Necrons awaken in the Expanse

As the forces of the Imperium and Chaos fought over the western systems of the Echo Cluster, the tau and orks were forging deeper into the Expanse. Rustoof's orks, bouyed up by their victories at Oreen, had formed into a new Waagh, and Rok fleets were being sent out at random from the Oreen system. The Tau meanwhile were attempting to consolidate their hold at the system of Echo Reach, little knowing that the Hadron Expanse, far from empty and waiting to be colonised, contained dangers the like of which the tau had little if any comprehension. The entire region had once been a necron stronghold, and the ancient inhabitants of the former galaxy spanning empire had been in hibernation for millenia, waiting for their time to re-awaken.

As the Tau expanded their exploration of the Echo Reach system, the forces of Shadowstrike took themselves to Echo IV, an uninhabited world that was showing strange energy emanations from the surface. Closer inspection showed that the surface of the planet was covered in ancient ruins, which the Tau took the prudent step of bombarding from orbit.

Investigating the now shattered ruins, the Tau landed and fanned out. Very rapidly however, the Tau came under assault from the necrons, who appeared from the shadows. Taken by surprise the Tau formed a defensive perimeter and used their long range firepower to good effect. The necrons soon found themselves taking unacceptable casualties, and were forced to withdraw. Angered as they were by the cattle race now trespassing on their former domain, the necrons would have to accept the situation, at least for now.

Meanwhile at Oreen, the ancient lost dynasty of Bahotekh was foolishly awoken from their great slumber by an as yet unknown race to them, which nonetheless resembled their old enemy the Chorks made by the Old Ones. The Bahotekh were displeased with the knowledge that remnants of the old ones still existed and had tainted their Great Tomb, so they purged the vermin off their planet with hails of purple gauss fire that blocked the sun it self. The vermin where no match for the Great Bahotekh dynasty as they are nothing but insects to be squashed, and there mere existence was quickly removed from the planet. Now the Bahotekh dynasty looks outward from the Great Tomb of Bal to reclaim what was once theirs, and remove the insects that have infested their domain, led by there great ruler Bal of Bones and their Seer Nephthys the Enchanted.

The orks and tau had in fact stumbled on an ancient realm of the necrons, and the Charnovokh dynasty had attempted, for their own reasons, to keep the Bahotekh in their hibernation, at least for now. 

For more on the Bahotek Dynasty see the Forces Page