Darnath Lysander - Gormok's Counterattack: Klaxons blared as the Imperial Fists fought their way through the star fort. Lysander, the Dreadnoughts and the Centurions led the way, a vanguard of nigh-impenetrable armour and blistering firepower that swept early resistance aside with almost no effort. They advanced at a relentless pace, Boltguns and Lascannons blazing, trampling wounded Orks as they came. Behind the Centurions came the Tactical and Scout Squads, senses alert as they slew anyGreenskins left alive by the Centurions' advance. Squads Ortez and Loramar, both understrength following their assault on the Kroozer, had remained behind with the vessel's ersatz crew in order to protect the priceless Thunderhawks and prepare them for flight.Every Battle-Brother knew that the advantage of surprise would carry them only so far, that the sporadic attempts at defence would soon coalesce into something much more dangerous. Nevertheless, they took heart from the fact that though they were outnumbered several hundred times over, the confines of the star fort prevented the Orks from bringing their numerical advantage to bear. Time and again, the Greenskins came bellowing through the refuse-clogged passageways, only to perish by the score as Boltguns roared and Lascannons blazed.Garadon's plan, as endorsed by Lysander, was a simple one. If the 3rd Company could fight their way to the kommand deck, they could use the star fort's own thrusters to set it on a doomed orbit, thus relying on Viashan I itself to destroy its despoilers. Once their mission was accomplished, the Imperial Fists would escape via Thunderhawk gunship and rendezvous with the Storm of Wrath, which was due to turn in-system once more. With the star fort's formidable weaponry disabled and the Ork fleet spread out across the Viashan System, escape would prove difficult but, as Garadon had explained during his briefing to the rest of the company, the Imperial Fists did not waste their time on easy endeavours -- those could be left to the Ultramarines!The Space Marines encountered their first real resistance at the junction between the docking spur and the main body of the void station. Hundreds of Orks waited in ambush amidst the cluttered wreckage of what had once been a shuttle bay. Following Lysander's lead, the Sentinels of Terra disdainfully advanced into the storm of Shoota-fire, trusting to their Power Armour's fortitude even as their own weapons culled the foe. Heavier sounds joined thedeafening chorus as Snazzguns and Kannons were brought to bear, but still the Space Marines came on. Yet the Imperial Fists were suffering casualties too, and flashes of yellow armour could be seen amongst the jagged scraps of metal and Greenskin dead.Brilliant light flared, and white-hot energy lanced across the chamber. Warned by some instinct, Garadon dove clear. Brother Corron's reactions were slower, and the beam punched clear through his breastplate, killing him instantly. The Ork who had fired the shot perished a heartbeat later, as one of Squad Kord's snipers put a bullet through his forehead. However, other Greenskins brought up similar weapons and, for the first time, the 3rd Company's advance slowed as they were forced to seek cover.Even as Garadon directed his squad's return fire, a part of his brain noted that the energy weapons were like no Ork technology he had encountered before. The design was more efficient than was typical for Greenskin manufacture and, although each had undergone a degree of customisation by its owner, there was a common design visible beneath the extra sights, grips and barrel extensions. Garadon abandoned his analysis, sighting along the Spartean's barrel. The Bolt Pistol flared, and an Ork fell stone dead before its finger could tighten on the trigger.The gunners were retreating now, driven back by the murderous volleys of Boltgun fire, but the attack was far from ended. With an echoing cry of "WAAAGH!," a new wave of attackers came barrelling down one of the access corridors, Sluggas firing wildly as they closed. Without a word of command being uttered, the 3rd Company's fire shifted and dozens of Orks were thrown backwards into their onrushing fellows. A Deff Dread lurched out of the horde, buzz-saws swinging to decapitate Brother Menos. With a metallic bellow, the mechanical monster came on, crushing its fellows as it sought other intruders to kill. Unfortunately for its pilot, Lysander was the next Space Marine to cross its path. There was a screeching noise as the buzz-saws scraped across the Captain's Storm Shield. A trio ofbooming clangs quickly followed as the Fist of Dorn struck two of the walker's arms from its body, then stove in its torso. Then, as quickly as the attack had begun, it was over, the surviving Orks retreating deeper into the star fort.Lysander drove his company hard after that, not wanting to give the Orks the time to mass another attack. Gormok was growing increasingly concerned. He had expected the intruders to fall back before his fearsome new weapons, but they had kept coming. Gormok himself had felled two of the attackers, and winged a third, but he had retreated with his Boyz when the Space Marines had refused to fall back.Finally, Gormok made his last stand on the kommand deck itself. Built on a grand scale entirely typical of its Imperial origins, the chamber could have accommodated a Warlord-class Titan, had one been assembled within. Gormok had taken full advantage of the space and had mustered every Ork he could within, so that every platform and walkway was crowded with Greenskins.