Kel Sandros invade Destino

The long, grinding war on Hexis had cost the Alliance dear and Farseer Tarquil realised a change in direction was needed. The Tau and Federacy could not yet muster the bulk of forces in the Imperium Nihilus to fight such a major campaign and it represented an inefficient use of scarce assets. The strategic outlook was still good for the Alliance and Tarquil advised the Tau and Federacy to expand their influence amongst smaller and less well defended worlds whilst the massed legions of the Imperium and the Primordial Annihilator bled each other on the barren planes of Hexis. Meanwhile the Eldar of Kel Sandros had other plans, for which they would need new allies.

Kel Sandros had been lending aid to the Imperial traitor Cybixx for some time, permitting safe passage for his supply ships through the Foramen Interdictum even while they mercilessly ambushed and harassed Imperial convoys. The time had now come for Kel Sandros to make a direct intervention. The ground work for the invasion of Destino had been meticulously prepared, with Alliance operatives disabling the planetary defences whilst Cybixx's Skitarii kill teams gathered intelligence data on Imperial bases and troop positions. When Kel Sandros launched its Warhosts against the planet they knew exactly when and where to strike for maximum effect.

Aspect hosts hit ammo dumps, supply bases, listening posts and troop barracks in rapid succession, throwing the Imperial defenders into panic and confusion. Realising that to cower behind fortress walls would doom the world a company of Astartes of the Sky Lords chapter sallied forth to offer battle to the Eldar. The Eldar accepted the challenge and drew up their own forces, recognising that it was in this moment the fate of Destino lay.

Fierce fighting erupted amidst the dense rocky outcrops of the planet's central mountain range. The Sky Lords fought in disciplined, tightly ordered groupings able to cover all angles with volleys of precisely directed bolter fire. Into this fire the Eldar pressed without fear and casualties on both sides were heavy. Although the fighting was even and bloody for both sides the Eldar were able to make their greater mobility count amidst the rocky terrain, focusing their forces against parts of the Sky Lord's battle line whilst denying others and securing vital objectives ahead of their slower adversaries. Recognising that the backbone of both their current adversary and the planetary defences as a whole stemmed from the might and charisma of the Astartes’ heroic leaders the Eldar made a particular point of singling them out whenever possible, often calling in precisely targeted air strikes whenever the position of a marine leader became known.

With casualty levels becoming unsustainable and Chapter Master Potitus himself badly wounded in the fighting the Sky Lords were left with no choice but to withdraw to their battle barge and abandon the planet to its fate. Leaderless and bereft of their transhuman protectors the remaining defenders were overcome within hours and butchered without mercy. The cost had been high but Tarquil was thankful that a long and drawn out campaign had been averted.