13th Black Crusade (Original)

The 13th Black Crusade of Abaddon the Despoiler that began in 999.M41 resulted in the largest mobilisation of both Imperial and Chaotic forces seen in the Milky Way Galaxy since the Horus Heresy. During this campaign, at least one of the remaining Blackstone Fortresses still in the hands of Abaddon the Despoiler was destroyed by Necron raiders since they were weapons crafted by the Old Ones that were originally intended to destroy the Necrons' Star Gods, the C'tan.

The 13th Black Crusade was the in-game background to the worldwide Warhammer 40,000 Eye of Terror Campaign. It resulted in a minor victory for the Forces of Chaos and gave the Warmaster of Chaos Undivided, Abaddon the Despoiler of the Black Legion and his Chaotic allies, the territorial foothold they had long sought within the Cadian Gate, though he suffered grievous losses to his naval warfleet.

While the surface of the Fortress World of Cadia is now largely controlled by the Forces of Chaos, the skies above Cadia are almost entirely ruled by Lord Admiral Quarren and the Gothic and Solar Battlefleet Groups as well as fleet elements from several Chapters of Space Marines, leaving the ultimate result of the 13th Black Crusade a stalemate as the battle between the Imperium and the Chaos foothold on Cadia rages on. Having both space and air superiority gives a significant advantage to the Imperial forces, allowing the deployment of fresh troops and the continuous bombardment of Abaddon's trapped army on Cadia as the 42nd Millennium began.

Gothic War's Outcome
"Like the great storm of the Heresy, the forces of the True Gods will descend upon the False Emperor's minions. The stars will tremble at their passage, the mighty armadas of the Warmasters will bring annihilation to a hundred worlds. Great shall be the slaughter, most pleasing shall be the flow of blood. The fools who follow the Emperor will be brought low, forced to their knees amidst the corpses of their families and friends. The thrice-cursed one shall become as a living god, the power to destroy the Weakling Emperor shall be within his grasp. Know this, for these things will come to pass and the galaxy itself will be the spoils of victory."

- Constanze the Prophetess, burned as a Heretic, 356.M38

To understand the full course and impact of the 13th Black Crusade upon the galaxy, it is first necessary to retell the tale of Abaddon the Despoiler's 12th Black Crusade, better known in Imperial records as the Gothic War. Like many sector-wide conflicts, the Gothic War began slowly, with sporadic Chaotic raids against smaller Imperial outposts in the year 139.M41. Vessels whose crews had been stricken with diseases sacred to the Plague Lord Nurgle were discovered adrift in the Athena Sector of Segmentum Obscurus, along with sightings of the Chaos warship Plagueclaw, and Astropaths began reporting unsettling disturbances in the Warp that slowly cut off the Gothic Sector of the Segmentum Obscurus from the rest of Imperial space. Panic and anarchy became widespread in the Gothic Sector as fanatical religious sects arose, believing that the Emperor was displeased with them. Hysteria spread throughout the sector and on many Imperial worlds order broke down completely. The Imperial Navy lost several starships to "accidents" in space dock that were subsequently blamed on poor maintenance and faulty ammunition -- a rather too convenient explanation for many. Three years after the first Chaos raid on the Imperial listening post at Arx, in 142.M41, the forces of Abaddon the Despoiler, Warmaster of the Black Legion and leader of the allied forces of Chaos Undivided, struck out at the Gothic Sector from the Eye of Terror.

Abaddon's Chaotic warfleets struck at a dozen Imperial bases and sent the warships of the Imperial Navy's Battlefleet Gothic reeling. Chaotic starships attacked all across the Gothic Sector and the first inkling of Abaddon's true intentions in launching the 12th Black Crusade against the sector was to come to light in the Rebo System, where one of the mysterious xenos Blackstone Fortressesorbited the fifth planet. These massive edifices of unknown alien origin had been refitted by the Imperium to serve as orbital bases for the starships of Battlefleet Gothic. For the first time in the history of the Imperium, one of these fortresses fell to Abaddon's forces and he was soon to make horrifying use of the captured base's advanced alien technology. Abaddon's fleet possessed a devastating weapon, never before seen by the Imperium in the hands of the Forces of Chaos, called the Planet Killer. Its name was not simply born from the arrogance of its Dark Mechanicum builders, but was a well-deserved epithet as Abaddon demonstrated at the Cardinal World of Savaven. The account of the utter destruction of Savaen as witnessed by Jeremiah Soldagen, Savaven's orbital defence commander, still has the power to chill one's soul. His description of entire continents splitting apart, burning skies and the planet breaking up into pieces is solemn reading. Fourteen million people died with a single hour and the crippling effects of this on Imperial morale at the time should not be underestimated; many worlds were hurriedly--though unfortunately not always entirely -- evacuated before the Planet Killerarrived.

Another Blackstone Fortress fell to Chaos at the world of Brinaga. At Fularis II, Abaddon was to demonstrate the true power of these ancient xenos constructs. Exact information regarding the incident remains sketchy in Imperial records, but the evidence points to a massive energy beam being unleashed from the Blackstone Fortress that scoured Fularis II bare, stripping its atmosphere and transforming its surface into a barren, rocky plain.

Imperial forces were continually engaged throughout the Gothic Sector, from the Hammerhead Deeps to the Cyclops Cluster, desperate to halt the might of the Chaos fleet's crusade. At the beginning of 151.M41, Lord Admiral Ravensburg, the Imperial Navy flag officer in command of Battlefleet Gothic, took the fight to the enemy, resulting in the clash at the Battle of Gethsemane where he was able to utterly destroy a Chaos warfleet of considerable size. Eldar vessels also fought in this battle, though many Imperial historians believe their role to have been minimal, the evidence indicates that the Eldar's involvement against the Forces of Chaos were considerable during the latter stages of the Gothic War through the use of their Webway Warp Gates.

News of this great victory invigorated the Imperial Navy and as the Warp Storms that had isolated the Gothic Sector for over a decade began to abate as the Dark Gods grew wrathful and capricious at their forces' defeat, Imperial vessels from neighbouring sectors were finally able to reinforce the Lord Admiral's bloodied Battlefleet Gothic. Abaddon then brought the full power of the Blackstone Fortresses he had captured to bear on the star of Tarantis, the mustering point for the new Imperial starships entering the Gothic Sector, in an attempt to stem Battlefleet Gothic's reinforcements. Combining their power, the Blackstones destabilized the Tarantis star and caused it to go nova, destroying everything still within the star system in spectacular fashion.

The final battle of the Gothic War was fought at the world of Shindelgeist, where the Imperial Blackstone V still floated in the depths of space. A trap was sprung by the Lord Admiral and the Eldar, who defeated Abaddon's greatest warfleet in a truly magnificient three-day-long battle. In an act of spite, Abaddon sought to destroy the star there also and had it not been for the sacrifice of Captain Abridal on the Flame of Purity, the victory could have been a hollow one. Abaddon had been defeated, though he escaped back into the Eye of Terror with two of his captured Blackstone Fortresses, though various sources claimed at the time that they must have been destroyed. Unfortunately, as the Thirteenth Black Crusade would demonstrate, this was merely wishful thinking on the part of the Imperium.

Plague of Typhus
As the end of the 41st Millennium drew closer, the first signs that Abaddon's long-feared attack was imminent came in the form of numerous sightings of drifting vessels emerging from the Warp in the sectors of Imperial space surrounding the Eye of Terror in the Segmentum Obscuras. The Astropathic station at Belisar Majoris was the first to report that they had detected a high number of Space Hulks approaching the the outer reaches of the Belisar and Agrapinaas systems. First signs were that the majority of these hulks were uninhabited, but this was most likely wrong. Current estimates also placed these vessels converging on multiple vectors for the core planets of each sub-sector. While the number of space hulks was rare, it was not exceptional.

In response to this alarming report, Marshal Helk (commander-in-chief of the 2nd Army Group) ordered the deployment of additional troops aboard the 211st, 340th and 401st Naval Interdiction Squadrons, with a view to affecting boarding operations on those hulks suspected of harbouring life. The Commissariat tripled attachment levels to these units, and all higher command ranks were informed of the possibility that these vessels might carry the taint of the Warp. The vessels of the Adeptus Astartesboardedthose they could, but their numbers were limited, as always. The Space Marines found these hulks to be Chaos-twisted and disease-ridden nightmares, and subsequently, every such vessel encountered was henceforth, destroyed with torpedoes and bombardment cannons, but for some it was already too late. In what could not have been a coincidence, outbreaks of virulent sickness erupted among Imperial Navy crews within a day of a reported sighting of the dreaded Chaos starship Plagueclaw in the outer reaches of the Urthwart System by Captain Roark of the Dauntless-class cruiser Duke Lurstophan. As the sickness spread throughout the region's Imperial naval forces and the number of starships fit for duty fell exponentially with the disease's progression, even more Space Hulks dropped out of the Warp, converging on vital strategic worlds. Ships from neighbouring sub-sectors rushed to destroy the Hulks and a small, ad hoc fleet was assembled at the vast orbital shipyards of the Dead World of Belis Corona in the sector of the same name under the command of the Imperial Navy's Admiral Quarren. The Imperial fleet surged from port and began the hunt for the Plagueclaw, though they were to encounter something far, far worse. In the shadow of the Frenerax Dust Cloud, the Imperial fleet was ambushed by a force of Chaos warships led by the Terminus Est, the flagship of the Herald of Nurgle, the Chaos Lord Typhus of the Death GuardTraitor Legion himself. The battle was short and bloody, with several Imperial warships crippled in the opening salvo of torpedoes, while others were overrun by vile, diseased creatures that vomited forth from the loathsome Chaos boarding craft. Admiral Quarren recovered well from his shock and rallied his forces superbly, counterattacking and fighting his way clear of the Chaos fleet's trap. Typhus did not pursue and the majority of Quarren's fleet was able to limp back to port at Belis Corona. The Battle of Frenerax had been a costly disaster for the Imperium, but there was much worse to come. During the return journey to Belis Corona, thousands of Imperial Navy crewmen sickened and died and only with the help of system pilots was the Imperial fleet able to dock safely. But if the situation at Belis Corona was bad, it was worse elsewhere. Many of the Plague Hulks had slipped through the Imperial defensive net and the same contagion that had struck down the Imperial starships' crews was spreading like wildfire through many inhabited worlds in the Cadian and Agripinaa Sectors as well as those of the Belis Corona Sector. The Hive World of Subiaco Diablo proved to be an ideal breeding ground for the unknown plague and was quickly quarantined by officers from the Adeptus Administratum's Officio Medicae, but not before millions of people had already sickened and died. Within a standard month, a dozen other worlds reported cases of the same plague and panic spread throughout the Segmentum Obscuras as transit between neighbouring sectors was halted by the Imperial Navy in an attempt to stop further infection. As the epidemic spread, apocalyptic religious sects once more began to appear on every world afflicted with the diseases, just as they had before the Gothic War, preaching that the Emperor's wrath had descended upon them and was a punishment for their sins of wickedness and vice. Only the truly faithful would be spared the Curse of Unbelief, as they named the plague, and hordes of flagellants filled the streets of every world around the Eye of Terror. The continued health of these fanatics gave their words the sheen of truth and millions flocked to hear their extreme rhetoric out of fear for their lives. The plague continued to spread, but it was on Subiaco Diablo that the true horror of the disease was finally revealed. To the shock and disgust of the planet's inhabitants, the mass graves deep in the ash plains of the hive world that contained the bodies of the afflicted heaved and split open and the corpses of those who had perished in the plague climbed up from the lime-encrusted ground. Soon millions of shambling corpses were advancing on the nearby hive city that they had once called home, clawing their way inside and attacking the already disease-weakened inhabitants. Within months, plague zombies were climbing from their graves on scorres of worlds throughout the segmentum's Belis Corona and Agripinaa Sectors and Imperial forces were stretched to their limits in containing these Chaos abominations as well as mobs of flagellating zealots who burned medicae ward facilities to the ground in their misguided attempts to stop the spread of the plague. Paralysed by the sheer scale of the zombie epidemic, the Imperial Navy forces in these regions were completely unprepared for the vast Chaos warfleet that emerged from the Warp at the edge of the Subiaco Diablo System and surged into Imperial space. The Herald of Nurgle, the Traveller, Typhus of the Death Guard Traitor Legion, had come to reap the harvest of his plague of undeath and there was nothing to stand in his way as he claimed the world as the newest province in the Plague Lord's eternal kingdom of death.

Signs and Portents
As the plague known as the Curse of Unbelief swept through many Imperial worlds throughout the Belis Corona and Agripnaa sectors, fanatical cults preaching that the Imperium had forsaken the teachings of the Emperor grew in number. They decried the sufferers' sickness as just punishment for their wickedness, claiming that only in the flames of purgation of pain could the cure be found, and they would provide both. On Malin's Reach and Lelithar, Imperial rule all but broke down as the plague crippled the authorities' ability to contain the rantings of self-proclaimed "Prophets of the End Times" which whipped entire populations   into frenzies of insanity. The Ecclesiarchy had dispatched the highest officers of the Church to quieten the souls of the people, yet at this time of direst need had become itself embroiled in internecine conflict. A number of cardinals had cast in their lot with those who preached that the Emperor's judgment had found his servants wanting, rendering the Synods impotent and powerless to impose their spiritual authority when it is most desperately needed Naval facilities and symbols of Imperial rule were openly attacked and over the following weeks, mob rule virtually replaced that of the Administratum on many outlying worlds.

Overpopulated Hive Worlds as far apart as the Scarus and the Cadian sectors have erupted in violence, seemingly without cause. Even the higher echelons of Hive World Tabor and the naval base of Belis Corona have proven to be riven with Chaos cults. Charismatic demagogues are inciting frenzied mobs to fight the ruthless, crushing oppression inherent in the Imperium, and hundreds of thousands have heeded their seditious ravings. Assassinations and poisonings herald new eras of anarchy in key warzones, and whole supply fleets have mysteriously vanished. Nemesis Tessera, St. Josmane’s Hope and Lelithar are all ravaged by insurrection. In the panicked streets of Thracian Primaris, one man alone had succeeded in uniting the desperate citizens against the evils of chaos. The worlds of the Belis Corona system have undergone a massive recruitment drive, and priestly delegations stir up Imperial conscripts into a fever of righteous anger.

In the wake of such catastrophic breakdown of Imperial rule on so many planets in the surrounding sectors, vast disturbances were sensed in the Warp, stirring the already volatile medium of the Immaterium into new and violent life. The fringes of Warp Storm Baphomael expanded to engulf the edges of the Cadian System and many of the Astropaths based there reported terrible visions and bloody omens that all pointed to a time of coming war. Reports kept pouring in, which indicated a horrifying escalation in the scale of these disturbances. Reports were sketchy at best, but it appeared that a massive psychic backlash had caused the Choir Chamber at Belisar in the spire of Hive Teriax to explode. The top nine levels of the spire having been obliterated and the death toll was numbered in the thousands.

Any doubt that Chaos was in the ascendant had been cast aside following these events on almost every civilised world. Even on blessed Cadia the Imperium had seen signs of recidivist activity. So close to the Eye, they had come to expect the taint of the Warp to afflict those of weak soul, and they had learned to recognise and excise its influence wherever it was found. In one notable incident, Lord Commissar Salin seconded a company of Kasrkin assigned to Headquarters Security and led a raid upon the barracks of the 92nd Cadian Shock Troops Regiment. He rounded up a cadre of senior officers who, he claimed, were in league with agents of the Warp. No evidence of his accusation was presented to the General Staff and there was no duty upon the Lord Commissar to do so. The officers were summarily executed upon the parade ground of Kasr Orlak. That highly regarded officers of the Cadian military might have thrown in their lot with the Archenemy filled many souls with shame and confirmed the worst of their fears. A dark time was surely approaching.

The Voice of the Emperor
On Lelithar, a powerful figure had arisen amongst the raving cults and fanatics, proclaiming himself to be the "Voice of the Emperor." An orator of fearsome skill, this mysterious individual had roused entire populations with his passionate speeches. Many within the Sector High Command advocated the extermination of this individual, lest his outpourings lead to further unrest. However, all across the system the backlash of those still faithful to the Imperium begins. The Ordos Cadia believed this so-called "Voice of the Emperor" to be an individual of the utmost danger. Lelithar was home to several thousand PDF regiments divided into 65 Army Groups, and it appeared that an estimated 40 percent of their personnel have thrown in their lot with this so-called "Voice." Many of these units had deserted, a large number actually making it off-world, where they had dispersed to varying locations including Yayor, Amistel, Albitern and Bar-el. That the Imperial forces had lost such a body of men to a demagogue is cause for grave concern in itself, but it would be enough for High Command that the Ordo Hereticus wanted him dead.

Within a week, there was a great resurgence of piety amongst the Imperial citizenry, thanks to the so-called "Voice of the Emperor." Sector High Command had initially feared that the teachings of this heretic mighty plunge the region into the depths of apostasy, yet the people actually rallied against his twisted followers, casting down his prophets and decrying his false words. His days were numbered as agents of the Thorne continued to hunt the elusive "Voice." Though Chaos and anarchy had come to a great many worlds of the Imperium, they still had reason for hope, for all was not lost while their faith remained strong. The great strength of the Imperium was finally stirring. Cadian High Command ordered a muster to take place at Cadia, upon the ancient and venerated Tyrok Fields, so that the Imperium could begin the Emperor's work in earnest.

Sabotage & Insurrection
Several systems in the Scarus sector have reported enemy activity as have three sub-sectors along the Cassandra Spar. Reports also come from Phonosar Prime, indicating an attack by wariors thought to be of the Night Lords Traitor Legion. The raid was dmed to coincide with the local annual Festival of the Three Maidens,a holy time for the population of Prime and its three moons, during which the adherents fast and meditate upon their own weaknesses, the better to serve their Lord the Emperor. Evidently, the attackers took advantage of the fact that most of the world's population were cloistered in prayer and descended upon the capital Medea like a pack of feral predators upon its prey. Survivors reported that the enemy made planet fall at Medea's primary generatorium, destroying it and plunging the city into darkness before crippling the city's reserve power facilities. With the city's power grid out of action, the traitors stalked the streets, killing wantonly as and when they saw fit. It was many hours before the Planetary Defence Forces could be mobilised to face the threat, although many militia units mounted heroic improvised counter attacks, to no avail. By the time the native defence forces were able to muster, the raiders had vanished into the darkness, leaving a death toll of many thousands in their wake.

Xersia too has suffered at the hands of the enemy. A delegation from the Order of the Wounded Heart, an Order Militant of the Adepta Sororitas, during which it was reported that a small force of unidentified traitors had been defeated when they came to the aid of a Cult that the Sisters were engaged upon purging. It appears the cult had chosen their moment to call upon the traitors with great care, hoping that the counterattack would wipe out the small force of Sisters as they closed upon their target. It is a great credit to the Sororitas that they defeated both the cultists and the renegades, and a commendation was passed on to their Canoness Superior. Sector High Command also received garbled Astropathic communications from forces in the Helotas, Sarlax, Vagera and Skyren systems over the following twelve hours. Though no details were immediately confirmed, High Command feared the worst.

The Ormantep Raid
The listening station at Ormantep had also come under attack by traitor forces. The attackers were a small, elite Company of Black Legionnaires who fell upon the listening post with cold, methodical brutality and cut down all they encountered. However, they seemed specifically determined to murder the Astropathic Choir that resided within the central keep. The Karskin mounted a heroic defence that held off the Chaos Space Marines for several hours before aid came from a totally unanticipated quarter. In this particular instance it appeared that the Traitors were repelled, though by a force the Imperium had no record of. As the Traitors closed on the hastily constructed barricades of the inner sanctum, survivors reported that the night was filled with a mournful howl which sounded from all directions. As the Black Legionnaires faltered in their attack and cast glances in all directions, the rearmost were dragged into the shadows. Soon, the Legionnaires were firing their bolters on full automatic and emptying entire magazines into the gloom, as more were set upon by an enemy the Karskin defenders could not discern. In only minutes, the Black Legionnaires were all dead. Their bodies were found savagely ripped open as if by hugely powerful jaws or raked by savage claws. The only evidence of this mysterious force that attacked them was the distorted vox-recording of the howls that filled the complex in the moments before the Chaos Space Marines attacked. It would later be determined by Imperial scholars that these mysterious "saviours" were none other than the long lost Space Wolves 13th Great Company, long-lost for ten millennia, since the closing days of the Horus Heresy. Reports indicated only a handful, at most, of the station's personnel survived the attack, and they had requested a Naval task force redirect there to ascertain what exactly occurred. All of this came at a time when civil disorder across surrounding sectors had reached unprecedented levels. Now the Imperial forces had to guard against both traitors within and traitors without.

Battle of Tyrok Fields
During the outset of the Despoiler's 13th Black Crusade, an act of the basest treachery struck at the heart of the Imperium's defences. At the time, Cadia was alive with the diligent preparations of the servants of the Divine Emperor. Shock Troop Regiments were being mustered alongside Titan Legions and their Skitarii. Regiments of mighty-thewed Feral warriors stood alongside brightly accoutred Mordian Iron Guards. Amongst this mighty throng, faith welled strong and the morale of every man soared to see the power of his lord, the Emperor. But a vile serpent lay ready to strike. The Volscani Cataphracts regiments landed to join the muster at Kasr Tyrok. The Volscani Regiments feared to face Chaos again, and even if they had not changed sides, they had decided that it was better to die in clean battle against men than to stand at the gate to the Warp and close ranks in the face of hell once again. As the defenders of the Cadian Gate mustered, the traitorous Volscani Cataphracts revealed their true allegiance to the Ruinous Powers.

The traitors slaughtered hundreds of loyal Guardsmen before any response could be coordinated. The intent of the Volscani's treason was revealed as they swarmed aboard the command Leviathan, Excubitoi Castellum, the command vehicle of the Governor Primus Marius Porelska of Cadia and proceeded to slaughter him and much of the senior command of Cadia's armed forces. This included the commander-in-chief of the defenders of the Cadian Gate, who was killed in the brutal attack. At the darkest moment, then-Colonel Ursarkar E. Creed took control of the dire situation. Rallying the glorious 8th Cadian Shock Troops Regiment the bloodied defenders were quickly organised and ordered to advance upon the traitors. The 8th Cadian led the charge into the ranks of the traitorous Volscani. Creed and Jarran Kell, his Regimental Standar Bearer and most trusted trooper, led the way during the counter-attack, it was they who reached the command deck first and succeeded in preventing the foul desecration of the fallen body of the Governor Primus.

The Governor had fallen, as a Cadian should with a blade in his hand and heretics at his feet. Creed carried the body of the Governor back to the battlements of the Leviathan, wrapped in the banner of the Eighth. Many more Cadian regiments came upon the scene and a great throng of them gathered around. Colonel Creed, being a pious man, allowed them to sing their praise to the Emperor and then from his lofty position he delivered his first exhortation to the armies of Cadia, to strive without rest until every disciple of Chaos had suffered the same fate as the Volscani. The host demanded that the noble Ursarkar should take command. Three times he refused but ultimately he could only accede to the will of the Regiments. As ever, greatness thrust itself upon Ursarkar E. Creed and he could but strain to bear its weight. Through Creed's actions, what might have been a grievous defeat for the Imperium, and a nefarious victory for the hordes of the Archenemy, was turned into a defining moment for the defenders of Cadia.

Preparations for War
Following the betrayal on Cadia, pleas for aid from forces beyond the Cadian Sector had been despatched to military commands in the surrounding sectors. Warriors from the lauded Astartes Praeses Chapters and possibly from the Space Wolves was expected by the beleaguered Imperial forces. Naval assets had been promised from Cypra Mundi and regimental muster had begun in many nearby sectors. Forces were gathering, but only time would tell whether or not it was at a quick enough speed. That a major incursion was imminent was now beyond doubt, but the enemy would find the Imperium ready, if only they could complete their preparations in time.

Creed elevated the roles of those officers he felt were worthy and ruthlessly reappointed those officers he deemed ineffectual. Though many resented his brusque manner, he had undoubtedly many enemies amongst the established officer class, many believed that his approach was a necessary one, considering the monumental task at hand. Though morale was dealt a terrible blow by the betrayal at Kasr Ty'rok, Cadia's new commander-in-chief, Lord Castellan Creed, had rallied the officers magnificently. Though many senior officer had seen men who had fought a hundred battles over their careers waver, a single word from Creed could galvanise them into action. The man was imbued with fierce resolution, and those under him could not help but be infected by it.

The work of organising the forces at Cadia's disposal continued. As was standard practice, each world contributed regiments and organised its forces into battle groups, and Sector High Command assigned Munitorum support services to each as they become available. Cadia was fortunate in that many worlds in their region follow the Cadian doctrine with regard to regimental structure, though there were notable exceptions to this rule, with units such as those raised from Finreht and Mordant. With a starting establishment of six to nine regiments per battle group, and at least six such groups formed an army, High Command had been able to assign a minimum of ten army groups to the defence of every notable world in the region, with the capitals assigned as many as one hundred. Of course, experiences showed that these battle groups would soon break down once they were required to redeploy, and staff officers on the ground would need to organise their forces as best they were able. Such was the reality of staff work when one was required to coordinate diverse units over vast distances.

The Storm Breaks
"And lo, as the veil is drawn on the last age of Man, the Despoiler shall gather his hosts once more. Where twelve times before the Faithful have cast him out, now shall he prove their undoing. For Man has grown weak, despairing at the woes of the galaxy. Where are the Faithful now? Where are the men that stood beside our Lord the Immortal Emperor and at his side conquered all? Gone. They are less than ashes in the cold, cold earth. At the Thirteenth hour shall the Despoiler return. All Humanity shall tremble, for lo, his doom is upon him."

- The last Oration of the Heretic Archivist of the Gethsemene Reclusium

With the worlds of the Cadian Gate all but on their knees with the weight of internal strife and the so-called Plague of Unbelief, Abaddon the Despoiler launched an invasion into the Emperor's realms and unleashed a power beyond imagining, the scale of which had not been seen since the darkest days of the Horus Heresy.

As part of their constant vigil around the Eye of Terror, highly trained units of Cadian Kasrkin were pushed into the swirling maelstrom, desperate to find some indication of where the first blow would land. Astropathic divination pointed towards the blighted world of Urthwart, a world already taken by Chaos, its population enslaved and sacrificed to the Dark Gods. Finding nothing alive on Urthwart, merely death and hideous Plague Zombies infected with the Curse of Unbelief, the Karskin prepared to withdraw. Suddenly, a frantic Vox communication from their ships in orbit reported numerous vessels advancing on Urthwart from the Eye of Terror. The Karskin attempted to fall back to their dropships to return to their troop carriers, but it was already too late. The Imperial ships in orbit were either crippled or were forced to disengage and make speed for Cadia. There was to be no escape for the Karskin who were stranded on Urthwart as a massive vessel, larger than the most gargantuan capital ship of the Imperium, approached the doomed world: the Planet Killer. Few were aware of the existence of this monstrous ship, for it had been thought lost at the Battle of Kharlos II, during the Gothic War centuries earlier. Oblivious to their fate, the stranded Cadians could do nothing as the incomprehensible power of the Planet Killer was unleashed in a devastating lance of energy that annihilated the blighted world they were trapped upon into spinning pieces of molten rock. As Urthwart died, collapsing in on itself, a Chaos warfleet composed of hundreds of warships and hulking troop transports surged from the depths of the Eye of Terror, heralding the beginning of Abaddon the Despoiler's fearful 13th Black Crusade. A psychic death scream, more piercing than the Astronomican itself, ripped through the ether from the doomed world of Urthwart.

Astropaths and forward listening posts (which had since been lost) detected the emergence into realspace of a Traitor fleet consisting of hundreds of warships and hulking transport vessels. All were on course for Cadia. Reports indicated that the Plagueclaw and Terminus Est, along with a massive flotilla of plague hulks, had emerged in the Subiaco Diablo system. Worse than this, unconfirmed reports claimed that two Blackstone Fortresses accompanied the Chaos fleet. Cadian High Command found this last fact difficult to countenance, though given the state of the sector in the previous months, they could not discount the possibility.

Imperial naval experts began plotting worlds likely to be chosen as targets for the Planet Killer's attentions. Intelligence gathered during the Gothic War indicated that the Planet Killer was a ponderous vessel, and its "Armageddon Gun" took a great deal of time to power up and exert its effect upon a world once it was functional. The vessel was likely to be accompanied by a large fleet, which would be employed to subdue and distract the Imperium's own naval forces until the Planet Killer could unleash its main weapon. All available Imperial naval assets had therefore been tasked with locating such a flotilla, and system defence pickets were put on high alert for any signs a large Chaos fleet approaching one of their worlds.

Invasion
"Let the galaxy burn."

- Abaddon the Despoiler, Warmaster of Chaos



Nemesis Tessera
The wave of the Despoiler's invasion soon broke across the sectors of the Cadian Gate, and it soon became evident that the Inquisition Fortress World of Nemesis Tesserawas to be the main target of the first phase of assaults. Quite why the enemy had chosen Nemesis Tessera, at the point, remained a mystery. High Command's best guess was that the system was chosen out of sheer hatred of the agents of the Golden Throne. That the forces of the enemy regarded the destruction of Nemesis Tessera as of the utmost importance was evident from the Sector High Command's observations and from intercepted communications. The forces of the Archenemy invested an epic degree of resources into their attack. It soon appeared the Inquisition fortress was able to hold, yet High Command could only speculate that the icy surface of that grim world must have been infested with millions of traitors and heretics who made planet fall upon it. The estimate that those who did not fall to Tessera's inhospitable climate would soon be hunted down and exterminated by the blessed agents of the Inquisition. But soon the Segmentum High Command came to realise that the assault on Nemesis Tessera was to be but a prelude to the storm that was heading towards the Cadian Sector.

Chima Lomas
When it first became evident that Nemesis was to be a major focus of the enemy's assault when Chima Lomas, was literally smashed aside by Chaos forces. Nereus, the primary world of the system, was taken by enemy forces with contemptuous ease, by High Command's best reckoning not as a target in its own right, but merely to secure lines of communication along the Rhoke Conduit. Native defence forces, amounting to seventeen PDF army groups supported by Battlegroup Neth, contested the enemy's planet fall three hundred kilometres south of Nereus Delta. Going by the few intelligence reports they possessed, they valiant defenders held up an invasion force at least fifty times their own strength for a whole day. The last transmission High Command received from General Neth suggested he was preparing to sell his forces dear.

Having crushed Chima Lomas, the Despoiler's forces dispersed as they favored the Kensi Gulf, splinter forces separating to assault Ovaris Gulag. No command communications had been received from that world in over a month. The voyage across the Kensi Gulf was achieved with alarming speed, with all elements of the enemy fleet translating within two AUs and a week of one another - a feat of astronavigation our representatives of the Navis Nobilite attained would only be possible with the aid of the darkest of arts.

The skies above the worlds of the Imperium turned black with innumerable drop craft as the dread Forces of Chaos began their invasion. The Planet Killer itself, Abaddon’s flagship, drifted ever closer to the Cadian System. Terrible, mighty Chaos Space Marines trod the surface of worlds they have not set foot upon for ten millennia and their hatred and thirst for vengeance truly knew no bounds. The Imperial Navy, for long weeks forced to fight a desperate holding action against the seemingly endless waves of Chaos vessels, was eventually reinforced. With their orbital defences already breached and the fleet forced into withdrawal, world after world in the system came under attack. Initially the Imperial forces held, even throwing the enemy back at Belisar, Macharia, Vigilatum and especially Xersia and Kantrael. Yet the enemy soon found their weak points, throwing countless thousands of lowborn filth at the Imperial forces so that the real masters, the Traitor Marines, could exploit them.

Saint Josmane's Hope
The first of these worlds to fall was the Prison World of Saint Josmane's Hope, whose inmates were believed to have thrown their lot in with the invaders in the vain hope of being granted freedom. They were granted only eternal damnation, for their liberators turned out to be the renegades of the Violators Chapter. Many officers within Sector High Command had not heard of this force until they had been invited to a closed session briefing along with the Lord Castellan, where a representative of the Inquisition imparted to them the awful truth of these heretics, so as to be better prepared to combat them. What they were told filled these hardened veterans with horror, for no man, no matter his crime, could surely deserve to have the attentions of these vile creatures visited upon them. Soon the defences of every one of the worlds in the Cadian system were sorely tested, and despite the efforts of the Commissariat, word spread of the atrocities being committed upon Saint Josmane's Hope.

A New Threat
With Warp storms rendering Astropathic communications erratic, Segmentum High Command continues to experience enormous difficulties coordinating command and control of their forces. Communications from the more distant sectors are particularly affected, and Imperial commanders are advised that they are not to be trusted, due to psychodynamic distortion. A particularly implausible report from the Scarus Sector indicates that in addition to Chaos attacks, the defenders there have faced the menace of the Orks. After action reports cite Mordax Prime as the initial focus of a massive Ork incursion, and if this were an isolated case High Command would normally write it off as misinformation caused by inexperienced troops facing an enemy they had no experience of. However, every major system in the sector soon logged such reports, so they had to be taken seriously until more detailed information was forthcoming.

A fleet the size of which has not been seen since the end of the Gothic War eight standard centuries earlier had been dispatched from Cypra Mundi, and staged itself at Belis Corona in preparation for a massive counter-push into the Cadian Gate. The arrival of this vast armada allowed those Imperial vessels that had been fighting continuously since the beginning of the invasion a brief respite. Severely depleted ship’s companies were bolstered through indiscriminate press-ganging, and hasty repairs and refits were undertaken on those vessels most in need of them.



Outcome
UNDER CONSTRUCTION

The Forces of Chaos won a small if significant victory over the Imperium and the Eldar and captured a number of Imperial worlds in sectors beyond the Cadian gate for the first time since the Horus Heresy. Cadia still stands, but only just - as most of the planet belongs to Chaos (Imperial forces forced to retreat to the smallest continent). The battle for Cadia will last centuries without aid... but if Chaos can gain headway in the space above Cadia, then the defenders will be doomed - especially with the Blackstone still there. Even without space aid, there's a large chance that simple supplies such as food will be unable to reach the defenders, and that the defenders will starve to death.

A new Daemon World exists, and it has taken the place of the planet Ulthor. It is now a gateway for vile forces of Chaos, acting as a beacon to daemons of Nurgle - the Chaos God whose forces now own the planet. It is possible that whole Chaos armies will be able to emerge from this world, and the terror this could bring to the rest of the Imperium is unfathomable. The campaign was not without its victories for the defenders, however. For although Belis Corona - the location of the greatest shipyard of the Imperium - is now heavily infested with myriad Tyranid organisms, the shipyards remain functional - albeit at a fraction of their normal capacity, such is their sheer size. Also, the ruins of their ancient shattered Chapter homeworld of CalibanhavebeenrecapturedbytheDark Angels. Who can say what relics they've re-acquired? The Orks, however, have taken a huge portion of Scarus Sector -- and the chances are good that the rest of the sector will also fall to the Greenskins. On the former Forge Worlds of this sector, hundreds of Gargants are starting to take form as the Mekboyz race to complete their deadly god of a machine first. There are even rumours that this is spurring Mekboyz the galaxy over to begin construction of their own Gargants, and that this will cumulate in a Waa-Ork! Every thousand years, a massive collection of Waaghs begin and carve out new Ork empires, destroying hundreds of planets and enslaving hundreds more - and they all begin with a massive beginning of huge numbers of Gargants.

As for Eldrad Ulthran... the bravest and most noble leader of the Eldar since before the coming of She Who Thirsts, has perished. In a last-ditch effort to stop the Black Stone Fortress from crushing the defenders of Cadia and save the soul of the Fortress, he and a select few Warlocks teleported aboard. Within minutes all the Warlocks were drained of life by the Fortress's bottomless thirst, and when Eldrad reached out to try to touch the Eldar spirit at the core, he found only the actual power of Slannesh - her greatest daemon - and Eldrad's soul was sucked in and consumed. The Chaos Victory at Cadia has just seen a new, and even more bleak time for the Imperium, when their power could collapse, and savage fighting amongst all races of the galaxy erupts!

Senior Command

 * Ursarkar E. Creed - Lord Castellan of Cadia and overall Imperial Commander of the defence of Cadia.
 * Logan Grimnar - Great Wolf (Chapter Master) of the Space Wolves Chapter and overall commander of the Adeptus Astartes forces in the Cadian System. A council of representatives from those Chapters of the Space Marines opposing Abaddon's 13th Black Crusade elected the irascible Great Wolf as their nominal head.

Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes

 * Angels of Absolution - 10 Companies
 * Angels of Vigilance - 5 Companies
 * Angels Sanguine - 7 Companies
 * Blood Angels - 4 Companies
 * Brazen Claws - 10 Companies
 * Dark Angels - 10 Companies
 * Death Spectres - 6 Companies
 * Doom Eagles - 5 Companies
 * Excoriators - 8 Companies
 * Exorcists - 10 Companies
 * Harbingers - 8 Companies
 * Howling Griffons - 8 Companies
 * Imperial Fists - 5 Companies
 * Iron Hands - 10 Clans
 * Iron Knights - 1 Company
 * Iron Snakes - 5 Companies
 * Marines Exemplar - 9 Companies
 * Night Watch - 11 Companies
 * Novamarines - 6 Companies
 * Relictors - Declared Excommunicate Traitoris by the Inquisition during the 13th Black Crusade
 * Revilers
 * Space Wolves - 12 Great Companies
 * Storm Warriors - 10 Companies
 * Subjugators - 3 Companies
 * Ultramarines - 1 Honour Company
 * White Consuls - 10 Companies
 * White Scars - 10 Companies

Companies

 * Space Wolves 13th Company

Orders Majoris

 * Order of the Bloody Rose - 6 Preceptories
 * Order of the Ebon Chalice - 4 Preceptories
 * Order of Our Martyred Lady - 5 Preceptories

Orders Minoris

 * Order of the Divine Lamentation
 * Order of the Ermine Mantle - 3 Missions
 * Order of the Maurdlin Countenance 
 * Order of the Silver Lily
 * Order of the Sublime Adoration
 * Order of the Wounded Heart - 1 Commandery

Notable Regiments

 * Agripinaa Home Guard
 * Avellorn Field Regiments
 * Avellornian Gunners - 32 Squadrons
 * Bar-El Penal Legions - 4 Legions
 * Blitzen Heavy Armoured
 * Cadian Shock Troops - 612 Regiments
 * Cadian Youth Army - 36 Regional Commands
 * Cadian Kasrkin - 486 Companies
 * Catachan Jungle Fighters
 * Cthonian Armoured Cavalry
 * Death Korps of Krieg
 * Drookian Fen Guard -16 Companies
 * Finreht Highlanders - 3 Regiments
 * Gudrunite Rifles - 47 Regiments
 * Jouran Dragoons - 7 Regiments
 * Kellersburg Irregulars - 3 Regiments
 * Knovian Gharkas - 14 Regiments
 * Mordian Iron Guard
 * Necromundan 8th, "The Spiders" - 1 Regiment
 * Narmenian Tank Brigades
 * Narsine Yeomanry - 32 Battle Groups
 * Praetorian Guard
 * Thracian Guard - 35 Regiments
 * Valhallan Ice Warriors
 * Van De'Man's World, "Redbacks" - 5 Regiments
 * Zenonian Free Companies - 9 Companies

Individual Regiments

 * 79th Britan Armoured
 * 3rd Cadian
 * 9th Armoured Cadian
 * 107th Cadian
 * XII Catachan
 * 23rd Death Korps of Krieg
 * 9th Dernhelm
 * 153rd Desert Devils
 * 41st Elysian Drop Troops, "Angel Guard"
 * XXI Flotte Coloniale
 * Framlingham Rifles
 * Hadleys Hope XI Rifle Regiment
 * 43rd/65th Heidrun
 * 6th Hyrkan Regiment
 * 12th Methuselan Infantry (Mechanised)
 * 303rd Mordant, "Acid Dogs"
 * 10th Mordian
 * 8th Necromunda Infantry
 * XV Phobos 
 * 5th Praetorian
 * 35th Praetorian
 * 12th Ritzos
 * 290th Thracian
 * Reconnaissance Regiment
 * 352nd Sturm Pioneers
 * 54th Valhalla

Ordo Malleus

 * Inquisitorial Task Forces - CLASSIFIED
 * Grey Knights - CLASSIFIED
 * Inquisitorial Storm Troopers
 * Nemesis Tesera - estimated 38 Companies
 * Ocularis Terribus War Zone - CLASSIFIED

Departmento Munitorum

 * Engineer Corps - 18
 * Siege Auxilia Corps - 28 Counter-siege batteries

Officio Assassinorum

 * Agents - CLASSIFIED

Templars Psykologis

 * Disruption Squads - 37
 * Augur Teams - 6

Battlefleets

 * Battlefleet Cadia - 12 Battleships, 12 Cruiser Squadrons, 21 Escort Squadrons
 * Battlefleet Corona - 7 Battleships, 13 Cruiser Squadrons, 17 Escort Squadrons
 * Battlefleet Gothic
 * Battlefleet Scarus - 5 Battleships, 9 Cruiser Squadrons, 13 Escort Squadrons
 * Battlefleet Solar
 * Battlegroup Nemesis
 * Battle Group Imperatis
 * Bakka Sector Task Force

Vessels of Note

 * Duke Lurstophan (Dauntless-class Light Cruiser)
 * Abridal's Glory (Gothic-class Cruiser)
 * Honour & Duty (Emperor-class Battleship)

Estimated Fleet Assets

 * Front Line Battle Groups - 21
 * Rear Echelon Battle Groups - 36
 * Independent Strike Groups - 4
 * Space Marine Battle-Barges - estimated 21+
 * Space Marine Strike Cruisers - estimated 150+
 * Space Marine Escort Squadrons - estimated 200+

Collegia Titanica

 * Legio Astorum - Entire Legion
 * Legio Gryphonicus - Entire Legion
 * Legio Ignatum - Entire Legion
 * Legio Metalica - Demi-Legion
 * Ordo Reductor - Demi-Legion
 * Divisio Telepathica Psi-Titans - CLASSIFIED

Knights

 * House Arokon - 4 Households of Knights
 * House Krast - 2 Households of Knights
 * House Lakar

Other Mechanicus Assets

 * Centurio Ordinatus - 4 Ordinatus
 * Skitarii - 87 Regiments

Senior Command

 * Abaddon the Despoiler - Warmaster of Chaos and overall commander of the Forces of Chaos
 * Typhus - Herald of Nurgle, and Plague Fleet commander.
 * Kossolax the Foresworn - Chaos Lord of the Foresworn Renegade Chaos Space Marines warband and fleet commander.

Chaos Space Marine Legions

 * Alpha Legion - 20+ unconfirmed sightings in all sectors
 * Black Legion - Major presence in all sectors
 * Death Guard - Major presence in Subiaco Diablo
 * Emperor's Children - Unconfirmed actions against Eldar reported
 * Iron Warriors - Suspected presence in the Cadian System
 * Night Lords - Unconfirmed reports of presence in all sectors
 * Thousand Sons - Active in the Caliban and Prospero Sectors
 * Word Bearers - Active in rear echelon sectors
 * World Eaters - Significant involvement in all sectors

Renegade Chaos Space Marine Warbands

 * Extinction Angels
 * The Pyre
 * Sons of Malice
 * Violators - 3 confirmed actions in Cadia Sector
 * Warp Ghosts - Unconfirmed sighting in Agripnaa System

Major Traitor Guard Units

 * 5th Columnus - Presence confirmed - Belis Corona
 * 666th Regiment of Foot - Confirmed presence - Cadia
 * Discilan Apostates - Unconfirmed
 * Haradni 13th
 * Jenen Ironclads - Major presence - Kromat System
 * Sentrek Freemen
 * The Traitor 9th - Significant presence - Kantrael System
 * Ubridius Light Infantry - Major presence - Cadian Sector
 * Volscani Cataphracts - Active - Cadia

Estimated Mutant Hordes

 * The Anointed of Aq'si - 6 attacks confirmed - Belisar System
 * The Shyis'slaa - Linked to cult uprisings - Albitern System
 * The Stigmatus Convenant - Significant presence - Mackan System
 * The Unsanctified - Unconfirmed involvement - Bar-el System

Traitor Titan Legions

 * Death Stalkers - Unconfirmed involvement on Cadia
 * Fire Masters - Limited presence in Cadian Sector
 * Iron Skulls - Major force sighted on Vorga Torq
 * Legio Mortis - Major presence confirmed on Cadia
 * Legio Vulcanum I - 4 unconfirmed assaults on Belisar and Kromat
 * Legio Vulcanum II - Suspected presence on Subiaco Diablo

Battlefleets

 * The Grand Fleet of Abaddon the Despoiler - 7 Battleships, 13 Heavy Cruisers, est. 23 Cruiser Squadrons, est. 30 Escort Squadrons
 * The Grand Fleet of Kossolax the Foresworn - 1 Battleship, 3 Cruiser Squadrons, 8 Escort Squadrons
 * The Plague Fleet of Typhus - Terminus Est, 2 Battleships, 3 Heavy Cruisers, 5 Cruiser Squadrons, est. 12 Escort Squadrons

Notable Vessels

 * Plagueclaw (Unknown Class Capital Vessel)
 * Darkblood (Styx-class Heavy Cruiser)
 * Planet Killer (Undesignated Class Capital Vessel)
 * Merciless Death (Despoiler-class Battleship)
 * Fortress of Agony (Despoiler-class Battleship)

Fleet Assets

 * Battlefleets - est. 38
 * Blackstone Fortresses - 2
 * "Wolf Pack" Squadrons - est. 19