The Valkyrie touched down noisily on the plascrete landing pad, the exhaust from the twin turbojet engines gusting the flags on the battlements. Sergeant Valkarian vaulted from the open passenger compartment door as soon as the vehicle ground to a halt, not waiting for the massive thrusters to power down. As his men filed out behind him, he examined the planetary capital's fortifications surrounding them, and sighed. So this is the best Cereon Secundus can offer, eh? Well, they can keep it. They were perfectly adequate defenses for any normal attack, but he knew that a true Ork Waaaaagh was anything but normal. Scratching the scar on his shoulder from a close call with a choppa, he turned to face his troops. There was no-one there to meet them - typical Imperial inefficiency - but it was customary to give soldiers an address before sending them into battle, and he was the highest-ranking officer there, so...

"Alright, listen up. This system is under attack by the foul Ork hordes, and it's our job to defend it." He scanned the assembled Guardsmen, looking each man in the eye. "Most of you know me, and the rest of you have heard of me. So believe me when I say, this isn't gonna be easy. Orks fight hard, and die harder. If you down one, make sure it's dead - they often try to fake you out, to make you get close and drop your guard." He paused a moment, and grinned. "And whatever you do, don't drink all the alcohol in town... at least before I get some!" He turned back towards the city, a corner of his mouth quirking up at his men's chuckles. He wasn't a very good public speaker, but he had his moments. Now, to find someone who could tell him where his company was bunked...

Sergeant Valkarian and his men filed slowly through the crowded spaceport, throngs of civilians trying to escape the green tide. Spotting an Imperial officer, Lukas made his way towards the man, motioning for his troops to follow. As he walked, Lukas spotted a secretive man wearing an expensive nanomesh stealth suit gesticulating at him. Lukas shrugged and kept walking. He'd never had much truck with the Assassination temples, and didn't plan to start now -- the sheer inhumanity of their operatives unnerved him.

Coming to a semblance of attention before the officer, Valkarian saluted lazily. The officer frowned at him. "Ah, Sergeant Valkarian... Your reputation precedes you, I'm afraid. There'll be no long settling in period for you. No, we're sending you straight to the front. You'll report to Colonel Mayana, here's a chit for an APC. She'll be expecting you, so don't be late!" Taking the proffered chit, Lukas sighed and headed off for the motor pool.

The Chimera rumbled along the deserted highway, trailing a cloud of exhaust. Lukas lounged in the front passenger seat, conversing lazily with the driver on the merits of different brands of amasec. "Yeah, but Clarion always leaves a bad taste in your mouth the morning after. That's why-" He broke off, reaching for the binocs. Peering intently up at the sky, he frowned. That's not an Imperial craft... And it doesn't look anything like an Ork vessel, either. He motioned the driver to speed up, and reached for the vox. "Battle stations, folks. Unknown alien vessel, 12 'o clock high. There's no telling who this is, so don't fire unless fired upon -- we don't want to start ANOTHER war when we've already got a perfectly good one waiting for us." Clicking off the vox, he checked the charge on his long las, and made sure he had another cartridge ready to hand. Whoever they are, they better watch out... Sergeant Valkarian's ready for 'em.

* * *

Oooh!" Yan'ta cooed, leaning up close to the window. The blocky from of imperial vehicles always amazed her; they were so different from those of the Tau. She quickly snapped a few pictures of it before Ufa'myr's sudden change of direction removed the tank from view and sent her tumbling back into her seat. The Por'ui made a disappointed sound, "Why did you do that? I was getting some good images."

"We are going to land over there and wait for them to come to us. If that fails we will walk in on foot. I do not doubt that to Gue'la eyes our craft seems very threatening." Ufa'myr said in a calm voice.

"But we have no weapons!" Protested Yan'ta, craning her neck in an attempt to catch sight of the Chimera again. Ufa'myr sighed.

"But they do not know that. You know as well as I that these Gue'la are inclined to shoot first." The Por'vre paused, then added, "Also, I want to land somewhere empty. I am no Kor."

***

Despite Ufa'myr's stated lack of piloting skills, she managed to land the skimmer safely and without incident. The round door slid open with a soft hum and they all stepped out onto the grass.

"Alright, so, what now?" Asked Yan'ta, looking around, "I don't see anyone to talk with." Ro'aloh climbed to on top of the skimmer as Ufa'myr smiled and explained.

"If I am right, the Gue'la vehicle you saw should be coming this way in a few Rai'kor. That way they will be coming to us. It will give them the feeling of control they all seem to desire."