Due to the priority investigation concerning the missing Exterminatus Weapon, Trempan and his team have been tasked with overseeing the salvage operation and further investigation of the wrecked Battlefleet Calixis cruiser, the “Bastion.” Inquisitor Sand’s Acolytes are tasked with following up on the mysterious coordinates given to them by the Dark Eldar Haemonculus Akirvas and will continue their mission with Cpt. Octavius and his Deathwatch Marines, which have been tasked through the Ordo Xenos by request of Inquisitor Soldevan.

Now aboard the Deathwatch Cruiser, the “Lance of Faith,” the Acolytes join the small Deathwatch fleet and arrive in the forbidden Threnos System which is under official restriction by both the Calixis Government and the Inquisition. Partway into the System, the Acolytes and Deathwatch Marines are surprised to find a small Calixis Battlegroup operating in the system. This Battlegroup appeared to have proper authorization to operate in the area and puzzled, Cpt. Octavius and his crew begin researching into the matter. Without warning, the Deathwatch fleet is attacked by the Calixis Battlegroup. Two of the Deathwatch’s Cobra-class escorts are destroyed in the surprise attack and what follows is a desperate space battle that the outnumbered and outgunned “Lance of Faith” struggles to win. A combination of deadly hit and run attacks and skilled marksmanship results in crippling some of the enemy fleet, but the Lance of Faith, on the verge of being crippled itself, lacks the firepower to win the battle.

Assistance comes to the “Lance of Faith” in the unlikely form of an Eldar fleet, which seems to appear out of nowhere. The Eldar engage the Calixis Battlegroup and together, the “Lance of Faith” and the Xenos are able to destroy the Imperial Cruisers. What follows is an uncomfortable meeting between the Humans and the Eldar aboard one of the Eldar Cruisers. The Humans learn that the Eldar are tracking one of their kind, a Bonesinger, who was abducted by Humans and is currently being held in a facility on the small ice planetoid designated as LV214. The Eldar would like the Humans to free their comrade and return him to them and pledge assistance in the form of warriors and the use of their fleet to the Humans, but Cpt. Octavius will not accept assistance. Cpt. Octavius tells the Eldar that he will consider rescuing the Eldar’s missing kin, but after the meeting, Cpt. Octavius tells the Acolytes that he has no intention of rescuing the Eldar, and if he is found on the base he will be secured as a Deathwatch prisoner.

Dubbed “Operation Icefall,” the Deathwatch initiates a full-scale assault on the LV214 facility. The Acolytes join the Deathwatch in the assault and are tasked with their own area of responsibility- three Deathwatch Marines assist the Acolytes, including Brother-Sergeant Agamorr. The assault is met with heavy resistance with the enemy proving to be well-trained and well-equipped. The Acolytes’ team managed to battle their way into the depths of the underground base and in addition to the Human enemies, they also battle strange robot constructs that are adorned with strange gem-like ornamentation.

Valuable information on these strange constructs is learned when the Acolytes find the Eldar Bonesinger. He tells the Acolytes that he is working for a human known as the “Scorpion.” The “Scorpion” has tasked the Bonesinger with conducting experiments on powerful human psykers in an effort to create items similar to Eldar Soul Stones that could act as containers for the “souls” of powerful human psykers so that they could be placed onto robot constructs thus creating beings similar to the Eldar Wraithguard and Wraithlords.

The Acolytes and Deathwatch Marines start to escort the Bonesinger out of the facility when they are confronted by a large number of Eldar. The Eldar are intent on taking custody of the Bonesinger while the Deathwatch Marines are just as intent on keeping him. Combat ensues between the two forces, and while the Bonesinger is killed in the battle, the Eldar are successful in retrieving his body and disappearing through a webway portal.

There is still one more surprise waiting for the Acolytes in the form of another Deathwatch fleet that arrives over LV214. This fleet is under orders to attack the other Deathwatch fleet but its commander decides to investigate the conflicting orders- hesitant to fire on a fellow Deathwatch force under the command of a battle brother. A subsequent investigation reveals that both Deathwatch forces received their orders from the Inquisition. Further inquiry will be made into how this situation developed. As for the “Scorpion,” he was not found on LV214 and his whereabouts, and true identity are unknown.

• GM’s Note: This mission was created by the GM.