The air was so thin that his lungs twitched from time to time. Soshyan sat upright in the chair, occasionally scanning his surroundings with his peripheral vision.
There were a total of twenty boys in the transport plane, and more than a hundred empty seats.
Maybe the place was never full.
The special academy in Soames recruits more than 5,000 boys from all walks of life every year, and a considerable number of them do not survive to graduate. Most of them are children of prominent families in the middle and upper hive cities, but in that place, their Identity is useless, just a recruit's egg to be ravaged in the hands of the instructors.
In the academy, in addition to learning cultural courses, they also undergo extremely arduous and even inhumane physical training or torture.
Over the course of several years, everyone is pushed to the limits of their abilities.
But on the other hand, most of them have a bright future, as commanders in the Astra Militarum, high-level civil officials, diplomats or priests, and a few will become engineers, magistrates, judges, and even law enforcers. , and even set foot on the sacred soil of Terra, becoming a person with more honor and status.
But this is not the ultimate goal of the establishment of the college.
Among so many graduates every year, at most, and only "at most", only twenty people can join the Astral Knights Chapter.
This planet was not originally a glorious recruiting world, but more than two hundred years ago, a certain chapter leader established a recruiting point on this planet and began to recruit recruits they thought were good enough from aristocratic academies.
In the whispers at night, Soshyan overheard that in the ancient past, the selection criteria had never been so strict.
But after the Horus Heresy, many things changed.
It was a rebellion that once tore the entire Empire apart. Horus, the cursed son of the Emperor, raised the flag of rebellion against his father, and nearly half of the Space Marines were involved in the rebellion.
It was also a war that their young minds could not imagine. The Emperor's beloved sons fell into it. Even the Emperor himself was seriously injured in the final battle and had to enter the throne deep in the Palace of Terra to save his life. Afterwards, the power of the Human Empire fell to the Council of the High Lords of Terra.
The age of mortals has come.
But this does not mean that those powerful warriors will never disappear in the long river of history. They are still the emperor's most loyal and sharpest blades. No matter how critical the battlefield is, as long as they appear, they can definitely turn the crisis into safety.
They are the emperor's death angels, the exterminators of aliens and heretics, and the most elite armed forces of mankind. Each one of them is an immortal superman.
If this is true, the fact that Soshyan Alexey was chosen is even more incredible.
He still couldn't believe it, he was in disbelief when his name was called, he was still in a dream when he said his farewell, and he was still in a dream when everyone paid tribute to the lucky few like them.
Even as he was aboard a transport bearing the Chapter's insignia, it seemed like a dream.
Because since childhood, Soshyan has desperately wanted to be a Space Marine.
Although Soshyan's family is not considered prominent locally, it has a very ancient history. Its genealogy can even be traced back to the Great Expedition. Although there were many hardships during this period, the family still survived tenaciously and continued to date.
Although the ancestors of the Alexey family have never held any important positions, the local nobles still respect this ancient bloodline and always keep the people of this family in the middle and upper class of the nest city.
However, by Soshyan's generation, their ancient family seemed to have come to an end, and only he and one of his cousins were left among the young descendants.
Therefore, although becoming a Space Marine is a very honorable thing for a family, for the poor Alexey family, this may very well mean the severance of a bloodline that has lasted for tens of thousands of years - Soshyan's cousin's body It has always been bad, and it often makes one question whether he will survive to adulthood.
Over the years, Soshyan's father told him countless times about the important responsibility he shouldered to continue the family's bloodline, but he just listened silently, and then worked harder to study and exercise.
His mother also cried and begged him late at night, hoping that Soshyan would think about the descendants he might never have, the only hope for this ancient family.
Even though he was still young at the time, this was his answer.
"Everyone is afraid of the darkness, who will stop it?"
People said that he was a child who was too precocious, and some said that he was too strange. There were even rumors that Soshyan might have heard the emperor's holy words or some kind of calling in the church, but such rumors were quickly dispelled by the local state church. Stifled.
But one thing is recognized by everyone, that is, Soshyan is not an ordinary child, he has some innate extraordinary qualities.
This quality has brought him both praise and vilification.
And he never explained to others.
Because he wanted nothing more than to become a Septon Astartes.
But only Soshyan himself knew that he was not truly hard-hearted, because he cried when his parents bid him farewell.
He has become their pride and failed their expectations. As a son, he will never be able to fulfill his duties. As a descendant of a family, he will never be able to fulfill his family responsibilities. The ancient bloodline is likely to be cut off.
Years later, he would often think that this was probably the most important reason why some of his human emotions could remain.
But mortal emotions are the part that must first be abandoned to become an Astartes.
Thinking of this, Soshyan sighed secretly. Although in principle he should not regret it, he would never deceive himself.
At this moment, he felt a little regret.
And the other boys sat in their cushioned chairs, strapped in securely, each staring as hard as an ancient statue.
They were trying to grow up and become the warriors they expected them to be.
Soshyan sits in the front row closest to the door, which means that he is very capable in the eyes of others.
He knew that his talent exceeded that of most candidates, and he also understood how jealousy could take root in people's hearts. He had encountered conflicts caused by jealousy more than once in the academy.
Therefore, Soshyan has always known how to be cautious in his words and actions to avoid making his every move appear proud or proud in the eyes of others.
Suddenly, the transport plane began to shake, which also meant that they were escaping from the constraints of the atmosphere.
Soshiyang calmed down and suppressed his emotions.
Soon, the vibration disappeared, the ready light in the cabin turned red, and the boys looked at each other in confusion.
"Are you there yet? This is too fast."
A thin voice whispered.
With a slow hiss, the hatch ramp opened, revealing the spaceport and the subsequent planetary orbital station that Soshyan thought he would never see again in this life.
Also appearing at the same time were three figures outside the hatch.
They were as tall as giants, and when they entered the cabin, there was a heavy echo with every step.
Soshyan blinked his eyes, which were sore from the change in air pressure, and he could confirm that these were the Space Marines, the guardians of humanity, the Emperor's angels of death.
Wearing thick power armor, they were more than two meters tall, and each fist was bigger than the boys' upper bodies.
The indicator lights dyed the cold plastic steel under the white robes red. They did not wear helmets, but roamed among the boys with cold eyes.
The slightly trembling children blinked nervously at these giants, and their pretense of calmness was immediately shattered.
Soshyan recognized their silver-gray power armor with blue patches, as well as the emblem of the crossed swords on the shoulder armor. In front of the golden eagle emblem on the chest, a long ribbon stretched from their left shoulder to The cuffs are dancing, and there is a special spear-shaped decoration on the helmet hanging around the waist. This is the honor guard of the Astral Knights Chapter.
All the details were quickly captured and engraved in his mind. This was the power he was most proud of.
One of the Space Marines glanced at the datapad in his left hand.
"Soshyan Alexei?"
Nineteen boys looked at him at the same time. Soshyan did not speak out to confirm his identity to them, but the Space Marine still raised his arm and pointed at him.
"You, come with us."
The Space Marine who spoke had a stiff face and dark blue eyes. There were two service nails on his forehead, and there was an obvious scar at the corner of his mouth.
It was only a long time later that Soshyan learned that he was Everridge, the commander of the Seventh Company, his future company.
"What?"
Soshyan had a bad premonition, but he still pretended to be calm.
"You come with us, now."
The Space Marine walked up to Soshyan with a sullen face, tore off his seat belt and half dragged him out of the seat. For the first time, he experienced the huge power of the Space Marine, which left him without any possibility of resistance. .
And for the current situation, resistance is also very dangerous.
"But we are going to Obsidian Fortress! Please tell me the reason for this!"
After a while, Soshyan finally stopped maintaining his adult posture and still insisted on his stubborn tone, but they did not give him a chance.
"obey orders."
Before he finished speaking, the cold metal penetrated into Soshiyang's neck.
Feeling the chill on his skin, Soshiyang made no more moves. His consciousness was shattered along with his hopes, and he fell into the abyss of darkness...
"Well……"
After an unknown amount of time, as his body swayed, Sosh Yang's consciousness briefly recovered.
But he felt cold, very cold, as if he were in an ice cellar.
At the same time, his temples were still throbbing, and although it was unclear what that meant, he at least knew that he was still alive.
Suddenly, a voice came from his ear.
"This is a good prospect. His evaluation level far exceeds the qualified parameter line. The group leader will want this."
It was a high-pitched voice with a slightly nasal sound.
"We'll have to wait until he receives the gray marrow to find out."
The other voice was dull and indifferent, accompanied by the sound of many metals clanging on a metal plate.
"Do you think he can hold on?"
The nasal voice spoke again.
“You won’t know until you try it.”
The second voice seemed a little impatient.
"This sample is very adaptable. Compared with the previous dozen, his success rate is the highest. If he still can't do it, we may..."
Gradually, these sounds became blurred, like drums in the sky, seemingly far and yet near.
A warm liquid was slowly being injected into his body, shattering his slightly recovered consciousness again, and he fell into endless dreams again.
The future has turned into an unpredictable fog, tightly wrapping him...
