"Hold the line you fucking maggots! Don't give an inch to Xeno scum! Your Emperor commands it!" The sounds of his commissar yelling carried in the wind despite the deafening sound of the Xeno artillery. "We hold the line in his holy name this day, for nine thousand centuries we have held the line and we will hold it for nine thousand more, today is no exception!"

He ignored his commissar's words, desperately praying to the God-Emperor that the barrage wouldn't move his way. "Get up! Get up you fools! The enemy could be upon us any minute now, the Guard dies standing!" He heard from his commissar, not that he bothered to actually look up from his position on the ground, the artillery was still raining explosives on their position and he was in no mood to die today.

Then he felt it, rough hands upon his armor and the sudden yank of motion as he was pulled from his position on the floor and forced to face his commissar. "You fucking waste of human space, I know you fucking heard me! Get your frakking head out of your ass and defend your position. Don't make me tell you again!" His commissar yelled, slapping him with his pistol as a warning of what was to come if he disobeyed orders once more.

He didn't need to be told twice.

Taking his position at the line, really the husk of a building that had been destroyed in the fighting, he did his best to not flinch with every distant explosion. Artillery would only kill him if he was unlucky, the commissar would do it without hesitation.

"I told you Rikel, you really gotta stop hitting the ground every time you hear artillery. One of these days Olivar isn't just gonna tear into your ass." He turned to the sound of a familiar voice, it was Elric, one of the few men who had survived along with him throughout the last year. He wasn't someone he would have considered a friend anywhere else but after a year of this hell Elric was one of the few people he could say he would give his life for.

"Ain't my fault the fucking Xeno barrages have enough firepower in one burst than an entire earthshaker battery firing for an hour. I promised myself one thing, I aint dying to a frakking Xeno artilleryman. If I die then it better be in combat with the bastards, they owe me that at least." His words were heated, the last year had engrained a deep hatred of the Xeno's deep in his heart.

Oh sure he didn't like the bastards on principle, he was a good Emperor fearing citizen after all. But after a year in real combat with these bastards he had a newfound hatred for them, not only had they made his life a living hell but they had killed his brother, cut him open from crotch to collar.

He still remembered the rage that he felt in that moment and the great pleasure he received when he used the lascannon he had been assigned to blow the bastard's head off. "The Xeno's don't owe you shit, we've barely even seen them these last weeks, from what I heard the vast majority of their forces are focused on the cult in the southern spires. We're fighting the scraps right now. Meaning they're just gonna continue shelling us for another week before they finally decide to advance."

He sighed at Elrics words, he was right, they had been shelled every day for the last week with no sign of an end in sight. And by the God-Emperor was it effective, from what the rumors he had heard were saying over twenty thousand had been lost to the Xeno shelling.

"I know and I hate it, I preferred it when the fuckers were constantly assaulting our positions, at least then we could kill the bastards with heavy weapons and sheer volume of fire. They're trying to soften us up now, that way when their real assault starts they can just roll us over." He said, adjusting himself to be in a more comfortable position behind his piece of cover.

"Honestly I'm surprised it took them so long to do this in the first place, you would think after a year of fighting they would have used such powerful artillery from the beginning. Why are they only using it now?" Elric asked, no attack was on the way and the best way to pass the time was always to talk with your squad mates.

Not that it made the subject of their conversation any less annoying. "How the fuck should I know? The bastards act like their learning tactics in real time, just a few months ago large formation tactics were beyond them, and now they're pulling off full on assaults with complex formations as if it was second nature." He said frustrated.

And it really was frustrating trying to understand the Xeno's and their way of thinking. You thought you understood them and their limitations, planning around them and building new tactics around that. Except as soon as you put said plans into motion they would change up their tactics and strategies on a dime.

It was like they were learning the art of war for the first time in real time, which couldn't be the case considering the fact they were winning the fight as far as he was concerned. "Maybe that's a clue? We know the bastards are pretty powerful individually and their equipment aint bad, what with those alien rifles they use and that armor that just seems to get tougher every battle. Maybe this is the first time they've actually had to use real tactics?"

Elrics words rang in his head. Honestly it made a lot of sense, why would you need anything beyond squad level tactics when all of your troops were near the equivalent of one of the Emperor's angels? Hell why would you need artillery when you could easily overwhelm any enemy you faced with your infantry alone?

Suddenly the Xeno's were starting to make more sense, the reason they hadn't used artillery up to this point was because they didn't have it. They likely had to make it, or they had to bring it to the front from wherever it was that they were getting their reinforcements from. "You don't think this is their first war do you? At least their first war since they crawled out of whatever fucking hellhole gave birth to them. My pa told me about his time campaigning against some minor Xeno race in the Haelixis system and from what I remember even they had basic tactics and the like." He said, coming up with his own theories in his head.

Elric sat, resting his lasgun on a piece of rubble next to him, the shelling had grown more intense in the distance, a sign that an assault wasn't likely anytime soon. "I'll be honest Rikel with everything we've seen so far I don't think they're some new race of scum that crawled out of some backwater hell hole. Their tech is just too advanced for it if you ask me." Before he could say anything Elric held up a hand to silence him.

"Rikel I've been in the guard for nearly twenty years now, I've fought against more than other men and I've seen things you wouldn't believe. Trust me when I tell you these Xeno's aren't new to war, new to facing a force that could actually oppose them? Absolutely. But they adapted too quickly, introduced new war machines too rapidly, reinforced their lines far too heavily for this to be their first war." Elric said, reaching into his fatigues to pull out a ration bar.

"You want my opinion? They're like the Eldar, nasty bastards that like to keep hidden and haven't had to deal with an equal force of enemies for a long time. So while they have the basics down, actual strategy and large scale tactics is something they are being forced to relearn. Which is good for us because I enjoy living and their incompetence has kept me alive." He finished, munching on his rations.

He could only stare at Elric for a while as the silence stretched out between the two of them while he munched on his ration. At least until the both of them burst out laughing, Elric spitting out some of his ration as he nearly doubled over with laughter. "You know for a second there I thought you were serious you bastard. You sounded like a fucking officer." He said as a small tear left his eye.

Elric smiled as he talked. "For a second I almost got you though didn't I? You really thought I knew my shit there for a second." He said with a shit eating grin on his face.

"I should have known the moment you tried to pull time in service on me you son of a bitch, there hasn't been an Eldari raid in the sub-sector in a generation. I know, my grandfather fought to push them back." He said, causing Elric to grin. "You should have called me out on my bullshit then, you owe me a chocolate ration now. You know the rules, if you don't call bullshit you owe me."

He snorted but nodded, handing over the ration. Their little game was the only thing that kept them sane in this grinding war, even if Elric was way too good at it. He had honestly forgotten how many chocolate rations he had lost now.

With Elric busy eating he turned back to the urban wasteland that they had been tasked with defending. The sound of far off artillery was something that still caused him to flinch with every distant explosion, but with Olivar prowling the line looking for anyone trying to hide away he couldn't duck down like he wanted too.

Not that it would make much of a difference, he had seen what happened when one of those Xeno guns actually landed a shell nearby, he could still hear the ringing in his ears sometimes when it got particularly silent.

That's how the next few hours passed, he sat in silent vigil with Elric at his side. At some point he ate his own ration for the day and relaxed for a precious few minutes before Olivar saw him and sent a glare his way.

He already knew that he would kill the bastard one of these days, he had fifteen years in the guard and the little bastard barely had six. He didn't care that he was a commissar, some things transcended rank.

It was a boring six hours, boring, calm, and safe. Just like he liked it to be, while the adrenaline of combat was something he had long ago grown accustomed to and came to enjoy, he needed a break. You could only fight for so long before you burnt yourself out and needed some time not in nerve wracking combat.

Soon enough the orders came from on high that they were to begin switching out to sleep and he was chosen as one of the first to rest. Elric joined him behind a slightly larger piece of cover about twenty meters behind the front and they put themselves back to back, trying to conserve body heat. It wasn't long before they had fallen asleep, the sound of distant Xeno and Imperial guns a soft lullaby.

…

…

…

Pain, pain filled his senses as he desperately tried to roll off his side. "Fuckkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk!" He screamed as he came too. His leg felt like a thousand pieces of shrapnel had been shoved through it, and a quick look down pretty much confirmed that.

His leg had been turned into ground beef from an explosion somewhere nearby, and based on the screams of other men surrounding them he wasn't the only man that had been sleeping only to be woken up by the explosion. "Rikel! Rikel can you hear me!?" He heard Elric's voice, felt him grab his shoulders and shake him.

Despite that he couldn't find it in himself to care. He must have been going into shock he realized, the pain had spread throughout his body and he could barely think. "Goddamnit Rikel you bastard you aren't dying on me! Not now!" Elric's voice rang out around him.

He felt someone pick him up, and a jolt as he was thrown over Elrics shoulder. He even got a nice view of the ground and his surroundings in the process. A shell had landed nearby, about a hundred meters away by his reckoning, destroying the building they had been next too. It was likely where the shrapnel that had destroyed his leg came from.

But why couldn't he hear the sound of shells dropping still? The Xeno bastards never shelled something once after all, they had been doing it for a full week after all. Even as out of it as he was he knew that much at least. Unless…

Screams filled the air as the sounds of combat filled the air. Green zipped past his head and lasbolts returned fire, desperately trying to defend against the oncoming Xeno attack. "Elric." He said and his friend didn't respond as he ran towards the rear, towards the medics. "Elric, listen to me."

He didn't listen to him, too focused on his current objective; saving his life. "Elric! frakking stop and put me down you rat bastard." He yelled with the remainder of his fading strength. He felt a jolt as Elric did as he asked, setting him as gently as he could on the ground. There were tears in his eyes.

"Emperor dammit, don't start crying, not when I'm bleeding out in front of you. I'm supposed to be the one crying, not you." He said, trying to grin through the pain. He tried his best to ignore the first signs of the defense failing as guardsmen began to fall behind Elrics back. "Listen to me Elric, I'm dead. We both know it, the medics were evacuated the moment the first shell landed within a mile of our positions."

It was the truth, medical personnel and equipment was too valuable to risk so close to the lines. Any signs of combat nearby always ended with them being evacuated beforehand. He wondered what fucking point there was in even having them if they weren't going to be near enough to the fighting to actually help.

"That may be so but I can't leave you here, not with those fuckers so close. I told you I would stick with you to the end, and I will." Elric said, convinced that he would die here with him in this hell hole. He wouldn't allow it. He had already lost one brother, he wouldn't lose another.

He grabbed Elric's hand and brought him close. "Now you listen to me, I'm dead, that's just a fact. I and all those poor bastards still fighting are dead. But you ain't, you can run, escape, maybe even escape the hive if you are quick about it. I already know they'll be declaring everyone who fought here dead." He coughed up some blood, splattering his chest in his own life.

Elric's eyes were desperate, wild and angry. He grabbed him, bringing him close, touching his forehead with his own, clacking their helmets together. "I know what you're thinking, what you're saying in that thick skull of yours. But just this once you stubborn fool listen to me." He clasped Elric's hand in his own, the same way they had done a thousand times before.

"The Emperor has made it clear that my story is done, but yours ain't, you always talked about wanting to marry some girl and leaving the hives to farm. Do that, leave this shit show behind and live beyond all this. Can you do that for me?" He asked, desperate to hear him say yes.

Elric visibly struggled internally, not saying anything. He saw the first of the Xeno bastards crest a piece of the outermost positions. They didn't have much time. Every second wasted was one not spent on the run. "Elric promise me. Promise me you'll not come back for me, promise that you'll run and never look back."

He stared into his eyes and for a second he feared the fool would stay with him till the end. "OK. Ok I promise Rikel." Elric said, emotion nearly overwhelming him. He smiled and patted him on the arm. "Good. Now go. I'll hold them off for as long as I can." He said, drawing his las-pistol and the single frag he had left.

Elric nodded, and dug into his fatigues. He took out a single extra grenade and handed it to him. "Kill one of the bastards for me yea?"

He smiled. "I'll kill more than one." Elric chuckled, gave him a squeeze on the shoulder and then he was gone.

Just like that he was alone, woozy and barely conscious. He could see the Xeno scum as they slaughtered the defenders, Olivar had been impaled by one of the larger Xenos' spears and left to rot on some kind of spectral projection. He couldn't tell if it was technology or witchery, and he really didn't care.

He was just happy that the asshole finally got what was coming to him, a real stick up his ass to complement the one that was already there. He dropped the pistol, he already knew it would be useless in his hands. Instead he grabbed its power pack and strapped it to his chest underneath his fatigues, along with the grenades.

He waited. It wasn't long before the last of his fellow guardsmen were either dead or running for their lives. Not that most of them got very far, the bastards were far too fast for their size. "What's this? A survivor? It's a miracle you're still alive with your leg like that."

His head tiled in the direction of the voice. It was one of the Xeno's that had spoken. A large one with a tall shield and thick armor. Likely the one that had skewered Olivar. It knelt in front of him, studying him. A few of the thinner ones stood around him as well, obviously wondering what the larger was so curious about.

"You are quite the interesting specimen. Still alive after such terrible blood loss, and smart enough to strap explosives under your equipment to try and take one of us with you." The Xeno said, causing his heart rate to go even higher, which he didn't think was even still possible.

He tried to trigger the energy packs overload only for the Xeno to grab his hands, moving them gently to his side. "I wouldn't do that if I was you, you don't want to die do you?" The Xeno smiled as he glared behind half lidded eyes.

"Of course you don't! You don't have to worry anymore though because I've decided to save your life, I have a feeling you'll be an interesting one." It said, he was barely paying attention anymore. He could barely understand half of what it had said, the darkness was closing in fast now.

His last thoughts before the darkness claimed him were about Elric. He hoped he had made it away safely. That was all he needed to enter the God-Emperors embrace willingly, he would be seeing his brothers soon.