The threat of the Necrons is spreading across a larger segment of the Corvus Cluster.

“The galaxy is filled with horrors unknown, unborn, unrecognized. It is the duty of the Ordo Xenos to deal with these horrors. The rise of the Necrons is not to be feared. It is to be hated. It must raise within us a fierce hatred of these xenos, and it must instill within us an unshakable resolve that we will defeat this threat, as we have so many in the past. We will prevail. The Emperor demands it of us.“—Lady Georgene Serillian, Inquisitor, Ordo Xenos

Thought of the Day: Fear the xeno. Hate the xeno. Kill the xeno.

INQUISITORIA 12572/14.28
MISSION REPORT BY: Approbator Adonai Drusus
Acolyte to Inquisitor Serillian
FILE: Strategic Threat, Necron
CROSS FILE: Dryillian Quarantine Zone
INPUT DATE: 6 118 741.M41
INPUT CLEARANCE: Inquisitor Level
SUBMITTED TO: Inquisitor Serillian

Your Ladyship,

It has been half a decade since the strange cybernetic creatures known as the Necrons first made themselves known to the Corvus Cluster. In that time, the high command of the Segmentum Ultima has dismissed our concerns, leaving the matter to the Ordo and regional military commanders to contain and destroy.

How long the larger Imperium will remain ignorant of this xeno threat is impossible to discern. So much knowledge is lost as it winds its way through a massive Imperial bureaucracy and the vast distances of a galactic empire.

It is likely that, at some point, the Imperium will pay a price for its ignorance. The work of your ladyship and others of the Ordo Xenos has produced a somewhat helpful collection of information about these mysterious xenos, and what we have learned is ominous in the extreme.

[Sidenote:So ominous that this report is classified as Security Secundus, limited only to the Inquisition, the Lords of Terra (should they ever bother to notice), and the most senior military commanders in the Segmentum.—Lady Serillian]

Is the skeletal form of the Necron’s cybernetic bodies an indication of their original, biological form—or is it a deliberate design intended to strike horror into the souls of living beings?

Necron Hierarchy

When the Necron menace first made itself known, archeological teams sponsored by the Ordo Xenos conducted a hurried visit to known xeno ruins on Dryillian IV. Although these teams ultimately were lost to xeno attacks, their findings were successfully transmitted to your Ladyship.

If their translation of the xeno writings are accurate, it appears that a massive Necron empire once existed in the Ultima Segmentum. Known as the Sautekh Dynasty, this empire apparently disappeared long before the human race left the surface of Terra.

The understanding of Necron hieroglyphics is in its infancy, but scholars have found references to a “great sleep” that lasted for eons. While this may be an allegorical reference to the empire shrinking to a few worlds overlooked by the Imperium, it is possible, given the Necrons’ cybernetic form, that this reference describes a period of hibernation.

There is some circumstantial evidence to support this hibernation theory. Since the Great Crusade, Imperial records reveal no indication of the existence of the Necrons—until 737.M41, when xeno activity was first reported on the planet Stigmata and later on Dryillian IV.

Our analysts surmise that the Necrons operating in the Corvus Cluster were part of this Sautekh Dynasty, operating as a semi-independent province known as the Dryillian Regency.

[Sidenote: We cannot translate the actual name of the regency. So, to keep things simple, we will call it the Dryillian Regency, as that planet appears to be the center of Necron activity. —Lady Serillian}

Given current Necron activity, it was reasonable to conclude that the Dryillian Quarantine Zone created by the Imperium encompasses the heart of this regency. What is not clear—and of great concern—is the original extent of this Necron sub-empire. Is it possible that there are more worlds, outside the quarantine zone, where the Necrons may yet make themselves known?

Before its destruction at the hands of Necron forces, a survey team sent to Dryillian IV took picts of a set of hieroglyphics that, finally translated, praises the leadership of an “Overlord” known as “Agamunzu.” These hieroglyphics were carbon-dated to a period 60 million years ago.

It appears that Agmunzu may be a dynastic title. In just the past week, an astropathic message from the beleaguered world of Tophet reported that the apparent warlord of the xeno army was broadcasting a warning to Imperial forces that all humans were to leave the planet or face destruction.

He referred to himself as Agamunzu.

[Sidenote: Sixty million years is a frightening amount of time. Given theirs cybernetic form, could it be possible that the current warlord is the same individual as that carved into the ancient hieroglyphics? It seems unlikely . . . but still.—Lady Serillian]

Military Threat

The Knights of Altair battle the Necrons for control of an Imperial outpost. Death to the xenos!

An analysis of all sightings and military clashes with the Necrons suggests that xeno forces remain inferior in numbers to those of existing Imperial forces in the Corvus Cluster.

Whether that will remain the case is impossible to determine at this time. Since the first sightings of the Necrons, there has been an significant expansion of xeno forces.

Until 738.M41, it was possible to conduct surveillance, at great risk, of developments on Stigmata and Dryillian IV. On both worlds, there was evidence of growing Necron activity on these worlds and the appearance of hundreds of structures that, sometimes only weeks earlier, had not existed.

Since 739.M41, a growing Necron fleet has made study of these worlds impossible.

[Sidenote: Investigation continues into the individuals that violated the quarantine of Stigmata in 737.M41. I strongly suspect this unauthorized visit to the planet played some role in the subsequent appearance of the Necrons. I’d like to know who to blame for this disaster in the making.—Lady Serillian]

In the first years following their appearance, the Necron appeared content to limit themselves to Stigmata and Dryillian IV—and their warships avoided engaging Imperial ships unless attacked. Now, however, Necron vessels are attacking any Imperial ships that approach their worlds, and aggressive action has been taken against Imperial planets and naval forces outside the Dryillian Quarantine Zone.

Although insufficient to ensure accuracy, there is some evidence to suggest that the Necrons have existed on a number of worlds within the quarantine zone for millennia, dormant beneath the surface of the planet. Whether hibernating or not, they have clearly decided to take control of these worlds for their own mysterious purposes.

[Sidenote: The case for hibernation is bolstered by reports that the first Necrons on Tophet did not arrive from orbit but appeared at ancient xeno ruins accidentally excavated by menials digging the foundation of a new manufactorum. The first signs of xenos approaching Tophet through the Void was reported nearly one year after the Necrons declared war on the Imperium.—Lady Serillian]

The threat posed by the theory of hibernation is significant. Given the experience on Tophet, it appears that the Necron presence there included a significant military force beneath the surface—dormant for millennia as Imperial citizens developed the planet without knowledge of the xenos below.

We must consider the possibility that other worlds in the Corvus Cluster may have such underground threats existing, although that seems unlikely on worlds such as Belliose III, which has been extensively mined without any signs of xeno artifacts.

[Sidenote: I am also concerned by reports that the xenos utilize technologies beyond the understanding of the Adeptus Mechanicus. Our ability to contain the xenos may be reliant on the scale of the Necron infestation. We need more data to determine the threat status of this species.—Lady Serillian]

Xeno ruins have been discovered on more than 150 Imperial-controlled worlds. If all of these ruins are of Necron origin, the boundary of the reviving Dryillian Regency is ominous in its extent.

Threatened Worlds

To a degree unprecedented in recent centuries, and helped enormously by the authority of the Inquisition, an extensive study of known xeno ruins and artifacts in the Corvus Cluster has provided us with some idea of the extent of the ancient Dryillian Regency.

At least 14 stellar systems within (or just outside) the Dryillian Quarantine Zone have reported the existence of xeno construction that match the style of monoliths and obelisks found on Stigmata and Dryillian IV. Only nine of those systems are known to have a permanent human population, and all nine have suffered from Necron attacks:

Dryillian: The 1,119 crew members of the orbiting research facility, Outpost DY732-A, disappeared after an attack by the Necrons. No evidence of their fate is available.

Myopolis: This Adeptus Mechanicus-governed world was invaded by the Necrons more than two years ago. In that time, Skitarii forces have managed to contain the xeno threat but not eliminate it.

NuDawn: All 22,000 Imperial citizens are believed killed or taken by the xenos. The xenos razed all signs of the Imperial presence on the planet,  and only 2,200 severely burned corpses have been found.

Seraka Subsector: The most devastating loss associated with the Necrons. After reporting sightings of the Shard of Damnation, more than 250 million Imperial citizens went missing (or died) in the five stellar systems of the Seraka Subsector. (The surface of the Shard is dotted with pyramids and obelisks that appear to be of Necron origin.)

Tophet: Nearly half of this industrial planet is now under xeno control, with millions of lives lost and many more threatened by the ongoing war for control of the world.

Across the Corvus Cluster, another 137 planets have reported xeno ruins of undisclosed origins— mostly to the galactic east of Belliose III. A determination of whether these ruins are of Necron origin currently is under way.

The attached map (above) gives some indication of the breadth of the possible xeno threat.

+ + END REPORT + +

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