Turning Point -Warhammer 40k Fan Fiction

Chapter 14 - Captain's Orders

         Once he had regained consciousness, Joseph’s head started to rival the throbbing pain originating from his wounded leg.  Sitting up from the bench he had apparently been placed on, he slowly recognized his surroundings.  Unmistakably he was in the holding cell onboard the Isis.  Abrupt recall of his encounter with Yuda in the alley put a sharper focus on the situation.

         Joseph gingerly climbed to his feet, trying hard to put as little weight as possible on his right leg.  He noticed caked blood still covering the wound on his knee.  Anger began to build inside of him from the apparent lack of care or medical assistance.

         “Hey!  Hello!  Is anyone there?” Joseph yelled.  Limping over to the containment field that prevented him from leaving the cell area, he spied the contents of the outside room.  Sitting on a chair in the far right corner was Scario, his feet perched high on a metal storage container.

         Looking up slowly, as if waking from a fitful rest, Yuda cracked a malicious smile that sent a chill down Joseph’s spine.

         “He awakes,” he said emotionlessly.

         “Yes he awakes!  Now open this damn door and let me get down to the Doc.  In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve got a bullet in my knee!”  Joseph grabbed his wounded leg behind the knee and held it up slightly as if to accentuate his point.

         “First, you tell me why you fired against my orders.  If I don’t like the answer, the Doc’s gonna have a lot more work to do.”  Yuda pulled a combat knife from his belt and scraped it along the metal crate next to him for effect.

         “Yuda, for both of our sakes, stop a minute and use your brain.  My ass is on the line just as much as yours and the Captain’s.  If I’d wanted to, I could have easily taken you out, and then shot the Captain myself!” 

         Joseph’s hands began to shake as rage threatened to overwhelm him.  His loss of blood, coupled with the debilitating pain shooting from his knee served to weaken his willpower.

         “Now before this goes too far, turn off this damn containment field and leave the room.”

         “You think I’m a fool, little boy?  I was taking lives with my trusted blade here before you even got out of diapers.  I’m going to take care of this before you get the chance to betray us all.” 

         Yuda twirled the knife in his hands a few times before pressing the switch for the containment fields.  Settling the blade in his right hand, he strode towards Joseph at a steady pace. 

         “Captain should have never brought you aboard in the first place!”

         Joseph dropped back into a combat stance as Scario charged.  Aware that the man was a hardened soldier, Joseph vowed to hold nothing back.  However, the larger threat to him was the rage burning inside, ready to explode.  A clear and sharp mind was what Joseph needed to survive the coming fight.

         Scario lunged, swiping the knife towards Joseph’s mid-section.  Bending forward slightly, the slice barely missed his abdomen.  Yuda quickly changed direction in a well rehearsed move and managed to knick the right side of Joseph’s face.  Blood immediately dripped down from his cheek.  Joseph stumbled back a few steps, and wiped his cheek with his left hand, checking for damage.  Glancing down, it looked like someone had painted his hand crimson.  He wiped the warm liquid on his shirt and looked back up to Scario.

         Joseph nodded his head a couple of times and limped towards the veteran soldier.  Scario swung from overhead, looking to stab down onto Joseph’s neck or shoulders.  Catching the downward thrust with both hands, Joseph pushed in close to Yuda and swung his head forward into the older man’s face.

         Staggering back in surprise, Yuda grabbed his nose in response to the vicious blow. 

         “You broke my nose!”

         Joseph didn’t bother to respond, instead choosing to charge forward.  Wary of the knife Scario held loosely in front of him, Joseph moved to his right and was able to rush in and get a hand on Yuda’s arm which held the knife.

         Spewing a string of curses that only the most hardened of veterans seem to muster, Yuda fought with renewed intensity.  The two men struggled back and forth, seemingly caught in a outlandish dance of rage and hatred.  With surprising strength, Yuda swung Joseph off of his feet, using his arms to throw him across the room and into a row of hard metal storage containers.

         Impacting with the unforgiving solid metal, the air left Joseph’s lungs.  A corner from one of the crates opened a gash across the left side of his head.  A cascade of small stars exploded across his view, threatening to once again overwhelm his consciousness.  Just as he was about to give in to the rising numbness, rage filled his mind.  Like an adrenaline shot delivered straight to the heart, Joseph jumped to his feet and motioned for Yuda to approach.

         Still trying to move his broken nose back into place, Yuda acknowledged the taunt and strode towards the enraged young man.

         When only four paces separated the two combatants, Joseph made his move.  Kicking with his wounded leg, he sent one of the crates sliding into Yuda’s legs.  The momentum of the heavy metal knocked the hardened soldier down in shock.  Adrenaline pumping through his veins, Joseph easily ignored the pain screaming up at him from his leg.  He quickly dashed ahead and pounced atop the downed man.

         Both men struggled for control of Yuda’s hand that held the knife.  Throwing all of his weight and muscle into the struggle, Joseph slowly moved the point of the knife towards Yuda’s right shoulder.  Spittle escaped Scario’s lips as he strained to keep the cold metal from piercing his flesh.

         Oblivious to the crashing noise behind them, Joseph willed a final thrust and a few centimeters of the knife’s edge sank into Yuda’s skin.  As Scario began to grunt from the pain, Joseph was torn from on top of the screaming man and held in the air.

         “Stop this, stop this at once!” the Captain’s voice broke out from behind them.

         Still blinded by rage, Joseph struggled in mid-air to once again reach Yuda and finish the job.  A titan with vice like grip held him firmly in the air and away from the bleeding, outraged veteran on the ground.  Kuro simply smiled as he kept Joseph from budging.

         “Damnit, this is my ship and I’m still the Captain.  You will explain your actions, or I will see to it that both of you stay on this Emperor forsaken planet!”  Agitation and frustration swarmed around his words like an angry hive, but the volume of his voice never went above a reasonable level.

         “Kuro, take Mr. Vintros to the Doc.  See that his injuries are cared to.  Scario, if you can stop bleeding for a moment, I want to see you in my cabin at once.”  Without waiting for a reply, the Captain nodded to Kuro and walked out of the room.

         Yuda sat up a bit from the ground and glared maliciously at Joseph.  Kuro dropped the smaller, younger man and motioned for him to leave as well.

         Clarity and reality broke through the fog of anger in Joseph’s head.  Pain crept in from his fresh injuries, as well as from his throbbing leg.  Despite of all of that, he shot a small smile at Yuda as he walked out of the room, leaving the bloodied, aggravated veteran behind.




         “There you are young man… all stitched up!” the Doc exclaimed in a high tone.

         Although it had only been a few hours since he had arrived at sick bay, Joseph felt much better from the small amount of sleep and Doc’s expert stitching.  Stretching it carefully, Joseph only noticed a tiny bit of soreness in his newly repaired knee.  Moving slowly, he stood up from the long medical bed and tested his full weight on it.

         “You do good work, Doc.  Thanks.”

         “Now just remember, the muscle bonding will take a few more hours.  No more altercations until tomorrow,” he said with a smile.

         “Well, thanks again.”  Turning around, Joseph started to leave.

         “She checked on you twice while you were out.”

         Stopping at once, Joseph turned around and saw the grin displayed on the older man’s face.  “Who did?  You mean Grace?”

         Doc nodded in ascent.  “Twice, asking me if you were ok.”

         “So you told her that I’d be fine, right?”

         “Yes, that’s right.  And after I informed her of it, she seemed reassured.  She then said that the Captain would be relieved.  She said it a little too quickly.  I can always tell when something else is on that girl’s mind.”

         Lost in thought, the short and quirky man stood silent, staring off at the far wall of the medical hold.  Just when Joseph was about to say something, spirit came back into his eyes and he snapped out of it.  Strangely, it occurred to Joseph that although Doc had said it aloud, it was not fully his intent for Joseph to hear it.

         “Well, you must be off to see the Captain, I’m sure he’ll be eager to hear your story.  He should be finishing up with that troublemaker.”

         “Scario.” Joseph said with a nod and a grimace.





         “Captain.”  Scario saluted as he entered the private cabin.

         “Come in, Yuda.  Have a seat.”  Sitting at his desk, the Captain rose briefly as he motioned for Scario to be seated on the other side of the desk.

         An adequately sized room, the private quarters of Captain Yrius Vin Holson held his sleeping area, a large desk in the corner, and the refreshing room so typical of modern space going ships.  In a non typical fashion, the walls of his private cabin were adorned with a diverse collection of weapons, trophies, artifacts, and documents from all over the universe.  Scario knew the Captain well enough that quite a few of the items themselves were worth a small fortune.

         “Yuda, I must apologize to you.”

         Relief struck Yuda Scario’s features as the words of the Captain rang out inside of the cabin.  Speechless for a moment, he shook away his disbelief and smiled.

         “It’s okay, sir.  We all find it hard to know every little detail that happens during operations.  I’m just glad you recognize my timely actions.”

         Amused, the Captain displayed a quick smile before continuing, “No, I’m afraid that’s not what I had in mind.  You see, I’m sorry that I’ve been lacking in the ability to adequately communicate matters of importance.”

         “Sir?” Yuda replied in bewilderment.

         The Captain’s demeanor shifted as a veil of seriousness crept over his face.

         “Perception, Mr. Scario, can be a dangerous thing.  You see, my perception was that I had ordered everyone to meet at the rendezvous point, and that mission debriefing was to be handled back here on the ship.  Under this dangerous delusion, I thought that you had explicit orders to pick up the team and deliver them safely aboard.  I was under the distinct impression that I had asked you not to confront anyone on their actions during the mission.”

         “Well…”

         Leaning forward, the Captain interrupted any attempt at a retort, “I failed in my efforts to contend on a level of reality that the rest of the crew shares.  In my deluded state, I can now see that you did not clearly understand my wishes.  This disturbs me greatly as I have failed as a Captain if my orders are not clear enough to follow.  So tell me Mr. Scario, have I become a failure as a Captain?”

         “Well no, Captain.  It’s not that you…”

         “Yuda…  Damnit!  I will have no more of these reckless, insubordinate actions.”  Scario almost jumped in his seat as the Captain raised his voice high enough to easily pass as a yell.  In four years of service, it would be the loudest the Captain’s voice had reached in an emotional response in his presence.  Pressing his lips together and looking down, he waited for the Captain to finish.

         Breathing deeply a couple of times, the Captain returned to his usual even tone and volume of voice.

         “Now I had asked that you leave the matter until the debriefing.  Yet you take it upon yourself to assault one of the crew members, and then imprison him without authorization in my hold.”

         Recognizing the potential danger in anything he might say in response, Yuda remained silent.

         “Consider yourself under probation.  Mr. Scario, you will follow my orders to the letter.  Furthermore, you will apologize to Joseph after the debriefing.  I will hear nothing more on this matter, and the next time you are confused with my orders, you better make damn sure that you ask right away for clarification.”

         With a sore, bitter look on his face, Yuda rose from his chair.

         “I understand, sir.  It will not happen again,” Scario said in defeat.

         “Engineering could use some help in the reactor room for cleanup and maintenance.  You just volunteered.”

         Visibly wincing, Scario recollected himself and nodded.  He turned and made for the exit.          

         “Yuda, I expect that anytime I close a matter, it remains that way.  Oh, and the next time you disobey my orders and attack one of my crew, I will personally put you into a zero G suit, strap you to the outside of the ship, and take us into warp.  Understood?”

         “Sir, yes sir.”  A stern faced Scario left the cabin and headed begrudgingly towards the engineering section for a long shift of hard labor.