On January 15, one day earlier than planned, the second beta of Battlefleet Gothic: Armada II started. In just over a week the full release will take place. The first Armada was a pleasant exception to the general stream of strange projects in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, and hopefully it will be so again in its second coming.
But it’s up to the authors of Stopgame to judge the quality of games, and I’m not one of them it’s a pity. In this blog, I propose to look at Armada from a different perspective: story and lore. Captivating not so much in depth as in the epicness of what is happening, the world of Warhammer is an endless war of everyone with everyone, and Battlefleet Gothic: Armada took on the role of telling about one of the most remarkable periods in the history of the universe – the Twelfth Black Crusade of Abaddon the Despoiler. The game rather inherited this role, since its origins come from the tabletop wargame Battlefleet Gothic, which in its first edition was dedicated to precisely this conflict. Even if out of necessity, Armada tried to adequately cope with the task, and the article will be about comparing what was written with what was shown.
This blog is a compilation of sources about Gothic warfare from wargame rule books, Black Library books and some codes. It won’t be limited to a simple retelling of the plot, because after all, our blog is about the game, isn’t it true?? Therefore, in such spoilers
Well, don’t waste the spoiler in vain, really? Let me briefly tell you where Battlefleet Gothic came from.
In 1999, the first edition of the tabletop wargame Battlefleet Gothic was released. This was a unique attempt for Games Workshop cash in on new minions imagine what space battles would look like in their universe. It turned out quite original: in spirit it was more reminiscent of the battles of the sailing fleet during the Napoleonic Wars, and not what could be seen in 90% of the rest of the sci-fi and went well with the general aesthetics of the universe. Aesthetics in general was almost the main reason for purchasing miniatures of the space fleet: flying cathedrals as a concept for a spacecraft are questionable, but as shelf decoration they are excellent.
The first edition of the rules was indeed dedicated exclusively to the Gothic War: there was lore, there were models, and, moreover, only the Imperium, Chaos, Eldar and Orcs – precisely those who fought on this front. In subsequent updates, the range of available factions expanded, and slowly all the others appeared on the tabletop.
Now the desktop Battlefleet Gothic, after a pack of patches, is still played and has its own audience.
Here, for example, is part of a photo report from one of these games provided by a board game comrade
events that happened to Admiral Spire, the main character of Armada, will be hidden around the same period of time observed in the lore.
I want to warn you right away – the author does not even try to explain absolutely every element of the Forty-thousander universe. Therefore, if you are completely unfamiliar with this universe, it may be a little difficult to read.
Well, I think we can finish with the introductions. All ahead full!
Background
For a universe where there was only room for war, the Gothic sector was a surprisingly dull place. Six dozen populated systems, a thriving industry, not the most disgusting government in the Imperium, a strong fleet guarding the peace of the inhabitants… There were two things that made the sector not a pastoral idyll. The first is the overhanging bulk of the Eye of Terror, from where no, no, and some flotilla of Chaos robbers was breaking through. The second is six mysterious space stations called Blackstone fortresses.
Who built them? Why are they needed?? Why six? Why, after all, here?? There were no answers. Comparison of the technological potential of the creators of the fortresses and the imperial tech-priests was far from being in favor of the latter. People couldn’t even really use the full potential of the fortresses. All I had the strength to do was turn on the guns, learn to raise and lower the hangar doors, and finish the docking docks in different places.
Of course, it was still non-human technology… but even the most grouchy and conservative tech-priests agreed that they didn’t look at the nozzles of a heavily armored freebie. The fortresses were made into bases for naval ships, and in this mode all six fortresses operated until the events that would later be called the Twelfth Black Crusade.
Overture to War
"I see fortresses among the stars, a circle of six. But they are sleeping and must be awakened. Fly on the storms of Chaos, gather your rivals around you. Bring discord and terror to thousands of worlds, Abaddon the Despoiler, Warrior of Chaos! Find the Hand of Darkness, take the Eye of Night. With them the fortresses will be yours. A chorus of millions will scream your name in fear and hatred, and the stars will turn red with blood… If you have enough courage… Warrior"
The famous Cadian Gate is the only stable exit from the Eye of Terror, the raging storm of Warp energies. The boundaries of the Eye are unstable and difficult to navigate. But “difficult” does not mean “impenetrable”. Here and there, gaps appeared within the boundaries of the storm, and small squadrons of servants of Chaos could take advantage of them and break into the real world.
In case of penetration of just such raiders, there are observation stations along the entire border of the Oka. There are not very many personnel on them, because no one expects them to cope with the attack. Their whole task is to have time to report the penetration to the rest of the Emperor’s possessions.
And so it happened that in 139 of the forty-first millennium, these stations began to fall silent one after another. Death for patrolmen is not a rare thing, but in such quantities? Everything only got worse when patrol ships began to disappear along with the stations. Some disappeared forever, and some were found as lifeless wrecks with a dead crew.
Among many others, Inquisitor Horst began to observe this anomaly.
Name: Faedus Falconet Horst
Age: Classified
Job title: Inquisitor of the Ordo Malleus, demon hunter by profession and antiquities hunter by necessity.
Hobby: Overthrowing dictatorial governments on his home planet.
An old veteran of Imperial counterintelligence, he was perceptive enough to understand that behind these attacks was someone who really wanted to bring large forces through the borders of the Eye. Through all the gaps that remain closed, fleets can easily leak through, which little by little will form a large invasion army.
But was it a simple attack on the Emperor’s possessions??
In the same year, the future Admiral Spire (at that time the captain of a light patrol cruiser) was among those who investigated the situation with unexpectedly dying stations. At the Aleph outpost, he encountered an entire Chaos flotilla moving deep into the Imperium, but was able to escape and bring news of the invasion to the Admiralty and Inquisitor Horst.
Since in the game we observe all the events of the war from Spire’s point of view, many details about the events of 143 remained unknown to us; what happened was just one case among many. But this is the price of identifying ourselves with the hero: we are a simple soldier, and we simply physically cannot see the whole picture. Even Horst could not do this, let alone a simple captain of one ship?
Not only on the border with the kingdom of Chaos was it restless. On the inner planets of the Gothic sector, outright devilry was also happening: apocalyptic prophecies from all sides, dozens of new radical and not so sects, bleeding eye sockets of statues and other pictures that clearly did not inspire optimism about the future. Alarming reports came from one planet after another, and Horst immediately headed to the sector. Everything indicated that the Gothic sector would be the target of the invasion.
The Inquisitor was just a little late.
A call for help came from the planet Purgatoria: a fleet of Chaos bandits appeared in orbit and began a siege. The news itself is alarming, but it frightened the inquisitor much more. He knew that Purgatoria had become a repository for one of the artifacts of the same race that created the Blackstone Fortresses. The device, called the Hand of Darkness by an unknown dreamer, was true to the traditions of its creators: its purpose and methods of use remained a complete secret. It’s no surprise that he was eventually thrown into storage on an unremarkable planet.
Before the squadron led by Horst managed to arrive at Purgatoria, it was already too late. The Hand of Darkness was captured by heretics and taken to an unknown location. But the Inquisitor knew that the Hand was not the only artifact in the hands of the Imperium. Another relic from the same set, the Eye of Night, was located on the planet Ornsworld, a pastoral world of Ratling dwarves.
Suspicions turned out to be true. Ornsworld was indeed the next target. Once again, the Imperial fleet was unable to react quickly enough. The second artifact was at the mercy of the forces of Chaos.
All these sad events can easily be changed in Battlefleet Gothic: Armada. For the promoted Admiral Spire, Purgatoria and Ornsworld become the first serious operations (and for us, as players, ongoing training), and he has every chance of winning the battle for at least one or the other relic.
But this will not lead to any complete change in history, which is wrong on all sides – but more on that later.
Soon clouds gathered over the Gothic sector, not only in a figurative sense. A warp storm interfering with interstellar navigation surrounded the entire star sector. And if it was still possible to somehow move inside, then all communication with the Imperium was practically cut off. Warning signs, mysterious deaths of patrols, and now a fortunate storm. The sector’s battlefleet has begun preparing for a dark future.
Twice before the war, the servants of the Golden Throne were late to key events. As you understand, this unfortunate cup did not escape them this time either: it was too late to prepare, the enemy was already here.
Darkness Falls
“These dark times require decisive action. If we do not act with courage and faith in the Emperor, we will bleed to death within ten years and the entire Sector will fall into the clutches of Chaos.»
Several years of blindness were enough, and the mighty forces of the Archenemy accumulated outside the Eye. Small individually, the raider fleets together formed an armada that outnumbered the Gothic Battlefleet.
In the very first days of the war, it became clear who was leading this army. Abaddon the Despoiler, one of the main leaders of Chaos, once again stepped beyond the Eye and prepared to personally lead the military campaign.
Name: Ezekiel Abaddon, better known as Abaddon the Despoiler
Age: Complex question, but chronologically more than 10,000 years
Job title: Warrior of Chaos, Chosen One of the Four Gods, permanent leader of the Black Crusades.
Hobby: Alchemy, in particular moonshine.
The Warrior of Chaos clearly knew something of the history of ancient Terra, because in the early days of the war the Imperial fleet faced its equivalent of the Pearl Harbor disaster. Small and stealthy squadrons of Chaos raiders entered the depths of Imperial space and struck at the bases of the Gothic Battlefleet. Dozens of ships burned at the docks without having time to fire a single salvo, and even more were so damaged that they had to be repaired for another couple of years.
In few places it was possible to organize at least some resistance.
Port Maw, the main base and headquarters of the fleet, was sufficiently protected from any attack and withstood the first wave of attack.
In the orbit of Orar, thanks to a happy coincidence, the squadron under the command of Captain Kompel Bast was preparing to depart at the moment when the enemy struck the planet. Only thanks to this, the chaosites, who were expecting to meet defenseless targets, were thrown back.
Among the defenders of Orar was Admiral Spire. His squadron was based on Port Maw, but he managed to reach the planet in time and help the besieged. Well, or not help. Because at that time Spire’s still small and weak fleet could do little to oppose the numerically and qualitatively superior forces of Chaos.
It is worth mentioning that Captain Abridal also appeared in the squadron of planet defenders for the first time. This somewhat overconfident fleet captain will meet Spire several more times at key points in the history of the Gothic War and play a major role in the resolution of the story. But these are spoilers for now, so let’s leave the topic.
In general, the situation was in turmoil. www.all-slots-casino.uk The first strike forced Lord Admiral von Ravensburg, commander of Battlefleet Gothic, to primarily focus on preserving the few forces that remained. The price of this was the retreat from many worlds, and their inevitable capture by heretics.
Name: Cornelius von Ravensburg
Age: Several hundred years, thanks to anti-aging procedures.
Job title: Commander of the Gothic Battlefleet and de facto commander-in-chief of all Imperial forces during the Gothic War.
Hobby: A harem of several dozen girls on board their flagship.
Ironically, the advancing Chaos forces soon encountered what the Imperial Navy had fought against for all the centuries of its existence: piracy.
Pirates were not a rarity in the Gothic sector, but attracted by the war, they became a real scourge for all sides of the conflict. Green-skinned corsairs robbed everything that was poorly screwed, and unscrewed everything else and robbed them anyway. Arrogant, pointy-eared Eldar on their ghostly ships appeared out of nowhere and disappeared into nowhere, often taking with them everything more or less valuable. And even the most ordinary people, who did not join either the forces of Chaos or the forces of the Imperium, decided that their moment had come to profit from the suffering of others.
Due to regularly falling supply lines, Abaddon’s blitzkrieg began to slow down until it eventually stopped completely. There was a case when an entire advancing squadron was ambushed by Orc pirates, and was killed almost in its entirety.
The Armada scattered into smaller fleets, and each of them began to plunder what they could. Discipline (and lack thereof) has, as always, become the main problem of heretics. But the Despoiler didn’t worry. He still had cards in his hands, and he continued the game.
Two fortresses
"… and now the beast is released to attack the righteous and overthrow their deeds. Although the beast is dressed in human form, no flesh can hide the corruption of his soul, and the unclean inhabitants of the outer darkness flock to his banner. The righteous cried out for retribution, but they did not humiliate the beast. The name of the beast became a curse on the lips, and that name was Abaddon."
The Rebo system was one of the strongholds of the forces loyal to the Emperor. All because of Blackstone Fortress IV. The station’s ancient weapons were superior to anything at humanity’s disposal, and even alone the fortress could burn a medium-sized fleet.
It is not surprising that the defenders accepted the approach of the Warmaster’s fleet with grim determination. Yes, the Archenemy’s armada was great, but even with the worst outcome they would have had to wash themselves in blood in the battle for the fortress.
But the battle didn’t happen. The station switched off just as the first Chaos ship appeared in the affected area. The guns were silent, the hangar doors did not open and did not release hundreds of fighters and bombers, and even simple pressure doors between the decks did not work. The mighty fortress became little more than a crypt for several million Imperial soldiers. All they could do was hold out long enough to report Abaddon’s mysterious ability to disable Blackstone Fortresses from a distance.
But Abaddon never thought to stop showing off his know-how.
Planet Sawaven was one of the shrine worlds of the Church of the Immortal God Emperor. Fourteen billion of its population prayed for the victory of the imperial arms and otherwise made their undoubtedly important contribution to the victory. On this quiet planet, Abaddon tested the Planet Killer, his new flagship. The main caliber of the titanic ship was a battery of heavy lasers, charged with damn evil demons. The firepower of this weapon was enough to destroy an entire planet.
This is what happened. Savaven turned into a pile of rubble, and news of this instantly spread throughout the sector. Panic set in. Everyone expected that the creation of the hands of the insane techno-heretics of Chaos would end up in the sky of their planet.
The Hour of Execution by Gordon Rennie is a book about the events of the Gothic War, told from the perspective of the crew of the star cruiser Lord Solar Macharius. The plot centers on the crew’s attempt to evacuate one of the worlds on the path of the Planet Killer and the obstacles that arise against this background. The book, I must say, is very mediocre even against the backdrop of all the writings on Warhammer 40,000, but one of the few that very well shows space battles in this universe.
Against the backdrop of all this darkness and quiet hopelessness, one bright spot appeared. For once, the Imperials managed to detect the enemy’s movements before he struck.
Fleet reconnaissance from Commander Valdez’s 202nd Squadron accidentally encountered the Planet Killer and its escort. Having successfully retreated, the commander calculated the enemy’s course and discovered their target – Blackstone Fortress VI.
However, at this moment the luck that had flashed turned again in its usual direction. Despite the warning, too few forces managed to reach the fortress, and Abaddon again repeated the trick of shutting it down. Moreover, by this time he was able to restore the work of the four he had already captured and directed their firepower against the Imperials. After a short battle, the Imperial fleet was forced to retreat and give another station into the hands of a madman. Vandez, who until the last commanded a desperate defense, finally gave his life in this battle.
News about the fall of Fortress IV and Savaven catches Admiral Spire after the fact, but he takes an active part in the battle for Fortress VI. Valdez and his scouts are also fighting on our side.
Unfortunately, the fate of the commander and the sixth fortress does not change. Even if we win the battle, some time after the departure of Spire’s squadron, Abaddon attacked the fortress again, and this time he was successful.
Inquisitor Horst, who had completed his investigation at that time, realized what kind of mysterious weapon it was that disabled the Blackstone fortresses at a distance. Undoubtedly these were the stolen artifacts, the Hand of Darkness and the Eye of Night. The Inquisitor shared his suspicions with Lord Ravensburg, and soon they began to prepare a plan of action together.
And this is actually the moment when the game can go very against the lore. We can prevent the theft of the Eye of Night and the Hand of Darkness, but this will have absolutely no effect on Abaddon’s successes – he will still be able to disable the protection of the fortresses and easily take them. The only effect we will get from the artifacts is a slightly smaller scale of the Chaos invasion.
Gather your strength
145.M41 – 149.M41
"We fell on them like a hound on game. They tried to escape and hide in their holes, but my escort ships were already waiting for the bandits. Cyprus Probation alone recorded fifteen ships destroyed that day, and total pirate losses are estimated to exceed thirty ships. Many fled to Barbarus III, hoping that they would be able to take cover from our guns. How wrong they were. We fired plasma torpedoes, modified by Magos Urilum of the Adeptus Mechanicus, across the semi-desert world, burning out the raiders. Only three ships left the battle, begging for mercy. Our guns showed them the Emperor’s favor!»
Admiral Morndark on the successful attack on the Barbarus Costa system
The first stages of the war turned out to be as successful as possible for the Chaosites. But as time passed, it became increasingly clear that the Imperium’s resistance was only growing. The ships damaged during the raids on the docks were put into operation, and Lord Admiral Ravensburg was already beginning to have enough strength for counterattacks.
Abaddon’s last success was the capture of Blackstone Fortress I in the Fularis system. In fact, the fact that it was captured became clear only a few years later, and at that time it was only clear that the defenders of the system suddenly fell silent. Rescuers who arrived at the scene found the planet Fularis II with a deflated atmosphere, the wreckage of the garrison ships and not a single trace of the fortress. Only later, thanks to the diary of one of the imperial officers killed in battle, it was possible to find out that the second planet of the system died from a simultaneous salvo of two Blackstone fortresses, combining the beam of their main calibers into one. In other times, such tricks would have made hearts tremble, but after everything that happened before, no one batted an eye. Just a new superweapon for the enemy, what a surprise..
But Abaddon’s strength also came to an end. Blitzkrieg took away his strength, and now even he had to retreat to lick his wounds. For 7 long years the Imperium received a respite. And so began that period of the war that can be described in one line: no change on the Gothic front.
There really comes a point where Spire is forced to mostly wander around randomly generated non-plot operations, but several important events still happen. One of them is a proposal for peace from the Eldar prince of the corsairs. The Eldar themselves have already realized that the current invasion of Chaos is no joke, and the only not really an alliance between xenos and people loyal to the Emperor will give a chance for victory
The choice, as always, falls on the shoulders of Spire and the player, but from subsequent events in the lore it will become clear that most likely the correct option will be to enter into an alliance.
Systems changed hands, and all sides moved from fleet clashes to small skirmishes.The Imperials were forced to defend many systems at once from the “wolf packs” of Chaos prowling everywhere; the Chaos themselves, as always, quarreled and argued over the spoils. Somewhere, as in the Lysandes subsector, almost all systems raised the banner of Chaos, and the ships of the Archenemy stood on the very outskirts of Port Mou. Somewhere, like in the Cyclops Cluster sub-sector, on the contrary, the Imperials coped with the onslaught of traitors and xenos, and conquered worlds for the glory of the Emperor.
The Admiralty of Battle Fleet Gothic understood that they were starving him out. Yes, now the forces of the fleet are being restored, but soon the last reserves will be brought into battle and then only losses will begin. There are no reinforcements due to the ongoing storm, and this is despite the fact that new forces are regularly arriving to the forces of Chaos. Inquisitor Horst, who became the closest adviser to the commander of Ravensburg, strongly advocated for decisive action instead of a dull sitting under siege. But before launching a large-scale counterattack, it was necessary to put an end to minor problems.
The first step towards a new war strategy was the defeat of the main pirate base in the Barbarus Costa system. A local confederation of two dozen pirate groups felt like real kings of space. In their opinion, everyone was busy fighting with each other, and an honest worker under the banner of the jolly Roger could do whatever he wanted. For example, a convoy flies past. Ordinary, unremarkable loot not far from the free station. Oh, let’s rob him so we don’t have to go far?
To their great regret, the convoy turned out to be a trap. The Imperial ships lying in ambush immediately attacked the pirate fleet. And then they calmly followed in their footsteps and cleaned out the freemen themselves. Organized piracy as a force ceased to exist, and at least for a moment there was no need to worry about the safety of the rear.
Admiral Spire was not involved in the assault on the Barbarus shelter. However, he faced a similar task. The same subsector, almost the same system, only he had to fight not against people, but against green-skinned corsairs. Such freedom on the part of the developers is understandable: it would be very dull to fight against yet another people, but at the same time it would be possible to make an interesting fight with the boss. In every sense.
During the same period, another important encounter takes place: the battle for the Monte de Gilles system, where we first meet the Planet Killer. In addition, this is almost the first mission that does not have an example from the lore, but why not?? By that time, Abaddon really somehow strangely disappeared from the chronicle of events, and it is only known that he continued to periodically burn planets to create panic in the sector. It is likely that they could have tried to give him a fight at one of them.
Having dealt with one threat, Ravensburg had a free hand. It’s time to deal with the real enemy.
Battle of Gethsemane
“Glory to the Emperor, I have finally done my duty.”.»
– Cornelius von Ravensburg, following the Battle of Gethsemane
Ravensburg’s next step was to gather forces for a general battle. Almost all ships were withdrawn from defensive lines to create a single fist. The target was chosen – one of the small fleets of Chaos. True, it was only small in comparison with all the forces available to Abaddon, but numerically it was quite equal to what the Gothic Battle Fleet could field.
At first it seemed that the chaosites were scared. Avoiding combat, fast Chaos ships actively maneuvered and avoided any collision. Finally, in the Gethsemane system, the fugitives were caught.
But it turned out to be a trap. All this time, the heretical fleet was heading to join forces with its neighbors, and now their combined forces outnumbered the Ravensburg fleet almost 2 to 1. The Imperial vanguard was badly beaten, but it was too late to avoid the battle.
The Battle of Gethsemane began – the key battle of the entire war, and the largest clash in general in the history of the Gothic War. Seventeen battleships of the Imperium, led by the Lord Admiral’s flagship, were opposed by almost thirty traitor ships of similar tonnage. The lists of participating little things were approaching several dozen on both sides.
The firepower was entirely on the side of the renegades, and they understood this perfectly well. Having lined up for attack, the Chaos flotilla launched a simple frontal attack, without tricky maneuvers or surprises. Why try if victory is already almost in their pocket??
Fortunately for the defenders of the Gothic sector, Cornelius von Ravensburg received his title not for his beautiful eyes or for his length of service. By placing his fleet in orbit of the planet Gethsemane II, he took advantage of the dust clouds located there. Before the heretics’ ships could get into firing range, they were attacked by small but maneuverable frigates that had been lying in ambush all this time. The unexpected attack confused the advancing fleet formations, and forced the Chaosites to switch their attention to a new target. This hitch was enough. Heavy imperial ships, turning on their engines at full power, burst straight into the center of the enemy formations. The frigates barely even had time to suffer losses, because, in the language of the EVE Online naval commanders: “Who the hell did Inter surrender to when such crap was brought to zero?»
Chaos ships are much faster than Imperial ships, and at long range their firepower is greater. But the Lord Admiral of the Imperial Navy forced his enemies to fight at extremely close range, where the weak armor of the traitors could do little to counter the volleys of the heavy naval guns of the Imperium. There were losses on both sides, but it soon became clear that the battlefield belonged to the righteous.
Enraged, the Admiral of the Chaos forces ordered a retreat. He expected to bring the head of Ravensburg as a gift to Abaddon, and now he was forced to flee from the battle that had started so well! That’s a reason to be angry.
But in an instant his anger gave way to panic. Out of nowhere, right on the escape route, marks of unidentified ships began to appear one after another. The Eldar fleet, which had hitherto fought against everyone, came out on the same side with the Imperials.
The massacre has begun. Sandwiched between the hammer of the Imperium and the anvil of the Eldar, the fleet of the Archenemy ceased to exist.
An epic battle, where chances changed hands several times and on the outcome of which the fate of an entire sector in the game depended, turned out to be… very modest. Unfortunately, this is where the limitations of the game itself come into play, preventing the player from putting up too much force. Even Spire’s largest fleet would have been barely a quarter of the force that Ravensburg brought according to the ship lists. And we learned about the participation of the Eldar in the battle after the battle, in the subsequent debriefing.
It’s a shame. What could have been one of the highlights of the entire game ended up being just another run-of-the-mill battle with slightly more enemies on the map.
The Battle of Gethsemane was an absolute victory. For the first time in a long time, the people of the Gothic sector felt hope for victory. A massive influx of volunteers into the guard and navy began. The demoralized Chaos began to suffer several more sensitive defeats, and the balance of power tilted towards the loyalists.
And, as if this were not enough, fate played another cruel joke on Abaddon. The warp storm that had previously kept the Gothic sector isolated has ended. Now reinforcements from all over the Imperium could arrive here at any moment.
Final chords
“In my faith, may the light of the Emperor shine to the farthest stars.
According to my duty, the galaxy will belong to the righteous.
By my deeds, the Imperial Navy will shine in the memory of Holy Terra!
FOR THE EMPEROR OF HUMANITY AND FOR THE GOTHIC BATTLE FLEET!»
– Captain Abridal’s last words
The nature of warp navigation is a constant game of Russian roulette. Ships can arrive a couple of hundred years late, they can arrive before the war starts, and be on time for a change. Stable routes in the volatile Warp space are rare, and are more important than anything else: only through them can large fleets expect to reach their goal in relative safety and integrity.
One such route connected the Gothic sector and the rest of the Imperium in the Tarantis system. It was here that the Despoiler struck his next blow.
By this point the outcome of the war began to become clear. The Battle of Gethsemane was a success, but the arriving Imperial troops confidently developed it into a complete defeat of the forces of Chaos. Squadrons of neighboring Battlefleets and even several Space Marine Chapters have already entered the battle, and there would only be more to come. All that remained was to delay the final defeat.
The battle for Tarantis was short but fierce. At the decisive moment of the battle, Abaddon revealed to the world the sight of three activated Blackstone fortresses. The power of two was enough to burn the planet, a volley of three simultaneously achieved even more. Under their fire, the system’s star became unstable. There are only a few days left before it goes supernova. Fleets of both sides immediately fled the doomed system. A month later, the Tarantis system perished in the flames of the cataclysm.
Now the reinforcements had to make a long detour to get into the sector, and the Despoiler had the necessary time to launch his attacks. For six months the Chaos fleet played cat and mouse with the combined forces of Ravensburg and the Eldar. And again, as was the case with Fortress VI, luck smiled on the home team. Abaddon’s fleet was discovered on the march to the Schindelgeist system, home of Blackstone Fortress V.
Three fleets clashed. And despite all the resilience, despite all the anger, the forces of Chaos were losing. The numerical and fire superiority was not on his side. The last chance to capture at least one more fortress was lost.
Of course, Admiral Spire was among those who fought the last battle with the Despoiler. And unlike Gethsemane, the Battle of Schindelgeist was the breath of epic that the Warhammer 40,000 game needed. A battle right in the crown of the star, a huge scale, a clash of almost all game factions with the exception of the orcs who dropped out of the confrontation – I swear to the Emperor, it was a worthy finale.
Now it was not about the last robbery, but about at least leaving with what we had. The warrior ordered his three fortresses to repeat the maneuver with the explosion of the star. An overloaded luminary would cause everyone to immediately flee, allowing the forces of Chaos to escape with their spoils.
The Imperial and Eldar fleets were locked in battle, and it was too late to react to the unexpected maneuver of the fortresses. The only ship that managed to break through to them was the cruiser “Flame of Purity” by Captain Abridal. Now the fate of the entire battle depended on this man, who survived the beginning of the war and lived until almost its end.
The gun salvos could do nothing to the black armor of the desecrated stations. Three rays combined into one and fell on the star. There were only a few minutes left before the star began to die.
At that moment, Captain Abridal realized that now everything depends on him. A thought flashed: but the rays need to connect for a volley. What if we break this connection??
The captain gave his last order. The ship’s engines flashed with a bright light, and at all speeds it rushed straight into the center of the raging energies.
Having reached its target, the Flame of Purity, its crew and Captain Abridal died instantly. But that brief moment, when the cruiser’s void shields separated the rays, was enough. The main calibers of the ancient stations stopped firing and had to spend time reloading. Namely, Abaddon no longer had time.
The heretic fleet fled. The Planet Killer with the Destroyer on board and only the two fortresses it captured were able to escape.
152.M41 – 160.M41
Several large Chaos fleets plundered the systems of the Gothic sector for several more years, but in the end they too were defeated. The war officially ended only nine years later, in 160 of the forty-first millennium. But after Abaddon fled and the main forces of the Imperium arrived, it was no longer a war, but a purge.
The Twelfth Black Crusade ended with another defeat for the Warmaster. Of course, he stated that everything true the goals were achieved, and no one was going to wage a war to completely conquer the sector. Let us leave the truth of these statements to the remnants of the heretic’s conscience.
Blackstone fortresses perished. As soon as one of the ones corrupted by Abaddon fell back into the hands of the Emperor’s servants, an alarm sounded throughout the station. A few minutes later, the relic disintegrated into millions of fragments, and with it the remaining four died. It was believed that the same fate could befall those who left with the Warrior of Chaos, but the future will show that this was a mistake.
The developers added an interesting theory to their version of the plot: in the final scene of the destruction of the fortress, you can see the silhouette of the Deceiver, one of the C’tan. These ancient semi-divine entities once waged war with the Ancients – a civilization that, among other things, created the Blackstone Fortresses.
Many questions arise: why would the Deceiver destroy the creations of his enemies, but the game does not give answers to this. Maybe this will change in Battlefleet Gothic: Armada 2.
The Lords of Terra, recognizing the merits of the defenders of the Gothic sector, ordered to perpetuate the memory of this war. Huge slabs were created in the Imperial Palace, in the Chamber of Heroes. All they had on them were names. The names of everyone who fought in the Gothic War to save their native land, from the Lord Admiral to the very last sailor of the very last cargo ship.
Lord Admiral Cornelius von Ravensburg continued his loyal service to the Imperium. Information about him is lost after the end of the Gothic War, which suggests that his further life was much calmer and ended in peacetime for his native sector. Perhaps this would really be a reward for him.
Inquisitor Horst became obsessed with searching for stolen artifacts. The pursuit of the Eye of Night and the Hand of Darkness took him to various corners of the Imperium, and he managed to make his mark even in conflicts at the turn of the millennium. But shortly before its end, the old inquisitor finally disappeared. He is officially considered missing.
Spire, promoted to Solar Admiral, continued the battle against the forces of Chaos. The aged admiral disappeared somewhere at the end of 200 years. Already in the future, after 800 years, it will become known that his ship disappeared in the Warp and was freed only in 999.M41, at the moment of the triumph of the Thirteenth Campaign of the Despoiler. Fate has again prepared for him a confrontation with the Warrior of Chaos.