This is a transcript of the narrative entries for "Eternal Crusade", a Warhammer 40k Crusade Campaign that was run in May of 2021
The Pandraxx Subsector has been a hotbed of activity over the past few centuries. From when the system was under near constant assault by the forces of Chaos, to when the Grand Heretek Tybalt Cromwell's campaign to activate an ancient relic that ended when their assault on the Imperial Hive World of Argentum was rebuffed and their forces driven back into the warp whence they came. It has been centuries since the last conflict and the remaining Imperial worlds continue to operate as best they can being so near one of the only safe paths through the Cicatrix Maledictum.
The subsectors position has been a boon for Imperial trade, but it also means that nearly every crusading force or Xenos fleet passing through the sector comes dangerously close to Pandraxx, occasionally resulting in scouts or vanguard forces stumbling upon the subsector and subjecting the worlds within to yet another struggle to survive. In ca. 128 M42 an Administratum clerk in Hive Ordinus on Argentum completed processing decades of tracking data on various Xenos fleet sightings throughout the Imperium Nihilus.
The machine spirit within the cogitator reacted violently, warning claxons sounded, and tech adepts swarmed the distraught clerk to discover the source. The pathing and tracking rituals had discovered that numerous fleets of Xenos and Chaos forces are converging on the subsector from every corner of the galaxy, thousands of engagements across hundreds of systems changing the course of entire battlefleets to pass directly through Pandraxx. Shortly after the information was verified the cogitator burned out and nearly wiped every other system in the Administratum datavault when a blast of scrapcode erupted from the tortured machine spirit. With the Planetary governors sending out distress calls to any Imperial fleets in the vicinity, the subsector prepares for an invasion on a scale not seen in millennia.
The Pandraxx Subsector has been a hotbed of activity over the past few centuries. From when the system was under near constant assault by the forces of Chaos, to when the Grand Heretek Tybalt Cromwell's campaign to activate an ancient relic that ended when their assault on the Imperial Hive World of Argentum was rebuffed and their forces driven back into the warp whence they came. It has been centuries since the last conflict and the remaining Imperial worlds continue to operate as best they can being so near one of the only safe paths through the Cicatrix Maledictum.
The subsectors position has been a boon for Imperial trade, but it also means that nearly every crusading force or Xenos fleet passing through the sector comes dangerously close to Pandraxx, occasionally resulting in scouts or vanguard forces stumbling upon the subsector and subjecting the worlds within to yet another struggle to survive. In ca. 128 M42 an Administratum clerk in Hive Ordinus on Argentum completed processing decades of tracking data on various Xenos fleet sightings throughout the Imperium Nihilus.
The machine spirit within the cogitator reacted violently, warning claxons sounded, and tech adepts swarmed the distraught clerk to discover the source. The pathing and tracking rituals had discovered that numerous fleets of Xenos and Chaos forces are converging on the subsector from every corner of the galaxy, thousands of engagements across hundreds of systems changing the course of entire battlefleets to pass directly through Pandraxx. Shortly after the information was verified the cogitator burned out and nearly wiped every other system in the Administratum datavault when a blast of scrapcode erupted from the tortured machine spirit. With the Planetary governors sending out distress calls to any Imperial fleets in the vicinity, the subsector prepares for an invasion on a scale not seen in millennia.
BROADCAST INTERCEPTED ON VOX FREQUENCY TRACKED TO PANDRAXX SYSTEM - SPECIFIC COORDINATES UNKNOWN
**STATIC**
"-tics and rebels, Strantz here with Radio Free Pandraxx! I bet you all heard the chatter on the comms over the past week with our illustrious leadership crying about some sort of invasion and screaming for help from any fleets nearby. You'd think by now they would have learned to mask those broadcasts from literally anyone with a Vox receiver and half a brain, but I think maybe that's asking a lot from the same people who brought us tainted rations and thought that a major sewage backup in the lower hive was "2 problems solving themselves".
I have heard from sources that have requested to stay anonymous that there have already been some responses from nearby forces, not all of them the kind we want to welcome with open arms! That's right, citizens, we got Xenos incoming! I have a recording here of one of the signals being broadcast from one of these incoming groups:
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!" Well then, I suppose it's a good thing that we've also heard that some Imperial forces are en route as well! Just make sure to make plans to vacate your safe places when the Emperor's Finest come a'knocking, they don't have a great track record of making sure that civilians are safe before they open fire on whatever they have their sites on.
Stay free, Pandraxx, and don't let this get you down, I have it on good authority that our system is too valuable to virus bomb. Strantz out!"
SOURCE TRACKING FAILED.
SCANNING FOR ADDITIONAL BROADCAST SOURCES.
VOX DISTURBANCE ENCOUNTERED, IDENTIFIED AS XENOS BROADCAST ATTEMPTING TO OVERWHELM IMPERIAL COMMUNICATIONS. BROADCAST ISLOTAED AND SEALED
**STATIC**
"-tics and rebels, Strantz here with Radio Free Pandraxx! I bet you all heard the chatter on the comms over the past week with our illustrious leadership crying about some sort of invasion and screaming for help from any fleets nearby. You'd think by now they would have learned to mask those broadcasts from literally anyone with a Vox receiver and half a brain, but I think maybe that's asking a lot from the same people who brought us tainted rations and thought that a major sewage backup in the lower hive was "2 problems solving themselves".
I have heard from sources that have requested to stay anonymous that there have already been some responses from nearby forces, not all of them the kind we want to welcome with open arms! That's right, citizens, we got Xenos incoming! I have a recording here of one of the signals being broadcast from one of these incoming groups:
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!" Well then, I suppose it's a good thing that we've also heard that some Imperial forces are en route as well! Just make sure to make plans to vacate your safe places when the Emperor's Finest come a'knocking, they don't have a great track record of making sure that civilians are safe before they open fire on whatever they have their sites on.
Stay free, Pandraxx, and don't let this get you down, I have it on good authority that our system is too valuable to virus bomb. Strantz out!"
SOURCE TRACKING FAILED.
SCANNING FOR ADDITIONAL BROADCAST SOURCES.
VOX DISTURBANCE ENCOUNTERED, IDENTIFIED AS XENOS BROADCAST ATTEMPTING TO OVERWHELM IMPERIAL COMMUNICATIONS. BROADCAST ISLOTAED AND SEALED
NEW BROADCAST INTERCEPTED ON VOX FREQUENCY TRACKED TO PANDRAXX SYSTEM - SPECIFIC COORDINATES REMAIN UNKNOWN
**STATIC**
"-t's why no one can light candles on that particular shrine without written permission from the Ecclesiarchy. In other news, Radio Free Pandraxx has successfully acquired the frequencies and permission scrolls to access the video and audio feeds coming in from listening posts across the sub-sector! Couldn't have happened soon enough, as the listening posts have picked up radio chatter and surveillance footage of several conflicts. I know you're all chomping at the bit to hear about the heroic actions of the champions of the Imperium so let's get started with some of the better news we've received!
The Angels of Death have arrived! You heard right, the super-human defenders of the galaxy are in Pandraxx and are doing their very best to stomp out the Xenos before they can gain a foothold in Imperial space. Before you go breathing a sigh of relief in front of your votive shrines, it has also been reported that a few separate groups of Space Marines have arrived around the same time and may have had a scuffle or two among themselves. Whether it was a dispute over landing sites, or whether that's just how the Adeptus Asrtartes says hello is still up for debate.
That being said, the enemies of the Imperium were not biding their time as Ork raids began on Drathorian. A strange, I dunno what to call it, ship? chunk of space debris? Anyway, something moving through space under its own power vaguely shaped like an angry cylinder crashed down outside the waste processing plants on the 2nd sub-continent of Drathorian the other week and a horde of screeching pale creatures began to lay waste to everything in the vicinity. It wasn't long before they had torn down half a gas refinery and turned the raw materials into artillery when a contingent of Skitarii on route through the system responded to the distress calls and landed a defense force.
The Skitarii made quick work of the strange creatures who retreated into the odd yellow craft and lit the massive engines, scarring the countryside with their retreat. The Mechanicus troops left immediately after, their mission complete.* We have had reports of other raid being done on the Forge World Hensquetl B by heavily armored figures resembling the Astartes, only twisted and vicious. So....like most Astartes.
These ones seemed to have even less issues with collateral damage than the average chapter as they launched assaults on the Manufactorums near the Gnarled Peaks mining district. Reports show that they clashed with a contingent of the Angels Wrath Interdiction Strike Force, who pushed them out of the region while sustaining minimal casualties themselves. The aftermath of the fight saw the local Mechanicus forces sending swarms of servitors armed with flame weapons to cleanse the area.
Other reports show that the Heretic Astartes, now identified as the warband 'Tainted Love', were attacked by a raiding force of the mysterious Drukhari as they attempted to leave the planet, but that the Xenos were repelled without further incident.
Our sources are continuing to send in their reports and we'll keep the broadcast going as long as we can, but know that we're in for a bumpy ride, folks. If you've got a favorite devotional image of the God Emperor, you'd better hold it close tonight, I've been hearing rumors of disappearances in the hab blocks coinciding with sightings of shadowy hulls silently cutting through the night.
This has been Strantz, your faithful vox caster, spitting out the truth to all who know where to look. Close your eyes, palm your thumbs, and trust that the Emperor will guide your spirits to him, 'cause I'm pretty sure that the Angels who answered our prayers aren't going to be gentle with their retribution."
VOX SIGNAL TERMINATED BEFORE TRACKING COMPLETED.
EYES OF MARS LISTENING POST UNABLE TO LOCATE SOURCE WITH CURRENT WARP INTERFERENCE IN SYSTEM.
**STATIC**
"-t's why no one can light candles on that particular shrine without written permission from the Ecclesiarchy. In other news, Radio Free Pandraxx has successfully acquired the frequencies and permission scrolls to access the video and audio feeds coming in from listening posts across the sub-sector! Couldn't have happened soon enough, as the listening posts have picked up radio chatter and surveillance footage of several conflicts. I know you're all chomping at the bit to hear about the heroic actions of the champions of the Imperium so let's get started with some of the better news we've received!
The Angels of Death have arrived! You heard right, the super-human defenders of the galaxy are in Pandraxx and are doing their very best to stomp out the Xenos before they can gain a foothold in Imperial space. Before you go breathing a sigh of relief in front of your votive shrines, it has also been reported that a few separate groups of Space Marines have arrived around the same time and may have had a scuffle or two among themselves. Whether it was a dispute over landing sites, or whether that's just how the Adeptus Asrtartes says hello is still up for debate.
That being said, the enemies of the Imperium were not biding their time as Ork raids began on Drathorian. A strange, I dunno what to call it, ship? chunk of space debris? Anyway, something moving through space under its own power vaguely shaped like an angry cylinder crashed down outside the waste processing plants on the 2nd sub-continent of Drathorian the other week and a horde of screeching pale creatures began to lay waste to everything in the vicinity. It wasn't long before they had torn down half a gas refinery and turned the raw materials into artillery when a contingent of Skitarii on route through the system responded to the distress calls and landed a defense force.
The Skitarii made quick work of the strange creatures who retreated into the odd yellow craft and lit the massive engines, scarring the countryside with their retreat. The Mechanicus troops left immediately after, their mission complete.* We have had reports of other raid being done on the Forge World Hensquetl B by heavily armored figures resembling the Astartes, only twisted and vicious. So....like most Astartes.
These ones seemed to have even less issues with collateral damage than the average chapter as they launched assaults on the Manufactorums near the Gnarled Peaks mining district. Reports show that they clashed with a contingent of the Angels Wrath Interdiction Strike Force, who pushed them out of the region while sustaining minimal casualties themselves. The aftermath of the fight saw the local Mechanicus forces sending swarms of servitors armed with flame weapons to cleanse the area.
Other reports show that the Heretic Astartes, now identified as the warband 'Tainted Love', were attacked by a raiding force of the mysterious Drukhari as they attempted to leave the planet, but that the Xenos were repelled without further incident.
Our sources are continuing to send in their reports and we'll keep the broadcast going as long as we can, but know that we're in for a bumpy ride, folks. If you've got a favorite devotional image of the God Emperor, you'd better hold it close tonight, I've been hearing rumors of disappearances in the hab blocks coinciding with sightings of shadowy hulls silently cutting through the night.
This has been Strantz, your faithful vox caster, spitting out the truth to all who know where to look. Close your eyes, palm your thumbs, and trust that the Emperor will guide your spirits to him, 'cause I'm pretty sure that the Angels who answered our prayers aren't going to be gentle with their retribution."
VOX SIGNAL TERMINATED BEFORE TRACKING COMPLETED.
EYES OF MARS LISTENING POST UNABLE TO LOCATE SOURCE WITH CURRENT WARP INTERFERENCE IN SYSTEM.
NEW BROADCAST INTERCEPTED ON VOX FREQUENCY TRACKED TO PANDRAXX SYSTEM - SPECIFIC COORDINATES UNKNOWN
**STATIC**
"-uats do exist, and that's my proof. In other news, our remote monitoring platforms, and my 'our' I mean the listening posts we have access to, have picked up more information regarding the conflict that is currently ravaging the sub-system! Those of you out there who have been closer to the action have been sending in your pict-feeds and audio recordings, and for that I have one thing to say: TAKE THE DAMN COVER OFF YOUR LENSES! For Emperor's sake if you want to let people see the horrors of war, you have to actually record them properly! Anyway, on to the news...
Due to some lucky circumstances, one of the recording posts we were checking happened to get a front row view of a conflict between two mechanized battle groups that clashed on Argentum the other day! That strange patchwork ship, that crashed and subsequently blasted off again, from Drathorian last report flattened an abandoned Hab block on the outskirts of some abandoned mining outpost in one of the sunny belts of Argentum's main continent. When they began to spread out, presumably searching for something to patch their ship up with, they were confronted by a massive, shadowy, robed figure.
After some shrieking and a small firefight that left a dozen of the small creatures dead, the figure managed to start negotiations with what we think is the leader of the greenskins, the mysterious stranger offering information on the operations of one of the Imperial warbands roving the area. The recording equipment wasn't able to pick up everything, but it got a great freeze-frame of the enormous figure shaking 'hands' with the pale Xenos' armored suit shortly before the chattering horde was whipped into formation and the sound of growling engines began to fill the area.
A highly mobile force of what have been identified as the Dark Angels Space Marine chapter entered the battlefield and began to scan the surroundings with gusto, only to be set upon by the screaming hordes of Xenos, accompanied by the stranger! Now easily recognizable as a fellow Astartes, the stranger assisted the Orks in driving back the Emperor's loyal sons, ending with a full retreat of Imperial forces and the sudden disappearance of the disgusting traitor.
May those stalwart and true Imperial heroes find that scum and bring them to justice.
Later on, as the battlefield was being looted by the surviving horde of xenos, the sound of roaring engines and gunfire once again filled the world, accompanied by a massive dust storm. When the area cleared enough for the cogitators to focus in, there was a completely different group of Orks there! Rumbling engines and sneering faces, weapons of unknown manufacture, and the largest Ork I have ever seen dominated the screens as a very brief conflict was resolved between the newcomers and the mob of tinkering Grots.
We were able to get the following recording cleaned up, so here's how the conversation went:
UNKNOWN ORK: D'ere you are, I 'erd about a Grot wats been dinkin' 'round ere tinkin' e's gots Mek know wats. Seems me boyz was tellin' it true!
GROT LEADER: I AM THROKK DA MEKKAGROT! I TOOK DIS ARMOR FAIRS AND SQUAREZ AND DIS IS M..
Engine roaring overwhelms the audio recording for a solid 4 minutes
UNKNOWN ORK: Yous a Grot wat forgot its spot is wat you are! So listen good, right? You gots some spark of Gork in ya, and my Mek got a hole in 'is 'ead big enuf to hold a snotling's birfday party. If you and yer snivelin' lot run wit my boyz, den da job is yerz. Say no and we krump ya and scrap yer tanks, got it?
GROT LEADER: DA PALE WAAAGH WILL NEVA SUBMIT TO DA 'PPRESION OF DA...
The Gretchen leader is then picked up by the neck by the new Ork leader
UNKNOWN ORK: GOT IT!?
GROT LEADER: YEZ BOSS!! SORRY BOSS!
UNKNOWN ORK: Good! 'elcome to Waaagh! Killblitza, thinky Grot, I gots some engines needs tunin' The Xenos left together, but not before they stripped every metal plate and rivet from the surrounding buildings and used them to build new war machines in quick order.
A scrambled communication has reached out studio talking about a series of clashes in the Ship Graveyard. This so-called "War of Metal" seems to be between a roving warband of Traitor Marines and some mysterious robotic Xenos that seemed to appear out of thin air! We have heard reports that several derelict ships have had their reactors overload, causing a localized storm of floating hulls and expended munitions to form in the heart of the chaotic debris field. For what purpose do these armies battle? We may never know. It may be safer for people to steer clear of that area for the time being.
There have been scattered reports of more skirmish battles between various forces on some of the more populated worlds, but other than some blasted battlefields and civilian corpses, nothing much of substance regarding any forces that we haven't been keeping tabs on. The comms chatter we're able to decipher has us believing that there are several other armies out there waging apocalyptic war on each other, but when our listening posts tune in they find only dust and craters. Keep sending in those reports, people!
Radio Free Pandraxx wants to hear the terrifying stories of survival and destruction so we can pass it on to our dear listeners!"
VOX SIGNAL TERMINATED BEFORE TRACKING COMPLETED.
EYES OF MARS LISTENING POST UNABLE TO LOCATE SOURCE WITH CURRENT WARP INTERFERENCE IN SYSTEM.
**STATIC**
"-uats do exist, and that's my proof. In other news, our remote monitoring platforms, and my 'our' I mean the listening posts we have access to, have picked up more information regarding the conflict that is currently ravaging the sub-system! Those of you out there who have been closer to the action have been sending in your pict-feeds and audio recordings, and for that I have one thing to say: TAKE THE DAMN COVER OFF YOUR LENSES! For Emperor's sake if you want to let people see the horrors of war, you have to actually record them properly! Anyway, on to the news...
Due to some lucky circumstances, one of the recording posts we were checking happened to get a front row view of a conflict between two mechanized battle groups that clashed on Argentum the other day! That strange patchwork ship, that crashed and subsequently blasted off again, from Drathorian last report flattened an abandoned Hab block on the outskirts of some abandoned mining outpost in one of the sunny belts of Argentum's main continent. When they began to spread out, presumably searching for something to patch their ship up with, they were confronted by a massive, shadowy, robed figure.
After some shrieking and a small firefight that left a dozen of the small creatures dead, the figure managed to start negotiations with what we think is the leader of the greenskins, the mysterious stranger offering information on the operations of one of the Imperial warbands roving the area. The recording equipment wasn't able to pick up everything, but it got a great freeze-frame of the enormous figure shaking 'hands' with the pale Xenos' armored suit shortly before the chattering horde was whipped into formation and the sound of growling engines began to fill the area.
A highly mobile force of what have been identified as the Dark Angels Space Marine chapter entered the battlefield and began to scan the surroundings with gusto, only to be set upon by the screaming hordes of Xenos, accompanied by the stranger! Now easily recognizable as a fellow Astartes, the stranger assisted the Orks in driving back the Emperor's loyal sons, ending with a full retreat of Imperial forces and the sudden disappearance of the disgusting traitor.
May those stalwart and true Imperial heroes find that scum and bring them to justice.
Later on, as the battlefield was being looted by the surviving horde of xenos, the sound of roaring engines and gunfire once again filled the world, accompanied by a massive dust storm. When the area cleared enough for the cogitators to focus in, there was a completely different group of Orks there! Rumbling engines and sneering faces, weapons of unknown manufacture, and the largest Ork I have ever seen dominated the screens as a very brief conflict was resolved between the newcomers and the mob of tinkering Grots.
We were able to get the following recording cleaned up, so here's how the conversation went:
UNKNOWN ORK: D'ere you are, I 'erd about a Grot wats been dinkin' 'round ere tinkin' e's gots Mek know wats. Seems me boyz was tellin' it true!
GROT LEADER: I AM THROKK DA MEKKAGROT! I TOOK DIS ARMOR FAIRS AND SQUAREZ AND DIS IS M..
Engine roaring overwhelms the audio recording for a solid 4 minutes
UNKNOWN ORK: Yous a Grot wat forgot its spot is wat you are! So listen good, right? You gots some spark of Gork in ya, and my Mek got a hole in 'is 'ead big enuf to hold a snotling's birfday party. If you and yer snivelin' lot run wit my boyz, den da job is yerz. Say no and we krump ya and scrap yer tanks, got it?
GROT LEADER: DA PALE WAAAGH WILL NEVA SUBMIT TO DA 'PPRESION OF DA...
The Gretchen leader is then picked up by the neck by the new Ork leader
UNKNOWN ORK: GOT IT!?
GROT LEADER: YEZ BOSS!! SORRY BOSS!
UNKNOWN ORK: Good! 'elcome to Waaagh! Killblitza, thinky Grot, I gots some engines needs tunin' The Xenos left together, but not before they stripped every metal plate and rivet from the surrounding buildings and used them to build new war machines in quick order.
A scrambled communication has reached out studio talking about a series of clashes in the Ship Graveyard. This so-called "War of Metal" seems to be between a roving warband of Traitor Marines and some mysterious robotic Xenos that seemed to appear out of thin air! We have heard reports that several derelict ships have had their reactors overload, causing a localized storm of floating hulls and expended munitions to form in the heart of the chaotic debris field. For what purpose do these armies battle? We may never know. It may be safer for people to steer clear of that area for the time being.
There have been scattered reports of more skirmish battles between various forces on some of the more populated worlds, but other than some blasted battlefields and civilian corpses, nothing much of substance regarding any forces that we haven't been keeping tabs on. The comms chatter we're able to decipher has us believing that there are several other armies out there waging apocalyptic war on each other, but when our listening posts tune in they find only dust and craters. Keep sending in those reports, people!
Radio Free Pandraxx wants to hear the terrifying stories of survival and destruction so we can pass it on to our dear listeners!"
VOX SIGNAL TERMINATED BEFORE TRACKING COMPLETED.
EYES OF MARS LISTENING POST UNABLE TO LOCATE SOURCE WITH CURRENT WARP INTERFERENCE IN SYSTEM.
This campaign ended shortly after this when things started to shut down because of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
