Tau Melberg Peace Treaty

1. Terms of Ceasefire
1.1. Effective immediately all hostilities by both sides shall cease.
1.2. All non-Tau military personnel and equipment shall not be moved from its present positions until the conditions of this treaty are met.
1.3. The UFP (United Federation of Planets) shall appoint observers to ensure treaty obligations are adhered to by all sides.
1.4. Those occupied territories forming part of the Tau Empire (see section 3 and appendix 1) shall disarm completely with immediate effect. Regimental and military organisations shall be disbanded with immediate effect.
1.5. Tau forces within the territories of the free nations (identified in section 3 and appendix 1) shall retire immediately to the borders of the Tau occupied zone (see appendix 1).
1.6. The retirement identified in 1.5 shall be completed in a period of no more than one standard Imperial week following all signatures.
1.7. All indigenous Prisoners of War shall be allowed to return to their nation of origin following the signing of this treaty.
1.8. All Tau Prisoners of war shall be released into the custody of the Tau Empire immediately following the signature of this treaty.
1.9. All non-indigenous Prisoners of War shall be allowed to join the evacuation of Imperial troops or remain in the Tau occupied zone.

2. Evacuation of Non-Indigenous Troops
2.1. Those units of non-Melberg PDF shall be allowed to leave the Melberg system by troop transport.
2.2. All non Melberg PDF equipment (with the exception of personal equipment able to be carried by one man) shall be destroyed as observed by UFP observers.
2.3. The UFP fleet shall escort the Imperial troops to the edge of Melberg space.
2.4. No Imperial warship shall be permitted into the Melberg primary biosphere region during this evacuation.
2.5. Tau warships shall not leave the Melberg Primary Biosphere region until the evactuation is complete.
2.6. Following the evacuation of the Imperial troops no Imperial warship shall be permitted within the Melberg system. Such an incursion shall be considered an act of war and this treaty becomes null and void.

3. Territorial Re-alignment
3.1. The territories of the free countries of Melberg shall be realigned as per appendix 1.
3.2. Veraconia will regain North Borax.
3.3. Whettis shall cede Atlovea, Russetica, Tunarc, Pelagur, Euradis and Afria to the Tau occupied zone.
3.4. Coronia shall cede Escus, Tirilor, Ugarnica, Tasmacia, Manesini, Erandius, Lithacini, Ethis, and west Euphyrum to the Tau occupied zone.
3.5. Atlas Prime shall be ceded to the Tau Empire.

4. Administrative Re-organisation
4.1. The territories of Genidius, Gwendel, Narmala, Terris Kingdon and the Isle of Cor shall be the sovereign territory of the Tau Empire, to be governed by those officials appointed by the Tau government.
4.2. The territories of Veraconia, Coronia, Whettis, Actopia, Cannabrini, Thorland and Vaskia shall be governed independently by whichever political system they so desire, subject to the following territory realignment in section 3 (map appendix 1) and military restrictions in section 5.
4.3. There shall exist a de-militarised zone next to the borders of the Tau administered Melberg territories (see appendix 1). No free nation shall deploy armed forces within this territory.

5. Activities and Restrictions of Unoccupied armies
5.1. Each free nation (detailed in section 4) shall be allowed an army no larger than 100,000 combatant personnel.
5.2. Each free nation shall be limited to a maximum number of 100 armoured vehicles.
5.3. Each free nation shall dismantle all ballistic missile and artillery installations which have an effective range greater than 20 miles.
5.4. Each free nation shall surrender its capability of constructing such weaponry identified in item 5.3.
5.5. Existing weaponry and equipment held by each free nation surplus to the terms agreed in items 5.2, 5.3, 5.7, 5.8 and 5.9 shall be destroyed as witnesses by the aforementioned UFP observers.
5.6. Each free nation shall disband its military air capability.
5.7. Each free nation shall disband its military naval capability.
5.8. Each free nation shall disband its military and civilian space faring capability (see sections 6 and 7).
5.9. The adherence of these terms by those nations identified as Free Nations of Melberg shall be open to investigation with no notice required by inspectors appointed by the Tau government of the occupied territories.
5.10.The free nations of Melberg shall benefit from the protection of the Tau Empire from hostile acts perpetrated on them by any external force(s).
5.11.Citizens of the free nations are permitted to apply for membership of the Tau Empire and benefit from the rights enjoyed by such citizens.
5.12.The free nations of Melberg shall not hinder any application identified in 5.11.

6. Off-world Trade
6.1. All off world trade shall be conducted in accordance with the rules and administered by those of the Tau air and water caste.

7. Contact with Off-world Organisations
7.1. All off world communication and contact shall be conducted in accordance with the rules and administered by those of the Tau air and water caste.

8. Other assets
8.1. Assets previously owned and administered by those free nations of Melberg and by the previous Imperial authorites not within the Melberg atmospheric envelope shall be ceded to the Tau Empire. These include but are not limited to:
8.1.1. Melberg orbiting space dock.
8.1.2. Melberg spaceport.
8.1.3. Outer planetary outposts.

9. Settlement and freedom of movement
9.1. Without the express permission of the territory concerned no Tau shall be allowed to settle permanently within a free nation of Melberg.
9.2. Tau and human alike shall be allowed freedom of movement between the Tau controlled area and the free states of Melberg .
9.3. Item 9.2 does not include the movement of arms or armed equipment.
9.4. Non-military use of airborne vehicles by the free nations of Melberg shall be restricted to that area identified in appendix 1, east of the “no fly zone”.
9.5. Tau aircraft shall be allowed unrestricted access over the “no fly zone” identified in appendix 1.
9.6. Tau aircraft shall require the permission to over-fly those free nations not included in the no-fly zone.

10. Activities and Operations of Tau Military Forces
10.1.Tau ground forces shall not incur on the territories of the free nations without the express permission or request of the government thereof.
10.2.Tau air forces shall not incur into the airspace of the free nations (excepting the no-fly zone) without the express permission or request of the government thereof.

11. Treaty
11.1.This treaty shall come into effect immediately following the securing of all signatures.
11.2.The treaty shall be signed by all members as observed by UFP observers in Atlas Prime with the following exceptions
11.2.1. Commander of the Imperial fleet.
11.3.Signatories shall include the following:
11.3.1. Commander of the Tau Invasion Force
11.3.2. Commander of Tau forces (Aleph Expansion Sphere)
11.3.3. Commander of Tau Fleet (Battlegroup Melberg)
11.3.4. Tau Diplomatic Representative
11.3.5. Commander of Imperial (non-indigenous) forces
11.3.6. Commander of Imperial Fleet (Melberg)
11.3.7. UFP Advisory Committee Representative
11.3.8. King of Whettis
11.3.9. Governor of Actopia
11.3.10. President of Coronia
11.3.11. Prime Minister of Cannabrini
11.3.12. Governor General of Vaskia
11.3.13. Chancellor of Thorland
11.3.14. First Minister of Veracon

Appendix 1 – Melberg Territorial realignment

Night Lords bloodied on Memnon

Lord Raziel had been concerned by the arrival of a significant Ork presence on Memnon and decided that the Night Lords would have to act quickly. Whilst he was content to make alliances of necessity with the Orks against the Imperium, the planet Memnon held too high a strategic value to allow the Orks a presence. He personally led an expeditionary force onto the planets surface to capture teleporter relays hidden amongst the ruins of the planet but quickly found his force assaulted by a plethora of Orks mounted in fast light vehicles.

The Night Lords deployed in a thick block hoping to fend off the initial ork charge and counter attack to retake the field. However the speed of the Ork attack surprised the marines and the Ork shooting proved highly destructive to the Night Lords battle tanks and long-range support. Many Orks swarmed over the initial chaos marine line of defence and on the right flank an ill disciplined squad of Night Lords deecidd abandoned their role as reserves to the main battle line to take shots at some warbuggies only to find themselves overwhelmed and massacred by the enemy. Raziel’s raptors bodyguards and veteran assault marines managed to counter attack and slew the Ork warlord, his retinue and his trukk boys but found themselves to be the only remaining Night Lords and surrounded by Ork vehicles.

The fearless marines remained undaunted however and rushed towards the ruins to seize the controls for the teleporter relay so that the Night Lord’s losses wouldn’t be in vain. Ork shots rained on power armour as they scurried towards the temple till an ork warbuggy with a rocket launcher opened fire. Lord Raziel selflessly hurled himself in the way of the rocket to save the relay, and his men and was wounded and knocked unconscious. Out of loyalty to his Lord, Brother Zephon slung his lord’s body over his shoulder and with the remaining assault marines made it to the safety of the temple where they were quickly teleported to the orbiting Night Lord Battle Barge. Raziel’s wound proved not to be fatal and the Night Lords had managed to seize control of many of Memnon’s ancient teleporters with which future incursions could advance from. However the loss of life and weaponry to the Orks had been great and the green tide had managed to seize further territory in Memnon strengthening the Ork presence on the planet.

+++ Inquisitorial Note. Recommend the reporter sent for re-affirmation of faith. Traitor marines can never be described as "selfless". As such this report remains security level gamma or better.+++

Priam: Catechism on the brink of victory

Priam’s call for aid did not fall on deaf ears. On 0107.008M42 the Blood Martyrs’ 4th company arrived on the strike cruiser Torment, intent on ridding the planet of the Catechism and its corrupting influence. However, as the Marines landed the defenders of Priam were already suffering, hard pushed to hold their ground against the forces of the Catechism.

Observers noted the presence of all the Chaos Gods among the traitorous forces, and also noted the sheer number of traitor marines on the planet. What had previously been considered as a raiding force was quickly upgraded to an invasion force. The commander of the Blood Martyrs immediately requested two regiments of Imperial Guard while coming up with a mission to delay the Chaos forces from reaching the capital before the Guard units arrived.

By the time he had done this however, the Adeptus Sororitas forces who were in the front line of the fighting were taking heavy casualties, and the Priam PDF were all but spent, or had deserted and joined the Catechism, swelling the Chaos forces still further. It seemed that some inhabitants of the luxury goods manufacturing world, were more than happy to join the traitors.

While mulling the significance of this over, Captail Aurelis of the 4th company sent in his forces against the heart of the Catechism, facing the finest warriors the Chaos traitors could field. As the battle unfolded Aurelis realised with horror, that the Catechism outmatched him.

Thousand Sons Legionarries took a terrible toll on his forces, while Obliterators and defilers tore the heart out of his armour. The battle soon turned into a massacre, as the remnants of the Space Marine company threw themselves at the forces of Chaos in a last ditch attempt to slow their advance. All he managed was to destroy the remnants of the company. Less than a third of the force sent to Priam left without damage or wounds, and fully a third of the precious battle brothers had been slain. By 1007.008M42 the Moonface catechism had the planet of Priam on the brink of capitulation.

Tyndareous: Death Guard encounter Adeptus Sororitas

On Tyndareous the Adeptus Sororitas arrived at the small capital, Slade, on 0107.008M42, after hearing that several settlements had been won over by the Chaos forces which were now on the planet in strength. Tyndareous had two major areas of habitation. Slade, Flack and Hesther were all part of the northern collective in the northern hemisphere, while civilisation in the southern hemisphere centred around the towns of Greystone and Randall. The two settlements were separated by thousands of miles of rocky arid landscape, and it was to the southern collective that the Sisters of Battle embarked.

Following their arrival in Greystone the news that greeted them was bad. Randall had fallen to Chaos Marine forces and the local PDF, some 1000 men, were not up to the task of shifting them. Immediately the Sisters pledged to retake the town in the name of the Emperor of Mankind.

The Death Guard, occupying Randall, had other ideas and met the Sororitas forces half way between the two settlements, on the open rolling landscape of southern Tyndareous. The battle between the two elite forces was bloody and unrelenting, with both sides suffereing significant casualties. On 0707.008M42 both sides withdrew with little gain, leaving Randall under Chaos control.

The arrival of fresh Imperial forces did however resolve the issue of the Tau. Elan Ro realised his forces would do no good intervening in a war between the Imperium and its traitors, so left, under a flag of truce, on 1007.008M42. The Tau would have to look elsewhere for potential colonies in the Zadoc subsector.

Coronus: Orks gain despite Daemonhunters victory

Following the Imperial defeat to the Ork/Chaos army the leading inquisitor in the area, Ignatious, was keen to find out the extent of the Chaos taint in Ork, and Imperial forces. Following his landing near the Dark Angels’ base, the Inquisitor led his forces against an unsuspecting Ork horde.

The elite forces under Ignatious found success, driving the Orks back some twenty miles from the Imperial stronghold, before leaving, the job completed, in their opinion. The Daemonhunters had found no Chaos forces and surmised that the Night Lords had left.

This action however provoked the Orks into action and as Ignatious left, Waagh Nazghat was preparing a fresh assault on the Dark Angels. Fighting soon became vicious and the Marines soon found themselves in trouble, losing men and equipment at an alarming rate. Despite a heroic personal action by the company chaplain the Orks scored a major victory against the Adeptus Astartes, and the Imperial forces had no choice but to retreat to an inner ring of defences around their stronghold. Coronus hung in the balance.

Danelloth Falls

After weeks of holding out on the outpost of Danelloth the final nail in the coffin was Nazghat’s assault on the main Imperial complex on 2606.008M42. The base was defended by the Adeptus Sororitas and they women of the Ecclesiarchy fought bravely as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart frantically organised an evacuation.

Several thousand troops were air-lifted to the waiting troop ships and then cruiser Illustrious, while the Sisters of Battle gave their lives holding the perimeter. Yard by yard, and at terrible cost, Nazghat’s Orks gained ground, eventually overrunning the last Imperial defenders. Danelloth was finally in Ork hands, and the Imperial fleet abandoned it to its fate.

Coronus: Ork Horde encroaches on Imperial Base

The loss of Danelloth was keenly felt by Imperial sector high command, but they couldn’t dwell on it for long as just a week after Danelloth fell, Ork hulks were detected in the Coronus system. The Imperial base had been reinforced by the recent arrival of Librian Grenadiers from Danelloth but the Orks were not the only problem on Coronus.

The Night Lords were still in the vicinity. On seeing the large Ork fleet arrive they realised they could certainly deal the Imperium a damaging blow, if not a fatal one, on Coronus if they could organise an alliance, albeit temporary, with the Orks.
Lord Raziel’s Marines, under brother Dumah, were successful in his negotiations and the combined Ork and Chaos army launched itself into a ferocious assault against the Imperial forces defending the base’s perimeter. The fire of several Leman Russ battle tanks and Hellhound flame tanks caused horrendous casualties in the centre of the Ork lines, but Chaos marines used the village on their left flank to approach the Imperial troops in relative safety. Meanwhile on the right, Ork speed freaks very quickly engaged the cream of the Dark Angels’ assault troops.

On the Imperial right a vicious battle erupted between the Dark Angels and Night lords, while the speed freaks turned the Imperial flank. Although the attack was stalled in the centre, both sides of the Imperial army found themselves fighting for their lives.

On 2906.008M42 the Imperial commanders decided to withdraw to a secondary defence line, realising that to stay any longer meant being surrounded by the Ork-Chaos alliance. By nightfall on the same day the Orks had advanced to within 80 miles of the Dark Angels’ base, and found themselves firmly on the back foot.

Tyndareous: Airborne Assault

Following the action against the Night Lords in 06.008M42 the Imperial Commander Colonel Spiggot came under intense pressure from High Command to take the fight to the enemy, not least to show up the Tau, who had been relatively inactive in their sector in the previous few weeks. Spiggot demanded reinforcements, troops which were able to match the speed and mobility of Tau forces, thinking his sarcastic communique would be understood by his superiors Eight days later the Librian 1st Airborne Cavalry unit arrived.

The Airborne Cavalry were a newly formed regiment, founded in the short years following the approval of Libria’s production of Valkyrie and Vulture aircraft. Only four regiments existed in 04.008M42 and none had seen combat. Spiggot was less than convinced by the new arrivals but immediately began planning an operation to attack the Night Lords’ territory. Perhaps novelty value and surprise alone would be a winning factor. The plan was simple. Surprise the Night Lords, destroy as much as possible, then get out. However the execution of the plan turned into a bloody shambles.

Tactical doctrine stated that airborne assaults should arrive together, in one shocking and overwhelming wave, supported by sentinels and Vulture attack ships. On Tyndareous the operation became a demonstration of how not to co-ordinate a drop…

First of all the Command units arrived before the other Valkyries, each holding ten stormtroopers. The heavy lifter aircraft, carrying the sentinels, went the wrong way, critically delaying their arrival. Worse was to follow, as the Vulture wing supporting the assault misunderstood their orders, leaving after just one attack run. As the attack craft began the journey back to base a furious exchange of vox messages finally made them change course towards the battle, but crucial air cover had been lost.

The Stormtroopers of the Librian 1st AirCav fought bravely and well where they could, but the attack was piecemeal and was soon brushed aside by the well prepared Night Lords. Some success was achieved and damage inflicted,including the destruction of a predator and a squad of Chaos terminators.Even so the attack was called off and the surviving aircraft returned to base. Inevitably the accusations began, with many questioning the value of airborne Imperial Guard units.

Tyndareous: Spiggot holds Night Lords

Colonel Spiggot had been holding his troops in the city of Slade since his arrival on Tyndareous. Until now the Night Lords had not faced the bulk of his troops in their savage raids, and it was the Tau who had suffered the most at the hands of the traitor Legion. On 2806.008M42 however, this changed, as the Night Lords once again led an attack on the outpost planet. This time, Spiggot's men were in a position to get to the incursion first.

The Librian Grenadiers set up a good defensive position near a complex of ancient ruins to the west of Slade, some five hundred miles south of Flack, which had been devastated by the previous Night Lords' raid. The Librians were determined that the small village of Hesther would not suffer the same fate.

The Chaos Marines soon moved on the ruin complex after consolidating their landing zone. At first it appeared the Chaos forces were intent meerely on facing the Librians in combat, but Colonel Spiggot soon realised that the Night Lords were planning to capture the ruins, for their own secretive purposes. The fact the traitors wanted to possess the ruins was enough for Spiggot to fiercely oppose them.

The battle developed quickly and the Night Lords found themselves coming under unexpected heavy fire and taking havey casualties. Their advance was slowed as their vanguard forces were massacred by Leman Russ fire. The Imperial Hellhounds too played their part and for a while it looked as if Spiggot would be able to turn the Night Lords' flank and expel the traitors from the comples. However as the day wore on the Marines clung tenaciously to their positions and punished any Imperial advance over open ground. Wrecked tanks and Sentinels littered the battlefield.

By evening the battle had petered out and a one kilometre no-mans-land lay over much of the ruins. By dawn the Chaos Marines had left, silently and without warning. They had been stopped, but at a high cost to the Imperium and Spiggot, though having shown the Traitor Marines could be stopped, had not succeeded in routing them. Imperial Guard honour was satisfied, but their losses meant the Tau were now the more numerous force on Tyndareous.

Memnon: Orks overrun Eldar

When Imperial agents reported the presence of Orks on Memnon Imperial High Command were alarmed by the widespread nature of the latest Ork threat. It appeared as if every world in the cluster was at risk from the green tide, and a few in very privileged circles new this also meant Eldar worlds.

The most Hubward systems within the Mabb Nebula had been off limits to all human craft for millenia. Most saw "celestial hazard" printed on their star-charts but those in high places, or at least in privileged places, knew there existed at least five Eldar exodite worlds as well as rumours of a Craftworld. Additionally the Eldar laid claim to several uninhabited "maiden worlds". For thousands of years humanity had known to leave well alone.

Greenskins however have no respect and apparently short memories. In 673M37 an Ork Waagh! originating from the Vork Ork Empire had ravaged the worlds of the Mabb Nebula before disappearing mysteriously. Most thought the Eldar had lured the brutal aliens into a trap, and annihilated them. On 2606.008M42 the appearance of Orks on Memnon was relayed to Imperial HQ. Two days later the Eldar arrived.

Memnon has always been as close as humanity has been allowed to get to the Eldar holdings in the Mabb Nebula, and clearly the appearance of Orks on the world was enough to stir the graceful aliens into action and they soon threw themselves into a savage battle against the Greenskin horde. This time however the Orks had the measure of the Eldar and punished them severely. After a short, savage engagement the Eldar withdrew, leaving the Orks braying in wild celebration.

Zadoc subsector update

The Moonface Catechism

Originally believed to be an Iron Warrior possessed by a particularly strong Daemonic entity, almost nothing about the creature called Moonface is known. From what Imperial information suggests, Moonface rose in prominence in the ranks of the Iron Warriors in the Aleph system. After earning himself a place as advisor to the Iron Warrior's Warsmith Gallowfen, Moonface then slew the commander and assumed command himself.

His first act was to order a full scale assault on the Imperial system capital, Cerberex. The reason for invasion is not fully known, other than it was used by Moonface to forge what is known as The Catechism - an awakening of traitor marine forces and cultists. By a series of chanted mantras and subliminal clues, both somehow transmitted directly to the brain, those affected are slowly turned under Moonface's influence.

Unlike Gallowfen's policy of using only pure Iron Warrior forces, Moonface calls all to his ranks using The Catechism. In fact, one of the first uses of the Catechism was to gather all the disparate Chaos forces in the Aleph sector together. The process appears to only affect those who are already in league with the dark powers, certainly there have been no reports of Imperial forces being turned to the Catechism. In addition the process is most effective on those who do not currently have a strong belief system.

Those traitor marines that have been turned tend to be small broken warbands or recently turned traitors. The larger legions in the area appear unaffected. The full process behind the Catechism is unknown, Imperial Scholars can only spin wild theories about how it may work. One thing is for sure though, the rate at which new traitor warbands are swayed to the Moonface cause is growing, and the Imperium must stand eternally ready against this dangerous threat.

Nightlords “defend” Tynaderous from the green tide

Lord Raziel, having conquered Typhon decided to establish a foothold on the world of Tynaderous. The Nightlords had previously raided the planet on several occasions to gain supplies and weapons to arm their supporters on Typhon and so were familiar with the geography of the planet. More importantly to Raziel was its proximity to the space route that connected Zadoc to Tarsis Major and the Nightlord commander hoped that by seizing planets along this route he could seriously weaken imperial control and eventually cut off part of the imperium by controlling this space route.

The previous Nightlord raids had attracted a small Imperial Guard and Tau presence to the planet and so he understood that taking the planet would be no simple feat. To prepare for an assault on the planet Lord Raziel decided to establish a clandestine base of support amongst anti imperial sympathisers on the plaent and even within the planets defence force itself before engaging in a direct assault. Raziel waited for an appropriate opportunity to present itself and found it when Ork forces from neighbouring planets landed on Tynaderous. Whilst the Imperial and Tau forces argued amongst themselves over who had claim to the planet the Orks attacked outlying defenceless human settlements easily overrunning them. Not out of compassion but through political calculation Lord Raziel decided to act and personally led a small force of Nightlords to end the Orks rampage.

The nightlords arrived on the planet undetected in small ships and whilst scouting for the Ork forces ran straight into the main body of the Ork army. The Ork force had the strength of weight of numbers and in both infantry and vehicles and attempted to assault the Nightlord force in a three-pronged assault. The Nightlords deployed close to one another in two lines. At first the Nightlord’s shooting seemed largely ineffective against the multitude of Orks who easily soaked up the shooting with their numbers and the jinking of their warbikes. The Ork’s returned fire as they advanced managing to destroy the turret of the nightlords predator and one of the rhinos along with a few chaos marines. A mek with a Shokk attack gun had the misfortune of his weapon deciding to propel him rather than its ammunition across the battlefield at the enemy havocs where in the ensuing combat the havocs managed to cut-down the Ork to pieces. At close range the Nightlords found their shooting more successful where the numerous flamers fried many Orks and the chaos havocs turned their attention to the right flank where along with some raptors they managed to immobilise several Ork walkers. The Ork warboss and his retinue was largely unaffected by this though and slaughtered many Chaos marines in the centre and was only taken down when Lord Raziel and his raptor retinue along with his drugged up assault veterans charged into the engaged Ork warboss to assist the few survivors. The left flank of the Ork army had been largely untouched by the Nightlords and threatened to overrun the centre but finally the havocs found a weak spot in the Ork dreadnought that led the Ork mob and exploded it killing many in the surrounding Ork mob. The rest of the unsupported Orks were savagely gunned down by in the open by concentrated marine and predator fire.

Following the battle the Nightlords made contact with humans from the planet’s population where they were given offer they couldn’t refuse by lord Raziel. Following the slow agonising public execution of one pious naive imperial priest Raziel found the remaining locals to be unanimous in their support for the Nightlords and highly cooperative. He gave them orders to establish sleeper cells and to infiltrate all positions of imperial command and ordered some squads of his marines to remain hidden on the planet. In return he gave aid to those wounded by the Ork forces and weapons to be used for defence against the Xenos and to rid the Imperium from Tynaderous when the time for revolution would come. Before the Nightlords left they recovered their dead and made a huge pile of the Ork bodies and surrounded the mound with the destroyed Ork vehicles. This was soon discovered by Imperial forces and Tau who couldn’t account for who had killed the Orks, the only crew clues were two lines of graffiti left on the Ork vehicles one reading, “AVE DOMINUS NOX!” and the other, “Where is your Imperium to defend you?” The imperial commanders tried to hush the discovery up but amongst the undisciplined guard the rumours managed to flow back to the planets population where many began to worry at the truth in the statement…

Danelloth: Daemonhunters can’t break out

Meanwhile by 2208.008M42 the situation on Danelloth was still desperate for the Imperial forces holed up in the sprawling mining Complex PKS-112. This was the only territory still held by Imperial forces, and the Imperial Guard commander desperately needed to retake the spaceport. Responding to the request for aid the Daemonhunters under Inquisitor Ignatious arrived swiftly.

The elite Inquisitorial forces launched themselves into a ferocious assault against Nazghat’s Orks around the spaceport. The Orks responded the only way they knew how and a vicious fight erupted just three miles from the Daemonhunters’ objective.
The Daemonhunters however proved to be more brave and fearless than tactically aware, and an early mistake cost them dearly. The Inquisitor got his forces too close to the Orks and close combat ensued as soon as the Orks realised they could charge. This turned a possible victory over the Orks into an inconclusive draw, and the situation on Danelloth remained unchanged.

War comes to Daedalon

While the Imperium reacted to the Chaos threat on Typhon and Priam, they were unable to prevent Tau forces from landing on the Adeptus Mechanicus world of Daedalon. The forest world had been used as a research world for millennia, but was the obvious target for the Tau expansion from their bases in the Perseus Deeps.

The tech adepts on Daedalon warned the Imperium the Tau were coming, but the Imperium could not react in time and elected to take a “wait and see” approach. In the end it was a small scout Hunter Cadre which landed on the planet, rather than a full scale invasion force.

Much to the Tau’s horror and surprise however the forests of Daedalon had already been infiltrated with the vanguard scouting elements of Hive fleet Triton, as it naturally stood in the path of the Tyranids’ progression through the galaxy. The Tyranid forces were not numerous, and it came as a surprise to the Adeptus Mechanicus aswell, but it was the Tau who had disturbed them and the Tau who found themselves assaulted, then overrun by the alien menace.

Reeling from the attack by the Tyranids the Tau could have been expected to fold when the Chaos forces of the Death Guard Legion landed on the world near their own base. However, the Tau showed remarkable resilience and took the fight to the enemy. Trapping the Death Guard in an area of swampy forest, the Tau used their superior technology in the terrain well, picking off the Death Guard until they had sustained a serious number of casualties. Realising this raid wasn’t going to be profitable for the Chaos invasion of the Rim Worlds the Death Guard retreated into their assault ships and disappeared. The Tau counted the cost of another battle.

Chaos discovered on Priam

Priam, a small outpost specialising in luxury goods had long been suspected of underground Chaos worship, but the time and effort required o root out the evil had never been a priority to find. That was until the fall of Typhon. The loss of this small world glavanised Imperial forces into action.

Inquisitor Ignatious organised a small task force including Daemonhunters and Sisters of Battle to investigate Priam. What they found immediately alarmed them. Decadent cults, strange iconography and a complete disregard for human decency. It seemed that a good portion of the population had gone over to the worship of Slaanech, while others had embraced Nurgle. The Inquisitor’s representative on the world immediately executed the governor and occupied the capital.

A few days later on 2106.008M42 Chaos forces, led by forces previously associated with the Moonface Catechism, were spotted in the wetlands to the north of the capital. The Daemonhunters immediately attacked, using their Adeptus Sororitas allies to support their attack.

The battle became a bloody affair which ebbed and flowed over the sprawling marshland during the next few days. The Daemonhunters were successful, pushing the Chaos forces back and doing considerable damage in the process. The Adeptus Sororitas however were less successful and suffered badly at the hands of the Traitor Marines. Realising they could not annihilate the Chaos forces without support the Imperial forces retreated to the planetary capital and built up their defences while requesting regiments of Imperial Guard or Astartes reinforcements.

Typhon Falls Under Night Lords’ Control

Typhon had long been a cause for concern to the Imperium. Though nominally a small Imperial world its proximity to Grimlock, a Chaos stronghold in the Perseus Deeps, and its relative distance from the major warp lanes of the Zadoc subsector, made the Imperium’s hold over the planet tenuous at best.Typhon’s five million souls were ruled over by a hereditary monarchy with the planet mostly dealing in fringe trade while the bulk of the planet’s populace farmed the arid soil of the world.

Truth be told the Imperium wasn’t much interested in Typhon, except for the fact that deep below the planet’s crust there was vast mineral wealth to be exploited, at least at some point. However in 008M42 the Imperial authorities had more to worry about than 5 million souls on the very edge of Imperial space.

This lack of observation caused the Imperium to miss opportunity after opportunity to avoid catastrophe on Typhon. In early 008M42 traders spoke of anti-Imperial cults and strange blasphemous graffiti on the walls of the shabby buildings in the planet’s many small towns. In 04.008M42 contact with the planet was lost altogether, but no-one paid much attention.Certainly no-one linked it with events going on in the Mabb nebula.

In fact the Night Lords had been on the planet for years, laying low and fostering anti-Imperial sentiment. Many cults worshipped the Chaos Marines as demigods following their arrival in 004M42 following their defeat on Aleph 4. However it was the arrival of Raziel which accelerated things. He and his new arrivals raided the Shadow Worlds of the Mabb nebula, gaining intelligence and supplies to bolster their position on Typhon. The raid on Tyndareous had filled their small band of ships’ holds to breaking point with gold, weaponry and mineral ore. In 06.008M42, the Night Lords, aided by some 30,000 armed militia cultists, toppled the ruling Monarchy of Typhon and declared themselves rulers of the planet.

The news reached Zadoc on 2006.008M42 and sent a shockwave of unease through the Imperial high command. A planet had fallen to Chaos and they had barely noticed, let alone reacted in time. Though a relatively small world, Typhon now presented a real threat, forming a base for Chaotic activity much closer to Tarsis Major and putting the other Rim Worlds under threat. For now however, Imperial high command on Zadoc was at a loss as to how to respond. The Night Lords certainly had the initiative.

Tyndareous: Elan Ro Defeated by Night Lords

After the Chaos assault on Tyndareous the Imperial and Tau forces maintained the truce they had established. Lengthy debates then began as both sides attempted to get the other to withdraw from the planet while remaining themselves. During this time the planetary rulers became more and more scarce, not wishing to be seen allying with either side lest they beput in an unfavourable light with their eventual overlords. In the end the decision was made not by the Tau or Imperium, but by the Night Lords.

Clearly the Traitor Legion had unfinished business on Tyndareous and their forces fell upon the planet with a furious and violent assault. Apparently by chance, they landed nearer Elan Ro's camp, rather than nearer the drop area of Captain Spiggot, and the Tau were forced to deal with the traitors.

The Imperium also prepared to intervene, lest it look like the Tau were the ones defending the locals. However, the Tau forces were faster and more manoeuvrable and arrived on the scene much quicker than the lumbering Imperial forces.

The Tau arrived at the small settlement of Flack to find the Night Lords systematically destroying the place and terrorising the inhabitants.Immediately the Tau of Elan Ro threw themselves into the attack, and for awhile it looked like they had the measure of the Night Lords. The Chaos Terminators teleported near the centre of town but were cut down by the swift arrival of crisis suits.

Meanwhile the Night Lords' infantry soon found themselves without transport as the Tau heavy weaponry took its toll, but once again Elan Ro underestimated his foe and the Marines soon had their revenge when they reached the Tau battle line. Once in combat the Tau were slaughtered and forced to abandon the citizens of Flack to their fate.

Several hours later the Chaos Marines once again left the planet having devastated the Imperial settlement. Now Imperial and Tau authorities clashed once again over how best to deal with the situation and gain intelligence. Fear and suspicion was still rife, and the standoff paralysed the defences of Tyndareous, leaving them vulnerable to further assault.

Bothorion: Tyranids Beaten By Orks

Following their disastrous route by Hive Fleet Megalodon, the remaining Orks on the planet of Bothorion managed to organise themselves and cobble together enough hardware to launch an assault on the Tyranids which were fanning out in all directions, assessing the planet's biomass.

The assault, at least partially successful forced the Tyranids to back off from the Ork held territory, buying them some breathing space while they considered their options. Meanwhile, the human population cowered in their settlements and attempted to erect fortifications, hoping that Imperial forces would at last come to their aid.

Danelloth: Blood Martyrs Lose Primary Habs

The perilous position of the Imperium on Danelloth led to the Commander of the Imperial Guard calling for more aid. That aid was forthcoming relatively quickly, in the shape of the Blood Martyr’s 4th company, who arrived on 1106.008M42 aboard the strike cruiser Torment. The Chaplain of the company then prepared an assault force to take the fight to the Orks.

The assault began well, with withering terminator fire destroying the Orks’ command squad, but if the Space Marines had thought the Orks would disengage once their leader was killed, they were sadly mistaken. Orks live for fighting, and the green tide continued to advance on the Blood Martyrs’ positions.

Unfortunately for the Marines, their heavy tank support could not find the weak spots in the Ork contraptions and much time was wasted repeatedly shooting at the roughly constructed Ork vehicles. This meant more Orks than desired reached the Imperial battle lines and despite a heroic assault lead by the Chaplain and his assault squad, the Marines were eventually overwhelmed.

The greenskin horde, their bloodlust fully risen, then fell upon the Imperial positions in the Primary Hab zone, forcing Lethbridge-Stewart’s troops to fall back to the last remaining Imperial defence, mining complex PKS-112. Danelloth was all but conquered by the Ork waagh! Now the Imperium had to decide their next move. Defend to the last or abandon the mining settlement?

Coronus: Night Lords Raid Dark Angels

Without warning the Night Lords appeared in the Coronus system on 1306.008M42. This time however, the Dark Angels’ base with its superior technology, picked up the small Chaos vessels as they approached the planet of Coronus itself. The commander of the 4th Company then set up a trap for the traitor marines.

The Night Lords tooke the bait, attacking what appeared to be an unsupported squad of Marines. However, once the battle was joined five members of the Deathwing turned up, and heavy supporting tanks appeared from behind a copse of trees. The plan was going well, but the Dark Angels found that it wasn’t going to be that simple to defeat the Night Lords.

The initial ambush successfully wiped out the spearhead of the Night Lords attack, including their commander, but the hatred of the Imperium still burned brightly in the Night Lords’ souls and they did not quit the field. In reply the Chaos Marines poured withering fire into the Deathwing, eliminating them, and moved a squad of their Marines into the copse, charging a squad of Marines loyal to the Emperor.

Behind the shielding trees the Night Lords found a further fifteen Dark Angels, who threw themselves into the melee which had developed in the thick woodland. The battle became savage, as the Night Lords refused to break in the face of superior numbers. The encounter ebbed and flowed and was going in the Imperium’s favour, until an obliterator arrived, turning the tide and forcing all but one brave Marine to flee the combat.

The melee ended with just one loyal Dark Angel standing over the fallen bodies of his comrades and the broken remains of the traitor Marines squad. It had been a costly encounter. While the vicious combat had raged in the woods, the Dark Angels’ Librarian had been taken in combat, leaving the central plain of the battlefield to the Night Lords’ terminators. Only some desparate shooting forced the Chaos force back and prevented a further assault on the Dark Angels’ base.

After several hours the Dark Angels realised the Night Lords were leaving, returning to their drop area. They were in no shape to pursue and let the Chaos Marines leave, tending to their wounded and counting their dead. The battle had been costly, too costly, for such a small force of Marines. Even so the designs of the Night Lords had been thwarted, for now.

Zadoc Sector Activity: Typhon Falls

Night Lords in the Aleph Sector

Lord Raziel for most of his 10,000 year existence was a captain of the 7th Night Lords grand company. He now fights as an independent chaos lord in the Aleph Sector seeking to topple the control of the imperium and tau over human worlds and to build his own empire of mankind. To understand his story and appearance in the Aleph Sector, one must know the history of the Night Lords.

The combat doctrine of the legion was once to use terror as a weapon for the pursuit of higher goals. Examples were made of those who defied the Night Lords, collective punishments and horrific massacres set an example to the enemies of the Night Lords and through terror whole star systems bowed to their will rather than take up arms. Terror induced order and was enough in itself to avoid conflict and bloodshed. Even during and after the Horus Heresy the Night Lords kept true to their vision of an Imperium of man untainted by hypocrisy, religious fanaticism and superstition. However this did not last, for ever since the assassination of the Night Lord’s primarch Konrad Curze, the legion has dissolved into madness and nihilism, finding no goal or purpose to fight for save the pursuit of fear and sadism in itself. The use of terror has now become the goal of the legion and thus has bred its own war logic. The legion that once despised fanaticism of all kinds is now commanded by a Demon Prince named Acerbus and who openly dedicates himself and his followers to the service of the chaos gods.

The Night Lord’s primarch knew the legion was flawed, that there were many who would not have the willpower to distinguish between the use and pursuit of terror. Thus Konrad Curze chose the Night Lord with greatest willpower resolve and vision Zso Sahaal as his heir before he let the imperial assassin kill him. Unfortunately for the legion Zso Sahaal was trapped in stasis for 10,000 years and thus unable to avert the legion from its downfall. Captain Raziel was one of the few in the legion that understood the doctrines of the Night Haunter and had the strength to resist the slide into madness and sadism. Only a captain though and outnumbered by officers and marines infatuated with sowing fear and suffering amongst their victims he could only keep silent and followed the orders of the demon prince Acerbus for ten thousand years as his legion deteriorated, his undying hatred of the imperium the only thing keeping him from despair.

As the legion settled within the Eye of Terror, Captain Raziel was able to build up strength and reputation in the legion leading countless successful raids on imperial shipping and defeating imperial guard and space marine forces around the Cadian gate on several occasions. His command of marines increased yet his victories were always unappreciated by the legion who preferred launching genocidal attacks on hive worlds to facing formidable opponents. Raziel never felt the satisfaction of his chaos crazed brothers at these minor victories knowing full well that in the grand scheme of things they amounted to little and would never be able to crush the imperium.

Depression from this futility and the effects of prolonged exposure to the warp began to fray his mind over the centuries. Raziel would enter long trances in the timeless existence of the Eye of Terror totally isolated in his stronghold chambers from the rest of his army. During one such trance he fell into a long coma and when he awoke found his body had warped so that vampiric wings emerged from his spine. Increasingly he felt a predatory lust for blood and to stalk and he knew that despite his endurance the exposure to the warp was breaking down his resistance to the flaw in his gene-seed and that soon he would become indistinguishable from the others in his legion. It was fortunate for what humanity was left in Raziel that soon after his wings evolved a message was detected in the warp of the return of Zso Sahaal on the distant hive world of Equixus. The legion departed to the world and upon arriving Acerbus ordered the Night Lords to attack the undefened hive world. No one was spared. Acerbus greeted Zso Sahaal who was disgusted and horrified by the legions descent into depravity and accused of Acerbus of betraying everything their primarch stood for. Acerbus merely laughed at Sahaal and tried to kill him to officially become the heir to Konrad Cruze but Sahaal escaped his attack and fled the planet.

Raziel witnessed this encounter and realised that in Zso Sahaal there was still hope for his legion to redeem itself from the clutches of chaos. He quietly left the council of the Night Lord commanders that followed the success of the Equixus genocide and quickly gathered his company. Raziel briefly considered trying to overthrow Acerbus and restoring the legion’s command to Sahaal but was smart enough to realise his powerbase was small and weak and that he would could not solely kill Acerbus unaided. He spoke to his officers about the need for the legion to revert back to the teachings of their Primarch and the need to fight the imperium rather than preying upon the weak inconsequential civilian targets that the legion had become fixiated with. The vast majority of his aspiring champions and sorcerers agreed and renounced their allegiance to Acerbus and swore it to Sahaal and Raziel instead. Those few that didn’t were quickly killed by their brothers hands. With his small warband Raziel fled Equixus before the remaining Night lords became aware of his actions.

Raziel knew Acerbus would come after him and so he ordered his men to sabotage the engines of the Night Lord’s fleet before leaving. Even with this act though Raziel knew he wasn’t safe from Acerbus and realised the need to get as far away from the Night Lords lair in the Eye of Terror. He also knew that if the legion were to free itself of the taint of chaos proximity to the warp would make this impossible.

Therefore Raziel ordered his fleet to set a course eastward. As the legion ventured towards the eastern fringes they came across rumours from captured traders that the Rim world planet Typhon in the Zadoc subsector, Aleph Sector had once been occupied by a Night Lord warband. Hoping to add what remained of the Night Lords to his command, Raziel landed on Typhon and decided that the planet was sufficiently placed to establish a base for the empire he envisaged to create.

Tyndareous: Chaos defeat “alliance”

The Imperial authorities were alarmed by the sudden re-appearance of the Night Lords, and attempted to keep the information secret, denying Bothorion any immediate aid. Their plan to cover up the Chaos incursion however was about to come unstuck.

Zadoc had always had trouble with the small outpost of Tyndareous, not least because they had, at some point, expressed interest in joining the UFP. An Imperial Battlecruiser in orbit over the capital, Slade and a swift change of ruler had silenced such heretical thoughts, but once the Imperial presence had been removed the Tyndarians were once again back to their old ways. They even began trading with the Tau. Unwilling to crusade against a reasonably profitable minor outpost of half a million, high command on Zadoc turned an exasperated blind eye.T

Then on 0706.008M42 an unwelcome communication arrived from the troublesome colony. According to the governor, Chaos forces had landed on the planet and were ransacking outlying manufacturing facilities, and loading their precious cargo onto their own ships.

This incursion, coupled with the recent sighting, was too much for the Imperium to ignore. Fortunately the Illustrious was not the only Imperial capital ship in the shadow worlds. Immediately, Redoubtable was dispatched, with a regiment of Librian Grenadiers, to the beleaguered planet.

Tyndareous however had not expected the Imperium to react so quickly, and had also appealed to their erstwhile allies the Tau. Just like the Imperium, the Tau were appalled at the Chaos forces sullying a promising ally, and sent a small task force to aid their friends. Elan Ro, the naive veteran of Melberg, was put in command.

Both forces arrived in the system at the same time, and only some level-headedness on the part of Captain Wilks on the Redoubtable prevented a terrible firefight.
Risking the wrath of the Commisariat the leaders of the Imperial task force agreed to meet with the Tau and agree terms of “co-operation”. Realising the greater threat lay with the Chaos forces on the planet a peace accord was agreed for the time being.

Elan Ro and his counterpart, Colonel Spiggot, deployed their forces around the capital before moving in force towards the area where the Chaos forces were last sighted. Upon arriving at the location intelligence reported Night Lords as well as units identified as belonging to the Death Guard. It was worse than the Imperial commanders had feared.

Elan Ro and Colonel Spiggot immediately threw themselves at the traitor legions with venom, but the Tau were over confident and overly aggressive. Unused to the robustness of Chaos Marines, Elan Ro’s fire warriors met an unfortunate end when they were assaulted by the Night Lords. The Dread Legion meanwhile counter attacked, sending their troops into battle carried in Rhinos and a Land Raider.

Their assault slammed into the Imperial lines, which barely held. In the end it was Spiggot’s tanks who prevented a massacre, cutting down the Marine forces when they left the shelter of the manufactorium.

The Tau too learned fast, using their skimmers to hem the Chaos forces in, and where the Dread Legion had attacked, though the fighting was bloody and violent, the Chaos Marines took heavy casualties, and they could not maintain their momentum. After a day of heavy fighting the Chaos forces had been forced back into the Manufactory complex, but as this had been a Tau/Imperial attack, the assault had been a failure. After another day and night with the Tau and Imperial forces looking on the traitor Marines suddenly left, their mysterious motives apparently fulfilled. Now all that had to be resolved was the Tau and Imperial presence on Tyndareous. Something would have to be done...

Bothorion: Night Lords raid

While the Tyranids were massacring the Orks they found the greenskins were not the only force on the planet. Much to the dismay of Imperial intelligence the Night Lords, thought to be destroyed after the battles for Aleph 4 some four years ago, made their presence felt in the Shadow Worlds. Neither Imperial intelligence nor the Tyranids knew why they had come to Bothorion, and the Tyranids certainly didn’t care.

While the Chaos force, small and compact, was conducting what appeared to be a search of an old abandoned human facility, the Tyranids attacked. Wave after wave of small gaunt creatures and genestealers charged towards the Chaos Marines, who had set up defensive positions in the ruins of the compound.

If the Chaos Marines were at all disturbed by the hordes of charging aliens, or the lumbering monstrous Carnifices, it wasn’t apparent. The Night Lords poured fire into the mass of aliens until they were within striking distance, then they pounced in a violent and crushing counter-assault.

Shocked by the violence of the counter-punch the Tyranids, who had lost almost all their initial assault wave, didn’t press the issue and allowed the Night Lords to complete their business. This they did before departing, their unknown mission apparently complete.

In the small Imperial settlement on the world the local authorities sent messages to the Imperial high command on Zadoc, begging them for aid. They had seen Orks and Night Lord Chaos Marines land on their planet without Imperial response, and it was becoming clear there was a significant Tyranid infestation. The small population of Bothorion awaited the response.

Bothorion: Remaining Orks massacred

While the Orks on Danelloth were inching towards victory, Nazghat’s forces on Bothorion fared far worse as the Tyranids, the vanguard of Hive Fleet Megalodon, launched themselves at the new biomass which had landed on a world which they intended for themselves.

The Tyranids moved in during the night and assaulted the Ork base on the planet, massacring them. Very few if any were able to get off the world before their base was overrun. The remaining survivors fled into the forests and hills, trying to avoid becoming more genetic material for the Hive Fleets.

Danelloth: Nazghat takes Spaceport

While the Dark Angels were consolidating their position the Imperial Guard were trying their best to work out just how they were going to exploit the Marines’ attack. With just three thousand battle ready soldiers and only half their fighting vehicles, the Librians were far from secure. The Ork warboss took the opportunity to exploit their weakness.

Nazghat launched a fresh assault on the spaceport, this time from the south, through the Librian chief supply depot. The battle began with a swarm of Orks concentrated around the vital supply dump. The Stormtroopers guarding the dump fired at the greenskins as long as they could before falling back when assaulted by the savage aliens.

Reserve units came quickly, with Hellhound tanks and Leman Russ causing destruction in the ORk ranks, but still they came on. The Sentinels ordered to support the defence of the depot were woeful in their shooting and badly handled. A duel between four Imperial walkers and the Ork machines known as Killa-Kans went badly, with all four lost with just one Ork machine knocked out.

Ork bikers were crucial in the attack, surviving the attention of Hellhound tanks and outflanking the Imperial positions. Their reckless assault forced the Imperial Commander to concentrate on them, allowing Ork foot troops to move into the depot.

Casualties were high on both sides but the Imperial forces lost their positions and were forced to withdraw. This made the spaceport untenable and the Imperial Guard abandoned it, for the moment, moving into the densely packed terrain of the Hab district.

With the loss of the spaceport the Imperial position on Denelloth became difficult, and Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart signalled that more forces would need t be sent to the world, or it would be lost to the green tide. The carrier Illustrious immediately began the journey in away from the planet to collect more troops. For now Lethbridge-Stewarts men were on their own.

Danelloth: Librians hold the spaceport

On 3005.008M42 Nazghat threw his main force against the defenders of the Danelloth spaceport. Some four and a half thousand Librian troopers faced over one hundred thousand Orks who attacked recklessly and violently.Nazghat was there in person, leading the charge.

The spaceport suffered horrendous damage with 70% of the port infrastructure destroyed in the heavy fighting. The battle was bloody, but the Librians gave ground where they could, and fought to the last man where they could not. Despite wave after wave of massed infantry attacks the Orks quickly lost much of their anti-tank equipment meaning the highly mechanised Librian forces retained enough Leman Russ battle tanks and Hellhound flame-tanks to keep the Orks from breaking through.

By nightfall the Orks’ attacks were becoming sporadic and it was clear that Nazghat's attack to take the space port had failed. Estimates put the casualties at some 15-20,000 Orks, and bodies and broken equipment littered the ruined streets of the port.

The Imperial losses were lower, but also heavy. Some 4,500 Librians had been killed or wounded in the 12th Infantry, effectively halving the regiment in one battle. They had also lost 60% of their tanks and artillery pieces but had held on. Over 80% of the Ork vehicles had been wrecked.

After the battle the Librians under Brigadier Sir Alastair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart were relieved to get some valuable rest, as their positions were taken up by the Librian 14th regiment, which had been held largely in reserve. Meanwhile the authorities on Denelloth pleaded for more troops. Despite clinging on to their landing zone, the Orks still held much of the planet.

Danelloth: Dark Angels breakout

With the landing fields safe and the Ork push halted Captain Angelus seized the initiative and ordered Operation Cerberus, with the aim of blitzing a hole through the Ork defences. Landing at the primary air fields in their thunderhawk gunships the sight of immaculate, green armoured warriors marching with rigid martial perfection down the boarding ramps inspired awe and resentment amongst the watching Imperial Guardsmen in equal measure. When it became apparent that just 30 marines would take part in the mechanised assault the theatre commander reportedly exploded, throwing a comms device at one of his aids in a fit of fury. Nevertheless, a company of mechanised infantry were ordered ready to exploit any break through.

With perfect timing the Strike Cruiser Dark Dominion opened fire from low orbit, annihilating areas of the Orks extensive defence network and blasting greenskins out of their fox holes. Before they could recover elements of the Dark Angels 1st Company, the infamous Deathwing, teleported into the midst of the Ork lines with one aim in mind: the assassination of the Ork Warboss! In a blizzard of high explosive bolter rounds and fierce close quarter fighting they cut down the warbosses body guard and near fatally wounded the Warboss before the last heroic terminator was incapacitated.But the distraction had worked- with minimal casualties the primary mechanised assault had smashed through the defence lines, killing all the defenders with accurate bolter fire and rains of promethium warheads. The crippled warboss hardly had time to raise his weapons before he was cut down by the assault marines dropping into his position.

But the canny Nazghull had not been idle. The arrival of extensive Ork reinforcements equipped with heavy weaponry blunted the Dark Angels attack.With little long ranged support with which to reply and much open ground tocover the assault began to take significant casualties. Recognising that no further gains could be made, Captain Angelus ordered his force to consolidate their position within the mining settlement and await relief by the Librian mechanised units. The first defensive line had been broken but the assault was only a limited success. A further attack would be needed to break the Orks!

Invincible Class Fast Battleship

Bothorion: Orks hold Tyranid menace

While the Imperium was reeling from Ork assaults on Danelloth the Orks were finding their own problems in the neighbouring system of Bothorion. The greenskins had landed on Bothorion largely by chance, but once there realised the strategic advantage they would gain if they established a base on the world.

Bothorion. a lush wet world, is largely uninhabited, though much of the world bears the ruins of a once prosperous Imperial society before the appalling loss of the world several milenia ago. Caught in a voracious warp storm the planet was rediscovered devoid of intelligent life upon its rediscovery and many now consider the world "haunted".

The Orks believed no such thing, but following their landing in the wide overgrown expanses, they found it did harbour unexpected beasts. Tyranids. Clearly the lead element of Hive Fleet Triton which had ravaged Libria V had now reached the Mabb Nebula. The Orks managed to hold on to their landing zone following wave after wave of alien attack, but were unable to pursue and hunt down the creatures in the vast forests of the northern hemisphere of Bothorion. The human workers on the planet, not usually ones to favour Imperial visits, urgently contacted the sector capital, informing the high command that not one but two alien invaders had been sighted on their world.

Danelloth: Imperium in retreat

Following the Librian defence of Danelloth's main spaceport and the marginally successful mission by the Dark Angels, Imperial intelligence determined that the Ork strength on the planet was stronger than originally anticipated. Unfortunately the subsequent actions of two unrelated military organisations seriously jepoardised Lethbridge-Stewarts men on the ground.

First, Inquisition forces landed on the planet and launched their own assault on the Orks, without consulting with the Imperial commander, following their own agenda. The assault became a massacres, with the Orks taking the opportunity to move several miles closer to the planet's main spaceport after driving off what remained of the Inquisition forces.

This action undoubtedly stirred up the Orks, and greenskin reinforcements poured onto the planet days later, dropping from their crudely constructed "Roks", evading the small Imperial fleet in the system.

The Dark Angels reacted to this growing threat by throwing their weight against the Orks on Danelloth for the second time. The reinforcments were not of Nazghat's waagh, and Imperial speculation suggested the heightened violence on the planet had simply attracted more Orks in the vicinity to join the latest action. Lethbridge-Stewart contacted his superiors, warning that if the pattern continued, they would have awoken a hornets nest, and a new Waagh would fall upon the Zadoc subsector.

The Librian commander's concerns were taken as alarmist, and the Dark Angels pursued with their attack. In a bloody encounter the Orks managed to gain the upper hand, though fortune played a major part. Even so the 4th company were obliged to withdraw and several thousand Orks (some estimated as many a a hundred thousand) clustered around the Imperial perimeter, tightening the noose on Danelloth spaceport.

Zadoc Subsector Activity

Admiral Thok repelled at Rhesius

Admiral Jellicoe knew that the warp rift at Rhesius, quasi-stable, was strategically vital to the defence of Caitlen station and the Librian warp run. He knew that any new offensive by the forces of Chaos would likely start there, so stationed a fleet of four cruisers and a number of defence monitors around the most distant planet, Simius.

The ringed planet therefore played host to a battlegroup consisting of two dominator class vessels, Black Prince and Warrior, supported by the carriers Illustrious and Intrepid. These ships remained on station, but were at risk of being caught unawares, the warp rift hindering sensor and psychic sweeps, potentially allowing a surprise attack by enemy forces. This is precisely what happened.

Admiral Thok managed to slip four cruisers, including the heavy Styx class Hand Of Loki, into the system without the Imperial battlegroup detecting them. When they began their attack run all but Black Prince quickly reacted to the attack, but as the Chaos fleet split up the Warrior found itself in a one-sided firefight with the Hand of Loki and another cruiser, while the other two Chaos ships were attacked by the carriers Illustrious and Intrepid. Warrior, crippled, soon disengaged, and the main Chaos force continued their attack, catching Black Prince on the far side of the planet Simius.

Four Iconoclast cruisers also launched a suicidal attack on the Intrepid, throwing caution to the wind and using the warp rift to jump into the space between the planet Simius and its rings. There, after causing minor damage to Intrepid the escort vessels were blown to pieces by Black Prince and the attendant system ships. Intrepid then moved off to engage two Chaos ships, along with her larger carrier consort Illustrious.

The Chaos cruisers Nebelung and Wyrmfire, the latter having been crippled early on from a lucky nova cannon shot, found themselves outgunned and outfought by the Imperial carriers. Soon the Nebelung exploded allowing Wyrmfire to drift away. Now the Imperial carriers tried desperately to aid their comrades aboard Black Prince who were coming under a sustained and brutal attack from the main Chaos battle force.

Fortunately for the Imperium the attack craft launched from Hand of Loki were clearly inexperienced, causing little damage. In the one-sided engagement the Black Prince was eventually reduced to a hulk, but not before the Syx class Chaos ship exploded in dramatic fashion.

Brunhilde, the last remaining Chaos vessel then made a last ditch charge against the Imperial carriers, quite to the bafflement of Captain McManners on Illustrious. The attack failed, Brunhilde being reduced to a wreck and then boarded by Imperial stormtroopers. Most of the crew were dead and the prize was taken in tow. Wyrmfire was never found.

The attack was a setback for Admiral Thok, who flew into a rage when he heard that three more of his cruisers had been destroyed or captured and a fourth was missing. The Imperium had lost Black Prince temporarily, but she would be refitted, probably along with Brunhilde at Caitlen station. In the long run the battle would be a net gain for Admiral Jellicoe.

Imperial Forces repel Nazghat

With Warlord Nazghat building up massive Ork forces on Danelloth the Imperium had to act. A week after the Orks had landed on the planet the Imperial fleet arrived. The carrier Illustrious escorted the Librian 14th and Librian 12th Grenadiers, some 20,000 men, travelling in two massive troop transports, into the heart of the Danelloth system.

The troops disembarked and made a defensive perimeter around the capital, a group of larger mining facilities clustered around the main spaceport with their attendant commercial districts and hab zones. The city, merely named “Danelloth” by the inhabitants became a fortress.

The Imperial commander in charge was Brigadier Sir Alastair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, who soon found that the Orks seemed unwilling to attack such a fortified position. His army needed to deal with the threat quickly, so he ordered the Librian 12th out to Mining Complex PKS-112 to investigate reports of a large Ork force. He was not disappointed. The Orks, under a dangerous Warlord, possibly one of Nazghat’s closest subordinates, attacked the Librians in the ruins of the old mining complex next to the current facility.

Mines on Danelloth were abandoned to ruin once their ore has run out, so the Orks had plenty of rubble stretching for miles to hide in. The Ork attack was ferocious but the greenskin infantry suffered badly at the hands of the Imperial Hellhounds and Leman Russ, with hundreds burned alive or blown to bits by high explosive shells. Many of their comrades made a run for it away from the battlefield, but the Warlord and his retinue were able to wreak revenge before abandoning the battle, destroying a number of Imperial tanks in close combat.

The victory however was solid enough, and Lethbridge-Stewart was able to report that mining complex PKS-113 had been cleared of Ork infestation. He then reported the actions of the Ork Warlord, who the Dark Angels decided to assassinate. The Dark Angels merely submitted the following short communiqué:

+++Intelligence from Imperial Command falsely indicated that the landing sight chosen for the Danelloth intervention was clear. Soon after disembarking from their Thunderhawks the Dark Angel's perimeter was attacked by massive Ork forces that had been hiding in the nearby ruins. Advanced scouts called in elements of the 1st company the halt the green tide and buy time for Captain Angelus to bring up his forces and strike directly at the Ork Warboss. Casualties were high with many battle brothers slain or crippled. These brothers will be moved into command positions within the fleet and brothers from the10th drafted in to replace them.+++

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart was irritated in the extreme by the Dark Angels’ comments. He felt in no way responsible for the Dark Angels’ inability to recognise a potential threat. At the time of his report the area had been clear of Orks, it was not his fault they had returned. Even so the Brigadier was far too junior an officer to make any kind of formal complaint.

Zadoc subsector - Nazghat arrives on Danelloth

The first action in the Shadow worlds in 008M42 fell upon the small world of Danelloth. Somehow they had managed to evade Jellicoe’s fleet so escaped the same fate as their comrades in the Mabb Nebula, and a large force of greenskins deployed on the far side of the planet.

Their landing however did not go un-noticed and before long they found themselves under attack from a Necron horde, presumably woken into action by the Orls’ arrival. On the far side of the planet from the human colony,the sighting of the Necrons caused quite a stir amongst the population, and they were not relieved to find out that the high-tech aliens had been crushed utterly by Nazghat’s waagh!

The colonists now waited, wondering what the Ork Warlord would do next.Meanwhile the Imperium became increasingly concerned that the colonists would agree an alliance with Nutbasher, making it an ideal base of forward operations. Hastily, a force was prepared to remove the greenskin threat.

Zadoc subsector - Coronus: Necrons defeated by Dark Angels

With the sighting of Necrons on Coronus the Dark Angels unexpectedly moved in to land a sizeable force on Coronus. Almost a company and its attendant fleet arrived in system without warning and immediately quarantined a large area in the southern hemisphere of the planet. The local populace did not argue.

The Dark Angels then began a systematic search of the area while the locals pledged, rather insincerely, their renewed faith in the Emperor and his servants. Then, after several hours the space marine chapter came under heavy fire from a Necron force. This was what the Dark Angels had been looking for.

After a brief but devastating firefight the Necrons were destroyed or phased out, leaving the Marines in control of the field. With that, the commander declared the planet “clean” and had broken orbit before the end of the day! Many of the inhabitants didn’t know what to make of the day’s events, whether to be appalled at the sudden and unannounced arrival of the“Angels of Death”, or the fact that the dreaded Necrons had been on their world…

Melberg - Dark Angels Escape

The first the Tau authorities knew of the Dark Angels attempted rescue mission was the detection of a strike cruiser dropping out of warp dangerously close to the planet. Immediately the fleet was ordered to intercept so the Dark Angels knew they had to work fast. The chapter had dropped the strike cruiser out of the warp as close as they could to the planet. The intention, to extract the remaining space marines from the planet and leave it to its fate. The chapter knew that while the world was now excommunicate traitoris, greater threats lurked in the Zadoc subsector, and the time and place to make a stand against the Tau was not on Melberg in 008M42.

The Dark Angels struck quickly by Thunderhawk on the northern shores of Terris Kingdom near to the border with Veraconia. At first the Tau were taken by surprise, shocked by the ferocity and suddenness of the attack and fell back. Then it became clear the air bases cut into the rocky ground of the northern peninsular were the target, and Tau resistance stiffened. The Dark Angels 4th company began to sustain heavy casualties, but their momentum was enough to carry them into three of the important air bases along the coast.

Hundreds of Tau aircraft were destroyed by the lightning raids while many more were evacuated to safer bases further south. This was the Dark Angels’ plan. Now that the Tau air caste had fled from the space marine ground attack the second phase of the operation could begin. Free from air attack thunderhawks quickly ferried Astartes men and equipment to the waiting strike cruiser while the captain of the vessel nervously watched the closing Tau fleet.

Seventeen hours after the beginning operation the 4th company broke off their engagement and extracted the survivors from the action. Casualties had been heavy, but the Tau’s had been far worse. Additionally, the casualties were far less than the amount of troops and equipment evacuated from Veraconia. Forces which could now be rapidly redeployed against the growing threat further north.

With the Dark Angels gone the Tau could at last start discussing peace terms without the threat of Astartes reprisals, but Sunstrike knew he had missed an opportunity to seriously reduce the combat effectiveness of his most implacable enemy. The Dark Angels had escaped and would no doubt return to face his forces again in the future.

The Zadoc Subsector

The Subsector
The Zadoc subsector in 008M42 was the key link in the entire sector to the rest of the Imperium. Since the loss of the Aleph subsector to the rebel UFP, the Zadoc subsector now became the very border between the Empire of Mankind and the ever growing Tau Empire.The subsector itself consisted of six major planetary systems ruled nominally from the capital Zadoc. Libria, the most populous system was recovering from a tyranid invasion,and Tyranteous and the Sisters (Alphe and Betor) were sparsely populated Agri-Worlds. Zadoc and Tarsis Major were the two most important worlds, heavily defended and protected by the substantial Zadoc subsector fleet.

These were not the only worlds, just the most important. Off the major space lanes lay many more worlds, some Imperial, some neutral and others alien or unexplored. The centre of the subsector harboured the large expanse of space covered by the Mabb Nebula, where Forts Aerin and Sparcos stood guard against Ork forrays from Kallack. Deeper into the nebula Imperial agents knew lay other more hazardous threats, including the Eldar and Necrons.

Hubward of the subsector lay the Perseus Deeps, a lawless area of space. Grimlock, on the edge of this wilderness, had long since fallen from the Emperor's light, and Chaos raids were common. The key link in the chain of defences was Caitlen station, a vast and heavily defended system of space stations and shipyards. It was here that the subsector fleet spent much of its time.

Two areas of smaller planets held the key to the subsector. Towards the galactic core the Rim world, on the edge of the Perseus Deeps, mainly neutral worlds or small outposts, provided an ideal base to launch a crusade either into the Deeps or the other way, into the core of Imperial territory. The Shadow worlds, a similar set of small outposts and mining ventures, lay on the edges of the Mabb nebula, and would always be on the front line of any escalation of hostilities.

Motivations
In mid-008M42 the various factions in the Aleph sector were not strong enough to launch any campaign against each sides' main worlds. Melberg had drained the Imperium and the Tau, while the very lack of Eldar numbers meant conquest of an Imperial world was simply out of the question. Instead each side sought to gain influence, through diplomacy or terror, over the Rim and Shadow worlds, to build up their forces for the next phase of operations.

The Tau favoured separate approaches, led by the water caste, but backed up by the might of the fire caste. Elan Ro was sent into the Mabb nebula, while Shadowstrike headed for the Rim worlds. The Tau hoped to win over the worlds in the Zadoc subsector in order to isolate, and then acquire the major worlds. However, they were under no illusion that this would be easy, but after Melberg an all out shooting war with the Imperium was unthinkable.

The Dark Angels also headed into the Shadow worlds, investigating reports of Necron and alien activity, as well as following their own mysterious agenda. The Imperium as a whole mainly acted through the Inquisition, who were determined to put a stop to the Tau encroachment on Imperial territory, as well as rooting out backsliding and laxity on the part of the Imperium's forces.

The mad Chaos Admiral Thok also intended to make his mark, and his ambitions turned to the Rim Worlds, with the final intention of taking Caitlen station and the valuable shipyards. From there he could gather enough support to launch an attack on his old enemies... Whoever they were.

The Eldar meanwhile were disturbed by the idea that the myriad aliens of the sector should be encroaching on their realm. The Mabb Nebula shielded a number of exodite worlds which they did not want discovered. In addition the nebula contained several Necron Tomb worlds, and the Eldar were convinced that the stupid blundering races infesting the area would no doubt wake them up. In the Perseus Deeps the Eldar were also concerned with the actions of Grand Admiral Thok, someone they would even ally themselves to the Imperium if that meant stopping his insane antics.

And then there were the Orks. For to long the Vork Ork Empire had been left in relative peace. Now like a plague or infection the Orks had multiplied so that their Warlords now had to look outside their borders for new conquest. Ork raids increased and it was only a matter of time before events escalated into a full blown Waagh! The Ork Warlord Nutbasher began his crusade on the very fringes of the Mabb nebula, clearly intending to break the stranglehold on the Ork world of Kellack.

Finally, though beaten and fragmented, the Tyranid Hive fleets moved steadily north east, and from their attack on Libria the Imperium reasoned that they would next fall upon the Rim Worlds. New Sparta and Rhesius would feel their presence first, and to protect them the Imperium sent out patrols, but could not locate the Hive fleets in deep space, much to the frustration of Admiral Jellicoe.

New Campaign Open

Campaign system detailed here:

http://wargamessoc.19.forumer.com/viewtopic.php?t=7&start=45