As 015M42 began the optimism in the imperial camp in the Perseus Deeps was almost palpable. The chaos invasion of Bastien had been repulsed, Aethor had been saved from the eldar and the necrons had once again apparently gone into slumber. This optimisim, backed up by reinforcements from Vannaheim, Novgorod and the Adeptus Sororitas order of the crimson veil, spurred General Veers into immediate action. Securing a sizeable battlefleet from the imperial navy Veers hastilly planned the operation to continue the fight against chaos.
On 1001.014M42 a sizeable force arrived at the Mordecai system. Veers planned once again to secure a bridgehead on the outermost planet of Mordecai, as a staging post for a later invasion of the rest of the system. He'd tried before in early 013M42, until the necron threat forced the imperium to abandon the venture. Now seemed the perfect time to restart the campaign. With the supression of Mordecai, Kendrenec would be vulnerable, allowing the imperium to clear the Perseus Deeps entirely of chaos.
The initial appearance of the imperial fleet was not met by Tragaen, Thok or the Word Bearers. The chaos forces were either taken by surprise or were content to allow the imperial force to land their forces. This Veers did on 12.015M42, unloading several imperial guard regiments and the Sisters of battle onto the agri world of Mordecai Tersius.
Initially the landings were unopposed, but soon the advancing imperial regiments encountered chaos forces, including the Iron Warriors astartes. The presence of marines worried Veers as this indicated the forces of chaos had been expecting their arrival. Initial skirmishes had seen the Iron Warriors driven off or destroyed, but on 1401.015M42 a massive chaos counter attack was thrust against the imperial bridgehead.
The ferocity of the chaos counter offensive was only matched by the sheer size of the chaos forces involved. The Iron Warriors turned out in strength, supported by vast numbers of traitor guardsmen, confirming the imperial suspicion that the invasion of Mordecai tersius had been known about in advance. Even the combined force of the Adeptus Sororitas and five regiments of imperial guard could not hold the bridgehead perimeter. After less than a day the bridgehead was being evacuated and the imperial fleet withdrawing into deep space while Veers considered his next step.
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