I guess it's not accurate to say that I'm *starting* a campaign - we currently have a group around Rank 4, and our GM is retiring from Game Mastering to play a Tactical Marine so I volunteered to pick up the slack. I'd appreciate any comments/concerns you guys have with the adventure idea I'm posting.
A squad of Dark Angels have recovered one of their holy relics from the Jericho Reach. They were in the process of taking it back to their chapter when they suddenly dropped out of contact. The Dark Angels are mustering a force to recover the artifact and find their missing brethren, but that will take time they may not have. They have grudgingly asked the Deathwatch to investigate the disappearance until they are able to get there.
The Kill-Team is dispatched to investigate the disappearance. Finding the ship ( Fury and Zeal ) is a relatively simple task, as it has not moved far from its last known position. It is obvious that the ship has been attacked - great rents are torn in the hull and the ship's power appears to be offline. Searching the ship turns up no trace of the relic, only dead Dark Angels. The Kill-Team eventually encounters a single mortally wounded Dark Angel, half-crazed by his wounds, who mistakenly attacks the Kill-Team, believing they are the foes who slew his brothers. Convincing him to come to his senses is a relatively simple task - he is, after all, a Space Marine. He can tell the Kill-Team that he and his brothers were attacked by Chaos Space Marines and hordes of heretics. He can also tell them that they may be able to track the Chaos ship's progress by using data acquired from the bridge.
Once the Kill-Team acquires this data, it is fairly simple to plot the ship's course - either with the Space Marine's own expertise or by transmitting the data to Watch Fortress Erioch. The ship was bound for the planet Nune. The Kill-Team is ordered to pursue the heretics and recover the artifact - reinforcements are on their way.
Arriving at the planet Nune, the Kill-Team find no sign of the Chaos ship - there is, however, a Space Hulk orbiting the world where no Space Hulk should be. It ought to be fairly obvious to the players where the heretics are holed up. Boarding the ship is straightforward, but as soon as they are aboard the Space Hulk's engines activate, and with a great rumble and shudder the ship is plunged into the Warp. The players are trapped, with no way of knowing where they are going.
Exploring the ship, the Kill-Team is able to spot a number of heretics congregating in a certain area of the vessel. The heretics are preparing to sacrifice three prisoners to one of the Dark Gods (a successful Forbidden Lore: Chaos check reveals the god as Tzeentch) - an Inquisitor, a Tech-Priest, and a Dark Angel Librarian. (Note: I think most players would act swiftly to save the prisoners. In case they're reluctant, the PC's could be spotted by wandering Chaos Space Marines and drawn into combat). Once the prisoners have been saved, they introduce themselves to the Kill-Team: the Librarian Cadmus, the Tech-Priest Tirus Borg, and the Inquisitor Edmund Warrick, adding their thanks for the timely rescue. All were aboard the Fury and Zeal and taken prisoner by the heretics. All are grateful for their deliverance, and will do what they can to assist the Kill-Team in their mission. But after their rescue, things begin to go wrong for the Kill-Team. Carefully laid plans burn to ashes as enemy forces seem to predict the Kill-Team's every move. Ambushes occur with disheartening regularity. The Kill-Team's fortified positions are overrun with ease. The only logical explanation is a traitor in their midst. It would seem that one or all of their new 'allies' are not what they seem to be....
