Led by their two Warbosses, the Orks surged through the Orbital Station corridors like a tide, eventually converging at the central dome plaza. Upon meeting, the two Klans immediately began a new round of rivalry.
The contest was simple: whichever Kian secured the greater area of the Space Station would hold more sway.
Aboard the Battleship Indomitable, Axion watched the crude feed of the Orks and referenced his own historical data archives.
The Orks, according to data provided by the ancient Aeldari, were a creation of the Old Ones. However, the Aeldari had never truly fought alongside the Orks.
The reason was simple: the Old Ones had completed the Ork prototype but were defeated before they could integrate a final control mechanism.
The Aeldari knew this because they themselves were modified by the Old Ones.
According to the ancient lore, the proto-Orks should have stood nine to fifteen metres tall, possessing powerful physical strength and immense technological capabilities. The Old Ones had even encoded vast amounts of ultra-advanced technology into their genes.
This technical knowledge was imprinted in every Ork's genetic structure, designed to be activated according to the enemy they faced, ensuring the Orks could defeat any foe they encountered.
However, due to the defeat and disappearance of the Old Ones, these Orks became uncontrollable, half-finished weapons.
These unrestrained organisms, leveraging the characteristics intended for large-scale warfare, spread unchecked across the galaxy.
Fortunately, the technological capability of these creatures was generally limited by the opponent they faced.
If they landed on a planet with extremely low technological standards, lacking any sophisticated opponents, the Orks' technology would rapidly regress, eventually devolving into a state of primitive savages hacking at each other with crude weapons.
The origins of the Red Fog Klan were long lost, but since all Orks are an alien species, a Klan vessel must have crashed there countless millennia ago.
However, that primitive world had seen little technological development beyond native fauna and basic primitives.
It was only the Imperial act of establishing an outpost that activated the genetic memory of these Orks, allowing them to escape the planet.
Axion meticulously checked the information in his database. The most bizarre entry concerned the fundamental nature of Ork life.
The Ork was a fungal organism.
To describe it in terms humans could understand, it was a gigantic, sentient, bad-tempered, super-mushroom with stress-induced technological prowess.
As a weapon of war, the Ork also possessed extreme regenerative capabilities.
If one Ork were to be finely diced and scattered across the ground, a brand-new Ork tribe would emerge after a sufficient period.
According to the records, the best method for dealing with Orks was fire.
After killing all Orks, every area had to be thoroughly scorched using heavy incinerators.
Of course, beyond conventional fuel combustion, one could use plasma burners, heavy incinerator cannons, or other high-temperature weapons to sterilize the ground.
Failing that, using a giant laser cannon to melt the entire planet's surface into magma and waiting for it to solidify was an acceptable, if extreme, option.
But absolute thoroughness in the burning was essential; if a single blind spot remained, these 'super-mushrooms' could return at any moment.
As Axion was engrossed in his data logs, the assembled Black Templars sat silently nearby, conducting their prayers.
The ritual of prayer to the Gene-Father and the God-Emperor before combat was necessary.
Axion, however, could not discern where the necessity lay.
All Iron Men were strictly materialists. Even the Warp, to an Iron Man, was merely an uncatalogued and undeveloped physical state.
Concepts like soul or spirit held no meaning for an Iron Man.
If the code was correct, he could not err.
Just as the prayers neared their conclusion, the Dark Angels' comm-link was patched into the room.
Axion easily cracked and accessed the Imperial Vox-net communication system on his own.
He even found the virtually unencrypted network laughably primitive.
He did not, however, dwell on it.
"We have entered the Space Station. There are two Orks of significant size and superior armament in Sectors C-376 and A-122. Based on battlefield observation, an Ork fleet usually only has one Warboss. Therefore, the simultaneous presence of two large-sized Ork leaders seems inconsistent with typical Ork characteristics. We cannot confirm if a higher-ranking Warboss exists."
After the Dark Angels finished their brief, the waiting Black Templars were visibly energized.
"Then let us dispatch these two Orks first and observe the battlefield reaction. If a more formidable unit appears, we will simply regroup."
"Slay the enemies of the Imperium! For the Emperor! For Dorn!"
"For the glory of the Sons of Dorn!"
With a few battle-cries, the warriors spontaneously formed a rigid column and proceeded towards the Teleportarium.
Axion glanced at the line and moved autonomously to the rear of the squad.
"In the name of Sergeant Thien, initiate teleportation."
The Tech-Priest responsible for controlling the directional teleportation looked at the Magos standing nearby with some hesitation, but seeing the Magos nod, he finally pulled the control lever.
Large-scale teleportation technology was controlled exclusively by the Adeptus Mechanicus. Teleporting an entire squad of Space Marines could only be performed by a Tech-Priest.
With a flash of blue-white arcs, the Black Templars standing on the platform, along with Axion, vanished from the Indomitable's compartment.
…
"Tz-z-z-z-la."
Inside the Orbital Station.
The two Dark Angels watched the Teleport Homer they had placed in a nearby empty compartment begin to spark with arcs of energy.
The figures of the squad gradually shimmered into existence.
Axion, standing behind the Black Templar warriors, caused both of the Dark Angels to raise their visors slightly.
"I did not expect those mechanical minds to truly allow this thing to be teleported in for battle."
Based on their understanding of the Adeptus Mechanicus, allowing an ancient construct like Axion onto the battlefield, rather than sequestering it for research, suggested the Magos had an ulterior motive.
The truth was exactly as they suspected.
To confirm Axion's combat capabilities, the two Magos had used their clearance to enter the command bridge and were synchronizing the vision feeds of all present to live-stream Axion's specific combat performance.
"Brothers, the briefing."
"The Orks have dispersed. As we previously reported, two abnormally large targets are present. Based on our estimates, an Ork fleet typically fields only one Ork Warboss, leading us to believe these two abnormal units may not be the final enemy. However, no further targets have been located. Therefore, we must attempt to kill these two units first before making further decisions."
The Black Templars warriors nodded. They immediately divided themselves into three elements: Apothecary Ousen was detached to stay with Axion, while the others were split into two five-man squads to follow the two Dark Angels and deal with the two abnormal units separately.