Imperial Crusade

Chapter 1: Searching

TIBERIUS Braxton opened the hatch to his Lucius pattern Stormblade and climbed halfway out to survey his motorized force. His dark brown hair whipped in the desert wind as he pulled down his goggles to cover his eyes from the sandstorm. He noted with satisfaction that his company had covered over a hundred miles in this terrain. Although they still had not encounter any of the greenskins said to have taken refuge in this Emperor-forsaken desert. So much was at stake for the Imperial forces in the Karizak system that not one Ork was allowed to live.

'General-Commissar sir,' came a shout from below him. 'Yes, what is it Trooper Clax,' answered Tiberius, knowing what the trooper was going to ask, cause he was thinking the same thing. 'Where are those damn Orks said to be plaguing this planet.' 'I'm not sure but we will set up camp here for tonight,' replied Tiberius.

Tiberius tapped his vox-mic and ordered the men to break for camp. Return calls came in from every vehicle and infantry squad. He leapt down off his mighty tank to help with the setup.

General Tiberius Braxton was one of only a few generals who led from the front, and also one of few who held the rank of Commissar at the same time. He knew everyman in his company by both first and last name. His mentor, Warmaster Tuchus, had taught him that the men he leads are not cattle, but living thinking people who want to be recognized. Treat them like they were your own sons was something Tuchus also said. So that was how he was going treat them.

The sandstorm had subsided and night was falling fast. Tiberius had ordered the sentries to dig foxholes around the perimeter. He wasn't going to risk an ambush on his battleforce. Those Orks may be stupid at times but sometimes they could surprise you in a way that made you think twice about their stupidity.

Tiberius was walking the perimeter and every so often he would stop to chat with the soldiers about battles long past. There was one foxhole that when he reached it, he smiled as he saw Trooper Rike and Trooper Savage help one another with their ration packs. They both looked up and stood to attention as Tiberius neared them. All he could do was wave a hand and they both sat back down continuing to struggle with their rations. They are truly my boys; I will not let them down, he thought as he continued to walk on. "Don't think of them as machines given to us to command Tiberius. Think of them as sons and brothers in arms. Everyone has a part to play." Tuchus' words rang with truth. To forsake one was to forsake the God-Emperor.

He finished patrolling the perimeter and was on his way back to the tent he had set up as his own. He didn't let anyone help him while he was putting it up to show the men that he was one of them. He opened the flaps that acted as an entry and went inside. Inside he saw his cot, his desk, the data-slates that were on the desk and his personal belongings, still in his backpack on the floor. He walked to his desk and picked up a slate. It had the latest reports on the cleansings of the Hive cities to the north. It seemed that the Orks were all wiped out and that the repopulation of the Hives would take place in the next six months or so. All that was left of the Ork menace was somewhere out here in the desert.

He dropped the data-slate back onto his desk and sat down on his cot. He picked up his backpack and started to go through it. He found his treasured autopistol taken from the dead hands of a long ago adversary. Next was the Ork skull he had taken on Kimer IV. That campaign seemed so long ago when really it was only just a year ago. He at last found what he was looking for. He pulled it out and stared at the five people in the picture. The first person on the right was his good friend, Colonel Morpx. Long dead on Sestus III, Morpx had been like a brother to him. They had gone to the academy together, and graduated together. Then they had later severed in the same regiment. The Yessarians was the name of that regiment, now disbanded due to loss of men. The next person in the picture was his wife. She still looked as beautiful then as she did now. Her blonde hair ran down just pass her shoulders and her smile was priceless. They had met at the academy also but she was there for nursing while he was becoming an officer. Tiberius smiled when he saw himself as the third person. The person to his right was his biological brother Waton. Waton was just a year younger than him and was off serving in some other sector called Tazor was it? Even though Waton was younger, he was taller than Tiberius by a few inches. Their frames were about the same, and they had the same dark brown hair. The last person in the picture was Waton's best friend Slath. That man was a piece of work was all Tiberius could really say about the bastard. Slath was not the easiest person, or Commissar to get along with. Tiberius had personally executed him when he had fallen from duty.

He lay back onto his cot and closed his eyes. He could hear the bell of the academy ringing telling him it was time for class to start. He could hear the officer at the front teaching them tactics to use and how to execute them. He could hear Waton talking with some girl so he could get a date. It was coming back to him now………………