Celestial Lions - Notable Campaigns: Khattar Insurrection (948.M41) - During the event known as the Khattar Insurrection, five companies of the Celestial Lions were attached to Inquisitor Apollyon in order to crush the ongoing revolt on the main planet, Khattar. The orbital defences were nothing to the Space Marines and they soon landed on the world against virtually no opposition. As the campaign progressed and the number of prisoners increased, it became evident that this was no mere minor rebellion. Apparently the Imperial Cult's priesthood on Khattar had been corrupted by Chaos and had led the leaders of the world into the arms of the Chaos God Slaanesh. Local Renegade Astra Militarum and Planetary Defence Force regiments were quickly defeated and within a matter of solar weeks the rebellion was crushed. The detachment of the Celestial Lions boarded their voidships and left for their fortress-monastery. As the Astartes warships left orbit, the Imperial Navy, under the orders of Inquisitor Apollyon, carried out an Exterminatus action and bombarded the planet with Cyclonic Torpedoes, obliterating its entire population. This action horrified the Celestial Lions, who proceeded to condemn the Inquisitor for wiping out the population of a planet that had been cleansed of all heretical taint and whose people had largely remained innocent. Captain Saul, the commander of the Imperial Navy flagship in orbit of Khattar, had attempted to halt the bombardment, but could not countermand the order of an Inquisitor. From then on, the Celestial Lions were highly vocal political opponents of the Inquisition, as they believed it had been unnecessary to destroy the planet and all its people. They proclaimed a series of very loud and very public condemnations against the Inquisition that was intended to reach the powers-that-be within the highest echelons of the Imperium. A delegation of senior Chapter officers left for Terra to further their cause, but the starship never arrived. It was blown wildly off course by a freak Warp Storm, far into Ork territory. The wreckage was eventually found two standard years after the disappearance of the vessel, although this was not enough to deter the Celestial Lions, who kept demanding an investigation into the events surrounding the destruction of Khattar. Their efforts, though valiant, were completely in vain. The Inquisition technically answers to no one but itself and the Emperor, and is immune to any outside pressure or criticism, even from the Adeptus Astartes. Since the Khattar Insurrection the Celestial Lions have refused to work alongside the agents of the Inquisition again, and for its part, the Inquisition began to look into methods by which the Lions' constant criticism might be forever silenced.The Third War for Armageddon (998.M41) - With the outbreak of the Third War for Armageddon, the entire Celestial Lions Chapter was deployed to that crucial Imperial Hive World to defend Hive Volcanus. They suffered horrendous casualties within only solar months of arriving. The intelligence they received was horribly inaccurate and often led them into ambushes where they were outnumbered and outgunned. Some of the higher-ranking officers of the Chapter began to suspect this was intentional, a ploy to wipe out the entire Chapter as part of the political machinations of the Inquisition which they had vocally opposed since the events at Khattar for over a standard decade, but nothing could be proven. In a matter of solar weeks half the Chapter lay dead.Mannheim Gap Massacre (998.M41) - One particularly devastating battle in the Mannheim Gap saw 4 entire companies of the Celestial Lions exterminated by the combined forces of a Gargant under the command of the Ork Warlord Thogfang and the Razor Speed Freeks. Losses mounted and the battle ended with a very well-coordinated Greenskin attack on the Celestial Lions' base camp. It had been thought by the Celestial Lions that Thogfang's Gargants were still under construction and the Space Marines hoped to take the Orks by surprise before their war engines became operational. Unfortunately not only were the Gargants fully operational, they were waiting for the Celestial Lions, targeting the exact ridge where the Chapter had intended to launch their assault. Undaunted by this apparent betrayal, the Celestial Lions fought bravely and thought they could win. But then the Orks launched their trap and hundreds of buried tunnels opened behind the Lions' position, swarming their rear with thousands upon thousands of Orks. The last Captain of the Celestial Lions force, Vularakh, was eaten by Thogfang. The Imperials' losses mounted and the assault finally ended with a very well-coordinated attack on the Celestial Lions' base camp. This particular battle lasted for only three solar hours. Hundreds of Astartes fell to the overwhelming Ork forces. Sniper fire rained down from the mountain sides, relentlessly targeting the Chapter's Apothecaries. It should be noted that the sniper fire was not Ork in origin, for Imperial-issued Long-Las Sniper Rifles were the culprits, burning holes straight through the helmet and eye-lenses of many of the Chapter's officers and non-commissioned officers. Finally, a small Celestial Lions company was able to break through the Ork lines and fight their way back to Hive Volcanus. Only 96 Astartes survived the battle at Mannheim Gap. To make matters worse, the last Celestial Lions Apothecary was shot in the head within solar hours of arriving at Hive Volcanus; he was found slumped against his Rhino transport with a las burn straight through his temple, his slayer unknown. The dead Celestial Lions' gene-seed lay unharvested on the surface of Armageddon and the remaining Battle-Brothers of the Lions swore to die alongside their fallen brothers, fighting to the last to regain their honour even if it meant the death of their entire Chapter. Seeking one last hope for redemption, then (Pride Leader) Ekene Dubaku requested that Reclusiarch Grimaldus of the Black Templars Chapter perform the last rites on the Celestial Lions' survivors, who intended to return to the Mannheim Gap to die alongside their slain brothers. Grimaldus had arrived earlier to investigate a message sent by the last remaining DeathSpeaker of the Chapter who had been a personal friend. Yet he refused to perform the last rites and marshaled the remaining Imperial defenders of Hive Helsreach to march alongside the Celestial Lions. Grimaldus believed that if the honour of the Celestial Lions could be salvaged by destroying the Ork base, then the remaining Lions warriors would return to their homeworld and be content with rebuilding their Chapter. The battle that ensued cost the lives of almost all of the remaining Celestial Lions. However, Pride Leader Dubaku was able to slay Warlord Thogfang with Grimaldus' help, avenging the loss of his Captain and the grievous wound to the pride of his Chapter. Only then did Grimaldus signal for Black Templar reinforcements to enter the fray and the Knights of Dorn fought one last time on Armageddon. Afterwards, High Marshal Helbrecht, the Chapter Master of the Black Templars present on Armageddon, forced Dubaku to take the oath of Chapter Master to lead the remnant of his Lions and granted him an ancient suit of Power Armour dating back to the Great Crusade which still bore the original heraldry of the Imperial Fists Legion. The few remaining Celestial Lions departed for their homeworld on the Strike Cruiser Blade of the Seventh Son, another gift from the Black Templars, alongside a temporary detachment of Black Templars Astartes to aid in the the rebuilding of the proud and defiant Celestial Lions Chapter on their homeworld of Elysium IX.War Against the Exilarchy (999.M41 - Present) - The birth of the Great Rift cut off the region of Elara's Veil from the wider Imperium, trapping it within the darkness of the Imperium Nihilus. At that time, a great Chaos warhost known as the Exilarchy came into being, comprised mainly of Humans and mutants, but supported by a small number of Heretic Astartes warbands. The true rulers of the Exilarchy were the Chaos Space Marines known as The Pure, the remnants of the Star Scorpions Chapter, who had been declared lost in the Warp. The Pure used the rest of the Exilarchy forces as foot soldiers to further their cause. In the aftermath of the Great Rift's creation, The Pure and the Exilarchy were expelled from their travels through the Warp into Elara's Veil. The worlds of the Veil were part of the Emperor's demesne, but The Pure sought to conquer them and reclaim the region they had once helped to defend in the name of the Dark Gods. This brought them into conflict with their former allies the Emperor's Spears and Celestial Lions Chapters, who were charged with protecting the worlds of Elara's Veil. Due to the sheer numbers of the Exilarchy war host, eventually half of the worlds of Elara's Veil fell to The Pure's control. The Emperor's Spears, the Celestial Lions and the rest of the Adeptus Vaelarii waged a slowly losing campaign against the forces of the Exilarchy. After over a Terran century of warfare, there was no longer any doubt that the Exilarchy and its Heretic Astartes masters had the upper hand.