Necron gains and losses

Following their invasion of Blight the Necrons continued their aggressive expansionist actions as 02.011M42 progressed. News of their foothold on Aganthus reached the Imperial Crusade HQ on Corticant and the Dark Angels took it upon themselves to rid the Imperial world of their taint, and by 1302.011M42 they had succeeded, the Necrons phasing out and disappearing rather than face annihilation.

Meanwhile on Blight the war had become one of attrition. The Covenant of Damnation, depleted in forces since the Bastien war resorted once again to raising a host of daemons to counter their enemy, but they only barely managed to conatin the Necron advance from their beachhead. The war on Blight would continue for some time yet.

The Necron menace came to the Tau a few days after they had moved against the forces of chaos. It was obvious to all that Skera and Parius were perilously close to the main Necron worlds but the Tau failed to prepare, hoping, rather than expecting that the Necrons would confine their attacks to Imperial and chaos targets. In all honesty the Tau knew they were likely to face the Necrons, but had little in the way of spare resources to protect their new colonies in the Deeps.

On the very edge of the Aleph expansion sphere the thinly spread Tau fleet were unable to defend the smaller colonies, but Skera boasted two full hunter cadres. However the Tau expected, naively, some kind of warning from their sensor drones at the edge of the system, failing to understand the sophistication of Necron technology. On 1002.011M42 the Tau found to their horror that the Necrons had already landed on Skera and advancing on the main settlement.

Commander Fastblade, in command of all forces on the minor colonies of the Deeps, prepared the Skera defence forces to meet the Necrons well away from the main Tau colony, but the battle went badly for the inexperienced Tau. The forces of Fastblade were totally outclassed by the alien invaders and soon the badly battered Tau were in full retreat back to the main compound where preparations were hastily made for a last defence. Meanwhile Fastblade sent out an urgent request for reinforcements.

Eldar aid Veer's crusade

Lorek's failing fortunes in the Perseus Deeps received another blow in mid 02.011M42 when the eldar unexpectedly raided Carnage. Unknown to the forces of chaos, the eldar had their reasons, and their successful raid enabled them to hide their exodite world of Shelwe Agir in the Shadow Worlds. How they did this is unknown, but the Claws of Lorek are known to have lost an important artefact from one of their shrines on the daemonworld.

Lorek's forces faired extremely badly when they attempted to counter attack on Carnage, and yet another daemonhost was defeated by an enemy. This time the eldar forces ripped apart the daemons who arrived in an uncoordinated fashion and failed utterly to stop the eldar from accomplishing their mission.

The failure of Lorek's forces led to rebellion amongst the pantheon of chaos forces loyal to the "master of chaos" and very soon he was forced to reassert his position. Fortunately the Covenant forces in the vanguard of the rebellion failed to unseat Lorek's position, being crushed in turn by Lorek's daemons. Later in the month guerilla tactics on Ares managed to retake Ares city from the Imperium, but the Claws' position as the pre-eminent leader of all chaos in the Deeps still hung by a thread.

Stalemate at Gamordal

on 0902.011M42 Admiral Thokk, renegade psychotic admiral of Mordecai, tried again to break in to the inner defences of the Perseus crusade. Admiral Jellicoe had carefully arranged his fleet so that Corticant and Bastien were protected, as well as the all important Farport warp lane which served as the main supply line for the crusade since the capture of Bastien.

Thokk decided against a direct attack and by early 02.011M42 the Imperial admiral received intelligence that the chaos admiral was up to mischief in the Gamordal system, an ork controlled region which if captured would secure the Upper Perseus Reach warp lane for the powers of chaos.

Admiral Jellicoe sent Admiral Cardale to investigate and if possible bring the chaos fleet to heel. Cardale's forces included the Apocalypse class battleship Agamemnon, the tyrants Audacious and Centurion, the lunars Agincourt and Conquerer and the battlecruiser Valiant. Despite lacking any attack craft ordnance, Cardale's fleet packed a significant punch.

Cardale arrived on 0802.011M42 but deployed in a cautious manner, aware that the orks had constructed a number of Roks in the system. After a day of scouting with his firestorm escorts it became apparent that Thokk was already well in system and had set about destroying the ork defences. By the time Cardale accelerated his battlefleet to full speed and made contact with the enemy fleet, Thokk's forces had already destroyed three Rok's, ensuring that the renown of the forces of chaos remained impressive in the eyes of the orks. Imperial high command and admiral Jellicoe himself would be critical of Cardale's caution despite the events which followed, as the strategic initiative would have been better served if Thokk's fleet had been driven off before their propaganda coup in front of the greenskins.

Battle was joined between the two fleets at 20:12 local time, and the nova cannon of Agamemnon soon proved its worth, crippling the slaughter class Skoll in just a few salvoes. The two fleets were on opposite parallel courses, and both admirals began turning their ships into the other's amid the mass of asteroids which typified the outer reaches of the Gamordal system.

Thokk handled his fleet well, and Jormungandr and her consorts successfully crossed admiral Cardale's "T" by navigating without too much incident through two large asteroid fields. This was unexpected by the Imperial commander, who had managed to form up his fleet, although Valiant, the armageddon class battlecruiser, had managed to drift waywardly out of formation.

Despite the tactical advantage Thokk had managed to secure, luck was not on his side. The Chaos forces fired full broadsides at the Imperial prows, but Cardale's forces, protected by thick frontal armour and launching torpedo waves, were up to the challenge. The crossing of the "T" was an impressive move, but had little real effect. Even so Audacious was crippled and forced to disengage. Agamemnon too took heavy damage, but turning to port and locking on to the chaos fleet her lance batteries raked the chaos ships. The two lunars then joined in and before long Rheintochter and Midgard were crippled.

Worse was to follow for Thokk however as Hyrrokin found herself exposed on the right flank of the chaos formation as Cardale's forces passed in formation behind his enemy. Unable to disengage, Hyrrokin felt the full fury of the Imperial guns and before long exploded in a flash of plasma.

As the fleets separated they lost contact. Admiral Cardale. his flagship damaged and several of his cruisers running low on ammunition, returned to Corticant for repairs. Thokk is believed to have returned to Mordecai. On paper the battle of Gamordal was an Imperial victory, but the strategic position remained unchanged, and the orks were allowed to refortify their system.

Imperial Losses:
Audacious crippled
3 firestorms destroyed

Chaos Losses:
Rheintochter crippled
Skoll crippled
Midgard crippled
Hyrrokin destroyed
3 escort vessels destroyed

Thokk destroys 3 ork Roks.

Necrons invade Blight

While the forces of Chaos main forces were still facing off against the Imperial threat, they were unaware of a new force moving against them. The Necrons had already landed on Aganthus in 01.011M42, but their landing on the Chaos world of Blight was the strongest invasion force yet seen.

Accompanied by Necron fleet vessels for the first time the ancient menace quickly gained a foothold on the planet, but before long the armies of Lorek and the covenant of Damnation had responded. Once again the depleted Chaos forces were forced to raise daemon hordes to make up the numbers, and the rather ad hoc formation which met the Necrons on Blight fared rather badly in the initial battles.

The Necrons found that to stand off and shoot the monstrous hordes was an effective tactic, and the loss of two Soulgrinders and a daemon prince at the very start of the engagement didn't help the defenders. The battle, fought over the ruins of a once Imperial settlement saw the chaos hold off the Necrons on their left flank, largely thanks to the high concentration of dedicated followers of Khorne. On their right however, Necron Monoliths and destroyers proved too strong. The battle eventually climaxed when a mighty bloodthirster of Khorne was slain in single combat by a seldom seen C'tan.

By 0902.011M42 the Necrons had nearly a third of the planet under their control, and the inhabitants of the Necron zone soon found themselves herded like cattle onto waiting Necron ships. The rest of the Chaos world prepared for more battles, while Imperial and Tau agents shuddered at the news that a C'tan was abroad in the perseus Deeps.

Space Wolves secure Hellebron

Two days after the attack on Ares the Space Wolves attacked with unparallelled ferocity on Ares, obviously attempting to demonstrate that such raids would bring their enemy nought but destruction. The Wolves attacked the remaining quarter of Hellebron still occupied by Chaos forces, and the Covenant of Damnation troops were quickly overwhelmed. In response the Chaos master of Ares summoned a host of daemons but even the denizens of the warp couldn't halt the Astartes' lightning advance. By 0802.011M42 Hellebron had fallen and the Imperium were marching on the capital.

Lorek raids the Deeps

With the Imperial advance in the Deeps temporarily stalled the Master of Chaos took the opportunity to further retard progress by increasingly turning to hit and run tactics across the region. Lorek's forces and allies had dwindled significantly, and now some chaos outposts in the Deeps had no defenders at all, save for a handful of cultists who could on occasion summon some daemonic help. Help which would often lead to their own demise as well as their enemy's...

on 0302.011M42 the Claws of Lorek sent a small raiding party to Ares on a vessel disguised as a privateer merchentman. The vessel succeeded in circumventing the Imperial fleet stationed there and landed its small specialist force onto the planet. In an orgy of sabotage the Claws small band managed to wreak havoc in the Space Wolf base before escaping unseen back to their transport. The Space Wolf base was heavily damaged and would take two weeks to repair, tying up valuable resources which Veers could have used elsewhere.

The Claws' second raid was less successful however as the Necrons on Cathasaea proved more of a challenge. Difficult to take by surprise the Necrons responded swiftly to the arrival of the small Chaos band and whatever the purpose of the raid, it was not successfully accomplished. So far Lorek's change in strategy had produced mixed results.

Perseus Deeps Campaign suffers setback

As 01.011M42 drew to a close the Imperial crusade in the Perseus Deeps was in a good position. Bastien had been liberated and the new offensive on Ares had got off to a good start, but the council leading the crusade, made up of generals, admirals, space marine company captains, Inquisitors and other senior ranks within the power structures of the Imperium, was about to suffer a setback.

First the offensive on Ares which had been proceeding so well suddenly ground to a halt when the Claws of Lorek raised a host of daemons as the Space Wolves attempted to take the final sections of the city of Hellebron. The daemons inflicted severe casualties and by the end of a two day rampage much of settlement which had previously been in Imperial hands had been reconquered in the name of Chaos.

At the same time news from Alphe, while on the face of it an Imperial success, reached General Veers on Corticant. General Percival reported that the remaining Chaos forces there which had been in stalemate with his armies for over a year had suddenly vanished. Overnight the Alphe campaign had been won and now Percival’s armies were retaking the chaos held sectors, rooting out blasphemy and cleansing the planet of the taint of the chaos gods. This would likely take months.

The withdrawal, presumably via the use of the mysterious chaos “device”, could only mean one thing. The Master of Chaos had decided to reinforce his retreating armies in the Perseus Deeps, happy that the savage destruction wrought on Alphe would keep a significant Imperial force tied up for several months while his forces would feel the full benefit of the redeployment.

With the Ares offensive stalled and intelligence suggesting new forces at Lorek’s disposal, the news of another Dark Eldar raid on Aethor could not have been less welcome. Worse still the Space Wolves took it upon themselves to attack the Lamenters when they arrived on Aethor, an act which infuriated the non space marine members of the crusade council. The Dark Angels and other space marine chapters however refused to criticise the act, and the Space Wolves actions drove a wedge between the Imperial Guard and the Adeptus Astartes which the Inqusition now had to try hard to close.

The unnecessary Space Wolf attack may have led to the Dark Eldar raid, the aliens taking advantage of the confusion on the planet, although once the attack had started the Space Wolves eventually managed to intervene before the xenos raiders did too much damage. The events on Ares however began to overshadow Veers’ crusade and the good work which he had accomplished threatened to come to nothing.

The Claws of Lorek tried to add to Veers’ woes, sending in a small force to raid or sabotage the Imperial base on Aethor, but were detected in good time by the Groznian guard stationed there. More good news was to follow on 2801.011M42, when an attempt to break the Imperial blockade of the Deeps by Admiral Thok’s fleet was foiled by Admiral Cardale on the battleship Vanguard.

Despite struggling initially against a more manouverable enemy, the cruisers of Thok’s fleet were unable to damage the massive battleship, and despite causing damage to the cruisers under Cardale’s command, the chaos fleet were forced to return to Mordecai without forcing a passage to Parthenope, their suspected intention.

Although the Imperial fleet delivered a much needed victory for the crusade, by the beginning of 02.011M42 the continuing advance of the Imperium in the Deeps had come to grinding halt, at least for the moment.

Perseus Deeps Strategic

Ares Latest

Imperial Advance against Chaos

While the newly arrived Space Wolves caused havoc with the planning section of the Imperial High Command, General Veers continues with the next phase of operations in his great crusade against chaos. Having conquered Bastien a large force of his Imperial Guard forces were now mopping up on the planet, aided by Inquisitors Hathek and Huron who were leading purges against citizens who had for too long been exposed to the corrupting influence of the dark powers. Over a third of the population would be "cleansed" in the operation to bring Bastien back into the light of the emperor.

With his forces stretched Veers knew he would be unable to launch a major invasion of any of the major worlds under chaos control. Mordecai was known to be protected by the massive fleet of Admiral Thok, while Calliden harboured the forces of the now dormant Shaidar Haran. Kendrenec, long the foe of the Aleph Sector boasted formidable defences and was still ruled by the cruel overlord Tragean. Taking this into account given the state of his supply lines, General Veers decided that the minor world of Ares would be the next target.

As Admiral Jellicoe readied the fleet for the invasion General Veers was visited by a strange and mysterious individual. Identifying himself only by his inquisitorial seal the hooded figure never revealed his identity nor showed his face, but made it clear to Veers that his campaign would be receiving the aid of forces under his control. It appeared the shadowy Inquisitor had plans of his own to defeat the forces of chaos and Veers crusade would profit from his arrival.

General Veers learned that the Inquisitor would be attacking vital installations on Blight on 2201.011M42 and with this information, planned his invasion accordingly.

The Groznian attack on Blight was an unqualified success, with the daemonic forces of the Anticross vanquished in the field. What the Inquisitor learned about the Anticross and its daemonic allies remained undisclosed to Veers, but the commander of the Perseus Deeps crusade hoped the eyes of Chaos would be elsewhere when his invasion force arrived at Ares. He was to be disappointed.

Jellicoe commanded the battlefleet which arrived at Ares on 2201.011M42 from his flagship Iron Duke. This massive carrier was backed up by the mars class Glorious, dominators Repulse and Black Prince, and the gothic class cruisers Aboukir and Cressy. Each vessel carried and entire regiment of Imperial Guard in its cavernous hold, Jellicoe being unwilling to risk troop transports on what was after all a short warp jump from Corticant.

The Imperial fleet arrived without incident, but as the fleet approached the inner biosphere and the planet itself a large warfleet loyal to the Claws of Lorek appeared from the opposite side of the planet. The fleet, which had remained undetected by using the mass of Ares itself as a sensor shield immediately attacked.

The chaos fleet consisted of a battleship and five cruisers and ought to have been a serious threat to the Imperial fleet, especially when the initial volleys of Nova Cannon fire proved little more than an annoyance to the chaos capital vessels. THe chaos ships were however apparently crewed by inexperienced men, or beasts, and were no match for the well drilled imperial crews or their commander. Very quickly a devastation class cruiser, isolated from her consorts, fell victim to the Imperial guns.

Having lost one of thier capital ships the chaos fleet split, the battleship and one escort heading into low orbit around Ares itself while the remaining cruiser rounded the planet threatening Jellicoe's left flank. Jellicoe realised this meant the chaos fleet would be landing troops on the planet and immediately ordered Aboukir and Cressy to proceed with all haste to low orbit in order to disembark their troops. The rest would follow once the Imperium had dealt with the remaining cruisers.

This the Iron duke and her consorts did with extreme efficiency, blowing apart two more cruisers and crippling the others with massed fire and waves of bombers from Glorious and the flagship herself. Again the chaos ships' fire was inaccurate and poorly grouped, and without the support of their battleship the cruisers were badly outmatched.

Jellicoe then ordered the rest of the cruisers to disembark troops while the Iron Duke stood watch over the planet. This almost caused a disaster as the chaos battleship and her escort suddenly appeared from the upper atmosphere directly aft of the Imperial flagship. Unbelievably the damage from the initial chaos volley was minimal as her shooting went wide. Using the gravity well of the planet to full effect the Iron Duke then swung round and dealt a fatal blow to the deveastation class vessel escorting the chaos behemoth.

Realising all was lost the remaining chaos vessels fled, leaving the Imperial warships free to disgorge their remaining cargo. The Imperial forces made swift gains on the surface, taking the settlements of Forbestown, Pallian and almost all of Hellebron. The invasion of Ares had got off to an excellent start.

Damage to the Imperial fleet had been minimal, while three chaos cruisers had been destroyed and another crippled. With the chaos Desolator class battleship also heavily damaged the fleet battle of Ares had been an overwhelming success for the Imperium and another great naval victory for Admiral Jellicoe.

Space Wolves pursue own agenda

01.011M42 saw the arrival of two great companies of the Space Wolves chapter to the Aleph Sector. One had already been operating on and off in the area for several months, but the arrival of the second, unannounced and outside the control of Lord General Roover caused more than a little consternation amongst the higher echelons of Imperial high command.

Nobody seemed to know what they were doing in the region and the Space Wolves weren't volunteering the information. By now the Imperium had organised itself into a more centralised structure thanks to the successful crusade against chaos led by General Veers, Roover's most important general in the Aleph sector. Veers had set up a council for the crusade, consisting of the most significant generals, admiral Jellicoe, members of the various departmentum of the vast Administratum and several captains and chapter masters of the Adeptus Astartes. Even the Lamenters sent a representative, though this caused a great deal of upset amongst the other chapters and soon ended.

The Space Wolves declined the invitation, given on their arrival to the sector, and immediately began pursuing their own agenda. They began in the worst possible way, attacking the small force indentured to a mysterious inquisitor also acting outside of the control of the council. The attack was successful, though the Space Wolves admitted afterwards that the attack was a mistake, and that they had only been defending themselves, aggressively, after the Inquisitor had mistaken the force for part of the pantheon of chaos.

Following this bad start the Space Wolves went on to land forces on Gamordal, defeating the remaining Orks loyal to Da Verminator and then raiding one of the Necron tomb worlds before returning to Aethor and significantly fortifying the base. Following these successful attacks however the Space Wolves departed, leaving the base in the hands of the Inquisitor and his indentured Groznian Guard forces.

By 2701.011M42 the whereabouts of the Space Wolves were once again unknown and the Imperial generals none the wiser as to their agenda.

Imperium takes Bastien

Lord General Veers planned to end the campaign on Bastien by the end of 010M42. He knew that failure to do this would mean at best replacement and considerable loss of face, or at worst, either suicide or a dishonourable court martial. Such was the lot of high ranking Imperial generals. Success meant glory beyond measure. Failure meant death.

Veers planned to end the campaign by smashing the chaos forces once and for all in the plains of mid-Bastien. To ensure the Claws of Lorek and their followers would dance to his tune, Veers assembled the largest force he had yet deployed on Bastien and drew up his battle plan. Veers planned to advance on a wide flank on the road to Damnation, the most vital remaining chaos stronghold. To lose it would mean certain defeat for the forces of chaos so Veers was sure he would be met by everything the traitors had.

The land between Meshuggah and Damnation was general open and rocky, with scattered settlements and scrubby woods. From 0812.010M42 to 0912.010M42 the Imperial Guard marched forward without meeting much in the way of resistance, and Veers began to worry that the Claws of Lorek were going to resort to guerilla warfare and a slow lingering defeat, rather than the decisive victory he needed. This all changed on the 11th, when the forces of chaos made their final stand half way to the city of Damnation.

The Claws of Lorek had decided to make their stand in a specific location, knowing without any doubt that Veers had been planning an all out attack. Lorek could not have missed the arrival of the Lamenters and Red Angels, nor could he have failed to notice the deployment of so many guardsmen and warhound titans. Sure of Veers tactics, Lorek had set up his own armies barring the road to Damnation. In addition he had arranged for his very own "doomsday device" to be brought into the fray.

The device was similar to the one used in the early phase of the campaign which had proved to be a complete failure, however the design had been improved, and now Lorek had a powerful new weapon with which to meet his enemy. Backed by over a million guardsmen including the Covenant of Damnation, Lorek managed to assemble his own marines as well as those of two lesser legions, plus the help of the daemonic allies of the Anticross. Lorek deployed the Covenant on his right flank, opposite a region of scrubby woodlands, while his own forces protected the centre. On the left flank his elite marines prepared to smash the Imperial forces who had retreated into a defensive compound, while the killing fields of the central plains would be crossed by the brave, and expendable forces of his lesser rivals.

Lord General Veers had a simple battleplan once contact had been made with the enemy. He immediately withdrew his right flank where there were defensible positions available, aiming to hold the flank with Red Angel and Lamenter forces. A violent and bloody contest would erupt here, but the marines had but one job, hold the line and prevent Veers' army from being outflanked.

In the centre Veers deployed his Imperial Guard infantry, the Librians and Praetorians, backed up by Leman Russ battle tanks, basilisks and the might of the Legio titanicus. Here he would push forward slowly, bombarding the chaos centre and taking ground in a "bite and hold" operation. The main thrust however would come from the west. Whole regiments of mechanised Cerberex Guard as well as the mechanised elements from Libria and Praetoria, were being assembled behind the lines for a massive mobile flanking manouvre through the scrubby forests and the now ruined settlement of Skaep. Supported by two super heavy baneblade tanks, Veers hoped that this thrust would smash the forces of Chaos and turn the rest of the campaign into a mopping up operation.

The battle raged for a week over the mid Plains of Bastien. After initial success destroying Lorek's lesser marine rivals, Veers' forces suffered a setback as the first armoured thrust in the west was anihilated by the shock appearance of the Anticross, their soulgrinders wreaking havoc in the Imperial lines and smashing the first attempt to turn the chaos flank. In the east the Red Angels were suffering and the Lamenters captain died ignnominiously fighting an Obliterator. For hours Veers became depressed and morose, convinced the battle was lost, but his generals urged him to remain determined. The second wave would break the Covenant of Damnation in Skaep and the Adeptus Astartes would not let him down.

His generals were right. By 1312.010M42 the chaos assault on the defences in the east was faltering. Despite the appearance of greater daemons the marines had held the line bravely, with the most battle honours going to the captain of the Red Angels who personally slew a Bloodthirster in hand to hand combat. Meanwhile accurate fire from the Imperial battle tanks and baneblades had destroyed many of the soulgrinders and chaos armour, and the second wave of tanks and troop carriers, supported by a praetorian baneblade were making inroads into Covenant forces in Skaep, picking through the ruins of their own failed first attack.

The Chaos Doomsday Device was more effective than in previous engagements, and took its fair share of casualties. However it was unable to stop the Legio Titanicus and the Warhound titan in the centre of the Imperial line marched forward, Librian and Praetorian infantry in tow. Having dealt with a feeble chaos counter attack the Librians and Praetorians in the centre now rushed to the aid of the embattled Space Marines in the east, and by 1512.010M42 the chaos forces had been broken on both flanks.

Lorek, bitterly disappointed, realised the game was up. The rest of 12.010M42 became a scramble to evacuate as many forces as possible from the planet. The elite chaos marines were generally rescued, while the chaos traitor guard units were left to their fate. Entire regiments fled to the mountains of Bastien, where they were obliterated by concentrated lance fire from orbitting Imperial warships. Bastien had been taken back from the enemy and now the work of the Ecclisiarchy began to turn the inhabitants of the planet back to the Emperor's light.

Necrons defeated by Orks

While the Imperial and Chaos forces fought their final battle of annihilation on Bastien, the Necrons were sending out more raiding forces. One reached the Ork settlement of Zog on 1412.010M42, but was quite unprepared for the ferocity of the Ork defence. The Necrons landed, but soon found themselves under attack from large Ork warbands, and after just two days were forced to abandon their landing. The Necrons phased out and returned to their tomb worlds, perhaps to rethink their strategy for domination of the Perseus Deeps.

Bastien Latest

Shadow Worlds Influence

Bastien campaign - southern front

While the front line ebbed and flowed in the north, the southern front saw much more mobility in early 12.010M42. The Praetorian advance had seen Imperial control reach the outskirts of Meshuggah and Reaverton, and General Veers made plans for the taking of both cities. A major assault, backed by artillery and air power, would see the Caldon Guard move on Reaverton, while the Cerberex Guard would surround Meshuggah, take it, and advance north to eventually meet up with the Librians in the north. This was the beginning of Veers "final phase". Following the successful capture of these settlements Veers planned an enormous set piece battle on the barren plains of mid Bastien, employing his whole force and even Titans.

The offensive began well, and the Khornate units defending Reaverton soon crumbled before the Caldon guns. Meanwhile Claws of Lorek forces defending Meshuggah soonfound themselves overwhelmed by the highly mechanised guard units from Cerberex, and on 0312.010M42 Veers received news that both cities had fallen to the Imperium. The Cerberex guard had even pushed north as required into the mid plains. Then came the inevitable counter attack.

The Khorne marines proved to be more ferocious and had more forces than anticipated, and soon the Cerberex Guard on the mid plains found themselves defending themselves against a furious counter attack. Unable to set up defensive positions in the harsh desert conditions they were forced to retreat, surrendering much of the territory they had gained. However as the Khornate forces approached Meshuggah Imperial resistance grew more determined, and by 0712.010M42 their counter offensive had stalled. Veers continued preparations for his main assault, scheduled for the following week. The Claws of Lorek however had also been husbanding resources and preparing a surprise for Veers' "final phase".

Bastien campaign - northern front

As 12.010M42 began the campaign on Bastien increased in intensity as both sides sought to achieve final victory. Both the forces of chaos and the Imperium wanted to finish off Bastien and turn their attention, at least temporarily, to the emergent Necron threat. Both sides launched major offensives in early 12.010M42, with the Imperium concentrating their forces in the south, while the Covenant of Damnation focussed all their attention on taking back Imperious, or Heretic, in the north.

The initial Chaos assault took the Imperium by surprise. The main forces of Veers' crusade, including the Librian regiments, were stationed outside the city, and only a company of Space Marines known as "the Watch", and some reserve forces now guarded the psychologically significant, though strategically now worthless ruins of the city.

The traitor guard attack was so ferocious that within a day the Covenant had surrounded the marines sheltering in the ruins, and quickly oevrwhelmed them. Veers, embarrassed once again by the loss of the city, immediately responded, sending the Librian Guard into the ruined streets. When the loyalist troops met the traitors, the battle was savage, but the largely infantry based Covenant forces suffered badly in the now mostly flattened settlement. Leman Russ tanks and veteran guardsman mounted in chimeras, supported by disciplined ranks of infantry, mowed down the traitor infantry in droves as they pressed home futile counter attacks. By 0412.010M42 the Imperium had retaken the city once more.

The Imperial hold on Nova Imperious remained precarious however, as late on 0612.010M42 Imperial forces including the Red Angels chapter of space marines were outflanked, and seriously beaten just to the north of the city. The Librians and other guard regiments now holding the city remained in a dangerously surrounded salient of Imperial control.

Necrons gain momentum

In 12.010M42 the Necrons continued their offensive against chaos in the Perseus Deeps. Another massive raid on Ares caused a great deal of damage and worrying reports reached Inquisitor Huron of the mass taking of slaves by the alien attackers. Then, on 04.010M42 another energy surge in the Deeps signalled the awakening of yet another tomb world - Scallius, and Huron began to worry about just how many Tomb Worlds there were in the region, and how many were now Imperial worlds.

The Necrons didn't have it all their own way however, as a lightning raid by the Rillietan eldar damaged their installations on Cathasaea and possibly delayed the full employment of the Necron fleet. Why the eldar chose to attack the Necrons remained a mystery, although the Inquisition knew enough of the history of both species to understand the deep hatred which existed between them. The Eldar raid had bought all the other races some time, but nothing more. The Necron offensive was still gaining momentum. Huron advised Veers on 0712.010M42 that if the crusade on Bastien wasn't brought to a successful conclusion before the year ended, they may face a war on two fronts which they had little hope of winning. Veers disagreed, pointing out the Necrons had so far kept their attacks to Chaos worlds, but Huron warned that this would not continue indefinitely. In the meantime Huron began searching the Deeps for signs. Which worlds would the Necrons claim as their own?

Perseus Deeps Strategic

Bastien Latest

Scallius falls to Necrons

The Necrons, now fully "awake" in the Perseus Deeps chose to attack chaos first. Imperial analyticae have pit this down to the heavy Imperial fleet presence, but many secretly believe they are flattering themselves. In any case the Necrons arrived suddenly and without warning on Scallius on 2611.010M42.

Brutal fighting ensued as the Necrons closed in on the major installations of the chaos base. Near the main landing strip the Claws of Lorek put up the strongest fight, but were slowly pushed back into a smaller and smaller perimeter around the base. By 2911.010M42 the Necrons had all but taken the strip.

Further battles on Scallius raged for a week, but by early 12.010M42 it had become a mopping up operation. With a large necron fleet in orbit around the world the forces of chaos didn't attempt to contest the system any longer. In just ten days the Necrons had conquered their first world.

Dark Eldar raid Aethor & Ares

A new threat to the Perseus Deeps emerged in late 11.010M42 with the sudden appearance of Dark Eldar raiders. During 11.010M42 two major raids were reported, with the Dark Elves taking significant loot and slaves from both actions. The first came on 2611.010M42 on Aethor, and the Caldon Guard stationed their took heavy casualties and lost over a thousand men taken prisoner. Worse still the Dark Eldar took control of Aethor's main base for several hours, and caused a huge amount of damage before making off with most of the staff.

The second raid caused similar damage and netted the Dark Eldar a similar number of slaevs. This time the targer was Ares, and once again the surprise of the raid meant an effective defence never materialised. Both the Imperium and Chaos now had two major threats interfering with their war, the Necrons and Dark Eldar.

Covenant of Damnation lose ground

Fighting broke out again between the factions of Chaos in 11.010M42. Worried about the increasing influence of the Covenant of Damnation, and more importantly their hold on supply shipments from Blight, the Claws of Lorek attacked the Covenant at the chaos base in the dead of night. The action was confused and disordered, with both sides doing little real damage to each other in the darkness. However Lorek's forces were able to wrestle control of the provision base on Blight from the grip of the covenant and ensure their own dominance over the chaos forces, at least for the time being.

The distraction on Blight may have contributed to the Covenant's subsequent defeat on Bastien, when the Imperium, lead by the Praetorian Guard, launched a major offensive in the south. Likely worrying about events on Blight, the leaders of Covenant forces reacted slowly, and by 0212.010M42 the Praetorians had taken significant ground off their enemy and had two of the remaining chaos settlements in easy striking distance.

Bastien Latest

Necrons awaken on Cathasaea

The end of 11.010M42 saw events in the Perseus Deeps take a dramatic turn. Until then the Necrons had been an annoyance, a thorn in the side of Veers' crusade or an unwelcome distractio to Lorek and his allies. In late 11.010M42 however the mysterious signals eminating from Cathasaea were finally deciphered by Inquisitor Huron and his entourage, but by then it was too late. With a squeal of digital static which knocked out logis engines as far away as Caitlen Station, the tomb world awakened.

Veers called an immediate conference of his generals upon hearing the news. Already Necron ships had been detected int he Cathasaea system and huge energy signatures had been intercepted. Worse, the other two necron tomb worlds were also showing heightened activity and for several days the Imperial fleet was put on high alert, fearing an invasion.

It did not come. Instead the Covenant of Damnation at their supply point on Scallius were the first to feel the might of the newly invigorated Necrons, their armies smashed asunder by a sudden and vigorous raid. The Necrons didn't stay however, phasing out after just two days on the surface of Scallius. Just as suddenly the energy signals vanished, but Inquisitor Huron knew this to be a bad sign. the Necron forces, travelling in their faster than light spacecraft were now abroad in the Perseus Deeps. An invasion would soon follow.

War on Bastien continues

As 11.010M42 wore on there seemed to be no end to the fighting on Bastien. The deadlock remained and the two sides poured vast armies against each other without great success. On 1811.010M42 the Covenant of Damnation, who made up the lions share of troops on Bastien, began a well planned and brutally simple advance on the Imperial lines. Despite taking heavy casualties the Covenant forces ploughed forward, grinding down the Imperial Guard facing them in a war of attrition.

Unwilling to continue this death match General Veers accepted the aid of two Astartes chapters, including the Dark Angels. The Dark Angels moved in first, attempting to secure forward positions to allow the recapture of Heretic. The insertion mission was a disaster however, and the front line moved ever further away from the city. Many valuable Dark Angels were lost in the mission, but the other marine chapter was undeterred.

The section insertion mission followed a similar pattern to the first, but the chaos forces were taken utterly by surprise. They did not expect a second attack to be almost identical to the first. Suddenly key installations in Heretic had been siezed and the Covenant's supply lines cut. Now, with increasing pressure from Veers' guard regiments, the chaos army now found itself in full retreat. By 2311.010M42 the front line had returned to its previous position and Heretic was once again in the hands of the Imperium, the shattered smoking ruins being renamed "Nova Imperious".

Despite this return to fortune and overwhelming logistical superiority General Veers was unable to maintain the momentum. Once again the fighting bogged down into a familiar pattern and sweeping advances were replaced with trench warfare. The Astartes were recalled and the stalemate resumed. Veers knew he needed a new tactic and started planning for a "Big Push" to take place within the next couple of months...

Minos fortified against raids

In 11.010M42 Minos, the smallest Tau base in the Perseus Deeps, came under attack again. Previous raids had been carried out by the forces of chaos in an attempt to secure a new supply base for Bastien, but this time the Dark Angels were the aggressor. The purpose was the same. Minos lay in a strategically important position for the Perseus Deeps crusade and the possessor of it would enjoy a distinct advantage in the war on Bastien. The Tau were caught in the middle.

Commander Fastblade was a veteran in defending Minos however and the Dark Angels were easily spotted and taken apart by his highly mobile hunter cadres. Few Dark Angels survived the massed pulse rifle and railgun fire and those who did lost all their heavy equipment. The Imperium quickly abandonned the idea of using Minos as a base for the crusade, but commander Fastblade ordered a strengthening of defences in any case. This time he was successful and in addition to the world's new defences, Admiral Swifstar's fleet was ordered to send a force to Minos to dissuade any further enemy intervantion.

Bastien Latest

Bastien: Covenant of Damnation retake Imperious

Veers' strategy appeared to be going well, but it suffered a setback on 1811.010M42 when the Covenant of Damnation launched an all out attack in the northern sector of Bastien. The attack was so ferocious and unexpected that the Imperial forces, let down by their intelligence, were taken by surprise and soon fell back to defence lines west of Imperious. This left the city isolated but the Red Angels refused to abandon it.

Fighting desparately the Astartes chapter found itself outgunned and outnumbered, lacking sufficient support units and vehicles to fend off the crazed and determined traitor guard forces. By the end of 1911.010M42 the city of Imperious had fallen to chaos once again and the brave Red Angels defenders had been wiped out.

The loss of Imperious was a huge blow to Veers. Once again chaos had wrestled a key city out of his grasp and the Imperium now controlled fewer than half the cities on the planet. Not only was this a setback but Veers knew his career, and perhaps his life, rested on the result of this campaign. Now more than ever he felt bitterness at the loss of the Corellian Storm guard to other campaigns... )

Battle of Parthenope

With the Imperium losing ground on Bastien the news that Chaos vessels had been sighted near Parthenope was most unwelcome. In late 10.010M42 an estimated four or five traitor vessels were detected near Parthenope.

Jellicoe dispatched the newly arrived battlegroup Cardale to investigate the threat, assuming that the force belonged to Tragean, Thok or Shaidar Haran. The three largest chaos fleets known to exist in the sector.

Commodore Cardale led the battleship Agamemnon, the cruisers Glorious, Cressy, Aboukir and Repulse, along with three sword class escorts to the Parthenope system on 1111.010M42. There he was rather surprised, and somewhat alarmed to find the sensor returns of five capital ships, none of which had been encountered before.
After a detailed search of old Imperial naval records the ships were identified as the battleship Savage Messiah, the heavy cruisers Iron Juggernaut and Hand of Tartarus and the cruisers Devastation and Black Wolf. Somehow Lorek, the “Master of Chaos” had got his hands on a fleet.

Cardale immediately gave battle, informing Jellicoe before he drew up his battle line. The two gothic class vessels deployed slightly to starboard of the Agamemnon while the Nova cannon equipped Glorious and Repulse brought up the rear.

The two fleets approached each other with the chaos fleet attempting to close the distance quickly to avoid long range nova cannon fire. Despite taking several hits the chaos fleet made it, though Savage Messiah suffered some damage. Cardale, feeling the time was right began to prepare for his tactical move which he hoped would rake the chaos fleet’s stern and deliver him the battle.

Just as he was deploying his ships for the turn, a strange reading appeared of the fleet’s aft, throwing the Imperial force into confusion and losing valuable minutes. A daemon ship had appeared, and then just as suddenlty vanished.

This confusion allowed the chaos fleet to weather the storm of the Imperial battle line and at close range pummel the closest ship, the Repulse with devastating firepower. She attempted to break off but her fires picked her out against the blackness of space. Within an minutes concentrated chaos firepower had reduced the ship to a smoking hulk.

Having lost one of his capital ships Cardale now successfully crossed the chaos fleet’s “T”, swinging Agamemnon and her two gothic class consorts round the rear of the chaos battleship. Opening up with massed lance fire the Savage Messiah and Black Wolf were soon crippled. Fortress of Hate soon followed, a lucky nova cannon hit from the Imperial battleship causing horrific damage.

Then once again the daemonship appeared, but this time took on corporeal form. Identifying it as the ex-Harbinger of Pain the Imperial fleet opened up as she charged them in a suicidal action. The daemonship met the same fate as the Repulse reduced to a spinning, drifting hulk of metal which disintegrated against a wandering asteroid. Whether or not the ship would be seen again however, was not discussed.

Following the loss of the daemonship the chaos fleet disengaged its crippled cruisers. Soon the traitor forces were reduced to a mere two capital ships, facing a battleship and three cruisers, though Glorious was forced to disengage soon after the destruction of the daemonship as both remaining chaos vessels targeted the Imperial carrier as the closest target.

Taking no chances Commodore Cardale continued to shadow the two chaos vessels for some time, before they decided they had suffered enough losses and disengaged. The Imperium had won the battle, but the loss of Repulse, though her hulk was towed back to Caitlen Station some time later, left a bitter taste in Jellicoe’s mouth.

Results
Repulse hulked
Glorious crippled

Harbinger of Pain hulked
Savage Messiah crippled
Black Wolf crippled
Fortress of Hate crippled

Marine forces and Eldar raid Scallius

During the first half of 11.010M42 it had become apparent that Lord General Veers' crusade against chaos in the Perseus Deeps had ground to a halt. On Bastien the slaughter of half a million men in a month had gained nothing, and the Imperial base at Corticant was surrounded by ever strengthening alien threats, while more Chaos forces flocked to the banner of Lorek.

Veers asked for reinforcements, but was denied. The Tyranid menace was winning on Betor, the Tau were barely being held on Tarsis and the Inquisition were becoming decidedly edgy about the planets Cathasaea, Gamador and Malius. The Lord General had to make do with the forces at his disposal. Veers met with his tacticae in late 10.010M42 and unexpectedly asked for advice.

There were many voices clamouring to capitalise on this rare opportunity, but Veers favoured one of them, that of master strategist Hyram Alderbrand more than the rest, and he accepted a lot of the old man's suggestions. To defeat Chaos would mean ensuring their supply was cut off. Bastien would be given enough forces to hold the line but the Chaos bases around the Bastien system must be raided, overrun or destroyed. Meanwhile Corticant was becoming a bottleneck for the Imperium. Another base was needed in the Perseus Deeps to become the centre of operations for the peripheral raids.

Veers redeployed his forces. Most of the Space Marine chapters at his disposal joined the Blood Drinkers on the newly established base of Aganthus, which Veers ordered to be enlarged and fortified. Even the Lamenters chapter, shunned by many of their peers, was included in this. The Lamenters however based themselves on the opposite side of the world to the rest of the Imperial base, which by 0511.010M42 was a riot of construction activity and a logistics nightmare.

Jellicoe increased the fleet's presence in the Deeps, the only reinforcements the crusade received, moving the fleet that had been blockading Tarsis, with little or no effect, to Corticant, while Dreyer's battlegroup moved to Aganthus. With his new dispositions Veers now plotted the next course of the Perseus Deeps campaign.

The first part of Veers' new strategy called for the annihilation of their base on Aethor. The Adeptus Astartes agreed to this task, as it would be dangerous and well behind enemy lines. Their task was to render the base at Aethor unuseable and to scout out likely landing sites for an Imperial Guard ground crusade.

The Lamenters and Red Angels carried out their tak with great zeal and courage that is expected of the genetically enhanced superhumans. The Lamenters raided the southern hemisphere, destroying a company of Khorne Bezerkers who were soon to be embarked for the War on Bastien, before blowing up the main facility in the south and returning with most of their comrades to the safety of their orbitting strike cruiser.

Meanwhile in the north a small team of Red Angels successfully scouted a likely landing ground in the northern plains of the savannah which covered much of the planet. They were spotted however by a patrol of Chaos Marines, but held their ground when the traitors attacked long enough to escape with their valuable data. They also killed a score of some of the Imperium's deadliest foes.

Much of Aethor was left untouched, though a great deal of damage had been inflicted by the raids and general Veers now had enough information to plan a landing. Then on 1611.010M42 a shocked Veers learned that the Eldar had repeated their attack of the previous month and raided Aethor themselves once again. The bloody raid, which decimated yet another company of Khorne Marines rendered the base of Aethor useless to the Chaos forces in the Perseus Deeps for several weeks.

Shadow Worlds Influence

Eldar raid on Scallius

With the loss of Aganthus and Cathasaea the Eldar had been forced from their last planetary holdings within the Perseus Deeps in early 010M42, but they were not entirely without presence, and they still had business in the Aleph sector, particularly in hiding their three planets in the Shadow Worlds from the unwelcome view of would be colonisers.

The Shadow Worlds had been relatively peaceful for much of 010M42. The Imperial crusade in the Deeps and the continued campaigns on Tarsis and Betor had meant a distict lack of focus on the Alphe and Shadow Worlds theatres of war. The Orks meanwhile appeared to be spending much of their time fighting among themselves, with both Waagh Snazteef and Waagh Nazghat apparently having both collapsed towards the end of 009M42.

The Eldar remained too weak to restart an all out war in the Shadow Worlds region, so instead used their webway portals to launch a punitive and successful raid against units of the Covenant of Damnation, based on Scallius. The Chaos forces were taken by surprise and the Eldar were able to obtain several important artefacts and deal the traitor units a heavy blow.

Exactly why the Eldar chose 11.010M42 to conduct this raid, and how it would ultimately help their cause remained unknown to outside observers, but the damage to the chaos forces certainly hindered their campaign against the Imperium.

Blood Angels on Mysterious mission

11.010M42 also saw the arrival of a company of Blood Drinkers to the Aleph sector. Without asking permission from the Imperial commander, General Veers, the Blood Drinkers set up a base on Aganthus. This base was set up far from the rest of the Imperial installations and was declared off limits, but the Blood Drinkers did introduce themselves to Veers, explaining that they had a need to conduct operations in the perseus Deeps, but would be available to aid his crusade if the situation warranted it. It was clear the parameters of what would be classified as "warranted", would be decided by the space marines.

Reports of the Blood Drinkers were sparse in early 11.010M42, but it is known that they carried out two raids against chaos forces in the Perseus Deeps. The first raid was costly, and unsuccessful, seeing the Astartes chapter soundly defeated by Catechism forces on Ares, but their second, against the Covenant of Damnation, was more successful.

The Covenant forces were still reeling from the surprise Eldar raid so when the Blood Drinkers appeared on 08011.010M42 the traitor guard units were far from prepared. In an operation conducted with lightning speed the space marines tore the rebel base apart, before withdrawing after just three hours on the planet.

Veers and the rest of the Imperium were unable to say what the Blood Drinkers' mission was, but the space marines were sighted upon their return to Aganthus, carrying with them something concealed in an ornately decorated casket in a procession which included several marines, all of whom had their heads bare and bound. Clearly the artefact concealed within was of great importance to be treated with such reverance by the Gods of humanity,

Necron threat increases

In late 10.010M42, with the situation on Bastien remaining unresolved, both sides of Lord General Veers' crusade suffered raids from alien Necron forces. For months Veers had played down the threat of the Necrons, describing them as "unco-ordinated" and "sporadic", but to senior members of his tacticae it was becoming clear that the Necron raids were centred around Cathasaea, and the activity was increasing.

On 2710.010M42 the garrison on Aganthus was raided by Necrons who appeared from nowehere, destroying a key military base and settlement and defeating the Caldon Guard before disappearing once again. Later in the week Imperial spies heard of a similar raid against Blight, where the Clawes of Lorek took heavy casualties.

Admiral Jellicoe, commander of the Perseus Deeps Crusade fleet, searched in vain for any Necron ships in the vicinity, but General Veers was forced to reinforce his position on Aganthus, robbing the front lines on Bastien. The Necrons had become a serious thorn in the side of both sides contesting the Perseus Deeps. Neither side realised the real threat the Necrons faced however.

Betor: Nemesis held at Munchefeld

In Munchefeld the bloody fighting continued. Warriors of the Caldon Guard sought to hold onto their recent gains by constructing a series of elaborate fortified positions. Although hurried, these positions incorporated multiple defensive lines with overlapping fields of fire, supported by armoured vehicles and artillery.

The Caldon Guardsmen didn't have to wait long for the inevitable assault. Wave after wave of Tyranids boiled through the narrow streets and headed directly for the defences. Flying and tunnelling bio-constructs ranged ahead of the main assault, seeking to bog down the defenders and reduce the fire power directed at the main swarm. The first defensive line quickly fell, buried beneath a writhing mass of alien killers. But there were two more lines and gradually the Caldon's firepower took its toll on the attackers. When the Tyranids reached the final position the depleted swarms lacked the strength to complete the assault and like a retreating tide the Tyranids withdrew, leaving only the uncountable corpses of their dead and those of the Caldon guardsmen killed in the attack. As the death count mounted for both sides the Caldon Guard grimly continued to build up their position, knowing there would be more carnage to come.

War on Bastien 1810.010M42 - 3010.010M42

Valboris further infested by Tyranids

While Nemesis gradually consumed Betor and the forces of Chaos were locked in battle with the Imperium in the Perseus Deeps, the infestation of Valboris continued. By 2010.010M42 forces loyal to the Claws of Lorek had lost their hold on New Brent City and had been pursued to Inferno by the monstrous swarms of the hive mind.Ten days later another assault by the aliens smashed the Anticross defences in Inferno and began to infest Bartertown. Slowly but surely the Chaos world was falling to the implacable foe.

Bastien Latest

Bastien counter attack: Southern Front

While the Imperium was reeling in the north from the ferocity of the Anticross attack, their prospects in the south were somehwat better. The Chaos counter attack here was to be lead by the Claws of Lorek, with mercenary ork and Covenant support. As in the north the Adeptus Astartes were employed to blunt the attack, with the Space Wolves and Dark Angels working together to stop the Chaos assault in its tracks.

The Imperial pre-emptive strike began well, with the Space Wolves ambushing the Claws of Lorek forces spearheading the drive towards the southern Imperial defence lines. Lorek knew that failure here would mean the loss of Meshuggah and Reaverton, which would be a severe blow. The Space Wolves knew this too, and after dispatching the lead elements of the enemy force, secured a path for the Imperial Guard following up to surround Mesuggah. They held on to this for several days, but due to events in the desert they would be forced to withdraw.

Further south the Dark Angels were looking for the Orks of Thrugnik, a new Ork warlord who had apparently accepted the pay of the "Master of Chaos" in order to secure himself loot, booty, glory and bloodshed. The Dark Angels succeeded in their task but were quickly overwhelmed by greenskin numbers. Imperial intelligence on this had been incorrect and the Space Marines barely managed to extricate themselves from the jaws of the advancing greenskin horde. The Orks then turned north, threatening to cut the Space Wolves off. Amid much acrimonious debate and cries of treachery by both the Dark Angels and Space Wolves, the latter were forced to abandon their forward position.

On 2410.010M42 General Veers took charge in the south, deploying the main force of his army here for a "big push", a war of attrition designed to grind down the Chaos forces in the knowledge that he could replace his losses the faster. Veers also quietly asked for no more help from the Space Wolves and Dark Angels, who were blaming each other for the lack of progress so far. Veers feared they would turn on each other, so it was the Imperial Guard who now moved up to deal what Veers hoped would be the final blow to the Claws of Lorek and their dominion in the south of Bastien.

The broad front advance went well to begin with as Caldon Guard regiments ground down the traitor guard units of the Covenant, opening a gap and allowing the Librian 99th Mechanised and Prozan 3rd Cavalry to push through to Meshuggah. The city fell after a brief battle on 2510.010M42, but the forces of Chaos soon responded. On 2710.010M42 the counter attack came as the Claws elite marine forces, backed up by Covenant reserves moving in from Reaverton, pushed into the city.

Both sides used heavy artillery extensively, levelling the settlement and creating a hellish battlefield of stray rounds and deafening explosions. The Librians, furthest forward, though supported by Prozan Stormtroopers, weathered the initial onslaught, causing carnage in the Covenant ranks. The Prozan Stormtroopers excelled too, charging enemy rhinos armed only with krak grenades, often destroying the transports heroically before being wiped out. One day into the fighting Veers ordered in the Prozan airborne units to bolster the line.

The air cavalry assault was less than successful as the Covenant and traitor astartes units were suddenly reinforced, at exactly the right moment, by deep striking obliterators which made light work of the thinly armoured vendettas and valkyries. Most were downed upon arrival and the obvious losses being taken by their comrades seemed to have an effect on the Librian veterans holding the Imperial right flank. Firing wildly at the approach of a force of land raiders, hitting nothing, the Imperial right flank wavered, then broke, allowing the chaos forces a foothold in the east of the city.

The battle to the west and in the outskirts of Meshuggah was no less brutal, and here the loss of the airborne cavalry was felt the hardest. Although by 2810.010M42 the Imperial right flank had stopped running, it was clear to Veers that to stay defending Meshuggah meant being surrounded. The next day a bitterly disappointed Lord General ordered the retreat.

In the south the Imperium had lost thousands of men and hundreds of tanks and airborne carriers. The Dark Angels had lost a quarter of a chapter and the Imperium had taken just a few hundred miles of worthless desert. Even so, the Chaos counter attack had not been a spectacular success, and in fact the enemy had lost more ground than it had taken, and Lorek himself had lost some prestige amongst his fellow Chaos commanders. The war on Bastien would go on...

Bastien counter attack: Northern Front

After months of inactivity the war on Bastien heated up once more in the second half of 10.010M42 as the forces of chaos launched a counter attack in the north and south of the planet, at either end of the barren acidic sea which dominated much of the western hempsiphere. The build up was not subtle behind the traitor lines and Imperial Intelligence knew full well that an assault was coming. To head this off General Veers received aid from no fewer than three space marine chapters, the Dark Angels, Space Wolves and Lamenters all sending a company of astartes warriors and support.

In the north the Lamenters attacked just at the time the forces of Chaos, led here by the Anticross, were about to launch their own offensive. The astartes forces ploughed into the cultist forces supporting the attack and made their way to the centre of the Anticross elite forces. However at that moment on 1810.010M42 the leaders of that chaos faction summoned a host of daemons which immediately fell upon the Lamenters. Outnumbered and cut off from supply, the brave if rash marines were cut down one by one in a costly action which allowed Chaos forces to surround and quickly take the city of Imperious.

By 2110.010M42 the Imperial line in the north, weakened by the loss of several front line units since 05.010M42, began to crumble. Soon cultist and Anticross forces had bypassed and cutoff a regiment of Praetorians at the original landing grounds of the Imperial HQ. Daemons were once again summoned and most of the Praetorians were butchered. The landing base was destroyed utterly and by 2610.010M42 the momentum of the advance was well and truly with Chaos.

The Lamenters however refused to admit defeat and devised a clever strategy to reverse the dwindling Imperial fortunes. On 2710.010M42 a small force of Lamenters assaulted Imperious from the air. Well behind the front lines by now, the city was defended by Covenant of Damnation traitor guard forces, no match for the Adeptus Astartes. The Space Marines tore into their lines and seized all the key installations in the city, allowing Imperial Guard regiments to land via specially modified barges. This flanking action undermined the Anticross advance and astutely they withdrew, abandoning most of their games in their haste to avoid being surrounded.

By the end of 10.010M42 the action had petered out and the lines returned to a more static affair. The assault had been costly for both sides and it had looked likely that the Imperium would lose control of the north. However, the timely actions of the Lamenters more than made up for their earlier errors, preventing the north and the city of Imperious from falling back into Chaos hands.

Betor Latest

Tyranids progress on Betor

During 10.010M42 the situation in the south of Betor continued to deteriorate as wave after wave of Tyranids swarmed across the southern deserts towards Munchefeld. The city was defended by a company of the Caldon Guard, a regiment newly arrived in the Aleph sector and posted to Betor in the hopes of shoring up the Imperium's crumbling defences there. Although fresh and well equipped the men of the Caldon Guard were unprepared for the mind numbing horror and scale of the Tyranid attack. Their prepared positions were quickly swamped by the tide of writhing alien bodies.

Munchefeld was packed with desperate refugees from the destroyed north eastern provinces. They had nowhere left to flee and the Tyranids marauded through the streets, slaughtering the populous and preparing them for absorption into the hive. As the feeding frenzy neared its height the surviving civilians barricaded themselves into the buildings of the central administratum district and Arbites courthouse. There they prayed to the Emperor for salvation and to their wonder and awe they were answered!

Descending on pillars of fire, angelic warriors of the Emperor's Space Marines dropped directly into the writhing masses of bio-engineered killing machines. There they set about clearing the infestation with bolter and power sword. In some of the most brutal close quarter fighting yet seen on Betor they cleansed the central districts one street at a time, leaving them piled high with xenos corpses. Then, as suddenly as they had arrived they departed, vanishing without comment and seemingly uncaring of the joyous citations of the grateful populous. Their unlooked for intervention gave the remnants of the Caldon Guard the opening they needed and they quickly moved to retake the city. Nemesis was still disrupted and confused from the brutality of the marine assault but even so it was hard going. Casualties mounted and slowly the guardsmen re-asserted their control on the cities central districts.


In an effort to sustain the counter attack a task force of Astartes of the Red Angels chapter arrived to continue the offensive. Their recklessness proved to be ill judged however when Nemesis proved to be less weakened than intelligence suggested. A forward reconnaissance patrol was ambushed and butchered by waves of Tyranids as they moved through one of the cities central parks leaving only a single survivor. Realising the danger of a break through the lone marine called in an air strike from the chapter's Thunderhawk gunships to contain the outbreak. Hundreds of Tyranids were obliterated in the bombing run but so to was the valuable gene-seed of the chapter's fallen.

The brutal fighting continued with the fate of Munchefeld held in the balance. There could be no retreat for the Imperial forces stationed there. There was nowhere left to retreat to. They would win or they would die.

Chaos Intrigue and Plot

With the Imperium hampered by Necron incursions and making little if any headway on Bastien, the forces of Chaos continued their efforts to consolidate their hold over their own forces and, if possible, secure new allies in their war against mankind.

The Claws of Lorek had already unsuccessfully attempted to bully the Dark Eldar in the region into joining forces with them, and the result was an angry Dark Eldar warband on the loose in the Perseus Deeps. Eventually however the forces of the Anticross caught up with them when they tried to raid Blight, inflicting a heavy defeat on the aliens.

Meanwhile the Claws of Lorek had troubles closer to home on Bastien itself. Millions of cultists, bandits and general outlaws had joined the crusade against the Imperium and the defence of Bastien. Now however some Guard units were getting out of control. Lorek decided to intervene, raising a host of daemons with the intention of putting down any rebellion before it could begin. He was disappointed however when the daemons he summoned were swiftly banished back to their non corporeal realm.

The Traitor Guard units on and around Bastien became less and less manageable in early 10.010M42 and many felt that the Claws were beginning to lose control over their forces. A potential pact between the forces of Chaos and the Orks was ruined on 1310.010M42 when traitor Guard units attacked the force of Orks Lorek was trying to engage with. The Guard regiment in question was defeated and an ork raiding party with its blood up was added to the woes of the Master of Chaos. The Imperium meanwhile continued to step up preparation for a new offensive on Bastien with extensive manoeuvres involving the Caldon Guard and Space Wolves.

Tarsis Major Latest

Tarsis: Imperial offensive falls flat

Following the defeat of Strongspear's Tau forces in late 09.010M42 the Imperium continued to pile on the pressure, advancing east towards Tarsis Prime across the plains of Tuva. Two weeks into this advance however the Imperial high command began to worry. The Tau were giving ground in the worthless open plain but eventually they would make a stand somewhere before the strategically vital capital of the planet.

Cunningham continued to advance on a broad front, knowing this would be the best plan to employ against the Tau, adding regiments of Caldon Guard to his forces in the north. The Caldons had recently arrived and unlike the Prozans were fresh and not battle fatigued. On 0310.010M42 Cunningham moved the Caldon Guard into the front line to continue the assault.

At the very time of the switch Strongspear counter attacked, throwing in his best hunter cadres against the new arrivals. In the centre of the new active front crisis suits advanced followed by Tau on foot. Against the veteran soldiers of the Imperium they faired poorly, torn to pieces by plasma shots and lascannons. However this was not Strongspear's main assault. That came to the north, with a wide flanking move employing devilfish troop transports and stealth suits, backed up by an ample supply of hammerhead and broadside railguns.

Initially it seemd that the largely static lines of Caldon Guard, supported by plasma and lascannon weaponry as well as numerous sentinel scout walkers and Leman Russ tanks, would hold of the Tau advance. The casualties they caused in the Tau centre caused the aliens to waver, and a whole section of Strongspear's troops began to fall back. The decisive blow came in the north however, and once the railguns of the Tau began to get to grips with the Imperial Leman Russ tanks and sentinels the Guard forces could nto respond to the fast moving Tau. By 1110.010M42 the Tau had secured their main objective, the Imperial supply line on the main road to Tarsis Prime.

Realising his predicament General Cunningham reluctantly pulled his troops out of the line and retreated back to the mountains. The Imperium had suffered more heavy casualties and yet by 1610.010M42 the Tau were right back where they started some two months before. The Imperial attack of autumn 010M42 had failed.

Perseus Deeps Current

Chaos in the Deeps

While Minos was under attack the forces of chaos were also in battle against one another. On Ares a mighty clash of daemonic hordes decided the fate of the planet, with Khorne overcoming Tzeentch to claim the prize. The psychic howls of daemons plagued the sleep of many psykers inhabiting the Deeps, and twelve on Corticant in the service of the Emperor had to be euthanised. Meanwhile on Bastien the internal rivalry between the various factions saw the forces of the Anticross decimate a human army dedicated to a mysterious new arrival to the planet. These fresh troops poured into Bastien's defences, but the the amazement and amusement of the Imperium seemed more intent on fighting with the other factions. Other Imperial analyticae worried that once the battle had been won the hierarchy would be established and once more the forces of chaos would be united in opposition to their invasion.

Chaos assault Minos

The forces of Chaos, aware of the Imperium's difficulties in the Perseus Deeps, but still reluctant to launch a major offensive against them and risk annihilation, chose to attempt to further complicate the Imperial cause by cutting their lines of supply. Once again Lorek turned his gaze to the small Tau outpost of Minos, and he was more than happy to turn the hordes of chaos traitors which had flocked to his banner against the aliens, rather than risk his own precious marine legions.

And so on 02.010M42 Admiral Thok's fleet arrived in orbit around Minos. The Tau were unable to match the chaos firepower in space and fled, as thousands of traitor guardsmen dropped, almost literally, into combat on the ground. Many cultists died in the landings, and the drop zones were turned into a hellish cratered wasteland. Rather than let them recover from the uncoordinated drops commander Fastblade sent his mechanised units in against the human armies, tearing their remnants apart with railguns, missiles and pulse rifles.

Despite bravery and accurate fire from the traitor guard units, their losses were appalling. Three days after the initial invasion the chaos fleet left, understanding there was no hope of capturing the Tau settlement. Thousands of traitor guardsmen were left to be wiped out by the Tau. Lorek and the other chaos commanders, though disappointed at the failed landings, grieved little for the loss of so much insignificant life.

Necrons plague Imperial crusade

As 10.010M42 began Lord General Veers was still keen to get the crusade against chaos underway once more. For months the advance had stalled and the front lines had barely moved on Bastien. The creation of a new daemonworld on Ares convinced the Lord General even more that action against chaos needed to happen now. However his resources were stretched and his supply lines under threat. Admiral Jellicoe's fleet had lost several ships which were forced to return to Caitlen station for proper refits, while the bulk of the fleet was on duty protecting and defending convoys to the forces on Corticant and Bastien.

By far the most troublesome thorn in Veers' side was the necron threat. Despite securing Aganthus, Cathasaea was now a known tombworld. So far the inquisition had not ascertained its strength or level of awakening, so Veers allocated two of his newest Guard regiments and a company of Red Angels to investigate.

The Imperium landed to no resistance on the ground, but as soon as Inquisitor Huron, leading the expedition, approached a forbidding complex of obsidian clad structures the dreaded necrons appeared from out of apparently nowhere. Fortunately Huron was prepared, supported by a brigade of Guardsmen, who managed to vanquish the first enemy wave sent across the harsh terrain of the planet's northern hemisphere. It was a close run thing however, and exuberance on the part of the Imperial Guard almost allowed the necrons to cut them off from their landing zone.

The victory did however allow Huron to continue his investigations. Then, on 0410.010M42, four days into the expedition, the Necrons attacked in force again, this time in greater numbers. Huron ordered the Guard back and began re-embarking his forces. There were too many Necrons for his small force, but the Red Angels volunteered to stay behind to defend the landing perimeter. The necrons showed them no mercy, and few of the chapter made it back to the Imperial base on Aganthus.
Huron's expedition had only half succeeded. He had found out the planet was indeed home to a mighty force of Necrontyr, and even a fleet of warships. How long it would before they fully awoke, if they awoke at all, he could not say, and Veers refused to give the Inquisitor any more of his forces, whatever his rank and privilege demanded!