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"It is the distant future and the Imperium of Man has spread across the entire galaxy. But our days of expansion are long past. Where once we fought to conquer, now we fight simply to survive. Savage and bloodthirsty aliens ravage our worlds. Our defenders die by the billions in endless wars of attrition. Devious enemies lure us into traps and snares. Advanced alien technology claims millions of lives in mere moments.
Now, from beyond the galaxy's edge comes the greatest threat yet to our survival.
Once, the Emperor of Man led us in battle. We were unstoppable. But no longer. The Emperor has withdrawn to Earth to rule from his Golden Throne, leaving us to fight on in his name. Across the stars, our fading armies fight a thousand wars. We face constant attack from ruthless aliens. We have little hope for support from Earth and we are losing the battle for human survival. Our only hope lies with the Space Marines, genetically modified warriors of superhuman ability. The pinnacle of human potential.
But the Space Marines are few. The galaxy is large. And our enemies are countless. It is humanity's darkest hour."
Sub-Sector Aurelia
This cluster of worlds stands on the very edge of the Imperium of Man. From this frontier came the Blood Ravens, a chapter of the Emperor's own Space Marines.
Now savage aliens seek to overrun the sector, and break the Blood Ravens once and for all. Captain Davian Thule and a handful of Space Marines lead the raw recruits defending these worlds.
Now, another Space Marine joins this desperate battle... a newly promoted Commander, ready to lead in our darkest hour.
You are this Space Marine.
Enemies
These are the enemies in Dawn Of War II
The Eldar
One-time masters of the Galaxy, the Eldar are now few in number and slowly dying out. Those few, however, are among the most dangerous enemies of Man. Following specialized paths of rigorous training throughout their long lives, the surviving Eldar are masters of terrible psychic powers, deadly warrior skills, and incredibly sophisticated technology. Skilled in foretelling the future and manipulating lesser races, the Eldar would gladly sacrifice billions of humans to save a handful of their own.
The Ork Menace
Savage and bloodthirsty, barbaric and brutal, Orks infest the galaxy from end to end. Green-skinned and ape-like, these aliens are brutal combatants and form into massive war bands which set to burning and pillaging everything in their path. Most dangerous is the Warboss, largest and most cunning of the Orks. These huge chieftains can inspire the fear and discipline necessary to trigger a massive Waagh! -- an Ork uprising that can topple entire systems if not stamped out quickly.
The Tyranids
From beyond the very edge of the galaxy come the Tyranid Hive Fleets; tendril-like swarms bent on consuming all life. Guided by a terrible communal intelligence, the Tyranids exist solely to strip the universe bare to feed their endless appetites. In a matter of weeks, Hive Fleets can strip whole systems of life. They are without number, without fear and without mercy.
Locations
Calderis AuSs-009 Feudal World Tithe Grade: Solutio Prima Aestimare: H321 Population: 25 million
An arid sphere first settled in the forgotten pre-Imperium past, Calderis is a feudal world with native technology akin to the early Industrial Revolution. An Imperial Governor oversees the planet from orbit, ensuring that the world contributes men and ores as tithes. According to the Administratum, the governor also "periodically permits" the Space Marines to recruit from the population.
For the Space Marines, of course, the planet is a recruiting world and so "theirs", but they have neither the manpower nor inclination to maintain a constant presence on the planet - best to arrive every few years/decades to recruit. The feudal nature and harsh climate suit them well, as it makes the locals hardy and resilient stock from which to choose battle brothers.
The planet has suffered from occasional outbreaks of feral Ork activity for centuries, but in recent seasons, the Greenskins have grown in number, power and resources. The governor has mobilized the Planetary Defense Force, armed with Imperial Guard issue gear, while the chapter has sent almost a dozen Battle Brothers to secure the planet.
The fight is not going well.
Meridian
AuSs-007
Sub-Sector Capital
Tithe Grade: Exactis Secondus
Aestimare: A431
Population: 32 Billion
The center of Imperium power in Sub-Sector Aurelia, Meridian is a teeming planetary metropolis, featuring huge city-spires rising from urban landscapes the size of continents. Home to billions of Imperial citizens, the planet is also an industrial power, with valuable manufactoria producing everything from household goods to lasguns and aircraft.
For most citizens, Meridian is sub-sector Aurelia, seeing as how it accounts for well over 90% of the total population and economic output. The governor of the sub-sector definitely shares this point of view, seeing the other worlds under his jurisdiction as little more than a resource frontier. His attention is always turned toward Meridian and its links to the larger Imperium. This willful ignorance of events on the frontier make him ill suited to defend his domain against the invading Hive Fleet.
Even discounting the Tyranids, Meridian is hardly the secure bastion the governor pretends it is. Ork smugglers from the Blood Axe clan can be found lurking in the shadows of certain hab-spires, while Eldar infiltrate higher strata to recover artifacts pilfered from the ruins of Typhon.
It falls to the Space Marines to break through this bureaucratic ignorance and muster a defense for Meridian and the Sub-Sector entire.
Typhon Primaris
AuSs-011
Feral World
Tithe Grade: Solutio Tertius
Aestimare: N121
Population: 300,000
Choked by dense jungles in its highlands and fetid swamps in the lowlands, Typhon Primaris is a dangerous and unwelcoming place. Orks are endemic to the place and several centuries ago they wiped out the last of the human ancestors of colonists from the Dark Age of Technology. These people had long since reverted to a Bronze Age level of sophistication, and plentiful ruins attest to their civilization. Space Marines once recruited from this population.
The Orks of Typhon Primaris are fractious like all their kind, but not the isolated feral tribes of Calderis. The Bad Moonz clan currently sits at the top of the Orkish power structure on Typhon.
The planet is also home to small communities of Eldar Exodites. Eons ago a Craftworld fatally damaged by the Eldar Fall crashed on this world, and its remains are still hidden in its depths. The Exodites do not know this, but do sense a deep value to this savage world.
Human repopulation of the world is not an Imperial priority. However, around 300,000 people do live here, scattered across a variety of scientific stations, resource extraction sites and military training bases. As these stations begin to transition into rugged communities, the Space Marines have begun recruiting again. An Imperial governor oversees the world and is mostly responsible for keeping the Orks in some form of check.
Less well-know are the small number of Tech Priests who have come to Typhon to examine several pieces of Dark Age technology uncovered in the oldest settlement sites - and the Tyranids who are well on their way to infesting the low-land swamps of the world.