Aberrant

He had no name. He had a designation. His designation was 54-YT-87654378-AB. That last little bit was what mattered. He wasn't sure why. But all of the others he could see were treating him as if he had some kind of disease. Did he?

He hadn't seen anything wrong with himself in the few -very few- mirrored surfaces between where his tank had been decanted and the small compartment where his armor had been fitted to him. It...wasn't normal heavy ferrite armor like his kindred. He didn't feel anything wrong. He knew what he was of course. Between the flash learning and the genetic memory, he knew what he was. He was Grineer.

But... something was wrong.

Where the others would butt heads, get into fights and basically try to prove who was the strongest... He was left alone. He had no idea why. He also did not know why they handed him an odd weapon when he stepped forward for weapon's issue. It...wasn't a Grakata, a Karak or anything he knew from his flash training. It looked kind of like an Ogris launcher, but that couldn't be. His flash learning said those were for higher ranks than he had. This looked cheap. Shoddy even. So...

"54-YT-87654378-AB." The voice was the designated commander of the unit he had been decanted into and 54-YT-87654378-AB stepped forward, an arm automatically saluting. The other...did not return it. "Report to Bay Thirty Seven."

"Yes sir." He was Grineer. He obeyed orders. He started off, but his head was whirling as he stepped through the base.

What was going on? Why were they treating him like this? What had he done wrong? Had he done anything wrong. He didn't think so. He moved to an elevator and paused as he saw a terminal nearby. He keyed it live and keyed a quick search. He froze as he saw what his data search came up with.

'Designation 'AB' is for clones whose genes have been deemed 'Aberrant'. They will not be trusted with any sensitive duties. They will not be used for any special services. They will be examined and if possible, used as disposable scouts. If not, their biomatter will be reclaimed to further the cause. Glory to the Queens.'

He jerked and quickly shut down the terminal. He hurried his steps to the elevator and waited as it emptied. None of the other Grineer who had been waiting moved to join him on the elevator and he understood. He was...different. Unclean. He didn't feel any different, but he was. If there was one thing a Grineer did, it was obey orders. Suicidal orders were still orders.

54-YT-87654378-AB's carriage was erect as he marched into the room that had he had been ordered into. But then a blow from the side sent him sprawling. The hum of an Atterax sounded and he bit back a cry of pain as the whip sliced through his shoddy armor and into his arm. His weapon... did not fall from his hand. He did not aim it, but he would not relinquish his weapon. He had been ordered to report, but he was Grineer. He would die before he dropped his weapon.

"Hmmm..." A harsh female voice sounded curious. "Not the usual aberrancy, this one." The whip came in again and sliced clean through his armor again, but his grip tightened on the weapon. "Usually they are begging for mercy by now."

"Get it on the table." A bored female voice said with a sigh. "Now."

The clone looked up to see four female Grineer. Three in armor. A Ballista and two Scorpions. The other...was not in armor. She was fiddling with a bank of machinery. A table with menacing looking devices was nearby. Nothing else in the room.

"I am Grineer." The male clone said savagely. "You will not make me beg."

"Wanna bet?" The unarmored female asked with a smile that was just...wrong. "Get it on the-..." She gave a strangled gasp as the male clone rose and stepped to the table, still with his weapon in hand. Everything stopped as he laid down on it. "Surrender your weapon." She commanded.

"No." The male clone said firmly. Grineer did not surrender. The unarmored female stiffened and her face contorted with rage, but the Ballista spoke first.

"By order of the Queens, you are required to relinquish your weapon for scans." She held out her hands and the male clone handed it to her. The unarmored Grineer stared and then snorted in derision.

"I look forward to hearing you scream." The unarmored female said with glee as the Balista stepped back.

"You will not." The male said as he lay back and restraints clamped around him. All three armored females exchanged glances that the unarmored one missed.

"I will make you scream." The Reclaimer said with a smirk.

"You will try."

Quite a bit later

The Reclaimer was...pissed. She had done all kinds of things. All kinds of scans. All painful. But despite her best efforts, not a single sound above a grunt had come out of the male clone's mouth.

"I will not be denied by an aberrant male!" The Reclaimer snapped, her hands flying over her controls. Energy flailed the supine clone, but he made no sound. "Scream already!"

"Do we have time for this, Reclaimer?" One of the Scorpions asked quietly. The unarmored female Grineer snarled at the armored one and the Scorpion shrugged. "We were detailed to assist you. But this is an inefficient use of time. We have four more aberrant scheduled for scans."

"Fine!" The Reclaimer snapped. "Get it out of here!"

The Scorpion stepped to the table as the restraints unlocked, but paused as the male clone rose and stood on his own. He wobbled a bit but stood straight. He looked at the Ballista who nodded and handed him his weapon. The Scorpion jerked her head and the male followed, ignoring the not so quiet cursing that followed him out. They were walking along a corridor when the Scorpion spoke.

"You may be aberrant." The Scorpion said quietly. "But I admit it. You are not weak."

"I serve the Queens." The male said just as quietly. He was Grineer. "Orders?"

"High Command has found a pocket of the Void that can be accessed. Preliminary scans show no life and no movement." The Scorpion sounded distant for a moment. "Did your flash learning cover the Void?"

"Extra-dimensional space." The male clone said quickly. "Remnants of an ancient failed empire still exist in such. Technology to be recovered." He nodded. "I am to scout." It was not a question.

"You are to scout and return." The Scorpion said firmly. "If it is empty, then it will hold treasures for the queens. If it is not, you will not return."

"I serve the queens." The male said, clasping a hand to his chest. His armor had healed most of the damage he had taken. Pain was of no consequence. He would serve.

"Yes." The other said softly. "Yes, you do."

They mismatched pair entered another room and walked towards where a golden device was set. Two female Grineer stood by the device. One held a Vulkar and the other a Manticore axe.

"This one is to scout anomaly 784-B." The Scorpion said calmly.

"Waste time." The female Grineer with the axe said savagely. "No kill there."

"Orders from the Queens, Sprag." The other said with a shrug as she started touching controls. "If they want us to waste our time, we will."

"Grineer obey." The male said calmly. The female Grineer all looked at him. "We are Grineer." He said a bit more firmly. "We obey."

"Good Grineer!" The female with the axe slapped his shoulder with her free hand with enough force to propel him a step before he caught himself. "Strong."

"Bad Grineer." The male said quietly. "But I obey." The two large females looked at the Scorpion who shrugged.

"Scans say he is aberrant." The Scorpion said with a sigh. "He doesn't act it."

"No, he doesn't." The sniper said with a frown. "Ah well."

"Time?" The male asked as he gripped his weapon.

"You have twenty four hours." The Scorpion said firmly as the machine lit up and a huge glowing golden...thing appeared in front of them. "The portal will seal behind you. Scout the area, find out anything you can. Then return to where you entered. The portal will open, but only for a short period. If you are not there..." She shrugged.

"Understood." The male replied. "If the area is a trove, will there be more expeditions?"

"Possibly." The Scorpions said with a frown.

"Blasted stupid thieving Tenno..." The sniper muttered not quite under her breath. "Stealing the queen's keys."

"Shiny bugs." Sprag said with a scowl of her own. "Want to squash more shiny bugs."

The male looked at the Scorpion and she shook her head minutely. He grimaced but did not speak as she led him towards the portal. She stopped a ways from it, but 54-YT-87654378-AB continued.

"For the queens!" The Grineer declared as he stepped into nothingness.

It was... he had no words. Everything was crazy. Everything was upside down, inside out. Then... it was odd. There was a light. A golden light. A figure. Beckoning to him. He stepped forward and the light vanished.

But he was...elsewhere. He had no idea where he was. This...was not what he had expected. The room was... large. Massive even. But... He stared around, weapon ready. The room was empty.

Or was it?

He saw shadows all around, but they were far too large to be humans or humanoid forms. None were moving and as he spun in place, his weapon light coming on, he saw why. They were statues. But...they were odd. Armored forms. But no armor he had seen in any of his flash learning memories. Their weapons as well were odd. Large... outsized. Too big for human hands, even Grineer. So... What?

He scrutinized the weapon. They were... off. But not...wrong. The sword that one of the statues held was huge. It had a grip that wrapped around the hand of the statue holding it. The blade was serrated but too looked...wrong. The pistol in the statue's other hand was huge as well. The bore was as large as an Ogris' and the barrel had a hole drilled in either side. Another statue held a huge sword that was obviously meant for two handed use. It's cross guard looked like wings and the point of the blade was a diamond. Another held a blocky rifle with the same kind of barrel as the pistol, holes in either side. A tubular device of some kind was mounted on top of the rifle. A scope? Maybe. Another had long claws on each armored gauntlet. And on every weapon...

What was that emblem? He stepped forward and scrutinized the weapons. The rifle and pistol, sword and claws all had a an odd insignia. A skull with a wing behind it. This made no sense at all. No weapon he had ever heard of had such insignia.

This was... odd. Very odd. He examined each statue. Some had different armor. One had some kind of cylindrical things attached to each side of its backpack. All of the backpacks had odd sphere like things attached to the tops on either side and what were obviously cooling vents of some kind all over. Power supplies? Maybe. He touched one and it was stone. Statues.

He was so engrossed in examining the statues, since nothing at all was moving in the area, that he nearly missed the glow at first. A golden light grew and he spun, weapon in hand. But... nothing. A door was opening but nothing moved. The glow from the door was golden.

The clone checked his armor chronometer. He had been examining the statues for an hour. An hour! He shook his head. Twenty three more before his extraction. And if he went back? Another scouting mission, probably to a worse place. But he followed orders. He started for the door and paused. One of the statues had writing on it. It wasn't a language he knew. He took a holo of it and his onboard systems did a quick check. It came back as an archaic language called English? What? But the translation...

'Only in death does duty end.'

The clone stood there, staring at the inscription for a long moment. Then he slowly bent down to touch the stone over the inscription.

"Only in death does duty end." The Grineer agreed quietly. Was it his imagination that the statue was glowing faintly? Had to be. He turned to the open door and strode for it, weapon ready. He did nto see a screen on the wall, firmly lit behind the statue he had touched. If he had, he would have reacted. On it, writing in the same language scrolled.

'Data corrupted. Language alterations detected. Altering database. Systems online. Machine spirit ready. For the Emperor and Imperium.'

All of the statues were glowing dimly now.

The clone moved into the short hallway and went still as the door behind him closed! He spun, but it was sealed tight. He stepped back and raised his weapon, but the door looked solid. He was pretty sure the weapon he held was an incendiary launcher of some kind, if very inferior to the ones used by Napalms. It wouldn't even scratch the door. He had to-

Wait a moment! Why was he on his knees? Where was his weapon? What was... he tried to rise and couldn't. A voice sounded, the words were alien to his ears.

"&*()!)(!*( *()(**&$(*$ ?"

"Let! Me! Go!" The clone snapped, rising halfway to his feet before an overwhelming force threw him back to his knees. A beam of energy played over him. He tensed but it did not hurt.

"Who enters this sacred place?" The voice was powerful, male but it held command. The phrasing sounded...archaic? "Speak!"

"You do not command me!" The Grineer snapped. "I am Grineer! I serve..."A bolt of energy slammed into him and he fought as he had fought the Reclaimer. "I will not submit!" Pain speared through his mind and he fell, but he did not cry out.

"You speak as a warrior, but you are weak of body. But not of mind." The male voice said sternly. "You serve... a queen? No? Two? What heresy is this?" The other demanded.

"I am Grineer!" The clone screamed as he managed to rise despite the power surging through him now. "You will not control me!" The power... cut off.

"No." The male voice mused. It was no less powerful, but not angry. "No, I will not." The clone felt scrutiny now, but.. not any he had ever encountered. Not hostile. Indeed... measuring. "They threw you away."

"I am Grineer!" The clone snapped. "I serve! I obey!"

"And are the ones who threw you away worthy of your service?" Was the voice... kind now?

He was moving. Or the corridor was. It was hard to tell. He was... it was...

He jerked awake. He was lying on something as machinery worked around him. The machines looked... sort of human. But not. Not Grineer tech. But... similar?

"Let me go!" 54-YT-87654378-AB snapped, fighting the bonds that held him down. Nothing happened and he saw machinery approaching, ominous blades and saws glistening. "I serve the queens!"

"But do you want to?" The male voice came from everywhere now. "Really? They threw you away for nothing more than the fact that you were different. Are they worth your loyalty?"

"I am Grineer!" The clone declared as machinery closed in. "I...Serve..." A beam of energy was playing across his face now and he sagged in his bonds. "I..."

"You are brave, strong and loyal." The other voice gentled even more. "You will serve. Me."

The Grineer was trying to fight as pressure mounted on his skull, as energy played over his extremities. But then... it all went away. He was standing... He stared up and up and up at the figure seated on the huge pyramidal throne. The huge pyramidal golden throne.

"I..." The Grineer swallowed hard.

"What do you wish?" The voice was commanding again. It was coming from the form on the throne!

"To do the right thing." The Grineer said slowly. "To... be a warrior... for good."

"Kneel." The voice commanded and the Grineer found himself on one knee. "You will serve."

"I... will serve." The Grineer bowed his head. "My Emperor."

"You must be trained." The voice said sharply. "You will learn all we can teach you. Then you will go forth and fell the enemies of the Imperium. Beware the traitor, the mutant, the heretic. All of these and more will test you. All of these will assail you. But you will stand firm."

Suddenly the voice was everywhere. Half a dozen huge forms stepped forward. Larger than even the largest Grineer. All male, all with eyes of fire, weapons in hand. As one, they nodded.

'They shall be my finest warriors, these men who give themselves to me. Like clay I shall mould them and in the furnace of war forge them. They will be of iron will and steely muscle. In great armour shall I clad them and with the mightiest guns will they be armed. They will be untouched by plague or disease, no sickness will blight them. They will have tactics, strategies and machines such that no foe can best them in battle. They are my bulwark against the Terror. They are the Defenders of Humanity. They are my Space Marines and they shall know no fear.'

The portal activated and none went through it. The waiting Grineer on the other side wrote the scout off. In retrospect, not a wise move., but very Grineer.

The former Grineer twitched as he lay on the Apothacarium slab, energy playing into his mind as his body was...refurbished.

We shall know no fear...

NOT my work.

Quote from Codex Space Marines:5th Edition

Warhammer 40000 and all associated works are property of Games Workshop.