The Multiverse Project: Warhammer 40,000

The snow stopped. Tangmo knew he should be happy, but given how convenient the downpour just let up right after the attack was repulsed…yeah, shit was about to go down. The happy camping atmosphere from before was gone, replaced by a taut combat readiness as safeties were switched off and every barrel trained on the surrounding darkness.

"Did we go a little too far?" Korri spoke up from across the fire. Where laughter and drinks were shared hours ago, only trepidation remained, the twisted knots of anticipation every guardsman get when they knew the worst was yet to come. Shit, now Tangmo knew how the 101st Airborne felt at Bastogne.

"What do you mean?" Nikki stopped tinkering with the scope of her sniper rifle and looked up.

"The girl sister Miriya took," Elpida added, "we…kinda lost control when we swarmed her."

"She wouldn't stay down," Victoria looked most shaken of the three. "She just keeps trying to fight back, so we just keep hitting her, but she wouldn't stop."

"The same thing happens all over the camp," Yuki spoke up. "Hell, this must be the first time the Banshee and the Sororitas actually help each other. One of the woman we caught was built like a freaking mountain, took a lot of punches and kicks to knock her out."

"We missed you in the trench," Krillen spoke up. When the trench was breached everyone more or less scattered, with the wolf girls herding them into isolated pockets, making each chunks nice and easy to kill.

"Aww, I'm flattered!" Yuki grinned cutely and the guardsmen laughed.

"Why are you feeling bad about this?" The three girls shrunk from Lingxin's judgmental glare. "All of you have kill before, how is this different?"

"Because it's one thing to shoot someone from afar, and quite another to beat them to a bloody pulp with your bare hands," the girls smiled gratefully at Tangmo's understanding look. "Things become a lot more personal up close, as opposed to a faraway shape that drops once you pull the trigger. Don't worry girls, the shock will pass soon enough, but remember, you'll be doing it all over again in the future."

It was grim pragmaticism devoid of sentimentality, but it was what the girls needed. They didn't look any happier, but at least the tenseness was dispersing and weak, yet pronounced smiles passed between them, a tiny relief shared amongst each other.

"Death would've been a mercy for her," Bruce spoke up from the parapet. "She'll suffer a lot worse now that the nuns got their hands on her."

"I thought Emily was the one conducting the interrogation?" Leilatha asked.

"Inquisitor Amberley relieved major Emily of the prisoners," Hildebrandt added from the down the trench. "She, along with the canonesses and their Celestians are interrogating the prisoners as we speak."

"Well shit," Tangmo's horrified look was mirrored around the fire.

"I don't hear any screams, yet," Krix's comment was received by low laughter.

"Maybe they're just talking?" Korri offered weakly.

"Sororitas don't do foreplay," Orhul smiled toothily but shut his mouth when Tyra shot him an unamused glare.

"And how would you know that?!" Tyra demanded.

"I-I just heard it from the others, my little blossom!" Orhul spluttered. His attempt to wiggle out of Tyra's intense gaze drew a healthy round of sniggers from the crowd. "Meko told me about it, isn't that right Meko? After that night on Tera-Antebella?"

"I didn't tell you shit!" Meko raised his voice the same moment Krix and Luva honed their lasgun grade stare on him.

"I thought you two were already sharing him, what's wrong if one more join in?" Nikki asked.

"We can tolerate each other," Luva and Krix traded look. "What we can't tolerate is someone coming into our territory and taking what doesn't belong to them."

"So…" Nikki quirked her brow mischievously, leaning in to rub shoulder with Krix, "how does one join this little ménage a trois of yours and turn it into a ménage a quatre?"

"I doubt the relationship between our two races have reach that point," Dalthorn, Lita's boyfriend, made an incredulous face.

"What about inquisitor Laura and Banshee exarch Yuki?" Krillen put forward the question and it was somehow Tangmo who got kicked in the shin by Yuki.

"Ow! What the fuck bro?!" Tangmo bellowed and rubbed his leg, he'd forgotten how hard Yuki's karate kick was.

"You just had to run your fucking mouth, didn't you?!" Yuki accused him of a crime he didn't commit.

"I didn't do shit!" Tangmo spluttered.

"Your behavior lacks subtlety, lady exarch," Elraleath, the Dark Reaper exarch, spoke up from the fire step, his focus never leaving the forest line. "Your…friendliness with the inquisitor is transparent. I doubt the commissar is responsible for the revelation amongst the battlegroup."

"See! I'm innocent!" Tangmo smiled smugly at the huffing Yuki. The Banshee was about to say something when the low rumbling call of war horns shattered the night, the roaring resonance triggering an unpleasant flashback to a little town in Jigugeum. But unlike before, no bloodthirsty cries answered the horns, instead a rhythmic beating of drums echoed through the forest to create a slow marching tempo pounding in sync with the solemn brass section.

"Here we go again!" Kenshin was scarily eager as he stepped onto the fire step and drew his katana.

"Let's work a little magic like last time," Lingxin braced the dao on her shoulder and winked at Tangmo.

"Use your guns you idiots!" Min Jae hissed and braced his lasgun on the sandbags.

"I'm with Min Jae on this one," Tangmo pressed a binocular to his face, groaning when he saw nothing but bright swathes of white neon glare. "Kill the light please, I can't see shit."

Six of the spotlights in their section went dark, the night rushing back to reclaim its dominance. Darkness reign supreme for about half a minute, then through the thick mass of alpines red and orange orbs flared to life, too numerous to count, weaving and bobbing like will-o'-the-wisp toward the trench, their passage hauntingly calm, the illumination growing brighter with every passing heartbeat.

"Hold! Hold!" Tangmo shouted down the trench, his directive echoed by the officers. "Do not fire until they are in optimal range!"

"They're gonna rush us like last time," Warp lightning danced between Lita's fingers.

"I don't think so lass," Bruce braced his Zodd lasgun. "They don't have the element of surprise."

"So what do we do?" Lita asked.

"We wait," Tangmo said, and wait they did. For the ten minutes that followed, the Imperial Guards and eldars maintain their position, every gun primed and loaded, the bright spotlights around the perimeter were snuffed so not to give the enemy any targets to concentrate fire on. The horns and drums played on, the slow tempo unceasing in its ominous melody. Then it stopped. The absolute silence that followed was a physical pressure, a constriction borne from morbid anticipation.

"Prepare to fire!" Tangmo steady his breathing and held the bolt pistol forward, eyes trained down the iron sight as the guardsmen and eldars braced their lasguns and shuriken catapults on the frost covered sandbag. The surrounding torches ceased their advance, becoming ghostly sentinels hovering amongst the tree line, soundless and watchful.

"Steady!" Tangmo's command echoed down the line, and to his relief nobody got trigger happy, "fire on my command only!"

"Movement!" Hildebrandt shouted and Tangmo saw one of the torches broke away from its companion, the pace calm and leisurely. An armored figure strode out of the veil of midnight. The gloom was obscuring the finer detail but Tangmo could tell that the individual was tall and clad in a Sororitas power armor. The woman came to stop five hundred yards from the trench, stabbed the torch into the snow, and waited, arms folded across her chest. It was only after five more minutes of inactivity that Tangmo realized she was waiting for the battlegroup to reciprocate the gesture.

"Everybody stand down! I repeat, stand down!" Tangmo holstered his bolt pistol and started climbing out of the trench.

"What are you doing?!" Leilatha hissed at him.

"Get down you idiot!" Lita joined in.

"If they'd wanted us dead, we'll be minced meat by now," Tangmo crouched above the trench, held up both his hands and rose slowly. "And for the love of the God Emperor, tell everyone to stand down, I don't want this going to hell because some retard got twitchy."

Not waiting to hear their response, Tangmo stood upright and walked toward the woman, "don't shoot!"

Things went reasonably well. Despite the breathless atmosphere, both sides refrained from shooting each other and Tangmo was able to reach the woman unscathed. When he was inside the bright glow of the torch, Tangmo found himself face to face with what can only be described as Viking shield-maiden, in space! The armor was of the same mold as the Sororitas, but with a Nordic motif instead of a gothic knight one. The woman's ensemble was engraved, quite lavishly Tangmo noticed, with flowing knotted patterned displaying zoomorphic imagery of hunting animals. Thick black furs trimmed the vambraces and greaves, while a big buddle of it was draped over her shoulders and attached to the pauldrons by thick silver chains. And like the Sororitas, the armor was extremely feminine and hot. The bust of her boob plates, both complemented with sharpened nipple spikes, were a little bit bigger than Miriya.

"Good evening," Tangmo managed to lift his gaze upward and saluted smartly. "Commissar Tangmo, at your service, who do I have the pleasure of speaking to?"

Deep sapphire eyes narrowed on him through the visor of the winged Valkyrie helm, the luscious lip beneath it was drawn into a thin line as the woman unclasped the belted strap beneath her chin and pulled the helmet off, freeing an immaculate braid of blonde that hung over one shoulder. And holy God Emperor Almighty she was beautiful, in the sharp, powerful Scandinavian woman kinda way.

"I am Astrid," she said, "huskarl of the Order of the Frost Bringer."

"Frost Bringer, cool name," Tangmo nodded and drew his coat tighter around him, damn the night was cold. "Are you guys related to the Winter Angels by any chance?"

"The Winter Angels are fairytales conjured up by those incapable of comprehending what we are and what we do," Astrid scoffed. "The people across the system and beyond parroted the name until it was ingrained into their imagination. Only those of Frystasvard remember our true name."

"Ah, I see," Tangmo stuffed his hand into his awesome commissar coat pockets. "Personally, Frost Bringer sounds a lot better than Winter Angels."

"That is one thing we can agree upon," the intensity of Astrid's gaze soften somewhat. "I admit curiosity, commissar."

"Curiosity kills the cat," Tangmo smirked.

"There are no cats here commissar, only wolves," Astrid flashed a toothy grin. "Your warband must be the most peculiar I've ever seen."

"Well, the Immortal Spirit battlegroup isn't exactly conventional," Tangmo said.

"I see guardsmen, Astartes, Sororitas, and even eldars," Astrid tone was almost playful. "And I find myself wanting to know more about my prey."

"What do you want to – achoo!" Tangmo sneezed and held up a hand in apology. "Sorry, what do you want to know about the Immortal Spirit?"

"Feeling a little chilly?" Astrid chuckled.

"I'm not built for this kind of weather, that's for sure," Tangmo sniffed.

"Don't expect me to offer you my coat," Astrid said. "But no, we've heard enough about the Immortal Spirit, the astropathic choirs and the many outworlder merchants can't stop singing praises about you people. No, I'm more curious about you, the singing commissar."

"To tell you the truth, I'm sharing my singing duty with Erik now," Tangmo shrugged.

"What are you doing exactly?" Astrid leaned in close suddenly, her questing gaze roaming his face like a wolf sniffing for scent.

"What do you mean?" Tangmo asked when Astrid backed off.

"You're not like those other two," Astrid started circling him, slowly checking him out from head to toe. Tangmo followed the woman's inspection with an amused grin. "One of them was all polite and sweet, courteous and smiling, but we know he's full of shit. The other was rude and pompous, engorged with his nonexistence faculty and authority. His disdain for us was the only thing honest about him." Astrid finished her circuit and returned to stand before him, arms folded over her chest, "those two were transparent, but I can't seem to make sense of you. Now why is that?"

"Because I have nothing to hide?" Tangmo offered.

"You are hard to read because you are free of guile?" Astrid scoffed.

"I'm not a big fan of diplomacy," Tangmo said. "It's fucking useless anyway, all those nice bullshit never amount to anything productive. Apparently, that's the sophisticated way of doing things, because suffering through contrive stupidity is better than tackling a problem head on. Luckily, I do my own thing."

"Some would regard such straight forward honesty as immaturity," Astrid said.

"Well those people are fucking idiots and I usually ended up killing them," Tangmo shrugged.

"Ha! Indeed!" Astrid barked a laugh. "I like you, singing commissar."

"Fuck, that's a first," Tangmo snorted. "So the commissars and their regiments are in your custody?"

"They are," Astrid nodded. "That's why you're here isn't it, to rescue the weeping damsels?"

"It doesn't need to be a rescue mission," Tangmo said. "Just give them back to us, and we can sort this mess out without more people getting hurt."

"Those men come to our home, spit on our law, trample the right of our men and insult our women," Astrid growled, canines gleaming in the torchlight. "So we respond in kind. The prisoners will be judge by our law for the crime they have committed." She closed the distant suddenly, their noses almost touching, the smile she wore was challenging. "But I will not stop you from mounting a rescue, because you will fail, just like everyone else who came bearing arms against us."

"How about we just bomb the living shit out of you people?" Tangmo held Astrid's piercing gaze with a bored one.

"You can wreath this planet in fire and none of us will be killed," Astrid was seriously getting a massive kick out of this little joust of words. "And once your soldiers make planetfall, they shall be laid to rest amongst the fires and ashes."

"Really? Because those wolf girls you send got their asses handed to them," Tangmo said.

"They are pathfinders, initiate who have yet to gain the rank of shield-maiden. Judging by how tense your battlegroup is, they appear to have left quite an impression," Astrid tried to sound nonchalant but Tangmo saw restlessness seeping through her veneer. "The girl who led the attack on this section of the trench, where is she?"

"…The one with wolf helmet?" Tangmo asked.

"Yes," Astrid nodded.

"We capture her after our sniper, engineer and copilot kick the crap out of her," Tangmo told her. "Why? You know her?"

"Sigrid, my sister," Astrid said.

"You order your own sister to lead a sortie against a fortified position? Damn dude, that's cold," Tangmo made an incredulous face.

"I love her!" Astrid raised her voice. "But she has always been headstrong and willful. When your scout discovered our trails earlier today she lost her temper, and insult from the outworlders she said, and led her host in retaliation. By the time I knew what was happening, the pathfinders were already shambling back into our camps."

"Which brings us to this," Tangmo gesture at the standoff. "You want the prisoners back?"

"I do," Astrid said.

"Quid pro quo, my dude," Tangmo's mischievous smile was making Astrid blistered. "We'll let your sister and her friends go, if you allow us to negotiate with your leader for the release of the two commissars and their regiments. Take it or leave it."

"The elskerinne will never agree to your term," Astrid was clearly intrigued by the offer, despite the sternness of her rebuttal.

"Well then, I guess the prisoners will be staying with us for the night," Tangmo lowered his voice villainously. "The Adepta Sororitas are very rough, just so you know, and I doubt your sister will last an hour with them."

Astrid snarled at him but it was halfhearted. Her personal feeling, the need to protect her little sister, was easily winning over her given directive.

"Release Sigrid and her friends to us," Astrid said after a moment, "and I will bring your proposition to the elskerinne, that's all I can promise you right now. You shall have your answer in the morning."

"How do I know you're not gonna run away with the prisoners and come back later guns blazing?" Tangmo inquired.

"Do not question our honor," Astrid warned him, and this time she sounded truly pissed. Tangmo and Astrid locked eyes for the minutes that followed, which ended when the commissar sneezed again.

"Fuck it, I don't wanna catch I cold. You got yourself a deal," Tangmo tapped his earbud, flakes of icicle skidded down the side of his neck and into his awesome commissar coat. "Fuck! Hello? Where are the prisoners?"

"Oh hey Tangmo, we got dips on the prisoners," Laura's horrifyingly chirpy voice answered him and a new kind of chill went down his spine. "Me, Amberley and Miriya were just talking to the one that attack you. She's being very rude and uncooperative by the way."

"Now when you say 'talking', did you mean that in the literal sense, or the figurative? As in, she's getting her nails and teeth pulled out?" Tangmo asked and Astrid's eyes bulged out of her skull.

"Things are literal for the moment," Laura continued. "But we're about to get figurative real soon."

"Yeah, put a lid on that," Tangmo said. "Her sister's here to pick her up, bring the prisoners to my position."

"…Mate, did you just tell me to let them go?" Laura spoke slowly.

"Yes, I'm telling you to let them go, achoo! Fuck!" Tangmo yelled into his earbud. "Look dude, the entire camp is surrounded by an army of Viking Sororitas, I'm trying to deescalate the situation here!"

"We're surrounded?! When the bloody hell did that happened?!" Laura exclaimed.

"It's been like half an hour dude, didn't you hear the shouting, the horns, the drums?!" Tangmo shot back.

"Cain's little suite is soundproof mate, we don't know what's going on outside!" Laura said.

"And now you know. So can you please bring them out before the nice Viking lady stab me?!" Tangmo continued. "Oh, and make sure that Amberley isn't anywhere near the prisoner exchange, she might go crazy and ruin everything."

"Too late love, she's already dragging the girl out," Laura deadpanned then sighed. "Guess I'll see you soon."

"Yikes, I'm going into damage control mode then," Tangmo turned to Astrid with a serious face. "I got good news and bad news."

"Go on," Astrid eye's narrowed dangerously.

"The good news is your sister and her friends are on their way here," Tangmo told her. "The bad news is inquisitor Amberley is escorting them, and she's extremely pissed."

"And I should care about this inquisitor because?" Astrid asked.

"She's Ciaphas Cain's lover, and you people just fucking kidnapped him," Tangmo said. "Do the math."

"Ah…I see," Astrid's breathy croon was insidiously viperous.

"Okay, seriously, that thing you're doing right now? Totally not helping," Tangmo pointed at the leering grin curving up Astrid's lips. "Maybe you can stop?!"

"He never mentions he had a lover," Astrid said innocently. "Then again, he wasn't much of a talker when we bedded him. Just a litter grunt here and a little moan there, it was very sweet."

"Holy shit, can you please shut the fuck up?!" Tangmo said exasperatedly. "I don't want this going to shit! Do you?!"

"You have a point," Astrid shrugged as the crunch of snow and very loud, violent cursing announced the arrival of the prisoners.

"Let me go! I'll kill all of you!" Tangmo spun around to find the wolf girl, Sigrid, struggling between sister Cassandra and Isabel, with Laura, Amberley and Miriya's Celestian squad escorting the rest of the prisoners. Sigrid ceased her struggling when she saw Astrid, "sister?!"

"Let her go, now!" Astrid roared, and it was only after Miriya nodded that Cassandra and Isabel released Sigrid, who dashed for the huskarl and embraced her, the other prisoners taking their places behind them.

"Blessed the stars, you are safe," Astrid held Sigrid tight, the joy and comfort radiating from the two was so sweet that it almost made Tangmo go 'aww'. Then the huskarl smacked the pathfinder squarely on the head with an open palm slap, shattering the tear-jerking scene to pieces. "What in the Allfather's name were you thinking you stupid girl!"

"Ow! Stop it!" Sigrid was covering her head in a futile attempt to shield the slaps. "They insulted our honor! Mocked us! They need to be taught a lesson!"

"And what a piss poor lesson it has been!" After one final slap, Astrid placed her hands on her hips, angry and worried in equal measure. "I told you to stand down! Why didn't you listen to me, Sigrid? I was worried sick!"

"I could've won," Sigrid pouted childishly then barred her teeth at Tangmo. "I almost gutted that one but his pack of bitches stopped me!"

"You're lucky I didn't Muay Thai your ass into next week," Tangmo grinned like a dick then looked at Astrid. "You got what you want. Now it's your turn to keep your end of the bargain."

"I will," Astrid nodded firmly. "Thank you."

"What bargain?!" Sigrid demanded, her eyes darting between Tangmo and Astrid. "What did you promise them?!"

"That I will speak with mother about opening an avenue for negotiation," Astrid told her.

"That is not good enough," Amberley cut in and stalked forward, coming to stand beside Tangmo. "I demand that we be taken to see Ciaphas Cain, now."

"You demand nothing, inquisitor," Astrid sneered at Amberley. "I have already made my pact with commissar Tangmo, and by that agreement will the term be abided. As before, Ciaphas Cain and his guardsmen will remain in our custody."

"Commissar Tangmo does not speak for all of us," Miriya said lowly and Tangmo rolled his eyes.

"And thank the Allfather for that," Astrid gave Tangmo a knowing look. "No wonder he's not howling mad like you Ecclesiarch zealots."

"Watch your tongue, heretic," Miriya growled, her plasma pistol coming free from its holster.

"I've been called worse by bigger hypocrites than you," Astrid's canines gleamed in the moonlight, "and killed a fair amount too."

"Holy shit, shut the fuck up!" Tangmo raised his voice and, by some miracle, everybody did shut the fuck up. "Goddamn! We're standing on thin ice and you're all stomping on it! Achoo! Fuck! Bottom line is, because I'm so fucking done with this cold, we're doing what Astrid said, got it?! This is the best we're gonna get right now, so can we please not fuck this up?!"

Amberley and Miriya fumed, but they conceded by stomping back toward the camp, all the while giving Tangmo dirty looks. At least Verity seemed okay with this, because she nodded a quick thank at him before joining her squad.

"Oh my God, that almost went to hell," Tangmo let out a breath he's been holding and watched the plumes swirled into the night. Being born in a hot country, the sight never gets old.

"Nice job love," Laura threw her arm around him and squeezed mightily. "You handle that like a pro."

"My diplomacy skill is fucking legendary," Tangmo grinned, his face muscles taut from the cold.

"I wouldn't go that far," Laura laughed.

"It was an admirable display nonetheless," Astrid spoke while Sigrid and the liberated prisoners sulked away into the torch lit pines around them. "Thank you."

"Did you have to piss them off so much?" Tangmo shot Astrid a grumpy look.

"I couldn't help myself," Astrid giggled then added solemnly. "I will be back at dawn with the elskerinne's answer, I'm sorry I can't promise you anything beyond that."

"We work what we got," Tangmo said.

"Indeed," Astrid put her winged Valkyrie helm back on, and damn she was really dashing. "Until morning then, singing commissar. May the Allfather grant commissar Cain and his warriors the strength to survive the night."

"What the fuck do you mean?!" Tangmo eyes widened.

"Oh, my apology commissar Tangmo, I should have mention this earlier," Astrid smiled innocently and picked up the torch. "While my war host was marching against you, commissar Cain and commissar Beije initiate a prison break, the fourth time since their incarceration. We knew in advance of course and mother has prepared a nice little hunt for the girls. It will be sporting, but extremely painful, for the prey that is."

"They better not be dead!" Tangmo yelled after Astrid as she walked away.

"They won't!" Astrid waved off his concern. "But the sores and aches they'll wake up from won't be the pleasant kind!"

Tangmo could only groan as Astrid and the Frost Bringer retreated into the night, the rumbling call of battle horns announcing their goodbye. The reverberation rang deep and long into the absolute darkness of the forest.

"What time is it?" Tangmo yawned and started back toward the trench with Laura.

"Two hour to midnight, local time that is," Laura looked at her watch.

"How long do we have until sunrise?" Tangmo asked.

"Ten hours," Laura stretched her back lazily, "plenty of time for a nap."

"You got that right," Tangmo and Laura entered the trench where the main characters were waiting expectantly. They shared a wave goodbye before going separate ways. "I'm gonna debrief them first before hitting the hay. Sleep tight dude."

"Pleasant dream love."

"Yo, what's the time?" Tangmo asked as he slurped the last of the chazuke, a Japanese dish comprised of hot green tea poured over a bowl of rice, into his mouth.

"Thirty minute after sunrise," Lingxin took a big bite out of a steaming xiaolongbao. "Give them an hour."

"And then? What happens when they don't show?" Min Jae put away his finished congee.

"We go after them," Kenshin declared as he stacked Tangmo's empty bowl atop his and Min Jae's own.

"Right, simple," Min Jae rolled his eyes. "And how do you suggest we do that? We don't know where they are, and the air force can't get a fix on their location."

"Maybe Akecheta and the Wind Walker can scout ahead for us?" Kenshin offered.

"That's an ambush waiting to happen," Min Jae said. "They know the planet, we don't."

"We can always go to Ymirholm and shoot a few people, that'll probably draw the Frost Bringer out," everybody turned, shocked, to the nonchalant Lingxin, who was licking her fingers clean of any lingering pork juice.

"She said it, not me," Kenshin held up his hands defensively.

"Yeah, I can see that," Tangmo chuckled and was sipping his coffee when the horn from last night sounded again, silencing all conversations along the trench and within the camp. "Well that's one problem solved."

"Sorry Lingxin, looks like you won't get to kill those peasants after all," Kenshin strapped on his sword belt.

"This is what I get for being around you too much," Lingxin dusted off her winged Chinese helm and put it on. "I'm beginning to catch your unsavory behavior."

"Why don't you two get a room and kiss already? Fuck," Min Jae shook his head and placed the binocular over his eyes, sparing Kenshin and Lingxin's combined glare zero fucks. "A squad approach, I think the one you talked to last night is leading them."

"Let's hope she have good news," Tangmo climbed out of the trench and adjusted his awesome commissar coat, "same as last night my dudes."

"Yes sir," Min Jae saluted as he walked toward Astrid, this time accompanied by six more huskarls. Now that it was morning, Tangmo saw that the hue of her armor was light, icy blue.

"Please give me some good news," Tangmo said. "Because Amberley and the Sororitas are super fucking pissed, they want blood."

"Good thing the elskerinne had agreed to a negotiation then," Astrid grinned and Tangmo's heart soared.

"Yes!" Tangmo threw his hands into the air, and the trench exploded into cheers. Everyone knows a good news when they sees one. Tangmo just hoped it wasn't premature, "Cain and everybody are okay, right? I mean, you told me about the hunt…"

"Bruises, cuts and broken bones never kill anyone," Astrid snorted. "Admittedly, mother wasn't in the best of mood last night. She was about to hobble the two commissars and hand them over to the girls when I told her about you and the battlegroup. She calm down, fortunately, and had them toss down a well instead."

"She did what?!" Tangmo squawked.

"Oh, it's not so bad, I got thrown down there a couple of times myself when I was little and all I got was a cold," Astrid said. "They probably fished them out by now."

"I better not find him dying from hypothermia or getting his frostbitten fingers clipped off," Tangmo tapped his earbud. "Yo, we're moving out, get your gears ready."

"I thought only you and the high command will be coming with us," Astrid's gaze hardened on him.

"Like hell that's gonna happen," Tangmo waved at the trench, summoning Yuki, Leilatha, Kenshin, Lingxin and Min Jae. "We have no idea where you're taking us and there's nothing but forests and mountains for hundreds of kilometers around, so no, we're not taking any chances."

"A fair point," Astrid conceded with a curt nod. "And here I thought you trust me, I'm hurt."

"Trust is a slow process Astrid," Tangmo cracked a grin as his Asian homies joined him. "But hey, I like you, and things are cool between us, right?"

"You're pretty charming, I'll admit," Astrid smirked, "in a quirky, mischievous way. It's nice to find someone who's unpredictable for a change, unlike those two. By the Allfather, they're so dreary and uninteresting, like every other outworlder male we've met."

"Guess I'm one of the good ones," Tangmo adjusted his awesome commissar coat then tapped his earbud again. "I want everyone to maintain position, maximum combat readiness. Three companies from each regiment, along the canonesses and their Celestians, will be joining me and the colonels. This is a diplomatic mission, not an engagement. Henry, Lita, Nikki, Damien, you guys take care of everything here."

"Dude, you sure about this?" Yuki leaned in close, "this look like a trap."

"We fought her people before, this will be easy like the last time," Kenshin comment drew a sharp look from Astrid.

"What do you mean by that?!" Astrid barred her teeth at the smirking Kuronese, who let his hand drifted leisurely to the lacquered scabbard of his katana.

"It's a long story," Tangmo cut in before the Viking and the samurai can come to blow. "We'll tell you on the way. Shall we?"

"Yes," Astrid hissed and gazed at the guardsmen behind Tangmo, the column pristine, lasguns shouldered and standing at attention, ready to march. "Follow me."

"…And that's how it all went down on Jigugeum."

Tangmo finished his kickass story of how he, Kenshin and Lingxin absolutely destroy the Vikings and Maoris berserkers back on Jigugeum, while conveniently leaving out the part where those crazy bitches almost killed him. They've been marching through the forest for a good hour now, and the vista of trees and snow, towering and majestic, a primordial beauty that makes a common man tremble, got stale after about half an hour. That was when Tangmo told Astrid about the Chaos Sororitas. The huskarl didn't throw a fit, to Tangmo's relief, but she was frowning.

"Hard to believe, isn't it?" Lingxin spoke up.

"The fallen of our ranks? No, I know exactly who led those berserkers you fought," Astrid cast a disbelieving look at the Asians. "What I don't believe is the three of you being victorious."

"Oh, now that is just disrespectful," Kenshin couldn't believe what Astrid just said.

"The martial ways of our people is unconquerable on the battlefield," Astrid declared haughtily, the other huskarls within earshot gave a hearty roar of approval while the Dawn Blade, the Dragon Blood and the Homeland Rifle, who comprised the vanguard of the column, just groaned. "There was no conceivable way you could have survived, unless you ran and hide."

"They almost killed him," damn it Leilatha, why did you have to tell her that?! But the look of blackest fury on the lady commissar's face stopped Tangmo from speaking. "I held his blood soaked body in my arms, surrounded by the corpses of those Chaos women, his breathe weakening with every passing heartbeat. So don't you dare accuse him of speaking falsehood."

"Now that's more believable," Astrid muttered then bowed lowly at Leilatha. "My apology lady commissar, I'm sure your man fought will courage and honor."

"Thanks," Tangmo drew Leilatha close and planted a quick kiss on her cheek. The lady commissar's earlier agitation was swiftly replaced by a reddening bashfulness that only worsened when the guardsmen started sniggering.

"Not in public," Leilatha vainly drew her awesome commissar cap over her steaming pink face. Giving her one last hug, Tangmo let Leilatha go. She quickly smoothen her awesome commissar coat and glared at those still laughing.

"It's rare seeing a man take charge in a relationship," Astrid observed.

"On this planet, yeah, but not in other places," Tangmo said.

"Yes, the Tallarn and commissar Beije made that abundantly clear," Astrid glanced down the line, to where Al-Raman's Tallarn were marching between the Fire Guard and the Mordian. "You have some of them in your battlegroup. Should we be worry?"

"They're the good ones," Tangmo told her. "Didn't you notice the women in their regiment?"

"I did not," Astrid shrugged dismissively. "Neither did Sigrid and the pathfinders mention anything."

"Probably too busy getting their asses kick to notice anything," Tangmo's snarky comment drew a snarl from Astrid.

"Are we there yet, Ms. Huskarl?" Yuki pipped up, her Banshee company was in the vanguard with the Asians. "Or are you finding the perfect spot to have us kill? Oh, and don't think we didn't notice those other huskarls flanking our column. We're eldars you know? We see and hear everything."

"Very perceptive little Banshee," Astrid grinned. "But I'm afraid you are mistaken, those are not huskarls that shadow your retinue. They are shield-maidens, the Battle Sisters of our order."

"You didn't answer my question," Yuki was getting a little annoyed.

"Quit your complaining eldar, we're already here," and by here Astrid meant…a sheer cliff face covered in snow surrounded by more forest? Damn, maybe Yuki was on to something about this whole ambush thing.

"So is this like a 'speak friend and enter' kinda thing?" Tangmo called the column to a halt, his gaze sweeping across the uninterrupted wall of rocks and snows stretching into infinity on his left and right. Astrid gave him a mischievous wink then drew a bone white horn trimmed in gold from her belt, pressed it to her lips, and blew a long solemn note. A louder, more deafening call answered, the timbre rumbled like the groan of a great, terrible monster about to rise from the earth and wreak havoc upon them. Although none of Godzilla's friends or cousins showed up, what happened next catapulted them straight into the fantasy genre, for the impenetrable cliff face started to waver, twisting and contorting until the tangibility was reduced to a liquid consistency. Then the rippling veil disintegrated. Like smoke the craggy façade faded away and was replaced by an intricate gate of bluish-white iron, the beautiful, sophisticated artistry of interlocking rings and flowing Nordic runes were etched upon the surface, the height rivaling that of a Titan Imperator. To his left and right, a mighty wall materialized in its full martial splendor. Shield-maidens lined the battlement, weapons trained downward, while heavy ordnances atop watchtowers and gatehouses glared at them, the barrels steady and gleaming.

"Sir! We've just detected a massive Warp anomaly on the planet!" Solveig voice boomed in Tangmo's earbud. "By the Emperor, an entire city just showed up in the mountain range!"

"Yes Solveig, I know, we're standing right in front of it," Tangmo told him as the gigantic gate squealed opened. "Have the Immortal Spirit maintain position over the city and tell Ae-Shin to get the air forces ready."

"They won't be able to help you in time," Astrid smirked, the gate was now opened in its entirety, revealing a well maintained cobblestone street lined with lampposts and decorative statues laced with garlands of violet and red flowers. Oh, and the path was flanked on both sides by mean looking shield-maidens.

"Yeah, but there'll be plenty of time to carpet bomb this place, if anything happens to us," Tangmo said. "They're not gonna run away like those other morons. How the hell did you manage to scare off the navy anyway?"

"We stormed their flagship after hijacking the Valkyries," Astrid said. "We threatened the captain, kill a few of his guards and staffs, and destroy a few rooms and Servitors, so naturally he ran away. Smart man that one, he does what he's told."

"Fat chance of you getting lucky again," Tangmo adjusted his awesome commissar cap and squared his shoulders. "Shall we, lady huskarl?"

"Of course, my lovely gentleman," Astrid made a mock bow and nodded her retinue forward while coming to stand beside Tangmo. "I shall keep you safe from harm."

"How lady like," Tangmo snorted as the column marched under the darkened archway of the gatehouse, the many gun-slits and murder-holes leering at them. "So I assume you got some really powerful psykers on your side?"

"We call them the Storm Singer," Astrid said, bright light returning once they stepped into the city proper, "illusion is but one of their many talents."

"That's nice to know, but I don't think Miriya and her friends are gonna be terribly happy about this," Tangmo cast a quick glance down the line, sighing in relief when nothing goes boom.

"I am well aware of how much the Sororitas loves to whine about psykers," Astrid smirked. "But in our case, their sanctimonious shrieking doesn't last long."

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that," Tangmo drew his awesome commissar coat tighter around himself and slowly took in the crowd that had come to watch them. Now, he wasn't with Damien when he went to Ymirholm, but now he was getting the picture of what the Space Marine saw. The men were a bunch of pussies and the women were super macho, in behavior not appearance. The women here weren't clad in some dirty peasant tunic though, but freaking Nordic style Sororitas power armor. In ranks they lined the road, watching the Immortal Spirit battlegroup with unhidden consternation, steely glare peering through the visors of their strangely accurate Viking helms. Well, not that accurate since a lot of them were decorated with bones and horns, but it still looks really cool. Behind the shield-maiden were more women, and some men, in civilian dresses and breeches, all of them jeering and shouting at them, fists shaking angrily in the air. The livid acoustic became an encompassing stereo when those watching from the surrounding townhouses added their admonition to the fray.

"Go back to where you came from!"

"Worthless outworlders!"

"You don't belong here!"

"Got lost on your way to the pigsty, little boys?!"

"Dirty xeno lover!"

"Whoa, now I know how those Nisei bastards felt when we bombed Pearl Harbor," Yuki commented.

"Holy shit, even the kids are joining in. Hi!" Tangmo waved at a little blonde girl who had wormed her way out of the crowd, arm reeled back with a snowball clutched tight in her hand. A shield-maiden grabbed the girl, stopping the throw, and tossed her back into the milling masses, where her whooping friends gave her a hero welcome.

"Do you honestly believe that the battlegroup will be cowered by such a display?" Leilatha asked Astrid.

"Ha! One cannot stop the wolves from converging on interlopers!" Astrid said. "No lady commissar, we did not arrange this. The people of Frystasvard have never taken kindly to outworlders, especially those that seeks them harm."

"We're not here to hurt anyone," Tangmo said.

"Unfortunate that commissar Cain and his ilk behave otherwise," Astrid shrugged.

"So these shield-maidens are here for our protection?" Yuki asked.

"Of course! This is a diplomatic mission after all," Astrid smiled toothily.

"How thoughtful," Yuki rolled her eyes as the booing vitriolic became more intense the deeper they went into the city. Hell, the crowd was growing so big that Tangmo was getting a little nervous, since the shield-maidens were doing the bare minimum in holding them back.

"They wanna scare us?" Tangmo did not like the villainous look on Yuki's face as she spun around and approached the Kuronese column, making a beeline for a startled young man in the front rank. "Give me that!"

"Hey!" Yuki ignored his protest and skipped back to Tangmo's side, the Asian regiments and their colonels, along with the Banshee, eyed her merry passing. Even those in the crowd had taken noticed and were pointing hurriedly at the Japanese.

"Well, I guess that's one way to throw off the crowd," Tangmo smirked as Yuki raised the military trumpet. "What do you have in mind?"

"Something that totally fit the situation," Yuki grinned toothily before pressing the trumpet to her lips and blew the opening notes. Tangmo laughed at the easily recognizable melody. Behind him the Kuronese, Buxiunese and Jigurean cheered loudly while the crowd went silent, seeing how their animosity was not having the intended effect. Yuki blew the notes again and the Asians hollered energetically, all of whom waited for the verse to begin. Tangmo and Yuki shared a nod and belted out the song with the rest of the Asians:

"Yuki no shingun koori wo funde, dore ga kawa yara michi-sae shirezu. Uma wa taoreru suttee mo okezu, koko wa izuku zo mina teki no kuni. Ma-ma yo daitan ippuku yareba, tanomi sukunaya tabako ga nihon! (Through the snow we march, stepping over the ice, we can't tell the road from the river. The horses are exhausted, but we cannot abandon them here in this wretched land belonging to the enemy. If we breathe a little braver, I'll only ask for a few cigarettes.) "

The crowd's reaction was everything Tangmo had hoped for. Gone was the hostility, and in its place a look of blank incomprehension. None amongst the rowdy mass, now struck silent, can conjured up a retort to the guardsmen's lively music. Even the shield-maidens were perplexed, many casting wary looks at the marching guardsmen while others held their bolters at the ready, bracing for whatever trickery the battlegroup had in store for them. But they just kept on singing.

"Yakanu himono ni han-nie meshi ni, namaji inochi no aru sono uchi wa. Korae-kirenai samusa no takibi, kemui hazu da yo nami-ki ga iburu. Shibui kao shite komyo hanashi, sui to iu no wa Umeboshi hitotsu. (Our meal comprised of half-boiled fish, it won't be long before our lives become half-boiled. For we must endure this unceasing cold, the bonfire will keep us warm but the wood burn so slowly. Soon our faces became bitter and sour, but this sour thing is the pickled plum.) "

The street was widening into a boulevard now, with intricate lampposts, statues and beautiful white trees, similar to that big one in Gondor, flanking their passages. The houses here, more opulent than those near the wall, sported a very clear 18th to 19th century architectural influence. Seeing people dressed like Viking walking in and out of the place, and not looting the living shit out of it, was pretty jarring. Up ahead, where the street opened up into a wide roundabout, a great low structure loomed. The shape was that of a Viking Great Hall, but judging from the boisterous roar reverberating from within, it seems to function more like a colosseum.

"Ki-no-mi-ki no mama kiraku na fushido, haino-makura ni gaito kaburya. Sena no nukumi de yuki-doke kakaru, yagu no kibi-gara shippori nurete. Musubi kanetaru roei no yume wo, tsuki wa tsumetaku kao nozokikomu. (The clothe we wear are our only beds, the coats our blankets, the knapsacks our pillows. With the warmth from our backs, the snow begins to thaw, soaking our sorry bedding. In our tents that wouldn't tie, we dream of the cold moon peeking through.)"

Looks like those inside the Great Hall heard them, for the tempestuous conversation beyond started to dim until it ceased completely. With a quick wave of the hand from Astrid, the entrance swung opened for the Immortal Spirit battlegroup. She winked at Tangmo and led them inside as the Asian sang the last verse.

"Inochi sasagete detekita mi yue, shinuru kakugo de tokkan suredo. Buun tsutanaku uchijini ni seneba, giri ni karameta juppei mawata. Sorori-sorori to kubi shime-kakaru, dose ikashite kaesanu tsumori. (We came offering our lives, fearless we charge screaming for the enemy. If we must die in battle, we shall gladly give our lives. Slowly, slowly, tightening upon our necks. Oh, weep for us those who will never see home again.) "

The song ended and Tangmo called the column to a halt at what he assumed was the halfway point of the Great Hall, because goddamn, the place was huge. But what immediately arrested his attention was not the wooden interior or the smooth cut floor, no, his eyes were drawn to the two kneeling, battered figures, naked from the waist up and fastened to heavy stocks, and the divine woman that stood above them like an executioner. Her hair was of gleaming gold and bloody red, the two colors following down her shoulders in gleaming, mesmerizing waves, and in her right hand was a magnificent spear fit for Odin.