Those two cards might have given me a winning hand in spite of Anton’s skill at dealing trash.

‘Why do you think he’s here?’ Anton asked. ‘Macharius, I mean?’

‘The lieutenant told me he wanted to check up on you,’ I said. ‘He heard you would make a good Space Marine.’

‘Piss off,’ Anton said.

Ivan gestured for another card and slotted it into his hand. He held all of his cards close to his chest. He looked at them for a moment, put them face down on the table and poured himself another glass of Oily’s specially distilled coolant fluid, then unwrapped a ration bar and stuffed the whole thing into his mouth. He crunched it with his metal teeth as he frowned down at his cards.

New Boy entered the galley and looked at us. ‘Playing Shonk?’ he asked.

‘No,’ Anton replied. ‘We’re not.’

Oily looked up at him. ‘Yes we are. Don’t believe Anton. He lies.’ There was nothing friendly in his tone. He was just annoying Anton.

‘Can I play if a seat comes free?’ New Boy asked.

‘They never come free,’ Anton said.

‘It’s another dead man’s chair, is it?’ New Boy asked. Silence settled on the game like a shroud. It was exactly the wrong thing to say and you could tell that Matosek suddenly appreciated that. He had spoken out of irritation and triggered more than he bargained for. Nobody looked at him. It was as if he wasn’t there.

The game went on. Fingers were raised to indicate the number of cards people wanted. Glasses were filled from the coolant flask. Hands were tossed in as players folded. Eventually New Boy got the message and left. The air thawed perceptibly when he was gone.

‘That boy has a lot to learn,’ Oily said.

‘He’s all right,’ I said. ‘He’s just nervous.’

‘Let’s hope he’s not nervous when we meet the heretics,’ Anton said. ‘That could get us all killed.’

‘You won’t have to worry about that,’ Ivan said. ‘Macharius will have made you a Space Marine by then.’

‘Ha bloody ha.’

Drums sounded. Bugles blared. We lined up outside our tanks, dressed in our parade best. The heat made us sweat but we stood still as statues. We’d been standing that way for hours. We’d keep standing that way for as long as it took.