In the year 755 of the 41st Millenium, in the Calixis sector, on a routine visit with Rogue Trader Blain Arcadius, the navy frigate Spear of Tarsus made a discovery that would change the course of a trillion lives. On an emergency exit from a warp trip through the heart of Imperial territory, their astropath immediately collapsed frothing at the mouth, the auto-recorder recording a single phrase: “The unravelling is begun.” On further investigation, the Spear of Tarsus found a station, a ring kilometers in length, of unknown xenos architecture and purpose. After years of careful study, the station was activated, opening a stable portal to a region of space isolated for thousands of years by warp storms: The Jericho Reach. The Jericho gate, connecting to the center of Imperial territory, presents one of the greatest threats or opportunities yet encountered to mankind.

In the year 777, 22 years after initial discovery, the High Lords of Terra issued the official decree secretly authorizing the Achilus Crusade, under the command of Imperial Warmaster Tiber Achilus. Striking forth, he found early success, securing the “Iron Collar”, a near-impenetrable series of Imperium-sympathetic worlds that were quickly conquered, fortified, and turned into staging areas for further strikes. However, the early victories were quickly followed by failures. To the galactic southeast, the Tau empire, having assimilated many formerly human worlds into their system-spanning organization for the “Greater Good”, slowed the crusade. To the east, spewing forth from the Hades anomaly, demonic influences and aligned forces, the Stigmartus, threaten to corrupt or overwhelm the crusade. And in 786, a mere 9 years into the crusade, Tiber Achilus is lost forever during a routine warp voyage within the Iron Collar.

His successor, Solomon Tetrarchus, has been in charge of the crusade for 31 grueling years. In 812, 26 years into his command, Tetrarchus reorganized the crusade into three distinct entities. The Canis Salient, led by commander Ebongrave, would engage the Tau. The Acheros Salient, currently under the command of Duchess Magratha Von Karlack, would engage the Stigmartus army emerging from the Hades anomaly. And the Orpheus salient to the galactic north, under general Mikal Curas, sought to reunite the easily broken and sympathetic worlds therein. While the other salients settled into a long stalement, the Orpheus salient was successful, advancing quickly, until the shadows of new foe, the unknowable biological hordes of the Tyranids, crashed into the front, pushing it back slowly and steadily. The fate of dozens of worlds remain entirely unknown.
The year is 817. The Achilus Crusade has raged for 40 years. In these troubled times, the Ordo Xenos, the arm of the inquisition with ultimate authority and duty to face all alien threats to mankind, operates among the crusade, pursuing goals that may save a million lives or doom an entire fleet in a heartbeat. Their greatest warriors, the Deathwatch, are drawn from the ranks of the Space Marine chapters, genetically engineered warrior-monks, armed with the greatest implements of war the Imperium can muster. And on Watch Station Erioch, the millenia-old fortress of the Deathwatch in the Jericho Reach, a new killteam is ordered…

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You shall cross many sunsets, make new journeys for yourselves on metal birds across the emptiness behind the stars. All for the safety of men and women we shall never see. You are the Drakon’s Teeth, and your enemies lie in pieces before you. For every sister or brother that does not make his way back to his Father Tree, you will carry the blade. And they will weigh heavily upon you, for they will have drunk their fill of blood beforehand.

-Formal Address to 10th Levy Regiments
Taisha Mirko, Arbor-Queen of Cuyavale.

Squad leader Otho Valerius deals with the responsibilities of his recent promotion as Fort recovers in the infirmary. The hot-shots of the Aetherian Rex are finally paired with another, larger regiment that has been in-theater much longer for a series of exploratory missions.

The Cuyavale Close Infantry 1st Squad, with their bone weaponry and primitive demeanor, would seem like an ill fit for the tech-savvy spacers, and it’s up to both squads to raise teamwork and comraderie to their limits. The Imperium and the Orks alike stand ready to pounce on any weakness.

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What a dull post. A good bit of skullduggery at the start, but we’ve spent the last week ferrying supplies to some spoked-out cogboy that knows he’s got us by the painful bits. As ever, may Throne deliver us from the attentions of our “betters.”
-Inquisitorial Stormtrooper Gavin Thrace

The Magos’ base is mostly still, save for the constant plodding of supply servitors, and the racing mind of the base’s owner. The squad and their comrades begin to loot the place in earnest, and scout out the surroundings. Unfortunately, peace is a fragile thing anywhere in the forty-first millenium, and things heat up when uninvited guests are slated to arrive. The mission’s goals are within sight, but are threatened from within.

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What a fascinating planet. All rules regarding conventional geology, ignored. And yet neither side could possibly be aware of these anomalies, to say nothing of the embarassing fumbling of greenskin “meks.”

Cogitator core five assigned to analysis of Inquisitorial pict-capture. That wiring is familiar…
-Magos Klax, Lathe-Lord of the Third Circle and Bearer of the Skull of Hax.

Unraveling the mysteries of the crash site become of the utmost importance to all of the factions involved in the war for Hervara. The recent turning of a mole among the Imperial Guard forces could be a breakthrough for the embattled Dominate forces, and the Aetherian Rex auxilliary squad have been hand-picked to test the efficacy of the turncoat and his information. A high-ranking Imperial Magos is their target, and denying him and his vast stores of knowledge to the enemy is their main objective.

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You try making something even approaching tasty with this Emperor-forsaken mold. I don’t care that there’s a planet full of it – nothing kills morale quite like a bowl full of green, flavorless paste at the end of the day. There’s got to be a better way…
-“Chef” Aldo Gaston, Dominate Ration Distribution Adept, Camp Kleins.

A much-needed night’s rest finally comes for the Aetherian Rex Auxilliary Corps. Or at least as close to one as they’re likely to find in the war-torn village-turned-depot of Kleins. After an early rising, the squad needs to resupply, tinker with their gear, and try to trade away the rest of their ill-gotten “weaponry.”

United in purpose under the Dominate – as they surely are – one would expect cordial relations with the local chapter of the Priesthood of Mars. But offended machine spirits – and more importantly, offended tech-priests – are fickle creatures.

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