[Battlefleet Gothic] On the Art of Simulated Void Warfare | Part One

+++ 5139440998.M41
+++ BELIS CORONA
+++ BATTLEFLEET CADIA: SECTOR COMMAND
+++ CLEARANCE: MAGENTA, OFFICER RANK ADMIRAL, EYES ONLY

Summative report: fleet engagements to galactic east of Cadia sector, Segmentum Obscurus: by order Lord Admiral Spire.

003998.M41. Astartes patrol group under Commander Thrysalus, Ultramarines Chapter, lost with all hands: outer edge, Taeloth system, Chinchare sector. Thrysalus' command comprised Vanguard class strike cruisers Solon's Remembrance and Valdor's Certainty plus attendant squadron of Hunter class destroyers. Taeloth's Mandeville point is known to lie within the migration range of plasmid shoals, and it was believed the Astartes vessels caused a chain detonation attempting to clear the warp route.

005998.M41. Taeloth system pickets detect convoy of eight substantial transport vessels plus associated civilian craft, escorted by Hellbringer class light cruiser and escort squadron of unknown provenance, all of which had been reconfigured to carry light lance artillery. A single vessel of cruiser class was also sighted at long range: identity unconfirmed.

011998.M41. Taeloth planetary defence grid identify the cruiser as [REDACTED: CARNELIAN CLEARANCE REQUIRED] -

+++ MANDATE ACCEPTED. CLEARANCE GRANTED. REPLAYING ENTRY. +++ 

011998.M41. Taeloth planetary defence grid identify the cruiser as [XVII.96TH Extremis Traitoris, Litany of Damnation, Slaughter class]. The Litany destroys two defence stations with close range macro battery fire and boarding actions before further scanner sweeps can be conducted.

019998.M41. Astropathic communications with Taeloth severed following  seventy-two consecutive hours' transmission of blasphemous High Gothic.

020998.M41. Pirate activity across Chinchare subsector intensifies. All inhabited systems report sustained attacks by decommissioned and retrofitted Naval assets, no classes postdating M33. 

028998.M41. [XII.7TH Extremis Traitoris vessel Justified Aggressor, Devastation class] sighted in the Praxus Gulf, on course for Reznor ship cemetery and declassified inter-system warp route. Auspex scry-satellite shut down: machine spirit evidences catastrophic system failure following identification of daemonological sigil in asteroid pattern. 

031998.M41. Taskforce Retribution under Commodore Liang musters at Dorsia in subsector Scelus, by order of Lord Admiral Drang. Dark Angels battlegroup Penance under Captain Korahael arrives in support. Pirate vessels corresponding with the 005 Taeloth engagement move through Dorsia asteroid field and engage at extreme range. During the subsequent exchange, Dark Angels flagship Vengeful Justice opens fire on its own support squadron, destroying three Gladius class frigates and crippling a Dictator class cruiser from Commodore Liang's command. Before disengaging, the Vengeful Justice broadcasts a stream of scrapcode, which Inquisitor Darkhammer later identifies as a distortion of [XX Extremis Traitoris] callsigns. When negotiating salvage and investigation rights with the Dark Angels Chapter, Inquisitor Darkhammer learns Captain Korahael was killed in action aboard the Sword of Justice almost a year earlier (cf. Cadian subsector, 201997.M41).

042998.M41. Pirate raids reach their apex across the galactic east of sub-sector Chinchare. Fleets muster in the Jubal and Reznor systems, with a third sighted patrolling the Scelus system in its (neighbouring) subsector.

187-298998.M41. Raids from the Ork-held Scarus subsector decrease gradually throughout this period. Long-range scrying suggests major fleet engagements in orbit over Mordax Prime and Lethe XI, as well as the Nevrian Expanse. Scout groups were ordered not to engage.

304998.M41. First recorded utterance of Kaelhar's Lament among eldar outcast/corsair communities. The dirge commemorates a crushing defeat at the hands of "the sunless vengeance" and "the scions of false faith," with many souls "lost to the One who Thirsts."

312998.M41. Inquisitor Darkhammer's battlegroup arrives in subsector Agrippina at the behest of Lord Admiral Drang. Imperial Fists battlegroup Aegis fortify the Dentor system warp route as a backstop for subsector fleet efforts [and, if necessary, a line of retreat].

314-320998.M41. [VIII.13TH Extremis Traitoris] battlegroup enters subsector Agrippina. Comprising [Faithless Vengeance, Retaliator class grand cruiser; Heartless Vainglory, Styx class heavy cruiser; and unconfirmed, retrofitted Hellbringer class light cruiser], these aggressors use carrier superiority to destroy system pickets at Finreht and Bar-El.

333998.M41. Darkhammer's strike group attempts to interdict at Ulthor: however, the orbital defence platform has been compromised, and opens fire. Further vessels from [XVII.96TH] and [XX.16TH] emerge from unstable gas clouds. Subsequent engagement forces the [Litany of Damnation] to disengage and badly damages its supporting fleet. However, a near-suicidal close range run [by an asset corresponding to the Vengeful Justice] destroys three Imperial vessels, including the Ark Mechanicus Opus Machinae, along with one of its own escorts. [Scrapcode found in the Opus Machinae's logs identifies the vessel as the Cult of Emptiness.]

335998.M41. Agrippina system comes under direct assault from [XII.7TH, XII.12TH, XII.17TH Extremis Traitoris]. The aggressors display unusually specific tactical configurations. [[XII.7TH] almost exclusively comprises light carriers under the Retaliator class Furious Gratification; [XII.12TH] lance boats, most significantly the Executor class Murderer's Dread]; [XII.17TH] line cruisers and the Hades class Unconquerable Hubris.] Furthermore, all aggressor flagships deploy [REDACTED: VERMILLION CLEARANCE REQUIRED] in boarding actions, to devastating effect. 

336998.M41.  Adeptus Mechanicus fleet assets attempt interdiction in the Praxus Gulf: their report is heavily redacted, but suggests occupation of this system is of symbolic and strategic importance to [XII Extremis Traitoris] commanders. [XII Extremis Traitoris] battlegroups withdraw from the Agrippina system, leaving it lightly defended by [XX.16TH] and damaged [XVII.96TH] ships.

338998.M41. Imperial Fists battlegroup Aegis mounts a strike targeting a warp portal in the Tabor system: they destroy the portal, intercept the [VIII.13TH] fleet and capture the wreck of a Hellbringer light cruiser. Analysis of the logs by Imperial Fists Librarium identifies commanding officers within the invading fleets: [VIII.13TH] Kyrulak, [XII.7TH] Jasul Baras; [XII.12TH] Dyzor; [XII.17TH] apparently killed in action over Yavor in an engagement with eldar corsairs; [XVII.96TH] Malos Vrykan & Arkaneth Vane; [XX.16TH] Arben Talas; unaffiliated, Varnost, presumably a senior pirate commander, apparently responsible for countering eldar activity in the occupied territories; [REDACTED: VERMILLION PRIME CLEARANCE REQUIRED].

343998.M41. Imperial Fists escort squadrons pursuing [VIII.13TH] encounter [XII.7TH and XII.12TH] and are destroyed. Battle barge Aegis itself disengages under significant pressure from [REDACTED: VERMILLION CLEARANCE REQUIRED] in boarding actions. To date, its whereabouts are unknown.

This brings us to the present moment, my Lord Admiral. The Agrippina subsector is all but lost, and the same can be assumed of Chinchare and Scarus. Battlefleet Scarus has withdrawn into deep space to galactic north of Scelus, and report destroying a substantial carrier from the [XX.16TH] during that retreat: I am still working to confirm. Our Adeptus Mechanicus explorator fleet failed to return from the Praxus Gulf, and the continued presence of [REDACTED: VERMILLION CLEARANCE REQUIRED] among the [XII Extremis Traitoris] suggests they were unsuccessful in their objectives.

The aggressors have not, however, had it all their own way. Their delay and detour to seize control of Scarus suggests that existing supply lines in the Sentinel Worlds have been cut, and monitoring of warp transit indicates every system in that gulf of pirates and plunderers has gone dark. Furthermore, they have been defeated in two engagements across Agrippina, and seem reliant on [XII Extremis Traitoris] elements to spearhead their assaults.

That said: now the aggressors have control of Agrippina's shipyards and resources, a strike at Belis Corona itself seems inevitable. I urge you: put all efforts into the defence of sector command. Fortify the system, recall every vessel, and check them when they make the jump from Dentor.

I remain, Sir, your most obedient servant.

Naval Archivist Praesidian,
Battlefleet Cadia
sub. pp. Lord Admiral Drang