Chapter Text
Bludwen jerked awake. Flashes of green danced in his mind before disappearing along with the rest of the nightmare. For a moment he lay on his cot, listening to the great pipes of the hive city rattle and hum in hopes he would sleep again. Sighing, he scrubbed his hand through his loose black hair and peered through the darkness to make sure no one else in the habsuite had woken. Seeing no shadows move, he nodded to himself before grabbing his boots and slinking out.
Leaning against the metal railing he took a deep breath of the metal tinged air. He held it for a moment before letting it go. That had been the tenth night he'd had that dream. Gripping the railing, he pressed his forehead To the cold metal. “Oh god emperor, give me energy to face this shift.” steeling himself, he knew he wasn't going back to sleep. Not if the last nine times were any indication. Readying himself for yet another shift with less than half sleep, he set off.
There was an odd anticipation in the air, like when the overseer was coming. Bludwen hated it. Following winding streets that were still bustling despite the late hour he wandered aimlessly.
A spot of white floated on the air up ahead, catching what night lights were on as it twirled and whirled. Was it a large clump of dust? A piece of scrap fabric, perhaps. It got caught on a flicker of breeze and tumbled past the
ignorant crowds heads. Emotion swelled in Bludwen's chest at the sight of the foreign object floating away. He ran after the object unsure if it was sudden grief or an outpouring of joy that he was feeling. There were angry shouts as he bumped into a couple but he paid them no mind.
One final flicker of air had the white thing scraping a fence and disappearing. Sense came back to bludwen when he realised where he was. The fence was drab and grey like most things in this level of the hive city. But one thing set it apart, the sigils plastered everywhere. He absolutely could not jump the fence of the astra militarum's recruitment office.
“Damn.” He scrubbed at his face, trying to settle his mind and pull himself back together. Examining the fence, he eyeballed the height and the amount of wire at the top. Bludwen had always been tall, especially compared to his parents. They considered it a gift from the emperor that he had grown well and not ended up a pipe cleaner.
Looking at the height of the fence Bludwen decided it was worth it to at least try to look. If only to try and understand why some cloth thing made him feel like he lost his family.
Taking a few steps back he ran at the wall. One hand caught, the other the edge hit wire. ignoring the burn in his hand he pulled himself up until he was peering over the wall
And into the barrel of a las gun.
“You Better have a good reason to be doing what you're doing.” the soldier said
Bludwen swallowed, his throat suddenly dry. “l was chasing something of mine. I thought it went over the wall.” He cursed his impulsiveness. As the hum of Powered up rifles started behind him he fought not to turn his head.
“we got eyes on him, Sargent.”
The now understood to be Sargent smirked up at bludwen. “Now. Why don't you follow my men around to the front door.”
“Yes, uh, sir.” Bludwen risked a glance at his hand before lowering himself down and letting go. Fresh pain ripped through his hand, reminding him of exactly how stupid he had been to do this.
One of the two astra militarum stepped forward, “To the front door with you.”
Deciding not to test their Patience, Bludwen walked quickly.
---\\\---
The recruitment office was bare, barely lived in and sterile apart from a couple of etchings of guardsmen doing some brave things or other, Bludwen didn't really care. People usually avoided this place. Everyone knew if one walked in here you never came back. The unease from before came creeping back in, edging aside the feeling that strange foreign object had brought. The Sargent from before was sitting at a desk and booting up a cognitor.
“I am Sargent Rakkus. And you are?” He raised a particularly severe eyebrow.
“Bludwen. C N 25098-hl296- i”
Sargent Rakkus leaned forward onto steepled fingers. “I'm going to be frank with you. You have two choices. You can either be summarily executed for trespass or you can be conscripted.”
“That's no choice at all!” Bludwen protested.
Rakkus sat back, eyebrow raised.
Slumping, Bludwen sighed. “I'll join.”
A sharp slash of a smile cut across Sargent Rakkus’ face. “Good decision making, that'll keep you alive.” he started inputting data into the cognitor before standing up. “All in order. I'm sure you'll have a hell of a time in the astra militarum, trainee.”
The Sargent jerked his head and one of the guards nudged Bludwen, leading him off.
---\\\---
As the doors closed behind the newly christened trainee, Rakkus rested his eyes on the other guard, wiry and short with the look of her eyes being too big for her face.
“Speak.”
She stood to attention. “Sir. Are you sure we didn't just conscript some Tower-Born get?”
Rakkus smothered a smile. Corporal Trudorn really had a way with words. “Despite the physique, the new trainee's indentured worker. The ‘dash i’ says everything. As for coming out like that?” He snorted. “Factory's loss. Our gain. We'll just make sure he gets a couple of extra weights in his training pack.” Rakkus stood, “and it's one more conscript we don't have to send out notifications for. Come. Let's get the other conscription notices sorted.”
The room had at least thirty thin metal cots. All crushed together in a way that made the room feel small. Bludwen paced up and down the room, feet tapping against the rockcrete floor and hands pulling at his new clothing. How was he going to tell his family? Would they ever find out? Would they think he got stabbed by some ganger and died in an alley?
Sighing he sat on one of the nearby cots. it Squeaked. The flash of green jumped back into his brain. He grimaced and hung his head. All this because of some nightmares.
A flicker of movement caught his eye, something white. The grief was back. He jerked his head, pinning the object with his gaze. It was white, barely the length of his thumb, with a spine down the middle, tiny delicate tufts came off either side leaving what he assumed to be the top bare and pointed. Bludwen had never seen the like, for something to stay so clean down in these levels was a rarity but this object? It radiated cleanliness. A tear tracked down Bludwen's face as he reached down to touch the strange thing.
It was soft.
The softest thing that he had ever touched. Even the fine polishing cloth that he had been beaten for touching when he had been shorter than a railing was coarser than this fluff-thing. ever so gently, he picked it up. Cradling it between his hands. As he did so, he realised the grief felt like it had never been there and like an old wound had eased. Time stretched as he examined the marvel that sat in his hand, as he realised the tufts were much like hairs, stuck in some way together.
Blood from his cut stuck to it, staining its once perfect colour and sharply reminding him of his injury. He set the fluff down gently on the cot and eyed the cut on his hand. It seemed clean, there didn't seem to be any taint in it. He nodded to himself, at least he wouldn't have to worry about The Stiffening.
A siren of some sort went off. Quickly realising the siren was unknown to him, beeping and not sounding like it was made to carry. Bludwen half stood as he waited for the standardised all clear signals.
They didn't come. The siren continued to peel out creating an electric tension. The sound stretched on for minutes before cutting out leaving Bludwen alone in silence.
---\\\---
Rakkus sighed as he read the incoming reports. The automated alarm had finally been shut off, letting the sound fade from his ears. An Ork Rok spotted on long range auspex. Exactly what he didn't need while he was on recruitment detachment.
There was a knock at the door. Looking up he saw Trudorn on the other side.
“Enter.”
She entered and saluted.
“Scramble getting the conscripts ready. There's an Ork Rok in system. Get the training started for those who are here already.”
Trudorn nodded. “Yes sir”
“Dismissed”
She turned on her heel and walked out.
Rakkus turned back to the cognitor that pinged with an updated report that had expected landing coordinates. His face twisted into a weatherbeaten scowl. By the god emperor he hated orks.
The cognitor was sending updates, as far as roks went, it was a small one. Grimacing, Rakkus hoped that wouldn't be the only piece of luck they would get in the coming weeks.
---\\\---
The next few days flew by in a blur. The new conscripts from across the hive were brought in and hurriedly taught how to use a lazgun. The undercurrent of tension of those who knew what was going on as the recruitment compound and Rakkus's squads tried to turn the conscripts into trainees before they were called on.
On one of the second level catwalks Sargent Rakkus carefully observed the trainees as they went about. They were shaping up well, by the time they would be called on he was hoping they would be able to be disseminated between the pre-existing squads. He eyed the grounds again, searching out the kid who tried his luck with the wall.
There he was, drilling with the lasguns. He was a good shot. What was his name again? Blood something? Didn't matter, not unless he survived initial deployment. A servitor shuffled up to him, a embedded vox embedded in its jaw once sat.
Eyeing it with trepidation Rakkus barked at it “play message.”
The vox crackled to life with the snapped orders of a superior officer “recruitment office hl-296-r prepare your recruits to be sent out in two days.” There was a pause followed by the dull drone of the servitor. “Message ends.”
“Dismissed.” Rakkus sighed. As soon as the servitor started tromping away, he slumped against the railing. Ten minutes. Ten minutes and he would tell his command.
---\\\---
The carrier shook as it trundled along. All around Bludwen were nervous faces as they gripped their newly issued lazguns. He himself was sure that he looked the same under his white striped helmet. They had been told that they were to be deployed among the militarum already existing in defence of the hive. An involuntary shudder slithered down Bludwen's spine. They hadn't been told exactly what they would be fighting but it was obvious. Xenos. He almost spat out of habit. Shaking himself, he looked back around the carrier. Their group of cadets were going to support Sargent Rakkus and his platoon. Sargent Rakkus himself was up the front with the driver and vox operator, getting near constant updates on what was happening. As he did so, the drone of the vox filled the transport with static laced words numbers and co-ordinates among them, one stood out. Orks. Bludwen had never heard the word before but it brought the recurring dream back to the forefront of his mind clearer than ever before. Greenskinned beasts, running towards him. He narrowed his eyes To try and remember more but it slipped from his mind. Anyways, there were more pressing matters at hand. Rakkus had left the front and was facing everyone.
“Attention!” The grizzled man barked. You will be disembarking in two minutes. “You along with others will be under my command on this field of battle. Everyone on this field is a higher rank than you and therefore you must listen to them. Is this clear?”
“Yes sir!” the transport's occupants shouted back, Bludwen alongside them.
Rakkus nodded and looked over his shoulder. “Get ready to depart.”
Everyone gripped their weapons tighter and Bludwen could see the whites of almost Everyone's eyes as the Sargent strode towards the door in preparation.
Rakkus looked behind his shoulder, “that means you get UP IN PREPARATION whitestripes!”
“Sir yes sir!” The transport shouted as they scrambled to stand. The door opened to a roar of sound, explosions wrent the air painted with screams as the cadets ran out. The sunlight was blinding! Half of the cadets stopped and stared at the sheer strangeness of not having plascrete, rockcrete or some other material above their heads, Bludwen included. He shuddered before falling in line. There was just something wrong about not having something over your head. As they got Closer the sound went from loud to deafening, Bludwin tried to shove his helmet further down on his head to try to block some of the sound. Not that it worked.
Orders were shouted, they were to follow the Sargent to the rest of the platoon. As they marched Bludwen spared a thought to wonder if it was lucky or not.
A particularly large gun lit up nearby to knock some sort of xenos craft out of the air. He revised his opinion, this was not good luck. Not good luck at all. All but five of the cadets were merged into other units along the way to wherever Rakkus was leading them through the outermost walls of the hive. Through one of the firing cavities, Bludwen saw them. A green tide of death, each individual creature larger than a man and bringing with them weapons that defied logic.
“God emperor preserve us.” Whispered one of the conscripts near Bludwen, one of the younger ones who looked like they were small enough to have been used as a pipe cleaner. He wracked his brain for their name Neith? Noil? Didn't matter right now. The dreams rose back in his mind, clearer and a word tickled his brain.
Orks.