Defying the Defiant

## Campaign

### Champions of Mortis

The Champions of Mortis had a planned training exercise on Kelchovis III. A large part of the Chapter was supposed to take part but, at the last minute, they decided to make it a Scout and immediate superiors only mission. As they were wrapping up the exercise, an Imperial ship appeared near the planet and a squadron of Marines approached the area and engaged the Scouts and their leaders. The Scouts thought it was part of the exercise but soon realised that these were traitor Marines. They fought valiantly but were unable to keep a highly trained squad of Marines at bay. The Champions of Mortis sent a communication to the ship, telling them of the attack but reinforcements did not come in time to save most of the scouts. When reinforcements did come, the squad of traitors were completely wiped out and the Champions of Mortis' losses on Kelchovis III were large.

On the Defiant, Lieutenant Malaz the Immovable, received the communication from the ground troupes as the alarm sounded on the ship. There was a breach in the laboratory. Lieutenant Malaz sent a small portion of Marines To Kelchovis III but the Laboratory took priority. As the Emergency protocols were engaged, the remaining available Marines ran to the laboratory while the Resolute blocked all escape routes. When the Marines entered the laboratory, One of the Apothecaries that had been working on the gene-seed during the attack, lay dead on the ground and the other was being overtaken by the Traitor Marines while two more were collecting the gene-seed. Lieutenant Malaz being the first to enter the lab roared in anger and immediately attacked the thieves that were collecting the very future of the Champions of Mortis. The second Apothecary had been eliminated and all the traitor marine's attention turned to the small group of Champions of Mortis. Lieutenant Malaz quickly took care of the two thieves as the other Marines in the laboratory pushed the Verum Illuminate back, out of the laboratory and the they were all killed in the halls of the ship.

After the ship was secured, more Marines were sent down to Kelchovis III where all the traitor Marines were killed.

### Verum Illuminate

The Verum Illuminate, on the run from the Red Crusaders who had aided the enemy in the stealing of their gene-seed stock, were looking to replenish their gene-seed as it had been stolen during the civil war on Stygian. Raiding a Fortress Monastery was too risky and wanting to be on the move as much as possible, they planned to raid a mobile Monastery. As the plan slowly formulated, they readied their attack on the nearest ship. As luck would have it, they had received information saying that the Champions of Mortis were on a training mission on Kelchovis III. This increased the chances of success as there would be less active Marines on board the ship. Commander Rufus Floris sent a full squad of Delta Marines to the planet surface in order to create a distraction while the 15 Marine task force from Echo squad, including a Seeker, moved to the ship. Once on the planet surface, Delta Squad realised that there was an issue. The Champions of Mortis, on the ground, were mostly scouts, with very little fully trained Marines. The orders for Delta Squad being clear, distract, fight and do not let them return to the ship, Delta squad engaged. They did not advise the Commander as they were programmed to follow orders and never question them and so the battle began. Many Scouts fell to the Verum Illuminate Delta Squad but eventually, reinforcements were sent to deal with the threat, which resulted in the elimination of this complete squadron.

Once on-board, the talented Seeker, a psyker, camouflaged the presence of the Verum Illuminate and their goals. They moved with ease, seeing as they resembled the Champions of Mortis Space Marines and acted as if they belonged on the ship. Commander Rufus Floris did notice a larger number of Marines than was expected but they had committed to the mission, it would be a simple grab and dash. When they approached the lab, they were now completely hidden from view as moved as ghosts into the laboratory. In the front of the lab, they looked around for anything useful they could take with them as their supplies were getting low. They grabbed a few pieces of equipment and stuffed them in the bag. When the Seeker crossed into the lab itself, he noted two Apothecaries. The rest of the task force came through the door. Having been forced into this role by the Verum Illuminate and going through the process of compliance, the Seeker seized the opportunity. After all the Marines filed into the lab, the Seeker dropped the illusion. As soon as the illusion was dropped, the Apothecaries looked up and burst into action. The Seeker kept himself hidden from view. He left the room and started making his way back to the ship. The fighting began in the lab but the Champions of Mortis were not prepared for an attack in the lab. The two Apothecaries fell but not before they killed and injured some of the members of Echo Squad before the Emergency protocol was enacted. The whole ship went into lockdown. Armed and ready Marines secured all the exits and burst into the laboratory killing every member of the Verum Illuminate in that room and thus saving their gene-seed. The sole survivor of the Renegade Marines went on to try and stage a coup but was stopped and forced through the process of compliance again and reconditioned.

## Impact

The Champions of Mortis lost two Apothecaries during this campaign and a large number of scouts. More recruiting and training was necessary after the attack by the Verum Illuminate. They also upgraded they Emergency response protocols and their overall security measures to ensure that an infiltration by enemy forces could be detected earlier than it was on the day their gene-seed was almost taken.

This Verum Illuminate's failure to acquire the gene seed of the Champions of Mortis, dealt a big blow to the Renegade Marines. Without the gene-seed, they would be unable to renew their ranks and may become extinct. They suffered a major upset but their Seeker was not lost.