Halo Crusade

Armorial of the Astral Giants Chapter.

The **Halo Crusade** was the largest campaign ever conducted by the mysterious Astral Giants. The name of said crusade was to the Halo Zone, the region beyond the Astronomican, as the crusade was focused on worlds near the edge of the Halo Zone. The purpose of the crusade was to retake various STCs and other ancient human technology either from the Dark Age of Technology or the Horus Heresy. These worlds had been untouched by the Macharian Crusade. The campaign saw the Astral Giants and the Adeptus Mechanicus battling against various forces.

## History

### Discovery

The prelude to the Halo Crusade begins back several centuries ago when the Astral Giants sent several Divisions to help in the Macharian Crusade, which saw the conquer of several worlds. During the campaign, the Astral Giants recovered several STCs, which were shared with the Tech-Priest of Mars and then brought back to their Fortress-Monastery, the *Infinite Singularity*.
It had taken extensive study, put on hold with other duties, but the Astral Giants eventually decrypted. They revealed a map of several previously unknown planets near the Halo Zone. Said planets were originally the home to several ancient human civilizations back during the Dark Age of Technology before being lost to the Warp Storm. Furthermore, records show that there had been battles taking place on some of those worlds from the Horus Heresy.

The discovery immediately brought attention from the Adeptus Mechanicus, who sent representatives to meet with the Astral Giants's inner council, the Covenant. This revelation presented the possibility of rediscovering lost scientific lore and bringing it back into the Imperium of Man. However, there were several problems. The near proximity of some of these worlds to the Halo Zone, made warp travel difficult, as the Astropaths might not be able to find them. Plus, the time between realspace and the Immaterium presented a threat that any exploratory force could possibly be lost forever.

Eventually, a decision was made: The Astral Giants could not allow something as paranoia or concerns to stop them from their duty to help mankind advance. If there were relics of mankind's distant past on these worlds, it was their responsibility to retrieve them. They received the support of the Adeptus Mechanicus too, the tech-priests dedicating their own forces into the fold. Given the scale of such an operation, Supreme Imperator Marcus Z Baland sent forth the order to half of the Divisions in Segmentum Obscurus, and half from Segmentum Pacificus to take part in this Crusade, which would be led by Archivist Overseer Darius Zalezar, with Constructor Trom Kor serving as his second.

### Preparation

Heavy preparations were to be made for what was to be called the Halo Crusade. Along with Darius and Trom, command of the Adeptus Mechanicus' Skitarii and the Legio Cybernetica was put under Magos Dominus Narvarius Joroq and Magos Explorator Goran Yedri. Along with forces from Mars, other Forge Worlds to send aid were Ptah, Ryza, Metalica and so forth. Additionally, several Titans of the Collegia Titanica were sent to bring heavy aid to the Crusaders.

Once all forces were gathered, the commanders met to discuss their first action. Using the records of the Macharian Crusade, they were able to map out a path towards the Sectors they would need to reach. It was decided that the Hovon Sector would be the first place to head towards. According to the STCs, many ancient Titans that fought in the Horus Heresy were left there.