I shouldn't be here.

This single thought always came back to Bardus Scarlet's mind.

He tried to chase it away by enumerating all the reasons why he should be here. Already, Father told him to go instead of his older brother Stavros. Stavros just married Jokhela Bordeaux, only daughter of the Red Baron Merek Bordeaux that controls all the packaging industry on Sierra Segundus. This would help the Scarlet consolidate their food processing plants by partnering them with the Bordeaux conglomerate. Bardus wouldn't want to endanger such a crucial business venture. Father also spent 60,000 Vermili outfitting Bardus with a light cloaked energy armour and two handmade high capacity Laspistols, as tradition dictates for a star knight. That's the yearly salary of the 1200 factory workers Father fired. Their sacrifice can't go to waste because of Bardus' egocentrism.

The near-religious dedication Bardus had to recite those arguments was no match for the stench that emerged from the merchant ship The Fat Belly. Its hull was filled to the brim with heretics and the dregs of Sierra Segundus packed in like sardines in space normally used to transport grains or minerals. As such, it didn't have the amenities for this sea of humanity, which stank in ways no one can imagine. Blood, excrement, sweat and other body fluids were cooking under the collective warmth of 500,000 bodies that could barely move. This smell has caked into every part of the cargo hull to the point you needed to wear a gas mask to enter it.

I should not be here.

Even when Bardus managed to forget the smell, his conscience was torturing him with equal violence. No human being deserves to be treated worse than Groxes.

Bardus would try to smother his conscience with arguments you've heard before, slavery is a better faith for heretics than death, their master may even be nice and what's half a million lost souls to a planet of fifty billion on the brink of starvation?

Those sophistries did not make Bardus feel better.

I should not be here.

In a last resort, Bardus opened for the hundredth time the worn-out pages of the encyclopedia of the great Star Knights. A book in high-gothic that recounts the greatest feats of gallantry and courage Star Knight carried out in the pre-imperial era, when Sierra Segundus was still an independent warring kingdom instead of a small cog in the machine of Empire.

He reread his favorite passage about the Sindi Vermillion fighting the war chief Zog for the control of the blood moon Zervax. Bardus knew none of this story was accurate to the real fight they had, but the way it was described spoke to him. The flames swallowing the painting of Sindi happy family, the sounds of blades clashing, the yells, the insults, the spit and the rage. That rage seemed to be devouring Sindi who was usually so in control of her emotions. Now she was a whirlwind of blades and hatred for the man who took everything from her. Zog struggled to face this unending attack, but he was also faced with a vicious barrage of insults he never faced from the stoic Sindi. She mocked his pathological cowardice, his deformed appearance and reminded him of every little thing he lost because of her. This combined attack shattered Zog guard and ego allowing Sindi to find an opening. She stabbed without mercy at Zog's exposed side and he fell down. He pleaded desperately for mercy, but Sindi cut his perfidious tongue and sliced his throat. Then, she rushed to the lower decks of the ship to see her one true love Perilia. She cut the lock separating her from her beloved in one swing from her sword and and opened the cage to free her. They hugged like two separate halves who became finally whole again before running to the last escapade pod still operating in Zog's gigantic slaving ship. Once they were far away enough from the flaming ship, they looked into each other's eyes with fear and relief. Relief that they were together again and fear of what the other had become since their three years apart. Fear that behind their bloodied faces and empty eyes hid a monster they couldn't recognize. Yet, despite or because of this fear they kissed with a burning passion. Melting into one another has the spaceship of their mortal enemy exploded in a terrifying explosion that illuminated the cold darkness of the void.

As he turned the last page of this epic, Bardus dreamed he could be like Sindi Vermillion, a savior of the innocent and wrapped in complex romances. Sadly, Bardus is closer to one of Zog's goons, a coward working for a cruel master on the promise of a higher status than the people they enslave. His delusion of heroism was interrupted by the calm voice of Weapon specialist 2nd class Flick Vernum.

"Sorry your Knightness, Sergeant Dannobian told me you were joining 12th squad for the landing," said Flick.

"I suppose that is what tradition requires. Can you lead me to the transports we will use to land? "

"That would be my honor, your Knightness, but I need to get some PIFs for the GL first."

"Pide gle? What are those things? "

"Oh apologies, I guess you call grenade launchers and promethium incendiary frags a different name when you served in the PDF."

"What's a PDF?"

"Planetary Defense Force your Knightness. Every citizen is supposed to serve there. "

"Oh that! Father told me we didn't need to serve because it was beneath our station. "

Flick looked at Bardus with a mix of confusion and awe, as if he was staring at a long-extinct Xenos race.

"I suppose we should go get those PIF now if we don't want to be late," offered Bardus who was feeling embarrassed by Flick's confused stares.

"You're right, your Knightness," answered Flick. "I'll let you put on your armour before we go."

"Oh right, I wouldn't be much of a knight without it," said Bardus with deep sorrow.

He cleaned the dust off the Red griffon on his cloaked energy armour before donning it and holstering his two high capacity Laspistols. However, he didn't put on the helmet as its advanced optics always gave him headaches. Then, he followed Flick to one of the dozens of nondescript corridors that filled the Fat Belly. As he navigated this unending labyrinth, he noticed the man who was responsible for all of Bardus" misfortune. Philipus the head of diplomatic mission solar and Bardus sworn enemy.

Bardus' disgust for the scribe stems from a singular issue, he was too polite. Each time Philipus saw Bardus, he asked how he was doing and treated him as a peer instead of a servant. Likewise, he never gave Bardus orders, but rather suggestions and invitations. This is a normal behavior for most middle-level scribes like Philipus, as authority comes from inspiring actions rather than trying to control specialists who knew their scrolls better than anyone else. For a noble like Bardus, this was a complete refusal of engaging with the clear hierarchy of powers that governs every interaction. A superior order cajoles or seduces, but he doesn't listen. On a more personal level, Bardus was not used to people being nice to him.

Philipus, carrying a mountain of scrolls, was oblivious to Bardus' hatred as for him he was simply another co-worker. He greeted him when they met, asked how Bardus was feeling about going on the ground and took the time to know a bit about Flick before he had to leave to attend another last-minute meeting. This brief innocuous exchange broke the last shred of dignity Bardus held onto. He felt empty, insignificant and walked behind Flick without purpose.

Flick was unaware of the torment of Bardus because he was still trying to understand how someone could not serve in the PDF, but still be a citizen.

It's in this mental state that they both entered a room where a small squad of guards were suiting up for the landing. Sergeant Maud Dannobian walked towards the two to brief Bardus on his role within the squad. As a knight he is supposed to be leading the first group that lands on any planet and represents the interest of the head of the solar mission in his stead. However, any military decisions will be made by the sergeant as has been established in the solar charter of M34.453. Bardus pretended he listened to Dannobian instruction, but he couldn't accept she was a woman. He saw soldiers as this faceless mass of masculinity, but Sergeant Dannobian small stature, voice and face dispelled this absurd belief. Intellectually he already knew this as the normal state of things, but to live it for someone so closeted is shocking. Sergeant Dannobian wasn't satisfied with Bardus' apparent indifference and made him repeat word for word what she just explained to him. Bardus was surprised by Sergeant Dannobian forceful demands and did his best to recite her explanations. He failed and she repeated her orders a second time. Bardus will be at the center next to her and could only leave the protective lines when he was ordered to do so. If they faced enemy fire, he was to be flown back as soon as possible on the Fat Belly and report to Philipus the failure of the first contact mission. Otherwise he was to present gifts and a letter from the Governor to the first local they would meet as required in the Lex. Once first contact is established, he can return to the ship to give his report to the head of diplomatic mission solar. She then made him repeat this set order until she was satisfied Bardus understood his duties.

By the time his briefing was over, Flick was layered with two bandoliers carrying red, white and yellow coloured frag grenades for his GL. He was chatting with his companions who all seemed ready to be deployed. They were speaking in a way that was entirely foreign to Bardus. It was imperial gothic, but it was interlaced with a dozen acronyms about LZ, CIS, BAE, FLGSS and inside jokes that were indecipherable for him. It was also weird how they all called themselves by their surname and never mentioned their rank. No one saluted the sergeant either, but everyone obeyed her orders.

Before Bardus could ask Flick for clarification, a light sound started reverberating in their room. The Guards immediately walked out of the room towards what Bardus assumed were the loading deck where a Valkyrie would be waiting for them. He followed them at a distance since he wanted to avoid damaging his helmet by hitting the crude walls of the Fat Belly. Once he reached the loading deck, all the Guards already started boarding a Valkyrie gunship painted in green and black shapes instead of their normal grey. Bardus felt anxious being in such a thigh place with a dozen heavily armed guards and took his time to sit down on his uncomfortable seat. He tried to look for Flick who was already seated and chatting with his comrades. Flick did notice Bardus' desperate look for support, smiled and gave him a big thumbs up. It did help Bardus calm down a bit as the Valkyrie exited the Fat Belly to travel in the emptiness of space. Bardus' head started spinning as he suddenly felt fully weightless and struggled to hold on to his floating helmet. Sergeant Dannobian tried to make him put on the helmet, but Bardus shook his head and kept the helmet in his arms. Sergeant Dannobian shrugged and let Bardus cling onto his helmet. Instead, she focused her comrades, reminding them of their mission and joking about how they'll finally get to eat something else than SRMP. Every guard yelled in agreement except for Bardus who didn't know that SRMP was the standard ration for PDF troopers.

In either case, Bardus wasn't feeling like eating as the Valkyrie hit the atmosphere of Sierra Primus and his stomach contracted from the pull of gravity. The guards did try to look in control, but Bardus could see that it was also their first time, except for Sergeant Dannobian who seemed unaffected. After what felt like an eternity of pain and anxiety for Bardus, the Valkyrie stopped shaking. Then, the doors opened on both sides of the Valkyrie and the guards stumbled outside in a disorganized manner despite Sergeant Dannobian best efforts.

Bardus followed the Sergeant's instruction and stayed behind until every last guard had hit the ground. When he set foot on a damp grassy plain of Sierra Primus, he felt overwhelmed by the alien nature of this world. The air was not recycled, the sky was blue, it smelled of earth and the sun! Dear Emperor Bardus was blinded by its red magnificence. All of this could have been avoided if Bardus had put on his helmet which has features made to ease Hiveworlders into the sensory overload caused by setting foot on a primitive world, but he was still too scared of getting a migraine in addition to his vicious stomach ache. It took him a few minutes to regain a sense of his surroundings. By this point he could hear the irritated voice of Sergeant Dannobian ordering him to join the troop. Bardus lumbers in the direction of the Sergeant voice struggling to see her in all this greenery. As his eyes adapted to this new landscape, he did notice a small form far away that seemed to come in their direction. The troop had already noticed it and tried to take any cover available in this barren plain. Some guards found a hill or a felled tree, but they were still uncomfortably exposed. Meanwhile the form got close enough Bardus could recognize it as a woman and hear her yells of despair. Her hairs were flowing in the wind and chains weighed down her wrist. Overtaken by a sudden sense of duty, Bardus jumped in the direction of the fleeing slave, thinking himself one of those heroes he read in his books who came to save the damsel in distress. This action was so sudden the guards didn't have the time to stop him. As such the representative of a slaver's ship reached the woman still holding in one of his hands his helmet.

The lady stopped running when Bardus reached her. He couldn't understand what she was saying in her local dialect, but he did feel her fear and anxiety. Bardus tried his best to calm her down while he was cutting down her chains with his knife. Its advanced ceramic blade cut through the crude iron chains as if they were butter. However, instead of thanking him the eyes of the slave girl filled with dread and only one word in high Gothic came out of her mouth "Fool". As she said this, two green lights hit her on the shoulder and the thigh. Some of her cauterized flesh flew in Bardus' face as she fell. Caught off guard Bardus fell on the ground in shock as the slave body lay on top of him. Then, he saw red and green lights fly over his head. Cries from soldiers and the distinctive voice of Sergeant Danobian belting out orders. For an instant Bardus thought it was all over. Then, he heard a loud BANG close to him and a large smoke screen started swallowing the area surrounding him. Bardus felt the strong hand of Weapons Specialist Flick trying to push the slave's body out of the way. "What are you doing? We can't abandon her! " said Bardus in despair. Flick didn't pay attention to Bardus' and just pushed the slave's body out before helping him get up. "Stop being a fucking idiot your Knightness and follow me now!" said Flick in an authoritative voice. "I'd rather die!" said Bardus as he put his helmet on.

While he was activating its advanced Auspex, one last thought came through his head.

I should not be here.

Then, Bardus disappeared in a mist of electricity.