Ernst was putting on his backpack wrong, the way the straps were hanging was going to cause some pain if he wore it in that haphazard fashion. Tanlon was about to go to his fire team member and help him with it, but a stormtrooper walked up and beat him to it.

“Here, tighten this, and there! Feel it snug against your back now?”

Ernst shifted his back and nodded to the stormtrooper’s question. “Aye sir, it feels a lot better!”

It was nice and all for this random stormtrooper to enter their squad bay and lend a hand, but Tanlon’s ears itched at the familiar voice he heard. “Haylock?”

The stormtrooper turned to face Tanlon and took off his helmet, as the gas caskets de-pressurized and hissed with the breaking sealant, Haylock’s grinning face greeted Tanlon. “Eh! I was trying to surprise you guys.”

Tanlon did not reply with words, but nearly tackled Haylock to the ground with a bear hug. The armored man must have weighed an additional forty pounds with his kit, but Tanlon easily picked him up and wrapped him in a spine-breaking hold.

“Oi, oi, urgh!” Haylock’s breath was crushed out of him and he started tapping his friend on the back. With just a final squeeze to drive the point home, Tanlon set Haylock back on the ground.

Haylock regained his breath surprisingly fast and said, “What have they been feeding you boys while I was gone?”

“Oh, you know, just the same old slop,” Snell replied. He had come back into the squad bay and leaned against the frame of the hatch, trying to look cool. Mad had no such compulsions and ran past his friend inside the squad bay, right toward Haylock. Seeing what was about to happen, again, Haylock tried beating Mad to the inevitable bear hug and got his arms around the stocky tank when he ran into him, but it was not to be his fate as Mad was built differently and lifted Haylock into the air almost as easily as Tanlon had done.

Mad let go of Haylock and practically dropped him on the ground. “You think you can go and leave us fer a year and come up spooking right before we make a jump? Think again.”

“I was going to say hello to you guys too,” Haylock stood up from where he had crumpled on the floor and looked at his three friends. “I’m sorry for being so scarce, they had me in special training.”

“What kind of ‘special’ training,” Mad asked.

“The ‘special’ kind.”

“Boot tongue,” Mad mumbled, but Snell strolled further into the squad bay and pointed at Haylock’s shoulder insignia.

“Use your eyes, it’s right there. He’s in a commissariat squad now.”

Tanlon noticed it then too and saw the single silver stripe running horizontally on Haylock’s shoulder. They had spent the better part of two days teaching the masses of Vanguard troopers the new regimental force organization charts and their significance. A lot of it was just rehashed info from their academy days, but a new unit in the regiment was the commissariat squads. They were special security force units that were hand-picked by the commissars for internal and external threats. The idea of internal police was not something the average trooper appreciated and seeing that Haylock was one of them put a damper on everyone’s moods.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Mad said what Tanlon and Snell were thinking, “Oi, sell out for some extra chocolate and rations or something? Why’d you go and sign up under those black-coated ghouls?”

Haylock glanced over at the lockers and trooper equipment and then fixed his face with a blank look. “I’m honored to serve the Emperor’s eyes and hands in whatever service they require. The Commissars know what is best for us and how to best destroy the Empire’s enemies.”

“Sure, sure. Real different tune you was whistling on Paradise in the gun pit with us. I think you made up over a hundred different names for Gourke alone. You saying you don’t think he’s a thin-legged Paunch Rat no more?”

Another glance at the lockers, but this time there was a small flicker in Haylock’s eyes. He whispered, “And a bobble-headed Boob Bird too.” He grunted, cleared his throat, and spoke in a full voice again, “Be that as it is. It is still a great honor to serve.”

“Ok, be weird,” Tanlon looked over at the lockers but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. “We’re almost done preparing. Are you joining us?”

“Negative, Tan, I have a mission of my own. I just wanted to see you guys.” Haylock’s voice broke and he put his helmet back on. When he spoke again it was clear and leveled. “Keep your heads down and stay together. Make it past your ninth jump and we can work together again. We’re stronger as a team.”

“So we can be the commissars’ bootlickers too?” Snell said.

Tanlon did not think that was entirely fair, but neither did he speak up in Haylock’s defense. It was Mad, of all people, who put Snell’s comments to rest in the only way he knew how.

“Ow, why’d you do that for?” Snell rubbed his arm and Mad shook his head.

“Man’s got his reasons. If’n he wants to serve as a commissar enforcer, then let ‘em.”

“Ah, glad you understand at least, Mad.”

“Nothing to understand. We all serve the Emperor one way or another.” Mad started to head out of the squad bay and grabbed Snell to come with him. “Now we’s gotta get the rest of the squad all oiled up and ready before Gourke junior here reports us. Come on, Snell.”

Snell and Mad left the squad bay, their squawking picked up when they were out of sight, but not ear, and it was just Haylock, Tanlon, and Ernst.

“Well, Ernst and I better be in the squad bay soon,” Tanlon hesitated and held out a hand to Haylock. “When we all make it back, don’t be acting like a weirdo again. We have some catching up to do.”

“Right.” Haylock gripped Tanlon’s forearm and sealed the promise with a nod. “Just as long as you make sure you don’t go getting bit by weird bugs again.”

“You know I can’t promise that,” Tanlon laughed and Haylock joined him. It wasn’t a joke, they both knew that, but the laughter helped them cope with the looming jump coming for them.

Ernst spoke up. “Err, Mr. Tanlon, sir. We gotta go.”

Tanlon squeezed Haylock’s forearm one more time and took off, Ernst followed behind him like a baby duck. When they had both left the squad bay, Haylock’s ears rang and he felt a force cut off the sound from their immediate area. Through the numbing silence, another man’s voice wheezed behind Haylock.

“Do I not keep my promises, Karahata?”

Haylock did not need to turn around to know who had set up a sound barrier and who was behind him. He knew only one man with such power. “You do, Master.”

“A simple reward for passing the first threshold. Now that you’ve seen that your friends are safe, it is time to put what you’ve learned to the test.”

“Will my friends be ok?”

“Ah, I sense much danger on the planet below, it teems with the void beasts, but if I were you, I’d be much more worried about myself.”

“Is this tomb that dangerous?”

"Karahata, it would be an understatement to call it that. Let us just say that what is waiting for us, will make your trial on Paradise pale in comparison.".