Shadowstrike intervenes on Libria IV

Imperial Intelligence had detected the deployment of fresh Tau forces into the northern districts of Libria IV. The site of recent Imperial victories the Tau hold in the north was tenuous and fragmented leaving the area ripe for the taking. Even more concerning were reports that the fresh Tau troops belonged to the Ksi'm'yen Sept, veterans of many successful campaigns in the Aleph Sector including Tarsis and Melberg.

Anxious to avoid the Tau securing their positions Imperial High Command requested that the Space Wolves re-enforce the Cathedral district, hoping to stall any Tau counter attack until massed Astra Millitarum formations could be redeployed to shore up the region.

The Tau offensive came sooner than expected, catching the thinly spread Space Wolves at their most vulnerable. Heavily outnumbered they were unable to control much of the area giving the aggressive and mobile Tau forces almost free reign to secure their designated objectives. Tau infantry was soon spotted stationed in the south but it proved to be a distraction force, the main attack fell in the north where Tau suites supported by Riptides bounded through the ruins and quickly overwhelmed the few defenders there.

Seeing the Tau success and temporarily left their distraction force unsupported and vulnerable the Space Wolve's commander decided that attack was the best form of defence. Hoping to turn the tide with a daring counter strike he teleported down from his orbiting Strike Cruiser hoping to crush the vulnerable infantry. But Shadowstrike had long taught that to defeat one's enemy one must first put yourself in the mind of that enemy. Picking up the energy spike from the orbiting cruiser the Tau were ready and jammed its sensors, flooding them with white noise. As alarms sounded in the teleportation chamber the Space Wolf commander and his elite retinue hung suspended in the warp for a moment before emergency fail-safes cut in and dumped them onto the planet far from their intended target and right into the path of the Tau attack. Helpless they were gunned down by the massed firepower of the Tau suites.

Unimpeded the Tau attack swept on, surrounding the remaining Space Wolves and cutting them down without mercy before pushing on deep into the city. It was a disaster for the Imperial cause and the Tau were able to secure large swathes of the north districts. Photo reconnaissance even picked up low quality and grainy images of Commander Shadowstrike himself supervising the attack although he must have long died of old age. Could Shadowstrike's prodigies be carrying on his tactics and legacy?