THE KETUUSEH SECTOR RECEIVES ITS GUESTS
Lord Karadex arrived in the Ketuuseh sector at the head of his Black Legion, hiding the fleet in a local asteroid field, watching as the Tyranid Hive fleet made planetfall. This was sure to draw the attention of some Imperial presence, and Karadex wanted to be sure that his trap was set prior to their arrival. The Tyranids went to work swiftly, turning what was once mining camps and communities into nothing but biomass, to be used to reinforce the Tyranid host.
Prognosticator Clave and his Silver Skulls arrived in the sector four Terran weeks after the last distress signal from Ketuuseh Prime was received. Clave decided that a command post could be established on one of Prime’s many moons, allowing for faster deployment and response to Ketuuseh Prime. As Clave and his commanders began laying the groundwork for the campaign, the bridge on Clave’s flagship, Cobra Terminatus, surged to life as sensors warned of an incoming fleet from warp space. With the Silver Skull fleet armed and primed for war, a transmission was broadcast to the fleet, “Silver Skulls, This is Belial of the Dark Angels, we prepare to make real space, prepare for our arrival”.
A war council was established, and the Dark Angel commanders made way to the Cobra Terminatus. Relations between the Dark Angels and the Silver Skulls were still raw and tumultuous, ever since the events of the Red Heresy. Unfortunately for Clave and his warriors, their numbers were too few to mount a full extermination of the Tyranids on their own, and the Dark Angels’ aid could not be refused.
Belial, though unapologetic of his Chapter’s actions, was keen enough to realize that he and his commanders needed to placate the the Silver Skulls to some extent, in order to achieve their secret mission and absolve their Chapter. Therefore, he and his war council made way to the Cobra Terminatus, granting the Silver Skulls the honor of heading the campaign.
Plans were made to begin ground reconnaissance of Ketuuseh Prime, headed up by Sammael’s Ravenwing and Captain Tyrus’s support cavalry detachment, The Varsavian Nightwind. Reconnaissance was decided to be a joint venture, to cover more ground, as well as so the Silver Skulls could keep a watchful eye on the Dark Angels’ activities, lest they once again get betrayed by the I Legion.
Whilst the ground recon made its way to the planet below, Clave began deployment to Prime’s moon, and his war council with him. With this, the Campaign of the Ketuuseh System began.
THE TIP OF THE SPEAR
As the Loyalists made way to the planet to assess the Tyranid threat, Karadex plotted his first strike into the heart of the Imperial swine. Though their allegiances and bodies had been twisted and changed by 10,000 years in the Eye of Terra, the ways in which the Black Legion made war still resembled their Luna Wolf roots. Most famous of these was the removal of the command structure by the rapid insertion of the Legion’s elite utilizing precision deep strikes at the heart of the enemy’s deployment, cutting the head off the snake and eliminating the enemy’s ability to fight cohesively. Known as the Tip of the Spear, this tactic had served the Legion well, since the days of Horus leading them against the enemies of the Emperor. Karadex watched as the Imperials made planetfall, and decided that the time to strike was at hand.
Using the asteroid field as cover, the Black Legion was able to send the ground force for the ambush to the moon undetected. The plan was simple; draw attention with Lord Balarath’s ground detachment, force the Imperials to allocate what minimal defenses they have available, then strategically insert the Tip of the Spear, led by Lord Un’Kell, to eliminate the exposed commanders. Using the cover of night, the Black Legion set up their ambush, waiting until Clave and his war council arrived and began strategizing in their makeshift command post.
Lord Balarath made one grave mistake in his planning of the distraction; he employed the services of Khârn, a World Eater not known for subtlety. As Balarath laid the trap, Kharn caught his first glance of the enemy. No longer able to control the bloodlust, The Champion of Khorne ran headlong toward the encampment, with a war cry that could be heard from orbit. Unfortunately for Balarath, Khârn’s timing was poor, as the first wave of the ambush was not yet in place. Losing the element of surprise, Balarath sprang his bikers into action, and sounded the attack. The Forces of Chaos attacked from wherever they found themselves to be, with nearly every unit out of position. Khârn’s premature charge gave the Silver Skulls mere moments to prepare for the attack, but these precious moments proved to be the difference.
The last arrival from orbit was a container holding the Chapter’s mighty Centurion exosuits, equipped with dreaded grav weaponry. These were intended to make their way down to the planet, but with little time to spare and an immediate threat from a previously unknown assailant, Clave ordered his veterans into action. Typically reserved for the Devastators of the chapter, Clave ordered his retinue to don the suits and prepare for battle. The early reveal of the enemy also allowed Chapter Master Argentius to requisition his bodyguard, Guilliman’s Hammer. The Silver Skulls, also familiar with precision deployment, teleported the Terminator veterans directly into the fray.
The Centurions and Terminators were much more than Balarath had originally bargained for, and he realized the err of his judgement as he and his retinue rode full speed toward the newly discovered Ceturion. One volley of fire was all that was required to eliminate the cavalry threat. He watched as his bikers were crushed by their own armor, man and steed compacted into balls of flesh and metal. He leapt from his bike at the last second, rolling on the ground as he watched the ancient weaponry’s effect on his bike, much like a hand crumpling paper. Outgunned and outmanned, Balarath saw that his forces could not withstand much more from the defenders, and called in the reinforcements.
Un’Kell arrived to a much different battle than he had originally anticipated. Balarath’s forces were on their back foot, and the defenders were nigh unscathed. Un’Kell materialized just in time to watch Kharn tally 3 Terminator skulls for the Skull Throne, before taking a hammer square to the head, falling limp to the ground. Cursing Balarath under his breath, Un’Kell tried to rally his forces, focusing on the mission at hand, the elimination of Clave and his commanders. Champion Guls’Reth and his Plague Marines charged headlong into Clave and his Veterans, realizing that the only way to secure victory was in a knife fight, as the Legionnaires were severely outgunned. Backed up by Obliterators, Guls’Reth and his marines silenced the guns on the north, leaving only the southern defenses intact. The ensuing combat also saw Clave wounded, falling to the ground, left for dead.
Un’Kell and his Terminators faced down Argentius and Guilliman’s Hammer, knowing that the two clashing in a violent melee was inevitable. Bellowing a challenge to the Imperial lapdogs, the Retinue of Lord Un’Kell charged, with Argentius and his veterans accepting the traitor’s call. The Terminators on both sides proved to be equals, as one by one they fell to each other’s blows. Balarath found himself the last standing of the Tip of the Spear, with only Argentius and Clave’s apprentice Librarian opposing him. Argentius and Balarath fought each other with hatred unmeasured, unable to find a hole in each other’s defenses. As Argentius blocked an attack from Balarath’s mighty chain fist, he saw his opening. Battering Balarath back with his shield, Argentius swung the killing blow, straight at the chest of the Chaos Lord. Watching closely from orbit, Lord Karadex could see that things were not going according to plan. Knowing that this early in the campaign was not a good time to lose his leadership, he prepared to admit defeat and recall his Lords.
Argentius’s mighty hammer blow swung, splitting the ground where Lord Balarath once stood. Just as Argentius swung, Balarath was teleported back to the Black Legion fleet. Muttering something about the repetition of being a coward, Argentius turned his attention back to the ongoing battle. All that remained of the Traitor’s ambush was Guls’Reth and a handful of Plague Marines, who were taking cover behind the northern battlements, facing down the remainder of Centurions. Seeing no way out of their predicament other than death, and knowing that a death while hiding behind a wall would never result in daemonhood, Guls’Reth did the only thing he could; he charged. Across 30 metres of open ground, against unassailable odds, against the most dangerous of armaments, he charged.
Argentius smiled as he saw the Traitors round the corner and begin running at a break neck pace straight toward them, with prayers to their vile masters on their lips. With one volley from the Centurion’s guns, the assault was over, and the Silver Skulls were aware that the Tyranids weren’t the only threat in this system.
THE PERCEIVED THREAT
As the battle for Ketuuseh Prime’s moon waged above, the Ravenwing and The Varsavian Nightwind began their preliminary scouring of the planet’s surface, unaware that a new threat had revealed itself. The planets of Ketuuseh are hot and arid, suffering from atmospheric dust storms that can hamper communications, both on-world, as well as transmissions off-world. Once deployed, both detachments decided to head in opposite directions, looking for traces of the Tyranid invasion, then regrouping at the drop zone after a 12 hour sweep.
Following some faint life signs via auspex, the Ravenwing came upon an old mining camp, little more than a scrapyard in its present state. It was here that the I Legion caught their first glimpse of the enemy. The previous inhabitants had not been dead long, as the Tyranids were still converting the corpses into biomass. It was late into their recon assignment, and the time for regrouping with the Silver Skulls was near, but it is a hard thing for any Space Marine to shy away from a fight, especially a venerated company such as the Ravenwing. Sammael organized his valiant company into a battle line, and prepared to strike first blood against the swarm. Using their speed and the element of surprise, the Dark Angels headed straight at the heart of the enemy. Surprised by the previously unknown attackers, the Tyranids scrambled to face their newfound foes.
It was then that The Dark Angels realized the true nature of the threat they faced, as four monstrous beasts took flight, two commanding creatures, known as Tyrants, and two previously unseen monsters, with giant wings and acid drool dripping from their mouths. One of the tyrants, known after the Ketuuseh campaign as the Harbinger of the Swarm, let out a screech that was nigh intolerable to even those protected by power armor helms. Thewinged beasts circled the battlefield, one full sweep so high that no weapon in the Ravenwing’s disposal could hit them, as if to survey the enemy at hand. Then they began their descent, and all hell broke loose.
The Ravenwing, masters of maneuver, adjusted their charge to avoid the sweeping talons and claws of the airborne assailants. Once the Tyrants saw that the Astartes would not be so easily deterred, they brought their weapon symbiotes to bear. The sheer amount of firepower saw 4 bikers unceremoniously dismounted, as well as the new flying creatures, dubbed Crones, spewing acid from their mouths capable of melting through adamantium.
The Dark Angels found they were ill equipped to deal with the multitude of airborne threats, but that would not keep them from unleashing every weapon they could bear at the Tyrants and Crones. The Tyrants’ lithe frame and uncanny agility made them hard targets to track, but the Crones could not share the same benefits. A salvo from the Astartes’ bikes saw one of the gargantuan beasts drop from the sky, with a well placed chainsword blow ensuring it would never return.
All the attention paid to the fallen Crone would prove costly, however, as the Tyranids prepared for their second attack. The combined pressure of the potent ground artillery and the ever present claws of the Tyrants would see many Dark Angels fall, including some of Sammael’s Command. The remaining Crone laid waste to the bikers responsible for the death of its brood mate, letting out a victorious bellow as it crushed them with its thickened carapace against the ground.
It was then that Sammael knew things were dire. As venerated and as storied as Sammael and his Ravenwing were, nothing could stop the inevitable. Rallying the remainder of his troops, The Master of the Ravenwing charged headlong into the enemy lines, determined to take some of the vile creatures with them unto the arms of death. Nearest was another new Hive creation, known now as the Exocrine. The behemoth aimed his large cannon at the oncoming Marines, but could not slow their advance. Bravely they fought, but the tide of bodies was too much to overcome. The Ravenwing were lost.
THE RESCUE
Captain Tyrus and the Varsavian Nightwind had finished their assignment and began their return to the rendezvous point. Since they had begun their mission, very little communication had transpired between the Silver Skulls on the planet, and those upon its moon. Even less contact between the Nightwind and the Ravenwing. Many chalked it up to radiational interference, but Tyrus had a gut feeling that there was more at work here. He was proven correct as his detachment reached the rendezvous point and no ship came to receive them, and their ‘allies’ were nowhere to be found. After many failed calls for pickup, and still no sign of the Ravenwing, Tyrus decided to track them down. Following the Ravenwing’s trail was difficult, as expert riders such as the Dark Angels’ Second Company are nigh unrivaled in their mounted form of war. Luckily, they were near matched by the riders of the Varsavian Nightwind. The Silver Skulls made haste, fearing that the Dark Angels were repeating past offenses. The scene they rode up to was something much different.
Tyrus saw the Master of the Ravenwing marshal his remaining men and lead a suicide charge into the heart of the xenos line. Bile rose in his throat at the carnage before him. For all the Dark Angels were in his eyes, they were still Astartes, his brothers, and Tyrus could not allow such a slight go unanswered. With a roar, the Captain brought his forces to bear, and with a twist of his wrist on the throttle, he led his men to battle. The Tyranids were caught by surprise, as they had not seen the new threat until it was too late. The Silver Skulls were upon them. The Tyrants attempted to bring their vicious guns to bear, but nothing could stop the marine advance. One Tyrant had barely become airborne when a hail of bolter rounds brought its lifeless husk back to the ground. The winged beasts that remained quickly elevated out of range, trying to avoid the same fate. Unbeknownst to the Tyranids however, the Silver Skulls had backup.
A detachment of Stormwing had been sent to the planet to locate the Imperial ground forces, as chaos ensued on the planet’s moon. The two pilots zeroed in on the flying monstrosities, dropping the crone before it was even aware of their presence. The xenos then went on the offensive, throwing everything at the marines, but their ferocity is matched by the tenaciousness of the Silver Skulls. The smaller creatures attempt to slow the advance and protect the synapse creatures, but Tyrus and his Nightwind could not be slowed. As the last of the command creatures fell, the gants began their retreat, giving the field to the Astartes. The Ravenwing had found their savior.
A PLAN EMERGES
With the Silver Skull command in disarray and their Dark Angel allies in flux after their 2nd Company had been cast asunder, Lord Karadex put his plan into motion. The Black Legion began planetfall. In order to ensure their plan’s success in transitioning the Ketuuseh system into the next great rent in reality, the fabric must be weakened to ensure the new gate is suitable. To achieve this, warp gates must be opened on each of Ketuuseh’s first 4 planets, allowing Chaos to pour forth into the system.
Karadex made landing, and his sorcerers and daemonhosts began their grisly work. Manipulating the Tyranids had become second nature, and he created a wide perimeter of bio-engineered monsters around his deployment, close enough to provide a safeguard against a land based attack, but far enough away to stay out of the Tyranid’s detection, lest their ‘allies’ find them a more suitable source of biomass. Karadex then directed his Dark Eldar allies, as well as some vicious Eldar Corsairs Baron Sarthonyx hired during their trip through the Webway, to form the inner defense, shoulder to shoulder with Abbadon’s own Legion. The Corruption of Ketuuseh V had begun.
A NEW FORCE ARRIVES
The Tau of the Farsight Enclaves arrived in the Ketuuseh Sector undetected by the Imperial forces. They were content to keep the Imperials in the dark for the time being, as they wanted to represent their shared goals in battle, before preconceived notions could be drawn. O’Shovah had decided upon a pronged attack, hitting the Chaos and their allies simultaneously, sowing confusion within the ranks and using surprise to their advantage. The battle plans had been laid, and the Tau readied for war.
BATTERED BUT NOT BROKEN
A troop movement the size of the Black Legion’s could not be masked, no matter how much sorcerers’ interference was applied. Chapter Master Argentius decided that the enemy must be tested, and that whatever the Black Legion’s motives, it could not be allowed to operate uncontested. Once again he entrusted the Varsavian Nightwind to strike at the enemy, backed up by a new addition to their forces, the fearsome Knight Titan XXXX of the Noble House XXXX. Speed was key, and no time was wasted as the Silver Skulls headed straight into the Tyranid lines.
THE BATTLE FOR KETUUSEH PRIME
The warnings began to come across the heretics’ vox channels from every direction as the Tau made planetfall, engaging the tyranid threat with unprecedented fervor. Fortunately for Lord Karadex, his forces were prepared.They were beset on all sides, between the hammer of the quick striking Tau, and the anvil of of the imperial forces. This was not a war of attrition or resource, nor was it a fight for a piece of earth. It was a battle for time. Time enough to enact the rituals and sacrifices necessary to open the warp rift. Unfortunately, time was a precious commodity, and one he was quickly being deprived of.
The Tau hit the outer defense hard, and with tenacity. Three of the Enclaves’ mighty Riptides strode into battle, rivaling the largest of the enemy creatures in might, surpassing in sheer offensive power. The mobility of the Tau was on full display, crisis suits advancing and feinting, tanks skimming across the Ketuusen surface, always applying fire on the Tyranid line. The avian like Kroot emerged from the foliage in the flanks, matching the Tyranid savagery with their own. The Tyranids were falling under the sheer might of the Tau’s superior firepower.
Captain Tyrus once again led his men into the fray against the xenos threat. They had beaten the foul creatures before, and that was without the might of an Imperial Knight covering their advance. Looking up at the mighty war engine had an intoxicating effect, and could make mere men perform impossible acts of bravery and heroism. Tyrus tried to shake free of the feelings welling up inside, allowing his training to take hold, but even he felt a sense of superiority and invincibility in the shadow of the man made behemoth. With a grin and a roar, he led his men full speed toward the awaiting xenos.
It was then that the second phase of Farsight’s plan unfolded. Using precision air drops, his warriors dropped down right into the inner circle of the Black Legion’s defenses. they quickly went to work, opening fire on some of the chaff units, then working their way toward the meat of the Chaos line. Many cultists fell, but the line held, and with it, the warriors of Chaos and their Eldar allies advanced. Daemons took to the sky, skimmers zoomed over the terrain, giant walkers began their advance, and ground troops broke rank and ran fat out at the Tau, all attempting to draw first blood. The Tau deployment had been perfect, their timing, impeccable. There was only one problem; their lightning attacks had not broken the line, nor the spirits of the Chaos and Eldar forces. In fact it seemed as if the opposite effect was taking place. The evil forces seemed to be invigorated by the sudden action, as if their lust for battle had been renewed.
The Chaos counterattack was incredible, as the Tau played the part of a wave break in the midst of a perfect storm. Tau fell by the dozen as daemons, heretics, and eldar made their way through the Tau battle line. What was once organized and methodical battle became a jumbled mess of screams and blood. This was not an honorable war, as this was not an honorable opponent. The Tau would regroup, only to find their new position overrun. An ancient evil descended from the skies, a daemon known as Be’Lakor. Bellowing a challenge, he charged straight into the nearest Riptide, one of the Enclaves’ greatest warriors. The mighty battle suit turned to face the new threat, but his tracking systems were ineffective, the movements of the mighty daemon too quick to pin down. The poor Tau never stood a chance. As he finally locked on to his foe, the daemon prince thrust his weapon right through the chest of the riptide suit, impaling the commander in his cockpit, and destroying the internal safeguards over the suit’s nova reactor. Be’Lakor turned and walked away from his foe, never flinching as the suit went supercritical, exploding with the force of a miniature sun.
The Tau were desperate, and made one final push to break the chaos line. The Corsair’s wraith knight decided it was time to make it’s presence known, unleashing its mighty sun cannon upon the advancing tau. Many were vaporized in an instant, the rest dissuaded enough to initiate a tactical withdrawal. Lord Karadex’s forces had bought him just enough time, as the clouds suddenly began to swirl above the unholy symbols drawn in blood in the Ketuusen sand. the ground began to shift, and the heavens opened up as the air was filled with deafening shrieks and blinding flashes of light. With a crack louder than any thunder, the ground fell away, replaced by a swirling vortex of blues and greens. The sheer beauty of the portal was deceiving, as the creatures spewed forth were anything but. Large bird like daemons came flying out of the portal, followed by the servants of Nurgle clambering out into real space. Chaos was here, and ready to make its presence known.
Defeated, Farsight began to withdraw his forces, attempting to escape the evil that began to appear before them. The daemons had other plans. Led by the mighty Oracle of Tzeentch, Kairos Fateweaver, the daemons flew forth, using their powerful magics to lay low any before them. The skies filled with streaks of cerulean flame, spewing forth and immolating the poor Tau as they attempted to retreat. The Tau were fast, but nothing could hope to escape the wrath of hell that pursued them. The daemons intended to prove their superiority, and cut the Tau down to a man, leaving only the commanding officer of the Enclaves’ ground force standing. With a nod of one of Kairos’s heads, the Daemons took hold of the Tau leader, his screams never stopping until he and his captors disappeared into the swirling mass of blues and greens.
The withdrawal was sounded across the Tau ground forces. The forces fighting the outer perimeter of Tyranids had reached a bloody stalemate, both sides left battered and bloody. The tau began their retreat, but the Tyranids were not making it easy. Massive casualties were inflicted, including all three of the force’s riptide battle suits. The remaining Tau were being harassed relentlessly by an unending tide of gants. The drop ships arrived and the survivors jumped into the holds with little time to spare. The Tau had taken grievous casualties, and returned to orbit to regroup and plan their next move.
The Silver Skulls were not without casualties themselves. The fighting had been thick, and not a single crack had been found in the tyranid battle line. there were but few of his men still able to fight, and the Tyranids showed no signs of letting up. Tyrus still believed there was a chance at victory, until a mighty Tyrant took flight, heading straight for the massive titan. As the creature closed, the knight activated its chainsword, attempting to swat the Tyranid from the sky. The Tyrant was too quick, dodging and weaving around the titan’s furious assault, all the while trying to find a chink in the knight’s armor. It was at that moment that the Tyrant shoved an arm beneath the titan’s carapace, unleashing a fusillade of fire from its devourer symbiote. This triggered a chain reaction from within the knight, resulting in an apocalyptic explosion. It was then that Tyrus knew the battle was lost. Just as the thought crossed his mind, he watched the xenos begin to withdraw from the field, as a storm began to roll out from behind them. Tyrus watched as the tyranids disappeared from sight beneath the eldritch cloud cover. The captain was suddenly filled with disgust, as a familiar sense creeped over him - Chaos. Tyrus ordered his remaining men to gather the dead and wounded, and return to the drop zone. The time would come to exact revenge, but Tyrus was smart enough to know that today was not that day.
THE TIP OF THE SPEAR
As the Loyalists made way to the planet to assess the Tyranid threat, Karadex plotted his first strike into the heart of the Imperial swine. Though their allegiances and bodies had been twisted and changed by 10,000 years in the Eye of Terra, the ways in which the Black Legion made war still resembled their Luna Wolf roots. Most famous of these was the removal of the command structure by the rapid insertion of the Legion’s elite utilizing precision deep strikes at the heart of the enemy’s deployment, cutting the head off the snake and eliminating the enemy’s ability to fight cohesively. Known as the Tip of the Spear, this tactic had served the Legion well, since the days of Horus leading them against the enemies of the Emperor. Karadex watched as the Imperials made planetfall, and decided that the time to strike was at hand.
Using the asteroid field as cover, the Black Legion was able to send the ground force for the ambush to the moon undetected. The plan was simple; draw attention with Lord Balarath’s ground detachment, force the Imperials to allocate what minimal defenses they have available, then strategically insert the Tip of the Spear, led by Lord Un’Kell, to eliminate the exposed commanders. Using the cover of night, the Black Legion set up their ambush, waiting until Clave and his war council arrived and began strategizing in their makeshift command post.
Lord Balarath made one grave mistake in his planning of the distraction; he employed the services of Khârn, a World Eater not known for subtlety. As Balarath laid the trap, Kharn caught his first glance of the enemy. No longer able to control the bloodlust, The Champion of Khorne ran headlong toward the encampment, with a war cry that could be heard from orbit. Unfortunately for Balarath, Khârn’s timing was poor, as the first wave of the ambush was not yet in place. Losing the element of surprise, Balarath sprang his bikers into action, and sounded the attack. The Forces of Chaos attacked from wherever they found themselves to be, with nearly every unit out of position. Khârn’s premature charge gave the Silver Skulls mere moments to prepare for the attack, but these precious moments proved to be the difference.
The last arrival from orbit was a container holding the Chapter’s mighty Centurion exosuits, equipped with dreaded grav weaponry. These were intended to make their way down to the planet, but with little time to spare and an immediate threat from a previously unknown assailant, Clave ordered his veterans into action. Typically reserved for the Devastators of the chapter, Clave ordered his retinue to don the suits and prepare for battle. The early reveal of the enemy also allowed Chapter Master Argentius to requisition his bodyguard, Guilliman’s Hammer. The Silver Skulls, also familiar with precision deployment, teleported the Terminator veterans directly into the fray.
The Centurions and Terminators were much more than Balarath had originally bargained for, and he realized the err of his judgement as he and his retinue rode full speed toward the newly discovered Ceturion. One volley of fire was all that was required to eliminate the cavalry threat. He watched as his bikers were crushed by their own armor, man and steed compacted into balls of flesh and metal. He leapt from his bike at the last second, rolling on the ground as he watched the ancient weaponry’s effect on his bike, much like a hand crumpling paper. Outgunned and outmanned, Balarath saw that his forces could not withstand much more from the defenders, and called in the reinforcements.
Un’Kell arrived to a much different battle than he had originally anticipated. Balarath’s forces were on their back foot, and the defenders were nigh unscathed. Un’Kell materialized just in time to watch Kharn tally 3 Terminator skulls for the Skull Throne, before taking a hammer square to the head, falling limp to the ground. Cursing Balarath under his breath, Un’Kell tried to rally his forces, focusing on the mission at hand, the elimination of Clave and his commanders. Champion Guls’Reth and his Plague Marines charged headlong into Clave and his Veterans, realizing that the only way to secure victory was in a knife fight, as the Legionnaires were severely outgunned. Backed up by Obliterators, Guls’Reth and his marines silenced the guns on the north, leaving only the southern defenses intact. The ensuing combat also saw Clave wounded, falling to the ground, left for dead.
Un’Kell and his Terminators faced down Argentius and Guilliman’s Hammer, knowing that the two clashing in a violent melee was inevitable. Bellowing a challenge to the Imperial lapdogs, the Retinue of Lord Un’Kell charged, with Argentius and his veterans accepting the traitor’s call. The Terminators on both sides proved to be equals, as one by one they fell to each other’s blows. Balarath found himself the last standing of the Tip of the Spear, with only Argentius and Clave’s apprentice Librarian opposing him. Argentius and Balarath fought each other with hatred unmeasured, unable to find a hole in each other’s defenses. As Argentius blocked an attack from Balarath’s mighty chain fist, he saw his opening. Battering Balarath back with his shield, Argentius swung the killing blow, straight at the chest of the Chaos Lord. Watching closely from orbit, Lord Karadex could see that things were not going according to plan. Knowing that this early in the campaign was not a good time to lose his leadership, he prepared to admit defeat and recall his Lords.
Argentius’s mighty hammer blow swung, splitting the ground where Lord Balarath once stood. Just as Argentius swung, Balarath was teleported back to the Black Legion fleet. Muttering something about the repetition of being a coward, Argentius turned his attention back to the ongoing battle. All that remained of the Traitor’s ambush was Guls’Reth and a handful of Plague Marines, who were taking cover behind the northern battlements, facing down the remainder of Centurions. Seeing no way out of their predicament other than death, and knowing that a death while hiding behind a wall would never result in daemonhood, Guls’Reth did the only thing he could; he charged. Across 30 metres of open ground, against unassailable odds, against the most dangerous of armaments, he charged.
Argentius smiled as he saw the Traitors round the corner and begin running at a break neck pace straight toward them, with prayers to their vile masters on their lips. With one volley from the Centurion’s guns, the assault was over, and the Silver Skulls were aware that the Tyranids weren’t the only threat in this system.
THE PERCEIVED THREAT
As the battle for Ketuuseh Prime’s moon waged above, the Ravenwing and The Varsavian Nightwind began their preliminary scouring of the planet’s surface, unaware that a new threat had revealed itself. The planets of Ketuuseh are hot and arid, suffering from atmospheric dust storms that can hamper communications, both on-world, as well as transmissions off-world. Once deployed, both detachments decided to head in opposite directions, looking for traces of the Tyranid invasion, then regrouping at the drop zone after a 12 hour sweep.
Following some faint life signs via auspex, the Ravenwing came upon an old mining camp, little more than a scrapyard in its present state. It was here that the I Legion caught their first glimpse of the enemy. The previous inhabitants had not been dead long, as the Tyranids were still converting the corpses into biomass. It was late into their recon assignment, and the time for regrouping with the Silver Skulls was near, but it is a hard thing for any Space Marine to shy away from a fight, especially a venerated company such as the Ravenwing. Sammael organized his valiant company into a battle line, and prepared to strike first blood against the swarm. Using their speed and the element of surprise, the Dark Angels headed straight at the heart of the enemy. Surprised by the previously unknown attackers, the Tyranids scrambled to face their newfound foes.
It was then that The Dark Angels realized the true nature of the threat they faced, as four monstrous beasts took flight, two commanding creatures, known as Tyrants, and two previously unseen monsters, with giant wings and acid drool dripping from their mouths. One of the tyrants, known after the Ketuuseh campaign as the Harbinger of the Swarm, let out a screech that was nigh intolerable to even those protected by power armor helms. Thewinged beasts circled the battlefield, one full sweep so high that no weapon in the Ravenwing’s disposal could hit them, as if to survey the enemy at hand. Then they began their descent, and all hell broke loose.
The Ravenwing, masters of maneuver, adjusted their charge to avoid the sweeping talons and claws of the airborne assailants. Once the Tyrants saw that the Astartes would not be so easily deterred, they brought their weapon symbiotes to bear. The sheer amount of firepower saw 4 bikers unceremoniously dismounted, as well as the new flying creatures, dubbed Crones, spewing acid from their mouths capable of melting through adamantium.
The Dark Angels found they were ill equipped to deal with the multitude of airborne threats, but that would not keep them from unleashing every weapon they could bear at the Tyrants and Crones. The Tyrants’ lithe frame and uncanny agility made them hard targets to track, but the Crones could not share the same benefits. A salvo from the Astartes’ bikes saw one of the gargantuan beasts drop from the sky, with a well placed chainsword blow ensuring it would never return.
All the attention paid to the fallen Crone would prove costly, however, as the Tyranids prepared for their second attack. The combined pressure of the potent ground artillery and the ever present claws of the Tyrants would see many Dark Angels fall, including some of Sammael’s Command. The remaining Crone laid waste to the bikers responsible for the death of its brood mate, letting out a victorious bellow as it crushed them with its thickened carapace against the ground.
It was then that Sammael knew things were dire. As venerated and as storied as Sammael and his Ravenwing were, nothing could stop the inevitable. Rallying the remainder of his troops, The Master of the Ravenwing charged headlong into the enemy lines, determined to take some of the vile creatures with them unto the arms of death. Nearest was another new Hive creation, known now as the Exocrine. The behemoth aimed his large cannon at the oncoming Marines, but could not slow their advance. Bravely they fought, but the tide of bodies was too much to overcome. The Ravenwing were lost.
THE RESCUE
Captain Tyrus and the Varsavian Nightwind had finished their assignment and began their return to the rendezvous point. Since they had begun their mission, very little communication had transpired between the Silver Skulls on the planet, and those upon its moon. Even less contact between the Nightwind and the Ravenwing. Many chalked it up to radiational interference, but Tyrus had a gut feeling that there was more at work here. He was proven correct as his detachment reached the rendezvous point and no ship came to receive them, and their ‘allies’ were nowhere to be found. After many failed calls for pickup, and still no sign of the Ravenwing, Tyrus decided to track them down. Following the Ravenwing’s trail was difficult, as expert riders such as the Dark Angels’ Second Company are nigh unrivaled in their mounted form of war. Luckily, they were near matched by the riders of the Varsavian Nightwind. The Silver Skulls made haste, fearing that the Dark Angels were repeating past offenses. The scene they rode up to was something much different.
Tyrus saw the Master of the Ravenwing marshal his remaining men and lead a suicide charge into the heart of the xenos line. Bile rose in his throat at the carnage before him. For all the Dark Angels were in his eyes, they were still Astartes, his brothers, and Tyrus could not allow such a slight go unanswered. With a roar, the Captain brought his forces to bear, and with a twist of his wrist on the throttle, he led his men to battle. The Tyranids were caught by surprise, as they had not seen the new threat until it was too late. The Silver Skulls were upon them. The Tyrants attempted to bring their vicious guns to bear, but nothing could stop the marine advance. One Tyrant had barely become airborne when a hail of bolter rounds brought its lifeless husk back to the ground. The winged beasts that remained quickly elevated out of range, trying to avoid the same fate. Unbeknownst to the Tyranids however, the Silver Skulls had backup.
A detachment of Stormwing had been sent to the planet to locate the Imperial ground forces, as chaos ensued on the planet’s moon. The two pilots zeroed in on the flying monstrosities, dropping the crone before it was even aware of their presence. The xenos then went on the offensive, throwing everything at the marines, but their ferocity is matched by the tenaciousness of the Silver Skulls. The smaller creatures attempt to slow the advance and protect the synapse creatures, but Tyrus and his Nightwind could not be slowed. As the last of the command creatures fell, the gants began their retreat, giving the field to the Astartes. The Ravenwing had found their savior.
A PLAN EMERGES
With the Silver Skull command in disarray and their Dark Angel allies in flux after their 2nd Company had been cast asunder, Lord Karadex put his plan into motion. The Black Legion began planetfall. In order to ensure their plan’s success in transitioning the Ketuuseh system into the next great rent in reality, the fabric must be weakened to ensure the new gate is suitable. To achieve this, warp gates must be opened on each of Ketuuseh’s first 4 planets, allowing Chaos to pour forth into the system.
Karadex made landing, and his sorcerers and daemonhosts began their grisly work. Manipulating the Tyranids had become second nature, and he created a wide perimeter of bio-engineered monsters around his deployment, close enough to provide a safeguard against a land based attack, but far enough away to stay out of the Tyranid’s detection, lest their ‘allies’ find them a more suitable source of biomass. Karadex then directed his Dark Eldar allies, as well as some vicious Eldar Corsairs Baron Sarthonyx hired during their trip through the Webway, to form the inner defense, shoulder to shoulder with Abbadon’s own Legion. The Corruption of Ketuuseh V had begun.
A NEW FORCE ARRIVES
The Tau of the Farsight Enclaves arrived in the Ketuuseh Sector undetected by the Imperial forces. They were content to keep the Imperials in the dark for the time being, as they wanted to represent their shared goals in battle, before preconceived notions could be drawn. O’Shovah had decided upon a pronged attack, hitting the Chaos and their allies simultaneously, sowing confusion within the ranks and using surprise to their advantage. The battle plans had been laid, and the Tau readied for war.
BATTERED BUT NOT BROKEN
A troop movement the size of the Black Legion’s could not be masked, no matter how much sorcerers’ interference was applied. Chapter Master Argentius decided that the enemy must be tested, and that whatever the Black Legion’s motives, it could not be allowed to operate uncontested. Once again he entrusted the Varsavian Nightwind to strike at the enemy, backed up by a new addition to their forces, the fearsome Knight Titan XXXX of the Noble House XXXX. Speed was key, and no time was wasted as the Silver Skulls headed straight into the Tyranid lines.
THE BATTLE FOR KETUUSEH PRIME
The warnings began to come across the heretics’ vox channels from every direction as the Tau made planetfall, engaging the tyranid threat with unprecedented fervor. Fortunately for Lord Karadex, his forces were prepared.They were beset on all sides, between the hammer of the quick striking Tau, and the anvil of of the imperial forces. This was not a war of attrition or resource, nor was it a fight for a piece of earth. It was a battle for time. Time enough to enact the rituals and sacrifices necessary to open the warp rift. Unfortunately, time was a precious commodity, and one he was quickly being deprived of.
The Tau hit the outer defense hard, and with tenacity. Three of the Enclaves’ mighty Riptides strode into battle, rivaling the largest of the enemy creatures in might, surpassing in sheer offensive power. The mobility of the Tau was on full display, crisis suits advancing and feinting, tanks skimming across the Ketuusen surface, always applying fire on the Tyranid line. The avian like Kroot emerged from the foliage in the flanks, matching the Tyranid savagery with their own. The Tyranids were falling under the sheer might of the Tau’s superior firepower.
Captain Tyrus once again led his men into the fray against the xenos threat. They had beaten the foul creatures before, and that was without the might of an Imperial Knight covering their advance. Looking up at the mighty war engine had an intoxicating effect, and could make mere men perform impossible acts of bravery and heroism. Tyrus tried to shake free of the feelings welling up inside, allowing his training to take hold, but even he felt a sense of superiority and invincibility in the shadow of the man made behemoth. With a grin and a roar, he led his men full speed toward the awaiting xenos.
It was then that the second phase of Farsight’s plan unfolded. Using precision air drops, his warriors dropped down right into the inner circle of the Black Legion’s defenses. they quickly went to work, opening fire on some of the chaff units, then working their way toward the meat of the Chaos line. Many cultists fell, but the line held, and with it, the warriors of Chaos and their Eldar allies advanced. Daemons took to the sky, skimmers zoomed over the terrain, giant walkers began their advance, and ground troops broke rank and ran fat out at the Tau, all attempting to draw first blood. The Tau deployment had been perfect, their timing, impeccable. There was only one problem; their lightning attacks had not broken the line, nor the spirits of the Chaos and Eldar forces. In fact it seemed as if the opposite effect was taking place. The evil forces seemed to be invigorated by the sudden action, as if their lust for battle had been renewed.
The Chaos counterattack was incredible, as the Tau played the part of a wave break in the midst of a perfect storm. Tau fell by the dozen as daemons, heretics, and eldar made their way through the Tau battle line. What was once organized and methodical battle became a jumbled mess of screams and blood. This was not an honorable war, as this was not an honorable opponent. The Tau would regroup, only to find their new position overrun. An ancient evil descended from the skies, a daemon known as Be’Lakor. Bellowing a challenge, he charged straight into the nearest Riptide, one of the Enclaves’ greatest warriors. The mighty battle suit turned to face the new threat, but his tracking systems were ineffective, the movements of the mighty daemon too quick to pin down. The poor Tau never stood a chance. As he finally locked on to his foe, the daemon prince thrust his weapon right through the chest of the riptide suit, impaling the commander in his cockpit, and destroying the internal safeguards over the suit’s nova reactor. Be’Lakor turned and walked away from his foe, never flinching as the suit went supercritical, exploding with the force of a miniature sun.
The Tau were desperate, and made one final push to break the chaos line. The Corsair’s wraith knight decided it was time to make it’s presence known, unleashing its mighty sun cannon upon the advancing tau. Many were vaporized in an instant, the rest dissuaded enough to initiate a tactical withdrawal. Lord Karadex’s forces had bought him just enough time, as the clouds suddenly began to swirl above the unholy symbols drawn in blood in the Ketuusen sand. the ground began to shift, and the heavens opened up as the air was filled with deafening shrieks and blinding flashes of light. With a crack louder than any thunder, the ground fell away, replaced by a swirling vortex of blues and greens. The sheer beauty of the portal was deceiving, as the creatures spewed forth were anything but. Large bird like daemons came flying out of the portal, followed by the servants of Nurgle clambering out into real space. Chaos was here, and ready to make its presence known.
Defeated, Farsight began to withdraw his forces, attempting to escape the evil that began to appear before them. The daemons had other plans. Led by the mighty Oracle of Tzeentch, Kairos Fateweaver, the daemons flew forth, using their powerful magics to lay low any before them. The skies filled with streaks of cerulean flame, spewing forth and immolating the poor Tau as they attempted to retreat. The Tau were fast, but nothing could hope to escape the wrath of hell that pursued them. The daemons intended to prove their superiority, and cut the Tau down to a man, leaving only the commanding officer of the Enclaves’ ground force standing. With a nod of one of Kairos’s heads, the Daemons took hold of the Tau leader, his screams never stopping until he and his captors disappeared into the swirling mass of blues and greens.
The withdrawal was sounded across the Tau ground forces. The forces fighting the outer perimeter of Tyranids had reached a bloody stalemate, both sides left battered and bloody. The tau began their retreat, but the Tyranids were not making it easy. Massive casualties were inflicted, including all three of the force’s riptide battle suits. The remaining Tau were being harassed relentlessly by an unending tide of gants. The drop ships arrived and the survivors jumped into the holds with little time to spare. The Tau had taken grievous casualties, and returned to orbit to regroup and plan their next move.
The Silver Skulls were not without casualties themselves. The fighting had been thick, and not a single crack had been found in the tyranid battle line. there were but few of his men still able to fight, and the Tyranids showed no signs of letting up. Tyrus still believed there was a chance at victory, until a mighty Tyrant took flight, heading straight for the massive titan. As the creature closed, the knight activated its chainsword, attempting to swat the Tyranid from the sky. The Tyrant was too quick, dodging and weaving around the titan’s furious assault, all the while trying to find a chink in the knight’s armor. It was at that moment that the Tyrant shoved an arm beneath the titan’s carapace, unleashing a fusillade of fire from its devourer symbiote. This triggered a chain reaction from within the knight, resulting in an apocalyptic explosion. It was then that Tyrus knew the battle was lost. Just as the thought crossed his mind, he watched the xenos begin to withdraw from the field, as a storm began to roll out from behind them. Tyrus watched as the tyranids disappeared from sight beneath the eldritch cloud cover. The captain was suddenly filled with disgust, as a familiar sense creeped over him - Chaos. Tyrus ordered his remaining men to gather the dead and wounded, and return to the drop zone. The time would come to exact revenge, but Tyrus was smart enough to know that today was not that day.
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