Chapter Text
Being strapped into a drop pod is never a comfortable experience but at the very least Octavius is grateful he’s with his brothers. Lucius on his left is fiddling with a bit of his armor adjusting a gauntlet again, emotions of nervousness radiating off him. Octavius pats his shoulder and gives it a light shake; this will be Lucius first time in the field without his mentor Libarian Ovid and the little team’s first time without the direct guidance of Captain Doss. On Octavius’ right Valerius runs one more diagnostic through his hand-held scanner, unshaken and focused the Apothecary is ready as he always is.
“Brother Octavius” Captain Doss’ voice crackles over the vox link, “Your marching orders are as follows. Once you make land fall you are to proceed to the Commnications tower at the center of the city and meet the guard detachment holding that point. Once you have secured the tower report in you will be coordinating ground operations”
“Yes Captain” Octavius responds with all the certainty he can manage.
“Do not let the Orks take that tower, if you cannot reach it in time, you are authorized to destroy it” Captain Doss says, “You are projected to land fifty clicks south of the tower expect hefty resistance. Show no fear and no mercy let nothing deter you from your mission. Make Guilliman proud brothers”
“YES CAPTAIN” comes back as a unified response.
A loud thump and hard stop jostles the three Ultramarines as the drop pod hits the ground. A loud hiss signals the pod decompressing and opening up the harness unlock and allow the occupants to unhook and stand. Octavius scoops up his bolter first and as soon as he takes one step out of the pod a roar and call of a yelled-out cry “SPACE MARINES!” greats him. The quick pop of blaster fire and Octavius has the honor of drawing first blood, one ork down millions more to go.
Valerius joins him shortly after as a wave of orks descend on the drop pod, screaming out war cries and garbled howls. Lucuis steps up right behind his bothers and with one great mentally charged push knocks over the first few lines of charging orks. Octavius drops his blaster in favor of his force axe cutting through the line of orks with sweeping motions. Blood splatters and paints lines across his blue armor as Octavius works with Valerius at his side providing cover fire and Lucuis wielding his combat knife and pushing the orks back with physic blasts. A well-balanced attack just as they’ve been trained, and codex complaint.
Once the wave of orks stops and the trio are surrounded by their slain enemies, Octavius pauses and scans the horizon. “We’re clear” he says and takes off his helmet to take a breath, Octavius’ dark eyes scan his surroundings, and he brushes the dark brown curls from his forehead. “Lucuis, are you picking up anything?”
Lucuis rolls his neck in a stretch and takes his helm off, his light green eyes shut in concentration, and he scratches at his neck ruffling his light brown hair, “Ork forces between us and the tower, not a large number. I’m not picking up on any guard detachment just...one guard”
“One guard?” Valerius scoffs cleaning his helm flicking a bit of ork guts off, he picks a bit of dirt out of the scruffy and short black beard along his jaw. “Maybe we’re just too far off from the detachment for you to sense them?” Valerius’ dark blue eyes drift over to Octavius, “Surely there’s more than one guard holding that point”
Octavius changes frequencies on his vox comm to the tower’s transmitting frequency, “Tower, this brother Octavius Agustus of the Ultramarines do you copy tower”
The comm crackles and on the other end someone swears and then the sound of turret fire cutting through roars and growls.
“Tower come in” Octavius repeats, nothing no response. “Tower do you copy?” another pause, “Tower-”
“I hear ya! I’m a little busy at the moment!” A hurried response yells back and the man on the other end sighs and swears again, “Throne, fuck...whoda say you were again? Ultramarines?”
“Yes, to whom am I speaking?” Octavius asks trying to hide the annoyance in his voice.
“Guardsmen Jedediah Smith, last man standin” The guardsmen says with a hefty sigh.
Octavius picks up his dropped bolter, “Where is your Commissar?”
“He’s dead”
“And your Leftenant?”
“He’s dead too, like I said last man standin” Jedediah pauses “You don’t listen very well do ya?”
Lucius covers a short snort chuckling at the agitated expression on Octavius’ face. “If he’s all that’s left, we better get moving” Lucius retrieves the ammo and grenades from the drop pod.
“What’s his status?” Valerius asks shouldering his pack with the attached medical equipment.
“Your status guardsmen?” Octavius asks.
“Um...I ain’t slept in...four days?” Jedediah says with an expression of exhaustion, “Got three turrets working here and...um..I donno still in one piece” the tired guardsmen lets out a low groan, “I’m so hungry I’m so tired”
“You can do this, guardsmen we’re only a few hours out hold them off a little longer” Octavius tries to encourage the guard.
Jedediah’s voice wavers “I donno, don’t think I can keep this up anymore m’lord”
“Yes you can you must, how have you been staying awake until now?”
“Caf, lotasa recaf and singin”
Valerius and Lucius look at each other, “Did he say singing?” Valerius asks with a raised eyebrow.
“Sing to me guardsmen” Octavius says as he starts walking forward. The vox comm crackles with static “Guardsmen I gave you an order”
“Stuff it I’m thinkin!” Jedediah yells back
Octavius stops and bristles “You insubordinate-”
“Yeah yeah you can discipline me when you get here, at this point I don’t care I’ll take a quick death over....fuck...this” Jedediah’s weary tone almost gives way to a whine.
Octavius pauses, this poor man is just barely alive and he’s watched his whole world fall around him. The imperial guard are the first line of defense and for some worlds the last and only. The imperium has asked everything of this lone guard and here he is asking more an ounce of compassion could be spared, Octavius’ voice softens “If you stay alive, I will carry you back to our encampment myself I will feed you from my rations you may have my bunk but you must live...now stay awake...sing for me”
“....*huff* If I had another penny, I would have another jill, I would make the piper play the bonnie lass of Byker Hill...Byker Hill and walker shore call your lads forevermore, Byker Hill and walker shore call your lads forevermore” Jedediah’s voice carries over the vox link loud and clear the shake in his voice now gone. The song has a power to it and almost feels as though the sound is less coming just from Jedediah’s lungs and more the depths of his soul.
Valerius and Lucius fall in step with Octavius and the three start the long march to the lone guardsmen, a battle hymn urges them on.
--
His vison is blurry and every moment blends into the next, he had long become numb to the stinging and burning in his hands and feet, not the mention the smell. Ah the smell of death and decay well what else is new? Nothing grows on a factory world it only dies. Jedediah chuckles and leans on one of the turrets, the constant smell and feeling of death is the number one reason he just hated this place. Just a few seconds to close his eyes that’s all he needs just a few-
“GUARDSMEN!” A yell cuts through his vox comm and jolts Jedediah awake “I have been calling you for five minutes!”
“Waaaaht?!” Jedediah grumbles out, “the fuck you want, why ain’t you here yet?”
“We’re crossing over the hill now” Octavius says, “are you under fire?”
Jedediah rubs his face, “Not yet but give it two minutes, you know I hope you’re as pretty as you sound” the vox comm is quiet for a moment ha there that shut him up. When the comm crackles to life again Jedediah can hear two men laughing in the background oh good Ultramarines do have a sense of humor.
“You are on thin ice guardsmen” Octavius voice comes back with a tense and measured tone.
“And barrowed time” Jedediah fires back, “get here hurry the hell up I ain’t got all day” A quiet growl comes from the shadows of the ruins near the tower. Jedediah looks up and see a trio of orks trying to sneak toward him.
“Ehs singing maken em stronger” one ork whispers, “gotta kill the guard gotta stop the singin”
Jedediah grins and picks up the vox comm starting another song, “Here’s a little motivation gorgeous.... Joy o joy, the king of kings, we'll keep fighting ‘til the end, for a time that we’ve been taught to keep, since our life begins”
Much to the sneaking orks horror three forms is power armor crest over the steps to the tower. The hiding ork forces few that there are in the shadow of the ruins are pinned between three furious marines and three auto turrets they’re cut down in a matter of minutes. Jedediah shuts down the turrets slamming his hand on a button on the control panel as his three saviors lumber forward. The shortest of the three marines removes his helmet as he walks toward Jedediah, “Guardsmen” the marine says pausing in front of him.
The low rumble of his voice and stern and focused expression makes Jedediah almost feel bad about teasing him so much because he is pretty the most beautiful man he has ever laid eyes on. Jedediah stumbles forward “Oh look at that I never knew angels was so beautiful” that little quip was the last of his energy and Jedediah falls into the marine’s arms his vison fading and blacking out.
--
“He called you beautiful” Valerius teases.
Octavius rolls his eyes, “Just take him make sure he’s not dying” Octavius passes the unconscious guard off to Valerius and takes his place at the tower’s main control panel, “Brother Octavius to Captain Doss”
“Doss here” The captain answers back.
“We have the tower” Octavius announces.
The captain laughs triumphantly, “Excellent work brother! All teams report in to brother Octavius, give him your positions and status. Octavius coordinate our forces until I reach the tower.”
The vox comm crackles as each kill team reports in and Octavius busies himself with marking the positions on a digital map. The auto turrets are monitored by Lucius while Valerius tends to an exhausted Jedediah. Dawn starts to peek over the horizon when Captain Andel Doss reaches the tower, “There’s my rising stars I am impressed, where is the guard detachment?”
Octavius thumbs over his shoulder to where Jedediah is passed out on a makeshift cot, “There was only one guard left sir”
Captain Doss blinks dumbfounded, “One guard?”
“And he’s suffering from exhaustion” Valerius adds, “he’s also starting to show signs of dehydration and starvation, but he did admit to us he hadn’t slept in four days”
“You treat that guard with the upmost respect” Captain Doss says firmly, “he is possibly the bravest man in the imperium or the most stubborn suppose we will find out, Octavius I will take over comms assist on the turrets”
“Yes sir” Octavius takes only a moment to glance over at the sleeping guard, the expression on the poor tired guard’s face when they came into the tower tugs at something in his chest. It was those intense blue eyes that left an impact, they almost didn’t match with his scruffy golden blonde hair and barely noticeable stubble.
Lucius teases with a little mental nudge.
Octavius scoffs, “He was just trying to annoy me”
The rest of the day wears on with communications from the various kill teams, the hole punched in the ork forces with the capture of the tower was the tipping point. The Ultramarines swiftly take control driving off the invading force all that’s left is the clean-up.
Octavius and his brothers are ordered back to a temp base camp and captain Doss orders them to take the passed-out guard along. “Look after him” Doss tell Octavius, “I’ll want to speak with him once he’s well enough”
Jedediah sleeps the entire march back cradled in Octavius arms. His cheek pressed against Octavius’ armor, Jedediah mutters in his sleep about ‘seeing a real angel’ Octavius snorts why did imperium citizens give them that stupid nickname. The guard looks so fragile in his arms so weak in comparison to him and his brothers, but Octavius thinks back on his Captain's words, is he possibly carrying the bravest guard he’s ever to know?