Vastrid Sector activity

As the Perseus Deeps crusade appeared to be moving towards inevitable civil war in the Imperium, the other races of the sector were beginning to make themselves felt more and more in the Vastrid subsector. While the bulk of Imperial forces were deployed in the Deeps, the orks of the Cerrack Nebula had been becoming more troublesome. Soon they might unite under one banner, behind one warboss, and plunge the Vastrid sector into another age of war. It had happened before.

For now the orks were considered little more than an annoyance, despite their conquest of the minor world of Aspaster. The orks however were on the move, and on 0505.011M42 landed a force on Trian, where the Master of Chaos, Lorek, had set up a forward base. The arrival of the orks was most unwelcome to Lorek. His enemy was the Imperium and the orks could ruin his plans to bring down the Vastrid sector, cutting the legs out from under the crusade in the Deeps. Angered at the temerity of this new ork tribe, Lorek sent the Shadow Suns to teach them a lesson. Unfortunately it was the Shadow Suns who were educated in the brutality of orks and now Lorek faced the Imperium in the Deeps and the Orks in the Vastrid subsector.

Lorek's machinations in the Cerrack Nebula were not all for nought however during 05.011M42. On 0905.011M42 a small band of chaos marines landed on Quim, the site of a small Imperial outpost defended by a company of Librians. They were discovered when a squad sent to investigate strange reports became engaged in a violent firefight near to the edge of the Imperial base perimeter. The Librians took heavy casualties and lost a chimera and the marines managed to escape. The Imperium now knew Lorek had landed forces on Quim, but they didn't yet know why.

The Eldar also appeared in the Vastrid sector at the same time, attacking the Dark Angels base on Glossop V for no apparent reason. Once again the Eldar appeared to be led, or at least accompanied by the strange alien performers known as Harlequins, and Inquisitor Huron despatched a trusted colleague to investigate this new band of eldar and discover their intentions. The Dark Angels were able to fight off the eldar raid without too much trouble, but were equally baffled by the aliens' motives.