Siege of Vraks - Angels Descend: At the point when it seemed the siege was almost over, with the Citadel breached and Inquisitor Rex's forces posed for the final push to clear the Citadel of its last stoic defenders, new reinforcements arrived - the battle barge Liberatorii Delictum accompanied by the strike cruiser Repentant and their two escorts. All were vessels of the Angels of Absolution chapter, and they had come to Vraks upon the request of Supreme Grand Master Azrael of the Dark Angels.The Angels of Absolution were a Chapter with close ties to their progenitors and organised to exactly mirror their originators At the Supreme Grand Master’s request. Interrogator Chaplain Belphegor had also been attached to the strike force He had a personal score to settle, but commanding the strike force was the Angels of Absolution's own Company Master Yafnr. Both officers flew down to meet with Inquisitor Rex to request permission for their brothers to join the battle. They had come with a specific mission, to find, capture and return with the traitor Arkos the Faithless of the Alpha Legion. Chaplain Belphegor explained that the Dark Angels themselves had narrowly failed to capture him during their mission to Vraks nine years ago. Not to be so easily thwarted again, it seemed Grand Master Azrael had kept a close eye on developments on Vraks. He regularly received reports from the Segmentum Obscurus High Command on Cadia in order that the Chapter and its successors should be kept up to date with any urgent developments in war zones around the Eye of Terror.The Supreme Grand Master had awaited the siege's finale and planned to intervene again in a second attempt to take the fugitive Arkos prisoner and destroy his dangerous warband. But now the time had come, the Dark Angels themselves were already fully committed and could not spare the forces required for the mission. Azrael had turned to his most trusted successor Chapter. The Angels of Absolution had always worked closely with the Dark Angels and at times had even undertaken combined deployments. They had come in their place. Before they arrived Master Yafrir had already been fully briefed on the current situation in Vraks, as were his squad commanders.Inquisitor Rex inquired why Supreme Grand Master Azrael wanted Arkos captured rather than dead, but the Interrogator Chaplain could not answer. It should be enough for the inquisitor to know that Arkos was a traitor to the Emperor and must be stopped. Hector Rex could not disagree, but felt that such a prize as high ranking Alpha Legion commander, with all the sensitive intelligence he could reveal would be best used in the hand of the Ordo Malleus. The Inquisitor's interrogators could extract no end of information about spies and traitors within the Impreium’s ranks and would use it to strike cultist and traitors across Segmentum Obscurus – such a wealth of intelligence should not be the preserve of a single Space Marine Chapter. He feared that in the Dark Angels hands, Arkos would vanish in the depths of the Rock and never be heard from again.Chaplain Belphegor's position was immoveable. He had explicit orders from the Supreme Grand Master, as did Master Yafrir via his own Chapter Master, Arkos must be returned to the Rock, otherwise Yafrir would be forced to withdraw his vessels and battle brothers from Vraks. The Angels of Absolution had authority to join the finale of the siege but only in the strict condition that they would be allowed to search for the Alpha Legion, and any prisoners, in particular Arkos the Faithless, would be theirs and theirs alone, to return with to the Rock. No inquisitorial interference would be allowed in the pursuit of their mission.The negotiations left Lord Hector Rex in a difficult position. On the one hand here was the opportunity to deploy a fresh, powerful strike force into the Citadel, but the price was to loose any control of any information the Alpha Legion could reveal in the future. He conferred with his closest advisors. Ultimately he had to decide, did he trust the Dark Angels? Would Azrael make good use of any information he acquired? Would his Chapter use it purely to their own ends, or for the good of the wider Imperium? Eventually Interrogator Chaplain Belphegor and Master Yafrir had their answer. They may deploy to Vraks – with the Emperor’s blessing. They would have free rein to plan and execute any operation they needed to. Lord Rex should be kept informed, but he would allow any Alpha Legion prisoners taken to be turned over to the Angels of Absolution. The deal was done. The Space Marine officers returned to the Liberatorii Delictum to prepare the attack. The Angels of Absolution would fight.Master Yafrir’s brothers would be launching a drop pod assault directly into the Citadel. The designated drop zone would be the outer wall’s main plaza. The drop would be preceded by a wave of Deathstorm drop pods to clear the area, then Belphegor and his battle brothers would descend upon the enemy in a lightning strike. Their target would be the Basilica of St Leonis, the hearth of the Citadel. They would sweep it clear and then press deeper into the Citadel as required. Supporting ground forces would be landed ahead of the attack and move up via the Cardinal Gate to join the deployed force. Master Yafrir would command his force. Whist the vast majority or the battle brothers were engaged with the heretics, the Liberatorii Delictum and the Repentant would begin their own operation to find and destroy the Despoiler class battleship Anarchy’s Hearth. The destruction of the Anarchy’s Hearth, wherever it was hiding, was the strike force’s second objective.When Lord Rex received these plans and reviewed them, he decide to maximize the advantage he had gained form the unexpected reinforcements. The Angels of Absolution would form the core of his final assault to clear the Citadel and end the siege. Lord Rex would again don his armour, unsheath Arias and lead his own strike force. The Red Scorpions would also join the kill, springing from their t each head at the St Leonis Gate to clear the Cardinal s Palace. The Imperial Guardsmen would be called upon too. It was only right that after so long and so many dead that the men of Krieg should be in on the final act of the war. The 150th regiment would be ordered to join the overwhelming assault and the last of High Princeps Drauca’s Titans would again support them. At last the final battle of this long war had come.