Home Fires – Chapter Four: Sentinel
Chapter Selection
Intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 Epilogue
“This… is the life.” Lugenburg Catiel sighed as he luxuriously stretched his boots over the top of his console.
“Are you absolutely serious?” Faustiel Eawynn shouted. “Get your damn boots down!”
“Relax, Faustiel.” Lugenburg said with a chuckle. “This is the best job in the entire system. No drills, no heavy lifting, just logging ships. This isn’t even harvest season. The most we’ll see is a few deliveries for equipment. Perhaps an Arbites patrol if we’re lucky.”
“That’s not the point.” Faustiel hammered. “We are the first line of defense for Altea. The planetary defences rely on our sensors as an early warning. These instruments are worth more than our lives, and you’re getting dust all over them.” A tone sounded from her console. “New contact. Transport, merchant, Graf Speer, Consort class. Logging.”
Lugenburg grunted. “If this outpost is so important to planetary security, they would have installed grav plating instead of spinning us like a top.”
“How are you so spoiled? Gravity is gravity, no matter the source.”
“Tell that to the water rations I spilled in my first month getting used to the Coriolis forces.”
Faustiel laughed. “I still think that was a cover for you pissing yourself. Those water stains were always so conveniently placed. New contact. Hauler, commercial, Neosho, Gemini class. Already logged, outbound, stated course matches flight plan.”
Lugenburg scowled. “In quarters this close, you’d smell it if I pissed myself.”
“Don’t I know it. I’m considering burning my sinuses with a blowtorch to spare me from the stench you make in the head.” Faustiel groaned.
“Hey, I stopped eating those egg based rehyd paks.”
“Yeah, yeah, New contact…” Faustiel cut off. Her face went pale.
“…what?” Lugenburg shouted.
“It’s… an Astartes Strike Cruiser. Inbound”
Lugenburg fell backwards out of his chair. “WHAT?”
“Confirmed. Vessel is sending IFF codes as the Honor of the Azure Flames Astartes.”
Lugenburg scrambled to look over Faustiel’s shoulder. “Azure Flames? Are those loyalists?”
Faustiel turned to level a withering glare at Lugenburg. “You never paid attention in scholam, did you?”
“Not as such, no.” Lugenburg rumbled.
“About a hundred fifty years ago, Altea was invaded by Orks. Almost took the whole planet until the Azure Flames showed up. The entire chapter. Drove the Orks off.”
Lugnenburg whistled. “The whole chapter… wow. Wait, then why does the PDF still have to fight Orks all the blasted time?”
“Feral Orks aren’t the same as the big fleets that come in. Still, though, why are they coming here? Far as I know we aren’t under attack.”
“Perhaps we are, perhaps not. However, that’s a concern for people who make more money than us. Log it.”
“Confirmed…”