Stellar Wells Greens [M37]

Within a tribe, orks do not recognise leaders that they have not approved; even if that approval is based purely on not feeling quite 'ard enough to challenge them! That said, most orks are – above all else – eminently practical, and they are far more intelligent and capable of cooperation than the Tactica Imperium tends to imply. A warboss or tribal leader is more than happy to enter into a mutually agreeable alliance with another ork of equal stature, though such alliances do rely on the group of orks having a sufficiently powerful enemy to push against.

Orkspace makes up a sizeable proportion of the Antona Australis sector. Most is uncharted, and only the entrance area – the Scallop Stars themselves – are broadly known to Imperial navigation, owing to the Great Culls of history and the short-lived settlement of Imperial citizens within the worlds of the area. The Lord Commander Ultima was of the opinion that trying to gain the element of surprise over the infamously divided orks was of little advantage on a strategic level – judging that resources spent keeping lip tightly shut were almost inevitably doomed to fail. As a result, freebooters, mercenaries and orks that had simply drifted into the Scallop Stars and heard of the impending Crusade began to spread the word. 

This proved a costly mistake. The Imperial forces ranged against the orks during the Fourth Great Cull was of such size that word spread quickly and began to attract ork groups from much deeper within orkspace than any previously seen. With such a huge amount of aggressors ranged against them, the various ork forces began to swell in size and gather, held together by a dense mesh of promises, alliances and badly-hidden threats.

These were not true Waaaghs – the nearest ork cultural equivalent to ideological crusade, which bear as much resemblance to a pub crawl as a military assault – as they did not admit single leaders. None of the warbosses, warlords or commanders were individually powerful enough to direct the groups; but tribal and klan affiliations as well as orky spirit ensured that they were able to act in a deceptively subtle and intelligent manner. 

One such gathering became known simply as the Stellar Wells Greens owing to their loose aggregation near the Stellar Wells. The Greens were a group of ork fleets, individual spacecraft and mercenary forces that swelled to such size that they rivalled each of the Imperial Purge Fleets. At this critical mass, the Greens became a semi-permanent entity that could strike anywhere along the corewards front, while remaining safely shielded by the Boten Cloud Nebula. Such was the reputation of the Stellar Wells as a good point for conflict that casualties and groups that left through argument, treachery or betrayal were continually replaced throughout the early stages of the conflict.

Emboldened text marks conflicts in which the group was involved or implicated, along with the relevant year date.

Famous Craft of the Group

• The Space Hulk Worldburner was positively identified during numerous Void War engagements around the Stellar Wells. Captained by the mysterious Kardighaz Redskull, the immense Space Hulk proved untouchable in almost every battle in which it was involved.
• Seemingly built around the hulk of a Pique Lumen battleship, the Slamma's Hammer became infamous for its stealth field technology; accounting for thirteen confirmed kills of Cruiser displacement during the war.
• Guldreg (Breaker of Bones), is testimony of Warboss Grimduff's twisted personality. The halls are filled with limbs and heads of slaves and enemies he has defeated. Some parts are even painted in blood. Other Orks have very little interest, viewing the morbid decorations as "unorky", but it does seem to have considerable more effect on the slaves.

Ork Armies of the Group

• 'Alf-toof's Armada –  This tribe is marked out by its adaptation of seacraft looted from the Hakka for land use (generally by nailing on wheels).
• Angry Gitz of Gork – Warboss Hizgrin the impatient
• Blakk Kuttaz – Skraga Kan. Hailing from the deathworld of Kursalt in the Birch system, this itinerant tribe is marked by its traditional ork values of brutality and low cunning. [Birch War – M37.778]
• The Filthy Vandals – given this unofficial name by Lord-General Matys during the Invasion of Kilsnik in the third year of the Crusade, this rag-tag tribe of orks emerged briefly from the Stellar Wells, led by Scurgog One-hand, the orks' were notorious for their desecration of Imperial STC shrines established for the invading human forces. This led, in turn, to low morale amongst the invaders.
• Grim Blades – Typically for a Blood Axe, the leader of the Grim Blades, Sniklug Gortoof Og Nargor, wears attire that is a foul parody of the uniforms worn by the Imperial Guard. Unlike most other Orks, Sniklug wears little decorations; his wrist mounts several necklaces previously worn by high ranking Imperial Navy officers and priests.
• Gouged Eye – Warboss Nazgul
• Da Golden Horde – Led by the famed Snakebite Warboss Dances Wiv Squigs, the horde is famed for recruiting heavily from the feral worlds of Rokshak. [Cibernum Assault (Lonely Steppes) – M37.778]
• Gork's Stampas – Marching under the banner of a white foot, the Stampas are known for elaborate warpaint and their custom or preceding each battle with a ritual stamping dance.
• The infamous pirate Kaptin Gobnaz Nazbad wears a colorful attire patched together from various pieces of expensive fabric the captain had stolen during his raids. After severe facial injuries that took his left eye and tore up his jaw – combat with a Space Marine captain according to his group, the Jolly Gitz (or to a runty face-eater squig, if you believe his rivals) – his lost eye was replaced by an implant. His jaw is kept together with golden rings.
• Krushin' Kans – Led by the infamous Mek Kilkart; the tribe were forced from Grogoff in the Grogskag system in the second year of the war. [Godbirth War (Grogskag) – M37.779]
• Mothercrushers – an approximate translation, the Harkragg da Widowmaker leads this notoriously savage force
• Redgobz AKA the Bloody Teef Boyz – Known for chewing betel, a rare spice that stain the mouth, teeth and chins of these orks blood red, they are led by the Bloodeater King. [Genyx Landings (Red Fens) – M37.778]
• Skarlet Skullz – da Krimsun King [Beginner's Luck (Void War) – M37.778]
• Slittas – Dominated by the Weirdboy Warphead Zagrof, the Slittas are a small group of orks infamous for their nighttime terror assaults.
• Sunfang Tribe – Orks of this group can be readily identified by the flames they use to lavishly decorate their vehicles, equipment and even skin.
• Zogwortz's Toof Boyz – Da Dread Pirate Zogwortz. This tribe shows marked similarities in approach to da Big Bruvvaz, another ork group in the area. It is suspected that the notorious Zogwortz simply orders his boyz to swap hats and hoist a different flag to extort twice the loot from his hapless victims over the course of a year. [Birch War – M37.778]

Mercenary Armies of the Group

• Arly's Biker boyz – Tuculent and unreliable; and with hygiene even more dubious than the average ork, Arly Eadcrusha has led this group of bad ork bikeboyz for many years.
• Adamant Hussars – little is known of these red-skinned humanoids beyond the fact they appear to have come from beyond the sector.
• Da Top Gunz – Wing Kommanda Maverork. A flashy and daring group of flyboyz, da Top Gunz pride themselves on their shiny fightas and shinier sunglasses.