Famous Battles of the Chapter

The Stabilization of Cyasis (M39 557-C900)
In the years following the chapter’s creation much work was needed to stabilize the Cyasis sector, an almost several hundred light years in diameter. In the early days the chapter had very few full battle brothers and only a few Praetors veterans, the chapter was therefore forced to work very closely with other chapters and imperial guard regiments. It took well over 3 centuries to completely stabilize the region but by that time the Cyclops chapter had more than made a name for itself. In this time (although the attrition rate at first was high) the chapter was able to gain much needed combat experience, allowing the first few veterans to be inducted into the newly formed first company. The chapter was also able to bolster its small fleet from the many captured and heavily converted pirate vessels they acquired during their campaigns.
It was in this time that the chapter first made its contact with other chapters of which they still maintain contact, including the Comet chapter, Blue Templars, Vermillion Knights and even the illustrious Flesh Tearers and Ultramarines. In this time (apart from rebels and pirates) the most common foe encountered was undoubtedly Orks. Due to most of the combat being void based, the chapter fleet quickly earned a reputation for strategy and efficiency. One of the first companies to swell to full strength was the 4th, forever afterwards gaining a reputation as the chapter’s foremost experts in void warfare. The first ever captain of the 4th named Chyrin gave his life in one of the final engagements of the stabilization, boarding a huge Ork carrier and disabling its engines, giving time for the rest of the battered Cyclops fleet to escape and regroup. The chapter made its first rival at this point, the Ork warboss Dirs Kaarbone. The new Ork leader was able to rally what was left of the local Ork tribes and unite them in one last offensive against the core worlds of the sector. It was only by great attrition by a number of imperial forces that the Ork offensive was stalled and eventually shattered. This cost the chapter very heavily, losing much of its new fleet and almost half of the chapter’s battle brothers. Even worse Kaarbone was able to escape with what was left of his Orks into non-imperial territory. By this time imperial forces were too depleted in the area to risk a pursuit, all that was left was to cleanup the last pockets of resistance in the sector, a process which in itself took a lot longer and cost many more lives than had been predicted.

Mad Magos Dession (M39 721)
One of the more bizarre engagements in the chapter’s history took place during the middle of the stabilization period, just as the chapter was first gaining strength. Ever since the chapter’s founding, members of the adeptus mechanacus had advised the chapter to keep an eye open for a figure known as “Mad Magos Dession”, a known arch Heretek who had been sighted in the local region of space several times during the initial colonization but never located and brought to justice. Dession was once a high ranking and renowned explorator in service of the mechanicum who had been responsible for locating several important STCs during his service. However his ambitions for recovering the lost secrets of technology led him further and further away from the edicts of the machine god and eventually went rogue while leading a fleet on a mission in distant ultima segmentum. Now it seemed Dession had emerged once again and the ad mech were hungry for retribution.
When Dession’s base of operations had finally been located it was the full fleet of the chapter (at the time 6 capital ships) and a battlefleet of mechanacum warships which led the charge. Dession proved to be a far more difficult foe to defeat than had been anticipated; he had survived for centuries beyond the boarders by being elusive and never fully committing to any engagement. He used these strategies now and by use of hit and run tactics as well as the use of many heretical EMP and scrap code technologies was able to whittle down the task force one ship at a time. It was only when the task force finally located his fleet base on a small moon that Dession committed his main force to open battle against the now much weakened imperial task force. Now Dession revealed his secret weapon, his flag ship was an ancient relic from the dark age of technology he had doubtless recovered in the depths of space which quickly made short work of most of the remaining ships.
It was only by a desperate mass boarding action in the closing stages of the battle by fully half of the chapter which brought the battle to a swift conclusion, the chapter master himself defeating Dession in single combat. While the human cost of the battle had been high the material gain from the conflict turned out to be considerable. Those ships which the chapter had lost during the confrontation were eventually restored from the remnants of Dession’s sizable fleet after tech adepts had undertaken the specific rights of purification. The task force was also able to recover a large amount of untainted archeotech from Dession’s flag ship and base including an entire vault of ultramarines equipment dating from the great crusade era and the relic sword and shield which the chapter master still uses to this day. While the ad mech took the lion’s share of the tech for further study (including Dession’s flagship) the chapter was allowed to keep a selection of the more military oriented technology as a reward for their service.

The Nhyadon Offensive (M39 931)
After the Stabilization, the chapter was forced to retreat for several years to re-arm and re-build. The chapter however quickly caught word that a new Ork Waaagh was massing at the edge of the Cyasis sector. With most imperial forces engaged elsewhere the Cyclops chapter was called to destroy the Orks before the Waaagh could reach full strength. The chapter gathered the fleet and all its battle brothers in as short a time as could be managed and with several regiments of Naigran imperial guard set off to the Ork controlled space. The objective was much like that of the initial war against Kaarbone; find the Ork leader and eliminate him, hopefully forcing the Orks to scatter and make for easier prey.
The campaign started well, as soon as the fleet translated to the Karrados system it set about purging every Ork vessel in the vicinity, catching the greenskins off guard. The chapter also performed admirably purging the greenskins on the core worlds with orbital flame and destroying what remained on the ground before any significant resistance could be organized. Pretty soon however the Orks caught wind of the imperial counter-attack and sent the bulk of their forces to destroy it. A huge Ork fleet translated and quickly started to re-invade the core worlds. The stranded imperial forces were forced to stand their ground as the fleet fought a desperate orbital battle while thousands of ork roks rained down upon Karradon Primus. The chapter and imperial guard fought tooth and nail for nearly a week until the situation mercifully changed.
The fleet had managed to drive off the orbital element of the Ork attack and was now playing a game of cat and mouse within the systems primary asteroid belt. In addition the Ork warboss had finally decided to show himself to the surviving imperial contingent. It was discovered that the Orks were indeed lead by warboss Kaarbone, who promptly demanded the destruction of the chapter who had almost destroyed his Waagh a century ago. Chapter master Jerrios, one of the last Praetors still alive in the chapter lead an offensive with Captain Mitades of the 3rd into the heart of the Ork force. Equipping themselves with the few suits of terminator armor the chapter possessed and taking all the surviving tanks, the strike force advanced into the centre of the Ork horde. While terminators and mega-armored nobz fought hand to hand, captain Jerrios fought Kaarbone in a one on one confrontation, with Mitades aiding with his command squad. Jerrios succeeded in wounding the warboss by embedding his power sword into the belly of Karbone up to the hilt, however with a roar of pain Kaarbone crushed the struggling Jerrios with a vengeful lunge from his power claw. With a roar of triumph Kaarbone withdrew the sword from his gut and quickly looked around for a new opponent. Mitades having seen the events from afar quickly ran to avenge his fallen master, picking up his power sword in the process. With lightning claw in one hand and power sword in the other he challenged Kaarbone over the body of Jerrios. Kaarbone was able to remove one of Mitades arms during the fight, lifting him off the ground in the process. However Mitades was able to use this opportunity to plunge Jerrios’ power sword into the underside of Karrbone’s jaw, killing him instantly. While Mitades collapsed to the ground and quickly fell unconscious, his warriors pressed in around him driving off what remained of Karrbone’s retinue. With the Orks falling back the imperial forces were able to retreat to a safe location to recover. Soon word arrived that the fleet had managed to destroy the Ork fleet in the asteroid belt and was in transit to Karradon Primus. With no route of escape, the remaining Orks were easy prey for the orbital weapons of the fleet. Fresh imperial guard forces were brought in to mop up and fortify the system, in preparation for the next offensive into the Nhyadon sector. With the death of Kaarbone the remnants of the Orks were quickly expelled from the surrounding systems. Captain Mitades was promoted to chapter master in honor of his heroic actions and became the first “true” Cyclops chapter master.

The Second Stabilization (M39 932-M40 C235)
In the centuries that followed the Cyclops chapter was able to stabilize much more of the surrounding space, starting what is thought of as a brief ‘golden age’ in the chapter’s history. With no major local threats (such were left to imperial guard and PDF forces) the chapter was able to start looking much further a field to defend much more distant imperial worlds. The majority of M40 and early M41 comprised of the chapter splitting into several large campaign forces and fighting in a huge variety of battlefields across the southern part of Ultimar Segmentum. In this way the chapter learnt and perfected techniques of warfare against the Eldar, Chaos and many other more minor Xenos forces. Though the chapter enjoyed its fair share of victories it was during this period that the chapter suffered one of its most crushing blows in its history. Responding to an urgent distress signal from the recently established colony of Corona V the chapter determined that they would be once again engaging the mysterious eldar. Over the past years the chapter had gained valuable experience seeing off raids from corsair elder raiding fleets. From the astropathic message it seemed that this fleet of eldar ships was much larger than was typical and was attacking the mostly unarmed colonists with a fury and zeal uncharacteristic of the race. Deeming that if unopposed this threat may continue to cause havoc for much of the surrounding space, a full half of the chapter was mobilized with the majority of its fleet. Upon warping into the system, the chapter did well in mopping up the eldar fleet outliers, the rest retreating seemingly in complete surprise at the sudden cyclops attack. It was only upon entering orbit and beginning to land the first few troops upon the surface that the chapter realized its mistake. From behind the shadow of Corona V’s small moon emerged the gargantuan form of an entire elder craftworld, its full defense fleet in tow. Though the cyclops fleet fought valiantly it was quickly realized this was a foe far too powerful. The elder had seemingly predicted the fleet’s movements and lured them into a perfect ambush. The fleet had no choice but to hastily fight their way out of the encirclement and make a break for the warp, in the process stranding all of the deployed ground troops. Less than half of the cyclops fleet and none of the supporting imperial navy made it back to Cyon, and those that did survive were heavily damaged. In all the chapter lost well over 400 marines from various companies with barely a drop of elder blood spilled to show for it. It was a loss that would take the chapter over two centuries to recover from and is marked as probably the single most humiliating defeat in the chapter’s history.

The Trials of Ulysses (M40 510-520)
One of the defining moments in the shaping of the chapter stems from the series of challenges faced by then chapter master Ulysses and the ill-fated experiences he and his men endured in the middle of the 40th millennium.
After a long but successful series of campaigns collaboration with other imperial forces near the maelstrom, master Ulysses and his personally led strike force of around 200 astartes and flotilla of several ships made to transit into the warp and set a course to home to re-arm and re-supply after what had been a long and difficult campaign. However during their transit a warp storm of sudden and unexpected intensity forced the flotilla to drop out of the immaterium and wait for the tempest to subside.
Returning to real space the flotilla found itself on the outskirts of the remote but devout imperial system of Kavia. Their unbidden arrival however was much to the joy of the citizens of Kavia Prime who had recently come under attack from the demonic forces of Khorne, summoned in the wake of recent strong warp activity, who had proceeded to blaze a bloody trail of indiscriminate slaughter across the planet.
Despite the strike force’s limited supplies after a long crusade, Ulysses immediately ordered his men to make planet fall and purge the offending demonic infestation before the taint became too deep to contain. Rallying the beleaguered PDF forces, the strike force was able to drive back the assault though a series of lightning raids which, while ultimately successful, proved costly in lives. In the final battle of the defense, master Ulysses himself was able to personally slay the great bloodthirster commanding the host by tricking it into charging into a weakened building and causing it to collapse on top of the demon. In its moment of helplessness Ulysses was able to banish the demon by stabbing it through its eye with his spear. With its death the rest of the daemonic host was cut off from its main conduit of power and quickly fell.
Though their lands were devastated by the fighting, the grateful citizens thanked the chapter for their assistance and helped resupply the strike force with the few goods they could offer in return. Though thankful Ulysses and his men were nonetheless keen to be on their way back to Cyon. However the loss of a prized bloodthirster from the material realm in such an ignominious fashion drew just the smallest fraction of the ire of Khorne aimed at Ulysess. Upon translation into the warp this khornate anger manifested itself as yet another warp storm of sudden and particular violence and the flotilla found itself boarded by angry packs of bloodletters and flesh hounds as their ships geller fields flickered under the relentless onslaught of the storm.
How long the crews and astartes of the flotilla desperately fought off the incursion could not be said as the very stuff of the warp began to distort the concept of time aboard the ships, making the battle seem in the minds of the crew to last only minutes and yet years at the same time. The stress of such psychic backlash of the incursion caused the lead navigator to once again pull the flotilla out of the warp unceremoniously. Though this act badly damaged the ships it also cut the daemons off from their power source, banishing them yet again from the material plane. The cost however in the lives of both crewmen and astartes had however been high, leaving the flotilla in very bad shape and unable to re-enter the warp until the traumatized navigators had time to recover and the ships could be suitably repaired.
Fortunately however their abrupt re-translation into real space had again left them in spitting distance of another apparently well-developed imperial world and the flotilla was able to slowly limp into orbital dry dock after several months of sub light travel.
This new world of Roinais IV they found themselves on luckily seemed to be both well developed, peaceful and more than willing to aid the beleaguered space marines in repairing their badly damaged fleet. However the local planetary governor insisted that further assistance would only be given should master Ulysses and his remaining astartes meet with him and his advisors for a special celebration in their honor. Though reluctant to get involved in local politics, Ulysses and his men were again keen to be on their way as quickly as possible and agreed to the governor’s proposal if it would help speed up their departure.
This was not to be a simple celebration however as soon after Ulysses and his men arrived at the governor’s palace almost every one of them found themselves struck down by horrific psychic visions of extreme despair and were left all but unable to move, let alone fight. The planetary governor revealed himself to be possessed by a greater daemon of tzeench, secretly scheming to one day deliver the population of this planet to its dark master and had lured the astartes here in order to quickly have them disposed of.
Amongst all of the astartes only master Ulysses was able to stand strong is the wake of the psychic assault and summoning every ounce of willpower sprung to attack the possessed governor. Knocking the unfortunate human out cold with a quick jab of his fist he managed to force the greater daemon to vacate its puppet which he too was able to weaken the daemon by impaling it upon its own staff. With this its psychic hold over Ulysses’ men slackened, allowing them to rapidly spring into action and finally banish the daemon through massed bolter fire. When the unfortunate governor eventually regained consciousness he was eternally thankful for freeing him from his possession, though also inconsolable with remorse for the many terrible acts the daemon had forced him to perform. After urgently asking his closest advisors to aid the chapter however they needed the governor took his own life in penance.
Ulysses and his men were forced to spend almost an entire year on Roinias IV while their fleet was repaired and new supplies taken on. In this time they were never idle however as the roots of corruption instigated by the possessed governor had been laid deep indeed and a covert war of tracking and elimination was undertaken in co-operation with the local inquisition. An unfortunate side effect of this purge however forced the loyal imperial forces to slay almost every local astropath in the system due to their potential risk of posession, essentially making any form of long term communication to the wider imperium almost impossible for the near future. What was more, the warp surrounding local space had begun to become turbulent and unpredictable, making any transport into or out of the system dangerous at best.
While Ulysses and his remaining men bided their time and tried to decide how best to approach the situation they found themselves in they received an unexpected envoy in the form of an Eldar farseer and a small retinue of covert rangers. Though of course distrustful of this Xeno and well aware of the mercurial nature of the Eldar, Ulysses decided to at least listen to what the farseer had to say, who was obviously putting herself in harm’s way by exposing herself so openly to convey a simple message. She revealed that the exploits of Ulysses and his men had come to the attention of her kinsmen during their long standing practice of scrying the future to determine the most beneficial course of action for their people. Ulysses slaying of two greater daemons of different gods had altered the future in ways not previously foreseen which could ultimately prove beneficial for both the future of the chapter and the small craftworld the farseer represented. However she had also foreseen that in the ever changeable ways of the warp such a future would only be reached if master Ulysses was able to make it home to cyon. Why this was she could not (or would not) say. She went on to convey that due to the defeat of a greater daemon of tzeench the chapter flotilla was very likely to be violently assaulted as it entered the warp via the angered daemons of Tzeench, which in most futures spelled the destruction of the chapter flotilla. However she had also foreseen several futures where the flotilla may have a chance of surviving the warp transit but only if they entered the imaterium from a very dangerous position within the outer reaches of the system, heavily choked by space debris and infested with groups of dangerous space fauna and violent orks, as well as inscribing key locations on their vessels with specific runes of warding. Though master Ulysses of course had many more questions to ask about what the eldar had made known to him and why she had chosen to do so, the farseer offered no further comment and left as abruptly as she had come. Ulysses was left to ponder over the farseer’s information and whether what she said could be trusted at all. While it could lead to their escape from this system it was just as likely (if not more so) that this could all be some elaborate eldar trap or ruse. After all the eldar never helped humanity in any way if it wasn’t somehow predicted that they would ultimately reap the benefits in the long term.
After much debate Ulysses decided that the farseer’s advice was potentially the best chance they had for breaching the surrounding warp turbulence. Making for the outer reaches of the system the newly repaired flotilla initially made light work of any disorganized ork resistance thrown their way. This was not to last however as just as the fleet was powering up to make its perilous transition, a great beast of immense size detached itself from a nearby asteroid and laid into the currently vulnerable vessels. Several were lost as the furious assault from the void kraken caused their charging warp drives to violently overload, causing an aetheric bow wave which washed over the remaining ships just as they made warp transition.
The resulting warp turbulence combined with the already tempestuous currents of the warp saw many of the remaining ships either instantly destroyed or cast adrift in the chaotic energies of the immaterium. Only Ulysses command ship remained resolute in the face of chaos and plowed stoically onwards whist its fellows were either swallowed up or tossed aside. Though even as the storm eventually broke and the last remaining ship made it back to realspace the consequences of what had happened became clear.
The ship was badly damaged and many of its crew lost, including the entire astropathic choir. However what was worse was that the warp drive had become irreparably damaged and unable to be repaired out of drydock. The storm had also thrown the ship widely off course, causing the ship to emerge somewhere in the empty void of space in a location largely unfamiliar to the imperium.
All that could be done was point the ship towards the nearest system and hope they reached it at sub light in a reasonable time frame in the slim hope of finding supplies to repair their warp drive or a way to get a long range message out. The trip to the closest system turned out to take the better part of six long years, during which time the few remaining marines and crew members battled desperately to keep their crumbling ship together, with every member on board (both human and astartes) became experts in jury rigging basic mechanical systems to keep the battered ship afloat, much to the horror of the few remaining tech priests.
At long last however the ship now only held together by faith and duct tape alighted above the only life baring world in the system. Though the world did at least have human inhabitants, none were however in a position to help the beleaguered astartes. Though not primitive technologically, the inhabitants of the planet were divided up into numerous small tribes which fought desperately over whatever scraps of technology were left on the surface from some earlier, more civilized age. Though there was evidence in orbit of prior space travel, such technologies had evidently become lost to the inhabitants in the current age.
The next two whole years saw what remained of the astartes and crew attempting to scavenge whatever ancient technology (and other supplies) they needed from orbit and the surface to repair their ships, often violently from the surprisingly combat adept natives. At length however what repairs could be made to the ship were completed and the much abused warp drive was fired up.
For the first time since the journey began, sailing on the warp was relatively calm and at long last the sole surviving vessel was able to limp its way home to the docks above cyon. Out of over 200 marines at the start of the journey, only twelve (including master Ulysses) had made it home. The return of the chapter master previously thought lost to the warp brought great celebration from the chapter and master Ulysses once again officially took command of his chapter. The few battle-hardened survivors from the voyage were immediately inducted into the chapter honor guard by command of Ulysses, creating the basis of what would later be formalized into the chapter’s Odyssean Guard. For the next two centuries master Ulysses led his chapter to many victories in what is remembered widely as a second ‘golden age’ for the chapter. Though Ulysses eventually fell in battle against a great orkish horde, his influence survived long after his death.

The Malion Incursion (M40 961)
In the year M40 961 that the chapter encountered the biggest threat it had faced in over 1000 years. The chapter received a distress call from a hive world near the galactic core known as Malion. The astropathic message received was highly distorted and the nature of the threat posed was not given, save that it was a foe unlike anything encountered before. A campaign force was made up from elements of the 2nd, 4th, 6th and 8th was directed toward the world in hopes of finding the source of the mysterious message. The signs were ominous from the start, as Malion was located in a densely populated area of imperial space it was puzzling that nothing had been done to help the colony beforehand. The voyage to Malion was also plagued with problems, as the warp seemed far more unstable than usual, causing great damage to some of the vessels and driving many of the human crew insane. When the fleet finally did translate above Malion it was discovered that only seconds had passed during a warp voyage that should have taken weeks. As such the chapter arrived just as the distress call was being sent. Wasting no time a strike force was sent to the source of the problem. When the strike force landed just outside Uminmouth City hive little seemed out of the ordinary except for the absence of any form of life. As the strike force moved further into the city signs of biological matter in the form of great oozing puddles of grainy residue became all the more common. Librarians accompanying the force were sure from the warp disturbance they felt all around that the puddles were all that was left of the local populace. Suspecting the worse the strike force decided nothing could be done, as there seemed to be no survivors whatsoever. Suspecting daemonic influence the strike force headed for the drop ships in hopes of escaping the planet before it was too late. Just as the strike force started to move the puddles of ooze began to animate and coalesce into great pudgy forms that started to assault the strike force in their thousands. The acid that the daemons utilized burned through the space marines armor as if it were made of paper, no weapon seemed to harm them save for fire and warp attacks. As the marines desperately fought to reach the landing zone, a great swarm of flies heralded the arrival of Grok’alith a champion of the god nurgle. Many fell to the great daemons rusty scythe and no form of attack seemed to find purchase on the great unclean one. The strike force prepared to fight to the end, ensuring that their deaths would be avenged by nuclear fire from the orbiting strike cruiser. Just before the word was given to open fire the strike cruiser reported the sudden appearance of a sleek silver vessel in orbit as if it had suddenly thrown off a shroud of pure darkness. Just as word of this mysterious appearance filtered through the corrupted vox to the ground a great flash of light blinded marine and daemon alike. When the teleport glare had faded a group of ten silver astartes stood in front of them. No ordinary astartes were these as each held a glaive of crackling white energy and each was clad in a suit of ornate terminator armor. At first it was unknown weather these mysterious space marines were friend or foe, as the symbol they bore upon their power armor was unlike anything seen before. Soon however, ignoring the desperate calls for identification from the strike force, the silver astartes began purging the vile warp spawn. The slightest touch of their ornate silver gauntlets seemed to induce wild agony within the daemons. With every perfect and coordinated swing of their glaives, scores of daemons crumbled to dust. Their very presence seemed to nullify the warp influence bleeding into the material universe. With a great chanting cry as one they released clouds of pure white flame into the open belly of Grok’alith before his head was severed from his shoulders by an almost lazy swing of the leader’s sword. With the death of the great unclean one, every daemon collapsed into the pile of ooze from which they were made. The Cyclops survivors approached the newcomers dumbfounded asking after their objective. Their leader merely informed them that they had witnessed the warfare of the Grey Knights chapter of Astartes and that they had done well to hold out so long against the daemon. The strike force not recognizing a chapter of that name thanked them for their co-operation and that they were owed eternal gratitude on behalf of the Cyclops chapter. Before the grey knights once again departed they presented Captain Fotadon with a simple silver skull with an inquisitors =I= symbol set into the forehead. They told him to remember this skull as a force for destruction against the daemon as he would remember nothing else from this day. Before Fotadon could enquire what he meant, a silver thunderhawk was landing deploying a force of adepts and servitors carrying arcane looking equipment. The next thing Fotadon and his brothers knew they were gone, having no memory of the events that had just transpired. Fotadon was left to puzzle at the silver skull he seemed to now be clutching in one of his gauntlets.


Waaagh Crumpa (M41 911-913)
Throughout the early and middle centuries of the 41st millennium the chapter carried on with its dispersed deployments all across ultimar segmentum, dealing primarily with orkish and rebel threats. However in the last century or so, the chapter has had to deal with innumerable threats directly to their home sub-sector.
In the earlier years of the century the chapter received word of a new ork waaagh massing along the western boarder of the sub sector. Unfortunately as most of the chapter was away dealing with the tyranid menace further afield defenses for the home sector had been left minimal. Though the hastily assembled ships of battlefleet cyasis and the chapter sprung into action as soon as possible, the sheer momentum of the orkish invasion fleet was hardly stalled by the effort. Pulling back a difficult decision was made by imperial command to withdraw any standing forces and as many civilians as possible from the outlying Tas system, in order to buy time for imperial forces to launch a counter attack from the Cyo system. Despite this precaution, imperial forces were still not fully assembled before the ork fleet finished looting all they could from the Tas system and broke warp in the Cyo system.
With typical orkish belligerence for tactics or safety, the fleet made a direct heading for the chapter homeworld, seemingly uncaring as to the immense losses they suffered from the defense fleet and system defenses. Though the imperial defense forces exacted a bloody toll on the ork ships, a significant number were able to make it unharmed to Cyonian orbit, before disgorging hordes of landing craft upon the planet’s tropical region.
Imperial ground forces fought bitterly for every inch of ground, the Cyonian PDF and imperial guard especially winning fame for the admirable defense they presented. If imperial ground forces could hold out, it was hoped that the combined firepower of the chapter fleet and orbital defenses could surround the orkish fleet and destroy it before offering ground support to the defenders. This was easier said than done however and the standing imperial forces lost hundreds of thousands of men as they attempted to dig in and hold off the orkish assault. During this the few elements of the chapter present in their home system excelled at rallying the beleaguered guard and PDF forces by applying precise firepower exactly where it was needed. The 4th and 6th company elements especially ensured that every inch of ground or space taken was payed for by as much orkish blood as possible.
Though the fighting lasted over a month fleet re-enforcements were able to finally turn the tide of the fight in space and offer much needed support for ground forces who were by this point very close to breaking. This marked the turning point in the war, though indeed hostilities continued almost constantly for the better part of a year afterwards as the last holdouts of orkish resistance on land or in space were hunted down. The final act of the war was the decision by chapter command to burn away almost the entirety of the planet’s natural rainforest by the usage of incendiary orbital bombardment to remove the last dens of orkish resistance and ensure their spores would not become a trouble in the future.
Though the invasion was in the end completely destroyed, imperial casualties had been high, the worst effected being battlefleet cyasis and the many millions of cyonian and naigran imperial guard who had sacrificed themselves in the defense. Also badly effected was the vital industry of Cyon and particularly the Tas system, which would ensure that any losses incurred would take that much longer to replenish in the near future.

The Coldfire War (M41 957-963)
Following the orkish assault the chapter was mercifully given a several years to re-arm and re deploy, though bringing the sub sector back to its state before the orkish incursion would take many years longer. The next offensive to threaten the cyasis sector came from a previously overlooked threat. Though the chapter had been involved with numerous engagements with the expanding tau empire across ultimar since the Damocles gulf campaign, they had never been at the forefront of direct xenos hostilities. This changed suddenly when a sizable tau armada abruptly entered imperial space, launching precisely co-ordinated attacks on several of the outlying systems of the subsector, leaving the imperials slow to respond and floundering in the wake of such a sudden incursion.
The tau swept away the minimal defenses left in the Drowan system without much difficulty and began establishing themselves a beachhead for further offensives, all the while keeping up the pressure on other fronts. The attack was particularly fierce in the chapter’s home system of cyon, being led directly by the supreme commander of the tau forces Commander Coldfire. Though this move saw the tau fleet loose innumerable ships from the guns of the Cyon orbital defenses and chapter fleet it effectively locked the majority of local imperial forces down in one place, allowing the tau to advance relatively uncontested across the rest of the sub sector.
Though the tau executed their offensive in an almost perfect display of mont’ka warfare they had seemingly underestimated the resolve of imperial forces in the Cyo system. In a daring counter offensive, chapter master Leok along with as many chapter ships and marines as he could muster formed up to lead a series of boarding actions against the numerically and technologically superior tau ships which were pounding orbital and ground defenses hard. Though the tau were famously effective at long-range warfare they were hopelessly outmatched when it came to the legendary efficiency that had earned space marines their name sake during boarding actions. In one swoop almost half the tau fleet was cut out from underneath them and commander Coldfire had no choice but to sound a general retreat to regroup at their beachhead.
This gave imperial forces the breathing space they needed to really organize themselves and slowly but surely the tau were pushed back to the Drowan system where the bulk of the tau fleet was mustering to sweep away the determined but battered imperial resistance. Before they could do this however Chapter master leok mustering all the local forces he could in short order launched an assault on the system, utilizing imperial superiority in warp travel to his advantage. After butchering the few picket ships stationed in the outer system the imperial fleet made ready to surround and annihilate the gathered tau forces.
However commander leok knew well that the Tau were one of the few xenos races that could be effectively bargained with. After making it clear the Tau forces were surrounded commander leok called for a general cease-fire and parlay. Though it was clear that the imperial fleet would be able to completely destroy the tau forces it was likely they would incur heavy losses during the effort, leaving the sub sector almost completely defenseless in the case of any other kind of incursion. Though commander coldfire was aware of this fact there was little she could do but accept, lest she lose the entirety of her fleet. Though both imperial and tau commanders on both sides fiercely contested their superiors decision they were ultimately overruled. It was agreed that the majority of the tau fleet would be allowed to return to their empire unharmed, though a token garrison would be left behind in the drowan system to act as joint negotiators in future crises and hostages to dissuade the tau from any further aggressive actions in this region of space. Humiliated but otherwise alive, the bulk of the tau fleet returned to the tau empire. In the following years the drowan system became a diplomatically grey sort of ‘neutral zone’ between the tau empire and imperium. Though the system was still predominantly imperial controlled and populated, civilian tau ships and citizens were allowed to come and go as they pleased (albeit under heavy imperial scrutiny), leading to the capital world of the system sporting an odd amalgamation of imperial and tau facilities. Exchange of technology was even allowed though strictly not allowed to occur beyond the drowan system. Though racial tensions were understandably high for a long period, imperial forces made it completely clear that the tau were only allowed to continue their activities under their watchful eye and could be completely annihilated at a moments notice. Luckily however tau water caste diplomats made usage of their prestigious skills to ensure any kind of friction was kept to a bare minimum. Over the following decades both local imperial and tau populations began to display a sort of grudging respect towards eachother, even facilitating minimal trade. This entire process was kept under the radar of the wider imperial inquisition by the efforts of the locally based and undoubtedly radical ordo xenos inquisitor Daniel Rahus, who made full usage of this arrangement to continue his studies into xenos technology.

Splinter Fleet Wyvern (M41 999)
As the 41st millennium drew to a close the chapter would perhaps face its greatest ever threat. In the final year of M41 chapter psykers and librarians began to receive visions of an immense shadow in the warp, drawing near to swallow up the cyasis sector. This omen was all to familiar and all to ominous as many other imperial communities had received similar visions in the past 250 years.
In response the chapter broke off all external engagements to gather the combined might of the chapter for defense. Word was sent to the battle fleets and imperial forces of neighboring sectors to muster with all due haste. Even local tau forces were advised to aid in the defense efforts as if the imperial forces were unsuccessful it would be the tau colonies which next feel the fury of the great devourer. Though imperial forces had been given some measure of forewarning, this was not nearly enough time to assemble all given forces and the full might of the tyranids (a splinter fleet of hive fleet leviathan dubbed ‘wyvern’) soon crashed into the east of the sector. In typical tyranid fashion every tyranid hive ship made a bee line straight to the nearest life bearing systems, using their immense numbers to overwhelm all resistance. More than any enemy it was known that the stakes were always the highest when facing these extra galactic invaders, every world lost to them could never again be recovered. Due to their immense numbers the battle in space was of paramount importance as if they were ever allowed to establish orbital superiority the battle was most likely already lost.
Every available imperial ship was thrown into defending the sector, even civilian ships being outfitted with weapons wherever possible. The chapter was ever at the vanguard during these engagements, the entirety of the chapter taking part in massed boarding actions to cripple the immense hive ships from within before they could begin landing troops. These efforts were aided by the ever-vigilant Inquisitor Rahus who had developed and stored vast quantities of bio toxin for just this eventuality, the toxin bombs literally melting the hive ships from within when detonated at vital points.
Much to the surprise of imperial forces a large Tau fleet once again under the command of the now elderly commander coldfire joined the imperials in defense, their long range railguns and ion cannons proving extremely effective at destroying the predominantly close range tyranid ships, especially when combined with the chapter boarding actions doing their maximum to disrupt the splinter fleets synapse network.
Though losses amongst the imperial and tau fleets were understandably heavy, the combined forces seemed to be doing an admirable job at preventing the tyranids from making landfall at all costs. However the tyranid hivemind is cunning and often overlooked for its capacity for military strategy. It was therefore a great surprise to the combined forces to find the tyranid fleets starting to break off rather than to trying to clog their guns with their bodies. The allied forces respite was short lived however, soon receiving word that a so far unengaged and extremely large fleet was making a be line straight for the cyo system, the remainder of the other fleets forming up around it to create a single gargantuan armada.
With all due haste the allied forces turned around and rushed to try and defend the core worlds but by the time the vanguard arrived they found the system defenses already being overwhelmed by tyranid forces. Arriving allied ships were slowed in their effort joining the defense by a score of completely suicidal tyranid ships, which had been left for just this eventuality. By the time the combined fleet began to engage the bulk of the tyranid fleet proper, the prime worlds of the cyo system had begun to come under heavy ground assault.
Making a difficult decision chapter master leok ordered that all allied forces focus their attentions on breaking the encirclement around cyon, leaving both hive world naigra and agri world aria to fend for themselves. Even then Leok was unconvinced they would be successful, as trying to disrupt the tyranid fleet’s synapse network as well as mounting a ground defense would be unfeasible. Gathering the remainder of the imperial fleet, Leok made ready to punch a hole through the tyranid blockade in order to allow the chapter and any other remaining imperial forces to enjoy a valiant last stand on the ground below. Just as the plan was being enacted however the combined forces received help from an unexpected vector. A small but powerful fleet of eldar warships belonging to the same craftworld that had hurt the chapter so badly in years prior emerged from seemingly behind one of Cyon’s moons and began to attack the tyranid encirclement, their swift ships precisely targeting the most vital ships of the tyranid synapse network.
Not about to look a gift horse in the mouth, chapter master leok ordered the attack to happen as originally ordered though the entirety of the now finally arriving tau fleet would help the eldar break the encirclement around cyon. So the attack was carried out with unspeakable brutality, imperial forces hastily landing across the planet to defend cyon’s most vital urban areas whist the tyranids in orbit were kept busy by eldar and tau forces. Though brutal the cracks in the tyranid synapse network soon started to appear, entire flotillas of ships suddenly loosing coordination under the precise strikes of the eldar, only to be obliterated by the long-range guns of the tau. On the surface similar chaos was occurring, allowing the few remaining imperial defenders to surround entire groups of disoriented beasts and butcher them.
Soon the tyranid fleet was in complete disarray, becoming easy pray for the tau and eldar. With the encirclement broken the tau fleet was able to provide much needed orbital support to ensure the remaining large contingents of tyranids on the surface were burned to ash. Though Cyon was saved, both aria and naigra were still under severe assault. The combined forces were however relieved to find that Niegra had held out impressively well, the toxic landscape and twisting cityscapes allowing the innumerable regiments of naigran pdf to butcher most of the tyranids that made landfall. Eventually the encirclement around naigra was also broken, allowing the remainder of the combined forces to chase off the last fleet assaulting aria. Though not yet consumed, the agri world would forever be changed into the jungle like landscape of wildly grown fauna and capillary towers the tyranids enacted on a planet before they began consumption.
As soon as the back of the tyranids was assuredly broken the Eldar broke off only to disappear just as mysteriously as they had come with no explanation as to why they had intervened in the defense. Though victory had been secured, the cost was devastating. Over half the chapter had laid down their lives in the defense, along with over 80% of the chapter and imperial navy fleet, not to mention the countless PDF, guard and civilian casualties and almost irreparable damage to the sector’s infrastructure and fixed defenses. The tau fleet had suffered similar casualties and chapter master leok made a note to thank commander coldfire for her assistance in person. The tau were taciturn in their response, merely replying that should tau worlds be similarly threatened in the future they would expect repayment in kind. With that the battered tau fleet withdrew to the drowan system, only to shortly begin a full reconstruction program using tau technology and labor. Though wary the imperials were in no position to object having to focus on trying to rebuild their own devastated lands and holdings.


The Dark Imperium (M42 onwards)
Barely a few months had passed since the imperial defeat of splinter fleet wyvern when psykers were once again crying out all over the sector, all sharing the same mysterious vision of a black star falling from the heavens to destroy an ancient fortress. With the visions came a madness as if the warp itself seemed to be reeling in shock, the very ether boiling with psychic backlash, innumerable warp storms flaring to life formerly calm areas of the warp. Even this was not the end of it as tears in reality began to open up with frightening rapidity, disgorging scores of hungry daemons and traitor forces.
Having barely had time to rearm from their last engagement the chapter did what they could to dig in their heels. For the short term the warp storms were extremely bad, effectively stranding all imperial ships within their home systems. Fortunately the Cyo system itself saw thankfully few demonic incursions, which the chapter was effectively able to deal with before they got out of hand. Outlying systems in the sector however were not so lucky, suffering the effects of mass incursions and even full raiding fleets of the ruinous powers. Through the howls in the warp and continuous calls for help from every possible vector the chapter librarians sifted out one main message with dire implications. The fortress world of cadia that had stood strong for ten thousand years had finally fallen and with it fell many of the protective wards holding back the warp from real space. What was more it seemed abaddon had coordinated his offensive on cadia with a mass invasion of ultramar to the south, causing the first real concern for the homeworld of the ultramarines since hive fleet behemoth.
Though the chapter succeeded in securing its home system, encouraging any possible re-construction work to continue, many more outlying systems were still screaming for attention. Gathering what little was left of the chapter and local battlefleet as well as the remaining four hundred marines and several regiments of naigran veterans from the tyranid conflict, the chapter set out to do what they could against the oncoming storm. Utilizing a method they had learned from the Tau, the fleet avoided the worst of the warp storms by only making shallow ‘skimming’ jumps into the warp, though this inevitably extended journey times by a considerable degree. First was the neighboring Giasis system which had come under assault from a small traitor fleet seeking to occupy and corrupt the feudal world there. Luckily the fleet was taken by surprise and victory was secured with minimal casualties. The following engagements in other systems were not so easily won however, the imperial fleet coming perilously close to being overwhelmed on several occasions. Nonetheless against all the odds they succeeded in fending off the worst of the ravages of chaos from the immediate sub sector in a little over two years. The Tau in the drowan system also had managed to hold out well though from the few reports shared it seemed the situation in the Tau Empire was scarcely better than what now seemed to be common across the wider imperium.
Now the sub sector was mostly secured the chapter had some time to try to re assess its situation, though loathed to do so they were forced to turn down many calls for aid more further afield as the chapter and indeed all local imperial forces were too under strength to offer much assistance. One notable exception to this however was when the tau requested the aid of imperial forces in defending their outlying sept of sa’conas from a large chaos invasion force. With the unexpected intervention of the imperials the chaos fleet was defeated before it had a serious chance to cause trouble for the sa’conas sept and other nearby tau and imperial worlds. This engagement saw the informal alliance between the two parties strengthened. In a controversial move the imperials under the direction of the chapter agreed in allowing more open trade between the cyasis sector and the tau empire. The area had always been on the periphery of imperial supply shipments and now with the new warp storms and chaos incursions in the wider imperium it seemed supply shipments from the wider imperium most likely would not be forthcoming. Though extreme this move would hopefully ensure that the sector would be able to continue to fight against threats to the imperium as a self sustained entity for the foreseeable future, though prospects for their long-term survival were still grim should the current state of affairs continue.
One small glimmer of hope reached the ears of the chapter, that being the return of the primarch Robute Guilliman to Ultramar to lead imperial forces. Being of ultramarine stock the chapter sent representatives to formally re-swear their oaths of loyalty to the primarch along with a score of other like-minded chapters. A year or so later it was also reported that after a voyage across the galaxy that would later become enshrined in legend, the Primarch had made it to Holy Terra and upon meeting the emperor in person formerly became lord commander of all imperial forces. Gathering his forces around him the Primarch formerly declared the Indomitus Crusade to save the imperium from the brink of destruction in much the same way as he had done ten thousand years prior.
In the following years as the primarch embarked on his great endeavor, the chapter spent its time building up what forces it could and slowly but surely re-taking immediately surrounding worlds from the darkness one system at a time. Though but a footnote in the wider imperium the efforts and needs of the chapter were not missed by the primarch. Nearly 50 years after the fall of cadia when the chapter was finally starting to re-assert its full influence a shipment arrived from mars bearing a score of advanced new weapons and new sets of MK X power armor fresh from the forges of mars, along with the templates required to manufacture further replacements themselves. This also included a half companies worth of the newly revealed primaries space marines, which were incorporated into the existing structure of the chapter. Though these newly ‘refined’ space marines were slightly larger and stronger than their counterparts they were sorely lacking in battlefield experience next to their older cousins. Even more gratefully accepted than these however was the flotilla of new ships which the chapter fleet was sorely needed as well as a bank of previously guarded Martian STCs with the data on how to build and maintain such ships at a far faster rate than had been possible before.
Though the chapter still remains under full strength in terms of numbers, the large amount of veterans sired in the fires of some of the fiercest conflicts in the history of the imperium have ensured the chapter remains just as effective, if not more so. New primaris marines have started to be manufactured by the chapter from the gene seed data provided from mars Entire squads of purely primaris marines remain rare, with new primaris members inducted into the existing company structure. Some former devastators and assault marines have taken to using the new gravis derived armor, with most of the seventh company happily taking up the new designation of ‘reivers’.
The chapter has busied itself in pushing the forges of Naigra and Cyo into overdrive, producing scores of formerly rare new technology from mars for the chapter and other local imperial forces, with the ever pervasive warpstorms making contact with the wider imperium all but impossible. Already much of the chapter’s old Mk 7 power armor has been upgraded to Mk 10, and many of the older godwyn boltguns have been replaced with the cawl boltrifle. Indeed with the widespread adoption of this new generation of armor and weapons amongst all marines of the chapter it is near impossible to distinguish which marines are of the primaris type or original type, save for a very slight height disparity on average. Most attention however has gone into reconstructing the battered sector and chapter battlefleets with a score of new capital and escort ships constructed in the past few years, all bearing a combination of new and old imperial technology as well as in some cases incorporating traces of Tau technology.

A New Threat Rises
Though it took the chapter the best part of a century, relative stability was at last brought to the majority of the Cyasis sector. However if the chapter wished to sally out from their own tiny corner of the galaxy to contribute to the wider imperial war effort there was one huge barrier they would need to overcome. Ever since the fall of Cadia the ever pervasive warp storms had scarcely abated. While most of the warp surrounding the Cyasis sector was calm enough for (mostly) normal warp travel, the boundaries of this area of space had become enveloped in a whirling maelstrom of aetheric energy, much the same as the warp storms that had once isolated the sector from imperial contact millennia ago. While astropathic messages could for the most part be sent and received across this boundary, physical warp travel itself was an entirely different matter. Save for brief and totally unpredictable gaps in the storms, any and all trade and travel to the wider imperium was effectively cut off.
While this warp isolation had no doubt hindered the sector by depriving it from trade with the wider imperium, some advantages could be drawn. While imperials could no longer travel into or out of the sector via warp travel with any degree of safety, neither could their enemies. This had aided especially in keeping the ever pervasive ork threat largely absent from the sector since the fall of Cadia, as well as hindering the efforts of the more mundane servants of chaos (though unfortunately not the daemonic denizens of the warp). Eldar webway raids had remained as rare as ever and luckily the tyranid hive fleets had seemingly focused their attention in other areas of the galaxy, especially in imperium nihilus, though the non-warp utilizing race could return at any time.
The same unfortunately could perhaps not be said for the one other major race in the galaxy that did not utilize the warp as its primary method of FTL. While the chapter had fought the ancient Necrons on several occasions in the past, clashes with their fleets had seemingly increased markedly in recent years. To the immediate galactic west of the sector the great and powerful Sautekh dynasty had taken advantage of the disarray of the imperium to greatly expand their galactic holdings, swallowing up many systems that the sector had frequently traded with before the fall of cadia. Even now their fleets had begun scouting the Cyasis sector, leading to several space borne clashes. Even without the warp storms confining them, the Cyasis sector was effectively hemmed in from the north by the Tau Empire and the west and east by the Necrons. Only the south still contacted imperial space by way of the northernmost outlying sectors of the great realm of Ultramar, recently embroiled themselves in the great plague war of Mortarion. It was clear that if the chapter and the greater sector was to survive the coming years, a stable connection must be re-established with Ultramar. One grace the sector still possesses however was the Ordo Xenos inquisitor Rahus, who since shortly before the fall of Cadia had been undertaking what more puritan inquisitors would deem as deeply heretical work studying the technology of the Necrons after the awakening of the almost completely destroyed Xanioc dynasty in the drowan system, commanded by Phaeron Azin. In a highly unorthodox relationship both the Inquisitor and the Necron Lord had co-operated to mutually further their goals. In the case of the Inquisitor, a devout Thorian, the technology the Necrons had once used to transfer the C’tan into artificial metal bodies represented a promising method of resurrecting the Emperor into a new more powerful body to once again directly lead humanity. To the Necron Lord, any and all additional knowledge from any source (even from a primitive species like humanity) may one day lead to the fulfilment of his dream to once again see himself and his few surviving companions once again inhabit bodies of flesh rather than cold metal. Since the fall of Cadia however their priorities had shifted somewhat for it seemed neither of their ambitions would amount to much if the galaxy became consumed by chaos in the meantime.
As a result their research had shifted to securing sources of the highly rare ‘blackstone’ and with the resources of the inquisitor and expertise of the Necron, sought to one day construct a series of warp nullifying pylons to hold back the influence of chaos. It was only after great difficulty and the expert mass boarding of several enemy Necron ships by the chapter that Pharon Azin was able to successfully capture several of these vessels for his own ends. With materials salvaged from these, a highly classified deep space station in the far south of the sector was constructed and upon it was built the first prototype null pylon, representing the culmination of almost a century of work from the inquisitor and the Necron lord. Though its effect was limited, the pylon was able to create a null field just large enough to create and narrow corridor of stable warp space and allow ships to pass through the encircling warp storms to Ultramar in the south. Through this new corridor supplies and troops were able to flow into and out of the sector with regularity for the first time in years, allowing the sector to receive needed supplies and personnel while the chapter itself and Naigran imperial guard regiments were able to sally out to help in the cleanup of the aftermath of the Plague War in Ultramar. Many star forts have begun to be constructed to police this new corridor, while all forces in the Cyasis sector begin to slowly prepare for the inevitable mass Necron invasion which is bound to appear at some time in the coming future.


An Unforeseen Boon
Barely a few months after the completion of the Null pylon, an unexpected visitor was found drifting in the outlying reaches of a system close to the new station. The abruptly becalmed corridor of warp space projected by the pylon had forced a battered and ancient space hulk, previously unidentified by the imperium, to break warp and seemingly not fade back into the imaterium like most such space borne assemblages were prone to do. Though relatively small by the standards of such structures, the vessel still posed a potential risk of either orkish or genestealer infestation of nearby systems if not dealt with swiftly.
A combined force of chapter veterans and mechanicus led skitarii was assembled to set about thoroughly purging the structure of any traces of xenos or chaos taint and search for any ancient technology that could be salvaged. Fortunately, as space hulks went, this particular one only held relatively light numbers of xenos and the hulk was cleansed from top to bottom in a matter of weeks, though the sanctification of the various component craft that made up the hulk from the taint of being adrift for so long for further salvage would take much longer.
Though most of the ships that comprised the hulk were newer model (in imperial terms) merchant vessels and escort patrol vessels, there were a few bounties that could be harvested from the hulk. Many vessels were deemed intact enough for further salvage and some even contained bounties of various supplies and equipment still in a condition to be re-used by the imperium. A significant portion of one side of the hulk was made up from an ancient corinus class grand cruiser, a vessel long fallen out of favor with imperial forces but still used to some degree by the forces of chaos. Still baring its original imperial heraldry and due to the strange nature of the warp only seeming to be a couple of millennia old at the most, the vessel was painstakingly separated from the hulk to begin a full refurbishment to fight the emperor’s foes in the future. The biggest discovery however was the titanic vessel that made up the very inner core of the hulk, a mass conveyor of a scale not seen in common usage since the days of the great crusade, though surviving onboard chronometers insisted the vessel was only a couple of centuries old. Though the vessel itself was deemed mostly unsalvageable, its titanic payload of cargo was however mostly intact. Evidently originally intended to supply arms and equipment to the fleets and new colonies of the great crusade, the vessel held a huge amount of various munitions for imperial weaponry as well as an uncountable number of various machine component parts, logistical transports and industrial equipment long since lost to the knowledge of the ad mech. This machinery, obviously originally intended for the establishment of new colonies, would be put to just as good usage in repairing and re-colonizing those worlds of the sector ravaged by recent conflicts, as well as even setting up a few new colonies in places previously deemed unfeasible with more ‘modern’ imperial equipment.
Most greatly appreciated however was the small stock of equipment originally earmarked for the astartes legions, still unpainted and in pristine condition, including a couple of hundred suits of incredibly valuable Mk 2 power armor, twenty crusade era astartes vehicles and most magnificent of all, an entire amoury of volkite weaponry, dating from the brief period at the start of the great crusade when these were the primary weapons of the astartes legions. Though again the local ad mech took the lion’s share of this new bounty, the chapter was offered a sizable chunk of the astartes equipment in payment for their assistance in the matter.