FAMILY HEIRLOOMS


Waking up at the same time every day since her early childhood allowed Isolde to no longer require an alarm or other outside stimulus to rouse her from her sleep, instead gently easing into consciousness and ready to begin her day without issue. Such was the way of life in the Schola, and so she rose from her bunk and began her day with no complaints about needing five more minutes to rest or wanting to sleep in.

Instead Isolde went about readying herself for class as swiftly as she could without sacrificing any quality to her preparations: while she received little in the way of benefits from the Commandant being her father, plenty of expectations were placed upon her and she had to maintain certain appearances. Be it prim and proper personal grooming, always being the last to leave class and drills, or be it having a well-behaved Ixolotl it was simply expected of Isolde even without anyone directly stating as much.

It was for this reason that she went through her routine as fast as she did, because then she could spare time to 'train' Bo. She would leave him in the small pool in her room so he could be comfortable during the day, primarily using the time a young Ixolotl could spend away from water to sleep at her side at night. Once they were a little older they could spend about half a day outside of the water before needing to return to it, eventually losing the need entirely when they reached maturity...something Bo most certainly had not if his current actions were any indication.

"Upapapapa."

Isolde scolded her companion as he happily scampered around the room with something shiny he had found in his mouth: the clasp to a training bra that was presently worn atop his head like a bonnet. She wanted to be mad, but how happy he was instead calmed her irritation and left her instead feeling as amused as the empathetic creature she took care of. Once his escapade was quelled Isolde prepared him a soft round ball with a particular sheen he enjoyed, having picked it out himself when she once brought him out to the Ixolotl vendor at school. It was a useful training tool for the young Ixolotl as by simply offering it to him Isolde could teach him various commands including some that were fairly complex, like helping bring her objects or tools for her work.

"Bo, bring Tactica Imperium."

While his arms and hands were still developing much like his mind Bo was able to fulfill the command, dropping the toy he had been playing with without a second thought as he instead went over to a bookshelf to retrieve the stated book. At a height of around two feet Bo was barely able to lift the large tome with his mouth, but he gripped it by the spine like Isolde taught him and carried it over at his own pace contently. Once this was done he found himself rewarded with the shiny ball from earlier, completely content with this offering even though it was the same one due to him liking it that much.

Once Isolde was content with Bo's training she picked his slippery form up carefully to place him down in his pool, where various toys awaited the Ixolotl so as to keep him occupied and amused throughout the day without getting into trouble. Isolde had made certain to do this after once finding him following her during marching drills, the Ixolotl mirroring their march without understanding that he was getting in the way of the class. Once they were older Ixolotls could typically keep from being in the way, but as juveniles the already simple-minded species was unable to really comprehend such concepts.

"Stay, Bo. I will see you after class, so do swimming until then."

As a part of her morning ritual she would check in with her father at his study, not being obligated to do so but always wanting to spend what moments she could with him. Typically she would eat a light breakfast there before heading out to morning drills, though this time when she entered she found him in possession of a melancholy aura that signaled that casually eating was not in the cards. Rather than brooding he appeared introspective and wistful, softly nursing tea brought to him by Olym who was remaining at his side and offering support by leaning his forehead against the Commandant's side.

Isolde spoke upon her arrival, curious if there was something she could do to help her father, "Is something the matter, Father?"

The Commandant turned towards the doorway as if just now noticing her, having been so lost in his thoughts that his perception of his surroundings had been limited, "Just reminiscing. One must reflect on the past if one is to move forward with perspective."

His attention had been upon a photograph in his hand, now lain on his desk with countless reports and documents meticulously arranged, his attention to detail and serious behavior having been things Isolde inherited from him. That very attention to detail was what allowed Isolde to notice at a glance that the image he was pondering had been one she saw before, one which she had reasoned was his mother and thus her grandmother without him ever saying as much. The Commandant was a reserved man already, but he was particularly tight-lipped about his family from before he joined the Schola as a child. Whatever had happened to them Isolde had always figured it was too painful to discuss, and so she had never pried: he would tell her if he wished, and that was enough for her.

However this time around Isolde did sense that he might be open to discuss at least the photo, and so she inquired as to its contents.

"That is your mother, right?"

The Commandant nodded as he gestured for Isolde to join him, not seeming to care that the position he invited her to stand at would result in Olym's tail softly hitting her shin as it wagged back and forth.

"Yes, from long ago," he explained as he directly showed his mother's image to Isolde, revealing a woman whose features were essentially a female version of the Commandant's own which in turn made Isolde the spitting image of her, "I only wish she could have lived to see her grandchild who resembles her so greatly. She would be proud of you."

For Isolde it was peculiar seeing someone who she would one day look like, but at the same time it made her somewhat prideful: while she did not obsess over her physical appearance much like Kalles did she still took pride in her sharp features. She was one of the tallest among her class as they continued to grow and reach maturity just like their Ixolotls were, and while thin like her father she was not weak. Sure her growing chest inhibited her in drills somewhat, but that was not something unique to her in her one hundred percent female class and so she ignored it. When compared to the boy classes there were of course disparities in certain physical drills, but knowing this allowed Isolde to instead invest herself in her studies all that much more and in her rifle drills since so long as she could fire a bolter as well as any other not possessing the bulging musculature of her male counterparts was irrelevant.

Isolde had her own strengths and while not forfeiting other realms of her training she saw no reason in cultivating talents that would never go beyond a certain point. So long as she was proficient and good enough to receive top marks she did not care about exceeding certain classmates in one area or another, instead using her talent for calculations to carry her as the top artillery student at the Schola. Every member had to take classes on siege warfare given the nature of Kimaran life requiring any one of them to be able to man a Basilisk at a moment's notice to gun down encroaching wildlife that could destroy their city, and of them Isolde was the top student. Something about the calculations and mindset behind siege warfare just clicked for her and so she actually took up studying it in her free time as well.

Just about all that was separating Isolde from the woman in the photograph was age and how they dressed: while the woman was by no means dressed opulently she did possess a gemstone as a necklace, while Isolde instead wore the mundane grey clothes of a Progena.

"I will do my best to honor her just as I do you, Father," Isolde bowed to him, knowing her father well enough that he likely wanted to be alone to think right now. Rather than be a bother she could go get started on her work for the day.

The Commandant nodded as he bid her farewell, "I will be giving your class a lecture today. I will see you then."

"Yes Father."


Morning drills and classes flew by for Isolde as she eagerly awaited the class she would get to have with her father, with his choice of class to replace with one of his own lectures being one on faith to the Emperor. While Clausura was disappointed the others in the class were not particularly aggrieved, for they all already had sworn themselves to serving the Emperor of Mankind like all others at the Schola and so another lesson on His greatness was just an affirmation of what they already felt and knew. Isolde in particular did not care one way or the other, recognizing the greatness of the Emperor of Mankind while also privately beginning to hold doubts about his Imperium with all the rumors spread throughout the Schola about what his servants were doing to innocent civilians on Kimara. He was a man to be looked up to, but in his absence Humanity was losing its way.

The Commandant focused his lecture on subjects pertaining to warfare and the history of it upon Kimara, seeking to use the past to help inform his students of what challenges they may face in the future and the optimal ways to handle them. When asked questions the primary ones to offer answers were Isolde, Verita, Umida, and Kalles, with Isolde and Kalles competing against one another to demonstrate their own understanding and command of the material. Even as they grew older the differences between the two girls did not narrow in the slightest, instead deepening with each passing year thanks to their friction being indulged in every day thanks to always sharing classes. It helped inspire Isolde to practice her various skills even more just to be certain to remain ahead of the fairly capable Kalles, who had potential but was notably not reaching it completely.

As if to prevent things from devolving into petty arguments between the two the Commandant made certain to call upon others as well at seeming random to answer his questions, regularly engaging with his students even as he used class materials to further their knowledge on various subject matters.

"Strategic acumen, tactical flexibility, martial prowess, these are the commonly expected aspects of officers in the Imperial forces be they members of the Astra Militarum or be they Adeptus Astartes. Failure to possess one or more of these traits can lead to untold disaster, and so it is important that each one of you come to embody them by the end of your time here at the Schola," Dairine, Madge, Cordelia, Marlene, and Boudica all were called upon at one moment or another before he returned to one of the class's leading students, turning his attention to the incredibly bright but naïve Umida, "Umida, your forebearer was a Company Commander whom I trained here at this very Schola. What other qualities are necessary for a successful, effective leader?"

"The will to sacrifice one's better nature for the success of the mission, sir," Umida responded politely, surprising her classmates with her cynical answer. She was the idealist among them but her notable intelligence which was only rivaled by Isolde and Verita allowed Umida to at least understand the subject matter even if it was beyond her moral boundaries.

Her answer pleased the Commandant, with the man giving a small nod of recognition, "Extrapolate your idea."

Umida obliged, explaining the theoretical information she had read about in supplemental material in the library, "A commander too concerned with the lives of their men will be unable to best use them as ammunition to see to a mission's completion. Every military operation takes sacrifice in some form, and if a commander is unable to give up a part of their humanity they cannot make the necessary decisions to be victorious."

"While unfortunate, it is something every soldier must come to grips with. What is necessary to the mission, to the war, and what can be lost if it means victory or living another day," the Commandant responded solemnly, though determination still was evident in his voice, "Humanity is assailed on all sides by threats beyond your comprehension, and it is with the sacrifices of those who fight to protect our species that buys each of us another day from extinction. The ravenous Tyranids, the unrelenting Necrontyr, the warmongering Orks, the arrogant Aeldari, the depraved Drukhari, the upstart Tau, upstart traitors to the Emperor, and the ruinous powers of Chaos, our foes are innumerable and will not rest until each and every one of us is dead or beneath their heel."

The horrors of the Xenos and Chaos had not been spared from the students at the Schola, instilling fear of Humanity's enemies from a young age to help shape the wills of its students against those who might bring them harm. Particular mention was paid to those who had fallen from the Emperor's Light rather than those who simply ran afoul of the Imperium in one way or another, as there were instances throughout history where sects of the Imperium came into conflict about what they believed was right with no clear villain. Instead those who fell to Chaos or who acted out of selfish personal interests were castigated and held as objects of scorn.

"When faced with such creatures, with the brink of extinction, a soldier cannot allow for weakness in body, mind, or spirit. To sacrifice or to be sacrificed, this is the fate awaiting any who step onto a battlefield, and while not all of you may lead one day you must all be aware of the price that you may one day pay, or be tasked with having others do for the sake of Humanity," he continued his explanation, "But do not mistake carelessness for possessing the perspective to sacrifice a fellow soldier to save ten others. You must be able to do what is needed, but wasting the lives of your fellow servants of the Emperor will bring you all misfortune. A battle that needed the sacrifice of a hundred men costing a thousand is by no means acceptable, especially in such trying times as this planet is presently enduring."

Isolde had to keep herself from rolling her eyes as Umida rose a hand to offer a question in response, finally demonstrating her innocent nature which did not properly mesh with the world they found themselves in.

"Sir, if I may, is there really such a need to be so callous to our allies in battle? According to our statistics Kimara has repelled numerous invasions with only a handful of casualties in the past few thousand years. With our defenses the chances that we will ever need to sacrifice our fellow soldiers are low at best, and nonexistent most likely."

Umida was completely correct, as countless records, history books, and tactical engagements would serve as evidence to...but her viewpoint lacked a certain perspective which the Commandant corrected in short order.

"Not every conflict takes place upon Kimara. There will be times where you engage foes on other worlds, and there it would be naïve to believe you could maintain the same combat performance as you would be capable of here. Under those circumstances sacrifice will be necessary, just as it has always been. That the needs of some must be sacrificed for the good of all has long been the foundation of the Imperium of Mankind, as well as of Kimara itself."

Humility allowed Umida to bow her head in respect to being corrected, not possessing the stubbornness of Dairine or Madge, "Understood, sir. If it means protecting one another, protecting our people, or protecting the Imperium no sacrifice is too large."

It was a bittersweet lesson to be taught, as the unspoken truth of the matter was that the day might come that any of the Progena in the room right now might have to sacrifice another for the good of them all...that solemn realization was not lost on any of them, and so silence reigned as the Commandant continued on with his lecture.

"While most of their members have joined the ranks of Chaos, the Iron Warriors once as members of the Imperium formulated equations and methods to determine the optimal parameters of a mission. By studying them we may learn how to best utilize our own forces effectively, and so we will continue our study with this in mind just as we have studied Perturabo's treatises in the Tactica Imperium."


"Kalles?"

Drill Abbot Gull was a unique member of the staff at the Schola, being equal parts Kimaran and not in his behavior: his blunt honesty and straightforward nature was exactly as one would expect of a Kimaran, but he possessed a quirky energy to him likely acquired from his years off-planet serving as a part of the Adeptus Arbites where he had gained a reputation for his humanity and mercy compared to many of his peers.

The elderly man was allowed to sort of do as he pleased at the Schola for while he was odd he achieved results, and so Gull was one of the most popular of the Abbots there even if it was his duty to make the Progena exercise until their bodies were at their limit in various drills that he had employed and refined for longer than any of his students, their parents, and some of their grandparents had been alive. He could retire, but his calling was the Schola and it fed into his odd energy which he brought to each day of drilling.

During rollcall he had noticed that a certain member of Isolde's class had not stated that they were present, and so he looked up from his list to check if the girl in question was just not listening or if they were really absent: Kalles was often late to drills, but a student being outright absent was quite rare barring severe illness.

Realizing that Kalles was indeed cutting class left Gull with one conclusion to make.

"Kalles is a bum."

The other girls stifled some laughter, though Isolde still cracked a grin at the jab towards the less-than-diligent member of their class. The moment of levity was quickly replaced with serious focus on their assigned drills, with none of those present daring to question the orders passed down to them by the seasoned Gull.

The Schola did not discriminate when it came to ranged weaponry, teaching its Progena how to wield Bolt Pistols, Boltguns, Lasguns, Hotshot Lasguns, Laspistols, Sniper Rifles, Shotguns, Flamers, Autocannons, Heavy Bolters, Hotshot Volley Guns, Lascannons, and other such standard Imperial wargear. In addition to these standard models Kimara possessed its own altered variants, originally stemming from their need to have their weapons perform optimally in their planet's dire weather but eventually developing even more complex models with the help of the local Mechanicus. The main variants of these would be the Trivium series and Frostbite series weapons, the former focusing on improved performance to mitigate the severe weather conditions while the latter sought to play into them. While sometimes sacrificing raw stopping power Frostbite weaponry was designed to slow enemies in their tracks, allowing the local defense forces to better stop local wildlife from reaching their walls.

Of the arsenal available Isolde preferred utilizing sniper rifles and shotguns, being among the best shots among her classmates with both while being at least proficient with the others. Heavier weapons like the Bolter variants or Autocannons were simply more difficult for her to manage with the same finesse as a sniper rifle, and while the force of a shotgun was quite a lot for her young body she was learning to deal with the recoil day by day through their constant drills. The cold patience her peers knew her for played into her affinity for the sniper rifle, waiting for the right moment to aim while also utilizing formulas to account for the effect of wind and other factors that could effect accuracy.

While they were trained evenly with their various weapons it was only when Isolde found herself competing with Dairine and Verita in sniping drills that she found a degree of joy in the exercise. She did not hate undergoing the other drills, they were simply something expected of her and so she did them without complaint or thought beyond doing her best at them. Facing the almost certainly gene-crafted Dairine and trying to overcome her near inhuman aim brought a certain thrill to what would otherwise be mundane. Dairine might be the top in every physical drill, but individuals came close in one way or another with Verita being the next best with the rifle and Isolde the next closest after her. If Dairine was superb at whatever drill she performed then Verita was merely average at most, rifles being her sole exception.

The competitions between the three would see them spending more time together than with others in their class, and while particularly 'friends' it did see them comfortably spending together more time on the shooting range after official drills without issue. For Dairine and Isolde it was a fierce competition for class rank given that they were the top female students of their year, though years of Isolde being first and Dairine second overall had cooled their initial tensions unlike with Kalles who the two girls both could agree to hate together given her snide nature. The fact that Kalles felt she could skip drills was exactly the sort of reason Isolde and Dairine both resented the other girl in their own ways, for here they were continually trying to improve themselves and Kalles was likely sleeping in her room.

Progena were also trained in melee combat but with far less emphasis placed upon it due to the combat doctrines of Kimara as well as a lack of supply of such weapons. The soldiers of Wostyn had confiscated much of Kimara's existing melee weapons for their own personal usage, their favoritism of melee combat separating them even more from the ranged-focused Kimarans. For this reason while Isolde could wield a Power Sword it was not something she intended to make much use of in her lifetime, especially since she did not possess the raw physical strength to rely on it.

Other equipment useful for Kimara's environment was mixed into other drills, with the usage of grappling hooks and modified Grav Chutes being necessary to properly traverse certain landscapes in addition to the heavy winter clothing and related gear to survive the intense conditions of those landscapes. The Grav Chutes were altered to allow continued flight and possess thrusters to actually takeoff, as while most Scholas would train their students in how to drop into the middle of a battlefield Kimara required a different sort of approach to conflict. With the weather as vicious as it was it would be suicide to have forces be dropped through storms, so instead the local Mechanicus had helped convert the Schola's Grav Chutes into something more befitting of the local terrain. Now more like the jetpacks of Eldar Corsairs, they allowed for their users to rapidly scale mountains, avoid avalanches through flight, and to provide the closest thing to aerial support most forces on Kimara could muster lest their actual aerial vehicles be tossed from the sky.

The men who would one day comprise the majority of the Schola's Tempestus Scions were the ones primarily trained in such gear, but Isolde's class also had their own training with it since while many of them would enter into different fields of the Imperium there was always a need to understand how to properly move across their planet's terrain. As expected Dairine excelled at it in particular, performing complex aerial maneuvers in almost no time as if it was second nature. While rumors had cropped up that Isolde herself was gene-crafted, like Dairine obviously seemed to be, Isolde was unable to properly match her peer in flight, instead opting for safe and controlled movements that allowed her to more practically achieve her objectives with less risk even if it was at a slower pace.

The rumors about Isolde had cropped up as she spent more time with Dairine training, though she ignored them because whether her skills were natural or a result of artificial means to enhance her capabilities did not matter so long as she did in fact possess them. As one might expect of a would-be socialite trapped in a school of fairly quiet individuals it was Kalles who was to blame for the rumors given the mystery surrounding Isolde's sudden appearance at the Schola and lack of a known mother. The two rarely exchanged words directly such was their dislike of the other, something only exacerbated by Kalles trying to diminish Isolde's achievements as being due to gene-crafting or because of her father pulling strings, ignoring the actual effort and struggle Isolde endured to maintain her position at the top of the class. While Isolde spent her free time studying and preparing for whatever she might need to know in the future Kalles instead fancied herself chatting with the scarce few who possessed as sociable a personality as her.

Staying up all night to gossip and needing to sleep during drills the day after had its consequences however, as Gull would soon explain to those actually present at the end of their drills for the day.

"For your cooldown you will take a light jog to Kalles' room and convince her that it is in her best interest to report to the training field before someone less forgiving becomes aware of her truancy."

Despite exhausting herself in competing with Dairine this direction given was still enough to earn a grin from the haggard Isolde, who was going to enjoy this particular drill.


Isolde was still in a good mood after forcibly dragging Kalles off to where a displeased Gull was waiting for her, helping Isolde fully invest herself in her studies at the library once her daily obligations were completed despite how tired she was. It also was why perhaps she felt relaxed enough to take the time to help Verita with the other girl's calculations for their class on siege warfare, seeing the opportunity to in essence teach it as also a manner in which to learn it.

While Verita's intelligence was quite remarkable within their class she did not possess the same natural feel for siege calculations as she did those required for her sniper rifle, and so Isolde's own expertise in both allowed her to help Verita through her work. Isolde was frustrated by stupidity, arrogance, and ignorance which drove her irritation towards Kalles who she avoided like the plague, but she did not have to deal with those when around Verita. Even if Verita needed help it was out of a desire to further her already impressive knowledge, not because she could not piece two and two together, and so any discussions they had were enjoyable to Isolde rather than tiresome like they would be with a more average person.

It didn't even cross her mind once that Verita came from a family accused of heresy, because who among Kimara's citizenry didn't hail from traitors from one point of history or another? It was moot as far as Isolde was concerned, and since Verita had done nothing wrong she rarely would even think of the subject. Verita however was the inquisitive sort, seeking answers and regularly trying to learn about everything around her.

"Thank you...some of the others won't even talk to me," Verita spoke softly to Isolde from beside her at the table they had taken to study in a private room within the library so as to not be disturbed. The Schola was already an isolated location with not many people within it, being barricaded off from the main dwellings of the Fortress City they all existed within, but this particular location was one of the best if one's goal was to simply get work done and thus was Isolde's sanctuary.

Uncertain how to accept the positive words of gratitude, Isolde just shrugged and spoke bluntly, "Some are stupid. You are not. What your family is said to have done means nothing to me."

Verita's head lowered out of grief over losing her family at such a young age for something she knew was wrong, "My family weren't Heretics...they revered the Emperor, they acted in his service, but that didn't save them."

The amount of orphans at the Schola who resulted from the actions of the current administration killing all who opposed them were many, but whereas some simply were killed in some incident behind closed doors or otherwise off the record the deaths of Verita's once prominent family were used as an example of what would happen if you dared oppose the Conomor regime...but they held no jurisdiction in the Schola, and thus Isolde saw no reason to withhold her opinions from someone who also disliked them.

"The Conomors are a disgrace by all accounts. It was not your family's fault for crossing such people."

Seeing her father kill soldiers loyal to the Governor for their actions was simply the beginning: as walled off as their Schola was from the world beyond them they could still sometimes hear the screams of terror as a new civilian was victimized by the Wostyn mercenaries. Word spread particularly from whisper to whisper of some mercenaries even breaking up one of the only weddings to still be able to occur on Kimara, killing the groom and dragging the bride off as their guests were brutalized or slain for attempting to resist the intruders. When the bride was found later deceased her elderly father whose war injuries had prevented him from being drafted again was beaten within an inch of his life for the supposed sins of his daughter for daring to harm her captor, whom was then gunned down by the grieving man along with the other parties responsible who did not expect an ancient man with three amputated limbs to draw a gun with his remaining arm.

In retaliation for the soldiers slain more brutality emerged, and so the terror beyond the Schola's confines continued on. There was a reason none of them were allowed to leave its premises unless it was under the supervision and/or permission of the Commandant himself, for the nigh indomitable will of the Kimaran people was being strained year by year. Dairine had cracked jokes about using the mercenaries in the city as target practice for her sniping, and the fact was that the only reason she was not given official sanctioning to do just that was to not give the local government justification to attack the Schola and its students.

"What are you nerds talking about?"

Speak of the absolute daemon of an Aeldari-like combatant and she shall appear or so it seemed, with Isolde and Verita both looking up to find Dairine leaning on the doorway of the room.

"Dairine, what brings you here to the library?" Verita asked politely with a smile, the unspoken truth being that Dairine being in the library at all was a spectacle. Despite the friendly jab she did not mind seeing Dairine, who was the only other member of their class thus far to not care about Verita's family history. Whereas Isolde did not care about it in an intellectual manner of not seeing why she should hold it against Verita that her parents were executed as heretics, Dairine was simpler: she just didn't care. At all. She was not the sort to pry and all that mattered to her were actions, and on that front she was fairly good at reading others and Verita was a good-natured girl who got a raw deal in life.

The new arrival flipped Verita off with a playful smirk, with Dairine using her other hand to point towards an Ixolotl trailing behind her who curiously had a backpack on, "I think this is yours. She kept trying to give me one of these leaflets."

Seta, the Ixolotl in question, was Verita's personal Ixolotl whose curiosity matched her owner's, something that made her quite adept at learning how to scout out areas that Verita asked her to. It began with Verita having Seta wander the Schola and return to her at a set time, and had since grown to include getting Seta to 'wander' into the restricted section of the library and take books for her owner to read. Pet and owner both liked learning things, almost as much as the bookworm Umida, and so their entire class had gotten to know Seta by now just by running into the wandering Ixolotl who often had a backpack on to properly carry things for her owner.

"Sorry if she bothered you. I asked her to do that as a part of my Ixolotl Information Network," Verita spoke as she greeted her Ixolotl, who was happy to see her as well and began brushing against her owner, "That's a good Seta, yes you are."

Isolde had heard of this 'Ixolotl Information Network', it being Verita's hobby seemingly the way Isolde's was to continue working and studying: gathering information onto a single piece of paper like a leaflet, Verita would have Seta go around sharing interesting information with anyone who wanted it. For someone always seeking the truth and whatever information she could, it would surprise Isolde if Verita did not end up as an Inquisitor like Clausura's father had been...just as it was everyone's guess that Dairine would be recruited into the Assassin program one day.

While Isolde was mentally taking notes on how to properly show her own Ixolotl affection Dairine was instead drawn to a book inside the Ixolotl's backpack, picking it up and recognizing its contents instantly.

"Why's it got schematics of the city? You planning on taking a trip?"

Verita was silent for a moment before making sure to shut the door to the room, not wanting anyone to overhear what she was about to say.

"It might be asking a lot, but...would you two be willing to help me with something?"


For Dairine it was a practical exercise and demonstration of the skills she was building up, while for Isolde it was a way to help a classmate at the expense of the Conomor regime. In both cases it was a simple matter to accepting the favor asked of them, even though it was dangerous: to help Verita steal a series of documents taken from her family when the Imperium purged them.

Some of the documents had a large material value to them and so they were set to be a part of a local auction which would include many of Kimara's top officials and nobles, and thanks to Verita letting Seta wander into the city covertly she had been able to get the Ixolotl to visit a nearby library where a note attached to the Ixolotl asking for a book with schematics of the city's layout. The librarian had obliged and sent Seta back with the requested resource, thus allowing Verita to get a look at their nearby surroundings that she could not properly do on foot.

It was easy enough to gather information about the auction's location loudly proclaimed by local nobles selling various valuables in an attempt to lure the wealthy and also signal their own wealth to those less fortunate. From there Verita had gathered information about its surroundings, and thanks to the auction taking part on an Imperial holiday it was common knowledge that many of the Wostyn garrison would be off-duty due to their religious zeal being perhaps their sole redeeming quality to be found.

While they were just on the cusphood of being teenagers it was in this manner that Verita was able to craft a good enough plan to convince Isolde and Dairine to help her out, for in the hubris of the auction's handlers they had shown themselves to be vulnerable while peddling in goods pilfered from purged families on Kimara even including items from the Jarn dynasty. The facility that the auction was to be done in was a ceremonial one which was more dedicated to form than functionality, and so the items could not all be stored there at once and so would instead be brought over from a separate building nearby which would have security dedicated to it as well...but there was a gap between them without security because of the lack of available soldiers.

There was not much fuss in slipping away from the Schola for a short while, for Progena at their age were expected to facilitate their own departure to head to the external Schola facility in the nearby mountains. So long as they arrived before they could be considered particularly late there would be no questions asked, and that was how Isolde, Dairine, and Verita slipped away from their class and instead took a detour into the city a week before the auction. The purpose was to expand their knowledge and fix any holes in their plan before the actual 'operation', as well as to test their individual resolves in carrying it out.

Scouting out the streets of the city was an interesting activity to Isolde, who had never truly experienced the world outside of the Schola beyond what she experienced traveling between its two locations. She had more experience in the frozen wastes doing field exercises as a result than she truly did seeing the suffering around her, and so it was a sobering experience to truly witness what she had mostly only heard of before.

She stopped fairly early on to take a look at a local shop that had been ransacked and left that way what must have been years ago, if the dust and shattered glass all around were any indication. There was no-one to pick up the pieces, no-one to care about it, and so it gave an eerie feeling especially considering that it was meant to be a location to sell wedding-related clothing and items. Seeing a maimed mannequin on the floor still wearing a dress left Isolde with a particularly somber feeling, representing in a single glance that such a path was closed off to her. That to one day have a family of her own the way her father had her was not going to happen, as the few men left on Kimara were either lackeys of the Governor, criminals and soldiers recruited to brutalize the locals, or were future Tempestus Scions to be shipped off-world when their training was completed.

It had been years since such a business was needed, a relic of a former era. Kimara once possessed a robust social structure which placed great importance upon marriage and family in particular, something near impossible to see now that the planet's male population had been severely diminished. The mass influx of foreign mercenaries could have offset this if not for the animosity between the local Kimarans and the people of Wostyn: in the history of their worlds not a single marriage had been born between them given their deep-seated resentment that even the most open-minded of their cultures possessed.

The often violent friction between Kimara and Wostyn was also what made the Planetary Governor's usage of Wostyn mercenaries so effective in his suppression of his people: thousands of years of grudges and resentment were able to be inflicted upon the population by soldiers with no loyalties whatsoever to Kimara's civilians. The mercenaries' only loyalties were to their employer, Governor Conomor, and it was exactly that reason that they were the ones utilized as the foot-soldiers in the regime. Native Kimarans could possess lingering allegiances to the Jarn family from before Conomor's father took the reigns, always leaving the possibility of betrayal even from otherwise loyal retainers.

Given the vicious nature of life on Kimara and the general isolation of its populace its gene pool was quite narrow, for those less resilient to the planet's conditions would perish at the first opportunity afforded by Kimara and contact with outsiders was minimal. The breeding programs implemented by the Jarn family during the Great Crusade had seen the planet's population flourish compared to before, but it was organized in a calculating, scientific manner which made certain the planet's gene pool was properly handled while also ensuring that less desirable traits such as genetic disorders were excluded. It was not something done out of cruelty or malice, but rather to ensure that the entire planet did not succumb to a rapid spread of such flaws that would ensure future suffering and misery.

In time the result would be a planet whose primary traits were exaggerated and honed to an immense degree, with the already stoic and enduring Kimarans growing more so in time. While the planet could not fully prevent the natural consequences resulting from their lack of sunlight exposure as once experienced by members of Nostromo, they would become as tough as the inhabitants of Catachan became strong thanks to their environment and culture.

Men were tall and muscular with little sign of body fat thanks to generations of hard labor and a lack of excess in the way of food, for what was grown within Kimara's cities was only what was necessary and efficient to live and facilitate proper health with little exception for treats and such frivolous indulgences. The women of the world were notably tall and possessed more lithe bodies than their male counterparts, possessing as a consequence of the breeding programs exaggerated feminine features and fertility. While women of other worlds would be drawn to the men of Kimara for exuding a stoic determination and strength, the women of Kimara despite their fair appearances would prove unpopular with foreign citizens given that they were just as stoic and held in contempt men who were emotive or in some way weak.

For all their relative strengths, the natives of Kimara were poor in social charisma and their stubborn, spartan lifestyles saw them unwilling to alter such behavior in light of those they met from more fortunate circumstances. This made for poor diplomacy with other worlds from the beginning of Kimaran society, something that would only grow worse in time as its people grew colder and more withdrawn. Despite the actions of pirates from Wostyn it is for this reason that tensions would rise so high between their cultures for so long, as the people of Kimara were as unforgiving as their world and nursed every grudge and slight formed by others towards them. Whereas a more sociable society might have brokered a deal with Wostyn in ages past to ensure its wayward citizens would not reign terror down upon their world, Kimara instead held them accountable and refused to properly negotiate a way towards peace.

While seen elsewhere as uncharismatic bores and outright hostile, social cohesion within Kimara was well maintained and loyalty to their planet and its people was a pillar of their everyday life. To act out of line would be to invite disaster on them all, so such behavior was stamped out of them to the point that rebellion or acting outside of society's rule of law was a nearly foreign concept to them. Obedience was what allowed them to thrive for so long, but it would also prove their undoing upon the resurgence of the Conomor family that would increasingly enthrall their people with each passing day.

The aptitude for logistics and planning that Jarn gained from joining the Iron Warriors allowed him as the planet's administrator to set these long-lasting programs that would continue even after the Imperium regained control of the world. The fertility rate of Kimara would be above seventy percent for many years, mirroring the conscription rate the planet was already burdened with before Governor Conomor increased the amount. What had gone from a large majority of men being conscripted into the Imperial Guard or other forms of service instead became nearly every one of them to the last man, and unlike in previous generations this time there were no survivors left to one day return home.

Isolde was eventually torn from her thoughts when Verita grabbed her and brought her around an alley corner in the city, bringing her out of sight of a passing patrol of soldiers. The holiday was not being celebrated yet and so there were plenty of cretins still around the streets, and so Isolde kept quiet as she and Verita both joined Dairine in cover.

"Astartes aren't the only ones with two hearts you know: just look at the shape of those Molls, it's like you put two hearts together and called it a woman!" the first guard chuckled to himself as he made out the shape of a woman with his hands, a lighter in one hand as he held a cigarette in the other.

His fellow mercenary snickered as he agreed with his companion, "When I came here I expected ugly crones, but I can't complain now that I know better! Who cares if they've got the personality of rocks so long as you can have a good time with the rest'a them?"

"These Kimarans had it coming after what they did to the system. They conquered our ancestors on behalf of those good-for-nothing Iron Warriors, then they had the gall to say they were helping us! Well now the shoe's on the other foot, and I for one am glad the Governor gave us such fertile land to spend our days now that we're out."

"I figured I'd have to go back to piracy once our stint was done, but security's not that bad a way to make a living..." said the former criminal turned Imperial soldier, "Especially not when our bosses let us do whatever we damn want so long as the locals don't kick up too much of a fuss."

Their off-color remarks continued as they lazily continued on their way, only to stop when one of them noticed an Ixolotl trying to reach up and touch a shiny street light it had no way of possibly reaching.

The first guard waved a hand to draw the animal's attention, holding out his lighter's lustrous form to bait it, "Hey you ugly Xenos, want this lighter? Come get it."

While Ixolotls tended to stay away from the Wostyn mercenaries, this Ixolotl was being offered something shiny and so its natural apprehension was overridden in favor of their preferred objects, "Uwah."

Isolde was known for being cold even by Kimaran standards, but when the Ixolotl was knocked down and stomped on by the mercenary it took all her self-restraint to not intervene. The Ixolotl was confused as to why it was being hit and so did not defend itself even as its beating continued, only escaping from it when the other guard tugged his partner away from the abused creature.

"Watch it man, the traitors don't like it when their little pets get hurt. Leave it be and lets get back to our patrol."

It was not only Isolde's group who showered them in disgust, but also a group of nearby Kimaran women going about their everyday life who decided to help the Ixolotl up and escort it away to be treated without sparing a word on the mercenaries.

"You're right...say, how about we provide 'security' to those Molls we saw just now? I could use a new one."

"What happened to that other one you had that Rahtor got you?"

"Bitch killed herself last night, can you believe that? She should have been grateful there was a man bothering with her at all, the ungrateful wench..."

"We'll see about getting you a new one then...those ones who passed by certainly seemed like they need some company. They all act like they're immune to the cold, but those mithril diamonds poking through their shirts tell another story."

The guards continued on their way, a light trail of smoke lingering behind them as they departed...and it was only thanks to Isolde's self-restraint built up over years of discipline that kept them from facing retaliation. Dairine had come close to blowing their cover and had to be restrained by Isolde, who knew that starting a fight here and now would only land the three of them in the morgue at best.

"Let it go."

There would be another day to bring such animals to justice, today was simply not that day.


No-one seemed to notice when Isolde and the others slipped away from the main group while returning from a field exercise on the day of the auction, with the three following the scheme set out by Verita to the letter and heading into the city instead of the Schola. In full training gear their identities were concealed and the clothes for their training were little different than those of most civilians who did manual labor on Kimara, so they would blend in with the crowd even on their Dirtcycles given how common the vehicles were.

The auction was being broadcasted by the government's agents as a means to crush the spirits of the people who might still hold loyalties to the Jarns or otherwise oppose the Conomors, as nearly everything being sold was appropriated by the present regime from those they crushed to acquire power. It was a sign of what would happen to you if you opposed them, that your family and its rare heirlooms would be stripped from your corpses by your killers and there was nothing you could do about it.

With the broadcast so public it allowed many of the public to properly see their overlords for once, a way for the elite to show off in their own way without actually having to deal with the masses they so despised. Isolde could recognize on a few from sight alone as her group watched the proceedings on a hardware store's television that rested in the window, seeing Arran first among them before noticing Desmia with her hand in the lap of her pet administrator Cont, and Pyan in the row behind them. Also in attendance from the government was Rutace, a charismatic and popular member of the regime which the camera lingered on more than any other thanks to his reputation. A pseudo-intellectual at best, his condescension towards others garnered him support only from those of similar mindsets. His frequent usage of personal attacks silenced critics while his natural charisma rallied others, helping allow the government to remain united and functional despite its members dysfunctional personalities.

Other associates of Desmia nearby her were Ferlo, a man with a hair-trigger temper who enforced the administration's will without question or paying any heed to innocence, and Bludol, a man whose quiet nature was the only thing masking that he was a psychotic sociopath kept on a leash by the government. According to some it was him who executed Verita's family, apparently enjoying tearing out their entrails as he did so. A short distance from them was Shetth, a representative of the local Mechanicus on Kimara who served as a liaison to the Conomor clan. Despite seeing himself as logical he was well-known as arrogant and seemingly having his wires crossed given a demonstrated lack of intelligence which often saw him crumbling in whatever conversations he held. Perhaps because of this fact he was also known to talk to himself at random intervals, giving those that knew him the impression that he was not quite in his right mind, though this did make him easy to manipulate and thus he served well as a tool of the regime.

By him was seated Maurs, another government bureaucrat who despite possessing a diminutive form was known for her own brutal persecution of Kimaran civilians, often done as she pleased. She was more local to the area and thus a more familiar face to many, as compared to others who traveled to join the masses of oligarchs present. Priomb and Osin were Wostyn mercenaries accompanying her to the event, a pair of brothers who were notorious to the local population for how unstable Priomb was and how complacent his brother was with his brother's paranoid delusions that often saw civilians and soldiers alike hospitalized. Opposite them was Musatic, a pseudo-philosopher who tried to use what little influence he possessed outside his social circles to garner support for the regime, only remaining among the elite because he knew how to placate those above him at the expense of others.

Another such individual was Shelthace, who supported the Conomors near religiously and believed them to be the reformers of Kimara who would lead them into a grand new era. Shelthace was so blindly devoted that he was presently sitting beside Loelaus, a personal enforcer of Governor Conomor and elite soldier who had fought across the stars in his past and was known for viciously ripping apart his foes like a mad dog. With him was Niser, another enforcer from Wostyn, though not as much was known of him...only that death followed in his wake.

As a part of Verita's research she had provided Isolde with plenty of documents which granted Isolde enough information on them to form the above opinions without need for outside commentary. By learning of these individuals Isolde came to understand why her father always displayed disgust at best and outright condemnation at worst when the outside affairs of Kimara were mentioned, and when the opportunity arose she intended to broach the subject with him and learn what it was he knew.

While mundane, there was a practical reason for the viewing of the program showing off all these individuals: Isolde did not care that Ferlo bought furs from long extinct creatures on Kimara, that Desmia was visibly seducing the men in her company, or anything other than the fact that the broadcast was showing which items were currently being sold. Items being auctioned in the same order as announced before the auction, with the item list publicly available...and since the only ones transferring the items were a small crew of Wostyn recruits who were not even armed there was no real way for them to react when three Dirtcycles rode past them and swept their legs from out under them with batons brought from the Schola.

By timing it just right the three were able to rush down a side alley towards the target, assault them, and disable the pair of soldiers before a response from elsewhere could react. The few other soldiers actually on duty were inside the buildings and so did not see it happen, and they had no reason to expect any issues since most Kimarans were quietly celebrating at home today and their own rowdier soldiers from Wostyn were off getting drunk in a different district entirely. Who among the loyal and stoic to a fault Kimarans would dare cause a problem anyways?

They underestimated the willingness of children to engage in somewhat reckless behavior.

Verita quickly retrieved the bags containing the items belonging to her family with the help of Dairine and Isolde, though while Verita packed the bags onto her Dirtcycle the other girls noticed items of interest as well from the set being brought over at the same time as Verita's. For Dairine it was an intricately designed Power Dagger which was for some reason with the same pile as Verita's retrieved documents from her family's research.

In the case of Isolde what she noticed was a blue gemstone on a mithril necklace that looked just like the one in the picture of her grandmother. Rather than thinking twice about it she pocketed it and got back on her Dirtcycle, riding off with the other two Progena within seconds of their attack. To some it would be considered theft, but as far as Isolde was concerned it was reclaiming items stolen from one of her peers. It felt right to help her take these documents, whatever they were, back especially since no-one was really going to get hurt besides the two guards they incapacitated.

At least, that was the plan.

"Where do you brats think you're going?"

Their escape route had almost brought them back to the Schola by the time they were expected to arrive, if perhaps a bit late...but in their path stood three men who were just drinking in the streets and randomly strolling past when they heard the engines of the Dirtcycles. Most notable among them was the large and overweight form of Rahtor, but Isolde recognized the other two as the guards they ran into the week before. They had been traveling through a narrow alley to avoid detection and thus a man five times the weight of any one of the girls stood as quite the physical obstacle...and Rahtor didn't even mean to be here. This was not some trap set by him to cut off the people fleeing the theft, this was not because anyone sent him here in foresight of something happening.

No, Rahtor was just here because the man who was dumb as bricks was intoxicated and forgot where he was going. What would have otherwise been a flawless, simple plan to steal back some random items instead was derailed by complete idiocy.

"You know, I bet I know some other Wostyn mercs would love to get their hands on some fresh meat for the right price. Yeah I like the sound of that, so what do you say girls?"

Rahtor reached forward to grab ahold of Verita, only for Isolde to yank the other girl out of his reach...for which she earned a punch to the gut. While large and stupid, Rahtor had the Progena at a disadvantage given how they were cramped on three Dirtcycles in an already narrow corridor. Isolde fell back and down as Verita moved to her side to see if she was hurt, while the three men moved in towards the two of them.

The fact that there was two of them surprised one of the guards with Rahtor, who thought he had seen three of them at the start of this despite his own minor intoxication.

"Hey, weren't there three of y—"

His confusion was ended when a boot collided with his head, Dairine having grabbed onto a pipe overhead attached to one building's side and swung off it to get past Rahtor and fight someone only double her weight. The other Wostyn soldier twisted to react only for Dairine to shove her looted Power Dagger into his throat before dragging it outwards to slice across Rahtor's back, who twisted towards her furiously as he howled in pain.

"You bitch!"

Dairine narrowly avoided being struck by his fist as his massive body turned to strike her, with the girl slashing down across his rotund stomach as she dodged to the side...only for the first mercenary she attacked to grab her by the foot and stall her just enough for Rahtor to smash her right into one of the nearby buildings and pin her there. After bashing her like a ragdoll a few times he reached down for the gun he kept holstered at his waist, fumbling around for a moment given how much he had to drink earlier.

"I'll teach you to—"

It took him a moment to realize his gun was not there, but the bullet which lodged itself in his ear and exited through the other side of his skull took no time at all.

Slumping down, Isolde watched as Rahtor fell lifelessly to the ground in front of her as blood splashed from his various wounds on her mid-fall. She had shielded Verita from it reflexively, and it took her a moment to even realize that Dairine was still conscious and moving such was the shock going through her.

This was all supposed to be simple and easy, but now here she stood having killed the local agitator who in a drunken fit had threatened to sell them into slavery on a whim. It was one thing seeing her father kill three men who were a threat, it was another to do it herself before she was even old enough to be considered a teenager.

Isolde watched numbly as the battered Dairine dragged herself to her feet and tackled the last remaining mercenary, impaling her dagger into his jaw and pinning his skull to the ground as his eyes rolled back. While Isolde froze at first Dairine had an entirely different reaction to killing another person, one which demonstrated well someone's fight or flight instinct by fighting until the threat was gone.

A part of Isolde wanted to feel bad that she had killed someone, that taking life was wrong...but as she thought back to her father's words she found no such feeling.

They were the enemy. Kimara was diseased, and people like Rahtor were the ones making it that way.

Thinking about it more could wait until later, for now they had to leave before anyone else saw them, so once the bodies were dragged into the depths of the alley the three girls took their Dirtcycles and rode off just in time to not be considered tardy.


Once at the Schola it was decided to help Dairine to the medical ward under the excuse that she was injured from a stunt gone wrong on her Dirtcycle, though first they ditched their bloodied overcoats at a pre-determined hidden location to place their things should anything happen. Verita departed after to go secure her family's documents, seeming particularly interested in a large black box that was with them, though Isolde paid it no more mind as she returned to her father's study to check in with him as she typically did at this hour every day.

"How was the auction?"

Without even looking up he made Isolde freeze, suddenly terrified that she had been caught not just after committing 'theft' but also from having slain a man in self-defense. The government would not take kindly should it know, and for her father to so flippantly acknowledge the events instilled fear in her.

"How did you..."

As if to diffuse her tensions and fears her father smiled warmly as he beckoned her to come sit with him, "I'm the Commandant, I know everything."

While she had not sat in her father's lap in some years Isolde gave no argument as her father picked her up and held her close, the two embracing for a moment of silence before the Commandant looked her over and came to the conclusion that the faint traces of blood on Isolde were not her own.

"Who?" he asked as both Olym and Bo joined them in the study, their seeming sense for emotional status prompting the creatures to try and comfort their owners.

Sheepishly she answered him, unable to look him in the eye, "Rahtor and two mercenaries. They attacked us so they could sell us to others they knew."

"Nothing of value was lost. I am just glad you are safe, I don't know what I would do without you."

While still curious how her father knew of what she and the others were doing Isolde did not press him on the point for he had already dodged the question once. Instead she reached into her pocket and pulled out what she had grabbed nearly without thinking, all so she could bring it back and give to him.

"I recognized this. It was your mother's, was it not?"

When the Commandant saw what was in her palm his eyes grew softer than Isolde had ever known them to be, as if something he thought forever lost to him was now returned...though it only lasted but a moment before a different warmth filled his face and he instead pushed her hand back to her.

"Thank you, Isolde. You are a good daughter, and I know my mother would have wanted you to have it."

"Papa..."

Whatever happened to the three who attacked the Progena would never be learned by local authorities, with the seeming tracks indicating that they drunkenly wandered out into the frozen wastes where none ever found their bodies as had happened many a time in the history of Kimara. Wostyn mercenaries had destroyed the city's security cameras like a game years ago, never having replaced them because if video footage leaked out of their actions it could prove troublesome.

So life went on at the Schola with few the wiser, and in a few days time Isolde even began speaking in class again as if nothing had happened.


A/N: And so we have another update with the Commandant's mother's jewelry being recovered on Mother's Day of all days here. Due to it being Mother's Day and all I am with family or I'd finish the images for this update, so you can instead expect to see them tomorrow and inserted at the top of this update on the sites that allow them. There were simply too many to finish while also celebrating the holiday with family.

What do you guys think is the significance of each of the retrieved items? The documents and box? The dagger? How about the necklace? Let me know what you think!