Sealing of the Black Gate
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The Sealing of the Black Gate was a battle fought by the Dark Angels (then simply known as the First Legion) during the Great Crusade.[1]
Overview
The battle began when the Black Gate, a legendary safe passage into the Eye of Terror amongst the Chartist Captains and Rogue Traders, was said to be opened by a Astropathic waystation. The Imperial Cruiser Lionheart was dispatched to investigate, carrying 25,000 Solar Auxilia. However the vessel returned a month later, ravaged and torn, its captain driven mad, and with no sign of its Solar Auxilia contingent beyond a few hundred broken survivors. The local Imperial authorities let out a call for aid, leading to the First Legion to arrive with an armada that included a Gloriana Class Battleship and two Promethean Class Cruisers holding three Chapters. The armada immediately set course for the reported location of the Black Gate.[1]
The First Legion arrived at the entrance to the Eye of Terror, finding a barren world covered in a mass of alien structures. Moreover the planet had become ensnared by an amorphous mass attempting to drag its whole foulness into the Materium. The First Legion vessels engaged the foe with a wave of Magna-Torpedoes to little effect and even close-range Macrocannon and Plasma battery assaults caused virtually no damage. The First Legion thus launched a boarding operation under Grandmaster Hector Thrane but were assailed by smaller creatures that swarmed up from its vast tentacles. Moreover, a wave of hatred screamed in the thoughts of every one of the Space Marines and it was only thanks to the resilience of the First that they endured the onslaught. Despite this, only a quarter of the 100 dropships deployed landed intact. These 4,000 survivors rallied under Thrane and were directed by the Hosts of Iron and Bone. The Astartes formed three columns, each headed by a detachment of the Host of Iron and one or more super-heavy tanks dropped in by Anhur Pattern Transports. Each set itself against one of the key pseudopods that held the unnamed planet in the creatures grasp.[1]
As the Astartes advanced upon the towering pseudopods the psychic barrage only intensified, forcing their advance to a crawl. The Space Marines were beset by yet another foe as hordes of twisted creatures were disgorged from the vast tentacles and threw themselves at the Astartes. The First Legion still managed to fight back despite mounting casualties and at their fore stood Thrane. The Marines eventually arrived at their destination and unleashed barrages with their Fellblade and Falchion tanks against the tentacles as the infantry held back the smaller creatures. However even this barrage failed to dislodge the tentacles and the assault began to flounder. Thanks to the unflagging courage of Thrane the Astartes were able to gather their ranks into the central column led by the psyker-trained Host of Pentacles who managed to stave off the psychic storm. This allowed the Space Marines to regroup and launch a new barrage of heavy firepower that blasted a path through the enemy. The survivors discovered shelter in ancient ruins, pausing to discuss what should be done next.[1]
Retreat and orbital bombardment was judged to be ineffective given the creatures endurance and worse still one of the First Legion Cruisers Revenant had become entangled by the monster. Idrik Kybalos, Master of the Host of Pentacles, proposed a daring plan. The Space Marines reformed into a single wedge of men and vehicles more than 2,000 strong with the brutal warriors of the Host of Bone at their fore. Meanwhile on the flanks the Host of Fire struck into the mass of the enemy horde to disrupt its movement and annihilate its champions. Spread all along the lines were the warriors of the Host of Pentacles holding back the psychic storm. Step by step the Legion managed to move forward and meet every threat pressed against them. However as they advanced the psychic storm grew in power, sapping the strength of the psykers of the Host of Pentacles. Only the strongest endured and many collapsed as their minds shattered. The adepts of the Order of Bloody Shrouds moved to silence those that lost control. After four hours of fighting the Marines reached their target. There, under a vast fold in the fabric of space, Thrane and his warriors made their final stand.[1]
Thrane formed a wall of blades around the surviving Pentacles even as new monstrosities pressed into their ranks. Kybalos set his gambit into motion, abandoning their attempts to shield their brothers and instead turning their full might into an assault upon the vast beast. The vast beast finally was damaged by this psychic assault and revealed its heart into realspace and the resulting explosion tore the beast apart. The surviving warriors of the First Legion numbered little more than 800 as Kybalos and his few remaining Pentacles sealed the breach in reality. Though victorious, the Pentacles were disbanded in the months that followed and the unnamed system and the space around it were declared forbidden.[1]
See also
Sources
- 1: The Horus Heresy Book Nine - Crusade, pgs. 118-120
