Alarms blared their shrill scream as red lights flashed, the metal of the ship groaning like a dying whale. Within a long corridor of the ship, ran a group of men. At the forefront was an absolute goliath, towering above his smaller fellows considerably. The behemoth of a being spun on his heel as his smaller counterparts ran past him, raising a large gun to bare, firing it into the horde of malformed creatures that were chasing them. The Ogryn laughed as he watched them drop like flies.
“LUG! GET YOUR GIANT DERRIERE IN HERE!”
A man shouted from behind him, leaning out of the doorway in the side of the corridor. The ‘Lug’ in question turned to look at him, confused, blinking dumbly as he pointed towards the oncoming horde of mutants with very little, if any, urgency. Like he was pointing out a neat bird he just saw,
“But, don!” Lug whined, “Whole lotta beasties!”
Lug watched as Don’s scowl deepened considerably, his features filling with fresh irritation. He opened his mouth to shout once again, the ship rocking,
“YES, YOU BIG LOUT! THAT’S WHY WE’RE LEAVING!”
Lug huffed in indignation. There were so many of them! And they were so tightly packed, it’d be so easy to just mow them down with his ripper gun! No fuss no muss! So, so terribly simple to just clobber his way through them...
“If you charge into that horde, so help me...!”
Don began furiously as he saw Lug turn towards the horde with anticipation, club raised. Lug locked eyes with the man as he turned to address him, and almost withered once he saw the anger burning in them. It reminded him of his papa. His papa was scary... He didn’t like his papa.
He lowered his club and trundled his way inside the room, giving the horde of monsters a forlorn look as he shot off a few more rounds into the mass of mutated flesh.
“Okay...” Said Lug, rather morosely.
The blast door to the outside corridor clanged loudly as it closed behind him, the sound filling the relatively silent room like a death knell. Don clapped his hands together and began moving towards a large drop pod, dragging Lug along with him by the wrist. Of course, he didn’t have the strength to drag Lug anywhere, but Lug just followed along anyway. Lug was good at following.
“Alright lads! Strap in. We’re nearing the warp tear, and I’d much rather take my chances out in the vacuum of space.”
The other men in the room were filing into drop pods as Don sat Lug down in one of the larger ones, strapping him in like a mother would for her child in a vehicle. Though, despite the large size of the pod, it was still somewhat cramped for The Ogryn, and he didn’t much like cramped spaces.. Not one bit. He shifted in his seat, visibly uncomfortable.
“Urhm.. it’s real small in ere’.” Lug said nervously.
Don, who had just finished strapping him in paused for a moment, his seemingly permanent scowl softening as he looked up at the nervous Ogryn. And in an uncharacteristic show of softness, he gave Lug’s knee a few comforting pats. The gesture brought a small, silly smile to lug’s face.
“You’ll be alright, lug.”
After those parting words, the man closed the drop pod door and got into his own. The countdown for the drop began as the rest of the doors closed, filling Lug with a sense of dread. He always hated the feeling of falling.
As the countdown was reaching its end, the ship’s intercoms screeched to life as a commanding voice shouted “BRACE YOURSELVES! WE’VE ENTERED THE WARP!” And like some cruel twist of fate, the timer hit zero.
Lug’s heart tightened with fear as he felt the familiar feeling of being launched into space, but it was so much worse. His drop pod was thrown to and fro as the chaotic energies of the Warp tried to tear it, and him, apart. All the while, Lug’s eyes were clamped shut as his life flashed in his mind like a tape reel.
His frown widened and his brow furrowed even further as he realized how bleak his life had been. A broken family, The day he had been sent to war, how mean his commissar was.. It filled him with such a strong sense of longing despite the perilous situation he was in. He wished dearly that his life had been a happier one.
But Lug was never that lucky.
And when he felt the metal walls of the drop pod begin to give way, a single tear rolled down his cheek as he awaited the inevitable. He had heard stories of people getting eviscerated in the warp, painful and slow. Not like the suffocation of space. And now, he too, would be added into that long line of tragic tales…
Or at least, that’s what he thought. Not that thinking did him much good. He braced as the pod was wracked with an especially strong blow, and then a second that blasted from below.
His eyes were practically glued shut as he awaited the painful death the warp was going to grant him... But, after a good 5 minutes of waiting, it was silent. The drop pod was no longer in the process of being tossed about, and the crackling energies of the warp no longer assaulted the walls of his metal coffin.
Lug tentatively opened his eyes, expecting to see a terrible daemon waiting right in front of him, ready to gobble him up! Just like his big sister said would happen if he didn’t eat his vegetables. But.. nothing. He saw the battered interior of the pod, and to his surprise, sunlight filtering through the small, cracked window.
Did he somehow pass through the warp unharmed? He laughed in disbelief, relief beginning to fill his terrified bones. Lug unstrapped himself and gave the door of the pod a few stern kicks, sending it flying by the third. He quickly stepped out of the claustrophobic space and soon found himself blinded by the light that surrounded him.
Holding up a calloused hand to his eyes, he slowly let them get acclimated to the brightness of his surroundings, and when they did... He lowered his hand, letting out a small gasp as the new world around him came into breathtaking focus. Rolling pastures of green grass at his twelve o’clock, and a forest that stretched into the horizon at his eight. He was whipping around, trying to take in the sights of the lushness of it all.
Birds flitted by him, singing a lilting song as they went. Butterflies danced their gentle waltz along the flowers as he watched with slack-jawed awe. Lug’s gaze was caught on a tall mountain, and what seemed to be a kingdom that rested upon its immovable cliffs. White castles stabbed the skies with their purple-topped towers. It was like he was in one of the fairy tale stories that his big sister would always read to him when he was a boy. He had been on a lot of tours and a lot of missions, but none had brought him to a planet that was so vibrant and beautiful.
Not to mention the sense of safety, of peace... Of harmony, that settled in his soul. Lug felt tears roll down his cheeks and into his sideburns as he stood there amongst the grass and butterflies, utterly enraptured but it all. The others may have laughed and joked, calling him stupid and dull... And that’s likely true, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t comprehend the soft, gentle beauty of the landscape.
Wiping the tears from his cheeks and inhaling through a congested nose, he shook himself out of the daze he had been in. He remembered what his big sister always told him. 'Big Ogryns don't cry!', And Lug was a big Ogryn! Lug needed to find out where he was, and contact his superiors somehow. Don wasn’t gonna be happy he got separated from the group.
He then began lumbering back to his very damaged drop pod. It was a miracle he and the pod survived the landing, considering how beat up it was. He reached in and grabbed a communications device that was rather small in his hand, and tried to turn it on.
Nothing. Not even a crackle of static.
Lug tried it a few more times before noticing the soft orange glow coming from inside the pod. He threw the device to the side in irritation, snorting as he did so. He turned to the glow and horror soon filled his features as he saw a small fire spreading across the inside of the pod, making its way to a dripping fuel pipe.
Lug immediately turned and sprinted towards the forest, scooping up an unwitting bunny rabbit that was just lazily grazing on a patch of grass. The rabbit in his hands squeaked in his cupped hands, biting at his fingers to no avail.
Diving into a bush at the edge of the forest, he curled up into a ball as an explosion rocked the once tranquil area, sending shrapnel everywhere like a giant grenade. The rabbit in his hands went quiet at the sound, and he could feel the poor thing shivering like wild. He’d never seen one of these critters before, but he’d be damned if he let an innocent, fluffy little ball of brown get blown to bits by HIS drop pod.
Lug groaned as he sat up, his ears ringing as he went upright. He opened his hands and set the rabbit down as he and the little bunny surveyed the destruction.
The explosion had left a deep crater where the drop pod once was, and deep, dark gouges in the earth could be found where shrapnel was sent flying. Lug pursed his lips as he sucked in air through his teeth, his face tightening into a wince. He then looked towards the rabbit to see if it was alright, and found it staring at him.
Despite the fear he saw, the intelligence in its eyes startled him, and he thought for a moment he could see the sparkle of a ‘thank you’ glimmering in its gaze. It hopped closer to him and tried to wrap grateful, fuzzy paws around his arm, nuzzling his wrist.
His heart absolutely melted at this display.
Lug then picked the bunny up gently, giving it a gentle scratch around the ears, which it seemed to love. He chuckled softly.
“Sistah always said I was gud wiff animals! I fink i’ll name you… eh.. Daffy! Cuz, cuz, you was chewin’ on a daffodil when I rescued yah.” He rattled on happily, the rabbit giving a happy squeak as he scratched a good spot.
He looked around as he gave the bunny scritches. He needed to get a move on and find a settlement. Judging by this planet’s star, it wasn’t even midday yet, and the shock of the recent events was beginning to catch up to him, instilling a deep weariness in his muscles as the adrenaline left them. Maybe finding a settlement could wait... He was dead tired after today's excitement.
He trudged back to the open field and walked past the large crater, Daffy now sitting upright on his shoulder. The little rabbit was looking at the giant hole that scorched the once lush dirt, and Lug could swear he saw a little grimace stretch across it's furry features.
“Nasty bid-ness, drop pods is. Nasty.” said Lug, clicking his tongue as he kicked away a piece of shrapnel in his path.
After traveling a decent ways away from the crash site and deeper into the pasture, he found a nice hill to lie down on. Daffy hopped down from his shoulder and then unto his chest as Lug got comfortable. He never had many chances like this, and since his only chance of reaching his superiors was just blown to bits and it’d likely be a while before they came looking, he decided he’d take a nice nap.
Though as Lug rested there atop the grassy hill slowly closing his eyes, gently petting a now curled up and sleeping daffy, he wondered if they’d even look for him at all. He was just another rank-and-file soldier. A nameless body that toiled for the war machine that was the imperium. And if they didn’t?
Well, he was content with that.