Subsector Ikraun: The Setting for a Narrative Campaign:

[Lord_Starscream]

SECOND DRAFT AND LONG FORM VERSION IS NOW UP. THIRD POST.

 

 

Hey there everyone. In the next few months I'm likely to be helping with a narrative campaign at my local hobby shop. I run lots of RPGs and like the game of writing in general, so I'm getting a general backstory up and going for the conflict. I'll be adding in the different player's forces and generals with time. Bios for a few NPC actors like the Inquisitor, and a few of the renegade leaders will go up too. Once I've worked everything out, I get to hand it over to the staff and we work everything into the narrative for the campaign season.

 

So, I'll post this here, this is the first rough draft of just events written out. Lemme know what you think, and revisions and breakdowns will come over the next few weeks if it all looks like it works.

 

The Ikraun War:

 

War and Strife have plagued the Damocles Gulf for centuries as the Imperium moved to contain the growth of the Tau Empire, and it had become a critical area for containing Hive Fleet Kraken as well as Hive Fleet Colossus. Countless human settlements had become battlefields and graveyards for the vile influence of Xenos. The scope and scale of the warfare was becoming increasingly difficult for the Imperium to contend with, with ever extending supply lines, as well as growing emergencies appearing elsewhere. In spite of all this, centuries of other, preexisting problems have found a way to make an already hostile, and volatile situation, much worse.

 

Subsector Ikraune was incredible important for local supplies and production for the war efforts in the surrounding region. In its 20 square light year span, the region possessed two Forge Worlds, Ikos II as well as Sunder V, as well as two Hive Worlds, named Ikraun I, for which the subsector is named and Helixa IV. All of these worlds were vital to the sustained war effort.

 

The Hive Worlds were not only important centres of industry themselves, but were just as valuable for their raw recruits. Hive World Gangers made up significant portions of recent Guard conscripts, all of which were being raised to deal with the increasingly difficult to managed local issues near the Damocles Gulf. The planetary governor of Helixa IV, Michele de Leon, had found himself increasingly by his Imperial overlords to contribute to the defence of the overall Damocles Gulf, as well as contribute more resources elsewhere. Frustration was growing from the elites on the planet, who found themselves increasingly taxed, and found their own protection seemingly being less concentrated on as more resources where pulled from their world.

 

For the Forge Worlds, output was becoming their chief problem, as well as dwindling raw materials to produce the weapons of war required to keep the Imperium's war efforts alive. The Priests of the Adeptis Mechanicus were increasingly finding it difficult to meet the lofty demands the Imperium was increasingly setting upon them.

 

More important to the subsector than the Forgeworlds, or the Hives, were the planets of Rotos III, and Nebhur Prime. These planets were home to two Space Marine chapters, who found their home in the subsector mutually. The first was that of the The Exalted Angels, a proud and noble Blood Angels descendant. The other was the renown chapter known as The Imperial Phalanx, proud sons of Ultimar, bearing the geneseed of the Ultramarines with pride. Both chapters had participated in the conflicts so far, but were themselves increasingly taxed.

 

A fleet based Chapter, The Crimson Centurions, also appeared in subsector Ikraun during battles waged against Tau incursions appearing in several other subsectors, as well as two other Chapters committing their forces, the Star Sabres as well as the Emerald Lions. What was unknown at the time, was the Chief Librarian of the Crimson Centurions, Balthazar Nurad, had quietly betrayed the Emperor, and his own Chapter, devoting himself to the powers of Chaos. The entirety of the Librarians in the chapter were touched by his taint even. Inside the Exalted Angels as well, their home world of Rotos III had recently suppressed a cultist uprising, and there too the seeds of heresy had been planted within the Chapter.

 

After what was known as the Tetrian Campaign, a successful push against the Tau expansion into the nearby Tetrian Subsector, with the help of Membor's second Guards Regiment and local militia forces, things seemed to be on the brink of normality in the region. With the push back against the most immediate threat, the three fleet chapters prepared to leave. However, it was on Planet Kasus I, an ancient Imperial Monastery World, that the Crimson Centurions seemingly turned mad. Their Chapter Master was reportedly killed by the Tau in the final days of the campaign. The Chapter had taken some losses in the campaign, and would clearly need to recuperate. Instead, it immediately launched a surprise attack against the Emperor's faithful. The other four Chapters, as well as local Guard contingents were taken completely by surprise. The Centurions assaulted the planet in several key locations, ancient holy site's to the Emperor's faithful, before bombarding the planet from orbit for almost two days, scouring as much of the surface as they could. During the assault, the Centurions annihilated two Strike Cruisers of their own, as a third attempted to flee, and limped out of the system. Captain Justinian Augustus of the 7^th Company, declared openly that his Chapter had betrayed the Emperor and left his side in favour of a greed for forbidden power, placing the blame at the feet of Chief Librarian Balthazar, as well as the Captain of the Second Company.

 

The response was immediate. Assets nearby informed the Inquistion, which lead to Inquisitor Galen Hoth taking an immediate role in the conflict. The Crimson Centurions, after their assault on Kasus, had fled the world to pillage another in Subsector Tetrian. Chaos cultists which hadn't been easily identified as well, rebelled across several major worlds in the subsector. Worse yet, just as the Crimson Centurions seemed cornered by strange movements in the Warp, causing travel to grind to a near halt and limiting their avenues of movement, the Exalted Angels withdrew from the hunt, somewhat weakening the forces of the Imperium attempting to deal with the renegade Fleet Chapter. The Angels themselves seemed to be heading straight back towards Rotos, with little explanation.

 

A series of brutal fleet engagements were met near the boundaries of where the Tetrian Campaign had pushed, fighting over worlds recently won back from the Xenos threats beyond. In the final engagement over the planet Yin-San, the battered and worn fleet of the ever weakening Crimson Centurions performed an emergency jump through the warp. Against orders, the Imperial Phalanx made an attempt to follow, despite the currents in the warp becoming increasingly violent. It would be almost five years before either fleet was seen coming out of the warp, both having been washed away in the tides of the daemonic realm beyond. What emerged however, was the Crimson Centurions as if their last battle had only been a few days prior.

 

The region had changed much in five years.

 

The region had become far better protected with the continued hostilities from outside.. New regiments were raised from outside and within, attempting to bolster defences. An Ork invasion was occurring from the “south” of the galactic plane, and the Tau had apparently been engaged again in the nearby Tetrian Subsector. Cultist uprisings had been quelled across the region, but there was still a simmering waiting to boil. Worse yet, in the undercities across several Hive Worlds including Ikraun itself, cultists of a much different sort had begun to stir, as brutal fights emerged between Imperial loyalists, Chaos cultists, and strange alien-human abominations.

 

The Exalted Angels were now lead by a new Chapter Master, Vega. The fleet chapters of the Star Sabres and Emerald Lions were embroiled in the wars all around the subsector as well. Attrition was beginning to become a factor in the region it appeared. With so much chaos and confusion, even with bolstered defences, the Crimson Centurions continued their quest, for what the Imperials didn't know, by striking at several worlds.

 

A call went out to the outside, begging for more aid. Governors normally more than wanting to keep the higher levels of military and government out of their affairs, now screamed for their salvation. What happened however, was catastrophic.

 

Blunting the Ork invasion, the Exalted Angels quickly moved to take any and all glory for themselves, before ignoring the plight of anyone else in the subsector. Inquisitor Galen Hoth returned to the subsector with the sighting of his prior elusive prey, the Crimson Centurions. With so much heresy and xeno corruption, subversion, and invasion from outside, the once prosperous region was becoming a violent, twisted reflection of what it'd been. Worse yet, the Inquisitor quickly found his allies in the region depleted, save local guard regiments who were stretched thin, and thus not helpful regardless. The new forces brought to the region to bolster it, had been the only thing keeping it from falling. The fear of the return of the heretics was real, and the Emerald Lions as well as the Star Sabres now found themselves in need of being relieved.

 

Word came that new Chapters and Regiments were slated to arrive was well received by Galen, who hoped he could discover whatever dark object the Centurions were looking for, and wanted to do away with their treachery with a sense of finality. What happened instead, was catastrophic.

 

The Centurions appeared above the world of Nebhur, assaulting the home world of The Imperial Phalanx. The Star Sabres and Emerald Lions immediately moved to check the attack, but were in need of aid. Imperial Navy assets were drawn into a far more serious engagement in the Damocles Gulf, battling against a tendril from the dying gasps of Hive Fleet Kraken. The Exalted Angels were ordered to join in the battle, but their fleet remained anchored at Rotos, with disturbing reports about the world itself.

 

The savagery of the space and ground battle which took place over Nebhur cannot be overstated. On the ground tens of thousands of militia and imperial troops were sacrificed to buy time as the renegade astartes pushed forward. When their loyalist brethren joined the fray, the engagement below became a hundred times more bloody for both sides. In space above, the two depleted chapters moved to block the Centurions as best they could. The result of the blood bath was never fully determined, as the Imperial Phalanx itself, lost to the warp for over five years, appeared in orbit.

 

Watching from his own ship, disengaged from the battle, Galen noticed immediately something was wrong. They received no transmission from their counterparts, and worse yet their ships looked weathered and aged. The Battle Barge Emperor's Truth opened fire not on its initial prey, the Crimson Centurions, but on its loyalist brethren, the Star Sabres and Emerald Lions. The Inquisitor and his retinue couldn't believe what they were seeing, until they heard over their communications the sound of a furious whisper.

 

“Death to the false Emperor.”

 

In their lost trip into the warp, something had corrupted the once stalwart defenders of the Imperium. Knowing the situation was dire, the Inquisitor ordered his cruiser to prepare to jump back to Ikraun itself, knowing that reinforcements would rally there before anything else. What he watched with his own eyes, as the astropath herself began to scream, was a great eye into the ether open up, upon the surface of Nebhur. He had no psychic powers himself, but he could hear the screams across the void between the ship and the planet, as unreality spilled out of the rift. The Centurions had found what they were looking for.

 

Before the tides could change further, trapping them there, the ship slipped into the turbulent seas of the warp.

 

When they emerged in orbit around Ikraun, the glow of the hives below were tainted by fires, the city being in a state of open warfare on its streets. Uprisings of gangs and cults had turned the planet into an unstable battlefield. In orbit, all Galen could do was wait for the reinforcements that were promised to come. Distress calls from across the planet were intercepted. Contacting the Governor, Galen did his best to threaten the oaf into doing something about the problems on yet another world in this cursed subsector.

 

Two Space Marine Chapters, perhaps a third, had turned their back on the Imperium and were, or were to be declared excommunicate traitoris. Cultists of the dark powers and great enemy now swamred systems once again, systems which had clearly been given too much mercy the last time. Alien xenos pushed into their borders, both greenskins and Tau, and alien collaborators now rose up as well, crude creatures born of the mark of Genestealers. Worse yet, a warp rift of undetermined size had appeared on a world once housing a loyalist chapter.

 

It would be four days, before a series of ships emerged from the warp. Friend or foe, it was hard to tell, before communications were ordered.

 

“This is Captain Antonius Cassius of the Praetorian Shields Fifth Company, we have answered the call.”

[calgar101]

A very enjoyable read and look forwards to reading more.

[Lord_Starscream]

Higher Level Detail second Draft, The History of Subsector Ikraun:

 

In the Eastern Fringes of the Imperium, lay a major centre of industry and manpower for the Imperium of Man, and more Specifically Ultima Segmentum. Originally colonized during the height of Mankind's power prior to the Age of Strife, Ikraun I. The system itself has four colonized worlds, including Ikraun II, and the moons of Ikraun I and III. The Moon above Ikraun I being Grodos, and the moon around the Gas Giant of Ikraun III being named Revos.

 

This system became the centre of a small human empire, compromising most of the other planetary regions inside what would become Subsector Ikraun. A harsh culture which was seen as independently minded, fought back against the Imperium of Man during the Great Crusade, and was crushed and brought under heel by a major push by the Imperial Army, but only after it received significant reinforcements from the Ultramarines. Afterwards, several planets, including Ikraun I, were utterly devastated by the conflict, thought rebuilding efforts were started before the treachery of the Horus Heresy.

 

During the Heresy, the governor of Ikraun, recently placed there as an administrator by the Ultramarines, pledged the entirety of his people and services to the cause of the Imperium and Emperor when fighting against the Heresy. Governor Jovian Tatius was not from the planet itself, instead born on Macragge itself. A capable administrator, and understanding he needed to identify with the locals he was to rule, he married the daughter of one of the remaining noble families. The Tatius Dynasty have ruled over the Ikraun system since this series of events, and offshoots of the family find themselves in leadership positions.

 

During the Heresy itself, Ikraun and the subsector saw fighting between Word Bearers Chaos Space Marines and the Ultramarines, though the level of fighting wasn't all consume, it was severe enough to reduce several spires on Ikraun proper, to dust. With the repulsion of the Word Bearers contingent, and the victory of the Ultramarines, Ikraun returned to being an important centre of power in the Eastern regions of the human dominated Imperium. Though it was eclipsed by several other major hubs regionally, the Ikraun system, along with Helixa IV, another Hive World, became two pillars of economic and military projection in the region. The Forgeworlds, Ikos II and Sunder V, also added significantly more value to this area of space. Following the end of the Heresy itself, these planets were vital to restoring commerce and order to the surrounding region. Unofficially, Ikraun I became more or less the central hub of power for the subsector, possessing the best overall warp route nearby, as well as being a hub for trade, and even domestic production to a lesser extent.

 

The Tatius dynasty understood its value to the region, and moved to increase it further by seeking not just to produce domestic products, but weapons of varying sizes and quantities as well. It would hardly produce quality or quantities which a Forge World such as Sunder V could, but none the less it pushed through these policies in order to attempt to bring about a greater level of importance to their systems as well. The policy also created employment, as well as exports, improving living standards across the Hive Cities. Attempting to reduce some level of inequality was desired by the Tatius Regime, as it fundamentally understood that instability was always a hindrance to good governance. This would lead to a mixed result in the years following the Heresy, unfortunately drawing more attention to the Ikraun system from not only the Imperium, but outside enemies as well.

 

Post Heresy Issues: WAAAGH Killa'Grinna

 

During M34, there was a major Ork WAAAGH which assaulted the subsector, destroying several Imperial Worlds of noted importance, namely Jora IV, and the moon of Erador in the Galla system. The WAAAGH, lead by Warboss Killa'Grinna, observed that “the humies iz got lots of da flashy bitz on dat one”, and thus pointed his army towards the system. What followed was a brutal engagement between the Ikraun Home Guard, backed by their allies from the local Forgeworlds, as well as the Helixan Guard Regiment. At the apex of what seemed to be their victory, after months of brutal, costly battles across the surfaces of Ikraun I, II, and the moons of Grodos and Revos, another greenskin fleet appeared, decisively tipping the balance in favour of the Greenskins. Ikraun II, the smaller of the two worlds, was savaged first, before Grodos was reduced to a ruin. Revos fought on, holding out for the remainder of the campaign without significant reinforcements.

 

Revos's severe, cold climate, and massive oceans made it difficult for the Orks to get into defensive regions, especially considering the mountainous paths and canyons that make up most of its surface above the waves. During the campaign, the militia of Revos were renamed “The Revos Devils” for holding out for almost an entire year without resupply. Imperial Guard regiments would increasingly look to recruit from this moon over the follow centuries, with the hardened reputation the people there had earned.

 

Ikraun I, however, was the centre of some of the most brutal fighting in the war. Hive gangs, local guardsmen, and contingents of Adeptis Mechanicus soldiers fought for hive block by hive block. Millions died in the firestorm that Victoria Hive, the principal hive on the planet's northern continent. Other hives, such as Caesar Hive and Gelena Hive, were brutalized in street fighting. It appeared that over half the planet was occupied, and the other half was nearing an inevitable defeat. Humans across the planet were enslaved and murdered by the greenskins as refugees were created across the surface, all desperately attempting to flee the Xenos invasion.

 

Governor Manius Tatius, the latest successor to the title of Governor, oversaw the defences of what was named Imperium Gloria, the capital Hive of the planet. Orks had been assaulting the Hive for months, bringing ruination to thousands of years of infrastructure and property. Tens of millions of civilians had been raised up into armed service, and most were dying on the front lines for their homes. Hive Gangs had aggressively started battling the Orks as well, and the local Guard milita were savaged in a series of brutal, sledgehammer attacks. Millions of Greenskins died, and fearing the worst, Manius found himself in a deep despair. Some of his council worried as the days of fighting went on, that the Governor contemplated suicide shout the hive fall over the precipice into darkness, into the clutches of the Xenos that now dominated the world his family had ruined for thousands of years.

 

The bottom half of the Hive was subdued by the Orks after several weeks of fighting, making every block they fought up towards bloodier and bloodier. The Warboss, Killa'Grinna himself personally lead the assault, killing several colonels and even important military attaches from the Adeptis Mechanicus. Two Warhound Titans were lost in the mid section of the hive as huge areas across the Hive began to burn. Imperium Gloria looked as if it wasn't just a spire reaching into the air, but a burning pillar of noise and death. At this time, the leader of the defence, General Iovitus Rufus, was killed when attempting to lead a holding action himself, slaughtered by Killa'Grinna himself in combat. With his death, the morale of the defenders plummeted, causing a desperate, unruly retreat across half the Hive blocks remaining on the spire.

 

At the darkest time of the hive world however, the Angels of the Imperium delivered them. Ork ships were stricken from the sky in a series of battles overhead. The night sky became a display of fire and brilliance as these ships appeared, striking hard against the WAAAGHs fleet. Only after the last of the Ork's orbital support was destroyed, did they receive any kind of communication. It was the very people who'd liberated them from the tyranny of private despots millennium ago, the Ultramarines. A Space Marine taskforce, lead by the 5^th and 7^th companies of the Ultramarines, descended from above. Chapters such as the Aurora Chapter, Novamarines, Brazen Claws, and the Exalted Angels, struck with a ferocity unseen by mortal combatants in the war so far.

 

Captain Decimus Vallens of the 5^th Company of the Ultramarines knew that the only means of truly ending the Ork assault, was to kill the Ork Warboss himself. His first act was to lead his own company into battle, driving straight into the lines in hopes of finding the Warboss. The other forces across the planet descended into a brutal bloody series of Engagements. Most of the Novamarines Chapter had arrived, and were fighting to liberate Victoria Hive, doing battle with millions of Greenskins, and with the help of the valiant defenders of the Hive, driving them back. The Aurora Chapter and Brazen Claws themselves, pushed into the other Hives which had fallen, attempting to relieve these regions and regain Imperial control, and keep other Ork forces drawn into other regions. The fighting was intense across these Ork regions, but the Claws and the Aurora never wavered in their battle doctrines, devastating Ork assaults and defences with a level such a level of skill that those involved would be awarded several Imperial offices after the battle.

 

It was the Ultramarines 5^th and 7^th companies, backed by the Exalted Angels, that were left to Imperium Gloria, and to the Warboss. Captain Decimus's assault had slaughtered thousands of Orks, and brought their warmachines to ruins. Rapid tactical redeployment to meet new enemies and assaults created a fury on behalf of the once shocked greenskins. Recovering from their initial problems, and with the Warboss himself leading the charge, Killa'Grinna threw his WAAAGH into the guns of the Ultramarines and Exalted Angels. Hulking Stompas, and suits of Mega Armour lead the assault. The battle was catastophic, at one point one of the Stompa's exploding in the heart of what had been the Hive's main commercial trading area, killing dozens of marines and hundreds of Orks as its power supply overloaded. It was with this backdrop, that Killa'Grinna met Decimus. The hulking Ork always seemed to grin, even when in a furious exchange of blows.

 

Holding his sacred blade of the Chapter, a Relic Blade known to the Ultramarines as Iustum, Decimus slaughtered the Warboss's Nobz, as the Warboss struck down several of the Captain's battle brothers who'd accompanied him as his bodyguard. When the two warriors squared off, the Greenskin moved with a speed and fury that the Captain had only seen on rare occasion. The exchange between the two of them went on as the combat around them turned into a whirlwind of carnage. For five minutes the two were locked in a desperate dance of death and victory. At times, it appeared as though the Warboss would have cut the Captain in two with his mighty Power Klaw, or crushed him with its size. At other times, it appeared as though Captain Decimus had finally put the beast down, slashing at the right spot, or making a piercing blow towards the beast's head. In one fluid motion, the Marine severed the Ork's right arm from his body, causing the giant to roar, before he stabbed high before the boss could recover. Only by the fact the Ork managed to move his head at all, saved the Warboss's life, at the cost of his left eye. The strike however, overextended the Captain. Several witnesses from the Exalted Angels and from the Ultramarines confirmed what happened next as the battle raged.

 

With his one remaining arm, his Klaw, Killa'Grinna struck back, grasping the captain's right arm, including the blade Iustum, as well as his torso. The sound of Ceramite cracking and bending, as well as the wound of bones within breaking as flesh was pulverized could be audible heard by all the marines and Orks as they did battle. The entire right side of the Captain was crushed into cut and smashed meat within seconds. The screams of the Captain permiated the battlefield, as one of the Emperor'rs most dutiful defenders, died at the hands of the beast he sought to slay.

 

The idea behind the assault had been to draw the Warboss out, to cut the head off the snake and cause the WAAAGH's leadership to squabble and fall apart. Instead, it was the Imperium which lost its commander in a bloody display of ferocity. With the Captain felled, and with casualties unacceptably high, the Space Marines were the ones to withdraw after hundreds of hours of carnage. This was still a setback for the Orks themselves, who'd seen a multitude of warmachines and Orks lost, including important Orks such as Finka, the Ork Big Mek most responsible for the construction of Killa'Grinna's Stompa fleet. Though Finka could be replaced by the Orks, it would take time, time which the Warboss wasn't patient enough to wait for, now that “Dem Marine Boyz wuz 'ere”.

 

Over 70% of the 5^th Company had been killed or neutralized in the engagement, including Captain Decimus. For the 7^th Company, they'd taken 30% of their units neutralized or death, and for the Exalted Angels, their full Chapter had been participating in the battle, though in totality they'd lost almost a full company of Marines. Leadership of the coalition fell on the shoulders of 7^th Company Captain Brutus Aelius. He was put in the position by Governor Manius Manius, as well as the Chapter Masters of the Novamarines, Exalted Angels, and Aurora's Chapter. It was felt that it was his role to fill the role of his fallen battle brother, but also because Brutus was arguably the most experienced leader among them. The Chapter Master of the Brazen Claws was the only one arguably more experienced in the ways of war at this point, however Hermes Koltor, the Chapter Master in question, had made himself few friends among his colleagues both before and after the campaign.

 

Nearby however, it was Chapter Master Sebastian Rodriguez of the Exalted Angels, as well as the First Captain, Cristian Castile, who could offer Brutus real support in terms of war plans as well as additional leadership.

 

Only hours after Brutus found himself in charge of a new desperate defence. The Warboss, his arm reattached, was already leading a primitive, yet brutal attack against some of the last defences in his path to the conquest of the Spire's middle regions. If that fell, the highest peaks would only have hours before they too fell. It was decided that the 5^th Company, due to its severe losses, would be kept in reserve, defending the flanks at best of any counterattack. Normally, the Codex spoke of decapitating the Ork leader as quickly as possible, but that plan had failed in their prior attempt, especially given the Ork would expect such an assault.

 

It was Sebastian Rodriguez who recommended that he take 40 of his First Company Brethren in their suits of Tactical Dreadnaught Armour, and launch an attack into the rear of the Ork forces, several levels down in order to split the Ork's attention and draw their leader from the front. Despite protests from Castile, the decision was made, and for the remaining members of the First Company to be lead, under Castile himself, in a frontal assault supported by Militia Imperial Guard Lemon Russ battletanks and infantry to rebuke the Ork's from their attack. The other companies, lead by Captain Brutus and the 7^th Company of Ultramarines, would lead a flanking manoeuvre through an alternative route in the Hive, smashing into an Ork fortification, before moving to encircle the Ork attack.

 

The plan was rushed into operation as the desperate vox calls from the front echoed out over the war room in the spire's peak.

 

To say that the Mechanicus and Imperial Guard forces fought bravely for every inch of the hive was an understatement. With the arrival of the Space Marines, morale had been improved. Men who'd once been left in a hopeless situation now felt themselves supported. This attitude was further improved by fresh supplies released from the army's rations, including food and munitions. The last of the reserves however, were distributed, meaning that the conflict would be coming to a close for Imperial Guard and Mechanicus forces, even in the case of a stalemate. The Imperiums militia couldn't afford a stalemate at this critical juncture, it required victory.

 

The Exalted Angel's counterattack, lead by Castile, proved to be the salvation for the forces of the Imperium. Castile's men, seeing nothing but a sea of Orks, took up defensive positions after driving the initial assault back in a wave of bolter fire. The remains of the human defenders, emboldened, took forward positions as well, using wrecked Ork vehicles and ruined buildings for cover. The ground rumbled as the last of the human armour, as well as Exalted Angel Predators rolled into hull down positions along the streets.

 

Initial timetable plans had assumed that between the Terminator Assault striking out against the Ork's rear and supply lines, and the flanking assault, that they would need to hold this position for six hours.

 

The Ork assault would continue for three days, once it started. The problem was two fold, firstly, the Ork taken fortifications were much more densely populated then originally thought, worse yet they were far better equipped. It appeared as though Killa'Grinna had not only more reserves than anticipated, but also knew how to distribute them in a more cunning capacity than though. It would take near two full days to finally overtake the position, and the loss of almost 225 Astates. Worse yet, the Captain of Exalted Angel's First Company had been killed in the fighting. Apparently in the twilight of the battle, it was the arrival of the Ultramarines 5^th Company's remnants that turned the tide, when they arrived in two Ultramarine Land Raiders, fully equipped in assault configuration. This ignoring of the Codex was frowned upon after the battle, but it was only through this assault force, equipped for the brutal realities of hand to hand combat, that the force was able to reverse its fortune. The gates of the fort were apparently drive through by the only surviving Land Raider, before the Boss in charge of “Fort Gork” was incinerated by a twin-linked Lascannon.

 

This delay created problems for the First Company as well. Their initial assault was devastating. Flame throwers, assault cannon rounds, as well as bolter fire cleansed every block they walked through. A lack of Ork vehicles on this level as a result of them being deployed to the assault, meant the greenskins were forced to do battle with the Chapter Master and his cadre of Terminators head on. This however, was never meant to be a multiple day excursion. With the assault grinding to a halt on the level above, it meant ammunition was burned through by the end of the first day. Instead of the Orks becoming disorganized once their chain of command had been cut off from them either through isolating Killa'Grinna, or through the execution of said Warboss, the Orks began to reorganize. Teams of Burnaboyz, Tank Hunters, and Nobz began to dedicate themselves to the destruction of this infiltration force. Without ammunition, the Terminator Assault was increasingly forced into battles of brutal melee. It would be days of fighting ahead of them. However, after the second day, their numbers had fallen from 40, to 14. By the end of the third day, none were left. Their bodies were collected by the Orks, and taken to the levels above, where their corpses were mounted to the front of wagons, Deffdreads, and other grizzly tomes as a message to the 'umies, that even their greatest warriors could be felled.

 

Castile and his men however, fighting alongside the brave humans they'd come to save, weathered the assault at the gates, as it were. Tens of thousands of greenskins met a hot death at the end of bolter fire or lasgun. Autocannons on predators sung their sacred chant through the city towers as they unleashed their fury into Ork Trukks and walkers. Lascannons brought low mighty warmchines and mobile fortresses. But it all came at a price. Of the 60 marines who'd deployed with Castile, only 30 remained able to fight. The humans had suffered tremendously as well. Originally they'd found several thousand men at arms supporting them, some simply militamen, not even organized soldiers. Now they numbered a poultry 260. Teams of them were now organized simply to support the Space Marines, who took on the frontal aspect of the fighting.

 

In the days of fighting which had occurred, the Warboss himself hadn't been seen. Ork corpses piled in great mounds of dead down several streets, their burning vehicles blazing over them, left in even greater despair then when they'd been initially brought to life by the mad mind of an Ork Mekboy. It was on this final assault, that the bodies of their brothers in the first company were put on display, with the body of Sebastian Rodriguez hoisted above a Battlewagon as if it were a banner. Revulsion filled the ranks of the Space Marines. These totems were originally meant to be shock weapons, designed to frighten them and display the power of the Orks to their enemies.

Captain Castile and his men didn't feel fear at the signs of their brothers desecrated corpses, instead they felt rage. The anger which boiled within them was kept only in check by their training. Instead of seeking cover to fleet, they sought cover to better use their ammunition. Over the vox, to both his men, and to the Imperial Guard who stood with them, Castile gave only words of courage, and a promise of vengeance for their brothers, for the Ultramarines, and for the brave defenders of their world and the God Emperor. By the time his words finished, the first wave of Orks were upon them.

 

Waves of Ork Boyz and Stormboyz charged towards them as Dreads walked up the field. Trukks drove at them with reckless abandon as they desperately tried to keep on target, but were too saturated with targets. There were too many holes in the line to hold their enemies totally at bay. Melee broke out, as Ork tank hunters and Kommandos destroyed several Predators, and disabled a half dozen of their Lemon Russ contingents. This wasn't to say this all went the Ork's way. Heavy bolters and autocannons tore light vehicles and the Orks inside them apart. Ork boyz and even their Nob leaders were shattered into splintered bits of flesh by holy Boltgun fire, and that flesh was burned by the addition of lasgun rounds. With so few men left, but an abundance of weaponry, the guard troopers also found themselves disproportionately armed with melta guns, plasma guns, and heavy weapon teams, all of which also took a bloody toll from every Ork assault which was thrown at them.

 

The line however, was broken after the fifth wave. This wave was headed by a massive Battlewagon, bearing the corpse of their Chapter Master. The huge wheeled Vehicle smashed through the last Predator the Exalted Angels had managed to bring to the field. It would be when Killa'Grinna got out of this wagon, that the real carnage began. Guardsmen were shredded, as were the men of the First Company, as the Ork and his personal Painboy, as well as Nobz, tore into the defenders as wave upon wave of boy came down on the defenders. The position became impossible to hold, and Castile knew it.

 

His only hope, was to kill the Warboss himself. With his power sword in one hand, and his bolter in the other, the Astartes found three of his brothers left at his side, as well as fifteen brave men and women of the Imperium. The Vanguard Sergeant Alexandro knew what they were about to face, and knew their odds. The most experienced among them in the martial arts, lead the charge as their line collapsed all around them. Brother Lucio raised the banner of the first company, taking it from its former bearer. In the midst of the Imperium seemingly falling around them, they were the running straight into the green tide, breaking through the wave in defiance.

 

Orks were cut down as Space Marines and Guardsmen fired their weapons and carved through the greenskins with bolter, power weapon and chainsword. As if the Emperor himself saw this act of defiance in his name and in the name of mankind, it was then that Captain Brutus's flanking attack finally arrived. Panicked greenskins near the rear of the formation and their warmachines turned to the new threat as the Astartes cut into the rear of the force. Momentum across the WAAAGH seemed to drain to a trickle as even Killa'Grinna himself looked back towards the gunfire and screams kilometres behind him with at first concern, followed by an angry grin.

 

“'Ho do dese 'umies fink dey 're! Comin' 'ere and tryin' ta take MY Spikey Fort from me! I'm da boss of dis 'ere planet! I'm da boss of dis 'ere pointy fort! I'm da boss of dis STOOPID army! Dat's it! I wuz just gonna crush 'um before! Now I'm gonna burn um! DEN CRUSH 'UM!”

 

The ranting and ravings of the Ork were heard by all, even as assault marines from the Ultramarines dove down on his position. It took seconds for brave space marines, tempered by decades if not centuries of combat, to be torn apart by the enraged Ork. It was in the moments after this, that Castile charged. Cutting down an Ork Nob in the first few moments, the fury of the combat's full gravity hit him moments later. Another Nob crashed into him from the side with a gigantic club. In the whirl of motion Castile only had time to view as Alexandro slew the Painboy standing before the carnage of the Warboss's fury. That fury tore down the banner of the first company, as well as Brother Lucio. Swinging back around, Castile cut through the Ork Nobz throat, before stepping into him, and then past him, taking the sword with him the whole way. The crackling energy around the blade scorched the green flesh, before the Ork's head was brutally cut and burned free from its body.

 

As soon as he finished, he turned his attention to see Alexandro literally torn in two by the Ork who'd slain Captain Decimus.

 

“ORK!” Castile shouted, catching the attention of the Warboss.

 

Even as the battle was in a fury all around them, the two could see one another. Behind the Ork, his army was in a desperate battle against his brothers and the Ultramarines. Even here the carnage of that conflict spilled into their presence. The Ork's bionic eye glinted as his claw open and shut while he started to approach him, much more carefully than Castile even knew an Ork to. This Ork was different from any other he'd encountered. He was fast and furious when needed, yet reserved even now as he approached him. It was a nuanced style even for more intelligent beasts... and Orks did not do nuance.

 

Over his vox, Castile heard reports of the battle buzzing between squad sergeants. It was not going according to plan, they were struggling to finish the encirclement, and there was no longer an anvil holding them in place, to allow the hammer blows to reduce the pocket. This was their best opportunity now, to deal with this grinning monster of alien making.

 

The Warboss started to chuckle as the two slowly circled one another.

 

“Ya fink dat I'm gonna lose to a bunch of you Marine Boyz?” the grin grew only more tooth filled as it stretched further across the alien's disgusting features. “Not da first Marine Boyz I'z killed, and won't be da last.”

 

Then, they came to blows. The fury and speed which was observed in his battle with Captain Decimus, was replicated here in perfect order. The Ork's motions were brutal and fast, yet far more agile than Captain Castile could have anticipated. He parried blows with his power sword that were destined to kill or disable him, using his own size and speed to his advantage to try and shift past the Ork. In this battle, there was almost a kind of poetry between the xeno and the astartes. The Ork would be brutal, and swing with almost a strange kind of elegant recklessness, where as Castile's blows and parries were performed with the mastery of a soldier of mankind's finest.

 

This poetry came to an abrupt end when Castile, a veteran of almost two centuries of combat, felt the Ork grab his face in a display of traditional Ork brutality, breaking the Orks “elegance”. It was unexpected, which was everything about this Ork. As soon as he'd thought he'd begun to see a weakness in how this Ork fought, the Ork simply changed how he fought. Before he could recover, the Ork slammed him to the ground, before driving his power claw into his chest. Immediately he felt his ribs break from the impact as his armour cracked. A gasp escaped him as one of two two hearts seemed to stop beating. The Ork then kicked his power sword away, causing it to land in the rubble to his right, though where it exactly lay he didn't know.

 

The toothy grin above him started to chuckle, even as it caught its breath.

 

It was only then that he saw the Ork raise his claw again, this time opening it, preparing for the finishing blow. Only it never came.

 

Above him, the sound of a familiar charging noise whizzed through the air. It was the sound of a thunderhammer. The Ork looked up just in time, raising his claw as it collided with the hammer. One of the pincers on the top of the weapon was bent violently as Captain Brutus himself drove himself forward, into the creature, his blue armour marred with blood stains and signs of days worth of battle. He couldn't even sit up to watch the battle in full as the two goliaths seemed to collide. The sound of the hammer swinging through the air and striking out at the Ork were somehow louder than the gunfire and explosions bursting around them. The clashes between claw and Hammer blasted noise out through him, before the Captain finally pulled himself up.

 

What he saw was the Ork, his claw in ruins with blood dripping from it, and Brutus squaring off.

 

“You ain't kill me yet, 'umie!” the Ork snarled past his grin.

 

When they collided again, Castile saw what the Ork did. He used his klaw, damaged or not, to try and parry the blows, as he struck out at the captain with his hand. When one Thunderhammer strike landed on the Ork's left leg moments later however, Castile knew it was over. But he had no idea how wrong he was.

 

Falling to one leg squealing, the Warboss tried to scurry back, only to have the looming Captain follow him. Raising the hammer to finish his quest, and finish this battle before any other damage could be done, Brutus was surprised when the Ork shoved himself off the ground and tackled into him, causing the Captain to drop the hammer as the two rolled about on the ground, trading fists with one another. It was all Castile's strength to crawl towards the Thunder Hammer which lay on the ground in his sight.

 

While he crawled, he looked to see the Ork finally flip Brutus onto his back, and began punching the Captain in the head, causing his helmet itself to break from his head, before the Ork's fists began to plough into human flesh.

 

“Ain't no one iz gunna stop me! Ya 'ere dat Space Marine?!”

 

The Ork began to laugh, looking up to see his Boyz beginning to push the Marine flanking attack back. The only problem was, to his own “flank” was the form of Castile, holding the Thunderhammer that was known to the Ultramarines simply as Irae. With a full swing of the hammer, it discharged its energy at the last moment before colliding with the Ork's stomach. It blasted him clean off Captain Brutus, who was left bloodied, but breathing on the ground.

 

When the Ork hit the ground, he immediately coughed up blood as he struggled to try and rise. Its claw was in ruin, its leg was broken, and its stomach was pulverized. Taking several tired steps towards it, his ribs still broken and one of his hearts damaged, Castile just breathed in heavily despite the pain, all the while looking at the Xeno with contempt.

 

“You...” The Ork wheezed. “You ain't beat me yet.”

 

The last words escaped Killa'Grinna, before the hammer swung once more, decapitating the beast.

 

What followed was to be expected. Orks across the WAAAGH began to realize their boss was dead. Morale was shattered for the greenskins. It would take three years before they were all put the sword, finishing the greenskin threat once and for all. The humans of the system suffered hundreds of millions of civilians dead, and millions of militia dead. Even the Astartes were shocked by their own casualties, but in the end their duty was followed, and the creatures were washed away like the filth that they were.

 

The Exalted Angels were credited more than any of the chapters who participated, even the Ultramarines. Captain Brutus himself, handed the Thunderhammer that had been a relic of his own chapter over to Captain, now Chapter Master, Castile. Irae became a symbol of his victory over the Warboss, but also over the Xenos as a whole. Wanting to secure the region, and reward the fleet based Chapter, the Adeptus Administratum provided the Exalted Angels with the planet of Rotos V, a relatively out of the way planet in the subsector. It would be here that there fortress Monastery would be constructed.

 

The Ikraun system however, would never fully recover from the invasion. Populations would rise again, and industry would be rebuilt, but ancient technologies were lost in the invasion, and irreparable damage was done to ancient buildings and infrastructure built well before the Age of Strife. Ikraun was saved, but at the cost of much of its soul.

 

The Tau Expansion:

 

Several Millennium passed Ikraun and the subsector. Threats came and passed, namely of the Ork variety. All told, things became stable and reliable, just as the leadership classes wanted. In this glut, something however did start to happen. An alien species known as the Tau began attempts to economically tie itself to the region starting M41. Multiple planets had begun trading already, including the Hive World Helixa. Over more recent centuries, the entire sector, not just the subsector, had been apparently in some level of neglect. Stagnant economic growth for Subsector Ikraun in particular had lead to this economic partnership with xenos races.

 

Governor Parus Tatius found himself at odds with the idea of trading with outsiders, however, fearing it would bring about conflict with the interests of the Imperial Authorities above him. Even with Helixa seemingly being given financial benefits, the deal seemed very strange, and far too generous. Two thousand years prior, the Imperial Phalanx had been given the planet of Nebhur Prime. Their defeat of the vile forces of Chaos near the Maelstrom had been what warranted their reward of a planet, and Nebhur was an obscure world really. It'd transformed a dozen times, at one time an agri world, then claimed to be a place of miracles for the God Emperor, and finally turned into a small but obscure Shrine World. The Space Marines who now watched over Nehbur as its faithful guardians were another prideful boast that the Ikraun subsector could stand tall over.

 

With the Exalted Angels on a crusade, barring only two companies, it fell to Governor Parus to reach out to Chapter Master Thaddeus Austrus. News of this species had already met the Chapter Master, and there was already the build up towards a great crusade to push the Xenos back. Preparing his own marines for war, Thaddeus made a request to Parus as well as the Forgeworlds Sunder and Ikos for men and materials. Helixa was also given the request, and reject it. Word was next sent to the Exalted Angels 2^nd and 7^th companies, requesting they prepare for hostilities in the region.

 

The two chapters had been relatively distant from one another, despite being neighbours. The Exalted Angels always found it relatively insulting that the Imperial Phalanx had been given a world so far from its conquests, least of all given one near it, as if it was unable to defend the subsector adequately. However, despite their pride, even they could recognize the growing problems within the region, and knew too of the Damocles Crusade which was going to be launched against this Tau threat. Begrudgingly, they accepted that they would participate in any action that the Imperial Phalanx performed.

 

For the Phalanx, their problem didn't come from the source they expected, their brethren in the Exalted Angels, instead it came from the worlds they sought to protect. Ikos and Sunder claimed their resources were taxed, especially with the Imperium demanding so much from them. No armed troops, or materials were forthcoming in any significant quantities. Helixa and its then Governor Roboutte Alkos openly refused to participate, claiming the Xenos represented no threat to the Imperium at all. This was heretical position for any governor to take, and was short sighted in the extreme.

 

Ikraun and its system however, offered the Space Marines as much support as its beleaguered economy could offer. Its factory output, as well as its Guards Regiments, and militia, were all put up for use in any campaign the Imperial Phalanx offered. Before anything could be started however, word was sent back to Terra, offering up information regarding the situation with the Xenos attempting to economically penetrate human worlds, including Helixa. Governor Roboutte Alkos was declared Excommunicatus Traitoris at the request of Austrus, who hoped to make an example of the Governor. When the word spread across the system, the initial response from the Governor was shock.

 

From the outside, the other power players in the region, the Adeptus Mechanicus of Sunder and Ikos, watched with interest, as well as a dozen other worlds. It was hoped that the planet's elites would overthrow Alkos, but instead most were shocked to find that the elites of the planet either backed their governor, or were too weak to overthrow him and were arrested and executed. The beginnings of a Crusade, a campaign, was forming locally.

 

Governor Roboutte was quick to make calls to the next subsector, Subsector Tetrian. What was surprising, of course, was that there was word back from the other subsector. The local Astra Militarum, headed by one General Avitus Narcius, showed open defiance to the order of Excommunicatus Traitoris being placed on Helixa's governor. The Imperial Naval assets in the area did the same, and very quickly both Governor Parus Tatius and Chapter Master Austrius realized the power these Tau had exerted over once loyal planets in the Imperium. It didn't take long to figure out there were over a dozen worlds preparing to resist breaking ties with the Tau, and preparing to protect one of their own allies.

 

Instead of launching an effort to remove the governor, Parus sought allies in subsector Kylos to the west. Finding wanting support due to a series of economic issues, only Kylos Prime itself offered any kind of assistance should conflict break out. With such a lack of support, no campaign was fully formed at the time.

 

The Damocles Crusade was launched within a few months of this rising issue. Three years into the campaign just north of them, the Tau were rebuked from systems they were exerting influence over. Governor Roboutte continued to rule over a planet he had no rights to, and the entire region seemed overlooked, despite its loose ties to the Damocles Gulf. What was more of a disaster however, was the word of a new species of alien invading the region and consuming all life within it. Just as the Exalted Angels returned under the leadership of their enlightened Chapter Master Anton Vargas, having returned from their crusade against a Chaos Renegades Chapter known as the Snakes of Serenity in the Galactic East, they were immediately called up once more. The Imperial Phalanx themselves were called up as well, asked to participate in operations to stop this threat. The First Tyrannic War had begun.

 

Parus found himself isolated, and even more economically alone as these aliens tore through the Segmentum. The Tau had seemingly ceased expanding their influence further into the region, and Sunder V and Ikos II seemed to slowly but surely see the light, agreeing to assist Parus should the situation devolve. The Astra Militarium, representing the Ikraun's regiments, as well as the regiments from several other minor worlds, also began preparing itself for conflict, either with the Tau, or with these new “Tyranid” monsters that were spoken of.

 

It wouldn't be until 751.M41 that the two Space Marine Chapters would return in victory. Though they hadn't participated directly in the Battle For Macragge, the two Chapters had been tasked with hunting down and destroying one of the fragmented tendrils of the monster, as well as the annihilation of no less than six Genestealer Cults. The resulting campaign wasn't a full triumph however, as Anton Vargas was killed in battle against a Genestealer Patriarch. This lead to the rise of the 1^st Captain, Demetrio, rising to the rank of Chapter Master of the Exalted Angels.

 

With the threat from the Tyranids dealt with, the Astra Militarium and the Adestus Astartes put forward their request to requisition more resources from Adeptus Administratum. Inquisitor Galen Hoth however, appeared to be dispatched to the region instead. The young inquisitor immediately took an interest in interrogating every Governor, as well as most of the elites and merchants in the region, looking for any sign of disloyalty to the Imperium. An agent of the Ordo Xenos, Galen had taken a distinct interest in these Tau creatures, finding them to be the next conflict zone the Imperium would need to deal with.

 

With him came a new level of authority. After several tense investigations, and several executions, the Inquisitor knew that these alien creatures had undue influence over two subsectors, and had been largely spared the destruction of the Damocles Crusade. Formally, he placed his seal of approval on the requisition of new forces to participate in an operation to free these worlds of their corrupting xeno influence.

 

Most of the players in the Ikraun region who'd remained loyal to their Empire were relieved with the news. Governor Parus hadn't realized unfortunately, that they had been betrayed by elites and merchants within their own region. The Governor, a stalwart ally of the local Space Marine chapters, as well as a well respected leader among his people, was assassinated on the orders of what appeared to be Governor Roboutte Alkos. The display was brazen, but also done to spark the conflict the excommunicated governor realized would arrive regardless. Victor Tatius replaced his father, a younger man by multiple decades, and certainly a man whose heart was in the right place even if his mind was not. Victor knew there could only be one response, and so did Inquisitor Galen.

 

Before any response could be received from the Adeptus Terra, the Astra Militarum as well as the local Imperial Navy came into action. The Exalted Angels as well as the Imperial Phalanx also immediately pressed their fleets and forces into action. On the other side, Governor Roboutte had spent years solidifying his power, as well as trading in illegal xeno weaponry. Worse yet, trainers and units from the very Xenos empire providing him these weapons were on the Hive World itself. The Imperial Naval assets from the Tetrian subsector appeared in orbit, attempting to ward away any would be attackers.

 

Imperial ships, did battle with Imperial ships, above the purple seas and spires of Helixa. Several weapons aboard these vessels appeared to be retrofitted to use vile alien technology, provided by the Tau. Several Strike Cruisers were disabled, as well as the Imperial Cruiser Wrath, which the latter was so damaged it lost control of its orbit and descended to the surface of Helixa itself. The vessels impact on the surface killed its crew, destroyed the ship, and killed millions across the globe from the impact.

 

The renegade fleet itself, though damaged, under seemingly experienced leadership knew when its time was done. In an intelligence and wise manoeuvre, they broke from battle and withdrew from orbit, leaving their ally to fend for himself. The suffering across the surface of Helixa would be significant as drop pods were deployed as a vanguard for Imperial landing vessels containing three regiments of Imperial Guardsmen.

 

What all forces were faced with was a hardened defender, and troops equipped with superb weaponry, and often superb armour. Even among Adeptus Astartes, there were casualties within the first few hours. Governor Roboutte's voice filled every vox channel, talking of a need for Unity, for the Greater Good of them all. After over forty marines were killed belonging to the initial strike force, as well as over 1,500 Guardsmen, orbital bombardment was recommended, providing close support to help compensate for entrenched enemy teams using this sophisticated weaponry. Chapter Master Thaddeus of the Imperial Phalanx himself deployed to the surface with a dedicated strike team, providing targets while they looked to find and execute the traitor, Governor Rouboutte Alkos. Much to their surprise, Inquisitor Galen insisted on going with them, wanting to not only see justice done by the Emperor, but wishing to see this strange alien technology in use.

 

The deployment on the higher spires took four days. In that time, hundreds of thousands of the planet's defenders were killed, and millions more civilians caught in the destructive bombardments and exchanges of fire. Hidden on the higher levels, unwilling to abandon all his comforts, Governor Roboutte was found. His bodyguard included several Tau firewarriors as well as a full division of local troops. The battle for his enclave started within thirty minutes of its discover, with the Imperial Phalanx and the Exalted Angels. Sternguard veterans were deployed in full, shooting down misguided renegades and xenos scum alike. Walking through the carnage with a keen eye for all the trinkets and weapons being dropped, Inquisitor Hoth eyed each deceased warrior with interest. As the firewarriors themselves were eliminated, he watched as the humanoid xenos fell in the face of the Imperium's might, as they should. All the same, it was a fascinating thing to behold.

 

The only orders he asked of the Space Marines were simply.

 

“Do keep the Governor alive until I can see the traitor, would you?”

 

It took less than an hour for the fighting to stop, and Galen to get his opportunity to get a measure of the scared, yet defiant old man sitting behind his desk with two Space Marines standing there to ensure any attempt of escape was futile.

 

There was a brief conversation regarding the Governors crimes, before Inquisitor Hoth raised his bolt pistol and executed the traitor.

 

With the death of the Governor, it only took another weak to finish wrapping up any resistance. The cost to the Imperium for the victory had been more costly than anticipated. These Tau weapons were deadly in the hands of humans or Tau. The loss of multiple space marines to this force however, had been perceived as unacceptable to both the Inquisitor and to the Marines themselves.

 

Within two months of the fall of Helixa, Inquisitor Hoth and his 'people' had setup several courts, presiding over anyone suspected of heresy via communication with the alien. Thousands were executed, thousands mores ordered to hard labour, and whole segments of the hive world were given punitive sentences for 'collaboration'. The entire nobility was cleansed as well, as Hoth realized it'd become too corrupt or cowardly to act when it was required, extinguishing most houses entirely.

 

With the removal of the traitor and a new order established on the Hive World, Inquisitor Hoth was still awaiting word on reinforcements. That word came in the form of multiple ships from four Space Marine Chapters, and two Imperial Guard Regiments, as well as ships from the Imperial Navy, the Fifteenth Fleet.

 

Of this, the first chapter to announce themselves was the honourable and courageous Crimson Centurions. In tow, the Emerald Lions, the Star Sabres, and finally the Retribution Knights. With these forces arriving, as well as much needed Guard regiments and Imperial vessels, subsector Tetrian's fate would be sealed, even with the overt support from the Tau Empire.

 

Heresy...

 

Finish the longer form history of all this stuff soon.

 

Please lemme know what everything thinks. Remember this is the background I'm building up for a Narrative Campaign for Killteams and eventually a full blown 40k Campaign. I will eventually do an IA for a few of the chapters involved in all this.

[deathspectersgt7]

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