Editing Second Battle of Kopt Dara (section)

==The Chase==

[[File:Destoona1.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Simplified view of the Destoona system]]
While the First Expeditionary Front of [[the Kondrus Aeroguard]] landed on Jeglora to carry out compliance actions, Hektor's squadron in orbit scuttled the planet's defence stations.  The Primarch himself was busy in the operations center of the ''Monarch of the Void'', taking in reports from the rest of the 3rd Expedition Fleet and issuing directives to the Legion headquarters on Luna.  Confident that his offensive was gaining momentum, Hektor ordered the dispatch of additional Compliance Groups to provide garrisons in the wake of his Space Marines.  The governors of Carlisar and Kondrus both signaled that fresh regiments would embark immediately, but were told that the transports should wait at jump points until provided with destination coordinates.  Whether Hektor gave this order out of uncharacteristic caution or his trademark boldness was a subject of lengthy debate among analysts until the Parthorum Xenocide's campaign records were sealed to all but the most trusted Imperial agents.  It is certain, however, that Hektor was correct to urge his men to make all haste.  Fifty Osroene warships broke warp at Destoona at 418/811.M30.  According to the legends of the First Legion, Logis Blessrad Dirz reported to Hektor that the Imperial squadron was now out-numbered six to one in ships and conceded even more in megatonnage.  Dirz calculated a 0.68% chance of survival against the newly-arrived Osroene forces.  The Primarch's famous response - ''"Calculate the odds of victory instead!"''

Logis Dirz's rejoinder went unrecorded, but it is unlikely that the tech priest shared his master's optimism.  Regardless, the ''Master of the Void'' and her escorts got underway promptly, taking a vector away from the enemy fleet.  Hektor and Navarch Isokratos Vivianus considered their options as the chase began.  Attempting to change course and go cold was ruled out almost immediately.  The Xenos warships were numerous and long-range scans had detected launch bays for attack craft capable of scouring the void for drifting vessels.  Nor were there good prospects for escape.  Despite the Osroene's primitiveness in interstellar travel and communications, their ships were handy in the void and the Xenos front-runners would run down the Imperials before a jump could be safely made.  Settling on the least bad of their options, the Navarch issued orders to his squadron to make for Kopt Dara while Hektor studied the gravity fluctuations around the gas giant in preparation for a battle.

The Imperial vessels entered orbit around Kopt Dara at 442/811.M30 with the Osroene hot on their heels and began to move towards the dark side of the planet.  Once over the horizon and out of sensor contact with the enemy ships, Vivianus ordered a short burn to boost his vessels back out of the gas giant's gravity well.  This maneuver wrong-footed the Xenos fleet as they entered orbit, but vessels in their rear picked up Hektor's fleet moving promptly away from Kopt Dara and relayed instructions for the escorts in the front to accelerate to escape velocity.  Unfortunately for the Xenos vanguard, this sent them crashing into a minefield laid at Hektor's order by the Rogue Trader cruiser ''Black Joke''.  Four vessels took critical damage and deorbited, while three others suffered less severely but still had to check their pursuit to implement damage control procedures.  Although Osroene attack craft quickly fanned out to find ''Black Joke'', Adela Exard's ship was an old Saturnyne design purpose-built for deft maneuvering in the gravity well of a gas giant and her complement had spent weeks familiarising themselves with the conditions around Kopt Dara.  The Rogue Trader vessel slipped the Xenos net and darted away to join Hektor's vessels as they vectored out of system.  The Osroene fleet reformed at Kopt Dara but resumed pursuit at 443/811.M30.

Not long after the Xenos got underway, the balance of forces was decisively changed.  Archmagos Prime [[Zorr Yenser]]'s flagship ''Capitalis Juventas'' broke warp at 445/811.M30, leading a powerful Martian taskforce.  Hektor immediately contacted the Mechanicum commander and quickly began issuing orders to his much-strengthened fleet.  Thanks to the arrival of Yenser's heavy ships and the ''Black Joke'''s mine attack, the Imperials had only a slight numerical disadvantage and near-parity in megatonnage.  Their problem was now combining and bringing the Osroene to battle before the enemy could escape.  Yenser began to move in-system immediately, but Navarch Vivianus and the Xenos ships chasing him remained on course at first.  However, by 447/811.M30 it was clear to all three forces that the Osroene's loss of fast ships to ''Black Joke'' meant that they lacked the ability to engage Vivianus while their main body caught up.  More striking to the Xenos was that the big Mechanicum warships were surprisingly quick through the void.  In a flare of plasma contrails, the alien vessels began to come about.  But the efficiency of First Legion's signals allowed Vivianus to have his ships turned about and moving to attack the Osroene before the aliens had completed their course change.  This prompt maneuver caused confusion and led to the Osroene adopting a sub-optimal escape vector.  Yenser's fleet, though still distant, made a course correction and projections showed that the tech priests would bring their enemies into gunnery range days before the Osroene had reached a safe jump point.  For the second time in the battle, a commander determined that their last remaining option was to head to Kopt Dara.