Ireton MaSade - Liberation of Numinal: Prior to the Agathean counterattacks, Agathon had welcomed an unusual and unexpected guest in the person of the famed Rogue Trader vessel Hammer of the Deeps -- which used to belong to Rogue Trader Militant Charid Undine, known to serve the Warmaster Horus' cause. This was no longer the case, as the new leader of the Agathean Domain would soon discover. The Hammer of the Deeps had been taken by the Loyalist Knights of House Orhlacc on their homeworld of Dark Haven when her impetuous former master had demanded of High Seneschal Valdemar Orhlacc to bow before the power of Horus and submit to his will. With all contact with Dark Haven lost, most had assumed the Knights defeated or destroyed, but the wise Seneschal had mobilised what vessels he could, and evacuated their homeworld before covertly trying to find refuge in an Emperor-loyal system.Seizing upon this occasion, Ireton MaSade brokered a deal with High Seneschal Valdemar: a new world to call their own, and the promise that the Agathean authorities would not interfere there, in exchange for House Orhlacc's support in the dark times ahead. After some deliberation the bargain was struck: House Orhlacc would receive dominion over the savage world of Wychval and the famed Knights of the Manticore would accompany the Agathean Cohorts to do battle against those who had forsaken their oaths and allied with the Arch-Traitor Horus.With such a powerful vessel as the Hammer of the Deeps to call upon, Ireton MaSade devised a new strategy to reconquer the occupied Agri-world. Sadly, it is unclear how much information Ireton MaSade acted upon. Did he know that the vaunted warleader of Forge World Cyclothrathe, Archmagos Draykavac, was on Numinal? Was this to be a personal vendetta? Did he know that some elements of the Obed Cohorts still waged guerrilla warfare against the occupying Mechanicum forces? Or had he heard of the huge amphibious crawlers forcibly converting Numinal's civilian population into Cyclothrathe-bound Servitors and Adsecularis?We shall never know. Tactically, the counter-invasion was sound: the Warp-route of Numinal being the best-known and most-travelled connection to the Agathean Domain. Retaking Numinal would mean securing Agathon from future enemy invasions. These and various other reasons must have crossed Ireton MaSade's mind while he formulated his master-plan.Using the ancient nature of the Hammer of the Deeps as camouflage to Horus' forces, Ireton MaSade used the mighty vessel to covertly approach the moon of Quachil where Numinal's astropathic relay was established. Counting on the element of surprise, he seized the relay and prevented the Traitors from calling for assistance or raising the alarm on Numinal. Whilst his own troops landed on the planet and established a fortified beachhead, House Orhlacc would remain on stand-by onboard the Hammer of the Deeps, ready to intervene once the enemy warlord had shown himself.Never prone to stay behind, Ireton MaSade would personally lead the Agathean Cohorts on Numinal, ensuring they would dig in and fend off any attack until the time was right for a textbook decapitation-strike -- a tactic favoured by the Sons of Horus since their time as the Luna Wolves -- and one which Ireton MaSade had learned at the side of Horus himself.MaSade's own experience would prove a precious boon for the Agatheans as he had also fought besides the untiring constructs of the Mechanicum and knew both their strength and their weaknesses. Given an opportunity to entrench or retreat into the myriad of outposts and processing plants that covered Numinal, MaSade's human troops would be at a disadvantage. To obtain victory Ireton MaSade would have to trust that the enemy commander would think as all Mechanicum-priests did and rely on cold logic to win his battle. MaSade could use this knowledge against his opponent until the moment was right for the decapitation strike.The Liberation of Numinal would be a huge success and Ireton MaSade's first victory in the bitter wars of the Horus Heresy. This resounding Imperial victory greatly affected the balance of power in the region of the Coronid Deeps. Although distant and cut-off from Terra, or indeed any Loyalist reinforcements, Ireton MaSade's determination and skill would ensure the opening of a new front within this region of space.In particular, it would hinder the expansion of the Cyclothrathine Mechanicum, whose offensive was considerably slowed at the same time that it was forced to abandon the rapid expansion it had pursued thus far, even being forced to retreat from Cerada Secundus. These attacks from an unexpected quarter would also prove a thorn in the Traitors' side in the larger war. Disrupting convoys, launching raids, and unleashing periodic attacks, the Agatheans would tie up precious troops and vessels that would have been put to better use in Horus' push for the Segmentum Solar.