This story is an unofficial story based, without permission, on the Warhammer/Warhammer 40,000 intellectual property owned by Games Workshop Ltd.
The training deck was a miasma of activity with crewmen and security staff training with one another. The domed deck was atop the vessel and surrounded with thick adamantium armour plates. All around the room there were smaller training cages, some with men sparring with one another. Others had training drones and servitors that were fighting armed security officers with live weapons. At the far end of the deck there was a section devoted to urban warfare where a prefab construct was split into several zones where men trained, breaching doorways and raiding mock complexes.Varlas walked towards a large cage where a similarly large man stood wiping down his sweat gleaming muscles with a towel after a sparring match with a combat servitor. The servitor in question lay on the floor with its arms pulled from its sockets. Its cranium was cracked and its neck lulled as though broken. Several engineseers stood around it loading body parts into a trolley; they looked at the man shaking their heads disappointedly, but not in anger, which told Varlas that this was a regular thing. The man was obviously as dangerous as he was strong, and therefore a perfect partner.
"Excuse me, sir. That was an extraordinary display. Might I ask you your name?" Varlas said, stepping into the cage, careful to keep his eyes on the huge bulk of the man. The man looked Varlas up and down. Varlas himself was of a light to medium build, his muscles were unassumingly lean. The man grunted and wiped his face. He was around six feet tall with brown cropped hair. His eyes were grey and wild. His face was like that of a craggy cliff face. Pock marks molested his features and a scar ran from his brow to his jaw that sutured the flesh between.
"Most just call me Ox." He spoke in a gruff voice that sounded like it was growled from the cavernous pit of his stomach.
"I can see why they call you Ox," replied Varlas curtly. "I'm in need of a training partner and I'd like you to be it."
Ox looked at him again, searching his face for any sign he was being mocked. Upon finding no trace, the big man smiled and patted Varlas on the shoulder.
"Aye, I think I can oblige you, and I'll try not to hurt you." Ox smiled broadly. The cage doors cycled around and locked shut as the match began. Ox walked around the combat circle and Varlas mirrored his movements. Ox was quick paced for a man of such brute force. Varlas was nimble and cat-like. He walked calmly as though walking along a beach instead of a dangerous combat arena.
Around the cage people had begun gathering, a few at first but as word spread more had joined them and quickly their numbers swelled to perhaps two hundred crewmen. At the forefront stood Nika. She looked as though she was ready to call the match off when she saw who Varlas was fighting: Commander Argus 'Ox' Karellian of ship security. As much as she worried for Varlas she also felt a morbid fascination to see how this fight would turn out.
Ox extended his meaty fingers and gestured for Varlas to make the first move. Varlas' face was suddenly resolved and different. This was a side to Varlas she had not seen when she met him. His eyes had been soft and lordly, but now they were like those of an animal. Ox didn't seem to notice. Not that he was that sharp, thought Nika to herself.
Varlas feinted left and then deftly dived to the right, catching Ox in the kidney. His lean knuckles sent sparks of pain into the big man's flank, though he showed little sign of the pain. Before Varlas could even touch the training mat Ox had grabbed Varlas about the waist and threw him into the adjacent cage wall. Varlas hit the grated cage side and was winded; a great cheer went up from the crowd as they cheered for their commander.
Varlas didn't have time to recover as Ox brought his cerulean fist up in an uppercut that Varlas just managed to avoid by the skin of his teeth. Varlas tried to dive around Ox but the big man caught him by his collar. Ox ran him towards the cage wall. Varlas deftly turned this to his advantage. He ran up the cage wall and as he brought his feet round he landed on Ox's shoulders. Flipping back, Varlas pulled Ox over him. Ox flew into the opposite wall and Varlas flipped over in a reverse handspring. The people around the cage were aghast with shock. Varlas, a thin man, had thrown someone at least twice his weight across the training cage. Ox stood up shakily, more in shock than pain. He hadn't been thrown like that since he was a child and his father had thrown him into tepid lake.
A crew member stood beside the cage handed a large object to Ox. Varlas hadn't noticed as he was too busy making good use of the respite to catch his breath. Ox grinned to the nameless crewman. This was dirty, he knew, but he was fighting for the crew's honour. Ox turned with an animal grin, holding a heavy training weight.
Varlas immediately saw the heavy object. "Frag it," he said aloud. Some of the crew on the front row grinned with barely contained malice. "Damned navy boys," Varlas breathed again. "Fine. You use your rules and I'll use mine." Varlas smiled, a blue glint shining from his eyes.
"Oh frag," said Ox this time. He wasn't all that sharp but he knew a psyker when he saw one.
Regardless, the giant rushed forwards, swinging the heavy weight like a primate with a rock. Varlas just stood there; the weight came within centimetres of his face and then stopped as though it had hit a wall. Ox stumbled back. He clutched his arm that held the weight. As he held it up again the weight crumbled to dust. Ox stood gaping at the hollow bar he held in his hand. Still, he tried again and Varlas had a lot of respect for him. He was either very brave or just very stupid. The latter was most likely.
Varlas side stepped Ox's swipe. When Ox connected his hit with the bars of the cage he shouted in pain as his bare hand struck them. Varlas now held the bar to the back of Ox's head in an execution position.
"Yield." It wasn't a question but a command. Ox knelt down.
"I concede defeat." His voice was still gruff but also proud. He had cheated and Varlas had levelled the playing field with minimum show of force. Varlas proffered his hand to the commander, which he took in a strong grip. Varlas dispelled the blue spark from his eyes. Ox stood and gripped Varlas' wrist tight in the warrior grip and laughed raucously.
Nika and several in the crowd joined in. Ox held Varlas's arm in the air like a boxing champ and Varlas felt a hot flush go through him as he remembered the crew and Nika had been watching. Varlas looked at Nika. She was smiling, but only just. Varlas thought that she may be a bit sour of his victory but also happy of it.
Nika handed Varlas a towel and started to speak at once. "Sir, that was rather rash and though no harm came to you it could have happened very differently. Though I am pleased that you weren't hurt or worse..." Varlas smiled. Perhaps she wasn't so stiff at all, and maybe she wasn't all work and no play. "...or else I would have had a lot of paper work to fill out. Goodnight, sir." She walked off. Varlas smiled to himself. Perhaps she was all work.
For the next few months Varlas continued to work alongside the crew and took on the occasional contract, though at first it was difficult as news of his excommunication had spread to some of the clients. But in the sevent month, Varlas was called to a pickup location by an anonymous client, a protection detail the job sheet said.
We rejoin Varlas en-route to the pickup zone, pre-warp translation.
Hive World Terra