Command Post Alpha, Underground City...
"Yes, captain. The Emperor protects..." Governor Militant Anderson said.
The holo-display flickered and the image changed from a map of the 'garden' sector to a 3D image of a young guardsmen, standing to attention.
"Governor Anderson, sir?" he spoke.
"Yes?" Anderson replied, stepping towards the display.
"Sir, there is someone here to see you. He awaits you in the Shrine to the Emperor."
"Who is this man?"
"I'm unsure, sir. His tech seems a patchwork of different models of weapons and armour, and he and his entourage were all wearing hooded cloaks, but their is no mistaking the size of a mighty Astartes."
The room went silent as everyone absorbed this information.
"I will be there shortly, guardsman." The Governor spoke.
"Understood, sir." The guardsman saluted and the display flickered back to the virtual map.
Shrine to the Emperor, Underground City...
As the Governor approached the most holy Shrine to the Emperor, he noticed the bolters resting against the wall, next to the doorway. Clearly whoever these mystery Space Marines were, they saw fit to leave their weapons at the door in respect to the Emperor. Anderson walked inside and saw the hulking figures of 4 marines knelt in prayer before the statue of the Emperor, with a fifth marine in front of them, obviously their leader, also knelt in prayer. Although they had placed their bolters at the door, the leader still carrier a massive sword of intricate design in a holster on his back. All 5 marines wore armour that seemed to be both dark green and black, but neither at the same time. As the guardsman had said, they all wore tattered robes with hoods that concealed their helmets. Governor Anderson stood in the doorway for several moments, not wanting to disturb their silent prayers. As one, the 5 Space Marines rose and turned to face the Governor. The 4 at the back parted to allow their leader to walk through. Their helmets were a mixture of Mark V Heresy Armour and Mark VI Corvus Armour, with one marine wearing a helmet of Mark IV Imperial Maximus Armour. These were very old models of armour. Their leader wore no helmet though, the majority of his face concealed in the shadow of his hood, but a selection of scars could be seen and his face twisted in a grotesque way as he attempted to smile.
"Greetings, Governor..." he said, his voice sweet and honeyed despite the gravel of age showing in his words.
"Greetings." Anderson replied, cautious around this unknown warrior. "Care to tell me why it was me you requested to see?"
"Simple. I believe you and I have a mutual interest. A common goal, as it were. I understand you have some Space Wolves that went rogue?"
"Yes... What of it?" Anderson replied, careful not to let the eagerness in his voice show.
"I may have some intelligence that could help you with that. And we could help improve your defenses here. All we ask for in return is a place here in this territory and to part of your command."
"Very well. I'm sure the others would like to hear what you have to say. You have a deal." Anderson decided, rubbing his hands together in elation.
The 5 marines nodded their heads in thanks.
"Say," Governor Anderson said before leaving, "What did you say your name was?"
The man's face twisted into a wicked grin again. "You can call me Cypher..."
Arrow Vale Academy...
Against my better judgement, considering how well things went last time, I decided to bring several soldiers to school again with me today. I allowed Commissar Reginald to bring a small honour guard with him in my bag to come to school, but I promised them that they would regret it if they caused any trouble. The Commissar seemed agitated to be forced to follow the orders of someone of lower rank than himself, but when I'm so much larger, he knew he had no choice but to listen. He grudgingly accepted. Today was Monday, so my first lesson of the day was psychology, and I placed my bag on the table, slightly open so I could keep a close eye on them. The teacher droned on and on about cognitive functions and me and my classmates barely listened, bored out of our minds. I had set up my phone in my bag so the guardsmen could watch YouTube on my phone, with the headphones on quiet so they could hear it without making too much noise. They had learned how to use the YouTube app by now. Most of the guardsmen were content to waste time away by watching YouTube, but the Commissar kept poking his head out, trying to survey the surroundings. One guardsmen, however, sat cross-legged at the edge of the bag, in the opening, watch the teacher and PowerPoint eagerly. He made small notes on a small scroll of parchment with a quill. It seems he was quite the scholar. It made me smile to think that despite the very rigorous and disciplined nature of the guard forces, they were still individual people with their own unique personalities. I also smiled because the guardsman reminded me of myself, in a way. Not because he was studious, but because he preferred a traditional sense of things. For example, instead of recording everything in a dataslate, he made a record on parchment. It was similar to how I view Kindles. Sure, its great to have so many books readily available at the click of a button on a tablet, but you can't be the feel of a real book in your hands. I loved reading. I collect all of the 40k books that are released and slowly my shelves are consumed by them. I was snapped out of my thoughts by the yelling of my name as the teacher asked me a question. Well, time to do what I do best: Wing it.
Later, on my lunch break, I went into the school library and sat in a quiet corner, away from everyone at out of sight. I loved it here. This was my spot. So tranquil and peaceful. I opened my bag and allowed the squad and Commissar to stretch their legs while I grabbed my book from my bag and opened it to the page my bookmark lay in. I was on page 141 of the 40k novel, Horus Rising. The book was very interesting and the storytelling was so captivating, I was really enjoying the experience of reading it. I sat there, on the floor, delving into the wondrous world of words once more when Commissar Reginald caught my attention by yelling up to me with the assistance of a Vox caster.
"Say, Thomas? What was that woman speaking about earlier about 'cog-nit-ive functions? Her monotone voice gave me a headache..." He rubbed his head as he said this.
"Tell me about it..." I replied. "I have no idea what the hell she was talking about either. One of your men knows though. I saw him making notes. Maybe he could help me revise it later."
"Perhaps. We all call him Scholar as a nickname because of it. He is always eager to learn new things."
As we spoke, the school librarian stormed over to my little hiding spot and 'shushed' me with a deep frown on her face. I mouthed an apology to her, wise of her trick of fooling students into saying sorry and then kicking them out for continuing to talk. She could be an absolute nightmare sometimes. As she walked away, I raised my finger to my lips in a gesture of silence to the Commissar and he nodded in understanding. I continued to read for a while, getting through 2 more chapters and starting on the next when the Commissar couldn't help himself and used the Vox caster again.
"Thomas? What are you reading? I see it that manuscript is named Horus Rising, and I do not like the name of such a document. It sounds highly heretical to me. You aren't falling for the lies of Chaos too, are you?"
"No," I whispered. "The only time I have done that was a few months back when I read 'The First Heretic' about Lorgar of the Word Bearers being disgraced by the Emperor and succumbing to Chaos. I pitied him and built up a Word Bearer force for a while, but I soon returned to the righteous cause of the Imperium."
Again, the librarian stormed around the bookshelves to confront me. He face was now starting to go red with anger and a vein throbbed in her head as she shushed me this time. Again I nodded my apologies and she began walking away when I turned to the Commissar and harshly whispered for him to "Shut up." Unfortunately for me, the librarian was not yet out of earshot and she thought I was talking to her. Slowly she turned to face me again, he eyes becoming now slits as she glared at me with pure hatred.
Several minutes later, I was stood outside the library and told not to come back until I had learned the meaning of 'silence.'
I wasn't mad at the Commissar to be honest. He was just curious. The librarian was always an angry woman anyway. The rest of the day passed fairly quickly, with the rest of my lessons being 'free' with the exception of last lesson which was business.
When I got home, my parents told me to hurry up and get changed into something smart as we were going out for dinner with my grandparents. I dashed upstairs and threw my bag on my bed. I flung my tie onto a coat-hook on the back of my door and dived into my wardrobe. I pulled out a black polo shirt with white trimming and a pair of denim jeans. I went into the bathroom to change and minutes later, I was ready to go. I put on my Assassin's Creed hoodie to keep me warm and we headed out to the car. I was in such a rush that I didn't notice the Space Marines scattered around me room. Or the 3-man squad of scouts in the pocket of my hoodie...
We went to a local pub and carvery called the Barley Mow. For those that don't know, a carvery is where you pay for a meal and you queue up and wait to be served. Service is usually a chef behind a counter with a selection of cooked meats and you can have whichever ones you want (I usually ask for a bit of everything). After you have been served the meat, you are free to pile on as much vegetables, chips or gravy as you can fit. Overall, it leads to a very nice meal and a lot of fun. The meal was delicious as always and me and my family chatted a lot with my grandparents as we had not seen them in some time. The whole evening was going smoothly... until I looked across the table and in my line of sight, amongst the glasses behind the bar, were 3 Cadian scouts, navigating cautiously between glasses and bottles. It was a miracle they hadn't been spotted so far. I panicked and began to worry. 'I have no way of communicating with them. What do I do?!'
Sector Bravo-Kilo, the skies above the Great Jungle...
"Command, this is Angel squadron. This is Angel squadron to command."
"We copy you, Angel 1. Report progress."
"We have the bogey in sight, command. The bogey appears to be a large feline xeno of some kind. On approach now."
"Roger that, Angel 1. Good hunting."
The 3 Valkryies of Angel squadron zoomed over the grass of the garden, having only recently launched and exited the bedroom via the window, to engage something that had been spotted by a squad of scouts embedded in the grass, or 'Great Jungle.' Their fire mission was a strafing run against the creature in an effort to bring it down or at the very least drive it away before it detected the scouts and engaged them. The cat looked up at the Valkryies as they dived quickly, pulling up before plummeting into the ground and flying low, ready to attack. They pulled up just shy of the cat and fired a huge rocket barrage at the creature. Missiles crashed into it and exploded in its fur, causing sharp pain which made the cat hiss and jump up in the air in surprise. It quickly scarpered into a nearby bush before retreating back into the neighbour's garden. The pilot of Angel 1, the leader of the squadron, looked behind him, turning in the cockpit, as he watched the feline xeno withdraw.
"Command, this is Angel 1." he reported. "Bogey has withdrawn. I repeat: Bogey has withdrawn. Mission Accomplished."
Angel squadron performed a synchronised turn in formation and flew back to the hangar bays beyond the window.
I was relieved when I noticed the scouts noted me and pointed in my direction. This could be the chance I needed. Standing up from the table, I asked if anyone wanted a refill of drinks. My mom asked for another J2O and everyone else politely declined my offer. As I walked over to the bar, I could see the scouts rappelling down the shelves of glasses using thick cables, though to me, it was about the thickness of string. I ordered 2 J2Os from the woman behind the bar and as she turned to fetch the drinks from a nearby fridge, I ducked behind the bar and pretended to re-tie my shoelaces. The scouts came dashing around the bar on the floor, dodging the feet of workers behind the bar as they made their way to me. The jumped into my hand as I stood up and in one fluid move, I deposited them back into my pocket. I paid for the drinks and carried them back to the table where my family sat. When I was only 2 feet away, someone collecting their food wasn't looking and nearly bumped into me. I had to stop abruptly to avoid spilling the drinks.
"That was a close one." my mom smiled to me as I placed the drinks on the table.
I sat back down and breathed a huge sigh of relief. "You have no idea..."
Author's Note: Hey guys. I'd just like to say thank you all so much for reading and reviewing my story, it really means a lot to me. In particular, I would like to thank murciamatthewx for his review. This chapter is largely inspired by him asking for more 'normal' events. I listen to those who help and so I would like to again say thank you again to all who review this story.
