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→Notable Battles
==Notable Battles==
The '''Fire Hawks''' have also long been notably embroiled deeply in the wars of the [[Age of Apostasy]]. In one of their first actions they fought alongside the [[Black Templars]], [[Imperial Fists]], [[Soul Drinkers]], and the Martian [[Skitarii|Tech Guard]] against [[Goge Vandire]]. They did not escape unscathed, as during the these battles their homeworld of Zhoros was destroyed by [[Thermal Bomb|thermal bomb]]s. At the conclusion of the [[Age of Apostasy]] they were rewarded for their actions in his support by [[Sebastian Thor]] himself, who issued them with the right to use the [[Great Crusade]]-era mobile void-fortress, ''Raptorous Rex'' as their [[fortress monastery]]. The '''Fire Hawks''' became a [[fleet-based]] chapter as a result.<sup>1a</sup>
They were also the first loyalist Chapter to become engaged in the [[Badab War]] after one of their vessels, the ''Red Harbinger'' was attacked and captured by the [[Mantis Warriors]] in 904.[[M41]]. The '''Fire Hawks''' Chapter quickly became fully engaged in the conflict, with an effective frontline brethren fighting strength of 86% of projected Chapter maximum at the start of the war. But despite the power of their fleet, the '''Fire Hawks''' suffered terrible losses in the early years of the war, both in terms of battle-brethren and vessels. Eventually casualties reduced the Chapter's effective strength to an estimated 22% by the war's third year, and Lazaerek was forced to bow to Loyalist command pressure to withdraw his remaining forces or risk his Chapter's extinction. The Chapter was relegated to the sidelines until the very closing stages of the war until Lazaerek successfully petitioned the Loyalist Command for his Chapter's involvement again in the fight, and the star-fortress ''Raptorus Rex'', the single-most powerful warship in the [[Maelstrom]] Zone, was used as a lynchpin of the Angstrom blockade.<sup>1b</sup>