**JOURNAL ENTRY 345633-56**
*******JIMAR HARIES*******
[WARNING] ACCESS RESTRICTED. THE FOLLOWING ENTRY IS CLASSIFIED BETA 5A. UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS IS PUNISHABLE BY EXECUTION UNDER INQUISITORIAL CODE 96-A......
For so long, war has been a central part of the human experience. We are cursed to live in a galaxy where enemies are quite literally around every corner. On the forefront of humanities constant struggle for survival are the Imperial Guard. They fight, and often die, so we may live one more day. For as long as there has been an Imperium, they have done this for us.
How often I forget my dealings with them, though for the longest time it seemed to be a constant companion in my early days as an Inquisitor. Black Heart and the Nomads, they were more than just faceless soldiers to me… I am reminded when I pass by someone who, for some reason or another, looks like someone I once knew in either organization. It’s like thinking you see an old, lost friend in a crowd, only to realize that it is not. They are not there, but the longing for their comradeship hangs on you like a shadow on a sunny day.
The Imperial Guardsmen I knew were both the best and the worst of humanity. Some embodied the perfect citizen, while others at their core were corrupt and hatched into chaos like some sort of dark phoenix. I try not to think about the latter. There was one I trusted, in a unit I thought my own, whose betrayal haunts me to this day.. No, it is the prior I like to think of the most. Centering on that darkness, the betrayal, only brings me down into a place I do not want to go.
I cleared out some of my possessions at my old estate, and found a group of letters I kept during the Spineward Front conflict. Nomads, in their glory days, full of piss and vinegar. They had just won a battle, their first. The Battle of Flat Top Hill, they called it. Forgotten now, it is, but for the few veterans who remain.
The first letter, a copy I obtained, is addressed to a fellow comrade in arms. Well, not just a comrade in arms, but someone dear to the letter writer’s heart. In it, an explanation to her in his encounters with a new unit after leaving one that was abusive and mistreating.
The second letter came after a rescue mission that preluded the Battle of Flat Top Hill. Some of the rescuers died, and one was gravely injured. One of my contacts found the letter next to the injured Guardsman’s hospital bed. The squad leader who wrote this had time and again shown her gritty determination to get the job done whatever the cost. Yet, even with her deeply imbedded warrior ethos, she felt so much sorry and guilt for the losses they endured. A true testament to the horrors of war, and the realization that no matter how well armed or trained our Imperial Guardsman, they are through and through simple human beings. They have feelings like the rest of us, and react to the ever present horrors like any person would. The difference being, they have to get up the next day and face those same horrors again, with the expectations of overcoming those fears for the sake of humanity.
The last letter, from an old friend who even today I call on when there is a need for overwhelming firepower. Back then, he went under the alias of Colonel Black. He has taken many other names since then; but for me, he will always be just Pops…the Guardsman forced into leadership during the Tranch War whose only motivation was to ensure his son—also a guardsman—survived.
My hope is, if anybody does someday read my journals, they’ll know of my ever loving appreciation for the Imperial Guard. Their sacrifice has ensured our survival. Without them, we would surely be lost in the darkness that so encroaches on our Galaxy on a day to day basis.
[ADDENDUM]
Searching through my belongings, I found yet another letter. This one was given to me from an Imperial Guard intelligence officer. I will not ever feel pity for the treacherous Severan Dominate, but this letter should put into light the kind of men and women even rebellious dogs like the Severn Dominate have. It should also be a reminder to all of my fellow Inquisitors of the Ordo Hereticus that we must be ever vigilant to snuff out rebellion before it takes hold, lest we lose brave and courageous soldiers that, instead of fighting for the Empire betrays humanity because of heresy unchecked. So, make of this letter what you will.
*******JIMAR HARIES*******
[WARNING] ACCESS RESTRICTED. THE FOLLOWING ENTRY IS CLASSIFIED BETA 5A. UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS IS PUNISHABLE BY EXECUTION UNDER INQUISITORIAL CODE 96-A......
For so long, war has been a central part of the human experience. We are cursed to live in a galaxy where enemies are quite literally around every corner. On the forefront of humanities constant struggle for survival are the Imperial Guard. They fight, and often die, so we may live one more day. For as long as there has been an Imperium, they have done this for us.
How often I forget my dealings with them, though for the longest time it seemed to be a constant companion in my early days as an Inquisitor. Black Heart and the Nomads, they were more than just faceless soldiers to me… I am reminded when I pass by someone who, for some reason or another, looks like someone I once knew in either organization. It’s like thinking you see an old, lost friend in a crowd, only to realize that it is not. They are not there, but the longing for their comradeship hangs on you like a shadow on a sunny day.
The Imperial Guardsmen I knew were both the best and the worst of humanity. Some embodied the perfect citizen, while others at their core were corrupt and hatched into chaos like some sort of dark phoenix. I try not to think about the latter. There was one I trusted, in a unit I thought my own, whose betrayal haunts me to this day.. No, it is the prior I like to think of the most. Centering on that darkness, the betrayal, only brings me down into a place I do not want to go.
I cleared out some of my possessions at my old estate, and found a group of letters I kept during the Spineward Front conflict. Nomads, in their glory days, full of piss and vinegar. They had just won a battle, their first. The Battle of Flat Top Hill, they called it. Forgotten now, it is, but for the few veterans who remain.
The first letter, a copy I obtained, is addressed to a fellow comrade in arms. Well, not just a comrade in arms, but someone dear to the letter writer’s heart. In it, an explanation to her in his encounters with a new unit after leaving one that was abusive and mistreating.
The second letter came after a rescue mission that preluded the Battle of Flat Top Hill. Some of the rescuers died, and one was gravely injured. One of my contacts found the letter next to the injured Guardsman’s hospital bed. The squad leader who wrote this had time and again shown her gritty determination to get the job done whatever the cost. Yet, even with her deeply imbedded warrior ethos, she felt so much sorry and guilt for the losses they endured. A true testament to the horrors of war, and the realization that no matter how well armed or trained our Imperial Guardsman, they are through and through simple human beings. They have feelings like the rest of us, and react to the ever present horrors like any person would. The difference being, they have to get up the next day and face those same horrors again, with the expectations of overcoming those fears for the sake of humanity.
The last letter, from an old friend who even today I call on when there is a need for overwhelming firepower. Back then, he went under the alias of Colonel Black. He has taken many other names since then; but for me, he will always be just Pops…the Guardsman forced into leadership during the Tranch War whose only motivation was to ensure his son—also a guardsman—survived.
My hope is, if anybody does someday read my journals, they’ll know of my ever loving appreciation for the Imperial Guard. Their sacrifice has ensured our survival. Without them, we would surely be lost in the darkness that so encroaches on our Galaxy on a day to day basis.
[ADDENDUM]
Searching through my belongings, I found yet another letter. This one was given to me from an Imperial Guard intelligence officer. I will not ever feel pity for the treacherous Severan Dominate, but this letter should put into light the kind of men and women even rebellious dogs like the Severn Dominate have. It should also be a reminder to all of my fellow Inquisitors of the Ordo Hereticus that we must be ever vigilant to snuff out rebellion before it takes hold, lest we lose brave and courageous soldiers that, instead of fighting for the Empire betrays humanity because of heresy unchecked. So, make of this letter what you will.
LETTER 1A
LETTER 1B
LETTER 1C
LETTER 1D
LETTER 1F
LETTER 2
LETTER 3
[ADDENDUM-GRAPHIC FILE 34362 'DOMINATE SOLDIER LETTERS>>LETTER PAGE 1]
[ADDENDUM-GRAPHIC FILE 34363 'DOMINATE SOLDIER LETTERS>>LETTER PAGE 2]