The strange peace of Tarnegris was shattered by the strange, stuttering roar of Ork vehicles.

A swarm of a dozen warbikes swarmed around a corner, and the riders roared in anticipation as they spotted the Vipers. The shootas mounted on the bikes chattered, and the ground around them danced with the impact of the shots.

Once again the devastators swung their weapons to bear, but this time they were beaten to it. The sharp 'crack' of sniper rifles sounded, and the bikes spun out of control as their riders were shot down.

"Good work, Captain Medasclo," said Torlus. The Tenth Company captain nodded in acknowledgement, and the Marines moved on through the city.

"According to the maps of Tarnegris, we should be a few hundred metres from the central district and the orbital defence batteries," said Kaltharus over the vox-link.

They rounded another corner, and came face to face with the largest monstrosity in the Ork arsenal.

"Hold it, hold it you grotz!" yelled an Ork as it yanked the Squiggoth's reins. The arrival of the Marines had apparently gone completely unnoticed.

The Squiggoth roared, an earth-shattering sound. One of the tall buildings nearby wobbled dangerously before collapsing from the vibrations.

"Boss, unless it gets sumfin' to eat, it's gonna – aaargghhhhhhh!" The Squiggoth's huge jaws ripped the unfortunate Ork to small chunks, and swallowed them. As its head turned to look for more victims, it saw the Marines.

So did the swarm of Orks on the creature's howdah.

The Squiggoth charged. Zzap gunz and big shootas spat, but that huge creature's motion rocked the weapons so much that most of the shots went completely wide.

"Cover! COVER!" shouted Medasclo. The scouts and devastators ran for the surrounding buildings, occasionally firing a bolter shot at the monster. It flinched occasionally as the bolts detonated on a particularly sensitive spot, but it did nothing more than chip at its thick armour.

"For the Emperor!" came a cry from the sky, and the assault marines dropped onto the Squiggoth's back.

The Orks roared back at them, and drew their choppaz. Chainsword met primitive axe, and two Marines fell from the sheer force of the Orks' blows.

The match was one-sided, though. Outnumbered and outgunned, the xenos died rapidly.

The Squiggoth roared, and smashed into the building containing the retreating Marines. It reared back, ready for the next attack. Bolter, plasma and lasfire smashed into the behemoth, but nothing seemed to affect it.

Medasclo raised his sniper rifle, and aimed carefully at one of the monster's eyes.

Crack.

The Squiggoth roared in pain for the first time. Still on its hind legs, and trying to rear back further, it began to collapse onto its back. The Assault Marines took off just in time.

Tarnegris shook with the impact of the twenty-ton creature. As it rolled, trying to right itself, Kaltharus landed in front of it.

The Squiggoth snapped viciously, but the Captain stood firm. He raised the plasma pistol, and fired five shots into the injured eye.

The monster's scream was like a physical blow, yet it somehow survived the horrendous energies it received. It reared up, trying to regain its balance, but collapsed again. Kaltharus triggered the jump pack, and landed next to the metre-long eye. With a vicious twisting thrust, he sent the power fist deep into the Squiggoth's cranium.

Still the creature refused to die. Other Marines swarmed around the fallen giant, firing their weapons at any weak spots in its armour.

"Captain! Get off!" called a Devastator. Kaltharus triggered the pack, and flew upwards as the five Marines below fired their plasma cannons straight down the Squiggoth's throat.

With one final roar of agony, the creature fell still.

The Marines stood silently, honouring the creature as a worthy opponent.

"Move out," said Kaltharus eventually. "The central district is behind those barricades. Be ready."

Vanardis watched as the second Terror Ship's guns fell silent, and the craft itself gently coasted away from the battle, fires burning away the little atmosphere remaining in the hulk.

"Port lances, finish off that Terror Ship!" he called out. "Sensors, status of the Ork fleet!"

"Two Terror Ships, two Kill Kroozers, and approximately thirty smaller ships remaining. Swift Fury reports that it has taken heavy damage and requests permission to withdraw to the edge of the battlefield. Battlecruisers Martyr and Tyrant have taken minimal damage. We've lost the Dominator-class Emperor's Lightning, Lunar-class Necromunda's Embrace, and seven assorted frigates. Even with the Cadian escorts, we're outnumbered and outgunned, sir."

"Brute force does not a victory make, lieutenant. Nova cannon, fire on that swarm of Onslaughts."

The deadly weapon fired, and the blast shredded five of the vicious ships. Showing a rare indication of self-preservation, Ork squadrons loosened in formation, making further nova cannon shots virtually useless.

"Kill Kroozer incoming! Looks like they're going to ram us, sir!"

"All lances, fire on that Kroozer!"

Dozens of beams of coherent light slammed into the primitive vessel's hull, but it kept going.

"Torpedoes incoming!"

The huge plasma rockets streamed from the Kroozer. Vanardis swore.

"Why is it that whenever you're counting on Ork weapons to go wrong, they don't? Turrets, at the ready!"

Lascannon shots poured from the turrets, but most of the torpedoes made it through the barrage unharmed.

"BRACE FOR IMPACT!"

Abruptly the torpedoes exploded a short distance from the Imperator Magnus. A swarm of Thunderhawks dived past the battleship's bridge, and Vanardis laughed with relief. "Remind me to thank the Vipers for that one later," he commented. "Maintain fire on the Kroozer!"

The shark-like prow of the Ork ship slowly disintegrated under the barrage, but the Apocalypse-class wasn't faring much better.

"Status!" Vanardis roared.

"Power to the Nova cannon has been severed! Lance batteries five through seven not responding! Plasma cannons offline! Dorsal thrusters not responding! Hull breaches on several decks!"

The Admiral's face was rigid as he watched the Kroozer close on them. Although the Ork ship would be destroyed for certain, the question was whether it would take the Imperator with it?

"Admiral, Kroozer has ceased firing! Continues to close… wait… plasma reactors have overloaded!"

Vanardis relaxed as the other ship slowly detonated.

"Sir, the Imperator is virtually crippled. We can still fight, but I don't fancy our chances in the thick of it. Your orders?"

The Admiral sighed, but directed the helm to take them away from the central battle. From his days as captain of a Firestorm frigate, he knew that all it took was one good run to destroy a badly damaged battleship.

Kaltharus shot the last Ork with his plasma pistol, and slowly relaxed. "All clear?" he asked Medasclo.

"My Scouts have combed through the entire section – apart from a few remaining corpsmen, we're the only living things left in the facility," replied the Scout Captain.

"Excellent," said Inquisitor Torlus. "What's the status of the laser batteries?"

"Intact. The Orks didn't seem to have even tried to use them, and the humans had been driven away from the sector. Inquisitor, I believe you have the over-ride codes to activate the weapons?"

"Of course, Captain. A moment, please…" Torlus typed in the code, and pressed the fingerprint-analyser. The computer bleeped, and controls all over the control room became active.

"Thank you, Inquisitor," said Kaltharus, as he typed in new coordinates for the batteries.

With a deafening 'crack' as the air exploded from the sheer heat, the four quad-lance batteries spat upwards.

On the little holo-display of the orbiting battle, green dots started to wink out.

"WOT DA ZOGGIN' HECK!" roared Varg Bonesmasha. "WHERE'S DAT ZOGGIN' SOR-SOR-OR? I'M GONNA POUND HIS BONES TA DUST!"

"You called, great Warboss?" asked the Sorcerer calmly.

"MORE HUMIES HAVE COME, YOU ZOGGIN' GROT! WOT HAPPENED TO 'WE'Z GONNA STOP 'EM FROM COMING', EH? AND NOW DA MARINE BOYZ HAVE TAKEN DAT DEFENCE CITY AND KILLED ME BEST SQUIGGOTH!" The Warboss took several deep breaths. The Sorcerer had been completely calm throughout the rant, and some cunning part of the Ork's brain decided to try the subtle approach. "So why didn't ya stop 'em, sor-sor-or?"

"I must apologize for that, great Warboss," said the Sorceror with a faint smirk. "But I fear that I mislead you on the amount of support we would give you. Now!"

With the last command, bolter fire ripped through the crude buildings and the Orks. With the slow, relentless tread of the Rubric soldiers, Thousand Sons moved from cover, laying down a constant barrage of fire.

Bonesmasha gave a roar worthy of a Squiggoth, and swung his Power Klaw at the Tzeentchi Sorceror. The Chaos Marine dodged the blow easily, and swung his Ether Lance in a wide arc. Blasts of pure chaos streamed into the Ork from the weapon, and Bonesmasha yelled in fury and pain.

The Sorcerer advanced, stimulating the daemonic entity in the Lance to continue attacking the Warboss. All around the two combatants, Orks died in swathes. A few shots returned against the Tzeentchi Marines, but the spirit-powered hulks shook off the fire with ease.

With a scream of rage, Varg Bonesmasha reared up and fought his way past the Lance's blasts. Raising the kustom blasta, he fired at his traitorous opponent.

The Sorcerer anticipated the move, and with a flick of the wrist, jammed the weapon. It exploded spectacularly, and the Warboss roared in pain as it took most of the hand with it.

"Enough games," smirked his opponent. The Marine leapt, and with an elegant spin, planted the Ether Lance in the Ork's chest. Blue light streamed into the daemon weapon as the entity sucked hungrily at the Ork's life-force.

With one final cry of defiance, the Warboss expired. With a vicious twist, the Sorcerer recovered the Lance, which shuddered in protest.

"Patience, little one," the Marine said soothingly. "Soon you will taste more souls."

"My lord, the Orks have been wiped out," said a Champion. "Your orders?"

"Excellent. You will return to the ships, and prepare to destroy the loyalist fools. Wait for my signal."

"As you wish, my lord." The Champion called the strange quavering note that called the Rubric troopers to him, and began to move towards their hidden Thunderhawks.

"The die is cast," said the Sorcerer musingly. "If this goes according to plan, Tzeentch will favour me. Who knows what could happen then? A full war-fleet, perhaps? Not that I'll need one." He chuckled darkly, and walked away into the darkness.

Sorry for both the long delay, and fairly boring content so far. It's been boring me, but sadly it's necessary. With the next chapter, things will begin to pick up…