Siege of Vraks - First Battle of Vraks: Rear Admiral Rasiak was aware of the frenetic activity of Battlefleet Scarus. He too had received the order to stand-to in expectation of the large Chaos raid in the sector. It was now, under the shadow of this growing threat, that the Rear-Admiral re-appraised his status and found it wanting. Only his defence monitors were ready for action, but even these needed extra crew, and their main magazines were not full due to the necessity to maintain regular firing drills. He had just seven ships under his command, which would not be enough. While Rasiak's preparations continued, he placed escort Exuo's three Sword-class frigates on picket duty in the system's outer reaches, where they were to search for intruders and act as his early warning. They were instructed not to engage any enemy ships, but to fall back to the main fleet at full speed and take their places in the battle line so that Rasiak could meet the enemy with his full force.Soon, the Rear Admiral received a priority message from the frigate Exuo-Four-Three. She had made contact with a squadron of three ships inbound and their energy signatures confirmed them as Infidel-class Raiders. More would follow, Rasiak knew it in his blood. This was just a probe, scouts testing his defences. The smaller vessels did not risk entering into range of the Lord Bellerophon's guns, even to unleash a speculative volley of torpedoes at long range. Instead, they scanned and watched warily before withdrawing. Now the enemy knew Rasiak's strength, or lack of it. Now the enemy would surely feel that the day would be theirs and come in strength enough to overwhelm this ad-hoc fleet.Six solar days later on 054.823.M41, the Exuo Squadron contacted fourteen different energy signatures as the Chaos warfleet called by the Alpha Legion by-passed the system's outer asteroid fields and made best speed for Vraks Prime. Rear-Admiral Rasiak led the Imperial Navy's defence of the system from the Lord Bellerophon, leading Exuo Squadron's complement of 3 Sword-class Frigates and a hastily-assembled fleet of 3 Defence Monitors, 2 armed freighters, 1 heavy transport and 3 Fire Ships. Despite the reinforcement by the Cruiser Group Marhzur, which arrived not far behind the Traitor warfleet, the Imperial fleet proved unable to prevent several vessels of the Chaos warfleet from entering orbit of Vraks.The enemy fleet soon divided, with five vessels, led by Arkos' flagship, the Despoiler-class Battleship Anarchy's Heart, which manoeuvred to swing around Rasiak's battleline's port ship. A larger concentration of nine enemy vessels of varying sizes and classes, with the Styx-class Heavy Cruiser Blood Dawn in the vanguard would pass by him off the starboard side. The two fleets slid past each other in a murderous gun battle. It was a vicious duel and both sides were soon wounded. The Anarchy's Heart had raked the length of the Imperial battleline, its firepower stripped shields and buckled armour as it passed. The Sword-class Exuo-Four-One was crippled by the enemy battleship's batteries and was left adrift and helpless. Two of the monitors were also gone. The Izra Mors had lost three plasma reactors to enemy bombing attacks, and was operating on minimal power, and with her manoeuvre thrusters disabled she was a sitting duck. Rasiak was forced to abandon her to her fate. Rather than abandon the ship, the Izra Mors captain ordered his surviving crew to man the guns and keep shooting.The Lord Bellerophon itself had been blasted and buffeted. The old warship was battered and listing, wounded but still fighting. Her guns had damaged the Chaos heavy transport Aharon's Bane and destroyed another of the Iconoclast destroyers. The Chaos fleet had also been wounded, but for reasons as yet unknown two of the cruisers had failed to engage. These had been the rearguard of the second battleline and even as Rasiak watched from his command pulpit console they were coming about and seemed to be disengaging. These enemy vessels' guns could have easily have finished the Lord Bellerophon and her surviving escorts. With much of his communications destroyed, Rear-Admiral Rasiak had no idea that reinforcements were on their way. Battlefleet Scarus had directed the closest battle-worthy force to Vraks. Cruiser group Mahzur, under Rear-Admiral Titus Mahzur, had arrived not far behind the Traitor fleet. Led by the Gothic-class Cruiser Consul Thracii, with the Dominator-class Cruiser Orion and the ancient Grand Cruiser Covenanter in support, as well as a squadron of escorts, the cruisers were now racing towards Vraks and the battle. Together they could swing the battle in the Imperium's favour.Even with the advent of additional forces, the Anarchy's Heart and the Aharon's Bane both moved towards Vraks, intent on achieving orbit and delivering their payloads to the surface. The Blood Dawn manoeuvred to launch her re-armed attack craft, this time Dreadclaw assault boats sped towards the crippled Izra Mors, intent on making the stricken giant transport their prize. It was then that Rasiak ordered his reserves into the fray, the three fire ships. One of these vessels, ignoring instructions to abandon ship, steered itself directly into the Aharon's Bane. The fire ship his the Chaos vessel in the stern quarters. Critically damaged by the collision, the Aharon's Bane was already caught in Vrak's gravity well and began to plunge planetwards. By some dark miracle, the bridge crew of the Chaos vessel somehow managed to break the vessel's wild descent. The Aharon's Bane impacted with the ground close to the Chaylia Plateau, tearing a great gouge into Vraks' surface. From within the hold the hordes slowly began to emerge, dazed and blinking onto Vraks' surface.While the Aharon's Bane fell, the Anarchy's Heart manoeuvred into low orbit, and cast hundreds of drop ships and landing craft down onto Vraks. The Alpha Legion had gathered together their allies, other warbands keen to seek battle and plunder. Waves of Dreadclaw Drop Pods rained down onto Vraks, carrying bands of Chaos Space Marines to the war below. Rear-Admiral Mahzur knew he was too late to stop the Anarchy's Heart seeding Vraks with her evil cargo, but he still raced onwards in the hope that he could engage and destroy the mighty battleship. But in the ensuing melee, Cruiser group Mahzur suffered multiple losses of its escort vessels as well as the crippling of the Lord Bellerophon's engines, turning the battle decisively in the enemy's favour. They had four capital rated ships still in the fight, including a battleship and heavy cruiser. The battle for the Vraks System was effectively lost. Rasiak had failed in his duty as an officer of the Emperor's Navy and he gave instructions that the captain of the Covenanter should see to it that these opinions passed to a board of enquiry on Cypra Mundi. Rear-Admiral Rasiak might survive the battle but he would most likely pay for his failure with his career. For himself, Mahzur refused to return to base with his tails between his legs. His only chance for glory now was the destruction of the Anarchy's Heart. With the Emperor standing at his shoulder, Mahzur ordered the Consul Thracii to ramming speed.Rear-Admiral Mahzur's single-handed (but vain) attempt to ram the enemy battleship was the stuff from which Imperial Navy legends were made. It was a heroic but ultimately futile act that cost Battlefleet Scarus a good Gothic-class cruiser and the Rear-Admiral and his crew their lives. The battle had turned the immediate area of space around Vraks into a graveyard of burned out hulks. Debris from vessels and the abandoned hulks of eleven Imperial Navy ships now littered the area. The butcher's bill had been a costly one; one of the largest capitol ships, four Sword-class frigates, two defence monitors and the heavy freighter Izra Mors. The three freighter converted into fire ships had also been lost. Added to the losses was the damage to just about every other vessel. The Lord Bellerophon had survived, but barely and would need years to be re-fitted and made ready for duty again. Likewise the Orion was heavily damaged. Only the Covenanter had survived with slight damage, fit to continue her duties.Of the enemy fleet, kills could only be confirmed on the Anharon's Bane and at least four Infidel or Iconoclast raiders. But the enemy had seized control of the Vraks System and were now free to unload their cargos of troops to the surface. The Blood Dawn would launch more Dreadclaws, all full of Khornate Berzerkers, including the infamous Berserkers of Skallathrax and the Skulltakers warband of the infamous Warmaster Zhufor the Bloodreaver, himself believed to be a trusted lieutenant of Abaddon the Despoiler. In all, tens of thousands of new Chaos troops would land on Vraks, screaming their insane prayers and liturgies and eager to kill in the name of their blasphemous gods. The Ferrum Invictus unleashed a large warband of Iron Warriors known as the Steel Brethren, whose expertise in siege warfare would aid the heretical defenders of Vraks greatly in their attempt to break the Imperial offensive.