The Skerol Prime Incident

Ongoing negotiations

The Skerol Prime Incident is the ongoing confrontation between the Imperium and the Tau Empire on the light industrial world of Skerol Prime.

### Prelude

Skerol Prime is a minor industrial world in the Hadrass sector located on the border of the Tau Empire. Due to the system's location and relatively low strategic value, the Imperium has long deemed this location unimportant. Apart from a few local PDF and the one Adeptus Arbites precinct house for the whole sub-sector, Imperial presence has been limited.

Although technically within the Imperium, the system and, to some degree, the sub-sector has long been under the Tau Sphere of influence due to an ongoing trade mission issued by the Tau approximately 50 years ago. With the lack of Imperial presence and the slow response to occasional Ork raids, the local human population, after developing a sense of abandonment, had begun to support the ideals of the Greater Good rather than the worship of the Emperor.

Significant elements of the Skerol Prime PDF have long been known to be heavily swayed by Tau ideals, but this was largely ignored by the planetary governor Boyle Krug in favour of regular financial kickbacks. After yet another recent Ork raid and the chronic lack of leadership. PDF forces arrested the governor, declared martial law and began unauthorized negations with the Tau Empire for membership.

> *"By order of Colonel Gideon Stone and the free people of Skerol, we place you under arrest for the following crimes: Dereliction of duty, corruption, perjury, illegal trade of dangerous xenos species, buggery of dangerous xenos species..."* - on the arrest of Planetary Governor Boyle Krug
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With the Indomitus Crusade ongoing, the majority of the military elements within the vicinity have been diverted and as the Hadrass sector has been deemed as having no strategic value, Imperial policy was to prevent a conflict with the Tau at all costs and had sent a diplomatic party to discuss negotiations of bringing in a garrison to quell the uprising.

### The Crash Site

Unbeknownst to the majority of the local leadership, the sub-sector and, more specifically, Skerol Prime had recently become an important hub of research for Inquisitor Luther Gaudaal of the Ordo Xenos. The sudden uptick in Imperial interest has made her uneasy. Although holding the rank of Inquisitor allows her to pursue her own unbridled research, some within the Imperium would deem her work heretical.

Luther had chartered a merchant vessel and attached a security detail to arrange the transport of research, materials and to destroy any assets and evidence that could not be brought back. Unknown to Luther was that an Ork Scouting company, led by Grukgob Bonerakka, had recently been dispatched by Warboss Ooska Gurgit in search of a new location to restart his previously failed Waaaagh! which was defeated by the Tau Empire.

Grukgob Gurgit, arriving shortly before the merchant vessel, ordered his gunship to ram it, causing both ships to de-orbit and crash land onto Skerol Prime. Just before the crash, the security detail sent an encrypted distress signal to Luther and on hearing no further news, Luther assumed that they were dead. With the stagnation of negotiations on Skerol Prime, Luther quickly enlisted the help of Astartes Chapter Heralds of Deliverance, having previous workings with a member of their brotherhood who was previously assigned to the Deathwatch. Their mission is threefold; to clean up the crash site of any information leading to Luther's research. To collect research data, destroy all assets related to said research, and assist in ongoing negotiations through violence.

> *"Aggressive negotiations I think are in order. The Tau are too busy dealing with their expansion on the other side of their Empire to take this further. If we can also look into this Ork problem, then all the better. Two birds and one very sharp stone."* - Inquisitor Luther arguing her case to Sector Lord Octus Gorathan
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