Commissarmoody & Predatorpt - Yep, they are Pig Iron.
Uriah finished his breakfast of sumpfish & synthmeal. The fish was good, a strong earthy flavour charred and blacked on the outside - smoked to perfection. And the synthmeal, well it might be tasteless but their ration was generous & the stuff they provided at barracks were hardly ever contaminated. Wiping his fingers on his fatigues he rose and left the dugout striding into the rain. It was a long walk to the temple steps and his briefing with the Colonel, no point putting it off any longer. .
The new recruits were in their dugout, still awake from the night before and smoking crank as Uriah walked past. He had stopped bothering to chastise them - these provincials were undisciplined but as far as he could tell they weren’t stealing from the stores or exploiting the civilians (which is more than could be said of his other men) Also none of the new men had ‘lost’ their equipment on patrol or guard duty and for that at least Uriah was grateful. It was true what they said about the provincials, stupid but honest.
Large parts of the slums had burned during the last dry season and now the rains had come they were abandoned marshy areas, ash and dust replaced by clinging black mud - he trudged on. From this approach to the hill he couldn’t see the collapsed section of the temple - and it was easy to remember it as it had been in his youth, a respendenant, domed golden fortress towering above the shanties. Strong, beautiful, eternal. It was rarely illuminated now what with the sectors power grid as it was and he couldn’t recall the last time it had been painted. 10? Or was it 11 years ago? He struggled to remember.
An hour of trudging through muddy alleys and he arrived at the base of the colossal temple stairway & the concrete HQ bunker. Past the guards huddled in the entrance way and though the clanging steel doors he entered the main room. The Colonel looked how he felt - a deeply lined grey face, eyes blackened by lack of sleep.
“Someone has laid mines on the new road. I want it cleared”
The Colonel handed him a rolled parchment
“While you are there find out who did this thing”
Uriah sighed and slumped into the chair opposite the old man. It was two days walk to the new road when the going was good.
“Despair is doubt and doubt begets heresy. Take joy in His work” His superior reminded him.
“Besides I have assigned you a Chimera transport, the requisition notes are printed on the scroll”
Uriah raised his eyebrows, it was rare for one of his patrols had been given a vehicle, never mind one of the militia's three Chimeras.
“I need this done Sargeant - If this is the Cult Revenant starting up their attacks again before we can reorganize and resupply it’s finished. We can only pray to the Emperor (May He smite His enemies) that it is just the area boys setting up a toll road again”
“And if it is the area boys?” Uriah asked
“Well Sargeant if they have the strength in men to establish a toll road then I want them back on the payroll to defend our western perimeter. Understood?”
“Yes Sir”
Uriah rose to his feet, threw a salute and strode out.
The quartermaster stank of vomit, his mouth and nose were blacked & withered (a sure sign of years smoking crank) Uriah handed him the requisition scroll. Parting his cracking lips to show three worn teeth the quartermaster croaked a laugh.
“This place isn’t called issues, it’s called stores. It’s in the name. Look at the sign as you come in. If I gave fuel, ammunition and the starter cards to a Chimera to every lad who walked in here with a bit of paper this warehouse would be empty. It wouldn’t be much of a store then.
He threw the scroll at Uriah’s feet
“Besides, You're too late boy - I have two Chimera’s out of action because someone stole all the starter batteries and the Cardial took the final one out this morning. On top of that we’ve had barely any fuel in the past month. The Throne only knows where the priests are getting theirs”
Uriah picked up the crumpled requisition from the floor and strode back out into the rain. Where was he supposed to get fuel from? Never mind STC grade starter batteries. The rain swelled and dark clouds rumbled. Looks like he had a long walk ahead.
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Regions with large temples or more popular shrines support well equipped standing forces. These often have rudimentary military command structures, are housed in barracks and even in some cases regular pay for the men. Making them more or less full time soldiers. Extortion, robbery and corruption are still endemic in these units as poorly or infrequently paid troops take advantage of their strength to make an illicit income. Unusually for Odium these units can draw in recruits of the same religious sect from other parts of the city with a promise of payment unlike many militias which can only draw on the local population.
Sargeant Uriah - Ephraim leading a unit of well funded militia.
04 May 2017, 06:41:39 PM