Hexis 2 taken by Death Guard

In early 03.019M42 imperial attention turned to the second world of the Lysis system, simply known as Hexis II or Hexis moon. The planet, smaller than Hexis, is a companion of the major world, orbiting the larger celestial body once every 28 days. Although smaller, the planet was once colonised and has a thin breathable atmosphere, although hardly any water. Ruined structures cover the surface, suggesting this world was once part of the civilisation of men that had colonised the system.

Despite being close to Hexis itself, the Hexis moon showed no signed of Necron activity, and it was believed that the ancient race did not bother to settle the world. Its lack of immediate strategic significance had seen little action on its surface, but the Imperium soon found out that the forces of chaos were setting up a large installation on Hexis moon, creating a secondary base which could mean the constant support by the traitor fleets would no longer be as necessary. Realising the strategic threat, the Sky Lords sent in their first company of terminators to deal with the chaos forces. Unfortunately for the astartes as soon as they made landfall they found the heretic base defended by Death Guard terminators of Mortarion's own first plague company.

The Sky Lords sent in their elite against the traitors, and they had the numbers advantage. Leaving the scouts to secure their own objectives and protect the flanks, Chapter Master Potitus led his terminators against the chaos force, who were now slowly marching forward to the Sky Lords' positions. The imperial force had a firepower advantage, but the blight lord terminators and the death shroud proved hard to defeat with guns alone, and the commander of the astartes knew his force would have to take on the deaths shroud in close combat to deal the traitors a decisive blow. Aiming to strike first, he ordered his own combat squad supported by power fist armed terminators to perform a double charge on the enemy force that was still lumbering forward. Despite his commands and the use of psychic forces from his own librarian, the charges failed, and the Sky Lords were now stuck in the open against the full force of the Death Guard host.

The loyalist terminators withstood much of the withering firepower, but pinned down, the first company of the Sky Lords had no chance when the remaining death shroud terminators struck home with their fearsome plague weapons. Millennia of experience and the blessings of Grandfather Nurgle saw the traitor marines make short work of Potitus' elite squads, and despite an energetic charge by his remaining warriors on the space marine left flank, the Death Guard could not be held. The chapter master ordered a retreat, narrowly avoiding the fate of his lieutenant, who was cut down by a Death Guard chaos lord, but the plague marines eventually caught up with the Sky Lords' chapter master, bludgeoning him to the ground. Only later did Potitus manage to escape, seriously wounded, once his scouts had been evacuated.

The mission to secure Hexis moon had failed, and the forces of chaos, led by the Death Guard, continued work on their installations, creating a thorn in General Konev's side which would be extremely difficult to remove.