‘That might be the biggest I ever saw. At least on this planet.’

I frowned. ‘You’ve seen bigger orks?’

He nodded. ‘Yes, sir,’ he said. ‘Spent a bit of time in the Argon Sector. Gosh, must have been ten years back now. There were thousands of them, and some of the larger ones could rip a tank in half.’

‘You’re serious?’

‘Oh yes, sir,’ he said. ‘Of course, they wore armour, fully enclosed suits, so it was a bit hard to tell how much of it was ork and how much machine. But I saw one peel open a Chimera like a piece of fruit, before unleashing a flamer into the confines. Poor devils never had a chance.’

‘Sounds terrifying.’

‘It was a bit alarming, those brutes appearing from nowhere,’ Plient said. ‘Still, at least they were slow. Once we’d got over the shock we just retreated and poured fire into them. The blighters couldn’t catch us, couldn’t move much past a walking pace. They had guns of course, but none had particularly good aim. Eventually we wore them down.’

‘I suppose that’s one thing we don’t have to worry about. Heavy armour would be a liability out here.’

‘Exactly, sir.’ Plient grinned. ‘There won’t be no armoured orks ambushing us in the swamp.’

‘No,’ I agreed. ‘Shame we can’t say the same about their aircraft.’

‘True, sir,’ Plient replied, his smile fading. ‘I still don’t understand how they snuck through our defences. Did a bit of damage, I can tell you. I’ve patched up as many craft as I can, but until Orbital Station Salus can deploy reinforcements we will be stretched thin.’

‘When do they resupply?’

‘Every day, sir, but most of the drops are for the front line. We have to wait our turn.’

‘We are fortunate to be close to a forge world,’ I replied. ‘Though the reliance on a single orbital station for reinforcements seems problematic.’

‘I wouldn’t worry, sir,’ Plient said, grinning. ‘No ork fighter can breach the atmosphere. It’s beyond their reach.’

‘They said the same about the governor’s estate,’ I replied, my gaze returning to the pair of orks, one brandishing a crudely assembled spear, the other a forged chainblade. ‘Flight Sergeant Plient?’ I asked.

‘Sir?’

‘You said you’d fought larger orks? Heavily armoured ones?’

‘Yes, sir. In the Argon Sector.’

‘And they appeared behind your lines?’

‘That’s right, sir.’

‘How?’ I asked. ‘Were they lying in wait? Or did some ork aircraft drop them?’

‘I don’t think so. They were just there suddenly. I didn’t really question it – we were too busy panicking and trying to bring them down. Perhaps they dug their way out of the ground? Or… were camouflaged in some manner?’

He did not sound wholly convinced. Neither was I.

‘Do you remember anything unusual?’

‘Smoke.’ He shrugged. ‘And… lightning.’

‘There was a storm?’