Persephone has been spaced out ever since they had her hija taken from her. Not that she doesn’t appreciate the new everything else (especially the new armor and guns). On the contrary, she was very thankful for almost all of the new items. It is just that she felt absolutely naked and weak without her melee weapon. The separation was… anxiety ridden, to say the least. She felt as if she had been stripped of what she is, and what she is capable of. She and her fellow Wisps are exiles from their own selves, now that they’ve lost their hijas. Then again, her mind is somewhere else because of that hallucinogenic plant leaves that that she bought at one point. Persephone has been re-wrapping and adding these things to her lho sticks and her muddled mind, as well as her cultural indoctrinations, made her more than happy to share it to her peers. Needless to say, it was a subjectively good high that may or may not be helping her objectively cope with reality. The rest of the Wisps were happy enough to let her be, though. They all understood what she was going through because they are going through it as well. Not to mention that they also would rather deal with a high and slightly incoherent person instead of a volatile one.

As she huffed and puffed on her new distraction, Taiel comes over and hands her a drink. “My treat,” he tells her almost apologetically, if not for the dopey grin on his face. Persephone responds with her own doped up grin and the two gave a toast for their new and totally unwelcomed existence. Marco hears the high-pitched clinking of their mugs and felt excluded. He decided to remedy this by literally scuttling over on all fours and taking a small rock to use as a mug before demanding for another toast that would include him. Taiel just shrugged, chuckled, and took his offer before Persephone was able to process what the hell just happened and what she just witnessed, before doing the same. The three, now unidentified, Wisps drank till they dropped around their own little campfire while the smoke of the drug escaped their lips and the smiles on their faces almost convinced them that everything was fine.

---

The very next day, all the Guardsmen were mobilized and ordered to board a frigate. The Wisps did not take the enclosed space as well as they expected themselves to be. It was odd, being in an enclosed space but not feeling safe at all. Supposedly, this is supposed to be like a safety fortress for them, sans being in the sky, but it was not. It felt… unstable, uncalculated, random. Dangerous.

Regardless of how they felt about it, they still boarded it and uneasily made themselves comfortable in their new beds. They also seemed to be sharing their space with a relatively unknown regiment as well. Not that they minded, they just hoped that the other guys won’t give them trouble, or hope to the Emperor that they are not some guys from the Penal Legion regardless of how farfetched that is.

Persephone had settled her few belongings underneath her cot that was adjacent to Marco’s own and she decided to take the cot nearer to a wall from preference. Taiel took the next next cot which was somewhat separate from the two and felt a little disappointed that their odd number therefore essentially excluded him.

”Can I not sleep with any of you?” Taiel asked in an almost meek tone. ”No,” responded Marco. ”You will try to slither under Persy’s blankets like the snake that you are, the burly man added. Taiel responded with a pout before trying to make a pathetic expression on his face in hopes of getting what he wants. ”But… Marco, I do not discriminate between sexes,” the wiry man said in a pleading tone. ”I just want to feel included. I feel so alone in this bed. So big… and so cold… Yours is warmer, more inviting. I would not mind sleeping next to you if Persy is not comfortable.”

At this point, Persephone could no longer hold back her tears and laughter and ended up bursting into a laughing fit that made her snort with every inhale, and curl to her stomach. After she had finally settled down, she sighs and smiles at the two who had been watching her with amused fascination for the past few minutes. ”All right you children. You can sleep together for all I care. I will be the adult here and take the loooonely cot,” Persephone states while she transfers her duffle bag of belongings underneath the next bed.

If one can read a situation like an accurate story, it would be that the two men who are fighting for the only woman’s attention had just equally lost. They both felt so defeated that they decided to sleep next to each other as Persephone had told them. It was another day of loss for the both of them. One could almost read their audible sighs as a “Well fuck. Guess I tried but that sucked.”

---

Hours passed since they’ve boarded and made themselves comfortable. The three Wisps’ somber expressions would seep through their smiles, if one looks close enough, as they attempt to mingle with the rest of their new company as a show of solidarity and willingness to cooperate. Persephone was, as expected, was high at this point. Thankfully, she was only high enough to have a mellower demeanor than her more base and volatile one. But eventually mingling can only do so much so the three of them regrouped and incidentally met with Ninke [@agentmanatee]. Persephone presented a baked grin to Ninke and approached her with an arm at a ready to give her a half-hug of sorts.

”NEW FRIEND!” Persephone bellowed as a greeting. ”I have been looking for youuuu~” she says in a sing-song manner while nuzzling her. ”Here have some happiness,” she says as she offers Ninke a drag on her modded lho stick. Regardless of whether or not Ninke takes it, she would continue to smile as they settle to their own little corner where they pretty much had another mini pot session where Persephone was mainly the one taking a drag for the most of them.

As the little nicotine stick turned sour for the lips, so did the topic that had been pursued. Ninke asked "…vhat exactly was the difference between your old knives und our new vons? Zese are quite nice..." It seemed that the Sergeant unintentionally opened a sore topic for the Wisps and their expressions turned visibly sour. In response, Persephone reached in one of her pockets and lit another modified lho stick, took a few deep and heartfelt drags, and smacked her lips before responding. ”These… ice picks are too small, to light, too… fragile. It’s also meaningless to us. It does not tell us what we are capable of. It cannot show what we have and can achieve. We do not know who these things are to us, and we are a stranger to it as it is to us. Therefore it cannot protect me. We now have less means of protection beyond the Emperor. Do you understand?”

Taiel and Marco nodded in agreement and left it at that for the time being. They couldn’t find it in themselves to berate an outsider of their culture because they’ve seen that they do not hold their weapons as highly as they usually would. It was an acceptable culture, but it is not one that they would like to partake in. For people like them that held their material culture close to their identity, it was almost unfathomable for someone to head into battle with a weapon that they cannot control or completely rely on. But, trying to become good natured and cohesive members of their new company, they let the offense slip, as it was fully unintentional. Instead, they went back to their initial jovial mood once Marco slipped a clearly horrible pun.

---

An assembly was called out a little later. Their large common area was slowly, but surely, being filled by multiple men, women, and abhumans. As it got crowded, Taiel continued to talk to his new acquaintances before he caught sight of a few familiar faces that he called out to his fellow Wisps when he met up with them. Some of these familiar faces would be that crazed militiaman that they had almost assassinated, the abhuman beast man that was definitely unique and therefore hard to forget, little Ninke, and the Cadian woman.

Eventually, a man by the name of Captain Rochus introduced themselves as the company’s new CO as well as a former Steel Legionnaire. The Wisps and their new found acquaintances shared a glance with each other and silently agreed that the man is more than capable to lead them, considering his old position. His smooth voice demanded respect so far, and they responded in kind through clapping by the end of his speech. Persephone at the very least expected that the event would end normally, that was, until they were told to head to the Colonel’s office by the end of the speech. The three shifted uneasily in their posts and waited for their dispersal. While they were interested in asking a few more things, they still could not help but think into the implications of being called into the Colonel’s office. The sudden call-out was definitely an effective sobering agent, and since they were not in the healthiest of emotional states from the loss of their hijas, the three could not help but think of negative outcomes. Persephone herself took a deep breath before heading out of the crowd, leading the two other men in tow with her.

Upon arriving in the Colonel's office [@Jbcool], the three Wisps gave him an aquilla all the while avoiding eye contact and also hiding their worried feelings from surfacing on their face.

"Permission to speak, Sir?" Persephone asked in a concerned tone.

@Hank@Rultaos@NecroKnight@Dannyrulx@agentmanatee@Jbcool@Bright_Ops@Andreyich

Normally, Ninke wasn't a big smoker, she thought Lho sticks largely tasted bad and didn't understand why so many people seemed to like them so much. On the other hand, Persephone was one of the few people Ninke wanted to become a good friend too, seeing as most of her's were lost on Vernum, and being offered the lho stick she decided to make an exception. She was surprised when she located Persephone on the frigate at how happy she and the other wisps seemed, smiling and giggling... and nuzzling against Ninke who lalughed a bit nervously. She smiled and took thee Lho stick offered, unaware of its 'modified' nature, and took a decent drag on it. She coughed a bit, tiny squeaking coughs from being unused to smoking, but smiled and determined she would get over it. She was happy to join them in their littlle corner of D company, laughing and sitting with them.

She listened intently to what Persephone had to say about their new knives. It was very odd, she almost talked about the long steel objects like they were people, something precious... and their old knives being gone took something away. Maybe they were like her saint necklace? She thought about the silver necklace beneath her fatigues as she smoked a lot easier now with the the wisps. She was about to respond when the new CO called his little assembly, she quickly got up, nodded and said she'd speak with them later again. As she had run to the front of the line... surely it was nothing.

---

It was something. As she finished her question Ninke started to feel... different was a word... happy was another one. She ever so slightly swayed on her feet as a smile began to grow on her lips... D company was very nice and the new CO seemed good. She giggled that he was still in steel legion fatigues, and looked like a fish out of water. When she heard the Wisps called to the colonels office, she nervously looked to Persphone and gave an encouraging smile as best she get as the drugs began to take effect, itprobably came off as more dumb than encouraging. Regardless, she hoped she wasn't losing her newfound friend already...

Sergeant Ninke was visibly taken by surprise by the new arrival of the beastman, much like Marcus, but managed to stammer out a response asking for the soldier’s name.

"My name is Khaz. What is yours?" The beastman responded. Marcus thought it was an odd name, but then again, if he came from a planet of abhumans then odd customs were to be expected.

Ninke stammered out a response. "Ehm... I am N-ninke Ingran, uh Sergeant Ninke Ingran. P-pleasure to meet you" She said. Marcus decided to introduce himself as well, since he had greeted the beastman too, it was only polite. {color=darkgoldenrod]"Err... My name's Marcus Gruber. But my friends call me Mudfish."[/color] He said.

Before their conversations could get anywhere though, Marcus heard Dace’s voice shout from further away in the crowd. “Hey Mudfish! Come on, our transports are loading up! Or would you rather stay in this shithole of a planet?!” He cried. “Alright, cool your promethium! I’m coming! Tell Bertie not to leave without me!” Marcus shouted back, before turning back to the others.

“Well lads, see you in orbit!” Marcus said as he waved goodbye at the strange group he had gathered alongside with.

---

On board their Regiment’s frigate called The Castellan it had not taken long for Marcus to organize his items and equipment underneath his cot. He then got up from his kneeling position in order to take in the area around him.. The 87th Combined Regiment's living quarters was so large it took an entire deck of the ship, and yet it was clear that all that space was necessary to fit in the men, women, and abhumans that composed their combined Company and Regiment. The deck also housed a mess hall with several tables, and a shooting range on one of the walls.

Marcus' cot was in between the area his old squadmates occupied. On his left was a cot that belonged to Bertolt, and on his right was the one of the beds owned by those strange Deathworlders who called themselves the 3rd Wisps of Settler’s Bane. Being the 3rd Regiment either meant they were really good at what they did, or their planet didn’t have that much to give (the name made the latter more likely as well). Hell, it could even be both… Marcus mused. They seem occupied however, so Marcus decided to get to know them better later. Though he was amused over how the female of their group basically coerced the men into sharing a bed, despite their visible misgivings. He decided to pass time productively by getting used to his new Lasgun, so he took it to the shooting range for some test firing.

Walking through the thick crowd of gray Guardsmen, he noticed several of them passing time through gambling and other card games. While the beastman who introduced himself as "Khaz" was playing what appeared to be some strange board game using wooden tokens and a die. Is that some kind of local variation of Regicide...? Marcus wondered. Though he didn't get a clear look as to how their game played out. He arrived fairly quickly at the shooting range where several men and women were firing at the stationary targets.

Seems like I'm not the only one who's not used to our new weapons Marcus thought. He took up an empty slot, quickly loaded his Lasgun, took aim, and pulled the trigger.

@mackielars@Bright_Ops

---

It was not long after their company had settled in, that a booming, yet smooth baritone voice called out to all the Guardsmen. He called himself Captain Rochus, and said that he was assuming command of the company instead of Captain Weiss being their head. Marcus had managed to adjust somewhat to the recoil and rate of fire of the Kantrael-pattern Lasgun, but stopped his practice short in case all the Guardsmen were expected to stand at attention for every word their new CO uttered. After he had finished speaking, Marcus and his old squadmates clapped their hands in response. Obviously the part of being the “most formidable mechanized formation this side of Holy Terra” was all talk, but at least it showed that their new CO had spirit and determination. Not to mention he’s from the Armageddon Steel Legions? We couldn’t have picked a better commander for a Mechanized Infantry unit Marcus thought, remembering the feats of skill and heroism he heard about Armageddon’s regiments, especially during the battles against Warboss Ghazgkull.

He was surprised to hear that the Wisps were being called up to the Colonel’s office however, and hoped that they weren’t too high off their asses yet from the lho sticks. The captain then asked them to field questions towards him, if there were any.

Khaz, the beastman was the first to ask, and was straight to the point ”When are we getting to where we're going and what's the best way to kill what we're fighting when we get there?” He asked.

Ninke was the next to ask one, struggling to be heard over the mumbling and talking among the crowd. ” Ehm... v-vhat huppened too Captain Weiss? Und... ehm vill our positons be avvected by the change in leadership?” She asked, clearly concerned to know whether she was still a sergeant or not.

@agentmanatee

Third, the feline abhuman Meris asked a question. ”Captain, can we expect less chances of friendly fire happening to us” She asked. Marcus could not tell whether it was a legitimate question, or a passive aggressive voicing of her concerns due to past experiences. In any case, he hoped they did not have any racist officers who would let such a thing happen. They were short-staffed as it is (being a combined regiment) and additional losses would be tantamount to betrayal against the God Emperor and The Imperium.

@NecroKnight

Marcus decided to ask his own question after Meris finished hers. He moved closer to the Captain, pushing slightly through the crowd before voicing his question. ”Sir! How will we divide the roles in the Company? How will we be divided into support units, shock troopers, or standard infantry detail?” Marcus shouted over the crowd. It seemed important enough to ask, being a combined regiment, not a single Guardsman had a clear role yet. They performed no training drills together yet, nor any teachings of uniform combat doctrines. Everyone would still be used to their old regiment’s style of combat, and he wondered how all those different combat tactics would be assigned and combined in the 87th.

@Dannyrulx

Laughing to himself over the concerns of friendly-fire the ex-Frateris he turned to his side no doubt giving a good shove to the girl who came to taunt him with her flamer, thinking he had accidentally pushed one of the men behind him. John then muttered an apology to him shifting a little to his right. However since he found nothing in his immediate field of view (worsened by his improperly worn gas-mask, half-awake state and concentration on displaying his new gun) he thus found nothing of interest, and turned back to the beastman with the display of his new weapon. The heavy weapons man just wanted him to know he would have much more trouble taking this one, and to get a look at it's pristine state making it much more dangerous.

He ripped off his gas-mask when he saw the fools who were taking non-combat oriented drugs. He growled at the sight of these vile self-indulgent wretches. People dared criticise him for his blood-lust, when they fell into the traps of the dark master of excess? Truly, Guardsmen were men women and abhumans of great hypocrisy. He would absent-mindedly growl, his focus now dropped off of his childish display and on this source of disgust. He breathed in and out, arms rising up and down, his mask dangling beside his left knee.

Slowly the red began to drain from his face, as he looked on the bright-side. He was not in the Militia anymore, and while the mob-rule (and the mob he liked) was gone, his newfound position as a heavy weapons specialist would mean that he would be behind the other bastards, that they would be sent for the bayonet charges and he would be in relative security, having no bayonet and thus providing cover with his big gun. His mixed feelings left a lot to think about, so he simply stood to attention putting his mask back on, still unaware of the pyrotechnics expert.

Time: 7:45 PM, Location: Deck-Barracks 792, aboard the Transport Frigate 'Castellan' - ETA til transition to the warp 1 hour

"When are we getting to where we're going and what's the best way to kill what we're fighting when we get there?"

"Ehm... v-vhat huppened too Captain Weiss? Und... ehm vill our positons be avvected by the change in leadership?"

"Captain, can we expect less chances of friendly fire happening to us?"

"Sir! How will we divide the roles in the Company? How will we be divided into support units, shock troopers, or standard infantry detail?”

The questions came swiftly and, in most cases, precisely from the ranks of the assembled company - and it would have come as no surprise that the Captain expected nothing less from a formation crafted from the remains of many different regiments, whether they were Abhuman or fanatic, veteran or greenhorn. After mulling over each question, pausing to allow them all to be shouted or spoken at him, he slipped a data-slate from one of the many pockets placed on his trenchcoat and ran a leather clad thumb over the flickering screen and the Gothic runes before him. He decided that he would answer each question in turn, but as one.

"If those are all the questions," he began as he eyed up each of those that had spoken, waiting for the Wisps to make their way out of the assemblage and toward the Colonel's office, "then allow me now to reply."
Taking a moment to compose himself once more, he cleared his throat and continued in the smooth tone he had been using, lifting a hand momentarily to put a stop to any clapping that was still going on.

"By our best estimates we shall be reaching Warzone Alpha-Zeta-Twelve in just under three weeks of warp travel, of course the immaterium is a notoriously tricky thing and accidents have happened before." His eyes moved leisurely from the goat-man, something he did not really have any personal thoughts on one way or another, to the recently promoted 'Sergeant Ninke', "Captain Weiss is no longer in command, I am. That is all you need to know. As for your promotion...Ingran, Ninke, former vox officer...command has something special planned for you. Attend me after this meeting is dismissed for further orders."

One eyebrow raised itself up a little as the Felinid spoke, the large legionnaire picking out the lithe figure from the masses with a steely glare, "that is a question not befitting a Guardsman, and would be better addressed to your company commissariet," he intoned with a gesture to Kata and Ishmael flanking him on either side but otherwise unmoving, "and there will be no more such questions asked of myself or any other ranking officer, I hope you understand." It was not a question.

The last question was probably the most poignant in terms of what the future was for the regiment, and the Captain thought it over for a minute or two more before replying.

"Each company is to be split into platoons beneath a Lieutenant, in turn these platoons will be further divided into ten-man squads and each assigned a Chimera APC, each squad being home to two NCOs, a weapons specialist, and heavy weapons operator. The Helheim are also being split down further, for use as trackers, sappers and experts in irregular warfare. Yes, one of these Abhumans will be going with each squad, so if that doesn't appeal to anyone then that's too bad. The APCs will be crewed by their own crews, we and the rest of the companies will be used as mechanised infantry formations, fighting as such and in the manner of standard infantry - those with specialist training, such as vox technicians, heavy weapons training and the like will be spread between the squads as evenly as possible."

Having answered all the questions to his satisfaction at least, Captain Rochus got down from where he stood with a shout of "dis-missed!", making his way through mass of murmuring and chattering Guard until he found Ninke.

Leaning in close, easily towering over her, it was obvious just what damage his face had sustained and it was not pretty.

"Vox operator Ingran, you are hereby appointed as acting Sergeant; from here it is up to you to gather together a suitable squad of your own choosing, and requisition one of the regiments Chimera," one finger was thrust toward the other side of the deck, quite a walk away, where the Chimera armoured transports were being attended to by their crew and mechanics, "and one more thing..." now he leant in so close that his breath was hot on her face, "if I ever smell narcotics on you again, I will eject you from service so fast that you won't even realise it until its far too late. Now get out of my sight."

Some feet away, Junior-Commissar Sigrun watched the slightly enraged officer walk back toward the staircase, climb it with heavy footfalls, and enter his office just down the gangway from that of their regimental CO. Her eyes staying on Ninke for a moment before, with an adjustment of her peaked cap and a slight tapping of one finger on the butt of her bolt pistol, he smoothly turned on her heal and began what would be an inspection of the entire company.

---

"Permission to speak, Sir?"

Narrowing his eyes, the Tallarn warrior looked down his hooked nose at the assembled Wisps with a tut of displeasure, "you all look like a damned disgrace to your uniforms, and this does nothing to please me, but if you wish to speak then you have my permission do so."

His gaze could not have been more piercing if he tried, a hard, cold stare that said I see right through you... and was received from a man who could very well back it up by his words and actions.

@Bright_Ops@Hank@mackielars@Rultaos@Andreyich@NecroKnight@Dannyrulx@agentmanatee

@Jbcool
Upon realizing what she possibly might have done, Persephone takes a small intake of air and immediately looked somewhere where she could avoid her Colonel’s gaze. She is being fairly fidgety despite her supposed calm and laidback demeanor that she had before some events unfolded. Her two companions are also showing signs of distress, but the skinnier man seems to hide it better than the other.

“S-sir,” she said with a small stutter, “if this was about the smoking, we can surrender it, sir.”

The two men behind her glanced at each other as a comment to Persephone’s fairly awkward statement. They would like to ask something else entirely but kept mum. What followed after Persephone's voice was a tense and awkward silence.

@mackielars

"You will surrender it as soon as you leave my office," grunted the CO with a sigh, lifting himself forward in his chair and leaning his elbows on the desk separating him from the three Wisps, his eyes moving between each of them even as one of his hands moved to lift a Hija almost from nowhere. Slowly he studied it, knowing it could be any one of theirs, placing it gently down on the desk top and staring at them once more.

"Now, was there anything else you wished to ask before I begin?"

Ninke listened as intently as she could with each of his answers... not knowing what they were going in to fight was certainly not helpful or calming... but it was when he addressed her that Ninke's blood ran cold. 'Something special planned for me? By command?! What does this mean... what am I going to be made to do?!', her mind raced, not hearing most of the rest of his answers, picking up only snippets until he had dismissed the company. She stood ad bolt upright as was possible as the man menacingly approached her. Her fingers trembled somewhat as he stood so close to her... what had been in that lho stick?! She gulped as he addressed her.

"Vox operator Ingran, you are hereby appointed as acting Sergeant; from here it is up to you to gather together a suitable squad of your own choosing, and requisition one of the regiments Chimera, and one more thing..." now he leant in so close that his breath was hot on her face, "if I ever smell narcotics on you again, I will eject you from service so fast that you won't even realise it until its far too late. Now get out of my sight."

Ninke fired off the aquilla faster than she thought was possible, and gave her shaky but dtermined response.

"Y-yes Sir!", and quickly about faced and started marching towards the chimera as fast as one could march.

'A Sergeant?! A real Sergeant?! They are going to give me a squad?! Why?!', Ninke's mind raced as she marched towards the Chimera, making it clear to anyone who saw her she was on some sort of mission... or at least thought she was... 'Narcotics?! I am going to... Persephone! Erggh...', she wiped her face with her slave as she thought about the way Persephone and the wisps had acted... and smiled, she had found her first squad members... she couldn't help but give a small laugh at that. But she would need a full squad... who else was there? Well... as much as it burned in her heart to admit it she was going to be required to take a beastman... and at least she had been introduced to Khaz... so she shivered and decided to take him as well. Then there was the felinid... a medic was to useful to not have... hopefully she wasn't still mad at Ninke. She would need someone with heavy or special weapons... there was that militia brute who had been waving his heavy stubber about, so there was a special weapon. She could always grab Ericson who she knew was yet to be assigned a squad... She needed two more... She'd handle it later.

Once she arrived at the chimera's she quickly set about finding one that wasn't already claimed for other squads. She eventually found one.

---

Bertolt sat atop his new urban-camo pattern Chimera, listening to the speech given by their new commanding officer. Their Chimera was situated at the edge of the vehicle line, just ahead of them was clear space leading to the cots of the Regiment, and the firing range was not too far ahead, while the rest of the regiment’s vehicles stood motionless behind them, being taken care of by crews of various different planets, each adding their own personal touch and calibrations to the vehicles to make them handle easier and more efficiently for their driver. Bertolt did not feel the need to make any significant changes to his, since he was used to the common Mars-Pattern Chimera, but he preferred it if the vehicle could respond to turns and commands on a whim, and to that end he and the crew composed of amateur Armageddon Steel Legion technicians (who had only been promoted above conscript after the Vernum Crusade) made sure that the guns turned smoothly, the brakes and accelerators were responsive, and the turning did not have any delay. He applauded Rochus as the captain finished, and listened intently as questions were asked by D-Company. One of which was even asked by Marcus. After they had all been sufficiently answered, he turned back to his work of inspecting the Chimera’s Multi-Laser and mounted Heavy Stubber. It was in surprisingly good condition.

“How’s the main engine looking, Valerie?” Bertolt asked the crew’s female technician. “Cleaner than a cathedral on Holy Terra. I hope the guns are looking just as good?” She replied. “Aye, she’s spinning smoothly.” Bertolt answered. A gruff voice called out from inside the vehicle. “Same can be said for the Lasgun firing ports. A baby Cadian could handle them easily!” The male voice shouted. “Good to hear, Leo. Now whoever gets assigned as our Chimera’s squad commander can’t shout at us for being lazy sods.” Bertolt replied.

The Chimera crew was composed of himself, who acted as the driver and secondary vehicle commander if needed, Valerie Warwick who acted as their main repairman and substitute gunner for the Chimera’s Multi-Laser, and Leonard Jarrus who acted as the main gunner who would alternate between handling the Multi-Laser and Heavy Stubber as needed (Valerie would take control of whichever gun he wasn’t using).

Soon, their vehicle was approached by the same blonde girl whom Bertolt had seen during the bonfire night, while he was drinking his worries away with the rest of his old squad. Looking at her shoulder however, he saw that she was a Sergeant. Not only was she a superior, but she was also heading straight for the Chimera and stopped right before it. He quickly understood what she may be there for and jumped off the vehicle to give her a salute.

“Corporal Bertolt Taggart at your service, sir! Are you our crew’s assigned commander?” Bertolt said, without lowering his salute.

Ninke stood upright, inspecting the Chimera before turning to face its driver, ""Indeed. You vill carry my unit into battle. I am Sergeant Ninke Ingran, I hope you can keep us alive Corporal.", with that, she gave a curt salute, and made her way back towards the main area.

---

Good... with that done Ninke turned on her heel and made her way back to the company proper. She started thinnking... she was going to need to increase her excercise regimen in the following weeks, get her Chainsword issued to her, go over the primer about a hundred times... she sighed this was not going to be easy... luckily, she had received NCO training on Hirisit, so at least she wasn't totally green. She stopped by the quartermaster for a list of unassigned Guardsmen before making her way to the company proper.

Her mind drifted to why she had been made a Sergeant... she remembered the breach, how when she had stareted running to it with the commissars gun mean had fallen in behind her... she remembered putting a plasma round into the back of a fleeing man. Had that report reached someone? She decided it wasn't important, and made her way amongst the military cots. She stood up on an empty one and cleared her throat... before doing something she was sure she was going to be doing alot of from now on, and shouted quite loudly and angrily to the Guardsmen intent on being heard.

"Attention! Ze following Guardsmen are to report to me immediately as thair new NCO! Private Meris Fixun! Abhuman Khaz! Private Persephone Ignatz and all other former members of the 3rd Wisps light infantry! Private John Cecil Feeney! Private Marcus Gruber! Und private Ericsson Marshal!"

She stood, waiting for those she had called to stand before her... she had to admit this felt a bit exciting if nothing else... she was a proper sergeant now.

(@Bright_Ops@mackielars@Rultaos@Andreyich@NecroKnight)

@agentmanatee

The felinid Meris was the first to arrive there, namely because she hadn't gone any further or away at that - and the reply she had gotten from her CC, didn't stroke her flames of loyalty much at that. He thought it was in the realm of 'speak to Commissar' - well it wasn't much funny, when you were on the receiving end of a Manticore barrage.

As such, Meris Fixun soon arrived before Sergeant Ninke - standing in-formation and giving the Aquilla to her. Having her usual dull look on her, albeit it was hard to say whether it was because of her dislike of Ninke or the usual bad-mouthed treatment she had gotten from just the Company Commander. "Corporal Meris Fixun, Corpsman, reporting for duty, ma'am!" said Meris, punctuating on her rank and in an 'respectful' way indicating to her new NCO that she had already, messed up - by pronouncing Fixun' rank wrong.

It was the one thing, she could hold over some of the humans - they all liked to mess around with abhumans - but the Imperial Guard rank was still something, that Meris Fixun wasn't about to let them sell short of. This would be an interesting campaign - working with an NCO, whom already had displayed emotional outbursts, a lack of tact and some other personal demons.

So, it seemed like the newly minted sergeant had been assigned a squad. She checked the roster next to her and saw that they would be under the same command, before striding next to the young woman and calling out her own role call:

"May I have your attention again please! Would the following guardsmen please report to me! Lexandro Caldwin, Vincent McDowell, Rena Galbraith, Heavy Weapons Specialists Johnson and Jude Falexin and Vox-Specialist Jacinto Machradium" Furthermore, can a total of ten conscripts please report to this squad, as well as the following guardsmen:...

She continued listing off names of soldiers, until the group had fully assembled. Her old squad stood at the front of the group, stern faced and ready, followed by the four others set to be reinforcements for the depleted company; all Cadian veterans from the campaign on Verdus Prime, with one of them having narrowly failed Karskin training. The conscripts stood behind the main squad, and she breifly wondered if high command valued their lives more than their gear, or were both of them simply expendable objects to be used for their campaigns.

She turned her head to the younger woman, her bionc eye automatically adjusting for her closeness, and she smiled widely. "Congratulations on your new command. Seems like we're under the same banner for now... Speaking of which, I assume you haven't received a banner?" As she said this she pointedly adjusted the heavy flamer tank to shift the standard across, the Aquila glinting slightly as it did so. @Agentmanatee

With his question answered, Khaz really didn't have much more personal interest in what their new 'Commanding Officer' had to say through he paid attention none the less. After all, if he was being put in command then clearly he was a servant of the Emperor and deserved that much respect at least... that and he didn't exactly have a whole lot to do for the next three weeks so it helped fill in the time a little. He intentionally ignored the idiot that had gotten a new weapon to replace the one he had taken from him; The bullheaded moron wasn't more important then the one the Emperor had chosen to lead them after all.

With the dismissal, Khaz started to head back to the Helheim area with his head held high. While they might have been few in number, it was nice to be acknowledged... However, that question about 'Friendly Fire' had made him consider making it somewhat harder for a loyal servant of the Emperor to 'mistakenly' shoot him. At least he had the time to think about it...

"Attention! Ze following Guardsmen are to report to me immediately as thair new NCO! Private Meris Fixun! Abhuman Khaz! Private Persephone Ignatz and all other former members of the 3rd Wisps light infantry! Private John Cecil Feeney! Private Marcus Gruber! Und private Ericsson Marshal!"

With his ears twitching, Khaz turned towards the source of the shouting. Since his name had been one of those called, he snorted through his nose before he started to jog over to where he had been called; No point in making it appear like he was dragging his hooves after all. Not for the people he would soon be fighting and earning glory with!

While he wasn't the first to arrive, he had at least been among the first arrivals. Coming to a stop, he glanced around at those present before nodding his head and simply saying "Hello." There wasn't anything else to say at the moment.

@Dannyrulx@NecroKnight@agentmanatee@Jbcool

@agentmanatee
John groaned upon hearing his name called, and especially upon seeing the filth that responded to the other names called. Well, at least as part of the same squad he would have them all in his line of fire if he needed it. Yes, that was comforting to him. Putting his gas-mask back on and lifitng his heavy stubber over his shoulder with an Oof he walked over to his new officer.

When he finally arrived he muttered under his breath before presenting arms and giong for a perfect textbook salute, even clicking his heels together. "John Cecil Feeney, reporting for duty Sah! Err... ma'am. Orders?" he said, blushing behind his gasmask a little embarrassed about his initial enthusiasm and then the collapse that followed. He did not give his rank either as he was not sure how high or low he was in the Guard hierarchy, apart from "the nasty sod what with the big fucking gun."

He stood to attention perfectly, not taking a single breath (thus making his face redden a little). His eyes darted left and right to the rather informal and motley lot assembled. He felt a bit odd being the only one who saluted and stood to attention. He supposed that sub, or her abhumans were not expected to do such a thing them being Auxiliary and all. Still, it would be nice if they at least tried to get some formality.

(@Jbcool)

Persephone's eyes widened when she saw her Hija. Her hand twitched and her body instinctively moved towards the weapon but had stopped midway. Shew stared longingly at it, almost pleading, for it to be handed to her again.

"If it would not be too much, Sir," she shakily started, "may I... have that weapon on your hand?" Maybe speaking out was a mistake, maybe it wasn't. But she looked up to her Colonel, eyes wide and somber. Her eyes, though red, seems to be dampening. But one cannot be too sure. After all, they had just smoked something questionable.

On the other hand, the men behind her seemed wary. Their eyes busy themselves by looking around the room in hopes that they could take a glimpse of their own weapons.

(@mackielars)

"By all means," remarked the CO, sliding it forward over the relatively empty desk, eyeing the trio warily, "what I need for this regiment is something unifying. Of course you all already wear the same uniforms, are equipped in a similar fashion, but there might need to be something else."

As if it were second nature, which it likely was to the veteran soldier, he slid the curved Khalig knife from it's sheath and held it up to them. It was truly a thing of beauty, expertly made, the hilt inlaid with cruciform markings and gold edging - the personal weapon of a Tallarn warrior, and used by the Colonel for the first time when he was only twelve years old.

"What I want is for your weapon, this...Hija...to become a symbol of the regiment, each man and women to be issued one in lieu of their standard Cadian knife. Therefore, I would require you to give the specifications of how it is made and the composition of materials to me, and I shall then hand them to the Quartermaster and so on."

He watched them for some time more, gauging them and their responses to his notion - a notion that for all he knew could go against some custom or tradition concerning their own knives - before opening his arms wide, "what say you to that, Wisps?"

With his question sufficiently answered, Marcus nodded his head in acknowledgement towards their new CO. He figured it was a good an answer as any: they would all be divided into multi-purpose squads with each trooper bringing something to the table. Marcus figured that it would allow for them greater independence on the field, instead of having to rely on other squads who specialized in what they needed to get done.

Apparently, his question was the last one that had been asked, and Captain Rochus had them all dismissed afterwards. "The commander doesn't seem half bad. At least he seems like someone you can rely on in the thick of battle" Marcus thought. As the Guardsmen dispersed, he decided to head back to the firing range, since he had little else to do. "Might as well make sure that my aim with this thing isn't sloppy. Wouldn't want to get shot by the Commissars for incompetence" He mused.

---

Marcus lined up the shot on another stationary target, trying to aim for the weak points as designated by his Uplifting Primer (though he wasn't sure whether those "Weak points" really had an effect). Just before he pulled the trigger, a loud and familiar voice was shouted through the deck.

"Attention! Ze following Guardsmen are to report to me immediately as thair new NCO! Private Meris Fixun! Abhuman Khaz! Private Persephone Ignatz and all other former members of the 3rd Wisps light infantry! Private John Cecil Feeney! Private Marcus Gruber! Und private Ericsson Marshal!"

The sudden loud calling of his name caused his aim to twitch, and he ended up firing a burst of rounds into the nearby wall, leaving another set of scorch marks to commemorate the Whiteshields who couldn't hit a stationary target to save their life.

Sighing in disappointment, he decided to answer the summons immediately, he remembered that the voice belonged to their new Sergeant after all.

Making his way through the scattered ranks of Guardsmen and occasional Abhumans, he reached the edge of the Chimera vehicle lines. He caught sight of Bertolt's Chimera "Lucky Lucy" nearby. The group that had gathered was definitely a familiar one, if the names were anything to go by. Both of the abhumans were already there (Meris and Khaz), Angelika had assembled with a full squad of Cadian troopers from her Regiment, and the lunatic with the Heavy Stubber was there too. "Oh great, I get to work with this guy, of all people? I hope he knows the meaning of 'recoil-compensation' when there are friendlies in front of him... Marcus thought as he moved closer towards Sergeant Ingran.

"Private Marcus Gruber, grenade and close-quarters specialist, at your service, sir!" He said loudly as he saluted, keeping his stance until told to be at ease.

@Bright_Ops @agentmanatee @Dannyrulx @NecroKnight @Andreyich

(@Jbcool)

Persephone shakily, but happily took the knife from the desk when it neared her. She was overwhelmed with emotions at that time, but her face flushed face and watery eyes said it all. Then the CO spoke about something unifying for their regiment before pulling out their own weapon. Persephone and her (now antsy) colleagues' eyes followed the glinting metallic knife as it was taken out of its sheath. Persephone in particular noted just how detailed and beautiful the knife was as she clutched and stroked her own machete as if it was her own child.

The knife was definitely unlike theirs, but she believes that it was as important to the Colonel as her Hija is to her. After all, the man pulled it out with such familiarity and care that it seemed so natural for it to be in his hand.

"What I want is for your weapon, this...Hija...to become a symbol of the regiment, each man and women to be issued one in lieu of their standard Cadian knife. Therefore, I would require you to give the specifications of how it is made and the composition of materials to me, and I shall then hand them to the Quartermaster and so on."

The CO’s words made her pause. He had just asked them to hand their secret that it made her uncomfortable. The other men looked as equally as uncomfortable as she is and they seemed hesitant to answer.

”Sir, this is quite an order. May we be allowed to talk to each other for this first? And… may we ask if the other Hijas can also be retrieved, sir?” Persephone asked cautiously while gesturing to her equally uneasy companions.

”Sir, this is quite an order. May we be allowed to talk to each other for this first? And… may we ask if the other Hijas can also be retrieved, sir?” Persephone asked cautiously while gesturing to her equally uneasy companions.

"Take all the time you need," replied the Colonel, replacing his own dagger gently, "we will be dropping out of warp soon, so I suggest you do it quick - you have a week at most."

That was all he really had to say, making the sign of the Aquila in salute and gesturing to the doorway, "come and find me when you're ready, but do not keep me waiting."

(@Jbcool)

Unsurprisingly, Persephone was met with a solid “no” with her question, and that was that. The three responded with an Aquila before placing all of the modified lho sticks on their Colonel’s table, and shuffling out of the door with heavy hearts and equally heavy footsteps.

As soon as they were more than far enough from their Colonel’s office, Marco immediately let out a loud groan and Taiel had finally stopped grinding his teeth enough to let out a sigh. Both were seething since they were not even allowed to see their own Hijas.

“WHY WOULD DO WE NEED TO GIVE IT TO HIM?!” growled Marco.

“Because we need our Hijas back.” responded the equally unhappy Taiel.

”...It is not like they have some of what they need here.”

“They don’t. But it’s just reinforcement anyway. It can hold without adding anything else to it. It can be explained to them.”

Persephone kept holding on to her Hija’s hilt as she caressed it with her thumb. It was comforting to have, and it made her feel all the more herself, but her companions’ anger kept her from fully feeling good about getting her weapon back.

“This means that… we don’t have a choice, right?”

No, we don’t, said Taiel between gritted teeth. This made Marco let out more growls that did eventually end with a barely audible whimper. “The Hijas mean nothing to these strangers!” Marco closed his eyes shut as his body shook with tension. ”I know. I know…” said Persephone with a sympathetic tone.

The night passed, yet neither of them found solace through rest. Marco opted to stay up reproducing his notes for the basic Hija just so he could hand it to their Colonel as soon as possible. He had found himself in a state of numbness throughout the night, body unwilling to provide their secrets but if it would get his Hija back, he thought that it would be worth the burden.

As their sense of morn came, so did the sense of hollowness. They were very hesitant to hand in the information, despite knowing that their Hijas were not exactly the best nor most unique item in the Imperium. They are hesitant because they find it horrifying and disgraceful to have empty and meaningless Hijas in the hands of men that may never find it more valuable than the common mono-knife. With those thoughts in mind, the three stayed mostly silent throughout the morning. The air around them reflected their somber moods at the time. They could still choose not to hand it in, but the prospect of only having half of their identity weighs heavily in their minds and hearts. It was only when Persephone asked if they wanted to go through it now did they finally decide.

They decided to take the uneasy trek towards their Colonel’s office.

The door looked surprisingly more daunting than the last time they went there. Marco was the one leading the trio at the time, as it was his choice (and Taiel’s) if the Hija schematics would be handed to their CO.

After taking a moment to breathe, Marco knocked in the Colonel’s door. The Wisps waited with bated breath until they were finally allowed inside. They greeted their CO and saluted, before one of them spoke out.

“Sir, what are your terms of exchange for the remaining Hijas?” asked the lankier man, Taiel. Marco, ever so eager, took out his reproductions of his forging notes and placed it on the table. "Here's the schematics and requirements for the Hijas, Sir." The bulkier Wisp's action made Taiel shake his head in disappointment before taking a step back to give Marco the limelight. The burly man then continued to converse with the Colonel, suggesting some alternatives to add to the machete's alloy to strengthen and reinforce it to virtually match their own Hijas.

Khaz looked around quietly at the various people that were arriving after him... through he snorted with an unamused look on his face when John turned up. He didn't really understand why humans seemed so set on standing funny and making weird hand gestures to those who were in charge, but to each their own...

Deciding to try and ignore the bull headed idiot for the time being, Khaz sighed as he looked away and made the decision to try and break the awkward silence a little. "So... What was your grandest greenskin kill? It was an open question, but the answer would be very telling about the different combat styles of those around him and how they interpreted greatness and valor in combat.

@Andreyich@Dannyrulx@NecroKnight@agentmanatee@Jbcool@Rultaos

(@mackielars)

He understood that it must have been hard for them, may even have broken them in some way or another, but he genuinely believed that what they had done today would benefit the regiment at large. If not in actuality, then at least psychologically, giving them the same sense of unity - he hoped to the God Emperor - that his own dagger gave him.

"Here," he said with a flurry of movement, the remaining two knives placed with due reverence on the desk before them, "they are your own to take."

After listening to Marco for a moment, nodding his head at the relevant points, he smiled and thanked them both.

"I understand how hard this must have been for all of you, and believe me when I tell you that I know how it feels," once more he tapped the sheath at his side for emphasis, "in time I believe they shall come to hold the same amount of meaning to the rest of the regiment as they do to you, but for now you must be patient with them."

There was a small buzz in his ear, a micro comm-bead, and he looked up at them with another smile across his lean face, "it appears that the Wisps have been assigned to the freshly minted Sergeant...you are dismissed, for now."

It would not be long now before they emerged from the Immaterium, and when that happened then the Emperor be with them all.