The Tau Offensive and the Destruction of West Hallen Defences on Hylas

In the waning weeks of 10.024M42, the fall of Finlay had left Imperial forces under General Van Dorn entrenched in the swampy regions of West Hallen, preparing for the expected Tau assault. However, the anticipated attack took an unexpected turn with the sudden arrival of Tau Commander Malkaor, whose forces had last been recorded operating within the Hadron Expanse. Rather than pursuing a typical campaign of territorial gain, Malkaor’s troops launched a targeted and systematic operation aimed solely at obliterating the Imperial trench lines and defensive fortifications across the West Hallen wetlands.

Malkaor’s strategy capitalised on the high mobility of Tau forces, which allowed his troops to strike at weak points in the Imperial defences before rapidly redeploying. Malkaor’s forces dismantled bunkers, shredded trench networks, and collapsed fortified emplacements across the boggy landscape, neutralising Van Dorn’s hard-won defensive line before the Imperial forces could adapt. The destruction of the defenses left Van Dorn’s troops dangerously exposed to further Alliance advances into Hylas’ strategic heartlands.

Aware of the threat posed by Malkaor’s mobilised campaign, the Grey Knights, who had tracked the Tau Commander to Hylas, launched a counter-attack against the Tau forces. With the blessing of the Ordo Malleus, they attempted to stop the Tau from stripping West Hallen of its critical fortifications, thus preserving Hylas’ defences for future offensives. Malkaor, however, leveraged the Tau’s superior mobility and advanced weaponry, decisively repelling the Grey Knights’ assault and inflicting heavy casualties on the elite Imperial forces. By early 0511.024M42, Malkaor’s victory was complete, and West Hallen’s fortifications lay in ruins.

Having effectively crippled the Imperial defences, Malkaor’s forces withdrew swiftly from Hylas, evading an encounter with Imperial naval assets stationed in orbit. His rapid redeployment and disappearance suggested an emerging strategy of mobilizing as a reserve force across the sector, striking at key positions before Imperial forces could marshal a counter-offensive.

For General Van Dorn, the destruction of West Hallen was a grim blow. Though the defences of East Hallen still offered some hope for resistance, the Imperium’s forces on Hylas faced a prolonged and increasingly precarious campaign. Van Dorn knew that while East Hallen’s fortifications remained formidable, the coming assault by the Alliance and the threat of Malkaor’s unpredictable manoeuvres would make holding Hylas a far more daunting prospect.

Special Ops in the Mabb Nebula

To: General Van Dorn, Commanding Officer, Imperial Forces, Mabb Nebula

Subject: Situation Report on Operations in Mabb Nebula – Waystation S-192 and Corredon Outpost

Date: 11.024M42

General,

Our ongoing operations in the Mabb Nebula to secure and stabilise strategic supply lines have met with mixed outcomes. Below is a detailed report of recent engagements and the current status of our objectives.

1. Waystation S-192:

Our Guard insertion team has successfully infiltrated and established a foothold on Waystation S-192, despite an intervention from Eldar xenos forces. Imperial troops managed to repel the initial attack, and while Eldar resistance remains within the station’s outer compartments, our forces are positioned to begin a systematic clearing operation to secure the entire installation.

Once full control of the station is achieved, we will prioritise fortification measures to prevent further xenos incursions. The outpost is strategically critical, and a secure supply route through this sector hinges on maintaining and reinforcing our presence here.

2. Corredon Outpost, Hangar 087:

Unfortunately, the squad of Astartes deployed to investigate Hangar 087 encountered significant and unanticipated resistance from Votann forces aligned with the Alliance. The Votann operatives employed disruptive tactics, using the hangar’s hostile radiation field to disable the Astartes' enhanced sensory equipment. By intermittently cutting power to the hangar lighting, the Votann forces created a challenging combat environment that neutralised the marines' targeting capabilities.

The marines were consequently unable to detect or neutralize the ambushers and suffered a complete loss of personnel. Control over Hangar 087 and its technological assets has since fallen to the Alliance. Although we retain a foothold on Corredon Outpost, the loss of Hangar 087 and its ancient artefacts is a setback. Current intelligence indicates the Alliance intends to consolidate their hold over the installation and shows no inclination to relinquish it.

Conclusion:

Efforts at Waystation S-192 are proceeding favourably, with a pathway to securing the entire station in sight. Conversely, the situation on Corredon Outpost reveals a determined Alliance presence and a clear operational challenge that will require strategic recalibration. We anticipate the need for specialized support and possibly additional reinforcements to reclaim Hangar 087 and protect other critical areas within Corredon.

Further updates will be relayed as the situation develops.

For the Emperor,

[Imperial Command Representative]

Imperial Command, Mabb Nebula Operations

Grey Knights and chaos strike at Tyranid menance

With Hive Fleet Poseidon gaining momentum in the Rifts of Hecate, Inquisitorial agents sounded an urgent alarm regarding the escalating Tyranid threat. Despite these warnings, General Maximus declined to launch an offensive against the xenos, citing insurmountable logistical challenges. In response, the Inquisition acted independently, securing the cooperation of the Grey Knights—an unusual intervention for the elite daemon-hunters but justified given the grave risk posed by Poseidon’s hive mind.

The Grey Knights, accompanied by a Knight Preceptor deployed to Mendesum, a world recently fallen to Tyranid infestation. Their mission: locate and eliminate a critical hive node to disrupt the Tyranids’ planetary absorption process and gain valuable time to fortify Imperial defences at the Hecate Gap. The strike force swiftly identified a primary node and launched a relentless assault, but they encountered fierce resistance as Tyranid warriors, compelled by the hive mind, defended the node with lethal ferocity.

In the midst of this struggle, the Knight Preceptor was struck down by a Neurolictor—an insidious Tyranid biomorph capable of targeted psychic assault. The creature’s potent psychic influence breached the Knight’s mental defences, inducing a fatal brain aneurysm in the pilot and reducing the towering war machine to wreckage. Yet, despite this setback, the Grey Knights rallied, cutting through the xenos defenders to strike down the hive node. Its destruction temporarily destabilised the hive mind’s control over the Tyranid forces, interrupting the biomass consumption process and buying precious time for Imperial forces in the sector.

In a separate but parallel event, a World Eaters warband descended on Mendesum, drawn to the Tyranid threat by their lust for worthy combat. These Chaos Marines independently discovered another hive node, which they attacked in a brutal assault, managing to hold their position long enough to severely damage the structure. Though most of the World Eaters perished, their efforts inflicted a further blow to the Tyranid network, exacerbating the disarray within the hive fleet’s ranks.

Despite these setbacks, Hive Fleet Poseidon’s advance was far from halted. The temporary disruption on Mendesum bought the Imperium a reprieve, but the Tyranid threat remains vast, relentless, and resolute, poised to renew its assault on the Rifts of Hecate with undiminished hunger.

Tombs reawaken on Calliden

In the latter half of 024M42, the Perseus Deeps, an ancient and foreboding region of the galaxy, had become the focus of a brutal multi-faction conflict as the Imperium, the forces of Chaos, and the Alliance clashed with the recently awakened Necrons in the region. Though the Imperium had secured a foothold on Gamador early in the campaign, the subsequent reawakening of Necron tomb worlds across the sector dramatically altered the balance of power. The enigmatic Skarreth Dynasty then intervened, showing a sudden, intense interest in reclaiming key worlds—an interest whose purpose remained unknown but was met with speculation, given the dynasty’s reputedly inscrutable motives.

The ancient Necrons made their intentions felt most strongly on Calliden, a barren tomb world with a dark, labyrinthine landscape, now controlled by the forces of chaos. The Skarreth Dynasty’s forces arrived in early 11.024M42, catching the Death Guard’s House of Eschar garrison entirely unprepared. The Necrons wasted no time advancing on Zaraphan, Calliden’s principal city and a central Chaos stronghold. The Death Guard scrambled to mount a defense, yet they quickly found themselves in a nightmare of near-phantasmic tactics as the Necrons deployed forces that seemed to shift through reality itself.

The Skarreth Dynasty’s warriors appeared disconcertingly out of phase with physical reality, teleporting across the battlefield in a series of lightning-strike manoeuvres that left Chaos forces reeling. This deadly precision was augmented by swarming scarab constructs, which acted as both scouts and saboteurs. These seemingly autonomous scarabs scoured the battlefield, systematically disabling Nurgle entrenchments while relaying vital intelligence to their Necron masters.

Desperate to gain an upper hand, the Death Guard launched targeted attacks against the scarab swarms, hoping to disrupt Necron coordination. However, even the resilience of Nurgle’s legions faltered against the fluid adaptability and relentless efficiency of the Necrons’ assaults. The Death Guard’s tactics, formidable against mortal foes, proved ineffective against the technologically advanced, incorporeal-seeming Necron strike forces. After brutal fighting, the Death Guard were forced to abandon Zaraphan, retreating from the city and conceding control of the sector to the Skarreth Dynasty.

With the city secured, the Necron dynasty delved into the tomb complexes beneath Zaraphan. The true nature of their objective remained shrouded in mystery, but some Imperial savants speculate the dynasty might be preparing for a larger campaign in the Perseus Deeps. The Skarreth Dynasty’s return to Calliden has reshaped the region’s power dynamics, and Imperial and Chaos forces alike now face the grim prospect of an expanding Necron resurgence. Whether this is a fleeting interest or the beginning of a protracted conflict across the Perseus Deeps remains to be seen.

Collapse on Calthingum: Chaos in Disarray

In late 10.024M42, the chaos-plagued world of Calthingum was in turmoil as mounting internal divisions and external assaults began to dismantle the outpost’s fragile cohesion. Originally under Death Guard dominion, Calthingum served as a vital research hub for the Legion’s plague experimentation, its toxic landscape transformed into a festering crucible of biological weaponry. However, tensions with the Night Lords—assigned as auxiliary defenders—sparked a power struggle that would spell disaster for Chaos forces on the world.

As factional disputes flared into open conflict, the operational effectiveness of Calthingum’s defences crumbled. The simmering animosity between the Death Guard, obsessed with their vile experimentation, and the Night Lords, who demanded greater respect and control, ultimately drew the attention of opportunistic raiders. Sensing the internal strife, a well-coordinated Drukhari strike force descended upon the world, exploiting the chaos. In one swift ambush, they tore through a World Eaters warband, wiping out the Khornate marauders in a brutal skirmish and retreating as swiftly as they’d arrived.

This successful raid was only the beginning. In early 11.024M42, the weakened defences of Calthingum drew even more unwanted attention. The Orks, drawn by the scent of carnage and encouraged by reports of Chaos disarray, launched an invasion—crashing roks directly into the planet’s surface. Within hours of impact, greenskin mobs surged from the crash sites, smashing into an unprepared Night Lords force and establishing a foothold on the world. The Night Lords, already weakened by Drukhari raids and ongoing infighting, were swiftly overwhelmed, their units scattered or annihilated under the brutal assault.

By 0411.024M42 with Orks entrenched and determined to carve their own territory out of Calthingum’s decaying ruins, the situation for Chaos forces had become almost untenable. The weakened Night Lords struggled to retain a foothold, while the Death Guard’s plague research was perilously close to falling into alien hands or being destroyed entirely in the mayhem. Calthingum, once a fortress of Chaos, had devolved into an anarchic battlefield—a grim testament to the fractures within the Traitor Legions and the chaos that always follows in their wake.