Lucius Andromade
II
Striding in from the far end of the cathedral, Lucius saw many of his brothers entering the room from different entrances. The dreadnought had lumbered his way through the doors and seemingly filled the width of the floor space of the cathedral. The fourth company's captain, apothecary and chaplain were also present. Lucius kept a relatively slow pace as he walked towards them. His head was held high, as it always was, and his silver hair flowed behind him, framed by his wings. His thunderous steps echoed through the cathedral, despite the present noise of many astartes moving to and fro in their suits of power armour weighing many tonnes, foreshadowing his arrival. Technically, Lucius, as company champion, was outside the normal chain of command. He was outranked by astarte sergeants, but took no orders save from the captain himself. His input in battle plans was unlikely to be called upon, unless the captain was taking everybody's opinions and thoughts into consideration, but Lucius believed it necessary to be present to hear what his contemporaries were discussing. Aside from his brother astartes in the command squad, other figures were present in the cathedral. Many officers from the local PDF were arranged in small clusters. Lucius' figure cut a neat swath through crowd, parting as he neared them. Young, inexperienced officers, having never fired a shot in anger, stared up at his nine foot stature and were overwhelmed by the beauteous magnitude of his wings and silver hair.
Other astartes were present in the room, but none looked so grand as him. His brother marines were sullen and despondent, and had hard, scarred faces. Lucius was the poster image of Imperial propaganda, as a tall, proud hero. While his brothers looked grim and furious, he looked glorious and radiant, and his yellow and silver armour stood out amongst the dull, neutral-coloured uniforms of the PDF officers congregated near the astartes. The fourth company's apothecary caught Lucius' eye and caused him to smirk knowingly. He was certain he'd hear furious comments from him in time, when he discovers that brother marines had been injured sparring. Their astarte physiology would allow them to heal rapidly, but a broken wrist would impede a marine for days at the least. Lucius, having waded through the PDF, made his way to the rest of his command squad.
“
Brother captain,” he began respectfully, presenting the sign of the aquila. Before he could add anything else to his introduction, the cathedral was graced by two additional figures, neither astarte nor PDF. Both of whom women, one a commissar and the other an arbitrator, and neither of whom were supposed to be on Corillia. The commissar marched up to the captain in a manner most unusual for someone outside the Legiones Astartes. Having handed him a note, the woman seemed to stare intently at the captain. The venerable dreadnought, Brother Vergil, appeared perturbed by her demeanour. Lucius was interested, but had no intention of confronting the commissar or her companion. His purpose was to protect the captain from physical harm, and two women, not possessed of astarte superiority, were unlikely to pose any threat to a venerable captain. Nevertheless, Lucius' brother dreadnought saw fit to give voice to his concern, offering to dispose of them. Lucius gave voice to sweet laughter in return in the form of an amused chuckle. His laughter caused his silver wings to sway and his scapula length hair to bounce on his shoulders. He held his left hand on the sheath of his sword, more for practicality, as the sheath was likely to obstruct his movement, than any form of threat, but he imagined the image was clear enough. A more subtle reminder of astarte superiority than outright offering to kill the women.
“
I hardly think these two pose a threat, venerated brother. Not worth your time.”