First Contact

It isn't known exactly when the Knights of Blood marines first encountered the splinter fleet of xenomorphs now known as "Tyranids". It is only known that it was sometime after Inquisitor Kryptman had ordered the Exterminatus protocol carried out on thousands of worlds to block the advance of HiveFleet Leviathan.

Somehow, these creatures are able to communicate with one another across the vastness of space, and every subsequent incursion into our galaxy has been with more and more advanced tactics.

Still, until this record was recovered, they all had something in common- the complete assimilation of all biomass on a planet's surface... stripping it bare and moving onto the next. There has never been a more destructive force, and it has seemed to be completely unsustainable... leading to speculation that these organisms consumed all life in their previous galaxy, forcing them to abandon it in search of more prey.

But what if something else is at work... some deeper motivation other than hunger, and this is all just a diversion? A clearing of the way for something even more sinister to come?

All that is known about this event is as follows: a small detachment of marines from the Knights of Blood chapter came upon a world surrounded by an unknown Hive Fleet. They descended to the surface, planning an all-out assault to extract any survivors... and found, instead, that the local Imperial Guard regiment was being largely ignored.

Certainly, an unarmored human standing in the way of the creatures was consumed instantly. But those who hid in their barracks, tanks, or even the power armor of the marines, were strangely ignored...

Scans from the marine battle barge indicated that the creatures were all intent on digging. The larger ones were burrowing miles and miles under the planet's crust, with the smaller ones removing material to the surface in great mountains of refuse that were beginning to become visible even to the naked eye in outer space.

Great swaths of land seemed to be undulating from some pressure beneath... but in these areas, the creatures had dug under leaden deposits, and no scans could penetrate to reveal what lay below.

This fragmented record shows that the marines, upon extraction of the local imperial guard regiment and surviving civilians, called in for Exterminatus... but it can only be assumed their astropath's communication was swallowed by the Shadow in the warp.

Most strange of all, upon rescuing the survivors, none of the marines or humans onboard the ship seem to have shown any memory of this event taking place... upon later interviews, all swear that they were rescued from a planet whose sun went dark and forced an evacuation before they all froze to death. Even the official records of the ship were later altered to reflect this... perhaps by a well meaning astropath looking to align the records with what all swore took place. A partial, hand-written record is all that remains…

All that is now known is the following: the record shows that a previously unencountered splinter fleet of Tyranids, almost all taking the shape of wyrms, was active on the edge of Imperial space. What were they doing on that planet that was so important, to the abandonment of all other priorities, even the assimilation of biomass? What was under the surface of that world... and what can be done to prepare for such an unknown?

BioBlast Node (formation models shown in green)
Hive Tyrant, Wings, 2 x TL Brainleech Devourers - 230

30 Termagaunts - 120
Tervigon - 195
3 Warriors, Barbed Strangler - 100

Venomthrope - 45

Mawloc - 140
Mawloc - 140
Exocrine - 170

Carnifex w/ 2 x TL Brainleech Devourers - 150
Carnifex w/ 2 x TL Brainleech Devourers - 150
Carnifex w/ 2 x TL Brainleech Devourers - 150
Tyrannofex w/ Electroshock Grubs - 185

Bastion - 75

Total - 1850