Note from the Author: While I had notes prepared for the following sections back in 2008 I just never got around to continuing it for one reason or another. What I lacked was a clear plan for the space battle itself, which may have ultimately been the thing that stopped me from continuing in a linear manner.

Increasing blowback over the rather crass treatment of a Space Marine and the Imperium by the Dark Age humans meant that the story quickly lost support on /tg/ at the time.
An ever increasing involvement in Zeonquest also quickly used up available time.

Any of those elements or maybe all of them may have helped to kill the project at the time. Having read through everything this week I've been left with at least a small interest in typing up some loose ends.

I therefore present the following:

Chapter 15: Return of the Dark Age Fleet

Humans and Orks each debated their options as their fleets hung in space above the world the dark age humans had been working to reclaim for the past weeks. The Orks were the first to act.

Crude engines bolted, strapped and melted into each of the Roks making up the Ork fleet lit up. The shoddily built craft turned and accelerated towards the human fleet in low orbit. Battleships along with smaller cruisers and gunships detached from the larger Roks, while swarms of the greenskin fighter bombers began to launch.

It took longer for the Orks to bring their larger Macrocannon batteries into line but that didn't stop their crews from firing anyways. Orbit was soon filled with projectile weapon and lance fire.

Captain Parek Serth opened the vox channel to the entire return fleet.

"All ships come about to face to Ork fleet then put Void shields to front. Our Frigates will help to cover the Carrier until their fighters are away."

"I thought Roks weren't supposed to be Warp capable." Commented one of the junior officers.

"Apparently these ones are." replied Sinite. "There is much we still have to learn about the current state of the galaxy."

The Return fleet ships opened fire with beam weaponry, a multitude of lance and cutting beams reducing each of the smaller Ork ships to pieces in but a few hits. The problem was the number of their ships.

"Captain be advised, two of the larger Ork warships are armed with very powerful gravimetric accelerators." warned Sinite.

As void shields began to soak off projectile hits, and smaller point defense beams cut down the Ork fighters, the Ork battlecruisers at the back of their formation carefully maneuvered, bringing their main guns into line.

One of the human Frigates performed a violent course correction to avoid one of the shots even before it could be fired. Another ship dumped all power into the void shields focusing them on the projected point of impact. The shots fired by either Ork ship were flung out at a high percentage of light speed. Predictably the first missed the faster moving ship.

The second blew through the reinforced shield and then the entire length of the vessel.

"Frigate Rhodes has been destroyed."
"What was that weapon?!" demanded Serth.

"Database identifies it as a Nova Cannon."

We need to stop making light of these Orks before it kills us all, the Captain thought to himself.

"Helm evasive maneuvers. All ships not screening the Carrier target the Ork Battlecruisers."

With the Human ships using both their gravity drives and maneuvering thrusters it became increasingly difficult for the inaccurate fire from the Orks to hit the advanced Frigates. Some of them responded to this by focusing on the Frigates protecting the larger carrier, itself moving to hide behind the planet.

It soon became clear that the Warboss was keeping a tight fist when it came to control of his fleet. The smaller, faster moving Gunships switched to targeting individual ships with massed fire. The volume of fire combined with the Orks natural inaccuracy making it impossible to evade everything.

"Captain our ships don't have as much armor as Warships from the Imperium." The AI pointed out. "We can't take an extended engagement like this."

"We don't need to. Destroy their largest ships and kill their Warboss and the rest should scatter."

Serth hadn't been faced with a large scale battle like this before. They'd been performing simulations since their arrival in the galaxy but hadn't expected to face a fleet of Ork Warships unprepared. They were already losing ships and irreplaceable crews. He had think of a solution and fast. The larger Ork ships weren't dying nearly as fast as he expected, their combination of scavenged shields and thick armor warding off hits from even the cutting beams.

"Closer."
"Sir?"
"The Ork warships have most of their weapons and armor on the front. All ships full ahead, get behind their Battlecruisers. Configure aft weapons to punch through armor at close range."

"Aye, reconfiguring for plasma."

The remaining Frigates charged, pushing their gravity drives to the highest acceleration they could safely use. Ork projectiles and Fighta-Bommer's smashing against the forward void shields of the human ships gave the appearance of rain splashing off a set of umbrellas.

The heavy guns on the Roks and Battlecruisers, while thankfully not nova cannon strength, were still very powerful. As they closed the distance most of the ships were forced to put all shield power forward to survive the assault. Off to starboard another ship was nicked by Nova cannon fire, the damage causing them to spin out of control.

At the last moment Sinite triggered the deceleration so they wouldn't shoot past the target impossibly fast. As soon as they were past them the aft weapons of every ship to have survived fired their aft weapons. Beams of plasma cut through the less heavily armored sections surrounding the engines off the Ork ships, melting great holes in them.

"Equalising shields."

The grow from each of the holes grew brighter, from a dull red into yellow then white. After what seemed like an eternity the engines of each of the great ships exploded. Secondary explosions followed, probably from munitions scattered through the ships. It was going to take time but it looked like both of them were going to go down in flames.

"Bring us about and shift fire to the Roks before the smaller ships catch up to us again. Cut them apart."

Parek was suddenly aware of the red warnings flashing on several displays.
"What is it?"

"We've been boarded sir. An unknown number of Orks are in the aft sections. They must have teleported aboard when the aft shields were down."

A bright orange light filled the air on the bridge accompanied by a sharp crack and blast of air as a Nob and two Orks teleported onto the bridge.

"WAAAGH!"

The captain dove out of his chair, using the arm console to shield him from the swipe of a choppa that might have otherwise bisected him. The operations officer wasn't so lucky, her head sent sailing across the bridge.

Officers scrambled to avoid melee weapons and shoota fire. Large caliber rounds tore through most available light cover. The captain and at least two other officers managed to reach the sidearm recharge ports scattered around the bridge and drew their plasma pistols.

In most simulations a couple of plasma pistol shots were usually enough to down an Ork.

These were BIG Orks.

Parek hit the boy closest to him with four plasma shots to the chest, blasting craters in flesh and armor. When the Ork elected to rush him the captain fired the fifth shot into it's arm, blowing it off at the wrist. While the hand and attached cleaver tumbled off the Ork swung down at him with the remaining stump and it's now empty slugga.

Diving to the side Parek was still struck by the slugga, the force of the blow breaking his arm and shoving him farther away. Sliding off to the side he struggled to switch the pistol to his left hand before continuing to fire. The Ork attempted to ward off the worst of the shots with the scraps of metal plating covering his right arm, shoulder and head.

"PUNY UMIE, QUIT MUKKIN ABOUT!"

This isn't working! The captain thought to himself and shifted fire downwards to trying to shoot out the Ork's legs. A stray shot hit the Ork in the crotch causing the Ork to momentarily double over in pain.

"OAHG! YOU BLOODY UMIE, YOUZ GON-"
Looking up to shout at the human, the Ork unintentionally exposed his less armored face and open mouth. As a result tirade was cut short by a pair of plasma bolts to the face.

On the other side of the bridge the biggest Nob also collapsed under the combined fire of the other officers. The third Ork lay over a console with an enormous hole drilled through its chest, flicking holographics giving some indication of what killed him.

"Bridge is secure." Sinite informed everyone. "But the rest of the ship is going to need some work."

Parek made his way back to his chair and called up security displays. The crew were fighting off Orks but they were going to need some help.

Outside the ship's weapons kept on firing, cutting gouges into the Roks and starting to cause them to crack open. The rest of the Ork fleet was swarming back this way and if the return fleet didn't pull back soon they were going to be overwhelmed.

"Crews have lost control of two of our ships due to boarding actions." reported communications.

Damn.
"Teleport their AI's, surviving crews and anything of value to the surface then set them on a collision course for the largest Rok."
"Sir?"
"We can replace the ships, not the crews. Set them to self destruct." Serth replied sharply. They didn't have time for people questioning orders right now.

"...Aye sir."

Their helm officer dead the captain took the controls and pulled them back to a safe distance. Any ship that could still be saved were ordered to the the same or towed back along with them.

The two frigates now under remote control activated their gravity drives at full power accelerating to more than half light speed before they struck the crumbling Rok. All reactors, powers systems and explosives still aboard detonated just after impact, just in case enough of them survived for the Orks to salvage.

The asteroid split open and popped like an exploding balloon, the blast and debris wiping out nearly all of the Ork fighters and smaller gunships. Several of the cruisers that were too close were also caught by the explosion but for the most part the Ork cruisers survived.

"Sinite, try to keep our fleet out of their weapons range while we regroup and deal with the boarding parties."

"And how do you plan to do that?" Asked the AI.

"We're going to need Space Marines."