[wolfpack]

Sorry this took so long...OT is killing my social life...LOL

Home Again
Aergen awoke from the dream…or rather was it a memory…his first encounter with his beast. He sat upright soaked in his own sweat and realized he was still in his quarters aboard the Grendel’s Fang. He tried to remember all of his trials in that moment and the memory seemed to dim and fade from his mind. His limbs felt stiff as he turned to sit at the edge of the berth, he reached to the vox panel on the table next to his bed and spoke,
“Sergeant Raznig, this is Aergen.”
“Aye Lad, report to the mess and we’ll talk then, Raznig out!” came the reply, short sweet and to the point. Aergen had an idea that the sergeant already was aware that he didn’t wish to waste anymore time. He felt reassured that the old wolf had probably had to deal with this situation in the past.
Aergen stood up and walked to the new suit of armor hanging on the wall mounts at the foot of the bed. The Armorer had done a wondrous job, as was his craft…and Aergen noticed a new mark of arms on his shoulder and right shin…the campaign badge for Kiros II had been placed there and there was a small white strip of parchment cloth with a red seal attached next to the badge on his shin guard. The smell of the anointment oils and incense filled his head and he smiled briefly…funny that he hadn’t noticed them the previous night in the Armory…He donned his armor and checked each fitting…he walked back and forth to readjust his body to the feel and fit. The new set fit like a glove and felt like an old friend…as the armors neuro links adjusted to its new bearer, Aergen could feel little pricks as the nuero transmitters set themselves into his second skin. After a few minutes of parading around his quarters, he felt that the suit had adjusted and the bonding was complete. He left his helmet and bolt pistol on his berth and leaving his quarters headed to the mess hall to meet up with the sergeant and hopefully the rest of his squad.

Aergen walked the great corridors, looking around at the grandeur that still filled him with a sense of Awe and wonder…he felt a bit childish. He was a Space Marine now, he thought to himself, but the feeling remained. The tapestries and murals of long dead chapter heros were everywhere. One in particular caught his eye…but this hero was not dead…it was a rendering of his mentor, Jarl Bloodmane, but the old priest was not a priest, nor was he old. The depiction was a Wolfgaurd with many adornments and talismans hung about his armor…he held an insect like creature up by the throat and was in the midst of throttling the creature with a power sword. It was not difficult to see the old wolf in this manner, but it struck Aergen with a sense of familiarity…something about the expression on the old mans face…he continued towards the mess.

Aergen heard and smelt the mess before he rounded the corner and came to the great double entrance…the scent of food and ale made him realize just how hungry he was. He had been eating medical rations for weeks and before that they had fed him through a tube…his stomach growled in anticipation. The scent of Fenrisian ale and hearty meats exploded onto him as the doors parted…the scent of fresh breads and fish…his mouth began to water without him even being aware of it.
“Over here lad,” he heard the familiar voice, “there’s plenty room.”
He walked over to where Raznig and Bronte were seated with five other members of his pack. He looked questioningly at the sergeant as he glanced about the table…
“Aye lad, it’s just the eight of us left,” the sergeant knowing the question before it was asked. Aergen sat down and nodded to Grebe, Draiven, Bucuss, and the other two, greetings were made, and the sergeant told him of the loss of his two other comrades.
“Rory got hit after you were found in the breach. He took a las hit in the head and lost half of it. Orvus was storming a building full of heretics during the mop up and got caught in a grenade attack. We sent them off well lad so no worries there.”
“Yeah and we made the scum pay dearly for their loss as well,” said Bronte with a grin that would put the Cheshire cat to shame.
“Lucky you tripped me up when you did or I’d have been with them,” Grebe spoke meekly…
“Poor Grebe here tripped over your arm just as we took some heavy fire…if he’lda been standin there...” Draiven gurgled a bit as he made a gesture across his throat with his thumb while finishing his sentence. Bucuss and Bronte gave a bit of a chuckle at that point and they all started to grab food from the plates set about the table…Aergen looked about at the fare set and grabbed a large hunk of some roasted bird, “when do we get back to training Sergeant?” he asked with a mouthful of meat.
“Well since you’re fit enough to stuff half that bird in yer face, it seems to me that you can be there at this afternoons fun, after we finish our meal, we will meet in the training hall at thirteen bells and make sure you’re in full gear…ALL of you!” Raznig ordered, pointing at them all with a half loaf of long bread. A raucous laughter erupted from the eight marines and the rest of the meal was spent in jokes and tall tales of prowess and martial ability.

The afternoon training went well from the squads perspective, of course Sergeant Raznig was not pleased with the performance, but then again that was nothing new…Still they caught the occasional glimpse of a smirk on his face when they went through a firing order with perfect precision or completed an obstacle assault in near record time. At nineteen bells a ship wide announcement was made…
“Final trans-warp jump in twenty minutes. All hands report to station. Fenris space in forty minutes. That is all”
At that the training session ended, Sergeant Raznig releasing the squad for a quick meal before they all returned to their quarters for the jump. Aergen had made several jumps and still felt uneasy when that moment came and everything around him seemed to stretch and twist as the great ship emerged from the immaterium. He decided to forego food until they had returned to real space and headed to his quarters…noticing that the rest of the squad did the same…to include the old sergeant.
The warning claxon sounded…“All hands, final trans-warp in 5…4…3…2…1”
The final Jump seemed to last an eternity. Aergen could feel rather than hear and see the strange things going on around the ship, as he sat strapped in the warp couch in his quarters. With a final lurch, the ship regained its footing in real space and the warning claxon sounded to alert the crew of this. As he unbuckled the restraining harness, another ship wide announcement came over the vox…
“All hands, Fenris orbital space in ten minutes. All hands to station. Docking in twenty minutes. All flight crews and shuttle preps to be complete in fifteen minutes. All squads report to your officers. That is all.”
The Wolves were home again!