INTERCEPTED MESSAGE

+++INTERCEPTED MESSAGE+++
+++Date: 1405.009M42+++
+++Access point: Caitlen Station Astropathic Relay+++
+++Security Clearance: Gamma Epsilon+++
+++Ref: 140500920340-AS-ZSS-CStn+++
+++Thought for the day: It is better to die for the Emperor than to live for yourself. +++
+++SUBJECT FOLLOWS+++

Stratedic and Political Assessment of the Zadoc subsector, Imperial Calendar 05.009M42.

I shall break this report into two sections. First I shall report on the four great powers in the region, then discuss emergent threats and the activities of other races in the subsector.

THE MAJOR POWERS

THE IMPERIUM OF MANKIND
The Imperium of Mankind are still the dominant power in the subsector, controlling the most populous and valuable planets of which Tarsis Major, Zadoc and Libria are by far the most important. Since its invasion last year Tarsis Major has seen much fighting with all four powers attempting to take control of the planet.

It is clear now that the Chaos and Ork gambits have failed, and the planet is contested by the Imperium, who control the main continent, and the Tau, who occupy Merrin. My analysts suggest the Tau will in all likelihood be victorious, however the war has entered a stalemate phase and recent actions between Imperial and Tau space fleets have put the issue in doubt. The longer the conflict goes on the more likely the Imperium will retain control of the planet, as continued heavy losses cannot be accepted by the invasion force.

Politically the Imperium is weak with little centralised control, with Space Marine Chapters and Imperial Guard units fighting unco-ordinated battles. However their overwhelming superiority in resources and manpower is for the moment preventing this lack of command and control from becoming a terminal issue (as it did in the Aleph subsector). However a new Warmaster is about to be appointed to the entire sector, so this may change.

THE TAU
The Tau suffered reverses earlier in the year, losing two bases in the Rim Worlds to the strengthening Chaos powers in the region. However they have now established supply points in the Shadow Worlds (Hylas and Memnon) by displacing the Orks who had controlled the systems.
On Tarsis the Tau are achieving their objectives but at a higher cost than would have been preferred to them. It is critical that a breakout on Tuva be achieved in the next six weeks or Shadowstrike may lose his ethereal support and the campaign may be called off.

Supply lines for the Tau are also vulnerable and all actions in the subsector would have to be curtailed should their bases in the Shadow Worlds be lost. However the Tau have the strongest central command and control and are united in their efforts. This is currently the primary reason behind their continued expansion in the Zadoc subsector, though fatigue and lack of supplies has seen the Tau activity drastically diminish over the last few weeks. However, our operatives believe the Tau are about to launch a new offensive which has the potential to end the war very quickly.

THE RUINOUS POWERS OF CHAOS
Those who have pledged themselves to the foul Gods have had mixed fortunes of late. The combined might of Chaos which looked likely to sweep aside all resistance on Tarsis Major has crumbled into a divided set of factions. The Night Lords have retreated to their Rim World holdings after disappointment on Tarsis, abandonning the Iron Warriors to their fate once the Catechism had left. These few remnants have fought on in Merrin but are now extremely close to utter capitulation.

The Dusk Raiders too began an expedition onto Fort Sparcos, which has seemingly come to an end, and another force of Iron Warriors arrived with much fanfare but has since not taken any action. There are plenty of brooding warlords sitting with their armies on the worlds of Typhon, Daedalon and Rhesius.

The only Chaos force to have been consistently threatening of late is also the largest. Led by the enigmatic Moonface the Catechism have established a bridgehead on the Imperial world of Alphe while crushing all resistance on the Tau worlds of New Sparta and then Aornis, completing the Chaos conquest of the Rim Worlds. They alone have made pacts with the daemons of the warp, and their legions of loyal followers follow their elite troops into battle and do the bidding of Moonface, most recently constructing a decadent and vulgar edifice in the new major city on Priam named Moonopolis.

The Catechism shows no sign of division and it is single minded in their purpose. This Chaos force is easily the most consistently dangerous force of the Ruinous Powers in the subsector. Moonface's single weakness appears to be his inability to deal with greenskins, and his only holding in the Shadow Worlds, Tyndareous, was lost in the first half of the year to the Orks.

THE ORKS
At the time of the Tarsis Prime invasion the Orks were at the zenith of their power in the subsector. Waaagh! Nazghat had brought the inhabitable planets of the Shadow Worlds to heel after a prolonged battle with the Dark Angels and the three major Ork warlords had put aside their differences to be involved in the biggest fight in the sector.

Since the invasion, which Nazghat opposed strongly, the Ork fortunes have taken a turn for the worse. Da Verminator's forces were crushed on Tarsis and those that escaped were routed from Memnon and Hylas by the Tau. Despite victories on Tyndareous over the Catechism the Ork warboss is on the run, his power greatly diminished.

Nazghat quickly abandonned the failing war on Tarsis and began the assault towards his original target, Alphe, with a landing on fort Sparcos. However events in the Shadow Worlds meant a swift retreat, and by 05.009M42 the ork warboss had lost overall control of all his holdings in the Mabb nebula, save the Ork world of Kallack, Fort aerin, and Bothorion. Even these are now under threat.

Warboss Snazteef did not give up on Tarsis Major however, and a bitter to and fro war has since raged across the North Tuva Plain. Twice the greenskin horde have reached the capital and twice they have been repulsed. For the time being the Orks are once again bottled up in the north, but this does not mean they wil not erupt once more.

The divisions and diverging objectives within the greenskin commanders have no doubt led to the collapse of the Ork power in the region, but with their powerful armies still largely intact, a full scale Waagh! is still possible, though unlikely, and the greenskin race now faces a more urgent threat.

EMERGENT THREATS
At the beginning of 05.009M42 contact was lost with Betor, and reports from our operatives in the field described a new and alarming resurgence of the Tyranid species. Attacks by vanguard organisms were recorded on Kallack, Betor and a number of other small outposts and biological testing confirmed their DNA was not of the same root as those previously encountered in the sector. This was a new Hive Fleet, code named "Nemesis" by the Imperium. Its origins are unknown, though the fleet's eccentric path through the galaxy is extremely concerning as it appears to suggest an origin which does not bear contemplation.

We have now made contact with a senior Imperial Inquisitor, the Tau Empire, and the Eldar of the Kel Sandros craftworld in order to combine our efforts against this new threat. Kallack and Betor appear to be the likely candidates for invasion, but the bio-diverse planets of Alphe, Memnon and the Eldar Exodite worlds in the Mabb Nebula would also be logical targets, so there is a threat to all civilised races. The Orks have not been contacted, but this is not out of the question. In addition our Xeno-biologists are working hard to develop biological weapons which may prove useful in the countering of this new threat.

ACTIVITIES OF OTHER RACES
There has been little if any Necron activity of late, and the Dark Eldar, while conducting punitive raids on Tarsis Major, apparently in conjunction or with the approval of the Tau, they are of little consequence.

The Eldar themselves, following disasterous raids on the Chaos empire in the Rim Worlds, have been content to avoid conflict of late, but the threat of the Tyranids is clear. In addition any Tyranid attack on Ork worlds could unwittingly trigger a Waagh! which threatens the Eldar worlds in the Mabb nebula, since these have been accessible following the opening up of routes from Hylas and Memnon. For now the Eldar have tolerated the Tau presence on these key worlds, the gateway to the Eldar realm, but for how long?