The sky was gloomy, spacecraft flickering in and out, a war raging so far yet so close. Quintis watched them, imagining the chaotic war without gravity, the fear and death when a hole pierced the ships thick armour. The grasp of space as it reached in and ripped everyone out. Though, this was only for the imagination, he was nothing but a flesh wall against the tide, a lone soldier for the greater good.

The cold air of the ruinous outside world still seeped into his room, his sheets keeping him somewhat cozy and warm. His small chamber layered with whitened concrete and a glass sunroof. Of course, the glass was the strongest available, air raids in the night may be uncommon these days, but not impossible. His set of black and dark green armour sat in the corner, his rifle against the wall with boxes of ammunition. The Gladius on his nightside table, its bright metal reflecting the moon light. Despite all the world improvements, weaponry as primitive as a Gladius and shield were still highly used.

Quintis finally closed his eyes, he needed to be prepared for the next wave.

--

The sky shattered and the ground shook. He felt the mud engulfing his thick boots. Quintis looked up in the chaos, the skyline was covered in flying mud, ships of colossal size flew by faster than he could think.

Quintis collapsed, the pure agony of the chaos making him shake. But it was not all lost, a hand grabbed his backpack and pulled him into a murky blast hole, the blood and water covering him. Thank God for this damn gas mask, no matter how much I hate you, he thought with a surge of relief.

He heard the ear shattering scream of his squad leader, his piercing yells going over the radio. “I KNOW MOST OF US ARE DEAD OR SOON-TO-BE! BUT OUR EMPIRE NEEDS US! FOR THE EMPEROR! FOR THE GREATER GOOD!”

Quintis gripped his rifle harder. For the Greater Good. For the Emperor. For the Empire. His thoughts were repeating over and over, it was time for him to kill some more of the mongol scum. He stood up in the muddy pit and aimed his rifle at the ridge, where their horde was charging from.

For a moment, time stopped, he watched as the robotic horses jumped the ridge and the riders aimed their snipers. The yellow glow of their visors as the scope gleamed. Then it all came back to proper time.

“GET DOWN!” The radio roared, and then the ridge exploded into flame.

A new voice came over the radio, a calmer and younger one. “Hello, this is headquarters, new information has arrived, enter the city immediately, the entire outer sector is being bombed. If you cannot get into the walls, then we will make sure your family gets a Mane.”

How could they talk so causally about killing their own damn people! They sent us out here and now their bombing us! Faulty leadership, the Emperor would never have done this if he was here! Quintis thought as he turned and ran for the opening in the city’s wall, the rubble creating a large road for the escaping troops to run on.

Quintis ran, dozens of other troopers running beside him. They were so close to safety when some began to collapse, blood coating the rubble. He turned to see more Yellow-Eyes jumping the ridge and charging for them. The snipers releasing bullets that ripped through multiple troops at once, we are being culled like sheep out here, he thought. The line of safety was so close, yet death was chasing them all…