Manouvers in the Jimulthuan Quadrant: IV

Ever faster, ever more violent, the war had grown in size and scope to encompass almost every system in the quadrant. 

Brutal Homecoming

Emboldened by the failing Imperial defence lines, the ruling councils of the T'Pau Sept in Rylstone decided the time was ripe to finally claim the system, once and for all. A massive frontal assault was launched on the last bastion of the Imperium there, Rylstone III, homeworld of the Crypt Angels. 

It was an unmitigated disaster. 

The Crypt Angels had lured the xenos into a trap - masking their own presence andwithdrawing from their entrenched positions, they waited for the hasty hunters to overextend themselves. When they inevitably did, the Crypt Angel counterstrike was as clinical as it was devastating. 

The T'Pau lost countless battlesuits to hit-and-run strike teams. Supply lines were cut both on the ground and in the void by vicious close-range ambushes, and the Xenos assault was hurled back in disarray. 

Rylstone was still far from won, however. Tyranid infestations continued to establish themselves across the system, sending their beckoning signal to the tendrils of Hive Fleet Afanc. And despite their losses, the T'au were still in control of most of the rest of the system. Could the Crypt Angels capitalise on their advantage before the Xenos rallied? 

Homefield Advantage

Deep in the Vulniis Inferniis, the Chaos fleet under Lord Servillus was still in nearly open rebellion. His many warlords, disheartened by the losses he had led them to, had withdrawn to their own secret harbours, deep in the swirling madness of the warp rift. There, they strengthened their strongholds and bickered against each other. 

They were not as safe as they thought. Inquisitor Vodiis, still reeling at the treachery of his Navigator, was marooned, unable to risk a warp jump in the turmoil of the rift. Surrounded by Chaos warbands and the inherent perils of the Vulniis, he still found a way to strike back at the old foe. 

Chance brought him face to face with Xenos voidfarers - shipbreakers and miners from a minor Votann Oathband. Unafraid of the roiling warpstorm, they were sifting the wreckage there for spoils. 

Where many servants of the Imperium would have avoided or destroyed them, Vodiis hired them. 

Bribed by an Inquisitorial promise of rich trade and rewards in Drawbridge, the Votann agreed to sabotage the Chaos fleet in its many secret docks. Before executing him, Vodiis had put his Navigator to the question and was well able to provide exact details of the Chaos ships locations. The Votann slipped in, sending small, eleven-strong teams in through airlocks, waste pipes and atmospheric recycler shafts to hit reactors and engine rooms. 

Deep in the crowded darkness of the Chaos armada's hulls, the same scenes played out over and over again as the Votann agents struck, delivering football-sized explosive charges to critical systems. Ships exploded at berth, entire crews choked as their air vented, point defence systems abruptly fired on friendly fuel tankers or even their own ship. It seemed to the Chaos fleetmasters that they were cursed by the warp, for the enemy that struck them faded away again before they could be found or fought. 

Furious, Lord Servillus ordered the remaining fleet out of the warpstorm and into orbit around Bagot Prime. Worse tidings of his war efforts were being broadcast from there, and he knew he had little time left to act before his entire enterprise collapsed around him. 

Home Defence

The Death Guard had finally encircled the Ultramarines positions on Bagot Prime. The Necrons were still tormented by viral visions, but had left the loyalists battered. A final push could see the main Ultramarine stronghold captured and destroyed. 

Massive convoys of heavy artillery moved sluggishly. As they crawled towards their final firing positions, they were intercepted by fast-moving White Scars. Astralhand's allies hadn't left the planet, they'd just been biding their time until the Death Guard forgot about them. 

Sluggish and poorly defended, the artillery convoys either fell back or were destroyed. The Astartes had achieved a stay of execution and maintained their planetary fortress. This was as well, for the skies over the planet now started to darken with the arrival of the battered Chaos Fleet. 

Bagot Prime was still primarily in Chaos hands. Badly needed repairs were sent by the Death Guard to the fleet, which finally began to resemble a fighting force again. Lord Servillus was determined to show the rabble he commanded a victory worthy of the dark gods. Bagot Prime would serve as an excellent proving ground. 

Home to Roost

Epistolary Astralhand, in the meantime, was mired in a legal battle very far from his own choosing. Trapped in preliminary hearings in the absence of the Inquisitor required to actually judge him, he fumed at the laggardly pace of the Legislatum in Drawbridge. He was at least still able to relay commands to his lieutenants and allies, both amongst the Mantis Warriors and the Imperial fleet. 

Merciless purges on Drawbridge itself took place as Ultramarines and Mantis Warriors worked alongside each other, utterly crushing the uprisings amongst the industrial cities. Wherever Chaos reared its heads, the Astartes smote them back into the soil. 

Not all the uprisings were chaotic, however. Several were Imperial loyalists who dared to protest the heavy hand of the Angels of Death. Here, Astralhand avoided direct conflict, allowing the Planetary governor to deal with his rambunctious subjects. Seeing what became of their less loyal compatriots, the protesters quickly realised what their likely fate would be. The protests subsided almost at once, but all the disturbances meant that Drawbridge was still inoperable. The lost flow of munitions and supplies would be costing the Imperium greatly elsewhere, and Astralhand knew he had to break the deadlock. 

Homefires

With this knowledge, Astralhand sent his fleet to the nearby Transcaridian Docks. Here, what should have been a bustling Imperial shipyard had become little more than a nest of Xenos pirates and scum. The recent wars in Drawbridge had let these vipers run amok unchecked, and it was high time the docks were reclaimed. 

More allies to Astralhand's cause, a company of Raven Guard, were sent to scout out one of the major refitting workshops in the massive Transcaridian space station complex. They were immediately set upon by Ork pirates who'd been using the local mass transit system as a racing circuit. 

Whether it was glee at having some new sport or fury at having their original race disturbed, the outcome was the same. The Raven Guard quickly disengaged under heavy fire, taking numerous casualties. The Xenos presence here was far greater than anticipated. By kicking this hornet's nest, Astralhand had opened yet another front in the growing conflict. 

The ork-controlled defence systems of the sprawling dock complex started spewing missiles. Beset by enemy fire and taking damage at an alarming rate, the Imperial fleet was forced into an emergency withdraw to Alebus. 

Campaign Round Four

Well, things are starting to get personal now. There's a leader emerging, but even they aren't getting it all their own way. Here are the games we played:

• The Xenos attempted to Instigate Insurrection against the Imperium in Drawbridge. It was going to be an actual game of 40K, but for various reasons, it ended up being a dice roll instead, and poor old Chaos didn't make the grade. No penalty for them, at least, they can always find more stooges to lead astray later. 
• The Imperium prepared an Orbital Assault against the Xenos in the Transcaridian Docks. It didn't go very well! They got sent packing, and are now in Disarray in Alebus.
• Chaos tried to Capture some Imperial Infrastructure in Bagot Prime. They lost! That would let Pootle change his Stronghold to another type of infrastructure if he wanted, but I somehow doubt he does. 
• The Crypt Angels woke up angry and gave the Xenos in Rylstone a hard lesson in battlefield Dominance. They've put their own Dominance up one and the Xenos down one. 
• The Inquisition managed to assault the Chaos fleet in Vulniis Inferniis, This was settled by a game of Blood Bowl, and the Chaos Fleet was driven off to Bagot Prime, where they clearly belong. 

With all that fighting out of the way, everyone consolidated:

• The Xenos Fleet has moved to Mombassa
• The Chaos Fleet has rallied 
• The Inquisition bides its time (two combat actions next round)
• The Imperium's Fleet has rallied
• The Crypt Angels seem to be biding their time (tbc)

After all that, not much has changed in terms of who controls what. So that means the scores and the map now look like this:

• Imperium still Dominant in Alebus and Zamaroon (which could still be worth double thanks to the supply depot if they can ever claim it back) - 2 points for a total of 10.
• Xenos still Dominant in Rylstone, the Transcaridian Docks and Haga - 3 points for a total of 12. 
• Chaos still Dominant in the SDF, Bagot Prime and the Vulniis Infernii - 3 points for a total of 10. 
• The Crypt Angels are yet to score, but as a catchup mechanism, the first time they reduce an enemy's Dominance to zero in a system, they will score four points. They score normally on top of that. Right now, though, they still have a total of 0. 
• The Inquisition has wangled a draw in Drawbridge, Mombassa and Gauntlegun - 3 points for a total of 11. 

So the Xenos are out in front right now, under Drukharii Coven Master Jhnlk. Cursed Xenos! Will nobody rid us of them?