Sorry this update took so long. I had writers block so I took the week off. I was super busy studying and I decided that I should socialize this weekend. It was terrible, don't ever try it. This chapter is a little short as I started working on it late and wanted to get something done to post. I feel that it's not lacking too much in quality. Thank you so much for the reviews. Also I really appreciated Disciple of Embers review. He was able to point out what I was doing wrong so I could correct it and that is incredibly useful. That's not to say that I don't appreciate your nice comments and follows/favourites. These really keep me writing. I know exactly where the story is going but it's sometimes hard to motivate myself to write. Knowing that there are people who are actually interested in this convinces me to write even when I'm not too interested in writing. So thanks for all your support.

The eclesiarcal priest was especially riled up today Sev thought absent mindedly. Spittle flew from his yellowed tombstone teeth as his speech crescendoed. Rain beat on the stained glass windows of the chapel, sounding like the rattle of snare drums sending soldiers to war. Sev hadn't really been paying too much attention. His mind was drifting. He was thinking about how miserable it would be out on the water today. He was yanked back from his day dreams as the priest slammed his fist into the pulpit. Sev shifted on the uncomfortable wooden pew as the priest shook his fist in the air with hallowed rage.

The priest was going on and on but for some reason Sev couldn't understand a word of what he was saying. At first it was irritating, but Sev's frustration grew and grew as he desperately grappled with the preachers words. Sev had the feeling that whatever it was the priest was getting so mad about was infinitely important but he just couldn't catch a word of it. The priest was getting angrier and angrier and was almost jumping up and down. Far off there was a whistling sound. Artillery Sev thought. That's a shell! He tried to stand but couldn't move.

Sev's eyes snapped open. Far off he could hear the thump of artillery. A shell must have landed particularly close and woken him. Illineth was asleep in his arms, pressed up against him. Her head rested on his chest. Her long brown hair almost covered her face and it moved slightly with her breath. There was another explosion and the windows rattled. She woke with a start, taking in a small gasp of air. Sev wondered if she had been having a bad dream as well. She sat up, pushing some of the hair off her face, before lying back down on his chest.

She had her arm firmly locked onto his side. Sev looked down at her face. She had thinish dark eyes and there was a dusting of freckles across her slightly upturned nose. Sev enjoyed the warmth of the body on top of him for a moment before deciding to get moving. There was no sense sticking around and they might as well get going. For there to be any hope of him regrouping with his company he would have to cover a lot of ground. He made a move to get up.

Illineth grumbled a complaint muffled by his chest and refused to budge. Sev gave her a half hearted shove but she buried her face farther into his chest and protested. Sev gave up after a few tries. Emperor knew his chances of survival were slim; he might as well relax while he was still alive. He wrapped his arm across her shoulders and sank into the mattress, enjoying the warmth of her body.

It was still dark outside and they could stay under the covers for another few hours. Sev didn't relish the prospect of leaving the bed and Illineth for the frigid air of the house. She had wrapped her legs around his and he could feel her breasts moving against his abdomen in time with her breathing. He had a sudden blast of nostalgia.

He remembered cold Saturday mornings, lying in bed with his girlfriend. The rain would beat on the windows and there was the happy knowledge in his mind that there was nothing to do for the day. For a moment he felt hopelessly alone. Emperor only knew how many light years he was from home, he was lost in a foreign city and for all he knew every single man he was familiar with was dead. He was struck dumb for a second, trying to comprehend his situation. But as quickly as the feeling came it was gone. There was nothing he could do now other than try and find his company. And at the end of they day he enjoyed being with Illineth. He liked screwing around in the snow and he liked simply watching her. Maybe he was in a miserable position but at least he had a gorgeous alien curled up next to him. Illineth looked up at him. He smiled and pushed a strand of hair out of her eyes.

They stayed in bed for another hour or so. The light grew outside as the sun slowly rose. Soon he could see the snowflakes drifting past the window. He checked his chrono metre and saw that it was almost eight. He untangled his legs from Illineths and she giggled. He slid his legs out from under the covers and over the side of the bed. Sev hissed with pain as the cold air stung his bare legs and made the hairs stand on end. His joints were stiff from sleep and sore from days of trekking through the city streets and he hobbled as quickly as he could to where he had dumped his pants and jacket the night before. He pulled on the fatigues and sat down on a chair, rubbing his arms together.

Illineth was much more graceful than him. She stood up and arched her back, stretching her arms backwards. She wore the tight jumpsuit but it was thin and she looked freezing. Sev remembered his plan and went thumping down the stairs, returning a second later with the spare fatigues. He gave them to her and she nodded, slipping them on. Sev felt a pang of disappointment that she wouldn't be wearing the form fitting bone coloured armour. The seventeen year old in him decided that her lithe figure still looked good in the guard fatigues.

Sev waited as she was finished tightening up her belt and doing up the buttons. She looked at him expectantly and they headed downstairs. The fire had been the only thing keeping the house warm and with its death the house felt almost as cold as it was outside. Sev tossed Illineth her great coat and pulled his own on. Sev relit the fire as Illineth pulled out a chair and sat down. Sev saw no point wasting the lightweight guard rations when they had perfectly good food at their disposal so he opened the cupboard where he had found the beans and selected two large tins of soup. He heated them up on the metal fireplace as he had done the night before and split it between two plates. Illineth was much more accepting of the food this time around and they ate quickly, enjoying the warm soup.

After they were done Sev cleaned the dishes and put them away. He didn't know where the previous occupants of the house were but if they ever came back they wouldn't be happy to find mouldy bowls. Sev pulled on his toque, re-breather, helmet and gloves. Illineth was struggling with her buckle and she tilted her head back so Sev could do it for her. She had pulled her hair back into a pony tail and tucked her ears into the toque. She looked like an ordinary guardsman now and if they encountered imperial troops it would give her a chance of escape.

Just as Sev was pulling on the last few ammunition pouches he heard the roar of engines. It was off in the distance but audibly drawing closer. His first thought was fear. It was clearly more than one vehicle and they were presumably ork. But as he listened he recognized the sound. It wasn't the dirty coughing howl of the ork machines but the throbbing roar of imperial engines. Sev was frozen for a second. Then he broke into a sprint, knocking over a chair as he dashed for the front door.

He belted through the courtyard of the factory. He could hear the vehicles passing now. It was some sort of column. He dashed around the side of the factory and launched himself at a chain link fence. He scrambled over, the strap of his lasgun getting caught on protruding wire before he freed it. He could see tanks from the alley he was running along. They were rolling down the road in a column, Leman Russes.

He was nearing the end of the alley when there was a clatter of a weapon discharging. He ducked back as solid stubber rounds impacted with the brick wall, throwing out bits of clay and dust. He fumbled for his vox bead.

"Friendly coming out, friendly coming out!" He almost shouted. There was a second pause and a tank stopped in front of the alley.

"Password" He heard over the link in his ear. Sev racked his brain. The sergeant had told them on the way down in the Valkyrie.

"Light of St Joseph" Sev said. It was the name of the patron saint of the war master's home planet or something. He didn't quite remember but he was almost sure it was right. There was another tense second as whoever he was communicating with paused, perhaps to confirm with whoever he was with.

"Alright, come out. Keep your weapon in the air though"

Sev stepped out from the alley lasgun above his head. Up until that point he had completely forgotten about Illineth and he shoulder checked to see if she was following him. He stared in absolute horror at the sight behind him. Illineth had not only followed him but had kept pace and was walking just behind him with her gun in the air as Sev held his. Sev hissed at her to piss off, hoping that she would get the gist of what he was saying. But she either didn't clue in or ignored him and they continued the last few metres to the tank.

Sev had never seen a Leman Russ up close before. It was huge, about twice as tall as Sev was. Heavy bolters were mounted in sponsons on the sides of the vehicle. It had grey paint with white a camo pattern. There was camo netting bundled up on the rear of the tank behind the turret, as well as some boxes and canvas bags. The words Civilized Entrance had been stencilled on the hull of the tank above the sponson in large white letters. A man was hanging out of the hatch on the turret. He still held the pintle mounted stubber with one hand, and with the other he was waving. He wore a leather tanker helmet and had a bushy brown moustache.

"Hurry up now, climb on, we need to get moving. You're holding up the column." He called down in a thick accent. He pushed himself a little further out of the hatch and sat on the edge of it. Sev clambered up from the rear of the tank. He was stunned at the turn of events. Not only had they regrouped with imperials, but Illineth had followed him. He had no idea what the hell she was thinking, but whatever it was it would probably end up with them both getting killed. His mind was racing as he stretched out his hand and, clasping hers, pulled her up onto the tank.

Sev was almost sent flying as the tank lurched back into movement. He stumbled back a step and almost fell off the rear of the tank. Illineth caught him by the hem of his coat and pulled him back. The tanker hanging out of the hatch laughed. He shook snow off of his leather helmet and reached out a hand as Sev climbed the turret.

"Private Sev Chyurno, Roland Prime 3rd Drop Regiment" Sev said, taking his hand and shaking it.

"Sergeant Albert Green, Lerwington 138th Armoured, Commander of the Civilized Entrance. And your friend?" The man replied. Sev panicked. In a moment this man would realise that he had a xenos on his tank and he would pull out his las pistol and shoot them both. Sev had a sudden idea though.

"Not sure what her name is sir. She's from another company. I found her a day ago and she'd lost her hearing. Shell blast, you understand" Sev almost fell over with relief. It would work for now.

"Poor girl, maybe the medicae will be able to do something for her. Lucky we found you when we did. We're pulling out. We've been sent in to get the rest of your lot. Far as I've hear the Rolanders have had it pretty bad. The entire operation's turned into a bit of a botch up and we're pulling back to the outskirts to regroup. A few armoured regiments have been sent in to break through to the drop troopers. Against protocol but at the moment we need all the men we can get. Oh and drop the sir business. My men call me Jonesy"

Sev nodded. He couldn't get over how lucky he had been finding the tanks. If the imperial forces were pulling out he would have been completely stranded. And it just so happened that he had found the armoured company pushing for his company. Everything would be going absolutely perfectly if it weren't for the girl. The deaf guise might work for a while but someone was bound to notice she was xenos. He would have to take the next opportunity and ditch her without Jonesy noticing.

"When did you get separated" Sev was pulled from his reverie by the tank commanders voice.

"A few days ago now. My squad was sent to clear a building and we got held up by a sniper. Within the day everyone was dead. I was the only survivor" Sev got the knot in his stomach that seemed to come about every time he thought of his dead comrades. Was it guilt?

"That's heavy mate. Well we'll have you back with your company soon enough. That is if there's any left" He ducked back into the cupola. Sev looked down the column. There were about four tanks behind and three in front. Sentinels stalked alongside the column and a driver popped a hatch and waved as he passed. Sev threw a half hearted wave back. He decided that it would be safe to try and communicate with Illineth. He crawled down off the turret and sat next to her on a canvas bag.

"What the hell were you thinking? You're going to get us both killed" Sev hissed. He didn't think that Jonesy or his crew would be able to hear them over the roar of the engine but he would rather be safe than sorry. He noticed that Illineth had kept her lasgun and her backpack. They lay next to her, propped up against some camo netting and boxes. He was impressed that she had been able to keep pace with him and retain all the new gear. She stared straight behind, at the tanks following. She made no move to attempt a reply and the rebreather mask hid any emotion that she might have displayed.

Sev gave up getting mad at her. It didn't matter now, she was stuck with him. His only option was to try and get rid of her when they stopped and think of some likely excuse. For now he might as well try and explain to her how she was supposed to be deaf. He spent the next twenty minutes trying to explain to her this, speaking very slowly and using lots of hand actions. She seemed to pick up on it after a while and nodded with understanding.

The snow was picking up but it was warm on the tank. They were right above the engine and the snowflakes melted almost as soon as they touched the warm metal. The smoke stacks were drawing closer and Sev assumed this would be there destination. He took some shallow pride in guessing correctly about the guard position. They were still quite far away and it would probably be another half an hour going at the pace they were going. There had been no sign of orks.

Sev was leaning against the turret trying to think of a way to get rid of Illineth. She had laid her head on his shoulder and Sev wasn't sure if she was asleep or just resting. A crewman in the tank behind them had crawled out of a hatch on the hull and was stretching. He wore a greasy tank top and beret. He threw the pair a salute before crawling back into the tank.

A minute later a hatch next to them banged open. A man wearing a jacket and nothing underneath popped out, holding two steaming cups. He had shaved blonde hair and wore a pair of green goggles.

"Alright lads? Lad that is, and lady" He said, noticing Illineths pony tail. Sev nodded as reply and Illineth didn't move.

"You two are friendly eh? We made re caf on the engine and Jonesy told me to make extra for you two. Private Green by the way, I shoot the heavy bolter you see on the side. Your name?" He said as he handed Sev and Illineth there steaming mugs. Sev took his drink and shook the mans hand.

"Sev, private. Don't know what her name is, lost her hearing" Said Sev. His voice was muffled slightly and it was probably difficult to hear over the huge engine beneath their asses. He knew he spoke quite quietly as it was. Illineth was staring at the up beat man intently.

"Real shame. What's with the masks eh? You know that they've got oxygen here" Green said. He had the same accent as the sergeant.

"Uh... just a tradition" Said Sev. He didn't feel like going into the details of the Roland Prime tradition of wearing masks off world. He felt tired and the shaking of the metal underneath him made him sleepy.

"Well they make you look real hard. Wouldn't want to meet you in a dark alley at night" The crew man joked, giving Sev a friendly punch on the shoulder. He had pushed himself out of the hatch and sat across from Sev and Illineth on the back of the tank. He had brought his own re caf up with him and leaned back against a box and drank it. He scratched his head where there was a spot of oil.

"Snows nice eh? Feels good to get up top and get the air on my face. So bloody hot in the tank. Especially where I sit. No coincidence that Josh and I are the lowest ranks and we have to man those bloody bolters" He continued.

"I used to operate a heavy bolter" Sev said. He thought about Ryn and felt sick.

"Oh ya? Why is it a used to?" replied Green.

"Gunner was killed. He was my best friend too. We'd joined the guard together" Said Sev. The private looked shocked. He sat up top for another minute.

"I need to make sure guns in order and all. We'll be seeing pretty stiff combat I expect, so you two will want to keep your heads down" Green said, sliding back into the hatch. He took Sev and Illineths empty cups before dropping out of sight and closing the hatch.

Sev lowered his head so it rested on Illineths, whose head still rested on his shoulder. He felt monumentally tired all of a sudden, more so emotionally than physically. He relaxed, resting against the throbbing turret of the tank. He was almost asleep but not quite. He was preparing himself for the battle to come.