CHAPTER 2
The First Trial
Tatrasiel slowly woke up on the strike cruiser. He was surrounded by serfs and one of the machines in white armor. He had tubes sticking out all over his body and multiple scars where he was shot, he vaguely remembered the fight that took place before, his body covered in a gown. Apothecary Gabriel spoke "I am Apothecary Gabriel, you are aboard the Strike Cruiser Ruddas. Once you have recovered the tests will begin." Before Tatrasiel could respond, the apothecary left, only serfs by him now. A sound is heard and a light brightens on a machine next to him. A liquid is pumped through one of the IVs and he is put to sleep.
He wakes up in a dark room lit by candles. A man that is wearing red steps forward, 2 huge silhouettes behind him. Tatrasiel is bound to a chair and unable to move, floating skulls moving around him. As the man steps into the light Tatrasiel tries to recoil, the man has metal sticking out of him, multiple new appendages and a red eye. Techpriest Matthias speaks "your will shall be tested. Your loyalty to the Omnissiah will be measured and you will be tested. You will be deemed worthy or unworthy. May the Omnissiah protect you. The 2 men step out from the darkness. The man in white armor who he assumed to be Apothecary Gabriel stepped out, along with a man in black armor, a skull where his face should be with flames on his shoulders. Tatrasiel stares in fear wondering what they were planning. Multiple serfs stepped out, and surrounded him as a floating skull came over with a scroll. The tech priest began reading off of the scroll as multiple tubes were plugged into him. The apothecary injected him with something that made him feel tranquil and seemed to slow down time greatly. Techpriest Matthias continued reading from his scroll "In the name of the Arch Magos on the barren Wastes of Mars, we perform our holy tests of purity on all servants. We deem them worthy of the Omnissiah. May you be accepted and your soul free of all corrupting machine spirits. In the name of the Omnissiah and the Emperor, the trial shall begin." The techpriest closes the scroll as the chaplain steps forward. Chaplain Horissus speaks in a commanding tone "Are you worthy of the Emperor? Worthy of Horus? Do not bother answering that question, for all the answers will be found."
His Crozius powers up and he slams it on the ground. Tatrasiel is blinded by a light and feels a sharp pain through his entire body. He screamed, unable to tell if he was making sound or not. He slowly regained his vision as the pain continued, a yellow liquid being pumped into his body. One of the Serfs grabbed a knife and cut him across his arm, before a needle was inserted into the cut, another wave of pain went through his body, the drugs from before keeping him awake during the process. He felt something pulling at his mind, like he was slowly losing his sanity as a ringing noise enveloped everything. The sounds from his screaming, the chants and prayers of the techpriest gone. He saw a vision of unimaginable horrors, of Chaos ranging from the disgusting mutations caused by the Plague of Unbelief, to the Tendrils and sadistic thoughts of Slaanesh. He was tested and repulsed all of these. The picking of his mind continued, all his memories and thoughts taken and analyzed by somebody, or something. Images of Xenos, traitors, more visions of chaos flashed through his head.
Eventually it ceased. The ringing was gone and another fluid was pumped into his veins. The Chaplain left as did most of the serfs. The apothecary tended to his wounds as another liquid was pumped into him, and he fell asleep yet again.
He awoke later, mechanicus personnel surrounding him. One of them was looking at him, surgical tools in their hands. One of them injects him with a needle and he is put out again. He woke up later, scars across his body from the surgery. He looked around and saw a monitor with 15 phases on it, 5 of them grouped together saying completed outside of brackets, 3 more grouped together saying pending with his name on it. He saw the Apothecary cleaning himself up along with multiple tech priests and serfs. The apothecary walked over to him and spoke. "Welcome Neophyte, to the Luna Wolves. You will begin training shortly before you enter for your next round of surgeries." He walks off as the locks on his bed are released. A serf walls over to him as Tatrasiel starts to sit up. The Serf speaks. "Hello Tatrasiel. I am Guillos, a serf to this legion. Come I must show you to the barracks and to the training center." He motions for Tatrasiel to follow, which he does. They walk through the gigantic ship serfs and tech priests everywhere, with a few astartes in between. They eventually reach the barracks where he is shown his assigned bed and locker, though it could hardly be called a bed. A hard steel plate with a thin mattress and pillow on top of it. The serf spoke "This is your cot, you will sleep here when you are told and you will not sleep unless you are allowed to. Do not disobey whoever trains you. I will show you to the training grounds as well. It is on the station we are docket at." Tatrasiel looked surprised and immediately talked excitedly "wait wait wait a station? I've heard about things like that before but I've never seen one!" The serf laughed and spoke to Tatrasiel "Yeah, they are pretty big, and awesome too. You won't have time to wander though. Nor should you."
With that the serf left and Tatrasiel followed. They approached the bulkhead and were stopped by a marine. A marine stopped them. "Where are you 2 going, why are you taking one of the neophytes out into the station?" The serf turned and looked surprised before speaking. "Sergeant Halbrean told me to take him out into the station and show him to the training grounds. That's all." The marine looked at him and spoke "Wait here. I'm going to contact him and clarify." He walked off a bit keeping them in sight before talking into something in his hand. After a bit he walked back. Aye you 2 can go. A scout is going with you though. Sergeant ordered an escort through the station. I already called one in. A scout wearing a suit of armor that covered his whole body cams walking up, an extremely large weapon in his hands. The scout spoke "Hello Brother, are these the men I am to escort through the station?" The marine spoke "Yes Davas. These are the men." The marine waved them on, a button lights up and an alarm sounds as the bulkhead is opened. They step through and the outer door is also opened, revealing the interior of the station.
The station is extremely large with tons of people in it. Armed and armored men are walking around in it, as hundreds or thousands of people walk by. The scout speaks. "Let's go. The training ground is extremely close. This station is used by the Luna Wolves for training and sometimes recruitment purposes." They walk through the station, people parting for the serf and the scout marine. They reach a large building with a couple of armed serfs in front of it, weapons platforms and entrenchments all around the building. The outside gate is opened and the 3 men step inside. The inner door is then opened and they enter the training grounds. 2 serfs inside pull him in as his guide and escort leave, closing the door behind him. Tatrasiel is thrown to the ground as he's dragged. Tatrasiel tries to yell while this is all happening "HEY What are you doing let me go! Hey hey!" They drag him to the center where there are other recruits and a huge man in power armor walking around with serfs. The man in power armor speaks "Good all the recruits are here. My name is Sergeant Halbrean. I will be the one who is going to teach you. I will break you, to see if you are worthy of becoming a brother. You will learn to fear me, if you do not already. May the Emperor preserve your will this day, and for many days to come." They started with basic cardio, to help with warming them up before doing specific training to help them acclimate to their implants. From continuous running to strengthen and test their new heart, as well as medical tests to determine if their implants are helping with the bone and muscle growth. This continues for an extremely long time, focusing on hand to hand combat, weapons training and maintenance, strategies for all types of fighting, how to fight in certain enviornments and such. They also have to monitor their bone and muscle growth over the year they are doing this, to make sure the implants are taking place. After the year is up, those recruits go back into surgery to have almost all of the final implantations. Those who survive are given time to recover and are monitored for 2 weeks, in case of a malfunction within the organs. After such time they return to training, and eventually the final psychological screening.
