Conscription-by akd3020
Disclaimer- I do not own the Warhammer universe and all the rights belong to their creator GW respectively.
Any criticism is welcome please feel free to leave a comment. Many thanks akd3020
In the hellish industrialized cesspool of a city Jherghan on guben3 the strong and cunning crush the weak and naïve.
Arik stands with a murky duffle bag hoisted over his shoulder filled with the Techpriest ancient relics which he is hoping to sell on the under levels black market.
"freeze stop where you are", screams a pdf officer, threatening to burst his voice box.
As he enters the room laspistol raised using a steel rod Arik hacks at his wrist with all the force he can muster, knocking the laspistol to the floor, using the pdfs lack of center of balance he drives his foot into the back of his calf, forcing him to his knees then brings the rod down unto the rear of his head, knocking him out stone cold. He bolts out the door and melds into the masses.
Turning the corner into the dark alley he stalks forward until the light of a flash light appears in front of him with its user demanding his surrender. Spinning back the way he came he is blinded by another light illuminating himself. With each millimeter taken by his aggressors his heart threatens to burst out of his chest. He prepares for an imperial justice (aka a swift las shot in the back of his head). But that never comes instead the officers keep on the approach until they are a breath away and the sharp piercing click of the shackles are. Arik with what was once a calm expression was now replaced with one contorted into fear and shear confusion.
"you're not going to kill me?"
"hahaha" replied the officer " WE arent gonna kill ya but ya gonna wish we did "maliciously stated the officer with a toothy grin.
Arik awakes with a startled jump, looking around he seems to be in some sort of transport with a few maybe three, four hundred other individuals all chained to the floor, of all sort of shapes and sizes and all different backgrounds. Along with several pdf enforcers.
"What's going on" Arik asks to which the response is a crack on the back with a baton and a curt " who said ye could speak" sensing that his fellow prisoners are in no mood to talk he decides to keep his head down. After about 2 hours the transport ground to a halt allowing Arik and the others to be systematically dragged of like cattle to the slaughter. They are forced to their knees by the pdf who curtly leave only to be replaced by squadrons of imperial guardsmen who direct their weapons at the now kneeling prisoners daring them to attempt to rise up. At the sound of footsteps on a podium all eyes turned to spot who stood before them and all the palpable fear and tension was dissipated to be replaced with confusion at the odd-looking figures who held them captive.
The center figure stood with red robes with gold lining something similar to a techpriest. He also possessed an augmented eye and a cybernetic right arm which he used to grasp a large book. To his left and right stood two presumably men with white cloaks that covered all of their body along with a mask of a somber face and body armour, shoulderplates and kneepads with a long electro lash hooked on their belt.
The middle figure broke the silence " I am Ishian the praecenator of the 408th Orcan Penal legion"
With the mention of the penal legion every man and women before Ishian knew of the two paths before them. Either death by firing squad or death fighting the imperium's enemies.
" And to my right and left are my chief prefect penatante, they will be the ones to instill the iron discipline of the guard into you, or the ones to cut you down for insubordinance. It is with your toil and your labor that ye shall be redeemed. Through bloodshed ye shall know absolution! The blood that shall be shed shall be both that of your enemies and your own."
With that Ishian left them to the care of his chief penatantes. "ok you damn traitorous scum over the next week you will make the decision whether you want to die by firing squad or die fighting the xenos and heretics to die with a purpose" said one of the penatantes, which one? No one knows.
You will undertake training and exercises designed to weed out the weak, when the weak are found they will be executed. Out of the two thousand of you brought here today only the thousand loyalist and strong will be given the chance to redeem yourself in his most holy's eyes.
With that they left they silently descended the steps of the podium. The tense silence being filled with the raring of orders by the imperial guardsmen "get up, get up now you damned pieces of trash"
They linked the chains of the shackles together then forced the first prisoner forward which in turn made the rest of the coluumn forward.