Geffes opened his eyes. The strong stench of antiseptics indicated that he was lying in the med‑block. The guardsman near his ward’s door hastily reported to someone that the commissar had awakened.

Arthur tried to sit up, but a blazing pain in his chest stopped him. He looked at his body, covered with bandages from neck to toes.

“Seventy‑nine broken bones,” Victor said, looking at the commissar. “And another hundred cracks.”

Victor came in and sat on a chair near the bed.

“We lost all hope of you awakening again,” the colonel said, touching Arthur’s hand. “How are you, friend?”

The commissar focused his dazed sight on Victor’s amber eyes. Mandibles moved behind Schwarz’s lips.

Arthur looked at the hand that held his own and saw three razor‑sharp claws, ready to reap and tear…

Geffes opened his eyes. The strong stench of antiseptics indicated that he was lying in the med‑block.

The Guardsman raised his eyes from the Uplifting Primer.

“Sir? Commissar Geffes has awakened,” he reported via VOX, put the book on the tabletop, and rushed to the bed.

“Lie still, you traitor,” he aimed his lasgun at the commissar with two hands, while his third hand checked the handcuffs on Arthur’s wrists.

Geffes opened his eyes. The strong stench of antiseptics indicated that he was lying in the med‑block…

Geffes opened his eyes. The strong stench of antiseptics…

Geffes opened his eyes…

Geffes opened…

Colonel Schwarz entered Geffes’s ward.

“How is he?” Victor rubbed his face. It had already been a week since they had repelled the Tyranid attack. And nine days since he had slept. The stims were already taking their toll.

All that time, the regiment had been fortifying the complex and searching for how the Tyranids had gotten in.

Senior Medicae Bulat handed him Arthur's papers.

“Same as before. All we know is that it was a psychic strike. Ulrich tried to assess him with his gift, but only hurt himself. All he found out is that the commissar is trapped in his own horrors.”

Victor threw the papers on the table, atop the Uplifting Primer that someone had forgotten.

“Could I…?” he asked, nodding questioningly at Arthur’s bed.

Bulat, baffled for a second, agreed. “But don’t forget to rest yourself. You have the entire headquarters to handle current tasks.”

Victor shook his head. Once they were alone, he touched Arthur’s head with his clawed hand.

“Sweet dreams, you little traitor?”

Geffes opened his eyes. The strong stench of antiseptics indicated that he was lying in the med‑block.

He sat up in bed.

Victor stood by the window. The golden light from the setting sun veiled the room with glitter. The rays formed the huge wings of the Aquila behind him.

“You’ve slept for too long,” it wasn’t Victor’s voice. “Of course, I’m not your friend. He is there, in the chair.”

Arthur felt a shiver down his back. A sudden thought exploded in his mind.

“Are you…?” A light tremor shook his entire body.

“No. And yes,” the guest smiled. “It doesn’t matter.” He quickly approached Geffes and leaned towards him.

Arthur managed to see the golden light in the fake’s eyes.

And heard two words:

“Wake up.”

Geffes opened his eyes. The strong stench of antiseptics indicated that he was lying in the med‑block. Bulat quietly worked with his chem equipment.

Arthur looked around and saw Victor sleeping in a chair.

Bop, who had been guarding the commissar for the last four weeks, beamed with joy. The Ogryn rushed to Geffes’s bed, hitting the ceiling with his head in the process.

The laughter rang out by the left.

“Welcome back, my friend,” Victor said, awakened by the noise and rumble.

 

4.679.M42

A week had passed since I had awakened, filled with endless paperwork. There had been no Tyranid assault—just a brood of lictors who had slain half the headquarters and almost all the commissars in the regiment.

The main question was: how had we missed such a threat? We needed to consolidate all available data, considering orbital traffic and local enforcers’ reports. Fleet Commissar Sliver had offered his and the fleet’s help.

Now, thanks to the regiment’s patrons, we were waiting for reinforcements and new commissars.

Elrin’s Commander‑Militant Bröt would inspect the fortification system and the regiment’s readiness in a few months.

Tasks:

Select men for the honour guard.

Organize the repair and resupply of Bastions 6/12 and 8/12.

The regiment would be quartered as a garrison.

Thought of the day:

 

The Emperor can forgive error, but never failure.