I Die Standing

Entry 5: The Trenches

"Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst."

- From the Imperial Guard Tactical Manual

Today, Sergeant O'Rourke, told us all that tomorrow we would go out into the Underhive and help dig trenches outside the fort with PDF troopers and other platoons. To be honest, I would be filled with fear right about now, but I know in the end that whatever ganger clan or mutant horde that decides to attack us would be swiftly met with the Emperor's might.

The Next Day

You know, the Underhive is not what I expected, I know it is a hive of the Emperor's damned, but surprisingly. It's quiet. I mean, there's the occasional gunfight, explosion, and it scares the life out of me, but it's quiet. I should consider this a good thing. I do see some strange things here and there though. I remember seeing a family, scavenging within the rubble, I still wonder how they got there? What crime did they commit that was so bad that it sent an entire family into the underhive? I still don't know. But I also saw a lot of gangers moving outside the range of the spotlights on the towers. They all had the same color on their armor. Maybe they come from the same gang? I don't know but I don't have a good feeling about it.

We got a lot of work done in the trenches though, we fortified much of the trench but still have some work to be done, I asked Sergeant Morrison why we were digging the trenches in a zig-zag pattern, he said, "You don't want some ganger jumping down into the trench and shooting all down with an autogun within seconds, right?" and that makes sense, If the trench was in a straight line, enemies would get in and shoot about ten men within seconds but with a zig-zag trench they wouldn't be able to, I wonder who made up that strategy? Well later on in the day, I and about six other recruits made a dugout in one of the trench lines, it isn't as comfy as in the barracks but it's something. Luckily one of the people who helped out was my bunkmate, Leonard, and some other guys I met during training, Tyler, Erik, and Rudy.

Leonard Is a pretty funny person, he always makes us laugh for some reason, even with the stupidest of jokes, Tyler Is a pretty crafty and sarcastic bastard and apparently he worked in the manufactorum where they made the Emperor's Mercy Bars, I asked him If he ate any of them? "Only if I lost my sense of taste." Erik and Rudy were apparently best friends ever since they were young, they lost their parents and swore to each other that they would be companions to the end. They said they did things that they weren't proud of and that's why they both joined the guard, to repent. I sure hope whatever they did the Emperor forgives them. We played a small game of cards before we headed off to our racks and luckily this day has been quite uneventful. But I have a slight feeling in my gut that we weren't sent here just to learn how to dig trenches. It feels like something is going to happen, something big, and I don't know what it is but I hope we're prepared for it.