Imperial Forces land at Haven

During 07.022M42 the Imperium stopped expanding into thr Rifts of Hecate. Much had changed in the sector in the preceding months, thanks to the intervention of the Inquisition. The sector commander had been replaced, and the new imperial high command felt that there was a real danger of imperial forces becoming overstretched. In reality the Imperium was already massively overstretched, with a major war against chaos at Mordecai swallowing nearly all new reinforcements that arrived in the sector, and with no stable route across the Cicatrix Maledictum, the "crusade" into the Rifts of Hecate now seemed little more than folly.

Crusade general Justinian Flavius Maximus saw his appointment to the Hadron Expanse for what it really was, a demotion, but the general took his responsibility seriously nonetheless. He had arrived in late 04.022M42 and ensured the bases at Ferrosiun and Helos Majoris were strong. However, he soon received a message from the Inquisition to begin falling back. Protesting at this, Maximus made a strong case for keeping the gains the Imperium had already made, and a compromise was agreed. Maximus would not immediately have to fall back, but in order to prevent the necrons, orks and tyranids which had been found in strength in the region, from swarming through the Hecate gap towards major imperial worlds in the sector, he would need to create and fortify imperial positions in the Gap itself.

There were two world that the Imperium would need to secure in order to control the Hecate Gap. At one end, the system of Ergura's fall, and at the Hadron Expanse end, the habitable world of Haven. Bases here would pave the way for a standing fleet presence, guarding the gap from hostile forces trying to break through.

General Maximus diverted his latest tranche of Novgorod reinforcements to an assault on Haven. Upon landing, the imperial troops had little time to rest or construct a base, as they soon found that the orks had already got their ahead of them. This was somewhat worrying, as if Haven ended up under greenskin control, it risked trapping the Maximus' forces in the Rifts and setting the scene for a new Waaagh! into the Hadron Expanse proper. The imperial landings had attracted the interest of the orks in any case, so a confrontation was inevitable. The Novgorod forces lined up with a large force of conscripts at their front, which were doomed from the start. The human shield tactic was successful however, as while the orks hacked apart the inexperienced infantry, the Imperial artillery had amble time to thin out the greenskin numbers. This allowed the Novgorod veteran infantry to mount a second wave assault, breaking the ork attack and securing time and space for the Administratum to start work on a new base. The first landings at Haven had been a success.