Chapter 44 - Only a matter of time

For several seconds, Damian felt like he was being pulled through a tiny straw. His body stretched and elongated. Weird colours flashed all around as his mind reeled… but then it was over just as quickly as it began. 

He felt himself stumbling forward as his stomach rose up in defiance against the abuse this Astralgate just put through his body. Retching, he bent over and leaned on his knees, breathing heavily as he tried to suppress the urge to vomit. "Fucking hell…" he muttered with difficulty. 

Around him, everyone else, except for Nadine, was doing the same thing… and most of them failed to suppress the rising bile as they deposited their last meals on the floor. 

Fortunately, Damian managed to stop himself. He still felt sick, but he straightened his spine without voiding his bowels. A miserable expression still plagued him at first, but then he felt a powerful and sudden wave of relief when he heard the gate shut down behind him. 

He'd made it out… for now. He knew those primarchs were still just a single gate activation away, but they wouldn't come here unless they'd already figured out who Lex really was… and if that happened, he'd just go with them. There'd be no escaping them at that point, and he'd prefer not to make trouble for his family. 

What that really meant for him right now was that there wasn't really anything left he could do to screw this up and endanger his family. And that, more than anything, allowed his nerves to calm. 

Having gotten his bearings, he looked around to see where they'd landed. 

Their new surroundings looked very similar to the place they'd just left. It was a grey metal room with a few secure-looking doors but no viewing room above them. In fact, the ceiling was also much lower, reaching to just the upper edge of the Astralgate. 

The surprisingly low-quality air was sharp and cold, with the temperature likely hanging somewhere just above freezing. Ahead of them stood a small contingent of Cooperative soldiers, who all saluted to greet Nadine, fists against their chests and heads lightly bowed. As a captain, it seemed her rank was the highest here. 

Nadine greeted them with a stern nod but said nothing, instead choosing to turn around and check on her charges. First, she smirked at those who failed to keep the contents of their stomachs inside, but then she noticed Damian, who was already back on his feet and scanning the room. 

She raised an eyebrow. "You, Bloodkin, have you travelled by gate before?" 

"Hmm…?" Damian blinked, having been pulled from his thoughts to look at Nadine. During the tension-filled hours back in the base on Eryndor, he'd been too distracted to determine her kintype, but now he finally noticed the elongated ears peeking out from behind her hair and the slightly golden hue covering her otherwise fair skin. 

She was a Sunkin. 

With the tension having left his body, he could feel himself returning to normal, and so his lips almost automatically curled up into the charming grin he was known for. 

Unfortunately, he didn't have his usual handsomeness to back him up since he was currently wearing Lex's face, a significant downgrade from his own. Still, the real power behind his charisma was confidence, and this he had in spades. At least, now that he wasn't on Eryndor anymore. 

"I have not, my beautiful captain. It seems you've given me a new experience… perhaps one of many?" he drawled charmingly. With most anyone, a line like this would have generated laughter more than anything else, but… delivery was key. 

Some of the female soldiers behind Nadine actually blushed a little, but Nadine was made of far sterner stuff. She smirked at him with amusement, "Nice one. I guess you really are a Bloodkin through and through, huh?" 

"In every way imaginable, Nadine," he chuckled, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively as he stepped down off the ramp, gracefully avoiding his sick peers. 

Behind her, some of the guards started getting wound up at his comments for various reasons. After all, no matter their faults, Bloodkin were also known as some of the most prodigious lovers in the Cooperative. 

One of them, a Stormkin in his mid-twenties, even rose to his feet to glare and point at him. "You should show the captain due respect, you brat! She's nothing like a pampered noble Guttersilk as you are! Not only is she a veteran of several battlefields, but she could easily turn you inside out!" 

"Oh…?" Damian grinned and looked at an amused Nadine with a curiously raised eyebrow. "Is that a promise?" 

This time, even the stern captain couldn't stop the tiniest of blushes from appearing on her cheek while the soldiers behind her all reacted even more powerfully than before. 

No one was really sure how Damian turned that into sexual innuendo, and truthfully, Damian had no idea what 'being turned inside out' would even mean either, but... it certainly didn't matter. Once again, the key was in the delivery, and everyone knew he was talking about sex. 

"You—!" the same man as before seethed, seemingly forcing himself to stay put and not attack. Nadine turned her neck to look at the man curiously… and then surprised everyone with her next words. "Well…? Aren't you going to defend my honour? Go on, attack him." 

Damian was surprised at Nadine's words, but after looking at her, he relaxed. Confidently, he smirked at the man, his head cocked to the side in a taunting gesture, his hands casually stuck in his pockets, seemingly showing a whole host of openings. 

The man blinked several times, his gaze panning between Nadine and Damian. "I— Uh…" Having been called out, he wondered if he actually had the courage to do something, considering Damian had to belong to a powerful family. 

But, seeing Nadine's beautiful, expectant eyes, the man threw caution to the wind. "Fine! Let me teach you a lesson, brat!" 

Strings of stormcloud started crawling across his body as he jumped into a sprint towards Damian, fists raised, fully intending to smack him around a little. His anger was only heightened by Damian's amused and calm reaction, as he didn't even remove the hands in his pockets. 

And Damian's confidence was well-founded. He'd read Nadine's intentions perfectly, and his prediction was proven when the soldier never even reached him. As soon as the Stormkin sprinted past Nadine, he was suddenly floored with a quick smack to the head, knocking him unconscious and down to the floor. 

"Hmpf," the forimdable captain snorted derisively as she pulled back her fist. Panning an inquisitive gaze along the other soldiers behind her, she growled. "It seems your current posting has made you dipshits forget all about discipline… I guess that will give me something to do while I babysit these nobles." 

Meanwhile, Damian looked at the downed soldier curiously. 'Could I have taken him…?' he wondered to himself. Unfortunately, he'd had very little opportunity to truly test his new prowess so far. 

After finishing with her new squad, Nadine turned back to Damian with the familiar stare of stern discipline. "As for you… I wanted to compliment you on your quick recovery. Most people are rolling on the floor for at least thirty minutes after their first transfer." 

Damian's charming grin gained an edge of smugness, quickly dashed when Nadine engulfed him in a heavy, dangerous pressure that made him groan. His charming grin remained, but the smug edge had become wry. 

"But, I suggest you cut it with the smooth speak," she warned, eyes flaring as the pressure increased. "If you want to impress me, I suggest you do well on the assignment! Your family name means nothing to me, Moroi." 

It was clear she didn't think he stood a chance with her, and while Damian would usually take such assumptions as a personal challenge, he still wasn't fully back to himself after seeing the primarchs appear. 

But that would only be a matter of time…