Secret War: The Annihilation Plague (Part1)

Chapter 12

Now they were planet-side, and there was little room inside the refectories Tathe and his men had to train outside in the courtyard. The damned smog-covered and pollen inflicted courtyard. They'd chalked up target outlines on the rockcrete wall and practising their marksmanship with their lasguns on their lowest power setting as Tathe watched on over their shoulders.

Tathe knew he was rather redundant here, he was never even close to being the best shot in the Velrosian regiment than the contingent, and they could drill without or without him. Still, under the circumstances, he felt like his presence might help somewhat. In contrast to the CQC sparring, the Sovrithians excelled over the Elbyrans, which didn't surprise Tathe; he had learned of their marksmanship first-hand during their brief conflict back on Sarkeath. Tathe had questioned the six Sorithians who'd elected to come with them during their trip, troopers Quadron, Verlik, Tarri, Holyon, Vorrostyr and Vettryli; none of their senior officers or NCOs had survived the battle. All were good, dedicated men, maybe a bit too dedicated; tathe wasn't sure how they would cope dealing with the more morally ambiguous situations a servant of the Inquisition might have to deal with. Although, they had to travel in a Xenos ship. All six were more than capable at shooting; it'd been a large emphasis in their training as line-infantry, the philosophy being "one shot, one kill," and, "there was little point of focusing on close combat when you're able to lay down a wall of las-fire no enemy can ever get close." A philosophy Tathe could understand and even appreciate, but that might work on a battlefield in a regiment with a thousand men. Still, in the small team of black-ops wet work the Inquisition usually deal in, it just wasn't practical, and the Sovrithians had seemed to agree. So Tathe had worked to diversify their skill-set, especially hand-to-hand combat and individual combat drills. Turn them into warriors rather than soldiers to be able to think on their feet and improvise rather than just follow orders like the Velrosian scouts and, to a lesser extent, the Velrosian regiment as a whole. But the Sovrithians had been well trained and drilled and brainwashed into their tactical philosophy, so it was going to take a good long while. The difference between a warrior and soldier mindset was a murky one and could become even murkier as they often can mix together. But typically, a warrior was a fighter who fought as an individual, who focused on personal martial prowess, to think outside the box and adapt through imagination and creativity. Still, they also saw battle as a competition, as a way to prove their mettle and earn their own glory and honour. And on a tactical level and especially on a strategic level, one man can only do so much no matter how skilled they are. Soldiers, as hinted at, fought, as a team, always together and to keep cohesion, they weren't encouraged to improvise as much; that was up to their unit commander. They fought more for their squadmates and overall victory. A scout trooper and assassins like Attelus Kaltos were a combination of the two; individual ability and free-thinking were held above all things, but they held the concepts of honour and glory almost in contempt. They also attempted to negate the weaknesses of being alone by using stealth and every possible weapon in their stockpile. They fought to win and the overall victory like a soldier. Although a scout trooper would work in a team far better than Attelus Kaltos, scouts had to fight in both capacities more; this Tathe had seen first-hand during their battle against the Resurrected on Sarkeath.

Speaking of scout troopers, Dellenger was with them now, his sharp features still drawn and even more pale and his abilities not what they once were, as he took shot after shot at his target, which were either near misses or near the edges. Dellenger, for the first time since Tathe had first met him, had grown ragged stubble as black as his hair, and he struggled against the pain in his chest. But it was good to have him back, despite the strange circumstances. Tathe and Dellenger hadn't spoken often since the scout trooper had claimed he was Adrassil, only when they had to for professional reasons. The scout trooper seemed back to his old awkward, stoic self, but how much of that was genuine?