Pyrrho Zeta secured by chaos

The Death Guard had finally settled on setting up a base on the world of Pyrrho Zeta in late 03.022M42 as a place to develop new pathogens to unleash onto the Imperium from a secure location away from prying eyes. By this time, the world was largely in the hands of chaos forces, with a number of factions having set up bases of operation on the main inhabitable world. The Deathwatch space marine chapter meanwhile, under the orders of the Ordo Xenos Inquisition, had observed the heretic astartes clashing with the tyranids, and became concerned that the worshippers of nurgle may be using Xenos biology in order to cross-mutuate a number of their pathogens.

This concern led to a small Deathwatch force investigating the chaos bases of Pyyrho Zeta with only minimal support from the rest of the Imperium. Upon landing however, their presence was detected, and the Death Watch moved to intercept them. The space marines then found themselves spending much of their time running from the chaos forces, before eventually being cornered at an old abandoned mining complex. Unable to flee further, the Deathwatch were defeated in a close run engagement, forcing the survivors to abandon the planet. The Deathwatch reported their findings (or lack of) to the high command on Ferrosiun, and the system of Pyyrho Zeta was labelled chaos controlled.

Imperium fight back on Helos Majoris

By late 03.022M42 the Imperium had established a strong base on Ferrosiun Secundus, although no overall general had been put in charge of Imperial forces. The Imperium had several astartes and other elite forces operating somewhat independently and pursuing their own agendas without an overall plan for the Rifts, and this was exemplified by the Adeptus Mechanicus, who had landed several forces on Lodax and Helos Majoris, searching for ancient lost STCs and other valuable resources.

On Helos Majoris the initial expedition had found the world already infested with tyranid creatures, and the Mechanicum deployed extra forces to the world in order to control the infestation. A large engagement took place on the plains of the main continent as 03.022M42 drew to a close, with the well equipped Adeptus Mechanicus army succeeding in driving off the large alien creatures. Exposed to heavy firepower on the plains of Helos Majoris, the tyranids were cut to shreds, and the remaining xenos creatures were pushed back into the rugged terrain of the central mountains. For now, and for the purposes of the Adeptus Mechanicus aims, this was sufficient.

Tyranids defeated at Mendesum

Despite the aliens' success at Candic Minor, the hive mind of the tyranids knew that the more habitable systems they could devour, converting the scarce organic matter into living organisms ready for further conquest, the faster they would be able to completely exploit the Rifts of Hecate, defeating the armies that opposed them then moving on to the Hardon Expanse proper.

Their next target was Mendesum, but although they had managed to seed the world with enough spores to create a small army, the Death Guard also had designs on this world. The location was close to a warp rift and presented the ideal site away from the war between the Orks and Imperium, to set up a base and begin experimenting on new diseases with which to spread the love of Nurgle through the Imperium.

To the outsider, both the tyranids and the traitor astartes had similar goals - spreading their own biological infestations across the galaxy, but their agendas were therefore completely in opposition. A clash was inevitable and on 2403.0M42 a large Death Guard army faced the tyranid vanguard force in open battle. Brutal bloody fighting ensued with victory eventually going to the Death Guard. However, the worshippers of Nurgle decided to abandon Mendesum for now, expecting a renewed attack from the tyranids, instead setting up a base on Pyrrho Zeta.

Tanis Battles intensify

On Tanis the Tau and Imperium continued to scout out the planet with minimal resources in mid to late 03.022M42. The Imperium had established a small base on one continent and would regularly send out patrols to try to work out whether the Tau were serious about the planet or system, or whether their raids were merely disruption attempts. They were bolstered by a small force of Grey Knights, who were investigating the level of psychic disturbance in the native nomadic human population. Unaware they were being tracked by the Tau and sensing something mysterious of a psychic nature, the Grey Knights got embroiled in an inconclusive firefight, forcing both sides to withdraw.

Later, the Deathwatch chapter of space marines followed this up. Unknown to the Imperium the Tau had established a number of bases dotted around the world, hidden from view and shielded by stealth technology from human sensor equipment. The Deathwatch then found evidence from the local tribesmen that the tau intended to attack the prometheum refinery, recently constructed by the Adeptus Mechanicus to ensure self sufficiency for the expedition to Tanis Prime.

This was a deliberate ploy by the Tau, and as the Deathwatch moved to defend the refinery, a pathfinder team attacked the small band of astartes. The Tau lured half the deathwatch away with a feint attack, then rapidly moved in from a different direction, forcing the deathwatch to take cover under a hail of pulse carbine fire. Having suppressed the astartes, the pathfinders then planted demolition charges on the main storage tanks, utterly destroying them. By the end of 03.022M42 the position of the imperial scouting forces on Tanis Prime was becoming precarious.

Tyranid threat gains in strength

As 03.022M42 drew to a close, the Tau began to move away from their newly established base on Garmenes, sending small but agile forces out to investigate other systems in the Rifts of Hecate. Avoiding the hotly contested worlds of the hubward cluster (Mendrus Mundi, Ferrosiun and Helos Majoris), the Tau soon anded on Candic Minor, investigating the world for a possible colony site.

Unfortunately for the Tau, the tyranids had already infested the world and rapidly attacked the newcomers. Although the hive fleet itself remained undetected, it had become apparent to all the races in the Expanse now that a major infestation existed in the Rifts of Hecate, and the arrival opening of the Hecate Gap had spurred the alien hive mind on to devour resources quickly and craft a new hive fleet.

The Tau were overwhelmed and forced to withdraw, losing their commander and fleeing into deep space. Recognising the threat that the consumption of Candic Minor represented, the eldar now took action. They intended to overwhelm a small portion of the tyranid infestation near key hive nodes, disrupting their command and control and slowing down the consumption of the world. The tyranids however proved more alert to the threat than the eldar had bargained for, and easily defended their hive nodes. Battered, the remaining eldar retreated into the webway, leaving the tyranids to feast on the biomass of Candic Minor.

Hadron Expanse Activity

Mid 03.022M42 saw continued activity and skirmishes of varying size in the Rifts of Hecate. While the eldar had by now intervened in an attempt to slow the progress of the other races, they had only met with limited success. Having secured their base on Ferrosiun Secundus the Imperium had made gains on Helos Majoris, but now expanded their efforts to the system of Lodax, a particularly resource rich system with two habitable, and more importantly exploitable worlds.

The Imperium already had a small foothold on the inner world, but were aware that ork forces were also prowling the system. Deciding to commit a regiment of Novgorod Guard proved prudent, as on 1203.022M42 a major ork attack took place against the imperial base. The orks were defeated by disciplined ranks of the imperial army, and the construction of mining complexes continued.

Meanwhile on Pyrrho Zeta the forces of chaos were gaining the upper hand despite some bizarre encounters with alien forces and infighting between chaos factions. On one continent, small warbands of chaos cultists investigated an ancient alien tomb, but not before they inadvertently triggered the awakening of the necrons who slumbered beneath the ground, necessitating the summoning of a demon horde to suppress them. In this engagement the daemons were wiped out, but being incorporeal this was of no consequence to the chaos mortals. The daemon host had bought enough time for the cultists to enter the tomb, pillage its contents and leave the surviving necrons with no base from which to operate.

On the other side of the planet the tyranid threat was present, but here various factions of traitor guard and chaos forces also clashed with the Iron Warriors. Seeing an opportunity, the Iron Warriors took advantage of a battle between a disconnected splinter of the hive mind and worshippers of slaanesh they did not wish to have gain control of the world. In a cold and calculating move, the followers of Perturabo opened fire on the Slaanesh force and their traitor guard support while they were engaged with the hive tyrant coordinating the tyranid attack. The hive tyrant was eventually killed by mass deployment of deathstrike missiles, but the Iron Warriors were succesful in driving off the Slaanesh force from where they were constructing their own base of operations.

From the outside, the world of Pyrrho Zeta was now for all intents and purposes "controlled by chaos", but the factional infighting for control *within* the forces of chaos would continue.

Tanis skirmishes continue

On Tanis Prime although neither the Tau nor Imperium were as yet willing to deploy large numbers of troops, the skirmishing between patrol forces continued into mid 03.022M42 as both sides sought to establish control over the world with minimum resources. In previous engagements the Sky Lords had managed to send a signal to their chapter before their squad was eliminated, indicating that the Tau may have greater numbers on the world than at first thought.

This message was intercepted by the Deathwatch chapter who had a number of motivations for sending - as they did - a squad of their finest marines to the Tanis system. First, their purpose was to stand as a shield between the Imperium and the alien races that would threaten the divine right of humanity to rule the stars. More specifically, the inquisition wanted to know the Tau intentions in the Hadron Expanse. They knew that the Tau were building a "Hadron Expansion Sphere", but the activity on Tanis, so far from their base at Echo Reach, indicated a desire to expand into the Rifts of Hecate. The inquisition wanted to know how many forces the tau were willing and able to commit, and whether they intended a full colonisation of the Tanis system, rather than just the construction of a forward base.

The Deathwatch would not be successful in finding this out for them however, as the Tau managed to conduct an ambush on the astartes as they began exploring the site where the Sky Lords had been eliminated. Underestimating their enemy, the Deathwatch put up a strong fight, but were eventually surrounded and killed by the superior firepower of the xenos force. The Tau intentions at Tanis remained for now unknown.

Mordecai: Imperial Titans reclaim Festergax

Having successfully surrounded Festergax in 02.022M42 the Imperium on Mordecai Secundus had managed to trap a significant chaos army within the pocket. During 03.022M42 general Kutuzov knew it was important to mop up these forces before they regrouped and conducted a breakout. The corridor that separated the encircled pocket from the rest of the chaos armies was narrow, and a breakout might mean the intended strategic aim of retaking the city would not be achieved.

More worrying for Kutuzov was the composition of the encircled chaos force. While not managing to trap the mighty warlord titan "Astralis Invictus", several other traitor war engines from Legio Mortis and Legio Furians were present within the pocket, and the imperial general knew that a conventional "mopping up" operation would likely lead to unacceptable casualties or worse, lead to defeat.

Kutuzov appealed to the Collegia Titanica for aid, and the response was relatively swift. By mid 03.022M42 two factions - Legio Praesagius and Legio Astorum had arrived and unloaded their mighty war engines onto the barren plains of Mordecai Secundus. Legio Praesaguis attacked from the west, while Legio Astorum's mighty titans marched towards Festergax from the east. The two pronged attack would result in two titanic clashes as the huge war engines on both sides battled one another across the plains - ideal terrain for titans to unleash their full firepower on one another.

Both engagements were brutal, and resulted in victory for the loyalist war engines. Hulks of destroyed chaos titans dotted the basaltic terrain as testament to the fury of the fighting. Without their titan support, and facing titans themselves, the rest of the chaos force within the pocket was quickly eradicated by Kutuzov's armies, and by 1903.022M42 Festergax was once again in imperial hands, effectively undoing the Fotta Rhan offensive.

Imperium repulse raid at Ferrosiun

As 03.022M42 progressed, the eldar continued to try to intervene in the Rifts of Hecate. Several factions had by now gained footholds on many worlds, and up to now the eldar had managed to cause setbacks for chaos, tau and ork forces. On 1203.022M42 they turned their attention to the Imperial held world of Ferrosiun Secundus, where the forces of humanity had by now created a strong presence and were coordinating their activity across the region.

The initial raid went to plan as the harlequins added speed and agility to the already manoeuvrable eldar forces, and soon a number of outposts on Ferrosiun Secundus went silent. The Imperium however was not without a rapid reaction strike force, as a small force of Adeptus Custodes had been assigned to the crusade in the Rifts. The Custodes saw the expansion of imperial rule into the Rifts of Hecate as a continuation of the Crusade conducted after the coming of the Cicatrix Maledictum, and whether their presence had been obscured from the witch sight of the eldar farseer's or not, the intervention of the finest astartes appeared to take the xenos by surprise.

the arrival of the Custodes in the heart of the eldar forces quickly overpowered the alien army, with only their swooping hawks able to extricate themselves from the bloodbath. The eldar force was driven off or destroyed, and the imperial base on Ferrosiun was strengthened.

Rifts of Hecate situation report

Strategic situation:

Map:

Tanis - raids on Tanis Prime

While the Rifts of Hecate saw ever increasing activity and larger battles during the start of 022M42, the war in the Tanis System between the Tau and Imperium had reached somewhat of a stalemate. The Tau had established bases on the worlds of Tanis I, III, IV and V, but had recently suffered defeat in a raid to the eldar. The Imperium had made efforts to gain some of these less important worlds but had been unsuccessful, while their base on the outer ice world of Tanis VII remained fairly secure and a constant thorn in the side of Tau plans.

The main world in the system was however Tanis II. This world was habitable, if a little cold, with one large continent ripe for colonisation. It wasn't entirely uninhabited but the human population amounted to less than a million, scattered across the world and living a backward life in the shadow of the ruins of their former civilisation. The Imperium had little information on the planet, but it seemed as if Tanis II was once am imperial or pre-imperial world before some cataclysm befell them.

Neither the Tau or the Imperium were in a position to send regular forces onto the world without an immediate response from the other, leading to probable inconclusive and costly confrontations, potentially undermining their holds on the other worlds. Instead, both sides had begun to send in much smaller forces to scout, establish links with the human communities and gradually build up their forces. 

The first engagement on Tanis II came on 05.022M42 as a tau stealth team came across a squad of Sky Lords astartes who were patrolling near one of the ruined settlements. the Sky Lords had sent several small squads to support the Librian Guard, who had gradually been building up their presence on the world. This scouting force, amounting to no more than an infantry regiment's worth of troops across the entire planet, was dispersed to key locations, and the Tau determined to take them out one by one.

The first engagement saw the stealth teams swiftly overcome the Sky Lords, who were taken by surprise by the powerful and accurate firepower of the Tau. Having dealt with the astartes, the Tau called in pathfinders as they could see two Imperial Guard squads moving in to investigate the situation. What followed was a confused and bloody firefight that saw neither side victorious, and as both withdrew to assess the situation it marked the opening salvo in a small war between relatively small armies, scattered across a vast planet. There would be no front lines and major military operations on Tanis II, as both sides tried to use their minimal resources to establish dominance over key objectives, to take control of the world without having to employ excessive forces. Tanis II simply wasn't worth it.

Tanis II (Physical)

Eldar make presence felt in Hadron Expanse

Until early 022M42 the eldar had remained disinterested in the affairs of the other races in the Rifts of Hecate. There was nothing of value to the ancient race in the region, and they had no goals of their own to pursue. However the Ynnari and the Rillietan saw via their farseers a different threat. While the rich resources and ancient artefacts were not something the eldar race had any interest in exploiting, should any of the other races achieve dominance in the area, the consequences for their own planes could be dire.

A tyranid resurgence would pose a significant threat, while the prospect of a new Waagh! filled the ancient race with a sense of dread. If the Emerald Serpent achieved their aims or the forces of Nurgle uncovered new ways to spread plague, the outcome would be intolerable, and the march of the utterly infantile Mon-Keigh into the Rifts of Hecate also may have disastrous consequences. As the expeditions into the Rifts grew in strength the Ynnari decided they could not merely sit back and watch.

The eldar attacks appeared without warning against several foes in a simultaneous action that at first targetted the tyranids, the orks and even the Tau - their sometime allies - at Tanis. Ynnari and Harlequin forces fell upon the tyranids at Candic Major, destroying their warriors and taking out several key hive nodes, setting back the hive mind's progress on that world, while the Masque of the Morning Crescent battered the ork speed freak warband that had arrived at Mendesum - removing the greenskins from that world.

On Tanis, the Tau were shocked to be suddenly attacked by Ynnari forces, but the eldar had good reason. They did not desire the Tau to join in the exploration of the Rifts as there were secrets there they had decided were not appropriate for the younger race to learn, so they decided on "direct" pursuasion. The battle on Tanis V was hard fought, with losses on both sides, but the base of operations was razed to the ground, setting back Tau plans to send stronger forces to the Rifts of Hecate - as the eldar had hoped.

Questions were raised as to the priorities and aims of the eldar intervention by Ynnari and craftworld eldar alike, but while the leaders of the Ynnari sect did not reveal all their insights, the instructions were clear. Delay, disrupt and destroy, and above all do not let one faction establish dominance in the Rifts of Hecate.

Chaos make progress at Pyrrho Zeta

 In the Rifts of Hecate the forces of chaos had not been making as much progress as they would have liked by early 022M42. They had sent only small forces into the Rifts to persue their own factional objectives. The Emerald Serpent were seeking ancient scrolls to help with their ongoing cataclysmic war in the Perseus Deeps, while the forces of Nurgle had been researching plague secrets. Other factions were generally no more than roving warbands looking for opportunities, and this had allowed the Imperium and the orks to get a major foothold, while the increase in activity had stirred up the dangerous and predatory nature of the hive mind.

As 03.022M42 began the Emerald Serpent struck back - pooling their resources with a small warband of Iron Warriors in order to gain a proper foothold in the Pyrrho Zeta system. Here, the Iron warriors dealt with an emerging tyranid threat, while the Thousand Sons were deployed to "discourage" the Imperium from its expansion beyond Ferrosiun. The Imperium had a strong base of operations in the Ferrosiun system and were in conflict with the Tyranids on Helos Majoris. They continued to send out scouting expeditions to other worlds and had established small bases on Lodax and Mezria, and the Thousand Sons were aware of an Adeptus Mechanicus exploration at Pyrrho Zeta.

In the ensuing engagement the Adeptus Mechanicus forces were comprehensively beaten, as the Emerald Serpent conducted near simultaneous operations against the forces of mankind and the emerging ork threat. The orks they dealt with in similar fashion, though more forces were required to complete this operation and chaos losses were not insignificant. However by the middle of 03.022M42 the worshippers of the dark gods had established control over half the sparsely populated world.

Tau expedition suffers defeat in the Rifts but Tanis V cleared once more

03.022M42 began with continued violence in the Hadron Expanse. On Tanis, the Hammers of the Emperor had managed to land a small force to defend the base that the Adeptus Custodes had managed to establish before moving on. The tau however had other ideas and attacked in force. Of particular note was the accurate and punishing firepower of their broadside battlesuits, and within hours of the tau attack beginning the majority of the Hammers of the Emperor were either dead or wounded. However, the tau force was unable to take the base, with the Hammer's commander almost single-handedly turning back the tau attack.

The defence of the base could not be continued with just one unwounded astartes however, no matter how superhuman he may be. Fortunately the adeptus mechanicus were on hand to send in units to reinforce the base on Tanis V, and they prepared for another tau onslaught. Before long it came, this time with even more ferocity and fresh forces. It was clear the tau had the strategic upper hand, and the new force appeared to be from a different group of tau entirely. This was largely academic to the outcome of the battle, as the adeptus mechanicus, surrounded and pummelled by xenos firepower, were unable to hold on to the base. Evacuating the remaining Hammers of the Emperor as they retreated, the Imperium was once again forced to cede Tanis V to the tau, regrouping at their one and only base on the outermost planet of the system.

Mordecai: Combined assault surrounds city of Festergax

Having fully secured the Sathugar mines, as 03.022M42 began, general Kutuzov planned his next move with his generals. His guard forces were still not fully recovered from the loss of Festergax, but his war council agreed that neither had the forces of chaos. Striking hard now at the flanks of the salient the Emerald Serpent had created might encircle a large amount of chaos forces and eventually retake Festergax.

The plan set, the Imperium utilised their elite assets in the new offensive. In the south, a newly arrived force of Adeptus Custodes struck at Death Guard forces and quickly took all their important objectives. The Death Guard fought stubbornly, but had lost the initiative to the elite imperial astartes and were unable to stop the Custodes from opening up a corridor in the chaos lines through which Kutuzov poured his men through. The way to Festergax lay open, but the real fighting would take place further north.

It was on the rocky outcrops of the Mekken Plateau that the chaos forces had deployed their titan legion, as they correctly believed that Kutuzov would be most likely to utilise his own gods of war with an attack from the north. On 0103.022M42, as the Death Guard were being pushed back in the south, the Imperial titans walked, driving south against their bitter enemies - Legio Mortis.

The titanic war engines battled each other for hours on the scorched plains of the Mekken plateau. Despite losing a Reaver titan in the process, the chaos titans were gradually pushed back by the fury of the battle. Again, total destruction wasn't necessary for the imperial plan to succeed, and another hole in the chaos lines was opened up. Adeptus Mechanicus and guard forces rushed through the gap and by 0403.022M42 they had linked with the southern pincer to the west of the city of Festergax. Now if the city fell the encirclement would be complete and Kutuzov would achieve a major strategic victory.

Mordecai: Ur'Ghar falls to chaos but Sathugar Mines retaken

On Mordecai Secundus the end of 02.022M42 saw a resumption of heavy fighting on the front lines between the forces of chaos and the Imperium under general Kutuzov. There had been a relative lull following the Fotta Rhan offensive, as both sides regrouped. Now however, both sides launched simultaneous offensives.

In the south, the Word Bearers joined the fray, launching a full frontal assault on the city of Ur'Ghar. This was an unexpected axis of advance by the chaos forces, and Kutuzov's armies were not ready to face such a determined assault on the imperial held city. The traitor astartes made rapid progress, and the loss of the imperial commander seriously hampered command and control during the defence of the ruined city. In a serious setback for Kutuzov he was unable to do anything meaningful as the imperial guard were first surrounded then annihilated by the Word Bearers. Another strategic city had been lost.

In the central sector however, news was better. Kutuzov had been planning a grand strategic offensive looking to take advantage of the large salient that had developed around Festergax since the Fotta Rhan offensive. The first blow fell in the south, as Valdorgrad guard - a full mechanised regiment, pushed north to secure the remaining Sathufgar mines, launching their attack directly into Emerald Serpent forces. This was where Kutuzov had deployed his best troops and greatest fire support, and while the Emerald Serpent attempted to counter attack with Terminator forces on the right flank of the advance, the left flank was unable to hold the imperial advance. As the battle wore on, accurate and heavy artillery and tank fire decimated large swathes of the elite chaos forces, while the imperial guard only suffered losses to their light tanks and armoured vehicles, as well as easily replaceable infantry. As a last ditch effort, two chaos sorcerers attempted to use their knowledge of the warp to make a surgical strike on the imperial tank commander. They were successful, but the rest of the regiment soon cut them both down, breaking the chaos counter attack and securing the important Sathugar mines for the Imperium once more.

Rifts of Hecate activity late 02.022M42

 By the end of 02.022M42 the activity in the Rifts of Hecate was escalating. The orks were making the most progress. Having secured Ferrosiun Prime, a key source of resources, and populated a number of asteroids allowing them to hop between systems in the Rifts, the orks had followed this on by capturing Mendrus Mundi - another metal rich world, where the Bloodfang tribe had begun to churn out various ork war machines and equipment for the greenskin army, which seemed to be rapidly growing in both size and capability.

The next world to be targeted was Mendesum, which had already seen a small force of Death Guard land on the main inhabitable world in order to bring plague to the population. Seeing the chaos force as the most challenging foe, and also just because they were there, the orks dropped almost directly on top of them, spewing out hordes of greenskins accompanied by yet another Stompa. The Death Guard took heavy casualties to the reckless yet effective ork assault, shattering their resistance and removing the chaos presence from the world. Suitably pleased with this outcome, the orks set about enslaving the primative human populace and turning the resources of the world to the production of more weapons. The "plan" for the orks at least, was going well.

The forces of chaos suffered more setbacks in late 02.022M42 as more of their small expeditions were overrun by larger xenos forces. this time it was a band of cultists on Candic Minor, seeking artefacts and knowledge that fell foul of the hive fleet once more. It seemed as if the tyranids had a particular dislike for the chaos interlopers, and again the cultist force summoned a host of daemons in an attempt to protect themselves. This time however it was not merely a genestealer cult - the world of Candic Minor not having a native population. Instead huge tyranid beasts fell upon the deamons, banishing the host back to the warp, although the battle was hard fought. Realising the tyranid threat was too strong for their limited force, the chaos warband retreated. If the forces of chaos wanted to find any of the artefacts it appeared they would need significantly stronger forces than those they currently had available.

In addition to fighting on Candic Minor, the tyranids had been identified as present on Helos Majoris as well. Here, the Sisters of Battle had arrived, deploying a small force of the Order of the Sacred Truth. Only small in number, the main focus of their deployment to the Rifts of Hecate was to identify human populations and bring them into the light of the emperor, and if that failed, cleanse them with the fire of the emperor. On Candic Minor, the small force of Adeptus Sororitas had been made aware of the genestealer cult infestation, and desired to establish whether the entire population was beyond redemption. Patrolling outside of the Imperium held territory, the Sisters soon encountered more than just cultists, being ambushed by fully tyranid forces in a ruined encampment. The Order of the Sacred Truth saw off this threat, but were forced to report their findings to the commander of the Helos Majoris garrison. A full purge of the system could not be ruled out as an option.

Tanis: Custodes return to Tanis V

Having lost Tanis I to the Tau the Imperium were not about to give up on the system. For General Percival while the victory at Hexis was a welcome base in the Hadron Expanse, the expansion of the Tau Empire needed to be stopped, and if the xenos empire took hold of Tanis the strategic situation for the Imperium of Mankind in the Expanse, as well as the expedition to the Rifts of Hecate, would be seriously impaired.

Percival was unable to provide much in the way of reinforcements and barely had enough troops to garrison the base on the outer planet of Tanis VII. Orks were still present on the second ice world in the system but in late 02.022M42 a small force of Adeptus Custodes agreed to carry out a surgical strike on Tanis V. This should provide enough of a perimeter for Percival to land fresh troops, and establish a base of operations at the very least.

On 2402.022M42 the Custodes attacked, taking the tau by surprise and inflicting heavy casualties, including the tau commander. Losing their cohesion the tau withdrew from the base that had been selected for the attack, allowing the Imperium to start work on their own forward base. They hadn't been able to clear the entire world of the xenos, but had gifted the Imperium with a bridgehead from which to conduct further operations. The question now was whether the tau would counter attack.

Mendrus Mundi captured by orks, Genestealers encounter daemons

As 02.022M42 drew to a close, the xenos activity in the Rifts of Hecate continued to increase. By now the Imperial expedition had bogged down at Ferrosiun, and although Ferrosiun 2 had been secured the orks had total control of the inner world. With General Percival facing a Tau invasion of Tanis, many of the forces destined for the Rifts had to be rerouted there, allowing xenos elements to profit while the Imperium stalled.

On Mendrus Mundi, the Imperium had been looking to establish a base, and a lance of Knights had been deployed to protect the initial construction of a base. However, the Bloodfang tribe of orks, already now dominating Ferrosiun I, had managed to reach the adjacent world and were now expanding. The orks had progressed from disorganised mobs to more disciplined armies and now had the capacity to deploy several of the larger ork war engines, including Stompas. This had terrible consequences for the Knights on Mendrus Mundi, who were unable to counter the firepower of these behemoths. By the end of 02.022M42 the Imperium was forced to concede that Mendrus Mundi was now fully under the control of the greenskins, and worries of an incipient Waagh! preyed on the imperial commander's mind.

On Helos Major the Imperium had established a presence, but they were not alone. On the other side of the world from the imperial base, chaos light forces had been searching the world for ancient artefacts, when they were set upon by a genestealer cult. The worlds of the Rifts of Hecate often had nomadic or primitive human settlements as many of the worlds had been settled in the time before the Imperium, but it became apparent that some of these human populations had turned to the worship of the tyranids as gods. Likely as part of the vanguard of an as yet unknown hive fleet, the cults on Helos Major saw the chaos worshipers as invaders, and sent a force against them. 

The cultists however were not without their own mechanism of reinforcement, and turned to the dark gods for aid. Summoning a substantial force of daemons the chaos force was able to extricate itself from the situation and defeat the genestealer cult attack, gaining significant intelligence for their own aims in the process. The chaos forces were not particularly interested in establishing colonies or bases, but did have a base on Calthingum and were particularly interested in finding artefacts of power, rumoured to have been left here following the Horus Heresy.

Recent activity in the Hadron Expanse

 

Rifts of Hecate Activity early 022M42

While the Tau tried to secure their bases outside the Rifts of Hecate, the skirmishes within the newly discovered region of space continued apace in early 02.022M42. On the world of Medrus Mundi, the orks became extremely agitated. Having seen their brethren looting and then gaining control of Ferrosium Prime in the face of continued resistance from the main imperial expedition on the second planet, the orks on Mendrus Mundi first gleefully put down a small band of chaos forces, despite the sudden appearance of a daemonic horde, then hunted down and annihilated a Genestealer cult.

Imperial observers now saw Mendrus Mundi as effectively being under ork control, and many began worrying about the strength of the greenskins in the Rifts, as now two worlds had all but become fully ork controlled. If the greenskins could find enough scrap to construct a fleet and/or large war engines, the risk of a full blown Waagh! spilling across the Rifts region, and potentially out of it and into the Hadron Expanse could not be underestimated.

The orks were not the only xenos threat the Imperium and the forces of chaos - still trying to locate arcane and ancient knowledge to further their aims - had to be concerned with. The tyranids were also present in the Rifts of Hecate. Unsurprising given the discovery of the gene strain of "R'Lyeh" on Hexis, that this particular hive fleet was also in the Expanse as a whole. The presence of genestealer cults gave more weight to the theory that this hive fleet had effectively "seeded" many worlds in the region with its genetic code, and the tyranids were acting more like a virus than a conquering army. 

This theory was no comfort to the Thousand Sons on Candic Minor however, who faced the full force of the "virus" in the form of monstrous beasts the size of tanks. Unable to deal with the power of the tyranid bio-engines the Thousand Sons were forced to abandon their investigation of the world after being severely mauled by the stampeeding tyranid beasts.

Tau take New Slough despite presence of Fecus Major

While the Tau were conducting their new offensive in the imperial contested system of Tanis, the Empire also made significant gains in the Boltarean system. Held by the forces of chaos for several years, the system remained the last bastion of chaos power in the Hadron Expanse. Initially secured by the Thousand Sons and the Emerald Serpent, the system then became home to Warmaster Stahl's forces during the Hexis campaign. Now, both the Iron Warriors and Thousand Sons had their eyes fixed elsewhere, and the time seemed ideal for the Tau to take advantage of the waning interest in the Hadron Expanse from the chaos gods.

The time window for action had also narrowed with the coming of Fecus Major. The previous controllers of the system may have lost interest, but the arrival of the Nurgle Daemonworld in the system indicated that renewed pressure from the worshippers of the warp would soon arrive. The Tau offensive therefore targeted "New Slough", one of the remaining chaos bases still held by the tzeentch worshipping Emerald Serpent.

The Emerald Serpent were not going to give up without a fight however. The tzeentch daemon princes in command of the chaos faction may have given up on territorial gain in the Expanse, but the opening of the Hecate Gap had reinvigorated their curiosity in the region, with small expeditions already underway to search for lost knowledge in the Rifts area of the Hadron Expanse. A base of operations outside the Rifts of Hecate was desirable, and the appearance of the Tau most unwelcome.

The battle for New Slough saw a violent and explosive confrontation of firepower. At the outset the power of Tau weaponry was on show, as a contemptor dreadnought was simply deleted from existence by a Hammerhead. The response was equally impressive however, as the Hammerhead itself was then deleted in turn. Fire raged across the desolate wastes of the planet for several hours, as the Tau tried to encircle then annihilate the chaos forces, before overrunning their single settlement. After heavy losses, including the commander of the Tau forces, this was achieved, and the remaining key base in the Boltarean system outside of the main world of Boltarean I fell to the invading Tau forces. Now the chaos presence in the Hadron Expanse had been reduced to the inner world itself, although the Tau now had to face an increasing thread from the Death Guard if they were to take and secure the final system within their original Hadron Expansion Sphere goals.

Tanis I secured by Tau

By early 022M42 the Tau empire had built up significant forces in the Hadron Expanse after several years of patient planning, and the focus once again fell on their "Hadron Expansion Sphere". With their base at Echo Reach now a veritable stronghold, and having secured Dnatha, Awarath, Mimir and Hussaria with some limited help from the Federacy, the commanders of the Tau Empire planned the next phase.

There was some disagreement in Tau high command over the relative priorities of their campaigns, with some favouring the system of Boltarean which they contested with chaos forces as the primary goal, while others saw the importance of securing a base in the Hadron Deeps - close to the rich new resources of the Rifts of Hecate, as higher priority. In the end the Tau waited until their forces were capable of acting independently in both theatres, so in 02.022M42 the Tau Empire began new offensives in both the Tanis and Boltarean systems.

On Tanis I the Imperium had already established a base, defended by on of the Knightly Houses. A key world in the system, on 1202.022M42 the Tau invaded in strength, deploying a full hunter cadre in opposition to the imperial defenders. The battle for key objectives was brutal, but Tau firepowere eventually prevailed, forcing the remaining Knights and their allies to abandon the world rather than risk annihilation. The first part of the new two pronged Tau offensive was going to plan.

Mordecai Secundus - The Fotta Rhan offensive

Background

During late 021M42 the Imperium and Chaos forces had been engaging in the southern sector of the front line on Mordecai Secundus. Here the Death Guard had been putting up a stubborn defence against a determined offensive from the armies of general Kutuzov with astartes support. The Imperial plan to take Burroneus and secure the Sarkar traps had been at the centre of the Imperial strategy for some time, but as 12.021M42 progressed, Imperial intelligence detected a significant build-up of chaos forces in the central sector across the Mekken Plateau.

This area of rugged raised terrain was ideal for the forces of chaos, led by the Emerald Serpent, to prepare for a new offensive, but it was impossible for them to disguise their intent. Regular scans of the region by imperial naval forces saw in some detail the increase in chaos force, and general Kutuzov was forced to react by building up his own defences to defend against what appeared to be an inevitable major offensive.

It was known, on the eve of battle, that the forces of chaos had built up significant forces centring around the mighty Warlord Titan Astralis Invictus, as well as the Aether Striders and a full army of Darrantine Guard. Kutuzov could also be sure that the onslaught to come would feature the Thousand Sons traitor astartes as well as a host of summoned daemons. to counter this, the Imperium deployed the Sky Lords astartes chapter, the warhound titan "Warspite", another undisclosed astartes chapter as well as the Corvus house of imperial Knights. This force was set up to counter what Kutuzov felt was the most likely axis of advance, towards the strategic city of Festergax, supported by his strategic reserve - the entire Librian Guard force deployed on Mordecai Secundus.

The main offensive

The storm broke on 2812.021M42 as Astralis Invictus led te forces of chaos in a frontal assault on Festergax. This was the largest offensive on Mordecai Secundus by chaos forces to date, and the amount of men and equipment involved was colossal. On the chaos right, a host of daemons surged into the suburbs of the city, meeting House Corvus and the Sky Lords head on. On the chaos left flank, the Thousand Sons elite terminators engaged the warhound titan "Warspite" and the <redacted> loyalist space marines, while in the centre, the Aether Striders and the giant warlord titan bore down on the Librian regiments, which tried their best to deal with the mighty war engine's support before dealing with the enormous titan.

On both flanks of the offensive the chaos forces found it difficult to make headway. On the left, the Sky Lords and imperial knights were easily able to stop the daemonic forces from making progress, but the tight confines of the terrain and settlement were actually a hindrance. Too late, Kutuzov realised a mistake in his deployment, as too many of his precious forces were now bogged down in a stalemate, unable to assist elsewhere along the front. On the chaos right, the attack by the Thousand Sons appeared to be a feint, and after a brief engagement involving terminators and the destruction of the chaos Warhound titan, the Imperium had no difficulty in stopping this advance.

In the centre however, the full might of Astralis Invictus was employed, and although the Librian artillery and super heavy batteries were able to cause carnage amongst the Aether Striders, there was never any hope in stopping the warlord titan while it had so much support from the Darrantine Guard and Emerald Serpent. The Sky Lords tried to intervene, sending in a Thunderhawk to catch the Emerald Serpent HQ off guard but this proved futile. Astralis Invictus, with the bulk of the imperial forces tied up on the left and right, forced its way through the imperial lines.

A salient now developed in the front line centred on Astralis Invictus. Unable to disengage from the flanks to close this hole the mighty titan had now punched in the Imperial lines, imperial high command realised there was now a very real danger of an exploitation move by the forces of chaos. If the Emerald Serpent followed up, they would be able to encircle the imperial forces fighting on both flanks, all but destroying a third of the entire army deployed on Mordecai Secundus.

Knowing this was a potentially catastrophic situation, Kutuzov risked his reputation and honour and ordered a withdrawal. He could afford to lose the city of Festergax, but he could not afford the loss of one third of his army, including two space marine companies and an entire house of imperial knights. After several days of hard fighting the imperial army withdrew, abandoning Festergax to the forces of chaos.

Aftermath

The aftermath of the Fotta Rhan offensive was mixed. It had undoubtedly been a great success for the Emerald Serpent, and a key city had been taken back from the Imperium. A vast salient of territory had been created in the imperial lines and communications between the northern and southern fronts of Kutuzov's theatre on Mordecai Secundus had been made more difficult. However, the mining installations remained in imperial hands, and although the Imperium had been unable to prevent Festergax from falling, a much larger disaster had been averted. Kutuzov had kept his armies intact, the Librian Guard had fought well, and the Imperium had not suddered a fatal loss of men and equipment. The Fotta Rhan offensive had been a major setback for the Imperium on Mordecai, but the war would continue.

Order of battle

Imperium

Warhound "Warspite"

Knight detachment of House Raven

Sycoraxian Shadow sword regiment

Librian 14th armoured regiment

Librian 6th artillery regiment

Sycorax 23rd Infantry regiment

Imperial navy air support

<redacted> chapter detachment

Sky Lords spearhead detachment

Sky Lords air wing

 

Chaos

Warlord Titan "Astralis Invictus"

Aether striders knight detachment

Emerald serpent (Thousand Sons astartes)

Warhound Titan "Terminus Rex"

Darrantine Guard Armoured regiments

Darratine Super Heavy detachments

Daemonic hordes

Mordecai Secundus: Burroneus besieged

Following the push south by the astartes on Mordecai Secundus, the Black Templars took over from the Dragon's Sons in a coordinated effort to keep the pressure on the Death Guard near to the city of Burroneous. The Black Templars rapidly achieved their objectives, cutting off Burroneus from the rest of the chaos forces and beginning a protracted seige. The Death Guard responded, with hordes of shambling pox walkers obscuring the elite forces of the devotees of the plague god from fire. Death Guard terminators entered the fray, securing key objectives on the chaos right flank, but were unable to make progress against a determined defence on the left.

Without shifting the Black Templars from key positions on both flanks, the narrow corridor of imperial control persisted, allowing general Kutuzov to move engineers and imperial guard regiments into the breach. By the end of 12.021M42 the corridor had been widened and the chaos counter attacks had stopped. Now the work began to slowly starve out the city before making an attempt to claim the settlement for the Imperium. Events elsewhere however were about to overtake general Kutuzov and the imperial campaign.

Dark Eldar raid imperial bases in Hadron Expanse

With the expeditions by the Imperium and other factions into the Rifts of Hecate taking up significant resources, the lords of Commoragh quickly spotted an opportunity for profit. The Drukhari had several bases in the Hadron Expanse, and although Archon Vlokarion was no longer concentrating on the exploitation of the Aleph Sector, plenty of his rivals were, and one faction reminded the Imperium of the power of the Dark Eldar in late 021M42.

Appearing from seemingly nowhere, using their advanced knowledge of the webway and emerging from unseen portals that dotted the world, the drukhari raiders fell upon the colonists of Vanir without warning. With general Percival's forces at full stretch, it took time for the Imperium to organise a response, and by then several settlements on the populated world of Vani had been burnt to the ground and their citizens enslaved. When the Novogorod Guard did eventually attempt to push back against the xenos invasion, the unweildy guard formation was unable to contend with the fast moving highly mobile raiding force, and suffered accordingly. At times it seemed the dark eldar were merely toying with the human troops, as they withered them with highly accurate fire before charging in to finish off the battered survivors.

Fortunately for the Imperium, this was only a raid. Satisfied with a most profitable expedition, the drukhari left the world and their destruction behind them, while the Imperium, and especially general Percival were left with difficult questions to answer about their ability to protect all their worlds while prosecuting so many campaigns.

Final Offensive secures Hexis for the Imperium

Having rid the surface of Hexis of chaos forces and pushed back the tyranid and ork threats from Konev's base of operations north of the city of Praxis, continuing reinforcements and the increasing importance of having a secure base of operations in the lower Hadron Expanse, put a renewed focus on the securing of the world for the Imperium of Mankind. This impetus was further aided by the disappearance of the daemon-moon of Fecus Major from the skies of the planet. If Hexis could be completely secured, then a facility of operations could be constructed, a large amount of troops and equipment could be freed up to be used elsewhere, and the Adeptus Mechanicus would be free to explore the tomb complexes without fear of being disrupted.

the main threats left on Hexis were xenos. the orks still occupied much of Menthoteph, the tyranids infested the northern hills and to the south, the necrons posed an obstacle to securing the city of Praxis itself. The necrons were made up of a number of factions which did not have the same aims, but this was unknown to the Imperium who drew up battle plans to sweep out of their territory sector and force an engagement with the three xenos enemies. As it turned out, the centre of the resistance occurred as the imperial forces drove north and west from their front lines in Menthoteph, led by astartes and House Stroganov knights, the imperial guard followed closely behind giving strong fire support to the Imperium's elite elements.

The main decisive engagement in this imperial offensive took place in between the cities of Praxis and Menthoteph in a place known as "Old Town". General Konev's main offensive had been to use General Andreyevich's 3rd army that was based in the Great Sand Sea, rather than advancing from the more predictable direction - Ivanovich's 1st army in the north, which was still recovering from the battles against chaos. This new offensive put the tyranids on the imperial right flank, which met endless swarms of the smaller creatures and struggled to progress. On the let flank, House Stroganov charged into the orks holding south Menthoteph, immediately encountering the Bloodfang orks' most dangerous foe a hulking, clanking giant "Stompa".

The Imperial Fists chapter led the central assault, through the ruins of the city of Praxis and straight into the heart of the necron counter attack that was by now developing to counter the imperial move. A ruined mining complex separated the tyranids on the right from the orks and necrons, so general Konev had the advantage. His forces were connected and working together, while his enemies' were not. The orks and necrons allied in opposing the imperial advance, but the tyranids worked to their own agenda, and for a time successfully held off the imperial drive north. In the centre and on the left flank, imperial guardsmen were surprisingly effective in their bayonet charges against the soulless necrons, and the Imperial Fists became an immovable fortress, centred on a Spartan tank, that was the fulcrum about which the imperial assault now hinged. The charge of House Stroganov had been costly, as they lost an entire phallanx of mighty war engines, but it had been effective. The orks had been checked, their enthusiasm for the fight not diminished, but their ability to pose a threat to the imperial offensive now definitely was.

The necrons also faced their own problems. The warriors and vehicles which turned up were not from the Skareth dynasty. The lords of the Library of Silence did not see the point of wasting great resources on a pitched battle, and preferred to "await developments". Those necron forces that did take part in the battle seemed to be suffering from the ill effects of recent re-animation, as time and again shots were missed and fire was generally inaccurate. This cost them dearly and over the course of 10-15.021M42 the xenos forces were overrun. The orks were cleared out first, then the necrons were completely pushed out of the city. The tyranids took a lot of effort to hold, but once the orks and necrons had been sufficiently dealt with, Konev launched a second assault, declaring the planet "clean" of tyranid infestation some weeks later.

By late 12.021M42 the Imperium had fully secured Hexis, at least sufficiently to now proceed with the creation of a base, space port and various installations in the Lysis system to act as a jumping off point for wars in the Hadron Expanse. After many years fighting over the devastated ruined planet, Hexis was now in imperial hands... almost. Although the Imperium considered the planet now theirs, the Skareth Dynasty still had their own plans and both they and the eldar knew of webway portals the Imperium did not. Yes the Imperium could build a base, there was no question now of conquering the planet, but the fight under the surface for the riches of the necron tombs was far from over.

 

Ongoing activity in the Rifts of Hecate

The war on Hexis had become important once more because of the ongoing campaign to explore and exploit the Rifts of Hecate. During late 021M42 the various factions already in the Hadron Expanse continued to pursue their aims in the newly uncovered region, and clashed frequently. The forces of the Tau empire, building their own base of exploration on Garmenes, clashed with the Hobgobbos of Grunk Prime while trying to gather resources from Ferrosium. Garmenes was deficient in easily obtainable metals, while the tau had become aware that Ferrosium was in fact a large scrap planet. Millenia before this world had been occupied by humanity, and though now uninhabited, there were plenty of resources to be plundered. The tau overwhelmed the orks with their firepower, collected a large haul of metallic components and returned to Garmenes, their base construction much advanced.

Meanwhile on Ferrosium, the Dark Angels had noted there were two factions of orks looting the ruins of the larger world. They had not come into conflict as yet, but the Dark Angels followed an intelligence lead to where the "Bloodfang" tribe were based. The astartes made a lightning assault on an ork encampment, dispersing the greenskins and uncovering the Bloodfang orks' plans to construct a fleet of space vessels. Rather than simply attach weapons to asteroids to make unweildy ork "roks", these orks had their sights set on a mighty fleet of "kroozers" and even a "deadnot" - a giant battleship that if completed, would present a real threat not only to the Imperial aims in the Rifts, but wider in the Hadron Expanse.

More skirmishes continued throughout the rest of 021M42, with even reports of a confused engagement between the Death Guard, Adeptus Mechanicus and Imperial Guard elements. Reports of how this came about were difficult to obtain, as it appeared the Adeptus Mechanicus involved were pursuing their own agenda, and were not part of the overall Imperial effort to create a bases at Ferosium and Helios Majoris. the Imperial Guard reported back to the HQ on Ferossium Secundus that the Death Guard had been contained and the Adeptus Mechanicus had withdrawn, and the matter was officially closed and marked secret. If there was an agenda to be uncovered it was for the Inquisition to discern it.

Hadron Expanse - Lysis system, Percival raids Moon of Hexis

In the Hadron Expanse, while the Imperium had made great advances on the world of Hexis itself, the chaos presence on the Moon of Hexis was a constant thorn in the side of General Konev. In 11.021M42 the Imperium didn't really understand what the Death Guard were even doing on the moon, and decided to send a strong force, led by the Stroganoff house of Imperial Knights, to find the chaos forces and destroy them.

Konev and his force expected the Death Guard base on the Hexis moon to be far less organised and well equipped than the one they encountered. In addition, they noted that the moon itself had started to change. Not only were the Death Guard well entrenched, but the very surface of the moon was clearly undergoing a daemonic transformation. Tentacles writhed from rocky outcrops and pools of hydrocarbons had morphed into lakes of puss and bile. Too late, the forces of the Imperium realised they had landed on an emerging daemon world.

The Knights, driven by their honour, charged into the Death Guard lines anyway. They found themselves continually battered by accurate and overwhelming firepower from Plagueburst Crawlers, as well as assaulted by the deamon prince Gavinus of House Eschar. Empowered by the daemonic energies the devotees of nurgle had unleashed on the moon, the Death Guard concentrated their fire on each knight one by one, overwhelming their shields and melting through armour.

The defeat of the knights precipitated an immediate withdrawal of all their supporting forces, who fled back to Hexis itself. Expecting the worst, Konev watched from the major planet as the moon took on a sickly green hue. On 0112.021M42 Fecus Major was born, a new daemon world dedicated to the worship of the god of decay. Then, without warning, the world blinked out of existence - disappearing from the skies of Hexis into the warp. Where it had gone, the Imperium did not yet know, but the threat of chaos invasion of Hexis now seemed to be over.

Mordecai: Astartes push south

In late 021M42 the war on Mordecai Secundus remained finely balanced. With Astralis holding a dominant strategic position and the chaos forces having pushed forward on the central sector, neither side appeared to be able to make large strategic moves to progress their aims. Both sides however, intended to make significant efforts to change the strategic situation, particularly regarding the control of the system, in 022M42.

In the central sector, the opposing sides made several "sabre rattling" movements by conducting military exercised behind the front. Knight forces engaged in mock battles with the Ultramarines, while in response, the Iron Warriors - now no longer under the control of Warsmith Stahl - clashed in mock battles with the World Eaters, as the Imperium and Chaos forces displayed their strength.

Ultimately this suited the Imperium, as it disguised their intention to retake the now ruined city of Ur'Ghar, which the Dragon's Sons initiated at the beginning of 012.021M42. The Death Guard forces put up a strong defence, but the loyalist astartes were able to force a passage into the city, retaking it for the Imperium by 1012.021M42. As 021M42 drew to a close, the Imperium had retaken the key city on the shores of the Kuneun Traps, but until the strategic situation changed, neither side would be able to make any large gains at the expense of their enemy.

Apocalyptic clash on Hexis results in Imperial victory

Prelude to Battle

By the end of 11.021M42 the Imperium under general Konev had amassed significant forces on Hexis. Realising the strategic importance of the system in relation to the newly discovered region of the Rifts of Hecate, imperial high command had decided to force the issue and clear the planet of two major enemies, the forces of chaos and the tyranids. To do this the Imperial Fists had taken over overall command and had begun to erect defences prior to a major assault. A warhound titan had been deployed, and it was obvious to the Imperium's enemies that a major offensive was coming.

The forces of chaos, more or less leaderless since the abandonment of the campaign by the Iron Warriors, now had the Emerald Serpent take control. Using their psychic forces they managed to secretly increase their own strength, which now centred around a massive warlord titan. Before the major battle of Hexis, the Emerald Serpent gathered as many chaos forces to their banner, and also looked elsewhere for allies. They once again managed to convince the ork tribes to follow them into battle, promising a good fight and a share of the imperial scrap, while in an unusual turn of events, the worshippers of tzeentch managed to communicate with the tyranid hive mind. The tyranids had no reason to ally with the chaos forces, as it was their intention to build up enough bio-warriors to consume every living thing on the planet in order to create their own hive ships to escape the world and begin a new feeding cycle. However, the sorcerers of chaos tried to convince the tyranids that they would not be prevented from consuming as much of the imperial flesh as they desired, although the hive mind did not answer explicitly as to whether the chaos appeals had been successful.

Imperium's enemies launch massive frontal assault

On 2911.021M42 the forces of chaos, led by the mighty warlord titan, launched a massive offensive against Konev's outer defences. Using the power of the warp to create dust storms and electrical interference, the imperial defenders had no warning of this impending attack, and were quickly overwhelmed. The chaos forces were joined by ork tribes, which crashed over the imperial trenches decimating the guard units on the front line. Worse still for Konev's men the tyranids launched their own attack at the same time, apparently in a coordinated attempt to eliminate the loyalist forces from Hexis. Only the necrons, who the Emerald Serpent did not try to convince, stayed away from this assault, content to watch events unfold.

In the Imperial HQ an urgent meeting was convened, where several imperial guard regiment commanders recommended falling back to the newly built inner defences, but the chapter master of the Imperial Fists took control of the situation. Gregor Dessian proposed to meet the incoming enemies head on, with the full force of the Imperium now deployed on the planet. Overruling general Konev, Dessian now commanded the imperial forces and began to place them directly in the path of the oncoming assault.

Imperium sally forth

Gregor made his plans simple enough for the diverse imperial forces to follow. On the imperial left, the Fists themselves would charge forward into the chaos lines, inviting the enemy to assault them. The Fists' chapter master knew that he had to secure critical objectives before the chaos forces, then break the oncoming tide against the mass of the imperial armies. In the centre, the Lycanon guard would lead the advance, although this meant almost certain death, while the warhound titan and heavy firepower of the guard tank and artillery regiments would provide massive fire support.

The battle grew in intensity as the two sides clashed on the plains of Hexis, close to the ruins of the northern suburbs of Praxis. On the imperial left the Imperial Fists had to face swarms of tyranid creatures, while holding off the enemy warlord titan. In the centre, chaos knights obliterated the Lycanon mechanised force, but there were always more guardsmen to pour into the breach. The orks on the right flank proved difficult to contain, but mass firepower and the sacrifice of thousands of guardsmen held them at bay.

The Warlord titan was able to dominate the centre of the battlefield, but the chaos forces, surprised and checked by the imperial sally forth, were unable to shift the imperial forces from the critical objectives. The Fists took heavy casualties, and the Lycanon guard elite infantry contingent were almost wiped out, but the Imperial gun line was never reached. Having expended significant forces in trying to overwhelm Dessian's "wall of bodies", the Emerald Serpent now had too few units left in good fighting condition to run the gauntlet into Konev's heavy guns. The warlord titan was also taking a heavy battering from imperial firepower, and the commander of the chaos forces knew that to continue this attritional struggle would mean the loss of one of their most prized assets.

Imperium sweep into Praxis & Chaos withdraw from Hexis

Having broken the back of the chaos and allied assault on Konev's lines, the Imperial Fists had won the battle of Hexis, and passed over control to general Konev for the next phase of the operation. While the Lycanon guard tried to regroup, and the astartes paused to recover their precious gene seed, the rest of the imperial army swept into the city of Praxis, keeping the retreat of the chaos forces going all the way to the south of the city. This necessarily meant they were unable to deal with the orks surrounding the city of Menthoteph or the tyranid hive nodes in the desert of Cralth, but the focus of this assault was to secure the city of Praxis and remove the chaos forces from the planet.

The imperial force also began pursuing the enemy warlord titan. In this endeavour the Adeptus Mechanicus now deployed their assets, driving forward into the Shifting Sands region in an attempt to hunt down and deal with this ancient and powerful traitor. In this they were joined by the orks who, having realised the chaos forces were now not going to deliver them prize scrap, decided to hunt for chaos scrap instead. For this chase phase of the battle, the orks and Mechanicum managed to ignore one another, as they chased down the enemy titan. Realising they now had the imperium and the orks to deal with, the remaining chaos forces began to evacuate the planet, and the remaining battle worthy heavy units from the Emerald Serpent contingent now fought an effective rear guard to prevent the titan - believed to be the mighty "Astralis Invictus", from falling into enemy hands.

The chaos forces were successful in meeting this objective, and the gigantic war engine managed to escape, teleported back to the chaos staging post on the Hexis moon and from there back via the warp to the shadow realm which the imperium could not access. By 0312.021M42 all chaos forces on Hexis had been eliminated. The orks and tyranids still remained, though weakened, and now after years of hard fighting the Imperium had a commanding hold on the surface of Hexis. The war was not over however, as the necrons still remained a credible threat, but for now the security of Hexis as a staging post for expeditions into the eastern fringe and the Rifts of Hecate had been significantly improved. The strategic effects were only minor for the Emerald Serpent however. They had failed to advance their agenda against the Imperium and had suffered heavy losses, but by successfully withdrawing they had prevented their retreat from turning into a rout.

Hexis 0312_021M42

Orks clash with Tyranids on Hexis

On Hexis, the war was clearly escalating in late 11.021M42. With the opening of the Rifts of Hecate the strategic importance of the world had increased, and all races realised that although the necron device and the Nexus Arrangement had been removed off world, there were still great riches to be found in the tombs below the surface. The orks and tyranids did not care so much about the strategic significance of the world however. The orks, brought to Hexis by the forces of chaos, were simply spoiling for a fight, while the hive mind desparately desired enough biomass so it could begin construction of hive ships as a way to leave the planet.

The orks, excited by the prospect of a "bug hunt" launched their own aggressive assault into tyranid held territory in late 11.021M42, crashing into the alien lines and thoroughly enjoying the slaughter that followed. Attacking without a motive the hive mind could discern, the orks overwhelmed the xenos creatures, tearing down the larger beasts while gleefully exterminating the smaller beasts. By the end of 2011.021M42 the scene of carnage in west Menthoteph was complete, as the orks massacred the tyranid lifeforms that had pushed in from the northern wastes.

Meanwhile, as the orks celebrated their victory, the Imperium had begun to plan for renewed action on Hexis. Finally recognising the importance of the world, general Percival arranged for a large reinforcement of Konev's lines, aided by the Imperial Fists. Konev and his new allies would secure and fortify their positions before building up for a massive offensive against all their enemies. This would secure the world as a base for the exploration of the Rifts, while allowing the full exploration of the tombworlds below the surface. As the forces built up in late 11.021M42 however, the Emerald Serpent decided it was now in their interests to strike at Konev first.