Aircraft of the Carcharodons Space Marine Chapter supported an attack against ork invaders on Gamalan V.

Nowhere is safe in the Corvus Cluster. Scores of worlds must deal with war, civil unrest, and other horrors of the galaxy . . .

News from other worlds

AL’GEL III—Although illegal to discuss xeno activity, rumors spread that the Tau Empire is making progress in its three-and-a-half-year campaign to conquer the ork-held Al’gel System.

A new Tau military offensive on Al’gel II reportedly has seized a sizable portion of the planet’s main continent and killed more than 200,000 greenskin warriors. (Rumors of the Underhive: 3 026 739.M41)

GAMALAN V—After several nearby worlds were conquered by a budding ork WAAAGH!, there was little hope seen for the world of Gamalan V. But when the greenskins landed, the Carcharodons Space Marine Chapter responded. Hitting the ork vanguard with a drop pod strike, the Carcharodons’ 5th Company targeted the ork warlord and demoralized the greenskin army. The invasion was stopped dead. (Rumors of the Underhive: 3 981 739.M41)

GETTINGE—A renegade Chaos warband, known as the Dark Wolves, attacked the world of Gettinge earlier this year, unleashing a two-month reign of terror that saw millions killed. (Rumors of the Underhive: 3 079 739.M41)

ICONIA—After an ork Rok crashed onto the world of Iconia, the local Planetary Defense Force (PDF) struggled to contain the xeno invaders. In one of the earliest engagements of the invation, the Iconia PDF was defeated overwhelmingly. (Iconia PDF fight to contain ork threat)

KERBEROS—A famed mountain shrine of the Ecclesiarchy is slated for destruction. Although used by Imperial priests for centuries, Imperial authorities contended the Zoccadus Shrine on the ice world of Kerberos incorporates parts of ancient xeno ruins. This origin is considered heresy, and authorities intend to destroy it with orbital lance strikes. (Rumors of the Underhive: 3 981 739.M41)

A force of Ultramarines launch an attack against rebels on the world of Lexicon.

LEXICON—The 4th Company of the Ultramarines puts down a rebellion on the industrial world of Lexicon in a brief, two-week military campaign. (Rumors of the Underhive: 3 807 739.M41)

MEDIA III—Although the Imperium has yet to launch a campaign to retake the Tau-held world of Media III in the Sculptor System, it is known that a contingent of Space Wolf scouts are operating covertly on the highly populated industrial world.

On 4 046 739.M41, Tau authorities attempted to ambush this Astartes scouting force as it was operating in the slums of Ctesiphon, a hive city near the equator of Media III. Within minutes, the Tau force of fire warriors were forced back with heavy losses, and the Space Wolves disappeared into the slums, where they are assumed to still be operating. (Space Wolves clash with Tau on Media III)

METALLICA—The forces of WAAAGH! ‘Eadcruncha have surrounded the Forge Temple of Antax Metallica on Anvillus. It has been almost a year since there’s been news to the fate of this siege, although it is known that the once-majestic temple has been reduced to ruins. (Rumors of the Underhive: 3 079 739.M41)

METALUNA—More than 2 billion lives are lost on this once-idyllic world. After entering a dense cloud of interstellar gas, adequate sunlight has been unable to reach the planet’s surface and temperatures have plunged. Only a few million citizens have escaped, and as food supplies dwindle, any remaining survivors are believed doomed. (Rumors of the Underhive: 3 079 739.M41)

MYOPOLIS—The Necrons are finding human resistance strong on this mining world controlled by the Adeptus Mechanicus. Skitarri forces have been able to hold the line against the xeno invaders, although the lack of details on the war raises concerns that Imperial authorities have little positive to say about the fighting. (Rumors of the Underhive: 3 151 739.M41)

SKIASOS—After an Eldar emissary is executed by the planetary governor of Skiasos, the Saim-Hann Craftworld seeks retribution. A powerful military force attacks Skiasos and, when Imperial reinforcements arrive in response to a distress call, they discover they are too late. The entire population of the agri-world  has been slaughtered. (Rumors of the Underhive: 3 807 739.M41)

TOPHET—For most of the year, the fate of the Necron-invaded world of Tophet is unknown. That is, until 6 957 739.M41, when an astropathic message arrives from the Magos Abnightus. He has journeyed to Tophet in search of xeno technology, and he reports that the planet’s PDF is still resisting the cybernetic xenos. What’s more, he has successfully obtained several pieces of xeno technology as a prize that could provide insights into the xeno weapons and possible countermeasures. (Tech Priest Abnightus battles Necrons for xeno secrets)

Ork ramships attack an Imperial cruiser. Increased naval activity by the xenos in the Sculptor System is a worrisome threat for the Imperial Navy.

Ork naval vessels plague Imperial Navy

Fleet Corvus in the Sculptor System spent the year rebuilding and refurbishing their forces in anticipation of a new offensive in 740.M41 against the Tau. The xenos, having been defeated by the Imperial fleet in the previous year, were just as willing to maintain the status quo and prepare for the future.

Unfortunately, an ork naval force lurking in the system’s asteroid belt is proving problematic, raiding isolated mining facilities in the belt and attacking merchant ships in the system.

A routine naval patrol stumbled upon an ork warship, known as a “Kill Kroozer,” on 3 624 739.M41 and successfully engaged it. Although a frigate was lost, the light cruiser Narcissus destroyed the ork vessel with all hands. (Imperial warships clash with Kill Kroozer)

Two Imperial warships were lost on 3 764 739.M41 after clashing with a small flotilla of ork vessels in the asteroid belt of the Sculptor system. The Tyrant-class cruiser, Heretic’s Bane, and a Cobra-class destroyer, were destroyed. A single destroyer managed to escape to report the disaster. (Two Imperial warships lost to ork attack)

Outside the Sculptor System, the Imperial battlecruiser, Righteous Power, traded long-range fire with a large Eldar vessel near the Heart of Darkness, a volatile Warp storm to the galactic north of the Corvus Cluster. (Rumors of the Underhive: 026 739.M41)

The bounty hunter Belladonna walks alone down the shadowy alleys of Dargav III.

Other rumors and notable characters

• In a deadly game of cat and mouse, Inquisitor Georgene Serillian almost loses her life as she investigates strange happenings at a secret Adeptus Mechanicus outpost. The entire outpost is overrun by genestealers and a human-infected cult, but a lance strike from orbit puts an end to the xeno threat. (Infection on Outpost Zero-Omega)

• The bounty hunter Jason Scarn, the assassin Belladonna Escher, and the Rogue Trader Johann Feracci compete for Imperial bounties offered for five escaped unsanctioned psykers. Despite a last-minute betrayal on the doomed world of Dargav III, Feracci escapes with his life—and two still-breathing psykers. There is no word on what happened to Scarn or Belladonna. (Bounty hunters seek unsanctioned psykers)

• A sizable fleet of Adeptus Mechanics ships, known as Explorator Fleet KX-472.X, passes through the Corvus Cluster on its way to the Eastern Fringe of the galaxy. At the heart of the fleet was a battleship-sized vessel, The Eye of Mars, which reputedly is one of the most technologically advanced vessels in the galaxy—a product of the Dark Age of Technology that preceded the appearance of the Emperor. (3 807 739.M41)

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The Corvus Cluster is a Warhammer 40K blog documenting our gaming adventures in the fantastical sci-fi universe of Games Workshop.