William Johnston's Story

William Johnston downed his second glass of beer. For days, he had been wondering how he got here. The last thing he remembered before he found himself in this world was him leading the 5th Battalion of the British Royal Norfolk Regiment into a mist that he thought was smoke. Then he found himself in this world. A world with stuff that he has never seen before. Stuff more advanced then his equipment.

He found himself wandering until he came across a archive. He learned via old newspapers that the Brits won the Great War. However, he also discovered that there had been a second Great War. This one held the same result as the Brits won again. He tried to take some books, only for them to say that he needed currency that he did not understand.

He found a pawn shop to sell his water flask, as he had no use for it. Then he discovered Gambit's Bar. He entered and sat down. Then ordered a glass of beer to clear his head. He realized that his Gas Mask was still on. However, he found that it would not come off. No matter how much he tried, the Gas Mask would not budge, as if glued there.

William finished his second beer as he thought about what to do next. "I don't know why I was brought here, or who or what brought me from the Great War, but I should find somewhere to sleep and find help on removing this bloody Gas Mask from my face."

William got up, walked over to the counter and paid for the two Beers that he drunk. He then exited the Bar to go look for a place to sleep.

The sun shined on William as he walked down Main Street. With a bag containing his weaponry on his shoulder, he sat down on a bench. He felt as if this place felt familiar with him, yet he had no memory of every being in this world before. During his first days here, he had learnt stuff that surprised him. Like that there were billons of creatures that talked and walked like normal humans. And that this world was Earth, but called Terra.

William took out a picture of his family. He shed a tear from inside of his Gas Mask as he thought about the times before he was taken from the Great War.

My Family. They are dead. I should be too, but I'm still alive. How I still live, I don't know. If only I knew why I was taken from that war, I could try to find a way to get back. But then I'd probably be dead by now.

William got up and continued to walk down to find somewhere to sleep for the night. The weather then changed from sunny to cloudy. It then started to rain lightly as William continued to walk. But it was on that moment that William Johnston, Lieutenant-Colonel of the 5th Battalion of the British Royal Norfolk Regiment, vowed to find who or what brought him to this time and that he would search for any other members of his Regiment. He put on his Trench-coat and Brodie helmet to keep himself dry. He then got out a journal that he had brought from a stranger at Gambit's Bar just hours ago and began to write in it.

If I die, then this journal will tell the world about me. It will explain how I came here and my whole journey for the search on why I was brought here.

"Attention people of Terra! We have reports of a miasmic mist spreading through the area, for your safety we advise you all to evacuate! The city may be under attack by an unknown force. By the grace of the Emperor Of Mankind, may he watch over you all!" A guardsman of the Imperium spoke through a megaphone as he began to walk with his battalion accompanied by a contingent of aircraft and armor vehicles from tanks, armored walkers and armored transports.

There were thousands more battalions on the way along with aid from the Space marines who would arrive soon, whatever the threat was it was almost demonic in nature. All units were on red alert and defenses are already being set up along with extra warp based defenses. Behind these lines of millions upon millions of soldeirs stood the commander of the army, Commisar Ciaphas Cain rode on top of his Personal Baneblade, the Fortress Of Arrogance along with ten more baneblades near him. "Men! Today we face an uknown threat that plagues this planet! Our target resides in the plaza, your mission is to eliminate all hostiles and take out the one in charge! We fight for the honor of the Emperor and Imperium this day! So forward to victory men!" The Commisar spoke in the confines of his tank.

The black miasma rolled through like a tidal wave the gaseous fog obstructing vision to mere meters and containing a toxic paralytic that could enter through the pores or lungs. From the miasma came cries, extremely human cries for help.

"Help me! My child is injured!" The cry of a woman came from one direction.

"My leg it's broken!" Came the cry of another man.

The figures of many various people were shambling within the miasma though it was hard to tell where they were or how far away they could be. The wraiths blended in well with the miasma more a part of the concoction than their own entity. The humans would not appear possessed and their cries were actually their own. The souls were still bound to these possessed bodies giving them control of their vocal chords. Edan had them standing or sitting now as if they were simply decoys at the moments. He was viewing the scene via a few of the wraiths that were in the vicinity keeping their distance from the column of soldiers.

He smiled from his perch on the memorial for the moment. The fog continuing to extend it's reach as it continued to creep more exposed humans following to his grasp.

One wraith swiftly moved in striking through a few guardsman a cold rush would be felt as they lost control of their senses with them being to sent to Edan for control. The momentary shut down of the body would be noticed as a stumbling movement by others before they regained composure. If the enemy could tell that they were in the grasps of Edan then they would surely be outed.

He stepped amongst the ashes of destruction and the long since dried blood of the dead, peering through past, present, and future as he walked amonst the ruins of legend and the possibility of tomarrow. Stepping from the nothing, from the everything, he came forth among the miasma choked streets of wing city, watching as those around him perished and died. He did not smile, he did not show anger or sadness. No emotion could touch that pale white flesh, just as no color had ever found it. He was emptiness, and within emptiness he stood, but for brief glimpses into an existence that was every bit as empty as himself.

A man who's skin was so white it could be mistaken for bone, who's eyes were empty of any emotion, who's plain and regular face brought no second glances or interest to any walked unimpeded through the miasma. What spirits or entities there were would either not be able to detect him, or would think him merely a shifting mass of the fog. Such had always been his fate, since the day he was sealed to the ruins. This figure walked and watched as the darkness fell once more upon the world of Terra.

He watched as the man Ciaphas Cain gathered his men to begin what seemed to be a counterstrike, and he shook his head slowly as he approached the underwhelming display.

To the would be hero he said "Turn back, there is no hope for you here."

As William continued down the street, he heard something. He turned around to see what was happening. The first thing he saw were people running from a mist that started to engulf the street. He then saw the Space Marines trying their best to contain the situation. Finally he saw dark black figures attacking people who were running for their lives.

His mind flashed back to the Great War. His first time dealing with gas in the trenches had almost killed him. But had it not been for the sacrifice of a fellow soldier who gave William his gas mask, William wouldn't have been here. William knew he had to do something. He had to help these people, otherwise they would die.

William opened his bag and pulled out his Winchester Model 1894 rifle. Along with this, he pulled out a first aid kit he had forgotten he had put in there. He loaded his rifle with ten bullets and walked over to the Space Marines. He saw Ciaphas Cain commanding the Space Marines and walked over to him, believing him to be the commanding officer.

Sorry to interrupt your little counterstrike, but what's happening in the battlefield?

He asked Ciaphas as he approached the tank that the Commisar was in.

The cries of the civilians went past the Guardsman that began to group together. However once some of the guardsman began to exhibit very strange behavior, their first instinct was to open fire on their own men. They were not sure what it was but their time fighting with chaos trained them to notice any small change in behavior. Soon Psykers prepared their minds and channeled the power of the warp, unleashing psycic energy at the Wraiths hiding within the mist, although their form incorporeal, they would be able to rip apart their very existence.

Radio transmitions went out, warning the men that the enemy was capable of turning their allies against them. Psykers were already ready, soldiers kept close to guard them against any physical threats. They gunned down anyone emerging from the miasmic mist, not compromising their safety.

For Cain, two figures would approach his tank. One man told him to turn back, almost as if he did not think they simple soldiers would not be able to fight this threat. The other was questioning what was going on. "We have faced greater dangers than this. We fight for the God Emperor Of Man, and we will crush whatever is on this planet. As for you soldier, a strange miasmic mist is spreading through the town, along with reports of creatures capable of taking over soldiers. Physical weapons have no effect on the creatures however psychic and magic can affect them. I recommend you fall back, unless you are feeling brave enough to fight this unknown threat." he spoke.

The watcher unseen sighed, and his form wavered as he faded from Cains reality. His voice was clear as day, but in moments the man who spoke could no longer be seen.

"You have faced greater dangers, yes, but in facing them have you ever stopped to think about those around you? About the sacrifices you ask them to make? About the lives you've taken? How many people can you kill and still sleep soundly? How many homes ruined, futures destroyed, hopes and dreams broken will you consider necessary before you realize..."

"No... It is not my place to say... Forget my words, or don't.... I stopped caring a long time ago..."

He was silent then, unseen as he climbed on top of Cain's tank, broken and destroyed as it was, with time having rusted and aged it to little more than a relic of a long dead past. Here the watcher sat and did what he did best.

He watched the world burn, across the endless landscape of time and fate.

The black-suited courier left Cain some time ago and it may have left but it had not retreated. The living emperor was somewhere here and a threat to mankind would not stand. Myrkul's Vein had breached this dimension and resources could be fielded though the way would suffer for it. So it returned to a city in chaos now changed with what Myrkul's Vein could manage in so short a time. They hadn't needed a Wen in a very long age. It took a great deal of the wellspring to muster.

The heavy gait of something well-armored waded through miasma standing over 2 meters tall. Hairworm were incapable of breathing and Wen-Jinhai a creature well hidden behind a pale cyan psi-plate. As it pounded into an intersection the silver-eyed biped's kneed a wraith unable to pass through the partly gellar nature of its armor. It took a few hits from the psykers but ignored them suddenly aware of the threat mankind had put under fire.

Wen produced a glowing haft from its mouth the edge of its psionic gladius flaring into existence once in a projector turned armored five-fingered hand. It swung hard at the creature now satisfied it a threat to mankind.

"IMPERATOR VULT!" Jinhai's voice echoed down the street to Cain as its sword came down to dismantle a wraith with showers of disintegration energy.

Skipping down the streets of Wing City, Flandre Scarlet had her hands behind her back and a cheerful smile on her face as she went along without a care in the world. There was certainly a lot of commotion going on around her though! She was curious as to why that was? Looking around, the sights of soldiers and the like were around her...was there a fight or something?

Something didn't seem right...

Her eyes glanced at the various events taking place around her...curious, though at the same time cautious. She saw Jinhai attacking a wraith, the magic from the psykers, and the other guy who looked really spooky with his Winchester rifle! She began approaching Cain's ship, head tilted and those scarlet eyes focused on him curiously. Watching.

William looked confused as Cain told him the situation. Some words that he said didn't sound familiar to William. Psychic and Magic were two of them that did not make sense.

Sir, I'm a bit unfamiliar with several of your words as I was taken from my own war. However, I might be able to provide Medical Assistance to some of your men if they've been shot. If it's physical, I might be able to help. However, I'm afraid that Psychic and Magical injuries are beyond my skills.

As William finished speaking, he saw a young girl approaching Cain's ship. He walked up to her.

This isn't a safe place to be little one. There's some kind of battle going on. You might want to find shelter in cause they start bombing.

He said to her.

Sandy was about to pitch a fit over Hadley's incredibly direct approach, and abandoning him, but his ringtone stopped him short. Well. It wasn't his, the phone was of course somebody else's, but still. Possession was 10/10ths of the law, right? He fished it out of his duffel, which more or less contained every useful thing he "owned", and unlocked it.

He was excepting anything but what he saw.

A string of texts from Shitbird, all in Knack. That was aggravating, but it meant a job. A real job. Not just freelance larceny. Only problem was Knack was a very...Elongated language. To say a normal sentence in Knack would take about two and a half times longer, it was not conducive to text messages. Still, the prospect of a Guild-approved job sent adrenaline through him. He ducked into a nearby cafe and went about decoding it.

Every Guild member was fluid in Knack, but the annoying language still took about twenty minutes to sort out.

The result wasn't even much, "Sandy, Lunch date today. About two shakes from now. Skyline. Up to you what to order, man, but I suggest a solid entree. Just don't run the tab too high, you know? I'm not made of credits. I invited a friend, someone from Uptown. He's a real go-getter, you'll love him. Play nice.", of course that was only the highlights. In true Shitbird fashion there was a lot of rambling that looked like friendly banter. The hope being if anyone DID decode it, it'd just look like some business people being shifty, or pulling The Bulwark's legs.

Usually worked too.

Coded in the message via an old school cipher was the cilent names, and meeting place. Some little dive bar off Main Street named McZongo's Cosmic Squid. Sandy really paused when he read that, wondering if he mistranslated, but three attempts at it all resulted in the same incredibly stupid name. How Shitbird came up with these places, he never knew. Never really wanted too either. He gathered up his things, sent a text to a phone he thought Hadley had telling her to meet there and headed off.

Hopefully by the time this Johnston showed Hadley would be there, if not at least he would be. He wouldn't even have to split the pay then! Could be worse.

Having just left from the battle that was occuring futher down the street, William walked down Main Street before coming towards McZongo's Cosmic Squid. He entered the bar to look for someone that could find out if there were any other 5th Battalion members who may have found themselves in this world.

He looked around before taking a seat to wait. He looked at the menu, before deciding to order a small portion of chips. As he waited for the food to come, he got out his journal and wrote about what he had witnessed. The Space Marines, the Dark Figures, Ciaphas Cain telling him things that wouldn't make sense in William's time and the young girl who hd approached the ship Cain was on.

As he finished writing, he noticed that his food had arrived. He put his journal down and applied some ketchup onto the chips. As he started to eat them, he realised, for the first time in since coming to ths world, that the food here was better then the food in the trenches. As well as the chips there was a glass of Coca-Cola, which he drank in under a few seconds. As he finished the food, he wrote in his journal about how better the food on this world was compared to the food in the trenches.

Hadley only afforded a few minutes in the Slumwalks before receiving a text from Sandy, just enough to toss her spoils into the tiny room she called home and deposit all but one of her packs of cigarettes on the stained wooden nightstand. The room itself was in reality quite barren even though the graffiti and posters might lead one to think otherwise. At the very least it was quite well insulated from both heat and sound, so she found it cozy enough.

The Cosmic Squid was pretty easy to spot once she approached it, the sign featuring the titular cartoonish sea creature wearing a fishbowl-style astronaut helmet. Even before entering, the colorful lights and faint beat of music gave Hadley a good idea of what was in store: something even trashier than what Sandy described for her, which made her love it that much more. She cracked open her new pack of Issunar Special and slipped the first cigarette between her lips, not even bothering to produce her lighter. Instead she pinched the end between her thumb and middle finger, snapping her fingers and making a strong enough spark to ignite it. She took a quick drag to make sure the ember took, and sighed contentedly. The smoke chilled her lips and throat with exotic herbs from the southern continent, the heat of the smoke quickly following to warm her back up.

Nowhere on the outside of the establishment told her not to smoke inside, so she pushed open the doors and slipped into the bar. A particularly odd individual, even for Wing City, was hunched over some food but Rayne paid them little mind.

Sandy was getting a little frustrated. He'd been parked in a booth for the last hour, just sitting and watching the room. Lord knows he had to be drawing attention, hood up, no meal, just sitting. Of course it was simply because the contractor wasn't getting with the program. Instead this dude was just sitting at the bar, eating and writing. Sandy wanted to yell at the guy, so, so much, but he wasn't even supposed to go over to the guy.

Client's were supposed to make the first move, but Shitbird probably didn't bother to tell the guy that.

With a disgusted sigh he pushed past various Rave-revival enthusiasts, feeling unclean just being near them. "Raves" died out in the 2k's, what where these yuppies doing? Why would anyone on Terra bother with "trends" when an orbital strike was due any minute. His mounting anger dissipated a little as he spotted Hadley though, at least he wasn't alone. He motion for the woman to follow him, and slide casually into the seat next to William. He ordered something plain from the bartender, and fished around in his pocket for "his" cash.

Money of all kinds, paper, coin, and chip hit the bar, and he chuckled nervously.

"Sorry man,", he offered to the bartender, scoping up all the money except for one, small golden coin. The Thieves' Guild insignia proudly etched into the shiny golden circle. This was far, far too obvious for Sandy's taste but given the situation it was the only thing he could think of. He slid the coin towards William when nobody was looking, hoping that this was in fact his contact, and that the dude would take the hint.

As William finished writing in his journal, he noticed a man sit next to him. The man then slid a coin towards William. On it was the insignia of the Terran Thieves' Guild. William looked at the coin and then he looked at the man who had slid the coin towards William. He then realised that this was the person who he was meant to meet.

Sorry about that old chap. Got distracted by the food. I tell you, they are much better then the food that I had back in the Trenches. Anyway, I'm William Johnston. I'm assuming you are from the Thieves' Guild?

He whispered to Sandy.

"Oh jesus christ," Hadley ashed her cigarette and held her head in her free hand, almost losing the ember that so desperately clung to her tobacco. This guy had no subtlety about him in any way, from his form of dress to his mannerisms, to just how openly he mentioned things. Was the Thieve's Guild that desperate for members that they were willing to blow their cover just for another warm body? To make matters worse, he's one of those out-of-dimension-ers, don't know anything about anything or how things work.

More than anything, Rayne just hoped she wouldn't have to babysit him on any jobs soon.

William decided to explain the whole reason why he contacted the Thieve's Guild.

I'll be quite honest with you two, I contacted your group for a job. Now, where to begin?

William took a deep breath as he began to speak.

I'm assuming you're aware of the Great War. But you'll perhaps know it as World War 1, or the First World War. I was a Lieutenant-Colonel in command of the 5th Battalion of the British Royal Norfolk Regiment. We were deployed to Gallipoli in July of 1915. On the 12th of August, we were charging towards the enemies trench when an unknown Mist appeared. I charged through it with my Battalion, only to find myself here in this world. I waited to see if any of my Battalion had followed me through. But they hadn't. I was on my own, in a world with stuff that we didn't have back in the 1900s. I contacted your group as I needed information on whether any other soldiers in my Battalion made it into this world.

William took a sip of Coca-Cola before continuing.

I've little currency of this world on me, but I've got some old, undamaged items from my era that could be of value.