Editing Battle of Rai (section)

===The naval clash===

While the most dramatic events of the battle unfolded on the surface of Rai, the planet's system saw one of the tightest naval engagements of the Scouring. The Life Bringers had always put a great emphasis on their fleet, and now nearly the entirety of their ships were cramped into the small space around the planet, poised to protect it from any Loyalist ships that would dare come too close. Their clear numerical advantage was somewhat diminished by the fact that most of their void ships had been converted into mobile hospitals or laboratories on the orders of Johannes Vrach, severely reducing their combat capacities. But the fleet masters of the Life Bringers were more than content to use these ships as simple cannon fodder, blocking all approaches to Rai and to Vrach's flagship Valetudinarium with them.

The traitors fleet was opposed by a flotilla of the Void Angels, personally led by their Primarch [[Gaspard Lumey]], and the remnants of the Entombed naval forces, terribly battered after a series of engagements on the way to Rai. In spite of their modest numbers, the orphaned children of [[Golgothos]] were more than willing to perish in a suicide attack, if only that would allow them to board Valetudinarium. Once there, they planned to storm their way to the command bridge and capture Johannes Vrach alive to punish him properly for his sins against the Imperium. While he never disclosed the details of his intended punishment, nobody amongst the Entombed had a shadow of doubt in Cardinal Merik's sadistic imagination. Admittedly never the greatest of tacticians, he delegated the command over the fleet to Cardinal Obitus, while he himself planned to land on the planet's surface as soon as a chance would present itself.

The Void Angels never considered actually boarding Valetudinarium: their aim was to destroy the enemy flagship by concentrated fire as soon as it was in the range of their weapons. Although he would never admit it, Gaspard Lumey still felt somewhat nostalgic about his past friendship with Vrach and wanted to do him one last favour by killing him swiftly and mercifully. He certainly had no intention of letting the half-mad Entombed lay their hands on the person who he used to be so close to. In a bid to reach Valetudinarium before his allies, he planned a risky flanking manoeuvre that would break the enemy ranks and allow for a straight shot to the flagship. 

Both these plans were thwarted by the skilful actions of the Life Bringer fleetmasters. What was supposed to be a quick and overwhelming strike slowly turned into a painfully slow crawl, the punishing fire from enemy ships and defence stations exacting a heavy toll for every small advance. The Entombed seemingly didn't care for the casualties, sending more and more of their ships to the slaughter. While Lumey was somewhat content to see that their strategy failed, he was also worried that their reckless actions would put his own fleet in jeopardy. All of his attempts to coordinate their actions with Cardinal Obitus crashed against an impenetrable wall of burning zealotry and fanaticism. Trying to reason with the hell-bent Cardinal was almost physically painful to the rational Primarch, and he eventually abandoned these attempts, choosing to act on the assumption that the Entombed are going to be obliterated. Ironically, the impending demise of his allies gave Lumey relief, while the upcoming execution of Vrach, a traitor, caused him a great deal of pain.

The stalemate ended unexpectedly when a large group of green-painted Life Bringer ships abandoned their positions and switched from defence to a suicidal attack on the Void Angels, the apparent goal of which was Endurance, the personal Strike Cruiser of [[Antoine Antonelle]]. Lumey managed to react quickly to this change in enemy tactics and used it to his full advantage. His fastest ships immediately rushed into the hole in enemy ranks left by the green ships and widened it, allowing for the rest of the fleet to join in on the attack. Meanwhile, Endurance was eventually brought down along with many other great ships that were attempting to protect it. Much to Lumey's relief, Antonelle managed to escape from the doomed vessel and landed on Rai to personally lead the Void Angel forces on the ground. 

The chaotic and uncoordinated actions of the Life Bringer fleet after the Endurance incident allowed both Loyalist Legions to make a lot of progress. Nevertheless, the victory still seemed out of reach when the green ships acted strangely again. After picking up several Companies of the Life Bringers from the surface, they suddenly abandoned the battle and deserted from the Rai system by activating their warp drives. Now the Loyalists had both the tactical and the numerical advantage, and Lumey was fully prepared to race his allies to Valetudinarium to decide the fate of Johannes Vrach. Alas, both he and Obitus were once again bested by the Traitor Primarch, who pulled one last dirty trick from his sleeve at the last moment.