When Volos heard the order, he didn't feel surprise. Instead, he felt that he was being told something he had already known at a subconscious level. He turned from the dead to bring his flamer to bear on Robbes. He saw a woman fighting heroically for her life an those of her friends. His finger hesitated on the trigger. His peripheral vision caught the rest of the squad re-orienting their weapons, also on the horns of that terrible moment when orders seemed wrong. Robbes turned her head to look at him. Volos pulled the trigger. But he was too late. Everything was too late. The plague reached maturity, and the change began. .