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Do you remember the oil paintings of old? They always fascinated me. From a distance they seemed so vivid and real, yet up close they were splotchy, two dimensional messes splattered on a canvas. That was what it seemed like towards the end.

I should begin with the proper introductions. I am General Karmoz Diagr of the Jorall PDF 1st Legion. Jorall was a hive world in close proximity to the Maelstrom, though the Adeptus Mechanicus had been looking into converting it into a massive Forge World for bolter shells. Its PDF itself was similar to an Imperial Guard Regiment, albeit underfunded and smaller with some organizational differences. It was comprised of five companies, each one containing about a thousand soldiers and a slew of vehicles. Planetary Governor Xion Strab was the Commander-in-Chief and a poor one at that. He had inherited his position and had no military experience.

The other Generals were Antonius of the 2nd, Vibianus of the 3rd, Cicero of the 4th and Aulus of the 5th. Antonius was a cold hearted son of the bitch who would've made a better Tech-Priest than General. However, that role was taken by Magos Technicus Vitus, an even colder hearted son of a bitch who loyally served Xion. Vibianus was the polar opposite of Antonius, an overtly emotional and oddly sensitive General who seemed too weak for his position. I often had to step in and enforce loyalty amongst his soldiers, as he was frequently too squeamish to do so. Cicero was quiet and secretive. Even before the invasion there were rumors about where his true loyalty lied. Lastly there was Aulus, an even tempered and newly promoted General. Despite being equals in rank I frequently acted as a mentor to Aulus and was on friendlier terms with him than any of the other Generals.

One day the Maelstrom flared, the warp extending further into the material than ever before. Reality was anything but. Skies turned red and horrible creatures spawned into existence. Masses of tentacles and unbound musculature crawled up from the depths. Triple jointed, six armed, green scaled fiends sung ballads of pain and death from their slew of unhinged maws as they wrecked havoc on the masses. Sluglike monstrosities stalked the sewers and crevasses. Distorted creatures of inhuman proportions systematically cut down our Legions as if it were child play.

We were all horrified. One minute Jorall had been one the strongest planets within Ultima Segmentum and now we were waiting on death's door. Xion summoned us to his underground arctic base. We each had personal quarters, servants and a food supply estimated to last ten years. It seemed safe enough.

On the sixth day of hiding, Antonius approached me with a warning. "I think you're the only person I can still trust," he had whispered. It was funny what he had said, considering that we were never close. We were within my sparse quarters, a 10x6 foot concrete box with a bunk, desk and closet. I hadn't had time to bring many personal belongings with me. "Servants have been going missing. You've no doubt noticed. Xion spends all of his time along in his quarters. Vitus is constantly augmenting the only comm device we have left. We've obviously been infiltrated. It isn't safe here anymore."

"Calm down," I said, keeping a strong composure. If I had so much as blinked Antonius would've seen it as a sign of weakness or fear and started spouting off about how I secretly knew that he was right. "Servants haven't been going missing. That's ridiculous. Furthermore, Xion is just hiding because, like you, he's paranoid. Vitus is augmenting it because we can't get a signal through the warp storm and he wants to fix it."

"You're one of them," said Antonius. "You're one of them!"

"What are you talking about?"

I had never seen Antonius show this much emotion in his life. His eyes turned wide and muscles tensed. Sweat was streaming down his wrinkled forehead. He yelled something incomprehensible and reached for his shin strapped hotshot laspistol. I instinctively kicked him in the crotch, causing him to stumble back. He braced against the wall and I kicked him again. Grunting in pain, he grabbed the laspistol.

Thank the Emperor, the first shot missed me. The laspistol glowed brightly and a flash of light soared past my arm, scorching the wall. Before he could fire again I grabbed his gun arm with my right hand and punched him in the face with my left. His head banged against the wall. He howled like a diseased animal and tried to wrench the gun free, but I simply punched him again. Finally he let go of the gun and collapsed.

"Antonius!" I yelled. "Don't..." He jumped up and began to run at me. "...move!"

I pulled the trigger. His neck snapped back. Burnt skin peeled back from the radius of the super heated hole in the center of his forehead. It took a moment to process. Antonius was dead. He had tried to kill me and I had killed him. The first General of the Jorall PDF had died from the conflict and the killer was one of his own comrades. Antonius was dead.

Just because I had disliked Antonius didn't mean I didn't lament his death. It was a horrifying experience to kill a comrade; a brother. I slowly laid down on my bunk and curled up in the fetal position, staring at Antonius' corpse.

About ten minutes later I forced myself to acknowledge that I couldn't just lie there forever. I was a General of the PDF and a loyal servant of the Emperor. I slowly stood up, forcing my limbs to move. Upon standing, I unlocked my door and looked out into the hallway.

Someone had turned off the lights. It was empty and dark, reminiscent of those abandoned buildings near the outskirts of hive cities. A labyrinth system of other void like hallways and locked doors connected up with it. I pushed away my irrational fears and left the comfort of my quarters and approached a tall door at the end of the hallway. It was the entrance to Xion's room. I knocked twice.

"Who is it?" asked a shaky voice.

"It's me, Karmoz," I answered in an equally shaky voice.

"Why are you here?" he hissed.

"Can I come in?"

There was a pause before Xion replied. "Why?"

I nervously glanced behind me. "I don't like the halls here. They make me feel exposed."

"Go away," Xion said.

"I have something impo-"

He cut me off. "Go away."

"Antonius is dea-"

"Go away!"

I sprinted back to my quarters like a man possessed. Upon stepping through the doorway, I noticed something (or rather a lack of something) terrifying. Antonius was gone. I frantically searched for any sign of his corpse. I rooted through the closet. I cut open my mattress. I searched under my desk. I looked under my bunk. It was clear that the corpse had disappeared. Even the scorches on the wall were gone. Now I was beginning to doubt myself. Had I even killed him?

Days blurred past from that point onwards. I kept within my quarters, eating what little food supply I had stocked inside. The only mental stimulation was when I searched my room for any sign of anything whatsoever. Sometimes I heard footsteps passing by in the cold hallways. When I did I kept a firm grip on my laspistol and waited anxiously by the door.

I don't know how many days later, but sometime after the confrontation with Antonius footsteps stopped in front of my quarters. Something metal knocked against the door. I debated whether or not I should acknowledge it.

Finally I said, as Xion had, "Who is it?"

"Vitus," answered a monotone voice. Due to its emotionless and hissing tone, I was sure it was him. "Please open the door."

I almost told him to leave, but I didn't want to end up like Xion. My quarters only had so much food; I would need to leave eventually. Better now than when I'm starving and on the brink of death. I unlocked it and threw it open.

Vitus was a tall figure hidden beneath thick, red robes. Segmented mechanical tubes extended from his sleeves and a bulky breathing apparatus poked out from his hood. His pose was casual and nonthreatening.

This is only part 1. There will be about three parts. C&C are appreciated.