Warhammer40K: Chaosblade

Chapter 1 proving ground

"Recording date 999.M41 Ryan's log. this is my first voice recording out of well...depends on how long my story is, which is to say is quite long, painfully so." "It all started when I was born on Cadia in 987.M40. "My childhood even for a kid on Cadia was fairly uneventful, other than the occasional battle and combat training, I didn't have too many friends growing up my best friend Darius whom I've known for all my life at the time, was a psyker, he was taken aboard a black ship not to be seen for a very long time, it wasn't until I was 8 that I met this strange trader who came around every so often, normally traders came and went but this one he always came back." 

"I miss those days, I cant believe it's been this long already, anyway I'd always come to see what he had to trade, to most people they were odd ancient trinkets not worth looking at but I always found them interesting, my family was never particularly wealthy so id trade weapon and vehicle parts that id sneak out to trade him so I could afford even the littlest things, though after a few years he'd give me some of his trinkets and devices for free just for being a longtime customer, it's a good thing I never got caught or else id probably have been executed." 

 "After I became a white shield I never really saw him much, hell for all the years I knew him, I only knew his first name. "Calidus, he was an older man with a short beard and gray hair, one strange thing thing about him though other than how he managed to live to be centuries old is that when I was near him I could feel this strange energy about him, I can't really describe it." "When I was eighteen just a year into the new millennium My friend Leon and i who were both in the same platoon and squad were sent on our first engagement against an attack from the ruinous forces of chaos, i still remember entering the valkyrie, the dread I felt hearing rumors that our forces were being pushed back with the arrival of chaos space marine reinforcements." 

 "It was rather strange because it seems as though they were preparing for an ambush, its not uncommon for the forces of chaos to form raiding bands but this one was different it was almost as if they were looking for something specifically... specifically our city, but why?"  "It was a good thing they were spotted fairly early or else their attack would've been far more effective, potentially reaching the gates of the city, but as Cadians we hold the line to the last man."  "Anyway where was I...oh yes when my platoon arrived to the site of the battle, it was hell on Cadia, the enemy force was larger than I had thought both our forces were dug in, theirs more so than ours, all we had were some barricades, sandbags and the bodies of our comrades as cover, while they had monstrous artillery, gun emplacements and trenches." "I prayed to the emperor to give me and my platoon the strength to fight these heretics, just enough so even if I died they would not reach my family... I could not bear the thought of losing them, as we landed and exited the valkyrie all I could hear was the sound of lasguns, bullets and bolters."  "Leon stayed by my side as we took cover and received our orders, he was a loyal and good friend to me as I was to him."

"I remember the orders the commissar shouted at us, he wasn't exactly the most inspirational speaker, and like most commissars he would often shoot any soldiers retreating behind him, though at least he would give every soldier at least one chance unless they ran off in the distance." "We marched forward into battle watching as bullets flew by, men died and the smell...smoke and blood, a smell I'd get used to very quickly." 

As Ryan walked through the battlefield keeping up with the commissar and the rest of his platoon, keeping his head down but still remaining vigilant of his surroundings, he heard a guardsmen yelling about a couple meters behind the commissar having taken a lot of shrapnel from a bolter round, Ryan spotted the injured guardsmen laying on the ground with the body of another pinning him to the earth. Ryan couldn't just leave him there to die, he just couldn't. He ran over to the injured guardsmen, dodging and firing back at the vile heretics even if he could barely see them. The commissar took notice of the guardsmen whom seemed to be fleeing from combat.