Tuesday, August 29, 2006

NECRON ACTIVITY INCREASING

EASTERN ALLIANCE REPORT
SUBJECT: EINMYRRIA [HELLHEIM] STATUS REPORT
DATE: 2708.006 M42 [IMPERIAL LOCAL]
HEADLINE: NECRON ACTIVITY INCREASING

The Hellheim system is nominally Tau, since they control a base and settlement on Cernunnos, and their fleet remains the largest in the system. Certainly the inner system can be deemed Tau controlled as can the route to the outer rim for warp jumps. Donar, while riddled with chaos warriors and their encumbent slave population (around 40 million), without a fleet this chaos world is an island cut off from the rest of the chaos "empire". The Tau have quarantined it.

Einmyrria was until recently a dead rock. The eldar detonated a number of massive weapons in the southern hemisphere, believed to be the area of greatest concentration of active necron tombs. However recently more necrons have begun to appear in the northern hemisphere. Responding to this the Eldar have sent down scouting forces onto Einmyrria and have established a base. Their recent encounters with necron forces have been small affairs and to date the eldar have always succeeded in driving off their enemy.

The Imperium it would seem are still interested in the world as elements of the Sisters of Battle and a whole company of Space marines (Sons Of Ultramar) are known to be present in the general vicinity of the newest necron tomb finds. They two have had skirmishes with the necrons and it can only be a matter of time before they encounter the eldar.

Recent developments have also led to substantial mobilisation of Tau forecs and it appears they intend to send forces to Einmyrria. We have been advised by the Tau ambassador that they intend to "ringfence" the aliens on the planet and "bottle them up".

However I fear the current wave of new necron insurgency is more than a mere shadow of a dead civilisation. I fear that there is a necron fleet below the surface the planet and the latest action is part of an effort to launch this fleet. Clearly the implications of this are immense. Depending on the size of the fleet and the number of necrons, the Tau planet of Cernunnos may not be the only planet under threat. Couple this with the fact that (though the Imperium and Tau do not know it) Einmyrria is not the only necron tombworld in the sector a new crusade of these murderous beings cannot be ruled out.

I recommend continued scouting and observation of the situation. That is all at this time.

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

++2208.006 -- PROTOGONUS++


After receiving word that the UFP fleet had headed out-system to deal with an Imperial threat the Tau commanders on the ground decided to take action against the space marine forces outside their perimeter. To this end a significant task force was put together and headed into the sparsely forested area to the west of the Tau compound where the Sons Of Ultramar were last sighted.


Before long the Tau army made contact with the Sons Of Ultramar and attacked their base. The attack started well with the Tau wiping out several assault marines but deteriorated from then on. Of particular note was the abject failure of the Vespids and the dominance of the space marine land raider crusader. A vehicle now highly feared by the Tau on Protogonus.


The battle allows the Sons Of Ultramar to consolidate their position outside the Tau compound and establish a landing area for more troops. In addition the Tau military on Protogonus suffers a significant blow and is forced back inside its perimeter. The Marines are now free to conduct themselves without interdiction, at least until the UFP fleet returns to the planet.


++ END TRANSMISSION++

Monday, August 21, 2006

++Encounter at PROTOGONUS 1908.006 M42
++Initial Encounter++

Endeavour and escorts Canine and Terrier encountered four unidentified ships at the edge of the Protogonus system. After challenges were ignored it became apparent that the ships were of UFP origin and were claiming the territory. According to Admiralty order 265.006 stating “Protogonus is an Imperial system. All other ships considered hostile and must be removed” Canine engaged a UFP escort, crippling her. The largest ship in their fleet was identified as the Slaughter class vessel Arbitrator. She approached from the Endeavour’s forward aspect. At maximum range Captain Cook ordered a torpedo salvo fired at here. The missiles were successful in severely damaging the enemy vessel. In the following broadside pass the Arbitrator’s firing was poor while our own ship’s was extremely accurate, crippling the enemy cruiser and forcing her to disengage. During the encounter one UFP escort, identified as Hunter was hulked.
At this point Canine detected a large fleet approaching from in-system and, having taken no significant damage ourselves, we withdrew++


Admiral Jellicoe was extremely pleased with the outcome of the first naval encounter with the UFP for a number of years. He had already succeeded where his predecessor had failed. Based on this initial success the Admiral authorised Vice Admiral Beatty to take Retribution and her escorts and finish of the UFP fleet.
The UFP fleet managed to join up with the escorts from Arbitrator’s battlegroup and together thy made their way to the cruiser’s last known position in order to recover the crippled ship, all the while shadowed by the Imperial squadron led by Endeavour. The UFP fleet then found itself trapped between Endeavour on one side and Vice Admiral Beatty’s squadron on the other. The UFP fleet commander chose to attack before the Imperials could join up and fell upon Beatty’s battlecruiser with the hades class Radiant Light and the carrier Sword Of Justice. The battle was brief as Retribution’s torpedoes were put out of action, followed by her engines. Her escorts were forced to flee losing as they did the sword class escorts Hound and Lupine.
Retribution was forced to surrender by the UFP fleet and Vice Admiral Beatty became a prisoner.
Admiral Jellicoe was highly critical of Beatty in his report. It should have been obvious, he argued, that the Retribution and escorts could not challenge a hades class accompanied by a carrier and that Beatty should have fled as soon as the ships were identified. Other experts suggest he should have run sooner – when his 4 ships detected 7 enemies.
This action led to a fateful decision by Jellicoe. From now on the imperial fleet would only attack when it had numerical superiority and would flee before a larger force before those ships were identified.
The action also saw the battleship Iron Duke escorted by the light cruisers Ajax and Achilles embark for the Protogonus sytem, a journey of about a month.

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

1508.006 Clashes continue

++ Tallaxian News Agency Report++

Skirmishes continue on the Strategically unimportant yet wealth laden planet of Einmyrria in the Hellheim system. Reports of Necron activity have again arisen with rumours that the eldar suffered heavy casualties in a reecnt encounter. It is also believed that the Sons Of Ultramar and the Imperial Guard stationed on the planet have also had run-ins with the necron forces.

Meanwhile the Tau colony on Protogonus reports more Imperial activity with the Sisters Of Battle having been encountered in a regular patrol to the west of the Tau base. The encounter was inconclusive, but Tau officials have said every effort to defend the Tau colony is being made and that Imperial forces "hiding in the forests", do not pose a significant threat.

Monday, August 14, 2006

So where is the Aleph Sector


The Aleph sector, or subsector, can be found at the extreme "south east" of the Imperium, close to the Ultramarine Homeworld of Macragge and on the frontier of both Tau and Tyranid space.

It may be "near" the Ultramarines in terms of the whole galaxy, but thats a long way!

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

0808.006 Sons Of Ultramar Landing on PROTOGONUS

The Sons of Ultramar land on the Tau base of Vyr' Lyth, known as Protogonus to the Imperium. Below is the Sons Of Ultramar first report.

+++0608.006 Sons Of Ultramar land one company of marines on Protogonus, south east of the water pumping station. Strike cruiser Aurelius was unable to bombard due to early discovery by the Tau fleet and retired to a safe distance. The ++CENSORED++ company deployed succesfully in woods near to the drop zone. Tau patrols immediately attacked disparate groups of marines and scored notable successes and inflicted greater casualties than they sustained. Expect an imminent attack by larger Tau forces.+++

After the successful patrol the Tau commander was heavily criticised by the Tau high command for risking crisis suits in such a small mission with so many unknowns. The suits proved vulnerable in close assault to marines and were ordered to stay at their base until the enemy forces were known.

Background

Situation Aleph Date: 0508.06

The Aleph sector remained quiet for over a year. Thanks to multiple diplomatic efforts between the UFP and Cardinal Sheriden, the situation on Carnaq V was resolved, with the planet remaining under the control of the UFP. In return the UFP scored a major strategic goal by being given the governance of the remainder of Aleph 4. This agreement so outraged the Dark Angels that they (temporarily) abandoned their bases in the subsector, declaring the ruling elite traitors to the imperium.

So peace reigned in the subsector for nearly a year. The chaos forces, now totally depleted, retreated to their homeworld of Kendrenec, while their military base on Donar [Hellheim] dissolved into anarchy. The UFP and Imperial forces, equally matched, rarely saw one another and apart from the odd skirmish there were no major battles in .005 - .006. Trade even sprang up between neighbouring UFP and Imperial worlds, though this was rarely disclosed to the imperial authorities, lest extremist inquisitors such as the ever present Xanthus should discover them… The Tau consolidated their hold in the subsector, fully colonizing Cernunnos and keeping an ever vigilant watch on their neighbour.

The Kel Sandros Eldar meanwhile were far from happy. Behind the scenes they pushed for further UFP expansion, but while the UFP continued to court the planetary governers, or populations, or both, exhorting them to join the UFP cause, the UFP high command refused to move against the Imperium militarily. However the eldar knew that the Tau were eager to expand.

The farseers of the belligerent craftworld sought once again to create unrest in the sector. They gave the Tau exploratory fleet the coordinates of an uninhabited planetary system with one inhabitable world. This was Protogonus, a system charted by the Imperium several thousand years ago but thought not worthy of mention. However it was noted that the system did also have large mineral deposits on several worlds, but that its strategic value was too low to warrant further colonization.

Now however this had changed. The eldar were fully aware that the presence of a Tau base so close to the Imperial hub would be unacceptable. They also hoped that the UFP, seeing the Tau as a client of theirs and an ally, would intervene in any military conflict.
The Tau quickly began to colonise the world, sending 50,000 of their number to begin exploration and construction. The Imperium were unaware of this however. Once the Tau base was established, the Eldar saw to it that a routine patrol of Imperial scout ships, were drawn into the Protogonus system. To do this the Eldar simply sent out one of their ships as bait. Feigning engine trouble the eldar ship fled from the Imperial escorts, until in range of the Protogonus system wherein it disappeared. The mission was successful however as Tau gunships opened fire on the Imperial ships who in turn fled, informing the Imperial high command on Cerberex.

Things moved swiftly after that, as the Sons of Ultramar were requested to “investigate and pacify” Tau expansion in the Protogonus system. The scene was set…..

And no-one had thought to check for the presence of Necrons in the system…


---Click to enlarge

Major forces – Motivations

Imperial Guard
Told where to go and what to do by whoever is in command the loyal troops of the Imperium will fight where and when they are told.

Allies: Sisters Of Battle, Space Marines.
Possible Enemies: Sisters Of Battle, UFP, Space Marines, Other Eldar, Kel Sandros Eldar, Tau
Chief Enemies: Necrons, Dark Eldar, Chaos

Sons Of Ultramar
This space marine chapter, new to the sector have been detailed with the removal of the Tau from the Protogonus system. This is their primary mission but they will fight against the Emperor’s enemies as and when required. However it is uncertain what there position will be if Inquisitor Xanthus succeeds in his mission to remove the Imperial ruling elite from power.

Allies: Imperial Guard, Space Marines.
Possible Enemies: Sisters Of Battle, UFP, Imperial Guard, Dark Angels, Other Eldar, Kel Sandros Eldar
Chief Enemies: Necrons, Dark Eldar, Tau, Chaos

Dark Angels
Outraged at the peace treaty with the UFP the Dark Angels have left the system. Some believe however that they intend to return. It is almost certain that they would support Inquisitor Xanthus in his attempted removal of Cardinal Sheriden and his allies.

Allies: Imperial Guard, Space Marines, Sisters Of Battle
Possible Enemies: Imperial Guard, Space Marines, UFP
Chief Enemies: Necrons, Other Eldar, Dark Eldar, Kel Sandros Eldar, Tau, Chaos

Tau
The Tau are intent on expansion and will defend their new found territories from aggression from any source. They are allies of the UFP and believe the Kel Sandros Eldar are also on their side.

Allies: Kel Sandros Eldar, UFP
Possible Enemies: Imperial Guard, Space Marines, Other Eldar, Sisters Of Battle
Chief Enemies: Necrons, Dark Eldar, Chaos, Sons Of Ultramar

Kel Sandros Eldar
Subtely “using” their allies to their benefit the Kel Sandros Eldar are bent on conquering the galaxy once more. They wish to destabilize the Imperium and to do this have allied themselves with the UFP and Tau, however they fully intend to use these as pawns in a very complicated game of chess.

Allies: Tau, UFP
Possible Enemies: Imperial Guard, Space Marines, Other Eldar, Sisters Of Battle, Dark Eldar
Chief Enemies: Necrons, Chaos

Sisters Of Battle
The Sisters of Battle have recently arrived in the subsector. They have learned that eleven holy artifacts still reside on Aleph 4 after its handover to the UFP. From analyzing historical texts they have ascertained the whereabouts of these items and intend to return them into the hands of the Imperium by any means necessary. Inquisitor Xanthus is also trying hard to persuade the sisters to join his quest to remove the ruling elite from power, citing the treaty with the unholy UFP as treasonous.

Allies: Imperial Guard, Space Marines
Possible Enemies: Imperial Guard, Space Marines, UFP, Tau
Chief Enemies: Necrons, Other Eldar, Dark Eldar, Kel Sandros Eldar, Chaos

Chaos
Despite being severely weakened the chaos forces still control two planets in the Aleph subsector and many factions wish to begin reconquering as soon as possible. Their warships however have suffered much at the hands of the Dark Exterminators’ incompetent and rash offensives and for the time being they must be content with minor missions.

Allies: None
Possible Enemies: Not applicable
Chief Enemies: Space Marines, Necrons, Imperial Guard, Sisters Of Battle, Other Eldar, Dark Eldar, Kel Sandros Eldar, Tau, UFP

Necrons
Necrons hate all that lives. They are slumbering for now but once awoken once more they will rise up against all races who interfere with their schemes and violate their territory.

Allies: None
Possible Enemies: Not applicable
Chief Enemies: Space Marines, Imperial Guard, Sisters Of Battle, Other Eldar, Dark Eldar, Kel Sandros Eldar, Tau, UFP, Chaos

Dark Eldar
The motives of the Dark eldar are mysterious, but in the Aleph sector they sieze any copportunity to acquire slaves, usually picking confused warzones as their principal hunting grounds.

Allies: None
Possible Enemies: Kel Sandros Eldar, Other Eldar
Chief Enemies: Space Marines, Necrons, Imperial Guard, Sisters Of Battle, Tau, UFP, Chaos

Other Eldar
Not all eldar share the same beliefs as the Kel Sandros Eldar and many view their course of action foolhardy and irresponsible. Their concern is chiefly the survival of their race and will act aggressively to achieve this.

Allies: None
Possible Enemies: Imperial Guard, Sisters Of Battle, Other Eldar, Dark Eldar, Kel Sandros Eldar, Tau
Chief Enemies: Space Marines, Chaos, Necrons

UFP (United Federation of Planets)
The UFP forces are still recovering from recent wars. They do not want to become involved in major military actions if possible, but will fight when their way of life is under threat or allies call for aid.

Allies: Tau, Kel Sandros Eldar
Possible Enemies: Imperial Guard, Sisters Of Battle, Other Eldar, Dark Eldar
Chief Enemies: Space Marines, Chaos, Necrons

Aleph Sector Campaign Log - 0808.006

+++ Campaign Log online +++