Exile's Fate, Chapter 1
*Click Click Click * The metallic sound of the firing toggle of a Volkanite Disintegrator flipping idly between modes rings through the dropship, breaking the silence and filling it with an oddly perfect cadence More than a few sets of eyes are on Rhindri now, He can tell despite the closed voidhelms, though what he can't sense is the expressions underneath Bemusement? Irritation? Anger?
*Click Click Click *
"Doesn't Matter Really " Rhindri finally thinks to himself He'd long since given up on trying to crack down on this little habit of his Even now if he's honest with himself he's not sure whether it springs from some pre-battle nervousness or something more deeply programmed in his personality His fellow Einhyr, despite their time together, have never really *completely* accepted his little quirk Though they certainly have long since grown past lending attention to it
*Click... Click... Click...*
Rhindri’s attention, as well as his idle thumbing of the weapon's firing toggle, was suddenly interrupted as Johtan stirred from his typical roost near the back of the dropship The dim directional lighting of the Dropship casts the Champion's face in stark relief as the crags of his scalp and the scars of his face cast long shadows; painting the portrait of a true veteran of war His armor recently striped with deep gouges where Mechanicus mechadentrites sought purchase All members of the Hearthguard present suddenly sit a little straighter, Rhindri included, as the exiled champion faces his men and braces himself against the jarring turbulence of the craft
"I don't like this " Short and perfunctory as the statement is, the fact that the grizzled veteran has taken the time to say it aloud at all is troubling To say that Johtan is a Kin of few words would be putting it mildly, even within a society obsessed with the efficiency of speech
A short, tense silence follows the words until, as if only now realizing that his statement demanded some explanation, Johtan followed:
"We will be cut off down there. No reinforcements. No teleportation crests. No comms."
“That’s news” Rhindri thought. Mulling it over internally. “Johtan must know something of this contract which the rest of us don’t” In their previous life that would have been betrayal of the grandest scale But that was indeed a previous life
“Likely something the Kahl forbid him from repeating ” Rhindri concludes, trust in his leader beating out the competing theories
That trust alone however was not enough to prevent Rhindri’s thoughts from continuing to circle Another bad habit he’d picked up more recently
“Not that many standard rotations ago every Einhyr present in this droppod were honored and decorated heroes Charged with tasks of this highest importance and awarded every resource possible But now? Rust Just look at us Armor in tatters, moving into position in a barely spaceworthy scrap heap to a battleground with an unknown foe and no support ”
“Nope I don’t like this either ” another Einhyr finally says aloud
Silence.
*Click… Click… Click…*
Rhindri’s nervous habit continues, somehow appropriate now in the awkward tension of the dropship’s bay Something to focus on besides the groans and protestations of the metal bulwark as it makes re-entry
At that very moment the lights of the interior turn a deep orange Rhindri notices that he wasn’t the only one who tensed at that moment At least one set of armor joints could be heard tightening into a locked position It was route for them, drilled in by dozens of battles to prepare for wayfarer teleportation once on approach But of course, there would be no teleportation today
Partially seeking to distract himself and partially to see how his orders differed from the
Champion’s observations, Rhindri motions his visor’s display and signals a replay of the orders of operation for tonight's contract. The deep orange of the dropship interior darkens and fades letting him focus on the joint audio and visual recording in his display.
“New orders from “The Client” lads. Kahl Tuckir’s baritone voice declares, putting an odd-bordering-on-disrespectful emphasis on the term “Client” “Seems there’s some new infrastructure on the surface that’s recently come into a state of operation Client’s offering some extra hazard pay for us to head down and make sure they stay that way Rustin’ Imperial interference or not ”
Rhindri paused for a moment, considering how “Hazard Pay” just might be the Kahl’s two favorite words at this point But quickly returned his attention to the recording lest that line of thought spiral any further
“You’ll be landing at Site 63 ”
Pictograms of geographic heightmaps and rough orbital telemetry fill the recording at this point, vertices shifting and swapping with seeming indecision “Early readings are showing geographic instability and heavy Nekrontii structural presence Energy discharges and other ” he pauses briefly and continues as if reading a note” “ unexplained spatial phenomena have led to a very low estimate of certainty about the current conditions at the site. However we do have reason to expect that Imperial forces are either en route or already on location.”
“Most of you already know how these Imperial lot get, so we’re not too optimistic about a diplomaticsolution here But not to worry, all indications show they’re relatively few in number Your force being assigned to Site 63 should be more than up to the task of taking down a few humans”
“Oh yeah, and one last thing lads Cthonian scouts say there’s some Nekrontii artefact squirreled away under one of the pylons Make it a point of securingthat artifact, yeah? This one is off the books, so make sure none of the Client’s observers catch sight of it after ”
“So in summary Secure the Site Protect the Nekrontii pylons from damage Acquire the artefact Try and make nice with the humans but when that goes to rust do have some fun removing their under-evolved asses from the site Or from life Whichever is more expedient ”
The recording ends abruptly. Shortly thereafter Rhindri can hear the telltale sounds of bolter fire impacting the hull. Nothing that could endanger the craft’s diamondine plate but, Rhindri muses in thought, “it seems the diplomaticapproachis out the window already.”
*Click Click Click ” *Click.”