Chapter 5

  The team would be deploying via a modified Corvus Blackstar they decided as a drop-pod would leave too much trace of their

  position. As predicted Invictis was unhappy he was not deploying with them but insisted a special visor be attached to

  Raphael's helmet so he could give aid when it was needed. Everyone looked at him expectantly until he finally complied

  and a tech priest attached the visor on his helmet. In truth it looked more like a pair of stubby binoculars than anything

  else, the rest of the team sniggered a bit until Raphael revealed with a wide grin they all had to wear similar equipment

  to record their findings and send them to the Imperial Guard.

  The Blackstar itself was a sleek, well armed machine which impressed even Damascus. It was an aircraft available only

  to the Deathwatch which was a great source of irritation to everyone in the team, another example of Inquistion or

  Mechanicus corruption. They prepared themselves for a deployment from orbit, strapping themselves to their seats and

  ensuring every weapon had their safety settings primed especially Cyiren with his lascannon.

  The Blackstar's engines roared into life and the craft lifted from the dense metal floor then shot at a high velocity

  from the Soul of War, the pilot giving them half an hour before landing. The team took the opportunity to pray, their

  weapons and armour had already been extensively checked and they were ready.

  A cone of heat was forming around the hull as it entered the planets orbit, to avoid creating a sonic boom that would

  alert the Orks to their presence the pilot only flew at subsonic speeds. There was still a great deal of wreakage floating

  in the planets orbit but the Blackstar banked and weaved around them with relative ease, a drop zone had been detected by

  the Blackstars keen scanners as well as the main body of the Ork encampment even in the darkness of night. When they

  reached the rocky outcrop the side doors opened and high strength cables dropped to the ground. They didn't have the time

  to land so they lept onto the cables and fast-roped to the ground instead.

  Within five seconds Raphaels boots hit the ground and the team spread out, their helmets visors adjusting for the darkness

  and were moving quickly. Once they had reached cover Raphael voxed their pilot "Good drop, confirm?". The pilots voice

  sounded in his ear "Confirmed, good luck Sargeant".

  He terminated the contact, they were on their own. Raphael looked up at the outcrop and saw a great deal of cover as well

  as a dominating view of the Ork camp, he motioned upwards and indicated to begin their climb. The rest of Striker began

  their climb, silent as shadows. Despite the power armour and camo cloaks they were wearing the ascent was fairly easy as

  the rock was cracked in many places, not to mention the climbing spikes Varkas was easing into the rock as they went along.

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  After ten minutes every member was exactly where he wanted them, not at the very top but secreted amongst the rocks. The

  observation of the Ork encampment began but the foe they faced was much stronger than they had ever imagined. The Ork army

  seemed endless and ramshackle vehicles were being steadily assembled, the centrepiece of that army was a titanic war

  machine filled with as many weapons the Orks could fasten to it. A Stomper had been created here and from the looks of it

  more were starting to be built.

  Damascus' voice sounded in his ear "Apparently these Orks are further along in their development than we first thought".

  Varkas and Re-Shan had similar opinions but Cyiren and Invictis were silent which worried him even more. Well it could

  always be worse he thought. Suddenly Varka's voice sounded in his ear.

  "Sargeant Warboss spotted, three meters from the left of the Stomper do you see it?". Raphael looked through his scope and

  saw who he had looked for, the biggest and meanest Ork of the lot. He had a brief flashback to the first warboss he had

  encountered then shook his head to rid himself of the memory, he then activated the vox to all Striker members "What

  details do we have on this brute?" he asked.

  What they told him was not encouraging, apparently Headsplitta as he was called was a particularly ambitious Ork under the

  employ of The Beast of Armageddon, Gharzghkull Thraka himself and was one of his most brutal underlings. His presence here

  was not a good sign, if a full scale invasion started here it would prove very difficult to stop. The creature himself

  was immense, coated in thick mega-armour and carrying one of the biggest axes Raphael had ever seen, even if they landed

  a good shot on it he doubted it would die easily.

  "Any specific competition you can see?" he asked, minutes passed before he got an answer, from Cyiren this time "Theres a

  ton of competition but my quess is his inner circle of Mega Nobs or the Ork mechanic up on top of the Stomper".

  He looked up and saw what he meant, a seemingly deranged Ork was standing on the Stompers head shouting orders to his Mek

  underlings. "Varkas and Damascus find heavy weapons, defensive structures and everything else of importance to the Orks.

  Cyiren and Re-Shan find a good landing zone for the Imperial Guard force and any good firing points. I want to know

  this battlefield like the back of my hand, confirmed?". They all confirmed then switched their vox channels off.

  He then decided to consult his ace in the hole "Invictis anything I miss?". Invictis laughed in his ear "We always miss

  something Raphael but do not take that personally. In any case I have no complaints, simply advice". Raphael shook his

  head in exasperation "What did you have in mind?".

  Invictis snorted in amusement "Well for one what do you plan to do once the warboss is dead?". Raphael frowned at that and

  looked around the encampment for answers, Invictis waited patiently until he found what he was looking for. He angled the

  visor so Invictis could see "There, if I am not mistaken that looks like an arena of some kind. If Headsplitta is killed

  without revealing our presence then any Ork that wanted to take control of this horde would do so there".

  The Dreadnought was silent for a further five minutes until he finally spoke "You've left a lot of room for improvisation,

  a bit too much for my taste but the result is the same. Not too bad Raphael". He then abruptly shut off the vox connection

  leaving Raphael alone with his thoughts once more.