Imperial Fists defeated by Ynnari but hold on

Despite having wrestled back control of all settlements on Corticant, the Imperium knew this was unlikely to mean an end to the Aeldari attacks on the world. Corticant was well defended from space, but general Kutuzov knew that in the wilderness zones of the planet, which made up more than three quarters of the surface, there were a number of eldar webway portals. These would need finding and shutting down before the Imperium could hope to be free of the alien threat.

 

Worse still, the eldar still had a vested interest in Corticant. The Imperium knew that the ancient race could not tolerate the Imperium having control of such a powerful alien artefact, even an inert one, as the attack on Hexis had clearly shown. The Aeldari race were united in their purpose to gain control over all the devices in the sector, wherever they were found. They had two, chaos controlled one, one remained missing and the final active device was to be found at Corticant.

 

In order to bolster Imperial defences on Corticant, several companies of space marines were allocated to its defence. On company of Imperial Fists was given the defence of Byford, the settlement closest to the Device Chamber and one which would need to be taken and held by the eldar in order to besiege the Chamber for long enough to deactivate and remove the device. The Imperium knew that the eldar could mount a full scale invasion, but the fastest route for their alien enemies would be to overwhelm Byford, take the device chamber and hold out long enough to escape with the device.

 

This fact the Imperial Fists and the general of the guard agreed on, so the Imperium's strongest defences were arrayed near the town. On 0404.020M42 their logic was proved correct, as a combined force of Ynnari and Ul'Staer eldar was reported making a two pronged move on the settlement from the wastelands to the west.

 

The Imperial Fists initially held a line outside the settlement, intending to swiftly defeat one arm of the encircling move before moving quickly to intercept and crush the other. However the battle against the Ynnari quickly went wrong, with the Fists finding that the Emperor himself appeared to have deserted them, as their psychic powers let them down and weapons and resolve faltered. The Ynnari pushed on, and the Fists were forced to retreat. This left the plan in tatters, but the astartes resolved to defeat the Ul'Staer craftworld in the city itself. Outnumbered and almost surrounded, the battle for Byford raged for days as the eldar attempted to push into the city. Initially things went well, as the Imperial Fists' prepared positions tool down a wraithknight and two falcon tanks almost immediately. However following the initial success rather than abandon their mission, the eldar continued to press the astartes, concious that they were almost at breaking point. Only with a truly super human effort did the space marines manage to hold out, eventually wiping out the Ul'Staer craftworld attack and holding Byford.

 

The situation on Corticant by 0704.020M42 was becoming difficult however. The Imperial Fists had sacrificed a great deal to protect the entrance to the device chamber, and were severely depleted in terms of manpower and equipment. Kutuzov knew the renewed battle for Corticant had only just begun.