View source for Unthinkable War

{{GSCPortal}}{{AdeptusCustodesPortal}}
{{Battle
|Name         =Unthinkable War
|Image        =ShadowthroneArt.jpg
|Image caption=The [[Talons of the Emperor]] battle [[Genestealer Cult]]ists
|Conflict     =[[Tyrannic Wars]]
|Date         =[[M42]]
|Location     =[[Terra]]
|Outcome      =Ongoing
|Combatant1   =[[File:Aquila1transparent.png|30px]] [[Imperium]]
|Combatant2   =[[File:Tyranids.png|30px]] [[Genestealer Cult]]s
|Commanders1  =[[File:Inquisiton.png|20px]] [[Lord Inquisitor]] [[Ichabael Vasmire]]<br>[[File:CustodesSymbolClear.png|20px]] [[Blade Champion]] [[Aristothes Carvellan]]<br>[[File:CustodesSymbolClear.png|20px]] [[Octavrus Borlean]]<br>[[File:CustodesSymbolClear.png|20px]] [[Jauh Ghoras]]<br>[[File:Sisters symbol.png|20px]] [[Sister Superior]] [[Helencia Thetus]]
|Commanders2  =[[File:Pauper Princes Icon.png|20px]] [[Genestealer Patriarch|Patriarch]] [[Begeter]]<br>[[File:Pauper Princes Icon.png|20px]] [[Genestealer Magus|Magus]] [[Thrieve]]<br>[[File:Pauper Princes Icon.png|20px]] [[Genestealer Primus|Primus]] [[Ghorikan]]<br>[[File:Pauper Princes Icon.png|20px]] [[Reductus Saboteur]] [[Mersea Thrayk]]
|Strength1    =[[File:CustodesSymbolClear.png|20px]] 1 [[Blade Champion]]<br>[[File:CustodesSymbolClear.png|20px]] 1 [[Vexilor]]<br>[[File:CustodesSymbolClear.png|20px]] [[Allarus Custodian]] Squad<br>[[File:CustodesSymbolClear.png|20px]] [[Custodian Guard]] Squad<br>[[File:SoSSymbol.jpg|20px]] [[Sisters of Silence]]<br>[[File:Sisters symbol.png|20px]] [[Sisters of Battle]]<br>[[File:Inquisiton.png|20px]] [[Ordo Xenos]]<br>[[File:Inquisiton.png|20px]] [[Inquisitorial Stormtrooper]]s<br>[[File:Arbites Icon.png|20px]] [[Adeptus Arbites]]<br>[[File:OfficoSymbolNew.jpg|20px]] [[Officio Assassinorum]]
|Strength2    =[[File:Pauper Princes Icon.png|20px]] [[Cult of the Pauper Princes]]<br>[[File:Tyranids.png|20px]] [[The Shadowed]]<br>[[File:Tyranids.png|20px]] [[Wyrms of the Ur-Tendril]]
|Casualties1  =Unknown
|Casualties2  =Unknown
}}
The '''Unthinkable War''' began in [[M42]] when the [[Imperium]] discovered that a [[Cult of the Pauper Prince|Pauper Prince]] [[Genestealer Cult]] was active beneath the [[Imperial Palace]].{{Fn|1}} 

===History===
It was only by chance that the genestealer cult was discovered on Terra. An underhive stimm-deal gone sour triggered a violent gang war between rival groups in the depths of the [[Arcology Veracitum Neglis]] in Terra's northern polar region. When local [[Arbites]] forces responded, their quarry retreated into the long-abandoned mag-transit network dug into its foundations. However, both sides were shocked when provoked Genestealer Cultists poured from the subterranean holds, slaughtering the trespassers. A single [[Arbitrator]] squad managed to escape aboard a [[Repressor]] and stay alive long enough to deliver word of their plight before being surrounded and slaughtered. The transmission eventually found its way to the [[Inquisition]]'s [[Ordo Xenos]], which under [[Lord Inquisitor]] [[Ichabael Vasmire]] was moving before even the Arbites [[Judge]]s had time to assess the threat and respond.{{Fn|1}}

Coordinated by Lord Inquisitor Vasmire, regiments of [[Inquisitorial Stormtrooper]]s moved into action via [[Valkyrie]]s alongside [[Enforcer]]s and the [[Convent Prioris]] of the [[Sisters of Battle]]. Most notably, however, Vasmire was notified of coming aid by the [[Adeptus Custodes]] under [[Blade Champion]] [[Aristothes Carvellan]]. Carvellan informed Vasmire that the Custodes would strike for the [[Genestealer Patriarch]] at the heart of the infestation. Even the [[Officio Assassinorum]] considered sending aid. In preparation for the hunt the Wyvern's Gate Spaceport was closed, sending billions of pilgrims, traders, and workers into holding patterns that might trap them for years to come. Meanwhile, the Cult of the Pauper Princes prepared for the attack they knew was coming. Their uprising was still a long ways away, and their infiltration of Terra had barely begun. Worse still for Patriarch [[Begeter]], some nebulous psychic force was working against its will and dulling its abilities. However, the Pauper Princes were not alone in this; the [[Wyrms of the Ur-Tendril]] and [[The Shadowed]], two fellow genestealer cults, were also present on Terra.{{Fn|1}}

Imperial hunting parties soon penetrated deep into the Pauper Princes' tunnels and sealed them off with controlled explosions, cutting off the patriarch's escape as layers of barricades, stab-lights, and infantry locked into place about the arcologies day by day. One by one the outer arcologies fell, their cells annihilated or scattered. Soon enough only the arcology Veracitum Neglis - the lair of the patriarch himself - remained unconquered. It was then that the Inquisition-led forces halted their advance, and in doing so offered the patriarch a chance to escape. However, little did the genestealer cultists known that Blade Champion Carvellan had finally arrived to seek out his quarry. With him were the [[Allarus Custodes]] of [[Octavrus Borlean]], [[Vexilor]] [[Tassimon Avarnius]], and a band of the [[Custodian Guard]] under [[Jauh Ghoras]]. Accompanying the Custodes were a force of [[Sisters of Silence]] under [[Sister Superior]] [[Helencia Thetus]].{{Fn|1}}

As Carvellan and his warriors moved through the seemingly abandoned tunnels, they knew that the enemy was, in fact, all around them. Ignoring the lowest cultist scum and only focusing on their target, they advanced deeper and deeper towards the lair of the patriarch himself. As the imperials advanced, Patriarch Begeter ordered [[Genestealer Magus|Magus]] [[Thrieve]] and [[Genestealer Primus|Primus]] [[Ghorikan]] to meet the foes. The two led waves of [[Genestealer Neophyte|neophyte cultist]]s against the Talons of the Emperor.[[{{Fn|1}} At the same time, the [[reductus saboteur]] [[Mersea Thrayk]] was undertaking her own mission and waited in ambush. As the Talons destroyed waves of the cultists, they also took casualties due to the tight spaces of the battle. As losses mounted, Carvellan did not hesitate and rushed toward the shadowed archway that was surely the patriarch's lair, Allarus Custodians and [[Witchseeker]]s behind him. It was then that they fell into the ambush of Mersea Thrayk, who detonated her explosive charges and created a devastating avalanche.{{Fn|1}}

===Sources===
*{{Endn|1}}: [[Shadow Throne]] Campaign Book, pgs. 2-8
*{{Endn|2}}: [https://www.warhammer-community.com/2021/11/01/fight-for-the-fate-of-terra-with-the-two-incredibly-powerful-new-heroes-in-shadow-throne/ Warhammer Community: Fight For the Fate of Terra with the Two Incredibly Powerful New Heroes in Shadow Throne (Posted on 01/11/2021)] (Last accessed on 1 November 2021) 
*{{Endn|3}}: [https://www.warhammer-community.com/2021/11/16/is-a-genestealer-cult-on-terra-the-death-knell-of-the-imperium/ Warhammer Community: Is a Genestealer Cult on Terra the Death Knell of the Imperium? (Posted on 16/11/2021)] (Last accessed on 16 November 2021) 

[[Category:Terra]]
[[Category:Battles (Adeptus Custodes)]]
[[Category:Battles (Sisters of Silence)]]
[[Category:Battles (Genestealer Cults)]]
[[Category:Battles (Adepta Sororitas)]]
[[Category:Battles (Astra Militarum)]]
[[Category:Tyrannic Wars]]