixaniad Sector

Dig. Dig. Dig.
That was what he had been ordered to do, and so he did it.
Dig. Dig. Dig.
The word lingered on his mind - it was the only thing he could think about as he dug out the shallow grave.
Dig. Dig. Dig!
The more he thought about it, the more his anger and his grief boiled over. He was not used to coping with these emotions; never before had he needed to.
Dig...
He gasped as he lobbed the final load of soil into the pile, and then climbed up out of the hole. He let the shovel fall from his hands, and stared back at the corpse. She looked so ugly, with the gas mask on, so completely uniform; simply another dead soldier. He dropped to his knees beside her, and with shaking hands, he slowly put his hands on her helmet; he cautiously slid it off her head, as though she were only sleeping. For a second, he entertained that thought - yes! Only sleeping!
He moaned as the reality returned to him.
He put the helmet down beside her, and then reached behind her head, unclasping the bands holding the mask to her face; as he drew it away, he winced at the hideous, dark blemish on her forehead, which ruined her otherwise pristine countenance.
He pulled back her balaclava, revealing her beautiful golden hair, two inches longer than regulation permitted. With an unsteady, gauntleted finger he brushed back a lock which had fallen upon her brow. His sight fell again upon the blemish.
For a moment, he sat over her, staring at the splendor death had failed to take from her, until he recalled his orders.
Drop her in. Drop her in.
He wrapped his arms around her waist in that same loving gesture he had once enjoyed; this time, however, there was no affectionate reaction, no slender arms slipping about his head. He lifted her up, and stepped down into the muddy pit he had made for her in the crater.
He carefully put her down in the center of it, though a splash of mud dirtied her faultless hair in spite of his efforts. As he stared down at her body, he could bear the restraint no longer. He undid the chinstrap of his helmet, threw it aside, then hastily, desperately undid the clasps of his gas mask, letting it hang from its air hose at his side. He collapsed beside the body; and, as frustrated tears welled up in his eyes, he hurriedly pushed his lips to hers, kissing her one last time. He pulled away, only to drop his head against her bosom, like a child seeking the warmth of his mother. He struggled with the urge to stay there like that, until he sat up beside her. He patted over his greatcoat, searching for that last gift from her - where was it? He became distraught as he searched his pockets. Eventually, a thin piece of cloth slipped out of its inner hiding place, right beside his heart. He woefully gazed at it, debating with himself whether he truly wished to part with it or not; he eventually conceded that the repugnant las-mark on her forehead simply needed to be covered up.
He returned her gift, so petty and yet so enrapturing for him. He spread it across her face, then climbed up the wall of the hole, dragging himself away from the crater.
He turned back and stared at the very mouth of her grave, considering covering it up again.
No. He had been ordered to leave it open. He was to report back after digging the hole, and then after doing so he was to collect other heretic corpses and deposit them in it; he would thereafter get a team to burn the mass.
He lingered for a moment, before turning away. As he began to walk, he took his gas mask again and strapped it on.
Report back. Report back…
Back to work.

"What a disaster," Lamortes lamented, "what a disaster."
The Lady Inquisitor narrowed her eyes. "What were you expecting of this?" she snapped. "A hunt across three different sectors. Half of the acolytes were dead by the time we even got to this point. It's to be expected that we'd lose all of them by the end of this."
The chimera and its occupants violently shook about as it dipped into, then exited a trench; the Lady, lacking a proper grip in her seat, held herself steady against the cramped Chaplain beside her.
Alert and worried, Moerchen looked down at her. "Are you well, my Lady?"
The Lady Inquisitor nodded, as the chimera evened out. "I'm tired, that's all."
Lamortes raised his head, augmetic eye whirring as it refocused. "I imagine you would be. You just killed an unbound daemonhost after charging through its army of devotees. Did I mention you've lost all your Acolytes? Now you've got to find others."
The Lady kicked her Tech-Priest companion with a plated boot, invoking a flinch from him. "Don't worry yourself, Lamortes. I will," she assured. "I will."

"The Inquisitor has come to see you, Sir."
Colonel-Commissar Fernand Audes sat up in his cot with a light groan, mindful of the capped stubs where his legs had been a few hours ago - the injury seemed to signify the fact that he had finally lost control over the regiment: Colonel von Klauser's death had been the catalyst, one which his cross-duty field-promotion had failed to keep in check.
"Let her in," he rasped to the masked nurse as he scratched at his stubble, which had thrived over the course of the last few days of fieldwork. The nurse nodded, and closed the door again, leaving him to brood while the Commissar's guest arrived.
Von Klauser had obviously been much better-learned in the inconceivable art of guiding the Korpsmen. When he died in the first few days of the siege, the Lady Inquisitor had Audes named Colonel-Commissar in hopes to fill the space in the madness. This initiative failed miserably, and by the time Audes lost his legs to falling wreckage, the troops were taking matters of morale and integrity into their own hands. One particular soldier had already been executed when she refused to kill a suspected heretic found in the wreckage.
Then there was the matter of her companion...
The flakboard door opened again, and this time, in stepped the woman in whose servitude Colonel-Commissar Audes had lost his legs, Colonel von Klauser had lost his life, and hundreds of Korpsmen had died over the span of weeks.
She stood tall and thin in her light power armor. Her brown hair, of fair length, was pulled back into a braid. A loose skirt of red cloth hung from below her waist, contrasting against the dark grey of her armor.
She struck quite the impressive figure, Audes thought, even if he could not help but feel uncomfortable in her presence. Whatever the case, he found himself unable to shake his irritation. "My Lady," he blankly said in greeting.
Seeing his condition, the Lady Inquisitor was taken aback; she hesitated for a moment to say anything, but quickly overcame her apprehension, for the sake of closure. "On behalf of the Inquisition, on behalf of the Imperium at-large, I thank you for the sacrifices you have made over the last several-"
"I appreciate your thanks," Audes grunted. He immediately realized he would likely regret such a show of disrespect, but the Lady's lack of a hostile response did nothing to make him worry. "Was there a reason," he grunted as he pushed himself to a sitting position on the edge of the bed, "that you came to see me? Apart from to show your gratitude."
"I've lost a significant number of my retainers in defeating the archenemy here. Your soldiers have proven themselves heroes beyond a doubt in the course of this siege, and I wished to induct some of them into my team."
"So you're asking my permission to do this?"
The Lady nodded.
"What sort of people are you looking for?"
"I need people who I can send around to do investigations for me, take care of lesser foes, and such minor work for the Throne. Intelligence-gathering, spying."
Audes let out a heavy breath. "I must be honest with you, Mamzel, none of my soldiers would make particularly good agents in that regard. They're fanatics in the highest extreme. They don't follow orders particularly well when they think it will take too long to do their duty. It's part of the Krieg psychological induction, they're trained to profoundly despise any idea of heresy. They will do what their sense of justice feels is right. You'll be very hard-pressed to control them." He shifted about. "And as for me, I've completely lost control over them."
The Lady sighed. "So there is no-one you'd recommend?"
Audes narrowed his eyes. "Actually, yes. Yes there is one."

He looked quite like a phantom as he entered the camp, surrounded by the gloom of the gathering evening fogs. A few others turned their heads and watched as he entered. They were already planning to kill him, too.
As he stumbled towards the command post, he was approached by a woman; a nurse from the infirmary, as her red armband indicated.
"The Commissar wants to see you," she announced to him... as cold as any words from any of the others. With no purpose to linger, she left for the tunnels, and he soon followed after her.

Both Audes and the Lady Inquisitor sat in silence while they waited. The atmosphere which hung over the room was unpleasant. Obviously, the Lady found, the Colonel-Commissar was not pleased with her... perhaps he was bitter over his legs?
The Lady, sitting in a folding chair beside the Colonel-Commissar's bed, crossed her legs and leaned forward. "So... tell me about this guardsman," she said, hoping to break the unwanted peace.
Audes made an odd face at this. "He, ah... it's best I talk only after you've had a chance to speak with him. He's a bit different. He's a good and tough soldier..."
"Will there be a problem with him? Is he psychotic?"
"No, no," Audes held his hands up, "he's not crazy or anything-"
The door opened; both the Lady Inquisitor and the Colonel-Commissar turned their heads as a Korpsman entered.
At least, it wore the uniform of the Death Korps. Everything about the posture of this gentleman upon the moment he entered cried out to the character of a broken man - it was an aura the Lady Inquisitor knew well in her travels. Seemingly aware of his languished appearance, the man quickly straightened himself out as he realized the status of the woman before him.
"So... this is him?" the Lady asked, now somewhat concerned.
Audes nodded. "Heidrich, this is our Lady Inquisitor. It was by her will that our taskforce was directed to Trojus."
The Korpsman quickly folded his arms across his chest and kneeled before her. None of this was particularly impressing the Lady Inquisitor. "I've seen enough," she said in a tone mocking politeness.
"Go wait outside," Audes ordered, waving the Korpsman away. The soldier got to his feet, and turned to the door.
As soon as he was gone, the Lady Inquisitor glared at Audes, no longer willing to be patient with his disrespect. "What are you up to, trying to get him to work under me?"
"Now just a minute-"
"That man obviously had some serious problems. The sort that aren't suitable for an Agent, let alone an Acolyte!"
"I understand!" Audes shouted, and the Lady Inquisitor gave him heed. "Look... I said I've lost control of my unit? That man out there was never really quite in the same mindset as the rest of the Korps. A certain girl wasn't either. As far as I know, they... had a thing going on between them. She was 'executed' by the rest of the regiment a few hours ago, for refusing to kill a couple of survivors out in the ruins."
The Lady hid her mouth with her hand to muffle a gasp.
"They're going to kill him next, I don't have much doubt about that," Audes told her. "I don't want to see the kid die at the hands of his kin. Please, spare this man. Get him away from here. Review his abilities once he's calmed down, if you doubt him. He'll be willing to do whatever you want him to do."
The Lady Inquisitor was still hiding her mixed shock, horror and disgust. Audes looked up at her with an expectant stare, goading a response out of her... yet there was little need for it. "I..." she began to speak, still unable to hide her surprise. "I see. I owe this man quite a bit, it seems."
Never a comment Audes expected from an Inquisitor.
"You think he'll get over his current state?"
"It's nothing but shock. He'll return to normal soon enough."
The Lady Inquisitor nodded. "I'll be taking him with me then."
Now it was Audes who was shocked. "I thank you, Milady." The Lady Inquisitor nodded, and left the Colonel-Commissar. Alone, Audes sighed, and laid back on his bed.
"Emperor be with you, kid," he whispered to himself, and closed his eyes.

As the Lady Inquisitor reentered the infirmary hallway, she found the Korpsman, fumbling around with something in his hands, desperately attempting to put it away as he stood up to salute her; she paid it no mind, nevertheless. "Up. We need to be going. Do you have anything you need to pack?"
He nodded.
"Let's go get it..." She paused on that last syllable. "By the way, what was your name?"
The Korpsman hesitated for a moment. "Two-forty-six, two-eleven, sixty-three-twenty-one-zero, forty-six, Heidrich."
The Lady blinked. "Come again?"
"Two-forty-six-"
"No no, do you have an actual name?"
"Two-forty-"
"No! A name, not an identification number!"
The Korpsman paused for a moment. "Heidrich."
"Are you actually able to speak normally?"
"Yes..."
"Great. Come, let's go pack your things."

Lamortes watched for several minutes as the Chaplain, arms folded, shifted between staring at the transport floor, and the rear access hatch.
"She's been gone a while," Moerchen pointed out.
"Patience is a virtue, my oversized companion," Lamortes said, raising a finger. "There shouldn't be reason to worry, considering we're in the middle of an Imperial Guard encampment. It would be suicidal to attack an Inquisitor here."
"Perhaps," Moerchen uneasily acknowledged. "But is it really reasonable to take upwards of twenty minutes to get some new recruits together?"
"Yes, I would think so."
There was a familiar bang against the hatch, and a moment later, when both the occupants of the chimera had turned their attention to it, the access opened.
"Milady!" Moerchen cried from his seat. "What took you?"
"We had to make a few runs to get everything..." the Lady Inquisitor explained, pulling herself up into the body of the transport.
"Then you got the recruits?" Lamortes asked watching her as she sat down in her seat beside Moerchen. He noticed the man getting into the chimera, a rucksack full of gear and his lasgun strapped behind his shoulder. For a moment, the Tech-Priest watched that spot, expecting someone else to appear; he quickly caught on, and turned his eyes again to the Lady Inquisitor. "Is... this guardsman... the only one?"
The Lady Inquisitor nodded. "His name's Heidrich. He's supposed to be a tough one. You know, the 'quality over quantity' type."
Lamortes looked again to the Korpsman - he was seated, but he now stared in amazement up at Moerchen.
The Chaplain himself quickly noticed this. "You have never met a Space Marine before, lowly mortal?" he amusedly asked.
"N-no," the Korpsman croaked.
Moerchen chuckled over his skull mask's filter. "Then I am honored to be the first!"
The Lady Inquisitor leaned forward in the compartment and looked down the aisle towards the front of the vehicle. "All set! Get us to the landing zone!" she shouted; upon this command, the chimera jolted into motion.

The Lady Inquisitor watched from the base of the embarkation ramp as the rest of her retinue boarded the craft; when the Korpsman stepped up, she stopped him. "Hey. Take the mask off."
Suddenly tense, the Korpsman looked up at her.
"Go on. Take it off. You don't need it, you'll just get hot. It's a bit warmer on my vessel."
The Korpsman stared at her for a second. "I... thank you for this... opportunity."
"Don't worry about it," the Lady Inquisitor said, smiling down at him - it obviously had an effect. "Just get that thing off your face." She let him pass when he began to take his mask off.

As the lander rose up from the pad, Moerchen, the Lady Inquisitor, and Lamortes began to engage in conversation - trivial review of the day's work.
"I personally am rather distressed we have been unable to ascertain the nature of that daemonhost," Lamortes said.
"It was an unbound host. Those aren't uncommon," the Lady dismissively said. "My present suspicion is that some dumb bunch of cultists thought it would be funny. Whoever made it is likely dead now."
Meanwhile, in the corner seat, the Korpsman laid his mask down beside him, and took one of his heavy gauntlets off his hand. He padded over his greatcoat, until he found it.
"Ah, but it has been traveling," Moerchen noted, raising his finger to emphasize his point; the Lady Inquisitor quickly realized what he was implying. "Someone has the ability to contain its power without adding further bindings. I heavily recommend looking further into this."
The Korpsman clutched the crinkled holo, staring at the woman's soft beauty. Little did he realize the Lady Inquisitor and her friends were now watching him.
Oblivious, Heidrich smiled. "Ersabet..." he whispered, gazing into the woman's cerulean eyes in the informal picture. "Thank you."