Two years three months prior to the events of Dead Stars:
Mir, Quint, Lysandros, Uriel and Hadrian are rescued from the planet of Quaddis by Inquisitor Herrod and his retinue following the tragic events at the Festival of Tattered Fates in which the Widower unleashes the dark power of the Tyrant Star in an attempt to destroy the populace.

Two years three months prior to the events of Dead Stars:
Grateful to their rescuers, the acolytes learn that Inquisitor Herrod has been keeping surveillance on the group since their investigation on the planet of Sinophia, and subsequent altercation with Herrod’s acolytes. Herrod suspects that Sand’s acolytes are tied to the Tyrant Star Prophecy and the Haarlock Legacy. He starts to educate the acolytes on the dangers of the Tyrant Star and the work of the Tyrantine Cabal to learn about the Star’s dark power and stop it. Mir, Quint and Lysandros realize the importance of the Cabal’s work and pledge their service to the Cabal’s work. Hadrian and Uriel are not convinced that the Cabal’s mission is that important and are not interested in membership in the Cabal.

Six Months prior to the events of Dead Stars:
Hadrian undertakes a diplomacy mission on behalf of Magos Faust to the planet of Lathe Het. Uriel is dispatched to the planet of Scintilla for a courier mission but is late in returning due to her transport’s navigator making a slight miscalculation in the Warp route.

Three months prior to the events of Dead Stars:
For the past two years, Mir, Quint and Lysandros have been working as agents of the Revivicators and the Tyrantine Cabal, seeking out relevant information and carrying out missions to further the objectives of both factions. They have established a respected working relationship with Herrod and his acolytes.

Preparation for the events of Dead Stars:
Armed with the information that the secrets of the Tyrant Star are somehow related to the Haarlock Legacy and both can be answered on the forbidden planet of Mara, Inquisitor Herrod utilizes the political pull of Inquisitor Marr to obtain temporary authority of over the acolytes of Inquisitor Sand’s Red Cell and leads a team made up of Red Cell, two of Marr’s acolytes (an Astropath named Kessa Silinus and a Battle-Psyker named Calium Samiel) and two squads of elite Maccabean Janissaries to the planet’s surface to seek answers.