Infraction

[DogWelder]

I wanted to write something humorous since I feel its been all super-serious plot in the recent lore/books.

 

Moving stealthily in Power Armor was widely regarded as a fools errand. It was said to be done effortlessly by the sons of Corax but Sergeant Tulian of the Ultramarines largely regarded such exploits as myth. The ever present hum from the heat exhaust of his power pack, the occasional whir of his servos when he moved, the tread of his footfalls on the wet mud underneath...it was more obvious to the heightened senses of a Space Marine. Therefore, Tulian hoped, for Guilliman’s sake, that his prey was not an Astartes.

 

The heavy torrent of rain and the darkness of the night, however, did aid in helping him move through the storage area with a measure of stealth. The shadows cast by the neat rows of Chimaeras and Leman Russes, draped with rain-proof tauperlains, also aided in this endeavor. Slowly but surely, he made his way to the vehicle from which the scuttling noise was emanating. He unholstered his bolt pistol and flipped the safety, moving a digit to his helm to activate his private vox channel.

“Pontus get to Auxilia vehicle depot 37, now” he whispered to his second in command.

 

“Emergency repair drills for the mortals again, brother?” the Ultramarine replied and Tulian could feel a slight humor to his words.

 

Pontus had always rather jovial for an Astartes, never missing an opportunity to make a clever quip or wisecrack to his squadmates both on and off the battlefield. His Battle-Brothers found it mostly irritating but Tulian could appreciate his light-heartedness at times. Stoicism and hard determination was what made an Astartes strong in mind but a leader needed to have some level of humor to inspire his fellow soldiers. This was not one of those times.

 

“Pontus, now” he hissed into he vox, hardening his voice with authority. “Possible infiltration in progress”.

 

“At once, Sergeant” the man responded, his voice clipped and compliant now.

 

Tulian cut the vox and edged closer to the rear hatch of the Chimaera. The noise was getting louder now, the obvious sound of something moving about inside clearly noticeable even through the smattering of rain around him. Multiple scenarios ran inside his head.

 

Human agent? No, he would have been caught by the Commissars during post-battle inspection. A traitor Astartes? That would have been even more obvious. One of the fetid, unclean creatures that latched itself onto their vehicles? Possibly, but the forces of Nurgle had been driven from Espandor Prime months ago and their foul magics often ceased when they left.

 

Whatever it was, he was ready. In one swift motion, he slid his blade under the handle of the hatch and pulled back, the strength of his arm tearing it off its hinges and flinging it aside as he brought his bolter up to fire at whatever was inside. He stopped.

 

Two petrified members of the Ultramar Auxilia lay inside the crew compartment, one sprawled on top of the other. Their blue uniforms were mostly discarded, flung haphazardly across the inside of the troop transport. The female Auxiliary had seemingly gotten her regulation topknot loose, long red hair hanging loosely off her shoulders while the male was apparently in the process of undoing his belt buckle. A few moments of confusion came over Tulian before anger flooded through his system.

 

“Stop that at once!” he bellowed, ripping off his helmet so the mortals could see his grim visage. Their fear transitioned to panic and they were soon hurriedly getting themselves dressed before clambering out into the rain. Tulian stared daggers at them and they struggled to hold his gaze, terror writ large upon their features. “Report this disgraceful behavior to your discipline masters immediately! I will personally ensure that the both of you will face further punishment in addition to what the Commissariat has in store for you!” he shouted at them, pointing in the direction of the barracks. The well-practiced reprimand of a Space Marine sergeant shocked them into action and the two were soon running across the muddy fields, intent on escaping the Ultramarine’s wrath.

 

As he turned, Tulian could see that his friend had made it to the depot after all. He was standing a few paces away, arms crossed and unhelmeted. The Sergeant swore that he could make out the hint of a smile, even through the darkness.

 

“I see you have neutralized the threat, Brother-Sergeant” he said, raising an eyebrow.

 

“What a disappointment” Tulian muttered as he strode towards the marine. “I had thought that the return of our Primarch to Ultramar would inspire a greater sense of discipline amongst the mortals, not this...hedonism.” he said shaking his head with disapproval. "What’s more, did you see their uniforms? She had officer stripes on her shoulders. She is above him for Throne’s sake!”

 

“Well...” Pontus replied, craning his neck so he could look inside the open Chimaera. “I don’t think that was necessarily the case”.

 

This time, Tulian was certain the bastard was grinning from ear to ear.

Edited July 8, 2017 by Caius Tadius

[Brother Lunkhead]

Typical humorless Ultramarine response. Another good story. Well done