The Empty Crusade (Horus Heresy)

In the vast emptiness of space an Ork fleet moved the Human world before them was known as a good fight one none of the other Ork assaults had broken and while the warboss had been trying to get the Orks to pull back to deal with threats inside the current borders and prepare for a big push. This minor nob hadn't cared to listen, figuring his boys would be able to overcome the humans. The fleet had left the war far from the world and they were traveling in all sneaky like to ambush the defenders. A rift opened in the middle of the formation and the Orks started to reposition to get their guns aimed at the human ship suddenly in the center of their formation. Just as the rift closed another opens and the ship is gone before many of them can fire. Moments after the ship vanished the orks began to explode as hundreds of torpedoes activated and shot at the densely packed orkiod ships.

Burning wrecks turned their weapons in the next rift where the arched ship slid out; this time the torpedoes are shot without delay lighting up the Ork ships even as its void shield flashes with light from the impacting Ork guns. The ship opened another rift leaving again for the orks as its warp drive tears a killcruzer in half and hundreds of torpedoes go off. The Ork ships are in disarray and begin firing at anything that moves including some of their own ships as human ships begin to close in from around the planet's moon. The Admiral looks over the map of the battle. "The new Cawls are performing as expected, though their load is light that both ship now have to return to reload does mean it will be a struggle to use them in offensive operations especially with groups already aware of their capacity."

The Magus nodded, his body covered in mechadendrites. "It does require specific skills from its Captain, and navigator to manage such a ship. However I believe it's first strike capacity should make it valuable, not to mention it damages the enemies who are aware of it even without deploying the vessel. After all, at any moment a ship can appear in the center of their formations. This forces them to abandon certain tactics and causes them to waste energy to maintain defense on all sides and the inside."

The capital ships fired a barrage of their nova cannons as the two speak of the new ships the Ork fleet already decimated is further devastated by the shots, many charging their drives to escape. A final ship appeared dropping a bomb as it slides between two rifts exiting the warp just long enough to drop it's payload. Only a few Ork ships escape before the massive explosion rending apart the ships and making many of their ramshackle drives to start detonating in turn. The human ships began to return to their shipyards. "To the first line of the Imperium." The captains of the ships would toast their victory here.

---

Kar rolled his cybernetic leg wirling as he moves his lasrifle snapping up and firing the new Number 45 holding up even as he uses it to catch the haft of an Ork blade and push it to the side just long enough to fire thrice into its head. The one he shot earlier was trying to stand so he turned and fired again several shots into its center of mass. He turned nodding rest of the assault team as they checked the Ork war camp. The base camp should have held against the assualt and their teams were killing the lesser orkiods that remained at their bases and destroying the Ork infrastructure. He walked over to the vox officer who was relaying their success and informing the teams that they didn't have any casualties.

He pushed the man down taking the ork's shot to his arm as the other men fired on the ork. The shot blew apart his arm below the shoulder but he wasn't fully aware of that, nothing really let a man just ignore shock. The vox officer made calls and in moments the medicea hawk was lowering a recovery basket down and he was loaded in. Army surgeons began their work even as the hawk moved to be harder to hit but enemy anti-air. Kar would survive and make a full recovery though he had to be left at base until a new cybernetic was made for his missing arm.

---

Perturabo shifted feeling his skin writhe over his flesh, he gritted his teeth and shifted the suit running processes to negate the strange affliction but it was struggling close to the warp storm as he was. "The whole coreward front, is behind it?" The fleet was far from the storm but he had taken a small ship to the edge of the storm. "Any astropathic messages from within?"

"No Primarch." He growled his armor straining as he clenched his fist.

"Prepare an expedition we need to…"

"No. The storm would consume you." Perturabo twisted armor bristling as dozens of weapon systems activated. His systems only now detect the source of the voice, a frail old man leaning heavily on a staff topped with an eye. He looks up at Perturabo despite the blindfold wrapped over his eyes.

"Sigillite?" Perturabo had only caught glimpses of the reclusive man on his rare journeys to Terra. How he appeared aboard the scout ship the Iron Elder had no idea.

"This storm has already started, those that survived will continue to and those that died are too late to save." Perturabo bent the handrail on the deck turning to the old man.

"I assigned them to those worlds. It was by my hand that they were here when this storm came. I will not leave them." He growled looming over the man with righteous fury burning within him, his skin swimming and writhing hot with his rage.

"So you would kill all those that you abandon to take that journey? Calm yourself child, your fortresses should hold, no this is…" Perturabo fired and the man didn't flinch as several beams and slugs stopped in the air before him. "I said control yourself." Before Perturabo could execute any further commands a wave of power washed over him and he felt frozen his body locked in stasis as his Ship's Guard moved to hold the Sigillite who raised his staff and they fell like puppets. "Without your father, you allow weakness into your mind. No matter, you can not travel into his storm."

His skin moved even as his body was frozen. Perturabo focused on the feeling of the flow in the world and he shifted moving in concert with his skin and lashes out. "I need no puppet master. I understand your point but you had no need to insult me." The Sigillite stepped back before regaining his composure.

"Don't toy with what you don't understand. I am the remaining guardian of His vision, I am not beyond removing threats to that vision. We are working on the same side, but you can't get by if you continue to push recklessly into the unknown. You are more valuable than mortals." Perturabo growled his armor, moving him closer.

"No man is more valuable than another." The Sigillite let out a laugh low and condescending.

"Words of a blind fool." Perturabo tried to catch the figure but he was gone as his servos responded. It took several moments before his Ship's Guard stirred and they found their patriarch stewing staring into the storm.

"Is it really foolish to hold others close? No…. If it is then I would rather die than be anything but a fool."

---

Garhelin walked among the army, the Orks had been pushed out of their sights when the storm obscured the skies. He and some of his fellow Star Hunters had come out to recruit neophytes from the hardy stock of this fortress world. The people were weathering the strange effects well enough though most of the fleet had been abandoned, with the exception of the stations huddled around the strong gellar fields of the Cawls that had been in the local fleet. The Army was patrolling the walls keeping an eye out for the Xenos that were attacking the walls, the army had their own xeno auxiliary move deeper into the fortress to prevent accidental friendly fire.

The outrider hadn't seen these xenos before but they battered against the walls of the fortress. They had come with the storms, the Army held them back but even the fortresses of the Twin Legions were slowly wearing against the horde. Garhelin knew that some Dusk Raiders and Luna Wolves were on the planet. If they gathered their small forces together they could support the Imperial Army in the defense and maintain their own recruitment despite the lack of proper facilities. Of course the storm had been making many of the population sick and their Apothecary and Selenar could be better spent stopping the strange illness that is progressing. However with the Dusk Raider Librarian on hand they could raise up children with Psyker potential to Legionaries to hold off the storms strange powers on the surface.

[][Storm] Grow their Numbers
The small number of Legionaries trapped in the storm at the ring of fire will focus on raising and training new Legionaries to help hold the line.
[][Storm] Fight the Illness
The army can't be helped by a few distant soldiers but they have trained medicea who can aid the line to withstand.
[][Storm] Raise the Mind
A Librarian is here and with several Psychic potential children on the world, it is possible to raise new Astares Librarius to tame the effects of the storm.

---

The effects of such a decision won't be felt for many years as that storm would rage on for a great time. The ripples of that storm throwing disarray into the imperial plans for the war against the Ring of Fire orks was more immediate. In response the Imperium…

[][Response] Was Reached
The two Legions trapped in the Waaagh finally breaks out and reaches the Imperial Line.
[][Response] Brought the Legions Down
The Orks have been boxed in and are being held but a decisive blow is what is now required.
[][Response] Continued the Crusade
The Imperium is slowly pushing back the orks so time can not be wasted on them, no there is a world that may have another of the Emperor's sons.

Pluto was a powerful world within the ancient terrain system; the oort cloud has been a ritch source of resources. However the long dark of the long night had ruined much of Pluto's mining wealth, however the ancient warp gate in its orbit had remained functional to a degree and it had been one of the only planets to remain abreast of the outside galaxy. That strength made it a prime target for the first assaults on the edge of the Sol System. The Thunder Warriors were a thing of the past and this was going to be one of the largest engagements of pure Astares and Imperial Army forces in this great war. To this end part of the operation was given to the First Born and the Seventh Legion.

It was obvious why the seventh was chosen, the many fortresses held in orbit of the dwarf planet were just in the realm of siege counter siege they excelled at. The First was sent because their geneseed was adapting well and they had great numbers comparable to the Imperial Legion's own.

The battle would be remembered because.

[]Cooperation
Sigismund and Gahael had a different approach to the strategy of the war but they had foreseen this and prepared strategies so that they would cover each other rather than clash.
[]Shock
The Xenos had a strange technology and it had caused the first great blooding of the Legions. The two legions hold onto this tech.
[]Slaughter
A confusion in battle and disparate strategies lead the two legions to blows during the battle. Many died, and both legions resent the others though it gave them great practice in fighting such super human warfare.