"Xenos forces? Are you certain of what you saw?" Ferrus Manus demanded, his brow furrowed.
They had come to deal with rebels. Why would a xenos species be present on Isstvan V?
"Could it be the Rangda?" Corvus Corax suggested, "Intelligence suggested that Horus had allied with them. The despicable traitors, to actually join forces with a xenos species."
In recent days, they had received a flood of intelligence. Beyond the news of Horus's betrayal alongside several of his brother Primarchs, another report claimed that Horus had allied with the Rangda, an old enemy of the Imperium, to attack the galaxy from two fronts.
Fortunately, the western front was being held by the Lion and Leman Russ. Once this rebellion was quelled, they would have to travel there to provide reinforcements.
"My lords, we have a report," said the mortal Imperial Navy officer in charge of planetary reconnaissance. "The aliens are not Rangda. They are Orks."
The officer explained that the planet was teeming with greenskins.
Its surface was a chaotic sprawl of ramshackle war vehicles and crude equipment. These Orks infested nearly every continent.
"What? Orks!"
The expressions of the Primarchs changed.
Never in their wildest dreams had they expected to find not Imperial traitors on Isstvan V, but a horde of greenskins.
"Yes, my lords, they are Orks. We have confirmed the readings multiple times. I will bring up the feed on the main viewer for you." The Imperial officer quickly manipulated the controls.
Soon, a vast holographic screen materialized before the three Primarchs. The image displayed was not of Horus's rebel forces, but of countless green-skinned Orks.
"Could our intelligence be flawed? Perhaps we missed them," Vulkan proposed, "This planet may have simply fallen to an Ork invasion. Horus and his traitors may have already departed." It was the only explanation that made sense to him.
Months ago, the traitors had purged the loyalists from their ranks here, but there was no guarantee they would remain in this system.
"Impossible," Ferrus Manus countered, "Our intelligence places Horus's main fleet somewhere within this very system."
It was strange. The entire situation was far too strange.
"Could Horus have intentionally seeded these Orks?" Corvus Corax wondered aloud. "Perhaps he intends to use them against us."
"On what do you base this assumption?" Ferrus Manus asked.
"Observe their state," Corax elaborated, "They are extremely primitive. They lack any heavy weaponry. Though they have reached the era of firearms, their technology is not advanced. There are no signs of their Deff Dreads, their Gargants, or even basic air support. This suggests their Ork empire was only recently established.
"They possess no space-faring capabilities, which means someone must have deliberately seeded this world with Ork spores, and then provided them with vast quantities of scrap metal and even derelict Imperial ships to get them started.
"The most telling clue is the complete absence of an Ork Space Hulk in the vicinity."
Vulkan and Ferrus Manus nodded in agreement.
As Corax had described, the Orks on the planet were indeed at a nascent stage of technological development. Although they evolved rapidly, they could remain in such a state for centuries without the stimulus of a major war.
Typically, Ork Boyz are born and immediately begin fighting amongst themselves, eventually elevating one to the status of a Nob. These Nobs then wage war across the planet until a single, powerful Warboss unites them all. Only then would such a Warboss begin constructing spacecraft to launch a crusade across the stars. However, if war acted as a catalyst, such as an engagement with humanity or another intelligent species, the Orks could advance from crude choppas to sophisticated energy weapons and void-faring battle-craft in a matter of months.
"The Orks on this planet are primitive, clearly just born," Corax concluded. "They are still fractured into multiple warring factions and show no signs of wanting to leave the planet."
The Imperium of Man and the greenskins were old adversaries.
Wherever the Orks went, disaster followed. Their Waaaghs! were a blight upon the galaxy. Once they began to propagate on a planet, it was often lost, sometimes requiring its complete abandonment.
"Horus, that damnable traitor," Ferrus Manus growled, "Does he mean to use these foul xenos to attrite our forces?"
"It's a possibility," Vulkan said, "But we have no reason to engage these greenskins. They pose no immediate threat to the Imperium. We could simply declare Exterminatus and bombard the planet from orbit to wipe them out." The most effective way to deal with Orks was to eradicate them all at once, never allowing the conflict to become a war of attrition.
A fully empowered Ork Warboss could even rival a Primarch in combat, and their fighting prowess was terrifying. Even a common Ork Boy was far superior to a mortal soldier, while Ork Nobs could match Space Marines in strength.
"That would be a complete waste of ammunition," Corax argued. "We should wait for the other Legions to arrive and then formulate a plan together." An Exterminatus would certainly eliminate the Orks, but it would also expend a significant amount of ordnance.
What if that was Horus's true plan, to weaken their munitions supply? The best course of action was to wait for their brothers and the other Legions to arrive before making any decision.
Ferrus Manus nodded.
The situation was certainly peculiar. As long as these Orks remained on Isstvan V, they were not a problem. They only needed to be eliminated before they developed spaceflight.
"Send out the order," Ferrus Manus commanded, "Begin a thorough search of the entire Isstvan system. I want every corner examined. I will know for certain whether Horus's Legions are still here."
"Then we will split up and search our designated sectors," Corax said, "We will rendezvous here, at Isstvan V, in three days."
The three Primarchs agreed. They each returned to their respective flagships, dispatching smaller vessels and task forces to begin a system-wide search.
"Horus's rebel fleet is immense, but if they are determined to hide within a single system, they can certainly find places to do so. Be cautious," Corax instructed his sons.
Space Marines from the Iron Hands, Salamanders, and Raven Guard formed company-sized task forces and began to sweep the Isstvan system.
Their first destination was Isstvan III, the world where Horus had unleashed virus bombs to utterly purge the loyalists from his Legions.
The planet was a graveyard, littered with the corpses and shattered power armor of countless Space Marines. It had been the site of a brutal massacre, where innumerable loyal warriors had met their end.
Three days later, the search of the Isstvan system was complete. But apart from the abandoned Ork world, the three Legions had found no signs of life.
"Still no contact with the other Legions?" Ferrus Manus asked, frowning aboard his flagship.
"Great Father, we have been trying to contact the other five Legions for days now," a legionary reported, "But every astropathic message we send out vanishes without a reply."
"Continue sending the psychic communiques," Ferrus Manus ordered, his frown deepening.
He decided they would search for a few more days. If they still found no trace of Horus, they would report back to Holy Terra and await further instructions.
Having confirmed his sector was clear of traitors, Ferrus Manus commanded the Iron Hands to set a course for Isstvan V.
The three fleets soon converged in orbit above the planet. However, their arrival was met with an immediate assault.
A massive volley of fire erupted from the void!
"Warning! Massive energy readings detected!" The alarm klaxons blared across the bridge of Ferrus's flagship.
Ferrus Manus snapped his head up, his gaze fixed on the tactical hololith. Where there had been empty space around Isstvan V moments before, dozens of Ork warships constructed from scrap metal now materialized!
These vessels were misshapen things, their armor covered in crude weld-lines and their engines spewing thick smoke, yet they closed on the Imperial fleets with shocking speed.
How was this possible? Just three days ago, these Orks had barely entered the age of firearms.
How did they now possess a fleet of starships?
"Impossible!" Vulkan's roar thundered across the communication channel. "How do these greenskins have a space fleet?!"
"It's a trap!" Corax's voice was cold and sharp.
The Raven Lord had instantly perceived a flicker of the truth. The Orks attacking them were not the primitive ones from the planet's surface; they had just emerged from the Warp. "Horus used the primitive Orks to deceive us. The true threat is this fleet, commanded by a fully space-faring Warboss!"
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