Caiaphas Cain and Jurgen and You (Part 1)

Caiaphas Cain and Jurgen and You (Part 1)

You woke from unconsciousness and opened your eyes.

That nauseating, terrifying stench assailed your nose once again.

You immediately felt dizzy and disoriented, and only barely recovered after struggling to adjust for a long while.

Something was wrong with your sense of smell and taste. They had stopped working.

Your unusual reaction seemed to draw someone's attention.

A handsome Middle-aged Officer in an Imperial Commissar's uniform stepped out of the shadows and approached you.

"I seem to recall there being only Jurgen and me in the escape pod?" The Middle-aged Officer stared at you without blinking as he spoke slowly.

The peaked cap atop his head sat slightly crooked. Perhaps because the escape pod was so hot, he had casually pulled open his collar as well, revealing thick tufts of luxuriant chest hair.

With your sense of smell gone, you recovered your composure. You told him that it was all the Emperor's arrangement, that you were loyal to the Imperium and willing to offer your devotion to the Emperor.

The Middle-aged Officer looked you over several times, then put away the las pistol in his palm.

He gave you an exceedingly brilliant, toothy smile and chose to believe you.

"Stranger, there's good news and bad news. Which would you like to hear first?" The Middle-aged Officer's smile did not fade.

You hesitated for a moment before deciding to hear the bad news first.

"The bad news is that we're surrounded by endless Orks. Comrade Jurgen's old fear-of-flying problem acted up, and the escape pod he piloted personally delivered us straight behind the Ork lines... More importantly, we don't have much in the way of weapons or ammunition, and our food supplies are running low too."

The Middle-aged Officer explained the current situation to you without concealing a thing.

You agreed. This truly was very, very bad news.

Even while delivering bad news, the Middle-aged Officer wore an utterly unconcerned expression. That gradually gave you hope, and you impatiently asked about the good news.

"Huh? Good news? Under such dreadful circumstances, there are at least three of us to face it all now!" At last, the handsome Middle-aged Officer revealed a long-hidden wicked grin.

You suddenly understood, though you could not help shaking your head with a sigh.

Having one more person to face the Orks was probably the real reason he had been willing to believe you.

Even the forces of Chaos would not want to face a huge mob of howling Orks alone.

You gradually came to understand the current situation.

You demonstrated some combat ability to him and earned the Middle-aged Officer's approval.

You tried asking the Middle-aged Officer's name.

"Caiaphas Cain, Commissar of the Valhallan 597th Regiment... Young man, no matter where you came from in the past, welcome to the 597th now, soldier... For the Emperor!" Commissar Cain said to you with sincere eyes.

You chose to join the 597th Regiment and became a soldier under Commissar Cain.

Following Cain's introduction, you learned the true identity of the owner of that terrifying stench. He was Cain's adjutant.

Master Gunner Jurgen, a coarse man plagued year-round by foul odors and severe skin disease.

You tried to speak with Jurgen, but he was deeply wary of your mysterious origins. Commissar Cain assured him that you were a trustworthy Imperial soldier.

Comrade Jurgen seemed to accept Cain's explanation and reluctantly accepted your presence.

On the first day, you followed the sour-faced Comrade Jurgen as he scavenged every last resource from the escape pod.

After carefully sorting everything, you and Jurgen discovered that supplies originally sufficient for two people for around half a month would now last only a week due to your unexpected addition.

Comrade Jurgen expressed his dissatisfaction, and you said you could reduce your food portion accordingly.

Commissar Cain immediately rejected the suggestion. He believed the three of you could not simply sit around and wait to die, and waiting for Imperial rescue was unrealistic.

The only way for the three of you to survive was to cross the Ork lines and enter territory controlled by the Imperium.

On the second day, before setting out, Comrade Jurgen carried all the food supplies on his back and hefted his Heavy Flamer. Though already overloaded and barely able to move, he refused to share any extra weapons with you. Only after Commissar Cain persuaded him did Comrade Jurgen agree to give you a lasgun, though he gave you only one Power Pack.

You bore him no grudge. A lasgun was far better than facing howling Orks barehanded.

On the third day, while taking a brief rest in a forest, you unexpectedly encountered a small band of wandering Orks. Your precise marksmanship and the ruthlessness you displayed while executing Orks made Commissar Cain see you in a new light, clicking his tongue in amazement.

Even the stubborn Comrade Jurgen had to acknowledge your excellence. The normally stingy man even gave you two additional Power Packs.

On the fourth day, because of Comrade Jurgen's terrible sense of direction, you entered a stretch of plains. Once again, you were pursued by a large mob of Orks. From their clan markings and the red vehicles they drove, Cain recognized them as Orks from the Evil Sunz Clan. They were obsessed with breakneck speed and the roar of engines, believing that painting a vehicle red would make it three times faster.

You, Commissar Cain, and Comrade Jurgen fled in panic, only barely shaking off the Orks behind you after running yourselves to exhaustion. Following a brief rest, you discovered that in your desperate flight, the few Power Packs you had carried were all gone. Even the rations Jurgen had been carrying had lost a day's worth of supplies.

On the fifth day, your stomach ached with hunger, and you could only use precious fresh water to quell your appetite.

Cain took the food Jurgen had given him and split half of it with you again. You wanted to refuse, but Commissar Cain said that he was not in the habit of letting his soldiers fight on an empty stomach. You needed to preserve your combat capability as well.

At nightfall, Comrade Jurgen awkwardly shuffled up to you and stuffed several precious candies into your hands. At the same time, he expressed remorse over the lost supplies.

You merely laughed it off and tried to comfort the stubborn Jurgen. The Emperor would bless the three of you.

On the sixth day, under Cain's leadership, you encountered no Ork harassment at all along the way. Perhaps it was the Emperor's mercy. You even luckily found a place where you could replenish a large amount of fresh water, and there was not a single trace of an Ork nearby.

During the first week, you lost a great deal of weight, though you remained fairly energetic thanks to your ample intake of fresh water. Cain and Jurgen were visibly far more haggard.

Your food supplies had been completely exhausted.

You casually raised a bold question: could Ork meat be eaten?

Cain and Jurgen exchanged glances, but instead of objecting to your proposal, they seemed eager to give it a try.

By the second week, the three of you still hadn't managed to sample the local specialty: roasted greenskin meat.

On the verge of collapse, you unexpectedly encountered a small group of defeated local Defense Force soldiers. Tormented by hunger, Cain immediately revealed his identity as an Imperial Commissar and temporarily took command of the entire squad.

Inside a Chimera APC, you found piles of Ant-Grub Cans and Combat Rations. Unable to contain your excitement, you shared a great deal of that joy with Cain and Jurgen by wolfing them down together.

However, just as you were about to fall asleep after a hearty meal, Cain found you with a grave expression.

"Be careful. They may be rebels!" Commissar Cain lowered his voice.

You sighed and raised your Lasgun once more.

Thank you to Adan AJT for the 500-point tip!

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