on 0902.011M42 Admiral Thokk, renegade psychotic admiral of Mordecai, tried again to break in to the inner defences of the Perseus crusade. Admiral Jellicoe had carefully arranged his fleet so that Corticant and Bastien were protected, as well as the all important Farport warp lane which served as the main supply line for the crusade since the capture of Bastien.
Thokk decided against a direct attack and by early 02.011M42 the Imperial admiral received intelligence that the chaos admiral was up to mischief in the Gamordal system, an ork controlled region which if captured would secure the Upper Perseus Reach warp lane for the powers of chaos.
Admiral Jellicoe sent Admiral Cardale to investigate and if possible bring the chaos fleet to heel. Cardale's forces included the Apocalypse class battleship Agamemnon, the tyrants Audacious and Centurion, the lunars Agincourt and Conquerer and the battlecruiser Valiant. Despite lacking any attack craft ordnance, Cardale's fleet packed a significant punch.
Cardale arrived on 0802.011M42 but deployed in a cautious manner, aware that the orks had constructed a number of Roks in the system. After a day of scouting with his firestorm escorts it became apparent that Thokk was already well in system and had set about destroying the ork defences. By the time Cardale accelerated his battlefleet to full speed and made contact with the enemy fleet, Thokk's forces had already destroyed three Rok's, ensuring that the renown of the forces of chaos remained impressive in the eyes of the orks. Imperial high command and admiral Jellicoe himself would be critical of Cardale's caution despite the events which followed, as the strategic initiative would have been better served if Thokk's fleet had been driven off before their propaganda coup in front of the greenskins.
Battle was joined between the two fleets at 20:12 local time, and the nova cannon of Agamemnon soon proved its worth, crippling the slaughter class Skoll in just a few salvoes. The two fleets were on opposite parallel courses, and both admirals began turning their ships into the other's amid the mass of asteroids which typified the outer reaches of the Gamordal system.
Thokk handled his fleet well, and Jormungandr and her consorts successfully crossed admiral Cardale's "T" by navigating without too much incident through two large asteroid fields. This was unexpected by the Imperial commander, who had managed to form up his fleet, although Valiant, the armageddon class battlecruiser, had managed to drift waywardly out of formation.
Despite the tactical advantage Thokk had managed to secure, luck was not on his side. The Chaos forces fired full broadsides at the Imperial prows, but Cardale's forces, protected by thick frontal armour and launching torpedo waves, were up to the challenge. The crossing of the "T" was an impressive move, but had little real effect. Even so Audacious was crippled and forced to disengage. Agamemnon too took heavy damage, but turning to port and locking on to the chaos fleet her lance batteries raked the chaos ships. The two lunars then joined in and before long Rheintochter and Midgard were crippled.
Worse was to follow for Thokk however as Hyrrokin found herself exposed on the right flank of the chaos formation as Cardale's forces passed in formation behind his enemy. Unable to disengage, Hyrrokin felt the full fury of the Imperial guns and before long exploded in a flash of plasma.
As the fleets separated they lost contact. Admiral Cardale. his flagship damaged and several of his cruisers running low on ammunition, returned to Corticant for repairs. Thokk is believed to have returned to Mordecai. On paper the battle of Gamordal was an Imperial victory, but the strategic position remained unchanged, and the orks were allowed to refortify their system.
Imperial Losses:
Audacious crippled
3 firestorms destroyed
Chaos Losses:
Rheintochter crippled
Skoll crippled
Midgard crippled
Hyrrokin destroyed
3 escort vessels destroyed
Thokk destroys 3 ork Roks.
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