Commissar Roland turned in his cot uncomfortably several times. For what seemed like hours he lay there listening to the bustle outside of the barracks on Karis Paragis, the planet Eion's capital city.

Finally the Commissar managed to pull himself off of the bed and rub his eyes. His regiment had fallen back to the city, a move he disagreed with. The local government believed that the more troops they had stationed inside the city, the better. Roland disagreed, why should his men be hunkered in trenches here when they could be hunkered in trenches out there? At least out there they had a chance of taking orks with them.

Roland grimly washed his face at the sink, one of the few accommodations his room was provided with. He sat back down on the cot and pulled on his boots, groaning when they didn't come on easily. 'I need new boots' he thought, pulling on a jacket before leaving his quarters.

Some of his men were already awake when he entered the barrack's main room. They sat at around a small wooden table, playing a game of cards and drinking hot caffeine. Roland nodded a greeting to them and they saluted lazily, no point in being formal in the morning.

Roland poured himself a cup of the caffeine and looked out the window. The morning had not even begun and people were already waking for their business. He had to admit it surprised him, he had originally believed only military personnel woke at such an hour.

Roland stood still for well over an hour. When he did move it was to address his men that were still sleeping. 'Its time to wake' he would say. 'Keep yourself ready at all times' was his motto. Commissar Roland believed the earlier you woke up the more prepared you were for anything. He despised those men, especially the officers, who woke up at eleven in the afternoon.

Captain Josh awoke at precisely eleven in the afternoon. He stared at the low ceiling in his room for several minutes before getting out of his bed. He stretched and popped several joints as soon as he stood up. After combing back his strangled mess of hair in front of the mirror the captain pulled on a shirt and walked out of his room, still barefooted.

The barrack's main room was filled. People chatted, joked, swore, and laughed. Two guards at the far corner sparred with training poles, trying to zap each other with the electric ends. This was Josh's territory, he knew each of his men as a friend, and that was all he cared about. He would rather save all his men then have one die and complete and follow orders.

The captain strode around, greeting the soldiers even if he had never met them before today. He pushed past several people and found what he was searching for, the dining area. He strode towards the ice cabinet and removed a can of liquor. He popped it open and took a drink examining the barracks. He found no true problems, so he finished his can, crunched it up, and tossed it in the waste basket. He then proceeded back to his room for his shoes; he was going to explore the city.

* * *

Karis Paragis was a massive city. Every inch of its area had a building placed on it. Large libraries, restraunts, hotels, shopping areas, littered the area. However Josh stopped at none of these. His destination was in a more secluded area, a sign above it claimed it was called the Empty Bottle.

The inside of the building was as foul as the outside. A smoky aroma filled the room, along with smoke itself. A large bartended with a missing eye glared at the patrons ordering a drink, several men sat at table with dice, and several shady looking people eyed the newcomer with skilled thieves' eyes. Several Imperial Guard soldiers turned their heads when they saw Josh, this area was off limits to them, but Josh merely nodded his head and walked towards the men at the tables. He let a decent amount of the local currency drop and said softly, "Three round please."

* * *

Force Commander Matthew fired his plasma pistol at the charging orks. The pistol's shot caught one of the greenskins in the chest, sending him back several feet. Matthew fired several more shots from his pistol and then pulled out his power sword. He swung his weapon and caught a jumping ork in the chest, slicing deep into his rib cage. Matthew swung more and gave several nasty cuts to vicious looking orks. The force commander continued firing his pistol sending his opponents running for cover.

Matthew hacked into an ork's body, ignoring the blood that splattered onto his face. He ripped out the power sword and emptied the rest of the plasma pistol's clip on more orks. Swearing he sheathed his blade and walked back slowly loading his pistol. He gripped the pistol with two hands and fired repeatedly at the beasts in front of him. The bolts caught two orks in the head and three more in the side.

The Force Commander grinned as his Space Marines opened fire on the orks, sending bodies flying. Matthew let out a roar and drew back out his power sword. His blade cut down two orks immediately before they connected to the Space Marine's line. There was chaos of flashing guns and hacking axes. Matthew didn't need to look to see that the ork's were pushing back his men. The Space Marine's may have been elite soldiers, but the orks had the advantage of number.

The Commander dug his blade into an ork's chest and ripped the axe from the ork's hands. He hefted the axe and threw it with all his might. The weapon sliced into an ork's head sending blood exploding from the skull. Matthew glanced back and swore, the Space Marines were being murdered. There were just too many orks. Matthew dodged an axe and fired his pistol point blank at an ork's head. He holstered the pistol and gripped his power sword with two hands. The blade beheaded an ork and sent two limping away in fear. Matthew tapped the Vox Link on the side of his head, linking himself to command. "This is Force Commander Matthew of the Blood Spear Space Marine Company," he sliced open an orks stomach and had an axe slam into his shoulder plate in return. "Requesting permission to fall back to city, immediately. There are too many orks!"

The Vox Link crackled as the answer came in, "Permission granted Commander. Fall back immediately."

Matthew grinned, "Thank you commander." He waved his sword, "Fall back! Fall back to the city, there are too many!" The Space Marines yelled their acceptances and began retreating slowly, firing their guns while moving.

* * *

Commissar Roland received his orders less than an hour after the Space Marines fell back. He was sitting in the barracks showing his soldiers the right way to fire a lasgun. The order came from the general of the defense of the city himself. "The Space Marines have fallen back. As we know an entire ork army is on its way to assault the city. They could be here in a week or an hour. Prepare your men, the assault may come soon."

Commissar Roland nodded, "Orders received General. We will show them why we are to be feared…"