Events 253.M42

Deathwatch recruits: A number of Astartes (presumable loyalists) have made their way to the Jericho Sector where they hope to link up with the Imperial Remnant there (like so many others they seem to think Jericho is a shining beacon of hope and faith). They've arrived in ones or twos or small groups. Some have come to honor old pledges to the Deathwatch, some seek glory, others are the last remnants of their companies or even chapters.

If you accept the new recruits, you may add up to 5 squads of Veteran Deathwatch to your Bodyguard (so they have no upkeep cost). It could have implications later on, if/when some of them find out you're all heretics and traitors. Or not; it's worked out fine thus far.

Traitors! Seven Astartes, two of them from the Old Guard that's followed Barotta since the start, and five from the First Batch recruited prior to Aurum, have turned traitor. Led by veteran Decurion Magnus, have seized a transport and fled, presumably to the Hadex Anomaly. It's currently unclear what other traitors, if any, have joined them, but it looks like some Daughters may have gone with them. The defection was swift, brutal, and silent - a good example of Astartes in action.

Remove 1 TP(BT) from the roster. Gain 10 XP.

The Pyre: Intelligence reports indicate that a Space Marine strike force (or Chaos warband) of at least 3 vessels passed through the area around Vanity, before setting course for the Anomaly or possibly Magog. The ships did broadcast no signals, and their heraldry did not match any know Astartes Chapter. 

It seems unlikely that the task force came out of the time warp. On the other hand, how did the ships get to Vanity if they didn't come from another time?

No effect. Just information at this point.

Melkior (Fortress/Unclassified World)

+++PLANETARY DATAFAX+++

Cryptic references to a Fortress World named "Melkior" have recently surfaced. According to the source, Melkior was stricken from the Roll of Worlds sometime before the Battle of Hethgard. The reason is not listed, but the planet's supposed location is: it's only a short jump from Hethgard or Eleusis.

Melkior was found to be a relatively pleasant Earth-like world with fairly decent resources. Its poisonous atmosphere is being processed by massive Mechanicus air scrubbers and will be breathable in a few generations. Meanwhile, the population is hosed in a string of domed cities.

Apparently there was some form of a viral outbreak or something in the cities, although it's unclear exactly what it was and who it infected all the cities. On orders of the Inquisition the failsafes on the dome airlocks were overridden and the people inside perished over the span of a single night.

If the domes are closed and the millions of corpses removed, Melkior can be made into a working settlement. 

Events 247.M42

+++EVENT DATAFAX+++

A time of miracles (Castobel): In the desolate wastes of Castobel, mysterious crystalline structures are growing across the land. Around these areas, plant and animal life is quickly recovering, far quicker than should be possible...

Castobel improves to Habitability to Bleak.

Events 246.M42

+++EVENT DATAFAX+++

Old forts: A number of former Fortress Worlds have decaying fortifications. These can be claimed, or scrapped entirely.

Alphos: Fort 6 (6 MT)

Calisi: Fort 6 (6 MT)

Pyrathas: Fort 8 (8 MT)

Spite: Fort 8 (8 MT)

Hethgard: Fort 10 (10MT)

Wrath: Fort 6 (6 MT)

1 action is required to strip a fortification.

The Technomancers of Credence

+++FACTION DATAFAX+++

Technomancers are tech-priest from Credence. They have a lot in common with Mechanicus tech-priests, but they are not quite the same. For one, they are more willing to use thinking machines (AI), who they control by networking human minds with machine minds. But the most striking difference is their strange amalgamation of STC and Tau technology.

Additional info unlocked by Past, Present, and Future research: It is highly likely that Tau technology evolved from Credence STC-deviations. If this is the case, the rise of Tau civilization may have been kickstarted by Central Intelligence Explorator Ships venturing beyond the Astronomican and making contact with a primitive species...

Gain 5 XP.

Events 245.M42

+++EVENT DATAFAX+++

Claiming a Forge World (Credence): The deviant forge World of Credence is ready to rejoin the greater galaxy. The Central Intelligence has recognized Barotta as the Avatar of the Machine and wishes to know how to proceed.

Option 1: Integrate Credence. Gain a Lvl 10 system. Cannot rule more than 1/2 Temporal and Zero Spiritual. Resources/Industries/Services (starting ratings 0/0/5/10/2) can be ruled normally. Also directly control military assets (in addition to the Titans and Ordinatus already claimed), such as fortifications and armies.

Option 2: Create a Vassal. Credence becomes the heart of Barotta's Mechanicum sub-domain. Gains 1/2 of Credence's income, but does not count vs. sprawl, and the garrison is paid for by the vassal. A vassal can be called upon to provide additional aid and forces in times of war (there is only war). 

Technomancers of Credence: The Central Intelligence activates 1000 Technomancers (tech-priests) that join the Jericho Sector (removes any future events caused by lack of tech-priests).

Techno-crusaders of Credence: 1 titan demi-legio (STC Reavers and Warhounds with Tau weapons) and 1 Ordinatus (Tau macro-railguns) have already joined Barotta.

The following units remain on Credence (in reserve): 1 SH Armor (Tau-human hybrid SH tank Brigade), 2 Elite Armored (Skitarii Guards, equivalent to Tau battlesuits), 2 Armored (Tau-human hybrid Leman Russ-equivalent tank Divisions), 4 Mech Inf (Skitarii with Tau guns and armor).

Escorts required: Due to the increasing size of the domain and a large number of trade routes, the current escorts are insufficient to protect the shipping lanes, should the Stigmartus or other pirates resume their raids.

Credence (Forge World, Canis Salient)

+++PLANETARY DATAFAX+++

There exists in the annals of the Jericho Reach, stories of a Forge World that were overrun by malevolent machine intelligences. All attempt to pacify it failed, so it was decreed that it would be purged from all Imperial records, lest this blemish upon the honor of the sector become known to the great Imperium. But the name survived: Credence.

Probably just one of many void-myths... to scare your kids with, or put the fear of the God-Emperor into the cog-heads. Recently, a star chart was found in the bazaars of Eleusis, claiming to show the way to Credence. A hundred like it "surface" every year, but none are real. But this one just might be - it bears the seal of Sebastian Thor, one of the Imperium's most renowned characters, and the words "Whoever brings fire and faith to the Soulless shall be bequeathed the Paradise World of Carmyn."

Turns out Credence isn't a myth, but a real place. It was probably founded around M35 by a breakaway Mechanicus cult, It's tech-priests dabbled in non-STC technology, things they had recovered while exploring the Ultima Thule, the distant parts of Ultima Segmentum, beyond the light of the God-Emperor. Their ships moved freely through the Warp without the aid of the Astronomican, using secret and forbidden technologies to interface man, machine, and the Navigators of House Fallast.

Eventually, the Adeptus Mechanicus declared the cult to be outside of acceptable norms and moved to purge it. The cults factory-hive holdfasts on Samech were destroyed, but the cult leaders had prepared for this eventuality. Their ships were scattered far and wide, beyond the reach of the Imperium. Many patrols were sent after the heretics, but no trace was ever found. it was assumed they had fled into the dark and distant corners of the galaxy. All records were purged, and the cult was forgotten.

In reality, the cult's Technomancers had long prepared for this day. Forewarned by an Avatar of the Machine, they had prepared a secret hideout right in the middle of the Jericho Sector, on the world of Credence, a system unreachable using conventional warp drives due to local Immaterium conditions.

They have remained in hiding for millennia, slowly building their base into a Forge World, and assembling skitarii and engines of war, waiting for the day when another Avatar would arrive to awaken the Central Intelligence.

It was a good day when Barotta finally revealed himself. Credence stood strong, but millennia of separation had taken its toll. Without access to outside resources, the system had been plundered of every natural resource, and only draconic recycling measures kept the factories going even at minimum capacity. But now that the greater galaxy is within reach, there is no limit to the wonders that could be forged on Credence.

The leaders of Credence are the Lord High Technomancers (quite the title), who are the key nodes in a planet-spanning computation network of tech-priest and machine intelligences known as the Central Intelligence. The CI is both a single entity and the result of the combined human-machine intelligences networked into it. According to Mars this is tech-heresy of the highest order. As are many of the other technologies of Credence, merging as they do Xenos and STC tech.

Astartes Assault Cruisers (CA)

+++VOIDSHIP DATAFAX+++

Astartes Assault Cruisers fulfill a role somewhere between a Strike Cruiser and a Battle Barge. They are larger, and better able to withstand the punishments of the line of battle, but slower and more cumbersome than their smaller brethren. They can comfortably launch two full companies worth of Astartes against any opponent, and like the CS can carry many more Space Marines if acting as a troop ferry.

Dragon-class: These ancient vessels are patterned after the Salamander's Ebon Drake, the first Assault Cruiser ever constructed. The Ebon Drake left Mars shortly before the Heresy started. It sported many systems now considered archeotech. Ships laid down after the Heresy are but pale copies.

Ravn-class: The Space Wolves have adapted the Dragon into the Ravn-class. It packs powerful battery broadsides, lances, bombardment cannons, and vast launch bays. Speed is nothing to write home about, slower than the original, but the Ravn is tougher than it has any right to be.

Astartes Strike Cruisers (CS)

The term Strike Cruiser (CS) applies to an entire type of ships - it's not just a single class. Just as Destroyer is a type of ship and the Cobra Torpedo Destroyer is a class. In this day and age, Strike Cruisers are almost exclusively used by the Astartes. They are potent warships, about the size of a Light Cruiser of the Imperial Navy. Regardless of class, they feature a heavily armored spaceframe, with ample shielding and powerful engines. 

Armament is relatively light and optimized for ship-to-ship boarding actions and planetary assaults rather than fleet battles. Strike Cruisers almost always have teleportariums, boarding torpedoes, and drop pods. Most classes also have large hangar bays, with Thunderhawks being favored.

A strike cruiser can comfortably support a full company of Astartes, with all the vehicles and support craft they might need. It's possible to cram one or two additional companies aboard, but these will then be without vehicles and support craft of their own.

+++VOIDSHIP DATAFAX+++

Scutum-class: The Scutum is perhaps the most common class of Strike Cruiser. It has much in common with the Spatha, including the bombardment cannon and launch bays, but drops lances in favor of better battery armament. Shielding is superb for a vessel this size. 

Spatha-class: The Gladius-class Attack Frigate's big brother. Its forward quarter is dominated bombardment cannon and cavernous launch bays for its large complement of Thunderhawks. It packs two forward-firing lances for ship-to-ship combat, and light batteries port and starboard. 

Vanguard-class: The Vanguard-class is a relatively uncommon variant that has been optimized for fleet combat, which can be seen as odd for a ship type never intended for this purpose. It drops the bombardment cannon altogether to pack twin lances, good battery broadsides, and excellent point-defense system. It's even more nimble than other Strike Cruisers.

Onager-class: The Onager is a rare class of Strike Cruiser. Its forward quarter is dominated by a massive Nova Cannon, a weapon more commonly found Mars-class battlecruisers. Because of the size of this weapon, the Onager has no launch bays or lances, and only a light battery armament. Like all Strike Cruisers, it's quick and agile for its size, but its shielding is sub-par.

Skill Changes (Rules)

+++RULES DATAFAX+++

Changes to some skills affect Barotta:

Common Lore: Not affected (he has no ranks, only intellect). With 4 Intellect and the Library, he'll be fine.

Forbidden Lore: Set equal to ranks in Dark Symmetry (DS is now a specialization).

Scholastic Lore: Set equal to ranks in Word of Light (WoL is now a specialization).

Techno-arcana: Not affected (he has no ranks, only intellect).

Warfare: Set equal to ranks in Astartes (Astartes is now a specialization).

Some Psy-related changes:

Psy Rating: Set equal to ranks in Arcana (Arcana is no longer part of the game).

Divination: Set equal to ranks in Dark Symmetry or Arcana, whichever is higher. Precognition using the Symmetry (or the Tarot) is now considered a psychic power.

Telepathy: Set equal to ranks in Arcana.

Action Costs (Domain Rules)

+++RULES DATAFAX+++

All actions have a base cost of 1, including but not limited to: Diplomacy, Explore, Quest, Research, and Wage War.

All actions require some effort, and effort = cost.

Actions with costs based on system/holding level are unchanged.

Sister Superior Riga of the Angelic Touch

+++CHARACTER DATAFAX+++

Dark and brooding, Sister Riga doesn't really look the part of a sweet sister of the Orders Hospitaller. Her healing touch cannot be denied, however. Nor her skill with the tools of the interrogator. Or her eagerness in other matters.

Riga would always wear white. In battle or in peace, in bed, or in the torture pit. Always white. Until the day she failed Barotta, and allowed mutation to creep into his Astartes. Then she failed to tell him the sorry state of affairs. Now she wears black to remind her of the price of failure.

She comes from the same simple origins as Karla Omega. And like her fellow Daughter has had to go above and beyond what she trained for. Perhaps the strain has been too great, or her skills not sufficient. Perhaps, after all, she's a pretty thing to look at, and a fun toy, but not more.

Primaris Kay, Duskborn Wyrd, Trained Sorceress

+++CHARACTER DATAFAX+++

Light of hair and blue of eye, fair Kay looks like the angel she is not. Born on the Feral World of Dusk in Calixis, she's a former Black Ship prisoner, freed by the Light (or Chaos reavers attacking the Imperium). Trained as a sorcerer by the Salt Witches on Queensworld (Diamantina).

Attached to Barotta early on and has followed him on all his adventures. At some point, either before or after meeting Barotta, she became a disciple of Samus and was possessed by a Daemon. She no longer has Samus' dubious blessings, as the Daemon was ultimately banished by the Banner of Terra (she also doesn't have Nurgle's rot).

She's got very few memories of her life under the Daemon's thumb, and have had to rediscover (or reinvent) herself. With unlimited access to the Ever-changing Library, her powers have grown by leaps and bounds. Truth be told, Barotta has no idea what she can or cannot do these days. Her mind is equally unreadable; those few who experience possession and live are either driven insane or hone their minds harder than adamantium - or both.

Kay has a false sanctioning brand to go with her equally fake devotional tattoos, but they are hardly needed anymore. Who would dare lay hands on the Lady next to Barotta?

Lady Adeptus Karla Omega

+++CHARACTER DATAFAX+++

Karla Omega is a Daughter of the Spiked Fist, trained in the ways of the Machine, but no true tech-priest. Due to a desperate lack of proper Mechanicum adepts, she was forced to do a lot of stuff she wasn't really qualified for. But when your Chapter takes the plunge into a warp vortex, leaving you hanging dry, what can you do?

Half woman, half machine, Karla Omega is still a passionate creature, far removed from the cold logic of the Mechanicus. She diligently explores the pleasures and pains of the flesh, while seeking to unlock the deeper mysteries of the Machine God, following paths of her own (if you wish to listen to rumors, she's seduced and tortured her way to many secrets).

In battle, she wears a unique suit of artificer armor designed and made by herself. When not dressed for battle, she favors a clinging body-suit of black, worn under flowing robes of golden mist-silk that reveal more than they conceal. Her head she leaves uncovered, to show off the pure chrome of her skull.

Aun'Ui Velk'Han Tu'Lur Tu'Kutur (Tau Ambassador)

+++CHARACTER DATAFAX+++

Tu'lur Tu'Kutur is the Tau Ethereal ambassador of the Velk'Han Sept to the Jericho Sector. His personal name means something like Great Personal Integrity and Unflinching Will, while his title can best be translated as Prelate (or possibly just Ambassador) of the Kingdom of the Broken Star-paths.

He was the one that negotiated the release of hostages on Argoth and oversaw the establishment of diplomatic relations, the Maw trade route, and the expulsion of humans from Tau-held worlds. He's currently residing on Carmyn where the embassy is located. He's accompanied Barotta on diplomatic missions several times.

He's a hard Xenos to read, both in terms of body language (aliens all look the same, don't they) and psychically (his alien mind is just full of gibberish). What you cannot understand you should never trust. On the other hand, if actions speak louder than words, he's been a lost useful connection for the Jericho Sector. So what's more important? Trust or profit?

Events 241.M42

+++EVENT DATAFAX+++

Calixian refugees (Calixis): The Tau have made contact regarding the resettlement of human refugees from the Calixis. They are fleeing the wars and chaos that's gripping that sector, and aren't affiliated with the Tau. If they can be settled close to the Warp Gate, the Tau is willing to move them there.

The game effect would be a 50% reduction in rule cost of suitable planets (Alphos, Calisi, Pyrathas etc).

Tyranid sighting (Cocijo): A Rogue Trader visiting the Federal World of Cocijo (top of the map) has sent an astropathic message containing a mental image of what looks like a small Hive Ship, or possibly a larger cruiser-type bio-ship, and several escorts approaching the planet.

Archmagos Hextrix of the Lathes

+++CHARACTER DATAFAX+++

Hextrix is a trained and anointed Magos of the Lathes, from the days before the place fell to Chaos and became corrupted. Barotta found him on a backwater planet in Calixis, and persuaded him to join him on his great quest.

He has served well - and risen high - and is by far the most important and competent of the (way too few) tech-priests serving the Jericho Sector. No wonder he commands the Mechanicus of the Sector and personally controls one of Argoth's three main hives. 

He's not above exploring dark sciences and Xenos tech, but takes a dim view of Dr. Xammeroon and her "old-fashioned and dangerous ways."

Arch-Prioress Tanith Baal

+++CHARACTER DATAFAX+++

The Arch-Prioress is an older (compared to the girls under her command at any rate) woman, stern and grey-haired (by choice, not old age). Her origin and her past are not known, but presumably, she saw service with the Daughters before there was a Coven of the Vile Huntress. Some of the others whisper that she has stood in the presence of the Prophet, and received his blessings.

With the rise of the Jericho Sector, her star is in the ascendant: of all Barotta's servants, she is the one in charge of overseeing the spread of the Word and the Will of the Prophet. She's performed admirably, save one slipup when she failed to keep the Chapter Master informed about the mutations affecting his men.

Who knows what magic she worked, what dark pacts she called upon to get out of that one...

Captain the Honorable Earl Jarex the Elder, First Minister of Commerce and Lord High Chancellor of the Guild Commerica (Vizier)

+++CHARACTER DATAFAX+++

Born on a voidship somewhere in Segmentum Obscurus, Jarex is a spacer born and bred. His true lineage is a big unknown, but by the time Barotta met him on Diamantina, he was a self-proclaimed Rogue Trader - without the Queen's Charter. 

His map to the Jericho Maw Warp gate proved most useful, and when Barotta found himself in need of a commercially inclined individual, he remembered Jarex, languishing under the Mad Queen's thumb. Truth be told, Jarex was the only trader he had really spoken to, so the shortlist was very short indeed.

Initially intended to traffic the future-past route to Vanity on his galleon, Jarex somehow ended up as the de facto head of all things commercial and trade-related. In fact, he has not visited the past even once and is unlikely to do so.

If you overlook his money-grubbing ways and lecherous attitude towards women, his constant lies and embellishments, and the childish need to award himself titles of all kinds, he's done - and is doing still - a tremendous job filling Barotta's coffers.

Dr. Lydia Xammeroon (Vizier)

+++CHARACTER DATAFAX+++

Dr. Lydia Xammeroon is a former geneering specialist turned Remembrancer. She's the grandchild of Hubert Xammeroon, the famous Remembrancer who follower the 1st Legion as they ventured into the Milky Way following the recovery of their Primarch.

By chance - or fate - she was assigned to the Night Lords fleet Barotta visited on the eve of the Heresy. And by chance - or fate - she was aboard one of the ships to cross back to M42. She was none too happy when she found out what had happened, but she took it in stride, and her entrepreneurial talents soon propelled her into a position of prominence and power.

She's a woman who believes in logic and science. She puts on a polite face and mumbles the prayers, but doesn't really believe. Many from the past do not. But her job is not to believe. It is to produce resources for the Jericho Sector. Let that be her sacrament to the Gods.

She's recently adopted a full-body cybernetic prosthesis of Tau manufacture. This hasn't sat too well with a number of people, Archmagos Hextrix included. But what can he do? His true master not only tolerates the Tau but trades with them and uses their technology for his own ends. And is it not she who fuels the forges of the Adeptus Mechanicus?

Mors Accipitres/Death Hawks (Astartes Chapter)

+++CHAPTER DATAFAX+++

The Death Hawks are known as  Mors Accipitres in High Gothic, literally Death that comes silently swooping (like a bird of prey). They are of unknown founding, probably M36, and are likely of Fated Sons stock, though no Primogenitor is listed.

In 999.M41 the Death Hawks worked with Wolf Lord Gnyrll Bluetooth's command, seeking to end the Red Corsair threat against Parenexes. Due to some failure on the Hawk's part (or so the Wolves claim - the Hawks don't comment), the Corsairs turned the tables on the Corpse-God's followers and wiped out both Astartes commands. 

The Corsairs began hunting the Hawks actively after this. By 237.M42 they had cornered the Chapter and stood poised to wipe them out. Barotta intervened psychically and had his Eldar allies lead them to safety through the Webway. Two companies were saved, led by CM Vladimir and CL Nicolay.

Astartes Celebrantinum/Celebrants (Astartes Chapter)

+++CHAPTER DATAFAX+++

The Celebrants is a Chapter of an unknown M36 Founding and unknown lineage (possibly Fated Sons descendants, but nevertheless Loyal Sons). They are the Astartes Celebrantinum in High Gothic, literally Space Marines who perform the rites (of Battle).

The Chapter served with distinction for many years, until a failure to obey lawful orders directly resulted in the loss of the Crimson Consuls Chapter to an Alpha Legion plot. After becoming aware of the consequences of their disobedience, the Celebrants struggled vainly to be rid of this black mark on their name, going too far, too often. Eventually, only a single fleet-based company-sized group under Captain Agamemnon remained.

Had not Barotta reached out, it's likely the Celebrants would have ended at some point during the current century. The Celebrants are tenacious soldiers, with a special knack for fighting Tyranids.

Events 240.M42

+++EVENT DATAFAX+++

Increase in system level (Spite): Human refugees from Tau-held worlds have been directed to Spite for the past five years to reduce the influx of settlers on Kaggeran. Abandoned manufactorum towns are slowly filling up, and city-scapes devastated by civil war are being restored to working order.

Spite +1 to level 3.

Old wounds (Spite): The influx of "Tau-lovers" threatens to upset the fragile equilibrium on Spite. The "Loyalists" fear for their continued survival. The "Tau-lovers" are feeling oppressed by the smaller "Loyalist" ruling elite. Steps should be taken, or there will be strife.

Crystal clear (Castobel): The seeded genesis crystals are responding faster and differently on Castobel. Some areas devastated by the retreating human defenders are now giving off a faint golden glow, reminiscent of Aurum. But the truly unique part can be found at the old site of Hive Talzis (destroyed by Cyclonic torpedo), where massive crystal formations are now sprouting from the ground.

Events 239.M42

+++EVENT DATAFAX+++

Increase in system level (Kaggeran): Human refugees from Tau-held worlds have been arriving here in ever-growing numbers for the past 10 years or so. They have settled vast swathes of land that have lain fallow since the Quarantine.

Kaggeran +1 to level 4.

Gorx wars (Kaggeran): Refugees and old-timers do not always mesh well, and there is a good deal of violent conflict between the two. It's not too bad, but could grow worse.

Spite (Fortress World)

+++PLANETARY DATAFAX+++

Spite was a Fortress World from which Lord Commander Sebiascor Ebongrave marshaled the forces under his command against the Tau. This world was a heavily settled and industrialized but was left in ruins following a Tau counteroffensive that involved a massive uprising of human malcontents (widely believed to have been supported by the Tau). The Tau did not, however, stay to claim the world, but moved on to other targets.

The system was still being fought over by the remnants of Imperial loyalists and Tau-sympathetic rebels when Barotta arrived. The civil war between "Imperials" and "Tau-lovers" has died down, largely thanks to Barotta. An uneasy truce is in effect, but bloodshed could resume at the drop of a feather.

The planet itself is a fairly nice affair, where humans can comfortably walk around without protective gear, and even live off the land. In terms of resources, it's meager fare indeed. With enough settlers, it could become a prosperous world. Some human refugees from Tau-held worlds have arrived over the past few years, but the planet could take many more.

Calisi (Fortress World)

+++PLANETARY DATAFAX+++

The cities and garrisons of Calisi were abandoned prior to the Battle of Hethgard. The citizens were moved to other, more defensible locations, while the soldiers and their arms were used to reinforce Hethgard. Only the poor and the useless were left behind. Servants too old to be useful, former soldiers too injured to fight, women and children.

Fortunately, the Tyranids never arrived, and the planet was spared. The system was claimed by Barotta, but the inhabitants couldn't care less. They know how to fend for themselves, and have little use for an overlord who will only take their meager earnings, and abandon them in their hour of need.

The people remaining here either live in shanty towns around the old industrial-military complexes or wander the empty countryside, looking for salvage. The planet could easily house a few hundred million settlers and several armies.

Karlack (Fortress/Dead World)

+++PLANETARY DATAFAX+++

Karlack was a human-inhabited world that had retained a semblance of civilization despite 5 millennia alone in the dark. It's peoples initially rejoiced when reunited with the Imperium, but their happiness was soon crushed by the demands of the crusade. The world's population swelled tenfold, its industries multiplied a hundred times, and its fields were farmed beyond exhaustion. At some point, the planet's ecosphere collapsed, and people became resentful, rebellious even. Harsh measures were taken.

Karlack was the principal seat of the Achilus Crusade High Command, home to the single most powerful concentration of the Imperium's military might within the Reach. After Hethgard, no one heard from the system, and none of the patrols sent there returned.

It was eventually revealed that Karlack had turned to Chaos, specifically Khorne. Every ship that had gone there had been seized by cultists, and incorporated into the "Great Star Ark" that would carry the faithful back to their loved ones on Carmyn. It's a given that there would be bloodshed when they arrived to find their promised paradise a cesspool of Saaneshi corruption.

Barotta put an end to this dream, seizing the hulk, and reclaiming the ships that could still be repaired. He then virus-bombed the surface of Karlack, wiping away all life.

Pyrathas (Fortress World)

+++PLANETARY DATAFAX+++

Pyrathas: Pyrathas was an Imperial Fortress World found within the Pyrathas Majorus System of the Jericho Reach. The system's primary star is a fierce, blue-white supergiant. This star is orbited by a second brown dwarf in a tidally locked orbit. Inside this brown dwarf's penumbra, Pyrathas also hangs in a tidally locked orbit, shielded from the fury of the supergiant. Its strategic location made it the second-largest (after Karlack) anchorage for the Imperial Navy in the Iron Collar.

The planet is marginally habitable and resource-poor and was ignored by the Imperium until Hive Fleet Dagon seemed like it might devour everything. It was believed that the glare of the system's primary would be enough to deter any Tyranid invasion. Thus, a colony was established on the surface, a place of retreat in case things went south.

A tendril of the Hive was indeed utterly devastated at Pyrathas. But rather than make the Tyranids stay away, it made them evolve. The next, larger tendril returned around the time of the Battle of Hethgard, fully adapted to the harsh stellar radiation.

The two Navy escorts protecting the place were quickly overwhelmed, as were orbital and plane-based defenses. Tyranids landed en mass on the surface, and all seemed lost. Then the God-Emperor interceded, the Tyranid Overmind was destroyed, and the Tyranids at Pyrathas lost cohesion, and the absorption of the planet's resources was halted.

Numerous feral Tyranid creatures continued to roam the planet for years. They were dangerous if provoked, but rarely worked in groups anymore, and could even be scared away with high noise and bright lights. By the 230s they had largely been eliminated by Marine Scouts proving their worth to the chapter.

Alphos (Fortress World)

+++PLANETARY DATAFAX+++

Alphos: Alphos was a human-inhabited world that was conquered during the first expansion phase of the Crusade. It was subsequently turned in to part of the Iron Collar, the ring of Fortress World protecting the Well of Night.

Alphos was only lightly defended during the Battle of Hethgard, but still managed to gain the upper hand against the Tyranid splinter fleet sent there. Something about Alphos made it very hostile to the invading Xenoforms, and more Tyranids died to the environment than to the guns of men. The invaders eventually adapted, and from a crashed hive ship a Tyranid synapse creature directed the remaining Xenos against the increasingly weak human garrison. The synapse creature was eventually eliminated by Barotta's new breed of Aurum marines, greatly reducing the Tyranid threat on Alphos. 

The searing hot sulfurous atmosphere makes Alphos a hell-hole, requiring heavy protective garments and breathers if you want to go outside, but it's vast mineral fields are too rich to be left idle, so the workers toil now, as they always have, stripping away one layer of rock to expose the next. The Adeptus Mechanicus did some preliminary terraforming studies, but the results were not promising, and the project was ended. Instead, a large number of Squat abhumans were moved here, as they are better suited to Alphos' harsh environment. 

Rheelas (Mining World)

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Rheelas is a Mining World in the Canis Salient. It was quarantined by Lord Ebongrave alongside Kaggeran and Argoth (it was deemed tainted by the Tau, but too valuable for Exterminatus).

Unable to support its population without food imports, this mining world suffered greatly from the decades-long blockade of the Quarantined Worlds. Most of the mines and refineries fell into disrepair, as workers slowly died off due to starvation. Despite the blockade, a few Rogue Traders traded food and weapons to the world, in return for whatever minerals the warlike miners could provide.

When Barotta arrived to break the quarantine, each mine complex had become an isolated feudal state, warring endlessly with its neighbors over dwindling resources. Rather than use force, Barotta proposed the food for resources program, which the warlords all accepted with a minimum of violent persuasion.

Rheelas has resumed exports to Argoth and is quickly becoming that planet's main supplier of everything from common ores to exotic materials. Old enmities die slow, however, and the local mine-lords are not above engaging in a little internecine strife over particularly rich ore deposits. The world is one of the destinations for humans expelled from the Tau Sept.

Kaggeran (Agri World)

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Kaggeran is an Agri World in the Canis Salient. It was quarantined by Lord Ebongrave alongside Kaggeran and Argoth (it was deemed tainted by the Tau, but too valuable for Exterminatus).

When the quarantine hit, Kaggeran became a world without purpose. Without anyone to export to, Kaggeran's endless fields became desolate and weed-choked, and the massive grox herds dwindled and turned feral. Countless desperate agri-workers flocked to the planet's cities, swelling the endless slums, and providing a massive pool of recruits for the armies of countless petty warlords and kings.

When Barotta arrived to lift the quarantine, he found a world that, despite its agricultural resources, was starving, as its fields lay fallow and its workers had become warriors, fighting over scraps of food and dwindling technological resources. Barotta offered weapons and luxuries for the warlords that could provide him with agricultural produce. And death to those that did not.

Kaggeran is slowly but surely regaining its feet. In a generation or two, it could be back to where it was before Lord Commander Ebongrave consigned it to a slow, wasting death. Much of its exports go to Argoth, but grox meat reaches every part of Barotta's great domain. The world is one of the destinations for humans expelled from the Tau Sept.

Argoth (Hive World)

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At the time of the Achilus Crusade, Argoth was a minor hive world found to be trafficking with the Tau. The Greater Good was worming its way into the hearts and minds of the people - even some of the nobles. When Lord Commander Ebongrave was forced to focus on the Greyhell Front, he declared the system off-limits and deployed a vast array of automated defenses to keep out any Tau infiltrators. 

By the time Barotta arrived, the system had suffered horribly for decades, as the Imperium's blockade had starved the planet of food and resources. Cannibalism was as common as unemployment, several hives had collapsed completely, leaving only a handful in working order. Ironically it turned out that one hive city, where the Tau still held sway, had managed not only to survive but prosper to some degree.

Argoth is now the industrial and technological heart of the Jericho Sector. Its hives are filling up, in no small part by humans expelled from Tau-held worlds, it's industries are gearing up, and in orbit, great battlefleets are being constructed. The Adeptus Mechanicus has a great deal of influence here, with one entire hive given over to the Archmagos of Jericho, Hextrix of the Lathes.

The Tau are gone* from the world now, but curiously, the people of Argoth are among the most united and easily governed citizens of the Jericho Sector. They do not talk openly about the Greater Good, but something they call the Common Cause.

* The are not completely gone but are still present in Hive Decimus, where they help to keep the wheels of industry and trade going. Their leader is the female Etheral Aun'La Velk'Han Tai'la Mont'yr (which could be translated as the Bloody-handed Human-loving Princess of the Kingdom of the Broken Star-paths), or Lady Tai'la for short.

Beseritor (Hive World)

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The outlying world of Beseritor was the most unremarkable of place, until sometime in M36 when it was designated as an urban development area. Several Adeptus Mechanics Constructor Cadres arrived and started erecting the foundations and structural supports of several modern hive cities.

As the hives neared completion, the first batches of settlers, skilled workers, and their families, arrived to finish what the Machine God had started. The future looked bright for Beseritor.

Then the dark times came. Jericho was cut off from the larger galaxy, and the downward spiral began. No more settlers arrived, nor the resources necessary to finish what had been started. Beseritor faded from living memory... then faded altogether.

Until a scout ship from the Achilus Crusade made contact. They found the unfinished hives still inhabited, each essentially a city-state, forever waging war against its neighbors. Playing the factions against each other, Compliance was achieved in less than five years.

The ancient hives were found to be well-preserved, even after all those years, and Crusade COmmand ordered the resumption of building. Then Hive Fleet Dagon came sweeping down the Orpheus Salient, and although Beseritor was spared the worst of the Xenos' assault, it was once again forgotten...

Atonement (Frontier World)

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Atonement is a broken world, yet it still clings to life. It's an old human colony, predating the Empire by many millennia. It was brought into the Jericho Sector of old and prospered for a time. The Long Night was not kind to it. But the time of the Crusade, only sad remnants of its once great civilization remained. It was decided to start over; the remaining degenerates were to be terminated and new, healthy stock brought in. And so it was that Atonement became a shining example of a colony world.

Fast forward to Hive Fleet Dagon. A massive Tyranid drop was in progress when the Imperial Navy arrived to break the siege of the planet. They managed to drive off the Hive Fleet, but could not stem the invasion. In desperation, the fleet turned all its guns on the most heavily infested areas. They kept at it for days and weeks, unleashing the God-Emperor knows how many Macrotons of ordnance. 

Yet still, the Xenos pushed forward, and so the bombardment continued... and then the planet broke apart. About one-fifth of the planet's total mass became a broken jumble of spinning rocks and red-hot lava. The rest of the planet clings on to life, but it's probably doomed in the long run. On the positive side what few Tyranids survived were easily purged.

Phaegis (Frontier World)

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Phaegis is a pleasant colony world well beyond the sector proper, pushed up against the rolling warp storms to Trailing of the Reach. Ten million or so people were settled here half a century ago, and according to early reports, they found the world most agreeable.

That was before the terrible truth was revealed: once you've settled on Pahegis, you cannot leave. There is something about the planet that binds you to it. If you leave, you get ill, and then you die. Is it a curse? A disease? Something altogether different? No one knows, despite attempts to find out why.

The planetary population has doubled since first settlement, but for all intents and purposes, it's isolated from the rest of the galaxy.

Scepter (Frontier World)

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Scepter is a Frontier World in the Orpheus Salient. When the Crusade arrived they found a heavily settled world, badly infested with mutants and completely without any form of law and order. The Adeptus Abrites took it upon themselves to return the planet to the fold without requiring ultimate sanction.

They never quite succeeded, but the planet was brought to a semblance of compliance. In the process, it also became one of the most heavily policed planets in the Reach. Despite this, it remained one of the most violent and criminal worlds of the Reach.

Crusade Command used to joke that the planet cost more than it was worth, but that it produced some damn fine Arbitrators.

Nyanthor (Frontier World)

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Nyanthor is an arid, desolate world in the Orpheus Salient. Barely fit for human habitation, and against the wishes of the Adeptus Mechanicus, it was nevertheless colonized, mostly due to a very large influx of refugees.

About 1000 pyramidal structures of ancient, possibly Xenos design dot the surface of the planet. It's believed more may be hidden in distant regions and beneath the shifting sands of the planet's many deserts. Tech-priests have examined many of the pyramids, and they appear to be made of a strange material somewhere between stone and metal in structure. They appear solid, with no passages or hidden machinery. Who built them and why remains a mystery - there are no other ruins on the planet.

Khyris (Frontier World)

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Khyris is a frontier world with a long history. It was settled by refugees fleeing the inner worlds of the Jericho Sector before the fall of Verronus, either late M36 or early M37. It was a time of increasing turmoil and hardship, and the conditions on the main hive worlds were going from bad to worse. Violence and starvation went hand in hand, and the Dark Gods were starting to be openly worshipped.

Khyris was a good choice for a colony world, except for its extremely long seasons. Ten years of summer, followed by ten years of winter, half of them utter dark and frozen. The local biosphere was well adapted, but for humans, it's a different story. The refugees opted for building massive stasis chambers where they would slumber while servitors took care of things. Then, as winter waned, they would wake up and resume their lives.

It worked well enough for a time until one winter the servitors turned against their masters. Tearing their overlords from their stasis pods, they ate them all in a twisted parody of a cannibalistic feast that lasted for five years. Only a handful of humans survived, forced into the wilderness, where they had to lead nomadic lives, moving around the globe, always staying ahead of winter.

When the Achilus Crusade made contact, some of the original servitors were still operational, fuelled by the powers of the warp. Forever hungry, these ghoul-servitors roamed Khyris seeking always flesh to sate their hunger and machine parts to keep themselves functioning.

Both ghouls and nomads were declared heretics, and the planet was resettled by refugees from Calixis. Without access to macro-scale stasis chambers, these settlers must endure the long winters locked inside their settlements. According to reports now twenty years old, there are signs that murder and cannibalism are becoming widespread during the cold spells. Let's hope the story doesn't repeat itself. 

Nullholm (Frontier World)

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Nullholm is a frontier system way off the beaten track. In fact, there is no stable route here at all - instead, navigators must feel their way here, slowly and with great effort. 

The system contains a minor Imperial colony that struggles to get by from day to day. What the colonists cannot make themselves they must do without - even before the end of the Crusade, the system was visited only once or twice per year, usually by Rogue Traders seeking to extort or exploit the locals.

The planet Nullholm has one moon, a dead orb, perfectly spherical, that gives of no radiation of any kind, and registers as being colder than absolute zero. The Adeptus Mechanicus had an exploratory ship here for quite some time, but the moon yielded up no secrets, and the ship was moved elsewhere.

Karbera (Feudal World)

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Karbera is a Feudal World that's undergoing a rapid industrial revolution. It was cataloged less than 50 years ago due to its obscure location beyond Ossua. It was never fully claimed by the Imperium, but a small orbital station was left there to monitor the situation. In that time two major continent-spanning wars have gripped the world, and the technological progress has been nothing short of astounding. From air balloons to fixed-wing aircraft. From full-rigged sailing ships to ironclad steam-ships. From muzzleloaders to rudimentary breechloading rifles. The death toll has been equally impressive: full 25% of the world's population have died in battle, or of diseases and famine.

Kaziana (Death World)

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Kaziana is a barely-cataloged Death World just off the Parino-Khazant route. It's a desolate place, with a minimal biosphere. What it does have is heavy gravity, wild weather, volcanoes and earthquakes, and freakish electro-storms. The world is, as far as can be told, fantastically rich in rare elements, but the few expeditions that have managed to land here have been obliterated in hours by freakish acts of nature.

Parino Secundus (Hive World)

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The world of Parino lies close to the Iron Collar in physical terms, but can only be reached by a convoluted trail that leads through the system of Khazant. It retained some semblance of civilization when the Achilus Crusade arrived, but after millennia of isolation and hardship it's peoples had forsaken the God-Emperor and taken to trusting "logic" and "progress". The population was wiped out and their heretical ways obliterated before the planet was heavily resettled by refugees from a number of Calixian worlds.

When the Stigmartus sent the forces of the Acheros Salient reeling, Parino became cut off from the rest of the Reach. When the Imperium finally returned after a decade of absence, they found the population already slipping into twin heresies: one group openly worshipped the Dark Gods, another had rekindled the lost faith in machines and "research". 

A third faction clung still to faith in the Emperor but it was deemed too difficult to separate the groups from one another. It was decided to call in Exterminatus and let the God-Emperor sort out his own. There is no record of the order being carried out. Actually, there are no more records of Parino Secundus at all.

Skaura III (Hive World)

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Skaura III is a Hive World only in the loosest sense of the world. When the Achilus scouts arrived here, they found the remnants of a failed human world, with only a handful of techno-barbarian tribes. The world was a bleak place, heavily scarred by millennia of industrial exploitation, and almost without accessible mineral resources.

The world was brought to compliance around 100.M42, and settled by a few hundred million Scintillan refugees. Several hive structures were constructed as the nuclei of the new settlements, and some light industries and agriculture were in place when suddenly a minor warp storm engulfed the system, cutting it off from the rest of the Crusade.

The storm has raged for more than a century, showing little single of slowing down. Indeed, if anything it has grown in potency over the past few decades and threatens to engulf the penal world of Xyan.