That Time I Got Reincarnate As A Medic In The World Of Warhammer 40k

Eve could feel the raw tension in the air as the remaining Guardsmen formed a loose line, bolstered now by the presence of the Salamanders. The hulking Astartes, clad in their dark green power armor adorned with drake-scale patterns, exuded an aura of unwavering confidence. They had fought in countless wars across the galaxy, and yet here they were, standing shoulder to shoulder with what little remained of the battered Steel Legion.

Commissar Voss, his eyes ever watchful, stood nearby with his bolt pistol holstered. Sergeant Thorne, always grim but resilient, stood slightly ahead, his lasgun ready. Though the Salamanders had taken command of the battle, Eve knew that this fight was far from over.

As the green-skinned Orks surged forward again, their guttural war cries echoing through the battlefield, Eve took a deep breath.

*"Eve,"* Lilith's voice echoed faintly in the back of her mind, *"how do we survive this?"*

*"By being what they don’t expect us to be,"* Eve responded firmly. She gripped her combat knife, feeling its familiar weight in her hand. The very same knife Sergeant Thorne had given her, and now it would be her tool of survival.

The Salamanders moved forward with devastating efficiency. Their bolters roared as they unleashed streams of explosive rounds into the charging Orks. Each shot reduced the towering xenos to green mist, but there were always more Orks behind them, eager for violence and death. The Salamanders’ flamers, their signature weapons, belched gouts of fire, turning the charging hordes into blazing pyres.

But Eve did not carry a bolter or a flamer. She moved among the Guardsmen, her combat knife gleaming in the ashen light of Armageddon’s perpetual smog. Her movements were fluid, honed by years of training with the rogue cells that had once imprisoned her. Where others saw chaos, Eve saw opportunities.

A massive Ork Nob, wielding a crude axe nearly as tall as she was, came barreling toward the Imperial line. With a primal roar, it swung its weapon in a broad arc, intending to cleave anything in its path. Eve darted forward, moving under its guard with inhuman grace. Her knife found the creature’s side, slipping between the crude plates of its armor. With a twist of the blade, she severed the arteries beneath its green hide and follows up with a stab to a vulnerable part of the Ork’s back. The Nob staggered, eyes wide with confusion before being shot down by the Astartes, before collapsing into the mud.

The guardsmen around her stared, their disbelief evident.

*"They're... impressed? Or maybe scared"* Lilith murmured from within, astonishment lacing her tone.

*"They should be focused on the battle,"* Eve replied, pushing through the mental connection. Yet, she understood their reactions. What they saw wasn’t possible for an ordinary human soldier. Eve's speed and her precision it was all too perfect. But it was still human, trained and earned, not enhanced by any forbidden sorcery as Eve’s predictions and calculations are all spot on.

Another Ork lunged at her from the left, wielding a jagged blade. Eve ducked low, slashing at its leg with a swift cut that hamstrung the creature. As it howled in pain, she followed with multiple brutal stab to its throat and twisting it, ending its life before it could strike again.

Commissar Voss watched her closely. She could feel his eyes on her even as the battle raged. His suspicions had not waned, even though the Salamanders' presence had temporarily stayed his hand. Eve would need to tread carefully around him as there were questions that he would demand answers to later, and she wasn't sure how long she could keep the truth hidden.

The Ork tide seemed endless, but the Salamanders were relentless. Sergeant Taelon, his drake-scale cloak billowing as he moved, led the Astartes with practiced ease. Every bolt shell he fired, every swing of his power sword, felled multiple Orks at once. He fought with the certainty of someone who had faced far worse than this and survived.

And yet, despite their combined might, the enemy still pressed forward.

Eve found herself back-to-back with Sergeant Thorne at one point, the grizzled sergeant grunting as he fired into the advancing horde. His lasgun burned through the bodies of the Orks, but it was clear he was tiring.

“Hold the line, damn it!” Sergeant Thorne barked, his voice rough but commanding.

“We’ll hold,” Eve replied, ducking under another swing from an Ork slugga and driving her knife into its eye socket before running it off in its face. “Just keep them off me.”

Together, they pushed forward, covering each other as best they could, while around them, the Salamanders mowed down the larger clusters of enemies. Yet, Eve felt the weight of every move. She was faster, more skilled than any human Guardsman should be, but her body was still that of a human. She could feel the strain in her muscles, the burn in her lungs.

It was then that the tide of the battle shifted.

A tremendous roar echoed across the battlefield, a sound so deep and primal that it shook the ground beneath their feet. Eve looked up just in time to see the massive silhouette of an Ork Warboss striding forward, towering above the rest of the horde. His armor was cobbled together from the remnants of tanks and walkers, and he wielded a massive power klaw that sparked with brutal energy.

The Salamanders reacted instantly. Taelon barked orders, directing his brothers toward the Warboss, but the creature was not interested in the Astartes. Its beady eyes locked onto the line of Guardsmen—and onto Eve.

“Get down!” Commissar Voss shouted, pushing through the confusion. “All units, fall back!”

But it was too late. The Warboss charged.

Time seemed to slow as the beast thundered toward her. Eve felt Lilith's panic rise within her, but she pushed it aside and stayed calm. She needed focus and precision.

As the Warboss swung its massive klaw, Eve rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding being crushed. The ground where she had been standing was torn apart by the force of the blow. She had no time to think. The Warboss turned, its crude helmet glaring down at her as if recognizing the real threat among the human soldiers. Eve's knife was too small, too insignificant to damage something that large.

“To think that I’m fighting something at this caliber…” Eve whispers to herself with a smile as despite the situation, she is clearly enjoying fighting opponents like these.

The Warboss raised its klaw again, but this time Eve anticipated the attack as she rushes forward. The Warboss’ klaw almost crushed Eve but she stopped at the perfect moment before jumping to the claw to cut off the exposed wiring and her small stature allowed her to slip through the gap between the arms to which the Warboss responded by attempting to grab her but the Astartes starts to shoot. The Warboss bellowed in fury as its power klaw sputtered and died, not to mention that Eve is quite agile and the support fire from the Astartes.

She could hear the cheers of the Guardsmen, their disbelief turning into hope. But Eve knew the fight wasn’t over. The Warboss, though enraged, was far from finished.

With a savage roar, the creature turned and sweeps its massive arm toward Eve. She barely had time to react, and the impact sent her sprawling into the mud. Pain shot through her body, but she forced herself to her feet as she is used to the pain. This much is nothing when she was being experimented on. Her vision starts to focus more, and for a moment, everything seemed distant, unreal and the only one that mattered is the Warboss before her.

*"Eve..."* Lilith's voice was soft, filled with concern. *"What’s happening with you?"*

*"Relax, I got a bit too excited but I got this"* Eve thought back.

The Warboss roared once more, but before it could charge, the Salamanders moved in. Sergeant Taelon and his squad struck the beast from all sides, their power swords slicing through its armor with deadly precision. The Warboss howled in defiance, but even its immense strength couldn’t withstand the combined assault of the Astartes as Eve recovers before she jumps and stabs the Ork’s eye and making sure that the combat knife is plunge deep enough to deliver the final blow. With one final, thunderous roar, the creature fell, crashing into the earth with a resounding thud.

The battlefield fell quiet, saved for the crackle of distant fires and the groans of the dying Orks. Eve stood still for a moment, covered in blood and grime, her knife still in hand. She could feel her body trembling, the exhaustion finally catching up to her as she lets out a deep exhale.

“You fight like an Astartes, Lilith” Thorne muttered, his voice filled with both admiration and confusion. “You really put that knife to good use”

“Thank you, Sergeant.” Eve answers thoughtfully as she thought that being praised isn’t too bad at all.

Around her, the surviving Guardsmen, Sergeant Thorne, Voss, and the few others still standing as they stared at her in awe and disbelief. The Commissar, in particular, seemed torn between suspicion and something that almost resembled respect.

"That was... quite impressive, Guardswoman," Commissar Voss said, his voice carefully neutral. "Though I can't help but wonder how a simple recruit managed such a feat."

Eve met his gaze steadily. "The Emperor protects, Commissar," she replied, her voice calm despite the turmoil in her mind. "And He gives strength to those who serve Him faithfully."

Voss's eyes narrowed slightly, but before he could respond, Sergeant Taelon approached.

"Well fought, young one," Taelon said, his voice a deep rumble through his helmet's vox-grill. "You have the spirit of a true warrior. The Emperor smiles upon you this day."

Eve bowed her head respectfully. "Thank you. I merely did what was necessary."

*"We did it,"* Lilith whispered, her presence a comforting warmth in the back of Eve’s mind.

*"Yes,"* Eve replied, wiping the blood from her knife. *"But this is just the beginning. We will need to form a plan soon after about Commissar Voss"*

As the Salamanders began the grim task of purging the remaining Orks and securing the area, Eve found herself surrounded by her fellow Guardsmen. As the adrenaline of battle began to fade, Eve became aware of just how exhausted she was. Her muscles ached, and she could feel a dozen minor cuts and bruises making themselves known. But more than that, she felt a bone-deep weariness that went beyond the physical.

As the sun began to set on the blood-soaked battlefield, casting long shadows across the corpses of fallen Orks and humans alike, Eve found a quiet moment to herself. She sat on a piece of fallen masonry, her back to the triumphant cheers of the surviving Guardsmen.

"*Are you alright?*" Lilith's voice was soft in her mind, tinged with concern.

"*I will be,*" Eve replied. "*I think, I’ll just need some rest. You mind switching with me for a bit?*"

Eve closes her eyes as the transition is fluid. Lilith opens her eyes and is surprised by the pain on her body.

“*Eve! You meanie!*” Lilith complains but lets out a sigh. “*But, thank you*”

In her hand, she held the silver Aquila and the vial of a pressed that Sister Victorine and Sister Mercy had given her, so long ago in the orphanage. Their weight was familiar and comforting. She ran her thumb over their surface, feeling the intricate details of the two-headed eagle and the vial.

As night fell on Armageddon, bringing with it the promise of new battles to come, Lilith stood and made her way back to the Imperial lines. Tomorrow would bring new challenges, new horrors. But for now, they had survived. For now, that was enough.

As the stars began to appear in the polluted sky of Armageddon, Lilith found herself standing at the edge of the Imperial encampment. The night was alive with activity as the medicae teams tending to the wounded, tech-priests performing rites of repair on damaged vehicles, and Guardsmen securing the perimeter against any potential Ork stragglers.

Sergeant Taelon approached, his massive form casting a long shadow in the flickering light of the camp's lumen-globes. He had removed his helmet, revealing a face that was a roadmap of scars as he calls out to Lilith. Lilith turns around to see the massive figure before her.

"You fought well today, Little one" The Sergeant holds out his massive hand of armor and pats Lilith's shoulder with a proud look on his face. He had seen what the little girl can do in battle and even him, an Astartes, was impressed by her skills.

However, at the time, Lilith is the one in control as Eve is mindfully resting deep inside Lilith's mind.