Part 8 (1/2)
Jevrian was silent. He remembered that speech, that moment, as the sh.e.l.ls howled all around and Thade committed the 88th to the field in open battle to well, Jevrian hated to think about it. But it was hard to forget. That d.a.m.ned t.i.tan. Throne, that had taken some killing.
a”I bet Thade is furious about that.a” Jevrian knew Thade well, and besides, the captaina's loathing of his men making a big deal out of his medal was well-established.
a”Rax is functioning again. Thata'll cheer him up.a”
a”Sure, but hea'd never give his permission to be quoted.a”
a”Lockwooda's a colonel. He didna't need permission. And you know how much the old man loves Thade. He fought this commissar business tooth and nail.a”
Jevriana's gaze met Taana's. Word spread around camp fast, but apparently it hadna't reached the Kasrkin squad yet. a”What commissar business?a”
a”Ah,a” said Taan. a”That.a”
CHAPTER VI.
First Blood Reclamation Headquarters, outside Solthane Commissar Tionenji was waiting for Thade.
As the captain left the inquisitora's guns.h.i.+p, the commissar stood at the bottom of the gang-ramp leading from the vessela's small internal hangar, his hands loosely clasped behind his back, and his black leather stormcoat flapping in the breeze kicked up by a Valkyrie taking off a short distance away.
He made the sign of the aquila as Thade neared, which the captain returned in kind. Thade hid his expression of annoyance. Hea'd been hoping to check in on Rax, but that was going to have to wait again.
This is what people see when they look at Commissar Adjatay Tionenji: a tall man, his dark skin showing his heritage stretching back to one of the Imperiuma's countless jungle worlds. He was broad-shouldered, but his frame was slender, sculpted and kept that way by the rigours of constant exercise. His hair was also dark, sc.r.a.ped back from his unkind features and scented with expensive pomade, all under a standard red-trimmed black commissara's cap. His ankle-length jacket was left unb.u.t.toned, revealing his black uniform and a weapon belt with a holstered plasma pistol and a sheathed chainsword a- this last forged into an unusually thin, curved shape.
Thade took all of this in before he even made the sign of the aquila, but none of these observations were the first things he noticed. The very first thought that crossed Thadea's mind was the instinctive and natural reaction bred into him from birth and through decades of training.
Hea's not Cadian.
He grinned at the lord generala's implied insult, appointing an off-worlder to the 88th. He lowered his hands as he finished the Imperial salute.
a”Why do you smile, warden-captain?a”
Thade wasna't much for lying. a”Because your eyes arena't violet.a”
a”Should they be?a” Tionenjia's voice was soft and measured, but Thade could already discern the edge of strength that would no doubt show in full when the commissar shouted in battle. It was a mellifluous voice, his tone gentle and honeyed with only a hint of accusation at the captaina's words.
a”Ita's a tradition from my home world,a” Thade said, certain the commissar knew that anyway. a”Shock regiments regard it as a point of honour to have Cadian-born commissars appointed to them.a”
a”Your world is a world of war, and such planets breed many orphans.a” Tionenji referred to the commissarial custom of selecting its recruits from children whoa'd lost both parents in battle. He was still as rigid as if he stood on the parade ground. a”I imagine Cadia provides many candidates for the Schola Progenium, yes?a”
Thade nodded, trying to make up his mind on how to judge the man. a”Your accent is Rukhian.a”
Finally Tionenji smiled a- a toothy grin that flashed across his handsome features and vanished so fast Thade wasna't sure hea'd even seen it. a”Not quite, captain. My birth world was Garadesh, and that shares a similar culture with Rukh. Good guess, though. Why did you say Rukhian?a”
a”The way you elongate your vowels. We fought with the Rukh 9th seven years ago.a”
a”The Battle of Tyresius,a” Tionenji said immediately.
a”Youa've done your research.a” Thade wasna't remotely surprised.
a”I am a commissar,a” Tionenji replied simply. Thade seemed to muse on something for a moment, then offered his left hand a- his human hand - for the commissar to shake. He hoped the Garades.h.i.+ wouldna't miss the significance of the act.
a”Welcome to the Cadian 88th.a”
The commissar hesitated just as the captain had, but accepted the awkward left-handed shake.
a”It will be a pleasure to serve the Emperor alongside you, warden-captain.a” Thade forced a smile. Tionenji caught the expression. a”I am given to understand Cadians are grudging and untrusting with their welcomes, and you are not adept at hiding your discomfort. I am correct, yes?a”
Thade chuckled despite himself. a”Commissar, may we just establish one thing at the beginning of our a.s.sociation?a”
a”Name it. I shall give your wishes all due consideration.a”
a”Dona't call me a'warden-captaina'.a”
a”Your own rank offends you?a”
a”Something like that.a” Thade sought a quick change of subject. a”Have you been briefed regarding our unusual a.s.signment?a”
a”I have.a” Again, Thade wasna't surprised at the honey-voiced answer.
a”Have you served with this new ordo before?a”
a”I have not.a” Tionenji and Thade talked as they walked back to the Cadian encampment, a small city of black and grey tents. a”The Inquisitiona's new division is something of a mystery to me. I am aware of their mandate to hunt and destroy the plague-slain, and seek the source of the Curse of Unbelief that has ravaged so much of our glorious sector in recent years.a”
The two officers neared the Cadian base now, falling under the idle shadow of the ma.s.sive bulk lander that formed the centrepiece of the camp. a”Thata's more or less my understanding,a” Thade replied. a”Inquisitor Caius wants to make a sweep of the reliquaries in Solthane and seek the source of Kathura's outbreak.a”
a”Then so it shall be.a” Tionenji nodded. That matched his briefings as well. Now he looked around the near-deserted camp, at the vista of silent tents and the occasional wandering servitor. a”By the Holy Throne, your camp is as silent as the city itself. Are all Shock outposts so quiet?a”
Thade thought it was interesting that the commissar hadna't even served with Cadians before. Tionenji wasna't out of his twenties, and it was usually common for veteran commissars to be appointed to the Cadian Shock over younger officers. Again he found himself wondering at the lord generala's reasoning behind the dark-skinned mana's appointment.
a”Ita's almost midnight, commissar.a”
a”The men sleep?a”
Thade laughed, the sound unnaturally loud in the empty camp. As if on cue, the sounds of distant engines roared.
a”No. They train.a”
The ma.s.sed might of the Cadian 88th eclipsed Thadea's mere three hundred men. Over a thousand soldiers were packed into a hundred and fifty Chimeras and Sentinels, driving up a muddy storm as they manoeuvred across the gra.s.slands the regiment had set aside for daily training. Thadea's three hundred men joined Major Craycea's three hundred and Colonel Lockwooda's four hundred for the midnight exercise.
Thade and Tionenji watched from a gentle rise that might generously be called a hill. Enginseer Osiron and Seth Roscrain were also present, both mena's non-standard duties removing them from the need to train now. The hfffff-hsssss of Osirona's breathing was audible over the sound of the revving engines as dozens of Chimera transports powered alongside each other in a series of various formations, moving positions with ease and maintaining equal distance with each other at all times. The tech-priest listened to the roar of the engines, hearing only the voices of an angelic chorus. He was alert to every nuance in the symphony, every engine that whined too hard when its driver hesitated at a gear change, every cry of brakes that needed a touch more maintenance.
Seth leaned on his black staff, his eyes bloodshot and his lips cut where hea'd bitten them during his earlier visions.
Osiron and Seth both made the sign of the aquila to the commissar and the captain as they approached. The commissar returned it earnestly, Thade did so with a nod of greeting. Setha's gaze lingered on the captain for a long moment, then flicked to Tionenji. He couldna't resist testing the new commissar. His unseen sense reached out, enveloping the dark-skinned mana's invisible aura, probing the outer edges of Tionenjia's thoughts.
Tionenji shuddered despite Setha's delicacy. Ah, not just another blunt, he thought, slipping into Guard slang for those without psychic talents. Seth withdrew his hidden sense, satisfied that the commissar would be extremely resistant to psychic manipulation.