The battle barge hung in normal space amid an armada of imperial vessels one in particular stood out with its significance. The black moth. An inquisition black ship. It seemed the other ships in the fleet gave it a wide birth, though none wanted to look like they were. From that ominous ship, who's name in some cultures meant death, came a single shuttle. A tiny sign of life. It made it's way over to the newly emerged battle barge and docked.

The guards woman watched from her dingy dormitory style cabin she moved her shaggy brown hair from her face and sighed. Yet another combat zone where she had absolutely no say. Whoever was on that shuttle and the marine in charge of that battle bare, they were the ones that would decide her fate, the fate of the entire battle arm, the fate of the world below.

Her eyes turned to the planet and she sighed. It looked far to industrial for her, even from here she could pick out the patches of grey that meant 'civilization'. this was one of those moments she craved her home world. Those hot and sweaty jungles, the insects that could go round for round with a prize boxer and the lizards that could literally eat a battle tank. Yes she was Catachan born and raised.

She slid off her bunk, always a top bunk, and looked around the cramped quarters that she shared with seven disgusting and often smelly men. In the bunk below her a Cadian, nice enough, quiet, had a habit of shuffling a tarot deck to pass his time, opposite her a Valhalla that always seemed to be mostly naked and complaining about the heat, likewise his bunk mate a Talleran who had made a deal with the Valhalla and was almost always in the fur lined greatcoat of the ice man. The furthest set of bunks along the back wall held a man that refused to speak of his home. A blue serpent tattoo rested on his cheek and he had a habit of playing a pipe like instrument that worked by filling it with air and squeezing it out under the arm. When not making music the man was a ghost, silent and invisible. The other three in her bunk were new. Just joined up.

The Cadian looked up to her
"Hey Anya thought you were going to sleep through the fun" he tossed her a ration bar which she deftly caught
"What and miss the chance to see a bold Cadian in action and have his weapon fall apart again" she gave a chortle
"Honestly Laz, I live for combat"
The man blushed as she mentioned their last time in hell, in battle. The call to arms had sounded as he was stripping his rifle, blindfold, and he had missed a vital pin. When he had come to use it… well lets just say the charging enemy almost died of laughter, had it not been for Anya's machete like blade in it's head.

"What are we facing this time" came the highly accented voice of the Valhalla and Anya shrugged
"Not a clue as usual Kirov" the man sighed and went back to his book, always reading was that man. A voice came over the vox grill. So young and full of hope. Anya remembered when that was her. The perky rooky. Now she was too grizzled to know that feeling of burning pride to just exist in a uniform.
"All units report to designated barrack bays" Anya looked to the men in the room, she was the sergeant and now it was up to her to get them going
"Alright girls you heard him, get moving, Kirov put a damn shirt on and Al'asaad loose the coat" the men jumped at her orders scrabbling quickly. The Catachan woman watched as each man passed her giving each a tap on the ass as they passed, a little good luck charm that seemed to follow her, call it the last time a woman ever might touch them.

Soon enough they were in the large bay specially designed to accommodate meetings of this kind, each squad was stood to attention within yellow lined boxes marked out on the steel deck. Anya's squad was three squads back and toward the centre of the room, not a bad place to be as it happened. The room was a sea of grey all eyes fixed at the podium at the front out strode the cornel, he was a Terra born and the rumors were that he had even set foot on the steps up to the palace.

The cornel looked about the bay and drank in the silence. At length he spoke
"Alright it's time, time we told you what we are going to be beating. Chaos. Down on that innocent looking world is a cult of crazies, they seem to think our Emperor is not as good as their fake gods" he laughed "well we're here to show 'em that isn't the case" the man looked down athis data slate and scrolled through his information then looked back up
"strategy is simple… or at your level it is, squads 1 through 1126 you are assigned to capitol reclaiming, 1127 through 3000" you are assigned to reinforce the first wave as and when. There is one last thing, you have support." he stepped back and out ame a space marine, a marine in sliver armor and a grim look to his face. On his left shoulder sat a shield emblem with a red stripe. He looked over the gathered guard.
"I am justicar Dameus of the grey knights chapter, it will be my job to lead a squad into battle along side the primary wave. As guardsmen it will be up to you to report any sign of Daemons to me directly, I will be on vox channel 666" with tat he left the podium. No sooner had he gone did sirens wail, it was a call to arms.

The shuttle docked in the battle barge hanger and out stepped the inquisitor, at his shoulders stood his vindicar assassin and a rogue psyker after that strode another woman her eyes glaring at the psyker as her hand idly thumbed over her sword at her hip. The inquisitor walked directly to the hanger exit as if it was his own ship, no welcome had been laid on for the inquisitor, and that was just fine. The inquisitor and retinue followed the ships corridors till they came to the briefing room where he entered to see Hass stood looking out a large bay window. The Astartes was in his power armor and watching as the fleet jostled. He recognized a few of the ships.

The inquisitor smiled wide at seeing the marine
"Hass" he said in a familiar tone the astartes turned
"James" he replied in the same tone. They took their seats at the long meeting table, yet no one satat the head as usual
"how's mother and Farther?" the Astartes asked
"they are fine, got an asteropath communiqué about a month ago, I'll send it to you later on" the marine nodded. The Edwards brothers were together. But that concluded the family reunion.

"So Chaos, not my line of work why did you call me in?" James asked and the marine looked at him stoic faced
"Simple, who else can I trust not to get tainted?"
James nodded
"good point, so what's happening?" the giant of a man passed over a data slate. It went from looking tiny in his hands to looking huge in his brothers. As James scanned the details he spoke
"the governor of this world stopped reporting to the Imperium a decade ago, and last year he sent a single message. It was the names of the gods repeated over and over. They had to shoot three coms officers and an asteropath" James nodded showing he was listening
"this army was formed and an official request came to me to assist, Spoon bro, we have knights with us too" James lowered the data slate
"Grey knights? Throne, what's down there? A titan or something?"
Hass gestured to the data slate and he realized why "A reliquary that holds…" he gasped "is this confirmed?" Hass nodded. And the woman that had followed off the shuttle took the data pad. Her eyes scanned over the details and she laid it down looking between the men
"then lets get down there" she said. Her tone held a harsh quality but one that showed respect to both the men before her. James nodded and they all made way to the docking bays. Hass took James by the wrist "Emperor go with you little bother" James looked up into the eyes of the Astaties
"and with you Lord astartes" Hass took his thunder hammer and clipped on his wrist mounted storm bolter from a waiting servitor and boarded his drop pod. James and crew got into their shuttle. The launch had begun. As had the rain of shuttles and pods heading toward the planets surface.