Old Soldiers Never Die - Sandy Mitchell Read online

  [27] Cain may be being a little more cynical about Callister’s motives here than is war­ranted: as the Emperor’s anointed representative on Lentonia, the governor’s position was of spiritual as well as temporal significance, and the hierophant may well have felt it his duty to remain and offer prayers to ease his passing.

  [28] Lentonia had a slightly longer day than Terran Standard.

  [29] Which would be all of them: don’t pretend you wouldn’t be tempted to poach him given the chance.

  [30] Given the exceptional piety of Tallarns in general, and their Imperial Guard officers in particular, it’s quite likely that Samier was eager to consult the hierophant privately in the hope of some extra spiritual guidance.

  [31] Air Defence Corps.

  [32] Given the age of most Imperial cities, which are measured in millennia, it’s hardly surprising that the ground beneath them is almost invariably riddled with the built-over remains of generations of previous settlement, forming a honeycomb of forgotten cellars, service tunnels and the like.

  [33] A legacy of his early life in an underhive.

  [34] Or renovation: such subterranean passages generally having been in place for centuries.

  [35] It’s unclear here whether that last comment applies to Jurgen or Cain himself; although, under the circumstances, I doubt that either was eager to hang about.

  [36]Not quite true. I doubt there are any Chaos cults on Terra or Mars, for instance, and followers of the Dark Gods tend to be thin on the ground on Space Marine Chapter worlds.