Knight of Ashes - Return to Adrastapol: In Luk's absence, his homeworld had become the target of an Ork WAAAGH!. Led by a Warlord of terrible reputation, Gorgrok Killfist of the Death Skulls klan, the Greenskins had sparked what was remembered as the Second Ork War. Luk's vessel, the Unbroken, a former Cruiser of the Imperial Navy, arrived in the Majestis System a few solar weeks into the conflict. Killfist's massive fleet already clogged Adrastapol's high orbit.Expertly led by its captain, a hard-bitten ruffian from Valhalla answering to the name of Shas, the Unbroken dared the Orks' guns and despite a steady pounding successfully reached Adrastapol's atmosphere with enough time to conduct a combat drop for its cargo of Knights. The unexpectedly swift response of the Orks forced the Unbroken to release its drop ships and Drop Pods early, missing the intended drop zone by several hundred Terran miles.In the end, the Knight of Ashes and his Exiles, as well as their supporting troops and Sacristans, landed on the wrong side of the Adrapotine Mountains, in a region known as the Diaphane Highlands. This was House Pegasson land and a border fort watched over the mountain pass leading deeper into Marchioness Lauret's lands. Even from orbit, the Knight's Auspex systems had detected the energy signatures of a large warband of Orks swarming the fort. As the Exiles exited their Dropkeep, a pang of nostalgia and guilt swelled up in the Knight of Ashes' heart, returning as he was to his homeworld with his oath to hunt down his mother unfulfilled.The Vesserine Grenadiers of Colonel Gesmund disembarked in orderly fashion from their own drop ships, ranks of disciplined soldiers in dark blue Carapace Armour and distinctive crested helmets filing out of their vessels, ready to embark into their Tauroxes. The Vesserines were a former Astra Militarum regiment that had been disbanded by the Departmento Munitorum and whose remnants had become something akin to mercenaries, pledging their numbers to Luk Kar Chimaeros on Tanos Station where they had been left stranded.In exchange for payment, the Vesserines had fought alongside the Exiles for several Terran years and the Knight of Ashes had come to value the infantry support offered by these hardened veterans. Colonel Gesmund commanded several platoons of Grenadiers as well as Heavy Weapons Teams and a squadron of Bane Wolves: an useful addition to the Exiles' forces.As the small force neared the border fort they could see that its walls had been smeared with Ork glyphs. Ragged banners with crude symbols were hanging from its broken battlements and the Orks had began impaling dead militiamen, all of them wearing the Flak Armour and tabards of House Pegasson on long spikes. A single fallen Imperial Knight lay defeated in front of the fort's opened gates, Orks and Gretchins swarming over it like insects. They prodded it with crowbars and other tools to cannibalise it and create yet more Ork war machines.Without hesitation the Exiles charged, their Heavy Stubbers enough to mow down the party of Greenskins scavenging the fallen Knight. As the survivors fled, the Vesserines gave chase, making sure that none survived. From the fort's courtyard a small group of Deffkoptas took flight, their pilots turning their twin-linked Rokkit Launchas against the Knight but the erratic flight path of their missiles and the Knights' Ion Shields ensured that they did no harm.Disciplined and accurate return fire from the Exiles quickly silenced the Ork aircraft. With no signs of further enemies in the vicinity, Luk Kar Chimaeros decided to unmount, enter the fort and discover if the garrison's long-range Vox relay was still operational.While the remaining forces established a perimeter around the captured fort, the Knight of Ashes and Sire J'madus Hw'ss, formerly of House Krast, led two squads of Vesserines into the fort itself. The small garrison had acquitted themselves well before being overrun, their corpses still strewn around the fortress. Thanks to his many bionic augmentations, Sire Hw'ss was able to determine that the defenders had died roughly three solar days before and that whatever warband had slaughtered them had obviously moved on.The Greenskins the Exiles had slain had been stragglers and looters. Throughout the complex they encountered only one living Greenskin -- the pilot of an immobilised Deff Dread. Its weapons and legs blown off, the Ork Dreadnought presented no threat but the Knight of Ashes would not suffer any xenos to live. Claiming a Flamer from one of the Vesserines, it was with visible satisfaction that Luk Kar Chimaeros burned the Ork trapped within the walker alive.Thanks to the technological expertise of Sire Hw'ss who resanctified and placated the distressed Machine Spirit of the Vox relay, Luk was able to reach the Draconspire and talk to his friend High King Danial. The news was grim -- as they spoke, a large horde of Orks were already besieging the Draconspire, their heavy artillery hammering at the fortress' Void Shields.The master of the WAAAGH!, Warlord Gorgork Killfist, was commanding the siege, but House Draconis lacked the strength to vanquish him alone. While Luk desired nothing more than come to his friend's aid, High King Danial entrusted the Knight of Ashes with a far more vital mission -- to gather whatever forces House Pegasson and House Minotos could spare and march upon the Draconspire to lift the siege. As the communication suddenly broke off, the Knight of Ashes knew that his next destination was the Pegasson Eyrie.