The Abyss of War, Book One

The calm before the storm

4:00 AM, 912th Barracks inside Caelus Empire military district.

The intercom crackled to life with a brief burst of static. Our Field Commander's voice boomed through the barracks startling several of my comrades awake. 

"Get up soldiers! We leave in thirty minutes! You have ten minutes to get ready and then head to docking bay for launch! Move it!"

 Groaning I rolled to the side and sat up on my standard issue bed. There are four hundred of us in all, spread out across multiple shared rooms in the barracks. Those bedrooms are then separated by gender, meaning I was surrounded by men and boys for most of the day.

 After everyone was accounted for we were dismissed to the showers. There is a  sense of urgency in the air, as I look straight ahead to avoid stumbling across the raised step to the showers, I noticed an increased level of activity from the other room blocks. Three soldiers around my age come barreling around the corner just as I'm about to step into the showering area. 

They all wear worried expressions, I can tell from the insignia on their shoulders that they are all captain's. Before they disappear around another bend I step inside the shower room. Everyone else has mostly cleared out by now so I quickly hurry to shower and get myself into some presentable shape. After showering I quickly throw on the standard steel gray shirt and rake my white blonde hair back out of my light blue eyes.

Finally managing to not be blinded by my hair every ten seconds, I lace up my combat boots and begin the jog to the docking bay. Thankfully I arrive just in time and manage to slide next to one of my friends. The lack of silence is startling at first before I realize that we're in front of an assault carrier. This could mean one of two things. Early morning training, or we're being deployed. Finally my curiosity gets the better of me and I ask my friend, "Arthur, do you know why we were ordered to the docking bay one hour earlier than normal?" 

Arthur turns to me and gives me his signature smirk before replying, 

"Y'know Dayne, you're either dense, or you're just completely oblivious."

He then points across the docking bay to another assault carrier, the only difference is this one is being loaded with the 783rd Heavy Assault Force. Arthur then says 

"If that's any indication, we're being deployed. The recon units have already gone out and from what I've heard they're encountering fierce resistance."

I quickly turn back to Arthur as I feel all of the blood rush out of my face. 

"Arthur, do you know if Hana was deployed?" 

I ask as my voice shakes towards the end of the sentence. Arthur suddenly finds the floor panels very interesting and refuses to meet my eyes. Fed up with his display and worried for Hana I disregard the current situation and grab hold of his shoulders. Arthur looks up from the ground startled. His breath hitches slightly in pain and I realize I've been holding him a bit too tight. 

Just as I'm about to let go, I hear the absolute last voice I wanted to hear. 

"Sergeant-Major Tenebra! Can you please explain to me why you are molesting Sergeant Wyst?!"

 Jumping at the loud noise of the Field Commander's voice, I quickly turn and face him. 

"No reason sir! It will not happen again sir!" 

Staring straight ahead I don't even dare to look at Arthur to make sure he's okay. Showing weakness in front of Commander Black is not something you'd want to do. He's been known to kill his own men for cowardice and weakness. Of course, his rank means the empire overlooks his transgressions, but that does not erase them. 

"I do not have time to baby sit you two! We deploy to the front lines in ten minutes, if you are not ready by then, I will leave you behind and have you arrested for desertion do you two understand?!" 

Arthur and I both responded "Yes sir!" at the same time. Nodding, the Field Commander turned and walked back to the front of the group.

"Listen up ladies, gentlemen and degenerates! We are going to the city of Syne in southern Caelus. We deploy in nine minutes, we arrive in twenty! You will be going into battle, and some of you might not return. That is however, not my problem! Follow orders! Stay at your post and I swear to the heavens if I hear that someone has deserted their position or failed to complete their primary objective, I will PERSONALLY kill him! Do you understand?!" 

We all responded with "Yes sir!" and then dispersed to get our gear from our lockers. After putting on and double checking everything, my slate grey camouflage flak jacket and bullet proof vest were in place. My helmet and my armor pads were belted on. Switching my HUD to on, I was ready. Heading to the armory I was given a standard issue black empire pistol and assault rifle. Lastly a short single edged sword made of high quality steel, which I strapped horizontally onto my lower back. I quickly rejoined the others. 

Once we were all gathered and outfitted, the Field Commander spoke up. "Alright, lets do this quickly so we can be three minutes ahead of schedule! We will be deploying in twelve assault ships. My assault squad will be headed to the battlefield command center where I will issue orders to you all should things change. Now then, the squads and squad leaders will appear on the board above my head." 

Commander Black said, pointing to a large holo-screen above his head. 

"Do your duty, happy hunting." 

And with that, the screen flickered and began displaying squads. My squad finally appeared, I was to be in the vanguard assault. Shaking slightly, I looked to the board to find Arthur's squad. Finding him, I read the board. For the second time that day, I felt the blood drain from my face. He was placed in the recon relief squad. Meaning that he would be far beyond help from friendly forces.

Looking around the docking bay, I found Arthur preparing to board his assault ship. I jogged over and tugged at his arm. He turned around with a questioning look in his eyes before he saw it was me. It was odd, he looked strangely beautiful, his body framed with blue light spilling out from the open doors of the assault ship. Taking a deep breath for what I was about to do, I quickly stepped forward and kissed him. 

We stayed, locked together for a long time it seemed. Although in reality it couldn't have been more than five seconds. Stepping back from him, he stared at me with a surprised expression. Blinking away the tears that I had accidentally allowed to gather in the corners of my eyes, I said "Arthur. Be safe. Don't be a hero, and come back to me." Arthur blinked once and then nodded, he reached out to grab me but I turned away and headed for my own assault ship.

Once there, my team leader gave me a sympathetic smile before gesturing for me to step inside. Once inside the assault ship, the doors closed. The pilot advised us to buckle in due to take off being imminent. Quickly buckling myself in as the interior of the assault ship went dark. Only to be filled with the dull red glow of the floor lights. 

With a familiar lurch, the ship's repulsor systems pushed us off the ground and then began propelling us forward. The inside of the assault ship was silent aside from the subtle breathing of the rest of my squad and the low hum of the repulsors. Closing my eyes I began to control my breathing, doing my best to forget about Arthur. I needed to focus on the task at hand. I did not intend to die today, I still have too much to do. Feeling the speed of the ship pick up once again, I knew we were outside of Imperial space. The next twenty minutes are going to be hell, I thought ruefully. The storm is ahead, and it's going to hit. Hard.

----------------Authors Note!----------------

Hiya! Hopefully you enjoyed chapter one! Updating will be a bit slow but when I do update, I'll try to post long chapters hehe!

*Edited and formatted*