#Tanith 1st Regiment

[thegodemperorsmycopilot]

ArtStation - Gaunt's Ghosts

[a-wayfairing-stranger]

A story to be told

In truth, I never received much widespread fame from my days as a journalist, my stories were mostly fluff pieces read over breakfast or while being driven somewhere, something where the stakes were low, a chance to have some good news, the one piece that got me somewhat known was the article I wrote on the Tanith 1st, or as they had became known ‘Gaunt’s Ghosts.’

I was sent to a planet, I forget its name now, it was so long ago, to write a morale boosting piece on the hard working men of the Imperial Guard, What I was met with however was someone else entirely.

The hanger in which I was dropped off was poorly air conditioned, the air was stale and one half of the huge metal building was sectioned off into a makeshift hospital, I was directed there to meet with a Middenlocke, who would then escort me to the main base of the Tanith 1st, where I was to interview their commander, A Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt, his name I knew for other reasons, he was well known in certain circles. 

Middenlocke was not what or who I expected, I imagined a tall hulking brute, from the description of the Tanith they were practically wild men, with long unkempt hair and blue ink on their skin, Middenlocke didn’t fit this description.

She was a small woman, shorter than I, with a short ponytail that had shaved sides, she wore the same black fatigues as the men, they seemed slightly too big for her, she had a huge tattoo of the Imperial Aquila on her throat, flanked by a flower on each side, She looked me over with dark, tired eyes. 

“You the writer?” She asked, walking towards me

“Yes Ma’am..” 

Something about her made me address her with respect, she was quite frankfully, a little terrifying. 

“Augustus Hark.”

I extended a hand and she took it, her hands were freshly clean, the smell of disinfectant came off her in waves.

“Leta Middenlocke.” 

Up Close she had a pinkish hue to her face, I would learn later that she had what was known as a ‘Flamer Tan’ all though how she got it still remains a mystery.

“Are you a nurse?” I asked, a stupid question in hindsight, it was clear she wasn’t “A doctor?”

She laughed, oddly feminine for someone of her appearance 

“No..” 

She found my ignorance funny

“Visiting the Doc, making sure he’s alright.” 

She started walking and clearly expected me to follow her

“You wanna talk to Gaunt right?”

“Yes, all though I am here to do a piece on any and all heroes on the guard.”

She laughed again “Heroes? You’re in the wrong place Mr. Hark.” 

At the end of the hanger was a security gate and lockers, I awkwardly stood around as Leta opened one of the metal doors and pulled out her weapons: A worrying amount of knives and a laspistol. 

Then she pulled out a cloak, the trademark of the Tanith Ghosts, but rather than wearing it she simply flung it over her arm. 

At the gate a soldier, not one of the Tanith but the other regiment posted here, asked for my I.D and when he asked for Leta’s she rolled her eyes.

“Masc it's me, I’ve been in and out here a dozen times this week.” 

“And I tell you every time that security is security.” 

Once outside the dry air and humidity hit me like a wall, Leta seemed unfazed and lit a cigarette, she offered me one, which I declined. 

A truck was already running and judging by the fact that Leta climbed into the drivers cap, I assumed it was for us.

“What is it you do, Miss Middenlocke?”

“Just Middenlocke, Or Leta.”

“What is it you do, Leta?”

She chuckled and put the truck into reverse, hardly paying attention, only one hand on the wheel while the other held her cigarette.

“Right now? I do supply runs from here and the main camp, and sometimes help out in the hospital.” 

The truck lurched forward 

“And of course escort lovely civilians such as yourself.” 

The sarcasm was not lost on me.

The road was bumpy, and I’m sure even now all these years later my back is still suffering for it.

“What else do you do?”

“I’m a trooper, what do you think I do?”

“I wasn’t aware the Tanith had any women in their ranks.”

“They don’t.” 

She flicked her cigarette butt out of the window. “They have a woman: me.”

She was proud of this, But I was lost as to why.

“Do they treat you alright?”

“What?”

“Do they…”

Now I once again see the ignorance of my words, but you have to understand that I had a daughter around Leta’s age and the very idea of her being the only woman in a sea of men made my blood run cold.

“No, I understood the question Mr. Hark.” 

Even from the side I could see the glare she was giving me

“They treat me like they treat everybody else, I’m a Ghost above all else.” 

We drove on in silence, awkward silence that I had to fill, I was nervous, As it accrued to me that this planet was still a war zone.

“Are you from Tanith?”

“Is your piece on me or Gaunt?” 

“If you’d like to talk about the Colonel-Commissar rather than yourself..”

“Nothing I would say about Gaunt is printable I’m afraid.” 

She smiled to herself for a second

“Do you not get along with him?”

“We get along just fine, He’s in charge, I follow…not much else to say.”

I took the hint and simply watched the landscape, or what was left of it, flow past us. Only speaking once we reached the checkpoint and I was once again asked for my I.D.

The camp was a collection of tents around a bombed out but still structurally strong house, Leta parked the truck and beeped the horn.

As if waiting for her, a group of men exited one of the bigger tents, one of them, a slender man with one of the ghastly blue tattoos on his face, walked up to the cab and rested his arms on the open driver's side window.

“What took you so long, Wolf?” He asked casually 

“You know how Dordon can be..”

The man’s cold eyes focused on me “Who’s this?”

“Civ reporter.” She replied, turning off the engine “Here to interview Gaunt.” 

“Augustus Hark..” 

“You won’t get a polite introduction from this one Mr. Hark..” Leta smiled at the man, “He’s Rawne.”

“Major Rawne.” Rawne corrected 

“A Major pain in the arse..” 

There were sounds of boxes being removed from the back of the truck, the suddenly loud noise almost made me jump.

“Oi I’ll have you on report for that.”

Leta just laughed and smacked his folded arms “Hadn’t you better help with those boxes, Major? Seeing as it's your job and all…”

“Better had before you go telling Gaunt on me..” He stood up “Oh please Mister Gaunt sir, Major Rawne is being mean to me again.”

Leta put her arm through the window and hit his chest, which in all honesty surprised me, I had never seen a Trooper go to hit an officer without it ending in a premature execution. 

“Feth off..”

Rawne just grinned and walked around to the back of the truck.

“Mr. Hark…please keep Major Rawne’s childishness out of your article..” 

I remained silent, and just nodded, she exited the cab and I followed, as we walked towards the old building, many troopers waved to Leta, and quite a few mentioned a card game.

“Your Commissar allows gambling?”

“Gambling? Never.” She rose her eyebrows “It's only gambling if you bet money, Mr. Hark.”

I was impressed by how confidently Leta walked around, surrounded by men twice her size, and in a warzone nonetheless, I knew women who would faint at the sight of a small rodent.

“Gaunt, Sir!” She stood by the door of the ruined house, well I say door, it was a thick plastic curtain pulled over the doorway. 

Ibram Gaunt was a tall man, imposing in his cap and coat. I wanted to shrink away from his piercing gaze, Leta barely blinked.

“Agustus Hark Sir, here to write an article about the heroes of the Imperium.” 

“Then why on Terra is he trailing along after you Middenlocke?”

“Throne knows sir, I dunno why he wants to speak to you either..” She glanced at me “I fear you will be very disappointed.” 

Gaunt chuckled “Are those supplies here?”

“Rawne and the boys are unloading now sir.”

“And the doc?”

“Tired, but promised me he would at least get three hours of sleep tonight.”

“That's more than he gave me..” He looked to me, then back to Leta “Dismissed, I suppose you have other duties to attend too.”

“I am a free woman for the rest of the day sir..”

“Stay out of trouble, If I read another report about you-”

“Milo has promised to play for me, I’ll be under his watchful gaze, sir.”

“Good.”

Leta saluted Gaunt and then nodded at me

“Enjoy the war hero Mr. Hark…but be warned, he does prattle on.”

“Dismissed, Middenlocke..” Gaunt repeated 

“I’m going sir.”

Once I was certain that Leta was out of earshot I spoke to Gaunt, who lead me into the interior of the house.

“She is….quite the character.”

Gaunt nodded and smiled “She is, she keeps the boys happy..”

He seemed to realize the implications of what he’d said and continued 

“A lot of them had daughters or wives on Tanith, she brings a sort of…lightness to everything.”

He poured to cups of caf and sat down

“She also scares the hells out of them so there’s that.”

“I can see why.”

I did a interview with Gaunt, the usual questions and he gave the usual answers, all practiced and rehearsed a dozen times for a Commisar like him, my superiors were content with the message: Glory for the Emperor and the Imperium, but it seemed to be Leta that the common folk latched on to even though she made a very brief appearance in the actual article. 

I had heard that recruitment numbers went up, so I had that to be somewhat proud of at least.

That was over forty years ago now and I often wonder what became of Trooper Leta Middenlocke. I suppose it doesn’t matter now, I’ll never know and frankly it isn’t my information to know.

[cursed-40k-thoughts]

What are Gaunts Ghosts?

"Gaunt's Ghosts" is an informal title for a regiment within the Astra Militarum known officially as the Tanith 1st, or Tanith First-and-Only. They serve under the leadership of Commissar Ibram Gaunt, and are famous for their incredible scouting abilities. The "ghost" part of the moniker comes from the dual aspect of their aforementioned sneakiness and battlefield efficiency, and also from the fact that they are the last surviving people of their home world. So, y'know, they're Gaunt's ghosts.

You can read about their formation and exploits, if you're interested, in the book series which is also called Gaunt's Ghosts. It's a good series.

[detachhunter]

I don't know why I postponed reading this series for so long even though I knew I was gonna love it back when I read through the wiki pages.

Gaunt is Regiment dad 1.0. Corbec is Regiment dad 2.0. Rawne is the troublemaker son everyone (Corbec) sets straight with a grin. Bragg is just the cute one. Larkin probably makes funny faces while sniping people. I can't wait for when Criid comes along, etc.

I'd adopt the Tanith 1st.