Hexis: Ork pact faced down by imperium

With the Emerald Serpent recovering their strength on Boltarean and with the bulk of his forces at Minos and Tarlius, Warsmith Stahl was unable to reinforce his commander - Horozkha - with meaningful chaos forces. Even Lord Tragean had lost interest and his fleet returned to the Perseus Deeps. Stahl was stuck. He could send a battalion but nothing to stop the imperial and alliance war machines now descending on the world. Scratching around for allies, Stahl was able to convince Legio Mortis to come to the aid of the expedition, but these forces would be unable to defeat their enemies in the tight ruins of Praxis. 

The Death Guard were “awaiting events”, so Stahl turned to the orks. Unreliable and untrustworthy, the green skins were however the only foot troops the war smith could lay his hands on. In frustration he agreed the terms, and hoped the orks wouldn’t somehow lose him his foothold on the planet. 

The bulk of the orks - under warlord Grimsnik, arrived on Hexis just after the main imperial landings. The last of Sycorax were holding positions to the south of the imperial landing zone, between the ruins of the two cities. The orks threw themselves at the imperial defences, but prepared imperial positions managed to take down a towering ork Stompa, despite the damage it had wrought in their Shadowsword. The ork trukks also proved to be easy prey for the emperors guns, but the ork armoured contraptions were more difficult to deal with. Eventually Grimsnik himself made it to the Sycorax lines, but the Imperial Commisar stepped in front of the ork warlord. Grimsnik bellowed and sliced the political officer in half, before roaring his triumph at the cowering humans. Fuelled by ork confidence the warlord charged towards the imperial super heavy behemoth, only to be dramatically vapourised by its Volcano cannon. Their leader vanquished the rest of the orks made a “taktikal” retreat, leaving the imperium in control of the battlefield. 

Further north the ork speed freaks of Blitzagga's Thunderwaagh! Met the Dark Angels on the open plains of Cralth. The result however was similar, with the astartes obliterating the ork forces and scattering the green skin horde. The imperial landing was secure and Horozkha counted the cost of his master’s pact with the unworthy greenskin xenos.