Chapter 2 Recruit (Part 1)
The air was so thin that his lungs twitched from time to time. Soshyan sat upright in his chair, occasionally scanning his surroundings with his peripheral vision.
There were twenty boys in total and more than a hundred empty seats in the transport plane.
Perhaps this place has never been full.
The special academy in Soames recruits more than 5,000 boys from all walks of life every year, and a considerable number of them do not survive to graduate. Most of them are children of prominent families in the middle and upper hive cities, but In that place, their identities were useless, they were just recruits who were ravaged at will in the hands of the instructors.
In the academy, in addition to learning cultural courses, they also undergo extremely arduous and even inhumane physical training or torture.
In several years of study, everyone is pushed to the limit of their abilities.
But on the other hand, most of them have a bright future. They will be commanders in the Astra Militarum, high-level civil officials, diplomats or priests. A few will become engineers and local governors. , judges, and even law enforcers, and even set foot on the sacred soil of Terra, becoming people with more honor and status.
But this is not the ultimate goal of the establishment of the college.
Among so many graduates every year, at most, only "the most", only twenty people can join the Astral Knights Chapter.
This planet was not originally a glorious recruiting world, but more than two hundred years ago, a certain chapter leader established a recruiting point on this planet and began to recruit recruits they thought were good enough from aristocratic academies.
In the whispers at night, Soshyan overheard that in the ancient past, the selection criteria had never been so strict.
But after the Horus Heresy, many things changed.
It was a rebellion that once tore apart the entire Empire. Horus, the cursed son of the Emperor, raised the flag of rebellion against his father, and nearly half of the Space Marines were involved in the rebellion.
It was also a war that their young minds could not imagine. The Emperor's beloved sons fell into it, and even the Emperor himself was seriously injured in the final battle and had to enter the depths of the Terra Palace. The Throne was kept alive, and the power of the Empire of Man subsequently fell to the Council of the High Lords of Terra.
The age of mortals has come.
But this does not mean that those powerful warriors will never disappear in the long river of history. They are still the most loyal and sharpest blades of the emperor. No matter how dangerous the battlefield is, as long as they appear, Then the crisis will surely be turned into safety.
They are the emperor's angels of death, the messengers of extermination of aliens and heretics, and the most elite armed forces of mankind. Each of them is an immortal superman.
If this is true, then the fact that Soshyan Alexei was selected is even more incredible.
He still couldn't believe it all, he felt unbelievable when his name was called, he was still in a dream when he said goodbye, when everyone paid tribute to their lucky few Likewise.
Even as he was aboard a transport bearing the Chapter's insignia, it seemed like a dream.
Because since childhood, Soshyan has desperately wanted to be a Space Marine.
Although Soshyan's family is not considered prominent locally, it has a very ancient history. Its genealogy can even be traced back to the Great Expedition. Although there were many hardships during this period, the family was still tenacious. survived and continues to this day.
Although the ancestors of the Alexei family have never held any important positions, the local nobles still respect this ancient bloodline, and they have always kept the family at the upper level of the hive. class.
However, by Soshyan's generation, their ancient family seemed to have come to an end, and only he and his cousin were left among the young descendants.
Therefore, although becoming a Space Marine is a very honorable thing for a family, for the poor Alexey family, this may very well mean the severance of a bloodline that has lasted for tens of thousands of years - Soshyan's cousin's body It was never well, and it was often doubtful whether he would survive to adulthood.
For many years, Soshyan's father told him countless times about the important responsibility he shouldered to continue the family bloodline, but he just listened silently, and then devoted himself even more to studying and exercising.
His mother also cried and begged him late at night, hoping that Soshiyang would think about the descendants he might never have, the only hope for this ancient family.
Although he was still young at the time, his answer was this.
“Everyone is afraid of the darkness, who will stop it?”
People said that he was a child who was too precocious, and some said that he was too strange. There were even rumors that Soshyan might have heard the emperor's holy words or some kind of calling in the church, but such rumors were quickly dispelled by the local state church. Stifled.
But one thing is recognized by everyone, that is, Soshyan is not an ordinary child, he has some innate extraordinary qualities.
This quality has brought him both praise and vilification.
And he never explained to others.
Because he wanted nothing more than to become a Septon Astartes.
But only Soshyan himself knew that he was not truly hard-hearted, because he cried when his parents bid him farewell.
He became their pride and failed their expectations. As a son, he will never be able to fulfill his duties. As a descendant of a family, he will never be able to fulfill his family responsibilities. The ancient bloodline is very difficult. It may be discontinued.
A few years later, he would often think that this was probably the most important reason why some of his human emotions could remain.
But mortal emotions are the part that must be abandoned first to become an Astartes.
Thinking of this, Soshyan sighed secretly. Although in principle he should not regret it, he would never deceive himself.
At this moment, he felt a little regret.
While the other boys sat in their cushioned chairs, tightly bound by seat belts, each one stared intently, as rigid as ancient statues.
They are trying to grow up and become the warriors they expect them to be.
Soshiyan sits in the front row closest to the door, which means that he is very capable in the eyes of others.
He knows that his talent exceeds that of most candidates, and he also understands how jealousy can take root in people's hearts. In the academy, he encountered conflicts due to jealousy more than once.
Therefore, Soshyan has always known how to be cautious in his words and actions to avoid making his every move appear proud or proud in the eyes of others.
Suddenly, the transport plane began to shake, which also meant that they were breaking away from the constraints of the atmosphere.
Soshiyang calmed down and suppressed his emotions. Soon, the vibration disappeared, the ready light in the cabin turned red, and the boys looked at each other in confusion.
“Are we there yet? This is too fast.”
A thin voice whispered.
With a slow hissing sound, the hatch ramp opened, revealing the spaceport and the subsequent planetary orbital station that Soshyan thought he would never see again in this life.
At the same time, there were three figures outside the cabin door.
They were all as tall as giants, and when they entered the cabin, every step stirred up heavy echoes.
Soshyan blinked his eyes that were sore from the change in air pressure. He was able to confirm that these were the Space Marines, the guardians of humanity, the Emperor's angels of death.
Wearing thick power armor, they were more than two meters tall, and each fist was bigger than the boys' upper bodies.
The indicator lights dyed the cold plastic steel under the white robes red. They did not wear helmets, but patrolled among the boys with cold eyes.
The slightly trembling children blinked nervously at these giants, and their pretense of calmness was immediately shattered.
Soshyan recognized their silver-gray power armor with blue patches, as well as the emblem of the crossed swords on the shoulder armor. In front of the golden eagle emblem on the chest, there was a long The ribbons dance from their left shoulder to the cuffs, and there are special spear-shaped decorations on the helmets hanging around their waists. This is the honor guard of the Astral Knights Chapter.
All the details were quickly captured and engraved in his mind. This was the power he was most proud of.
One of the Space Marines glanced at the datapad in his left hand.
"Soshyan Alexei?"
Nineteen boys looked at him at the same time. Soshyan did not speak out to confirm his identity to them, but the boy The Space Marine still raised his arm, pointing at him.
"You, come with us."
The Space Marine who spoke had a stiff face and dark blue eyes. There were two service nails nailed on his forehead. There is a visible scar.
Only a long time later did Soshyan find out that he was Everridge, the commander of the Seventh Company, the company where he would belong in the future.
“What?”
Soshiyang had a bad premonition, but he still pretended to be calm.
"You come with us, now."
The Space Marine walked up to Soshyan with a sullen face, tore off his seat belt and half dragged him out of the seat, For the first time, he experienced the tremendous power of the Space Marines, which left him with no possibility of resistance.
And for the current situation, resistance is also very dangerous.
“But we are going to Obsidian Fortress! Please tell me the reason for doing this!”
After a while, Soshiyang finally stopped maintaining his adult posture and still insisted on his stubborn attitude. tone, but they didn't give him a chance.
“Obey the order.”
Before he finished speaking, the cold metal pierced Soshiyang’s neck.
Feeling the chill on his skin, Soshiyang made no more moves. His consciousness was shattered along with his hopes and fell into the abyss of darkness...
"Well..."
I don’t know how long later, as his body shook, Soshiyang’s consciousness briefly recovered for a moment.
But he felt very cold, very cold, as if he was in an ice cellar.
At the same time, his temples were still throbbing. Although it was unclear what that meant, he at least knew that he was still alive.
Suddenly, a voice came from his ear.
"This is a good seedling. His evaluation level far exceeds the qualified parameter line. The group leader will want this."
This is a high-pitched voice with a slight nasal sound.
"We will have to wait until he receives the gray marrow to find out."
The other voice was plain and indifferent, accompanied by the sound of many metals colliding on a metal plate.
"Do you think he can persevere?"
The nasal voice spoke again.
“You won’t know until you try.”
The second voice seemed a little impatient.
“This sample has high adaptability. Compared with the previous dozen, his success rate is the highest. If he is not good enough, we may...”
Gradually, these sounds became blurred, like drums in the sky, seemingly far and yet near.
A warm liquid was slowly being injected into his body, shattering his slightly recovered consciousness again, and he fell into endless dreams again.
The future has turned into an unpredictable fog, tightly wrapping him...