Editing Love and Krieg Spinoffs (section)

==Interrogator and the Krieger==
===Discovery===
Inquisitor Jakobi,

As per your request, we have sent scout ships into the Tyranid held sectors you specified in preparation for the upcoming crusade. The mission has gone as planned, but there is one development that I feel deserves your attention.

One of our scout ships was making a stealth run over the old colony world of Terranis, when they started picking up odd sensor readings on the surface. Further analysis and visual data confirmed there was one city still operational, even after all this time. Of course, direct communication was impossible due to the heavy Tyranid presence, but we sent in a Deathwatch kill team to investigate.

Sir, are you aware of any Krieg regiments operating in this sector? The Deathwatch team reports that there's an entire damn city of them still on Terranis, diligently manning the defenses and going about their everyday duties as if the Tyranids were just a daily nuisance than any credible threat. As far as I know, the city is populated and defended by most of the original inhabitants.... and their children.

They claim they're descended from the Krieg 68th, but all files I can find on them are classified. Please advise.

Interrogator Klein

==="They're Legit"===
Inquisitor,

I took your advice and investigated the matter further. Naturally, I was highly suspicious on how Imperial holdouts could have survived this long without support. I suspected they might have made a deal with the Ruinous Powers or the Eldar and would have called for Exterminatus if Librarian Finch (an Ultramarine) didn't convince me otherwise. Of course, I thought of arguing against him, but the Librarian caught on and gave me that "I've been fighting Tyranids longer than you've been alive." look so I shut up and listened.

Anyways, we in the Ordo Xenos know that the Tyranids are far more intelligent than the propaganda says they are. They are cold, calculating, and have a sense of purpose. Apparently, it's not uncommon for Tyranids to completely bypass pockets of resistance if they feel the effort will sacrifice too much biomass. Usually, this happens during the heat of battle, and only lasts from anywhere from hours to weeks. Lasting for YEARS is much rarer, and we all agreed it would be worth it to study what exactly made this little city so special.

I was quite surprised at the reaction the Kriegers gave us when we landed. Normally, when I land with a Deathwatch team and I flash my Inquisitorial badge, people act like it's the apocalypse. Here, the Kriegers treated us like royalty (or whatever passes for Krieg royalty). In honor of our esteemed positions, they put us in the most exclusive lodgings they had, a repurposed hotel that was literally sitting on the frontlines. Apparently, to Kriegers, being as close to the frontlines as possible is considered a symbol of status.

The local garrison commander promised to give us a tour of the city itself tomorrow morning. I still have my doubts, but Librarian Finch assures me that "they're legit".

===City Tour===
Inquisitor,

I have to say, the city itself is unlike anything I've ever seen. Every single sector, every block, down to individual habs has been repurposed and refitted into fortifications. However, unlike the types seen on Cadia, these fortifications are oddly, I don't know how to describe this, "functional". Foxholes and trenches in the lawns seem to flow naturally with the landscape. Bunkers and pillboxes are lined with planters and flowers. Throne, even the streets were repainted and widened to accommodate Chimera and Leman Russ traffic, which is pretty much what everybody around here drives these days. The Kriegers seem to have integrated with the local population that defies description. I see locals dressed in Krieg uniforms and showing signs of Krieg discipline, while the natural Kriegers show little bits of humanity and emotion I never thought they were capable of.

Of course, they weren't the only ones here. There were a number of refugees and Guard remnants that had retreated here when their respective defensive zones faltered. The largest by far had to be a regiment of Valhallans who were stationed in a neighboring city. Apparently they had fought so hard in the initial invasion that they were pretty much considered blood brothers and honorary Kriegers.

Their masks hide it, but I'm pretty sure the Astartes are just as amazed and awed by what they're seeing as well. And we almost completely pass over all of the detailed scenarios and battle plans the Kriegers have cooked up to repel Tyranid raids. The Tyranids as a whole have essentially given up trying to assault the city, and just send token forces of a few hundred thousand lifeforms to probe the lines, which the Kriegers repel fairly easily.

They promised that they have a real good show for us tomorrow. I should try getting some sleep, but the goddamn shrieking from the Tyranid hordes just over the horizon keeps me up all the time.

===A Simple Loan===
Inquisitor,

I... I don't know how to say this, as the very idea of it is patently ridiculous, but I don’t know how to put in any other way...

I think I just got engaged to a Krieger girl.

Now, before you start dialing the Assassinorium, let me explain.

So remember that show the Kriegers were talking about? Part of their defensive line contains a river that's very good at bogging down Tyranid advances. However, every few weeks, so many carcasses start piling up that they pretty much dam the river. The Kriegers send engineer teams out to clear the obstructions before they get too troublesome.

Now, as the Kriegers are prepping, I see one of the engineers, she couldn't have been older than twenty Terran years, with a bit of panic on her face. I can tell since she's the only one without a gas mask. I ask her what's wrong and she starts frantically pointing to her squadmates and I realize she's lost her gas mask. So, being the gentleman I am, I loan her my mask. The upside to this is that I have an excuse to stay behind and "observe from a distance" without offending the Kriegers.

So anyways, the whole mission goes smoothly. They blow the bio dam, and get ambushed by a brood of gaunts. Fortunately, the Kriegers and Astartes were only outnumbered by a margin of six to one, so they managed to get back with minimal casualties.

Anyways, later that night, I return to my room and I see two Kriegers standing there. One's the girl I helped out before, and the other is the garrison commander. The commander hands me a written note, which was an "Official Notice of Unit Transfer". He just basically assigned the girl to my personal retinue!

Now, I learned later on that in Krieg culture, trading or loaning gas masks was a real big deal to them. Not surprising, since they treat those things like a second heart. Anyways, it's a sign of extreme respect for a Krieger to give or receive a gas mask from someone else. I should've caught on to this earlier. I noticed that some of the Valhallans were carrying around Krieger issue masks instead of their own. So I may as well have just asked this girl to marry me. Oh, and before I forget, her name is Private Krieg Female Model 68-Derivative #0153. They just call her "Sam" for short.

I can hear the Astartes, especially the Space Wolf one, laughing and joking about it in the other room.

Oh Throne, what have I gotten myself into?

===Engagement Party===
Inquisitor,

Well, I have to admit, the situation has not turned out as badly as I thought. Every morning at 0700, Sam wakes me, and she already has breakfast made and my kit cleaned. I swear, she's part servitor or something. However, she's disciplined, quiet, and extremely polite, unlike a number of other Guardsmen I had the misfortune of including in my retinue in the past. The odd thing I notice though, is that unlike most of the other Kriegers, she takes off her mask whenever we're in the hotel room or alone, and she doesn't need permission to speak, though she rarely does anyways.

So, we go through this routine for the first few days. I'm still in panic mode, so I try not to notice her. Whenever I go out, she follows me exactly five paces behind me and matches my speed perfectly with military precision.

Things started to change one day when I decided to root out any possible genestealer cults. I start checking all the regular places: bars, restaurants, clubs, the works. The last place on my list is this place called Basilisk, which by far seems to be the most popular hang out, for the Kriegers at least.

So me and Sam are sitting in our own booth. She's got her mask off so she can eat her order of waffles (apparently it's one of their favorite non-ration dishes), and she decides to finally ask what I'm doing. I tell her I'm checking for genestealer infiltrators and she asks me how they infiltrate. I decide to break policy and tell her they spread by taking advantage of human sexual activity. Then she asks me what THAT is. Apparently, her parents thought it best she learn that particular subject on her own. 

You can imagine the look on my face when she popped this question on me.

So... what else can I do? I explain the whole process to her in the most polite and restrained way I can and she just starts nodding furiously as she takes it all in. So then I decide to shift the conversation to something a little less awkward and ask her what the "68-Derivative" part of her full name meant.

She scarfs down her last waffle and orders a second round. While we're waiting, she explains. Apparently, the original Kriegers who were stationed here, the 68As, were born and bred in the Vitae Womb back on Krieg. The 68-Derivatives were the result of Krieg/Terranian crossbreeding, which would explain all of the little behavioral differences she had compared to pure Kriegers. It's at that moment that I finally notice her eyes.

Before that moment, every Krieger I had seen, on and off Terranis had uniform grey eyes, as if all the life and vitality had been sucked out of them when they were born. Sam, on the other hand, had vivid, emerald green eyes that enhanced her image in a subtle but acute way when I finally noticed it...

Then the moment was entirely ruined when my Deathwatch Astartes arrived.

Okay, here's to anybody besides the Inquisitor who may be reading this. I have a 5 man Deathwatch team under my command. There's Librarian Finch, an Ultramarine, who's a bit more "unconventional" than his brethren. Brothers Culles and Zareal are from the Blood and Dark Angels respectively. They're both moody and unnecessarily mean. Brother Logar is a Space Wolf and the squad idiot/drunkard. Finally, Brother Angrius is an Imperial Fist, and pretty much the bedrock that keeps the other Marines from killing each other.

So, Culles and Zareal do their usual thing and sulk in the darkest corner they can find, glaring at anybody who dares look at them. Finch and Angrius get into an arm wrestling match, which is said to have lasted for two days straight, but that's another story. The highlight of the evening was when Logar started teaching the Kriegers and locals a bunch of popular Space Wolf drinking games. I can tell you now, it's hard to get a Krieger drunk, but within a few hours, we had a building full of buzzed Kriegers having a good time.

Then, as expected, Logar stands on a table (don't even ask me how the table was able to support his weight) and challenges people to try drinking a shot of that poisonous swill Space Wolves love to chug so much. The stuff's powerful enough to knock a Carnifex on its ass.

Though I have to say, despite her age, Sam can hold her liquor amazingly well. She managed to stay conscious for about four seconds. To put things in perspective, the current bar record is six. Then I realize I'm going to have to carry her back to the hotel, which is going to be a pain because like every good Krieger, Sam's got all of her combat gear on. Fortunately, I manage to hitch a ride in a Chimera that seemed to be repurposed into a public transit vehicle. I could have sworn the Kriegers in the vehicle with me were grinning stupidly behind those masks when they saw me let Sam rest her head in my lap.

She's sleeping in my bed right now. Didn't seem right to dump her on that little cot she set up for herself when she moved in. I should consider asking the commander to transfer us to a larger room.

Want to sleep, but I have to make sure the Astartes are behaving.

===The Warp Hath No Fury...===
Inquisitor,

I know this is highly unprofessional, but lately, I've found that I've been shirking my routine duties and spending more time with Sam. It was just small things at first, like taking short detours to the armory or the gas mask supplier for little errands she had to carry out. It soon escalated to having meals together and now we spend almost every night in Basilisk. Apparently, her main draw is the piano player who works there, who always plays this song called Regentropfen at closing time. She'd wrap her arms around mine and tear up whenever that haunting melody played. I swear, every time she does that, my augmetic heart briefly shorts out. I have to remember to obtain a recording of that song, whenever possible. She seems to really love it.

We spent the remainder of my stay on Terranis doing seemingly random, but fulfilling tasks. Replacing damaged Chimera engines, ranging artillery, fortifying fixed positions, assembling weapons, the works. And every time I'd get bored or frustrated, Sam would come help me with a reassuring smile. I mean, I can't stay mad whenever I look at that face and those beautiful green eyes.

Well, this hasn't gone unnoticed. Zarael, while passing by us, muttered something about me "being so weak as to be corrupted by that heretical bitch". Sam heard it too and HEADBUTTED him in the face!

Now there's no way for me to properly describe how a regular human girl can properly headbutt an Astartes who is easily at least 2-3 feet taller than her, but she somehow pulled it off. Fortunately for her, and unfortunately for Zarael, she was wearing her helmet and he wasn't. She actually managed to draw blood from that attack!

Now, I think Zarael was caught off guard by that as much as I was, and he just staggered backward and froze for several seconds. Thank the Emperor Angrius was nearby, and he pulled Zarael aside before he could fully comprehend what had happened and tear Sam's arms out of their sockets.

Then she takes off her gas mask, and I see there are tears all over her face. At first, I thought she hurt herself, but then she pointed to the mask itself. The thing got trashed when she smashed her head into Zarael's skull. The lenses were cracked and the breather unit was crushed in. I ask her what's wrong and she tells me she broke my mask.

Then I realize that the mask actually IS mine. She had been wearing it as her own this entire time! I offer to get her a replacement, but she shakes her head and says, "But this is the one you gave me!"

And... that settled it. We spent the rest of the day going from armory to armory trying to find a mask repair specialist. It was a rather high-end Inquisitorial-issue mask, so I had to pay a small fortune in thrones to have it fixed, but the look on Sam's face when she got it back made it all worthwhile.

Meanwhile, other Astartes found out about Zarael's little run-in with Sam. To this day, they have still not let him live that down.

===Bad News===
Inquisitor,

I know this sounds extremely unprofessional and borderline heretical, but I honestly wanted to stay in a little city on Terranis forever. Unlike the vast towers of Holy Terra, the idyllic fields on Hagia, or anywhere on any planet in this Emperor blessed Imperium, staying on Terranis was... satisfying.

Unfortunately, my astropaths have informed me that a massive warp storm is coming and threatens to trap us in this system for who knows how long. If it were up to me, I would have told them to stuff it and leave without me. But... I have my duty to the Emperor and the Inquisition. We only had three days to leave before the storm arrived. I know Sam would accompany me, but what about the other people trapped here?

As you know, Inquisitorial policy strictly forbids us from taking in refugees, but I found a way around it by instead recruiting them as part of my retinue. Our ship can fit an extra two hundred people on board. I will draft an official announcement. I've called down the Astartes and a company of Stormtroopers to prepare for the inevitable chaos that will follow.

===Departure===
Inquisitor,

The city's reaction is not quite what I thought. Instead of the mass hysteria and panic that usually accompanied hasty evacuations, this one was oddly quiet and orderly. It was such a surreal sight that me, the Stormtroopers, and even the Astartes were a little unnerved.

Finding volunteers to leave with us was far more difficult than I imagined. Nobody felt like leaving. Even the refugees decided to stay, as they were tired of running and if they were going to die, there was no better place than on Terranis. Only a handful of our slots were taken by refugees, roughly forty. About sixty passengers were from the various shattered non-Krieg Guard units, though there were absolutely zero Valhallans among them. The Kriegers that came with us were literally badgered into doing so by their parents. They're all Derivatives like Sam, and a bit unhappy at having to leave, but didn't have much choice.

As our ship left orbit, me and Sam stood together on the observation deck, neither of us speaking a word. In my head, I knew on paper that Terranis had no chance of surviving. Eventually, they would run out of supplies, or attrition would wear down their numbers to the point where the Tyranids could easily overrun them. Then again, on paper, I thought it was humanly impossible for Kriegers to get along with anybody else, and here I am, engaged to one.

"Do you think they'll be okay?" Sam finally asks me as we prepare for the Warp jump.

"Absolutely."

===Parting Words===
++VOX TRANSMISSION EXCERPT++
++COMMUNICATION BETWEEN [CLASSIFIED] AND KRIEG 68TH REGIMENT CENTRAL COMMAND++

COMMANDER: Have a safe trip, sir. Good luck on your mission.

[CLASSIFIED]: You too, Commander. I'm sorry we didn't get the chance to talk before we left. What are you going to do now?

COMMANDER: What we've been ordered to do and what we've been doing all this time, sir. Hold position and await relief.

[CLASSIFIED]: By the way, you hotel was magnificent. Better than some resort worlds I've been to. It's a pity I never had a chance to repay you for your hospitality.

COMMANDER: No need, sir. Just take good care of my daughter.

[CLASSIFIED]: Wait wha-

++CONTACT BROKEN DUE TO WARP JUMP++

===The ''SS Krieg''===
Inquisitor,

It's been two weeks since our departure from Terranis. Our Navigator says that the warp storms around the planet are still strong, and any attempts to contact the planet via astropath have failed. Communication with Terranis has effectively been severed, possibly forever. 

As you know, our starship, the Galactic Frontier, and its captain, Captain Glovel present themselves as a high class passenger transport and occasionally moonlight for the Ordo Xenos. This has served as a number of useful functions, such as being able to scout and insert agents into high security systems. I've received your report about increased Tau activity near the frontier world of Odessa, which is of great concern since it is a resort world frequented by many high ranking Imperial officials. Captain Glovel is confident he can get us to Odessa without attracting suspicion from the Tau, but that requires us to stop at Tarson, the Adminstratum hub for the sector. The passengers we ferry to Odessa will be a sufficient cover.

However, I'm more concerned with our new passengers. The refugees and Guardsmen have adjusted well enough, and the majority have opted to step off on Tarson and make new lives there. The Derivatives, though, are another problem. I don't feel confident that they can properly integrate into society on their own, and from how their transfer orders were written, they consider me their superior officer.

I have command of a hundred Kriegers and have no clue what to do with them.

===Needs More Rum===
Inquisitor,

Taking the detour to Tarson would add another four weeks to our travel time, with an additional three to drum up and load passengers. This means the Derivatives have... quite a bit of free time.

I decided to give Sam a personal tour of the ship, and she was utterly fascinated by the entire thing. Being an engineer, she has quite a knack for mechanical and technological devices. However, the closest thing she's ever had to spaceflight were a few rides in Valkyries, so I felt this would be an educational opportunity.

So I give her the full tour, through the bridge, the passenger compartments, engineering decks, hangar, the works. As I'm doing this, she's taking notes and drawing sketches of the ship with the speed and precision of an autoscribe servitor. No doubt to share this information with her cousins (since all the original 68s were basically siblings). 

Oh, I forgot to mention. I used my Inquisitorial authority to promote Sam to First Lieutenant of the 1st Terranian Platoon. I've delegated all command matters concerning the derivatives to her. Of course, I get zero complaints from the other Derivatives. At least, I assume that's what their silence meant.

For the last part of the tour, I decided to show her the "spider holes", the secret tunnels and accessways every ship had. I have a few acquaintances among some of the crew, who are fifth generation, so they know every nook and cranny like the back of their hand. I show her a secret compartment the crew likes to use to stash liquor. Unfortunately, somebody forgets to tell me that the machine spirit for the interior door control is fried, so me and Sam are effectively trapped in there.

We were on the engineering decks, close the engine, where the temperatures are as low as 95-100 degrees Fahrenheit on a good day, and that's if the cooling systems are at optimum performance. The crew usually wears cooling suits and rehydration units when they work down here, but we didn't intend to stay there for any longer than five minutes. I'm wearing my carapace armor (as an Inquisitorial agent, you can never be too careful), and Sam is in her regular Krieg attire. 

Then, she starts stripping her clothes, right in front of me! The helmet and mask are the first to go, then her trenchcoat, her shirt, and then starts unbuckling her belt [ERROR]

Sorry, about that. I was trying to delete that last paragraph but the damn replacement servitor we picked up from Terranis never seems to work quite right. Now, in my head, I know it's just Sam's pragmatic nature to strip off unnecessary clothing in order to keep her body temperature stable. But the rest of my physical and cognitive functions are getting mixed signals, if you know what I mean.

Then, Sam looks at me and just says, "You'll get hyperthermia if you stay dressed like that."

Now, I won't get into specifics for fear of this servitor malfunctioning again, but I can say there was a bit of a physical scuffle and Sam won [ERROR]

Dammit, I screwed up again. So we were stuck there for about half an hour, drinking illicit alcohol and bemoaning our fate. Or at least, I was. Sam kept trying to snatch the bottle from me, complaining that I'd just dehydrate faster. Fortunately, it seemed that the Derivatives had been busy as well. When they noticed we were missing, they organized search teams among themselves and combed the ship. A pair of them, Wedge and Biggs, found us. I ordered them to never speak of what they saw in that room, but the way they bobbed their heads in agreement told me that was the one order they didn't intend to follow.

Now every Derivative knows about what happened between me and Sam, and they'd give us the little, appreciative nods whenever they pass by. Thank the Emperor they're tight lipped enough that the rest of the crew hasn’t found out.

Scratch that, the look on Finch's face tells me that might change very soon.

===Pimp My Ship===
Inquisitor,

The Derivatives have been incredibly productive since they've come onto the ship. I've managed to sneak some peeks at Sam's notebook, and I realize that they're not just notes on the ship itself, but an entire list of structural defects and security flaws. The Derivatives have been incredibly busy, and are literally reworking the ship from the bottom up. I have no idea where they're getting the tools and materials from, but they're reinforcing bulkheads, rerouting power lines, and overhauling old machinery. They even managed to badger or persuade the crew into helping them, though I suspect a couple are going along as an excuse to spend more time with them. 

Sam of course, has been leading the effort. I asked her why she's doing this, and she just gives me this weird look. It's like this odd mix of anticipation and concern that I can't quite place. Either way, she's already completely redone the Inquisition controlled decks in that typical Krieg "functional fortification" style and is working their way through engineering. The chief Techpriest on board is delighted at the massive jump in performance and efficiency the ship is showing. I don't have the heart to tell him the truth, because I think he'd try and throw Sam out the airlock for tech heresy if I do.

The Astartes aren't complaining. They actually feel more at home, with the Derivatives reworking their quarters to accommodate their larger size and weight, and they're very appreciative of the chapel they added in. Glovel has complained to me that somebody had stolen gold ingots from the cargo holds, but I just attribute it some greedy crewmen.

Despite this, me and Sam have managed to pick up a new hobby, exploring more of the secret compartments and crawlspaces of the ship. Take that as you will.

===Business Trip===
Inquisitor,

We've finally arrived on Tarson, but the new orders I've picked up from the local Inquisition base have told me to go the Administratum center here and erase all pertinent files referring to Terranis, and they have apparently been signed off by your hand. Is that true?

Obviously, I decided to keep the Derivatives on a tight leash. None of them were to leave the ship or the orbital dock without my personal approval. I don't want to risk losing any of them in the chaos of Tarson's hive cities.

So while Glovel is rounding up passengers for the voyage to Odessa, I'm choosing my retinue for the data scrubbing mission. I have Gottwald, one of the ship's techpriests and a specialist in logic engines and data management, which I need for the specific objective at hand. I also thought that bringing the Astartes as security was overkill, so I opted to bring Sam and four Derivatives instead: Wedge, Biggs, and the Twins.

Now, the Twins are just that, identical twins. They both look and act pretty much the same, and are so in sync that not even Kriegers can tell the difference between them. I hate to say this, but their only defining traits are their breast sizes. Chastel is the "bigger one", while Hista is the "smaller one". Just don't use those terms when they're around, though.

So, the scrubbing goes smoothly. We go in, I flash my signet, and I'm basically the goddamn Emperor for the day. Meanwhile, the Derivatives are standing guard over Gottwald as he does his thing, keeping eagle eyes on the Administratum clerks.

Of course, I don't tell any of them the true nature of what we're doing, not even Sam. I don't know how they'd react if I told them we were actively trying to bury any knowledge of their homeworld. Sam trusts that whatever I'm doing, it's following the Emperor's will.

I hope I am, too.

Then, I make the biggest mistake of the day. Once Gottwald is done, I decide to take a bathroom break and before I know it, the Derivatives somehow scatter to the four winds. Wedge and Biggs are the ones I find first, since they're the most predictable. Wedge is a mischievous little rascal and runs this small black market for his cousins. Biggs is a straight arrow who always tries to rein in Wedge's roguish behavior, but they're essentially blood brothers. I never see either of them apart. I'm not surprised when I see Wedge hijacking a truck filled with crates of waffles "liberated" from one of the building's cafeterias. Biggs is riding shotgun, and they pull out of the building and head straight for the spaceport before I can stop them.

The Twins tried to tail Wedge and Biggs when they broke off, but got lost in that dreadfully designed labyrinth of a building. I run into them on the way back from Wedge and Biggs' little heist. They're trying to decide which direction to go, and I notice this small army of Administratum clerks tailing them like Lictors, like these are the only girls they've seen within 20 feet of them. The Twins are completely oblivious to this and I come and order them to accompany me back to the ship. I'm in a particularly foul mood in this point so I cheer myself up by giving a smug grin at the clerks as I lead the twins away. They were so green with envy that they could have used it to transform Tarson into an agri-world!

The moment I start thinking about finding Sam, she's already behind me as if she had always been there the entire time. I notice she's carrying a few dataslates she didn't have before. I don't manage to catch what data was on them, but it must have been important to her to go through such lengths to obtain it.

Anyways, I'm tired. I'll investigate later.

===Love Boat===
Inquisitor,
We’ve finally left Tarson and are well on our way to Odessa with six hundred passengers. I’ve forbidden the Derivatives or any Inquisitorial staff enter the passenger compartments, but I let slip the fact that we’re carrying high ranking officials, civil servants, as well as their typical entourages. They literally began fortifying the outer edges of the passenger compartments. Bunkers and strongpoints have been constructed at critical chokepoints, the bulkheads are reinforcement with another three inches of adamantite plating, and they even have an Earthshaker cannon mounted on the approach that connects to the cargo bays and service hangar. 

None of this is going unnoticed, however. The passengers are convinced that the ship is haunted or possessed or something, and I can’t blame them. What else would you think when you hear random clanking and grinding noises in the night? 

And that’s not even the half of it. In some freak coincidence, I run into Interrogator Modo, from the Ordo Hereticus. You should remember him, or more likely his boss, Inquisitor Frollo. Apparently, he’s on some undercover mission, tailing a PDF general who might be taking bribes from several cultist cells. So yeah, he invites me to his stateroom so we can catch up on old times. 

I bring Sam with me because there’s really no way for me to convince her not to tag along. We step inside, and then I see a trio of Sisters of Battle in his room. Well, this catches me off guard, until I realize that this is some sort of veiled boast directed at me. He gets to hang out with the hot nuns while I’m stuck with those starchy Astartes. And because they’re supposed to be undercover, they’re not even wearing their power armor, just civilian garb that’s conveniently form fitting enough to show off their curves and physique.

Damn! I forgot my trip and forgot to properly format it, too!

Well I’m not about to let myself get one upped by the Hereticus, and Sam gets the same idea. She casually pulls off her gas mask and as she takes off her helmet, she does that weird, oddly alluring hair swish that girls are wont to do, especially in the movies. What I didn’t exactly expect to happen was to have her kiss me on the cheek afterwards. Boy did she get some venomous glares from the SoBs.

Modo concedes that we’re at a draw, and in return from him telling me which of the passengers most likely have connections to the Tau, I tell him about how I picked up the Derivatives from Terranis, and even took him down to the lower decks to introduce some of them. I can tell you right now, sparks flew between two the Sisters and Wedge and Biggs, and they weren’t the angry kind. They both scribbled something down on a note and handed it them. I never found out what it said, but whatever those words were, they the two SoBs light up as red as Blood Angel armor. 

Wedge and Biggs then fist bump at their latest victory. Both of them have gotten very close to Logar, since they all have so much in common in the field of wreaking havoc on the ship. Logar taught them the fist bump, which he says is a traditional custom in Space Wolf society. He calls it a “brofist”, and Wedge and Biggs do it at practically every opportunity they can once they learned it. Logar himself can’t do it much since he’s break a normal person’s arm, and none of his Deathwatch squaddies are into that sort of stuff.

Sam sees this and then holds her fist out in front of me, with this expecting look in her eyes. It’s at this point I realize the Derivatives have learned another “important life lesson” today.

===New Arrivals===
Inquisitor,

We've finally reached Odessa and are in orbit around the planet. Not surprisingly, our sensors picked up Tau ships lurking at the edge of the system. While Odessa is still an Imperial world, the Tau are still allowed access in a limited fashion for "diplomatic" purposes. The Munitorium and Administratum aren't fooled, however, so Odessa has a significantly higher ratio of off planet Guardsmen and Arbites garrisoning the world. Because multiple shuttle flights would seem suspicious, I decide to set up our base of operations in the Arbites headquarters. I only take a small force, just myself, Sam, the Deathwatch team, and twenty Derivatives. I keep the rest on the Galactic Frontier, to keep the ship secure against any possible Tau incursions. I'm confident they'll behave, since I made sure to take the troublemakers with me. Me and the Astartes have spent the last two weeks teaching the Derivatives everything we knew about Tau behavior, tactics, technology, and anatomy.

The larger problem is actually getting my force to the planet unnoticed. The Tau have numerous agents and infiltrators among the Odessan populace, including much of the planetary government. That means I absolutely cannot be seen trying to pass five Astartes and twenty geared and highly trained soldiers through customs at the spaceport, and my signet will just draw more attention than I need.

So, I order the Derivatives to take off their combat gear, stow it in the cargo crates, and change into civilian garb. I also have the Astartes sealed into the crates to both protect the gear and conceal them. Now is the tricky part, convincing the customs officers that these "tourists", in Finch's words, "were legit". So I come up with a plan.

I deliberately set down the shuttle near the custom officer's shift change, so he's more likely to get things done in a hurry. Disguised as the shuttle pilot, I plant the seed of doubt when I tell him that carrying a shuttle full of 20 of those idiots is unbearable. Now, their cover is that they're tourists from the nearby agri-world Redwood VI, who have a particularly nasty reputation in Odessa as being universally stupid and annoying. Then I get Wedge and Biggs to come up first, carrying the ID cards for all the passengers. They did exactly what I told them to do, be very annoying and ask a lot of unnecessary questions, as well as blow seemingly mundane things out of proportion. The biggest highlight was when Wedge literally grabbed the customs officer by the collar and pointed at a passing Tau Water Caste diplomat, exclaiming she was barely wearing any clothes, much less a Xenos.

Now, I'm pretty sure that was completely genuine on Wedge's part. Up to that point, the only visual reference of a Tau any of the Derivatives had was fuzzy pictures and artist interpretations. Plus, this particular Tau was wearing a very loose, very revealing white robe that exposed a lot of chest and leg skin.

Then a little punch to my kidneys from Sam snaps me back to the situation at hand. The poor customs officer finally loses his nerve and just swipes all the customs cards through the reader in one go and lets us pass.

We reached the Arbites headquarters with no issue. The Astartes were a little cramped and grumpy, but nothing a few promises of knocking around some Tau couldn't handle. Anyways, Odessa days are long and nights are incredibly short. Better get some sleep while I still can.

===It's Up To You===
Inquisitor,

I have to say that the Odessan Arbites are an amazingly polite and hardy bunch. They'd have to be, to survive on a planet where a quarter to a third of the population has been corrupted by Tau influence.

Yes, the situation is far worse than we initially thought. The Tau have been violating their treaty terms for the past twenty years by handling direct trade agreements with the planetary government, as well as setting up special "public diplomatic" districts within the capital city. The Guard and Arbites try their best to curb their influence, but the Tau have the majority of the PDF, or at least their leadership, in their thrall so they lack the manpower and resources to face them head on. Fortunately, there is a way we can liberate this planet.

Apparently, every few years, the Tau host a sort of diplomatic party on one of the orbital stations. They use the event to strengthen existing ties as well as try and curry favor with the officials that are still undecided. Every single public official, politician, and business tycoon will be there, as well as the highest ranking Tau leaders. The Arbites are confident that if some unfortunate incident were to wipe out Odessa's primary leadership, they would easily be able to take control of the planet in the ensuing chaos.

Unfortunately, this requires at least two agents to infiltrate the event, and the identities of almost all of the Arbites are already known to the Tau. The logic engines also calculated the type of attendees that would attract the least attention would be a seemingly engaged or married couple.

You can guess where all the heads turned.

This means it's time to go shopping.

===Shopping Spree===
Inquisitor,

It was a rather interesting day, spending time among the rich socialites that lived in the upper levels of the capital hive. It's been ages since I've even considered touching my personal expense account, but the Inquisition handles most of my expenses anyway, and if showing Sam a good time isn't worth splurging a little, what is?

Well, first things first, we have to get the proper clothes. I decide we should get my outfit first, but Sam is literally pulling me along like a dog on a leash. She of course is not wearing her standard Krieg issue kit, but more casual fare. When we reach the tuxedo shop, I don't even get the chance to pick out my own suit. Sam just walks up to the clerk, lists my measurements to the millimeter, and tells him exactly what he should make and out of what material.

It's actually a very nice suit, designed for comfort and maximum user protection. It's climate controlled, and the synthetic materials weaved into it are strong enough to withstand blades, bullets and laspistol bolts.

However, things take a turn for the awkward when it's Sam's turn to get an outfit. I've never been in a women's fashion store before, much less buy women's clothing, and Sam has no idea what to wear either, having always been most comfortable in her combat uniform. So, we pretty much spend the entire day burning through dress after dress, but none seem quite right to either of us.

But finally, as if the Emperor Himself were watching us, it was like he just snapped his fingers and everything seemed right. We settled on a very simple, yet sexy black gown that seemed to complement her uniformly pale skin. We also added on a little red scarf to add some more contrast and color. If we didn't attract attention, we sure did now.

So, we spent the rest of the day getting Sam some nice jewelry. Emeralds, in fact, since they matched her eyes so nicely. Sam was smiling ear to ear the entire time. Then, we thought "what the hell", and went and bought ourselves waffles that cost over 3000 thrones before we returned to our safehouse. We both agreed they were pretty good, but the Twins could make better ones out of scratch any day.

Oh yeah, we also passed by several Tau that day as well. The male ones really didn't pay me any mind, but I swear, I must have been giving something off, because the female Tau just wouldn't leave me alone. See, I'm no Xenophile or anything, but these Tau are just humanoid enough that the attractive ones can really start confusing your senses, among other things. Fortunately, Sam would shoo them away with a glare that could melt a Baneblade, and I'd have to convince her I wasn't interested in them at all, lest she turn that glare on me.

We were still high on some sort of euphoria the events of the day put us on (or maybe it was all that sugar stuffed in those waffles), but we didn't feel much like sleeping that night. We "played" some rounds of "Prisoner of War". Despite her innocent looking outer appearance, she can be pretty naughty, especially when she steals my restraints- [ERROR]

===The Name's Bond...===
Inquisitor,

So now's the dreaded day of the operation. The Arbites have managed to sneak my and Sam's gear into one of the station's cargo holds, since we can't carry any of it ourselves. With some help from the Administratum back on Tarson, we have foolproof papers identifying me and Sam as visiting dignitaries from Tarson. While it was good for getting us in with no questions asked, I think it backfired because everybody kept trying to curry favor with us due to our "positions". I could tell Sam was really nervous. Her hands were trembling and had my arm in an iron grip, as if she were afraid of getting separated from me in the crowd. I couldn't blame her, though. Spending all that time in that stuffy uniform and mask, she's probably not used to being among so many strangers at once in such close proximity.

Plus, I'd never leave her alone anyways. Some of the looks the male guests are throwing her way give me the creeps. However, the problem wasn't getting past the partygoers; that was easy. The main challenge was fooling the Tau, who were sure to put us under a bit more scrutiny.

We manage to slink away from the main party and slip into a maintenance hall. Now, I don't know what Sam's childhood was like, but apparently her parents taught her how to make a weapon out of ANYTHING. She managed to silently dispatch six PDF guards with a combination of a mop and cleaning rag. I don't really want to get into details. Afterward, we get close to the supply drop, when we run into a female Fire Warrior.

Now, fortunately, this particular Fire Warrior was not wearing her carapace armor, just a lighter ballistic vest and armed with a simple pulse pistol. Without hesitating, Sam tackles the Fire Warrior to the ground and they start punching, clawing, and rolling on the ground as they try and wrestle for the pulse pistol. I move in to help, but the pulse pistol gets knocked into a vent and out of our reach. Sam risks a brief second to rapidly point down the hall. I get the point and run for our gear stash.

I sprint and grab the bag containing our armor and weapons, and dash back. It's quite a pity, since I had had this entire dramatic entrance sequence and witty one liner cooked up when I rescue Sam from the Tau. But once I get there, I see Sam's already handled the situation. Apparently, during the catfight -I mean- brawl, Sam managed to use her scarf to strangle the Fire Warrior into submission.

So here's Sam, sitting on top of a female Tau, with both their clothes torn and ripped from the fight. I have to admit, heretical images floated through my head, but I banished them quickly. That was the sort of stuff that makes those guys in the Ordo Malleus such nutcases. After Sam gets back into her Krieg gear, we set about interrogating our new Tau prisoner, and were surprised at what she had to say.

Apparently, the Tau are not nearly as united as we initially thought they were. The prisoner identifies herself as Shas El' Vior'la Mont'yr, though I just decided to call her "Monty" for short. She claims to be part of the Farsight Enclaves, a Tau splinter faction and she has the same objective we do.

Apparently, the Tau expansion onto this planet is threatening the Farsight Enclaves, since the factions don't quite see eye to eye with each other. So, we make a deal. We don't execute her on the spot, and she uses her position as security chief to give us access to the bridge. She gets us in with no complications, though we had to work together to get some pesky PDF and Fire Warriors out of the way. However, what weirded me out was how Monty would always steal a quick, lustful glance at Sam at every opportunity she got. I know that the Fire Caste have some deep rooted warrior culture, but there's something about that glint in her eyes that seems to extend far beyond simple warrior respect.

I couldn't tell if Sam noticed this or not. We were busy dodging lasbolts and pulse rounds, and her mask made it impossible for me to judge her mood at a glance. Finally, we get to the bridge and shut down the station's external defenses. The Astartes, Derivatives, and several Arbites riot squads storm the station and create enough havoc for us to send the station's reactors into meltdown.

Now, since I don't have any intention of dragging her along, and because I'm a man of my word, I decide to let Monty go at that point. But before she leaves, she tackles Sam, rips off her mask, and presses her lips against Sam's for what seems like an eternity.

Uh... getting back on track, Monty manages to back off before Sam can stick her with her trench knife. She gives this playful wink at Sam before running off. I get the distinct feeling this isn't the last time we'll see her.

So, in short, the plan goes off flawlessly, Odessa changes hands to a more Imperial-friendly government, and the Tau leave. Unfortunately, Sam was in a pretty foul mood for letting herself get... err... "violated" by a Xeno so easily. It took a lot of waffles and a lot time in the chapel before she finally got over it.

It did give me some devious ideas for our next round of POW, but I'll hold onto them for now.

===Party Loot===
Inquisitor,

Modo wasn't exactly happy with me blowing up his only lead, as well as not informing him of what I was doing. I explained that the bright side was that he had a convenient excuse to install a more strong-willed candidate in the recently vacated position. Though it's not like he'd be able to back up his threats anyway. Wedge and Biggs are seriously working their magic on those SoBs. They're telling them all their stories of fighting the Tau and traitor PDF through just hand motions and gestures. I'm not sure whether the SoBs actually understand what they're saying or not, but they do seem highly entertained by the whole act.

What does bother me is how the Twins seem to be getting mighty close to Logar. Now, I'm pretty sure it's just platonic friendship, but it is rather unexpected. I'm guessing that they impressed each other during the firefight aboard the station. Finch and Angrius seem totally cool with it, as long as it doesn't affect his fighting ability. Zarael and Culles are being dicks as usual, Zarael a little more so. I think he's still really miffed about getting headbutted by Sam. Finch regales me about this story of a rather grouchy Dreadnought he knew and how it claimed it used to date twin SoBs. I'm not sure if that's true are not. Do Astartes even feel love? It's one of those things you never think about until someone brings the subject up.

Unfortunately, we didn't get out without casualties. Jeremiah took a nasty hit from a fusion blaster and lost his right arm and part of his face. The apothecary managed to stabilize him and replace his arm and the damaged parts of his face with augmetics. Now he's deathly loyal to Sam, who was the one who dragged him back to the shuttle for evac.

And yes, Sam is still grumpy about the whole getting kissed by a Xenos thing. I'm still keeping my distance till it blows over.

So now I'm left to decide what to do next. There are a few more missions lined up, but they're quite a ways away, and it's not fun when the Derivatives start getting bored.

Hmmmm, one of our courses seem to take us near Krieg...

===Terranis Holds===
Inquisitor,

We've finally made planetfall on Krieg, and I have to say, the response was... overwhelming. I told the Kriegers that we were coming on a secret visit and wanted to keep things small, private, and as quiet as possible. Apparently, the head Kriegers felt otherwise and organized a huge welcoming party.

And by huge, I mean HUGE. I think they literally drummed up every Krieger they could find on the planet. There were gas masks as far as the eye could see. The Derivatives were basically instant celebrities. It was no secret among the Kriegers that Terranis saved their hides when their Vitae Womb started failing. Interestingly, Kriegers do have an odd way of greeting each other. Two different units of Kriegers would face each other and stand at attention for Emperor knows how long before saluting each other.

Anyways, while the Kriegers are mingling, I get pulled aside by another Krieger. I take a look at his rank pins and realize he's a Lord General. I didn't even know Kriegers could live long enough to get that high up in the ranks. He tells me that all of Krieg knows about Terranis' gift, but little idea of what the planet was like. The only clues they have are from what the Colonel of the 68th Krieg left behind before he passed away. He then tells me he'll show me and the Derivatives something they've never let outsiders see ever, not even the Inquisition. I'm not sure if it's right to tell you this, but here's what happened.

So he leads us into one of their many, many underground bunkers (there's not many places to live in a nuclear wasteland). We're led through serious security measures and fortifications, measures that are even stricter than the security around the Vitae Womb! We're led into a chamber that's absolutely massive. So big, that you could easily fit a Warlord Titan in there, maybe even two! But the real amazing thing is when they hit the lights.

The sight is just... beyond words. Plastered on every square inch of the walls (and even the ceiling) are picts of Kriegers. Not just any picts, though. They're all picts of every planet, campaign, crusade, and battle a Krieger has ever fought in, everywhere from Terra to Cadia. There’s even a pict of pre-wasteland Krieg, that dates back even before their civil war.

But the Lord General leads us to one particular pict that stands out among all the others. One that's the most special. It's a picture of a Krieger Colonel and about a dozen other Kriegers standing at attention in front of the Basilisk, and I realize it's from Terranis.

The Lord General tells us that their first batches of Krieg/Terranis hybrids are just beginning to supplant the original Krieg units, but they know nothing of the planet that helped birth them. Their only clue is that one little pict that the Colonel left behind. He asks us to tell us everything we know about Terranis.

And we do.

The Kriegers are in awe with the collective stories me, Sam, and the other Derivatives tell them about Terranis. I get the feeling that the reason the Kriegers keep this "shrine" here is because deep down, they're looking for something. Something they've always wanted, but never quite realized until recently.

They wanted a place to belong.

Well, that's just my dumb, uninformed interpretation of it, but Sam just laughs at me and tells me that it's "a good guess".

The Kriegers are satisfied with what we tell them, and promise to spread the word to every Krieger in the galaxy and incorporate it into their training regimen. I think it's a bit of overkill, but then again, that's typical Krieg behavior.

As part of the event, the Lord General organizes a full orchestra, all Kriegers. I never even knew Kriegers had a concept of what musical instruments are, and I'm caught off guard when they start carting out violins, woodwind instruments, horns, and drums. Then, as a going away gift, the Lord General personally leads the full orchestrated version of Regentropfen.

I don't even know how long the song is, since I lose track of the time. If you thought the song sounded wonderful with just a piano, you should hear it with a full ensemble. It was just... marvelous. By the time they were finished, it was said that there wasn't a dry eye on the planet.

But, we're on a timer. The Inquisition calls, and those filthy Xenos aren't going to exterminate themselves. We have to leave for our next mission. I give the option for the Derivatives to stay on Krieg, but every single one opts to stay with me. It's very touching, really.

Before we leave, the Lord General asks, "What's become of Terranis?"

Sam beats me to it and answers without hesitation or doubt.

"Terranis holds."