The four massive shields joined together and slammed down on the green barrier.
The Big Mek sitting in his chair finally could not hold on any longer. His robust body became frail and emaciated, so weak that even a Gretchin's puff of breath could have knocked this once-glorious Big Mek to the ground.
"Oi... oi fink dis ain't gonna work..."
The Big Mek weakly exhaled, then turned into a pile of ash that scattered across his chair.
The green barrier finally vanished, and the massive shields charged into the Ork fleet once more, smashing through everything in their path.
"My lord! We have to go! We have to go!"
The crewmen aboard the Iron Warriors' ship panicked. These mortals with specialized knowledge of starship operation held a little status among the Iron Warriors.
Of course, only a little.
The Iron Warriors' Warsmith pierced the chest of a screaming mortal with the claw behind his back, then fed the corpse into some vacuum-like device that devoured it completely.
The crew fell silent. They knew their only hope of surviving under the Iron Warriors was to remain at their posts, obey every order, and show no sign of cowardice.
The Warsmith swept his gaze across them coldly and issued his orders in a deep, mechanical voice.
"This warship must be a relic of the Golden Age. According to our scans, apart from the twelve massive shields surrounding it, it has no other defenses, and there are no defending troops within..."
"Those inside must be humans left behind from the Golden Age... Though that statue of the Corpse Emperor does look suspicious... if we seize this ship during its weakest moment and take control of it, we will gain the power to destroy the Mountain Array! We can attack Terra again! Destroy the