Fortress Zadoc

**To assault Fortress Zadoc a special mission will be required. In addition all wins will gain the attacker only one square as the islands have been heavily fortified.**

The Librian Heresy: Descent to war

The events leading up to full scale war between imperial factions were complex and remain confused. By the middle of 04.014M42 the Adeptus Mechanicus had siezed Ansonville and Fort Cobb on Libria I. Natalia Vorushko had realised that Inquisitor Hathek would not recognise her authority, nor would he join her in her crusade against Libria. Vorushko now had powerful allies and a crusade force was being formed to strike fear into the hearts of any man, but on its own it would not be able to secure and hold the entire system. The Inquisitor needed more men.

She had approached Titus Luthor, commander of the sector, with whom she had a strong personal relationship. This relationship also meant Luthor was able to explain his predicament. Inquisitor Hathek also bore the same rank as Vorushko, and he would not get involved in a war between inquisitors. Luthor had sent forces under General Abrahams to the Libria system with orders to help crush the rebellion. They would continue that mission.

Natalia Vorushko left Vastrid on 1204_014M42 en route to the Libria system. She realised she would have to travel in person to organise her crusade. Luthor had made it plain that only the defeat of Hathek himself would allow the imperial guard to unambiguously follow her orders. She had replied that this would lead to bloodshed between the imperium as she intended to follow through on her edict, no matter the cost. The sector commander had merely shrugged. That was the last time the two had spoken.

The plan now was straightforward, if complicated by Hathek's intervention. The crusade force would secure Libria I for the Mechanicum, using its vast resources and one billion population to create a new crusade army under her control. Once complete, the fleets of the Minotaurs, Carcharadons, Sky Lords and the Mechanicus should be sufficient to mount an invasion of Libria III and win the war, even if the navy made a stand, which she doubted. Then she could begin the systematic exploitation of the entire system for the good of mankind.

Her first task following the conquest of the system would be to squeeze every last drop of wealth out of Libria. Mining, manufacturing and the exploitation of natural resources would be stepped up on a gigantic scale. Over the course of ten years Libria would be stripped clean. Vast fleets would carry that wealth away to safer worlds and its people would be inducted into the imperial guard or other vital services. No one would remain. After this ten year period Libria, and surrounding systems supporting biological life, would be subjected to the Exterminatus, rendering them lifeless and barren.

This was Vorushko's grand plan, and one she had envisaged long before she arrived in the sector. She would create a "fire break" between the imperium and the alien, halting the main tyranid advance and preventing further encroachment of the tau empire. She had approval from her superiors in the inquisition, but also enemies, She knew if she failed, the fall of the rest of the sector would only be hastened. Sacrifices, however horrific, were needed to ensure the future of her race.

First Libria I had to be captured. The Lunar Guard - a loyalit force under General Abrahams - had been badly mauled by her allies. Abrahams had been contacted by Hathek, who had succesfully convinced the general that there were now "seditious elements" in the inquisition who had powerful allies. Hathek was determined to thwart Vorushko - as he had thwarted the dangerously unstable Inquisitor Xanthus. From now on the loyalist forces under Abrahams were effectively Hathek's.

While the imperium descended inexorably into civil war on Libria, the Federacy were discussing at length their response. Representatives from Hartak and Aleph V were keen to send a strong force to Libria. Their brothers and neighbours had asked for help, surely the Federacy must answer. Others, notably those from Cerberex and Tallax, remained less convinced. If the Federal fleet suffered losses at Libria, who would defend the home worlds? War was still raging on Cerberex and the forces the Federacy could muster could be easily swept aside if the imperium was to exercise her full might. Debates continued during 04.014M42, but the federal fleet was mustered at Hartak.

The Tau also coveted Libria, though they knew that a combined effort with the Federacy gave them their best chance of success. For years they had been proping up a failing regime in the system, but this had been uncovered too soon by the inquisition. Fortunately the imperium had decended into petty internal squabbling, giving the rebels a breathing space. However the tau were also in no position to immediately aid their new friends on Libria. War continued on Zadoc, and the orks and tyranids posed a significant threat to the tau right flank in the Zadoc subsector. With the establishment of "Fort Zadoc" and the vast swathe of the planet under chaos dominion, the war would take some time to conclude. Even so, the tau were unwilling to throw away the opportunity which now presented itself. On 1604.014M42 they sent a high ranking ethereal and members of the water caste for talks with the Federacy on Hartak. The question was whether the alliance would now show its hand in the Librian conflict.

Nemesis launch major offensive on Fort Sparcos

After months of inactivity the battle between hive fleet Nemesis and the orks on Fort Sparcos flared into life once more during 03-04.014M42. In a renewed and violent offensive, the tyranids threw themselves at the ork defences, breaking them at their weakest points and forcing their way into the outer perimeter of the now heavily modified fort, suggesting Nemesis had been spending a great deal of time identifying the most efficient method of breaking into the gigantic fortification. Da Verminators forces were quickly routed, and the orks fell back to a tighter ring of defences. The tyranids had tightened the noose and now quiet fell over the devastated ruins of the once proud imperial fortification, preparing for the next move in the ongoing long running seige.

Mechanicum assault Libria I

The opening shots of the Librian Heresy had already taken place with the Dark Angels uncovering of the Heresy in late 013M42. However, in early 04.014M42 the war took the first sinister turn, when one set of imperial forces fought another on Libria I. Neither were Librian.

During the first few months of 014M42 the Librian crisis had led to a brief civil war on Libria I and II which, thanks to the energy and directin of Lord Inquisitor Hathek, had been won by "loyalists", who executed the leaders of those wishing to join the Federacy, a known ally or even client state of the Tau Empire. On Libria III the civil war had devolved into stalemate, with the military coup unable to pacify all of the civilised world. Battle lines had been drawn and to aid the loyalists, the Imperial guard had been mobilised with hundreds of regiments directed to the system. Admiral Jellicoe had dispatched Admiral Beattie's battlegroup to help the operations and protect the transitting guard forces. In addition to the imperial guard, the Crimson Fists, Imperial Fists and Blood Martyrs had already pledged support for the liberation of Libria III from the rebels, under lord Hathek's direction. However, Hathek wasn't the only Inquisitor with an interest in Libria.

As an amalthian, Inquisitor Lord Hathek aimed to salvage as much as he could from the Librian situation. The Dark Angels had uncovered the dark secret at the heart of the system, but now the good people of Libria had risen up against their leaders. He felt sure Inquistior Vorushko, who had declared the entire system excommunicate traitoris, would now rescind the order, despite her initial unyielding remarks. He couldn't have been more wrong.

Unfortunately for Hathek, Vorushko subscribed to the tennets of Istvaanianism, believing the imperium was at its strongest during conflict. She had also decided that the war in the Aleph sector could only be won with absolute commitment and the exploitation of all resources at the imperium's disposal. Libria to her was not just an asset, but a vast resource to be plundered. By declaring the system traitor, she had planned to terrorise the population into submission, then enslave them through crippling tithes and proclamations. This she surmised, would be enough to turn the tide against the imperium's enemies. She would gladly sacrifice Libria (which she felt was liable to fall anyway) in order to stop the tyranids, the orks, the tau...

Vorushko already had several astartes in her "crusade", the Carcharadons chief among them, and planned to use them to ensure Libria toed the line and accepted its fate. With the sector governor Titus Luthor effectively under her direction, she felt no threat from the imperial guard, and she knew that whatever she decided the imperial navy would not get involved in matters of politics. She had however sorely underestimated Lord Hathek, who she now bitterly resented for ruining her careful plans.

Natalia Vorushko was nothing if not a quick thinker however, and she quickly adapted her plans to meet the new situation. So hathek had a force of guard and some astartes flocking to his cause, but she knew that strategy would win the battle, not sheer numbers. The battle for Libria would now be all the more bloody, but in the end she was sure her aims would be met, and there would be a greater number of veteran imperial guard units to boot...

The next part of her plan now swung into action. On 0304.014M42 the Adeptus Mechanicus deployed their forces on the forge world of Libria I. They had hoped only to meet local Librian "loyalists", but Hathek had requested a non-Librian unit be stationed on the world as an insurance policy and a reminder to the Librians to keep their word and their place in the wider imperium. A Lunar Guard regiment just happened to stand in the way of the Adeptus Mechanicus and their objectives. The Mechanicum force weighed up the possible approaches they could take, before ultimately calculating that diplomacy would be a waste of time and they would be able to secure their first objective through force. The Adeptus Mechanicus then attacked the Lunar Guard.

The Lunar regiment at first reacted in shock, but recovered their wits quickly, launching a counter attack while all the while protesting their loyalist credentials to their enemy. The Mechanicum didn't listen, merely pursuing their objectives and destroying the mechanised regiment which stood in their way. The Lunar guard were defeated and the survivors fell back, abandoning their positions which had been protecting one of the many factorum settlements on the world, still oblivious as to the meaning of the assault. Some even believed the Mechanicum were agents of the Enemy, or Dark Mechanicus.

In fact the Adeptus Mechanicus had been envious of Libria I for many centuries. As part of its reintroduction to the imperium, the forge world had been able to continue to operate outside of Mechanicum control, under the ancient agreement almost a millenia old. This had been a political move at the time, easing the passage of the wealthy system into the imperium, as Mechanicus involvement into the Librian tradition may well have upset the delicate negotiations. Now it was used as an excuse for war by Inquisitor Vorushko, who informed the tech priests that STC data was present on Libria I, information which had been deliberately withheld by the Inquisition. She then explained her intentions, showing the Mechanicus that in time Libria would fall under her edict in any case, and that early securing of Libria I would be advantageous to her crusade. If the Mechanicum could secure the planet for her, they would get to keep it, and its STC information. It was a proposal the tech priests of Mars could not turn down, and from that moment they committed their forces to her "crusade".

Zadoc Latest

"Non Alliance" Eldar continue campaign

The end of 03.014M42 saw the continuation of the eldar sector wide agenda, or more accurately, agendas of disparate eldar groups. The fractious nature of the alien race was now obvious to inquisitor Huron, and it came as no surprise to him when he heard that the Iyanden forces had been taken by surprise and massacred on Sentinel. The former imperial colony had fallen to the eldar in 012M42, after confusing battles which involved the forces of chaos, the necrons and the eldar. Eventually the Rillietan had aided Iyanden and the planet had fallen. The raid on Sentinel was moderate, and involved the summoning of a large daemon host belonging to a group known as Shaidar Haran. Previously a powerful influence in the subsector many had thought Shaidar Haran had disappeared entirely, but their appearance on the eldar world signalled the continued presence of this powerful if capricious entity.

Meanwhile following the Crimson Fists intervention on Gabriel's World, the imperial garrison had been reinforced by a regiment of Lunar Guard, recently brought into the sector by imperial high command. The guard regiments were deployed in a defensive posture, ready for an eldar attack once the astartes had left, and the Disciples of Ynnead didn't disappoint. On 0104.014M42 the eldar attacked again, and this time in even greater numbers. The ferocity of this second attack suggested the first had been merely a probe, and now that the Crimson Fists were not around to thwart them, the eldar crushed the imperial guard arrayed against them. The imperial line fell back, abandoning several outlying settlements to the aliens. The Disciples now had a foothold on Gabriel's World, and Marshall Foche thought about calling for general assistance.

Zadoc: imperial defeats

The Imperium on Zadoc had little time to celebrate the victories of the astartes against the forces of chaos. The Arch Cleric responded swiftly to the loss of Andiselie, moving a large force of cultists and summoned daemons to the front line. The cultists died in droves but they served their purpose, by now the daemons had been summoned and began ripping into imperial lines.

Since the astartes had been redeployed following their successful mission, the defenders of the newly won city were the Darantine Guard, who had been moved onto the island of Anorigo via Vendetta and Valkyrie. Indeed their access to aircraft led to their deployment on the northern island. The Darantine regiment were well equipped to deal with many threats, but the daemonic force which fell upon the city on 2503.014M42 was particularly potent. The battle was exceptionally bloody and soont he city had been surrounded. Any who could escape did, mostly by daring flights by Darantine pilots. Those who remained died.

By 2703.014M42 Andiselie had been retaken by the Arch Cleric and the battle lines had been returned to close to their original positions. It was a bitter blow for General Wavell, but in the south, the imperium were about to experience a rollercoaster of emotions in the space of 24 hours.

The southern imperial salient had been an obvious area of advance for the alliance forces on Zadoc for some time. Sine 013M42 over a million imperial defenders were in positions which would be isolated if the tau and their allies could reach the southern ice cap in force. Trapped between the Nanali Sea and the ice cap, the Zadocian and Librian forces defending the region of Cata. Cata itself was a cold plain featuring many small lakes and seas, and difficult enough to transport troops across. Defences in the east against the tau had been strengthened, but in the west permanent defences were hard to maintain given the terrain. South of Pereggor only 100km separated the tau front line and the impassable ice cap, and it was here the alliance planned to make their move.

Commander Shadowstrike took the responsibility of the new offensive, and dealt with the Rillietan directly. The eldar seemed keen that the tau get on with defeating the imperium and were able to provide a significant force. The eldar would drive east, into the pocket, while Shadowstrike would overwhelm the Librians defending the narrow strip of land to the south of the ity which dominated the southern plains. Windgather was to be held in reserve as a rapid reaction force should anything go wrong. The plan decided, the alliance troops moved into positions.

The alliance had no idea that the Apocalypse Riders knew of commander Windgather's location until a force of astarted roared out of some scrubland close to his headquarters. Reacting quickly, Windgather drew up his forces and attempted to deal with the small imperial force now making a nuisance of itself, but this was a carefully planned astarted trap.

The Apocalypse Riders and Raptors had identified commander Windgather as an intolerable threat to the imperium after several defeats. Now, as Windgather personally led his forces out into the field the Legion of the Damned suddenly appeared. Concentrated fire took down two of Windgather's bodyguard while the broadsides next to him were also taken out. Worse still more bikes appeared, dropping the tau riptide and heading straight for the tau leader. With the eldar - and importantly their mighty Wraithknight - lured forward to deal with the bikers who had appeared first, Windgather now knew the plan the astartes had for him.

For the first time since arriving in the subsector Windgather was in serious danger. He heeded his bodyguard's advice and fled the battle, narrowly escaping death before jumping out of the murderous fire arcs of the Apocalypse Riders. His forces, and his eldar allies, would now have to fend for themselves. In the following hours a nip and tuck battle between the remaining alliance forces and the astartes lead to a tactical victory for the imperium, before reinforcements appeared and the Riders were obliged to withdraw.

Despite not having killed Windgather, he and the other tau commanders were shaken by the realisation that despite their overwhelming technological advantage they were not invulnerable to the imperial elite warriors. Now they knew that the astartes had Windgather as a personal target, this made them all the more uneasy. The planned offensive for early 04.014M42 was accelerated. The alliance needed to strike back swiftly.

Shadowstrike's attack began on 2803.014M42 with the eldar thrust into the Cata pocket. This was an expected move and no sooner had the Zadocian Guard reported contact with the enemy the imperial counter for this move went into effect. The Ultramarines soon arrived in order to turn back the Rillietan force, and for a while it looked possible. However the astartes force was unable to defeat the eldar and a gap opened up in the imperial defences. A gap wide enough for Shadowstrike's force to fit through.

The gap opened up by the Rillietan allowed Shadowstrike to circumvent the imperial defences and attack the Librian defenders in the flank. However Wavell had anticipated this move and deployed his forces in depth. In addition the Librians had recently been reinforced by a Knight Errant which now stood looming over the Imperial Guard units like a protective god.

The local commander on the ground, captain Grendell, was horrified at the sheer scale of the offensive. Shadowstrike had amassed a truly enormous army and was now driving it towards the Librian defenders. The imperial forces were astonished at the number of tau and kroot they were facing, supported by Hammerheads, crisis suits, riptides and Piranhas. It seemed as if the whole tau army was ranged against them.

Never-the-less the Imperium counter attacked, attempting to catch Shadowstrike's forces by surprise, slow them down and allow the Imperial heavy weapons to take their toll. At first this seemed to work, as the Knight drew a huge amount of the tau firepower, enabling the Librian Guard to move forward largely unmolested. Shadowstrike's concentrated firepower quickly overwhelmed the Knight's shielding, and the explosion which followed destroyed many in the tau lines, but doomed the imperial counter attack. Free from having to tackle the imperial war engine, the tau now unleashed their full firepower into the Librian advance, destroying their armoured support and crippling their mechanised advance. The counter-assault stopped in its tracks, and now Captain Grendell found himself losing men rapidly. The tau firepower was awesome to behold, and by 0104.014M42 Grendell's position had been overrun, and he had died with his regiment.

General Wavell now realised that given the size of the alliance attack, it could not be held. Nothing could be done for the million men in the Cata pocket, and after a month, all but a few isolated pockets had surrendered to the Tau. Meanwhile the General sought permission from his overall commander to withdraw. He had a new plan, centred around stubborn defence. Wavel would retreat from the Zadoc continent, using whatever transport he could find and whatever means necessary. It would be a difficult operation, but if he could retrieve his troops from the mainland and build up his defences on the islands that remained under imperial control, he could hold out for years if necessary. By then, with any luck his supply problems would be solved and reinforcements would arrive while the Tau and Chaos forces battled each other on the main continent. All he could do now was hold until relieved.

Given that this was a realistic and sound plan it recieved the assent of the commander of imperial forces in the subsector General Montgomery. Titus Luthor gave his tacit approval ad the inquisition and commissariat made no comment. The way was clear for operation deliverance to begin.

Zadoc current

Eldar pursue sector wide agenda

While the alliance continued to fight on Zadoc, the eldar were in action across the sector in a series of encounters which baffled the Imperium. Inquistor Huron of the Ordo Xenos took it upon himself to investigate the aliens and their actions, thus taking the opportunity to avoid the conflict which was brewing between his peers over Libria.

Huron recieved a number of reports of recent eldar activity and tried to make some sense of them. During 03.014M42 the eldar had made two significant raids not centred on any alliance objective. Eldar forces had attacked Aethor in strength, caused serious damage to the Apocalypse Riders, then melted away into the uninhabited hinterlands which dominated the world. Meanwhile on Garbriel's World, another forec of the aliens had been encountered, and defeated, by a company of Crimson Fists. To the untrained eye it would seem as if the eldar were either attacking at random, or planning a masasive attack on the imperium. Huron, being exceptionally trained, knew this wasn't the case.

Huron used vid picts and other evidence to analyse the recent actions. Far from a unified race acting with one mind, the eldar were divided into factions. Those in action on Aethor matched those implicated in the loss of Ares, and were present on Sentinel. These eldar were almost certainly from the craftworld of Iyanden, and in the Aleph sector they had never been seen outside the Perseus Deeps. They clearly had an agenda and were aided on occasions by the Rillietan and others, but Huron believed - at least for the time being - this eldar force would remain operating in the Deeps.

The eldar defeated at Gabriel's World were different again. These eldar, employing a large number of Wraithlords, were certainly the Disciples of Ynnead, a little known group of eldar which could loosely be described as a religious cult. They believe that when the Infinity Circuits hold all the spirits of their race, all of the Craftworlds will unite into one Infinity Circuit, and the collective spirits of the Eldar will join to form a new Power in the Warp that will battle and subdue Slaanesh, so that Eldar spirits may once more be able to merge with it and form a single, balanced entity.

Whatever their beliefs, Huron doubted they were acting in concert with Iyanden, although their reason for assaulting a world of little value in the Vastrid sector remained unkown. The Disciples had often been seen in action with Corsair eldar, and both of these factions had in the recent past aided the forces of Iyanden, most recently on the imperial world of Corticant, where they had suffered defeat to the Librian Guard and Carcharadons. The Disciples and Corsairs had also been associated with attrocities and raids by the dark eldar kabal the Shattered Silence, although the relationship between the eldar and their dark kin remained confusing.

Huron then looked at the alliance. Only one group of eldar had been seen acting in close cooperation with the tau, and always in the presence of commander Windgather. Whether this amounted to a special importance of the tau commander remained unknown to the imperial lord inquisitor. The Rillietan themselves had fought with the tau during the early stages of the Zadoc campaign, but in the critical battles even the corsairs and the dark eldar had made their presence felt against the imperium.

As 03.014M42 drew to a close Huron was far from uncovering anything close to the true nature of the eldar actions in the Aleph sector, but it was certainly clear they were not a united force. This view was confirmed when the inquisitor uncovered evidence that on at least two occasions the tau-eldar alliance force of commander windgather had itself been attacked by eldar forces, and he had reasonable confidence that the attackers were the forces of Iyanden and Ynnead. Did this mean the alliance was split? The Rillietan - or to Huron the "glue" which held the tau-eldar alliance together - had not been encountered for quite some time. Huron had more questions and continued to watch and wait, realising the folly of attempting to second guess the mind of the alien.

Zadoc: Chaos & Imperium in heavy fighting

While the political situation in the Libria system preoccupied the minds of many in Sector command during the latter part of 03.014M42, the war continued on Zadoc. General Wavell felt as if the imperium had already given up on the sector capital when Beattie's battlegroup, which had been shadowing the Tau in the Zadoc system, abandoned their station to head for the crisis at Libria. Never-the-less the general kept on fighting, although his forces were dwindling.

The general was therefore surprised on 1203.014M42 when three regiments of Krieg Death Corps, along with amore than a company of Raven Guard arrived on Zadoc. These reinforcements were greatfully recieved, although the Raven Guard made it clear that since they had been working closely with the Krieg units for sometime, they did not fall under the direct control of Wavell. Legally questionable, the general was happy to accept the terms of the arrangement, since the Raven Guard were more than happy to be directed to problem areas or have suggestions made to their operations. Wavell immediately pointed to the Isle of Aso and the north Foregi pocket. The Raven Guard agreed and deployed their forces accordingly.

On 1803.014M42 however, there was another blow to imperial morale when the city of Larrano fell. The main settlement on the Isle of Aso had been an obvious target for the forces of chaos, since their invasion of the islands earlier in the year. To counter the obvious next offensive the Raven Guard had deployed a third of their forces, including a full regiment of Death Corps to defend the city. Larrano had a narrow avenue of defence, lying on an isthmus on the shores of the Tucciomua sea, and the defences were strengthened in the week before the assault.

The Arch Cleric had no intention of taking the city by conventional means. Prior to the assault by his regular marines and cultists, a small insertion force of elite traitor astartes moved forward, calling on their master's dark pacts with the dark gods and unleashing a daemonic horde on the defenders. Although this had been considered a possible strategy by both Wavell and the Raven Guard, with the withdrawal of the imperial fleet the forces of the Emperor had given up even a token attempt to control the skies over Zadoc, and the flying daemons had free reign. After three days of fierce fighting, Larrano fell, with the survivors of the battle evacuating by ship to Riontas.

In the east however the Raven Guard had been putting their minds to the difficulties faced by the imperial units stuck in the north Foregi pocket. Cut off from the rest of the imperial force, the Foregi pocket needed to breakout, and to facilitate this the Raven Guard deployed two thirds of their strength including two regiments of Death Corps, mostly via a daring low level supply flight over the Mesoli sea, right under the noses of the alliance on Pizario, who were taken completely by surprise by the move. In concert with their brother astartes, the Apocalypse Riders, the Raven Guard planned a daring mission to take back the northern Isle of Anorigo and the city of Andiselie. The retaking of Andiselie had a number of attractive elements. First, it would secure a supply base for the Foregi pocket defenders. Secondly, it would cut the chaos forces in two and make naval and air supply to their armies on Aso and around the Pera Sea extremely difficult. Finally, it was unlikely the alliance would be able to take advantage of any imperial success, since their forces were tied down on the southern front.

The operation began on 2003.014M42 with the Raven Guard and well equipped Krieg units driving north from the imeprial held territory. They faced little resistance until they made the crossing by barge from the north of Foregi to the coast of Anorigo, a journey which took nearly a day of navigating perilous marshes and narrow channels of deeper water. Once the imperial force had arrived at Anorigo, the imperial guard had been pounding the city of Andiselie for over a day, ensuring the chaos forces knew well of the counter attack. The defenders, not the Arch Cleric or Iron Warriors' first rate units, found themselves resorting to daemonic defence once again, summoning a powerful host of warp spawned things, led by a daemon lord of tzeentch.

For a while the battle hung in tha balance, as the mystical powers of the chaos god protected his "children" from harm. Then for a brief period, no more than mere minutes, the power of the warp waned, and the daemons flickered. The Raven Guard commanders quickly realised what was going on and immediately ordered all units to attack at full strength. The murderous firepower of the imperium, coupled with the sudden weakening of the warp eliminated the daemon force, and Andiselie fell almost immediately.

On the left flank of the new offensive the Arch Cleric reacted by launching a counter attack. On 2303.014M42 a daemon host appeared north of Chettalo, moving east to cut off the Imperial offensive. However the Apocalypse Riders had been stationed as a rapid reaction force, and now moved to counter this new threat.

The Riders countered the Arch Cleric's move skillfuly. Using their highly mobile bike mounted units the astartes force pursued a policy of "infiltrate, isolate, destroy". Their twin linked boltguns fired a wall of shot into the skies, forcing many daemons to dive to the ground to take shelter. There they were vulnerable and one by one the larger beasts were finished off by the marines. One however appeared invincible, but rumour abound of the sudden appearance of the legendary "legion of the damned", who engaged the unholy daemon prince in an epic struggle, eliminating the beast as a threat and allowing the Apocalypse Riders to finish the job they had started.

The Arch Cleric found his forces, including a great unclean one and helldrakes scanning the skies, too slow and unwieldy to adequately contain the astartes force. The Riders proved skilled on their bikes, dodging the ungainly larger daemons and even able to take shelter from the helldrakes above. Eventually they found themselves charged by cultist units, but to little effect. After fierce fighting for the better part of a day, the daemon force had been cut to pieces, and had become strung out and disorganised trying to catch their enemy, who now held all the key objectives on the battlefield. Admitting defeat the Arch Cleric returned his forces to the warp, sealing the fate of any remaining cultists in east Chettalo.

By 2603.014M42 the victory of the Foregi pocket, led once again by astartes forces, but this time backed by a crucial imperial guard element, had given the commanders on Zadoc something to cheer about. Despite losing Lerrano, the imperium were close to victory over chaos in the north. The world hadn't yet been meekly abandoned to the alien and the heretic.

The Librian Heresy

The "Vorushko edict", as the inquisitorial order dated 0902.014M42 had become known, was the start of a chain of events which led to increasing bloodshed in the populous and strategically critical system of Libria. Since the Dark Angels had found the evidence, the Inquisitor lord had declared the entire system heretic, ordered its leaders replaced, and had judged that her population be subjected to one hundred years of peninant servitude. The first born of every mother would be given to the penal legions and the tithes would be doubled for the next one hundred terran years. Libria was to be exploited to the maximum for the imperial benefit.

The judgement was anaethema to the followers of Law on Libria. Different worlds reacted differently, and on the staunchly imperial Libria I and II there were moves by the local governments, who had never seen any of the benefits of trade with the Federacy nor even known about it, to cede from the rule of Libria III, the most powerful of the planets in the system. This sentiment was soon stirred up further with the arrival of Inquisitor Lord Hathek, who during 03.014M42 convinced governor Alec Corwin and governor Keven Steiger to declare their loyalty to the Imperium. They rejected the alliance, the Federacy and the lordship of Grand Judge Darius Voight, declaring him heretic. In return, a relieved Hathek pardoned the populations of the two innermost planets.

Inquisitor Hathek had realised the danger of Vorushko's policy toward Libria. Having discovered the heresy Vorushko, Hathek believed, had deliberately allowed it to fester, allowing her to excommunicate the entire system when the time was right. This would allow her to exploit the comparatively wealthy system easily, giving justification to the ruthless exploitation of over a billion imperial citizens. In this supposition Hathek was indeed partially right, the new inquisitor lord saw an opportunity to bolster the flagging imperial armies with men and equipment, but Vorushko had other motives.

In any case Hathek was determined to salvage what he could of Libria before the whole system fell into civil war. He knew that arbitrary judgement was something the Librian movement would not tolerate easily, and so offered an escape route. If the traitors were overthrown and their loyalty proven, the people of Libria might yet escape the terrible judgement hanging over them. Having convinced the loyalist Librian inner mining worlds, Hathek moved on to Libria III.

Libria III, home to over half the population and the most important world, had benefited most from the agreement with the Federacy, and its leaders knew in great detail that they had dealt with traitors and aliens. Grand Judge Darius Voight and his government could not back down nor profess their loyalty, as their guilt was now well known, however the arrival of Admiral Beattie's powerful battlegroup on 0303.014M42 had the desired effect. On the following day the government fled the capital as a military coup led by Lord General Josiah Garrett overthrew the leaders of Libria III, declaring themselves the new government on 0803.014M42, and denouncing the agreements with the Federacy.

Voight however was not finished. Across Libria III he had supporters, including members of the armed forces, who had harboured ancient enmity towards the imperium and now saw the latest arbitrary judgement from Vorushko as proof that the imperium was a lawless despotic organisation, and one which should be abandoned. They saw their future within the Federacy, who had assured them their laws and customs would be respected, under the protection and alliance with the tau empire.

Unrest soon broke out as disorder soon gripped the planet. Both sides had access to the vast military caches of the system and civil war soon followed with neither side looking particularly likely to gain a quick victory. Voight now chose to officially request aid from the Federacy and the alliance, stating that the Librian system under his leadership, ceded from the Imperium and requested membership of the Federacy. Libria IV followed, declaring itself free of the Imperial yolk. Libria V stayed quiet.

Although the civil war was unfortunate, Hathek now had a large portion of the system loyal to the imperium and his cause. To finish the war quickly, Hathek petitioned General Montgomery, commander of the Zadoc subsector, to send more troops. When he declined, citing the state of affairs on Zadoc, Hathek went to Titus Luthor himself. The imperial navy responded, agreeing to send another battlegroup, but Hathek grew concerned when the response from Luthor was vacillatory in the extreme. Hathek sensed something was amiss and on 1103.014M42 he found out just how deep the divisions were within his own Inquisition.

On 1103.014M42 Natalia Vorushko issued a second edict. She criticised Inquistor Hathek for his interference and stated that the sudden repentance and professed loyalty of some of the Librians was now irrelevant. They had been judged and found guilty and by her authority would lay down their arms or face the consequences. All on Libria would submit to the edict and her own crusade forces or pay the price. Lord Inquisitor Hathek now realised what kind of inquisitor this new arrival truly was.

ZADOC: Gyennt falls to the alliance

The war on Zadoc had fallen into a brief lull at the beginning of 014M42 as the tau and imperial sides at least drew breath. This however led the forcs of chaos to launch further raids along its borders, with flying daemons and daemonforge constructs causing havoc along the regions closest to the chaos occupied zones. By 03.014M42 the tau had had enough, and drew up plans to defeat the chaos threat.

Commander Windgather was called on once more to lead the assault, and he immediately launched his forces on an invasion of the southern region of Mida, towards Gyennt. His forces made rapid progress, the chaos forces seemingly unprepared for such an axis of attack, but at the gates of Gyennt itself a large daemonic force, identified as that of the fickle daemonic entity Shaidar Haran, shimmered into existence.

The daemons were led by the heralds known as "Moonface", "Birdface" and "Pugface", to both their followers and their enemies alike. Their appearance certainly gave Windgather's forces pause for thought, but rather than fleeing in terror the alliance army put its faith once again in total and overwhelming firepower. Between them the eldar and tau units unleashed a storm of weapons fire into the host of daemons, and despite being the stuff of the warp itself the daemons were obliterated. Windgather's losses were slight, and Gyennt surrendered following the defeat of the daemonhost.

Five days later the armies of the alliance reached the southern ice sheet, cutting of the chaos forces to the west and seeing their swift collapse. Windgather had captured a key city and onyl two more remained before the alliance could claim mastery of the main continent of Zadoc.

Shaidar Haran's defeat saw the daemons of the Arch Cleric swiftly rise to challenge the power of the daemonic entities. Hoping to increase their influence the entities of the Arch Cleric soonbecame embroiled in a violent struggle as internal chaos rivalry spilled over onto the battlefields of Zadoc. A butal daemonic slaughter took place in the chaos regions, causing unpleasant effects to all those sensitive to the warp throughout the system. Shaidar Haran was victorious however, and the Arch Cleric was put in his place.

Meanwhile in the outer reaches of the system the Apocalypse Riders were lurking. Eager to aid the imperial forces on the planet the Riders knew open warfare was to invite annihilation, and so they continued their strategy of raiding. On 1303.014M42 the eldar defending the Zadoc trading post found themselves attacked without warning. A bloody battle ended in an imperial victory, the astartes force causing maximum damage before retreating back into the shadows of the system. At the very least the Riders had bought the forces of Wavell more time, at best they had started the long road back to recovery of the system.

MORDECAI: Necron invasion of Mordecai Tersius

Signs of further necron resurgence took place on Mordecai Tersius during 03.014M42. The previous year all signs of necron invasion had been removed from the chaos world, but on 0703.014M42 a major necron incursion took place, sacking a number of settlements. In response a daemonhost was summoned to deal with the interlopers and an intense and highly mobile battle soon developed.

The daemons found little difficulty in defeating the necron warriors on foot, but superior firepower and mobility, afforded to them by extensive use of Night Scythes and Doom Scythes resulted in the daemons being forced to surrender ground to the aliens. By mid 03.014M42, after several further skirmishes it was now clear the necrons had returned in force to Mordecai.

HYLAS: North Eton Falls

The defeat of Admiral Pendragon's fleet in 02.014M42 and the deployment of Beattie's battegroup at Libria seriously weakened the overal position of General Van Dorn on Hylas. Da Verminator controlled space and while Waagh! Uzfang was apparently no more, the forces of Na'Porkleon were being joined by ever greater numbers of greenskins loyal to the warlord "Koghk".

On 1003.014M42 the highly mobile forces of Koghk launched an all out assault on the imperial lines defending North Eton and the north easter portion of West Coast and the Shifting Isles. The orks, largely Bad Moons, made swift progress and Van Dorn soon found his forces beseiged on Etonia, and although the bridge had been blown, Da Verminator's fleet were able to use "tellyportas" to move en masse a large force of Greenskins behinf the Imperial lines.

Cut off, the forces in north Eton dug in as best they could, but faced overwhelming numbers. Then, two days into the offensive a company of Raven Guard landed in the centre of North Eton in order to prevent the settlements fall to the seemingly endless greenskin tide. Time and time again the greenskins threw themselves against the defences of the city but were thrown back by the astartes, but always the warlord Koghk had more in reserve. Eventually his elite forces broke through the perimiter and the Raven Guard caught. At the critical moment their courage seemed to fail them, and this was their undoing. While attempting to retreat from encirclement many of the superhumans were cut down by the greenskins. What was left of their forces abandoned the defenders odf the city to their fate and returned to their strike cruiser, lurking amongst the asteroids in the fringes of the system.

North Eton had fallen, but Van Dorn still had hope. He still controlled the west of the planet, and would fight hard for every inch of imperial soil. He badly needed resupply however, as he realised his stockpiles of food and ammunition were now falling critically low. With only four major cities remaining under his control, much of Hylas was now firmly in ork hands, and without external assistance the fall of the rest of the planet would occur in fifteen months, according to the tacticae.

New Necron advance on Corticant

After months of quiet stalemate on the necron front on Corticant, early 03.014M42 saw a return to violent conflict, with a series of bloody actions which pushed the imperium back over one hundred miles, and saw another major settlement fall to the invaders.

It appeared that the necrons had waited for the forces under general veers to deal with the threat posed by the eldar, before renewing their offensive, but the forces faced in this latest assault were different from those faced before. Necron warriors and vehicles displaying never before encountered iconography smashed into the imperial front line on 0103.014M42, encountering first the entrenched positions of the Darantine Guard at Arrenhal junction

The rocky and wooded terrain on the Hartford plain saw the first significant defence by Veers troops, with the Darantine guard putting up stuff resistance to the necron advance. Annihilation barges fell victim to imperial firepower, while canoptek wraiths were destroyed by storm troopers dropped from Valkyrie into the heart of the action.

The necron army was notable for its heavy use of flying vehicles, and the skies above the battlefront were soon swarming with Night Scythes. The Darantines responded with flights of Vendettas, and an aerial battle developed while the necrons consolidated their positions on the ground. Despite the spirited defence however, the imperial forces were slowly pushed back, and on 0303.014M42 the strategically important Arrenhal junction fell to the alien invaders.

The advance pushed on, with one arm of the necron army advancing easily along the iron road, only slowing through the need to avoid becoming over stretched. In the north a second larger force pushed on to Shadowshore. Here the Adeptus Mechanicus forces counter attacked, and their mobile guard units, supported by astartes warriors, looked like halting the necrons at first.

On the right wing of the attack the Mechanicum had superiority in terms if numbers, but the presence of annihilation barges, whose quantum shielding proved a source of constant annoyance, held up the imperial advance long enough for the necron air forces to tip the balance of the battle in their favour. With virtually no air cover the Mechanicum army was easy meat for the aliens, and after a brutal battle the imperial forces were obliged to beat a hasty retreat, leaving the settlement of Shadowshore to the necrons.

In just a week the necrons had expanded their territory on Corticant by 30%, and had pushed Veers' forces back almost to the gates of fort Bastion itself.

New Cerberex: Astartes defend spaceport

Following the invasion of Ne Cerberex to Nemesis, the Apocalypse Riders send a force to aid the Imperial effort. The force arrived swiftly, and without delay initiated an attack on the space port. This quickly gained ground, before Nemesis reacted to the interlopers.

Within hours of the initial gains the hive mind sent waves of alien creatures against the hastily erected imperial defences. The alien counter attack was sluggish, but their numbers were large, easily enough to overwhelm the Riders' positions. Realising this after inflicting a significant amount of damage to their enemy, the astartes withdrew from their untenable positions at the spaceport. So far the space marine intervention had not decisively turned the tide on New Cerberex.

Zadoc: Imperium on the run from Chaos

The imperium knew that the next blow against them by the forces of chaos on Zadoc would be an airborne or amphibious assault. Imperial intelligence had known for some time that the city of Gerzonne had been converted into a blasphemous forge and was now pumping out all manner of daemonic war engines. The skies above Zadoc were filled with all manner of fighting aircraft, and the tau and chaos air forces vied for dominance on a daily basis. The imperium had long given up air superiority on Zadoc, and even over the islands they now controlled the skies were often plagued by enemy craft.

General Wavell made his defensive plans accordingly. Wavell was fully on the defensive by now, although his plan to remove the imperium from the Zadocian mainland was vetoed by sector command, lord Titus Luthor reasoning it was better to make the tau and chaos forces fight bitterly over worthless territory. To protect the islands Wavell assigned specific task forces to each. Riontas, the most important, was turned into a fortress, defended by most of his guard units and three companies of marines. Montene on the island of Hannuse was defended by the Zadoc PFD and the Dark Angels, while the Imperial Fists formed the first line of defence on Aso in the north. The minor island of Cariode and Reggia were left with light defences, and Wavell waited for the next attack to come.

When the Iron Warriors made their move on 2002.014M42 the choice of Aso as a target and the vital city of Viorni was no surprise. The Imperial Fists were ready, and although the Imperial Guard fled south in the face of overwhelming odds, the loyalists knew that the land narrowed into an Isthmus midway down the island, and here the forces of chaos could be held by the imperium, so long as the preparations were adequately made.

To prevent outflanking airborne operations the coasts around the Aso isthmus were mined and covered by Imperial defensive weaponry. The Iron Warriors accepted the challenge, being masters in seige craft, and launched a ferocious assault on the Imperial Fists, who had amassed an entire company on foot in the ruins and defences of the Isthmus.

The Iron Warriors advanced rapidly, catching the loyalists rather by surprised. The traitors used the natural contours of the land and what cover the ruins afforded, ensuring the imperial fire was largely ineffective. The battle would necessarily come down to a violent and brutal hand to hand brawl. Aided by airborne power in the form of Helldrakes, which served to prevent imperial reserves from entering a now front-wide close combat, and one which the chaos forces, through brute force, were bound to win. Despite fighting stubbornly to the end the outcome was now inevitable, and by 2702.014M42 the Imperial Fists had been all but wiped out, and chaos had secured their grip on Aso and the city of Vorni. Wavell had stabilised theline south of the Aso isthmus, but the loss of almost a company of astartes was a painful blow to imperial capabilities.

At the same time, the daemonic forces leading the advance in the south along with the Emperor's Children, launched their own offensive. Perhaps the Iron Warriors had coordinated with their demonic allies in order to tie down forces in Mascata while the Iron Warriors assaulted Aso, but Wavell had always planned to defend the mainland, or what was left of it. Here the Blood Angels were performing a similar role to the Imperial Fists, aiming to halt the daemonic forces almost single handedly, despite being outnumbered and lacking any air cover. This would at least allow time for the imperial forces to dig in on a secondary front line should the first line of defence be penetrated.

The daemonic attack was violent and forceful, and despite their best efforts the Blood Angels were unable to hold the chaos horde for long. After two days of fighting the Blood Angels had to withdraw, allowing the traitor army to move into Mascata. The Imperial line had to be held much further west than they had intended, and by 2802.014M42 the armies defending against the Tau on the Nanali Sea front were in serious peril. The chaos and tau front lines were now a mere 100 miles apart, and one thrust would pinch out this pocket, isolating several hundred thousand imperial troops. Wavell now had an escape to prepare.

Nemesis forge ahead

As 02.014M42 wore on the battle for Grimlock became ever more violent and desperate. The scale of the conference increased as Nemesis threw in more and more biological resources to overwhelm the defenders, and in return the forces of chaos employed more forces of their own, summoning great daemonhosts and fielding entire traitor legions and titans of the Dark Mechanicus.

The conflict now focussed in the south, where Nemesis was attempting to take Hakun, splitting the chaos forces into two isolated elements. Their strategy was obvious and clear, allowing both sides to concentrate massive forces on the Hakun front. The battles which raged all along the border between Nemesis and chaos were exceptionally bloody and violent, and although the forces of the dark gods were forced steadily back, Nemesis was forced to pay in blood for every mile of ground taken.

Even thought the slaughter was on an epic scale, the hive mind was prepared to accept the cost, and by 2502.014M42 the aliens reached the south polar regions, successfully cutting the chaos defenders in two. The war on Grimlock had taken a decisive turn in favour of the tyranids. Without external intervention their eventual victory was now assured.

Meanwhile in the Mabb Nebula it was clear something was very wrong on New Cerberex. Since the encounter with the Dark Angels there had been further sightings of tyranid bioforms, and on 1802.014M42 tectonic movements under the capital were felt, and a small force of PDF were sent into the sewers to investigate. They never returned. Soon the first creatures of the tyranid vanguard began boiling up from below the capital, and the governor called for assistance. Before regiments of Imperial Guard could be deployed, the Imperial Fists headed the call, having already arrived in system at the request of the Dark Angels.

The marines arrived in force, a whole company, outnumbering even the encroaching swarm. The weight of firepower was incredible, whatever Tyranid creatures were targeted were cut down by massed bolter fire. But the Imperial Fists were being chipped away at, marines falling to a constant barrage of spores and deadly bio-plasma. At the height of the battle their Captain bravely hurled a tactical sergeant out of the way of a deadly blast of Harpy venom, only to have it consume him, leaving him a melted pile of biomass. The Imperial Fists were not ones to give up at the loss of their commanding officer, and threw everything they had at the Swarmlord as it reached their lines, swamping him in combat. But the ferocious beast survived, and as the remaining marines saw the untouched hordes of scuttling Termegants swarming the battlefield they had to admit defeat and beat a hasty tactical retreat. New Feducia had fallen to the hive mind, and now the Imperium faced an uphill battle defending their isolated colony

Operation Sandstorm

By mid 02.014M42 the tau were making solid progress towards final victory in Zadoc. The imperium had been largely removed from the mainland continent and the forces of chaos had been defeated in the south. On the ground the front had been stabilised, but in the wider system there remained the imperial presence on the Zadoc trading outpost, a constant thorn in the side of the tau invasion and a potential springboard for an imperial counter-invasion of the planet.

On 1702.014M42 the tau command received reliable reports that an astartes strikeforce was gathering on the remote and barely habitable outpost. With their fleet already engaged in important duties the tau never-the-less felt they had to act. Contacting their eldar allies the older race agreed to allow some tau units to travel through the webway, so long as they were escorted, and planning for Operation Sandstorm began in earnest. Commander Windgather, his units being so used to being around their eldar allies, was selected as commander for the mission. In addition it was hoped that Windgather's unbroken string of victories would bode well for such an important mission.

The Tau and eldar forces managed to reach the outpost undetected, thanks to the webway, and immediately began sending in forces against each strategically significant point on the rocky and barren planet the tradins post resided on. There were a few skirmishes, but on the whole there was little serious fighting, the guardsman forming the garison at the trading post wholly unprepared for such a surprise invasion. However the Blood Angels were already mustering west of the main inhabited complex, preparing for an assault on Tau positions within the Zadoc system.

Windgather's forces immediately attacked, catching the Blood Angels by surprise. Caught out in the open the astartes were wholly outclassed by the alliance force, and although they fought doggedly, the most they could hope for was survival against a superior force. Even the rocky terrain of the outpost didn't serve them well for long, and in a few hours the Blood Angels force had been annihilated.

Receiving word of the attack, the Carcharadon's raced in to help their comrades, but unfortunately for the imperium weather conditions around the trading post proved challenging, and not only did the airborne elements of the Carcharadon Astra chapter arrive late, far too late in any case to aid their brethren, they also arrived piecemeal. The result was a disaster. Having finished off the Blood Angels the tau-eldar force now turned on the inbound marine force, dealing with each arriving wave in turn, and turning the counter attack into a bloody rout.

By 2002.014M42 Operation Sandstorm had achieved its stated objectives and the imperial military occupation of the Trading post had been eradicated, strengthening the tau hold on Zadoc even further. For the imperium the loss of their staging post came as yet another devastating blow in the war on Zadoc, which was looking like a defeat, much like Tarsis, Alphe, Betor and Tyranteous. With Libria declared heretic by the most senior inquisitor in the sector, some wondered if there would be an imperial presence in the Zadoc subsector at all for very much longer.

Nemesis close in on New Cerberex

Whilst on patrol in the shadow worlds on its continuing mission to gather intelligence on the heretical trade between The Federacy and Libria, Dark Angels strike cruiser Dark Dominion received a priority distress call from New Cerberex. The Dark Angels have long held close ties with the Imperial colony, respecting the staunch loyalty and faith of its inhabitants in the face of the heresy of their perfidious brethren. Captain El'Zahariel of the 4th company immediately ordered his ship to make full speed for New Cerberex and the Dark Angels made prompt planetfall in a remote, rural region that had recently fallen silent. All attempts by the local PDF to penetrate the region had failed, their patrols disappearing without trace. The Dark Angel's succeeded where the local militia's had failed however, their armoured spearhead discovering a Tyranid Hive Node festering like a dark cancer in the landscape.

Their presence discovered Tyranid bioforms matching the genotype of Hive Fleet Nemesis boiled out to defend their beachhead and swamped the mechanised column before it could react. The Dark Angel's suffered heavy casualties in the opening moments of the conflict and although they fought bravely and great tenacity they couldn't hope to overcome the hordes of ravening aliens. Only when all hope of victory was gone did Captain El'Zahariel, himself wounded in the fighting, order a retreat back to the drop ships.

The Tyranid canker would have to be left to fester and grow for the time being but their presence was at least discovered. The Dark Angel's issued a summons for all Space Marine chapters in the area to provide aid and demanded Imperial High Command commit the Imperial Guard to the defence of New Cerberex should the infestation not be quashed in its infancy. But with the Imperium already dangerously overstretched and Inquisitor Vorushko stridently demanding forces to prosecute the Librian Heretics it was doubtful significant forces would be mustered. El'Zahariels rallying call would not go completely unanswered however; a Salamander's strike cruiser was in the region and promised to re-enforce the Dark Angels with all haste.

At almost the same time the Blood Angels were investigating the silence of the small but important Corredon outpost. Nothing had been heard from the base for several weeks, and it was widely expected that the station had fallen to Xenos. The question was, which one? The force of Blood Angels landed on the rocky outpost on 1702.014M42 and could find little trace of an invasion. Instead they found a charnel house, the former inhabitants of the outpost slaughtered and dismembered. THen the invaders attacked.

The Blood Angels defended bravely, but were outclassed by their enemy. The astartes died buying enough time to get a message back to their strike cruiser that the tyranids had overrun the base. Few marines made it back to their warship, and as soon as they did the Blood Angels vessel broke orbit and raced to the jump point as fast as possible. On the edge of the system something lurked, something large and menacing, its psychic presence overwhelming the astartes astropath. The shadow of the warp was closing in around New Cerberex.