In the 41st millennium there is no hope nor is there peace. What the inhabitants of the galaxy have known for the last 10,000 years is unending strife and death. The Imperium of Man besieged on all sides by armies of the Chaos Gods and Xeno empires with internal rebellions threatening the stability of the Imperium the reason why it has stood the test of time is simple.

The Imperial Guard is the formation of men and women recruited from over a million human worlds. Equipped with flak armor, lasguns, tanks, and artillery pieces have held the line for the last 10,000 years without fail and shall hold the line until their dying breath.

For in the 41st Millennium there is only war...

In the vastness of space one would not think that it was inhabited by trillions of sentient beings no one would think it's dark vacuum littered with an endless amount of stars could be anything less than mesmerizing.

Unfortunately not every star is a bastion of bueaty and elegance in fact some stars hold nothing but horror and suffering.

From Warp storms to never ending wars.

One such planet is Druthar which is home to 17 million humans whose sole existence is to mine precious metal ores from its crust in the effort to help supply its neighboring forge world with enough raw materials to support the Imperium's never ending war efforts across the galaxy.

For centuries this mining world knew peace and prosperity a small privilege that many worlds lack. But that peace and prosperity would be taken advantage of by followers of a secret cult whose goal is to bring about calamity upon this world for selfish and sinister reasons that only a handful know could fathom.

It all started with protests against the long labor hours and unsafe conditions that mining workers were forced to deal with by their overlords, seeing these protests as a threat to the planet's mining production the planetary governor ordered the PDF to brutally and swiftly put down these protests. In the aftermath of bullets and spilled blood these small and independent protests became a unified rebel movement that would grow like a disease spreading all over the planet and soon with it the tides of war.

In mere months Druthar went from a prosperous mining world to a worn torn battlefield like many others planets before them. In the blink of an eye its cities full of carefully crafted stones and decor were looted and set aflame with tens of thousands being killed in the crossfire between the Druthar loyalists and rebel armies.

After two years of fighting the rebels were able to take the planetary capital killing most of the nobility and the planetary governor in the process. The remaining loyalist seeing most of their leadership butchered fled to the last loyalist city in the hopes of making a final stand.

As the rebels besieged them the loyalist accepted their fate, determined to fight to the end even though their cause was all but lost the ground itself began to shake and erupt in a series of explosions.

Confused that their positions remained untouched the loyalist would look upwards as dozens of flying objects zoom across the skies unleashing bombs on the besieging rebels.

Soon their few remaining vox casters sprang to life as a single voice declared their allegiance.

The Imperial Navy has arrived.

Along with them an army of Imperial Guardsmen ready and able to push back the rebels and restore the authority of the Imperium on Druthar.

Although it would take another year to liberate the planet; tunnel by tunnel and city by city the Imperial forces would retake the planet. But this rebellion would not be erased like so many, no infact for those who dwell on Druthar civilian or guardsman, rebel or Imperial for in the coming days many will die while those who will survive are forced to carry mental and physical scars that would haunt them for the rest of their lives.

The night time sky of Druthar is almost pitch black with its heavy clouds partially covering its moon whose white glow proving just enough light for those on the planet to see their surroundings. Although this doesn't stop a group of men walk through a forest to utilize handmade torches to see their walking path better. In their hands are a mixture of las-pistols and autoguns firmly held in case of any danger that may come their way.

Amongst the man a voice breaks the silence, "Hey Maxus how much longer do we have to patrol out here I mean who in their right minds could make it all the way out here in the mountains?."

Manus didn't need to turn around to know who spoke he could recognize that it was Sarat a newbie who was recruited mere days ago.

"Well Sarat even though we're miles away from the frontlines that doesn't mean our base while small can't be attacked by the Imperial mutts." He says annoyed since this isn't the first time he's had to deal with Sarat and his complaining. While he would usually agree with the man that conducting patrols every night seems pointless this far in the mountains the recent reports of hidden supply depots and communication centers behind the frontlines have been raided by Imperial forces hindering the rebel army from receiving supplies and orders to fight effectively.

Turning back he sees his five man patrol trudging along their faces sharing a tired and bored expression from walking through bushes and shrubs for the last hour. Another reminder that all but him are fresh recruits taken from their destroyed homes to replenish the losses the rebel army has suffered. Although Maxus was half way through his 30s he felt old since veterans like him are becoming fewer and fewer by the day and while the new faces are gullible enough to believe the propaganda Maxus knew that their days were numbered and everyone who sided with the rebellion be it man or child would be punished for it.

Realizing his depressed mood won't do him any good he decides to cheer up his squad.

"Look at it this way we have only a couple hours left if we spot ourselves some wild game I promise to make a stew out of it alright, if that doesn't make you happy I don't know what will."

Some of the men look at each other and agreed to the deal and started to actually look around them in the small hope of seeing a wild animal to eat even though their chances are low.

As they walked further down the mountain multiple pairs of eyes watch them hidden behind bushes and shrubbery. As the rebels become nothing but a speck did the hidden silhouettes emerge from their positions and begin to move in the opposite direction of the rebel patrol no noise was made amongst the three as they made their way through the forest.

An hour would pass before they would stop at a ridge, below it lay a cluster of lights and makeshift shelters. Looking down below did they see the inhabitants of this small settlement walking around and sitting next small camp fires.

One of the silhouettes pulls up a small hololithic device and activates it.

"This is the right place Stalker 2 provide overwatch as we make our way in open fire if we're spotted copy."

"Copy Stalker 1."

Deactivating the hololithic Stalker 1 crouches low embarks taking Stalker 3 with him the duo split off and make their way down the mountain. It didn't take long for the two to reach the bottom and stalk the edge if the settlement. The sight and sound of men sitting around campfires talking amongst themselves were a clear indicator that they thought themselves safe from any threats and could enjoy the peace and quiet like they were on a vacation away from work a mistake that the team of Camazotz Commandos would take advantage of with extreme prejudice.

It didn't take long for the two to infiltrate the settlement due to the overly relaxed garrison indeed this makes finding their target a lot easier nonetheless they strode cautiously through the settlement.

The settlement had a total of four structures all of which were made out of rustic sheet metal and wood. After a quick search three out of the four buildings seemed to be a mixture of supply depot and sleeping quarters thus making the last building their target.

Stalker 3 stacks next to the door way whose only barrier between the outdoor is a thick cloth dangling from doorframe. Stalker 1 looks through a crack alongside the boarded up window and listens intently. Through the narrow vision he could deduce two men inside the room talking amongst themselves while they worked filling out papers and organizing dataslates unaware of the looming danger right outside their building.

Gauging the distance between them and the distant camp fires being fifty yards away Stalker 1 knew the sound of a lasgun wouldn't be heard although the red flashes could pose a moderate risk of being noticed but considering the laziness of the rebels their breach should go relatively unnoticed.

Nodding to Stalker 3 who readies his las-carbine, Stalker 1 grabs the hanging cloth and pulls it up allowing his squadmate to enter with himself following right behind him.

The two occupants had little time to raise their heads up before mutliple las shots struck them in the chests and head in the span of a moment the two rebels were killed before they even could react.

Confirming that the room was clear Stalker 1 removed his ruckpack off his back and toss it towards Stalker 3 before guarding the door.

It didn't take long for the two to loot the building with dataslates and packets of paper being stuffed inside their ruckpacks.

"Stalker 2 what's our situation outside?"

A moment of silence before his vox ear piece sprung to life.

'The garrison didn't notice the small light show and are oblivious but I would advise we hurry up and extract before the patrols return.'

The sound of clicking can be heard as Stalker 3 sets a timed demolition charge inside the building. As the commandos head the advise of their marksman they position a few more demolition charges across the settlement primed for a 10 minute detonation giving them more than enough time to be as far away from here as possible.

"Well I'll be damned I didn't think you guys could find an animal out here nonetheless kill it."

I say outloud shocked as two of my squadmates begin to skin and gut a forest goat. Apparently as Sarat went to go take a piss he stumbled upon a wild goat trapped under a fallen tree and so started yelling in excitement before putting a bullet inside its head.

Initially the squad thought they were underattacked before realizing the truth, after berating the newbie for his lack of communication before firing his weapon another squadmate joined in on handling the animal.

Now I have an entire night ahead of me, although considering this will be a fresh meal and we happen to have a few herbs to mix together I'll consider this all nighter a good one to remember.

The march back was a lot happier than when we left but unfortunately that would come to an end once we spotted giant pillars of smoke and fire through the tree lines.

"What did those idiots do start a forest fire!?" Someone behind me shouts, I have little care to find out who said it as my squad and I start running towards the base once we made it out of the tree line we were welcomed with the sight of destruction.

All the buildings were gone their metallic frames being ripped apart and scattered across the charred ground with flames surrounding them. Frantically looking around I spot someone laying face down in the dirt his back being covered in burn marks but somehow is rising up and down indicating that he was still breathing and more importantly alive.

Rushing over to him I grab his shoulder and turn him over only to see his face covered in soute and blood from a nose broker I'm three directions.

His eyes barely open as he gasps for air.

"Thank *gasp* the Emporer you guys survived *gasp*."

I'm not a man of medicine but even I could tell he was moments away from dying.

"What happened while we were gone? Where is everybody else?!" I all but shout in his face desperate to know why no one else was around but him.

"Th-They... *inhale* ...They died in the explosion... We were just sitting around our fires *cough* then out of nowhere the communication building blew up and everyone ran to investigate only to be caught in the following explosions...*inhale*... I was behind everyone before they were turned into ash." He says barely able to speak nonetheless breath as each word seemed to bring nothing but agonizing pain.

I look around to see the burning remains of our only shelter and ability to communicate to anyone for help. I look at the faces of my squad and see nothing but despair and lost hope. I ponder for a few moments getting my thoughts together the rough rhythmic coughs of the dying man in my arms brings me to anger and sadness.

Looking him in the eyes I offer him relief from his pain he nods and without hesitation I pull out my autopistol and point the barrel at his head I look away before pulling the trigger. Immediately I feel a splatter of bone and brain matter hit the back of my head staining my hair.

Now facing my squad I order them to collect some wood for a pyre, I'll be damned if I let a body of a comrade to be picked apart by birds. While time consuming within an hour we had layed the man on a stack of logs and said our prayers before setting it aflame. All of us just stood there in silence for so long that the night sky had been replaced by the sun slowly rising over the horizon.

Sarat happens to be the one to break the silence, "So what are we gonna do now Maxus?" His voice speaking for the rest of them as they all must feel doomed and well I couldn't blame them.

Even though I stood silent for a few seconds it felt like an eternity as my mind wonders on what to do. All our vox casters were destroyed along with all of our supplies including food, medicine, and most of our ammo. The only things not rendered useless were a few autoguns with their magazines fully loaded and a small stack of sleeping rolls.

I look towards the sunrise and think of where we could go. We certainly can't go South or West because the Imperial Guard have already claimed those regions and have them heavily guarded and from the reports he's heard they've rounded up all of the civilians and put them inside detention camps to weed out rebel spies and deserters.

The North is controlled by us for now but the planetary capital resides there making it the next target for the Imperials to attack. That makes East the last option, while it was controlled by the rebels its low-lying fields were mainly used for farming with only a few thousand residents working the land making it an unimportant target.

Thinking to himself for a few moments later he addresses his men with a tone of unwavering confidence.

"We'll be moving East everywhere else is already taken by the Imperial Guard or is being fought over."

I gesture off to the distance to the skinned goat that was dropped earlier although covered in a small patch of dirt and grass it was more than edible, especially when we needed as much food as possible for us to make the journey.

"But in the meantime let's cook that goat it'll be our main food source for a while."

Stalker 1 pulls out the pin to a blue striped canister before tossing it in an open filled while his squadmates position themselves in a triangle formation to provide a 360 degree parameter.

Even though they've distanced themselves miles away from the enemy encampment and covered they're tracks one can't be to careful in enemy territory. It's not uncommon for a predator to become the prey due to carelessness, that's something the Camazotz instructors have taught and beaten into them for years. Even when the Valkryie landed down and extracted his team their eyes kept scanning for possible threats with weapons at the ready to respond.

Until the vox chatter amongst the cockpit announced that they've entered friendly airspace did the heavily armed men lean back into their sits and begin to enjoy the scenery bellow them.

The near endless columns of lush green tress home to hundreds of avian species and insects who are camouflaged in light layers of morning fog giving this place a well founded beauty. Even though certain regions of this world have stripped clean its forest for resources and to make room for its large scale mining operations the local ecosystem seems to be mostly undisturbed. Given the option more than a few guardsmen wouldn't mind retiring from their service and choosing a planet such as this to live out their days in.

Unfortunately for them they will not be given such an option. No in fact more than enough men have met their fatal ends through the countless battles waging across said planet to keep it in the sanctity of the Imperium. While traveling across the sky was indeed enjoyable nonetheless it also would be the few times a commando is given rest while in a military campaign. Soon the terrain changed from the foggy forests to a barren plateau covered in marching formations of men and vehicles surrounded by a multitude of field tents and small buildings.

The valkryie began to descend closer to the ground passing by other valkyries who are either landing or departing the makeshift landing zones. Once the landing gears touched the paved dirt giving the occupants a slight shook from the rapid change of altitude.

Stepping unto solid ground the three men are met by a woman dressed in typical Astra Militarum fatigues with the rank of private sewn on her shoulder and holding a clipboard asking them for their unit designation.

Stalker 1 reported his squad as members of 1st platoon of the 62nd "Black Serpent" Camazotz Company. The private gives her clipboard a quick glance before beckoning the squad to follow her through the base. The whole base looked and sounded like a miniature hive city with thousands of men moving either weapons and equipment between tents or standing in battalion formations as they were inspected and informed of their next mission assignments. Multiple Chimera's and transport vehicles were driven to Mechanicus repair stations to be patched up and re-armed before being deployed to the frontlines again.

Eventually the private led the men inside a rather large field tent with two guardsmen protecting the entrance which seemed to be filled to the brim with vox specialists communicating and directing nearby Imperial Guard units. In the middle of the tent was a holo-table being used by a commanding officer wearing the same armor as them, Captain Ozcollo.

Although not wearing a helmet the iconic golden Camazotz skull tattooed on the left side of his face would've indicated his officer rank with or without the armor.

Stopping right infront of the holo-table and saluting our superior the private announces our arrival before being dismissed by the Captain. Stalker 3 and I unshouldered our ruckpacks and set them on the ground infront of us and stand at the position of attention before informing the Captain of our success.

He nodded before ordering a nearby guardsman to collect the ruckpacks before pushing a few buttons on the holo-table resulting the previous 3d image to change into a series of skyscrapers with smaller buildings clustered together. A red line separates two-thirds of the image with as small green rectangles are shown pushing forward, each rectangle represented a battalion of Infantry and their armor support.

"What is currently displayed is the planetary capital and as you can tell is in the early stages of fighting. But as of two terran hours ago we've received Intel on a high ranking rebel commander, Yarn Kulk is his name."

The Captain informs before pulling out a hololithic and handing it to Stalker 1.

"We believe Yarn Kulk is one of the last surviving founders of this rebellion he's given us a hard time to find but now we have him cornered."

Pressing a few buttons the 3d images change again to a two story building surrounded by makeshift fortifications.

"He's been broadcasting various speeches to his forces encouraging them to fight to the last man, whether or not they will is irrelevant. What we do know is that he is hiding inside this Amasec warehouse surrounded by an unknown amount of bodyguards. He thinks himself safe but we're gonna prove him wrong."

Multiple names begin to appear on the holo-table more specifically squad names: 3rd Recon Squad, 5th Assault Squad, and 6th Assault Squad. Then multiple blue triangles emerged on the screen a few placed on top of buildings with the rest placed on the ground moving towards the fortified building.

"In mere hours we're going to perform a deep strike behind rebel lines to capture Yarn Kulk and broadcast his blood gurgling screams to his army. The rebels know they're losing and hearing the sound of their last surviving Commander would eradicate their already diminishing moral and eliminate their ability to lead their troops.

Nonetheless his small stronghold shouldn't be underestimated, that's why your team and the rest of 3rd Recon will provide overwatch around the outer perimeter while 5th and 6th Assault Squads breach and clear the stronghold. While the rebels may be lacking in adequate equipment it should be remembered they're willing to throw themselves into the meat grinder to protect their founder.

As of right now your team has four hours to rest, re-arm, and eat before departing. Dismissed."