Imperial Expansion in the Rifts of Hecate

As 04.022M42 progressed a series of small skirmishes took place across the Rifts of Hecate typifying the engagements in the Hadron Expanse. Unlike the wars of the Perseus Deeps and other more populous subsectors, battles in the Rifts were often small and lonely affairs. By this time even the Imperium only had a few regiments and a handful of astartes companies assigned to the campaign arena, and most of those were concentrated at the main imperial base on Ferrosiun, and a small army had been established on clearing Helos Majoris of the tyranid infestation.

The Sisters of Battle lent a hand in the clearing of tyranid and genestealer cults on Helos Majoris as the Imperium began to bring their religion to the sparse human population of the world. In early 04.022M42 small bands of Sororitas would accompany the Imperial Guard on patrols, keen to show the population of the planet that they were here to save them and bring them under the righteous rule of the Emperor of Mankind.

By mis 04.022M42, several skirmishes against remnant genestealer cults had pushed the xenos back into the rugged terrain of the western hemisphere, and the Sisters pursued them with righteous fire, burning them out of the caves and other hiding places. By the end of the month, the planet would be declared clean, and Helos Majoris was added to the list of imperial worlds.

Further into the Rifts, an expeditionary force had reached the Lodax system. A contingent of Knights from House Corvus had been assigned to the investigation of Lodax and the establishment of a forward base. The Sisters of Battle went ahead of this force, scouting out the twin inhabitable worlds of the system. On Lodax Prime they found nothing, not even life above the microbial substrate that covered the ground, but there were signs of previous habitation by humans, now long since fallen into ruin. On Lodax Secundus, a mars like world of deserts and dust, the Sisters of Battle encountered vast tomb complexes, and were beaten off by small bands of necron warriors that had reanimated to defend their sleeping brothers.

Identifying the necrons as from the Ha'Tek dynasty, the Sisters pressed on with their investigations of further tomb complexes, only to be ambushed and driven off this time by the eldar, who seemed very keen on preventing the Mon-Keigh from blundering into the necron tombs and waking the entire tombworld up. The eldar succeeded in convincing the Adeptus Sororitas from investigating further, but the necrons had already been awoken.

The Ha'Tek dynasty, enraged by the arrival of the lesser races in their domain, sent a significant force against the invaders on Lodax Prime, and attacked the forces of the Imperium as they continued with the construction of a forward base. House Corvus however were ready and willing to engage the necrons, and unleashed their vast firepower on the necron army. The engagement was very one sided, as the xenos struggled to deal with the power of the imperial war engines. House Corvus' Knight Errants charged the necron lines, tearing apart the aliens in close combat, while the mighty Castellan supported by Helverins pummelled their enemies with seemingly unlimited ordnance. Even the intervention of a monolith made no difference, though the Knights were forced to accept some losses before annihilating the necron threat.

By mid 04.022M42 the Imperial base on Lodax Prime had been established, but the tombworld on Lodax Secundus remained the domain of the Ha'tek dynasty, and the activity within the tomb complex showed an increase as more of the xenos emerged from their long slumber.