The sharp scent of disinfectant filled Nolan's nostrils as consciousness slowly returned to him. His fingers fumbled along the side of the medical bed, searching for the control panel. A faint whir of servos accompanied the gradual rise of the bed's upper section, lifting his torso into a seated position.
He glanced down at his chest and arms. Purple and blue bruises still mottled his skin, though they had begun to fade into sickly yellows at the edges. A sigh escaped his lips. Sitting here staring at the walls would drive him mad.
The simulator. That would give him something to focus on while his body healed.
Nolan pulled up the interface and took a moment to center himself. A silent prayer to the Emperor, brief but sincere. He adjusted the time dilation settings and initiated the sequence.
[Simulation starting...]
[Current identities available: Catachan Recruit, Death Korps of Krieg Grenadier, Kashezin Sergeant Major, Letalis Storm Squad Trooper,…..]
[Please choose your identity first]
[If you refuse, you will be randomly assigned]
[Identity selection has been refused]
[Simulation starting...]
[You have descended into the Warhammer universe]
[Location: Milky Way, Obscurus Segmentum, Fenris System]
[You have descended onto the planet's surface...]
[The cold hit you like a physical blow. Your thin clothing might as well have been tissue paper for all the protection it offered. Wind scoured across your exposed skin, its icy teeth finding every gap in the fabric and biting deep. The chill didn't stop at your skin. It wormed its way through muscle and settled into your very bones.]
[You sucked in a desperate breath. The air stabbed at your lungs like frozen needles, but the shock of it kept you alert. Your boots crunched through snow that came up past your ankles. Each step was a fight against the accumulating depth.]
[You needed shelter. Warmth. Anything.]
[Squinting against the glare of endless white, you scanned the horizon. Snow stretched in every direction, broken only by clusters of stunted trees. Their bark was dark and rough, their branches bare and thick as a man's arm. No leaves. No shelter.]
[Your fingers began to lose sensation first. The numbness crept up from your extremities, followed by a vicious tingling like thousands of needles pressing into your flesh. You couldn't stop. Couldn't rest. You broke into an awkward jog, forcing blood to pump harder through sluggish veins.]
[The sparse woodland ahead offered at least some break from the wind. You pushed yourself toward it, breath coming in ragged gasps that crystallized in the air.]
[You crashed through the tree line and stumbled to a halt.]
[Three pairs of yellow eyes locked onto you.]
[The Fenris wolf cubs rose from where they'd been resting, shaking the snow from thick gray manes. They were young, perhaps, but each still massed as much as a grown man. Lips pulled back to reveal fangs the color of old ivory, each as long as your thumb. A low rumble emanated from three throats simultaneously.]
[You drew in another sharp breath, your heart hammering against your ribs. Moving slowly, carefully, you bent your knees and began to edge backward. Don't run. Running triggers the chase instinct. Just back away slowly...]
[The wolves tensed. Their haunches bunched with coiled muscle.]
[You'd sent the wrong signal.]
[All three launched themselves forward in an explosion of snow and fury. Twelve claws tore through the powder, propelling them toward you with terrifying speed.]
[Your body moved on instinct. You threw yourself backward into a roll, snow flying around you. Your hand shot out and closed around something solid, a thick branch half-buried in the drift. You yanked it free as you came up, the wood cold and solid in your grip.]
[You weren't retreating out of fear. You were looking for a weapon.]
[The first wolf came in high, jaws gaping. You swung with everything you had. The branch connected with the side of the beast's muzzle with a meaty thud. Fangs shattered. The wolf yelped and tumbled sideways, blood spattering across pristine snow.]
[The second wolf was already on you. You twisted hard to the left, feeling the passage of claws through the air mere inches from your ribs. Too close. Far too close.]
[The third cub circled around, trying to flank you. You pivoted and brought the branch down in a brutal overhead strike. It caught the wolf across its lower back with a sickening crunch. The impact sent shockwaves up your arms. The branch vibrated, then splintered with a sharp crack.]
[The wolf's hindquarters collapsed. It tried to drag itself forward with its front legs, howling in pain and rage.]
[You tightened your grip on the remaining length of wood. Something primal rose up from deep in your chest, a roar that was more animal than human. The sound tore from your throat as you threw yourself forward.]
[Your full weight crashed down on the crippled wolf. One arm locked around its neck in a chokehold while you drove your knees into its flank. The beast thrashed beneath you, surprisingly strong even injured. Your other hand raised the broken branch like a dagger.]
[You drove it down.]
[The sharp end plunged into the wolf's eye socket with a wet, horrible sound. The wood scraped against bone as you forced it deeper. Hot blood poured over your hand.]
[Your eyes were wild, bloodshot. You lifted your gaze to the remaining two wolves and bared your teeth in a snarl that matched their own.]
[The wounded cub continued to thrash weakly beneath you, its whimpers growing fainter. The other two wolves hesitated. They looked at their fallen packmate, then back at you, this strange creature that fought like a cornered predator.]
[They turned and bolted back through the trees.]
[You held your position until their footfalls faded completely. Only then did the tension drain from your muscles. The wolf beneath you went still, its final breath rattling out in a steaming cloud.]
[Your fingers slowly unclenched from around the blood-slicked branch.]
[You collapsed forward, pressing against the wolf's still-warm corpse. Your lungs burned as you gasped for air, each breath a shuddering effort. Sweat and melted snow soaked your inadequate clothing, and you could already feel the cold returning with a vengeance.]
[After a long moment, you pulled the branch free from the wolf's ruined eye. Blood welled up from the socket, still hot, steaming in the frigid air.]
[Your mouth watered involuntarily.]
[You hesitated. Every civilized instinct recoiled at the thought. But civilization was a luxury for people who weren't freezing to death on a death world.]
[You lowered your face to the wound and drank.]
[The blood was hot and thick, with a metallic taste that coated your tongue. The smell was overwhelming, copper and musk and something wild. It rushed down your throat and hit your stomach like liquid fire. For a few precious moments, the terrible cold receded.]
[When you'd drunk your fill, you pushed yourself upright. Your limbs felt slightly more responsive now, though exhaustion still weighed on you like a physical burden.]
[You needed to skin this animal. The pelt would provide insulation. The meat would provide fuel for your body.]
[You searched through the snow until you found a few sharp stones. They were crude tools, but they would have to suffice. You set to work, sawing and tearing at the wolf's hide. It was messy, inefficient work. By the time you finished, you held a torn and ragged pelt that was barely intact, but it was better than nothing.]
[You wrapped the wolf skin around your shoulders. It stank of blood and animal musk, but it blocked the wind. You tore chunks of meat from the carcass with your hands, forcing yourself to chew the tough, gamey flesh. It was almost inedible raw, stringy and foul-tasting, but you choked it down anyway.]
[Next, fire. You needed fire.]
[You gathered the driest bark you could find and a straight stick. You'd seen this done before, the principle was simple enough. You pressed the stick into a notch and began to spin it rapidly between your palms.]
[Nothing.]
[You tried again, adjusting your angle, pressing harder.]
[Still nothing. Maybe the bark was too damp. Maybe your technique was wrong. Maybe the wood type wasn't suitable. Whatever the reason, no ember appeared.]
[The light was fading. The temperature, already brutal, began to plummet further as evening approached. Snowflakes the size of your palm began to drift down, accumulating rapidly.]
[You gritted your teeth against the fresh wave of cold. The wolf's corpse had gone stiff, frozen solid. You dragged it by its legs toward a spot where several trees created a natural windbreak.]
[You needed to get out of the wind. Needed insulation.]
[You dug frantically at the snow with your numb hands, scooping and piling until you'd created a pit roughly half a meter deep. It wasn't much, but it would have to do.]
[You crawled into the depression and curled into the tightest ball you could manage. Then you dragged the frozen wolf carcass over yourself like a grotesque blanket, the stiff corpse forming a shell that blocked some of the wind.]
[Your body temperature continued to drop. You could feel it happening, the cold seeping deeper with each passing minute.]
[Yet paradoxically, a strange heat began to build inside you. It started in your core and spread outward, intense and uncomfortable. Your thoughts grew fuzzy around the edges, disconnected.]
[As darkness closed in around your vision, you thought you heard something. A long, mournful howl, distant but unmistakable, carried on the screaming wind.]
[Then nothing.]
[You opened your eyes.]
[Firelight danced across your vision. You were alive. Somehow, impossibly, you were alive.]
[A thick fur covered your body, far superior to the tattered wolf pelt you'd claimed. The hide was massive, easily large enough to envelope you completely. Cave bear, perhaps.]
[Two meters away, a large fire crackled and popped, radiating blessed warmth. The snow around it had melted away entirely, leaving a circle of dark, wet earth. The heat was glorious, soaking into your frozen limbs.]
[Something hung over the flames on a makeshift spit. A Fenrisian elk, skinned and gutted, its meat sizzling as fat dripped into the fire and sent up small eruptions of flame. The smell was intoxicating.]
[Your mouth watered.]
[You started to sit up, intending to investigate your unlikely salvation.]
["You must not be Fenrisian." The voice came from beyond the fire, old but powerful, each word precisely articulated. "Even if the people here die of hunger and cold, they will not eat Fenris wolves."]
[You narrowed your eyes and peered through the dancing flames.]
[The figure on the other side was enormous. He wore a wolf's skull over his head, the lower jaw removed, the eye sockets dark and empty. Black power armor covered his massive frame, its surface etched with intricate patterns in dark gold that caught the firelight. He sat casually on a thick tree stump, relaxed despite his size. A power staff leaned against his shoulder, its head wrought in the shape of an eagle's wings, the haft planted in the snow beside him.]
[A Space Marine. One of the Adeptus Astartes.]
[You rose slowly to your feet, every muscle protesting. Your hand moved automatically to your chest as you snapped off the crisp salute of the Astra Militarum.]
["The Emperor's currency, loyal messenger, stranger Nolan." Your voice came out rough, damaged by the cold. "Thank you for saving my life."]
[The Space Marine's shoulders shook. A low chuckle rumbled from within the wolf-skull helm, deep as distant thunder.]
[The sound sent a chill down your spine that had nothing to do with the temperature.
["Space Wolf. Wolf Priest Ulric." The warrior's voice carried easily over the crackling fire, each syllable resonant with barely contained strength. "Welcome to Asaheim, stranger."]