Chapter 9
Guardsman Noah Silastar, Urban Tigers 25th Regiment
As if the world was trying to wash away the stench of the battle, the heavens broke open and rain fell. The day had suddenly grown quite dark, but no one had noticed. The bright fire of lasguns had given the guardsmen all the light they needed to see by. A bolt of lightning split the clouds, illuminating the clearing and casting eerie shadows.
Noah was quite shaken by the battle, but in high spirits nevertheless. He had been closer to death than this – indeed he shouldn't even be alive. The only reason he was here was because the brutish woman from his old squad had seemingly sacrificed herself for him. As far as he was concerned, he was on borrowed time.
Time he didn't plan on giving back.
His first battle had changed him somewhat. He no longer thought he was invincible, and he knew he had a long way to go before he could hold his own. While he had learnt much from his two battles, both times he needed help from his allies to fight back the orks. First the woman whose name he did not know, and now the Eldar who arrived out of nowhere.
His time away from Ivy City had given him a new perspective on life. The jungle he once feared he now found beautiful. He wanted to explore all over the sector. The Eldar intrigued him most of all. He had somewhat expected the rumours of an alliance with the Eldar to be no more than just rumours, but now he was glad that they were true. He could still hear the death cries of Orks as the Eldar warriors hunted them down through the forest.
He lugged his way around the camp, hoping to find his friend Jack. He was sure he'd still be alive, not many of the Tigers perished in the fight. He pulled his cloak around his neck to stop the freezing rain falling down his back.
The surviving guardsmen had formed into small groups, mates who were happy to find each other alive. On the edge of the camp, flamers were burning the Ork corpses to slow the infestation. Noah scanned the camp, but he couldn't find Jack. He saw some Eldar emerging from the edges of the clearing, greeting the Guardsmen.
At first the two races interacted cautiously with one another, and communication was difficult, but there were a few amongst the Eldar that could speak the Gothic of the Imperium, and they served as translators between the two armies.
Laughter reached Noah's ears, a sound he hadn't heard in awhile. He looked for the source and saw a Guardsmen shaking hands with an Eldar she-warrior clad in bone-white armour.
"I thought I was done for," he heard the man say. "That Ork was right on me, and next second whoosh, gone. Thanks to you."
As Noah watch the Eldar he was more and more intrigued by them. They wore incredible armour embellished with the most dazzling of jewels, and moved with an uncanny grace. He sensed that there was more to these people than met the eye, and he wanted to know everything about them.
"I saw you fighting," he heard a voice from behind him. "You were brave to be on the front."
Noah turned to see an Eldar in flowing green robes behind him. A long rifle was strung across his back. He had trouble looking at him, for his eyes could never focus on the ranger's cloak.
"Thankyou," he replied courteously. "I'm afraid I didn't see you fight."
"Thankyou," the ranger replied with a slight bow. "I try to make a point of not being seen. My name's Icarys." The Eldar extended his hand, but Noah backed away cautiously.
"Isn't this the traditional greeting amongst your kind," Icarys asked, a look of innocent confusion on his face. Noah didn't trust him. As thankful as he was for the Eldar's help during the battle, he had heard stories of how devious they were.
"Why are you talking to me?" he asked.
"I saw you were alone," Icarys said. "And wanted to commend you on your bravery for fighting in such a state." The ranger's gaze briefly wandered down to Noah's broken leg, before flicking back to meet his eyes.
"I do what I must," Noah said stiffly. He didn't want the Eldar's compliments to bolster his pride, but they did, despite his efforts to ignore it. "Thanks for arriving when you did. I didn't think that the help of so few Eldar would help us win." He gestured around the camp with his arm.
"Ah, there are more of us here than what you see," Icarys said amiably. "Most of us are too proud to talk to a lesser race."
"Not you, it seems," Noah said. Even though he didn't trust this Eldar, he liked his company, and found him interesting.
"Not me," Icarys said, half to himself. "Ah, don't let me keep you. I think you'll find someone you know by that tank there," the ranger said before clasping him warmly on the shoulder.
Noah looked to where the ranger pointed to see Vincent tending to the damaged engine of a Chimera. Noah's jaw dropped.
How does he know? Noah thought, bewildered. I thought the man dead.
He whirled around to ask the Eldar how he knew, but Icarys had vanished. He didn't dwell on it for long, he was too happy to see his friend alive. He hurried over to the greasy engineer.
"Whatcha doin'?" he asked casually to the crouched man, who was tending to the Chimera. Vince jumped.
"Pius, man," the engineer swore. He turned toward Noah, and his look of anger instantly changed to joy. "Noah!" he jumped to his feet and gave him a warm hug.
"I thought the Orks had got you!" Noah said.
"I thought they got you!" he said. "I haven't seen anyone from the squad since the fight. What happened to Kara? Jack? Carlos?"
"Kara didn't make it," Noah said, bowing his head.
"Oh," Vince said. It was well known amongst the squad that Vince had had feelings for Kara.
"I haven't heard about Carlos, but Jack's alive," Noah said. That seemed to cheer Vincent up. "What happened after the Chimera explsion?"
"Oh, I emptied my mag into the horde and ran, ha!" Vince said. "Only just made it back to the line before I was whisked into another Chimera and we hauled arse out of there."
Noah looked past Vince and saw the mysterious bald man who had arrived half way through the fight and reordered the men.
"Who is he?" he asked. Vince peered over his shoulder.
"Apparently he's the captain of the Lord General's Spartans, Trigger," Vince said to him quietly. "Y'know, the one that killed the Lord Commissar. There's talk of an Inquisitor trying to hunt him down, that's why he shaved his hair. There's a reward on his head, but I'd rather face the Orks again than try and bring him in."
"I see," Noah said, watching Trigger. The man was talking to a few of the higher-ups sitting in the valkyrie.
Why would an Inquisitor try to find him, when he just saved our lives? Noah wondered.
"When we get to Gran Valens, I'll see if I can't get you a proper leg," Vincent said, nodding towards Noah's stump.
"Thanks mate."
It wasn't long before the remains of the 25th regiment resumed their journey for the capital. Noah had lost track of time in the fighting, and the dark rainclouds made it difficult to tell the time, but he assumed it was almost night time as the world was darker than usual. The Valkyries had been sent on ahead with several guardsmen to scout ahead of the chain of Chimeras that Noah sat in.
His squad had somewhat been reunited. Cutter, Jack, Vincent and him all rode in a Chimera. He tried getting as much sleep as he could in his seat, but the tank wasn't a comfortable bed.
The Eldar had gone on ahead of the Chimeras. Noah didn't know how they were keeping up with the tanks. He knew the Eldar were fast, but surely they couldn't outrun a tank. Noah hadn't seen Icarys since their first meeting.
He had sensed the tensions between the two races rising as they spent time together. Not an hour after the battle he had heard a guardsmen shouting at some of the xenos. He was complaining at how they looked at him, and called them freaks. He was quickly calmed by his friends.
The Guard made camp in a small, abandoned outpost about a day's journey from the capital. The rain hadn't let up all day, and by the time they stopped the world was pitch black. Powerful lights from the Chimeras lit up the outpost. The men set up shelters and heaters from the sides of the Chimeras to drive away the heat and cold.
"Winter is coming," Jack solemnly said to Noah and Vince as they awaited dinner.
"Must be," Noah said. He didn't mind the cold, it kept him numb enough that his severed leg didn't pain him as much as it could. He was busy applying new bandages to his wound. Cutter said it was healing alright, but since the skirmish it had begun to produce a smelly, yellow pus.
Vince was by the Chimera, checking on the heater, while Jack sharpened their bayonets and cleaned their lasguns and enjoyed a smoke. Noah was glad for their company. He refastened the prosthetic leg that Jack had made for him. It helped him walk, but its narrow point easily sunk into the mud. He still needed his tree-crutch to hobble around.
The Eldar had arrived at the outpost shortly after the Guard had. They camped on the outskirts of the outpost. Noah noted that they had no shelter. The freezing cold didn't seem to faze them. He knew that there were rangers perched in the trees, even though he couldn't see them. Three singing spears were resting in their saddles, and he saw some dire avengers standing, still as statues, along the fence that skirted the outpost. Noah didn't know why the Eldar were following them to the capital, but he was glad for their protection, even if he had to suffer their strange ways and piercing gaze.
Noah watched three dire avengers stride past his camp. They moved so fast despite the swampy ground. They were fully clad in their battle gear, their faces covered by a blank war-mask. Burning red eyes burned through the cold rain. One avenger met Noah's gaze. Noah faltered under the eldar's stare and looked away, ashamed.
The avenger said something in his elaborate language to his brethren, which caused the other two to laugh. The laugh was beautiful and cut through the sound of the falling rain like a razor, but it was full of scorn and caused Noah's cheeks to burn.
"What did you say?" Jack said darkly, eyeing the avenger with a steely gaze. He flicked his fat cigar from one side of his mouth to the other, and lay the bayonet he was sharpening across his lap. "Go on, we'll all have a chuckle."
He's braver than me¸ Noah thought to himself.
"I'm sure it's beyond your comprehension, human," the avenger replied in Noah's language. Jack rose to his feet, grabbing the bayonet almost casually. He was shorter than the aspect warrior, but had a much broader build.
"Try me." He spat his cigar into the ground at the avenger's feet. The eldar appeared unperturbed at the gesture, but no one could see past his mask.
"Forget it, Jack," Noah mumbled, ashamed.
"No, no." Jack said. "I want to hear what he said." He placed the sharp end of his knife on the eldar's breastplate.
"I marvelled at how at comfortable the cripple was," the eldar said. "Amongst other cripples. It seems his wound made him no less able than the rest of your kind."
All the guardsmen in the camp jumped to their feet, enraged. Noah felt anger flair in his chest. He too rose to his feet.
"How very honourable the Eldar must be," he began, at last finding his courage. "That they feel they can insult those they think are beneath them."
The eldar turned his burning gaze to Noah. Weather he was looking at him with anger, or amusement, he couldn't tell.
"You think you're my equal?" the Eldar said. Again, Noah couldn't tell if it was out of anger or amusement.
"I think you're too busy with other's faults that you fail to see your own," Noah said. The three avengers stood stone still. The first avenger went to take a step towards Noah, but Jack's blade pressed his chest as warning. The avenger turned his gaze to Jack.
"The Eldar have no faults," he announced, for all to hear.
"Then tell me why the flawless Eldar live in the shadow of the Imperium," Noah said, giddy on bravery. He instantly regretted it when all three avengers fixed their burning red eyes on him. This time he could tell that they were angry.
The lead avenger spun into Jack, lightning fast, knocking both the knife out of his hand and the breath from his lungs. He then dashed for Noah. The other two avengers followed himThe aspect warrior was so fast that the guardsman could do nothing but raise his hands in defence, but just as the avenger was about to grab him, another body stepped between them.
The figure was clad in a green cloak. With lightning reflexes, he managed to turn the avenger's first strike aside. The ten guardsmen Noah was sharing a camp with rushed forwards to meet the other two avengers.
The wall of guardsmen hit the two avengers so hard that it knocked them both to the ground. Simultaneously, they rolled backwards into their fall, both grabbing a different guardsman and sending him flying over their head as they rolled backwards. A split second later they were on their feet, charging into the throng of guardsmen and exchanging blows.
Noah was caught in the middle of the brawl, trying his best not to interfere with the duel happening between the first avenger and the robed figure. The two fought with a grace Noah hadn't seen before, and it didn't take long for Noah to realise that his saviour wasn't human.
The avenger spun low and kicked the legs out from beneath his hooded opponent. As he fell, he kicked his foot out, taking the avenger in the neck. The two hit the muddy ground with a thump, before launching themselves to their feet a split second later. The robed fighter's hood had fallen back, revealing himself.
Icarys, Noah realised with a gasp. Before he could wonder why the ranger would come to his aid, he heard a huge voice boom its way into his ears.
"ENOUGH!" it said. Most of the guardsmen still fighting stopped, but Jack and two others kept fighting the two avengers. Icarys and his opponent didn't falter in their assault against one another.
Noah could see three guardsmen, including Vince, squirming in pain on the ground. The other four guardsmen obediently backed away from the fight.
Trigger strode into light of the camp. He was back in uniform, wearing the heavy carapace armour that stormtroopers usually wore. His helmet was strapped to his belt, and he carried a laspistol in his left hand.
"I said ENOUGH!" he bellowed, charging into the fight himself. Moving even faster than the aspect warriors, he knocked Jack and another guardsman to the ground, along with the avenger they were fighting. The four spectating guardsmen rushed in to pull their last two comrades away from the fight, and the avenger they were fighting seemed to have more sense than anyone else, for he stopped fighting when his opponents were dragged away.
The aspect warriors both had blood seeping from various cuts on their body, and their helmets had been battered so much that their face-plates had begun to crack. Mud caked both of them.
There was still the fight between Icarys and the last avenger for Trigger to deal with. The two seemed oblivious to the world around them. Noah watched as Trigger stalked the edge of the fight, waiting for his opportunity.
The avenger threw another lightning fast punch at Icarys, which the ranger managed to palm away at the last second. Trigger seized his chance, dropping his pistol and grabbed the avenger's thrown-aside fist with both his hands. He twisted with all his might, sending the avenger somersaulting into the mud. As the avenger fell, Trigger kicked his pistol from the ground back into his hand, and pointed it at Icarys face.
He can fight, Noah thought in awe. He knew he wasn't the only one that thought the same. The avenger writhed in pain in the mud, and Icarys raised his hands, ending the fight.
"I shoot the next man to throw a punch," Trigger announced. The disgraced avenger got to his feet, holding his limp wrist in his good hand. "Human or otherwise," Trigger added pointedly, lowering his pistol from Icarys and holding it in a more casual fashion.
"What happened here," he asked to no one in particular.
"The Eldar mocked our brother and mankind, behind the safety of their own language," Jack said proudly to the Spartan. "It is our duty to defend both."
Jack's bravado slightly left him when Trigger turned to fix his steely gaze on the guardsmen.
"It is not the duty of a guardsman to concern himself with the affairs of the Eldar!" Trigger said sternly. "What you did must have felt very noble, but it is not for you to pick your fights. Your duty is to fight the wars you're told to fight, not start new ones."
The lecture made Noah realise how pathetic the whole situation was. By the downcast look of the other guardsmen in the camp, he wasn't the only one who thought the same. Trigger rounded on the avenger he's disarmed.
"As for you," he began, his voice little more than an angry whisper. "I won't bother wasting much of my time on you, for I know you won't listen. Just know that it is not only mankind who has been disgraced by this. Now get out of my sight, before one of us gets killed."
The avenger rose to his full height, before giving Trigger a curt nod, turning on his heel and returning to the Eldar's camp.
Even the Eldar respect him, Noah mused. Noah waited for Trigger to address Icarys, but then realised with a shock that the ranger had vanished. If Trigger was surprised by this, he didn't let it show.
Trigger strode from the campsite. The guardsmen stood silent for a second, each reflecting on their actions in silence. The men awkwardly began to resume their activities in silence. Noah saw Jack kneeling on the muddy ground, trying to catch his breath yet again. Some guardsmen were helping their fallen comrades get up, including Vincent.
"Lucky I came when I did," Triggers voice came from the edge of the camp. All the guardsmen turned to face him, to see him peering around the back edge of the Chimera. "Burying three dire avengers would have surely soured our alliance with the Eldar," he said with a grim smile. The guardsmen stared at him blankly for a second, before realising what the stormtrooper was getting at. Trigger slowly raised his fist at the guardsmen.
"Hoorah, you sons of dogs!" he said coarsely, before vanishing again.
The guardsmen stood in stunned silence for a moment. One man began to laugh, and another, and another, until the whole campsite was laughing at how stupid the whole situation was.