Titus walked up to the landing pod and picked up his tactical helmet.
Beside him stood his current commanding officer, Cato Sicarius, captain of the Second Company.
"Rest assured, veteran. I, Cato Sicarius, will lead the company to victory."
Titus nodded slightly, then checked his equipment one last time.
The lights beside them flashed red in rapid succession, and the battle-brothers boarded the landing pod.
"Preparing for drop," a Servitor announced in an emotionless voice.
Thick restraint straps lowered, pressing against the Space Marines' shoulders.
Then the hatch closed, plunging them into utter darkness.
The landing pod shuddered, and a sliver of light pierced its dark interior.
Titus saw the planet's curved surface. It was Hexen, and far in the distance he could make out the Waning Moon Fortress at its north pole.
The Drop Pod descended slowly, then entered the atmosphere.
The entire Drop Pod began shaking violently, while flames appeared outside Titus's viewport.
The ground-based antiaircraft guns were now visible. Streams of fire lashed into the sky like whips, striking unlucky aircraft and landing pods.
The opposing air forces fought fiercely within the atmosphere. Alongside the nearly identical aircraft of the Imperial air force and the Dawn Army were Ork fighters belching thick clouds of black smoke.
Titus saw a huge fireball plunge downward. An Imperial Thunderhawk hurtled toward the ground, engulfed in raging flames, before a burst of antiaircraft fire struck it and blew it apart in midair.
"Twenty seconds to touchdown."
The landing pod's thrusters activated. As they fired with tremendous force, Titus felt himself pinned to his seat.
A mortal riding in this landing pod might already have been crushed to pulp, but the Astartes felt nothing.
At last, Titus could make out details on the ground. The Traitors' armoured forces raced across the open