Khan Morigen had run headlong into a wall. Only a handful of super-Orks in the entire galaxy owned a Gungat, and today he had run into one.
The beast Jumper lumbered across the ground. He could not be called a giant Squig; he was a Mega-Squig, capable of carrying an entire large fortress on his back. The Orks built Big Shoota turrets and planted explosive missiles inside that fortress.
The Orks gazed fearlessly at the sky, launching missile after missile upward. Only a third actually reached the low orbit where the warships were stationed.
Fury Interceptors carried out the first wave of interceptions. Too many missiles were rising from below; even a third of them getting through was far too many.
Void shields could not intercept the dense swarms of slow-moving missiles. Khan Morigen ordered the warships to begin circling the planet at high speed.
Nothing could beat sheer speed.
The White Scars Sons did not care where they deployed Exterminatus. These were Exterminatus weapons, after all.
Their blazing-fast maneuvers prevented the mushroom-fiber slingshots from taking aim.
Masses of Orks hauled the slingshots taut with all their strength, then, under the spotter boyz' direction, struggled back and forth through the green tide, constantly adjusting their positions.
In the middle of the ocean, a lush island was moving.
For once, the Gungat did not attack. Every boy and Gretchin was visibly impatient, gripping the controls of turrets large and small and swinging them wildly from side to side. They shouted "Bang, bang, bang!" to imitate gunfire, but none dared actually shoot.
This demonstrated the Ork leader's absolute control over his subordinates. His Waaagh! energy field was exceptionally stable.
"Boss, why ain't we shootin'? Those big metal sticks up there are annoyin'. The boyz all wanna blast 'em down."
"Blast 'em down?