Hyperion War

The **Hyperion War** was an immense defensive campaign led by the Imperium of Man, and eventually both Eldar Corsairs and Tau Empire forces, against the invading Forces of Chaos and Ork Warbands within the Hyperion Sector in 999.M41 which lasted until 018.M42.

Led by Lord Arkanon, the Chaos Lord commanding the infamous Knights of Arkanon Warband, a massive traitor force assaulted the isolated Hyperion Sector en masse in an attempt to destroy the largest concentration of Imperial forces in the region, and turn its worlds, populations, and resources to the cause of the Ruinous Powers. To help accomplish this goal a tenuous alliance was made with various Ork forces within the Sector, not a true alliance, but an understanding. If the Orks aided the Chaos fleets in their assault, then they would be both supplied with the equipment required and given free reign of the worlds they captured without Chaos interference. As expected however, both sides plotted to betray the other should they succeed.

The conflict consisted of hundreds of planetary invasions and naval battles and only ended when Lord Arkanon and the majority of his forces were defeated by the combined forces of the Imperium, Eldar, and Tau. It saw the death of several planets, as well as the deaths of billions of Imperial citizens. The conflict was fought almost entirely within and around the Hyperion Sector of the Segmentum Ultima of Imperial space, which was cut off by Warp Storms, generated by the opening of the Great Rift at the end of the 13th Black Crusade, from all contact or communication with the rest of the Imperium for well over a decade.

## Great Rift (999.M41)

With the Fall of Cadia came the *Cicatrix Maledictum*, the Great Rift, and with it a period of confusion and chaos known as the *Noctis Aetrna*.
 Across the Hyperion Sector there was outbreaks of open rebellion, and
although those were swiftly put down by Imperial Guard and Navy forces, they worried Sector Command greatly. In the weeks that followed
limited communication was restored and showed similar cases in their
neighboring Sectors, with whispers that Cadia had fallen and the Eye of
 Terror had spilled out into the galaxy reaching the ears of Sector High
 Command and the Nova Wolves Chapter Council. Alongside this news
however came rumours that a Son of the Emperor, a Primarch, Roboute
Guilliman lived once more and had had set out on a Crusade to Holy
Terra, and with these rumours, for the first time in weeks, hope began
to return among the Imperial forces of the Hyperion Sector.

As communications and warp travel slowly started to become more
available, due to the Sectors distance from the worst of the Great Rift
and it's location in the *Imperium Sanctus*, the Imperials began to
 reorganize themselves and establish their defenses after receiving
reports of Chaos and Xenos incursions, preparing to be attacked
 at any time. It was also during this time that outside Imperial forces slowly started to trickle into the Sector, either escaping traitor or Xenos forces, or regrouping in a Sector under near complete Imperial control close to them.

Of these outside forces two groups hailed from fellow Astartes Chapters. The first consisted of three Companies, two from the Howling Wolves and one from the Omega Knights, who were in the process of pursuing a Blood Wyvern strike force before being thrown astray during warp transit as the Great Rift was released, ending up near the Hyperion Sector and seeking to regroup with their fellow Chapter, the Nova Wolves.

The second force consisted of the full Arachnid Warriors Renegade Chapter, their entire force coming out of hiding to provide aid to the Hyperion Sector and their allies in the Nova Wolves after receiving a call for aid when limited astropathic communications were re-established. As expected their arrival was met with open hostility by all Imperial forces save the Nova Wolves, who allowed the Arachnid Warriors fleet to take shelter in the Nexus System, risking the fury of the Inquisition in doing so. Rather unexpectedly however, the Inquisitorial Representative in the Hyperion Sector allowed the Arachnid Warriors to aid in the defense, seeing the wisdom in allowing a near full Chapter of Astartes to assist in the Sector defense rather than weaken their own forces trying to destroy them. The Arachnid Warriors would be dealt with after the conflict had been resolved, but until then would remain untouched.

## Invasion (999.M41 - 004.M42)

The conflict officially began towards the closing days of 999.M41, the opening weeks of the conflict mainly seeing the warships of the Imperial Navy combating minor traitor and Ork raiding fleets, until the Forces of Chaos led by Lord Arkanon launched a series of major strikes on Imperial Naval facilities across the Sector, coinciding with numerous attacks by Ork Warbands targeting supply convoys and civilian transports.
The traitor forces planned their first strikes against the Sectors forces carefully, as the Chaos fleets targeted multiple critical Imperial Naval facilities within the Sector, crippling the response of the Navy and allowing the traitor forces more freedom to operate. The traitors struck quickly, assaulting Imperial warships as they were in orbital dock or at rest at their stations, unable to defend themselves.

At the orbital docks of Forge World Soruta, the 17th Crusier Squadron was attacked during repairs, the Imperial defenses being blown apart by salvos of torpedoes and attack-runs by strike craft, while at the Armory World of Aeirion, the Naval supply depot located in orbit was destroyed by the traitor Battleship *Blade of Destruction* and it's escorts, it was also at this time the flagship of the Battlefleet Hyperion, the Battleship *Imperial Lux*, and her escorts were wiped out by an ambush in the Helios Nebula. Caught unaware and already overstretched by the growing unrest in the sector and the numerous assaults by traitors and Orks, the Imperials were unable to effectively respond to this offensive, many of their vital shipyards and stations destroyed or captured and the majority of it's vessels sidelined in repair docks or destroyed during the initial wave of attacks, few vessels surviving engagements with the traitors, the Imperials barely holding out at the start of the conflict due to the efforts of the Imperial Navy and Adeptus Astartes.

### Death of Rusliv

The Cardinal World of Rusliv is the heart of the Ecclesiarchal presence in the Hyperion Sector, and as such was a prime target for assault by Lord Arkanon's forces, seeking to corrupt the greatest symbol of faith in the Sector. Attacking the world was a Chaos Fleet led by the Chaos Battleship *Blade of Destruction*, which had been last sighted at the destruction of the supply depot at Aeirion. Sweeping past the orbital defences and system monitors, legions of Cultists and traitor Guardsmen made planetfall, softening up the defences of the Imperial Guard and Sisters of Battle before the traitor Astartes themselves arrived to deliver the killing blow, while the guns of the Chaos fleet in orbit were turned on the surface.

By the time Imperial reinforcements arrived in system to provide reinforcements, it was too late. Rusliv resembled a blasted wasteland more than the paradise it once was. Where there was once gleaming cities filled with temples and shrines filled with life, there was only bombed out cities and silence. Of the Chaos attackers there was no sign, most likely having fled the system once their attack was over to avoid Imperial retribution. Imperial morale was utterly crushed on many worlds, knowing that the most defended and holiest of worlds in the Sector had been so utterly destroyed by the Great Enemy, with such ease, led many to believe that nowhere was safe.

### Battle of Port Azura

In an effort to regain the initiative in the conflict, as well as recapture a vital shipyard for the repairs and refitting of various warships, Hyperion Sector Command deployed a strike force consisting of the Nova Wolves 2nd Company, Battlegroup *Blazing Dawn* and three Nexus Void Warfare Regiments. The shipyard in question was known as Port Azura orbiting the world of Jaspus VII, one of the most critical Naval facilities in the Stygies Sub-Sector, and had been captured by a minor Chaos Lord known as Kagrim in the initial wave of the conflict in a surprise assault, the Imperial Navy's defences being swept aside by Lord Kagrim's Warfleet consisting of numerous capital vessels and escorts, most notably the *Despoiler*-Class Battleship *Kagrim's Fist*. Since it's capture it's facilities were put to use for the enemy, re-supplying and repairing numerous Chaos warships, even allowing the enemy the ability to begin construction of new ships. As such it's recapturing by the Imperium was crucial in denying the enemy an important asset and allowing the Imperial Navy to slowly begin a counter-offensive.

The battle began with the defenders of Port Azura running off to engage another Imperial Navy force in the neighboring system, the lure of battle too strong for the heretics to resist after weeks on inaction and minor raids. This proved to be a mistake as this second force was deployed as deliberate bait, allowing Battlegroup *Blazing Dawn* to strike Port Azura while it was relatively undefended, the Imperial warships plowing past the traitors defences and disgorging three full regiments of the Nexus Void Warfare onto the station, these troops being accompanied by the Nova Wolves 2nd Company who had been deployed by the Strike Cruiser *Zealous Servitude*. Once onboard the Imperials fought an intense battle against the traitors, slowly making their way through the vessel as they encountered stiff resistance from the countless automated defences and Chaos warriors onboard.

The operation ended in an Imperial victory, Port Azura being returned to Imperial control before Lord Kagrim and his warfleet returned. When they did, instead of finding safe harbour, they encountered the guns of the shipyard turned upon them along with the full might of Battlegroup *Blazing Dawn*, resulting in the warfleet being completely crushed as they were caught off guard, Lord Kagrim himself meeting his end by the blade of Captain Corton of the 2nd Company who had boarded his vessel. With the recapture of Port Azura the Imperium had gained their first major victory since the start of the conflict, the docks of the shipyard servicing Battlefleet Hyperion and other warships once again.

## The War Continues (004.M42 - 010.M42)

Despite victories at Port Azura and beyond across the Hyperion Sector, the war continued to rage on between the Chaos forces of Lord Arkanon and the Imperium. Fleets clashed, worlds were conquered and lost repeatedly, shipyards came under fire and millions perished each week. The Imperium was on a back-footing in the conflict, maybe with just either the Orks or traitors they stood a chance of beating them back with the forces available to them, but faced by both working in tandem it was all they could to hold the line and fight for every inch of space they could against their numerically superior foes across the Sector, except for the Kelandres Sub-Sector which had fallen almost entirely under the control of Lord Arkanon's forces, the surviving Imperial troops there holding on to their last bastion at Halifax VI only due to their sheer numbers focused on one world.

Other forces, belonging to neither faction, used this time of strife to further their own agendas. The Hyperion Liberation Front, a rebel movement within the Hyperion Sector seeking to secede from the Imperium, began to strike out against Imperial, Chaos and Ork forces together, captured Imperial Navy vessels and converted civilian ships striking both sides in a series of hit and run attacks aimed at slowly withering down both forces. With the Imperials and traitors so focused on one another little attention was sent their way, allowing the H.L.F to avoid any form of retribution. It wasn't until the ambush and capture of the damaged Battlegroup *Exalted Valor*, which was limping back to Imperial lines to repair damages sustained against Chaos forces, that Hyperion Sector Command deemed them a threat that needed to be either suppressed or outright destroyed.

### Liberation's Fall

The task of dealing with the Liberation Front fell to Colonel Rosamond Grimm of the 467th Void Warfare and Admiral Bast of Battlegroup *Striking Blades*, both officers being given the authority to use any means necessary to cripple or destroy the H.L.F. Inquisitorial agents within the Front reported that an abandoned naval station in the Osiris Nebula, left behind by the Imperial Navy at the onset of the war, was being used as the headquarters of the H.L.F. Reports also indicated that a sizable fleet actively guarded the facility, a force much larger than Battlegroup *Striking Blades*, warranting the requisition of a number of available vessels from various Battlegroups until a large enough force had been assembled, the 467th Void Warfare serving as the primary boarding force to assault the station.

A direct attack would prove ineffective due to a recently established minefield surrounding the station, the only way within the defensive perimeter being a narrow corridor void of any mines used by the rebels to move in and out, though the location of this corridor remained unknown to the Imperials. Lying in wait, running silent in the nebula's outskirts, the assembled task force identified the route by tracking outbound H.L.F vessels. With the route marked the task force surged forwards, engines at full throttle, blasting through the path. H.L.F forces on site were taken by surprise by the sudden appearance of the Imperial force, quickly being overwhelmed as their ships were caught with shields down and weapons powered down. The 467th rapidly assaulted the station via boarding torpedoes and swept across the facility.

The operation met moderate success. While the H.L.F's fleet and operations would be crippled severely for the foreseeable future, a number of their leaders managed to escape, which meant that the rebels would return eventually after re-building. For now however they were no longer a sizable threat, allowing the Imperium to refocus on the invaders.

### Attack on Hyperion

Several years after the destabilization of the H.L.F, in 007.M42, the sector capital of Hyperion Primus came under assault by traitor forces in a surprise raid. Over the years the Imperial defenders were confident in the security of Hyperion Primus, it's status as both sector capital and a fortress world ensuring it was one of the most heavily defended locations in the entire sector and as such able to deter any attacks. This would not prove to be the case as one of the largest formations of traitor warships seen thus far broke from the Immaterium in-system and launched a raid on the planet.

The void battle was a deadly melee as the Chaos warships closed range with the defense fleet and orbital platforms, sparking a series of deadly boarding actions. As the night sky lit up with the brilliant flashes of ships firing and exploding, hundreds of dropships and drop pods descended upon the surface, disgorging thousands of traitor Astartes and Cultists into the very heart of Imperial operations in the sector. This attack was aimed to behead Sector Command in a single blow, guaranteeing the victory of Chaos as the Imperial defenders would be thrown into disarray. This plan would ultimately fail however as timely response by the Omega Knights 3rd Company and the Arachnid Warriors, along with several reinforcing Navy Battlegroups would change the tide of the battle.

While the battle ended in Imperial victory, all traitor forces either destroyed or forced into a rout, Sector Command suffered crippling losses as communication facilities, data archives and members of the high command were lost in the attack, most notably Lord General Militant Greytide of the Imperial Guard who died when a host of Chaos Terminators breached his command bunker and slaughtered all within. Succeeding him would be Lord General Colton Thorne, the next most senior ranking member of Imperial Guard High Command in the sector.

## Last Stand (0010.M42 - 012.M42)

After a decade of constant war across the sector the Imperium was pushed to the edge. With the Great Rift tearing reality asunder, Chaos forces poured out without pause, Lord Arkanon's forces seemingly numberless no matter how many were killed. Two sub-sectors were considered lost, falling under almost full Chaos and Ork control with few Imperial holdouts remaining, cut off from supply lines and reinforcements. Few comforts were afforded to the Imperial defenders during this time, the H.L.F being crippled and the Orks turning on Arkanon's forces when they ran out of Imperial forces to attack. Reinforcements seemed unlikely, any form of outside communication failing to establish contact with the wider Imperium, Inquisitorial agents and military analysts theorizing that similar wars were being fought galaxy-wide. With their forces spread thin, supplies running low and enemies all around them, hope seemed all but lost during this time.

### *Venom* Siege

The mobile fortress-monastery, *Venom*, of the Arachnid Warriors chapter had proven on numerous occasions to be an important asset to Imperial forces within the Hyperion Sector, her ability to serve as both a mobile port and weapons platform giving the Imperium a much needed boost to their defensive and offensive capabilities against their numerically superior foes. Taking notice of this great thorn in their side, Lord Malkev, a lieutenant under Arkanon, devised a plan to lay siege to and either capture or destroy the formidable fortress.

The *Venom* was attacked while laying anchor above Fundus, a civilized world in the Landry Sub-Sector, acting as a temporary repair and resupply station for the local defense fleet, their own stations overwhelmed with work orders. Chaos vessels under Malkev's command translated in-system without warning and rapidly overwhelmed orbital defenses, most of the defense fleet still docked with the *Venom* and unable to defend themselves as traitor forces rushed the fortress-monastery and rapidly deployed boarding forces while raking the Imperial vessels with gunfire, only three of the seven docked vessels able to slip their moorings, the rest being destroyed in dock, the explosions and flying debris from them causing heavy damage to the *Venom's* outer hull. Boarding parties led by Malkev himself managed to breach the battered and scarred outer hull after several hours of abuse and combat with gun batteries and defending Arachnid Warriors, quickly pushing the defenders back as they ran wild across every deck.

The battle lasted several solar days as the Chaos fleet was forced to engage the surviving Imperial Navy vessels that had regrouped, leaving Malkev's boarding force on their own, the hundreds of assaulting Astartes and waves of mindless cultists seeming more than enough to overwhelm the depleted Chapter and their mortal crew. Despite being heavily outnumbered, the Arachnid Warriors skill in shock assaults and stealth allowed them to even the playing field, along with their control of the fortresses automated defenses and command & control systems. Squads of Heretic Astartes and Cultists would give chase to isolated teams of Arachnid Warriors, only to be led towards airlocks, the floors grav-plating remotely increased to weigh the traitors down before being ejected into the vacuum of space, the airlock doors opened from the safety of a control chamber. Others would march unopposed through empty passageways and chambers, their guard lowered as they believed the Loyalists to be on the run, only to suddenly be ambushed by dozens of Arachnid Warriors and servo-turrets from all directions, their unseen foes melting back into the shadows, leaving the mutilated corpses of the traitors as grisly reminders that they were not victorious just yet.

For all their courageous actions and cunning strikes, the Arachnid Warriors were nonetheless pushed back slowly but surely as Malkev's forces continued their relentless assaults, servo-guns falling silent as Havovs blasted them to pieces, new entry points being blasted throughout the hull, and the defenders slowly being whittled down one by one. On the fourth day of combat, the fighting having by this point reached the central chambers, reinforcements would arrive from nearby fronts, the Nova Wolves and Imperial Navy vessels quickly engaging Chaos warships as troops were deployed to the *Venom* to relieve her defenders.

With reinforcements pincering the traitors from behind, a new sense of determination and hope spread throughout the Arachnid Warriors and their serfs, the surviving defenders surging forth from defensive positions and closing in with the enemy for a brutal melee that would see them crushed against the anvil of the now approaching loyalist troops. In a short amount of time the battle for the *Venom* was all but won, Lord Malkev himself falling to sustained fire from several Arachnid Warrios astartes, his request to duel their Chapter Master in single combat being swiftly ignored as he was executed. Despite this, their victory was short lived as Halkev's fleet proved to be larger than initially believed, dozens more warships warping in under the command of his lieutenant-now-Lord Raptus which threatened to crush the Imperials.

Salvation came for the Imperium in the most unexpected of ways however, as a fleet of Eldar Corsairs suddenly appeared on augur-arrays and went to the aid of the Imperium, tearing into the traitor warships with pulsar lances and weapons batteries, destroying them in short order while weaving in and out of the lines of fire. With the battle concluded a single message was transmitted to the Imperial's before the Eldar ships disappeared as quickly as they had appeared, simply stating that their leader, Corsair Prince Arnedor, would meet with the 'Monkeigh' on the edge of the Hades Cloud. While the battle seemed to be a victory for the Imperium, it took a heavy toll on the Arachnid Warriors, their already depleted Chapter having lost more than a hundred of their own aboard the *Venom*,

### Battle of the Nexus System (W.I.P)

The Battle of the Nexus System would prove to be the largest attack on Loyalist forces during this period, taking place concurrently with the attack on the *Venom* and Arachnid Warriors, carried out by a mixed force of Ork warbands and Chaos strike forces. It would not be discovered until a later date by Inquisitorial agents that both attacks were orchestrated by Arkanon to cripple the loyalist Astartes presence in-sector, severely hampering the Imperium's defensive capabilities.

Prior to the battle, Imperial strategists and members of the Chapter Council predicted that the Nexus System would become a priority target for traitor forces during the war, the system being home to the fortress-monastery of the largest Astartes force in-sector, neutralizing it would deal a devasttaing blow to both the Nova Wolves and Imperial morale. As a result, the Tech Priests of Nexus Minor

## Turning Tides (012.M42 - 015.M42) (W.I.P)

Over the first twelve standard years of the Hyperion War, the Imperium had been fighting defensively on multiple fronts, gradually being surrounded on all sides. In the waning days of 012.M42, Sector Command planned a new offensive to be spearheaded by Lord Admiral Hood and his Imperial Navy to make an opening through the traitor lines and gradually begin taking back their lost territory.

## Imperial, Eldar and T'au Order of Battle

### **Imperial** **Senior Command**

* **Lord Governess of the Hyperion Sector, Sigrud Karina**
* **Chapter Master Castarius Vexes, Adeptus Astartes Representative**
* **Lord Admiral Hood, Commander of Battlefleet Hyperion**
* **Lord General Militant Colton Thorne, Commander of Imperial Guard Forces in the Hyperion Sector**
* **Inquisitor Lord Dennis, Inquisitorial Representative**
* **Fabricator Cantus, Adeptus Mechanicus Representative**
* **Canoness Superior Anastasia, Sisters of Battle Representative**

### **Adeptus Astartes**

#### **Chapters**

* **Nova Wolves** - 10 Companies
* **Arachnid Warriors** - 7 Companies
* **Howling Wolves** - 2 Companies
* **Omega Knights** - 1 Company

### **Adepta Sororitas**

#### **Orders Minoris**

* **Order of the Black Rose** - Entire Order
* **Order of the Burning Rose**- Entire Order

### **Imperial Guard**

#### **Regiments**

* **Nexus Void Warfare Regiments** - 153 Regiments
* **Nexus Guard** - 478 Regiments
* **Cadian Shock Troops** - 23 Regiments
* **Death Korps of Krieg** - 19 Siege Regiments
* **Various Imperial Guard Regiments** - 400+ Regiments estimated

### **Imperial Navy**

#### **Battlefleets**

* **Battlefleet Hyperion** - 17 Battleships, 19 Cruiser Squadrons, 22 Escort Squadrons
* Mixed elements of various reinforcing Battlefleets

#### **Estimated Fleet Assets**

* **Front Line Battle Groups** - 17
* **Rear Echelon Battle Groups** - 24
* **Independent Strike Groups** - 5
* **Mobile Starfort** - 1 (***Venom***)
* **Space Marine Battle-Barges** - estimated 8+
* **Space Marine Strike Cruisers** - estimated 35+
* **Space Marine Escort Squadrons** - estimated 90+

### **Ordo Xenos, Malleus and Hereticus**

* **Inquisitorial Task Forces** - **CLASSIFIED**
* **Inquisitorial Storm Troopers** - Estimated 77 Companies

### **Deathwatch**

* **Kill-Teams** - Estimated 10+ in operation

### **Adeptus Mechanicus**

#### **Collegia Titanica**

* **Legio Valamir** - Entire Legion
* **Legio Havocus** - Entire Legion
* **Legio Tonitrua** - Entire Legion

#### **Knights**

* **House Sleipnir** - Entire House
* **House Areion** - Entire House
* **House Eques** - Entire House

#### **Other Mechanicus Assets**

* **Centurio Ordinatus** - 1 Ordinatus
* **Skitarii Legions** - 137 Regiments

### **Eldar**

#### **Corsairs**

* **Corsair Fleet** - 17 Battleships, 37 Cruisers, 54 Escorts

### **T'au Empire**

#### **Air Caste**

* **T'au Navy** - 7 Battleships, 23 Cruisers, 42 Escorts

## Chaos and Ork Order of Battle

### **Chaos Senior Command**

* **Lord Arkanon, Commander of Traitor forces**

* **Various Minor Chaos Lords**

### **Chaos Space Marine Legions**

* **Alpha Legion** - 10+ unconfirmed sightings in all sub-sectors
* **Iron Warriors** - Unconfirmed minor presence
* **Night Lords** - Unconfirmed minor presence
* **Word Bearers** - Unconfirmed minor presence

### **Renegade Chaos Space Marine Warbands**

* **Knights of Arkanon**
* **Various Minor Chaos Warbands**

### **traitor Guard Units**

* **Various Traitor Guard Regiments** - 800+ Regiments estimated

### **Traitor Titan Legions**

* **Legio Terrorem** - Entire Legion
* **Legio Metus** - Entire Legion
* **Legio Phantasma** - Entire Legion
* **Legio Vereor** - Entire Legion

### **Chaos Fleet**

* **The Shadow Fleet of the Knights of Arkanon** - 4 Battleships, 17 Heavy Cruisers, 23 Cruiser Squadrons, 22 Escort Squadrons
* **The Grand Fleet of Kalfar the Wretched** - 5 Battleships, 6 Heavy Cruiser Squadrons, 8 Cruiser Squadrons, 17 Escort Squadrons
* **The Nightmare Fleet of Lord Erelax** - 7 Battleships, 11 Heavy Cruiser Squadrons, 9 Cruiser Squadrons, 23 Escort Squadrons
* **Various other minor Traitor Battlefleets** - Estimated 75+ Line Vessels, Estimated 250+ Escort Vessels

### **Orks**

#### **Command**

* **Warboss Hed-Bleeda, WAAAGH! Leader**

* **Various Ork Warlords, Warbosses and Kaptains**

#### **Tribes**

* **Various Ork Klanz, Tribes and Warbands** - Estimated 50+ different tribes - Estimated millions of Greenskins

## Gallery

Armorial of the Nova Wolves ChapterArmorial of the Omega Knights ChapterArmorial of the Howling Wolves ChapterArmorial of the Arachnid Warriors ChapterCombat Trooper of the Nexus Void Warfare RegimentsGuardsman of the 104th Cadian Armoured Regiment