Unification Wars (Hektor Heresy)

This article is about a battle in the /tg/ Heresy project, a fan re-working of the Warhammer 40k universe.

A warrior of the Unification Wars poses with his slugthrower.

The Unification Wars were a series of conflicts fought on Terra in the second half of the thirtieth Millenium.

This section contains fractured information at best. Scholars at the time were busy keeping knowledge from being lost, and not at all occupied with updating it with current events. Warriors dominated the scarred ashen wastes of Terra at the same time. The highlights of this era are the establishment of the Imperium and its Imperial Army under the leadership of Gufarnus Altmakar, the foundation of the Space Marine Legions, the rise of Hektor the King of the Sun, and the union of Terra and Mars under the rule of the Emperor of Mankind.

Pacification of the Merican Hives

First deployment of the Space Marines. Hektor Cincinnatus leads the Sacred Band of two hundred Battle Brothers. This formation was intended to have one squad from each of what would become the Legiones Astartes, but in addition to the glorious First Squad, the Sacred Band's lieutenants all bore Hektor's own gene-seed. Among the more famous contingents of the Sacred Band, the "Tempest Knights" of the Tenth Squad were so successful that they were diverted south to spearhead attacks on Brasilia.

Others developed their doctrine. The Fourth Squad, the nameless Sixth Squad, and the battered Twelfth Squad took on the assault role. Eighth Squad showed an impressive tactical acumen. The "Imperial Riders" of the Seventeenth Squad were fast attack. The snipers of Nineteenth Squad guarded their battle brothers from afar, while the "Tarnished Ten" in the Twentieth Squad ranged ahead as headhunters. Second Squad and Twenty-Eighth Squad specialized in heavy weapons.

Three squads came into ill-repute. Fifth Squad were tragically slain by Thunder Warriors in the San Angelus Incident. Sixteenth Squad suffered from excessive adrenaline and took heavy losses. Fifteenth Squad made callous use of civilians.

The Infiltration of Tarrant

The infiltration of the Hive of Tarrant became the finest hour of the Twelfth Squad of the Sacred Band led by Harel Meglin. Owing to the unique properties of the geneseed of their Primarch Johannes Vrach, the members of the Twelfth displayed a well above average level of resistance to toxic agents, which determined their specialisation as hazardous environment specialists. Unfortunately, their skills in this field remained largely underused until the Merican operation stumbled over the great fortress of Tarrant, ruled over by a mad alchemist called Hermes Geber and protected by a thick layer of noxious fog that the Imperial forces couldn't advance through. Left with no other choice, Hektor Cincinnatus ordered the Twelfth Squad to infiltrate the Hive and disable the machines producing the fog, allowing the rest of his army to enter Tarrant.

The members of the Twelfth took this mission very seriously, seeing it as a long-awaited opportunity to prove their worth. The first stages of the infiltration went successfully, but, due to their lack of stealth training, the Space Marines were detected by Geber's security on their approach to the fog machines. Determined to punish the intruders, the insane alchemist unleashed the most potent chemical weapon in his vast arsenal upon them: the Carnivorous Fog. Both Meglin and his close friend Hipocene Bubastus died to the deadly gas before their comrade Gaius Vira found a way to advance past it. Eventually, the Twelfth managed to reach the fog machines and destroyed them, thus allowing Hektor's army to finally advance.

Although the Twelfth lost their much loved commander in Tarrant, they found something that was arguably equally important: a successful new strategy. Theophrastus Salk, Meglin's replacement as the squad commander, was so impressed by Geber's usage of chemical weapons that he decided to adopt them for his squad. Equipped with new superior breathing apparatuses designed by their field medics Edentis Pneuren and Wilmut Sachs, the Twelfth put the captured chemical weapons to test in their next major operation, the siege of Xebek. The new strategy proved to be a great success, and Salk's men were personally commended by Hektor for their inventiveness. A liberal usage of chemical and later biological weapons remained a signature of the Twelfth Legion up until their reunion with their Primarch, Johannes Vrach.

The Cleansing of Calverna

The Second Legion fought a hard battle to destroy a the Techropolis of Calverna. This nightmarish leftover from the Age of Strife was filled with deadly mechanical sentinels under the control of a wretched scrap of humanity. Under the command of bold Orend Ymoro, the Second stormed Calverna and seized the ancient weapons it housed.

Pacification of the Boeotian Lowlands

The Boeotian Lowlands was a collection of hives which had been in turmoil since the beginning of the Long Night. The hives were surrounded by enemies and under constant assault. Their times of peace were short lived and marked with massive attempts at fortification. As The Emperor began his march Eastward, the nobility of Boeotia took notice. This was not the normal rabble of techno-barbarians. These invaders were organized and highly motivated. They fought with a ferociousness and determination not seen in millennia. The Lord of Boeotia, King Aren Yeselti, dispatched messengers and ambassadors to strike an alliance. On the surface it was an obvious bid for power and authority if the Unification was successful. His true reason was to keep his autonomy. He sent spies and defectors into his enemy camps to goad them into attacking or rallying against this new power to keep them from attacking his holdings. With his machinations in place, he began building fortifications and defenses with an industry the Hives had never seen before. Hundreds of thousands died building walls, ramparts, and trenches in preparation for the eventuality of the Emperor reaching his estates.

As the Emperor's army swept through Albia, requests were made for their allies to attack from the southeast and eliminate them. No assistance or flanking troops ever arrived. Ambassadors were sent to Boeotia for inquiry, only to find the region closed to outsiders and readied for war. The Emperor extended a line of dialogue, only to receive responses that the Lowlands wished to remain autonomous. This was not acceptable within the Emperor's plan, and his armies marched towards the walls. Despite sending Thunder Warriors and the Old Hundred, the Boeotian defenses held. Hektor volunteered to bring the Emperor's wrath on the enemies, by dispatching the XX Legion. Commander Yon Mikneli took vested interest in the action and began planning immediately.

The assault was broken down into several parts. The Ash Wraiths sent a small infiltrating force through a waste pipe past the initial defenses. Once inside, they located a large ammunition dump near the front lines of the city. They emplaced charges and evacuated further into enemy lines, detonating the explosives and causing an explosion large enough to tear a whole through multiple lines and the Hives' outermost walls. Assault elements of the Twentieth moved quickly inside, killing wounded survivors of the blast and dropping explosive charges and traps for enemy soldiers. On their heels were the Thunder Warriors to deliver the brunt of the attack, supported by artillery and armor of the Old Hundred.

The scouting forces moved ever inwards, breaching walls and defensive lines to assist the main attack while moving ever toward the Boeotian landing pads. Once secured, the assembled troops hijacked the Boeotian aircraft and crashed them into King Yeselti's palace. His guards stood little chance as the Ash Wraiths disembarked, volkite chargers and chainaxes at the ready. Dawn rose on a Boeotia without a royal family and the Imperial Aquila hanging from its palaces.

The Siege of Yerushabim

Eighteenth Legion

Pacification of the Cephic Hives

The sprawling Cephic Hives were blighted by residues of their long-standing biochemical industry. More daunting still were the mutated Cephic clone-soldiers, an army of twins made individual by their cancerous environment.

Pacification of Luna

Terra's celestial companion held within it scores of genetic-artisans who mixed mysticism with science. These savants considered themselves above servitude to the Emperor of Earth, spurning repeated attempts at diplomacy. As the Unification Wars drew to a close, the Emperor determined to force a decision and dispatched the formidable First Legion, Second and Tenth Legions under the command of Hektor Cincinnatus. Hektor had protested the presence of the Seventh and Tenth, claiming that the First could bring Luna into the Imperium on their own. This was not mere vanity. An agent of the Eclipse Queen, Pallas Eugenesis, had made the Primarch aware that at least one of Luna's gene-cults wished for a further round of negotiation - providing that Hektor Cincinnatus would attend in person.

Informing the masters of the Seventh and Tenth that he would lead an advanced strike to secure their landing zone, Hektor departed to meet with Pallas. The tale of their meeting has been told and retold in countless varieties of truth and fiction, but it is clear that the talks ended in an alliance, to be sealed by a political marriage between the two genetically-engineered leaders. With the aid of Pallas's domain, the Imperial forcs were able to land on Luna safely, though the fighting was far from over. Hektor chose to assign his own men to defend the landing zone, while unleashing Anton Kantner and Nikomedes to savage the enemy gene-wrights. The Seventh were particularly effective, tearing a bloody swathe through their opponents and being lauded by Hektor as "the Lunar Lions" for their courage and valour. Betrayed by one of their number and confronted by mighty foes, the lords of Luna submitted to the Emperor's will.

This victory opened up countless doorways to the Imperium. With Luna secured, the fledgling empire was able to make meaningful contact with their Martian brethren. Meanwhile, Pallas Eugenesis established government across the moon in the name of her new father-in-law, using her own trusted servants to swiftly rebuild the gene-forges damaged during the conquest. Her rule would prioritise the needs of the First Legion, though Pallas was not fool enough to defy the Emperor's demand that the other Legions' gene-seed be produced as well.

Dalvan Atrocity

The Second Legion's part in the war against the Pan-Pacific Empire was cut short by a brutal nuclear attack.

Taking of the Great Scar

The Western half of the Merican continent boasted a truly vast canyon, carved by the slow march of the Blood River. In aeons past, the Scar had been home to normal wildlife, but the years had seen an ever increasing number of invaders. During the Unification wars, the Great Scar was home to a band of twisted geneticists and their mutated horrors, known among themselves as the Men of the Snake. When these ghoulish beings waylaid a squad of Thunder Warriors, the Emperor knew he could not allow his own weapons to be turned against him. He called for the Eleventh Legion of Space Marines to wipe the Men of the Snake, and all their research, from the face of Terra.

Burija's Folly

Also known as the Martian Intervention and the Godsfall, this battle took place in the vast plains to the north of the Emperor's Palace. Following the Pacification of Luna, newly-elected Fabricator General Valran Burija of Mars led an expedition to Terra to seize the Emperor's capital and impose humiliating terms upon Him. But Burija had not reckoned on the Space Marines or their leader, the Primarch Hektor Cincinnatus. Using the mobility of newly-acquired Yndonesian Stormbirds to rapidly redeploy, Hektor launched a massive assualt on the Mechanicum forces while they were disembarking. As the Space Marines laid waste to the Martian invader, Burija's god-machines lay idle in their landers, unable to swing the tide of battle. Valran Burija himself was killed by Hektor Cincinnatus and the warriors of Mars retreated as swiftly as they could. In later years, this victory be bundled up with Hektor's other early triumphs and the Primarch would be hailed as Sol Regis - the King of Sol - for having defeated warriors from every world in humanity's birth system.

Battle of Mount Ararat

Fought in the Kingdom of Urartu during the year 798.M30, this was last bloody clash in the unification of Terra. The legendary Thunder Warriors lead the campaign in Urartu. Records state that the Thunder Warriors died to a man in this engagement, sacrificing themselves for the future of humanity. However, their have been quiet claims that a very different set of events occurred at Mount Ararat that day.

With Terra united under the Emperor's rule, the Great Crusade could begin.