Two Short Hektor Omakes
Hektor waited for the Tech-Magos to finish. Something he was still having trouble adjusting to in Slawkenburg is the care they took for his physical and emotional well-being. Now he was here wait on what was called an "annual check-up".
"Good News," the Magos exclaimed. "Your vitals are still stable and overall you are in good health. Additionally, there has been a positive development with your brain."
"Oh, you finally found a way to remove these nails."
"Well, that might be no longer necessary. From what little we understand from their design, they appear to be of highly advanced Xeno design crudely attached to a mechanism adapted to human biology. I highly doubt that the slave masters of Nuceria understood what the original design was supposed to do. However, with your augmented biology and the panacea, it appears that your body is finally adapting to these "nails" and restoring their original function. From what little we understand, they appear to be shunting your psionic potential for other purposes. We might even be able to take you off the panacea within the decade"
The trek to the lake Mahlone said to meet him took a while. On Slawkenberg, he was required to spend some time off on leave and with nothing better to do, Hektor took Mahlone on his offer to visit his personal cabin. Curiously upon entering the Grand Slawkenburg Forest, Hektor was required to surrender his weapons and armor, barring only his knife and by special dispensation, his panacea bracers. Hektor made it certain to the soldiers that his didn't need his equipment to kill them where they stand. They soldiers smile and told him that he would love his stay here.
Eventually, Hektor made his way to a grand lake surrounded by primeval forest. There Mahlone was finishing rigging a simple wooden boat. "About time you came. Here, help me cast off." Hektor went into the boat and help push it into the lake. Once at the center, Mahlone handed him a primitive pole spooled with some sort of wire. After showing him how to hook the bait, they casted their lines out.
After an hour a waiting, Hektor grew confused. "I don't understand, what is the purpose of doing this?" "Purpose? Hah! Let me tell you Hektor, before the Liberation, the one good idea the Giorbas ever had was the creation of these vast hunting estates. They plowed earth and filled it with trees and filled the forests with all sorts of nasty beasts. Of course, the offworld aristocrats were too grox-shit to take advantage. After the Liberation, Cain granted the military the administration over these forests. I didn't understand why at the time, but hunting in these woods, there is something pure about it. A man armed only with his wits hence the restriction of armor and weapons."
"This is before I found my true passion, fishing. In war, what they don't tell you is that it is mostly waiting punctuated by brief intense action. Fishing is the exact same way. Outside of combat, this is the closest I feel to Khorne. After this, if you prefer a hunt, I'll happily oblige."
"Oh," Mahlone smiled, "It looks like you got a bite."