Aftermath:



Sergeant Ordinax watched over the grim scene. Staring off over a sizeable mound of bodies, both rotten and fresh. He never shifted his gaze, even when his Battle Brother approached. He was informed that the Greenskin threat was expunged, the restored morale of the survivors and the timely arrival of the Dark Angels saw the entire campaign to shift in the Imperium's favour. The Sergeant remarked that is was here, in the graves of the Praetorian XVI that such a retaliatory strike was even possible. They died to the last man, killing many of the foul Xenos so that proper defences could be established and prepared for the upcoming onslaught. Without them, the world of Rourke's Drift would have been lost long ago. When his brother mentioned that they wouldn't be remembered for their deeds, that this was one of many unmarked mass graves across many a planet, Ordinax merely cut him short. He then picked up the bloody and half ruined flag of the regiment, climbed up towards the command post, where the defenders had their final stand, and planted it firmly into the ground.



"Then this will be marked, as a testament to how we fight. Remember it well, brother, for how the Praetorian XVI met their glorious end, is how all forces of the Imperium must fight"