IRON WITHIN
It was by a mixture of misfortune and merit that Tristan found himself promoted to the rank of Sergeant and filling in for Urkamus within their squad after years of serving on it. Despite being the rookie member of the team Tristan was evaluated higher than Grund and Helash by Urkamus' superior Constantine when a stray artillery round had struck their team during a forward deployment. Urkamus bore the brunt of the impact and had been removed from active duty after the mission's completion, having carried on to the end in spite of his injuries before collapsing. According to Ossus the Sergeant would be fine in time, though had to be restrained to prevent the stalwart Astarte from just forcing his way back onto the battlefield prior to his recovery.
In the meantime however someone had to fill in, and for that purpose Tristan had been chosen.
On paper Tristan's tutelage from the Warsmith, noted intelligence, scientific contributions to the Dodekatheon, and decades of service were all reason for him to be granted a squad of his own to lead as he had proven himself enough. That Grund had more experience and was quite capable in his own right was overshadowed despite being the unofficial second in command of the team, and Brechung's own long history of service was negated by his particular nature that was not believed to be conducive to leadership despite his own intelligence. Jarn himself had pulled no strings, causing Tristan to consider the motivations of Constantine as Grund rightfully should have been chosen before him.
The particular issue he held in Constantine's decision making process was that he cited Tristan's development of a modified Mark-III helmet and armor that would better protect the user from poisons and disease. Tristan had developed it as a byproduct of his own armor research and production for the purpose of refitting his armor for occasions where they would be within toxic environments and engaged with foes such as the followers of Nurgle. Seeing that some of the optimizations and additions were capable of mass production if altered to a more standard Astartes frame, Grund was the one who tailored it for the adoption throughout their ranks and had been working on other such means of making Tristan's innovation made reality within their limited means for more than just Tristan himself.
In this way Tristan felt the credit of that lay in Grund, for while Tristan had created the initial blueprints and models it was Grund who modified them for their brethren, and in Tristan's mind those were separate subjects worthy of different praise. That Constantine wholly ignored Grund's part in the process and hailed it solely as an achievement of Tristan showed that their superior was merely looking for an excuse to choose one over the other, citing this instance along with Tristan's other qualities not because Constantine truly believed him to be better than Grund for leading Urkamus Squad but rather for some as of yet unexplained purpose.
Was it nepotism, an attempt to win over the Warsmith? That would be foolish if true, for Tristan did not believe that Jarn would think kindly of Constantine in such circumstances, for while the Warsmith had pulled strings for Tristan it was only in accordance with meeting Tristan's needs for growth within their ranks. Jarn would give Tristan resources to best make use of his mind and personal strengths, but he did not make any effort to advance Tristan beyond his existing station within their ranks and instead was fine letting Tristan rise or fall by his own merit.
The other alternative Tristan could imagine was that Constantine saw that Tristan was the most rookie member of the team and had a notoriously cold personality, meaning that through inexperience and poor personal relations he would likely fail in his role as Sergeant. To Tristan's suspicious mind this felt far more likely as a reason, as by pretending that Tristan was chosen for his merits and then setting him up for failure Constantine could diminish not only Tristan's future prospects but also have it reflect harshly on his mentor, the Warsmith. Constantine was ambitious and was being held in check by Jarn, so this might be a way for Constantine to attempt to form a crack in the foundation of Jarn's leadership.
It was only a theory, but Tristan would rather prepare for the worst and be ready than expect the best and be surprised when it inevitably did not come to pass.
To this end Tristan's leadership of Urkamus Squad was handled with as much care and caution as he could muster, carrying out the orders given to them while also mitigating risk wherever possible. Grund fortunately did not mind being passed over while Brechung did not appear to care about the subject at all, leaving only Helash dissatisfied.
For Helash it was a simple matter of Tristan informing him of his own suspicions, casting Helash's nature against Constantine instead of cause further division within the squad. In this matter Helash did not hold it against Tristan that Constantine had an ulterior motive, and since the presumption was that Constantine was planning against their success it directly endangered them all. That meant undercutting anyone else on the team further diminished any chances of success, and so despite his scheming inclination to always come out on top Helash was unwilling to sink the ship they all rode upon. Helash would not betray his comrades or principles, but he was inclined towards his own success and right now that success meant surviving through whatever it was that Constantine intended for them. If it was benevolent, then all would be well, but if it was malicious he was in agreement with Tristan that it would be best to plan for the worst.
To fill the vacancy on their team Tristan had Quidel transferred to their unit, trusting him the most out of their training squad and knowing he possessed a wide array of skills to benefit them. Quidel might not be the best at any one particular thing barring his skill in the usage of flamers and meltaguns, but being able to do just about any task proficiently was a strength of its own especially when Tristan himself was lacking in numerous fields. Quidel would prove to be a reliable ally once again as he carried out his orders as told, having come to trust Tristan's judgment from their time as Neophytes and not doubting him even now.
The needs of the Iron Legion's future operations and development of their fleet were seen to by deployments on whatever worlds they were able to visit without interference or could depart from before the Imperium or other interlopers could arrive. Visitation to their orbital dockyard was kept to a minimum to lessen the chance of its discovery, especially since its capture by the Imperium or by the forces of Chaos would bolster their foes. The latter were of particular concern as the very same warband of Word Bearers had been sporadically appearing before the Iron Legion and forcing them to cut short operations thanks to the sons of Lorgar possessing greater numbers that would make any direct conflict too costly to the Iron Warriors to ever be worth it unless forced.
While the Word Bearers possessed greater overall strength they were not fools and had been keeping a modicum of distance despite nipping at the Iron Legion's heels, for their previous engagements with Jarn's forces had cost the Word Bearers already despite only being skirmishes. By threatening a full-blown engagement the Word Bearers could force the Iron Warriors to depart while then reaping whatever remained of the spoils of war left behind, though such acquisition of resources was seemingly secondary to whatever their true goal was: it was as if they were aggrieved by their defeat twice at the hands of the Iron Legion and were waiting for the right moment to pounce when they were at their weakest, and by harrying their efforts to build their forces the Iron Legion had its intended operations delayed time and time again. Neither side would benefit from a direct war between them, but this fact was known to both parties and so they remained in a stalemate cold war.
Despite its massive size and forces at its disposal the Imperium of Mankind remained blind to the operations and true motivations of the Iron Legion thanks to the very same Word Bearers seeking revenge, as the presence of Chaos forces at certain worlds struck by Jarn's forces shifted the believed blame onto Iron Warrior warbands dedicated tot he Ruinous Powers and saw the Imperium striking out at parties innocent to these specific crimes. That the Imperium's behemoth bureaucracy and administration was perhaps being sent down the wrong paths by Asier was something Tristan pondered to himself, as one would think that even the faith-blinded Imperial servants would catch on eventually and yet they remained chasing after shadows and remained oblivious to the fact that their warband was in fact a separate entity to those they were blaming.
This was not to say that the Imperium did not ever strike at them, and in fact their elite members of the Officio Assassinorum had been encountered on occasion during Tristan's deployments both before and after Urkamus' injury. Those encountered were Vindicare Assassins, the Imperium's most elite snipers and assassins at range, and their intensely lethal Exitus Rifles could fell numerous foes in a single shot. A variety of rounds were at their disposal to take out whatever their target might be, but it was their turbo-penetrator rounds and shield-breaker rounds that were most deadly to an Astarte. The former could rip even through the reinforced Adamantium of a Storm Shield, while the latter could disrupt the shielding an Astarte might possess to mitigate such dangerous threats.
Unfortunately for the first Vindicare they encountered they had taken aim at Tristan, likely believing from his size and armor derived from schematics of the Iron Warriors' Primarch that he was the Warsmith of their deployed forces on a moon they were extracting resources from. An Astarte less obsessed with adding every form of redundancy to their personal armor would have had a turbo-penetrator round rip through their torso or skull before they even knew they were under attack, but for Tristan his overlapping fields of energy shielding halted the round and dulled its velocity such that when it struck his armor it only scratched the surface.
Before a second round could be fired Tristan was able to further protect his vitals with his wrist-mounted shields reverse-engineered from those of the Van Saar, and even in spite of their protection offered the shield-breaker round fired still nearly forced its way through them, his armor's own shielding, and the armor itself before finally stopping after striking the exact same spot the first bullet had impacted. Brechung's reaction time had been the quickest and allowed the brutish Astarte to react by taking this time to charge forth through the mountain's forest they were extracting minerals from to dash right at the source of the sniper fire. Tristan had no way of keeping pace with him and so instead used his personal defenses to protect Grund, Helash, and Urkamus while the giant form of Brechung took its long strides faster than the now fleeing Vindicare could hope to run.
Despite the long distance at which the assassin had fired Brechung managed to hunt them down and avoid their gunfire while doing so, eventually cornering and slaying the Vindicare. When he returned with their detached head he stated that it was not an offering to Khorne, but rather something he intended to keep as a trophy given the severity of the threat such a foe posed. Tristan was uncertain if he believed the reasoning, but he did believe that it was not out of any desire to grant a skull to the skull throne of Khorne as the regular scans and inspections of the Iron Legion for Chaos corruption meant there was little to no risk of any of their ranks being covert servants of the Ruinous Powers.
The Vindicare had not been alone however, as a few others would take their opportunity to strike at Tristan himself, Jarn, and even Brechung perhaps given his brutal slaughter of one of their ranks. Each time they failed in their mission not because of a failing on their part but rather due to the preparation of their targets, with Jarn's Logos Secundus reforming around where it was struck thanks to its Necrodermis the Imperial Assassin had been unaware of due to how rarely the self-repairing function was called upon. Brechung had taken a hit to the abdomen that was not lethal even if it did knock him back, surviving the ordeal before eventually paying back the one who shot him by tearing them apart in close ranged combat the Vindicare could not match despite their own superhuman traits.
What had caused them to be deployed was unknown, but it was fortunate that they had lacked the necessary intel to slay their targets, perhaps having been misled by their superiors who believed their targets to be far more vulnerable than they were. The Vindicares had waited for ideal moments for the perfect shots and fired specific rounds to counter their targets' expected strengths, but Jarn's armor proving more resilient than one could know before directly testing it, Tristan having a multitude of redundant defenses that were rarely called upon when he was assigned to just gather resources, and Brechung possessing a surprising resilience were all things that even a careful eye would have been unable to discern until the moment came to test them.
The Iron Legion's focus on armor and durability paid off, and over the span of years a handful of Vindicares had their talent utterly wasted on foes they were a poor match against. Some regular Iron Warriors had been slain covertly around the same time as these conflicts, though why these seemingly random Astartes had been targeted was unknown and it was believed that perhaps they had been in the wrong place at the wrong time with the only seeming link being that they shared similar physical features. Of those features were above average height and long, jet black hair which raised interesting implications as to the attempt on Tristan's own life, though as the Vindicares responsible had been slain in combat on these separate occasions it was difficult to ascertain the truth.
Despite these wrinkles the members of Urkamus Squad had managed to survive their deployments as led by Tristan, even with Constantine assigning them frontline duties and assignments that carried greater risk than other similar groups possessed. Whereas some soldiers had their talents squandered as they moved up in station and they shifted from their successful role to a command position, the opposite was true for Tristan given his disposition: he was least effective when he had negligible impact on the overall picture of a conflict, but now that he was in charge of four other Astartes he could properly utilize the intelligence he had been recruited for at least in comparison to serving at the bottom rung of their hierarchy.
Whereas Levente was talented at using his fellow soldiers to the greatest effect to obtain stellar results Tristan quickly proved himself to be an efficient administrator of his fellow Astartes even on the small scale in which he was granted control, making certain through managing their direct actions that his fellow soldiers did not come to harm and that their missions were always completed without sacrificing their objectives in the name of anything resembling glory, honor, or other such considerations most Astartes heeded. If the correct method for victory was to call in an artillery strike until the enemy no longer existed to pose a threat then he would relay the necessary data and coordinates to their forces, completely eschewing direct combat in favor of what brought results. He gave orders with the sole purpose of accomplishing the missions assigned without depleting the Iron Legion's irrecoverable resources such as manpower while utilizing all of the expendable ones at his disposal such as ammunition, embracing the typical Iron Warrior mathematical approach to warfare that suited his personality so well.
That certain veteran soldiers considered it cowardly to minimize any and all risks was dismissed by Tristan as the gripes and entrenched beliefs of soldiers who had the lives of their brethren thrown away across centuries by uncaring commanders. Results were what mattered, and his methodology was proven to work, and so he continued without hesitation in this approach to leading Urkamus Squad. While he would assign tasks to his four fellow Astartes as befitting the situation and their skillsets Tristan was able to remove himself mostly from where he was a liability, that being close combat against actually dangerous foes who could overwhelm him even in spite of his defenses. Instead he would direct his allies while providing covering fire, only rarely having to engage in melee situations where something unexpected threw off his calculations for the battlefield. These errors would then be analyzed and used to better prepare for future encounters with such foes, and so Tristan adapted his personal model of command based on the data he experienced firsthand.
What made close combat so dangerous for Tristan was a coalescence of traits possessed by him, most notably his colossal size, poor natural talent for engaging in melee, and his tendency to overthink. He only had been able to function in the hand-to-hand Chaos engagement during his first mission alongside Urkamus Squad because his mind had blanked upon seeing the source of his childhood trauma, the lingering impacts on his psyche stripping away his thoughts in favor of acting on instinct thanks to his blinding hatred. To best calculate the optimal action to take at any given moment left Tristan slow to react on the battlefield, and thanks to his awareness of this fact he often avoided situations that would allow his foes to benefit from it. Wondering what was the best move to make would often prevent him from carrying it out, or even actions nearly as optimal, but combat did not wait for someone indecisive to make a firm decision and it had led to many of his injuries over the years that saw him reinforcing his body.
This particular flaw would prove dangerous upon one of the many world throughout the galaxy that had not been colonized by Humanity, having been deployed upon a nameless ice planet with similar conditions to Kimara to train and prepare for the eventual retaking of the Warsmith's homeworld. The lack of Human population in the system did not mean other forms of life were absent with reports of a native Xenos species known as Coryza being involved in conflict with Tau auxiliary forces known as Kroot, though the relative backwards nature of Coryzan technology meant they posed no true threat to the Iron Warriors while the Kroot were too busy in their conflict to care that the Astartes were present at all.
Kroot were a highly adaptable species that possessed a vestigial avian appearance to them that could shift greatly based on their consumption of other species, with some appearing more reptilian, others fully avian and capable of flight, and yet others having taken on the traits of Humans even including social and societal behaviors. This was done by their unique ability to obtain specific traits from what they consumed, with Kroot leaders called Shapers guiding their brethren to consume advantageous species to bolster their own capabilities while avoiding traits they found undesirable. While powerful this effect was not foolproof, and instances of Kroot consuming certain species and being changed for the worse were noted by those familiar with their kind, and so it was with care and caution that they engaged in such predation.
The typically savage and technologically backwards nature of Kroot meant that they were once dearly threatened by an Ork invasion of their homeworld Pech and only managed to fend it off with the intervention of the Tau, fostering a deep and lasting bond in the years since between their species which saw Kroot often act as mercenaries and soldiers on behalf of the Tau's so-called 'Greater Good'. While he did not possess access to documents to study it in any great depth the concept of a 'Greater Good' reminded Tristan of the Iron Warrior's desire for 'Utopia' that he had pledged himself towards, and the possibility of recruiting the fledgling species to their own cause through such concepts was one he contemplated. That they had access to technology that surpassed a lot of what he had access to was only one consideration on the matter, but it was an important one to Tristan's scientific curiosity.
While their species possessed their own form of alliance this did not mean that all Kroot directly served the Tau, and it appeared in this instance that the Kroot present on the nameless ice world were there for their own reasons. Reports seemed to show that it was some religious endeavor for the Kroot, though the lack of understanding between the Iron Warriors and the Kroot's motivations made this an approximate estimation of their goals rather than a definitive one. In addition to whatever religious needs they were fulfilling the Kroot appeared intent on consuming the native Coryza population as the Xenos were called, having had minor encounters with Humanity in the past yet until now lacked a known homeworld.
Coryza possessed roughly Humanoid figures with a head, torso, two arms, and two legs but they were quite different beyond that. Ranging from around four to five feet tall the Coryza possessed thick forearms and shins with their upper arms and thighs appearing relatively undeveloped comparatively. Possessing a physiology akin to both crabs and mammals they were capable of breathing both in water and on land, though to breathe on land required them to keep their breathing nodes moist which was fortunately easy for them given the Coryzan's homeworld possessed constant snowfall and thus abundant sources of water.
In terms of capability the Coryzans were on par with the Beastmen once encountered by the Iron Legion's Neophytes, possessing similar strength that could threaten an Astarte while lacking the technology to actually properly do so. This lack of technological innovation appeared to be due to the lack of focus and willpower possessed by the Coryzans, being easily distracted and possessing difficulty focusing as a species which inhibited their ability to innovate on an already desolate wasteland of a planet. This would have led to their extinction if not for their relatively fast (at least for mammal-like creatures) reproduction rate which saw their species replenish itself constantly despite the conditions of their world.
The Coryzans were a cowardly and mentally feeble lot comparable to Ork Gretchin, though given the opportunity they possessed the potential to be dangerous. With considerable strength, a hard exoskeleton, and an uncanny knack for learning from what they saw the Coryzans would be able to adapt to a more modern civilization rather than tribal existence if not for their lack of will. Their present unworthiness as foes saw them safely ignored, a boon for the Iron Warriors who had only come to their world for the purpose of military training exercises to ensure that their takeover of Kimara would be flawless and rehearsed.
Astartes might be superhuman in their nature but an environment as vicious as Kimara's would still tax their capabilities, thus necessitating this endeavor. Granting those who had never fought a winter war before an opportunity to better comprehend their ultimate objective was invaluable, especially as they very well might be facing the garrisons of Kimara who would already be prepared for the conditions they would be engaged within. How to maintain equipment through blizzards, how to minimize one's tracks in the snow, and how to best keep one's footing upon ice were just the beginning of the talents they would be made to develop over the course of the months dedicated to this one planet by Jarn. Possessing the background he did meant that the Warsmith could personally lead many of the drills and could instill optimal ways for them to handle such conditions, his time upon Kimara as both a mere mortal and as an Astarte granting him deeper insight into the perspectives of both.
Deployments and formations of their Predator tanks and Basilisks were another primary focus, as to counter the defenses of the Kimaran Fortress Cities would require even greater firepower than the cities could bring to bear themselves. Ideally the Iron Warriors would only have to capture the capital city and re-establish Jarn's heritage and former rule, though the specifics would have to be determined when they were actually undergoing the operation to better account for how the situation would unfold. It was possible that the Kimarans would accept them with open arms, but it was also quite possible that they would fight to the death against outsiders seeking to conquer their planet.
On occasion the Coryzans would interfere with the military exercises used to train the Iron Warriors, the local population lacking the knowledge to stay out of the Astartes' way until suddenly coming across them. These incidents would almost all result in the cowardly Xenos fleeing for their lives, though in his own experience Tristan noted that the Coryzans were curious about the Iron Warriors' equipment and some of their members were even attempting to interact with or take it. Such thievery was met with violent reprimands from the Iron Warriors, but the "Tactical runaway" as the Coryzans called it caught Tristan's further interest as the Xenos appeared to be learning from the Iron Warriors presence. When first encountered the Xenos did not speak Gothic like the Iron Warriors did, but now they knew of the concept of a "Tactical withdrawal" as practiced by the Astartes in their preparations, but also had managed to link it to the derisive way the Iron Warriors referred to the fleeing Coryzans as "running away".
While there was no denying that they were foolish to a fault, Tristan did recognize the quick learning of these neutral entities, and if he was not busy having every possible tactical and strategic engagement drilled into him he might have bothered to test their capabilities further. It would likely be best that these Xenos were left on a world that inhibited their ability to advance, as their quick adaptation to knowledge reminded Tristan of how Jarn described Tristan's own nature. If Humanity was to thrive Xenos that posed a threat to it would need to be dealt with, though he did not particularly abhor them the way other Humans did. Whatever hatred Tristan held in his heart was saved for traitors like those who gave his homeworld to the Word Bearers, and of course the servants of Chaos who had instigated the issue in the first place.
True to his nature however Tristan made no verbal statement or remark about his studies concerning the Coryza, and he instead eventually dismissed the diminutive beings much like his Iron Warrior brethren had. It would be better to leave the Xenos to fight one another and weaken one of the Tau's ancillary races than to engage them simply for not being Human, and so if the Kroot wished to consume this other species that was adaptable albeit in a different fashion than the Kroot then so be it.
It would be on the day of the Iron Warriors' departure from the icy planet that the Coryzans would inadvertently play a greater role in their operations, with Urkamus Squad being assigned to investigate a reported disturbance at one flank of their deployment where hundreds of the dimwitted Xenos were found slain without Kroot involvement.
Constantine had gained interest in the issue and so assigned Urkamus Squad to investigate it further while others finished loading their Legion's equipment and vehicles onto ships. While seemingly a pointless endeavor it was accepted by Tristan dutifully, not wishing to give Constantine a method by which to criticize him and thus the Warsmith. Soon enough Urkamus would be back from his (forced) medical leave and so all he had to do was keep things steady and not rock the boat, and all would be well. Sure Constantine had been granting them the most difficult or dangerous jobs he could under the guise of making use of their talents, but all that did was further establish the effectiveness of Urkamus Squad and its members since they had yet to fail whatever tasks he could muster.
They had a mission, one that was to be carried out carefully and with the caution Tristan always utilized for his deployments. Had he not done so then it would have very likely meant his death, as when he next awoke it was aboard a transport vessel heading back to their fleet with his body teetering on the brink of death.
"You must be the one known as Bertrand...I was told of you, of an Astarte nearly my height who was once naught but a small child who slipped through my grasp. I was wondering when you would show yourselves...I must apologize for my poor hospitality of your kin, but they were most uncooperative. Four squads of the Fourth Legion perishing in vain is poetic, is it not?"
"I must admit I was curious what your forces were doing upon such an insignificant rock, but fate shines brightest on those prepared to seize it. Constantine understood that, and that is why once Khyr, Archimedes, and the Warsmith fall he will be in a position to assume leadership. All it took was granting us information to act upon, and by the time your fleet knows better we will have left your rotting corpses upon this worthless world. To fight and die for nothing is your purpose as Iron Warriors, so you should be grateful I am granting you the ignoble deaths you deserve."
"In case it crossed your minds, attempting to flee will only prolong the inevitable. My forces are now engaging your kin, but I am here for only you. That Warsmith of yours is presently walking into a trap laid by one of your own, and so today this world will run red with the blood of all who remain."
"Do you know what fate awaits those who perish in this mortal realm? To have one's very spirit tortured and flayed by the very personifications of their every vice, extinguished from existence only once nothing remains of them to further torment and use. Your father, your mother, your family, even your unborn brother...how does it feel to know that your weakness, your inability to save them has condemned all of those you loved to such an existence?"
"Of course such a fate could be considered a mercy compared to what pain and misery was invited upon them in life...oh how I wish I had been there to watch as their blood spilled, for the mortal followers we gained upon your world were quite thorough in their violence. It was almost a pity that they were sacrificed to Blood God to further fuel my ascension, but I possess echoes of their memories...their very souls granted me this power, and so the slaughter they indulged in remains a part of me to this very day. So long as blood flows so too shall those who thrive off it persist, and I look forward to tasting yours."
"I can feel the rage permeating through you, all the better to feast upon because I can tell it is not something that comes naturally to you. Yet even now you remain still, uncertain, weak...is that what your father taught you to be? A coward who when facing the one responsible for their family's ruination can do nothing but be shocked into silence, inaction?"
"Maybe you have forgotten them in these decades you have dedicated yourself to a doomed cause. After all, what are a few mortal souls compared to the ideals of utopia and conquering the stars? I understand completely, for I too would cast aside such shackles if it meant gaining the power to create the world I desire...a world of endless war and bloodshed, of everlasting torment like what your bygone family now suffers, screaming for mercy that will never come, all thanks to you—"
"STAY YOUR TONGUE, HELLSPAWN! YOU WILL SUFFER A THOUSAND DEATHS BY THE TIME I AM THROUGH WITH YOU!"
Tristan collapsed forward as his consciousness returned to him, his body reacting to the thrashing he had barely survived by moving right as he gained the ability to do so which only served to jostle him out of the seat he had been laid upon. Nearby him was the Warsmith himself who stood in full armor, his worn facial features hidden behind his helmet and his weapons prepared to be utilized at a moment's notice. Opposite the Warsmith was Grund, Quidel, and Helash who all were seated and readying themselves for battle as well, though the solemn nature in which they did so implied that this was not some glorious operation to be undergone but rather a regrettable one. Brechung was presently piloting the vessel from what Tristan could hear from the cockpit, though how he got volunteered for that would be something Tristan would have to ask him later.
The aching of his head made Tristan instinctively try and touch his face, only to collapse down further as he came to realize he had been on his hands and knees with all four limbs having been required to keep him from falling down to the floor of the vessel. From his new vantage point Tristan struggled to rise, coming to realize that the bones in his forearms were broken in various places along with the armor and energy shield gauntlets above them. All that was keeping Tristan's arms from being a mangled mess of blood and bone were the subdermal reinforcements he incorporated into his body, and while his bones would require medical care he could still at least control his hands as he discovered in his attempt to brace his fall. It hurt, but so did everything else so Tristan endured it.
A hand was offered to him to help him up and Tristan weakly accepted it, only to realize as he was pulled to his feet that even hunched over he towered over the Astarte granting him aid.
Levente...
"So the Warhound Titan rejoins the land of the living," Levente jeered, though he refrained from most of his typical criticism of Tristan given the presence of the Warsmith.
It was difficult to recall the specifics after the beating he endured but Tristan was certain Levente had been there...that the two of them fought side by side against Palamedes with Tristan serving as the shield to Levente's blade. Even in his pride and anger Tristan had accepted the aid of his rival if it meant slaying that monster, but it had not been enough as evidenced by the fact Tristan had to be dragged off the blood-soaked snow they fought upon.
Tristan was quite certain that little had changed between them, but he also was certain that Levente at least considered him a soldier now and not just a 'gearhead' as he had been called in the past. Tristan in turn did not think differently of Levente, as he would have done the same in Levente's position and considered it their duty to assist their fellow Iron Legionnaires against that which threatened them. Perhaps it could serve as a seed of begrudging respect between them, something shown by Levente bothering to help Tristan stand up, but in a week, a month, or even a year's time the two would be back at one another's throats given their widely divergent personalities.
That the two fought and survived against a Daemon Prince of Khorne together showed that the Warsmith was right when he cited their potential together, though such collaboration just was not something that was tenable without such a severe outside force to unite them.
Levente had not emerged unscathed from the battle, his nose broken and a deep gash running across his cheek from his lack of helmet in the battle. Unlike Tristan who always wore his full set of armor when deployed Levente favored the removal of his helmet when he did not believe himself to be in danger, meaning that he had not had it readily available when he shifted from facilitating the departure of his encampment and the Astartes under his control to instead fighting a sudden Daemonic incursion. He was Perturabo's temperamental wrath and emotion, lacking the at times emotionless disposition Perturabo could also exhibit that Tristan now embodied.
Sitting back down, Tristan mulled over that distinction again and remembered painfully what followed from when his calm broke in the battle. From the moment he laid eyes upon Palamedes he had felt an anger well within him that he had never quite experienced before, not even when his family had been slain so many years ago. At the time he had been a frightened child, albeit one whose determination to survive and to fight had allowed him to linger on until Jarn found him, never truly having gotten to confront the ones responsible for his family's dismemberment.
Palamedes stood at nearly twice the height of a common Astarte, his Daemonic flesh blood red as if it was comprised of blood itself and his arms burgeoning with raw muscle. Carved into his chest and plainly visible to all given his lack of garb was the symbol of Chaos, its marking proudly worn by its so-called Prince. His face possessed a hideous maw that was accentuated by his relatively small, glowing eyes that heightened the sinister countenance his razor sharp teeth gave off even when his mouth was shut. His small, almost flat nose only made him all the more hideous while the horns atop his head were so long as to appear as weapons themselves, rivalling the length of his skull and tapering off to a fine point.
Ever since the Warsmith had shown Tristan the visage of Palamedes he had been unable to forget it, for while the Daemon Prince's features might be shared by other of his kind there was no confusing this vile individual for another in the Astarte's mind. It came almost as a surprise that Palamedes was so soft-spoken, demonstrating a degree of restraint and intellect one would not expect of a Khornate Daemon, but the entrails splattered across him showed that for as eloquently as he could speak as a former Dark Apostle he was still a servant of the Blood God and a willing participant in wonton slaughter.
Levente was always the one quick to anger while Tristan was colder in his reactions to things he disliked, being tranquil even when he confronted Levente about his disagreements upon the Beastmen planet when Levente's recklessness could cost them all their lives. In this instance though he had allowed his deep-seated emotions to get the better of him, and while Tristan knew he could not excise those feelings from himself he realized that they had nearly cost him his life. If he had not spent years and years honing the armor he now wore in tattered pieces this confrontation would not have ended with merely his collapse, but with his life forfeit and subject to the very same suffering Palamedes boasted about his family enduring.
It had not been a fight truly, it had been a prolonged execution that only did not come to pass thanks to Tristan's armor and desperate bid to survive. Levente's intervention had played a role as well, helping delay the encounter's final outcome long enough for the Warsmith to arrive and drive back the Daemon. That Levente interceded in the matter was only partially to do with loyalty, as had he claimed victory over this champion of Chaos it would have afforded Levente even greater recognition than he already possessed as the right hand of Khyr. That he had even survived the encounter was praiseworthy on its own, though much of that was due to Tristan being the primary focus of Palamedes who if he had focused Levente instead could have torn him apart.
On the flipside Tristan had no way of truly harming the Daemon Prince in melee combat whereas Levente had been able to force Palamedes to defend himself at points, so their respective capabilities had been well demonstrated. Levente was likely to receive praise and commendations from Khyr, while Constantine...
Constantine.
That worm had sold them out to Palamedes and his Word Bearers in an attempt to have Jarn's entire command staff wiped out in one fell swoop, thus allowing Constantine to angle for his position in the subsequent power vacuum. While Tristan had collapsed a short while after the Warsmith arrived to drive off the Chaos forces from what he could tell Jarn had caught onto the subterfuge and did not blindly walk into the trap set for him, thus allowing him to intervene on behalf of his students and also explaining the presence of both Khyr and Archimedes with them on the transport.
While Tristan had fought Palamedes the other members of Urkamus Squad had fended off the Daemon Prince's followers, mostly remaining unscathed in the process but having been unable to assist Tristan as they were forced to fend off Bloodletters of Khorne who had been summoned by the blood sacrifice of the Astartes and Coryza in the area. Their armor bore signs of the battle but the weeks spent training in the snow had left them well prepared for engaging Daemons who had never experienced such conditions before, their advances slowed by the raging weather that had nearly whited out the area completely while the Iron Warriors methodically gunned down their targets based on what would best slow their charge.
If Tristan had to hazard a guess the reason the others were preparing for combat was the possibility of Constantine and any who might side with his attempted coup attacking them as soon as they landed upon the Eisernen, but Tristan doubted that the loyal crew aboard the vessel would dare turn on Jarn. Rather upon the reveal of his survival Tristan would be surprised if they did not instead lynch Constantine for his actions, as while they might be willing to at least hear him out about who was in charge if Jarn and the others perished they would not choose a former outsider Iron Warrior over their Warsmith who had united them all to this cause.
Considering the status of the warband's leadership made Tristan wonder if Drakon had survived as well, as he did not see him aboard the vessel. Whether he perished or was simply elsewhere made little difference to Tristan as Drakon was merely Jarn's shadow, doing as told and lending his own company to Jarn's direct command whenever they were deployed. Khyr at least was bold and was willing to offer contrary opinions while Archimedes was often concerned with leading the fleet and organizing both troop deployments and Dodekatheon matters. Drakon was the least notable of the three Triarchs and likely would be wholly ignored in any discussion as to who might one day replace Jarn should he fall.
That was something Tristan was quite certain would not happen however, as the Warsmith was a larger than life figure of the kind you would read in historical tales and fantasy. He had the traits exactly needed to lead his warband and he was effective in most fields even if he was not the best at any one particular thing beyond strength, and for that reason Tristan felt his future was secure so long as he just continued following the trail blazed by Jarn. Tristan was comfortable where he was even if he had the talent for leadership, and in truth enjoyed the time he spent in the Dodekatheon more than his time on the battlefield. War was a means to an end, while crafting armor, weapons, and his machines were what Tristan took his own form of joy from.
Perhaps secondary to the satisfaction of tinkering with his schematics and metal was when the Warsmith acknowledged his work, such as now as Tristan felt the Warsmith place a hand down against his shoulder. In his dazed state Tristan had been contemplating the fact he was nearly as tall as Levente while seated when he noticed the Warsmith's gesture, a sense of pride being passed through the simple action in recognition of Tristan's survival of an ambush that had claimed the lives of four full squads of Astartes.
It was helped perhaps by Tristan's firing of the deceased Astartes' Basilisk point blank into the Daemon Prince which while barely scratching the monster did serve to show their defiant attitude towards Chaos, especially since Tristan had to climb over the impaled body of one Iron Warrior who had seemingly possessed a similar idea. The departed Astarte had only climbed halfway up before Palamedes forced them through some of the vehicle's hull and ripped their body and armor via the metal of the artillery device, so it was fitting that the weapon then was used even if in desperation to stall for time with the pre-loaded shell.
Palamedes had balked that it would take more than that to fell him, but it did note the only time in the battle Tristan had drawn blood from the creature proclaiming itself divine. Unfortunately Palamedes revealed that he possessed a degree of control over blood itself and knit his wound back together by absorbing his own spilled blood and that of his victims around him, so the wound did not last long, though the Basilisk firing did assist Jarn and others in locating Urkamus Squad even through the severe blizzard raging at the time.
Tristan had failed to find victory, but in Jarn's eyes he had succeeded in what mattered most: surviving. That was praiseworthy in its own right, especially considering the circumstances.
When their vessel landed within the primary hangar of the Eisernen it was obvious to Tristan that some kind of gathering was taking place within the structure, as it took some time for Brechung to land without harming their fellow Iron Warriors and their mortal servants present in the area. Once room was made for their landing the others aboard departed swiftly, the members of Urkamus Squad leaving the ragged Tristan behind after first mimicking the Warsmith's gesture given that not only had he survived, he had prevented the Daemon Prince from cutting them down as well. Even Helash appeared grateful, and in return he was the first to disembark and sweep the area with his bolter drawn to make certain Constantine did not have followers ready to pounce upon them.
For the most part Tristan could only watch as even Brechung got up and left the vessel that Tristan was too dazed to properly identify, though his temporarily reduced mental capability did find it interesting just how much taller Brechung was than Levente since when the former passed by Tristan's seated and slumped form was far from matching his comrade's. Slowly Tristan began to try and rise to his feet, noting the pangs as some of the bones in his lower body rebelled against his decision to stand, but he ignored them as if he felt no pain whatsoever so he could at least limp behind the others and join them for what was no doubt to be an execution.
The crowd gathered had been arguing about the Warsmith's situation as Constantine tried to press his claim to leadership now that the others were allegedly slain by Chaos, and while most had opposed his claim Constantine did receive some rumblings of support given he stated a desire to glass the world beneath them and wipe the Word Bearers there from existence. This all of course quieted down when Jarn emerged from the landing craft seemingly unharmed, his soldiers instantly prostrating themselves and parting a path for Jarn as he walked through the hundreds of Astartes gathered in this one hangar towards Constantine.
"My Warsmith, you return!" Constantine tried to sound relieved but it was obvious to those who suffered from his betrayal that this was nothing but another ploy, for Constantine did not know that Palamedes had casually revealed his treachery in seeming contempt for Constantine's low cunning.
Jarn would display a similar contempt as he finished approaching Constantine only a few steps before the usurper, the Logos Secundus making his form all that much more intimidating as he towered above him, "Do not sound so disappointed, though I am grateful that you have gathered my Astartes together. It makes this simpler."
Constantine took a step back, shifting nervously as he came to the realization that his betrayal had been discovered, "M-my lord, what do you mean?"
"I will now give you what you failed to grant our brethren who perished today: a chance. I will give you one minute to strike me, during which I will take no action to defend myself. A craven fool like you should relish such an opportunity, especially for when that minute ends I will show you how I deal with traitors who throw away the lives of their fellow Warriors. If you desire this power so much you will have to kill me with your own two hands."
The crowd had formed around them now with Urkamus Squad remaining vigilant at the front of it, though now it was to keep the other Astartes contained so Jarn would not be interrupted. Cries of anger were all silenced with the raising of a hand, Jarn refusing to allow whatever pathetic drivel Constantine might utter to be drowned out in a cacophony of yelling to take his head.
Constantine was unarmed and no weapons were offered to him, but he did possess reinforced gauntlets that while not as devastating as Power Fists still helped enhance his strength beyond that of the average Astarte. With no way out of his treachery but forward he yelled as he closed the gap between them and slammed a fist straight into Jarn's torso, striking with enough power to knock an Astarte off his feet.
Unfortunately for him, Jarn's Logos Secundus could not only absorb the blow as befitting of a Primarch's armor, but its boots could lock onto a surface for instances where the user might need to remain perfectly still like adhering to the outside of a spacecraft. The concussive force was not fully mitigated but Jarn could weather that just fine, and so he remained utterly impassive to Constantine's strike.
While the initial blow was a failure it did not deter Constantine for long, as once he took a moment to realize it did not deal the expected damage he resolved himself to throwing fist after fist into the same exact spot to try and break through the metal before him and to brutalize the Warsmith within. Only through such means could he hope to defeat Jarn, as the difference in their respective heights meant Constantine could not properly strike his foe's head and if he could instead break through the Logos Secundus he could prove himself as not only the victor in a contest for leadership but a powerful Astarte capable of battering a Primarch's armor.
Fist after fist crashed into Jarn's abdomen for the full minute afforded to Constantine, but not one made him budge an inch. Damage was inflicted to his body beneath the armor, but it was manageable and Jarn had long since learned to ignore such trivial pain the way Tristan and many Iron Warriors had. In a desperate final strike Constantine brought his fist back before slamming it with all of the might he could muster, throwing the full weight and power of an Astarte into the Warsmith and finally overcoming the Logos Secundus' lock to the hangar floor to dislodge Jarn.
Unfortunately all the impact managed to do was slide Jarn back a short distance, with Jarn giving no indication that it had dealt any lasting damage at all to his actual body. Even the Logos Secundus revealed no external damage, its Necrodermis having reformed where dents or impacts would have been inflicted upon it in the flurry of blows, and so to Constantine and all others around them it fully appeared as if the traitor had not accomplished a single thing in his assault.
Realizing the danger he now was in prompted Constantine to begin pleading for his life, desperate to survive even as the chances of his doing so rapidly diminished.
"Please, have mercy my lord. I was wrong to believe you were weak, I should not have taken such action. Please, spare me Warsmith, and I will pledge myself forever as your instrument—"
While Constantine pled and begged for his life Jarn had simply stared at him in silence, as if waiting for his feeble pleas to finish until suddenly Jarn lunged a hand to Constantine's throat and gripped it tightly. With this hold he proceeded to lift Constantine up off his feet while simultaneously choking him, during which Jarn began to speak in a calm and controlled manner that stood leagues apart from his actions. Constantine clawed at his throat and at the Warsmith's arm to try and free himself, even punching and striking at the limb that now constricted his breathing, but it was to no avail as Jarn demonstrated to all present how he was capable of surviving the Decimation against nine other Astartes when they were tasked with beating him to death.
"Like Olympia my homeworld was harsh. Unforgiving. It did not suffer the weak to survive, and even children such as I partook in that struggle so that maybe we all might live another day. There was no honor, no glory, only what was needed to be done."
Jarn used his hold on Constantine to slam the traitor into an Arvus Lighter, making Constantine gasp as any remaining breath within him was forced out by the impact. In his continued desperation Constantine used his elevated position to begin punching at Jarn's helmet, only for the Warsmith to react by dropping Constantine to his feet and then grabbing him by the torso to slam him into the Lighter. This done Jarn twisted Constantine around and hurled him across the floor, capable of finishing him off but dragging out the 'duel' to make a point.
"Do you know what it is like to go hungry? To be a hair's breadth away from starvation as others die around you? To remain stranded, surrounded by death and the beasts that will visit it upon you? What struggles have you endured that you believe you can stand before those who have lost everything and command them?"
To his credit Constantine was able to force himself back to his feet, his own Iron Warrior physiology leaving him capable of enduring quite the beating and that was exactly what he was in for. The damage Jarn had done to his throat kept him from even attempting to plead further, and so instead he rushed at Jarn in a fury to strike at him again. Having expected as much, Jarn caught Constantine's fist in one hand and grabbed his other by the wrist to prevent the follow-up hit Constantine had intended.
"I still carry the dream of Utopia within me. That we, the Iron Warriors, the Emperor of Mankind's angels of death, will one day control our own destiny rather than serve as the pawns of others!"
Twisting the arm he held harshly allowed Jarn to snap Constantine's forearm and disable it, at which point he released it and Constantine's fist to shift his weight into an uppercut that knocked the Astarte off his feet when Jarn's armored fist connected with his jaw. Constantine stumbled onto his knees, unable to use one arm to steady himself as he attempted to rise again and thus slowed as Jarn approached him and grabbed him by the nape. With the traitor's neck once again in hand Jarn hoisted him back to his feet, forced him to face him, and then slammed his own fist directly into Constantine's gut, cracking the ceramite of his Power Armor around the navel in the process.
"The Imperium, the Warmaster, even our Primarch...they have never once had our interests in their hearts, and that is why for so long our sacrifices have been in vain! If we are going to achieve our ideals it won't be by submitting ourselves to those who only see us as tools to their own ends! Those too short-sighted to see the bigger picture, those who would sacrifice the future for their immediate gratification and benefit, are nothing but anvils weighing us down!"
With a degree of fury Jarn typically kept restrained he struck Constantine again, this time hitting with enough force to knock the traitor completely around in a circle which left Constantine vulnerable to a follow-up where Jarn swung a haymaker right into his ear. The impact crushed the ear into a messy pulp, it being enough to disorient Constantine through sheer force despite his superhuman enhancements and augmentations. As Constantine stumbled away Jarn pursued, landing powerful hit after hit onto his target while the crowd around them was enraptured by the display and observed in complete silence. It was obvious that while Jarn was not pulling his punches he was quite obviously making an example of Constantine, who if the Warsmith so desired could have had his neck snapped at the very beginning with little fanfare.
This was an execution the way Tristan's encounter with Palamedes almost was, and none dared to speak up or intervene. Not only did they respect their leader, they were appalled by Constantine's betrayal that was made evident not only from Jarn's accusation but through Constantine's poor response to being confronted about it.
"Utopia for us is not some idyllic fantasy impossible to achieve through mortal means, but a reality we shape with our own hands! A world where we are free from the shackles others would cast upon us, where we can create the great wonders we have always desired, where through our effort and action we can improve what is flawed and set right what is wrong! We will bring back our right to self-determination, to life itself, no matter whose dead hands we have to pry it from! If peace and prosperity can only be achieved through tyranny then so be it!"
Jarn grabbed Constantine by the face to smash and drag it across a nearby ship, after which he released him to suddenly punch Constantine partially through the vessel. It was obvious that the senseless deaths of his men thanks to Constantine's machinations had enraged Jarn, and as an observer Tristan could not blame him. As Jarn threw fist after fist into where Constantine had been forced through metal the traitor could barely cough in response, only being given a reprieve when Jarn hauled him out of it and tossed him to his feet again to begin beating him in the open space left for them by the gathered crowd. Each hit would double Constantine over or send him spiralling such was the force used, and Jarn showed no signs of growing tired. Others had been gifted by fate to possess psychic powers, others supernatural speed, and yet others could shoot a foe miles away without error: what Jarn had been born with, and what had allowed him to survive all of this time, was the raw physical power to force his way through whatever was in front of him.
And right now all that stood before him was a half-dead fool who killed his men.
"So-called 'Loyalists' who have betrayed their very ideals, slaves of Chaos and Abaddon who have no greater purpose, the ignorant masses of the Imperium, let them all be cast into the flames of perdition and hell itself! If we must rebuild the true Imperium from its very foundation brick by brick atop the corpses of our foes then so be it! We fight for what we believe in, what our kin have sacrificed their lives for, and I will let nothing will stand in our way!"
A wide swing of Jarn's arm knocked Constantine clear off his feet, the Iron Warrior collapsing down and no longer having the strength to properly rise on his own. Even so when Jarn bent down to grab him Constantine did attempt to strike back, his hand having grabbed at a member of the crowd's belt and gripped a bolt pistol that Constantine then unloaded directly into Jarn. The shots mostly harmlessly deflected off the Warsmith's armor, though a lucky one penetrated his lower abdomen and prompted him to bleed...only for this to not slow Jarn down at all as he continued to throttle Constantine with his bare hands.
"It is by my will that I have forged this Legion to do what must be done! When the time comes that we are called to action how we respond to that call is what defines us, whether we become what is needed to enact change or if we allow history to just take its course!"
It was a testament to Constantine's resolve that he could stand at all as Jarn bashed his fists against him one after the other with sufficient strength to continue breaking Constantine's armor beneath his metal gauntlets, though it was clear that little life remained in the traitor's body and so as Jarn continued his assault he prepared also for a coup de grace.
"The Iron Legion will survive, we will be the ones to reshape Humanity and mend the wounds Horus and his ilk inflicted upon it in our moment of triumph! I will not allow the scheming of fools to endanger our people, nor will I let the seeds of Chaos be sewn amongst our ranks! There will be no move to take over my command, there will be no backstabbing and paranoia tearing us apart from the inside, our fates are intertwined now and forever more!"
Jarn reached back to retrieve his Power Maul Eirlithriad from where it sat on his back, ending with one swing his brutal display of strength and why he was the one who led the thousands belonging to the Iron Legion. The connection of Eirlithriad with Constantine's battered body was met with an eruption of blood, metal, and bone as everything above his knees disappeared into a red mist.
Still holding his Power Maul in hand, Jarn turned to the crowd and finally addressed them with a now calm and measured voice in place of his previously enraged one.
"Would anyone care to fill his shoes?"
Unbeknownst to the others gathered Brechung had prepared a bolt pistol at his side in case the confrontation did not end up favoring the Warsmith, ready to eliminate whomever might intercede on behalf of Constantine. Fortunately none stepped forward during or after the duel, and instead cheers of celebration rang out as the brutal warrior culture of Astartes reacted to the execution of a traitor within their ranks. Their faith had not been shaken at all in their service to their Warsmith to whom they owed their very lives after the fall of Olympia, and this display only had strengthened their resolve to continue their fight to achieve Utopia once and for all. Among them stood Urkamus and Ossus, the latter having brought the former to greet his squad at the hangar yet having lacked the opportunity to do so until now. Both had their own weapons ready in hand had things gone sour, but the shared brotherhood between the Astartes present had fortunately been in favor of their Warsmith rather than his would-be usurper.
Jarn nodded to his men gathered in shared respect, though he did not linger on the conflict for long: there was now a hole within his command staff, as Constantine had been one of Archimedes' top officers who oversaw various squads on his behalf such as Urkamus Squad.
"Archimedes will need a new Lieutenant to fill the void left by the deceased. Having survived and properly led his team despite Constantine's efforts to the contrary it is my belief that Tristan Bertrand shall assume this responsibility. Today he fought and survived battle with a Daemon Prince of Khorne who cut down twenty of our ranks, and so I ask if any object to this promotion."
This sudden announcement caught Tristan by surprise, and while the energized masses of Iron Warriors around him offered no complaint to Jarn's decision it was Tristan himself who felt unworthy.
Tristan bowed his head, a difficult display given the pain radiating throughout his body and his joints in particular, "Warsmith, you honor me, but I am uncertain if I am worthy. It was all I could do to survive in the face of such a foe..."
Unfortunately for Tristan his mentor was having none of it, and instead grabbed Tristan's less injured arm to raise it high above the crowd as if in triumph.
"But you did survive, and in doing so you have proven the ethos of our Legion: Iron Within, Iron Without! With your own two hands you created this armor, and through sheer force of will you survived what few others could claim to!"
With such proclamations made Tristan could offer little resistance, and so found himself acceding to the promotion hoisted upon him. He felt shame at his failure to defeat Palamedes, but the Daemon Prince had slipped away and rejoined his forces on the other side of the world. By now they would likely be departing, but now Tristan knew that the Daemon desired to finish what he had started...and perhaps the next time they met a different outcome could emerge. As he slowly began to remember the battle he realized just how damning overthinking things had been, as he had been entirely unable to keep up with Palamedes' movements since he was always two steps behind, but he was determined to work on that flaw in his combat moving forward.
The damage to his armor and body gave Tristan some ideas on how to prepare for such an occasion, and perhaps now with his increased rank he could requisition greater resources to further his development of the Logos Incrementum.
A/N: It is nearly the one year anniversary of this story, and so this week to celebrate I will be releasing two updates, one to finish the current mini-arc on Kimara and one which will have something I know you've all been waiting for...that's right, Inwit is around the corner! It will be a major update that covers a lot of ground and so I must say I cannot wait to finish it!
As for the unexpected appearance of Palamedes in this update, perhaps as Tristan gets some medical attention we can see more of what happened between them, but for now I felt that a completely beaten and broken Tristan in the aftermath of such an engagement was the best way to show just how damaging it could be. Tristan has endured a lot, and even after all his defensive upgrades only just barely made it out alive here.
I hope you all enjoyed and that you will let me know your thoughts in the reviews below!
