I sighed, a pulsating headache was beginning to brew behind my eyes, and a sharp stabbing pain caused me to wince. I lay my head on the desk, trying to relieve my head of its pain. My desk was set into the dark wall covered with a pile of paperwork I had yet to wade through. I looked over at the clock on the wall and sighed again, I’d been doing paperwork for 5 hours already…I feel like I’d barely made a dent. This was my first time attached to a Frontline regiment, a long shot from the logistics regiment I’d been attached to before. I hoped this new posting would find me with significantly less paperwork. As the newly appointed Commissar it was my duty to ensure that discipline and loyalty prevailed among the soldiers of the regiment. Something like that atleast. Stop them from killing each other and causing trouble until it’s time to aim their weapons at the enemy, whomever it may be. Hopefully without catching rounds in my back on the battlefields, which is frightfully common.
I was lost in this contemplation when an unexpected knock resonated through the room. The abruptness of the knock jolted me from the depths of my reverie, pain shot through my head again as I lifted it from the desk. Turning my head to the door, must as it started to open and caught sight of a ghostly pale face peeking around the corner of the door.
“Commissar,” he coughed politely, “apologies for disturbing you, we’re approaching the Pinion of Gaia.”
The Pinion of Gaia was a troop transport vessel used since the early 30th Millenium. It had seen combat many times over that time and was a Stallion class ship. The schematics for the Stallion class Transport vessel were lost during the battle of Earth, so future construction of this vessel ceased, leaving it to become what’s known as “Relic Tech”.
A ripple of apprehension swept over me as the realization that we were approaching our destination set in.
“Thank you, Trooper. Is there anything else?”
“No, Commissar.” He turned to leave, pausing in the doorway for a moment longer before I spoke up, I had noticed with mild amusement and curiosity that the trooper had a Rifle strapped over his shoulder.
“What’s your name?” I stood up, grabbing my weapon belt and fitting it around my waist, the heavy weight of my blade resting against my legs. As strange as it may sound, it was gratifyingly comforting.
“Private Dominskev, Sir.” He shifted towards the door again.
“Well…Private Dominskev. Thank you. You are dismissed.”
He bowed his head and vanished, leaving the door to close with a faint thud behind him. The sound of retreating boot soles headed away from my quarters. Thankfully, my stay on this ship hadn’t been too long. Although I'll eventually get used to fast travel, it's not something I'm particularly enjoying too much. The travel to the Tertius System had taken me about two standard months, a long and arduous journey that was only made interesting by the occasional conversation with the Admiral. When our duties permitted of course, and a few games of cards were worth the many bottles of Tea and credits I’d earned.
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Protocol dictated there should be some form of command staff from the regiment to greet me when I landed on board. Honestly, from what I’ve heard it is rarely done. Many of the officers are simply too “busy” to waste their time to meet a “fresh-faced” Commissar stepping off when preparations are to be made for an operation. I opened the door and stepped out into the hard metal corridor that snaked around the ship.
“Let’s get this going shall we, Luther” I muttered to myself under my breath as I strode down the hall towards the hangar bay. It was a long walk if I remember correctly to get to the hangar bay. Should take me about 10 minutes or so, a nice walk to get myself composed before I have to be official. I smiled inwardly as I passed door after door, Here is to hoping that it's a nice and simple transition out of the warp!
The familiar thrum of the engine reverberated through the floor panels, combining with the illuminators strung along the walls and fitted into the ceilings, lighting my way towards my destination. Without warning, beneath my feet, I noticed that the engine pitch changed, now barely a slow thumping. A secondary louder thud echoed through the ship, it sounded uncomfortably like an explosion. Putting that thought to rest I heard a familiar sound. The faint sounds of combat sparked to life ahead of me, catching my attention immediately. I reached down and gripped the handle of my pistol, increasing my pace to a slow jog, just as heads began popping out of doorways, a strong mixture of confusion and Alarm was written across the faces of the troopers and crewmen craning out of doorways what the commotion was. Pointing at the nearest trooper I ordered him to grab his rifle and follow me, his bewildered expression obvious on his face as he slipped back in his room. I hoped he was going to listen to me otherwise I would have to face this threat alone. Whatever it may be. As my journey continued down the corridor I pointed at several other troopers and told them to come along too.
Leaning forward, I began to run. A deep feeling of discomfort settled into my stomach as a small thrum of voices began behind me. A pair of bootsoles joined me, striking the ground and notifying me that a pair of troopers had taken up position behind me falling into step. Without warning the lights cut out, plunging the corridor into a momentary darkness. The emergency lights kicked in casting a dark red hue ahead of us. A resonating whine spread throughout the ship like a Banshee in pain. Another deep thud shook the ship, causing me to lose balance and fall into the wall. Throwing my arm out I pushed off and regained my balance, keeping my composure. Meanwhile, up ahead the sound of Rifle fire increased in pitch and frequency as though a crescendo of gunfire was being traded.
Slowing my pace, I neared a corner taking notice of a body lying in the centre of our path. His clothing was torn and scorched from where plasma shots struck close, a hole in his chest leaving a grisly pile of black around him. I presumed this was blood and turned to look away from him. Beside him lay a rifle, disregarded after death. Beyond him lay a door which had been blown off its hinges, a small group of dead troopers were scattered around where the door had been. Gripping my belt, I readjusted and took a deep breath steeling myself for whatever comes next. I drew my pistol.