Libria III: Crusade forge ahead

As 09.015M42 drew to a close the crusade were in the ascendency on the western continent of Libria III. Here, where Vorushko's forces were strongest, the alliance was in retreat. On 2209.015M42 a new offensive spearheaded by the Apocalypse Riders ran into significant resistance from the Adeptus Mechanicus of the Iron Warriors fighting for Apollo and the Federacy. Very quickly the astartes forces found themselves in trouble, as skitarii managed to ambush the marines at close range, annihilating a command squad in a hail of fire. The Riders' chapter master was forced to intervene, charging them and engaging them in close combat. However the adeptus mechanicus forces held their ground, delaying the leader of the Riders' for a significant time.

As the battle progressed the astartes began to regain the initiative, as the bikers' skills made a mockery of the incoming fire from the rest of the mechanicus army. Reserves were called in in the shape of Stormtalons, and the alliance soon took heavy casualties, their walkers and ruststalkers shredded by the aerial firepower. Finally the only significant unit remaining was the alliance Knight, which although damaged, could not be circumvented. Knowing that speed was of the essence and having a such a war engine behind their advance was not tolerable, the chapter master contacted Vorushko. Within minutes the Knight had been dealt with, destroyed from orbit by a precision strike. The Crusade had been able to use secret cloaking technology on at least one of their vessels, allowing a strike cruiser to enter low orbit without alerting the alliance picket forces. This new tactical ability came as a shock to the alliance and threatened to make a mockery of the alliance ascendency in space. The crusade advance continued.