Conquered

Like a righteous tide, the ships of the Crusade spread out from the Warp Gate and set out for the worlds of Calisi, Alphos, Hethgard, Pyrathas, Spite, and Karlack. This was the fi rst phase of the Crusade, and part of Achilus’ initial plan to take the worlds outlying the Warp Gate and fortify, creating an impregnable bastion with which to launch further assaults into the sector and with which to protect the Warp Gate itself. Calisi and Alphos fell quickly, within the first year and without great loss to the Crusade (the greatest disaster of the Alphos campaign was when the Mars-class Battlecruiser Spirit of Penance incinerated almost an entire regiment of the Terrax Guard due to an error by her Captain). Almost immediately, second wave forces moved through the Warp Gate and began the rapid fortification of the worlds, turning what were once minor colonies into towering edifices of plasteel and ferroconcrete bristling with macro cannon and lance turrets. Hethgard and Pyrathas took longer, both due to distance and a greater resistance by their populations. Hethgard especially posed a problem for the Crusaders, and though many of its nations and minor city states were welcoming of the Imperium (or at least not foolish enough to oppose it), some resisted or tried to subvert the Crusaders. Achilus expressly forbade excessive planetary bombardment as the mines were too valuable, and so it fell to the Imperial Guard to root the enemy out themselves. Though it was not known at the time, agents of the Stigmartus had infiltrated Hethgard and stirred up some of its population against the Crusade, turning mines into underground fortress temples and people into slaves of the Dark Gods. Hethgard was eventually subdued, though not before thousands of guardsmen had lost their lives, hacked to death in the dark depths of her mines.
In contrast to the other setbacks, Karlack proved a perfect choice for the Crusade to create its headquarters and the simple farmers and peasants of that green world welcomed Achilus with open arms. Almost immediately the Lord Militant began to fortify and in a few short years much of the world’s forests and farmland had been stripped bare, replaced with hive-like munitorums and factories or mustering grounds for troops. Everywhere great winches topped deep mines working endlessly as they harvested the world’s untapped mineral riches. In orbit, the Mechanicus performed an incredible feat of engineering as they built a shipyard from space hulks and second line vessels. This feat was so large that it could be seen from the planet by the naked eye, glinting in the sky. While Achilus fortified Karlack, his men were fighting for their lives on Spite. In one of the first great treacheries of the Crusade, the people of Spite turned on the Crusaders after welcoming them into their cities under banners of treaty. In the great Mirrored Palace, the emissaries of the Crusade were cut down in a brutal ambush while all across the landing zones Imperial Guard regiments found themselves suddenly under attack. The rebels of Spite (and their Tau masters) however had badly underestimated the will and strength of the forces arrayed against them. The Imperium’s reprisals were swift and brutal. Even before the sun had set on the first day, the Deathwatch (represented by less than half a dozen Kill-teams) had killed the entire high ranking civilian and military command of Spite, including a number of Tau envoys. Within a week, the world was in the hands of the Imperium, and though civil unrest would continue for years, the Crusaders could now settle in and begin to fortify. Thus with the securing of the key worlds of Karlack, Calisi, Alphos, Hethgard, Pyrathas, and Spite, Achilus had in the space of less than five years secured a foothold within the Jericho Reach. He had created a defensive line which would become known by the Imperium and her enemies alike as the Iron Collar.


Deathwatch: The Achilus Assault