Chapter Text
Three years of service to the Imperium.
Once, I went by number 1625, company three of the Death Korps of Krieg. Three years of fighting and killing for the Imperium, hoping for my chance to earn The Emperor's forgiveness, as all men and women born of Krieg do. And what do I get? A well-earned and hard-fought death, fighting the scum of Chaos and Xenos in a true battle of attrition? No, I was sexually assaulted, by a Commissar. For being female.
So I defended myself, stabbed him repeatedly before shooting him with a laspistol. Surely, The Emperor would forgive me if a corrupt Commissar were slain for abusing his position and attempting to force himself upon a loyal Guardsman, right?
Or so I thought, naive fool that I was.
Instead, I was arrested, tried for murder and sentenced to death, for the crime of self-defense.
Three years of service to the Imperium, wasted.
Now I'm called Prisoner 6699, imprisoned for insubordination, waiting for my time of death.
Didn't expect my life to change the evening after I recollected the events that sent me to this prison.
Day 279, year three of my imprisonment...
"Prisoners all secure, ma'am." One of the guards, possibly the one with dark brown hair, a partially balding head and a bionic left eye. Could have been anyone else, but one never truly knows with the guards.
"I'll check for myself, if you don't mind."
I raised my head, turned towards the source of the voices and saw an unusual occurrence: an Explicator came through the cell block, one with red hair, clad in a vest of flak armor and accompanied by the prison guard I had heard.
"But do be wary. Every one of them is a filthy heretic." The guard said as he led the Explicator through the cell block.
The only one in these cells who ISN'T a heretic is me. At least the guard's not paid to care.
The two of them came up to the cell across from mine, a cell occupied by a Traitor Guardsman.
"That one certainly is," said the Explicator as the duo stopped in front of the cell.
The prisoner raised his head, revealing that not only did he have no nose, but he also had no lips.
"Keep him intact. No 'accidents.' My master wants to interrogate him as soon as we reach the hive." continued the explicator, moving her head from the Traitor Guardsman to the prison guard and back.
"Of course, ma'am. Upon my life."
The Explicator turned around me and stepped towards my cell, where I reclined on my bunk as I watched and listened.
"This one, however..." she began, referring to me and calling the guard's attention to myself as well.
"Makes you wonder why we even bother shipping trash like that..." It was the guard with the bionic left eye after all.
"Hmm..."
The guard with the bionic left eye and brown facial hair turned his head towards the Explicator before continuing. "Save a lot of dataslate work just to process the execution notice now.
"What do you say, criminal," the Explicator said, addressing me as I rose from my bunk and stood before her, "Shall I put you out of your misery?"
"And ours, you worthless piece of-"
"Be quiet," interrupted the Explicator with a look at the bionic-eyed guard.
I took a good look at the Explicator. Only thing out of the ordinary about her appearance was that she was red-haired, had no weapon and wore rough-spun fingerless gloves.
"Well? Nothing to say?"
For the first time in nearly four years, I spoke to someone who wasn't a prisoner or a prison guard. "Only that I'm loyal, and that even when I killed that commissar for abusing his position, I served the Throne ably and dutifully."
"But of course! I'll just let you out then!" said the guard mockingly.
Don't flatter yourself, I've heard better sarcasm from Orks. I thought to myself.
"Shame you'll never get to prove that." replied the Explicator.
Before I could agree, out loud or otherwise, there was a short scream and an explosion, drawing attention from all three of us in this 'conversation', as that Psyker down in block six would've put it.
Another guard ran into the hall, turned around and was hit by a beam from a lasgun, killing him instantly.
"Throne of Terra! We're boarded!"
"Counter fire! Now!" shouted the Explicator as the bionic-eyed guard ran for cover and aimed his lasgun at the attackers, firing twice at a squad of gas-masked attackers.
A firefight broke out, even as I watched. Two other guards aided the Explicator and their bionic-eyed comrade in the firefight, shooting at the attackers. One of the attackers was downed, while an attacker carrying primed explosives ran towards us.
Hit the runner, idiots! I thought to myself.
The Explicator fled down a different hall after firing twice more with her laspistol, even as the prison guards missed the running one and I crouched for impact, covering my ears to reduce the impact on my eardrums. One guard was hit in the face by las-fire and killed instantly, hitting the ground without so much as a grunt. The explosives carrier leaped into the air, using the momentum of his run to propel himself even as he hit the ground.
There was a crash, and an explosion roared as yellow-green fire billowed outwards and the third guard was flung off the platform, crying in terror as he plummeted to his death.
Have to agree with those fools from Jopall, there's no tears for a poor marksman, I thought to myself as I released my ears and rose out of my crouching position.
Two of the attackers ran to the cell opposite mine. Both wore gas masks with green lenses under standard issue helmets as well as lightly-spiked flak armor over grey and beige uniforms.
Traitor Guardsmen. But which ones?
"Come with us, Brother. We have a way out," said the one in the rear, addressing the noseless prisoner as he exited his cell through the break in the bars. He was holding what looked like a metal helmet in his hands, which he handed to his brother in arms.
The former prisoner walked towards my cell as the speaking one asked, "What do we do about that one?" as all three of them looked towards me.
"Nothing," the apparent captain said as he donned his helmet, "the poxers will be here to feed soon enough."
They walked away without another word, leaving me in my cell, which also had broken bars. I walked towards the breach in my cell's bars, crept through the breach, gaged the distance of the drop that I would take, and took the plunge. I landed in a crouch, grunting in slight discomfort as my reflexes were put to use for the first time since I was imprisoned. As I lifted my head and looked up, I saw the guard who had fallen to his death. He had impaled himself on a jagged piece of metal with the momentum of his fall.
Emperor guide you to the Golden Throne. I thought to myself as I searched the corpse for whatever equipment I could loot.
He hardly had anything worth picking up, just a standard-issue shovel, some lasgun clips, his helmet and a comm-bead, from which I heard a voice broadcast.
"This is Explicator Zola! Support request, urgent!"
I took the comm-bead, equipped it and tread slowly down the ventilation tunnel I was in.
"Traitor assault! We need assistance in cell block 87 now!"
So what now? Escape or fight? Oh who cares, I'm doing both. I thought to myself as I slowly walked off a drop into a sewage tunnel, went into a fast walk for a few paces and broke into a run just before a man with plague growths jutting out of his head and shoulders and a crude... axe in one hand dropped into the tunnel. I brought the shovel down in a killing blow, grimacing as the unwieldy tool sank into the thing's head.
What I would do for a proper bayonet, I thought to myself as I returned to running before killing a second one with a sideways swing to its head and blocking a strike from a third. It met the same fate. I turned to the doorway to the right, heard more of those plague carriers. Shaking my head at how I missed a true challenge, I raised my looted shovel in order to kill more of them. It was a mere five this time around, and I climbed the service ladder before entering another cell block.
Alarms are still ringing. Must be in the Heretic Containment. I thought as I leaped over a knee-high wall of crates ("How would this buy you any time against traitors with explosives?!") and continued to run.
"I need armsmen response teams in the Block 87 bay area! Blessed Throne, there's no end to them!" shouted the Explicator (Zola, right?) over the comm-bead.
More las-fire I came across a flight of stairs, turned a corner, came across a dead guardsman, turned and took a drop and assumed a jog. When I came to the next hallway, I looked left and then right, going right and encountering another of those... things.
Probably one of those poxers that Traitor in the forged helmet was speaking of earlier, I thought to myself as I smashed it's head in with the shovel. Before I could get much further, I heard one of the intruders utter a battle cry just before I killed the first of four with a sideways strike to his head. Three more appeared and died in rapid succession, and I continued until I reached the guard's post.
Curse this prison for dulling my reflexes and causing my arms to become weak! I growled as I slammed the security button with my free hand and left the block.
As I left the cell bay and began to search for the loading bay, I heard the Explicator on the comm-bead again.
"Where are my karking reinforcements? Security stations are overrun! We'll have to hold them at prisoner containment!"
As I ran into another part of the prison, I witnessed a lasgun battle as a traitor squad overcame a smaller group of guards. I had no time to offer a quick prayer, as I had to kill two more intruders with rapid strikes of my shovel. Then I saw the airlock leading into the loading bay. In the loading bay, more of those 'poxers' attacked, I put them down all the same. As I tried to relax my arm, I took a quick look around and saw nothing that I could use.
"Need to keep moving before they pump in gas. I hope that elevator still works." I said aloud as I ran towards it.
As I pressed the button and the elevator began to ascend, I heard someone shout "Cut them down, for Throne's sake!" nearby.
Most likely Zola, I though as I heard more poxers die and a woman grunt in pain before the elevator and my breathing were the only sounds being made. Finally the elevator arrived, and I stepped out into the loading bay.
As I walked through the loading bay and looked around, I saw the Explicator slumped against a trunk, apparently dead and surrounded by attackers, with a few prison guards nearby, one of whom I looted for a proper weapon rather than a shovel.
Would've preferred a Helbore, but this will do fine until I can get one. I thought to myself as I picked up and examined the faded cobalt paint on the lasgun I had picked up.
There was a pained cough, I whipped around and I saw that the Explicator didn't seem to be dead. As I walked towards her, she gasped, breathing quickly as she tried to reach for her laspistol, even though it was too far out of reach and she had a knife jabbed into the upper left breast of her flak vest. She saw me coming out of the corner of her eye, and turned towards me as I slowly came to a stop.
"Great... you come for blood too, criminal?" she said as I resumed my walk towards her.
"No real point, since I'm a dead woman anyway," I replied in a low tone as I crouched, grabbed the knife by its grip and yanked it out.
She grunted in pain and jerked forward as I threw the knife away (karking traitors have worse taste in knives than those frakkers from Catachan) and slowly stepped back, even as she grabbed her laspistol and aimed it at my upper chest.
"You said you were a loyal servant of the Throne," she ground out.
I smiled, held my new lasgun by its barrel and extended my left arm sideways. "I did. I may have been imprisoned and sentenced to death, but I am still a Kriegswoman. And Kriegswomen don't lie."
That stunned her. So much so that I could see the gears turning behind her eyes, as that former Judge down in block 15 would've said. She made no effort to denounce me as a liar, since she had greater concerns like that knife wound (I may have been in the Death Korps, but we were not allowed to neglect basic first aid) and getting back onto her feet. A security door alarm went off, she turned her head towards me to nod, and we both jumped over some crates, raising our weapons in a ready firing stance.
"Then prove it!" she growled out just before twelve traitor guardsmen and three poxers ran towards us with clubs.
I shot and killed most of them, sending a prayer of thanks to the Emperor that my aim had not declined as I quickly reloaded my lasgun.
"Storm Raptor! Urgent extraction requested! The traitors have overrun the ship!" Shouted Zola into a vox or comm-bead.
"Confirmed. Storm Raptor inbound," replied a pilot as I stalked towards a doorway and slung my lasgun over my shoulder in order to draw the shovel.
"I'm giving you a chance. Krieger or not, cross me and you're dead, you understand me, Criminal?" Zola said, addressing me as I took point.
"No idea about that scheibe guard with the bionics, but I'm nowhere near stupid enough to waste a chance on something so stupid." I replied as I spotted a traitor guardsman who shouted 'death' as he opened fire. Seriously, death as a battle cry?
And I thought the guards were idiots, these Verflucht traitors can't come up with a good battle cry! I thought to myself as I evaded the lasgun fire, knocked the idiot off his feet and smashed the shovel into his neck before whipping out the lasgun and shooting at four more of the frakking traitors.
The vox buzzed. "Storm Raptor to Zola! Coming in hot! Get to the hangar bay!"
"Understood."
Without further ado, we made for the hangar bay, killing over ten more traitors along the way (I wasn't paying attention, and neither was the Explicator) with the Explicator calling me 'a natural at this'. Wasn't that long a walk, and the real question was why the Prison guards all died from singular shots to the face or being impaled on pieces of metal while I shrugged off numerous lasgun shots to the face. While wearing prison rags. Emperor Protects.
As we dropped into the hangar bay, the Storm Raptor flew in and Zola yelled "Come on!" as we proceeded towards it, killing solitary traitors and poxers along the way.
The back of the ship opened, and two Imperial combatants came out: an Ogryn in flak armor with a Ripper shotgun, and a Zealot of some variety with a Thunder Maul. So where's the flamer?
"Masozi, get us the Hel out of here!" shouted Zola at the pilot.
"Stand by, Zola. The guidance is out. I need a minute to recalibrate."
How many seconds do we have before a horde appears?
"Loyalists!" bellowed a newcomer as a small group of helmet-less Traitors appeared on the balcony above us.
"Great..." muttered Zola before shouting her response. "Let's give them a welcome they won't survive!"
Without a shred of deliberation, I opened fire, killing two in rapid succession just before a horde of poxers and more traitors started coming down.
"Come on..." shouted Masozi, "Don't you fall apart on me now!"
"More of them coming in!" snapped Zola.
The traitors started showing up in the horde less and less as the poxers began to comprise more and more of the entire horde.
Masozi cursed. "I think that soulless Tech-Priest's been meddling with my Storm Raptor... Hang on out there!" she called out to us on the comm-beads as the Ogryn chopped five poxers in half before backhanding another two.
"We die fighting. Agreed?"
"I was RAISED to die fighting for the Emperor's forgiveness!" I shouted back as I backhanded a poxer with my shovel.
Ten minutes later...
"Masozi, you done anytime soon?" ground out Zola in exhaustion.
"Still alive out there? Guidance is reset, so we're out of here!"
About Verflucht time! I thought as Zola and the other two got onto the Storm Raptor.
"Well? You coming or not?" she said, turning towards me and taking a step. "You helped me. Maybe I can help you. No promises. You'll probably wind up dead."
To that, I smiled. "I've been dead since I was sentenced and imprisoned."
Zola chuckled. "Very poetic..." she said as she stepped forward before halting and whipping her head back towards me. "Oh... just don't tell anyone I let an escaped prisoner save my life. Or you'll be more than dead." she added with a scowl.
"Don't call me a liar for admitting I'm from Krieg, and we'll be just fine," I replied, still smiling as I stepped into the Storm Raptor and took a seat.
"Let's get the Hel out of here," muttered Masozi as she revved up the engines and got the Storm Raptor flying.
And with that, the Storm Raptor left the prison ship, and I was flown off to my new life.
Master of Mankind, thank you for granting me this chance to prove that this wasn't a waste of your time. I thought as I drifted off to sleep.