Battle of the Alaxxes Nebula

The Battle of the Alaxxes Nebula
Date	07.M31
Scale	Void battle
Theatre	Horus Heresy
Status	Pyrrhic Imperial victory
Belligerents
Alpha Legion	Space Wolves, Dark Angels
Commanders and Leaders
Alpharius, Omegon	Leman Russ
Strength
Bulk of Legion fleet	Bulk of Legion fleet, 1 Dark Angels Starfort
Losses
High	High
Outcome
Shattered the Space Wolves, preventing them from effectively participating in the Heresy thereafter.

The Battle of the Alaxxes Nebula took place directly after the Burning of Prospero, as the Alpha Legion, led by their primarch(s} attempted to utterly destroy the battered Space Wolves Legion.

Overview

As the Space Wolf fleet departed Prospero to (metaphorically and literally) lick their wounds after the battle, they were ambushed by an Alpha Legion fleet. Russ, immediately noting that his fleet was drastically outmatched, beat an immediate retreat to the nearby Alaxxes Nebula where his fleet would not be cut to pieces in short order. He then began attempting to figure out what the hell was going on and who was on who's side.

Russ called up Jaghatai Khan in an attempt to get the White Scars' fleet to come to his aid, but the Khan was suspicious, having recently received a message from Horus that the Wolves had gone rogue and rebelled. Rather than intervene on either side, the Scars set out to find the truth for themselves.

With no other forces around, Russ fell into despair, believing that defeat was imminent, and retreated to his chambers to ponder things. With his primarch in an emo mood, First Captain Gunnar Gunnhilt took command and decided to attempt a desperate breakout maneuver. Gunnhilt's maneuver partially succeeded, though at the cost of his own life and that of his vessel, the Ragnarok. As the battle heightened, Russ reappeared, having suppressed his inner demons regarding his past actions. Despite Russ's leadership, the Alpha Legion fleet surrounded the Space Wolves as they began their final stand.

At this moment, help arrived from an unexpected group: a Dark Angels fleet. After a vicious void battle, the Alpha Legion fleet withdrew with both sides having taken heavy losses.

Aftermath

Russ explained the course of the Heresy thus far to the Dark Angels commander, Captain Ormand, who had been unaware of it all (and in theory loyal to Luther.) Russ set a course for Terra, while Ormand turned immediately for Caliban.