‘As I ever will be,’ I sighed. ‘Shard, if this doesn’t work, I just want to say that when I first came to this planet I never–’

‘I know. I surpassed every expectation you had.’

‘Actually, I wanted to say I regret ever meeting you, and I wish I never came to this armpit of a world.’

The audio feed crackled with her laughter.

‘Fair,’ she said. ‘Now do your damn duty.’

I closed my eyes, syncing fully with Iwazar. It was a struggle, the images flickering, the pictographs buried in its memory little more than blurred distortions. But I knew what I sought, having spliced the footage prior to take-off.

I wish I could have recounted the names of the brave pilots who sacrificed everything for the Imperium. But it was all I could do to keep myself there, to hold on to the connection.

‘Stand by for reinforcements,’ I murmured.

And all at once, the sky was filled with the 2208th Expeditionary Air Wing.

Chapter thirty-three

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

I wonder what went through the orks’ minds when a dozen squadrons of Imperial fighters suddenly appeared in their midst, lascannons flashing and autocannons blazing. Admittedly, the weapons made no sound, and the fighters’ silhouettes were somewhat indistinct.

But it certainly provoked a response.

The orks, their bloodlust too-long suppressed and discipline already fractured, threw themselves at the interlopers, tearing free of the spiral holding pattern and unleashing the full fury of their guns. Of course, since orks are not known for their accuracy, they tend to compensate through volume of fire. The barrage of bullets passed harmlessly through the flickering holo-images, for there were simply no targets to strike.

Besides other orks.

The subsequent explosions rocked ork and pict alike, the Imperium’s fighters spluttering as they were fractured by shockwaves and debris. But it did not matter; the orks were too enraged to disengage, chasing the phantoms and firing indiscriminately.

Shard remained to the outskirts of the chaos. Her lascannon flared intermittently, each shot dispatching an ork pilot, but it seemed incidental, like she was passing time.

‘Simlex? You still there?’

‘Barely.’

‘An update would be helpful. How is our ork mechanical enjoying the show?’

‘I have to focus… Plient? What do you see in the ork vessel? And shout, for Emperor’s sake!’

His voice came to me as both yell and whisper.

‘Not much, sir. They are arguing. I think some punches are being thrown. Hang on, we are moving to the viewscreen. Can’t really see what’s going on, though…’

‘Shard? Not much. They seem–’

‘Hang on,’ said Plient. ‘One of the big ones restored order. They’re cranking levers and… By the Throne, their machines are strange. They’re priming a device that looks like bellows. Something is about to happen.’

‘Shard? Plient says they might be charging–’