The Battle for Drenthal

A seemingly endless ocean covers Drenthal, dotted by island archipelagos and vast floating habitations. It is home to a number of large Aeronautica Imperialis training academies.

Situated near to the forge world of Konor, Drenthal is a vast blue orb ringed by burning orbital stations and warring battleships. The remnants of the Konor Defence Fleet are trapped in orbit around the planet, encircled by a Chaos armada that vomits more landing ships into the Drenthal’s upper atmosphere with every passing minute. The ocean world’s close proximity to Konor has made it an invaluable target for both Chaos and Imperial forces, as it is perfectly placed to stage counter-attacks and naval bombardments of that vital war zone. The planet’s orbital shipyards and gun platforms have already been atomized by macro-cannon fire and hull breaching missiles, but Drenthal’s planetside defences have not yet been overrun.

Due to its stable atmospherics, Drenthal has long been used as a training center by the Aeronautica Imperialis. Oceans cover almost ninety-five per cent of the planet’s surface, so the flight academies of the Imperial navy are contained upon colossal carriers, each as large as a small city and covered with landing strips, hangars and barracks. The rest of the world’s population exists upon floating metropolises known as seasteads, or else make their home upon scattered archipelagos of bleached shard-coral. Most of these seaborne habitations are now aflame, set alight by incendiary rockets and bombs unleashed by Chaos flyers.

In those seasteads that still stand, and across the island archipelagos, Imperial defenders fight savagely for every scrap of land, fending off massed aerial assaults and naval invasions. Imperial drop troops and Space Marine Inceptor Squads fearlessly hurl themselves into the fray, hurtling down from low orbit to smash into the enemy ranks. Bikes and speeders roar across banks of treacherous shard-coral, knifing into the flanks of advancing columns with bolters blazing. The ground battle is ferocious, but Drenthal’s terrain is ill-suited to massed formations of armour and infantry, and so the fiercest battles rage in the skies above. Hell-forged drakes screech and whirl above the devastation, snatching Imperial transports out of the sky, or swooping low to incinerate terrified soldiers and civilians. Every Aeronautica Imperialis aircraft available is in the air, launching endless sorties against these Daemon-forged monsters, supported by the Stormraven Gunships of the Adeptus Astartes.

Burning wreckage falls like rain across Drenthal. The Imperium, dreading the prospect of a Chaos victory, begins to prepare a doomsday strategy to deny the heretics their prize. Should all appear lost, Drenthal’s fusion-powered drill platforms, which mine vital fuel-crystals from beneath the planet’s crust, will be set to overcharge. The resultant geothermal trauma will tear Drenthal apart in a last act of spiteful defiance.