Ynarri attack and defeat Craftworld Eldar

In 03.020M42 the Ynnari reappeared in the Aleph Sector in strength. Bringing prophecies of an impending calamity the youngest eldar faction appealed to the Craftworlds of their race for unity of purpose, and a change to their strategies within the aleph sector. While most of the Aeldari race complied, a few Craftworlds resisted, and refused to accept the "advice" of this new faction. One in particular refused to go to war as the Ynnari instructed, and remained set on their path of glorious isolation. This was unacceptable to the Ynnari, who demanded that all of their race answer the call to arms. Unable to defeat the Craftworld of Ul'Staer with logic, the Ynnari instead took direct action.

 

In a series of actions throughout the webway, the Aeldari race went to war, with itself. Two major actions saw the Ynnari defeat the Craftworld eldar decisively. Led by their warlock conclave, the first engagement was decisive, with a Ynnari Solitaire going after and killing the eldar farseer of Ul'Staer who the Ynnari held responsible for the failure of their Craftworld to listen to their demands. This first engagement broke the Ul'Staer resistance, but fighting continued through the webway for several days, as pockets of resistance were systematically defeated.

 

By 2403.020M42 the matter was settled. The Ynnari had proved they would take Aeldari lives in order to ensure unity of purpose, and all the Craftworlds in the sector were aligned to their new purpose. However, none outside the Ynnari yet knew what that purpose was.

Goreen cleated of orks for second time

In 019M42 the forces of the Arch-Heretek Cybixx were believed to have eradicated the ork threat on Goreen, but as the diretion of the campaign against chaos became focussed in the Perseus Deeps, Cybixx and his allies disappeared from the Hadron Expanse. This should have been good news for the Imperium, who now held the system uncontested, but a series of attacks on human settlements on the sparsely populated Goreen Alpha came under repeated attack from greenskin warbands. General Percival, overall commander of Imperial forces in the Hadron Expanse, having had many of his assets stripped for the war on Mordecai, could not immediately respond, and the loss of Goreen alpha appeared to be a real possibility.

 

Fortunately the Imperial Fists were able to lend assistance. Although small in number, the elite marine forces were able to efficiently hunt down and push the greenskin forces back into the wilderness zones. They then went further, pursuing the orks into their remaining heartlands and savagely destroying any pockets of xenos they could find. The sky of the planet was soon thick with the soot and smoke from raging forest fires, as the astartes relentlessly burned the greenskins out of their hiding places, and by the end of 03.020M42 the system was declared free of the ork infestation.

Mordecai: Lunge south cuts off Kuneus

The next move by General Kutuzov in the war against chaos on Mordecai was to target the major city of Kuneus to the south of the Abrax mines. A crucial supply point and intersection of routes, the city was the next logical place for the Imperium to attack. In order to avoid a brutal city fight, the imperial plan called for an encircling move, for which the Lycannon Guard was readied in early 03.020M42.

 

As the flanking move began, the guard were opposed by the traitors of the Darantine regiments, as well as the knights of the apostate Aether Striders. Loyal to the Emerald Serpent, the forces of chaos put up a strong defence against the imperial advance, and a major battle developed to the west of the city. The Lycannon regiments, well equipped and familiar with fighting the Darantine and Aether Striders in previous engagements across the sector, were able to overcome the chaos defences, and within days of the advance beginning, the city of Kuneus had been surrounded, with the tanks and infantry of the Lycannon guard reaching the shores of the great lava sea. Now imperial forces were within striking distance of the Saguthar mines to the south, but first the city of Kuneus, besieged, would have to be dealt with.

R’Lyeh encountered in the Perseus Deeps

Although hive fleet R'Lyeh has been encountered on Hexis, it was believed that the tyranids of this particular strain were confined to the Hadron Expanse. It came as something as a shock then, when in mid 03.020M42 a large hive fleet was encountered by the forces of chaos in the Perseus Deeps. The Emerald Serpent, patrolling against incursions by Imperial vessels made contact with the tyranids in a neighbouring unpopulated system to Mordecai, and immediately engaged the interlopers.

 

The battle proved remarkably successful for the Emerald Serpent fleet, who were able to see off the alien fleet without taking any significant losses. Investigating the destroyed husks of some of the xenos vessels, the heretic biologis magi were able to ascertain that the genetic markers were indeed indicative of R'Lyeh, but that some elements of Nemesis were also present. This deeply concerned the Emerald Serpent, as it now appeared that the threat of hive fleet Nemesis, believed to have passed, had now morphed into something new and alarming.

Iron Warriors halt imperial advance

In 2902.20M42 the Ultramarines, having made planetfall days earlier, were prepared for an offensive on Mordecai Secundus. Unbeknownst to the Ultramarines however, traitors within the Imperial ranks had slipped their plans to the Iron Warriors who prepared their own attack before sons of Guilliman could even get on the move. On the horizon, the Ultramarines spotted a veritable horde of Daemonic Engines of all shapes and sizes and to their credit quickly prepared fortified positions centred around the ruins, creating a makeshift fortress for the Iron Warriors to assault. The Ultramarines expected little heavy firepower for such an assault focussed force, however, before their Devastator Lascannon squads could fire, Helldrakes screamed overhead and incinerating them. The Ultramarines stood firm and massed bolter fire shredded a Maulerfiend that had ranged ahead of the Daemonic pack.

The Ultramarines found losing fully half of their Lascannons left them at a disadvantage, but they adapted, using massed bolter fire to bring down a second daemonic beast and wounding several others, it was not enough however and the Daemon engines struck their line as one. In melee the Ultramarines found themselves woefully outclassed and underprepared for the heavily armoured daemon engines, had they had Thunder Hammers or Powerfists it may have been different, but combat blades and Krak grenades were no match. The Aggressors, having inflicted early engine kills, were the target of every Baleflamer weapon the Daemon Engine horde could bring to bear, and were incinerated one by one. The Ultramarines, were pinned to the ruins they had made their makeshift fortress and were slaughtered one by one.

News of the loss of the Ultramarine reinforcements was received with shock by General Kutusov’s staff. It was expected that their arrival would mean the purification of Mordecai Secundus could accelerate but for now, grinding warfare would have to continue. They had the manpower, but did they have the time?

Fort Rhagrim falls to imperium

Having secured their position on Mordecai Secundus and having taken the Abram Mines, Kutuzov now turned to the most difficult chaos position now facing his front line, fort Rhargrim. 

The chaos fortress lay at the western end of the line of fortifications that stood between the forces of the imperium and the major city of Festergax Primus. Rhagrim protected the the city and also provided an effective block on any outflanking move from the west. 

Defended by the Death Guard, the chaos fortress presented a substantial obstacle to the imperium, and the imperial army was able to call on an entire Novgorod army, as well as help from the Grey Knights. This gave the attack mobility, and as the Novgorod forces began a brutal frontal assault the astartes used this mobility to confuse and harass the enemy forces. After a lengthy battle, the fortress was finally isolated and stormed. Casualties were high, especially on the chaos side, but while the attack had unhinged the chaos defence line, the imperial army wasn’t immediately able to further exploit the success. Nonetheless, the fall of Fort Rhagrim was a significant breakthrough for the invading armies of the imperium.

Mordecai: Advance Continues

Following the successful destruction of chaos forces in the north, Kutuzov’s army was now concentrated in the north west of the imperial sector. Deciding to press his advantage and further expand imperial territory, and immediate large scale offensive was launched. 

As 03.020M42 began, Kutuzov’s army drove west into strong Death Guard forces, the Emerald Serpent having withdrawn to provide a mobile reserve. The Death Guard proved to be a stubborn in defence, but Kutuzov’s army proved to have superior firepower. Despite heavy fighting the Imperium pushed the chaos forces back ending a significant advance having further expanded the territory they controlled.

Heavy Fighting on Corticant

Following the loss of the device chamber the Eldar were on the back foot but it also freed them from the need to hold territory, and Kel Sandros immediately switched back to its preferred hit and run tactics. Rather than face the Imperial advance  as it approached Bymarsh directly, an aspect warhost attempted to strike the advancing forces from behind using hidden webway portals to bypass the main battle line.

Realising the threat this posed the Dark Angels immediately repositioned a battle company to block the thrust, fully aware that the cumbersome bulk of the Imperial Guard regiments would be unable to reposition and bring sufficient force to bear without additional time.

Sighting an advance party of Eldar scouts the Ravenwing screamed forward into the ruins of a settlement in order to force them out only to find themselves ambushed and almost entirely wiped out by a far larger force concealed amidst the dense terrain. Responding to their urgent distress call Deathwing Knights teleported down from orbit to aid their embattled brethren and battle was joined in earnest. Casualties mounted on both sides and the conflict eventually ended in a stalemate with neither side able to make headway, but for the Imperium such a stalemate was a strategic victory as it bought the Guard regiments the time they needed to respond to the new threat. Once again the Eldar withdrew into the webway hoping to remuster their dwindling forces and strike again before the planet was entirely lost to the grinding Imperial war machine.

As Bymarsh fell to the imperium in the north of Corticant, in the south separate eldar forces were patrolling near their webway portal, when they were attacked by genestealer cults once more. However the allied war host of drukhari and wraithguard were well prepared for the light cultist forces, and the speed of the genestealers did not save them. The eldar patrol called up reinforcements and swept the area clean of the infestation, ensuring vital webway entry points remained under the control of the Aeldari race.

Alliance suffer defeats in Hadron Expanse

For many months the war in the Hadron Expanse had cooled off as the fighting on Hexis stalled. However, with the strategic value of Hexis and the Lysis system now virtually zero, a large number of forces were now freed up for other duties, which immediately put the Alliance, who already had no significant forces committed to the Hexis campaign, at significant risk. 

The first hammerblow to the alliance fell at the system of Mimir. Without warning death guard forces launched a series of attacks against tau bases on the outer worlds, including the significant base on the planet code named “Gregland 100”. 

The tau responded with their highly mobile battle suit units, sending rapid reaction forces to the outer ice planets where the chaos forces had appeared. The alliance units were unable to remove the death guard invasion, as it became clear they were supported by fleet elements. A full scale chaos invasion of Mimir had begun. 

While the tau were struggling at Mimir, the imperium had free up forces to retake Hussaria. They had already taken Orebro, but now a daring mission conceived by the Imperial Fists planned to cut off the alliance forces in the remaining major cities. 

Landing behind Svartan, the astartes soon faced a force of Librians barring their way. Equipped with heavy armoured elements the traitor guard army ought to have posed a significant obstacle to the Fists, but after an early precision strike that took out the leading Leman Russ and the most dangerous artillery units, the response from the Librians was farcical. The Librian general ordered a flank attack with his hellhound flamer company, which met with some success, but to the dismay of the federal forces some of their weaponry simply failed to work as intended. 

Manticore storm eagle rockets fell amongst the space marines but failed to explode, the only casualty caused as one missile landed directly on an unfortunate battle brother, driving him several feet underground. A second marine died to a rocket as it fell on him during a close assault against the launch vehicles, but this did not count in the statistics. 

The astartes, especially the Primaris, proved a difficult foe for the Librians, who were shocked to discover that even volleys of battle cannon fire didn’t stop the genetically enhanced humans, while their Repulsor Executioner battle tank proved lethal with its precision shooting. 

The federal forces responded to this threat with a precision drop of their elite forces behind the astartes lines, intending to take out the Executioner and force the space marines to turn to face the new threat. However, once again faulty weaponry came into play, and the grav tank, although heavily damaged, was not destroyed. It then turned its many weapons on the storm troopers, wiping them out and destroying any hope for the federal army. 

As the Librians were being mopped up outside Svartan, more forces landed in the east, sealing the alliance army’s fate. By 0103.020M42 the main cities on Hussaria had been secured by the Imperial Fists, and the entire alliance presence in the system was close to collapse.

Hexis skirmishes continue

After dusting themselves off from their previous loss, the Sisters of Quartz continued to scout Hexis with some renewed motivation for the planet. After some time they encountered a small camp of Adeptus Mechanicus boasting about their prowess and the might of one particular warrior, Ivan. Being a relatively arrogant troupe themselves, the Sisters decided to test the so-called strength of this tech priest against their own skill and flooded the camp in an ambush attack, destroying stocks of supplies with surgical precision and slaying Ivan and a number of his comrades in a lethal dance of pistol shots and stab wounds. It did not take long for the news of defeat to reach back to the tech priests’ superiors, and another team was dispatched to run through the area and take out as many of the Harlequins as possible. However, riding the high of their previous victory the Sisters tore through the foe once again, their resilience keeping them fighting and dancing until the battle was once again won..

Advance continues on Mordecai

The next phase of the advance on Mordecai was taken on by the Astra Militarum. With the chaos lines breached, the astartes were withdrawn and the ranks of the Novgorod Guard began pushing forward into enemy territory. The latest offensive was launched to the north west, in order to take advantage of the strategic situation gained by the Dark Angels and Imperial Fists. Here the wide plains were ideal for vehicles, and the Valdorgrad 411th motorised rifle regiment led the assault into the rear of the chaos defences, while the Last of Sycorax defended their flank opposite the highland region where the xenos infested the rugged terrain.

 

The Imperial assault north was surprisingly swift, for the guard, and the mobility of the imperial regiment prooved decisive in preventing the Emerald Serpent's repeated attempts to break into the now surrounded pocket of chaos troops. In a savage battle, both commanders of the respective armies were killed in heavy fighting, but the Valdorgrad held on, sealing the fate of the chaos armies to the north of the Imperial landing zone.

 

Kutuzov had now secured his northern flank, but did not have only good news as 02.020 came to a close. While the Imperium were advancing north, the Genestealer Cults careered down the hillsides and smashed into the forces protecting Kutuzov's flank. The result was a bloody massacre of the Last of Sycorax, and Kutuzov found his entire advance exposed. However, the cult of the four wheeled emperor showed no interest in pursuing the shattered guard regiment, instead consolidating their positions in the highlands.

More raids on Tau by the eldar

Following the raids on Lucardium, despite protests to the Kel Sandros Craftworld, the Tau found themselves on the receiving end of further assaults from Aeldari forces. This time, Parius, a smaller but none-the-less important Tau base in the Perseus Deeps, was raided by a combined force of drukhari and wraithguard. This faction appeared to be taking its own approach to dealing with the myriad threats in this region, and was disregarding the pact between the Aeldari and the Tau Empire.

 

The eldar forces caused havoc on Parius before withdrawing, once again showing how undready the Tau were to a sudden and unannounced attack from an unexpected quarter. In response, the Tau further increased their military presence, although this necessarily meant weakening their positions elsewhere. The Tau alliance with the Kel Sandros held, although this was mostly due to the fact that the Tau had no way of seeking or effecting any kind of retalliation on their sometime xenos allies.

Space Marines outflank northern defences on Mordecai Secundus

After capturing the Abrax mines, General Kutusov felt a little more secure in his position, both privately and referring to the invasion of Mordecai Secundus in general. Kutusov couldn't complain about lack of astartes support, and this fact was underlined when in mid 02.020M42, two new chapter companies arrived in the system. The Ultramarines and Dark Angels made themselves available for the Mordecai operation, and increasingly the Imperial General was finding his voice carry less and less weight in planning meetings at high command, as the space marines took more of the initiative.

 

Kutuzov was able to influence the astartes' next move however, as he pointed out that the Imperium was still fighting the invasion on three fronts. To the south, the Emerald Serpent, Iron Warriors and Death Guard posed a real threat, but to the north, despite its strategic insignificance, the Imperium did not have a secure flank. Here, roving Slaanesh bands and Death Guard forces meant that a significant portion of the Imperial reserve had to be held against the threat from this direction. In the west, the high ground was still dominated by the xenos cults, although these seemed just as intent on fighting the forces of chaos, and it was to the north that Kutuzov looked for support in his operational planning.

 

The Ultramarines and Dark Angels recognised the general's strategic abilities as he explained his concerns to them, and his ability to influence the super humans of the Emperor was a key asset in the prosecution of the campaign. Convinced, the two new arrivals co-planned a new operation, to strike deep into chaos territory and lay the foundations of a subsequent operation to lock down the imperial northern front.

 

Kutusov was shown the plans as a courtesy, and he had some misgivings. The astartes plan proposed a narrow strike north, to the east of the chaos positions, driving all the way to the barren and inhospitable wastelands in the Mordecai Secundus polar regions. Once complete, it was up to Kutusov's forces to secure the shorter strike to the west, closing off the chaos pocket which could then be mopped up.

 

The Imperial general was not immediately convinced. He counter proposed that the western end of the pocket should be closed first, as this was the shorter advance. The astartes plan, Kutusov felt, would create a narrow salient which would be vulnerable to a chaos counter attack. If successful, it would be the imperial forces cut off in the north and the operation would end in total failure. Kutuzov was careful not to say "no" to the astartes, and proposed that once the western end of the chaos pocket was secured, a slower more measured advance could cut off the east. However, in the end Kutuzov was over-ruled. The space marines wanted a bold strike and pointed out that a slow advance would allow the chaos armies to the north to extricate themselves, while the Imperial General was accutely aware that his superiors wanted progress on Mordecai Secundus.

 

The operation conducted by the astartes was a total success. Not expecting the advance north, the Death Guard were caught by surprise. Their hastily organised counter offensive, despite being led by an apparition of Mortarion himself, lacked long range firepower, and the Dark Angels simply used the open terrain of the northern plains to their advantage. The destruction of the Death Guard was complete, and allowed the Ultramarines to move through the Dark Angels' position to attack the Slaanesh warbands in the extreme north.

 

The Ultramarines faced a more difficult challenge, as the forces of the Prince of chaos proved swift and numerous, able to close the distance with the Ultramarines despite their significant firepower. However, the astartes has the edge on equipment, and gradually the Slaaneshi forces were whittled down, while the super human warriors proved difficult to put down permanently. By 2502_042M42 the astartes advance had reached the extreme north, and there was now only a narrow pocket in the west connecting the northern chaos forces to the rest of the traitor armies.

Imperium claim the device on Corticant

Throughout its interventions Kel Sandros had always been careful to limit its involvement, preferring to engage in lightening fast strikes aimed at rebalancing critical nodes within the complex web of fates. With a surgical strike the flow of events could be directed down threads more favourable to the Eldar's objectives before the warhosts once more withdrew and allowed the bulk on the fighting to be carried out through proxies and pawns. For a single Craftworld to attempt to orchestrate events on a galactic scale it was the only viable option.

Occasionally the council of Kel Sandros would find itself with no option but to fight its own wars and such a theatre was on Corticant. Although they could call upon the support of their Alliance partners the Aeldari would have to bear the brunt of the fighting themselves and it was critical to maintain control of the device chamber before the lumbering meatgrinder of humanity's massed armies. Left with no other choice the Aeldari looked towards the forest of whispers and the legions of their warriors long dead to aid them in the coming battle.

As the massed ranks of the Imperial Guard ground towards the excavation site the slender, haunting forms of ghost warriors strode out of the billowing sand storms to engage them. Charging through the stinging storm and screaming devotions to their corpse emperor hordes of religious fanatics were cut down by their silent enemy. The elegant alien constructs seemed largely untroubled by incoming fire, as if protected by the raging dust storm or perhaps more eldritch means.

But by engaging in such a manner the Eldar were fighting on the Imperium's terms. With cold detachment the commander of the Novgarod regiments allowed his fraternis militia to charge headlong into the enemy so that they might be pinned in place whilst disciplined ranks of Novgarod  Guard followed up behind. But it was the armoured support that did the real damage, pre sighted onto the positions of their own men they callously fired into the fray with little care for who they hit. The militia were already doomed, joyously giving their lives for the master of mankind, but one by one the ghost warriors fell as their armoured carapaces were smashed apart by heavy munitions. Unable to fight through the horde of bodies to the armoured units inflicting the real damage the Aledari were forced to retreat and abandon the excavation site to Imperial hands.

Skirmishes on Hexis

Having considered Hexis a lost cause, the small troupe of The Sisters of Quartz that remained on the planet had laid low for quite some time. However, now bored of watching lesser races bicker over the ruined landscape, they decided to see what they could find and, more importantly, what they could conquer.

 

The first force they came across was a gang of Orks who outnumbered them by nearly double. The Sisters were apprehensive, aware that one misstep would result in their demise at the hands of the physically overpowering creatures, but if the enemy was out for blood, they would be too.

The ensuing battle was tense, the two squads trading blows at equal rates, though the acrobatics and mind games of the Eldar finally proved too strong and the Orks that were not slain eventually fled.

 

The Sisters pressed forward and soon found themselves at a base belonging to the Tau. Riding high on the arrogance from their recent victory they immediately ambushed the centre of the complex, intent on holding their position and taking out any challengers as they approached. The Tau, however, had brought drones that unfortunately for the Sisters matched them in agility, and outmatched them in firepower. The harlequins didn’t last very long in the following shootout as a few crucial miscalculations resulted in their defeat and their pride diminished as quickly as it had risen.

 

Meanwhile, as the necron threat re-emerged in the ruins of the shattered plains of Hexis, the orks, who were somewhat "at a loose end" now their chaos overlords had given up on any meaningful attempt to conquer the strategically diminished system, were looking for fights. Mostly these had been confined to local flare ups between groups of orks and the imperial defenders, but in 02.020M42 the orks finally encountered the necron threat in the southern ruins of Praxis, dealing them a nasty shock as the small bands of greenskins were easily massacred by the emerging ancient xenos. Whether this represented a serious necron uprising, given the weakening of the other forces on Hexis, still remained to be seen.

Breakout on Mordecai Secundus

After many months of buildup and planning, the Imperium in mid 02.020M42 finally had enough strength to launch a major offensive on Mordecai Secundus, aiming to capture the Abrax mines which had been on the target list for the first week of the invasion. Stronger than expected defences, a greater number of enemy forces and a plague of diseases had so far stymied the armies of General Kutuzov, but with the arrival of fresh Knights and astartes forces, the long awaited operation Victor was given the go ahead.

 

On the chaos side, the military build up in front of their lines was obvious, and the Emerald Serpent prepared their own forces, marshalling a large host of Questor Traitoris, traitor guard of the Darantine regiment, and the might of Astralis Invictus, the Warlord titan which had now been redeployed to Mordecai for this latest engagement.

 

Battle was joined almost immediately as the Imperial offensive began, and the next weeks saw the most vicious fighting on Mordecai Secundus to date. Everywhere Astralis Invictus was encountered, the warlord titan made its presence felt, blasting or smashing elite imperial units, with the Imperium struggling to contain such a destructive war assets. However, the titan could not be everywhere, and the firepower of the Imperial army was as a whole more telling. Vast armies of chimera borne Darantine squads were blown apart as they advanced to retake objectives, although their suicidal sacrifice did delay the Imperial advance.

 

The battles raged around the mining complexes and reached a climax on 1602.020M42, as a chaos counter attack led by Astralis Invictus threatened to break the Imperial forward momentum. Kutuzov now deployed his reserves with the personal approval of the Imperial Fists senior commander, who elected to lead the defence of the southern mining complexes, taken just hours earlier. The astartes commander led the defence personally, taking out much of the attacking chaos armoured elements, but the deep striking terminator forces suffered serious issues. The Space Wolves managed to deliver their much needed firepower on target and on time, eliminating an enemy Hellhammer before being annihilated by the chaos titan. However, the Imperial Fists elite armoured warriors suffered difficulties with their vox transmissions, blunting the effectiveness of their deployment. In a last gasp effort, the Imperial knight "Eagle Heart" attempted to single handedly retake a key position, but was dismissively blasted from existance by the warlord titan.

 

Despite this, the Imperial defence of the southern mining complex held, allowing Kutuziv enough time to move his slower Imperial Guard regiments up to the front lines. As the Imperial basilisks began to find their range on the chaos positions, the traitor forces along with the mighty Astralis Invictus withdrew. The Imperium had captured the Abrax Mining complex, finally, by 1802.020M42, but the battle had not been a rout, and the Emerald Serpent had retained much of its fighting capacity, including the warlord titan. Operation Victor had been a success for Kutuzov, but not a war winning engangement.

Eldar raid Tau bases

Despite the alliance between the Tau Empire and the Aeldari being seen as an absolute by external observers, and even the Tau themselves, the representation to the Tau by the farseers of the Kel Sandros craftworld had done much to give weight to the myth that the eldar race was united in its purpose and methods. The truth, as with everything in Aeldari society, was far more complex. The rise of Y'nead and the Y'nnari had further fractured the eldar race into groups who, while they shared the ultimate goal of the destruction of chaos, shared vastly different visions of how this should be brought about.

 

The latest evidence for this misalignment came in 02.020M42 when an eldar wraithost and druchari warriors attacked tau bases across the Perseus Deeps without warning. The most savage attack fell upon Lucardium, where the Tau managed to wipe out the attacking force, but suffered severe damage to their infrastructure in the process. The attack caused a great deal of anguish in the Tau high command who demanded an explanation from their eldar "allies", but none was forthcoming, only a cryptic message that described the incident as "regretable". In response, the Tau increased their military presence on their bases in the Perseus Deeps, a result the Aeldari attack was almost likely anticipating, and counting on for the battles to come.

Necron threat rising on Hexis

For many weeks following the destruction of the necron device the war on Hexis had become almost dormant. The Imperium and Chaos forces had stopped all meaningful attempts to dislodge one another, as the chaos forces were now mainly holed up in the city of Praxis itself, while the Imperium under General Konev held sway over much of the ruined and now worthless barren landscape of the planet's northern plains. Konev was stripped of much of his war assets, and now commanded only a fraction of the army he could once call upon, as his commander, General Percival, reorganised his forces in the Hadron Expanse. Now all imperial effort was focussed on the defence of Corticant in the Perseus Deeps, and the invasion of Mordecai.

 

In mid 02.020M42 however, Konev's army came under assault from a significant force of necrons. The "front" against the necrons was weakly defended by imperial forces as there was no reason to expect a necron advance, especially as the device was no longer active. However the imperium had failed to understand the motivations behind the partially awoken aliens, who were resolute if not fully rational in their drive to rid their homeworld, no matter how destroyed, of the alien taint that they merely considered an infestation.

 

The initial appearance of the necrons caused panic amongst Konev's troops, but a small force of Imperial Fists agreed to take the matter in hand and stabilise the situation. Unfortunately the small group of marines woefully underestimated the necron threat and found themselves on the defensive almost immediately. Soon after deploying the Fists were forced to retreat, and the Imperium had to trade land for time before the necron advance peetered out. Fortunately, the land was worthless.

Chaos unable to eradicate genestealer threat

While the battle between the Imperium and Chaos continued to rage on Mordecai Secundus, the threat from the genestealer cults was never far away, as the battle raging between the major powers effectively gave the xenos cult free reign over the Mekken Plateau. In early 02.020M42 this led to a local uprising in a host of small settlements in the shadow of this high ground, threatening the left flank of chaos positions against the Imperial invaders, and the Emerald Serpent was forced to take action.

 

The Emerald Serpent sent in an elite force of Thousand Sons to deal with the genestealer cult uprising, and a furious battle erupted around a major intersection leading to the plateau itself. Here the cultists made their stand, and despite facing millenia old warriors and an experienced military machine, the cultists were able to prevent the chaos forces from pushing into their heartlands. The battle did stop further disruption to chaos supply lines leading to the imperial front, but the genestealer worshippers now held sway over a significant portion of the highland region.

Current Theatre Maps

Corticant

Mordecai Secundus

Imperial Fists turned back by Kel Sandros

Although an imperfect tool the Imperium had been proving far more effective than the T'au and Federacy in the fight against Chaos and for that reason the Eldar were reluctantly resigned to the realities of the situation within the Aleph sector. To that end the Aeldari were content to allow the Foramen to remain open in order to supply the Imperial war machine, at least for the time being. But the hearts of men are weak and easily corrupted and signs of xenos genetic contamination were already evident within the human forces on Corticant. For this reason the Eldar were determined to maintain control of the device holding the Foramen open so they might have a way of limiting the Mon Keigh's indiscriminate aggression should it later be directed in ways not to their liking. For years an uneasy truce had held between the two races on Corticant but now that was shattered and a new equilibrium could only be reached once the planet lay entirely within the control of either Eldar of humanity.

In response to Farseer Tarquil's visions of the future a Kel Sandros warhost had deployed to an abandoned mining outpost in the planet's sparsely inhabited north. There he had foreseen that a force of Astartes clad in yellow plate would come in search of psychic anomalies that betrayed the presence of webway portals, portals that would in some way become vital to the outcome of this campaign. There, cloaked in the frequent squalls of acidic rain that were the legacy of the brutal Mon Keigh's rape of this planets ecosystem, the Eldar waited patiently in ambush.

Shrouded in the stinging rain the war host waited for the yellow clad humans to reach point blank range before springing their ambush but the augmented sensors of the human's armour allowed them to spot the concealed rangers overlooking the kill zone and they immediately opened fire. Forced to spring their ambush early the Eldar retaliated, annihilating in moments the vanguard of the enemy force as Dark Reapers rained destruction into the kill zone and aspect warriors converged from all sides.

Despite the blow dealt to them the humans fought on, their hatred for the alien stoked to fever pitch by a chanting skull faced warrior as they raced forward into the firestorm without hesitation or fear. Soon Aeldari began to fall to the enemy counter attack and Tarquil watched in horror as the casualties mounted. Disgusted at the waste of life he strode forward and brought the hulking brutish warriors down with storms of writhing eldritch lightening to complement the thunder storm raging overhead. Soon every one of the humans lay dead on the field of battle but far too many Eldar would return to the halls of Morai-Heg for the victory to taste sweet.

Imperium send in reinforcements at Corticant

General Veers' appeal for aid did not go unheaded. By 0902.020M42 the Imperial forces on Corticant had been significantly strengthened. As well as more regiments of Novgorod Guard, Maximus diverted an entire naval battlegroup to the system. In addition, the Dark Angels and Hammers of the Emperor assigned their own company strength forces to defend the planet from the Aeldari threat.

 

the reinforcements were enough for Veers, ever the bold general, to go over to the offensive. Gaining support from the astartes the imperial forces massed on the eastern flank of the eldar held sector, with the imperial guard launching an overwhelming advance. Ironhaven quickly fell as the eldar struggled to hold back their vastly more numerous foe, and suffered from constant orbital bombardment from a Hammers of the Emperor strike cruiser.

 

While the Aeldari reeled from the hammerblows in the east, the Dark Angels launched a surgical strike against Bymarsh, the key settlement and road intersection to the north of the excavation site where the Necron device chamber lay. The astartes managed to take the eldar by surprise initially, but the counter attack from a combined wraithhost and drukhari army was particularly savage, as the enemy realised that Bymarsh was strategically vital to controlling the approaches to the device chamber. After hours of savage fighting, the Dark Angels just managed to cling on to their gains and hold onto the settlement, forcing the eldar to withdraw. Despite heavy losses, the offensive was going Veers' way, and the control of the strategic asset at the heart of Corticant now appeared to be within his grasp.

Mordecai: Progress at Abrax Mines

As 02.020M42 began, General Kutuzov was determined to make a breakthrough on Mordecai Secundus. The Imperial Guard were gradually recovering from the sickness that hat overtaken the main garrisons, and the Imperium could still count on support from the Grey Knights and the Hammers of the Emperor chapters of astartes. House Corvus' knights remained in reserve refitting and repairing, while Kutuzov began to plan the next phase of the offensive against the Abrax mines.

 

Even with astartes support, it was clear that a sweeping breakthrough would not be possible in 02.020M42. The chaos forces were well defended and numerous, and the fleets at the Mordecai docks prevented the Imperium from bringing overwhelming orbital support to bear. Kutuzov could however rely on the astartes strike cruisers for close support in any upcoming offensive.

 

The grey Knights opened the operation to take the Abrax mines, launching an assault agains the Death Guard to the north of Imperial positions. the battle was hard fought, and the Grey Knights only just managed to escape from superior nurgle forces after causing massive disruption to the chaos supply lines. Taking heavy casualties the astartes withdrew, but they had been successful in their mission. Kutuzov's main offensive could now begin without fear of a flank attack from the north.

 

The Novgorod Guard launched the new offensive towards the lava lakes of the eastern hemisphere on 0802.020M42, advancing on a wide front. The Emerald Serpent defenders were constantly harried by orbital bombardments from astartes strike cruisers, as the Imperial Guard relentlessly pushed forwards. By 1102.020M42 the chaos line had been bent back towards the coast of the lava sea, giving up almost two thirds of the mining installations on the coast. The chaos line wasn't broken, but they had suffered a heavy defeat. Kutuzov was mindful however of the over extension of his lines, and concious of the threat now posed by the chaos salient on his southern flank, and called off any further advance. The Abrax mines - targets for day one of the invasion, were finally falling into Imperial hands, some three months later.

Stahl continues his vendetta against his “allies”

“Emerald Serpent, your profligate endeavours have come to nothing; your foolishness cost us in strength, all for your deluded gambits for naught but the whims of your insane master. You will suffer for your weakness, you will be a demonstration to your ‘god’ that I will not tolerate its games” - Intercepted Transmission from the Warsmith Lycurgus Stahl to the Emerald Serpent, Mordecai, 10550602.20M42

++For months, the Emerald Serpent has shown little interest in the invasions against long held chaos strongholds by the Imperium, sending only token forces while they have pursued their own agenda. Again and again the forces of chaos have expected the Emerald Serpent to hold, only to have them fail, putting the bulk of their forces elsewhere in the Aleph Sector, seemingly at the whims of Tzeentch.++

++It has long been known that Lycurcus Stahl blamed the Emerald Serpent for recent losses, particularly at Hexis, Tarlius and Mordecai Tersius. It appears that Stahl once again has sought revenge for the failures of his “allies”.++

++Inquisition interpretation of events.++

In the late morning of 0602.20M42 the transmission above was broadcast, wide frequency to the command points of the Emerald Serpent on Mordecai. The majority of Emerald Serpent forces were away, seeking their own agenda and consequently the Sorcerers were caught completely off guard when the attack came.

Helldrakes screamed through the sky continually broadcasting Stahl’s anger while a massive horde of Daemon engines scuttled toward the Emerald Serpent lines at an alarming speed. One Maulerfiend pulled ahead of the pack, determined to keep pace with the supersonic Helldrakes, who collectively crashed into rubrics, tearing them to pieces. Another Iron Warrior warband unknown in Aleph were with the Thousand Sons, to which the Heldrakes immediately melted half with their baleflamers.

Having gathered their senses from this sudden and unpredictable act of wanton violence the Thousand Sons responded by weaving the warp in the air, the cabal of sorcerers dismantling the first Helldrake on the atomic level. A second squad of Rubrics redeployed through warp trickery to create overlapping fields of fire against the Engine horde approaching. The horde kept pace, gouts of baleful fire curuscating over the Thousand Sons and renegade Iron Warriors, killing several. Emerald Serpent reinforcements; Obliterators and Sekmet Terminators tore into reality, having stepped from whatever scheme the Emerald Serpent were enacting. The Obliterators sought to earn their name, but Iron Warriors against Iron Warriors is always a bloody affair, and while one Maulerfiend was torn to pieces the Iron Warriors of the 144th charged them with hatred one can only reserve for an erstwhile brother.

In the rearguard of Iron Warrior lines, the High Sorcerer stepped from the shadows of the warp, along with a phalanx of Rubrics, opening fire on the 144ths human slaves. The Iron Warrior Havocs, having used the slaves as human shields, opened fire with their chain cannons, emptying their ammunition into the rubrics shredding more than half, the remaining crushed as the entire ruins collapsed from the devastating fusilade. The High Sorcerer summoned his brothers within his cable, three terminator clad sorcerers teleporting in and between the 4 they eliminated the Havocs and the remaining mortal slaves. Believing himself safe, the High Sorcerer retreated behind the collapsed ruin, only for the warp to flicker and from above with a roar the Iron Warrior Daemon Prince bound to Stahl’s will dive bombed into him crushing the High Sorcerer. The Defiler and the Dark Apostle charged the cable of sorcerers, the defiler catching one in it’s claws before hurling him the length of the battlefield like a mortal would throw an egg, the sorcerers broken body making a comparable mess on impact. In the Emerald Serpent lines the Obliterators, Renegade Iron Warrior Lord and Daemon prince were shredded by massed daemon engines. The day belonged to Stahl’s Iron Warriors, but whether this would help, or hinder the defence of Mordecai was anyone's guess.

Hard fighting on Mordecai yields no breakthrough

Progress on Mordecai remained slow for the forces of the Imperium, and a number among High Command had begun to express concern that the war would descend into a quagmire on a planetary scale. Determined to break the deadlock, the Hammers of the Emperor sought to smash through the strongest defences and facilitate a breakthrough. The Hammers set out in force to attack the eastern defences of Chaos, but to their surprise, the Iron Warriors forces were defending the region instead of sulking in their fortresses off world like High Command believed.

The Scouts of the Hammers caught the Iron Warriors off-guard, striking suddenly and killing a number of Thorakitai mortal slave-soldiers. Multiple Lascannon beams lanced out from distant ruins, slicing through the Iron Warriors Daemon Engines and Plasma Cannons cut down a forward squad of Legionaries who strayed too far from defensive positions.

The Iron Warriors quickly recovered and slaughtered the Scouts while hurling their Daemon Engines through the ruins and into the Loyalist Vindicators, while Lascannon Havoc teams - feared throughout the Aleph sector for their skill against armour, hobbled a Rhino transporting Sternguard veterans despite defensive smoke being deployed.

For over an hour defensive smoke and chaff caused tracer rounds to criss cross ineffectually, inflicting only light casualties. It was the Iron Warriors that finally took the initiative to close the distance, bringing their heavy mid range weapons to bear. Obliterators tore their way into reality as one of the Havoc squads wielding Reaper Chaincannons deployed from their Rhino transport. The Havocs lit up the ruins containing the three Devastator squads, slaying them all in a blinding hail of fire that left little of the ruin standing, along with most of a squad of Sternguard. At the same time, the Obliterators made good on their name, destroying the Hammers armoured support utterly.

Undaunted, the Hammers commanders, including the Chapter Master and Master of Sanctity counter attacked. The heroes of the Chapter tore through the Iron Warriors lines, cutting down the Obliterators, Havoc squad and Commander leading the Iron Warriors. If this was expected to break the traitors the Hammers were mistaken; in customary fashion the Iron Warriors calmly deployed more guns, levelling Lascannons, Chaincannons, bolters and baleflamers at the heroes. The Master of Sanctity was speared through with two Lascannons beams and the Epistolary was beaten to death by a mob of hate filled Legionaries. The Chapter Master of the Hammers impressively withstood round after round of Chaincannon fire, his stormshield shorting out from the effort, only to be speared through by the Vex Machinator Warpsmith leading the Daemon Engines packs. 

By late in the evening of 0302.020M42, corpses littered the centre of the battlefield. The Iron Warriors seemed satisfied with the carnage and withdrew, having butchered most of the Hammers force, along with losing a significant portion of their own defenders. Worse for the Hammers, the fate of the Chapter Master and Master of Sanctity of the Hammers remained unknown. For the Iron Warriors, it was believed that Šalić, one of the Lieutenants of Commander Gerghaz from the Western front of Hexis, led the Iron Warriors. However his presence, and his apparent death both remained unconfirmed. His presence, if it were true, meant that Stahl may have redirected his forces away from Hexis and towards Mordecai. Did Stahl suddenly care about the planet? Or was this simply another opportunity to wreak vengeance on the Imperium and their “allies” in the Chaos forces?

Xenos activity on Corticant increases

The Hammers of the Emperor, by failing to deal the eldar on Corticant a quick and crushing victory, had instead awoken the eldar to an emergent threat to their control over events in the Aleph Sector. The imperium could not be allowed to take the device on Corticant which was the key to the strategic situation in this part of the galaxy. While the human empire may be needed in the final showdown against chaos, the Kel Sandros craftworld and its allies resolved to make sure it was the Aeldari race that would steer the path to final victory. 

The eldar knew the elite Grey Knights could not be everywhere at once, so began a two pronged assault via the tactically important valleys which controlled access to imperial held territory. 

Along the Iron road in the east, the eldar met little resistance, until their scouts reported “irregular human forces” ahead of them. Suspecting something was amiss, the eldar deployed a full strength war host to the eastern sector, finding to their dismay that the “army” standing in their way was not imperial at all. Yelling and whooping while riding around on buggies and bikes the Cult of the wheeled emperor - part of the growing genestealer infestation of the sector, had obviously decided that the time for their uprising was at hand. 

Realising that Tyranid control of the necron device posed an even greater threat, the war host was diverted to crush the irregular army careening in front of the Aeldari wraithhost, but the fight itself proved difficult. The speed and unpredictable fighting style of the enemy was totally at odds with the millennia old martial doctrine of the eldar, and they soon found themselves in the midst of an ambush. However, the wraith guard, supported by a towering wraithknight, proved difficult for the light forces of the genestealer cult to deal with, and despite taking heavy casualties the cultists were gradually worn down, then broken, allowing the eldar to secure the vital territory around the Iron Road. 

In the west however, imperial scouts detected the eldar advance, and the Grey Knights swiftly deployed to counter the alien advance. After a brutal battle south of Lochford the eldar were forced to withdraw, although the strategic position on Corticant still hung in the balance, and  General Veers, commander of the Perseus Deeps, urged Lord Commander Maximus to divert more forces to Corticant before his garrison was overwhelmed.

Imperial assault on Corticant ends in disaster

In early 020M42 with the war on Mordecai stagnating and the necron device on Hexis lost, Lord General Militant of the Aleph Sector, Justinian Flavius Maximus, having now been in position for some time, was growing increasingly concerned over the strategic situation in the Perseus Deeps. 

The main passageway through the Cicatrix Maledictum - the Foramen - was held open by the active necron device at Corticant. The invasion of Tarlius had secured the passageway for the Imperium, but the device itself was still under the control of the eldar. At any time the xenos could, should they do wish, shut down this device and plunge the entire sector on the wrong side of the divide into ruin. For now the eldar seemed content to keep the Foramen open, as the war against chaos was aligned with their own strategic aims. However, being beholden to the aliens was unacceptable to the imperium, and Maximus ordered the retaking of the device chamber on Corticant. 

The Hammers of the Emperor accepted the mission, and sent strong armoured formations along the road from Lochford to the excavation site on Corticant. Significant xenos forces appeared to bar their way, including a host of wraithguard and a towering wraithknight. Along side these eldar forces the astartes noticed the presence of Drucharii, suggesting the Aeldari race were united in making sure the device remained under their control. 

Savage fighting developed in the valleys on the approach to the excavation site, and it looked for some time as if the space marines would be able to force a passage through to the plain under which the necron artefact was buried. However the sacrifice of the wraithknight led to a titanic detonation, killing or maiming many of the elite astartes troops and forcing the cancellation of the mission. The astartes withdrew, allowing the eldar to move up into the outskirts of Lochford. Instead of securing the device chamber for the imperium, the latest assault appeared to have poked a hornets nest which now threatened to remove the imperial presence from Corticant entirely.

Slow progress on Mordecai

By the beginning of 020M42 the campaign to swiftly take Mordecai Secundus was well and truly bogged down. General Kutuzov faced multiple challenges. Sickness had already begun to take its toll on the Imperial Guard formations are his disposal and only the Astartes and Adeptus Mechanicus forces seemed reasonably immune to the pervasive disease saturating the atmosphere of the chaos mining world. 

With only the elite forces currently battle ready, the Grey Knights launched their own disruptive raid against the Emerald Serpent, severely hampering the ability of at least one chaos faction coming to the aid of its allies. Following the astartes raid the Hammers of the Emperor struck east, while the Knights of House Corvus attempted to make a breakthrough to the south. 

The sweep east went to plan, as the loyalist astartes swept aside the Death Guard blocking the path towards the Abram mines, but the knights of House Corvus came across the Iron Warriors of Stahl for the first time on the desolate plains of Mordecai Secundus. 

Stahl’s forces were a mix of cultists and daemonic engines, but they proved a tough challenge for the knights who struggled initially to land telling blows on the enemy forces. Unable to deal with the helldrakes and maulerfiends, the knights soon found themselves overwhelmed by the Iron Warriors numbers, and within days of the attack beginning the survivors of the attack were staggering back behind their start lines. 

Stahl’s Iron Warriors didn’t pursue the retreating imperial forces, mindful that the Grey Knights were presumably being held in reserve. The Imperium had made modest gains in the east, expanding the bridgehead towards the Abrax mines, but even utilising the elite forces Kutuzov had at his disposal, the long hoped for breakthrough seemed no closer.

Iron Warriors brush of daemonic attack

Despite the recent attack by the Death Guard, the Iron Warriors of Warsmith Stahl still refused to leave their fortresses, content to hoard their resources, munitions and military assets to themselves.
Having not only offended the disciples of Nurgle, the god Slaanesh now demanded Stahl fight, but as before, Stahl refused.

Outraged at being denied, Slaanesh sent its daemonic host to teach to stubborn Warsmith the error of his ways. On 2112.019M42 a host of Slaaneshi daemons ambushed Stahl and his bodyguard. Clearing the distance between the two forces rapidly the Daemons chittered and giggled as they threatened the mortals, in response, Stahl ordered his warriors acquire firing solutions while marching the slaves forward to block the daemonic charge. The Iron Warriors and their mortal slaves opened fire with Chaincannon, autogun and boltgun obliterating the Seekers and Fiends in a hail of shell and Daemonic gore.

The remaining Daemons struck the mortals in a single wave and literal fountain of gore erupted from the Iron Warriors mortal slaves. The mortal slaves died screaming, the few survivors desperately trying to flee but Stahl simply activated the slaves explosive collars, killing them and some of the Daemonettes. The Daemons dominated the battlefield and it looked for a moment like they would reach Stah, but rather than falter the Iron Warriors charged forward to meet them. Daemon were cut down in concentrated overlapping fire, Terminators, ordered to reinforce the position, teleported into the centre of the battlefield and added their weight of fire to the slaughter. Stahl himself charge the Daemon Prince leading the host and tore the heart out, capturing its soul.

Just as rapidly as it started, the ambush was over, the Slaanesh Daemons wiped out for the loss of expendable mortal slaves.

Over the coming days and weeks, reports began to come out of Minos and Enceladus. Daemon forges burned hot and troop transports ferried Astartes from their fortresses. Whatever had stirred them, the Iron Warriors were, once again, marching to war. The question was, who was the source of their ire this time?

************************************************
Stahl sighed as he placed the Warp flask containing the heart of the Daemon Prince alongside the squealing flask of Marcus of the Emerald Serpent.

“Will they ever let us be?” the Warsmith asked to no one in particular.

At that moment the door to his sanctum whirred open as Norros entered with the data Stahl had ordered retrieved.

“The Dark Mechanicum concur with you Lord, it can be done”

Stahl closed his eyes, for a moment feeling the full weight of 10,000 years of ceaseless war and insane entities that called themselves gods. They had left the Eye for hatred, revenge, for freedom, but only found the insanity of a universe that worshipped a corpse that equalled the insanity of the Eye. They would all burn. Everyone that had crossed the IV would burn in the fires of his vengeance. He opened his eyes and glowered at his subordinate.

“Muster the Grand Battalion Norros. Iron Within”

“Iron Without Warsmith”.

Kel Sandros unable to prevent Hussaria advance

The strategic situation for the Alliance had continued to deteriorate. Still reeling from the loss of Palantir the Tau and Federacy had been unable to prevent the Imperium counter-invading Hussaria and establishing a beachhead. Keen to capitalise on their surging fortunes the Imperium declared a holy crusade to retake those planets that had fallen under the sway of 'the heretic and the xenos'.

This further setback did little to shore up the confidence of Kel Sandros' ruling council where support for the Alliance project was rapidly waning. The prevailing mood was that it would be folly to continue to spend Aeldari lives in support of allies that had repeatedly squandered every advantage provided to them. This was further compounded by the galactic situation as a whole. Those that argued that the Rhana Dandra was imminent and that the focus should be on winning it rather than delaying it were gaining increasing traction in council debates.

In desperation those still behind the Alliance sent a warhost to Hussaria in an attempt to stop the rot. Their hope was that a clear victory would give the Alliance time to recover and counter-attack, keeping alive the dream of stabilising the region and allowing the Tau Empire to gradually supplant the Imperium.

The warhost rapidly deployed to the planet's surface and moved to head off a determined advance spearheaded by elite human soldiers. Well equipped and reeking strangely of stale incense and self-righteousness these female warriors attacked the Eldar without hesitation, singing angry dirges as they advanced relentlessly forwards. The battle was closely fought with casualties high on both sides but the Eldar gradually found themselves unable to maintain sufficient dominance of the area of engagement. Tarquil was forced to admit that this was not the clear cut victory he had hoped for and that it would be better to withdraw now and preserve his forces rather than continue to engage the humans in a battle of attrition they must ultimately lose. Events on Hussaria would only serve to re-enforce the positions of those that argued for a far more desperate path.

Emerald Serpent raze Hobbiton

General Percival, overall commander of Imperial forces in the Hadron Expanse, had retaken the Palantir system from the Alliance after heavy fighting in 11.019M42. Just weeks later, a massive fleet was detected making the translation to realspace in the outer reaches, but this was not the Alliance counter attacking. Instead, a huge chaos fleet was making its way towards the most important world in the system, Hobbiton.

Why the Emerald Serpent chose now to invade was a mystery, but the forces at the Serpent's disposal easily outmatched Percival's meagre resources. Konev and his forces were still at Hexis, now a useless scrap of a world, with all his attendant fleets and supporting logistics, while Palantir could only muster a company of Space Marines and a single Knight Lance. The Imperium had however a reserve force for just such a surprise attack, although they had expected the assault to come from the Tau system of Echo Reach. Caught rather off guard by the offensive from Boltarean, the chaos forces had landed in force on Hobbiton before the reserves could arrive, wiping out the small Imperial garrison. Once again, Hobbiton was under occupation.

The Imperial counter attack came in late 12.019M342, with the arrival of a Legio Titanicus Warhound Titan, several lances of House Corvus, and three companies of the Sky Lords chapter of space marines, led by chapter master Potitus himself. Landing to the west of the chaos positions around Hobbiton's only major city settlement, the loyalist force prepared to assault the Emerald Serpent forces at dawn the following day, while the Imperial Fleet, smaller than that of the heretics, was forced to abandon their position in support above the world. This Potitus knew would mean an orbital strike would be out of the question, and intelligence had suggested that once again the enemy were fielding a terrifying warlord titan.

The attack on Hobbiton began on 1812.019M42, with the land raiders and repulsors of the Sky Lords fanning out in front of the longer ranged knight and titan forces, while the ominous shape of the chaos warlord titan loomed out of the mist. On the imperial right flank, daemons appeared, led by the apparition of tzeentch primarch and arch traitor Magnus the Red, but his form was quickly banished back to the warp. Knight forces exchanged fire, as the Aether Striders, fighting for the Emerald Serpent, were focussed by Potitus' men and the imperial Warhound. One by one the giant walkers died to the imperial firepower, and the loyalist advance appeared to be making good ground. Casualties remained light, despite the havoc wrought by the warlord titan every time it fired its main weaponry.

However, the power of the warlord titan could not be undone. As the imperial forces reached their objectives and decimated the smaller chaos war engines, so did Astralis Invictus reach its enemy, pounding its mighty armoured fist and crushing many astartes under its feet. Land Raiders were tossed into the air by the power of the titan, and despite chapter master Potitus now ordering all available weaponry to fire at the titan, the mighty war engine's void shields flared as they deflected much of the ordnance harmlessly away. Astralis Invictus then looked slowly down at the diminutive figure belowing commands at the imperial forces. With one enormous sweep the giant power fist smashed down, crushing Potitus and his retinue, leaving nothing but a smear of blue and red behind.

The loss of the chapter master stunned the remaining imperial forces, who began to retreat to their landing zone. The imperial warhound - "Warspite" - covered the imperial retreat, but despite damaging the warlord, there was no way the smaller titan could ever hope to win a duel with Astralis Invictus. The faster imperial force managed to outpace the giant lumbering enemy titan however, and much of what was left of the invasion force managed to escape certain death at the hands of the heretic god machine.

The news of the defeat on Hobbiton and the lost of the Sky Lords' chapter master came as a shock to general Percival, and he fully expected the Emerald Serpent to go on to conquer the rest of the system in short order. They had overwhelming forces in space and on the ground, and nothing now stood between the chaos army and taking both Dale and Bree. However, the chaos forces simply remained on Hobbiton. Why Percival did not know, but he used the time to organise a relief force from Konev's army at Hexis, and planned a counter invasion for 020M42.

Massive raid lays waste to Parthenope

While the Imperium were still grinding their way forward on Mordecai Secundus, they were taken somewhat off balance by a massive raid conducted by the Emerald Serpent in early 12.019M42. The raiding force appeared without warning above Parthenop, depositing a large force of chaos marines, and traitor knights and Titan forces between the cities of Centosar and Dalisac. It was obvious that the target was the massive and secret library of Parthenope, which the Emerald Serpent had attacked in force only a year before. That time they only employed a regiment of Darrantine Guard. In 12.109M42 the force was overwhelming, and looked likely to overrun much of the Imperial world.

Fortunately the Imperium had a rapid reaction force at the ready. Just two days later, a massive force of Imperial Guard and the astartes of the Space Wolves chapter arrived to oppose the chaos force, which was now laying seige to the ancient library fortress. On the plains of Parthenope the Imperium felt sure they would crush even this mighty force, as they had the numbers. However, as they began their counter attack to relieve the library, they suddenly realised the Emerald Serpent were not alone.

Having signed a pact to share the knowledge of the Parthenope library, the Emerald Serpent had been joined by the Necron Harakhty Dynasty, and now the two sides were evenly matched. As the armies prepared to do battle on the dusty plains, the outcome was far from certain. The Imperial force immediately called for more assistance, but any reinforcements would take days to arrive. Until then, the guard, Space Wolf, Knight and titan force would need to take the fight to the enemy and break the siege before the forces of chaos breached the fortress' walls.

The Imperium attacked with aggression, but despite disciplined fire from the guard, the chaos terminators remained in their positions on a rise overlooking the battlefield, seemingly impervious to mass firepower, Meanwhile, the mighty Warlord Titan "Astralis Invictus", fighting on the side of the traitors, took a terrible toll on the loyalists, annihilating their Warhound Titan and despatching four knights.

Despite the unwavering faith and bravery of the Space Wolves, who sold their blood dearly, the imperial force was unable to break through the chaos stranglehold on the library. A single Knight Gallant did manage to break through to the Warlord Titan, but was ineffectual, meeting the same fate as his comrades. The Space Wolves made their presence felt, wiping out three daemon princes and crushing the chaos sorceror in the space of scant minutes, and even though the Shard of Magnus the Red was sent back to the warp by none other than Bjorn the Fell-Handed, the Emerald Serpent held the line easily, breaking into the Library of Parthenope and ransacking its contents.

Just days later, as the Imperial reinforcements arrived in the Parthenope system, the chaos force reembarked onto their waiting ships, after also laying waste to the nearest imperial settlements. The Emerald Serpent and the Necrons had what they came for, and the library of Parthenope stood as a lonely cratered ruin amongst the dead of both sides. Why the chaos faction had chosen this moment to launch such as massive raid against the library remained unkown, but now the forces of chaos had secrets and knowledge with which to inflict serious harm on the Imperium.

Genestealer uprising in the Deeps

In 12.019M42 the Alliance suffered dual reverses. At the same time as the system of Hussaria was re-invaded by the Imperium, a massive genestealer uprising on Lucardium in the Perseus Deeps suddenly rocked the Tau Empire. Sensing weakness, the genestealer cults had been planning their overthrow of the tau for many months, but the eldar hoped to head them off.

Having received visions of imminent xenos action, the eldar farseers drew up their forces, intercepting the cults before they had chance to assault the unsuspecting tau. However, the cult was stronger and better equipped than the eldar had anticipated, and the eldar ambush was shrugged off. The Genestealers then went on to attack and take several outlying tau settlements, routing one tau army as they moved ever inward to the central city and spaceport on the small tau colony. The cult of the four wheeled emperor had now been detected on Lucardium, Morecai and at least two other worlds in the Perseus Deeps, and a general uprising was now expected.

Imperium progress on Mordecai

With the chaos fleet vanquished in the Perseus Deeps, and the genestealer threat taken care of in the west, General Kutuzov resumed his main offensive east. The strategic assets that needed to be taken to turn the tide on Mordecai Secundus were the mines and cities, but the city of Festergax Primus and the Abrax mines first required two of the chaos defences to be taken out. First, the mighty Fortres at Abruphus would need to be neutralised, and second, the chaos defences running east to west across Kutuzov's axis of advance, their "red wall" would need to be breached and overcome.

Once again the astartes would be needed against such well defended assets. On the north, Fort Abruphus was attacked by the Hammers of the Emperor, who took the fight to the defenders, facing the Emerald Serpent and Ahriman for the first time in the Moredecai campaign. The Emerald Serpent once again showed that they would leave the Death Guard to do the main fighting, but their sorcerous tower did not prove unassailable, with the loyalist astartes smashing apart the Serpent's army defending the fortress, rendering it useless.

Further south and west the main attack went in, led by the Imperial Fists and the Salamanders. The Fists encountered stiff resistance all along the chaos defences, but with much sacrifice and losses on both sides, Captain Gregor was able to lead his yellow liveried warriors to victory, breaching the chaos wall and moving the Imperial forces forward.

On the west flank, the Salamanders had an easier time, but still had to deal with stubborn Death Guard resistance along the chaos defensive line. However, the defences crumbled from east to west as the news of the loss of Fort Abruphus filtered along the front lines. By 1712.019M42 the way stood open for the Imperium to drive into the northern mining heartlands of the planet, potentially accelerating the process of victory for Kutuzov and the Emperor's loyal followers.

Hussaria re-invaded

Following on from the success at Paradorn, the Imperium was resurgent in the Hadron Expanse, and keen to catch the Alliance on the back foot. Just weeks later, the Imperial fleet returned to the system of Hussaria, now garrisoned by units of Federal Guard.

The Hammers of the Emperor led a frontal assault on the capital Orebro, intending to take the city and rapidly advance to sever the lines of communication of the defenders before the Alliance could react. The assault however encountered much stiffer Federal resistance than was expected, and the battle around and for Orebro raged for days, with both sides taking horrendous casualties. Both sides lost their commanders in the struggle, but eventually the super-human astates warriors secured the city and established a secure perimeter. The Imperium had returned to Hussaria.

Foramen Ignotum collapses

On 1012.019M42 the reason for fighting over Hexis, the necron device powering the Foramen Ignotum, abruptly stopped working. The consequences were immediate, as the stable channel that sliced through the Cicatrix Maledictum collapsed, plunging any vessel in the channel into the madness of the warp. Thousands were killed, as were hundreds more on Hexis, as the ground above the device chamber, where many were working on analysing the energy flux from the device, or stationed nearby to protect the inner city, gave way. The earth shook for many minutes, with a force that was felt in general Konev's HQ. When the shaking stopped, the centre of Praxis had disappeared into rubble, and the energy signatures from the device had shut off completely.

Shock soon turned to recrimination in the Imperial HQ. How had this happened? Who had disabled the very artefact the Imperium had shed so much blood to control? Sadly, General Konev already knew. Days before, an Inquisition party had arrived, bearing orders from Inquisitor Vorushko, to "investigate" the device for the good of mankind. Konev had no choice but to acquiesce to their orders, and while the Grey Knights secured the device chamber, the small party made its way secretly to the device chamber and there, somehow shut down the artefact.

The Inquisition did not explain what or why they had carried out the act, but the collapse of the Foramen, they said, was "necessary" for the good of mankind and the Imperium. The inquisiton then left as quickly as they had arrived, leaving a war torn planet and the inert remains of a now useless alien device, buried under a mile of rock.

Novgorod Guard defeat Genestealers on Mordecai

The constant threat from the xenos on Mordecai could no longer be ignored, so in early 12.019M42 General Kutuzov ordered a general attack in the direction of the last known position of the genestealer cults. The Novgorod regiments formed up and began their movement to the north west, only told that their enemy were "heretic cultists". It did not matter to the rank and file whether the heretics were xenos or chaos worshippers, all needed to be purged, but Kutuzov's senior officers did receive a briefing beforehand from the Ordos Xenos, informing them of the new "cult's" tactics and likely equipment.

The attack fared well, and soon the Novgorod had established a strong perimeter, expanding the bridgehead to the north west and encountering little in the way of organised resistance. There were no chaos forces here, as the rugged foothills of the Mekken plateau were of next to no strategic value. However, the threat to Kutuzov's rear could not be ignored if he was to carry out his main assault on the Abraz complex later in the month, an operation which saw the continued build up of Knight, astartes and Titan forces, waiting for the order to attack.

The Novgorod were counter attacked less than a week into the operation, as bikers and other irregular forces once again careened into the imperial lines. The guard however continued their disciplined advance, overmatching their enemy in firepower and proving implacable in their advance. By 1212.019M42 much of the northern plains for over 200km north of Kutuzov's HQ had been cleared of the xenos threat, allowing the imperial general to plan his new phase of operations against his main foe.

Hexis: skirmishes continue

Despite the victories for the Imperium across Hexis, and the securing of the Device chamber, skirmishes between multiple factions continued in the narrow corridors and tunnels beneath the cities of Praxis and Menthoteph. Several skirmishes in the ruined cities saw the dark eldar, or Drukhari enter the fray, as the lure of battle and the varied specimens available for capture to sell on in the slave markets of Commoragh proved too much of a temptation.

The Drukhari raids were moderately successful, and the Mechanicum forces found themselves assailed by Xenos attack, while the tyranids of hive fleet R'lyeh also found themselves mere sport for the debased aliens. This stirring of the tunnels under Praxis caused the loss of several sections of the city under investigation by the Adeptus Mechanicus, as the tyranids began to infest more of the ruins. This however was of little concern to General Konev. As far as he could see the main war on Hexis was all but over, and the enemy would surely be crushed by new reinforcements setting off from Macragge.

Fleet battles at Mordecai

After the success of Admiral Stark in defeating the Emerald Serpent the imperial fleet knew the threat from the chaos fleet remained very real. Since the Mordecai invasion had begun, it had become clear that the Emerald Serpent fleet had grown hugely, and that it now posed a significant ongoing threat. To counter this, Admiral Gorshkov's fleet was added to the Mordecai expedition, stripping the Foramen of some of its defences, but the overall fleet commander felt the risks worthwuhile.

Gorshkov's fleet first encountered their chaos opponents in earlt 12.019M42 with a series of engagements. First, two battlegroups both heavy in attack craft and carriers met each other in the outer reaches. The engagement lasted for several hours, with huges battles in the space between the two fleets between the respective attack craft air wings, but the battle itself was indecisive. Both sides lost one of their carriers, but neither side was able to inflict serious damage on the other.

The tone of the battle changed in the second week of 12.019M42 as Gorshkov investigated anomalous energy readings from beyond the comet cloud of the system. Thinking this was the Emerald Serpent bringing in reinforcements the admiral was shocked to find a chaos battlegroup containing a terrifying capital vessel. Somehow the Emerald Serpent had managed to lay their hands on or build a "planet killer" class vessel, similar to the Gotterdamerung in Thok's fleet, and now the enormous juggernaut was bearing down on Gorshkov's vessels.

Gorshkov was not about to face this monster vessel, and he quickly turned his fleet around. In the process he managed to hulk a devastation class cruiser, but the initial engagement or "run to the south" was effectively and inconclusive affair. However, Gorshkov quickly surmised that the slower planet killer would not be able to pursue his fleeing ships, but that the chaos fleet would be unable to resist taking the bait and engage in a stern chase.

Predictably the chaos vessels obliged, and close to Mordecai Tersius Gorshkov turned about, facing an enemy fleet on now much more favourable terms. In this second engagement the imperial fleet scored a significant victory as the Emerald Serpent walked into Gorshkov's trap. Five chaos capital vessels were lost, including a despoiler class battleship. Gorshkov had secured yet another glorious victory for the Imperium, but it now seemed likely that the chaos forces could make good their losses. For now the fleet action at Mordecai had decisively given the Imperium the initiative, in space and on the ground.

Death Guard fail to force Iron Warriors hand

Since the Imperial “Operation Thunderbolt” in 07.019M42 the forces of Warsmith Stahl had disappeared. Returning to their fortress worlds Warsmith Lycurgus Stahl has ignored all requests for aide from Chaos forces, even other Iron Warrior warbands.

“Let them suffer and wallow in their manifold failures, I shall have no part in it” was rumoured to be Stahl words upon quitting Mordecai.

Most of the rival warbands were satisfied to be rid of the unpredictable Warsmith, who was often as likely to attack his allies in “punishment” for perceived failures as take the war to the Imperium.

Not all were willing to accept this state of affairs however.

The Death Guard had been facing the brunt of the fighting against the Imperium since the 144th’s absence, and had suffered the brunt of the casualties. Unwilling to tolerate Stahl’s arrogance, or his hoarding of resources that could go towards the war effort, the Death Guard sent a parley force to the Iron Warriors fortress on 0712.019M42.

Deploying a show of force the the Death Guard demanded the Iron Warriors “do their part” or face the consequences. The Iron Warriors made clear their opinions of the Death Guard threat by immediately opening fire with all guns available, destroying half their Plagueburst Crawlers, damaging the rest and slaughtering their Poxwalkers.

The Death Guard rallied quickly and advanced on the Iron Warriors, cutting down the forward squad with an aim to encircle the main force. Slave Workers of the Iron Warriors were forced forward as the heavy weapons of Havoc squads lay down constant hail of Chaincannon and Lascannon fire, shredding infantry and armour alike. Worse for the Death Guard, the Iron Warriors had voxed command and Stahl had personally responded with a cohort Obliterators and Terminator bodyguards, who destroyed all on the flank and were then bearing down of the Emissary of the Death guard.

The Death Guard were resilient, reinforcing their own position with Blightlords, they slaughtered yet more Iron Warriors and the remaining Foetid Bloat Drones showed supernatural resilience beyond insanity.

Yet, for all this, for mounting casualties, the Iron Warriors simply reloaded, herded their cannon fodder forward, while chanting Iron Within! Iron Without!. The Death Guard Emissary tried to rescue the situation and cut down several Iron Warrior Terminators trying to get to Stahl; Stahl in return ruthlessly cut him down along with his bodyguards.

The Death Guard were spent, and retreated with the dead and dying they could retrieve.
Rumours are abound in the forces of Chaos that this action by Death Guard has roused Stahl and his warriors from their solitude. Whether they come to attack the hated Imperium, the Xenos, or the forces of Chaos themselves for the temerity of approaching Stahl, remains to be seen.