Mordecai: Hammers push forward front but Ur'Ghar surrounded

As 08.022M42 progressed the war on Mordecai continued to be a slow grind with advances and reversals on both sides. In the centre of Kutuzov's line, the Hammers of the Emperor spearheded an offensive against the Death Guard defences. By now, opportunities to breakout and encircle were limited as the front lines were very long, straight and backed up by deep defences, trenches and emplacements that did not lend themselves to the battles of manoeuvre that once characterised the war for Mordecai Secundus.

In addition to the front line being more static, both sides now had adequate logistics, with Admiral Bova Magnus' fleets keeping up the supply runs, and the forces of chaos now had open portals via the daemon world of Astralis. Both sides controlled significant strategic assets on the ground, and there was little difference in the numbers of soldiers or amount of equipment on both sides. Going into the latter part of 022M42, things were finely balanced.

The offensive against the Death Guard in the middle of the front was a success. The speed and hard hitting close combat power of the Hammers of the Emperor, as well as their resilience, were a match for the Nurgle Worshipping forces arrayed against them. Their assault drove deep into the chaos lines, although the casualty rate was high, as the loyalist astartes had to run a gauntlet of pestilent fire to close with their foe, where their special capabilities at close combat warfare made the difference. Both sides suffered losses, but the battle took place where the Imperium wanted, allowing the Imperial Guard to swiftly follow up. When the fighting died down, Kutuzov had moved the front line forward some 100 standard miles.

In the south however, Imperial intelligence had not spotted that the Emerald Serpent were amassing significant forces near the city of Ur'Ghar, and they had assembled a number of Contemptor Dreadnoughts armed with the deadly twin Volkite Culverins. these were unleashed on an unsuspecting imperial guard force to the west of the city - recently captured by Kutuzov's forces. Within hours the guard force crumbled, and the Thousand Sons reached the shore of the Kuneus Lava Sea, cutting off the city of Ur'Ghar and tempering the celebratory mood at Imperial HQ.

Necrons push back chaos on Hexis

Hexis, the forgotten warzone, flared into life once more in 08.021M42. Having lost ground to the Imperium with Konev's latest advance onto the Haknur Plateau, the Skareth Dynasty were becoming frustrated with their brethren from the Bahotek Dynasty who seemed to not have the same concentrated focus as the lords of Skareth. The Necron overlords disagreed on the prosecution of the campaign against the lesser races since the reawakening of their race in the Aleph Sector, and the necrons themselves still faced significant logistical difficulties.

 

The Harakhty Dynasty had been the first major force to reanimate in the region, but their return to power, while swift, had led to an equally dramatic demise, as the machinations of the old foe, the Aeldari, had resulted in the sudden rehibernation of fast numbers of necron warriors, halting the reconquest of the Harakhty Empire. Now the tombworlds of the Perseus Deeps were once more barren and lifeless, devoid of any civilisation. The Charnovokh had attempted to intercede to stop this decline, but were forced to abandon this pursuit with the coming of the Cicatrix Maledictum.

 

In the far eastern fringes of the sector, the necrons had awoken more slowly, and were still far from reaching full strength. Forces of the Bahotek dynasty had reanimated and minor lords began small raiding actions, but the Skareth, not native to the sector, had less interest in reconquering the Expanse, and far more interest in protecting the secrets of their race from the vermin that now infested their once mighty empire. Even more satisfying would be having all those valuable assets under Skareth control.

 

With acquisition in mind, the Skareth Dynasty deployed a strong force on Hexis, arriving at the gate on the Haknur Plateau. Rather than aiding the Bahotek against Konev's imperial forces however, the new necron force launched a major assault off the heights towards the south west of Praxis. the plateau itself was of no value, other than tactical and strategic location. What the overlords of the Skareth wanted, was in Praxis itself.

 

A fierce battle erupted as the necron forces swarmed into the ruins of south west Praxis, which soon saw a strong force of Death Guard terminators take up its defence. The construction of their base on the moon of Hexis was well advanced, and the traitor astartes were in no mind to relinquish the valuable necron technology they had been painstakingly studying in the catacombs under the city. The necron force however was agile and fast, and though the Death Guard proved a stubborn foe, eventually the Skareth Dynasty was able to isolate them into pockets and grind down the nurgle worshipping traitor marines. The Death Guard were forced to yield the south western ruins, and the necrons acquired at least part of the underground tomb complex. Now the necron lords had to decide whether to take the valuable artefacts, or move forward to take the rest of Hexis for themselves.

Dark Eldar raids in Expanse escalate

The dark eldar Archon known as "Stitch" or sometimes "Baron Stitch" had been making a name for himself in Dark Eldar society in 022M42. Known for his provision of exotic Xenos creatures, sometimes of his own "creation", his was one of the more depraved minds even within the Drukhari. Other Archons and Dark Eldar nobles had noted this upstart, and while his contribution to the depravity of Commoragh society couldn't be overlooked, there were some who secretly despised this avaricious and gauche faction of their civilisation.

 

Stitch and his forces had been taking advantage of the network of basis that had been installed by the patient hard work of Vlokarion in years past, and had been emboldened by the relative weakness of the Imperium and Chaos forces who remained distracted by their war at Mordecai. The Drukhari had found the Tau Empire more difficult to challenge, but the Hadron Expansion Sphere was now in a period of consolidation, and Malkaor was content to simply make the Tau look like the least tempting target for Stitch's raids.

 

The necrons, only partially reawakened and disorganised, were a prime income source for the Drukhari raiders, and this was proved once again when a raiding force plundered the tomb world of Ceti 6539 in 08.021M42. The Skareth Dynasty moved quickly to pretect key artefacts given the main force of the Bahotek remained slumbering beneath the surface, but their intervention was unsucessful. Despite taking down the raiding party's commander and inflicting some damage on the Dark Eldar raiders, the Drukhari battered the necron force, and made off with a substantial loot.

 

By 1008.022M42 the raids of Dark Eldar were growing in intensity, so much so that the Grey Knights became concerned that the loyalty of Vanir, one of the only remaining bases for the Imperium in the Expanse, would fail, as General Pervical seemed unwilling or unable to dedicate sufficient garison forces to the world. In order to prevent a revolt, and the loss of a strategic system, the Grey Knights deployed a strike cruiser full of elite astartes, and waited.

 

The wait was not long. Within days of their arrival the Grey Knights found two Drukhari raiding forces materialising from the webway, which then embarked on a spree of pillaging and enslaving across the northern hemisphere settlements. Deploying rapidly from orbit, the astartes force dealt with each in turn, in two decisive engagements that severely damaged both raiding parties, forcing them to flee and abandon their booty of raw materials and human slaves. The Grey Knights had sent a clear message to Stitch - Vanir is not your playground and the Imperium will defend its territory.

Adeptus Mechanicus hold off Necron threat

In the Hadron Expanse the Imperium had been on the defensive for some time by 08.021M42, as more and more resources were diverted to the escalating conflict in the Mordecai system. However, although general Percival had limited forces at his disposal, the Imperium were not as vulnerable as some had caluclated.

The necrons, recently but not fully awoken in the Expanse, had been infuriated and offended by the other races defilement of their worlds, and were determined to rid the infestation and reclaim their own lands and treasures. Recent raids had not gone well, but now the Necrons amassed a large army on Hexis, aiming to strike at the heart of general Konev's defences and drive north from the Haknur plateau.

Facing this new army however was not the Imperial Guard but a force highly motivated to stop the necrons from reclaiming their lost treasures and artefacts, the Adeptus Mechanicus. Not under the direct control of Percival or Konev, the Mechanicum had been diverting significant forces to the Hadron Expanse, a fact the spies of the enemy had not taken into account. When the Necrons moved down from the Haknur Plateau and into the Imperial defences, they met a very stubborn resistance.

The armies of Ryza fought valiantly and with determination. Gradually the xenos attack faltered, then reversed, and by 1208.021M42 not only had the Necrons been forced to abandon their offensive, but the Imperium now had a foothold on the plateau itself. Had it not been for the Adeptus Mechanicus interest in the artefact riches of the Expanse, the situation for Konev, Percival and their armies could have been very different. 

Disciples continue to harass Kutuzov's forces

Following the success of the Imperial raids it didn't take long for the grand chaos alliance on Mordecai Secundus to respond. Their planned offensive had been delayed, and the Imperium had rebuilt their defences. In the southern sector of the front line, one which now stretched almost from pole to pole, the Sisters of Battle were becoming a thorn in the side to the Death Guard, and the Disciples of Belakor, now largely based in the south, decided to once again disrupt the plans of their ancient enemy.

The followers of chaos undivided struck once more at the Sathugar mines, destroying recently repaired fortifications and forcing the Adeptus Sororitas into open battle. A brutal melee then erupted, that resulted in heavy losses for the Sisters of Battle, who retreated back to fort Celestine. As both sides tried to wrestle the initiative off one another, the bloody war on Mordecai had entered a deeply attritional phase.

Imperium retake initiative on Mordecai

By 08.021M42 Imperial intelligence was well aware of the rising power of chaos on Mordecai especially with the arrival of the particularly effective Disciples of Belakor. On his war council, there was some disagreement over how to proceed. Should the Imperium merely hold and wait for the inevitable chaos offensive, or should proactive measures be taken?

In the end Kutuzov decided on a moderate counter offensive to disrupt the chaos lines, particularly where intelligence had noted a large build up of enemy forces. In the south, this was conducted by the Sisters of Battle, who were facing off against the bulk of the Death Guard armies that massed around the Sarkar Traps, while in the north, the Adeptus Mechanicus prepared to conduct offensive missions against the forces of chaos massing on the Northern Howl.

In the north the Adeptus Mechanicus carried out their mission with technical precision, disrupting the chaos build up for their offensive and returning to the Imperial lines with their forces largely intact. Further south,  the Adeptus Sororitas took the Death Guard by surprise, sending in their flamer retributors with devastating effect. Poxwalkers and plague marines massing for their own offensive were obliterated, and although Typhus himself was on hand with a large force of elite terminators, his intervention was distracted by constant harrassment by rearguard forces, and the elite of the Death Guard were not in position to change the course of the battle. As they chased smaller forces around the ruins of Burroneus, the rest of the Sororitas continued to blast apart the sons of Mortarion.

Having severely disrupted the chaos offensive plans, the Imperial forces retreated to their own lines. Both missions had been successful, but Kutuzov knew that he had only bought his forces time. Time they badly needed to shore up the lines and rebuild their ruined fortifications.

Disciples target Imperial Fortifications

The next set of attacks by the chaos forces on Mordecai were soon in materialising. As predicted, the Disciples of Be'lakor were once more at the forefront of the chaos offensives, which did not seek to breakthrough and exploit for territorial gain. Instead, important Imperial installations came under attack. First Fort Rhagrim in the north, then somewhat surprisingly and swiftly fort Arbrux on the normally quite north eastern front.

 

In the north, the Black Templars reacted to the arrival of the Disciples at the Imperial fortification. However the chaos forces were ready for this counter move and the battle was a disaster for the loyalist astartes. Overwhelming force descended on the Imperial fortification, which was raised to the ground. The Black Templars force that attempted to intervene was all but wiped out in the process, severely shacking the Imperial high command's confidence and troubling Luthor at the sector headquarters at Vastrid. Things were going very wrong on Mordecai Secundus.

 

Worse still, before the destruction of Rhagrim could be processed, a surprise attack on Fort Abrux developed on the eastern front. Here, not expecting significant activity by the enemy, Kutuzov had not assigned any rapid reaction force, and the Catachan Guard defending the fortress were on their own. Once again the Disciples of Be'lakor were at the vanguard of the chaos attack, swiftly encircling the fort and severely battering the guard regiments holding the line. The Catachan losses were great, and included a much respected senior officer, severely impacting Imperial morale. Surrounded and unsupplied Fort Abrux swiftly fell, but once again the chaos forces did not advance. Instead, as the Imperial morale sank lower as their defences were smashed to pieces and casualties mounted, the chaos forces bided their time for a decisive and overwhelming offensive.

Chaos forces grow in strength

Following the fall of Ur'Ghar on Mordecai Secundus, General Kutuzov was quick to move his Imperial Guard forces into position and fortify. Chaos forces, increasingly reinforced via the daemonic portal held open by the Daemonworld of Astralis, were likely to mount a strong counter attack and soon. Kutuzov couldn't know where, but in late 07.021M42 a double strike by chaos forces severely pressured the Imperial lines.

 

In the northern sector of the line, the Thousand Sons forced their way into the Imperial lines, scattering the guard manning the defences and requiring a swift intervention by the Imperial fists. A brutal battle between loyal and traitor astartes erupted, and the followers of Tzeentch managed to get the upper hand. Reluctantly after a stubborn resistance the Imperial Fists were obliged to withdraw or be annihilated but the Emerald Serpent did not exploit the breakthrough. After destroying Kutuzov's front line defences they withdrew once more to their own positions.

 

This pattern was repeated in the south, where the Adeptus Mechanicus of the forge world Lucius were defending a section of front facing the Mekken Plateau. Here the Imperium faced a new enemy, devotees of pure chaos in the form of the Disciples of Be'lakor. Once again the fighting was hard, but the chaos forces did not breakthrough and exploit their victory once they had defeated the Mechanicum in the field. Instead they went about causing maximum destruction to the Imperial defence lines before withdrawing to their starting positions. A pattern was now emerging and with the arrival of the Disciples of Be'lakor, known for their destructive capabilities and worship of chaos undivided, it appeared the chaos gods had a single will to reverse the losses on Mordecai.

 

Kutuzov called a war council as his intelligence reports suggested the chaos forces were now engaged in a systematic and planned attempt to reduce the Imperium's capability to resist a counter attack. Rather than take ground then over-extend, as different factions played to their own agendas, it now appeared there was a new level of strategic planning in the chaos attacks. The Imperial general ordered his forces to go over to the defensive and braced himself for the next onslaught.

Drukhari continue Hadron Expanse Raids

In late 07.021M42 the Imperium was coming under increasing pressure in the Hadron Expanse. Sector Commander Titus Luthor had become almost obsessed with the war on Mordecai and continually stripped back forces from other theatres. This left General Percival with fewer and fewer forces at his disposal, removing his ability to go on to the offensive and forcing the Imperium to defend the increasingly small holdings in the Expanse with ever decreasing resources.

 

The other factions vying for power in the region noted this, and while the Tau prepared for their next offensive at the Tanis system and the forces of chaos continued to invest in the construction of a daemon base at Lysis, the Dark Eldar, aided by the bases prepared by Vlokarion, continued their raids against weakened Imperial targets. Percival was not entirely without allies however. While he was unable to secure Imperial Guard resources, his appeals for aid attracted the attention of the Adeptus Sororitas. The Adeptus Mechanicus already had an interest in the Hadron Expanse and its wealth of pre-Imperium human relics and xenos artefacts, but the Mechanicum was only interested in protecting its own. The Ecclesiarchy however was motivated by spreading the faith to the human populations of the Expanse, where Emperor worship was not as strong as in the rest of the Imperium.

 

Motivated by faith, the Sisters of Battle deployed in orbit around Vanir and waited for the next raid by Drukhari forces. When a Dark Eldar raiding party arrived the Sisters struck first, downing a drukhari flotilla in one fell swoop and obliterating half of the troops inside. The xenos force responded by sending in baron Stitch, his haemonculus and haemoxytes who then systematically worked through the sisters units, sewing them into fresh haemoxytes as they piled through their lines. More and more Drukhari fell to the Sororitas however, with the archon warlord being taken in the last moment by a crack shot from a damaged immolator. Ultimately, Baron Stitch and his haemoxytes ground out the victory, backed up by a team of Cronos Parasite Engines providing fire support. The Sisters' intervention had been unsuccessful and although Stitch had lost men and equipment, the raid proved profitable and the morale of the Vanir population sank even lower.

Grey Knights take Ur'Ghar

Despite the constant assaults on the Imperial lines, in late 06.021M42 the Imperium still held a significant strategic advantage on Mordecai Secundus. General Kutuzov was aware however that the drain on his resources in defending his lines was reducing that advantage as time went on, and the forces of chaos were growing stronger. To counter this, Kutuzov convened a war council to discuss how this might be reversed. The Grey Knights proposed a plan to take the city of Ur'Ghar on the southern shore of the Kuneus lava sea. If the Imperium could take this strategic settlement it would open up the possibility of taking the populated area near the Sarkar Traps, and consolidate the Imperium's hold on the important Sathugar mines.

 

The Grey Knights arrived without warning at the gates of Ur'Ghar, but quickly found that the enemy had recognised the importance of this city, and had chosen to deploy an elite force of Death Guard terminators in the city itself. Realising a quick victory would now be out of the question, the Grey Knights pivoted their strategy and began bitter house to house fighting for control of the settlement. Using their knowledge of the warp to full effect, gradually elite astartes force managed to push the traitor force back street by street. It was a hard slog, but by 0107.021M42 the Knights had taken the city, allowing Kutuzov's army to follow up and consolidate the Imperial hold on the southern shores of the Kuneus lava lake.

 

At the beginning of 07.021M42 the Imperium had managed to extend their line south, and Kutuzov was satisfied with the strength of his defences. However, the daemonworld of Astralis was now operating at full effect, and reinforcements were arriving directly to the chaos held territory on Mordecai Secundus via the efforts of the sorcerers of Tzeentch. The strategic advantage the Imperium had held for many months was rapidly waning, and the forces of Mankind braced for the inevitable onslaught.

Kutuzov faces increasing resistance on Mordecai

On Mordecai Secundus the Imperium once again had to resist a number of counter attacks by the forces of chaos during 06.021M42 and all major offensive actions on the world by Kutuzov's army had to be put on hold. The general was initially criticised, but his decision to hold firm to his defences would soon prove wise, as the enemy made a two pronged attack in mid 06.021M42. In the northern sector, chaos knights broke throught Kutuzov's primary line, requiring the intervention of the Wolves of Novgorod, an elite Astra Militarum Scion regiment. The scions fought extremely hard, but the firepower and sheer aggressiveness of the chaos knights proved difficult to contain. Both sides took casualties and heavy casualties, but the Novgorod were unable to prevent the destruction of key defensive posts in the northern sector as the Knights claimed victory.

Further south, hordes of chaos forces simply overwhelmed the front line, and once again Kutuzov was forced to ask for help from his reserve forces. This time the Sisters of Battle threw themselves into the fray, desparately trying to plug the gaps in the lines that the chaos forces had opened. Despite mowing down great swathes of the enemy they too were unsuccessful, and it looked increasingly likely that the chaos forces would now exploit these northern and southern breaches in the lines.

The exploitation and breakthrough never came however. By now, the Emerald Serpent and its allies understood the strategic situation on Mordecai Secundus, and realised any territory taken now would only put them in a more vulnerable position. Kutuzov, with his improved supply lines would be able to attack their flanks and potentially win back all the ground as well as net vast numbers of their troops. Instead, the chaos forces pulled back, content with the losses they had inflicted and beginning a new war of attrition on Mordecai.

Air war on Tanis

On Tanis, the war between the Imperium and the Tau had ground to a halt by mid 06.021M42. Neither side had the resources to effectively reinforce the system and its many barely habitable planets, but the Tau were keen on maintaining the pressure on the Imperium. In order to do this the Tau air caste were deployed in strength to harass and raid Imperial settlements and bases on the worlds controlled by their enemy, but they initial reponse by a well prepared imperial navy took the Tau by surprise. Dogfights raged over Tanis VII, where the Imperium had established their strongest presence, and the Tau were found wanting. Losses were heavy, and to make matters worse, the Tau air caste were ambushed by a roving Ork fighta squadron on their return, and nearly all the first wave was destroyed.

Concerned by events, including the suggestion that ork forces may be in the system as well, Tau commander Malkaor considered calling off the attacks altogether, but was convinced to make one last raid for the pride of the Air Caste. This raid was much more successful, and the Tau fighters managed to down several Imperial thunderbolt fighters before returning to base. No real damage was done to ether the Imperial or Tau installations, but Tau pride had been restored.

Dark Eldar raids prove profitable

During 06.021M42 and 07.021M42 the Hadron Expanse experienced increasing numbers of raids by the Dark Eldar. In previous years the Drukhari had established several bases in the webway which gave easy access to the Expanse for raiding forces, but since the coming of the Ynarri the Drukhari had been drawn into the campaign to acquire the necron devices, and raids by the aeldari's dark brethren had generally reduced. By the first half of 021M42 however, the Ynnari had almost completed their mission with the necron devices, and no longer needed the aid of the Drukhari. Almost immediately the cabals of Vlokarion and newcomer to the area "Baron Stitch", were active in the sector.

The first sites to suffer at the hands of Stitch were Vanir, the most exposed Imperial outpost in the Expanse, and Hexis, where Hive Fleet R'Lyeh came to the attention ofthe dark eldar for the purposes of their "sports" held in Commoragh. The Adeptus Mechanicus forces on Vanir were taken by surprise by the sudden appearance of a Drukhari raidiing force, and ultimately were out-maneuvered by the fast moving Xenos forces. The dark eldar took many slaves, a great deal of equipment and did much damage to the installations at Vanir before stronger forces were able to be deployed to encourage them to return to the webway.

On Hexis, the tyranids were a more tricky prospect. The arrival of the Drukhari raiding force triggered the Hive Fleet's defensive mechanisms, and a horde od beasts came charging at Baron Stitch's forces. For some time it looked like the raid was going to end in disaster, but the dark eldar kept their composure and managed to weather the charge by the giant alien beasts, while dealing with the host of smaller creatures accompanying them. Eventually the tyranid charge faltered, and the Drukhari managed to capture at least two of the larger creatures for their entertainment in the dark city. Their raids in the Hadron Expanse were finally proving profitable.

Necrons under pressure on Hexis

The increasing threat from the necrons in the Hadron Expanse drew a response from the Imperium and Chaos forces in early 06.021M42, as both factions realised they faced a significant threat from the ancient enemy. On Hexis, despite the Foramen closing and the necron device having been lost, there was still inherent value in having forces on the world and in the system at a strategic level. Although general Konev was now relegated to a backwater war, the imperial presence on Hexis was nonetheless important. By holding the line at Hexis, his commander general Percival was ensuring the remaining imperial worlds in the Expanse (Oreen and Vanir) did not become outflanked and isolated. The Imperium could not risk the system falling into necron hands, and there were chaos forces that needed to be resisted as well.

 

For the forces of chaos, the leader of the Iron Warriors, Warsmith Stahl, had retreated to his lair at the Charybdis system, far away from active warzones, and the Emerald Serpent was busy fighting the Imperium at Mordecai. For the Death Guard however, their plans involved the Lysis system where Hexis was the major world, as they built up their own base on Fecus Major, and their intent to create a nurgle deamon world within the system had now become clear to all factions.

 

To deal with the necrons, the Imperium attacked from the north, while the forces of chaos, led by the Thousand Sons, allied to the Death Guard in this effort, moved in from the south. Though not coordinated deliberately, these simultaneous assaults forced the necrons into a two front war, and they were defeated on both. In the north, the guard managed to overcome the strong necron forces after a protracted fight, led by elite units of the recently arrived Lycanon Guard. In the south, the Thousand Sons assault was more dramatic, wiping out a significant necron army on the Haknur plateau.

Hexis: Necrons push against Konev's defences

In late 05.042M42 the Imperium found itself under serious pressure from the Necrons in the Hadron Expanse. The system of Ceti with the tombworld Baal of Bones had fully awoken, and the Nagaesh dynasty had taken a keen interest in the events in the Aleph Sector. Further towards the galactic west or "spinward", the Harakhty and Charnovokh dynasties had returned to their slumber, but this was not the case in the galactic east. Here the Nagaesh dynasty had decided that the infestation by the lesser races was a significant threat as their people slowly emerged from hibernation, and having cleansed the tombworld system, they now moved on to Hexis.

 

Despite being strategically irrelevant to the sector now, the world of Hexis was still once a necron world, and under its barren rocky plains there were secrets for the younger races to uncover. Secrets which the necrons were extremely keen on keeping to themselves. At other systems the necrons would try to acquire all necron artefacts for safe keepin, but on Hexis and in the Expanse more generally, the anicent race had decided they would scour their old worlds of the infesting vermin and reestablich their own empire once more.

 

Konev's line came under severe pressure from the south, as the necrons moved around the city of Praxis across the plains. Despite being well equipped and well supplied, the war on Hexis having been quiet for months, the Lycanon guard that faced the new necron force struggled to keep those necrons they did shppt down from reassembling themselves and getting up again. Time after time the necrons reanimated, and gradually the imperial line began to fall back. Sensing real danger from this much larger force, Konev was forced to call on the astartes.

 

Fortunately for the Imperium, the Hammers of the Emperor maintained a company on hand at Hexis, and they sprang into action just as the Lycanon guard withdrew to more defensible positions. Charging directly for the centre of the Nagaesh force, the astartes identified a C'tan shard that was particularly dangerous to Konev's army, and made  a direct assault on the necron army's elite core. A savage battle raged for hours, but the space marines succeeded in their mission, driving the necrons back to across no mans land and allowing Konev to reoccupy his original defensive lines. The necron threat nonetheless concerned the general, and he made an urgenr request for more forces to his commander general Percival.

Mordecai: Kutuzov barely holds line

Following the encircling movement around Festergax the Imperium on Mordecai Secundus were expecting a forceful counter attack and it came at the end of 05.021M42. All along the new front line the imperial forces were hard pressed by the Emerald Serpent in the north and in the south, significant Death Guard forces. The northern thrust was defended by the Adeptus Mechanicus, and here the Thousands sons managed to obliterate one full Mechanicum detachment, but not before the chaos army had lost its HQ and some important and valuable units. This still represented a significant defeat for Kutuzov however, and the imperial general was forced to cancel the upcoming offensive into central Mordecai as his northern flank had to be rapidly reinforced with units he had been holding in reserve.

 

To make matters worse, the Death Guard were applying significant pressure on Kutuzov's southern flank, where a regiment of Tempestus Scions had to be deployed by the Lycanon Guard to stop the Host of Eschar from overrunning their lines. Even this proved to be too difficult, as by the time the Taurox mounted soldiers arrived the nurgle worshipping traitor astartes had already taken the imperial forward lines. The Lycanon Guard responded by sending in their reserves, but despite taking heavy casualties the Death Guard clung on to their objectives, forcing a tactical withdrawl by the imperial army.

 

By the beginning of 06.021M42 the Imperium on Mordecai Secundus was hard pressed to hold onto its recent gains, and general Kutuzov had to commit his reserves in a desparate attempt to prevent chaos forces from effecting a breakthrough. In this he was successful, but for now the chaos victories had blunted the Imperial advance.

More imperial progress at Mordecai Secundus

Following on from the sweep into the Abrax Mines, the Imperial advance on Mordecai now had an opportunity. If they could move quickly, a push north encircling the city of Festergax Primus would outflank the chaos defensive line south of Fort Vengeance. These deep and extensive fortifications had held up the imperial advance since the appearance of the daemonworld in the Mordecai system, and now general Kutuzov had the chance to make them irrelevant.

The Imperium first had to find the forces to execute the plan. The astartes had taken the mines to the south, but the imperial guard had still not caught up. The vast majority of Kutuzov's ground forces comprised of infantry regiments, and these by nature were slow. If the Imperium was to effectively take advantage of the situation and trap several chaos armies now defending the Festergax salient, they would need to act fast and new forces would be required.

Fortunately for Kutuzov a significant force of Adeptus Mechanicus had just become available. The Archmagos in charge of this army agreed with the imperial assessment of the strategic situation and deployed from orbit in the area of the Abrax mines. Pushing north, the Mechanicum used their technological advantage against the enemy, deterimining that the flanks of the salient were only weakly defended by a force of Red Corsairs. In late 05.021M42 the warriors of the Omnissiah smashed through the Corsairs' defence and rapidly pushed north, reaching the northern imperial lines in mere days.

Outflanked and surrounded, the chaos forces within the Festergax pocket had no chance. With Kutuzov's guard armies now pushing in from the east, those mobile forces loyal to the dark gods, mostly traitor space marines, abandoned their positions and withdrew to safety. For the remaining chaos armies, there was only death, either in a last stand against overwhelming odds or by mass execution following capture. By the end of 05.021M42 Festergax had fallen, the chaos defences that had been a thorn in his side for so long were captured, and the Imperium looked towards a new offensive west as 06.042M42 began.

Hadron Expanse Summary 05.020M42

 

Tau sweep into Tanis V

 While Malkaor was overseeing the affairs at Boltarean, both the Imperial and Tau forces had reinforced their positions at Tanis. Far from their supply lines, both sides were looking to establish a base in the Hadron Deeps. For the Tau this would outflank and divide Imperial positions. For the Imperium, it would shore up their supply lines and effectively shut out the Tau from further expansion into the Hadron Deeps, and take the pressure of Vanir and Oreen.

 

The uninhabited system did have several habitable worlds, and in 05.021M42 the Imperium and the Tau Empire landed forces on Tanis V, a small world of rolling planes that naturally lent itself to armoured warfare. Unable to prevent one another from landing troops via naval action, the two sides now prepared for a showdown on the plains, which after several weeks of skirmishes led to a tank showdown.

 

The battle itself was extrodinarily destructive with both sides taking out each others' arnoured vehicles. As the engagement wore on however, the elite tau forces including a notable tau tank "ace" made all the difference. As the Tau drew ahead in terms of armoured vehicles destroyed, the Imperium found it increasingly hard to reply effectively, and after several hours of armoured warfare the majority of the Imperial army was a smoking ruin of wrecked steel and ceramite. With no prospect of reinforcement the remaining troops were hastily evacuated, and the planet of Tanis V became the newest Tau beachhead in the Tanis V system, where the Imperium were now firmly on the run.

Eldar raid Vanir

While the necron threat continued to grow in the Hadron Expanse, and the Tau continued their expansion plans, the Imperium faced other problems. General Percival was extremely starved of resources, and some of the forces he had to deploy to defend imperial assets were not top class.

 

One such force was a penal regiment detailed to defend settlements on Vanir. While the astartes were busy fighting the necrons, the eldar took advantage of the parlous state of Percival's army to pursue their own agenda. The eldar were still seeking ways to manipulate affairs, fight their own war against the chaos god Slaanesh, while preventing necron secrets falling into the wrong hands. Their alliance with the Tau had effectively lapsed, but the Aeldari in general preferred the Tau to be in control than the Imperium.

 

To further these aims one Eldar Wraithhost materialised from nowehere and assaulted the penal force protecting an installation on Vanir. The convicts fought hard, given their predicament, but the superior capabilities of the eldar proved too strong despite the imperial numbers, and the installation - dedicated to the study of necron artefacts found on across the world - was razed to the ground. In one pinpoint raid, the Aeldari managed to unbalance the Imperium in the favour of the Tau, prevent necron knowledge from being gained by the Mon'Keigh, and not aid their ancient enemies in the process.

Boltar III taken by Tau

 05.021M42 saw a concerted effort to accelerate the Tau plans to dominate the Hadron Expanse and complete the creation of their "Hadron Expansion Sphere". The Tau leadership devised two task forces, one to continue the war against chaos in the Boltarean system while a separate force was detailed to reinforce the foothold the Tau had gained in the Tanis system. The Tau plan was twofold. Boltarean was the final chaos dominated system in the Hadron Expanse and would only fall to a direct assault. The Imperium, with their bases at Vanir and Oreen, would first need to be stopped at the far flung Tanis. Doing this would isolate General Konev's armies at Hexis from the rest of the Imperium, which would then find itself flanked on two sides, unable to determine from which direction the Tau attack would come from.

 

The war on Boltarean progressed with a full scale invasion of Boltar III, a necessary stepping stone for the final assault on the main planet of the system, controlled by the Emerald Serpent. The forces of chaos were not in any hurry to abandon the second world however, and Commander Malkaor's troops soon found themselves fighting a bitter battle for control of Boltar III that lasted far longer than the Tau would have wanted. The final chaos positions surrounding their spaceport facility saw the hardest fighting, with high casualties on both sides. Malkaor lost a trusted commander, as the Empire's forces struggled to deal with an extremely stubborn enemy.

 

Eventually after fighting one another to a standstill, with both sides down to minimal strength, the chaos foothold was finally unseated, and the remaining chaos forces were forced into the wilderness. It would take weeks to mop up these disordered forces, but the planet of Boltar III now lay in Tau hands. The casualties taken did however delay the planned advanced onto the primary world itself.

Imperial Expedition to Baal of Bones Lost

 By 05.021M42 the news of necron stirrings in the Hadron Expanse had reached the ears of General Pervical, still the overall commander of Imperial forces in the region. During his tenure the Imperium had lost their holdings at Hussaria and Awarath to the Tau, had seen the expedition to Hexis fail to achieve its objectives, and still hadn't removed the chaos threat from Palantir. Percival was not removed however, as Titus Luthor was accutely aware of how starved of resources the Imperium was in the Expanse.

Not wishing to simply yield ground to the necrons, Percival sent a task force to the Ceti system, while recieving assurances from the Hammers of the Emperor that they would cover the Imperial system most at risk from the resurgent necrons at Vanir.

The joint Imperial strike force reached the Ceti system to find the necrons fully awake and assaulting the Adeptus Mechanicus base on the outer world of the system, sending wave after wave of necrons from the tombworld itself. The Imperial force attempted to turn back the tide but it became evident that the flood of warriors coming from Baal of Bones could not be held by the forces the Imperium had sent to the system. After a brutal battle that saw the Imperium lose their task force commander, the Imperium abandoned the world, retreating back to Vanir where the Hammers of the Emperor had successfully seen off the necron threat for now.

Hammers hold Necron advance at Vanir

The Hammers of the Emperor were aware of the threat from necron forces at the Ceti system, also known as "Ball of Bones". In 05.021M42 the astartes chapter took the decision to deploy at Vanir in case of necron activity, while General Percival send his own task force to the Ceti system to investigate just how strong the necrons were becoming.

 

The Hammers arrived just in time, as the necrons had already arrived in system and were systematically eliminating the small colonist settlements that dotted the planet. After identifying the strongest necron force, the astartes used their speed to charge headlong into the right flank of the xenos army, while harrassing the left flank with skirmishing bikers. In the centre of the action, terminator armoured space marines slowly advanced, while the right flank of the enemy was broken down by the bulk of the Hammers strike force.

 

The necrons did not yield easily however, as the centre ground saw the ancient aliens send in their strongest forces, with their elite units clashing with the terminators. The astartes fought stubbornly, but took heavy losses. Despite these casualties however, the astartes held key objectives and threatened to completely encircle the necron positions. Having been all but wiped out, the remaining necrons phased out from the Vanir system, leaving the battered remnants of the Hammers of the Emperor to tend to their wounded and fix what equipment they could. For now the necron threat to the Imperial system had been removed.

Tau expedition at Tanis gains ground

After the Tau had established their base in the Tanis system, they had prepared for a counter attack. General Percival was notified of the situation and sent a battlegroup to the system along with a number of Imperial Guard regiments with the intention of swiftly removing the Tau presence from the system. By 04.021M42 the Imperium had a forward base on an outer ice planet, while the Tau had established their own on a neighbouring barely inhabitable planet.

 

The Imperial battlegroup intended to wipe this base out, after marshalling their forces on the outer planet. However, upon arrival the local commander discovered the Tau had already moved into the system and started establishing a base on another of the system's many rocky planets. Quickly, the plans were changed to deal with this new threat, with one regiment of Guard being assigned to clear the new base.

 

Using their orbital firepower from the imperial fleet, the guard force had an advantage, but the Tau were already well prepared. After weathering the initial fire from orbit, the Tau forces were able to pick off the Imperial forces, leaving the assault force unable to take key primary objectives. Within a Terran day, the guardsmen had to be evacuated or risk being annihilated. the remainder of the battlegroup disembarked at the Imperial Tanis base to plan their next move, but it was clear the Tau now had a strong presence in the system that would take more than a quick clearing exercise to remove.

Adeptus Mechanicus raided by Death Guard

Following the raid on the Imperium on Hexis, the Death Guard constructing the Fecus Major base still required more raw materials. Since their last raid, the Imperium had not taken any particular steps to reinforce their positions, and it appeared that General Konev and his superior, General Percival, either did not know about the threat posed by the machinations of the traitor legion, or had insufficient resources to do anything about it.

 

Either way, the Death Guard determined that rather than expending naval resources shipping in their supplies, the weakness of the Imperium in the Hadron Expanse made further raids viable, and so in late 04.021M42 they once again launched an assault on the loyalist positions on Hexis itself. This time, the sons of Mortarion targeted their forces directly against the Adeptus Mechanicus. There was no feint or pretence, the traitors simply landed on the ground and moved in force against a Mechanicum installation defended by Skitarii and other forces the followers of the Omnissiah had deployed to protect their activities.

 

The installation was dedicated to the study and extraction of necron artefacts, many of which would prove useful in the manipulation of warp energy to bind daemons. This enhanced ability would speed up the creation of a Daemon World dedicated to the Plague God, the ultimate aim for Fecus Major. Landing in the barren wastelands of Hexis, the Death Guard advanced towards the Adeptus Mechanicus forces, who had deployed to meet this new threat. A ferocious battle erupted as the tech priests desperately tried to prevent their installation from being overrun.

 

The exchange, while brutal, was also very uncertain for long periods. At times it appeared the Mechanicus forces were gaining the upper hand, but each time the devotees of nurgle pressed on, able to absorb the immense firepower at the tech priests' disposal and continue fighting. Eventually the Mechanicum force was reduced to such a level, that they could no longer effectively hold a perimeter. With Death Guard forces breaching their defences, the facility was abandoned to the traitors with bitter regret. The raid had been costly, but the rewards would be worth it. Fecus Major continued to gain strength.

Astartes defend Hexis from Necron threat

The war on Hexis had ground to a stalemate with all sides simultaneously too stubborn to give up their hard won gains and also not willing to invest further resources into a pointless meat grinder. When Imperial Storage facility 1027 Alpha Tertius stopped responding to vox communications it drew concern from theatre command because the sites distance from the front lines made it an unlikely target of enemy action. Fearing a party of traitor Astartes had somehow infiltrated deep behind Imperial lines an alert went out and a mechanised column of Astartes from the Hammers of the Emperor chapter diverted to investigate the facility.

On arrival they found the storage compound eerily quiet and deserted. Where sentries had once stood only small piles of dust remained to show they had ever been there. The armoured column sped into the compound and the Marines inside rapidly disembarked to form a defensive perimeter. Only then did their enemy reveal itself – not the corrupted servants of chaos but xenos Necrons. A carpet of scarabs swarmed through the abandoned buildings and completely surrounded the Hammers of the Emperor. Not waiting to be pinned in place they immediately pushed forward and focused their strength against a single point in the softly rustling scarab carpet in an attempt to break out of their encirclement. As they cleared the way with grenades and swinging hammers they were suddenly beset by heavier Necron forces. Transports exploded and many Astartes fell in the initial ambush but they survivors maintained good order and did not falter. Each Astartes left standing felled a score of xenos as they hacked their way through the encirclement until suddenly the strange xenos faded from existence. Only the fallen bodies of their battle brothers and detritus of spent ammunition casings and weapons impacts remained as evidence that they had ever been there.

Back at theatre command helmet pict recordings of the engagement caught the attention of the Inquisition. The xenos bore a striking livery of aged gold and black marble that didn't match any known dynasty. The Necrons also seemed oddly out of phase with reality, sometimes solid, sometimes faintly transparent and sometimes obscured in bursts of pict static. Although they moved in the typical slow shambling gate of their foul species they would frequently suddenly appear elsewhere but try as they might analysts could find no instance of the means by which they achieved this having been recorded or witnessed. As to the motivation of the strange aliens the Inquisition could only speculate, but it seemed likely they had been drawn to the facility by several storage units that housed miner necron artifacts and relics recovered from the subterranean tombs and kept there for future analysis.

Mordecai: Breakout from Kuneus

On Mordecai Secundus the retaking of Kuneus gave the Imperium a new springboard from which to prosecute their campaign into the broad basalt plains west of the Kuneus laval sea. On the shores of the Sarkar traps, an active geological formation that spewed mountains of molten lava ever single day, the Sathugar mines were Kutuzov's next target.

If the Imperium took advantage of the disorganised state of the chaos armies, Kutuzov hoped for a swift victory that could deny the forces of chaos fully half of their mining assets, potentially decisively turning the war in his favour. To maximise the disorder amongst the enemy, and with the Hammers of the Emperor still recovering from their brutal assault on the city, the Imperial Fists and Grey Knights took the lead. The Grey Knights struck west, straight into the heart of the Death Guard forces, while the Imperial Fists moved south, intending to bring to battle the powerful Emerald Serpent forces. This would split the chaos line and allow Kutuzov's main armies to move in between the astartes assaults, occupying the majority of the mining complexes.

The battles fought by the Imperial Fists and Grey Knights were particularly brutal. The space marine forces deliberately pitted themselves against the best of the enemy forces, tying them up and preventing them from interfering with the Imperial Guard push towards the Sarkar Traps. In the west, the Grey Knights took heavy casualties from their engagement with elite Death Guard forces, with the battle reaching a climax when their Knights Paladin engaged the enemy Blightlord terminators in a ferocious and bloody close combat. 

The Grey Knights suffered heavy casualties, but their mastery of the warp proved decisive. Unlike the traitor legion, who were compelled to use conventional means of transport, the elite imperial force was able to take advantage of their psychic mastery, always able to move forces where they needed to be to cover any threat. Using this advantage to the full, the Grey Knights outmanouevred their enemy and achieved a decisive victory. There would be no threat to the advance from the north west flank.

In the south, the Imperial Fists faced a different challenge as the Emerald Serpent predictably summoned a host of abominable and terrifying daemons from the warp to fight their battles for them. Unphased by these heretical apparitions of tzeentch and even the Thousand Son's Primarch, the loyalist astartes used firepower to overcome the trickery of the enemy. A methodical and stubborn advance took down the denizens of the warp one by one, and despite the slow going, the Imperial Fists' stubbornness ensured that every counter attack, feint and trick played by the followers of Tzeentch was met with implacable resistance.

For a while Kutuzov was worried about the situation in the south, as it was less decisive than the advance elsewhere, but the Fists' commander remained calm, ensuring the imperial general that he was facing the very elite of the enemy force, but that he would prevail. He was correct. Eventually the resistance by the forces of chaos broke, and the Imperial Fists, bloodied but victorious, managed to secure their objectives on time. With both flanks secured a yawning gap opened up in the chaos lines, allowing Kutuzov's troops to push west, overrunning weakly defended outposts and by the end of 04.021M42, securing all of the Sathugar mines for the Imperium.

Kuneus retaken by Imperium on Mordecai Secundus

On Moredecai Secundus the Imperium had been preparing for a month a new offensive to the south having retaken the Abrax mines. This was no time for subtlety so Kutuov's war council agreed on a frontal assault against the city of Kuneus, which represented the gateway to the Sathugar mines and then hopefully the long awaited breakout. To take the city, the astartes of the Hammers of the Emperor chapter selected a mobile force, and began the assault with no preliminary bombardement on 1204.021M42.

The Emerald Serpent defended the city in strength, but were initially caught out by the speed of the Hammer's advance. The astartes rushed the enemy positions, causing considerable damage and singling out the daemonic presence on the battlefield. It almost worked, as the manifestation of the daemon primarch Magnus the Red was almost banished back into the warp with the opening salvoes of melta fire, but the initial assault wasn't quite successful enough.

A protracted struggle then ensued, with the Hammers taking heavy casualties in close quarters fighting in the ruined city. However, as the battle continued, the astartes rush had ensured the battle took place in the Emerald Serpent's lines, rather than allowing the chaos forces to take the initiative. After hours of heavy fighting and with Kutuzov's imperial guard following up, the devotees of the Changer of ways were forced to conceed the city, rather than risk being surrounded.

The Hammers of the Emperor paid a heavier price than they would have liked, but their head on assault had secured the city once more for the Imperium, and Kutuzov now had a strategic platform from which to launch the next phase of his operation.

Tau establish base at Tanis

In order to protect the two remaining imperial systems from attack in the Hadron Expanse, general Percival was forced to allocate more troops away from the small expedition that had been sent to the Tanis system. Far into the Hadron Deeps, Tanis had been the last system the Hadron expedition had reached, and although the Space Wolves had set up a base, the Imperium were now down to a bare bones force that the Tau realised was vulnerable to a surprise attack.

Eventually, the Tau planned a full scale invasion of all the resource rich systems of the Hadron Expanse. However their war on Boltarean had ground to a halt, and they were still refitting after their conquests of Hussaria and Arawath. Oreen and Vanir were too heavily defended, but Tanis was not. Despite the distance from the Hadron Expansion sphere and the base at Echo Reach, the Tau decided to send their own force to the distant system, and fell upon an under-defended base on Tanis 3. The imperial guard stationed there were quickly overwhelmed by massive firepower, allowing the Tau to establish a forward base. Now the Tau had to decide whether to wait to see if their was an imperial response, or push ahead onto full colonisation of the system.

Dark eldar conduct raids in Hadron Expanse

During 03-04.021M42, the strategic focus of the Imperium and Chaos remained fixed on the Perseus Deeps, while the Hadron Expanse became a backwater theatre. Both sides still invested resources in the region, but the relative lack of forces in the galactic east meant it was easier for the smaller factions vying for power in the Aleph Sector. The dark eldar, still led by Vlokarion, were in an uneasy alliance with the Ynnari faction, who were still attempting to uncover and acquire necron technology in their war against the chaos God Slaanesh, began a series of raids against imperial assets.

The Imperium had lost their main bases in the Hadron expanse, save for the systems of Oreen and Vanir, and it was Vanir that came under attack. With only a small garrison of Valdograd guard, the fast moving Dark Eldar were able to surround the imperial force after raiding an outlying settlement. The regiment was all but destroyed, allowing the Dark Eldar to secure a number of slaves, though not much in the way of useful necron intelligence. While the Ynnari wondered whether the Dark Eldar were even working towards their common goal, the warriors of Vlokarion continued to pillage the now helpless imperial outpost until a force of Grey Knights came to their aid.

The elite astartes force was able to track down the Drukhari main force, defeating it in open battle before the remnants of the Dark Eldar disappeared back into the webway. Vlokarion's troops had got greedy, but the need to protect the imperial settlements of Vanir and Oreen with more forces had further consequences.

 

Death Guard active in Hadron Expanse

During 03.021M42 the Mordecai theatre was not the only active area of operations for the forces of chaos. While the Emerald Serpent led the affairs of the legions of chaos in the Perseus Deeps, the Death Guard, while active in the Mordecai System, had their own sights on domination of the Hadron Expanse. With limited strategic resources their operations were slow, but the devotees of nurgle used that to their advantage. A slow but inexorable rise to power was built into their ethos, and was unlikely to result in an overwhelming response from their enemies, especially the Imperium, until it was too late.

Orbiting around the Hexis star, in the Lysis system, few had paid attention to the second planet of the system, simply labelled "Hexis II" or even, inaccurately, "Hexis moon". By 03.021M42 this was already a major chaos base, but the Imperium and Tau empires had failed to detect how much the base was turning into a much more powerful daemon facility named "Fecus Major" by the Death Guard.

Much of this work had been done by utilising the local resources, but now the sons of Mortarion needed resources the barren world did not have. Rather than risk an obvious supply column, the Death Guard instead launched a series of raids against General Konev's forces on the major world of Hexis. Here the Imperial Guard were still grimly holding on to the now useless territory gained in the pursuit of the neron device, but the Adeptus Mechanicus in particular valued the archeotech of the remaining ruins, so abandoning their positions was out of the question.

Within the Imperial facility the Mechanicum had assets needed by the Death Guard, so while the traitor astartes launched their raids, amongst the destruction small teams of cultists and hereteks worked to retrieve these valuable items, following the Death Guard on their expeditions. In order to disguise their intent, the astartes launched a significant assault on Konev's main defensive lines with the now lawless and uncommanded "chaos sector", appearing to be a new offensive in the ground war. the Imperial Guard were ground down in the attack, and one regiment was all but wiped out. The Death Guard however, did not take any territory, as this was not their intent. Instead, having won the battle, the traitor forces simply left, baffling Imperial command. Only months later would they realise that during the fighting, several precious resources had not only been destroyed, but purposefully removed. Meanwhile, the power of Fecus Major continued to increase.

Necron stirrings in the Hadron Expanse

In the Hadron Expanse, far to the eastern end of the Aleph Sector, the system of Ceti 6539 had been under investigation by the Imperium, specifically the Adeptus Mechanicus for some years. Within the system lay the the planet known as "Bal of Bones". Apparently dormant, the planet was home to an ancient dynasty of necrons, which now hibernated in their massive tomb complexes that were spread across the surface of the world 

The Imperium had bases on the inner planet, but the main archeotech work was taking place on Ceti, orbiting the Ceti sun more distantly than the necron tombworld. Although cold, Ceti was habitable, and the Adeptus Mechanicus had made significant discoveries by 03.021M42. Protected by the armies of the Forge world of "Iron Maiden", the Imperium had no concerns about the status of the operation. Protected by an army and defence lasers the commanders of the expedition felt secure. They were mistaken.

As the Mechanicum dug deeper, they encountered vast chambers under the ground, and a mysterious giant portal that appeared to be inoperative. Suddenly on 0403.021M42 the portal sprung into life, triggered by the clumsy machinations of the humans digging around the protected ruins of the Necron dynasties. A vast necron army swarmed out of the gate, crushing the expedition from within before moving onto the surface and facing the army of the Adeptus Mechanicus.

Moving with unnatural speed the necrons swarmed over the Imperial positions, gradually pushing the Adeptus Mechanicus forces back. The imperial forces called for aid, but there was no force within range to rescue them from their predicament. In just a few days the remaining Mechanicum forces were scattered into the wildernesses of Ceti, while the necrons established their new dominion over the outer worlds. Barely registered in the sector capital at Vastrid, the new necron threat was mostly ignored. Whether this would be to the Imperium's detriment, only time would tell.

Sisters of Battle reclaim Abrax Mines

As 03.021M42 progressed, General Kutuzov was keen to continue his advance south. The reversals in the eastern part of the Abrax mines had been a setback, and despite recent positive strategic gains, the overall commander of the Mordecai campaign was under significant pressure to make progress. It had been years since the invasion of the second planet in the system, and high command were acutely aware that the warzone had bogged down.

To counter the threat of the Death Guard in the east, the Imperial army recieved welcome support from Adeptus Sororitas, who deployed a significant forces to the war against chaos on Mordecai. The Death Guard defended with strong forces, but the Sisters of Battle came well prepared with flamer weaponry. These proved especially effective on the waves of pox walkers that the Death Guard employed to slow the Imperial advance, and death cult assassins moved forward to deal with any remnant threat from the shambling hordes. However, it was the counter assault from the Death Guard terminators the Sisters had to deal with to take back the Abrax mines.

The Death Guard push was determined, and the nurgle devoted ancient astartes proved a difficult foe. Once again however the Adeptus Sororitas forces were well equipped, and multi-meltas proved effective in bringing down the traitor marines. Backed by unswerving faith the Sisters of Battle held their advance positions in the face of determined pressure from the chaos forces, and Kutuzov's army was able to follow up and take back the mines for the Imperium.

As the battle drew to a close Kutuzov could be pleased with another significant imperial victory. The Abrax mines were once again in imperial hands, and his strategic position was favourable. Now the general began marshalling his forces for the next big push.

Death Guard counter attack from the East

Kutuzov's southern advance had left his northern flank around the Abrax mines relatively understrength, but Kutuzov was expecting the Death Guard assault from that direction when it came. In response, the Dark Angels were on hand to deliver a lightning strike against the traitor HQ units. By attacking the elite forces of the enemy the Imperium hoped that the chaos advance would collapse, but the Death Guard defended stubbornly. After hours of hard fighting, the Dark Angels were forced to admit their mission had failed, and they withdrew, bitterly disappointed at how close they had come to halting the chaos assault.

The failure of the Dark Angels was soon felt by the Imperial line, which fell back before the Death Guard assault. By 1202.021M42 the traitor legion had reached the main Abrax complex which the Adeptus Mechanicus were attempting to purify and use for the imperial war effort. The Adeptus Mechanicus forces, though strong, were unable to resist the unrelenting advance of the Death Guard forces. Overwhelmed, the Mechanicum forces fell back, and Kutuzov now faced significant forces on two fronts.

Novgorod Guard push for Kuneus

With the strategic situation still improving for the Imperium the Novgorod Guard continued their advance on the strategic city of Kuneus and the Sathugar mines as 02.021 began. General Kutuzov still hadn't managed to secure the eastern section of the Abrax mines, but Kutuzov was hoping pressure on the southwestern part of the front would allow his astartes forces to strike east shortly afterwards. 

The Novgorod Guard came up against strong daemonic and nurgle forces, facing an apparition of the primarch Mortarian himself, but the imperial army were well equipped and heavy fire from demolishers banished the giant daemonic entity from the battlefield in the early part of the engagement.

The Death Guard did try a counter attack on the imperial right flank, but the slow moving traitor legionaries were cut down by withering fire from the guardsmen as they disembarked from theor rhinos. Elsewhere the chaos forces were unable to stop the imperial army from overrunning their lines and taking key objectives, and by 15.021M42 the Imperium were once again at the outskirts of the city of Kuneus.

World Eaters counter attack at Abrax

The offensive on the ground at Mordecai Secundus should have been entering a new phase following the victory over the chaos fleet, but the power of Astralis was finally beginning to have its effect. Due to the daemon world's proximity, while large armies could not be delivered to Mordecai Secundus without the support of a powerful space fleet, smaller units could. By daemonic ritual and then teleportation, since late 020M42 significant reinforcements had been joining the war on the ground, as roving warbands sought to prove themselves against the hated enemy.

 

The latest of these smaller military formations was a force of World Eater traitor marines. Enthusiastic to shed the blood of their enemies for their bloodthirsty patron deity, the World Eaters smashed into Kutuzov's lines on 1401.021M42, forcing the imperial army back and requiring the intervention of the Hammers of the Emperor as a rapid reaction force. The imperial counter attack did not go well however. The loyalist astartes were able to take back the centre ground in the salient the World Eaters had created, using their terminators to hold the position for some hours.

 

On the flanks however, raptors and beserkers ran amok, brutally tearing apart any enemy they could find, and penetrating deep into the rear areas of the front line, disrupting supply lines and making the ground held by the Hammers' untenable. The loyalist space marines withdrew, and Kutuzov pulled back his line to a more defensible set of positions, while the World Eaters caused carnage amongst any formations that could not retreat in time. Just days later the chaos warband had melted away, no doubt into the wilderness of the lava coated wilderness, and the Imperium was able to regain its ground. The damage to equipment and supplies however was extensive, and it would be many weeks before a decisive push could be resumed.

Astartes create space corridor to Mordecai Secundus

With Kutuzov's army once again on the offensive, the strain on the logistics train from the jump point outside the orbit of Mordecai Tersius, now in Imperial hands, to the warzone on Mordecai Secundus, was becoming extreme. The Imperial war machine devoured equipment, food and lives at an insatiable rate, and the convoys to the inner worlds were always fraught with danger. Having to pass the chaos fleet installation with the baleful glow of the daemon world Astralis forever hanging above them, many crews simply went mad. In addition to this, there was always the constant danger of the chaos fleet making a sortie, scattering or destroying convoys and starving Kutuzov's men.

 

The imperial fleet made sure they adequately protected the convoys, but in early 01.021M42 the clamour for offensive action against the chaos fleet rose to a crescendo, and while the admirals of the imperial navy were unable to do anything meaningful that wouldn't result in a suicide mission against the heavily protected chaos base, the Hammers of the Emperor chapter came up with their own plan. Knowing that their fleet would be too tempting a target, and too much of a threat to go unchallenged, fully half the chapter's fleet strength arrived in the system as 021M42 began. They began their operations by hunting down and destroying raiders in the innermost parts of the Mordecai system, where the enemy would hide amongst the solar flares and radiation belts around the system's star.

 

Eventually the chaos fleet could no longer sit idle at their base, and moved in strength towards the radiation zone near to the star itself. Initially the Hammers' fleet appeared to be unaware of the threat, and the initial action saw a lucky salvo cripple a strike cruiser due to uncontrolled internal fires. The astartes fleet reacted quickly however, seizing upon the difficult conditions of the flare zone and managing to coordinate their efforts on a pair of carnage class cruisers that had wandered out of their assigned fleet position. Between them, three of the Hammers' strike cruisers managed to board and capture one cruiser, and set the other ablaze. The fires ran out of control on the chaos cruiser, eventually leading it to death spiral into the Mordecai star itself.

 

Meanwhile the astartes battle barge managed to weather a hail of fire from the rest of the chaos fleet, but the action itself was marked by poor accuracy and uncoordinated fire, exacerbated by the intra fleet communications difficulties caused by the close proximity of the star. Eventually the chaos acheron class vessel was heavily damaged, and as the three strike cruisers formed up with the fleet flagship, the chaos fleet, led by their own battleship, declined any further action. The chaos fleet melted away into the confusion of solar activity, and the Space Marines claimed a minor victory.

 

Minor as the success was, the defeat of the chaos fleet in the inner system allowed the armies on the ground at Mordecai Secundus to be supplied with much less danger to the supply vessels. This allowed Kutuzov and his allies to plan in earnest the next offensive. The chaos warlords on the ground however had other plans.

 

Fleet action losses:

 

Imperium: 2 strike cruisers destroyed plus escorts

Chaos: 1 carnage class cruiser destroyed, one captured, 1 Acheron class crippled

Tau defend new gains from opportunist ork attack

It wasn't long before other forces in the Hadron Expanse attempted to take advantage of the new expansion by the Tau Empire. It may have been coincidental, or simply blind luck that led to a shambolic ork fleet arriving in the Echo Reach system just days after most of the Tau military forces had embarked on their invasion of Awarath, but the timing seemed deliberate.

 

The attack on Echo Reach's outer worlds by the orks was predictably barbaric and violent, but the Tau had left behind a strong defensive force, centred around kroot auxilliaries and Remora stealth drones. These forces proved ideally suited for dealing with the greenskin threat, and following a set of brutal battles, the orks were swiftly cleansed from the system. The tau had fought off the threat and confirmed themselves as now the most powerful faction in the Hadron Expanse.

Malkaor heads Arawath assault, captures Percival

For many months the Tau had been preparing for their next expansion of their Hadron Expansion Sphere. During 018-020M42 the Tau expansion had been a moderate success. The Empire had established a strong colony and military base at Echo Reach, acquired a number of other systems and taken Hussaria from the Imperium. The Alliance of the Tau, Eldar and Federacy had weakened since 018M42, and while the Aeldari pursued their own aims, the Tau became the driving force behind the expansion and conquest in the Hadron Expanse, as internal pressures and lack of resources forced the Federacy to scale back their participation in the expansion of their territory.

Malkaor was given overall command of all forces in the Hadron Expanse during 019M42, and he had learnt from previous expeditions. The war on Hussaria had been bloody and protracted, and the foothold on Boltarean against chaos had resulted in the strengthening of chaos defences, making further gains more difficult. Keen to avoid such long and drawn out conflicts, since mid 019M42 Malkaor had been planning the next phase of operations against the Imperium using the tau military doctrine of overwhelming force and surprise. Awarath was his target, as this was not only a key system in the line of Tau expansion, but it was also general Percival's sector HQ.

The invasion of Awarath took place as 021M42 began, with a massive tau battlefleet arriving in the system. Caught by surprise the Imperial battlefleet was unable to prevent the tau from landing a significant force on Awarath Prime, but general Percival had not been completely unaware of the threat from the Tau. Defending his HQ was a large force of imperial guard, as well as super heavy vehicles and a mighty Reaver Titan. In addition, as soon as the invasion began, space marine forces converged in order to defend the seat of Imperial power in the Expanse.

The assault by the tau was particularly brutal and decisive. Using Mantas to deliver kroot directly into the enemy trench lines threw the imperial defence into disarray, while overwhelming tau firepower was directed at the Reaver titan. The Blood Angels chapter responded by charging into the fray, but were soon bogged down in fighting stealth teams that stubbornly refused to die, blunting the impact of the astartes intervention. Seeing that General Percival was directing the battle from well behind his lines, Malkoar sent in his elite crisis suit drop teams, managing eventually to capture the imperial general and spirit him away from the battlefield.

Without Percival the command of the confused battle now passed to the astartes, with the Space Wolves attempting to deploy their forces via Thunderhawk into the heart of Malkaor's firebase. Disrupting this formation was key to throwing back the tau forces, but the Thunderhawk was soon shot down by massed firepower. Despite this, the Space Wolves managed to teleport their elite terminators into the heart of Malkaor's headquarters, with their librarian reaching Malkaor and severely wounding him.

By this time however it was too late. The astartes teleport action was too weak to disrupt the tau formations, and despite losing Malkaor's guiding hand, the tau had brought down the mighty Reaver titan, dealt with the astartes counter attack and broken the back of imperial resistance. Percival's HQ was overrun, and other hunter cadres were simultaneously establishing strongpoints all over the world. A few imperial forces managed to flee into the wilderness regions of the planet, and the space marines who remained were able to withdraw their forces. The Imperial system however had been totally overwhelmed in less than 24 hours, and as the tau fleet set up a defensive ring around Awarath Prime, the imperium were forced to leave the system. Now the tau began the process of rapidly securing their gains, as a multitude of Earth Caste vessels entered behind the war fleet, turning the system into a new stronghold colony for the tau empire.

The Imperium were in no shape to counter attack. With Percival now in the custody of the tau empire, the fleets withdrew to Dnatha and Vanir, desperately signaling to Sector Commander Titus Luthor that more forces were necessary. They had been saying for months that the weakening of forces in the Hadron Expanse to prosecute the war on Mordecai would have inevitable consequences, and they had been proved right.

Mordecai Secundus: Kutuzov pushes into mining complex

At the end of 020M42 the new momentum for Imperial forces continued to build. Enjoying fresh supplies and new troop deployments, general Kutuzov was able to push forward his front lines, aiming to recapture the Abrax mines from the traitors. Still relatively intact, the mines remained the essential strategic assets of the world. Initially slated as objectives as far back as 10.019M42, the Imperium had not managed to permanently secure them. Gone were the hopes of a swift conquest of the world, now even Kutuzov freely admitted the capture of just the second planet of the Mordecai system would take years. The whole system potentially decades, but eventually the Imperium would prevail. How could it not?

In response to the latest offensive against the Abrax complex, the traitor forces summoned a host of Slaaneshi daemons in the path of the Novgorod Hussars. The Greater daemons were dealt with by the imperial tanks, but the battle soon descended into a swirling melee of daemonettes and cavalry. The support of hellhound flametanks proved invaluable, annihilating many of the warp spawned abominations and allowing the loyalist horsemen to banish the remaining daemons back to the warp.

The success against the daemon horde allowed the slow but steady advance into the mining complex to continue, and by early 01.021M42 the imperium had won back more than half of the important mines. Concerns over the exposure of the imperial forces to daemonic influence was raised and constantly monitored, but it was assumed that none of the participants in the battle would live long enough to carry any taint off world anyway.