A Moment's Peace.
The forest had been mostly levelled by artillary fire, large wooden boughs splintered into oblivion. Their burnt, wrecked corpses dotting the landscape for miles. This had been where the servants of Chaos had placed their defenses, too new to fully corrupt the area...too new to stand against the righteous might of the Imperial Guard.
Laser fire sizzled and crackled through the air over the trooper's head as he took cover behind the burning wreck of a Leman Russ. Using the moments respite, he checked the energy guage on his lasrifle, the indicator still seventy percent full. Other soldiers ran by, some firing from the hip to keep the enemy pinned, some falling dead as a crimson beam pierced their chest piece.
Peering around the busted left quarterpanel of the tank, the trooper spotted a small wooded area, left untouched by artillary fire. The trees were dense enough for him not to be able to see what lied beyond...the perfect hiding place for the foul warriors of Chaos. With a grunt, he pushed himself away from his cover, attaching his bayonette with practiced ease as he sprinted towards the wooded area.
Somewhere off to his right a heavy bolter team opened up on an enemy position, the slow-moving but deadly bolter rounds flying against the entrenched foe. Laser beams criss-crossed around and in front of him, sometimes hitting the dirt at his feet with a loud sizzle, other times flashing red across his vision.
His bayonette fully fixed, he charged into the wooded area with a war cry, cursing any foes that may have been hiding there with the wrath of the Emperor. He slowed down, puzzled, when he recieved no challenge, no answer to his anger. A feeling of dread crept across him...had he pushed too far? Was he now amongst a silent enemy, waiting to strike him from behind?
His paranoia grew, but still the trooper pressed on through the forest, heading towards a bright light ahead. The fear that had been trying to wrap its icy embrace around the heart slowly dispersed...his confidence growing as he advanced without incident. However, he remained cautious and alert...his advance slow as the trooper used all of his senses to scan the area.
He was totally unprepared for what awaited him in the light ahead. As he stepped out into the brightness, he was amazed to find a completely untouched clearing...a small, cool pond set amongst short green grass. Wildflowers of various types and colours bloomed at seemingly random locations all around. Even the sounds of war seemed muted and distant, like a bad memory.
The trooper paused, leaning slightly against the trunk of a nearby tree as he surveyed the scene.
"One day," he murmured,"One day...Emperor willing...humanity will finally know a lasting peace as beautiful as this moment..."
And then, raising his weapon, he moved through the clearing and into the forest beyond, soon to return to the muddy, ravaged field beyond.
The trooper would travel to many worlds, and see many things both wonderful and horrible...but none of it would be treasured as much as that one moment of peace he had been allowed to have, back in an unnamed forest on a distant, ruined world.