"We need to take this bunker out right now, heavy weapons to the left flank, supressing bolterfire on my command! I repeat we need..."
A detonation, just a few meters from his position ended his sentence as the blastwave threw him to the ground, covering him in sand & pulverised rock. The auto-senses of his power armour tried to protect him his senses, by turning numb for a second, but even then, the noise left him disoriented for a few heartbeats. Sergeant Alois of the Ravenguard jumped back on his feet and threw himself behind the remainings of a burned out Leman russ chassis. In a fluid motion he threw out his empty boltmagazine & reloaded. It was his order to take this position, to reclaim this fortress in the name of the emperor. He was Astartes & he would not fail his mission.
The enemy has been allowed to hold this fortification for too long. This lonely bunker-complexe, in the middle of this endless desert may seem to be a minor threat compared to the planetwide invasion of chaos forces, but it was in the perfect position to protect the Gallarn-canyons to the east. Those canyons are the only way the imperial guard could use to re-inforce & bring their tanks to the front. In the fine desert sand, even the mighty machines, blessed by the Omnissiah of mars, would sink in otherwise. The planetary defence forces learned that the hard way. Nobody used the endless sea of sand on Callarx 5. The few imperial fortresses & the hivecity of Callarx primus were all been build on solid rock. So it was a shock for the planetary governour to find out that the arch enemy has been able to land his forces in this deadly inviroment. The first wave of armoured defenders, who were send out to gather informations about the hated invaders, and (if possible) fight back, dissapeared beneath the sand in minutes. 2000 souls lost, without a single shot fired...
As the Raven guard made planetfall, Sergeant Alois first order was to execute this so called "gouvernour" for this fatal decision. Heavy machinery would not last out here, so he ordered the tank-batallions to protect the hivecity and the few solid passages. Only infantry & scout sentinels were able to opperate under such conditions, which let the brave soldiers of the Imperium drasticly outgunned. Without air superiority, thanks to the frequent sand-storms, they stand no chance, not against the arch enemy, not against traitors of the worst kind, not against chaos-marines. So the missions depended on him and his astartes. The raven guard would show no mercy, they would not fail.
"Sergeant, enemy in sight" His com was hard to understand thanks to the atmospheric disturbences on this desert planet. Alois nodded.
"Clearification?"
"Iron Warriors sire"
Iron Warriors, the betrayers of Istvaan V, bastard-born scum of Perturabo, may his soul burn for eternity.
The grip around his Bolter tightened as he peeked around the corner of his fragile cover. 400 meters in front of him, ontop a small mountaintop, he could see the enemy bolterfire from the trenches. A burning flower of destruction appeared as the fortified artillerie fired again, annihilating a rockformation to his left like it was made out of paper.
"Your orders Sergeant?"
Brother Sergeant Alois changed from intercom to speaker, so that his voice could be heared clearly on the battlefield as he rised and fired his bolter in righteous fury:
"Sons of Corax, my brothers, in the name of the Emperor - attack! Let there be no mercy!"
Even through the fine sand, his geneticly enhaced physike, combined with the strenght of his blessed power armour, carried him 3 meters with every step as he stormed into the enemy fire. He could see one of his battlebrothers fall, his chest covered in bloody holes where the heavy-bolter had ripped open Armour, flesh & bones with ease. Another Raven guard dissapeared in a plasma explosion, leaving just a flat crater of molten sand behind. Alois knew that the chances of sucess in this operation were slim & degrecing by the minute. But he was Astartes - he would not fail...

I hope you can excuse grammatic errors, english is not my main language. This is setting the stage for a story, developing each day. We play a 40k campaign in ouer local club & the story we put behind it, is what you just read. If you want to know how the defence of Callarx 5 had developed so far, i will be happy to write more

enjoyed the read

Very enjoyable

hmm needs more sex!

Decra-desert basecamp: 2 hours earlier

Deevon exhaled a cloud of aromatised blue smoke, before throwing the rest of his Lho-stick into the sand, before stomping it with his boot. As he stared towards the horizon, where the two suns slowly dissapeared behind the Urgend-mountains, he scratched his chin.
"Join the PDF they said, a well paid and safe job they said....cant say that i agree" "Maybe you should stop complaining and do what i asked of you" He turned around, a smile appeared on his lips as he formed the sign of the aquilla before his chest. "Greetings Commander, i hope i did not wake you up?" Tasia Gronum was everything he had always looked for in a women. Her shoulderlong hair in the color of old oak was slowly moving in the evening breeze. His eyes wandered down on her. Her intelligent hazelnut-colored eyes, the little scar above her full lips, Her breasts pressing against the half opened leatherjacket, the sweatpearls on her skin, the form of her hips under her thin pants... yes she was exactly his type, too bad that she was such a colossal bitch. "No you did not, to be honest it would be good to know why you are out here and not repairing the Com as i recall, had asked of you some hours ago?"¨ Deevons smile disappeared as quick as it had formed. "I would, but i am not a techpriest mamzel. I could change some parts and see if it work, but i am sure it takes a bit more to fix a grenade damage" Tasia nodded as she spottet Lho-Stick in the sand. "You have by no means one more of them, do you? And please call me by my rank" "I sure have mamz....i mean Commander" Deevon fished the half full package out of his breastpocket and hold it towards her. Her elegant fingers picket one out, before holding it before her eyes, starring at it for a while. "I was always afraid that things like this would kill me one day, now i think i wasted my life by not smoking them" The smile returned as he threw her a lighter. "Im sorry Commander, but i think you may have."
Her eyes meet his, and Deevon was sure he could see a spark of amusement, before she lighten up the Stick & took a deep breath. In a way he could not explain, that made her even more desirable. She stepped towards him, holding the lighter in her flat hand. He grabbed it gently.
"Thank you soldier."
"Deevon."
"What?"
"My name is Deevon Commander, Deevon Aggada"
"Are you sure?"
He blunk a few times, confused by that response.
"Im afraid i dont quite understand?"
Tasia let herself fall into the soft sanddune und starred into upcomming nightsky.
"Do you know why i am here soldier? Why i have been assigned to the PDF 8 tank squad?"
Deevon sat himself besides her, before answering.
"Every regiment got supervisers from the guard i heard. to train & teach us the ways of the Astra Militarum."
She nodded
"That is correct. My job is to keep you alive as long as possible and forge you into more effecient soldiers. Because that is what this Planet needs now - Soldiers. Not a bunch of civilists with guns."
"Commander, i think you think to less of the PDF."
"Do i?"
"I am almost certain. This is ouer world, we are here to defend it, we are willing to give ouer lives for it"
"That is not enough."
"Commander?"
Tasia laid her head on her shoulder and looked at him.
"No Soldier, i am here too. Do i have to defend your Planet? No, i am here to do the Emperors will. Believe me i would rather be on my own world right now if i could, but i cant. The Galaxy is a hostile place, this is not about this war, this planet, this is a fight for the survival of humanity - for the survival of the empire."
Deevon tried to escape her starring, but he could not force himself to break eyecontact.
"But the Empire is everlasting isn`t it? i mean we have the mighty Imperial fleet, we have soldiers like you, we have the mighty Astartes. How could someone overcome such power?"
"The Galaxy is vast soldier... and there are horrors beyond comprehension out there. Believe me, cause i have seen them...."
She took another deep breath from her Lho-Stick, before watching the nightfall again.
"Do you know how many men had died under my command?"
"No Comma..."
"More then i can count. I follow orders, i fight the night that tries to distinquish the flame of humanity in the name of the emperor, but victorys dont come without a prise. I am the last of my original Platoon. Gideon, my driver from the days we left the academy was the last to go. He died 4 months ago on the other side of the Segmentum, together with the rest of the crew. I crawled out of the burning wreck of my former so proud tank... I dont know if i am blessed by the emperor, or cursed. I watched everyone die i once could called "close" to me. But i will fight untill even i, one day will get the Emperors peace. And in doing so i forfill my role. You see now, you may BE Deevon Aggada, but for my you are my gunner. Not more - not less. The Imperial Guard cant afford names. You are a soldier."
Deevon had no words to answer, he just starred at his Commander, unable to close his mouth.
Tasia raised herself again, slowly walking back towards her Tank, leaving a emotional shaked Deevon behind.
"Thanks for the Lho-Stick soldier"
He lightend up another one for himself, before leaning back onto the still warm sand, starring into the now completly dark sky, with billions of stars on it...
"Your welcome Commander..." He whispered as the wind brought the sound of battles from behind the mountains towards him