The Chronicles of Regina Kasteen
A part of Ciaphas Cain Story
Regina Kasteen, born on 15th of May on the 41st Millennium year 910 was born into the ruling monarch family on the ice world Valhalla, House Kasteen. As the only woman born into the family, preceded by three brothers and also the youngest, she has been much loved by her family and also great care has been given in her education, lifestyle and upbringing. From the start of her life, she has been showered by affection from her over doting father, which consequently are also the Lord General which is responsible for the system around Valhalla.
When Regina was born the populate of Valhalla rejoiced at their new princess of the monarchy, festivities erupted all over the planet, fireworks decorated the night sky and laughter and alcoholic drinks were toasted all over the planets establishment, mostly in the bars and restaurants. The Monarch of House Kasteen are very popular with the population because The House of Kasteen rules justly, care for the common populace and rule the nobles fairly and guide the nobles to a greater path under the words of the Emperor.
The birth of the princess has sparked frenzy among the common populace and the nobles. The common populace believe they have another fine example of House Kasteen that will shine with a more feminine side on the gloom of the perpetual winter that is Valhalla. The common populace believe that Regina will one day touched the heart of the common people and show love, care and concern upon their hardened and frozen hearts, a people much tempered by the frozen temperature of the planet. While the nobles see this as an opportunity to mingle their blood with the blood of House Kasteen, increasing their standing and reputation among the noble houses of Valhalla.
And as Regina Kasteen grows, so does her beauty, even at a young age, her fiery red hair and emerald blue eyes, so contrasting when seen, distinguish her heritage and parentage even more in the eyes of the populace. "She is destined for great things", most of the population will say. The older population of Valhalla remember the fiery woman which is Regina's mother that stole many men's heart at the field of battle when she serve as an Imperial Guard of the Valhallan regiments.
On her 8th birthday, the lords general assign a whole squad of karskin stormtrooper as her bodyguard when Regina asked for an excursion to the frozen wilderness beyond the house estate of House Kasteen. Her father refused at first but Regina was adamant about her prize and would not leave her father alone, so the lord general finally relented, on the condition that Regina be accompanied at all times by bodyguards which would be assigned to her and responsible for her safety during the excursion.
On the day of the excursion, it was cloudy with snow falling gently on the large lawn which graces the estate of house Kasteen. Little Regina Kasteen at that time was very excited and eager to head out for an adventure beyond the walls and sentries surrounding the estate which she has spent her whole live in, at that point. She even brought her own pet dog 'Rex' which was of a breed called a 'Siberian Husky', an ancient breed of dog originated from Holy Terra, prized for their rich and thick coating of fur, and their active, energetic, resilient attribute, makes them a perfect dog on cold environment the likes of Valhalla. This particular breed of dog is instrumental in battling the ork menace during the Great War, sniffing out ork ambush and scouting enemy position, delivering messages to headquarter and finding victims of an avalanche.
At this point it has to be point out that Regina is very attached to Rex and Rex to her. Rex has been around since Regina started walking for the first time, Rex was a puppy then, they have been inseparable at the time, always moving from one corner to the next and even sleeping together on occasion on the floor. The Estate staffs even joked among themselves that Regina spent more time around the dog than around her father, her mother and even her brothers, who was home tutored at the time.
As Regina prepares for her journey, her brothers came to wish her well and praise her how brave she is going outside to an adventure. The brothers also express envy and frustration because they did not think to ask for the same prize on their last Birthday. Regina's mother was also there, dressed in a blue gown and long wavy red hair, her eyes are worried for her little girl, and the woman look torn between parental pride and worry etched on her beautiful face. Regardless she wished Regina well and asked her not to trail away from her armed entourage.
By the time Regina is ready, she wears a full environment suit covered with heavy fur and a binocular strapped to her waist, a car is waiting in the front door trailed by a chimera armoured personnel carrier, which will be filled by the lord general stormtroopers. As both the vehicles starts moving and passing the main gates, and her family waving from the Estate entrance, Regina wonders what she will see on the outside world. While the lord general secretly monitors his little girl from the bridge of the Valhallan 1st Fleet Flagship "The Indomitable Spirit" on orbit above the planetary capital, worry etched on his face.
Now the destination has been set in advance, Regina and her entourage will be transported to a vast plain of snow and few trees, with beds of hardy grass under the snow. The field of snow and grass has been a known habitat of snow hares, a species introduced from Terra with the first of the colony ship.
At first, the species has been introduced to provide meat for food, but they breed out of proportion and mass slaughter has been done from time to time to control the population, note that this is before the ork space hulk crushed into the planetary surface and changed the climate of Valhalla forever. After the calamity, the species has changed in status from pest to a much prized source of food for the population of Valhalla, who no longer has access to agricultural product due to extreme cold. And due to their legendary breeding speed, are able to supplement a substantial part of the diet of the Valhallan. After the Great War, fleets of ships from off-world start to trade with Valhalla, particularly in agricultural product, such as fruit, vegetable and grains. In return, Valhalla exports furs, precious metals, oils and basic metals.
Now the snow hare population is being controlled by native animals, particularly the frost worgen, a large wolf-like animal that travels in packs and a distinct social structure, of note particularly because the matriarch will grow a blood-red fur to distinguish herself in the pack and usually have a heightened intelligence compared to the rest of the pack. Their population is concentrated mostly on the "Black Forest" an ancient and large area of trees and shrubs, enveloped in darkness, whether on the day or night.
The ride to the field is short and uneventful, just how the bodyguards like it, as they maintain vox contact around the car, Regina is in. Upon the field of snow and green, Regina steps out of the car and gaze with wonder on the vast plateau of shining white, this reflects light back into her eyes making Regina eyes squint due to the harshness of the light. Noticing this one of the embarking stormtrooper handed her one of his snow goggle for her to wear. As she wears it, the goggle was too big for her and slips through her small heads, this elicit laughter from the surrounding karskin, which prompted the first karskin to gently tighten the goggle on her head.
Thankful for the assistance, Regina bowed graciously to the hulking karskin, which the kasrskin replied by patting her head and encourage her to see the land and explore and assures her that they will be at her back. While the karskin speaks to her, half of the squad spreads out and scouted the field for threat they will have to neutralise.
Regina excitedly walked forward with Rex by her side, the dog move excitedly and energetically moving through the snow with the ease of a dog with ancestry to arctic condition, waging his tail excitedly. As Regina watched Rex started to run to pursue a small head which suddenly popped up from the field of snow, it was a snow hare curious to the sound generated by the karskin and the vehicle, its long ears trailing from its head as it flee from the pursuing Rex. Regina giggles seeing this and starts to run after Rex.
With the karskin stormtrooper forming a perimeter around the field, Regina is free to explore the field. She spotted a couple of snow hares apparently playing as the top hare is seen humping the bottom hare before Rex chased them away, Regina considers to play as well with her brothers when she returns home, but only as the top one, as the bottom one does not seem to do anything or even move away from the top hare*.
*I praise the emperor that Regina was too young to realize the significant of what she just saw.
She then proceeds to find a beautiful white flower, with a silvery edge on the petal of the flower, for a moment just sit there fascinated by the flower. Then a small blue-jay bird landed near her position, and like a kitten trying to catch a bird she started to coil like a feline and with a resounding roar jumps on the small bird, which flies away. As she gave chase to the small bird she fell down a hole, apparently a rabbit den, with a cry and landed on her bottom.
As she tries to stand up and dusted herself, she looked around it was a small hole about her size and about 10 feet up she saw a faint light from the sun, as well as the shocked cries and curses from the assembling karskin storm trooper, sound of frantic footsteps and more shouts and curses, then Rex jumped in as well following Regina into the rabbit hole with a thud and started licking her dirty face.
She then heard a voice from above the entrance, it was a karskin stormtrooper, apparently too large for it to enter and too deep for it to get a hold of Regina. As she watched, more helmets peered through the bright hole on top of her head, they shouted to Regina to hold still and wait for them to come and get her while they discuss how to get her out of the hole.
Regina replies with a nod and start to wait for the rescue, she sat on top of the soil with Rex by her side watching the bright hole on their top. Then suddenly, she senses movement near her, straining her ear and trying to focus her eyes to pierce through the darkness. Next, there was a small snow hare tumbling from the darkness, not one but later three more came out from the darkness, apparently curious to their uninvited guest on their den. With a shriek Regina instantly adores the cute little creatures and approached the tiny creatures, only to have them bolted back to the darkness of the tunnel.
Regina was disappointed, then with a glance to the hole decided to pursue the little creatures, Rex at tow beside her. The tunnel was not extensive by any means and only goes at a straight line a short distance across the snow capped field on top of the surface. So transfixed was her on following the small creatures that she stumbles upon something upon the floor of the darkness. As she picked up the object of her misfortune she screamed as the object turned out to be a skull, and that the floor was littered by the skulls and bones of small creatures, which at later inspection turned out to be those of a snow hare.
Unknowingly Regina has stumbled upon the lair of a colony of gretchin, a surviving colony of a sub-species of the Ork race from the Great War, which have used the snow hare colony as a source of food underground.
*Orks have not only survived, they have prospered and are more numerous than even the myriad trillions of individuals who comprise humanity. This is due in part to how they reproduce. Orks release fungal spores, which grow into a plant-like womb underground that nourishes the bodies of the various Orkoid species. This is the entire basis of the Orkoid ecosystem, producing first Squigs, then Snotlings who cultivate the Squigs and the fungus they feed on, then Gretchin to build the settlements, and finally the Orks themselves. This means the Orks, wherever they go, will have an abundance of food, slaves and other resources, a moving Orkoid ecosystem that supports them as they go on their Waaaghs! This also makes it extremely difficult to rid a planet of Orks, even if the initial invasion is defeated. Orks release spores throughout their lives, but release them massively at the moment of death. Without a nearby population of Orks, the fungus will eventually start the Orkoid life cycle anew. Decades after weathering an Ork Waaagh! Settlements on a planet can find themselves faced with an unexpected attack from feral Ork tribes coming out of the wilderness. The only way to effectively remove all of the Orks on a planet is a planetary exterminatus.
*Taken from the 40K Warhammer wiki
Suddenly Regina found herself surrounded by the miserable little gretchin which excitedly chatters at the prospect of an easy human meal instead of snow hare eaten raw. As Regina trembles at the sight before her, Rex at her side, growl menacingly at the surrounding gretchin.
The surrounding gretchin leaps at Regina while Rex bravely fending them off from Regina. One by one the group of gretchin falls by Rex's fangs and claws,until both of them backed to a corner. Rex and Regina faced the surrounding gretchin, which parted when a bigger gretchin, this one with rabbit fur covering his ugly bloated frame emerged from the mob, unsheathing a crude knife, the gretchin then lunged at Rex and tackled him to the ground as Rex lay there baring his fangs in defiance to the gretchin. The knive was swung and stabbed at Rex's torso, with a whine and blood pooling did Rex's lay there unmoving.
Regina wracked with grief was maddened with rage. She clutched to a pen in her pocket shirt and charged the big gretchin, surprised by the audacity of the attack the gretchin was too late to react to the pen which stabbed through its eyes and into its brain, killing it instantly. The surrounding gretchin was shocked by the death of their leader and eyeing Regina, measuring whether they can take her on now that the dog is dead.
*So this event show the statement "Even a rat will lunge at a cat when cornered" and "The pen is mightier than the sword" to be fairly accurate.
Before they can decide to rush her, reinforcement came through as a sudden hail of laser-fire and the sudden crack of a sniper rifle piercing through the darkness killing the majority of the gretchin. Broken, did the gretchin starts to route only to be cut down by the hail of fire from small men in combat fatigue. The command headquarters apparently have dispatched a squad of sniper ratlings to search for Regina and rescue her.
*Ratlings – taken from warhammer wiki
These small mutant humans come from low-gravity Imperial worlds and are unsuitable for close combat. The Ratlings instead act as snipers, and many a regiment has been saved at the last moment only by the pinpoint accuracy of the tiny humanoids.
Ratlings are also great cooks, being able to make anything out of whatever they find (or pilfer). Ratlings are notorious crooks, organizing gambling rings or using their small size to steal whatever is lying around, whether it be a shiny bullet casing or the senior Commissar's peaked hat. Needless to say, Regimental commanders have noticed that rates of petty theft and drug dealing invariably increase when a Ratling squad is attached to the company. This skill means the Ratlings make fine profits on the front-lines, where they smuggle in whatever the soldiers need or want - at a price.
And so did the adventure of Regina Kasteen come at an end, the Lord General have insisted that the field be scoured of the xenos and that the taint of the ork xeno be purged with holy flamers as to sterilize the ground on which the xeno breeds and proliferate. The ratling squad responsible for Regina's rescue gained a commendation while the karskin squad received probation from the whole fiasco.
However the Lord General feels that the hero of the day goes to Rex, without whom, the squad sent would never have arrived on time to rescue Regina. A small statue of Rex is built on the town centre, which remains to this day known as a protector of children and popular with families with children, Rex's body itself was buried in the garden estate of House Kasteen marked by a grave marker.
Incidentally, later that year a popular children book titled "Alice in Gretchinland" was published, about a story of a small little girl and her dog which fell into a rabbit hole that leads to a terrible land of the gretchin, only after a series of fights and hardship does Alice is rescued by a hunter which shot the evil king gretchin with his rifle, an finally in the end Alice returns to her family with her dog by her side.
The effect of this terrible event to Regina psyche was understandable though unfortunate. Saddened with the loss of Rex and blaming herself for Rex's death did her personality changed, no longer did she want to be weak and helpless in front of danger. She started pressuring her father that she be included in her brother's fencing lesson as well as martial arts, instead of the previous lesson of nobility manner and household lessons. At first the Lord General refused but Regina's constant pressure and the pressure from his wife did the Lord General relent and let Regina have her wish.
Regina pushed herself on those lessons and distinguishes herself, driven by hate of xenos, especially of orks she learns quickly and gained the attention of the Adepta Sororitas which seeks to recruit her into their chapter.
*The Adepta Sororitas, also known as the Sisters of Battle and formerly known as the Daughters of the Emperor, are an all-woman subdivision of the Imperial Creed's ecclesiastical organization known as the Ecclesiarchy or, more formally, as the Adeptus Ministorum. The Sisterhood's Orders Militant serves as the Ecclesiarchy's fighting arm, mercilessly rooting out corruption and heresy within humanity and every organization of the Adeptus Terra.
Alarmed with the attention of the order did the Lord General resort to using the authority he have to reverse the order. The Adepta Sororitas argues that such potential must be used for the good of the Imperium of mankind and that it is his duty to hand her over to the Adepta Sororitas for training. The Lord General then suggested that he will set his daughter on the path to glory, but not with Adepta Sororitas. Instead the Lord General swears that his daughter will achieve glory to the units of Valhallan Imperial Guard per family tradition. The Adepta Sororitas objected at first, but with objection from a whole planetary system, finally relents and accepted that Regina's path be that of an Imperial Guard officer.
Though the Lord General regret and worry over her daughter, for he did not plan for her only and youngest daughter any part of militaristic life at all. He wished for a life in safety and possibly a good husband which he could threaten once in a while. But life as an officer in the Imperial Guard was infinitely better than being a drone and a heartless killer, even though technically you are able to become a super woman. And so did the Lord General watched on as he guides, trains and direct her daughter in a military life as an officer in the Imperial Guard, first through private lesson and when Regina came of age did he enrolled her into an academy.
When Regina graduated, she was then attached to the 296th Valhallan regiment, and with the influence of the Lord General did the all-exclusive woman regiment be sent to a backwater colony with a history of not having any military campaign at all for the last two millennia. The Lord General was worried for the safety of her daughter, now that she was posted in an all-woman regiment and out of harm's way can the Lord General relax and not worry, for what danger she would face in a backwater planet with no known enemy in the whole sector. Poor-poor Lord General, if he only knew what would befall the planet...