Despite the Grey Knights having operated with the Crusade, and the Space Wolves having fought for Hathek on occasions, there was no enmity between the astartes chapters. While they did not always agree with the actions of the two inquisitors, both astartes chapters were united in their hatred for the ruinous powers, and it was in the interests of both the Crusade and loyalist forces to see the traitor forces hampered.
With this in mind the Grey Knights and Space Wolves made the dangerous passage to the Mordecai system, now on the edge of the Cicatrix Maledictum. From here the Space Wolves made the initial insertion, preparing the way for members of the Adeptus Mechanicus. The plan was simple. The Mechanicus had brought with the atomics, which would be detonated underneath the defence shield of the Fortress World of Moredecai Primaris, taking out weapons stores, manufactoria, and crucially fuel and ammunition supplies for the warfleets of Thok, Tragean and Stahl.
The Grey Knights hoped that the Space Wolves insertion would be met with a significant response from the forces of chaos, and the manifestation of their hated daemonic foe. Perhaps even a daemon Primarch would show their hand, giving the Ordo Malleus an opportunity to banish or even slay one of these enemies of the Imperium.
Utilising ancient stealth technology the tiny imperial fleet managed to penetrate into the heart of the Mordecai system, landing on the fortress worlds and establishing a perimeter. As the Adeptus Mechanicus got to work preparing the necessary rituals to ensure a successful detonation, the Space Marines fought a furious battle as the forces of chaos reacted in strength to this intrusion into their heartlands. As the Space Wolves desperately held on, the ruinous powers realised the threat and the Emerald Serpent appeared from the warp, accompanied by the Death Guard. Led by the dread Primarch Mortarion this was the moment the Grey Knights had been waiting for, and they joined the battle in support of their battle brothers.
The Death Guard and Thousand Sons fought with savagery against their hated foe, and the imperial forces knew they would have to retreat. However they needed to buy time for the Mechanicum and deal as much damage to the hated foe as they could before making good their withdrawal. The astartes fought stubbornly, and the Grey Knights banished many a daemon back to the warp, even forcing Mortarion himself to flee back to his infernal domain lest his eternal soul be annihilated by the Emperor blessed weapons of the Ordo Malleus.
After many hours of savage fighting the astartes were able to make one last gasp effort, using a rhino to block the entrance way to the underground cavern where the Mechanicum had almost completed their rites of blessing to the Omnissiah. At 19hrs on 2805.018M42 the message was received by the Space Wolves captain. ++IT IS COMPLETE++
The astartes and mechanicus forces then managed a successful fighting retreat, as their enemies closed in around them. Using the teleportaria aboard their cloaked vessels, the majority of the valuable assets were evacuated from the planet, escaping into deep space. Only a few tech adepts remained, whose sacrifice was deemed an acceptable trade for the success of the operation. As the astartes strike cruisers raced for the Mordecai jump point, pursued by the few chaos vessels still in the system, behind them an enormous set of explosions blossomed on the surface of the chaos world. The damage to the chaos supply network was devastating, destroying years worth of fuel and enough ammunition to supply an entire warfleet for decades. When Stahl was informed he raged at the incompetence of his chaos "allies" once more. Allies who had allowed the Imperium to conduct a surgical strike at the heart of the chaos realm in the Aleph Sector when the total victory of Chaos was almost at hand.
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