Legion Life

The Vicious Fang Strike Cruiser, the Fierce Angels Legion's only warship, sailed through the Warp.

During the voyage, all the Mortals not needed at their posts were gathered in the Hall of Honor.

Supernatural phenomena occurred during Warp travel. People with weak wills could go mad and cause trouble, so the Fierce Angels kept the Mortals under supervision in the Hall of Honor to prevent any such problems.

Lu Jin followed the Legion's traditional schedule. Every day, he did little besides eat, drink, and train, with the occasional prayer to the Emperor.

This kind of life went on for an entire solar month before anything changed. Even then, the only change was the addition of marksmanship training.

The training took place in a sealed section of the ship.

The Chapter Master taught him personally.

Lu Jin crouched behind a firing slit in a bulkhead, aiming his Laser Rifle at the Greenskins wandering through the corridor beyond it.

"Stay calm, hold your breath, and aim. Don't rush."

"The Legion Relic will interfere with their vision. They won't spot us. They'll be trapped wandering around here forever."

The Chapter Master crouched behind Lu Jin and corrected his grip by holding his arm.

Lu Jin took a deep breath and pulled the trigger.

The crimson beam grazed a Greenskin's arm.

"It's all right," the Chapter Master said in a low voice. "You've never had any shooting experience before. Take your time. Keep that xenos's head in your sights. Try a few more times and you'll hit it, then you'll get the feel for it."

"Don't rush."

"Take your time."

Lu Jin pulled the trigger again. The beam struck the Greenskin's foot.

"Good, you hit it," the Chapter Master said. "Keep trying. Find your rhythm."

Lu Jin took a deep breath and pulled the trigger once more. The beam pierced the Greenskin's head.

"Excellent." The Chapter Master patted Lu Jin on the shoulder. "Think back to how that felt, then try again."

Over the past solar month, the Chapter Master had often personally sparred with the Space Marines. At night, he also created psychic illusions for Lu Jin to help him remember the combat knowledge the Apothecary had taught him during the day.

Lu Jin had discovered that the Chapter Master was a very refined man. He spoke softly, and apart from the two times he'd bellowed like he had some kind of thyroid problem on the day they first met, he'd never lost his temper again.

"You'd make a pretty good teacher," Lu Jin said as he aimed at the next Greenskin.

"Before the last Chapter Master died, I was the Legion's instructor and Librarian." The Chapter Master lowered his head and recalled those days for a moment, then continued, "I know that if you want to teach someone a skill, scolding, belittling, and pressuring them will only backfire. They'll become more and more inclined to go through the motions and give you half-hearted answers."

Lu Jin nodded vigorously, in full agreement.

Before he'd arrived here, Lu Jin had been a student teacher—the youngest teacher the school had ever had.

Perhaps it was because of his natural talent, but he was good at reading people's minds and putting himself in their shoes.

As a teacher, Lu Jin had learned that if you forced a student to understand something and tried to cram knowledge into their head by yelling at them, they'd pretend to understand. They were afraid, and all they cared about was getting through the lesson and passing.

The Chapter Master's philosophy reminded Lu Jin of his teaching days. He also remembered one timid, submissive child in his class who had always been so afraid of everything. One day, she didn't come to school. The next day, he saw on the news that she had died... beaten to death by a number of people, including her foster father.

But Lu Jin only thought about it for a moment. He didn't dwell on the memory.

There was nothing for him to regret. He'd killed all thirteen of them, in the most brutal way possible.

"Fierce Angels," Lu Jin said, turning the Legion's name over in his mind. "I thought you'd all be especially excitable, warlike, bloodthirsty, and cruel."

"We are."

The Chapter Master pointed to the Greenskin wandering past the firing slit.

"But the Legion's creed says this:"

"Bloodlust and cruelty are reserved for our enemies. We show compassion and mercy to the God-Emperor's subjects. The skulls of our greatest foes are trophies of honor we claim with our own hands, but bullying the weak is a disgrace. Every roar we direct at someone weaker than us, every cruel expression we wear, shames our Primarch Roboute Guilliman."

Lu Jin hit the Greenskin in the stomach.

The Chapter Master gestured for Lu Jin to keep going, then said, "You really are stubborn. Nobody else ever fought their way through all those Greenskins in that ritual. Only you. Did you actually think you had to kill every one of them to pass?"

Lu Jin turned to look at the Chapter Master. "So... even if they were Degenerate Orks, I didn't have to kill them all to pass the test?"

"Why would you think a Mortal had to kill every Greenskin?" the Chapter Master asked. "The important test was of character. Someone was knocked unconscious by the Greenskins before. We fought our way in and brought him back. That's why we were waiting in the chamber at the end of the corridor: to make sure no one actually died during the ritual."

Lu Jin was momentarily at a loss for words. His gaze dropped to the Chapter Master's neck.

"You don't really think you could hurt any of us, do you?" The Chapter Master patted Lu Jin's head. "And you still don't want to join us?"

Lu Jin said nothing and turned back to take aim.

"I just don't understand why you don't want to join us. Do you know what an honor it is to become an Angel of the Emperor?"

"You don't even have to worry about the surgeries failing. I'll use my psychic powers to ensure your transformation succeeds."

"Brother 18 survived every stage of the transformation surgery because I made sure he did."

"What are you resisting? What are you afraid of?"

The Chapter Master stared at Lu Jin.

After a moment, he asked again, "Could you really turn on us after everything we've done for you? If you were stronger, would you shoot me in the neck and kill me before I could react..."

"I'm not some ungrateful animal!" Lu Jin said. "The way you've treated me... I know you already see me as one of your battle-brothers! Even if I were stronger, the most I'd do is give you a few scrapes. That'd still count as an injury, and I could leave then."

The Chapter Master smiled at that. "Then what are you resisting, my battle-brother?"

"Losing myself." Lu Jin aimed ahead.

"Don't worry." The Chapter Master adjusted Lu Jin's aim and spoke softly. "Our Gene-seed can't affect our thoughts. It does make us warlike... but we were already warriors to begin with. The Legion's traditions exist because we choose to uphold them, like our tradition of protecting Mortals."

Lu Jin felt the Chapter Master was trying to placate him, but he said nothing and simply pulled the trigger.

The shot hit the Greenskin in the stomach again.

The Chapter Master smiled helplessly. "Battle-brother, it seems you really aren't suited to ranged weapons. But you've only trained once or twice. Even if you still can't get the hang of guns later, I can give you a set of tactical Dreadnought armor and let you focus on charging into battle and fighting hand to hand."

Lu Jin shrugged, his face red. "It's mainly... it's mainly that I can't close one eye to aim when I'm shooting. I've been like this since I was little... It's not like there's any skill I can never learn..."

The Chapter Master had noticed that about Lu Jin, too.

Lu Jin couldn't wink. Either both his eyes were open or both were closed, which made aiming difficult.

Some people were born with this problem, and as a result, some people were naturally unsuited to firearms.

"Keep practicing." The Chapter Master stood, leaning on his Sceptre as he looked down at Lu Jin. He held out his left hand. "Come on. It's time for the weekly Blood Feast."

"Blood Feast?"

Inside the Hall of Honor.

Armor plating still covered every porthole.

The Mortals had spent an entire solar month sleeping on the floor of this grand hall. But today, they weren't sitting around chatting or admiring the Angels of the Emperor as they trained. They had left the Hall of Honor to get things ready.

When the Mortals returned, each of them carried an iron bucket. Then they laid out what was inside.

When Lu Jin and the Chapter Master arrived at the Hall of Honor, they found platters of food spread across the floor, piled high with a generous feast.

There were also several barrels of red wine set around the Space Marines.

The Space Marines sat on the floor in a circle.

The Mortals sat around them in several circles of their own. They weren't about to watch the Space Marines eat well without getting a share themselves.

Only then did Lu Jin realize that drinking red wine at a feast was what they called a "Blood Feast."

The Space Marines had left two seats empty.

The Chapter Master sat down. The Legion's second-in-command sat to his left, and the empty seat to his right was for the Legion's newest member.

Lu Jin was the new recruit, the Legion's newest member, so he sat beside the Chapter Master.

"Battle-brother, how's your training going?"

Someone asked.

The Chapter Master told them how Lu Jin was doing with firearms training.

"Well, looks like he's cut out to be a specialist in storming enemy positions."

"Our twenty-second battle-brother can't close one eye without closing the other, or open one without opening the other. He's like one of those water purifiers invented by some folk-tech genius in my hive city back on my homeworld. You can only switch the input and output ends on or off, and then..."

"Drink!"

The Space Marines dipped their cups into the barrels beside them and scooped out a big drink.

Lu Jin did the same. The twenty-first Space Marine, who loved making comparisons, grabbed his hand. "You can't drink this before your transformation, just like a kid on my homeworld can't drink an adult's booze."

The Apothecary spoke up. "He's not like a Mortal. It won't hurt him."

"Apothecary, brother, how am I supposed to believe you're not going to get our little brother killed with that advice?" Number Twenty-One said. "All you do is stick needles into us, like those quacks on my homeworld who use the same medicine and methods to treat people and livestock."

Lu Jin snatched his cup back and drained it.

The other Space Marines watched him and waited. Lu Jin only burped. Seeing that, the others laughed approvingly, and then got back to eating and drinking.

The Space Marines were talking about one of their past battles.

In a conversation that Lu Jin couldn't possibly join, the Chapter Master asked what he would have done if he'd been there.

Lu Jin enjoyed the atmosphere of the gathering.

He preferred listening.

After eating and drinking his fill, Lu Jin suddenly thought of the plan he'd always stuck to: escape to an Imperial world... All he wanted was the kind of life he had now.

To not be a slave, to live like a normal person, and to have time to slowly "grind" his strength using his special ability until he could protect himself. Only then would he think about anything else.

But if he stayed with the Fierce Angels, he would definitely have to undergo the transformation.

A rumbling sound interrupted Lu Jin's thoughts.

The armor plating over the portholes in the Hall of Honor began to retract.

It was a sign that their Warp journey had ended.

"Where are we?"

Lu Jin quickly got up and went to the porthole to look outside.

He saw a field of purple stars.

Lu Jin froze for a moment, but his mind raced.

Purple stars...

There was a place in this universe called the Eye of Terror. It was a Warp Rift, a blurred boundary—or overlap—between reality and the Warp.

People living near the Eye of Terror saw a sea of purple. Even their pupils mutated and turned purple.

"All personnel, stand down for one day. We'll resume our voyage tomorrow morning."

A broadcast sounded.

Hearing the announcement, Lu Jin realized the ship would keep moving, going deeper into the Warp Rift rather than docking at an Imperial world outside it.

Warp Rifts were home to Chaos Space Marines, Daemons, xenos...

"This isn't a ship bound for the Imperium!" Lu Jin turned around. "Where are we going?"

The Chapter Master took a bite of bread and replied, "The Maelstrom."

The Maelstrom was another Warp Rift. Like the Eye of Terror, it was a gathering place for traitors and monsters.

"Going... going to the Maelstrom for what?" Lu Jin dropped his cup, clenched his fists, and looked at the Space Marines before him. "Something's wrong with you."

Ordinary Space Marines wouldn't go to Warp Rifts like the Maelstrom or the Eye of Terror.

The Imperium was always on the defensive; it didn't launch offensives.

There was only one reason to enter a Warp Rift—to join Chaos.

"We're not heretics or traitors!" the Chapter Master suddenly cried, getting to his feet and striding toward Lu Jin.

The Mortals present held their breath at the sight.

The Space Marines rose one after another as well.

Lu Jin had only one thought: even undergoing the transformation seemed preferable to joining Chaos and going into the Maelstrom.

Those who gave themselves to Chaos would suffer endless, eternal servitude.

Everyone would become a plaything of the Chaos Gods.

"Listen. It's complicated." The Chapter Master came closer to Lu Jin.

Lu Jin took a step back, not out of fear or an attempt to flee, but to pick up the Heavy Hammer beside one of the Mortal laborers.

But before he made a move, Lu Jin asked, "You... the Fierce Angels are going into the Maelstrom to fight, or..."

"Not to fight," the Chapter Master replied. "The Imperium treats us as enemies, so of course we aren't going there to fight."

"Better to die than join Chaos!" Lu Jin charged at the Chapter Master. "You even swore an oath to that throne earlier. I never should have trusted you!"

The Chapter Master raised a hand and used his psychic powers to knock Lu Jin unconscious. Before Lu Jin hit the ground, he reached out and caught him securely.

"Carly." The Chapter Master turned and gave an order to Lu Jin's Mortal servant. "Take care of him with the Apothecary. Once the transformation surgery is ready, he'll become one of us."

Carly crawled over to Lu Jin's side and asked in a trembling voice, "My lord... my lord... are we really going to abandon the God-Emperor?"

The Chapter Master fell silent. "Child, do you want all of us to die together? To die at the hands of those we fight for, those we defend?"

Carly shook her head.