"Go Secure?"
"Go, this is Scorpion Nest"
"Protocol 24 initiated. Callsign Myrmidon. Sir, Patrol Fourteen has been ambushed by Necrontyr forces. Current status- eight strong, including wounded, two MIA and three KIA. Tags were given to Gold lead. I had ordered them to fall back and inform the battlegroup whilst we remained to observe the forces and stabilise our wounded. Did Gold Troop make pickup, sir?"
"Confirmed Myrmidon One, Gold troop and tags fully accounted for and have been debriefed. Battlegroup had been informed and orders will follow soon. What of contacts?"
"Sir, Myrmidons two through five tracked enemy five klicks north-north-west of this transmission. Myrmidon two reported overgrown stone structures visible in the distance. Be advised, further contacts, codename "Scarabs" seen in vicinity"
"Roger Myrmidon One, Command group will be made aware of this"
"Very good Scorpion Nest. Requesting orders or extraction co-ordinates"
"Sit tight and stay frosty. Orders will follow shortly. Scorpion Nest out"
"Understood. Myrmidons out."
+++End of Transmission+++
TFCT Xenophon, Kulak Orbit- Following the arrival of various units from the Federation's Armed Forces as well as supporting regiments of the finest soldiers the Imperium can offer, Command HQ have redeployed various regiments including elements of the IEF and our very own featured regiment- The Scorpions.
I find myself on TFCT Xenophon with Smith's Scorpions waiting to be transported to an undisclosed location with us being subjected to standard 72 hour quarantine procedures. No one in the ship's company knows where or when we will arrive but we have been placed under command of Colonel Arturus "The Shadow" Jessop of Internal Security Services and Inquisitor Heathrim Decimatus of the Ordo Xenos. This only signifies one thing- wherever we will find ourselves, it is hugely important to the whole of Mankind.
My contacts in the Fleet have however, made it known to me that the IEF were sent to a death world of Van Diemen's Hole, or as the grunts call it "Mean Green" in an attempt to discover the true extent of the Necron threat. Initial reports say they have landed and during a clean and sweep mission, which should have been routine, the Patriarch Guard of Iceni House Spartar made contact with hostile forces. I don't know the full extent of the engagement, but I do know one thing- the company suffered a terrible loss in the form of the death of Major Lord Thasen Spartar, their commanding officer. Details of his successor and an official statement from House Spartar are yet to arrive. It seems the offensive has truely begun.
Major Malloy, MIJ
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Fort Forward, Kulak- After rumours of a Necrontyr force being found on this planet were running rampant through the barracks and fleet, we (a collection of various broadcasters from various planets and systems) were invited to a conference with the media liaison officer, Staff Captain N'Jega. We were able to ask him about these rumours, to which he replied:
"The situation as we know it is as follows. Yes, a Necrontyr force has been detected on this very continent, but do not be alarmed as it is no where near this fortification. Command HQ are aware of there presence and, having relayed this to their superiors and the Office of the Segmentum Commander, are expecting extra reinforcements from all over the segmentum, maybe even the Imperium in order to cement the Imperium's hold on this sector, the first of which are due to make planetfall today"
We were then able, later that day, to observe the drop ships landing and the inspection-parade of the new troops. From what I have gathered, they area company from the Patriarch Guard of the Iceni noble House Spartar and although led by Major Julianos Spartar, fourth son of the House's present ruler, they will fall under command of 7th IEF commander, Colonel Holloran, for the duration of the campaign. Following their parade they were immediately billeted and sent out on routine patrols and operations.
Staff Captain N'Jega also announce the non-mechanical units for the 56th IEF Regiment's, 8th Recon. company, are landing within the next 30 hours, and will be assigned to garrison duties until the full complement of vehicles has arrived from a nearby forge world of Hesperus.
As usual I will keep you folks at home up to date with the war effort and your friends,and family who are fighting here for the glory of the Emperor's Imperium.
Major Malloy, MIJ
Fort Forward, Kulak-As of today the war for the Sleipner sector has begun. Our very own Fleet's Battlefleet Scimitar dropped out of warp space in orbit of the hive world of Kulak.
Fleet started at 0600 with bombing runs over an isolated airfield in the north west of the planet's main continent-the Eucrates region. Following this clearance of hostile forces, the 1st Iceni Expeditionary Regiment and the company I am attached to, 3rd Mobile Infantry Regiment's G Company, were quickly dropped onto the surface with the aim to hold out as long as possible on this infested rock's surface until the Fleet could knock out the orbital batteries and flood reinforcements into the airfield.
Many cap troopers were asking why operations weren't launched to quietly neutralise the planetary defences before the operation began, but in true MI style they knew it wasn't their place to question the decisons of their superiors and they went down, willingly risking their lives, to secure the site in the name of the Imperium from attack by an overwhelming force of ugly, obnoxious greenskins.
I watched from the ruined control tower as our brave men and women dug in and held out with minimal casualties. They fought bravely for hours until an overwhelming roar of joy erupted as incoming drop ship engines could be heard and their Thunderbolt escorts made an air-to-ground assault, giving those brutish Orks something to fear and think about as they ran away in a cloud of black, oily smoke.
As I report this to you now, what has become known as Fort Forward, is being built up and fortified by our Combat Engineers, The Adeptus Mechanicus and some Arbitrator controlled slave gangs who are working around the clock to protect this beachhead. Other small units of ours have been seen patrolling the region and manning the gun posts whilst others get some sack time, exercise or chow in the newly contructed barrack complex.
One other interesting point is that here, a rumour of a Tac-Recon general being arrested is running rampant. As usual I will bring you more once I have something solid.
Reporting from Fort Forward,
Major Malloy MIJ over and out.
Hive Primus, Necromunda- Yesterday the Talon Tournament began after a day of celebration and pre-season entertainment in the Talon dome of Necromunda's governing hive. The tournament itself is a tri-casted event which will see teams of fighters competing in gigantic arenas to be the end of season champions and win the prize of fame and fortune (currently listed as 10,000 Necromundan Credits or 40,000 Imperials and increasing). Teams consist of convicted criminals sentenced to death in the Tournament (so if they win they get their freedom), ex- Imperial Guardsmen, gang fighters and generally people from all walks of life. The Tourney's organsiers, the Talon Corporation of Necromunda promise it to be one hell of a spectacle and the first season of many!
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