Hayden Tresch walked through the main corridor, which cut through the quarters, allotted them by the Eldar. His Long-las slung over his broad shoulder. The lack of any rumbling through the walls and the absence of the strange scent of the recycled oxygen were still disconcerting to him, but it had only been four days since the Eldar had picked them up from Sarkeath. But his lack of adaptability was getting to him, was it because he was getting old? Either way-

He stopped in his stride as he felt the presence behind him.

'Darrance,' said Hayden, looking over his shoulder. 'That's you, isn't it?'

Darrance seemed to materialise from the shadows, smiling his insufferably smug, aristocratic smile. 'So, you finally detected me, Hayden.'

Hayden couldn't help grimace. 'Who put you up to this, Attelus?'

'That he did,' said Darrance. 'He is now the master, after all. And can you blame him for wanting someone to keep an eye on you after what just occurred?'

'I am free of taint, Saderth. After so many years, I thought you would know me enough by now.'

'Maybe,' said Darrance, his arms folding across his lithe chest. 'But you were more than vocal about selling your very soul to Chaos back on Sarkeath. You were more than willing to just slaughter innocent civilians like dogs on the behest of a heretic. You, and that fool Vark.'

Hayden sneered. 'I only proposed what I believed was necessary so we could accomplish our mission. And you couldn't have known they were innocent.'

'An action so necessary that the mission would be rendered meaningless by you, and all those with you, becoming pawns of the blood god.'

Hayden hesitated in his reply, he'd never seen Darrance so full of rage before. 'Saderth, the very walls were closing in on us to crush us all. It was better the supposed civilians, who were likely tainted, die than all of us. It was a no-win situation, damn it. Tell me, what would've you done? Huh?'

Darrance shrugged, but the anger in his eyes and body language didn't abate. 'I do not know what I would have done, and I thank my luck that I wasn't there with you. But I know what you should have done-'

'Oh frigging spare me, I already had that crap from that little bitch Adelana. You self-righteous-'

'What? I am a "little bitch" is that it now, Hayden?'

Both Hayden and Darrance flinched, and Hayden whirled around, Long-Las in his hands and readied to find Adelana approaching him from about six metres down the corridor.

'By the Emperor, girl you have me a fright,' said Darrance, but Hayden fixed her with his best withering glare as he lowered his rifle.

Adelana didn't even flinch her pretty blue eyes fixed to Hayden's. 'I'm sorry, Darrance. So, Hayden Tresch is that what I am to you now, is it? "A little bitch"?'

'Yes,' said Hayden and fighting to urge to smile at Adelana's flinch. 'Especially now because you're just about to abandon us.'

Hayden turned back to Darrance. Hayden went to speak, but Adelana's words interrupted him.

'I...you can call me a "bitch" all you want, Hayden. I'm sorry you think that way about me. I'm sorry that I'm about to abandon you. But it hurt, I think it hurt all of us, that you lacked such faith in us that you-'

'Shut up!' Hayden snarled. 'Just shut it. I won't hear any of this shit again!'

'Commissar Tathe and Dellenger had more faith in us that you did,' said Adelana.

'And not just that, Hayden,' said Darrance. 'I asked you before you entered that tower that you did all you could to fight that corruption and for all you frigging know, that could have been my last will and testament. And I think you failed it.'

Hayden gaped. 'What? But wasn't it Attelus frigging Kaltos who took that daemon sword and slaughtered a whole bunch of people with it? Including Jelket, Verenth and Helma? Our friends? Our comrades? He murdered them. You should be on his case, not mine!'

'That is true, Hayden,' said Darrance. 'But this is not about him; this is about you.'

'Oh frig off,' said Hayden. 'Frig off the both of you! I am done with this grox shit.'

Then he turned and stormed off, Adelana barely managing to get out of his way before he barged her over.


Adelana watched Hayden walk away then looked at Darrance and he looked back. She quickly found she couldn't think of anything to say to him, she never really could, so she started walking on and past him.

When she was a few metres away he called, 'I am sorry, but I must say that it is a shame that you are leaving us.'

Adelana stopped.

'Miss Adelana, you have such talent and potential it would be a shame if it goes to waste and Attelus-'

'Please, Darrance. Please don't make this any harder than it is.'

There was a pause.

'Yes, I understand. My apologies. Please carry on and I must keep an eye on Hayden.'

Adelana turned back to him, but he had disappeared. She smiled, Darrance always kept up an uppity, pompous front but everyone knew deep down he was a wise, caring person. She will miss him despite all his flaws.

She was going to miss all of them and it hurt, it hurt so damn much.


With a snarl, Tathe's sick kick sent trooper Sottec off his feet and crashing against the padded floor.

Trooper Voltia charged Tathe, stabbing for the commissar's guts with the barrel of his lasgun. Tathe slipped aside it, and sent a front kick into the side of the lasgun, sending the trooper stumbling. Then Tathe placed the flat of his inactive powersword against the side of Voltia's neck. Sottec by then was on his feet again and coming at Tathe's flank with a roar and swinging up the butt of his lasgun, sending Tathe slipping back. Sottec spun the gun, swinging in a one-handed, wild diagonal arc for Tathe's skull. The commissar leaned out the way, but the momentary distraction allowed trooper Sottec to lunge the distance between then. Tathe threw himself out the way of the trooper's swinging rifle butt, his storm cloak whirling in his wake. Tathe spun bringing around his sword in a two-handed bash which caught Sottec's stabbing rifle and sent it off course. Then Tathe reversed his sword and crashed its cross guard across the guardsman's face in a spray of blood.

Sottec cried out, reeling and clutching at his nose. Tathe's front kick smashed against Sottec's ribs which threw the soldier reeling off his feet and crashing to the floor.

His teeth clenching, Tathe began to approach Sottec, but a voice called out, causing him to stop.

'That is enough,' it boomed, so strong and resonate, it coursed through Tathe's diaphragm painfully, and the source emerged from the shadows. A two and a half metre tall Space Marine wearing the black and white armour of the Raven Guard. The distinct beak of the helm and sleek design of Mk IV in comparison to other marks of power armour made him seem much like the bird his chapter was named after and the namesake of the armour "Corvus" which was High Gothic for "Raven."

Everyone but Tathe backed a few steps, the sudden appearance of the superhuman warrior filling them with fear. 'You have broken the man's nose; he is downed, you have already won.'

Tathe sneered. 'Whatever you say, Kalakor.'

'What I say is the truth Commissar. You know this.'

'And why do you frigging care, huh?'

Kalakor shrugged a disconcertingly human motion from such an inhuman creature. 'I care because you are in danger of giving in to anger, anger you must keep under your control as a leader of men.

'See?' said Tathe as he glanced over the remaining few men and women of the Elbyran contingent. 'The Space Marine doesn't really care about us, he-'

Kalakor raised his gauntleted hand, which made Tathe's cynical words halt in his throat. 'On the contrary, I do care. All of you fought through one hell of a conflict, won a battle which should not have been won with great valour, skill and discipline. Even if many of you came within an inch of falling over the precipice into corruption, you have earned my respect, and thus, I only wish you to live up to your best selves, and that includes you, Commissar Delan Tathe. Mankind will need you at your very best when you begin partaking in this secret war.'

'Would you still call me a Commissar now?' said Tathe. 'Even after I collaborated with Xenos and foolish agents of the damnable Inquisition.'

'You and your men are not entitled as "Throne Agents" as of yet and you have not been formally discharged from the Imperial Guard, or in your case, the Commissariat so that I would deem the title still applicable.'

Tathe couldn't help roll his eyes. 'I didn't mean that literally...Well, perhaps I did, but, uhh...'

What seemed like laughter grew from the Space Marine's helmet grill, slow and echoing and threatening. 'You mortals can be such amusing little creatures.'

His shoulders simmering, Tathe bit his tongue before he said something foolish, and it was Sottec who clutched his nose between finger and thumb in a fruitless bid to stop the bleeding who spoke, 'What's your story then, Space Marine? Why are you travelling with us and the frigging Eldar instead of going back to your chapter?'

'My story does not matter, soldier of the Imperial Guard only the story of what is to come and you heard what the she-psyker Karmen Kons told us all. I have to aid in this it is far more important than meeting with my brothers.'

'So, does that mean once we meet this Inquisitor Enandra of the Ordo Hereticus you'll use an Astropath to send your chapter a message of this?' said Tathe, he was suspicious of Kalakor, he didn't quite know why. He seemed like many of the Adeptus Astartes he'd seen, met and fought alongside over the years, but there was something off about Kalakor, most especially his ability to just appear out of nowhere.

The Space Marine's red, inscrutable lenses tilted toward Tathe. 'Indeed. Assuming that this Inquisitor Enandra of the Ordo Hereticus accepts our offer for aid and does not have all of you executed for being tainted.'

'All of us, Kalakor,' said Tathe.

The Space Marine snorted. 'I meant what I had said, Commissar. They would execute you; they would try to execute me. As you do not-'

'Yes, yes we understood your implication,' said Tathe. 'Thank you, Kalakor.'

'Not a problem.'

That took Tathe aback, but Kalakor's laughter showed that he didn't mean it. 'Anyway, now you have managed to calm yourself, please continue your training. Do not let me stall you any longer; I just wish to stand witness for a bit longer.'

Tathe nodded and cleared his throat. 'Well, I can't stop you, do whatever the hell you want. Alright! Enough time-wasting back to it!'

With satisfying alacrity, his men started slipping back into their lines and Tathe reminded himself yet again, that after this he had to visit Scout-trooper Dellenger again.

Dellenger had yet to wake up and Tathe had a frig-ton of questions to ask him when he did, as not even a friend a comrade who he had fought alongside many times for decades wasn't above his suspicions.

Or a friend, a comrade he'd once thought he knew.