[center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/181015/49827a1efc5d4084826f027df8b06a5a.png[/img][/center][right][hr][color=gray][b]Divini Muneris[/b]
Imperial Lander[/color][hr][/right][indent][color=lightcoral][b]"Private Haellen, wasn't it?"[/b][/color] The red-haired guardsman spoke. [color=lightcoral][b]"Whatever foe is down on the surface, I bet they'll target me before they see you."[/b][/color] He continued, laughing away at his friendly boast. Raising her fist, Celethe met his with her own in a good old-fashioned fist bump as the ginger promised to watch over her, just like she had promised to him.

[color=35B82A][b]"Now, you better not go breaking that promise on me, okay?"[/b][/color] Celethe responded as the interior of the lander shook, making for quite the bumpy ride. She—or anyone else, for that matter—had been unable to see what was happening outside, leaving Celethe with a sense of wonder once again. The higher ups had been rather secretive in withholding information from the fresh recruits, and it bothered Celethe. She knew there must've been a reason for it, but as someone who specialized in reconnaissance, Celethe understood that the difference between knowing and not knowing could be a matter of life and death.

Taking one last glance in the direction of her squadmates, Celethe gave the guardsman an affirming nod. [color=35B82A][b]"We'll give whatever's down there hell; I'm sure of it."[/b][/color][/indent][hr][right][color=gray][b]Dugatov City[/b]
Outskirts[/color][/right][hr][indent][b]"Alright, Fourth Squad! Up and ready."[/b]

Before long, it was their time to disembark once the lander had reached Dugatov. Their sergeant was quick to call the squad to attention, and Celethe followed suit by unlatching her safety harness. Being the small, diminutive person she was, Celethe had been trying to put on a brave face, but as it finally came time for them to set ground on the battlefield, it would have been a lie to say that she wasn't nervous. The strawberry blonde Vosmarth had trained for this day, and now it was finally here. If Celethe, or anyone here, wasn't careful, then it was likely plausible that they would be just another name on some casualty list.

Not that Celethe counted on dying (especially with her luck, as well the Emperor and her squad watching after her), but if that was what to happen, then she hoped the Emperor would make it quick. Celethe didn't want be the one to rolling around in agony after having their legs blown off, no, she just wanted to drift off to sleep.

As the squad disembarked the lander, the landscape had the appearance of something depressing. The Vosmarth Regulars and their accompanying regiments were caught in a ferocious downpour, with crackling thunder and a sky as red as the light within the lander. Gazing in the direction of Dugatov City, Celethe had been additionally greeted with signs of a former battle. Foxholes had been drawn across the reddish landscape, with several Mechanicus wrecks sitting nearby. Whatever had happened here, Celethe hoped that it had been an Imperial victory.

[b]"Line up! Line up!"[/b] Their NCO had barked, ordering the squad to line up with the rest of the platoon, company and the regiment. Much like a fellow youth in her squad, Celethe's eyes had brightened as she saw the massive tanks and other armored vehicles line up against their flanks. With a cannon like that, nothing would stand in their way, or so Celethe had hoped.

Falling into rank and file had taken some time, and Celethe's gaze had eventually shifted towards Dugatov before them. Strangely, the city before the regiments had no sign of any movement, yet the enemy had to have been nearby as there had been a battle that had taken place not far from where they stood. [color=35B82A][b]"I don't like the look of this..."[/b][/color] Celethe uttered to whoever was listening. The standing ground was bustling with chatter and activity, but the silence that existed beyond that bothered the youth, even more so when her fears had been answered in a way she wasn't hoping for.

The ground—perhaps a mile or so—in front of the regiments had begun to shake and stir, revealing humanoid figures that Celethe struggled to identify. Whatever, or whoever it was, must've been the enemy, however, as the officers scattered to their positions to the chorus of tank fire. Still, the enemy marched on, seemingly refusing to die after being blown to smithereens.

[b]"Keep hold of your weapons, stick close to your mates, and keep up the rate of fire once we engage the enemy. Do not run, or you all know what will happen."[/b] The sergeant shouted, ordering the squad to the ready.

Biting her lip and gripping her lasgun tightly, Celethe stared at the green glowing figures dead on. There wasn't much more she could do but to pray to the God-Emperor, though Celethe had promised that they would all make it out, and if that meant blasting these things with a barrage of lasfire, then so be it.[/indent]