The wagon bounced as it raced through the crumbling streets of the once grand imperial city. Goresaw stared blankly at the desolation, his mind elsewhere. He remembered the fight here. The Humies called this place Redhaven. Apparently their Emperor had once gifted these Humies giant trees, and they had built their city of stone and steel around the giant trees. Even the dull mind of an Ork had to admit the city had been impressive five years ago. The Redwood trees from ancient Holly Terra had been genetically altered to form spires that touched the sky. Steel and stone turned the trees into giant cathedrals and palaces for the planet's ruling elite. But that was then. This is now.

The battlewagon slamming down a flight of stairs into the remains of a plaza snapped Goresaw out of his reverie. A grot bounced into Goresaw's lap, and looked up with a nervous smile at the boss. With one fluid motion Goresaw flung the gretchen out of the battlewagon in a display of bored cruelty. Yes, the fighting was then, this is now. Boring now.

The fighting had raged through the streets and in the trees. Every tree was connected by branch walkways and thoroughfares, so every building had to be defended as a hard point. If even a single lobby or floor was lost, the Orks could spread like a virus through the city, making the defense impossible. As more and more Orks poured into the city, the Imperials fell back up into the heights of their verdant towers. Every inch was fought for and paid in blood. The fighting became confused as battle lines disappeared, and madness reigned as the two sides engaged in close quarter fighting hundreds of feet above the city.

A far worse fate awaited the citizens of Redhaven then an Ork choppa. The Warlord (in a rare bit of wisdom) had ordered his Burna boyz to stay out of the city. However, as with any Ork, rules were meant to be broken. The Burnaz arrived and began torching every structure, regardless of who held it. The flames raged out of control as the entire city was consumed. Both Ork and Imperial became trapped in the tree towers, and the fighting became a desperate rush to ascend, trying to escape the blazing inferno below. Thousands died to the flames and smoke, never even having seen the enemy. Now all that remains of the ancient city is ash and dust.

Now that... had been a good scrap.

The Imperials were driven from the planet, and all that remained were slaves and scavengers. And boredom. Maybe that was why Goresaw had decided to take up Grimgobb's "invitation" to look at some of the Humie teknologie he had obtained. Of course the fat Deathskull would turn to the Blood Axe the moment they found Humie item they couldn't figure out themselves, thought Goresaw. Probably a waste of time that would only result in a minor skirmish... but still better than sitting around bored. That and the dreams. Every night Goresaw was visited by dreams. He couldn't remember any of the details, but ever morning he woke up and found the surroundings dull.

However, the current surroundings were anything but dull as the wagon approached the bustling Ork settlement based around the largest building on the planet. The abandoned Titan hanger.

continued later