Tyndareous: Chaos defeat “alliance”

The Imperial authorities were alarmed by the sudden re-appearance of the Night Lords, and attempted to keep the information secret, denying Bothorion any immediate aid. Their plan to cover up the Chaos incursion however was about to come unstuck.

Zadoc had always had trouble with the small outpost of Tyndareous, not least because they had, at some point, expressed interest in joining the UFP. An Imperial Battlecruiser in orbit over the capital, Slade and a swift change of ruler had silenced such heretical thoughts, but once the Imperial presence had been removed the Tyndarians were once again back to their old ways. They even began trading with the Tau. Unwilling to crusade against a reasonably profitable minor outpost of half a million, high command on Zadoc turned an exasperated blind eye.T

Then on 0706.008M42 an unwelcome communication arrived from the troublesome colony. According to the governor, Chaos forces had landed on the planet and were ransacking outlying manufacturing facilities, and loading their precious cargo onto their own ships.

This incursion, coupled with the recent sighting, was too much for the Imperium to ignore. Fortunately the Illustrious was not the only Imperial capital ship in the shadow worlds. Immediately, Redoubtable was dispatched, with a regiment of Librian Grenadiers, to the beleaguered planet.

Tyndareous however had not expected the Imperium to react so quickly, and had also appealed to their erstwhile allies the Tau. Just like the Imperium, the Tau were appalled at the Chaos forces sullying a promising ally, and sent a small task force to aid their friends. Elan Ro, the naive veteran of Melberg, was put in command.

Both forces arrived in the system at the same time, and only some level-headedness on the part of Captain Wilks on the Redoubtable prevented a terrible firefight.
Risking the wrath of the Commisariat the leaders of the Imperial task force agreed to meet with the Tau and agree terms of “co-operation”. Realising the greater threat lay with the Chaos forces on the planet a peace accord was agreed for the time being.

Elan Ro and his counterpart, Colonel Spiggot, deployed their forces around the capital before moving in force towards the area where the Chaos forces were last sighted. Upon arriving at the location intelligence reported Night Lords as well as units identified as belonging to the Death Guard. It was worse than the Imperial commanders had feared.

Elan Ro and Colonel Spiggot immediately threw themselves at the traitor legions with venom, but the Tau were over confident and overly aggressive. Unused to the robustness of Chaos Marines, Elan Ro’s fire warriors met an unfortunate end when they were assaulted by the Night Lords. The Dread Legion meanwhile counter attacked, sending their troops into battle carried in Rhinos and a Land Raider.

Their assault slammed into the Imperial lines, which barely held. In the end it was Spiggot’s tanks who prevented a massacre, cutting down the Marine forces when they left the shelter of the manufactorium.

The Tau too learned fast, using their skimmers to hem the Chaos forces in, and where the Dread Legion had attacked, though the fighting was bloody and violent, the Chaos Marines took heavy casualties, and they could not maintain their momentum. After a day of heavy fighting the Chaos forces had been forced back into the Manufactory complex, but as this had been a Tau/Imperial attack, the assault had been a failure. After another day and night with the Tau and Imperial forces looking on the traitor Marines suddenly left, their mysterious motives apparently fulfilled. Now all that had to be resolved was the Tau and Imperial presence on Tyndareous. Something would have to be done...