The Devastating Onslaught of Hive Fleet Leviathan
In the grim darkness of the 41st millennium, the galaxy was beset on all sides by the unrelenting horror of the Tyranids. Among the most feared of these xenos threats was Hive Fleet Leviathan, a gargantuan force of chitinous monstrosities that ravaged entire star systems with impunity.
A New and Terrifying Threat Emerges
Leviathan’s assault on the galaxy began in 997.M41, as it burst forth from the galactic south like a tidal wave of razor-sharp claws and teeth. Unlike previous Hive Fleets, which had attacked from the Eastern Fringe, Leviathan skirted under the galactic rim and pushed upwards through the galactic plane, spreading its forces across a broad front that encompassed the Ultima Segmentum, Segmentum Tempestus, and even the Segmentum Solar.
The Imperium Responds
As the Imperium struggled to comprehend the sheer scale of the threat, Inquisitor Kryptman implemented a desperate plan to augur the location of every documented planet on the southern fringe of the Imperium. The worlds that ceased to respond formed a chilling pattern, indicating the approach of a hive fleet of terrifying size. The Imperium lost contact with the worlds trapped between Leviathan’s two “jaws,” and if these jaws closed, they would devour all trapped inside.
The Battle for Tarsis Ultra
One of Leviathan’s main tendrils, on a course towards Terra, was halted at the planet of Tarsis Ultra. Defended by the Ultramarines, led by Captain Uriel Ventris, and supported by the Mortifactors, the 10th Logres, and PDF Regiments, the Imperials launched a valiant counter-attack against the Tyranids. Despite initial victories, the Tyranids adapted to the Imperials’ tactics, forcing them to flee and leaving Tarsis Ultra vulnerable to invasion.
Turning the Tide
In a desperate bid to turn the tide, Ventris and a Deathwatch Kill-team captured a Lictor from the original wave of the invasion. Magos Biologis Vianco Locard reverse-engineered the Lictor’s genetic code to design a biological plague that would send an early generation Tyranid into hyper-evolution and thus kill the creature. Delivered to the heart of the swarm, the plague slowly but surely turned the Tyranids upon each other, shattering their synaptic control and allowing the Imperials to launch a counter-offensive that destroyed the swarm and stopped the invasion.
Aftermath
Though Leviathan’s tendril on a course to Terra was dissipated, the Imperium knew that the threat was far from over. The once-doomed worlds caught in between Leviathan’s two main tendrils began to register on Imperial augurs again, but the scars of the battle would take centuries to heal. As the Imperium regrouped and reassessed its defenses, it knew that it would have to face the horrors of the Tyranids once more, for in a grim darkness, there is only war.
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