Fall of Kingshaven

Departmento Cartographicae pict-file of Kingshaven, prior to its loss in 102.M42.

## Campaign

### Outcome

Crushing Tyranid Victory

Combatants| * Imperium of Man
* Tyranids

Commanders| * Lord General Militant Egbert Mustrus (Overall Commander)
* General Gaia Thule (Escalian Forces)
* General Hermes Van Claaf (Other Off-World Forces)
* Acting Governor Libra Qualen (Local PDF)

Strength| * 27th/367th Escalian Air Cavalry
* 165th Escalian Mountaineers
* 190th Escalian Mountaineers
* 3rd Feldoran Ironsides
* 91st Feldoran Bombardiers
* 17th Glenmorian Sharpshooters
* 7th Hajmahni Tunnelers
* Local PDF
* Hive Fleet Leviathan

"*Kingshaven? What King would choose to live in a rotten, sweaty hole such as this?*"
—General Hermes Van Claaf
The **Fall of Kingshaven** was an Imperial military campaign that ran from 098.M42 to 102.M42. It was initiated when a distress call was transmitted in 094.M42, citing an apparent coup within at least one hive. Sector level command set about mustering a small relief force, believing that local forces would be victorious with only minor reinforcement, and rather more concerned by recent Tyranid activity within the sector. Imperial forces arrived to find little sign of conflict, and for three years conducted what they believed to be a cleanup campaign. However, early in the fourth year the defenders of Kingshaven were stunned by the sudden arrival of Hive Fleet Leviathan, and being scattered planetwide, were ordered to consolidate as best they could in Hive Nossus, the capital. On reaching this however, the defenders learned that they had been manipulated by the planet's leadership, whom had been infiltrated by a Genestealer Cult. The relief force suffered heavily in a brutal retreat to the spaceport, from whence a few survivors were able to escape.

## Prelude

Kingshaven was a hive world within the Dixean Sub-Sector of the Alamae Sector. It was considered a world of local importance, with the highest population and production capacity in the Sub-Sector.

In 094.M42, a distress call was received from Kingshaven, stating that a coup was underway in the world's capital, Hive Nossus, and that Imperial rule of the world was in peril. At this time, Sector level command was still reeling from the recent loss of Escalia to Tyranid forces, and as such had been mustering a response force in the event of another attack. This meant that whilst forces were available, Lord General Militant Egbert Mustrus, Officer Commanding the Alamae sector, was loath to part with them. Especially for what he saw as an opportunistic, self-destructive betrayal by the presumed secessionists. After all, he would argue, when the Xenos came it would be their loss. Nevertheless, his advisors maintained that a loyal Kingshaven was well worth the forces required to keep it. Finally, the Lord General Militant relented, and dispatched a relief force of seven regiments, almost half of which was made up of depleted Escalian regiments, thus reducing the loss to his own reserves.

The Escalian contingent would be overseen by General Gaia Thule, notably the sole survivor of Escalia's ruling family. Thule fought vehemently against the decision to send Escalians to Kingshaven at all. She argued that the Mountaineer regiments were wasted, if not rendered ineffective, outside of their environmental specialisation, and further that as there were only so many Escalians left, they should be allowed the honour of dying against the Tyranids that destroyed their homes and slaughtered their families. Mustrus overruled her objections, and insisted that as hives were essentially artificial mountains, her men could use their skills to climb those instead.

The remaining elements would be under the purview of General Hermes Van Claaf, an experienced Glenmorian commander whom had risen to his position from an initial posting as a Captain with the Sharpshooters. A man of few words, Van Claaf accepted his orders without question.

Despite this delegation, the overall strategic command would remain with the Lord General Militant and his General Staff on Alclere.

## The Dreg Hunt

Imperial reinforcements finally made landfall on Kingshaven in 098.M42, only to find to their surprise, that the war had apparently already been won. On making contact with local command, they were informed of the conflict's events by Acting Governor Libra Qualen. He explained that the previous Governor, Yules De'Guerre, had attempted to take control of the planet's hives as part of a heretical revolt. Their apparent intent had been to secede from the Imperium, and establish a sanctuary of religious freedom, relying on their extensive defenses to make retaking the world more trouble than it was worth. It was fortunate indeed therefore, that the spies of House Qualen, ever seeking to out-compete the De'Guerres, had discovered the plot before its fruition. They had then immediately transmitted the distress call and conducted a massive pre-emptive strike, lopping the head from the serpent with the aid of the lesser houses, and installing Libra himself as acting Governor until peace was attained and the topic of ascension could be fully assessed.

Lord General Militant Mustrus was rather irritated by the news that he had deployed forces where, seemingly, none were needed. However, seeing that house Qualen had blatantly executed a power grab, he thought it wise for now to leave his forces in place. After all, it was still perfectly possible that the new Acting Governor was the true traitor, and was hoping the Imperials would simply leave without a fight. For De'Guerre had been quite right, should an opposed landing have to be made on the world, it truly would become more trouble than it was worth to retake. Therefore, Mustrus sent a communique to Qualen, as well as his own commanders, stating that the relief force would remain on planet, both to assist in cleaning up the remaining hostiles, and to ensure that the planet's defenses would not be lessened in this difficult time. There were, after all, still Tyranids in the sector...

Thus, what became known as "The Dreg Hunt" began. The relief force was spread planet-wide, sweeping the various labyrinthine underhives and virulent jungles for any remnants of De'Guerre's heretical forces. In line with Qualen's version of events, the Imperials found many bands of armed men, whom would attack on sight. Field reports suggested that these groups were armed and equipped in militia fashion, bearing no Imperial iconography, and often having deliberately removed it in the case of stolen equipment. The most concerning detail however, was the reports of mutants among the enemy's dead. This was not the Lord General Militant's first campaign, and he had dealt with heretics before. Those reports too had spoken of deviants so foul as to corrupt their very bodies, but that had been far from here. Whatever they were facing, he saw no need for a change of tactic, and for three Terran years allowed his subordinates to coordinate their own Search and Destroy operations in the nooks and crannies of the world.

### The Curious Case of Hive Septus

One novel situation which developed during the Fall of Kingshaven occurred over much of 100.M42, in Hive Septus. Also known as Seven-Spires, or The Lost City of Kingshaven, Hive Septus was a collapsed ruin, abandoned in the world's civil war in M36. It had since been heavily overgrown by the surrounding jungle, and was near inaccessible at the best of times. In its millenia of isolation, legends had grown around the place almost as thickly as the vegetation. Many held that it was haunted, and that the vengeful spirits of its long-dead defenders would strike down any who dared enter. Others claimed that it was a treasure trove, and that an Adeptus Mechanicus shrine waited deep among the hive's roots, brimming with archeotech for the intrepid explorer to find.

Toward the end of the war's second year, Acting Governor Qualen issued his usual quarterly situation report to his fellow commanders. In this, he briefly stated that a PDF platoon had been deployed to Hive Septus, to search for signs of rebels. However, as the man was still far from above suspicion, and as both Thule and Van Graaf had been made aware of the hive's reputation, both issued seperate requests to send their own men to observe. Mustrus himself considered this a red herring, it seemed to him perfectly reasonable that rebels might seek refuge in the hive. His reply stated, that although the Generals were authorised to act as they saw fit, they were to consider this a low priority. Despite this, both Thule and Van Claaf sent their own elements to Hive Septus. From the Escalians, one squad from each regiment, adding up to a small platoon. Van Claaf on the other hand, sent only one squad of his trusted Glenmorian Sharpshooters. Unaware of one another, both groups were issued very similar orders: Search the hive, observe the PDF forces, secure any valuable archeotech or deny it to other forces, recon and if possible destroy any rebel groups, trust no-one.

On reaching the hive, the Imperial forces discovered further groups to be active in the hive, including:

* An Outlaw gang whom had been hiding out since long before the war.
* At least three mercenary groups apparently under the employ of merchant guilds and lesser noble houses.
* A group of Hajmahni deserters.
* Rebel forces of approximately half-company strength.

What then followed was a complex and often tense melting pot, with many factions and confusing webs of relations. After some eight months, the rebel forces had been eliminated by the Glenmorians, who used melta-charges to collapse the dome they were camped in. With the majority crushed or trapped, it was then fairly simple work to finish off those the blast had missed. Meanwhile, the Kingshaven PDF were finally able to locate a large cache of archeotech, which they began moving by trucks to the outer hive for transport by air. Unfortunately for them, they had been observed by the Escalians, who ambushed their convoy en route, and destroyed the archeotech via liberal use of krak grenades. Whatever Qualen's prize was, he had been denied it, and all Imperial forces were withdrawn over the next two weeks.

## The Hive Fleet

The final transmission to reach Lord General Militant Mustrus on Alclere was the first quarterly report of 101.M42. It stated that all was well with the campaign, and that it was expected the enemy's last elements would be hunted down within the year. Mustrus was giving the world less and less thought of late, and was at this point inclined to simply let Qualen have his power with no further inquiry. All evidence so far indicated he had been truthful, after all. Regardless, the Lord General Militant would play no further part in the world's fate.

### Warning Signs

Mere days after the report had been sent, Imperial commanders were notified that their Astropaths were distraught. They claimed that they were unable to send or receive any messages, and indeed, described the sensation as being "drowned in silence". It was as if, they said, every star were suddenly devoid of all life. This was, of course, the infamous Shadow in the Warp, however, no-one planetside had personally experienced a Tyranid invasion in the past, and all involved were ignorant of its implications. Nevertheless, the sudden loss of communication with the Imperium immediately snapped Thule and Van Claaf into action. Recognising, the latter's greater experience, Thule graciously allowed Van Claaf to take full command of the Imperial forces until communications with Mustrus' staff could be re-established. Sensing something was afoot, he ordered all elements to disengage where possible, and make ready to move should the need arise. This would prove to be a good move, as within days he was contacted by Commander Volk of *His Illustrious Gift*, the Sword Class Frigate of Battlefleet Alamae that had been assigned as escort to the relief force's logistical fleet. Volk claimed that he was seeing a great deal of auger contacts entering the system, and headed for Kingshaven. He informed Van Claaf that he intended to break orbit in order to preserve the transport fleet, but that their navigators were currently indisposed by the same issues as those afflicting the astropaths. Therefore, should the ground forces later wish to execute a withdrawal, they would likely still be in system. Van Claaf and Thule quickly agreed that the invading fleet was in all probability a Tyranid invasion, and immediately set about studying what information they had, and planning for what was to come.

Van Claaf and Thule settled on a two stage plan. First, when the Xenos attempted to make planetfall, the more mobile elements of the relief force would strike the enemy as they landed. Unfortunately, only two regiments fit this bill, the Valkyrie-mounted Escalian Air Cavalry and armoured elements of the Feldoran Ironsides. Once the Tyranids began to leave their landing sites, only delaying and baiting actions would be attempted by these formations. Meanwhile, all other forces would be consolidated in Hive Nossus, which would be fortified as much as possible and prepared as the site of their final defence. As it happened, the PDF of Kingshaven were in possession of formations that would have been more than capable of assisting the relief force's harrying operations, however Acting Governor Qualen remained their overall commander, and would not be convinced of the impending danger of invasion. Therefore, his forces would prove to be of little use in the early months of the conflict to come.

It was the civilians of Kingshaven that would be the greatest losers in all of this. A call was sent out that all civilians should make their way to Hive Nossus by whatever means they had at their disposal, but in all due reality, most would be unable to make the journey without starving, and there was unlikely to be room for those that could. As all vestiges of Imperial authority withdrew, most hives would simply devolve into riots, starvation and bloodshed.

### Arrival

Nine days later, the Tyranid forces made planetfall at three seperate landing sites. This was not ideal, as the harrying force was hardly sufficient to contain one. The first site was more-or-less antipodean to Hive Nossus, so the decision was made to ignore it. The second site was in the same region of jungle as Hive Septus, and the third was near the edge of one the planet's many "Dust Bowls", small, low lying desert regions created by the rain shadows of surrounding plateaus. The third site in particular was uncomfortably close to Nossus. As the Feldoran armour would be unable to operate in the planet's dense jungles, they would be deployed to the dust bowl, whilst the Air Cavalry would have to make the best of things at the second site.

The Tyranids however, seemed aware that Kingshaven was defended, and had deployed winged scouts to warn the massing horde of encroaching threats. Thus, when the Tauroses and Hellhounds of the Feldoran Ironsides crested the walls of the Xenos' landing crater, they were immediately met with a wall of horrific, organic munitions, discharged by waiting ranks of monstrosities. Imperial casualties were heavy, but the discipline of the Feldorans held. The faster vehicles had been sent ahead to bait the horde, and draw them back to the waiting guns of the Leman Russes, so they broke off and attempted to lead the Tyranids out of their crater, and away from Hive Nossus. The smaller Xenos breeds gave chase, and soon found themselves crossing the open terrain of the dust bowl. The Feldorans then sprung their trap, as their Main Battle Tanks swept in from the flanks, unleashing a veritable storm of fire upon the mass of aliens. The tide before them was devastated, however more and more continued to flow out from the landing site. Their commander, Colonel Cigno, ordered the regiment to form up, line abreast and present maximum firepower. This worked for a time, but the Colonel soon recognised that his men were being enveloped. Realising his tanks would not be fast enough to outrun the encirclement, he ordered the Leman Russes and Hellhounds to form up in a back-to-back star formation, and instructed his Tauroses to withdraw while they still could. They were to lead the aliens away from Nossus until they ceased to give chase, then return and reinforce the city. Of the 3rd Feldoran Ironsides, only some twenty-eight men now remained.

The Escalian Air Cavalry fared somewhat better. On arriving at the landing site, the Valkyries and Vultures found the Tyranid "dropship" surrounded by some form of shield that proved impervious to their weaponry. Unwilling to risk flying through it, they instead turned their attention to defoliating key areas of the surrounding jungle. These various positions would later be used as landing zones and heavy weapons emplacements. These were set up in depth, fortified as time allowed, and would hopefully allow the Escalians to execute a bounding retreat. When the ground around the ship had cooled enough for the Tyranids to leave the safety of their barrier, they were well aware of the Escalian presence, and immediately launched a direct assault on their defenses. They then found themselves set upon by crossfires from heavy weapons and strafing runs by Imperial aircraft.

The latter soon found however, that they could not simply rain fire with impunity, as the enemy's larger creatures seemed able to pick slow movers out of the sky with their own heavy weapons. What's more, the enemy's fliers were far more manoeuvrable, and the Imperials found themselves relying on pure speed to stay alive. The Vultures suffered the heaviest damage, as unlike the Valkyries, they weren't cycling in and out of transport runs. The Escalians continued this process of bounding back, but each Valkyrie lost would strand its passengers also, and despite attempts to overfill those that remained, there was not always room for everyone. Finally, as the Air Cavalry abandoned the last of their prepared positions, Colonel Windlass ordered an end to the day's fighting. They had lost several Valkyries, over a hundred Guardsmen and all but one of their Vultures. The 27th/367th Escalian Air Cavalry would continue to hound and harry the enemy, but never again to this extent.

### Consolidation

By the third quarter of 101.M42, Lord General Militant Mustrus was now missing two quarterly reports. Van Claaf and Thule both remained hopeful that he might therefore have realised their situation and be organising further mobilisation of the Sector's reserves. This was, after all, the very thing he'd been saving them for. As it happened, Mustrus had indeed reached the realisation that something was amiss, however he had only just begun looking into a further investigation, and no help would be arriving anytime soon.

Meanwhile, the commanders' plan had progressed onto stage two. Hive Nossus now contained all regular, and many irregular, Imperial forces on the planet. The difficult decision had been made to destroy the other hives as Tyranid forces approached them, waiting where possible until the Xenos were actually within the hive, before overloading the plasma generators within. This served a threefold purpose, it destroyed enemy forces, it denied them the biomass that laid within the hive, and it dispatched anyone that remained far more mercifully than the Tyranids would. This was another task that fell to the bloodied Air Cavalry, now little more than half-strength, as only they had the mobility necessary. This tactic only worked on three occasions however, the Tyranids soon learning that the cities were rigged to blow, and it did little to slow their advance.

### The Cult Attacks

Finally, in the closing days of 101.M42, the evening came that the enemy appeared on the horizon, and the defenders of Nossus made ready to sell their lives dearly. But alas, it was not to be. For as the men and women of the Imperium took up their positions on the hive's walls, and out in the additional defenses they had constructed over the past year, they were betrayed. Without warning, the great guns of the hive opened fire on its own defensive positions, and elsewhere loyal forces found themselves suddenly surrounded by the same enemies they had sought to destroy in the Dreg Hunt. But these were not mere dregs. The Imperials found themselves fighting entire companies, equipped with stolen flak and carapace armour, some even mounted in armoured vehicles, and now they were joined by clearly Xenos creatures with six taloned limbs, setting the previously observed mutations in a new, horrific light. These weren't mutants, but hybrids.

Those in the hastily constructed outer defenses suffered some of the worst, mostly Kingshaven PDF and the light infantry of the Sharpshooters, as they were torn to shreds by the defenses behind them. A desperate counter-attack was hastily organised by the third company of the Glenmorians, which managed to secure one of the outer gates before they could be closed, however they were still pinned down by the inner wall-guns, and would need assistance if they were to survive.

Equally unprepared were the artillery crews of the Feldoran Bombardiers. They had gone from dutifully waiting by their Medusas and Basilisks for their first fire orders, to suddenly under attack from all sides by snarling, frenzied foes with chainswords, shotguns and claws. Despite a valiant effort, they were too few and too scattered, and were slaughtered to a man.

The men of the Hajmahni Tunnelers had posted themselves to various likely break-in points in the lower hive. As such, they were not expecting company, and reacted with great suspicion at the sound of their ambushers' approach. Thanks to this, the hostile cultists failed to truly surprise most of their positions, and soon found themselves fighting in their enemy's preferred ground. The Genestealers were beaten back, and the Tunnelers slipped away into the maze of the hive's underbelly.

The Escalian Mountaineers had mostly been posted to the walls, where their long-range weaponry could be put to best use. When the wall-guns began opening up on their own defenses, they quickly found themselves being assaulted from the internal stairwells and towers. The mountaineers counterattacked, and quickly secured the towers, but now found themselves trapped, their only path down being through a bottleneck that both sides now clashed over with bayonets, melee weapons and foul xenos talons.

Lastly, the Escalian Air Cavalry were awaiting orders at headquarters, along with the remaining Tauros crews of the Feldoran Ironsides. This was composed of tents erected in a large warehouse by the hive's spaceport. The Genestealer Cultists attempted to rush this encampment, blasting open a wall to gain access, as well as to further the shock of their attack. They had not counted on the quality of their opponents however, and soon found themselves repulsed by a force of six hundred elite veteran Guardsmen. The Administratum clerks were quickly tasked with ensuring that all other entrances were securely barricaded. Van Claaf meanwhile, burst into the communications tent, and contacted Commander Volk. His message simply read: All is lost. Request evacuation. Volk replied shortly after with an estimate of two days until the transports would be in orbit. Van Claaf then issued orders via the vox for all Imperial forces to fall back to the Spaceport within two days, or make their peace with the Emperor. With that, the HQ group blasted a hole in the floor, and retreated into the dome below.

### Retreat

The following dawn saw the Escalian Mountaineers still besieged upon the walls of the hive. The Genestealer cultists had withdrawn from the walls and instead now laid in wait at their base, trapping the Imperials behind the bottlenecks of the stairwells. However, unbeknownst to the enemy, the Guardsmen had already hatched an escape plan, and by midday both regiments had successfully abseiled down the outside of the walls. They then found themselves approached by the remnants of the Glenmorians, whom had seen their descent. Realising that this must mean that the cultists had abandoned the wall guns, Captain Wesson of the Sharpshooters' third company, now the regiment's ranking officer, recommended an immediate assault on the nearest inner gatehouse. This was found to be only lightly defended, and having breached one of the pillboxes with a krak missile, the three regiments were able to make their way past the inner walls, and begin their ascent of the hive spire.

The Hajmahni Tunnelers were well ahead of their comrades, and were already halfway up the spire. They were enjoying great success in the close confines of the hive, engaging in running battles with enemy warbands as they found them, but with each level they climbed, their numbers were gradually bleeding away, now resting at around sixty percent of their original force.

The Headquarters group had holed up in a high-end hab block two levels below the spaceport. The cultists had apparently lost track of their precise whereabouts after they had abandoned the warehouse. Van Claaf decided to make use of the time by dispatching fireteams to reconnoitre the spaceport and look for friendly units. He was also approached by one Sergeant Nomad of the Air Cavalry, who volunteered his squad for a mission to detonate the plasma generators of this hive as they had done the others. Thule protested on the grounds that the group needed to maintain its fighting strength, however Van Claaf authorised the operation nonetheless.

The Tyranid forces meanwhile, being in little apparent hurry, finally entered the hive that evening and began consuming everything organic they could. The Genestealers were also greatly tied up in clashes with irregular militias and gangs. It was perhaps a cruel irony, that the civilians of Kingshaven were to delay the Xenos in order to buy time for the military.

### Final Withdrawal

On the morning of the evacuation day, Van Claaf's scouts returned. They reported that the spaceport was currently being defended by several thousand cultists, relatively poorly equipped, and likely all they could spare, as they had no doubt intercepted the voxed order to withdraw there. Poorly equipped or not, they were still too many for the forces to hand, leaving the General with little choice but to await reinforcement. It came first in the form of the Hajmahni, now around fourty percent strength, whose lead elements encountered Escalian scouts in the sewer network. The Imperials now had the numbers to make an attempt, and as Major Haoul, their acting regimental commander, had no news of further backup on the way, Van Claaf decided to act. The Headquarters group made their way in silence back up to the warehouse camp through the same hole they had blasted, and from there launched an assault on the spaceport cargo terminal. The Imperial forces battered their way through the hastily erected defences at great cost, before finally becoming pinned at the edge of the great empty hangar that was the spaceport's landing platform. The genestealers had positioned seven stolen PDF Chimeras out in the landing area, which were now strafing their heavily depleted attackers, themselves lacking the firepower to answer at such a range.

Fortunately, the Mountaineers, Sharpshooters and PDF remnants had not been idle, and now joined the battle from the passenger terminal on the far side of the hangar. Krak missiles arced over the open space and found their targets in the enemy vehicles, destroying three and disabling one. The remaining APCs turned to engage the new threat, and the Headquarters group saw their chance. A Feldoran Ironsider, believed to have been one Guardsman Struzzo, leapt behind the controls of a large cargo lifter, and set the behemoth trundling forwards, whilst his comrades advanced behind the cover it provided. The Chimeras spotted this, and two turrets traversed to engage, quickly killing Struzzo. However, the lifter was still moving. All three Chimeras began blazing away with their multilasers in an attempt to destroy its engine, but when it finally came to a halt, it was already too close. From behind the lifter appeared Air Cavalrymen, firing plasma guns and launching krak grenades. The Chimeras were destroyed, and the spaceport secured. The tattered remains of the Imperial relief force dug in.

Meanwhile, in orbit, Commander Volk had put his own risky strategy into practice. Using his own ship as bait, he had led the Tyranid's combat "ships" away from Kingshaven on a wild goose chase. They were now a day away from Kingshaven, and the transport ships were just moving into position. If the gamble did not pay off, it was very unlikely the Tyranids would fall for this strategy again. With this in mind, he contacted the ground forces and informed them that the evacuation would begin shortly. In line with this, two Bulk Landers and several Arvus Lighters were dispatched from the transports, along with what few Thunderbolts were aboard as escort.

Upon the arrival of the haulers, Van Claaf ordered the collapse of the terminals to impede pursuers, and organised new defensive positions around the loading ramps. In an attempt to preserve as many regiments as possible, he then ordered that boarding should be in ascending order of unit size. The order this produced was: Feldorans, Air Cavalry, Glenmorians, Hajmahni, and finally the Mountaineers. He and his command staff were then loaded aboard the Arvus Lighters, and evacuated to the waiting transports. However, in what would prove to be the last order issued by an Astra Militarum officer, General Thule ordered that one Arvus remain behind, to await the remnants of Sergeant Nomad's squad, or until unable to do so.

During the loading process, further attacks were made by the Genestealer Cultists, however these were smaller in scale and were finally broken in a small counterattack by the Tunnelers and Mountaineers. The precise reason for their sudden lack of numbers remains unclear, analysts posit that perhaps the the defenders of the spaceport had represented their entire force in this part of the hive, that perhaps the vile heretics wished to link up with their Xenos gods on the lower levels, or that perhaps they simply saw no gain in pursuing the small retreating force any further. Whatever the case, the lone Arvus pilot later reported that following the departure of the Bulk Landers, he saw no further activity until a lone Air Cavalryman appeared from amidst the rubble of the passenger terminal, bolted into the back of his ship and advised that it would probably be a good idea to leave now. The pilot had apparently not needed much convincing, as this had been immediately followed by the appearance of a large number of Xenos, apparently giving pursuit. The man later transpired to be Corporal Razon, the sole survivor of Sergeant Nomad's squad.

Despite his demise however, the Sergeant had succeeded. Hive Nossus detonated as the transports broke orbit, on the second day of 102.M42, officially concluding the campaign. Sergeant Nomad was posthumously dubbed the Martyr of Kingshaven.

## Aftermath

Lord General Militant Mustrus was perhaps understandably shocked by the sudden reappearance of his forces, and dismayed at the losses it had sustained. Upon hearing of the Tyranid presence, he immediately petitioned Battlefleet Alamae to engage and destroy the Xenos as they gorged, however the Admiralty refused, unwilling to risk attacking a freshly stocked Hivefleet.

The final unit strengths after the Fall of Kingshaven were as follows:

* **27th/367th Escalian Air Cavalry** - Less than one company, ~20% strength. All aircraft lost. The regiment would later be folded into the 66th/142nd Air Cavalry as replacements.
* **165th Escalian Mountaineers** - Roughly three companies, ~30% strength. Scratched with the 190th to form one understrength regiment.
* **190th Escalian Mountaineers** - A little under four companies, ~35-40% strength. Scratched with the 165th to form one understrength regiment.
* **3rd Feldoran Ironsides** - Only 15 Men. All vehicles lost. The regiment was officially disbanded. The survivors were returned to Feldor to become combat instructors.
* **91st Feldoran Bombardiers** - All men and equipment lost.
* **17th Glenmorian Sharpshooters** - One half company, ~5% strength. Sponsored for Stormtrooper training by Mustrus at Van Claaf's request.
* **7th Hajmahni Tunnelers** - Two companies, ~25% strength. Folded into the 88th Tunnelers as replacements.
* **Local PDF** - ~50 Men. Due to the high potential for Genestealer infiltrators, these men were summarily executed shortly after their evacuation.

Following their return to friendly territory, all survivors were examined for signs of Genestealer corruption. The number of potential cases identified is classified on the authority of the Ordo Xenos, although the final figures given above are understood to consider the resultant losses. Further to this initiative, all Kingshaven regiments were withdrawn from active duty and placed under the jurisdiction of the Emperor's Holy Inquisition. What became of them beyond that point is also a classified matter.

## Analysis

Since the conclusion of the campaign, Imperial analysts have studied the reports, communications and documents generated during the Fall of Kingshaven. Their interpretation of the most likely chain of events is as follows:

* At an unknown point, a Genestealer Cult established itself on Kingshaven.
* The Cult attempted to infiltrate the planet's nobility with some success.
* In 094.M42, the cult was discovered, possibly by Governor De'Guerre. However, apparently unaware of what it was, his distress call simply referred to a coup.
* The cult was forced to act early, killing De'Guerre as a scapegoat and sacrificing a portion of their own force to act as his "uprising". This plan succeeded in maintaining the cult's position and cover.
* In 098.M42, the relief force finally arrived, interfering in the cult's plans once again. They decided to simply continue the previous ruse, hoping the Imperials would simply leave at its conclusion.
* The events in hive Septus were probably an attempt by the cult to either secure a weapon for the cult's uprising, or to deny it to the Imperials. In either event, it was destroyed.
* Following the arrival of the Tyranids in 101.M42, the cult began planning for their final uprising, which they then executed as the aliens neared the city. This shattered any hope of resisting the Xenos tide, and forced an Imperial withdrawal.

The events have been officially classified as a major defeat at the local level. Imperial ground forces withdrew at an average of 15% of their on paper strength, also losing a great deal of their equipment and all their vehicles, inflicting relatively insignificant losses in return.

The confilct was useful however, as strategists now had auger and eye-witness reports of exactly what the sector was facing. The relatively small scale of the Tyranid landings, higher than usual concentration of smaller bio-ships and remarkably slow pace of the surface swarm led analysts to conclude that the Alamae Sector was up against a very small splinter. It was supposed that these Tyranids were scant survivors from a failed offensive, and were in the process of rebuilding. However, they had now consumed the extremely bio-rich world of Kingshaven, and would likely be a far greater threat on their next encounter. The question of course becoming, where?