Got this chapter out a little quicker, and managed to keep it to about equal length. Thanks for all the support in terms of reviews and follows, I really appreciate it. It can get tough at times to think of how to continue the story and knowing that there are people interested in seeing the story continue really helps. This chapter is as similar (as far as I know, as I said I didn't finish reading it) to Suffer Not the Xenos to Live as it will get, but then again I'm sure you could say that about any Imperial guard/ Eldar romance. For those of you looking forward to the action scenes I can promise you that there will be a much heavier focus on that soon. I feel like my strength is writing big battles and I have kind of shafted my self so far. Any ways if I can continue at this pace then you can expect a new chapter by mid next week.
Sev peered around the corner of the machine. A mechanicus skull smoked slightly where the paint had bubbled off. Patches of the wall glowed red where chunks of the crude promethium gel had landed, melting the metal. There were a few tiny fires where said promethium still burned. Sev peered out a little farther. The ork was defiantly dead. Where he had stood there was now only a blackened blast mark. Some gore clung to a nearby machine. Sev decided that it was safe to go and stepped out from the cover, beckoning Illineth to follow.
They made there way past the blackened remains of the ork. The little runt with the scarf who had led the attack cowered behind a conveyer belt. Sev waved his lasgun at the creature and it scampered off into the shadows of the factory. Illineth paused next to the leader who she had decapitated and then moved on. They headed towards the back of the building. Sev had decided that it was foolish to brave the streets by themselves in the middle of a war and it would be much safer to stick to the backstreets. That way they would be able to avoid and columns of troops or roving ork vehicles.
There were a couple of bay doors at the back. Sev gave a headed over to a button mounted on the wall. A cord ran from the button to the motor assembly mounted above the doors. With a quick prayer to the machine spirit, the same one he used when starting up the engine on his boat, he gave the button a push. There was a grinding of gears and the bay doors opened with the clattering of metal. Light flooded the dim room. Sev stepped to the ledge. It was a metre drop to the ground, probably so whatever the factory could produce could be pushed straight onto flatbed trucks. Sev didn't notice this as he was standing, staring amazed at the sight in front of him.
When he had first looked at the snow covering the street it had been a spectacle. The matte grey warehouses and offices were given a whole new look. Every flat surface had been covered with white. But this was something entirely different. In the narrow and twisting back street there were different surfaces and colours, all forming an amazing sight. Chain link fences sported crests of snow that had built up to heights where it looked like a stiff breeze would send it toppling over. Icicles clung to the corrugated metal roofs of make shift sheds at the back of factories. Steam rose from where snow covered vents. It was incredible and Sev had never imagined anything like it.
Sev hopped off the ledge of the loading doors, wincing with pain from his leg. It was still quite sore, but felt much better than before. He began walking in the direction they had taken on the street. His head was on a swivel as he took in the sights of the alley. Illineth seemed equally amazed by the new world around them. It was such a stark contrast from the cookie cutter hab blocks and government buildings they had been seeing for the past few days. It suddenly struck Sev that he knew absolutely nothing about his new friend. He felt a sudden desire to know about her background; where she was from and what it was like there.
"Where are you from?" his voice was muffled by the snow and there was no echo. He knew that she wouldn't understand him but he felt like saying it. She gave him a quick look when he talked but when he didn't say anything else she continued taking in the sights around them.
They spent the next hour or so walking through the lanes and alleys of the industrial district. Sev pondered on his position and speculated on that of his companies. The original mission had been very vague, at least the final version told to the common soldier. The drop trooper's job had been simple. Get behind enemy lines and create pockets of resistance to weaken the enemy's position. And Sev knew that his company's job was to go for the industrial sector. But he was in the industrial sector and there was no sign of the company. His only real option was to keep pressing towards the centre, or what he hoped was the centre of the sector. Off in the distance the thump of artillery was again audible.
The men had all had their chrono metres set to local time by techpriests prior to drop. Sev checked his and, seeing it was around mid day, decided to stop for lunch. It had started to snow again very lightly but it was so inconsequential that when Sev saw an open courtyard he decided it would be good enough and Illineth made no protest.
They entered through the iron gates of the factory yard. High stones walls surrounded the area and a lone ancient looking oak grew near the eastern wall. The pair walked to the centre of the yard. Sev got out his stove and water. He was dismayed to notice that they were on the last MRE but he didn't comment. There were a few nutrient bars left but only enough to last a day or so and that would be pushing it. Illineth sat next to him and he didn't complain. He had accepted that he enjoyed her company and would be sad when it was time to inevitably part ways. He had noticed a toque in the bottom of his bag that he had forgotten about and after taking off his helmet and rebreather he pulled it on. He wished that he had remembered it the night before. Illineth took off her helmet as well, placing it carefully down next to her.
Sev leaned back on his elbows, enjoying the rest. He had never lived an easy life but these past few days had been both terrifying and exhausting. Just relaxing in the quite courtyard felt great. A bird, which looked like one of the swallows back home, landed on a branch of the oak. A few stray bits of snow fell off as the tiny creature landed and poked about. Sev was surprised as it was the first sign of animal life he had seen since touching down. It flew off without making a noise and Sev realised that Illineth had been staring intently at it. He wondered if they had birds like that where she was from.
After the food was hot Sev served it up, same as before. Illineth had a lot less trouble this time but she burnt her tongue after an over ambitious first mouthful. When he was done Sev cleaned the pot and mess tin with a fist full of snow and lay down. A snowflake landed on his nose and he watched it melt with cross eyes. He felt the most relaxed he had been in months, since he had left home. His eyes started to close as exhaustion over took him.
He was to have no rest though. Something hit his neck and a he jumped to his feet, swatting snow out of the space between the collar of his fatigues. He couldn't get it all though and there was a painful dull ache where the snow had trickled down. He turned from where the snowball had come from, furious. Illineth was backing away slowly, one hand holding her stomach, one hand pointing at a disgruntled human as she howled with laughter.
"Dyna i daro fy llaw! Dyna i daro fy llaw!" She yelled at him between fits of laughter. Sev guessed that it had something to do with the lighter earlier. Sev couldn't care less for the reason though and he started sprinting towards her. Illineth threw another snowball and turned to run but had waited too long. The human crashed into her. Sev closed his arms around her thighs like he had been taught in training. Illineth slammed into the ground stunned. Sev spun her over so she was face down and sat on top of her back shoving her face into the snow. He could hear her muffled squawks of rage and after a few seconds he let off the pressure on her head.
"That hurts" Sev complained. Illineth squirmed around beneath him. He tried to hold her in place but her armour plates were smooth and she managed to roll onto her back. She glowered up at him and Sev almost felt bad. The edges of her hair were wet from the snow and she was shivering slightly. Sev made to stand up but before he had even got onto his knees she lunged. He was thrown backwards as the angry xenos landed on top. She grabbed a handful of snow, shoved it in his face and before he could react was off, running circles around him and yelling. After a couple attempts of retaliation he accepted that she was too quick for him and went over to where he had left his gear; laughing.
Sev pulled on his helmet and mask and tossed Illineth's helmet to her. She caught it and stuck her tongue out at Sev. Her hair had come down over her eyes and after pushing it back she slid the helmet with the snarling visage on. A minute later and they were moving again. They walked side by side through the industrial back streets. Sev felt in high spirits and Illineth seemed to walk with a spring in her step.
A couple hours later and they came upon the bodies. They had been coming around a corner when Illineth had started and putting a hand on Sev's chest had pushed them both back. She peeked around the corner and then motioned that it was safe to go.
There was an open area between the factories. The arched windows of one factory were boarded up. The square was pockmarked with tiny scorched las impacts and the larger holes from slug and bolt weapons. There were a score of dead orks, who appeared to have been cut down mid charge. There were also about five dead guardsmen. They were centred around a heavy bolter and lay where they had been killed. They wore the Roland fatigues and flak armour, as well as the iconic helmet and rebreather. The faces of Sev's fallen squad mates flashed through his head. He had almost forgotten them and the memory of his lost comrades hit him like a physical blow. He decided to give the men who he probably knew their last rights.
He knelt next to each man in turn and gave them their final prayers. Illineth watched from the side with a mixture of curiosity and sadness at the loss of life. Sev was turning to leave when he noticed the crate. The drop troopers received supplies throughout their mission via supply drops. The crate was the same issue that Sev had seen in training and the pavement was cracked where it had been shoved from the back of a low flying valkyrie.
Sev turned the latches and slid the heavy lid off. Sev almost laughed at the contents. There were piles of cold weather gear. It was a damn shame that the Ministorium hadn't thought to equip the soldier for winter weather before planet fall. Sev wouldn't have survived the night before if it hadn't been for Illineth and he wondered how the rest of the company had faired. Under the thick trench coats and toques he found power packs, rations and spare gear of all sorts. After restocking his ammunition and food he pulled one of the heavy trench coats on. He was in the process of throwing one to Illineth when he had an idea.
If they were spotted by imperial forces then they would be fired on. The life of one guardsman mattered little compared to the life of one enemy. If Illineth was disguised then at least they could avoid taking friendly fire. Sev knew they would have to part ways once he rejoined his comrades, this way they would be able to depart alive.
There was ample gear so Sev threw her a trench coat and bundled the rest of the gear into his bag. It was practically empty after the loss of the heavy bolter. It was getting dark and he would need to do his best to explain to her his plan so he decided it would be a good time to retire. He didn't want to rest this close to the dead imperials though so they continued on for a while longer. Sev left a grenade in the supply crate as was protocol on a delayed timer. The dead guardsmen was a sobering sight and they continued on for a while in depressed silence. As with the night before the snow had started to pick up again. Eventually they came to a small factory with a small house built against the back wall of the courtyard. Sev guessed that it was the foreman's house.
Sev came around the gate and stomped his feet off on the mat in front of the door. Illineth had the trench coat wrapped around her shoulders. Now that Sev wasn't worrying about freezing to death he realised how cold she looked. She was visibly shivering and she clutched the edges of the coat under her chin. Sev tried the door but it was locked. He but the barrel of the lasgun up to the simple lock and fire a single shot. He gave the door a shove and it swung open. He stepped into the unlit entrance hall and took off the trench coat. After shaking the layer of snow that had accumulated off he took Illineths from her and did the same before handing it back to her.
Sev flicked the lights and there was a faint hum before the hall way was lit with a soft yellow glow from the ancient looking stained glass clad light. Sev headed up the stairs, flicking lights as he went. After making sure the house was clear he went to the kitchen. There was a small cast iron fireplace and Sev stacked up some wood and paper and soon there was a fire going. Illineth sat at the wooden kitchen table, her shoulders slumped over. She had taken off her helmet but still had the trench coat pulled tight to her body. Sev checked the cupboards and to his delight he found tins of beans. He put the food onto warm in pots he found in another cupboard and sat down in a chair next to Illineth.
"Sut ydych chi'n cael drosto mor gyflym?" She spoke suddenly. Sev was taken aback by her tone. She sounded emotionally wrecked and looked close to tears. Her hair almost covered her face but Sev could see that her eyes were red. Sev had always thought of her as a hardened warrior. She acted with almost childish impishness at times but he had seen her fight and assumed that she was some sort of combat veteran or alien killer. But it struck him that this might be her first time in combat as well. Perhaps this was just the last few days catching up with her. Sev had always been relatively indifferent to his emotions but he knew that not all people were like this. He wasn't sure what to do and so reached out his hand to rub her back. It felt shallow and meaningless.
Sev realised that the beans he had put on the stove were steaming. He got up and, after searching the cupboards again for bowls and cutlery, returned and dished the beans out. The fire had already heated up the room significantly and Sev dropped his coat on a chair before placing the bowl of beans on the table and sitting opposite Illineth. He was surprised at how cosy the house was, considering the government built industrial buildings that had been the city so far. He started tucking in but stopped when he realised that Illineth was staring down at her own bowl of food.
"You going to eat that?" Sev asked. It was the first real food that he had eaten in months but seeing Illineth so upset put him off the meal. He suddenly became very frustrated. He had seen his entire squad die. He had watched as one by one his closest friends in the galaxy were killed. What possible reason could she have for going in a huff with the shit that he had been through? He ignored her for the rest of the meal and tried his best to enjoy the actual food. When he was done he gave his chair an angry shove across the floor and sat in front of the fire.
Sev forced himself to calm down. He had no idea how these aliens worked emotionally. It wasn't her fault if she was spiritually inferior. Sev turned around. Illineth was picking at the beans and occasionally putting a small spoonful in her mouth. As long as she was eating Sev was happy. Emperor only knew how far they had to go before they regrouped with the company. Sev was exhausted from the walking they had done that day through the snow and his head soon tipped back with the fire warming his face.
Sev woke up. The chair had been moved out of the way and he was lying on the floor in front of the fire with the over coat rolled up as a pillow. He checked his chrono metre and saw that he had been asleep for just over an hour. The fire had burned low and cast a dull red flickering glow across the room. He noticed that Illineth was sitting cross legged next to him. Her elbows were propped on her knees and she rested her head in her hands as she stared into the embers of the fire. Sev suddenly felt bad for how he had got mad earlier. He sat up and Illineth quickly turned her head. She pushed her hair back over her head and relaxed. She smiled and Sev couldn't help but smile back. He felt frustrated that they couldn't communicate because at that moment all Sev wanted to do was break down and vent the last few days.
But he couldn't so they sat looking at each other. Sev realised that she must have moved him down off the chair. He was sure that his back would appreciate it tomorrow. Sev stood up. He arched his back as and stretched then realised he still had his flak armour on. he slid off the chest rig and knee pads and went to the hallway to deposit it with the helmet. He also took off his jacket as he was getting toasty. He hadn't taken off the jacket in days and it felt good to feel air on his skins. He wore a tank top underneath that all the guardsmen wore and he stretched his arms out. His dog tags jingled around his neck as he walked back to the kitchen.
Sev was bored and didn't feel tired after his nap. He started going through the cupboards, noisily slamming each one shut. Illineth looked up from the fire and complained in her melodic tongue. Sev ignored her. Although Illineth wasn't sulking like before she still didn't seem like she was in the best off spirits. Sev thought it odd that he was going through such extreme mood swings. When he had gone to sleep he had felt angry and almost depressed and now he was in an almost jovial mood. He wanted to cheer Illineth up and horsing around usually seemed to work. As he passed by her he feigned a trip and dragged her knee out from under her. She stood up, yelling. Sev backed away with his hands up laughing. He was happy to see that she had a smile on her face now. He had been worried that his idea of a joke would just end up with Illineth going from sad to pissed off.
Sev soon regretted his decision though as she dove for him. Sev put up his hand to stiff arm her but she ducked under the fending blow. He couldn't get over how quick she moved and before he knew what was happening she had picked up one leg and kicked out the other. She slipped behind him and pulled his hands behind his back. She was yelling something in his ear that he didn't understand but he grasped that it was supposed to be mocking. Sev struggled then gave up. He knew he was much stronger but the she had him in some sort of arm lock and when he moved his arms it hurt.
"Ok, ok I give up" He said, in his most humbled tone. Illineth jumped to her feat and danced around the defeated human, throwing insults. Sev got to his feet and thought about retaliation for his humiliation before he remembered the gear he had gotten for her earlier. That was something to do other than another humiliating wrestling match. He went out to the hall where he had left his gear and returned a second later with the fatigues and the flak armour.
Illineth looked at the gear in his arms with curiosity. He dumped it on the table and tried to think of a way to show her what his plan was. He held up the pants and jacket to her and she looked at it, confused. Then a light came into her eyes and she giggled. She stood up and started taking off the plates of her armour.
Sev had made a point of not looking at Illineth in a sexual way, which was a superhuman task. By human standards she was perfect. She had a curved figure but at a modest level. Her face was angular and had a youthful charm to it. The armour didn't help matters. It fit perfectly to her lithe form, almost accentuating areas. Sev felt it almost a shame to see her shedding it. And then he realised just what she was doing. He stumbled over a chair, falling on his face before scrambling out of the room, shouting protests as he made a break for the exit.
Illineth laughed to see the humans discomfort and continued taking off the plates, laying each one out symmetrically next to it's twin. Sev had almost made it to the door when he realised that she wore a light grey jumpsuit beneath her armour. He cursed his own dirty mind for having thought otherwise and turned, trying to muster as much dignity as possible. She smirked at him as he went back to his chair by the fire. The jumpsuit was skin tight and Sev tried to keep his eyes off her as he slunk back to his chair but wherever he looked his gaze seemed to always gravitate back to her.
Once she was done laying out the plates of her armour Illineth Picked up the pants and pulled them on. She clearly wasn't used to such apparel and she struggled with the belt. The Waist was far to big and the pants were a little long but after cinching the belt they were able to stay up. And once she had pulled the jacket on the ill fit was barely perceivable. Sev had made a point of grabbing the smallest sizes and was happy to see that she looked relatively normal. She pulled on the boots and slid the mask over her face. Finally she pulled the helmet on and fastened the clasps. She clicked her heels together and threw a sloppy salute, standing at attention. Sev laughed and returned the salute. As long as she did her hair in a pony tail and tucked it in she would pass at a glance as a female guardsman, who made up a solid portion of the Roland Prime regiments.
Illineth started taking off the new gear, laying it neatly out next to her armour. The drops always contained replacements of every type of equipment as well as whatever was specific to the supply drop and Sev had grabbed everything that any other solider had. As she took off her new fatigues Sev slid lasgun power packs into webbing and went outside to fill the empty canteen with snow. It was coming down quite hard now and Sev stuck out his tongue and tried to catch the fat snowflakes for a second with no success before retreating to the warmth of the house.
He put the canteen in front of the dying fire to melt. Illineth was looking distant again and he called her name softly to pull her from her reverie. He was starting to feel tired and he wanted to go to bed. He went up the stairs saw that there was a single bedroom and washroom. Sev grabbed his bag and pulled out his blanket. He found a spare pillow in a closet and lay down on the floor. The room had worn feel to it and maintained the homely feel of the rest of house.
Illineth came in. She looked upset again, much to Sevs dismay. He had played with her like he would play with a depressed child and it clearly hadn't worked long term. She looked down at Sev, who was lying on the floor, with a mixture of confusion and sorrow.
"You can have the bed" he said softly, pointing towards the large bed. She nodded with understanding and climbed under the sheets. Sev got up and turned the light out before crawling under his own blanket. A few minutes later and he was starting to drift off to sleep when he heard a stifled whimpering. His eyes went wide in the darkness. He lay there for a minute before making up his mind. He stood up and with silent footsteps walked over to the bed. He hesitated for a moment before pulling back the covers and lying down. Illineth immediately pulled him close to her and Sev faltered before wrapping his arms around her. He didn't understand why she was so upset, but he guessed that there was more to it than the simple stress of combat.
Illineth was soon sobbing into his chest. Sev ran his hand along the back of her head through her hair. With the other he stroked her back. She pulled him closer and nuzzled her head up against his chest. Sev could feel his heart beating against her jaw bone. She stopped moving after a while and soon her almost panicked gasps slowed to the rhythmic pattern of sleep. Sev closed his eyes and a minute later was asleep.