Forces begin landing at Haven

In 10.022M42 the strategic situation in the Rifts of Hecate began to change as all factions realised the importance of securing Haven and Ergura's Fall to either control or close the Hecate Gap. Initial scouting began in early 10.022M42 as the Tau started sending pathfinder and stealth teams to Haven. One of these scouting teams was met by a squad of Sky Lords astartes performing the same mission for the Imperium. The brief skirmish was violent and dramatic, with the Tau stealth team displaying excellent marksmanship. This led to the decision by the Sky Lords to charge their enemy, and they narrowly managed to force the Tau to flee once they had closed the distance through withering fire.

At the same time a larger force of Iron Hands found itself facing off against a much larger force of Necrons. Defeat seemed likely, but the arrival of the eldar ensured the Necrons were forced to abandon their mission. This was not without its difficulties however, as the astartes and eldar also exchanged fire and interfered with one another's aims. This was no "alliance". The eldar desperately wanted to ensure the Necrons did not find the location of the Nexus Arrangement, the device holding open the Hecate Gap, but at the same time they didn't want the Iron Hands to achieve an absolute victory. No negotiations or pleasantries were exchanged after the engagement, and the eldar withdrew to the coastal strip of the main continent, building a base there for further interventions.

The Imperium continued to build a base around the necron tomb complex in the centre of Haven's barren but habitable main continent, amonst the ruins of a long dead civilisation. Further north however, the Imperial Guard were scouting the area for the construction of a second base. On 1510.022M42 it became obvious this would be more challenging than first thought, as they encountered the first elements of the tyranid threat, confirming inquisition reports that the hive fleet or fleets within the Rifts had discerned the imperial plan and were now seeking to gain control over the Gap itself.

The battle against the tyranids resulted in heavy defeat for the Imperium, and the remaining Guard units fell back to the imperial base in the south. Now the Eldar, Tyranids and Imperium had established themselves on Haven, and the battle for the Hecate Gap had begun in earnest.

Astartes intervene to take Festergax

The daemon led advance on Festergax caused significant alarm in Kutuzov's HQ. He was very hesitant to expend imperial guard forces against an army mostly comprised of warp spawned creatures, as this would inevitable mean the loss of several Guard regiments. He appealed to his war council and the Hammers of the Emperor proposed a plan that would restore the imperial front line and take the city itself.

Attacking from both flanks and the city almost simultaneously, the Hammers of the Emperor chapter committed nearly half their chapter to this advance and the results were extremely favourable. The astartes cut through the daemonic hordes, which were already diminishing thanks to their inherent warp instability, sealing off the city once more. Meanwhile another company assaulted the city itself, still held by the Thousand Sons. Both parts of the complex mission brief were carried out exceptionally well, and by mid 10.022M42 the front lines had been restored and the city of Festergax was once more in imperial hands. Crisis had been averted, imperial guard regiments saved and the campaign for Mordecai Secundus once again shifted in favour of the Imperium.

Deamons lift Seige of Festergax Primus

Following the surrounding of Festergax in mid 022M42 the Imperium were expecting a push to relieve the city from the west and prepared accordingly. Behind the front line Imperial Guard troops general Kutuzov arranged for the deployment of two rapid reaction forces from the Space Wolves chapter of astartes and the Adeptus Mechanicus. This was deemed more than adequate to protect the front lines as preparations were made for starving out the Thousand Sons still holed up in the city itself.

Imperial high command had perhaps become a little complacent by this time, as the strategic situation was now in favour of their campaign and being felt by the forces of chaos. However, the daemonworld of Astralis still hung in the system, and rather than the expected attack by conventional forces, the traitors turned to the denizens of the warp to carry out their next offensive.

The sudden appearance of Khorne daemons took the imperial forces on the front lines by surprise and quickly caused a rout in the guardsmen. The Space Wolves responded quickly, but the daemon host was led by ferocious giant daemonic creatures which the astartes struggled to contain. In a battle that was fought by attrition, it soon became clear the elite astartes force would be unable to prevent the deamonic horde from breaking through to Festergax, and the space marines retreated.

A path had now been opened up to the beseiged city of Festergax, and this corridor was widened by another summoning of deamons, this time a horde of Tzaangors. The tzeentch daemons overwhelmed the front lines and the Adeptus Mechanicus were ill equipped to deal with such numbers. The Mechanicum forces were unable to deal with the sheer volume of enemies, their army being optimised for taking down large war engines and greater daemons. By the end of 09.022M42 the Imperium was in retreat once more and Festergax now formed the head of a particularly stubborn chaos salient.

Welcome to the Aleph Sector Campaign

Welcome to the Aleph Sector 40k (universe) campaign. This is a sector wide "pick up and play" campaign which is largely narrative, but now has a number of specific theatres to cater for different campaign styles.

Sweeping conflict between Chaos and the Imperium in the Perseus Deeps is an ongoing and apparently endless struggle between the warriors of the Emperor and their hated traitors. The campaign theatre supports all 40k universe games including 40k, Kill Team, Battlefleet Gothic, AI and Epic. The main "campaign system" allows players to simply find an opponent, play the game then record the results with the GM - this generates "points", which the overall faction commander (or the GM if there isn't one), can spend on territory, strategic raids, fortifications or anything else feasible within the campaign. The larger the game - the more points, but the better your faction is doing gives you a bonus to your win. The Perseus Deeps is the main theatre of war in the sector, as it is close to the Cicatrix Maledictum and is key to the control of the sector.

More information on the "system" can be found here (you don't need to know any of this at all, but the GM (Duncan) works with faction commanders to make best use of their wins, and acts as an advisor, warning against strategically "unwise" moves - though is often ignored!)

Meanwhile in the Hadron Expanse, a new campaign theatre has opened up. The Tyranids, Orks and Necrons are seeking to pour through the Hecate Gap - a passageway through a set of warp storms that once sealed them off from the rest of the sector - while the imperium, chaos and Tau forces try to stop them, and the eldar try to seal off the region once and for all.

The whole map is however "live" and players who want to get into the narrative can drive their own plots and perhaps even trigger the next major theatre of war. Any and all games from matched play to one off narratives can be played - its as much as you personally want to make of it.

More information here.

And if you want background - there is a ton on this blog to delve into. The campaign has been running now since 2001, and the blog since 2006. In this campaign - there really is only war...