this is my first fanfiction about warhammer 40k and I'm relatively new to this world: I tried to be as "fair" in the nomenclature of roles and objects, in case there are any mistakes don't hesitate to tell me :D

ps: there will be slight differences from the canon later on, you have been warned xd

Haxis-312 star system, at the edge of the known galaxy and on the outermost boundary of the great Emperium of humans. the small system has now been abandoned for several centuries, it hosts one star and 3 planets orbiting it. Of the three planets only one was centuries ago, colonized by the empire of humans, the planet that gave the system its name for the maps of the imperium "Haxis." Haxis was a planet little less than the size of earth, and was originally meant to be a populous agricultural colony with the purpose of providing food and hypothetical volunteer soldiers to neighboring fleets, at war for millennia with chaos and its demonic horrors. The causes of the abandonment of Haxis are as unknown as are the creatures still inhabiting that planet.

The imperium had no time or resources for this research, but still decided to send a small fleet to check whether the planet was at least reusable or repopulable for other purposes. A small cruiser was sent to the system, the fleet numbered just under a thousand troops from the Navis imperialis and a few captains to act as its leader. The ship was very small, without much protection against hypothetical Xeno attacks, let alone chaos or warp raids. The mission was somewhat dangerous, but certainly less deadly than the now centuries-old battlefields in other systems.

The voyage lasted a few weeks, the voyage turns out to be smooth and fast, most of the members on that ship did not take the mission "seriously," and many younger or simply "naive" troops often let their guard down, performing their duties listlessly. even the captains himself was skeptical about the mission, and he often let these acts of poor discipline of his men go.

-This mission is simply ridiculous!- blurt out one of the older Armsmen in dormitory 4. The dormitories were communal, and each dormitory contained about a dozen people inside.

-Don't say that!- replied one of the younger comrades Have you perhaps forgotten who we are fighting for? continued with firm vigor the still young and inexperienced Armsman.

the discussion had no quarrelsome connotations, this were now common talk everywhere on the ship, and by now not even the most loyal and uncompromising troops were trying to go against such talk.

-I joined the great army of the Imperium to fight for my people, certainly not to explore a forgotten planet!- blurt out in response the senior troop.

Gallek was lying on a cot not far from the group of Armsmen who were discussing among themselves. He was also one of the older Armsmen in the dormitory: the human had a sculpted build, marked by several war scars on different parts of his body. his face was sculpted and rigid in features, with a short raven-colored military hairdo and a handlebar mustache of the same color.

Gallek Stigmark had served for 30 years now, enlisting from an early age. Despite his many years of service few times did he find himself on real battlefields, and even fewer in disaster situations. He always got off very easy and never really came face to face with death, at least him directly. in fact, Gallek was relatively known as a real coward by the other troops: many envied him for his good fortune and often dismissed him. most Emperium soldiers died in their first few months of service, and so either you lived long enough to become a loyal and tireless hero or you became a "coward" who did not want to sacrifice himself for the emperor.

The meek and reserved nature of the human then did not help: he often stayed on his own, spoke little and simply carried out his tasks without a word. he always had a repelling posture and those few times he opened up he simply ended up hurting himself. he had no friends, trusted comrades or anything else... yet his loyalty to the Imperium was always strong, and he casually displayed his fervent attachment whenever he was seen. in short, he was a simple soldier: silent, obedient, disciplined and shy.

-Just because it has been abandoned we have to explore it, for the emperor- replied to the old man another troop of young age always full of his ideals -this is absurd, there will be only rubble there and nothing else...you will see!- finally sentenced the old man, by now fed up with this discussion.

Gallek continued to watch his comrades argue, but noticing that the discussion was turning into an argument, he decided to get up from his cot in which he had previously been lying and head for one of the various decks of the spacecraft to begin his duties and, most importantly, avoid hypothetical trouble from an argument. there were now only a few days left of space travel and finally the mission would really begin.

The ship's corridors were wide, clean, and orderly: they were simple and minimal in steel of various tough alloys, and several armed Armsmen often roamed the corridors making the rounds. although the mood was one of relative distrust toward this bizarre mission, rigor and discipline were commonly pursued by the troops in a less lige than usual but still preponderant manner. Most troops ignored it or looked at it with suspicion, but did not dwell on it too much.

The ship had only a few decks, two to be exact: the upper deck was used for control areas, troop dormitories, and transporting the most dangerous and fragile weapons, while the lower deck was used for the ship's engines, maintenance, and the operation of other devices to keep the ship up. The ship itself was very poorly armed, barely having the paraphernalia to withstand a few minor xenon assaults, but totally lacking in energy protection.

It took Gallek a couple of minutes to arrive on the upper deck and begin his patrol duties with other comrades-in-arms. The upper deck housed the largest number of soldiers, the command cabin, and sporadically Voidsmen performing their ship maintenance duties at the bridge.

The patrol had been as placid as a bit of the whole voyage up to that point, there was nothing to report or call out. the patrol had been silent, none of the troops spoke to Gallek, and indeed they looked at him with an air of condescension. they spent a few hours on patrol until, of control on the bridge, a loud thud shook the whole ship.

The ship was constantly vibrating and repetitive banging could be heard all over the craft, becoming louder and louder and more audible. Immediately the alarm was sounded, and Gallek's Armsman patrol mates began running toward one of the corridors with haste.

Within moments the situation on the ship had become totally chaotic and uncontrollable, a constant coming and going of soldiers passed from one side of the deck to the other. Some poured into the corridors, with the older ones shouting orders to the more inexperienced and agitated recruits, while others panicked and fled to the lower decks.

Gallek, on the other hand, was in the third category, the confused: he did not know where or what to do, he heard discordant orders from his comrades, and most of the troops went by instinct in various directions. Meanwhile, the damage to the ship was beginning to increase and by now the electricity had failed, only a strong red emergency light now illuminated the bridge and corridors.

The human ran from corridor to corridor in utter panic: the ships of the imperium were perhaps the best defended places in the galaxy, the safest places in the universe. however, they were also death traps if damaged, and the hopes of survival stood at 0.

It had been minutes of panic for everyone, many were so under adrenaline that they almost didn't even stop to breathe, while others cowered in panic. Many of the voidsmen had poured onto the main deck in panic as well: some were injured, others carried the lifeless bodies of their now deceased comrades, as if burned alive.

The situation became a smidgen clearer as they arrived, and it was the worst conclusion there could be: A space storm warp. If being damaged and shot down by xenos was a terrible option, getting hit full force without energy shields or shields by a warp storm was a real death sentence.

In vain was the not-so-timely arrival of the orders of the various captains, who recalled the troops and tried to reorganize, by now for everyone the only plausible option was only one. escape from that mousetrap.

Every imperial ship had escape pods, and normally no one could take them without permission from the commanding superiors. but by now even the troops controlling them had gone on the run.

With each passing second heavier blows were pouring into the ship, every moment people were dying, and by now a flood of troops was pouring through the corridors toward the capsules. it was virtually impossible to squeeze through the people and the situation seemed really desperate, some were dying crushed by the weight of others and others were fighting to get to the capsules. others were praying to the emperor god now certain of their deaths, while others were trying to render aid to their comrades.

Gallek like so many others ran to the capsules and managed to squeeze through the troops to get through, and finally by dint of pushing, pulling back and even beating he managed to get to one of the capsules. it was vital the additional shock that pushed most of the soldiers to the ground, which enabled him to hastily squeeze into one of the capsules and activate them.

At last in the capsule he took the slightest breath, as a robotic voice initialized his escape, again perhaps, he would not die. many men tried in vain to open his capsule, he could hear their agonizing screams from inside, but he did not have the strength to look simply closed his eyes.

-Emergency escape initialized, launch in 10 seconds- said a robotic voice inside the capsule.

-10-

-9-

As the countdown went on, the tremors became more intense and steady, and he could now perfectly notice flashes of warp energy ripping through the walls of the deck outside his capsule, killing some troops in a row.

-8-

-7-

The screams were getting louder and louder, and he wanted to hear them less and less. the rush, the adrenaline, the feeling of salvation given by the capsule, the heartrending cries of his comrades-in-arms-all these things together began to cause his pulse to suddenly increase and he subsequently hyperventilated.

-6-

-5-

His vision was beginning to blur and his eyelids to squint. he had never been the anxious type; he had seen many times his comrades cry out in agony and perhaps die in his arms. but this time was different: here he was really on the verge of death, in a hopeless situation, and this he had never experienced in his life.

-4-

By now his blood pressure was high, his oxygen was beginning to fail, and at one of the few times in his soldier's life he felt sleepy: he was a soldier of the imperium, he was used to always being a minimum of alert, and rests were more like unwanted breaks than true restful sleep. but this time he felt totally overwhelmed by fatigue, he knew it was not normal and he was about to pass out, but by now his stoic military endurance was at a limit, he was barely keeping his eyelids open.

-3-

-2-

He surrendered. That battle against his own body was hopeless, hyperventilation took over, and he finally surrendered to the inevitable waning, hoping that if it was to be his last rest, it would at least be a proper sleep.

-1-

-Departure-

Said the robotic voice finally to the slumbering, unconscious body of the human.

mechanical noises accompanied this statement, and finally the capsule disengaged from the secondary deck in free fall into space, toward a destination unknown to the unconscious imperial soldier.