One week ago, Zack was living it easy in his residence within the free city of Nopay.
The former member of the imperial guard was leading a life mixing routine and military discipline, but also bureaucratic dealings with Santanas.
A simple life in this world lost within the maelstrom, which Zack found himself coming to appreciate.
As a former member of the imperial guard, the veteran soldier knew deep down that such a retirement was impossible on his emperor's side.
He would have certainly ended up as a number in the Departematum of Holy Terra, after being sent into some unknown war.
Zack had even found himself thanking fate for granting him the chance to work for Atreus.
Unfortunately, his happiness came to an end.
"M-my commander, we have received an urgent message from the Angels of Steel," said a man in High Gothic.
He spoke in a crude manner, but that was not a very important aspect for Zack.
The former soldier had made efforts to teach these men the Gothic language, but he never set himself the goal of turning them into diplomats.
Zack didn't care about a great quality in their speech.
He just needed a viable chain of command for the auxiliary army.
"Excellent, you may break salute," he said, gesturing for him to relax a little.
The message brought to Zack was not technologically advanced; it was just a scroll.
The army leader unrolled it and read its contents.
[ My dear slave.
I hope this letter finds you in perfect health. As you already know, I am returning from an expedition that took me some time.
Upon my return, I received the good news of the pacification of the planet.
I was happy.
However, I regret to learn that this news was a mistake due to several circumstances - ]
Zack stopped reading for a short moment after grasping the implications of the letter from the warband.
First, the letter did not come from staff nor from an ordinary Space Marine.
It came from Atreus himself.
Aside from that, the second point Zack understood was alarming.
He had not conquered the planet.
Zack had forgotten a rebel cell.
"But how?" he thought to himself, sweating heavily.
His subordinate nearby was disturbed by his superior's lost expression, as he was still seated at his desk reading documents on new recruits.
"Pull yourself together, Zack! If those heretics sent you a letter, then your death is not yet written," he muttered while continuing his reading.
Fortunately for his mental health, Zack had been right.
Atreus was giving him a chance to make up for his mistake before his punishment would fall upon him.
[ Normally, I intended to decapitate you to use your skull to warn your successor.
But I changed my mind.
You have 6 months.
I want all possible information about this rebel cell.
Small note: you have put a lot of effort into following my orders, it would be a shame to lose such an inventive individual. However, I might deprive you of your groin out of pure whim. Zack, you had better succeed in this expedition.
No, I advise you to exceed my expectations.
Signed, Atreus of the Iron Warriors.
Written by Olivia of Nopay. ]
"Johnson!! Immediately prepare our troops, and recall all men on leave!" Atreus roared immediately.
He hurriedly left his office after placing the letter inside his coat.
An outfit different from his Arbites power armor.
(Image)
It was clothing similar to those worn by Germans of the Old Terra era, when it was undergoing the rise of Nazism.
As for why the character design, Atreus found the idea of imitating Imperial Guard clothing more practical for infiltration operations.
"Ah! At your orders, my commander! B-but my name is Joshua—"
The man did not finish speaking before his superior kicked him out of the room.
"Stupid boss, always dumping the most annoying part of logistics on me," Joshua grumbled mentally, but he said nothing out loud.
He was a man too timid by nature to express dissatisfaction toward Zack.
Especially since he was grateful to him for noticing his usefulness behind a desk rather than on the battlefield, because Joshua was not really the kind of soldier to rush to the front line to eliminate as many enemies as possible.
Thus, he quickly carried out this unreasonable order.
…
"Hmm… the ground has certainly seen human activity here," analyzed techno-priestess Yvlain while holding a sample.
The nearby groups of soldiers said nothing while observing the strange actions of the woman in the red robe.
They were an auxiliary army unit dispatched as scouts after the supreme commander declared a new war.
An event dating back one month.
However, the ground troops had found nothing.
The heat of the tropical forest and the wildlife did not help the operation that the Angels of Steel had entrusted to Zack's troops.
"Hmm… good, inform the man named Zack of my discovery. There is indeed unregistered human activity in this area," said the silver-haired woman as she turned to her escort.
The soldier nodded.
As he was about to contact his superior, the techno-priestess added an additional piece of information.
"Do not forget to remind him of our agreement. I assist him in his operation in exchange for all technology or any wild psyker," she said, a threatening glow shining in her eyes.
The leader of the reconnaissance unit slowly nodded at the woman.
Even though he was a new recruit from Limnos III, he could sense that the woman in red was not ordinary in the chain of command.
She could even openly look down on their commander.
Thus, he provided the techno-priestess's information without changing or adding anything.
"Thank you for the information, I will send our only Storm Eagle to fly over the designated area."
Zack's voice responded to the officer in a calm tone before reassuring the techno-priestess about their agreement.
The commander let out a sigh of relief at the good news brought by the Dark Mechanicus, then put the device away after ending the communication.
However, he could not help but frown while observing the tropical environment.
"A problem, commander?" asked Joshua, standing beside the veteran.
"Not really, I'm just thinking about the hidden implications of this expedition," he said honestly to his right hand.
Atreus had never ordered Zack to directly conquer the target, but to perform reconnaissance.
Unfortunately, the latter was providing him with weak support.
A form of punishment.
The veteran soldier had been forced to use his connections with Governor Santanas to contact Olivia and establish a link with the Dark Mechanicus himself.
An act that could be considered disrespectful toward his new masters, but Zack had no choice for this mission.
He knew nothing of the enemy, nor of the means used by it to escape his vigilance during his first war of unification.
Especially since the ammunition provided by Atreus and the Dark Mechanicus was not infinite.
Zack had to conduct a fast and surgical war.
"The lord Atreus asked me to go on reconnaissance, but also to provide information and exceed his expectations." he thought, moving through the jungle with his troops.
Atreus had clearly not asked him for a war.
This aspect was strange to Zack, since it would have been more logical for him to correct his mistake by conquering the people he had failed to subjugate during his first conquest.
So why had Atreus only asked him to gather information?
Was it because he judged his victory uncertain?
This idea was the most troubling.
Yet it was becoming more and more credible to Zack.
"Commander! We have spotted a village deep inside a cave," a soldier suddenly reported to Zack.
Because of his deep thoughts, the veteran had lost track of time.
They had reached the area controlled by the rebel cell.
"Excellent! Everyone take combat formation! Prepare the tank for possible use," he said, issuing orders one after another.
The use of a tank against a village might seem disproportionate, but Atreus had already learned a lesson from the Macedonians.
He would no longer underestimate the natives.
In the end, Zack's excessive caution was rewarded at the gates of the cave.
"Damn it, this guy won't die—grr," the soldier emptied his magazine, but the shirtless man kept charging toward him.
With a swing of his axe, he cleanly decapitated him.
"Haaa skulls for the skull throne!" he roared, drool running from his mouth.
Zack had not stumbled upon an isolated village in a cave nor a rebel cell.
The veteran was dealing with an underground civilization that worshipped Khorne.
A Chaos god.
***
Author's note: I am going to create an appendix so that you can avoid forgetting the names of the characters and their roles within the warband.