Imperium establishes base on Destino 3

While Vandrax was coming under assault by Loyalist and Crusade forces, the southern system of Destino, at the Federal end of the Foramen Interdictum, had been reached by the Federal battlegroup led by the battleship Haskell. The federal force intended to land forces on the worlds in the system in order to establish a base on the world in order to access the Perseus Deeps. However, upon arrival, the federal forces found the imperium already there, and a sizeable fleet in the vicinity. 

The federal battlegroup included several Tallaxian and Hartak regiments, but also a number of Librian regiments, who had been taken to the Federacy before the coming of the Cicatrix for training and "good will" missions. The Librian forces outnumbered the other federal forces and were keen to take the fight to the imperium, so the federal commander deployed the librians to Destino 3, while staying near the system jump point in case of Imperial intervention from Admiral Enkvist's fleet. The plan to land forces on the other worlds would have to wait.

The Librians landed on Destino 3 and advanced on what appeared to be a small imperial base. However the base was not undefended, and an equal sized Lycaon regiment had been stationed to protect the facility from just such an assault. Both sides quickly engaged in a brutal and unforgiving firefight, with the Librians at first appearing to gain the upper hand. However massed accurate lascannon fire from the Lycaon anti tank weapons quickly neutralised the Librian armour, leaving the infantry dreadfully exposed. Hand to hand fighting in the dense forests of the planet took its toll, with the Imperial numbers and possibly their faith overcoming Librian enthusiasm. In just two days, the Librians were falling back having failed to break the Lycaon defenders. Federal commander Elliot briefly discussed reinforcing the Librians, but was persuaded to evacuate. The Federacy could not hope to win a war of attrition, especially not for one small world of the system. The Librians were evacuated and the Federacy considered its options.