Taros Campaign - The Imperium Under Threat: The Imperium of Man is vast, consisting of over a million worlds scattered the length and breadth of the galaxy. It is the greatest empire in human history, and as a great empire the casual observer might think that the Imperium is strong – strong enough to resist and defeat any threat – but it is not so.In truth, the Imperium is failing. The galaxy is a dark and terrible place filled with bloodthirsty aliens, malign powers and horrors too terrible to name. Beset by external wars and internal divisions, the Imperium of Man must constantly fight for survival. The continued maintenance and protection of the Imperium is governed by the Adeptus Administratum, a vast and labyrinthine bureaucracy centred on Terra, from which every Segmentum, Sector, Sub-Sector and solar system is run. The task is vast and complex, so complex that the Administratum cannot control every aspect of it. Within the Administratum sub-organisations have their own areas of responsibility. One of the largest of their organisation is the Departmento Munitorum, which oversees the supply of men and material to the Imperium’s largest armed force, the Imperial Guard. In itself this is a task of epic proportions. The Imperial Guard is a fighting force consisting of billions of men and millions of fighting vehicles. It is deployed to warzones and garrisons all across the galaxy. At any one time the Imperial Guard might be engaged in thousands, maybe tens of thousands of conflicts, all of which need supplying. As the Departmento Munitorum labours to meet these demands, the threat to the Imperium’s continued existence is growing.As the end of the 41st millennium grew closer, the omens of a new and terrible threat to the Imperium began to grow. Within the Eye of Terror, where Warp-space and realspace overlap and the worshippers of the Chaos Gods rule, the Warmaster of Chaos, Abaddon the Arch-Traitor, Destroyer of Worlds, was making his plans and gathering his strength for a new assault upon the Imperium and its false Emperor. Driven by the bloody desires of his insane gods and a thirst for vengeance which had not been quenched by ten thousand years of war, Abaddon’s 13th Black Crusade was mustering its forces, secure within the Eye of Terror. When Abaddon’s storm broke it would be the largest Black Crusade yet. Abaddon would unleash his diabolic forces from within the Eye with the objective of capturing the Cadian Gate.The Cadian Gate is the only stable passage from the Eye of Terror and the most direct route between the Eye and the centre of the Imperium, Holy Terra. Abaddon’s ultimate objective, like that of Horus, his master before him, is overthrowing the Emperor's rule and the destruction of the Imperium. To do this he must eventually assault Terra. The capture of the Cadian Gate would be a large step towards that ultimate objective. But the Cadian Gate is a lynchpin in the strategic defence of Holy Terra. Cadia is a bastion world, the most militaristic in the Imperium -- a hugely strong Fortress World protected by fleets of the Imperial Navy -- orbited by powerful battle stations, and defended by the strongest bastions, garrisoned by regiments of hardy Cadian Shock Troops. The surrounding worlds are also well protected and garrisoned. The capture of the Cadian Gate would require a huge assault, and plunge the Imperium into its largest single war since the arrival of Hive Fleet Kraken on the distant Eastern Fringe. When Abaddon’s crusade struck, it would be a war that required the full weight of the Imperium’s resources to win. It would be a battle of titanic proportions.War on such a massive scale does not come secretly or by surprise. The Imperium is not completely blind to events within the Eye of Terror. Sages and seers were forecasting dire warnings long before Abaddon launched his crusade. Omens taken from the Emperor's Tarot predicted the threat. Raids were increasing around the Eye of Terror. The Adeptus Mechanicus Exploritas launched nullships deep into the Eye of Terror to send back information about events inside. What they found sent shock waves through the upper echelons of the Imperium. The twelve High Lords of Terra, the council that rules the Imperium in the Emperor’s place, long debated what course of action to take. It was clear that the defences must be strengthened, reserves must be found, weapons, ammunition and supplies stockpiled on armoury worlds across Segmentum Obscurus. Space Marine Chapters must be readied and positioned to respond to the attack. Wherever the hammer-blow fell, the Imperial Guard must first hold, and then drive back, the followers of Chaos. Every fighting force at the Imperium’s disposal must be ready to fight to the last shell and last man to protect the Cadian Gate. If the High Lords of Terra decree it, then so it shall be, for they speak with the authority of the Emperor. Their word is law. The Administratum set about the task of preparing the Imperium for another great war.