During the Forces of Order campaign, a war is waged on a distant planet on the edge of Imperium space. Lorn V. This planet marks a mass combat between Chaos, Orks, Eldar, and Humans. The campaign was long, hard, and bloody. Here we meet a young soldier who seeks to make his worth within humanity's light. He will join the battle as apart of reinforcement squads during the 412th Cadian Regiment's first landing. Here he will see the wars of attrition that the guard suffer. Here he may stay, here he might die. It is all dependent on the sacrifice he makes.
Sean walked off the thunderhawk transport and formed up with his squad. He glanced around the landing and saw craters and blood stains of the ground. It was obvious that the men had a hard time taking the foot hold. A Sergeant and commissar soon walked towards them. Their squad consisted of nine people. Four of which was newly added before deployment. Thomas, Alice, Nate, Rudy, and himself where the first to be squared up into the happy little squad they where until the campaign. The four kept to themselves as they never really talked all that much to them. As for the others, Sean had plenty of close connections. Thomas was almost like a brother, an asshole in play, but when the chips are down he comes through. Alice was somewhat of a crush/close friend, She was cute but extremely rough around the edges and was ironically the veteran of the group. Last but not at all least: Rudy. If he didn't scream "drinking buddy" then his will make sure. He is probably the closest to Sean other than Thomas. Nate was the mystery man. He didn't no much about him, but they talked every now and then with relative mutual agreement.
"Your mission: Make sure the tech priests take command of defended points and establish turrets and listening posts. Got it?" Shouted the Sergeant as he turned to the squad. Sean and the others snapped a crisp salute sand marched off with him. "So first deployment. How you feeling?" Asked Rudy bumping his shoulder. "To be honest a little worried. I might run out of booze before the end of this." Sean replied with a chuckle, ignoring his actual reply, which was: " By The Emperor we might die and you can joke about this!?" He found it unnecessary. They marched through the snow until they found a squad paired up with a hellhound. Just as they marched up, a squad of fallen space marines came crashing down in front of them.
"Contact!" Shouted one of the new squad members as they and the others rushed the marines. They fell into a firing line as they shot at the marines as they charge. Sean moved a step behind them with his lazrifle leveled as the sounds of bolters filled the air. He saw one of the new members get a little too close and was met with a chainsword. He watched as he was sawed in half and was left in two pieces on the ground.
He watched in horror as the marine attempted to rush him as well only to be blown off his feet by a plasma launcher. He didn't think twice when he emptied a lazcartridge into a space in his armor. The men fell back into defensive ranks as they began to recuperate. "Hey techpriest! Still alive?" Called their superior as he got an annoyed wave from the engineer. The post was up soon and the turrets had luckily been completed in time to fight off the next wave. "Sir!" Shouted a voice. It was a messenger as he brought news from the other front.
"Our forces are dropping all over the planet with ease!" He said with a grin on his features. The sergeant nodded with delight as the hellhound pulled to the second front. "Also we are making a push. Your squad was requested to move to the second, far west gate." He said as the NCO nodded. And like that we were on the move again.
A long silence hung in the air as they pushed forward, a man short. "So, was he anyone you knew?" Asked Sean trying to break the ice with the new members. Two shook their heads. The other slowly raised her own. "M-My brother." She muttered to him. He was kind taken back but he knew it wasn't out of the norm. "Sorry then. I didn't know." He said scratching his head. The girl looked at him, thankful for his sympathy as she looked back at the ground.
They soon founds themselves in front of a rather large situation. Multiple squads and armored vehicles crammed in front of the gate's entrance. A pair of sentinels began to fire at the gate as it took massive chunks away from it. The hellhound was busy with infantry maintaining anymore assault marine ambushes. Their squads lined the outside with a commissar in the back and the general in the front. It wasn't long when the gate fell and chaos changed focus.
The cultists sprinted out like madmen and was quickly met with with lazgun fire. The squad soon formed up and marched up to the front. There was the sounds of death and mayhem. There Sean breathed and fixed his bayonet. It was going to be close quarters and they where going to charge with sheer numbers. "Keep close and fix bayonets!" He shouted and they followed as the sergeant stepped back in shock. They than charged the skirmishing cultists. Sean's blade ran directly into a cultist's neck and he turned to slash another cultist's chest. Rudy than shot another coming from behind him, effectively saving his ass.
Alice had stabbed a cultist and ripped its lazpistol from it's hand and shot out another cultist. The newer members were holding their own as well. Staying close to their more experienced squad mates, assisting and killing their own keep. Thomas was back to back with Sean as they had fortunately got surrounded. The girl who had spoke to him planned to help, but was stopped by Rudy. "They don't like kill steals." Was all he said as she watched. They looked confident as the skirmish continued.
The cultists charged as they began to shoot into the mass. They mowed down a good chunk before heading into their separate fray. Sean slammed his elbow into one and stabbed another as Alice gave a cheer. "Not bad nooby!" She called out as he ran his blade into another cultist. Instantly it felt like it was over in an instant. Thomas rolled his shoulder in looked at Sean. "Well your useful for something." He said with a smirk as Sean was hunched over catching his breath. Meanwhile the sergeant was talking to commissar. The commissar walked toward Sean and eyed him up and down. "Do you command this squad?" He asked with an authoritative tone.
Sean shook his head as the commissar gave a huff. "Seems like you should leave the leading to a leader, but you might show promise later." He said leaving him confused with the rest of his squad. After he left there was a head count. "All accounted for, and Sean. I was expecting a promotion for you. Sorry" Said the sergeant making a quick note. Sean nodded as he and the squad got some quick rest. The battle was fair and with minimal causalities. They sat on a nearby slope as the armor was busy with more deadly fights ahead. "So how as your first bayonet engagement?" Asked Rudy as he sat next to him. "Well it was intense. I can only assume it's only the start." He said as he took a canteen offered to him by the girl who he had spoken to.
"I thought it was scary, but seeing you do that was amazing sir!" She said smiling as Sean nearly choked mid-sip. "First: I'm no sir. We're the same rank. Second: It's what I was trained. What you were trained as well. It's just what you'd expect." He said casually. She just plopped herself next him in the freezing snow. "So what's your name?" He asked her as he capped the canteen and handed back. "Noya. Y'all?" She asked as she took it back.
He than named the squad in pointed each one out. "Alice, Rudy, Thomas, Nate, and Me. Sean" He said with a smile. She turned to Nate as he wore a closed helmet with a visor. Sean noticed it and decided to poke fun. "Nate gets canned up around girls. He doesn't speak much." He said with a tease as Nate gave a warning growl. Noya gave a giggle at the two. They then turned to the other two as they seemed preoccupied. "So what about you two?" Asked Rudy coming between them. One seemed rather jittery as he reacted a little violently by jumping from his spot. The other just hummed as he dragged him back down. "Tower. This is Sparky." He said as the radical reactor turned to him. "I told you not to call me that!" He said as Sean leaned back in his seat as they continued. He laid on his back to see the sky clear. Aside the occasional thunderhawk or fighter. The sky seemed almost too clear.
He knew a greater storm was coming. As he took off his helmet and let himself relax. Noya looked over at him as he had closed his eyes. His face was young and his hair brown and cut short. It was the standard haircut, but it suited him rather well. Tower and Sparky had started a conversation, Thomas was checking his lazrifle, and Alice and Nate idling by waiting for the next assignment. Noya just watched her surroundings as armor and troops moved to the new gate breach.
About an hour passed before the next assignment which involved capturing a point within a chaos outpost. They were about to leave but Noya stopped them. "Hey guys! We should get a picture!" She said with a smile. A techpriest was holding a probe and was waiting impatiently for them to gather up. Once in postion the photo was snapped and given to them. "Rudy you look like bolter fodder!" teased Alice as they went off to march. "Sean!" Called the voice of their sergeant. Just as he turned he caught a plasma launcher. "Don't roll a one." Said the sergeant with a joking tone. As they continued their march, Sean was observing the new weapon.
Once they made it to the base they laid siege to the outpost. It was also the reason for the marine raids. The squads soon approached with marching sentinels as they encountered bolter turrets. They took cover in some shallow craters as the sentinels swept across the emplacements. Some marines began to charge as they all popped out to fight. The lazgun fire was overwhelming as Sean moved along the crater for a better position. A marine soon came down on top of him as he let loose a plasma barrage. The marine practically melted as he fell off of him. Nyoa moved over and picked him up as they rushed to the front. With their forces depleted, the chaos outpost fell quickly.
There Sean lifted the flag onto the flag position as they snapped into a salute and fell into a parade rest position. Once it was finished the outpost was added to their area. "New equipment! Come on!" Shouted a quartermaster in his new post in the area. The squad was lucky to be early as they had gotten the new armor and targeting systems. "Improved flak armor and a target helmet. Nice." Rudy said adjusting a shoulder pauldron. Sean was still readjusting to what he just witnessed. The close encounter with death made him thank the emperor.
He looked at the new helmet as it was like Nate's now. Closed with a visor that held targeting systems. He put it on as he picked up the plasma launcher. He soon stopped in his tracks as Alice and Thomas brandished grenade launchers. Sean just huffed at the fact he had a plasma launcher since they now got some infantry killers. They soon marched toward the front only to stop at an artillery field. Armor went ahead as the sentinels and hellhound moved through. They soon allowed themselves on top of a perch where they saw the whole scary scene. Cultists burnt to a crisp, marines being obliterated by lazcannon fire, and another damned gate.
This one was obviously stronger as a foul aura was on the gate. Sean just observed as the war on this front was obviously one sided and they were on top of the hill. Rudy had snagged a pack of cigarettes and offered one, which he gladly took. With a light he looked onward at the task ahead. The armor had finished it's sweep and moved to the gate. The gate took each blast and flame like nothing and his eyes narrowed in suspicion. The gate took little to no damage from each hit. He than caught something in the corner of his eyes. Eldar