Vastrid subsector: Imperial fleet savaged by Dark Eldar

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.