Warsmith Stahl arrives on Tarlius

Since the unleashing the Cicatrix Maledictum, there had been no sign of the Iron Warriors in the Aleph Sector. Warsmith Stahl's position was far more precarious with resurgence of Chaos forces and some hoped he'd been deposed by his own treacherous forces. These hopes were dashed in the later months of 17M42. In the dead of night a Mechanicum manufactorum came under attack from the Stahl's forces; the only warning being the opening fusillade which left their regions tank commander dead. From horizon to horizon a tide of human traitors, cultists and madmen hurled themselves at the Volscians. The Iron Warriors pressed their human slaves forward heedless of casualties determined to choke the Volscian guns with bodies. The Volscians, unable to pick out the Havoc and Predator positions in the dark, suffered as Leman Russ tanks were methodically destroyed one after another. The tide appeared to turn as the Iron Warriors daemonic slavemaster was banished causing the cultists to panic and flee and the Volscians could finally push forward. The IV simply sent in another tide of traitors to choke the Volscians guns once more. As the night drew to dawn it was clear the situation was hopeless for the Imperium. The battlefield was carpeted with corpses. The Imperial defences overrun, and the Manufactorum plundered. In the coming weeks Imperial listening posts in the Tarlius system reported the Iron Warriors had landed on the outermost planet, fortifying and constructing orbital defences, embedding themselves like a barbed hook, a declaration to both Imperial and Chaos forces that the Tarlius system belonged to the Iron Warriors.