More Imperial Guard fic
Commander King rides again!
Rossaria sighed as she flicked the switch to lock her door, throwing herself down on her chair and throwing her feet up on the desk, grateful for the brief respite. It wasn't the largest of living quarters by any means - if the bed didn't fold away each morning, she wouldn't have been able to sit the chair so far back from the desk - but it was larger than the rooms that several of the officers had and she appreciated the gesture. Technically a commissar of her rank was generally entitled to a large desk in a huge office on a massive base, but the drawback to that was that a large desk always tended to come with a large pile of paperwork to accompany it, and out here serving the Emperor on the front line there was always the option of shooting a Xenos in the head when things got too annoying, and that's something that should never be underestimated. It tends to go down less well at formal receptions.
Things hadn't really changed since their arrival on Sargas. The Tau attacked every few days and since there was no point in advancing without knowing what they were looking for, they were stuck in a repetitive cycle of defending their lines, and rebuilding from the damage. King had been right, obviously, there was clearly more to their presence than they had been told, but she was just as much in the dark as to what that reason was as he was. She couldn't admit that, of course, and so they continued to play their game of cat and mouse dodging around the topic as he constantly pushed her for information that she didn't want to admit she didn't have.
She was shaken from her reverie by a knock at the door but responded promptly, kicking her feet off the desk so that by the time she acknowledged the visitor she was standing and ready.
It was Trevanus, the young XO. It wasn't really clear if he had been sent or had volunteered, but from what she had already learned of this unit it was the latter. Say what you like of King - and he was certainly a foul-mouthed paranoid old cynic - but he inspired no end of loyalty in his men. They would follow him to hell with confidence that he would bring them back, and there was nothing more one could ask of a commander.
"Captain." She acknowledged the visitor with a curt nod, waiting for him to get to the point. His hand twitched and Rossaria suppressed a smile - he was clearly supressing a natural desire to salute and she could guess exactly who it was who had told him not to.
"There's been a message come in ma'am, it's for you."
"On which channel?" She asked, puzzled. She and Aloysius had secure comm beads of their own precisely to avoid this exact issue, the rank and file knowing what messages they were getting.
"The usual one ma'am, but it's not in any of our standard encryptions. Commissar Haine said it was one of yours but he didn't recognise it so we assumed it must be for you."
"That sounds likely." She commented dryly, mentally cursing whichever idiot decided to use an open channel for anything Commisarial, let alone anything important enough to be encrypted beyond Aloysius' clearance. So the game between her and King had gone to the next level, and she was on the back foot already. She wondered how long it would take him to capitalise on that.
She strode purposefully forward, her long braid swinging in time to her steps, confident that her feelings were hidden and her demeanour gave nothing away. Trevanus joined her as they exited the room and watched the paths clear for them across the crowded central hall. The rows of bunks left little space for movement at the best of times, but when most of the unit were fresh from the battlefield it became very crowded indeed - marginally warmer, particularly with the memory of frigid air in their lungs competing with the sweat of exertion and blood from the wounds that weren’t worth going to the medics over, but whether it was more pleasant or not depended on your personal opinion regarding the body odour of several hundred unwashed guardsmen. Personally, Rossaria would consider it more of a disadvantage, but then she’d been on ice planets before and was well used to the biting cold. She’d been on campaign with unwashed guardsmen before too of course, but that was an experience which was one never entirely got used to.
Most of the people walking through the mass of tired, adrenalin-filled soldiers had to pick or push their way between groups, and woe betide you if you spilled a recaf or upset a card game. Unsurprisingly however, those same groups scattered out of the way at the approach of the lord commissar and 2ic of the regiment, a bubble of clear space proceeding them as they walked and closing again after their passage. There are times when that had been disturbing, Rossaria remembered, but King was in control of his troops and while there was the odd scuffle and rivalry, full scale riots were not likely to be an issue here. The cold probably helped with that too.
There was the quiet sound of people pointedly not commenting, and the ripple of heads turning the other way and definitely not paying attention at all as they surprised people by not heading for the officer’s mess - not that either Commissar tended to hang out there anyway but clearly in the mind of a guardsman, that was the correct place for commanders to be stored and so them going anywhere else was an interesting development. It happened again when it became clear where they were going and she could see the range of expressions on the faces she passed on her way to the comms room. Some letting their interest show, some feigning disinterest, a few genuinely disinterested. One soldier from the 76th stared openly before remembering himself and dropping his gaze quickly. She returned his look with a glower that sent him cowering back to his friends. Rossaria noted with cool interest that they didn’t hesitate in admitting him, the taint of the Lord Commissar’s disapproval wasn’t sufficient to break camaraderie, though she also noted that they were all also from the 76th. There was little fraternisation between the two half-regiments when it came to the crunch.
In the comms room the machines buzzed and whirred and generally did what they were meant to be doing. Two vox experts, generally the ones who also tended to know how comms worked back at base, were sitting looking bored as they stared at various machines monitoring what was happening but they jumped to attention and saluted as Captain Trevanus walked in. He acknowledged them with a nod and a brief moment later remembered to tell them to carry on so they could get back to work.
“Why is Guardsman Rau not here?” Rossaria asked immediately. She’d been expecting him most of all, as one of King’s team he’d be waiting to try to find out what was going on for him. It was one of the 3rd who answered, his voice surprisingly soft without the protective outdoor gear they all still wore.
“Bill’s - uh, Guardsman Rau I mean - he’s not scheduled to be on shift here today. I...I think he’s on guard duty but I can find out for you if you like?”
“No, that won’t be necessary. Thank you.” It never hurt to mix politeness with intimidation. She was a little surprised when Trevanus nodded to her and left: did King trust her? Or far more likely and considerably more worrying, did he know what was in the message already? Or was he trying to psyche her out? Some might say there was no point in second guessing, but that kind of reasoning was only for Ogryns. Anyone for whom thinking was a requirement knew that outthinking one’s opponent was the only option. However, she kept her face neutral as she activated her authorisation key to allow her to transpose the message to dataslate.
Once back in her room, she activated a different authorisation key to decrypt the message. Safely with the door between her and anyone who might read her facial expression, she read the message.
Oh yes, King knew about this. He must do, probably told his need to know information by his superiors at the same time as hers came through from hers. The question was: exactly what was in his briefing document compared to hers?
Rossaria sighed as she flicked the switch to lock her door, throwing herself down on her chair and throwing her feet up on the desk, grateful for the brief respite. It wasn't the largest of living quarters by any means - if the bed didn't fold away each morning, she wouldn't have been able to sit the chair so far back from the desk - but it was larger than the rooms that several of the officers had and she appreciated the gesture. Technically a commissar of her rank was generally entitled to a large desk in a huge office on a massive base, but the drawback to that was that a large desk always tended to come with a large pile of paperwork to accompany it, and out here serving the Emperor on the front line there was always the option of shooting a Xenos in the head when things got too annoying, and that's something that should never be underestimated. It tends to go down less well at formal receptions.
Things hadn't really changed since their arrival on Sargas. The Tau attacked every few days and since there was no point in advancing without knowing what they were looking for, they were stuck in a repetitive cycle of defending their lines, and rebuilding from the damage. King had been right, obviously, there was clearly more to their presence than they had been told, but she was just as much in the dark as to what that reason was as he was. She couldn't admit that, of course, and so they continued to play their game of cat and mouse dodging around the topic as he constantly pushed her for information that she didn't want to admit she didn't have.
She was shaken from her reverie by a knock at the door but responded promptly, kicking her feet off the desk so that by the time she acknowledged the visitor she was standing and ready.
It was Trevanus, the young XO. It wasn't really clear if he had been sent or had volunteered, but from what she had already learned of this unit it was the latter. Say what you like of King - and he was certainly a foul-mouthed paranoid old cynic - but he inspired no end of loyalty in his men. They would follow him to hell with confidence that he would bring them back, and there was nothing more one could ask of a commander.
"Captain." She acknowledged the visitor with a curt nod, waiting for him to get to the point. His hand twitched and Rossaria suppressed a smile - he was clearly supressing a natural desire to salute and she could guess exactly who it was who had told him not to.
"There's been a message come in ma'am, it's for you."
"On which channel?" She asked, puzzled. She and Aloysius had secure comm beads of their own precisely to avoid this exact issue, the rank and file knowing what messages they were getting.
"The usual one ma'am, but it's not in any of our standard encryptions. Commissar Haine said it was one of yours but he didn't recognise it so we assumed it must be for you."
"That sounds likely." She commented dryly, mentally cursing whichever idiot decided to use an open channel for anything Commisarial, let alone anything important enough to be encrypted beyond Aloysius' clearance. So the game between her and King had gone to the next level, and she was on the back foot already. She wondered how long it would take him to capitalise on that.
She strode purposefully forward, her long braid swinging in time to her steps, confident that her feelings were hidden and her demeanour gave nothing away. Trevanus joined her as they exited the room and watched the paths clear for them across the crowded central hall. The rows of bunks left little space for movement at the best of times, but when most of the unit were fresh from the battlefield it became very crowded indeed - marginally warmer, particularly with the memory of frigid air in their lungs competing with the sweat of exertion and blood from the wounds that weren’t worth going to the medics over, but whether it was more pleasant or not depended on your personal opinion regarding the body odour of several hundred unwashed guardsmen. Personally, Rossaria would consider it more of a disadvantage, but then she’d been on ice planets before and was well used to the biting cold. She’d been on campaign with unwashed guardsmen before too of course, but that was an experience which was one never entirely got used to.
Most of the people walking through the mass of tired, adrenalin-filled soldiers had to pick or push their way between groups, and woe betide you if you spilled a recaf or upset a card game. Unsurprisingly however, those same groups scattered out of the way at the approach of the lord commissar and 2ic of the regiment, a bubble of clear space proceeding them as they walked and closing again after their passage. There are times when that had been disturbing, Rossaria remembered, but King was in control of his troops and while there was the odd scuffle and rivalry, full scale riots were not likely to be an issue here. The cold probably helped with that too.
There was the quiet sound of people pointedly not commenting, and the ripple of heads turning the other way and definitely not paying attention at all as they surprised people by not heading for the officer’s mess - not that either Commissar tended to hang out there anyway but clearly in the mind of a guardsman, that was the correct place for commanders to be stored and so them going anywhere else was an interesting development. It happened again when it became clear where they were going and she could see the range of expressions on the faces she passed on her way to the comms room. Some letting their interest show, some feigning disinterest, a few genuinely disinterested. One soldier from the 76th stared openly before remembering himself and dropping his gaze quickly. She returned his look with a glower that sent him cowering back to his friends. Rossaria noted with cool interest that they didn’t hesitate in admitting him, the taint of the Lord Commissar’s disapproval wasn’t sufficient to break camaraderie, though she also noted that they were all also from the 76th. There was little fraternisation between the two half-regiments when it came to the crunch.
In the comms room the machines buzzed and whirred and generally did what they were meant to be doing. Two vox experts, generally the ones who also tended to know how comms worked back at base, were sitting looking bored as they stared at various machines monitoring what was happening but they jumped to attention and saluted as Captain Trevanus walked in. He acknowledged them with a nod and a brief moment later remembered to tell them to carry on so they could get back to work.
“Why is Guardsman Rau not here?” Rossaria asked immediately. She’d been expecting him most of all, as one of King’s team he’d be waiting to try to find out what was going on for him. It was one of the 3rd who answered, his voice surprisingly soft without the protective outdoor gear they all still wore.
“Bill’s - uh, Guardsman Rau I mean - he’s not scheduled to be on shift here today. I...I think he’s on guard duty but I can find out for you if you like?”
“No, that won’t be necessary. Thank you.” It never hurt to mix politeness with intimidation. She was a little surprised when Trevanus nodded to her and left: did King trust her? Or far more likely and considerably more worrying, did he know what was in the message already? Or was he trying to psyche her out? Some might say there was no point in second guessing, but that kind of reasoning was only for Ogryns. Anyone for whom thinking was a requirement knew that outthinking one’s opponent was the only option. However, she kept her face neutral as she activated her authorisation key to allow her to transpose the message to dataslate.
Once back in her room, she activated a different authorisation key to decrypt the message. Safely with the door between her and anyone who might read her facial expression, she read the message.
Oh yes, King knew about this. He must do, probably told his need to know information by his superiors at the same time as hers came through from hers. The question was: exactly what was in his briefing document compared to hers?