Disaster at Hylas

Da Verminator's fleet did not disappear entirely following its defeat to the Adeptus Mechanicus in 013M42 and in 02.013M42 the ork warlord returned in force, dropping much needed supplies and reinforcements onto the ork held areas of the world and causing General Van Dorn a great deal of stress. Admiral Jellicoe was contacted, and this time the senior naval representative in the sector was able to respond, having moved Admiral Pendragon's battle group from the Perseus Deeps to Caitlen Station in the Zadoc subsector.

Admiral Pendragon's force arrived within days of the request and immediately made for the ork fleet blockading the embattled imperial world. What followed was an unmitigated disaster, as Da Verminator's ships closed to lethally close range, pummelled the imperial vessels and initiated mass boarding actions. After a few hours of vicious close quarters fighting Pendragon broke off his action, realising his headlong rush towards the orks had been ill-advised and had badly backfired.

The imperial fleet withdrew from Hylas' inner biosphere, leaving Da Verminator free to molest Van Dorn's troops at will. On the surviving imperial ships the battles raged on even as they moved towards the jump point, brutal hand to hand fighting continuing for weeks aboard boarded cruisers. Some battles were even raging when the imperial fleet arrived back at Caitlen Station, where imperial guard regiments were drafted in to turn the tide of battle on board.