A/N: No I haven't forgotten you guys. I've had this chapter finished for a while, just been busy the past week so haven't had time to upload it. Shout out to all you that reviewed and are now following this story so I'll try not to disappoint and hopefully this chapter will answer some of your questions.

Chapter 2

M41.996

It is the 996th year in the 41st millennium. The Laternas sector has been under siege by an Ork Waagh, with no objective other than to loot and kill across the sector. Guard and PDF units stationed there were able to hold off the initial Ork waves with superior mobility and tactics but have now become bogged down by the Orks numerical superiority and the Imperial lines are now faltering across the sector. A call for help has been sent to Segmentum Command which in response dispatched an entire battle group under the command of Lord General Speirs to break the Xenos hold over the sector and drive them back from the main hive spires. Among the battle group is a fresh founded regiment from sub sector Arreterra under the command of a Colonel Senju, the fledgling Guardsmen are eager to prove their worth, but only if they survive the first day...

Groundside

Firebase Anvil Head, 10 miles from Trench line Aquilia.

"Sir, General, sir."A messenger called out as he ran through the hall of the command centre, narrowly missing a few orderlies carrying boxes of documents, as he tried to catch up to the men in front of him. "General Daisen, sir."

Upon hearing his name the Guard general turned around to find the red faced messenger a little out of breath. "Well trooper what is this message that obviously cannot wait." He said dismissing formalities immediately, in favour of finding out why the man was running around the command centre.

"The patrol we sent out half an hour ago has failed to report in." The messenger answered quickly. "They have been out of vox contact for at least twenty minutes, sir."

The General shook his head in amusement a small grin playing over his face, looking to his companion beside him a grin also visible on his face. "Is there really nothing better to do other than bother me with something this trivial trooper?" he asked in amusement.

"No, sir, that is to say I thought that you should be informed immediately."

"And what would demand the general's attention here trooper, why not inform Major Cobal?" The general's companion interjected smoothly. "What is so pressing that you had to run down these halls and call out to us hmm?"

The runner looked at the man uncertainly, a look of fear crossing his eyes briefly before he found his voice. "N-nothing so pressing, it's just that an Ork advance has been reported along trench line Aquilia, which is roughly in the patrols area of operation."

"And who is in command of the patrol, trooper?" Daisen said calmly, the grin still on his face.

"Uh, Captain Ardennes and the Commissar, sir." He replied unsure if it was a trick question.

"I'm right here right here trooper." The other man said, clearly dressed in a commissars stormcoat, a peaked cap atop his head bearing a skull and wings motif of the commissariat.

"O-of c-course, sir, I-i meant Commissar Uzumaki."

Insanity. That was all that went through the mind of one Hinata Hyuga, as las bolts and hard rounds snapped back and forth from the trench lip. Sheer bloody insanity. 'How can this be happening,' she thought hopelessly as she cowered at the bottom of the fire step, 'I didn't sign up for this, in fact I didn't sign up at all, Father forced me too.'

It was true, in a sense back at the Hyuga compound on Arreterra, her father had basically said 'if you don't enlist like your cousin you will bring nothing but shame upon the family name.' Never mind her being a noble it was her duty as family heir not to be shown up by a branch member. So resignedly she enlisted in the 1st Arreterran Light Infantry Regiment and less than three months of boot camp later she her regiment was tasked to the new warzone opening in the Laternas sector.

Looking around the trench in despair the pearl eyed women saw several of her squad members on the trench floor, gaping holes in their upper body where the ork rounds hit home. The regiment had only been groundside a few hours before four of the nine companies were sent to the frontlines while the others established a field command a few miles away, and now it looked like she was going to die here in the first hours of her new life in the mud.

A shadow fell over her but she dared not look up into the crimson eyes of her captain. "Get up trooper, you can't do the Emperor's work hiding down there." A voice asked her, strangely it was male. But her captain was female. The voice was rich and smooth, like the voice of a prince from holovids she used to watch as a child.

"Trooper, look at me we can't have you lying down there, while others fight around you." It said again, this time it made her heart flutter in guilt; guilt of failing her fellow guardsmen. Trembling fingers curling around her lasgun and on shaky legs she slowly stood up and looked over the parapet. All she saw was a sea of green monsters with red bestial eyes, not at all like Captain Yuhi's.

"That's it, now raise your weapon and fire." The voice said calmly. Listening to the
prince's voice she ignored the loud crescendo of weapons discharging and focused on the voice as it guided her actions. Bringing it up to her shoulder, she felt it kick in her hands unconsciously firing into the approaching green horde.

Now the voice rumbled with laughter as the man stood beside her. "Now you got it, keep firing and don't stop till either they're dead or you are."

The Hyuga heir turned her head ever so slightly to get a glimpse of the man standing beside her and in that single glimpse her heart stopped as the world slowed around her. Standing beside her was the most handsome man she had ever seen, he wore a peaked cap with red trim that bore a winged skull motif, six strange scars adorned his cheeks and dazzling blue eyes that seemed to hold endless enthusiasm, with a devilish grin that could swoon any women he directed it at.

As she felt her cheeks heat up, Hinata returned her attention to the orks, trying to block out the appearance of the man next to her. But failing miserably.

After arriving on scene Captain Ardennes had ordered the patrol into the trench to bolster the line and as he so eloquently put it, 'show the new blood, how it's done.' Deploying the chimera 30 metres back from the trench line it opened up sending beam after beam into the xenos at a startling rate, felling dozens of the mindless creatures. Under the cover of the chimeras multi-laser the 13 man strong patrol rushed into the trench and up the fire step in a matter of seconds taking shot after practised shot that could only be achievable by veterans borne of the Imperial Guard.

And that was where Commissar Naruto Uzumaki found himself assisting the bewildered troopers. He had just helped the female trooper to her feet and watched as she shakily but determinedly shot at the oncoming horde. Drawing his bolt pistol with practised ease in his left hand he shot down two orks, one bolt each to the face, his keen eyes tracking targets back and forth with each distinctive boom of his pistol.

"Meryl bring down those shoota boyz they're beginning to annoy me." He ordered into his vox bead, the firm chattering of a 30. Cal was his answer, six of the aforementioned orks dropped to the ground there upper bodies riddled with holes. Lasguns snapped all around him bringing more orks to their knees but it wasn't enough it wasn't nearly enough, another 200 metres or so and they would be overrun.

"Stand firm brave guardsmen," he cried, his voice cutting through the din of the battle. "Stand firm and deny this alien menace. In the Emperor's service we came to save these worlds and by His name we shall not fail him. So pluck up some courage my brave brothers, dig deep and unleash your righteous fury upon those who would dare threaten His majesty's divine realm."

A resounding cheer rose up amidst the men and women around him that spread down the line for reasons unknown that seemed to spark a fire inside them. The las fire seemed to increase and by some miracle they were becoming more accurate as more and more orks fell to the testament of disciplined las fire. The blond commissar smiled as he jumped down from the fire step and moved along the trench line shouting encouragement as he did. 'one hundred metres, still not nearly good enough.' He thought grimly.

He was broken from his thoughts as his vox bead crackled to life. "Take cover, Naruto, ordnance coming down one hundred metres."

"Yes captain." He answered swiftly, "Troopers, take cover, ordnance coming in keep your head down!" he yelled.

Less than two seconds later several high pitched wailing noises were heard before it was replaced by a large crump of detonations and a heartbeat after that the ground shook sending a few guardsmen stumbling back off the fire step. Still holding his pistol, Naruto held his cap in place with his right hand lest he be robbed of it by the sheer force of the shockwaves the explosions were putting out. The barrage lasted for several minutes turning the already ruined landscape into a crater ridden one.

Naruto looked around and saw most of the guardsmen had fallen backwards into the trench wall. "Well they certainly are green." He whispered to himself with a small laugh. "But this war will soon fix that." Then his eye caught something, the female trooper he helped was still on her feet, or maybe she fell and recovered quick enough to re take her position. He guessed the latter, but he wouldn't be surprised if she had remained upright during that barrage, there was a certain fire to that one.

His musings were cut short as his vox bead crackled to life yet again. "Good job, Naruto, they're still a little wet behind the ears but they'll get there." Captain Ardennes remarked, "But we're not out of it yet, take the squad up and over, even a dumb animal knows when to play dead Commissar."

"Yes Captain, and while I'm out there you can sit back and enjoy some tea and biscuits." He joked, before switching his vox bead off. "Sergeant Kurditz, squad up and over, fix bayonets." He called out down the line to a soldier in full green carapace armour with chevrons on his chest, las gun held at the ready, who nodded in acknowledgement and gave the order to fix bayonets. Naruto saw a few of the other guardsmen eye the Cadians in awe, as they were certainly different from there brothers in arms. They all wore full carapace armour with X1 rebreather helmets much like the storm troopers of Kasr, as was befitting their status as a heavy infantry regiment. Their lasguns had the unusual bull pup grip; one even had an under-slung grenade launcher beneath its barrel. The blond commissar always wondered how some of the men had convinced the regimental techpriests to modify their weapons.

Holstering his bolt pistol, Naruto drew his chainsword from its scabbard; he watched as his men drew their bayonets and snapped them in place in one swift movement before motioning for them to go up out of the trench as he himself vaulted over the top of the parapet into no-man's land, unaware the pearl like eyes belonging to one female trooper following his every movement.

The Charred and broken corpses of the orks littered the ground in testament to the power of imperial artillery. The Cadians approached the lifeless green tide, bayonets aimed at the ground as if each body would suddenly spring to life. Naruto eyed each body with a look of contempt, scattered limbs lay in the mud metres away from their now deceased owners, but the commissar knew that it took more than a lost limb to stop the dangerous beasts. The only safe alien was a dead one, such were the lessons taught to him in the schola progenium.

Las shots rang out as he saw Kurditz fire into an ork drowning in its own blood and watched as other squad members followed suit, snaps from las guns trickling over the quiet din of the battlefield. Catching movement in his field of vision, Naruto thumbed the activation rune on his chainsword and brought it down on an Orks neck separating its head from its body in a messy swipe as it grasped for a nearby gun. 'Such brutish creatures, even on deaths doorstep they still possess a will to fight.' Turning he lashed out catching another crawling xenos in the back severing its spine before driving his sword through the back of its neck.

"Sir, fifty metres and holding sir." Kurditz called out as the squad fell in to a staggered line everything behind them assuredly dead. Thumbing the activation rune again Naruto deactivated his sword letting it hang quietly in his hand.

"Very good Sergeant, no point going any further. I'm sure they can handle the rest." The blond commissar said, gesturing at the collection of men and women behind him. "Pack it up and fall back to the chi-".

"WAAAGH!" One of the corpses roared pushing itself off the ground behind the commissar, a crude axe in its meaty hand.

"Commissar move!"

'Too late.' Naruto thought, as he pivoted out of the downward slash of his would be killer by a scant few inches with reflexes honed through years of combat. Chainsword roaring to life once again, he caught the beast in the back of its knee as he spun around the axe before the ork swung its free arm hitting him full in the chest, knocking the air from his lungs and sending him sprawling to the ground. Discarding his sword in the fall, he drew his pistol adrenaline pumping as he took aim only to stare in fascination as a hole appeared in the xenos' head before collapsing to the ground in a heap, letting out a gurgling death rattle as it did so. Quickly composing himself he recovered his chainsword, he looked upon his would be killer kicking it in the jaw making sure the beast was actually dead this time.

'Sloppy.' He thought, 'Vasik will wring me out when he hears about this.' Turning back to the trench easily identifying the lone cadian who remained, tipped his head in gratitude. "My thanks Holik, you earned your lanyard today if I say so myself." Naruto called out to the squad's marksman.

"Weren't me sir." The cadian replied, while subtly gesturing to the guardsman or rather guardswomen beside him. The same one he helped earlier.

"Really." He mumbled to himself, 'She certainly does have a fire to her.' Thought the blond commissar sheathing his chainsword, before turning on his heel firing into the orks skull with his pistol, watching in mild satisfaction as the bolt exploded turning it into a bloody mess. Reaching down Naruto plucked one of the beasts teeth from its ruined jaw ignoring the black blood on his hands, he made his way back to the trench a smile on his face all the way.

She didn't know why she did it or even how she did it. All Hinata knew, was when that beast reared over her new hero, time slowed around her as she aimed her lasgun and fired one single precise bolt into the aliens open mouth before it collapsed into the mud. Now that man sauntered over to her wearing a smile that increased her heartbeat. She got a good look at him this time. He was tall, if she had to guess almost as tall as Major Hatake, he wore a green carapace chest piece that matched the soldiers around him underneath an open stormcoat trimmed with red and gold that billowed out as the wind caught it. Jack boots protected by a pair of greaves caked in mud with black pants that seemed out of place. But what caught her most was the orange sash tied around his waist that stood out against the ensemble he wore.

Stopping above her he crouched over the parapet and smiled warmly at her. Hinata tried to hold down the creeping blush that fought to rob what little composure she had left in front of this unknown man.

"Well trooper, it appears I owe you my life." He said in a smooth voice that seemed to wash over her.

"I-i-i just d-did my duty sir?" Hinata replied meekly, unsure of how she should address him. He just smiled that same smile that made her heart race.

"Well feel free to continue to do your duty trooper." He said, that smile playing over his lips as he spoke.

Reaching out he grabbed her left hand and uncurled her fingers ignoring her slightly reddening face, as he placed something into her palm. The pale eyed Hyuga looked at the object in her hand. It was a tooth, a tooth from the ork she just killed; it still had black blood from where it was removed from the gums. Curling her fingers around it Hinata looked up into the man eyes, barely hidden mirth dancing behind those blue orbs.

"Always remember this moment trooper, this is the moment where you receive conformation of your first discernible kill in battle." He said, rising to his full height. "This is but where your career as a soldier of the Imperium truly begins. Where it begins for all of you." Now addressing her fellow guardsmen. "This is the day where you have all taken your first steps towards protecting His divine realm, be proud, you have survived your first day on the line. But there will be many more days like this to come and when they do, holdfast, stand strong, leave your fears behind and remember above all else the Emperor protects!"

The last part was roared with such passion and fervour that the men and women along the trench line began cheering, smiles on each and every face as they gave their approval. Hinata felt awed as she too let out a cheer, echoing her fellow guardsmen.

On the ride back to Anvil Head, Naruto couldn't help the smile that tugged at his lips. Those men and women were so green it was laughable, they looked ready to run and some probably would have were it not for their timely intervention. He looked at the men sitting beside him, grinning to themselves as they talked about the new regiment and sharing a few jokes at their expense. Each man was a battle hardened veteran of a dozen campaigns, each bearing their own scars, each tempered by their experiences. But he had faith that this new regiment would rise to the occasion like so many others until they were like the Cadians who danced with death whenever it offered its hand. Call it a hunch but he knew that they'd turn out just fine and besides Naruto Uzumaki always bet on the underdog.

A/N: So yeah here's chapter two (or one however you want to look at it) let me know what you think in the reviews.

I don't know how often I'll upload chapters what with how life is at the moment, just know that I shall and will try my best to continuously update.

Also if any of you want to ask me anything fell free to PM me.

Cheers and thanks for reading.