Bracing for War
Chapter 1
The train bumped along the tracks, its mufflers still activated and they were still rigged for red. They were progressing slowly through the caverns of the Astorina Mountains. It had been four hours, four hours since they left, three and a half hours since they were ambushed, and two hours since they entered the dark and eerie caverns. "There!" a scout in the locomotive yelled, "I think I see the end of the tunnel!" Andrew got up; a mortar shell was in his hand. He shielded his eyes against the bright light of day.
They finally arrived in Constantinople II. The city was in ruins. There were only very few buildings still standing, and there were fires raging everywhere. The citizens were on the streets, begging from the remaining soldiers of the 78th, who barely had anything, themselves. As the four regiments drove through on their tanks and transports the bystanders called out, "Thank the Emperor, our prayers have been answered!" They continued on toward the destroyed command post of the garrison. "When I sent my message, I didn't think anyone would come." Commander Stratsen of the 78th said relieved. "Damn, what happened?" Anatoly asked. "The Iron Warriors have been bombarding us for days, as you can see they almost completely leveled the city." He stretched his hand over the landscape. "How many troops are still here, well, I mean alive?" Vladimir asked. Stratsen handed him a notepad. "300 men sir, I'm glad you arrived when you did." Stratsen said, "So do you guys know what we're up against?" Halle, Andrew, and Kasrkin officer, Ricardo walked up to Alexie; he read the data slate given to him. "According to our reconnaissance, 200,000" Stratsen cursed out loud. "At this rate we'll never win this war." Andrew stepped forward, "Commander Qin, your requezt haz been denied, the Marauder Imperial Bomberz vill not be arriving in tree dayz, zey told me a veek." Commander Qin nodded his head. "Thank you, you may return to your posts."
"200,000 Chaos! Are zey crazy!" Andrew said in his heavy accent. Halle looked up from polishing her sniper rifle. "Do not worry; apparently they know what they are doing." Andrew admired her, she had an 'I don't care about anything' attitude, she never smiled though, and she was a determined girl. She gazed through her scope, and squeezed the trigger, "Damn cultist idiot." Andrew gazed over the wall, "Hmm, nice zshot." One of the tank commanders, Jose, walked towards the two, smoking his Iho stick. He breathed a puff of smoke. "Are you guys ready for this? They say there are not only Iron Warriors out there, but the legendary Thousand Sons." Andrew gazed at him in horror, "Zis is a joke, am I correct?" Jose shrugged, "It's just a rumor." Halle nodded her head, and signaled to Andrew who grabbed his long las. Andrew wasn't just a heavy weapons specialist, but a sniper as well.
"Hey Kialie!" Halle whispered to the scout crouching on the ground, "Do you see anything?" She pointed to a break in the tree line. They gazed through their sniper scopes. They saw the usual Iron Warriors, nothing suspicious. Halle scanned the tree line and she saw them, the Legion who had betrayed the Emperor at the Horus Heresy, the lost legion of Magnus the Red, The Thousand Sons.