Scourging of Kerrack - The Fall of Calder's Ark: The reconquest of Algrist marked the first Imperial victory in the Scourging of Kerrack campaign. The Cadians had secured a valuable foothold on the mainland, yet unknown to Colonel Mortemar and his command staff, events were in motion that would strip this victory of its meaning. Unknown to the seasoned colonel, a voidship was approaching Kerrack, a vessel carrying none other than the Chaos Lord Mahaur the Harvester and his warband of Chaos Space Marines known as the Slaughterkin. Only a few solar hours after the fighting had ebbed in Algrist, Mahaur's vessel reached orbit and stationed itself above the planetary capital of Calder's Ark. Rather than bombard the capital from orbit, Mahaur unleashed the Slaughterkin's own aerial might, as scores of Hell Talons and Hell Blades descended like vultures upon a carcass. Heedless of the losses they might inflict on their allies in the Charnel Cult, the Slaugherkin ravaged Calder's Ark, carpet-bombing all its districts save for the Governor's Palace -- for Mahaur intended to seize it to use as his own base of operations. The Slaughterkin rejoiced in the carnage they wrought as entire units of Loyalist PDF were annihilated from the air. The survivors of these bombardments were often in such poor shape that they preferred to go into hiding or to desert rather than face their true enemy.When all but the Governor's Palace lay in ruins, the Slaughterkin landed their own troops on Kerrack, their Chaos Space Marine general at their head. Such was the frenzy Mahaur instilled in his troops that in less than a solar hour of fighting the Slaughterkin took the Governor's Palace, slaughtering what remained of the governor's loyal bodyguard before leading their lord to the palace's throne room, where the Chaos Cultists had cornered the rightful ruler of Kerrack, Imperial Governor Vortigern Strick. To his credit, the captured Imperial Governor did not cower or plead for his life as Mahaur the Harvester strangled him with his elaborate gold chain of office. Vortigern Strick's death marked the end of Imperial resistance within the planetary capital and its surroundings. Henceforth the Cadians would need to fight without the assistance of Kerrack's militia.While the Harvester now ruled in Calder's Ark, the Charnel Cult gradually took control of Kerrack's other cities, the Imperial defenders disheartened by the quick fall of the capital and their commander's subsequent death. Under Mahaur's direction, the arcane technologies regulating and purging the waters of Kerrack's swamps and seas were tampered with. The great filtration towers began to increase the water's toxicity levels rather than diminishing it. This perversion poisoned the surrounding land as huge regions of forest began to wither and die. Even the sturdy Cholam trees were overcome by the toxic sludge that bathed their roots, heralding the food shortages to come for many other nearby worlds of the Imperium and regiments of the Astra Militarum engaged in the Karthago Crusade should Kerrack fall. Knowing he had only a short respite, Colonel Mortemar carefully reconsidered his position. While Algrist had been captured, the death of Vortigern Strick and the remaining Loyalist PDF meant that his prime objective had been denied. The enemy had been reinforced and by taking Algrist, the remaining Imperials were much closer to the enemy's main force than before. Only the township of Rorth stood between Mortemar and the Harvester, and that town would also soon fall.In truth, only two options remained: reinforce Algrist and try to hold out against the crushing numbers of the Charnel Cults and the Slaughterkin, or fall back to Calnix Island where the terrain heavily favoured the defenders. With a heavy heart, Colonel Mortemar ordered his troops to evacuate Algrist. The unending air-ballet began anew as disciplined files of Cadian Shock Troops boarded their Valkyries to abandon the city they had fought so hard to conquer. The Cadians' continued lack of transport would hinder them greatly: the enemy was already on its way, force-marching through the swamps and forests, closing on Algrist. The evacuation had barely begun when the first enemy units were spotted by the perimeter guards.Using their own flyers to converge quickly on Algrist, the Slaughterkin led a sizeable contingent of Renegade PDF to attack the retreating Imperial Guardsmen. With the same savagery as at Calder's Ark, the Slaughterkin broke through the exterior positions, but the discipline and tenacity of the Cadians slowed their progress towards the heart of the city. Colonel Mortemar soon realized that he would not be able to secure safe transport for all his troops; even now, Thunderbolts were struggling to keep the Valkyries safe from squadrons of marauding Hell Blades. Reluctantly, Colonel Mortemar designated those companies and platoons that would act as a rear-guard for their comrades before boarding a transport himself. He had effectively condemned hundreds of his men to die, but such were the hard realities of war. Despite knowing they were doomed, the Cadian rearguard acquitted themselves well, buying enough time so that all the Imperial transports -- some overladen with troops and wounded -- could take off. For an entire afternoon, the Imperial rearguard slowed the hordes of the Slaughterkin and the Charnel Cult that had begun to swarm the city. The situation changed around nightfall, as the defenders were quickly overwhelmed. Those lucky enough to die in the fighting were spared the bloody rituals and sacrifices to the Blood God the Charnel Cults conducted around the great bonfires they had lit.