The Cadians and the Korps had greeted the two allied regiments with open arms, drinks and food. The marching 597th and the Tanith First were famed among other Guard Regiments for both their accomplishments and their commanders. Isara smiled too, watching as the kids laughed and shared drinks and cigarettes with the big lads and ladies of the two famed Regiments. Matt had told her during their trip through Kloden about these men and women. The Tanith, especially, came to be regarded as one of the very best units throughout the Imperial Guard and Amy and Colin hailed from the ranks of their long-lost world.
A young man clad in Tanith kit sat on a box, playing a strange pipe-shaped instrument with a calm smile on his face as the Imperial Guardsmen sang heartily, with Amy and Colin square in the center of a group of Tanith men and women, the former's face in an ear-to-ear, teeth-out smile that told of the joy in her heart, while Colin bore a simple, soft smile on his lips, exchanging small-talk with another fellow Commissar and a burly, bear-like tall man with long black hair and an even longer beard.
"Hey." Isara almost jumped out of her skin as she heard a rougher female voice speak, turning to find a woman with short, cropped blonde hair and what seemed to be the tattoos of a gang on her cheeks. She was a strikingly beautiful girl by all accounts, but seemingly the rough-and-tumble type you'd expect to find in the military. And she seemed very sure of herself, bearing the Tanith emblem on her chest plate next to another unrecognizable one.
"Oh. Hello." Isara smiled to her, "You're a Tanith soldier, aren't you?"
"Aye, though I'm not from their planet, really," She nodded, "Name's Tona. Tona Criid... You are?"
"Isara Gunther. Nice to meet you, Tona."
"Pleasure's all mine, Isara." The blonde nodded, approaching Isara's side and staring forward at her fellows partying with the Cadians, then chuckled "Y'know, when we first read that paper, 'The Wall', we never thought that it'd be Cadians we're gonna run in to. Much less Cadians and Death Korps in the same bloody picture, fighting side by side with bayonets and all."
"I take it miss Ellet's paper reached far?" Isara raised a brow. Tona chuckled.
"More that ambassador Townshend keeps sending us the stuff to read when he found out about the fact we're pretty much in the same boat as the Cadians. I must say, Ellet's got a knack for taking pictures square in the middle of combat, though," Tona looked to Isara, leaning her rifle with a wire stock on her shoulder, "You and the Cadians doin' alright, by the way? They treatin' the Gallians alright?"
"Oh, yes," Isara beamed, "They brought forth the idea of your faith being spread to Gallia and that it may bring the Darcsen on equal footing to everyone else."
"Y'see," Tona smirked, "I figured that'd be a drawing factor for Darcsen. Raz himself seems up for going with the Faith, even if he's a little... Extraordinary." She quipped. A loud 'I HEARD THAT' echoed from the direction of a couple of tents with a table in the middle, where the team was playing poker. The girl chuckled at that, then asked "What about you, Is? Anything interest you in the Faith? Or are ya more of a tecchie type like I've heard some Darcsen are?"
"A little bit of both, honestly," the girl replied, "I'm the one who tends to the Seventh Platoon's tank, but the stories the Cadians told us of the Faith are endearing."
"Nice... Also... That one?" Tona jabbed a finger back toward the blue-clad medium tank. The moment Isara nodded, the woman smirked and said "Nice. That's a pretty good-looking tank."
"Thanks," the girl nodded, "I have to say, I'm... A little surprised that there's more Guard regiments abound. Outside of Gallia."
"You're tellin' me." Tona noted, sighing, "The good Commissars nearly lost their bloody minds when the Wall first came about in the supplies." And she looked around, noticing the young, short man with a thin handsome face and the dragon tattoo on his temple. He gave her a thumbs up and a smirk, hauling a bottle of Sacra over to the officers' tent. She smiled back, then looked to Isara and saw her scanning the place in a look she knew too well. She asked "Lookin' for a particular fella?"
Isara yelped, blushing furiously. Tona grinned and pat the girl on the head. "Easy does it, Is. I know the look, bein' a girl myself... So, which Cadian is it?"
"... A bit too personal a question for someone you just barely met..." Isara replied, looking at Tona with a raised brow. Tona laughed heartily.
"I know, I know. Just trying to make small-talk," she then sighed. Openly, the girl confirmed "I guess you could say I'm with Caffran." and she pointed stealthily at the lad as he was coming out of the officer's tent, minus the sacra bottle. Isara looked, surprised once more by Tona's honest attitude. The blonde Vervunhiver smiled at the blue-haired girl and offered, "I ain't afraid to share. Mostly 'cause you seem the trustworthy type."
"And we'll probably not see each-other after this..." Isara sighed, "Very well." And she stood up, walking up to Tona. She whispered into the girl's ear the confession and Tona's face morphed into an ear-to-ear smile. She nudged Isara on the shoulder, laughing quietly at the girl's boldness and the healthy blush she wore on her face. The blonde ruffled the girl's hair.
"You are bold, kiddo. Gak me, you'd make a damn fine member of our regiment with those guts. Ya think he shares the feeling?"
"I can only hope..." The Darcsen fiddled with her thumbs.
"Heh. Alright... Well, I gotta go gather a scouting party for the evenin'. Ensure our perimeter's secured and whatnot," Tona explained, clapping a hand on Isara's shoulder and stating, "Go for him, my good girl. The Emperor alone knows what the odds are, but I'd say he shares the feeling," Then she gave the blue-hair a wink and stepped off into the ranks of the Tanith.
The camp of the four or five regiments present stretched out across a large swathe of land, occupying the south-east side of the highway leading back into Kloden from Barious for almost three kilometers. Beyond it, there was a major border city sat at the crossroads between Imperial territory, Gallia and the Federation itself. The returning scouting party, belonging to major Rawne's section of the Regiment, strode forth with the famed 'tread-fether' Anti-tank tube launchers hanging off their backs and Lasguns in their hands, to the sound of the music and the sight of the camp fires.
Trooper 'Try Again' Bragg had been dragged with the scouting party as heavy weapon support just in case the False Imperials brought about any IFV or tank that needed to be shredded by a heavy Autocannon the type of which Bragg hauled over his shoulder. The gentle giant strode forth, a smile on his face as he saw actual Gallian troops and Federation soldiers sharing drinks. The Feds, having regaled the Gallians with both tales of their actions and of the actions of the Tanith and Valhallan Five-Ninety-Seventh, raised high their alcohol-filled tin cups and bellowed cheers to the Tanith, which some of them, Bragg included, returned jovially.
"Never thought we'd get to see the home these kids kept talkin' about," Bragg noted to trooper Brostin, their flamer-specialist.
"Tell me about it," The man said, "Not a bad place in itself. The wildwoods we're stationed near remind me a bit of the forests back home..."
"Maybe, once this bloody fight is over, we'll get to visit," Bragg said with a smile, waving to some of the Gallian girls and boys around, most of which waved back happily, "At least more than we are right now."
"Here's to it," Brostin smirked. He paused as he saw a pair of Gallian girls, a blonde with glasses and a brown-haired onewearing what looked to be a red baker's bonnet. They saluted the Tanith as they passed, beaming at them, with the brown-haired girl, a Gallian Sergeant belonging to the famous Squad 7, from the looks of things. The same platoon that'd been running around with the Cadian Thirteenth.
"Ladies," Bragg nodded to them.
"Welcome to Gallia, folks. Always happy to see more Guardsmen," The brown-hair stated.
"Trust us lass, we're happy to be here. It's a fething vacation compared to the Front-Lines nowadays," another trooper by the name of Morin piped up from the back. The squad stopped now, to discuss with the Gallian girls.
"Take it things are getting bad for the Federation?" The blonde asked, pushing her glasses back up onto her nose.
"Nah, not bad, just stressful," Brostin offered, casting a sideways glance to Morin, then looking back to them, "It's annoyin' enough the bastards brought aircraft along. Never thought we'd be running into Severan Dominate, though."
"Tell us about it," The brown-haired one chuckled, "We damn near got cooked by a few bombers when we met the Death Korps," and she winced as some memories from the time flooded back, especially those of the young girl that'd died in her arms. She felt her pocket again for the rosary and the Aquila, then noticed a lot of the boys(and the girls, surprisingly) bore the same types of things around their necks.
"Least the creepy bastards seem to have Triple-A, so that gives you some fighting chance," Shrugged Bragg, "We had to shoot'em down by hand."
"How'd you manage that?" The two girls asked in unison, to which Bragg smirked and patted his trustworthy Autocannon.
"You'll be hard-pressed to find someone like Bragg around," Brostin laughed, "Man can heft a gun, but by the Emperor can he miss his first shots."
"'s why they call me 'Try Again'," The big man grinned.
"Anyways... We hafta go report to the Colonels right now. Name's Brostin, I'm one of the squad's flame-troopers. This here's Bragg, heavy weapons," The man explained, planting a hand on Bragg's chest.
"Nice to meet you both. I'm Alicia, Squad 7 Sergeant. Girl beside me is Juno, one of our corporals," Alicia nodded, "I have a feeling we'll all be working together soon enough. See you, lads," And she waved goodbye, as did Juno. The group and the pair parted ways, under the watch of some Valhallan troops and Cadians alike, each going to assist in forming a perimeter defense proper for the base camp.
Within the officers' tent, there was an ongoing briefing of the situation in Gallia aimed at the both new Regiments. Gaunt and his men listened intently, as did Cain and his aides, including Amberley Vail herself. Matt had, so far, summarily recapped the entire campaign that the Cadians and their forces underwent, including and definitely not limited to the battles for Vasel, Kloden and the encounters in Barious.
Cain scratched his chin, stating "Well, the Necron certainly are a concerning development."
"I agree," Gaunt noted, "But, at the very least, they showed us the foes are willing to cooperate, should bigger threats arise."
"That's fair enough, old friend, but..." Cain rubbed his eyes, "I've dealt with the bastards before. I'm not particular with dealing with an entire tomb world. How many did you say there were around, Colonel?"
"On estimates," Matt started, "There are several dozen pylons still in the Badlands, but we've left a small garrison there, included among them the Tallarn and their new Auxillia corps. Even though we've killed, I believe, what was supposed to be the main tomb and the Lord of the custodian force here to guard the Tombs, there seem to be more, smaller tombs housing Necron all across the Badlands. In total we've counted thirteen more pylons, so that would mean either thirteen more tombs or one interconnected tomb... One we're not going to risk to awake eitherway."
"We are all in agreement, then," Amberley stated as she nursed a cup of actual, proper coffee from the Gallian stores, "That information of the Necron should not leave this room and that those who know should abstain themselves from spreading it, lest we were to bring panic to the inhabitants of the planet," she eyed the Colonel, who nodded in confirmation.
"We've already made agreements with Ellet for the data not to be sent out anywhere and the Gallians we work with have also confirmed their agreement to not spread the information beyond the confines of the select group. Though, sadly, this group is formed of several thousand people at this point, because the Third Regiment fought beside us in the battle," The Colonel noted, motioning to Welkin, Captain Varrot and the officer cadre of the Third.
Varrot stated openly, however, "I assure you, ladies and gentlemen, we intend to take the secrets of the Necron to our graves," and she was quite earnest.
Amberley nodded, "It's good to know common sense exists in this world," and she smiled.
"Oh, we have the antithesis to it commanding the Gallian Armed Forces..." Colin sighed, rubbing his eyes, while Amy chuckled, cradling her Hellgun. Amberley and the others exchanged looks at that and she looked to one of her very retinue, the Psyker Rakel. The woman nodded, then tried to venture into Matias's mind to discover the information without the need to distract the young man from his briefing. She found herself, however, blocked by another Psyker.
One which now strode inside, a smile on her face. She looked to Rakel, then gave the woman a simple shake of her head. Following her in was her little retinue, all smiles and one of them even reading, surprisingly enough, an Imperial Faith book. Monyka and the little literature club and fighting force strolled inside and the woman saluted the Colonel, who saluted back.
Matt hummed, then said "I almost forgot. Ladies and gents, this is the regimental Psyker, Monyka, and her retinue, consisting of Trooper Nat, Trooper Yuri and Corporal Saoirse."
"Ladies and gentlemen, madam inquisitor," She bowed, "Sorry we're late. A small East Imperial patrol had to be..." Lightning flared around her eyes as she grinned mischievously, "... Cleansed..."
Cain looked to Amberley with a hint of concern. She chuckled and shook her head, turning to Rakel. The Psyker girl shrugged, getting Amberley to turn and state, "It is quite fine, miss Monyka. We were just finishing up the briefing about the exploits of your regiment. Colonel," She turned to Matt, "I believe your Commissar has just mentioned the fact that the Gallian Armed Forces are led by a particularly moronic individual."
"There's more than one of them, ma'am. The only man we've met who doesn't seem to be any sort of hardy, annoying creature among Gallian High-Command was Brigadier General Siegfried, the polar opposite to general Georg von Damon." And he seemed to contain a desire to retch, garnering a few chuckles out of his comrades, including the Third Regiment's hardy, friendly fighters, before continued, "I assure you, however, that that thing is as far away from the Front Lines as it possibly can be."
Monyka winced. Matt sighed and covered his face with both hands, uttering out a disdained "Oh, no..."
"I'm afraid we've also received correspondence from an Army runner that general Damon would be coming here with major Audrey..." She reported, "Sorry to be the bringer of bad news, Matt."
"It's fine..." He waved it off, "Emperor dammit, I thought I had dealt with that bastard enough, but what can ye do. When is he due?"
"Tomorrow at noon, going by the letter," Nat handed the guy it, before looking to Monyka. She spoke, "I'll take Sao and Yuri to patrol some more if that's alright with ya, Mony."
"Fine by me, girls," The Psyker nodded, "Scream if you find anything."
"We will," Nat grinned, "C'mon, ladies."
"So..." Cain started as Monyka joined them and took a seat while her comrades left. He continued, feeling fairly well that he was going to dislike the bastard, "This Damon... He's coming to visit us now?"
"Afraid so, sir," Matt shook his head, "Not a lot I can do about this. I bet it'll be something about us disobeying orders, though..."
"Happened before?" Amberley raised a brow.
"When we went to secure the pylons in the Badlands, actually," Amy returned, grinning as she stood to her feet, "Though that time we were lucky general Siegfried and Princess Cordelia were with him, so he hadn't much shite to throw our way. Princess Cordelia's the leader of Gallia... Or, well, would be, if she was of age I think. She'll be crowned soon, though."
"I would like to meet this young lady, then," Amberley stated, "Offer her my council... I take it she, too, is interested in the Imperial Faith?'
"That she is, ma'am," Colin stepped up, "I've had a first meeting with her in regards to this."
"Oh?" Cain raised a brow, "Tell me, major Markath, wouldn't meetings between individuals belonging to the ruling caste and officers be reserved, usually, for the Colonel?" and that caused Matt to go pale. Monyka looked up to Rakel, grinning at the girl as she shielded Matt from any probing while the boy and the Commissar figured how to answer the question. Of course, Colin did not even need to hesitate or think.
He spoke simply, "I'm afraid the Colonel was rather busy ensuring a strengthening of the bonds between us and the Gallian people..." Looking to Matt. It was not exactly wrong or a lie, but it still caused his heart to stop for a second. Cain did seem to catch on, as did Amberley, both of them smiling at the boy and both of them probably ready to ask questions once the briefing was over. Colin continued, "Anyways, the Barious operation ended with our return to meet with the Gallian Third and our current situation. That should be enough of a briefing of our activities."
Cain nodded, while Gaunt said "A fairly entertaining and well-summarized briefing, all of you," standing up, "It's good to know that miss Ellet is true to the motto of her paper," And he gazed upon the woman, who beamed and nodded, before he continued, "However, I must say that the situation currently developing has left me somewhat surprised. Colonel."
"Sir?" Matt stood at attention.
"If you could get me an... Informal report... Of what happened to Cadia, I would appreciate it. Commissar Cain has told me and my men that we are somewhere around 300 years after the Sabbat Worlds Crusade's endpoint. While I admit, I was glad to hear that it ended in a victory for us, I also wish to know what the hell occurred between then and now. The good Commissar, Inquisitor, their Regiment and Retinue have been kind enough to assist in filling me and my men in, but we're still missing important information. Cadia's... Breaking..." Gaunt had been tactful with his choice of words, fully aware of how painful it must've been for the kids to remember, "Remains a rather large missing piece."
"I will compile the report, sir," Matt nodded.
Colin stepped up, then stated "Perhaps you would allow me, sir. You still have business to attend with our troops and the Gallians. My Cadets will be able to keep discipline and order in the meanwhile."
Matt looked to Ibram and asked "Is that fine with you, sir?"
"Of course," Gaunt nodded, "In your time, Commissar."
"Sirs," Colin snapped a crisp salute to the officers, turning to the commander of his regiment with a grin and a pat on the shoulder. Dismissed by Matt and the others with approving nods, the boy departed. Amy followed close behind after Matt had openly dismissed her to allow her to search for a certain someone and Ace then left at Matt's dismissal to seek out the quartermasters of the two other regiments for trading... And, the good Colonel presumed, bartering 'illegal' goods. Matt looked around the room once more, at the officers of both sides present and at Maria, who was currently gazing over a set of maps of the local area.
"You and your regiment seem fairly close, Colonel," Amberely observed, standing up.
"It's only natural, ma'am. We went through much together... Though, admittedly, I am fairly sure not all of them like me."
Gaunt snorted, "Oh, young man, if you knew how my first few days were," And he cast a glance toward Elim Rawne, the Major that had tried several times to kill Gaunt, garnering a scoff out of him. The shaggy, long-bearded man behind Gaunt, that being the famed, fatherly colonel Colm Corbec, laughed aloud a rough, loud and guttural roar of a laugh. Matt chuckled at that quip too, arranging his uniform. For all they were made up to be in the legends, the famed Commissars Ibram Gaunt and Ciaphas Caint(HERO OF THE IMPERIUM), seemed to be just normal humans.
Cain hummed, "Well, this'll be interesting to dissect. Don't you agree, Inquisitor?"
"Wholeheartedly," Amberley nodded, "So how is this 'Damon' such an incompetent moron, then?"
"I don't know the full story, ma'am. I think that Captain Varrot would best outline it," He motioned to the woman, who seemed tu pause for a moment, before letting out a sigh of resignation. The Colonel then said, "I myself have to go check on the status of my men if I am dismissed."
Gaunt nodded, as did the other senior members of staff around. The man that had once led the Hyrkan eighth sat himself down with a sigh. He spoke to Cain, "This planet just keeps getting stranger and stranger as the days pass," and he looked to Captain Varrot. He waved her over as Ciaphas continued to sit in a thinker's pose, while his Colonels, captains and troopers exchanged small-talk.
"Anything you need me for, sir?" Varrot asked, taking a seat in front of Gaunt.
"I wanted to ask of the situation in Gallia from an officer's point of view. This stays completely off the record from the rest of your officers. In fact, dismiss them, please."
She nodded and waved the Lieutenants of the Third out ouf the room as well. Gaunt hummed as they exited by the tent flap, before asking the Captain "How bad are we talking? Be honest with me, Captain, I require knowledge of the kind of idiot I am dealing with. I can understand, faintly, that thanks to you country's nobility, this man may be active still and not hanging by his neck in the public square because he is some noble's son. I wish to know, however, how bad he truly could be as a commander."
"... Well, sir... Strap in..." Varrot took her glasses off and rubbed her eyes...
Ibram had had to take a moment to recollect himself outside, breathing in the fresh air of the Kloden Wildwoods as night began to set over the camp and the border itself. Amberley, Ciaphas and the staff of both Regiments had also listened in, with Maria listening from afar and the man was... How could anyone still let such an incompetent man command armies if they couldn't even hold one of their strongest border defenses?! With the maps and everything Varrot had given Ibram, the man could swear he nearly popped his lid at the imbecility and uselessness of that certain moron known to all as Georg von Damon.
Ibram sighed, rubbing his eyes, "By the Emperor..."
"Hell of a story, huh?" Ciaphas stepped out of the tent, offering his friend a fresh mug of caffeine from Captain Varrot's personal stash. He gave a nod of thanks to the man, taking the cup and watching the steam wafting off the black liquid. Placing his hands on his hips, Cain murmured to himself, "And I thought I was incompetent some times," receiving a raised brow and a questioning hum from Gaunt, who was sipping the hot coffee. Cain waved it off and said "Nothing, nothing, my friend. It's just... Ugh."
"I know," Gaunt offered, "He had the manpower and the defenses to halt any of the False Imperials' advances, yet..."
"Do you believe what captain Varrot said?" Cain looked to Gaunt as the moon started to rise, "That the bastard's been sending them on suicide missions since after they acquired Vasel and made a mockery of the Regulars, including the good Colonel Telos bringing that Audrey Gassenarl girl down a couple of pegs," and he offered, "Sadly, we cannot shoot him."
"No..." Gaunt laughed bitterly, "It would constitute war between the Federation and Gallia. And the very last thing this country needs is another set of enemies."
Cain shrugged, "Well, they would have us, wouldn't they?"
Gaunt answered without skipping a beat, "Of course. Two Guard regiments lay in their borders, the place is the home of the command group of Squad E and it is but a small country, yet it seems willing to accept us and our Faith and people with open arms if the locals greeting our people are anything to go by. Plus, if we shot that moron, I do think they'd put us in jail..."
"To be quite honest with you," Cain smirked, "I would rather leave the honor of executing that moron when he slips up to the Markath boy."
Gaunt nodded, "I agree. We still have Northern Cross to fully unravel and finish... And whatever has been bothering the good Inquisitor about this planet."
"Just a few hunches, Colonel-Commissar," Amberley offered, stepping out of the tent with her own mug of caffeine in hand. She spoke, " Nothing worthy of mention yet. I learned from the Death Korps Colonel, Stern, that the Cadians had also acquired a preacher and a squad of Sisters of Battle. This comes from small-talk, what little of it was initiated, between the Cadians and the Korps troops."
"They must be back in whatever base the Colonel has had set up for them," Cain supposed, "Would be interesting to go meet them... Have to give my prayers again."
"Missed the last day of Mass?" Quipped Gaunt, taking a sip of his coffee with a smirk.
The Hero of the Imperium grinned right back, "Been bloody ages, actually. I'm sure I missed a couple more of them."
"Boys," Amberley shook her head, smiling too, "Anyways... I have something to tell you."
"Go ahead?" The two offered.
"I may remain in Gallia for an... Indeterminate amount of time. Rakel said she has sensed something encroaching on this territory that she does not believe is good for any of us... And if I have learned one thing about my Psyker, it is that I should at the very least investigate her 'thoughts' and hunches," She explained, then looked to see that pang of sadness in Cain's eyes. She offered, "I'll be back before you know it."
Gaunt smiled as he watched the girl approach his fellow commissar. It was a combination of mischief that Gaunt rarely felt the need for and of actual joy at the sight of a normal Inquisitor acting close to a man like Ciaphas. He needed all of the positive reinforcement he could receive, as Gaunt himself had had a nasty situation in which he found the man in one of his self-deprecating rants. They'd agreed never to speak of it again, of course, but... Eh. Gaunt knew. He appreciated the sight of the two 'secret lovers' reinforcing each-other.
Sighing, he tipped his cap and returned to the tent's interior.
Meanwhile, Amy had split from Colin and Ace to find a certain someone. Passing through the lines of talking, laughing, drinking and partying Guardsmen of all four... Three, Regiments-The Kriegers didn't party, just stood guard-The girl sought to find only one man whom she knew from the historical accounts of the Regiment's actions, had survived much of the actions up to and including whatever point they seemed to have come out of, since Caffran was still around.
And indeed, stalking around in the forest with his camo cloak on and only the orange light of a lit lho-stick to illuminate and give away his position, Scout Trooper Mkvenner sat alone, puffing smoke rings into the cold evening air. She smirked, then started stalking up to him, donning her own Tanith camo cloak that she'd made herself. His head tilted up as the girl approached, then he spoke roughly, "You know, kid, if you try to sneak up on a scout... Don't do it with Carapace Armo-" And he froze as he caught a glimpse of the girl's face. He blurted out, "Amy..." as he felt his breath leave his body.
"Uncle Ven..." She beamed, pulling back the hood of her cloak and beaming brightly.
"... Is... That really you, my girl?" He asked, standing up. Amy was around his shoulders in height, so she had to look up at the tired face of her uncle. Still, to the man, the smile was undeniably little Amy Mkvenner, the daughter of his younger sister and his son-of-a-bitch of a Brother-in-Law and the girl he'd taught to sneak and hunt when she was barely a kid. He'd been more of a father to her, concerningly enough.
He hesitated for a moment as she stared at him, wide eyes really asking if it was him. The very next moment, the Trooper pulled the girl into a tight bear hug and said "I missed you, kiddo..." In a whisper as tears began to flow down his cheeks. She beamed brightly as she hugged him back. The man had been a recluse for most of the bloody wartime they'd faced... The uncaring solo scout.
He was glad to let that facade drop for a bit.