On Morkai, mutants continue to burn small desert villages that refuse to accept rebel authority.

“They died hard, those savage men—like wolves at bay. They were filthy, and they were lousy, and they stunk. And I loved them.“—Douglas MacArthur, M2 warlord.

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Continued from Part 1 . . .

Corruption on Morkai

After a highly successful campaign to seize the Thar Desert Basin in 741.M1, the rebel mutants of Ungolath broke off military action to regroup, and the Imperial government has made no attempt to spark further conflict.

Indeed, after a brief effort to strengthen the Planetary Defense Force (PDF), government officials returned to their habit of political infighting and corruption.

But, if the mutants were not ready to resume large-scale fighting, they had no intention of slowing their guerilla and terrorist campaign against Imperial rule.

Early in 733.M41, mutants bombed a major food-processing center in the city of Volantis, leading to food shortages that prompted rioting. Arbites Enforcers finally managed to surpress the riots, but not before an entire quadrant of the city was destroyed by fire. (Food riots break out on Morkai)

Unrest spread across the planet soon after, as rumors arose that planetary officials were preparing a new pogrom against the world’s growing and increasingly restless mutant population. (Rumors of the Underhive – 3 101 743.M41)

Then the city of Daraa fell to a rebellion led by mutants, and the 17th PDF Regiment had to descend on the city. Two special ops teams entered the city at night and stormed the city gates, opening them in time for the rest of the regiment to enter and quell the rebellion after three days of fighting. (Special ops team recaptures Morkai city)

Mutant conspiracies continued to plague planetary officials throughout the year.  Mid-year, Arbites Enforcers discovered that mutant rebels were active at the Charcharoth Spaceport, stealing military equipment, selling consumer goods to fund their war effort, and garnering intelligence about PDF military operations.

In one notable instance, Arbites Enforces engaged a band of conspirators in a sizable gun battle. . (Arbites crush mutant activity at Charcharoth spaceport)

In one of the most outrageous acts of treason, rebel mutants robbed a cargo train operating in the capital city of Golgenna. The mutants stripped the train of valuable cargo and made their escape under the nose of the Arbites. (Rumors of the Underhive – 6 617 743.M41)

Guardsmen cross a stream as they storm a Kroot defensive position on Dar Sai.

Imperials hold the line on Dar Sai

The fight between Imperial and Tau forces on Dar Sai has degenerated into a series of skirmishes in the Dark Forest, a primeval setting in the southeast corner of Dar Sai’s largest continent. 

A typical example of the small-scale battles taking place occurred on 3 314 743.M41, when a platoon of 3rd Battalion, 728th Cadian Regiment, clashed with a similar-sized Tau/Kroot reconnaissance force along a dirt path to the west of the port city of Malifax.

After an hour-long battle, guardsmen routed the xenos with minimal casualties. (Tau repulsed in Dark Forest of Dar Sai)

Some time later, Imperial propagandists made great fodder of the exploits of the former mayor of Port Aruna. After the city’s fall, Mayor Petrov Karlson found himself trapped behind enemy lines but rallied fleeing troops and frightened peasants into a guerilla band known as “Karlson’s Killers.”

Rather than return to Imperial territory, Karlson has engaged in a guerilla war against the xenos, ambushing supply convoys, raiding xeno supply depots, and assassinating traitors who have collaborated with the xenos. His exploits have galvanized Imperial morale across the agri-moon.

One of his last-known exploits was an ambush of a Tau supply column. Not a single xeno survived the ambush, and Imperial authorities say that Karlson’s actions have forced the Tau to remove troops from the front lines to hunt down the moon’s newest hero. (Karlson’s Killers ambush Tau)

Another hero also was in the news, and the moon’s defenders were heartened by the promotion of Captain Stevrous Stark to major.

An up-and-coming officer in the Cadian 728th Regiment, Stark has fought in most of the key battles of Dar Sai’s defense, and he has become something of a public darling—a propaganda bonus that military officials are not shy about promoting. (Major Stevrous Stark)

Finally, at the end of the year, the Tau scored a minor coup by slipping through Imperial lines and attacking a battalion headquarters of the 728th Regiment. Imperial troops were forced to abandon their camp, which was burned to the ground after the Tau searched it for valuable military documents. (Shorehammer Report: HQ Under Attack!)

The Covenant of Hope, a Retribution-class battleship, joined Fleet Corvus.

Warships clash in the void

The majority of naval fighting  took place in the Sculptor System, where both ork and Tau naval forces are plaguing Imperial rule.

One week after ork pirates seized the Decora Mining Base in the Great Asteroid Belt, a strike cruiser of the Knights of Altair appeared and destroyed the ork warships guarding the station. Soon after, the Astartes stormed the 2-kilometer-in-diameter mining base and restored Imperial authority. (Astartes retake mining station)

In response to the growing naval threat in the system, naval authorities on Belliose III agreed to reinforce Fleet Corvus with one of the most powerful military voidcraft in the Imperial Navy—a battleship. (Battleship joins Fleet Corvus)

The deployment of the Retribution-class Covenant of Hope was a closely guarded secret, say military officials—until it was mentioned in a news report of a sizable battle between Fleet Corvus and a Tau fleet  near the agri-moon of Dar Sai.

Imperial warships clashed with 22 xeno warships in the first serious battle with the invading Tau navy in two years. A sizable number of Tau warships were destroyed, and the survivors retreated in disorder. (Tau fleet defeated in battle over Dar Sai)

Imperial commanders oversee the lost battle for the city of Yrora on Myopolis.

Necrons make gains on Myopolis

The battle against the Necrons on Myopolis was known but largely ignored for years—until the Forge World of Helios formally requested assistance on behalf of the mining world. (Myopolis seeks aid against Necrons)

Such assistance was sorely needed. The Necrons had made slow gains across Myopolis, but early in 743.M41, the xenos won a massive victory over Imperial forces with the capture of the city of Yrora. (Necrons seize key city on Myopolis)

So serious had the strategic situation changed on the planet—a key source of minerals for the forge world—that the Mechanicus gifted Myopolis with use of an ancient super-weapon, a Mechanicum Ordinatus Ulatoris, a weapon system capable of staggering destruction,

This device of the Dark Age of Technology single-handedly thwarted a xeno advance across the treacherous Megdelena Desert. In its first day of operation, the weapon targeted mass formations of Necron warrior and annihilated thousands within hours. (Superweapon stops Necron advance on Myopolis)

Alas, the Necrons have responded to this Mechanicus strategy by innovating a new approach to their war efforts. They began to avoid battle anywhere near The Omnissiah’s Wrath and used their superior technology to transfer troops quickly to a different war zone where they could dominate the Imperials.

That was the case on 6 941 743.M41, when the Necrons shifted troops from the Magdelena Desert and launched an attack against the planet’s capital city of Xintorgo. The xenos ultimately were stopped, but not before they won a battle for control of a new and recently discovered relic of the Dark Age of Technology.

Although destroying a Necron Monolith, the 3rd Converged Division engaged in a poorly fought battle that led to huge casualties and the execution of its regimental commander for incompetence. (Necrons make gains on Myopolis)

Click here to read Part 3 of our update.

Click here to return to Part 1.

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The Corvus Cluster is a Warhammer 40K blog documenting our gaming adventures in the fantastical sci-fi universe of Games Workshop.