While the loyalist bases at Awarath and Palantir were being overrun, the exploration fleet continued on into the Expanse, apparently blithely unaware of the parlous state of their supply lines. The Imperial fleet was now without any base in the Hadron expanse and was reduced to scattered bases with no provision for resupply and repair.
Nevertheless Barham's fleet ploughed on, reaching the Dnatha system in mid 05.018M42. Here they found the Crusade force already entrenched on several planets, and upon landing on Dnatha 4, the Novgorod Guard were almost immediately pitched into brutal conflict against the Angels Repentant. The astartes tried to disrupt the construction of the loyalist base on the cold icy steppes of Dnatha 4, but the Novgorod fought hard, managing to use their numbers to fend off the space marines.
By 1505.018M42 the Space Marines had withdrawn to the crusade base on the innermost planet, while Barham's fleet moved in to support the loyalist encampment. It had been a victory for the loyalists, but the Ad Hoc nature of the Expanse exploration, with no clear plan or direction, was beginning to finally draw criticism from High Command of the Aleph Sector.
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