Chapter Text
Rain.
It's always bloody raining.
Rain poured above the darkened sky, gloomy storm clouds covering the surface of a world under attack. Thunder roared as rain continued to fall, and even louder were the sounds of primal roars and screeches of foul beasts below them that prepared to overtake the noise of the storms as a storm of its own. The soil dark and muddy, with the scars of battle draping across the landscape of the hell of war. Craters left by artillery shells, smaller ones around left by mortars, with strewn about fortifications of concrete blocks and barbed wire, mangled apart and crushed into various pieces around.
Despite such ruination, there remained functioning fortifications in the form of miles long trenches that were dug across the land. They formed a defensive line and intersected in various paths, much like several roads to create an elaborate tunnel network of branching walkways, easy to scurry across the battlefields without the need to look above unless absolutely necessary or ordered to do so. Sandbags adorned the many sides of the trenches, often with heavy weapon emplacements of Autoguns, Lascanons and heavy Bolters resting along the end of the bags, armed and ready for whatever dares to charge a well defended line, with barbed wire along the sides as a makeshift wall and populated with hundreds, if not thousands, of armed soldiers ready for battle at a moment's notice.
These trenches were the closest thing to a safe haven for mankind's finest, the Imperial Guard of the Astra Militarium, young men and women recruited for the sake of the greatest civilization to bless the stars. Such large battle lines were commonplace for the Imperial Guard to call home, but this home was always one filled with the uneasy tension of being assaulted. A grim determination cast itself across the humans, while they were willing to stand their ground for the Imperium, they also knew that there was not much choice in the matter. The trenches were the only line of defense they had against their foe, and should they fall, it is possible they would all fall with it, and the enemies of Mankind may yet win and destroy everything they had ever known.
Yet here I am, Maxis Xanathau.
Such a man was known across the Imperium for his acts of bravery against the enemies of Mankind, famous for an act he performed known as a "Glorious Charge" upon the exposed positions of his enemies. Heroism at its finest, Maxis is a man capable of catching the most dire of foes unguarded, precise in his calculations and masterful in tactics, armed with a modified plasma pistol and a curved, single bladed power sword to lead his men to glory. Commissars were often not the type to lead in the front as he did, but the idols that Maxis held in high regard would not have done so in his position, and he had aspired to lead like them in his youth since graduating from the Schola Progenium. Here he was, among his men as a leader looked up to and depended on for their survival and victory, a great responsibility fell on the shoulders of a man who was determined to see it through.
This was not a situation where a glorious charge can take place however. Sitting in cold trenches with rain building up inside, shoveling buckets of water out, trudging through muddy ground as Maxis passed by tired soldiers who wished to go home. Anything about the situation on the ground thought by a man with a clearer mind could tell you that this was not a brave and heroic place to be. Commissars were taught to revere their service as a most righteous cause, a grand servitude to dedicate themselves to the Imperium that made them infallible to the greatest horrors of the galaxy. Such were the teachings, yet the practice of these acts was far more difficult to attain in real situations outside of propaganda posters.
God Emperor. Is this what we must do to prove ourselves worthy?
The thoughts clouded Maxis, like a plague of doubt infecting the mind of the man, who made his way across the trench and inspected the status of his men and their position. Ammo was running low for the larger guns, having been spent to repel attacks across the trench line with no new contact to verify when supplies would arrive. Many men have already died over the course of weeks, long and bloody battles against their foes had taken their lives little by little, a war not of only guns but of bodies, attrition at its finest that took them away. The guardsmen had been shaken time and time again, and while they still held the line, many had murmured about possibly being abandoned by their higher ups and mused about the possibility that this may be their end.
Maxis understood their doubts, but he had yet to address them, for he had not wished to lie like many others did before them about the precariousness of their situation. He gripped his aquila tightly across his red sash, a common article of clothing to symbolize his status as Commissar, silently acknowledging the trepidations of his men upon inspection. This would not get better with silence. He knew he had to address their concerns soon, lest the doubt truly seep into the minds of the guardsmen and cause an unnecessary panic, and potentially a mutiny among the lower ranks.
There was trust that the guardsmen held for their Commissar, seeing a man like him lead them in the heat of battle quickly gained their respect and showed them Maxis was not just a man of politics. Some joked that he was a Cadian born in the body of a Noble, one who walked across the fields of battle with a confidence of a high born yet is willing to get down to dirty work with the lower ranks. This command of respect was attained by few and they were glad to have him, yet the many bodies that had been piling up were making them doubt this heroic act.
I must do something now. They are coming. Quickly before they arrive!
A loud screech rang out in the air, deafening the thunder above as it echoed across the battlefield. It was an unholy thing to listen to, cutting through the air and into the very heart and soul of every human being that heard its sound. Many of the guardsmen covered their ears, some visibly terrified, others doing their best to harden their expression at the sheer noise. Like the sound of shattered glass scratching on smooth surfaces, the screech went on and on, only getting higher in pitch and more primal by the second.
Maxis gritted his teeth through the pain, using the wall of the trench to hold onto himself from falling. He saw some men even bleed from their ears, drums fully burst, eyes watering from the agony of the unending sound that threatened to deafen the battlefield. And suddenly, the sound stopped entirely. It became deathly silent, as if there had been nothing at all.
"Look! Above the trench! Here they come!"
A guardsmen yelled out, pointing across the field to signal the rest of the men to see the unholy sight before them.
"By the God Emperor!"
"Throne. Please deliver us!"
"They… there's too many of them!"
Maxis looked over first and dread fell on his face. His nerves steeled themselves best they could, as the sight before him was something right out of his worst fears. This world was not simply a battlefield, but it was also a feeding ground. Fields of the dead were piled up, various guardsmen whose bodies had been rotting for days to weeks, alongside the corpses of various forms of horrid Xenos; the same Xenos who were now approaching the defensive line in a massive swarm of chitinous bodies.
Tyranids… Throne damned Tyranids!
Words could not escape his lips at the moment, as if something had caught his tongue. Tyranids were one of the many vile enemies of the Imperium, a ravenous swarm of Xenos who existed only to feast on biomass and devour entire worlds. Ever since the first encounter of these wretched beasts, many worlds had fallen to the wrath of the Great Devourer, and Maxis was here to lead his men to stop the Tyranids from claiming yet another world to feed upon.
Maxis gave the order to fire upon the foul xenos, his men rushing to battle stations and preparing for a long and bloody battle to hold their position against all odds. Lasguns fired across the field, red beams of concentrated energy blasting away the smaller forms of Gaunts that rushed first, flooding the land with due haste and driven by their hunger for the flesh and blood of the humans. Heavy weapons fired next, loud booms of bolters and autoguns overtaking the thunder above, as artillery support had been called in to launch devastating explosives across the land.
Tyranids blew apart from explosives, body parts flew and fresh blood splattered the ground, but nothing short of a miracle would stop the swarm as they continued unabated by the heavy firepower of the imperial Guard. Each body that fell, the Tyranids simply ran over it and kept moving, gaining ground and ever closer to their quarry as they reached the first line of trenches.
Only the prayers of the God Emperor could grant any form of mercy in that moment, as Gaunts led by Warrior strains stormed the trenches and began to rip apart the first guardsmen below. Before they knew it, it was the bodies of their fellow man that Maxis could see flying across the air. Men were impaled by bony swords and gutted with claws, intestines spilling across the ground and flesh being torn asunder, as if the armor that was supposed to protect them were nothing but wet tissue paper.
No… No! Not again! Not this!
The second line was broken. More Tyranids poured across, no matter how much firepower went down, and Maxis witnessed larger bio forms advancing to destroy his soldiers. Raveners had bursted from the ground, slitherine forms that would emerge beneath the softer ground and rush the other side of the trench he saw massacred. The very skies themselves had the clouds breached, with gargoyles in flight blasting plasma to rain down the soldiers below. Warriors advanced with other strains, with guns made of flesh and bone that launched hives of worms that devoured flesh, seedpods that grew thorny tendrils that ripped flesh apart, and crystalized acid that melted through any armor with flesh right off the bodies of men.
Maxis froze as he saw more of his men ahead being slaughtered, ignoring the shouts and pleas of his men for new orders and froze in combat. Such a shameful display of a loyal servant of the Imperium was standing before the man, and he was quickly snapped out of the trance when he saw one of the Tyranid Warriors approaching his view, and aimed his plasma pistol at full charge to blow its head off in one shot.
"KEEP FIRING! HOLD THEM OFF, DAMN IT!"
Adrenline took over the panic in his body, with Maxis firing at the Tyranids approaching him alongside his men. He would not falter here, not now, not anywhere when his men depended on him and his leadership. Throne be damned, he was a hero and he intended to live up to his tales that were spun of him; the lies and deceit be damned! This was not a day for mankind to die. This was a day for the foul Xenos to meet their end. And Maxis would do everything in his power to save his people and blast the monsters away.
Gaunts fell by the droves to the firepower, bolter rounds ripping apart the Warriors and lasguns frying the Gargoyles that dropped out of the sky with anti-aircraft fire. The battle was like a dazzling lightshow of ordinance, weaponry, blood and bone. Every corner of the trenches was in the heat of the moment and death surrounded the men. This was not just about glory, this was about survival. And survival of the fittest is what would save them all.
"They've broken through! They- GRRRAHHJK!
A guardsman had his neck coiled around with a lash whip, choking out his last words before it had instantly tightened and his head ripped off with one lash back. Maxis knew that man as Boryn, often the first man to shout out anything spectacular occurring in the heat of battle, and had been named "the town crier" for any news worthy to the regiment. His life was gone just like that in one moment.
Gaunts began to drop down below the trenches near Maxis, and he turned towards them to see the beasts tear his men asunder. In flashes, he saw the Gaunts rip through his soldiers up close, brave guardsmen standing their ground overwhelmed and torn asunder. The screams of the dying echoed in his ears, bloodcurdling cries of agony in their last moments never forgotten. Blood painted the muddy walls of the trench and Maxis saw the steaming guts of the guardsmen scatter across the floor before they rushed him.
With a righteous fury and anger, Maxis drew his power sword and slashed at the first Gaunt that leapt up at him, slicing it in two as its body split apart and covered him in its vile blood. More Guants followed, with the Commissar relentlessly slashing apart the Xenos in a fury like no other. He saw many of his brothers and sisters die this day, his soldiers akin to family like him, the only ones he truly had to remind him of his past that he saw slain. Each Gaunt he killed was counted as a kill for each man that died under his watch, and he swore to himself that he'd kill tenfold as many Tyranids to attain retribution for the death of his men.
Lasguns and autoguns fired from behind him, as his men followed his charge at the Gaunts to wipe the trenches of the filthy Xenos scum that dared to swarm their position. The Tyranids were cut down by the hails of firepower in the trenches, the rain pouring harder as the battle raged on and the sounds of war engulfed the weather with a clash of inhumane roars and screeches, combating the dying shouts of humans with overwhelming firepower of their weapons.
Despite the odds, Maxis and his men managed to wipe out the Tyranids, assaulting the inside of the trenches. The bodies of the Xenos outnumbered the bodies of the fallen soldiers, the guardsmen feeling a sense of overwhelming relief and ease despite the battle outside raging on. This gave the men hope that the battle was not lost so easily, that they just might be able to make it after all that had happened and live another day.
"By the Emperor, we've won!"
No… We have not.
Maxis said nothing as he looked over the trenches again and saw even more coming their way.
The swarm had only gotten larger, even more Tyranids flooded from the front and larger monstrosities had made their way across the ground and the sky alike to cut through whatever was left of the first frontlines. Massive beasts of war like Carnifexes and Haruspex' stomped across the ground with loud thuds, the little light above blotted out with swarms of Gargoyles followed by the larger Harridans and Harpies, even more gaunts than ever seen before emerged from seemingly nowhere amongst the swarm of chitinous mass that drowned out the bodies below. Acid melted flesh and bone, worms devoured living human flesh and bursted from every orifice imaginable, vines of thrones ripped open skin to flaw them of their bodies; the battle simply devolved into an orgy of violence and death.
This death paved their way forward, as more guardsmen relived the terror of the first attack, the Tyranids' numbers never ending as more guts and more blood covered the ground, the mud mixing with the rain and blood of humans and Xenos alike, and the screams of the dying being louder in the ears of Maxis. Not even the primal sounds of the Tyranids could overtake that horrid noise, it screams into his mind as failure and shame, of regret and guilt, the men that died this day was all his fault. He wanted so badly to save them all, but saw there was no way to do so unless he ordered one final order.
"RETREAT! WE CANNOT HOLD! RETREAT!"
The Guard retreated, Maxis blowing a whistle and sounding a general retreat to fall back from their position. Damn whatever high command would say of this day, this was not worth holding and dying for nothing! There will be a day where he would perish in battle, but this was not that day! The guard did not understand but they obeyed, and it seemed to be in vain as the Tyranids overwhelmed the last line of defense too quickly for it all to matter.
After even more carnage, Maxisa felt the rush of true fear for the first time in his life. Such a shameful display of the Emperor's supposed faithful servant! His fondness of his men and his compassion for his fellow man would be the doom of them, as he saw people he knew torn asunder for his actions.
Private Merrik on his first few days, only but a boy to the regiment, had been devoured by a hive of worms that bore into his flesh and burrowed inside his body to consume him inside out. Corporal Whillem, the best musician the regiment knew for his jovial tunes, had his jaw whipped off when he turned to save another man, before being dragged into the devouring swarm to be consumed. Sargent Harlon who had a family of five at home, his wife having recently given birth to a sixth child, was grabbed by a Warrior to then be ripped in half as his guts rained down on the terrified guardsmen. On and on it went, as Maxis saw men he knew die horrifically before him before seeing a young woman grabbed by a Warrior and held above by its claws.
"AHHHHHHHHH! Someone help me! HELP MEEEEE!"
"Katrin! Nooooo!"
Maxis grabbed an autogun from the ground, turning back to unload the weapon at the Tyranid Warrior, tired of losing more of his men and wishing to face his cowardice with a final act of heroism to save at least one of his soldiers. He unloaded his weapon, aiming at the beast that riddled its body with the autorounds, but it seemed to not do enough to faze the monster as it was determined to dig its claws into the woman.
"MAXIS! HELP ME! HELP- GGRRRRAAAHHH!"
Blood gurgled from her mouth, the woman feeling the pain from the claws of the beast pierce through her armor and tear into her flesh in front of the Commissar. Tried as he could, Maxis could not do much as the beast wriggled its fingers inside, she could feel her insides being shuffled and ripped, as her body felt a pulling sensation across her abdomen and chest in a slow and agonizing manner.
Eventually, the pressure gave in and the Warrior ripped the woman apart in two right before Maxis, her screams of agony being the last words she yelped out before blood and intestines caked Maxis below with her body tossed aside to the ground. Her still face of terror and pain fell to the ground, her head turned to the Commissar as she stared into his eyes, unfeeling and dead in its look. Maxis had to hold back the urge to vomit as he focused on the Warrior approaching him with a thunderous roar, it bled profusely from the many wounds it suffered and the autogun made an audible click that indicated it was out of rounds.
"Die! Die! Vile Xenos! Why won't you die?!"
Throwing the autogun to the side, Maxis drew his plasma pistol and with one well placed shot, he blasted the full charge right through the wounded chest of the Warrior. The lumbering beast fell forward dead, its large frame collapsing before Maxis as another corpse rotting in the ground as payback for his dead comrade. But before Maxis could turn back and retreat with his remaining men, the Warrior managed to twitch back to life and in a sudden jolt of movement, impaled its scythe-like claw from its back onto his leg.
Maxis screamed in agony at the attack, yelling out in pain and dropping his plasma pistol before falling to the ground. He struggled to move from his position, trying desperately to remove the scythe from his leg as his blood poured out before electing to pull out his power sword. One swipe across the limb slashed it right off from the forearm, before attempting once more to remove it with less weight on it to pull it out. Tossing the limb aside, he saw he could not move with his leg, a gaping bloody hole where his thigh should be, and slowly crawled backwards shouting out for help.Z"
"Guardsmen! I am injured! Do not leave me here! I am alive!"
The cries for help meant nothing, as the inhumane screeching of Tyranids drowned out his words, seeing his men flee from the battlefield like scattered rats. They had left Maxis here, and it is here that he would finally meet his end. Today was the day that he would die, and he would die like the coward he was all along.
"Guardsmen?! Where are you going?! How dare you leave me! After all I did?!"
Yes, that's right. After all you did. It was not enough.
Fear built up once again as Maxis saw the incoming Tyranid swarm, now alone and lying in a pool of his own blood, dropping his sword and grabbing a nearby autopistol from a dead soldier he could barely reach to make the most pitiful final stand that a Commissar could ever do. It was a far cry of a so-called hero of the Imperium. At least he would die shooting something, other than himself for his failure here today.
Gaunts were the first to find him, and they rushed him in a pack with ravenous claws and teeth. Each shot he made, Maxis counted to blow their heads off, it was the only way to get one kill on even the weakest of Tyranids. Every round he let loose was a second to count before his untimely demise, just another piece of meat to feed to the Great Devourer. He would be forgotten easily, his name shamed, his title meaningless, his reputation gone, and his memories associated with a fallen world that will be consumed as yet another light blotted out of the galaxy.
When the pistol clicked, that was when he knew his time had truly come. Maxis could only stare at his killer in fear and agony, another Warrior approaching his fallen form and was at its mercy. The Xeno roared at him, as if taunting his weakened and vulnerable state on the ground, no begging or pleading would stave off the inevitable of a painful death. This truly was the end, and Maxis did not dare even scream, for it was not deserved, only the suffering was earned and nothing more.
One last breath, and the sight of an open maw filled with bloodied teeth ended in darkness.
Maxis jolted up from his bed in a hot sweat. He looked around frantically, his eyes darting across the room and saw that he was not dead or nowhere near dying. He was safe in his bed, far from whatever frontline he believed he was in, and far from a place that anyone would meet a grisly end just short of illness. His body had a tremble and his hands shook slightly, resting them on the surface of the bed to keep them still as he breathed deeply to calm his nerves and make himself come back to reality.
"My love? Are you well?"
A faint voice was heard from the left ear, and he slowly turned his head to see a familiar yet calming face with concern, sitting up from the covers with Maxis. She was a woman in naked form, but not of an ordinary human that one would come to know. Her hair was white as snow, flowing neatly down above her shoulders, pale white skin with a purplish hue that beheld blue veins where her blood could be seen.
She reached out with her hand, with her elongated limbs she gently placed it on Maxis and could feel the sweat and grime from his arm, gently tracing her clawed finger across his skin in a tender manner. She lightly gasped and stared into his eyes with her blood red eyes, like dazzling rubies that danced in the void, and wore a golden headpiece that covered her forehead that held a third eye inside the blue glass of the center.
To most humans, such an alien sight before them would horrify them beyond comprehension and drive them away from such a woman. But for Maxis, this woman was far more than meets the eye, a person who became his closest friend, his equal in his matters, and his lover for which he cherished and embraced in his heart more than anyone he had ever known.
Compared to her, Maxis was a man of tall stature where the woman could match his height surprisingly close. He did not share the whiteness of the woman, but his complexion was fair and his body well muscled thanks to his many years of rigorous training and military action as a Commissar. He held his head up with as much confidence as he could muster, wiping away the sweat from his well trimmed beard and slicked his combed back hair to neaten it best he could.
Tried as he may however, he could not hide what his body had all over. Not only was there sweat, but also various scars across his body from his many wounds in battles. Some of them are more fresh, others as old wounds that never completely healed physically. There were also several scratches on his back he had, although those were not battle scars in the same sense of the word, but rather a sensual gift by the woman beside him who worried for his well being.
"By the Throne, your arm! It's so… moist with perspiration. Your whole body even. You look as if you have seen the very Warp itself in your gaze, and your colours are mired with flashes of crimson and shades of black."
The woman was about to press her hand onto her lover's shoulder in an attempt to ease the pain she saw, and before she could continue, she stopped herself and drew it back with a nervous glance back.
"M-my apologies. I must remind myself more often to not perform such a thing without your consent." She stutters her words. "But with my powers, I… well, to see you in pain like this makes me want to-
"My dear Cassia."
Maxis gently grabs Cassia's hand, cold to the touch, and gently presses his lips upon it as a way of reassurance of her act not being wrong in nature. She blushed at the contact, always taken back by such gentle mannerisms in the worst circumstances, and eased herself in calm. Despite this, she could not simply dismiss what colours she saw around him.
Unlike Maxis, Cassia saw the world differently than her lover, often more acute in the feelings of others with her unique sight of seeing colours around her being and the colours of others. It had helped her discern the true intent of someone's words and often served her as a way to read the minds of others without the need to intrude in their thoughts. It was one of many gifts that she had due to her birth in this world as a Navigator, a mutant who served the Imperium with unique abilities needed by Mankind.
But at this time, she served to address the concerns of her lover in bed.
"You need not worry. I know you only wish to help me.." Maxis smiled warmly. "Your kind soul alone puts me at ease."
Cassia pursed her lips, not entirely convinced by the words, but saw golden colours break out to signify the gentle warmth of his words.
"You emit a bright gold with sincerity. But still, I see the same colours around you." Cassia frowned slightly, shuffling closer to Maxis. "Tell me what happened. I worry for you."
Maxis had to choose his words carefully around Cassia. He knew well of her powers, and lying to her would do him no good. It was best to be upfront with his words lest she detect deceit, and he dared not deceive her even in the worst of days. But he did not feel ready to confront these nightmares with her, at least not in great detail, not yet. She worried so much for him that it melted his heart every time, but he steeled himself for his next words.
"I had a nightmare." Maxis admitted. "You probably saw me struggling in my sleep."
"I did." Cassia placed her hand on his back, ignoring the sweat that covered it. "You do not have to tell me if you do not feel comfortable. I would understand why."
"I… oh, Cassia."
Maxis put an arm around Cassia's waist, pulling her closer and planting a kiss on her head.
"One day, I shall tell you my past. At least, the last before I came to the Expanse."
Maxis should have met an end multiple times rather than be here. Currently however, he was sitting in the comfort of a rich bed with a beautiful woman in his private chambers, not squatting in a bunker on a forsaken hellhole of a world in siege. He had possibly the most unexpected life changing event when word was sent for him to arrive at the Koronus Expanse, a more untamed frontier of space north of the Imperium that was far from his usual conquests he participated in.
On that day, he was no longer Maxis Xanathau, nor was ever supposed to be any kind of Xanathau to begin with. Instead he was now Maxis Von Valancius, a long distant heir to a Rogue Trader dynasty, a secret that was hidden from him for his entire life up until the moment a messenger relieved him of his post. More unexpectedly, he ended up inheriting the throne early due to his predecessor, Theodora Von Valancius, meeting an untimely end in her own quarters that he now currently calls a home.
He hoped that he would avoid death to live up to his new duties, but his nightmare told him otherwise.
"You never did tell me what exactly you did before becoming a Rogue Trader." Cassia mused about her lover. "So many tales made their way over to the Expanse, yet I never did manage to acquire a single book of your adventures across the stars."
"Oh, they aren't anything that interesting." Maxis replied more playfully. "Just a war here, a battle there, another enemy of mankind slain for the Imperium. The usual business of a Commissar that goes star hopping across the galaxy."
"Truly a bore." Cassia jabbed back, matching her lover's playful tone. "Especially for a lady who is madly in love with her dashing, courteous, adventure loving knight in shining armour of my dreams."
"Do I really make your dreams come true?" Maxis raised an eyebrow with intrigue.
Cassia giggled and planted a gentle kiss on her lover's lips as her reply.
"Every day."
Maxis chuckles back as he kisses her back, the two wrapping each other in their embrace and escaping their worries for a while. Each time, an electrifying current flowed between them, Cassia's powers enrapturing Maxis within her world of colours and feelings. When they parted, Maxis elected to tell more.
"My dreams when I'm awake are always so pleasant. Yet I admit, when I sleep I have quite the opposite." Maxis thinks back to his nightmare with a grimace. "It was more detailed than I had expected it to be."
"Have you had them before?" Cassia asked innocently.
"Yes. But they were never like this." Maxis admitted. "It felt like I was truly there. My struggles in my slumber, it was what I was doing in the dream. Feeling as if I had traveled to the past and relived the events again."
"It did not strike me as something as adventurous as you'd present it."
Maxis sighed, looking back at that nightmare and into his memory of that battle.
"No. It was far from an adventure. And you'd never hear it from any vox casting or holovid either."
It only made Cassia worry more, and the last thing she wanted was for her lover to drown in his dark thoughts. She wanted him to be filled with warmth and love, for she felt that he had a good soul underneath his tough exterior of a scarred body. She has yet to ask him about his story, but to see his pain and trusting him more than anyone in the galaxy, it made her wonder what exactly happened.
But she also realized Maxis was a rather private man about his past, not privy for details aside from an occasional reference here and there. She had only known of it as a hero of the imperium through passing, usually through second hand knowledge and sources, but the feats he performed were legendary and even before meeting him, she had always been fascinated by the man. Upon meeting him as Lord Captain of the Von Valancius dynasty, it could not have been more true than ever to see him as a dashing knight that saved her from certain doom at Eurac V.
And after all they had been through, all they had suffered, all of the death and destruction they had witnessed while she saw the world for what it truly was; she had found love with him, as he did with her. She would not leave him no matter what happened, and she would do all she could to make him happy as he did with her. For now, she did not press into his nightmare, but she would at a later time be more forward once they had fulfilled their duties today.
"I am eager to listen to you, my love." Cassia rested her head on his shoulder. "You are the brightest light in my soul. Whatever darkness is held inside you, I am here to shine it away and face it with you. We will be together forever."
"And you, my dear, are the hope that keeps me going when the darkness threatens to envelop my senses."
Maxis lifts himself up from the bed, stretching his arms out and pushing himself to stand up and prepare for another day in the life of a Rogue Trader.
"I will not press you further, my love. At least for now." Cassia concluded, not wishing to push him further for details at the moment. "But know that you can tell me anything. I will not judge you."
"Would you like a hot cup of recaf?" Maxis offered, letting out a yawn.
The Navigator tried her best to hide her disgust in her face, but Maxis noticed it rather fast. She was someone used to more refined tastes, of her standards that is.
"No, I am trying not to empty my bowels every morning." Cassia remarks, carefully making her way around the bed to stand up with Maxis. "But it is kind of you to offer."
"Is it really that bad?"
"You do realize recaf is a cheap drink for lower classes."
"Hey, listen. Sometimes the lower classes have good taste." Maxis defended his drink of choice for the morning. "I would know since I worked with them personally. Although it really depends on what leaves you use."
Cassia looks at Maxis with doubt, quizzingly raising an eyebrow at the idea of recaf being anyone but cheap taste. She pondered if there really was something she didn't understand, or if Maxis simply had poor taste in drinks.
"You should try to drink something more healthy. Like Solian Tea, or Tanna if you are feeling more exotic."
"A Navigator and a tea expert?" Maxis raised an eyebrow playfully. "How blessed I am to have you in my company, Miss Orsellio."
Cassia smiles as she makes her way to get her sleeping gown, walking across the bedroom naked, yet comfortable despite that. Before she would have viewed such an act far too improper, and while she still prefers to cover herself outside of bed, Maxis made her more open minded to not hide her body in his view.
She had struggled with acceptance of her body due to her status as a Navigator, a mutant sanctioned under the Imperium as an Abhuman due to her powers being far too valuable to waste. She had once seen herself as a hideous monster, but no longer does she look in the mirror and see her that way anymore. Maxis had changed all that when he met her, and never once did he judge her for her appearance or her powers.
It was freedom to show off her body in this way. And she intended to live out this freedom as much as possible before her duties would call her back to her house to take her place as Novator of House Orsellio. However long it lasted she didn't know, but she knew her love for her Lord Captain was eternal, and that's all that truly mattered.
Following behind silently, Maxis then wraps himself around Cassia's slender frame, his arms draping around her body from behind and lightly kissing her neck. Right around where her gills were, one of the more sensitive spots on her body, she shuddered at the touch of his lips on them. To feel his warmth pressed behind her exhumed a menagerie of warm colours from both her and the Lord Captain, and she struggled to keep her composure intact.
"Lord Captain. Are you attempting to lure me back to bed?" Cassia looks back with lowered eyes, close to melting in her lover's embrace. "I did not realize you could be so persuasive."
"Me? I would never attempt such manipulation." Maxis quipped, enjoying the moment. "At least, not without your permission."
"Mmm. I would love to have you take me again. Even the very thought of it excites me as I feel aflame in your arms. How I long to spend the whole day like this."
Cassia bites her lower lip, trying her best to control the urge to jump back into bed with the Lord Captain. But she resisted, as much as she didn't want to, if only because of other priorities.
"But unfortunately, we have great responsibility ahead of us today." Cassia kissed back. "I have to plot a course past Gatrafal's Calamity. The star systems past that point are rather unknown to us, and guiding the ship through it will take most of my time today."
"Ah yes, I agree." Maxis reluctantly lets go, parting with one last kiss to the cheek. "Duty calls. I shall warm you some tea."
Cassia giggles lightly and turns around, placing her slender hands on the Lord Captain's face and pulls him close for a deep kiss. She rests her head on his own before pulling back, grabbing her silken night gown to wear some article of clothing.
"Until the end of watch."
The Lord Captain is left to his own devices, seeing his mutant lover saunter away and smiles. Upon her leaving the bedroom, Maxis changed his smile to a frown and contemplated his own thoughts and feelings about his nightmare. So vivid were the details that he swore it was like he was there, yet he wondered why would they happen now?
After all that he had been through, he thought the past was done for and left behind, with no need to bring it up in a place like the Expanse. Yet the thoughts creeped into the back of his mind, worming their way across his head without any regard for what they may entail. Sooner or later, he would have to confront it, and he would have preferred to have done so alone. The last thing he wanted to do was drag anyone else into his old business he had.
But for now, duty calls.