Second Vetrovnak Incursion

This article is about a battle in the /tg/ Heresy project, a fan re-working of the Warhammer 40k universe.

Second Vetrovnak Incursion
Date	8th Century, M31
Scale	galactic
Theatre	action concentrated in the Ultima Segmentum
Status	Vetrovnak Victory
Belligerents
Vetrovnak	The Imperium of Mankind
Commanders and Leaders
	Fabrice Diallo Inquisitor Vera Vinter
Strength
Losses
Slightly above expected tolerances	Horrific. Imperial communications ravaged. Several Space Marine Chapters destroyed outright Uncounted civilian and Imperial Guard losses
Outcome
Vast numbers of Imperial Citizens abducted.

The Second Vetrovnak Incursion was an enormous war fought between the Vetrovnak and the Imperium of Mankind. During this bitter conflict, many Space Marine Chapters were destroyed outright and the Imperial Guard and Navy suffered tremendous losses. However, the emergence of the Sisters of Battle helped to turn the tide and repulse the invader.

Background

Following the Hektor Heresy, the Imperium of Mankind had driven back the Traitors and established a stable realm, though one far less prosperous and hopeful than the promise of the Great Crusade. Two centuries under the guidance of the remaining Primarchs had established stable borders and trans-stellar trade had begun anew. If Imperial culture was sliding away from the old Imperial Truth into religion, many of the new cults preached robust virtues such as blind loyalty to the Golden Throne and zealous opposition to the Imperium's enemies.

This new culture would be severely tested by the emergence of the Vetrovnak as an existential threat to the Imperium. Although the cream of the Imperial elite were aware of the events that came to be known as the First Vetrovnak incursion, scattered actions such as the Harvest of Ruawch were seen as unsettling mysteries rather than a pressing problem. But Hvar was well-aware of the weakened state of the Imperium and had built up its forces to launch a massive harvest operation.

The Invasion

The Vetrovnak onslaught caught Imperial planners entirely by surprise. Without warning, shadowy vessels began to attack Astropathic relay stations in a simultaneous effort that ranged across the two-third of the Galaxy. Although in some cases the courage of Imperial troops - invariably, Adeptus Astartes - was sufficient to protect these critical installations, contact with almost the entire Ultima Segmentum was lost. Pacificus, Tempestus and Obscurus also suffered communication problems, though messages could be re-routed through surviving stations. Only Segmentum Solar escaped the initial attacks unscathed. This omission that would cost the Vetrovnak in the days ahead.

As the High Lords of Terra struggled to come to terms with the awesome power of the invaders, the Vetrovnak moved on to their next target: the harvest of millions of Imperial citizens from near-defenceless Hive Worlds. Within the chaos of Ultima Segmentum, isolated Imperial forces attempted to conduct counter-attacks or fell back to what they believed to be strategic targets. Even the Space Marines seemed powerless to halt the invader. The Benefactors were overwhelmed and utterly destroyed as they fought to protect the Hive World Taitov. Their gene-brothers, 'The Puritans were lost in void battle in the Kiazuno system. Other chapters took heavy losses when confronted by Vetrovnak. The Infernals were driven collectively mad by their situation and reverted to a feral state, while other chapters shamefully withdrew from Ultima Segmentum in disgrace. As their champions were destroyed or withdrew, Imperial Guardsmen and Navy vessels either meekly submitted to captivity or were subdued by the children of Hvar.

Inquisitor Vera Vinter

Yet the nature of mankind is to struggle even when survival itself seems impossible. Ancient Fabrice Diallo, a Terran-born warrior who had once fought at the right hand of the Primarch Gaspard Lumey was summoned to Sol to lend his wisdom to the councils of war. The Fleet-based Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes were dispatched at once to the Atalantos Worlds, there to form the sharp edge of the great Imperial war-blade. The first to arrive, Chapter Sigma, were given secret instructions by Inquisitor Vera Vinter and set off on a desperate mission to gather intelligence. Their valour at the Battle of Raman II was unknown for many years, but has since become an example to future generations.

Imperial counter-efforts

Thanks to the resourcefulness and self-sacrifice of Chapter Sigma, Vinter was able to advise the Lords of the Imperium on a method of counter-attack. Although the Vetrovnak weapons were terrible and their presence unnerved many ordinary Imperial Citizens, they could be beaten - and more importantly, they could be anticipated. Sigma's warriors had learned, at great cost, that the Vetrovnak's "folding drives" created minute distortions in the Warp, distortions that could be perceived by the Imperium's finest psykers. Despite shortages of Astropaths, Vinter commandeered Astropathic Choirs to scour the Galaxy for Vetrovnak movements and directed Imperial task forces to bring the enemy to battle. Rather than dispatching a vast armada of Imperial Guard, the regiments of the Imperial centre were stripped of their elite formations to form so-called "Stormtrooper" detachments. These hardened cadres, equipped with gas masks to shield them from the first effects of Vetrovnak gas weapons formed the body of the Imperial counter-stroke.

Joining these forces were a bold experiment. Inquisitor Vinter had noticed a common element in battle reports sifted from the chaos. Guard regiments raised from the Segmentum Obscurus, specifically those drawn from among the Marian had shown an astonishing resistance to Vetrovnak weaponry. While their brother and sister guardsmen generally succumbed to the frightful aura of the invader, or were quickly overwhelmed by their sophisticated weaponry, Marian guardswomen invariably had to be disarmed and overpowered- and even then, there were reports of these regiments beating back the bewildered Vetrovnak with cold steel and weight of numbers. Vinter couldn't explain the phenomena, but she believed that the Imperium needed to use it. Marian guardswomen who might otherwise have been formed into Stormtrooper units were instead given the best equipment available and doled out to task forces a special corps of shock troops, soon dubbed The Sisters of Battle.

Vinter's special forces would be blooded in the Second Vetrovnak Incursion, and performed admirably. The nascent Sisters of Battle achieved beyond anyone's wildest dreams. The Sisters proved to be not only a highly capable military force but one that was devastating to Vetrovnak morale. Yet the Imperials had hardly won their first substantial victory, bringing down an enemy carrier, when the invaders simply vanished from whence they came.

Aftermath

The withdrawal of the Vetrovnak was a great relief to the Imperial command and victory was duly proclaimed across the million worlds of the Imperium. However, within the highest circles it was well understood that the enemy had not been beaten. Either the Vetrovnak had sated their foul hungers or Imperial resistance had become enough of an irritant to make grasping for more imprudent. Few believed that the invaders would not return.

To prevent a repeat of the same disasters that had paralyzed the Imperium, the High Lords of Terra endorsed Inquisitor Vinter's plan to establish a great army of Sisters of Battle. Every major communications hub across the broad Imperium would be home to a small, self-sustaining minor order - Ordo Minoris - tasked purely with the defence of the Astropathic relays. The High Lords also established the great Ordo Majoris, much larger armies with access to their own transport vessels intended to respond to emerging Vetrovnak threats. Armed with a new shield and sword, the masters of the Imperium vowed that they would never again be so humbled.

Space Marine Chapters destroyed during the Incursion

• 

  The Benefactors

• 

  The Puritans