As I stand in this dark room, I can't help but notice that it is extremely similar to my pit back in commorragh. The difference being we are surrounded by thin, armored walls that lead to the void. Or maybe the webway? I don't know.

I can see perfectly well, and there is only one exit/entry, and its betweenmy legs. Oh, and the statement about standing was hyperbolic. I'm laying on my back as flat as I can. I barely fit.

Karros has some room between my legs that he's staying. He is just laying down facing the ceiling. Deciding to start a conversation, I start up a mind bridge.

"Well, a successful escape, if not a comfortable one. Well done Karros, and thank you. Now, we need a plan to escape this." I state.

I had some ideas about that. If we landed in imperial space, we immediately try to kill the crew and surrender to imperial authority. If it's tau, eldar, ork, or necron, we hide if possible, and kill everything if not.

I say as much to Karros, and he responds. "Not a bad plan overall. But what if they land on a planet? What if they simply hide in the void? There are too many options to ponder about and too little information. Let the outcome come, my friend." He says, not unkindly. He probably felt my uncertainty... Damn.

He is right, though. Worries for the future are worthless at the moment. sigh. But, u have an idea. I begin making a mental construct in the form of an old, familiar game.

Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

"Karros, would you care for a game?"

"Marines don't play games. You know this. I've told you this, in point of fact."

"Oh be reasonable. Here, look." I say, dragging his mind to the chess board.

"This is an ancient game we played back home. Chess, is a relatively simple game with difficult mechanics. Each piece has its own move sets, and your objective is to aquire the other players king. Come now, give it a go with me!" I beg.

He mentally gives me a look that makes me feel like a child, but does acquiesce. I begin to explain each piece and it's moves, and eventually, we play. It started off well, with me winning. Then, after about 27 games, he finally caught on to the momentum of the game, and things got far more difficult. I'm a rather good player, and Karros is giving me a run for my money.

_____________

I admit to having immense amounts of fun. I can feel Karros focused in on the game. After days of playing, we take our time between moves, trying to predict each other.

I got him last game, but he got an early lead, and destroyed my right flanks bishop and 3 pawns to my 2 pawns. I will need to play aggresive I think. I tend to play defensive, so a shake up of order might do my well. When the game is finished (I lost, narrowly), l slowly got up, minimizing noise, And stick my head and shoulders out of the hole. I use my sensors to scan the void for anything of note.

As I peer, I note we are in the void proper. There are no warp phenomena, as expected. But as I get 3/5ths around my turning circle, I see a planet. Even zoomed in to the max, it is difficult to differentiate this planet from its background. We head for it, from what I can tell.

I lower myself back down, and tell Karros of my findings. We discuss options, and finalize inaction. There is not enough information, and we can do nothing. So, we go back to our pass time. Chess.

I've begun teaching checkers, but we both agree chess is the favorite of us both.

_______________________