Editing Warhammer High (section)

==Back From The Grave==

A man with the tattered coat of a geno regiment disembarked from the transport. Breathing in the recycled air of the terminal, he watched the white spires of Terra stretch for miles.  From the starport he could see the the wall of the Palace, residence of the Emperor of Mankind, and one of the most guarded places in the whole universe. Walking down the ramp, the officer adjusted his duffle bag on his shoulder. Moving along with the queue, he watched down where the line spit into smaller streams, a stream per every Arbites check point. Waiting with growing impatience as the Arbites controlled the other travellers documents, he toyed with the laces on his bag. He had been away for years, fighting for a handful of dirt on a god-forsaken abhuman world somewhere in the galactic anus "No more" he said, to nobody in particular. "What?" said a woman on his left. The man turned to observe her. A long white tunic with red trims and a blue turban "Nothing". No more he would leave his planet; No more he would leave his loved one.

For he had done both of them already too many times.

After another hour, he finally found himself in front of the check-point. Extracted the documents from the pocket in his coat, he handed them over with his scarred hand. The Arbiter examined the documents with a black expression. Suddendly his jaw dropped. "Citizen, are these your documents?". "Yes they are" responded the man. The lawman moved a hand under the table. "Any problem, officer?". "Ah... yes, for you". The sound of boots on the stone floor alerted the man. Turning around, he saw a squad of Arbites and Enforcers moving towards him. "Impersonating a dead man, or simply using a false identity during an interrogation is a crime" informed the arbiter, standing up and placing a hand on the holster on his hip. "What? I'm not impersonating..." "Silence, you violated the law!" commanded the arbiter "Follow us quietly, or do it a body bag". "Is this the way to treat a veteran?" asked the soldier, eyes wide in confusion. "Make your choice, creep". "I'll follow you". "Good, then", said the arbiter. Like he had a choice. "You're smart" he added, voice oozing sarcasm.

The ex-soldier stared at the interrogation block he was in. The walls were made of ferrocrete, with micro recorders on the walls. The local was simply decorated: a wooden table, and two wooden chairs. What worried the man were the blood spots on both of them. Not the return he had hoped for. The hours passed. Eventually, after a long time the door opened and the same Arbiter that had arrested him entered the room. Taking one of the chairs-the other was already occupied-he sat and stared at the man. He was hoping for a confession, the veteran knew that. "So... if you think this will unnerve me, you're wrong". The arbiter open a little paper folder he was holding in his hand. "I'm not trying to unnerve you, I'm just waiting for some information". The soldier seemed confused. Then he undestood; yes, the gene verification. "Look, friend, this is a piece of advice you'd better take: let me go, now, and nothing will happen to you". The Arbiter simply laughed in his face. "And this is a piece of advice for you: become a comedian, after your time in jail". The door pommel moved. An enforcer stepped inside the room. The blood had left his face. The Arbiter, not worried one bit by his collegue's appearance, took the documents from his hands and wawed it under the nose of the soldier. "See you, little punk, this is the proof you've lied to me". He took a sit, staring at him and at the photo in the documents. "So lets see..." the lawman started, while the other one left the room "The man you've been impersonating had short, cropped, black hair" he said, comparing the man to the picture "Check". "Brown eyes...check". "5'9 feet...more or less check". Satisfied with his inspection, the man took the other paper, the one his associate had brought in "But, even with the fisical resemblance, there's no way to cheat this test..." he stated, examining the paper "and here it says you're... Julius Pius". The arbiter's jaw dropped; the colour drained from his face. "Sir, I'm sorry but...". Julius sprang on his feet, throwing the chair away, "Yes, you fool, I'm Julius Pius, son of Ollanius Pius, and future husband of her majesty, Lady Isis Lupercal, daughter of THE FUCKING WARMASTER OF THE WHOLE FUCKING IMPERIUM!!!" he yelled "and now tell me: do I look dead to you?". 

If a person could wish himself away, in that moment the Arbiter would have. Looking at the face of the young Pius "Well...s-sir, The news of your death by e-e-enemy f-fire...". "I can't undestand when you stutter!". "... by enemy fire reached Terra some weeks ago". He looked at the built-in crono in his gauntlet. "You are being buried in this very moment". The lawman was considering to shoot himself. "Now, officer...Oh good god, Isis" he said suddenly, staring at the door. He looked at the arbiter "Arbiter, I will forget to punish you, if you give me a car and let me go free" he proposed. The arbiter stood up "Yes, sir, yes as you wish" he said, opening and keeping the door open for Julius. 

Five minutes later, Julius was already travelling towards the city of Starselite, where his loved one lived. He had to reach her as fast as possible: he couldn't imagine was his future wife was going through. Using the code the Arbites had provided him, he accelerated on  the air way, heading towards the surface. Dead, how weird, he though in his mind. Starselite was a four hour drive from the spaceport, so he had quite a long time to think. "Autopilot engage". The car machine-spirit took control of the vehicle, leaving Pius free to relax and process what happened. He had always considered himself a man-at-arms, a warrior; how else could it have been? His father was Ollanius Pius,hero of the imperium, and one of the few non-enchanced human to obtain the glory usually reserved for a primarch. And now what? This was his last tour with the genos: he was a simple citizen now. He could re-enlist angain, sure. But did he really wanted to? He had seen enough for not only one life, but for ten. He had fought in the mud of the trenches, in the narrow corridors of the hives, in the boiling hot of the jungles. He had fought terrible enemies, and he remembered them, all of them: from the man-eating giants of Coria, to the sea beast of Scilla, to the ab-human warrior-women on Lesbonius. Did he really wanted to do this again? Maybe. But killing was all he knew? What else could he do. He enlisted when he was barely out of school. What else could he do? he reapeted in his mind. And what would his Isis say? He buried his face in his hands. Damm it. It was far easier in the army, for sure. Shoot that, blow this up... not all this life-changing bullshit.

A beeping noise awoke him from his thoughts. He was reaching Isis' house. He sorted his tattered uniform and smartened his hair. Not a lot better.

Arriving at the road in front of the Lupercal's manor, he saw many cars, some with the Imperial Aquila, most with insignia of the various Legiones Astartes. Probably his friends were having an after funeral commiseration. Oh Emperor, this is going to be awkward, Pius thought. The insignia of the Luna Wolves were crossed with strips of black cloth to mourn his death. The front garden was empty. He looked at the majestic house. The windows, shutters and curtains were closed, and he couldn't see a thing of what was happening inside. "Oh, this is not good" said Julius, walking down the paved path in the grass. When he was near the steps, he started hearing voices from inside. "He was a good man" someone - maybe Jake but Pius couldn't tell with certainty- "We will all miss him". He rang the bell on the door. As voices picked up, the scarred soldier could hear somebody walking to the door. A girl with metal hands opened the door.

"Hello Farah" saluted Julius. The daughter of Ferrus Manus stared at him, silenced by what she was seeing. "Is this for me?" he said pointing at the glass of wine she was holding in one hand "Very nice of you". She didn't move a muscle. He grabbed the glass of wine from her hand and emptied it in one go. "Thank you, I'll need it". He moved pass her and turned left, walking down the corridor to the living room. He looked at the people in the room: Freya and Thangir were sitting in a corner of the room, speaking quietly with Remilia, Miranda and Nate. Venus and Jake were comforting Isis, who was sitting in the couch, her face buried in her hands. Remilia was with them, standing behind the daughter of Horus. Angela and Michael had been chatting with Farah, before she left to open the door.

"Well, this looks like quite a celebration! What's the occasion?" Julius started. The room became silent. The eyes of every person turned to him. Isis became white as a bed sheet, eyes wide open. She stared at him with those orange eyes. Jake's jaw dropped, Venus simply stared at him, eyes wide, hands over her mouth. The other had similar reactions. "Guys...come on guys, you're scaring me! Say something" Julius said. Nobody spoke. "It's like you've seen a ghost" he joked. Nobody moved. Leaving the glass on a small table, he walked over to Isis, squeezing her hand. "Hon, come on" he tried. He dragged her on her feet, hugging her in the process. "Isis, come on, say something". The firstborn touched his cheek with one hand, to check he wasn't a ghost. "You...you're alive" she whispered, so low that even Freya had trouble hearing her. "Yes I know" he admitted "Amazing, isn't it". The others were starting to recover. "You're alive" she repeated. "Yes" and he kissed her. Her eyes closed, overwelmed. Jake was the first to recover  "So... why-how-are you alive?" Julius separated himself from his soon-to-be wife "I honestly don't know". This was too much for Isis; she fainted, falling in his arms.

The daughter of Horus woke up half an hour later. All the occupants in the room where staring at her, a worried look on their faces. She groaned, raising herself to sit. A hand was touching hers. A man she once thought dead crouched at her side, alive if a bit worn out. "Are you all right?" he asked. "Yes, I think so". She was starting to recover. She was shaken, but happy at the same time. The only man she loved was alive. They could live together again. She snapped, hugging him, hard enough to hurt. Tears washed her eyes. They kissed again. The others who were present let out a sigh. After a while they were sitting in the dining room, still a bit speechless. Isis was radiant with joy. She and Julius were still hugging each other, sitting in the same chair, the one Horus usually occupied when he wasn't reconquering the galaxy. They were trying to put the pieces back together, to understand why Julius was listed as K.I.A. while he clearly wasn't. "We were told that you were fighting on some ab-human world, Majugla, if remember correctly, when you were hit by an artillery barrage." Venus explained. "And they were able to identify me? After a barrage?" asked Julius. "Well...not exactly, they only found your sword, we didn’t have a body to identify" Jake said. "That I lost shortly after my departure" he informed them "Sorry, Venus" he added, turning his head to her red eyes. "I forgive you" she said jokingly. "Now that I think about it... I've never even set foot on Majugla" he recalled. "Wait, wasn't your regiment assaigned to that campaign?" Isis asked. "Yes, it was, but we were attacked by ork pirates as soon as we entered the sistem" he said "We defeated the green bastards, but we lost more than eight thousand men when some of the troop trasports were shot down". Remillia looked at him in disbelief "In a single battle!". 

He shook his head "This is the Imperial Army Remilia, not the Astartes. Losing eight thousand men in a battle is deemed acceptable" he pointed out. "Although not from a single regiment". He closed his eyes, thinking at just how many of his friends had died "So in the end we were too few to fight as a Regiment, but too many to be sent home. So the Administratum decided to break up the survivors and use us to reinforce other regiments" he explained  "A part of our forces, included my old company, but not me, was sent to our original destination. I was sent to Tulasan V with companies from all over the Imperium to quell a rebellion and recruit new troops". He smiled at Isis as she snuggled closer. "Those pen-pushers must have forgotten to register the dismemberment of the regiment" he speculated, displaying the usual disdain of the soldier for the bureocrat. He caressed his wife arm "So when they recovered the sword they must have thought I was in command of the company, while instead I was far away".  Freya leaned back in the chair "Ok, that explains why you are here" she said "but what about the sword?". Julius straighted a bit, starting to unbutton his shirt. "Well, during the battle with the greenskins I had a bad encounter with a smaller ork warboss" he said "When I tried to cut his arm off, he grabbed my sword with his power claw, snapped it in half, and puched me in the stomach". He revealed his chest, covered in one big bruise.

Thangir observed the wound "That looks bad". "Yeah, that hurt like a bitch" Julius corfirmed, making the other laugh. He buttoned up the shirt. "Anyway, after the blade was broken, I sent it to the smith to be repaired. He probably sent it to the one commanding my company" he explained. "Hey" he said "What happened to my sword anyway". Venus looked down, while Farah twisted her hand nervously "Venus and I melted it and reforged it for Andrew". Julius stared at her. "Ok" he said after a while. The two girls looked at him, unsure of having heard correclty. "Are you sure? You always loved that sword more than the arm you use to swing it. We can forge another one if you want" Offered Venus. Julius moved his stare to her "Sure, sure... I won't be needing it, or a different one, though". "What?" Miranda asked. "You heard me, Miranda: this was supposed to be my last tour with the genos" he stated "Even without my funeral". Isis stared at him. "And this whole thing made me even more willing to retire". She was speechless. "Isis, my love, I've seen you before, there, sitting on the couch, when you were mourning me" he explained, looking at her, straight in the eyes, "This time was a mistake due to burocratic incompetence but next time it might not. I won't make you suffer like that again". She was about to say something, touched, but the food servitor came into the room, carring a platter
full of delicious-looking food. 

They started eating with gusto, enjoying the flavors of the dishes, especially Julius, who hadn't eaten something that had a taste in the last couple of years. They started to chat about the changes that happened in their lives when Julius was fighting the Emperor's wars. In the end they rested quietly, reveling in the company of friends and lovers, while Julius narrated his story. After a toast to the warrior, they moved back to the living room, waiting for the weariness 
brought by the food to fade.  Without anyone noticing, a poker set appeared. While preparing the game, Jake felt Venus' stare burn the hair on his neck. "What is wrong with you?" she exclamed "Bringing poker cards at a funeral..." "They're not mine!" Jake defended himself "And when your soul hurts, you need to distract yourself in some ways". Nate laughed at the statement. "Your words bear wisdom, my friend" said Thangir, raising his cup of wine. The game went on for a few hours, until only Jake and Julius remained. Michael set his hands on the table, Thangir leaning against his chair. Nate remained silent; being a mind reader, he had decided to not participate at the game. The two remaining players remained silent, scanning each other over the cards. Julius, looked his cards: three aces. "All in" he said, challenging the other to match him. "All in" said Jake, moving all his chips. The veteran tapped the table with his fingers; maybe the hiver had a poker, maybe he had made a mistake to go 'All In'. "Gentlemen, lower your cards" Nate said, observing the two titans fight. Julius, showed his hand; Three aces and two figures. Jake smiled. Oh, no, thought Pius. Jake threw his cards on the table: A king, a queen, a jack, a ten, a nine, all of the same colour. "God damm it" cursed Julius.  The others laughed. "I've come back from the dead, and I can't still beat you". Angela looked at the ornated watch in a corner "It's time go" she said, squeezing Micheal's shoulder. He stirred "Alright, time to turn in". "We have to go too, sweetheart". "Oh come on Venus I enjoying myself" joked Jake. "Well Farah, do you want to go too?" Asked Remilia. The iron-handed girl yawned "Yes, it sleepy-time". "Freya, time to go back to the wolf den" said Thangir. Nate and Miranda undestood each other without speaking. 

Time to leave Julius and Isis alone.

When the room was empty, Julius and Isis started cleaning up the mess. She cleaned took away the wine glasses, whilst he packed the poker set. "I'll send this to Jake tomorrow" he said. "But, if it was his, why would he have left it here?". "To uphold the lie" he smiled. She put the wine glasses on a small table. "Julius" she said extending her arms, inviting him "Come here". He came to her, hugging her. She rested her head on his shoulder. "Are you sure with your decision" she asked him.  She was referring to his retirement. He caressed her blond hair. "No more". "What?" "No more; It's what I said when I stepped down the trasport that took me Terra". "But what are you going to do?". "Isis, love of my life, I enlisted in the army as soon as I came out of Imperator. It was almost twenty years ago. Since then all I've done was kill people and watch people be killed. No more. I'm tired." he explained. He stared at her, his brown eyes versus her orange. "All I want to do now, is to marry you, and spend the rest of my life with you" he told her "As I had promised you". They stayed like that for way, conforting each other, enjoying the vicinity of the other after such a long time. "Actually I'm more worried by the paperwork". "I'll help you, don't worry" she promised, knowing how much her future husband hated paperwork. "Yes, but I'm legally dead now. So the question is... how do I legally resurrect? And most of all how long will it take?". "I don't know, but we'll discover it soon enough". As they detatched, Julius gave her a concerned look "Are you ok now? You scared me before". She took his hand, squeezing it.

 "I am now".

The End