Warsmith Stahl arrives on Tarlius

Since the unleashing the Cicatrix Maledictum, there had been no sign of the Iron Warriors in the Aleph Sector. Warsmith Stahl's position was far more precarious with resurgence of Chaos forces and some hoped he'd been deposed by his own treacherous forces. These hopes were dashed in the later months of 17M42. In the dead of night a Mechanicum manufactorum came under attack from the Stahl's forces; the only warning being the opening fusillade which left their regions tank commander dead. From horizon to horizon a tide of human traitors, cultists and madmen hurled themselves at the Volscians. The Iron Warriors pressed their human slaves forward heedless of casualties determined to choke the Volscian guns with bodies. The Volscians, unable to pick out the Havoc and Predator positions in the dark, suffered as Leman Russ tanks were methodically destroyed one after another. The tide appeared to turn as the Iron Warriors daemonic slavemaster was banished causing the cultists to panic and flee and the Volscians could finally push forward. The IV simply sent in another tide of traitors to choke the Volscians guns once more. As the night drew to dawn it was clear the situation was hopeless for the Imperium. The battlefield was carpeted with corpses. The Imperial defences overrun, and the Manufactorum plundered. In the coming weeks Imperial listening posts in the Tarlius system reported the Iron Warriors had landed on the outermost planet, fortifying and constructing orbital defences, embedding themselves like a barbed hook, a declaration to both Imperial and Chaos forces that the Tarlius system belonged to the Iron Warriors.

Paradorn contested, chaos build base

On Paradorn the situation was far more fluid than at Vandrax or Destino. At Vandrax the crusade were locked in a war with the Loyalists as Inquisitor Hathek tried to prevent the destruction of the Foramen Maxoris by Vorushko, while the Federacy fought the Imperium as a united entity at Destino. On Paradorn however, the most critical system, the war had already become one with four sides. The Alliance had been unable to gain a foothold, while the Imperial Fists had all but secured Paradorn 1 after stopping Magnus the Red from performing his arcane ritual.

On Paradorn 2, the eldar had so far eliminated anyone straying too close, but had not as yet made a move elsewhere in the system. Paradorn 4, the outermost system had seen the successful installation of an Imperial base, but Paradorn 3 was now the realm of the Thousand Sons. Realising the threat of having a chaos controlled world between their base and the inner planets, the Adeptus Mechanicus sent a small probing force to the planet to analyse the situation. Unfortunately they were soon discovered by the forces of chaos and slain to a man, although they did manage to report to the Imperium that the Thousand sons had not been idle. There was now a small base on Paradorn 3 which had the potential of becoming a thorn in the side of Imperial ambitions to control the system, and thus control the entrance to the Foramen Interdictum.

Vandrax: Archmagos Cybixx begins construction

On Vandrax Inquisitor Vorushko's forces continued to construct their base on Vandrax 4. Inquisitor Hathek, deciding that chasing the Inquisitor across half the galaxy would not result in a swift outcome, decided instead to attempt to destroy the Crusade's foothold on the planet by sending in the Novgorod Guard. However, upon landing the Loyalist force found the planet already undergoing significant defensive works, and could see that a Spaceport was being constructed by the Mechanicum loyal to the Crusade. Upon hearing this Hathek ordered an immediate attack. The Crusade could not be allowed to build a space port on Vandrax 3 as this would give them a commanding position over the system.

Recognising the Spaceport as the primary target the Novogorod duly attacked, but found the Mechanicum defenders, led by Archmagos Dominus Licussian Cybixx himself, to be a formidable foe. Despite sending in wave after wave of loyal Novgorod guardsmen, the Crusade Mechanicum force held on, requiring the removal of all remaining loyalist forces by Pendragon's fleet.

The confirmation that Cybixx  had joined Vorushko's crusade was a blow to Hathek. The Archmagos had connections within the Adeptus Mechanicum, and his influence was a risk to his own position. However, Cybixx  was a deeply logical being, so perhaps he could be persuaded to switch sides? Hathek began preparing his case.

Imperium hold off Alliance at Destino

Federal commander Elliott was duly reinforced with a small contingent of Tau forces in early 10.017M42 at the critical system of Destino. The Federal battlegroup was now able to land a significant force on Destino 3 and Destino 4. On the third planet the Librian federal army, comprising of the once proud imperial 101st regiment, landed in force, but found the imperial installations already well under construction and well defended. Worse still, the imperial defenders quickly requested assistance, and soon an astartes strike cruiser was detected in orbit around the planet. Once again the federal fleet was unable to intercede, fearing mutual annihilation in space, a situation neither side wanted at this stage. The Librians would have to hold out against whatever the Imperium threw at them.

The Imperial Fists chapter immediately assaulted the Librian armoured bridgehead and found the heavy guns of the armoured federal forces difficult to deal with. Taking heavy casualties and losing their command Land Raider, the Imperial Fists looked like being broken on the Librian lines, but they persisted. Soon the astartes had managed to secure the rough ground around the federal drop site, and were able to weather the storm of fire long enough to eventually assault the bridgehead itself with their remaining elite shock troops. Leading from the front, the astartes captain personally took the fight to the Librians, cutting down the traitors and opening a gap in the federal lines.

Despite some heroic efforts, including a federal trooper gunning down a charging ancient with his meltagun while his comrades ran for cover, the federal force had been broken and the bridgehead made untenable. The Imperial Fists had taken significant casualties, but they had prevented the Librians from moving on the imperial base long enough for the Lycaons and Novgorod to surround the federal landing site. Once again Commander Elliott had to effect a desperate evacuation, but many Librians were taken prisoner and almost all their equipment lost.

Meanwhile on Destino 4 a small stealth Cadre of Tau landed for a reconnaissance mission. Expecting little or no resistance they found the Imperial battlegroup had already managed to land troops on the cold barren world, and had started building up installations as per Luthor's grand plan. In a fierce firefight, the Lycaon Guard were never in real danger of being destroyed by the Tau, but at times they were hard pressed to stop the alliance force from overrunning critical installations. However the Imperial line held and the alliance had to undertake yet another evacuation.

Three assaults, three evacuations. Now the alliance had to make some difficult decisions as the Imperium had completed their orbital defences around Destino 3 and were well entrenched in the system. However, the system was so important to the alliance they could not afford the Imperium to take it uncontested. 

Imperium establishes base on Destino 3

While Vandrax was coming under assault by Loyalist and Crusade forces, the southern system of Destino, at the Federal end of the Foramen Interdictum, had been reached by the Federal battlegroup led by the battleship Haskell. The federal force intended to land forces on the worlds in the system in order to establish a base on the world in order to access the Perseus Deeps. However, upon arrival, the federal forces found the imperium already there, and a sizeable fleet in the vicinity. 

The federal battlegroup included several Tallaxian and Hartak regiments, but also a number of Librian regiments, who had been taken to the Federacy before the coming of the Cicatrix for training and "good will" missions. The Librian forces outnumbered the other federal forces and were keen to take the fight to the imperium, so the federal commander deployed the librians to Destino 3, while staying near the system jump point in case of Imperial intervention from Admiral Enkvist's fleet. The plan to land forces on the other worlds would have to wait.

The Librians landed on Destino 3 and advanced on what appeared to be a small imperial base. However the base was not undefended, and an equal sized Lycaon regiment had been stationed to protect the facility from just such an assault. Both sides quickly engaged in a brutal and unforgiving firefight, with the Librians at first appearing to gain the upper hand. However massed accurate lascannon fire from the Lycaon anti tank weapons quickly neutralised the Librian armour, leaving the infantry dreadfully exposed. Hand to hand fighting in the dense forests of the planet took its toll, with the Imperial numbers and possibly their faith overcoming Librian enthusiasm. In just two days, the Librians were falling back having failed to break the Lycaon defenders. Federal commander Elliot briefly discussed reinforcing the Librians, but was persuaded to evacuate. The Federacy could not hope to win a war of attrition, especially not for one small world of the system. The Librians were evacuated and the Federacy considered its options.

Vandrax comes under Loyalist assault

Inquisitor Hathek soon found out about Vorushko's landing on Vandrax. However his attempts to declare the Inquisitor lord a heretic were met with a muted response from the Indomitus crusade, and a luke warm reception from Titus Luthor. However, Hathek did manage to persuade Luthor to give him access to the Imperial fleet stationed at Farport, and his Inquisitor Lord rank still gave him enough leverage over the administratum to secure several regiments of Imperial Guard. Admiral Jellicoe remained with his fleet in the Vastrid subsector, except those forces at Bastien, while Admiral Barham had been sent with the Indomitus crusade to Paradorn, Enkvist's fleet had been sent to Destino, which left Admiral Pendragon free for Inquisitor Hathek's use.

The Vandrax assault battlegroup comprised of several capital ships, led by Sir Gallahad, recently refitted at Farport. Ground forces comprised of Novgorod Guard and Vannaheim Guard, although the Order of the Crimson Veil, once part of the Crusade, had also joined Hathek, now believing their former actions as errant, and keen to make penance. Hathek's force was boosted however, by a company of Space Wolves who were eager to see the back of Inquisitor Vorushko, and a company of Howling Griffons who Hathek was able to convince of her treachery.

The imperial battlegroup arrived at Vandrax to find the Crusade already entrenched and established on the third and fourth worlds of the system, but their fleet declined to come to battle. Evenly matched, the two fleets would likely mutually annihilate, leaving neither side the victor. Instead the war would be fought on the planets themselves.

The Howling Griffons made planetfall on Vandrax IV, a cold and barren ice world, where they engaged Adeptus Mechanicus forces after their refusal to surrender. The battle was brief and bloody, but ended with Vandrax IV being secured for the "loyalist" imperium. Meanwhile the main force of Hathek's battlegroup landed outside the defensive perimeter of the Crusade outpost, and began a three pronged assault. On the left flank the Space Wolves engaged the crusade adeptus mechanicus, but found the mechanicum forces well entrenched. Despite the fury of the Space marin charge the astartes took heavy casualties and were unable to breach the defensive lines of the crusade. Meanwhile a well equipped Volscian regiment in the centre cut down the Adeptus Sororitas and Vannaheim guard in short order, breaking the loyalist attack. The right flank saw the Cerberex guard hold out under heavy assault from ranks of Novgorod Guard, but in the end this battle, though bloody, was in vain for Hathek's loyalists anyway, as the crusade perimeter had held.

Disappointed with the assault, Hathek pulled his forces back to the battlegroup and moved into orbit around Vandrax 4. Vorushko was not at Vandrax in person, much to Hathek's annoyance, and now the Inquisitor lord needed to decide whether to press home the attack on Vandrax or go after Vorushko herself.

Vorushko's Crusade returns

Aboard her flagship Lord of Light, Inquisitor Vorushko studied the data slate intensely. The translated astropathic message was clear, and worrying. The arrival of a splinter fleet of the Indomitus crusade was not cause for rejoicing to the Inquisitor Lord, and the news that Inquisitor Hathek had made contact with it before her was certainly cause for alarm. Vorushko felt her anger and hatred of hathek rise within her. She had been right all along, and yet the fool was still not listening. Now the old man had convinced Titus Luthor at least that Vorushko was a heretic, and should be excommunicated.

Nothing could be further from the truth of course. Vorushko had legally excommunicated Libria for its dealings with the Tau Empire, and because of Hathek's medling the system had been lost. The remaining imperial worlds of the Perseus Deeps, now in the Imperium Nihilis, had only been saved from certain destruction by the acts of her agents, acts which Hathek had taken credit for despite actively opposing them, and failing. With Hathek now having the sector commander's ear, she could no longer be assured of Luthor's loyalty, and began preparing for the worst.

Vorushko's greates fear was that the Imperium, guided by Hathek, would be able to bring significant forces to bear on the systems crucial to the control of the Foramen Interdictum, the only stable accessway between Terra and the Dark Imperium. The northern channel, between Vastrid and the Deeps, she had little concern over. The Indomitus crusade and imperial forces would hopefully overcome Xenos and heretical forces and keep the channel to Bastien open. However the southern route, which led to the Federacy, she knew would be crucial to the Tau-federal alliance, and from her dealings with Lord Inquisitor Huron, the necrons as well. Huron had left her, travelling into the Hadron expanse in search of more pathways through the warpscar. This "accessory pathway" would need to be removed to ensure a united necron empire and a route between the Federacy and the Tau Aleph expansion sphere could be prevented.

Hathek she predicted, would not agree. The Inquisitor lord was fixated on controlling both pathways, not realising the danger of merely giving the aliens and heretics an opportunity to reunite against the imperium. Her instinct also warned of a possible future alliance between the Federacy, Tau empire and Imperium in the sector, brokered by Hathek. This would be disastrous, and had to be prevented. Vorushko needed to get to the southern route first, create a base and seek ways to destroy the accessory pathway before Hathek got there.

The system of Vandrax was selected for invasion. Vorushko could still count on a number of vessels from Admiral Doenitz's fleet, as well as a small number of inquisition and Adeptus Mechanicus vessels. For ground forces she still had the Volscians, the Angels Redemptive, a force of Adeptus Mechanicus and the Sky Lords chapter of Marines. Other Astartes were hard to come by. Most sided with Hathek, or, like the Dark Angels, sympathised with her position but refused to get involved in internal Inquisition affairs. Others like the Minotaurs and Carcharadons had disappeared during the Noctus Aeterna, or been severely weakened. However the Dark Angels did offer her a regiment of Cerberex Guard, who had stayed loyal to the Imperium despite losing their homeworld to the Federacy.

On 0110.017M42 the fleet assembled and made the short warp jump to Vandrax from Vorushko's base on Bastien. There the crusade immediately encountered energy readings from the third planet, and a force of Mechanicum made landfall. Finding a small scouting force of Necrons from the CHarnovokh dynasty, a short but intense fight eliminated the necron threat, and the landings began in earnest. Vorushko had been right to be concerned, as the necrons had already appeared, no doubt seeking to reunite their shattered empire. The crusade force began building their base, securing a perimeter, and waiting for the inevitable counter assault. But who from?

Inquisitor Constantine arrives at Paradorn

Following their deadly encounter with the Daemon Primarch Magnus the Dark Angels had lodged a full report and begun preparations to mount an all out crusade against the emerging Chaos threat. It was as they made ready to break orbit around a frozen rogue planet in the depths of deep space that the Dark Angels strike force was approached and hailed by an Inquisitorial ship. With poorly disguised ill grace Captain El'Zahariel agreed to receive the Inqusitor aboard his flag ship. 

Brandishing her Inquisitorial seal Inquisitor Constantine informed him that the Dark Angels 4th Company was hereby requisitioned into the service of the Emperor's holy Inquisition with immediate effect. Captain El'Zahariel's irritation at the upstart Inquisitor's arrogance turned to fury when he learned that the proposed target was not the dread forces of Chaos but a newly established Federal bridgehead on Paradorn's fourth world.

Even an agent of so powerful an organisation as the Inquisition would be well advised to be cautious when making demands of the Adeptus Astartes, especially a chapter as proud, secretive and independent as the Emperor's 1st Legion. It is almost certain that without her letters of authorisation signed by the Inquisitorial representative to the High Lords of Terra Inquisitor Constantine would have met with an unfortunate accident involving a faulty airlock.

The proposed target was to be a newly established Federal staging post on Paradorn's uninhabited rocky outer world. With a Federal fleet in orbit above the planet the operation was high risk and of little strategic importance since the Federation had not even begun transferring the bulk of its logistical materials to the planet's surface. El'Zahariel expressed in blunt terms that he considered the operation to be militarily irrelevant and a pointless risk of resources but Inquisitor Constantine was insistent.

The objective was to retrieve an Inquisitorial asset that had been operating within the Federacy for some time and was believed to have invaluable intelligence on the Federacy's intentions along with information on the loyalty of its new Librian regiments. Not considering the matter worthy of his further attentions El'Zahariel left the operation under the command of the company's Chaplain with clear instructions that the priority was to minimise casualties and that if her interference were to jepordise this then Inquisitor Constantine was to be executed as discretely as possible.

What they lacked in enthusiasm the Dark Angels made up for in experience and competence. Stealthily inserting their forces using Thunderhawk Gunships the Dark Angels launched a ferocious surprise attack on the staging post. The experienced Librian troops reacted with admirable professionalism and immediately counter attacked with what forces they could but such was the speed and aggression of the Dark Angels assault that the troops guarding the base were devastated within minutes. The Librian's fate was further sealed by sabotage from within as their communications systems failed in the opening seconds of the engagement.

Smashing through the Librian lines the Dark Angels quickly devastated what little of the base had been established and recovered Inquisitor Constantine's asset - a polymorphined assassin who had begun running rampant through the Librain's artillery once the engagement begun.

Rather than try to re-enforce their already devastated base the Librians were making gains elsewhere, making an armoured thrust towards the Dark Angel's own assembly point. If the idling gunships were driven off there was a risk the strike force could be trapped on the planet. With their core objectives achieved the Dark Angels simply withdrew. If Inquisitor Constantine noticed the manner in which the Dark Angels failed to press their overwhelming advantage or further engage the Federal forces she was wise enough to say nothing.

Federal invasion of Paradorn falls flat

The coming of the Cicatrix laid waste to the Federal PLanets of Ravitane and Myrentas II, although much of the population were saved by timely evacuations of the populations, thanks to the Tallaxian scientists correctly predicting the catastrophic event. Nevertheless the Federacy suffered a great loss of life, and the ensuing daemonic incursions on Tallax were only halted once the Federal shield - a string of anti-psychic floating fortresses - were set up to protect the core worlds of the Federacy.

Even then the war was not over. The interventions at Libria and several joint wars with the Tau had left a substantial fleet in the Dark half of the galaxy, with no way of re-crossing the Cicatrix to return to the Federacy. The Tau had also been cut in two, and though the alliance stood firm, there were tensions in the alliance over whether Libria should be added to the Tau empire or to the Federacy. Eventually the Tau agreed to Libria officially joining the Federal worlds, but demanded permanent bases, while Tarsis Major remained a conquest of the Tau Empire.

Both the Tau and Federacy needed to secure passage through the Cicatrix however, and the appearance of the Foramen Interdictum gave them an opportunity. From the galactic south, the Federacy agreed to push towards Destino, steeling themselves against opposition from the Necrons and forces of Chaos, while joint Tau/federal forces would assault Paradorn, where analysts expected the fighting to be toughest.

The Tau fleet would be weeks away from being able to launch an assault on Paradorn, and the Federacy still needed time to forge ahead from Federal SPace itself, but a significant force, led by the Battleship Haskell and the Battlecruiser Pride of Tallax, left Librian space with six divisions of Librian troops, eager to prove themselves in battle for the alliance.

The Federal force landed on the outermost planet of Paradorn, designated Paradorn IV, and with the Federal fleet in orbit did not expect the surprise attack that came. The Dark Angels however had an elite strike force on one Strike Cruiser, and this was able to slip past the Federal Fleet unseen, deploying Thunderhawks on the opposite hemisphere then flying to the Federal Drop Zone. The Federacy had not even managed to start building a base before the Imperial attack, the fury of which immediately destroyed valuable mechanised equipment. Fast attack units including land speeders, bikes and assault marines crashed into the Librian defenders almost securing victory in the first few minutes of the attack.

By the time the Librians recovered from the initial shock of the onslaught, the possibility of remaining on the world had gone, and although they were defeated, the guard units put up a stubborn rear guard action, ensuring the bulk of the remaining troops and equipment were evacuated from the planet.

Intelligence indicated the Dark Angels had with them an unidentified Inquisitor, and the Federal Fleet responded by bombarding the landing site for many hours after the evacuation. However it is unlikely they hit anything, as the Dark Angels had almost certainly withdrawn. Detecting astropathic signals from the planet, and fearing being caught in orbit by an Imperial fleet, the Federal Battlegroup retreated into the shadows of the outer system to plan their next move.

Foramen Campaign: Factions descend on Paradorn

In late 09.017M42 the system of Paradorn became the focus of several task forces seeking control over probably the most important system in the sector, after Corticant itself. Paradorn, situated in a commanding position at the end of the Foramen Interdictum, contained several planets which while resource poor, could be home to installations and bases.

The first arrivals on Paradorn were the Thousand Sons, led by Magnus himself, although when he found Ahriman on the world he was less than impressed, and once again banished his ancient colleague from his sight, briefly leading to a flare up of daemonic infighting. However, this infighting was but a prelude to the battle to come, as a splinter fleet of the Indomitus crusade arrived in the Aleph Sector and immediately identified the Foramen of incalculable importance.

The Crusade were greeted with rapturous joy on Vastrid, and the head of the crusade met with Titus Luthor after a tickertape parade through the planet's capital. However, festivities were short lived, as the fleet deployed into the Foramen Minoris, bypassing Tallius for the moment in their haste to reach Paradorn and secure the far end of the channel. Their haste was quickened by the reports from the Dark Angels of a malevolent presence in the system.

The crusade fleet found no enemy fleets and quickly moved into the inner planets, deploying a small force on the small rocky second planet, and sending the main force to the largest most promising looking world. Where they found Magnus...

The Imperial Fists led the assault against the traitor legion, finding to their horror that the Darrantine Guard had gone over to the heretics and were now aiding the forces of chaos. The Darrantine were swiftly excommunicated, before being systematically murdered by the Astartes. 

The arrival of daemons on the battlefield, along with Magnus himself, left the Imperial Fists in serious difficulties, but Belasarius Cawl managed to intervene personally with Adeptus Mechanicus forces, finally forcing Magnis back to the warp and his forces to flee. By 0410.017M42 the Crusade had been mostly successful on the first planet, although the chaos forces had not been entirely eliminated.

This action by Cawl defeated Magnus, but this left the small force on the mid planet largely ill equipped, and the small number of Mechanicum forces deployed to scout the world were quickly eliminated by the eldar harlequins. It appeared that not only the forces of chaos were interested in the system.

The Dark Angels 4th Company decided to make for the outer ice world, having detected more energy signatures near the jump point of the system. Yet another force had entered the Paradorn system...

Dark Angels get nasty shock at Paradorn

On 2409.017M42 Titus Luthor's campaign to secure the Foramen Interdictum for the Imperium began. Vital to crossing the Cicatrix, Luthor knew that whoever controlled the end points of the Foramen controlled access through the warpscar, and he was determined to ensure the Imperium held this strategically important pathway. With this in mind Luthor planned to construct two mighty bases, one at Tarlius, the other at Paradorn, but first the Dark Angels sent a probing force to the uninhabited system of Paradorn to establish whether there would be any threat to imperial interests.

There was. Detecting massive psychic emanations from the third rocky planet, the Dark Angels 4th company deployed immediately, only to find - to their horror - a psychic ritual being undertaken by the Thousand sons. Filled with hate the Dark Angels assaulted the traitor legion, disrupting the ritual. It was then that the traitor astarted counter attacked in force, accompanied by none other than the traitor Primarch Magnus the Red and a cabal of Tzeentch daemon princes.

Outnumbered and significantly outgunned, the Dark Angels suffered heavy casualties were are forced to evacuate the few survivors from the expedition. The Dark Angels fleet exited the Interdictum to report what they had discovered to the Inquisition. What was Magnus up to? Why was he in the Aleph Sector?

A new war on Corticant

The coming of the Cicatrix Maledictum had seen an uneasy truce develop between the Crusade and Loyalist imperials. Inquisitor Vorushko, instigator of the crusade, had returned to the Vastrid subsector through the Foramen Interdictum, in order to meet up with Sector Commander Titus Luthor and organise the new crusades. Inquisitor Hathek, chief loyalist supporter, left Corticant and moved to Bastien to help General Veers organise the defence of the Imperium's holdings in the Perseus Deeps. Libria had been lost, but the opening of the Foramen meant there was hope for the rest of the Emperor's domains in the Imperium Nihilus. Hathek of course took full credit for this act, although the coming of the Foramen was actually down to the combined efforts of Inquisitor's Vorushko and Huron.

Corticant remained a warzone. The switching on of the Necron "device" had awoken an army of Necrons, who had immediately sworn fealty to the Charnovokh dynasty, as the ensuing eldar invasion left them very little choice. Corticant was now divided between the two warring Xenos, with the Imperium holding out in their northern settlements.

The Imperium recieved some much needed reinforcements in the shape of the Imperial Fists and Howling Griffons, who immediately deployed to Corticant, which the three Inquisitors agreed could not afford to fall into alien hands. The Howling Griffons first expedition against the Necrons along the Iron Road was however less than successful, and the astartes were forced to withdraw. In the west the Imperial Fists had more success, retaking Blackhollow from the Disciples of Ynead, but the Space Wolves found themselves caught off guard by an Alaitoc Eldar attack, which saw them lose the approaches to Lochford. It was clear now that the Eldar were multifactional, well supported and intent on claiming the world. This was no raid.

The necrons meanwhile continued to skirmish with the eldar in running battles near the archeotech site, the entrance in fact to the necron tomb complex. This the eldar managed to hold despite several necron probing attacks, but for now the necrons had not made a significant effort to retake the tomb. It was bound to happen however, as the tomb complex contained many more sleeping necron warriors. How many remained unknown.

Hylas: No end in Sight

On Hylas the coming of the Cicatrix Maledictum was barely noticed. For years now the long lonely war against the greenskins by General Van Dorn and his imperial guard forces had been a forgotten campaign. It was however his imperial duty to continue the fight, and initially the warpscar played into Van Dorn's hands. Unknown to the Imperium, the warp had claimed several ork worlds in the Vork Ork expanse, plunging the ork infestation into a bloody war against daemons. Such was the attraction of this "scrap" that Ork commanders Kogh and Na'Porkleon soon lost interest in the war on Hylas, returning to the Vork Ork expanse in order to take part in the "bestest bust up" in centuries.

Von Bismork remained on Hylas, now intent on finishing the Imperium and carving out his own empire in the Mabb Nebula. However, with his forces dwindling, Van Dorn launched his new offensive, led by the Novogorod Guard, spearheading across the west coast plains and easily taking North Eton. The Novogorod then dug in and prepared for Von Bismork's counter attack.

As expected the greenskins rushed the imperial lines, but the Novgorod defense in depth worked to plan. Thousands of conscripts were hacked to death as they advanced to meet the orks, but once they had been dealt with, the ork charge had been blunted, and the greenskins now found themselves out in the open, pummeled by artillery and gunfire. Then the Novgorod unleashed their cavalry into the flanks of Von Bismork's forces, annihilating them and securing the West Coast for the Imperium

Welcome to the Aleph Sector!

Welcome to the Sheffield University Wargames Society's Aleph Sector Campaign. This campaign has been running for many years and is primarily a narrative campaign that anyone can get involved in. It is almost certainly the longest running and largest (by word count) campaign in the 40k universe. The full history of the campaign is in this blog, and in the Campaign Files on the right.

The Campaign is a "turn up and play" campaign, although from time to time there are Campaign Days and Apocalypse games as part of the fun, the next one being on Saturday 18th November. When you win, you get to advance your faction. A brief overview of the state of the Aleph Sector following the arrival of the Great Rift is below.

Any questions - find me (Duncan) at Wargames on Saturdays in the union!

War zones of the Aleph Sector

The Foramen Inderdictum
The Foramen represents the nexus of two passageways between the Perseus Deeps in the Dark Imperium, and the Perseus Void and Zadoc subsector on the side of the Astronomican. All factions are keen to control this strategically vital location, and mighty forces are being readied for the upcoming campaign to control the only known navigable path through the Cicatrix Maledictum
Factions: Tau-federal Alliance, Aeldari, Chaos, Necron, Tyranid, Imperium, Ork
Rules & Format: Narrative territory points based campaign

Hylas & the Mabb Nebula
The war between the orks and Imperium on Hylas has been going on for years and shows no indications of being resolved. General Van Dorn is now completely isolated from the rest of the Imperium, with the fall of Libria and the coming of the Great Rift. The orks have been devastated too, with the nearby Vork Ork Expanse ravaged by chaos energies. To make matters worse all the worlds of the Mabb Nebula - Ork Held Kallack, Tau held Tyranteous and Va'Doran, and Coronus (New Cerberex) of the Imperium, are now coming under daily attack from the forces of chaos as they seek to widen the warpscar all the way to Zadoc.
Factions: Tau-federal Alliance, Aeldari, Chaos, Necron, Tyranid, Imperium, Ork
Rules & Format: Narrative campaign

The Hadron Expanse
The Hadron expanse lies to the galactic east on the eastern rim of the galaxy. Some postulate that the Cicatrix has an end, and that finding this end will allow safe passage around the warpscar. Others believe there are hidden passages or "fords" across the raging maw, but there are many parsecs of space to cover, much of it barren wilderness. Nevertheless every faction is exploring, probing into the expanse, finding resources and long lost treasure, and also long forgotten dangers.
Factions: Tau-federal Alliance, Aeldari, Chaos, Necron, Tyranid, Imperium, Ork
Rules and Format: matched play league (points, although the points will "build bases" etc in campaign terms). Random planet and map generation.

The Foramen Inderdictum

The Foramen Interdictum is a gateway, a stable passage, between the Dark Imperium and the rest of the galaxy. It lies in the Aleph subsector and bisects the Cicatrix Maledictum at the junction of the Minoris arc, just to the galactic south west of the planet Corticant, currently controlled by the Imperium.

The Foramen has two passageways, Foramen Maximus, the longer of the two stable tunnels, projects outward from Corticant, across the warpscar, and into the Perseus Void near the Necron planet of Zog. The other passageway is narrower, more dangerous and prone to collapse, but flickers on and off across the Cicatrix Minoris, via the Foramen Minoris, connecting a line towards Parthenope and the Vastrid subsector.

the opening of the Foramen occurred at sector time 2109.017M42, when the necron "device" on Corticant was activated by agents of the Inquisition. Vorushko had realised just in time the significance of what she thought initially were heretical chaotic devices which needed eliminating. Working with Inquisitor Huron, ordo Xenos, the Inquisitors realised the effect the necron device would have, connecting the Dark and Light sides of the galaxy.

Initially Vorushko considered simply letting the Dark Imperium wither and die, while concentrating on rebuilding the stronger half of Mankind, but with Roboute Guilliman on crusade, she decided against it. Besides, after weeks of being adrift she eventually found out she was on the wrong side.

Vorushko's team were successful in activating the necron device against Inquisitor Hathek's express wishes, and the newly active device immediately began creating the Foramen, pushing back the warp and allowing stable warp transit of the Cicatrix Maledictum.

It quickly became clear however that the strategic significance of the Foramen was simply incredible. Moreover, the Foramen Maximus ran close to the chaos daemonforges of Mordecai and Kendrenec, while also in easy reach of the Federacy and fleets from Farpoint and Bastien in the Imperium. Protogonus, the Tau outpust, also stood in easy reach, and the passage itself directly connected the Harakhty and Charnovokh dynasties. In addition, without control of a passage, there was no possibility that Hive Fleet Nemesis would be able to cross over into the heavily populated Vastrid subsector. Whoever controlled space and planets around the Foramen, controlled the Aleph Sector...

The Federacy 017M42

The Federacy is a seccessionist group of Human Worlds who left the Imperium many decades ago after the arrival from the warp of Admiral Haskell, a great leader from the time of the Horus Heresy who was tricked by Horus into supporting him. When Haskell found out, he fled to the warp only to return ten thousand years later. After various secessionist wars the Federacy established itself as an ally to the Tau Empire, promoting the original Imperial Truth of science and innovation, turning its back on all forms of religion.

Now the Federacy finds itself embattled with frequent chaos incursions from the rift. During the upheaval several federal planets and outposts were lost, but it has maintained contact with the bulk of the Tau Empire. However, the Federacy now finds itself on the Front line against the Imperium's fight to reconnect to the Dark Imperium and must face threats on three sides.

The Tyranids 017M42

The Tyranids have ravaged the Aleph Sector on a number of occasions. Hive fleet Leviathan spawned several splinter fleets, namely Megalodon, Morph and Triton, which ravaged the southern reaches of the sector, destroying Orvicare and leaving several worlds uninhabitable. But far worse was Nemesis, of unknown orogeny and entering the sector from apparently within Imperial Space, this ultra intelligent Hive fleet laid waste to much of the Zadoc subsector before disappearing into interstellar space. Just before the Great Rift appeared, Nemesis had resurfaced in the Perseus Deeps.

Now the Hive Fleet is loose, somewhere, in the vast depths of space in the Dark Imperium. The motivation to feed is strong but Nemesis in particular has been known to employ particularly elaborate strategic moves, rather than to just devour whatever it comes across. Nemesis will withdraw if outmatched, and has proved a deadly foe in the sector. One the Imperium at least must now deal with without reinforcement.

The Orks 017M42

The greenskin race is and has been a constant menace in all sectors, although in the Aleph Sector no Full scale Waagh! has ever come about. A few warbosses have come close however, and infamous ork names in the Aleph Sector are Snazzteef, Nazghat, Thrugnik, Krumpgutz, Da Verminator, Kogh and Na'Porkleon. None are known to have been killed, although some must have died as part of internal greenskin rivalry.

The orks exist both sides of the warp rift that spans the Aleph Sector. The long war on the Imperial world of Hylas shows no sign of coming to an end, and with the destruction of many worlds in the Vork Ork Expanse, the orks now fight constantly against daemonic incursions. But orks in constant combat can only result in one thing, bigger and stronger orks...

The Aeldari 017M42

The eldar of the Aleph Sector are few in number and scattered into various factions. The Kel Sandros Craftworld hangs aloof and safe above the galactic sphere, all but immune to events in the sector, while attempting to manipulate events to eventually lead to the rebirth of the Eldar Empire. Other Craftworlds are also present in the Deeps, and it was in the Aleph Sector that the Disciples of Y'neadd fortold the coming of the eldar god of the dead, many years before these events came to pass. Often seen acting in concert with the Harlequins and Dark Eldar, it was in the Aleph Sector that the first steps of the Ynnari began.

Now following the rift, the Craftworld of Ondelinde has been destroyed, her people scattered and homeless. Eldar worlds of Sentinel and Ares, hard won off the Imperium, were consumed by the Great Maw - but perhaps that was already known to the Harlequins when they assaulted and took the worlds for themselves. Perhaps knowing that the infantile humans would be corrupted and form part of the traitor armies if they still held those worlds.

Now the Aeldari remain splintered and have their own agendas, but they must also ensure the final defeat of Chaos, and will do anything to ensure this is brought about. Even if their motive appears unclear or contradictory, the eldar farseers will have planned their interventions in advance to twist fate in their own favour.

The Necrons 017M42

The Perseus Deeps had once been home to a mighty necron dynasty, the Harakhty, before they entered the long sleep. Necron worlds began awakening decades ago, and gradually world after world in the Perseus Deeps fell to the necrons as their numbers fell. By 013M42 the Harakhty dynasty once again resembled its former glory, but that was not to last.

One by one tombs began to rehibernate, as the Cryptek's realised there was an endemic fault in the reanimation protocols. The Harakhty struggled furiously with this problem, as their armies simply deactivated, and were able to hold on to their empire, but the age of expansion was over. Only with the introduction of new "blood" in the form of the Charnovokh Dynasty did the necron empire of the Deeps survive.

With the coming of the Great Rift the Harakhty Dynasty suffered greatly. three tomb worlds were devoured, leaving the remnants of the Harakhty Dynasty on the western side of the warpscar, while the reinvigorated Charnovokh took total possession of the core of the Perseus Deeps. The Charnovokh would look to expand once more, while the Harakhty were now vulnerable, weak and completely isolated.

The Tau 017M42

Despite a successful expansion of the Tau empire, helped by their alliance with the Federacy, the Aleph expansion sphere is now in deep trouble. Major Imperial systems such as Tarsis Major, Melberg and Libria have been conquered, but several new Tau colonies in the Perseus Deeps have been swallowed by the Cicatrix Maledictum. Now the entire Aleph expansion sphere is cut off from the rest of the Tau empire by the Great Rift.

Having lost their base on Cernunnos, the Tau beyond the Rift now seek to reunite with the rest of their race by finding a way through the seemingly impenetrable warp storms. Meanwhile the Tau Empire itself is heading up an expedition into the Hadron Expanse, while sending forces to aid the beleagured Federacy.

The forces of Chaos 017M42

The forces of chaos, once a threatening presence in the Perseus Deeps, were almost annihilated prior to the coming of the Great Rift. Many leaders came and went attempting to unite the forces of Chaos, but the gods of the warp lost many key worlds, including Calliden and Bastien, throughout the course of their demise. Now however they are resurgent, and able to strike across the sector. While the traitor legions plan their assault on the beleaguered defenders of the sector, the gods themselves have many new daemon worlds to claim for themselves from those planets sucked into the maw of the Cicatrix Maledictum.

The primary aims of chaos are to claim the "fallen worlds" for their patron god within the warp tear which cuts across the sector, as well as reuniting the scattered remnants of the chaos domain across the sector.

The Imperium 017M42

The Imperium once controlled much of the sector, but since 001.M42 have lost the Aleph and Zadoc subectors to the separatist Federacy and Tau. General Veers’ Crusade made headway in the Perseus Deeps, but now Bastien and Corticant lie on the wrong side of the Great Rift. Inquisitor Vorushko’s crusade has been devastated by the coming of the Cicatrix Maledictum, but now the Imperium is united once again under Titus Luthor in its holy purpose to reconquer and reunite it’s peoples across the Aleph Sector.

Titus Luthor's new campaign will be initiated on three fronts. The armies of the Imperium will attempt to find a way through the Cicatrix Minoris which has cut off the Vastrid subsector from General Veers and the remainder of the Crusade in the Perseus Deeps. From the south, another attack will be launched into the Enceladus and Aleph subsectors, while expeditions will be launched to find a way through the Cicatrix Maledictum through the Hardon Expanse.

The Aleph Sector Today

This is the Aleph Sector. Sitting on the far eastern fringe between Ultramar and the Tau Empire the region has been rent by the Cicatrix Maledictum. Temporal distortions make it impossible to gauge how much time has passed between the battles at Corticant and today. Some measure it in mere days, others in years. The Imperial Governor of the sector, Titus Luthor, has decreed the time of the "Noctis Aeterna" to be void, and the date is 2006.017M42.

Now that the shock of the coming of the Great Rift has died down, each of the factions of the region are preparing their next moves. To rebuild, to consolidate, to brace themselves against onslaught or to go on the offensive. The Aleph Sector is about to be plunged into a greater conflict than it has ever known.

The Great Rift

The Cicatrix Maledictum, the Crimson Path, the Mouth of Ruin, the Warpscar, the Dathedian, Gork's Grin. Just a few of the names for the Great Rift, an enormous tear in reality itself following the destruction of Cadia. Unfortunately for the Aleph Sector, the Rift itself ripped through the very heart of the region at the end of 016M42, cutting it in half and causing destruction on a massive scale not seen since the Horus Heresy. 

For the Imperium it was the final blow to their attempt to hold on to Libria and their holdings in the Zadoc subsector, but it started in the Vastrid subsector, the other side of the Perseus Deeps. First the glowing sky became more and more visible as the warp began to manifest along the path of the Great Rift, before Inardion, a previously peaceful and untouched agri-world, was sucked into the abyss in what is now reckoned to be 06.017M42.

The psychic scream from the deaths of millions was just the first of many, and across the sector daemonic possession and incursions caused havoc. The Astronomican winked out and the Imperium was unable to defend its worlds against attacks, with each system having to defend itself as best it could. Fortunately for the sector, the events of the Noctis Aeterna were mercifully brief, as the time of the Aleph Sector slowed dramatically as the great maw of chaos swept across it. Many reckoned the disappearance of the Emperor's light in mere days, others weeks, but for those on the wrong side of the rift, it never returned.

Libria fell swiftly to the Tau as the Imperial Fleet supporting it was thrown half way across the galaxy. The Tau had their own problems however, as the Aleph Expansion sphere found itself cut off from the rest of the Empire, creating a new Enclave. The Tau and Alliance dd not avoid losses either, as Parataea, and Aganthus disappeared into the Cicatrix Maledictum, and Zadoc, already a warzone with chaos, was overwhelmed with new daemonic incursions. Cernunnos, the main Tau base in the Perseus Deeps and launching point of Operation Sunstrike which established the Aleph Expansion sphere, disappeared completely without a trace.

The Federacy had little time to object to the Tau anexation of Libria, as the warp swallowed Myrentas II and Ravitane. Tallax and the rest of the Federacy were only saved by work which had been proceeding on Protogonus, creating the Federal Shield utilising ancient Necron technology. More Federal lives could have been saved, but the research had been disrupted by agents of Inquisitor Vorushko.

The Eldar in the Aleph sector suffered greatly, with the loss of Sentinel and Ares, although Ares was not consumed by the Great Rift, instead left as a lifeless blackened hulk after the Eldar themselves destroyed the world in order to prevent it falling into the hands of Chaos. The Eldar had been prepared however. The Disciples of Ynead had long predicted the events now coming to pass, and with the arrival of the Ynnari, they led the majority of the eldar population, including an entire Craftworld to safety. Those who were unwilling to leave, died. The Ynnari recognised the work of the Disciples in the preceding years, and it was for the preservation of their race that they had waged their campaigns through the Perseus Deeps. The status of the Kel Sandros craftworld remains unknown, although its position above the galactic plane is assumed to have spared the Craftworld from the ravages of the chaos incursions.

The Dark Eldar fared worse, with several Kabals wiped out by the Great Rift, including the vast installation of Slaughterpoint station. The Necrons too suffered great losses, as the weakened Harakhty dynasty was unable to repel the onslaught of daemonic armies unleashed on Scallius, Skera and Cathasaea. All were lost to the warp, and the Harakhty Dynasty was shatterd beyond salvation. Now the Charnovokh rule in the remaining Necron holds in the Perseus Deeps, while the Sautekh Dynasty look to add the rump of the Harakhty to their own domain.

In the Vork Ork Expanse, several worlds including Magark and Skabgrod suffered extinction at the hands of the forces of chaos, but the orks went down with their usual enthusiasm for a fight, and overall the orks of the Aleph Sector barely registered their loss, although their ability to unite into a Waaagh! was even further compromised.

The chaos worlds of the sector received the coming of the rift as a revelation, with ecstatic delirious joy overtaking the populations of Mordecai and Kendrenec. Little did the mortals realise that both worlds would soon be overcome by daemons and plunged into a frenzy of bloodshed as the great powers conducted the war in the rift. Kendrenec became a daemon world, with Lord Tragean ascending to daemonhood. His followers cheered rapturously as they were slain to a man by the denizens of the warp.

On Mordecai a similar fate befell the mortal population, though some were spared for the workings of the mighty fleet base. Now only the Federacy and the Tau empire stood between the reunification of the chaos worlds in the Deeps with those of the Norsfire Empire and the Enceladus subsector. A massive daemon army assailed Tallax but was repulsed, though seriously weakening the Federacy's military strength. Meanwhile on Minos, Warsmith Stahl watched the mayhem with ambivalence, realising that while his objective of overthrowing the Imperium was now closer to hand, his own personal influence over the chaos forces in the Aleph sector had been diminished.

Lastly, the effect on Hive Fleet Nemesis remains unknown. Their assault on Bastien and Corticant which had been imminent, receded. When the warp storms died down across the sector their warp signature had disappeared. Only a fool would believe the most intelligent Hive mind yet encountered had succumbed to the coming of the Cicatrix Maledictum. More likely the Hive fleet had withdrawn to a place of safety. Where it would reappear, no one could say.