Orks “accidentally” activate device

Despite being cut off in the centre of Praxis, the imperial forces remained in good spirits, largely due to the presence of significant imperial cult forces. Firebrand speeches and sermons boosted morale while the imperial pocket waited for rescue. 

However the defenders of the imperial territory were sorely lacking in supplies and equipment, meaning that when necrons from the crypts launched an assault on the centre of the city, an area that contained the device chamber itself, the imperial cult were unable to respond with their usual vigour. Despite crazed and fanatical attacks, the necrons proved resilient, and the tired cultists seemed unable to land telling blows against their enemies. Even the imperial cult were unable to hold under such circumstances, and the centre of Praxis was yielded to aliens. 

The necrons however did not appear to be fully awake, so when the orks allied to the Pact assaulted the device chamber from the opposite direction, the xenos were unprepared. The leading orks stormed the chamber, and despite initial setbacks, the greenskins overwhelmed the slow moving necron warriors in close combat, taking the device chamber for the Chaos Pact. 

Of course, orks can’t exactly be trusted not to touch ancient powerful artefacts, and despite having express orders not to mess with the device, curiosity overcame one of the Ork Meks. After much prodding and the loss of several grots, the Ork oddboy somehow managed to wake the ancient necron device, sending a powerful shockwave into the warp, which had the incidental effect of instantly killing the Mek responsible. Nevertheless, the device had been activated, scything a path through the Cicatrix that randomly exited at the borders of the tau empire. The ork’s chaos overlords raged at the result, as they’d planned all along to create a warp path further west, to the chaos held Enceladus subsector. However, the alignment of the device could still be changed, or perhaps even be used as a jumping off point for a future invasion of the Tau empire. 

The necrons had fled back to their underground crypts, but they were quickly pursued by a Grey Knights force pushing in from Menthoteph. The astartes found the necrons difficult to kill, but their innate psychic powers were an immeasurable boon against the soulless enemies, allowing them to clear out the xenos and begin exploration of the lower tombs.