The Lazarus Reach Crusade

The imperial Vox-casters blared the good news that the elder incursion of Ordel V had been stalled in two separate battles outside the Capital city of Populi Ordel.  Though this report is late in being transmitted and word has come that there may have been another larger battle of apocalyptic proportions since these two battles.

Adeptus Astartes forces form the Iron Hands took on an Eldar Wraith force in the suburban sprawl to the north of the capital while the Lords of Vengeance (LOV) ambushed an armored Eldar squad in the grass plains to the south.

Although the Iron Hands commander wanted a combined assault aimed at the Eldar warhost’s command and control center, the LOV refused to coordinate their attack with the Sons of the Gorgan and insisted that all other imperial forces stay away from the grass plains while their operation was in process.  Although direct communication with the LOV commander was not granted they reported that they had been authorized to use a new form of weapon and tactics that could possibly be harmful to other forces.  Whether this is a new form of radiation or toxin weapon or who authorized the LOV to use such weapons is still not confirmed.

The LOV did report that their new tactics were successful as they destroyed the elder almost completely, with only a single Wraith Knight surviving.  Surveying the battle space once the “all-clear” was given lead to a few assumptions on how it unfolded.

It appears that the LOV stole the initiative on a grouping of wave serpents, led by a Farsear, awaiting further reinforcements. With a barrage of heavy firepower holding the wave serpents and infantry in check the LOV was able to unleash its Land Raider full of the newly retooled close combat marines into the heart of the encampment.  There was wreckage of Eldar jet bikes on the outskirts of the area in what looked like an attempt to circle the Astartes force and pick of the weaker units on its sides.  The remains of a group of winged elder were found in a large pile and looked like they were burned in a giant inferno all at once.  One blow to the LOV plan was when a Rhino, stripped of its dozer blade to quickly get into the ambush position, was stuck up on a side hill. However, by this time the battle was well in hand.

One disturbing report filed by the Adeptus Ministorum remarked on the high number of civilian casualties in the area and on the battlefield.  Many of these civilians had serious burn marks all over their bodies, most appeared to be inflicted well before the battle.  As to if the nearby farmhouse was being used as a makeshift trauma center, and these burn victims brought here before the battle, is still being investigated.

We remind all imperial persona that the 24 hour curfew on Ordel V is still being strictly enforced.  All civilian movement is still restricted to and from the Hab-domes and the Agro-factories.  All non-essential workers are reminded that they are to stay indoors until the curfew is lifted.

On imperial date 0567014.M03 a joint force comprised of a Dark Angels recon division, and light Grey Knights pacification force tasked with removal of of Rhodesian solar witches received a call for reinforcements from the astartes chapter ‘lords of vengance’. It appeared there was an assault on a local imperial agri-world, Ordel V, by the xenos race known as ‘eldar’. The joint force immediately changed course to investigate.

Upon arrival there was no sign of the Lords of Vengeance so the force began their planet side investigation, starting with the charred ruins of the agri-world power facility. Upon deployment a dark angels spotting team caught site of some Xenos jet bikes hidden amongst the ruins and shortly thereafter it became apparent that there was a full fledged Eldar battleforce lying in wait for the unsuspecting imperials. Ill prepared and cut off from their orbital communications relay, they were forced to try to dig in and fight to control on of the three damaged warning beacons buried with the ruined structures. Their hope was to get a signal out to their strike cruiser or any other friendly forces still on the planet’s surface.

Though the imperial alliance forces fought bravely, the Dark Angels force led by librarian Acutus, and the Grey Knights force led jointly by inquisitors Hectar thundorrklappe and Vittio Hevvyfootte (both assigned to the local shrine world Rhodesia 22) were killed nearly to the last man. Inquisitor Hectar was able to repair the warning beacon his squad defended but, there is no guarantee that the Eldar had not already block all communications in the area.

The next few conflicts will have to decide the fate of the Agri-World Ordel V.

Word has come that the Lords of Vengeance continue to struggle against the Eldar incursion into Imperial space. This time, after fighting to a stalemate in the past months, the Eldar successfully captured a mining settlement on the Agri-world Ordel V.

Although the LOV fielded some of their toughest units, the speed and numbers of the elder were too much to hold off and they were forced to pull back to the main settlement, preparing their bulwarks and reforming the detachments for what could be the final battle for Ordel V.  Just what the ELdar want with the world, or why the LOV are so determined to denying the Eldar their prize and continue to refuse any imperial help is still unknown at this time.

What little intelligence of the battle that has been leaked has been difficult to piece together.  It seems the LOV detachment was led by their Chief Librarian, however, word comes that he had been struggling with weariness due to lack of sleep and constant sounds of screams from the warp.  It appears that at a crucial time in the battle his orders were confused and mixed, sending some units to attack elder units that no longer existed and positioning the Land Raider detachment in a position that left him out of range of any enemies at all.

Although some reports have come about that the Chief Librarian was sucked into the warp while holding off the elder war host, other reports indicate that he is currently preparing for a counter assault.  Just how he would survive a warp attack of such a magnitude is uncertain.

The halls of honor will remember such Hero’s as Baldred Haigermann, the lone Sniper Scout who singlehandedly held off two units of Eldar jetbikes to deny them the prize of the burned out husk of Building 5. Also the first companies Sternguard who not only captured and held ore pile 1 but also laid down oppressive fire and severely wounded the Eldar Warlord and held on to direct the Thunderfire cannon to finish the Job.

The Eldar seem to be expanding their operation in the area as they were seen fielding a new unit of Warriors. These Eldar had jetpacks and Wings.  As of now these units should be listed as a minor threat, as their purpose seems to be to land on the field of battle, shoot a lot of low power shots that do little damage and then get easily blown apart.

As stated above, final fortification of Populi Ordel (the Main population center on Ordel V) has commenced. Word has spread of the militarization of the populace with some citizens seen carrying weapons as powerful as Heavy Stubbers.  We have dispatched another small contingent of Imperial guard from the neighboring system to try and gain better intelligence than what is currently available.  Word has also come that the inquisition is sending a team to investigate severe warp disturbances and a high rate of cultist activities in the Sector.