Major Ikarus Calon was far from the first to show up at the briefing room, but possibly the earliest of the audience. Standing beside a holo-desk, the Lord General himself stood by the flickering globe of a projected planet. Beside him stood a hooded man in a bright red cloak, which left Calon believing him to be a member of the Adeptus Mechanius. The two men were turned away from the Major, and the Cadian began to wonder if perhaps he was too early for the briefing.
As he took a step towards the podium, Calon's booted foot caught one of the snaking cables that ran down the carpeted path. Although the action did not seem to affect the displays, the sound of Calon's feet slapping the ground caused the Lord General and his accomplice to take notice of him for the first time. Lord General Vladimir smiled his wrinkled face at the blushing Cadian, "Trying to get the drop on us, Major?"
Major Calon flashed the man a crisp salute and tried to contain his combination of embarrassment and nervousness, "Thought I'd say hello, but just making a fool of myself sir."
Vladimir's laughter echoed the room.
Calon stood at attention while waiting for the Lord-General to calm his jovial manner, "Am I too early sir?"
Vladimir sighed contently, "No, you're right on time and I admire the punctuality. Say hello to Colonel Breyl Grummerveik and his adjutant Sergeant Augustine Mofor," the Lord-General said while nodding to a pair of figures approaching behind the Major.
Calon turned sharply to greet a short, stern looking man dressed in grey and crimson carapace armor, followed closely by a tall ebony-skinned man who was bald. "Major Calon of the Cadian 33rd I presume?" asked the shorter man.
"In the flesh," Calon replied with another crisp salute. Afterwards, the Major extended his hand to shake with the Harakonian, who took it gruffly with his hand on top, pumping it vigorously with a grasp like a vise. This man was clearly out to prove himself the alpha male, perhaps with aspirations of one day taking Vladimir's position of Lord-General.
"A fine handshake," Calon said as he hid his tingling hand slightly behind his leg and rubbed feeling back into it with his thumb.
"Where is your adjutant Major Calon?" Grummerveik asked. As he did, Mofor turned his head away to watch a small figure thumping his way down the ramp behind them.
"I sent him to take care of a few important details before the meeting, he should be back on tim-" Calon's words stopped as a mug of brown liquid was sloshed his direction by a young, timid hand.
"Here's your cup of recaff sir!" Timith offered eagerly.
Slowly, deliberately, Calon lifted his hand and wiped away some of the spilt liquid from his uniform before taking the mug from his young assistant's hand. There was a long pause before Calon replied in a taciturn, almost sarcastic manner, "Thank you Timith."
Mofor couldn't help but let his laughter thunder from his diaphragm. Even Grummerveik smiled, "Important details, Major?"
"Breakfast of the Emperor's champions, my good Grummerveik," Calon replied with a perked eyebrow. He raised the mug to his lips and privately cursed Timith for forgetting the sweetener again.
"I'm sure men like Commissar Ciaphas Cain would agree with you," Grummerveik said between his chuckles.
Feeling the fool not once but twice, Calon could only nod. But the moment was lost as men and women from various positions, officers and high rated enlisted began to pour into the room and actively seek seating with members of their home world or service branch. Calon took a seat near the front next to his young adjutant, while fishing a cloth from his pockets to deal with the stain on his uniform.
A moment later, Commissar Duval took a seat next to him, "Drinking problems Calon?"
"No, Timith just thought he would help," Calon replied with an edge of sarcasm in his voice. The young lad hadn't heard him in the least.
Duval was a man of honor within the Cadian 33rd. A former naval commissar, Duval saw an opportunity to help the wayward unit during its early days. Though men feared Duval before, they had come to respect the man for his sense of justice and surprisingly warm personality. Many times had the man joined in on the occasional Emperor's Tarot card game, although he suspected some men purposefully let him win. But at the same time, Duval was not afraid to unleash his duties when it was deemed necessary, and had shot men for blatant breaches of discipline. It was rare a man wearing the red sash who could be as respected and feared in that manner.
Duval's aged face turned into a smile, though the holo-projection reflected the luster of his glasses. But the grin disappeared as the podium chimed three times to indicate the start of the briefing.
Eyes turned to the front as the lights dimmed to darkness, where the Lord-General stood illuminated by the massive, spinning globe of the planet in turmoil. When the murmurs passed, and all eyes turned to the front, Lord-General Vladimir spoke for the first time.
"Good evening gentlemen of the Cadian 33rd and Harakoni 42nd. First, I would like to extend the appreciations of the peoples of Komaal II for coming out here to deal with this crisis," Vladimir began, "As you know, resources in this sector are stretched thin, so we would not expend more manpower then necessary to solve this issue. However, this situation has spiraled beyond the control and jurisdictions of even my own command."
Murmurs went up in the audience and quickly died down when reminded of the need for discipline.
"I would like to take this time to introduce the man in charge of this entire operation. Inquisitor Phraeth Kell," Vladimir stated before stepping aside.
Calon felt goose bumps pucker on the back of his neck when these words first came from the Lord-General's lips. If the Inquisition were involved, especially this directly, it meant that the situation was truly critical. Calon had heard enough from other officers to know that the Inquisition preferred to operate as quietly as possible until the need for larger forces was inevitable.
The man wearing the red robe stepped forward and lowered his hood, revealing a short white beard and blaring red bionic eye. His face wore horrendous scars that networked his cheeks, nose and forehead. In the light of the projector, Calon realized that the man's right hand was augmented as well.
A long moment passed almost dramatically before the Inquisitor's gravely voice broke the silence, "Men of the Emperor."
The pause lingered.
"Komaal II lies on the brink of total destruction. From our scouting reports and my own personal field work, we have discovered that the planet is suffering from a plague like no other. An epidemic of near galactic proportions," Kell continued, his glaring red eye scanning the audience.
"The plague strikes, turning the populace against itself. Men and women are transformed into beasts, immune to pain, immune to hunger and thirst. The individuals we fight cannot be viewed as human anymore. They cannot be considered as subjects of the Emperor. We must hunt and fight and pray that their souls may still reach the Emperor on the Throne."
Calon swallowed as he listened.
"And above all, we must act fast if we are to save this planet from the same fate as its sister, Komaal IV."
