Vandrax comes under Loyalist assault

Inquisitor Hathek soon found out about Vorushko's landing on Vandrax. However his attempts to declare the Inquisitor lord a heretic were met with a muted response from the Indomitus crusade, and a luke warm reception from Titus Luthor. However, Hathek did manage to persuade Luthor to give him access to the Imperial fleet stationed at Farport, and his Inquisitor Lord rank still gave him enough leverage over the administratum to secure several regiments of Imperial Guard. Admiral Jellicoe remained with his fleet in the Vastrid subsector, except those forces at Bastien, while Admiral Barham had been sent with the Indomitus crusade to Paradorn, Enkvist's fleet had been sent to Destino, which left Admiral Pendragon free for Inquisitor Hathek's use.

The Vandrax assault battlegroup comprised of several capital ships, led by Sir Gallahad, recently refitted at Farport. Ground forces comprised of Novgorod Guard and Vannaheim Guard, although the Order of the Crimson Veil, once part of the Crusade, had also joined Hathek, now believing their former actions as errant, and keen to make penance. Hathek's force was boosted however, by a company of Space Wolves who were eager to see the back of Inquisitor Vorushko, and a company of Howling Griffons who Hathek was able to convince of her treachery.

The imperial battlegroup arrived at Vandrax to find the Crusade already entrenched and established on the third and fourth worlds of the system, but their fleet declined to come to battle. Evenly matched, the two fleets would likely mutually annihilate, leaving neither side the victor. Instead the war would be fought on the planets themselves.

The Howling Griffons made planetfall on Vandrax IV, a cold and barren ice world, where they engaged Adeptus Mechanicus forces after their refusal to surrender. The battle was brief and bloody, but ended with Vandrax IV being secured for the "loyalist" imperium. Meanwhile the main force of Hathek's battlegroup landed outside the defensive perimeter of the Crusade outpost, and began a three pronged assault. On the left flank the Space Wolves engaged the crusade adeptus mechanicus, but found the mechanicum forces well entrenched. Despite the fury of the Space marin charge the astartes took heavy casualties and were unable to breach the defensive lines of the crusade. Meanwhile a well equipped Volscian regiment in the centre cut down the Adeptus Sororitas and Vannaheim guard in short order, breaking the loyalist attack. The right flank saw the Cerberex guard hold out under heavy assault from ranks of Novgorod Guard, but in the end this battle, though bloody, was in vain for Hathek's loyalists anyway, as the crusade perimeter had held.

Disappointed with the assault, Hathek pulled his forces back to the battlegroup and moved into orbit around Vandrax 4. Vorushko was not at Vandrax in person, much to Hathek's annoyance, and now the Inquisitor lord needed to decide whether to press home the attack on Vandrax or go after Vorushko herself.