Bogragawa Massacre

"*By my demand, those things must be stopped.*"
—+++REDACTED+++
The **Bogragawa Massacre** was a defensive campaign initiated by the **Keelhaulers** Chapter, with a primary objective to intercept and destroy a divergent tendril of Hive Fleet Behemoth.

Despite the entire Chapter deploying to counter it, the tendril demonstrated extreme resilience (found far larger and more vicious then expected). The Keelhaulers, on the verge of failure, were forced to ask for relief, which arrived from the Iron Juggernauts, the Saurians, and the Void Vultures.

## History

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+++CLEARANCE: Verdigris

+++DATE: 745.M41

+++RED NN. 892563-4

+++BY: +++REDACTED+++

+++SUBJECT: KEELHAULERS REQUESTED TO DUTY

ACCESS GRANTED CHAPTER MASTER

+++CONTENTS+++

Ave, Chapter Master

exploratory scannings reported the presence of a deviant and abnormally behaving tendril of the Hive Fleet Kraken directed in the Galactic North, you and your Chapter are dispatched to stop and eradudicate it. Pre calculations from the Magos suggestes the galactic zone around Lamaro, Bogragawa System, as optimal battlefield.
You will have the honour to be the first to stop the xenos, reinforcements will be dispatched as the local garrisons of Astra Militarum will be at ready. You have granted the following permissions:
+++SUPREME COMMANDER+++
+++EXTERMINATUS+++

May the blessing of the God Emperor be on you,

Ave Imperator!

<ref number>, Logoff, Back, <RETURN>, or Help:

Logoff█

### INTRODUCTION

#### Fear the Ocean Depths

"*We sail through the silent stars, through the deep void to bring retribution and punishment.*"
— Keelhaulers motto
During the First Tyrannic War in 745.M41, the Keelhaulers Chapter was dispatched to intercept a hive fleet tendril which was acting abnormally, avoiding the main engagement and directing itself into the galactic north. The Keelhaulers managed to stop the advance of the bio-fleet, intercepting it in the system of **Bogragawa**, somewhere in the galactic proximity of Lamaro. However the scanning and measurements of the biometrics were faulty, leading the Chapter to confront a far larger enemy force than expected, one just starting to despoil the world of **Bogragawa Prime** (Feral World φλ-class). Even with the odds against, the Chapter deployed in various strategic points and stubbornly held for weeks before deciding to send a distress call.

The Iron Juggernauts appeared two-to-three days later, too fast to have received the distress call and travel there even with the best warp conditions, but they were not questioned as their Marines bolstered the defenders' ranks. With the Keelhaulers having absorbed the brunt of the Tyranids assault, and with the aid of fresh reinforcements from the Iron Juggernauts, the xenos were eliminated at great cost. By the end, the only Keelhaulers what remained were the 1st Company and other scattered forces numbering a few hundred en masse.

A week after the Iron Juggernauts reinforcements, and less than a day after victory was cheered, the Saurians arrived - who had actually received the distress call. Too late for the fight but happy for the Imperial victory, the Saurians joined the other two Chapters in debriefing, intending to discuss the concluded campaign in great depth. Yet such was not to pass, as sudden realization struck in the form of alarm klaxons. Array sensor and scanners from multiple space vessels captured incoming contacts. Dread gripped the council as what almost deleted the Keelhaulers was revealed not to be the full force to be purged... but the vanguard.

#### Dreams of Smoke, Fire of War

"*My lord, brother, I had a dream or a vision I don’t know. I saw the Khan, our father, in the strategium… he was screaming in anger, pointing to the galactic south. I saw it! My lord you should read the smoke and see the truth of it*"
—Fire Volkhv Taelog petitioning Wyrm Otec Vorghogh
The commotion amongst the Iron Juggernauts was high when their Wyrm Otec Vorghogh marched, followed by various ranks from the Librarium, in front of Lord Asthios. The Praetorian guards mumbled their disappointment with their metallic voices but nobody had the time to be angered as Vorghogh hastily spoke. The fire and the smoke have been read many times and the matters was confirmed… in the Bogragawa system something lay waiting to be recovered, something from the Crusade Era, from the Vth Legion, the White Scars or maybe from the Khan himself. No such relic should be left undisturbed taking dust, for the pride of the Legion, for their forefathers. Two Centuriae where quickly dispatched under their respective leaders, Centurion Muqikgai of the 4th and Centurion Borchik from the 6th, accompanied by a retinue from the Librarium led by the Wyvern Volkhv Jamukai to scan for the precise location of the relic.

They expected locals and attacks from raiders, but what they found on Bogragawa wasn’t that. Brothers from Ultramar, the Keelhaulers, were fighting waves after waves of xenos. The decision was quickly made as drop pods pierced the atmosphere, delivering relief. The Iron Juggernauts fought side-by-side with the Keelhaulers for many days, weeks before the last xenos was killed and the Saurians arrived in response to the original distress call. The three Chapters cheered for the victory, even if was costly - especially for the Keelhaulers; the system was clean, or so everybody believed. Alarm klaxons echoed in the vessels and vox communications arrived to change the mood. A new wave was incoming and the Iron Juggernauts sang war once again.

#### Clawed and Dangerous

"*The time has come, we hunt Tyranids once again!*"
— Captain Gar'Dos, Saurians Company IX
Drawn more by the promise of blood and chitin than any sense of brotherhood, Lord-Constrictor Elijah Mason reacted with enthusiasm to the distress call his Greenfangs received from the Keelhaulers Chapter. He overrode the concerns of Chapter Command, as was his ancient right, to rally together the 4th March once more and make quick pace towards the star Bogragawa. His Neophytes would taste battle, and the monsters of Tyran would burn - he could almost smell the charred carcasses already.

Yet upon the arrival of Companies VIIIth, IXth, and Xth to the coordinates relayed, after a little more or less than a week of travel, they found the Tyranids defeated. While glad to learn of Imperial survival and victory, and attempting to remain sympathetic to the ravaged Ultramarines Successor, the Saurians could not help but exude some air of disappointment during the debriefings and battle reports they received. It seemed - at first - that all the Salamanders would gain for their mass-deployment was praise of their appearance.

But during the parley unexpected sensors alarmed. Points appeared on the radar, one by one then more rapidly and soon the entire screen began to glowed red. A new wave approached. While the others balked or braced themselves with grim resolve, the Saurians smiled and launched themselves into the hunt.

#### First Resistance & Relief

"*Scorch the outmost worlds, we will draw them in once place. The escorts must engage the hive fleet, I want the bioships down. We deploy here, here and there, and these orbital stations need to be fortified. On the embarkation deck now, at once.* "
—Last orders of Volker Caius, deploying his Keelhaulers to the planet surface
The Warp conditions were favourable and the Keelhaulers managed to arrive to the Bogragawa System in advance of the approaching Tyranids. Making the most of this opportunity, Chapter Master **Volker Caius** ordered the destruction by bombardment of the worlds on the outer rim of the system, leaving nothing for the xenos to feed upon and multiply - forcing the Great Devourer towards the world of Bogragawa Prime where he and his Astartes would wait behind fortified positions. The strategy would allow the promised reinforcements to fire indiscriminately upon their arrival, cleansing whatever bioforms covered the rear of the alien advance in a solid, crushing wave of a fire.

As expected the Tyranids arrived and pushed forward inside the trap laid by the Chapter Master. For days, for weeks, wave after wave of Tyranids were collapsed via long range ordnance but there were always more, more then the data brief had displayed, more then the most pessimistic projections had expected. And slowly the fortified clusters ordered by Volker Caius were left behind ahead of schedule, forcing the Chapter to withdraw until all were in the same place. Recognizing the mortal trap they found themselves in, hasty communication with the vessels in orbit was attempted as Tyranid forces made planetfall - the ground forces intending to order the orbital blockade to reorganize into a breakthrough wedge to launch a distress call out-of-system to hasten the arrival of the promised reinforcements from the Imperial Navy and Astra Militarum. Once contact with the ships in orbit was made, however, Volker was struck by astonishment. Of his entire blockade only a few cruisers were still in orbit, every one engaged by the bioships; the Keelhaulers blockade was not merely breached but utterly overwhelmed only a few hours after first orbital contact. Only *Void Whale* proved able to veer off and answer her Chapter Master's call, managing to break through just long and far away enough to send the distress signal before self-destructing, killing the bioships that swarmed her shortly thereafter.

For his part, the Chapter Master would fight hard as his men were eaten alive, one by one, the 10th first, then the 9th, the 7th. No reinforcements arrived in time - no guardsman, no ships - and the fire of fury or maybe madness ignited his heart as he rallied the survivors into their last defiant stand against the dying of the light. The terminators followed behind his lead, punching and slashing, burning and scorching, piercing the line of Tyranids that every second sought to encircle them. It was during this seemingly final stand that Volker Caius saw Captain Thorbald cut in half by the claws of a Carnifex, that he witnessed Chief Librarian Thomas perish, with smoke raising from his ears and nostrils as his brain melted following the sneak attack of a Zoanthrope. It was then that he fought on, rewarded for his tenacity with the sight of old Brother Barend, an ancient Dreadnought, covered and nailed to the ground by gaunts before - unable to move - the venerable made the decision to overcharge his reactors.

And through all this the Chapter Master of the Keelhaulers pushed on, screaming orders, inspiring his men to ever higher degrees of courage and martial prowess - until his own death arrived, when a bone blade pierced his chest from behind. Volker Caius fell to one knee before laying down; someone screamed in the squad vox com, bolter fire burst apart whatever horror had pierced the Chapter Master's back, and chunks of his assassin were tossed to the ground around his body. The 1st Company and the survivors rallied around the dying Volker Caius, Captain Willhelm screaming new orders, and the voice of an Apothecary asking him to hold on for extraction was almost the last thing the Chapter Master heard before he passed. But, as his veteran Astartes fought off the enemy scrambling up the cliff face, Volker Caius heard one more thing. He heard the crackle of a foreign voice upon the vox and he died smiling, eyes fixed upward towards the clouds.

"*Hol--d re--cments i-und. ---d rein---ts inbound. F--- Emperor!*"
—Unknown Vox officier
The sky was obscured by Astartes vessels once again, macronnanons fired on the feral wave and then drop pods, the first, the second, then ten more and other twenty. Bursts of promethium and plasma, bolter fire and the roar of chainswords heralded the arrival of unexpected Astartes, rushing out from their vehicles, cloaks aflutter, chanting doom and hate against the aliens. The Keelhaulers - bolstered by reinforcements at last and with renewed desire for vengeance - followed their cousins, pushing once again against the abominable tide. And day after day the Tyranids diminished, their forces dwindled, and a week after the Iron Juggernauts arrived the Sons of Guilliman finally cheered victory. Though the Guard and Navy never made their promised appearance, the Sons of Jaghatai delivered them.

(243-276).745.M41, Part Two, Phase 1:

#### True Might Revealed

Even with the mountains of dead surrounding the survivors, friends and aliens alike rotting in the open air, the Keelhaulers spent the week after victory in seemingly high spirits. The Sons of Guilliman set to their work with song: they gutted and lashed massive hides to their void vessels, paved clear countless landing zones, and recanted many battle-sagas to their sunburnt Scribellum - all to the tune of whistle, drum, and bell. And this, the Iron Juggernauts came to see, was the Chapter’s greatest strength. Despite their deep pain - their stinging losses - the scarred Astartes refused to let it break them. They chose, as it appeared to be their custom, to turn to the celebration of life and the relief of back-breaking labor. And when it was at last time for most to retire indoors, to review the data-logs with their newfound allies, the Keelhaulers cracked open barrel after barrel of salted pork, poured out great bowls of oatmeal, and consumed it all communally with the Iron Juggernauts.

This geniality would not long last, however. On the eighth day following the death of the last enemy bioform, a fleet of strangers breached the Warp. These Astartes, hailing themselves as Sons of Vulkan, arrived with murder in their eyes and with a hunger, not for raisins nor rum: a hunger for war. The latecomers were here to answer the call for aid, their promethium tanks filled to capacity and their melta guns at the ready. But the war they came for was already over. What met the Saurians instead was what their Marcher Lord considered doldrum – a task list amounting to little more than corpse processing. And, despite their efforts to hide it, the restlessness of the newcomers soon began to sour the proceedings.

It was a grim silver lining then, that such initial chafing had little time to evolve into true issue. For a mere three days after the third Chapter’s arrival, yet another force breached the Warp. And this time, the beasts which emerged were no strangers to the Keelhaulers; a second wave of Tyranids had appeared on the radar, just as voracious and multitudinous as before. It was time for these Saurians to prove their strength.

 --- --- ---

Long-range radar soon served little purpose to the Astartes defending Bogragawa from Splinter Fleet Vardøger's second wave, as its bioships enveloped the system from all sides in an unwavering, collapsing sphere. Unlike other fleets encountered before, the Tyranids drawn to the defenders' positions approached directly. They did not dodge nor weave, they took no evasive maneuvers; the monstrous ships drove straight ahead in predictable path, taking all the Space Marine's firepower head on, pushing through with notably heightened resilience and speed.

The seemingly reckless rapidity of such an approach ensured that the Shadow in the Warp blanketed the defenders once more far sooner than anticipated, the roar of a hundred-thousand claws and alien screams washing out any further attempts to send telepathic message beyond. To nearly all outside the warmth of its star, Bogragawa would fall silent for the duration of the second Tyranid onslaught.

But to the wise, silence proves damning. Iegan Ta'var, the most powerful Chief Librarian the Saurians would ever raise, had kept constant link with Elijah Mason over the vast tracts of space separating them. And when he could no longer drift into the 10th Captain's dreams, instead bumping up against a wall of noise, Iegan took decisive action. Having been the most outspoken against Elijah's campaign from the outset, and staunchly unwilling to repeat mistakes of his past, the normally stoic Dreamfather all but demanded command of the Reserve Companies when he met with Chapter Master Hauri.

Alarmed by his elder's passion, Hauri agreed to expedite the formation of a Relief Force without request from the 4th March, though the dedication of a full half of the Chapter to one field weighed heavy on his mind. Dreamfather Iegan paid such hesitation no heed, however, as he locked himself away in the bowels of the *Insomnus* with more than a hundred books, and thrice as many candles and effigies, doing all he could to ward his mind and those of his Battle-Brothers against the coming, gnawing presence.

 --- --- ---

Meanwhile, back on Bogragawa Prime, the combined force of the Iron Juggernauts, the Saurians' 4th March, and the remaining Keelhaulers were facing down the second wave of hordes, with the xenos having quickly made planetfall once more to crawl upon their fallen brethren - each bioform following the primal surge to devour and destroy heedless of the fire from heavy ordnance against them.

After the appearance of the second wave planetside, the Saurians there leapt into action with relentless fury. The 4th March never made pause, its Astartes forever charging down a looping path, again and again. battling for dominion over Bogragawa. Such was Elijah Mason's command: while the Keelhaulers and Iron Juggernauts held firm the defensive battlements, the Saurians would brave the field to run the gauntlet of trenches betwixt them. The Companies VIIIth, IXth, & Xth delivered messages to friends and death to foes along the way, the endurance of their Marines tested sorely.

But generally the tactic proved sound. Having known his warriors fared better on the attack than on the walls, the Lord-Constrictor bestowed the gift of Vanguard upon the 8th Company, and instructed the Archosaurs of the 9th to coordinate with those of the 10th in converting their Devastators into a roving rearguard, as best as could be done. And in this they did not disappoint - the Saurians formed an unbreakable wedge, plowing through the Xenos endlessly.

Yet for all their skill and righteous fury, the Sons of Vulkan, too, began to suffer heavy losses. As they roared back and forth from pillbox to bastion their wedge shrank, and they were forced to leave behind those who fell - Brothers, Sergeants, even Captains - in the mud.

Quickly Astartes from all three Chapters were forced into brutal melee with bayonet and blade - even forced to resort to fists as their weapons broke against monstrously resilient hide. It was mere luck that the enhanced communication array of the Strategos **Kalanos** managed to reach one of the Iron Juggernaut's Strike Cruisers above in timely manner, delivering a fragment report of the dire situation developing on the ground. It took no more than a matter of minutes for the expeditious but wise Centurion Muqikgai, who had remained on the vessel to oversee the repelling process against the enveloping bio ships, to digest this information with his crew and be swayed by brother Dragon Haka to his next course of action.

The seasoned commander of the Iron Juggernauts rallied what remained of the fleets of the Saurians, Keelhaulers, and his own Chapter, and together they enacted a naval maneuver previously conceived by the Keelhaulers during the first wave. Converging into a close wedge-formation, the ships temporarily surrendered the atmosphere to the bio-horrors by smashing through their encirclement and making a rapid break for the edge of the system. Harried all the way, the wedge only swung back around to re-engage the Tyranids after having escorted a single Astartes ship beyond the Shadow, where it managed to perform an emergency jump out-of-system with intent to muster further aid.

This daring maneuver aimed primarily to call the Void Vultures, an ally to Saurian and Iron Juggernaut alike, into the fray. For during the pause and information exchange between Tyranid assault waves, the defenders of Bogragawa had confirmed each others' reports of activity by that Chapter in the immediate vicinity. But where exactly the Vultures were was not known, and even if found, the Marines awaiting them knew that weeks, at best, would be needed for those much desired reinforcements to arrive. Weeks measured in meters, blood, and death.

(306-330).745.M41, Part Two, Phase 2:

#### Brothers of All

The Void Vultures captain smirked grimly upon recognizing the communication code from the Iron Juggernauts, their brothers have enacted ancient edict of **Fraterna Aeternis**, their long time brothers and friends now in danger and seeking immediate assistance. Their brothers were besieged by the xenos on all sides. They asked for relief and relief they shall receive, he declared, as a strike force was quickly assembled. This force had dispatched to the world of Bogragawa Prime with haste, led personally by the Oath Keeper **Hagaius Holvorcah**, who took upon himself the honour and duty to answer every enacted edict of 'Fraterna Aeternis' - no matter the danger to be faced.

The veil of reality trembled as the Void Vultures flotilla emerged from the Warp, beholding the horror of a world fully enveloped in bioship coils. They hastily joined the fray of the void battle, gifting their own might to the effort to annihilate the vile gnawing presence in the high sky of Bogragawa. Although progress was quickly made over the next few days of battle, it soon became clear to the Astartes naval assets that the further reinforcements inbound would be required to truly contest the Tyranid fleet and allow them to once again freely deploy Astartes to the infested surface. On the ground however, the defenders screamed victory as they noticed the sky once more contested by familiar shadows, the rain of pods and the flocks of gunships quickly descending on the enemy horde.

A wall of drop pods smashed to the ground, crushing many of the xenos under them as Void Vultures from the 6th and the 7th rushed out, making quick work with their prized flamers - burning the aliens to a crisp and granting much needed relief to the besieged force on the ground. The two companies assisted and supported both the Iron Juggernauts and the now heavily thinned ranks of the Keelhaulers, who were getting close to the unyielding maw of the Tyranid forces. This relief allowed the now re-strengthened Astartes force to push forward, counter-charging the Xenos. With an almost suicidal tactic fueled by courage and contempt for their own security, the Void Vulture's speared into the enemy horde, calling out for their secret and forbidden weaponry, remnants of the destroyer cadre cult from the Great Crusade era. Those exotic weapons consisted of grenade launchers that, with much surprise from their allies, seemed to do nothing against the enemy chitin until the chemicals inside started to work with the world atmosphere, releasing their chemical agents known as 'red mist' and bringing the alien enveloped by it to quickly bloat and explode in a toxic blood sludge.

This heroic alpha strike did not last long however, as the 7th company sustained devastating blows - even if each Astarte killed four or five aliens before dying. The Void Vultures Captain was forced to order a tactical withdraw, as the Nexus weaponry and associated archeotech needed to be secured, not lost, allowing the Iron Juggernauts to once again take the front line - allowing their Vulture brothers and their ancient equipment to find shelter in the backlines where they switched weaponry to better offer support.

Meanwhile, the Saurian Space Marines on the ground found themselves slowing down - the weight of the enemy impeding their momentum. The 4th March was caught in the middle of a particularly long stretch of the trench, later dubbed Parsen's Pass, and only remained in motion due to the significant damage their enemy suffered at the hands of the recently deployed Void Vultures.

His men's casualties now in the triple digits, Elijah Mason began contemplating a shelter-in-place order as he lost sight of friendly forces entirely - obscured by a tide of purple chitin. The Saurian melta blasts and bolter fire no longer punched holes through which they could see, instead being swallowed whole, only pockmarking the enemy hordes.

But then something else punched through for them.

Drop pods from the heavens smashed through the swarm, bearing not the black and white livery of the Void Vultures, but instead something more familiar. As the doors slammed down massive siege bikes bearing Iron Juggernauts standards trundled out, their heavy tracks carrying them over the muddy terrain to the Saurian position. This bolstering of the line allowed the 4th March to regain its lost momentum, the newly arrived 1st and 3rd Centuria forming the speartip which allowed them to fight their way out of Parsen's Pass.

A similar scenario began to unfold in orbit above. Centurion Muqikgai, acting commander of the Astartes naval assets, had been struggling to contest the airspace above the feral world for weeks. Ships from all four Chapters had been lost - including the last of the Keelhaulers' fleet, which lay ravaged before him - and he was facing impossible odds. But just when all seemed lost, reinforcements arrived en masse.

Spacecraft from the 1st and 3rd Centuria of the Iron Juggernauts relieved their embattled sister ships from their 4th and 6th, Void Vulture vessels of their 5th Company came to the aid of the Saurian ships in orbit, and the entirety of Relief Force Veloci - led by Dreamfather Iegan Ta'var - swooped in to the defense of the Void Vulture 6th and 7th Company Cruisers raining down drop pods to the surface below.

(331-396).745.M41, Part Two, Phase 3:

#### Last Push

The combined effort of more than a thousand Astartes and their pure dedication to stop the xenos, after weeks of bloodshed and thanks to heroic sacrifice, saw most of the stronger alien bioforms dead on the ground, trampled by waves of their lesser kind. Many times the Astartes abandoned their defensive ground to counter charge the weakened xenos waves, obtaining more ground and space after each action. During one of these assaults, the former 1st Captain Willhelm, now de facto new Chapter Master of the Keelhaulers, found himself isolated after pushing too far into the enemy line; quickly overwhelmed, Wilhelm lost his leg and one arm by the brutally sharp bone blades of the xenos, the closest of his guards and companions slain mercilessly. While he was still breathing and screaming angrily for vengeance when the rest of the forces managed to reach him and drag him back in the safety of the rearline, the wounds were too severe to recover from as it were not just limbs he lost: his chest was punctured in many points, only alive through hate and desire to annihilate his enemies. He was then entombed in a Dreadnought provided from the Iron Juggernauts and quickly repainted, allowing him to continue to guide the shattered remains of his Chapter.

"*My body may be broken but my will is not, I will be there when the last of your corpses lay on the ground!*"
—Last words of Chapter Master Willhelm before passing out from pain and blood loss
Other similar confrontations occured during the following days with the Void Vultures 5th Company reinforcing the sidelines of their Saurians brothers with an advancing wall of heavy bolter fire that shreded the unwawerings waves of the aliens to pieces, however their daringness and their contempt for the alien will cost them, as advancing too far made them lose Astartes and twice of the conquered ground when forced to tactically relocate. This progress stagnation caused so much discomfort that one day during the conflict one of their ancient entombed in a dreadnought chassis, advanced angrily in the no man lands screaming his vow to the Emperor in the attempt to recover the lost ground. With the ancient on risk the Void Vultures forced themselves, both by peril and example, against the tyranid horde to assume a defensive perimeter around the enraged ancient making a fortified line to defend the dreadnaughts' blind spots , in an almost spearhead like formation. Brothers of the Void Vulture Chapter lead by the companies ancient managed to push back the xenos successfully conquering the ground in defence, enstablishing finally a bridgehead on that battlefield sector distputed for days.

This forced the xenos wave, now in very low numbers compared with the initial assault, to change approach against the defenders however the Astartes now in a solid advantage thanks to the bridgeheads opened by the various counter assaults and being able to better move and strategize instead of the mere defence and brute force. In the day they didn't knew was the last, a massive counter offensive was launched, speardheaded by the now entombed Willhelm with the remaining Keelhaulers and the Iron Juggernauts' 1st Centuria under Lord Commander Asthios of Rok himself with the Saurians on the flanks and the Void Vultures as rearguard, for the first time in weeks the entire force of Astartes moved as one without being forced to held potisions nor defend themselves as a true chance of crushing the xenos presentend as the hive mind threw its most vicious creatures trying to strike a last heavy blow to the defenders.

During this last confrontation the borders of unit, rank, colour and culture were crushed as each Astartes devoted himself to put the invasion to an end, hordes and waves crushed against flamers and plasma, bolter fire and chainswords, dreadnoughts stomped the lesser xenos punching and clawing the bigger one, bikes charged and the cannons of tanks roared their contribution against the soaring aliens. Time become a concept, hours passed knowing this time there would be no withdraw to the trenches, war cathechism and battle cries flooded the internal vox channels merging with words of anger as brothers stopped to answer, laying dead on the ground completing their duty. The chant of Lord Asthios, via main vox dictated the battle time as the Iron Juggernauts moved and the others followed, swinging Mountain's rage, the weapons blade hot and cracking with energy as the beasts were ripped blow after blow and then his chant stopped, commotion arrived as the vox channel were rearranged, the terminators stopped their advance, their weapon cracking as they took a defensive position, an apothecary rushed forward pushing the one on his way and then the harsh deep voice of 1st Centurion **Bolor** transmitted;

"*Lord 1st Centurion Bolor takes command of the Iron Juggernauts, I demand vengeance, follow me. For the Emperor, for the Khan, for the Lord Commander.*"
—1st Centurion Bolor of the Iron Juggernauts
The Iron Juggernauts moved at a more furious tempo, followed by their brother Chapters unware of what happaned. The speardhead moved once again forward deeper then it should, obtaining more terrain, the Keelhaulers followed the only one aware of the whereabouts exactly knowing the feeling and the pain they couldn't refrain themselves to share the desire of retribution. The reports of what happaned next will be unclear, the Tyranids will be defeated and many more Astartes will fall, it will be said that Willhelm of the Keelhaulers saved many who were close to death, punching and kicking the xenos after he lost one of his weapon arms. Centurion Bolor will be found dead together with his squad and the Praetorian Guard of the Lord Commander, burnt by the desire of vengeance, nobody will know how they died as the pict-recorders of their helmets didn't work properly denying forever their heroic legacy.

### OUTCOME

#### A Chapter Mourned

"*Victory from Bogragawa, victory against the xenos. Victory... victory? In all my centuries this is the first time that word sounded so empty... so meaningless*"
—Unknown Astartes survivor
Once the last Xenos fell dead, the Chapters who had defended Bogragawa finally had chance to cheer true victory; a triumphant sensation rolled through the ranks. But the smiles soon soured as the grim reality set in - a realization too soon for some, and for others already long suspected. Victory had demanded a heavy toll in Astartes lives: Captains from no less than three Chapters had fallen, and the officers performing tallywork of the survivors quickly realized the Keelhaulers had been decimated so utterly as to have become insolvent.

It was clear to all that the Ultramarines Successor - with less than thirty Marines left breathing, all heavily scarred - wouldn't be able to repopulate their ranks, nor recover their lost assets. A bitter consolation allowed Willhelm, the battlefield-promoted Chapter Master of the Keelhaulers, to continue his service from the chassis of a Dreadnought - a fate shared by Lord Commander Asthios of Rok.

For their respective parts, the Void Vultures suffered a casualty rate exceeding 60% of their original forces while the Saurians lost 212 Astartes of the 542 who partook of the fighting (the majority of which came from their 4th March).

Bogragawa would be remembered not as a victory nor a triumph, instead forever tasting of bitter defeat - even if victory was earned indeed.

#### Mutual Friends

Another thin silver lining emerged alongside victory, with a strong bond of fraternity between the participant Chapters being born of the massacre. Forged from the shared and passionate hate, tempered by the crucible of harsh and costly war, this sense of brotherhood buried itself deep into the hearts of Keelhauler, Void Vulture, Iron Juggernaut, and Saurian alike.

Of the Keelhaulers, it can be said their survivors were especially charged with emotion in the wake of victory. The defense of this feral world had cost them more than any other present, their Chapter reduced to but some thirty Astartes and two Dreadnoughts. There were those amongst them who were deeply ashamed of their survival and failures, and others more intensely angry with the Imperial bureaucracy that lured them into their death trap.

Recognizing themselves as both unable to rebuild but also too powerfully committed to different goals, the Keelhaulers decided to fragment - allowing each Space Marine to choose his own way forward:

* Many dedicated themselves to a penitent pilgrimage to Macragge, with intent of absorption back into what once was Legion XIII
* Some sought vengeance by joining the Deathwatch, that chamber-militant of the Ordo Xenos, to hunt the Tyranids forevermore
* A few, the vast minority of the survivors, felt more akin to the Chapters who saved them than their gene-brothers, leaving behind their colours to join the ranks of another

#### Relic Secured

Even if obscured by a far more darker and important matter, the primary mission of the Iron Juggernauts was to retrieve the relic saw during the divinations of their psykers. The Chapter offered itself to be the last to leave Bogragawa Prime, taking on their shoulders the burden of both obliterate the xenos remains and in the end exterminate the world.

However while this duty was indeed performed the surviving psykers took their time to scan and divine the position of the relic, breaching the arcane seal protecting it and retrieve what was, in the end, nothing more that a tattered banner of the V Legion and even if was protected by statis it showed to be ruined by dust and time as maybe a memento of such kind of protections are deemed meaningless by the time itself. Later the higher echelons of the Iron Juggernauts will argue that maybe the visions sent by the Khan (or at least this is what was believed) was not about to retrieve the relic itself but to assist the brother Chapter of the Keelhauler, that in the direst of needs found itself abandoned by the promised reinforcements that never come while being saved by unexpected friends.

### Notable Quotes

"*I would rather choose death alongside by brothers, and maybe one day I shall ask for you to throw me out of this chassis. But you all came when we needed, you came even if nobody assigned you here, so I will be happy to serve once more with your colours, as you showed me that brotherhood is not linked to gene-fathers and heraldry.*"
—Former Chapter Master Willhelm of the Keelhaulers
"*I lost my brothers, I lost my colours. My shame is unbearable.
 I will take the black, the Long Vigil awaits me*"
—Captain Erasmus of the Keelhaulers
"*What comforts me is that now all are dead, that xenos garbage too. My brothers didn't die for nothing. In some way, we won.*"
—Captain Bernhard of the Keelhaulers

"*What happened to Bogragawa should be put at the attention of the High Lords of Terra, who ever requested the Keelhaulers is the same who denied or failed to send the reinforcements they promised. Is abomination and anathema just to think how a mere mortal decided to sacrifice an entire Adeptus Astartes Chapter just to preserve few guardmen.*"
—Centurion Borchik of the Iron Juggernauts

"*Unnerving, the fighting proved. Monsters of their kind usually behave quite different. Yet their physiology, the synaptic portions being reduced... I don't know. Best to leave such studies to the Genetors. I wash my hands of their filth.*"
—Jean Mek'vo, Veteran Apothecary of the Saurians Chapter
"*The timing is the most important thing, my Captain. If you cut the chitin free here, but a moment can pass afore branding the sac shut - elsewise acid spills free and ruins the plate.*"
—Mirdstone, former Keelhauler, teaching his new Lord Saurian how to safely butcher Tyranid remains for trophy mounts

"*I pray that our lost brothers, in their final moments, took comfort in honoring our most ancient oath, for their sacrifice offers us Redemption.*"
—Captain Hagaius Holvorcah of the Void Vultures
"*Emperor damn it... Damn Tyranids.... Silence brothers.., I understand that we have lost our own, I understand... but understand we are Honor bound, without it we are no worse than those we kill in the name of the Emperor. Assist our remaining brothers in tending to the remains of the Keelhaulers Chapter.*"
—Captain Kerubiel Abderane of the Void Vultures, dismissive of the remnants of his company
"*Hah.. hha.. Finally the Xeno is no more... To think that the Saurians would call upon us, let alone using our edict... I'd never thought possible. Order for the apothecaries IMMEDIATELY, these Vultures may fight again once more... Follow the Emperor's light redeemed sons... your duty ended.*"
—Captain Heras Aglibrecht of the Void Vultures, during a moment of brief respite

### Trivia

* The idea for this campaign began as a plot hook for the Laternax Councils event;
* The Keelhaulers were just a random name floating around the Wiki's Discord server for a while, before being transformed in an actual Chapter article for the purposes of the Bogragawa Massacre;
* The Void Vulture Chapter wasnt intended to be featured in this article but due to the good will of the creators of both Saurians and Iron Juggernauts they have been added in the story as more a backup force than main protagonists - I thank them both. - Crim

### Gallery

Keelhaulers Astartes
Sons of GuillimanIron Juggernauts Astartes
Sons of JaghataiSaurians Astartes
Sons of VulkanVoid Vultures Astartes
Sons of Dorn
### Contributors

* Maelvvine
* Zhadorak Hesh
* CrimsDeathVultures