On the world is a cathedral, ancient and run down – but with an icon at its heart, a warrior-woman with a bloodied rose on her chest. Is this a symbol that Saint Mina, founder of the Order, once walked on this world? Augusta is determined to find out…

    But when his old comrade, Master Tigrane of the Dark Angels Space Marine Chapter, arrives to join the festivities and asks to hear the glorious tale told once more, Antigone seems flustered. With the details of his account cast under close scrutiny and with the judgement of the Imperium hanging over him, will his noble reputation remain intact?

    Harried by genestealers and Space Marines of the Salamanders Chapter, they must protect the traitor tech-priest Deltrian as he completes his mission. But something is hunting them through the shadows, a predator that is more than their match... A short story from the Fear the Alien anthology.

    Original.

    Now recovered from the injuries sustained on his previous mission, Codicier Karras must lead Talon Squad in the hunt for a missing inquisitor. Their only clue is the name of an Imperial planet that has been taken over by the T’au. Is the missing inquisitor alive, or dead? Worse still, has she gone rogue, jeopardizing one of the Inquisition’s most secret projects? Karras must lead his team against a whole planet of hostile T’au and survive the deadly internal politics of the Inquisition to succeed in his mission, codenamed Shadowbreaker. Action, intrigue and excitement are seamlessly woven together by the master of high-octane science fiction, Steve Parker.

    In the midst of a live-fire exercise, one of these human targets disobeys orders and follows the trail of a mysterious alien beast, one that could spell doom for all of Krieg if it is not stopped...ABOUT THE BOOKA brand new Death Korps of Krieg story by Steve Lyons, author of Dead Men Walking.

    and thrown into a battle for the fate of entire star systems.READ IT BECAUSEGuy Haley returns to tank action in a new tale of Honoured Lieutenant Bannick and his crew, weaving a tight and twisty tale as they face not only cunning enemies, but their own doubts about mankinds place in the galaxy.THE STORYArriving in the Geratomro warzone, Honoured Lieutenant Bannick and the crew of the Baneblade Cortein’s Honour are assigned as close support to a company of Shadowsword Titan hunters as they find themselves thrust into a deadly battle for the fate of three star systems. New and deadly allies throw into doubt all that Bannick has been told of the Imperium, while threatening not only his life, but also his soul...

    The young pack leader Bjorn – now known to his warriors as ‘the One-Handed’ – is desperate to recover his honour in battle, but replacing lost limbs for proud legionaries is not a task worthy of the Iron Priests. If Bjorn is to fight again, then he must seek out new claws for himself and christen them in the blood of the traitors...A brand new Horus Heresy audio short by Chris Wraight.Running time approximately 10 minutes.

    And a secret objective leads to more than the lead character, tech-priest Magos Caul, could ever have bargained for.THE STORYOn the world of Phaedra, a force of skitarii - the front-line soldiers of the Adeptus Mechanicus - embark upon a dangerous mission: to assault a stronghold of the xenos tau and recover a priority asset for their tech-priest master, Magos Caul. As they face the diminutive drones and hulking battlesuits of their alien foes in the jungles of the Dolorosa Coil, their target draws nearer. But just what is Objective Skysight, and why is it so important to the tech-priest?

    Inquisitor Eisenhorn investigates, and finds that the trail laid by this unassuming servant of the Imperium leads to unexpected places and a dangerous showdown.

    Equipped by the Ordo Xenos of the Inquisition, Deathwatch Space Marines possess war gear purposely designed for the destruction of all aliens. In the gauntleted fists of these black-armoured warriors does the sanctity of mankind rest, in their hearts the iron will to vanquish every alien predator and wipe them from the face of the galaxy.Deathwatch: Xenos Hunters is one of our classic Direct Exclusive anthologies containing 11 short stories about the Deathwatch Space Marines, and now includes Last Watch by L J Goulding. Machine Spirit by Nick Kyme The Infinite Tableau by Anthony Reynolds Headhunted by Steve Parker Rackinruin by Braden Campbell Weaponsmith by Ben Counter The Vorago Fastness by David Annandale Fearful Symmetries by Rob Sanders A Sanctuary of Wyrms by Peter Fehervari Exhumed by Steve Parker The Alien Hunters by Andy Chambers Last Watch by L J Goulding

    The best of the best. And now he's gone Rogue... His entire life, all James 'Red' Maddox has known is war. He was born on a dust rock called Genesis-526, conscripted into the Federation military with thousands of other recruits, and somehow stumbled into the Mech Corps. It was a moment that changed his life. Mech Corps pilots are the best of the best. They sit in the cockpit of iron beasts that tower into the sky, fighting alongside men and women who have been bred for their task since birth. Perfect reaction times. An almost inhuman level of concentration. The courage to throw themselves into the fight day after day, year after year, knowing that their mechs are sent into the crucible of the fight, into the heart of danger—and expected not just to survive, but to win... But Red is getting real tired of putting down rebellions on colony planets he's never heard of. Of pulverizing alien planets before he ever even learns their name. Of losing friends, lovers, and brothers in the service of an empire that doesn't care whether he lives or dies. Every man has his breaking point. And Red just found his...

    And she has strange powers. What can feed her challenge-addiction now? Fighting crime? There is plenty of it.

    The world is uninhabited, but must be protected to prevent the tyranid advance threatening several nearby systems. The situation goes from bad to worse when Cain and the Catachans run into a force of insidious xenos, and the two factions are thrown into a temporary alliance purely to survive. Can Cain defeat the tyranids and survive the deadly intentions of their dark allies? Only time can tell!A Ciaphas Cain audio drama by Sandy Mitchell.Performed by Jonathan Keeble, Harriet Kershaw, Angus King, and Toby Longworth.Directed by Christian Dunn. Music composed by Jamie Robertson.Running time approximately 75 minutes.

    As citizens flee from the drowning city, a sadistic Imperial interrogator seeks a lowly data-drone with a terrible secret. But when disaster strikes, the pair must rely on each other for survival as the Watcher in the Rain awaits them.LISTEN TO IT BECAUSEHear a world in peril, with a magnificent soundscape acting as the backdrop to a thoroughly frightening tale of two enemies forced to work together against a darkness that will consume them both.THE STORYIn the far reaches of Imperial space, a ferocious warp storm approaches an Administratum world, cutting off the entire planet from the rest of the Imperium. As their towering grey spires are punished by endless rain, countless administrators, tithe-masters, and book-keepers are forced to evacuate. Among them is Greta, a lowly data-drone with a terrible secret, wanted for questioning by the sadistic Imperial interrogator Stefan Crucius. As disaster strikes and the pair are left stranded in the depths of the drowning city, captor and captive must co-operate to stand any chance of escaping. But a mysterious presence stalks them through the abandoned, flooded towers, a dread entity each must confront but which neither dare acknowledge, a Watcher in the Rain.