Editing Sky Serpents (section)

==Legion History==

===Great Crusade===
The legion was as comfortable with conquest as it was with infrastructure and so tended to leave behind personnel to rebuild even before being reunited with the Primarch shortly before the end of the Crusade's first century. After being reunited, the legion began to build on larger scales, developing essentially a pocket domain of model worlds.

====Vaal Cluster Compliance====
Shortly after being reunited with his legion, Tohilcoatl led his men against the Witch-Kings of the Vaal Cluster. These foul warp-sorcerors ruled over an empire of enthralled gene-warriors, each nearly the equal of a Space Marine, but far less stable. After a few probing void engagements, Tohilcoatl found that the Witch-King's military forces were dependent upon witch-generals to maintain control of the gene-thralls. If the command structure could be disrupted, then the foe's defenses would crumble. However, the Witch-Kings were not unaware of this weakness and designed their forces to compensate. Without a witch to maintain order in a geno-thrall force, they would go berserk and the resulting psychic turmoil would make long distance communication near impossible. Thus, even if a force was broken, the opponent would find it difficult to communicate and exploit the breach. To combat this, Tohilcoatl and his War-Council developed a daring strategy.

Similar to the legendary Pacification of Luna, ships would be sent into Vaal space, powered down to avoid detection. These ships would stake out the Mandeville points in systems to be contested and hide in asteroid fields. Similarly, kill teams were infiltrated across the worlds of Vaal. Knowing that communication by Astropath would be nigh impossible, Tohilcoatl revived an archaic means of communication from before the dark age of technology, the radio. While it would be limited to light-speed, signals could still be passed in system without too much trouble.

With this limited means of communication in hand, the timetable of the operation was carefully projected and each level of the command hierarchy given general directives to allow them to press any advantage they found. They were, in effect, to operate as independent cells all working towards the same goal, all dynamically implementing a broadly agreed upon timetable.

Furthermore, it was realized that while Imperial communications would cease to function, those of the Witch Kings would continue without any problem. Infiltrated forces, then, simply had to monitor communication traffic and activity from the Witch-Kings.

Operations began with multiple, simultaneous planetary invasions, with the priority placed upon elimination of the commanding psykers. Once eliminated, the berserker horde could easily be lead into pre-planned ambushes. Similarly, comm-traffic and energy signatures would be faked on one front prior to a rapid redeployment of assets to another sector, so as to focus the entire military might on a single point. Once behind their lines, infrastructure targets were eliminated, forcing the Geno-Thralls to come to the Sky Serpents. Hampering legion communications did the Witch-Kings little good when they had to come to the prepared Sky Serpents.

Even as distress calls went out from the besieged worlds and reinforcements were dispatched, the second part of the Sky Serpent's plan kicked into action. As laden troop ships, confident of orbital control in-system, dropped out of warp, the concealed Legion ships struck, destroying some outright, capturing the command decks of others and venting geno-thralls to the cold void. The victorious Legion fleet then joined with the invasion fleet to eliminate remaining Thrall-ships before redeploying for the next target. With the planetary communication networks down and the geno-thralls dead, the legions pushed on rapidly, striking at those systems from which the reinforcements had been moved.

This pattern of sudden, overwhelming attack, followed by the spreading of diffuse threats kept the Witch-Kings from regrouping effectively, the timing obscuring the method of operations for the Legion. Refugee and evacuation ships with valuable reinforcements were held up as they were searched for saboteurs, saboteurs who had spent weeks in position, waiting for the panic to spread before carrying out their missions. Though the initial cost in infrastructure was high, the stalling of the Vaal's war plans pre-empted battles planetside, and within two months of the opening actions, the Vaal Cluster had been successfully captured, with some worlds entirely spared lengthy campaigns, their fortresses emptied by the Witch-King's frantic redeployments.

====Krag'thalax====
These sorts of tactics were not always successful, but the Storm Serpents were nothing if not adaptable. One notable example was against the Krag'athalax, a foul xenos species, which spawned bio-soldiers in unending hordes. Assaults were initially stymied against the numberless forces of the enemy. It hardly mattered where you struck when the foe swarmed from every building, every corner of the globe.

Several assaults were thrown back before a different tact was taken.  Volkite and incendiaries were brought forth from legion vaults and the attendant forge ships worked double-time to produce additional weapons and spare parts to maintain thousands of volkite weapons. Similarly, Tohilcoatl negotiated with several Reductor Covenants for Holy Ordinatus Ullator Engines. Various toxins and weapons such as phospex were considered, but it was decided that damage to the ecosystem would be excessive. It was decided, however, that rad weapons would be sanctioned, their cores changed out for elements with shorter half-lives. (Despite this precaution, areas of former Krag'athalax would remain uninhabitable for decades after the campaign's end).

With this technological superiority in hand and the legion's armor gathered, the legion deployed. The resulting campaign was grueling, and even with the mass effect of volkites, including no few Fellglaives, as well as other, stranger devices which reaped a heavy toll on the chittering hordes, as often as not it came down to bloody melee, particularly as the slow firing Ullator Engines recycled for their next shot. After each wave, the Storm Serpents would regroup and reinforce their defenses, designing kill channels, and meter by meter, they took each world, but each battle became easier as they developed better means to poison their foe.

Of the campaign, Tohilcoatl said little, though it is said that Sheridan found respect for his brother in that campaign, attested to by the fact the the Lord of Iron sent several members of the Stor Bezask equivalent unbidden to advise in the campaign.

====Nikea====
Tohilcoatl was a firm supporter of and helped in establishing Librarius Project. At Nikea, confident that the librarius was safe, he spoke against some his brothers and earstwhile collaborator's reckless experimentation (particularly that of the Warp Raiders), in hopes of cautioning them and showing to the Librarius' detractors that allowing psykers in the legions was not at odds with the Imperial Truth.  He maintained that a careful and controlled study of the warp was instrumental to the future of the Imperium.

===The Heresy===

====Solar Rim Campaign====

*Battle of the Fenris System

*Battle of Paramar

*Battle of Prospero

*Battle of Catachan

*Battle of Ryza


>Breaks from Cadia, ships retreating to the Fenris System to regroup in the comet belts. Anshul in pursuit, naval engagement.
>Infiltrators are sent down to Fenris to wait until they're clear to do sabotage behind enemy lines. Kill teams fight across the frozen wastes of Fenris.
>Xun makes it to Paramar. Teams up with mechanicum and some members of a traitor legion who are out of the loop and side loyalist. Massive battle in orbit and on the surface as the Arms of Asura try to take the surface to orbit batteries. Loyalists inflict heavy losses and the Arms are forced to withdraw. Xun manages to contact Tepectitlan and arrange for reinforcements.
>Warp storms worsen, and Paramar is prepared for evacuation, while Anshul links up with forces from the Silver Spears? To go after Xun. Xun is still trying to break through the blockade and there are several small battles in systems at the ring of the Segmentum Solar.
>Battle of Prospero. With the Astronomicon flickering, Xun makes for the reflecting caves of Prospero, to light a signal for his reinforcements and get a line on Terra. As he does this, his legion begins emptying the libraries. The Asura and Spears appear and attempt to disrupt Xun's ritual. Xun and Anshul debate the merits of chaos and withdraws. The decision is questionable. Anshul might have been able to kill Xun and take out much of his force, but reinforcements were inbound and odds were, he'd be engaged and vulnerable when they arrived.
>Still blocked, the Sky Serpents attempt a break-through and feints. One of those results in the Battle of Catachan, but eventually allies from Paramar manage to contact Ryza and a way is opened.
>Xun's fleet breaks the Siege of Ryza.
>Not sure what happens now. Maybe he makes it to Terra.

=====Battle of Catachan=====
>The Battle of Catachan
In preparation for the rendevouz of the Sky Serpents fleet and their run on Terra, the auspex net that watches the approaches into the Segmentum Solar must first be dismantled. Individual relays are targeted, but if the entire fleet is to slip through, the coordinating node on Catachan must be eliminated.

Anshul and his allies are well aware of this fact and have augmented the site's already formidable defenses, including an improved orbital defense grid, not to mention forces in orbit and on the ground.
As a result, Xun must rely on stealth and subterfuge to break the initial defenses.
For weeks prior to the assault, Sky Serpents infiltrate marines and members of Section 8 aboard cargo vessels during raids, typically destroying or capturing some number of ships to disguise the true intention of the raid.
Closer to the attack, a small number of Judgement Bringer's craft are quietly captured by the Sky Serpents. Shortly after, Sky Serpents forces infiltrate a supply convoy during a raid use the "Judgement Bringer" destroyers to "chase off" the Sky Serpents raid. These ships protect the cargo vessels bound for Catachan.
Aboard the cargo vessels, the warp drives and gellar fields are sabotaged to deharmonize the warp transit. This aetheric noise allows a Sky Serpents flotilla to follow the convoy in to the Catachan system and masks their entry from sensors. These ships drift quietly towards Catachan as the convoy makes its approach. As they reach the docks, all hell breaks loose, as some cargo ships simply explode, others ram the docks. Critically, one cargo vessel slams into one of the massive orbital weapons arrays, knocking it from orbit.
The destruction seems to spread, irrationally, as other ships, days in-system explode, cargo in warehouses, both in orbit and planet side bursts into flames and ammunition spontaneously cooks off.
In the confusion, the initial wave is able to land undetected.

I'm thinking of leaving out the added complexity of captured Judgement Bringers ships, but the basic idea is this:

>Saboteurs are infiltrated aboard a number of cargo vessels.

>Warp drives are sabotaged to allow smaller Sky Serpents vessels to quietly infiltrate the Catachan system, perhaps over a matter of weeks

>The first wave of landings are covered by some cargo-ships going nuts in orbit, ramming docks and defense platforms. That's actually why I'm considering using captured destroyers-- they can tank more firepower and it's not like the Sky Serpents don't have a reputation for this sort of thing. The ramming docks is a bit unusual, though, since its basically suicide, and the Sky Serpents infiltrators tend to be quicker to cause some chaos when some place is so heavily defended. That and the Sky Serpents tend to bypass such strong points, leading some in the Arms to speculate that the true strike is coming elsewhere, leaving them focused on a warp-bourne assault on the auspex net.

>The sudden chain of explosions raises suspicions and security is tightened, but by this time, it's too late.

>Larger fleet enters the system after capturing a few vessels to lead them in.

>Traitor fleet makes for the mandiville point to repel the Sky Serpents invasion

>The ships that had been snuck into the system fire up the engines and begin their attack runs, even as forces prelanded begin assaulting their objectives

>Open a hole in the orbital net for the Sky Serpents to land more troops and suddenly there's a battle in the jungle, with the local wildlife going nuts from being creeped out by all the psykers.

>Then something else happens, not sure what, maybe the whole attack on the sensor net facility is a feint, they're actually going for the orbital defense net because Xun says fuck it, I'm not going to siege that place, it's got crazy defenses. Instead he knocks out the defense system and orbital strikes the fuck out of it, hard enough to crack the planet's crust.  
With the system down, the fleet can link up and make their dash into the Segementum Solar. From there, they break a Siege over Ryza and reach the Sol system.

Oh, and legion destroyer squads are deployed en masse during the battle, because fuck the jungle.  And all the weird shit that the Asurans have been doing with the local wild-life.
So there's the big, flashy assault on the sensor hub, and the sneakier ones on the orbital command-control nodes and defenses, with Sky Serpents going rambo in the jungle.
These being the actual goal, allowing the Serpents to avoid having to besiege the sensor control node.

Anshul himself probably isn't there, instead chasing Oramar.

====The Harrowing of Tepectitlan====

>The Defense of the Jade Empire and the Jade Regent
I. Oathsworn Censure Campaign
II. Hunting in the Dark
III. The People's War

> Zhuge Songkulkan, The Jade Regent
A native of Tepectitlan, Zhuge Songkulkan rose to prominence in the campaigns under the direct command of his Primarch. It seemed inevitable that he would follow in the footsteps of such reknowned figures as Baqar Hadbaal, when his career nearly ended at the tip of a xenos blade. He survived the battle, but such was the extent of the injury that he required substantial cybernetic augmentation. The process would require several years, and so in the interim, Songkulkan was given the prestigious desk job of logistical coordination on Tepectitlan.
Thus it was that when the Heresy broke out, it was Songkulkan who was responsible for the defense of the domain.

>Oathsworn Censure Campaign 
As the orders for the Censure of the Oathsworn were recieved and verified, the Jade Empire was already at a state of alert. Unknown raiders were striking at the edges of the Imperium, raiding supply depots and mechanicum stations. The evidence suggested it was some sort of human threat. The 52nd Fleet had just put in for resupply on Tepectitlan, following the purging of the remaining Orkholdz in the Chondax cluster. Songkulkan ordered that all embedded Oathsworn detained and questioned even as the 52nd was dispatched with Guang-Ue in command to deliver the doom of the Oathsworn holds in the sector.
The decision to keep Guang-Ue in overall command was an interesting one, given his long association with Oathsworn. None the less, despite attempts to negotiate a surrender, several Oathsworn Watch-Fortresses had to be destroyed before the rest surrendered. Even as Guang-Ue prepared the Oathsworn for transit back to Tepectitlan, his orders were superseded by a more urgent command.

Something in the Oathsworn Censure hadn't sat right with Songkulkan despite rumors of Astartes raids. For one thing, they did not match the tactical patterns of the Oathsworn. For another, they did not match Oathsworn deployment patters. Further, they continued and even intensified after the campaign had begun. Thus it was that Songkulkan began to pull assets from the purgation campaign and redirect them towards combating the mysterious raiders.

His gamble paid off, when the cruiser Night Jaguar interrupted a raid in progress. To their horror, the ident runes proclaimed that the ship was the Iron Resolve of the Iron Hearts Legion, long thought purged. The 52nd redeployed to protect the realm.

As soon as the Iron Hearts realize that they have been identified, they immediately strike with full strength across the worlds of the Jade Empire.
In particular, they lay siege to the Forgeworld Tindalos and the Hiveworld of Procryon Gamma. There are major battles on a dozen worlds, but for the most part, the Iron Hearts withdraw rather than fight a major engagement, as if waiting for something.

This came in the form of a call for reinforcement from the warp-soaked world of Prospero on the Terra-ward of the galactic core.

>The People's War
Xun's message from Prospero placed Songkulkan in a bind. All hands were required to defend the realm, but the Primarch's call for aid in attempting to save the Emperor could hardly be ignored. In the end, Songkulkan decided that the needs of the Imperium as a whole outweighed the fate of a single province. 
None the less, he had sworn an oath to defend the Legion's assets and the people of the Jade Empire. Thus it was that Songkulkan dispatched every available Sky Serpent for Prospero, save himself and a dedicated core of advisers. Songkulkan's Sky Serpents assets in-sector were limited to himself, his advisers, a handful of specialists, such as Techmarines, Librarians, and Siege Masters, and a force of approximately one Tzolkin's worth of Astartes unable to make the Prospero Fleet due to injury or being engaged with Iron Hearts forces at the time. This is to say that Songkulkan found himself with less than 5,200 Astartes ranged against the might of a Legion. That evening, Songkulkan gave what would become known as the 'People's War' Speech, broadcast across the sector, in which he declared that "the Astartes were made to inspire the people", they were "partners in the Imperium". They would all have to "stand together, stand strong for the Imperium."
All army personnel were called up, veterans too old to serve were recruited to train new soldiers. The Oathsworn imprisioned on Tepectitlan were offered a simple choice, to fight for the Imperium or to die in their cells when the enemy came to their door. This would later become the basis of the Argon Apemen Oath. Some 50,000 Oathsworn chose to stand with the Sky Serpents. 

Meanwhile, all suitable voidcraft were requisitioned and outfitted for combat duty. The Mechanicum coalition, lead by Forgeworld Tindalos proved instrumental in this, recalling their Explorator fleets to serve as transports for the Armies of the Empire. As a further show of good faith (and in return for concessions.), the mechanicum mobilized their Cybernetica Chapters under Legion command and pledged the support of their Taghmata, Titan Legios, and Knight Houses not already pledged to the Legions. In otherwords, the Mechanicum of the Jade Empire pledged their remaining forces to Songkulkan's war.

The Sky Serpents had always fought closely with their human auxiliae, but Songkulkan took it to a new extreme, breaking up the available Sky Serpents to serve as commanders, specialists, and shock troops in the army formations, as part of a single, unified command structure.

With these forces in hand, Songkulkan turned the Jade Empire's considerable economic potential to defense, in particular, providing enough combat capable voidcraft to transport and deploy the People's Defense Army. The shipyards over Tindalos, like so many others, ran non-stop up-armoring and up-arming local flotillas of 'little ships'.

Even so, there was only so much that could be done. Warpstorms frequent throughout the early years of M31 intensified hampering deployment even as the Iron Hearts seemed to sail through unperturbed. Equally importantly, the forces of the Jade Empire were outnumbered (in terms of Astartes) and outgunned.
None the less, the policy was remarkably successful and the Jade Empire as a whole was able to hold out until Xun's return, some 5? years later.

Significant battles of this period include battles at Tindalos, Baal, Argon, Thule, and Tepectitlan, including the Great Siege.
>The Great Siege of Tepectitlan
The Iron Hearts relentlessly made for Tepectitlan, with the intent to level it and leave only ruins. Despite the Army's best efforts to delay them, mere days cost thousands of lives.
Songkulkan gave the order to evacuate the world, starting with the civilian population. He would remain, to atone for his failure. The Army refused his order. They would stand with him. Much of the civilian population was evacuated, but Rubinek's fleet broke from the Warp before it could be completed.
So it was that every remaining civilian on Tepectitlan was handed a weapon and sheltered in the Legion's own fortress monastery.
Tepectitlan was as good a world as any to make a final stand on. It's orbital defense grid ranked among the finest in the galaxy, the terrain was mountainous and forested and the Legion command made use of the terrain to the fullest. Tepectitlan had been designated a Bastion world, a safe haven even in the face of catastrophe, and yet, Songkulkan was correct that it could not be held against Rubinek and his legion.

Rubinek's fleet took heavy losses entering planetary space, and while potent anti-void weaponry prevented direct bombardment of the capital, Rubinek's forces made planetfall with the thunder of thousands of drop pods. Even as voidcraft fell from the skies, the Iron Hearts smashed their ways through prepared kill-zones and presighted artillery fire. It took a mere two weeks for Rubinek's forces to make their way across the world to the outer city walls. It seemed that their doom was only a matter of time, but the defenders in the citadel did not know that at that very moment, Xun Tohilcoatl, Primarch of the XIIIth Legion, and Master of Tepectitlan was making full speed through the void for Tepectitlan.

Songkulkan personally lead the defense from the walls, even as Medusa shells screamed overhead and turbo-laser bombardment collapsed voidshields. Days of continuous fighting took their toll and ammunition supplies began to run dangerously low, however, in that darkest moment, Xun's fleet tore into realspace. Rubinek now found that he had hours in which to accomplish his goal. In a massive gamble, Rubinek prepared a massive teleportarium strike into the heart of the fortress monastery. It is unclear what his goal was, since post-battle analysis would indicate that Rubinek sought out the reliquary vaults beneath before he went to sabotage the reactor, but in any event, Rubinek's time was cut short by Xun's early arrival. In essence, Xun performed a long distance teleportation using his own psyker potential and the librarians on Tepectitlan as a locus.
(Is that too much? Should it just be that cybernetica maniples slow Rubinek down and Xun makes for Tepectitlan at full burn?)
Xun and a strike force of elite Jaguar Warrior Terminators materialized in the sight of the Emperor Statue in the central hall and immediately began scouring the citadel for Rubinek.
The details are not in the historical record, but what is known is that Xun found Rubinek atop the central pyramid and there, in full sight of the People's Army, fought Rubinek. The fight itself has been the subject of so many representations in Jade Empire culture, that it will not be described here, except that it ended with Xun, tearing out Rubinek's still beating iron heart and hurling the corpse down the stairway into the central plaza below. Holding the heart aloft, Xun called out "For the Emperor!", a cry echoed throughout the citadel even as the rest of the legion arrived to purge the remaining Iron Hearts on Tepectitlan.


Addenda:
Of course, this was not the end of the Iron Hearts legion. Some of their fleet managed to escape the Tepectitlan system, but more numerically significant were those that were prosecuting campaigns elsewhere in the Jade Empire during the Siege. These forces managed to escape, where they continue to periodically raid the Eastern Imperium to this day.
>Siege of Tepectitlan
Yeah, I know what you mean. Thing is though that I didn't want a primarch and his legion to be held up too long on a world held by marines outnumbered 20 to 1 and a bunch of humans, after all, the Siege of Terra was what, 55 days?
(Which bothers me. Ancient sieges took years.)
I think I may stretch it out to something closer to a few months, make Rubinek fight his way across the planet, then take the capital city before launching his assault on the citadel, which he has to hurry up because of a very angry Xun incoming. Rubinek miscalculates how long he has and Xun catches him for their duel.

>before the heresy breaks put, odd raids begin on the legion's worlds
>scenarios for Astartes on Astartes are revised
>Terra-Luna Conflict begins
>Tornament
>Perpetrators of raids on Jade Empire are identified as rogue astartes.
>Rubinek strikes at various facilities, forgeworlds, cutting a path towards Tepectitlan
>Siege of Tindalos, the forgeworld holds off the legion, Rubinek doesn't have the time to crack their defenses and so has to withdraw after two months.
>Burning of Anshul's home world
>Raids occur across the sector, intensifying even as astartes are sent to reinforce Xun's break for Terra.
>additional Auxiliae are called up and sanctions on the Legio Cybernetica are lifted. Astartes command these units, but the defense of the Jade Empire is fundamentally thanks to the determination of its citizens, both human and mechanicum.
>Shadow Crusade in the Jade Empire
>When word reaches Rubinek of the loyalist withdrawal and Xun's impending return, Rubinek mounts a desperate assault on Tepectitlan. Xun returns and fights him in the capital city, in the Imperial Administratum. Xun tears out Rubinek's heart atop the pyramid and hurls it down the massive stairway before offering the heart to the Emperor Ascended.

====The Odyssey of Baqar Hadbaal====
>be Hadbaal
>be cool guy who doesn't afraid of anything
>fleet comes under attack by traitor legions
>chase them off and withdraw to a forge to repair and figure out what the hell is going on
>the forge in this case is a minor facility, an asteroid forge intended for remote resupply
>naturally it's turned traitor too. Hadbaal takes it, but once he has it and repairs of his fleet are underway, he sees multiple inbound fleets. Confusion ensues as he tries to figure out who is on what side.
>a traitor counter-attack soon shows who is on what side and Hadbaal manages to just hold off the raid. The forge is stripped and the loyalist convoy vanishes into the warp.
>for the next few years they raid the trsiror rear as they make their way around the edge of the Imperium, eventually making it to the Jade Empire via the Storm Kingdoms a year after the firewall went up.
Loyalists from traitor legions in Hadbaal's fleet are welcomed into the Sky Serpents.

===The Eastern Imperium===