Devastation of Navjarov Prime

Armorial of the Gray Hussars Chapter.

The **Devastation of Navjarov Prime** was an Imperial castigation campaign that was a part of the much larger Indomitus Crusade carried out by the Gray Hussars Space Marine Chapter against the foul Black Legion Traitor Legion upon the Imperial world of Navjarov Prime.

## Background

The World of Navjarov Prime was a minor forge world skirting the edges of Saras Sector known for their genetor labs, storage of Gray Hussar gene-seed, ship production and military hardware. It was immensely valuable to Battlefleet Saras and the Gray Hussars Chapter for the sustained production of void craft and armaments. To the Gray Hussars they had made a pact with the forge-world for sustained arms, vessel production and storage of their gene-seed. The World was protected from several Skitarii Legions and Knight House-Opprus of Mechanicus Forces but also Garrisoned by the 3rd Detachment Platoon led by Senior-Knight, Julion von Retzen, along with the *Traitor's Executioner* Vanguard Light-Cruiser of the Gray Hussars Chapter.

Forces of the Black Legion traitor legion were informed of the gene vaults upon Navjarov Prime. Without warning the traitor forces headed for their new target, translating into the system the Mechanicus Fleet mobilized in defense of the system. The *Traitor's Executioner* joins into the fray. The traitor battleship, *Wrath of Legions,* lead the traitor fleet with hundreds of vessels engaging over the unstable gas giant of Navjarov 9 of the system edge. The Mechanicus kept their distance, using their mass numbers of Nova Cannons to ravage the chaos vessels *Traitor's Executioner* hid behind a barren moon for the chaos fleet to spark their engines. Using their speed to conduct fast-moving maneuvers around the moon until they were within boarding distance of the nearest Chaos Cruiser, *The Void Reaper,* launching their complement of void squads and armed serfs to begin slaughtering the crew of cultists.

Carving a bloody path through the decks the Void Squads made it to the bridge, engaging the Chaos Lord in charge of the vessel, slaying him and his warband, the Hussars suffered many casualties, but the void squads collected their dead brothers and called on all of their armed serfs to volunteer to pilot the cruiser into the Chaos flagship. They diverted all the power to the void shields and engines, driving forward until *The Void Reaper* ploughed into the *Wrath of Legions.* The force from the Impact broke the structure of the cursed Battleship. The bravery of the Hussars couldn't account for the hundreds of Chaos vessels that broke through the Mechanicus lines, heading straight for Navjarov Prime. The *Traitor's Executioner* had to retreat, their vessel heavily damaged. The Gray Hussars docked on the shipyard of the far side of the planet, purposely avoided by the Chaos Fleet for its defensive weaponry could shred hostile vessels from the void. Most of the Chaos fleet had received heavy damage. Tens of millions of chaos cultists and traitor guardsmen landed upon the planet below, led by their traitor Astartes overlords. Skitarii legions engaged in vicious mass battles with the chaos forces as Daemons were summoned in to lend their strength. The Gray Hussars rode out in support of their Mechanicus Allies, and the Squires and Tactical Squad remained to defend the gene vaults and labs with seven thousand Skitarii.

The Black Legions' most experienced forces marched on the walls of the gene vault built into the vertical face of a volcanic ridge, defended by walls made of volcanic glass. Waves of cultists and Traitor Astartes threw themselves at the Astartes and Mechanicus allies. For days the gene vault was held, using expert tactics developed by the chapter's primarch to keep the fortification standing. The other forces led by Senior-Knight Julion von Retzen joined a Mechanicus counterattack on a manufactorum conquered by the heretics that are used to produce lasrifles for local Imperial Guard regiments. Hussars, Skitarii and Knights broke into the heretic lines before being brutally crushed in what amounted to a slaughter. The Gray Hussars lost their entire Assault Squad in a vicious melee with Black Legion Traitor Astartes. Pulling back from the battle they retreated to the gene vaults to join their brothers in the bitter defense. Half the Skitarii were dead or severely injured beyond the point of fighting. Four Knights and nine squires had fallen to Black Legion incursions. The traitors had lost fifty thousand heretics in the valley leading to the ridge walls and the lands had gone from desolate deserts to an ocean of blood. Daemons stalked the battlefield, slaughtering as they desired. Senior-Knight Julion von Retzen ordered his Astropath to send a message to any available Imperial Guard Regiments to assist in the defense of the world. The Astartes held out for months, their squires replacing their fallen Knight masters as full battle-brothers of the Chapter by decree from their liege. Chaos forces had spread to hundreds of manufactorum clusters that dotted the planet's surface when the Gray Hussars message would be responded to.

Translating in system Battlegroup Noctus of Battlefleet Saras escorted seven Imperial Guard Regiments of the infamous Death Korp of Krieg, to the planet's surface. The Gray Hussars had been cut off from their ally Mechanicus Forces, their armor broken beyond use, ammunition becoming scarce, chainswords clogging, and vehicles long made useless by the lack of Promethium. They had devolved to using Scout plates as armor, as their power armor failed to sustain the energy needed to use the armor. Only twenty brothers remained, most of them being former Squires, only six experience Astartes remained, Senior-Knight Julion von Retzen, Sergeant-Knight Siegfried von Zosch, and four other brothers that had served for several decades before. The Chaos Forces marched towards the wall for one last battle, the Skitarii only numbering a thousand against thirty thousand cultists and several dozen traitor Astartes. They approached and halted, ready to charge the walls on the signal. From the horizon, dust was kicked up as Imperial Guard charged forth towards the valley.

Senior-Knight Julion von Retzen saw his opening. Taking the remaining experienced Astartes with him, he took all the bolt shells he could, and the power swords left working. They scaled the ridge overlooking the panicking cultists as they lost their organization from the rearward assault of the Death Korp. They hastily tried to retreat to engage the fanatic Guardsman engaging in a bloody close-quarters melee with an overwhelming guard force. Senior-Knight Julion von Retzen ordered his men into the valley to slaughter the traitors with determination and grit. Lacking their suits of holy power armor only relying on the strength bestowed onto them by the Holy Emperor they charged. Bolters firing, swords swinging hundreds fell before the unclad Astartes. The Death Riders of the Death Korp managed to link up with these giants of men slaughtering the cultists in their hordes, joining them once identified as loyalist Astartes. The Astartes took the Kriegs mounts and lances, driving a blood path through the cultists. Six Angelic riders.

The blood and sand sticking to their bodies they appeared like phantoms. The Black Legion lord barely notices the Gray Hussars ride in. Senior-Knight Julion von Retzen through an explosive lance at the Chaos Lord, distracting him enough for Senior-Knight to ride in and engage. It's unknown how the duel went, until the end with a bisected Senior-Knight of the Gray Hussars and a Chaos Lord dead by a powersword slash across the torso. Senior-Knight Julion von Retzen would live, only saved by his entombment into a Contemptor Dreadnaught aboard the *Traitor's Executioner.* The Death Korp would go on to exterminate the Chaos Forces from the planet along with the remaining Mechanicus Forces. The Gray Hussars Grand Master Riley von Gergan would request a genetically modified Krieg Mount be made by the Mechanicus that ride a fully grown and armored Astartes into battle. The beastly horse would be produced by the gene labs and a permanent unit was created in honor of Senior-Knight Julion von Retzen, it would be called *The Totenkopf Platoon.*