Battle of Karacya

The **Battle of Karacya** was an Imperial castigation campaign carried out by the newly reconstituted 5th Company of the Mordekaisers Space Marine Chapter against their hated foes, the Renegade Chapter known as the Wolves of Retribution, upon the world of Karacya.

## Background

Karacya is a death world where most of the land has long succumbed to ever shifting tectonic plates. The only stable landscape is a giant plateau that overlooked a deep abyss. An Adeptus Mechanicus facility was built on this plateau, and also on top of the ruins of an ancient Imperial Cathedral built into the side of the cliff. Around the facility is a small town where the majority of the population is based along with the PDF and planetary governor. Karacya is also home to wayward bands of nomads who wandered the plateau and avoid the Mechanicus facility until, at one point, when they suddenly attacked it. Even though they had powerful weaponry, maniples of Skitarii and the PDF at their disposal, the Mechanicus were outnumbered and thus sent a request for aid. This request was answered by the Mordekaisers.

In the aftermath of the Second Defence of Morgen Schwach, the beleaguered Mordekaisers Chapter were reinforced by the newly arrived Primaris Marines. Having been under strength since the Magrin War, the 5th Company received most of the reinforcements and were placed under the command of Fabian Alric. Following their reconstitution, the 5th Company were sent to answer requests for aid from the planet of Karacya where a cult uprising had besieged the Adeptus Mechanicus facility there. Though slaying cultists is no major feat, Alric was eager to prove his worth to the Mordekaisers and thus led the mostly unscarred Astartes of the 5th to Karacya.

## The Battle

### Opening Phases

Even though the Mordekaisers are not suited to warfare on the ground of planets, Alric was confident that he and his Company's superhuman strength and superior weaponry would be more than enough to crush the cultist uprising. Furthermore the Skitarii of Magos Korrin Zelta, the overseer of the Mechanicus facility, would lend their support and further augment the Astartes' power. Upon arrival the 5th deployed outside of the facility and fell upon the cultists. While the Skitarii and PDF could be slain, the primitive guns of the cultists stood no chance against the might of the Primaris Astartes whose weaponry mowed down mortals by the dozen. Needless to say, the massed fire from the Aggressors and Intercessors broke the siege in little over half an hour and sent the cultists fleeing into the wilderness. Unwilling to allow the cultists a chance to regrow in the darkness, the Mordekaisers and Mechanicus began hunting down the scattered enclaves. Soon this became less of a battle and more of a mop up operation. Alric was confident that they would complete this operation in less than a month.

However the circumstances changed when the Mordekaisers tracked the last of cultist holdouts in one of the abandoned entrances to the underground cathedral. Upon arrival, Alric was amused to find that the cultists had barricaded themselves in yet they had also set the building alight. Amusement turned into confusion when he saw that none of the cultists were burning. It was then Sergeant Rodrik let out a curse. When asked what was the matter, the old veteran, who had been of the 5th long before the Primaris arrived, explained he had seen this phenomena before on a planet called Pyamax. Before he could continue he was interrupted by a loud inhuman shriek as the building exploded in a firestorm and the 5th found themselves assailed by red armoured Traitor Marines whose eyes burned with fire. While it took the Primaris a second longer to identify their foe, the older breed of Astartes knew instantly that the Wolves of Retribution had come.

### Burning Hate

For all their enhanced speed and reflexes, the Mordekaisers were caught blindsided as the howling Wolves of Retribution crashed into them like a tide of anger. Corpses and body parts were thrown around like leaves in a storm as bolter rounds tore through armour at close range and chainswords gored flesh like ravenous beasts. For all their might the Imperials were forced to retreat. Even though it would be wise to retreat back to the facility Hauptmann Alric knew that would end with them trapped by the heretics. Furthermore, he knew that the Wolves of Retribution would not resist the chance of engaging their most hated enemy thus he sent the PDF and Skitarii to return and defend the facility. As for themselves, the 5th struck out into the deserts and made their way to the caverns of the underground cathedral.

While the Imperials escaped the Wolves of Retribution halted briefly to allow the rest of their forces to arrive onto the planet. From the burning portal came chanting squads of marines and packs of howling raptors. Obliterators, who still assumed they were wearing their centurion suits, strod out alongside maddened Helbrutes. Finally a grand procession of cultists emerged pulling on great chains that dragged a throne of metal through the portal. Sitting on top was a regally armoured Astartes wreathed in a burning cloak and bearing a corrupted crozius arcanum in one hand and a book wrapped in Aeldari flesh in the other. His voice, augmented by daemonic growths, blared out dark chantings that the Wolves heard as praises to Him on Terra. He was Redeemer Haringoth, once captain of the Wolves' 3rd Company prior to their fall, and he declared that this planet shall be purged.

As Alric expected, the Wolves immediately continued their pursuit of the Mordekaisers once they had fully deployed their forces. To goad them, Alric called for the Strike Cruiser *Relentless Fury* to send down Inceptor equipment, that had seen little use amongst the Chapter until now, and sent Inceptors to harry and provoke the enraged Wolves. As such, the Mordekaisers easily lured the Wolves down into the cathedral.

### Battle Beneath the Ground

When they descended underground, the Mordekaisers found themselves in a landscape torn apart by seismic activity and the Mechanicus' works. It is said that Alric was especially bemused by the giant statue of a Warlord Battle Titan. There was no time to take in the view however as the Wolves of Retribution were flooding into the undercrofts just as Alric wanted them to. On the open ground above, the Mordekaisers were hard pressed to deal with the masses of Heretic Astartes but now, in the cramped underground, they would teach the Wolves of Retribution what happens when the Murder Lords are fought in a tunnel.

It is said that the townspeople and garrison of the Mechanicus facility could hear tremors and shakes from beneath the ground as if an earthquake was happening. However, they were, in fact, hearing the sounds of a battle between two bitter foes. The laughter of the Mordekaisers competed with the insane chanting of the Wolves of Retribution while chainswords and bolters roared out as they delivered death. Dreadnoughts clashed with helbrutes like mythical giants of ancient Terra. Ancient Hartwin, one of the new Redemptor Dreadnoughts, was noted to have thrown at least two Helbrutes off into the abyss that split the cathedral.

### A Bloody Duel

It was inevitable that Hauptmann Alric would find Redeemer Haringoth in the heat of the battle. He found the Redeemer laughing over the corpse of Isaak, Company Champion of the 5th. Adding insult the Redeemer had stomped on the holy relic Isaak bore into battle. Enraged and vengeful, Alric charged towards his foe. It was immediately clear that Haringoth was no mere opponent for the Redeemer unleashed gusts of fire or inflamed his Crozius's icon to rattled Alric as it clashed with his blade. In the fight Alric's cape was set alight and his purity seals burned up as his armour got scorched, all the while Haringoth extolled praises to the Emperor and damned the false religion surrounding Him as he read from the tome he held in his hand. Eventually Alric was brought to his knees and Haringoth raised his crozius high to deliver the killing blow. However Fabian lunged forward with his sword and pierced through Haringoth's hand that held the tome. Whether Haringoth's following scream was out of pain or rage at this sacrilege Alric didn't stop to ask as he raised his boltstorm gauntlet and fired a volley that tore holes into the Redeemer's chest and head, silencing him at last.

With Haringoth's death, the Wolves were broken as they lost their Redeemer and their daemonic allies retreated into the warp. Reinvigorated the Mordekaisers fell upon the hapless heretics and wiped them out with ease. The cultists, now without their superhuman allies, were easily slaughtered by the Skitarii and PDF above ground.

## Aftermath

It took only another week to mop up any remaining heretic astartes and cults before victory was finally declared. Though they had taken severe losses, the Imperials had defended Karacya from the rage of the Wolves of Retribution. The 5th themselves had taken a toll but, as they had countless times before, they would endure. After the last cultist had been wiped out, the Mordekaisers departed Karacya and returned to Morgen Schwach.

With the death of Haringoth and the loss of his entire Clergy, the Wolves of Retribution suffered a great blow in manpower. The number of Wolves attacks lowered but the Mordekaisers remain vigilant, for the Wolves will return and they will return with a vengeance. However, deep within the Space Hulk *Harbinger of Wrath*, a figure on a throne opened his eyes and looked in the direction of a world where a warband had failed. The Wolves did not know it yet, but their judgement was coming...