Eldar interfere on Fort Sparcos

The continued encroachment of hive fleet Nemesis into the Mabb Nebul had been viewed with growing concern by the eldar as 012M42 drew to a close. The war on Fort Sparcos between the tyranids and the orks had been going on for some time, but ork victories had been few and far between. Nemesis looked likely to eventually consume the world, but instead of pressing home its advantage the hive fleet had recently attacked the tau colony of Va'Doran. Although the tau had successfully defended their world, the eldar worried that Nemesis was somehow losing interest in the orks, and making plans to attack other worlds in the Mabb nebula.

what the eldar feared the most was the hive fleet splinter from Alphe and Betor changing course and discovering the exodite worlds of Mael Kithlan, Shelwe Agir and Saim Lann, which the eldar had spent a lot of time carefully concealing from prying eyes. The tyranids however had senses like no other, and the worlds would eventually be discovered as a potential candidate for consumption unless the fleet's tendrils were kept well away.

The eldar, led by the Rillietan, had been counting on the fall of Fort Sparcos and subsequent invasion of Kallack by Nemesis. The large and populous ork world of Kallack wouldn't fall swiftly, and the eldar would see their two principal threats in the Zadoc subsector pitted against each other in a long and bloody war, one which the eldar hoped to prolong for as long as possible.

The failed invasion of Va'Doran convinced the farseers that the hive fleet's intentions were at odds with their hopes and they resolved to "convince" both the orks and the extra galactic aliens to pursue a long war with each other, one way or another.

The first part of the plan was simple. The Rillietan would strike against the tyranids on Fort Sparcos, dealing them as much damage as possible to make the hive world think the fort was important to them. Previous experience had shown the reaction by the alien organisms was usually aggressive, and Nemesis could be expected to invest more resources into a planetary assault if it was defeated by the eldar.

While the Rillietan conducted this raid, the Shattered Silence and eldar corsairs, allied to the Rillietan cause would strike at Thrugnik's base in the fort itself, causing as much damage as possible before retreating. This should ensure that an envigorated Nemesis would make short work of the defenders and begin the much awaited invasion of Kallack itself.

The first part of the plan went well, with the Rillietan causing significant damage to the tyranid forces found to be ringing the fortress on Sparcos. However in the fort itself, Thrugnik's forces were well equipped and well led. Both raids were defeated by the greenskins, with the corsairs in particular taking heavy casualties. Worse still, the orks decided to take no further risks against their enemies and started an immediate programme to bolster their defences on the planet. The fort became stronger than ever and the eldar plan had failed. There would be no invasion of Kallack in the near future at least.

War on Hylas

Despite defeating the forces of Thrugnik in 10.012M42, large forces loyal to the ork warboss made planetfall in early 011M42, after the imperial navy was forced to return to Hylas reach naval base following their defeat at the hands of the tau. Without enough naval presence in the Hylas system, the orks had almost free reign to reinforce the world with fresh troops whenever they wished.

Thrugnik's forces, though fewer in number than they would have been if it hadn't been for the Blood Angels raid, nevertheless made a significant impact in the war on Hylas very soon after they had landed. Gault had already lost Berkeley to Uzfang some weeks earlier, so the renewed assualt on the West Coast region of Hylas didn't come as a surprise to the Imperial General.

The imperial forces found it difficult to defend on the open plains, validating Gault's strategy of creating bottlenecks to fight the orks, but his attempt to retreat Sarin and Tennys Coast, where the ground was more favourable was denied. Short sighted imperial officials decreed no scrap of ground would be surrendered to the enemy and that the imperial guard must die where they stood. At least in this the guard followed orders.

While Gault's troops did manage to halt the orks west of the Sump Sea, the drive north was opposed by the Librian 212th regiment, a force hastily cobbled together from remnants of other regiments. The force itself was adequately equipped, but lacked any form of air defence. Without any anti-aircraft guns and no cover from the navy, Thrugnik's forces took full advantage. Attacking the Librian positions on the Eton road on 0811.012M42, the battlewagons of the orks rumbled forward. Heavy guns and tanks on the imperial side stopped some, with the demolisher pattern variants proving the most effective against the greenskins. Basilisk artillery was also emploed in force, and when accurate, caused much destruction in the ork ranks.

Shortly after dawn however the first ork air attack came in. Flying low over the battlefield squadrons of ork "Dakkajets" strafed the imperial lines, focussing their attacks on the undefended artillery. The imperial guard were powerless to intervene as their artillery was annihilated in under an hour. Now with their firepower severely curtailed, the Librians were unable to prevent the remaining ork heavy tanks from reaching their lines. Deathrollas, improvised ramming weapons, proved extremely deadly, crushing man and machine as they rolled over the lines. By mid afternoon the imperial line was a scene of carnage, as unable to retreat, the Librians were cut down in close quarter fighting with Thrugnik's Waagh!

The Librian 212th was all but detroyed in the fighting, and West Coast quickly capitulated anyway, despite the imperial orders. Gault prepared his next "halt" line, but without a swift reversal of fortune on Hylas, the world would be lost in a matter of weeks.

Battles in the Deeps

War continued to rage in the Perseus Deeps as 012M42 drew to a close. The invasion of Ares by the eldar once again flared up, with the Imperium suffering heavy losses at the hands of the Shattered Silence kabal of dark eldar. The morale of the guardsmen fighting on the world began to dip, as the war on Ares, previously thought to be won, now became a series of familiar running battles down the narrow corridor of land between Hephath Station and Ares city. The Blood Angels attempted to intervenet to dislodge the dark eldar, but were beaten back. The aliens now had a tenuous foothold in the main settlement of the world, and vicious street battles began.

Meanwhile the blood Angels attempted to turn the tide on Gamordal by striking at crucial necron installations, particularly an active webway portal which the aliens were using to reinforce their forces on the world without needing to use their fleet. If this supply line could be severed the Imperial Guard on the world would have time to dig in and attempt to hold the line, which was steadily falling back to the capital.

Unfortunately the necrons were well prepared for the Blood Angels' attack and the portal was heavily guarded. At one point a brave squad of battle brothers fought their way to the webway entrance itself, but were cut down as they tried to place their melta charges in the few weakspots identified by the Inquisition. With the mission a failure, the imperial forces on Gamordal continued to fight against hopeless odds, and on 0911.012M42 the primary spaceport of Gamordal fell, cutting the remaining imperial defenders off from their supply bases. Though the stranded units promised to fight to the last, without a significant intervention from Veers crusade the world was almost certainly lost to the Harakhty dynasty.

Mordecai under siege

By early 11.012M42 with Carnage almost overrun and the war going badly on Gamordal, it was obvious that the next target in the sights of the Harakhty dynasty would be the chaos fortress world of Mordecai. It was clear the necrons intended to sweep the deeps of their enemies and re-establish their interstellar empire. Mordecai, with its three inhabited worlds and formidable defences, would be a tough nut to crack, but the imperial analyticae thought the necrons would be able to do so within six months, given the strength of the chaos forces in the region, so long as the formidable fleets of Tragean, Thok and Lorek could be put out of action.

The imperium needed to know just how strong the defences of Mordecai were. If the necrons were to gain control of the system then Corticant and Bastien would be next. If it was deemed that chaos were strong, the imperium was more than happy to let the two sides battle it out for years or decades. However, if the chaos defences were found wanting, then General Veers would be directed to cancel the invasion of Grimlock and instead plan for an assault on Mordecai.

Admiral Jellicoe had grave misgivings about this strategy. The chaos fleet had still not been reduced and should they meet once again, the naval vessels of the imperium and chaos risked mutual annihilation, allowing the necrons almost a free hand at Mordecai. However, the loss of Mordecai to the necrons due to the weakness of chaos could not be tolerated in any event, although senior command balked at the idea of aiding chaos in their struggle.

To test the Mordecai defences a small force of Blood Angels agreed to go on a sabotage mission into the Mordecai system, succesfulyy landing on the outer planet of Mordecai Tersius without interception by the chaos fleet. The Blood Angels moved in force against the mining complex known as Khorne's Pit, but found the Iron Warriors present and in numbers. the chaos marines counter attacked this invading force, wuickly overwhelming the small Blood Angel contingent. With great haste the astartes force withdrew, reporting that contrary to reports, the forces of chaos were in far better shape than previously thought. The invasion of Mordecai was shelved for the time being.

The eldar however had no confidence in Mordecai's ability to hold out against the necron invasion, especially considering they knew that beneath the mines of Mordecai Tersius lay a sleeping monster. Once a major world of the necron empire, thousands of dormant warriors and their equipment lay inactive just a few hundred metres beneath the deepest mine. Realising that these forces would ensure the collapse of Mordecai even more quickly, the eldar launched their own raid against the mining outpost, using the webway to deliver their warriors directly into the field of battle.

Once again the Iron Warriors were able to meet the threat, despite the fact the eldar were actually trying to disable their greatest enemy, something the eldar were unwilling to share with the chaos forces. The eldar reasoned that if the Iron Warriors found out about the tomb world, they would try to access it themselves, no doubt waking the hibernating enemy up and generally precipitating their own doom. Arrogant or not, the eldar would have to destroy the sleeping necrons themselves.

The eldar fought with determined vigour as they approached the mines, but were halted in their tracks by a fanatical resistance by the local chaos cultist forces. No matter how hard the eldar tried they could not shift the dogged defenders and gain access to the mines. The delay ensured chaos reinforcements, led by Stahl himself, were deployed against the raiders, blasting them from short range and quickly precipitating an eldar retreat back into the webway.

In the space of a week the Iron Warriors had fought off two raids on their mining outpost. Now, under the orders of Stahl, the fleet was brought up to directly protect Mordecai Tersius, however they were still as yet blind to the fact that beneath their feet there was a timebomb just waiting to be activated. Now at last the eldar considered making this fact more public...

Tau battles in the Zadoc subsector

In early 11.012M42 the Tau finally came into contact with hive fleet Nemesis. The tyranids had been making alarming progress throughout the subsector following the collapse of resistance on Alphe, and many of the Rim Worlds had already been consumed. Another splinter fleet had made its way to the Mabb Nebula, but so far appeared to have become bogged down in a difficult war against the orks on fort Sparcos.

However, late on in 10.012M42 the tau detected part of the hive fleet moving close to Va'Doran in the Mabb nebula. Lacking the necessary fleet assets to make a meaningful stand, and mindful of attracting the entire hive fleet to tau held worlds, the tau commanders patiently waited for the tyranid vanguard organisms to arrive on the world. This they did on 0211.012M12, when a tyranid scouting force, largely made up of genestealers and larger monstrous organisms, was detected east of Run'Al 4.

Commander Fastblade, now in charge of Mabb Nebula defence while Shadowstrike prepared offensives elsewhere, used the recent experiences of Moonshine and other tau commanders, adopting a defensive stance and tricking the tyranids into attacking into pre-determined killing grounds. The firepower of the tau force was horrifying, and the smaller tyranid creatures were cut down in swathes, before tau railguns and crisis suits took down the larger beasts. A few determined organisms made it close to the tau line, but then faced a withering hail of pulse rifle fire from fire warriors sheltering behind temporary fortifications. Within a few days the tyranid vanguard force had been annihilated. Fastblade now had to wait and see whether the tyranids would return in greater numbers.

Meanwhile, despite setbacks the Tau continued to lay the groundwork for an invasion of Tyranteous. The Zadoc Expeditionary Fleet under Kor'O Pureheart had succeeded in bringing to battle and defeating the Imperial battle group operating in the region. For a while at least the Tau were able to operate freely within the Mabb Nebula. The Tau's next priority was to secure a strategically important moon base on the fringes of the Tyranteous system. Currently overrun by Orks, in Tau hands it would provide an ideal mustering point and fleet base for the forthcoming invasion.

Shadowstrike favoured misdirection over a direct brute force attack that would put the Imperium on full alert. The provide cover for the attack a squadron of Castellan class escorts torpedoed a freighter making its way to Tyranteous, drawing the attention of the system's defence ships before withdrawing into deep space. With the Imperial navy distracted the Protector Salvation was able to sneak into the system unnoticed and land troops on the moon unchallenged.

The Orks reacted predictably and in the only way they knew how – by charging headlong at the invaders firing randomly. The Tau had anticipated this, practising the doctrine of Kayon, the Patient Hunter, to draw the Orks into an ambush. As the Orks rushed forwards Stealth Teams and Kroot auxiliaries outflanked their attack and prepared to close the trap.

The Tau commander had arrogantly underestimated his brutish foe. Showing crude “kunning” the Orks intercepted the flank attack and the battle devolved into a head on clash, one in which it seemed the Orks brawn would see them through. Rather than hold firm and be overrun the Tau fell back, giving ground and whittling down the Orks in a disciplined display of fire and movement. Eventually the Ork attack was repulsed, aided by strafing runs from Barracuda flights launched from Salvation. With the main resistance crushed a the Tau began the business of securing the moonbase for the next stage of the invasion.

Necrons close to victory on Carnage & Gamordal

As 10.012M42 came to an end, the news from the Mabb Nebula was all to familiar. The Harakhty Dynasty showed no signs of slowing its assault on its targets in the Perseus Deeps, and military victories continued to be delivered by the necron armies against all their foes. Progress on Parataea was slow and steady, in contrast to the speed of the fall of the chaos world of Carnage, while the war against the Imperium on Gamordal seemed almost as one sided.

On Carnage there was utter chaos. The traitor legions, divided and weak, could put up little resistance to the chaos threat. Resistance in the eastern hemisphere collapsed as soon as Lorek's forces were defeated, but in the west the Iron Warriors had kept the remaining major settlements of Geskōṉ, Karez-e Khārī and Kōṟaw under their control for over a week despite continued necron pressure by 2810.012M42. On the following day they launched a counter offensive in the hope of easing the pressure on the cities, but were defeated on the Plains of Parsha in a vast swirling set piece battle. Hundreds of thousands of cultists died in the battle, buying time for the traitor legions to get to the heart of the necron army in an attempt to decapitate it. The attempt failed and the forces of chaos were obliged to retreat once more. All of the major cities on Carnage were abandonned by military forces, and a vast train of refugees choked the road to Shayrābād, the last remaining chaos controlled settlement on the world by 0111.012M42.

On Gamordal things were little better for the Imperium. The planet, invaded by necrons in 04.012M42 had held out longer than the major chaos world of Calliden, but it was clear to all that the Harakhty Dynasty had regarded the world as a side show. When Calliden fell, the necrons had made fresh gains on Gamordal, as the invasion of the imperial world was given more military attention. Even so, the necrons continued their wars against chaos and the alliance at the same time, so the Imperium had never faced the full might of the necrons against them.

General Veers, now distracted by operations to invade Grimlock in the Upper Perseus Deeps, had little time and scant resources to spare for his commander on Gamordal. General Potter, an able if unspectacular officer, had been leading the defence of the world since its invasion, and had complained time and time again of lack of equipment and men to do the job effectively. The Imperium also suffered because their supply lines from Corticant and Farport were long and far from major warp routes, and supplies often failed to get through - often due to necron raids from the neighbouring system of Enaloth.

In any case Gamrodal simply wasn't important enough for Veers to waste valuable resources over, despite Potter's insistance that the necrons needed to be resisted fiercely everywhere. When the aliens launched another major offensive on 2710.012M42, Potter appealed again, and was declined.

The necrons launched a two pronged thrust east from the Pellareia plains, quickly isolating imperial guard units in Port Tersius and Callagreick, where vicious street fighting had been going on for weeks. The necron push quickly reached the Rasheik peninsula overlooking the Kerash Bay, trapping some imperial forces in the region of Ventrax, while the rest were increasingly bottled up in the Gamordal valley. Crucially the ports of Gamordal had been lost, making the trasfer of supplies even more difficult.

On 3010.012M42 the Red Angels provided General Potter with assistance, launching a lightning raid on the Eastwier Farming Collective in an attempt to open the road to Port Tersius. The under equipped Astartes fought admirably against the aliens, but the forces of the Harakhty Dynasty had access to overwhelming numbers and equipment beyond the reckoning of mankind. The Red Angels assault was brushed aside by the necrons, who continued their advance east. By 0611.012M42 the situation had become desparate, and talk of "evacuation" became open for the first time in Imperial HQ.

Nemesis progress on Fort Sparcos

The war on Fort Sparcos had been raging for months, with Nemesis slowly making gains in the ork held territory surroudning the main installation itself. The orks had made several modifications on the original Imperial fortification, although their military worth was debatable. In late 10.012M42 the tyranids launched another assault against the greenskins, attacking in force and encountering more of Thrugnik's boyz, clear evidence that the ork warlord was joining the waagh! in the Mabb Nebula.

The orks did what they always do, attacking the tyranids as the vanguard of Nemesis reached the ork front line. The battle was intense, but Nemesis emerged victorious, taking more territory from the greenskins and homing in on the main fortified area of the planet. Imperial spies were quick to note the differences between this tyranid force and the xenos usually encountered. While still clearly part of the Nemesis hive fleet, it appeared this latest attack was lead by a new strain of aliens, possibly mutations made possible by the consumption of Alphe and Betor. In any case, it seemed that eventually the orks would lose Fort Sparcos, unless they reversed the trend of defeats to the aliens.

Slow Necron advance on Parataea

With the capture of T'Varsh the necrons kept up the pressure on the tau forces on Parataea as 10.012M42 continued. The tau were sorely pushed to hold their lines, and the arrival of eldar forces was certainly welcome. The eldar support allowed the tau to secure the front line against the necrons, protecting Kau'tra, a vital communication settlement on the shores of lake Shik'shra.

The eldar took up positions near the tau settlement of Y'osh'toki and on 1910.012M42 they came under sustained attack from the invasion forces. The Harakhty dynasty assaulted their hated eldar foe, saving the northern and eastern settlements, at least for now. However the eldar reeled at the onslaught, and after a dogged defence, were forced to withdraw after taking terrible casualties. With the fall of Y'osh'toki, the forces of the alliance were now at risk of being cut in two, woth Y'mada isolated in the west. Only K'Los Base stood in the way of the necron advance making a decisive step forward.

War on Hylas: Berkeley falls

By mid 10.012M42 General Gault was requesting as much as he could get on Hylas. A string of military defeats had seen the orks take much of the south of the planet, and the Imperial zone of control consisted of isolated settlements while the orks had taken the densely populated region of Beng and Hallen.

Berkley was clearly the next target, but the overall commander of the subsector, General Brooke, had more to worry about. Imperial intelligence suggested Thrugnik was about to join the ork Waagh! on Hylas, as his forces had been detected on Kallack, the major ork world in the Mabb Nebula.

Before Brooke had time to worry however, the Blood Angels signalled that they would take care of the threat Thrugnik posed personally. Without giving reasons for their intervention, the Blood Angels attacked the new ork forces so swiftly it was obvious they must have been shadowing the orks for some time.

Brooke wasn't too bothered about the reasons for the attack. Reports suggested Thrugnik's forces had taken serious damage at the hands of the Blood Angels and were, at least for the time being, not a factor for consideration in the war on Hylas.

Shortly after this intervention by the Astartes, Brooke received unwelcome news at his headquarters on Zadoc. On 2110.012M42 the orks under warlord Uzfang had smashed Gault's halt line between the Sump Sea and the Hylas plateau, destroying the fortifications east of Berkeley and threatening to overwhelm the defences of the city. Alarmed, Brooke requested aid from the Raven Guard, who had been nominally attached to the war in the Zadoc subsector since their arrivial earlier in the year.

The Raven Guard interevened immediately, landing in force around the imperial settlement, dropping into the heat of the battle which was now raging in the city's suburbs. Unfortunately for the imperium, the Raven Guard drop pod insertions were inaccurate and unco-ordinated, landing troops far to far from the battle and killing at least once squad outright. Suspicions abounded in Eden's Landing, Gault's HQ, that the orks had designed a new form of technology capable of interfering with Astartes drops, but they didn't dare express this to the captain of the Raven Guard, who was now in an even blacker mood than normal upon his return.

The astartes raid had been a disaster, and Gault had no choice but to withdraw from the city. The orks had overcome his halt line with ease, and now the wide expansive plains of Birego and West Coast lay before the advancing green tide in the west.

Veers reignites imperial crusades, setting sights on Grimlock

Grimlock

Grimlock is second planet in its system, orbiting a M8 red dwarf star at the edge of the Perseus Deeps. Once an Imperial agri world, its two main continents were covered in lush rolling plains and plantations. An idyllic world, its summers long and winters short. Its fall to Chaos is not catalogued in any of the local sector records, its demise overshadowed by the uprising on the surrounding worlds. Overstretched Imperial forces never responded to the psychic distress calls or the fleeing trade ships that escaped the doomed planet. Grimlock was largely ignored throughout the Aleph Sector Wars until Crusader-General Mallius Maximus Veers of the Corellian Storm Guard lead his Crusade Fleet to liberate the system.

As the Crusade Fleet entered the system, long-range auspex scans revealed the horrific mutilation that had scarred the planet's surface. The rolling plains, fields and plantations were now fortified battle positions, a cankerous growth of earthworks, trench-lines, bunkers and plascrete fortifications. The liberation fleet had arrived, but was it too late for the planet's salvation?

The Liberation of Grimlock: Order of Battle

The Blessed Forces of the God-Emperor of Mankind
Legiones Astartes 
Raven Guard: Shadow Captain Corvane Valar 5th Shadow Company 
Red Angels 
Blood Martyrs

Imperial Guard Corellian Storm Guard: Crusader-General Mallius Maximus Veers, Knight Commander of Corellia 
1st Armoured Division , 1st Reconnaissance Division, 5th Mechanised Division, 13th Infantry Division, 25th Infantry Division, 8th Special Forces Operational Detachment 
Librian Guard: Colonel Hackett 
10th Infantry Company, 15th Mechanised Company 

Ordo Malleus Inquisitional Task Forces: Classified 

Grey Knights: Classified

Officio Assassinorum Agents: Classified

Crusader-General Veers had designated the western fortification network as the landing zone for the liberation force. Here the defensive lines were sparse and hastily erected. Astartes of the traitor legion Iron Warriors were still overseeing the construction when the first planetary assault commenced.

Corellian Special Forces were the first to land on the planet, assaulting the few air defence installations that survived the initial orbital bombardment. Guardsmen of the 5th Force Recon Regiment claimed the first objective of the day, securing the massive northern flak tower complex in a brutal lightning assault, the few Iron Warriors and hordes of slave workers dying under the strafing runs of Vendettas and volleys of Lasgun fire. A rushed counter-attack by cultists and militia of the Covenant of Damnation failed to contain the assault force, Leman Russ battle tanks of the 4th Armoured Regiment stopping them under a hail of battle cannon shells.

Astartes of the Red Angels chapter supported the main landing force, but failed in their objectives to secure the eastern trench line, outnumbered by another desperate breakout of the Covenant of Damnation. Unable to advance through the waves of cultists the Red Angels held their position awaiting reinforcement.

Battles in the Mabb Nebula

While General Veers concentrated on the invasion of Grimlock. General Brooke was concentrating on the Mabb Nebula. Battlegroup Beattie had been assigned to Veers’ crusade, but Brooke still had Craddock’s battlegroup, led by the battleship Vanguard. Craddock was charged with clearing the warp lanes in the Mabb Nebula to prepare the way for reinforcements to be sent to Hylas, and to build up forces to provide a launch pad for the “clearing of the Shadow Worlds”. All previous agreements with the tau were forgotten. Brooke meant to accomplish what Alexander had singularly failed to do, bringing the strategically important worlds in the nebula back under the control of Mankind.

The expedition started well. Unable to resist a good scrap, a force of ork ships loyal to Uzfang and Krumpguts faced down the imperial battlegroup in the outer reaches of the Hylas system on 1210.012M42. The battle which followed was confused and tactical rather than brutal and close fought, as Craddock was unwilling to charge headlong into the orks all guns blazing. Instead after long range nova cannon fire his fleet turned to starboard, raking the orks with his ships’ broadsides.

Craddock achieved a victory, destroying two ork “kroozers”, crippling another and severely damaging a large ork vessel equivalent to an imperial battleship. The orks then quit the battlefield, but Craddock had taken significant damaged. The cruisers Indefatigable and Invincible had been badly damaged, and Irresistable suffered a terminal plasma drive overload.

Brooke was underwhelmed by the results, but the warp lane to Hylas had, for now, been opened. However Craddock had more problems only a week later, when his fleet was intercepted by a tau force en route to New Cerberex.

The tau were clearly alarmed by the presence of a full imperial battlegroup in the nebula, and had shown up in force. Craddock’s two crippled vessels had returned to Hylas Reach naval base for repairs, but the rest of the fleet had continued on to rendezvous with several regiments of Imperial Guard stationed at New Cerberex. The tau intended to stop them.

Craddock and the Tau fleet approached each other in the dangerous environment near to a volatile red dwarf in an uninhabited system. Neither Craddock nor the tau admiral intended this, but the result was a confused battle in a region of space full of solar flares and confusing radiation bursts.

Despite their superiority in ordnance, the deciding factor in the battle was gunnery. In the initial pass the tau fleet fired all their forward gunnery and proved the more accurate fleet, while the imperium, turning once again to starboard, found it difficult to land telling blows on the alien fleet.

The imperial vessels did manage to reduce on vessel, the protector class Sentinel to a hulk, and inflicted serious damage to Deliverance, but suffered greater losses. Vanguard remained undamaged, while the Agincourt, Redoubtable and Black Prince were destroyed, leading to accusations that Craddock “failed to engage the enemy forcibly”. Cressy was crippled and the remaining imperial ships were forced to disengage, and only the confusion of the stellar environment allowed the imperium to later take the hulks in tow. Craddock returned to Hylas Reach, the rendezvous with forces on New Cerberex canceled for the time being. General Brooke would be kept waiting, at least for now.

Nemesis continues destruction of Zadoc subsector

It didn't take long for the creatures of Nemesis to finally defeat the resistance of chaos on New Sparta, although it has to be said, they lasted longer and put up a stiffer defence than those of the Imperium on Rhesius. Since 07.012M42 the tyranids on New Sparta had been content to leave the chaos forces behind their defences while rampaging across the uninhabited regions of the world, gathering biomass almost uncontested.

The effect of this was that when Nemesis finally assaulted the chaos lines in mid-10.012M42, the Covenant of Damnation facing them were totally overwhelmed. The final attack was made with almost unparalleled ferocity, with wave after wave of the alien creatures swarming over the defenders, consuming entire regiments which attempted to stand in their path.

Thos who could, fled. Chaos effectively gave up resisting on 1810.012M42, when the last vessel able to slipped past the incoming hive fleet as the great hive mind began zeroing in on its latest prey. All others perished as the alien intelligence strip the planet of its organic resources. Another Rim world had been destroyed.

Meanwhile the tyranids were facing a more stubborn foe on Fort Sparcos. Here on the desert fortress world, deproved of vast resources of lush biomass, the tyranids found themselves having to take account of their losses. But the planet needed to be claimed, as without doing so, Nemesis would be vulnerable. So the tyranids played a game of strategy with the orks as they looked for weaknesses. Eventually their goading and testing of the ork lines paid of, as a horde led by orks loyal to Uzfang sprung from their bunkers on 1410.012M42, launching an all out attack on their alien invaders.

Nemesis had been waiting for them, and eagerly counter attacked. Savage fighting followed, but the orks came off worse. By 1610.012M42 the attacking orks had been wiped out, and the tyranids of hive fleet Nemesis had edged closer to their target, the fortress itself.

Necron gains in the Deeps

Following their invasion of Carnage the necrons wasted no time in following up their initial assault, launching a devastating advance across the plains of the world.

Three separate advances caught the forces of chaos badly unprepared, but the Claws of Lorek made a stand in the broken country at the rocks of Surkh, hoping to prevent the unstoppable alien advance across one of the last bastiens of chaos in the Deeps.

Lorek was desperate to halt the necrons before they made inroads into the important settlements near the great marshlands, but their efforts resulted in predictable and costly defeat. Lorek’s armies were smashed and Karez-e Khārī fell on 1610.012M42. Meanwhile in the east Mamagul’khvar was captured by the necrons on the same day, leaving chaos forces with only Geskōṉ and Kōṟaw as major settlements under their own control.

The failure of Lorek to halt the necrons did not prevent his forces from attempting to wrestle mastery of chaos forces from the grip of the Iron Warriors however. In a vicious battle on Mordecai the Iron Warriors found themselves under attack by the Claws of Lorek, who had become alarmed at reports and rumours suggesting their leader was about to come to “terms” with the Harakhty dynasty. The uprising was quashed by the Iron Warriors, and fortification of Bastien and Mordecai was stepped up. Either the rumours had been unfounded, or the violent actions by the Claws, despite their lack of success, had convinced the Iron Warriors to dig in and resist the necrons for as long as possible.

Meanwhile on the tau world of Parataea the Alliance suffered a setback, as necron forces burst out northern hills of the world where they had built up their forces in secret over several months. The necrons surprised Shadowstrike’s forces, overwhelming the tau defences near T'Varsh. The tau settlement was taken, and the necrons moved closer to victory on yet another world, although the alliance fought bitterly for every yard of ground.

Sector Map (updated!)

Tour of the Aleph Sector

Harakhty Dynasty current warzones

War on Hylas

In early 10.012M42 General Gault contacted his superior, Brooke, to demand more troops to prevent the orks from conquering a world which had only recently been liberated. Since 005M42 Hylas had been subjected to invasion by the forces of chaos, orks and the tau, and Gault, a veteran of war with the greenskins, was determined not to let the latest incursion steal Hylas back. He found himself ill equipped however, and when warboss Snazgubbins threw in his lot with Na'Porkleon and Uzfang, the defence of the world seemed doomed. However on 0610.012M42 the first imperial reinforcements arrived.

Gault now found his two Librian and one Zadocian Guard regiments bolstered by the arrival of the fully equipped Praetorian 42nd regiment, who had been refitting on New Cerberex following the evacuation of Tarsis. In addition, responding to calls for help, the Red Angels and Space Wolves both sent half a company of astartes warriors.

The Praetorians immediately began doing what they do best, building a line of fortifications from the swamps west of Collingwood to the Eden Sea. This they knew was the only route into East Hallen for the orks, and so did warlord Na'Porkleon. Before they were finished, the orks sent a huge force of well equipped boyz to overrun the defences. In a battle that lasted two days the orks found themselves in difficulties from the start. Accurate artillery fire took its toll on the ork Lootas on foot, and although the greenskins enjoyed air superiority and at least one battlewagon was able to get to the Praetorian lines, the ork attack was beaten off by the guardsmen, who counter attacked using hellhounds and flamer squads. Some mega-armoured nobz took a little more time to deal with and inflicted considereable casualties, but the Praetorian line held, much to the irritation of Na'Porkleon.

Warlord Uzfang, in overall command, probably enjoyed the failure of Na'Porkleon in the east, ordering that "even bigga" fortifications be set up overlooking the Praetorians. This was duly done, but Gault realised the majority of Uzfang's forces were now sweeping west into Beng. Quickly the imperial general made a bold move, redeploying half the Praetorians to Berkeley and Benger, travelling right the way around the continent sized Flynn plateau to do so.

The redeployment was just in time, as the Space Wolves in Beng found themselves utterly out gunned and out fought by the orks, abandonning the city on 0810.012M42. General Gault ordered a counter attack, which the Praetorians duly carried out, but Uzfang's forces met them hed on, crushing much of the Imperial force on the plains outside Berkeley. The Praetorians retreated as best they could, a tiny force of Red Angels forming a rear guard in the city.

Uzfang's forces did not follow up their victory over the Praetorians however, and the city remained in Imperial hands for now. Realising the orks were not advancing, the Red Angels moved south with the intention of finding away around the ork horde's southern flank. If a weakness could be found, the Imperial Guard would be able to follow up a lightning assauly, potentially encircling Uzfang and seperating his forces from those of Na'Porkleon in the east.

Unfortunately for the Imperium, the Red Angels patrol ran straight into another advancing force of orks, this time belonging to Snazgubbins, who were positioned in Beng deliberately to counter such an imperial move. Displaying remarkable strategic awareness, the orks had foiled the imperial plan, and now charged headlong into the Red Angels scouting force. Immediately however the astartes scored the early success, killing the ork warboss in charge of the army with well aimed bolter fire, the greenskin and his two wheeled contraption he was riding disappearing in a ball of orange flame. If the astartes thought this would stop the ork charge however, they were mistaken. The orks, excited by the prospect of bloodshed and motivated by the obvious opportunity of leading the army, ploughed headlong into the Red Angels lines, causing carnage. The astartes held their line for some time, but eventually the orks overcame them, butchering all but a handful of the marines and driving deep into the region of Beng.

General Gault was now firmly on the defensive, with Berkeley now on the front line. He draw a halt line in the map, hoping that he could defend the north and east of the main continent of Hylas by building fortifications around the sump sea. Frenetic work began, but it was now a race against time before the orks regrouped and swung north.

Carnage invaded by Necrons

The next move for the expanding Harakhty dynasty came on 0110.012M42, when a large fleet of necron warships appeared in the Carnage system. The forces of chaos proved unwilling, or unable, to contest the might of the necron fleet, and so for the next few days the necrons moved in system, readying their forces for the invasion of the chaos world.

The forces of chaos on Carnage were initially slow to react to the threat of the impending necron invasion, but the unexpected arrival of the Rillietan faction of the eldar stirred the chaos forces into action. The eldar attacked the city of Shirin, the highest city on the world and the capital. Surprisingly it was a force bearing the mark of the Moonface Catechism which responded to the assault, marching towards the eldar presence broadcasting their strange cant across all frequencies.

As the sun set over the chaos world on 0310.012M42, the Catechism forces engaged the Rillietan. There are rumours the force was led by the strange creature Moonface himself, but these remain unconfirmed. Whether the great warlord was there or not, the result was a bitter stalemate which saw neither side the victor. Then on 0510.012M42 the necrons begain the invasion of the planet, landing between Shirin and Karasti. The eldar then promptly disappeared.

The Catechism forces, fully mobilised now to meet the necron threat, turned their forces against the aliens on 1010.012M42, intending to bring their foe to battle in the open plains that separated the great cities. Unfortunately the Harakhty dynasty were one step ahead, and using a webway portal that only they had knowledge of, were able to appear right in the path of the advancing army, taking the Catechism completely by surprise.

The initiative was now firmly with the necrons, and their assault halted the chaos advance in its tracks. While the Catechism fought the aliens at the foot of the Shiri mountains, they could do nothing to prevent the dall of Karasti. Having taken the city, the necrons simply fortified it, then reinforced their eastern flank, applying overwhelming force against the armies defending Shirin before the rest of the planet could effectively establish a joined up defence. Shirin itself fell on 1110.012M42, as the forces of chaos struggled to regroup in the face of their implacable enemy.

Tyranteous: Stalemate on Hollyden

By the start of 10.012M42 the heretical rebels on Tyranteous had been pushed back to the city limits of Hollydale thanks to repeated assaults by various astartes chapters. However very soon these marine companies began pulling out, starting with the Blood Martyrs on 3009.012M42, so that by 0710.012M42 the bulk of the besiegers of Hollydale were Imperial Guard units.

Inquisitor Hathek was confident that a few "exposures" to daemonic entities would be tolerable for the non-astartes units on Tyranteous, and that they would only need a "few" encounters with the daemons to remove the chaos taint from the planet. However on 0910.012M42, the largest daemon incursion yet occurred, smashing into a force of Corellian Storm Guard who had recently deployed on the world.

The Corellians had returned to the Aleph sector in 09.012M42, and Lord General Roover had dispersed them mainly under General Veers in the Perseus Deeps, but several regiments had been assigned to Brooke in the Zadoc Subsector. One regiment was deployed on Tyranteous to back up the forces there, but it was unprepared for the ferocity of the daemonic assault which it faced. The imperial forces tried to take up defensive positions, and the imperial navy was called in to provide air strikes, but by 1010.012M42 the imperial line had broken along a thirty mile section of the front, and cultists from Hollydale were pouring through the gao, threatening to cut off the Corellians and retake Holleyden.

Fortunately the Spaec Wolves of Erik Morkai were on hand to deal a counter blow. The Space Wolves had been using Tyranteous as a stopping off point in their assaults in the Mabb Nebula, and now the Claws of Lorek were implicated in the daemonic uprising on the agri-world, the astartes chapter increased their presence there. On 1210.012M42 the Space Wolves dropped from orbit while charging across land from Fernal Crossing. After vicious fighting they secured a corridor through which the Corellians were able to retreat, and then set about hunting down the daemons. Within hours the daemonhost had been obliterated back to the warp and the imperial cordon around Hollydale restored. General Brooke, now in overall command of the Zadoc subsector, was unhappy that once again the Space Marines had rescued the situtation, and promptly sacked the overall commander on the ground.

His replacement was Lord General Mikell Denham, once commander of the entire sector and originally Brooke's superior. Now the roles were reversed, and Denham was aware that failure to quickly remedy the situation on Tyranteous would be the end of his career.

Ares re-invaded

Ares remained eldar free for all of a week. The Dark Angels had failed to find the webway portal in the hills above Hephath Station, and on 0510.012M42 the eldar returned. This time the Shattered Silence dark eldar kabal led the assault, conducting a violent assualt on Hephath Station which effectively levelled the settlement, rendering it a heap of rubble, abandonned by its population in any case. General Veers had suspected the eldar would return and the Corellian Storm Guard had been garisonned on the world since their arrival in 09.012M42, but it was the Aurora Angels who moved the quickest to halt the eldar advance.

Unfortunately the astartes found themselves blundering into an alien trap as they moved up the valley. Fast moving dark eldar raiders tore into the space marine force, causing heavy casualties and forcing them to turn back. Worse was to come. While the Shattered Silence occupied the astartes force, a separate force of eldar corsairs moved around the rear of the imperial force, surrounding them. As the Aurora Angels retreated, they came into contact with the corsairs, and were soundly beaten. Only evacuation by air saved the remaining marines from total annihilation, and the abortive counter attack yielded the ruins of Hephath station once more to the Xenos.

The failure of the Aurora Angels frustrated General Veers. He appointed General Orkar Vassilevsky overall commander on Ares, and the wily old general set to work immediately building defences to protect Ares city. Vassilevsky planned for a war of attrition, hoping that he could convince the eldar their invasion was hopeless, while the inquisition searched for the webway portal which was allowing the eldar to come and go with impunity.

Vassilevsky had four Imperial Guard regiments at his command on Ares. The Corellian ?th, Librian 12th and 14th infantry regiments, and the Praetorian 9th. With the eldar now entrenched in Hephath and moving down the valley towards Ares City, the Corellians were sent in to bring the alien advance to a halt. In this they were successful, bringing to battle a force of Craftworld eldar, identifying yet another faction of the alien race working together on Ares.

Although the eldar were held again, their reappearance on Ares and the presence of a number of factions signalled the alien intent to take the world. However, the Imperium were equally determined to keep it.

Salamanders quash Tau plans of Tyranteous invasion

With the Imperium fighting orks on Hylas and preoccupied with what the tau considered an uprising on Tyranteous, the tau high command in the Aleph Sector began to consider their options. Their long term strategy had been on hold for a while, but with the fall of Tarsis Major it was now becoming possible for the total isolation of the Zadoc subsector to become a reality. This, they hoped, would convince the powerful worlds of Zadoc, and particularly Libria, to join their cause.

The loss of Alphe and Betor to the tyranid menace had both positive and negative impacts on the tau strategy. on the plus side, the loss of food imports to Zadoc was causing widespread civil unrest, and the Imperium were responding by brutally forcing the inhabitants of Tyranteous to produce more goods, leading to a rebellion here. Both worlds would now be receptive to the messages of the greater good.

On the other hand the uprising had called more forces, especially the astartes to the area. In addition there was general concern that Nemesis, although it appeared to have passed coreward of the Tau interests, bypassing the Mabb Nebula and Tarsis, would return and attack the tau colonies directly.

The tau deliberated for a considerable amount of time before eventually giving the go ahead for an expedition to Tyranteous. The plan was to invade the agri-world while the Imperial forces were occupied at Hollydale, gather an army of disenchanted farmers behind them and hope the Imperium was too weak to interfere against a meaningful tau assault.

Unfortunately for the tau the Imperium was well aware of this plan. Whether through spying or a traitor in the tau midst, General Brooke had become aware of a military build up at Waystation 240, a barren system once thought to be inhabited but now a tau staging post. Brooke couldn't mount much in the way of a strike, but the Salamanders accepted the challenge and within days were in orbit around the tau base.

The tau were not expecting a pre-emptive assault, and their fleet was in transit collecting more forces when the Salamanders' strike cruiser arrived. Lead by captain Fafnir the Salamanders landed and drove rapidly for the centre of the tau base, the tau attempting to put space between themselves and their fast moving adversaries. There was nowhere to retreat to however, and despite maintaining mastery of the skies, the astartes forces ripped the tau apart in close quarter fighting, the strategy to get in close with their enemy working exceptionally well.

After devastating the tau base itself the Salamanders quickly evacuated, leaving a handful of destroyed vehicles behind but very few marine casualties. The tau base was ravaged, putting back the tau invasion plans by weeks and leading the tau high command to question once again their strategy for sustainable expansion in the Aleph Sector.

Uzfang leads the charge on Hylas

In late 09.012M42, while General Brooke was coming to terms with his new promotion to overall commander of the Zadoc subsector, and wondering whether this was indeed a promotion or a death sentence, the orks continued their renewed advance in the Mabb Nebula.

Ork Warlord "Na'Porkleon" had already landed several thousand troops and taken the cities of Brockley and Finlay in an orgy of bloodshed, pushing the Imperial guard back hundreds of miles from the original ork "drop zone" (crash zone). Now, on 2809.012M42, new forces identified as loyal to Uzfang began a terrifying assault on the town of Desmond, which if succesful would take all of West Hallen and firmly entrench the greenskins on the planet.

With the Imperial Guard reeling at the ferocity of the ork attack, it was left to the astartes to halt the tidal wave now breaking over the defenders. Brooke detailed General Gault to take overall command on Hylas, and the veteran of the Vork Ork wars of 989M41 quickly set up a defence line south of Collingwood in the east, and another protecting Benger in the south. Here he would wait for the next ork attack. In the meantime the Ravenguard determined to retake Desmond, eliminating several key members of the ork leadership in the process.

The Ravenguard attack was a disaster. The insertion of the astartes went well but the marines were soon overwhelmed by a very responsive ork army, and found themselves in an attritional fight they couldn't hope to win. Suffering heavy casualties, the Ravenguard abandonned the venture, much to the delight of the orks and the despair of General Gault.

Necrons gain on Gamordal

The war against the Necrons on Gamordal had been largely quiet for over a month, but in that time the Imperium had not made any attempt to counter attack, and their reinforcements had been limited to one company of Aurora Angels, who arrived in late 09.012M42 after General Veers made it clear he was unable to send extra Imperial Guard regiments to the system until the situation on Ares had been resolved.

Unfortunately for Veers the Necrons launched their latest offensive on Gamordal only days after the eldar had been defeated on Ares. Therefore the existing Imperial forces, with the addition of the Aurora Angels, were all the Imperium had to meet the renewed alien aggression.

The Necrons attacked on a narrow front, and instead of hammering at the capital of the world, as the Imperial commander expected, the aliens pushed rapidly north along the Tersius road from Southrine, quickly enveloping the Wericke farming collectives and pushing into the outskirts of Fort Tersius. Realising the Imperial positions would soon be cut off with the road in Necron hands, the Aurora Angels launched an immediate counter assault to recapture Wericke, but as soon as they arrived they found the necrons waiting for them.

Unfortunately for the Imperium, the necrons had clearly expected such a move by the astartes, and the Aurora Angels found themselves in the middle of a carefully laid trap. The company fought bravely, but suffered terrible losses atempting to extricate themselves from an impossible position. The counter attack had failed, and unless they were stopped soon, the necrons would have the city of Gamordal surrounded and the remaining Imperial forces in an untenable position on Gamordal.

Eldar raid Corticant

In early 10.012M42 the eldar returned to their usual ways. With victory on Ares the Imperium were unable to rest, as corsairs executed a series of successful raids on Corticant, even defeating a force of Red Angels sent to deal with the problem. Appearing from nowhere the eldar ran rings round the imperium, before disappearing once more. It seemed the eldar still had designs on imperial worlds in the Perseus Deeps

Nemesis consume Rhesius

The tyranid invasion of Rhesius went down in sector history as something of an imperial fiasco. By late 09.012M42 it was obvious to everyone in imperial intelligence that Nemesis was steadily progressing through the Rim worlds consuming all in its path. Despite evidence to the contrary however, General Alexander was determined to underestimate Nemesis and believe the Xenos threat was now bogged down in a lengthy battle against chaos on New Sparta.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Nemesis had indeed left forces on New Sparta - enough it believe to finish its consumption, but the rest of the hive fleet had moved on. Thanks to a cantankerous relationship between General Alexander and his admiral of the fleet, the imperial battlegroup had made little provision for an attack by Nemesis and had been blindly preparing for an assault against Grimlock, Alexander's next step in his "grand plan".

It cames as something as a terrible shock then, when the greater part of the hive fleet splinter in the Rim Worlds arrived in the Rhesius system. Alexander immediately panicked and abandonned the world, leaving two chapters of space marines of the Salamanders and Dark Angels behind. The astartes refused to simply abandon the world to the aliens and were determined to make a stand here, killing as much of the tyranid biomass as they could. In addition, they needed to buy time so certain information and genetic coding could be eliminated from the Rhesian environment so that Nemesis would be unable to take advantage on it.

The tyranid swarm came on frighteningly quickly and with overwhleming force. The two space marine chapters did not work well together and the Salamanders quickly found themselves isolated. Chosing attack as the best form of defence they soon found themselves in serious trouble. Most of the vangaurd forces were wiped out and a hasty evacuation was organised for th rest of the Salamanders.

The Dark Angels faired little better. They were unable to stop the rapid build up of alien forces on Rhesius and after costly battles with the aliens they too abandonned New Sparta, much of the sabotage work left undone.

The consequences of Alexander's shameful retreat and botched operations finally led General Roover to take decisive action against his subordinate. Alexander had too many friends in high places to simply dismiss, but Roover soon posted him to the Valitane subsector - a peaceful region where he could do little harm, at least for the moment. Roover then brought the capable General Alayn Brooke in as his replacement, and Brooke immediately set about reshaping imperial strategy in the Zadoc subsector, which up till now had been an unmitigated disaster.

Space Marines surround heretics on Tyranteous

Following the successful intervention of the Dark Angels in early 09.012M42, Inquisitor Hathek arrived in person on Tyranteous. With the two crossings into Hollyden in Imperial hands and enjoying total air supremacy, the rebellion of Hollydale was securely contained, unless the cultists managed to breach the siege which had been enforced upon them, by force or by stealth.

The seige of Hollydale was aided by the terrain. The narrow Isthmuses at either end of the state meant only a small force was needed to prevent a major outbreak, and this could be manned by Astartes troops, thus minimising the deleterious effects of daemonic exposure to Imperial Guard units. However, by late 09.012M42, after several bombing missions against Hollydale, which was reduced to rubble, the heretics showed no signs of capitulation. The Astartes were becoming irritated by their use as "border guards" and began to lobby strongly with Lord Hathek to launch the final invasion of the rebel state.

Despite having nominal command over the astartes chapters, Hathek could do little except agree, and on 2209.012M42 the Ultramarines chapter launched their assault against the heretics in Hollyden. The traitors now had an array of astartes against them, including the Dark Angels, Raven Guard, Blood Martyrs, Blood Angels and now the Ultramarines, with the Salamanders en route to the system. Such was the concern of a daemonic uprising on the only remaining viable agri-world in the sector, and such was Hathek's influence.

The Ultramarine led assault was a success in the end, and the marines led the astartes across the plains of Hollyden to the capital itself. However here the marines faced dogged and persistant resistance aided once again by repeated daemonic incursions. By the end of 09.012M42, despite the presence of five astartes companies, half a chapter, the rebels had not been crushed. More battles would need to be had before the last remnant of chaos taint was expunged from Tyranteous.

Victory on Ares

After an extended struggle, General Veers finally had something to cheer about as 09.012M42 drew to a close. The war against the Eldar on Ares, with frequent skirmishes up and down the length of the Hephath valley, had been in a stalemate for months. Repeated intervention by Space Marine chapters helped keep the Eldar at bay, but the imperial commander persistantly failed to complete the job as forrays into the broken ground to the north of Ares City always invited lethal eldar ambushes.

Eventually the Dark Angels agreed to finish the job they had started, and on 2009.012M42 launched a series of raids which rooted out the eldar on Ares. Probing attacks by the marines provoked various levels of response, allowing the Dark Angels to determine with some accuracy the location of the webway portal. The final assault was viciously defended by the eldar as the Dark Angels homed in on the source of the eldar invasion, but by 2609.012M42 the eldar were in full retreat. The planet was declared clear of Xenos threat by 2909.012M42.

The Dark Angels were unable to determine the precise location of the portal however, so the threat remained. Even so the eldar invasion of Ares had been defeated for the time being, and General Veers could now release some of his forces stationed there. A small garrison was left to monitor the location of the webway entrance. Veers now turned his attention to the Necron problem on Gamordal.

Eldar Machinations

The eldar and their dark kin remained active throughout the later part of 09.012M42, and their attacks became more widespread as the month went on. Despite losing on Ares, the eldar had more success against the other races, defeating the orks in a clinical raid on 2209.012M42 on the ork world of Bothorion. The reason for the raid was unclear, but it didn't stop the feverish ork activity in the Mabb nebula, and their assault on Hylas remained unchecked.

On Carnage the eldar appeared once again, this time causing considerable damage and loss of life before the chaos overlords were able to summon daemons to stop the raid. Even then the eldar continued to cause destruction and managed to defeat the daemons before disappearing into the webway once more. Suspicions grew that the eldar were planning a major strike against Carnage in the near future.

The Salamanders meanwhile found themselves called into action once again, when the Shattered Silence Kabal returned to raid Corticant. For many months Corticant had been spared significant dark eldar predations and the Shattered Silence were believed to have moved off into the Vastrid subsector for good, but the raid on 2609/012M42 proved otherwise.

General Veers' listening posts and enhanced defences stood up to their first test, and the dark eldar had barely arrived when warning signals began to bark loudly in the imperial high command centre at fort Bastion. The Salamanders, ready and willing to respond, sent forces against the dark eldar and were able to stop the raiding aliens in their tracks, their first meaningful success since their arrival in the sector.

Perseus Deeps modifiers

Parius cleansed

In late 08.012M42 the combined forces of the tau and their eldar allies turned their attention to the infestation of Parius by hive fleet Nemesis. They knew they had a limited window of time to remove the tyranid menace from the world before the necrons would once again resume their expansion, having reorganised from their triumph on Calliden. The alliance even managed to convince the Federacy to send a small force of Hartak legionnaries to help them. With the force build up complete, the operation to cleanse Parius began with a devastating volley of railgun fire on 0109.012M42.

The attack was carefully planned, with Moonshine's forces attacking from the north in a frontal attack from Hai'Lan, while Shadowstrike and the Federacy contingent pushed west towards Kel'Naumi from the Lar'Medea peninsular. While the tyranids reeled from this shock and turned to face the tau, the eldar would strike from the south, cutting the tyranid swarm into three and enabling mopping up operations to exterminate the remaining tyranid presence on the world.

The operation started exceptionally well. Moonshine was successful in drawing Nemesis into carefully placed mobile defences, using the "Kauyon" or "patient hunter" strategy. The waves of alien creatures smashed into his lines, expending their strength, before Moonshine's own forces delivered a devastating counter blow which almost decapitated Nemesis' forces on Parius.

With Moonshine exceeding expectations in the north, Shadowstrike's forces pushed in from the west. They faced stiff resistance however, and the fighting became very intense along the Kel'Naur isthmus, where the tau were unable to use manouevre to their advantage. The attack soon got bogged down as Nemesis counter attacked with savagery, but a decisive intervention by the Hartak 8th Legion, personally led by the Federal Ambassador, broke the back of the tyranid assault, the ambassador himself slaying a tyranid monster in hand to hand combat.

With Nemesis wavering in the north and unable to halt the tau in the west, the Rillietan delivered the much anticipated coup-de-grace a day later. The eldar had managed to quietly pick their way through the broken ground and marshland to the south of Kel'Naumi, and lanuched a series of precision strikes on 02-0309.012M42. This attack slaughtered the tyranid synapse creatures, and by the end of 0409.012M42 it was clear the remaining tyranids were fighting like animals. Realising the cost of taking Parius was not worth the value of the world, the hive mind had withdrawn from the world, abandoning any remaining creatures to their fate. It would take weeks of mopping up, but Parius had been saved.

Ork violence increases

The inhabitants of the Zadoc subsector - those in the know anyway - watched with alarm the military buildup of Ork forces during the middle of 012M42. By the end of 08.012M42 Ork raids across the sector were becoming more brutal and ever increasing in scale. Once such raid occurred on Aornis on 0109,012M42, when a huge force of orks led by Uzfang dropped into realspace just days from the planet. By 0309.012M42 the ork fleet had had begun landing troops on Aornis, who immediately began looting and pillaging everything they could find. Whether the raid on Aornis was by design or by accident is still not known. It is known that the ork Warlord's Uzfang and Na'Porkleon couldn't agree on where to strike next, and so the two settled their differences in the only way orks know how, by fighting.

The outcome of the ork battle was a decisive victory for Uzfang, and just a week later Uzfang's forces, as well as those loyal to Na'Porkleon were raiding Aornis. It's not a huge leap of imagination to infer that Uzfang was keen to raid chaos, while Na'Porkleon wanted to concentrate on the Mabb Nebula, especially as it became obvious the ork warlord was massing troops on Bothorion.

The raid on Aornis was abloody affair, as the Claws of Lorek were forced to raise daemons to defend their bases. This led to violent close quarter fighting, with Na'Porkleon's forces suffering heavy losses, before Uzfang's arrived to smash the daemonic hordes. While the battle raged, gretchin were busy taking anything of value from Aornis, which they all but picked clean before disappearing on their ramshackle craft, back to the Vork Ork Expanse.

Despite Uzfang's defeat of Na'Porkleon, it seemed there were no hard feelings. Na'Porkleon, as well as warlord Krumpgutz continued to build up their forces in the Mabb Nebula, and it seemed a new Waagh! would be inevitable. The Tau preferred to await developments, hoping the orks would strike Imperial worlds, and they didn't have enough strike power in the region following their wars on Hylas and Va'Doran to even attempt to stop the orks. The eldar however, concerned that their exodite worlds would once again be at risk, launched a punitive strike on Krumpgutz on Bothorion in early 09.012M42, which was successful in damaging several key ork installations. This probably delayed the subsequent ork offensive.

Later in 09.012M42 the orks on Bothorion were attacked once again, this time by the Salamanders chapter of Space Marines responding to a request for aid from General Alexander. He now rightly considered his existing forces inadequate to defend imperial interests against the combined threats in the subsector, so the company of Salamanders who arrived in the subsector were gratefully received. The Salamanders quickly sized up the situation in the Mabb Nebula and prepared for a raid against Na'Porkleon on Bothorion. Lacking any sizeable force to invade the ork held world, the space marines would wreck as much as possible to slow their build up to invasion.

The Salamanders identified key targets, with their primary objective being the main ork telyporta which would be crucial to the ork invasion plans. If this could be knocked out, or better still, stolen, the ork plans would be set back weeks. In the end however the raid on Bothorion was a terrible fiasco, as Na'Porkleon's forces had chosen to defend the telyporta with strong forces. By the time the Salamanders realised this it was too late, and crippling Loota fire quickly pinned most of the marine force. The main charge for the objective by the Salamander's elite terminators in Land Raiders was interecepted by one the ork warlord's warbosses, and despite managing to cut down the mega armoured giant and his retinue, the terminators suffered badly from heavy fire once their vehicles were destroyed. The final blow was delivered by ork air support, as careening and wildly firing dakka jets finished off the Salamanders' insertion force. Days later, on 1909.012M42 Na'Porkleon's ramshackle fleet arrived in the Hylas system, much to the relief of the tau, and began unloading troops on the planet's surface. The new ork Waagh! was underway.

Battles on Ares

Following the intervention of the Dark Angels in 08.012M42 the eldar of Ares had been pushed back to the mountainous region around Hephath Station, but the commander of Imperial Guard regiments was unable to shift the aliens from their positions in the difficult terrain, which allowed the eldar to ambush any would be attacker, and reconnaisance by air was rendered all but impossible due to accurate and persistent anti aircraft fire. The Imperial commander was content to wait until the eldar made their next move, but when the Blood Angels arrived without prior communication, the Imperium was offered an opportunity to deal with the alien threat on Ares once and for all.

The Blood Angel captain briefly met with the Imperial commander to understand as well he could the situation on the ground. Then the astartes chapter drew up their own plans which involved a direct strike on the eldar positions in Hephath Station, and another assault on the caves where the eldar were believed to be based. The Imperial staff were rather perplexed by the strategy, as the strike on Hephath seemed irrelevant. If the eldar could be removed from the mountains and their webway portal identified, there would be no need to attack the occupied imperial settlement. The Blood Angels merely stated they had "other business", and went ahead with their plans.

The strike on Hephath was countered strongly by the Rillietan faction of the eldar, but the Blood Angels had committed the greater strength of their company to this battle, and caused severe damage before disengaging from the fight. The battle in the caves was less successful, with the Blood Angels finding the eldar a tough opponent to root out of their positions, and by 0109.012M42, a week after they had arrived, the Blood Angels prepared to depart, the aliens still entrenched on Ares.

The failure of the Blood Angels to clear the alien threat brought accusations from the Imperial staff that the astartes company had only half-heartedly attempted to destroy the eldar on Ares, and that their main concern had been their undisclosed "other business". However, this charge was made long after the Blood Angels had left. The campaign on Ares was becoming an irritating diversion, with the eldar presence a constant thorn in the Imperium's side.

Dark Angels intervene on Tyranteous

in early 09.012M42 the Dark Angels arrived on Tyranteous, adding a third company of astartes to the forces on the planet, where the insurrection centred around Hollydale was still ongoing. The Imperial Guard units had deliberately been pulled back from the front line at the request of Inquisitor Lord Hathek, who was concerned at the level of daemonic exposure the guardsmen were experiencing, which would eventually lead whole regiments to become "non combat effectove". Hathek was keen to keep purges of his own much needed troops to a minimum, so he was more than pleased when the Dark Angels arrived on the agri-world, despite the sometimes open hostility between himself and the astartes chapter.

The Dark Angels immediately identified that the retaking of Weybridge crossing was critical to the defeat of the insurrection and the purging of daemonic forces. Securing the crossing would prevent further spread of the chaos contamination, and the space marines threw themselves at the enemy lines loudly and visibly. As hoped, the peasants manning the crossing panicked, and their overseers once again summoned a host of daemons to deal with the attack. This inspired the Dark Angels hatred towards the chaos gods, and their attack became ever more savage. After a few hours the daemonhost was defeated and dissolved back into the warp. The Dark Angels then ruthlessly mopped up any remaining cultists, slaughtering them and burning the bodies. With Weybridge retaken, Hollydale and the whole region of Holleyden, centre of the revolt, now lay open for a final assault.