Sunday, December 22, 2019

Kel Sandros unable to prevent Hussaria advance

The strategic situation for the Alliance had continued to deteriorate. Still reeling from the loss of Palantir the Tau and Federacy had been unable to prevent the Imperium counter-invading Hussaria and establishing a beachhead. Keen to capitalise on their surging fortunes the Imperium declared a holy crusade to retake those planets that had fallen under the sway of 'the heretic and the xenos'.

This further setback did little to shore up the confidence of Kel Sandros' ruling council where support for the Alliance project was rapidly waning. The prevailing mood was that it would be folly to continue to spend Aeldari lives in support of allies that had repeatedly squandered every advantage provided to them. This was further compounded by the galactic situation as a whole. Those that argued that the Rhana Dandra was imminent and that the focus should be on winning it rather than delaying it were gaining increasing traction in council debates.

In desperation those still behind the Alliance sent a warhost to Hussaria in an attempt to stop the rot. Their hope was that a clear victory would give the Alliance time to recover and counter-attack, keeping alive the dream of stabilising the region and allowing the Tau Empire to gradually supplant the Imperium.

The warhost rapidly deployed to the planet's surface and moved to head off a determined advance spearheaded by elite human soldiers. Well equipped and reeking strangely of stale incense and self-righteousness these female warriors attacked the Eldar without hesitation, singing angry dirges as they advanced relentlessly forwards. The battle was closely fought with casualties high on both sides but the Eldar gradually found themselves unable to maintain sufficient dominance of the area of engagement. Tarquil was forced to admit that this was not the clear cut victory he had hoped for and that it would be better to withdraw now and preserve his forces rather than continue to engage the humans in a battle of attrition they must ultimately lose. Events on Hussaria would only serve to re-enforce the positions of those that argued for a far more desperate path.


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