Editing The Pulmni War (section)

==Into the Korpys Sector==

The Rand campaign was less than bloody, but the Brothers of Death had hardly stopped since leaving Terra and were likely only at two-thirds strength when they first received the order to push into what was then known as the Korpys sector. Though the Brothers were badly battered, the leader of the XIIth legion was among the most devoted astartes in service and inspired the same in his men, so spirits were high as the Imperial fleet approached the Bronchus stars. Large portions of the legion had been assigned to deal with a suspected xenos threat in the region, but much of the Brothers' supplementary forces had remained tied to Hektor Cinncinatus' campaign to bring the troublesome Galt Sector into the Imperial fold. Sacred Band member Edentis Pneuren had an amicable relationship with the Warmaster, and often found his apothecarium conscripted to help manage the Wolves of Dawn's typically high number of casualties. The successes of the Brothers led many to believe that this division was of little consequence, but the folly of these thoughts was revealed alongside the breadth of the Ork threat.

There was little doubt as to the importance of the Bronchus stars, numerous verdant planets illuminated by their light made the Pulmn system a valuable take. To settle this region would unlock the rest of the sector and, with the eventual compliance of the whole of Korpys, untold treasures in the reaches of southwestern Ultima. One third of the XIIth legion pushed into orbit around the gateway world of Syphir and saw the ruins of a once prosperous civilization burning and infested with Orks. The Syphiri humans were all but exterminated, refugees were thrown into the depths of space inside outdated and short-ranged vessels. They greeted the oncoming astartes with desperate joy, recognizing their transhuman nature as a new hope in their long and failing war, and pledged all they could to assisting the Imperium's efforts. Theophrastus Salk marked their alliance with one-hundred chemical bombardments against the Orks below, followed by a full scale invasion by the legion itself. 

The greenskins fell easily to the unprecedented assault and the Brothers' confidence was further inflated, leading Salk to split his forces further and put into motion the simultaneous assault the remaining Ork worlds. Commanders Marchessani, Hashimoto, and Paracel each took command of a portion of the forces, with Salk himself leading an assault on the heart of the former Pulmni Republic. These three forces were believed to be strong enough on their own to defeat any enemy, and the crude and disorganized greenskins would surely fall by all speculation. Marchessani and Hashimoto met combat early in the maneuver against forces similar to the mess found on Syphir, which served to confirm the common opinion. The untold resistance that Paracel's fleet grouping met as they pushed far into the northeast was the first signs of the Brothers' grave error in calculation, but by the time of this revelation it was far too late.