Rifts of Hecate 2411.023M42

 

Astartes take the fight to Xenos

As 11.023M42 came to an end, the Dark Angels and Angels of Vengeance added to the defence of the Imperial bases on Helos Majoris and Ferrosiun, by taking the fight to the enemy. Having been tipped off that the tyranids were massing on an uninhabited world the Dark Angels sent a strong force, hoping to destroy some hive ships. None were found, but the astartes did manage to land a significant force on the world and hunted down a swarmlord as well as other critical synapse creatures, reducing the threat to imperial bases.

Meanwhile the Angels of Vengeance investigated intelligence that an uncharted world harboured a vast tomb of necrons, which the Sautekh dynasty were intending to awaken. Sure enough the necrons were immediately encountered and a firece and hard fought battle took place outside the entrance to the tomb complex. The Angels of Vengeance managed to hold on to their position, preventing the necrons from gaining access to the tomb below, and following the fall of their overlord the alien constructs retreated. The cost to the astartes was significant however, with their captain seriously injured as well as dozens of battle brothers killed; a not insignificant casualty rate for an astartes chapter.

Overall however the imperial bases in the Rifts of Hecate were secure at least for the moment. Of more concern was the situation on Haven, and the continued stripping of strategic assets from the campaign theatre, to counter enemies elsewhere.

Having gained control of much of the frontier world of Phyrro Zeta in the Rifts of Hecate, the forces of chaos didn't appear to be planning anything for the world out of the ordinary until late in 11.023M42 the psykers attached to the imperial forces began raising the alarm. It appeared the forces of chaos were planning a ritual to dedicate the planet to Slaanesh, which would not only increase the power of that chaos god within the pantheon, but also increase the threat from chaos in the region, by setting in motion the path towards a new daemonworld and possibly another warp rift akin to the cicatrix maledictum.

The Hammers of the Emperor mounted an immediate rapid response, making planetfall on 1011.023M42, and slowly pushed forward through the host of daemons that were desparate to protect the ritual. In the battle the daemonic alliance of Syll Lewdtongue and the daemon monarch Esske was seen in the sector for the first time, though the combined daemon(s) of Syll'Esske was banished in the fighting by the loyalist astartes.

The Hammers almost made it to the ritual in time, but the unexpected and timely intervention by the forces of tzeentch tipped the balance and allowed the world to be dedicated to Slaanesh. What motivated the Architect of Fate to intervene remained unknown. Perhaps the Changer of Ways was merely bored, but it seemed to imperial high command that there might be a growing alliance between the two great powers, at odds with the entropic plans of nurgle.

Imperium battle Xenos in Rifts of Hecate

As 11.042M42 progressed the Imperium still showed no intention of leaving the Rifts of Hecate. Despite having his resources and strategic supply reduced, general Maximus still managed to consolidate his hold over Helos Majoris and Ferrosiun. On Helos Majoris the Dark Angels continued to respond to remnant tyranid infestations following several raids by Hive Fleet Poseidon. The Dark Angels were aided in this by detachments of Novgorod guard, who deployed in small combat formations to hunt down and destroy dangerous infestations of the hinterlands.

On Haven, the orks launched their first offensive for months, taking the Hammers of the Emperor by surprise and inflicting a shock defeat on the Imperium. This had now become a critical situation as the loss of Haven would threaten imperial supply routes through the Hecate Gap. Maximus ordered his forces to dig in and requested urgent reinforcement, hoping the orks would not strike again before they were available.

Rifts of Hecate: Xenos raids

Despite the Inquisitional order to retreat from the Rifts of Hecate, by late 023M42 the Imperium still retained strong forces in the region, as crusade general Maximus was less than inclined to effectively give up his command. Meanwhile the Aeldari were regarding the escalating situation in the Rifts with some alarm. In secret, the Aeldari had communicated with the Imperium via the Inquisition, believing they had an accord with the Mon'Keigh that they would leave the region and allow the dangerous combination of orks, tyranids and necrons to fight one another, while the Aeldari worked on cutting the region off from the rest of the sector.

Now it appeared the discussions had been for nothing, so the Aeldari arranged a number of dark eldar raids and Ynnari attacks to encourage the Imperium to leave the Rifts of Hecate. Unfortunately for the xenos, the dark eldar raid on the imperial base of Ferrosiun was met by a savage counter attack by the Hammers of the Emperor, which lead to the rare event of the Imperium taking drukhari prisoners. At the same time the Ynnari investigated the extend of tyranid infestation on Lodax. The first mission into tyranid territory went badly, with the extra-galactic ambushing the Aeldari and systematically removing their ability to counter the hordes of creatures that now fell upon the eldar. Initially the Ynnari fled, but Yvraine rallied her followers, killing the largest tyranid hive creature while the Death Jester took out a Norn Emissary. The Yncarne also appeared, killing a Neurotyrant, and with their command and control nodes destroyed the tyranid assault fizzled out. The Aeldari plan to influence events in the region was not going well.

Iron Warriors interfere with Imperial Plans

In late 023M42 the forces of chaos were heavily engaged with the Imperium in the Mordecai system, with the planet of Mordecai Primaris now the site of vigorous imperial military build up. The Iron Warriors, lacking the strategic resources of the Emerald Serpent, nonetheless saw an opportunity to raise their status and frustrate the Imperium's plans, by striking in two places at once. In the Rifts of Hecate against the imperial outpost on Pyhhro Zeta a company of Iron Warriors attacked and defeated the imperial guard garrison, threatening the imperial foothold on the world, while the Imperium were busy dealing with xenos raids.

In the Perseus Deeps a second company of Iron Warriors launched an assault on hanger bays of the Mordecai Docks. Despite the imperial fleet patrolling the area and with no fleet support from chaos naval assets.The traitor astartes managed to achieve surprise and overwhelm the local imperial garrison that had been entrenched on the station. The Mordecai Docks being vast, the Hammers of the Emperor had originally established an imperial foothold then handed this over to naval personnel. The plan had been to build up forces before launching an assault on the rest of the station, which was still holding out and had years of supplies stocked.

The imperial plan was overturned by the Iron Warriors' assault, and even the intervention of the Space Wolves could not hold the chaos forces back. Bitter fighting in the hanger bays resulted in chaos victory, and the Imperium had to abandon their foothold on the installation. Now the options were to try again, lay siege to the docks or gradually obliterate them with the combined firepower of the imperial fleet.

New Cerberex: Rideau and Vincennes fall to Tau

On New Cerberex the presence of the Dark Angels had paused the Tau offensive, which had been based around a lighting attack to catch the Imperium off balance before they could create a stable defensive line. As that hadn't happened, the Librian Guard had been able to erect defences, particularly around the capital of New Feducia.

The tau based their next offensive to take advantage of the relative weakness of the Librian left flank, and in 10.023M42 drove an entire hunter cadre into the Vincennes valley, quickly pushing the Librian front line back and threatening to encircle the capital. The imperial force responded with a highly mobile armoured and mechanised force, but found the tau vehicles in particular difficult to take out. The tau used the terrain well, keeping their hammerheads well concealed, and the overall tau force had been created with the possibility of facing either mechanised or astartes forces.

The battle developed favourably for the tau who were able to destroy many of the Librian vehicles, establishing a commanding position over the Vincennes valley. The remnants of the Librian force withdrew, ceding the town of Vincennes to the Imperium and resulting in the encirclement of the capital, for only moderate or "acceptable" casualties.