Chapter Text
The smell of blood and metal permeates the air as a woman runs through decaying buildings and streets covered in grime and rust. This was not how this was supposed to go. Of course, it was just her and her crew's luck to have a run-in with those damn green-skinned Xenos. While they were able to make it out last minute, the ship had taken a lot of damage that needed repairs before moving on. Lucky for them they just so happened to find a planet to land on to recoup.
Once they landed she and the crew figured out quickly that the planet was one of the many old human-colonized planets that had been lost. Not only would they get to repair their ship but now they could add another planet to the ever-growing Imperium. Oh the reward this find would get them would be great.
The first few days of repair were boring as they mostly hid away from the populace of the planet in order to observe them. The place reminded her a lot of Terra from before the Emperor took over. It was an ever-constant warzone with bandits and warlords all over the place. The Administratum had their work cut out for them once they finally got here.
It helps to work the crowd however, by the end of the first week of repairs she decided to make contact with some of the locals. As lord captain of the ship, it was natural to make allies and potential business partners. Hell, if the warlords she talked to played their cards right she may be able to pull a string or two to push them to be planetary governor once the rest of the Imperium showed up to fully take the place over.
It was unfortunate that it was she who played the wrong hand this time. She tried talking and dealing with a warlord located closest to the ship and things seemed to be going fine at first. It was by day three things turned sour. She didn’t even know what she did to piss the guy off, whether a cultural thing or something personal who knows. All she knew was once the guy and his men pulled out their weapons and pointed at her and the crew she brought with her, it was time to leave, and fast.
They booked it so fast out of there as shouts and weapons started going off. The warlord even blew up their transport before they could escape, making them have to run back to the ship on foot while being chased by the gangers. Running as fast as they could, they weaved through the unfamiliar terrain of the decaying city. A few of the gang members ended up dead whenever they were able to fire their pistols at them but they too also had casualties. Before long what was once the lord captain and her five crewmen was just her.
With a last-minute turn to the right, the lord captain was able to dodge the gang and lose them for a bit. She knew however it wouldn’t take long for them to find her again. Going through the different connected alleyways she tried to contact her ship with no success. Distracted by trying to get her damn vox to work she ended up running into a wall and falling on her ass.
She covers her nose immediately, pain radiating from it now but luckily not bleeding. Looking up from the ground she finally notices she’s walked herself into a dead end. The best bet would be to double back but the sounds of the gang's vehicles growing louder tell her that’s no longer an option.
This is it, she’s going to die. How humiliating it was, that instead of a blaze of glory, she’d go out being hunted like some animal for sport. Instead of terror of the end, all she feels is anger. Anger at the gang and warlord for treating her like this after everything she offered them, anger at the damn orks for getting her and her crew into this mess, anger at herself for being so stupid to run straight to a dead end.
The ground starts to rumble as she knows the gang draws closer. She takes a deep breath as she waits for the inevitable, ready for whatever they throw at her. What she wasn’t expecting was something grabbing her ankle and pulling her down a giant hole.
With a thud, she lands on the ground wherever she was dragged into. Before she can make a sound a hand is put over her mouth. What little light comes from the hole now half covered. In the darkness, she can barely make out a silhouette of the person putting a finger to their mouth, ordering silence.
The rumble of the gang's vehicle goes over where the hole is, casting the area into pitch black before rolling away soon after. The hallows of the men fade into the distance before she pushes whoever is covering her mouth away. Reaching for where her right eye once was, she presses a button on her augment to place it into the manual night vision setting. Once she can see clearly now she finally is shown just who grabbed her.
A boy, couldn't be any older than five. His body was so skinny she could see his ribs. To call what he was wearing clothes would be a joke with how ragged they were. Dirt and grime covered him from head to toe. Ebony's hair was short and looked unkempt. His feet were bare and covered in cuts, dirt, and who knows what else. And to top it all off the kid was now trying to steal the sword at her side.
Right away she yanked it away from him and shoved him away. The child scurried to the other side of where they were, it now clear they were located in some kind of tunnel.
‘A tunnel! Maybe I could use it to get out of this hell hole and back to the ship?’ she thought to herself, happy to have a possible way back.
But what of the boy? The kid dragged her down here and saved her life, but he probably did it just to rob her himself. She should just leave the little brat here, it’s not like she has any need for him and he certainly would just get in the way of things.
She wants to leave, she should leave, and never come back to this backwater planet, but she can’t seem to stop staring at this kid. Looking at the boy he acts like a wild animal that’s been caught as he watches her. With what little light there was she could see the shining green of his eye, as green as the seas once were when Terra was younger and full of natural beauty. Something in those eyes, in the kid as a whole really, made her want to stay.
With a sigh, she hangs her head low and shakes it at how stupid this is of her. Stepping closer to the boy only makes him scurry back a bit but still remains to watch her. Knowing this wouldn’t go anywhere she decides to just sit down. This confuses the boy but he still is unmoved.
Her feet ache from all that running, now being able to rest them bringing such relief. She decides if she’s gonna be here awhile with the weird kid, might as well do something useful. Rummaging through her jacket pocket she pulls out two ration bars she snagged before leaving the ship. Opening one, she takes a bite. The bars always tasted like shit but it does the trick to get energy up. As she eats the boy slowly moves closer to her. It doesn’t take a genius to notice him eyeballing the other bar in her hand.
“Oi, kid,” she calls to him, making him freeze in place. She holds out the unopened bar toward him, “If you’re hungry, here, take it. Fair warning, it tastes like sawdust and misery.”
The boy hesitantly moves closer to her before quickly grabbing the bar from her hand and scurrying away. It’s both amusing and sad to watch as the kid tries and fails to figure out how to open the damn thing. Swallowing the last of her bar, she quietly walks over to him as he’s distracted. Leaning down she grabs the bar away from him which makes him whine and panic at his food being taken away.
“Quit whining, just watch,” she orders him, making him once again freeze in place.
She rolls her eyes before carefully showing the boy how to open the package. Handing it back to him, he grabs it immediately and takes his first bite. The lord captain can’t help but chuckle as the boy has the same kind of face she made the first time she ever tried one of those terrible bars. You get used to it over time but it never gets better. The boy continues to eat, this time letting her stay close to him as she sits back down next to him.
They remain silent for a while as he eats the bar slowly. The kid was probably trying to savor as much as he could. It’s the lord captain who’s the only one to try and break the awkward quiet they’ve made.
“So, kid. You… got a name or something?” she looked down at him, the boy still focused on his food, “I know the warlord and his men spoke low gothic but can you even understand me?”
The boy swallows another bite before turning to face her.
“I know what you’re saying, and my name is Horus. At least, that’s what everyone called me."He stares at her, his eyes wide as if he’s looking into her soul.
“Alright, good. In that case, I am Odessa Faramund.” she holds out her hand for a handshake, the boy clearly not understanding so she puts her hand down awkwardly.
“So, got any family?” she twiddles her fingers, trying to make small talk always being difficult, especially with a child.
“No. Not anymore. They died during a raid a while ago,” Horus sounded so sad and he fiddled with the now empty wrapper. Odessa can’t help but cringe at even asking now.
“I have a question.” the boy states, Odessa raising her eyebrow curiously, “Are you one of those people who came from the sky?”
This makes her chuckle. Of course, that’s something important to the kid. It was probably the first time the kids had ever seen a ship like hers, let alone had people from another world come by.
“Yeah, I’m one of them. My crew and I had to make a pitstop here while we fixed the ship enough to fly safely again.”
“Fly? Like a bird? You can do that! How?” Horus was practically vibrating as he looked at her excitedly. It made it so she couldn’t stop the smile growing on her face.
“You know that giant metal thing we came in on?”
“You mean the big building? I thought it just fell out the sky somehow.” that earns a full laugh from Odessa, her cracking up at that one. She takes a few deep breaths to calm herself before she tries to talk again.
“No, no, it’s not a building. It’s a spaceship. We use it to fly around the stars and to different worlds. We are what is called Rogue Traders Militants. We go from place to place, find new worlds for the Imperium, sometimes we help some of my buddies in the Imperial army with supply drops or even do some jobs they can’t get their hands dirty with, sometimes we just beat the crap out of Xenos and steal all their crap for ourselves. It’s great.” as she describes what she does, Horus is in awe at what he hears.
“That sounds so cool! I wish I could travel the stars, it’d be so fun and I’d get to do all the cool stuff you get to do, and-” Odessa watches the little boy go on and on, making her smile even more.
The longer she stays with the boy the more it feels like there’s something there. Something in the back of her mind itched away at her, pulling her almost to the kid. Looking at him she can’t help but want to wrap him up, take him with her, and keep him safe. This little kid, who tried to steal her damn sword not a few minutes ago, something about him makes her want to take care of him.
Whatever this feeling is, it gets the better of her. She stands up, making Horus stare up at her from his spot confused.
“Hey, you wouldn’t happen to know how to get through these tunnels would you?” she looks down at him, waiting for an answer.
“Um, yes. I’ve been using the tunnels for months, I know where each turn ends up.”
“Good. you think you could show me which way can get me closest to my ship without running into those assholes again?” she gives him a smirk before holding out her hand, “If you do, I’ll let you hitch a ride with us and you can see the stars for yourself.”
With that Horus’s eyes light up with glee as he takes her hand to stand up and immediately starts showing her which way to go. It takes almost an hour and a half, but after what felt like a million turns they make it to the exit. Odessa lifts the cover off the ceiling and crawls her way out and back to the surface. The little boy pops his head out from the hole, Odessa helping him out and standing up.
Right away it was clearly night now. Looking around a bit, Odessa spots her ship not too far away. Taking the little boy's hand she leads him through the cover of night back to the ship.
Meanwhile, on the ship itself, a man sits at his post with his legs kicked up on his console as he snores in his sleep. With all the repairs going on and them not planning departure until the lord captain gave the go-ahead, he’s had fuck all really to do. It isn’t until static goes through that he peaks an eye open.
“〰〰〰stupid vox〰〰〰bullshit〰〰〰when I get my hands on the Mechanicus ass who〰〰〰 will someone open the damn door and let me in or so help me I’ll〰〰〰〰 make your mother〰〰〰 you wish for death!”
Immediately the man jumped up from his chair as even through the poor connection it was easy to tell that was the lord captain. It was a few moments later that a door was opened for them. Odessa scoops Horus into her arms as she walks the both of them into the ship, the door closing behind them.
—---
It took a few days longer than expected but The Solar Fury was back in the air and leaving the planet soon after. On the bridge, the crew was still getting used to Odessa’s new ‘recruit’ as it were. While Odessa sat at her command chair, the little boy sat on her lap and watched quietly as everyone went about their work.
The boy was better off than when he first came aboard thanks to Odessa. For one thing, he had a proper bath and was given clothes that fit, were clean, and new. She made sure he had plenty of food which surprised everyone just HOW much the kid could eat. He seemed rather smart too as he seemed to catch on to a lot of what happened on the ship super fast.
Odessa goes over some reports on the ship's repairs and general condition as she calmly runs her fingers through Horus’s hair. This comforts the boy that soon enough he’s fast asleep in her arms while she works.
“You know, I’m surprised with you.” Odessa turns to see who spoke, finding her first officer standing behind her.
“And what have I done this time that is so surprising?” she cocks her eyebrow at him.
“I just never saw you as the type to like kids, let alone steal one from some backwater,” he smirks at her while leaning on her chair a bit.
“What can I say, the kid has guts. Little shit dragged me down just to try and steal my shit,” she looks down at the sleeping boy, “besides if it weren’t for him there’s no telling what those asshole gangers would have done to me. Kid saved my life.”
“Yeah, well, just try not to make it a habit to take kids from every planet we go to.” he jokes, making her roll her eyes.
“Oh, please. This is a one-time thing. You really think I could handle a bunch of brats, fuck no!” she scoffs at him.
Famous last words.
