Grey clouds floated carelessly through the midnight sky. Bright pinpricks twinkled briefly before being cowed into hiding by the slow moving mist. A light haze hung in the air, accompanied by a drizzling rain. The ground began its night-long conversion from dirt to mud. Spears of light cut through the dark as gravcars flew by, barely half a metre off the ground. A blanket of green surounded the vehicles and guided them on their journey. Deep within these woods, another beacon flickered and danced in defiance of the rain. Laughter emanated from the clearing as a group of friends told stories around a fire, and made promises for their future.
To Celestal! To the Twenty-Third!' One of the men shouted out, raising a canteen into the sky. Shouts and cheers of agreement chorused after him. The man turned to his side and pushed the teenager next to him. 'In a few years, you'll join up and together we'll conquer the galaxy. Nothing will be able to stop us. We'll become the Imperium's finest heroes!'
The younger man gazed at his brother in barely concealed awe. The teenager knew that the universe beyond Celestal was a dark and cruel one. He knew that to face such a darkness usually meant certain death. To willingly do so, to fight an evil beyond words, to give heart and soul in defense of one's homeworld, such is the fate the teenager's brother had just chosen.
John Cythos looked around at his gathered friends before once again glancing at his younger brother beside him. With the exception of his brother, the group had completed the final tests and paperwork to join the newly formed Celestian Twenty-Third Drop Regiment earlier in the day. The friends sat around the fire cheering each other on in drinking contests, laughing as one of them coughed and sputtered. John shouted for quiet and stood up.
'Today, we have taken the first steps on the road to greatness. I'm proud to call each and every one of you my brothers. To serve in the Guard and fight for Celestal is an honour I hold dear. To share that honour with you is a wish I could never have dreamed for. Raise your glasses high and shout your pride so that all of Celestal may hear it! Tonight, we celebrate friendship and brotherhood. Tomorrow, we go to war and show the rest of the universe what we can do!' John turned to his brother and flashed a wide grin, 'Don't worry. We'll see you again in a few years, when you're older. By the Emperor, the stories we'll have...' He trailed off and smiled again. His brother stood up and raised his own cup.
'To Celestal! To the Twenty-Third!'
