The Mallus Compliance (Space Marines in Warhammer Fantasy - Chapter Master/Empire Building)

[FractiousDay]

A robed figure stands atop a tower in Altdorf. The College of Astromancy boasts the tallest and grandest structure in the whole city, and from its summit the Patriarch of the Celestial Order seeks wisdom from the stars. Vobist the Faint, the sign of Darkness and Uncertainty, seems to rise in the west, while Nuthios comes up from the south to join it. Curious signs indeed, signs of evil perhaps? Grungni's Baldric shines strong, a reminder of the steadfastness of the Dwarves, that at least, the Patriarch is sure, is an auspicious sign.

Indeed the Dawi had made the telescope that the wizard now looks through, while the mountain-folk stand as allies to the Empire of Man, all around there are enemies from the unquiet dead to the rampaging Greenskins, not to mention the darkness that comes of the north! The Patriarch mutters at the portents as he adjusts the dials and levers that control the great mirrors and lenses of the immense spyglass, magic giving his mind clarity, his half-prayers begging for insight enough to guide the Empire in these troubled times.

There is at least one comfort. The Twin Tailed Comet. While sometimes a herald of waxing evil, the Comet has ever safeguarded the Realms of Men, prophesying Sigmar's birth and later the first Emperor's crowning. But as the Patriarch peers closer he sees something else. Something within the Comet.

Horror.

Glory.

War.

The Wizard is entranced, his creased hands grip the controls, his heart thunders, his eyes widen at the vision.

A mighty king, deathless and magnificent. Celestial armadas duelling across a million worlds. Beasts larger than the largest dragon wrestling with immense iron constructs. Grim-faced priests of death, pronouncing the obliteration of entire nations.

In the sight of the telescope the Comet's brilliance shines, but in such radiance the Patriarch perceives it's true form. It's wings beat across the stars, it's talons sharp and ready.

An eagle with twin heads descends upon the world.

The Mallus Compliance

​

"Lord Captain!" the roar from the first officer comes as the woman frantically tries to staunch the bleeding of her missing eye and mangled face while still maintain control of the ship, "Void Shields are failing, we cannot withstand the friction of the atmosphere!"

From your position on the command throne you take in the devastated bridge. The wounded lie over consoles, half-machine servitors the only ones unaffected by the general chaos as they continue to calmly reel of data. In turn you feel the press of information on your mind from the induction port at the base of your skull as you feel the very ship beginning to crack.

The vector-dance played in the atmosphere of some unknown world, random parts of metal from outlying arrays and vox-casters burning up alongside the ship and forming a double wake as it crashes down. The pict-screen flickers for a moment and in a explosion of sparks one of the servitors begins to spasm, flailing at it's station, trying to escape the bonds of its duty-cage.

Beyond you and above the rim of the planet lies the vast dark wonder of space. Among the darkness you see a few lights, they are:

Choose 1:

[ ] A once great battlefleet, each now stricken as you are, some ships escaping the gravity well of the planet only to freeze in the vacuum through the rents in their hulls, others seemingly doomed to orbit the planet for eternity.

[ ] Your escorts, the comrades of your vessel, now doomed to follow you once again down into destruction.

[ ] Simply parts of your own ship that have already broken off during your descent into the planet's atmosphere.

You feel the reactor surging, the Machine Spirit within straining under the pressure of the descent.

"Divert all power to the engines." you order, calm despite the fury all around, "Magos, our status?"

"This machine screams." is Techpriest's simple reply, his timbred voice strained even when his bionics refuse to show any other sign of stress.

"Our vector?" you call back to your subordinate.

Choose 1:

[ ] The south-western landmass, auspex detect few cities or settlements, the majority of the continent being jungle.

[ ] The southern continent, attached to a larger mass you perceive scattered signs of civilisation amidst hostile terrain like deserts and a single massive mountain range running down from the north.

[ ] A central savannah, broad, yet with rugged hills and smaller ranges of mountains.

[ ] The northern continent, that same enormous mountain range on it's eastern border, with clear signs of habitation, though you know not what.

[ ] A great plateau, volcanic activity clear even from your decaying orbit, surrounded on all sides by tall mountains.

"Get us in over land, somewhere flat if you can. All crew and passengers to shelter as they're able." you continue, course set as best you can with failing engines.

"My lord, what of the mission?" asks another officer, and you think back to your own superiors and the sponsors of your voyage into the black realm. Your masters are:

Choose 1:

[ ] Astra Militarum

The Imperial Guard is the backbone of the Imperium's miltiary might. Even with trillions of soldiers there's always a reason for a captain like yourself to be ferrying armies to some new deployment.

[ ] Adeptus Administratum

The bureaucrats of the vastness of the Imperium of Mankind, the Administratum collect taxes, mobilise whole sectors and in your case, funded an expedition of colonisation to worlds recently reclaimed from the perfidious xenos.

[ ] Ecclesiarchy

The Adeptus Ministorum is the religious hierarchy upholding the worship of the God-Emperor and his Imperial Creed. Its duty is to guide and interpret the innumerable ways that Humanity has found to worship the Emperor, shepherding the myriad worlds of Man along the unsteady path that lies between heresy and true devotion.

[ ] Adeptus Astartes

Sitting outside the traditional bounds of Imperial organisation, the Space Marines, the Emperor's Angels of Death, are the tip of the spear. Genetically enhanced, immortal and with every advantage, these might warriors stand against the evils of the galaxy and you're proud to assist them.

[ ] Adeptus Mechanicus

The Priesthood of Mars build and maintain all Imperial technology from the basest rifle to the most complex manufactoriums. To the half-machines, all knowledge is the sacred elimination of the Omnissiah, and your voyage was patronised as another step on the Quest for Knowledge.

[ ] REDACTED


You don't know anything and you don't want to know anything.


"They will understand." you reply, "Take us in, and remember... the Emperor protects!"




Welcome to my new quest. I've had the idea for a while, based on a couple of ideas and things I've previously read. Here you'll direct the forces of an Imperial taskforce to bring a planet into Imperial Compliance. This planet happens to be Mallus, the setting of Warhammer Fantasy Battle. WFB and 40k exist in different mediums although they're occasionally referenced, and I'm interested in writing a quest which will look at a clash between the two.

This will be a sort of ck2, or civilisation type quest rather than centred around a specific person. Here you choose the size of your starting force, it's initial constitution, and your landing place. For example, a quest around a single division of Imperial Guard stuck in Lustria would play significantly differently to half a fleet of Admech crashing in the Dark Lands.

In the next initial chapters you'll decide more specifically on various points like whether you have any attached forces or whether you have tanks vs artillery. To be more specific on this in case of questions, you can decide here to be Space Marines, then next chapter you'll decide whether you're a particular Chapter, the specialisation, and so on. Keep in mind you'll only get some things if you pick particular choices. No one by the Admech get Titans for example.

Keep in mind a few details, for example, if you're in a larger fleet they'll be more of you, and you'll have access to more things and types of troops for example. Comparably, a smaller force might go without arousing attention from various native powers for longer. Your objective a I say is to bring the planet into Compliance, which might mean to conquer it.

With this quest in particular I'm interested in examining the premise which I haven't seen looked at before generally, as well as some of the broader points around outside context problems and societal development.

No plans for the moment please, just a vote in each of the categories. Oh also I'm going to try and run this across multiple boards which should be interesting. Forgot to mention that in the first posting.

 

[FractiousDay]

Introduction 2

The alarms continue to sound but you look back, feeling a looming presence behind you.

"There." A booming voice sounds, pointing to the pict-screen and the rapidly approaching planet. The Angel of Death stares down at you and you see your own mortality reflected in his visor.

He towers over you, even though you sit atop the dais of your command throne. Even with your three centuries of command experience, to be in the presence of one of the Adeptus Astartes is harrowing. Nevertheless, to command an Astartes Battle Barge and be Fleetmaster of one of their forces is a great honour indeed!

Since your birth you have served as a chapter-serf of the Emperor's Angels, in particular the:

Choose 1:

[ ] Blood Ravens
This chapter of unknown origins are drawn to the pursuit and acquisition of ancient lore. They possess an unusually high number of Librarians amongst its ranks, and have established your original mission to
gather knowledge and relics for their already impressive armouries.

[ ] Brazen Claws
Successors of the noble Iron Hands Legion, the Brazen Claws' home of Talus IV was destroyed and left in ruins, and the now battered but resolute chapter seeks a new world to build their fortress-monastery.

[ ] Celestial Lions
The Astartes of this chapter maintain all the nobility and fibre of their progenitor, Rogal Dorn, yet in recent years they seem to have fallen on hard times, and now seek a new life away from the politics of the Imperium.

[ ] Dragon Lords
Pursuing a force of the perfidious Hrud, the Dragon Lords have set themselves on a fearsome mission. What will they do now this has been so disrupted?

[ ] Howling Griffons
The Howling Griffons take a special pride in their oaths, seeing each as the promise of an unending effort until the deed sworn in the oath is accomplished. One such oath now compels them to this new crusade.

[ ] Sword Brothers
All Space Marines descend from the Primarchs, the twenty demigod sons of the Emperor. While most Astartes therefore revere the Emperor, few adopt the strictures of the Imperial Cult and Ministorum as closely as the Sword Brothers.

"Yes my lord." you acknowledge, relaying the instruction through your umbilical to the ship.

The Space Marine points to a wide plain on the continent that's rapidly taking up more space on the pict-screen. On one side is that curious long range of mountains, on the other a large bay. In the north there's a desert, in the south a jungle. It's suitable enough and you swiftly feel the change in the engines as the Battle Barge's Machine Spirit bends to action.

"How many others are too damaged to maintain orbit?" the Marine asks.

"Half at the least, my lord." you report at once, thinking back to how you got into this situation. You had been stricken by:

Choose 1:

[ ] Battle Damage
While the fleet were valiant indeed, a bout you'd gotten into had proven too much and the emergency Warp-Jump away from the battlefield had led you to this position plummeting into an unknown world's gravity well.

[ ] Navigational Incident
The Sea of Souls is perilous indeed to navigate, it was only a moment's distraction on the part of your Navigator and you emerged too early.

[ ] Sabotage
Whether traitors or xenos, the enemy came from within and has plunged a dagger into the heart of your ship.

You bring yourself back to the present, a hundred thousand souls rely upon your handling, and a million more in the other vessels of the fleet.

"Master of the Vox! Relay our vector and landing coordinates, all ships to follow us as best they can."

But then something seems to wash over the vessel. Whispers echo in your mind and you frantically call for a report on the ship's Gellar Fields, the arcane devices which create a protective bubble of realspace around the ship as it passes through the Immaterium.

"Breaches detected in the Navigator's Seclusiuam!" someone shouts.

Colours blur before your eyes as you sense the congealed wrongness as daemonic incursion alarms blare.

The Helmsman twitches, his shoulder tight, but a crack sounds and his head explodes, the Space Marine beside you lowering his bolt pistol, lenses surveying the bridge crew.

"Choir-Master, continuous broadcast to fleet: 'Emperor protect me from my enemies while they pound and howl!'"

And then it's gone. The alarms shut off and the damage indicators buzz through your bones as you take in the status of the ship.

You feel the growing gravity of the planet through the ship's sensors, you feel the deceleration and the drag of the thin atmosphere. The heat and fire blaze all around you as a glowing corona surrounds the ship.

There's a click from beside you as the Space Marine's magnetic boots activate and lock.

But then the fire clears and you see the continent laid out before you, plain to your eyes as well as the sensors of the ship relaying information directly to your brain.

"Lord Captain," The Engineseer-Prime announces, "This vessel's entry has stabilised, altitude eighty kilometres, void shields recovering, Gellar Fields strong."

It was the armour you know. Space Marine vessels are notoriously well protected due to their rather rougher roles in the Imperium's war machine. But the others in the fleet didn't have such luxuries. But what had the sudden Immaterium breach been? You hadn't passed into the Warp, you'd certainly given no such order.

"Status of the others?"

The Engineseer pauses a moment in his calculations, "38% of assets following our path in, remaining assets unknown."

Discussion breaks out among the other crew members, "I saw the Hammer explode, and His Wrath was drifting with another cruiser."

"It was the Cardinal of Nuvia." another officer reports, "They weren't responding to hails."

Then the vox crackles, "Thunderchild to Fleetmaster, we have lost all auspex, request vector beacon Rho-Ix."

With a thought you perceived the trail you'd come in on, the atmosphere still roiling from the entry of your massive craft. The Thunderchild was a cruiser of the Adeptus Mechanicus attached to your force and your heart soared to see that the ship had survived.

A burst of vox sounds and more hails come in, the Gothic-class cruiser Adamant, the Dauntless light cruiser Uziel or the frigates Demios and Montfried. Each has been as badly damaged as your own ship, reserves exhausted, capacitors expended, needing to land desperately.

Just as you're looking over the initial landing zone through the ship's sensors an explosion shakes the ship! Of the starboard bow a cruiser trails smoke, debris flying through the air, one engine soaring to the side and striking an evading Cobra-class destroyer out of the sky even as it took evasive action. As you watch you see the escape pods firing from the ruins of the ship, heading toward the jungles below, three Thunderhawk gunships surging out the dying ship's hangar, their pilots trying to ignite the engines even as the pneumatic catapults throw them to the dubious safety of the outside.

"I estimate 31% of assets will reach the dropsite. Based on current data only 25% will survive the landing without significant damage." the Engineseer-Primus tells you in a burst of binary chitters that the ship translates.

None of the larger craft were designed for ground landing, and if they were they required specialised cradles. It would be all you could to prevent the Battle Barge from digging into the ground and carving its own such cradle. At least you weren't landing in the mountains off to the west…

Adamant reported further system damage and began to drop steadily, her void shields flaring a moment before the cruiser hit the earth, no doubt an attempt by her captain to limit the damage. The resulting explosion was smaller than it should have been, the capacitors rather than the reactor exploding.

You considered the assets of the fleet in the remaining minutes before your controlled crash…

Of the fleet you commanded eight vessels were following your flightpath. Your own Battle Barge was the largest by far, then the two Strike Cruisers, one of which had just crashed. More vessels were confirmed to still be orbiting the planet, presumably permanently disabled, with others like the great battlecruiser Kingmaker you had no idea of the status of. The supplies of the crusade were dispersed through the fleet, your own ship with the majority of them and three companies of Astartes, while other ships carried more of your forces or of those of other Imperial organisations who'd accompanied you, the Mechanicus Cruisder Thunderchild being notable among the later. You'll have to wait till you land and can make a proper inventory before you start making decisions, but for now you go through a mental inventory:

You will now 'buy' the supplies and personnel which comprise the fleet. The fleet's total capacity is 31 cargo units (CU), however some of this is taken up by the living quarters of personnel, machinery, armaments and normal supplies like food.

Some of it is already allocated to particular things, for example, the Admech cruiser has a capacity of 3CU, of which only 2 are available for allocation because the Admech are using the remainder for Admech things.

Some of these assets have already been damaged, or might be on crash landing, such as the crash of the cruiser above. Following this point you'll have to manage the resources you have. Consider this when picking choices, for example, some missiles might indeed be very powerful but they'd be very difficult to make. Due to the size of your fleet you currently have various manufacturing capabilities such as a promethium refinery.

You have 19CU to spend.

Gained for free:
Basic Manufacturing Equipment
The Battle Barge maintains the capacity to manufacture basic items and maintain more complex ones without difficulty, such as supplying the various the warriors and vehicles of the chapter with normal munitions and fuel.

Space Marines
Between the Battle Barge and the Strike Cruisers, your chapter has committed several companies of Space Marines to the voyage, including relevant equipment, strike craft, support vehicles and chapter-serfs.

Mechanicus Battle Maniple
The typical Skitarii maniple is a combined arms unit composing the various augmented warriors of the Admech.

Astartes (Must equal at least 5)
Each Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes is divided into 10 Companies, with 10 Squads each. Some Companies specialise in particular tasks, but generally each Company will maintain 6 Tactical Squads, 2 Devastators, and 2 Assault, the latter two specialised toward heavy weapons and close quarters respectively. Such is the power and might of the Space Marines that Chapters are generally forbidden to maintain more than 1000 warriors, though in practice some ignore this limit, or have modified the Codex Astartes in other ways.

1st Company (1.5CP)
The 1st Company of the Chapter represents the leadership and veterans, as well as the Venerable Dreadnaughts of the Chapter, mortally wounded warriors entombed forever in their metal shells.

Battle Company (1CP)
A battle company is a generalist formation, specialising in no particular capacity.

Devastator Company (1CP)
A Devastator Company may maintain the Chapter's artillery or heavy weapons to strike the enemy from afar and destroy their fortifications.

Assault Company (1CP)
Assault Marines use equipment including attack bikes, jump packs and land speeders to

Scout Company (0.5CP)
Composed of the Chapter's neophytes, the Scout Company performs support roles while the young Marines receive their training.

Armoury (0.25CP)
The Techmarines and Master of the Forge maintain the vehicles and equipment of the Chapter, as well as the various battle-servitors assigned to the Companies and some of the Chapter's relics.

Reclusiam (0.25CP)
Chaplains are the warrior-priests that minister to the spiritual and psychological well-being of their fellow battle-brothers, instilling in them the values and beliefs of the Chapter.

Librarius (0.25CP)
Librarians are the psykers of the Space Marines and are able bend the powers of the Warp to their will for the benefit of the Chapter. They also maintain the records and lore of the Chapter.

Apothecarion (0.25CP)
Apothecaries are the physicians and medical researchers of the Chapter. They tend injuries but also monitor the process of implanting the 19 additional organs that make an Astartes superhuman.

Mechanicus (Must equal at least 2)
The Tech Priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus have joined your forces, and offer many wonders.

Battle Maniple (1CP)
Forge World Tech Guard are a formidable force, primarily focusing on long range and firepower, never the less the Skitarii Legions also employ close quarters forces and armoured support.

Divisio Fabricator (2CP)
The Thunderchild maintains advanced manufactorums which can be adapted to all manner of equipment such as armoured vehicles and or replacements for armour pieces or boltguns. (Unlocks advanced manufacturing)

Divisio Artisan (3CP)
The Forge Lords of the Mechanicus maintain some of the most elaborate and exotic machinery and patters of their kind. (Unlocks exotic manufacturing, requires Divisio Fabricator)

Divisio Biologis (2CP)
Genetors probe the mysteries of the biological, creating ever stranger cyborgs or slaughtering xenos beyond number in order to excise yet more secrets of their alien metabolisms.

Questor Mechanicus Knights (1.5CP)
Through mutual oaths and unbreakable vows, the Adeptus Mechanicus have forged alliances with many Knight Houses. While Knights are less powerful than even the smallest class of Titan, a squadron of these powerful robotic walkers is still a deadly foe.

Ordo Reductor (2CP)
The Auxillia Myrmidon maintain the most powerful and terrible siege weapons of the Mechanicus.

Other Assets
There are many and varied formations and organisation in the Imperium, and no doubt some of them have come along as well.

Here you can specify or ask about particular capabilities or formations. Usually a military formation will cost 1CP, where a support group might cost between 1 and 0.1CP. Though some things will cost the same the quality or numbers involved will differ. For example 1CP worth of Imperial Guard will have tens of thousands of soldiers, whereas 1CP worth of Space Marines represents only 100 of them. I'm very much open to write ins here.




Broadly speaking, the further you go into any organisation the better equipment you'll get. This can be explained though narrative as the Chapter trusting a force made up mainly of Space Marines more than they would a force of other troops, and therefore offering more relics or special equipment. Write ins permitted for Astartes and Admech stuff too. Ask me for the point cost if you're thinking of something. Assets can be brought multiple times if logical, but you can't buy 19 Companies of Space Marines. you could by 10 if you wanted to bring another chapter perhaps. Depends really. If you wanted to save some CP you could potentially use it to buy a relic from the Chapter's reliquary later and not have to decide now.

Please vote in the following manner for ease of counting:

[ ] Chapter Choice
[ ] Damage Choice
[ ] Plan X
Asset Choice 1
Asset Choice 2
Asset Choice 3

That is, the first two choices are separate from the further ones. I've not offered any first founding Chapters because I've decided they're probably busy with various commitments and wouldn't be funding a large fleet to go anywhere. I'm also inclined against write ins there because I've chosen each chapter for thematic reasons, the Griffons are indeed a reflection of the Dawi etc.

Spoiler: Plan Dakka Dakka

As a sample plan to give you an idea, this one would be very powerful if you wanted to blow up the Black Pyramid of Nagash or something:

Questor Mechanicus Knights (1.5CP)
Questor Mechanicus Knights (1.5CP)
Ordo Reductor (2CP)
Devastator Company (1CP)
Devastator Company (1CP)
Armoury (0.25CP)
Armoury (0.25CP) The second one here symbolising an especially big armoury as you'd find with a chapter descending from the Iron Hands for example.
Generic Guard Artillery Regiment (2CP)
Generic Guard Superheavy Regiment (2CP)
Bomber wing (2CP)
Divisio Artisan (3CP) (to maintain the exotic stuff)
Not sure if that actually adds up to 14 but you get the idea

Ask me if unsure of anything, I might have forgotten something. Reasoning is required for posts proposing CP plans initially. Reasoning isn't required if you're voting for someone else's plans. If you just want to vote for the Chapter and damage then you can do that without reasoning. Discussion is encouraged.

 

[FractiousDay]

Planetside
Name	Class	Rate	Carrying capacity	Units	Free units	Details	History	Total crew	SM
	Battle Barge	Battleship	3 Companies + support	8​	6​	300 marines, 100,000 serfts, 20 drop pod chutes, 1st and 2nd companies, all HQ apart from 1 apoth and 1 armoury	Navigator dead, 4 squadrons of thunderhawks	100000​		1​	1st Company (1.5CP), 1 venerable dread, 1 dread, command squad, 12 suits terminator armour, 3 land raiders, 40 veterans, 1 thunderhawk
Acheron	Strike Cruiser	Cruiser	1 company	2​	1​	100 marines, 8000 serfs, 2 squadrons of Thunderhawks, 3rd company	Crashed well on landing, capacitors blown far off.	8000​		2​	Battle Company, 50 tactical, 10 devastator, 10 assault, 1 dread, 6 rhinos, 2 razorbacks, 1 predetor, 8 bikes
	Strike Cruiser	Cruiser	1 company	2​	1​	100 marines, 8000 serfs, 4 Thunderhawks, 4th company	8000​		3​	Battle Company, 50 tactical, 10 devastator, 10 assault, 1 dread, 6 rhinos, 2 razorbacks, 1 predetor, 8 bikes
Thunderchild	Admech cruiser	Cruiser	1 Maniple,	3​	2​	battle maniple+ fab + knights, 41000	41000​		4​	Battle Company, 60 tactical marines, 5 devastators, 5 assault, 6 rhinos, 2 dreads, 1 thunderhawk transport, 3 thunderhawks
Adamant	Gothic	Cruiser		1.5​	0.7​	6th company, 20000 crew	20000​		6​	80 Devastators, 1 hellfire dreadnought, 3 whirlwinds, 2 predetors, 4 rhinos, 2 razorbacks, 1 techmarine, 8 battle servitors, 1 thunderfire cannon, 1 vindicator
Exploded	Vanguard	Light Cruiser	Chapter ship	1​	0.3​	30 scouts, 2000 serfs	3 Thunderhawks survived, some drop pods survived, wreckage even further away	2000​		8​	80 Assault Marines, 9 rhinos, 6 land speeders, 20 bikes, 4 assault bikes
Uziel	Dauntless	Light Cruiser	Aux	0.7​	0.5​	IG, 4000 crew	4000​		10​	200 Scouts, 8 bikes, 2 land speeders
Demios	Sword	Frigate	Aux	0.3​	0.15​	20 scouts, 8000 crew	8000​		Armoury x2	Master of forge, 2 tech suprema, 13 techmarines, 3 apprenta, 120 servitors, 2 land raiders, 4 rhinos, 1 vindicator, 2 whirlwinds, 2 razorbacks, 4 predetors, 6 hellfire guns, 2 thunderhawk transports, 4 thunderhawks
Montfried	Sword	Frigate	Aux	0.3​	0.15​	20 scouts, 8000 crew	8000​		Reclusiam	7 chaplains across chapter
	Endeavour	Light Cruiser	Aux	0.5​	0.25​	50 marines, 10000 crew	10000​		Librarius x2	Chief, 1 epis, 3 codiciers, 5 lexicaniums
								209000​		Apoth x3	7 apoths across chapter, chief apoth, 5 apoths, 7 initiates, 41 med servitors, significant amounts of geneseed
In space
Peregrin	Vanguard	Light Cruiser		1​	0.3​	30 marines, 20 scouts 2000 serfs, rest of 6th	2000​		Mechanicus
Cardinal of Nuvia	Lunar	Cruiser		1.5​	0.75​	80 marines, 3000 serfs, 18000 crew, 8th company	21000​		Maniple	60 tech guard, 3 ballistratius, 20 combat servitors, master of skitarii commabding
His Wrath	Dictator	Cruiser		1.5​	0.75​	80 scouts, 6000 serfs, 22000 crew, 1 armoury	28000​		Facricator	Explorator Fabricator, 6 enginseers, subsantial advanced manufacturing equipment
	Cobra	Destroyer		0.2​	0.1​	30 marines, 5000 crew, 1000 serfs	6000​		Artisan	Explorator tertius (captain in command), 2 cyber smiths, various diagonistic eqipment and exotic manufacturing capabilities
	Missionary vessel	Transport		1​	0.45​	Missiona galacica, 5000 crew	5000​		Biologis	Explorator Genetor, 3 genators assorted equipment and samples
								62000​		Questors	tripartate lance, warden, galland and crusader, 3 knights
Unknown
	Dauntless	Light Cruiser		0.7​	0.35​	1 apoth, 3000 crew	3000​		Others
	Endeavour	Light Cruiser		0.5​	0.25​	30 scouts and vehicles, 10000 crew, 800 serfs	10800​		Cadians	4000 cadian variant infantry, 19 commisars, 50 preachers, 120 menials, 6 chimera, 2 leman russ, 3 basilisk
	Sword	Frigate		0.3​	0.15​	20 scouts, 8000 crew, 1200 serfs	9200​		Galaxia	12 soroitas led by a palatine, confessor with 700 preachers and deans
Kingmaker	Overlord	Battlecruiser		5​	3​	artisan, biologis, 84000 crew	84000​
								107000​
							Total	378000​

 

[FractiousDay]

Damage report
Name	Rate	Details	History	Total crew	Rough Damage	Ship Damage	Cargo lost	Crew lost
Serenkai	Battle Barge	2:2:4 Spacecraft/Thunderhawks, 100,000 serfts, 200 marines 20 drop pod chutes, 1st and 2nd companies, all HQ apart from 1 apoth and 1 armoury	Navigator dead, light damage to sub decks, small craft and drop pod bays, cargo bay	100000​	-10%​	All drop pod chutes, 4 of 12 Thunderhawks, 1 Squadron of 4 Spacecraft lost	5 veterans, 2 Suits of Terminator Armour, 1 Rhino, 43 Command staff from 1st Company. Captain, Chaplain, Standard Bearer, 12 Marines, 2 Rhinos, 6 Bikes from Second Company. 1 Techmarine, 1 Apprenta, 1 Codicier, 3 Lexicaniums, 1 Predetor, 2 Whirlwinds, 1 Razorback, 1 Land Raider from HQ. Vehicles replaced from reserve.	13000​
Acheron	Strike Cruiser	100 marines, 8000 serfs, 2 squadrons of Thunderhawks, 3rd company	Controlled crash, capacitors exploded on landing. Troops stranded far away on approach path.	8000​	-10%​	Most Drop pod chutes, armoury damaged, cargo bay damaged, engineerium destroyed, gun batteries destroyed, hab decks damaged, munitorium heavily damaged, flight decks destroyed	Most command staff, 23 marines, 2 Rhinos, 2 squadrons of Thunderhawks lost, vehicles replaced from reserve.	6000​
Kai'manah	Strike Cruiser	100 marines, 8000 serfs, 1 squadron of Thunderhawks (3:1), 4th company	Poor damage control, extensive damage to most systems	8000​	-25%​	Damage advanced from Engineerium, flight decks and hab levels severely damaged, extensive damage to ship systems, all drop chutes lost, all space craft lost (1:1:2), munitorium damaged.	21 Marines lost, 3 Rhinos, 3 Thunderhawk, 1 Thunderhawk Transport	7000​
Thunderchild	Admech cruiser	battle maniple+ fab + knights, 41000	Poor damage control, all systems damaged	41000​	-50%​	Extensive Damage to all systems, all spacecraft destroyed	3 Techpriests lost, heavy losses to Battle Maniple, manufactorium heavily damaged.	31000​
Adamant	Gothic Cruiser	6th company, 20000 crew, 2:2:2 squadrons	Flight decks and engineerium damaged	20000​	-10%​	1 of 2 Squadrons of space craft lost. Engineerium heavily damaged	8 marines lost, 2 Rhinos destroyed	2000​
Exploded	Vanguard Light Cruiser	30 scouts, 2000 serfs	3 Thunderhawks survived, some drop pods survived, wreckage even further away	2000​	Total	Ship exploded	19 Scouts killed. 11 Scouts escaped with equipment and 3 Thunderhawks.	2000​
Uziel	Dauntless Light Cruiser	IG, 4000 crew	light damage to engines and lower decks	4000​	-10%​	Light damage to lower parts of ship	400 IG killed, 1 Chimea lost	330​
Demios	Sword Frigate	20 scouts, 8000 crew	Explodes on impact	8000​	Total	Total	20 Scouts killed with 2 bikes	8000​
Montfried	Sword Frigate	20 scouts, 8000 crew	light damage to engines and lower decks	8000​	-10%​	Light damage to lower parts of ship	2 scouts killed	2200​
Sagos	Endeavour Light Cruiser	50 scouts, 10000 crew	Moderate damage to several systems	10000​	-25%​	Moderate damage to several ship systems	13 scouts killed, 1 Apoth (replaced from reserve), 1 land speeder	2300​
				209000​				73830​

 

[FractiousDay]

Reference material mainly for me to keep links but you can use it too if you like

Cruiser layout https://i.pinimg.com/originals/5b/66/d2/5b66d27b19b2e69d43f271f0df891896.png

Light cruiser layout

Sample pictoral chapter https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/w...s_Ultra.png/revision/latest?cb=20131024175349

Sample chapter sheet https://comicvine1.cbsistatic.com/u...441/2879706-ultramarine_chapter_chart_3rd.jpg

admech hierarchy

Metalica paint scheme https://i.pinimg.com/originals/9f/7b/39/9f7b391a1fcf1ebb235c6be1f847f290.png

Southlands map Warhammer - Southlands by Cyowari on DeviantArt

Big map https://i.redd.it/1f3shad8cf251.png

Even bigger map http://www.gitzmansgallery.com/maps/Map-The-Empire-2-Detailed-Color.jpg

Norsca map

Reference fortmon https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/w...ematics.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20120611012241

 

[FractiousDay]

Introduction Final

"Good men deserve tears to mark their passing. Even the Emperor weeps when His warriors fall. Guilt is weakness. But sorrow? Sorrow is a chamber in any soldier's heart. Sorrow is felt even by the divine."

The words of the Chapter Master echoed on the wind, then the azure figure turns away, back proud, stalwart against the darkness of the world.

He leaves his companion alone, a kinsman in rank and blood, another Chapter Master.

While the first had been sea-green, the feral tattoos on his face marking his savage glory, the second was golden. Gold was his hair and gold was his battle-plate, the artificer power armour that clad him etched with adamant prayers, his pauldrons and the helm under his arm wrought in the visage of snarling lions.

He was Amra, Pridelord, Master of the Plains, Claw of Elara. Moulded like clay by the Emperor of Mankind to be the greatest fighting force the galaxy has ever seen, an transhuman warrior, an Adeptus Astartes, a Space Marine.

And he wept.

His ceramite fists clenched, his twin hearts pounded, his three lungs gulped in the bitter air of the battlefield.

The Celestial Lions had fought across the stars for a thousand years. Millions of the Imperium's foes had fallen to their hands, oceans of blood had stained their golden armour, the screams of a hundred exterminated xenos species had rung out unheeded as the Chapter showed it's worth.

It was not enough.

A single world, a single decision, a matter of honour, and a thousand years of glory was slipping away.

It was quiet at first… unusual deaths, ambushes that should not have been there, convoys with crucial supplies diverted or waylaid. Then it became overt, battle-brothers struck down by weapons only their allies would use, Apocatharies assassinated, the gene-seed harvests sabotaged or stolen from the healers' cold hands.

It was a pathetic grudge, the evil of a single man's ire, the desires of a man to whom human life merited little thought, yet perhaps also the product of the Lions' naivety…

Now Lions were hunted. The offense they had unknowingly caused the Emperor's Most Holy Inquisition now tracking them through the centuries, whittling them down again and again.

Messengers had gone to Holy Terra to plead for reason, half a dozen officers including the Chapter Master himself. They had never returned.

The Ork knew brutality, the Tyranid hunger, the Heretic certainty. The Celestial Lions knew the traits of their enemies well, but now they added the tenacity and cunning of the Inquisition to that count.

Amra had not followed his lord to Terra. After the disappearance of the others he had been acclaimed, and took up Je'hara, the Lion's Claw, cutting away the hesitance of yesteryear. No pity, no remorse, no fear, loyal to the Emperor and his ideals, but to stand apart from the Imperium.

It was easier to speak of shame than to endure it.

No glorious last stand, no valiant final victory, no eulogy from the Deathspeakers of the Chapter.

Instead Amra ordered the Chapter to move. They would go far away, by routes unknown to all but a few of their gene-father's most favoured navigators. The Chapter Master turned over their Fortress Monastery to their allies, called in every favour they had and packed all they could into the might Battle Barge, Serenkai. Relics, armoury, vehicles and transports, all came with them.

Some at least had supported them, old comrades had answered the call, the Forge World Metalica had despatched a two cruisers under a Magos Explorator, while the Knights of Kolossi sent a lance of mighty walkers. The guardsmen of Macharia and a small mission of the Ecclesiarchhy also came, each believing a different thing about the Lions' mission.

One hundred years of preparation, a hundred years of careful harvesting and husbandry of the Chapter's gene-seed. The falsification of strength reports to conceal their true numbers, all while they readied themselves.

Then the Immaterium.

Forty more years of maddening colours streaking by, the Chapter's fleet plying the warp-waves into the unknown, trusting in their mutant Navigators to ferry them safely to their new home.

But, alas, the foul creatures, though disguised with all manner of panoply and riches, had failed, their tainted blood leading you astray, the fleet violently ejected, burning and maimed, above some unknown world.

You had personally executed the navigator of the Battle Barge and all his kin. They'd screamed as you'd thrust Je'hara into their hearts.

"The Gates of Heaven!" their Novator had raved, "The Gates of Heaven are open, the Eye of the Gods is upon me!"

The Battle Barge plummeted toward the surface, alarms and claxons sounded throughout the ship, marines and serfs raced back and forth trying to repair the damage stemming from the Engineerium and the violent expulsion from the Warp.

Then the collision. In his armour Amra was unscathed, but after being thrown forward, fingers scoring rents in the deckplate, he found himself among the corpses of the Chapter's mortal servants.

Eight kilometres of adamantium struck the plains, and behind it the rest of the fleet. One exploded in the air, behind it another cruiser crashed on the descent path, another cracked in half, prow digging in and snapping the ship's spine before the two halves burst into cerulean flames.

Seventy-four thousand souls were extinguished in that moment, seventy-four thousand heroes. And among them one hundred and thirty seven Astartes from Captain to Scout. Vehicles were lost, from tanks to spacecraft. If the Celestial Lions had been at full strength it would have been a tenth of their force. But your blighted chapter was far from full strength…

Now though was the time to set your house to rights. To gather, to repair, to rebuild.

In time the galaxy would know your name again. But for now, this world would hear the lion's roar.

 

[FractiousDay]

Unit Affiliation	Title	Details
HQ	Chapter Master	Amra, Pridelord and Emperor's Annointed, serves as Chapter Master.
Chaplaincy	High Deathspeaker	Natohk, once a Captain and Deathspeaker, has now been elevated as the Master of Sanctity and High Deathspeaker of the Chapter.
Armoury	Master of the Forge	Khotan, an aged Techmarine, is Master of the Forge and leads the Chapter's Ironmanes.
Apothecarion	Master of the Apothecarion	Thalis is Master of the Apothecarion and leads the Lifebinders in medical matters.
Librarium	Chief Librarian	Hath-Horeb is Chief Librarian and Spiritwalker of the Celestial Lions.
1st Company	Master of the Keep	Vakembi is Warleader of the 1st Company.
2nd Company, the Watchers	Master of the Watch	Black Nassor, named both for his colouring and his severity, serves as the Chapter's intelligence master and Warleader of the 2nd Company.
3rd Company, the Ashwalkers	Master of the Flame	Kaaram, once a mere Librarian, now leads the 3rd Company preaching the Songs of Flame as it's Pyre-Captain, reviving the religion of the Elysian Pyro-cults in the Imperial populations of Mallus.
4th Company	Master of the Fleet	Tuthmes, known as the Skytalon for his bravery in his youth, is the Chapter's Master of the Fleet and the Captain of the 4th Company.
5th Company	Lord Executioner	There is currently no 5th Company.
6th Company	Master of the Rites	There is currently no 6th Company.
7th Company	Chief Victualler	There is currently no 7th Company.
8th Company, the Heralds	Master of the Marches	Kabor Brighthand, known to the folk of Sigmar as a great hero, leads his Company as Master of the Marches.
9th Company, the Hunters	Master of the Hunt	Reformed to preserve the specialist skills of the Celestial Lions, Hunter-Captain Selous, captain of the 9th Company, leads squads of Sternguard Veterans to stalk and slay the Chapter's enemies.
10th Company	Master of the Scouts	Vularakh is the captain of the 10th Company, and landed safely in the Sagos, he now commands the Chapter's scouts.

It turns out the Celestial Lions are that most debased and perverse of peoples, and are all furries. They have special names for all their officers like 'Pride Leader' for their Sergeants, and I can't decide whether it gives them character or if it's just dreadfully cringe. I'm open to suggestions for renames or specific positions to modify some of these officer positions.

 

[FractiousDay]

Turn 1

The Chapter burns around you and you stand in the ruins of the Serenkai's Strategium, the holographic displays before you mercifully operational, as indeed were almost all of the ship's systems, excepting those nearest the Engineerium.

The 1st, 2nd and 4th Companies had all landed more or less intact, with more damage being done to the ships and cargo than the Astartes aboard. Half of the 6th Company, the Chapter's heavier units and Devastators, had arrived in the cruiser Adamant, while the other half with a number of vehicles still in orbit, along with roughly half the rest of their force.

At least, the you hoped they were in orbit. Supposedly the Cardinal of Nuvia and a number of other ships had been seen drifting dead, caught in the planet's gravity well but presumably bereft of power, while the locations of several other ships were unknown.

Currently unaccounted for were three squads of the 6th, the 8th Company of Assault Marines, the Torch, a vessel of the Missiona Galactica, as well as several smaller frigates with an assortment of Marines among them.

The greatest absence though was the Kingmaker, a massive Mechanicus Battlecruiser which had carried the exotic manufacturing and biological equipment you had bartered with the Martians to bring.

You stand looking at the display, mind set upon the problems of your force. The Codex Astartes, the rulebook and tactical manual of your brethren, places great emphasis on strategy, yet also on the ability to create new strategies when faced with unusual scenarios. The truth of strategy was merely to use what resources you had to resolve the situation you found yourself in, and through the thousands dead, through the toxins floating in the air that your helmet's filters banished, the you saw your path.

Choose 1 actions from each category. Turns will take place over roughly a year's worth of time. Actions will have a difficulty rating, and I'll roll a d100 for each one. I'm generally not going to indicate this difficulty rating, if you specifically want to know then ask me.

I'm wrapping up the AH and SB threads, that particular experiment was largely a failure due to lack of data.

My voting rules are generally the same for each quest I've run. I encourage discussion with draft plans, then voting for plans. I encourage discussion because otherwise we get Plan A being almost exactly the same as Plan B and there's not much debate. Plans require reasoning or they'll be ignored. This helps you form your ideas and it helps me write the results chapter. Write ins for actions are permitted and indeed encouraged, but run them by me first.

Choose 1 in each category:

Diplomacy
For now you've appointed Corax, Master of Rites, to deal with some of the necessary communications around the crash site.

[ ] Contacting the Fleet
Of great importance is contacting the remainder of the Fleet above. Corax will try to hail the other ships by Vox, and if that fails, employ the astropathic choirs or simply send a few Thunderhawks up to find out what happened to the rest.

[ ] Integration
You'll clearly be here for some time, might it be better that you get Corax working now on integrating the Mechanicus and Imperial Guard under your authority? Strictly speaking you're forbidden from doing so by ancient edict, but practically surely it's going to happen anyway?

[ ] Vassals
There are cities on the coast nearby, command them in the name of the God-Emperor of Mankind to submit.

Martial
Tuthmes Skytalon, Master of the Fleet, has been appointed by you to see to the crash site's defences.

[ ] Conquer the Coast
There are cities on the coast, small ones, mortal ones…

[ ] Fortify
You have no idea what enemies might be out there, set up fortifications in your immediate surroundings.

[ ] Acheron Crash Site
The Acheron, one of the Chapter's Strike Cruisers, was forced to crash land far sooner than the rest of your fleet, and though you know it at least survived the crash, you have no idea of the status of the 3rd Company or its cargo. Find them.

[ ] Mordant Crash Site
Mordant, a Vanguard Light Cruiser, exploded in flight and while 3 Thunderhawks escaped it's possible there were other survivors. Try to find the crash site and see if there are survivors.

[ ] Mordant Drop Pods
Some of the Scouts from the Mordant claim drop pods were fired before the crash. Could there be survivors in the jungles to the south?

Stewardship
Khotan, Master of the Forge, has taken on management of most of the organisation of the crash site.

[ ] Thunderchild
The Adeptus Mechanicus guard their secrets well. At this moment though their 'secrets' are falling out of holes in their stricken cruiser. Khotan believes he can persuade the Magi to accept your help.

[ ] Establish Basic Manufacturing
While you have sufficient supplies for the moment, Khotan has suggested getting some basic supply lines of ammunition and similar set up early.

[ ] Salvage Survey
Much could likely be salvaged from the crash site, but currently you have no idea what. Have Khotan carry out a survey. Reveals battle damage to ships from infopost.

[ ] Repair
Set Khotan to repairing what he can. If you want to specify something for him to try and repair indicate it in your vote.

Intrigue
Vularakh, Master of Scouts, is skilled and able as an infiltrator and information gatherer.

[ ] The Jungle
Concentrate the Scouts' efforts on the southern jungle.

[ ] The Desert.
Concentrate the Scouts' efforts on the northern desert.

[ ] The Coast
Concentrate the Scouts' efforts on the eastern coast.

[ ] The Mountains
Concentrate the Scouts' efforts on the western mountains.

[ ] The Skies
Concentrate the Scouts' efforts on a much higher level search using aerial pict-recorders from the skies.

Learning
Hath-Horeb, the Chapter's Chief librarian, is certainly the most learned Astartes in the Chapter.

[ ] Scrying
The Librarians are able to perceive many mysterious things, walking in the Realm of Spirits using their abilities. Apparently the prognostication will be protracted, but potentially very useful in learning more about where you find yourself.

[ ] Inventory
Have Hath-Horeb take a proper inventory of your losses. Perhaps you might even be able to salvage something of your Chapter from the wreckage in time? Reveals battle damage to the Chapter from the infopost.

Personal
You, Amra, are a veteran of a hundred wars, an able administrator, and more besides, and there is much to do after all…

[ ] Investigate
There were many unusual things about your arrival, least of all the ravings of the Navigator before his death. Question the others more closely. What was it that brought you spinning from the Warp?

[ ] Serfs
The position of Chapter-Serf is a somewhat unusual one, and in an unusual situation you feel the need to reorganise the hundred thousand or so mortals around the crash site. At the very least, a good few thousand of them now lack proper duties due to their ships having been marooned.

[ ] Personal Attention
Select one action from another area to give your personal attention.

 

[FractiousDay]

Turn 1 Results

The first year on this unknown world went quickly. The first priorities, Amra decided, were to assess the situation properly. The Techmarines and Librarians were set to surveys, the Scouts to aerial reconnaissance, while the Chapter Master coordinated other affairs.

The results were less good than Amra hoped, but better than he'd feared.

Khotan spoke first, the veteran flexing a power fist he was wearing, newly scratched from his work tearing his way into the bowels of the ship, "The Serenkai is the best off, but then that's not surprising for a Battle Barge. We lost a third of the Thunderhawks and all the drop pods but otherwise damage is fairly light. I was worried about the ventral spire where it hit the ground but the armour did alright and there's less damage than I was afraid of. The rest though didn't fare so well… Kai'manah and Sagos are probably the worst hit, but I'm more worried about the former, almost everything is damaged in some way and I'm not sure we'll be able to salvage much. We can rebuild some of it given time but it's the more exotic elements that may not be salvageable… All the ships have sustained damage, especially to some surge I can't track down in the power conduits, but this has damaged the Teleportarium of the Kai'manah as well as the Panopticon Solar. Every ship's taken damage to the engines and Engineerium and lower decks, and most to the cargo bays and deployment functions, but as they're all resting on their bellies I can't get at a lot of the lower elements to check damage further."

"Do you mean we can't access the cargo bays?" Amra asked.

Khotan grimaces, "The Serenkai's forward hangar is fine, that gives us at least some vehicle support, but the rest of them no, at most we have a few Thunderhawks and a couple of transporters, and some of the lighter vehicles. That is unless you want me to start cutting holes large enough to drive tanks through in the ship!"

"What are your ideas then?"

"In theory we might be able to teleport some material from the cargo bay out, over a short distance, say outside the ship, wouldn't be too dangerous. Perhaps better than shooting our own ship."

"The ships can't be repaired sufficiently to simply take off?"

Khotan shakes his head, "Certainly not. All the engines have similar damage, whatever threw us out the Warp most likely, and unless we can find an Empyrotek I don't know how to repair the Warp-Drives."

"Sub-light flight?"

"The Plasma Drives are Jovian pattern, they're reliable but I'd have to cannibalise some of the other ships perhaps. Oh, on the bright side though, the Omnissiah blessed us with a fortunate position in some respects, I'm fairly sure I can get the armament working again which would give us an immense advantage in firepower whenever we're near the ships."

Indeed, Amra thought, the ships were dotted with a massive amount of firepower and even crashed were as good as fortresses. "What sort of range?"

"Perhaps sixty kilometres for the macrocannons, maybe ten times that if the Bombardment Cannons aren't too damaged."

The Chapter Master filed that away for later. "And for us?" Amra asked the Chief Librarian.

"I have completed my survey also." Hath-Horeb answers, "And it's much the same. We lost seventy of so, the serfs came off worse. I suggest amalgamating the 1st and 2nd Companies but you're the Chapter Master. Most of our equipment survived, and the facilities to manufacture more, but as Khotan said it's stuck at the bottom of the ships. If we cleared everything out we have munitions for seven years of standard operations, half that for more intense fighting."

"I'll consider rationing. We detected no signals or vox-transmissions from this planet, it may be a feral world." Amra replied, considering it.

The three officers talked a while more before the Chapter Master proceeded with his duties, travelling up to the communications suite to check on the progress of the efforts to contact the fleet.

Corax, Master of Rites and Captain of the 6th Company stood amidst several tech-adepts and menials, his calm voice a welcome relief.

The Marine's position was not that of a diplomat, indeed it was rather far from it, but he was the most appropriate person for the job at the moment and the captain made his report quickly. The Vox-casters had been damaged during descent and they found themselves unable to contact many of the ships assumed to still be in orbit. The Astropaths were next then and Corax had already assembled a Choir of them, the works of which Amra oversaw.

What was concerning though was Hath-Horeb's presence and that of a number of his acolytes, hidden under a psychic field, only the constant transceivers in their armour giving them away to other marines, but quite invisible to mundane senses.

Amra trusted his officers, but he loosed his sword in its sheath all the same.

And right he was to do it, the Relic Blade flew free as soon as the Astropath Primaris started to shake, rising into the air unsupported before Amra's sword cut him down. Bolters sounded, a wave of force swept out from Hath-Horeb's staff and in a moment the Choir were dead, their mouths continuing to move even as their blood flowed onto the deckplates.

The Chapter Master turned on the Librarians to demand an explanation but found Hath-Horeb with his finger held up.

A minute passed like that, tension clear in the room, then the finger was lowered.

Hath-Horeb sighed beneath his psychic hood, the glow in his eyes weak and tired. "We were fast enough to prevent any significant connection with the Empyrean, that is good, but I was worried this would happen."

"And what exactly did happen?" Amra asked, anger fading.

"The same thing that happened to the Navigator you killed. I rode their minds as they stretched out into the Warp. There's something about this planet, the Immaterium is at the same time both closer and further away, as if it's a lighthouse in a dark sea. The beacon illuminates and protects, yet at the same time it only demonstrates the power of the gloom. Astropaths are the weakest of the psykers trained by the Adeptus Terra, their minds couldn't begin to understand what they saw."

"And what of you?"

Hath-Horeb's eyes meet yours, "I caught a glimpse, nothing more, I tore myself away before it could catch me. It was as if I stood on the boundary of the Eye of Terror, tethered to the Cadia Gate yet floating within the Eye itself. I saw a great portal, light reaching out of the Warp like tongues of fire, winds of many colours swirling down around me."

Devastators were called, the room cleansed in holy promethium, the fire damage the substance caused less dangerous than the threat of corruption.

Singed but not dripping with the psykers' blood anymore, Amra returned to his Strategium. Serfs scurried about setting the room to rights and making what small repairs they could.

Soon reports and transmission start to come in from the scouts assigned to reconnaissance, and steadily the holographic display before you grows in detail.

Directly around the crash site there's a fairly open plain, decent vegetation but hardly verdant. Convoys of beasts wander the land grazing, skirting a wide desert to the north. To your west are two gulfs, around them a number of cities which appear human-inhabited. A Thunderhawk flies along the coast, the initial-pict casts reaching the Chapter Master in real time. More cities are evident, then the Thunderhawk curves around to the north, skirting over a mountain range. Here there are more concerning sites as more than one tribe of humanoid creatures becomes apparent, abhumans or mutants perhaps.

Amra turns away, looking at the casts from another craft, with a click tuning himself into the crew's vox-comms.

"Sergeant, there's some sort of creature following us." the voice of a Scout sounds.

A deep bass replies, "Bank left, I want a cast of it."

"Ugly thing isn't it."

"All Xenos are, boy."

Amra watches as the cast is transmitted back to the Strategium. It shows a curious thing, a winged serpent, mouth open, screeching at the Thunderhawk.

The craft fly on though, over mountains and into the jungle. Amra watches, but then a priority transmission comes through, "Chapter Master." a voice rings, "This is Rho IV, quad-6.8, have identified significant presence of Xenotech."

"Relay." was Amra's cold reply.

And in the Strategium's display appears an enormous floating black pyramid. The thing sparked with an eldritch light, held by some unseen force above the desert and a small city below it. It did not seem touched by the sun, indeed it was wreathed in a shadow of its own making and even looking at the display Amra felt a cold grow over him.
"Get closer."

"Our Astropath advises against it, Chapter Master." the sergeant aboard the Thunderhawk replied, "Suspected Warp influence."

"Very well. All scans, then return for decontamination and examination." Amra agreed, already setting the necessary steps in motion for anyone suspected to have come into contact with alien psytek.

Could the black pyramid have been the device or force that had pulled the fleet out of the Warp? Might it have been what had driven the other Astropaths and Navigators to madness?

Amra frowned, then turned away. He would have to order a stop to all psyker activity before they worked out what was going on.

Weeks passed and the Scouts reported the discovery of the Mordant, the cruiser which had exploded in flight during the descent and crashed further to the south. It was a small matter to gather the squads of veterans of the 1st Company and several accompanying squads of Scouts and head out toward the wreckage, and Amra led them himself.

The light cruiser lay in the belly of a low valley, its fall having carved a long rut in the earth, with evidence of fierce fires having burnt long after the ship fell. Everywhere there's bits of wreckage, struts of steel and adamantine, ceramite armour plates and other debris.

But there was also evidence of others having been here before the Astartes, tracks of many creatures. Amra's mind turned to steel, his face grave as he looked up at the crash site…

Xenos.

There were hundreds of little monsters crawling over the wreck of the Mordant.

Despite his rage he was a warrior of centuries experience and his mind whirled. There were two sorts of Xenos, both reptilian in form, standing upright, their tails erect and well balanced. They bore a variety of weapons such as clubs, spears and other crude devices, and seemed to be divided into two groups, castes perhaps? The first were hulking brutes, two metres tall with armour of bones over their scales, while the second were smaller, perhaps half the size but with a variety of ornaments including feathers and beads. The second group were larger, working at the doors of the Mordant while some others seemed to be trying to hitch bits of wreckage onto large horned beasts of burden and drag them away from the crash.

Vularakh, Master of Scouts, came up beside Amra. "We can circle around, trap them against the ship."

"No. Let them see us." the Chapter Master replied. "We need a clear victory."

"As you say." and the Captain retreated, calling the Scouts forward.

Amra knew with disciplined Bolter fire it would be easy to eliminate even the larger beasts, but there were 11 Scouts who'd escaped the wreckage of the Mordant and generally the morale of the Chapter was low. This was a good test.

He sent a closed message to Vularakh, "Blood." he said simply, "After it's done make sure none escape."

"That is not your enemy." Amra proclaimed, pointing toward the Xenos now assembling between the Space Marines and the fallen ship. "They do not exist."

The veterans of the 1st had heard this speech before, and stood slightly straighter, surrounding the kneeling neophytes. They were young, some no older than twelve, yet even now all possessed the second heart of the Astartes, the Maintainer. Where their first heart beat ever faster as Amra spoke, the second beat slow and steady.

"There is no enemy." Amra continued, reciting from the words of their progenitor, the Unyielding One, Rogal Dorn. "The foe on the battlefield is merely the manifestation of that which we must overcome. He is doubt, and fear, and despair. Every battle is fought within. Conquer the battlefield that lies inside you, and the enemy disappears like the illusion he is."

The reptilians were approaching, forming into two distinct groups, the smaller sort flanking the larger ones.

"Remember the Rites of Battle, remember your oaths. I proclaim this day a Test of Blood, set aside your Bolters."

On and on the xenos came, yet still the neophytes kneeled, joining their voices with that of Amra's, "To the Darkness I bring Light. To the Ignorant I bring Faith. These are my gifts, but to the enemy, I bring only death."

Je'hara was drawn, ancient blade keen, burning with a bright fire as its disruptor field powered on.

"I am wrath. I am steel. I am the mercy of angels."

One scarred Xenos veteran singled Amra out. The Chapter Master thought the Xenos proud, no doubt secure in it's rage and hatred for Mankind.

It was wrong.

The battle was swift and Amra posted Vularakh to secure the site and bury the dead. In time the Celestial Lions would take the fight to the Xenos but now was a time for reflection, a time to honour the dead.

The Chapter Master supervised the burial of the dead, and over the course of a year he read the names of the dead. It was a custom of the Lions shared with some of of the other Successors of Dorn, notably the Executioners, and each week Amra gathered the Serfs before him, steadily making his way through the 72,000 names of those who'd died in the crash. Just over 200 names for each day, over a thousand in each week. And each week the Chapter-serfs would dance the traditional dances of their homeworld, the now long lost Elysium IX, the planet and the Chapter's rights to it sold to finance their retreat from the Imperium.

Morale soared during these nights, the people gloried under the two moons' light, and even the baleful radiance of the lesser green moon on it's strange trajectory could not dismay them.

Amra sat, happy after the victory against the Xenos, even more so by recent news that the Peregrin and Cardinal of Nuvia, two of the Chapter's missing ships, had been discovered, mostly unharmed in a stable orbit above the planet. Aboard them was the remnants of the 6th Company and the entirety of the 8th, their fast attack force.

The Chapter Master sat on a throne of ivory taken from great tusked beasts that inhabited the plains around the crash site. Petitioners came to him seeking counsel or benediction. Several women had become pregnant in the past year and it was a popular belief in the Elysium System that the Adeptus Astartes were demi-gods, not merely the transhuman warriors they truly were, and thus many of the Chapter-serfs sought a blessing from their master.

Amra was glad to give it, laying a hand on the belly of one woman, on the head of a man, a wound of someone else.

But in the eye of one parishioner he saw something else.

A green light was reflected within them, the light of the twin moons, waxing large in the sky above the festival.

Then the woman lunged!

Amra leapt to the side from his position, half standing, the woman sailed past, impaling herself on one of the tusks of the throne.

And before his eyes she began to change.

Fur grew from her dark skin, she writhed and contorted, her legs elongating, her flesh bubbling as if under a flamer as she lay, pinned to the great dais. A clawed appendage grew from her face, sprouting out of her eye socket as fangs lengthened in her mouth.

Even as the Chapter Master drew his sword he stared into the woman's untouched eye. Amra started into its humanity, and even as the mutant turned to him he heard her speak.

"The Emperor Protects."

She reached out, her suicide incomplete, yet her faith undimmed, even as the relic blade cleaved her head from her body.

Amra turned, sword ready to fight a legion of mutants, and a legion he found.

The festival of joy had turned to one of horror. Everywhere there were men and women, even children, changing and turning into nightmares. Some had extra appendages, some had changed colours, many had taken on qualities of beasts, more had fallen together in great fleshy piles which twitched and quivered, voices screaming from many mouths.

One foul creature staggered forward toward the Chapter Master, and from it's debased mouth issued a prayer, "The Emperor Protects."

Amra's sword came down.

And another stepped forward, three arms outstretched in surrender and request, "The Emperor Protects."

The Chapter Master, gene-forged warrior of ten thousand years crafting did not cry as he slew them. The Occulobe, the Eye of Vengeance, an organ implanted in him centuries ago, did not allow the tears to obscure his vision during battle, yet he cried out as he brought his sword down again and again, each strike ending a life of courage.

A dozen voices rose up from one of the flesh-spawnings, "I tread the path of Righteousness." the voices cried as one, "Though it be paved with broken glass, I will walk it barefoot; though it cross rivers of fire, I will pass over them; though it wanders wide!" the remainder of the crowd took up the chant of the hymnal, "The light of the Emperor guides my step! I shall not fear, I shall not-"

The creature died, the disruptor field of Je'hara rending it apart.

In the morning they burned the dead, and in the records of the Celestial Lions it was noted that not a single mutant was seen, no enemies, only the deaths of 10,000 faithful servants of the Emperor to an unknown enemy.

"Let the sky welcome your spirits, for therein dwells the Emperor and his saints." Amra pronounced over the mass graves, "Let the plains welcome your bodies, that we might rise anew."

Far away from the bloody nights of the Southlands, in the freezing depths of Naggoaroth, screams of ecstasy and agony echoed through the pinnacle of Ghrond. The Sorceresses of the Dark Covenant work their magics, looking into the veil of ever-shifting Chaos to perceive the skein of the future.

Below legions battle outside the gates, daemons, monsters and worshippers of a thousand cults drawn by the heady broth of sorcery and excess that flowed form the citadel's walls. Within though a single figure stands atop the tallest tower, the blood of elf-maids working in strange shapes around her.

She is beautiful, undoubtedly the most beautiful woman in the world, but she is evil. She is Morathi, First of the Hag Queens, bride to Aenarion the Defender and mother to the future ruler of the world.

The enchantress looks into the Unformed. She looks into the skies.

A fire burns there, a celestial fire, the Dragon with Two Tails, an omen of things to come.

The comet burned with possibility, it burned with chance and change. But it also seemed to be falling onto the planet. Morathi wondered at that, meteors weren't unknown, but this one seemed like it would land relatively close by. With a thought she summoned a daemon and dispatched orders.



Battle damage to fleet and Chapter assessed, see threadmark. Most heavy equipment inaccessible. Some destroyed equipment salvageable. Warp travel unlikely in future.

Aerial reconnaissance of the Southlands conducted. Refer to Southlands map in reference threadmark. Detailed pictorial information regarding various cities along the coast and some ruins in the jungle. No inhabited cities in the southern jungles, human inhabited cities along the coast. Crash site is the Plain of Tuskers.

Warp anomalies identified, orders give for a moratorium on unsanctioned psykery while the Chief Librarian examines the situation.

Danger of Morrslieb recognised, decreased defences and work during night due to curfews. 10,000 serfs dead.

Mordant crash site secured, victory won over native reptile Xenos species.

Peregrin and Cardinal of Nuvia discovered in stable orbit, status of other ships unknown.

 

[FractiousDay]