The Calixis Sector is a tough nut to crack...you warleader has tried as best he can to map out your options. The list is not exhaustive, nor are all the options necessarily exclusive.

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Guten tag, Herr Apostle!

These are your options:

Spinward approach: Indirect approach. Work you way rimward along the spinward side of Calixis, into the unpopulated regions between that sector and Scarus. Once you reach the core of the Periphery region, occupy Kulth, swing to trailing and strike for Scintilla. This option assumes that the Imperium is stilling enganged on the Spinward Front and that the rumors about the Screaming Vortex opening are true.

Pros: Avoids direct confrontation. Buys time to gain power. Possible new allies. Good springboard for attack on Scintilla (via Kulth - staging base - and Iochantos - source of cult troops). It is the route that has the least need for infiltration.

Cons: The route is the longest. It will take several years at best. It also hinges on outside events (the Screaming Vortex and Imperial dispositions on the Spinward front) over which you have no control.

Frontal approach: This option calls for a direct assault on Scintilla by way of the Markayn Marches. Defeat the Imperial navy in space, seize Solomon and use it as a forward base, harves cult troops at Iochantos and launch an allout assault on Scintilla.

Pros: Fast and effective. Least complicated plan. 

Cons: By far the riskisest strategy. You might not even have the nav assets to take Solomon, let alone attack Scintilla.

Back approach: Indirect approach. Seek a route through the Hazeroth Abyss - it is said a stable route exists that terminates at Guytoga. If the route can be found and Guytoga subverted you have both gained a portal for deeper infiltration and a way of late bypassing the main defensive lines of the Calixis sector.

Pros: Avoids direct confrontation. Buys time to gain power. Allows you to use the Word and infiltration for maximum effect. If successfull this is about the only option that could allow for an actual surprise assault on Scintilla, backed by heavy subversion and infiltration. 

Cons: This option hinges on the success of the infiltration teams and finding routes that may not even exist. It also assumes that you can outwit the Haegum and the Emperor reborn (more so than the other options).

Raiding Calixis: Waiting game. Send reinforced raiding groups into Calixis.

Pros: The only region in the Calixis sector worth raiding is the Josian Reach. It's not as well defended as the Markayn Marches (because it has fewer priority targets and offer no easy routes to Scintilla). Here you raiders can actually do something good.

Cons: It's still more dangerous and less rewarding than raiding in the Finial sector, so why bother? It also brings you no closer to Scintilla - it is just a waiting game.

Raiding Finial: Waiting game. Send reinforced raiding groups into Finial sector.

Pros: Offers rich targets and (relatively) little risk (since the Finial fleet is busy with the Reaving). Essentially the best raiding option.

Cons: It's still just raiding. Good for building you up, but it does nothing for your Calixian agenda. It also doesn't contribute one iota towards your deal with Asmodeus.

Meet Alfonzo Barca member of the 81st coterie of the glorious 10th Host.He remembers little of his beginnings but that is normal for one of the faithful for what is there to remember from a time before the Word? Alfonzo started his life on the slave decks of the Bringer of Faith, a frightened young boy part of the slave gangs that fuel the mighty warship's gun deck and its sacrificial skinning pits.

He joined the Brotherhood of the Obsidian Knife for protection after his closed family was murdered or taken for sacrifice by a rival gang. He got protection but also bettered himself and got a way of the dark and short life of the slave decks and on to the god decks above. He learned the to speak and read the holy words of Lorgar, he learned pay homage to the true gods and he knew why he had once feared the dark and the violence of the slave decks as a young boy, for there in the dark the true believers hunted the infidels.

Alfonzo knew no fear now except the righteous fear of the gods that any true believer will freely tell you that he has. He was now not prey but one of the predators of the dark - the others had even more reason to fear the dark now. The rival gang that hunted the family of the newest recruit was killed by the Brotherhood and their hearts eaten for strength; for does not the Word say the revenge and hate is to be taken and nurtured in blood and warm entrails and skulls, wet and reeking of terror, placed on the altars to honor the Gods? Yes, you know it does, the word speaks only true that is know to all but the infidels.

Alfonzo was tempered in battle in the below deck murder games and in intra-cult war that is looked on with favor by the Bearers of the holy word as a divine way to bring forward recruits to bolster their holy ranks. He knew well the words of Lorgnar, was fast in battle, cunning and cruel, but utterly devoted; these were the  words used to describe him by his brothers in the obsidian blade.

Alfonzo was taken in the night by the Berars of the true word, pain and utter pain followed, night and day full of terrors as the gods and Doctor of the Legion flayed his soul and his flesh and in time accepted him as a one of the true belivers, a scout of the 10th Host of the Word Bearers Legion. Alfonzo showed the same cunning and cruel devotion as a scout. And as the 10th under a new apostle was in a period of holy war there was the possibility to rise from the rank of scout to brother in a relative short time (too short a time grumbles the old guard).

Alfonzo has the mark of the obsidian brotherhood tattooed on his chest, and the symbol of the legion over his heart. On both shoulders there are chaos eight-pointed stars and down his back there is a page from the Book of Lorgnar written in demonic script. "Samus. That's the only name you'll hear. Samus. It means the end and the death. Samus. I am Samus. Samus is all around you. Samus is the man beside you. Samus will gnaw on your bones. Look out! Samus is here." tattooed on his right flank as a tribute to the patron daemon of infiltrators. "Victory attained through violence is victory indeed. But when a enemy turns on it self- that is the essence of true, lasting victory " tattooed on his left flank as a tribute to those who are the enemy within.

Alfonzo has a new mark 8 Power Armour with a mark 6 helmet (the previous owner of the armour took a head shot from a heavy bolter). The armour is in excellent condition, save for the scars of numerous superficial bolter hits. He spends his free time decorating it in the manner of the Legion. His favored weapons (apart from cult fighting/skinning blades) are bolter and an ancient power maul - a brutal weapon from a more brutal age.

Abigail Goodwine, or Mother Abigal as her friends call her, is a middle-aged ratling female of obscure origins. As a young girl she was cast out from her clan - she was considered too different, and different is always a bad thing. The truth is that Abigail was a latent psyker (very rare among her kind). Somehow she survived on her own, learned to master her powers (after a fashion) and grew into something of a wise woman.

How she ended up with the Reavers is equally unclear, but is seems likely that she is a native of one of the conquered worlds in Finial sector and that she somehow wormed her way onto a ship. By the time the fleet anchored as Kazim she had come to the attention of Master Lumin (always on the lookout for rogue psykers and sorcerers to replace casualties). It was decided that her particular band of powers - and her ratling status - made her an ideal candidate for the infiltration teams.

Sisters Willa and Kara (they are twin sisters, but not identical twins). Daughters of the Word, Coven of the Brides of Samus.

Got recruited at the same time to the Daughters, Kara is the better fighter and could have had a good carrier in a different coven but she went with her sister Willa whom after dabbling in a Slaanesh cult found her place in the undivided with the brides of Samus. Few can withstand the charms of Willa and to some extent the cooler charm of her sister.

Kara fights with bolt poistol and chainsword in hand; with glee and devotion at the side of Alfonzo, feeling that she serves best in battle bringing fire and fate to the enemys of the Apostle.

Willa is more of a sly one, she can make friends with all and loves to seduce (and kill, by pleasure and pain) She will interrogate the enemy's of the group and that is a fate worse than death(she has learned from the best, deamonettes the coven has pacts with). Willa's choice of melee weapons are bolt pistol and barbed whip.

Deacon Evans a tan man in his early 40is, sporting a trimmed beard and always has a smile and a kind quotation on his lips.

Evans joined the Brethren 20 years ago when he had a religious awakening, leaving his job in the Imperial bureaucracy where he was a mid level pencil pushers and joined the true goods. The Deacons of faith picked him out early as a man of boundless fate and a gift for getting others to listen. He was trained and conditioned and is now as fanatical as the next deacon. A true believer in the Word and the Apostle, he is proud that he amongst all the others are sent out to spread the word.

Evans is the de-facto leader of the infiltration team (but he can of course be vetoed by Alfonzo - and Cassandra has him wrapped neatly around her long fingers).

Rashid has been with the Brotherhood all his life. He was destined to join the rest of his brothers in blowing himself up for the glory of the gods. But his harness failed, leaving him blind and burned. The gods still have use for him, teaching others. Now with bionic eyes and new legs, missing only a few fingers. He builds bomb vests for others and makes explosives. His favorite seining: Life is cycle. Only the Gods are linear and eternal.

If this had been a just world then the third Sister, Sister Cassandra, would have been in charge of the whole thing.

As one of the first and brightest Daughters She is trained in infiltration and the ways of the Imperium by Kimery herself. She has learned the Word at feet of Castor and knows the Book as well as all Word Bearers. Tactics and strategy lessons come from Fragmin (and she has learned her lessons well). As one of the first and most fanatical Daughters she has learned combat from Castors bodyguard and they do know their warcraft.

So in short it should have been her, she is smarter and more skilled; but she is not a WB (when the Deacons and Kimery made the infiltrator groups for Castor the plan was for the Daughters to lead them). But when the Apostle took to the idea and even blessed it with some of his WB to lead it, there was much rejoicing and psalms sung to his and the gods' undying glory. And as any good Daughter she will submit to the champion of the Apostle.

But Cassandra still has hope, she knows how good she is and she knows that the gods (and the Apostle and Kimery) test you constantly. She can still try to influence Alfonzo (manipulate is a bad, and heretical word, so we won't use that), use all her skill and charm to make sure that the infiltration group succeeds so that she can be rewarded with a coven of her own, ships and a proper command for that fate is written in the stars.

This is a rough overview of the Astartes of the 10th Host, as it was after the post-Samson Reconstitution, but before the Hazeroth Advance.

Great Crusade Heroes (<10): These are the original Marines from the 10th Host. There are extremely few left and they are all Colchisians (except Castor of course). Includes Castor, 1 elder dreadnaught, 1 chaos champion captain, 1 terminator veteran sergeant, 1 chaplain.

Long War Veterans (200): These Marines are true Veterans of the Long War. Many have been around for a very long time indeed, but some have only been Marines for a few centuries. It is not their absolute age that defines them; what sets them apart is their undeniable skill at arms and the sheer amount of combat they've seen. Equivalent to Space marine Veterans. Roughly half of them serve in the 1st Company, whereas the most of rest serve as officers, squad leaders or hold important support and staff positions (many of the latter have Terminator Honours, and could go into battle as Terminators if so desired).

10th Host Marines (700): These Marines form the bulk of the 10th. They have been around for a while; some of them for thousands of years, others for as little as a few decades. In terms of skill they are (on average) the equivalent of Corpse-God Marines. Their equipment is (generally speaking) inferior to that of their Imerpial counterparts. They are completely fearless (more or less) and extremely zealous (more so than other Astartes, including most Renegades). Their gene-seed has already been harvested.

10th Host Scouts (200): These Marine Scouts are freshly made from the (cloned) gene-seed reserves of the 10th. The candidate material was decent enough, but the creation process has been GREATLY accelerated and the gene-seed used has been forcecloned, which may lead to severe complications down the line. Doctore is overseeing the health of the new recruits, but even he cannot guarantee that all of them will remain viable (but there are more batches coming, so not all of them are required to survive - besides there is a very limited supply of Astartes wargear remaining, so it might actually be a GOOD thing that many will die). Training is inferior to Imperial Marines. Equipment is inferior to standard Scout gear. Morale and loyalty is quite high!

Castor's Veterans (50): These are the handful of Marines that have followed Castor for a while. They loyalty is uflinching. Includes his Command squad and a squad of Anointed (stationed aboard the Bringer of Faith), plus various veterans that now have places in the 10th Host TOE (mostly the 5th and 9th Companies).

Castor's Childer (100): These are the new Marines/Scouts that have been raised by Castor. From captured gene-stock (harvested Tigers Argent battle casaulties and the stasis cache - reconsecrated of course) or from a small quantity of carefully hoarded gene-seed harvested over the years from Castor's own men. These men are still quite fresh to the extent that many (most?) would still be Scouts if they were not sorely needed and the wargear was available. Alfonzo is from this group.

(numbers are approximate - i.e. there are not EXACTLY 200 Veterans)

Kruger has (with aid from Doctore and the Word Bearers) completed the first batch (50 in number) of perfect Iron Warriors. Vat-grown clones of Uriel (with a few of Kruger's own improvements) turend into Marines using the latest heretek cloning techniques to create multiple sets of organs from only one Iron Warrior gene-seed. They are equipped with standard Legion battle-gear, painsakingly collected from the fallen, then restored and reactivated by the Angyr Angst's tech-priest component.

(see the Doctore & Kruger post for details)

'Doctore' is what they call Castor's apothecary. He's not a Word Bearer at all (he is a convert to the Word, if not as fanatical as born-and-bread Word Bearers). He's something of a magician when it comes to Astartes anatomy - and the mysteries of the gene-seed. His work has been greatly enhanced by access to the nice medicae suite aboard the captured Tigers Argent strike cruiser....and the larger (but rougher) facilities aboard the battle barge.

Kuger is a Magos in service with Uriel. His specialties run towards cloning, vat-growing and servitor-making. It is largely thanks to his work that the Angyr Angst is run by such a crew of fine vat-grown clone specimens and well-groomed servitors. Kuger hates mutation and deviance as much as your average anal Imperial servant, but he's not as afraid of creating abominations - he just terminates them with great zeal if or when they do crop up.

The two of them have also joined forces on occasion; their most elaborate project to date has been working on accelerating the creation process for new Marines. Using cloned gene-seed and various experimental techniques they've managed to turn Aspirants into Marine Scouts in just a few months (though it looks like about six months is the limit if they play it 'safe'). The normal recommended minimum is two years (but most 'Loyalist' Chapters use 4-6 years). So far one batch of 200 Word Bearer Scouts have rolled of the assembly lines - plus another 50 Iron Warriors. It remains to be seen if gene-seed removed from this new breed of Marines will be viable for further cloning.

ARMY ELEMENTS

COMMAND

Castor's Command Squad - Veterans, 10 Marines, Wargear: Excellent, Skill: Excellent, Loyalty: Excellent. Castor's personal bodyguard.

Anointed Squad Melkar - Veteran Terminators, 10 Marines, Wargear: Excellent, Skill: Excellent, Loyalty: Good. Serves on the bringer of Faith.

Warband squads (3 Tactical, 1 Havoc) - Reassigned to line companies.

STAFF

Librarium - 3 Marine Sorcerers. Of modest potential. Their role is one of lore-keeping, communications and battlefield support. Other, more potent (human) sorcerers (Such as Master Lumin and the new guy, Nissimon) have the ear of the Apostle.

Apothecarion - 1 Chief Apotechary. Doctore. Very skilled.

Templum - 11 Chaplains. Includes one Great Crusade veteran. Does not include Castor's First Acolyte candidate.

Forge-halls: The 10th has no true Tech-marines. All tech-duties are handled by Mechanicum adepts or other tech-savvy cretins (but trith be told the 10th sorely lacks in the tech-adept department).

COMPANIES

There are only 12 qualified Captains in the 10th Host. 11 have been assigned to a company. The last one serves as Warleader aboard the Hammer.

1st - Anointed (Veteran Terminator), 100 Marines, Wargear: Excellent, Skill: Excellent, Loyalty: Average. Has a reserve of 50 terminator suits (enough to equip most of the veterans with Terminator Honours is the need arises).

3rd - Tactical, 80 Marines, 10 Scouts, Wargear: Average, Skill: Good, Loyalty: Average. First-line company.

3rd - Tactical, 80 Marines, 10 Scouts, Wargear: Average, Skill: Good, Loyalty: Average. First-line company.

4th - Tactical, 80 Marines, 10 Scouts, Wargear: Average, Skill: Good, Loyalty: Average. First-line company.

5th - Tactical, 70 Marines, 20 Scouts, Wargear: Good, Skill: Average, Loyalty: Good. Castor's Own; made up of Castor's warband veterans and his new childer.

6th - Tactical, 60 Marines, 20 Scouts, Wargear: Average, Skill: Average, Loyalty: Average. Second-line company.

7th- Assault, 90 Marines, Wargear: Good, Skill: Good, Loyalty: Good. Has enough gear for 170 Assault Specialists.

8th - Tactical, 60 Marines, 20 Scouts, Wargear: Average, Skill: Average, Loyalty: Average. Second-line company.

9th - Tactical, 70 Marines, 20 Scouts, Wargear: Good, Skill: Average, Loyalty: Good. Castor's Own; made up of Castor's warband veterans and his new childer.

10th - Tactical, 60 Marines, 20 Scouts, Wargear: Average, Skill: Average, Loyalty: Average. Second-line company.

11th - Temporarily disbanded.

12th - Veteran, 80 Marines, Wargear: Good, Skill: Excellent, Loyalty: Good. Castor's new Veteran Company initiative.

13th - Temporarily disbanded.

14th - Temporarily disbanded.

15th - Reserve, 50 Marines, 40 Scouts, Wargear: Poor, Skill: Poor, Loyalty: Average. Because of a lack of good wargear and the need to train new scouts this company is not considered battle-worthy. Run by a Veteran Sergeant; no qualified Captain ahs been found.

16th - Temporarily disbanded.

17th - Reserve, 50 Marines, 40 Scouts, Wargear: Poor, Skill: Poor, Loyalty: Average. Because of a lack of good wargear and the need to train new scouts this company is not considered battle-worthy. Run by a Veteran Sergeant; no qualified Captain has been found.

18th - Temporarily disbanded.

19th - Temporarily disbanded.

20th - Temporarily disbanded.

SUPPORT

These Marines CAN be called up to form another company or fill holes in existing formations. Doing so would cause the Host as a whole to cease functioning properly.

Staff functions: 10 Marines. Combination of junior aides and veteran staff officers.

Fleet positions: 20 Marines. Marines assigned as officers and senior NCOs aboard fleet vessel (often related to command, security or ordnance). Most ships will also have one ore more line squads stationed on them, further augmenting security.

Reserve: 50 Marines. Combination of: Senior NCO filling various training, ritualistic, maintenance and security roles. Marines undergoing specialist training or serving on a semi-permanent basis as flight crew or vehicle operators.

Non-combatants: 10 Marines. Too old or injured to fight, but able to fulfill other non-combat functions.

WARGEAR

ARMOUR

The 10th has sufficient stores of Powered Armour to equip all current Astartes, but about 100 of the suits are of poor quailty.

There is a 50-suit reserve of Terminator armour (160 suits total).

Enough flight packs exists to equip 170 men.

WEAPONS

The 10th has access to the usual range of common Astartes weapons, plus a number of more exotic weapons.

VEHICLES/ORDNANCE

The 10th has a modest fleet of Thunderhawks and support vehicles.

Thousand Sons marine. Once of the original raiders. Commands a raider-sized (i.e. small, much smaller than the original Maiden for example) transport. Motley crew of humans from all over the Segmentum. They seem to serve him quite willingly - and in return he's quite protective of his little flock (to the extent that he's killed several people, including another Chaos champion due to incidents related to his pack). Not much of fighter (apart from being a space marine that is). He's more into experiencing the world. He doesn't seem into the darker excesses so many of his brothers crave, which may indicate that he's fairly young (but Castor is fairly sure he actually pretty old).

The emanciated head of something Karnak Zul calls the 'Dusk Hag'. Apparently she was a diviner of some skill until the Inquisition got to her. Her name derives from two sources: Firstly the death world of Dusk, located on the rimward edge of the Malfian sub-sector/Calixis sector, close to the edges of the Screaming Wortex (a warp storm of some size and repute; it separates Calixis from the Koronus Expanse and the Halo Stars). Secondly because she's bloody ugly; evne in life she must have been a real hag! Either a human mutant or perhaps a xenos.

The head was obtained when Karnak Zul led Castor to a remote temple on the shrine world of Torfal, Finial Sector. The temple was heavily defended by Sisters of Battle who unknowingly guarded the head of the Dusk Hag, placed there many centuries ago by an unknown Inquisitor or senior Ministorum official. Castor got to kill some whores of the Emperor and Zul got his head (Zul knew of it's location and nature because of his service to Inquisitor Renthor). Zul seems to think that the head can be 'reactivated' somehow, and that when that happens he'll be able to provide Castor with some really sage advice about the past, present and future of Calixis.

Imperial frontier world located on the fringes of the Josian Reach, not far from the Meriates cluster. Completely uninportant in the larger picture. There is a small, but growing following of the Word there.

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This will be your first destination. A mission that will involve helping the faithful grow strong and plentiful. Consider it a test of your mettle if you will.

Master Lumin is something rare - an Imperial astropath that's become a full-fledged Chaos sorcerer. That's not an unique set of skills, but it's rare enough that he's the only one with that skill set within Castor's little fleet. As an astropath Lumin can send astropathic messages to his peers (often pretending to be one of them) or listen in on any unencrypted astrotelepathic communication. As a sorcerer Lumin has the power to communicate over interstellar distances using certain rituals - and he also knows how to summon entities from the Luminous Realm (that's what he call's the Immaterium). He's also something of a diviner, using his own customized version of the Imperial Tarot to good effect. Finally Lumin has a bit of leadeship and organizational skills and he's a passable teacher; meaning he makes a pretty effective leader for the fleet's sorcerers and diviners. A valuable person indeed.