Severan Dominate - Astra Militarum: From the perspective of Duke Severus XIII, the armies of the Astra Militarum represent the gravest threat within the Spinward Front. This is not because they can overwhelm his strained military -- which they can. It is not because they can effectively stop WAAAGH! Grimtoof -- though they have the assets to do this as well.It is not even because they dramatically outnumber the forces of the Children of Thorns, and have the capacity to limit the Drukhari to little more than a force for piracy and raiding. The duke is terrified of the Astra Militarum because he recognises that the Imperium now holds him personally responsible for the secession of the Severan Dominate.There are several powerful factions within the Spinward Front, all of them vying for control of the region's numerous star systems. All of them are extremely willing to take whatever violent means are necessary to secure their holdings. Only the Astra Militarum, however, are likely to be able to eliminate one of their foes by directly assassinating the duke.Notably, the Astra Militarum are also the ones most likely to resort to using assassination as a direct means of eliminating him. This is at least partly because they realise that without his political savvy and drive, many of the Secessionists might quickly reaffirm their loyalty to the Imperium of Man.Severus XIII mistrusts the Drukhari. He justly respects the power of the Ork horde. In the end, he is completely terrified by the monolithic fury of the Astra Militarum. He accepts that in any sustained conflict, there is no reasonable chance that his forces could ever emerge victorious against the Imperium.The Imperium's assets are far too vast for him to even fully comprehend. His only hope is to make the prospect of defeating him far too expensive in terms of manpower and resources compared to the pitiful return that his holdings could ever offer.Ultimately, that proposition requires an effective holding action. If he can somehow sustain such an action long enough, it is very possible that a series of distractions might require the Imperium to redeploy their forces for use against more important targets.This strategy offers only the faintest hope of success. Given the scope of the Imperium, there will always be other crises. Even within the Calixis Sector, the clandestine Achilus Crusade continues to present a significant draw upon available assets -- though few people fighting in the Spinward Front are aware of where these resources are truly going -- to a region on the other side of the galaxy.If WAAAGH! Grimtoof were to bypass the Severan Dominate, it too could present a significant direct threat to the Imperium that might draw focus away from the Secessionist systems. Because of this, the duke's focus is simply on sustaining a holding action for as long as possible, as he hopes that just such a crisis might emerge.Duke Severus XIII has also taken steps towards engineering a catastrophe that might trigger an Astra Militarum redeployment. Even though his treachery against the Emperor has become public knowledge, he still retains a network of powerful contacts within the Calixis Sector. To date, he has offered dozens of bribes and countless promises of future reward to those contacts in the hopes that at least one of them might create a calamitous distraction.While the duke might not be able to immediately repay such assistance, if a significant number of Imperial forces were diverted, he could have the time necessary to militarise even more of his holdings, better preparing his forces to resist the Imperial assault. With that act accomplished, any of his greedier contacts might soon be hailed as a powerful noble within the Severan Dominate.It is clear that there are many influential people within the Imperium who would gladly exchange a minor role within its constraints for a powerful one among the Secessionists. The hardest challenge for such a Traitor might be avoiding the just retribution for their actions.An additional complication for the duke is the fact that the excuse for his secession is entirely based upon a lie. The loyal followers of the Emperor need only recount their stories to Severan Dominate forces to convince them of the true nature of their actions. In contrast, Severus XIII must constantly invent new ways to continue to support his lies to his people.As time has passed, the tales have had to become ever more extreme. To mitigate this issue, the duke has attempted to black out all communications between the Imperium and the worlds he controls. Further, he has created the Severan Ducal Legates to maintain his propaganda across the Dominate, and these insidious agents undertake any means necessary to enforce the duke's will.This has been largely successful, but any Imperial communications that sneak through have the potential to trigger a catastrophe, if Secessionist forces learn of his treachery and renounce their loyalty to his false cause.