“Be brave, Childe of Middenteer, you have earned this death.”

Lord Endymion of the Wings of Excess

“I’z gonna send da boyz to fetch ya right quick, Boss! We gotz da humies leggin’ it!”

Kommando Shaddakrump to Warboss Krok-Brin

CONTENTS

HISTORY OF THE TIBERIAN SYSTEM

THE NARRATIVE CAMPAIGN

THE BATTLEGROUP ASSEMBLES

CHAOS EMERGES

THE FIRST BLOWS

TO TRAP A WOLF

THE ALARM IS RAISED

A DEAL WITH XENOS

RELICS OF THE HERMIT

BESIEGED

CORFELLEON’S GLORY

THE TURNING TIDE

XENOS TREACHERY

THE LAST GARRISON

INTO THE TEETH OF SLAANESH

TRIUMVIRATE

THE GRAND ASSAULT

WAAAGH UNLEASHED

EPILOGUE – THE EVERSTURM GROWS

HISTORY OF THE TIBERIAN SYSTEM

M30 – The human inhabitants of the Tiberian system reunite with the Imperium of Man. A nearby uninhabited cluster of star systems becomes the focus of intense settlement by the Imperium under the direction of Lord Castellan Constantine. The star system to the galactic east of Tiberia, system V23.4FP, is not selected for settlement as the sole habitable planet is covered by desert and lacks substantial water supplies.

M31 – The Tiberian system and Constantine Cluster remain loyal to the Emperor during the Horus Heresy. While spared any direct conflict, millions depart the Constantine Cluster to bolster the ranks of the Imperial Army on distant battlefields across the galaxy.

M32 – The location of the Tiberian system, adjacent to the local Constantine Cluster but at some distance from the populace Lux system or manufacturing hub of the Pandar Cluster, make it somewhat of a backwater. The Ag World of Tiberia Minor is the most valuable resource in the system as it can easily produce enough food to fulfil its Imperial Tithe and any local needs. The ruling class of Tiberia Major resort to mercantilism to increase their wealth. They begin to sell excess agricultural produce to the nearest star systems.

M33 – The Tiberian system develops a prosperous mercantile class and dominates trade between the local star systems. Tiberia Major grows wealthy.

M33.781 – A warp anomaly appears in the skies of the Constantine Cluster and is named locally as the Shade. The warp anomaly bathes the nearest system, Constantine Epsilon, in an ever-growing purple haze.

M33.782 – The Shade churns with sickly energy and briefly turns a deep red in the skies above the Constantine Cluster. Constantine Epsilon is assailed by legions of daemons. The planetary defence forces call for aid from the Imperium of Man.

M33.783 – Aid arrives from the Imperium in the form of the White Consuls. Under the leadership of these Adeptus Astartes, the combined planetary defence forces of the Constantine Cluster launch a successful counterattack on Epsilon. The counter-offensive comes too late for the inhabitants of Constantine Epsilon. The planet has been scoured of all life.

M33.784 – The White Consuls depart following their re-organisation of the Constantine Cluster defence forces. The planetary defence forces are instructed to immediately aid one another in any future conflicts. Constantine Epsilon is renamed Shadewatch and each planet’s defence force contributes to the permanent garrison of the now lifeless world.

M35 – A lone Ork Rok crashes onto the surface of Constantine Delta. Planetary defence forces from across the Constantine Cluster rush to the aid of Delta and defeat the Ork incursion. The surviving Orks flee into the Salatian mountains and are hunted to extinction.

M36 – Feral Orks emerge from the Salatian mountains of Constantine Delta. The Constantine Delta planetary defence force contains the threat.

M37-38 – Feral Ork raids become ever larger and more sophisticated. The Constantine Delta defence forces do not call for aid from the wider cluster, believing incorrectly that they can continue to manage the Ork infestation.

M38 – Ecclesiastical ships arrive into the Tiberian system unexpectedly and without explanation. Ornate ships make planetfall in the vast mountain ranges of Tiberia Minor and establish a monastery dedicated to the hermit saint Agatha. Great secrecy surrounds the self-sustaining monastery and the enclosed order who maintain it. The inhabitants of the Tiberian system, whether high-born or lowly, are forbidden to enter the mountains or make any contact with the monastery.

M38.556 – An Ork by the name of Olaf emerges and imposes a pseudo-feudal system on the Nobs and Boys of the Salatian mountains. Olaf declares himself King and musters a great waaagh-host.

M38.557 – The Constantine Delta planetary defence force suffers a dramatic defeat to King Olaf. Constantine Delta’s governor simultaneously calls for aid and flees the planet with a large portion of the surviving defence forces. The ensuing chaos hastens the conquest of the planet by King Olaf and delivers void-capable spacecraft to the Orks.

M38.558 – King Olaf and his rapidly expanding waaagh-host depart Constantine Delta. Imperial forces call for aid from outside the Constantine Cluster.

Tiberian merchants cease trade with the Constantine Cluster for fear of attracting Orks to their home system. Expeditionary vessels travel to the galactic east of Tiberia in search of minerals on the desert world of V23.4FP or the dwarf planet, known as the Rock, in the hope that lost revenues from the Constantine Cluster might be replaced.

M38.559 – Several exploratory teams are reported missing on the surface of V23.4FP. The remaining teams withdraw from the surface following the mysterious disappearances. The planet becomes known locally as “Malice”. Nothing of value is discovered on the Rock. The Tiberian expeditions are called to a halt.

M38.559-649 – No aid arrives to the Constantine Cluster from the Imperium of Man. The worlds fight a desperate defence against ever increasing waves of Orks. Each world falls to the waaagh-host over the course of nearly one hundred bloody years. Constantine Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta and the Shadewatch systems are all conquered by King Olaf and his feudal Ork Lords.

M38.650 – King Olaf and his Ork Lords gather in the Salatian Mountains of Constantine Delta. Olaf declares himself the Great King and seats himself upon a throne. With the closest star systems conquered, there is much disagreement about the future direction of the waaagh amongst the Ork Lords. Several Lords believe a croosade should be launched into the void while others believe that the warp anomaly adjacent to the Shadewatch system should be searched for a good fight.

After much argument, Great King Olaf declares that a croosade shall be launched towards the Tiberian system. Olaf is greatly disturbed by the purple haze of the warp anomaly, declaring that it is un-natural for purple to be seen. There is much argument amongst the Ork Lords, primarily on whether purple can be seen or not. The Great King ends the debate with a swift display of brutality and cunning. Olaf tears the head from his loudest critic to silence the mob before ordering that his throne be painted purple. All agree to launch a croosade upon witnessing the throne’s disappearance under a coat of purple paint.

M38.653 – Olaf departs the Great Ork Kingdum. The croosade waaagh-host travels towards the Tiberian system. The Ork fleet encounters a mysterious vessel en route and a great disaster befalls the King’s flagship. The ship is infiltrated by unknown forces and the bridge is attacked. In the ensuing battle, the hull is breached and the occupants of the bridge are vented into space. The illustrious reign of Great King Olaf comes to an end.

Now leaderless, the croosade descends into chaos as each Ork Lord declares themselves King. Elements of the waaagh-host attack their former allies while others race home in the belief that the first to sit upon the purple throne will be accepted as the Great King. Consternation reigns as the purple throne cannot be located.

M38-M41 – The Great Ork Kingdum is consumed by civil war. A multitude of Kings rise and fall but none can overcome their combined enemies or locate the purple throne. The Ork expansion stalls.

M41.880 – A Tiberian merchant vessel encounters an unknown xenos space craft on a routine voyage towards the Lux system. The xenos identify themselves as T’au. Despite the risks involved, the ruling class of Tiberia Major decide to establish trading links with the xenos race. The T’au construct an outpost on the Rock, known as Ra’Visha to the xenos, in order to facilitate this trade.

M41.992 – A tendril of Hive Fleet Kraken appears to the galactic north of the Tiberian system and launches an assault on the Great Ork Kingdum. The Ork Kings put aside their differences and unite in the defence of their realm. The never-ending waaagh commences.

M41.999 – The Cicatrix Maledictum tears across the galaxy. The Tiberian system is surrounded by warp storms but not consumed. The Great Ork Kingdum is split in two by what comes to be known as the Eversturm by Tiberian merchants. The Malice system is completely engulfed in the raging Immaterium. Dozens of Tiberian trading ships are lost in the warp storms and the Ork-infested system formerly known as Constantine Gamma is beset by daemon hordes and purged of all Ork life.

After several month of isolation, the warp storms abate slightly around the pocket of real space surrounding the Tiberian system. Two corridors of safe passage through the Eversturm appear to the galactic south of the Tiberian system. A third route to the galactic east and two further corridors to the galactic northwest appear as the storms recede. The backwater Tiberian system now sits at a crossroads in the Cicatrix Maledictum.

M42.001 – Long-established warp routes across the Cicatrix Maledictum from the Lux system or the Imperial manufacturing hub of the Pandar cluster become too dangerous to access. Imperial Navy convoys begin to escort cargo ships along the stable real space routes surrounding the Tiberian system before making warp jumps to their final destinations on the far side.

Greatly disturbed by the clearly visible purple haze of the Eversturm, Ork forces from the galactic south of the Great Ork Kingdum are forced to travel towards the Tiberian system and then navigate through the corridors of real space to join the never-ending waaagh. The new direction of these Ork attacks on Hive Fleet Kraken begins to draw the Hive Mind’s attention to the galactic south.

To the east of the Tiberian system, strange craft are sighted fleeing the Malice system. The void craft disappear from Imperial augers.

Inquisitor Lorgan Falcone despatches agents to the Tiberian system to investigate the bubble of reality that has formed around the twin planets. The Ordo Malleus agents report that the monastic settlement on Tiberia Minor has played some role in holding back the warp storms. Whether it is the hermits themselves, or the relics of Saint Agatha, they cannot tell. Equally, the Inquisitor’s agents cannot be sure how long the system will remain untainted or for how long the routes through the Cicatrix Maledictum will remain open.

Falcone calls for an Imperial battlegroup to be assembled in the Tiberian system with great haste. Ever the optimist, Inquisitor Falcone sees an opportunity to roll back the warp storms and widen the split in the Great Rift if the power of the hermitage can be understood and wielded.

THE NARRATIVE CAMPAIGN

THE BATTLEGROUP ASSEMBLES

The Imperial battlegroup begins to assemble in the Tiberian system with the arrival of the 2nd Mond’argent Mixed Brigade, an Imperial Guard regiment hailing from a planet known for its ostentatious military parades and led by Commander Louis le Six Doigts. Without Inquisitor Falcone in the system, it is unclear who the leadership of the battlegroup should fall to. Louis first declares his intent to lead the battlegroup, but after having a short and heated discussion with his panicking advisors he decides the best option is to hold it out and wait for further reinforcements before making any “regretful, no good decisions”. Those reinforcements soon arrive in the form of an Imperial Knight, Duke Imra Swan of Amroth. The Questor Imperialis arrives alongside his feudal Imperial Guard regiment, the Middenteer 1077th “Flowers of Youth”, and the Death Korps of Krieg 23rd Armoured Regiment.

A blood red Astartes vessel, Sanguinius’ Honour, appears to the galactic north-east of the Tiberian system and an imposing voice crackles across the intersteller vox static. “On wings of fury… for Baal, brothers”. Lord Darius of the Legio Exsanguinor, a mysterious offshoot of the Blood Angels Chapter, hails the assembling battlegroup and declares himself commander of all Imperial forces in the theatre. This declaration prompts deep concern from the Imperial Guard officer class.

The warpstorms of the Greak Ork Kingdum flicker and pulse. Tiny spots of red briefly appear across the vast purple convulsions. Krok-Brin and his Mekanised Brigade appear from the warpstorm in the Southern Great Ork Kingdum. Countless Ork Kroozers, Terror Ships and Basha’s are heading east. After ramming and boarding a stray Savage Gunship, Krok-Brin discovers that the pseudo-feudal Orks are travelling through tunnels in the warpstorm to reach what they call a “never-ending Waagh” against ‘Nidz on the far side. Krok-Brin is furious at the news that Great King Olaf has been krumped by someone else.

Lord Darius’ attempt to seize command of the battlegroup causes great concern amongst the Imperial Guard officers. The advisors of Louis Le Six Doigts voice their alarm at the declaration of the supposed Astartes, as his actions contradict the structures imposed by the Senatorum Imperialis. The Krieg forces agree, while Grand Officer Egalmoth of Middenteer strongly support Le Six Doigts’ command of the battlegroup. Egalmoth strikes a defiant pose following his Duke’s statement that “we know not who these warriors from the Nihilus are, what fools we would be to simply accept the word of an unrecognised force from that dark realm”.

While the coterie of Mond’argent advisors agree that the source of the Astartes is not to be overlooked and these suspicions are too rooted in their minds, the Mond’argent officers are more concerned about ensuring the battlegroup’s plans align directly with the Emperor’s Will. After lengthy debate, Battlegroup Commander Louis’ concerns are voiced directly to Lord Darius, and he demands a more “up to code” hierarchical structure in line with the decrees of the High Lords of Terra.

In what seems like a dramatic reversal, Louis suddenly relinquishes control of the Imperial battlegroup to Colonel Lehmann of the Death Korps of Krieg 23rd Armoured Regiment. The reasons for this surrender of authority (and responsibility) are confusing. Louis declares that “the regiment most cut out for defensive combat would be most suited to lead the battlegroup to seize the area and fortify it against those that would dare bring harm to a holy site which may hold untold value to the Imperium”. This statement is made despite the fact that the Krieg Armoured Regiment’s main experience is in offensive operations.

The lack of leadership and general confusion within the Imperial battlegroup leads to heightened tensions, not least between the Middenteer and Mond’argent contingents. This internal bickering comes to an abrupt end as the Krieg Colonel issues orders.

Colonel Lehmann’s orders are acted upon swiftly, if not with some doubt, by the gathering Imperial battlegroup. A small detachment of Krieg enter the warpstorm known as “Vesta’s Folly”, while the entire Mond’argent contingent plunges into the Eversturm to the beat of the regiment’s band. The Middenteer force approaches the Eversturm cautiously by a somewhat circuitous route. After a confusing start, and still with no sign of Inquisitor Falcone, the disagreement and petty bickering within the Imperial Battlegroup is set aside for the moment.

CHAOS EMERGES

A disorganised armada of Chaos vessels bursts from the warpstorm known as “The Shade”. A small portion of the fleet splits off and follows the Krieg detachment into Vesta’s Folly, while the vast majority of the ships make directly for the Tiberian system. The armada has no one leader but is instead a collection of renegades, cultists and traitors, all cooperating for now while their is a single enemy to face. Simultaneously, a small detachment of Chaos ships suddenly appear from the Eversturm and launch a surprise attack on the manoeuvring Middenteer fleet. The Chaos raiders launch boarding torpedoes, dreadclaws and attack craft before the Imperial Navy fleet can respond.

Disaster befalls the Middenteer fleet. Crewed by a warband of Word Bearers, the Heirs of Perdition, the attack craft and boarding torpedoes capture a Lunar class cruiser and several escorts before turning the Imperial Navy vessels against their former masters. Almost the entire Imperial Navy formation is destroyed in the ensuing battle. A single cruiser, the Light Eternal, and the Middenteer transport ships manage to escape the debacle and make for the relative safety of Tiberia Major. The Heirs of Perdition disappear into the Eversturm once more.

The Imperial battlegroup loses contact with the Krieg detachment in Vesta’s Folly and the entire Mond’argent Regiment in the Eversturm. This fact, along with the recent loss of several Imperial Navy ships and the sudden appearance of a Chaos armada, spurs Commissar Dudek of the 23rd Krieg Armoured into action. The commissar strips Colonel Lehmann of the battlegroup’s command and urgently contacts the Middenteer forces on the surface of Tiberia Major. Dudek declares that command of the battlegroup cannot be entrusted to “Krieg nor Mond’argent”.

More Chaos-aligned ships appear to the galactic northeast of the Tiberian system. Alpha Legionnaires of the Abyssal Phantoms warband and their renegade forces, self-styled as the Iron Army, move to blockade the Tiberian system and intercept all convoys en route from the Pandar cluster.

Grand Officer Egalmoth takes control of the Imperial Battlegroup and begins to organise the defence of the Tiberian system. The battlegroup command structure is reshaped to follow the Middentirian text “Historiae Martialis Middentiria – Organisation of a Grand Force for the successful prosecution of wars of Honour”. The newly named Battlegroup Tiberius adopts the “round table” command structure prescribed in the Historiae. Each seat at the round table is filled by one of the Imperial officers or agents present in the system. Egalmoth declares himself “Earl Marshall”. Colonel Lehmann is appointed to the role of “Ancient” and ordered to defend the monastery of Saint Agatha on Tiberia Minor. Lord Darius of the Legio Exsanguinor graciously accepts the role of “Questor in the first” from the Middenteer commander. Darius positions his Astartes forces above each of the twin planets, ready to strike at a moments notice. Inquisitor Falcone’s agent, known simple as “Phi”, accepts a seat at the round table in the Inquisitor’s absence.

Although recently stripped of the battlegroup’s command by Commissar Dudek, the Krieg colonel accepts his new orders without question and begins the process of fortifying the mountain passes leading to the holy site of Saint Agatha’s monastery. The Krieg also break ground to the north of the Spineback mountains, constructing a vast landing strip for interstellar transports.

High Men of Middenteer parade along the grimy streets of Newport Hive in an attempt to whip up patriotic fervour and raise militias to defend the planet from the approaching Chaos armada. The inhabitants of the vast hive, mainly hardened dock workers and merchant naval crews, are thoroughly unimpressed by the lofty words and shining armour of the feudal High Men of Middenteer. Most dismiss the High Men’s alarmist cries about an impending invasion. Tiberians are no strangers to what they believe are “just raiders”.

Middenteer forces seize control of the vast spaceport on Tiberia Major and ground two merchant cruisers that are docked in the “Harbour” on the planet’s surface. The commanders of both ships are summoned by the Middenteer high command and ordered to remain on the ground. They reluctantly agree, also believing that the recent increase in raids is nothing unusual.

Thousands of dock workers are press-ganged into the service of the Imperial Guard Labour Corps as Earl Marshall Egalmoth orders the fortification of the dockyards of Newport and the Harbour. Discontent grows amongst both the working classes and merchant families of Tiberia Major. Unknown to Imperial forces, word of the spaceport’s seizure is transmitted off planet to several passing Tiberian merchant convoys.

Earl Marshall Egalmoth makes contact with the disciples of the Machine God on Pandar and calls for their aid. Egalmoth impresses upon them the mutual need to hold the Tiberian system as a staging point for the battlegroup and as a secure shipping lane for resources flowing to and from the manufactoria of Pandar. The Techmagi agree to the Earl Marshall’s request and despatch Macroclade 2-3-1-9 to the Tiberian system aboard a small flotilla.

The Chaotic forces surrounding the Tiberian system grow with every day. Ironclad vessels of the Steel Brethren warband appear to the galactic south while a glorious fleet of the 3rd Legion bursts forth from the Shade and makes full speed towards Tiberia. Merchant convoys and isolated Imperial Navy ships fall prey to marauding Chaos vessels and the vanguard ships of the Chaos armada. The corridors of real space surrounding the Tiberian system become virtually impassable to all but the best armed Imperial convoys.

Earl Marshall Egalmoth orders a message to be sent into the Eversturm. The Mond’argent are urgently recalled to Tiberia Major. A confusing response is received from the heart of the warpstorm, raising suspicion with Inquisitor Falcone’s agent, Phi. Unknown to the Imperial forces, Phi transmits his concerns to the Ordo Malleus.

THE FIRST BLOWS

The bloated and disorganised Chaos armada approaches the Tiberian system, each warlord assessing the strength of Imperial opposition in the sector and selecting their victims. Legion Master Januri Kharoghast, ‘The Last Luna Wolf’, fixes his gaze upon Tiberia Major as his Wolves of Horus fleet descends upon the system with a disciplined and deliberate attack run. Several ships in the Imperial Navy cordon are boarded and captured by the Wolves as they approach the planet with overwhelming force. While the Imperial Navy cordon does not slow the Wolves advance, it does raise the alarm and give Admiral Heronimus Corfelleon a brief window to act. The Admiral seizes this chance and orders all available ships, both Navy and Astartes, to make with haste to Tiberia Major. Astropaths aboard the Imperial flagship, Sacrament Unyielding, transmit messages to the approaching Mechanicus forces of Macroclade 2-3-1-9 to make haste and join the coming attack. Corfelleon aims to trap the large Chaos fleet against the planet and deliver a devastating blow.

Lord Darius of the Legio Exsanguinor immediately despatches a portion of his flotilla to aid the Imperial Navy. The Astartes commander holds back a small contingent to remain above Tiberia Minor. Furious blood may flow through his veins, but Darius is no reckless fool. He would not be ordered by any naval officer to charge headlong into a single decisive battle when so many enemies approached the system.

The Mond’argent emerge from the warpstorm and make for Tiberia Major at full throttle. Ship after ship pushes into reality, trailing wisps of the Immaterium from the buttresses and spires of their ornate hulls. Almost three quarters of the fleet slides into real space before it becomes clear that something is not right. The fleet’s rearguard is bathed in warp fire, hulls twisted and pock marked with a thousand puncture wounds. The ships have been boarded and captured by the neverborn creatures of the warp. A frantic chase commences as the Mond’argent fleet is pursued towards Tiberia Major by daemon-possessed ships.

Meanwhile, to the north of the Tiberian system, the Imperial Navy vessels which sailed into Vesta’s Folly reappear and drift gently through the void. The ships’ Gellar fields are intact but the vessels are eerily quiet and the Krieg forces aboard do not respond to any communiques.

Thick yellow clouds begin to gather over the Spineback Mountains to the west of Saint Agatha’s monastery on Tiberia Minor. The sky is illuminated as sickly green flashes of sheet lightning bathe the mountain sides and valleys. A warp portal bursts open to the moans of the undead as Galgnar the Gallowthief and a small retinue of plague marines step from the forge-marshes of An Clíabháin onto the rocky surface of Tiberia Minor. Hordes of zombies spill through the portal as the plague sorcerer chuckles in delight.

Lord Darius’ decision to remain above Tiberia Minor is justified. Recognising the disturbing signs of a warp rift, Lord Darius immediately makes planetfall with a small group of Astartes. Thunderhawks race to the Spineback mountains to locate the source of the warp activity. Deep in the mountain valleys, the Astartes discover a growing host of undead.

Multiple Alpha Legion ships of the Abyssal Phantoms warband appear suddenly and enter the orbit of Tiberia Minor. Whether it is cloaking devices, a trick of the warp or some other more nefarious means, the Imperial Navy and Astartes ships above the planet are taken completely by surprise. Several ships are boarded and captured by the Phantoms before the Imperial vessels can make their escape in the face of overwhelming odds. A single grime streaked carrier in the Phantom fleet despatches a handful of drop pods to the planet below.

Lord Darius and his Legio Exsanguinor battle brothers launch a rapid assault on Galgnar and his zombie host. The sudden appearance of the Legio Exsanguinor does not appear to surprise the plague sorcerer. The Abyssal Phantom’s plan is revealed when Chaos drop pods packed with possessed Space Marines crash onto the mountain sides as Darius’ attack strikes home. Drawing the Legio Exsanguinor onto the planet with the appearance of a warp portal, the Phantoms simultaneously weakened the orbiting fleet’s defences and laid a trap for Lord Darius.

The Legio Exsanguinor carry through their attack on the source of the warp portal despite the appearance of Chaos reinforcements. Darius’ brutal assault succeeds in cleaving a path through the zombie horde and coming face to face with the plague sorcerer. The Astartes commander manages to land a single blow on the foul heretic before the undead form a wall of flesh between Darius and Galgnar. Overwhelmed by the wave of clawing hands, Darius is pulled from the crush by Company Ancient Jarvan and Apothecary Gragas before the remaining Astartes fight their way clear and make for the mountain passes to the monastery. The force and speed of the Legio Exsanguinor assault succeeds in closing the warp portal but Galgnar and his retinue escape into the Spineback mountains.

Macroclade 2-3-1-9 arrive at the edge of the Eversturm and race to join forces with Admiral Corfelleon. The Mechanicus ships begin their transit of the north-eastern real space corridor but, unbeknownst to them, Abyssal Phantom and Iron Army ships lurk in the shadow of the warpstorm. The Chaos vessels burst forward and close rapidly with the servants of the Machine God, intent on maintaining a blockade of the system from the north. Rather than scatter and flee before the surprise attack, the Mechanicus flotilla comes about swiftly and closes with their would-be attackers. A series of close range boarding actions commence as Macroclade and Chaotic forces board and counter-board each other’s vessels. Commanders soon lose track of who holds which ship as false communications from the Abyssal Phantoms and mimicking call signs from the Skitarii leave both fleets entangled and unsure of who is friend or foe.

TO TRAP A WOLF

The combined Imperial Navy and Space Marine fleet gathers and forms battle lines as it approaches Tiberia Major. With the Mechanicus flotilla failing to break through, the Wolves of Horus fleet now vastly outnumbers the assembled Imperial fleet. Despite this, Admiral Heronimus Corfelleon feels compelled to drive home his daring attack. The Admiral chains himself to the deck of the Sacrament Unyielding and orders all-ahead-full.

Legion Master Januri Kharoghast and the Wolves of Horus are taken aback at the appearance of Imperial ships. Their surprise is compounded by the fact that the impudent Loyalists dare attack with barely half of the Wolves’ number. With a snarl, the last Luna Wolf orders his ships into battle. The Chaos fleet’s transport ships abort their imminent planetfall and begin to power out of Tiberia Major’s orbit.

The glowing orb of Tiberia Major’s sun creeps over the planet’s horizon, casting baroque shadows along the hulls of both Chaos and Imperial ships alike. Hundreds upon hundreds of bombers and attack craft swarm from the bellies of the Imperial fleet as they close the distance rapidly, aided by the pull of the planet below. Torpedoes the size of hive towers slide straight and true as the opening salvoes from macro cannons thump into the void. Corfelleon knows it is not enough without his Macroclade reinforcements, and yet, it is all he has. The Admiral’s voice booms across the bridge, goading his men into the fight. These Chaos dogs would know his ship’s name, even in death.

The Wolves of Horus’ ships power forward to meet the Imperial attack head on. They had seen it all before. Bomber waves, torpedoes and then a final close range bombardment from the Imperials. “Let them come”, Kharoghast thinks, “let them dash their ships against me with their foolish attack”. Defensive turrets crackle and boom into life as the first Imperial bombers reach their targets. Wave after wave swarm forward, their numbers growing by the minute. Too many, far too many for the Imperial fleet arrayed in front of the Wolves. Something in the depths of Kharoghast’s mind blares a warning.

The crew of the Sacrament Unyielding leave up a cry. Thousands of attack craft shimmer into view and join Corfelleon’s bomber wave, the blinding yellow blaze of Tiberia Major’s sun at their back. The Mond’argent fleet swings over the horizon, it’s rearguard free of the chasing daemon ships. Alerted to the possible presence of neverborn by Inquisitor Falcone’s agents, Castellan Crowe and a small contingent of Grey Knights entered the Tiberian system, boarded and disabled the daemon ships, allowing the main bulk of the Mond’argent fleet to join Corfelleon’s attack.

The Wolves of Horus fleet is dealt a series of crippling blows by the Imperial bombers and is forced to flee. While not a single cruiser escapes unscathed, no capital ships are destroyed or captured in their hurried escape. Ships of the Legio Exsanguinor attempt to catch and destroy the escaping Chaos transports as they struggle out of orbit. While the majority of the transport ships make an escape, several are destroyed or captured by the Astartes forces. Legion Master Januri Kharoghast curses the enemy Admiral and swears a dark oath that he will scour the Loyalist to the bone before placing his head upon a spike.

The wreckage of the space battle spreads from the Tiberian system and begins to settle into a wide orbit of the twin planets. On Tiberia Major, a section of the space port has been levelled after several stray Imperial torpedoes struck part of the Harbour. Despite this, Earl Marshall Egalmoth sends his congratulations to Admiral Heronimus Corfelleon, hailing a great victory for Battlegroup Tiberius and declaring the Admiral a hero.

THE ALARM IS RAISED

Reports of increased raiding around the Lux system draws a Space Marine Gladius frigate from the Sons of Xion chapter to the galactic south of the Eversturm. Upon hearing the distress call of a mass conveyor travelling towards the Tiberian system, the mysterious Space Marine vessel responds swiftly and discover the Imperial ship under assault by an Emperor’s Children warband. Terminator assault squads launch a powerful assault on the lead traitor vessel, Delicate Ecstasy, before the Slaaneshi worshippers attempt to scuttle the ship. The Sons of Xion desperately try to reach the reactor chamber before the engines melt-down but the Astartes are hampered by throngs of captured Imperial citizens fleeing the growing radiation leak. Despite cleaving a bloody path through the masses, the Sons of Xion fail to reach the reactors and are forced to abandon the ship and the surviving citizens to their faith. Vox chatter from the nearby Tiberian system floods the comms relay of the Astartes strike cruiser on their return. Reports of Heretic Astartes in great numbers deeply concerns the Sons of Xion. The Astartes depart with the intent of raising the alarm in the wider sector and gathering as many reinforcements as possible.

Inquisitor Falcone travels to the archive world of Tauron Seculon in search of the origins of Saint Agatha. The Inquisitor learns that Agatha and a small group of her followers survived a daemonic-xenos incursion on the obscure planet of Destrius when all other life perished. The group’s survival was declared a miracle by the Ecclesiarchy several years later and attributed to Agatha’s worship of the Emperor as an agent of order. Falcone becomes certain that the Saint’s relics are holding back the daemonic realm and preventing the Cicatrix Maledictum from consuming the Tiberian system.

Lord Darius and the surviving Legio Exsanguinor on Tiberia Minor arrive at the Imperial Guard defence lines in the Spineback mountains. Colonel Lehmann and his Death Korps of Krieg officers have not entered the monastery of Saint Agatha, instead they have focused solely on fortifying the mountain passes. Company Ancient Jarvan convinces Lord Darius to make for the monastery and pay his respects at the tomb of the Saint before all else. Well known amongst the Legio Exsanguinor for his piety and devotion to the Emperor, Jarvan leads the entourage of Astartes to the holy plateau in the depths of the mountains. The Astartes are halted at the edge of the monastic farmlands by members of a lay community known as the Grange Wardens. The Wardens are stunned at the appearance of the Emperor’s Angels but, none-the-less, they refuse to let the towering warriors pass. The hermit monks live a secluded existence within the monastery, even from one another, and so it is forbidden for any to enter the monastery’s walls or to contact the hermits directly. Although crestfallen, Company Ancient Jarvan respectfully turns away from the monastic settlement alongside Lord Darius and his Astartes companions.

Imperial reinforcements begin to arrive. A group of Blood Angels from the Chapter’s second company and an Imperial Knight, known collectively as Sanguinius’ Shield, arrive to the north of the Eversturm. Led by Librarian Dreadnought Marzio Farelli, the newly arrived Blood Angels travel directly towards the ongoing naval blockade of the Pandar supply routes. A small group of Mond’argent reinforcements under Captain Main D’arcier accompany the Blood Angels. With the main Mond’argent force awaiting deployment on the surface of Tiberia Major, D’arcier is ordered to assist in the ship-to-ship fighting of the Pandar blockade.

The southern approaches to the Tiberian system are partially closed off by ships of the Steel Brethren warband. A group of Black Templars from Sigismund’s Grace approach the partial blockade and transmit long range comms to the Imperial battlegroup command on Tiberia Major. The Templars are responding to the alarm calls raised by their former allies in the An Clíabháin Wars, the Sons of Xion.

A DEAL WITH XENOS

Two Aeldari fleets appear to the northeast of Vesta’s Folly. One group of ships remains silent. The other vessels, dark red and sleek in design, hail Imperial forces, identify themselves as the Crimson Brotherhood and request a parley. The Imperial command agrees and cautiously accepts the Aeldari Corsair’s offer of assistance against the forces of Chaos.

Inquisitor Falcone receives reports of the vast Chaos armada baring down on the twin planets of the Tiberian system. Falcone halts his search for further knowledge of Saint Agatha’s life to request aid from the Captain-General of the Adeptus Custodes. The Inquisitor has discovered enough evidence to be almost certain that the Saint’s relics possess the power to actively roll back the warpstorms. This fact, alongside the scale and speed of the Chaos attack, pushes Falcone to request aid from the Emperor’s own guardians.

The Pandar blockade continues at the north-eastern edge of the Tiberian system. Imperial, Mechanicus and Chaotic ships are entangled in a running series of boarding actions and counter-boarding actions. Adding to the confused nature of the fighting, a daemon infested ship appears from the warp and is repelled by Macroclade 2-3-1-9 after fierce fighting. Aeldari ships and the newly arrived Blood Angels of Sanguinius’ Shield attempt to break the blockade but are turned back after the Iron Army release hordes of Plague Ogryns into the tight confines of the ships’ corridors and decks. The Mond’argent contingent suffer heavy losses in the close quarters fighting. Captain Main D’arcier is forced to take drastic action, ordering that sections of his Cruiser, Castellan, be decompressed and vented into space to prevent it’s capture.

The Emperor’s Children warband, the Wings of Excess, make with speed towards the Tiberian system. Chaos Lord Endymion intends to make a display of his martial supremacy on the twin planets in the coming surface war. Endymion declares to his coterie that the 3^rd Legion will be the first to set foot on the surface of each planet, the first to take the life of a worthy enemy and the first to bring the simultaneous fear and love of perfection to their enemy’s hearts.

The Inquisitorial agent, Phi, contacts Inquisitor Falcone and shares his concerns about a possible taint of Chaos within the Mond’argent Mixed Regiment. The regiment’s journey into the warpstorm and multiple daemon attacks may have sullied the Astra Militarum force. The Inquisitor orders from afar that entire regiment, with the exception of Captain Main D’arcier’s contingent, be quarantined on the tundra flats of Tiberia Major until a thorough examination can be completed by the Ordo Malleus. Louis le Six Doigts obeys the order without hesitation and awaits the arrival of the Ordo. With more pressing matters at hand, though, Falcone despatches Phi to the monastery of Saint Agatha immediately. The Inquisitor’s theory that the Saint’s relics may calm the warpstorm will need to be put to the test as soon as possible.

RELICS OF THE HERMIT

Lord Darius reviews the mountain defences constructed by the Krieg 23^rd Armoured Regiment on Tiberia Minor. While the defences appear sufficient, Darius provides several recommendations to the experienced Colonel Lehmann. Restless for action and cut off from the main bulk of his forces by the Abyssal Phantom’s fleet above the planet, Darius determines to leave the mountain fastness and search for the plague sorcerer who escaped his blade and disappeared into the mountain ranges.

Fresh from his victory above Tiberia Major, Admiral Corfelleon orders all available Imperial Navy vessels to converge on Tiberia Minor. The Admiral aims to repeat his recent success over the Wolves of Horus and drive the Abyssal Phantoms out of Tiberia Minor’s orbit. The Admiral is forced to abort his attack as his lead escorts make contact with the Abyssal Phantom ships. The Imperial Navy rear-guard sounds the alarm as the damaged Wolves of Horus cruisers reappear in the distant void and a substantial Emperor’s Children fleet closes rapidly from the galactic south. The Imperial Navy ships scatter and attempt to power away from the twin planets as Lord Endymion and the Wings of Excess enter Tiberia Major’s orbit. Several unidentified objects fall into the seas of Tiberia Minor as Imperial Navy escorts fight a series of skirmishes against the Abyssal Phantoms before making good their escape.

Despite the failed attack, the skirmishes over Tiberia Minor prevent the Abyssal Phantoms from making planetfall and allow Phi to slip through the Chaos blockade and descend towards the monastery of Saint Agatha aboard a fast-moving Tiberian system ship, the Lucky Cherub. The Inquisitorial agent’s arrival coincides with the imminent departure of Lord Darius, who calls off his hunt for the plague sorcerer upon hearing Inquisitor Falcone’s instructions. A relic of Saint Agatha is to be smuggled off-planet and flown into the warpstorm to the south of the Tiberian system.

Company Ancient Jarvan accompanies Phi as he travels to the holy plateau. Despite their protestations, the Grange Wardens are pushed aside as the delegation approaches the monastery gate house. Finding the doors unbarred, Phi and Jarvan enter the holy site and are met by a solitary monk at the entrance to a cloistered yard. The monk maintains a passive demeanour and total silence as Phi delivers the Inquisitor’s request and presents his seal. Without a word, the hermit monk nods his head in agreement. Tears stream quietly from the monk’s eyes as he turns away and moves into the shadows of the cloister. Thirty-seven years of deliberate personal solitude have been broken.

The Heirs of Perdition reappear from the Eversturm and descend upon Tiberia Minor. The orbiting Abyssal Phantoms turn a blind eye to their zealous cousins as vast cathedralled landing craft descend from the Word Bearers fleet and make planetfall on the Ag-lands of the planet. Slave gangs flood from the landing craft and begin to excavate vast canals across the agricultural landscape under the direction of their Chaos Space Marine masters. Raiding parties of cultists and their demagogue leaders hunt down the local populace and corral them at the centre of the rapidly expanding canal network.

Vesta’s Folly seethes with renewed energy. The warpstorm’s intensity grows before a flotilla of bizarre yet beautiful warp-constructs are birthed from the Immaterium. The warp-constructs appear as vast golden chariots to some and lavish, incense shrouded, palanquins to others. A host of Slaaneshi daemons pour from the warp and advance on the Tiberian system. Slaanesh, the Prince of Chaos, directs his attention to the warzone.

A ship appears to the south of the Eversturm. While the vessel appears to be Imperial in design, it’s class is unknown and it exhibits several advanced weapons and navigational systems. Captain-General Trajan Valoris of the Adeptus Custodes has answered Inquisitor Lorgan Falcone’s request. The Captain-General orders Lord Horatio Cocles and his Dread Host of Echoes to pause their search for the remains of a Black Legon warband that has fled the battle of Echovault. Instead, Cocles and his Shield-Company are to secure the holy site of Saint Agatha.

Despite the precarious position of the Krieg regiment on the surface of Tiberia Minor, Imperial command determines to put Inquisitor Falcone’s theory to the test. The Black Templars of Sigismund’s Grace launch a series of attacks on the Steel Brethren blockade and succeed in breaking the Heretic Astartes’ grip on the southwestern real space corridor through the Eversturm. The Templar’s success allows the Dread Host of Echoes to rapidly approach Tiberia Minor and launch an attack on the orbiting Abyssal Phantom and Heirs of Perdition fleets. The assault is swift and decisive. Lord Horatio Cocles and his Custodes destroy a Word Bearers Cruiser, Flayed Zealot, and several escorts before boarding and recapturing recently lost Imperial ships. The void combat gives Phi a chance to escape the surface of Tiberia Minor, a finger bone of Saint Agatha securely in his possession, and make for the southern Eversturm as the Custodes withdraw from their successful raid. Company Ancient Jarvan of the Legio Exsanguinor begins a vigil over the Saint’s crypt. He vows to remain in prayerful watch until Agatha’s body is made whole again.

BESIEGED

With the Imperial Navy, Astartes and Custodes’ focus elsewhere, Tiberia Major’s orbit lies unprotected. Januri Kharoghast and the Wolves of Horus return aboard their damaged ships and successfully make planetfall to the northwest of Newport Hive. Kharoghast receives an open vox message from the far side of the vast hive and starport. “Ah, the Wolves of Horus, the so-called ‘sons’ of the Warmaster. How does it feel to forever live in his shadow, always second best?” Lord Endymion of the Wings of Excess has already made planetfall and begun his advance on the eastern section of Tiberia Major’s spaceport, the Harbour.

High Men of Middenteer return to the streets of Newport Hive as the Wolves of Horus approach the outskirts of the city. Abandoned by the Imperial Navy, the Tiberian dock workers and merchant naval crews begin to doubt their belief that these are “just raiders”. The skies above the hive city swarm with landing craft of all shapes and sizes as the High Men press the citizenry into their service and begin to raise militias throughout the hab districts.

The forces of Chaos launch their attack on Newport Hive and the dockyards of Tiberia Major. The Tiberian militias, optimistically referred to as the Tiberian 1^st, experience their first taste of war as the Wolves of Horus call down an orbital bombardment on the hive city and launch a spear tip assault through the western districts of Newport Hive. While fighting their way through the hive’s sanitation works, several Wolves fall ill despite their super-human physiology. Nurgle’s mark appears briefly in the swirling effluent as the clear blare of a Middentirian horn is heard in the distance. The Wolves’ assault is blunted by a thunderous charge from Vintenaar Damrelgus Swan and his Middentirian cavalry as desperate room-to-room fighting from the Tiberian 1^st delays the advancing Heretic Astartes. Despite their success, the Middenteer cavalry are mown down by volleys of bolter fire from the retreating Wolves as they attempt to regroup for a second charge. Vintenaar Swan escapes the slaughter as the lone survivor having successfully turned back the initial enemy waves.

Lord Endymion and his Wings of Excess execute a daring drop pod assault on the Harbour. With ruthless precision, they swiftly seize a strategic section of the Harbour’s higher ground and begin to push further into the lower dockyards. Mounted in his Imperial Knight, Duke Imra Swan attempts to repel the Emperor’s Children. Amidst the desperate fighting, the Duke briefly catches a glimpse of the Chaos Lord before the maelstrom of battle shrouds Endymion once more. The Middenteer garrison suffer heavy losses and are forced to withdraw in the face of relentless Noise Marine assaults from the higher ground. As the Duke covers their fighting retreat, Lord Endymion eyes the towering form of the Questor Imperialis. An enticing prize that may be worthy of his attention.

Heavy rain lashes the base of the Spineback mountains on Tiberia Minor and floods the Imperial Guard trenchworks. Infantry on the frontline report that the rainwater is salty to taste and does not drain through the stony mountain soil. Suspicious of this unnatural phenomenon, Colonel Lehmann rotates his infantry and deliberately places his inexperienced Arbolan auxiliary troops in the flooded trenchworks while ordering his tank companies to stand ready behind the front line. The colonel’s suspicions are validated as Alpha Legion Astartes of the Abyssal Phantoms step from the briny depths of the flood waters and launch an attack on the lowland passes to the monastery of Saint Agatha. The Arbolan auxiliary troops fight bravely but are overwhelmed quickly, leaving a gaping hole in the outer defence lines. The Abyssal Phantoms push through the breach before running into a hail of battle cannon fire as Lehmann’s tanks counterattack and drive the Phantoms back through the false gap in the Imperial line. As quickly as they appeared, the Alpha Legionnaires slip from the battlefield as the rainclouds part above the mountain range.

Psykers all across the Tiberian system sense the collapse of the southern Eversturm as Phi travels through the warpstorm with the finger bone of Saint Agatha. On board the Imperial Navy cruiser Macaroth, a single psyker, Lyrael, perceives a subtle presence in the Immaterium at the moment the warpstorm collapses. Intrigued by this anomaly, Lyrael secretly follows a thread into the Immaterium to investigate the source of the presence, cautiously navigating the shifting currents of the warp. The psyker senses a faint but distinct aura emanating a strange mixture of ordered and deliberate energy. Lyrael is unsure what the aura represents but believes that it may be some remnant of Saint Agatha’s spirit within the warp.

Earl Marshall Egalmoth transmits an astropathic message towards the Pandar blockade. The Middentirian and battlegroup commander requests that Lord Librarian Marzio Farelli of Sanguinius’ Shield make haste for Tiberia Minor and offers the Astartes Lord the position of Marshal Defendant of the planet at the battlegroup’s Round Table. Farelli accepts the title and attempts to force his way through the ongoing Abyssal Phantom and Iron Army blockade as the Aeldari Corsairs of the Crimson Brotherhood arrive and launch a series of attacks in support.

The Shade trembles as an Iron Warriors warband, the 81st Ironbreakers, emerges from its depths. The warband’s Gellar field has catastrophically failed during their journey and the crew find themselves trapped in a nightmare. Possessed by daemons, a portion of the Ironbreakers turn on their former comrades, unleashing chaos and bloodshed within the confines of their ships.

The Middenteer high command begin to strengthen their grip on the population of Tiberia Major as the noose tightens around the planet. Men, women and children are pressed into the service of the Imperial Guard in Newport Hive as Earl Marshall Egalmoth desperately attempts to hold off the encroaching Chaos warbands. The Tiberian merchant families are summoned by the High Men of Middenteer to the Imperial command bunker in the bowels of the dockyards. Egalmoth wishes to assure their support for his actions, no matter how draconian they may seem to the well-healed upper classes of the planet.

The Pandar blockade holds to the northeast of the Tiberian system. After endless battles, the Aeldari, Mond’argent and Astartes forces are rebuffed while the last Mechanicus ship and two Archmagos are captured by the Iron Army. A large portion of the recently arrived Aeldari ships disappear from Imperial augers, leaving only a small coterie of Crimson Brotherhood Corsairs lurking at the edge of the Tiberian system. With the Pandar blockade holding, the Blood Angels and Questor Imperialis of Sanguinius’ Shield are forced to travel through Vesta’s Folly to reach Tiberia Minor. Despite the raging warpstorm, the Astartes vessels manage to navigate the turmoil when the light of the Astronomican momentarily flares brighter and guides them to the far side of the warp anomaly.

Captain Corelli of the Imperial Navy intercepts several transport ships belonging to the Heirs of Perdition as they journey towards the Tiberian system. Seizing the opportunity to prevent further Chaos reinforcements arriving into the system, Corelli leads an assault on the convoy with his cruiser, The Mandolin. Waves of bombers, torpedoes and weapons batteries rip through the Chaos vessels, obliterating half of the enemy convoy before the remainder make their escape.

Following the successful “negotiations” with the Tiberian merchant families, Earl Marshall Egalmoth and Duke Imra Swan begin to organise the Tiberian 1st more formally and request assistance from the attached Middentirian commissariat. Although poorly armed and trained, the pressed dockworkers and shipwrights will be sorely needed in an extended siege.

CORFELLEON’S GLORY

As the situation in the Tiberian system reaches a critical juncture, the Imperial battlegroup command determines to make a grand assault on the Chaos fleet orbiting Tiberia Minor. The Imperial Navy, the Custodes of the Dread Host of Echoes, the Astartes forces of Sigismund’s Grace and the newly arrived Sanguinius’ Shield gather their ships under the command of Admiral Corfelleon in a bid to reclaim control of the planet. With the monastery secure, their attention can then turn to relieving the Imperial Guard regiments on Tiberia Major.

The Astropathic relay on Tiberia Major receives a message from the Lux system. Several major Xenos raids have been repulsed on the moons of Lux. No aid is required by the Planetary Governor but he advises that extreme caution should be exercised by any Imperial convoys passing close to the system. The remains of the Xenos appear to be Aeldari. One significant raid was conducted by Aeldari adorned in crimson and black while other raids were carried out by Xenos with no distinctive markings or appearance. While no specific actions are ordered against Aeldari in the Tiberian system, Earl Marshal Egalmoth declares that any cooperation with the Xenos should cease immediately. The description of the Aeldari Corsairs closely resembles the Crimson Brotherhood. A fact that is missed by Egalmoth and the other Imperial commanders.

The Chaos fleets above Tiberia Minor find themselves severely outnumbered and badly disorganised in the face of the coming Imperial assault. Alpha Legion agents report that an attack is imminent, information that is passed on by the Abyssal Phantoms to the Heirs of Perdition. In a desperate attempt to halt Imperial landings on the planet, the Heirs hastily lay minefields in Tiberia Minor’s orbit while the Abyssal Phantoms pack several transport ships with explosives, hoping to lure any attacking Imperial vessels close to the planet before triggering a series of devastating explosions. Having successfully blockaded the Pandar supply routes, the Abyssal Phantoms recall both the Iron Army ships and their own vessels to join the coming battle for Tiberia Minor’s skies.

The Imperial psyker aboard Macaroth, Lyrael, reaches out to the presence in the warp as the combined Imperial fleet closes in on Tiberia Minor. Believing that she is communing with Saint Agatha herself, Lyrael seeks aid in the impending battle for the planet. As the Imperial Navy, Custodes, and Astartes ships surge into the attack above Tiberia Minor, the presence in the warp influences the unfolding events. The incomplete minefields surrounding the planet fail to release their orbital mines as the Imperial ships close in, while the Abyssal Phantom’s fire ship attack proves disastrous as the warp presence prevents their simultaneous detonation and renders futile the efforts of the Alpha Legionnaires.

The host of Slaaneshi daemons which appeared from Vesta’s Folly arrive at Tiberia Major and descend upon the planet as the Imperial fleet is embroiled in ship-to-ship combat over Tiberia Minor. The Keeper of Secrets, Almalexia, leads the Golden Horde onto the tundra flats to the north of Newport Hive and moves swiftly towards the city. Still reeling from the combined assaults of the Wings of Excess and the Wolves of Horus, the Middenteer guardsmen brace themselves for a new enemy. Earl Marshall Egalmoth orders a full retreat to Newport Hive and its immediate dockyards as daemons and Heretic Astartes launch a renewed assault. The young commander, the Middenteer 1077th, the citizens of Tiberia Major and Duke Imra of House Swan face overwhelming odds in their fight for survival.

The Orks of Krok-Brin’s Mekanised Brigade emerge from the Southern Great Ork Kingdum and travel north towards the never-ending waaagh. While passing close to the Tiberian system, the Orks catch a glimpse of the raging space battle above Tiberia Minor. The Orks are irresistibly drawn to the furious combat as their primal instincts kick. Several Ork Ram Ships crash into a fleeing Abyssal Phantoms’ cruiser on the edge of the system, unleashing hordes of Nobz and Boyz who are eager to “get in on da foight” and unleash their brutal brand of mayhem upon all in their path. The Imperial Navy rearguard note the close transit of Ork ships but do not take any action. The northward migration of Orks close to the Tiberian system is well known. With past experience of fighting Greenskins, Admiral Corfelleon has issued a standing order for Imperial ships to avoid combat and disengage from any attacking Ork vessels for fear of drawing a Waagh into the already hotly contested system.

The Imperial Navy, Astartes and Custodes ships deliver a series of devastating blows to the Chaos fleet above Tiberia Minor. Sleek Aeldari ships of the Crimson Brotherhood suddenly reappear in the system and join the Imperial vessels as they drive home the attack. Despite orders from Battlegroup Tiberius’ Round Table to cease all cooperation with the Xenos, Corfelleon takes the pragmatic step of turning a blind eye to his sudden allies. The combined Aeldari and Imperial fleets decimate the Chaos formations above the planet. Hundreds of thousands of cultists spill into the void from shattered Heirs of Perdition and Iron Army transports while several Abyssal Phantom cruisers are crippled or destroyed. The larger hulks and wreckage of the battle drift away from Tiberia Minor and join the ever-growing debris field around the system. Overwhelmed and completely disorganized, the remaining Chaos forces are driven out of Tiberia Minor’s orbit by Admiral Corfelleon’s glorious attack. With their naval strength severely depleted, the Abyssal Phantoms and Iron Army make a hasty retreat into the Imperium Nihilus. The Admiral does not dwell on his victory. Tiberia Major is under Chaos blockade and the remnants of the Middenteer 1077th are desperately besieged in Newport Hive. The Admiral departs Tiberia Minor’s orbit with the majority of his fleet and makes ready to break a second blockade.

THE TURNING TIDE

With the atmosphere of Tiberia Minor cleared of Chaotic forces, the Dread Host of Echoes and Sanguinius’ Shield make a risky planetfall through the battle debris now orbiting the planet. The Imperial forces touch down on landing strips constructed by the Krieg garrison to the north of the Spineback mountains. The scale of Chaos’ impact on the planet is laid bare beneath them as they make their descent. The Ag-lands of the planet are scarred by a vast and intricate network of canals, forming a continent-sized eight-pointed star. A final unfinished section of the earthworks leads towards the as-yet unconquered Southport Hive.

As Imperial reinforcements arrive to the north of the Spineback mountains, Southport Hive falls under the control of the Crimson Brotherhood. The Aeldari insert themselves as the new rulers of the hive, subjugating the Imperial inhabitants and ruling through fear and despair. This act is in clear violation of original the Imperial-Xenos agreement, which stated that the Aeldari Corsairs should not land on either of the twin planets. While the true intent of the Aeldari is not known, the battlegroup command reiterates that any collaboration with the Xenos should cease and that the Aeldari should be forced from Southport Hive once the primary threat from Chaos has been dealt with. This compromise position is reached after Lord Librarian Marzio Farelli of Sanguinius’ Shield, now Marshall Defendant of Tiberia Minor, advocates for patience with regards to the Aeldari incursion. Farelli believes that the Aeldari may be countering the Chaos threat for their own illusive purpose, and could depart as swiftly as they have reappeared in the Tiberian system.

The Heirs of Perdition continue their work on Tiberia Minor. Half of the planet’s landmass is now scarred, etched deeply with the eight-pointed star of Chaos Undivided. The Word Bearers warband, intent on finalising their great project, launch an assault on Southport Hive. Their aim is to capture the hive’s population and liquidate them. Their blood, flesh and bones will flow through the canal network in a great offering to the Gods of Chaos. The Aeldari overlords of Southport intervene to protect their newfound subjects. The battle is fierce but brief, with the Heirs of Perdition ultimately forced to retreat in the face of waves of fast moving attack craft.

The remaining Heirs of Perdition transports, which escaped Captain Corelli’s ambush, approach the Tiberian system and are joined by the Heirs’ battlefleet. While on the final approach to Tiberia Minor, the Crimson Brotherhood strike at the Chaos ships. The attack is swift and devastating, catching the Chaos fleet unprepared and inflicting heavy losses. The Heirs’ fleet is crippled and their transports are captured or destroyed, leaving the warband stranded on the planet’s surface. With their naval support decimated, the Heirs’ hold on Tiberia Minor begins to weaken.

Within the confines of Southport Hive, the Crimson Brotherhood’s oppressive reign takes a darker turn as they are revealed to be the denizens of Commorragh known as the Flayed Skull Kabal. With cold efficiency, the Drukhari enforce a tithe of slaves from the beleaguered population. Imperial citizens, once free, are now herded like cattle, shackled and bound for a fate worse than death. The Drukhari are selective with their quarry, plucking individuals from their homes and selecting the strongest from the masses of dockworkers and ag-hand refugees crowding the city. Despair grips the hive as families are torn apart, the cries of the abducted echoing through the streets and going unheard beyond the hive limits. The true nature of the Aeldari has not yet been discovered by the Imperial battlegroup.

The recently arrived Astartes and Custodes on Tiberia Minor immediately set about preparing for the reconquest of the planet from Chaos. With their landing strips and the holy plateau of Saint Agatha secure, their first priority is the clearance of any Word Bearer worshippers from the Spineback mountains. Lord Cocles and his Custodes strike out into the mountain range, hunting down and exterminating any cultists or traitor Astartes that they encounter. The Spineback mountains echo with the sounds of battle. The Heirs of Perdition loose their grip on the mountain range and are forced to withdraw onto the lowlands of the planet. Following the Custodes success, Lord Cocles withdraws to the holy plateau with a contingent of his closest advisors. A message from the Sanctum of a Thousand Eyes has reached the Imperial command centre on Tiberia Minor.

On the northern plains of the planet, the Blood Angels of Sanguinius’ Shield face a formidable challenge. Despite valiant efforts, their attempt to break through the Heirs of Perdition defensives meets with fierce resistance. The battle rages with brutal intensity, a maelstrom of blood and fury under a fire and debris choked sky. Each push forward is met by walls of cultists, mutants and possessed, while a sharp edge of Heretic Astartes deploy rapidly to blunt any potential breakthroughs. The deadlock is only broken with the arrival of the Black Templars of Sigismund’s Grace. Despite the battle debris and firestorms which orbit the planet, Marshall Narvecht of Sigismund’s Grace makes a daring descent. Astartes drop pods pierce through the tumult, a meteoric assault aimed at the heart of the Heirs of Perdition’s forces. Emerging from their fiery chariots, the Black Templars unleash their righteous fury upon their traitorous brothers. With bolters roaring and chainswords howling, they drive back the Heretic Astartes with zealous fervour. The Templars’ attack turns the tide against Chaos on Tiberia Minor. The Heirs of Perdition are now cut off and surrounded, clinging to the western edge of the planet’s landmass.

XENOS TREACHERY

Having secured the northern Ag-lands, Marshal Narvecht orders that a Chapter Keep be erected on the northern coastline of Tiberia Minor before departing with the main bulk of Sigismund’s Grace. The Black Templars join Admiral Corfelleon’s fleet in the void as preparations for a naval assault and landing on Tiberia Major are finalised. Blood Angels of Sanguinius’ Shield, the Death Korps of Krieg, Custodes of the Dread Host of Echoes, Lord Darius’ small coterie of Legio Exsanguinor and a small number of Black Templars remain on the planet to reassert control over Southport Hive and crush the final remnants of the Heirs of Perdition.

Reinforcements for the Legio Exsanguinor arrive to the south of the Tiberian system. Their goal is to run the Chaos blockade of Tiberia Major and relieve the Imperial Guard on the surface. While en route to the system, the Astartes vessels are set upon by dozens of Aeldari warships. Completely outnumbered and with little hope of escape, Captain Varus receives a surprise transmission from the Aeldari raiders. Sokha Bloodfist, Autarch of the Seekers of Isha, offers Varus an alternative route to the surface of the planet. Seeing few other options, and despite Imperial command’s orders to cease cooperation with the Xenos, Captain Varus decides to work with the Aeldari. The Legio Exsanguinor ships disappear silently from Imperial augers.

Lord Cocles arrives at the holy plateau of Saint Agatha and enters the Imperial command centre. Lord Darius of the Legio Exsanguinor greets the Shield-Captain and presents him with a psycho-crypted communique from the Sanctum of a Thousand Eyes on Holy Terra itself. A contingent of Black Legionnaires, whom Cocles has sought after relentlessly following the great battle of Echovault, are rumoured to have subjugated a remote scriptorum world in Segmentum Pacificus. This news presents the Shield-Captain of the Dread Host of Echoes with a harrowing decision. Should he seek vengeance for his fallen brothers of the Echovault and depart immediately, or should he forego this opportunity and remain in the Tiberian system?

Imperial, Chaotic and Xenos forces across the sector receive a series of indecipherable audio waves from deep within the Eversturm. The audio waves appear greatly distorted by the warpstorms and do not conform to any known encryption technology. Inquisitor Falcone’s agent, Phi, records the transmission aboard the Lucky Cherub and attempts to locate its source within the warpstorm. Phi believes that the audio waves have emanated from the planet known as Malice, but it is unclear whether they are the result of deliberate action or if they are merely a warp anomaly.

Kaptin-General Krok-Brin and his Mekboyz hollow out their captured Abyssal Phantoms’ cruiser and transform the ship into a cavernous floating scrapyard. The Tiberian system is now ringed with a wide field of space debris and damaged vessels, presenting an irresistible chance for an impromptu “lootin’ and fightin’ spree”. Krok-Brin’s Mekanised Brigade begin to scour the debris field for scrap, taking what they can to fuel their coming Waaagh against the ‘Nidz in the Northern Great Ork Kingdum, all-the-while having a little fun.

Lord Cocles departs Tiberia Minor with the vast majority of his shield host. The Custodes Shield-Captain and his closest advisors conclude that their duty is complete with the forces of Chaos all but destroyed on the planet, substantial numbers of Imperial Guard and Astartes on the surface and vast superiority in numbers over the Aeldari Corsairs. In their view, the monastery of Saint Agatha has been secured by the Dread Host of Echoes, leaving them free to pursue their Black Legion quarry in Segmentum Pacificus. Despite their determination, a slight hesitancy grips Lord Cocles. To assuage his doubts, he asks for volunteers to remain on Tiberia Minor to continue their watch over the monastery complex itself. Custodian Galerius Valerius Maximinus steps forward and assumes the role of the monastery’s guardian. Maximinus will set a watch at the monastery’s main entrance, the Hermitgate, and withdraw from the Imperial battlegroup’s command structure.

The Flayed Skull Kabal, once disguised as the Crimson Brotherhood and allies of the Imperium, turn their attention away from the shattered Heirs of Perdition warband as the Word Bearers escape the planet and the system. While Imperial forces have officially ceased collaboration with the Xenos, they are still not aware of the Drukhari’s true nature or their enslavement of Imperial citizens in Southport. The Drukhari launch a vicious assault on the Imperial Navy ships in orbit above Tiberia Minor. The attack is as ruthless as it is unexpected, catching the Imperial Navy off guard. The Drukhari sow confusion amidst the Imperial fleet with the surprise attack and drive them out of the atmosphere of Tiberia Minor. Simultaneously, the Flayed Skull Kabal extend their campaign of terror to the planet’s northern plains. Emerging from Southport Hive, they descend upon the Chapter Keep of Sigismund’s Grace. The Aeldari drive the Imperial forces back towards the Spineback mountains while trapping the Black Templars within their Keep House. After a brief but ferocious assault, the Drukhari take the Chapter Keep. Despite fierce resistance, several Black Templars are captured by the Flayed Skull Kabal and dragged into the webway.

With Tiberia Minor’s atmosphere now under their control, and Imperial forces concentrated around the monastery of Saint Agatha, the Drukhari launch a series of probing attacks into the Spineback mountains. These skirmishes successfully draw a response from Imperial forces. Lord Librarian Dreadnought Marzio Farelli of Sanguinius’ Shield, Marshall Defendant of Tiberia Minor, determines to strike a killing blow against the treacherous Xenos. A major sortie is launched into the Spineback mountains while Colonel Lehmann is ordered to make ready several brigades of his Krieg armoured regiment. Fully half of the armoured regiment departs the mountain stronghold and makes with speed along the southern coastline under the command of Lieutenant Colonel von Clausewitz. The reconquest of Southport Hive is their goal.

THE LAST GARRISON

Louis le Six Doigts and the 2nd Mond’argent Mixed, self-quarantined and ignored widely by the rampaging Chaos warbands on Tiberia Major, consider a push towards Newport Hive. Despite orders from Inquisitorial agent Phi to remain isolated on the tundra wastes, the Mond’argent resolve to break camp and attempt to relieve their beleaguered Imperial Guard comrades to the south. Unknown to the Mond’argent, Legion Master Januri Kharoghast of the Wolves of Horus has despatched several of his subjects to monitor their encampment. Upon seeing the Mond’argent prepare to depart, word is despatched to Kharoghast and his leading warlords.

Brutal fighting continues in Newport Hive and Tiberia Major’s dockyards. Almalexia’s Golden Horde of Slaaneshi daemons captures Newport Hive after desperate resistance from the Middenteer 1077th and the Tiberian 1st. The forces of Earl Marshall Egalmoth and Duke Imra Swan engage in a fighting retreat as the daemons sweep through the city to the cries of the innocent. High in the towers of the hive, the children of the Tiberian merchants are cut off from the main Imperial force as it retreats into the fortified dockyards. Exposed to the greatest depravities of excess, the horrified screams of children echo from the spires of the city. Unable to endure the cacophony of moaning and terror, many Tiberians take their own lives or throw themselves murderously at the Middenteer High Men. Pockets of isolated Imperial guardsmen and citizens attempt to escape in whatever direction they can as an orgy of violence and excess descends on the once prosperous hive city. Amongst them, a Sergeant Stubbs of the Tiberian 1st manages to escape to the northern suburbs of the hive. Despite the chaos, the Middenteer 1077th manages to retreat to the dockyards of Newport Hive in relatively good order.

The Wolves of Horus appear from the northern tundra wastes and launch an armoured assault on the Mond’argent encampment. Precise lascannon fire from the Wolves’ Land Raiders and Predators target and eliminate the Mond’argent Mixed regiment’s armour as it idles in assembly points, awaiting the move south. Commander Louis le Six Doigts and his large coterie of staff officers hastily organise a defence but are quickly overwhelmed by the savagery of the Chaos Space Marine onslaught. Commander Louis and the shattered remnants of his regiment are captured and bound before being dragged away and thrown into holding pens. Frenzon, combat drugs and endless combat in the Wolves’ infamous fighting pits awaits the survivors.

The Middenteer 1077th attempt to break out of their fortified dockyards in Newport, reclaim the western sector of the Harbour from the Wings of Excess and recapture two grounded Tiberian merchant cruisers. While not yet contemplating retreat from the planet, the young Earl Marshall Egalmoth hopes to buy more time by pushing back the Emperor’s Children warband while the Slaaneshi daemons are occupied with their desecration of Newport Hive. Egalmoth and the Duke state publicly that the capture of two merchant cruisers would be an added bonus for the stranded Imperial Guardsmen and Tiberian refugees. Privately, though, they admit that the planet may need to be abandoned if they do not receive aid and reinforcements soon. The Imperial Guard assault is unsuccessful, leaving Egalmoth, Duke Imra Swan and the Imperial forces in Newport as the last surviving garrison on Tiberia Major.

Velkaten the Star Talon arrives at the southern edge of the Eversturm aboard the Astral Hawk and hails the source of the Necrontyr message emanating from Nilea, known as Malice to Imperial cartographers. The Necron Lord signals to his crypteks after a brief exchange of data with the planet within the warpstorm. Thousands of Necrons phase out from the Astral Hawk, only to reappear instantly on the surface of Tiberia Major. The Necrons materialise in the midst of the Wings of Excess battleline, sparking a furious firefight in the western sector of the Harbour. The Chaos warband pulls back and begins to reorganise for a renewed assault before the Necrons broadcast a message and disappear as suddenly as they had arrived. Velkaten departs rapidly aboard the Star Talon having landed his forces at the closest human settlement to Nilea, recorded thousands of years prior, and delivered his message in an broad range of audible formats and languages.

Surrounded on the surface of Tiberia Major and blockaded by a Chaos fleet in the atmosphere, Earl Marshall Egalmoth and Duke Imra Swan put aside this disturbing new development and focus solely on their immediate survival. No action is taken by the wider Imperial battlegroup in the absence of clear leadership. The hierarchy of the battlegroup’s Round Table structure is unclear to many Imperial commanders and this new Xenos development is seen as a distraction from the coming naval battle above Tiberia Major. Meanwhile the Aeldari in the system note the location of their oldest enemy but take no immediate action, while Krok-Brin tells his Boyz that “I ain’t wantin’ nothin’ to do with dem Tinboyz or dem stupid humie religions. Gork and Mork’s all I need and dat’s it, ya hear?”

Sergeant Stubbs of the Tiberian 1st makes his way north across the tundra flats of Tiberia Major, hoping to reach the Mond’argent encampment. The wasteland is scarred by battle and roamed by daemon packs and bands of Chaos cultists. While resting for the night in the wreckage of a downed Marauder Bomber, Stubbs is discovered by another group of Imperial guardsmen seeking shelter. Captain Langue De’ver and a small group of Mond’argent have escaped the Wolves of Horus’ fighting pits and are attempting to reach the Imperial lines at Newport Hive. Stubbs reveals that the hive has fallen to the daemon hordes and that the last Imperial holdout may now be destroyed. Despite this, De’ver and the Mond’argent are inexplicably determined to continue south. Their news that the Mond’argent regiment has been shattered comes as a blow to Stubbs. Nevertheless, he resolves to continue north, feeling that he may be able to disrupt the Wolves’ bloodsport and help others to escape with his local knowledge of the terrain. The guardsmen part ways, wishing the Emperor’s blessing upon each other.

A lone individual appears from Newport’s under-hive as the daemon orgy begins to wane. Vera Krest walks triumphant through the blood soaked ruins of the sacked city, a violin pressed to her chin and a look of pure ecstasy gripping her face. The daemon hordes part before the violinist as she makes for the central plaza. Almalexia of the Golden Horde initially greets this odd development with curiosity but quickly realises that it is a gift from Slaanesh themselves, the Prince of Pleasure. The Keeper of Secrets directs the daemon legions to transform the city and any surviving souls into a single living instrument. This one devoted worshipper shall be used as a seed. Almalexia will fuse a part of their essence with Vera Krest and give birth to a monstrous work of Slaanesh.

Traitor Astartes of the Steel Brethren arrive on Tiberia Major at the request of Lord Endymion. While the final Imperial outpost has not yet been crushed, Endymion begins to look forward to the coming war between Chaos factions. Januri Kharoghast and the Wolves of Horus have been denied the planet’s vast dockyards by the Wings of Excess, while Almalexia and the Golden Horde have seized Newport Hive from under Januri’s nose. The Wolves have carved out a pocket kingdom in the north, but Endymion fully expects Kharoghast to be unsatisfied with his desolate tundra wasteland. The Wings of Excess and Steel Brethren embark on a grand project to cement Endymion’s Lordship of Tiberia Major. In the dockyards, they begin to construct an impregnable stronghold, dubbed “the perfect fortress” in honour of their patron, Slaanesh.

The Sons of Xion return to the Tiberian system and hail the assembled Imperial fleet. Captain Herod and his Astartes have brought further reinforcements to aid the coming invasion of Tiberia Major. The Middenteer 751st Infantry, “The Frostmarch”, under Grand Officer Caradine joins the massing Imperial fleet. An advance force of the Black Templar Redemption Crusade and High Marshal Helbrecht also make ready to join the war. The Black Templars board the flagship of their battle brothers, Sigusmund’s Grace. Marshal Narvecht greets his superior coolly. The Black Templars of Sigismund’s Grace have not accepted any Primaris into their ranks, believing that the Emperor’s work should not be tampered with and cannot be improved upon. Despite his misgivings about Helbrecht “crossing the rubicon” and becoming a Primaris Space Marine, Narvecht appraises his High Marshal of the situation with haste. The Imperial Navy attack is imminent and all available Astartes will be required to make planetfall, regardless of the naval engagement’s outcome.

The Steel Brethren construct an array of excessive fortifications in the Harbour, the slaves used for its construction mistreated even more brutally than normal, thousands walled up inside the walls while still alive and screaming. The complex is a marvel of engineering and defensive theory, incorporating daemonic technologies and debased rituals as well as the reliability of rockcrete, plasteel and adamantium. Complex layers of ramparts, bunkers and trenches provide an intricate network of overlapping fields of fire, with the rear lines bristling with artillery batteries, anti-air emplacements and missile silos, strategically positioned to rain devastating firepower upon any enemy that would have the hubris to believe themselves worthy of assaulting such a fortress. But the real evil of the design is to maximize the suffering of any attackers. Mines and booby traps, caltrops and pits of stakes, intended to injure and maim instead of kill. Stockpiles of warp-tainted gas, so potent that to inhale a breath would break the victim’s mind, casting their soul to a plane of reality of utter terror and insanity. To look upon such a bastion would inspire awe and fear in mortal soldiers, to even contemplate storming it would require such meticulous planning, horrendous casualties and human suffering as to drive the attackers to madness. For the fortifications are an offering to Slaanesh, Mistress of Tiberia Major, so that the Dark Prince can bask in the glory of perfect warfare and laugh at the suffering of the False-Emperor’s minions.

Captain Langue De’ver arrives at Newport and is taken in by the Middenteer 1077th. He claims that he was captured and thrown into cultist holding cells following the 2nd Mond’argent’s defeat on the tundra flats north of Newport Hive. As the Mond’argent were being transported to the Wolves of Horus fighting pits, a brawl broke out amongst two gangs of cultist prisoners. His group of Mond’argent joined the melee, overpowered their own guards, and escaped. Captain De’ver informs his Middentirian interrogator that most of the Mond’argent were recaptured, including Commander Louis le Six Doigts. After a brief discussion, the Captain’s story is accepted and the news is brought to Earl Marshall Egalmoth. Completely surrounded and cut-off, Egalmoth refuses to allow De’ver take any of his men north to attempt a rescue mission. However, Langue is granted permission to contact his fellow Mond’argent in the void. A small portion of the 2nd Mond’argent regiment is still aboard the Imperial Navy cruiser, Castellan, under the command of Captain Main D’arcier. De’ver believes that the last of the regiment could be landed on the tundra wastes and used to rescue Louis, if and when the Chaos blockade is broken.

The exhausted Middenteer and Tiberian regiments’ combat power is nearly spent having failed to retake the western section of the Harbour and its grounded merchant cruisers. With no hope of breaking out, and no method to escape the planet’s surface, Earl Marshall Egalmoth tours the front lines hourly to rally his troops, both high born and lowly. Several attacks are beaten back, but the daemon hordes and Chaos warbands now appear certain to extinguish the last Imperial outpost on the planet. Untold sacrifices are made, from the lowest ranks to the Duke himself, with his mighty Knight engine crippled while turning back just one amongst the countless daemon attacks. The Duke is pulled from the wreckage, alive but distraught. Nearly all hope has faded for the once fresh-faced 1077th, “The Flowers of Youth”. Yet one hope does remain. Admiral Heronimus Corfelleon, siege breaker and scourge of Chaos.

INTO THE TEETH OF SLAANESH

The Imperial fleet approaches Tiberia Major in battle formation. Admiral Corfelleon aims to enter low orbit rapidly and overwhelm the Chaos blockade in one section of the atmosphere, before then massing his fire on the remaining Chaos fleet as it arrives piecemeal from the far side of the planet. This approach is agreed by all Imperial commanders within the battlegroup, leaving the Astartes vessels primed to launch drop pods and Thunderhawks towards the surface once any gap in the Chaos blockade appears. High Marshal Helbrecht and Captain Herod prepare to assault the perfect fortress with their combined Redemption Crusade and Sons of Xion forces while Marshal Narvecht readies the Black Templars of Sigismund’s Grace to reinforce the Imperial Guard and touch down in the fortified dockyards of Newport.

The sonorous dirge of the living instrument rumbles across the surface of Tiberia Major. Excitement rises in the hearts of all who hear it, both Imperial and Chaos alike, as the tune resonates from the northern tundra wastes to the scarred battlescapes of Newport and the Harbour. More Slaaneshi daemons, both greater and lesser, materialise in Newport Hive, drawn to Almalexia’s monument. The legions of Chaos ready themselves for a final, devastating assault on the Middenteer positions in Newport. Slaaneshi daemons, Noise Marines, Steel Brethren and hordes of cultists gather under their banners and prepare to strike. The air is thick with anticipation as they prepare to unleash a catastrophic blow upon the last bastion of Imperial resistance, all to the relentless moan of the living instrument.

Admiral Corfelleon’s attack hits home. The Imperial Navy and Astartes ships engage the blockading Chaos fleet at close range, delivering a devastating blow and opening a corridor for the Astartes assault on the surface. The Chaos fleets fail once again to coordinate their actions, allowing Corfelleon and the Imperial Navy to isolate individual ships and destroy them. The battle is fierce and brutal, resulting in heavy casualties for the Chaos fleet as Corfelleon’s mastery of void warfare becomes clear once more. As the Chaos fleet scatters and flees towards the Eversturm, unknown Aeldari vessels appear suddenly and join the slaughter. Always the pragmatist, Corfelleon orders his captains to hold fire on the Xenos unless fired upon.

Astartes drop pods hurtle through the firestorm and debris of the atmospheric battle, delivering the Sons of Xion and Redemption Crusade into the heart of the perfect fortress. Battle erupts instantly, set against the backdrop of Almalexia’s rumbling symphony. Imperial and traitor Astartes clash at close quarters, every inch fought over viciously within the dizzying labyrinth of the Slaaneshi fortress. All sides find their abilities heightened, their weapons more lethal, and their thirst for the perfect kill insatiable as the noise of the living instrument invades their thoughts and actions. The fortress becomes a theatre of unprecedented violence, where Black Templars, Sons of Xion, Steel Brethren and Wings of Excess Space Marines clash in a frenzy of warfare. The attacking forces take horrendous casualties as they push ever deeper into Endymion’s death trap. High Marshal Helbrecht and Captain Herod fight side by side as they approach the final ramparts. With one last charge, they take the fortress and strike down their final Steel Brethren foe. As the traitor’s blood sprays the battlements, the Astartes find themselves suddenly clear headed, as if awoken from a heady dream. The orgy of violence has ended, the perfect fortress has fallen, and all but thirty-six Astartes have been killed. Captain Herod falls to his knees, his bone white armour indistinguishable under layers of blood and gore. Not a single other Son of Xion has survived the assault.

The daemon hordes of Almalexia flow from Newport Hive and advance on the Middenteer defensive line as the crackle of las fire and the thump of artillery resumes. Behind them, a hum begins to resonate in the central plaza of the daemon-infested hive, jarring with the melodies flowing from the heart of the living instrument. The air glows hot with electric blues and greens before a thunderclap booms across the plaza. Reality is torn open in a blinding flurry of eldritch runes and a blast of psychic energy. A small contingent of Aeldari firedragons of the Seekers of Isha burst from the webway aboard a Wave Serpent. In their wake, Captain Varus and his Legio Exsanguinor battle brothers charge into the Slaaneshi den, the name of their fallen Primarch erupting from a hundred mouths. Despite the grave risks posed to the Aeldari by their proximity to a Slaaneshi construct, the Seekers of Isha have guided the Legio Exsanguinor to the source of the living instrument’s power. The assault by the Legio Exsanguinor is swift and targeted. A wedge of Astartes led by Chaplain Karthus push past the meagre garrison of lesser daemons, while Captain Varus leads several Dreadnoughts against an unholy trinity of greater daemons who stand guard over the instrument. Varus and his entombed battle brothers engage in an epic duel against the Keepers of Secrets. Displaying exceptional skill and ferocious bravery, Varus manages to fell one daemon and grievously wound another before his Dreadnought companions complete his work and banish the terrifying yet beautiful creatures. Chaplain Karthus locates the source of the grotesque symphony and, with a single swing of his crozius, destroys the contorted remains of Vera Krest. The Aeldari Fire Dragons swiftly burn the core of the instrument before making a hasty retreat. The living instrument begins to collapse throughout the hive, emanating psychic pulses with its death throes. Almalexia’s great project is no more.

The twin shocks of the fall of the perfect fortress and the destruction of the living instrument send ripples through the warpstorms surrounding the Tiberian System. The attack on the final Middenteer garrison falters and is turned back as thousands of daemons are ripped from reality. Sensing the plight of his followers, Slaanesh intervenes and seeks to aid his devout worshippers. The warpstorms to the galactic north of the system intensify and grow, sealing off the northern real-space corridors and cutting off any passage through the Cicatrix Maledictum.

TRIUMVIRATE

The Black Templars of Sigismund’s Grace arrive into Newport alongside the Middenteer 751st Infantry Regiment, “The Frostmarch.” Their arrival gives new hope that the Imperium’s recent victories signal a shift in momentum on the planet. The Imperial Navy are ascendant in the system and effectively blockade Tiberia Minor after Corfelleon’s stunning victory, while on the surface, preparations for a large-scale Imperial offensive are underway. The Middenteer regiments and Black Templars make ready for a grand assault while Captain Herod of the Sons of Xion departs the Tiberian system with a precious cargo. Dozens of vials of geneseed line the Apothecarium aboard his strike cruiser.

The recently escaped Captain Langue De’ver of the 2nd Mond’argent Mixed contacts his peer, Captain Main D’arcier, aboard the cruiser Castellan. After a tense exchange between the two officers, De’ver reluctantly agrees to leave Main take command of the landing on Tiberia Major and the hopeful rescue of Louis le Six Doigts. D’arcier is eager for glory, and wishes to spearhead the rescue of Louis himself. While De’ver had wanted to take command of the entire Mond’argent force, he consoles himself with the fact that he will be the most senior officer left alive if D’arcier fails in his assault on the Wolves of Horus.

Inquisitor Lorgan Falcone arrives in the Tiberian system alongside fellow Inquisitor Bhagvar of the Ordo Xenos. Falcone has requested assistance from his Ordo Xenos colleague given the heightened alien activity in the sector. Falcone is worried about the Aeldari influence, specifically the clandestine activities of the Flayed Skull Kabal and other Aeldari forces in the region. The activities of these Xenos, and their interactions with Imperial forces, have been reported to Falcone by his agent Phi. Phi rendezvous’ with Falcone and Bhagvar in Tiberia Major’s orbit aboard The Lucky Cherub. The Inquisitors greet Phi as an equal. Inquisitor Phi of the Ordo Maledictum reveals himself to the wider Imperial battlegroup command, sparking some concern within the Middenteer 1077th. Phi has been in close contact with the Imperial Guard throughout the campaign, and his feelings towards the regiment are unknown to Earl Marshal Egalmoth or Duke Imra Swan. The Triumvirate of Inquisitors seal themselves within their quarters aboard the Lucky Cherub and hold council privately, deliberating on the actions and decisions of the various commanders throughout the campaign to date.

Feudal Orks travelling from the Southern Great Ork Kingdum to the Never-ending Waaagh find their path blocked. The real space corridors surrounding the Tiberian system have collapsed to the north following Slaanesh’s interference with the Eversturm. Superstitious of the purple warpstorms, and unwilling to risk passing through them, more and more Boyz find themselves stranded. Krok-Brin seizes this opportunity to grow his Mekanised Brigade. The Kaptin-General’s Bosses convince several mobs of wayward boyz to join Krok-Brin’s “lootin’ and fightin’ spree” in the Tiberian system’s orbiting debris field. The captured Abyssal Phantoms cruiser, since converted into a floating scrapyard, rapidly fills with all manner of space junk, giving Krok-Brin’s Mekboyz ample raw material for their many projects.

The Triumvirate of Inquisitors break their private council aboard The Lucky Cherub. The results of the Inquisitor’s deliberations are transcribed and despatched to every Imperial commander in the sector. Bhagvar and Falcone depart for the surface of Tiberia Major, while Inquisitor Phi resolves to roll back the northern warpstorms with the relic of Saint Agatha that is still aboard the Lucky Cherub.

Colonel Lehmann of the Death Korps of Krieg is cleared of any corruption. While his orders to fly Imperial forces into the warpstorm were ill advised and reckless, the Inquisitors have no reason to believe his actions were influenced by disloyalty or traitorous beliefs. The decision to quarantine the Mond’argent after the regiment was assailed by daemon ships is upheld. All three Inquisitors have agreed that the Mond’argent decision to lead a flotilla of daemon ships into Tiberia Major’s orbit is indefensible. The surviving officers of the regiment, excluding Captain Main D’arcier, are required to submit to interrogation and the regiment’s commander, Louis le Six Doigts, shall be subjected to trial if he survives enemy captivity on Tiberia Major.

The Middenteer forces have been under close scrutiny by Inquisitorial agents and Inquisitor Phi due to their proximity to demonic and Chaotic forces. Despite this, the Inquisitors can find no reason to investigate the regiment further. They do note that the Xenos threat was underestimated by the Middentiria at first, but Earl Marshall Egalmoth acted swiftly to condemn the tentative Aeldari alliance once the danger became apparent. The Inquisitors only demand that the escaped Mond’argent officer, Captain Langue De’ver, be handed over for interrogation as they believe his escape from captivity and traversal of the Chaos infested tundra is highly suspicious. De’ver is discovered to be an Iron Army agent after several days of “interrogations” and is summarily executed by Inquisitor Falcone.

The Dread Host of Echoes and Sigismund’s Grace are found to have conducted themselves with integrity to date. Despite the general lack of attention to the Xenos threat, the Astartes and Custodes are cleared of any further investigation.

Inquisitor Bhagvar has deep concerns about the growing presence of Xenos in the system and the battlegroup’s ongoing interactions with them. The battlegroup communicated with the Aeldari immediately and decided to work with the Xenos after little discussion. The Crimson Brotherhood’s occupation of Southport Hive was initially tolerated by the entire battlegroup while warnings from the Lux system about growing Aeldari raids were ignored. The description from Lux of the Aeldari raiders matched the appearance of the Crimson Brotherhood, making this inaction even more concerning. While none of these incidents warrant further action alone, when taken together, Bhagvar believes that they indicate widespread and pervasive Xenos collaboration and manipulation. One incident does stand out for the Triumvirate, though. Lord Librarian Marzio Farelli of Sanguinius’ Shield advocated for no action against the Aeldari occupation of Southport Hive. As a result, the Blood Angels Astartes are ordered to submit to interrogation to determine their motives for this action.

The Inquisitors believe the conduct of Admiral Corfelleon is highly suspicious. The Admiral advocated working alongside the Aeldari immediately and repeatedly and generally ignored any potential Xenos threats. The Admiral also engaged in two naval engagements alongside Xenos vessels. The Inquisitors have reason to believe that Aeldari may even have been present in the Admiral’s personal entourage in the most recent victory above Tiberia Major. This is even more disturbing given the fact that the battlegroup commander, Earl Marshall Egalmoth, had declared the Xenos cooperation at an end. An interdiction is declared by the Inquisitors against Admiral Corfelleon, he will be placed on trial for Xenos collaboration and Commodore Ulanti is to be appointed acting-Admiral in his stead. Corfelleon is taken into custody while vehemently protesting his innocence. His series of stunning victories counting for little under the judgeful eyes of the Inquisition.

Finally, the Inquisitors can find no reason to explain the Legio Exsanguinors’ close alliance with the Aeldari. The Aeldari incursion on Tiberia Minor had been revealed and all cooperation with the aliens ordered to cease when the Astartes decided to work with the Xenos. In addition, the battlegroup had massed for an attack on Tiberia Major and, in the Inquisitors’ view, appeared well positioned to thwart any Chaos schemes. Inquisitor Bhagvar’s close knowledge of the Aeldari leads her to believe that the Legio Exsanguinor were working solely towards Aeldari aims. The Aeldari despise and are terrified of Slaanesh in equal measure so it is clear that their priority was to destroy the living instrument in Newport Hive. This was not a clear Imperial goal at that moment. In fact, the Middenteer garrison on Tiberia Major was under attack and had requested aid at the same time as the Legio’s attack on the Hive. The fact that the Legio Exsanguinor attack inadvertently disrupted the daemon assault is disregarded by Bhagvar. The once Ordo Hereticus Inquisitor despises Xenos subversion above all else, having revealed countless Xeno-engineered cults and rebellions throughout her career. Captain Varus and his close advisors are declared Traitorus Extremis. An interdiction is placed on the Legio Exsanguinor and the Astartes are ordered to subject themselves to interrogation and any required purging. Lord Darius and his entourage are excluded from this declaration as they were assisting in the defence of the monastery of Saint Agatha and claim no prior knowledge of Varus’ decision.

Inquisitor Bhagvar touches down on the outskirts of the perfect fortress and meets High Marshal Helbrecht at the shattered walls. Helbrecht and the Inquisitor travel eastwards and enter the fortified dockyards still garrisoned by the Middenteer 1077th. Bhagvar aims to apprehend Captain Varus and the recently excommunicated Legio Exsanguinor Astartes in the ruins of Newport Hive. High Marshal Helbrecht and the surviving Redemption Crusade Black Templars are requested to bring the Legio Exsanguinor to the Emperor’s justice should they resist Inquisitor Bhagvar. After sustaining enormous casualties in the capture of the perfect fortress, the Redemption Crusade cannot contribute significantly to the coming assault on Tiberia Major. Marshall Narvecht and the first-born Black Templars of Sigismund’s Grace will need to shoulder most the burden alongside the Imperial Guard.

THE GRAND ASSAULT

Earl Marshall Egalmoth and the Middenteer 1077th prepare to advance from their fortified dockyards and shift to the offensive on Tiberia Major. Alongside them, the remnants of the Tiberian 1st and the newly arrived Middenteer 751st will join the attack. Key to the coming battle will be the higher ground in the centre of the sprawling dockyards of Newport and the Harbour. The square kilometre Administratum complex sits atop the crest of a gently rising hill in the northern section of the Harbour. Once captured, this position will give Imperial forces fire control over the Chaos-occupied dockyards and the Great Salt Lake beyond.

Egalmoth determines to lead a frontal assault on the Administratum complex with the 1077th, the Tiberian 1st and a portion of the Middenteer 751st. The remainder of the 751st will be led by the Duke of Amroth, Imra Swan. The Duke, mounted in a replacement Knight brought to Tiberia Major by the 751st, will lead an assault to the east of the Administratum complex towards the spaceport’s control spire, halting before he reaches the foot of the spire and then redirecting his attack west into the complex. With two axes of attack, it is hoped that the Imperial guard can apply enough pressure to the enemy in this key sector to either destroy them or force them to fall back to the lower dockyards. The Black Templars of Sigismund’s Grace will deploy a portion of their force across the entire front, while holding most in reserve, hoping to disguise the true target of the Imperial push from their traitorous Astartes brethren, the Wings of Excess. Finally, High Marshal Helbrecht and his small group of Redemption Crusade Black Templars will join Egalmoth’s assault once they have apprehended Captain Varus and his Legio Exsanguinor Space Marines.

While the recent attack on the “perfect fortress” was extremely costly for the Black Templars of the Redemption Crusade and the Sons of Xion, Lord Endymion’s forces have also suffered heavy casualties. The majority of Endymion’s Steel Brethren subjects have perished in the failed defence of the fortress, while his noise marines have been depleted through endless fighting in the Harbour. In addition, the twin shocks of the perfect fortress’ capture and the collapse of the living instrument have been felt keenly by the worshippers of Slaanesh. Despite this, Endymion will not part with his ambition to rule the planet and establish his Lordship of Tiberia Major. The Chaos Lord strikes a pact with the greater daemon Almalexia. In return for the Keeper of Secrets’ aid, he promises to rebuild the living instrument in Newport Hive upon his victory. Almalexia agrees, uniting all Slaaneshi factions under one banner and leaving Endymion free to plot the defence of his nascent realm.

Inquisitor Bhagvar and High Marshal Helbrecht depart Newport just hours before the offensive is due to commence. The High Marshal is eager to apprehend the traitorous Blood Angels as quickly as possible before joining the grand assault on Endymion’s lordship. As the Inquisitor enters the wreckage of Newport Hive, the first thuds of the Imperial attack sound to the east. Bhagvar hails Captain Varus on a secure vox channel. The Astartes Captain does not respond.

Sergeant Stubbs of the Tiberian 1st arrives at the edge of the Wolves of Horus’ territory on the tundra flats north of Newport Hive. The area is teeming with activity as the warband prepares to depart the planet. Januri Kharoghast and his warlords have decided to withdraw from the system. More Imperial reinforcements seem to flood into the system every day while the forces of Slaanesh have united against him. Kharoghast comes to the conclusion that there are easier victims elsewhere in the galaxy. Despite the frenzy of activity, it is clear that the Wolves are orchestrating an organised chaos. Slave gangs are mercilessly whipped by their handlers as they are put to work tearing down defensive barricades or hauling weapons and ammunition to extraction points. Lumbering beasts, the like of which Stubbs has never seen before, drag large daemon-bound artillery pieces into cavernous landing ships while row upon row of traitor guardsmen line the tundra and await departure. Sergeant Stubbs makes camp at the base of a rocky outcrop some distance away. With no idea where the captured Mond’argent may be held, or even if they are on the planet anymore, Stubbs begins to wonder if his trek north was in vain.

Inquisitor Bhagvar and High Marshal Helbrecht approach the central plaza of Newport Hive. The promenades and causeways leading to the centre of the hive are strewn with atrophied chunks of semi-organic matter, a daemonic fusion of rockcrete, plasteel and Imperial citizens. As the Inquisitorial party nears the heart of the now deceased and decaying living instrument, they see the remains of the Aeldari Firedragons work. Large sections of the instrument remain in place, blackened and burned into a skeletal memorial by the fire pikes and fusion guns of the Xenos. At the centre of the plaza, several dozen Astartes stand facing the approaching Inquisitor. Spread widely across the plaza, the blood-red-armoured warriors stand at ease. One Space Marine steps forward, his skull-shaped helm hanging from one hand, the unmistakable Crozius Arcanum of an Astartes Chaplain gripped in the other.

Captain Main D’arcier and the last remnants of the 2nd Mond’argent Mixed drop to the surface of Tiberia Major aboard mass conveyors. The Imperial Guard are escorted by swarms of Thunderbolts, Avenger Strike Fighters and Lightning Interceptors. The Imperial Navy aircraft follow the descent of the Mond’argent landers before pealing off to the south after meeting no resistance, ready to make an attack run on Endymion’s forces in the Harbour. The Mond’argent roll out of the landing craft and immediately set off east across the tundra, soldiers piled high atop all manner of Imperial vehicles. At the centre of the Mond’argent cavalcade is the regiment’s Baneblade super-heavy tank, Captain D’arcier perched in the cupola, the streaming wind threatening to pull the cockade from his bicorne hat. D’arcier is surprised at the lack of resistance from the Wolves of Horus as they cross the tundra flats. In a mirror of Louis le Six Doigts’ capture, it is now the Mond’argent who are attacking while the Wolves of Horus prepare to depart. The Mond’argent pass by scattered groups of ogling cultists without firing a shot. More and more cultists pass by, until, eventually, a handful of shots are fired at the Mond’argent motorcade by a gang of traitor guardsmen. The Baneblade answers with the roar of its cannon, obliterating the traitors and raising the alarm in the Wolves of Horus camp.

The once-organised chaos of the Wolves of Horus camp quickly descends into panic as the mobs of cultists and traitors realise that they are under attack. Januri Kharoghast’s traitor Astartes alone respond in a disciplined and coordinated manner, quickly boarding their Land Raiders and Rhinos or taking up defensive positions. In the confusion, fighting appears to break out between rival gangs within the Wolves encampment while several daemon engines and Chaos spawn are randomly set loose by their handlers. Observing the commotion from a slight distance, Sergeant Stubbs of the Tiberian 1st takes his chance and sets off at a jog into the Wolves of Horus camp. Navigating his way through the throngs, the Sergeant spots the holding pens beside the Wolves’ fighting pits. Upon reaching the cages, Stubbs quickly realises that they have been abandoned by their guards. Without pause he rushes to the gate of the first pen and throws it open before a surge of drug-crazed prisoners knocks him to the ground. Stubbs manages to crawl to one side and avoid the worst of the stampede. The filthy mass of prisoners are indistinguishable from one another.

Marshall Narvecht and his reserve of Black Templars await deployment. Terminators stand ready at their teleportariums, while initiates and neophytes board the armoured vehicles of Sigismund’s Grace. The Marshal’s main fighting force has been held in reserve, waiting for the moment to follow Duke Imra Swan’s advance to the east of the Administratum complex, before swinging left into the complex itself and linking up with Earl Marshal Egalmoth’s frontal assault. With no word from Inquisitor Bhagvar and High Marshal Helbrecht, Narvecht resolves to carry through the attack with his first-born Astartes alone. A small number of Black Templars accompany the Imperial Guard and Duke Imra as they advance towards the Chaos-occupied dockyards. Word is voxed back to Marshal Narvecht within minutes of the Imperial Guard’s departure. Greater daemons of Slaanesh can be seen in the distance, towering over the ruins of the Harbour and approaching the frontlines rapidly.

The Mond’argent attack on the Wolves of Horus is a resounding success. After approaching the camp rapidly, the Mond’argent infantry dismount to screen their vehicles, allowing their big guns to pound the Chaos renegades and cultists from close range. Leman Russes, Basilisks and the regiment’s Baneblade reap a bloody toll amongst the masses, firing indiscriminately into the camp. Seeing his mortal followers in disarray, Januri Kharoghast orders his traitor Astartes to retreat east across the tundra flats before escaping into orbit. The Wolves withdraw in good order as Captain Main D’arcier attempts to restrain his jubilant gun crews. The Mond’argent have not located Louis le Six Doigts or any other Imperial Guard prisoners. D’arcier fears that his commander may have been killed alongside the mass of Chaos renegades in their haste to crush the Wolves.

Earl Marshall Egalmoth’s frontal assault on the Administratum complex suffers heavy losses. The combined Middenteer, Tiberian and Black Templar force pushes into the complex, each meter gained at a high price. Multiple cavalry charges from the Middentiria are blunted and turned back by the combined Slaaneshi forces of Lord Endymion and Almalexia. Long range bombardment from the noise marines and dreadnoughts of the Wings of Excess are followed almost instantly by the charge of daemons. Lord Endymion’s carefully choreographed defence inflicts severe casualties on the battle hardened Imperial Guard. Despite the fierce resistance, the centre of the Administratum complex is within sight for Imperial forces. Believing that Helbrecht and the Black Templars of the Redemption crusade must surely be near, Earl Marshal Egalmoth pushes forward himself and rallies the Middenteer 1077th’s cavalry for one final charge to take the high ground. With the battle approaching a critical point, Lord Endymion and his chosen bodyguards board their command Land Raider and move to join the fight.

Louis le Six Doigts is discovered on the outskirts of the former Wolves of Horus camp. After breaking free from the Wolves’ holding cells, Louis and the surviving Mond’argent prisoners have raided an arms dump and fought their way clear of the renegade and cultist hordes while the camp was under bombardment. Sergeant Stubbs of the Tiberian 1st is amongst those confirmed alive within the slave revolt. Louis le Six Doigts greets Captain Main D’arcier a changed man. Gone is the flamboyant and sometimes pompous Commander of the Mond’argent 2nd Mixed. In his place stands a man almost broken physically and mentally. Le Six Doigts immediately takes command of the Mond’argent regiment and looks to strike a further blow against the foul servants of Chaos who have infested Tiberia Major.

The centre of the Administratum complex is shelled by the Basilisks of the 2nd Mond’argent Mixed as Lord Endymion strikes down Earl Marshal Egalmoth and pushes back the Imperial assault. Endymion escapes unscathed while several of his chosen companions are killed in the hail of earthshaker shells. Climbing into his Land Raider once more, Endymion now turns his attention to the Imperial Knight, Imra Swan, and the Duke’s forces attacking east of the complex. The frontal assault of the Middenteer 1077th and Tiberian 1st has been defeated.

Inquisitor Bhagvar and High Marshal Helbrecht take Captain Varus and the renegade Legio Exsanguinor into custody without any further bloodshed. Although Bhagvar wishes the Legio be disarmed and transported off-world for trial immediately, High Marshal Helbrecht and his Black Templars refuse to carry out this demand. Varus did not raise his weapon against the Redemption Crusade, and despite the considerable weight of the Inquisitor’s word, the Astartes refuse to treat their brethren like mere criminals before they are formally convicted. The body of Chaplain Karthus is carried by Captain Varus to the fortified dockyards east of Newport Hive. Helbrecht and his Templars immediately send word to Duke Imra Swan of their return and make to join his offensive.

Marshal Narvecht and the Black Templars of Sigismund’s Grace join Duke Imra Swan’s attack. The Black Templars cut a swathe through the forces of Slaanesh as they turn due west and push towards the Administratum complex. The Duke is grevously wounded in the fighting by Almalexia of the Golden Horde. The arrival of the Black Templars pushes back the daemon hordes and allows space and time for Imra Swan to be evacuated by medics of the Middenteer 751st. Despite the failed assault and death of Earl Marshall Egalmoth, as well as the wounding of the Duke, the Middenteer regiment and Sigismund’s Grace continue their advance. Marshal Narvecht receives word that High Marshal Helbrecht will soon join the fighting.

Imperial forces take heavy casualties in the eastern assault on the Administratum complex as Lord Endymion’s meticulously executed defence is brought to bare. Marshal Narvecht and his first-born Black Templars fight through to the centre of the complex and capture the high ground. Renewed daemon assaults, led by Almalexia, prevent the Middenteer 751st from advancing alongside the Templars. The Marshal is now cut off having reached the main Imperial objective.

Narvecht and his Chaplain, Illenecht, occupy the central plaza and organise a hasty defence as the green and brown crescent of Tiberia Minor breaks the horizon and begins to rise in the purple skies of Tiberia Major. High Marshal Helbrecht and the Redemption Crusade Black Templars join the fighting and attempt to break through to Marshal Narvecht. The hordes of daemons appear to multiply and expand as the fighting thickens and Tiberia Minor rises further into the sky. Redemptor Dreadnought Atreus leads a determined charge of Templars towards the Administratum complex, banishing Almalexia and fighting his way to within a few hundred meters of Narvecht’s position. The cavalry of the Middenteer 751st make one final charge on the ever-multiplying daemon hordes in an attempt to smash through but are nearly killed to the man. The grand assault now appears on the edge of defeat.

WAAAGH UNLEASHED

Krok-Brin’s Mekanised Brigade continues to grow as more and more feudal Orks join his “lootin’ and fightin’ spree”. Bored of not finding a good scrap amongst the space wreckage, Krok-Brin decides to plunge into the warpstorms and fight his way through to the Never-ending Waagh. Although the newcomers have swollen his Brigade, Krok-Brin struggles to convince the feudal mob to follow him through the warpstorm. The Boyz of the Southern Great Ork Kingdum are still highly superstitious and deeply mistrustful of the purple-tinted warpstorm. Meanwhile, the Mekboyz have been busy bolting together hundreds of Deff Dreads, Killa Kanz and Trukks from the collected loot. Krok-Brin decides to give them an ambitious new project while he continues to use all of his cunning to convince the feudal Boyz. His Mekboyz are tasked with building a Stompa in time for the big fight with the ‘Nidz’.

Inquisitor Phi travels towards the northern warpstorms aboard the Lucky Cherub. The Inquisitor aims to roll back the warpstorm with the finger bone of Saint Agatha and reopen a safe route through the Cicatrix Maledictum to the Imperium Nihilus beyond. Meanwhile on Tiberia Minor, Company Ancient Jarvan of the Legio Exsanguinor maintains his vigil over the Saint’s crypt. Located deep in the Grangewood at the monastery’s edge, the modest tomb of Saint Agatha sits overgrown and unvisited. The hermit Saint lies alone in death, as in her life before. Jarvan’s devotion increases by the day as his solitary vigil deepens his love for the Saint and her total focus on living a secluded life in communion with the Emperor.

Krok-Brin removes himself from the daily business of lootin’ and fightin’ while he considers how to convince the feudal Boyz to travel through the warpstorm. The Kaptin-General leaves his trusty lieutenant, Big Boss Riggor Soonork, to lead the Brigade’s rampage through the debris fields surrounding the Tiberian system. After much contemplation, Krok-Brin has a realisation. The Tinboy message about humie bones and rituals pushing back the warpstorm could be useful after all. The Warboss smiles a tooty grin as he forms a cunning plan. The Boyz can have a good scrap in the beakie’s big prayin’ house on Tiberia Minor while Krok-Brin grabs this “Agartha humie’s bones”. Then, with the bones strapped to the prow of his biggest ship, Krok-Brin can gather all the feudal Boyz and sail through the warpstorm untouched by daemons or the colour purple.

Lieutenant Colonel von Clausewitz of the Krieg 23rd Armoured arrives at the outskirts of Southport Hive on Tiberia Minor. With half of the regiment’s fighting power under his command, von Clausewitz prepares to launch an attack on the city to free it from its Drukhari overlords. An advance party of Siegfried scout tanks encounter a rabble of refugees at the hive’s suburbs. They report to the Krieg that they have not seen the Drukhari of the Flayed Skull Kabal in several days. As von Clausewitz’s tanks and armoured infantry advance further, they discover the hive completely deserted by its former Xenos masters.

Alarms bray and klaxons sound on Imperial Navy frigates at the outer edge of the Tiberian system as an enormous Ork armada appears from the debris clouds ringing the twin planets. Krok-Bin’s Waagh hurtles past the Imperial ships and makes straight for Tiberia Minor. Having little time to react, acting-Admiral Ulanti transmits an urgent warning to the planet’s Marshall Defendant, the Blood Angel Lord Librarian Marzio Farelli of Sanguinius’ Shield. With part of the Imperial fleet supporting the ground offensive on Tiberia Major and a substantial number of ships escorting Inquisitor Phi into the northern warpstorms, Ulanti can do little to stand in the way of the Ork attack. The acting-Admiral sends out a distress signal, recalls his ships from the north and immediately withdraws all bomber and fighter wings from the surface of Tiberia Major. Emulating his predecessor, Admiral Corfelleon, Ulanti knows that the entire fleet will be needed if they are to defeat the Ork armada.

Lord Librarian Farelli gathers the Imperial commanders on Tiberia Minor. Lord Darius of the Legio Exsanguinor, Colonel Lehmann of the Krieg 23rd Armoured and Custode Galerius Valerius Maximinus meet hurriedly to discuss the defence of the planet against this new foe. The Imperial commanders do not know the specific target of the Ork Waagh, but all agree that the holy plateau and monastery must be defended at all costs. Lieutenant Colonel von Clausewitz is ordered to remain in Southport Hive. Once the Ork landings commence, von Clausewitz is to attack the Greenskins and draw them away from the Spineback mountains and towards the hive. If the Imperial forces on Tiberia Minor can delay the Ork onslaught and redirect it away from the monastery, then reinforcements can be landed and the Imperial Navy can attack and destroy the multitude of Ork vessels approaching the planet.

Krok-Brin’s Waaagh descends on Tiberia Minor. Avalanches and rock-slides throw up a haze of dust across the Spineback mountains as the Kaptin-General sprays the mountain range with da big gunz of his ramshackle fleet. Looted landing craft and cobbled together transport hulks fall from the sky, dozens crashing and burning on the mountain side or in the rugged terrain. To the horror of the Imperial defenders below, the Orks appear to be heading directly towards the holy plateau. Anti-aircraft fire sprays from the Hydras and Chimeraxs of the Krieg 23rd as hundreds of Roks crash onto the holy plateau, setting fire to the Grangewood and desecrating the quiet solitude of the hermitage. The purple skies above the planet begin to roil and the warpstorm’s intensity grows as the Saint’s power is disrupted by the Ork barrage, weakening reality across the system and aiding the daemon host on Tiberia Major. Big Boss Riggor Soonork appears from the wreckage of a looted Alpha Legion Thunderhawk as tens of thousands of Boyz and Nobz scramble from their hulks. Standing atop the smoking Thunderhawk, the Grangewood ablaze behind him and the mountains echoing with the rumble of rock slides and explosions, Soonork raises his Power Klaw to the boiling purple skies and bellows “WAAAAAAAAAGH!!!”.

Company Ancient Jarvan stands guard atop the crypt of Saint Agatha in the Grangewood on Tiberia Minor. Wisps of sweet smoke begin to drift through the trees as multiple forest fires start to take hold throughout the woods. Lord Darius voxes Jarvan from the monastery walls. The mountain defences constructed earlier in the war by the Krieg are now utterly useless with Orks landing directly on the holy plateau and within the monastery’s outer ring of buildings. Darius hopes that the Grangewood and crypt will be bypassed by the Orks if the main fighting is concentrated on the monastery itself. Jarvan will stand guard over the Saint’s remains alone.

The Blood Angels of Sanguinius’ Shield and the Imperial Knight, Fury Unchained, lay down volley after volley of disciplined fire on the approaching Orks, destroying as many of the Xenos who land within the vast monastery’s perimeter as possible. Stationed within the outer ring of buildings on the Silent Pasture, Colonel Lehmann’s tank brigades lend their fire to the Astartes and succeed in eliminating most of the landing Orks before they can engage Imperial forces. High above them, Krok-Brin hurtles towards the surface aboard his Kustom Mega Lander. The ship has been built with one purpose: to land his brand new Stompa, Foot of Gork, on the planet below.

On the landing strips to the north of the Spineback mountains, every available atmospheric fighter and gunship is scrambled by the Imperial Navy. While only numbering a few dozen, the atmospheric fighters power towards the holy plateau in an attempt to prevent the unfolding disaster. As they approach the monastery and begin their attack run, several aircraft are assailed at close range by a swarm of humanoid figures held aloft on leathery wings. Scenting blood in the air, the Drukhari of the Flayed Skull Kabal reappear in the Spineback mountains and make to join the slaughter. Archon Ysdrumaq wishes to seize the body of Saint Agatha for his own private “investigations”.

Krok-Brin’s Kustom Mega Lander crashes into the monastery’s outer ring of buildings and tears a huge hole in the structure just south of the main entrance. Custode Galerius Valerius Maximinus stands ready to defend the Hermitgate and honour his vow to protect it with his life. The whoop and holler of Orks echoes towards the Custode through the shattered corridors and rooms of the monastery as the crackle and thud of their crude weapons moves ever closer. A vast shadow emerges to the south of the Custode’s position within the building’s shattered footprint. With the crunching boom of it’s enormous armoured feet, Krok-Brin’s Stompa pushes into view through the choking smoke and dust. The Foot of Gork has been unleashed.

More and more Ork Roks and landers crash down onto the holy plateau and disgorge all manner of vehicles. The Blood Angels of Sanguinius’ Shield move to engage the hordes of Orks now baring down on the monastery. Positioned to the north of the Hermitgate, the Blood Angels slow the advance of the mob but cannot halt it. To the south of the Hermitgate, a roaring convoy of Ork Battlewagons and Trukks careen through the ruins of the monastery’s outer buildings and into the Silent Pasture beyond. Big Boss Riggor Soonork dismounts with his entourage of Nobz and lumbers through the ruins after the Foot of Gork, eager to be where the biggest fight is. Soonork passes Krok-Brin as he rushes forward and is astonished to see the Warboss scrambling and searching through a smouldering Librarium. “Very un-Orky behaviour”, he thinks.

The Krieg tank brigades roll forward to engage the mass of Ork vehicles now sweeping across the Silent Pasture while Colonel Lehmann leads his dismounted infantry into positions surrounding the Hermitgate. Krieg tanks engage Battlewagons across the wide expanse of the Silent Pasture, countless long range duels erupting in a frenzy of cannon fire. Drukhari Raiders and Ravagers sweep in to join the fray, the dark lances of the Xenos punching through the hulls of several Leman Russes. Archon Ysdrumaq holds back from the main fighting himself. The Archon is intrigued by the Ork’s deliberate and purposeful attack, having only witnessed this level of broad organisation from Orks a handful of times across the centuries of his life. Ysdrumaq’s interest is heightened further when his Dracon, Garavhar, reports that an enormous Warboss, possibly the Waaagh’s leader, has been spotted searching through the shattered monastery instead of fighting at the front of his mob. The Archon departs immediately to view this curiosity for himself.

The increasing noise of battle washes over the Grangewood as the sporadic forest fires begin to grow and join each other. Still guarding the Saint’s tomb, Company Ancient Jarvan peers into the thickening smoke, ready to unleash a hail of bolter shells at a moment’s notice. Jarvan drops in front of the tomb and squeezes his weapon’s trigger as the scrub rustles before him and the foot of an Ork Kommando appears briefly. With a howl the Ork drops dead before a hail of return fire rips through the trees towards Jarvan. Back in the ruins of the monastery, Krok-Brin’s yakka-box squawks into life. Through the waves of white noise, the Warboss can just make out the voice of his Kommando Boss Shaddakrump. The Kommando’s Findaboyz believe they have found Agartha’s old humie box. Krok-Brin let’s out a roar at a passing Trukk, krumps the driver when he stops and then heads off at speed towards the Grangewood.

Lord Darius of the Legio Exsanguinor receives word from Ancient Jarvan that the tomb of Saint Agatha has been discovered and is under attack from the Orks. Darius gathers his fellow Exsanguinor Astartes and launches from the monastery walls. As the Blood Angels soar across the holy plateau with their jump-packs, they witness a sobering sight. Hundreds of Ork Killa Kans and Deff Dreads have assembled between the Grangewood and the Hermitgate. Darius voxes a warning to his Blood Angels compatriot, Lord Librarian Marzio Farelli. Sanguinius’ Shield and the Imperial Knight, Fury Unchained, stand in the way of the Ork’s coming mechanical stampede.

Galerius Valerius Maximinus slays thousands of Orks as he defends the Hermitgate while Colonel Lehmann is forced to redirect fire from his Leman Russ Vanquishers and Destroyer tank hunters towards the Stompa. Despite scoring several direct hits, and killing all but one of the Ork pilots, Lehmann’s tanks cannot halt the Ork construct before they are overwhelmed on the Silent Pasture by the combination of Ork and Drukhari vehicles. Seeing the danger posed by the approaching Stompa, Maximinus determines to push south through the ruins and board the enormous walker before it can demolish the monastery gatehouse. As the Custode battles his way forward through waves of Greenskins, the Stompa’s supa-gatler squeals into life before unleashing a hurricane of fire. Hundreds of Boyz are turned to green and black mist as the ferocious weapon tears a path through the mob before finally reaching the advancing Custode. As the acrid black smoke and gory rain of Ork flesh clears, Maximinus continues his advance on the Stompa. The surviving Ork pilot looses control of his Grot crew as they witness the seemingly invincible Custode march through the hail of supa-gatler fire. The Foot of Gork veers away from Maximinus and the Hermitgate, crashes through the western wall of the monastery and thuds across the Silent Pasture.

Lord Darius and his small band of Legio Exsanguinor Astartes drop from the skies into the Grangewood and rush to Company Ancient Jarvan’s aid. Jarvan continues to despatch any Ork who dares make a charge for the Saint’s crypt as his Lord and battle brothers join the firefight. Ork after Ork attempts to charge the beleaguered Space Marines, emerging from the now dense smoke of the forest fires with guttural roars and choppas held aloft. The roar of vehicles is heard in the near distance by the Astartes. Darius and Jarvan know that no Imperial aid will arrive. The Krieg 23rd Armoured and Sanguinius’ Shield are fully committed to the defence of the monastery and cannot disengage without the risk of catastrophic losses. Several Ork warbikes scream through the blazing trees at full throttle and unleash a flurry of gun fire. The drive-by shooting claims the first Astartes death in the Grangewood as a member of Darius’ honour guard has his head caved in by multiple solid slugs. The deeper roar of Ork Trukks can be heard approaching. Warboss Krok-Brin approaches the Grangewood rapidly.

Boss Riggor Soonork approaches the gaping Stompa-shaped hole in the western face of the monastery and stares incredulously at the retreating form of the titanic robot. Soonork declares that he will personally krump the heads of every yellow-gut Grot and Boy aboard the Stompa when this is over. Custode Galerius Valerius Maximinus stands in the path of Riggor Soonork and his Mega Armoured Nobz. The Custode lowers his spear into a fighting stance and settles his footing amongst the gore and rubble strewn floor of the ruined monastery. Soonork and his Nobz lurch forward into a charge with a mighty waagh-roar. As the distance closes between the Orks and the Custode, a screeching wail and rippling thunderclap sounds from the Silent Pasture. Regaining control of the Foot of Gork from his traitorous Grot crew, the single Ork pilot unleashes the fury of the Stompa’s supa-gatler at Maximinus once more. The fearsome weapon completely misses the Custode, rips through the already damaged monastery and collapses a whole swathe of the building. Galerius Valerius Maximinus is buried beneath a landslide of rockrete. The great cascade of rubble tumbles away from the Hermitgate and throws up a huge mushroom cloud of white dust. Covered head-to-toe in the milky film, Riggor Soonork roars in frustration as the biggest fight of his life is stolen from under his nose.

A wave of Ork walkers scuttle and stampede up the gentle slopes leading from the Grangewood to the Hermitgate. The mob of Killa Kanz and Deff Dreads barrel into the battle line of Sanguinius’ Shield Blood Angels as they are fired upon at point blank range. Machine after machine bursts into flames as the desperate Space Marines grapple hand-to-hand with the giant walkers and slip krak grenades or melta charges into any uncovered gap in the machines’ armour. Fury Unchained’s Las-Impulsor punches hot death into countless Killa Kans before being overwhelmed and peeled apart by the endless waves of Ork machines.

Colonel Lehmann directs his remaining infantry, now dug in around the Hermitgate, to direct all of their fire at the approaching war-machines. The lasguns and heavy stubbers of the Krieg do little to assist the Blood Angels who slowly succumb, one-by-one, to the snapping klaws of the Killa Kans and Deff Dreads. Seeing his defensive line slowly collapse, Lord Librarian Dreadnought Marzio Farelli charges headlong into the horde with a blast of psychic energy. Several Deff Dreads crumple as they are imploded by Farelli’s psychic onslaught. Machine duels machine as Farelli’s power fist clashes with Ork dread klaws. The weight of numbers against the Lord Librarian eventually takes its toll as several successive blows cripple the Dreadnought’s propulsion system and leave Farelli stranded in a fog of hissing coolants and steam. Still able to operate his power fist, and deliver blasts of psychic energy, Lord Librarian Farelli is bypassed by the Ork walkers as they continue their charge towards the Hermitgate.

With Orks approaching his position from two sides, the Blood Angels nearly wiped out, and Custodian Maximinus buried beneath the collapsed monastery, Colonel Lehmann finds himself alone in the Hermitgate. The Silent Pasture is strewn with the smoking wrecks of his tanks, while the Grangewood blazes with countless fires below his position. In the skies above, the warpstorms churn with greater and greater energy, expanding all the time as a handful of Imperial Navy aircraft continue to strafe the rampant Ork horde. Colonel Lehmann gives the order to fix bayonets. With three words, the Krieg colonel draws his sword and steps up and out of his slit trench. The remains of the Death Korps of Krieg infantry rise as one from their hastily dug foxholes and follow their commander down the slopes and towards the Grangewood without hesitation. “To the Saint!”

EPILOGUE – THE EVERSTURM GROWS

The warpstorms surrounding the Tiberian system rage as the monastery of Saint Agatha is sacked by Krok-Brin’s Mekanised Brigade and the Flayed Skull Kabal. The Saint’s tomb is looted, with Krok-Brin’s Boyz grabbing all the bones except for a single tibia. The body of the Saint is now divided between the Ork Brigade, the Flayed Skull Kabal and Inquisitor Phi of the Ordo Maledictum. The desecration of the holy plateau, the monastery and the Saint’s crypt disrupts real space and allows the Eversturm to grow.

The single finger bone of Saint Agatha aboard the Lucky Cherub prevents the real-space corridors surrounding the Tiberian system from collapsing immediately and allows acting-Admiral Ulanti and the Imperial Navy to conduct an organised withdrawal from the Tiberia Major’s surface. Almalexia’s Golden Host of Slaaneshi daemons multiply exponentially with the Saint’s holy presence now extinguished. Imperial forces are engaged in a fighting retreat from the southern dockyards of Newport and the Harbour. The remains of the Middenteer 1077th are subsumed within the 751st and evacuated from Tiberia Major following the failed grand assault. The 2nd Mond’argent Mixed are airlifted from the tundra flats while the surviving Redemption Crusade Black Templars depart aboard their strike cruiser.

Cut off from the main Imperial force and surrounded, Sigismund’s Grace is destroyed by the combined forces of Almalexia and Lord Endymion. Marshal Narvecht and Chaplain Illenecht make a last stand on the high ground at the centre of the Administratum complex. Hour upon hour of intense combat passes before Lord Endymion himself arrives at the Templar holdout. The heretic Astartes cements his place as Lord of the planet by killing the Marshall and his Chaplain in single combat. Endymion’s masterful defence and perfection in combat has given birth to the Slaaneshi Lordship of Tiberia Major.

On Tiberia Minor, the remnants of the Legio Exsanguinor and Sanguinius’ Shield escape the Ork Waagh. Lord Librarian Marzio Farelli’s sarcophagus is recovered by the Blood Angels as they fight their way clear of the Hermitgate and are extracted by Thunderhawk gunships. Lord Darius of the Legio Exsanguinor rendezvous’ with his fellow Blood Angels’ gunships in the skies above the Grangewood, Company Ancient Jarvan’s body held tight in his arms.

The Flayed Skull Kabal retire to the webway. Archon Ysdrumaq has gathered plentiful slaves in the Tiberian system and has acquired a shin bone of Saint Agatha for his “investigations”. The Archon intends to deliver the tibia to his Haemonculi for their study, and the possible re-incarnation of the Saint’s physical form.

The Orks of Krok-Brin’s Mekanised Brigade depart Tiberia Minor as the warpstorms close in. With the bones of Saint Agatha strapped to the prow of the Warboss’ warship, the Waaagh carves a path through the purple storms and makes for fresh wars.

Lieutenant Colonel von Clausewitz and his half of the Krieg 23rd Armoured are abandoned on Tiberia Minor. The warpstorms completely consume the planet and prevent any major rescue operation. Unknown to Imperial forces, the surface of the planet remains untouched by the warp as the residual effects of Saint Agatha prevent daemons from materialising on the soil of Tiberia Minor. Von Clausewitz sets the population of Southport Hive to work in fortifying the city and making ready for a potentially endless siege within the Cicatrix Maledictum.

Custode Galerius Valerius Maximinus emerges from the rubble of Saint Agatha’s monastery. The holy plateau has been abandoned by the Xenos, leaving Maximinus alone in the Spineback mountains. Unsure about why the warpstorms have not consumed the planet’s surface, the Custode determines to continue his watch over the Hermitgate and the now ruined monastery.

Inquisitor Phi departs with the finger bone of Saint Agatha for the Ecclesiastical world of San-Lucia. The Inquisitor plans to place the bone in Cardinal Vespatcha’s care before setting out to track down the rest of the Saint.

Contrary to Inquisitor Bhagvar’s orders, Admiral Corfelleon is transported to the Claxus Sector by the Imperial Navy. This “error” is corrected when Inquisitor Dramelgus, once the son of a high ranking naval officer in Segmentum command, takes Corfelleon into custody. Refusing to transfer the Admiral back to Bhagvar’s custody, Dramelgus conducts the trial of Corfelleon himself and clears him of all accusations. Furious at this outcome, Inquisitor Bhagvar places Captain Varus and the Legio Exsanguinor on trial immediately. With little support within the dissolving battlegroup, and with High Marshal Helbrecht advocating for the Astartes actions, the Inquisitor is forced to take the pragmatic step of clearing the Legio of any wrongdoing. Despite this, Bhagvar refuses to acquit Captain Varus. The Space Marine Captain is found guilty of collaborating with Xenos. Varus is offered the chance to atone for his sins and serve as a penitent in the Inquisitor’s retinue.

Inquisitor Falcone departs the Tiberian system with his reputation in ruins. The wider Imperial leadership places the failure of the battlegroup at his feet. His delay in joining the battlegroup, his lack of clear direction and the disruption caused by the Triumvirate’s investigations are whispered of on command decks and within officer’s chambers. With little authority remaining, and even more unclear objectives, the battlegroup disintegrates as Falcone fails to attract reinforcements to his cause.

*Assisted by Chat GPT-4.