During Abaddon's retreat back towards the Eye of Terror, several squadrons of Chaos escorts and multiple cruisers were lost in the fall-back moves. Several of these ships have sprung up to raid several outlying planets and establish a small empire. It is believed that they are under the command of a renegade Imperial commander.
So far, no less than nine Chaos vessels have participated in various raids that have seen the destruction of several planetwide industries and population centers. It is also believed that they have taken an orbital dock and are retrofitting it into a space battle station to use as a base point to ward off counter-attacks by Imperial forces.
It is believed that the commander of this force is an extremely successful Imperial Guard ground Captain who went renegade two years ago with Chaos support. All of the troops under his command turned traitor with him, and he launched surprise attacks on Ultramarine and Space Wolf units; defeating all. It is speculated that Chaos High Commanders supplied him with his current fleet in return for his success on the ground. He has also been involved in the development of several new weapons and vehicles with teams from Armageddon Prime. It is believed that he has taken those plans and several prototypes with him in defection.
The Imperium is calling this fleet the "Bloody Thorn Battlegroup" or "Spliner Fleet New Radical/ Splinter Fleet Bloody Thorn." A much larger and more versatile Imperial fleet is currently deploying throughout the area to deal with this new threat ****************************************** |
