The Beginning (cont.)

Sitting in the rear of the transport, Captain McHira replayed the events that led up to his transfer and appointment to command. It was all very strange how this came about, not that he was complaining about receiving a combat command; it was just very odd how it happened. Stephan McHira was raised in a military family Second son to attend the Officers College and graduated first in his class. His family had a long and proud history in the Imperial Guard and he was proud of his rank and his accomplishments. Lord General Coil was from a military family too, but were richer and had far more influence. Coil of course was always at least one step ahead of McHira throughout their careers. Then came Armageddon. Their system was a staging point for a massive build up of forces that was being deployed to Armageddon to stem the tide of an ork invasion. Of course, Coil’s family pulled strings and suddenly their son was in command of one of the battle groups that was being mustered in their system. When the general call went out for staff officers, Stephan McHira volunteered to join the General’s staff.

“The Lord General is a fool”, the Captain muttered to himself. The Lord General was a poor tactician, failing in most of the war games and trials he entered, but he was very good at one thing…Politics. Even though he had failure after failure in the games and simulators, he climbed the ranks until he was finally posted to a respectable command position. Since his posting here, he had never honestly been challenged. He was in absolute command and feared no one. His staff was made of officers that either feared him or owed him something, in other words, they were his yes men. Captain McHira learned quickly that if you questioned the General or crossed him, you found yourself in a rough situation. Just like where he was now.

There was one person that Coil did fear however; Lord Commissar Errant. The Lord Commissar was a veteran of at least five warzones and was like frozen steel. His stare was enough to make most guardsmen tremble and the bark of his voice left not even a millisecond to delay when he spoke. The last staff meeting the General called Lord Commissar Errant spoke of the long trip to the battle zone and how “idle hands do the heretics work”. He suggested that keeping the soldiers in training the entire trip was a good course of action. Lord General Coil disputed this and made it clear that the men will follow his orders and that was enough to win the day. He further suggested that keeping them training day in and day out would only make them weary and would be detrimental to their morale. The Lord Commissar grew silent, only staring at the General until Coil finally said “But I suppose further training in their doctrines could be useful”. Major Al’Mortine leaned close to the General and whispered something and Coil stated “that is a marvelous idea Major!” “Lord Commissar, with all of your experience who better than you to lead that training exercise” The Lord Commissar started to object but Coil cut him off “no, no Lord Commissar I see the value of your suggestion now, I feel it is so important that I hereby order that a random selection of troops be put at Lord Commissar Errant’s disposal for further training in the doctrine of combined arms.” With the order from the Lord General himself given, even the Lord Commissar could not argue even more so since it was his idea to begin with.

The Lord General chose a ship that had been retrofitted as a transport and light firing platform, the frigate He is Indomitable as the “official” training vessel. The Lord Commissar and the entire Commissariat was to transfer to that ship and over see the training. It removed them from the command ship and kept them away from the Lord General, exactly as he wanted.

The Beginning

Lord General Alexander Coil looked out across the fleet that his men were stationed to for the long trip to Armageddon. “How could any enemy withstand such massed fire-power of the Imperial Guard and the Imperial Navy combined”, he mused silently to himself, “this is going to be an easy victory for sure”.

“Begging the Generals Pardon sir, Lord Commissar Errant wishes to know what your reply is to the call for assistance from Nihal Prime, sir”, the orderly asked cautiously. The Lord General stared at the orderly for a moment as he cleared visions of his glorious victories from is reveries. “Tell Lord Commissar Errant he can….” the Lord General was interrupted before he could finish the thought. Captain Stephan McHira was the one to interrupt “Lord General, the astropathic message was from the Arbite station on Nihal Prime, an Imperial world of high standing, ignoring such a call might be a poor course of action”. Coil stared hard at the Captain, “what again exactly did this message ask?” A deeply bent and aged astropath stepped forward his blind eyes wrapped in white silk, ”General, the message was garbled from an unknown reason but it was clear that the Arbite station was under siege, it referenced cult activity and general insurrection over 90% of the populace and immediate assistance was requested from any passing craft”. The astropath stepped back into the shadows of the bridge as the General stalked up and down cursing loudly. “This fleet and her cargo of men and equipment are bound for Armageddon and that is where it is going to deploy!” he stared and challenged anyone n the bridge to comment further. “Begging the Generals pardon”, Coil snapped his head around to see who had dared challenge his announcement”. Standing slightly to one side of the General was Major Al’Mortine, one of the Generals most trusted advisors. “Now here is a man that understands how this game is played”, Coil thought to himself, “speak Major I am sure that you can explain this so this rabble can understand”. The Major took a dramatic moment and the spoke, “Ignoring the call for assistance could have very poor and possibly disastrous consequences General, but we may have a solution already at hand”. “The frigate He Is Indomitable has been lagging behind for hours now, perhaps it and its cargo could be diverted to deal with this problem and that would be beneficial to all I believe”. Coil’s smile was almost predatory in nature. “Yes Major I believe that is an excellent suggestion”. Captain McHira look of confusion was clear, “Again, begging the Generals pardon, but Lord Commissar Errant and the entire Commissariat is on that frigate assisting in training the combined force doctrines”. “I am quite aware of his presence and his insistence on training soldiers on these doctrines that again I say are unneeded”, Coil’s look became that of cold steel, “Captain gather your belongings and report to the Captain of He Is Indomitable, by the time you arrive the new orders for that ship will be there. Tell the Lord Commissar that you are in charge of the expedition to Nihal”. His cold look was one that told everyone silence was their best option at this point. Captain McHira saluted and turned heading for his room to gather his kit. “By the way Captain, tell the good Commissar that your force will be called the First Nihalian Expeditionary Force, and I will be sure to mention you in our stories of glory once we return from Armageddon”, the Generals laughter echoed down the halls after Captain McHira as he walked toward his room.

Hey all, here is the opening background for my Regiment the First Nihalian Expeditionary Force. the idea is a power hungry General on his way to Armageddon dumps people that question him or irritate him in some way to what he thinks is a distraction. Captain Stephan McHira is my commanding Officer and Lord Commissar Errant is another possible HQ choice. Comment and critique eagerly awaited!!