Week 3 Update

[IncubiLord]

Tiorl 7

Astartes and inquisitorial forces launched several probing attacks on the massive settlement known as Orkopolis this week.

While they met with as a good deal of resistance, the Imperial forces made several advances, cutting off vital power sources and communications in the southwestern portion of the megacity – only to learn that Ork supply lines had not been bringing new acquisitions to this area. Rumors persist that the barbaric Xenos are building something big with the parts brought in.

Interrogation of prisoners indicates that the supplies were likely brought to the richest portion of the megacity, an area known to the locals as Dakkatown which coincides with the scorched-earth glyph visible from orbit. The interrogation teams also found some of their prisoners to be in the possession of Dacian Heresy tomes, which the ignorant greenskins offered to their captors as proof that the Holy Emperor is, as the captives put it, “a weedy git.” The perpetrators of this blasphemy were properly executed.

As Astartes and inquisitorial forces set off on their missions, the defenders of the Celestine Peaks sealed off their fortress-cities and, in doing so, failed to defend the outer reaches of the continent from attack. What few Space Marines guarded the territory surrounding the fortified mountains found themselves terribly outclassed.

Necrons attacked a supply depot, oddly removing a good deal of raw materials before disappearing as mysteriously as they had arrived. So complete was the massacre that it is feared they had infiltrated the position somehow. Investigation has begun.

Meanwhile, Tyranid organisms rose from the sea to reinforce the battered swarms from the earlier landing. It can only be assumed that these are the contents of mycetic spores which landed on the seabed long ago and are now arriving on land at the Hive Minds command.

The restored swarm ravaged the Eldar upon the island, ambushing a warband who had been attempting to gather information on the displacement of Xenos within the tunnels beneath them by use of the very tunnels they had come to investigate. Elsewhere, a Genestealer Cult seems to have corrupted those Guardsmen who did not retreat into the mountains, eliminating those who would have helped Astartes forces stave off the alien horde.

In the depths of the Squiggy Wilds, the Drowning Hills have seen no combat since the Xenos attacks last week, and little is known of what the forces of the Dark Gods might be up to there…

The Plucked Eye (Hulk) -

The forces of Dark Gods have revealed themselves now, greatly massed in the area surrounding the Chaos Woods.

Even as Inquisitorial forces explored this daemonic forest and eliminated those cultists they encountered, corrupt Astartes forces moved into the great temple nearby, clearing it of those loyal to the Emperor who had entered the outer walls. What will happen when these new forces meet with those who have lived upon this vessel for unknown years within the Warp is a matter of speculation, but no signs of fighting have issued forth. It is indeed an ill omen.

Elsewhere, along the Lazaras Belt, the tainted Astartes were unable to dislodge Necron forces, but were likewise not destroyed. The Necrons, for their part, took to hunting the surviving Tau in their domain, and destroying the larger remnants of the crashed enemy ship there. It is difficult to be certain, but surveillance indicates that the local forces and those of the newly-arrived are operating in tandem now.

Further along the Lazaras Belt, near the Glasswind Heights, the long reach of Eldar territoriality was revealed as they destroyed an Imperial landing site to protect their kin in the mountains close by.

Similar attacks upon the landing site within the Glasswind Heights themselves were unsuccessful, however, only serving to prevent the entrenched Astartes from exploring their surroundings instead of driving them off or slaying them. This could be due to the majority of Eldar forces moving into the tunnels, clearing Tyranids as they went, and the Dark Eldar forces upon the surface focusing upon ecently-arrived Imperial Guard forces.

At this point it seems clear that the ancient Eldar are far within the mountain’s cave-system, no doubt pursuing their own mysterious agendas.

[IncubiLord]

Chaos

As agents of the Black hand entered the temple proper, they encountered many renegades and traitors. The massive temple was not as deserted as it outwardly appeared.

Individual shrines to the Great Four and a small shrine dedicated specifically to the daemon T'Kara were to be found, as were small training areas and dwellings. Worshippers need never leave this place, and it was likely that many had not in quite some time.

As they approached the areas of worship, an eyeless priest hurried from the shrine of T'Kara towards them. "Greetings, Masters of Siege. My master tells me that you should be made welcome. How may an old man aid your cause?"

Dark Eldar

While Uzqara Seerbane and the other members of the Dark Court move deeper into the crystal ship beneath the Glasswind Heights, Ydonar Balj has yet to be seen. They have begun to assess which systems are repairable and work will soon commence. The craftworlders who have now reached the ship will have to be confronted soon, and the results of that encounter will weigh heavily upon the cost of taking the ship, but that is to be expected.

Meanwhile, a sinister rumor has begun. It is whispered that Ydonar has not been sighted because of a long and difficult negotiation with the Khornate warlord Ghaath.. If so, the agreement between them could prove disastrous for Eldar of any type within the mountains’ cave system.

Eldar

Huthero the War-rider looked about the tactical map.

This was a map in only the simplest terms, it was nothing like the "maps" used by the mon-keigh. It carried up to date, to the second, information on the whole sector, particularly this system. Several Farseers were predicting and skeining what could happen next, so the map could jump to the future, up to a century. It had tactical information from every unit in the field, hardwired into the wraith bone panel that sat before him. He could manipulate the battle at the flip of the switch, a member of a lesser races would have felt a rush of power at this point, but not Huthero.

He was far too concentrated and stoic to let this power go to his head, he had to complete the mission above all else -even his personal safety. The Great Devourer, the Tyranid, was here. The Plucked Eye had been found. The Eldar would not be able to defeat the Great Devouror on their own, as much of a war host they had gathered, they were still no match for the untold billions of the Tyranid menace. The Eldar needed to enlist the aid of another force: the humans.

Earlier that day, Huthero had given Farseer Danar the right to contact select Space Marine and Imperial Guard units for aid. So far a large conglomeration of Imperial forces had begrudgingly ordered a cease fire with the Eldar. Some of the Imperial Guard regiments had even outright defected. Some of these armies included the 13th Legion, the Blood Dragons, the Angel's Praetoria, the 22nd Knight's Shadows, the Emperor's Shadows, the Penitent Knights, and the Sons of Mercy. The humans would be used as cannon fodder, a distraction while Huthero acquired his real goal.

Already, Fareer Danar had advanced upon the great crystal ship that lay derelict within the hulk's mass. The Eldar needed to recapture this vessel. The Farseers had visions of this vessel being used by the humans as a weapon to destroy craftworlds – not to mention the accompanying Eldar. This must not be allowed.

Warhost Azar had also moved in on the hulk. Huthero could see their forces moving on the map, they had been ordered to secure the Necron Structures in an attempt to destroy them. The Necrons in this sector hadn't been phasing out, and Huthero honestly didn't want to know why. He just wanted to be rid of the eternal enemy, the Necrontyr. Warhost Azar had been accomplishing this goal wonderfully. Some forces of a Space Marine chapter however, stabbed the Eldar in the back and broke their treaty, but Azartoka and his forces had made short work of the traitorous humans. These marines were hunted down and driven off the hulk, such was the fury of Azartoka.

Huthero could now see that Farseer Danar had entered the great crystal ship; what wonders lay inside, Huthero didn't know yet. But, if Danar was successful he would know soon, very soon. And after that the full fury of the Eldar would be unleashed upon the Great Devourer and the lesser races.

Imperial

+++To: Inquisitor Lord Gavian+++
+++From: Lord General Sergetov+++
+++Location of Origin: Tiorl 7+++
+++Topic-Strategic update+++

Sir,

This is the strategic update you requested.
So far most of our efforts on the planet thus far have been concentrated on defending the Celestine Peak holdout base, but we have now begun to investigate both the Ork settlement and Eldar interest in the mountains of the drifting hulk. We have successfully defended the Peaks for now but we will need more time to strengthen our hold. We have had skirmishes with almost every major Xenos power here, and recent events have gone poorly for local Astartes.

While the situation planet-side is acceptable, the situation on the hulk is somewhat hard to determine. There appears to be no current winner in the struggle for this odd mass, and our attempts to establish a presence there have not been consistently successful. Enemies of all types rise against us in that forbidding landscape, and progress is slow.

Additionally, I fear I must bring dire circumstances to your attention. Heretical writings are turning up on the planet, books which challenge the foundation of the Imperium itself. I need not tell you the results such literature can have when allowed to reach demoralized troops in a combat situation.

We have been receiving reports of renegade Astartes fighting against us here. From the reports they have a gun-metal colored armor set with black and gold highlights which is defaced with scratches and gouges over Imperial insignia. We will endeavor to find out more about them Lord.

Until your next convenience

+++End Transmission+++

Necron

Within their meeting hall, the Council of the Dead were once more in session.

This time, the Daemonwearer spoke first. “He has repaired much on our behalf, and has not attacked despite the time past being enough for significant planning. I choose to give the benefit of doubt – he must have corroded relays or some other mechanical fault which should be repaired when possible.”

“You would.”

The Shadow Lord remained as pessimistic as ever. He had not trusted these newcomers from the beginning, and did not yet see a reason to do so. “They may simply intend to take the ships, Daemonwearer, did you consider that? We may still be scheduled for extermination, simply after we’ve helped repair their new fleet additions.”

He turned on the Tombkeeper next. While the Daemonwearer did not agree with him on many things, she had trouble disagreeing with what was coming. “And you. You have been operating without discussing your decisions with us? This plan of yours is an outrage, and that you’ve actually set it up without our approval is quite aberrant behavior. I begin to wonder if it is time that you, too, are decommissioned.”

“You’re just jealous that you didn’t think as far ahead. I don’t hold it against you young ones.”
The Tombkeeper was amused - again. It seemed to take delight in frustrating the others of the Council.

The Shadow Lord bristled at the implication. Him, young? “You’d best hope that this turns out in your favor, old fool. There will be none to protect you if it does not.”

Orks

+++Intercepted Transmission+++
+++Location: Tiorl 7, Orkopolis+++

Dis is da boss Dakkaslag an' I is tellin' you yoofs da truf! We 'as been krumpn' a lil dis week, but we is sneaky nuff dat we dont 'ave to fite! We was sneakin' round all da beakies an' da 'ummies an' dey could find ouw gitz!

We 'as been clearin' a base fo' da Zuper Gunz an dat is come long gud. My Kaptuns is com back down to da plawnt and dey is 'elpin' build da Zuper Gunz. We kapta' a couple mo' pink meks from da 'umies so dey is really 'elpin' gud. We is clearin' all da gubbinz away from da pwace we is gonna build da gunz, and we is blowin' up all dat gubbinz!

So dat was a gud fun ting, but da silvah beakies an' da sissies cam. But we kept dem 'way from da place we is workin'. Dey is so stoopid dat dey didn't 'ttack da rite place! Dey was mad bout dat shrine we blew up! Dat was da plan! If dey kome 'an try to krump us, den dey get krumpt an' dey is almost all dead now! More beakies came later an' dey still didn't get da rite plance! Silly beakies! We also fought som da 'ummie gauwd. Dey got krumpt gud an' propah by my gitz.

But 'eres dis funny ting. Dey was karrin' some black books or sometin'. Look 'ere, I kan read some da 'ummie tung, it sorta like Ork tung, but it don't make sense. So, I was tinkin' dat dis book was bout dere planz or sometin', an' if we read da planz, dan we kan krump dem betta. Not dat we would need to krump dem betta.

But look 'ere, dis book didn't 'ave a plawn. It was just silly stuffz bout dat Emperorah dude dat da beakies luv so much. It was sayin' dat dis emperorah dude was a weedy git or sometin'. Me tinks dat da emperorah is a weedy git' an' to prove to ouw boyz dat da 'ummies is weedy, I is gonna give all dese books to my gitz. If youz kan read anyfin' an' you wan't dis 'ere book to prove to da beakies dat dey is weedy, come an' talk to me.

So' dis is da plawn fo' dis week: we is gonna keep krump'n all da gitz every were. We is gonna start get ouw bitz an' start build som' fowace fwields fo da Zuper Gunz so dat we kan protect dem Zuper Gunz. We needs all da bitz dat you gitz 'ave so dat da pink meks kan build som of da fowace fwields.

So, get all you bitz un-packed an' den start prowtectin' da pink meks an' da meks so dey can build da fowarce fields!

Dakkaslag Ouwt!

+++End Intercepted Transmission++++

Tau

With no rescuers to be seen, the Tau have been left at the mercy of the other races, a fate not to be envied.
Necron forces have demolished the largest portions of their crashed ship, and what these lost creatures do now is anybody’s guess.

Tyranids

The mind-song prey had done better guarding their eggs since their first losses. The Hive Mind would have to be careful if it were to get proper use from the ones already stolen..

Many of its own creatures and a group of vanguard organisms aboard the ship-world had been slain, no longer did they call out to the Hive Mind. These deaths did not concern it, though. There was an entire world here to devour while the prey-creatures killed each other over that lifeless, poison-soaked rock.

The slave-beasts had reinforced its attack on the island, and soon the Hive Mind hoped to subvert much of the local populace. Even in this late stage of the attack, it was not too late to turn an enemy into a weapon of the Hive Mind. There was still the issue of the green prey to consider, and the Hive Mind began to contemplate the domination of the planet’s mainland…