Hey all, yes I'm submitting a new story, sorry to those waiting on an update for Dead Effect...Yes I'm still writing it! Don't panic, I just...I'm lacking on the inspiration side of things right now . Rest assured I will keep writing it as soon as I can. However I figured instead of just sitting around waiting for the writers block to go away, I'll start work on a couple of other projects I had planned, whether I actually write all of them and whether I finish any of them remains to be seen, but hey, its better then just sitting on my butt doing nothing all day lol. Rest assured Dead Effect WILL continue soon enough, I just need to work out what to do with the actual story...Sorry to those waiting for the next chapter .

Anyway, back on topic: There's a couple of things I'd like to say before moving onto the first chapter of what will hopefully be a good story. While I love Warhammer 40K and have read many books and codex's, my knowledge is still pretty lacking and a rusty, so if you see any mistakes feel free to let me know.

Also, if the name didn't give this away, the story is loosely based on the old Warhammer video game, Final Liberation...Given it didn't have much in the way of story and only one real noteworthy character, I'm kind of, taking creative license in places...So, yeah its more or less the story in name alone.

Regardless, I hope those that read it enjoy, feel free to review and tell me if its good, bad, or whether I should just stop writing now :P I'm open to criticism of any kind. But please be constructive, I can't improve if you don't tell me what's wrong :)

Finally...I don't own Warhammer or any of its related properties, they belong to Games-Workshop. Final Liberation and its related properties belong to Games-Workshop and RandomGames. I make no money from this fan-fiction...

On with the prologue!

Final Liberation

Prologue

Volistad, a fine Imperial colony if there ever was one. A true gem in the Emperors well deserved crown…

That's what people used to say about the planet, now though, the planet was little more then another warzone, another place where humanity fought and bled to keep the vile denizens of the galaxy away from them.

The Orks, -monstrous green skinned brutes bread only for war and bloodshed- had somehow found the planet, and had launched a massive invasion, thousands, perhaps even millions of the xeons had come together in a WAAAGH and had almost conquered the planet in one devastating attack.

Thankfully the Emperor wasn't content to let the world burn however, and soon enough the Ravager fleet had received the distress signal and was speeding towards the system to help drive off the ork incursion.

However, they were a week away. And in the mean time only a small scouting force had arrived in system.

Aboard the lead ship, the Hour of Twlight. The Imperial commander, Mathias Faust listened to the steady stream of reports from the bridge crew, and with each new message his heart sunk a little further.

The commander, despite not being that remarkable, still stood out amongst the servitors and augmented bridge crew that manned the stations around him. Cold blue eyes idly swept over the various displays as he listened to the various reports. His dark brown hair was cropped short, his life in the military meaning he had to keep it somewhat under control.

Physically he wasn't much different from the average person, average height and build (obviously slightly above normal due to life as a soldier) the only remarkable feature was his left hand, cold metal replacing flesh. An injury from a previous campaign.

"How exactly are we going to reach the ground then?" He finally broke his silence and stepped forward to stand next to the captain's throne. A report had just reached his ears that the starport had been taken by the orks, and that was the main landing site for the reinforcements he'd be leading.

The captain barely stirred, not that he could given he was hard wired into his seat. His voice, partly distorted as it came through the augmented voice the captain had been *upgraded* with, the sound grated on the young officers ears. "Were working on it, Lord Commander. Be patient."

Mathias cringed at the title, but kept his disapproval to himself. Somehow he'd wound up earning his new *rank* just before being assigned to the first wave of troops hitting planet side.

How he'd wound up stuck with the rank was beyond him, he'd only just hit the rank of commander when his regiment had been reassigned. He had little command experience, and now had an entire army under his command…The thought was daunting to say the least.

Lord Commander Militant. The title essentially meant he'd be in charge of everything once his boots hit the ground, armour, infantry, anything Imperial down there would be under his command…Or at least the guardsmen side of things, Volistad's Governor still held control over the PDF forces, but Mathias had the authority to fold them into his forces should the need arise or should the governor be deemed unfit for command…Just as his second in command could do to him.

He barely suppressed a shudder as he mentally recalled the names of his command squad, the elite soldiers that would be at his side from start to finish once the campaign started. Most of them were the same people from the Moridan Iron Guard regiment he had always led, but one name in particular stood out.

Commissar Holt…A man many people new, but few had actually met, few that were still alive at any rate. He had served in countless campaigns against various enemies of the Imperium, and never failed.

As much as the commander was grateful to have a living legend at his side, the stories that followed in his wake One campaign in the Pragia system in particular. The entire command squad and almost the entirety of the regiment he'd been assigned to had been slain by Tyranids. But Holt had taken charge and led the survivors not only to victory, but had reclaimed the planet within a week. Of course the stories said he had personally executed half the command squad for earlier failures and most of the casualty's were due to his ruthlessness and determination.

A hero if there ever was one…But Mathias wasn't keen on having someone like that at his back, especially one that could –and would- shoot him at any time without a second thought.

Emperor willing he wouldn't disappoint either of them, he wasn't afraid to die in service to mankind, but he wasn't keen on being shot by his supposed allies…

Pushing the thought aside, he focused instead on the steady stream of reports flowing in once again. The starport was taken, the hive cities were under siege, and the PDF forces were spread thin trying to defend them.

The orks had gotten lucky it seemed. Though once the main fleet arrived, they wouldn't last two days…His job was to just ensure the planet lasted that long.

First thing was first though, they needed a landing zone, somewhere safe enough to drop the ground forces that wouldn't result in them being instantly butchered by thousands of greenskins.

The question was…Where was that?

Mathias' eyes narrowed again as he glanced over the map they'd put together via scans. The logical places to land would be the starport or the main hive city…But the orks were either lucky, or smarter then usual as they'd hit both locations first. It would be suicide trying to land, if the AA cannons didn't knock them out of the air first, the hordes of greenskins would butcher them the second the doors opened.

"Captain…What's that?" He asked as his mechanical hand idly gestured to the screen. A small location a few miles from the starport where a new icon had just blinked into life…

Twenty miles from Volistad's starport…

Darkness had overtaken the planet. Silence too had gripped the surrounding forest as the fighting had moved elsewhere. Peace it seemed would return to the forest surrounding the small town of Akia…

A Peace that was shattered as a Thunderhawk gunship broke through the atmosphere and touched down a short distance away. The dark blue craft would have blended in with the darkness had its running lights not been activated.

As the ramp opened, the lights within illuminated its cargo, a dozen or more armoured figures, clad in powered armour the same blue colour as the ship that carried them. As silently as the hulking figures could, they descended the ramp and spread out, weapons that a normal human wouldn't be able to carry easily clutched between their hands as they swept the area.

The running lights of the gunship briefly played across one of the figures, briefly illuminating the bright white U emblem on one of his shoulderpads.

"Vox check…" The last figure down the ramp called, his voice distorted by his helmet and the vox bead he growled into. The Ultramarines around him began to sound off in down.

"Octavian, Aye."

"Alistair, Aye."

As the squad continued to report, the captain scanned the area, searching for any signs of life. The forest was strangely quiet, even his heightened sense of hearing failed to detect any of the usual wildlife that should have been in the area.

That wasn't a good sign, though given the massive gunship that just touched down; you couldn't blame the animals for being cautious.

"Ultama squad, prepare to move out." He ordered, before raking the slide on his bolter and chambering the first round. "We've got a landing zone to secure…"

And thus the story begins...Its not much, I apologize, but its more just to introduce the main character and set the scene. Next chapter will be along, hopefully soon enough (Along with Dead Effect. Promise!)