Darkness had unlashed its talons upon the Milky Way, splitting it from corner to corner.

Thousands of systems were consumed by the Empyrean's maw. Thousands of Imperial planets, loyal to the God-Emperor.

And yet, even in these darkest hours, Man's ships battled in the skies above damned worlds, face to face with unfathomable odds.

On the ground, on cracking planets, the wail of Lasguns and thunder of bolters echoed still.

Tank treads crushed the lines of foes, stemming the tide if even for a moment while Flamers burned a swathe in the lines...

And on the ground, men and women, soldiers and bringers of light, held the line with the fervor of the trillion souls of the Imperium itself, faith unshaken by the horrors seen.

And even today, on a distant, forgotten world...

They Hold The Line!

An army formed of six Imperial Guard Regiments retreating from Cadia had had their own, fair share of insanity when the Imperial Navy vessel that was transporting them out of the area attempted its jump into the Empyrean. Of course, that had proven a fatal mistake when the Eye of Terror itself spilled out, causing a thousand Warp Storms to ripple through time and space. That had, of course, had the inadvertent effect of sending the Tempest Faith, their transport, a thousand places at once, only to spit them out again over a planet that seemed... Relatively unaffected.

The deployment to the planet had not, however, been quite as nice to them as that. Early scout teams from all six regiments had reported the presence of strange creatures stalking them. Made of shadow and bone and with manes as black as night and talons, long and sharp, the strange monstrosities had just been found to be named 'Grimm'. One couldn't fathom why...

The Colonel in charge of the Cadian 18th Armored, Colonel Arethusa, had been kind enough to share the information from one of the scout teams, which had run into a local settlement.

Marguerite Arethusa was a high-born daughter of a Cadian General running supply for several regiments. Her father had gone through several major campaigns with the 412th, 14th, 23rd and 29th, proving to be valuable as the supply management officer of the Corps. The fact that Marguerite had been given command of an armored regiment, however, still stunned the woman to no end. She would have also taken the cushy job of supply running before the 13th Black Crusade, in all its horrid might, broke the peace that had settled on the Cadian Sector. She was given the 18th after its commander's untimely demise at the hands of the Traitors...

She was a supply runner like her father, not a commander of armored forces.

Sighing, the woman held onto the metallic harness that kept her in place on board the Valkyrie Gunship she was travelling down with. The Elysian 33rd and the Harakoni 5th had been kind enough to lend their transport ships for the officer corps of all Regiments present to travel to their respective scout teams. So far, thankfully, the Grimm proved to be an uneventful, if numerous, foe.

Her gaze shifted over to her right and her breath cut short once again...

Clad in slimmed-down, blessed ceramite, with a heavy power pack and a knightly helmet on her head, as well as the Fleur-De-Lis that was standard to their organization on her shoulder, an Adepta Sororitas sat, holding close her Bolter, red cape with the emblem of the Bloodied Rose hanging out of the back of her pack. The Adepta Sororitas were the most faithful of His Holy Ecclesiarchy and possibly the most dangerous women fighting on the field.

She had to admit, bar the Adeptus Astartes, the Sisters of Battle were one of the most awe-inspiring things she had seen fighting in a while. Past the sister, three Guardsmen, clad in the bog-standard dark-blue camouflage pattern uniforms and deep blue flak armor of her regiment. They also were sat behind her, since the seats were in the middle of the Valkyrie's cargo hold.

Sparing a glance toward the gunner on their side, who manned the heavy bolter on the door, the woman turned her attention toward the tablet in her hand. The tiny cogitator whirred and spurred as its systems parsed the data. The Faith had been kind enough to provide them some of her Enginseer complement for the tanks... Yet that wasn't what the woman was glancing over...

The list of the regiments present aboard, plus all support units, flashed on-screen.

The Cadian 18th Armored...

The Cadian 9th, kitted for Urban Warfare...

The Cadian 13th Mechanized Infantry...

The Elysian 33rd...

The Harakoni 5th...

And, most troubling of all, the Krieg 76th Heavy Artillery...

She had nothing against fellow Guardsmen and even less so against the fervent loyalists that fought alongside her, but... The Kriegers were a troubling prospect for the simple fact they were who they were. The stoic, silent, faceless and near-suicidal soldiers of the Astra Militarum had their well-deserved reputation because of their exact, precise brutality. And this was an Artillery regiment.

Thankfully, the Lord-General leading the Army was keen enough to keep them aboard the Faith for the duration of her and the other Colonels' visit to the planet below. The woman heard the side doors open, then looked to the Guardsman manning the gun and asked "What is going on?!" As he pivoted the weapon into position. The man, wearing the standard cream and tan Harakoni Drop Trooper armor, sans some of the plates and the Grav Chute, turned to her. The sound of rushing wind echoed through the hold...

"We're approaching the LZ, ma'am!" Was his response, his voice echoing with static through his helmet's muzzle-like speaker device.

"Why didn't the pilot announce it through the Vox?!" The Sister of Battle beside her asked, her modified voice thunderous, booming across the hold. The speakers in her armor were similar to those in Adeptus Astartes armor, in that they gave a clearer, much louder sound.

"This Valkyrie was hit by enemy Anti-Air fire while we were evacuating!" The Gunner returned. "Her internal PA was disabled!"

"Well, isn't that glorious!" Sighed the Colonel. She noticed the shining blue sea stretching below their aircraft and wondered to herself where they would actually land. A Pict-Graph of the place showed it as a massive gulf with a small isle in the middle, as well as a large city just across from said isle.

"So one of our scout teams landed on an island." Mused the Colonel. "Nobody tried to land near the major city, have they?"

"No, ma'am. General said it was too risky... Our orders are to make contact with the smaller settlements, perhaps talk to the leaders through them." One of the Guardsmen in the front spoke. She was a Cadian officer, a Lieutenant, in her regiment. With blonde hair and lilac eyes, she was of Cadian blood through and through. Marguerite had had little time to get to know her officer corps before they entered open combat, but alas...

"And what's the name of the settlement we're landing near? Did our scouts make contact with the locals?" She continued.

"Patch, ma'am. And yes, our scouts talked to some of the locals just after they landed."

The Colonel took a moment to check her own weapons:A standard Las-Pistol and a power sword rested on her hips, both in their respective leather holsters. She donned a Carapace armor set, modified specifically for her, with her Regiment's icon, two crossed Vanquisher cannons behind a skull, on the left breast plate. The woman let her shoulders, covered by the plating of the carapace, sag for a moment, rubbing her eyes.

As water turned to sand, tall cliffs of black rock and then, to grass-covered ground with strewn pine trees around it, the Aircraft reduced its altitude, its engines screaming as it swung by for landing. With a hard thunk, the skids of the aircraft hit the ground, the rear ramp opening just as the Colonel and her escorting units stood to their feet. She gazed over to the Sister, then said "This is our stop, I believe..."

Receiving a nod from the bolter-toting Sororita. A second Valkyrie, this one carrying two more Sisters, one of which was a Hospitalier, as well as a squad of Marguerite's own Kasrkin escort, touched down. The group disembarked and moved down the beaten path. They had landed just atop a cliff overlooking the sea and a strip of sand below. For all it was worth, this world was beautiful... Almost pristine. She imagined the Grimm had something to do with that.

The Kasrkin were Cadia's best. Highly trained, highly disciplined and heavily armed elites handpicked by the highest echelons of Cadian command. That made them perfect for Scions, or in her case, simply bodyguard work. She knew better than to squander them in war, but alas, she needed guards just in case the situation turned hostile.

As the team walked further on, the Colonel caught a glimpse of blue hidden by green and brown. Two of her scouts stood up from their positions, overlooking the settlement that began to materialize ahead, from amidst the trees. She saw a man with short, blonde-hair sitting beside them. His outfit was odd and the tattoo on his right arm was even weirder, but the Colonel didn't scoff at meeting him... He had been with her Guardsmen for the duration of their stay, presumably to keep tabs on them. Smart.

The Lieutenant leading the Scout squad rose from her seat, taking her helmet off her head to reveal cropped black hair. Her tired blue eyes stared at the Colonel and she quickly snapped a salute, before saying "Ma'am. This is Taiyang Xiao-Long. Apparently, he's part of this small settlement's local guards and he's the one who has told us about the Grimm. He calls himself and those who work similar jobs as him 'Hunters'."

"Hello." He gave the Colonel a friendly wave and a smile. "I take it you're the Colonel these guys told me to wait for."

"Indeed. I am Colonel Marguerite Arethusa, Cadian 18th Armored." The woman introduced herself, eyeing the blue-eyed blonde man warily. Awful friendly for someone they'd just met, doubly so since she and her soldiers landed near his home.

"A pleasure. I must say, you and your boys are quite the weird bunch. I mean, I've never seen standardized gear to this level outside of Atlas." The man motioned to her men upon mentioning their wargear. Huh, Atlas sounded like an endearing place, then. One with standard gear and perhaps an actual military force to converse with. Two of the Guardsmen silently chuckled, while the Colonel stared on.

"I will... Take that as a compliment, mister Xiao-Long. May we talk to your lord or controller?" The Colonel asked, wanting to move along with what she was ordered to do by the General. Her job was to establish contact and possibly find a spot where they could make landfall. Perhaps even gain permission to build a base within this place's borders, in exchange for assistance with the Grimm.

Taiyang raised a brow, confused "Uhm...? D'you mean the Mayor?"

"Yes? Whomever rules this small settlement. We have a few questions." The Colonel shrugged off the question, eyeing some of the Civilians that came out to look at them. Some, mostly the children, waved. Two of her soldiers waved back at the smiling kids, then looked to the Colonel. She gave a nod to them in approval, showing interactions between the Cadian forces and the locals

"The Mayor's currently gone to Vale to talk to the Council, so you just missed him."

"I see... Is it a problem if we stay close to your town until his return? We desire to talk to your leaders."

"I don't think that's a problem. I do suggest you get your boys and girls into the town, though. Everyone was looking at your scouts when they emerged and were... Slightly scared. If you aren't here to do any harm, at least show the folks that." Taiyang suggested, motioning to the townspeople who had not too long ago emerged to look at the arriving Imperials. Indeed, a smart PR move would be engaging in small-talk... Or at least not hiding behind shrubs like an assault force.

"Mmm... Lieutenant Jarvis." The woman looked to her Scout officer, who nodded.

"Yes, ma'am." Was the response. Quick, calm and concise, as she'd expect...

"Your scouts. Summon them back and have them enter the town, weapons stowed." The Colonel ordered calmly, arranging her own armor and looking to the uneasy Sister of Battle behind her.

"Yes, ma'am." The officer responded again, waving the men out of their hiding spots. At least a dozen scouts emerged from the treeline, Lasguns slung on their backs as they walked out toward the Colonel and Lieutenant. A platoon's worth of scouts soon converged and, with the Lieutenant in front, entered the small town, greeting the locals with waves of the hands and curt, friendly smiles and gestures. Tai gave an approving nod.

"That's better. Now... Colonel Arethusa, was it?" Tai asked, raising a brow to the Colonel.

The woman nodded, crossing her arms to her chest. "Yes, mister Xiao-Long. What is it you wish to speak about?"

"I know this may be a tad out of the blue, but... Care to join me and my family for dinner? Start this little friendship I'm sure you and your folks want to build on the right foot?" The man offered the proverbial olive branch first, a sign of a welcoming populace. The Colonel silently thanked the God-Emperor that they were open to talk and that this wouldn't turn into a shootout... She didn't know their combat capabilities.

"Hmm... Very well. Thank you for the offer, mister Xiao-Long. Hope you won't mind if my escorts join us and provide guard." She motioned to her Kasrkin escort, pulling her cape over her hand afterward.

"Whatever makes you feel safer." The man shrugged, smiling still. He motioned for her and her men to follow and they did, with the Colonel exchanging a glance with the Sister that was with them. She, too, followed at a distance. Whereupon many of the Guardsmen and the Sisters had been used to seeing the bleakness of war, the greetings given by the people of the settlement were on the completely opposite spectrum, with food and water being brought to the weary-looking soldiers of the Imperial Guard and their Sororitas allies.

The Citizens of the place talked with the Guardsmen, welcoming those soldiers among the scouts and that had come with the Colonel with open arms. The Valkyrie Gunships' engines roared n the distance, taking off... Presumably to bring in more Guard forces. The Colonel had to wonder where her other peers from the army's Officer Corps had landed and if they were faring well against the Grimm.

She felt like she'd meet the monsters soon. Alas...

As Taiyang slowed his pace, they'd reached the edge of the town. Not too far forward, on the beaten path, lay a log cabin with a rather large garden and two floors, almost resembling of a manor. Marguerite partly smiled at the sight, realizing quickly how important the job of a Hunter like Taiyang must've been for the people here. That and the fact the man must've built the house with his own two hands.

Upon reaching the door, the Colonel waved to her Kasrkin to stay outside while watching Taiyang open the door. The soldiers obeyed without a second word as they knew the Colonel had her own weapons with her. And that the Sister of Battle was joining her. Entering the house, the woman was greeted by the standard sights of a cozy, welcoming wooden cabin. Rugs of cloth, walls lined with coats and a mirror on the left, with the entry hallway leading into the main living area. The woman sniffed the air, the scent of fresh food being cooked assaulting her nostrils.

A smile crossed her lips as she turned to the Sister of Battle, to be greeted by the war-weary beauty with cropped, ashen hair and blue eyes staring at her. Despite some of the scars, the Sister of Battle many called Sergeant Bellelle remained as beautiful as the morning sunrise on Cadia. The Colonel knew to admire a Sister of Battle, mostly due to wanting to be one of these fair warrior maidens of the Emperor when she was younger. Alas, Imperial Guard duty suited her best, she felt.

The corner of the woman's mouth quirked up at the Colonel.

"You're staring again, Colonel." The Sister quipped.

"Pardon me, but I so rarely see you without your helmet nowadays, it almost seems like a miracle bestowed by the Emperor." Marguerite complimented the woman, who rubbed the back of her neck. The fleur-de-lis tattoo on her cheekbone was white instead of black, providing some significance the Colonel was not really privy to. The two turned their heads, hearing Taiyang call to someone in the kitchen after leaving the vest he wore on a hanger.

Appearing from within the kitchen, a woman with hair of a gradient dark-red emerged from the kitchen, clad in a striped shirt and black pants. She hugged the man tightly, smiling, then turned her head to the guests and gasped, her silver eyes widening. She looked to Tai again, then said "Dear, you didn't tell me we'd have guests... I'd have asked the girls to wash up."

Tai snorted "Hey, they did catch us by surprise."

"Sorry for the intrusion, miss Xiao-Long." The Colonel respectfully nodded to the woman of the house. "I'm Colonel Marguerite Arethusa."

"Ooh, a soldier!" The woman smiled, fumbling with her words a bit "A pleasure to meet you, ma'am! And... Who'd be the tall lady behind you?"

The Colonel looked to Bellelle, then answered "This is Sergeant Bellelle, of the Adepta Sororitas."

The Sister made the sign of the Aquila, bowing her head to the lady of the house too, then said "My greetings to you, miss."

"Hi..." She waved. "Ah, my name's Summer Rose-Xiao-Long... A pleasure to meet both of you. You here for dinner?"

"Your husband was so kind as to invite us... I hope we aren't a bother." The Colonel noted respectfully. Summer shook her head, a smile on her face as she waved them inside. A large oak table sat in the middle of the kitchen, with apparently enough seats. Summer was, of course, near the kitchen appliances, working on the food as the Colonel sat herself down. She looked to the Sister and grinned a wry grin and only got a raise of the brow as a response.

Fact of the matter was, power armor didn't really allow the Sister to sit down. The Colonel somewhat felt bad, yet there was nothing she could do but mock her friend.

"Mom!" They heard a voice cry, cocking their heads toward the noise, only to be greeted by little blonde girl with lilac eyes... Features that people usually drew as the Cadians' own looks. To be fair, some purple-eyed, blonde-hair Cadians still remained, but not with hair as bright as the young girl's in front of them. She must've been at least three, perhaps four years old and her hair was caught in twintails behind her back. She was dirty, probably from playing out and she wore a toothy grin as she stepped inside the kitchen.

Summer turned to her daughter, then gasped "My God, Yang, what did you do?!"

"Played with Zwei outside. Who're the ladies?" The girl asked in a voice you'd expect to here from a girl her age, looking to Marguerite and Bellelle, toothy grin still plastered on her face. The two Imperials exchanged looks, then the Colonel turned to Yang, leaning her head on her hand. She gave a hand signal to the Sister to calm down at the mention of 'God', unsure yet what the beliefs of these people were.

"These are our guests, Yang... C'mon, let's get you washed up for dinner." Summer said, going to pick up her daughter. She looked to Tai, then said "Can you keep an eye on the food for me?"

"Sure thing, dear." He smiled as the two girls left.

The Colonel hummed, then looked to Tai and asked "Forgive the bluntness, mister Xiao-Long, but what religion do your people believe in?"

"Oh... Oh, because Summer said..." He chuckled "None, actually... Save for a select few, Remnant is basically a planet of atheists."

"I see..." The Colonel gazed over to Bellelle, who seemed to be calm enough, before turning back to Tai and explaining "Our people have a Faith. One that was needed for our survival, for the sheer amount of enemies we face on a daily basis would require something to unify us. Is Remnant divided?"

"There's four major kingdoms, yeah..." Tai started, a bit concerned. "Though I'm not sure how many would look to a new faith... What with everything going on."

"I see... Sister Bellelle, please, calm yourself for now." She looked to the Sergeant and smiled "Perhaps in due time, you and your sisters will be able to prove that our Faith is worth much to the people here in regards to unification, but I feel the need to be the level head and remind you we are not here to cause a situation... What with our own ship in orbit and the Grimm around..."

Bellelle glanced to her friend, then sighed, giving a nod. "With permission from the leaders of this nation, perhaps we'll be able to establish a convent and a Church for our people to go to. And for those who wish to join our Faith to have a place to come pray."

Tai looked on, stirring in the pot, before asking "What would your religion even entail?"

"Mankind's unity in the face of hostile creatures like your Grimm, mister Xiao-Long. Unification between human and abhuman groups alike to one common goal:that our species thrives, even in the darkness which we're beset by. Our soldiers fight daily to ensure that our billions of worlds remain safe. The Emperor, our only God, watches over all who believe and grants them strength, to protect those they love and the Imperium at large." The Sister explained, watching as Tai's eyes went wider and wider...

"The Imperium of Man spans the entire Galaxy. Billions upon billions of worlds. Trillions and trillions of souls, of all variations of human and abhuman subspecies. All of us fight for one common goal:That man may live freely in the Galaxy that our Emperor has gifted us. Peace is never an option in our galaxy, for in this far-flung darkness, there is only War." The Colonel joined in.

"... Then you're not from Remnant at all, are you...?" Tai stared at both of them.

"No." The two shook their heads.

The Sister motioned to Marguerite and said "The Colonel and her soldiers hail from Cadia... A former Fortress World."

"One that broke under our enemy's vast armies." Arethusa added. "But where our Foe came with armies larger and fleets stronger than our own, we held the Line..."

"Mankind's Faith in the Emperor has spurred us to war against a foe that wants us dead, mister Xiao-Long and we, time and time again, beat them back. Aside from the survival of you and your loved ones, nothing spurs the men and women of Remnant to a fight they most certainly can win, given enough time." Belle continued "The Imperial Truth can change that."

"Daddy?" The trio heard an even younger voice call out. Tai looked over to see a little girl, with the same gradient hair as her mother and the same pair of silver eyes. He went to pick her up, smiling as she looked at her and partly thanking her for the interruption to the Religious fervor the two women of the Imperium spoke to him with. Both women smiled at the sight of what looked to be a 1-year-old girl cradled in Tai's arms... She, meanwhile, looked over to the Sister of Battle, suckling on her thumb.

"Who's this sweet little girl?" Marguerite asked, smiling.

"This would be Ruby..." Tai smiled, coddling the little girl. He looked to the Sister, then said "She seems to like you."

The Sister pointed at herself, surprised. Receiving a nod from Tai, she couldn't help but smile.

Tai had put her back onto her own two feet and the one-year-old girl waddled toward the Sister, still suckling her thumb as she looked up... The Sister had to take a knee in front of her, smiling as she said "Hello, little one." as she watched for the Girl's reaction. The silver-eyed cutie looked the girl right in the eyes, then giggled, smiling. To say that was a strike right in the woman's heart would be an understatement. The Sister put a hand to her chest and introduced herself "My name is Bellelle."

"...Buh-Buh... Buhwell..." Ruby mispronounced and the young woman had to restrain herself from fawning, smiling at the little girl's attempt. Ruby kept looking up at her and examining her... One moment, she looked at the Sister's scars, then at her armored plates and at the weapons on her hip, finally returning her gaze to Belle's eyes. She asked absentmindedly "Are you an angel?"

The Colonel snorted. Smooth, little girl, smooth.

"I... Uh..." The Sister blushed, rubbing the back of her neck "No. Where did you get that idea from, lil' one?"

"Well... My mom says all kind people are angels. You look kinda kind." She explained in all her childlike knowledge. "Are you here to keep us safe from the monsters?"

Belle nodded "I am. As is my friend."

"Then you are angels." Ruby stated, proudly smiling. The two women chuckled, looking to each-other and to a smiling Taiyang just as Summer and Yang came back. Yang chuckled, seeing the height difference between Belle and her younger sister, picking up Ruby and setting her in her toddler chair, before calmly sitting herself down at the table, giving a toothy smile to the two women as she dangled her legs off the chair.

Perhaps this friendship could be formed quickly, the Colonel thought as Summer began to set the table and prep the food...