Editing Hektor Heresy (section)

==A Galaxy at War==
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<center>'''ALEXANDRI THE REGENT'''</center>
[[File:AlexandriOfTheSilverCataphracts.jpg|right|160px]]
The Council of Terra voted their confidence and put on a show of support for the Rosskan Primarch, believing that Terra needed a supreme commander to rally behind.  However, many were worried.  The nickname "Regent" was soon passed around, implying that Alexandri intended to seize power and make himself Emperor.  The prospect was frightening, for a coup would leave the Imperium to choose between two usurpers.  Yet the Regent's great intellect was focused entirely on the defence of Sol.  Alexandri squeezed the worlds he controlled for every advantage over Hektor and made no diversion to increase his own power beyond what victory demanded.  By the time the Emperor re-emerged, the epithet "Regent" had become a term of respect for Alexandri's able guidance of the realm.
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Despite turning back Hektor's armies at the gates of the Solar Sector, the Loyalist cause appeared to be in real peril.  The fortunes of the Loyal Primarchs summed up the situation; Arelex Orannis and Shakya Vardhana had been grievously wounded, Brennus and Golgothos tormented by defeat and the death of their sons, and Tiran Osoros slain.  Alexandri of Rosskar and Onyx the Indestructible had yet to suffer a serious reversal, but Onyx had been embarked on a long and dangerous voyage through the Warp when the Astronomican's light was blotted out by Warp Storms.  The views of most ordinary soldiers of the time fixated on the actions of a single man: [[Roman Albrecht]].  The Lord Knight's loyalty to Terra was taken as an article of faith.  His ability to turn the fortunes of war if only the defenders of Sol could hold out long enough was never in doubt, though most popular scenarios never got past the naive belief that Albrecht could end the rebellion with his sword alone.  Senior commanders had no less admiration for Roman Albrecht's martial prowess, but believed that the Steel Marshals would need the other Loyalist Legions to find their way back to the fight if they were to break Hektor's chokehold on Sol.  While Alexandri's emergency measures had tapped the full strength of the densely populated worlds in the Solar Sector intelligence indicated that the Traitors were tightening their grip on the rest of the Segmentum Solar.  Given time, Sol and her nearby neighbours would be smothered by weight of numbers.

However, the Traitor camp had problems of their own.  Hektor still held the strategic initiative, but supply depots in the inner Imperium had been exhausted by the first rush towards Terra and forced the great Traitor army to disperse.  In their place, the fresh Iron Rangers and Black Augurs deployed to keep Alexandri's forces cooped up.  If the Regent had realised the weakness of the Traitor cordon around Sol, he might have been able to send his troops to link up with Roman Albrecht rather than engage in adventures in the Solar System - but we can do no more than speculate about how the war might have gone from there.

Aside from the great battles of this period which still focused on the survival of the Space Marine Legions, a series of obscure clashes were fought to secure sources of desperately needed food, ammunition, and promethium.  The stubborn resistance of almost-forgotten Imperial troops, more often than not led by Discipline Masters, significantly delayed plans to attack Terra again.  Alongside their supply difficulties, the Traitors also began to suffer from the corrosive power of Chaos.  Many of the warriors who had rallied to the Olmer Tribunal had believed that the Warmaster truly represented the ideals of the Great Crusade.  These men were horrified to find themselves allied with Xenos psykers.  The transformation of Inferox had been even more disturbing than the presence of the Hezeyar.  Despite the purges on Crematoria, a minority of the Sons of Fire turned away from their daemonic sire and sided with the War Scribes in the defence of the Atalantos Worlds.  These would be the first of a growing trickle of Space Marines who abandoned Hektor's cause and sought out new destinies in the maelstrom of the Heresy.  As the hatreds of war grew, the opportunities to change sides shrank and the renegade Marines would often try to carve out realms of their own.  Although defections from the Loyalist Legions also occurred, those who had not felt tightly bound to the Loyal Primarchs had mostly thrown in with Hektor when the war broke out.  Perversely, the loss of Space Marines to battle and desertion made the Warmaster more and more dependant on the Ruinous Powers.

One last factor remained unknown to both sides.  The Military Council had banished [[Gaspard Lumey]]'s [[Void Angels]] to the thinly-inhabited stars in the galactic north before the war began.  Though dishonoured, the Fifth Legion were a powerful force, one whose significance waxed as the other Legions spent their strength against one another.  If Lumey could be won to either camp, the injection of fresh Marines could decide the war.

===The Second Pacification of Luna===
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<center>'''THE MOON HAS A HARSH MISTRESS'''</center>
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By the time the Heresy began, the gene-wrought goddess Pallas Eugenesis had served the Imperium for over two centuries.  Yet few believed that she felt any true loyalty to the Emperor or His great design.  The Eclipse Queen had simply chosen to side with Terra's rising power when the Unification Wars came to an end.  When her consort Hektor came into conflict with the Imperial Government, the same principle put Pallas on the side of the Traitors.
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''For the Love of Man, why won't you respond?  Luna is loyal!  Call off your wolves, Alexandri!''

- Jadom Hyx, Acting Governor of Luna 

[[Pallas Eugenesis]], as Hektor Cincinnatus's titular consort, had been at her husband's side during the Olmer Tribunal and had not returned to the Solar System since.  However, her long tenure as ruler of Luna raised such question-marks over the reliability of Selenar troops that Alexandri had left them entirely out of his defence plans.  This dubious loyalty posed a definite threat.  Even if the garrison of Luna was too weak to launch an invasion of Terra on their own, Loyalist commanders had no interest in leaving Hektor with a source of supply and reinforcements within the Solar System.  In addition, Alexandri of Rosskar harboured a deep grudge against Pallas - and if the Regent was not motivated by his personal feelings, there is little doubt that he took great pleasure in attacking Luna.  Deciding that a potentially treacherous territory need not be treated with any honour, the Regent commanded a Battalion of his Silver Cataphracts to launch a sneak attack.  Their main target was Portus Grimaldi, the city-laboratory that served as the main gateway to Terra's satellite.  Entering Grimaldi by merchant transport, the Marines quickly routed the city garrison and began moving on new targets.

Acting Governor Jadom Hyx certainly shared Alexandri's ill-feelings towards Pallas Eugenesis but was appalled to learn that the Regent had attacked.  Hyx was a loyal servant of the Emperor and had determined to resist Hektor's forces when the time came.  He knew that his mistress was well-loved on Luna and no doubt had agents prepared to stir up discontent, but felt that he could have dealt with such problems and kept Terra's closest neighbour in the Loyalist camp.  The Acting Governor spent precious minutes sending plaintive messages to Terra begging the Silver Cataphracts to cease their assault.  After receiving no response, Hyx reluctantly entered his secure codes to activate the Selenar Defence Lasers before they could be taken by the Regent's marines.  Unbeknownst to the defenders of Terra, Pallas Eugenesis had overseen a covert project to upgrade Luna's laser batteries only a few years earlier.  Hyx suspected that his mistress had been planning her treachery for a long time, but under the circumstances he felt no choice but to comply with her plans.

Unfortunately for Hyx, he was a mere pawn in Pallas Eugenesis's schemes.  Along with the upgrade to the Selenar Defence Lasers, Pallas had seen fit to install a fail-safe.  When the Acting Governor attempted to activate the great weapons they self-destructed.  The massive tactical holo-display within Luna's planetary command centre flickered, then switched from dry military information to the mocking visage of Pallas Eugenesis.  A recorded message chided Hyx for his folly, informing the Acting Governor that he had only been tasked with the rule of Luna because more competent servants were needed elsewhere.  Pallas's tone then warmed to a false kindness as her recorded voice explained that she would still make good use of Hyx, though not in his current form.  Before Jakom Hyx could finish cursing his perfidious mistress, bio-transformer cells that had been lying latent in his body went into effect.  Along with the rest of Luna's population, her Acting Governor was rebuilt into a mindless horror.  Though this scheme destroyed any organised opposition to the Silver Cataphracts, loyalist troops would be bogged down fighting gene-horrors for months afterwards and the fruits of victory were spoiled.  Luna's people were dead.  Her ruined laser batteries could contribute nothing to the defence of Terra.

===The Lion's Cordon===
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<center>'''THE BATTLE OF TROUPO III'''</center>
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During Hektor's first march on Terra, the Lions Rampant had functioned as a spearhead both on planets and across the stars. Cromwald Walgrun's genius for conducting a swift-moving offensive was on full display, but also carried a heavy cost in Promethium. Both sides had known that the fuel-rich world of Troupo III would be a key battlefield and when the Lions Rampant began their combat drops they found a force of Silver Cataphracts opposing them. Though the armoured clashes here would be dwarfed by the gargantuan tank battles of the later Heresy, they were at the time unprecedented. For all the blood shed on Troupo III's sands, neither side could claim a real victory. After the Silver Cataphracts demolished the planetary Promethium dumps and refineries, Traitor and Loyalist alike left Troupo III to burn.
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The Steel Marshals' long delay in coming to Terra's aid was partly a result of their valour. When the civil war began to brew, Roman Albrecht's Legion was engaged in a multi-sector war against the great Domain of Hathor.  Although this vast trans-stellar realm was far from the Imperium's centre, it stretched across strategic warp currents at the joint of the Segmentum Pacificus and Segmentum Tempestus. For decades the War Council had put off an invasion of Hathor's empire, but as the Great Crusade neared its end the Steel Marshals were dispatched to eliminate one last hold-out against Terra. The Steel Marshals had made considerable gains before the news coming from the Segmentum Solar became too serious to ignore, but that left Roman Albrecht with a dilemma. If he simply abandoned his campaign against Hathor, the counterattack would surely take hostile troops far across the Imperial border. Yet he also needed to free up his Legion to confront Hektor.  

The Lord Knight decided to launch one more great offensive to bring Hathor to the table, leading his best men in person to the doorstep of Hathor's throneworld. Roman Albrecht then conducted a hasty peace that would guarantee the Domain of Hathor being annexed into the Imperium on his return. With their last conquests of the Great Crusade secure, the Steel Marshals set out towards Terra.  Their road to the Segmentum Solar would be a long one. Without the light of the Astronomican, Roman Albrecht assembled Astropathic choirs to provide short-range beacons for his fleet's Navigators. By leapfrogging the signalling choirs forward, the Marshals could travel the Warp with relative safety.

As much as he inspired Loyalist hopes, Roman Albrecht haunted the Traitors. None believed that the Lord Knight could be swayed to Hektor's side, even though several Chapters of Steel Marshals had defected. Nor were any of the Traitor Primarchs particularly confident about attempting to slay Albrecht in battle. Eventually it fell to [[Cromwald Walgrun]] and his [[Lions Rampant]] to contain and wear down the Steel Marshals. The Ninth Legion had already taken significant losses, both at the hands of the Loyalists at Troupo III and through Cromwald's own vicious purges, but their morale was high. Furthermore, it was believed that the fast-moving Lions would be able to secure local superiorities against the more static Steel Marshals.

Roman Albrecht's use of Astropathic Choirs to guide his fleet was a necessity, but it made his position conspicuous. The Lions Rampant, aided by Aubrey's Hezeyar allies, swiftly closed in on the Steel Marshals. However, Cromwald Walgrun did not launch an attack on the Loyalist positions. Instead, he borrowed from the tactics that had thwarted his Legion at Troupo III and set his men to ravaging the systems in Albrecht's path. Astropathic pleas detailing the Lions' atrocities reached the Steel Marshals and the Legion's commanders were eager to intervene, but rushing the fleet forward to help would be gambling with the survival of the Imperium. For several months, the Steel Marshals pushed into the "scorched earth" Walgrun had created. With each advance, the Lions Rampant fell back to keep devastating the systems on Roman Albrecht's line of march. The Loyalist fleet's supplies began to run low. Under normal circumstances, the Steel Marshals could have simply bypassed the area by making a longer trip through the Warp, but without the light of the Astronomican such feats of navigation were tremendously risky.

===The Supply Battles: Zhuko V===
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<center>'''A WORLD OF TANKS'''</center>
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Zhuko V was an old, heavily populated world when it was brought into Compliance.  Two centuries of progress as part of the Imperium saw the Zhukons move from sprawling industrial cities into massive hives separated by ash-coated wastes.  Although Zhuko V was not part of the advanced realm of the Mechanicum, it still produced war material in formidable quantities.  The Zhukons assembled reliable ''Tiran Osoros'' Battle Tanks, massive ''Gorgon'' Heavy Transporters, and ''Thunderbolt'' Heavy Fighters, along with more humble items of war such as flak armour and lascarbines.  Due to the shipping disruption caused by the Heresy, Zhuko V's warehouses were overflowing with material, ready for use by the first taker.
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''In the name of the Council of Terra and their Warmaster, Alexandri Ibirien, I pronounce you guilty of high treason.  The sentence is death.''

- Discipline Master Konstantine Maloyar, addressing the corpse of Governor Telesius Secundus

Not all of the battles of the Heresy were fought between Space Marines. In fact, some of the largest engagements were between entirely mortal armies but these are generally lost to history or included only as footnotes to the fast-moving campaigns of the Primarchs. To some extent this reading of the war is justified, because the auxilia were assigned to secondary roles.  However, these secondary roles typically included securing key sources of food, munitions, and promethium, the vital supplies that allowed the armies of the Heresy to function. Thousands of conflicts, ranging from regimental-scale battles on Astrariums up to enormous sector-wide campaigns were fought by mortal men and women for the sake of war material, but the best-known by far is the elephantine clash of armour on Zhuko V.

When the civil war began, Zhuko V was governed by Telesius Secundus, a graduate of the ''Scholae Astartes'' system established by the Heralds of Hektor. Naturally, Telesius favoured "his own" Legion and intended to provide Hektor Cincinnatus with the full support of the Hive World. However, after the hostilities began and Alexandri of Rosskar gave Imperial Discipline Masters license to police the whole of the Segmentum Solar, Telesius was promptly executed by Konstantine Maloyar for high treason.  Maloyar then attempted to establish a military government on Zhuko V, but was opposed by Telesius's partisans. The hab-blocks of Zhuko V's three main hives were the scene of low-level warfare for months while Discipline Master Maloyar and his loyal soldiers fought to secure control. By the time that forces loyal to Hektor arrived to harvest the fruits of Zhuko V's industry, the battles within the hives were drawing to a close. Loyalists controlled Gorbman City and Buzuluk City (the planetary capital), while the Traitors were in possession of Kruppuk City.

This situation was far from what Prinz-Direktor Hermann von Rausendorf expected. The trim and fussy [[Exirans|Exiran]] commander had orders to recruit new army groups from Zhuko V, not to lead a battle for control of the planet. His XXXVIII Grenzer-Korps was a light force by Exiran standards and in any case lacked the numbers to subdue a Hive World.  However, failure was not an option. Even if the Heralds of Hektor had been inclined to accept the Prinz-Direktor reporting that he simply could not secure Zhuko V (and this was unlikely), Exiran martial honour demanded that von Rausendorf prove the superiority of his methods. Without any attempt to hide his disgust at the failure of his new Zhukon allies, the Exiran commander landed his forces at Kruppuk City and declared himself Acting Planetary Governor.

Over the next three years, von Rausendorf and Maloyar mobilised the population of Zhuko V and expended its great stores of war material in a brutal conflict. The largest tank battle of the campaign, fought in the Ostrovya Gap, saw hundreds of thousands of armoured vehicles and millions of soldiers committed, and other clashes such as the Vogrovnok Flats, Gebrokye Downs, and the Second Ostrovya Gap were almost as large. Eventually a Battalion of Heralds of Hektor arrived and put an end to the much depleted Loyalist defenders, but the bounty of war they had expected had been sunk into the ruin of Zhuko V. The Traitors left the battered planet with little more than they had sent, though Hermann von Rausendorf's surviving troops were hardened veterans and the Prinz-Direktor had won the favour of the Blood God.

===Anarchy Spreads===
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<center>'''THE APOTHEOSIS OF URIEL'''</center>
[[File:Uriel starikov.jpg|right|160px]]
While his gene-sons trailed the Entombed, Uriel Salazar remained on Caria. For weeks, the Primarch walked among the fallen sons of Golgothos, meditating on the paths of fate that had led to this point. He had knelt before Aubrey and accepted the benedictions of his strange Xenos allies for the sake of pursuing the Great Truth of the galaxy, and joined his forces to Hektor's in exchange for further wisdom. Yet for all this time, Uriel had thought himself his own man, an agent that acted apart from fate. Doubts about his role now emerged. He had tried to negotiate with Golgothos and avoid using Johannes Vrach's bio-weapon, but it seemed that his warnings had only invited the Entombed to land and be devastated. Was this the hand of the "Architect of Fate" spoken of in Xenos texts?  What, then, was the feeling of free will that he experienced?  Uriel pondered the question deeply and finally saw into the heart of the illusion. The Architect's plans were inescapable and bound all beings to the web of fate. But the Changer of Ways gave mortals the freedom to ''understand'' their place in the universe and match their wills to His, becoming spiders on that web rather than mere feebly-struggling insects. Exultant, Uriel shed his limitations and became Tzeentch's Chosen.
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''My old life is at an end.  No more shall I fight for pride or greed, no more shall I serve an impure master.  Today I am born again, a rock in the great Bulwark against barbarism.''

- Oath of the Bulwark

After their fateful attack on Caria, the remains of the Entombed returned to Sepulchra to plan their next move. While they had lost the body of the Legion, the remaining warriors were Terminator-clad veterans and ancients interred in mighty Dreadnoughts. If they could link up with other Loyalist forces to cover their flanks, Golgothos's force could still make an impact. To the Primarch's distress, his warriors would face another sneak attack as they approached their homeworld. Cardinal Obitus had seized power on Sepulchra and turned the planet's defence batteries on his gene-father's ships as they approached. The reasons for this betrayal are lost to history, but Obitus probably became embroiled in Aubrey the Grey's conspiracy at Olmer. Golgothos, already half-mad with grief from the losses on Caria, became completely irrational and screamed orders at his warriors to destroy Obitus and his followers. The Entombed needed little encouragement. Their ships braved Sepulchra's defences and the sons of Golgothos assaulted their homeworld with a silent fury. Whatever reward Obitus had been promised for his treachery, he did not survive to receive it.

After putting down Obitus, the Entombed went on the warpath. No more thoughts of linking up with other Loyalists. No more plan to turn the tide of war. The Legion now lived - or perhaps more accurately, refused to die - only to seek out the strongholds of the Traitors and destroy them. Their rampage south across the Segmentum Obscurus showed little discrimination and many worlds that had declared for neither side in the confusion of the Heresy were attacked. In the wake of the Entombed came the Justiciars, presenting themselves as saviours to terrified Imperial citizens. From this frightened mass Uriel's sons gathered many new recruits for the ranks of their auxilia. Although the Entombed crossed the border of the Segmentum Solar as a small band of elite warriors, the Justiciars followed them as a mighty Legion.

Segmentum Pacificus also suffered the ravages of Space Marines gone rogue. Unlike the berserk Entombed, the sadistic Mastodontii moved systematically and revelled in the fear of their victims.  With the Void Angels still missing and the Silver Cataphracts encamped at Terra, Tollund Ötztal's marines were almost unopposed. The only centre of power with the strength to hold off the Mastodontii was the mighty Forge World [[Al-Sherar]]. Sheltered behind the long walls of her defensive satellites, Al-Sherar dispatched warships to protect her colonies and allies, affirming that her empire within an Empire deserved the name "Realm of Peace". Of course, there were many more targets than the Kazi could protect and they lacked the doctrine to hunt down the roving Space Marines. When confronted by Mechanicum warships, Mastodontii hunting packs simply turned about and looked to one of countless undefended worlds.

Even where the Space Marines were not taking out their appetites on humanity, the fabric of the Imperium was tearing. Imperial governors and Imperial Army commanders began to act as autocrats, seeking no superior authority. Even where these petty despots claimed to only be carrying out an independent policy "for the duration of the emergency", they also reserved the right to define when the emergency ended. Others unabashedly embraced new masters, making pacts with powerful Xenos or kowtowing to the Ruinous Powers. Much of the vast Ultima Segmentum was beyond even the nominal rule of Terra, but a new empire was rising. [[Sebastion Rex]], formerly of the Heralds of Hektor, was gathering renegade Space Marines and other warriors to his banner. In the reaches of Ultima, Sebastion proclaimed [[the Bulwark]] as a shelter for that portion of mankind who wanted nothing of the war between the Primarchs. While the Bulwark would not last, for a few short years it was a vibrant light in the Galaxy, home to refugees and fortune-seekers, pacifists and rogue warriors alike, all under the enlightened despotism of the Rex.

===The Atalantos Defiance===
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<center>'''THE BATTLE OF ALESSIA'''</center>
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Dissent within the ranks of the Thunder Kings had been born at Diamat, where Brennus and his Equerry Ferdiad argued before battle.  Defeat at Ostium had widened the rifts in the Legion and although retiring to the Legion Homeworld had allowed for fresh recruits to replace some of those who had been slain by the Black Augurs, the Thunder Kings also suffered fresh wounds on Alessia.  Ferdiad challenged his master for control over the Legion, and when he was defeated in an honour duel the Equerry led five of the tribes in revolt.  A short, furious campaign drove the traitors from Alessia, but the loyalist strength now remaining at Brennus' command was a shadow of the Legion he had led at the end of the Great Crusade.
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''SCORCH THE EARTH!  BURN THE STARS!''

- battle cry of the 8th Conflagration of the Sons of Fire Legion

After the burning of Nahardul, the [[Eternal Zealots]] retired from [[the Atalantos Worlds]] but the [[Sons of Fire]] continued to press the [[War Scribes]] hard.  Still hurting from Wolzhi Steelblood's betrayal, there was little that the Loyalists could do to stem the tide.  Barduvay, the Flower of Atalantos, and her defenders alike were burned by Inferox.  Five thousand sons of [[Arelex Orannis]] died trying to protect Lorka Minor and as many again on the farm planets that fed the Hive World.  Then came the invasion of Atalantos herself.  The Sons of Fire smashed through the War Scribes' weakened defences and began to drop onto their homeworld.

Arelex Orannis still lay wounded.  The Primarch's god-like vitality allowed him to survive the touch of Phosphex, but healing was a slow and painful process.  While Inferox would lead his Sons of Fire in person, Orannis was confined within the War Scribes' Fortress-Monastery.  Despite the loss of their advanced equipment and the damage the Legion already taken, the War Scribes were still possessed phenomenal tactical cohesion and their wounded Primarch guided them from his sickbed.  Where the Sons of Fire expected heavy resistance, the defenders of Atalantos melted away.  Where they felt safe, camouflaged War Scribes burst from hiding to strike at weak points.  These expert tactics could not save Atalantos, but they exacted a heavy toll on the Sons of Fire.  However, no amount of cunning could overturn the War Scribes' dire situation.  Eventually, the Loyalists were reduced to defending their Fortress-Monastery and hoping that its adamantium walls would hold out against Inferox's siege weapons.

Such hopes were in vain.  To the shock of the defenders, six Titans from the dread Legio Olitau were sacrificed to breach the War Scribes' walls and Inferox himself led the Sons of Fire into the gap.  Arelex Orannis called for his panoply of war and hastened to join his sons in their last stand.  Yet the Sons of Fire were also feeling the pressures of war.  A great fleet led by the Primarch Brennus had broken warp at the outskirts of the Atalantos System and was speeding towards the War Scribes homeworld.  The sacrifice of Olitau's god machines had been a last attempt to finish off Arelex Orannis before the Thunder Kings arrived.  Although the Sons of Fire took a fierce toll on the defenders, Brennus and his Déith Cernun teleported to the surface and shored up the loyalist line while Thunder Kings' shuttles and drop pods began their descent.

Inferox felt no fear at the prospect of bloody annihilation, but as the Primarch savoured the prospect of his own violent death, he felt the voice of mighty Khorne.  The God of Fire and Blood called his Champion to a greater purpose, far from the ashes of Atalantos.  Obedient to his master, Inferox had his Sons of Fire withdraw and leave the loyalists to count their dead.

===Rise of the Autopostates===
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<center>'''NON-CONFORMISM IN THE MACHINE CULT'''</center>
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For scholars familiar with the Cult Mechanicus of the 41st Millenium, Kalkas Tygian's fixation upon non-conformism as the Heresy blossomed can be baffling. How could a world like Al-Sherar defy the Martian Parliament, giving adulation to the Machine God in their own rites and even encouraging divergent thought among other Forge Worlds?  Yet when we discard our preconceptions the truth is laid bare.  The Mechanicum of the Great Crusade held a great many divergent views, even on Mars itself.  Tygian could find a majority in favour of political dominance over Al-Sherar, but every attempt to impose one creed across the Tech-Priests of the Galaxy was met with internal opposition.  Only after the civil war, when dissent on Mars was a sign of Heresy punishable by death, would the Red Planet seek a final reckoning with Al-Sherar and her Non-Conformist League.
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Although individuals, martial brotherhoods, and even whole Forge Worlds had aligned themselves with the Traitors and Loyalists, [[Mars (Hektor Heresy)|Mars]] herself remained curiously preoccupied with internal affairs as civil war erupted.  Fabricator-General [[Kalkas Tygian]] had been fighting a long war of influence and political calculation against dissidents within the Machine Cult.  In particular, the Non-Comformist League led by the headstrong kazi of [[Al-Sherar]] were a far greater concern to the Martian Parliament than squabbling among the Primarchs.  For decades after its discovery, Al-Sherar had reached out to heterodox Forge Worlds - at first in the Segmentum Pacificus, but eventually across the Galaxy - offering political and material support to those who did not embrace the narrow creed of Kalkas Tygian.  Documents of admittedly dubious pedigree indicate that Tygian's advisors were examining plans for limited wars to curb the Non-Conformist League's influence even as the Voidwatcher's sorcery threw the Warp into turmoil.  Only once it was no longer possible to look out across the Galaxy as a whole was Kalkas Tygian forced to take stock of the Solar System's troubles.

Unfortunately, Mars was not merely an observer, for the hand of Chaos had touched the Red Planet too.  Within the Forge Temple Ubris Tyrrhena, [[Vilyon Luthier]] had assembled an army of Abominable Intelligences, each possessed by a daemon of Slaanesh.  These vile "Choristers" were able to pervert the Machine God's order and seize control of servitors about them.  The first Forge Temple to fall to a Chorister was Urbis Syrtis.  Its masters were slain and stripped for components, and its forges set to the work of creating more minions of the Ruinous Powers.  As Luthier's onslaught gathered pace, panicked Magoi began to dabble with forbidden knowledge in the hope of finding an answer.  '''Lyster Larrey''' attempted to unleash a potent virus to destroy the Chorister; his efforts only saw the division of the A.I. into Slaaneshi and Nurgilite fractions, and Larrey's soul lost to the Father of Plague.  A more subtle plan arose in the mind of '''Duniya Kaanesh'''.  Kaanesh discovered that Luthier's Choristers could only interface with a limited number of Servitors and attempted to overload their communications by creating mountains of servitor skulls about a planned battlefield.  Although the Choristers were incinerated by Volkite fire on that blood-soaked ground, Kaanesh's blasphemous acts were an oath of fealty to Khorne, God of Fire and Blood.

Not all lost their heads in these dark days, but Kalkas Tygian was forced to admit that the situation was dire.  He could not signal Alexandri of Rosskar to offer the aid of the Cult Mechanicus, but perhaps the Regent could lend his Silver Cataphracts to the struggle for Mars.

===The Rosskar Atrocities===

Pallas Eugenesis and Alexandri of Rosskar had despised one another for decades even before the war broke out.  Eager to deliver one more humiliation to the Primarch of the Silver Cataphracts, Pallas called for an attack on Rosskar itself, pleading to Hektor that ravaging the homeworld of the Silver Cataphracts would weaken the Legion's resolve and unlock the defences of ancient Terra.  It is unlikely that Hektor Cincinnatus was entirely convinced, but he gave Pallas leave to pursue her vendetta and dispatched a Phalanx of his gene-sons to support the Eclipse Queen's own Selenar cohorts.

Where other campaigns began with some semblance of honour and descended into brutality, the attack on Rosskar was cruel at the outset and became gratuitously sadistic.  Shapeshifting Selenar assassins took a toll on the Rosskan commanders; less subtle bio-weapons were unleashed on the population at large.  Yet the spirit of Rosskar is fatalistic self-sacrifice and Pallas's attempt to terrorize the world into submission fell flat.  Under the command of [[Konstantyn Ibirien]], the mortal men of Rosskar held out.  When faced by overwhelming odds, the Rosskan Strelky sold their lives dear.  When confronted by the bio-twisted bodies of their former comrades, the Strelky shot to defend themselves but wasted no ammunition on mercy killing.  Escalating atrocities only depleted the efficiency of the Selenar host and the Battle of Rosskar descended into a series of mass killings.

The Heralds of Hektor played no part in the attack on Rosskar itself, but their raids throughout the Kuzgeta Sector kept Rosskan colonies from sending aid to their homeworld.  Surprisingly, the embattled Strelky still received aid from other warriors in the Segmentum Pacificus.  Of particular note was the contribution from the worlds of [[the Markian Pact]].  The Pact dispatched four full armies to Rosskar when news of the attack arrived, and [[the Markian Corps|the Markian Expeditionary Force]] would eventually grow to over fifty million men, mainly operating in the battles around Hive Niemen.

===Dolsene: A promise of peace?===
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<center>'''THE WHITE KNIGHT'''</center>
[[File:Cyborg by barfly1976.jpg|right|160px]]
Many regard Abdul Al-Sherar as the greatest Knight to ever live. Few dispute that he was the greatest Knight of his era. Born as a thrall to the Kazi of Al-Sherar, he escaped his masters and proved his worth as a Freeblade Knight, even courting the Mistress of House Accolon, Arturia Eld. His disgrace in this suit saw Abdul retrace his steps and beg the Kazi for a new purpose. The passionless tech-priests remade their former slave, wedding his iron will to the fierce Machine Spirit of the Knight walker ''Lord of Bones'' and putting him into the service of their ally, Gaspard Lumey.
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''Enjoy your victory while you can. I'll kill what you love the most and you'll wish you'd died on my blades.''

- Aubrey the Grey

During the years of Gaspard Lumey's exile, Aubrey the Grey had kept up a steady correspondence with his far-off brother. Even as the civil war began, the two were exchanging letters - though Aubrey was far from candid about the developing conflict. Once Hektor's initial attack towards Terra bogged down, the Primarch of the Eternal Zealots began to disclose a heavily biased version of events and after completing his business at Atalantos Aubrey set out to the galactic north. Gaspard Lumey greeted Aubrey warmly at his base of operations on Dolsene and the two discussed the civil war over the course of three days. During this time, warriors in Aubrey's command renewed their association with old friends among the Fifth Legion and admired the new facilities and fortifications that had transformed Dolsene from an obscure frontier world into a fine Sector capital. Fatefully, the Zealots only paid cursory attention to the newly raised regiments of [[Dolsene Rifles]].

The meeting between the Primarchs was cordial at first but Gaspard Lumey's questions became increasingly hostile. In his closing remarks on the second day of talks, Gaspard addressed the unspoken question of the civil war: who should rule the Imperium? The Primarch answered that the Imperium belonged to Mankind.  If humanity had a place for the Space Marines after the Great Crusade, it would be an honour to serve. If not, the Legions could lay down their arms and become a part of history.  Although disappointed, Aubrey committed to a third day of talks and argued for a peace plan.  He encouraged Gaspard to take his Legion to the heart of the Imperium and impose a cease-fire before compromise became truly impossible. Aubrey would return to Hektor's side and argue for peace in the rebel camp.  Hoping to sweeten the pot, he suggested that Shakya Vardhana might play a similar role on Terra. This tissue of lies convinced Gaspard Lumey to end the talks and part ways peacefully.

On returning to his command ship, Aubrey the Grey immediately set in motion plans to decapitate the Fifth Legion. Gathering his personal bodyguard, the Traitor Primarch teleported back to the surface of Dolsene and began the attack as supporting elements followed in by drop pod. The Eternal Zealots had estimated that they would quickly overwhelm the few Space Marines standing guard and carry out a slaughter of Fifth Legion's unprepared commanders. In particular, Aubrey relished the chance to avenge his humiliation at Lazarus and see Gaspard Lumey dead. The decision to dismiss the Dolsene Rifles as an effective combat element was not unjustified, as few mortal formations had even stood their ground against Space Marines during the earlier stages of the war - but it was a mistake. Although the warriors of Dolsene felt the same terror in their hearts as other mortals on the receiving end of a Space Marine assault, their ancestors had become accustomed to terror through generations of siege by the horrors of the galactic fringe. The Riflemen defending Lumey's compound kept their discipline and kept firing for precious minutes.  Lascarbines claimed the life of one of Aubrey's bodyguards before the Riflemen were broken, and this affront saw more time wasted on punitive slaughter before the Eternal Zealots refocused on their objective. Thanks to the valour of their mortal allies, Gaspard Lumey's Chosen had time to ready themselves and met Aubrey head-on.

In close quarters, however, the Zealots still held the initiative. Aubrey led his gene-sons unerringly towards Gaspard Lumey, hoping to kill the now-loyalist Primarch and leave the Fifth disorganised in his wake.  Despite the courage of the Fifth Legion Marines, they were outmatched in close-quarters and Aubrey was soon face-to-face with Gaspard.  Just as quickly, the master of the Fifth was struck down and lay bleeding. Aubrey the Grey allowed himself the luxury of a moment's anticipation before delivering the coup de grace, but in an attack marked by wasted moments this was one delay too many. The great Freeblade, [[Lord of Bones|Abdul Al-Sherar]], had arrived. Al-Sherar's mighty war machine crashed into the fray, crushing some of Aubrey's best warriors, and shielded Gaspard Lumey while the Primarch recovered from his wounds. Although neither the White Knight nor Lumey could best Aubrey alone, together they forced the Arch-Traitor from the field.