Tyranids Zahhak - Tyranid Splinter Fleet (927M41)

Entry posted by Mike Zulu in Barbed Gate Crusade January 14

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https://bolterandchainsword.com/blogs/entry/421-zahhak-tyranid-splinter-fleet-927m41/

Introduction

Splinter fleet Zahhak was part of a much larger Tyranid hive fleet that entered the galaxy from below the galactic plane, which would be designated Leviathan in 997M41. Zahhak first entered the Matteus Subsector in 927M41 and struck the various worlds within, focusing on the worlds within the Matteus Epsilon system. However, the relatively remote location and the resilience of the native flora prevented the Splinter Fleet from breaking out into the neighbouring subsectors and the greater Segmentum. Combined with a timely Imperial response to the Tyranid incursion, Splinter Fleet Zahhak was crushed after several months, reduced it to nothing more than a seasonal pest for the two Imperial worlds.

A Tyranid swarm charges the Imperial defences on Barbed Gate.

Splinter Fleet Zahhak’s appearance, galactic movements and strategic behaviour was very similar to Leviathan, which was the reasoning for being later designated as the same Hive Fleet in 999M41. What distinguished Zahhak from the bulk of Leviathan was inception into the galaxy seventy years ahead of the rest of Leviathan. Additionally, many bioforms were identified in Zahhak that had not been recorded in the First Tyrannic War, and most have not been seen since. It is theorised by members of the Ordo Xenos and other Imperial biologists that this splinter fleet was more experimental than its bulk, and was assessing potential attack vectors before committing itself to a wide-scale invasion through the galactic plane.

Unique bioforms that have been sighted among Zahhak’s forces; some of which have yet to be sighted in other Hive Fleets.

Sometime after the galactic invasion of Hive Fleet Leviathan in 997M41, Splinter Fleet Zahhak would be re-designated as Hive Fleet Leviathan Splinter “34-Omicron”, and remembered by the Imperium as a lesser conflict with the Tyranid species. Some of the bioforms unique to Zahhak would reemerge in Leviathan and other hive fleets, albeit with variations and improvements.

A Tyranid Mawloc (above) and a Hive Crone (below), of Splinter Fleet Zahhak. Both bear similar markings to Hive Fleet Leviathan.

The Invasion of the Matteus Epsilon System

Hive Fleet Zahhak made planetfall on the two Imperial civilised worlds of Black Jewel and Barbed Gate in the Matteus Epsilon system, in 927M41. The alarm was raised by Inquisitor Malethann of the Ordo Xenos, thanks to the efforts of Kill Team Rapier on the outer reaches of the system. They confirmed the presence of a Tyranid hive fleet en route to Barbed Gate from below the star system plane.

The sudden incursion of Tyranids so far from the Eastern Fringe (the locale of what would be known as the First Tyrannic War) prompted a drastic response from Battlefleet Agripinaa and the local Astra Militarum regiments. A Black Templars crusade fleet that had been using Matteus Epsilon as a refueling and rearming station also heeded the call and declared the beginning of the "Barbed Gate Crusade". Finally, Kill Team Rapier and members of the Ordo Xenos were involved for the more complex assignments, namely assassinations and recovery of key Tyranid alphas and synapse creatures.

A Black Templars strike force engages Zahhak in a spearhead assault, in the wildlands of Barbed Gate.

The Tyranid splinter fleet quickly found itself in a ruthless conflict with not only the human defenders, but also the hardy and protruding flora of Barbed Gate and Black Jewel, for which even the ravenous xenos were under-prepared to consume. These difficulties saw Zahhak easily divided and cut off from the bulk of their hive species, making them easy prey for the Imperial forces. The effective culling of the various synapse creatures and leaders, thanks to the efforts of Kill Team Rapier, also saw the efficacy of the splinter fleet's strategies and tactics significantly weaken over time. Eventually, after several months, the splinter fleet had found itself disconnected from the Hive Mind; the Tyranids bioforms of Zahhak reverted to their base instincts, and took refuge in the barbed foliage native to Barbed Gate and Black Jewel. They ceased to be a true threat to the Imperium, reduced to nothing more than a season pest to the human controlled worlds.

But with the ever increasing number of Tyranid hive fleets entering the galaxy in the decades to come, it is likely a question of when, not if, the remnants of Splinter Fleet Zahhak will rejoin the Hive Mind...

The Tyranid Prime known as the the “Caustic Menace”, is ambushed by Kill Team Rapier within the protruding flora native to Barbed Gate.