Extermination of Juraun

Armorial of the Gray Hussars Chapter.

The **Extermination of Juraun** as a joint-Imperial castigation campaign led by the Gray Hussars Space Marine Chapter against the renegade Venerated Swords Chapter, which had fallen to the corrupting influence of the Ruinous Powers.

## Background

In 770.M41, an Astartes Chapter descended from the Ultramarines named the Venerated Swords had ceased their gene-seed tithes for a number of years. An investigation was called by Inquisitor Lamon of the Ordo Hereticus and proceeded with his retinue to the chapter homeworld of Juraun. The Inquisitor would arrive in the system, surrounded in the void by the escort vessels of the chapter, refusing to answer the Inquisitor's hails. Coming in orbit of the world the Astartes Fleet was absent. Descending to the surface of the world the Inquisitor's retinue includes an armed escort from a consort of Sisters of Battle. They marked down the one road leading to the chapter fortress-monastery, passing by slaughtered villages filled with chard corpses and blood runes with the eight-pointed star.

The Inquisitor knew not what he was walking into but ordered his ships to be ready to deploy Inquisitorial Troops if necessary. Coming to the gates of the outer walls they came upon piles of frozen corpses heaped on the sides of the road. Their forms twisted, mutilated and burst apart. The walls seemed abandoned yet defended by vigilant brothers of the Sixth Company of the Venerated Swords. The Inquisitor was allowed in by the statues of Astartes refusing to even make eye contact with the retinue. Inquisitor Lamon entered the fortress, the Inquisitorial Troops began to land. The Inquisitor came upon the body of an ancient Astartes being hung by hooked chains, kept alive without his limbs and most of his skin flayed off. The old Chapter Master, Vandle Oman, was hanging before them, slowly dying as an offering to the Chaos Gods. The Sisters of Battle and the Inquisitor were surrounded by the Terminators of the 1st Company of the Chapter, led by the new Chaos Lord, the previous Captain of the Venerated Swords First Company, Octivan Kain. Approaching with a sword drawn the Inquisitor and his retinue were slaughtered to the man.

The Inquisitorial Troops that managed to land numbered twenty thousand Tempestus Scions, when they were ambushed by the Heretic 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 8th and 9th Companies. In orbit, the Inquisitorial Fleet was ambushed by all the ships that turned with the rest of the chapter. The Inquisitorial retinue and fleet would disappear. The 4th and 7th Companies of the Venerated Swords were on a campaign when their chapter turned, the Companies refusing to turn when they discovered their brothers had turned traitor in 775.M41. The Captains of the Companies would call a council at the sector capitol, call for aid to purge their heretical brothers and remove the stain of the chapter's honor in a glorious crusade. The Inquisitors became suspicious of the disappearance of Inquisitor Lamon and were validated and ranted of the chapter's heresy until a power-armoured fist slammed on a stone desk. Grand Master Halious von Sturmwalden would stand beside the captains and dedicate his Chapter to the destruction of heretics and the restoration of their brothers' honour in the violent destruction of traitorous kin. The Grand Master made a grand speech to the council of Representatives from the Astra Militarum, Imperial Navy, Adeptus Astartes, Inquisitorial and Adeptus Mechanicus Representatives that convinced a number of Chapters and Imperial Organizations to throw their support behind the Chapter Master.

The 5th Company from the Raven Guard Successor Chapter, the Silent Knights, and the 3rd Company of the Caliban Cavaliers, a Dark Angels Successor Chapter, joined the force. The 156th Elysian Regiment, 117th Attilan Rough Riders, 115th and 177th Mordian Armoured Regiments and the 105th Valhallan Regiment were mustered on the staging world of Rectnor in the system closest to Juruan. The Reclusiarch of the Gray Hussars addressed the Guardsman and allied Astartes in a massive service to the Emperor and the Primarchs of the Chapters of the allied chapters. The service went on for days, broadcast on every vox channel on the world and in orbit. Raising the morale of the humans and Astartes setting out for war. The service was ended with a blessing of the Astartes and the anointing of Grand Master Sturmwalden as the Lord Commander of the Extermination of Juruan. In the months prior every Reconnaissance Platoon of the Gray Hussars charted and marked the Juruan system and world, sabotaging the defenses of the traitors before the fleets would arrive. *The Emperor's Saber* translated out of the warp into the Juruan system followed by hundreds of vessels, his entire chapter leading the armada steaming toward Juruan. They were engaged by the Astartes vessels starting to be twisted by the taint of the warp's touch. The overwhelming force from the loyalist coalition would make short work of the traitor fleet.

The ships of the Loyalist Veneraded Swords raced ahead of the fleet to drop pod assault their loyalist astartes on the planetary capitol, the only hive in the world, Kingber, that had fallen under heretical cultist rule. The Drop Pods crashed into the docks of the hives while their vessels in orbit bombarded traitor PDF forces. Moving street by street the Hive was washed in more blood than previously polluting the streets. Each corner they turned was another heretical cult found and slaughtered with brutal efficiency. The Gray Hussars, Silent Knights and Caliban Cavaliers would secure the docks and begin landing their allied Imperial Guard while leaving the Venerated Swords loyalists to their bloodbath. The former population the chapter recruited from being irradicated by the billions over the course of two weeks, the warriors of the 4th and 7th Companies never relenting, while waiting for fresh stocks of ammunition they butchered with their knives and chainswords. Only four Astartes would fall in the entire engagement.

The traitor Astartes watching from the flanking mountain range. The traitors would use the distraction as an opportunity to further fortify their holdings and assess what was coming for them. The Imperial Guard was released to cleanse the world of all traitor forces across the world, cleansing it of all heretics accompanied by the Brigades and Companies of Astartes, going city-to-city killing and burning in their path. The Imperial Navy would bombard the Polar Fortress-Monestary's void shields without respot. Two months into the campaign Juruan was lifeless, but for the Guardsman, traitor and loyalist Astartes on the surface. Marching on the Fortress Monestary the traitor Veneraded Swords librarians would perform a ritual summoning and fusing daemons into the Veteran-First Company brothers. The Octivan Kain would become a Daemon Prince of Chaos Undivided. The snow would be sown with blood as the battle commenced.

Astartes Coalition assaulting the Fortress Walls supported by the Guard Forces taking the brunt. Five hundred traitor Astartes and daemon Astartes would battle loyalists. Venerated Swords 4th Company Captain, Augustus Jermanicus and 7th Company Captain, Julious Araelious, along with five loyalist librarians would confront the Octivan Kain. The battle tore apart the Chapter's throne hall. None would survive. Octivan Kain, not able to finish the process of the conversation completely would be destroyed his soul being claimed by the warp and his body being burnt in warp flames. By the end of the battle, the traitors would be slaughtered, except for the entire 6th Company that would flee to form a traitor warband, the Blood Swords. Thirty loyalist Venerated Swords would survive under the command of Lieutenant Klaudious Quint. He would reveal the gene-seed stores to Grand Master Sturmwalden and armory. The vaults were sealed by the Master of the Forge until a member of the 7th Company would open it.

Untainted armor, weapons, tanks, Thunderhawk gunships, sets of terminator armour and Ultramarines gene-seed. Lieutenant Quint would offer the entirety to Grand Master Sturmwalden and the Gray Hussars Chapter. The Chapter Master would decline the offer, stating, "The new Chapter Master can't expect to lead a chapter without weaponry." The Venerated Swords would lead their armory onto their remaining vessels. Declaring themselves a fleet-based crusading chapter. Chapter Master Quint and Grand Master Sturmwalden would pilgrimage to Ultramar to receive the blessing of the Ultramarines Primarch by praying to the feet of Roboute Guilliman. Chapter Master Quint would dedicate his chapter to hunting down their remaining traitor brothers once able to restore their numbers back to fighting numbers.