Chapter 1: Initiation

Uriel was strapped to the slab in the Apothecarion on board the Fortress Monastery, The Post. Around him, the light was dim and only two other figures shared the room, aside from medical servitors. Greeg Mandel, the Lorekeeper of the chapter, stood at the foot of the slab reciting indoctrination lore. Garess Idrin, the Chief Apothecary of the Seekers, stood to the right, leaning over Uriel, completing the last of the implantation procedure. His clicking and whirring mechadendrites pulled away, covered in coagulating blood. Garess stood up, his mechadendrites reaching behind him, and immediately a sanitation servitor began work on them, polishing away the gore.
Uriel had just finished the final initiation rite shared by many of the chapters sharing the genetic heritage of the Gorgon. His hand had been amputated, allowing for only the Astartes physiology and mental conditioning to count as anaesthetic, and a prosthetic hand implanted in place.

A light shining in Greeg's direction brightened, illuminating his face. His voice continued, becoming clearer, but remained a mechanical drone.
"With that, your induction to the chapter is complete. Your flesh has been replaced with steel as strong as the will of the chapter. You are to report to Chapter Master Gahn immediately for assignment and deployment orders. The Emperor protects, legionary." He wheeled away, and strode out of the laboratory.

Chief Apothecary Garess spoke as he undid the bindings around Uriel's arms.
"He's due for entombment in a Dreadnought. The lorekeeper position is due the permanence and power of steel. You will have a time to wait for that honour. For now, best do as he says and report to Gahn."
He finished releasing the bindings, and turned to walk toward a different, more spacious section of the facility.
"I must prepare for his interment."
With that, he left Uriel alone with his orders as he exited the room, and the lumen strips lit up, illuminating the room and the exit.

Uriel simply nodded as he sat up and flexed his new fingers. The pain of his recently lost limb ebb and flowed unnoticed. He watched the metal fingers flex carefully a series of thoughts passing through his mind, all of them unimportant.

He took a deep breath relishing the reality of the moment and went to find the chapter master.

Chapter Master Gahn sat at his desk, reviewing reports. His position allowed him the luxury of being able to delegate much work, but he was the soul to whom the onus fell to compile and make sense of it all. Much of that was by choice.
He had just finished the inload of the latest datastream involving their largest campaign, when he received an urgent message from his contact on the Forge World of Tertian. He logged the campaign data for later, and examined the message.
He would have use of new blood.

Uriel stepped into the Chapter Master's office wearing the simple sackcloth robes of the order. He absentmindedly flexed the fingers of his new hand as he was still unused to the newness of the limb.

He stepped in quietly, partly not wanting to disturb the chapter leader and partly wanting to test his skills of stealth against the vetted warrior.

Standing at the doors edge Uriel started quietly, but confidently. "Chapter Master? I was told to seek you out."

The Chapter Master did not look up. He had been informed of the completion of the surgery beforehand, and was well accustomed to fresh Astartes testing their mettle against him before their assignment to a squad.
He pointed to a seat across the desk from him.
"Sit."
He finished with the dataslate he was working on, and placed it on his desk. He looked up and continued.
"Brother Uriel Boman. I do not need to tell you that you are no longer a scout. You will not be able to catch a battle brother unawares when you're wearing your armour, and you're not likely to sneak up on me when I'm already expecting you. Do not make that mistake again, or there will be an apothecary at your throat on the battlefield, harvesting your replacement."

Uriel paused before sitting and allowed the chapter leader to finish his chastisement of his presumption. He found himself grinning out of the corner of his mouth as he sat. He found strength begot strength. An attack, verbal or otherwise, by someone so much greater than him made him stronger...or would eventually lead to his death. One way or another, only survival of the fittest and the best mattered.

"Yes. sir." His smile widened. "I shall remember not to be so...presumptive...next time."

The chapter Master allowed a slight smile to cross his face.
"Excellent. There is nothing more important than knowledge. Know your enemy, and you know how he can be defeated. Know yourself, and you know how you can apply leverage. Know both, and you will be victorious."

He flattened his expression, made easier by the abundance of implants covering the right side of his face, turning his visage into a half face, half mechanical skull.

"It is customary for the newest in our chapter to begin in the tenth company until they are allowed advancement. You will be assigned there until further notice. Learn and make us proud. Report to your commanding officer. You are dismissed, brother."

"Indeed, sir." He grinned back. "A maxim I hold to heart."

He nodded watching the chapter master carefully; he wondered if he would one day become more machine than man and if it was something truly beneficial. After all, the Emperor of man wasn't one contaminated by the mechanical. He flexed the mechanical fingers of his new hand and absently glanced at it for a moment.

"Yes, my lord. I will report there now." He took a few steps backwards before turning to leave. Another maxim came to mind. Never turn your back on a wolf.

Tenth Company Captain Donell Charum was in the practice chamber, winding down after having just tested a new targeting augmetic he personally installed on his bolter.
He sat at an arming table, with his holy forearm stripped, cleaning it when his new arrival came for orders.

Uriel stepped into the practice chamber and waited for a moment to see if his presence was known. "Sir, I was told to report for orders."

Donell looked up from his bolter for a moment, appraising the new marine. He continued to reassemble his bolter, with precise and practiced motions, and snapped the last part in place.
"Welcome to the tenth company, Brother Uriel. I wish there were time to spar and get to know you, but it's time to make preparations for travel. I am required there. You should also make your way to the ebarkation deck and report to squad Octavius. Sergeant Eloi Klove will be your commanding officer from here on."

He stood, and mag-locked his bolter to his hip, and replaced his helm, the eyes lighting up a dark green.

"Unless you have any personal kit that you need to bring with you, you are welcome to join me on the way."

Uriel nodded as he watched Donell closely. "All I have is what you see before you, sir." He said standing plainly. "I would very much appreciate the company, sir, if you'll appreciate mine."

Donell nodded and strode out of the chamber, and spoke while walking alongside Uriel.
"You are fortuitous to ascend to full battle brother at this time. We are leaving to the Yiojux system to investigate the possibility of STC on the second planet. Our patrons in the mechanicum seem rather certain of it, but also inform us of some anomalous readings coming from several moons."
He allowed a smile to cross his face.
"It will be glorious, returning with such glorious cargo."

Uriel suppressed a gasp. Finding an STL at all was a revolutionary discovery. The hope of finding a fully intact STL would have unimaginable repercussions.

"Is there word on whether the STL could be fully intact? Or what it might contain?" His voice betrayed his almost boyish interest.

Donell shook his head, and turned down a corridor, the final leg of the walk to the embarkation deck.
"None. All we know is that there is something there, and to be prepared for Standard Template Construct transportation."
He stopped short of the final access door, listening to a message through the vox bead in his ear, and turned to Uriel.
"Go on and report to your squad. I have a quick matter attend to. I'm sure I will see you again soon enough. "
He turned and walked back at a brisk pace, leaving Uriel alone in front of the entry.

Uriel nodded and proceeded into the entryway and made his way to his squad.

So many questions still bounced around in his head.

So many risks.

So much to gain.

Uriel had heard stories of Space Marine squads finding intact STL's.....and then he had heard of Marine squads where the discovery had gone badly....

Within the embarkation deck there was an array of Thunderhawk gunships, each with three squads of marines waiting in front of the boarding ramp.
It was easy enough to find the thunderhawk assigned to his squad, and his sergeant Klove to go along with it. Klove was attending to his war gear, at the moment.

Uriel walked towards the Thunderhawk assigned to his squad. He approached Sergeant Klove and greeted him in the proper manner. "Reporting for duty, sir."

Klove looked up, and then mag-locked the container of lapping powder to ther back of his belt, out of view. He stood.
"Brother Uriel, welcome to the ranks of the tenth. We are under standing orders to board our thunderhawk and make for The Fuller. We'll not be aboard the flagship for the voyage."
He turned to the rest of the squad, and raised his voice to be heard by his men above the din of engines cycling up.
"Octavius, we board with septimus. With me."
He picked up his footlocker, and scaled the boarding ramp, disappearing into the gunship.
The other members of the squad followed, carrying their various kit and war gear.
One final marine, a tech marine, stopped briefly by Uriel.
"Requisitions will issue you wargear maintenance equipment and a footlocker for your personal items once we have settled in, " the vox grille that made up the lower half of his face blurted out in monotone, before the warrior continued up the ramp.

Uriel nodded simply and followed behind with his equipment in tow.

(Battery is dying. I'll post more on the next post )

As Uriel boarded the Thunderhawk ship Grav, a number of faces that had already harnessed themselves turned their faces. One, strapped in across from Uriel, was a huge man for a space marine. He had his helmet mag-locked to his hip, and a plasma gun stowed above him.
He looked up at Uriel and grinned.
"Brother Uriel. Kind of you to join us at the last moment. I am Myrrdoch, welcome to the ranks."

Uriel nodded at Myrrdoch; to consider a space-marine massive was something that was strange to him. He could easily imagine how intimidating Myrrdoch would be on the battlefield.

"Greetings brother! The pleasure is mine, Brother Myrrdoch." He grinned as he strapped himself in and stowed his gear. "And it is a pleasure to be had." He glanced up at the plasma gun. "I can't wait to see that in action."

The marine next to Myrrdoch eyed the stowage holding the plasma rifle and grinned.
"You'll see it alright, but it would be more impressive if brother Myrrdoch would practice his targeting rites occasionally. "
Myrrdoch let out a loud laugh and waved him off.
"What need have I to hit a barn door, when I can simply make the entire barn disappear, brother Bilus?"
The marine identified as Bilus turned his head back to Uriel
"I'm sure you have heard during your initiation that it is commonplace for us to administer to our own wargear, and improve upon it. His plasma gun might as well be a cannon".

Uriel's smile was slight. "The doctrine often speaks to finding the delicate heart of the matter." He shrugged his shoulders and sat down. "It never said how to break break through the ribcage; be it a surgeons steel or a blunt hatchet." He strapped himself in and glanced at other battle Bilus. "I prefer the surgical approach, myself. But I am sure there will be a moment I am thankful for the blunt approach."

Bilus chuckled. "There are many times that we have all in this squad been more than happy of Brother Myrrdochs firepower. Sometimes the barn is trying to kill you. "
The whine of the engines of the thunderhawk built up, and the gunship jolted as it lifted into the air of the launch bay, and sped through the barrier into open space.