Brother Librarian

Thought for the Day:

It is better to die for the Emperor than live for yourself.

Jonah was cut off from the support of his brothers, his chapter, and the Imperium at large. Jonah had a plan, a small short-sighted plan, but he would make it work. However, he was a warrior, he had no knowledge of anything else. Blood Ravens receive their photographic memory after their Gene-seed implantation, in comparison the memories before are cloudy and unknowable. Therefore, he had no knowledge outside of being a warrior who fight for chapter, Emperor... but not for money.

In the world of civilians he was helpless. He had no knowledge of a money-driven economic system, all of his needs were taken care of by the chapter. He had never been in a command position either, he had commanded brothers before, but never without another above him directing his unit's supplies. He was well-read and knew the principle, but had no actual experience in the realm of civilian life. And from what he could tell, the locals don't have any jobs similar to any job he would have done as a Space Marine. Mercenary work was few and far between, and by the Emperor; he would not sully his honor by doing that.

By the Throne! Judging by the memories acquired the locals passed out in fear of him covered in blood! From what he could tell, they would be just as afraid of him with his armor clean. The skulls and dark motifs would undoubtedly terrify, as they were designed to do. The Space Marines, as oft quoted by his former brother Avitus, were fear incarnate! Being scary to mere mortals was literally in their job description.

But, he would try. None could condemn him so long as he tried with all of his prodigious might.

He recognized that he was ignoring several major issues that needed dealt with. For instance: the calm Warp. It was definitely an improvement, but it made him even more wary of entering the realm. When he used his powers earlier, he felt the presence of no daemons; an unheard of impossibility. This Warp terrified him even more than the normal Warp did, better an enemy that you know (Kind of) than an enemy that is completely, utterly foreign in every way. Then there was the fact that inside the Warp, he felt the presence of but one other psyker. A good thing that he had not come across an entire species of psykers, but there was something even worse. This psyker was strong, very strong, stronger than him by an uncomfortable margin. However, just the merest touch from his earlier outburst and he knew that he was safe from its influence, a powerful psyker it may be but it was one severely untested by war. He felt that he would come out the victor if they fought, if only just. The presence of sealed daemons went unnoticed by Jonah as they were sealed.

However, that one psyker was the only one he felt but it was not the only one that used Warp Power. He could tell, the horned ponies, Unicorns flashed to the forefront of his mind, were also capable of using Warp Power, though to a severely lessened degree. Weakened enough to be unattractive to daemons yet strong enough to warrant caution and actual use by the unicorns. It was probably an improvement over normal psykers. The definition of a psyker is not just that one can use Warp Power but that one can touch the realm of the Warp, these unicorns were capable of one but not the other. A strange contradiction, and Jonah wouldn't have believed it if he had not seen it and also taken the knowledge directly from the pony's skull. Through the memories, he distinctly saw, felt, and sensed Warp energy flowing from the creature's horn.

The pony species seem to have taken to naively referring to the energy as 'magic'. Magic is a common term used to describe Warp Power among the uncultured, uncivilized, and stupid.

Jonah would try to limit his use of the Warp until he was sure that it was safe. It was never safe, but he would continue until he felt that it was relatively safe enough for use.

Jonah spent a good amount of time cleaning his armor, he had an instinct that looking good for an interview for a job was important. It wasn't hurting anything, so Jonah just rolled with it.

The trip to this 'Sweet Apple Acres' was uneventful. The denizens of the forest he had taken refuge in knew a predator when they saw one, and so long as he was nonthreatening, they too would be nonthreatening. He actually wasn't sure there were any predators in these woods, he had seen numerous opportunities for a predator to secure a meal from the more foolish animals, but none ever took the bait. It was strange.

As he left the forest, he was treated to the sight of what was undoubtedly 'Sweet Apple Acres'. Of course, he hadn't known what an Apple was until he ripped it from the minds of foolish, ill-prepared to fight off a mental attack, pony medicae. But, he knew now. And it truly was 'Sweet Apple Acres', with an emphasis on 'acres'. It was an impressive farm for a society that had yet to reach space. The Imperium had entire planets dedicated to food production, but Jonah had never fought on one or even seen one, for that matter. While they weren't exactly few and far between, they were well defended as the loss of a Agri-world can mean famine across entire sectors. As they were so well defended, the 4th Company had never been called upon to aid one. It was just something that had never come up in their region of operation. To say that Jonah was impressed with the scale would be a lie, however, he was fairly impressed that the pony race was even capable of a farm so large. It was a testament to the 'Apple' family, and he would be sure to give his compliments.

It was rather early in the morning, but overhearing conversation and conversation with Guardsmen had enlightened him on some aspects of farm work. Like awakening early in the morning. As he understood it, men from Agri-world were particularly well suited to that aspect of Guardsmen training.

He approached the large farm house that the path led to, his super-human...pony? ears could just make out the sounds of work from elsewhere on the farm.

He knocked on the door, being careful to not accidentally splinter it into a thousand small, shrapnel-like pieces.

"I'm comin'! I'm comin'!" a rather elderly voice replied.

Jonah was not very well versed on the language, the species, or the voices, but he still managed to guess that the pony replying to his knock was an elderly female, with an unknown accent. The pony medicae were knowledgeable, but only one or 2 had ever interacted with the Apple family, and photographic memory does not apply to the 'acquired' knowledge of others.

"Alright, here we go." the same voice said, much closer to the door. Jonah also heard what appeared to be... baby noises?

The door opened to reveal a small, elderly green mare carrying on her back a small, red-haired and yellow youngling of the species. Both of their eyes widened at the sight of him. A Space Marine cuts an imposing figure, especially in armor, even as a pony.

The language was still new to him, so Jonah tried to speak slowly, choosing every word carefully. He also spoke gently, to avoid scaring the little one and the mare. There was little more irritating than a frightened child, as Space Marines have no idea what to do. Though, Jonah theorized that Captain Angelos might have been able to calm a grief-stricken child.

He spoke calmly, softly, and slowly, "Excuse me, I am looking for a job. Is there anything I can do?"

The Elder and Junior both visibly relaxed at his words, his tone far too soft and gentle to belong to a monster. The armor still clearly scared them, but with a few soft words he was less of a threat.

The Elder narrowed her eyes at him, and started inspecting him from every angle she could from inside the doorway.

At length, she said, "Weeelll... you sure look like you can handle farm-work... You got a name, partner?"

He bowed his head and said, "I am Jonah Orion." he neglected the use of his titles. 'Brother Librarian Jonah Orion of the Blood Ravens 4th Company' would probably just confuse them.

She held out a hoof, "Name's Granny Smith, and this here little 'un is Applebloom."

The custom wasn't exactly common in the Imperium, most greeted another with the Aquila, but some still shook hands. And hooves, apparently.

He shook her hoof with his own, "It is nice to meet you." he cordially stated, "And you too little one."

Granny Smith smiled at his gentle greeting of the child, "We always need more help around the farm, but you came just in time for harvest season. You just go on to the South field," she helpfully pointed in the direction the sounds were coming from, "Applejack and Big Mac ought to be in there, you just talk to them and see what they need help with. We can talk about your pay over supper. We'll probably give you the standard rate for hired workers, but do a good job and we'll see if we can't get you a bonus."

He nodded his thanks and walked off towards the direction indicated.

Granny Smith watched him walk off and disappear into the trees.

She hummed to herself in thought, "That there's a strange one." she declared out loud, "A gentle giant... I saw patience in them eyes, that's for sure. Age too, he's a lot older than he puts on."

Applebloom gurgled happily from on her back, ending in a questioning pip.

Granny Smith looked back at the foal, "Sure he was big and scary, and that outfit of his sure looked like it was used for something other than show, but he's got his heart in the right place. I can feel it in my old bones!"