Chapter 26: Rising Tensions
"Bloody hell," Egeers mutter. "He's alive?"
"Seems so," I said cautiously. I hadn't bet on Desmond being back so soon. I mean, half his foot got blown off! And here he was, a few days later, walking around without a limp. Must've got some pretty good medical treatment. But either way, Desmond joining the squad would disrupt everything. They'd just started getting to like me, and we were just beginning to work together, and now Desmond was here?
This would upset everything. Everyone.
But it wasn't bad for me per se. No, I'd proven myself, hopefully. I was still on the fence with Clauda and Oleev, and had barely a clue what Temond or Burtrus really thought of me, but I knew I could count on at least four of them. Prassus, Egeers, Ratfinch and Evet. They'd stand up for me, and I'd be willing to bet more of them would stand up for me then they would Desmond.
"Friend of yours?" Adat asked, looking at us with a half-smile. Prassus shook his head.
"No, definitely not," he muttered. "He's a nobleman."
"Ah," Ziya said, and Jahan and Adat nodded. Guess their planet really was a feudal hellhole.
"What's he doing here? I thought he'd be out of it for sure!" Egeers hissed, and Prassus cursed.
"I don't know, damn it! I thought he was gone!" He shot back. Ratfinch just shook his head.
"Ah! The last squad member!" Andermark said, deaf to our conversation. He waved Alexei over with his cigar still between his fingers, smoke trailing behind him. Sergeant Alexei stomped over to us with Desmond in tow, who looked at us sceptically.
"Sergeant Alexei, you have your full squad now, yeah? Good to see, good to see," Andermark cheered, chomping on his cigar, hands on hips. The sergeant just pushed Desmond towards us as he and Andermark had a hushed conversation which involved a lot of squinting and eye-rolling. Wonder what that was about?
But I had no time to focus on that. Not now. Damn it, Desmond had chosen the worst time to come back to us.
He didn't look particularly happy, dressed in the same green and tan uniform we all wore. He trudged over to us, walking awkwardly in his clothes, his messy hair tucked behind his ears.
Faintly, I realised we hadn't gotten haircuts. Didn't they shave soldiers in the army?
Maybe that comes later. We weren't technically soldiers yet. Even though they called us 'privates', we were technically conscripts. Whiteshields. We hadn't even gotten proper flak armour yet and had only used a lasgun once. I imagine we'd go through all the proper ceremonies next week.
"Where are the others? They dead already?" Desmond muttered, and Prassus gave him a rotten look.
"No! They're training, you idiot. Should be out any minute!" He said, staring down the fat boy. Egeers was staring daggers at Desmond, and Ratfinch was scratching his cheek with nervous energy, sitting down in the sand.
"Where are they then?" Desmond repeated, looking around at us with piggy little eyes. He looked at me and shot me a scathing glare. I just shook my head at him.
"I remember you. You're that weird kid," he huffed. Egeers gave Desmond a shove for that, causing the fat boy to squeal and dance back. I shook my head. Damn, he was a walking stereotype of the entitled rich kid. Fat, selfish, rude.
"That 'weird kid' has done more for us in three days then you've done in twenty goddamn years!" Egeers shouted. Prassus pulled him back before Egeers could push him again.
"Hey, cut that out, yeah?" Andermark said, without looking over his shoulder. Sergeant Alexei turned around to give us a withering look, but otherwise the two kept talking to each other, even going so far as to step away from us.
"And you lot, sitting around, go on and get up there! We're not here to chat, we're here to train!" Andermark grunted, pointing the rest of his squad in the direction of the obstacle course.
"Sir, yes, sir!" They all ran off to do as he commanded. Adat gave us an apologetic look before running off.
"Don't push me, freak!" Desmond said hotly, glaring at Egeers, who looked like he was going to stab Desmond. Prassus had to pull Egeers away before things escalated.
"Why don't you just shut up for once, yeah?" Prassus snapped at Desmond. The rich prick just shrugged and turned away. Ratfinch wrinkled his nose behind his back.
"Why is he here?" Egeers whispered to Prassus, who was still holding onto his collar. "Why are you defending him?"
"I'm not, I'm defending you, before you do something stupid. Remember what happened last time I didn't stop you?" Prassus said, lowering himself to look Egeers in the eye.
"Yeah, yeah…alright, fine, just let go of me," Egeers said, running a hand through his messy blonde hair.
"Keep back, yeah?" Prassus said, letting go of him. Egeers straightened his jacket and stepped back.
"I'm calm, I'm calm. Calm," Egeers said, breathing out.
"Oh, look, it's the prima donna herself," I heard Desmond mutter, and turned to see Clauda and Temond stagger out from the doorway. Clauda was soaked head to toe, and she was almost dragging Temond behind her, who, amazingly, seemed totally unperturbed. Only problem was he wasn't walking.
"What's wrong with him?" Prassus asked, concern filling his voice, stepping forward to take Temond from Clauda.
"I took a little fall," he said, grinning like a madman. "Twisted me ankle!"
"He fell off the ropes before the water," Clauda shook her head, "no problem with the cold, but the rope was apparen…what the fuck, is that Desmond?" She said incredulously, breaking off her explanation.
"Sadly," Prassus said. "He's apparently all better."
"How?" Clauda said, frowning. "He got shot!"
"Don't know. Don't care," Prassus said.
"They gave me some surgery. Skin grafts. Some prosthetics. Only the best for me," Desmond said, bemused, taking off his boot and sock to show us a foot that was half metallic. God damn, they just give cybernetics out to anyone?
"Yeah, real nice, Desmond," Prassus said sarcastically. Desmond just shrugged and replied with a shit-eating grin etched onto his face. He wasn't a very likeable person, that one.
"How's he here?" Temond said, limping. He should probably get that checked out.
"The sergeant got him," I said, watching Alexei and Andermark converse. Alexei seemed to be angry, and Andermark didn't look to happy either. What on Earth could they be talking about?
"Can we speak to him? That course nearly killed us!" Clauda muttered angrily. I was inclined to agree. That was thrown at us out of nowhere.
"Where are the others? Are they safe? Are they alright?" I asked, thinking about Evet, Oleev and Burtrus. Hopefully he didn't have to do it all alone.
"They're good. They were all together behind us. They'll make it," Clauda said. "Good to see you lot did."
"You can thank Sent, he got us out of that mess," Ratfinch said, but I just waved away his concerns. I did what had to be done. What was necessary.
"No need to worry about that. Only doing my job," I said. Clauda looked at me sceptically, but fortunately, sergeant Alexei came over to us before any more arguments could break out.
"Squad 1532, form up," sergeant Alexei snapped. We all got into line as well as we could. Desmond hung on the edges uncertainly, until Alexei pushed him between Egeers and Temond. None of them looked happy about that.
"You will stand here until the rest of the squad makes it out," Alexei said, straightening out his uniform. He looked at us critically, staring us down top to bottom. The chill of the water was still in our bones. It was hard to stand still, but Alexei didn't seem to care. He reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a small, black bound book, flipping through its pages and muttering under his breath. What had put him in such a bad mood? Was it Desmond? Andermark? Or whatever they had discussed?
I heard him mutter something about 'organisations' and 'platoons' under his breath. What the hell was going on?
"How long are we going to wait like this?" Desmond said, causing us to groan internally.
"You will not speak unless ordered to do so, recruit!" Alexei snapped.
"But I just wanted to know-" Desmond began, and Alexei shot him a withering glare.
"You will not speak unless ordered to do so!" He shouted. Desmond quailed, stepping back and looking at the ground.
"Get back in line, soldier!" Alexei said, stepping forward and grabbing Desmond by his lapels, pulling him into place. Desmond looked like he wanted to slap the sergeant or something. A part of me wanted to see him try that.
"Alright, alright," he muttered, causing Alexei to glare at him again. It was scary to see this side of Alexei. We'd all heard him shout at us, sure, but he never seemed to be angry. He was just a…harsh motivator, was perhaps the best way to look at him. Strict, demanding, stubborn, for sure. But angry? Cruel?
No, that wasn't Alexei. At least, I didn't think it was. So, what was all this about?
"You're going to have to learn faster than this, recruit. You must be better," he said evenly, stepping back, regaining his composure. The stony mask we were so familiar with returned. I let out a sigh of relief I didn't know I was holding. There he was. The normal, crazy sergeant.
"You must learn how to do better," he said, looking first at Desmond, then back to all of us. "All of you."
"Sir, yes, sir," we all replied obediently, with Desmond following suite a moment after the rest of us. Sergeant Alexei looked at him with a look of obvious distaste, as though Desmond were a piece of gum he'd stepped in. I was inclined to agree. That was a man who did not make good first impressions.
Eventually, Evet and Oleev made their way out, with Burtrus in tow, shaggy hair absolutely soaked. He looked like he'd had the time of his life, as opposed to Oleev and Evet, who were both cold, miserable, and bruised. They all looked very surprised when they saw Desmond was there, and their moods became significantly fouler. Still, they knew better then to complain, and stepped into line wordlessly, dripping wet. Oleev looked incredibly pale and couldn't stop shaking. She needed a warm blanket and a warm drink.
I didn't think she'd get either of them right now.
To his credit, Alexei stopped to ask if anyone felt like they needed medical assistance, looking first at Temond, then to Oleev.
Both shook their heads. They were brave, but a little foolhardy. But I kept my mouth shut. I knew better now. If they needed help, they'd have to ask for it. Still, it pained me to see them like this.
"Two orders of business. First of all, you have just gone through an initial run of what is known as the UTAC, the Unconventional Terrain Assault Course, a Cadian training course designed to familiarise you with encountering unusual and alien terrain, so that your mind doesn't simply snap when you land on your first alien planet!" Alexei snapped his fingers for good measure.
"It is meant to be confusing, it is meant to be difficult, and it is meant to be unpleasant, on the mind and body. That you have all come through it in one piece demonstrates that you won't get killed the moment you stop onto another world because you don't understand what hills are!"
Odd example, but alright. I guess that makes sense. I knew everything in the Imperium had a purpose originally, but most of it had been lost to time. Good to see they still understood what the purposes of all these training exercises are.
"Secondly, you have noticed that trooper Desmond had rejoined you after being treated in the medical bay for his reckless insubordination. I have made sure that he is suitably familiar with the rules of the Imperial Guard, and he has received one mark for censure against his name for such an action," Alexei explained. I noticed some people in the squad grinned at that, which caused Desmond to glare in every direction. Alexei just stared us down until we took this seriously.
"You must put aside whatever differences there are between you. You are no longer 'you'. There is no place for individuality in the Guard, you are all cogs in the glorious machine that is the Imperial Guard. You are nothing but pieces, nothing but soldiers, to be used as deemed fit, and you will do what it is deemed fit for you to do with the best of your abilities. Abilities that I must give you. Abilities that I will give you!" Alexei snapped.
This speech seemed to be a favourite of his. Cogs. Machines. Imperial Guard. Glorious tools, etc etc. Alexei rambled on about working together, forgetting who we were, learning to work as one squad, one piece, etc. Eventually, he ran out of steam, and ordered us to follow him from the courses.
We were off to lunch, were, supposedly, we'd been promised warm food and drinks.
Well, perhaps I was wrong. Perhaps we would get something nice after all. But I didn't get my hopes up. I was far too busy thinking over what I had learned earlier on. Quiet galaxy. Cadia calling for reinforcements. Breakdowns in communication. The Great Rift may be splitting the galaxy in two, which meant I knew when this was.
This was the age of the Dark Imperium. This was the age of darkness.