The Prelude of War

by Indigard

A very different Mass Effect galaxy encounters a strange and relentless invader that is on constant hunger for Biomass but they never know it's just a glimpse of what coming for them. Featuring: alternative history for every species, a bigger and more populated galaxy, cunning Asari, militarized and germanized human empire.

5. Battle of Eden part 2

"Don't look at me like I'm dying, my dear Johannes."

Jokingly said Anka Haberlin with her back leaning on the ash-white wall of her command bunker and two sharp-fanged borer beetles on her upper body. Their Ritterkreuzträger was still able to crack a smile when being carried to safety but her condition got worse when the black-haired female medic arrived at the scene. After carefully removing the borer beetles, applying her specialized medi-gel to the wounds, and performing a total scan, she melancholy concluded :

"Her lungs are damaged, there are signs of internal bleeding, three broken ribs, femur fracture and side effects of the medi-gel overdose," She told Johannes as Anka possibly could barely hear anything at this point "However, the poison in her blood is the thing make me worry right now."

Johannes's frown turned into a scowl "Poison? Fleshborer contain no poison!" The sergeant told the black-haired woman. "I got a hit in my arm this morning."

"Then consider yourself a lucky one. My Nanobots detected an unknown amount of poison in her system. Maybe it came from Fleshborer and maybe it didn't, but that doesn't matter anymore. We have to move her to the rear immediately, I can only stabilize her condition and prevent the poison from hitting the nervous system for the time being. She needs a proper hospital with full equipment."

It was, without a doubt, a reasonable solution but by no means would it be implemented easily. They had realized it since yesterday and as a reminder, a salvo of bio-shells whistled over the roof of the bunker, sending those inside pressed against the wall, before exploding near the support trench behind them. Johannes used his body to shield the female captain during the impact. Shockwaves and noises caused his muscles to tighten, aching, ringing his ears, and made him feel like a rock pressing down on his back. The Ritterkreuzträger crack a weak, ghostly smile at his noble action and he was pretty sure that if she was in a better stage, she would deliver some funny sharp comment about it.

"Bloody bastards!" The medic growled while still pressing herself against the floor "Relentless, are they?"

"There is no reason to give up now." He replied quickly "They will try to overrun us again."

After a probing attack and several disasters attempts to take Silberlachsbach, the enemy had turned to long-range artillery creatures like Biovore and Dactylis to bombard the shit out of every sector while their Hive Crones and Harpies were still stubbornly fighting the Luftwaffe over the airspace above the Capital, a battle that they certainly were on the backfoot as half of the Tyranid air power had been sent to combat the Kriegsmarine threat in outer space. The change in tactic did help the hordes get closer to the trenches with fewer losses as the defenders were suppressed and suffered some casualties from the horrid bombardment but in general, Silberlachsbach's defense was still holding strong. The three-layer defenses, the brainchild of Casio Raiz had slowly but surely taken the toll on Tyranid's strength and as result, they couldn't capitalize on any breakthrough before being pushed back by well-prepared counterattacks of mobile Gebirgsjäger units (Moutain infantry).

Herr Faulkner didn't use his two elite formations of Gebirgsjäger in static defense but instead split them up into smaller firefighting forces, ready to reinforce any defensive position that was in danger of being overrun with Wisent IFV and Flamethrower armored car. His method then proved to be effective. After two days of intense fighting, the horde began to shift their effort to the city of Kaiserstadt , seemingly no longer wanting to take Silberlachsbach in a head-on attack anymore and thus allowing the Eisenwald Division to retake what had been lost the day before with little resistance.

That positive outcome, however, wasn't applied to everyone, To a position that was surrounded by three sides like Hornwald, Tyranid's new approach was devastating. The 3rd Volkssturm Company had to abandon their trenches as the Hormagaunts horde got too close before retreating to the village square where brutal house-to-house combat witnessed the majority of their dead and wounds since the fighting began. They had lost Hornwald in two hours in the morning and only got it back due to the reinforcement of two Gebirgsjäger platoons and the unbelievable courage of their captain, which had severely injured her in the process.

Johannes had witnessed it all. Ritterkreuzträger was truly a different species like people said. There was a strange flame of childish optimism always burning in Anka Haberlin as she went from place to place, encouraging her men to hold their positions, to repel the Hormagaunt's assaults before directly leading the counterattack driving them out of Hornwald. If it wasn't for that flame, everything would be lost. No matter how many hours they spent inside the MIRA system shooting Tyranids, literally, every Volkssturm forgot every lesson and shat themselves upon seeing the horde of murderous bugs charging at them. They mostly relied on survival instinct to continue fighting, sometimes blind rage and fear so without the leadership of a clear sober head, it would be nothing more than throwing punches in the dark before getting killed.

"This is their momentum," Said the sergeant, as he cleared a strand of blood-stained hair from Anka's forehead with his hand, "Our commander is incapacitated, half of our men are dead or wounded so I'm pretty sure they will launch another attack before sunset. How much time do you need to stabilize her?"

"Uh…about ten minutes. I can't really say for sure until I see how far the poison has spread."

"Make it five. We will get us out of here."

The medic grew quiet, confused by what she just heard but before questions appeared on her lips, Johannes had already given her the answer.

"The Captain says 3rd Volkssturm Company will retreat from Hornwald and rejoin the 334th battalion at Königsfurt. We have done what we are asked to, holding an unfavorable position for as long as we can and since it becomes indefensible, we must withdraw."

"You know very well that I didn't hear she gave such order." She coldly reminded Johannes, which was generally a good sight. Medics were the type of people that could be negotiated. They often had a more realistic view of life and death than the rest of the army and weren't tactically competent to understand what was going on.

"Then you must have heard the part where she mentioned we all were going to die if we continued to defend Hornwald with even fewer men. It's suicidal. We barely survived the last attack and judging how desperate things are, there is no doubt the next ones will be even bigger and more savage. The enemy has us surrounded on three sides since the beginning but now, after they realize how weak we are, it will certainly become an encirclement. You don't want to be encircled by those things, do you?"

The woman was not stupid. She considered Johannes's offer for a few moments then pointed out the elephant in the room :

"Weidemann won't believe you." She shook her head "Even if that was the truth, he would call you a liar in no time."

"It's not for him to decide. Lieutenant Essen will be next in the chain of command but I need you to testify. Do you think you can do it, ..." Johannes glanced at the black writing on her white breastplate. Karin Chakwas? An unusual name for a German. " Listen to me, Karin. A lot of people have died over this rubble that no one will remember its name tomorrow. We can't hold this village and Tyranid can't advance further from it unless they want to be cut off by our Panzergrenadier. A pointless battle which served no one but flies and scavenger bird is about to begin but you have a chance to put a stop to it."

"And..if he didn't believe me either?"

"I and my friends will get out of here one way or another." Said the sergeant "You can join us if you want. Without Anka, our company will be nothing but Tyranid food for the next few hours."

Although Essen wasn't an asshole like Weidemann, he was a shining example of how a German officer should be, meaning rule-abiding, disciplined, somewhat dull, and certainly lacking imagination. The man didn't hate Johannes for his past nor liked him so for it so it would be wise to come prepared.

"There was a medical Wisent in the back of the tavern but you have to manage it yourselves. All of its crew has perished this morning." Said the black-haired medic as she unpack her equipment before placing them on the bunker's floor "I will prepare your captain for the journey ahead and I will testify if you want me to…."

"But?"

"But I won't leave. If Lieutenant Essen or Weidemann decide to stay then I will stay with the men."

Johannes almost laughed at her intention but the clear determination in her green eyes told him not to. The woman wasn't a young idealistic medic that was drunk over stories about heroism and sacrifice for Vaterland. Her wrinkles were carved from battles of the 4th Galactic War, from the greatest German victories to their greatest defeats and her hair had gradually turned gray after so many deaths and tears. She knew what was coming and had long prepared for it.

"Fool! All of you Germans" He growled "Is this you really want? To fight for the glory that will never be your, a land you never see and an old man that never knows your existence?"

Karin Chakwas gave him a curious look and Johannes quietly cursed himself. It wasn't his appearance nor his heavy accent giving away his identity. For all those years, he couldn't get rid of the habit of seeing himself as an outsider, and sometimes words just slipped on his tongue.

"Ah, so you're the famous sergeant Alenko that everyone talks about lately." Concluded the woman with strange amusement "To be honest, I expected you to be more…what is the right word anyway? Centuri?"

"Making people disappointed is my specialty."

"Then we should be a duet. My father had pulled many strings to give me the Earth citizenship so I might one day become a personal doctor of some prince but I end up here stitching wounds, amputating arms and legs for grunt like you. Word couldn't describe his disappointment and as a proud Indian he was, disavowing me seemed to be the only option."

"Was?"

"Passed away during the Grand offensive. There was an incorrect report saying I had died in battle and it was too much for him to bear. Funny isn't it? Even in death, I also found a way to hurt him" She shrugged and gave a sad smile "It's patricide, sergeant Alenko. From a perspective, I had killed my father so I would rather die than add cowardice to my sin. Sorry to disappoint you"

Johannes gritted his teeth "Fine by me. Just do what you have promised then feel free to die in this hole."

After that, Johannes stormed out of the bunker in a rather sour mood for being called a coward. This was not the first time his enthusiasm met with criticism but it was the first time he was called a coward by a woman half his size and completely incapable of saving herself from certain death. Her admirable bravery and equanimity impressed Johannes so much that he could only rely on harsh words and an insufferable attitude to hide his frustration. Was he really that kind of person? A coward? Of course not. Johannes always knew he was called that because everyone was too stupid to see the world in a more realistic way than he did. They just simply punished him for not being morons like them and then created their own titles and medals to cover up their stupidity.

This Karin Chakwas was about to be killed by the same foolishness, buried in a shallow grave like many idiots before her and forgotten. That would be her fate. A reality that was tested and reinforced by an artillery shell exploding right on a fighting position 50 meters away from him, immediately turned anyone inside into mince meat and blew off two more standing nearby. The sergeant quickly pressed himself against the trench wall before the rest of the barrage hit the ground simultaneously.

A creeping barrage?

The next two salvos confirmed Johannes's suspicion. All of the shells landed simultaneously in the front of their first trenches, creating a wall of dust sweeping through the 3rd Company's position. It was a creeping barrage, no doubt and it would mean the real threat didn't lay in the barrage itself but the thing that came after it.

"TO YOUR POSITION! EVERYONE TO YOUR POSITION." He heard Essen yelling at the top of his lung in the dust, smoke, and the blazing heat of the midday sun. "THEY ARE COMING, THEY ARE COMING! GET READY, MEN!"

Survivors of what was left of Anka and Johannes' platoon rushed into battle positions with Lasgewehrs, shotguns, and MG-77Ss aimed straight at the land beyond which was decorated with huge piles of Tyranid corpses, ready for the coming attack. Their executions, unlike the Gebirgsjäger, were full of clumsiness and unprofessional but they were quick and high-spirit. Every pre-battle preparation, from Benezia T'soni's motivational speeches, the rapid training sessions of the Mira system to the appointment of competent officers, had finally paid off.

None Volkssturm ran from his post in the morning. Most of them fought to the death, only retreating when orders were given and if they were unable to execute that order, there was always a reserved grenade to provide a quick death. Although he didn't speak out loud, Johannes was proud of the men and women serving under his command. They had displayed the most impressive courage, exceed every one of his expectations, and on top of that, they didn't do it for glory, honor, or some pretentious nonsense but for the survival of their homes and families. One more reason for Johannes to save them from pointless death, so it seemed.

"SERGEANT ALENKO. I NEED SERGEANT ALENKO RIGHT NOW! WHERE IS HE?"

Johannes immediately wriggled his way through the muddy narrow path of the front line trench and reported himself to the lieutenant after hearing his name being called. No reason to let the company's interim commander wait at the moment for he was the key for all of them to leave Hornwald in one piece. The stiff lieutenant positioned himself at the center of their formation, near the only operational 30mm Flak batteries with a detachment of Gebirgsjäger and a Wisent IFV, presumably trying to establish some kind of connection between two platoons while still providing significant fire support.

A bio-shell landed near his position but the Essen still stood tall, proud and indomitable with his gray officer cap. A cybernetic arm sunk like some feasting leech on his left side while dirt stain, scratches, and purple blood were all over his Infanterie Kürass. As an officer of Reichswehr and iron cross winner, he, by all means, was qualified for a real copy of his former arm but a cybernetic one offered more utilities and had enough physical strength to give Krogan warrior a bloody nose, so perhaps that was why he didn't even bother to fill the form. Pragmatic as ever.

"Sergeant, I need you to take control of our right until I come back with the rest of Gebirgsjäger," Ordered the lieutenant in a hush, "It appears they don't want us to gain a foothold here but I won't let their plan come to fruition. Division headquarter has told me Luftwaffe will perform tactical bombardment in the area in the next 15 minutes or less so all we need to do is keep them at a safe distance, preferably 200 meters, and let those flyboys do their job."

"Affirmative, lieutenant. However, I must inform you that Captain Haberlin has handed over the command of her Company to you as she can't continue to perform her duty effectively."

Essen's eyes darkened for a few seconds. He didn't know Anka well nor was close to her like Johannes but Ritterkreuzträger was Ritterkreuzträger. Losing one of them would be a big blow to the morale of his men.

"Did she…"

"She's severely wounded, unconscious but still alive." The sergeant quickly replied and Essen breathed a sigh of relief. "Our medic is stabilizing her at the moment we speak but she would need intensive care in a proper hospital in the order to survive. Before passing out, her final order is to have all of our men withdrawn to Königsfurt."

The exemplary officer's perfect teeth clenched together, and his frown turned into a scowl. Retreat, withdrawal, and abandoning objectives were not particularly pleasant words in the ears of any German officer. He then gave Johannes a suspicious look, as expected.

"You're sure you didn't misinterpret her order, aren't you?" He asked "Did she say exactly that? Withdrawn to Königsfurt?"

"The captain was well-aware of the fact we are in danger of being surrounded and cut off from the rest of the division and thus she ordered a retreat." A drip of cold sweat slid down the back of Johannes's neck. This wasn't his first lie, but it was surely the most deadly, with failure resulting in a firing squad. "The medic, Karin Chakwas was there too, sir. She was also ordered to carry this message to you if, for some reason, I was unable to."

Although Karin Chakwas appeared to be the one who kept her word, Johannes was adamant about bringing her before Essen. She was outspoken and not very taciturn or inventive with words, so if the lieutenant suspected something was amiss, she may screw things up for him. Fortunately, his concerns were quickly dispelled as lieutenant Essen made his final judgment after a low hum and a moment of consideration.

"I can see where she's coming from, but I'm not in a position to carry out that order at the moment! They will slaughter us all if we leave our fortified positions right now, not to mention a withdrawal in broad daylight under the heavy artillery fire like this is tantamount to suicide."

He then handed Johannes his cap, a customized item with a blue soft cloth covering the interior, before putting on his own stahlhelm. According to Reichswehr regulations, officers were expected to wear suitable headgear in combat, and officer caps were only used for ceremonial purposes. Most men Johannes knew chose stahlhelm while they were serving on the frontlines for practical reasons and convenience, but most men weren't Essen. The guy really loved to dress like a proper Prussian whenever he got a chance to do so

"Take good care of it when I'm gone." Said the lieutenant as he switch the safety on his Stg off, hand reaching into a green metal crate for some additional ammo "We will discuss leaving Hornwald after this attack is repelled."

"Sir, but…"

"I say we will discuss leaving Hornwald after this attack is repelled, Alenko. Now, do what you are told!"

Fucking prick! Johannes swore quietly as the lieutenant's form receded into the smoke and dust billowing from the explosions. Essen didn't have any official decision on their retreat from Hornwald and if he got killed before making any then….Shit, Johannes wasn't delusional enough to think he could convince Weidemann to carry out the will of his usurper.

"Just my lucky day."

He tossed the lieutenant's fancy cap onto the earth beneath the trench and stood back to watch it get trampled by the support group delivering ammo boxes for the bunker's MGs. A recognizable, towering figure walking at the end of the group, carrying on himself twice as many ammunition boxes and equipment.

"Karl!"

Johannes called and the giant turned around. The simplicity and silliness had somewhat faded from his gruff face and in its place was the fatigue and bloodstain from feeding hungry MG-77Ss and carrying the wounded back to the infirmary since the break of day.

"Ser..Sergeant?"

"Where is Gabi?" It dawned on Johannes that he hadn't seen the girl since she ran up to him with teary eyes saying her precious Anka Haberlin had been gravely injured when driving the Termagants out of Hornwald's residential area "She was supposed to be with your group."

"She…over there, Sergeant."

He pointed his big finger at the right section of their defense, the most forward position which was supposed to be the major target of Tyranid assault. Johannes had to raise an eyebrow.

"What she's up to this time?"

"She wants to..uh, fight. She wants to shoot big bugs" The giant tried to give an answer in his own way. Fortunately, the limited vocabularies in his brain were more than enough for Johannes to grasp the whole story. "She wants to kill big bugs because they hurt our lady captain."

Just wonderful. Now I got myself an avenger to handle. For a time, Johannes thought Gabi was merely mesmerized by the aura of an older, higher-status woman possessing everything she could ever dream of, and that was why the girl was so eager to join Reichswehr. He was, however, mistaken. It wasn't just admiration, but something more powerful, powerful enough to make Gabi charge at a Tyranid warrior with a live grenade. Foolish he was. He probably shouldn't wonder why the girl gave him that look every time Anka got too comfortable with him.

"Karl, there is something I need you to do right now." He told the giant "Go to the command bunker and ask for a medic named Karin Chakwas. Just tell her I send you and she will take care of the rest. Do you understand?"

Karl seemed bewildered. : "But..you wanted me to carry boxes. They say I need to carry boxes so big bugs won't eat me."

"I did but now I want you to do something else. I will take care of big bugs if they worry you so much."

"But..I.."

"For fuck's sake, Karl. Forget about these stupid boxes and do what I say!" Johannes bellowed "You don't want to see me angry, do you? You know what I will do if I get angry?"

The giant panicked, removing all of his equipment and sprinting for the command bunker. An unfortunate Volkssturm got in his way and was pushed to the side, his body slammed so hard into the trench wall before collapsing to the ground with a bleeding nose. Mentally retarded he might be but Karl was smart in his own way and the incredible strength he possessed would come in handy when Johannes had a dying woman in his hands.

"Now, let's find that troublesome girl before she does something stupid."

And she indeed was doing something dumb, as he had predicted. When the sergeant reach the trenches at the edge of the village where most houses were still on fire due to the extensive use of incendiary ammunition and the ground littered with Tyranid corpses and human body parts, bombardment only got worse but instead of taking covers in the trench like the rest of her kamerad, Gabi sat motionless behind the MG-77S with absolute determination on her face and murderous intention in her blue eyes. Small blue flares glistened around her as the shrapnel contacted her kinetic barrier but the girl seemingly didn't give a damn while poor Peter was nearly in tears begging her to come down.

"The fuck are you doing!"

Johannes grabbed her by the collar and pulled her down. He didn't use that much of strength but she had already fallen like a sack of potato. It was clear that the girl didn't even bother to put up a resistance so upon seeing her staggered to her feet, Johannes couldn't help but gave her a hard slap across the face.

"Are you mad, you idiot?" He shouted at her "You really want to die that bad?"

"Leave me alone, Johannes. What is it to you if I do die anyway?"

He attempt to slap her again but was able to get a hold of himself this time. In a way, she was right. What was the meaning of her death to him, to this galaxy after billion upon billion had perished across the stars? She was an unruly, uneducated, and sassy child who contradicted every word he said, and to be honest, they were not kamerad, not really. They had only known each other for less than a week and not to mention, this brat almost sent Johannes off to the afterlife. It was all true but…

"She is not dead, you fool!" He told Gabi "Karl is carrying her to safety and we will take her to people who know how to fix her up."

Gabi was bewildered for a few seconds: "What…?"

" I told you she is…."

Words died in his throat as the shelling abruptly ceased and a dreadful silence descended on Hornwald. Members of the fourth platoon began to spring to their feet and peeked their heads over the trench, cautiously surveying their surroundings, asking each other what would happen next. Johannes knew what was about to happen, but he didn't tell them since he didn't have time and they would see it with their own eyes sooner or later.

"Men, to your positions." He shouted, " Do not fire until I give you the order."

Emerging from the cloud of dust 100 meters away from their farthest observation post, a swarm of Termagant and Hormagaunt, the rank-and-files of the Tyranid army, followed by bigger and meaner monsters armed with horrific saw-swords known as Tyranid warriors. To untrained and inexperienced eyes, Tyranid was simply a bunch of mindless animals charging at gun barrels and bayonet points until their superior numbers finally depleted the enemy's ammo, yet this couldn't be further from the reality.

They deployed and adjusted their strategies in such an astonishing and imaginative manner that Johannes had to question whether they had another Martin Steinbauer over there. In the last attack, after getting mauled by the firepower of German MG-77S, the bugs slowed down their advance, spread out their troops, and very soon, Johannes's platoon was struck by a storm of Termagant's borer beetles coming from several covers made of their brethren's corpses. Very clever they were but the surprise did not end there. As Anka ordered a mortar barrage to smoke them out, a squadron of Harpies descended from the sky and wiped out more than half of their mortar crews, effectively disabling their close-range fire support.

It was a calculated move from a decent tactical mind.

Every sacrifice Tyranid had made, everything they had done up to that point was to locate and destroy the Company's main offensive weapons, resulting in the subsequent fall of its left flank in the morning. That was kinda an impressive feat, especially for creatures that didn't have their own identity. The most effective Krogan Warband that Johannes knew would struggle to acquire that degree of strategy and battle planning proficiency.

However, they were not perfect. There were still places for mistakes.

"Gabi, get to the MG and throw everything you have at them on my command," He told her then turned to Peter whose face was so pale that one might mistake him for a corpse "You will help her with ammo and barrels."

Gabi raised an eyebrow: "But the manual strictly forbids the use of the machine gun in fully automatic mode. I can't hit anything by doing that"

"You don't need to. Just keep them suppressed for 10 minutes. That's all I ask."

The enemy was so desperate to take Hornwald that they did not gather enough strength to attack it properly. Johannes had expected more than 2000 bugs against 150 Volkssturms of the third Company but the swarm he saw was less than 600. If he could keep them from overrunning the defense for 10 minutes then there was still hope.

"This is Sergeant Alenko of the fourth platoon to whatever Gebirgsjäger still out there " He spoke through the main channel "If you have a clear shot on those big fuckers wielding saws then just take it. Do anything you can do to slow them down until our Luftwaffe arrives."

The members of this special regiment frequently carried Viper battle rifles beside Reichswehr's standard Stg since they were also trained to take out targets at longer ranges than regular soldiers. Lasgewehr would do much damage to Tyranid Warrior beyond 125m and Stg-51 didn't have a precision scope so their best chance for interrupting Tyranid chain of command was Tungsten core round and the superb marksmanship of Gebirgsjäger.

"Confirmed, Sergeant Alenko. We will do what we can" An unknown soldier replied to Johannes "However, it will take some time as those bastards often cower behind their minions."

" Tell your machine gun operators to go full auto on their rank at 200 and sooner or later you will see them in the front. Good luck!"

"Understood, we will do what you say right away. Good luck to you too, brother. For Deutsches Vaterland and Kaiser."

Johannes was hesitant to return the courtesy. Their land wasn't his land and the man wasn't his king but this might well be the very last words spoken by that unknown Gebirgsjäger so he wouldn't be that cruel :

"For Deutsches Vaterland and Kaiser"

RAAAAAAAAAHHHHH

An inhuman shriek ripped through the air, signaling the attack of the monstrous horde. Their advance was well coordinated and smooth despite the muddy, slippery terrain caused by the recent rains of the past few days and the remains of those Tyranids that had perished in the morning. The bugs took the observation trench unopposed as Johannes thought there were still too many covers from the damaged redoubts and Lasgewehrs were still ineffective at that distance.

"Easy, easy, men. Don't be rushed." Johannes whispered on the coms "Let they pass the redoubts ."

As usual, the majority of casualties were Hormagaunts as their only way to deal with machine gun fires was charging forward and hoping some of them would survive and reach enemy defense. That didn't work out. Any ugly burgers that escaped the hail storm of bullets were later greeted with a furious volley of laser beams. To compensate for the low rate of fire, Volkssturms were trained to fire their Lasgewehr in volleys to get the maximum damage out of the weapon. An outdated tactic, according to Anka, that had never been used by mankind for the past 900 years but it proved effective nonetheless.

More subtle and intelligent Termagants quickly jumped into shell craters or fell back to the redoubts where they felt safe enough to return fire. However, the Flak batteries forced them to retreat further as 30mm airburst rounds bypassed the earthwork and explode right on their heads. Their assault was thwarted, forcing the Tyranid Warriors to move forward and take the lead and as result, making them targets for Viper Battle rifles. Johannes saw two or three bullets go through the abdomen of one of them. The creature was startled but continued its advance until additional Tungsten core bullets sent it to the ground with a shredded chest, severed limbs, and half of its jaw gone.

"The barrel is going to break, Peter." Gabi yelled as the upper end of her Mg looked like it was about to explode. Her finger was off the trigger "Take it out! Take it out, now!"

The clumsy young man hurriedly grabbed the barrel of the smoking machine gun before rolling on the ground screaming with burnt and blistering hands. Johannes cursed. The idiot didn't even wear protective gloves.

"Your bottle." Johannes told her "Pour it over then keep shooting!"

White smoke arose as the water touched the red hot barrel. The metal shrieked in an unpleasant noise but the method worked. Gabi squeezed the trigger once again and more Tyranids fell to her gun. Anka once compared MG-77S's ammunition consumption to that of a whale drinking water and based on what transpired in front of Johannes' eyes, that assessment was fairly valid. In a very short period of time, Gabi had consumed all of her standard ammunition and was forced to switch to incendiary rounds which gave a boost to everyone's morale as bugs died screaming in flames and were always welcoming sights.

"Hahahaha, this is all you got?" Gabi shouted in excitement, already carried away by the battlefield's fever "Come here, you ugly bastards. Get some, Get some."

By the look of it, they were winning. Tyranid got pinned down by machine-gun fire at a safe distance and when Johannes glanced at the watch, it was about 6 minutes before Luftwaffe arrived.

However, his high hope for victory was short-lived.

The Sergeant soon felt unusual vibrations under his boots as if something was creeping towards them, but when he peered around, none of the Tyranids could get closer than 50 meters. He tried to warn his men, but his voice was lost in the sounds of battle and bloodlust. It was a terrific sight to witness. Half-worm, half-mantis creatures with arms that resembled reaper scythes emerged from beneath the ground of the trench, tossing the dirt and ill-fated soldiers into the air before preying on the people surrounding them. The men were stunned, dead on their feet as sinister blades cut through them like hot knives through butter. Few tried to run, some tried to stand their ground and fight but it was futile.

Laser beams bounce off the half-mantis creature even in close-range combat like nothing and none could hope to outrun the monsters because, as massive as these things were, their speed was uncanny. In a matter of seconds, the disciplined and well-organized formation of the fourth platoon was shattered.

"GABI, WATCH OUT!"

A lump of dirt suddenly cropped up where the girl stood, without her realizing till the very last second, two horrific crimson reaper scythes appeared and placed her in the center of its kill zone. Johannes reacted as fast as he could. He extended his hand and used the quickest of Rakin Biotic technique to fling Gabi at Pete, causing both of them to tumble to the ground before those blades split her in half.

Another monstrosity emerged from underground, looking much more terrifying than the others, thanks to its long scarlet tongue and big yellow eyes. It growled savagely as the prey was snatched from its jaw before rushing towards Johannes for some revenge. The sergeant, however, had been ready for it. Armor-piercing rounds of the Stg-51 exited its barrel and penetrated the scales on the monster's chest, sending scale shards and purple blood flying into the air in its strident howling.

This mantis was less nimble and clever than the Purii he had previously encountered, but it was undeniably tougher and more durable. It took more than 30 rounds to knock it down, and several point-blank Lasgewehr's shots from Peter and Gabi to get the last breath out of it. An insufferable pain hit him hard in the chest. Raikin was the fastest biotic style ever created by the Asari, but it also caused the most pain to the user's body. Rarely it was used by him saved for dire situations like the previous one.

"More of them!"

Yelled Peter as two mantes rushed at them at breakneck speed. The young man lifted his Lasgewehr up but was struck by a swarm of borer beetles coming from the creature's mouth before pulling the trigger. His shield collapsed immediately due to the simultaneous impact of too many shots. He died quickly, but it was a messy end. In their shock, a borer beetle landed right where his face was, and bright red blood flowed from a hole in the back of his skull as he fell forward.

Johannes gritted his teeth and reach for Gabi's machine gun. Curses escaped his lips as the heated barrel burned through his glove but despite the pain, he activated his biotic shield to withstand the enemy's borer beetles and opened fire on two goddamn hideous worms, only stopped when incendiary rounds sliced open their stomachs and converted them into living torches. When it was all over, the sergeant almost collapsed from exhaustion.

"Get..out of here!" He ordered her as trying to catch his breath. "Now!"

"But.. our men, they…"

Gabi tried to say something, but the words died in her throat as she turned around and witnessed the carnage. The fourth platoon, or whatever was left of it after the morning battle, had no longer existed. A long trail of blood, chopped limbs, intestines, and twitching bodies was paved alongside the narrow trench. Everyone was dead. They were the only survivors.

"Run, now."

He repeated, noticing more and more mantis-like creatures were appearing from tunnels dug by previous ones. They were sent to finish the job, Johannes knew. He was also well aware that they couldn't kill them all nor escape. Well, actually one of them couldn't.

"I will slow them down."

The empty ammo box hissed in creamy white smoke as Johannes detached it from the machine gun. He then reach out his hand for a new one from the ammunition shelf but soon realized there was nothing left except for a box of tracer rounds.

"I can't hold them off for long so you need to be quick." He quickly told her, "Go to the tavern and find Karl. He will know what to do."

"No."

That was the girl's response before approaching Johannes and standing next to him. With a swift and decisive movement, she drew the bayonet wrapped around her thigh and attached it underneath the barrel of her Lasgewehr. There was an iron tenacity and calmness in Gabi's eyes as she pointed the wicked blade at her enemies. The tenacity and calmness that Johannes had seen in Karin Chakwas and felt embarrassed of himself.

"A soldier of the Reich won't leave her kamerad to save herself." Said Gabi, "That's the first lesson she teach me."

Johannes grinned a mad grin. It was like one of those stories the Germans loved to tell. Ulrich and little Rosamunde if he recalled correctly. The young heroine fought alongside the old veteran in their last stand against Batarian raiders and then had their faces carved into every gate of every barrack and Reichswehr building that Johannes walked into. In a cynical thought, Johannes found it amusing if his and Gabi's faces were also given the same honor after they left this world.

"Alright then, have it your way."

Johannes told her and unleashed hell on the coming enemies. Glowing green bullets created a laser beam of their own, slicing into the bugs, making them hesitant to advance, but he was soon forced to switch to his rifle as the Mg ran out of ammo.

It's all over, he thought to himself, 20-second top.

He knew he was about to die and that it would be a horrible, messy and painful death, yet he felt...an extraordinary peacefulness inside. In a sense, by dying, the sergeant was about to achieve what he came here for. The traitor brand would be removed from Kaidan and his family forever and that was more than enough for Johannes. He was ready for it. It was a long way with very few bright spots he had traveled on so this ending was not outright bad at all.

However, he didn't die. Not yet anyway.

A sudden trembling within the earth sent an alert to those mantis-like creatures and halted their advance. Johannes could only feel a fraction of it but as soon as he realized what it was and released a breath of relief, those worms had already panicked and ran back to the holes they came out of.

"What…What's happening?" Asked Gabi with shock and tears in her eyes, "Why are they running?"

The Sergeant didn't answer her right away. Exhausted, he crumble to his knees but was still able to crack a smile :

"We live."

From the backside of their trench, appeared a Jaguar main battle tanks and three Wisent IFVs accompanied by a mixed detachment of Panzergrenadier and Gebirgsjäger. The vehicles rushed over the trench and positioned themselves in the front then began to commence fire on the Tyranid with their 155 mm Krupp railguns and 30mm twin cannons, while the infantry swiftly occupied the position of the late fourth platoon. Gabi covered her head with both hands as a squadron of Bf 251 Donnervogel screaming the sky above in V formation and from their fixed wings, a fleet of rockets dashed towards the Tyranid horde with magnificent blue flames in their tails, evaporating the entire redoubts, the observation trench and every single Tyranid taking cover inside.

It had been long since Johannes ever laid eyes on something that beautiful, so beautiful that he didn't even notice that Essen had come to stand beside him. Dissatisfaction was written clearly on the Lieutenant's grim face as he looked around and assessed the damage that had been done to the fourth platoon.

"I told you to hold our right flank until I arrived." He reminded Johannes, "You have failed your objective."

"We did what we could, sir." Explained the Sergeant as he cautiously rose to his feet. "No one warn us about the enemy hiding beneath us but we did what we could, "He then looked at Gabi who was coated in dirt, sweat, and Tyranid blood, "They, however, weren't in total control of my sector. They would never be when this little heroine and I still breathing."

The Lieutenant gave a quick glance at the last two survivors of the platoon. His scowl softened a bit and after a quiet hum, he quickly made his final decision :

"The Fräulein here will be commended for her bravery but since you have failed your mission, there won't be any commendation for you," Essen told them, "Consider yourself lucky this time, Sergeant. Normally, there is a punishment for those who lost my cap. Do you understand that?"

After finishing his lecture, Essen took off his stahlhelm and replaced it with an extra officer's cap from his backpack even though this one looked less flamboyant than the last. Truly amazing this guy was. Johannes could only sigh and nod and then reminded him of the situation at hand "Sir, we must retreat from Hornwald. We've lost half our strength, and there's no assurance that the enemy won't continue their assault or we'll be able to hold them off again. "

Although Essen was a jerk, he was no fool. Johannes could tell his commander was also aware of how bad things would be if they continued to stay in this village. The enemy had made a mistake by attacking pre-mature but even a miscalculation of their proved too devastating to the Company.

"I understand but it's not that simple. The process requires me to confer with Lieutenant Weidemann before requesting any retreat order from Regiment Headquarters." Said Essen, "We may depart to Königsfurt tonight if the condition allows but first thing first, I must push the enemy out of the redoubt and secure our perimeter"

Johannes felt like a stone was lifted from his shoulders. The man finally had made up his mind.

"That's good to hear, sir. However, may I have your permission to take Captain Haberlin to a medical facility immediately? My men have already taken her to the evac and they are ready to move."

Essen looked thoughtful at his proposal, "Reasonable enough but it's against Reichswehr regulation. All soldiers are equal. No special treatment for anyone. She will travel with the rest of our wounded"

The Lieutenant then proceeded to climb up to the top of the trench, waving his handgun in the air to rally his men for the counter-attack in Johannes's horror. It was quite unusual for an officer to completely expose himself to the enemy's fire like that and since Johannes knew the man, Essen was not the type who loved taking risks. However, he was filling Anka's shoes here and that meant he must do things that people expected her to do. The sergeant tried to talk him out of it, saying he would lead the men instead, to which the rule-abiding officer replied :

"A German officer never shies away from the danger of leading his men"

And that turned out were the very last words spoken by Hans Essen. 20 minutes later, when Johannes and Gabi were at the medical bunker to have their wounds tended to, a corporal ran up to him and asked him to report the combat status of the 4th platoon to the company commander. Johannes raised an eyebrow :

"He was there with me and saw everything. What does he want to know now?"

"You're joking, right? Weidemann was breathing down my neck the whole time, that asshole." The corporal cursed but then his dark eyes sparkled with realization. " Ah, you mean Lieutenant Essen, correct? Bad news for you. He was killed ten minutes ago."

The dreadful news hit Johannes like a bolt of lightning in the clear blue sky, stunning him and leaving him dumbfounded for a few seconds.

"Ho…How?"

"At the redoubts. Some said it was a sniper, some said friendly fire but I really don't know. He was standing on the earthwork, observing the land beyond with his binoculars, and then someone shot him dead right on the spot. Weidemann now is commander, he is next in the line."

-V-

1:25 PM October 6, 2839

Unknown location, 320.000 km from the planet of Eden

Headquarter of Schutzengel fleet. Battlegroup C

Battleship Frederick II's Hangar F-4.

The funeral was solemn and brief, with few attendees as the large majority of individuals who were close to the person lying in the casket were either dead or unable to leave their positions and those who were able to present desired a modest ceremony to conserve time and expenses. Even though all engagements had momentarily ceased and peace had returned to the space surrounding Eden, the battle technically went on.

The battle for Theta system was the kind of battle that put crew members and officers of the Schutzengel fleet to the most challenging test. Hive Fleet outnumbered them greatly, and its attacks were just as savage and ruthless as they were sophisticated. During five days of fierce fighting, Michael and his men had done everything they could to maintain the line, planning strikes to divert the Tyranids' attention away from Eden while attempting to destroy as much of the enemy's vitality as possible. There had been enormous successes from them as well as devastating failures, including the loss of equipment, vessels, and... the type of loss that nothing could compensate for, the loss of human life.

32.000, that was the number given by Hackett this morning. 3.000 from the artillery duel on the first day between battlegroup A and whatever force the Hive Fleet could muster after their rear guard was decimated by a combined attack from Erina's nimble light cruisers, destroyers, and Franz Rottmann's 50 squadrons of Feuerfalke. 2000 souls were lost in Erina's attempt to prevent Hive Fleet from approaching their main battle line the day after and none of the 4,000 crew serving on battleship Prince Heinrich survived after the Bio-plasma cannons blew up the ship's primary fusion reactors and tore it in half. It was a significant loss for the fleet, but it paled in contrast to the carnage witnessed in the following days.

The enemy did attempt to overwhelm the Schutzengel fleet again with its limitless numbers on the third and fourth days of the battle, leading to two big skirmishes and one gigantic naval engagement near Eden's moon, Luise where 10 Tyranid battlegroups were annihilated in exchange for one battleship, two aircraft carriers, and 5000 men. As Erina had predicted, Hive Fleet had shifted its focus to Franz's aircraft carriers after sustaining too much damage from the nimble Starfighters and interceptors and that was the opportunity they had been waiting for. A suitable spot near the moon was chosen so the bugs thought they would have an easy victory, but as soon as they arrived, they realized that those aircraft carriers weren't alone. From the land that constantly sunk in the perpetual darkness of Eden's moon, emerged Frederick II, Kaiserin Catherina, Iron Bismarck, Barbarossa, Schutzengel's largest battleships, and 82 light and heavy cruisers of Battlegroup C. A naval force of that size was formidable enough to endure Armageddon, but it had been held and preserved for this moment only.

For the first time since the battle began, Hive Fleet's offensive was stopped in its tracks by a brute force as big as its. If the Hive mind had basic sentiments like ordinary creatures, Michael was pretty sure it was in shock by what was happening but he could only guess how that alien collective mind may feel as Erina and Reiner approached on both flanks and an encirclement steadily built around it.

A great victory they had and the maneuver that Erina managed to pull off deserved to be mentioned in Reichswehr's military publications. His wife had kept her words and executed the assault so flawlessly that no one would question her leadership of Battlegroup B any longer. Good God. Now he knew why Franz Rottmann was so concerned about Erina might one day steal his seat. To be clear, Michael never once underestimated Erina but he didn't expect her to be this good either.

However, her brilliance was overshadowed by the disaster the fleet suffered the day after, a failure that nearly brought Michael to his knees. Normally, when a setback happened, the admiral would try not to point his finger at anyone, but this time, things were different. Only one individual was to blame.

And that was the true reason why people did not want a full-fledged funeral or even a military funeral in the first place, but since Michael had previously given them a lecture on the subject, no one dared to bring it up to him again. No matter what the man had done, Commodore Reiner Sauerland had been and always would be a respected member of the Kriegsmarine, therefore Michael would give him the respect he deserved, even if it meant getting into an argument with Erina.

"Won't you give the eulogy, Admiral?"

Whispered Hackett as he approached Michael on the main walkway that cut over the docking bay, giving them a clear view of the event below. On the runway, half a company of marines in sharp dress uniforms and polished black boots lined up in three rows. Their backs were held straight and their faces solemn as the Karabiner 98, a ceremonial rifle as ancient as the Reich itself, resting lightly on their shoulders.

Franz Rottmann stood at the other end of the row with the blue magnetic confinement field of the hangar door in the background and both of his sides flanked by the naval music band and the Marine. Vice-Admiral dressed in the uniform he was expected to wear at the funerals of his colleague, pupil, and supporter. Black trench coat with blue-collar, golden lanyard, a full set of medals that he had been awarded over his lengthy career, and a pair of immaculate white gloves wrapped around the silver pommel of his ceremonial saber; however, instead of looking magnificent, impressive, and powerful as usual, sadness had overcome the glamour and transformed Franz into an exhausted old man heartbroken by the loss of his friend.

"Franz is the better man for the job." Said the Admiral "He and Reiner had fought side by side since the siege of Kapa while I don't even know what his middle name was. Besides, you know I'm terrible with speeches."

"People may think you secretly agree with your wife although you don't speak it out loud."

"Let's they think whatever they want." The Admiral snorted "I have made myself very clear when saying Reiner would receive the honor befitting his rank. Oberkommando may come to a different conclusion later on but in the meantime, I will bury the man in whatever manner I see fit."

"As you wish, Admiral."

Erina and 20 or more senior officers of the fleet soon joined him on the walkway. Their uniforms were spotless and polished, conveying the dignity and professionalism of the members of Kriegsmarine, but their faces were carved from stone, displaying no hint of grief as the casket of the late Commodore passed by the honor guard. Telling them to stop nagging about the funeral, he did but it didn't mean he could alter their opinions about his decisions or Reiner Sauerland. Hackett politely took a step back so Erina could stand next to her husband.

"You're late…again." He told the captain of Brunhilda 205 with a chuck "It slowly become your habit, dear."

Erina's frown turned into a scow, obviously didn't approve of Michael's favorite method to lighten the mood. "Someone has to clean up the mess he left behind. Battlegroup A is nearly non-exist after yesterday. Half of its commanders are dead or missing, one-third of its heavy cruiser is out of operation, its light cruiser force is down to 40% of fighting capacity and only one out of four frigate detachments are in acceptable condition for combat missions."

Michael let out a sigh. It was worse than what he read in the initial report. "Where is Harald? Shouldn't he be in charge of reorganizing the Battlegroup while you handle yours?"

The loss of Reiner Sauerland was not that tragic to the fleet since his second-in-command was a quality replacement. Some said Herald von Horbug was even a better commander and was overshadowed by Reiner only because the late Commodore was unfairly favored by Franz Rottmann.

"Dead." She replied, emotionless and short "This morning."

Michael felt like someone had just kicked him in the guts. Did this catastrophe of their know no bounds?

"H..How's the hell that could happen?" He tried his best not to shout "I specifically told him not to engage the enemy until his units regained combat effectiveness, did I not?"

"He didn't die in combat." Erina slightly shook her head "I received a message from Herald at 5:00 a.m. saying that he took full responsibility for the tragedy that befell Battlegroup A and felt he was no longer worthy to be its commander. I then asked him to clarify what he said but got no response. An hour later, the officer in charge of Edina's bridge contacted my ship and inform me that Herald was dead. Looked like he had shot himself in the head no longer after sending me the message."

"Good God! What was the reason behind this folly?"

"It appears that Herald agreed with Reiner about not executing your strategy after our triumph at Eden's moon, or at least encouraged his Commodore to do so, according to that officer. I don't know all the details but Reiner wasn't alone in believing he could repel a Tyranid onslaught with firepower and then decided not to retreat his battlegroup to the designated position."

Overconfidence and underestimation of the enemy's capabilities were at the foundation of this calamity. Tyranid suffered significant damage, losing five of its fifteen Hive ships and thousands of Bio-ships on Eden's moon, but it was not defeated. After seeing the scale of the enemy fleet, Michael realized that all he could do was temporarily contain it, preventing it from carrying out its plans on Eden and deterring it from continuing the battle. They all were hedgehogs here. Hedgehogs couldn't technically beat a hound, but they might make the predator reconsider if it was worth trying.

What the hell was he thinking back then? How could he not see that? An inexperienced young commander who got high after a great victory might make such a mistake but a seasoned soldier like Reiner? Hackett believed it had something to do with his rivalry with the Captain of Brunhilda 205. It seemed nonsensical at first, but the more Michael thought about it, the more he realized Reiner just wanted something to match Erina's success on the moon Luise, but the effort had cost 15 thousand lives, including his.

Well, If that was the case, Michael must bear some of the blame. He was neither decisive nor effective in his staff management. This tragic tragedy could have been prevented if Erina had been the commander of Battlegroup A in the first place.

"Who is next in line?" Asked the Admiral " Werner? Brau?"

"None at the moment. Most of Reiner's staff and those capable of leading the Battlegroup are either dead or missing" She answered "I have ordered the Battlegroup to retreat to D-88 and wait for further instruction from you. My men will cover them in case the bugs want to try something."

"Good, good. That should do for now but it still needs a new commander to get it back to the fighting condition as soon as possible. Steinbauer has broken through Krizsbrunnen and headed to Ostengard. He wants me to escalate our attack on the Hive fleet in the next 24 hours since the encirclement is about to commence."

Erina massaged the bridge of her nose, looking grim at the possibility "That is not enough! Battlegroup A requires more than 24 hours to be reorganized. Can you just make him halt his advance until we are ready?"

"I will try but you shouldn't put too much hope in it since you know what kind of man he is." Michael sighed heavily "We will talk about it later. Let's bid our farewell to Reiner first."

A Kriegsmarine battle flag was shrouded over the coffin at Franz's command. The vice admiral lifted his saber, the hilt held against his face, the silver blade pointed to the roof, gleamed brightly in the faint light of Frederick II's Hangar. Even at this distance, Michael could see the tears of grief welling up in his eyes.

"ACTUNG"

A command was sounded and followed by the sad, mournful tune of Ich hatt' Einen Kameraden (I had a comrade). A very old song that dated back to the era when the German Reich wasn't a Reich, beautifully versed, yet no soldier wanted to hear it throughout his military service.

I had a comrade,

You couldn't find a better one.

The drum called to battle,

He walked by my side,

At the same pace and step.

A bullet came a-flying,

Was it aimed for me or you?

He was swept away,

He lies at my feet,

As if he were a part of me.

He reaches out for my hand,

While I was loading.

I cannot hold your hand,

Stay in eternal life

My good comrade!

The coffin was then carried to the Hangar door by four sailors, who came to a halt in front of the blue magnetic confinement field that shielded the ship from the cold black vacuum of space. The anti-gravity mechanism within the coffin was activated, permitting it to float in mid-air, which came in handy when they had to push it through the field in the end. All officers presented on the walkway raised their hands and saluted as Commodore Reiner Sauberland made his final journey into the infinite void.

The ceremony ended in silence as very few words were exchanged among the attendees at the repast and a lot of brandy was consumed in a short amount of time. Michael was forced to order them to return to their stations early, fearful that something bad might arise. Grief, frustration, alcohol, and bitter words were frequently formulas for trouble that the Admiral didn't have time to deal with just now.

"You have done the right thing, Admiral."

Nina Weiss told him when they were alone in the hallway leading to his private quarters. Erina had gone back to her ship right after the funeral to oversee the retreat of Battlegroup A to D-88 and since Hackett had been tasked with assessing the damage Battlegroup C had sustained the day before, there weren't many close acquaintances left for Michael to open up about the awful things that had happened.

"I'm simply following the rules, Nina. There is no right or wrong here."

"I mean your appointment of Reiner, sir. You made the right decision at that time. If your wife became the leader of Battlegroup A, the fleet's cohesiveness and your reputation would suffer. There is no way you can foresee the Commodore's action so you shouldn't blame yourself for his deed."

"I see your point but, as a leader, you must develop the habit of viewing every failure as your fault." That was the very first lesson they taught him at the Kriegsmarine academy and it had never failed him ever since "When a man points a finger at someone else, he should remember that four of his fingers are pointing at himself. Moreover, I'm not blaming myself here if that was what you were worried about. This is just a part of the job."

"I understand, Admiral. It's just..." Nina Weiss hesitated, her face clouded with concern. "It's just... I've noticed you've been preoccupied with something lately."

He couldn't help but chuckle heartily "I assume everyone will be preoccupied when there is a swarm of man-eating space bugs coming for them, don't you think?"

"I believe you are concerned about something, but it is not the Tyranid that you are worried about. Please forgive my rudeness but you look… distracted, different since we left doctor Hoch's office, and two days ago you told me to deliver a message to Sanaris, a Salarian known best for his embarrassment and wacky theories than actual research when we were preparing for the biggest battle in your life."

Even Erina or Hackett couldn't see that. His true feeling was well concealed, buried beneath the mask of confidence and professionalism of a seasoned commander but clearly, the façade wasn't crafty enough to fool Nina. Well, it didn't come as a great surprise though, since Michael had spent more time with his secretary than with his wife in the previous 7 years, she was quick to see something was off with his behavior.

"Quite perceptive as usual, lieutenant." The Admiral replied with a smile, seeing no purpose in continuing his charade. "For the record, I didn't try to hide it from you or anyone. It's just I don't want to make public something that I haven't found a way to identify yet.

The secretary looked thoughtful "And you think Sanaris can help?"

"I genuinely feel that Dr. Sanaris is the only one who can assist us." He let out a sigh "It appears that you have to place your trust in me one more time, Nina. His works may look unreliable and full of speculation but to be honest with you, after what I have witnessed, it is not too absurd to take them seriously."

A scientist and expert on anomalous phenomena, that was what he called himself but to the Asari and Salarian scientific community, he was nothing but an eccentric, an outcast, failed scientist turned novelist, and a fool. If this had been a week ago, Michael would have probably called him by something similar too but history has a strange tendency of repeating itself. There was a time on Earth, the birthplace of mankind, many men got mocked as con-artists for suggesting there was extraterrestrial life existed on Mars just before the Nibelung discovered the first Prothean beacon in its fourth expedition to the red planet.

"Did he answer my message?" Asked Michael.

"He did, sir. When you were at the meeting this morning, he called back and said he wished to talk to you as soon as possible. I can put him on the afternoon's schedule if you'd like. There will be ten minutes to spare after your meeting with chief engineer Egon and I can tell Field Marshal Steinbauer's headquarters to call you back after 3:00 pm."

"Cancel my meeting with Egon. I just needed a report on the ship's condition so he doesn't have to come to see me in person." Ordered the Admiral "Put Sanaris on a secured line inside my quarter and make sure no one interrupted our conversation."

"All communications are monitored." Nina reminded him "Even Admiral's communication lines will be recorded by Weiße Königin (White Queen)."

"Are you serious?" Michael raised an eyebrow "Who give them permission to monitor me?"

"Field Marshal Steinbauer, sir. He uses the anti-espionage act as legal backing to put everyone under surveillance with two exceptions. The field marshal himself and..."

"Benezia T'soni." Micheal finished that sentence for her and felt the itch on every of his fingertip. Since the last time the Matriarch was on board, he always felt a snake wrapping around his leg whenever her name was mentioned "Can you set up a new channel which cannot be monitored to or recorded by anyone?"

"Theoretically, it is feasible. Frederick II was built two centuries ago, so there are several outdated communication outlets that are no longer compatible with the current system. If Sanaris can find a suitable device at the same time then the connection is possible. However, it won't be an easy task since I have no idea where those outlets are. "

"Sound like a job for our chief engineer. Egon knows this battleship better than anyone else and has no reason to ask further questions but you must remind him to keep this off the record. As I said, I don't want to make public something that I haven't found a way to identify yet."

"As you wish, Admiral" She nodded her head "I'll let you know when the connection is established"

Michael then spent the rest of his afternoon inside the Admiral's quarters on the K-2 desk, doing mostly nothing except waiting for Egon to do his job. A sumptuous lunch of Oven-baked salmon, cheese, olives, and a bottle of Tuscany Antinori Tignanello 2800 was prepared and brought to the admiral at 2:00 by a sergeant of the commanding desk's security but he barely touched anything except for the wine.

"Damn, those ancient generals didn't exaggerate at all." He made a remark after a small slip. It was sour and lacked the character of a 4500 Reichsmark bottle. "Defeat turns even God's wine into piss."

Setting aside the tasteless glass, the Admiral of the Schutzengel fleet walked over to his desk computer and continued the private search for the mysterious human civilization in his dreams. Erina had warned him that it was futile and that no one could assist him, and she was partially correct. No German scientist of any caliber believed in omens and dreams, and since Dr. Reichmann, xenologist and the head of Frederick II's expeditionary group, said that he had never encountered or heard of such human civilization anywhere, Michael knew he could only depend on the Extranet.

That was too much work for one man, considering how big that thing was but with his rank and the naivety of those young cadets of the internal communications unit plus a bit of luck, some progress had been made.

Although there were no knights in full plate armor, gigantic cities built in the shape of bee hives, or human armies equipped with mass-produced laser armament had been seen and mentioned in the previous 50,000 years, those young cadets had discovered a rather intriguing character that might have some connection to the strange knight Michael saw. He was a man with no name, of unknown origin, and a visage that could not be identified by any system within the Reich's territory, yet he appeared in numerous works of art on several human planets, including Earth. Sometimes they were white marble sculptures, occasionally oil paintings inside someone's estate, and sometimes they were merely scribbles on the walls of abandoned subway stations but the description was always the same. A handsome man with a strong jaw, and mesmerizing eyes wearing an impressive piece of golden armor and a laurel wreath over his long black hair.

He seemed grandiose, authoritative, and charismatic as if he were a king or Emperor of a bygone age, but Michael could tell the man was much more than that. There was always some type of halo burning brilliantly behind him, and in many paintings, the artists didn't hesitate to convey the idea that he wasn't simply a mortal man.

A saint, perhaps, or…a God. Was this the God-Emperor that he heard them mentioned? Michael wasn't sure at first cause this unknown character didn't have much in common with the mysterious knight in Michael's dream, except for the armor they wore. However, upon closer inspection, he saw one aspect that bore an uncanny resemblance.

Those eyes. Like in the case of the blue armor knight, Michael couldn't really tell how old this Emperor was. Judging on his appearance, he was older than Michael, might be five years older but there was something very ancient in his eyes as if thousand years had passed and it was just a dream to him.

This couldn't be coincident, the Admiral thought to himself. There must be a connection here between those people and this man. There must be explanations for everything Michael had experienced and answers for his questions but till this point, he was unable to get any of those things.

If no human was can help me find the answer, then perhaps it isn't a bad time to place my trust in an alien.

Beep…Beep…Beep…Beep…

A notification was sent to his computer, telling him that he was receiving a call from Nina Weiss from the engineering compartment. Without a second thought, Michael tapped on the glowing green dot on the right side of his screen.

"Is it done yet?" He asked

"Sanaris is on line number 3, sir." The secretary replied, "You can speak to him when you're ready."

"Thank you, Nina."

The room darkened after he activated the projectors. Three beams of blue light descended from the ceiling, flickering for a few seconds before the alien visage of the Salarian doctor began to materialize in front of Michael's desk. He was shorter than most Salarians the Admiral had encountered, and even though he was only in his 30s (not very old according to the Salarian life cycle), his complexion had grayed and wrinkles were visible on his long thin neck. He wore Rektanga, a plain and simple tunic with just a few colors and designs to select from, but his clan's symbol was nowhere to be seen. That didn't surprise anybody, considering that he was an outcast and a mad scientist to many.

"I am very grateful to you for replying to my message," said the Admiral, "especially given your heavy schedule as the Salarian government's scientific advisor at this moment."

"You're flattering me, Admiral." The Salarian leaned forward slightly and performed a graceful bow. To Michael's surprise, Sanaris spoke to him in perfect German with little accent, an impressive feat for a species with a peculiar larynx like the Salarian "The title "adviser" does not accurately characterize my role in the Union. They just asked me a few questions and then disregarded me most of the time."

Michael couldn't help but chuck at that "As far as I know, that's what advisors do, Doctor but you shouldn't let it bother you since even admirals like myself have found it difficult to get people to listen some time." Michael then rose and walked around his desk, positioning himself in front of Sanaris. The large amphibian eyes of the Salarian doctor blinked in rhythm as he assessed the human Admiral "However, you can rest assured that your opinion will not be ignored here, certainly not by me."

There was a strange caution in the Salarian doctor, a caution of a stray dog in the face of compassion and good food after a long period of mistreatment, mistrust, and whips. However, since Michael was honest about his feeling, the ice began to crack.

"I must say I was quite surprised that someone of your caliber and a human would be so interested in my research. Normally they just laugh before walking away but I think it is understandable since none of them experienced the Dream of Titans like you."

So, turned out, that thing had a name "I guess I'm not the first case you encounter then."

"You are the 1618334th verified case since my mentor and three professors before him started collecting data." He nodded "This figure may not be accurate because we can only confirm cases after 2082 when mankind began operating the Ranagok super server. Nobody can possibly know how many people had experienced the Dream of Titan in human history."

"Over a million have experienced this phenomenon?" Michael had to gasp at the number "Why didn't I hear of it before?"

"A million is terribly small when put in the context of 800 years and billions upon billions of humans that had lived and died within your empire, Admiral. Besides, the diversity of what transpired in the dream, the incoherence in interpretation, and the unstable mental condition of those experiencing it were more than enough to kill any research from the start. What is described in your message is perhaps the most vivid, thorough, and credible account I have at my disposal. In the great majority of cases, subjects only recall the chaotic sight of a battle between two or more opposing forces, but all they can remember from it are shadows and fog."

"So we dreamed different dreams?"

"Different yet identical. Tall warriors in full-plated armor, colossal cities with human characteristics, armies with exotic banners and insignia, devastated landscapes, and battlefield aftermaths are the norm of this phenomenon. Normally, just one or two of the things mentioned above materialize in a dream, and other times, like in your case, all of them. Ah… you said you were able to interact with the knight, correct? That's interesting. It had never occurred before, and according to the most solid cases I've studied, people just couldn't comprehend what those humans were saying since they didn't speak German."

Neither did the mystery Knight nor the officer with a red cape. Despite their peculiar pronunciation and accent, Michael understood everything they said because it was the language he had been studying since fifth grade.

"Latin. They used classical Latin to communicate and as ridiculous as it may sound, their flags, their sigils, and their appearances did remind me of the Roman for some reason."

"An Empire that existed on Earth before the German Reich and had a significant impact on human civilization?" Sanaris messaged his bony chin with long alien fingers, carefully analyzing the new data. "Let's see... your assessment isn't baseless so to speak. Some subjects did claim to see a sequence of unfamiliar symbols, including a Roman number I with a human skull attached to it, and the Roman influence can be the explanation for the Golden Saint's laurel wreath. That is without a doubt one of the most notable aspects of Greco-Roman civilization."

Michael's blue eyes narrowed "Did you just say Golden Saint?"

"Yes, I did. Around three thousand people claimed to have seen an unknown figure in golden armor. A giant, to be more precise since he is at least four meters tall according to their description."

Michael then activated his Omni-tool and a file was sent to the Salarian doctor. It was the picture of the most remarkable work of art ever created about this mysterious king. In an arid and rocky valley, a massive statue based on his image was carved directly into the cliff, looking down at the small green creek flowing below. Quite a sight to behold so to speak.

"Is this him?" Asked the Admiral.

Sanaris gave a glance at the man in question then nodded "I see you have been doing some digging on your own, sir. Yes, this is the so-called Golden Saint character but so far I don't know much about him except that this man has a huge influence on those who meet him in their dream. Some of them are men gifted with a talent for painting and sculpting and therefore we have pieces of art that capture perfectly his image, such as this gorgeous statue in Anatolia."

Anatolia? The name ring hollow in Michael's ears. As a member of Kriegsmarine, he'd traveled to many planets and heard many strange names on the tongues of numerous species and cultures throughout the galaxy, but this was the first time he came across something called Anatolia.

"And what are your thoughts on the phenomenon, doctor?" Asked the Admiral "Although I'm no expert on the matter, I believe what happens to individuals like me has nothing to do with concerns of mental illness. There has to be an explanation for the whole thing. A reason."

To that, the Salarian doctor's eyes gleamed with shame and disappointment "All I have are theories, speculations, and stories without much reliable evidence to back them up. None of them will give you any clear explanation, only more questions, Admiral. The subject we are talking about here is not an exact science and sometimes even I have to ask myself if I'm wasting my time chasing a comet or not. None of my colleagues in the Union take my research seriously, but they can't really be blamed because..."

"Doctor, please." Michael raised his hand and interrupted Sanaris's self-blaming monologue "I wouldn't have contacted you if I didn't take you seriously. Just tell me your most reliable theory on the phenomenon."

Feeling more confident, the Salarian took a deep breath and then began :

"I believe there is another reality that exists parallel to ours and what you saw was the reflection of that reality. After evaluating all of the data obtained, that is the only conclusion I have. No human civilization fits the descriptions you and others have given, and even if such a thing existed, there is no logical explanation for the fact that over the last 800 years, over a million individuals with nothing in common have experienced the same dream."

That wasn't far-fetched from what Michael had speculated but even till this point, the idea of a multiverse still rubbed the admiral the wrong way. It was widely accepted that their knowledge of the universe was limited and many things remained out of grasp, yet there were lines you didn't want to cross.

"You didn't mention any races besides humans in your study." Said Michael "Is there any reason for that?"

"Possibly, there is no Salarian, Turian, Krogan, or Asari in that reality, therefore the spiritual and psychic connection can only be established among the human population. This possibility also matches the collected data since no human subject claimed to have seen any other known species in our galaxy except for their own. I have many accounts describing a large, muscular, and exceedingly aggressive green-skinned alien race. A few saw a bizarre blue-skinned species with no visible noses, and in your case, Tyranid but so far, nothing implicates that reality is just an alternate version of ours."

A galaxy without the Salarian, Turian, Krogan, Asari, and Batarian? Well, to many citizens of the Reich, that sounded like heaven but if they witnessed the carnage he had witnessed, they would rather deal with four-eyes-freaks and condescending spiky monsters than whatever those humans on the other side had. The savagery of their battle with the Tyranids, the despair emanating from those colossal fortress cities, and the suicidal fanaticism they displayed were clear indications of a life lived only for war and death. How could a civilization sink to that level of barbarity? That question had bothered the admiral for a while but now he thought he had an answer for it.

During Leibniz War (2533-2536), the very first official conflict between the Reich and the Batarian Hegemony, it wasn't that rare to see troops throw themselves at each other in a mass bayonet charge, cities burned to the ground and their population massacred. It all started with the brutal occupation of the Batarian expeditionary armies on Marheim where all residents under the age of 120 were sold into slavery and the elderly were buried alive as they were discarded as worthless products. After that, the situation deteriorated rapidly. The 67th Army under Markus von Breitner was able to recapture Marheim after 3 months of fighting and according to the tale, every Batarian on that planet was slaughtered, even the spouses and children of those Batarian commanders who were engaged in the occupation.

The following years of the war were marked by horrific acts of barbarity and bloodshed. Neither the Germans nor the Batarians were willing to accept the rules of engagement that were issued by the Asari Republic, so each passing day in Sector Leibniz was a true test of survival for the military personnel and civilians on both sides as the concept of prisoners of war or non-combatant was non-existed. Malabeth Huber, a female journalist of the Silber Schwalbe who had been on the front lines since day one, portrayed the situation in Leibniz as the jungle of debauchery and senseless violence and recounted stories so bizarre that the vast majority of Germans would have a hard time to believe them. According to her, the war had severely degraded the morale of German forces and led to barbaric reprisals such as the genital mutilation of female Batarians when reports circulated that enemy female snipers purposely targeted the lower body part of German soldiers to deliver the maximum suffering.

Fighting fire with fire, said Markus von Breitner. To battle demons, you must become a demon, and although Michael didn't agree with this way of thought, he understood this was the natural course of war. With an adversary like the Batarian, it was just a matter of time until one fell to their level, but the real question here was what type of enemy could cause those humans in his dream to plunge into that kind of madness, to live in a world where they looked more like rabid dogs than men?

It must be a terrible enemy, a horrifying war that would make the atrocities in Leibniz look like child's play, and it had been going on for a very very long time. Michael couldn't tell what it really was and in fact, he didn't want to know either.

"Those people were attacked by a horde of Tyranid in my dream." Said the admiral, "And we are currently besieged by them too, so does it mean our realities are connected somehow?"

"It's quite probable, Admiral. The Hive Fleet, as you are aware, is ancient, and given its unusual size, it is unreasonable to believe that thing has been hiding somewhere in the Terminus zone without anybody noticing its presence. Furthermore, I have proof that Tyranid is not an extragalactic species that has ventured across the unfathomable cold of the space in search of new hunting grounds like people speculate, but rather come from a different dimension."

"I thought you said you don't have any evidence." Questioned Michael, "If you had one then why didn't you present it to the Salarian Scientific Council or Citadel? We are currently at war, doctor. " He reminded the Salarian, "Any solid intelligence regarding the Hive Fleet is critical, let alone the discovery of our enemy's origins."

To that, Sanaris just let out a heavy sigh, "I said I had very little reliable evidence to back up my theory, and very little it is. Up to this point, it may sound like the proof proving the other reality exists to you, a man that has already believed in it, but to those who disregard my work as pseudoscience in the first place, that is just not enough. I need more time, Admiral. My trusted students and associates are working hard to acquire more data for my research, and once completed, I will publish my discoveries to the whole galaxy, not only The Salarian Union or the Citadel."

It would undoubtedly be an earthquake in the known galaxy, a fatal blow that would crumble the old order. According to what had been documented over the millennia, sudden shifts and attacks on the well-founded fortress of knowledge were not ideal for any species. When a Prothean beacon was accidentally dug up or people suddenly found out they were not alone in the universe after building the third rocket, a series of reactions would be triggered. In the case of the Salarian, that series of reactions only led to a 30 meters square room where clan leaders and the greatest minds discussed what should be done to ensure their people's survival in the future, but on Earth, it had escalated to the conflict known as World War 3 to determine which faction would shape humanity in the new era.

That was the beginning of the German interstellar empire. 10 years after the Kaisersreich emerged triumphant from the war as the undisputed overlord, the colony of Weissen, the starting point of humanity's expansion was founded. It only took the Germans three years to make the initial contact with alien intelligence, and two years to capture that unfortunate race's capital planet and make a vassal out of them. Many great feats had been accomplished in the last 800 years, greater than any human had imagined, but all of those accomplishments could only have been made possible by the fortunate discovery of the Prothean beacon buried beneath the red sands of Mars; without it, humanity would still be stuck on the blue planet and would have been conquered by a more advanced race.

And another series of reactions was about to begin with Sanaris's discovery. No one could measure its influence on the political system, or balance of power in this galaxy nor they could guarantee that the common perception of reality would remain intact after the impact. Only time would tell if it was a blessing or a curse for every one of them.

"So how did they get here, doctor?"

This was always Michael's main concern even before he got in touch with Sanaris. Although interdimensional travel had not yet become a real science, Michael did not believe Tyranids could just snap their fingers and go anywhere they pleased. There must be a secret behind their arrival in this galaxy.

"Only speculation at the moment." He replied "I believe it has something to do with a mass relay called Helios. A legend among the people living in Terminus zone and was once described in the journal of Albrecht Wolfgang Krähenholz, explorer and Hero of the Reich."

Manho, the Torch, and the Firery Gate of Hell. It had different names depending on who you questioned, but they all had something to do with the firestorm that was eternally raging within the mass relay instead of a regular blue-glowing core of element zero. It was said that the energy emanating from its fiery red core was enormous, and if the ship got any closer to Helios than 200,000 kilometers, all sensors, radar, and avionics would cease operating. Fascinating it was but a legend nothing more. No one could prove they actually saw it, no confirmed visual, no map, no breadcrumb trail so till this very day Helios was just another tall tale that sailors, nomadic miners, interplanetary merchants, and pirates of the Terminus zone told each other while slacking off.

"Albrecht Krähenholz and many like him had spent time and resources searching for Helios, but all they received is defeat, death, and shame." Michael carefully reminded the Salarian doctor, "Although I trust your judgment, as a professional sailor, I highly doubt such a thing exists."

"I understand your concerns, Admiral. It is always vital for a serviceman to distinguish between reality and fairy tales, but please rest assured that I follow the same principle as you. Perhaps a more satisfactory answer will be available after my next visit to Republic's archives on Thessia. The Asari had been to Terminus longer than any of us, so they must have something on Helios buried inside Athame Library."

"If you are in need of help, I will assist in any way I can, doctor."

Sanaris' lips twisted into a smile and for the first time, there was some sight of happiness on his pale and melancholy alien face. "In the meantime, I've already had all I need but in the future, a vessel capable of the long-range expedition, an experienced crew, and some funding will be welcomed, Admiral."

"That shouldn't be a concern." Michael responded promptly, "In case Kriegsmarine refuses to sponsor you, I will find another way to get what you require, and more. If my wife's family can afford to buy a continent for summer vacation, then providing you with a ship shouldn't be an issue."

And it wouldn't be just any ship. It should be a battleship or a Battlegroup with enough armaments to blow the darn thing up in case it was the source of their nightmare. Michael would do whatever it took to get it done. He would write reports, and letters of petition to get the attention of the Oberkommando. He would pull every string he knew so he could present the subject to the Kaiser himself and he was willing to resign to lead the expedition if the situation demanded.

It must be destroyed at all costs.

Whatever was connecting their galaxy to that horrible reality had to be severed, smashed to pieces, burned to ashes, and forgotten.

Following the discussion with Sanaris, the Admiral of the Schutzengel fleet left his quarters and headed to the bridge to prepare for the anticipated 3:00 PM call from Martin Steinbauer. However, when it had been 3:15 and there was still no contact from 12th Army headquarters, he started to feel uneasy, as if some terrible mistake had been made along the way.

"We are receiving a transmission from Kaiserstadt City Council, Admiral."

The commanding officer of the bridge's communications section informed Michael from his position. The screen of his computer lighted up the surprised look on his face in flickering blue light.

"Steinbauer?" Michael asked although he had already someone else in mind.

"Matriarch Benezia T'soni, sir." The officer replied, "Should I put her through? She is using the authorized code of the 12th Army Headquarters."

So now the Asari woman also spoke on behalf of the field marshal too? Michael instantly grimaced at the thought of that. Her influence over the head of the 12th Army always gave him an uneasy feeling crawling across his skin, but due to the inconvenience and the situation in Eden, he was compelled to ignore the subject. However, everything had its limitations. The admiral didn't want to guess if the orders he received were from Steibauer or Benezia.

"Put her through." He nodded "Let's see what she has to say."

Benezia T'soni's visage was then illuminated on the main projector in front of the Admiral's armchair. For some reasons unknown, she was still able to remain dazzling, magnificent, and lordly in her traditional Saphir after a week of living in a besieging city.

"On behalf of all the inhabitants of Eden, I congratulate you on your victory on the moon Luise, admiral." The woman gently leaned forward and greeted him with a hand on her chest. "Without a doubt, it will go down in history as one of the Kriegsmarine's greatest victories."

And they too would remember my defeat, Michael bitterly thought to himself "It's too early to raise the toast to our victory, my lady. This battle is far from over."

"Oh, it will be concluded soon enough. Martin has told me that his troop is only about 10 kilometers from Ostengard, and that once you deploy your fleet to engage the Hive Fleet, that city will be ours in no time. The field marshal wants me to make certain that you understand his plan down to the smallest detail, as well as the importance of this operation."

"I'm well informed on his intention but we are having a problem in deploying battle formation at the moment. Battlegroup A was heavily damaged in the last battle and we need more than 24 hours to…"

"Admiral, it seems that you are confusing." Benezia interrupted him. Her lips twisted into an outright fake smile "The Field Marshal wants you to deploy your fleet and engage the Hive Fleet at 8 a.m. Tomorrow."

Michael's frown turned into a scowl "Where is Steinbauer? I want to speak to him."

"The field marshal is busy leading his men in the front, so he let me relay his order to the fleet" Replied casually the Matriarch "Of course, he is aware of the challenges you are facing, but he also feels that you completely have the potential to overcome them, Admiral. Does he place his trust in the right person or does he just make a mistake, in which case we will need the services of a new commander for the fleet? Well, it is up to you to decide."

Michael immediately sprang to his feet from his command chair. His hand clenched into a fist, his teeth gritted as he gazed at Benezia. A vicious smile cracked on her pretty lips. She knew. She knew everything from the start.

"You should be more careful when choosing your friend, admiral." Benezia said "It's dangerous when you don't know what you're getting into. I thought Sanaris learned that lesson after the death of his mentor but it looked like I had overestimated his intelligence."

"If you believe such a threat can scare me, you're clearly mistaken, Benezia."

To that, the Asari Matriarch gave a dry laugh, "My goddess, if only you know how many times I had heard those words, dear Admiral. And this isn't a threat, by the way, just a friendly reminder. You may not believe it, but in the past 855 years, I have never threatened anyone."

-V-

Unknown location near Silberlachsbach

Sergeant Johannes Alenko

Fourth platoon, 3rd Volkssturm Company, 224th Battalion, Eisenwald Division

When four of them arrived at the creek that gave Silberlachsbach its name, darkness started to spawn, creeping over the trunks and exposed roots of Viskander oaks, a plant native to Tabenwald and was imported to Eden 300 years ago. Couldn't say it was the right decision though because these things certainly weren't pretty to look at. With three layers of leaves, branches as black as coal and strangely twisted into wicked serpents, they were monsters coming straight from people's darkest nightmares, and the misty, gloomy and creepy atmosphere of the forest at night only made things worse for random travelers.

However, they did provide good camouflage against eyes in the sky, especially drones. Buried beneath the dampness and stinks of the decomposing leaves of the forest's floor was an unusual magnetic field that curled the branches in the way they were, and coincidently had a negative effect on the signal transmissions of Loki drones. Needless to say, that was no small advantage, especially for deserters, murders, and traitors like themselves.

Deserters, murders, and traitors.

That was how Weidemann described Gabi, Karl, and Johannes in his urgent message broadcasted on every channel. For a brutal, vengeful, and blind man he was, his creativity in storytelling was truly something to behold. According to him, Johannes and his gang had devised a despicable scheme to defect and join the enemy's forces by drugging Anka Haberlin, killing her, and then offering the young heroine's body to the Tyranid overlord as a gift. As ridiculous as it might sound, the efficiency of this propaganda masterpiece far exceeded Johannes' wildest predictions.

At the last checkpoint on the main route led to Kaiserstadt , the guards opened fire on the medical Wisent on sight, without giving them a chance to surrender or explain and when they tried to flee into the forest, a Tigerhai gunship was sent after them, indiscriminately spraying its 35mm auto-cannon and rockets, engulfing the whole area in flame.

It was a miracle that they managed to survive all of that on an ancient Wisent with three flat tires and an engine that sounded like it was going to explode whenever Johannes hit the gas. The top plate armor could only withstand a few rounds of auto-cannon fire before being punched through and filling the hull with toxic smoke, forcing them to abandon the vehicle at the edge of the woods and travel on foot afterward. Johannes got shrapnel in his right shoulder as the Tigerhai switched to explosive rounds, Gabi had her ankle dislocated after stumbling over a large rough tree root while both Karl and the unconscious lady on his back received second-degree burns to their faces and hands.

However, there was nothing that Medi-gel and Turbo Pervitin couldn't fix, so the fugitives still had the strength to reach the stream in the forest's heart before dark. The thirst burned painfully in their throats and therefore, the first thing they did upon seeing the creek was dug their head into the cool and fresh water of Silberlachsbach, greedily drinking it until their stomach said no.

"Gabi, go check the captain."

Johannes told the girl as he removed his damaged shoulder pad. A cry of pain escaped his curling lips at the moment his fingers touched the shrapnel that still dug deep into his flesh. Medi-gel might have stopped the bleeding and adrenaline might have made the pain forgettable for a while, but in the end, Johannes had to remove the piece of metal manually so the wound could properly heal.

"Use the scanner that Karin Chakwas gave you, kiddo. You remember how to use it, right?"

The girl nodded, hand reaching for a curious device hanging on her belt but then she gave him a worrying look :

"What should we do now, Johannes?" She asked, "We can't stay here and Anka needs to get to a hospital."

"I will think of something later. Just go to the Captain."

"But…"

"Goddamn it, Gabi." He growled. "How can I know what to do next if you keep bothering me?"

Gabi grimaced at that response, knowing too well Johannes was lying, but since their survival depended on his resourcefulness, she remained silent and left him alone in the stream with the cold water rushing past his knees. The Ritterkreuzträger was carried up to a big flat stone by the bank in Karl's muscular arms and tenderly placed down on its solid, dry, and clean surface. She looked pale, weak, and fragile like a porcelain doll, nothing resembled the willful, charismatic commander they had used to. Sometimes during their escape, she regained her consciousness and looked at Johannes but said nothing. Perhaps her brain was flooded with too much drug to protect it from Tyranid's poison and thus she could no longer comprehend what she saw. It was the only explanation Johannes could come up with. Aside from that, he couldn't figure out why Anka was staring at him like that.

The situation was bad, very bad. They were now wanted criminals, destinated to be shot on sight but Johannes could only blame himself. You reap what you sow, it seemed. It all started with a petty feud between him and Weidemann, which he did nothing to resolve but escalated in whatever way he could, and this was the result. Weidemann could have been persuaded if things had been done differently. If Johannes hadn't allowed his hatred to get the better of him and nominated Karl for the Iron Cross, Weidemann wouldn't have despised Anka and Karl as much as he did today. Perhaps none of these would have happened if he hadn't ignored those deserters in the first place.

So many 'if' and so many regret but there was an undeniable truth here. It was Johannes Alenko that led them to this forest, it was him who led them to this godforsaken place so they could die and rot. It was all his fault.

"Fuck!"

He cursed as the shrapnel was removed. A stream of hot blood gushed out from the wound, and ran down his arm, dripping into the water before getting carried away by the flow. Normally, it wouldn't be that painful but as the effect of Turbo Pervitin began to wear off, his nervous system became more sensitive than usual. A side effect, those Reichswehr veterans had told Johannes back in Beckenheim and they also reminded him not to take this pill too often or he would be able to hold his gun without it.

"JOHANNES! JOHANNES!"

As soon as he heard Gabi's cries, the sergeant rushed to the flat rock, knowing that an unpleasant surprise awaited him up there. His heart almost stopped when he saw the girl sobbing beside Anka Haberlin but then the gentle gaze from the captain's green eyes calmed him down and helped him release the breath he had been holding. She had awakened, and those tears were tears of joy.

"Sergeant." She addressed him, Her voice sounded strangely calm "Where are we?"

"Somewhere in Sector Bruno." He replied briefly, "About 10km from Kaiserstadt 's suburb, I guess. Can't risk accessing the map anymore unless you want to reveal our location to that Tigerhai."

"I see."

And that was all they got from their commander. No further questions about why there were only four of them in a location 30 km away from Hornwald, no desire to find out the reasons behind Johannes's sudden fear of an allied aircraft. No point in that, Johannes thought. Why should she ask about something she had already known?

"Do you feel any better?" Johannes said, kneeling beside her, "Can you walk?"

With a head shake, she replied: "I can move my arms a little but I don't feel anything below my chest." As if to illustrate her point, Anka proceeded to move her shoulders and push her hand against the stone's surface in an effort to sit up but failed miserably, "I guess Karl must continue to carry me then." She concluded and looked at the giant, "I'm forever in your debt, big guy."

The silly head blushed and grinned an ugly grin. Karl wasn't the man that was easy for the eye, and that reality was only reinforced by the 14 teeth that remained in his jaw.

"I…don't mind, lady captain." He said proudly, "I will carry you anywhere you like."

"Speak like a true soldier of the Reich! Never leave his kamerads behind at any cost," She laughed heartily, "Don't you agree, Johannes?"

That jab was certainly thrown at him but at this point, Johannes was so used to it that he didn't even bother to dodge.

"Whatever you say, Captain." He shrugged then turned to Gabi, "Break Time is over, kiddo. You take the lead. We will follow this stream south to the suburbs. It will help us in avoiding checkpoints on the main road and, perhaps, we can find a hovercraft when we get there. All functional vehicles have been requisitioned since the war began but there must be something that remains untouched somewhere."

It was dark when they set off. Eden's last full moon had been five days ago, and the sky was packed with dense clouds of black smoke from the battlefields near Kaiserstadt . The only light they had came from the West, where golden flashes illuminated the pitch-black sky in rhythm, followed by the crashing waves sound of Little Hans's 885mm rail kanone. Despite Tyranid's frantic efforts, the supply route, the blood vein that had been keeping Siberlachbach alive and well to this point still remained intact and as long as those heavy howitzers continued to drop their shells, the horde would never reach Kaiserstadt 's suburbs and time was running out for them. As each day passed, Steinbauer's grand pocket got tighter and tighter.

"It will be over soon, Johannes."

Anka whispered to him upon seeing Gabi was quite a bit ahead of them. For whatever reason, the captain honestly thought the nature of this conversation was unsuitable for the sensitive soul of a fifteen-year-old girl drunk on love.

"And?"

"It would be easy for you guys to disappear in the middle of chaos," Pointed out the Ritterkreuzträger "You saw what they did to deserters, didn't you? I don't want to see Gabi and Karl blindfolded and tied into a pole."

Johannes was immediately aware of his own absence in Anka's concern, "I guess you'd like to see me blindfolded and tied to a pole then."

"Because you totally deserve it, you fool. What the hell were you thinking?" She grunted "If you wanted to escape then you should have left me there, at Hornwald. You could easily slip away in the night and Weidemann wouldn't even notice. Why did you choose to do it in broad daylight and in front of everyone?"

"If I left you there or waited until nightfall, then you would be as good as dead. Do you realize that I just saved your life?"

The woman sighed heavily, "I'm an officer of Reichswehr, Johannes. A Ritterkreuzträger." She reminded him, "People like me will either die here or meet our ends somewhere else. It's my duty to die with my men in that village."

Anger swelled up in his stomach. Did this nonsense have no bound? Why was everyone around him so eager to die for something that didn't even give a damn for their own survival? It was like a highly contagious disease with no cure. Gabi and Karl were briefly exposed to it but they had already begun to talk, walk, and act like brainless robots, repeating the silly idea about honor, duty, comradeship, Vaterland with the highest of enthusiasm.

"Your duty is to stay alive and return to your family." Said the sergeant "Your duty, Anka, is to marry a good man and have children, not to die in a fucking hole."

"The Reichswehr is the only family I've ever known."

"For the love of God. Just drop those stupid catchphrases and start making sense." He snarled, "It is an office, not your home."

The woman grew quiet. An inexplicable sorrow invaded her emerald eyes, making her lips pursed and Johannes could feel that something inside her had been crushed. Not the most delicate maneuver he had made but necessary nonetheless. Better to give Anka a hard slap of reality in the face than to keep her living in denial.

"There is no one out there waiting for me, Johannes. This is all I got." She melancholy told him, then glanced at Gabi, who was waving at them from afar, on a large smooth black rock, "When I told you she wanted to be something bigger than herself, I spoke from experience. It may mean nothing to you but to me and Gabi, anywhere that judges us on the merit of our actions will forever be our home. "

The gaze in his eyes softened. He might disagree with her choice but he understood the reason behind it. In a way, he once wanted the same thing. In a way, their dreams collided and so did their sadness and remorse. What a better world it could have been if Johannes had been born on a human planet, taught to be devoted to the Empire, the Kaiser, and the army, and fought alongside his compatriots in the greatest struggle the Milky Way had ever witnessed.

"Do you know your parents?"

"Not much, I'm afraid. I know they were citizens of Genthagen, a frontline planet in the Central Front and they were killed during the Asari's second invasion. The report said my mother died in an air raid and when my father was drafted into the Volkssturm, I was on board an evacuation ship to Beckenheim. No one knows what happened to him afterward but since he didn't come to Beckenheim to find me, I guessed he had been killed in action, or he just…"

"…He's dead." Johannes finished it for her, feeling repentant for digging up something supposed to be buried deep, "Look, just…concentrate on getting out of here and forget what I said, ok? Whether you like it or not, you are one of the few individuals who treat me decently, so don't expect me to stand by and watch you get killed."

With a silent nod from the Ritterkreuzträger, their journey continued in the murmur of water and the rustling of Viskader oak leaves. It was almost uneventful except for one occasion where they had to dash for the tree line by the bank as the wo-wo-wo sound of hover craft's engine was approaching fast from behind. It was the same Tigerhai had been pursuing them since the last checkpoint. Johannes wasn't sure about it at first but the confirmation soon came as he noticed the missing missiles on both its wings.

The aircraft circled above them for five minutes, seemingly frustrated that its preys had fled before activating the thrusters and heading south, to the suburbs.

"It may see us if we keep walking across open areas." Gabi concluded, "Should we stick to the forest, Sergeant?"

That put a smile on Anka's lips. The girl was now capable of giving assessments and solutions to the problem, a great leap compared to the person Johannes met at the power plant.

"I agree with her, Johannes." Said the Ritterkreuzträger, "However, we need to be more careful in maintaining the formation. Visibility in the forest won't be as good as out here."

It turned out to be the worst mistake he'd ever made, even worse than the time he chose to piss off Weidemann, which directly brought them to this scenario, but at that moment, it didn't cross his mind as such. Gabi was making the call on her own for the first time and it wasn't the right time for him to discourage her. Besides, what harm it could do anyway? There was no Tyranid among these trees since their attacks on the northern sectors were stopped by Gottiger at Hochgarten. The only problem they were facing here was navigating inside dark woods without the aid of any advanced equipment which could be easily solved by Johannes's experience.

"Alright, that sounds good enough but you will need to be more cautious from now on." Johannes nodded and handed her an old-school compass from a pouch attached to his hip, "The rear will be my responsibility. Remember to report anything unusual to me through the coms."

The sergeant had expected her to tell him an Alp hanging on a branch, or the thin and ghostly figure of a Leshy lurking and watching them from behind the dark trunks of Viskander Oaks, something that often spooked a 15-years-old girl in a deep dark woods, so words couldn't describe his surprise when she told him what she was seeing 50 meters ahead of them.

"Light? "Are you sure of it?" The sergeant inquired, then turned to Anka Haberlin for counsel, only to be met with a faint shrug from her slender shoulders. "All right, all right, hold your position; I'll be there in a second."

"Civilians, perhaps." Speculated the Captain, "Some of them may live here."

"And how many of them still stay after the evacuation order was announced and the frontline is just over two kilometers away?"

The answer was too obvious, so when the sergeant approached Gabi's position, his Stg was locked and loaded. There were indeed two sources of glowing light amidst the dense vegetation of the forest like she said although Johannes couldn't tell what they were. His visor was capable of night vision, but due to the impediments in his view, the target's visage was quite poor.

"We should get closer and take a look." The girl suggested, "It looks like a house, sergeant. Perhaps they can help us."

"Or Jaegers on patrol." Johannes pointed out and then concluded "Too dangerous. We should go around."

"Jaegers? Why are they dangerous? We are not animals for them to…"

"Not that kind of Jaeger." He cut her off, quietly "They are Reichswehr Jaegers trained to hunt down the Reich's enemy and I'm pretty sure they won't think twice before shooting at us. Let's go back and change our course."

"How can you know if we don't check? They can be civilians and they may have the means to get us out of here. If they live in this area then perhaps, their hovercar or their truck wasn't requisitioned like the others."

It wasn't like there was no wisdom in it. True, her suggestion was risky, but they could have a greater chance of finding a vehicle here than in the Kaiserstadt suburbs, and the sooner Anka was taken to the hospital, the better. Johannes estimated that they had only gone around 2.5 kilometers since reaching the creek, meaning that they still had more than 7 kilometers to go.

7 kilometers through the woods with an injured woman who couldn't walk on her own, in the dark? Even an idiot could tell which was the better option.

"You stay here." He told the girl and activated his shield. A soft humming sound emitted as it began to recharge. "If it is safe, I will give a signal."

"But…"

"No but. Do what I say, Gabi."

Johannes then proceeded to close the gap with his target. The experience from performing many night raids on Krogan Warband's positions made his movements as smooth, nimble, and elegant as a feline creature. The ground was covered with leaves and small broken branches, but not a sound was heard when the sergeant came and crouched behind a dense bush where he could conduct his observations more discreetly.

It was a house like Anka and Gabi had speculated. Simple, plain, built of bricks and wood, half old and half new. The barn and roof had some restoration recently but the house and the garden had seen better days. Nothing stood out here. It was just someone's property in the woods and after checking the heat signature twice, Johannes was finally certain that no one else nearby saved for the person inside the house, a woman.

Everything looked normal and safe enough, but the sergeant wondered if it was worth their time since there was nothing promising about this place either. He knew a few people lived like this back in Beckenheim. They lived off the forest, were self-sufficient for the most part, sold to the city folk whatever they grew in the garden, and more often than not, relied on public transport for traveling than owning a vehicle. However, just as he was about to depart, something caught his attention. Behind the semi-open door of the barn was a Tamiya C-50, a lightweight hover truck that was often used for food transport.

"Gabi, get Karl and the Captain up here now." He informed the girl via the coms "I have found the ticket out of here."

The three of them arrived shortly after that. Anka looked rather indifferent at his new discovery while Gabi had a big grin on her face when Johannes showed her the vehicle.

"Let's take it to the open and get the hell out of here. I can start the engine without a key." Said Gabi before removing the rear of her Lasergewehr's stock and extracting a small screwdriver from its maintenance kit, "I have done it a dozen times before."

The Captain winced at the notion, "We are not thieves, Gabi. If we are in need of using civilian's vehicle, we will ask them nicely, do you understand?"

Gabi's heart fell, looking like a puppy getting scolded for chewing on her owner's shoes. "I know, Anka but…what will we do if they refuse?"

"Then we will find our chance somewhere else." She replied briefly before turning to Johannes, "I will handle the talking part."

"Agree, but please keep in mind that you will get on that hover truck no matter what happens next."

The Ritterkreuzträger said nothing in response, knowing too well that he meant what he said and she was in no position to stop him. The group then walked down the path that led to the house's main entrance, passing through a garden of strange-looking ripe fruits, cabbage, lettuce, and newly sprouted potato beds.

Johannes pushed his index finger on the doorbell. A delightful and warming melody danced through the chill of the night and was followed by a long silence. The woman inside didn't anticipate guests, he knew. Even with a wall and a steel door between them, he could sense her perplexity, anxiousness, and concerns. The security camera above the door rotated from right to left before focusing on the four scruffy, exhausted, and pale strangers at the threshold. An unfriendly female voice came out from the small speaker on the door :

"I'm armed!" The voice warned them.

"So are we,"Johannes answered back and then received a stern look from Anka. The Ritterkreuzträger quietly told Karl to take her closer to the doorway's camera.

"We do not intend to harm you, miss." Said Anka, "We are soldiers of the Reich and we need your help. Our aircraft had made a crash landing in this area a few hours ago and we are the only survivors. As you can see, none of us are in our best shape."

Another pause, but this one was shorter, and when her voice was heard again, it was softer, less aggressive.

"Go away. There is nothing here for you."

"Miss, I myself and my friends are wounded. We cannot travel far in this condition. As a citizen of the Reich, you are obligated to provide us assistance as we are obligated to pay you for your trouble."

Johannes and Gabi both gave her bewildered looks. How could she possibly expect to do this? The banking system on Eden had suspended all operations since the invasion started, and they had no physical currency on them. It would be foolish for a soldier to bring any form of currency to the battlefield since there weren't many things to spend money on and the possibility of losing their money along with their lives was quite large.

"You won't be at a disadvantage when this is over." Anka threaded her slender fingers under her jacket's collar and took out a cross-shaped object encrusted with gold and diamonds. "This is a knight's cross, and it is my deposit until full payment is made. Even if I didn't survive the battle, you could sell it and make a fortune."

Johannes gritted his teeth. To him, it was just like any other Reichswehr medal, a lovely piece of ornamentation with little value aside from the metal from which it was made, but to Anka, it was everything. Her joy, her life, her identity. They all laid and blended within the Knight's cross. She was a soldier before a woman and a Ritterkreuzträger before Anka Haberlin.

My legacy too, Johannes. She once told him. When a Ritterkreuzträger falls in combat, his Knight's Cross will be retrieved and returned it to earth, where it will be refurbished and wait for the next Ritterkreuzträger. I will not sire any children and have no family so this is how my memories live on.

"Are you sure about that?" Johannes whispered to her, "Gabi can get that truck moving in a minute."

Anka ignored his suggestion and continued, "What do you say, miss? Can you let us in?"

The door was swung open, revealing a young frail woman in a yellow dress with her fingers wrapping around an Athena Shotgun, barrel pointed straight at unwanted guests.

Johannes felt a bit more at ease now. Her understanding of combat, based on how she handled her weapon, was just aiming the other end at the enemy and pulling the trigger. He could deal with her easily if things went wrong, and even if she was more competent, they wouldn't be in any danger. As a hunting weapon, the Athena Shotgun would have problems breaking through the Kinetic Barrier at close range.

"Leave your guns here!" The woman commanded them, trying her best to sound calm "I will be the only one having a weapon in my house."

Smart but not enough, Johannes grinned as he rested his Stg against the house's red brick wall. His strangely upbeat demeanor quickly drew Gabi's attention, but when she inquired, Johannes just replied:

Do not deactivate your shield and keep your mouth shut.

The house's interior was equivalent to its exterior. The woman didn't have much money to spend, yet she had made an effort to have a clean, pleasant, and comfortable living space. Except for the set of brown sofa, her furnitures were either inherited or the result of hours of hunting on the secondhand market, but this was way better than the crampy apartment Johannes had back in Beckenheim. They were permitted to warm their wet hands and feet by the electric fireplace, sip some leftover ginger tea in the teapot with two porcelain cups, and had Anka placed on the Sofa as soon as its owner realized how badly injured she was. So far so good. They received decent treatment even though that decent treatment came along with a suspicious gaze from the host and a Shotgun muzzle.

There was something very odd about this woman. Johannes didn't notice anything at first, but it got clearer with each passing minute in this place.

She kept her distance from them and the shotgun never left her hands. Obviously, one must remain cautious when armed strangers arrive at one's door in the middle of the night, but he couldn't help but feel that wasn't the only reason. If she had already had that level of suspicion then why did she let them in? Would it make more sense if she sent them away at the door? Moreover, if she was motivated by economic reasons, then why was she standing there and mentioning nothing about the payment? The woman hadn't yet asked Anka for the Knight's cross, which was unusual for a money grabber.

"What should we call you, miss?" Asked Anka with a charming smile on her lips but since there was only silence coming from the host, she had to break the ice by introducing her men respectively, "This is Sergeant Johannes Alenko, my second in command whom I trust with my life, and this young lady is Gabi Altmann, the youngest and bravest member of our company. The big fellow is called Karl. Don't let the look fool you, miss. He's in fact very smart. I'm Anka Haberlin but please, call me Anka."

"Laura." The woman replied briefly before fixing her eyes on Johannes and Anka, "You two are not around here, are you?"

The Ritterkreuzträger nodded and replied, "I was raised on Beckenheim and the Sergeant was…uh… where did you come from, Johannes?"

"Razair."

"A lost child?" Laura gasped. The hardness in her gaze vanished and in a mere second, a stone had been lifted from her chest: "Thank Heavens, you are not one of them."

His eyebrows raised after hearing those words. Never had his time spent among the Centurii been this well received but more importantly, what were 'them'?

"Is there something bothering you, Laura?" Inquired Anka, "You seem to be delighted to know we are not Eden residents."

"My sister told me to be careful with folk living on Eden. She said the Genestealer cult has been infiltrating, poisoning our society, and giving birth to those abominations for a very long time, even before we were born, and now the head of Eden has also become satan's henchman. Can't trust anyone these days. They could be one of them."

Johannes couldn't help but chuckle, "If Benezia T'soni was a member of Genestealer club, then I would be the Kaiserin in disguise."

"Not our lady. God bless her soul for what she has done for us, bless her a thousand times." She then made the sign of the cross with her free right hand, " The traitor is the last one. Dominic Keiner."

Johannes had heard a lot of things about this particular individual, generally nasty stuff since politicians traditionally got all the blame when things went sour, but this was the first time the poor dead man was branded as a Genestealer.

"Aren't you…mistaken?" With a fake accent, Gabi inquired. To Johannes' amazement, the girl had imitated Anka's distinct long 'A' and 'R' so well that no one would have known she was from Kaiserstadt , "Wasn't he killed by Genestealer at Kristallhalle?"

"No, no, he was still alive when Mari saw him the following day and I know Mari. She would never lie about such a thing. He sat right next to her on the public coach, didn't say a word the whole journey, and got off at a stop near Torhal. My sister then quickly went to the police, but they ignored her since they believed Dominic Keiner was killed when the building collapsed. The dead couldn't take a bus ride to Torhal, they told her so and sent her home."

Torhal? That was the not-so-friendly neighborhood near the power plant, which Gabi once referred to as her "Living ground. Indeed, the governor of Eden visiting a place like that after his office was blown up in a terrorist attack was strange, but there were still some inconsistencies in her story.

"A dead governor turning up in Torhal would create quite a stir, don't you think?" Johannes pointed out, "Not a soul there doesn't recognize his face."

"Well..Mari said… she said Keiner wasn't really him anymore so I guess people wouldn't recognize him if they didn't pay attention."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know." She replied with a shake of her head, "It was like he was in disguise or something like that. He looked odd, scarred, and twisted, yet it was undeniably Dominic Keiner. Mari used to work at City Hall and saw his portrait every day, so even if he was burned to ash, she'd still recognize him."

Johannes sighed heavily and massaged the bridge of his nose. Although the Genestealer menace did not do much physical harm to Eden thanks to Totenkopf Kommando's rapid, brutal response and Benezia's mandated medical examination program, the paranoia those bastards imposed on the populace wouldn't go away easily.

Perhaps this was what they wanted in the first place, destroying social trust and making everyone point their fingers at each other but no one could really tell. After Karl killed that Purii, the cult seemed to die out and nothing was heard from its members ever since.

"You don't need to worry too much about those genestealers, Laura." The Ritterkreuzträger reassured her, "Their ring leader had been killed so they no longer pose a threat to us."

"Really?"

"Don't you watch the news?" She giggled and pointed at Johannes "This is the man who deals the killing blow. Sergeant Alenko has confronted the creature responsible for the atrocity at Kristallhalle alone, defeating it and earning himself the title Hero of the Reich in the process."

Although it was far from reality, Johannes could see why she picked that version of the tale. It made him appear like a hero, which was exactly what they needed when asking Laura for her hover truck. A soldier Anka was, but she was also a woman and therefore she might notice a certain phenomenon that Johannes had known for a long

Women were easily swayed by knights in shining armor and this one was no exception. Laura's gaze softened as she looked at him, the corners of her lips curled up and formed a graceful smile. Just a minute before, he was just a rough, grumpy, unpleasant grunt who appeared in front of her house but now, he was Prince Charming.

"I'd love to learn more about your accomplishments, Sergeant."

She wasn't a beauty like Anka nor she also couldn't be compared to the female Captain in terms of intellect but the rugged loveliness of the brown-haired girls living in the woods, regarding manual labor as an honest way to earn a living, and sincere worshiping the Lord had its own appeal. They represented a much simpler world, a world that Johannes truly wanted to have a taste of it if he was given a chance.

"It will be my pleasure if we have more time." He replied with a courteous nod, fulfilling the mission Anka had assigned to him, "The captain needs to be taken to the nearest military hospital as quickly as possible, otherwise her health may deteriorate, Miss Laura."

"Yes, yes, silly of me. Living here makes you forget there is a war raging out there sometimes."

"We intend to borrow your hover truck in the barn as the mean of transport and in case we are unable to return the vehicle, her knight's cross will cover the expenses. What do you think?"

The lady shook her head violently as if she had just been accused of a crime. "How can I do that? I'm not making a profit on your misfortune."

"And we can't just use your service and pay nothing in return." Anka added, "Please accept it as a token of my thank. Even if you decide not to sell it, the medal can serve you in many ways. Let's see…do you want to go somewhere or find someone lately, Laura?"

She paused for a few seconds, taking all the thought to herself then replied with a nod :

"My parent and Mari. We lost contact since Tyranid land on Eden." She said with a clenched hand on her chest "They live in Harongen, a small city west of Kaiserstadt . Mari and I intended to evacuate there but it didn't work out after the anti-espionage and Genestealer policies were in effect. Traveling between cities was severely limited, and public transportation was completely shut down. When the bombardment in the capital started four days ago, Mari said she was at Prinzenplatz but I haven't heard anything from her since."

"Well, in that case, my medal may come in handy. All you have to do is show the knight's cross to any officer you meet on your journey from here to Kaiserstadt and tell him you're on your way to return it to me. He will undoubtedly assist you in any way he can and spare you the annoying procedure at the checkpoints."

"I never know your knight's cross can be used in such way." It was Gabi who spoke up, "It really has that influence?"

For a culture that had a history of glorifying militarism, hierarchy, and heroic mythos, the answer was, of course, yes. Knight's cross was a rare prize often worn by high-ranking officials and Ritterkreuzträgers, but a Knight's cross with diamond and oak leaf was a whole different beast. Given that the majority of its recipients were either killed or proclaimed missing in action, it was not surprising that the medal was seen as a unicorn by the Reichswehr's file and rank.

"You can practically walk right into Steinbauer's headquarters wearing my medal," Smirked the captain, " In fact, I'd been invited to numerous palaces, ceremonies, and fancy dinners held by fancy people merely because of this gorgeous piece of metal." She then turned to the woman " So, Laura, what are your thoughts? If you wish, you may use my Knight's cross to find your sister and travel to Harongen together. When the war is over and if I'm still alive, someone will come to your house and take it back to me."

"I guess…well…" She hesitated for a moment but then quickly made up her mind, "Alright then, I will do as you say but with conditions. I will be the one returning it to you since I always return things I borrow from people by myself, not to mention I'm in your debt as you are to me. Even if you are off-world, I will find a way."

"Agree, anything else?"

"Anything else?" Let's see... If I found Mari, I'll need the hover truck to carry our possessions to Harongen, but you can use my grandfather's Mammoth. It's a hoverbike so it could only carry two people, but it's quite fast. You'll arrive in Kaiserstadt in no time."

These new developments had Johannes concerned. He could see the convenience of taking Anka to the hospital and leaving quietly, but that option also meant their group would be separated. Gabi had proven to be capable of taking care of herself and others, but it would be long before Johannes had the confidence to leave her alone with a silly head in this creepy dark forest. If by any chance their pursuers came while he was away, the two of them would be killed for sure.

"It's risky, Anka." He told her, "We should be together. All of us."

"True but It's also unwise to put all the eggs in one basket. No one knows what will happen out there so perhaps it's for the best if Karl and Gabi stay behind and wait for your return."

"Don't worry, Sergeant. They couldn't kill us back there, they can't do it now either." Added Gabi, looking strangely excited at the prospect. "We will run for the forest in case of emergency and Karl can carry Laura like he carries our captain, right Karl?...Karl?"

The girl turned around to look for her giant, but all she found was an empty space where he had been standing. The man was gone, vanished as if he had never existed, but more importantly, when and how? Johannes didn't see Karl leave the room, nor did he hear his footstep on the wooden floor, which was inconceivable for a 2,1-meter clumsy moron. Was he outside? What the hell was he doing out there for?

An electric current runs through Sergeant Alenko's body, causing the hair on the back of his neck to stand up and his heart to beat faster than usual. Something was wrong, something very bad was happening here. He could feel it.

"Did you see him, Laura?"

Anka quickly questioned the young woman as she was the only one facing the exit of the living room.

"I…i.. I'm not sure. He was still there when we talked but…" She stammered, "I don't understand. I should have known if he walked out that door."

Johannes gritted his teeth. For some reason, he couldn't shake the feeling that a vital warning had gone unheeded, that sights had been misread, and that he had been ignorant to the obvious truth.

SCRASH!

The living room window broke as an object was flung through its thin glass and landed right in the center of the sofa set, in their shock and horror. The object resembled a short stick composed of synthetic fiber with a little cylindrical black metal piece at the higher end. Two letters 'H' and 'E' were imprinted plainly in white paint on the charcoal background.

"GRENADE! GET DOWN!"

Johannes rushed to grab Gabi and pull her to the ground to avoid the blast, but it was too late. After a loud bang, the sergeant found himself lifted, thrown aside and his vision enveloped by darkness for the second time in a month.