Monday, January 26, 2015

New alliance force raids Libria IV

An almighty shock came to Abrahams' HQ, now based on Libria IV, on 1201.015M42. Reports of a small but well equipped force of traitor legionaries on the last fully loyalist world in the Librian system were at first ignored or scoffed at, but soon vid pict reports clearly showed Iron Warriors vehicles and warriors stalking the upland plain region of the world. Abrahams didn’t panic however, and moved up his Librian reserve forces from the capital Porthaven, including a Baneblade super heavy tank. Fortunately for Abrahams the planet had now become the staging post for the limited reinforcements he was receiving, and an entire regiment of Prozan Cavalry made themselves available as a strategic reserve.

The Librians soon made contact with the Iron Warriors, who appeared well equipped and remarkably lacking in the marks of chaos and daemon engines so often employed by the Warmaster Stahl. These Iron Warriors almost looked like their own astartes. Nevertheless they were the enemy and hostile. Over the next few days the Librians managed to hold on long enough for the Prozan Cavalry to arrive by airborne assault. This was fortunate, as the Iron Warriors had detected and planned for the Librian offensive, and had sprung an ambush of their own. Only the highly mobile airborne elements of the Prozan guard prevented the imperial force from being annihilated. The Iron Warriors had their own problems, as bad weather to the north delayed the arrival of their own airborne reserve, allowing the imperial guard to capture key objectives and the high ground overlooking the northern plateau – and the Iron Warriors’ beachhead. The marines evacuated their small patrol on 2601.015M42, but were successful in destroying the loyalist Baneblade. More intriguing was the message they left.


The data block left by the Iron Warriors was immediately seized by the Inquisition, and Hathek himself was informed. The contents were analysed and copied for the Inquisitor Lord, who would present them to the sector governor on his arrival at Vastrid. The contents were sensational and blasphemous.


The Iron Warriors introduced themselves as loyal to their Warsmith, named Apollo, and that they had been trapped in a warpstorm following their escape from those of their brethren who had turned on the Emperor along with the traitor Horus. For them, only a few years had passed in the maelstrom of the warp, while in real space, ten thousand years had elapsed. Just like Admiral Haskell, the refugees had disappeared from history, only to find a very different Imperium on their return.


Apollo and his Iron Warriors had found the Imperial Creed unpalatable, the worship of the Emperor being that which turned Lorgar and his Word Bearers away from the Imperial truth. Unable to find a place in the Imperium, the renegades had skirmished with the forces of chaos in the Perseus Deeps, before finding respite on Myrentas II. It was there they met the Federacy, and learnt of Admiral Haskell. After much negotiation Apollo decided his force would fight for the only human empire who still retained the old ways and the Imperial Truth. Although they were less than happy at the Federacy’s alliance with the tau and eldar, they understood and accepted the reasons behind the decision. Now part of the Iron Warriors’ force had come to Libria in order that their small force might aid the liberation of over a billion souls.

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