"Our losses?"
"Soldier Pellan took a ricochet, a flesh wound."
"Good," Cain said, a hint of hesitation in his voice.
Cain knew he should say something; a Political Commissar's duty demanded he maintain morale, but for the first time in his life, he found himself unable to speak.
He thought of saying something… anything, telling them they did well… but in the end, nothing came out.
"Understood, sir."
Unexpectedly, the sergeant's voice carried a touch of sympathy, as if he already understood Cain's unspoken words. The Soldiers, like Cain, knew the cost of all this.
For a long time, they remained silent, because nothing more needed to be said.
Cain had thought that the tragic conflict would mark the end of their bloody mission; however, he had clearly overestimated the Rioters' rationality.
The division between loyalists and separatists had persisted for generations, hatred becoming part of tradition. As the military truck drew closer to the Tau Empire's concession, signs of bloody brawls and clashes gradually appeared, as if they were traversing the dirty underbelly of a Hive City, rather than a commercial metropolis.
Bodies lay strewn in the streets, even hanging from lampposts, belonging to both loyalists and separatists alike; their factions were utterly irrelevant in this situation.
Kastin shook her head and asked, "Have you seen anything like this before?"
There was more shock than genuine expectation for an answer in her voice. However, Cain nodded, a gesture that, in turn, shocked her.
"Not often."
Such horrific scenes usually only occurred during Ork invasions or Chaos attacks, not atrocities committed by citizens against their neighbors.
Beneath the modern facade of this civilized world, such a savage nature lay hidden, and everything they fought to protect could so easily self-destruct.
"Trouble ahead, Political Commissar."
Yugen said, letting off the accelerator. Cain looked through the windshield; ahead was a towering wall, with a massive bronze gate in the center blocking the road, and the gate was crowded with Rioters.
Even without looking at the distinctive architectural style, Cain realized they had arrived.
"Tau Concession."
Il'solas's voice came over the comm: "It might be a bit difficult to get through, though."
Cain's response was quite undiplomatic: "Having come this far and shed so much blood, I'm not giving up so close to the finish line. I'll throw you over this wall if I have to."
Yugen suddenly leaned close to Cain and Kastin: "We could just drive through that gate."
A strong body odor wafted over, immediately eliciting a peculiar sound from Kastin, somewhere between a sneeze and a gag, as if something was caught in her throat.
Cain acknowledged his point: "We certainly could, except there are about a thousand Rioters blocking the way."
Yugen countered: "But they're on the alien side, so they should let us through. We have Tau in our vehicle, don't we?"
Cain paused, suddenly realizing this was a good idea: "Yugen, you always manage to surprise me with something new."
In moments, the Tau all stood up, still surrounded by Guardians, Il'solas hissing into his comm unit.
Yugen slowed the military truck to a crawl, honking loudly to attract the crowd's attention. Some people turned, then more turned, and with them rose a tsunami-like hostility.
Stones and concrete fragments struck the windshield, leaving tiny star-shaped cracks in the bulletproof glass. Kastin rolled up her window, evidently preferring Yugen's body odor to a concussion.
"Go when you're ready," Cain advised.
He secretly congratulated himself for not being in the open space of the rear compartment, though he began to doubt if this plan was as clever as he had imagined.
"In the name of the greater good, please stop."
Il'solas's small box contained a megaphone-like device, projecting his voice to every corner of the crowd. Cain was surprised to see the Rioters obediently cease their attack, falling into a deathly silence, and parting to form a passage ahead.
Cain recalled past encounters with Rioters in Hive Cities, when Adeptus Arbites officials tried to arrest them, and the Rioters furiously charged Imperial lines.
Now, he couldn't help but wonder how deep the Tau Empire's influence ran here, to so easily command these supporters.
Yugen stopped the military truck in front of the bronze gate, which slowly opened. The surrounding Rioters remained completely silent as Kastin and Cain dismounted to escort their blue-skinned guests forward.
Kastin took a deep breath as her feet touched the ground.
"What is that?" Rustis's voice came through the earpiece.
Cain's gaze swept the sky; small flying objects were crossing the wall towards them.
Cain pressed the comm button, suppressing the urge to draw his pistol: "Do not open fire. They are still within the concession boundary."
Even so, these drone-like objects hovered above the wall, clearly having crossed its upper edge. He tried to identify the nearest one, but could only vaguely make out what looked like a large disc with a gun hanging underneath it.
"This is our return gift; it will ensure your safe departure."
Il'solas reassured them, nimbly flipping out of the rear compartment, and with several approaching Tau Soldiers, carried the dying Shasui diplomat back into the concession.
Cain silently pondered the meaning of this "safe assurance," but still offered his thanks. As the remaining aliens lined up to enter their concession, armored warriors stepped forward to greet them.
Cain noticed a huge figure moving behind the massive gate; upon closer inspection, his heart tightened.
"Tau Empire's individual mechs!"
Kastin gasped softly. These behemoths were far more agile than Imperial war machines. Above their angular bodies was an object resembling the helmets of frontline Tau Soldiers, but it was enormous, at least twice the height of an ordinary Tau.
"They're just battlesuits, nothing special," Il'solas explained flatly.
Kastin and Cain exchanged glances, an unspoken understanding passing between them: the thought of fighting an enemy that considered such things standard equipment was unsettling. Cain couldn't help but wonder if this was a deliberate tactic by the Tau Empire to instill fear in them.
"Return to the Emperor's protection, Political Commissar Cain. We thank you for your assistance. The moment we entered the concession, Lord Li Feng declared war on the Tau Empire, calling it something like… a 'special military operation.' If our timing is correct, in four hours, we will be enemies."
Il'solas gave a slight nod, then departed with his companions as the gate slowly closed.
"We should go too."
Cain re-entered the driver's cabin. Kastin chose the rear compartment this time, while he had the injured Guardian Pellan sit in the driver's cabin with them, thereby caring for the Soldier while further enhancing his image of caring for his subordinates.
Cain rolled down the window, looking at the Imperial warships already filling the orbit in the sky, their number now double what it was when they first arrived on this planet. Cain had guessed it: Li Feng's reinforcements had arrived. Now they were no longer the "Imperial Guard Training Brigade," but the "Imperial Guard Training Battlegroup."
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