Authors Note: Im hoping to start a series with this maybe when I'm done with this story I might make a new one or maybe create a sequel I dont know but please rate and tell me any corrections or comments you want to say. Lord Magos Jadinar

War found a new home in the city of Braxen Alpha. The very air shook and trembled with its life. The alleys and streets rang with the clamor of death, the sound of steel striking flesh and blood spattering the ground. The sound of shells striking buildings and the crackle of small arms fire all added to the symphony that was war. Each of these sounds filtered through Bayern Hyagu's ears, they were the sounds he was familiar with as an Imperial Guardsmen for 13 years in the 14th Laotian Griffons they were like old comrades to Captain Bayern.

He held his traditional uinyyal blade in his right hand, the traditional Laotian Captain sword used since the First Founding of the Laotian regiments in the 31rst Millennium when the Great Crusade of Mankind was in full swing. The blade was made in traditional fashion the, super strong Laotian steel folded and beaten over 1400 times in the great forges on the moons of Laotia. The forging and materials of the blades used in Laotias armies were a secret kept for thousands of years even though the Adeptus Mechanicus had spent almost all of those years trying to learn the secrets.

The blade was a single edged, razor sharp, one and a half meter long killing weapon, designed to chop through all armor with ease short of Space Marine Power Armor. In his left hand he brandished a well maintained, ornate laspistol, its barrel ringed with prayers to the Emperor.

In the distance Bayern heard the enemy, dug in the lower habs, with plenty of firepower and fanaticism on their side. But on the Imperials side there was even more firepower and good tactical sense, and of course there was the Laotian regiments, the best guard units in use in the Imperial Guard. Bayern thought this smugly as he and his men advanced toward the enemy.

His men, thought Bayern as he surveyed his 2nd company, moving towards the battle lines in a glittering mass, each squad moving in concert with the other. Out in the front of his company were the recon sentinels and salamanders, making sure there was nothing waiting to spring a ambush on their fellow soldiers.

Unlike many commanders in the Laotian Regiments, Bayern put great value in his recon troops, good intelligence had saved his ass more than he could count. While it almost never happened, with typical Laotian pride, usually all defeats attributed to Laotian Generals have been the cause of bad intelligence and a non- serious attitude to scouting. But such was the consequences of being one of the most adept guard regiments at close combat and storm assaults.

Bayern's thoughts were interrupted as the vox chimed in his ear, his recon units were reporting.

"Captain Bayern here." he voxed, "Please say again."

On the other end of the line there was a brief crackle of static and then a light-hearted and spirited voice, so out of place in a war zone of this magnitude replied, " Lieutenant Argos here sir, I have the reports you asked for."

Lieutenant Argos was one of Bayern's oldest companions serving through some of the bloodiest wars in the Imperium's history together, they had been fighting together even when they had both been privates in the 3rd company in old Sergeant Tyin's platoon.

Those had been simpler times, when he just had to soldier not have to wonder if his decisions cost the lives of men under his command. Even then Argos had been the source of no small admiration as the perhaps the best scout in the regiment, back in a old campaign on Qwey III agaisnt the orks, Argos had managed to not only infiltrate enemy lines by himself but he also was able to give the exact location of enemy munition dumps deep in thier camp, which destroyed by a quick air-raid had led to the breaking of the orks resistance on the mainland.

Now they both had command of their own men but for Bayern he answered directly to the Colonel not to a captain and the fate of hundreds rested on his shoulders, sometimes Bayern wondered if he should have never accepted the promotion but just as quickly dismissed the thoughts, knowing that he had played a crucial part in many of his regiments victories.

"Sir?" asked Argos over the line hesitantly not wanting to press his commander but wanting to tell the information he knew.

"Sorry Lieutenant just lost in some memories, continue report.", replied Bayern. Fool! Don't start going all sentimental now when the battle is about to begin, Bayern scolded himself.

Argos continued, "Well sir, the enemy is holed up in these habs as you know but what you don't know is that they have all the points of approach guarded with reinforced barricades, mainly consisting of rubble and ruined ground cars, they had patrols surrounding the area but my men saw to that, the barricades are guarded by fanatics with mainly captured Lasguns and Autoguns but also with Heavy stubbers and Rocket tubes in the mix too. But the biggest visible is a large amount of old, loud ass field guns that will shred light vehicles and our infantry as we advance even with our boys heavy armor."

So, thought Bayern, this is just getting harder as we get closer, but nothing is as easy as it looks, especially with this enemy, but something nagged at the Captain as he heard the infasis on the word visible, "Anything else Lieutenant?" asked the Captain with a feeling of dread.

"Actually sir, there is one more thing… it seems they have… Traitor Marines too sir."

Argos sing-song tone was momentarily gone with the mention of those fell warriors, Bayern's blood ran cold at the mention of such testaments to evil as Traitor Marines, they were part of the huge rebellion known as the Horus Heresy when fully half of the Space Marine Legions rebelled against the Emperor and as a result the Emperor was entombed into the Golden Throne, to forever be the Ruler of Mankind.

Loyalist Space Marines were perhaps the greatest warriors to ever walk the universe, they fought with a ferocity and skill that even the arrogant xenos respected. But the Traitor Marines were a entirely different thing, they fought with the deadliness of thousands of years of combat and the malicious powers of Chaos backing them up along with arcane technology of the ancient times.

He was gripped with indecision if whether to wait for reinforcements or attack, until Lt. Argos voxed again, " Sir? Do we attack or fall back?"

Captain Bayern Hyagu pondered a moment longer before saying into the vox, knowing that his words have written the sentence for many mens deaths this day, " Lieutenant we attack!" and cut the line.

All around the Captain his company was coming to life, men were readying weapons checking comms and saying prayers. He took one last look around before saying the words the men dreaded to hear but also wanted the most to be uttered at the same time, "MEN OF LAOTIA! ATTACK!"