Editing Hive Fleet Kraken

Hive Fleet Kraken was the second Hive fleet of the Tyranids to assault the 40k galaxy and started the second Tyrannic War which was only stopped when the Ultramarines and Eldar of Iyaden defeated the two major prongs of the invasion, although at great cost and not at the destruction of all the splinter fleets of Kraken, which continue to infest and ravage the Imperium to this day.

Kraken arrived two and a half centuries after the defeat of the first fleet [[Behemoth]] when most people except the Inquisition (who are just too paranoid to let their guard down) were being lulled into a false sense of relief that at least the bugs were dead. Oh how foolish that now seems and thank the Emperor the Inquisition were too suspicious of relaxing to be fooled as well.

After some intense investigating, they discovered there was strange activity coming from the south east corner of the galaxy, a spate of rebellions and the like which caused great unrest. Matters came to a head when Ichar IV, a vital lynch pin in the south part of the galaxy, flared up into revolt and it was discovered that the cause was no chaotic in nature but xenonic, Tyranid genestealers led by a broodlord having taint countless human slaves and forming a psychic beacon, shining out into the dark regions beyond the galaxy. A space marine terminator strikeforce attacked but it was too late and the death scream of the broodlord mixed with a signal that sped out to it's masters.

Within weeks the hive fleet of Kraken arrived on the Imperial borders and all hell broke loose. Worlds and their peoples were consumed at a vicious rate and the Tyranids ploughed straight into the Imperium, attacking over a wide range. Eventually though they combined their smaller forces into two larger prongs and struck Ichar IV and the Eldar craftworld of Iyaden.

At Ichar IV the ultramarines and the rest of the Imperial defenders (plus some Eldar who turned up to join in) managed to crush the Tyranid advance although it left the planet a smoking ruin.

Meanwhile at Iyaden the Tyranids had overtaken the slower craftworld and the Eldar became engulfed in a battle for their home, one which it seemed they were doomed to lose. Only the aid of Prince Yriel and his Eldritch Raiders saved the craftworld and even then the cost was horrific; four-fifths of the Eldar of Iyaden lay dead and Craftworld was shattered, a shell of it's former self.

It was these two fierce struggles that saw the defeat of the bulk of Kraken's forces, although perhaps it's true threat had not yet been realised. Many splinter fleets of Kraken escaped destruction into the depths of Imperial space and attacked defenceless worlds, becoming huge and bloated and a threat in their own right. These splinter fleets continue to attack the Imperium from within to this day, draining valuable resources and weakening the prey...