On board the Emperor's dagger (imperial battleship), M40 (two days later).
Jeffrey yawned as he stepped out of the communal shower and put a fresh pair of grey fatigues. He then stumbled over groggily towards a nearby mirror. The past few days had not been kind to him as he found his new surroundings to be... vexing to say the least. He certainly wasn't used to sleeping on a single mattress on top of a bunk in a large room with over a hundred other recruits. He was far from the most pampered royal but he had his own room for as long as he could remember.
His accomodations weren't the only thing that changed however. Within a few hours of boarding this accursed vessel he had been forced to have his hair cut. To call the savagery inflicted on his hair a proper "haircut" would be a travesty upon the craft of true stylists, but at least the process was mercifully short. His once long, deliberately unkept black hair had been shaved clean off, leaving the soft, peach hued flesh underneath exposed.
After the "haircut" he was then weighed and billed, he had weighed in at around 170 pounds and was billed at around 5 foot nine inches. His physique was hardly inspiring but it had been sure to keep in shape, for he reasoned that there may arise an altercation that neither money nor connections could get him out of. As he looked at the mirror, a rather curious sensation overtook him as he felt the pangs of hunger for the first time in many years. Luckily for him, it was time for breakfast to be served in the mess hall.
He made his way along with many other recruits to the mess hall. Once inside the large, drab, grey room he quickly identified which table he was assigned to. He has been briefed that today he would be meeting the rest of his squad. Each table was marked with a letter and supposedly you were supposed to sit at the table with the first letter as your service ID. His was ID was B-127 so he saw at the appropriate table and waited as the other recruits filed in.
The first recruit to sit next at table after him the recruit was big, easily over six feet, and probably around six foot four. His frame was also impressive, having strong upper body, probably from lifting and pushing objects if Jeffrey had to guess. His skin tone was dark as well, reminding Jeffrey of color of the trees of Aerobolia in the fall.
"So what's your story?" The recruit said as he sat down. Jeffrey appreciated his supposed squadmate cutting straight to the point, for he hated small talk. He knew that it had a time and place but he little patience for it after listening to all the courtly intrigue and socializing he had to put up with growing up.
"My name is Jeffrey Hiram, from the hive world of Aerobolia. And I was kind of forced to be here" He replied, his squadmate nodded, seemingly understanding his situation.
"My name is Ifa Adedayo and I didn't have much of a choice either, I'm from a agri world myself, a planet by the name of Verda. It was a massive, beautiful place, with a fields and plains as far as the eyes could see. That was before the famine happened, and we had overworked the land that remained so that we could provide rations for the war. We barely made the last tithe, so when this one came around, we didn't make it.
The ministorum representative gave a choice, either give them soldiers to make up the difference or go into debt. Most of the young men like me volunteered in order to pay the deficit". Jeffrey watched as Ifa seemed to grow colder as he spoke, as if he had a bit of bitterness within him. "Poor bastard" Jeffrey thought to himself.
Both Ifa and Jeffrey heard mumbling prayers a third recruit walked towards the table. This recruit wore a necklace inscribed with what appeared to be prayers and verses from the lecticio divinatius. The recruit was a bit smaller than Jeffrey at around 5 foot seven and was probably ten or so pounds light but it was hard to tell given they all wore the same boring fatigues. His complexion was lighter as well, so light that Jeffrey doubted the man had even been in sun for more than hour in his life.
The recruit kneeled and finished his prayers before sitting down at the table. "Oh glorious Emperor, may he bless our meal and deliver us from his enemies! May we bath in the blood of the unholy, the traitor and the alien!" He yelled, his hands in up in the air in rapturous praise. Both Ifa and Jeffrey looked at each in surprised as they turned their attention back to their new squadmate.
"Greetings to you, fellow servants of the Imperium, my name is Ladislo Candido and I hail from the holy shrine world of the great saint Selicius the Pius, honored be her name"
Jeffrey rolled his eyes but kept his mouth shut, he knew better than to try and interject. Ifa and Jeffrey would then introduce themselves and ask each other some more questions, yes it was small talk but if he was supposedly going to serve alongside these bastards then Jeffrey knew he had to at least try to get along with them.
Their conversation was cut short when a fourth recruit joined the table, this time loudly sauntering over and putting his feet on the table after he sit down. Jeffrey was mildly amused at the brazen act of disrespect, Ladislo however wasn't and was more than a bit irritated. Despite wearing the same drab grey fatigues as everyone else, this new recruit had an air of recalcitrance and rebelliousness that Jeffrey couldn't help but respect. He was tall and lanky, and had plenty of scars and tattoos that even the Astra Militarum wouldn't be able to fully cover up.
"Oi, so what you lot talkin about?" The new recruit said, his accent very clearly like that of a hiver ganger. "Oh we were just getting to know each other, so what's your story partner?" Ifa replied.
"The names Ivo Tobias, I was a ganger from hive world Liverna, hellhole it was. I was good at it too, that was until my boys left me and let the boys in blue take me in. I was given one choice, either willing join or they we should shoot me in the head. I probably should have taken them up on the offer, at least if I shot then it would be over quickly. We are all fragged here anyway so what's the point "
"What a ray of sunshine" thought Jeffrey as he wondered how he ended up in this motley sort. Ladislo however a different reaction, "am I the only one who willing signed up to serve the Emperor's most Holy forces, the Adeptus Sororitus?" He asked incredulously.
The table immediately fell silent as the other three recruits awkwardly looked at each other in confusion, which in turn confused Ladislo. "Is it not the Adeptus Sororitus that we are joining?" He asked even more annoyed this time.
"No... This is the Astra Militarum, not the Adeptus Sororitus, I don't even know how you got them confused..." Jeffrey attempted to reply before he stopped himself. It wasn't worth the effort to try and understand nor explain it so he let Ladislo come to the conclusion himself. It took a brief second but eventually he understood. "Ahh it must be by the Emperor's divine will that I ended up here instead! It matters not for we shall enact his will regardless!" The rest of the table just rolled their eyes. Mercifully the cooks signified that it was time to pick up their rations for breakfast. As Jeffrey ate his meal consisting of low grade meat with bread on the top and bottom, he wondered just how he was going to survive, much less make it back home.