‘They maintain a high altitude. Governor Dolos would prefer her excursion was not soured by aircraft roaring overhead, and some of these vine-pluckers might react poorly to seeing a military craft. It makes them think they are in danger.’ He nodded to one of the boats bobbing beside us.

‘And you coordinate their actions from here?’

‘Just as Wing Commander Prospherous oversees our combined efforts. A commander does not have to be on the front lines to orchestrate the battle.’

‘I see.’

He leaned closer. His breath reeked, and I wondered what was in his flask. Raw promethium?

‘I hear one of our mechanicals found a way of transporting your recording devices by attaching them to our craft.’

‘Yes. Sadly, he is now confined to the medical bay.’

‘Unfortunate but irrelevant. My point is you do not need to risk life and limb flying with a maverick like Shard. You entrust your devices to me, and I will ensure you have eyes on every significant conflict going forward. I’m sure the governor would prefer that. She thinks you too valuable to risk.’

He clapped his massive hand onto my shoulder, the impact almost driving me into the bench.

‘Something to consider.’ He smiled, his eyes bright as blades.

Chapter twenty

CHAPTER TWENTY

The chirurgeon never informed me of Plient’s waking. Perhaps he forgot, occupied by more urgent cases. Or perhaps he did not want a propagandist sniffing around his medi-unit. After all, we all have secrets.

I heard only by chance, for I was still toiling, having just spliced a crude cut of the final pict. I was particularly pleased with the opening shot of the ork attackers, having chosen the duel Mizar witnessed on the sundered distillery platform, where the two orks had engaged in brutal combat for dominance. It nicely invoked the savagery and threat posed by the beasts, whilst also underlining their mindless brutality and self-destructive impulses. Against my better judgement, I had tweaked the image a little, enlarging the tusks and broadening the shoulders of the victor, until the ork appeared the embodiment of greenskin savagery. From there the focus shifted to footage of the agri-workers, each proclaiming their faith and decreeing that no greenskin would prevent them fulfilling their duties to the God-Emperor.

Unfortunately, at that point the narrative began to unravel. I had enough recordings of aircraft gunning down orks, but the best shots portrayed the battles as chaotic brawls where our pilots barely held their own. That left Shard gunning down footsloggers in her Vulture, which was neither dramatic nor conclusive. It invited the viewer to question why the ork threat was so significant, when a single pilot could wipe out swarms without retaliation. I was beginning to sympathise with my predecessor who had cobbled together the original pict. Perhaps it was better to portray our forces as inherently superior and leave it at that.