Like most of the segmentum, the Tarsak system has been plagued by greenskins for the past 3 millennia. Numerous wars have been fought over the centuries, which have seen significant portions of Tarsak IV’s infrastructure brought to ruin and rebuilt on multiple occasions. Learning from the consequences of past Waaghs, the 4 great space elevators that service Tarsak IV’s orbital ring have been transforming into veritable fortresses to ensure that the orbital installations are never threatened by any Ork uprising again. Unfortunately, during the early years of the warp storms the urgency of preserving an Imperial way of life in the face of our newfound isolation took priority over maintaining a vigilant watch over the greenskin threat. This short-sightedness resulted in a greenskin resurgence on Tarsak IV’s 3rd moon, and in the second decade of our isolation the Orks invaded once more. An entire continent was decimated within a year, and much of Tarsak’s standing army was destroyed. Were it not for the presence of a small number of the Emperor’s Angels trapped in the Tarsak system, the entire planet may have been overrun. With an orbital elevator on the verge of being captured, the planetary governor ordered its destruction. This event marked the start of the decline of Tarsak’s orbital facilities, as over a third of the orbital ring was left without power and quickly abandoned. Eventually the area around the elevator was cleared of the greenskin threat, and the southern continent was gradually reclaimed but never resettled. It remains an industrial wasteland to this day.

Having deposed the previous planetary governor for his lack of foresight, the new planetary governor sought the aid of the Adeptus Astartes in keeping a constant watch on the forests of Tarsak’s 3rd moon and the wastelands of Tarsak’s southern continent. None took to this task with greater fervour than a company of Salamanders, who continued to purge these wastelands with fire for decades to come, adamant that not a single spore would escape their vigilant wrath.

Alas, the greenskin menace is nigh impossible to eliminate entirely, and half a century later it reared its ugly head again, rising from beneath our own cities. Whilst the Sons of Vulkan had been most diligent in their duties, they were unaware of a series of underground tunnels deep beneath the wastelands, records of which were lost centuries ago when the ruins of a past war were built over. Few of the Salamanders survived the rising green hordes, and to this day a single squad is all that remains of the company. The Ork uprising was rapid and well organised, a humbling reminder that these foul greenskins are masters of cunning as well as brute force. Within hours they had taken control of an orbital elevator and surged into the orbital ring. The planetary governor was quick to follow in his predecessor's footsteps, ordering the destruction of both the elevator and significant sections of the orbital ring in order to halt the spreading greenskin threat in its track. This was followed by broadside after broadside into the now free floating sections of the ring and elevator by the few remaining warships in orbit, ensuring that any surviving Orks were exposed to explosive munitions, hard vacuum, or both. On the ground the war waged for 4 years. Attritional losses meant that Imperial tactics on Tarsak IV were changing. The Tarsak system had always relied on its substantial standing forces of temporarily barracked elite forces, but with these dwindling it was time to turn to conscription, with the remaining (and aged) veterans taking to training the young conscripts. With most elite units reduced to less than company strength, their focus turned to the precise application of force in order to guide and control the Ork’s Waagh. With careful reconnaissance, misdirection and elimination of key leaders, Ork forces were corralled into the territory of rival Warbosses. Eventually, when the Orks were at their weakest (and after liberal orbital bombardment) the remaining Adeptus Astartes launched a coordinated strike with the support of newly conscripted infantry, destroying the greenskin threat once more.

The constant vigil against greenskin spores continues to this day, but yesterday’s loss of contact with Cadian Incinerator Squad 257 has left the new Planetary Governor on edge…

With so little known about the ancient threat we call the Necron, it is difficult to know how long they will remain dormant.

We are not certain what caused the reactivation of their crypts deep beneath the ruined southern continent, other than that the Orks growing there 30 years ago seem to have gained access to them. The presence of the upper half of a decrepit Necron warrior dragging itself around amongst the corpses of slain greenskins was quite a surprise to the Incinerator Squad that discovered it. Tarsak IV’s remaining Deathwatch contingent was dispatched immediately to investigate. They located the entrance to a Necron labyrinth and what they found was a terrifying omen of a war yet to come.

Clearly Tarsak IV had once been an outpost of some ancient Necron Dynasty, their catacombs stretching for miles in every direction and housing row upon row of powered down Necrons forms. The extent of the threat was estimated at 100,000 mechanical abominations of every imaginable shape and size. But more worryingly, the tombs appeared to be reactivating themselves. With the tombs too deep for an orbital bombardment and Tarsak IV’s armed forces in no position to fight another war from within, there was no way to excise the Necron threat. Instead the Deathwatch teams opted to enact an ambitious plan based on past experiences with the Necrons: taking care not to disturb the catacombs beyond deactivating any animated Necrons, they set about sabotaging key power transfer nodes. With so little known about the nature of Necron technology, it is not known whether this has permanently deactivated the tomb or simply delayed the reanimation process.

If the God Emperor wills it, the warp storm will have dissipated well before the Necrons awaken from their slumber and the might of the Imperium will bring His wrath down upon them.

For the last century, Tarsak IV has been beset by the denizens of the Empyrean. Daemonic incursions are commonplace, with the small contingent of Grey Knights left behind on Tarsak IV finding themselves in constant demand. Most incursions are involuntary manifestations by nascent psykers, whose first exploratory glimpses into the warp are also their last. But there have also been more sinister intrusions by denizens of the Warp, namely the vile traitors of millennia past who have aligned themselves with Chaos. Several chaos cults have been discovered since the storms began, led or instigated by Space Marines of the traitorous legions who sided with Horus. While these cults have been destroyed with all due malice, the warp storm seems to provide their leaders the ability to disappear into the Immaterium at will, making them a constant thorn in our side. We can but hope that their continual reappearances on Tarsak IV are not part of some grand scheme on behalf of their nefarious gods.

When the ship was first detected it was assumed to be a damaged Imperial vessel returning from an abortive attempt to navigate the warp storms plaguing the sector. The unusual auspex signature was attributed to plasma fires from a ship in distress, but when no response was forthcoming a frigate was dispatched to investigate. The intentions of the approaching vessel was made clear when the frigate’s explosive destruction lit up the auspex displays. Over the course of a week the unknown vessel drifted ever closer, but with only 3 of our recently constructed frigates remaining we could do little but wait for the vessel to declare its intent. The vessel was soon identified as a T’au warship, heavily damaged and very much out of place so near the galactic core. We can only assume that it was caught in the warp storms which have plagued the sector and flung into proximity of the Tarsak system. This does suggest that the warp storms paralysing the Tarsak system extend much further than previously thought, but the alternative proposal that T’au dominance has extended all the way to the galactic core over the last century is clearly heretical.

Having limped into the system the T’au ship adopted a distant orbit around Tarsak IV, constantly shadowed by our frigates. In the normal course of events our ships would be no match for such a large vessel, but with their ship having sustained heavy damage we suspect they are as uncertain of the outcome of such a battle as we are. The macro batteries on the active portions of the orbital ring are certainly enough to deter their vessel from entering a closer orbit, and so for months the T’au vessel has orbited Tarsak IV doing little more than scan the planet.

4 days ago the T’au vessel accelerated toward Tarsak IV, making a carefully choreographed flyby of the planet which avoided the active sections of the orbital ring as dozens of smaller vessels issued forth from its docking bays. A handful of these landing craft were intercepted by the frigates, but most disappeared from auspex as they made planetfall or docked with the damaged orbital ring. Hundreds of enemy agents with unknown intent are now active all across the southern continent and orbital ring, while hypothesises about their true intent run rampant. Are they searching for materials to repair their crippled ship? Or will they attempt to access our communications network in order to call in the rest of their fleet? Perhaps they underestimate our Imperial zeal and think that they can convert us into a congregation of believers in their “greater good” philosophy?

The only certainty is that we will mercilessly purge these trespassers from Imperial soil, one squad at a time. With the warp storm dissipating day-by-day it will not be long before our astropaths can call in Imperial warships to obliterate their ship, which has returned to its position in distant orbit of Tarsak IV.

The Aeldari have been but a fleeting presence on Tarsak IV for millennia. While their more sadistic cousins seem motivated by little more than slaughter and sowing chaos, the Asuryani are far more enigmatic. There does not appear to be any trigger or regularity to their appearances in the Tarsak system, but when they appear they strike with such fervent purpose that it is difficult to believe that their actions are random. In the occasional verbal exchanges that have occurred over the millennia they have always spoken in riddles about great prophecies, redemption and the end of days - the usual heretical nonsense!

It is clear that Tarsak IV is home to a webway portal, but all attempts to find it have failed. Over the last century the Aeldari’s sporadic raids have become a low priority compared to other more ominous events, even though such appearances are more frequent than ever.