While the bulk of the imperial fleet was covering the Perseus Deeps, admiral Pendragon's force was transferred to the Vastrid subsector to investigate growing rumours of alien raiders in the Radeon Cluster. Upon arrival the imperial force found little, except that Inardion reported ever increasing raids by alien strike teams who matched the profile of eldar or dark eldar corsairs. Unlike other planets, Inardion had not been targeted previously, as the world itself was not connected directly to the webway. This information had been given in secret to Pendragon, and this news confirmed the likelihood of xenos vessels in the region.
Despite having fought this kind of Xenos in the past, Pendragon took no special precautions nor set up any deep pickets to search for potentially cloaked vessels. Therefore when several dark eldar cruisers and escorts appeared within weapons range, the imperial admiral was taken quite by surprise. The ensuing battle was one-sided, and Pendragon's fleet was soundly defeated by the aliens, who were in fact experienced members of the Shattered Silence Kabal. The remnants of the human fleet withdrew, limping back to Farport. The Shattered Silence had bought themselves time, but it would not be long before their machinations in the Radeon cluster would become known to the imperium of mankind. Hopefully by then, it wouldn't matter.
While the war for the Libria system continued to rage in the Zadoc subsector, General Veers was still brooding about his failure to gain a foothold on chaos held Mordecai. In 01.015M42 an initial landing had been bloodily repulsed, but two terran months later, Veers wanted to try again. In truth, General Veers was facing serious problems. His fortress world on Corticant remained a necron domain, although for some reason known only to the ancient aliens, his last stronghold of fort Bastion had not been assaulted. Never-the-less Corticant was for all intents and purposes, a necron world. Now, with vital resources going to the Libria system, sequestered by either Hathek or Vorushko, General Veers, whose campaign has seen the imperium smash chaos in the Deeps, was sidelined.
Admiral Jellicoe vehemently opposed a return to Mordecai. He knew that following the victory over the chaos fleet at Bastien, lord Tragean had not ventured out. However his intelligence indicated that Thok still had a large fleet operable, and its location remained unknown. There were also rumours of something far worse, almost impossible, being constructed in the warp for the deranged admiral.
Titus Luthor, sector commander and ultimate authority in the matter, overruled the imperial admiral's concerned. Disctracted and concerned by the catastrophic escalation in the Libria system, he was in no mood to be harangued by General Veers, so simply authorised the operation to take Mordecai Tersius. Jellicoe pointed out the flaws in the plan including the lack of astartes support, unknown disposition of the chaos fleet, and the fact the Iron Warriors were known to have fortified the outer world. He was ignored. Then on 1203.015M42 Jellicoe received news that a small battlegroup of Thok's cruisers had been confirmed in the Mordecai system by imperial spies. At least he might get to diminish yet more of the rogue admiral's fleet in the operation.
Jellicoe raised his flag aboard Iron Duke and led a flotilla of capital ships into the warp escorting transports carrying largely Novgorod Guard forces. Veers intended to swamp the small traitor legion forces and their fortifications with infantry, and as ever the Novgorod regiments came in handy for such a loveless task. On 2003.015M42 the imperial battlegroup broke into realspace close to the orbit of Mordecai Tersius, finding no enemy battlefleet close to the jump point. Veers landed his troops once more and began an advance on the Mordecai Tersius installations around the city of Skryme.
Several Novgorod Regiments were ordered to take the Iron Warrior forward positions. The Novgorod approached the city initally without difficulty setting up defensive positions within the rocky outcrops that dotted the landscape. Through the night conscripts snuck into forward positions, digging trenches for miles across the newly formed front until the city was encircled. Finally the Novgorod brought up artillery designed to destroy the Iron Warrior armoured divisions. The Iron Warriors, who were clearly concious of events, merely waited.
The early morning gloom of 140315.M42 commenced Artillery bombardment upon the Iron Warrior positions although unfortunately the Iron Warrior casualties were surprisingly light. Soon after the initial bombardment, the chaos forces sent their assault sections across the newly formed no-mans land in an attempt to get to grips with their attackers. On the Western flank and centre the Iron Warriors simply shot their way through the Novgorod conscripts, and in the East, Spawn attacked, dragging the conscripts further from the Western flanks and creating a yawning gap in the imperial lines. Into this gap the Iron Warriors charged. At the this point the Novgorod Colonel was forced to commit his reserves, consisting of elite special weapons teams and Rough Riders.
The Rough Riders, attempted to outflank the Iron Warrior assault commander, riding through thick woods, this proved disastrous with over half their number falling the in the woods including their Sergeant. The survivors, believing themselves to have been ambushed, retreated, leaving the Eastern flank undefended, sealing the Imperial forces' fate. Soon after the Imperial western flank also began to buckle. The morale of the Novgorod shattered turning into a full rout, although with nowhere to run the carnage on Mordecai continued for the rest of the day. Last reports from the landing force suggested the Colonel leading the invasion attempted to save Novgorod and imperial honour by challenging a Daemon Prince to single combat. Once again the landing on Mordecai had been defeated with few survivors. Veers came close to ordering in a second wave, but by the second day of the invasion the imperial commissar had had enough. He relieved Veers of command and ordered a retreat.
During the two day fiasco on Mordecai Tersius, Admiral Jellicoe had sent out his escort squadrons far and wide looking for Thok's vessels, to no avail. Then, just as the flotilla of transports was preparing to leave the system, scout vessels reported contact with a squadron of several cruisers. Jellicoe immediately detached his main battle force and set a course to intercept.
As Iron Duke led the imperial battlegroup into the asteroid fields surrounding Mordecai Tersius, his sensorium reported a massive power spike. Initially the senior tech priests dismissed such readings as implausible, but as ship after ship recieved the same augur returns, it became clear that something massive and powerful was accompanying the fleet. Very soon an enormous vessel, identifying itself as "Gotterdammerung" came into visual range. The "ship" was huge, almost twice the mass of a normal battleship, and it's strange spire like weaponry crackled with witchfire. Momentarilly stunned, Jellicoe was slow to react to warnings to disperse his fleet, and an impossibly bright beam of energy shot out of the front of the enemy vessel, scything through Valiant and damaging the flagship.
Crippled, Valiant tried to escape, but the rest of the chaos fleet quickly reduced the vessel to a wreck, and before long Iron Duke was badly damaged by the massive conventional weaponry which covered every inch of the massive vessel's infrastructure. Jellicoe recovered his wits quickly however, ordering Benbow and Implacable to cross the enemy fleet' "T" to their front, while the smaller vessels and light cruisers were sent to cut round the back of the main imperial fleet. Thok however had been planning this encounter for years however, and had carefully arranged his fleets' deployment. Many a night he had spent obsessing about his encounter with Jellicoe, running scenarios and playing war games with his subordinated in order to perfect his battle plan.
Now the mad admiral laughed as Jellicoe tried to escape his trap. Gotterdammerung swung in from port, while the rest of the fleet approached from the opposite wing. The massive chaos vessel opened fire once more, scything apart Firedrake and forcing the imperial escorts to flee. Implacable and Benbow managed to damage Brunhilde, but it was an unequal contest. Soon Benbow was wrecked and Implacable attempting to disengage. Iron Duke too managed to limp away and hide amongst the asteroids while Thok searched in vain for his adversary.
Admiral Thok hadn't managed to eliminate his most hated foe, but he had given Jellicoe and the imperial fleet a bloody nose. Thok laughed again as he imagined the panic which would soon be manifest at naval headquarters on Farport. His imagination turned out not to be far from the truth, as Commodore Cardale's fleet was immediately withdrawn from the Vastrid sector to reinforce Jellicoe's battered fleet. The lord Admiral himself was shaken by the encounter, but realised the new threat from Gotterdammerung was real indeed. The events in the Mordecai system had all but reversed Jellicoe's great victory and handed the initiative to the forces of chaos.
Having failed to decisively finish off the Crusade by 2003.015M42, the alliance prepared for their next assault against Vorushko's forces. However before they did this, they knew that they had to deal with a troublesome force on their right flank of the Cartasian Front.
This force was made up of the remaining loyalist forces under the command of General Launceston. With no hope of immediate evacuation by sea or air, the imperial forces, mostly Lycaon guard, were in any case well equipped and were prepared for any attack which was thrown against them. More worryingly the alliance had determined that should they continue their assauly against the Crusade, the loyalists had the capability of intervening with the possible loss of Alliance held cities.
The Iron Warriors were thrown into the attack once again, utilising their heavily armoured elements to smash the loyalist defences. Despite being well equipped and dug in, the Lycaon guard had no answer to the ten thousand year old veterans of the Horus Heresy, and Apollo's legion took apart the imperial defenders, taking Ballong Bay and scattering the remaining imperial armies into the wilderness, where comparatively few made any token guerilla resistance. By the end of 03.015M42 West Cartasia had been linked up with the alliance forces in the Broken Lands, and the alliance could turn its attention once more to Vorushko's Crusade.
Having lost much ground to the alliance and Crusade, Launceston was now forced to go on the offensive. Vorushko's forces were finally winning battles but by 1703.015M42 it was the alliance who were threatening to sweep all before them. Some in tau command even entertained ideas of finishing the war on Libria in a matter of days. It was not to be...
Having defeated the loyalists in West Cartasia and seeing them all but collapse to the alliance offensive, the Crusade decided to decapitate the remaining imperial forces loyal to Inquisitor Hathek. The Apocalypse Riders and Minotaurs were brought in to assault the loyalist capital, Newhall, in order to bring all imperial forces under Vorushko's control.
The Minotaurs were largely successful in completing their mission and taking their objectives. The Lycaon Guard were soundly defeated, but enough loyalists remained to delay the astartes force for a crucial couple of hours while the Apocalypse Riders were being defeated in their attempt to take the city itself.
Launceston had been warned of a possible attack on his command and the Space Wolves had been placed specifically to counter this threat. When the Apocalypse Riders attacked, the loyalist astartes were waiting. Weathering a storm of fire the Space Wolves closed on their enemy, and quickly the assault on Newhall dissolved into bitter hand to hand fighting. The battle was now in the balance. To ensure victory, Launceston requested aid, and the Imperial Fists soon arrived to bolster the loyalist counter attack. Facing overwhelming odds, the Apocalypse Riders abandoned their assault, leaving the Minotaurs dangerously exposed. Both Crusade forces retreated, leaving Newhall in the hands of the loyalists.
The Loyalists were also having a better day on the Varas Isthmus. Launching an attack from the north this time, the Lunar Guard attacked Lazarus, determined to take the prize they had been eyeing for months. In order to prevent the city falling, Shadowstrike sent his own forces over the Varactus Sea to bolster the defence, but to no avail. After several hours of bitter street fighting the rebels were pushed back and the tau, suffering heavy casualties, evacuated the city. Finally the Lunar Guard had taken the rebel city.
In Cartasia the alliance hoped to finish the Crusade by attacking Cartal and southern Cartasia, breaking Vorushko's hold on the region. The eldar were employed once again, defeating the Sisters of Battle and taking Vorushko's capital. However in the south, the Iron Warrios faced a massive counter attack from the Carcharadons, who employed nearly all their forces in order to take down the traitor astartes and their warhound titan.
After a furious battle the Space Sharks were finally victorious, taking down the warhound and ousting the alliance forces from the city of Aegon. The alliance had taken Cartal, but now they were effectively surrounded by Crusade forces.
Minotaurs sweep into Illum Bay defeating Praetorians and Space Wolves
Skyfall and IW take West Cartasia and link up with rebels utilising Warhound. Loyalists cut off & surrender
The initial phase of the new offensives were over by mid 03.015M42, and all sides considered what to do next. The loyalists had held their own while the crusade, despite their win in South Vale, had lost ground.
The alliance were the first to strike. Commander Shadowstrike had joined the alliance on Libria III by now, and his forces joined the assault on the Crusade armies. Striking south the tau commander crossed the Purun sea from Cerra, outflanking the Crusade armies and forcing Vorushko to hastily redeploy her Vannaheim regiments to counter this new attack. After a grinding and attritional battle, the city of Aegon fell to the tau.
Worse for Vorushko, the eldar had once again appeared in support of the alliance. The aliens struck hard and fast and succeeded where the Iron Warriors had so far been unable. They broke the deadlock on the Heanor front, driving the Apocalypse Riders back and sweeping across the plains to Canaur. For the first time since the secession, the rebel city was now in contact with the rest of "Federal Libria III".
In West Cartasia General Launceston attempted to follow up recent gains by throwing in his reserve Lunar Guard regiments to take the important cuty of Quattria on the south coast. However the Mechanicum counter attacked, and no more than a few miles were taken before the offensive was called off. Soon after the loyalists suffered more defeats as the Minotaurs were employed once again. The astartes were thrown into the defence of Quattria, but seeing that the threat from the loyalists had passed, the Minotaurs went on the offensive. They smashed a combined Praetorian and Space Wolf force, pushing the loyalist line back towards Krichten and Ballong Bay.
Seeing the now precarious situation the loyalist forces were in following their defeats in West Cartasia, Skyfall and the Iron Warriors acted themselves. Employing a Warhound Titan for the first time in the crusade, the tau and federal forces annihilated the Lycaon Guard on the loyalist left flank. Space Wolf units sent in to bolster the collapsing line were similarly dispatched, and by 1403.015M42 an enormous hole had appeared in Launceston's defence. Exploiting this, the tau quickly moved units into Krichten, trapping thousands of loyalist troops between their own forces and the alliance in the Broken Lands. Launceton pulled back to Ballong Bay, and much of his army in West Cartasia had no option but to surrender.
In early 03.015M42 the war on Libria III quickly escalated. With her effective annexation of Cartasia, Vorushko had signaled her intent clearly, and both the loyalists and alliance forces made immediate plans to take advantage of any confusion in the region by launching immediate attacks.
The first blow on Vorushko's new empire came with an attack from West Cartasia by the Lycaon Guard & Praetorian regiments. General Launceston was keen to make early gains against the Crusade forces to bolster morale and keep Inquisitor Hathek's side in the war, and the offensive went well. The Lycaon forces pushed east, causing heavy casualties amongst the Sisters of Battle and Vannaheim guard, while the Praetorians held off a considerable Mechanicum counter attack. The result was an early success for the loyalist which came as a welcome surprise to the loyalist general.
However the loyalists did not have things all their own way. In the east of Cartasia the Crusade forces unleashed the Minotaurs on the Lunar Guard who had been besieging Lazarus on the Varus Isthmus for months. The sudden attack from behind caught the loyalist forces by surprise and chaos ensued. Few of Launceston's men were able to extract themselves from South Vale, and the success in the west was almost cancelled out by the terrible loss in the east.
On the border of Cartasia and Vedrick, the alliance clashed with the crusade at the same time. The alliance attack on Heanor, led by the Iron Warriors, was held in the foothills by the timely arrival of the Apocalypse Riders, but commander Skyfall was able to take Grisk & the Tamaron Ocano industrial complex despite the arrival of the Carcharadons on the scene.
During the first half of 03.015M42 the raids on Aethor by the dark eldar continued, increasing in ferocity. The imperial forces, now reinforced with Vannaheim units and regiments of Novgorod Guard, were forced to put the planet into lock down, and normal life on the world ceased as the imperial colony adopted a siege mentality against the alien interlopers. Using the webway, the xenos raiding forces appeared from nowhere and struck hard and fast, with little chance for the slow and cumbersome imperial guard to react and counter attack.
In the space of a week the dark eldar struck two outposts far apart from each othere, seemingly at random. In the north the Atterine oile fields were raided, but the strategic assets were protected by mobile Vannaheim Guard units assisted by the Adeptus Sororitas, and the attacks were soon brought under control with heavy casualties inflicted on the raiders. In the agricultural south however, the less mechanised Novgorod Guard found themselves up against the Shattered Silence's elite warriors, and a series of bloody and attritional skirmishes saw the dark eldar able to take control of several districts, massacring or enslaving whole towns before disappearing in the face of imperial reinforcements.
On 1303.015M42 the Minotaurs chapter of space marines intervened, launching a ferocious assault against the Shattered Silence Kabal as they were moving back to their webway portal. Fearful of being cut off or their means of entry discovered, the dark eldar put up a stoic defence, at the cost of the lives of their warriors. The battle itself was inconclusive, and the Minotaurs were unable to prevent the dark eldar from escaping into the webway, nor locate the exact whereabouts of the portal in the south.
The war on Hylas had ground on for two and a half terran years by 02.015M42. For months General Van Dorn had wethered incessant ork raids from behind a set of increasingly elaborate imperial trenchlines and fortifications, as events elswhere in the sector starved his force of badly needed reinforcements. An ork hulk remained in orbit, but the main body of the ork force, now commanded chiefly by the warlord Von Bismork, remained on the surface, controlling more than half of the world but not making any truly organised attempts to breach Van Dorn's defences.
The stalemate was broken in early 03.015M42 with the return of a company of Apocalypse Riders. By now the entire chapter was active in the Zadoc subsector and Perseus Deeps, and although they had joined the Librian "crusade", the Astartes force still considered itself a staunch defender of the Imperium of Mankind.
The Apocalypse Riders quickly moved into action in northern Hylas, launching a lightning assault against Von Bismork's forces on 0603.015M42. Taken completely by surprise the greenskins were slow to orchestrate a coordinated response, and the fast but durable forces of the Riders created havoc behind the front lines. Their cohesion broken, the orks were unable to stop the imperial forces under Van Dorn's command when they moved en masse "over the top", and hundreds of miles of the Sarin plains were retaking in just ten days. The main stand of Von Bismork's boys came at the city of Sarina, but here the Apocalypse Riders concentrated their forces and massacred the orks within a few hours. Sarina had been retaken by Van Dorn again and the stalemate broken, but after their decisive intervention the Apocalypse Riders were soon leaving, responding to an urgent need for men in the Libria system.
With the events in the Libria system taking centre stage, the war on Zadoc between the alliance and the forces of chaos had become stagnant. Weakened from their catastrophic losses in the fleet battle against the imperium in the Perseus Deeps, the alliances between chaos warlords had become fractured. The Arch Cleric's activity had diminished, Lord Tragaen had retreated back to Kendrenec and Admiral Thok had disappeared into the warp with his fleet. Only Stahl's Iron Warriors, with some help from the Emperor's Children, now stood against the tau on Zadoc.
The situation with the chaos forces suited the alliance. They had embarked on the more ambitious task of adding Libria to their sphere of influence and had reserved their front line forces for that task. Second line forces were now allocated to the Zadoc "front", with large numbers of ex-imperial forces ready and willing to fight against chaos.
Although less strategically important than the Librian campaign, Warsmith Apollo fo the 5th Grand company of the Iron Warriors, now allied to the Federacy and through this the alliance, was unable to overlook the presence of his damned brothers on Zadoc entirely. In late 02.015M42 Apollo sent a small force - no more than one hundred legionaries - to Zadoc to help bolster the alliance forces.
Upon arrival the alliance Iron Warriors soon began organising the alliance forces on the world and prepared for a new attack. Vorni would be targetted as it was known to be a garrison town for a large contingent of traitor Iron Warriors. Within days the battle had been joined, and after ten millenia brother met brother once more in a repeat in miniature of the battles which shook the galaxy during the Horus Heresy. Neither side was willing to give ground, and despite their former brotherhood and ten thousand years, the hatred they bore for each other remained undimmed. It was the traitor marines, thanks to a tactical error, who were defeated, with Apollo's men triumphantly taking Vorni by 1003.015M42, although by this time the city itself had been reduced to a ruin by the firepower of the two seige minded astartes forces. The war on Zadoc had entered a new and bloody phase.
Early 03.015M42 saw no respite for the imperium on Libria III. The arrival of the Iron Warriors on the side of the alliance had shaken the imperial forces, and even the intervention of Vorushko's elite forces hadn't managed to slow the tide of alliance gains. In addition the imperial forces within Cartasia found themselves coming under more and more scrutuiny from the Inquisitor's retinue of commissars and priests, which the Imperial commander in Newhall found particularly alarming.
In order to try to regain some control of the situation, Vorushko ordered the retaking of Parth, now garrisoned by commander Skyfall's tau. The Sky Lords, recently arrived in the Librian system would lead the attack, while Librian Guard forces launched their own offensive against the Iron Warriors in Regina.
The Sky Lords were able to make ground in the outskirts of the city of Parth without much difficulty, but soon their spearhead formation of land raiders came under sustained attack from Skyfall's advanced hunter cadres. Riptides, a number of them the latest pattern proved well shielded from the astartes weaponry, and the forward momentum of the imperial warriors was slowed. Worse still the close assault by the chapter's elite terminator unit against the command and control forces of the tau proved ineffective, as powerful technologies proved protection against even thunder hammers. To their disbelief the tau HQ crisis suits wethered the storm of blows from the Sky Lords' finest, and made an orderly withdrawal from the combat. Now out in the open, the elite warriors of the astartes found themselves targetted by the majority of the tau army, and heavy casualties were sustained amongst the best of the crusade's army.
Thus blunted, the Sky Lords assault withdrew, leaving the city of Parth to the tau. Further east sheer weight of numbers almost overwhelmed the defenders of Regina, but the Iron Warriors held firm and learning of the failure of the Sky Lords further west, the Librian forces called off the attack on 1003.015M42.
Despite failing to turn the tide of the war against the alliance, Inquisitor Vorushko wasted no time in turning the screw against her enemies within the imperium. With Inquisitor Hathek away and with "loyalist" command residing on the other side of the planet, the inquisitor started by releasing her agents into the armed forces of the imperium in the Cartasia region. Soon whole regiments had become fanatical adherents to her cause, some becoming flagellants or joining the preisthood. Gradually order began to break down in cities behind the front line, and to restore the pax imperialis, on 1303.015M42 Inquisitor Vorushko declared herself rightful governor of all Libria III, by her own decree, and effectively annexed the region of Cartasia. Thousands were killed in the loyalist ranks as they tried to escape to friendly territory, and others fled to the alliance. Meanwhile General Launceston, commander of all loyalist forces on Libria III, found himself and his forces "condemned" for generations to come by the lord Inquisitor. He needed no pursuading in joining the cause of Hathek and refused to recognise the inquisitor's authority, effectively declaring war on the crusade. The war on Libria III was now three-way.
As 02.015M42 drew to a close the alliance continued to make gains on Libria III. On 2502.015M42 the Iron Warriors launched a determined assault against the city of Parth, the last of the three cities standing in the way of a breakout into the plains of Cartasia, a key industrial centre of the imperial defenders. Despite losing a large number of men from withering Novgorod fire, the alliance force was able to take the city after a bloody close quarters melee in the city streets. With Parth taken the morale of the imperial forces reached a new low, and the commander of the loyalist forces grew concerned that mass desertions to the rebel side would be inevitable. Vorushko decided to intervene in person.
While imperial fleets clashed in the Libria system and the alliance made what appeared to be relentless gains on Libria III, the Minotaurs decided to put pressure on Abrahams' loyalist forces on Libria V in an attempt to secure the world as a base for the crusade. With the innermost and outermost worlds under the crusade's control, it would make further interference by Hathek and his allies on Libria III all the more difficult, and the imperial forces on the most populated world would surely fall into line and accept inquisitor Vorushko's edict.
With this in mind the Minotaurs fell upon the Novgorod guard defending the capital of Libria V, Louxin city. The ferocity of the attack broke the Novgorod defenders and took the capital in just days, leaving the loyalist forces with just a toehold on the main inhabited land mass. However, the battle for Louxin City raised some difficult questions in itself.
Fighting alongside the Novgorod guard were a few warriors of the Adeptus Sororitas. During the battle many witnesses testified to seeing a living saint appear on the battlefield, which signified the emperor's approval of the loyalist cause. Until now the only Sisters of Battle in the Libria system had been fighting alongside the crusade, and several times the appearance of a shining aspect of the emperor's faith had come to their aid. Now it appeared the emperor was blessing both sides, which apart from making no sense, was clearly heretical. The end of 02.015M42 saw a number of massacres undertaken in Louxin City as the Minotaurs systematically eradicated anyone who had witnessed or been made aware of the ridiculous claims of the Sororitas sect, and their findings were passed on to the Order of the Crimson Veil for analysis.
Inquisitor Vorushko's Crusade received an unexpected boost in late 02.015M42, when the battlefleet commanded by Admiral Doenitz arrived in the system. Doenitz had arrived under orders from the segmentum command to reinforce Jellicoe's battlefleet in its war against the forces of chaos and the alliance on Zadoc. However the fleet had become scattered by a warp storm and a journey which should have taken weeks ended up taking more than a year to complete. Upon arrival at the Libria jump point the admiral was surprised to find the war on Zadoc already lost and Libria itself under threat of invasion by the tau. As soon as Doenitz's vessels translated into realspace they were hailed by a patrolling Charcharadon strike cruiser. Realising their luck, Doenitz was soon visited by Vorushko herself.
the lord inquisitor explained the treachery of the Librians, and the traitorous actions of Inquisitor Hathek in countermanding her edict. She went on to explain that the so-called "loyalist" forces on Libria V would soon be reinforced by more of Hathek's misguided men, and even the navy had turned against the imperial light. Filled with Vorushko's words the admiral dutifully began the blockade of the system, aided by the small force of strike cruisers and escorts already allied to the inquisitor's cause.
Admiral Pendragon, en route to Libria V to deliver supplies to the beleagured forces of General Abrahams, was surprised to find Doesnitz's fleet barring his way. A tense standoff followed while the two admirals engaged in brief communications. Doenitz demanded that Pendragon's forces withdraw, which only irritated Pendragon. He was aware of Jellicoe's desire to stay out of the escalating civil war, but he would not yield or recognise the authority of his fellow admiral. He had orders from his superior and no-one would stand in his way.
The two fleets closed rapidly and aggressively and it is unclear who fired the first shots in the encounter. Either way Pendragon used his recent hard earned experience to batter Doenitz's fleet, destroying at least three capital vessels and forcing the rest, some heavily damaged, to withdraw. Pendragon had scored a victory over the crusade and at the loss of only teo damaged cruisers, but he knew the imperium had lost overall as a result. He railed against the senseless loss of good imperial warships and sent an urgent message to Jellicoe on Vastrid, asking him to take a clear stance on the Librian matter. If the imperial fleet threw its weight behind one of the inquisitors, perhaps the war could be contained and further unpleasant incidents averted.
Following the defeat of the Mechanicum and Sisters of Battle, the alliance forces continued to roll forward, pushing back the loyalist librian guard forces and threatening to break through. The next key objective, the city of Regina, fell to the alliance forces, led by the Iron Warriors, on 2002.015M42. Fearing a total collapse of the loyalist line, Vorushko ordered in her newest arrivals, the psychotic and dangerous Minotaurs chapter of space marines.
The Minotaurs needed no encouragement and set about planning the razing of the city of Regina. First of all however, they would have to deal with the Iron Warriors, who had taken up defensive positions around the city, aware of the arrival of the new astartes chapter in orbit.
The Minotaurs launched a characteristic orbital strike, utilising drop pods and Caestus assault rams to land in the heart of the enemy positions. Lacking air cover, the Iron Warriors simply had to wait, but their defences were strong and their forces highly mechanised, as their commander Apollo taught the creed of the "mobile fortress", and as the Minotaurs arrived the ten thousand year old doctrine proved very useful.
The Minotaurs, despite fielding impressive short ranged firepower and unleashing their shock troops, struggled to deal with the tought ceramite and adamantium shielded heresy era vehicles which the Iron Warriors loveingly maintained. although the crusade force dud eventually to damage or disable a number of tanks and troop carriers, by then the withering fire of the defenders had decimated the Minotaurs assault force. By 2402.015M42 it was clear that the alliance forces could not be dislodged, and the remaining Minotaurs retreated to imperial territory, south of the Regina sea.
As 02.015M42 drew to a close, the eldar stepped up their activity in the Vastrid sector. This time the ork world of Keprok was targetted in a set of precision raids which appeared to single out the forces loyal to Von Bismork. Most of these orks were new to the sector, having fallen out of the warp on the way to Hylas, where the greater concentration of Von Bismork's boys were preparing for a showdown with the Imperium. Well equipped, these new orks proved a difficult test for the wraith dominated army of the Disciples of Y'nead.
The reason for attacking the new arrivals was clear to the eldar. They knew that if Von Bismork's lieutenants were able to gain control over the orks of the subsector using their "flashier gear" and "shiny kit" to impress the locals, the orks of Vastrid could unite, not only posing a direct threat to the eldar ambitions in the region, but also sucking in more imperial troops and potentially leading to the reclamation of Ares, Drift, Gabriel's World and Sentinel by the Imperium.
The eldar acted swiftly and decisively, getting in close to the orks and using their devastating short ranged firepower. Taken by surprise, the ork fire was desultory at best, and the eldar were fortunate not to take more casualties. Much damage was caused to the ork equipment, but crucially, Von Bismork's troops' reputation also suffered, and the threat of a unified ork "nation" in the Vastrid subsector receded drastically. The eldar returned to their domain satisfied, turning their thoughts to the next stage in their plan.
A new stage of the Librian campaign opened in mid 02.015M42. Having been defeated on Libria V, the alliance, now just the Federacy and the Tau, moved significant forces towards the system capital Libria III, a world of over a billion and the key to the entire system. The alliance move was anticipated however, and Vorushko's spies soon found out the exact date and time of the alliance intervention on Libria III. It would come in the north, near the strategically important loyalist held cities of Parth, Santo and Regina.
The alliance landed tau forces including Hunter Cadres under commanders Skyfall and Windgather, as well as a substantial force of Iron Warriors legion troops, now representing the Federacy while the federal fleet was still en route. Their objectives were for Windgather and the Iron Warriors to aid the rebels in taking Santo and if possible, a breakout to the strategically vital Tameron-Ocano industrial complex. Meanwhile Skyfall would move on Parth, and if possible surround Regina from the south.
Realising that such a defeat for the loyalists could see the alliance take Libria III and make her squabble with Hathek irrelevant, Natalia Vorushko acted swiftly. She convened with her crusade council and it was decided that the loyalists would be given support, and that her least homicidal forces would take part in the defence of Libria for the emperor, at least until the alliance situation was brought under control. Her agents contacted the senior commander on the ground days before the attack, so when it came the imperium was ready and waiting. At the same time, to throw the rebels off balance, the Lunar Guard attacked in force further south in South Vale.
The South Vale attack went well for the imperium, thanks to some strategic brilliance on behalf of the Lunar Guard commander, who had assumed command of the entire South Vale front. As the attack began the imperial general realised the rebels wouldn't be able to resist a counter attack if his line showed weakness. The Lunar Guard then made it appear that their lines were becoming stretched, leaving larger and larger gaps between units. The Librian rebels took the bait and threw their armoured reserve into the supposed weakness. Once the armoured columns had penetrated ten miles into the Lunar Guard lines, the loyalist general unleashed his reserves, which had been carefully hidden in selected terrain features. Demolisher battle tanks and veteran squads armed with melta guns smashed into the flanks of the rebel armoured column, cutting off its head and causing horrendous casualties.
The loss of the rebel reserve broke their lines, and only stubborn defence and careful tactical withdrawals prevented the defeat from becoming a rout. The Lunar Guard, who had performed so well in setting up the victory, now appeared to squander the chance for a decisive breakthrough, taking too long to follow up the retreating librians and allowing them to reform the line. Never-the-less the loyalists had a victory and the rebel city of Lazarus was now cut off from support.
In the north east the results for the imperium were not so good. In the far west the Dark Angels landed a small force to bolster the defenders of Parth, but the overwhelming firepower of commander Skyfall, who was trialling new Riptide configurations, caused intolerable casualties to the astartes and they were forced to withdraw. Parth did not fall, but the imperial lines were pushed back to the the city limits.
In the centre the main fight developed between the imperium, now backed by the Sisters of Battle and Mechanicum, and the main alliance forces under commander Windgather. Although Windgather himself was once again seen to withdraw his person from the battlefield early on, this was put down to strategic considerations, though it attracted the derision of the Iron Warriors in support. The battle then became intense and close matched, but eventually the forces of the alliance managed to gain the upper hand, pushing the imperial forces back and reching the Regina sea. This was critical, as now the imperium were split into two forces. Quickly the imperium managed to shore up their lines to prevent the Tameron-Ocano complex from coming under threat, but this meant sacrificing the city of Santo, which fell on 1902.015M42.
The alliance and Crusade forces had now arrived on Libria II. So far Vorushko was more concerned with defeating the alliance than with those who would disobey her edict, and the alliance, although victorious in their first actions in helping the rebels, were not able to achieve the decisive breakthrough which would shorten the war.
While the alliance in the Zadoc subsector had broken down, the eldar continued to pursue their own agenda in the Perseus Deeps and Vastrid subsector. During 02.014M42 two major raids were conducted on Achreom by the eldar faction known as the Disciples of Y'nead. On both occasions the Lunar guard, garrisoned on the imperial outpost, were tasked with defending the world from the alien interlopers.
The first raid was a failure for the eldar, as they had underestimated the strength of the imperial presence on Achreom. The Imperium had in fact begun a policy of fortification in the Vastrid sector, as it was clear to even the most dull of strategist that the activity of the eldar in the Radeon Cluster had to be linked to theor activities in the Perseus Deeps. Gradually, almost imperceptably, the eldar were making gains in the spinward region of the Vasrid subsector, and Achreom and Spinitus looked particularly vulnerable.
The eldar learned fast however, and a second raid less than 24 hours later smashed the Lunar Guard defenders and inflicted significant damage on the imperial base on Achreom. At the sector capital, Vastrid itself, the raids were enough for Titus Luthor to order an immediate investigation, and slowly the wheels of the gargantuan human bureaucracy began moving agains the eldar.
By 02.015M42 the Librian situation had become complicated. To an outside observer it appeared that Libria had rebelled, and that a war was now being conducted to crush the rebels, recently joined by the federacy and the tau. Few people were aware of the different factions of the Crusade and Loyalists, and it suited both sides to keep the disagreement within the borders of the Librian system, at least for now.
For the alliance, their predicament wasn't good. Having lost their foothold on Libria V to the Crusade, the remaining tau and federal forces had fled the workd with a handful of rebel Librian units, leaving the remaining rebels to be captured by the loyalists, or butchered by the Crusade. The Federal fleet had returned to Hartak for refitting, and the Federal Council was facing a revolt from peace factions who were vociferous in their opposition to the war in Libria.
For the tau stalemate on Zadoc ensured they were unable to commit their full weight to the campaign on Libria, but the tau remained ideologically committed to the addition of Libria to the federacy, while strategically this would secure their holdings in the Zadoc subsector. Already the Federacy and the Tau Empire had carved up the worlds of the subsector between them in a secret agreement.
The eldar however had little interest in the ongoing war on Libria, and gradually the alliance began to fracture. Apart from a few eldar whose loyalty to commander Windgather baffled observers by being close to fanaticism, the eldar mostly disappeared from the Zadoc battlefields to pursue their agenda in the Perseus Deeps.
By 1002.015M42 after weeks of indecision, the Federal cCouncil agreed to send more troops and another fleet to the Librian cause, after the tau agreed to fund the expedition. A few days later the federal warships made the jump from Hartak and proceeded to the Librian system. The tau meanwhile continued to supply a slow build up to the system, deciding that the next blow would fall where it really mattered, on Libria III.
The Crusade meanwhile were pondering their options. Already in possession of Libria I, Libria II remained devoid of large forces and essentially neutral. While Libria III represented the main struggle with the rebels, Libria IV had become the base and home of her biggest obstacle, General Abrahams, who led the coalition of Imperial forces which had been sequestered by Lord Inquisitor Hathek, her nemesis. Vorushko's forces had managed to interfere on Libria V, both removing the dangerous alien presence and at the same time ensuring the outermost planet did not easily fall into Hathek's grip. Such an eventuality would have effectively bottled her forces up in the inner system, denying her forces easy access to the jump points.
With the Alliance vanquished, at least for now, Vorushko's thoughts turned to Arbrahams and the loyalists, and the rebels on Libria III. The loyalists, so long as they made no attempt to remove her Crusade forces, could be ignored for now, but the rebels had to be broken before the alliance could intervene. Then on 1402.015M42 her Mechanicum allies reported a large fleet entering the system, and two smaller forces heading for Libria III. These were identified as the Iron Warriors (a recent addition to the alliance) and the tau under commanders Skyfall and Windgather. Vorushko reacted quickly, allowing the more "moderate" forces at her disposal, the Mechanicum and Adeptus Sororitas, to intercept and destroy the alliance forces. This meant supporting the loyalists on Libria III, but the commander on the planet was amenable to Crusade help, as he had been far too busy fighting the rebels on the surface to involve himself in the inquisition squabble.
For General Abrahams, the start of 015.042 had been fraught with difficulty. His commander on Libria III, General Harris, had been fighting a back and forth campaign against the rebels, only occasionally being reinforced by the odd off world regiment. His base on Libria IV had been raided by alliance astartes forces, and on Libria V his forces loyal to Hathek had been unable to prevent Vorushko's forces from taking the capital. In addition, the loss of Sororitas support had been particularly galling for the imperial commander.
Now at last Abrahams had some good news. With the alliance gone from Libria V there was an uneasy truce on the planet, once more under imperial control, if via two factions. This suited his plans, as soon Admiral Pendragon would arrive with reinforcements from Vastrid, which should ensure enough forces to retake the outermost world from the clutches of the Crusade. Then with the control of the jump point the Crusade could be contained then crushed. Meanwhile Inquisitor Hathek himself had arrived at Vastrid and demanded an audience with Sector Governor Titus Luthor to explain the real situation in the Librian system...
An almighty shock came to Abrahams' HQ, now based on Libria IV, on 1201.015M42. Reports of a small but well equipped force of traitor legionaries on the last fully loyalist world in the Librian system were at first ignored or scoffed at, but soon vid pict reports clearly showed Iron Warriors vehicles and warriors stalking the upland plain region of the world. Abrahams didn’t panic however, and moved up his Librian reserve forces from the capital Porthaven, including a Baneblade super heavy tank. Fortunately for Abrahams the planet had now become the staging post for the limited reinforcements he was receiving, and an entire regiment of Prozan Cavalry made themselves available as a strategic reserve.
The Librians soon made contact with the Iron Warriors, who appeared well equipped and remarkably lacking in the marks of chaos and daemon engines so often employed by the Warmaster Stahl. These Iron Warriors almost looked like their own astartes. Nevertheless they were the enemy and hostile. Over the next few days the Librians managed to hold on long enough for the Prozan Cavalry to arrive by airborne assault. This was fortunate, as the Iron Warriors had detected and planned for the Librian offensive, and had sprung an ambush of their own. Only the highly mobile airborne elements of the Prozan guard prevented the imperial force from being annihilated.
The Iron Warriors had their own problems, as bad weather to the north delayed the arrival of their own airborne reserve, allowing the imperial guard to capture key objectives and the high ground overlooking the northern plateau – and the Iron Warriors’ beachhead. The marines evacuated their small patrol on 2601.015M42, but were successful in destroying the loyalist Baneblade. More intriguing was the message they left.
The data block left by the Iron Warriors was immediately seized by the Inquisition, and Hathek himself was informed. The contents were analysed and copied for the Inquisitor Lord, who would present them to the sector governor on his arrival at Vastrid. The contents were sensational and blasphemous.
The Iron Warriors introduced themselves as loyal to their Warsmith, named Apollo, and that they had been trapped in a warpstorm following their escape from those of their brethren who had turned on the Emperor along with the traitor Horus. For them, only a few years had passed in the maelstrom of the warp, while in real space, ten thousand years had elapsed. Just like Admiral Haskell, the refugees had disappeared from history, only to find a very different Imperium on their return.
Apollo and his Iron Warriors had found the Imperial Creed unpalatable, the worship of the Emperor being that which turned Lorgar and his Word Bearers away from the Imperial truth. Unable to find a place in the Imperium, the renegades had skirmished with the forces of chaos in the Perseus Deeps, before finding respite on Myrentas II. It was there they met the Federacy, and learnt of Admiral Haskell. After much negotiation Apollo decided his force would fight for the only human empire who still retained the old ways and the Imperial Truth. Although they were less than happy at the Federacy’s alliance with the tau and eldar, they understood and accepted the reasons behind the decision. Now part of the Iron Warriors’ force had come to Libria in order that their small force might aid the liberation of over a billion souls.
Following the failed attempt to capture the capital of Libria V, the crusade forces changed take. They realised the best way to take the capital would be to threaten the loyalist forces on two fronts, but to do that the alliance forces, a mixture of tau and rebel Librian units, would have to be annihilated. For now Crusade intelligence indicated the eldar had reduced their involvement following their defeat in the Perseus Deeps, and it was time to strike a decisive blow.
The Sisters of Battle, now backed up somewhat dubiously by three regiments of Vannaheim Guard, were at the speartip of the operation which saw Crusade forces move down from North Springley to the capital of the Alliance in Jutesburg. The Adeptus Mechanicus provided a Titan for the operation, a warhound, which would prove to be the undoing of the tau defence of the city. Meanwhile the Sky Lords & Charcaradons performed spoiling attacks against the rebel forces in the Acronia Valley, hampering the ability of the Crusade to react to the Adeptus Sororitas offensive.
The assault itself lasted just over a week. The first decisive clash took place at Jutesberg, where Librian rebels and the tau attempted depserately to prevent the Crusade army from breaking through to the Daralon Valley. The main engagement took place along a narrow valley, and the Sisters of Battle quickly took key objectives despite suffering heavy casualties. The crusade forces then weathered a spirited counter attack led by Librian and tau forces, but mistrust between the rebels and the tau critically delayed the deployment of the Librian reserves, and by the time the alliance reserve had been committed, the Sisters of Battle had dug in and had ordered in their own reserves. Jutesberg fell on 0301.015M42, cutting off the remaining alliance forces on Libria V from their only functioning spaceport.
The Alliance immediately made plans to counter-attack from the west. In the Daralon Valley Skyfall could still count on a large hunter cadre, and several rebel regiments were available for the operation. However, as the combined force closed in on Jutesberg the mighty Warhound Felis Rex tore into the alliance troops with its two double barrelled turbo lasers. The crusade preferentially targetted the tau, reducing the alliance's firepower and leaving the imperial force exposed. Even so the battle was tight and for three days the two sides hotly contested the suburbs of the city. Gradually the alliance was forced to commit more and more troops, and a daring raid behind the warhound by elite crisis teams was carried out, although it failed to fell the mighty war engine.
The crusade were losing troops aswell, but the Warhound was able to plug the gaps in the line and the Adeptus Sororitas proved to be a stubborn foe. By 1101.015M42 the alliance commanders realised they could not retake Jutesberg without external help, without abandoning their positions against the loyalists. Their situation was hopeless, and between 1101.015M42 and 2001.015M42 the tau made a well executed withdrawal from the planets via the mountains of Timberhill. The arriving Mantas were defended by Barracudas and Federal navy fighters, but neither the loyalists nor the crusade attempted to interdict the evacuation. Some rebel forces were also extracted, but the majority now faced the wrath of the crusade as they swept in from the Acronia Valley, taking Daralon and joining up with the Sororitas at Jutesberg.
The alliance had been removed from Libria V but remained in system. However the tau had sustained serious losses in the failed campaign on the world, and the eldar were in no state to carry the fight to the imperium. Inquisitor Vorushko now had the upper hand in the Librian war.
