Two ork walkers tear apart a Lemon Russ tank with their power klaws.

After the crash of an ork Rok on the world of Iconia, the local Planetary Defense Force (PDF) is seeking to contain the ork warriors that now emerging from the hollowed-ou, asteroid-turned-voidcraft.—Imperial News Report, 3 827 739.M41.

NEWS REPORT, Imperial Daily Bulletin to Citizens

Ork voidcraft crash-lands on world of Iconia

By Amicia Gellena
Bulletin Staff Writer

The planet of Iconia, situated near the Heart of Darkness warp storm, is now under xeno threat after the crash-landing of an ork Rok in its southern hemisphere.

Military reports from Iconia have been sporadic, but according to officials at the Nguyen Naval Base, Belliose System, Iconia’s PDF quickly responded to the xeno threat by rushing the majority of its military forces to the crash sight.

“As we understand it, the ork vessel entered the planet’s atmosphere from a high angle and struck the planet’s surface at a catastrophic velocity,” said Commodore Lucious Antonius, commander of the naval base.

“It was hoped that PDF troops would find only incinerated corpses, but ork physiology is robust in the extreme, and responding PDF units soon ran into xeno resistance.”

Arrival

The idyllic battlefield as it existed before Imperial and enemy forces arrived to leave the scene a tortured ruin.

The first indication of the ork threat was reported on 3 203 739.M41, when long-range sensors spotted the xeno void craft entering the five-planet Patara System.

The system’s naval presence, consisting of one Cobra Destroyer and five small gunships, intercepted the Rok within days of its discovery and launched a valiant if hopeless bombardment of the 5-kilometer-in-diameter voidcraft.

The bombardment did not last long. Scores of ork fighters and bombers launched from the Rok and engaged the small Imperial flotilla, eventually destroying every ship.

With the loss of the system’s small navy, there was nothing to impede the Rok’s advance on Iconia, the second and only inhabited planet in the Patara System. The Rok eventually entered the planet’s atmosphere and crashed into an isolated region of the southern hemisphere on 3 635 739.M41.

With more than 400 Imperial days to prepare, Iconia had mobilized its military reserves and responded immediate to the xenos’ arrival. PDF units rushed to the scene of the crash site and began deploying for an attack within 24 hours.

The Imperial command squad takes up position in a walled farm complex, while infantry forms a firing line against a fence.

First Engagement

The first PDF regiments to near the crash site almost immediately came under attack. At mid-day of 3 636 739.M41, the 1st Battalion of the 7th Iconian PDF Regiment reported the approach of a mixed force of infantry and mechanized xeno troops.

In response to the enemy threat, the 1st Battalion established a defensive line centered on a walled farm compound in the area, with infantry and two squadrons of Sentinels deployed in a nearby crop field and Lemon Russ tanks farther out on the flanks.

As the ork warlord charges straight toward the farm farm compound, two squadrons of Sentinels charge forward to meet him.

Battle Begins

Apparently eager to engage the PDF, the ork warlord—a xeno reported to be more than three meters tall—led his forces directly at the center of the 1st Battalion’s defensive line. According to Commodore Antonius, “there appeared to be no tactical plan at all by the xenos, excepting to charge straight forward with maximum ferocity.”

That mindless charge was exactly what the 1st Battalion command sought. As the orks charged forward, infantry fortified behind the compound’s stone walls and field fences brought heavy fire to bear on the xenos. Hundreds were slaughtered by lasgun fire, while the Sentinels used their multi-lasers to disable advancing Trucks filled with the fiercest of ork warriors.

To prevent the orks from reaching the compound, the Sentinels advanced, forcing the orks to deal with them first and allowing PDF infantry to continue to fire. (As lasgun fire could not penetrate the armor of the Sentinels, troops could even fire through the Sentinels engaged in melee.)

At first, the Sentinels successfully held up the ork’s main attack, but another threat was developing on the flanks. On each flank, a contingent of green skin walkers [Classification: Deff Dreads and Killa Kans] and cross-country vehicles [War Buggies] targeted the Imperial armored assets on the flanks.

Both flank attacks were quickly overwhelmed, as ork walkers tore apart the PDF tanks with massive powered klaws and then began slaughtering their supporting infantry.

Click here to learn the conclusion of this battle.

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The Corvus Cluster is a Warhammer 40K blog documenting our gaming adventures in the fantastical sci-fi universe of Games Workshop.