Daemon Worlds of the Hadex Anomaly

A number of worlds are known to exist wholly with the Anomaly, fully consumed by the warp. The Ever-changing Library has a special section on such things, and Erioch has several info-crypts and data-vaults and physical archives off-limits even to the Watch-Master (fortunately Barotta has a genuine Malleus Inquisitor with him). This information must be taken with large pinches of salt - it's information dealing with the unexplainable and the insane.

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Bulwark (Daemon World): Bulwark was once a proud Fortress World which guarded the original sector capital world of Verronus, but was later claimed by the worshippers of the Blood God Khorne. Following the appearance of the Anomaly, the citizens of Bulwark perpetrated all of the atrocities that soon followed. The forsaken world soon became a massive charnel house of death and blood, lorded over by a powerful Daemon Prince of Khorne, named Krakiota.

Coranin (Daemon World): When the Anomaly first appeared, this former Feral World was claimed by the Lord of Change, Tzeentch as his own. Soon the planet was transformed into a Daemon World, altered by the malign touch of the Changer of Ways, as he utterly corrupted the planet and its inhabitants.

Durell (Daemon World): Durrel was a former Hive World that fell to the sensuous temptations of pleasure and hedonistic desires of the Lord of Pleasure, Slaanesh. The world became one Grand Temple of Slaanesh.

Samech (Hell-Forge): A former loyal Forge World of the Adeptus Mechanicus the sad truth was that the faith in the Omnissiah had been slowly dimming some millennia before the infamous event of the emergence of the Anomaly. When this stellar phenomenon consumed the world, the forges readily embraced their damnation, seeking out the Ruinous Powers to further their own aims. Samech is the main supplier of weapons and ships for the Stigmartus and other factions resisting the Achilus Crusade. The world is know also as 'The Iron Pit', a haven for debased human renegades that traveled there to trade and barter.

Venkrous (Daemon World): Venkrous was a formally lush and beautiful Agri-world before the Anomaly appeared. It soon became twisted and warped by the rotting touch of the Plague Lord Nurgle.

Verronus/Varrus (Unclassified World): The glittering capital of the Jericho Sector sits at the heart of the Anomaly. It is impossible to classify it, or even confirm it's confirmed existence.

Characters of the Jericho Deathwatch

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Vandar Ilych: Old Imperial Fist Techmarine. Recovered from the Andronicus Watch-Station. Now resides at Erioch, overseeing the fortifications, armories, and forges there.

Taurus 'Beastmaster': Black Ravens (possible, but not confirmed, Raven Guard successor) Codicier, the last Astartes of his Chapter, his brothers having been wiped out by the Chaos Warband known as 'the Harvest'. Recovered from Hethgard. Master of Tyranids by his own indomitable will (though he is perhaps not entirely sane nor pure anymore).

Steingrim 'Bloodhaze': Space Wolf Veteran and ex-Wolf Priest. Exiled from the Fang (before its destruction) for killing another Wolf. Recovered from Hethgard. His senses - and ability to interpret what he senses - are nothing short of extraordinary. For example, he seems to be able to smell mutation. In a strange twist of fate, this is the man who is primarily responsible for training new Sons...

Echilus: Novamarine (UM successor Chapter), hates Xenos with a passion (especially Tau, but any Xeno will do) greater than most Astartes. Recovered from Hethgard. Kept busy roaming the sector aboard the Phaedas, looking for more Deathwatch survivors and doing scouting work. Could become a problem later.

Watch-Sergeant Garrus: White Consuls. Recovered from Watch-station Arkhas, deep in the Orpheus Salient.

3x Storm Wardens: Survivors of the Fall of Calixis. Recovered alongside Garrus.

Codicier Jon Castus: Fire Angel Librarian, recovered from Iobel, having fled there from Midael.

4x Various Chapters: Survivors of Midael.

Zanatov's Harbour (Devoured World)

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Zanatov's Harbour is a former Frontier World that is now a Devoured World following its consumption by a Tyranid assault. It is found at the farthest tip of the Orpheus Salient in the Jericho Reach, being, after Herisor, the second Imperial world on record attacked by Hive Fleet Dagon.

Zanatov's Harbour was named for the legendary Rogue Trader Corsair-Captain Zanatov. This planet was one he frequented on his trade runs coming in from the Eastern Fringe of the galaxy. At one point, the world boasted excellent voidship repair facilities, and the lack of contact with the Imperium made an excellent place for smugglers and other members of the so-called "Cold Trade."

Early reports recovered after the Tyranid invasion state that many people saw what they believed to be a meteor shower in the night sky. No one thought much of it, as a meteor shower is often a good omen for ship's captains. Slowly the reports began to filter in that the object had been something very different.

These were no mere meteorites that had hit the ground, but instead housed a more sinister cargo of Tyranid bioforms. The merchants and crew on the surface put up a decent fight, but were utterly outmatched by the lethal killing machines.

Decades later Zanatov's Harbour was restored to working order by the Kingdom of Vanir-in-Exile and used as a voidship repair facility by Admiral Manteuffel. 

Unknown to the Admirals and the Kings of Vanir, Zanatov's Harbour held another secret: a company of Astartes from the Templars of Blood and their accompanying Inquisitor Adrielle Quist, Ordo Xenos. This warband had been trapped on the surface of Zanatov's Harbour for quite some time, without the means of getting off the dead planet or contacting help.

Tenebris Prognati/Dark Sons (Astartes Chapter)

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The Dark Sons is a Loyalist Space Marine Chapter of unknown Founding that claims descent from the lineage of the vaunted Ultramarines Chapter (though it seems they may be of different stock). 

Along with the Angels of Fury, the Dark Sons had the honor of being under the tutelage of the venerable Novamarines Chapter following their inception. 

The Dark Sons' homeworld was the planet Darkhold in the Segmentum Obscurus. Overrun by Chaos forces early M42, the Sons have lived aboard their dwindling fleet of ships ever since.

A certain specter of pridefulness and egotism clings to these warriors and has soured their dealings with other Imperial organizations in the past, but their arrogance is not undeserved. The Dark Sons fight with remarkable efficiency and skill, and have won countless battles against remarkable odds.

Captain Karlson has led the battered strike cruiser Wrath of the Father and his equally battered of the 9th Company of loyal Sons to Jericho in search of a prophecy and a new beginning. 

Worlds of the Greyhell Front (Canis Salient)

Ash-choked Ravacene

The Greyhell Front was a belt of worlds where the Astra Militarum and Imperial Navy were struggling to establish footholds closer to T'au space. Unlike earlier encounters with the Tau along the Canis Salient, the Greyhell front became a major warzone.

The Imperium's armies were opposed in this by many auxiliaries, but most of all by Fire Warrior cadres. Chief among the auxiliaries were legions of Kroot. The Kroot's capacity to rapidly evolve according to the genetic material they absorb has led to the development of many new strains of Kroot along the Greyhell Front. 

Human collaborators also appeared in some numbers, leading to a paranoid atmosphere where any squadmate could potentially be an infiltrator sent by the other side. Lord Commander Ebongrave's purges on the Greyhell Front became the stuff of dark legend, and some joked that an Imperial Guardsman was almost as likely to be executed by their own side as to be killed by the xenos.

The Greyhell Front was regarded as a meat grinder by the troops serving there, but Lord Commander Ebongrave was adamant that only by forcing through the front and reaching Tau space could the crusade push on into a direct assault on the Velk'Han Sept. In spite of the thinly stretched nature of Imperial forces in the Canis Salient, Ebongrave refused any suggestion that Imperial forces should withdraw from the Greyhell Front. The Lord Commander was last seen boarding his Battleship, the Murder of Innocents, course set for the Greyhell front for "the final push."

The current status of the Greyhell isn't fully known. No Imperial ships have visited for decades, and the Tau are said to have pulled out of the area.

Notable worlds of the Greyhell Front:

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Baraban (Feral/Xenos World): Barabanis a is huge, verdant world under the control of the T'au Empire's Velk'Han Sept. Its ownership was contested by the Astra Militarum forces of the Achilus Crusade. The pretext for the invasion was "liberation of Baraban's native human population." It is not known if Baraban actually has any human native population, of it Ebongrave's staff made that up to "galvanize the hearts and minds of our noble warriors."

The war on Baraban was a conventional one, with battle lines of trenches and fortifications, attacks and counterattacks, as each side tried to push the other back. The planet's endless temperate forests were home not only to huge Vespid and Kroot armies, but to spectral presences that prey on the sanity of the Imperial Guardsmen fighting there. Apparently the "Ghosts of Baraban" caused similar problems for the Tau, with Vespids becoming homicidal and Kroots devolving into strains useless for battle.

Bekrin (Shrine/Quarnatined World): Bekrin was a Shrine World, the capital planet of the ancient Ecclesiarchy diocese covering much of what is now the Achilus Crusade's Canis Salient in the Jericho Reach. The Tau had little influence on Bekrin, and not for lack of trying. With the coming of the Crusade, Bekrin was incorporated into the Imperium once again, offering a forward base of operations for Ebongrave's warriors.

Unfortunately, a tendril of Hive Fleet Dagon, approached Bekrin. The planet's million-strong clergy evacuated the world to escape the approaching Tyranids, and though the Tyranids were deflected at Oertha, and never reached Bekrin, the planet's shrines and temples remained empty.

The Adeptus Ministorum petitioned Lord Commander Sebiascor Ebongrave to reclaim Bekrin many times. Ebongrave, for reasons unknown, has bluntly refused at every turn, and even proclaimed Bekrin a Quarantined World. No one knows why, though there is no shortage of speculation about what horrible sights might be found among Bekrin's fabled natural beauty and gilded temple-cities.

To some, Bekrin is an example of Ebongrave's paranoia, but others insist that there must be something terribly wrong with the planet. In any case, no official word on Bekrin has been forthcoming in more than forty standard years.

Dakinor (Dead World): Dakinor is a gas giant within tin the Canis Salient. It is surrounded by an orbiting shell of mineral-rich planetoids caught in its vast gravity. Classified as a Dead World by the Imperium, the planet itself is uninhabitable like all gas giants, but its asteroids are being fought over by the Astra Militarum and a host of fanatics following a death cult of the Imperial Creed calling itself the "Gilded Torment."

The Torment has absorbed almost the whole population, and has daughter cults on many worlds of the Greyhell Front's warzone, which task their followers with joining the struggle on Dakinor. The Gilded Torment's goal appears to be to cause and suffer violent death in the name of the God-Emperor, who is worshipped in such a debased and vile form that all followers of the Torment have been declared Excommunicate.

Astra Militarum analysts suspect that the T'au have somehow created the Torment, an impression hardly reduced by the Kroot mercenaries appearing in the employ of the death cult. Whatever the Gilded Torment really wants, the fight against the cult is a bitter and hateful one. The Astra Militarum mounts asteroid-hopping operations where each new planetoid is assaulted in lethal thin-atmosphere, low-gravity conditions.

Ravacene (Death World): Ravacene is a volcanic jungle-covered world within the Canis Salient. Ravacene's ecology is based on the volcanoes covering its single, planet-wide continent. The toxic ash spewed by these volcanoes feeds the dense, black-grey jungles covering its plains and valleys. The jungles proved resistant to the most enthusiastic attempts to burn or defoliate them.

The world was heavily contested by the Imperium and the T'au Empire's Kroot forces. For the troops of the Astra Militarum, few assignments were less welcomed than a posting to Ravacene. The ash-choked forests of this world are said to have given the Greyhell Front its name, and the Imperial Guard battling to wipe out the Kroot on this world fight a bleak, horrific battle against the planet and their alien foes alike. Ravacene chewed through Astra Militarum regiments at an appalling rate. Only Death World veteran regiments could expect to last more than a few solar weeks before being withdrawn. It is highly unlikely than any humans are still alive on the surface of Ravacene.

The Astra Militarum's objectives on Ravacene were simple. Ravacene was ideally placed to act as a staging post for a push into T'au space in the Reach, and its several moonlets would make ideal orbital dockyards for the voidships of the Imperial Navy. Before the planet could be used in this way, the Kroot presence on its surface had to be exterminated. The nature of the terrain means that this had to be carried out on the ground by, one Kroot at a time, no matter how many Guardsmen it takes. 

For their part, the Tau simply wished to deny the Imperium use of Ravacene, so they deployed vast numbers of Kroot. These foul Xenos mercenaries evolved during their time on the world to match the ash jungles of Ravacene through the use of their ability to alter their genomes by ingesting other species' DNA. There could still be a considerable number of Kroot on the surface.

Veren (Feral/Xenos World): Veren was a human-inhabited Feral World under the "protection" of the T'au Empire's Velk'Han Sept. For reasons that Imperial forces could never ascertain, the Tau were very interested in keeping the Imperium from conquering Veren. The planet, a world of glassy black mountains and shallow oceans teeming with corals and algal blooms, is of little obvious strategic value.

Stable Warp-routes from the vicinity of Veren end at the Black Reef, so the planet would be of no use for staging an attack on Tsua'Malor. Nevertheless, the expeditionary force sent to scout the world was immediately opposed by Tau Hunter Cadres attacking in force.

Lord Commander Sebiascor Ebongrave was convinced that something important was hidden on Veren. Sending so many Tau to defend it proved its importance in his eyes. His analysts tried persuading him otherwise, that it was a trick of the Tau to draw attention away from other, more important battles. But the Lord Commander would have none of their cowardice. Ebongrave ordered Veren to be captured and held, but the T'au knew the planet very well, and defended it with great skill and determination. Although the Imperum's forces eventually gained the upper hand, the world was never truly conquered.

The Hadex Anomaly

The Hadex Anomaly is a raging temporal Warp rift that lies at the core of the Jericho Reach in the Eastern Fringe of the galaxy. Bathing countless worlds in a sickly red glow, this nebulous tear in space-time represents far more than a navigational hazard or obstruction to astropathic communication. It is a cancer upon the fabric of time and space, and entire star systems have been lost to its baleful influence. 

Since the time of its formation, the Hadex Anomaly has haunted the Jericho Reach, casting out its malign Warp radiation and corrupting many worlds. Measurements performed by the Deathwatch over the centuries indicate that, since its creation, the Anomaly has continued to grow fractionally every year, slowly pulling the worlds of the Reach into its dark grasp. This growth is not steady, however. Like a monstrous heart palpitating in the void, the influence of the Hadex Anomaly expands and recedes rhythmically, absorbing and disgorging entire solar systems over the course of decades. 

Worlds bathed in the crimson glow of the Anomaly become saturated with its corrupting essence, while stars languish under its stygian radiance. Such stars become clotted red orbs, shedding a carmine luminescence mimicking that of the Anomaly itself. The worlds touched by the red glare become... changed. Infused with protean energies they grow both more verdant, and more deadly.

Scholars, savants, and madmen have striven to classify the anomaly in line with others of its type, such as the Eye of Terror, the Maelstrom, and the Gates of Fire, yet it continues to defy all classification. Though clearly a Warp/realspace interface or Warp rift like most other similar events, the Hadex Anomaly exerts an exotic effect not just upon the physical realm but on the temporal as well.

In their vain efforts to understand the Anomaly, Imperial savants have claimed it seems to "spew time" into the surrounding region, disrupting the flow of events and occasionally reordering them entirely. It is conjectured that the Hadex Anomaly is the source of a flow of time spewing forth into the galaxy from another dimension, although any efforts to fully catalog or study the effects of the Anomaly have ended in utter disaster.

More than the forces of the Stigmartus, the xenos fleets, or the warbands of the Traitor Legions, the Hadex Anomaly represents a seemingly insurmountable obstacle standing in the way of the Achilus Crusade's Acheros Salient. How can the forces of Mankind know victory when their enemy is space itself?

Sons of Xandor: The true story

From the Ever-changing Library and the Watch-master's archives on Erioch:

The 11th Legion of Astartes, originally named the Granite Guard, was briefly known as the Sons of Xandor, after their Primarch, who was known as "the Xandor". Few records exist of the Legion before (or after) the discovery of the Xandor, but some facts can be gleaned: they fought loyally and well, always disciplined and rational, excelling at speartip strikes with minimal collateral.

According to one report, a detachment that may have been SoX marines, arrived in the Jericho Reach shortly after the Ultramarines and Night Lords had claimed the first Imperial footholds there during the Great Crusade.

When the Primarch was discovered, however, the Legion was disbanded and the name stricken from the rolls, as if it had never existed at all. The reason is not fully understood, but there is reason to believe that the Xandor had either taken to the worship of dark gods - or in another version of the story, declared himself divine. Whatever the reason, the Imperium no longer trusted the Sons, through no fault of their own.

During the Great Scouring, it's possible, likely even, that a full Chapter of Sox aided elements of the Novamarines (successors to the Ultramarines), Raven Guard and White Scars in reclaiming rebellious worlds that remained loyal to the traitorous Night Lords. It is thought that this Sons of Xandor incarnation was a 2nd Founding Chapter, perhaps raised from original Legion gene-seed. Or, according to two separate sources, made up of actual Astartes from the original SoX Legion.

The truth of the matter will likely never be known, lost to the long eons. The name of the Chapter Master, is known, however. Moebius, the man who slew 1st Captain Erioch and claimed the star fortress for the Imperium. Moebius, originally of the 1st Legion, the Dark Angels. Moebius was one of the old guard, assigned to watch over and teach the first Astartes emerging for another Legion - the 11th, the Sons of Xandor. Moebius, who was later named Fallen by his old legion, for reasons also lost to time.

Moebius became the 1st Watch-Master of Jericho, creating a multi-Chapter composite force to guard the region, so that it might remain forever safe, even after he and his Chapter moved on to other assignments. In time, all the original Chapters involved in the liberation of Jericho moved on, but they remembered their pledge to Moebius, and kept sending loyal Astartes to guard Jericho. Thus was born the Jericho Watch.

Information about the SoX after this is sketchy at best. Some scholars believe they ventured into the Utter East, beyond the reach of the Astronomican, to search of the Night Lords. Other stories have as little - or as much - hold to them. Placing them in the Ghoul Stars. Venturing into the Eye of Terror. Leaving the Galaxy altogether. Sleeping beneath the Imperial Palace.

Most likely the Chapter was destroyed at some point because a new SoX chapter was created sometime in the 36th Millennium. Either during the 13th "Dark Founding" (early M36) or the 21st "Cursed Founding" (late M36). Were they created from existing SoX seed, preserved in sacred AdMech vaults? If so, seed from the 11th Legion, or the lost Chapter?

No one knows, except the Sons themselves of course. Reports are few and far between. A scrap here, a hint there. Tales of a chapter that could be the Sons - or someone else. They may have operated briefly in the Jericho Sector around the time of its fall, but after that, nothing. Not until they appeared in the Calixis Sector around 190.M42 - and promptly vanished on a Crusade into the Screaming Vortex. 

Madness, surely. Another noble chapter, gone.

Pelegius (Unclassified World, Canis Salient)

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Pelegius is an officially unclassified planet located in the Jericho Reach. Located only a short distance behind the Greyhell Front of the Achilus Crusade, Pelegius has been contested by T'au expeditions and Imperial crusaders alike for solar decades. The planet's wealth of natural resources means that both sides regard it as extremely valuable, yet that same worth has resulted in a world which is inimical to Human or T'au life. 

If rumors are to be believed, however, it is not merely mineral resources that has drawn the gaze of Human and T'au alike to Pelegius, and it is not merely the toxin-saturated, irradiated environment that poses a threat to those who seek to claim this bounteous world. Who knows what treasures - and horrors - await beneath the sands of this hellish death world?

Wrath (Fortress World, Canis Salient)

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Wrath is an Imperial Fortress World (yes, there are that many) within the Achilus Crusade's Canis Salient in the Jericho Reach. It acted as both the Achilus Crusade's secondary command center for the salient, as well as the salient's primary source of internal security. While the Fortress World of Spite drives the Canis Salient's forces onwards, Wrath guards the worlds already claimed and watches for treachery, sedition and the scourge of xenophilia.

No word has been received from Wrath in more than two decades, but data still keeps being streamed there by the handful of slaved astropath transmitters. Only specially sanctioned Imperial vessels were allowed to access Wrath; no civilian vessels were allowed in-system upon pain of Excommunication.

Watch-Stations of the Jericho Deathwatch

Erioch is a vast fortress, hidden and centrally located, but it cannot cover the entire Jericho Reach effectively. A number of smaller forts are scattered across the Reach, especially in the area around the Hadex Anomaly, but also elsewhere. These so-called Watch Stations were hidden fortress-monasteries, used for rest and resupply, and acting as forward bases.

It should be possible to Research the locations of 1 or more Watch Stations. The stations might provide additional Astartes equipment or other benefits for the Master of the Deathwatch.

Discovered Watch-stations:

Watch Station ANDRONICUS: Distant and dead Andronicus is the site of both a mighty fortress of the Deathwatch, and the Inquisition's Warp Observatory. Pimerial First Techmarine VANDAR ILYCH was recovered from here.

Now the fortress sits empty, protected only by automated defenses, and only a skeleton crew maintains the recently repaired observatory. Only the machine God knows for how long they will manage to keep it running, but the best bet is not very long.

Watch Station Arkhas: Watch Station Arkhas is a void station that sits hidden within the gas clouds that wreathe Arkhas VII, the system's outermost planet.

The Arkhas system contains two inhabitable, but unsettled worlds, frigid Arkhas IV, and steaming Arkhas III. The system is also an important Warp juncture, and could become a major transshipment point.

Watch Station IOBEL: Station is submerged under the kilometers-thick ice sheets of the 2nd moon of Iobel's only planet, the majestic ochre gas giant called ACHYLUS' LAMENT (no records exist of why the planet is so named).

Some of the Midael staff under the leadership of Fire Angel Librarian JON CASTUS escaped here aboard the Claymore-class Corvette Witch-slayer. Novamarine Watch-Sergeant Echilus investigated the site, taking WS Phaedas after the Iron Collar had been pacified.

WM Barotta was forced to assist when Phaedas was unable to leave due to the currents of the swelling Anomaly. It's likely that the system will be consumed, like Midael was, the next time the Anomaly expands. The station should be well protected, however, and could be used as a secret base inside the Anomaly itself.

Watch Station MIDAEL: Located within the deep stone catacombs beneath HIVE CRASSUS, the Jewel of Midael the Fallen. One of the largest of the Jericho Watch-stations, Midael guarded one of the most heavily trafficked routes in and out of the Hadex Anomaly. Such was the scale of the caverns that the station had room enough for an escort-class vessel, hidden from prying eyes by the earth's embrace.

Watch Station Midael was swallowed by a sudden expansion of the Hadex Anomaly. It subsequently came under attack by Chaos forces and it's staff and Astartes slaughtered, including Watch-Captain AMANEDIEL of the DARK ANGELS.

Watch Station OERTHA: Located on a non-descript rocky body in the Oertha system, close to the Greyhell Front, WS Oertah was a recently established outpost, tasked with keeping an eye on the Tau.

When a Tyranid fleet arrived, the Watch-Sergeant of Oertha was forced to make common cause with the Tau. The Tyranids were driven off, but in the process, the Tau discovered the presence of the station. Oertha was obliterated by heavy railgun strikes. At least that's what Barotta believes may have happened.

Watch Station PHAEDAS: The Watch-Station is essentially a Warp-capable void station, its structures constructed into a small asteroid. Phaedas is a relic of ages past, largely automated, its myriad machine spirits (artificial intelligences) demonstrating sophistication that rivals those of the most ancient and revered of Titans. The vessel seems to operate based on incredibly complex logic paths, turning augur data into plotted courses, even able to travel short distances through the Warp without a Navigator.

Phaedas obeys only the commands of the Watch-Master. It's with great reluctance it allows humans to board it, and it will not suffer the ministrations of any Magos.

Unexplored Watch-stations:

Watch Station Bellom - A watch station in the Canis Salient of the Achilus Crusade.

Watch Station Hestus - A watch station in the Canis Salient of the Achilus Crusade.

Watch Station Ormasim

WIP

Watch Station Castiel - A watch station in the Orpheus Salient of the Achilus Crusade.

Watch Station Credence - A watch station in the Canis Salient of the Achilus Crusade.

Watch Station Hlesan Secundus - A watch station in the Acheros Salient of the Achilus Crusade.
Watch Station Cosel

Watch Station Cressid

Watch Station Skapula

Watch Station Resgulus - A watch station in the Acheros Salient of the Achilus Crusade.
Watch Station Skapula - A watch station in the Canis Salient of the Achilus Crusade.
Watch Station Tryphon - A watch station in the Orpheus Salient of the Achilus Crusade.