Blood and dust. that was all that was left of the Bear-3 squad. they were guardsmen of the imperium, such a fate was almost a foregone conclusion for many soldiers, but not all of them were ready for such a realization especially if they were very young.

The battle was continuing as planned, the various groups were beginning to descend one after another into battle, beginning to dye the earth with ork and human blood.

the universe was not equal, there were no "brothers" of other races. the moment of maximum brotherhood was paradoxically war, in which both humans and xenos died equally. war basically makes no distinction, a corpse is still a corpse.

-Father...I'm a coward aren't I? Gallek was well hidden in a trench created by another group before the offensive: he was wounded, tired and dirty. His uniform was stained with blood both his own and that of his fallen comrades.

The human was almost cowering, trying not to hear the sound of gunfire, explosions and the pained cries of his comrades. Normally such an act would have been punished, but by now no one cared about such petty things. after all, what would one less soldier or one more soldier not change?

The guardsman showed no sadness or sorrow for the situation he was experiencing; in fact, he had a sort of tired, disillusioned smile. Gallek slowly began to rummage through his own uniform pockets until he pulled out a folded, dirty, and ruined sheet of paper.

-Druk you make me carry a great burden don't you?- he said in a mono and tired tone, as he held the folded paper in his hand. The soldier held the paper in his hand without opening it for several minutes, as if absorbed in thought, occasionally stroking it gently.

The guardsmen who passed through the trench to perform their duties looked at him with a look mixed between pity and almost "disgust." He was now considered a coward, little did it matter that his retreat had turned the tide of the battle, which now seemed lost. He had fled and left his comrades behind.

-I had to do it...I was the only one who could carry the damn paper!- thought the soldier, huddling his head between his own legs even more -The truth is that you didn't want to fight...- said a little voice in his head, the same little voice that made him feel all that guilt.

He had not cried. he had not cried when his father had not come home, he had not cried when he had to leave as a soldier, and he had not cried when he had first seen a xenon stained with blood and human guts. He was a guardsman , the very embodiment of what a man of the imperium was supposed to be, crying was not covered.

Yet... This time it was different: guilt had been tearing at him for days, he kept dreaming of that abandonment again and again, like a loop. This was too much for him, and that emotional armor of his began to crumble, letting a few tears furrow his face.

He cowered even more, -They must not see me in this state...I am pitiful- thought the man, trying to hide his face between his legs as much as possible. The sound of battle was loud, but at one point almost "repetitive" and in some ways "comforting." He remained huddled in that position for hours, then days, then two weeks.

Occasionally some soldier would bring him his ration of food pitying what was now a traumatized Guardsman, but Gallek ate only when at the limit and struggling to digest it all.

Toward the end of the second week finally the platoon generals had ordered the retreat of the simple troops: the situation on the battlefield was now untenable for ordinary men, and it was more useful to deploy the best war forces than to continue sending soldiers to the slaughter in that way. by now it was not even a matter of cannon fodder anymore, but really a slaughterhouse.

Gallek was helped by other soldiers to get up and head for the shuttle to evacuate: by now the tears had passed and given way to a dull, resigned look. A few hours after boarding finally what was left of the "Birdless Skies" was brought to safety and replaced with troops from other platoons, and especially a few groups of space marines.

Of the 3,000-strong platoon after the escape, just under a hundred individuals remained, almost all of whom were wounded, debilitated or left psychologically distraught.

But it was obvious after all ... what had begun as a war against orks scum had soon become carnage on both sides. After all, no one had ever expected what rested in the bowels of that seemingly harmless planet...

Warmth. few times as a soldier could enjoy some warmth: most of the time the Armsman's dormitories were cold or even freezing, keeping their troops warm was not a priority for the imperium, and above all they had to keep their soldiers tempered and ready for any occasion.

Gallek shifted his head a little as he slowly regained consciousness: he was still in the forest, the rustle of the animal carcass's drawl was perfectly perceptible, and evening had now fallen.

The human after a few moments of recovering looked around and then down, and immediately his classic Imperium soldier feelings resumed vigor -I had almost forgotten...- thought the human as he stiffened slightly at the sight below him.

The armsman was still on Garkrull's shoulder, who had slowed his pace slightly in the meantime. Gallek though he had slightly reevaluated the xeno, he still trembled at its presence and did not like physical contact with the green for too long.

-How the hell do I get up now!- thought the human as he remained rigid in the position in which he had awakened. The ork had had no reaction to the human's awakening, simply continuing its pace as if nothing had happened.

Gallek after a few seconds eventually slowly stopped being rigid and tried to calm himself to the best of his ability. The ork's grip on him was firm, and within the limits of its "gentleness" even comfortable.

The human, if he did not have all those fears and apprehensions about orks and xenos, might have found this position almost "agreeable." Gallek after a few moments, with a voice still stiff and intimidated by the ork's presence, asked his new companion -Where are we?-

The ork immediately turned to the human, quite surprised in not having noticed him up to that point, and said in his usual loud but friendly tone -Oh yer woke up little warrior!-. with a smile, which most humans would have found terrifying or horrible. The ork then continued as he continued his pace -We are still 'n 'da forest, 'da fight was hard haha-.

Gallek looked at the ork and its pace more carefully: looking at it he had actually noticed a slower pace on the part of the green: perhaps even an ork would have had difficulty carrying a grown man and an animal carcass at the same time.

The armsman understanding this, took some courage and trying to have a firm tone said as he started to move to get off the ork's shoulder -Can you get me...down?-

Garkrull gave a small nod as he calmly helped the human down, trying to be as gentle as possible within the limits of an ork. Gallek began to move gently, trying to get a sense of how much he had recovered from the exertion he had made a few hours earlier in his confrontation with the beast.

-Yes I think I will be able to walk- thought the human as he began to walk just behind the ork. Gallek was able to maintain a relatively brisk pace, and after a few moments L'ork was able to increase his pace as well.

The night forest was relatively quiet: the moon was high in the sky, hidden occasionally by the passage of small yellowish clouds. The stars were clearly visible, the air was cool, and every now and then a small breeze passed by. the atmosphere the human felt was quite peaceful, a feeling Gallek was not particularly used to.

As they walked Gallek tried not to look directly at the orks despite the latter being turned away, as his size and shape still put him in awe. Garkrull on the contrary would occasionally turn to look directly at the human, his gaze hard to distinguish from his usual face and yet Gallek quietly sensed a slight concern on the ork's part, as if he was not totally comfortable with the idea of the human already walking alone and especially so far away from him.

The armsman would normally have said something: perhaps an insult or perhaps a simple reassurance, but obviously this situation had little that was "normal" and he was still too intimidated to start an argument just out of pride. Garkrull after about 20 minutes of walking slowed his pace slightly and after turning around for the umpteenth time asked the human in a tone that confirmed the feelings the human had sensed just before.

-little warrior sure yer kan make it? yer are still wounded-.

Gallek slowed his pace slightly as he listened to what the ork was saying. -So orks make up nicknames, too, huh? thought the human noticing how the ork had called him again, after which he replied trying to avoid eye contact as he had done for all the journey up to that point -They are nothing wounds, I...- continued the soldier trying to find some good words to soothe a xeno -I think we should move on, we still have prey to eat after all- concluded the human starting to increase his pace again and hoping that his companion had calmed down.

Garkrull did not seem satisfied with the man's response but increased his pace again. After another 15 minutes the forest finally began to thin out, and the two began to catch sight of the ork's small settlement a few hundred meters away.

After a few minutes they arrived at the hut: Garkrull arrived and immediately began carrying the prey near the central hut and taking something from inside the building, leaving Gallek alone for a few moments. The ork came out of the hut again holding a set of fairly rudimentary and crude cooking tools, almost more like real weapons than working tools, and a small iron plate, where he probably intended to cook meat.

Garkrull carried all these items next to the animal carcass and headed behind the hut, where he collected several wooden pebbles that had already been cut. Green created a sort of "campfire" just outside the hut with the wooden pebbles and rocks found around there and gave a little nod to the human to sit down. Gallek though still a little uncomfortable, nodded in response and sat down by the fire.

The ork then began to cut and cook the carcass: the xeno seemed to be very much involved in the preparation and each cut put a great deal of strength and will into it, a characteristic that gallek had noticed in somewhat all the actions he had seen the ork do. The carcass had been roughly and rudimentarily cut, and the various pieces then cooked on the iron plate placed over the fire. in addition the ork also put in the vegetables found by Gallek, but perhaps out of habit or ignorance in that field, he had not peeled or cut them, putting them on the fire in their "natural" state.

From the griddle the food exuded an excellent meaty fragrance, and after a few moments both the vegetables and the cut carcass began to take on a beautiful bronzed color on their surface. The ork after placing the food on the fire sat on the opposite side of the bonfire, watching the food as it was prepared with a satisfied look.

A few minutes of silence passed, mainly caused by the involuntary tension the human had regained since awake, until the xeno turned his gaze toward the human just beyond the fire. Gallek immediately felt that gaze and tried to make an effort at keeping eye contact, albeit minimal, toward the xenon, mainly so as not to show further weakness.

-Oi little warrior...- began to speak the ork as he observed the human -Ya're a soldia right?- said without waiting for a response the xeno -Ya met otha orks didn't ya?- asked the xeno with a genuinely curious expression -I know 'umiez fight orks dough...- continued the xeno briefly -But i have neva met ma brothaz an' yer are 'da wun 'oo knows 'da most among us hahah!- concluded with a loud, fat laugh the xeno, as he scratched the back of his head with almost a small note of embarrassment as he looked at the armsman a little less than a meter away.

Gallek watched and listened to what the xeno said and then began to reason about what answer to give him. Gallek always had a "difficult" experience with xenos, especially orks, the number one enemies of humanity. The armsman did not exactly "hate" them for specific reasons , he hate them becouse he was afraid of them, and the only times he dealt with them were on the battlefield or in space confrontations of some kind; he did not even actually know what an ork was like in normal life before he met Garkrull.

-I...um...-started to stammer the human as he searched for words to give the xeno an answer -What do I tell him now! that "orks are mindless monsters"?!-started to think the human looking for adjectives or definitions that were not too "mean," more to avoid the ork's hypothetical anger.

-Well orks are strong and big...and then...well- continued the armsman trying to create a speech in spite of everything. -Ya are afraid uv me, aren't ya little warrior?- Garkrull abruptly interrupted the human's unsuccessful speech -Every time yer look at me yer tremble or stiffen- concluded the ork looking at the surprised soldier who had now concluded his rambling babble.

Gallek looked quite surprised at the ork, then switched to an almost "guilty" expression aware of his innate terror and fear toward xenos. The human did not respond, but his silence for Garkrull was practically a confirmation -I know brothaz usually try ta kill yer- continued the ork as he began to take a few pieces of hot meat from the iron plate -but i do not want ta hurt yer little warrior- concluded the ork while with for the first time a really serious look as he began to eat a small piece of meat and watched the human.

Gallek lowered his gaze and remained silent as he reasoned: for as long as he could remember every xeno he had encountered was in the same league as a monster, he had had no dialogues with them or relations, and from what he knew very few xeno races were actually "intelligent." -actually he has never been hostile to me...- thought the human with a crucified look -And yet it doesn't make any sense, orks are monsters...not bonfire mates!- he continued to reason with a not too veiled hatred.

Gallek hated xenos: xenos were evil, mysterious, powerful, and had always mistreated humans. Yet he could never confirm this on his skin: he hated xenos because of the battlefields and because everyone had always told him so. For him it was an objective fact, and he could not totally understand and accept this "exception."

The human after a few seconds of reasoning raised his head again, and asked with a conviction never before shown in front of the ork -Why should you be different from everyone else?- and then continued showing genuine contempt, probably the result of a hatred of xenos that had been brooding for several years -I have seen my comrades get cut in two by you orks, and now you tell me that I should calm down and be your friend?!- the soldier noticed the "rough" tone he had used, but it was too late to stop now.

Garkrull stopped nibbling on the meat he had taken, and as he chewed he lowered his gaze thinking about the answer to be given. After a few moments the ork said trying to use a gentle tone and calm the human -becom'n friends would be nice, but...-he then continued as he swallowed the large chunks of meat he still had in his mouth -Really i don't want ta hurt ya, i actually don't like 'da idea uv stomp'n' ya 'umiez very much- he then concluded with a little embarrassment mixed almost with "guilt" -I fink I'z "defective" haha-

-This doesn't make any sense...- Gallek hissed acidly as he let out all his pent-up hatred toward the xenos. The armsman had taken on a contracted and almost furious expression; he could not comprehend what he was experiencing and it made him involuntarily angry. Garkrull without changing his expression tried to hold out a small piece of meat in the human's hand, but the human chased it away for the first time forcefully. the piece of meat fell and the ork looked directly into his eyes with an interdicted face.

The human made a mixed expression between surprised and then frightened after realizing what he had done. He looked first at the hand with which he had "repelled" the ork and then at the fallen piece of meat, and then turned his head trying to avoid the xenon's face -I...am not hungry-. The green man continued to look at the human for a few more seconds, and then stated with a somewhat despondent look -If we want ta escape from ere we must at least kooperate, little warrior.- after which he concluded, as he began to get up and go to stow away in the hut the cooking utensils, still stained with the blood of the carcass -At least let's try ta help each other, okay?-. Gallek said nothing as the ork walked away from the fire, he stood looking at the fire with an indecipherable expression as the meat was now beginning to burn.

Garkrull after placing the tools away, removed the griddle from the fire and placed the remaining meat and vegetables on a small, crude, rudimentary iron bowl, leaving it beside the human indifferent to his help. The ork watched gallek and then said as he headed to the other hut, not expecting a response from his new friend -Before i sleep i will kollect some wood, ya don't stay out ere too long okay?-.

-Maybe I went too far- Gallek began to think with a guilty look on his face -Maybe he was just trying to be good- as he began to assume a crouching pose very familiar to him -There are no good orks Gallek!- a conflicting thought suggested to him -Maybe he is feeding you and then devouring you! - continued that thought. He was convinced that orks were monsters like all xenos; he was used to killing hundreds of them of all ages, shapes and sizes. He did not think of them as intelligent living beings, but as dangerous beasts and monsters to be eradicated for the sake of humanity and the imperium.

-And yet ... why do I feel guilty now?- he frowned further -Why do I feel guilty for chasing him away?-he was angry because he could not accept a rare "exception" There were bad humans who were a minority, so maybe there were also "defective" and "good" orks? Gallek did not know, yet he had one of these "exceptions" in front of him, and not understanding the situation troubled him. in addition he was forced to cooperate with that being to return home, and that infuriated him even more. He had been fine in the calmness of the forest, but he still felt lonely away from his own kind.

Because Gallek knew it well: as a soldier in the imperium you might be on a planet besieged by orks, tortured by dark eldars or corrupted by demons, and yet as a human warrior you will never be alone, you will always have your brothers with you no matter what. The armsman had never been the sociable type, he had always thought of himself as a solitary person and was fine with that in the imperium. Yet now he had realized that he still enjoyed the presence of other humans, if only as company.

-I would simply like to go home...- hissed the human huddled up: he was not crying, but he felt a strong sadness and that hurt. Several minutes passed in that position, until a cold gust of wind hit the human and put out the now exhausted fire anyway. Gallek came back to reality and now began to feel the chill of the night much more than before: the flesh was now cold and the wind was beginning to show strong.

-At least the ork was right about that...- murmured the human coldly as he began to walk toward the central hut, carrying the bowl of meat and vegetables. Upon entering he leaned against his own cot with the bowl of cold meat near his feet. With a lost look he looked around until his stomach began to murmur hungrily: he was reluctant to eat after that discussion, yet his bodily needs asserted themselves strongly and he finally decided to eat. The meat had become a little tough from the cold, but all in all the meal was more than good by the standards of a human soldier.

With the bowl in hand he began to look for a place to set it down, especially to avoid accidentally bumping into it the next morning. He walked over to the hut desk he had checked a few days earlier, knowing that it was the only actual physical floor of some kind in the entire hut: The desk was filled with mechanical junk, books, and rudimentary tools as usual. He set the bowl down on the first vacant seat, space next to an amber-colored book with several inscriptions on the back in human language.

Gallek was not much of a reader; he had been born on an agricultural planet and could read in a basic way. Yet in the course of his experience he had come into contact several times with books in the imperium: books in the imperium were mainly read by the most important soldiers, from what he had heard from members of the Adeptus Mechanicus, and by nobles or burghers from the various wealthier planets. Often, however, the books were transported from one planet to another and were sometimes the focus of some Navis Imperialis missions; they were sporadic, yet on some rare occasions fleets were asked to take books to particular planets. Sometimes they were books to be given to the Imperium and for safekeeping, sometimes they were gifts for the Adeptus Mechanicus, and sometimes they were heretical or xenon books to be burned or destroyed.

Over the years he had understood the difference between xeno books, common books, books of the imperium, etc., and the amber book he was looking at was sure to be one of those of the imperium. The shape, the size, the language, the workmanship...he was sure it was an imperium book, maybe dated, but from the imperium of men without any doubt. Gallek looked around to make sure of the temporary absence of the ork, and then began to leaf through the book: He could not totally understand what was written in it, the terms used, the wear and tear of time, and the subjects covered were totally unfamiliar to him. By inference he could guess that the book was something related to medicine or biological science, but the whole thing was totally confusing to him. Unlike the other books this one had not even been scribbled by Garkrull, but this created a spontaneous doubt in the human-How does he get these books?

That book was almost certainly from some imperium laboratory, or perhaps what was being transported on a ship bound for Mars. Gallek looked carefully at the book for some header, which as far as he knew was often done for books owned by the imperium.

After a few moments he found an inscription that read "Laboratory 0312" on the last page of the book. Gallek after a few moments of reasoning was startled for a moment by that number, remembering the identical number on the shoulder of his new "friend" xeno -Maybe it's just a coincidence? or maybe...-, but his brooding was stopped by the arrival of the ork on the edge of the door.

Garkrull was holding several pieces of wood and looked at Gallek quite confused by what the soldier was doing. The ork after a while placed the pebbles on the desk and looked at the amber book in the hand of the parallized by fear and human tension, after a moment, as if he understood something, he said pointing to the manuscript with kind face -Aaaah i get it little warrior, ya wanted to read dat weird book!-