Umbram Ignis: Chapter 2

Across the rubble and detritus of war Captain Toran walked with brisk determination, his stride appeared confident but his face displayed his displeasure. Everywhere he looked he could see the scars of battle and the piles of debris testifying to the fury of war, even now months later the Fortress Monastery was more wreckage than a functioning base of operations.

The artificers and serf labourers had worked wonders to restore basic utilities and erect new buildings but the devastation was immense and the task before them would take decades to complete. The Captain passed by newly erected buildings and prefab structures that were cropping up around the handful of surviving buildings like weeds, Toran would never admit it but he actually found the plain functionality of the new buildings far more practical than the overblown gilding of the older edifices.

His path swiftly led him to a squat, square barracks that stood out among piles of broken masonry and shattered statues; he marched up to it and entered the plain entranceway. With total confidence he made his way along the passages walking past various cells where initiates were reverently tending to their armour plate or memorising tactical doctrines and deconstructing threat assessments of new Xeno horrors.

These were the brothers of Toran's Demi-Company, they had been thrown together during the recent fighting to form the most unlikely of bands but now they were united by that common bond. New brothers had been transferred to rebuild their ranks and now they numbered just under fifty Space Marines.

Toran had drilled them hard and worked tirelessly to forge a spirit of unity but despite all that they remained raw and untested. All the training in the galaxy could not replace the taste of true battle and the Captain knew his Demi-Company would not truly be one until they had drawn and shed blood together; thankfully that opportunity was now upon them.

The Captain marched briskly onwards until he spied the doors of a tactical centre, he had voxed ahead to summon his senior squad leaders for a briefing and was relieved to see they had obeyed with alacrity. Awaiting their Captain the brothers of his command squad were standing guard outside the tactical chamber, faces he knew as well as the back of his hand.

Toran could see four of them awaiting him, Brothers Persion and the standard bearer Bylan standing proudly on one side and on the other Brother Jediah and the Champion Novak. The Captain strode up to them and called out, "Is everybody inside?"

Persion answered, "All Sergeants present and eager to hear your orders."

"Excellent" said Toran as he made to walk past them but then he paused and glared at Persion, "I trust you will not be listening in this time."

"Who me?" replied Persion with a straight face, "Captain would I do such a thing?"

Toran's lip twitched knowing full well how little Persion thought of petty rules and protocols but he knew he had made his point so he let the matter lie and strode on into the plain room to see a small crowd gathered round a Hololithic table. These were the five Sergeants who led the squads of his Demi-Company, they were each old friends and comrades who had fought beside him on the darkest of days.

He looked at each in turn taking in their measure, first was Sergeant Mylos, he and Toran had a bad history but the fires of war had broken the enmity between them, even though he was a difficult man to like Mylos seemed determined to prove his worth in the Company. Standing next to him was Sergeant Priyar who was an open and approachable soul, it would be easy to mistake that for a lack of grit but in truth he was a ferocious warrior with a keen intellect.

Standing across the table from them was Sergeant Zeax who led a Devastator squad, he was a brutally direct warrior who saw the most efficient path to victory and followed it unerringly regardless of cost. Standing next to him was Sergeant Lorath, the most unlikely member of the gathering; he was a fierce warrior with little patience for speeches or matters of morale and leadership. He was the sort of man who preferred to simply get on with the job with as little preamble as possible and skipped the plaudits afterward, for this reason Toran had appointed him to be an Assault sergeant, a role that fitted him perfectly.

Standing at the head of the table was Furion who led the Command squad, making him Toran's de facto second in command yet he would never push himself forward like that, instead preferring to mentor younger Marines and taking pride in their accomplishments. The last member of the gathering was a new face, Apothecary Memnos who had been assigned to the Company only recently, he seemed a level headed Astartes but he was an outsider in this gathering.

Together these Marines represented the entire fighting force under Toran's command and he was certain they would do him proud. Toran swept into room and everybody snapped straight in respect as their Captain took his place before them, he made them wait a moment then said, "As you were." As the group settled back on their heels he said, "Brothers this is a momentous day, the Chapter Master at last has a mission for our proud Company."

"Are the rumours true?" asked Priyar, "Are we deploying alongside another Chapter?"

Toran nodded and said, "Yes, we are to fight alongside a force from the Smoke-Jaguars, hunting for those who defiled our home."

That statement brought excited mummers from all and Toran said, "I know you have all been agitating for action for some time and at last we have been given our chance to prove our worth but remember that we shall be upholding the honour of the Storm Heralds and I expect every member of the Company to excel."

Zeax spoke up to ask, "What forces are our cousin's committing?"

"One Tactical squad" replied Toran and then he dropped the bombshell, "And a Librarian."

That declaration wiped the smiles off everybody's faces for Librarians were as much feared as respected, despite being utterly dependent upon the abilities of the Psychically gifted the Imperium bred dread and wariness of the Warp-touched into its people as a matter of gospel. To fight alongside a Librarian was to wield a blade with no hilt and even the most rational of Astartes viewed them the same way they would a grenade with no safety catch, to fight alongside one from another Chapter was deeply disturbing.

Thankfully Furion pulled the briefing back on topic by asking the burning question, "So who will be in command of this jaunt?"

Toran breathed out and said, "They brought us the intelligence and have a ship waiting in orbit but we will bring more warriors to the fight. Chapter Master Gorgall has managed to forge an agreement that once we reach the target command will fall to the faction with greatest tactical strength."

"So you mean yourself?" asked Mylos.

"Yes" replied Toran, "I will be given command of the mission; the Smoke-Jaguars will provide intelligence and assistance."

"Best place for them" declared Mylos, "They are the ones better suited to sulking about and lurking under camouflage, we are the ones who will win this fight."

Zeax agreed loudly by saying, "Camouflage is the colour of cowardice!"

Toran wasn't sure he agreed with such sentiments, he could see the tactical advantages of such an approach but thankfully he was spared having to contradict his men as Lorath drove straight to the heart of the matter saying, "What is the target?"

Toran lit the hololith and an image sprang into life over the table, it was essentially an inert rock in space that was utterly barren and bereft of atmosphere yet the blinking lights of deep mine works hinted at the presence of life. Toran looked at the target and declared, "Our target is Clom."

That brought groans from all around and Mylos said, "No, not Clom, there is no glory to be found there."

Furion rebuked him, "Glory is secondary to duty, if we are ordered there then that is where we shall go."

Priyar interjected, "You are aware that Clom sits at the end of an unstable Warp route, it is only accessible for a few months every ten years, if we are delayed then we will be stuck out there for a decade."

Mylos spat, "I suddenly understand why Gorgall selected us for this mission."

"Enough!" barked Toran, "Chapter Master Gorgall has reviewed our cousin's finding and determined there is evidence of Traitor activity on this mining world. The planet is barren and lifeless so the only Imperial presence is confined to the mine works, it would be no difficult matter to establish a covert base anywhere else on the planet."

"How recent is this data?" asked Lorath

Toran had been hoping nobody would ask that question but replied honestly, "Clom is just emerging from its isolation period so the last reports were from ten years ago."

That produce scowls and frowns, such Intel so out of date as to be practically useless and Zeax stated, "That is hopeless, it might as well be from the Sabbat worlds Crusade."

"It is what it is" replied Toran, "We may well find the Traitors long fled or they may have left a supply cache behind or they may well be hundreds of them waiting, we will not know until we look."

"Is there anything we are certain of?" asked Priyar

Toran replied, "One thing we do know for certain is that Clom has no atmosphere outside the atmospheric domes, so stress to your squads the importance of checking their armour's void seals and issue vacuum rated weapons only."

Furion declared ,"Vacuum practice would be the order of the day then."

"Indeed but make sure to schedule cross training with the Smoke-Jaguars too" stated Toran, "We need to know our cousin's character before we meet the enemy and I expect you to astound them with our displays of skill."

Zeax declared, "We will hammer them in the drills."

Toran was glad his Marines were so confident but he glanced at the silent figure of Apothecary Memnos as he said, "Try to leave them with some dignity, you all know our Chapter's relations with the Imperium are strained, for another Chapter to reach out to us right now is an opportunity we must grasp with both hands."

"Pah, Warp cursed diplomacy" spat Lorath, "Leave the politics at home where it belongs and concentrate on the fight before us."

"I never thought I would agree with him but our learned brother is right" declared Furion which drew chuckles from the group.

Toran shook his head and said, "For now concentrate on your drills and tell the squads to expect the unexpected, I suspect this voyage will be full of surprises."