Loyalists make gains on Tarlius

Sector Commander Titus Luthor was in a quandry in late 12.017M42. Much needed reinforcements had been recieved from the Imperium Nihilus, from Bastien and Parthenope, given over to Luthor by General Veers in order to prosecute the campaigns in the Foramen. Among these regiments of Guard, many were Librian, and Luthor wondered deeply about the value of such assets. Their world had fallen to the Alliance. Could they be trusted? With doubts in his mind the Sector Commander decided to assign the Librian forces chiefly to the hellish Tarlius system, where the war against chaos was now developing into a meatgrinder, and required somewhat expendable assets.

On Tarlius itself, the two outer planets were in the thrall of the chaos forces loyal to Warsmith Stahl, but the Iron Warriors had not yet been able to challenge the Imperial fleet in space. On the inner planets, Tarlius 1 and 3 remained uncontested, their sparse local populations as yet oblivious to the war that was raging all about them, but on Tarlius 2, among the mutant infested nomadic tribesmen, chaos and imperial forces clashed in sporadic but violent engagements across the planet, both vying for control.

The Imperial General in charge of the Tarlius crusade was none other than General Patreus, brought with the Librians and Corellians from bastien, leaving Veers with a much stripped back defensive force. Patreus now had to take control of a chaotic battlezone on Tarlius two, which he did with the enthusiasm and drive that had seen a young Colonel lead many successful crusades against Chaos in the Perseus Deeps.

The Imperial General recognised this task as a promotion, and took his duty seriously. First, he drew out plans for the Imperial Guard to join up their scattered strongholds and form a defined front line against the forces of chaos. Between the strongholds he would construct entrenchments and within erect bastions and other defences, ensuring the security of their landing zone. The region single out for this lay on the broad plains of the temperate zone of the world.

Patreus landed his forces near the settlement of Clayborne, which he designated his HQ and primary base. Librian forces then fanned out heading towards the nearest Imperial strongpoint some 600km away. En route, the Emerald Serpent attacked with their usual ambush tactics, led by daemonic hosts, greater daemons and at the centre, Magnus the Red himself. The initial assault saw Magnus cleave through the Imperial lines with ease, penetrating the Librian defences and destroying armoured units. However, the Librians and Patreus realised that while Magnus was leading the offensive, his force seemed inexplicably weak. Fewer and weaker the daemons were and once the imperial guard overcame their terror, they counter-attacked with determination. Massed gunfire tore apart the daemonic entities and eventually even Magnus himself was banished back to the warp. By the end of 017M42 the Librians had joined up with the Novgorod and other loyalist forces on the western hemisphere of the planet, and a perimeter began to be established.