Hive Fleet Poseidon makes gains

In early 10.023M42 the real extent of the threat posed by the tyranids in the Rifts of Hecate began to dawn on several factions active in the Hadron Expanse. For several months the Tau had been fending off repeated tyranid incursions on Garmenes assuming that the hive mind didn't have any real plan and was acting on instinct. However, as the latest force of tyranids arrived on the world, it became abundantly clear to the Tau that hive fleet Poseidon had been repeatedly testing the defences of Garmenes to work out what combination of force they would need to establish a bridgehead.

On 0810.023M42 the hive fleet did just that, by landing further tyranid creatures on Garmenes by spore, indicating that somewhere in the system there must be lurking hive ships. The Tau launched a pre-emptive strike against the landing tyranids, and successfully eliminated their large synapse beasts in the opening moments of the engagement. However, they were unable to stop wave after wave of smaller gaunts from overwhelming the Tau positions, and were hampered by opportunistic hit and run attacks from independent tyranid units in their rear areas. Despite maintaining good discipline and inflicting punishing losses, the Tau were unable to hold onto their positions, and withdrew, allowing the tyranids to finally gain a foothold on Garmenes.

Elsewhere the Aeldari on Lodax faced the sudden appearance of a genestealer cult, believed to be associated with Poseidon on Lodax. This caught the eldar by surprise, and destabilised their position on the secondary world, causing a general withdrawal of Aeldari forces from the world. At roughly the same time, they aliens of the hive mind deliberately delved into ancient necron tombs on the world, waking the necrons and causing a retaliatory strike from the necrons of an unknown dynasty. This appeared to be what the hive mind intended, as the necrons were defeated then forced to abandon their tombs. With the necrons removed and the Aeldari having retreated, the tyranids wasted no time in consuming the world of Lodax II and converting it to useable resources.

With Lodax II, Candic Minor and Mezria IV now absorbed by hive fleet Poseidon, even the imperium now realised that the threat from this new hive fleet was serious. Discussions immediately turned to the defence of Ergura's fall, as the loss of the gateway to the Hecate Gap would doom the imperial operation in the rifts, and might threaten the wider Hadron Expanse.

The Aleph Sector 0110.023M42

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!)

In the Perseus Deeps and Zadoc subsectors the Tau, Imperium, Necrons, Orks and Chaos forces are battling one another for control over the region as the Tau launch their Perseus and Zadoc expansion sphere campaigns.

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 

The Imperium

The Forces of Chaos

The Tau & Federacy

The Orks

The Necrons

The Tyranids

The Aeldari and Drukhari

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...