One of the first things Caiaphas Cain learned after becoming a Political Commissar was that people never welcomed Political Commissars. Although Cain had already become an imperial hero, his glorious, false reputation always preceded him.
And one good habit Cain had developed was never to glare at Soldiers, even though Cain's mission was to incite Soldiers to serve the Emperor faithfully until death.
After the Battle of Phalanx, due to his connections with Li Feng, Cain one day found himself promoted to a position he didn't even know existed: Director of the Commissariat at Headquarters.
At first, it seemed alright; Little Treasure Kai had nothing to do except fill out some documents and occasionally organize combat units, which suited Cain, who liked to slack off and muddle through.
But when everyone thinks you're a hero, that's where the problem arises: they think you'll enjoy taking some life risks, and if there aren't any, they'll create some for you.
During the year Cain served as Director Kai, he was periodically assigned to combat units to assault fixed strongholds, clear space wrecks, and perform reconnaissance missions deep behind enemy lines... He truly became a brick, moved wherever needed.
However, to Cain's delight, he always returned alive, thanks to Little Treasure Kai's innate abilities: quickly finding cover and hiding until the surroundings quieted down.
And the strangely shaped laser pistol Li Feng gave him also helped him a lot; its odd and incongruous scope allowed him to accurately take down enemies from a distance, while its full-auto firing mode could quickly "spray" enemies into a sieve when they charged him.
And every time Cain narrowly escaped death, the Commander generals would pat him on the shoulder and give him another assignment, using the hero as kindling.
So what Cain had to do was clear and urgent; he had to do it before any issues arose with his good reputation.
So, just as Cain often did before, he used his reputation to pave the way, submitting a request to be transferred back to a combat unit, any unit would do.
At that time, he couldn't be bothered with these damned details. Long-term experience taught him that as long as he stayed alive, promotion was not an issue.
Many officers he met didn't understand this; they all died... except for Li Feng, who soared up to Terra like a rocket. Of course, he was the Emperor's favorite, so he naturally had some tricks up his sleeve. After all, Li Feng was swallowed alive by a Hive Tyrant right in front of him, yet still managed to detonate a grenade inside it, killing the Tyrant and emerging unscathed.
"I really can't stand filling out documents, brother."
Cain said in an apologetic tone to the short clerk in the General's office.
The little clerk nodded seriously, pushed up his glasses, flipped through Cain's file, and said with a slight nasal tone: "Political Commissar, your excellent resume is simply legendary; indeed, not everyone is suited for this job."
Although he tried to maintain a calm and composed demeanor, his body language betrayed him, revealing the exciting fact that he had encountered a "living legend."
At least, that's what some idiotic radio commentators called Cain after his famous battle, the "Perelia Assault," and then this damned moniker spread.
Then Cain saw his own sour face smiling at him on all the recruiting posters in this Star Sector; he couldn't even order a cup of tea without someone shoving an autograph book under his nose.
Cain put on a righteous expression and said in a standard Political Commissar tone: "It is a disgrace not to dedicate one's limited life to the infinite service of the Imperium."
The little clerk stared at Cain for a while, wondering if Cain was talking nonsense. Of course, Cain was indeed talking nonsense, and then the clerk thought Cain was just going through the motions, so Cain decided to push a little harder.
"But I'm afraid I've been a combatant for too long; I can't break the habit," Cain mused, savoring his words. This sounded like something the heroic Cain would say.
The little clerk nodded, accepting Cain's transfer application as if it were a relic from a saint. "I will personally handle it."
After speaking, he almost bowed and scraped when seeing Cain out. The next day, Cain received a report from Headquarters; the little clerk personally delivered a document to Cain, a transfer order directly from Holy Terra.
"Imperial Munitorum: Caiaphas Cain, assigned to the Regimental Hero Brigade as Director of the Political Department, order effective immediately. No Imperial government department shall obstruct this; violators will be directly investigated by the Imperial Palace and the High Lords Council."
"Before the rendezvous, Caiaphas Cain will temporarily serve as Political Commissar for the Valhalla 296th, allocated to the Regimental Hero Brigade."
The document was signed with a name he was very familiar with: "Imperial Regimental Hero Brigade Colonel Li Feng."
The result was that a month later, Cain arrived on the landing deck of the wrath of justice in a transport ship. It was a scarred troop transport; there were hundreds of thousands of such troop transports in the Imperial Navy, and Cain had traveled on ships of roughly this class over the years.
The airlock to the passenger area hissed open, and with it came the familiar smell of the deck air: recycled, stale, mixed with sweat, engine oil, and rotting vegetable leaves. Cain immediately took a deep breath, replacing the equally familiar body odor of his aide, Yugen.
Yugen was behind Cain at this moment, obscured by a pile of luggage so heavy that only Yugen knew how he managed to carry it.
Cain was the first to step off the transport ship; experience told Cain not to reveal everything about himself during a first meeting.
Cain's steps paused briefly, for dramatic effect, to create the first impression of a professional Soldier.
Then Cain walked straight towards the group of haggard Astra Militarum officers who were waiting to greet him at the main hatch. Cain tried his best to make the sound of his boots on the metal floor crisp and authoritative, though this effect was slightly diminished by the crackling sound of the floor scorched beneath the transport's engine and Yugen's shuffling footsteps as he carried several large bags of luggage.
Cain only then realized how bad the situation was, because the Commander of his newly assigned regiment actually smiled when he stepped off the transport ship.
Cain had prepared for the worst; it might sound absurd, but accepting this damned assignment and staying close to his good friend Li Feng seemed to be the best chance to preserve Cain's own precious, tender skin.
"Welcome, Political Commissar. We are very honored."
A surprisingly young, red-haired, blue-eyed woman stepped forward, saluting with parade-like vigor. (Image in paragraph comment)
Cain hesitated, wondering if they had sent a junior officer to fob him off, and then he matched the face before him with the one he had seen in the archives earlier.
Cain returned the salute: "Colonel Kastin."
Cain nodded in acknowledgment. Although Cain didn't object to being flattered by a young, beautiful lady in daily affairs, such blatant intentions still annoyed him slightly.
Cain pondered her hopeful statement, sensing that he was about to step into an abyss. Kastin was completely sincere; these officers were indeed very happy to see "the heroic Commissar Cain."
This, in turn, almost made Cain instinctively slap his thigh, because things here were definitely worse than he imagined. Although he still had to discover how bad things truly were, he already had a bad feeling; the first sign was that his palms had started to sweat, which always meant trouble, like the calm before a storm.
And another thing was that Cain had broken years of old habits, meticulously studying the material during the boring journey to this ship.
His good friend Li Feng, on the other hand, was the complete opposite; Li Feng studied documents with meticulous detail, even making annotations on them with a pen.
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