Love in the guard

chapter 2

Main guards man:2nd Lt Max Decanus

Sister of Battle: sister Lycheria

Guardsman best friend: 2nd Lt luke ericson

Mentor: PL Sgt John Nash

Sister of Battle best friend: Hospitallar Caterina

Commissar: Ivan Ilyanov

Max commander: Cpt Zerkovich

Sister superior: Celstine/Sister superior

4 YEARS LATER

On the graduation assignment board me and my best buddy Luke were both assigned to be 2nd Lts in the same company in the 1427th Brick Crushers regiment. Upon seeing our names on the assignment board I turned to Luke and put my hand out. He grabbed it and I pulled him into a bro hug for celebration. "I can't believe we got the same assignment bro," and Luke replied with "no power in the verse could separate this iconic duo." Luke and I left the drill yard and went into the mess hall to enjoy the most delicious dinner ever. It was protein pucks that tasted like sawdust. "Max, the one thing I won't miss about the academy is the spartan rations they feed us." I laughed at his quip because the food was a common point of grumbling by the Cadets. When dinner finished Luke and I returned to the barracks to sleep and pack for our departure to our regiment.

That night I had a dream about something I hadn't thought about for a long time. In the dream I was running through a jungle and unusually felt truly lost and scared. I had never panicked or felt lost in the field but as I was running through the jungle I saw someone up ahead in a clearing. As I ran towards the clearing I noticed that the person has stark white blond hair. I then entered into the clearing and stared at the women with white hair who had her back to me. When she heard me enter the jungle clearing she began to turn around. Just as she was about to fully turn around I felt something shake me awake. "Max, MAX, get up we have to go to the hangar to get on our transport to our unit" Luke said as I blinked my eyes open.

With this new piece of information I jumped out of bed and put on my boots and fatigues and grabbed my duffle bag of personal effects and ran out the door with Luke. The hangar was filled with the noise of deck officers shouting orders, the Mechanicus mumbling prayers to ships, and the singing of sailors. The deck officer at the boarding ramp to the transport was flipping through his clipboards notes when Luke and I walked up. I walked up and while I saluted i saud "2nd Lt Decanus reporting sir."

The deck officer looks up at Luke and I and returns the salute. "Both of you report to your assigned companies. Your commanding officer is Cpt Zerkovich" he said this while stepping aside and clearing the gangway.

As I walked through the gothic architecture of the ship I found a bulkhead with a sign overhead with a sign labeled "Rock Crushers" "This must be the place" I turned and said to Luke. I walked in and the empty hangar covered in cots was buzzing with soldiers gambling, drinking, writing letters, and in general relaxing. I walked up to a group of what appeared to be senior NCO's and asked "Do any of you know where I can find Cpt Zerkovich." The men turned towards Luke and I and one sporting a large scar running from the left side of his forehead to the edge of his mouth spoke "The Cpt will be in the next bulkhead forward in the officers mess, Are you the 2 new 2nd Lts?" I responded with "I am 2nd Lt Max Decanus and I have been assigned to this unit." He stands up and reaches out to shake my hand "I am Pl Sgt John Nash" I shook his hand and then continued on to enter the officers bulkhead.

The officers bulkhead was far less crowded and noisy than the enlisted area. I saw a table in the center of the room where several officers were sitting. One of the officers stood up from his spot and walked over to me. "I'm Cpt Zerkovich, you must be Lt Decanus and Ericson." "Yes sir," I said quickly as I saluted. "Well boys you have been posted to us at the best time anyone could hope for." "Why is that sir" I asked excitedly. We have been ordered to retake a planet takeover by a cultist uprising and if we succeed we get to resettle it because he has been given settlement rights." as he said this the rest of the officers' mess erupted with cheers.

That night I pondered what I had been told. If the unit has been granted settlement rights to this revolting planet, the odds must be in the enemies favor. The Imperium always makes units earn their settlement charters. With this thought I drifted to sleep because we would make planet fall in a week.

The Breakfast before the planet falls.

I sit down next to Cpt Zerkovich at breakfast. "Cpt will we have any extra support from outside of our regiment during the battle for the planet." He turns to me and says "Yes a sororitas chapter will join us to provide support of the medical and incideriary variety." His mention of the sororitas brings me back to the woman who keeps occupying my thoughts. This woman has pale skin and hair but always in my dreams I never see her face or I wake up just before she turns to me. Everytime I see her in my dreams she will always say "I remember you Max."

With Breakfast done I head to meet Sgt Nash with my platoon as we board the transports. "Sgt is everything packed for the upcoming battle." He turns from his clipboard to face and with a salute he responds with "yes sir we have packed the las batteries as well as extra grenades and blasting charges for the battle." "Good, we'll need those explosives to help dig out the entrenched cultists."

With the final preparations made we load into our transports to begin the flak filled descent onto the planet. As the ship shook with every flak blast I looked around at my men, everyone one of them had their lasgun affixed to their chest along with several grenades and most of the men had their gas masks pulled down over their faces. I then felt the ship slam into the ground and the pilots shout orders to exit the craft as the rear ramp fell down.