![[AstropathicSymbol.png]] *Astropathic Relay Connection Established.* *Ident Codes Validated.* *Begin Message Processing.* *Report Processing...* *Report Processing...* *Report Translation Complete.* ------ For the first year of the Heresy, the Solarae System has been at a standstill. No major wins, no major losses, just stagnation. This will change with the destruction of Bellatoris Prime and the psychic wave that not only opens up the system but the sector itself, allowing both loyalists and traitors alike to invade. The system stretches between the Serpent's Eye, held by Loyalist Iron Warriors on the edge of the Solarae System, and its capital, the extremely well-developed but nearly frozen world of Prima Gemma. The planet is interlaced with sprawling agri-domes that support the massive population of fortress hive cities that date back to the Dark Age of Technology. The planet once served as a war world with each hive operating as its own nation, but with the coming of the Great Crusade, the planet came under a single ruler: the Emperor. In doing so, it also became one of the most influential planets in the system, mixing military strength with economic might. Once the Heresy struck, it was the pride of those once-independent cities that became the avenue for treachery. Though never so heinous as what was initially seen on Bellatoris, the corruption of Solarae was a slow burn. In the first months of the Horus Heresy, there was little to no action seen on the system's side of the Serpent's Eye (the chokepoint and only way through the Seraphim Asteroid Belt that locks the system away from the rest of the sector). Sure, some attempts to break through seemed to originate from the Obscuron System, but beyond that, the average citizen would largely have felt unaware of the Warmaster's betrayal. But some did not find comfort in complacency. Some did not find peace under the rule of the Imperium. *Some yearned for the old ways, when each hive answered to no master save itself.* ***SOME DID NOT WANT TO FEEL A LEASH AROUND THEIR NECK.*** So a plan was made, resources were collected, and those who could be trusted to break past oaths of loyalty were identified. Messages were sent. Both lies, and truths, were told. And on the eve of what would have been a seemingly fruitless betrayal, simply a fly to be swatted by the Imperial Fists who made Prima Gemma their home, luck would aid the traitors. The events on Bellatoris Prime were not discovered through conventional means. They were **felt**. As the planet and much of the system fell in on itself and pulses of psychic energy radiated out from its epicenter, something cracked. The Ruinstorm that had fully encapsulated the Aeternum Sector weakened, and in some places, opened (albeit temporarily). The warp dampeners (that no one even knew existed) interlaced throughout the Seraphim Asteroid Belt also weakened and in places even shattered, creating avenues for small forces to enter the system unseen. Through these cracks, through these weakened avenues, those loyal to both the Warmaster and Emperor made their way. Some saw Solarae as a harbor, escaping the whims of the Ruinstorm, while others saw it as a lonely and isolated treasure, ready to be seized. In parallel, Alexandar Kopal, the XXIV of his name, stood up and led his own rebellion, taking control of Hive Alexandrite and overpowering the small garrison it contained. With little to no Astartes presence in the hive (naturally a result of months of planning), it was a relatively simple task. But what could have once been responded to with the full might of the Imperium's strength in system was now diverted, distracted by the various fleets of traitors and the simple task of sorting through the confusion that the fall of Bellatoris brought to Solarae. It will never be recorded, but Hive Alexandrite was fully under control of the traitorous Alexandar Kopal before Lucien Baxa, Praetor of the Imperial Fists, and Castellan of the Aeternum Sector, was even informed of the betrayal. It has been several days since Hive Alexandrite fell, and much of the system is beginning to draw battle lines. It will be up to the commanders of the old and the new forces that find themselves in the Solarae System to move forward, claiming Prima Gemma, the Serpent's Eye, and the entire Solarae System for their respective causes. ![[Hive.webp]]