Theater 2, chapter 2

History Lessons
Samuel had left the Crystal-Chamber Complex, he needed to put some distance between him and the events of the last few cycles. As planned, they had transferred his HQ and the PDF’s Centre of Operations’ to the Moon-House of the Edge of Zalthar’s Great Western Desert.

The Moon-House was once an Imperial Strong-point, garrisoned by a Marine contingent entrusted with preventing Crystal-smuggling in the early days of Zalthar’s rise as a Mining Colony. It was well equipped, with Barracks for 500 + Troops, it even had its own Medical Bay with Surgical Facilities and a state-of-the-Art Communications Suite. There were re-stocked stores of food, a natural well and a fully stocked Ammunition Magazine and Armoury . Due to its difficult positioning, it was common for access by air, so there was hangar space for up to 8 fliers, though still sufficient garaging for 10 Landraider sized vehicles and 1 Hangar purpose built for a Knight Titan, its re-supply and repair. However, 2 Knights could be accommodated by folding in 2 Hangar spaces to make the additional room. That certainly pleased Dean, who hated having to leave the planet, every time Lux-Aeterna got a dent. He liked the solidity of his ward surrounding him on solid ground, not being out of control rolling around in the void.

The only change Samuel had insisted upon, was that two of the old holding cells be knocked through into one, incorporating the access corridors and space above to fashion a grand, 2 storey Library. Finally a home for his books, and a place to think, which he needed more than ever now, now that the Crystal-Chamber was full of such pain and sadness.

Lord Inquisitor Hector-Rex, in his typical arrogant style, refused even the State-Apartments at the Moon-House, designed for visiting Imperial Dignitaries to Zalthar, preferring to remain aboard his Emperor Class Battleship in high orbit, as if the planets mere presence should somehow infect him. Samuel did not take to the wasteful Luxury of the apartments, so had them made into four separate rooms, one for Dean, one for his Head Assistant and a powerful Psyker Castiel, one for CaptainBarceló of the PDF and head of his Security Detail, and the last one for himself. Last, but by no-means the least complex to accommodate, was Crowley, the Daemonhost. Fortunately, as a Fortress designed to combat Criminal Gangs, the Moon-House had several isolation cells, at least two of which were also Psy-Shielded, as a number of the Gangs employed Psyker’s to help with their subterfuge, avoid detection and make interrogation extremely difficult. So it was to one of these that Samuel consigned Crowley, preferring to have him close, for as the saying goes, keep your friends close, your enemies closer ! 
The Moon-House also had a long and distinguished past even before the Tech Marines of the Legio Astarte’s had bull-dozed the site flat for their Fortress. For before then, it had been a Temple to F’Sal, the Moon Goddess, the celestial counterpart to Kell, Earth Goddess to the Herders. Even the nearby Desert had a history from these times, a history that grew from the Last Great Battle in Zalthar’s Unification Wars. And that, is a story all of its own.
The Last Great Battle of Zalthar.
The last Battle in Zalthar's Unification Wars, was fought between the Herders and the "Followers of the Four", for like on other Worlds, such as Davin, there was a darkness in the hearts of some of the people of Zalthar long before it became more widely known as "Chaos”!

As there was officially an Imperial Arms Embargo on Zalthar, due to it not yet having been bought into full "Compliance", for early in the later days of the crusade, resources were in short supply and much needed elsewhere. Then came the Heresy, and that threw out all plans ! It was therefore decided to let Zalthar's Wars run their course with as little Imperial intervention as possible. It suited their purpose for the planets population to police itself, as that would just leave Imperial forces the task of cleaning-up after the dust settles. It was clearly in the Empires best interests that the Herders be victorious, for although Chaos was not recognised for what it was back then, evil was still evil, and they wanted the “good-guy’s“ to win ! Failing that, they had Plan B, which was either low yield Neutron Bombs or Virus Bombs, to strip Zalthar of life whilst leaving the Infrastructure and Mineral Deposits intact to “start again” !

As with any War that seeks to pit Father against Son, Mother against Daughter, Husband against Wife, it was savage and bloody, and during its last terrible cycles, a great many of Sons of Zalthar perished. In this last Great Battle, so many died that some say the very Planet itself sought to blot out its memory. What was once a wide and green river valley was hence forth claimed by the sand, and became the Great Western Desert.

The War had been raging for almost 50 cycles, when, after several defeats, the War weary Herder’s Army sought to move South of the Fel River, near the Town of Felton, now Hope Hive City, for the Winter, which signalled the end of hostilities for the Circle. Out manoeuvred by the army of the Followers of the Four, they were caught at the River Corathos, a tributary of the Fel, where it ran through a wide Valley to the North. With their backs to the River, they had no option but to stand and fight.

The weaponry of the times were fairly low tech, considering the weaponry available on today’s Zalthar. Fire arms were in extremely short supply, came in the form of Lasguns that were of limited use, due to their heavy energy requirements necessitating large back-pack batteries, and there were a few ballistic weapons, much like those available in the 1^st and 2^nd Great Terran Wars before the Long Night. There were also a few Heavy Bolters and the occasional Lascannon, taken from scrapped star-ships the later, mounted on wheeled carriages as with their power-supply batteries, they were tremendously heavy ! There were close combat weapons of every description, from agricultural implements to the occasional chain weapon that had somehow slipped by the Embargo.

Many of the Herders preferred the Zaltharian Spike, a pole weapon of about 14 foot, with a narrow-bladed head, with a sharp “side-spur” used by them to herd the Morac mainly during the Rut, when the large Bull Morac were at their most temperamental and dangerous. In the worst case scenario, the narrow blade could be used to stop a Bull Morac in its tracks. As a weapon of War, men armed with theses weapons fought on blocks of between 400 - 600, like the Pikemen of early Terran Wars.

Both sides had limited contingents of Cavalry, riding a wide assortment of horses, bought from Terra and other Imperial Colonies as a stock animal and one of the easiest ways to navigate the Great Ice Grass Plains. Most were armed with long-spears and swords, trained to fight at the charge.

The Followers of the Four formed-up along the Northern ridge, facing the Herders in front of the River Corathos, swollen with melt-water from the Worldspine Mountains. The Herders deployed with their cavalry companies to their flanks, five large blocks of Zaltharian Spike-armed Infantry in the centre, interspersed with their limited fire-arm Troops.

The Followers of the Four arranged their forces in a similar fashion, but with their considerable artillery train on a higher ridge towards the Eastern end of their line and immediately began to fire punishing Lascannon bursts into the Herders Centre ! General Navarro of the Herders was ready for this was not the first time the Followers had employed this tactic, so he marshalled forward a skirmish screen of fire armed Infantry in loose order, followed by a general advance, supported by a contingent of Cavalry with what amounted to his Horse Artillery, Thirteen Heavy Bolters, mounted on wheeled Carriages. These he was able to get within range of the Followers Heavier Lascannon’s, which he dispatched in short-order, raking the Train with the heavy calibre rounds that tore-up men and machinery alike, before withdrawing to the relative safety between his advancing Spike-armed Infantry.

The Followers of the Four then let loose their Eastern contingent of Cavalry, but opposite them, General Navarro had a company of mounted pistolers, armed with a variety of pistols and a mace, trained to fight in the “Caracole” style, a wheel in front of the enemy to present a wall-of-fire designed to break the charge of the enemy. And break the charge they did, causing horrendous losses and scattering what was left. At the same time, the Followers also released their Infantry, that pushed home the advantage of numbers and the slope, weathering the fire from Navarro’s fire-arms and smashing headlong into his Spike-armed Infantry. The carnage was horrendous, the front ranks of both sides falling almost instantly as they locked into a push of arms. Here though, General Navarro had learnt from previous bitter experience, that a push of Arms was not something his smaller force could win un-aided against the fanaticism of the Followers Infantry, and so ordered his Eastern wing of Cavalry to charge the remaining Followers Cavalry, giving his Pistolers a clear field and free reign to attack the Followers locked Infantry in the flank.

Hit by Cavalry in their exposed and unsupported flank, saw the Infantry waver, time for Navarro’s next move. In through the infantry push, he filtered lightly armed troops with short stabbing weapons that could easily get in amongst the press of Spikes and Long Spears and create havoc in the Followers front Ranks. Hit by these troops as well, against which they could not easily defend, the waver became a wobble, the wobble a rout . The Followers centre collapsed, with many cut down by the Pistolers as they tried to flee. The battle was all but over, the last obstacle being the remaining Follower Cavalry that had decimated Navarro’s Eastern Wing of horsemen, understandably as the charge had been a tactical gamble, his Cavalry being outnumbered 3 to 1. Navarro re-formed his pistolers, and in one last clash of men and horses, the battle fell to the Herders. But it was a Pyrrhic victory, their losses had been appalling. Neither side had sufficient man-power left to form another credible army, and two Cycles later, the Followers of the Four disbanded and soon became a heretical organisation, who’s membership was certain to bring imprisonment at best.

The Empire had their good-guy in General Navarro, and “Compliance” would swiftly follow after the Traitor Legions had lost the Battle for the Emperors Palace. Finance was in short supply, making Mining Colonies like Zalthar suddenly seem very interesting propositions. The Day of the Corporations’ had come, and it was to do more damage than any War, and the climate, over time did change, and the Desert did reclaim the valley of the River Corathos, and its dead.