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Pariah Crusade

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Pariah Crusade
NecronArt9th3.jpg
The Necrons rise
Conflict Psychic Awakening/Indomitus Crusade
Date M42
Location Nephilim Sector
Outcome Ongoing
Combatants
Imperium Necrons
Commanders
Groupmaster Marran
Inquisitor Draxus
Ephrael Stern
Marshal Kurtz[1c]
Captain Galeron[6]
Silent King Szarekh[8]
Illuminor Szeras
Cryptek Orikan[8]
Phaeron Shemvokh (WIA)
Overlord Neshkafar
Phaeron Vordreska
Lord Karifar Lakshmet
Lord Khepra'nek[6]
Lord Menhotok[6]
Strength
Elements from:
Ultramarines
Black Templars
Deathwatch
Order of Our Martyred Lady
Order of the Bloody Rose
Imperial Guard
Imperial Navy
House Terryn
House Mortan
Legio Castigatum
Adeptus Mechanicus
Ordo Xenos
Szarekhan Dynasty[7]
Oruskh Dynasty[7]
Nihilakh Dynasty
Novokh Dynasty[4b]
Sautekh Dynasty[6]
Phet'zesh Dynasty[8]
Uretp Dynasty[8]
Mefhamnet Dynasty[6]
Alliance of various other Dynasties[4a]
Casualties
Heavy Unknown, presumably heavy

The Pariah Crusade is a campaign of the Psychic Awakening and Indomitus Crusade.[1]

The Pariah Nexus[1a]

Overview

Prelude

The campaign was overseen by Battle Group Kallides, which moved into the Nephilim Sector to investigate the Pariah Nexus. Commanded by Groupmaster Marran, the Imperial forces consisted of Imperial Guard, Imperial Navy, Mechanicum, House Terryn, House Mortan, Ultramarines, Black Templars, Sisters of Battle, and Legio Castigatum. Also present were Ordo Xenos detachments under Lord Inquisitor Kyria Draxus. Imperial forces soon found the effects of the Pariah Nexus to be malign, with Imperial Guard forces that landed on worlds in the region often abandoning their posts, falling into panic, or simply becoming unresponsive. Space Marines and servants of the Omnissiah complained about headaches. Void-traffic was non-existent and communication all but impossible. Cities and worlds were found nearly entirely depopulated. The effects of the nexus only did not seem to effect the Adepta Sororitas.[1a] In time the Imperials dubbed this effect the "Stilling".[4a]

As Imperial forces pushed on, they were unaware that they were being observed by the Necrons under the command of the Cryptek Szeras.[1a]

Battle of the Mesmoch Pylon

The trigger for war came when a Vanguard strike force of Ultramarines made planetfall on Mesmoch in the Zeidos System. On Mesmoch, the Ultramarines discovered a towering Pylon wrought from Blackstone which was several miles in circumference. The assault upon the Mesmoch Pylon went poorly from the start. Warp Drive failures and stilled crews meant that only two-thirds of the requested warships and troop transports reached Marran's mustering point in time. Formations of Necron warships swept from the void to oppose the Imperial attack. Many Imperial ships were destroyed by the time Marran's forces reached Mesmoch, either by the Necron warships or orbital defenses. Imperial carriers disgorged waves of infantry onto Mesmoch's surface. The Ultramarines. Black Templars, and Deathwatch led the attack, establishing beachheads to the north and east of the Pylon. Six entire Imperial Guard Regiments followed while the Warlord Titan Deus Redemptor was landed from orbit.[1a]

Necron phalanxes marched out to oppose the attack as the Imperial Battleship Triumph unleashed an orbital bombardment on the Pylon itself. Despite a massive Lance attack, the pylon was undamaged due to Quantum Shielding. Ground attack thus became the only option to destroy the Pylon, but while the Space Marines had carved a path within a half-mile of the Pylon's base, the Imperial Guard were faltering due to its effects. The Necrons struck with Monoliths and Doomsday Arks at this weak point in the Imperial attack and damaged the Deus Redemptor. Only the Space Marines were able to prevent the defeat from becoming a full rout. Squad by squad they staged a fighting retreat, providing rearguard cover as Imperial forces limped back to their extraction zones. The Deathwatch Kill Teams Amaeus and Thannyr died to the last holding the Necrons back. A fercoious counterattack led by Marshal Ghehart of the Black Templars repulsed the Necron forces seeking to finish off the Deus Redemptor and saw horrible casualties on both sides. Evacuating Imperial transports were mauled by Doom Scythes and Tomb Blades. The attack on the Pylon had been a humiliating defeat.[1a]

Vie Almus Majoria Counterpush

In the wake of the disaster at Mesmoch, Battle Group Kallides reeled as it attempted to investigate the Pariah Nexus.

Battle Group Kallides, lead by Field Marshal Bigelis Thao, struggled to gain a foothold on the world of Vie Almus Majora, with a disastrous initial defeat at the Battle of Ishlarn Thermokarst, wherein 20 armoured regiments and 10 Infantry Regiments were encircled and nearly destroyed - these regiments included; Chancyllian Ironclads, Gabikhan Thunderers, Pteroni Highryders, and the Gelzoan Light Infantry. Imperial forces were eventually pushed back over a number of months to a small region. Only after the victory on Cherist, and the realisation that Faith could prevent the Stilling, did the Counterpush begin to succeed. The Marshal's plan for a counterattack won approval from the supporting Darkspires, Sons of Orar, and Harrowers Chapter. A breakout, assisted by Space Marines lighting strikes, was successful.[2a]

Kalliphor Engagement

The battles for, around, and on, Kalliphor were so brutal and disastrous that the losses shaped the rest of the Pariah Nexus Campaign. Losses included: 30-40 Million Dead, or Stilled; 373 Starhips of the Imperial Fleet and their crews lost, including Naval vessels His Imperial Majesty, and His Divine Purpose.

Events resulting in such casualties include the deaths of 2 Million men and women of the Kalliphorian Free Companies in the bunkers beneath the Glastojun Mountains due to assault by tens of thousands of Flayed Ones.

Alongside the many deaths, there were great victories. These include: The Charge of the Heskian Light Dragoons, and the Siege of Traanaxis Hive, where the ratlings of the 337th Abhuman Auxiliaries allegedly assassinated hundred of high-ranking Necrons - holding the Hive long enough for the Heskian Light Dragoons to relieve them.

The sabotaging actions of the Haephosian Tritons resulted in the collaspse of a Tomb Complex into the Tranzpasian Ocean, preventing the 78th Division of the Aeronautica Imperialis - the 'Fire Jackals' - from being overwhelmed by the Necron air/space forces deployed from the complex.[2b]

Battle of the Gates

As imperial forces faced collapse, Groupmaster Marran mobilized his reserves and tried to recall the more far-flung of his task forces. However due to the effects of the Pariah Nexus, Astropathic communication were largely ineffective. Faced with this, he deployed swift messenger ships but there was doubt over whether Navigators could guide the ships to their destinations due to the warp nullifcation field of the region. On Paradyce IV and Kalliphor Imperial forces suffered further defeats at the hands of the Necrons. Amidst the panic, the Sister of Battle Ephrael Stern came before Groupmaster Marran. The Daemonifuge requested a chance to restore Imperial spirits by leading a counterattack. Stern chose the world of Cherist, a major Necron transportation hub based around three Dolmen Gates as her target. Marran put his faith in Stern and approved the plan.[1b]

The Imperials found Cherist to be a vicious Ice World, though the climate effected the Necrons little. Yet the Imperials did not balk and forces from the Order of Our Martyred Lady and the Order of the Bloody Rose swept down onto the planet from Invasion Cathedrums. Stern herself led the invasion against the Dolmen Gates complex located at Cherist's south pole. They were supported by Imperial Guard and Knights of House Mortan. Due to Quantum Shielding, orbital bombardment was impossible and the only viable route for the Imperials was up a wide valley dotted with destroyed Human structures. The Imperial attack began with a ferocious barrage from the Invasion Cathedrums. Unshielded Necron structures were pummeled into ruin but thanks to their quantum shielding the core structures remained unharmed. The Necrons themselves responded with salvos of weapons Pylons which destroyed one of the landing craft o house Mortan.[1b]

The Imperial forces were able to establish a beachhead under heavy fire. The Sororitas Invasion Cathedrums unleashed two dozen squads of Seraphim and Zephyrim. Meanwhile Stern herself descended from dropships and marched at the head of more than 2,000 Sisters. They advanced into the ice shard storms under ferocious fire alongside several thousand Guardsmen and supporting tanks. However Phaeron Shemvokh of the Nihilakh Dynasty was unconcerned and organized a counterattack down the valley aboard his Catacomb Command Barge. As Necron Warriors marched forward, Tomb Blades rained death down onto Imperial tanks and artillery. Heavier Necron war engines drifted in their wake, annihilating entire squads of Guardsmen and Battle Sisters. Phaeron Shemvokh and his Lychguard intended to lead their own attack to split the Imperial lines in two.[1b]

Stern for her part was assured that Kyganil would bring the might of the Ynnari to aid the Imperials. Yet to her horror it was not Eldar who emerged from a nearby Webway Portal but rather Necron reinforcements. Yet it was at this moment that the centermost Dolem Gate exploded thanks to the efforts of the Seraphim and Zephyrim. The act improved Imperial morale and Stern redoubled her efforts. Stern was able to unleash her full power, transforming fully into the Daemonifuge. The Necrons were shocked, as the Pariah Nexus should have suppressed such warp activity. Yet he was ignorant that this power was motivated by pure faith, not Warp-spawned energy. Imperial Knights stormed down from the high ground to hit the Necrons from both sides while at the same moment Stern swept down upon Phaerom Shemvokh. The duel that erupted was ferocious, but ultimately Shemvokh and his Lychguard could not hold back Stern's fury. One by one the Lychguard fell and in the last moment Shemvokh's Barge was blasted from the sky, reducing his body to wreckage. The fighting raged on for another hour, but the outcome was clear. By the time the last of the Dolmen Gates was smashed the Necron defenders were in tatters.[1b]

Tredica Expedition

Szeras was intrigued by the Human "miracle", studying its effects diligently. As Szeras and his Crypteks plied their science, the war raged on - the Vic Almnus Majora counterattack, the Death March on Paradyce II, the Battle of Vorlian Wash - each conflict saw the Imperial forces resurgent. The effects of the Pariah Nexus started to lessen due to the Imperial power of faith. Yet the Imperials had yet to destroy a single Pylon and were no closer to understanding the Nexus' purpose. They were simply holding the Necrons at bay. It fell to Lord Inquisitor Kyria Draxus to rectify this. Draxus settled upon the Tredica System as her target. Located deep within the Nexus, it had been scouted by a squad of Tempestus Scions. The survivors brought with them a trove of information and details of the interiors of several Necron Tombs. Identify the most significant structure in the Nexus yet encountered, Draxus wished to plunder its secrets. Draxus hand-piked her expedition, designated Task Force XIV. It was comprised of Deathwatch, Black Templars, Sisters of Battle, Tempestus Scions, and a conclave of Tech-Priests from Stygies VIII. They would go to Tredica, not to destroy the Pylon but rather to gain intelligence.[1c]

In truth, the Tempestus Scion scouts had been allowed to escape by Szeras, who had implanted them with Mindshackle Scarabs. Yet at the same time Draxus had recognized the signs of Scarab influence and knew of the Necron trap. To counter this, she brought Epharel Stern with them as she was a force that the Necrons had yet been unable to counter.[1c]

By the time Task Force XIV reached the Tredica System they had lost one of their ships to becalmed Warp tides and had fought several skirmishes with Necron forces. Regardless, they immediately swept into action. Marshal Kurtz of the Black Templars led a divisionary raid against the world of Tredica Decitor while a combined strike of Battle Sisters and Tempestus Scions fell upon the xenos platforms orbiting Tredica Fortis. Draxus led her own force in the true strike at the former prosperous Hive World of Tredica Ardaxis. This was the largest of the three worlds slaved to the Necron void-obelisk initially encountered. It was this world that gave off the strongest energy signatures in the system, and from here that the scarab-enslaved Scions had "escaped". Three colossal Pylons rose from the planet's surface; one from the frozen night side, another from the scorched day side, and the third and largest from the hazy band of the planet's time-locked terminator. It was towards this pylon that Draxus' Inquisitorial Cruiser Paladin's Shadow moved.[1c]

Thanks to the cruisers Eldar technology, it was able to approach seemingly undetected to the planet's orbit and unleash gunships down towards the tomb structures. There was no sign of the foe as the gunships touched down and delivered their compliment of Deathwatch Space Marines, Battle Sisters, and Tech-Priests. However as the gunships left, Szeras sprang his trap. Green Dolmen Gates opened up which disgorged flights of Doom Scythes and Night Scythes. The former shot through towards the retreating gunships while the Night Scythes launched strafing attacks on the Imperial forces. Next marched forward an elite force of Necron Immortals and Lychguard, Szeras at their head. Refusing the Crypteks order to surrender, Draxus immediately employed the knowledge she had gleaned from the Scions helm-vids in combination with forbidden knowledge provided by Xenarite Tech-Priests. Rather than panic as the Necrons expected, Draxus instead had her force smash through the Necron cordon towards the nearest teleportation gate.[1c]

Though they suffered heavy casualties, the Imperial forces were able to reach the gate and the Xenarite Priests Draxus had brought with her did their work to suborn its Machine Spirit. Before the Necrons could overrun the defenders the Tech-Priests prevailed and the Imperial forces suddenly vanished. Szeras turned from irritation to rage as the other portals exploded thanks to the efforts of the Deathwatch, foiling any pursuit. Within the gate, the Imperials found themselves deep within the Pylon's base. They sought the device the Xenarites described as Mnemetic Crystals which they could plunder for information. The Imperials had to fight through both Necron Warriors and Canoptek constructs with every step they took. With their numbers dwindling, Stern led them to their destination. Letting the Emperor guide her steps, the Daemonifuge led the way to a vast chamber in which immense stalactites and stalagmites of Necron machinery glowed. At its heart was a imprisoned C'tan Shard, powering the entire structure. The Imperial forces found the Necron crystals nearby and the Xenarites labored to extract knowledge from them.[1c]

Wave upon wave of Necrons fell upon the shrinking Imperial cordon. Stern led the defense against seemingly endless waves of Necrons while Kyganil wove amongst their ranks. Szeras soon reappeared with an arsenal of Triarch Stalkers and Doomsday Arks in tow. The Sisters and Space Marines began to die to the last, taking as many enemies as they could with them. Yet it was at this moment that Draxus cried out in triumph, finally extracting what she sought from the Necron crystals though it had cost four of the priests lives. Upon realizing that the Imperials were surrounded and soon to be overrun, Draxus smashed the machinery holding the C'tan shard. The C'tan Shard exploded from its bindings, viciously exacting vengeance onto those who had bound it. The few surviving Imperials were able to use this as cover to escape from the structure. Szeras immediately forgot about the Human intruders, instead seeking to contain the enraged Star God. Amazingly enough, the apparently grateful C'tan teleported the Imperials to safety back into their orbiting ships. With what they sought acquired, the Imperials left orbit.[1c]

Arrival of the Silent King

After an extended period of fighting, the Silent King himself arrived on the Tomb World of Xendu to inspect progress on the Pariah Nexus as well as the defense against the Human. Szarekh was met by Szeras, other assembled Necron Overlords, and 3,000 Triarch Praetorians who offered him captured Human Blanks for experimentation. With Szarekh's arrival, the Necron armies that had been held back under Szeras were mobilized for a massive counteroffensive which involved millions of warriors. Szarekh appeared at the front of a number of these battles to repulse the Humans, offering his foes a chance to surrender but much to his grudging admiration never receiving such supplication.[8]

On Rorgaestis III, an army of Barghentine Plains-Rangers and Holassi Sky Commandos Imperial Guard attempted to breakout. The Silent King allowed some to eventually reach their landing craft and evacuate before unleashing five C'tan Shards and a massive force of Annihilation Barges and Canoptek Wraiths to annihilate them. At Bhorsis, he used Crypteks to unleash a trillion Scarabs, tearing apart the besieged Imperials. Meanwhile the Necron Overlord Karep'ta halted his advance on Bhorsis' moon in order to meet the challenge of a Space Marine Captain. This halt was met with Imperial counterattack, an insult to Karep'ta's honour duel that Szarekh reacted to furiously. After evacuating his own forces he deployed his personal warship Song of Oblivion in an attack which split the moon apart.[8]

Meanwhile Phaeron Shemvokh was regenerating from his prior destruction, but enacted his will through lesser Necron Lords. His forces devastated an Imperial fleet at the Gebn Nebula before exterminating its Human population. Orikan the Diviner and his Crypteks led a mixed dynastic army of Szarekhan, Oruskh, and Urtep forces against a Sisters of Battle fortress at Vantis III.[8]

Despite many loyal vassals fighting for him, Szarekh also faced internal squabblings and agendas of the Necrons of the Nephilim Sector. Trazyn the Infinite revealed the location of the Necrons presence in a System by unleashing forces to kidnap the crew of a single Human ship for his own ends. This caused a bloody void battle that forced the loyal Overlord Neshkafar to sacrifice a portion of his fleet needlessly. The ruling Overlord of the Oruskh Dynasty withheld his legions while Oruskh Lord Karifar Lakshmet led 50,000 warriors as part of a struggle to gain favor with the Silent King. While the Smaller Dnyasties of the region such as the Phet'zesh, Uretp, and Mefhamnet often used the war as a stage to settle their own squabbles, with the Mefhamnet annexing neighboring dynasties territories. The Phet'zesh even clashed with the Nihilakh Dynasty legions loyal to the Silent King. Phaeron Vordreska was entirely fixated on getting revenge against Orks of the galactic southeast.[8]

Related Campaigns

Sources