Chapter 8: Without Morality, One Will Not Be Morally Blackmailed
After crossing one deep ditch and fortified trench after another, Doss returned to the regimental headquarters.
He stashed the ration tins in his dormitory, then headed to the position of the 3rd Guards Regiment of Stu next door. Guided by the military police, he soon met their regimental commissar. It just went to show that the differences between people could sometimes be quite obvious.
The man's back was ramrod straight, his eyes sharp, his coat and white gloves without a single wrinkle. Even his belt was tied neatly, and his well-maintained chainsword and bolt pistol hung at his waist.
Doss dusted off his own hat, turned up the collar of his coat, and tucked his exposed hair back under the brim. Then he prepared to go up and greet him.
He took a step forward, then tightened his belt. The power sword and bolt pistol clanged together. When the other man extended his hand, Doss reached out to shake it, then remembered his gloves were filthy. He brushed at the dust for a few seconds.
Only after confirming the dust wouldn't come off did he place his hand in the other man's. The whole process, which held the other commissar captive for a full minute, caused the man's lips to twitch involuntarily.
"Hello, I am Doss, the political commissar of the 946th Assault Regiment of Krieg." Doss shook hands politely twice, then let go.
The other commissar withdrew his hand. "Hello, I am Tychus, the political commissar of the 3rd Guards Regiment of Stu. May I ask what business you have with me?"
"Oh, it's like this, I was extorted by your soldiers." Doss's words were like a direct hit to any political commissar's pride.
After being held in stunned silence for another ten seconds, Tychus spoke up. "Alright, tell me the details first."
He already believed the story to some extent. After all, how could he not know the quality of his own soldiers?
"Here's what happened," Doss began. "I saw a group of people playing cards in our territory, so I went to stop them. Not only did they threaten me, but one guy even extorted twenty rounds from me." He spoke indignantly.
Political commissars knew their own situation well; most Krieg commissars were notoriously easy targets. That was a widely acknowledged fact.
Damn it, those brats have caused trouble again, Tychus cursed inwardly.
"Extorting a commissar? Does he have a death wish?" Tychus made his decision, though his expression remained calm. "A simple check of their movements and the card game will tell. Do you know their numbers?"
Doss told him. Tychus's face finally turned as black as the bottom of a pot. They even remembered the serial numbers, how could it be fake? Twenty bolt rounds were no small number. A commissar only had a wartime ration of fifty bolt rounds a month. This was a life-saving measure.
Tychus didn't doubt Doss's words. As a commissar, it was unforgivable to slander a warrior who fought for the Emperor.
"Okay, I will definitely give you a satisfactory answer."
"You are a fair and good commissar," Doss said sincerely, which made Tychus feel embarrassed. With such soldiers under his command, how could he accept such praise? "You don't need to make things too difficult for them."
Otherwise, I'd feel bad, Doss added in his mind.
"By the God-Emperor, you are so kind. Don't worry, I will definitely seek justice for you." Tychus had been completely fooled.
"Then I won't bother you any longer. I'll be going now." Doss turned to leave before he burst out laughing.
"Wait, you can't leave yet." Tychus pressed down on his shoulder, startling Doss. Had he been found out? Doss slowly turned around, his face stiff.
Seeing Doss's state, Tychus felt even more guilty. The man must have been living very carefully under Krieg's command. Now he was being bullied by Tychus's own men.
Tychus counted out twenty bolt rounds, put them into a small leather bag, and stuffed the bag into Doss's hand. "Alright, go on. You don't need to worry anymore."
No, what am I worried about? Though Doss was confused, he still pretended to be very touched.
Back in his quarters, Doss reviewed his gains. "So I got two cans of food and six rounds for free?" Doss marveled at how life was full of surprises.
If you run out of rounds and ration tins, you can ask your superiors for more. But if you lose your conscience, you'll have even more rounds and ration tins.
Doss added this observation to his book, One Hundred Things to Do Before You Retire.
"Today's a great day to climb the ranks~ Today is a good day for Krieg Girlfriend~" Doss hummed a cheerful tune, completely unconcerned that the sappers around him might mistake him for a heretic and arrest him because they couldn't understand what he was humming.
However, Doss realized his good days were numbered.
Why?
Good news: there were Astartes.
Bad news: there were Astartes.
"Holy crap, that must be three companies, right? The Salamanders Chapter really went all out," Doss exclaimed as he spotted them.
He also discovered that each Astartes was loaded with explosives and Heavy Flamers. Doss even saw a golden laurel wreath embedded in the helmet of one Space Marine. Upon closer inspection, some of the shoulder armor had at least three honorary insignia emblazoned on them.
There was also a Dreadnought. Could this be a veteran from the Great Crusade?
These three hundred individuals were far more valuable than Doss's entire regiment. Was it really necessary to deploy all this just to attack a heretic?
"No, I can't make promises." Doss slapped himself lightly. "This is a causality weapon. I guess I'll have to be more careful in the future."
At least Doss understood this battle would be tough. But what did it have to do with him? He wasn't leading the charge; he was just coasting along.
He continued his patrol through the trenches. Soon, Doss discovered something interesting. A member of the Cadian Assault Force was locked in a staring contest with two Death Riders, and it looked like they could continue for another half hour.
By nature a busybody, well, no. A spectator, well, no. Doss, who always wanted to stand up for the weak, stepped forward and asked, "What are you doing here?"
The Cadian glanced at Doss's rank, and his voice became more respectful. He saluted. "Greeeetings, Comrade Commissar. I'm looking for the commander of the 946th Regiment, but it seems these Kriegers lack even basic manners."
The two Death Riders didn't react at all to his words, which infuriated the man. Doss glanced at them. The riders held their reins and meltaguns, the weight resting on the front of their saddles, a standard posture.
Based on Doss's understanding of the Kriegers over the past few days, these two cavalrymen wouldn't mind answering such a trivial question if they weren't on patrol, unless they genuinely didn't know.
Although it seemed absurd, Doss said, "What if they don't know?"
"Comrade Commissar, be serious. I have urgent business with their regimental commander. Please don't joke like this." The Cadian almost rolled his eyes.
Who wouldn't recognize their own regimental commander? This was no joke.
Doss shook his head and turned to one of the cavalrymen. "Do you know 0361?"
The cavalryman nodded. "Our leader is always at the forefront of every charge." The other cavalryman nodded in agreement.
"Then do you know that 0361 is the commander of the 946th Regiment?" Doss asked, suppressing a laugh.
The cavalryman who was asked the question showed shock even through his mask. He turned to look at his companion, who nodded after thinking for half a minute. "It seems so."
Now it was the Cadian commandos' turn to fall silent.
This was truly absurd, like a fish forgetting what water is.
After cheerfully seeing the Cadian off, Doss resumed his usual routine, which meant wandering around the trenches.
Eventually, he spotted a strangely behaving sapper.
[End of Chapter]