Author's note: I know this took me forever, but I wanted to get it right.
Unnamed Tau Controlled planet, number 1187
1145 hours (Approximate planet time)
L-Day +265
198 Kilometers from the landing zone
Yasir felt the Valkyrie drop under him as the dropship lowered itself to the ground. The Imperial vehicle touched the ground harder than he would have liked, and he was tossed along the bench. Crammed inside the Valkyrie with him were other survivors.
He'd been behind the Tau lines, again, when he'd finished off the Sniper. He'd be back there still, had a Valkyrie and Vulture pair not picked him up shortly after. The Crew Chief inside the dropship told him that they had been ordered to pick up any surviving Guardsmen from the various regiments that had been overrun and bring them to the nearest Imperial hard point. Unfortunately, every position they came to, including this Bird's original position, was gone. Overrun or destroyed, they had seen countless examples of the Tau's attack speed and power. Picking up other surviving or, at one point captured, Guardsmen along the way. Sometimes a full squad, sometimes only a team, sometimes just a lone Guardsman. Never any Commissar's or Officers. Only the men who's luck or skill had allowed them to avoid the Tau as they rushed to remove them from their planet. This was the first place they'd come to that was still in Imperial hands.
Yasir still hadn't reported back to the Major on the success of his mission. He toyed with the possibility that the Major was dead since he had see the Hospital he'd been in collapsed and abandoned. He stood with the other Guardsmen and made his way out of the dropship.
Yasir went around to the front of the Valkyrie to find the Pilot. The rebreather wearing man had climbed out of the bird and was arguing with the Fueler on the pad.
"I don't care what regiment you belong to or think you can only serve, My bird needs fuel." The pilot yelled through his mask. The Fueler looked at the Pilot, then the Valkyrie, then behind them at Yasir. He swallowed and nodded, turning around and running for the fuel hose.
'Must be the eye patch.' Yasir though as he reached the Pilot. "Sir, Thanks again for picking me up out there." The Pilot turned around an shook his head.
"Thank-you, Corporal." he said, raising the dark lenses that covered his eyes. "I don't know anyone who knows as much about the Tau as you do. We'd have never gotten half as many guys back without you." Yasir shook his head, thinking about the blue book in his pocket that Gazik had left.
"I've got to go," he said, pointing behind him. "I need to find out if anyone from my regiment is here.' The Pilot nodded, and shook his hand before turning back to the Fueler who'd begun his job.
Yasir turned around and made for the building with three different banners flying from a large flag pole. He was too far away to identify the units, but that would be the place for him to start. He was out of ammo for his auto pistol, had two charged magazines left for his longlas, and the Chainsword was out of fuel. He was hungry, tired, and needed a shower, though he doubted that he could do anything about that last one here. He remembered seeing these buildings before, months ago when the Tau had been in retreat. He took in the position as he neared the building. The Building was in the exact middle of the cleared area. It was a large, official looking building. Three stories tall and with rounded edges, with a large central dome. Around the building were a mix of flat areas, cleared for the Valkyrie and Vultures to land, though there were none here now, and emplaced artillery positions, big guns that belonged at a headquarters. A maze of trenches, dug in tanks, and emplaced heavy weapons surrounded the area and the buildings around it.
'Lot's of ordinance for a foreword base.' He thought as he got closer. 'I was here over six months ago, and that would put this…nearly 200 kilometers from the Landing Zone.' he began walking up the large steps to the domed building. He noticed that the cleared area had once been a large courtyard around the Building, and that the buildings around the courtyard had been only partially collapsed, and many of them still stood above the third story. 'This place will hold out for a while, and we'll still have the rest of the way back to the landing zone to fall back to.' He reached the column lined entrance to the building, spoke to the sentry, and walked in.
The inside of the building was a mess of tough boxes, ammo crates, and, surprisingly, emplaced weapons and sandbags. In the center of the room was a broken statue, two hoofed feet the only indication that the statue had once been a Tau. 'Now that I think about,' He thought, 'This building is a lot like the one Gazik got our reassignment from.' He thought thinking back to their first days on this tan colored world. He was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of a hammer. He looked to his right to see a sunken eyed Guardsman nailing a piece of metal over a window. 'What would he be doing that for?' Yasir though as he passed though another door.
The hallway was filled with junk, Tau and Imperial. With more effort than it should have taken, he navigated the mess and found a sentry with a roll of gauss wrapped around his head.
"Trooper." Yasir asked. "Is the 902nd Vardan headquartered here?" The soldier looked at him, then turned his head sideways to present an unwrapped ear and Yasir understood what his injury was. He repeated himself and the Trooper nodded.
"They are Corporal." he said in a louder than conversational voice. "Them, the 114th and the 564th are the only regiments from the LZ that made it out with anyone above Captain." Yasir frowned at the Guardsman's words, confused, but he decided not to give it anymore thought. He was directed to the Major's office and went to the door.
"Come in." a tired voice said several seconds after he had knocked. Yasir slowly opened the door and beheld the Major inside. The Major was a mess. He was unshaven, probably for several days, and his hair was a unkempt for about as long. His greatcoat was open, and his belt that held his power saber and bolt pistol was off and sitting on the desk. His old eyes starred at Yasir for a while, taking him in for a long moment before he spoke.
"I thought you died." he said simply, turning his attention away from Yasir to his desk, pushing something out of his chair and sliding a mess of papers and his belt to one side of the desk. He sat down and the chair creaked. He looked back up at Yasir. "What do you want?" he asked. Yasir blinded in surprise and cleared his throat.
"Um, Mission complete Sir. The Sniper won't trouble us anymore." He reached into his greatcoat and pulled out the piece of the helmet with the three lines. The old eyes watched him place the white piece on his desk. The Major sighed an looked back at him.
"Good job." he said in a monotone voice. "The Emperor is pleased with you, and you do your family on Vardan proud." he slouched on his desk and began to play with the buckle on his belt. "Though it seems that it will all be for nothing." Yasir tilted his head slightly and furrowed his eyebrows. The Major caught his expression and let go of his belt and sat back up. "I take it you didn't know. The Landing Zone got overrun. Happened the same day I gave you your mission in fact. They destroyed most of our remaining birds, captured or killed most of the officers, and took away our best position on the planet." Yasir swallowed hard.
"How…how is that possible Sir? Weren't there other regiments out defending the other side of the planet?" The Major shook his head.
"Completely overrun. Seems that the Tau force on the other side of the planet was several times larger and faster than the ones we were facing." he reached into one of the desk's drawers. "That was our last chance. If the rest of the Imperium was going to reinforce us, they would have landed there. Now, it belongs to the Tau and we control less than fifty kilometers in any direction." He removed a bottle of gold colored liquid from the drawer. Yasir shook his head.
"There has to be a way." he said. "The sentry, he said that three regiments made it out with their commanders. That's got to at least…10,000 men." The Major shook his head and opened the bottle.
"We have just over 2,000, and by the weeks end, there will be no more Emperor fearing humans left on the planet." Yasir swallowed again.
'2,000 men.' He thought. 'That was it? Had we gone from half a million to a mere two thousand?' Yasir felt at that moment the painful realization that he was going to die, that it was going to be very soon, and that there was nothing he could do about it. The Major began drinking out of the bottle, and Yasir saw that he had probably realized the same thing days ago.
"No." he said aloud, grabbing the Major's attention. "There is something that I can do about it." The Major shook his head and set down the bottle.
"It's over son. We lost. Maybe in another hundred years the Imperium will come back and conquer this world." He set the bottle down and pulled the bolt pistol out of it's holster. "But not now." He said as he charged the weapon.
"Sir…What are you doing?" Yasir asked. The Major put the barrel into his mouth. "Sir! Guard, get in-" The Major pulled the trigger.
~/~/~
Unnamed Tau Controlled planet, number 1187
1143 hours (Approximate planet time)
L-Day +269
198 Kilometers from the landing zone
Corporal Yasir of the 902nd Vardan Rifles checked his gear for what he knew would probably be the final time. He had all eight of his magazines and all but two were at full power. His auto pistol was cleaned and coated with the last of the dead Major's unguent. He had two pistol clips filled with auto pistol ammo he'd been given by the Valkyrie Pilot. The Pilot having elected to take to the air during the attack. A Commissar had spotted his chainsword and instructed him on it's disassembly and cleaning, as well as giving him his spare fuel. He crouched low behind the window and listened as the massive pulse blasts flew over and around his head.
The Tau Bombardment had been going on for over three days now. The pulse blasts were innumerable and they were destroying everything, including the collapsed structure he was in, but the big Building in the center. Yasir guessed that it was important to them, and that would explain why they hadn't just leveled all their positions from orbit. He glanced up at the clouded midday sky through the broken roof. 'If they are going to come today,' He thought, 'They'll come now.' He turned to the other Guardsmen in the building with him. They were a mix of grey, green, red and black uniforms. All the regiments of the planet decimated to a mere two thousand men. They looked tired. Tired and finished. They looked all the different kinds of worn out except for defeated. Not one man among the two thousand was going to give anything up to the Tau. They were going to die. They all knew it, but they wouldn't let that stop them. Then the Bombardment stopped.
He looked over the edge of the windowsill and out at the battlefield. There were more aliens than he had ever seen. A solid mass of tan larger than he'd seen in any attack. The large black mass in front, the Kroot, were already running at them. Marching right behind them were the Fire Warriors, their large rifles held up in their strange style. Behind them he could see the edges of their floating tanks and battlesuits as they came around the corner of their buildings.
"TROOPERS!" Yasir yelled. "ON LINE" The multi-colored Guardsmen all stood and crowed into the buildings windows. Below them he could see Guardsmen standing in their trenches, their lasguns pointing out at the enemy. They all aimed at the incoming enemy. Two thousand fingers twitched on two thousand weapons. They all watched the Tau, Kroot, and tan machines come ever closer. Yasir focused on another one of the Kroot 'Shapers' Leading the charge. He put the crosshairs onto the head and waited. They got closer, and closer still, but none of the humans fired any weapon. Then the Aliens got within three hundred meters and Yasir pulled the trigger.
Before his lasbolt had even impacted into the Kroot Shaper and burned a hole in it's face, 1,999 other weapons were fired. A visible line of red flew across and into the Aliens, completely hiding them from view for a moment. The red haze cleared quickly and Yasir saw that they were still coming.
"SWITICH TO FULL AUTO AND FIRE AT WILL!" Yasir yelled, looking for another target. He sighted in on a Fire Warrior and breathed out. Then he pulled the trigger. He didn't watch the Tau fall, but turned to put the crosshairs on another tan armored Alien. He shot again. Then again, this time into another Kroot. Below him he heard a primeval roar as the Kroot closed with the first line of trenches. The Other Guardsmen in the Building leaned out the window to fire on these closer enemies. One came up next to Yasir, leaning out for a better shot, when a pulse blast burned into his shoulder. He fell foreword and out the window, screaming as he fell. Yasir ducked back and below the edge of the window as a salvo for pulse blasts hit the building. The Fire Warriors were in range. He waited until another pulse volley hit the tan concrete. As they were still impacting, he spun out from behind the cover and brought his rifle up. He squeezed off a pair of shots. He didn't see where the second hit, but the first impacted into a Fire Warrior's knee. He jumped back behind cover and another pulse volley hit the building. On the other side of the room, a man fell back as a pulse blast burned into his face, killing him instantly. Somewhere else, he heard another man scream. He heard a deep 'boom' from behind him and knew that their artillery pieces were going to work. He looked back out the window in time to see a part of the Fire Warrior formation disintegrate from a Demolisher round. He sighted in another Kroot and pulled sent out another red bolt. The Bolt burned through The Alien's left shoulder and he starred at the stump in surprise. Yasir ejected the empty magazine, tossed it aside, and pulled another one from the bandolier on his waist. Normally he would have saved the magazines to be recharged latter, but he knew there would be no latter. Below just him, on the first floor of the building, he heard the sound of a lasgun being fired on full auto, and looking down he saw that the only Guardsmen in the trenches were dead.
'Emperor help us,' He thought as he sighted in on another Fire Warrior. 'I thought we might hold out a little longer than this before we'd have to fall back.' He killed the Fire Warrior and took aim at another, noticing even as he pulled the trigger that the Battlesuits and Tanks were in range. He shot and left the window. Another Guardsman took his place as he slung his rifle and pulled out his chainsword and auto pistol. He ran down the stairs to find the Guardsmen there in a skirmish with the Kroot. As he descended the final stairs, one of the black aliens saw him and jumped at him. He leveled the auto pistol at him and fired, the solid round crashing into it's skull and knocking it down. He came off the stairs and approached a fight between a greatcoat wearing guardsman and one of the black xenos. The Kroot brought his bladed rifle above his head and down at the Guardsman. The Human blocked the attack with his lasgun and the two struggled for control. Yasir pressed the activation rune on the chainsword and sliced through the Kroot's thin neck. The body went limp and the Guardsman looked at Yasir. They made eye contact and the Guardsman nodded at him. Yasir nodded back and turned to face another alien. This one was coming through the destroyed front window of the building. He pointed his auto pistol at the Alien and fired. His first shot missed, but he fired twice more and took the alien in the chest. It fell backwards, not dead, but out of the fight. He aimed at another alien, when a swipe from a Kroot rifle's blade cut into his left hand.
Yasir yelled out in pain and dropped the auto pistol. The blade had cut through the flesh of the outside of his hand and bright red blood flowed from the wound. He yelled and brought the chainsword across and into the Kroot the had cut him. He was rewarded with a primevil yell and pressed the chainsword farther into the flesh.
He retracted the moving blade and tried to close his left hand. The pain from the wound shot up his arm and more blood spilled out. He looked down at the cut to try to determine the extent, but the hand was covered on blood. He tried another flex and felt something snap and more pain shot up his arm. He started looking for his auto pistol when he realized that there were no more Kroot. Then he realized why. Yasir dove behind an overturned table as a dozen pulse rifle cracked and shot into the building. He turned off the chainsword and heard a dozen pairs of hoofed feet coming at him. He looked behind him to see a pair of Guardsmen at the rear door to the building.
"Corporal!" they called over the Pulse blasts. "They signaled phase line two!" Yasir's single eye went wide. That changed everything. He waited until another salvo of pulse blasts shot through the room, then sprinted for the door. He dove through the door, followed by a small number of Guardsmen.
Yasir turned around to see one of the two Guardsmen who had called to him fall backwards, a pulse burn on his chest. He looked up at Yasir, his gaze meeting his, then the eyes glazed over. Yasir shook his head, refusing to let himself become distracted at the very end, and put the chainsword away and unsung his longlas. The Guardsmen all took off towards the artillery positions at a sprint, running across the courtyard. Looking behind him, he saw Fire Warriors already spilling out the back of the building. 'There's too many of them.' Yasir thought. The best thing that the Imperial Guard has going for it was it's numbers. Wherever they fought, The Imperial Guard always brought more men to the fight. That was the greatest thing about the Guard. Now, here they were, without numbers, or, the pain from his bleeding hand reminded him, even any kind of extra support.
They reached the artillery sitting on the courtyard, a mere 200 meters from the Building, and two hundred meters from the Tau leaving the ruins that they had just occupied. They took cover behind a dug in leman Russ, and Yasir noticed that Guardsmen were falling back from the other buildings around theirs as well. One of the nearby buildings began to collapse and he saw a Battlesuit breakthrough it. It stopped in the rubble and raised it's pulse cannon. As the weapon prepared to fire a shell from the Leman Russ smashed into the weapon arm of the battle suit, shattering the pulse weapon. Two more shells smashed into the battle suit, and the massive piece of tan metal fell to the ground.
The Guardsmen from the other buildings had reached the line of the artillery pieces as well, and they all turned to fire upon the advancing Tau. Yasir looked down his scope and squeezed off a couple of shots as well, downing a pair of Fire Warriors. He ejected this magazine and tossed it like he had the first one, and reached for another, spilling blood from his hand all over the magazine. He grabbed another from his belt, but the weight didn't feel right. He looked down at it see that the square had no power. He tossed this one as well and reached for another, the last from the bandolier on his waist. He looked at the Tau lines, seeing that they had made it within a hundred meters.
'C'mon c'mon c'mon.' Yasir thought as he ripped a piece of his greatcoat off and began tying it around his bleeding hand. 'They're at the line, where's the-' His question was answered before he could finish thinking of it. The Valkyrie that had brought him here raced across the sky, right at the front edge of the Tau line, dropping liquid Napalm onto the Aliens. The entire frontline was set ablaze by the ancient chemical and he could hear the screams of pain from the Tau and Kroot. He Looked through his scope to see if any aliens had lived, and put a lasbolt into a Fire Warrior that had been fast enough to avoid the attack. The Valkyrie continued to fly across the battlefield and Yasir watched as a melting battlesuit launched a missile at it. The projectile followed the green dropship and collided with the tail. The back of the bird exploded and began burning as the ship crashed to the ground.
Back in front of them, the Napalm had gone out and Tau forces had resumed their advance. The Humans had killed well over their own numbers, but the Tau kept coming. Yasir could see Fire Warriors and battlesuits still coming through the destroyed buildings. A pair of colored rockets flew out from their Building and exploded harmlessly in the air.
'Third Phase line.' Yasir thought, then aloud. "You men, fall back to the Building." He raised his longlas and fired at another Fire Warrior, killing the Tau with a shot that went through the colored dots on the tan helmet. He turned and followed the Guardsmen back towards the Building, hearing the Leman Russ's cannon fire on the Tau, as well as the sound of air rushing towards them. He spared a glance back just in time to see a pair of tan rockets fly out of the sky and detonate on the tank, destroying the vehicle completely. He pushed himself harder, moving as fast as he could, and feeling the pain from his hand shoot up his arm again. He reached the stairs and took them two at a time, reaching the top in a hurry and ducking behind a column. Other Guardsmen were behind him, and as he turned, he saw several get cut down by pulse blasts. He raised his longlas and took another shot a Fire Warrior, taking this one in the thigh. He shot twice more, taking two more Kroot down before he heard the Guardsmen moving the heavy steel doors of the Building. He stepped back, firing as he went, into the Building as they closed the doors. He ran to a nearby window, taking up a firing position next to a Techpriest who held a lasgun in one human and one mechanical hand. Yasir looked out and began focusing on the battle when a familiar voice brought his attention back to the room.
" An 'ere I thought I 'eally won't see ya again Corporal." Yasir turned around to see the Tall medic with the scar on his chin standing there, a lasgun in his hands. He moved up to the window between Yasir and the Techpriest, bringing his weapon up and aiming out the window. "I 'pose I sho'ed be a lil' mad at you 'ough." he said in his strange accent. Yasir raised and eyebrow over his empty socket.
"Why should you be mad at me?" he asked, glancing back out the window to see how close the Tau were. The Medic shrugged and pointed a left handed finger at him.
"I spent all 'at 'ime digging out ya bad eye, 'aving ya life. An now 'ur 'bout to die 'nyway." Yasir shrugged and reloaded his weapon.
"Yes, we are about to die." He looked out at the battlefield. The last of their tanks were either in pieces or burning and the first of the Kroot and Tau were already within a hundred meters of the building and were firing at them. He looked through his scope and put the crosshairs on another Kroot head, and with a pull of the trigger ended another non-human life. They kept coming and he saw a pair of the missile gunships fly towards and strafe the building as they flew over. Inside a Guardsman screamed, hit in the arm. The Guardsman bit his lip, dropped his lasgun and drew a laspistol in his unharmed arm, returning to the window he'd been at. The last few hundred Guardsmen on planet 1187 put their weapons out towards the Tau, took aim and fired. Yasir aimed and shot at another Fire Warrior.
'Still too many.' he thought as he realized that this magazine was only half charged. He pulled his second to last magazine out of his bandolier, reloaded, and took another aimed shot. The Tau gunships came back again, and this time one fired a single missile at the door to the Building. The missile detonated and the two metal rectangles flew backwards and slid across the tan floor. They were now only 50 meters from them, a pair of battlesuits in the forward group. 'This is it. No where to fall back.' he thought as he killed another alien. The first of the Tau reached the stairs and a pair of Guardsmen, one of them the Medic, moved in front of the doorway to fire on them. The battlesuit raised it's pulse cannon arm and Yasir was starring straight down the barrel. Then a giant blue pod flattened the battlesuit.
The pod was at least twenty feet tall, hexagonal, and a dark blue with a large white U on the side. With a hiss, the sides of the pod opened up and Yasir saw the most glorious sight he'd ever seen.
They were covered from head to toe in dark blue armor, the same white U from the drop pod on their shoulders. They were man shaped, but judging by the Tau they were next to, they were taller than any human could be. Their helmets covered their heads completely, complete with red eyes. Their weapons were big as well, Storm Bolters, Yasir realized, and they all carried a large chainsword on their belts. Leading the blue armored group was an un-helmeted one carrying a massive powered sword. His skin and hair were white, though his eyes were red as the helmeted ones.
The Tau didn't stand a chance. They seemed confused at first, not expecting the arrival of these new warriors any more than the Humans had. The bolters tore through their tan armor and the one with power sword closed with them and began hacking the aliens to pieces. All Yasir and the other Guardsmen could do was watch as the newcomers ripped the Tau to shreds. Behind them, more of the pods were falling from the sky, hitting the Tau army in the courtyard. More of the Blue Warriors spilled out, as well as some squat blue colored walkers. In minutes, the entire Tau army was engulfed in the fight. The one with the power sword halfed the last Fire Warrior at the bottom of the stairs and turned to the Building and began walking up the stairs as the rest turned to finish off the Tau.
"Are there any of the Emperor's servants still alive in there?" he called as he reached the top. The Guardsmen at the windows all hesitated and looked at Yasir. The One-eyed Corporal looked back at them, swallowed, and left the window and walked out of the Building. He stepped up to the Huge man, finding him at least two feet taller than himself. The massive Man looked down at him. "Guardsman Corporal, are you leading these men here?" he asked. Yasir looked over his right shoulder at the Guardsmen standing behind him in the doorway to the Building, then back at the Man, feeling his mouth dry up.
"I…guess I am." he said. The Man nodded and moved his power sword to his left hand then extended his right down towards him.
"I am Brother-Captain Marcus, Commander of the 5th company, Ultramarines Space Marines. My Chapter has been ordered to assist in the conquest of this planet. Where do you need us?"
~/~/~
Epilogue
In Orbit Above Unnamed Tau Controlled planet, number 1187
1400 hours (Approximate planet time)
L-Day +315
Navigator Kashihan looked down at the planet below him. His headache was back and it was worse than ever, but that was of no surprise to him. Whatever it was giving him these headaches, it had to do with the planet and that was that. Not that it mattered to him. He fumbled with his dress uniform with his right hand. Straightening the name tape, smoothing out a crease, and adjusting the pin that kept his left sleeve folded up.
As a Navigator on an Imperial Battleship, he qualified for an augmatic limb. He had considered it when they offered it to him, but only briefly. It was an inconvenience to be without one of his arms, but he didn't need it to do his job.
'Besides,' He thought, looking around the Bridge at the other officers. The Lieutenant keeping watch noticed his gaze and a look of concern crossed his face.
"Kashihan." he said. "Are you alright?" The Navigator's discomfort must've shown on his face. Kashihan nodded slightly.
"Yes, just the headaches I was telling you about." The Officer frowned, glanced over at the bridge's other occupants, then back at him.
"You should come see me latter." he said. "I've got some Terran Brandy. I always have a little when my head acts up. I wanted to talk to you about the last engagement with the Tau here anyway." Kashihan nodded and turned back to the planet.
'Proof that I faced the Emperors enemies in battle and the associated respect is worth a little inconvenience.' He looked over as the other occupant of the bridge was joined by his two cohorts. The ones who were the reason that he was in his dress uniform. A Commissar, a member of the Inquisition, and a Lord Commissar no less. 'What could they want with this world?' he wondered. But, he quickly put the thought from his mind. Ever since he had lost his arm, he'd avoided worrying about things that didn't concern him.
~/~/~
Commissar Janus looked across the bridge at the one armed Navigator. It was virtually unheard of for Navigators to see combat, let alone be wounded, but here was one. He harbored no love for mutants, no self respecting Commissar did, and he had always maintained that non-mutants could, with proper training, navigate the Warp fine.
'But this one at least earned it's sanctioned status.' He thought as the door behind him slid open. He turned to see the imposing figure of a Lord Commissar. A man wearing the wide brimmed hat of the Inquisition trailed behind him.
"Janus." The Lord Commissar said. "Has it been recovered?" Janus nodded and spoke.
"Yes Lord Commissar, I oversaw the extraction of the relic this very morning." Janus mentally replayed the morning he had spent uncovering the relic. The meter tall, meter thick obelisk had been the reason that the Imperium had come to this planet in the first place. The Inquisitor nodded quickly, a hungry look in his eyes.
"Very good, very good," He said rubbing his hands. "I'll go see it now." The Inquisition man left and the Lord Commissar moved to the front viewport, looking out the large window at the planet. Janus swallowed hard, searching for something to say to the living legend standing near him. He glanced down at the planet.
"Interesting world Lord Commissar." he said looking from the planet to his superior. "Of the half a million Guardsmen in the original invasion, only some 200 survived until reinforcements arrived." The Lord Commissar said nothing and continued starring at the planet, his expression neutral. "I wonder if this relic was worth all their lives?" The Lord Commissar turned his head sharply and narrowed his eyes at him. Janus could feel the acquisition in his glare and quickly covered for himself. "Of course Lord Commissar, I forget." he said quickly.
"The ends Always justify the means."
THE END
Author's note: If you make it all the way to the end, thank you. I hope you all had as much fun reading this as I did writing it. Please tell me what you thought of it.