The Glassing of Djangoris Alpha IV

The following article is a /tg/ related story or fanfic. Should you continue, expect to find tl;dr and an occasional amount of awesome.

Info of Djangoris Alpha IV

Shock Trooper's Vox-"Shooting the hell out of these Xeno Bastards!...Static...they are not Tau!"...Static...Heavy Bolters are doing nothing to them! God-Emperor preser...Vox cuts-off."

History

Before its demise, the Djangoris system, or more formally known as the Djangoris Constellation of the Djangoris Sub-Sector (it's size meaning that Sub-Sector is it's actual classification), were a cluster of Stars numbering around a dozen, located in the furthest reaches of Ultima Segmentum. The system has been cut off from the rest of the galaxy by a Warp Storm since before the Great Crusade and possibly since the Age of Strife. Recently the Warp storm has cleared and because of that, an exploratory fleet was sent to examine the system. They found that there was already a thriving human society in the Sub-Sector, unaffected by the Warp Storm due to using faster than light technology similar to the Tau Empire. Contact was made with the government running the Sub-Sector which is called the UNSC (an acronym for United Nations Space Command) the purpose being to try to convince them to join the Imperium in order to avoid having to use resources in attempting to force them to join. At first the UNSC was reluctant to join, seeing the losses from the tithes that would have to be paid to be far in excess to any gains from the protection of the Imperium's military and at one point nearly causing the sub-system to be the target of a crusade because of a comment by a UNSC diplomat stating that they would attempt to ward off alien threats through diplomacy rather than military action. Due to the Adeptus Administratum being rather overzealous in thinking that the UNSC would be excited to join a small (by imperium standards) fleet was sent in - to ensure that Djangoris becomes a proper sub-sector of the imperium - consisting of the Missionarus Galaxia and Explorators for the purpose of converting the populace and furthering the Quest for Knowledge respectively. The UNSC caught a glimpse of the power of the Imperium, before they thought the strength of the Imperium's ships involved a focus on Quality rather than Quantity, now they noticed that the Imperium's ships not only outnumber the UNSC warships, they are also individually stronger. Knowing that they wouldn't be able to win a war with the Imperium the UNSC relented. As of now the Missionarus Galaxia and Adeptus Mechanicus are trying to assimilate the various religions and scientific institutions in the UNSC.

UNSC

The UNSC is a semi-autonomous governmental body that runs the Djangoris Sub-Sector. It is a 400 year old governmental body, formed in the year 765.M41 (year 2163 by the Djangoris calendar) after the "Interplanetary War" which engulfed the Sub-Sector. The UNSC itself is a Representative/Constitutional Democracy that is largely cosmopolitan. Many different cultures can be observed throughout the Sub-sector with multiple languages and sense of aesthetics throughout the planets. Recently the UNSC has been forced to become more hardline in the process of dealing with insurgencies which the Imperium itself is indifferent to since Inquisitorial investigations have found those to be absent of Chaos taint.

Planets

The five main habitable Planets around the local Star cluster, are Djangoris Alpha IV, Djangoris Alpha II, Djangoris Minor Stella, Djangoris Prime XI and Djangoris Prime Tyrannicae.

Djangoris Alpha IV: Known to it's inhabitants as Planet Reach, it is one of the most important worlds in the sector and is a Industrial/Mining/Agri World which is most famous for its SPARTAN program. The planet itself has massive titanium deposits with mines running thousands of meters deep. The planet is the main headquarters of the UNSC, the location of it's largest shipyard, and where it's most elite troops are trained.

Djangoris Prime Tyrannicae: Djangoris Prime Tyrannicae is known as Algolis to it's inhabitants. It is a Forge/Mining/Civilized World who had the STC to build Crassus Transports and Warhound-Class Titans (actually, the designs were invented by engineers native to the sector before being brought into the Imperium) and because of that has gained the largest Mechanicus presence in the Sub-System.

Both of these planets are bustling with city life, showing Sky-scrapers that are so tall that it could reach its home Stars, massive Bucket Wheel Excavators that are 15km long, Science Laboratories and Forge Factories so large, an entire Legion of Warlord-Class Titans would fit in one of its rooms with ample space to spare.

Djangoris Minor Stella: A small planet where life is very easy-going and care free, it's inhabitants call the planet Harvest and since it is an Agri-World, the farming of Groxes and Bread is usually paid in high price in tithes when the deeds will come.

Djangoris Prime XI: Known as Crassus to it's inhabitants, life here is the direct opposite of life on Harvest, being classified as a Death-world (specifically a Desert World), Crassus is noted to only have a few million in population, is completely barren, boiling temperatures during the day, freezing temperatures at night, sandstorms that can slowly skin an exposed human alive and dangerous Fauna; the most infamous is the Djangoris Storm Lizard so named being a massive colossal that if fully grown, dwarfs a Tyranid Harridan and causes sandstorms with every step.

Djangoris Alpha II: A lush, tropical and very quiet World, the citizens here are known to be timid and shy, because of this there are very little social contact with the other Planets. It is called Sargasso by it's home population. The administratum classifies it as a pleasure world.

Military

Although noted among the Ad-Mech to be a very advanced and efficient Sub-Sector, they were an oddity among the Imperium for its mass usage of Auto-weaponary over Las-weaponary, whatever was the case, it was mainly due to the intense radiation of the Djangoris Stars that made the circuits of most Las-weaponary to short circuit and die off. Regiments from the Djangoris system tend to stick with Auto-weaponry even when they are outside the system out of habit. Due to the sub-system's only recent integration with the Imperium Djangoris regiments do not have access to all the equipment available to typical Imperial Guard regiments but in exchange have access to a few tools that are unavailable to other Imperial Guard regiments (and even Astartes) which will be described in further detail in the technology section.

The system has so far produced two Imperial Guard Regiments. The Djangorian Hell-Jumpers and the 468th Shock Troopers. What is odd for the Djangoris Guard Regiments is their apparent lack of Commissars, this has lead their soldiers to become immature, gung-ho, and trigger happy, which is unfortunately disdained by other Imperial forces, but to the stubborn and thick soldiers of Djangoris, they simply don't care. The few Commissars that are present have either been shot or have adopted less hard line methods. The soldiers are all brothers in arms and all Commissars have gotten shot immediately after performing their last summary execution.

Djangorian Hell-Jumpers: The Djangorian Hell-Jumpers are unique in that they specialized in orbital drop shock maneuvers from orbital insertion pods, and are meant to be dropped in the middle of an opposing army, causing chaos, destruction, mass-panic and crushing any unfortunate scum in its way, only the most insane dare try to enlist in the Hell-Jumpers. They're famous battle cry is " feet First into Hell". Since the Imperium's regular ships are only equipped to perform a Drop-pod assault for Astartes the regiment has a single UNSC produced ship to allow itself to perform it's unique regimental doctrines. The ship recruits from any planet they happen to be near and regularly returns to the Djangoris system.

Djangoris 468th Shock Troopers: The Djangoris 468th Shock Troopers on the other hand, are usually the main line of defense and offense, with nothing more then Flak Armor, a few grenades, a Stub-Pistol and a Auto-Gun, these men stride into battle knowing the Emperor is with them.

Technology

Most of the technology in the Djangoris system is inferior to Imperium technology due to not having access to the feats of the Dark Age. However, because they've developed along separate lines they have access to equipment that hasn't yet been integrated into the rest of the Imperium.

Artificial Intelligence: The Djangoris systems were also noted to have a strong reliance on advanced, radiation proof A.I. for most of their technology, in-order to compensate for the massive RDP (Radiation Pulse) that hamper their electronic circuitry. The A.I are created through CIM (Cognitive Impression Modeling); sending electrical shocks through a human brain in order to scan and copy it, destroying said brain in the process. Because of their mass use of A.I., they were at once repeatedly filed for Heresy by the Tech-Priest of Mars, but such threats are pardoned due to the large amounts of resources and STC their Worlds carry. Prolonged interaction with Djangoris A.I has meant that not all Tech-Priests are convinced that they are "Abominable Intelligence" due to their benevolent and very human behavior. Some have been known to believe that the UNSC had discovered how to create a Machine Spirit, with the more radical Tech-Priests deeming CIM to allow transcendence; a complete unity with machines. Puritan Tech-Priests cite the inevitable stage of Rampancy - where an A.I becomes increasingly unstable, potentially dangerous and eventually dies - as proof that they are abominable. Radical Tech-Priest cite the actions of Magos Brafor Micel who successfully restored two rampant A.I known as Mack and Sif; as proof that all that's needed to prevent Rampancy is proper maintenance. Debates continue.

Spartans: The Spartans were developed before the UNSC joined the Imperium in order to deal with insurrections in their territory. The project was in it's 4th stage when contact with the Imperium was established. The Spartans themselves are inferior to Astartes but there are some advantages. The augmentations have developed far enough that there is no risk of killing a receiver, the procedure can be performed on people from any age group rather than just children, and is not restricted by gender. The most notable product is their SPARTAN-Pattern power armor. The SPARTAN-Pattern is noted among Tech-Priests stationed in Djangoris to borderline on what would call as in between Astartes power armor and Astartes Scout armor. In addition it has a weak energy shield (the equivalent of an Astartes Combat shield) as standard, something that not even Artificer armor automatically possess and as such has drawn the attention of Tech-priests wishing to make the energy field standard in the next line of power armor while also making use of the Imperium's superior ability to produce energy to double it's strength. The proportions themselves are for humans so it's not possible for it to be made available for Astartes by scaling it up however it would still fit the Scouts. Sacrificing strength and resilience over speed, agility and reliability, these so called SPARTAN IV's are not considered as true Spacemarines, but by the people of Djangoris, they still get the job done. The Departmento Munitorum is interested in making augmentations like these standard for Storm Troopers while the Ministorum despises the project for it's deviance from the holy human form.

Spartan Laser: The Djangoris equivalent and superior of a Lascannon. Though the power of the shot is equal; the Spartan Laser can be fired in succession 5 times before having to be reloaded and is small enough to be carried by a single Imperial Guardsman. The only downside is that the Spartan Laser needs a short amount of time to charge up instead of firing as soon as the trigger is pulled.

Rail Guns: The UNSC has developed the use of Rail weapons during it's isolation from the Imperium. The multiple permutations are:

• ARC-920: The ARC-920 is the smallest railgun mass produced in Djangoris. The gun fires a high-explosive round set to explode inside the target, said round being similar to the bolter. This has allowed it to be equal in power to a Tau Rail Rifle despite being shorter in length. It's powerful armor piercing abilities has made it highly effective against both Heavy Infantry and light vehicles.

• M68 Gauss Cannon: A weapon commonly mounted on the Djangoris equivalent of the Tauros for use in an anti-armor role.

• Mass Accelerator Cannon (MAC): The main weapon on UNSC ships. It was originally developed as a cheap way to resupply ships from surface to orbit but can also easily be repurposed as a weapon.

• Super Mac: The most powerful weapon that the UNSC has ever developed and due to their smaller ship sizes; can only be mounted on Orbital Defense Platforms. However the ships available to the rest of the Imperium do not have such a limitation. These cannons are powerful enough to crack a planet's outer crust, dispelling the mantle into the atmosphere and devastating the entire ecosystem. This has infamously (to the UNSC) been done by the Inquisition before by the "Infinity"; a ship constructed in Djangoris.

The Fall of Majectis City, here seen the last batch of Imperial Shock Troopers of the 468th Djangoris Regiment, attempting to flank the Covenant invaders with a Valshnurt-Pattern Tauros and Djangoris-Pattern Lascannon.

First Contact

The Imperial Guard of Djangoris first met the Covenant at the eve on the Imperial Date of M41.678. When these Purple Xeno Ships appeared over the out-skirt nebulae of the Djangoris system, the Imperial Navy and Guardsmen was on high alert of a new Xeno contact. At first they thought they have found a staggering Tau Fleet due to their initial similarities, but closer inspection by the Imperial Navy recognized that their color scheme and ship design matches unlike any Tau Ship, because of this the Imperial Navy of around twelve cruisers and one Retribution-Class ship called Imperial Solitude readied their guns just in case they would be attacked by this new Xeno encounter. News spread on the Djangoris system and the Guardsmen readied their months of combat training against their apparent would-be invaders. As expected, within a few hours of sighting each other the Purple-colored Xeno Ship fired on to the Imperial Navy. Taking hits of arcane like Plasma, the Imperial Navy returned fire, destroying two Xeno cruisers, this gave a high morale and confidence that the new Xenos would be no match to the wrath of the Emperor's fleet. However such hopes are dashed instantly when a fleet of over three hundred of the same Xeno Fleet suddenly appeared right in front of the Imperial Ships, bewildered and stunned, the Imperial Navy has no time to move their cumbersome vessels around for a counter-attack. Within seconds of appearing these Xeno ships opened fire all at once, their Plasmic heat released from their weapons overloaded the Void Shields of the Imperial Cruisers, and their arcane like weapons seemingly "ate" through the hulls of the ship. In just over ten minutes of constant bombardment, only four of the previous twelve cruisers remain unscathed, the rest of the unfortunates however was either turned to molten metal or vaporized within moments. Out-numbered and out-gunned, the Imperial Solitude and its remaining four cruisers launched a distress signal to Imperial Proper, before charging head long at the Xeno fleet, firing all of their weapons and destroying six more Xeno cruisers before succumbing to the damage. The now defenseless and vulnerable Djangoris system is now inevitably awaiting their fate against this new Alien Horde.

War for Tyrannicae

The first batch of Covenant forces arrived firstly on Civ-Forge World, Djangoris Prime Tyranicae, to destroy and severely limit the Imperial Guardsmen of Djangoris from Titans and Firepower in a almost Blitzkreig style of combat. When the forces of Tyrannicae heard of the report of their home-fleet they quickly amassed of over thirty Warlord-Class Titans, five Baneblades and over ten regiments of Guardsmen and Tanks. They then moved their forces in a former mining city called Haven's Deep in which they expected their new arrivals would land, and expected this was where the first Covenant troops landed, but what they didn't expect was the sure amount of firepower and War machines these Aliens would bring into the table, within moments of landing Djangoris Prime Tyrannicae would turn into one of the most one-sided tactical defeats in Imperial history.

The First Battle of Haven's Deep, Covenant forces with Scarab Legions invading the Imperial outskirts of Djangoris Prime Tyrannicae, unbeknownst to them all, many dining tables were set in hell

In just minutes, the Covenant were dropping millions upon millions of Unggoy that although weak, comes in obscene numbers that not even the Guardsmen could out-number. One of the Guardsmen, Sergeant Hageos Tyrus, reported shooting so many Unggoy that his Auto-Cannon ran out of ammo. As the war raged on, so did the intensity, over a thousand squads of Sangheili Zealots, Jiralhanae Squads and over five Scarab Legions were dropped in order to combat the Imperial Titans and Tanks. Once those were dropped, instantly the Sangheili Zealots and Jiralhanae Squads were mercilessly slaughtering thousands of Guardsmen. It was reported that for every Sangheili Zealot death, several hundred Guardsmen were killed in return. The Scarab Legions were also doing their part, picking off Titans and Super-Heavies. One Warlord-Class Titan called the Djangoris Finest was sucked into the ground when several Covenant Scarabs dug a massive cavern down the Planet’s crust, and became easy prey for the Covenant. On the Imperial Guards’ part, hundreds of Leman Russ and Basilisks were desperately fending off the attack, until they were pushed back to the Hive-City by Covenant Wraiths and Locusts, who out-numbered them four to one. The battle was so fierce within the Hive-City that it was considered common to see local Imperial women and children, even the pregnant and elderly to be conscripted; only to be slain by the Covenant forces before even touching their weapons. Furthermore with Covenant Spec-Ops units assassinating Imperial High Command from left to right and the complete bewilderment of the Guardsmen in how to deal with these newly found Xenos, it was considered a logistical, tactical and military nightmare for the Imperial Guard, even with whole Titan Legions.

Storm of Djangoris Alpha IV

Now preparing for their oncoming doom, the Guardsmen of Djangoris Alpha IV readied their orbital defenses of Lance-Batteries, their Titan Legions and their compartment of Basilisks waiting for their position. Fortunately for the Guard, a detachment of the Rainbow Warriors Spacemarines of both 1st and 4th company, which came from the Strike Cruiser Crystal Reverence, appeared over Djangoris to try and help evacuate the Civilians and support the struggling Guard Regiments. The Rainbow Warriors, being close neighbors and friends to the 468th Djangoris Regiment, wasted no time and did not hesitate in order to help free their comrades from the vile Xenos grip. 1st Company captain, Eximus Secarion lead his entire Terminator Veteran Squads to defend the most vulnerable Forge Factories and Science Laboratories, which contained the STC to create and make the war-machines of the Djangoris Imperial Regiment. While 4th Company Captain, Benedict Amanos lead every 4th company Tactical Marine Squads to help act as the heavy-hitter of the front of the Guardsmen, and also help raise moral towards the Imperial Guard and civilians. Most of the Djangorian Hell-Jumpers were relocated at both the outside and inside perimeter of Majectis City, one of the main Hive-Cities in Djangoris Alpha IV, while all seven hundred SPARTAN II's were regrouped and joined the 4th Company of the Rainbow Warriors, to act as backup and reconnoissance. To make sure that the evacuation of the Civilians remain successful if worst comes to worst, the last remnants of the Djangoris Navy as well as the Strike Cruiser Crystal Reverence supplied as much food and enough room that all two hundred and forty billion civilians could make it on-board. The Emperor-Class Battleship called Imperatus Light as well as her seven heavy cruisers would sacrifice their lives, by making them as a decoy, a distraction for the Covenant, while the rest of the Navy try to save as much people as possible.

At approximately six weeks after the Glassing of Djangoris Prime Tyrannicae, a fleet of over a hundred and seventy Covenant ships appeared over one of the moons of Djangoris Alpha IV, now this time the Imperial Guardsmen of Djangoris would no longer be afraid of their new found enemies, this time they will make them bleed in blood; their plan, to use their Lance-Batteries to shatter the small moon of Djangoris, hoping to destroy as many Covenant ships as possible. As the Covenant fleet loomed over the moon, the high-commander of the Guard gritted his teeth, clenched his sword, and at the command in his hands, ordered the troops stationed at the orbital defense to open fire at the moon. The repeated strikes of over a thousand Lance-Batteries, each impacting with a force of over a hundred Gigatons, straining the surface and stability of the moon, until it took no more and shattered by the stress. These fragments of the moon, was launched into the unexpecting Covenant fleet, such pieces traveling at sufficient velocity, shattered and crippled over twenty Covenant Cruisers. Within that split moment, the Captain of Imperatus Light ordered to fire their Nova Cannon and his several heavy cruisers fire their Lance-Batteries in respective unison. Such overpowering might, overpowered the shields of the Xenos and destroyed over seventeen Covenant ships, however the Covenant was quick to react and the Supreme Commander of the Covenant Navy, ordered his capital ship and several destroyers and cruisers to return fire via Energy Projectors, and at the same time told the rest of the fleet to enact short-burst Slipspace jumps behind the orbital defense and destroy it. After four hours of repeated battle, the Imperatus Light and the orbital defense manage to destroy up to fifty three Covenant ships, unfortunately in return, the Imperatus Light and all its seven heavy cruisers were destroyed by the unrelenting plasma bombardment, but what was worse that horrified even Eximus Secarion, was the sudden precision jumps of the Covenant fleet that appeared like a swarm of angry wasps, destroyed and devastated the entire orbital defense fleet save for two. This meant that if the Rainbow Warriors really need to save the local populace, they have to do it quickly and efficiently, before they run out of much precious time.

Thunderous Flight of the Basilisks

Imperial Guardsmen doing what they do best, they die "Standing"...

As the orbital defense fleet were all but crippled, the Xeno fleet shifts its attention on the planet itself, and unleashed a swarm of Banshees that blackened the sky of Djangoris Alpha IV, like locusts spreading like wildfire during a time of harvest. As the swarm of Xeno fighter crafts loom ever closer, the Anti-Aircraft gun batteries from Majectis City, Data City, Olephus City, Summer City and their surrounding protectorates unleashed a torrent of missiles and flak rounds, with a sound of vengeance, the defense batteries shattered the weak and vulnerable Banshees like glass. In return, the Xeno fighter crafts released their plasma cannons, however, like a rain on a windshield, their weaponry proved all but ineffective to the strong Void Shields of Djangoris's vast city complex. Troubled by the stronger defense of the Human cities, the Supreme Commander of the Covenant Navy, regrouped his forces, and tasked his subordinates to construct additional relay beacons on the more rural places on the planet, so that he can teleport the Covenant's ground forces for a surprise attack. However, Imperium intelligence, collected by a scout team of SPARTAN II's doing reconnaissance, had alerted the Djangoris High-Command and ordered the 112th Djangoris Basilisk Battalion, to secretly move eastwards and bombard the organizing Covenant ground forces 20km from the outer city boundaries. The resulting bombardment severely crippled and startled the invading Xeno forces, twisting and shattering the Covenant armor and blowing apart and scattering Covenant infantry. As the surprise attack falled into disarray, the Covenant, frustrated at this, decided to face their adversary head on. The commander of the 112th Djangoris Basilisk Battalion, knowing that grouping all of Djangoris's Basilisks in one area could make an easy target for Covenant space bombardment, to combat this, he ordered his Basilisks to split into four main groups and to protect the entrance gates of Djangoris' cities. Additionally, he also asked 4th Company Captain, Benedict Amanos with his battle-brothers to aid his assistance and protection of the Basilisks, as well as a fair amount of Guardsmen with Leman Russ support and over 200 SPARTAN II's.

As the Covenant started mass teleporting 5km outside of the city gates, Benedict Amanos, now in charge of this defense force, ordered all four Basilisk groups to release their payload on the Covenant, causing casualties and chaos amongst the Xeno ranks, while the Guardsmen and their Basilisk support help clean up any stragglers. In order to stop further losses, the Covenant then decided to redirect some of the Banshees that were harassing Djangoris's defense batteries and destroy the Basilisk threat once and for all, as well as tasking several highly trained Spec-Ops teams to sabotage and cause chaos behind Imperium ranks. As the Basilisks continued to fire at their trajectory, Benedict Amanos including his battle-brothers and the SPARTAN II's, spotted a black haze of Covenant Banshees heading towards the positions of all four Basilisk's. Immediately, the Super-Soldiers ordered a full scale Basilisk retreat, unfortunately, due to chaos and miscommunication, the four main Basilisk groups were too slow to react, and was quickly enough. Even with their superhuman accuracy, picking of the Banshee's pilots flying at full speed, there was too many of them, eventually the Banshees has caught their prey and blasted; reducing the Basilisks into a melting, twisted husk. Now without the Basilisk irritant, the Covenant fleet then decided to release all their ground forces on Djangoris Alpha IV. As hordes of Xeno's started appearing out of thin air, Benedict Amanos then regrouped all of the Guardsmen and tanks to form a defensive perimeter. As the opposing forces grew near, all hell broke lose. Guardsmen were unleashing torrents of bullets while the Leman Russ tanks were blasting holes into Covenant forces. Respectively, the Xeno's released a hail of Plasma, zipping across the city gates as it becomes a battlefield, balls of searing heat from Covenant Wraiths left melted steel of once Human tanks and irradiated ash prints of once Human Guardsmen. While the battle raged, the SPARTAN II's were quick into action, sprinting and dodging Covenant attacks with relative ease while shooting down the Xeno's with neigh impunity. The Rainbow Warriors under Benedict Amanos, were also causing casualties, firing their Bolters and swinging their Chainswords which spilled and sprayed blood of blue bioluminescents and indigo-purple from Covenant Unggoys and Kig-Yars. However, Covenant Spec-Ops, clad in purplish-black armor and wearing a cloak of near invisibility, caused chaos within the Humans, as their traps, assassinations and sabotage caused a sudden fatal loss in both Leman Russ tanks and leader of the Djangoris 468th Shock Troopers.

However, even with all their superhuman strengths and brilliance, numerous SPARTAN II and Rainbow Warrior casualties were present in the battlefield. Over 120 SPARTAN II's did not made it, either due to being bogged down with repeated Plasma fire, or sniped by Kig-Yar Snipers. Nearly all of the Tactical Marines under Benedict Amanos had fallen mainly due to Covenant Anti-Armor weaponry such as the Fuel Rod and battling foes of equal experience, such as the Covenant Spec-Op teams or Sangheili Zealots. Examples included battle-brother Ignosis Banjuctus, who was cleaved in half by a Covenant Locust as he was attempting to flank an Unggoy Lance and SPARTAN Ackeral-133, in which he was stabbed through the neck by a sneaking Sangheili Spec-Ops member as he was attempting to assassinate an unsuspecting T'vaoan Commando. Even Benedict Amanos himself, if it was not for his quick thinking and reaction time, was nearly caught at the spike end of a Brute Shot. Fortunately this was not the case, and ducked down and rolled over from a raging Jiralhanae before slicing the giant Gorilla-esque Xeno in half with his Power Sword that was taken from the ground of a fallen Rainbow Warrior.

But as the battle dragged longer, with both sides inflicting severe casualties, the Covenant saw through a weakness in the Void Shields of the Hive-Cities. Initially, the Covenant decided to break through the city defenses and shields by bypassing it via the use of Scarab mining, noting that the Titans in Djangoris Alpha IV was still under construction and was not yet suited for battle, due to this the Covenant initially decided to flank the Imperium forces by digging right under the Forge Factories and destroy the Factories and Titans itself before they become a threat. However, Covenant Intelligence found out that the Factories itself can self-destruct, taking along with it, the Covenant's much valued Scarab Legions. Therefore, the Covenant decided a new tactic that is often rarely used, using Slipspace itself as a weapon, turning it into a giant EMP that would shutdown all technology and devastating anything that surrounds the void of space. Taking note on this advantage, the Supreme Commander of the Covenant Navy then ordered several Covenant Light-Cruisers to hover right above Majectis City, Data City, Olephus City and Summer City. 1st Company captain, Eximus Secarion and his Terminators, were baffled and startled on why the Xeno's would place their ships into direct line of fire. Then all of a sudden, a bright flash appeared that was so bright that it looked like Djangoris Alpha IV suddenly had multiple suns, only to follow a dark, blackish void to suddenly and quickly engulf each major Hive-City. Eximus Secarion, reacting to this shocking situation, immediately tasked every single Human on Djangoris to take immediate cover within the well-fortified bunkers, but most importantly, pleaded Benedict Amanos and his fellow battle-brothers to run away from the Void as fast as they can. The deafening screams of War all of a sudden...became silent and eerily quiet. As Eximus Secarion and the other Terminators began to reign in consciousness and try to comprehend on what had happened, all he saw around him, was twisted steel and ferracrete that was once the gleaming towers of Djangoris Alpha IV. He looked at the back, and was relieved that not only did his fellow brother survived, albeit knocked out, but the valuable Forge Factories and Science Laboratories still stood ground. But something still did not felt normal to Secarion, and as he peered ever so closer to the world outside, reality hits him. With his help of his specialized HUD, and seeing through the dust, he shifts his head to the left and was given a rude awakening. In the south where Olephus City was meant to connect with Majectis City through rail cables, there was nothing but a sunken sinkhole filled with dirt, as if...someone had grabbed an entire Hive-City and placed it somewhere, disappearing without a trace. Secarion then looked to the west and north-east where Data City and Summer City once stood, and all was left of them were the colossal 15km Titanoris-Class Hyper-Heavy Bucket Wheel Excavators, which was curiously, cleaved perfectly in half without exploding. Bewildered by this situation, Eximus Secarion quickly talked to his comms towards Strike Cruiser Crystal Reverence, since it was docked in one of the docking bays within Majectis City, to allow the civilians to quickly evacuate. But all Secarion heard were dust and echoes filling up the empty Void.

Siege on the Forge Factories

In the closest call one would describe an Astartes panicking, Eximus Secarion regrouped with Benedict Amanos' squad after the 1sr Company captain found the battered Astartes underneath some rubble. Fearing that without proper support and competent leadership, Eximus Secarion put out a relay beacon for help to any nearby Space Marines, Guard Regiments or any allied Imperial forces near Djangoris Alpha IV. Knowing the Covenant would most likely intercept the call for help, Eximus Secarion hid the distress signal within a false encryption log that only the upper echelons of the Imperium can recognize. The Covenant meanwhile, hearing nothing more that mere static from a ruined planet. With the prospect of facing a full Scarab legion face to face with nothing more than infantry weapons, Secarion and Amanos both agreed that the remaining forces of Djangoris would dissolve their conventional military force and go guerilla. Knowing that the Covenant had relied upon sheer attrition and assassination attempts, Secarion deduced that once the Scarabs have dug their way up near the Forge Factories, the Covenant would then send in their Spec Ops teams to place detonation charges near the weak points of the Titan Manufactorum. Additionally, Secarion further figured out whilst the Scarabs were formidable, they were strangely vulnerable to normal anti-tank weapons around the knee joints which forced them to kneel down for self-reconstruction; making them vulnerable to boarding. Additionally, they lacked void shields, instead relying on their speed and agility to evade fire from the Titans. It also explains why the Scarabs avoid erupting near buildings as a collapsing building would trap or crush a unsuspecting Scarab, relying instead on vast open fields to erupt. Knowing this, Secarion being the only leader closest to being of high command, ordered the remaining Djangoris Helljumpers and infantry to set up anti-tank rockets and Lascannons above on top the partially destroyed city blocks whilst tasking the remaining SPARTAN II's to set up booby traps and hunt down any Covenant assassins potentially around the Forge Factories. Secarion hope, that this would create a 5km kill zone of mangled but heavily armed city blocks, razor wire, tripwires and mines filled with hypervelocity diamontine sabot spikes to destroy any Covenant vehicle.

As the first of the Scarabs erupt from the vast open killing fields near the Forge Factories, Secarion told the guardsmen to hold their first strike until all remaining Scarabs have properly position themselves to melt the ceramite encased doors of the Titan Manufactorum. Once all Scarabs (a number that grows up to 10) were positioned, a horde of some 4,200 Spec Ops teams emerged from the ground to get themselves ready. In that moment, Secarion signaled a simple hand gesture and within moments, a rain of rockets, missiles and lasers burst forth from the City Blocks. The unsuspecting Covenant forces was caught off guard. The heavy bombardment of anti-tank weapons destroyed the primary anti-air gun from the Scarabs whilst the sabot mines impaled Spec Ops infantry and mangled the leg joints of the Scarabs, temporarily crippling them. Amanos and his squad picked off the exposed Spec Ops who have not even switched on their stealth camouflage as the low-level bunkers were filled with Imperial heavy machine guns, bolters and sniper rifles. In 30 minutes, all 4,200 Spec Ops were wiped out and the crippled Scarab are now vulnerable to boarding. Without haste, Secarion screamed at his top of his lungs to slay these xeno warmachines in the name of the Emperor.

With their superhuman skills and martial prowess, both Astartes and SPARTAN's boarded the panicking Scarab crew, massacring them with righteous fury. Once all available crew were compromised permanently, they were initially bewildered that the machines were still functional. However a quick search at the back of this monstrosity and they found out who the real drivers were. Lekgolo worms. Secarion and the SPARTANs than proceed to shred these xenos with their firepower before abandoning ship as the Scarab start to self-destruct from the destroyed Lekgolo core. They proceeded with the rest of the 10 Scarabs and as the last of these machines fell, Secarion and the Imperial forces for the first time. Roared in triumph.

Last Sacrifice

Angered with the loss of these Scarabs in such a humiliating defeat, the Supreme Commander of the Covenant Navy ordered an Arbiter, a Sangheili that has disgraced the Covenant, to go on a suicide mission to kill off the stragglers. Not wanting to waste any more precious Scarabs, he concluded that it would be far more efficient if he instead, throw the life of a disgraced member of his kind to show the might of the Covenant Empire. His confidence is based on credible ground. Altough a disgrace to the Covenant, let alone the Sangheili. The Arbiter is not some suicidal wretch the Imperium throws out for simple martyrdom sake. Instead, he is a warrior with little to know equal and has proven himself in the past as a burner of a hundred worlds. His name all but forgotten, his one simple task is to kill Eximus Secarion.

In order to make sure he could actually make it there, the Arbiter was supplied with an army of fellow Sangheili, disgusted they have to fight near a disgrace. Furthermore, he is also supported by several Wraiths and Shadow transports. Now knowing of the kill zone and the traps, the Arbiter and his supporting fighting force began to target the city blocks with their Wraiths. Caught by a sudden surprise of Plasma, Amanos with haste, shouted at the intercomms to get the Djangoris infantry out of the crumbling buildings. Furthermore Eximus Secarion ordered his Astartes and the SPARTAN IIs to fall back into the Titan Manufactorum to better defend the mighty warmachine from these xenos counterattack. Secarion knows that the remaining functional Warlord, Fist of Primus is almost at its finishing touches by the Techpriests of Djangoris. His forces need to bide more time for the Godmachine to walk once more. On the other side of the battlefield, the Arbiter's forces punched through the destroyed gates leading to the Forge Factories. With his skill and might, the Arbiter begin to butcher the retreating Imperial forces. He knows not of what is inside of the Factories other than its importance to the Imperial forces and the importance of its destruction. As the Arbiter push through, he saw Secarion hurrying the Djangoris forces within the Factories from the just-opened gates. Sawing this opportunity, the Arbiter yelled a roar and led his forces to push through before the gates can finally close.

Secarion saw the gilded xeno charging towards him, as the gates began to close, his fellow Astartes started to yell for him to get inside. But the xeno was just a meter away, and even with just one xeno entering inside the manufactorum, he feared that any optic piece from that xeno would give the Covenant sufficient information knowledge on the construction process of the Titans. Knowing that his death would be inevitable, Secarion closed the gates with his hands and quickly defended himself from the Xenos' Energy Sword within a millisecond. Impressed by their skills, both Astartes and xeno began to parry one another. In a honor duel, the Arbiter's forces did not fire upon the Astartes, instead watching from the sidelines on whose warrior would come out on top. Secarion evaded the xenos' sword from a hairs breath countless times whilst the Arbiter deflected each parrying blow from the Astartes' Power Sword. The duel was intense and brutal, lasting from sunset to sunrise. Secarion, exhausted from the never ending war; even with his superhuman physique, began to slow. Sawing this opportunity to strike, the Arbiter in a quick motion, sliced off the arm of Secarion and beheaded the 1st Company captain. However Secarion's death was not in vain. The extra day of dueling gave the Techpriest much needed time to power up the Titan Fist of Primus. As the Titan's Princep began to linked his mind to the Godmachine, the first steps shooked the manufactorum. It is now or never.

One Final Effort

A Hunter pair deflecting and absorbing numerous heavy by Tracer-pattern Bolts.

Hearing the shaking and thunderous footsteps coming from inside the Forge Factory, the Arbiter and his forces viewed it as a bad omen and quickly recalled his forces back to the ship. Disgruntled but pressured from his soldiers, the Supreme Commander of the Covenant Navy reluctantly recalled back the Arbiter and his forces and send in a Lich to tame a Titan he had predicted during the earlier conflicts. As Titan Fist of Primus begin to walk outside of the manufactorum, Benedict Amanos, seething with rage at looking at the now headless Secarion proceed to gather the Djangoris forces for one final push to reclaim the planet. As the Titan walked, Fist of Primus saw a Covenant military camp at a distance and begin to discharged its Volcano Cannon. In a brief flash of light, the entire Covenant camp was vaporized. As the Titan pushed back, a few fleeting Scarabs decided to pepper the Titan with their cannons. The Princep, now knowing the vulnerability and mechanics of the Scarab, thanks to the information given by Amanos, rightfully calculated the predicted pattern of the warmachines and fire its Apocalypse Missile Launcher. The Missile spiraled into the skittering Scarabs and blew these warmachines apart in a few well placed shots.

Feeling emboldened by this, Amanos and his forces shouted in the name of Secarion and pushed further forwards, annhilating any Covenant counter attack with the support of the Fist of Primus. However, all of a sudden, the towering Godmachine was immobilized with a direct hit from the cannon of the Covenant Lich. A floating behemoth akin to a Tau Manta. With the immobilized Titan all but prey to the Lich, Amanos huddled the remaining forces near the Titan's legs and proceed to desperately pepper the Lich with anti-air missiles. All of which was futile as the Lich's thick armor ignored the explosive flaks like flies on a windscreen. As Amanos prepared for the worse, all of a sudden, a blinding light cleaved the Lich in half. Surprised. As Amanos looked up at were the light came from, he saw a fleet, each covered in the insignia of a black, iron cross. The Black Templars have arrived.

In a roar of triumph, Amanos was finally elated. After countless defeats, Amanos saw in his eyes that the battle has finally won. Not from the Covenant, but from the glorious Imperium. Secarion had the last laugh, the distess signal from earlier worked and was picked up from a neighboring Black Templar fleet. Enraged and appalled by the xenos atrocities. High Marshall Helbrecht declared a crusade to liberate the Djangoris system from the clutches of these new predatory xenos. As wave after wave of Black Templars arrived to give the battered Djangoris and Rainbow Warriors forces much needed support, the fighting with the Covenant increased with intensity. The Covenant, shocked from the arrival of these new Astartes all clad in black and equally as zealous and fanatical as them, was delighted in facing an enemy more worthy to fight to the death. In space the Supreme Commander of the Covenant Navy arranged his fleet to battle the Black Templar's fleet. A stream of Macrocannons, Nova Cannons, Plasma Torpedoes and Energy Projectors showered the space above Djangoris. Several Black Templar ships were crippled, but they did not care. Their blinding hatred for the Xenos is enough for even a crippled Black Templar ship to go on a suicide run and detonate its engines to destroy their adversary. On the ground, Power Swords clashed with Gravity Hammers and Hunters battled Terrminators. The battlefield was covered in a field of bloodied corpses both xenos and human alike. Helbrecht contacted Amanos and asked him personally to fall back so the forces of Djangoris and the Rainbow Warriors could finally rest whilst the Black Templars proceed to avenge Djangoris. As the Covenant forces started in the first time, to wane, the Supreme Commander of the Covenant Navy received reports from the Hierarchs that more pressing issues were present and that his forces were much better needed elsewhere. The Supreme Commander protested this, claiming that the Covenant was on the verge of defeating this newfound enemy. But he was quickly silenced by the Hierarch's fury. Reluctant and angered, the Supreme Commander recalled all his forces back on the surviving fleet and proceed to enter a Slipspace jump to battle the much dreaded Banished. But before they could leave on a sour note, the Supreme Commander proceeded to Glass the entire system of Djangoris. High Marshall Helbrecht had already evacuated the remaining Djangoris forces including Amanos and the Rainbow Warriors along with the corpse of Secarion to the primary fleet of the Black Templars. Furious at the loss of a loyal Imperial system and their failure to answer sooner. Helbracht would promise Benedict Amanos and the Djangoris forces of both Helljumpers, infantry and SPARTAN IIs that retribution would arrive on the Covenant and that the Black Templars would have a new mission to avenge.