Warhammer 40k Origins Stellaris Civilization Simulator

87, Death Watch

"As an alien force, you must eat, sleep and fight the empire. This is what happens when you make too big a mess."

As the number one target of the new round of expedition, the imperial world south of the Federation suffered another disaster.

.........

The state religion defines humanity as the most perfect creation, whose mission is to purify the universe of any other intelligent life forms, all in accordance with the noble deeds and sublime leadership of the God-Emperor.

The problem is not that humans cannot tolerate these life forms coexisting with them, but that humans themselves fight for survival, because almost all intelligent life forms have proven to be extremely hostile. They are the embodiment of evil and will not tolerate the existence of humans. Similarly, humans will never allow their existence.

So this specialized force exists here to expel the many twisted monsters that threaten humanity from the empire's borders.

In a fortress world in the Far East, the outermost layer of the human empire, it is remote and desolate. The fortress world here is built with great complexity and precision, because it is stationed with the empire's most elite alien hunters: the Death Watch.

These black-armored Space Marines, warriors born specifically to hunt down alien threats, are dispatched from various Grand Regiments of the Empire, under the command of the Inquisition, to carry out top-secret purge missions.

The fortress world where they were stationed, Sargrius, was an icy planet whose surface was covered in layers of reinforced fortresses, and whose orbit was filled with suspended defense arrays.

As the Empire's frontline fortress against alien invasions and the place where the Death Watch killing squads are dispatched, it has long been carrying out missions to eliminate the Tyranids, Orks, and possibly the Necrons, and has served as a barrier against alien attacks countless times.

Also, although this place is so close to the Tau Empire, the local Death Watch and servant forces have never prepared any countermeasures to fight against the Tau headquarters' combat uniforms and other weapons, because the Tau Empire's engines cannot reach so far.

But this situation has changed recently, as the tentacles of the Tau "allies" have reached this star region.

The Deathwatch's goal in recent decades has been to study a mysterious alien force that has emerged in this area. They may be an alien ally sought by the Tau, just like the Artisans. Records show that these aliens happen to be guarding the Tau's southern gateway.

Leaving such a troublesome thorn in their side was not an option, and they also occupied a portion of the Imperial World.

Some Inquisitors believed that the alien territories should be conquered and troops deployed in that area to form a pincer attack on the Tau Empire.

To this end, the Deathwatch personnel repeatedly studied the enemy's incomplete information and prepared battle plans.

Not long ago, they had passed a specific plan to mobilize more than ten companies and combat ships of corresponding size. This strike force and the various artifacts it carried were enough to instantly "neutralize" the alien aliens on an entire planet or even a star field.

They planned to use such a group of troops to achieve victory in the attack on the northern aliens, and by the way, get some new blasphemous alien weapons to expand the "Bowu Tianshu" arsenal of this spliced regiment.

The idea was beautiful, but it did not come true because the enemy came to find them first, so the fleet never set off.

.........

For the world where Deathwatch is stationed, this is a tense time shrouded in the shadow of war.

Before everything began, relevant personnel from the Inquisition and the Imperial Church sent urgent intelligence.

They claimed that a huge alien fleet appeared in the northern star field, and it was very likely the unknown alien civilization they had encountered before.

The Death Watch were not surprised by the enemy's aggressive actions, as they knew the Tau's zeal to expand the influence of what they called the "Greater Good." While the Tau's expansion might be difficult for ordinary Imperial worlds to resist, this time they had hit a wall.

The people of the Alien Inquisition believed that even if the hundreds of alien races recruited by the Tau in the battle were added together with their own troops, they would not be able to break through a Death Watch Fortress with all its strength.

The Death Watch of the Sargrius Fortress, under the command of Commander Marco Varin, are ready to annihilate the enemy with all their strength.

They mobilized all their combat readiness forces, and reverse-engineered and captured alien technology weapons were assembled. Hellfire poisonous warheads that were very effective against biological enemies, necromancy power swords, spirit stone shields, and even powerful machine soul influencing devices that hovered on the edge of heresy were all integrated into the defense system.

Although these weapons are not the traditional consecrated weapons of the Empire, in war, the mission of the Death Watch is to use the enemy's weapons to destroy them.

They would not allow any alien threats to infiltrate the empire, nor would they allow the xenomorphs to expand to the outskirts of the Five Hundred Worlds.

But their wish was difficult to realize, because the ones who came were not the expected allies of the Tau or the large force of combat uniforms, which was even more dangerous than that.

.........

The moment the Divination Instrument remotely detected the enemy fleet, it signaled the start of the war. The Death Watch's detection systems had captured a large number of enemy ships traveling at superluminal speeds, heading straight for the borders of the Human Empire.

When the first batch of alien frigates began to slow down and finally docked within the gravitational range of this galaxy, all imperial defense facilities instantly entered the highest state of combat readiness.

The Imperial troops might have secretly laughed at themselves, thinking that the alien enemy ships were so small that even a hundred of them could not match the size of a Moon-class cruiser.

However, the enemies came in an endless stream, from one hundred, to two hundred, and finally to thousands of ships, enough to block out the light of the stars.

Despite the seemingly hopeless disparity in numbers between the two fleets, the defenders were undaunted, for the Space Marines had experienced just as many battles against superior odds as the average Astra Militarum had.

There are countless records of the Emperor's Fists single-handedly suppressing an entire alien race, the Chromes, and of a lone individual waging guerrilla warfare on a green planet for decades.

They were not afraid of the enemy's large numbers. The battle officially began when the alien force finally broke through the first layer of Sargrius's outer defenses with a salvo of artillery fire.

While ordinary Imperial defense forces only needed to attack any invaders, the Deathwatch had much more to consider. They quickly collected and compared data on this alien force, trying to gain more information about them.

Their data collection would be of great significance, as the Empire could not afford to have its elite Death Watch forces in this system shattered by the enemy in a week without knowing who they were fighting.

That was not the Tau.

88, know my name

As the Federation's massive fleet approached, the Death Watch's long-range firepower took the lead in launching an offensive. The fortress world's antimatter orbital artillery, the ships' macro-cannons, and the think tank's psychic power all roared together. Brilliant flames pierced the dark void, pouring out an all-destroying fury on the enemy ships.

However, Helka's ships were not destroyed as expected.

Not only were those enemy ships swiftly maneuvering thanks to their AI, they also possessed incredible shielding technology, allowing them to remain intact under massive amounts of live ammunition and energy attacks. Besides the standard gravity deflection shields, their fleet also possessed a second layer of protection that radiated a dark red glow.

After the Space Marines' salvos failed to register a hit, the Federation forces retaliated. Their naval guns were many times more powerful than the Tau's ships, and each salvo, if not mitigated by void shields, would be enough to instantly rip apart the hulls of Imperial cruisers and even battleships.

Their tactics are quite sophisticated and sophisticated, and their computing power can even predict the Empire's tactical adjustments and deploy counter-strategies in advance. Only the Death Watch killing ships equipped with highly intelligent intelligence can keep up with the opponent's rhythm.

A large number of Imperial ships were destroyed in a very short time. The enemy's powerful disruptor weapons could quickly overload the void shields and then ignore the defenses of the hull and armor, dismantling the entire warship into the basic atoms of the universe. It looked like the scene when fighting against the Necrons' tomb battleships.

However, there are more than a thousand of these tomb battleships, and the situation took a turn for the worse. The Imperial Navy and the Death Watch's space forces lost more than 50% of their strength in a very short period of time. They had to use the risky boarding tactics in the hope of establishing some advantages.

It wasn't the first time that the Death Watch warriors faced such a deadly existence, but the lethality of this one was different from the others.

.........

The Federation suffered a loss from boarding once, and obviously would not suffer the same loss a second time. All these warships were filled with super space dragons, Nuta Knights and Poison Ivy Army that had undergone both prosthetic and genetic modifications.

Those Space Marines who struggled to pass through the dense fire network and tried to board the ship would find themselves out of the dragon's den and into the tiger's den.

These warships of the Helka Interstellar Federation stretched across the void. Scars from Death Watch landing torpedoes lingered on their hulls, alarm lights between compartments flickered dimly, and the air was thick with the bloody scent of battle.

The ship's automatic defense system had long been rendered ineffective due to the electronic warfare of the Death Watch technical sergeants, but the dragon soldiers of the Helka Federation personally took action, running rampant here with impunity and launching a thorough cleanup.

In a long and narrow battle passage, a Deathwatch Space Marine, separated from the main group, retreated alone with heavy steps. There were charred marks on the wall behind him, which were the marks of dragon's breath burns.

His power armor was riddled with holes, revealing his body struggling to repair itself. The Death Watch emblem on his shoulder armor was blackened by the high temperature and was no longer recognizable.

His breathing became heavy, his hands still tightly gripping the grenade launcher, but he knew that in this narrow channel, he had no chance to breathe.

The footsteps behind him were as steady and powerful as war drums, accompanied by the low echo of armor scraping against the metal floor. They were Drax soldiers from the Helka Federation.

The Astartes were already giants in the eyes of humans, but these creatures were even larger.

The giant reptile was covered with a mechanical exoskeleton. Beneath the exoskeleton was an extremely powerful body shaped by spiritual nerves, prosthetics, and genetic modifications.

The combination of advanced technological improvements and powerful primitive talents makes the dragon's fighting style full of primitive savagery, while also mixed with the neat beauty of technology. Every fight carries a certain extraordinary sense of oppression.

The Death Watch soldier just ran wildly, but suddenly turned around at the corner. The moment he raised his gun, a black shadow suddenly pounced on him, bringing with it a raging wave of wind and flames, and slammed him into the metal wall.

His power armor was deeply embedded in it, and the Thinker's alarm was flashing, but none of this could change the fact that he had been nailed to the wall by the dragon soldiers of the Helka Federation.

"It's over, Hound of the Empire." The dragon warrior's voice was deep, like the sound of steel being thrown into a furnace, his eyes flashing a fiery golden light behind the battle scanner. His body was huge, like a moving fortress.

The Death Watch soldier gasped, feeling his bones groan under the immense pressure, but his will remained unshaken. He gritted his teeth, enduring the excruciating pain, his eyes piercing through his goggles, staring directly at the enemy before him.

In his perception, these dragon warriors were clearly not ordinary aliens, but rather some kind of extremely threatening adversary, even more threatening than the one reportedly encountered in Damocles Gulf...

However, suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind: there was nothing related to the Tau people on this battleship.

The Helka Federation's combat style, technological form, tactical application, and alien composition are all completely different from those of the Tau. At least the only thing that can be confirmed is that the Tau will never allow the alien species to be completely independent without incorporating their own troops into it.

"Where... are you from?" the Death Watch warrior whispered, with a hint of doubt that was hard to conceal in his tone.

When the dragon warrior heard this, he was stunned for a moment, as if he couldn't believe his ears. Then he burst into laughter, which echoed in the narrow corridor, full of endless mockery.

"Are you so obtuse that you don't even know who your enemies are?" the dragon warrior's voice was filled with contempt. "Do you think this starry sky is still a stage for a clown show where only the Empire, the Psionic Corruptors, and those remnants of the old era compete to see who declines the fastest? No, a new era has arrived, and you haven't even heard of who we are."

The Death Watch soldier's breathing hitched slightly, and he sensed some disturbing premonition.

"Remember this, fighting dogs of the Empire," roared the dragon warrior. "We are the Helka Interstellar Federation, the pioneers of a new era. We come to dismantle your corrupt, decrepit empire, forge it in the flames of war, and ultimately create something new, embodying justice and fairness. Your empire is rotten, and you are heading for destruction. And we are the flames that bring about a new era!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he opened his bloody maw and a stream of scorching dragon breath gushed out, sweeping over the Death Watch warrior before him. The flames engulfed his power armor, scorching his flesh and armor. The burned nerves frantically transmitted painful signals. His consciousness quickly collapsed in the pain and heat, and he eventually fell into complete darkness.

Before the Death Watch soldier's body fell to the ground, the dragon warrior swung his hand, claws slicing through his armor and tearing off the Thinker system. With a sharp, piercing sound of shattering steel, he crushed the small recording and calculation device into powder and casually threw it into the ruins of the battlefield.

However, his action was one step too late.

Soon after, other Death Watch soldiers arrived at the scene of the battle. They surrounded their fallen comrades and carefully scanned their surroundings for any signs of combat. But their attention was soon drawn to the genetic markings on the bodies of the deceased.

The Deathwatch's genetically-detectable neural system allowed them to access the final memories of their comrades. Through this ingestion, a torrent of data instantly exploded into the mind of a Deathwatch tech sergeant. The deceased's last sight, final battle, final conversation, all transformed into clear memories, infused into his consciousness.

When he saw the Helka dragon soldier and heard the mocking conversation, his heart seemed to be pierced by an invisible cold blade.

"The Helka Interstellar Federation..."

This name is deeply imprinted in the memory reader's consciousness.

They only learned the name of the enemy today.

.........

When the remaining survivors of the boarding party appeared on the Fortress World, the Death Watch finally realized that the enemy was not the Tau Allies they had believed.

But it is too late to know this now. This intelligence is important, but it cannot change the situation of the war.

When the second wave of the Helka Federation's huge fleet launched a full-scale offensive, the Imperial Navy had been completely destroyed. The Sargrius Fortress was facing the enemy's artillery fire and was already crumbling. Its void shield finally collapsed under the heavy burden under the watchful eyes of thousands of cruisers and even more frigates.

The Federation's descent into the planet began. In an attempt to seize the Imperial arsenal and take over the entire planet intact, the Federation's army broke through the defense platforms and engaged the Space Marines directly on the ground.

The Death Watch Space Marines are equipped with a variety of powerful alien weapons to stop the Federation's army corps, including planetary doomsday energy cannons and Vondi catalysts that are even dangerous to their own people.

But they continued to retreat, and the final battle unfolded in the fortress's core command tower. Captain Varien led the last of the warriors to a final stand against Helka's terminal warriors at the top of the fortress.

Guided by the loyalty and hatred etched in their genes, they ignored the enemy's propaganda, the heroic and tragic songs of the Marines, Destroyers, Think Tanks, and even the Pharmacists, and ultimately all fell.

Finally, before the communication terminal, Varien sent out his final battle report to warn the rest of the Imperial world:

"This is Death Watch... Salgrius has fallen, but the enemy is still advancing. Their name is the Helka Star Alliance."

"The Empire is facing an enemy that is no weaker than the Tau... no, perhaps they are far more powerful than the Tau."

"The Emperor protects us. The galaxy is burning. I hope you will be prepared. Their attack is coming."

As he finished speaking, he detonated the antimatter bomb buried under the fortress. His voice disappeared from the communication frequency, and his body was annihilated along with the invading federal soldiers.

Sargrius, was hoisted under the flag of the Federation.

Eighty-Nine, Defense of the Eye of Damocles

Ultramar in the Far Eastern star field is the territory of the Ultramarines and part of the great human empire.

Unlike most Chapters, the Ultramarines do not rule over a single planet or a fortress-monastery, but rather an entire sub-sector consisting of approximately 500 habitable planets.

Ultramar, also known as the "Five Hundred Worlds," is a small but prosperous empire within the Imperium of Man. It lies on the southern edge of the eastern fringe of the Ultima Segmentum, one of the farthest reaches of the Astronomican's reach.

Under the management of the Ultramarines, this place has a complete industrial system, perfect social governance and a powerful military force capable of self-defense. Even though the size of the Five Hundred Worlds has been shrinking over the past ten thousand years, it is still the most important and powerful political entity here.

So the task of supporting the Deathwatch naturally fell on the shoulders of the Ultramarines.

When the news of the battle reached Ultramar, its council hall, once immersed in the glory and order of the past, was now shrouded in a cloud of urgency.

An urgent war report from the Sargrius star field crossed the star sea and was delivered to the desk of the Ultramarines Lord Marius Calgar.

It was a letter asking for help sent in the name of the Death Watch, mixed with countless battlefield communication records.

The Helka Star Alliance and the Space Dragon, a name that had never appeared in the Imperial Intelligence Network, swept across the northern Imperial world with a thunderous offensive in an extremely short period of time.

They completely overwhelmed the Deathwatch border garrisons and pushed their frontiers into one of the most advanced areas in the region: the Eye of Damocles.

This Death Watch fortress planet is the most important defense node in the northwest of Ultramar. Once it is lost, the Helka fleet will be able to advance straight into the core area of the Five Hundred Worlds.

Calgar browsed the report silently, his eyes sweeping across the battlefield data, calculating the true scale of the war.

Sargrius fell, the mining world of Pavonis was lost, the hive world of Ikar was under siege, and the world of Dreir's conscription was occupied by the enemy.

The entire northern star region has become a war-torn hell, and the Eye of Damocles is the last line of defense in this battle.

He had no time to hesitate.

The Five Hundred Worlds were among the most stable and prosperous regions within the Imperium, boasting the most faithfully Codex-bound Space Marines, the best-equipped Astra Militarum, the most disciplined fleet of warships, and the unforeseen support of the unconscious Guilliman. They were not only the glory of the Imperium but also its bulwark in the eastern galaxy, duty-bound to quell this catastrophe.

Moreover, if the Five Hundred Worlds sit idly by and watch the Helka Federation capture the Eye of Damocles, the enemy's troops will be able to point directly at the Five Hundred Worlds at any time, and its throat will be blocked by a sharp sword. The "Gulf of Damocles" will become the "Sword of Damocles", hanging over the heads of the imperial warriors in the Far East star field.