An argument

The Macro-cannon loading bay was enormous, with many passages leading into it. Following Cheng Mingrui's orders, Clever Git took a large pack of keen-nosed Squigs to find the other passages. This was the first step in their surprise attack.

Next, Cheng Mingrui gathered all the Mekboys and had them build anti-armor weapons. Then he had them reinforce their only Killa Can, focusing entirely on its defenses. He wanted it bigger, thicker, and tougher, solely to draw the humans' attention.

Some Orks liked hacking people apart with Choppas, some liked riddling enemies with Sluggas, and others liked creating big blasts, enthralled by all the destruction caused by Mekboy sparks.

Five or six Bomm Boyz were picked out to work alongside Cheng Mingrui as his secret trump card, taking orders directly from him.

Caught up in the fighting, Cheng Mingrui might have forgotten that he was putting his ingenuity to the wrong use. Cleverhead Boss had ordered him to capture the Engine Room, but he had devoted himself entirely to killing the humies in front of him.

The Glory Knight was merely an ordinary Imperial Lunar-class Cruiser. Her mission was to monitor the great brawl in the Ork Sector, keep track of the Orks' civil war in real time, and relay intelligence to the Imperium.

Whenever the Orks neared the end of their civil war and a powerful Warboss was about to emerge victorious, the Imperium would dispatch a fleet to intervene, sowing enough chaos to prolong the infighting.

It was a shrewd, effective strategy, allowing the Imperium to achieve the greatest results with the smallest losses. In theory, it could keep the Orks, a longstanding threat to the Imperium of Man, contained.

The surveillance operation would have gone smoothly, provided nothing unexpected happened.

After the Glory Knight reported to her superiors that the Orks were still embroiled in fierce civil war and posed no immediate threat to the Imperium, three Ork pirate warships ambushed her.

By the Emperor's grace, the Glory Knight escaped the ambush under her captain's excellent command, temporarily avoiding destruction or capture.

Escaping the ambush did not mean safety. The accursed Orks had launched numerous Boarding Torpedoes that struck the Glory Knight, and hordes of Orks rampaged through the ship, severely impairing her combat capabilities and speed.

"Bearing 42.38.57, an unidentified ship is approaching. Based on previous encounters, it appears to be an Ork pirate vessel! They've caught up!" the radar operator reported on the bridge.

"Damn it, why are these loathsome Xenos so tenacious?" Pex, captain of the Glory Knight, cursed. He turned to the adjutant beside him and asked, "Have those green beasts running loose aboard my ship been exterminated yet?"

"I'm sorry, sir, but not yet. Our troops are fighting those damned beasts with everything they have, but several attacks have failed. Ordinary soldiers simply can't match those green beasts physically," the adjutant explained.

"We have no Ogryns, no Catachans, and certainly no Astartes, the Emperor's angels. The soldiers have done all they can."

"Excuses! You haven't tried hard enough! You aren't loyal enough! You still don't understand the meaning of sacrifice! Only sacrifice can forge victory!" Pex erupted. His bellows resounded throughout the bridge, spittle nearly spraying the adjutant's face.

The adjutant's face turned livid at the abuse. Jaw set, he held back his anger. He could not bear the captain insulting the soldiers under his command who had died in battle.

As the tension between the two mounted, the crisp sound of leather shoes striking the steel deck shattered the atmosphere that had just built up.

A Commissar wearing a peaked military cap and an immaculate uniform, with a Boltgun at one hip and a Chainsword at the other, swept his murderous gaze between the adjutant and the captain.

Commissars had always been a pillar of the Imperium of Man, safeguarding order and morale. As long as an Imperial force still had its Commissar, it could retain its fighting strength even after suffering devastating casualties.

This was possible because of every Commissar's unyielding spirit, formidable willpower, and absolute loyalty to the Emperor.

The Commissar on the bridge was there to supervise commanders at every level. If he deemed any commander's actions disloyal, whether through treason, cowardice, or desertion, he could execute that commander on the spot with his Boltgun and Chainsword.

Thus, Commissars were feared by everyone.

Of course, beyond shooting their own troops, some Commissars also led from the front with extraordinary courage, battling alien Xenos with mortal flesh and blood and achieving feats comparable to those of the mighty Astartes Space Marines.

People not only feared Commissars, but admired them as well.

"Captain Pex, I've reviewed the combat recordings. Those soldiers truly did everything they could. Through their sacrifice, they proved their loyalty to the Emperor. You should not judge them so harshly. Some of those Xenos are exceptionally powerful specimens. The fact that the Astra Militarum has contained their offensive is already the best news we could hope for."

"They have fulfilled their duty, defending the ship and protecting our lives. Now, Captain Pex, it is time for you to fulfill yours. The Ork warship is entering engagement range," Commissar Japhard said calmly, resting one hand on the hilt of his Chainsword.

With the bridge Commissar having spoken, Pex naturally dared not argue. He could only turn his attention back to commanding the ship.

The Ork warship was indeed closing fast, much faster than Pex had anticipated. The flames blasting from the engines at the stern of the ugly vessel were twice as long as before.

The experienced Pex knew this was the work of a device unique to Ork warships. Supposedly, it was a red button that could multiply the ship's speed several times over with a single press.

Brute courage alone could not decide a battle. The Lunar-class Cruiser was an excellent, classic ship design of the Imperium of Man. Even with her damaged, Pex was confident he could command the Glory Knight to defeat the enemy.

At Pex's command, the warship turned deftly, bringing the rows of Macro-cannon muzzles along her flank to bear on the Ork vessel.

The moment the Ork warship entered range, the Macro-cannons thundered their fury, hurling shells with yields equivalent to nuclear bombs at the enemy.

At that distance, the Orks' guns could not reach their target, so they launched two volleys of Space Torpedoes at the Glory Knight. The first exchange between the two warships began.

As fierce fighting unfolded in space, it also erupted inside the Glory Knight.

After an hour of preparation, Cheng Mingrui put his tactics into action. Clever Git's Squigs brought good news: there was indeed more than one passage leading to the loading area. The bad news was that human soldiers guarded every entrance, making them all difficult to breach.

Cheng Mingrui glanced at the secret weapons the Meks were hammering together, then scribbled on the map laid out on the floor. After a brief moment of thought, he slapped his bald head. The direction of the main assault was decided.