Badab War - Clash of Iron and Fire (910.M41): In mid-910.M41, there was in increase in corsair activity along the eastern Maelstrom Zone. Among those in the Loyalist high command, this was believed to have been caused by at least one Astral Claws task force that had somehow slipped out of the Badab Sector itself and was now operating from the edges of the Maelstrom. Imperial Navy escort search-and-destroy squadrons were dispatched to the area to quell these attacks so that the Secessionists would not be able to exploit the opportunity to start a new battle front on the Loyalists' flank.Upon the Frontier World of Rook they found their evidence. This was one of the few worlds within the Maelstrom that could be relied upon to willingly aid Imperial agents, as their population was made up of Oblationist zealots. They informed the Loyalist command that there had indeed been an increase in slave raids of nearby systems of Human corsair ships led by an Astral Claw strike cruiser identified as the Hyrcania.The pattern of attacks by these corsair ships was tracked by the echo left in the Warp to the Lamptan System and its twin Feral Worlds of Shaprias and Scarfel. Having divined that a strong enemy force was massing at this location, the Imperial Navy squadron was forced to withdraw in order to refit and resupply, returning to seek reinforcements.Elsewhere, in the northern Maelstrom Zone the Carcharodons were busy carrying out the final stages of the Tranquility Campaign, while in the southern zone, the Minotaurs and Sons of Medusa, backed by Astra Militarum penal regiments, were assaulting Isin on the edge of the Badab Sector itself, where the Tyrant's Legion was putting up a tenacious defence. Lord High Commander Calab Culln marshaled his own Red Scorpions Chapter and the newly reinforced Exorcists Chapter contingent at Sagan in preparation for an assault on the strategic Warp terminus of Piraeus.This was a vital target and considered by many to be the gateway to the Badab Sector. Overall the Loyalist forces had suffered considerable losses since the start of the war, and the contingents of many of the Space Marine Chapters which had previously fought for the Loyalist cause had now departed. Some, such as the Howling Griffons and Marines Errant, had withdrawn owing to the casualties they had suffered, while others such as the Novamarines and most recently the Fire Angels had departed for reasons of their own.In short, Loyalist forces were stretched thin despite the fresher Space Marine companies that had recently arrived, and Culln could not afford to be drawn into fighting on an increasing number of fronts to be bled dry slowly by attrition, as no doubt was the Tyrant of Badab's plan.Taking council with his fellow Space Marine commanders, it was the leader of the Salamanders contingent, the old and famed warrior Pellas Mir'san, who offered a solution to the events on Lamptan. Offering to lead his own forces in a lightning strike against Lamptan, the Salamanders would rely on the element of surprise, the arcane skills of Onna Nostroma to position their attack, and the power of their potent battle barge Pyre of Glory, dealing a crippling blow to the enemy.Chaplain Ivanus Enkomi, representing the aloof and secretive Minotaurs Chapter in the war council, offered to take his personal guard and such forces as he could muster to aid the Salamanders in this mission. So approved, the strike force, named the "Gift of Fire," was further augmented by a pair of Imperial Navy light cruisers and a frigate squadron. This force was dispatched immediately on the long voyage to the Lamptan System, there to meet the foe in battle.