Subject: Xeno Raid X34-12
Author: Her Ladyship Georgene Serillian, Inquisitor, Ordo Xenos

Location: Perdide Colony, 12.7 light years within Dryillian Quarantine Zone

Thought for the Day: Purge the taint wherever it is to be found.

6 555 742.M41—We have arrived at Perdide. Approbator Adonai Drusus and a team of stormtroopers have descended to the planet to conduct an initial survey and determine whether there is any remaining xeno presence that poses a threat.

So far, all Drusus has found is rubble and a handful of half-dissolved corpses. It is possible that there are no survivors to offer witness to what has occurred.

The Perdide Colony was small—with only 12,000 Imperial citizens.The colony was established in 528.M41 after a routine geological survey discovered a shallow deposit of Europium, a rare mineral that is highly valued for its ability to amplify the power of lasers.

Excepting the mineral deposit, the planet is useless. The biosphere is marginal, with barely sufficient oxygen to survive without breathers, and only the most hardy vegetation can be grown for sustenance.

We know  nothing of the details of the attack. A faint distress signal was picked up by the astropathic choir on Tophet. A small flotilla of naval ships—a Lunar-class cruiser and two Cobra destroyers—was sent in response. As per Inquisitorial Order X9-932, once naval officers determined that the colony was destroyed by unknown forces. they remained in orbit and awaited my arrival.

Inquisition stormtroopers search the ruins of the Perdide Colony.

6 557 742.M41: I have inspected the colony myself. The destruction is near-total. The xenos [Classification: Necrons) were thorough to an ominous degree. There is nothing left but ruins. There is surprisingly little rubble. It’s as if the plasteel and plascrete have been reduced to their elemental atoms. Ash and dust are knee-deep in places.

There are few corpses. On the outskirts of the colony, where the layer of dust is shallow, we have found black-ashened streaks on the ground . Genetic analysis finds trace signs of human tissue. So far, we have found the remains of only two dozen people, and it is clear the rest were simply disintegrated by a powerful energy beam.

[Addendum: It is possible that some survivors were taken prisoner for some unknown xeno purpose. May they die a quick death.]

The most tangible evidence of the Necrons’ involvement in this tragedy are the scorched remains of the buildings. On a 98-centimeter-tall section of standing plascrete, for example, there was a black soot staining the surface. An analysis found the soot consistent with the energy effects of the xenos’ particle beam weapons, which emit a stream of miniscule anti-matter particles that detonate on contact with normal matter.

It is not much to go on. But we are within the quarantine zone. It was the Necrons that did this.

6 560 742.M41: Overhead, a battle rages between our naval escort and a small force of Necron escort-class ships. The commander of the flotilla informs me that, even with the firepower of his cruiser, he is severely pressed by these much-smaller, but powerful xeno ships.

He would already have withdrawn, except that he is well aware that he cannot abandon an Inquisitor to the xenos. Not if he wishes to live.

My shuttle already is airborne. It is estimated it will take 20 minutes to reach my ship, The Emperor’s Shadow. That will take too long. I’ve ordered its captain to descend into the upper atmosphere of the planet. I don’t give a damn about the strain it will put on the engines or anti-grav plates. I can’t fight the xenos if I’m dead.

Addendum: We have escaped into the Warp. Alas, my naval escort did not. I shall say a prayer for the 43,821 officers and crew of the three warships that gave their lives in the service of the Emperor.

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