Tragean defeats Enkvist at Tarlius

For many months the fleets in the Foramen Interdictum had avoided serious clashes. Apart from the occasional convoy or supply raid, the fleets of the various forces maintained a careful distance from the major worlds of conflict, knowing that to risk direct conflict with one of the other factions would be to give the advantage to a third power. So the fleets in the Foramen mostly kept apart.

This stance changed as 018M42 began, as the threat from the Federal fleet and tau empire receded. The alliance abandoned their attempts to establish a path through the Foramen, and began searching to the far east of the galaxy for a way through the Cicatrix. With the Eldar mostly using the webway and the Crusade fleet concentrating on supporting Vandrax, this left the forces of chaos and the loyalists the only two major naval factions contesting the Foramen. Realising this, Jellicoe made plans to reinforce his battlegroups and give his forces much needed naval support on the ground.

 

However, while Jellicoe was carefully reorganising his fleets, the forces of chaos acted. Lord Tragean agreed to move his fleet to Tarlius, Allowing Stahl to keep his in the defence of Minos. Meanwhile Admiral Thok began threatening moves from Mordecai, pinning down the crusade fleet at Vandrax and forcing Admiral Barham to cover Destino. Admiral Pendragon's force was still shadowing the crusade at Vandrax, leaving Tarlius and Paradorn somewhat at risk of a chaos strike. Jellicoe resolved to move a battlegroup led by himself to Paradorn, while Admiral Enkvist was selected to deal with Tragean at Tarlius, before relieving Admiral Barham at Destino.

 

Lord Tragean had moved his fleet to the inner Tarlius system, and by late 03.018M42 was supporting his forces on the ground with devastating bombardments and air strikes. His fleet, consisting of Irredeemable Apostate, the Desolator class flagship, two Carnage, two Devastations and a Hades class cruiser, was significant, and Enkvist would only be able to meet him on equal terms, as his flagship, Leipzig, would not be battleworthy for more than a week. Jellicoe couldn't wait that long.

 

Collecting the force he had, Enkvist sent a sub commander aboard the Retribution class Kirov, towards the chaos fleet near Tarlius II. The imperial force comprised of an awesome assembly of torpedo capable vessels, with a large squadron of missile dedicated Viper class destroyers escorting two gothic class and a dictator class cruiser. As the imperial fleet approached the chaos lord aboard the Desolater seemed contemptful of the danger, as the chaos vessels lazily formed up into formation to meet the inbound threat.

 

The loyalist admiral ordered all ahead full, and the subsequent massed torpedo wave caused panic in the chaos lines. The imperial force made a good start, crippling Rapturous Agony at 13:56 local time, and forcing the leading Carnage class vessels to shear out of line. In addition the entire screening force of Iconoclast class escorts simply vanished in a roiling cloud of plasma as the Vipers' payload hit home. The initial success of the loyalist strike however had been more visibly dramatic than material. Although Tragean had lost his escorts, the screen had detonated an enormous torpedo wave which did not penetrate through to his capital ships beyond. Now Tragean struck back, destroying the escorts and pouring his entire fleet's firepower into the Kirov at the head of the line.

 

At 14:07 the massed bombardment of the loyalist flagship had badly damaged the vessel, but the imperial admiral still came on, eventually ramming the chaos battleship at 14:26, causing considerable damage. By now the two fleets were practically intermingled, and both sides launched teleport attacks, with the Imperium even launching an ill advised boarding action against the Pestilence at 14:49. Taking significant close range punishment, the two Carnage vessels fleed, crippled, but the next blow was dealt by Tragean, as the two devastation class carriers finished off the Kirov and reducing her to a burnt out floating hulk at 14:44. No longer under her own power or control, the ship drifted aimlessly shedding her atmosphere. To avoid a similar fate, Tragean aboard the heavily damaged Irredeemable Apostate follwed his Carnage's into the inky blackness of the outer reaches of the Tarlius system, while his remaining cruiser force crippled the gothic class Narv at 15:05.

 

The two fleets now drew apart, three cruisers remaining on both sides. Tragean had three capital ships badly damaged, including his battleship, but the damage to Enkvist's force had been more significant, with Kirov reduced to a wreck. Eventually the imperial fleet made for the jump point, while Tragean returned to orbit over Tarlius II. The attempt to remove Chaos dominance of the system and the skies of the contested worlds had been a failure.