Aldaris nods as Asaki speaks.

"Very well. I will have Lt. Peterson escort you to one of the Thunderhawks after the ceremony. You will be officialy inducted when we arrive at Tarsonis. Then your training will begin."

Aldaris turns and faces the audience.

"Now I will speak to you of our fallen leader, Force Commander Cameron Aileron."

Aldaris pauses for a moment, gathering his thoughts.

"Cameron Aileron was known throughout this force for his leadership abilities and his fighting skills, but I, along with the other officers and marines who had the privlege of fighting along side of him and knowing him personally, respected him for something more. I respected him for his openness, his kindness, his love for humanity, and his unswerving loyalty to his force, and to anyone unable to defend themselves from evil. This is what made him a great man in my eyes."

"It has been said, by some of the officers who were on the Starblade when Commander Aileron first arrived back here with his task force, that our former Second Officer Kalana Ryoki had prophesized the events that were to take place in that infernal temple, even up to the Commander's death. It is also said that she informed the Commander of this before he set out for the planet's surface. No guarantee of truth can be placed on these tales, but if indeed they are true, then that can only make Commander Aileron's sacrifice even more honourable."

"This planet came to the brink of destruction at the hands of the treacherous Warmaster, the Lord of Chaos known as Khronos. He attempted to transform this planet into a wormhole from which the Chaos army and the terrible creatures that inhabit the warp could invade our universe. However, thanks to a squad of brave warriors, Fei Serumen, Tamrissa Roshan, Jihon, Soul Reaver, Asaki Masako, Jharm, Dom, Kawanua the Fallen, Ella Blant, Halcon, and of course, our honoured Second Officer Ryoki, Commander Aileron was able to force his way to the temple that the Warmaster had defiled and chosen to call his own. While the others fought the full array of Chaos' minions, Aileron faced the Warmaster in his lair, when that foul beast was at the height of his powers. Even before Khronos was imbued with the false energies of the Dark Gods, the traitorous fiend was all but unstoppable. Yet, knowing this, the noble Commander still met him blade to blade, eye to eye. When the treacherous serpent whispered promises of glory and strength in his ear, Aileron did not listen. Even as the great traitor was poised upon the brink of infernal victory, the Lord of this Squadron and hero of the Blood Angels was not swayed, though he knew it would cost him his life."

"And so it was that they fought - the Angel and the Beast. Titanic must have been that struggle. Long must they have rained blows upon one another. And yet, for all his glorious might at arms, and his noble heart and mind, Commander Aileron was bested. But at that last moment, even as the blade of death waited to strike him, Aileron never gave in. At the last moment, he sacrificed his own life to destroy the dark Warmaster and foil his tyranical plans. Thus it was, that Force Commander Cameron Aileron, Lord of the Flame Lords Squadron of the Blood Angels, a chapter of the Adeptus Astartes, passed from this world. He who was everything a man should be was taken from us by the darkness. A thousand times a thousand years of lamenting will not atone for our loss."

A tear runs down Aldaris's face.

"Commander Aileron, and all the others who were lost in this battle, cannot, and will not, be forgotten."

There is silence for a moment, and then all the marines present stand up and cheer, filling the hall with their voices. The civilians follow suit, and soon the entire hall is ringing with applause. Aldaris steps away from the podium to collect himself.