Sunday, September 23, 2018

Boltarean: New Chaos forces push back Imperium

The system of Boltarean had been largely in control of the Emerald serpent for many months, but the Crusade had established a presence on the outer worlds of Boltar IV and Porega. With the detente in the Hadron Expanse between Vorushko's crusade and the rest of the Imperial forces, a unified Imperium once again posed a significant threat to the goals of the traitors in the region. The Emerald Serpent had been content to allow the Crusade presence on the outer worlds, but in mid 09.018M42 the arrival of fresh troops and the construction of bases on the desert world of Boltar IV meant that Chaos could no longer ignore the emergent threat.

The Emerald Serpent, unable to deploy significant marine or daemon forces at Boltarean, were forced to rely on their Guard forces, notably the Darrantine Guard, but had also been reinforced by the Warhound Titan "Terminus Rex". These forces were landed on Boltar IV avoiding the Imperial fleet, but were then forced to trek mostly over land towards the Imperial bases.

The Imperium had set up a significant force including half a regiment of the Last of Sycorax and a compliment of House Corvus Knights, but the first scouting engagement on the vast plains of the world was fought mainly between scattered infantry units supported by Leman Russ battle tanks. The armour took a hammering, but the Imperium gained the advantage early on, causing heavy casualties, although the Darrantine heavy weapons teams managed to somehow weather the incoming storm of fire by sheltering among the sparse rocky outcrops of the landscape.

The Darrantine commander bravely tried to rally his troops, charging headlong at the Imperial lines, but was cut down in spectacular fashion by a loyalist lascannon. The Imperium had cause to cheer as the chaos assault seemed to have been dealt with, but a small force of chaos troops managed to outflank the imperial positions, assassinating the imperial commander with lascannon fire and throwing the Imperial line into disarray.

Having lost the initial engagements the Imperium were still confident in turning back the chaos advance. One badly mauled regiment of traitor guard would not be a problem for the Knights of House Corvus, but as the imperial war machines advanced through the desert, deeply disturbing energy signatures gave the Questor Mechanicus cause for alarm. Looming out of a Sandstorm a mighty Warhound titan suddenly appeared before them. Until now no Legio Titanicus force had ever been associated with the Emerald Serpent, so the appearance of the Warhound - identified as "Terminus Rex" suddenly changed the situation on Boltar IV dramatically.

Nevertheless the Knights advanced towards their hated foe, although one Errant class vehicle was quickly vapourised by the awesome firepower of a dual turbo-laser. The Castellan landed shots on target as the remaining Errant closed, but in general the Imperial fire was disappointing, with many shots blocked by the Titan's void shields. The Knight Errant managed to get into close combat with the scout titan, its reaper chainsword ripping apart conduits and critical mechanical components of the Warhound's legs, crippling it, but was destroyed in the process. By now the badly damaged Warhound was close to total collapse, but somehow the chaos engine remained standing. A duel with the Castellan then developed, as the loyalist Knight - also badly damaged - limped towards its foe. With just seconds to spare before the imperial engine could deliver the final blow to its monstrous enemy, the Warhound managed to deliver a final accurate shot, decapitating the Castellan which crumpled ignominiously just short of Terminus Rex. 

The loss of the knights and the failure to stop the Chaos Warhound left the remaining imperial forces on Boltar IV horribly vulnerable. Assuming the titan could be repaired in the field to an acceptable level of operation, the consequences of it making it to the Imperial base did not bear thinking about, and the commander of the garrison immediately requested withdrawal. This was granted, and the Imperial forces evacuated to Porega in the outer reaches. Upon landing on the ice world however, it became clear that the Thousand Sons had made a secret landing. The Imperial Guard called for aid and waited for the chaos attack.


Chaos gains marked with dashed lines

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