The Imperial force had been bolstered by the arrival of the reaver titan, but as the massive chaos force made landfall in front of the Grey Knights base, the mighty titan was still unloading from its drop ship, and would not be available for the start of the battle. Defending the base at the outset was Cybixx and his mechanics along with the Vostroyan Guard. The Grey Knights waited in reserve for an opportune moment to counter strike.
The forces of chaos, led by a mass of cultists, consisted of daemons and marines of the Emperor's Children, a host of daemons from the Emerald Serpent, and might vehicles and war engines led by Stahl himself. Despite fielding significant firepower, the crusade forces were penned back by the chaos horde, and though they cut them down in short order, there were always more to replace them. Very soon the Grey Knights realised they had to intervene, Reaver Titan or not.
The Ordo Malleus Astartes arrived with their customary ferocity, and on the chaos left flank they held, then turned the chaos advance, cutting down swathes of Thousand Sons and tzeentch daemons. However, toward the centre, Cybixx's electro priests were unable to get close enough to engage their enemy in close combat, and were swiftly dispatched by a chaos knight. The Imperial Baneblade of the Vostroyans kept the chaos assault at bay, despite coming under the sights of an Iron Warriors Shadowsword. The traitor super-heavy missed its shot, allowing the Baneblade to reply in kind. The Imperial war engine did not miss, wrecking the Shadowsword and securing the right flank.
On the left, the situation was well under control, until the arrival of a chaos Warhound titan. Now the forces of chaos had a towering war engine, and the Warhound soon made its presence felt, causing significant damage to the Adeptus Mechanicus forces. With the Imperial left flank in danger of total collapse, the timely intervention of the Reaver Titan was welcomed by the Imperial force. The giant war engine unleashed a devastating volley of fire just as the Vostroyans landed their Scions in the midst of the chaos lines. The Warhound however was not bowed, and the huge energies of the Reaver Titan's weapons were deflected by its void shields. In response, the Warhound levelled its turbo-lasers at the Reaver, but again titanic void shield held in the face of this violent onslaught. The titans had cancelled each other out.
While the Titans duelled, the Grey Knights realised that if the centre of the battlefield remained in chaos control, the battle would be lost. All available firepower was levelled at the cultists swarming over the front gates to the compound, but despite the carnage wrought, the traitor forces did not waver. In desperation the Grey Knights launched their assault, but despite heroic bravery their charge proved in vain. By late 2403.018M42 after a day of non stop bloodshed, it was clear the chaos invasion could not be stopped.
The Reaver and the Adeptus Mechanicus made an ordered retreat back to the space port, holding one area of the base long enough for Cybixx's forces to retrieve an item of significance; his experiments and research on a suspected STC. The Vostroyans too fought bravely, coming dangerously close to the Warhound titan and distracting it long enough for the Reaver to land some telling shots. However, neither Titan was put out of action.
On 2803.018M42 the Imperial rear guard action reached the spaceport, allowing the Crusade's important assets - the Mechanicum and Grey Knights, to escape into orbit, where a Mechanicum cruiser and the Grey Knights fleet were anxious to leave orbit before the invasion fleet detected them. Tarlius I had been lost, and Stahl with his allies had achieved an important victory. The Iron Warriors began fortifying their new base, while the daemons of Slaanesh enjoyed some "sport" with the remaining Vostroyans.
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