The Cleansing of Calverna

The Cleansing of Calverna
Date	c. 780.M30
Scale	regional
Theatre	Calverna Techropolis
Status	Decisive Imperial Victory
Belligerents
Imperium of Mankind	Defence System Sigma-8
Commanders and Leaders
Orend Ymoro	The Arch-maniac of Calverna
Strength
Second Legion (approximately 1500 Space Marines) supported by elements of the Imperial Army	Mechanical drones, directed killer machines, automated turrets in unknown quantities
Losses
Second Legion suffered minor losses. Beta-Helix Gerstok took 16% casualties	All forces destroyed or disabled
Outcome
Calvera's archives and significant archeotechnology recovered

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

The Cleansing of Calverna was a battle of the Unification Wars fought by the Second Legion against the automated defences of the Calverna Techropolis. This engagement showed the Second's skills in tunnel-fighting, but it was also the first in a long line of battles fought by the Legion to recover the tools of ancient man.

Background

The origins of the Calverna Techropolis are wrapped in mystery. Fragmentary references to the complex can be found in surviving documents from the Age of Strife, but the usual problems with this source persist. Even the Imperial situation report, preserved in the archives of the War Scribes with their customary fastidiousness, is lacking in significant historical perspective. What is known is that Calverna had become a heavily fortified outpost, held by but a single man. If it seems surprising that the Emperor would commit his Adeptus Astartes to fight a lone recluse, it must be mentioned that the Arch-Maniac of Calverna was far from an ordinary man. Whether by accident or design, the Arch-Maniac had been transformed into the central intelligence of the Techropolis. His brain and nervous system no longer addressed the needs of his body, but instead controlled a small army of mechanical soldiers backed up by automated turrets and other defences. For centuries, Calverna had claimed victim after victim as unwary men entered its nightmarish halls in pursuit of ancient technology.

But now, Calverna's secrets would be sought by warriors who were far more than men. The Emperor was determined to gain access to the Techropolis's secrets - indeed, he had initially slated Hektor Cincinnatus's First Legion for the action. However, the Primarch's exemplary campaigns in Hy Brasil suggested that a change of plans might be in order. Orend Ymoro's men of the recently-activated Second Legion had displayed a considerable knack for fighting in the mayhem of hive and tunnel actions during the Merican campaign. In His wisdom the Emperor decided that this achievement qualified the Second Legion for the honour of spearheading the invasion of the Calverna Techropolis.

Probing actions

The officers of the Second were not intimidated by Calverna's reputation, but their first approach was cautious. Strikes by Imperial aircraft disabled the most obvious turrets, then elements of the famous "Old Hundred" Imperial Army regiment Beta-Helix Gerstok infiltrated the outer reaches of the Techropolis. Despite their gene-hanced stealth and the powerful air support available to them, the Gerstok took significant casualties securing their positions. However, their purpose was not merely to take ground. The most important acquisition of the Gestok were the vid-captures they dispatched to Orend Ymoro's command post. Data profiles on the mechanical killers of Calverna was swiftly streamed to the warriors of Second Legion. Ymoro was somewhat overly disturbed by the casualties to the Imperial Armymen under his command, but he knew that their sacrifice was essential to the mission. As the Gerstok continued to fall the Master of Second Legion moved his command post into the Techropolis and dispatched squads of his Space Marines to stiffen resistance at key locations. The small hunter-killer machines that had taken a toll on the Imperial Army were little threat to the Legionnaires and the situation soon stabilised.

With the outer reaches secure, Sergeant Tel Bernos was selected to head the first Legion patrol into the depths of Calverna. As with the advance of the Imperial Army, the patrol squad's primary mission was to identify the threats within the Techropolis so that the main body of the Second Legion could advance fore-warned and fore-armed. Squad Bernos soon encountered more significant killers than the drones of the periphery. Not only were the machines in the interior larger and more powerful, they moved as a coordinated force. Tel Bernos lost two battle brothers and his left hand making it back to the Second Legion lines, but the information he won was of far greater value. Besides data on the protectors of the Techropolis and it labyrinth-like interior, the patrol's auspexes had picked up faint life signs deep within the complex. Such was the stock that the Legion put in this intelligence that, even as the Sergeant was being fitted for bionic replacement, Orend Ymoro made a point of visiting Tel Bernos to salute his courage and achievement in person.

Strike at the Heart

Ymoro now moved to escalate the battle. The Second Legion commander divided the Techropolis into sectors and dispatched bands of battle brothers to each one to methodically purge the deadly machines within. Despite operating in small units, the Space Marines fought with a deadly precision and few brothers were even wounded in this operation. Yet for all the vigour with which the Legionnaires pursued their sweep-and-purge mission, they were engaged in a great distraction. As his subordinates reported hunter-killer machines responding to their assault, Orend Ymoro and his command squad began the most dangerous part of the battle. The would penetrate the heart of the Techropolis and investigate the life signs Tel Bernos had reported.

While Ymoro plunged into darkness, his warriors redoubled their efforts, seeking to draw more of their mechanical foe from the clanking depths of Calverna. For a time, they were successful and the battle intensified - then, as one body, the machines fell back, racing towards the centre of the Techropolis. The Second Legion's command squad beat them there, breaking open the command chamber with satchel charges and bursting in to find the nerve centre of the Techropolis rising to meet them. Although his frame was riddled with snaking command and control cables and his brain was driven to madness by the surging input of a thousand sensors, the Arch-Maniac of Calverna was still a terrible foe. Even faced with five of the Emperor's angels of death, the Arch-Maniac was far from out-matched and he showed his might by snapping brother Dalnaj Scott's neck with one blow. The remains of Ymoro's squad surged against their foe, their chainswords snapping at cybernetic flesh and wetting the chamber's floor with curdled blood. But their luxury of numbers was fleeting, for the Arch-Maniac's guardians were hastening back to his defence. Orend Ymoro ordered his bodyguard to hold the entrance and fought on alone.

The Legionnaires on patrol knew of their final victory when they began to find hunter-killer machines lying inert but undamaged. All across the Calverna Techropolis, the Arch-Maniac's servants ceased to move at the moment of his death. But celebration was tempered with sorrow when only Orend Ymoro emerged from the depths alive. Despite the evidence of his vid-captures showing the commander's conspicuous heroism, Ymoro lionised his fallen battle brothers as the true heroes of the day.

Aftermath

The Emperor himself made time to congratulate the Second Legion on their accomplishment, awarding the legion as a whole and Orend Ymoro in particular the Crux Calvernus in recognition of the courage and martial prowess they had displayed. Savants in His service descended upon the Techropolis and salvaged a great bounty of ancient technology, including many potent weapons. Although Ymoro did not openly protest, there was substantial discontent in the Second when the lion's share of the spoils were granted to the First Legion in order to continue their rapid expansion. Bad feelings would persist between the two Legions until their joint action in the Volemar Gamma Campaign.