The people of Urg'nok stared up at the sky in disbelief. Above them, their space station was being torn apart—explosions lighting up the heavens like falling stars. No one had imagined the enemy could arrive this quickly—in just a matter of days.
"What is that? How? How did the humans reach us so fast?"
A thunderous voice echoed from the clouds above:
"Remember! There is no life for any species but mankind! For the Imperium! For the Emperor! Open fire on the enemy settlements!"
Landing operations began immediately.
At the command of Castellan Ursarkar E. Creed, several Firestorm-class frigates, accompanied by TIE fighters and Lightning strike aircraft, surged through the atmosphere. Terra's anti-air defenses and shield launchers had already been destroyed by earlier air raids, leaving a clear path for the landing forces.
Heavily armed Imperial Guard forces, supported by Leman Russ main battle tanks of the Astra Militarum, advanced rapidly toward the heart of Urg'nok's capital—now mockingly named Terra by its alien rulers.
"For the Emperor! Attack!"
Imperial Navy Devourer-class transports descended, unleashing wave after wave of Cadia shock troops at the designated landing zones. In mere moments, the forward units had already established a makeshift base.
"Reporting in, sir! The 11th Cadia Infantry Regiment has arrived at the drop zone!"
"Assault the enemy city! The Space Marines have carved the way!"
Once a thriving metropolis, Urg'nok's version of Terra had become nothing but rubble and ashes. Its citizens wandered the streets in silence, their minds unable to grasp how their celebration of humanity's fall had so swiftly turned into a reckoning.
"For the Emperor!"
Two Imperial Fists Space Marines formed a simple defense line along a war-torn street. In the shadows, Night Lords hunted fleeing Urg'nok soldiers like predators in the night.
At the frontlines, Space Wolves and World Eaters tore through homes and fortifications, howling with fury. Wherever aliens were found, they unleashed unrelenting carnage—competing among themselves to see who could claim the highest kill count. Urg'nok armored units were powerless against Space Marine wargear.
Elsewhere, the Salamanders Chapter moved in to rescue human slaves. But when they encountered demihuman races resembling elves, they opened fire without hesitation.
The Salamanders held a deep hatred for the elven kind—especially the Eldar.
"Humans! They're humans!"
The enslaved men and women, still wearing the collars forced upon them, couldn't contain their cries. Tears streamed down their faces as they watched regiment after regiment of soldiers march into the city.
"Brother! If only you were still alive to see this!"
"Father, do you see it? Humanity strikes back! Those damned aliens are dying in droves!"
"Mother, may your soul rest in peace in heaven!"
From the looming shadows of the AT-ATs, stormtroopers poured into the streets in disciplined lines. AT-STs followed closely behind, blaster rifles at the ready. Clad in pristine white armor, the stormtroopers began securing the area and freeing the human slaves.
"Destroy them! Leave nothing behind! Eradicate those heretic xenos!"
Commissar Yarrick's voice roared through the comms.
Wherever aliens were found, rivers of blood followed. The Space Marines showed no mercy. Not one xenos was left alive.
"We've been saved! We're free!"
After the fall of the original Human Federation, many scattered human regimes had risen—but most of them crumbled just as fast. Only a handful of galaxies still held out with human guerrilla forces, and even they had struggled to make a difference.
Now, as the alien oppressors fell one after another, many survivors couldn't help but scream the names of their lost loved ones—family, friends, comrades—all taken by alien cruelty.
"Don't shoot any humans! All units, move toward the palace!"
"Emperor's black card—activate!"
Among the forces charging forward were also survivors from the Vortex Primus system. Rescued, armed, and burning with vengeance, they surged into the battlefield—eager to take alien heads for what had been done to them.
The once-beautiful roads were now nothing but rubble and mud, crushed beneath the relentless advance of Leman Russ tanks and the stomping boots of the Astra Militarum. The blood and corpses of Urg'nok soldiers mixed into the soil as the Imperium reclaimed what was theirs.