Battle-Brother Sergius of the Eighth Legion was an unremarkable Night Lord. He was the son of a prostitute who was made pregnant by a ganger who, of course, did not provide a single scrap for his child. Knowing she could not provide for her son; his mother gave him to one of the roaming recruitment parties that searched the remaining under-hives for potential astartes aspirants. He never knew the name of his mother.

After he passed the gene-seed compatibility tests, he was given to the legion of Konrad Curze and managed to survive the traditional trials to become a neophyte of the Night Lords. Next, he operated under the Legion's Tenth Formation as a scout before being given the full suite of twenty-four augmentic organs.

Until recently, he had been deployed to some of Terra's last remaining under-hives to root out the last vestiges of Old Night upon the Throne world, where he would have likely stayed had that damned Gate not appeared.

When the Sigillite had ordered the Chapter of Night Lords on Terra provide a squad of to the provisional company of Space Marines that would be sent as part of the newly formed Expeditionary Army Cataegis. The Chapter Master commanded that each member of the Chapter inscribed his name on a bone of a slain opponent, to be used to randomly select the ten legionaries that would have the dubious honor of being separated from the Legion on an indefinite basis until the compliance campaign for the planet on the other side was complete.

Either by "luck" or some sick joke made by the Changer of Ways, his name had been one of the unfortunates picked out of a thousand to be sent to fight on some backwater.

Now the unremarkable Night Lord Sergius found himself in the remarkable situation of being talked to and admired by an abhuman Elf girl, stared at with amazement by a young psyker and gawked at by a crowd of feudal worlders.

Fate had a terrible sense of humor, he inwardly grumbled.

Despite the ludicrous circumstances Sergius found himself in as a Night Lord, he had to ensure that the innocent were protected as decreed by his gene-father and the Emperor. Normally untrained psykers would not have been included in those he protected, but the Primarch Arik Taranis had ordered any local psykers not to be treated with any open hostility due to the strangely calm nature of the warp on this planet and the protective immaterial shroud that surrounded it.

Stepping towards the little female psyker he had just saved, he asked.

Battle-Brother Sergius: Are you alright.

The girl blinked rapidly for a moment before responding in a surprisingly monotone and calm voice.

Leila: Yes, thank you for saving me.

With the psyker safe he turned his attention to the injured child and then to the auxiliary.

Battle-Brother: Auxiliary, what is the condition of your charge.

The auxiliary was stunned for a second at being spoken to directly by a Space Marine but managed to respond.

This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

Private Emily Grace: Her injuries can be treated, but I'm afraid she won't be able to travel in her current state.

Battle-Brother Sergius: Load her into the Chimera then, inform the Lieutenant that this is my decision should she protest.

Sergius left when he was finished and continued to observe the locals as they prepared to leave, all of them giving him a wide berth and many discreetly staring at him.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The rest of the force were helping the villagers load their belongings and the remembrancer sketched the sights of Coda village. Meanwhile Minerva and Sergeant Felix were once again talking to one another.

Sergeant Juno Felix: Lieutenant, are you sure about this, we've already got command breathing down our necks, who knows what will happen to us when we get back after another stunt.

Minerva sighed, she understood her subordinate's concerns, but she couldn't just leave all these people to fend for themselves.

Minerva Antioch: I get it Felix, we're going to be in a load of hot water when we get back, but that was already the case when we went against orders to warn these people so we might as well help them now.

As Minerva ended her explanation, Private Grace came carrying a kid in her arms.

Private Emily Grace: Ma'am, this girl has a concussion and possibly bruised ribs, she can't travel with the rest of the caravan, one of the Night Lords told me to put her in the Chimera.

Minerva squinted at the girl, seeing her closed eyes and hearing her faint breathing she nodded.

Minerva Antioch: Alright, get her in and give her the medical attention she needs.

With a "Yes Ma'am" Private Grace rushed into the transport with the child. Sergeant Felix had a pensive expression as she watched the young local being placed into the vehicle. Noticing this, Minerva questioned.

Minerva Antioch: Something wrong?

Sergeant Felix curtly replied.

Sergeant Juno Felix: Just thinking that we've been breaking a whole lot of rules, Ma'am.

Minerva shrugged and answered.

Minerva Antioch: You want to go say no to an eight-foot-tall terror machine, be my guest, besides, since when have we Cthonians ever cared about rules?

Minerva chuckled at the second half of her remark.

Then Private Quinden approached and saluted before reporting.

Private Oracio Quinden: Ma'am, the Mayor says the caravan's ready to move out.

Nodding, Minerva ordered.

Minerva Antioch: Then let's move out.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Two Hours Later

The caravan had been traveling slowly, so slowly that the Dracosan and Testudo of Solar Auxilia and abhumans managed to catch up, following Minerva's orders to avoid entering the base. Many of the members of the Reconnaissance Detachment had taken to walking along with the caravan, partly to guard it and partly to make room in the transports that were now being used to move the injured and the elderly.

So far, the journey had been uneventful and as the age-old adage states, once there was no piss fear inducing combat action to survive, the primary enemy of a soldier was boredom. Minerva herself was stifling a yawn when Corporal Helvetii, who was on lookout duty, reported.

Corporal Aelius Helvetii: Uh, Lieutenant, you might want to see this.

Corporal Helvetii passed the magnoculars to her and she looked through them to see one of most confusing sights she had ever laid eyes on, if you were to ignore the rest of the nonsense the detachment had witnessed since leaving the sanity of Imperial (Imperium) controlled territory.

Minerva Antioch: What in the frakking Emperor's name is that.

Minerva muttered as she saw what could only be described as a juvey girl holding a halberd she had no right to lift considering her petite frame and wearing an outfit that wouldn't have looked out of place in a Slaaneshi cult.

Minerva Antioch: I seriously need a break after all this.

Minerva spoke not just her own feelings, but those of every member of Reconnaissance Detachment-3.

Comments would be appreciated