Battle for the Orestes System
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The following paragraphs contain spoilers for: | Indomitus (Novel) |
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The Battle for the Orestes System[1a] began when the Szarekhan Dynasty forces of Overlord Simut sought to conquer the System, in order to increase the size of the Pariah Nexus.[1b]
History
At that time, Simut was behind the schedule given to him by his Dynasty[1c], as his conquest[1d] of the Casparill System[1e] had been a drawn out campaign. This had caused the Overlord to be contacted by the emissary Tholotep and given a dire warning as a result. If he fell further behind schedule, then Simut would be replaced and the Overlord would face the Silent King's wrath[1c]. Simut desperately wanted to avoid the fate that awaited him should that happen and ordered a fast approach into[1b] the Orestes System[1a]. In order to complete his task on time, the Overlord needed to place a giant pylon that emitted the Stilling phenomenon on[1b] Orestes III, where the System's Imperial Commander Kaleb Monfrottine Lowensten resided in one of its orbital space stations[1a]. As Simut's warships approached the world, though[1b], Lowensten ordered the Orestes System defense fleet to attack the Necron[1a]. They were joined by the Imperial Navy Light Cruiser Invigorous, which had been patrolling the System when the Necron attacked[1a], but they were no match for Simut's fleet. Any Imperial warships not destroyed by the Necrons were scattered and Simut's fleet soon neared Orestes III[1b]. As they did, the Stilling emitting from the pylon began to reach the world and began causing its population to become lethargic. However those dwelling on the space stations in Orestes III's orbit fared better, due to the station's force fields stunting the Stilling's impact. Lowensten was warned, however, that the phenomenon was also closing the Orestes System from Warp and would soon have it completely isolated. Fearing they would have no chance for reinforcements if that happened, Lowensten requested that the Invigorous' Commander, Illyuin, escape the System and bring back help. Illyuin did as he was asked[1a] and almost reached the System's Mandeville Point, when the Invigorous was spotted by Simut's fleet. In order to prevent the Light Cruiser's escape, the Plasmancer Ah-hotep used the systems on her Tomb Ship, Sun of Endings, to extend the length of the Stilling. The pylon's emissions were then able to reach the Invigorous as it activated its warp drive and this caused the Light Cruiser to explode[1f]. Meanwhile, while he was unaware of the Invigoroous' fate, Commander Lowensten immediately offered to surrender to Simut, on the condition the Necrons spared the space stations above Orestes III. The Overlord scoffed at this and sent the Skorpekh Lord Zozar and his Destroyer Cult forces to scour Orestes III of life. Once that was done, the Overlord would have the pylon placed on the world and he would move on to his next targeted System. Unbeknownst to all though, the Invigorous' destruction had briefly left a hole into the Warp. This was seen by the stranded Ultramarines Strike Cruiser Ithraca's Vengeance, which used it to escape from the Warp before the hole closed.[1a]
Led by Captain, Aeschelus, the Strike Cruiser was part of the Indomitus Crusade's Battle Group Faustus, but was allowed to operate on its own. That is why Aeschelus tried to answer a warning from the Casparill System, that had been sent before it fell[1e] to Overlord's Simut's forces[1d]. Aeschelus and his Ultramarines had expected to face the Necrons once they reached the System, but due to the Stilling they had become stranded in the Warp. The Invigorous's destruction, however, gave them an escape route into the Orestes System. As the Ithraca's Vengeance made its way cautiously into the System, the Strike Cruiser reached the outlying Leshk Station and learned of the Necrons' attack. There the Ultramarines discovered at first hand, the effects of the Stilling and of Imperial Commander Kaleb Monfrottine Lowensten offer to surrender. After hearing this, Aeschelus immediately ordered the Commander to stop surrendering and for the System's defense forces to fight back against the Necron. He then told the people of Orestes that the Emperor had not forgotten them and the Ultramarines would aid them in their fight. They then left to strike at the Necrons, but were unaware that they were being watched by the Plasmancer Ah-hotep. She had first seen the Ultramarines shortly after they entered the System, but had kept that information from Simut[1a]. As an agent of the Technomandrites, she had sought to carry out their will of sabotaging the creation of the Pariah Nexus, as its completion would be dire for them. If he succeeded the Silent King would then be able to unify the Necron species under his rule and destroy those that resisted him. Ah-hotep saw the Ultramarines as a chance to prevent that from happening and to personally ruin Simut's standing within his Dynasty[1g]. This was due to the Overlord ordering the destruction of the Muphekta Dynasty, which had left Ah-hotep as one of its few survivors[1h]. With her chance at revenge close at hand, the Plasmancer used her abilities to cause a blind spot to appear in the sensors of Simut's Tomb Ship, the Barge of the Stormhawk. As it was in orbit over Orestes III, she planted the blind spot facing the direction the Ultramarines' Strike Cruiser would most likely take to attack, the Tomb Ship. With her plan now in motion, Ah-hotep could only wait for the Ultramarines to strike.[1a]
The Ultramarines did not disappoint her, as Captain Aeschelus ordered a boarding attack on Simut's Tomb Ship, Barge of the Stormhawk, while Lieutenant Nemetus led a second attack on Orestes III, in order to save its remaining population. Aeschelus' boarding attack met with great success, as his forces were able to plant explosives within Simut's Tomb Ship and escaped before it was destroyed. The Overlord managed to teleport aboard Ah-hotep's Sun of Endings, with a few near by Necron, but the loss of the Stormhawk was a devastating loss. Most of Simut's forces were destroyed with the Tomb Ship, along with the Necrons' ability to recall and reanimate their bodies[1i]. Afterwards, Aeschelus sought the help of the Orestes System's forces against the Necron, but first sought to execute the traitor Imperial Commander Kaleb Monfrottine Lowensten. However he was ultimately swayed not to, due to both the debilitating effect it would have to Lowensten's forces and seeing that the Commander had been willing to accept his fate. Afterwards they both began making preparations to drive the Necron from the Orestes System[1g] and also delivered additional PDF and Ultramarines to Orestes III[1j]. If they were successful, then the Stilling would end and the Ithraca's Vengeance could enter the Warp to bring word to Lord Commander Guilliman of the Necrons' attacks. Meanwhile, the emissary Tholotep contacted Simut to inform him that the Silent King knew of the losses the Overlord had just suffered. Simut, however, managed to avoid being removed from command, though Tholotep told him this would be his final chance. If the Overlord failed or took too long in his current task, then Simut would be placed within the Stasis Coils, and spend eternity in a conscious limbo. As this was occurring Ah-hotep secretly sent a message to the Technomandrites, informing them as to what had happened so far. She also swore, that she would do everything possible to stop the Silent King from completing the Pariah Nexus[1g].
Now realizing how close he was to losing everything, Simut made preparations to defeat the Imperials as soon as possible. Before he could enact his battle plans, however, another Necron fleet suddenly appeared within the Orestes System. Fearing that it was the emissary Tholotep coming to take command away from him, and claim his glory, Simut immediately deployed his remaining forces to Orestes III hoping to bring a swift end to the conflict. If he could land the pylon on the world before Tholotep reached him, then Simut hoped the Silent King would have no need to remove the Overlord from his command[1k]. He refused to directly lead his forces though and allowed Ah-hotep to command the forces attacking Orestes III's orbital space stations, after she asked. The Plasmancer had no intention of helping Simut, however, and had merely wanted to gain access to the space station's systems. With the arrival of the second Necron fleet, Ah-hotep knew the Orestes System would fall, unless she took direct action. As her troops defended her aboard a space station from attacking Imperials, the Plasmancer used her powers to take direct control of their systems. Under her influence their sensors and targeting were greatly increased, while their weapons were under her command[1l]. The Space Stations' improved sensors then immediately alerted Captain Aeschelus of the second Necron fleet approaching and he knew then that he could not defeat the Necrons with the forces he had. The disquieting news also made the fearful Imperial Commander Kaleb Monfrottine Lowensten order the Space Stations' populations evacuated to Orestes III. With no chance of survival now, the Commander hoped they would at least live longer than on the Space Stations that lay in the Necrons' path. Aeschelus was disgusted by Lowensten's cowardice and ordered that the Space Stations not be abandoned, as they were powerful weapons in their own right. He then went to confront Lowensten and the Imperial Commander pleaded for mercy. The Captain could see, though, that Lowensten was under the effects of the Stilling and could not help himself. With the Stilling becoming strong enough to break through the Space Station's force fields, though, Aeschelus realized it was something within the Necron's fleet that was causing it. He soon learned that the pylon being carried in the rear of Overlord Simut's fleet was the cause. Though destroying it would end the Stilling, none of the Orestes System's defense fleet could reach it. The Ithraca's Vengeance could possibly survive to reach the pylon, but he refused to order it to attack, as the Strike Cruiser was the only warp-capable ship left to them. Instead he decided that the Imperium and Lord Commander Guilliman needed to be warned of the Pariah Nexus and the growing threat of the Necrons. He then ordered Lieutenant Praxamedes to take command of the Ithraca's Vengeance and race towards the edge of the System. It was his hope that if enough distance was placed between the Strike Cruiser and pylon, the Vengeance would be able to overpower the Stilling and escape into the Warp. Praxamedes pleaded with Aeschelus to take command of the Strike Cruiser instead, but the Captain refused. Time was now of the essence and as nearly all of the Ultramarines were on Orestes III, most would not have a chance of returning to the Vengeance before the second Necron fleet arrived. Aeschelus would not leave without them and decided to stay and lead the Ultramarines in their final battle. With that, the Vengeance began its escape, while Aeschelus joined Lieutenant Nemetus, his Ultramarines and Orestes' PDF on Orestes III's surface.[1h]
Meanwhile Ah-hotep had hoped to kill Simut, by directly firing the space station's weapons at the Tomb Ship Sun of Endings, but the Overlord kept it out of their range. With the second Necron fleet fast approaching them, Ah-hotep knew her time to gain revenge and strike a blow at the Silent King was almost at an end. This made her take drastic measures and the Plasmancer teleported back to the Sun of Endings and used her powers to take direct control of it from Simut. Before the Overlord could retake command of it, Ah-hotep forced the Tomb Ship into the range of the Space Stations' weapons and made them fire upon it. Just before they died, as the Sun of Endings exploded, a laughing Ah-hotep looked into Simut's eyes and told him his death was payment for the destruction of the Muphekta Dynasty[1h]. Once Imperial Commander Kaleb Monfrottine Lowensten learned of the Tomb Ship's destruction, he immediately ordered any nonessential personnel to be evacuated to Orestes III. At first Captain Aeschelus thought the Commander was attempting to save himself and raged that the coward would pay for his treachery. Lowensten instead replied that he was going to attempted to destroy the pylon, now that the Necrons' fleet was in disarray, but he understood why the Captain had condemned him. The Commander hoped that his last actions would earn atonement from the Emperor for his weakness and officially abdicated the governorship of the System to the Ultramarines. With that, Lowensten cut the communication and led the Space Stations directly into Overlord Simut's fleet. The loss of the Overlord meanwhile, had a devastating effect on the Necrons on Orestes III and many were left confused by the loss of their command structure. Captain Aeschelus and his forces took full advantage of this and they were able to successfully destroy the Skorpekh Lord Zozar and the remaining Necron on Orestes III's surface. Shortly afterwards, Lowensten and the heavily outnumbered Space Stations shattered the pylon, before they in turn were destroyed by the Necrons' fleet. This caused the Stilling to weaken and this allowed the Ithraca's Vengeance, to successfully escape into the Warp[1m]. The Imperials' victory was short lived, however, as the second Necron fleet was fast approaching Orestes III and with its closeness, the Stilling began to strengthen once more.[1n]
Sources
- 1: Indomitus (Novel)
- 1a: Part II - Chapter 11
- 1b: Part II - Chapter 6
- 1c: Part II - Chapter 1
- 1d: Part II - Chapter 3
- 1e: Part II - Chapter 4
- 1f: Part II - Chapter 7
- 1g: Part III - Chapter 1
- 1h: Part III - Chapter 6
- 1i: Part II - Chapter 13
- 1j: Part III - Chapter 2
- 1k: Part III - Chapter 3
- 1l: Part III - Chapter 5
- 1m: Part III - Chapter 7
- 1n: Epilogue