The War of Gata

The memory of Aster-9 smelled of burning polycarbonate and melted bone. Kade Vantar adjusted the collar of his carbon-weave uniform, trying to shut out the phantom reek that had lived in his nostrils for three weeks. The official Imperial dispatch had called the pacification of Aster-9 an 'unfortunate kinetic escalation following insurgent non-compliance.' Kade had been there on the front line. He had seen the colony's white surrender banners hoisted over the hydroponic domes, and he had heard the order from High Command to open fire anyway.

Now, his boots echoed on the grated walkways of Port Oribis, a rust-chewed orbital depot hovering over the volcanic gas giant of Gata Prime. Far below, the planet churned with orange and violet storms, indifferent to the Solari Imperium's relentless machinery grinding through its moons. The Imperium’s golden sunburst insignia was painted on every bulkhead, chipped and bleeding rust at the edges.