Editing The 13th Black Crusade (section)

==Last Stands Are In Fashion Again==

===Making Do===

[[File:BFGA2_Cawl_and_Trazyn.JPG|thumb|Hello! Did you call Necron Tech Support?]]

The defenders of Cadia made the first moves, as the Phalanx repositioned itself over the Elysion Pylon fields of Cadia Secundus. With the airspace secured, Creed ordered his forces to dig in, and soon trenches and aegis defense lines were put up, while the catacombs below further expanded and fortified to act as a makeshift bastion. As the Militarum forces, Astartes, and Sororitas busied themselves above, Cawl and his adepts tried to force a response from the pylons themselves in the warrens underneath.

The Space Marines that still remained by this point, now reinforced by the Crimson and Imperial Fists, formed an ad-hoc strike force under Korahael's command. Only the Space Wolves disregarded this, and Ironwolves squads would stalk the perimeters on their own accord. While Korahael was quick to accept this as another sign of the Son of Russ' thick-headedness, Garadon wasn't as sure, as the latter had never encountered Wolves as taciturn as the Ironwolves. As the evening wind brought with it echoes of distant wolf howls, Garadon couldn't help but be concerned.

Once the defenses had been set the waiting began once more, and for many of the defenders that were at the Elysion fields, it became nerve-wracking. Not more than a few wanted the Despoiler to ''get on with it already'', as being dead seemed preferable to being bored.

As the defenders fidgeted in their trenches, Saint Celestine hovered in the air above them with her new retinue, consumed by her own worries. She was visited by a recurring vision, of blood and fire, and a fortress torn asunder, but beyond that... Hope? Clarity would come in time, but for now she could only trust in the Emperor.

Cawl for his part, was about to throw in the towel. He had tried everything he knew from his long ''long'' life to get the Pylons to respond, but nope, they remained unresponsive.

It was at this point a certain... [[Trazyn the Infinite|observer]], made himself known. He offered the Archmagos certain insight into the functions of the Pylons, and while Cawl was wary at the Necron Tech Support, he didn't have any other options at that point. The offer was sincere however, and with the brand-new knowledge finally figured out what he needed to do to make the Pylons do what he wanted.

Far above Cadia's south pole however, things were starting to stir. Countless hangars unloaded their cargo of drop-ships into the upper atmosphere, all blazing a fiery trail in the direction of Cadia Secundus.

The Battle of the Elysion Fields was about to start.

===In Their Towering Shadows===

The first attack came from the west, as traitor drop ships slipped as close as the edge of the Phalanx's weaponry as they could before they unloaded their cultist cargos. These pathetic dregs came from a myriad of worlds and backgrounds, all united under their new "freedom" from the Emperor's dogma, and driven into a frenzy by the [[Dark Apostle]]s among their midst. In their thousands they tried to swarm the fields with , but as they crossed into the Phalanx's range, hundreds were instagibbed by the fortress' bombardment cannons. Still the maddened horde pressed on.

The soldiers of the Cadian 9th held their fire until the last moment. They recalled their shame when they broke and ran at the Kriegan Gates, and each had lost comrades to the [[Commissar]]s as they bloodily re-instilled discipline after. What's more, they looked at the insane throng with pity and disgust, as they were a dark reflection of what they might had been, had their fates been different. As one the 9th peeked from their trench lines, and as one they fired. Countless cultists crumpled, lasbolt holes in their chests, while Apostate preachers screamed their last as Earthshaker shells hit their marks, but thousands more rushed in, and crushed the remains of their fallen into bloody paste.

More assault craft landed in the north and east, and heralded the arrival of Abaddon's second wave. In the North, Celestine led the Sisters of the Order of the Martyred Lady against the newly-deployed Daemon Engines. Exorcist rounds met gouts of daemonic flame, while Seraphim squads stalked [[Warpsmith]]s before they could bring their mechanical nightmares back to the fray. Meanwhile in the east, the Imperial Knights united under Baroness Vardus lent their support to the tanks of the 185th, as they dueled the massed armor of the [[Crimson Slaughter]] and the remaining Titans of Legio Vulcanum.

The south that the Cadian 8th and 21st defended however saw Abaddon's most determined strike yet, as an armored column two miles wide drove through the Phalanx's bombardment relentlessly despite heavy losses, with swarms of Helldrakes providing air cover. Imperial AA guns opened up, but they could only disperse this hellish flock, and not clear it entirely from the skies.

As he saw the plight of his allies, Korahael finally deployed the Space Marines to assist, with the Black Templars and Imperial Fists sent southward, while he and the Crimson Fists headed north. Of the Space Wolves there was no sign, though there was a suspiciously defended bastion far southwest that had seen an entire Black Legion armored column annihilated...

===The Despoiler's Fist Closes===

While the defenders were still holding, with every hour that passed the Despoiler's minions pushed them back at all sides. In the east Baroness Vardus finally met a glorious end, as her Knight dealt the traitor [[Reaver]] ''Furioso Rex'' a deathblow before its own reactor failed. Her remaining Nobles fought on to the last, their own ends a credit to their House. With the Knights gone, the tanks of the 185th were left on their own, and were forced to make a fighting withdrawal, forgetting in their terror that there ''wasn't'' any place left to withdraw to.

Into this the Space Marines entered the fray, ferried in by Imperial Fist Thunderhawks, just as Crimson Slaughter hit the trench lines. Crimson Fist [[Devastator Squad]]s opened fire at the remaining titans, while Loyalist met Renegade in furious melee amidst the burned remains of House Raven's war machines. It was here the Brother-Captain Tracinto met his end via [[FATAL|chainfist]], but he was soon avenged by Korahael's own [[Power_weapon#Relic_Blade|relic blade]].

In the West the Cadian 9th died where they stood by the hundreds, in penance for their prior cowardice at the Kriegan Gates. As their lines diminished, Creed ordered his reserves to reinforce them, but by the time the 75th and 403rd reach their trench lines it was too late, and the foe was too numerous. The 9th had been overrun, but through their valiant deaths they had wiped away the taint of dishonor.

Up North the Sisters of Battle fought on, and not one Daemon Engine reached the trenches, as they had met their enemies head-on in the plains before them. Scores were martyred in the defense, but their Faith buoyed them on, all in the name of Him-On-Terra.

Down South however, things took a turn for the worst very quickly. A panicked colonel of the Cadian 21st ordered his soldiers to head of the hills. He was quickly BLAMMED by a Commissar, but the damage was done, and the 21st routed. Creed tried to rally them via vox from his [[Skyshield_Landing_Pad|command skyshield]], but the Lord Castellan himself was soon under assault.

Abaddon himself led the teleport assault on the skyshield, accompanied by the '''Bringers of Despair''', the Black Legion's finest warriors. They tore through Creed's command effortlessly, but despite this Creed still managed to escape, thanks to the heroism of his longtime companion Kell. As he saw the Castellan airlifted via Valkyrie to safety, the injured Kell gave Abaddon the proverbial middle finger along with his best shit-faced grin in defiance.

The Despoiler, not amused, broke his spine in response.

===The Darkness Comes Quickly===

With the command structure of the Cadian 8th disrupted by the Armless One's surprise raid, and the 21st routed, the front line in the south folded like a wet napkin. The Chosen of Abaddon broke through the last few trenches held by the 21st and pivoted to the East, but the Sons of Dorn were in their way, as both Garadon and Amalrich had planted their banners in their path. For all their valor though, the Fists and the Templars were too few, and as a result remained the sole island of defiance amid a sea of traitor scum.

The artillery companies of the Cadian 185th were annihilated first, in territory they though secured, but as their command squadrons were overcome the battle-brothers of the Crimson Fists 5th Company countered, their boltguns roaring vengeance for their fallen Captain. This left the Dark Angels however without support, and Korahael braced his remaining brothers amidst the long shadows of those towering pylons, as they met yet another savage charge of the Crimson Slaughter.

Far west, the Cadian 75th and 403rd threw back wave after wave of attacking Cultists, amidst ramparts made of their fallen as well as their foes. Time and again they threw back hordes of madmen, but after several waves things changed, and the chants of the Damned was replaced by the hellfire and roars of Daemons, once more manifested on the battlefield. Soon enough, the Western front crumpled under their onslaught.

As she saw the danger this posed, and still fresh from their victory in the Northern trenches, she led her Battle Sisters south. The Living Saint's aura remained undimmed, and with the Geminae Superia by her side, the Battle Sisters hymnals soon echoed amidst the pylons along with the thunderous bark of their bolters.

===Rattenkreig===

The remnants of the Cadian 8th made a fighting retreat downwards into the catacombs underneath the Pylons, with Abby and his Terminators not far behind. Other warbands followed, and the tight corridors soon echoed with gunfire and the screams of the dying. With the aid of Cawl's Skitarii, Creed's soldiers made Abaddon pay in blood for every inch of ground he took, with every blast door turned into a fortress, and every intersection a kill zone.

Despite his own injuries, Creed fought in the rearguard, as much as a symbol of continued resistance as anything else. His troops didn't disappoint, and would have followed their dear leader into the fires of Hell if they had to. The rearguard fought like lions, and tried to slow the Despoiler's inexorable advance. Though each was eventually overwhelmed, they spat out their defiance to the very end.

Deep in the heart of the catacomb complex, Cawl continued with his work. Thanks to Trazyn, the archmagos had located the command node of the entire Pylon field, and while he now had an inkling on its what its true purpose was, ''getting it to work'' was something else entirely. Off to the side in the shadows, Trazyn himself watched Cawl labor, all the while surrounded by [[Kataphron_Battle_Servitors#Kataphron_Breachers| Kataphron Breachers]] ready to annihilate the Necron if he even thought of betrayal.

Trazyn's own thoughts were far from betrayal however, as the Overlord mulled whether to be a savior... or a thief. These musings were interrupted however as the Western wall of the cavern collapsed against a wave of Black Legion marines led by Abaddon himself. The line of [[Electro Priest]]s that had been waiting didn't even slow the Despoiler down, and as the Kataphrons pivoted to fire on the new threat, Trazyn made his decision.

From the depths of his robes, the Necron retrieved three <s>pokeballs</s> Tesseract Labyrinths, and led their contents loose.

===[[Inquisitor Greyfax|Katarinya Greyfax]], I choose you!===

With a burst of interdimensional light, a brand new army suddenly filled the ravaged cavern. This was not a Necron legion however, but select pieces from Trazyn's own "collection" -- a company of Heresy-era Ultramarines [[Power_Armour#Cataphractii_Pattern_Terminator_Armour|Cataphractii Terminators]] and Contemptor Dreadnoughts, [[Vostroyan Firstborn]], snipers from long-lost Tanith, battle-brothers from the [[Salamanders]], and even a lone [[Adeptus Custodes|Custodian]]. All but one group of these time-displaced Imperials quickly threw themselves into the fray once it became apparent that they were facing Chaos traitors.

The one group that didn't jump into battle right away was the force led by one Inquisitor '''Katarinya Greyfax''' of the [[Ordo Hereticus]]. The safeties of their lasguns came out, but not one member of her entourage opened fire.

Thanks to these surprise reinforcements, the Black Legion assault was blunted, and Trazyn once again retreated into the shadows, satisfied to quietly watch conflict unfold... and be ready to swoop in for a "souvenir" or two when the opportunity arose.

The cavern soon shook with the intensity of the battle, as much like what had happened in the fields above, this was no duel of grand strategy or maneuver, but a dirty and bloody brawl. Even Cawl found himself involved -- with his instructions to the Pylons entered, the Archmagos readied his weapons and entered war mode, his vox grille loudly chanting the Lingua Technis. The remaining Mechanicus forces took up the chant, and their wavering lines once more found strength in the Omnissiah's blessings.

When Abaddon spotted Cawl, the Despoiler experienced a rare moment of doubt, and wondered if someone had finally found out the truth of the Crimson Path, and his ten thousand year-old strategy. As he recognized that the Battle for Cadia was about to reach its climax, he ordered his remaining sorcerers to tilt things to his favor again. Hordes of Daemons manifested in the cavern, and with these unholy reinforcements available Abaddon returned to the fray.