Aeldari strike at Imperial Targets

In the Hadron Expanse, the loyalist forces of Admiral Barham's battlegroup had suffered a setback at Vespae, but Inquisitor Huron of the Ordo Xenos arrived in mid 06.018M42 in order to take command of the expedition. Huron wanted to find out as much as possible about the necron ruins, which he knew to be of the still dormant Bahotek Dynasty. If any of the Xenos tech could be salvaged, it might provide Huron with the power to create safe faster than light travel, free of the predations of chaos, something which would save the Imperium - he believed - from its otherwise certain demise at the hands of the ruinous powers.

Huron instructed General Chuikov, the Novgorod commander of ground forces in Barham's Hadron Expedition, to begin investigating the ruins on two of the systems worlds. No sooner had they sent down landing teams however, the Aeldari attacked. Led by the Rillietan or Harlequins, the xenos force brutally slew both landing parties before Huron decided to land in force on the third planet. Believing these to be mere xenos raids he felt a show of Imperial force would check their boldness, but the Inquisitor Lord was to be sorely disappointed. 

The larger force of Novgorod and Adeptus Mechanicus landed in good order but were soon engaged by a surprisingly large force of Aeldari. More worrying for Huron was that the eldar involved appeared to be both Harlequin and Drukhari, or Dark Eldar. Clearly something about these ruins was important enough for the usually contemptuous dark kin of the eldar to make common cause with the Rillietan, and the combined Xenos force showed no mercy to the human interlopers.

Brutal fighting saw many lives lost on both sides, with the eldar for once willing to trade lives for ground. It was clear from their savage assaults that they were determined the "mon keigh" should not set foot in the ancient ruins. After losing more than two thirds of their landing force General Chuikov was able to pursuade the lord Inquisitor to evacuate. The remaining imperial forces were hastily withdrawn from the planet and the Aeldari claimed two of the systems worlds for their own.