Second Vetrovnak Incursion

This page details people, events, and organisations from the /tg/ Heresy, a fan re-working of the Warhammer 40,000 Universe. See the /tg/ Heresy Timeline and Galaxy pages for more information on the Alternate Universe.

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, leading to the madness of the Infernals.

Space Marine Chapters destroyed during the Incursion

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  The Benefactors

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  The Puritans