The '''Ghoul Stars Crusade''' was a [[Black Templars]] [[Crusade]] in late [[M41]] {{Fn|Canon Conflict}} against the [[Cythor Fiends]] of the [[Ghoul Stars]]. {{Fn|1}} It was the 9836th Crusade prosecuted by the [[Chapter]].{{Fn|2}} Marking [[High Marshal (Black Templars)|High Marshal]] [[Helbrecht|Helbrecht's]]'s first command since becoming [[Chapter Master]] of the Black Templars, within years the [[xenos]] population of the Cythors' outlying system systems had been exterminated and the Crusade pushed towards the aliens' homeworldhomeworlds.{{Fn|1}} In doing so, the Black Templars reluctantly cooperated with the [[Death Spectres]],{{Fn|2}}{{Fn|3}} even though the Chapter predicted that the Xenos would ultimately evade destruction and thus refused to join battle alongside the crusaders.{{Fn|3}} Regardless, a strike group of the Death Spectres led by Captain [[Naroosh]] accompanied the Black Templars' main force,{{Fn|2}} while another group organized a vigil at the [[Sarvakal Cluster]], with some of the Death Spectres' ships silently waiting in ambush for years, hoping to catch any Cythor Fiends who fled in the face of the Black Templars. However when {{Fn|3}} The Imperials were able to inflict heavy losses on the Cythors, and overall they captured 18 planets during the crusade.{{Fn|2}} When the Black Templars finally arrivedat the Cythors' homeworlds, the Templars {{Fn|3}} however, they found it them to be completely empty. {{Fn|1}} In their frustration, the Black Templars unsuccessfully attempted to destroy [[9836-18 Grave Core]], the Cythors' former capital planet. Eventually, the Imperials were at least able to set the planet's atmosphere on fire.{{Fn|2}} Before this the mystery of the Xenos' disappearance could be fully explored, the Black Templars were diverted to the [[Third War for Armageddon]].{{Fn|1}}The [[Ordo Xenos]] consequently documented the Xenos' disappearance, while the Death Spectres continued to look for any signs of the Cythor Fiends,{{Fn|3}} expecting their eventual return to the Ghoul Stars.{{Fn|2}} =={{Endn|Canon Conflict}}==According to [[What Wakes in the Dark (Short Story)]], the Ghoul Stars Crusade ended in 898.M41.{{Fn|3}} In contrast, [[Codex: Black Templars (4th Edition)]] states that the crusade was launched in 989.M41.{{Fn|1}} ==Related Publications==* [[The Uncanny Crusade (Short Story)]]