A/N: And we're back! The 'training episode', if you can call it that. Thanks so much for sticking around! I'm seriously honored by all the support! You guys are the best!
Now let's get straight to it! FORWARD, YOU DOGS! :D
Book One: Baptism by Fire
-Chapter 4: Forward March-
"We are not the Emperor's finest. We are nowhere near his finest. But we will die in our millions, each with his name on our dying breaths. So we will serve." - Veteran Sergeant Janice Vadiik, on the Imperial Guard
Yang and her new friends learned with a little more reading that they were on route to their first combat zone, a planet named Elodia IX, an Imperial world that acted as a travel hub. It would take approximately two months to arrive, and the interim time would be used to train the 111th in the ways of the Imperial Guard.
It was a rough adjustment for many recruits.
The training hall housed a couple thousand troops, all in their fatigues. It was enormous, and Yang was baffled that such an open space was contained within a starship. They were lined up, ramrod straight, facing forward. An imposing man stalked up and down the hall, his footfalls thunderous and purposeful. He was Sergeant Jorvis, their platoon leader and drill instructor for the next few months.
"The first and last words out of your filthy mouths will be sir, do you understand?!" He screamed. He was a large man, well into the latter half of his life. Despite this, he was ridiculously muscular, his body covered in scars accrued over a lifetime of service. A robotic eye glared at them from underneath an officer's cap, red and full of hate.
"SIR, YES SIR!" They cried in unison, their voices echoing again and again in the vast, high-ceilinged hall.
"What in the actual fuck was that? Are you mocking me? LOUDER, YOU PUKES!" His green overcoat quivered, shaking with fury.
"SIR YES SIR!"
"Emperor protect me, you're all pathetic! Are you fucks the best Woadia has to offer? Golden Throne of Terra, you wouldn't last a DAY in the Guard! Holy groxshit, I wouldn't trust you shit-stains to clean out my canteen!" He prowled over them, inspecting each of them with his horrible, horrible eye.
When he came to Yang, he stopped.
"WHY IN THE NAME OF HOLY TERRA IS YOUR HEAD NOT SHAVED, TROOPER?" He roared, towering over her.
"Sir, no one touches my hair and lives, Sir!" She cried. They had tried to take a razor to her, but she broke one of the barber's arms and busted a servitor before they realized it wasn't worth the trouble. She had compromised instead, tying her voluminous hair into a tight bun.
"Oh, so you think you're some kinda hard-ass, do ya?"
"Sir, I have trained my entire life to fight and kill sir!"
"WELL FUCK ME SILLY, AREN'T YOU SPECIAL!" He drove a fist into Yang's stomach before she could activate her aura, sending her sprawling across the floor. Pain rippled through her, causing her to double over and clutch herself.
"NO ONE GAVE YOU PERMISSION TO LIE DOWN, RECRUIT! Get up and give me fifty push-ups!" She complied, still groaning in pain. As she did her assigned workout, she reflected upon the contrast between Huntsmen training and Guardsmen training.
To say they had differences was an understatement of the highest order.
"Let me get this straight for you scum-sucking ingrates! Most, if not all of you will die in service to the Imperium. Only those blessed in the glory of the Emperor can survive the rigors of service. A blessing," he screamed, "YOU SORELY LACK!"
"Do you have the courage to face the xeno, the mutant, the heretic? Well, you fucking better, because if you don't, the punishment is death! The punishment for sloth is death! The punishment for ineptitude is death! The punishment for cowardice is death! The punishment for desertion is death! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"
"SIR YES SIR!"
"BULLSHIT, I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"
"SIR YES SIR!"
"Now go! Run! Five klicks around the track, go, go, go!" Yang sprang up after finishing her push-ups, eager to prove herself.
The two months passed by in a crawl. Many of the conscripts flagged and wavered, exhausted by the brutal training regime. But not Yang. Yang pushed herself, easily surpassing her squad mates. She outpaced and outfought anyone who challenged her. She'd been playing this game for most of her life, and it showed. Ros and Caolin were astounded, as was Rhain. Even Sergeant Jorvis begrudgingly acknowledged her skill. No one expected such sheer power from her slender form.
Her only serious competition came in the form of Woadia's militia veterans, recruited from the ranks of the planet's standing armies. They were huge, hulking men, who were well versed in combat. Still, they fell like flies on the mat. The only one that gave her a moment's pause was a mute man named Mael. They had gone for six rounds before Yang bested him... and then, only by battering him unconscious.
She also threw herself into learning a new weapon: the ubiquitous lasgun. Yang proved to be quite adept with them, but couldn't hold a candle to Caolin. He showed an uncanny skill with the weapon, and Jorvis awarded him the squad's long-las, its sniper variant.
The beam weapons were superior to most of the firearms she knew from her time in Beacon, but they weren't more than mere flashlights compared to the boltguns they learned about. They were probably the most awesome thing Yang had ever seen. And that wasn't even mentioning meltas and massively effective but dangerous plasma guns. She wished she could see some in action, as the instructional (propaganda) vids they watched on the topics were incredibly entertaining.
If Ruby were here, she'd be geeking out over all the various kinds of weaponry offered in the 41st Millennium. The thought made her sad, but in the midst of training and frequent exhaustion, she rarely had time for grief anymore.
Sergeant Jorvis also stressed the importance of skill in melee combat. As Yang learned in her clash with Chaos cultists, the enemies of the Imperium often like to fight up close, necessitating the use of gruesome but effective weapons like the chainsword. She was already extremely proficient in hand-to-hand combat, but Yang couldn't deny swinging around a chainsaw that doubled as a sword wasn't totally awesome.
The only real issue with her armaments lay in Ember Celica. Technology was a touchy subject with the Imperials, and she hadn't seen anything similar to her gauntlets in the guns they trained with. Sure, there were a few shotguns with similar gauges, but the concept of expanding, multi-functional weaponry seemed foreign to them. Yang decided to put away her weapon for now. When it came time for deployment, she could pass them off as bracers... she'd just have to be careful with the shells.
She learned a lot more about Imperial culture from speaking and living with the other recruits. First impressions were not good. Even Vadiik's xenophobic dogmatism was insignificant compared to the average citizen of the Imperium. Despite this, her fellow recruits were still decent people. They looked out for each other, supported each other. Ros and Caolin were no exception, however much Ros tried to deny it.
And while the physical demands of the training were strenuous, they weren't too difficult for the former Huntress. After a while, training got fun.
Yang loved it.
Graduation was a small and sudden thing, a piece of paper that each member Gamma platoon received. 'Congratulations!' It read. 'You are now a fully-ordained member of the Imperial Guard! Do your utmost to serve the Emperor-' which was about as far as Yang got before she threw the paper in her locker.
Only a week remained until they exited Warp at Elodia IX.
Yang knew what awaited her comrades, and she'd do her best to protect them.
Her leg hung absent-mindedly from the top bunk, as she stared at the ceiling that was mere inches from her face. As scary as it was, the prospect of combat thrilled her. This is why she joined, after all.
"Hey, Yang, you gonna join us?" Caolin asked, poking her leg.
"Hm?"
"Rhain and Mael smuggled a ton of amasec on board. We're celebrating!"
"Amasec?" Yang asked, rolling over to face him.
"How can you not know what amasec is? Did you live under a rock your entire life?"
"Don't judge the poor girl, Caolin!" Rhain rumbled. "She's never experienced the finer things in life!"
"Whatever you say, old man." Caolin grumbled. Rhain pulled him into a headlock, rubbing his knuckles into the kid's hair with a vicious noogie.
Ros watched it all with an amused smile. Training had worn the baby fat from her face. Now hard and lean, her visage was that of a soldier. Her red hair was still short, barely reaching her ears after the inaugural cropping it received. She handed a flask to Yang, passing it up to her bunkmate.
Yang sniffed at it. She grinned, downing the entire contents in a few seconds. The liquid was abrasive and crudely brewed. Only a faint whisper of grapefruit told her that the concoction was something other than rubbing alcohol.
It was delicious.
"Golden Throne!" Caolin called from across the barracks. "There's a woman who can hold her drink!" She gave a small bow, and belched. Ros reddened, ashamed at her friend's antics. Everyone else laughed.
"Mael? Was this yours?" The mute man nodded, laughter in his eyes. He was bigger than most recruits (still shorter than Yang), and held the honor of wielding the squad's rocket launcher. He chuckled. A low, strangled noise that revealed the stump of his tongue. "Thank you very much!" No Strawberry Sunrise, but it was something.
"My turn." Ros said, reaching for a flask. Rhain tossed it to her, the contents splashing softly within. She tried to imitate Yang and failed horribly, coughing and spluttering after a few seconds. "Fuck! How," a cough, "how do you do that, Yang?"
"Practice."
Mael took a swig from his second flask, some contents leaking out and spilling down his chin. He waved his arms around, a gather-round motion. They handed their canteens, and he filled them up.
He raised the flask, as if in salutation.
"To the Emperor, and the majesty of his Guard!" Caolin said, reading Mael's movements. They drank.
"To Ros, and her promotion!" Yang said, hefting her canteen. They cheered again, celebrating Ros' promotion to Corporal a week ago. The woman in question blushed, shrugging as her comrades cajoled her.
"Ah, you Emperor-damned idiots will be the death of me." Ros muttered, sipping at her amasec politely. Her face twisted up at the taste.
"Corporal Ros has a weak stomach, it appears." Rhain said, grinning like a wolf.
"You have no idea." Caolin said, nudging Yang in her side. She giggled, starting to feel the warm release of liquor crawl through her. "I remember this one time…"
"No." Ros said, paling.
"I'm gonna tell them."
"Don't."
"Do it!" Yang said, leaning forward a little, hopefully tempting Caolin to do her bidding. Mael nodded, also interested in the story.
"Well since you asked so politely…" He started, grinning at Ros.
"I. Will. Murder. You."
"It was the end of the Harvest Season, and Ros' nineteenth birthday party. Naturally, the Bardigaal youth were out in force." Rhain rolled his eyes. "Ros had this huge party, had at least a hundred kids out in the fields, drinking bathtub amasec like it was water."
"Caolin you utter prick…"
"And Ros gets the brilliant idea to get her harvester and have a joy ride with her closest friends. 'C'mon you guys, let's make this party mobile!' She said. Accompanied with much hooting and hollering, of course." Yang snickered. Blake and herself did something similar during the 'Cruiser Incident' of which they did their best to never speak of again.
"So we're bumping along, and we here this shouting behind us. And guess who it is? It's Koris."
"Shut the fuck up, Caolin."
"No, no no, this is the best part! Suddenly we realize we are not on Ros' harvester. We're on Koris'! She stole it without even realizing it! I remember it, oh Emperor, the look on her face! She'd fancied this guy for years and she stole his fuckin' tractor from right under his nose! On accident!" Rhain laughed, a rumbling, hearty sound.
"Kids!" He chortled, taking a sip from his bottle.
"Anyway, she stumbles off the tractor…"
"If you finish this story, I will personally drag the commissar down here and have him shoot you in the face."
"She's apologizing and stammering, and we're all making fun of her and shit."
"Last chance, Caolin." Ros said dangerously.
"And she ups and vomits on him! Three months later, they're engaged!" The group burst out laughing. Ros gave an indignant cry and tackled Caolin. Yang, struggling to contain her mirth, caught his canteen before it spilled.
"I guess you could say they were… a-tractor-d to each other!"
"Boooo!" Rhain cried, throwing his coat over Yang's head in punishment. A few other guardsmen joined in, hooting their disdain for her awful pun. "That was terrible!"
Mael let out his usual laugh, a small stuttering gasp.
Ros and Caolin struggled. Punches flying, legs kicking. Yang took a sip from her (Caolin's) drink.
"Gah! Someone ger'off!" He cried, trying to crawl away from the assault.
"I don't mess with rank." Rhain said. Mael agreed silently, nodding stoically.
Huffing and panting, Ros managed to pick Caolin up and throw him over her shoulder. He hit the metal floor with a dull thud. She straddled him, raising a fist to strike. Coalin shifted under her legs, his head narrowly avoiding the blow. Yang gave him a high-pitched whistle.
"Nice moves! Hey Rhain, I bet you two cups of amasec Caolin throws her."
"Traitor!" Ros yelled, trying to keep Caolin contained.
The door burst open to reveal the eternally pissed-off Sergeant Jorvis. Yang sprang up, thinking quickly. She smashed her hand on the floor.
"And TEN! Sorry Caolin, you lost this round!"
"Trooper Xiao Long, what in the name of Holy Terra are you jackasses doing?" Jorvis cried. His metal eye searched them for the slightest fault.
"Sir! We are sparring in preparation for planetfall, Sir!" He considered this for a moment.
"Out-fucking-standing! I pray to the Emperor all of the platoons are as dedicated as you!" He slammed the bulkhead shut and stormed down the corridor, leaving the barracks in stunned silence. Once they were sure he was gone, the squad burst out laughing. Even Caolin, who was still thoroughly pinned.
They got off the floor, dusting themselves off. Ros swooped down, plucked Rhain's amasec from his hands and downed it, this time without the accompanying grimace.
"To Yang, and her swift thinking!" Yang raised her hands disarmingly, pretending not to be pleased with the praise.
"Hear, hear!" Caolin echoed, nudging her. She grinned, and pushed him down onto his bunk.
"Shut up and drink."
Yang got drunk that night, something she hadn't done in far too long. It was nice. There was real, actual laughter in the barracks. Ros and Caolin got to reminisce (less violently), Mael and Rhain drank themselves to oblivion, and Yang enjoyed watching them slur and stumble. She couldn't help but feel like a trespasser of sorts though. This wasn't her world. Her fingers tightened around the canteen of amasec she'd been sipping.
And like lightning, the realization hit her. There wasn't anything left for her in Remnant anyway. It doesn't matter that it isn't my world. This is my home now. She thought, watching her friends' antics with a small smile. Her mind made up, she went to go tease Caolin. He didn't pay her much attention though, he was too wrapped up in a story Ros was telling. Oh well.
She stumbled back to her bunk, settling under the covers with a contented sigh. The barracks swam pleasantly before her, rocking back and forth like a ship on the sea. The sea. How long since she had seen a sea? She fell asleep, a canteen clutched loosely between her fingers.
Running. She remembered running. Dashing across Patch and laughing. She's holding someone's hands and it looks like Ruby's but it's too bloody to tell.
She's in a bar. Junior's bar. Lights flashed and pulsed, brilliant and stunning in their flickering patterns. The music here does not blare, but shakes, a low, resounding pulse. You can feel it churn your stomach, rattle your bones. She loves the music here.
get me another
don't you think you've had enough
no now get me another
you're lucky i let you come here
The bass drops again, thumping, pounding, constant. Saxophones sing a sultry, keening cry.
i love this song
She thinks, kicking her drink back. The alcohol, the music, they go well together. Both are bright, both dull the bladed edge of the needling pain that wallows in her heart and under her skin. They are sensual and alive.
She laughs.
But gone is the metal, the lights. Gone is the concrete floors and leather stools. It's wood now, a quieter venue, a different bar. Junior's place got busted somehow. Her finger traces the watermarks that stain the bar. The music here is different. It is not vibrant. It is black and white like piano keys. She hates the music here.
A faunus sits next to her. He's cute, with some deer-ears poking out of his scruffy brown hair.
hello beautiful
hello yourself
Somewhere else now, with faces she does not recognize. They are smiling, but she is not. PAIN is everywhere BLOOD OH DUST WHOSE BLOOD
stains everything and everyone and she clasps her neck hoping to stitch the skin together but hahahaha that won't happen, no sir.
HA HA the joke is funny but why is she crying? The dead ones beside her. They were alive and smiling but she made them dead. She likes making them dead, she realizes, laughing through the opening in her neck.
Yang bolted awake, nearly bashing her head on the bars of Ros' bunk above her. Another nightmare. They had pervaded her sleep ever since she boarded the Ascendant Dawn. They scared her, as did the violent, angry pulses that persisted in her waking hours, horrific in their sheer brutality. She didn't know if they were just nightmares, flashbacks of some kind, or something else. Ruby. Think of Ruby. Remembering her sister usually helped in abating the strange impulses. Sweet, innocent Ruby. Her breathing slowed, returning to normal after a few minutes of focusing. Whew.
What would she make of the Imperium? Of the death, the cruelty, the insanity? She wouldn't last too long, that's for sure.
She shuddered, wrapping her blanket tight around her. It would be another week or so before they made planetfall. Rubbing her eyes, she saw Rhain had awoken, and was sitting silently by his bunk, kneading something in his hands.
"Rhain?" She hissed. He looked up. Silent tears ran down his face, soaking into his thick beard. "Rhain, are you ok?" He nodded, putting a finger over his lips.
Exiting the comfort of her bed, she padded over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. His skin was hot and sweaty beneath it.
"I'll be ok, Yang." She fetched a clean (amasec-free) canteen for him. He drank it, but slowly, listlessly.
"What's wrong?" She asked. When he didn't answer, Yang sighed. "Who did you lose, Rhain?" He didn't look up.
"My wife. My daughters. My son." He said, his fingers counting the beads that flanked the Aquila around his neck. "Why me? Why did I get to live?" He looked at her, a flood of tears staining his eyes red and weary. Yang sat down. His words felt familiar. They reminded her of friends and loves she left on Remnant, holding them as they passed or hearing about their sacrifice and dying inside, bit by bit. The grief was a terrible pulling, one that threatened to rip her heart free from her ribs.
"Why did I get to live when… oh Emperor help me, Nedi was seven. Seven! They ate her, Yang. Sick, disgusting, foul bastards." She didn't know what to say. "The Emperor protects." He whispered. "The Emperor protects."
"You… volunteered." She said.
"Yes. There was nothing left for me on Woadia." Yang shuddered. Two peas in a pod. "I'm sorry." He said, sniffling before wiping his face with the back of his hand. "The amasec brings me back. I- I shouldn't have brought any. The graffruit, it… it was Nedi's favorite. Nedi. Cef. Madra. Illys." Each name brought another bead winding through his fingers. "Nedi. Cef. Madra. Illys."
"They know you made the right decision." Yang said, trying her best.
"I know." He smiled. "I won't my loss affect performance." He gave a dark chuckle. "Might even enhance it, really." Yang gave him a small smile, and told him he should drink some more water. He did so, this time in full, flooding gulps. "Thanks Yang."
"Of course."
"Can you… tell me about your sister? If you don't want to, that's fine. I-" Yang held her hand up, stopping him.
"It's fine. It's ok." Rhain gave her a look. "Really, it is."
"Thank you."
"Well, to start, her name was Ruby Rose. Two years younger than me. Liked the color red…like a lot." She smiled. "Strawberries were her favorite. Always wore this raggedy cape Mom gave her." She twirled a finger through her hair, feeling it knot around her knuckle. "Always had a big, dopey smile on her face." He grinned.
` "She sounds like an interesting girl."
"She was." Yang chuckled a little, remembering their first few days at Beacon. "A little awkward though. Had trouble fitting in. Never let it get to her though. Always upbeat. Always smiling. Even when the last breaths left her body…" Her hands wound tighter in her flaxen hair, pulling it taught. "She said…" A few tears pooled in her violet eyes, threatening to fall free. "She told me to stay strong. Give her that smile of mine."
"How did she die?" Yang's smile returned. If there had been any consolation about Ruby's death, it was that. She turned to Rhain, beaming despite the tears that crawled down her face.
"Like a hero."
A/N: I promise, the next chapter with Yang, they'll be in the thick of it. It's gonna be awesome. What did you think of the chapter? Too fast? Too slow? OCs grating? OCs rock? Let me know! Every little bit helps!
Thanks again for all the reviews, guys! I love each and every single one!
Review Replies:
DanAbnettFan1997: Hopefully I addressed your concerns here!
thefluffyone93: Remember, Papa Nurgle loves you! He just loves you more if you're a fetid pile of weeping sores and mucous. :3
L4 of the WEST: Hurrah! I aim to please!
Bear of Cali: Indeed!
TheSolInvictus: No grimm here, just regular ol' plague zombies. Just figured ol' Decius and the gang wouldn't know what they are, so they didn't specifically refer to them as 'zombies'. As to the bolter shell thing, you're right, but we're gonna see how the story goes. If she's lucky, she won't have to fight anyone with the wherewithal to come bearing boltguns!
RED Roman Pyro: Ooh, an interesting idea with the Inquisition! Rest assured, they're tagged for a reason, and you'll find out why next chapter! ;)
giodan: Noop, just regular plague zombers!
Yoshtar: Gwah! You're making me blush! Hopefully, I addressed some of your questions here!
deathwing316: Ooh, cool idea! We'll see how Yang does in the guard first! haha
AW YUSS, LOVE ME THEM REVIEWS *Uses reviews to fuel Astronomican*