PROLOGUE CADIAN 12TH

The Cadian 12th Regiment have won countless battles across many world of the 41st Millennium for the God Emperor of Man Kind. They have seen and lost many great commanders whom have served the regiment for good and bad for countless years. The men of the 12th and the great mass of tanks, who have stood in the face of such horrors and fought to the death all in the name of the God Emperor. In recent years they have stood on the face of their home planet fighting the Great Eye of chaos, now controlling 60% of it. They have and will serve the Emperor to the best of their moral ability!

1. Lieutenant Hooly Lieutenant Hooly of the Cadian 12th sat in his command Chimera rumbling across the streets of Cadia; he received reports from Lieutenant Gick of a strange noise coming from the inside of an old ware house. Most likely just some cultist, nothing he hasn’t fought before in his long 18 years in duty, he was about 36 although he looked to be a man of 50. His war torn eyes which have seen great horrors; scars covered his face from countless battles. His vox went again, another message from Gick- “Sir Traitor Astartes lots of them, cultists there are charging out of the building there’s so many!” Hooly swore, so much for a few cultists- “Attention Cadian 12th, primary targets spotted- be at your ready- 2 minutes” Hooly spoke over the vox as calmly as possible he needed his men at their best. Gick and his men were beginning to feel the heat, 2 of his men shot dead in minutes the cultists had them practically surrounded. Just at that moment Hoolies command Chimera as well as about 500 men came tarring around the corner, Gick thanked the emperor as lasfire opened. The 12th had only begun to get in to things as the last cultist fell dead. Hooly was glad that only 2 men lost their lives tonight, it could have turned out worse. He approached Gick who stood in the middle of the mass of bodies. “Lieutenant, got in a bit of bother, eh? laughed Hooly. “Meh… could have taken them on; we didn’t need you and the rest flying in on the rescue…” “Which would you rather, lying dead there or being the attention of the day?” “Neither” Joked Gick as he adjusted his helmet “We came across a few just down the street, I was just about to vox a report when we heard this lot, two guardsmen lost their lives today and it could have been avoided, I didn’t need to come this far down- it was our boarder line but I was on a stupid roll, thought I could take them all on- thought I was invincible” “Don’t put it down on yourself; at least we have cleared more of the streets from the filth of Cultist scum”

2. MAJOR YULL Hooly was sent to Major Yull’s office for important duties of sort. He passed through the camp of the 12th, the neat tents lined up in a centre square of some kind of old ring of buildings, Yull’s office was stationed in the centre of these buildings, an old building on the brink of collapsing to Hoolies yes. Upon entering the building he noticed it very dull and grey, he took the door to the right entering Yull’s office. The office was quite larger than it may seem from the hall- the walls though were still grey, dirty and crumbly. Maps of Cadia lined the walls and regimental reports and plans to great detail. Filling cabinets lay out in the middle of the floor space which was just littered with old non successful ideas and plans scrunched up after a violent burst of anger had encored. “Welcome Captain Hooly, sorry about the mess” it was the old crippled and stressed voice of Yull’s from behind the filing cabinets. Now by the Major’s desk Hooly could properly study the man, though under Yull’s control for over six months, he had never met the man. Yull was very skinny; in fact it looked like his very skin was vacuumed to his body as if it wasn’t meant to be there. He no longer had any hair left on his scalp and his eyes were over thrown by the multiple dark purple rings under them. “Stuck for words… captain” Yull said very seriously, slowly and one-toned. “Sorry sir!” Hooly butted in at such a pace he was finished two seconds. Yull looked up at Hooly with great anger in his eyes. “Is that how you great your commander, especially meeting him for the first time!” Yull’s tone was much faster now and full of anger. “Sorry um… I mean… Good Morning Major Yull… lovely to meet you” replied hull already gathering a dislike for this man. “Good“ Yull’s voice was calmer now but still at a fast pace. “So” continued Yull “I am not one to waste mine or your time on long meetings. Disrupting my busy schedule, anyway captain the Cadian 107th are receiving trouble on a planet called Milling IIV, reports early last month came in of an attack from orks on a remote mining system in what is known as the Grass Lands. This mining system is very important for the Imperium and back- up must be served by someone. Due to the sheer mass of deaths accruing you will be leaving Cadia for sun rise this morning. I do apologise for the very late notice but I only got information a couple hours ago.” Hooly took time to take this all in. How could he leave his home planet when she is in great need? How does he tell his men they will no longer be fighting for Cadia? How will he himself let this sink in…? “I know this comes of shock captain, but assistance is needed. Many regiments will continue to fight here. I myself will not be leaving. I must command 25% of the regiment. As you may have guessed you will take control of the men as you are the next man of highest rank. You will have Commissar Turediz will be assigned to you as you will need guidance of such of him as the men won’t be happy. Without a commissar they may slack and the mission will slack” “Yes of course sir… I will let them know”

(tur-dee-edz) 3. COMMISAR TUREDIZ Turediz had just arrived at the at the Cadian 12th camp ready to leave with 75% of the regiment to the war-torn world of Milling IIV for a battle against his all-time foe… orks. Turediz looked at his left arm, torn off when he fought against the almighty Skullkraka in a battle many years ago. He knows he will not meet Skullkraka at this world, he has been told that no reports of him being there were given. Anyone who fights that bastard is scared for life. He is a brutal killer one that can rip any Imperial Guard army to threads in a blink of an eye. Turediz had never properly got over the experience of his arm being ripped off, the pain and the blood, pain that he had never felt before one that can make you collapse and slowly die of blood lose. He owes his sole to that medic. Juim was his name; he had located a metal arm. Thank the Emperor that medic was beside him. He was going to meet Company Commander Hooly whom will take charge of the 12th while they are on Milling IIV. Turediz was sure to make up his mind on this commander the second he sets his real eye on him. **** Hooly was making his way through the camp site of the 12th ready to meet the new commissar. He never wanted a commissar under his control but he understood were Yull was coming form, the men won’t be happy. A few unfortunates will kick up and get a bullet from a bolt pistol in the back of the head, hopefully not to many. Commissar Turediz was standing near the landing area for the ship that will take them to the unknown land of a new planet, when they bloody should be defending Cadia. “Hello Commissar Turediz, welcome to the Cadian 12th” Hooly shouted across the now short space between himself and the new commissar. Turediz looked old, unlike young commissars he looks as if he has truly earned his ranking. “Ah… You must be Commander Hooly! Very nice to meet you!” exclaimed Turediz as he placed his hand out to Hooly. The both men shook hands, Turediz liked Hooly a man that gives a good hand shake is a good commander, or at least of what he has seen from past experiences. “Well” began Hooly a little bit stuck for words “I hope you enjoy working with us!”

**** “Gick has seen a commissar” was passed along the 12th since Gick had told some random guardsmen in his squad and Gick had still not got his head around it. He hadn’t believed his eyes, the 12th haven’t had a commissar for at least 20 years, what was the need for, what the hell was going on! A crowd of guardsmen began to crow around the commissar and Hooly. All whispering and confused. Finely Hooly turned around. “Men of the Cadian 12th” Hooly yelled at the top of his voice “Meet Commissar Turediz. He will be guiding us as we will no longer be fighting on Cadia, we are going to a planet by the name of Milling IIV, as an Ork invasion has taken place and we must give our help. One quarter of you shall stay here and continue fighting as normal, while the rest we will be leaving at sunrise tomorrow morning” And that was all there was to say.

4. A LOST REGIMENT…

Hooly stood in front of his men as they were preparing themselves to board off the ship. The journey was a lot shorter than Hooly was told it was. Well then again time flies these days. In fact he had lost all sense of time, it wasn’t necessary, if you die… good luck if you survive well done! There were no windows of any sort in the boarding area so he had no idea what to expect. He was informed it was roasting and there was a lot of burnt grass. He liked wearing his green and canvas war gear. It was a nice break from grey and black from the urban area of Cadia. As the ship came to rest; the boarding doors began to open as centuries of old machinery came into action as they opened the boarding ramp nice and slowly. Hooly began to see a lot of white coloured flakes, a bit like rain falling out of the sky… a sudden burst of cold air burst into the boarding deck. As the ramp crunched and rested on the ground. He noticed that there was no grass… no warmth. Just cold and white, he heard of this before… snow. But why the hell would it be snowing here…? “Hooly” began Turediz “Were on the wrong planet…” Hooly felt a shoot of nerves and fear shoot up inside him what was he going to do? **** Kuck did love his job, feeling important as he and his senital squad set off to find something or investigate something and let the regiment know. Being a regular guardsman was just boring to Kuck. It was just, “Here’s your lasgun, there’s the enemy, fire.” But his job as a scout made him feel as if he is very important. Hooly had spotted distant smoke thickening the distant air, of course it won’t be hard to find, black and grey smoke on a white planet. His senital sounded different than it did in Cadia, yes it still made the oily screeching noise but it did not clang of the ground but it made a crunch when it made contact with the substance known as snow. Funny name snow…why not calls it frozen water, like rain why not falling water. They began to approach the smoke, making it harder to see through the cockpit, the smoke lifted up, thickening its perimeter and then bursting like the flames that came before it, out into the atmosphere. All three Senitals turned on their search lights and searched the area. “Kuck, I’ve found something around the other side of the thickest part of the smoke” Kuck couldn’t recognize the voice as the vox was weak but he knew one thing for sure, there was a battle arising… he just felt it. **** Hooly was still waiting for a vox report from Kuck about the smoke in the distance. This planet was strange and he didn’t like it. That smoke had made him worry, what was going on. He can’t send guardsmen in too such an unknown. He just couldn’t.

5. THE LOST Kuck and the rest of the senital squad were now at the reported position. In the rains of smoke they could barely make out rows of neat canvas tents in rows across a mass of plain. It was then they noticed the bodies, men of Cadia lay dead on the very ground they were on. They were all wearing white making it hard to see how many there were, all he knew a battle had happened not to lounge ago. **** Bleck hated waiting. Waiting for Kuck to either come back with nothing interesting, find something and vox back or die. All he wanted to do is go out and blow something up. Ever since they landed on this… planet of snow he had been bored. No one needed him and there was nothing to look at. His squad never seemed to get anything to do. He didn’t like this snow thing either, his feet were cold, his hands were cold and his face was cold. His fingers felt numb, how was he to pull the trigger of a lasgun or fire on top of his Leman Russ. This planet sucked, why is it necessary it was just nothing compared to all the great planets out there, why was the one they ended up on so boring. **** “Hooly” Kuck came over the command vox channel “We have found an Imperial Guard camp behind the smoke and it looks like a battle was here not to lounge ago. Whoever did this is probably still here” Hooly swore, an unknown enemy, the wrong planet… so much fun. The Cadian 12th rolled out to Kuck’s location, whatever was up on this planet must be sorted out. The lines of the 12th only took minutes to arrive at primary location. Hooly stepped out of his command chimera, taking in what he saw in front of him. A guard camp in ruins after an unexpected battle against… who knows what. The blood… the death… the fires… How could have this happened, whom ever was meant to be sent to here must have been back-up and that is what Hooly and his men will provide.

6. WHAAAAG! A clang sound was echoed across the camp, footsteps and roars were heard to the North. “Whaaag!” was heard being screamed. Hooly knew what this meant orks were near bye. “Men of the Cadian 12th hold up your weapons and ready your tanks, get ready to fire at anything that isn’t us!” Lack stood up, he looked at the target screen on his Weryvn, he saw shapes begging to emerge in to range, the orks were coming and there was only one thing he could do “FIRE”. Bullets swarmed into the air from multiple tanks, raining down on the front lines of the green tide. Laughing and shouts were heard growing ever nearer as now every weapon at hand opened fire. Lasfire brightened the snow planet like Christmas; explosions were heard and seen across the plain. Commissar Turediz stood in between the lines of Guard. Where he saw what he never wanted to see again, Skullkraka. The warboss was a sturdy build, like any Ork. He held his Shoota up high and his head down low firing endless fire into the guard lines. Turediz then had to look away he had seen it again, arrest on Skullkraka’s shoulder, the skull of his brother Tuminiz, from the same battle that he lost his arm. Turediz forced the memory away; instead he thought of one thing… revenge. Hooly stood within his command squad bellowing orders over the vox, the battle was going in the guards favour, as there line was not broken and there tanks stood afire. All they needed to do was to hold their lines and break the orks… mess. Bleck was happy now, a battle a fight time to do the emperor some justice. He was at the front lines in his Leman Russ, Infinity. He loved watching the orks fall dead as he pressed on, firing and firing. Lasfire beamed around him and he was loving it. Gick stood in the mass lines of guard, shooting endless rounds of lasfire at the orks, ever since they landed on this planet he knew there wasn’t something rite, and when Kuck found the camp all his guess work was correct, orks. Night was falling and soon there will be no more sunlight left in the day. He hated when it go dark everything just seems different. Kuck was firing and firing las fire into an endless tide of orks. Nothing was going rite, his lascannon burnt out earlier, and now his search light is failing. It was going to be a hard night. The orks never seemed to stop; the amount that Lack had fired into them still wasn’t enough. They just kept coming. Thousands of dots filled up his screen as well as some bigger ones he didn’t like the look of. He decided to fire at larger blobs, they were the deadly ones. But still, the amount of orks after that was done… and night had fallen a lot quicker than he had wanted. Hooly wanted this night to be over. The guard lines were begging to slowly break, and soon they would lose if they don’t get a grip. Orks were horrible creatures, all they like to do is fight, so they were at the other end with big grins on their faces, and now Dakkajets began to fly overhead, the Ork tide was growing ever closer. The lines of hydra’s roared into fire sending bullets up into the night sky ,after the Dakkajets. An explosion was seen in the sky as a ball of fire fell out of the sky, figures crossed it was a Dakkajet nothing else. Turediz saw Skullkraka and his green tide advance; this was his chance to kill him. Kuck saw what he never wanted to ever see, a Stompa advance towards him, all he could do was open fire. The Stompa smashed into Kuck’s senital squad sending them flying over the battlefield and exploding a few miles away, killing Kuck and guardsmen in the area of the explosion. “Crap!” Cried Hooly as the giant swiped across the guard lines, fire opened all around it. Within minutes the Stompa exploded sending a wave of fire across the plain, killing hundreds of guardsmen and sending tanks flying. Gick and his squad were caught in the explosion that destroyed the front lines and Orks near it. Hooly grabbed his vox and issued a new order “Whatever that is left out of our tank squads, please re-group and fire same goes to everyone lets push these guys out of here” The fire re-opened and the orks were begging to fall back, this was Turediz’s chance, he raced up to the Ork lines and swiped his power sword at Skullkraka but the warboss moved out of the way, slashing of Turediz’s other arm and shooting him in the leg. A rush of pain shot up Turediz he collapsed in the mix of pain hitting his head hard of the ground, never to stand up again as Skullkraka ripped of his head, a new trophy for the feared warboss. The battle was over, the orks ran away and the guard were left in the mists of the battle. The Cadian 12th will continue their work on Cadia and after that, who knows what’s to come.