Arthan Mur Juno, leader of 10th company's Squad 2, stood at parade rest staring into the eyes of his commanding officer, Hetman Drogant Kjarrick. Juno had felt that his Hetman had been a sorry excuse for a soldier for a long time.
All of a sudden, Kjarrick had broken out of his self-destructive death spiral and had started to act like an officer for once. Was Juno supposed to forget- the years of lacking discipline? No. Juno didn't believe people changed that easily.
Perhaps Kjarrick had just found a better way to hide his foibles. Juno felt that this whole routine was Kjarrick's attempt to reassert control over the gene troopers. Juno couldn't come out and say that blatantly, so, instead, Juno said,"This scenario was set up to show us our inadequacies, Sir." That seemed to stun Kjarrick and wrong foot him. Juno felt that proved that he had guessed right about his commander's intentions.
Ajax was stunned as he had not conceived that the exercise might be taken as a condemnation of his troopers. Ajax thought to himself, 'I guess what I thought was obvious can be seen multiple ways. I had intended to get the men used to seemingly impossible challenges, but to them it might have just felt mean spirited.'
Ajax loudly cleared his throat before saying, "That's not quite what I was going for Squad Leader Juno. Though I guess it could be seen that way. However, your 'inadequacies' as you put it weren't the only ones on display." Ajax taped an icon on his dataslate and sent a video file to the large outside monitors mounted on 'The Hellhouse.' Those monitors normally displayed the progress of the squads training inside, along with vid feeds and stat trackers to help officers monitor the squads' performance. Instead of the helpful analytics that were usually displayed, the monitors played a lowlights reel of all the rapid failures and quick defeats that Bashaw Vareeb and he had experienced earlier in the day.
It drew some chuckles from the men, but most didn't have the heart to laugh at someone going through what they all had experienced. In fact, it seemed the tenacity to keep going despite being defeated so many times and so rapidly had earned some respect from the troops. Ajax stopped the video on his own face being wide in terror as a fist approached his sim helmet.
With that on the screen, Ajax addressed the men, "I hope it's clear that I have not set up this scenario for your humiliation, nor my own self aggrandizement. Instead, my intention is to make our practices so tough, that war itself seems only like a bloody practice. We have little information on what to expect once we enter the Xana system. Therefore, our best hope is to get used to fighting the unexpected and become less afraid of the unknown."
This drew some enthusiasm from the men until Ajax said his next words, "You all saw how many times Vareeb and I ran the scenario, now it's time for you to do the same. Squads 1 through 4, you're up for round two!" That earned some groans from the gathered troops.
Bashaw Vareb and Ajx rotated in with squads as they ran the scenario. Sometimes both leaders led the scenario. Sometimes the squads were left to their own devices, like their first run. 10th company ran the scenario on repeat until the wee hours of the night, when each group of squads had finally landed a sim kill, on what was essentially an unarmed Astartes in costume. Yet, they were no longer frozen by their fear of forces that were beyond them.
If they had to, they were willing to sell their lives to the highest bidder, and they would not accept a penny less for them. The two months of hard training and the day long crucible had made the troopers of 10th company salty. They were ready to eat their own guts and ask for another helping.
With the weary troopers formed up outside 'The Hellhouse', Ajax reviewed his men and was confident that he had done all he could. The only way he could help his troops to survive was to give them a proper rest before they met the oncoming storm. Ajax addressed his men, "You all have done me proud. The last two months, you all have trained hard. Training any more will just hurt rather than help. You all have free time to rest and recuperate until we transition from the warp. The Uxor has communicated that she will give a prior notice before we transition from the warp. We will only have an hour or so to prepare. So be ready, but for now you can all rest. Dismissed!"
The exhausted troopers collected their gear and fell out of formation to shower and find rest in their racks. Ajax could feel the exhaustion weighing down his thoughts by a leaden blanket. After the troops were dismissed, Ajax turned and found two Marines waiting in the lee of 'The Hellhouse'. Still stunned at the surprising stealth of the massive men, Ajax made his way over to Remus and the bald Dark Angel that Ajax had viewed dueling with Hector Thrane.
The two stood there in their power armor, veritable giants. Their armor was only lightly adorned with camouflaging paints, the projection systems of 'The Hellhouse' had completed the illusion of turning these Astartes into xenos monstrosities. As Ajax approached the two, he bowed deeply before saying, "Thank you lords. Hopefully, this training will help my men serve the Imperium all the better. I can only express my personal gratitude for your time. I believe this training will be what saves a few of them. You have my eternal gratitude. Should you ever need me, you just need say the word."
With that said, Ajax brought his head up and met eyes with the smiling Remus and the Bald Dark Angel. Expecting the usual silence from the Dark Angel, Ajax started with shock when a question that seemed to emanate like the rumble of tectonic rock shifting reached him. "Why?" asked the Dark Angel.
Turning to give his undivided attention to the stoic and inscrutable Marine, Ajax replied, "Why in what sense, Lord? Why am I thankful? Why did I think this training would help? Or why in some other sense?" Ajax truly didn't know in what sense the saturnine Marine meant his question. Ajax could read some confusion from the Dark Angel's surface thoughts, but that was it.
"Why do you seem like a man possessed?" asked the stern Dark Angel. Ajax felt his heart stop for a moment at the question. Ajax grinned to cover the fact that he felt disturbed by a question that so accurately described the truth of the situation. Ajax didn't think that Dark Angel was being literal when asking about him being possessed.
While the proto-Dark Angels had participated in the campaigns of unification against the Witch-Kingdoms of the Nordafrik Conclaves on Terra, the Imperial Truth was being pushed so hard in the current era that knowledge of the Warp was heavily suppressed even in the Legions. Thus, it was unlikely that a young Dark Angel would be fully aware of the reality of possession. To avoid digressing further, Ajax simply said, "After waking up in the med bay, I was convinced that my salvation will only come by doing good for the human race. Otherwise, I am damned."
The Dark Angel's eyes lost their focus for a moment, becoming like black wells of a dark ichor. After a moment with his thoughts on a far away place, the Dark Angel seemed to make a decision. The Dark Angel extended his hand to Ajax. Overcoming his surprise, Ajax and the Dark Angel exchanged a warrior's grip, firmly grasping each other's forearms. Looking Ajax dead in his eyes, the Dark Angel said, "My name is Merir Astelan. I am also damned."