40K Lore: Kill Team In Action – The Battle of Tarsis Ultra
With Kill Team on the way now is the perfect time to take a look at one of the more famous battles in which a Kill Team quite literally saved the day. It’s The Battle of Tarsis Ultra!
The Battle of Tarsis Ultra took place in 509997.M41 between the Imperium and a tendril of Hive Fleet Leviathan, on the Agri World of Tarsis Ultra.
Prelude To War
In 999.M41, Tarsis Ultra was faced with the threat of the Tyranids after it was discovered that a tendril of Hive Fleet Leviathan was bound for the planet. The Ultramarines were sworn to honour the ancient oath pledged by the Primarch, Roboute Guilliman, to defend the people of Tarsis Ultra; thus Captain Uriel Ventris through the orders of Marneus Calgar enlisted the aid of a Company from an Ultramarines Second Founding Chapter, the Mortifactors, led by Chaplain Astador.
Supporting the Space Marines defending Tarsis Ultra were two Imperial Guard regiments, the 10th Logres led by Colonel Octavius Rabelaq and the 933rd Death Korps of Krieg led by Colonel Trymon Stagler, plus the PDF headed by Major Aries Satria. Inquisitor Kryptman was also present to impart his extensive knowledge of the Tyranids to help the war effort. Fabricator Marshal Sebastien Montante proved to be a valuable asset as an efficient organiser of resources and general supply management.
The Fight Begins
When the Tyranids arrived in the system and consumed the planet Barbarus Prime, the Imperials launched an attack in space. Despite an initial victory in destroying a Hiveship, Inquisitor Kryptman wished to invoke Exterminatus upon the world Chordelis, as it was the next planet in the path of the Tyranids; this was to prevent it from being devoured and swelling the Tyranids’ numbers, as planetary evacuation was deemed to be too slow. Ventris was vehemently against this decision and supported an alternative solution proposed by Admiral Tiberius, who proposed to slow down the Tyranids by exploding a hydrogen-plasma refinery in space thereby destroying another Hiveship.
However, Kryptman had lied to Ventris and with the assistance of the Mortifactors invoked Exterminatus in spite of the Ultramarines’ plan succeeding. The Imperials attempted the same trick again with a second space refinery to destroy yet another Hiveship. However, the Tyranids adapted to this ploy and the plan backfired on the Imperials, crippling their fleet and forcing the survivors to flee; Tarsis Ultra was left unprotected from space, which allowed the Tyranids to launch their final planetary invasion.
Enter The Deathwatch
During the Tyranid attacks on Tarsis Ultra, a Lictor was captured by Ventris and a Deathwatch team; this proved pivotal during the war, as Kryptman was able to concoct a venom from the Lictor’s genetic structure that would send an early generation Tyranid into hyper-evolution, killing the creature. They then decided upon killing the Norn-Queen in order to win the war. Ventris joined the Deathwatch team in infiltrating the final remaining Hiveship to kill the last Norn-Queen controlling the Tyranids.
Ventris managed to finally kill the last Norn-Queen with Kryptman’s gene-poison. The remaining Space Marine contingent of both the Ultramarines and Mortifactors were down to sixteen men when the Tyranids started to attack each other, as the link with the Hive Mind was lost when the last Norn-Queen died. The psychic shockwave of the overmind’s death affected the Tyranids into slaughtering each other senselessly, leaving the Imperials alone. The majority froze to death under the harsh conditions of Tarsis Ultra with a minority surviving and taking refuge in warmer surroundings. At the conclusion of the war, Ventris reaffirmed his faith as an Ultramarine to protect the Imperium from the enemies of Mankind.
If you want to learn more about famous engagements of the Deathwatch check out the Lexicanum
