Sargent Griff Snipa stared out at the wastes of Orthanc. His squad of Boyz had set up shop at a way station halfway between two of the hive cities on the planet. They had been dispatched to locate a human relic, an Inquisitor’s digital gun. Said inquisitor had taunted Big Boss Head-Rippa with it and his transport had been shot down over the way station after his retreat from the Orks at Hive Veritas.

In the distance Griff could see Hive Veritas burning as Captain TeefSnatcher’s forces secured it and its factories. Two siege regiments of the Death Corps of Kreig had been stationed on the planet as they awaited onward transit to the Octarus sector, they had enthusiastically thrown themselves at the Orks, alongside the millions of PDF soldiers and other Imperial Guard forces. The Orks had invaded the planet to destroy its factories and stop the transfers of guardsmen to the Imperium’s many warzones (plus so that they could resupply with equipment pillaged from the planet).

The way station was now in the no man’s land between the Orks and the Imperium. Most of the defenders had fled before the Orks had arrived there, their battered truck sat ready to escape back to the Ork lines. A continuous rumble of artillery droned on, as both sides fired at each other. Imperial Lightning fighters and Ork fighta-bombas duelled in the skies. High above the WaarghRider and the Ork fleet were finishing off the obsolete defence forces and blockading the planet.

“It’s not here sarge,” Specialist Frank complained. Frank was more at home shooting at enemies rather than searching through the debris of the way station (before the Inquisitor’s shuttle had fallen on it the way station had been bracketed by Ork artillery and so was littered with various piles of junk).

“Incoming!” Screeched Private Peterson, who had been enjoying a sneaky cigar break (they had discovered a crate of them in the way station and had been getting through them quickly). They looked up to see a Valkyrie drop ship swoop in and dispatch a group of Kreig guardsmen at the other end side of the way station.

“Boyz, attack!” Yelled Griff and squeezed off a shot from his sniper rifle, hitting the closest Guardsmen. A medic immediately jumped on him and quickly stopped the bleeding.

“I gives the orders ere,” Lieutenant Larry growled, the giant Ork Nobb then yelled. “Get um,” and pointed vaguely in the humans direction. They quickly started dividing into three groups to go after each junk pile. With the Lieutenant, bomb squid and Private Peterson going left. Specialist Frank leading the centre group and Breacher Boris leading the right hand group. With Griff left at the back to snipe and guide the others.

A grenade announced that the Kreig troopers had spotted them, the trooper wounded by them having launched it. The Kreig troops were focusing on the Orks’ right flank and the centre.

“DAKA DAKA DAKA!” Yelled Larry. Griff obeyed and finished off the human with the grenade launcher. Specialist Frank kept the barrier in front of him, sprinted forwards and shot at another human. On the right hand side one of the Orks was killed by a strike from one of the lightning fighters. The other Orks on the right hand team dived into cover.

In the centre Specialist Frank threw a sticky bomb behind the humans’ barrier, this seemed to only encourage the humans who charged at the Orks, killing another of them. Lieutenant Larry sent the bomb squig off to help in the centre. A flame trooper unleashed his flame thrower at the Orks, hurting a couple of them and detonating the bomb squig.

Private Peterson, heavily burned, tried to finish off the trooper but was killed himself. Swordsman Steve charged the flame trooper before he could reload. Specialist Frank shot at the medic. The humans’ sniper had climbed onto the roof of the way station and killed Two-Sword.

Basha Brutus ran towards the building to take care of him. Lieutenant Larry killed one of the only humans on the left flank. In the centre the Orks had all but wiped out the human forces. But on the right flank the Kreig troopers found the Inquisitor’s body and retrieved his digital gun (plus the dataslate the Ordos Xenos had tasked them to retrieve).

Basha Brutus killed the sniper and threw his stick of dynamite at the human with the Inquisitor’s gear, killing him and injuring the man next to him.

Griff watched as his fellow Orks consolidated their hold in the centre and left flank. The Orks started moving after the remaining two humans, but it was too late. The Valkyrie, having retreated to a safe distance, swept in and the Captain and his remaining guardsman jumped onboard. The Orks futility shot at it as it retreated to safer territory.

“Da boss ain’t gonna be happy that his prize got away,” Larry moaned.

“We could follow them back to where they came from,” Griff suggested. They quickly radioed in and suddenly a flight of fighta-bombas streaked overhead in pursuit of the Valkyrie.

The Valkyrie landed outside Hive Prime and the Captain handed over the case of the Inquisitor’s possessions to the Inquisition Storm Troopers waiting for them. The Storm Troopers took it with them and boarded their shuttle. It hurried up into the skies, being tracked by Ork eyes the entire time.