Matvei clutched his lasgun close as the echoes of frak mortars burst in every direction around him. He stood in the frozen trenches of the city Luka on the ice tundra world of Hasld III. His sergeant bellowed an order that came up only as a light crackle on the voxcom bead placed in his helmet that told the remaining men to charge. A battlecry was heard and Matvei could see several of his comrades surge from the trenches in a counteroffensive move to combat the recently turned traitor legion's advance. At least, that was what they were told they were fighting. Matvei stood to make the desperate charge, but he felt a padded glove on his shoulder piece pull him back. Standing before him was a Vostroyan officer clothed in the ceremonial red and gold armor clutching a pulsing power sword in one hand and a bolt pistol by his side. His face was masked with a rebreather and it gave an ominous metallic gasping as its wearer stood amongst the chaos.

"What are your orders, sir?!" Matvei shouted above the whines and screams of the mortars.

The Vostroyan motioned for the guardsman to follow him down the trench lines. "Get on a secure bead!"

The guardsman futz with his bead until he came to a secure channel.

"30.21, sir!" he shouted to the officer.

"Alright, now that we have secrecy," said the vestryman in his thick accent, "we need gather as many men as we can and fall back to the Valkryie station, we are getting the hell out of this khek storm!"

"Sir, we have orders from High Command to charge!"

"High Command be kheked, soldier! We are getting out of here, now, THAT, guardsman is an order; follow it!"

Matvei could not believe what he was hearing, a Vostroyan military coup. The sons of Vostroya were defying the will of the Emperor? But, these thoughts were chased from his mind when an old Imperial axiom that was implanted into his mind during basic came from his subconscious: "Ours is not to question why, ours is but to do and die, so it be the will of the Emperor."

He watched as the officer turned away and ran down the trench. A voice crackled in his ear.

"Listen, we will just use this line to keep in touch with the main force. I will vox General Kirill of the 176th Vostroyan Company and tell his to use this channel to direct orders." said the officer.

Matvei ran the opposite direction until he ran into a platoon of guardsmen holding a barricade. An officer was wounded and screaming at a vox caster to demand that they fall back.

"Dammit, if we stay here, these butchers will slaughter us?! How the hell can you say that we are staying?!" screamed the officer.

Matvei ran forward and saluted the officer,

"Enough of the grox sh-" he paused, "Where the hell did you come from?! I didn't know that the Noltan 85th was still on our side anymore!" He held a bolt pistol to Matvei's head. "Explain now, soldier!"

"Guardsmen Matvei Nikitin, no 6789110234, Noltan 85th, sir! I have orders from General Kirill of the Vostroyan 176th to fall back to the Valkyrie station and, with all due respect, to khek High Command."

"How the hell do I know to trust you, guardsman!"

"Tune to 30.21. General Kirill will be broadcasting orders. He has already ordered all of the Cadian 87th to fall back with all the loyal Noltan 85th soldiers." Matvei paused, "And sir, may I ask why you suspect the Noltan 85th to be traitor, sir?"

"They are the bastards firing on us!"

"With the mortars?!"

"With mortars, Leman Russ battle cannon, Basilisk, and bloody lasguns! Those bastards are charging our ranks and butchering my Cadians!"

"Sir, we should fall back as soon as possible. The area will soon be overrun."

"Agreed, let's get the khek outta here and get the hell off this planet." He offered his arma nd shook hands with Matvei, "See you on the battle barge, Emperor be willing…"