help me tell time in Know No Fear

[Brother_Ead]

I'm reading Know No Fear by Dan Abnett and I don't understand his time date format. Can anybody help?

[Chaeron]

http://warhammer40k.wikia.com/wiki/Imperial_Dating_System

 

http://www.dakkadakka.com/wiki/en/Explaining_Dates_in_the_40K_Universe.

 

Will probably help!

[Archaon9]

Chaeron got the time structure covered.

I'm guessing you mean the times at the start of each chapter? It's the time from the Mark of Calth. Broadly speaking that's the time the Ultramarines officially declare war. The timer keeps going until all the enemies are dead. They'll be a proper explanation later in the book if I remember right.

[Chaeron]

Battle Counter

 

The first use refers to the Ultramarines' official time index for the progress of the battle. It was customary for the Ultramarines to commence a timer at the outset of any engagement, so that events could be put into context for later analysis.[1b]

Mark Zero of the Battle of Calth commenced when Roboute Guilliman reluctantly issued orders, allowing his Space Marines to return fire against the Word Bearers, if doing so was necessary to defend themselves.[1a][1e] Although Mark Zero was reckoned the official "start" of the battle, it occurred approximately 136 hours after the Word Bearers had seized the fleet tender Campanile in the outskirts of the Calth system[1a]; and twenty minutes after the Word Bearers commenced their attack on the Ultramarines[1c][1d].

The Mark of Calth continued to run after the cessation of immediate hostilities between the Ultramarines and the Word Bearers in the Calth system. The Ultramarines' destruction of the Word Bearers homeworld of Colchis was reckoned an extension of the Battle of Calth, occurring at Mark 219,479.25.03. The Mark continued to run through the Horus Heresy and the ten thousand years after. It is still running, and will continue to do so until the Ultramarines have exterminated the entire Word Bearers Legion and their Primarch, Lorgar[1h].

 

 

 

http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Mark_of_Calth#.U_vJbsVdVoc

 

May be of interest too!