Rok Fight! Pt.1

"Are you sure that's the right one?" Dogan asked the captain of his fleet for the 7th time

"Pretty sure. Not sure even a lot of Orks would decorate their Rok so... unusually," the captain said as she looked at the large, crudely-drawn penis on the side of the giant asteroid with rockets attached to the rear of it. There were several smaller ships around it, acting as escorts for the asteroid. 

This was a Rok, a famous form of Ork transportation. It was basically a hollowed out asteroid that had a bunch of guns and rockets strapped to the outside. Roks allowed for Orks to travel from planet to planet but they lacked FTL capabilities, making them pretty much trapped in whatever system the Orks found them in. 

What Roks lacked in high-tech travel, they made up for it in durability and raw destructive ability. Orks would use their Roks as drop pods, landing bases, and weapons of mass destruction all rolled into one as they would charge it past enemy fleets and into the atmosphere of a planet where it could crash and cause untold amounts of damage. 

They Orks could wipe out entire countries or even continents this way and then have a pre-built fortress where they could lead their attack on the planet. 

This was why most Roks were destroyed on sight, as no force wanted to risk their planet being the one that the Orks crashed into. But the Rok that the 12th Fleet was facing was looking at was special. 

The Warboss leading the fleet had attacked a ship from the Mechanicum that was on an expedition. The Mechanicum members tried to escape but they were too late. Most of the crew were captured while a few were able to escape using pods. 

Those that escaped were able to pass on the message about the Mechanicum members that were captured and gave a report over what the fleet looked like, with the very prominent artistic piece on the side being the main indicator. 

Dogan was unfortunately near the system when the request for help was made so he had to pull away from his campaign to assist with hunting down the Ork Fleet. And they were also the ones to find them, only an hour after they had entered the system.

"Fine. Give the orders, Captain Medea," Dogan gave up resistance and knew they had to fight the battle, further diverting them from their campaign plan.

"Have the fleet focus fire on the engines and weapons the Rok and destroy the escorts. Make sure they stay mobile and don't let that thing crash into any of us," Medea gave the orders and had the rest of the communication staff pass the messages over to the other ships. 

They easily outgunned the Orks and could simply kite them but if they let that Rok crash into them, even their void-shields would be unable to keep them alive. 

The ships of the fleet began to move around the Orks, easily being able to keep them on their toes. The 12th Fleet outnumbered the Ork Fleet by a 13:1 ratio. 

"Fire! Fire! Fire!" the commander of a smaller escort ship yelled at his men, scared out of his mind as he saw the small ship/rocket that had an Ork riding it flying toward them. Luckily, the nearby ships were able to take it out before the ship could land or it got close enough to get spores aboard the vessel. 

This was the other issue with fighting Orks. One had to be very careful and wary of spores, for that was how the species populated areas. Some members of the Imperium would be so worried about spore that they would order anyone who had fought Orks to be burned as well as their homes in order to prevent the Orks from returning. 

The battle took only a few minutes thanks to the Grey Knight's numbers. They were able to destroy the escorts and disable the weapons but that was the easy part. The real battle was that the Grey Knights had to board the vessel and rescue the prisoners. 

"Alright. We will be conducting this operation on two fronts. The main group that will lead the main attack and act as a distraction. I will personally lead this group and we will land via Dragon Assault Ships. 

From our estimations, the Ork should be numbering around 10,000 on this Rok so we will bring 10,000 soldiers, 5,000 Knights, and 500 Astartes. Our job is to hold down that area and attract as many Orks and the Warboss to us. 

 Lieutenant Daniel of the Dragon Warriors will lead a smaller detachment that will attack via drop pods on the opposite side. That group will consist of 20 Astartes and will need to sneak through the Rok until they find the prisoners. Along the way, you are to plant napalm detonators. 

Once the prisoners are found, report in and then head to the nearest area to the surface. We will send in another Dragon to secure you. 

Once all the prisoners and the rescue group have evacuated, the main attack force will also pull back before the fleet opens fire and we activate the detonators, destroying this thing. Any questions?" Dogan asked after going over the battle plan

Dogan saw a familiar hand shoot up and he promptly ignored it.

"Anyone besides Jaxton?" Dogan asked

"Sir!" Jaxton waved his hand even harder and called out. 

"Fine. You can join the infiltration team but you will be added and make the numbers 21 instead taking a spot from someone else. Anyone else?" Dogan looked around and asked. This time, no one raised their hands. "Good. We move out in 30 minutes. Check with your squad leader and get your asses on the ship you are assigned if you have been chosen to take part on the mission."

The Astartes, Knights, and Imperial soldiers scattered, each to see where they were supposed to go. While all of them scattered, Daniel called Dogan on a private comm link. 

"You sure you want me to bring the kid? Even if you guys are running decoy, we will still come across some Orks and that kid will most likely get himself killed."

Daniel had nothing against Jaxton personally but when it came to things on paper, Jaxton's odds were still against him.

Even after the Gene-Seed Implants and surviving his cancer, Jaxton was small for an Astartes. He was only about 6'7 in height while most Astartes average around 7'. Not only was he smaller, but he also had less training that everyone else. The only good thing about him was that he was taken under Dogan's wing but the boy wasn't even a Psyker. 

No one had any idea why Dogan was supporting him and normally, Daniel wouldn't meddle. But this was a rescue mission against a foe that tactics did not work well against. There were a lot of moving parts that moved in ways people couldn't even understand and it would be Jaxton's first big mission. 

"I know. I just got a feeling in my gut that is telling me to bet on that kid," Dogan replied, not sure why he believed in Jaxton so much either

"Alright," Daniel gave up on trying to convince him. "I won't save him if he gets into trouble."

"Heh. Sure, you won't, you bug softie," Dogan laughed at his friend. He knew that Daniel took care of all the men under him, whether they were battle-brothers he fought with for years or random militia they were fighting alongside. He could trust Jaxton's life in his hands.