BLUE-HEART GALIDRAANI
BELLY OF THE BEAST
The Faceless
Onansi of Thyrsus
Willan Tal
Berach Ulrand Anja Vertal
The only thing keeping Lord Erskine from losing his cool after the previous night's mishaps was the fact he had gotten more sleep than the officers who formed up for the morning muster. Though the rage could be seen in his eyes, Barran's voice dared not betray his attempt to mask his wrath from the others, though his words were barbed enough to convey it all without breaking his officer's etiquette in speaking his mind. It was obvious that the new commissioned additions to his battalion were much too complacent for his taste, and though they were all good company between-deployments, their real traits showed more glaringly when mobilised. This led to a lengthy lecture in the sun, pointing out every flaw in their attempts to follow orders until the Lord-Major's final verdict on the matter was eventually reached.
'Thin ice, lads.... An' as of right now, aw you dafties are officially standin' on it. If yeez were NCOs, a simple kicking would've sufficed-'
A clear snort of derision was heard off to Erskine's left, distracting him at the worst possible moment, though the disobedient one had shifted in his attention-stance enough to be caught in Barran's periphery. Everyone on either side of the culprit turned their heads in the general direction of the noise, not that their Lord-Major needed any help in locating his scoffing subordinate; happy to see it wasn't Captain Shugg, a brief smirk reached Barran's lips that instigated his culprit's guilt-revealing snarl of growing disdain, an insolent grimace that brought Erskine's wide-eyed rage from dormancy once more. Though the Lord-Major's normal anger flareups were usually louder, (and under the usual circumstances, such were very likely to subside much quicker) this quiet fury was very different, a particular coldness that was all too familiar to the survivors of the Barran-Battalion's years in exile; this was becoming increasingly evident to the others in the room, all of whom were getting out the way as Erskine silently beckoned the disobedient subordinate closer.
'Oh dear, Gloagg. Couldn't keep it in yer pants until after the meeting, could ye?', the Lord-Major asked rhetorically, also taken as rhetorical by the derisive one, standing less than an arm's length away from Barran as they continued to glare at each other with violent intent. Smirking again, Barran dropped the stare to beckon Gloagg closer, allowing him close enough to whisper,
'Sorry 'boot this, but examples need ti be made.', with an almost-fatalistically apathetic tone.
Drawing his officer-issue blaster pistol, Erskine used his free hand to grab his subordinate's throat; holding Gloagg in place as he shot in him the chest, emptying the clip's contents into the torso of the Blue-Heart Leftenant with trigger-happy abandon. Once Erskine released his grip on his dead subordinate's throat, Gloagg's body slumped on the floor as Barran set to reloading his pistol; and after clicking-safety and holstering it, the Lord-Major leaned down to rip the dog-tag pendant from the 2nd-Leftenant's neck-chain, then tossed it in the general vicinity of the other subordinates. Glaring at all of them as he rose to his feet again, Erskine grumbled
,'Send that to Gloagg's mother, and burn 'im with the mercenary corpses. Dismissed!', moments before walking back to the briefing-room with hipflask in hand.