Tragaen defeats Raven Guard Fleet

Following the crushing defeat suffered by the Word Bearers' fleet in 08_013M42, chaos lord Tragaen agreed to aid the self appointed "Master of Chaos" warsmith Stahl to land a force of his own followers on Zadoc. Tragaen knew that the imperial fleet had been forced to split up to protect convoys and now sensed an opportunity to strike back at the Imperium. Stahl meanwhile was keen to land a force on Zadoc to "help" with the invasion. In reality the warsmith was keen to take his share of the spoils and honours once the planet was pacified into the service of the dark gods.

Tragaen's fleet set out from Kendrenec in early 09_013M42 and arrived almost a month later after picking up the Warsmith's forces. The fleet, led by the battleship Irredeemable Apostate and boasting six capital class vessels, did not find itself with an easy ride to the system's inner biosphere. Unknown to the fleet admiral, the Raven Guard had deployed in force to Zadoc, and their substantial fleet of warships was now on an intercept course, covering the path to the sector capital and forcing an action.

Lord Tragaen's forces did not decline the action, and a battle ensued close in to the planet of Zadoc itself. True to form Traegan was cautious, never allowing any of his ships to face the full might of the closing space marine fleet for two long, and concentrating his vessels' fire on one enemy at a time. The battle lasted hours with the chaos fleet managing to maintain tactical position over their enemies. However their shooting was poor and the Raven Guard vessels armour largely held. The imperium lost four escorts and a strike cruiser during the engagement, with another strike cruiser badly damaged. The Raven Guard battlebarge took no damage whatsoever, but the chaos fleet whethered its main attack run, the hades class "Unforgiveable" somehow managing to avoid major damage from a close range bombardment cannon broadside.

Tragaen's fleet suffered superficial damage in the main, although the devastation class carrier was put out of action. After several hours of confused and sporadic fighting the chaos fleet opened the range between the two fleets and began to turn towards the space marines once again. The space marine commander realised the odds were now stacked against him and withdrew to the outer reaches of the system, allowing the Iron Warriors to make a landing on Zadoc. The outer mining colony was to suffer the worst however, as Tragaen's fleet took great pleasure in bombarding the moon base as they passed, destroying it utterly