In mid 05.018M42 the imperial presence at Tarlius was clearly untenable. General Patreus requested evacuation, but although Hathek and the imperial command agreed this would be the best course of action, with Tragean’s fleet in orbit around Tarlius II the situation looked dire.
Stahl was content to wait for the loyalists to die of hunger, but not all the Chaos forces engaged in the fighting agreed. Notably Khepri, leader of the Prophets of Sotek, favoured immediate decisive action.
The chance for Khepri came on 1205.018M42, when the Ultramarines, led by a new Primaris Captain, arrived in the system and proposed a daring rescue plan. Able commanders like Patreus and the remaining guard forces should not be allowed to die if they could be rescued. Guilliman needed every man he could get in the fight against the dark forces of chaos.
Hathek was grateful for the aid, but reluctant to give up command to the Ultramarines. In the end he acquiesced, avoiding a political standoff and clearing the way for the Astartes plan.
The initial phase of the plan went without mishap, as two strike cruisers leading five fast transports made it successfully to the planet, catching Tragean’s fleet unprepared and out of position. However the Prophets of Sotek quickly realised what the Ultramarines has planned and launched an immediate and bloody offensive against the imperial pocket in the northern hemisphere of the blighted world.
Khepri use his connection to the warp to deal a devastating blow to the leader of the Ultramarines during an intensely violent conflict. In mere hours the Ultramarines had been decisively beaten by the chaos force, and the loyalists were unable to construct the perimeter needed for the rescue. By the time the imperial transports has got into position to load their precious cargo, there was nothing left to save. Tarlius II was abandoned by the Imperium and one end of the vital Foramen passage now lay in chaos hands, making supplying the Imperium Nihilis all the more difficult.
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