Nova Terra

"But was it necessary?" One of the two pure white armoured figures asked, the duo walking side by side along the glistening pathways of Nova Terra, a railing next to them proudly displaying the jewel of the Imperium.

"That isn't what you're supposed to consider lad." The other armour clad soldier replied. His helmet removed to show a grizzled man with a graying beard and tuft of hair on his head, a jagged scar on his left cheek completing his rugged image. "Your duty is to point at an' shoot where our Emperor and the Imperium tell ye to point 'n shoot."

"I don't deny that" The man's comrade replied, removing his helmet to reveal much more youthful looks and long black hair that stopped halfway down his neck. His eyes had seen battle and there were occasional cuts and scrapes on his face but in comparison to his superior he was much healthier. "But was it not enough to quell the resistance and leave? Why were the administration made to suffer? Hell, why didn't they take some of the ring leaders alive as suspects?"

The two stopped, the grizzled man's face staring grimly at his associate.

"Lad, what we do is not always glamorous, on paper it can damn well seem dictatorial. But consider all of the people who've suffered from these rebel leaders, those who didn't have a say in being forced into the fight. The planetary administration were just as much a problem in allowing it to happen as the Black Hand was. Even barring that, we were given an order by the prince and we follow it. No questions."

This answer did not sit well with the black haired man who frowned at the floor for a moment before his fellow Guardsman put a hand on his shoulder.

"Like I said lad, it isn't glamorous work, but we aren't the Navy or the Praetorians. We're The Guardsmen. We do what has to be done to keep the Imperium of Man continuing, even that means something that might not necessarily be right. We allow the nobles their soft beds and our Imperial family to continue keeping peace amongst the galaxy. Without us there is no one else willing to do these things. Without us, the Imperium falls." The man explained, as if it was a speech he had given times before but with no less reassurance in his voice.

"I... I understand Cassus." The black haired man conceded, brightening Cassus up considerably.

"Aye, see to it that you remember that lad. Every Guardsman questions themselves at some point or another but The Emperor needs us, and we'll be there when he calls." The two Guardsmen resumed walking towards their destination, the Senate building, a massive structure of foreboding scale that rivaled only the immense amount of bureaucratic run-arounds that transpired every second.

"This'll be where we part ways lad." Cassus said, stopping with his partner at the entrance. "File those training reports and your last few missions an' you'll be one step closer to movin' up in the ranks and being given missions of more importance." Cassus playfully gave his comrade a slap on the arm "You've got limitless potential Whitley, don't worry, this whole thing will pass an you won't be taking orders from me anymore" he finished with a chuckle.

Whitley chuckled alongside him despite himself "In that case I'd better half ass these reports, otherwise who else is gonna break up the monotony of your everyday life Cas?" The two shared another laugh before bidding each other farewell.

"I'll be in touch when it's time for you to go offworld lad, don't ignore me when I call, I'll know!"

[b]Imperial Senate Building[/b]

Whitley kept his mask removed as he navigated his way through the building, The Senate Building saw members of various organisations filing unnecessary reports all the time so a Guardsman wasn't an uncommon sight, but Whitley had never enjoyed being fully armoured in public, it made him feel even more outcasted from the populace than he already felt.

Whitley collected the report outlines and set about finding an available desk to fill them in as quickly as possible, this task was put on hold however as Whitley noticed the unmistakable entourage surrounding the Senatorial Representative for the Emperor. More bluntly the Emperor's eldest daughter Valeria.

The vast majority of Guardsman are loyal to the Emperor to a fault, this extends to his children by proxy, some of the more fanatic even kneel in the presence of the family members and revere them as gods. Whitley had seen some members of the Imperial Family but never directly spoken to or even looked at one. Had the helmet on. Carried the gun. Always the soldier. For this reason Whitley decreed it best to stay out of The Red Lady's way lest he perhaps cause an incident by not showing her the reverence she was used to or that a Guardsman should supply. 

The armour made this difficult however, Whitley resolved to sit at the nearest desk so he wouldn't have to walk around in his Stormtrooper gear, but this meant he was directly facing The Emperor's Daughter, Whitley quickly buried himself in the suddenly much more interesting mission reports to conceal himself slightly more and let the day pass by uninterrupted.