Fleet action over Mordecai Secundus

From the start of the invasion of Mordecai Secundus the chaos fleet had not interfered with the steady build up of troops on the innermost world of the system. This changed at the beginning of 11.019M42 as the forces of chaos masses a full three battlegroups, detecting that the imperial fleet at Mordecai was significantly weaker and could result in a major victory for the traitors. However, as the ranks of chaos capital ships made their way in system, their approach was detected, and from the other side of the system the Dark Angels fleet suddenly appeared.

This had always been admiral Stark’s plan. He knew that if he maintained obvious parity in strength to the chaos fleet they would not dare to leave the safety of their formidable space docks. Stark wanted to bring the chaos fleet to battle, so hatched a plot with the Dark Angels to feign weakness. Then when the chaos fleet were committed to the attack, the astartes fleet would spring the trap.

The imperial plan worked almost perfectly. Above Mordecai Secundus a furious fleet battle developed and the imperial fleet under Stark was characteristically aggressive. This led to some losses on the imperial side, with several escorts destroyed and two capital ships reduced to hulks. However, the chaos fleet was badly mauled, losing six capital class vessels, with most of them exploding catastrophically, irreparably damaging the traitor forces’ ability to contest the Mordecai invasion. The remaining chaos vessels limped back to the Mordecai docks, safe once again under the cover of the vast fixed fortress defences. However, Stark had won a crushing victory, which tipped the balance of the ground campaign well into the favour of the loyalist forces.

Chaos losses 
1 Despoiler class battleship
1 Styx class heavy cruiser
1 Hades class heavy cruiser
1 Devastation class cruiser
1 Murder class cruiser
1 Slaughter class cruiser

Imperial losses
1 dominator class cruiser
1 dauntless class light cruiser
Several escorts

Hexis: Tunnel fighting continues

As violent battles raged across the surface of Hexis, vicious fighting continued in the tunnels beneath. The Ashen Sons chapter of astartes, helped by the Adeptus Mechanicus had penetrated deep into the tunnel complex, moving around to the east and south of the chaos positions. The Mechanicum launched their attack on the device room first, and were able to briefly clear the way to the chamber itself, despite the frenzied defence of Orks, who were still active on Hexis as part of the "chaos pact".

The Ashen Sons were following up in order to secure the device chamber itself, but the green tide kept coming, flooding the chambers with orks and overwhelming the astartes in the close confines of the underground caverns. The imperium had come agonisingly close to retaking the device room, but had been held off, for now.

Further east, the Aeldari had returned to Hexis in order to secure a second webway portal on the planet, now that the original one had been overrun by Imperial forces. The Kel Sandros eldar wished the second portal to be somewhere anonymous, so began to scout out various potential locations. However on one of these scouting missions ran headlong into the Xenos of Hive fleet R'lyeh and were quickly driven off, suffering a number of casualties. For the time being efforts to establish another portal on Hexis were abandoned.

Chaos titans crushed by overwhelming force on Hexis

In early 11.019M42 the chaos forces finally responded in strength on Hexis, launching a massive counter attack in the south led for the first time by an entire traitor titan legion. Fielding a mighty Warlord class as well as several smaller titans, Konev's army was expected to buckle then collapse in the south, having been severely disrupted by the awakening of Hive Fleet R'Lyeh just weeks before. Konev however had spies, and he had known for some time that the chaos forces intended to unleash a full titan legion against him.

To counter the attack, Konev placed his own titan legion - Legio Dominus, to the south of his lines, waiting in ambush for the chaos assault to begin. When it did, his main line would fall back, while the titans punched north west, encircling the chaos attack. Once this move had been completed, a combined force of Imperial Guard, Knights and astartes was held in reserve to move forward and rush the titan attack.

The entire plan worked perfectly for Konev. In the south, Legio Dominus launched a very successful counter attack against the traitor legion, severely damaging or destroying several chaos engines for loss of none of their own. Meanwhile the central forces fell back, giving ground before the Warlord, a reaver and two warhounds came up against the Imperium's main defensive line. Initially the firepower of the titans wrought havoc amongst the imperial lines, destroying several knights and tanks with single volleys from their awesome weaponry, but these were acceptable casualties. As Konev's own titans swept around the chaos attack's rear, the Grey Knights dropped from orbit, engaging the enemy war machines at point blank range. At the same time, a new force of "irregulars" joined in the attack, launching their own highly mobile squads of bikers and infantry against the titans.

The irregular forces were in fact the genestealer cult that had risen in worship of their good "R'Lyeh", and were part of the tyranid menace that had overwhelmed Konev in the north. However this was all part of Konev's plan. In his initial retreat, the imperial general had deliberately retreated into locations he knew were sites of genestealer cult infestation, and he made it clear to his own forces that they should not engage the xenos worshippers. Now, as the cult released their purestrain monsters on the enemy titans, his wisdom became clear. The warlord was brought low by the combined efforts of the Grey Knights and the xenos cult, while the hive mind itself overwhelmed the Warlord's mind impulse units, causing the war engine to flail around and shoot its own brethren in its death throes. This aided in the destruction of the Reaver, and having lost one warhound early on to the entirety of Konev's battle line, the remaining Warhound fled the field.

Very few of the chaos titans escaped the battle, and on 0911.019M42 the chaos line shattered, and in the plains of the south Konev's army ruthlessly pursued their enemy, surrounding the remnants of the chaos forces on Hexis who now sheltered in the ruins of Praxis around the device chamber. This was a great victory for Konev, but the forces of chaos still held the device chamber, and the tyranid threat on the planet remained.

Grey Knights raid Mordecai Secundus

In order to support Kutuzov's new invasion of Mordecai Secundus the Grey Knights posted a company to aid in the overall expedition. The astartes were particularly interested in the daemonic forces aiding the traitor world's defence, and reports of a highly mobile force of light infantry or even cavalry on the plains to the north of Kutuzov's landing zone drew the attention of these elite inquisition forces. Such fast and mobile forces were out of character for the chiefly nurgle defenders of the world, and the Grey Knights wondered if the denizens of Slaanesh had joined the cause.

 

The space marine forces dropped directly from orbit on the last known coordinates of these last forces, and were soon attacked not by daemonettes, but by irregular forces largely mounted on bikes and buggies. This was unexpected, but the Knights dealt with them just the same, crashing into their enemy and utterly annihilating them. After the engagement, samples and corpses of the dead were taken back to the Imperial base of operations, where they were passed to the Ordo Xenos. After a few hours of testing, it was confirmed that this was indeed a genestealer cult, with a genome similar to that of Nemesis, but which also had evidence of interbreeding with the R'lyeh tyranids of Hexis. The information was kept from Kutuzov, who was simply informed that a new "chaos cult" had been discovered as part of the pantheon on Mordecai. Meanwhile, the Ordo Xenos were contacted and requested to send a new inquisitor, since Lord Huron had disappeared.

Mordecai Secundus - Current Positions

Setbacks at Mordecai Secundus

The invasion of Mordecai Secundus had so far gone to plan from the Imperial point of view, and general Kutuzov was able to add to that success as the Grey Knights joined in, dropping and destroying enemy positions in the hills to the south west of the imperial landing zones. Cybbix had been massing forces here, and the disruption of the heretek's plans were critical in ensuring the safety of the landing zone. Kutuzov now had a secure base of operations and a perimeter large enough to prevent enemy artillery or raiding incursions. The build up of Imperial Guard forces now began in earnest, as well as the landing of several knight houses.

 

The next phase of operations saw the Imperial Fists launch an attack south towards the mines, which were still on Kutuzov's list of objectives to be taken within a month of the initial landing. However, although the Imperial fists scored some remarkable early successes agains the Death Guard, the imperial assault quickly found itself in difficulty. Crucial shots were missed, and the Death Guard were able to close to the range they preferred to operate at. The battlefield then became extremely bloody, and the Imperial Fists tried as best they could to hold onto their gains, but by 0511.019M42 the astartes had been repulsed from the chaos lines. It now became clear that the chaos commander on Mordecai Secundus was constructing several defensive lines and entrenchments, around the southern portion of the Imperial landing area. The enemy did not have the power to force the Imperium off the planet, but they had now made any prospect of quick progress by the Imperium an unlikely scenario. The war of attrition had begun.

Escalation At Palantir

The fighting in the Palantir system between the Alliance and the Imperium escalated in late 10.019M42, as both sides committed extra forces to the campaign. The Imperium, now under the direct command of General Percival, who had been admonished for his lak of action, recieved reinforcements in the shape of a Cadian regiment, in order to aid the Hammers of the Emperor, who were able to strike at Alliance targets, but unable to hold territory. Time and again the alliance had simply walked back in after suffering a defeat at the astartes hands.

 

On the alliance side, the small Tau expeditionary force was joined for the first time by the Kel Sandros eldar. Having realised that indirectly aiding the tau was not yielding results, the Aeldari now committed their forces in strength in order to bolster the tau forces. The Knight house loyal to the Federacy continued to garrison Dale and secure Alliance rule, at which time the Imperium chose to strike in force, at Hobbiton.

 

The invasion of Hobbiton was led by the Imperial Guard. Knowing the Tau forces were relatively small the battle for the capital of the world - the only settlement of real significance, was a finely balanced affair. The tau defended effectively, but were unable to stop the larger Guard force from overunning their positions and taking the city and spaceport, also known as "Hobbiton". Just as the Imperium were securing their newly won ground however, the eldar attacked, moving in from the north of the city where it was believed a webway portal was hidden. The Imperium had been waiting for this, and immediately the Hammers of the Emperor reacted as Percival had intended.

 

The battle between the astartes and the Kel Sandros was bloody and intense, but early on the Hammers of the Emperor established battlefield dominance and used their high mobility to good effect. The eldar fought furiously but were unable to break through the imperial cordon and so could not prevent the Imperial takeover of the world. Now the Alliance were back down to controlling only one of the three worlds in the Palantir system.

Bitter fighting in the tunnels under Hexis

With the chaos base on Hexis now in ruins, the Imperial forces on the planet now focussed their attention on the main objective, namely to capture the device room from chaos forces in the heavily fortified tunnel system underneath Praxis. This was no easy undertaking, and small teams of elite forces were needed to clear rooms and corridors one by one, and to force their chaos enemies out of the maze of passages and chambers that covered an area the size of a large city.

 

The Grey Knights had already cleared many of the tunnels under north Praxis, and now small teams of these elite astartes pushed deeper, soon encountering a robust response from the Death Guard. The nurgle devotees held off the imperial force for quite some time, as they used hideous poxwalkers to block tunnels and hold shut doors. Eventually however the Grey Knights were able to bring their formidable psychic powers to bear, even in the close proximity of the necron device. The Grey Knights suffered no casualties, and were able to force back the enemy to within a few kilometres of the device chamber, although this still meant more hard fighting ahead.

 

As the Grey Knights struggled with Death Guard forces, the Imperial Fists sent their own teams into the warren. First they encountered traitor mechanicum troops, specially skilled at tunnel fighting. However the Fists dealt with this initial encounter with relative ease. The Death Guard were a different proposition however, and the loyalist astartes had tremendous problems dealing with a security lock down in the underground chambers, meaning they were unable to gain easy access to several chambers. This allowed the Death Guard to outflank and compromise their positions, and the imperial force had to withdraw.

 

To the east of the device chamber the Sky Lords also encountered traitor mechanicum forces, but were able to use their overwhelming firepower to blast apart their enemies in the narrow underground passageways. The Mechanicum did manage to engage the Sky Lords' squad leader in combat, but the veteran astartes finished them off with his chainsword. By 0511.019M42 the imperial underground front line was within mere metres of the device chamber, but were still unable to launch a final assault.

Paradorn shrouded by Aeldari

The Empress of Quartz was frustrated. Despite growing the Sisters of Quartz to a more well-rounded size, training a fleet of vehicles and promoting another Shadowseer, the Princess of Quartz, to their ranks, they seemed to be struck down far too quickly by any enemy they faced. However, she refused to give up, and when an opportunity arose to attempt a takeover of the Chaos-controlled region on Paradorn, the Sisters volunteered.

A battalion of Emerald Serpent was the remaining force on the planet, and they were out collecting airdrops of supplies when the Eldar attacked. The battle that followed was a bitter fight for both these supplies and for blood, with every kill the Sisters made being swiftly retaliated by the overwhelming psychic capabilities of the Chaos foe. However, in the battle of wills the Eldar reigned supreme, as every woman pressed on despite their Troupe members falling around them; intimidated by this unrelenting advance and unpredictable nature of battle style, several Chaos guardsmen fled for their lives rather than facing the laughing faces of death that approached them. 

Those Emerald Serpent that did remain, however, once again seemed to take an advantage as they kept up with the pace of the Harlequins, dodging waves upon waves of close-combat attacks that to the Sisters were normally the difference between winning and losing a battle. As the Chaos forces prepared a final barrage of psychic power, however, the Empress and Princess began to show off their own abilities, denying several attacks and retaliating with their own. Whilst the Empress was then seriously wounded, the remaining handful of Sisters stayed determined and the desperation of such a close battle caused them to become refined. Suddenly they could dodge better, dance better, and most importantly hit better. In one final push they claimed both the supplies and the victory, the remaining Chaos succumbing or surrendering, allowing the Eldar to not only take the base, but shroud the planet, and the Paradorn system entirely.

Intercepted message from Dnatha Prime

+++Incoming Transmission++++

+++++Decoding..++++++

++++Complete++++++++

+++++++=][=++++++++++

+++++Ident Confirmed ++++

++++Agent Mathious +++++

+++++Dnatha+++++++

Lord Inquisitor Hathek.

I come with ill news. The recent pacification of Dnatha has been completed however it’s stabilisations of system has been Jeopardised. As per Amalthian practice set by yourself, the Ecclisiarchy had set to strengthen its hold over the planet. The Hammers of the Emperor, having agreeable religious doctrine to the Ecclesiarchy had been called to aide in the task of ensuring stable religious observance, as per your orders and had committed a small task force to the cause headed by a Captain Kask, a fanatical, if obstinate Captain. 

On 1910.019M42 an urgent transmission from Captain Kask was received, though heavily garbled with interference. Kask was calling for emergency reinforcements after coming under heavy fire.

By the time local PDF reinforcements could arrive, the Hammers were wiped out. No initial trace of which hostiles engaged the Hammers were found, no bodies, though there was plenty of evidence to show there were casualties on the attackers.

Logis Investigatari report the enemy had lured the Captain and his command staff into what my attached Militarum describe as a “kill box”, where the officers were clearly targeted by sniper fire from an elevated position, Biologis confirm mass reactive rounds originated from elevated positions from multiple vectors.

Early indicators are the weaponry of Ultima founding origin so unless the lauded Primaris can indeed fall we are at a loss as to what has happened.

Your servant

Mathious

++++++message end++++++

+++Incoming Transmission ++++

+++++Decoding..++++++

++++Complete++++++++

+++++++=][=++++++++++

+++++Ident Confirmed ++++

++++Agent Mathious +++++

+++++Dnatha+++++++

Lord Inquisitor Hathek

Apologies for the second transmission on this matter but the tidings I bear are grave. I took the liberty of employing local Mechanicus agents to try and uncover the vid capture from the Astarte Auto senses of what the locals are now calling the “Massacre”, which, I confess, I cannot naysay.

Most recordings are corrupted beyond what one would expect. Someone tried to cover their tracks, but was clearly in a hurry. Even so, the Hammers of the Emperor for the most part could not ascertain a clear ident of the assailants. However what we can ascertain is the following:

These were definitely Primaris Marines

The Livery they bear, crossed Magenta and Teal armour not unlike the Howling Griffons does not correspond to any Ultima Founding Chapter.

They emblem may be a single sword con not unlike those common to the Dark Angel successors Chapters.

With your permission, I will attempt to ascertain through restricted records

Your Servant

Mathious 

+++++Message Ends++++++

++++Response: Activate Access Primus Selucio++++

+++++Authorisation: =][= Lord Inquisitor Hathek+++++

+++Incoming Transmission ++++

+++++Decoding..++++++

++++Complete++++++++

+++++++=][=++++++++++

+++++Ident Confirmed ++++

++++Agent Mathious +++++

+++++Dnatha+++++++

Lord Inquisitor Hathek

The Dnatha massacre, I thought I had ascertained the identity of the Primaris Marines that attacked the Hammers of the Emperor, but, even with your access codes sire, I am sorry sire. I cannot.

The Hammers of the Emperor are incensed, they are refusing further garrison duty, stating flatly they will not sit on their hands while heretics are at large, they have pulled all their garrison troops on each of the worlds they have presence. Sire, they are launching an attack. The Ecclesiarchy are demanding a “crusade” be launched. Sire this is bad. I can confirm, the Chapter exists, ident I could only find was a cryptic reference was connected to another Inquisitorial action 57 years ago. All other information is beyond my ability to access. I cannot even find the Chapter designation.

Sire, whoever attacked the Hammers of the Emperor, another Inquisitor was involved.

Please relay further instructions.

Your servant

Mathious 

+++++Message Ends++++++

Mordecai Secundus: Chaos counter attack

Up till now General Kutuzov’s invasion of Mordecai Tersius had been preceding smoothly. However on 2810.019M42 the imperial army suffered its first reversal. The Iron Warriors launched a counter attack from the south, probing the imperial defences and finding their left flank - held by the adeptus mechanicus, to be the weakest link in Kutuzov’s front line. 

Attacking on a broad front the Iron Warriors achieved tactical victory, pushing the imperial front line back towards their landing zones by up to 50km in places before the attack stalled. Kutuzov continued to land fresh forces for the next assault, as he learned that the commander of chaos forces on the world appeared to be the Death Guard. This was an ill omen, as his Departmento Munitorum assistants began to steadily increase the expected attrition rates and degradation factors for the front line troops. Far from a soft target, it appeared Mordecai Secundus would be as difficult to take as any major chaos world. However, it was his duty.

Mordecai Secundus: Imperial breakout.

Having secured the bridgehead on Mordecai, the Novgorod guard began arriving in force, expanding the imperial zone of control and slowly but deliberately moving south towards the Abrax mines, a key strategic objective of the early campaign. At first resistance was light, but soon the guard found themselves up against traitor astartes forces in the shape of the Iron Warriors. 

The sons of Perturabo on Mordecai Secundus were not however those commanded by Warsmith Stahl, and the planet had become a base of operations loyal to Captain Apollodorious, who did not share Stahl’s vision for the sector or galaxy. These iron warriors relied less heavily on daemon engines, and were accompanied by what appeared to be “regular” chaos army forces, who seemed similar in organisation to the imperial guard. In addition the traitor astartes forces seemed in organisation very similar to the iron warriors of the time of the heresy. 

The Novgorod Guard were able to gain the strategic initiative early on in the engagement as they surprised and disrupted the iron warriors’ attack. Using their super heavy tanks and discipline bolstered by commissars, the Novgorod steadily overwhelmed the Iron warriors, achieving a breakout and establishing an imperial zone of control over two hundred kilometres across.

Mordecai Secundus - Initial Landings

Imperium launch invasion of Mordecai Secundus

After the rather unsuccessful invasion of Mordecai Secundus by the Imperial Guard, the element of surprise had been lost. General Kutuzov was given overall command of the invasion force in the Mordecai system, and given the backing of strong and powerful fleet assets freed up from the Tarlius campaign, now that was largely won. However, the chaos fleets had also redeployed and now a force of roughly equal numbers faced each other in the Mordecai system.

 

The chaos forces kept close to their primary base at Mordecai Secundus, while reinforcing theor ground troops on both the remaining worlds. Only the major world was protected by the space docks and system defences however, and the traitors were not about to throw away their advantage in a battle in space on equal terms. The imperium would be allowed to try to invade Mordecai Secundus, but would have to fight for it, hopefully exhausting themselves in the process. Then, if an invasion of Mordecai Primaris was attempted, the combined chaos fleets and the space defences would strike together to crush the invasion.

 

Mordecai Primaris was on Kutuzov's "later" list in any event. First he wanted to secure the innermost world, rich in resources, in order to further strangle the primary chaos base further away from the baleful glow of Mordecai's malevolent star. To do this, the initial invasion was conducted by the Imperial Fists, Novgorod Guard regiments, and the Adeptus Mechanicum. The battle for Mordecai Secundus, a hot and unforbidding mining world covered in magma seas, would be fought by all the arms of the Imperial military.

 

The Imperial Fists landed at the same time as the Novgorod Guard, moving out from the initial beachead in the northern plains, known as the "Northern Howl" due to the fierce winds whipped up by the temperature differential between the magma seas and the northern lattitudes. Their target was the closest military installations to the imperial zone, but it soon became clear that the entire planet was heavily defended as the Imperial Fists' scouts spotted a Death guard Army - part of the "Host of Eschar" moving up to challenge the loyalist astartes.

 

The Imperial Fists took up positions as the Death Guard approached, destroying some of the traitor daemon engines with well placed and disciplined volleys of fire. However the nurgle devotees proved difficult to put down permanently, and before them a host of poxwalkers added to the difficulty of quickly taking down the enemy army. Air support was provided by the Imperial Fists' Storm Ravens, but these found themselves quickly under fire.

 

As the battle progressed the Imperial Fists started to lose their early advantage. A lord of contagion suddenly appearing behind their lines caused disruption to the Imperial battle plans, while the nurgle astartes showed themselves well able to vigorously charge their opponents, despite their shambolic appearance. One Storm Raven began to hover close to the enemy in order to maximise its firepower, but in a show of outrageous bravado, one of the Death Guard's noxious blightbringers charged the hovering vehicle, throwing his plague bell into the engine intake of the aircraft, ensuring its destruction.

 

These setbacks infuriated the Imperial Fists' captain, who momentarily appeared to forget his objectives. Instead of ensuring the area was secured, the astartes began to take the fight to any remaining Death Guard, apparently overcome by their desire to get to grips with the traitors. Just in time, the Fists' commander realised his error, and quickly redeployed his forces to secure the high ground and critical assets in the area. Finally exhausted, the remaining chaos host withdrew, while the astartes reflected on how close to compromising the imperial perimeter the chaos forces had come.

Hexis: Airborne operations destroy chaos base

General Konev on Hexis still lacked the resources to coordinate a major offensive on Hexis, as his armies regrouped from the sudden and horrific appearance of large Tyranid forces on the world that had cut his armies in two. In order to prevent the chaos forces from taking advantage of the imperial setback, Konev pushed forward with his bombing campaign against the chaos HQ and the Ork airfields protecting it. 

The first phase of the operation saw the imperial navy fighters take to the air to bait out the Ork fighters. This tactic was successful, and the air over the southern wastes of Hexis soon became streaked with contrails as the two sides clashed in furious aerial battles. 

The imperial pilots soon gained the upper hand, as experience and skill counted over numbers and aggression. During mid 10.019M42 the Ork fighter cover was cleared from the skies of Hexis, and on 1910.019M42 Konev sent in the bombers. 

The bombing mission, led by marauder destroyers and escorted by thunderbolts soon ran into furious Ork opposition, and this time the imperial fighters were caught escorting the slower bombers. The nimble Ork fighters dealt with the thunderbolts, but the marauders got through to attack their targets. The chaos base was wrecked and one of the Ork airstrips was knocked out of action, although the imperial bombers had difficulty hitting their targets and accuracy was poor. The remaining bombers limped back to Konev’s air bases. The raid had been costly, but the damage had been done.

Bree retaken by Federacy

The war in the Hadron Expanse between the Alliance and the imperium continued as 10.019M42 progressed. The armies at Palantir had still received no official reinforcement from the overall commander of the Hadron Expanse, as the war on Hexis and defence of the Crusade world of Awarath took precedence. 

The Alliance once again sent in House Chardonnay, who had become champions of the little people of Hobbiton, attempting to secure them a free future. The knights landed on Bree, which had reduced in its defences, ironically in order to launch an invasion of Dale some weeks earlier. The Hammers of the Emperor chapter immediately responded in force, but were savagely attacked by the enemy war engines. Charging into the astartes lines the knights caused almost as much damage at the point of their demise as they did fighting. The Hammers soon realised they could not sustain such casualties and abandoned Bree. Now only Dale remained in imperial hands.

Chaos counter raids at Tarlius

The assault on Mordecai Secundus was less successful. Due to fears of a counter attack the Imperial Fists returned to Tarlius 2 and began to besiege the Iron Warriors fortress. There they found yet another force of the Emerald Serpent. The Iron Warriors base was more than just a mighty citadel, as deep within the forces of chaos had installed their own chaos tainted device, allowing them to transfer troops directly from other worlds onto the battlefield of Tarlius. After defeating this latest army, the Fists began to construct mighty siege world around the massive chaos bastion. Taking the citadel would be a difficult undertaking, and the imperium were taking no chances. 

The withdrawal of the Imperial Fists had a serious knock on impact. The Cadian regiments dropped as part of Operation Sledgehammer on Mordecai Secundus had no way of knowing the enemy strength. Instead of a lightly defended world, arch heretek Cybixx had begun to make the world his second forge after Vandrax, and the Cadian were swiftly massacred on their landing grounds. The landing was quickly abandoned and the survivors were hurriedly withdrawn.

Imperium take Tarlius I

The assault on Tarlius I proceeded on schedule and as planned, with the Hammers of the Emperor landing directly at the defence laser installation that protected the space port from large scale attack. Imperial guard and other slow landers would be soft targets for the chaos defences, so the astartes struck first in order to eliminate the threat. 

The loyalist space marines managed to land unopposed then travel over land in an armoured column reaching the defence lasers some hours later. Resistance here was strong, as the Aether Striders and forces of nurgle put up a stubborn defence. The fighting was brutal, and in the end neither side were able to claim victory. However late on 1910.019M42 the imperial fleet drew into range of the planet. Fighting outside the void shields of the space port meant annihilation, so the chaos forces reluctantly withdrew, leaving the all important laser cannons in the hands of the imperium. 

Following this development, Bessas ordered in the main attack. Waves of Lycannon guard and House Eagleclaw Knights dropped just outside the range of the chaos defence lines then moved in for the all important assault on the space port. Once again the imperium had the strategic advantage, but had to dislodge the enemy from their positions behind the void shields. 

The imperial force faced stiff resistance from Cybixx’s traitor mechanicum, but the loyalists gradually pushed the enemy back, taking key objectives early in the battle. Eventually, by 2110.019M42 the chaos forces had retreated to beyond the cover of their void shields, and the imperial navy mopped up the stragglers with a devastating show of firepower. Tarlius I had been captured. Now Stahl’s fortress remained the only chaos stronghold left in the system.

Operation Sledgehammer

Following the capture of Tarlius II the Imperium has reached a new high point in their campaign in the system. Never before had they managed to restrict the forces of chaos to the innermost system, and overall commander Martin Bessas was eager to strike at the last remaining system and its all important space port. 

In order to split the chaos defences, and with agreement from Titus Luthor himself, a joint operation in the Foramen and Perseus Deeps was drawn up. At Tarlius, the Hammers of the Emperor would target and take out the chaos ground defences, while the Lycannon Guard and House Eagleclaw would launch an all out assault on the space port, effectively taking out all resistance on the planet. 

The Imperial Fists and the Cadian 9th would then simultaneously strike at Mordecai. This attack - on Mordecai Secundus, was preceded by a bombardment from space and a fleet movement, shadowed by the forces of chaos, and effectively preventing the chaos fleets from interfering at Tarlius. Operation Sledgehanmer began on 1810.019M42.

West Tarlius cleared by Hammers of the Emperor

The last phase of warfare in the Western Hemisphere of Tarlius II was conducted by the Hammers of the Emperor, who took on the responsibility of clearing forces loyal to Cybixx from their prepared positions. 

The astartes scouts managed to get close to Cybixx’s lines to monitor their enemy, before the Hammers launched their attack with a narrow armoured thrust. The mechanicum defenders quickly took out the astartes heavy tank support, but this gave the imperial devastator units time to deploy from rhinos and unleash devastating volleys of fire into the enemy robot constructions. 

Meanwhile the Hammers’ scouts dealt with Cybixx’s hover bike “constructions”, before the heretic forces unleashed their Onager Dunecrawlers into the heart of the Hammers’ lines. The astartes veterans responded, and a melee developed which overwhelmed the mechanicum walkers. 

Having broken the main enemy counter attack, the Hammers managed to finally claim their objectives, so that the following imperial guard could exploit the breach and shatter the remaining chaos resistance in western Tarlius. Both sides took significant casualties, and the commanders on both sides were killed, with the Arch Magus being annihilated by lascannon fire after the tank he was hiding behind blew up.

Some claimed this was Cybixx himself, but reports of his certain demise had been reported before, only for him to return at another location, sometimes light years away. As the chaos forces in western Tarlius were crushed, the loyalist mechanicum began to wonder whether Cybixx had strayed into the forbidden dark heresy of mind bio transference.

Imperial make gains on Tarlius II

Martin Bessas, commander of Imperial forces in the Foramen Interdictum was keen to continue recent advances in the Tarlius system. Avoiding the difficult task of unloading entire Imperial Guard armies and risking a chaos fleet intervention, Bessas relied on his elite forces to crush the chaos forces on the barren wastelands of Tarlius II, a world that had seen unimaginable horrors already in the previous years of fighting in the Foramen. The Iron Warriors had still not shown their hand, but rather than assault their fortress directly, Bessas agreed with his council of war that the other chaos forces should be dealt with first, in order to isolate Stahl's men in their citadel.

To this end the knights of House Corvus began the sweep west from the astartes bridgeheads, crossing the plains of Tarlius and hunting out areas of resistance. One industrial area, of the few that were scattered across the otherwise worthless planet, was clearly of strategic importance, and the knights were charged with capturing vital supply caches which would cripple the ability of the traitor forces to conduct effective coordinated operations against the imperium.

The knights did not know the exact location of the supply dumps, but began their move on the industrial area confident that their firepower would overwhelm their enemy. As the Death Guard appeared, along with a large number of heretical daemon engines, the mighty Castellan war engine opened fire. Unfortunately, its targeting systems seemed to malfunction, as the impact of the knight's initial volley was next to negligible, although one rocket did manage to land a damaging salvo on one of the enemy war engines.

In response, the Death Guard advanced, but they too suffered a number of equipment malfunctions, as their blight grenades appeared ineffective against even the smaller knights fielded by the Imperium. The Imperium however had the crucial stroke of luck which meant the engagement would end with victory for House Corvus. Their attack had - completely by chance - attacked from the direction of the main chaos supply caches, and the devotees of nurgle had hardly been able to react to the attack before finding that their supplies had been captured by the enemy. Facing the might of three helverins and a fully functional Castellan, it was always going to be unlikely that the chaos force would be able to recapture the cache without being obliterated by the Dominus class knight.

Eventually House Corvus made good their malfunctioning ordnance, and the Death Guard took horrendous casualties as they tried in vain to dislodge the enemy war engines. After hours of hard fighting the remaining traitor forces quietly withdrew, allowing the Knights to secure a haul of promethium and ammunition which crippled the traitor forces' ability to defend the eastern plains of Tarlius II.

The Knights reported their engagement to Bessas and the war council, but on finding that House Corvus had not annihilated the nurgle force and it was now retreating across the western hemisphere along with daemon engines, the Grey Knights took matters into their own hands. Dropping to the west of the retreating enemy host, the expert daemon hunters ambushed the nurgle force and utterly destroyed it, punching a giant hole in the already stretched chaos defences. The remaining chaos forces on Tarlius II retreated to settlements and low hills in the west, where Arch Heretik Cybixx had prepared a defence line, or tried to get to the protection of the Iron Warriors' citadel which dominated the flat plains in the equatorial region. The remaining stragglers were mopped up by astartes patrols. The war on Tarlius had certainly now swung in favour of the Imperium.

Tyranid and Genestealer uprising on Hexis

For months the Imperium had been dealing with a "minor" alien infestation on their northern flank on Hexis, but in reality the expeditions into the wastes north of Menthoteph had barely scratched the surface of the reality of the growing hive mind on the planet. Bolstered and reinforced by an emerging Genestealer cult, dedicated to the worship of their god "R'Lyeh", the tyranids were now ready to put into action the second phase of their alien plan.

On 1410.019M42 a massive tyranid force surged out of the wastelands and immediately overwhelmed the Imperial Guard picketing force on General Konev's northern positions, while genestealer cults conducted spoiling raids across the Imperial lines. In one of these raids, an Adeptus Mechanicus patrol was overwhelmed near to the Nuclear Artillery, and critically the artillery was briefly overrun by the cult. Konev was now unable to turn the artillery on the attacking Xenos, and he appealed to the astartes for help in containing the offensive. The Ashen Sons chapter, a successor to the Salamanders, responded, and to the north of Menthoteph a critical engagement took place. For hours hive fleet R'Lyeh sent wave after wave of bio constructs and alien infantry against the space marines, and eventually the numbers told. Before Konev was able to set up a coherent defense line, the astartes defence had collapsed, and the Xenos were swarming across the plains to the east of Praxis.

Konev had no choice but to withdraw his forces in order to re-establish control and coordination. Gradually the tyranid advance ran out of momentum, but by the end of 1910.019M42 the imperial forces on Hexis had been cut in two. Konev's 1st army was now separated and cut off from Andreyivich's 3rd army in the south east, and the nuclear artillery had been lost. On the eastern outskirts of Praxis, the tyranids had reached the chaos lines, and the situation on Hexis had now become extremely confused.

Ork Air Force defeated on Hexis

Returning to the air once more, the imperial navy thunderbolts flew several sorties over the Haknur plateau in mid 10.019M42, in order to gather more intelligence, but also to deal with the emergent threat of the Ork air waagh that had now joined the forces of chaos. Given the distance of the new Ork air bases and chaos headquarters, Konev had been drawing up plans for a bombing campaign against these enemy installations, but first he needed to establish air superiority. 

Several of the sorties drew a blank, but eventually the orks were baited into fighting. This was an error, as Konev had made sure his most experienced navy pilots would be sent against the naive orks, and in the twisting air battles that followed, the orks found themselves at a disadvantage over and over again. Even when the orks did get clean shots at the imperial fighters, their shots were wild, or the rugged frames of the imperial craft simply shrugged off the impacts of heavy bolter fire. 

By the end of 1410.019M42 the air campaign was going well. Since this new phase began, no imperial losses had been incurred, although some craft had been damaged, while the orks had been cleared from the sky each time they engaged. However, this was only a prelude to the real objective, the bombing of the enemy bases.

Corticant: imperium probe eldar defences

Many months had passed since the Imperium and eldar forces clashed on Corticant, the world on which the very device holding the Foramen Interdictum open was in place. The eldar still held the device chamber and much of the planet was under the control of the Xenos. Instead of a standing army however, any attempt to move into the Aledari controlled zones was met swiftly by xenos attacks, and General Veers, starved of resources as the focus shifted to the Foramen itself and the war in the Hadron Expanse, was unable to conduct any meaningful offensives to change the situation.

In mid 019M42 the Hammers of the Emperor, now fully re-equipped and deployed at near chapter strength in the Aleph Sector, sent a company to Corticant. They knew they did not have the numbers to immediately take control of all eldar held territory, but they agreed with Veers that a series of engagements could gradually eat away at the eldar zones, forcing the aliens to decide just how much they wanted control of the device chamber. The eldar had not tampered with the device nor removed it, and it was unclear how hard they would fight to retain possession of it.

The Hammers launched patrols along the Iron Road towards the abandoned town of Ironhaven, finding the wreckage of imperial equipment and buildings from previous engagements. At Ironhaven the eldar attacked. A mix of craftworld and harlequin forces faced the astartes, and the fighting was intense. However the eldar suffered at the hands of the emperor's finest and their initial attacking force was wiped out. The Hammers themselves took casualties, including their commander, but as the space marines prepared for a second wave, they received intelligence that eldar forces following up were now retreating back across the Arid Plateau. Clearly the Aeldari had decided that the Imperium could have Ironhaven, at least for now, but would the xenos forces become more resolute as Veers and his new supporting marines moved ever closer to the Device Chamber?

Hexis Current Positions

• Greghaz is cut off in Menthoteph as the Orks are pushed out by Imperial scouts and Tau kill teams
• Chaos Pact base is rebuilt in the east after successful air raids and Death Guard skirmishes
• R'lyeh remains a threat in the Imperial north east

Air war over Hexis

Having received intelligence that the chaos forces were constructing a new base of operations on the Haknur plateau, general Konev was desperate to receive accurate information as to the nature and strength of any new installations. The mechanicum had failed to infiltrate the chaos lines, having been massacred by the Death Guard, so Konev turned to the navy. 

The imperial navy were confident they could overfly the chaos base and gather information, as they were unable to penetrate chaos shielding and heavy cloud from their ships in space. They didn’t expect any serious opposition in the skies over Hexis, as no significant chaos Air Force had thus far been encountered. However as small squadrons of Thunderbolt fighters began missions to overfly the plateau, swarms of Ork Dakkajet fighters rose up to meet them, shocking the imperium with their speed and eagerness to engage their opponents. 

The first two missions to overfly the chaos lines met with disaster as the Thunderbolts were shot down by the reckless Ork fighters. Many Ork aircraft were shot down in turn, but there were always more. Eventually one squadron got through and sent back images to Konev. In the ruins of an old city on the Haknur plateau, the chaos base had been built anew, with fortifications and, to the concern of imperial high command, a fully operational Ork airfield. The chaos forces lacked air cover, but the orks it seemed were quite content to fight for the forces of chaos, so long as they were given a chance to fight an enemy.

Astartes take back ground at Palantir

With the defeat of Federal forces on Bree, the Hammers of the Emperor decided to go on the offensive in the Palantir system, despite the lack of strategic assets available to the imperium in the Hadron Expanse. Their target was Dale, and extremely sparsely populated world of farmers with little in the way of natural resources, but strategically significant in controlling the system.  Palantir’s jewel was Hobbiton, but the imperium lacked the strength to retake a world of a hundred million. The astartes however feigned an invasion of the major world, and this display of strength forced the alliance to concentrate on its defence, leaving Dale wide open. 

The Hammers easily took control of the critical locations on the world, but the alliance reacted quickly, sending in the highly mobile tau to remove the invaders. There was no front line as such, instead the two sides fought a series of running mobile battles across the rolling landscape of Dale in the first week of 10.019M42, but the astartes refused to play into their enemies hands, maintaining a defensive posture around the planet’s key locations. 

Eventually the tau were forced to conduct a frontal assault on the Hammers’ positions, and this suited the space marines force. Lacking their own fleet support, the alliance were unable to bring to bear overwhelming force, as they were still unsure whether the invasion of Dale was the main invasion or a diversion. The tau were defeated at a small settlement which passed as the capital of the world. The alliance made no immediate move to reinforce this difficult position, and continued to fortify Hobbiton until they could establish the strength of imperial assets in the Palantir system.

Skirmishes continue on Hexis

The front lines on Hexis had gone quiet following the recent imperial advance, at least from a strategic perspective, but all sides continued to conduct smaller scale operations as 0410.019M42 began. 

The largest engagement occurred in the blasted wastelands south of the ruins of Menthoteph as a squad of Ashen Suns astartes - new to the sector - began a sweep into the no mans land between the imperial and chaos front lines. South of Menthoteph, the orks - allied to chaos - still remained, and the space marines soon ran into mobs of roving greenskins. The orks weren’t alone however, as it soon became apparent that other creatures were lurking amongst the ruins. With lightning speed the xenos attacked, horrific hybrid creatures part Tyranid part human. Clearly the genetics of hive fleet R’lyeh had now mixed with those of man, producing a genestealer cult which the Ashen Suns had now discovered. In truth, for months the stream of deserters on both sides of the front line had been seduced by their new deity - R’lyeh - and now the Tyranids had found a more insidious way to spread their tendrils across the battered world. 

The genestealers were quickly dealt with, caught in the crossfire between the space marines and orks, but the marines in particular struggled to hit their marks, and once the genestealers had withdrawn, they entered into a protracted and ineffective firefight with the greenskins. Then the tau struck. 

The appearance of alliance forces on the battlefield was a surprise, as the imperium had mistakenly believed that all tau and eldar forces had withdrawn with the federacy, but in reality small teams of tau and eldar had remained behind, intent on harassing their enemies and causing destruction out of proportion to their force commitment to Hexis - a world the alliance no longer had interest in. 

The tau attack swiftly dealt with the orks, clearing them from the field, before turning their attention to the remaining imperial forces. The astartes found themselves no match for the xenos special forces, much to the despair of their commander, and despite taking down the tau crisis suit, the tau forced the astartes in turn to retreat northward. 

The tau didn’t remain in place however. Satisfied at the disruption caused, the alliance force left, and the Grey Knights found no trace of the enemy as they followed up behind the Ashen Suns. Penetrating deeper, and cutting off a portion of the chaos forces near the old fort, the Ordo Malleus astartes did come into contact with a small team of heretic mechanicum, blasting them apart and securing general Konev’s southern front.

Further west, imperial intelligence suggested that the chaos forces were rebuilding their bases on the Haknur plateau, out of range of Konev’s nuclear artillery. Concerned at these reports, the mechanicum sent a force in order to investigate. However, the Death Guard responsed robustly to the infiltration by imperial forces, wiping out the scouting group. General Konev would have to find other methods to find out the extent of the new base being constructed by the enemy.

Campaign Introduction 019M42

Grey Knights expand base on Tarlius II

Following their successful defeat of the Eldar on Tarlius II, the Grey Knights consolidated their position, sending out patrols in the immediate vicinity while waiting for the imperial guard to take over their positions. These patrols quickly identified a large chaos force approaching. Clearly the enemy had become aware of the imperial presence on Tarlius II and were taking action to prevent them getting established. 

The veteran astartes were more than prepared for the assault however, and rather than the Iron Warriors the imperial bridgehead found itself under attack from the Emerald Serpent. This turned out to be favourable for the imperium however, as the daemonic creatures summoned by the tzeentch sorcerers were the preferred enemy of the Ordos Malleus space marines. Relishing their opportunity to banish the enemy from beyond, the Grey Knights charged into combat. The daemons were no match for their hated opponents and the attack on the heights around the now defunct webway portal was quickly repulsed. 

The imperium now had a secure foothold on Tarlius II, but as the dropships of guard landed in the uplands, ahead of them they now faced hundreds of miles of desolate plains, before having to face the highly fortified city that was the main base of the Iron Warriors. This settlement and it’s even more formidable central keep would need to be brought low before the war in the system could be brought to a close.

Emerald Serpent recover artefact from Cybixx

Ahriman stared across the flat plains ahead of him. He knew the task ahead of him meant conflict with an ally, but tzeentch himself had ordained this path. Here on Calliden he would retrieve the necron gateway, which arch Heretek Cybixx had refused to hand over despite the generous terms the sorcerer lord had offered. No matter. If force were necessary then so be it. The thousand sons and his daemonic allies would make short work of the Mechanicum. If only the foolish Imperial Knightly Houses hadn’t interfered at Hexis. Now the corpse worshippers knew his plans and understood the threat. Ahriman smiled. They would not thwart him, not with his patron god and even Magnus himself giving approval for once. The planet of the sorcerers would be summoned to the Aleph Sector, and the total victory of chaos would be complete just as soon as all the elements came together. The chaos sorcerer lord consulted his list of items required for the summoning ritual, an esoteric assortment not easily collected. One step at a time...

The battle between Cybixx’s mechanicum and Ahriman’s daemonic and traitor astartes force was a bitter slug fest. Cybixx was angry at Ahriman’s demands for a valuable xenos artefact, and the chaos sorcerer had no business interfering in his plans. Cybixx needed all the alien technology he could lay his hands on if his new project was to come to fruition, and he found it illogical that the Emerald Serpent would want to obstruct his endeavours. 

The fighting was costly, and although Cybixx’s constructs banished a horde of plaguebearers summoned to Ahriman’s cause, the chaos sorcerer was not put off. The two sides fought each other to a standstill, but eventually tzeentch trickery outsmarted the traitor mechanicum logic, and Ahriman got his prize. The Emerald Serpent were now one step closer to fulfilling their arcane plot.

Expedition returns to Blackstone Fortress

Lucius Valcetti gazed out at the dark shape of the space station, its lightless exterior made visible only by its sharp contrast to the maddening riot of colour all around. Roiling eddies of technicolour light surged about them in colossal storm fronts light years across. Such treacherous currents were more than capable of ripping a ship apart, yet the area around the station itself was becalmed, as if the storm served to protect it. Known as the Rifts of Hectate this area of space had long been avoided by travellers. Situated beyond the unexplored depths of the Hadron Expanse its remoteness was almost as much a disincentive to explorers as the mortal peril of the storm itself.

It had been a joint Federal – Tau science expedition that had first uncovered the existence of the station. Keen to develop a better understanding of such phenomena the eager scientists had fired a series of autonomous probes into the chaotic tumult. Most had been ripped to shreds but one, guided by fate or simply random chance, had made its way to the heart of the storm where it broadcast a steady stream of sensor data and imaging.

The existence of the alien construct and the raging warp storms that surrounded it defied rational explanation and lay far outside the Tau and Federacy's limited understanding. Reluctantly they had turned to the Eldar, hoping that their ancient understanding of the immaterium could supply the answers they sought. In this they had been only partially satisfied. The Eldar had recognised the construct as an artefact dating back to the war in heaven, known to the Imperium as a Blackstone Fortress. As to its purpose and how it generated and fuelled the surrounding storm they were as baffled as the Tau and Federacy, although they did not care to admit it. The crazed maelstrom resisting any attempt at psychic scrying and it seemed to cast no shadow on the paths of the future, its influence noticeable only as a void of possibilities that should have existed.

The Alliance powers had agreed to mount a joint expedition to the construct, each sending representatives to oversee their interests. Lucius wasn't sure how he felt about the silent, forbidding Eldar Ranger chosen as Kel Sandros' representative, although he had to admit that without her guidance the Vanguard would never have made it intact through the fury of the storm. His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of gunfire and explosions over the open vox channel. It seemed the station was not as uninhabited as had been presumed. Garbled reports of hostile contacts filtered through as the landing party fell back to the assault boats.

This turn of events was not entirely unexpected, large vessels such as this invariably became home to an assortment of scum, outlaws and hostile xenos no matter how remote or formidable their defences. Lucius decided he would lead the first expedition himself. This station would give up its secrets to him, and quite possibly make him a very rich and influential man indeed.

It was over 2 years since the first expedition had penetrated the interior of the mysterious blackstone fortress. Rogue Trader and privateer Lucius Valcetti had been forced to withdraw his team after finding the interior infested with outlaws and chaos filth. On returning to Federal space he had lobbied the Federal government for the resources and funding to mount a properly resourced expedition into the Rifts of Hectate, complete with auxiliary support vessels, scientific specialists and a complement of armed mercenaries. After finally completing the long and tortuous journey through the Foramen Ancilla and the chaos, ork and necron infested space beyond they had finally returned to station, codenamed Pandora to maintain operational security. Despite losing 2 supply ships to the raging lightening storm surrounding the station they managed to set up base camp and docking facilities within the deserted outer reaches up the xenos construct.

Somewhat familiar with what to expect from his previous visit Lucius Valcetti decided to lead the the first expedition into the interior himself, accompanied by Kel Sandros' brooding emissary, a kroot tracker and the hulking form of a bodyguard robot supplied by their federal backers. At first resistance was within expected parameters but the situation rapidly deteriorated as fresh hostiles swarmed to the area, attracted by the sound of gunfire and explosions. The kroot tracker was almost disembowelled by a  hissing xenos monstrosity that leapt out from the shadows and Lucius himself was mortally wounded as corrupted deserters from the Imperial Guard swarmed over him from a passageway. Assault cannon blazing the bodyguard robot assigned to him executed its primary directive and strode into the fray to recover Lucius' bleeding body and carry him to safety.

The expedition had been a disaster. Two of their members had been seriously injured  and confined to a medicae facility for weeks and they had made no headway in penetrating the stations secrets. The limited haul of archeotech they had come away with looked like junk at first glance. It was only on closer inspection that it turned out to contain an ancient relic from the fall of the Eldar along with and an Empyrean Chronometer that was beyond priceless. Convinced of the haul of knowledge and ancient artefacts to be found deeper within the station the Alliance's representatives in the expedition were resolved to unlock the secrets of this place or die trying.

Aleph Sector: Current Warzones

Welcome to the Aleph Sector

For the "how to join in" see this here

Lying in the Ultima Segmentum, straddling the Foramen Interdictum near the Eastern Fringe, the Aleph Sector is a critical location close to the Tau Empire and Ultramar. It is 019M42, and the Imperium is beset by enemies on all sides.

For millennia the Aleph Sector was but a backwater in Imperial affairs. Before the coming of the great rift the High Lords of Terra barely gave the sector a thought, allowing an entire subsector to secede from the Imperium and ally itself to the Tau Empire. But with the coming of the Cicatrix, all that changed… 

The Aleph Sector today stands astride the Cicatrix Maledictum, and thanks to the arcane energies of the Necron artefacts know only as “devices”, there is not only a path through the raging warp rift, but four. These pathways through the Maw, known as “Foramen”, are hotly contested by the major powers of the galaxy, for they provide access from one side to the other in relative safety. One is controlled by the Alliance, another two by chaos. Only at the Foramen Majoris does the Imperium have a foothold allowing its forces to travel into the Imperium Nihilis. Should this fall, mankind’s empire east of the Cicatrix would surely fall into ruin… 

The Imperium of Mankind

The Imperium of Mankind is led by Secto Commander Titus Luthor, with his regiments of mostly Novgorod guard and the help of several astartes chapters, notably the Grey Knights and Imperial Fists. However it is the Inquisition who stand between the light and the darkness, and although they have not always seen eye to eye, it is the inquisitor lords who hold the destiny of the Imperium in their hands. However, only Lord Hathek’s whereabouts are known, as both Inquistors Huron and Vorushko have gone missing…

The Forces of Chaos

The forces of damnation are active in the Aleph Sector, although not always united. The Iron Warriors seek to re-establish their dominion in the Perseus Deeps, while the Emerald Serpent, led by the Thousand Sons, seek more impenetrable goals. In recent years, the Arch Magus Dominus Cybixx, once thought to be a loyal member of the Mechanicum, has turned to the dark gods as well, lending his vast forces and expertise to the Ruinous Powers, and plunging the Imperium into dire peril.

The Alliance

The “Alliance” is made up of three factions, who do not always act in unison. The strongest members of the pact are the Tau Empire, seeking to extend their holdings in the sector, and the Federacy, a human secessionist empire spanning an entire subsector following the return of Admiral Haskell – a man who was caught on the wrong side of the heresy but was cast adrift for ten long millennia in the warp. Upon his return he sought to return the sector to the Imperial Truth, renouncing the worship of the Emperor as a deity. Although the secession from the Imperium was successful, it is the Federacy’s alliance with the Tau that has prevented the Imperium from retaking their lost worlds, at least for now.

The Eldar, led by the Craftworld of Kel Sandros, have their own plans, but their main goal is to rid the galaxy of psychic taint. To this end, the establishment of the Tau as the preeminent power, defeating chaos and the Imperium would be the first step in their long and complex plan to reestablish the Aeldari as the masters of the galaxy. 

Xenos Threats

Xenos are an ever present threat in the Aleph Sector. And the most dangerous are the Necrons, the Orks and the Tyranids.

The Orks are present across the sector, but have so far not rallied around one leader for long enough to pose a significant threat.

The Necrons awoke before the coming of the Cicatrix, and began to rebuild their lost empire in the Perseus Deeps. However, since then their fortunes have faded, as many worlds have succumbed to rehibernation, for reasons as yet unknown.

The Tyranid menace has threatened the sector a number of times. Hive Fleet Nemesis ravaged scores of worlds, but has now apparently been lost in the voids of space. However, a new Hive fleet has been discovered on Hexis, and R’lyeh is an emergent threat.

Now is the time to make your mark in the Aleph Sector. The fate of the galaxy lies in your  hands!

Traitor Mechanicum defeat Von Bismork

Archheretek Cybixx had not been seen in person since the defeats on Mordecai Tersius and his whereabouts were still uncertain. His forces had been encountered on a number of worlds, but it came as somewhat of a surprise to imperial intelligence when the former loyalist Archmagos turned up at Goreen. 

Instead of launching an attack on the strong imperial defences however, the traitor mechanicum assaulted the remaining orks in the hills surrounding the imperial base on Goreen Prime. The orks has been pushed back into the wilderness zones of the planet many months previously, and the imperial commander had not felt it pressing to expend resources chasing the orks down. Now that seemed to be an error, as Cybixx’s forces smashed the orks - thought to be a remnant of Von Bismork’s troubled warband - and completed the eradication of the greenskins in the Goreen system. 

Now the imperial commander had a real problem. Instead of ill equipped ork forces, the traitors began setting up a strong base camp in the mountains overlooking the primary space port. Alarmed, the imperial forces requested aid from General Percival - overall commander in the Hadron Expanse. Percival had his own issues however, as his forces were already stretched defending Palantir from the Alliance, and supporting Konev at Hexis. The imperium began to become deeply concerned with Cybixx’s motives.

Grey Knights secure foothold on Tarlius II

The Grey Knights continued to plan with the imperial forces for the capture of the chaos stronghold worlds in the Tarlius system in order to complete the final subjugation of Mordecai. This would secure the Foramen Majoris for the Imperium and allow Paradorn and Cybixx’s heretic forge at Vandrax to be more easily overwhelmed. 

One sticking point with the plans to eradicate chaos at Tarlius was the eldar presence. Centred around a webway portal in the barren plains of the eastern hemisphere, so far the forces of chaos had been unable to locate the portal, and any moves in that direction were ambushed and destroyed by eldar forces. 

The Grey Knights has experience with the aliens however, using their contacts in the Ordo Xenos. Using a cloaked strike cruiser the astartes dropped directly onto the Xenos artefact and began preparing the necessary mechanicum rites to close down the entry to the webway. 

As soon as they had begun, a rapid response materialised from the eldar faction known as the Sisters of Quartz. The lithe eldar attacked with shocking speed and grace the like of which the Grey Knights could not hope you match. However, experience and superior strategy overcame the agility and otherworldliness of the aeldari warriors, as the astartes had been expecting the response. 

The eldar were quickly defeated by the Ordo Malleus marines, and the webway portal was eliminated. Now the imperium had established a presence on Tarlius II, but only a tenuous one.

Legio Dominus make sweeping advance on Hexis

For months the war on Hexis had been quiescent with neither side making any serious moves to remove the other from the face of the now ravaged and radioactive landscape that was now the hell around the capital city of Praxis. However General Konev, recognising the potential strategic benefit of controlling the northern end of the Foramen Ignotum, was not about to give up an go home.

Having dealt with - or so he felt - the Tyranid threat on his northern flank, Konev petitioned for more resources from imperial high command. Sector commander Titus Luthor was loathed time invest more efforts at Hexis however. Already the alliance were chipping away at imperial gains in the Hadron Expanse, and the main focus of imperial efforts was now at Mordecai and the Foramen Interdictum. No imperial guard help would be forthcoming.

Konev was not to be disappointed entirely however, as in 09.019M42 the titans of Legio Dominus and their attendant knights arrived, responding to Konev’s appeals for aid, and immediately set about planning an offensive.

The titans and knights would be ineffective in the compact ruins of Praxis, so it was agreed Legio Dominus would strike out from the east, attempting to surround chaos forces in Menthoteph and cut off their supply lines. Then, if the ground could be held, Konev would be able to conduct later offensives against the city and its device chanber from three sides.

The initial assault went as planned. The eastern chaos flank was only weakly defended, Stahl’s iron warriors having mostly departed and the remaining troops not wishing to spend too long in the radioactive wastelands south of the ruined cities. However as Menthoteph was surrounded, the Emerald Serpent reacted.

Deploying their own titans and moving forward in strength, the Aether Striders traitor household met their loyalist counterparts on the southern plains known as the great ash wastes. The set piece battle raged for many hours, with the main thrust of the Emerald Serpent coming on the imperial left flank, where ruins of an old settlement impeded the ability of House Corvus’ helverins to lay down withering fire.

On the imperial right, the combined efforts of a Castellan, Warhound and Helverin squadron decimated the traitor forces, knocking out knight after knight with only minimal damage in return. On the left however, the imperial force suffered as the Emerald Serpebt deployed their lords discordant and a Khytan in close combat, duelling with a Knight Errant and its supporting Armiger Warglaives.

The battle in the ruins was intense, and the imperial knights were never going to defeat the chaos force opposing them. However they fought valiantly, the knight Errant doggedly refusing to yield, and its eventual sacrifice was well worth it for Konev’s force, as the combat in the ruins significantly and fatally delayed the Emerald Serpent counter attack.

By the time the ruins had been wrestled from the stubborn imperial forces, the Legio Dominus titans had arrived. After a brief Titan duel, the Aether Striders realised their position was untenable and withdrew to the west, allowing general Konev to consolidate his position and dig in just kilometres from the ashen ruin that had once been Stahl’s HQ.

By late 09.019M42 the front line had stabilised, seeing the imperial armies capturing hundreds of miles of territory. It was however just blasted wasteland, and despite the victory and the improvement of the imperial strategic position, the forces of chaos still retained control over the device chamber and much of the ruined city of Praxis.

Imperium halt Alliance at Palantir

Following the invasion of the Palantir System in 08.019M42 the Imperium were expectinmg the Alliance's next move in the system. Unable to send a large fleet to contest the invasion from space, the Imperium turned to its elite forces, appealing to any astartes that could defend the innermost world of Bree from the alliance forces, led by the fearsome might of the Knightly House of Chardonnay.

 

Loyal to the federal forgeworld of Vornax, the Knightly house had shown no sign of fulfilling its oaths to the Emperor and continued to prosecute the war on behalf of the alliance. Claiming that the Imperial Truth had been abandoned by fanatics after the heresy, House Chardonnay maintained as did the Federacy, that their way was more in line with the Emperor's wishes than the acts of the Imperium of Mankind.

 

Political ideology was no longer debated however, as the Imperium had long since declared the Federal worlds Excommunicate Traitoris, and on 2808.019M42 House Chardonnay's powerful war engines deployed on Bree. The sparsely populated world could not put up a fight, but the Grey Knights and Hammers of the Emperor soon arrived to stop the Knights from simply overrunning the last Imperial holding in the system.

 

Battles raged for the next few days, with the Imperial forces taking severe casualties from the traitor knights. Both the leaders of the allied astartes chapters were killed, and the war engines proved difficult to bring down. However by 0409.019M42 the force realised that if it were to maintain control of Hobbiton and Dale, it could not sustain losses such as they were, and the invasion of Bree was postponed.

 

The Imperium had won an important victory, even if the strategic position was still very poor in the Hadron Expanse. Expecting a counter attack, the astartes oversaw the construction of significant defences, and requested additional garrison forces from General Percival.

Hammers of the Emperor raid Mordecai Primaris

With Mordecai Tersius retaken and this time properly secured, General Kutuzov pondered his options. Despite this success the forces he had under his command were largely exhausted, and there was no immediate possibility to invade the primary world - Morecai Primaris.

 

The Grey Knights and Imperial Fists made the most of this respite, engaging in training scenarios which proved that their newly arrived equipment was both effective and reliable, whilst showing that the Grey Knights themselves had tactical weaknesses they needed to address. Meanwhile the Novgorod Guard re-equipped and rested, but other than refitting, the problems with invading Mordecai Primaris were a lot deeper.

 

The astartes had previously destroyed the main spaceport and missile silos, but the planet still had other defences, as well as a nearby fleet base which would always need close blockade in any invasion. In order to even have a hope of a successful landfall, the planet would need months of "reduction", missions designed to reduce and eliminate key defensive capabilities of the world.

 

The Hammers of the Emperor chapter launched a raid with the destruction of artillery batteries in mind, landing in the deserts of the world and advancing on the chaos bases just after dawn. They had been detected however, and Cybixx himself had decided to intervene to counter assault the loyalist astartes. The main battle centred around a rise in the ground which led to the main transmitter of the void shields protecting the chaos positions. Both sides rushed this location, suffering horrendous casualties for both the imperial and chaos forces. Eventually the astartes withdrew, their mission unsuccessful, but the damage to Cybbixx's forces had been significant, and the arch heretek himself had been put out of action in the fighting.

 

The Hammers' assault had not achieved it's main objective, but in the end the capability of the chaos forces to defend had been reduced, thanks to the heavy casualties. The astartes knew however that raids would need to be more surgical in future. Kutuzov was still no nearer to setting a date for the invasion.