Assault 

Eyes straining into the dust all about him, Malaney focused on the dark patch far in the distance and sensed rather than felt the enemy eyes scanning back over the featureless terrain separating them.

Pins and needles were creeping into his arms while he lay here, forcing him to shuffle forward slightly, working his elbows into the soft ground to steady his aim.

Malaney’s heart pounded in his chest again as it had on and off over the last hour, threatening to break free from his body as the adrenaline fed blood faster and faster into his system.  Again he scanned the horizon.

‘Holy Terra preserve us’ he muttered as his eyes stretched wide with fear. 

To his front the huge behemoth shape of an Astartes Dreadnought swaggered into view, steam venting from exhaust shafts and weapons spinning as it sought a target.  ‘This is it ‘ he thought, ‘the waiting’s over at last.’  He glanced to either side of the monster looking for other targets to no avail – the huge war machine dominated his vision.  None of this made sense to him, his army, this army was fighting a holy war, the Emperor was on their side – they had been told so numerous times by the Preachers, so why were the Astartes fighting them.  Surely they could not have been misled as to the cause of their fight?’

‘Now was not the time for philosophy’ he scolded himself, settling his cheek to the stock of his lasrifle and sighting on the clanking monster to his front concentrating hard to steady his shaking hands.

Focusing hard on his training Malaney blocked out everything but the target from sound and vision.  His mind saw only the looming green and metallic giant with its deadly presence.  He didn’t hear the cacophony of the Battle cannons firing, the Earthshaker shells whistling overhead or the steady rain of Las and bolt fire heading from his lines.  His mind focused on one thing- the monster approaching. 

‘Aim at the joints, aim at the joints’ The finer points of his marksmanship training came back unbidden as his finger tightened on the trigger.

To his left and right weapons roared as the Imperial line opened up in force, Guardsmen all about him fought and died firing over and over into the haze at targets that were as yet invisible.

‘Nearly in range’ He muttered and winced as a bolt round ricocheted off of the broken wall he sheltered behind forcing him to lose aim momentarily.

Malaney raised his lasweapon to his shoulder once more, settled his elbows, sighted along the barrel into the haze and froze.  As if a giant curtain had been pulled back, the dust that obscured the enemy line suddenly lifted opening up the barren panorama to his front and revealing all his nightmares rolled into one.

From horizon to horizon they stretched – Space Marines, Rhino troop carriers, Predator tanks, Dreadnoughts and even the Black machines of a Ravenwing force

‘Emperor protect me!’ he whispered and then watched in awe as the Astartes line fired, the enemy line lighting up in the morning haze with a blaze of man made fire.

Malaney never saw the shells fall, he was dead seconds before it hit, shrapnel in his heart and his lasrifle in his hands – unfired.