Ultima Rebellion

Obsidian Guard

### Outcome

Skandran Empire destroyed, Black Stars flee into the Warp, Dune Serpents splintered

The **Ultima Rebellion** was an insurrection launched by the Black Stars Legion during the Third Ruin in Ultima Segmentum. Following the Declaration of Separation, Absalom Vaughn took the opportunity of the chaos to launch invasions of many worlds in an attempt to take control of the Segmentum. The Tempest Reavers and Dune Serpents Legions responded and eventually pushed the Black Stars back to the Skandran System. A warp storm emerged to surround the system, cutting it off from the oncoming Imperial assault. The Dune Serpents managed to penetrate the storm, but were ambushed and suffered heavy casualties.

## Background

Ultima Segmentum had perhaps suffered the most from the Second Ruin, with the scars of the Necrons' assaults still being felt on many worlds. Being the home of five legion homeworlds, the Segmentum was viewed as central to Loyalists, Separatists and Traitors alike. For the Imperium, the homeworlds of the Dune Serpents, the Midnight Host, and most of all the High Regent Alexandros himself lay within the Segmentum. On top of this, many key forgeworlds such as Ryza, Anvillus and Metallica were key worlds in the Mechanicum and thus major contributors to the Imperium's industrial and armament production. The reconstruction of the Imperium following the Second Ruin saw a lot of resources poured into helping rehome the many displaced civilians, rebuilding manufacturing and begin recollecting the imperial tithes.

Ezharion Kulas, as governor of the Segmentum, was intimately familiar with the situation in Ultima, and it was this that stirred him to join with the Separatists. Whilst in the same position of government as his fellow Separatists Tenzin, Ezharion had to contend with more direct oversight due to the presence of Administratum officials sent to help organise the reconstruction effort, which made moving materiel into positions more difficult to hide. While his optimistic brother Koschei believed that the Black Stars could be brought over to their side or at least convinced to be neutral, Ezharion held no illusions as to his brother's deceitful nature, and so the Skandran Empire was identified as a major target to neutralise early following the declaration of separation. The other major target, though one Ezharion did not relish, was Delos - homeworld of the Halcyon Wardens. Positioned so close relatively to Farsalus, it could not be ignored as the High Regent would not allow systems so close to his homeworld to be controlled by non-loyal forces. Though Ezharion would prefer a peaceful solution, the reality made a violent confrontation inevitable.

As governor, Ezharion had been able to call on many contacts and through his patronage the Farsalus Subsector had developed into a model of Imperial beneficence. However, the area around Farsalus had little in terms of forgeworld capabilities. The forge-fanes of Farsalus had been constructed by adepts from Gryphonne and Triplex, but the major forgeworld of Ryza had treated the new governor cooly and refused to aid in the development. Therefore, Ezharion set his sights on taking what he had long been denied, even if he could not hope to hold the world so far from Farsalus.

The Tempest Reavers were not the only legion in Ultima plotting, however. The Black Stars and their Primarch Absalom, having chafed under the eye of Alexandros during the Second Ruin, had been building their political influence in the shadows of the vast segmentum: placing sympathetic figures in positions of power, gaining leverage on those who could be turned, eliminating the most troublesome opponents. The Skandran Empire, though only 200 worlds on paper, had expanded to include many more worlds with governors loyal to Absalom and imperial army regiments raised from worlds flooded with Skandran propaganda. Even with the mass recruitment drives and fresh shipments of armour and weapons from allies in the Mechanicum, the Black Star high command was forced to rely on every ounce of luck and good fortune they could muster to pull this off. Their only chance for success was to rely on their preferred strategy - a blitzkrieg strike to bite and hold as much territory as possible. Though more time would aid the Black Stars to prepare, every day saw the chance of discovery increase and the Imperium strengthened as well.

A wildcard remained in the plans of all the schemes in Ultima - the Dune Serpents. Azus Bahmut had purposefully bred distance between himself and his brothers, making knowing his goals and movements difficult to discern. The XIVth had returned to their campaigns in the Eastern Fringe following the Second Ruin, with news of their conquests and compliances being slow to arrive back to the rest of the Imperium. This mystery was intentional, allowing the Serpents to operate without oversight or knowledge of how far their operatives were placed. However, unbeknownst to the Lord of the Sands, corruption had seeped into his legion like a poison and it would fester in the scattered fleets.

The events in Ultima had drawn the eyes of the slowly growing forces of Chaos. From within the Eye of Terror, Rang Talyc viewed the futures of the upcoming conflict and saw that the Black Stars were at a critical point in their destined fall. Lorak Saar, already a servant of Slaanesh, saw the path that Absalom had begun to walk down and so took particular interest in the upcoming rebellion. Though the time was not yet ready for Rang to reveal his new form, the Shadow Warriors would reveal their survival at long last.