Ophidium Gulf Crusade

The Ophidium Gulf Crusade
Not all crsades of the Black Templars are vast undertakings, some may be comprised of as little as one or two hundred initiates.

In 998. M41, one such crusade was launched by Castellan Raimer, master of the strike cruiser Ophidium Gulf into an unexplored region of space.

There, the army found a small alien empire, the xenos lived in great cities of gold and worshiped an idol which the adressed as 'the voice of the Emperor'. Curious, Castellan Raimer destroyed the temples before continuing into the system. As they came across more planets, the Black Templars found that some of them had already been destroyed by a power, even greater than themselves.

Ophidium Gulf was a fast vessel and soon caught up with the interlopers, a small fleet of space marine ships which the sensorium of the Ophidium Gulf later confimed belonged to the Dark Angels chapter. Raimer promptly offered the fleet commander (an unusualy tall astartes who never removed his helmet) aid in their mission, aid which the Dark Angels only reluctantly accepted.

As they neared the centre of the system, on the most densly populated planet, the two armies found the source of the aliens strange religion. A single space marine in ancient 'Thunder' pattern power armour which was black with no adornment or livery of any sort, the Black templars took the man prisoner and locked him away in the deepest, most secure holding cell of the Ophidium Gulf, no sooner had he done this that Master Raimer was visited by the Dark Angels commander (who still refused to show his face) the Commander demanded that Raimer hand over the prisoner, it was only when the Dark Angels fleet began to prime their weapons that Raimer knew the true nature of the Dark Angels and as the Comander left, he showed himself for the first time. He removed his helm to reveile a hideously scarred face, adorned with chaos symbols.

Before the Black Templars could attack, the Fallen Angels teleported from the Ophidium Gulf and made their escape into the warp.

It was at this point that a single astropathic transmission was made by the Black Templars relaying the happenings to the high marshal.

Yet the crusade was not over, upon cleansing the system, the Black Templars found a space hulk entitled Sword of Sacrilege, the chaos vessel where Rogal Dorn, Primarch of the mprial Fists chapter is said to have perished.

Scans confirmed only two life forms onboard the vessel, and a party of black Templars including Castellan Raimer himself set out to explore the hulk.

No further information about the Crusade could be found in imperial archives.