Taros Campaign - Denab Incident: Meanwhile, unrelated to events around the Eye of Terror or Taros, the Imperial Navy’s Patrol Group Ravanor was conducting a routine anti-pirate sweep though the Denab system, an area of wilderness space on the edge of the Damocles Gulf. The five-ship patrol, operating under standing orders to attack and seize suspected pirate vessels or conduct harrying raids against Tau targets of opportunity, was under the command of Captain Darillian of the Dauntless-class Light Cruiser Lord Ravanor. The patrol had been out for several months with little success, and Captain Darillian was preparing to return to base and report that pirate activity in the area was minimal when the Sword-class Frigate VCS-6 of Scadryn squadron, positioned well ahead of the main line, reported sensor contact with three unidentified transport vessels. Suspecting these may be the pirate vessels he was hunting, Captain Darillian began a cautious pursuit.Patrol Group Ravanor carefully stalked the three vessels though the Denab asteroid belt, maintaining a distance that would not reveal their presence and making maximum use of the asteroid belt’s cover. For three days they maintained the stand-off pursuit, hoping the three vessels would lead them to a pirate base or a rendezvous point, and a far greater prize. It seemed Captain Darillian was correct. The convoy was making for a deep-space facility on the edge of the Denab belt. As the ship approached, it was revealed to be no pirate base; instead, scanner readings from Darillian’s leading ship revealed the presence of a small Tau waystation. Captain Darillian had experience operating around the Damocles Gulf and had encountered such facilities before, scattered in remote locations. He wondered why three transport freighters would be rendezvousing with an alien waystation. Positioning a single escort vessel to maintain surveillance, the Captain withdrew and reported the curious events to fleet command. Whilst the Lord Ravanor was away, the frigate VCS-6 observed the three transports dock at the waystation, and a single Tau vessel of the Emissary-class leave shortly afterwards. Hidden within the asteroid belt, VCS-6 watched and waited.Meanwhile, Captain Darillian’s astropathic message reached the Imperial Navy High Command in the area, who was equally in the dark about these events. Inquiries about these three ships revealed nothing. Whoever these ships belonged to, they were obviously consorting with aliens. New orders were issued to Patrol Group Ravanor – destroy the Tau waystation and capture the transports. Prisoners were to be taken for further interrogation. The Lord Ravanor returned to rendezvous with VCS-6 and prepared to attack. The crews were roused to battle-stations and the escort captains briefed. The group would slowly approach the station through the asteroid belt, and then attack at all full ahead, giving the rogue transport the minimum of time to make an escape. The Lord Ravanor would engage the waystation, whilst the escorts prevented any escape or pursued any transports that tried to flee. After crippling the waystation, the Lord Ravanor would then grapple alongside a transport and board to take her as a prize and capture the crew.With a single order, the great plasma reactors of the five Imperial Navy ships roared into life, accelerating them out of the asteroid belt in line astern directly at the waystation. With surprise on their side, the patrol group raced past the waystation, unleashing a full broadside at short range. Lance batteries and Macrocannons roared into the void, impacting upon the waystation with shuddering explosions. The station attempted to return fire as best she could, with little effect. One transport was immediately hit and crippled as it lay at berth, the others, as predicted, attempted to disengage and flee. Scadryn squadron was immediately in rapid pursuit. It seemed his surprise attack had worked, except Captain Darillian was about to get a surprise himself. His bridge survey-controllers urgently reported more Tau vessels approaching. A second convoy of transports and an escort of light warships, identified as of the Castellan-class had appared on scanner screens, and they were closing fast. Suddenly, instead of a one-sided ambush, Patrol Group Ravanor had a real fight on its hands. Reacting to the new situation, the Captain recalled his escorts from their pursuit and set a new course to intercept the approaching Tau vessels.The gruff old Captain ordered a new attack, calculating that he had enough firepower to see the Tau convoy off or destroy it entirely. With her four escorts closing in behind her, the Lord Ravanor ploughed in amongst the alien convoy, broadsides blazing from both starboard and port batteries. In return, the Tau vessels peppered her back, shields flaring and decks quacking under the impacts of Railguns and Ion Cannons. It was a bitter and hard-fought battle at close range, with both sides inflicting heavy damage during the engagement. The Sword-class Frigates VCS-6 and 7 were both crippled, and the Lord Ravanor was limping with engine damage and fires on several decks. However, the Tau convoy was scattered, leaving one drifting transport as a wreck and both Castellans, the targets of the Lord Ravanor’s biggest guns, as burning hulks. To the cheers of her gun crews, Patrol Group Ravanor had had the best of it and decisively won the skirmish. In the process, two of the rogue transport had escaped.Captain Darillian gathered his battered but victorious officers and issued orders for the post-battle operations. Boarding parties were to be readied to board the waystation and crippled transport. All prisoners were to be brought directly to him. A second party was to board the Tau transport and seize her cargo. Meanwhile, VCS-8 and 9 were to rescue surviving crew from the patrol group’s two crippled escorts. After the completion of the operation they would make course out of the Denab system and home, battle-scarred but victorious. Aboard the Tau transport the boarding party found only empty holds. The waystation had been badly damaged and a final bombardment before departing would destroy it beyond salvage. Crewmen from the crippled rogue transported were captured after a brief skirmish with its survivors. It seemed they had no knowledge of the ship’s cargo, but the ship’s log recorded that their last port of call had been Taros. The crewmen claimed not to know why there were there, or why their cargo was being unloaded by the Tau. They were just following orders, but orders from whom? The prisoners would be turned over to Inquisitorial interrogators once the Lord Ravanor returned to port, and then lying tongues would loosen.On his return, Captain Darillian was ordered the Order of the Knights of Damocles, and promoted to Captain the cruiser Hammer of Thrace for his part in winning the engagement. He filed a full report about the 'Denab Incident', but the truth behind the events remained a mystery to the Imperial Navy.The truth remained a mystery only until the Denab Incident report was discovered by Auditor Prime Dree, during his research into the missing minerals on Taros. For Dree, Patrol Group Ravanor’s discovery was evidence of treachery. Dree's suspicions were confirmed. The three transports had been carrying a cargo of manganese, vanadium and rhenium ore, loaded at Taros and originally destined for refineries which in turn supplied Stygies VIII. But the convoy had been diverted and then ordered to unload some of their cargo at the Tau waystation, from where it would be transferred to Tau vessels and transported back into the Tau Empire for their own use. This would not have been the first time valuable resources had been given, or more likely sold, to the aliens. The patrol group's luck in stumbling across the convoy and waystation had given the Departmento Munitorum official the damning evidence he needed. There was a conspiracy on Taros, a secret deal with the Tau Empire to syphon off mineral resources, which belonged to the Imperium. Dree was sure that the Planetary Governor must be at the heart of the conspiracy. Lord Aulis might be all industrious loyalty on the outside, but within beat the black heart of a traitor to the Imperium. The Planetary Governor had broken the sacred Pax Imperialis, and swift retribution would be his reward.