I still remember the broadcast. "Despite the best effort of Imperium of terra, the Barkash conferation has breach new britania defence. Intial planet fall placed the victory squarely in imperium hands. But the xeno fleet broke through are lines and millions of troops.

All in other news the new Far Reach Station, the Melbourne, was destroyed cataclysmic depression of the outer hull. Authorities are still searching for clues as to the cause of the explosion. The death toll so far is twenty-five hundred casualties including the ruling nobility, archdukes and members of the planetary government."

The few remaining squad members had gathered at a table in the dining hall. I felt that I owed the man who I was rude to before an apology. "My name is Everett Gerald," I said pitifully trying to sound positive. He looked up from his plate and gave me glare and kept eating.

I'm from Partheathia. It feral agricultural world on the edge of the human sphere.

The man finally takes interest. "What are they doing abducting farmer from somewhere so remote."

I didn't have an answer nor could I fathom one. "No idea. It was a feral world. I guess the they thought farmer would be hardy. Before the age of imperialism, before the planet was settle, back when ideology ruled the stars. There was a noble who had illegal collection of exotic animal. When the Terran Authority came down on him the animals escaped and became evasive to the ecosystem. This noble had everything from Carpathian-Rex to strangler vines. 

Damn, he says focusing on me and not his food for the first time. He focused on one particular topic, are the rexes as big as they say.

I nodded, they're as big four story building or bulk space transports. Mean as all hell.

You kill one he asked. I did. Small arms won't do shit. We have armed grav-speeders to hunt them with, an entire airforce. Infact they frequently destroy entire towns. How about you?

He pauses, "I'm Evans Thorn from Good Springs on the planet Mvarthka. Our planet is dull. Mostly backwaters, maybe a few wrench monkeys. We payed are tithe hoping the Imperium would never come. One day a man comes a calling. Says he's a representative and tell us that he's going to select  the finest of our citizens. The next thing I know, I'm knee deep in lizards. We're not fighters. We have no place in war."

I shook my head impressed by his survival. "You are a fighter. Your still alive while the rest of your group is dead. You have a warrior 's heart, even if you don't know it."

He smiles. "Thank you"

The news changes again. We both look up. "The Imperium has located the xeno homeworld on the fringes of the human sphere. Just moments ago arms master Sir. Gregory Steward and high fleet-admiral Dunn'vir said in a press conference that the army is preparing for the invasion set to begin early tomorrow morning. 

You think this war really will be over, I asked

Only with the help from people like us. We both smiled.

We continue to discuss are shared battle and home planet. 

The statistics show that the orbital fleet expended one million five hundred thousand rounds, fired one million two hundred missiles, and used up three hundred thousand capacitors in the first hour alone.

The planet with biosphere as diverse as any planet in the human sphere was reduced to ash. The furthest reach of the planet were even nuked. You could see the destruction from orbit and from the inside of a drop-pod. I witnessed in that short time span from the pod's launch to planet fall, the lush sprawling jungles carefully preserved for millennia being reduced to a barren wasteland. 

It was clear to me then and even now that the military didn't care about this world. They wanted a thorn in their side removed. 

Back in the turn of the century, there was a conflict between the nation state of Vietnam and United states. Many good reasons were sited for starting the conflict. The ending of ideals, end of tyranny ect. But the United States didn't want to seem like the bad guy. They wanted the moral high-ground, to further their ends they placed limitations on the military. 

You can't use ordnance next to civilians, you can't directly attack civilians targets, you must help enemy combatants, you must not fire first. The enemy had no such restrictions and any immoral form of warfare was allowed. The nation state of America found out if you bring boxing gloves to brass knuckles fight, you're going to loose.

The new Terran Imperium learned from that lesson and took it to the most extreme conclusion. Instead of fighting with restrictions, they threw out the rule book and threw every conceivable method of warfare at the enemy. Nukes, chemical weapons, psychological warfare, and bombing and artillery strike on both military and civilian targets. Every conceivable concentration of life was bombed out of existence. Nothing was to be left, just ashes remained. 

They're fleet was scattered on the frontline on the human sphere leaving their home planet vulnerable. By the time their fleet regroups to take back their planet, nothing will be left but a useless dead rock. The embers will light their way into extinction. But when does anything go as plan.

I was pushing 12g when the pod enters the atmosphere and that's with internal dampeners. My suit constricts around my legs and arms like a vice forcing the blood to my brain, blood pressure limiters and life support keeps me from blacking out. I look over at the impacted faces of my squad. The gravitational force had caused their face to be crushed into their seats, the flesh on their face gaunt and pulled back. 

The crash is worst. The pod's thrusters were barely able to reduce the velocity enough to not kill us. By the time the pods crashed to earth, I was a new born deer who had stumbled out into hell. The blood rushes out out of my head flood my body causing intense dizziness. When I came to my sense, I checked on my squad. The old timers: Zack, Zeogure, Kekitsune, Vhorys, and Hughes were fine. The new comers were also fine except for one case of concussion. I gazed over the sqaud's armament. The squad's had mostly razor rifles, but had a few specialized weapons. There was one particle rifle, selection of kraken grenades, one Hazer rifle, and Squad suppression weapon the IHS 1145.

He made sure only the veterans got the heavy weapons. Then he rounded up his men. There was no leaders in this army, but mutual survival meant avoiding mutual destruction.

Shall we go, I ask my squad mates pointing towards the horizon. The squad formed up behind me. I started walking and hoping they were behind me. They were and together we pushed onwards towards the horizon. Along the way we met more members of my squad and we joined up with them.

A sea of fire blazing into eternity stands before me like the guardians of a great gate. Up above me is a burning orange sky. I could see little falling stars, each one a pod carrying a dozen soldiers.

At the proverbial city gates, I stopped and turned to my squad. I tapped my polymer helmet, the ring on my left hand creating a dull thud. In unison my squad  returns the gesture. We were ready to confront the great gates and their keepers. Approaching the capital city the ground began to shake and saw a bright flash of light that lit of the sky; even more than all of the fires. Another bright flash lights up artificial night like a second sun and debris rain down across the desolate city. I felt the earth quake a few seconds latsr caused by the weapons firing. 

When we regused to be doslodge from our. Posttion. The firing had stopped. I popped my head out and look out. I didn't see anything and xenos had hunkered down and hid away. There was a distant howl. I look over the concrete rubble. There is nothing. Another howl but much closer. Now scratching on the ground and heavy footsteps. I look out again seeing a beast akin to dogs dogs but with a boar like snout and unhinge jaw with rows of razor sharp teeth. 

There is more than I count, a hoards of gnashing teeth and stomping feet. It sounded like the distant rumbling of thunder. I open fired killing dozen of them, but the creatures push forward. I hadn't notice but my men had looked out over the rubble and joined my fire. This entire event only took seconds.

The next series of events only took another five or so seconds. The creature leaped over the precipice. I hardly remember what happened next. Blurry images strung together like a horrible film reel. The next thing I remember is pain and looking at this enormous hellbeast's beedy eye staring into my soul. It lunges I grab my combat knife and strike forward. Luck must have been on my side because blade went under and up the colar bone seriously wounding the creature. I pull out my side arm and down two more who came tumbling down the mountain of concrete and rebar. 

By the time my sense caught up with the events, the pack explodes and taking out several of the rookies. I found out later thAt Luckily the rookie survived. It was massive monstrosity of metal and ploymer. A nightmare of gears and servos. It must've been design by madman; with it's metal spider legs attached to a raised weapon's platform. On either side is twin rottating cannon belching out death in massive sparking impacts. I ran into near by building trying to come up with a halfway decent plan. One leg crush a two story building diagonal from me. Zeogure was up first with the SSW trying find a weak spot. Then I saw Kekitsune with the tube launcher. He fires  hitting the lower connecting side of the metal legs. The explosion rocks one of the struts connecting the torso to one of it's six mechanical legs. But despite staggering it, the missile failed to disconnect the leg.

In slow motion I watched a shot land close to  Kekitsune and send him flying into the air where he is shredded by airborne rocks turned shrapnel. I locked eyes with Zeogure and we both waited for one of us to come up with plan. I suddenly had a flash of inspiration. It was a ludicrous plan and Zeogure could see it in my eyes. The veteran shakes his head, but I refused. I ran out into the open, grabbed the tube launcher, and ran underneath the walker-tank. The tank was confused and kept spinning around trying to find me. At this close range the tube launcher was suicide. But there was no choice. I remember hitting the red button on the side of the cylinder and felt the exhaust bath over me. Then nothing.