Lights dimmed. A planet’s fate hung in the balance. The planetary defense forces were caught off guard as an insidious enemy attacked, killing at will. Hours turned to minutes, minutes into seconds, as they scrambled to mount a response. Militias, brave and determined, mounted an improvised counterattack. A valiant effort, but alas, futile. The raiders vanished as quickly as they had appeared, leaving thousands dead in their wake.
The world of Zeria wasn’t spared either. A delegation from the Order of the Wounded Heart, an order militant of the Adepto Sorus, had just arrived. Their timing couldn’t have been more unfortunate, as a small force of unidentified traitor marines launched an attack, aiming to aid a Chaos cult that the sisters were purging. The cult had timed their call for help from the traitor Astartes, hoping to wipe out the battle sisters as they closed in. But the sisters of Sororitas were not so easily defeated. They crushed both the cultists and the renegades, earning commendation for their Canoness Superior.
While all this unfolded, High Command received garbled astropath communications from forces in the USSX, Vagera and Skyon systems. They feared the worst. The listening station at Orep, too, came under attack by traitor forces, a small elite company of Black Legionaries. With cold, methodical brutality, they targeted the astropath choir within the central keep. A unit of Kadi and Kazarin mounted a heroic defense, holding off the Chaos Space Marines for several hours. Just as the traitors closed in, unexpected aid arrived.
Mournful howls filled the night as the Black Legionaries faltered. The rear-most were dragged into the shadows, their numbers dwindling rapidly. In minutes, the Black Legionaries were dead, their bodies savagely torn open. The only evidence of their mysterious saviors was a distorted Vox recording of the howls. Later, Imperial Scholars would determine that these saviors were the long-lost Space Wolves 13th Great Company, missing for 10 millennia since the Horus Heresy.
Amidst the chaos, a treacherous act struck at the heart of the Imperium’s defenses. Kadia was alive with preparations. Cadian shock forces mustered alongside the Adeptus Mechanicus Titan Legions and Skitarii. Feral warriors stood with the Morian Iron Guard. Amidst this, the Volani Ccts, who had landed to join the muster at Kaza Rock, revealed their allegiance to the ruinous powers. They struck the Imperial Guard troops at the Troc Fields, slaughtering thousands before a response could be coordinated.
At the darkest moment, then Colonel Osaka E. Creed stepped up, rallying the Eighth Cadian Shock Troops Regiment. He led a swift counterattack into the Volani ranks. Creed reached the command deck first, preventing the desecration of the Governor Primus’s body. Carrying the governor’s body wrapped in the banner of the Eighth Cadian, Creed delivered an exhortation, urging the armies of Kadia to strive until every chaos disciple shared the Volani’s fate.
Following this, Creed was thrust into command. Through his actions, a potential defeat for the Imperium turned into a defining moment for Kadia’s defenders. Every man and woman of the fortress world swore to defend the Emperor’s realm with renewed purpose after the betrayal on Kadia.
As the Imperium mustered its full might, it was uncertain if these forces would arrive in time. The threat of a major chaos incursion was undeniable. But the archenemy would face a prepared Imperium, provided arrangements could be completed in time. Creed promoted capable Imperial Guard officers and ruthlessly demoted or transferred those who failed to meet his standards.
As the dust settled, the Imperium was left to lick its wounds and prepare for the battles ahead. The stage was set for a confrontation unlike any the galaxy had seen before. The 13th Black Crusade was about to begin. Stay tuned for the next part of this epic saga!
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