In some forgotten corner of Segmentum Ultima lay the fleet of Crusade Fidelis, tasked with securing certain sectors of the assigned segmentum, it's flagship the Wrath of Man looms overhead, and inside the whirring of machinery and footsteps are heard all about as the Marshal observes a screen displaying the status of the deployed space marines engaging the renegade chaos tainted forces upon the planet, however the story does not start in orbit, rather on the ground below.
On the surface, the planet sounds with distant bolter fire and las shots, a far cry from the intense combat seen only a few days prior. I was alone, our unit was split in order to sweep the area more efficiently. I gaze upon the ruined outer city houses, a rarity considering there was a hive city close by.
As I approached the final bombed out house I heard a slight rustle come from it, I stopped and took a long look around before eventually pushing into the house. I ready my bolter as I enter the house and suddenly.
A child? I think to myself, there she stands, in rags, shaking whilst holding a knife, blood all over her clothes and the knife. Something else caught my eye as she stood there.
"Is this your handiwork, little one?" As I gesture towards the cultist laying on the floor motionless, blood still pouring out his body. The girl nods in an affirmative.
I let out a short sigh before asking "Do you know where to go?", she shakes her head "Alright then, I suppose I cou-" I was cut off by my comm-link "Adelhard, all other sectors have checked in except yours, is there any problem over there?" Late, I think to myself as I say in return "Negative, brother. No signs of anymore heretic activity in the area except for one dead and a girl"
"Girl?" the voice radioed back, "what do you mean a girl? Is she related to these heretics?" I look at her again, this time she has dropped the knife and was sitting down on top of the debris of what I can only assume was her home "No, brother. I believe she's the one who killed the heretic here, I'd doubt she would be a part of their ranks"
"If that's the case, leave her there and head back, we are to leave the mop up to those dogs in the inquisition" The Inquisition I thought to myself, they wouldn't allow any who have seen chaos to live, let alone this little girl.
"Sir" the little girl says, "Can you take me with you?" I paused for a second, before taking a knee and asking "Tell me, what do you believe?" She paused to think for a moment, before answering "I believe in the emperor and that he watches over us, that's what my mom taught me"
"And what happened to your mother, little girl?" the girl then looks down sadly before glancing at me "She... She ran away, the mean people wanted to kill my father and wanted to take her next" tears well up in her eyes "this person arrived looking for my dad, but I killed him because he looked like the people who scared me and mom" another long pause before she stares at me, deeply and with tears in her eyes "are you going to kill me? Have I been bad to the emperor?" She says as she begins to cry louder.
I think for a moment before responding "If you have done nothing wrong, then you have nothing to fear", the little girl sniffles and says "but I killed this person" "and why did you do it?" I responded, "he looks like the people who tried to hurt mom, so I-"
"So you killed him" I cut her off, she nodded. "It is not safe for you here, come along then, before more of those cultists show up", her eyes light up with a newfound sense of curiosity, "where are we going?" As I get up and begin walking, I turn to her and say "If your story is true, your mother may be waiting" she smiles at this "now come along, we must go"
The girl happily follows close as we head towards the extraction point, on the way she asks "You're so big, sir. Are you a guard too?" I turn to her "No, I am a member of the Adeptus Astartes" the girl tilts her head in confusion "Ad... Adeptus astartes? What's that?" She says, clearly struggling the first time, "Err, you can refer to me as a space marine, it's much easier." I respond "As for what we are, we are the Imperium's finest soldiers, we are sent to many planets and protect them from the xeno, witch, and heretic alike" at the mention of other planets her eyes light up "you've seen other planets!?" She excitedly exclaimed, "I've only seen my home world, and sometimes dad brings me to his training area outside the city, comister Gripe was very friendly, but he liked yelling at my dad and his friends"
"Comister?" I asked, "Yep! Comister Gripe always wore a black jacket with a skull on his hat, the skull was always so scary but dad said I shouldn't be scared of it" A commissar I thought "So, your father was in the Imperial Guard?", "Yep!" she replied "but I don't know where he is, after mom went missing he left too" she sniffles "he said he would be back soon after he found mom, but I haven't seen them in a while" she pauses as I hop down a ledge and reach out my arms to carry her down
"So your father was in the guard, what about your mother?" I asked "she was a factory worker" the girl replied, "she always stayed out extra long so we could have grox for dinner every week!" She smiles "I hope she's safe", I nodded and said "I do too"
We arrived at the extraction point, I noticed a few refugees and my fellow brothers cordoning them off or pointing in the distance, has to be their transport off planet I thought, but that's when I saw them, fellow space marines donning red armor and sporting a white skull and the logo of the inquisition on their pauldron, Red Hunters I thought to myself.
I turned to the girl "Stay here, I will be back after I've had a word with my superior" "Ok mister space marine!" as she salutes me not too dissimilar to how guardsmen greet each other, as I approach my squad, I can overhear them bickering between each other "Damned dogs, they send us down first only to claim authority over the operation after!?" says Initiate Karl, "Holdfast, brother. We had our orders and we followed them, let's just wrap things up and leave the rest to them" said Erik.
This was Sword Brother Erik, head of our squad and a member of the prestigious Sword Brethren "Brother, I have returned" I stated "And so you have, initiate. Welcome back." he replied "We are currently making our preparations to depart this planet and leave it to the Inquisition to quell any remaining riots."
"Blasphemy, brother!" shouted Karl "We should not take lip from the inquisition! You of all people should know-"
"That will be all, Karl" Erik said "If any of you have any more qualms with the inquisition, speak up but ensure these issues are worthy of acknowledgment and not just your own personal resentment of them" with that Karl and the other marines went silent, before he turned to me "And what about you, Adelhard. Have you any qualms with the inquisition worthy of note?"
I took a breath before responding "Brother, what will happen to the civilians?" Erik was puzzled and replied with "What of them, Adelhard?"
"I mean what will the inquisition do to them?"
Erik glanced at the civilians nearby then back towards the battlefields where their homes once stood "They will likely be treated as heretics, given their proximity to the taint of chaos, I wouldn't be surprised if this ground we stand on is to be orbitally struck as soon as we leave"
My heart sank as I envisioned the girl being vaporized by an Inquisitorial ship looming above, Erik took notice "What's wrong, Adelhard? Having second thoughts about our mission here?"
"No, brother. It's just-"
"Just what?"
"I found this child, I do not believe she deserves to share the fate of the heretics we eliminated"
Erik took a moment to think "And how have you come to that realization?"
"Her father was in the guard, and her mother was a studious worker" I replied, Erik paused once more, now removing his helmet to look at me, his face emotionless as he replied, "Do you think the Inquisition cares about it? The number of citizens they have killed are numerous, there are even rumors of the Celestial Lions being targeted for alleged heresies but those are yet to be proven" he sighs "what difference would it make were we to take this up to the Inquisition? Our chapter has seldom been in their good books for so called 'codex compliance', we can do little without giving them a reason to mark us as heretics and bring shame to our chapter"
I think about the prospects, before Karl chimes in "We could take her with us", all eyes were on him now "What?" replies Erik, "And who would raise this child? I seldom see anyone here fit enough to raise one? By the Emperor, why am I even considering this..."
It's here I muster the courage to say "I volunteer, brother" silence befalls the group once more "I shall teach her our ways of worshiping the God Emperor, I will ensure her upbringing will be without hindrance to our duties, I shall-" Erik puts a hand on my shoulder
"And what if the inquisition finds out? What if you are branded a heretic for taking her in" I place my hand on his with a firm grip and say
"If the God Emperor wills it, then I shall die protecting her, for the Emperor protects his faithful."
With a smile, he nods, takes his hand off my shoulder and says "Go then, fetch her and we will depart, the transports are almost here"
With a sigh of relief I walk towards the girl, however as I arrive I see her in tears.
As I kneel down she runs up and wraps her arms around me, tears trickling down her face in a steady stream. "What's wrong, little one?" I ask, with tearful eyes she looks up and says "I f-found my m-mom..." she points, I follow the direction of her finger, and soon enough I see it, a large pile of corpses in the distance and among them I spot faintly familiar features, with necklace of the aquila wrapped around her neck in a strangled fashion. I turn to her and she says "I don't know what to do now...", I remove my helmet and her eyes fill with curiosity once more as I strike the most concerned face as I can "If you will allow it, you can follow me" I say as she wipes the tears from her eyes "I must warn you however, life aboard our ship will be tough for a normal, and practicing our regimen even more so" I now don a serious look towards her "but if you are willing to try, I will be there every step of the way to aid you" she's stunted, taken aback even, perhaps I came on too strong I think to myself
I did not need to ponder long, as she responded "I want to go with you, mister space marine" At first I thought she was taken aback, but now I find myself taken aback with this level of certainty "Are you certain, little one?" she took one more look around, the damage wrought upon her home world, her people, her family. She finally turned to look me in the eye and spoke "I am sure, sir" with response that I stood, stepped aside, and she stood up and followed. On the way towards the pick up site, I asked "I hadn't asked, what is your name, little one?" the little girl looked up, I could see her eyes with more clarity now, I noticed they had a hue of green as she spoke, covered in mud and blood "Luci, my name is Luci" I nodded, "And my name is Adelhard, little one" I replied.
As the transport landed to pick us up, she glanced one last time at her planet, the home she would know only little about, as she turned away she faced me and mouthed a thank you amidst the talking and boarding of the marines and our war gear. That day she was no longer just a scrappy child on some forgotten world wrought by the taint of Chaos, that day she became one of us.