Haven't written combat in a while, I hope this is fair dinkum, I like how this story is still going.

First combat

'Dear Family

By the time you have read this, I would have experienced my first combat. I met a ratling by the name of Ruru. He seemed like a person that would get into trouble a lot, but he was a cheerful man at least. I will be leaving the city, and going into the desert. Don't worry about me, my mates have got my back and the emperor is watching over us. I will send another letter as soon as I get the chance.

Love you all, Bruce.'

That was the last letter I sent back at the capital, I was now marching through the desert. When we reach the enemy, I will be staying away from Victrus, as he stood out like a black and gold tosser. It was night time, and the temperatures plummeted, but it meant that we didn't get so exhausted. Amongst our regiment was a group of ratlings, Ruru being one of them. Rumours circulated saying be careful of them, as they will nick stuff.

The desert started to became flatter and rockier, meaning it will be harder to quickly dig a hole quickly. After several hours of marching, we jumped on the double decker busses. They were the same as civilian buses, and were transported from home. From the top deck, we could see some of the other guard regiments from other planets. There was a group in red tunics and white pith helmets called the 'praetorians'. Men in flowing robes with Leman ruses called the 'Tallarn desert raiders'.The Imperial Guard was to take this port/fortress before marching towards a space port called Alfada. Singing songs over and over again was fine, but maybe it was because if we stopped we could hear our hearts beating. Another thing that kept us calm was the stories from our sergeant.

"Ok I have been positioned on this world before, and I met this woman. The only thing that I could see were her eyes, they were total beuts mates. We talked and I really liked her. So when I got back, I was talking to my mates about her and the sergeant heard me. He said to me 'lad, the only reason she's beautiful is because her eyes are sticking out. She won't be so beautiful under those robes.' Taking my sergeant advice I walked back to her house. I knocked on the door to say we couldn't be together anymore. She didn't respond so I decided to look through the window, and she was having a wash down. There was a lot more than just her eyes sticking out." He never said his name, so we just called him sarge or sergeant, when we asked he just ignored us.

"Sir, did you see her again?" Jackson asked, the sergeant just stroked his goatee and smiled. He then twirled his laspistol around his hand.

"I won't explain what happened when her father caught me…no one died I can assure you of that." He continued to tell a couple more stories, including one when he served underground. He had a lot of stories to tell. The march took a few days, having to set up camp in the sand. We then did our best to sleep during the day and march at night, messing up our sleep patterns. Over the course of several days sarge still had more stories.

"Now my regiment was serving with another guard regiment called the Death Korps of Krieg. Grim blokes that wear gas masks all the time and big trench coats. They have absolutely no sense of self-preservation or humour. Never could take a joke. We worked in a job of digging below the enemy and striking right at their heart. I was with a group that caused an explosion so big you would see it from space." He continued to tell more war stories, then we saw something in the distance, the sun was creeping up now. It was the fort by the looks of it.

"Guardsmen, orders are to wait until around the back of the fort. When the assault on the front begins we slowly advance inwards from the rear." Everyone was surrounding Lance as the loud speaker on vox caster relayed Rouch's orders. I think we all were bit disappointed as we won't get the thick of the fighting.

We stopped, quickly getting off the buses, we started to skirmish towards our destination, a group of rocks. We were told not to dig in, as we had to move as quickly as possible. The regiment was silent, my heart was going fast, and my breath was quick. Despite the fact the day was warming up, my hands shivered. The fort was up a hill and was stone with bits of metal bolted into it, and big hulking shadows on the walls. While lying down, I noticed how much our khaki contrasted on the sand, but it was night time so maybe it helped from a distance. We lay there for a while, just feeling the course sand and looked at these figures. You could see their green skin and armour in the rising sun. Suddenly artillery went off in the distance, earthshaker canons from the sound of it. They whistled as they struck the fort with an almighty BANG! Shards of stone flew into the sky, and scattered everywhere. We just waited as the bombardment lasted a few minutes, taking massive chunks out of the walls. We watched as figures ran around in panic, then silence.

"ORDERS ARE TO MOVE NOW!" Lance said to the lieutenant, the officer then raised his chainsword and began running.

"ADVANCE!" We ran after him up the hill, the coarse sand meant an easier climb and eventually we were in the breaches. We then saw a mob of orks charging towards us shouting the word WAAAGH. I hit the deck and raised my lasgun, taking aim at the closest one.

"FORM RANKS AND FIRE!" The lieutenant shouted as we began to volley fire lasguns at the charging greenskins. I was working on autopilot. I was just following orders and firing in the general direction of the enemy. I couldn't tell how many there were but it was a lot of them. Eventually the autocannons managed to set up, and began to destroy the horde. The large bullets crashing into them giving a display of gore and bone shards into the air. Eventually the rest ran off. What a show it was, but I ignored most of it.

"ORDERS ARE TO MOVE SOUTH, CLEAR THEM OUT!" The loudspeaker on the vox caster said, we followed through with our platoon moving across the sand. Then suddenly the guardsmen in front of me fell to the ground. Screaming with blood pooling from his belly, I jumped over him, leaving him for the medic to find. Our squad took cover behind a building as we could hear gunfire from the distance. The rest of the platoon was spread out behind different barricades.

"THE REST OF THE PLATOON WILL COVER US! WE MAKE A BREAK TO THE NEXT WALL AND GET A GRENADE IN THAT BOX!" The sergeant was the calmest amongst us, I was scared out of my mind. I looked around the corner, orks were held up in a heavily fortified house. It was bristling with guns, and with metal all around it. I ignored the sweat falling down my face and the aching in my joints.

"NOW!" We charged to the wall, meanwhile the bunker was hammered with lasguns, autocannons, a snap shot from the grenade launcher, and even a hit from a rocket launcher. I couldn't help notice that Adriano wasn't with us. When we reached the wall I looked back to see him on the ground. He was slowly crawling leaving a red trail behind him.

"Come on mate!" Adriano reached out for us and Jackson stretched out to take his hand. My hands were shaking uncontrollably, but I tried to suppress the feeling to run or cower. I was terrified, but it wasn't the enemy that was scary. Training said the reason you don't run is to not let down your mates, that was what I was terrified about. Jackson then quickly dragged Adriano behind the wall.

"Hold the wound shut with some bandages, then leave him!" The sergeant yelled as we ducked back into cover, I pulled off my backpack and found the bandages.

"HE NEEDS TO GET OUT OF HERE! HE'S GOING TO FUCKING DIE!" Ross said as he clamped his hand over the wound. The wound was on his right thigh. Adriano was a mix of being in agony and petrified. I began wrapping the khaki bandage around the leg. The blood soaked unto the bandage turning it red.

"WE DON'T HAVE TIME! BANDAGE THE WOUND! THE STRETCHER BEARERS WILL GET TO HIM! NOW GO AVENGE HIM!" Suddenly the sergeant picked up Ross by his webbing and pushed him over the wall. With instinct he began running, with bullets skimming off his armour, and clipping his hip. With the adrenalin he ignored the pain and slammed into the bunker wall. Taking a frag grenade off his belt he pulled the pin. Suddenly a greenskin rounded the corner, swinging a crude axe. Ross quickly ducked, as the axe blade bat off his helmet and dug into the wall. Ross went forward with his bayonet, sticking it into the face of the ork. The ork ignoring the bayonet, swung again, roaring the word WAAAGH! Ross dodged again and fell on his back backing away with his bayonet pointed at the ork. Suddenly the grenade exploded, and the ork fell forward landing on Ross. He didn't move.

"SHIT, BRUCE GO GET HIM!" Without hesitating or thinking I jumped the wall into the hail of bullets. I ran towards the bunker, sliding across the sand and started dragging the ork off Ross, I looked down at him. He was covered in ork blood, and had bits of charred skin down the front of him.

"Bloody hell they pong" He smiled, I helped him up and we both got a grenade ready. We then lobbed them into the gun holes. The bunker went silent for a second, then the sound of moving and panicking xenos.

"WAT DA ZOG?" The grenades went off as dust flew out of the gun holes, along with chunks of the enemy. Something was very entertaining about it. Ross picked up his helmet, then we met up with the others.

"KEEP MOVING!" We moved behind the bunker. We were met by two orks, with bits of shrapnel lodged into them. Burns down their bodies, despite their war cries they didn't stand up to our lasguns. We moved through the craters and shelled out buildings with our platoon gunning down any orks in our way. They varied in size, with most being the height of us but some being almost twice the size. Many were strewn about from the bombardments, we finished the ones that still moved. Despite the fact massive chunks were missing from their bodies many still moved. A bayonet to the head worked well to finish them off. That was until we came up against an ork that was missing his head, and just stumbling around. The only area left was the inner fortress. We watched it for several minutes.

"You think Adriano will be ok?" Bolin said with the auto cannon leaning on his shoulder, and Zhixen sitting next to him. The whole platoon sat in a ruined house, lighting up some ciggies, Ross still covered in blood and burnt skin. I was still trembling but not as bad this time, and my breathing was more under control.

"The thought of meeting the nurses would keep him alive through anything. They are good lookers." Last time I saw him he was screaming and had the look of pure terror in his eyes, and a gaping hole in his leg.

"Well, at least he didn't get intimate with an ork, like Ross did." We all laughed, we then ducked as bullets rattled the side of the house. Sergeant didn't move, he just continued smoking, then taking a sip of his water bottle.

"I think we have killed at least 10 of the bastards." Zhixen said, Zhixen was the man to carry the ammunition around while Bolin fired the actual gun.

"Well you are firing bullets the size of toilet rolls. They're going to put some big holes in them." Liam said, loading a fresh drum into his grenade launcher. I could see the large bullets that Zhixen was carrying, and a massive gun to spew them out.

"We managed to kill a few didn't we Ross?" I said, he just nodded, I think he was a bit shaken up about getting that close to an ork. Lance walked towards us, throughout the conversation he was in the corner with the vox caster. Listening to the ear piece. He then said something to the lieutenant, he stood up to speak to the whole platoon.

"Tank will take the doors off with a shell. Hopefully they will just come at us. Take aim at the door." We did exactly what he said, as the platoon moved behind cover to aim at the door. A single Leman Russ rolled up the door with ork bullets skimming off the hull. It fired a single battle cannon shell turning the wooden door to splinters. For a few minutes the only noise heard was the rumble of the tank engines.

"WAAAGH!" Out of the gate came a massive ork, standing nine feet high and covered in armour advancing directly towards us. Followed by a mob of smaller ones. Our lasguns just skimmed off the armour, and the auto cannons just seemed to annoy it. He charged into one of the other platoons, flaying its massive claw and guns around in rage. Liams grenade launcher shot a krak grenade at it, it only flinched. We massacred them at range, but as soon as they got close. It was a bloodbath as men were flunch and sliced. Then suddenly a fiery bright blue ball hit the nob, it then finally fell to the ground. Victrus slowly walked over it, with a plasma pistol in one hand and a power sword in the other. Stepping over the corpses of what used to be a platoon, and holding the sword above the ork.

"YOUZ LOT JUST WAIT 'TIL DA SPIKY UNZ GETZ YOUZ LOT!" Victrus silenced it by stabbing the beasts brain. He then stood atop of it and looked at us all, holding his sword in the air triumphantly

"Another triumph for the imperial Guard over the foul xenos, the first of many on this planet…What are you waiting for guardsmen? Follow your officers and purge the remaining filth." For the rest of the day we went through the fortress stabbing and shooting any greenskins still moving.

"What did he mean by spiky ones?" I didn't take note of what Liam said, I was trying to shoot a tiny green creature running away. It had a massive nose and was very scrawny. Eventually my lasgun burned a hole in its back.

AN

Thank you for reading this far, reviews are appreciated (I have grown addicted). See you next chapter in a week.