A/N: Hi again! It has been longer than I had hoped. Serious (insert multiple excuses here) has happened, draining my desired time... As such, I have not answered some of your excellent comments, I will answer a few of them after the cahpter... yes... We will leave that typo as is... cahpter.
Also, sorry for grammar issues, I didn't spend as much time proof-reading as some of the others, again... time constraints. I'll get to it eventually.
Ruby absentmindedly pulled at the red-tinted bandage upon her arm, her eyes were focused upon a shallow pool of crimson at her feet. The blood danced and swayed with the motions of the vessel they were in, defying nature's call for it to coagulate and still. Merith had done what she could for Ruby's arm and one of the Troopers, Trunks his name was, had given them a small medical kit with hemostatic agents and anti-bacterials. Merith knew enough to take care of the rest, stopping the bleeding and wrapping the arm in clean white bandages, but Ruby's limb would still need better attention.
"Ruby, are you okay?" Merith said softly to Ruby, gently pulling Ruby's hand away from the bandage to stop her from pulling at it.
Ruby didn't answer at first, she had stopped crying some time before, but it didn't mean she didn't still hurt. She took a shuddering breath and spoke, "When I was a little girl, I had always dreamed of being a hero. Fighting monsters and saving people just like they do in the stories, you know?" Her silver eyes followed the now congealing blood as it drifted once more. "But when it came down to it, I couldn't even save your family." Her voice dropped to a whisper, "How can you ever forgive me?"
Merith reached around, pulling her close, she guided Ruby's head to her own shoulder, placing her head so her cheek rested against the crown of Ruby's head. "I never told you much about Lucy did I?" Ruby shook head and Merith continued speaking, "She was the light of my life. Always optimistic, exploring the forest and learning everything she could."
Merith smiled wistfully, "I used to get so mad at her for wandering off alone, but she was always so excited to tell me about the adventures she would have, I could never stay angry…" She paused, her lowering her voice so even Ruby struggled to hear her, "She would be your age about now." She began running her fingers through Ruby's short hair, both women finding comfort in the maternal action.
Ruby listened intently, soothed by Merith's presence and soft voice. "What happened?"
"She disappeared four years ago, we had no idea what happened to her. We searched and searched. Even when we knew she was never coming back, we never gave up hope that she was somehow still alive." She stopped playing with Ruby's hair and clenched her fist, pain and parental passion splicing into her words, "You know what the worst part of it all was? Not knowing what did happen. We don't know if she died or if she was kidnapped or simply left… I will never know."
She raised her left hand up, showing the ring that once adorned her Husband's finger. "This hurts more than you can imagine. I have lost most of my family in one day. But I know what happened. I can rest knowing that they are with the Emperor, waiting for me to join them."
"Most of your family?" Ruby asked, pulling away from Merith to look at her, fresh tears were running down Merith's face.
"I still have you, don't I?" Merith's tone was matter-of-fact, and for the first time that day, Ruby truly smiled.
Ruby leaned back, head clunking against the bulkhead, "Ow!" She rubbed the back of her head and turned to glare at the metal wall which had the audacity to harm her. Merith chuckled slightly at the sight and, in spite of everything, Ruby began to laugh with her. The innocence of the simple act such a paradox in the emotion of the moment that they couldn't help but find humor in it. The two laughed until their lungs burned, but neither wished to stop nor cared about the looks they were getting from the others in the compartment. The laughter burned away the grief and pain that filled the air.
As they slowly regained control of themselves, Ruby took a shuddering breath of recovery, "Thank you Merith. I feel like this is backwards, I should be comforting you, not the other way around."
Merith's smile evaporated as she opened her mouth to say something in return. Before she could speak, the tall black-haired man came into view. Both women turned towards him and Ruby saw the state of his uniform. Large splotches of red stained the once wholly green shirt.
"Oh, uh… Hi." She said ducking her head, not wanting to look at him, embarrassed at the way she had acted. "I'm uh, sorry about the whole um… hitting… thing." She had to consciously stop herself from hiding her face with her hands.
"Don't worry about it, red was always my favorite color anyway. I think it makes me look rather dashing, don't you think Skirts?" She looked up at him to see him looking at her with a smirk upon his face. Dark hair, tan skin and violet eyes a contrast to her own pale skin and silver irises. Yet as she looked at him, the memory of Celia's face as she fell burned to the forefront of her mind, marring any opinion she tried to form.
Shaking her head to clear it of the dark thoughts, she focused on what he had said. "Skirts?"
The smirk shifted to a more sincere, crooked smile before he continued, ignoring her question entirely, "How's your arm?"
Huffing slightly in irritation at the dodging of her question, she stretched the mentioned limb and winced at the pain. Reflexively she brought it back to her chest and cradled it close, "I've had worse I guess."
"I bet, you were unbelievable down there. You would give Space Marines a run for their money." His voice had a light-hearted tone to it, but sincerity laced the words. Ruby knew what Space Marines were from the stories Brody and Merith would tell. At the compliment her lips turned traitor on her, forming into a smile in spite of commands otherwise.
"I'm Cade, by the way." He reached his arm out and she gently reached back out and returned the shake, his hand was easily half-again as large as hers, calloused and rough. But his grip was gentle.
"Ruby." She replied in kind, breaking the grip and returning her functional hand to its current favorite place, picking at her bandages.
He pulled his hand away in kind and tucked it in his pocket, "A pleasure to meet you Ruby, next time we meet though, don't invite the Tyranids." He grimaced, nose crinkling in pseudo-disgust, "Terrible guests." Ruby flinched before narrowing her eyes and glaring at him. "Sorry, too soon." He said, rubbing his arm as he backpedaled from the poorly timed humor. He cleared his throat awkwardly before looking over to Merith again stretching his hand out in greeting, "And you ma'am?"
Merith stared at his proffered hand but made no effort to grab it, "Merith." Was all she said, her voice terse and hostile.
His hand slowly returned to his side and his smile settled into a grim line, all humor retreating from his face. "That little girl, what was her name?" His gaze didn't waver from Merith in the slightest, sincerely interested in the answer. In a rare moment of social understanding, Ruby knew that she shouldn't intervene, and rather let Merith answer as she would.
Merith didn't meet his gaze, for several moments she stared vaguely at his shirt and the blood that stained it. "Celia," she whispered, "She was my little girl." Ruby, gently reached her free hand over and gave the grieving mother's hand a gentle squeeze. No motion escaped from the blonde widow to acknowledge Ruby's attempt at comfort. Her brow was knitted together in painful thought as she continued haltingly. "I… I thank you for sparing her, but I will never be able to forgive you." The words that came next were damning, "You will always be the one that killed my daughter."
Ruby winced at the harsh words that came from the normally stoic woman. She looked up to Cade to see his response. What she saw altered her perceptions of him entirely for, for the briefest of moments, unfiltered pain crossed his face before just as quickly disappearing. Ruby didn't want to believe it, she wanted to blame him for what happened and she wanted to hate him. But at the sight of his remorse, her anger cooled, and to her surprise, she had empathy for him. Ruby may have lost Celia, but in the end, she didn't have to pull the trigger.
This man did.
Seeing that her future-timed adoptive mother was on the verge of losing her composure, she thought it best to leave her alone for a time. The small ship only provided marginal privacy, intended to only carry twelve men, but it was all that was to be had. She gave Merith's hand one more squeeze and stood.
Only now did she realized how much blood she must have lost. Her vision swam and she stumbled slightly before catching herself on the bulkhead. "Woah, is this what it's like being drunk?" She said, leaning heavily on the bulkhead, her eyes shut as she tried to make the room stop spinning.
"Well, you're also on a moving ship, which doesn't help," came Cade's voice, a sarcastic tune playing in his tone once again, denying the pain that had crossed his features only moments before.
"Oh. Right." Said Ruby as she reached her arm out, flailing for someone to grab onto. "Well, are you just going to laugh at me, or help me walk?" She was obliged as she felt a rough hand gently grab her arm. Opening her eyes, she saw Cade standing close enough to her. He was quite tall, so she merely latched onto his arm and started walking towards the corner where his team was, all the while trying to keep from vomiting as the world spun, "I want to thank all of your team for saving us."
"Squad."
Ruby snorted, regretting the action immediately as her head felt unpleasantly light, "Squad, team, crew, whatever you call it." Thankfully, the relatively compact troop compartment meant a short walk and her mobile torture was quickly ended. She was led over to the four other guardsmen who occupied this half of the ship and was gently set down near another man whom she hadn't met. Cade, with almost gentlemanly care, only let her go when he was sure she was fully settled and took the space next to her. Looking at those she was seated by, she sighed internally as she realized it was like when she started at Beacon all over again.
Those she was seated by seemed normal enough, they would blend in at any city on Remnant, violet eyes only adding to the familiarity. But their eye color was the only thing that seemed inviting. She stole a glance at Cade, hoping that he would somehow spare her by taking over introductions. She was to be disappointed as he merely sat with a grin that spoke volumes of the pleasure he was taking at her discomfort. Silently cursing the social executioner that was Cade, she turned again to the others near her. They stared at her curiously or in the case of the only guardswoman, with hostility.
She figured she should start somewhere, pulling from her social memory banks she came up with the most profound intro she could. "Um… Hi…" If they weren't in an aircraft with engines whining as they propelled the occupants at over 750 Kilometers per hour, Ruby was certain that the simultaneous blinks from the five troopers would have been audible. "I'm uh… Ruby!" At the continued stares, she muttered to herself, "So, it's gonna be one of those conversations…"
Cade saw fit at this point to spare Ruby from further struggles as he stepped in, gently bumping Ruby with his shoulder. "You're really good at making friends, aren't you Skirts?" Sarcasm practically oozed off of the words he spoke before he began pointing at the troopers around her, starting across from her and ending with the man on the opposite side of Ruby. "So, this is Trunks," A friendly wave came from the trooper, "Sam Grandy," A creepy glare, "Barry Bearings" A far too formal seated bow that even Weiss would be proud of, "and Jorge Lovelock." The man next to her grunted as his name was spoken.
Cade continued, "Beyond that, were Cadians of the Imperial Guard, 744th Cadian Shock Troop Regiment, Emperor's Holy Hammer, yadda yadda yadda." He waved his hand around vaguely as he desecrated some mental script he was reading. He finished, slouching in his crash seat and putting his hands behind his head.
"Nice to meet you all!" Ruby said cheerily, happy that the basics were taken care of. "I wanted to thank you all for saving us. If you hadn't shown up when you did…" She didn't need to finish the sentence.
Lovelock, the one sitting next to her, spoke up with a strange accent that sounded far too similar to Velvet on Remnant. "It was our pleasure," Grandy scoffed across from him, he ignored her and continued, "We didn't think we would find anyone. The little buggers had already gone through every major city."
Grandy cut in, again. "Oh, and how would you know that?"
"Cause I actually talk to people without threatening to break their legs, unlike some of us around here Grandy" rebutted Lovelock, without missing a beat. "Amazing what those Navy boys know when you just talk to them." Grandy growled and pulled her helmet over her eyes.
Lovelock sighed, "Don't mind her, she's…"
"Special." Cut in Cade.
As they spoke, the Valkyrie banked hard, Ruby slid into Lovelock next to her from the sideways momentum. "Gah! Sorry!" She muttered as she pulled herself back to her seat. "So… Where are we going anyway?"
"We are supposed to be heading to our original LZ," Cade muttered, "I thought we would be there by now. Let me ask the pilots." He stood and grabbed a vox, pulling a headset over his ears and began speaking quietly with the pilots.
Still looking at Cade's back as he spoke on the vox, Ruby had a question that required answering. "Are nicknames just a thing he does? I mean... Skirts?... Really?" She asked the guardsmen still seated.
Trunks, who was across from her, sighed with dejection, "Yeah… It is. My real name is Tyberus, but nobody ever calls me that. Cade called me Trunks one day and well… It stuck."
Lovelock jumped in, "Well, it is fitting, right? You're built like a bleedin' tree trunk!" He spoke without maliciousness as he turned to Ruby, "Besides, who fights in a skirt?"
Ruby gasped, "Hey! I'll have you know it's a combat skirt!"
"Uh huh, sure," Said Lovelock, bumping Ruby good naturedly with his elbow which was not far from being level with her shoulder.
Bearings spoke up with a stiff and flat tone, "I would like to remind you all, that she single-handedly fought off a Tyranid horde for who knows how long. I wouldn't mock the girl." His looked rather bored at the conversation, yet his eyes kept flicking over to Ruby when he thought she wasn't looking. Ruby wasn't sure if she should be creeped out or not.
"It's okay, I know you're just joking. I think… Right?" She looked dubiously at Lovelock as she finished the sentence, but was only met with a suspicious grin and a shrug.
She was jostled as Cade came and literally collapsed into his chair, bumping into her slightly in the narrow seats. His face was grim, his elbows rested on his knees and his hands were clenched together. "We're leaving." He spoke loud enough for everyone to hear him. Even Merith, who was struggling to compose herself in the far corner turned to face him.
"What?!"
Lovelock looked over Ruby's head at the Sergeant, "What about the LZ?"
"Gone." He said quietly, looking down at his clenched fists. He looked over at Ruby, who could see in his eyes incredible exhaustion, "You two are quite possibly the only ones who will make off the planet. Along with us…" He glanced around at his small squad, "The last of the 744th Cadian Shock Troop Regiment."
The mood was appropriately somber as Ruby felt the Valkyrie gently touch down. No one seemed willing to speak after Cade's announcement. Nothing more was needed to be said, but Ruby still wished someone would say something. She found in the silence that her thoughts were being drawn back to her desperate battle near the woods, to the mayhem and carnage she fought through… The loss. But she didn't know what to say.
As the engines of the Valkyrie whined to a halt Grandy pulled open the side door and jumped out, the rest of the guardsmen quietly following suit. Ruby tried to stand, but thought better of it as bile rose in her throat. Collapsing back into her seat she noticed one guardsman had some back into the ship and now stood near her with a hand extended. "Need help?" Cade's voice reached her. Gratefully, she placed her thin hand in his and he pulled her upright, letting her lean on him as a support.
"Wait." She said to Cade, stopping him as he began to help her out of the Valkyrie. Turning, she called to the only remaining occupant of the vessel, "Merith!" The woman looked up and stared blankly. Ruby winced, realizing that leaving her alone to brood may not have been the best idea. Nonetheless, the woman slowly stood and, as if carrying a heavy weight, began to follow them. "Are you okay?" Ruby asked, receiving a shallow nod in return but nothing else as a response.
"I'm taking Ruby to the Medicae Wing, you should go with her," Cade said with surprising tact for the normally sarcastic soldier. Again, a nod in return.
As they extricated themselves from the Valkyrie, Ruby growled at Cade, "I don't need to go to... the…Doctor…" her words trailed into nothing as she took in the hangar the aircraft had landed in. They were in a massive 'room' with ceilings stretching dozens of meters overhead. Aircraft and men scuttled about what could only be a hangar. Dominating one of the massive walls was what appeared to be a blue window. Only, as she looked another vessel flew through and proceeded to land. On other side of what could only be a force field was a deep blackness, twinkling with distant stars. "Are we in space?" Ruby asked, her jaw and shoulders dropping at the sight.
"Uh…. Yes?" Cade began tentively,
"That's so awesome!" Ruby cried out, punching Cade in the side with her good arm in her excitement.
"You are quite possibly the most emotionally bipolar person I have ever met." Cade said, rubbing his abused ribs.
A cheery "Thank you!" What all he received in response as she continued to stare out into space, grin plastered on her narrow face. Shaking his head in amusement at the optimistic woman, he began leading her away, her eyes never leaving the distant view port until they left the bay.
They were almost to the Medicae Wing when it became apparent just how serious Ruby's blood loss was. At this point, she found she didn't have the strength to continue, her legs threatening to give out on her. Her normally pale face was practically white as she leaned more and more heavily upon Cade. "Okay, maybe… you were right… about…. the Doctor…" She said between deep breaths. "Maybe…"
Cade cursed, "I should have thought of this. You lost a lot of blood." Ruby looked at his blood-stained shirt and had to agree.
As Ruby stumbled once more, Cade took things into his own hands, reaching down he picked her up 'bridal-style' as she yelped in surprise. She looked up at him, shock on her face at the undignified action before laughing uncomfortably. "This has been a strange day."
Cade smirked as he began carrying her to the Medicae Wing, "You tell anyone about this, I'll break your other arm." Ruby mock saluted at the empty threat. Uncomfortable silence followed thereafter, the troop transport's halls were disturbingly empty for such a massive vessel, a testament to the numbers lost on the planet below. Those that they did pass quickly stepped aside for the duo, the blood-stained Sergeant and alien ichor splattered woman needing to offer no explanation.
When they entered the Medicae Wing, Ruby was slightly disturbed. It looked more like a science lab than a hospital. Blaring florescent lights white-washed the room. Every square centimeter of the Wing was spotless, burnished plasteel allowed Ruby to see her own distorted reflection in the floor. But what was disturbing was the one patch of the wing that was not clean. Two operating tables were in use. One held a sleeping armsman, tubes and wired attached to him, blood stains ran down the side of the table he was resting on. The other was found behind a plexiglass window, a partially dissected Tyranid held behind it. Everything smelled of bleach.
Considering the warzone that was planet Teitam, the wing was otherwise nearly empty. A few nurses tended to various instruments while what appeared to be robotic men poked and prodded at the Tyranid corpse.
Ruby pointed the cyborgs performing the dissection. "Who are they? Please don't tell me they are the doctors!"
"Those are Tech-priests from the Mechanicus." Ruby looked only more quizzically at him. "Uh… Scientists and enginseers, but rather than worship the Emperor, they worship the spirit found in machinery. They build all our weapons and ships." He cut her off before she could say anything more, "They are not the doctors." Ruby sighed in relief as an entirely 'normal' woman briskly approached them. "We are lucky to have Hospitallers here. Best doctors you could hope for."
"Emperor bless you for your kind words Sergeant," The woman said as she neared them, her voice airy and welcoming. The woman was dressed in a flowing cloth gown with a hood. Her hair was short, cut to her shoulders and dyed a pure white. A small tattoo was on her cheek of a fleur-de-lis and over her right eye was a monocle looking device with several additional magnifying glasses jutting from the apparatus. The only oddity real oddity was the menacing device that covered her left hand, needles and scalpels jutted from her fingertips menacingly. "I am Sister Gwenna, how may I aid you?"
Cade cleared his throat, "Two civilians," He shifted Ruby in his arms to draw Sister Gwenna's attention to her, "Tyranid got this one's arm, she's lost a lot of blood." They were directed to a clean table, where Cade gently deposited Ruby. He turned back to Sister Gwenna and gestured to Merith, "She is likely suffering from shock, lost her whole family down there." The Hospitallers waved one of her fellow sisters over and whispered in her ear. The nurse then took Merith's arm, leading her away without a word of complaint from the mourning woman.
Ruby watched sadly as Merith left, before sharp pain shot up her arm. "Ow!" Looking over, Sister Gwenna had a small needle in Ruby's arm. She withdrew it and Ruby's arm was left without feeling. Try as she might, she couldn't move the anesthetized limb. The doctor immediately set to work, cutting the bandage from her arm. Coagulated blood tore away with the bandage and blood began to seep forth, if more slowly than before.
Ruby pulled her head up from the thin pillow her head was on and watched with disgusted interest as she saw the extent of the damage to her arm. The Tyranid's brutally sharp incisors had bitten deep on the dorsal side of her forearm, piercing down to the bone. But the real damage was on the opposite site where the teeth had cut along the entire length of her forearm. Torn muscle and flesh was splayed open for the world to see. More unnerving than seeing the damage, was watching the expert Sister reaching her glove apparatus into her arm.
"You are very lucky" Said Sister Gwenna after a few moments of gentle inspection, "Your radial artery has a small tear. A few millimeters over and it would have been severed entirely. You would have been dead long before you made it here." She looked up at Ruby as she finished. Her right eye was magnified to almost comical proportions from the aperture over it, showing the nearly black irises in great detail. "The damage is extensive elsewhere, I must begin work immediately or you may never use the hand properly again."
Ruby gulped, the magnified colorless eye was hardly comforting. "But you can fix it, right?" Her gut clenched at the thought of being unable to use her left hand.
The Sister gave a slow nod, before turning her attention back to the filleted limb. "Of course, but… You may find this process… Unpleasant." She stared intently at the limb for a moment more before standing and walking away with a determined haste Ruby found both concerning and heartening.
Ruby looked up at Cade who had stayed nearby, he shrugged in response before stepping slightly closer to her. "Have you ever had something like this happen to you?" She asked, nodding to the limb that she knew was hers, but couldn't control.
He smiled at her, "Once. You'll be fine Skirts," He grabbed a stool behind him, dragging it across the floor with a painful screech.
Fighting the urge to punch him, as if she could, she cleared her throat, "Why do you do that?"
"This?" He scrapped the stool once more, annoying smirk on his face once more.
She slapped her palm to her face at his childish behavior, struggling to keep a straight face, "Grr! You are incorrigible!"
"Word of the day?" He asked.
She paused, lips quirked upwards, "….Maybe." She grew more serious once more, placing her hand onto her stomach and laying her head back onto the pillow. "Cade, saving people is what you do right?" Cade looked at her intently as she spoke, before nodding. "I… I want to help people. People who can't help themselves."
"Skirts…" Cade began, but Ruby continued on before he could say more, her eyes staring up to the ceiling.
"I want to join you and your team. I want to help you save people. No one else should have to go through what Merith has. I can't imagine losing your whole family, but no parent should bury their child…" Ruby's eyes were glistening slightly as they shifted to meet Cade's own. "I want to join the Imperial Guard."
Cade's jaw dropped and for a moment he was speechless, a truly miraculous occurrence in and off itself. He recovered, snapping his jaw shut and narrowing his eyes as he met Ruby's gaze, his own violet disbelief meeting silver determination. After a few minutes, the silent battle of scrutiny was lost and he shook his head, crooked smile in place once more. "You are very strange, but if that's what you want, I'll make it happen."
Ruby had a pleased smile upon her face. Inside she was grateful that she would once more have a cause to fight for and people to save, just as she always wanted.
With calloused indifference, a black vessel drifted, watching the opera of battle unfold over a doomed world far away. At such distance one might consider it beautiful, like a celebration on the Day of the Emperor's Ascension. Explosions and streaks lit the dark void, coalescing in an eclectic display of colors. The mere thought that thousands of souls were perhaps joining the Emperor might give most pause at the display. For Inquisitor Victus of the Ordo Xenos, it was a day as any other. Lives were currency, a currency which he had no qualms in spending.
Sadly, his frivolous spending had only one outcome; the world was to die.
Within his private chambers, he sat at an ancient desk made of wood ironically from the planet Teitam itself. A grinning skull of an Eldar rested upon the knotted wood, grinning at the displays of bloodshed. Victus watched with silent vigil as several screens and cogitators displayed various viewpoints of ships and aircraft. Each ship was a set of eyes and ears, for the Holy Inquisition saw all.
One screen in particular had drawn his attention several hours before, over and over again he had viewed the picts, hardly believing what saw. Plans set long before came into him mind, plans that he had never intended to implement, but now were required. He grabbed a small vox, demanding a message delivered, and the frail voice of the ship's Astropath answered. Though the message would mean the Astropath's own death against the psychic might of the Tyranid Hivemind, the Inquisitor was obeyed.
The message was sent, now the package must be delivered.
Again, his orders would spell bloodshed. A new message was delivered to the Admiral of the fleet, who even now was embroiled to save who he could as the Hive ships of the Tyranids descended to feast upon the planet below.
-=BY ORDER OF INQUISITOR VICTUS OF THE HOLY ORDO XENOS=-
-=EXTERMINATUS BY CYCLONIC TORPEDO AUTHORIZED=-
=BY THE UNDESPUTED RIGHT AND POWER ENDOWED BY THE EMPEROR HIMSELF AT THE DAWN OF HIS ASCENSION, I HEREBY DECLARE THE DEATH SENTENCE OF THIS WORLD. NO MORE WILL ALIENS AND XENOS THREATEN THIS ONCE HOLY WORLD. IT WILL BE GIVEN A FITTING CREMATION OF FIRE AND FLAME. BURN THIS WORLD AND BURN THOSE WHO WOULD THREATEN WHAT IS THE EMPEROR'S ALONE. MAY HE ON TERRA TAKE THOSE DOOMED TO DIE IN INNOCENCE UNTO HIS REST=
-=IPSI GLORIA IN TERRA=-
The path was to be cleared, Inquisitor Victus would ensure it.
A/N: Yay! I really struggled to write this chapter, because it is one of the more... plot moving chapters. I think it's pretty good considering the amount of dialogue.
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Random fact, the severing of the radial or ulnar arteries in your wrist can lead to severe hemorrhaging and death in as little as 15 minutes. If you are like me, you find this very fascinating and a great way to show the frailty of a BAMF character who is, undoubtedly, human. However, on a more real note, if you are feeling like this is a good way for you to end your own life. Please don't! Talk to someone, you are worth so much more than that! Hell, you can even PM me and I'll talk to you! Just... Don't...
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I am basing Ruby heavily on who she would be as a 20ish (give or take a few years depending upon your personal preference) years old. This is oriented around three major personality aspects that I have seen in her; innosence (too lazy to spell properly, don't judge!), optimism, and individuality. This is a big part of the story, her maintaining who she truly is in a universe that values individuals as less than the lasguns they mass produce. Since I can't kill Ruby (Plot armor is the worst!) I have to challenge her in other ways. If you feel that Ruby should be acting differently, sorry, but it's my story. :)
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Now questions, these are all questions that I want to answer publicly as well because either several of you have asked or it's for clarification.
First: Timeframe, this is just before the 13th Black Crusade, since there is no definitive time-frame that the 13th Crusade occurs in, I may or may not add it into the story later. When I started writing this I had no idea that they had moved the story along. Considering they haven't since I got into 40k 13ish years ago, I didn't think they ever would. Then... "CADIA STANDS!"
Second: I have several questions about if I'm doing a pairing. Rhetorical question: Do you think anyone is going to live long enough? Me neither... But in all seriousness, I do plan on her getting closer to certain characters than others, but I'll say no more on the matter. I hate spoilers.
Crap! Literally just got called into work at -=REDACTED=- I didn't say everything I wanted to, or answer all your questions... Ah well, next time! Glovedude out!