"Kome on ya sods, get 'n da box already!" The massive ogryn bonehead whacked a few of his men with the butt of his sturdy rifle to get his point across, pointing at the rumbling Chimera waiting in the distance.

Most of his men wailed piteously, but shuffled to their feet anyway, cradling their guns like toys as they slowly made their way over.

"Dat's right, for the Emprah—Nug! Wot are ya doin'? Git a move on!"

The last abhuman shook his head, trying to crawl away without attracting attention. "No! I'z scared! It's dark in dere, and real stuffy too!"

"Oi! You git up on yer feet right now, or I swear in the—"

"Go join your men, Hurk." The regiment's commissar had been embroiled in a heated conversation between the colonel of the regiment and the Skitarius commander, but the commotion had drawn his attention. "Let me handle this."

"Yes, sir." In a childlike fit of spite, the bonehead slapped Nug across the head before jogging away to the waiting vehicle. "You'z in trouble now, Nug! I told you to lis'n."

The old man sighed and ran a hand across his face; it was criss-crossed by scars from a lifetime of combat. His regiment's love for bionics had apparently rubbed off on him, as evidenced by the cybernetic nature of his limbs. "Stand up, Nug."

"No!"

"Do it for me."

The hulking brute sighed heavily and waddled to his feet. "Yes, Komiser, sir."

"What seems to be the issue?"

"I'z don't wanna get in the rumbly box, Komiser sir, but Hurk said—"

"Oh, in the Emperor's name!" Before Palatine Veridara could react, one of her sisters stomped up to the ogryn and brandished her boltgun in his face. "Get moving, you filthy mutant, or I'll put a hole in your skull myself!"

The commissar shot her a withering glare, but the effect on the ogryn was even more drastic. He staggered back, shaking his head like a confused animal. His grip tightened on his ripper gun.

"Stop screamin'…"

The old man took a step back. "Nug—"

"Stop screamin'!" he roared, bringing his weapon to bear on the target of his ire. A single round from that gun could turn her into a red smear on the floor, power armour or not.

Before he could fire, however, the Skitarii Alpha glanced in their direction. With blinding speed, a nearby vat-grown servitor hurled his massive bulk against the abhuman's back, grabbing his arms in a bear hug from behind to stop him from raising his gun. The ogryn screamed with rage, throwing his head back in brutal headbutts, but the servitor remained implacable.

"You dare!" The Sister raised her gun, but one of the guardsmen pushed her aside and planted himself directly in front of the enraged giant.

"Nug! Look at me!" The man fearlessly waved his arms in the air.

Veridara took the opportunity to stomp forward and grab her wayward soldier's arm, dragging her back to the rest of the troops. Her suit pulled up the IFF readings. Sister Sabrus. Of course. She tossed her bodily to the Sister Superior of her squad.

"What the hell were you thinking? And sister, you ought to watch your troops better!"

The ogryn had, in the meantime, calmed down enough to take a good look at the man before him. He blinked twice.

"Kernel?"

"Yes, it's Sand! The mean lady's gone, Nug! You can calm down now."

He blinked again. "Gone? Ya mean it, sir?"

"Yeah! And I'll give her a nice scolding the next time I see her too. Listen to the commissar now, Nug. Please?"

"Ye—Yes, kernel." The servitor released him, allowing him to give both of the men a rough salute. "Sorry sir."

The commissar seamlessly transitioned back to his calm tone. "Nug, you are faithful to the Emperor, aren't you?"

He gaped, as if taken aback by the question. "Yes sir! I love the Emprah, komiser! I—I'z no heritik!"

"Well, I just got off the vox with the Emperor, Nug, and he's really sad that you won't get into the transport."

"The… Emprah? The Emprah knows me?"

"Well, of course he does! Remember when he sent you that medal?"

Nug giggled and picked at a golden sticker on his flak armour that said 'I performed satisfactorily in the service of the Emperor', before his expression grew serious again. "But da box…"

"Hey, Nug!" She had finally identified the other human. It was the colonel of the Ferrite Guardians regiment. Colonel Sand. "Remember when I took you to see the animals in the forest? You liked the animals, right?"

"Haha, yes. Fluffy rabbits… One, two, three… Four rabbits!"

"Well, the Emperor said that if you get in the box today, I can take you to see the rabbits again when we get back! He even asked me to help count all of them this time!"

"Counting?"

"Yes, Nug! I'll teach you how to count all the rabbits!"

"Counting! Rabbits!"

"So… you'll get in the transport today, right?"

"Yeah! Yeah, I will, kernel! But Komiser, sir, if I may… Does the Emprah like rabbits too, sir?"

The commissar sighed and gave him a genuine smile. "Oh, yes. Absolutely adores them."

Nug clapped his hands, satisfied, before lumbering over to where Sergeant Hurk was waiting. Colonel Sand exchanged a relieved glance with his commissar, before both of them turned their head in unison to glare at Sabrus. An unspoken agreement passed between them, and the commissar returned to the Skitarii, while Sand stomped over to where she and the thirty sisters under her command were setting up their facilities.

"What the hell was that, palatine?"

She bowed her head. There was cause enough to be ashamed. "I apologize, colonel. It all happened so fast. I take full responsibility. Sister Sabrus was under my—"

"Palatine!" Sabrus jerked herself out of her squad leader's grip, pushing past her to stare Sand down. "If a filthy mutant slows down the entire advance, why should we have to apologize for showing it its place? Even after it attacked me like the mindless brute it is, you have the gall to blame us?"

The colonel met her gaze coldly, bionic eye twitching as it self-calibrated. His soldiers who had begun to gather behind him, however, bore deep scowls. "Does she speak for all of you?"

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

"No!" Veridara grabbed her again. "Remember your place, Sister Sabrus! You have not yet been a full Sister for a year, and you presume to speak for me? The ogryns are not mutants, but abhumans! They are pure in the eyes of the Emperor!"

"But Palatine Veridara!" She whirled around to meet her gaze. "How can those… things ever be pure? They're vile, and monstrous, and so stupid! Instead of being happy that they can die to absolve their sin, they dare create problems for us, and then—"

"Hey!" One of the older guardsmen pushed his way to the front. "Don't you talk that way about Nug, you bitch! He may not be the brightest in the regiment, but he's more devoted to the Omnissiah than you'll ever be!" The men around him grumbled their agreement.

"I don't take lectures from the followers of a false god!" Sabrus stepped even closer to Sand. "There is no Omnissiah. There is only the Emperor. Everything else is a lie!"

"Sabrus!" The Sister Superior finally charged over and slapped her across the helmet. "One more word out of you, and I'll drag you to the repentia squad myself!"

Even the otherwise unconcerned Skitarii had taken note of Sabrus' last comment. Veridara could almost feel the belligerent threads of thought running between them, as a few approached the small gathering. This was a disaster. All of it.

"Oi…" A few more of the veteran guardsmen had stepped forward, protectively ringing their commanding officer. "I think you'd better take a step back from the colonel, bitch."

"In case your cognitive faculties are as insufficient as I anticipate, that is a veiled threat of violence." One of the Skitarii had stepped up as well. His snide comment sent some snickers through the assembled guardsmen.

She even heard a few suppressed giggles over the private vox-link with her sisters. Great. She raised her arms in a placating gesture. "Please, there is no need to get so aggressive. Sabrus, get back to the line. Right now. And, Sister Superior, I'll make sure the Canoness hears about these repeated failures of discipline under you!"

Colonel Sand nodded. "They're not worth it, boys. Fall back. Please control your troops henceforth, Palatine. We can't afford any more incidents like this."

"I'll take that advice to heart, colonel."

"There are more important concerns." The Skitarii commander had appeared in their midst, with speed and stealth that stunned everyone into silence. "We have already spent a sub-optimal amount of non-productive time organizing the non-Mechanicus forces under your respective commands. Your logistics protocols are begging for improvement. We must advance now, or risk giving our enemy too much time to prepare. Mission success probabilities cannot be allowed to fall below mission parameters. The Inquisitor will have to catch up with us later."

Veridara quailed at the thought of letting him land in an abandoned hangar. "But the security risks!"

"Irrelevant. The automated defences have been fully activated, and guard-servitors have been deployed. Additionally, a sizeable contingent of Skitarii and Techpriests will remain behind to guard our operating base. Colonel Sand, are your troops ready?"

"Loaded and ready to go, Zeta-21. But the sisters haven't been able to land their vehicles yet."

"Do you have enough spare capacity to take them?"

"We can fit them in here and there, I suppose. Some of the Chimeras are not up to capacity."

"Satisfactory. Then, Palatine Veridara and I will ride with you in the command vehicle. The remainder of the Adepta Sororitas forces will be distributed among your mechanized infantry."

"Sounds good to me. Palatine?"

She nodded. "Let's be on our way then."

"Our heavy support will follow as soon as they can make a landing. For now, we must advance with what we have. Ave Omnissiah." Zeta-21 made the sign of the cog across his chest before jogging off to coordinate his own troops. The Skitarii had no need of transports; their cybernetics legs would easily let them keep up with the convoy in these cramped quarters.

Sand nodded to her. "I'll see you at the command Chimera, then."

"Emperor's light go with you, colonel."

One of the female guardsmen sauntered up and threw an arm around Sabrus' shoulder. "Come on, doll. You're riding with us. Only all-female squad in the entire regiment."

Sabrus sighed. "And why you, specifically?"

"Well, do you really want to be stuck for an arbitrary amount of time in an isolated location with some really smelly men? Seriously, their hygiene sucks ass. I mean, if you want that, more power to you. We don't judge what you get off on!"

Veridara stepped up. "The extent of our familiarity does not yet sanction that you may speak to us so, guardswoman. We will be afforded the respect we are due."

The guardswoman gave her a lopsided grin. "Just saying they stink something awful, ma'am."

"Step back."

"Just trying to make friends here."

Around her, more sisters cocked bolters and unsheathed chainswords. But there were even more whines as lasguns charged up. Bionic targeting systems auto-tracked them, feeding information to the mounted turrets. Her sisters could probably handle the guardsmen around them, but they had more waiting, and vehicles, too. The Skitarii were an even bigger problem, even without counting the fortifications around their base. All under their exclusive command. If even one of them raised a weapon, they would be dead before they knew it. Why did she have to go and make that comment about the Omnissiah? They might have stayed out of it otherwise.

Stand down. All of you. There will be time for revenge later," she breathed into the vox. For now, they had to stay alive.

"It's fine, palatine." Sabrus sighed again. "How do I know you don't share the same… animosity?"

"That's the best part. You don't." The guardswoman winked as she dragged her along towards a waiting Chimera. "We're gonna be the best of friends, Miss Sabrus!"

Veridara sighed. There was nothing more she could do. "Do it."

In a fluid motion, Sabrus grabbed the woman's hand and threw her over her shoulder.

She skittered away like a toy, but recovered immediately, bionic claws digging gouges through the metal as she slowed to a stop. "Fiesty."

Around her there were more shouts as guardsmen raised their rifles.

"No shooting!" an NCO screamed somewhere in the crowd.

Immediately, they holstered the weapons and advanced with fists raised. Veridara steeled herself, but the soldiers mostly ignored her, heading instead for her sisters. They knew better than to attack commanding officers, at least.

One of the men rammed his shoulder straight into Sabrus' chestplate, knocking her to the ground, but she was back on her feet immediately, throwing a brutal punch to the side of his head. He raised his hand to block the blow, grunting with the effort. But he was successful. She saw artificial muscles stretching like steel cables under his skin. He rammed his head straight into Sabrus' forehead, sending her on the backfoot. The sound was of steel clashing with steel. Of course. Augmetics.

With their weapons drawn, they could have prevailed easily, but the Ferrite Guardians, backed by their Forge World, were almost their match when it came to a brawl. And there were more of them: at least two for every sister. They had been taught well too, to be able to keep pace with their skill. Despite her anger, she could not help but admire them.

One of the younger guardsmen ran at her, but she dodged and quickly dispatched him with a heavy-hitting elbow to the skull. "Are you lost, soldier?"

"No harm in trying, ma'am," he groaned as he got to his feet.

"Not yet, no. Run along now. The others won't be as forgiving."

"Yeah, no, I think I'll just… go lay down for a bit. I think you knocked a few cables out of alignment in there somewhere."

She could only nod in agreement as she watched him stagger over to a few medics waiting with their arms crossed across their chest.

Sabrus and her assailant were on the ground now, grappling each other. Occasionally, they found an opening to land a punch somewhere. Normally, that would not be a problem with power armour, but his augmented strength looked to be enough to at least leave bruises, because she was grunting with pain every time he landed a blow.

"Get… off… me!"

"Apologize… for… Nug… first!"

"No!"

Around them, the battle had mostly come to a standstill; most of the guardsmen were bleeding gray fluid from cuts and scrapes. A few sisters had lost bits of their armour, ranging from helmets to pauldrons, that now lay strewn across the battlefield. Another reason for the Techpriests to be angry.

"Alright, enough, all of you!" Sand shouted at the top of his lungs. Some of the junior officers darted forward to pull their men away, shouting orders and obscenities in equal measure. "I don't know what the fuck happened this time, but stow it!"

Veridara nodded to her officers as well, and the Sisters Superior began recalling their women, ordering them to find any armour they had lost. Nearby Enginseers muttered under their breath as they wandered over to help with repairs.

Sand walked up and pulled the last man off of Sabrus. "You need a greeting card with that order, soldier? Maybe a back massage?"

"Sorry, sir. She just wouldn't let go."

Sabrus jumped to her feet. "Well, I had to return some of these bruises."

The man jutted his jaw out. "You can throw a punch, sure, but don't think that's enough."

"The feeling is mutual."

"Alright, fall in." Sand shoved the soldier back to his comrades and stalked away without so much as a glance at Veridara.

Barely working together, and they were already at blows. But there was something different. The troops still resented each other, but there was something different in their eyes: a begrudging respect. They had tested each other's strength. Hierarchies had been established. Hopefully, there would be less trouble now.

"Sabrus, go with the girl."

"What? Why?"

"We all have to go somewhere anyway. If they're offering, you might as well take them up."

She sighed. "As you command, palatine."

The guardswoman walked over, nursing a bruise on her shoulder. "Uh, sorry, I guess. We got off on the wrong foot."

Sabrus crossed her arms over her chest. "An understatement. But since we're going to be stuck together anyway, might as well give each other a second chance now."

"Appreciate it. Maybe you're not that bad after all."

Veridara turned to the others. "Everyone else, get to the quartermasters. See what transports you're assigned, and report back to me! I want a full list, just in case."

They all murmured their acknowledgements as they dispersed. She took some time to wander over to Sand's vehicle, idly staring at the base fortifications without actually seeing anything. In the distance, Zeta-21 had his eyes closed in concentration, probably trying to establish a long-range comm link. The advance party. She wondered how they were doing. Hopefully better.