Sector Report XII

+ From the Blind Scribes of the Ordos Prosperitas+

+ Thought for the Day + «It is not the duty of the Servant to understand the motives of the Master, but to serve….»

++ Begin Data Inload ++ Pending…. ++ ++ The current date is 4-526-599.M41 ++ ++ Report Begins ++

++ Major Events ++

++ Be aware that the detail and annotations provided in these updates is available only to the servants of the Inquisition – the full contents of these reports is Consignarus Obscurus Maximus, and should not be shared beyond our ranks ++

++ The Blind Scribes apologise for the delay in providing this Sector Report covering the end of 598.M41 but were thwarted by the agents of the Lord of Plagues ++

4-786.598.M41- The Reshaping of Amenophis IV

Hidden from the wider Sector at large, Inquisitorial Agents intervene on the surface of Amenophis IV, where agents of the eldritch entity known currently as SCENIC (or “The Darkness” by Inquisitorial forces) seek to corrupt an Ancient Alien site. Though successful, the redirection of built up psychic energies into the Xenos artefacts at the site activated ancient world-shaping engines beneath the surface of the world; Almost overnight, the arid wasteland begins to transform, as sudden climate change sweeps the planet. Rainstorms wash away millenia of toxic pollutants, and rapidly propagating plant-life begins to spring up.

This rapid climate change is shocking, and, only due to the rapid intervention of the planet’s rulers (supported by the Inquisition), prevents the stability of the planet's population from being compromised. The majority of Inquisitors (advised by their agents) opt to use an Iron Hand Velvet Glove approach - by isolating the populace from the appearance of the world’s secondary inhabitants the Xenos known as Cuetzpali, a lizard-like humanoid race. For now, the Ordo Xenos recommends containment of this emergent Xenos force and even limited cooperations as the Cuetzpali are dually aligned against both the forces of Chaos and the eldritch entity known as SCENIC - who they have a great knowledge of.

Over the coming months, Amenophis changes, and the Governors of Lower and Upper Amenophis bring in Agri-Engineers from Midsummer and Persephon to direct the rampant growth, and build irrigation systems to direct the newly freshly-flowing waters of the Aur Delta to the suddenly fertile land around in. The experts believe that, within two generations, the world will be fully reshaped into a fertile Agri-world; for now, production will be enough to complement that of Persephon IV, as that world recovers from generations of war against the Ork - and it will allow it to restore its own agricultural capacity.

Via direct intervention of Inquisitor-Penintent Haslinger with House Vilas-Lobo, the Inquisition is able to persuade the House to accept the new situation and continue its hands-off governance of the world - the Vilas-Lobo, seeing the power granted by having an agri-world firmly within its domain, agrees to follow the Inquisition’s requests, as well as staying well away from the areas that Ordo Xenos have deemed forbidden. The Governors successfully capitalise on this breathing space to further strengthen their personal control of the world. Though the Vilas-Lobo are not likely to release them from their vassaldom, if the Minor House is smart and subtle, they may very well secure a bright future for their bloodline.

Inquisitor Duplesis: The exact scope of the enemy’s plans on Amenophis will never be fully realised; we believe that SCENIC’s Agent was building a xenos psychic weapon. The consequences of them completing that weapon can only be imagined. It is theorised that this was a possible counterplay to Merewald, where the Archenemy had moved to assault SCENIC with their own psychic weapon.

While knowing that our greatest enemies in this Sector are at each other's throats is a source of considerable relief, we cannot expect that their moves against each other will not come at an immense cost of loyal Imperial lives as collateral.

Furthermore, be advised that the “Forbidden Zones” of Amenophis are the immediate areas around identified Spawning Engines of the Cuetzpali - for now, we have ceded those areas of the planet to them; and they seem to be just as keen on avoiding our people as we are in avoiding them. For now we have a truce. For now. As distasteful as it may be for some of us to acknowledge it, refusing the aid of an ally who understands our mutual ancient foe better than we do is not in our best interest. What the future holds is another matter - we have yet to identify a weakness in the ancient engines of Amenophis that would allow us to destroy them without causing a chain reaction of catastrophic proportions and likely creating a warp-rift.

Inquisitor-Penitent Haslinger: House Vilas-Lobo, despite their foul reputation, are a pragmatic House driven foremost by the acquisition of capital over all other concerns - so they can reclaim the investment that their Mother-House on Terra poured into the coffers of House Durovera upon the commencement of the Prosperitas Crusade. As long as they remain convinced that the new situation of the planet is to their benefit, they will be happy to observe Inquisitorial mandates over the Forbidden Zones.

Lord-Inquisitor Aetos: In the aftermath of events, and after listening to the advice of mission commanders, the Conclave voted to execute all former Imperial personnel recovered from the hands of Greppur Tain, as well as a single Tomb Priest by the name of Nekhbet - while sparing the majority of the Order, in the interest of maintaining order on the planetary surface. Regarding the Sorors, we have, to our regret, opted to euthanize those who had become deeply corrupted by SCENIC, while sparing Sister-Palatine Iona as the Adepta Sororitas have been without… reasonable leadership for several years now, and it has its benefits to spare her. Some of the executed were transferred to Inquisitor-Penitent Haslinger for dissection, so we might better understand the spiritual and physical effects of SCENIC on the mind and body. The results of that report are now being awaited by the Conclave.

4-805-598.M41 - An Enemy Revealed

In the aftermath of the Inquisitorial intervention, Inquisitorial teams picking through the ruins of Blacksite Amaranth gathered considerable evidence that the Blacksite had fallen to the influence of renegade members of the Inquisition. The Prosperitas Conclave, backed up by research undertaken by the Inquisitorial Cell aboard the HIMVS Stormchaser , have named this hostile faction as The Prometheae.

The Official Conclave stance on the Prometheae is that they are an ancient and heretical subfaction within the Inquisition who owe their creation to the belief that they can harness the power of the warp to recreate or resurrect the Emperor in his current form. The sect believe they can ‘Steal Fire From The Gods’ quite literally, and operate strange religious customs of Emperor-worship that border on the blasphemous, having been known to be willing to use bound daemons and forbidden warp witchcraft to their advantage. The Ordo Prosperitas stance is that any follower of the Sect, even those claiming to be Inquisitors, are heretics, and have been tried in absentia in a formal session of the Conclave that officially declares the shadowy enemy as all Excommunicate Traitoris -- with a kill order in place to execute (after interrogation) any known member of the sect with extreme prejudice. Inquisitor Reyna Haslinger (not to be confused with her loyal sister, Inquisitor-Penitent Rilke Haslinger) and the now-deceased Lord-Inquisitor Andros are declared to be amongst the traitors, with Andros being posthumously stripped of all titles. When Andros’ body is exhumed to be beheaded and ritually burned at the stake however, it is found to have gone missing - leading many Inquisitors to advise their agents that the enemy may have infiltrated more deeply than they expected - hardly surprising, given that Andros previously led the Prosperitas Conclave.

There are no formal responses from this shadow-Inquisition on this matter, but an assassination attempt was apparently made on Lord-Inquisitor Aetos in the following months that many view as retribution from the renegades for the open declaration of war. The attack fails though, and the Lord-Inquisitor is unharmed.

Inquisitor Corvinus - The Prometheae are uniquely invested in the Prosperitas Sector, but their heritage is in ancient misguided philosophies such as Xanthism and Horusianism; they seek to make use of the unique secrets of this Sector while pursuing paths that justify moral compromises; their willingness to sacrifice Imperial lives and worlds to achieve their ultimate outcomes is just the lesser of their crimes; theirs is a slippery slope towards outright daemonology and heresy from there. All out of the belief that they can uncover secrets of the sector that will allow them to create their own God-Emperor. Something we have all learned recently, is that this is not exclusively their own madness…

Inquisitor Valtrois - Agents should not underestimate the Prometheae -- they have had access to an array of void craft, including ones that demonstrate potent esoteric weaponry and equipment. They also have a considerable level of structure to their operation, with a full array of agents equal to your own cells, and compromised Blacksites, such as Amaranth - and very likely others that we are still unaware of. Have no doubt the followers of the Prometheae are not simply a shadow to the Conclave but a dark mirror - it has also been reported that they can call upon Space Marines of unknown origin to aid them. If you have further questions, please contact Interrogator Castronova or Interrogator Jensch who represent our most experienced Agents with this threat.

4-871.598.M41 - The Archenemy Contained

The destruction of several warships of the Weeping Eye and of Creeping Death Warbands after Greppur Tain’s sudden and unexpected raid on Amenophis seems to have hamstrung the capacity of the warbands to mount a meaningful challenge against the Imperial Navy cordon around their captured foothold on Kelper Prime - there are rumours that special forces from the Imperial Guard and of the Astartes Lions of Nemea have been mounting missions of sabotage in support of resistance fighters on the surface of Kelper, but the outlook of a meaningful resistance remains bleak, as the warp-birthed plagues and taint surrounding the warband seep into the very nature of the world.

Rimward, the Secundus front, remains more hotly contested -- but the reach of the Regency remains contained to the Subsector, in part due to the fact that the Archenemy seem no more capable than Imperial Navigators at navigating the natural defence that is the Mor Draenog, with its strange gravity-tides, nebula and stellar creches, as well as its uniquely difficult warp tides. Thanks in part to stellar maps acquired from the Archenemy during the liberation of Polarnus Station by the HIMVS Lord’s Confidence , the Imperial Navy is able to deploy vessels to ancient space-lanes to block probing assaults and raids that the Regency would have otherwise exploited.

4-153.599.M41 - Prosperitas est ad populi Imperialis

After a vidreel is released showing lesser House Durovera Scion, Lance Durovera, a Hero of the Aeronautica Imperialis, executing Governor Dunkeld of Lerwick, alongside her wife, an Imperial Cardinal - one of the few ruling noble families of Annwfyn decent, apparently for collaborating with Rising Flame insurgents in the fighting on Lerwick. The sector’s Imperial population is further galvanised by speeches made by Sector Governor Hermione Durovera, who continues her campaign of stoking the violent and xenophobic tendencies of the Imperial population against the native cultures of the worlds of the Prosperitas Sector - even offering incentives such as settlement rights or transfers of ownerships of businesses to those who can show proof of Ruwwadi and Annwfyn citizens of aiding or abetting insurgency - no incident demonstrates the instability this has caused better than the tragedy of the Star of Pilgrimage: Imperial crewmembers justify an attempted mutiny against the Chartist Captain of the Ruwwadi light freighter with unproven accusations of sedition. Due to the confusion caused by House Durovera’s ordinances, the System Defence Fleet vessels above Monacus - where the ship anchored - hesitate to act. Cornered, and after her children are killed in the fight against the mutineers, the Captain spitefully scuttles the vessel, by deploying all counter-boarding measures simultaneously. The vessel decompresses almost instantly, causing it to be lost with all hands.

Trust in Hermione Durovera’s greatest rival, Warmaster Khan, is degraded as a result of this, given Khan is of Ruwwadi descent herself, with more and more Imperial colonists becoming suspicious of the Crusade, as a campaign of rumours spreads, claiming that the Warmaster is alternately recruiting Annwfyn and Ruwwadi-only Regiments, and that she also intends to giving equal rights to the Raivan Abhumans in service.

Most bizarrely effective in agitating the Imperial populace is a rumour that the Warmaster is bringing in Regiments from outside the Sector. Even though this would bolster the colonist population, and perhaps provide a greater bulwark against Annwyfn and Ruwwadi native interests, for some reason, it inflames a newfound fear of being displaced in the Crusade by non-Prosperitan Imperial soldiers. This highlights how fragile and distorted the identity that Hermione Durovera has tried to forge for the colonial population is.

There is nothing to suggest that any of these rumours have any grain of truth, but House Durovera has apparently spent considerable wealth buying the loyalty of almost every planetary Vox Guild Guildmaster, and with it, increasing the Governor’s effective ability to spread her version of the truth.

Although the incentive to take control of favourable land and resources from natives makes the Sector Governor popular amongst the common people (while reducing the threat of her most powerful political opponent, Warmaster Khan) -- some have begun to question her wisdom in fanning the flames to such an extent. No longer is this contained to quiet conversations between common folk worried of being accused of seditious anti-Imperial liberal views - the Sector Nobility are increasingly uncomfortable with the Governor’s rhetoric. Most Nobles have never held strong opinions on the various cultural norms of the underclasses be they Imperial, Annwfyn or Ruwwad, as long as it does not interfere in the daily operation of their various enterprises; living in vastly removed Household cultures of their own on their side of the wealth divide, many find Hermione Duroveras newfound interest in how the underclass live an odd obsession at best. But now, with the inevitable increase in Rising Flame activity disrupting their business interests, many Nobles are growing irritated - and see Hermione as the root cause for new violence - not to mention that many thought that the Crusade had decisively ended any meaningful Rising Flame threat after the censure of Korimesta.

It believed that this is topic is openly debated in the Court of House Vilas-Lobo - the House has always been the master of using fear and awe to gain compliance from their subjects and enemies; but even they recognise when a pointless conflict is being created. However, what is more likely to bring the nobility to action is House Durovera’s control of the Vox Guilds - as they can definitely see how Hermione might eventually turn her rhetoric and the whipped-up populace against them.

Lady-Inquisitor Duplesis: It should be noted that, while the Scribes have used broad strokes in their terminology, the “colonial Imperial” population is not homogenous in its behaviour. While Sector Governor Durovera’s command of the Vox Guilds gives her a concerning far reach, many transplanted colonial populations have a perfectly harmonious relationship with the native populations of their worlds. That said, this violence and the newscasts put out by the Vox Guilds threaten even these more balanced relationships. It is unfortunate that Grulge consumed all our domestic resources, otherwise the worrying acquisition of the loyalties of so many Vox Guilds across the sector might have been noticed sooner - though it seems House Durovera planned carefully for this, and often used proxies to deliberately mask its acquisitions from us.

Inquisitor Corvinus: My fear is that the one thing we relied on to control Hermione Durovera until now -- that her House was compromised and controlled by a Daemon wearing her brother’s flesh -- is no longer sufficient to keep her under our thumb. She is smart enough to know that too much time has passed for us to still be able to justify purging her House on that basis.

Lord-Inquisitor Aetos: I must remind my fellow Inquisitors that Hermione Durovera is, by right of Birth, the Emperor’s chosen representative to the Sector Throne -- with her bloodline chosen by the Senatorum Imperialis to rule. So, unless her bloodline is proven to be compromised (infiltrators notwithstanding), then it is not the Inquisition’s place to interfere in the leadership of the Sector. We have greater priorities to contend with than starting a civil war.

4-331.599.M41 - A Light In the Mists

An Inquisitorial Strikeforce (Operation INCANDESCENT) deployed to the Mor Draenog uncovers a renegade Inquisition operation conducted by Inquisitor Darius Nasser and the long-believed-dead Inquisitor Zamiel Mordininian. On the surface of Corbenic IV, these Inquisitors planned to use esoteric means to draw the light of the Astronomicon to their location, and to incarnate the Emperor in a body that (according to research notes gathered by Inquisitorial cleanup teams) created from His very genetic material: it is a grown PBDX-001, a preserved embryo containing the genetic material of the Emperor, originally kept in the Blacksite in Polarnus, and stolen during the Archenemy occupation of the Station. Exposing the potential child of the Emperor to a Xenos of the Dark Eldar - the Haemonculi that calls itself “Father” - would be enough to justify the execution of these two Inquisitors - but this was, in fact, a single sin in their vast list of transgressions. Their ostensibly ‘holy’ goal, however, has allowed the Inquisitors to surround themselves with several fanatical Inquisitorial acolytes and, perhaps more worryingly, members of the Order of His Sanguine Tears - who appear to have drifted from their Canoness to the leadership of these Inquisitors.

They were at least partially successful in ritually summoning the energies of the Astronomicon to their ritual for a matter of hours, before the energies of the ritual are unbound by the Strike Force -- though the touch of the Emperor’s light remains upon the world, saturating it in the energies of the Astronomicon, creating a temporary ‘star’ of energy suspended in the planet’s atmosphere.

Due to the nature of the incident being so incredibly heretic and immeasurably harmful to the reputation of the Conclave , the Inquisition has adopted a cover story for this incident recommended by the Command Team of the Strike Force, specifically that:

“Agents of the Regency used foul magics to attempt to rip a hole in the Warp, creating a second Lash of the Eye. Imperial forces - including a detachment of Her Imperial Navy led by Admiral Chandier, and a scratch squad drawn together by Hero of the Imperium Giancarlo Firenze - attempted to disrupt this vile rite. By the intervention of the God-Emperor, the efforts of the Regency were prevented. The Light of Their Favour will forever shine as a beacon, marking the site of this historic victory. “

Multiple elements of local popular liturgy utilise the terminology of a Beacon; heavy use of this reference has layered potential benefits. All Agents are recommended to keep to this line.

In light of his actions, and in spite of being officially retired, Major Firenze is granted the honour of being named ‘Archmilitant’ in a small private ceremony by the Warmaster, amongst his myriad of decorations.

While both the Inquisitors were executed and their surviving retinues are captured by Inquisitorial forces that landed shortly after the alarm was given, their apparent co-conspirators - the agents of the Adeptus Mechanicus, the Dark Eldar, and an unknown cloaked vessel - manage to flee the world in the aftermath, along with several members of the Rising Flame who cooperated with the Inquisitorial Strike Team.

Thankfully, the Strike Team also managed to recover several important missing persons. Admiral Chandier, the Commander of Polarnus Station, along with Commander Darling, Head of Medicae for Polarnus, are found alive and safe, though the Admiral has clearly been hardened by her experiences - being now harsher and more devout in her loyalties to the Emperor. Though the Admiral presents an issue to be contained and carefully transitioned back to her post by the Inquisition, the recovery of Callum Gearwright, Saint-Presumptive of the Imperial Faith and inspiration to the Gearwright Sect is something to be celebrated, with them being escorted immediately to the front of the Crusade.

Lady-Inquisitor Duplesis: Tech Priests claiming loyalty to Forge Ferraeus being present as co-conspirators makes an worrying degree of sense. While it is of no doubt that our former colleagues bear the blame for the crimes committed, they also did not have the whole means to do so - those appear to have been supplied by the Tech Priests. It is no secret amongst the Conclave that I suspected that the sudden mechanical failure of Polarnus Stations defence systems was not due to Dark Mechanicus witchcraft - rather from betrayal and sabotage from the inside. This explains why one of my veteran agents was compromised by an unknown enemy, with his will controlled by unusual technologies -- deliberately left for our teams to rescue: a sleeper agent instructed to retrieve exactly one item, Item-001 PDBX, a genetically viable sample of the God Emperor, an embryo - that later was tracked by my agents leaving Polarnus Station aboard a vessel with Ferrean Colors.

When you consider that, amongst the assassins encountered by Inquisition Agents on Finisterra to kill Hermione Durovera - there was a single Heretek capable of jumping bodies via the means of machine-possession, then the weight of evidence becomes insurmountable. We have some serious questions to ask of Ferraeus’ leadership; and its consolidation of power over Castellum is even more worrying given these events. Challenging Ferraeus directly will be difficult, and we need to consider alternative approaches to gain further information before we move more officially against them.

Lord Inquisitor Aetos: The Beneficent Eye - the flagship of Inquisitor Nasser was intercepted by my own craft - bearing with it a considerable amount of gathered material by Nasser, no doubt intended to strike the Prosperitas Conclave Excommunicate Traitoris by appealing directly to the Inquisitorial Representative on Terra and the Terran Conclave itself. We were unable to persuade the captain of the Eye to surrender and the resulting void battle caused the vessel to detonate with all hands aboard. We sadly will never know what Nasser believed he had on this Conclave that he felt certain enough to guarantee its downfall - but I am certain that whatever he had assembled, it was a pack of forged falsehoods designed to support his mad cause.

Inquisitor Corvinus: Custody of Thorian personnel captured during Operation INCANDESCENT has been granted to Malachi Strix, who, having proven himself pure of the intent and free of the influence of Inquisitor Nasser (his former Master) has been granted the initial duty of determining the fate of those taken alive. Anyone desiring to interact with captives taken during the operation should approach Strix first, and then myself, as I am taking responsibility for providing prison facilities aboard my own vessels. Hopefully, some of them might find some degree of redemption. It should be noted to all agents that no individuals of the Adepta Sororitas were encountered during this operation as far as you are concerned. Any individuals bearing symbols or equipment that could be mistaken for those of the Sororitas are false pretenders and not a part of the hallowed order. Nonetheless, should you encounter such an individual, do not be surprised if they demonstrate signs of mind-wiping as it has been necessary to suppress their aberrant personalities.

4-331.599.M41 - Movement in the Shadows

Though the disruption of the Astronomicon caused temporary chaos amongst the Navigators of the Imperium, the Archenemy’s various forces were not as hobbled during the few hours of the ‘blip’. Thankfully, due to the swiftness of the Inquisitorial forces in disrupting the heretical ritual, the enemy only obtained a small advantage, with a handful of opportunistic ships using the stilling of the border between the Astronomicon and Eyestorm Tenebris to pass into realspace and make small level raids.

The most significant of these was when a small Battlegroup of Regency vessels gone to warp at Helaerus III, exploiting the blindness of Naval Navigators to trick them into pursuing them into the depths of the warp - and causing those ships to be lost with all hands - before they exit the warp in orbit of Carthusia to launch a wave of torpedoes at the planet. The majority of these are intercepted by orbital platforms but the surprise attack catches them at less than full readiness, and several strike the planet, devastating swathes of swampland. The Regency ships go to warp shortly after this, and continue to harry shipping within Subsector Primus, despite the pursuit of Imperial Navy and House Durovera vessels. It is believed that they were able to operate with the aid of infiltrators and saboteurs from the Regency who were encountered in numerous stations of the Imperium.

Inquisitor Corvinus: We have been continuing to coordinate with Commissar Demelza Quinn, who exposed the infiltration by the so-called “Liberi Horibili”, and who continues to spearhead the operations against these infiltrators with the support of Commissariat assets. But if you feel you have the talents to assist against either Regency Infiltrators or the rogue Archenemy battlegroup, then please reach out to Commissar Quinn who is coordinating efforts as a distant hand of the Inquisition in these matters.

4-333.599.M41 - The Nightmares Pursued

Observation vessels dispatched to pursue Eldar vessels fleeing the surface of Corbenic IV are able to follow the vessels back to a base of operations on the fringes of the Mor Draenog, only to find the Circle of Thorns, namely the Eldar and the Pykes - who form the largest pirate group within the Criminal Syndicate - besieged by a bizarre sight: an animated ossified Void Whale corpse having apparently attacked the Pirate base and vomited waves of the living dead to assault it. The Eldar vessels that left Corbenic IV hold at the edge of the system, seemingly observing the conflict. Pursuit vessels are able to intercept numerous cries for aid from the besieged Circle forces, but they go unanswered, as the perfidious Eldar having apparently no loyalty to even their own kin, abandoning them to their fate. Faced with the choice between pursuing Father or observing the phenomenon, the pursuit vessel’s Captain opts to remain and observe the attack, capturing in detail the horrific improvised vessel and its assault forces rapidly suborning the pirate facility and overrunning both Eldar and Human vessels anchored there… before the force seemingly slips into an inky-black gate in space with its new acquisitions.

Inquisitor Zahid: I think we can be fairly certain that - judging from what has been reported from the depths of the Eldar ‘Ishari’ city of Ishamar and on several other worlds by multiple investigating Agents - we are dealing with more recently arrived or, perhaps more accurately, reawoken forces of the entity we are naming SCENIC. These appear, on the surface, to be humans, but in possession of a supernatural mastery over death, fear and darkness - my own agents have been working hard to gather information of these entities and their movements, and we currently hold one captive thanks to the Agents involved in the Operation in The Wake prior to the Silence - but any Agent who believes they have information should reach out to my lead agent, Agitator-Confessor Gwyn, who has been coordinating efforts to better understand them.

4-378.599.M41 - The Helot’s Crusade

The return of Callum Gearwright and his Lifeward Baris means that the Gearwright sect continues its slow crawl to being legitimised by the Sector Ecclesiarchy, as more and more recognise the Sainthood of the former Astropath. There are still plenty who do not embrace it, with the Ecclesiarchy politically choosing to continue referring to Callum as ‘The Saint Presumptive’ in order to prevent fragmentation with the more conservative members of the faith.

But other, less legitimised sects, remain relevant to the Sector.

Once commonly referred to as the “Redemption” being born from the fanatical movement from Segmentum Solar, begin to report visions of a figure burning with His Light calling them to action against the Darkness - seeking a revival the most senior leaders amongst this outlawed sect declare themselves as the Congregation of His Burning Martyr. Based on Inquisitorial analysis, the outpouring of energies of the Astronomicon from Corbenic IV have had a distinct long-term psychological and spiritual effect on those of most extreme levels of belief in the God-Emperor inuring them in some way against the effects of the entity known as SCENIC, though seemingly influenced by this shared vision of a burning figure. The Burned Saint - as this figure comes to be referred to in common parlance within the sect - is a focal point for a mass rising of the most faithful amongst the Helots and Underclasses of the Imperium - these forces mobilise against perceived mutants, witches, chaos cults and, most significantly, forces of the Darkness. In a number of locations, the continued predations of the Eldar offshoot subspecies known as the Ishari are turned back by unwashed hordes with hastily assembled weaponry and flame projectors.

A dramatic turn of events on Letifer sees the Congregation rampage through the Hive City of Effluent’s Mouth, the seat of the Alchymist’s Guild on Letifer (and the source of the River Effluent that flows from the cities Chem-Factorums) with the support of the Guild. The rebellion is against the City’s Governor, whose armies of Enforcers are unable to hold off Congregation members armed with flamers and chem-throwers supplied by the guild. Despite the chaos caused by the uprising, Inquisitorial forces are able to infiltrate the Spire as it falls, where they witness the Governor transform into a large bat-winged entity before being consumed by flames. Inquisitorial forces are able to martyr those who pay witness to this, and make off with the body of the Chiropteran before its discovery can cause further mass panic. For now, Effluent’s Mouth formally becomes the seat of the Congregation with the support of the Alchemyst’s Guild, that seems to have fully been subsumed into the Congregation and spreads its influence on Letifer.

This “Helot’s Crusade” continues to rage across the Sector to the current date.

Inquisitor Zahid: The Inquisition believes that this figure is Argento Vern, formerly the Herald of the Prosperitas Conclave, who was consumed in flames as a martyr during the Inquisitorial operation on Corbenic IV, himself formerly of the Redemption. Seeing as he was so close to the epicentre of the detonation of psychic energies created by the Corbenic Beacon and of such profound and fanatical faith in the Emperor, it is highly likely that Vern’s psychic if not physical essence was carried on the dispersing wave of energies, causing his personality and beliefs to find home in those like-minded. This is an understandably fascinating phenomenon - were we all as lucky as to have the Emperor lend Their Energies to our messages to the faithful, perhaps other concepts might have been disseminated so profoundly.

Inquisitor-Penitent Haslinger: Though we can be pleased to see the Faithful finding themselves buoyed against the invasive presence of SCENIC, it cannot be forgotten that, regardless of their retitling of their order, what was once the Redemption and is now the Congregation of the Burning Martyr is not a sect recognized by the Ecclesiarchy, but, rather, one that seeks to entirely supplant it with its own fanatical belief system. It is not dissimilar to the Templars we have only recently put down, in seeking to supplant the Imperium with a religious state. Thankfully, with the Cult’s roots amongst the common helots and lower classes of our Imperium means it lacks the political leverage that allowed the Temple to take significant root within the sector hierarchy. This ‘Helot’s Crusade’ should be carefully monitored, we can ill-afford a rebellion at this time - but… with the right influences, we might well exploit it as a weapon.

4-534.599.M41 - The Evacuation of House Quereshi

House Qureshi manages to use the wave of energies from the Corbenic Beacon to send cries for aid to their close allies in the Crusade, warning them of the invasion of their world, Anaximund Alpha, by Forge Naximus forces - the powerful Knights clash with God-Machines and creations of Naximus across their world. Unable to muster forces capable of directly confronting Naximus, the Warmaster makes a dangerous gambit, dispatching a taskforce of available vessels to evacuate the Knight House’s forces, and those of their banner-houses, such as House Zahak, along with myriad “technobarbarian” yeofolk of the House. Though proud warriors, House Qureshi and their banner-houses recognise that their world cannot resist the assault of God-Machines and other creations of the Mechanicus of Naximus seeking to suborn them fully under the control of the Forge World. Though every effort is made by the Captains of Battlefleet Prosperitas, the Naximan vessels attack, deploying a technovirus against the Imperials - similar to that which was unleashed against House Majid - fortunately, a retinue of a two Tech Priests and a Qureshi Scion evacuated alongside the Knights of the House the world are able to aid the Enginseers of the Naval vessels in resisting the technological assault.

Some members of the House remain behind to mount a resistance, including Laleh Qureshi: the Satrap Princeps’ pride will not allow her to abandon her throne - instead, she says she will go into the mountains with other Knights to harry the invading Naximans alongside several tribes of the yeofolk who refuse to leave their lands.

It is surprising to many that the revelations of Technoheresy by the Naximans does not provoke a more profound reaction from Forge Ferraeus - while through the mouthpieces of the Forge, Ferraeus shouts their condemnations, there is no meaningful response from the Ferraen Mechanicus -- their God-Machines are not recalled from battlefronts, no sanctuary is offered to the Knight-House in exile, and no petitions are immediately sent to Mars to condemn the Forge as Hereteks. For now, despite the actions of the Warmaster, the Imperium views the conflict between Anaximund and Naximus to be an internal issue between the Forge and its subject-world.

Lady-Inquistor Duplesis: It will not surprise those of you deployed to Corbenic IV to see the odd state of truce between Naximus Prime and Ferraeus; we have a great deal of reasons to suspect the Ferraen leadership of being complicit in the heretical experiments carried out on Corbenic. The arrival of Naximan Skitarii to support a clear attempt to take control of the experiment suggests a clandestine degree of cooperation between two supposedly (publically) radically different Forges. It is the belief of this Conclave that the subsumption of Macharion referred to in Sector Report XI, as well as the annihilation of the House Majid Fleet some years ago are the actions of an Abominable Intelligence that current information suggests has subverted the leadership of Forge Naximus. Investigations are ongoing -- in the interim please discuss any concerns with Magos Satyajit whose cell has had the most success in investigating this and provided us with the means to defend against the techno-viral assaults of this artificial entity. We are confident any technology in Inquisitorial use is currently secured against technological threats.

4-660.599.M41- Secundus Bleeds

Things are going poorly for the Crusade. Since her victory in the Epona Stars, the Regency Admiral Jehanne Anointed-Sword-of-the-Bladed-Fleet, appears to be the chosen commander of the Regency offensive in Subsector Secundus. While she has not been able to decisively break the Imperial lines constraining their forces to the Subsector, she has succeeded in turning several fronts into protracted conflicts that the Crusade has been forced to reinforce constantly by digging her forces into trench lines and orbital dropped defensive bastions. Though the Crusade has a theoretically unlimited ability to tithe the worlds of the Prosperitas Sector for new troops, the casualties taken by experienced regiments mean that the availability of skilled soldiers in the warzone is a concern for Crusade High Command.

Jehane has found success is on the planetary level, capturing multiple settlements on Lerwick as well as the entire West-Equatorial Hive Cluster on Helaerus III -- this has enabled her to reinforce her forces with captured Imperial citizens - but perhaps more worryingly, has given her a supply of human sacrifices. The Priests of the Regency weave warp rites from the flesh and blood of sacrifices, empowering their soldiers, healing wounds unnaturally and bringing to life foul warp-puppets made of flesh and steel, bound with the essence of things of the warp that stalk the battlefields. This has rendered these stalemates vastly more costly for the Imperium, as it haemorrhages experienced soldiers in war zones where fresher recruits simply break from the sheer horrors summoned by the archenemy.

Even the Imperium’s chosen shock troops, the handful of Lions of Nemea Space Marines, Stormtroopers and Adepta Sororitas fighting alongside the Crusade, have little success against the horrors unleashed to drag out this bloody stalemate, and the Regency remains firmly dug in.

Lord-Inquisitor Aetos: Anything that involves us spending lives en-mass is, in turn, furthering the threat of SCENIC’s continual feasting on the souls of the dead. We have begun to track an increased resurgence of Ghouls and other carrion-manifestations we believe to be tied to the Entity sector wide -- but most prevalently on Helaeurus and Lerwick, where the worst casualties are occurring. Furthermore the Archenemy seems to have none of our concerns, their foul rituals able to ensure their souls and those of their victims are given over to their own foul masters.

Inquisitor Corvinus: While a strong Battlefleet Prosperitas is certainly containing the enemy to Subsector Secundus, the Crusade is experiencing significant issues reinforcing the Imperial Guard. A huge number of Guard regiments awaiting deployment were caught in the fighting at Pollarnus Station, and the decision by individuals deployed there to pursue the destruction of Archenemy vessels at the cost of hitting retreating transports during the recapture of the station left many of those regiments depleted. This blow, along with the increased concerns of local Governors about retaining their best fighting population to maintain civil control of their worlds, has resulted in Guard Commanders increasingly having to withhold veteran units for critical operations and rely largely on recently raised tithe-regiments and penal units, especially in subsector Secundus. This, combined with Naximus Prime’s withdrawal into potential heresy and resulting in the forges of Ferraeus becoming overtaxed resupplying losses of armoured vehicles, means the Warmaster considers it a critical issue of footpower in holding ground in our planetary conflicts -- even while she is confident in our Naval supremacy. Should the Regency or the Tain Twins land forces on another world, we would have significant issues finding Guard regiments capable of repelling them.

This is, of course, made worse by a reluctance of risking civil conflict, now that Sector Governor Durovera has stirred the masses against the idea non-Prosperitan forces joining the Crusade - which means the the Crusade is wary of requesting additional support from surrounding Sectors and Militarum High Command. To paint a stark picture though, even if we emptied every single penal sector of Lubyanka, our predictions of a victory in driving the Archenemy out of its positions on both Hellaerus and Lerwick would be at such a cost in lives that we would not be able to leverage the manpower to retake the worlds we have already lost to the Archenemy advance. The Crusade, ultimately, needs Imperial Guard personnel desperately and while the population is whipped up to defend the sector, the personal conflict between the Warmaster and the Sector Governor has reached a point where the Warmaster has begun to consider her position potentially untenable despite the endorsement of the High Lords.

++Current Affairs++

++ Be aware that this information, while available to those beyond the Inquisition – is provided only to your clearance level and should not be discussed with Citizens. The penalty for perversion of ignorance is one hundred lashes at a public corporal square. Repeat infractions will result in execution ++

Under the premise of mandatory reviews of contracts, Lady Inquisitor Duplesis has been able to persuade her contacts in the Sector Administratum to pause all movement of House Globex food goods - quietly the Inquisition has begun to engineer excuses to destroy masses of Globex stock knowing it to be deliberately contaminated with Xenos biomatter. It is the current belief of the Ordo Malleus that, while the Ordo Xenos have interests in containing the Xenos biomatter, the cult at the heart of House Globex is the working of the Archenemy. As of now, forces are being positioned to make a move against the House. It is recommended anyone wishing to move against the House liaise with Interrogator Elspeth Flannagan whose cell has most heavily investigated the Globex situation. All Inquisitorial Agents who have consumed Globex-brand rations are recommended to report for mandatory screening for xenos corruption.

The stabilisation of Butonia in recent years has finally reduced to a scale where any resistance against further mining operations has all but vanished. House Gaudin, still in mourning from the loss of Planetary Governor Egon Gaudin, approves exploration permits from Forge Ferraeus. No sooner than auto-quills are set idle than does the shadow of huge macro-excavators falls across the long-abandoned pits. Dropped from orbital landers, they begin to once again chew through the landscape rapidly, consuming primaeval woodland and open planes and blighted farmland - those settlements unwilling to relocate from the path of the macro-excavators are forcibly evicted by Ferraen Skitarii, or worse, consumed in their path.

The Adeptus Astra Telepathica has made petitions for aid from the Inquisition, reporting a higher-than-average rate of suicide amongst both sanctioned Psykers and their unsanctioned brethren alongside them. The afflicted demonstrate higher-than-average rates of psychological distress demonstrating paranoia, complaining of a sensation of being watched, showing an abject terror of mirrors, and being often witnessed arguing with figures over their shoulder that are not really there. This would not normally be within the writ of the Inquisition, but what is concerning is the ritualistic nature of the suicides, with often the victims cutting their own throats. What is perhaps more concerning is the apparent presence of the same psycho stigmatic lesions in the brains of all the individuals. Ordo Malleus agents have deployed to various Adeptus Astra Telepathica facilities across the Sector. Those wishing to lend their expertise or investigate this matter should make themselves available to the Conclave.

At the urging of Warmaster Khan, Saint-Presumptive Gearwright and his retinue including Lifeward Baris alongside Warmaster-Emiratus Ulian have been dispatched to the secondary defensive lines of Helaerus III to bolster the faith in the face of the abominations unleashed by the Regency against the lines there - where hopefully the presence of both the former Warmaster and the Saint-Presumptive will act as a balm to buoy the resolve of the soldiers deployed in the brutal fighting in the forest battlezone. The presence of the former Skitarii Lifeward has been noted as a boon to both the security of the Saint-Presumptive and the Warmaster-Emiratus with no less than six Regency assassins falling to the Saint-Presumptives chosen companion. For the Gearwright sect, which has had little traction within the Imperial military, the presence of Baris as a warrior at the side of the Saint-Presumptive has aided greatly in the advancement of acceptance of the Saint and more and more Gearwright pamphlets and liturgy make reference to the Saint’s companion as the Sect continues to seek legitimacy.

Pilgrims have begun to arrive at the Corbenic Beacon with a large number of vessels representing Priests aligned with the Voluntas Concedists and Hierocratic Orthodoxy sects of the Ecclesiarchy arriving alongside pilgrim vessels bearing Gearwrights - the pilgrims are quarantined aboard the HIMVS Unto Dawn and Splendor of Terra (two rechristened captured Thorian vessels) for screening by Inquisitorial troops (disguised as Crusade soldiers) to ensure that the clean-up operations on the surface have time to complete their work and ensure that the site is cleansed for pilgrims. Though there is notable frustration at being denied immediate access the differences between the varied sects have been kept from boiling into conflict by keeping both vessels in orbit of the beacon itself which receives daily worship from all congregations aboard.

Despite the bolstering of the Helot’s Crusade, the marginalised sections of Imperial society remain repeated victims for the Xenos known as the Ishari who continue to steal away living victims in raids on the underhives and isolated communities of the sector, a greater-than-average burden of this falls to the Ruwwadi and Annwfyn who enjoy the least amount of protection from both Imperial forces and the Congregation, who more often than not persecute them as much as the Ishari. This only reinforces the role of native groups, the Rising Flame and to a greater extent criminal organizations in providing a defensive role to these communities who are often at odds with local Imperial Enforcers. The limited deployment of Kill Teams from the Deathwatch and the Conclave’s own Chamber Militant Stormtroopers as well as Lady-Inquisitor Duplesis’s Strike Teams of Raivan Commandos has been the only effort the Imperium has been able to successfully make using clandestine operations to avoid the mass panic likely to occur should the wider Imperial population become aware of the Ishari.

++Rumours++

++ Be aware that the veracity of this information has not be ascertained and carries with it a class-2 warning of unreliability [class-2.information is gathered via un-enhanced interrogation or state surveillance]++

Intercepted comms from Adeptus Arbites watch stations on Carthusia indicate they have taken over responsibility from local Enforcers and PDF for the protection of several zones of the planet where Regency torpedoes impacted - they are investigating reports that there has been extensive theft from nodes of materials used in psi-reactive wafers exposed by bombardments.

Across the docking station bars of the sector, many void-sailors have spoken of increased warp turbulence, most who travel the void will say it is undeniable that journeys have become more halting with many ships without Naval-grade gellar fields having to make multiple jumps or risk disaster as the tidal energies of the warp are stirred up.

It has been whispered amongst the Noble Courts that the House Lobos-Reais, the Terran Parent-House of House Vilas-Lobo is seeking to recall its debts from both its cadet-house and the financial backing it granted Jacinta Durovera five hundred years ago - however because many copies of the long-disappeared Rogue Trader’s records have been lost there is little accounting of the depth of the debt owed to the Terran House, and some are concerned it will wield its own influence to dispatch tithe collectors to the Prosperitas Sector in order to collect on its historical investments.

It has been said amongst void-sailors that vessels from Houses Durovera, Di Firro and Majid have been recruiting crews and mercenaries for ventures into the Mor Draenog seeking to make use of the Corbenic Beacon’s new navigational possibilities to explore the hitherto dangerous region. Even if this is not true, the Inquisition believes it is inevitable that the scions of these Rogue Trader Houses will inevitably launch expeditions into the region, and watches closely to see what they might uncover.

It has become popular amongst the Storm Troopers of the Ordo Prosperitas’ Chamber Militant to hold betting games on which currently annoying public figure in sector news is in fact a Chiropteran. Inquisitor Militant Corvinus has been heard darkly muttering that despite the fact it has been disproven that ‘it’s never Chiropterans’, it is not now correct to say ‘It is always Chiropterans’.