By 2303.019M42 the Imperium were close to defeat at the Paradorn system. Lord Maximus, Commander of all armed forces in the sector, was already preparing his invasion of Mordecai, but the loss of Paradorn would represent the Imperium being ejected wholesale from the Foramen Interdictum. Without a foothold in any system in the narrow corridors of stable real space across the Cicatrix, supplies to the Imperium Nihilis would all but dry up, leaving imperial worlds on the wrong side of the rift cut off and vulnerable.
The Sky Lords appealed to Maximus to withdraw from some worlds in the Expanse to shorten supply lines and to be better able to protect important imperial assets. Maximus refused. This left the Sky Lords with no choice other to help the remaining defenders of Paradorn to cling on against the invading eldar. However, it was not the xenos that led to the decisive confrontation.
The Emerald Serpent, recognising the strategic significance of the imperial foothold, mustered their elite forces to finally remove them from the system. This would have the double benefit of crippling the imperium while ensuring the eldar did not completely control the entire Paradorn system.
The chaos force comprised of the most powerful elements the Emerald Serpent could muster. Two daemon princes, including the legendary Andreos Cain, led a force of elite terminators and a host of plaguebearers. In command, Ahriman himself led the force in order to remove the imperium from Paradorn.
Defending, the Sky Lords could still call on powerful units themselves, and they would need to, as the imperial defenders in the Paradorn Pocket had been reduced to scratch formations. Taking up positions in the last imperial settlement, the Sky Lords deployed their Repulsor tanks and waited for the chaos onslaught.
The initial phase of the battle appeared to go well for the imperium, as massed firepower cut down a host of plaguebearers and were able to move forward to take vital objectives. However, Ahriman proved his mastery of the warp, overcoming the Sky Lords’ librarian again and again. Then, as it seemed that the chaos assault was faltering, the Emerald Serpent deployed their terminators on the imperial right flank, as obliterators appeared in the vanguard of the chaos lines.
The heretical constructs quickly destroyed one Repulsor and crippled another, devastating the Sky Lords’ firebase. This allowed the terminators to begin a slow advance on the imperial lines, while the daemon prince Andreos showed his hand, flying into the heart of the Sky Lords’ lines and destroying the astartes banner bearer with psychic bolts of energy.
The attack by Andreos led to his demise. The Sky Lords’ Commander charged into battle, cutting down the daemon prince and banishing him once more to the warp. However, the sight of the proud imperial banner lying in the dirt profoundly affected the Sky Lords’ morale, and their withering fire slackened. The Emerald Serpent closed in on the shrinking imperial pocket from all directions, and after a protracted fight in the ruins of the settlement, the battle finally ended with the loss of the Sky Lords’ command as the chaos forces closed in for the kill.
Little remained of the imperial defenders of the Imperial pocket. The loss of Paradorn immediately crippled the imperial ability to conduct offensive operations in the Imperium Nihilis. Suddenly all convoys stopped, and the forces of the Emperor found themselves struggling to defend their now isolated territories. Once again the Sky Lords appealed for a withdrawal from less strategically important worlds and systems, and once again the Lord Commander ignored the astartes, pointing out it was the astartes who kept failing to defend the Emperor’s worlds. With the imperium in crisis, the relations between high command and the Sky Lords fell to an all time low.
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