In addition to functioning as assault ships, all Orc warships also served as massive troop carriers. Hundreds of Orcs would board these vessels, charging into battle with the sole purpose of storming and overtaking enemy ships.
Of course, most of them ended up as floating debris in the cold void of space. And those few that managed to break through... were swiftly obliterated.
"Aliens! Today is the day of your death!"
Captain Hideo Ramires roared, drawing his chainsword as he charged into the control chamber, cutting down the invading Orcs with brutal precision.
The Orcs surrounding Ramires began to tremble. Fear crept into their eyes as they watched their comrades fall one by one, their green blood painting the steel floor.
Their boarding plan had gone smoothly—at first. But the moment they breached the warship's control room, they were met with overwhelming resistance. Officers and fully-armed soldiers of the Imperium Caelestis had already fortified the area. The Orcs were crushed in close-quarters combat with no room to retreat.
Outside, fighter craft launched from carrier ships on both sides engaged in a deadly chase, weaving through the battlefield as explosions lit the darkness. The battle had reached its climax—and the second wave of the Celestial Fleet was now closing the trap from the flank.
"We can't win this! Retreat!"
Someone—no one knew which Orc—screamed those words, and the entire Orc armada began to scatter in panic.
"Damn it! Fall back! Get out of here!"
No one knew why the Orc forces collapsed so suddenly. The siege wasn't even complete, yet the enemy fled in disarray, abandoning the fight entirely.
"What the hell is this? What's going on?"
Several captains of the Celestial star-destroyers watched the retreating Orc ships with stunned confusion.
---
"Quick! Kill him! If you kill him, you'll get food!"
On the desolate world of Concordia IX, Emperor Brok'Mer of the Brok'mor Empire sat atop a makeshift throne above a rusted cage. Inside the cage, several skinny boys fought each other like animals. Their prize? A piece of stale, moldy bread.
Outside the bars, the children's parents looked on—silent, hollow-eyed.
And the emperor just watched... smiling.
These humans think they're superior just because they killed Grumak? They're dead wrong!
Brok'Mer burst out laughing as he looked down at the boys fighting to the death beneath him, laughing again louder.
"Your Majesty, Emperor, Concordia IX is now under my control. You may move to another planet to appreciate our success in slaughtering the humans," said a short Grots, stepping forward respectfully to Brok'Mer.
"Hahaha! Snaggletoof! It's up to you to wipe out all those scrawny humans!" Brok'Mer's voice boomed through the chamber.
The fight inside the cage ended with one boy trampling another without killing him.
"Kill him! Kill him and you'll get food!" one impatient Orc shouted.
To them, this was just a game — the winner could enslave the entire family of their opponent.
Humans are weak and pathetic creatures. Cut off the human emperor's head! Place it on my throne!
---------
"James, did you hear? His Majesty the Emperor is preparing to reclaim Concordia IX."
A new recruit at the military academy spoke to James, who now wore advanced mechanical prosthetics.
"What did you say?"
James immediately stopped his training, his expression turning serious as he walked up to the recruit.
Concordia IX — once the home planet of the former human federation, the Federation of United Worlds (FUW) — was one of the civilizations destroyed by the Orcs. James had once served as a soldier in the federation.
"James, have you received the message?"
Hundreds of soldiers ran over to him, asking eagerly while James stood silently, deep in thought.
They were all once part of the Federation of United Worlds, but now they served the Imperium Caelestis.
"It's been so long since I returned to my homeland," James muttered. "I only missed a family dinner… and now I want to lead the assault on Helion Veritas myself. I want to set foot on my home planet again."
"I want to return too," said a young soldier, his boyish face glowing with enthusiasm. "Even though I was born in a slave camp, my parents were from Concordia. I want to see my homeland — even if I've never truly known it."
He was one of the few who had survived the war on Zul'kar.
"I'll request permission from the officers. I have to join this battle," James said with renewed determination.