Secret War: Upon Blood Sands

Chapter 53

Tresch wasn't singing. This despite having learned it during his youth in the Schola Progenium and having sung it loud and clear as a child there. Then after he joined the Adeptus Arbites as a young adult and many years after in law enforcement, as his attitude slowly soured and he became more and more cynical and joined Glaitis' organisation to become one of her assassins. This was natural; he was by and far the best sniper of his precinct, so much so he'd been seconded to aid the Scintillan PDF and Magistratum in missions too many times to count.

He was the best, he was always the best, and here he was about to die the worst death imaginable; he was about to die like a dog. He didn't deserve such a death.

Hayden glanced about at everyone as they stood and sang, but no one deserved such a death. He glanced again at the enclosing walls, floor and ceiling like they had fused into a sphere. Hayden wondered if anyone else had noticed it; he doubted it.

The thought made Hayden look to Dellenger. The scout wasn't singing either; he just watched Hayden through narrowed slits for eyes. Despite this himself, a shiver sliced through him, and he looked away. Something about the Scout terrified him, and Hayden didn't scare easy, and it wasn't just his reputation, but something else, something inhuman? Hayden couldn't quite place a finger on it. He had eyes like Attelus,' the weary eyes of someone far older than they seem or had led a short life of horrible experience. But to a far, far more significant extent than that little shit. It was Hayden's fear of Dellenger that made him stand down.

Hayden then looked to Commissar Tathe, who still sang the loudest and swung his arm side to side like a fool. But yet, despite the familiar stench of sweat and terror in the air, almost everyone sang alongside him, even the damned civilians and especially the frigging ecclesiarch.

It was...damned impressive Hayden was loathed to admit. He doubted even Inquisitor Enandra or Inquisitor Tybalt could rally and inspire people so well, make them sing in the face of inevitable death. Hayden clenched his teeth as envy stabbed into his chest. If he had that level of leadership skill and charisma...

He'd be the leader of this expedition rather than Attelus. Maybe...Maybe Inquistor Enandra was right not to place Hayden in charge, while he disagreed with her decision to put Attelus as the leader. Hayden wasn't a leader; perhaps he could never be one at all; he was too old, too aloof, too stuck in his ways. Attelus was still young, still with great potential, but Hayden doubted he could ever be a leader on par with the great ones such as Tathe. Not even close.

But he could still be a better leader than Hayden.

Hayden glanced at Vark's dead body, which was slowly sliding across the floor towards them with the enclosing door. Hayden sighed; both he and Hayden had wanted to slaughter the civilians to escape, as had most of the others, but the commissar had been right; if they had, they'd surely have fallen to Chaos, making all their hardship pointless. But they were going to get crushed to death, so it was pointless either way.

Unless Attelus, Karmen and the others pulled some frigging miracle and saved them.

Why was frigging Commissar Tathe so willing to place his faith into the little frigger? Hayden couldn't understand it, but as Darrance had said, Hayden wasn't the most faithful of people.

Darrance...His only other friend, who was likely dead, surely his luck must have run out? Darrance and Castella and many others over the years, she had died back on Omnartus, three years at the hand of Etuarq's witch-puppet Inquisitor Edracian. She had been faithful, a true believer in the damned Imperial Cult. Both Darrance and Hayden and sometimes Attelus would talk behind her back about her hypocrisy; she was a mercenary, she fought for herself and her organisation, not the 'God-Emperor' and yet, she'd been the best of them. The organisation's heart, it was her that first saw Glaitis' corruption, and it was her that convinced Darrance and Hayden to betray her. She had also been the only one who stood up for Attelus and...