System: Kaurava
Planet: Kaurava III
Type: Mining world
Date: M41.999
Hope for the best, prepare for the worst, and when all else fails, run like frak
-Imperial Guard Maxim
-Imperial Guard Maxim
The bay doors opened with a hiss of pressurized air, the plasteel ramp slowly rotating on automated hinges before it clamped onto the barrel ground, lopsided. Immediately I was assailed by the stuffing stench of endless dirt and dust. I wrinkled my perfect nose, mildly dissatisfied with the stark landscape before me. An endless sunbaked desert, reflecting the light of the system's star like a mirror, I imagined. That or the dirt truly was a saturated reddish orange. The only landmarks that broke the monotony of endless desert were the mesas that intercepted the eye every few kilometers, and the promethium refineries, along with some hardy vegetation that stubborn clung to life on this waterless wasteland.
I was proud to say I looked every inch the young, enterprising officer of the Imperial Guard. My chainsword strapped tightly to my slim waist, my laspistol holstered, my officer cap emblazoned with the aquila, signifying my duty to the Emperor of Mankind. The uniform emphasized my shoulders nicely, and I wondered if I should have taken an image in my pictogram before stepping off. The colors of the new regiment were not exactly what I would have preferred, but they would grow on me.
Stepping down the ramp, my newly shined officer's boots clacking on the plasteel like clattering bones, I saw the runway before me was empty save for a few engineers carousing, chuckling stupidly from some pedestrian joke no doubt, and a short, broad bearded fellow in a worn guardsman's uniform. He stood there, at the center of the walkway that led off the landing pad, with all the animation and personality of one of the numerous rock formations surrounding the landscape. On his head was a standard issue guardsmen's helmet, and I saw the twin stripes on his sleeve that gave his rank.
"Welcome, sir." The bearded one said, giving a crisp salute.
"That's m'lord." I told him, literally looking down at him past my nose. I had wondered if I would be the most handsome man on the planet, and I knew without a doubt I was the most well dressed. My newly tailored uniform a terracotta red, buttoned tight to showcase my slim, perfect physique. I knew it was perfect because my father had demanded such perfection, from his hounds to his sons. My trousers a graveyard earth brown, tucked into my tall, black boots made for an officer. But looking down and seeing this ugly squat, as I knew it had to be a squat, I felt as if my well sculpted features and impeccable dress were a bit overkill.
"Beggin' yer pardon, m'lord. But it's sir, here." The squat remarked, ignoring the paradox.
I raised a well trimmed eyebrow. "And you are?" I asked.
"Corporal Morek Holdfast, sir. At yer service," The squat replied, not deigning to salute this time. On second look, I noticed despite his gruesome appearance, with his cauliflower ear and oft-broken nose, he was heavily muscled. If a terran bulldog could grow a beard, it would not look too dissimilar to Corporal Holdfast. The squat waited for a reply, but I gave none. He did not seem to mind. "Get yet bags, sir?"
I nodded my acquiescence, before turning my head and glancing around expectantly. For a moment, it did not dawn on me that this single squat was my welcoming party. I had been assured I was to be welcomed by a manner befitting my station. But as soon as I realized this had been a deliberate introduction to the regiment, I felt a pang of annoyance. I would have much preferred, and was well due earned, a rank of well disciplined troopers to escort me as an honourguard. However, I suppose it would have to do for now. At least Holdfast was not a private, I supposed.
Truth be told, I was nowhere near as conceited as my brothers. I much preferred a lack of ceremony. But what I could not stand was exaggeration and lying. I had prepared myself for what everyone had told me the guard would be. Discipline, duty, honour. Perhaps if I continued on, I would find all three, but judging by the empty landscape, I was beginning to think I was simply trying to convince myself. As Morek approached from behind with my bags of equipment, I bade him follow down the walkway. Hopefully the commanding officer would have good news for me on that front, and more knowledge of my assignment.
"Come in!" A gruff voice called.
I turned and twisted the knob, glad to be out of eyesight from the blushing young aide that had bade me wait for the colonel's summons. Luckily, Morek had deigned to wait outside of the building. He had not spoken a word since his greeting, much less made a protest, and mercifully I had been allowed to wait within with the blessed air conditioning. As I pushed the door open, I saw the colonel was not alone. He was an unremarkable man with close crossed grey-blonde hair hard eyes, seemingly in his 50's, though it was hard to tell if that was his true age. He sat behind a well-built desk of mahogany, and to his left was a tech-priest of some sort, a scholarly man in the bright red robes of Mars, a single mechadendrite pulling its pincer away from the window to rest comfortably above the tech-priest's shoulder like a loyal hawk.
"Please, close the door." The colonel bade me as I stepped in, and I complied. Once it was shut, I turned to him, standing at attention. He glanced at the tech-priest, who was unreadable behind his hood and glimmering bionic eye. I briefly wondered his business here, but it was no concern of mine. No doubt I would be told if the need arose. The colonel, his jaw square and his thick hands placed together, looked at me with a weathered eye. "You're the son of Lord Duncan, I take it?"
"Yes sir. First Lieutenant Kayden Caladwarden, ready to serve." I told him with the same sense of purpose I had been told would be expected.
"First Lieutenant," He said, dragging the words out. Whether it was to readjust his own memory or because he wished to make a point, I was not certain. "It is without a doubt the Emperor's providence that you are here, yet I am unsure if that's a good thing or not." He said bluntly. "You see, this regiment has been reformed, and requires discipline. When I asked for lieutenants of skill and good character, I did not expect to get some pampered, pretty boy lordling from the core worlds. As far as I am concerned, you're just another man I need to worry on if he needs babysitting. The men are bored, and the rations are short until we receive a new shipment by the end of the month. If I had my way, I would trade you for a good commissar without hesitation."
"That's exactly what I said, sir." I declared.
"I-...What?" He asked, suspicious.
"When command told me I would be here, acting as first lieutenant to a newly formed Regiment, and they informed me of your record, I thought it insulting sending someone of my inexperience here. This world could be attacked at anytime, by any number of forces. The Kaurava system is constantly under assault. What you need is a military officer that has already seen combat. I will do my best to stay out of your hair and out of your way, following your commands to the letter."
It was not entirely the truth, of course. The Kaurava system had been under attack in recent years, but they had been small raids. And I had never been told anything except the Colonel's name and the fact the regiment was new. But it never hurt to butter up the commander, and seeing the new look in his eyes, it appeared to have worked. He had clearly thought I was be some arrogant snob. Could you imagine?
"Well, that is good." The Colonel remarked. "But I am certain they had not told you everything of our situation." He turned to look at the tech-priest, who gave a small bleet in binary, but otherwise decided to keep quiet. I wondered how many arms he had under those robes, or if there was any concealed weaponry. I respected the priest's of mars, but I never quite trusted them. You never could when it came to those who sought to ruin the purity of humanity with random machine parts. "This world is pivotal for the promethium production of the system, but it is also a very ancient world of significance to the initiates of Mars. And so we have a dual purpose here, to keep the promethium refineries running, and to keep the adepts of the mechanicus alive."
"If anything comes, I'll make sure my men are shooting in the right direction," I assured the Colonel with a wink. The grizzled man gave a tight lipped smirk, and his comm unit went off right at that very moment.
"Colonel, the Lieutenant's transport is here."
The aged man clicked the button on his comm. "Very good. I'll send him out" He told his aide, and waved me gone. "I'll ask for weekly updates. With any luck, we won't be on the planet much longer. But just keep a low profile and do what you're told, and you'll do fine."
"Sir," I said, giving a salute that would make a cadian proud, before about facing and stepping out of the office, back into the sun.
