Discussions prior to the start of the quest:
Lord Commander of the Ultima Segmentum: Yeah, so in order to reinforce the segmentum I want regiments from a world known for it's fanatical loyalty.
Tavisolta:..... Which one do you want?
Canonized.
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Loyalty is its own Reward (A Traitor Legion Chapter Master Quest)
- Thread starter ThunderOwl
- Start date
Lord Commander of the Ultima Segmentum: Yeah, so in order to reinforce the segmentum I want regiments from a world known for it's fanatical loyalty.
Tavisolta:..... Which one do you want?
Canonized.
Adrian XXIV
Average User, from Poland
- Location
- Poland
- Pronouns
- He/Him
New item by Adrian MiÅkiewicz
photos.app.goo.gl
Seeing the quote by the Slaanesh Astartes made me immediately think "Oh, sweet, this sector has it's own Infinite Ikea!"
Nah it's the backrooms
Ikea at least has things in it
I feel like as a punishment for such failure Slannesh condemned said Aatartes to enternal torment by having his soul wander the archive world for all eternity.
Lord Commander:All of them. Ideally yesterday.
Sometime in the near future, hopefully before the 13th Black Crusade, I hope we can invest getting Void Shield Generators for our Luctusian Refuges. I to make it as hard as possible for any invaders to try and wipe out our citizens.
Guide to the Planets of the Aetelian Sector: Verrod
Verrold
Classification: Mining World
Administratum Tithe: Decuma Extremis
Population: 4 Billion
Capital: Iadin
Day Circle Duration (in Terran standard): 20 Hours
"You know, it gets a bit frigid." A Verrolders response to being asked about their homeworld.
"If it weren't for the mines, I doubt anyone could bear to live on that icy hellhole, and don't get me started on the food." A visitor to Verrold upon leaving the planet.
"Our ancestors survived the Great Dying, they survived your Conquest, we will survive you." The captured chief of the Y'Ngal Clan to a Captain of the Yerrold Security Service.
Verrold was once the throne world of a Xenos Empire. The race had developed rudimentary interstellar travel and had colonised much of their home system and were well on track to becoming an interstellar empire in their own right. Unfortunately for them, a warp travel mishap afflicted the Rogue Trader House of Vermil, leading to the accidental discovery of the young xenos race by the Imperium during the Great Crusade. What followed was a brutal war led by the Iron Warriors, which saw the complete destruction of the xenos empire, and the colonisation of their homeworld of Verrold by the Imperium.
Following the worlds conquest, Verrold was relatively obscure, with the planet mostly falling under the radar during the great crusade and the heresy. This was until it was discovered that several strategic resources were located buried beneath the planet. This would lead in to the Ice World transforming into a mining world, with the Imperium extracting great quantities of vital resources as its tithes. Every year the mines expand across the frigid world, new mining settlements established and abandoned, generation upon generation being born, living, and dying in the service of the mines.
The world itself is mostly and Ice world, it is theorised that at one point the world was temperate, before some great disaster caused the world to enter a global ice age causing most of the surface to be covered in great icesheets. The xenos natives survived by turning to a subterranean lifestyle, carving vast tunnel-cities underground and learning to farm a variety of fungus and moulds which could be cultivated in the caverns, the Imperial settlers who came after the conquest of the planet use much of these same techniques today. With most of the population living within vast tunnel-cities, often the ruins of older xenos cities, with only the equator seeing surface settlements, and much of the population subsisting on cave fungi which is cultivated in subterranean farms.
Xenos Natives: Declared extinct following the Iron Warriors conquest of the planet, and in spite of the great effort of the Imperium to see them wiped out, the planets highly adaptable and resilient natives have survived across the Millennia. The native race is known as the Yoral, they are a short, highly adaptable, mammalian race which once commanded an interplanetary empire of their own. They survived the world's conquest by retreating into their vast subterranean cave and tunnel networks as well as into the great icy wastelands, as billions died, mere thousands would survive and adapt to the new rulers of their planet.
The Yoral are divided among several clans which exist in the shadow of the Imperium, they have grown to be a mixture of extremely secretive and extremely violent, hating and fearing humanity in equal measure. Though they would prefer to remain hidden, they are more than willing to lay down their lives in defence of the clan when Imperials draw close, many unwitting miners have accidentally exposed a dug-out cavern inhabited by the Yoral, only to be massacred as the clan evacuates in fear of the Imperium. It is unknown just how many of the Yoral persist, with estimates placing their population either in the thousands or tens of thousands across the entire planet. Whatever their numbers, they are much reduced from what they once were and utterly dwarfed by the human populace of Verrold, a far cry from a race which once numbered billions and commanded their own interplanetary empire.
Trivia
-The Verrolders are known for being extremely polite despite their frigid homeworld.
-The Verrolders have developed numerous recipes utilising cave fungus and other similar food items, they find these dishes delicious but most off-worlders find them repulsive.
-The Yoral maintain a rich culture despite their circumstances. Worshipping the Ancestors of their clans and distantly remembering what they have lost.
-The Verrolders settlements are typically ruled by figures known as Foremen with the Planetary Governor being known as the Lord-Foreman.
-Not all Verrolders are involved in mining, with some settlements adapting to life on the surface engaging in industries such as fishing.
-The Verrold PDF, known as the Verrold Security Service, is not well equipped to deal with external threats and primarily deals with internal ones. Suppressing political strife, rebelling miners, and Yoral Clans as well as hostile wildlife is the forte of the Verrold PDF.
tldr I started to replay Stars in Shadow and decided to take one of the races homeworlds and put them in 40k as an Imperial World. In case you're wondering what the Yoral look like this is a Yoral. Turns out homebrewing Imperial planets is fun.
Classification: Mining World
Administratum Tithe: Decuma Extremis
Population: 4 Billion
Capital: Iadin
Day Circle Duration (in Terran standard): 20 Hours
"You know, it gets a bit frigid." A Verrolders response to being asked about their homeworld.
"If it weren't for the mines, I doubt anyone could bear to live on that icy hellhole, and don't get me started on the food." A visitor to Verrold upon leaving the planet.
"Our ancestors survived the Great Dying, they survived your Conquest, we will survive you." The captured chief of the Y'Ngal Clan to a Captain of the Yerrold Security Service.
Verrold was once the throne world of a Xenos Empire. The race had developed rudimentary interstellar travel and had colonised much of their home system and were well on track to becoming an interstellar empire in their own right. Unfortunately for them, a warp travel mishap afflicted the Rogue Trader House of Vermil, leading to the accidental discovery of the young xenos race by the Imperium during the Great Crusade. What followed was a brutal war led by the Iron Warriors, which saw the complete destruction of the xenos empire, and the colonisation of their homeworld of Verrold by the Imperium.
Following the worlds conquest, Verrold was relatively obscure, with the planet mostly falling under the radar during the great crusade and the heresy. This was until it was discovered that several strategic resources were located buried beneath the planet. This would lead in to the Ice World transforming into a mining world, with the Imperium extracting great quantities of vital resources as its tithes. Every year the mines expand across the frigid world, new mining settlements established and abandoned, generation upon generation being born, living, and dying in the service of the mines.
The world itself is mostly and Ice world, it is theorised that at one point the world was temperate, before some great disaster caused the world to enter a global ice age causing most of the surface to be covered in great icesheets. The xenos natives survived by turning to a subterranean lifestyle, carving vast tunnel-cities underground and learning to farm a variety of fungus and moulds which could be cultivated in the caverns, the Imperial settlers who came after the conquest of the planet use much of these same techniques today. With most of the population living within vast tunnel-cities, often the ruins of older xenos cities, with only the equator seeing surface settlements, and much of the population subsisting on cave fungi which is cultivated in subterranean farms.
Xenos Natives: Declared extinct following the Iron Warriors conquest of the planet, and in spite of the great effort of the Imperium to see them wiped out, the planets highly adaptable and resilient natives have survived across the Millennia. The native race is known as the Yoral, they are a short, highly adaptable, mammalian race which once commanded an interplanetary empire of their own. They survived the world's conquest by retreating into their vast subterranean cave and tunnel networks as well as into the great icy wastelands, as billions died, mere thousands would survive and adapt to the new rulers of their planet.
The Yoral are divided among several clans which exist in the shadow of the Imperium, they have grown to be a mixture of extremely secretive and extremely violent, hating and fearing humanity in equal measure. Though they would prefer to remain hidden, they are more than willing to lay down their lives in defence of the clan when Imperials draw close, many unwitting miners have accidentally exposed a dug-out cavern inhabited by the Yoral, only to be massacred as the clan evacuates in fear of the Imperium. It is unknown just how many of the Yoral persist, with estimates placing their population either in the thousands or tens of thousands across the entire planet. Whatever their numbers, they are much reduced from what they once were and utterly dwarfed by the human populace of Verrold, a far cry from a race which once numbered billions and commanded their own interplanetary empire.
Trivia
-The Verrolders are known for being extremely polite despite their frigid homeworld.
-The Verrolders have developed numerous recipes utilising cave fungus and other similar food items, they find these dishes delicious but most off-worlders find them repulsive.
-The Yoral maintain a rich culture despite their circumstances. Worshipping the Ancestors of their clans and distantly remembering what they have lost.
-The Verrolders settlements are typically ruled by figures known as Foremen with the Planetary Governor being known as the Lord-Foreman.
-Not all Verrolders are involved in mining, with some settlements adapting to life on the surface engaging in industries such as fishing.
-The Verrold PDF, known as the Verrold Security Service, is not well equipped to deal with external threats and primarily deals with internal ones. Suppressing political strife, rebelling miners, and Yoral Clans as well as hostile wildlife is the forte of the Verrold PDF.
tldr I started to replay Stars in Shadow and decided to take one of the races homeworlds and put them in 40k as an Imperial World. In case you're wondering what the Yoral look like this is a Yoral. Turns out homebrewing Imperial planets is fun.
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While I appreciate that you made a Mining world, the existence of xenos that hide in tunnels not being wiped out in a mining world is pretty incompatible with the setting. Non-Canon.
That's cool, I didn't really expect it to be canon cause of that.
Edit: In hindsight, I'm gonna reduce their numbers to the low thousands, I feel the millions is a bit much. Thousands existing on the isolated fringe of a planet feels more believable also makes their "fall" more tragic.
Edit: In hindsight, I'm gonna reduce their numbers to the low thousands, I feel the millions is a bit much. Thousands existing on the isolated fringe of a planet feels more believable also makes their "fall" more tragic.
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Unselected Night Lords AU: Thousand Sons start
- Location
- Texas
AN: This Omake is a mix of 2 things, an alternate start with a different traitor chapter, and an exploration on some of the other surviving officer options. I just couldnt get this writing bug out of my mind unless I posted it. Options chosen are Thousands Sons, Reluctant Doubter Captain, with the Dreadnought, Librarian and Chapter Champion chosen as officers.
PS:I searched up what a Labellum was for this omake so you better be grateful. Word Count(2413)
"For the Garden!" Spluttered a phlegm filled voice as the sounds of clanging blades and screaming mortals filled the command bridge of the Lesson of Wisdom. The air is filled with the sounds of death and killing, but the sounds of the ancient marines entombed in their dreadnoughts are some of the loudest, forced to fall back to the bridge after their Tomb Hall had fallen to these warp entities, though the sounds of their mechanics and weapons are rivaled by the croaking of the giant one eyed warp amphibians, the buzzing of the gigantic insects that fly above, hidden in the vaunted roof of the bridge, and the groans of the mortal crew members who have been cruelly ripped from their rest to serve these warp monstrosities as lumbering undead.
The assault had begun quickly, the beasts invading the ship the moment after the Gellar fields failed, swarming key posts around the ship that had fallen in quick succession, then the arrival of the disease-ridden fiends on the main bridge, and it was only the arrival of the retreating Dreadnoughts that ensured that the bridge had not fallen under the first assault.
"Still." Thought Captain Amenthes of the Thousand Sons Legion as he bisected a one eyed one horned warp creature with a swing of his curved Prosperine Khophesh, his red armor showing some signs of battle damage, and covered with some of the diseased remains of their opponents. "We are holding strong." This thought is challenged as one of the giant insects, being ridden by one of the smaller creatures, dives into him, nearly knocking him off his feet, and only the quick planting of his stance prevents him from falling to the bridge's floor.
From between the insects mandibles emerges a long fleshy growth, at the end a large gaping mouth surrounded by spikes and teeth. Seeing no alternative to escape from the beast and its rider, Amenthes grabs the fleshy extension, pulling and wrapping the flesh around his arm until it grows taut, and with a sharp tug, rocks the beast, unseating the rider who falls to the deck. With an upward swing of his khopesh, Amenthes cuts through the growth allowing the slackened meat to fall from his arm, and in the same moment, flipping his blade, stabs the insect, hooking his blade's tip into the creatures carapace, before he drags it down, gutting the beast, allowing its innards and still twitching body to fall to the floor, the Captain turns his attention towards the beast's rider.
"You are unkind!" The warp creature laments. "I raised him from a maggot!" Puss filled tears fall from the creature's eye as it stands to attack the marine, only to be met with Amenthes's blade through its skull. As he does this he feels a harsh impact upon his pauldron, jarring him. Looking over his shoulder he spots his attacker, one of the mutated amphibians sports a large gaping jaw, with an even larger tongue lolling out from its cavernous mouth.
As it rears its appendage back for another swing at the captain, only for it to be cut in half by a glowing blade. Scholar Horirem, clad in his Osiron Class Dreadnought, makes short work of the opponents surrounding him as he makes his way towards Amenthes. His curved force blade makes short work of any smaller opponents in his path, while his assault cannon deals with any of the remaining large monstrosities with overwhelming firepower. The psychic shield that he bears takes much of the damage heading his way, but Amenthes can spot scratches and splotches where it appears that his mental might had failed to protect him. As the ancient grows closer Amenthes hears the Dreadnought speak. "The enemy appears endless brother. And we are growing fewer and fewer." Looking around Amenthes is forced to agree, the last of the bridge crew, along with his bodyguard are being cut down, and the few dreadnoughts remaining felled by the combined assault of the extradimensional beasts these xenos had brought with them. Amenthes and Horirem appeared to be the last of the defenders still standing.
"Then let us test your hypothesis brother. Cover me!" The metal clad Astartes did just that, his cannon roaring to life as they began firing into the crowd of rot and decay, Amenthes had drawn his bolter pistol and had begun firing as well, his shots in time with his charging steps as he rapidly advanced towards the upcoming foes. Winding his Khopesh back he swings it forward, intending to meet his oncoming foe…
Only for his blade to meet empty air, where once there was a wave of greet blotted flesh and monsters rushing to meet his charge, now there was only empty space, interspersed with a few remaining undead mortals which were quickly dispatched by bolter round to the head after Amenthes had recovered from his shock. Looking around the bridge, he spies the reason for his sudden lack of opponents, through the bridge's windows, he sees not the chaotic turbulence of the Warp, no he sees the comforting stillness and pinpricks of stars of realspace. Looking further he even manages to spy a planet, and with the objects he can barely make out with his Astartes eyes, he sees movement of ships, human designs at the very least.
Horirem had remained still, the shock of the sudden disappearance of their enemies still overwhelming him as Amenthes slipped past him to the surprisingly intact Vox Terminal. Without the astropath, this would be the only way to try and contact help from the planet. Amenthes would even take ignorant Fenrisians at this point, since he had no idea where the ship had ended up.
Hearing the telltale signal of a connection, meaning that at least someone is listening, Amenthes began to speak. "This is Captain Amenthes of the Lesson of Wisdom. We were seconded to the 561st Expeditionary Fleet until our Gellar field suffered a calamitous malfunction! We've suffered near total casualties and our ship is in great distress! Does anyone read this signal?"
"This is Inquisitor Abraham Harker. Do you read me Captain?" Amenthes let out a sigh of relief as the connection seemed to solidify, even growing more clearer…
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
"I still would like to go back and power down for a time." Horirem said as Amenthes and him made their way to the eastern hangar, hoping to connect with any other survivors and await pick up from thankfully Imperial Forces, led by whoever this Inquisitor Harker was. "The battle may have been short, but it was quite intense."
"And I said if you powered down we don't know if we'll even be able to reactivate you again. The nearest Forge World or Astartes forces with the expertise to do so could be systems away and out of our reach." Amenthes replies before stopping, his ears picking up a wet, slopping sound, one that he had grown familiar with from their recent battle, moving rhythmically towards the pair of Thousand Sons, who ready their weapons for the approaching threat.
Only to find that the beast, outside of the warp from which it spawned from, seemed to be falling apart, starting from the feet and slowly moving up, already it was walking on its shins when it spotted the pair. "Ah! You've remained unchanged! Thank the Grandfather." The beast mouth, filled with some kind of puss filled boil covered tongue engorged in its mouth, it still spoke out clearly and precisely, perfectly understandable to the two marines. Moving towards them seemed to accelerate the xenos's degradation further, its knees falling away leaving him walking on his thighs. "We're so glad to have preserved you."
"What nonsense do you speak creature?" Perhaps the greatest strength and most fatal flaw of a son of Prospero, of a son of Magnus was their curiosity, and Amenthes had his piqued by this rapidly decaying beast's words.
The monster let out a hearty mucus filled chuckle as its legs fell away leaving him a torso dragging himself towards the pair of Astartes. "Oh a son of the Red Horned one should know!" The beast answered. " The planner and plotter denied! The machination imperfect! The power of ritual incomplete! A price not fully paid! A task left unfinished!" At these exclamations one of the rotting arms fell away, leaving only a single arm pulling the xenos forward. "And it is a deal incurred by your own siblings! The shame!" The head fell from the monster's shoulders leaving the torso behind, the head rolling down the hall before it stopped just before the captain's feet. "When you learn what the Grandfather spared you from, you will cast yourself into his diseased embrace!" The xenos's voice began laughing, just continuous laughter until with a whir of machinery, a dreadnought's foot rose up, and…
SQUISH
Crushed the head beneath it's foot. Neither of the Thousand Sons spoke any further as they made their way to the eastern hangar.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Amenthes and Horirem arrive at the same time the newly arrived Gunship does. They have so little time with its arrival that they can barely say hello to the other 2 red clad figures who had made it to the hangar. More than likely the only two other survivors abord the whole vessel.
Amenaa, has his force staffed propped up against a set of crates as he browses over one of the few tomes that seemed to have not decayed under the assault of the warp xenos, the tomes pages look old and decayed, but Amenthes knew for a fact that the book was penned by Amenaa himself only a week previously. Still the Librarian is strangely calm, he always seemed to carry an edge to him, especially with the psychic discipline that he held the most aptitude for was perhaps the most dangerous out of all of them, constantly carrying risks, still, he was a good scholar, even if he was one of the more outspoken supporters of Magnus during the Council, even if he was confined to the minor meetings.
Though it seemed all of Amenaa's tension had been transferred over to Osahar, the Company Champion pacing like some kind of caged animal, his Khopesh drawn and ready, helmet constantly on a swivel. Amenthes was worried, for all that the Thousand Sons proclaimed the power psychic abilities, Amenaa was one of the few other non-psychers who had clawed his way to victory against the obstacles placed in the path of the few non-psychers who had the ambition to aspire beyond simply being a space marine, someone who sought advancement in the legion.
The transport soon arrives, and before even its landing struts touch the metal of the hangar soldiers are pouring from the ship, some jumping from the ramp, and immediately pointing weapons of several varieties, ranging from lasguns for you and your three fellow marines, and meltas for Ancient Horirem, those wielding them seeming to be even more on edge as all of Amenthes's remaining brothers tense at the open hostility some of them bear towards you. A finale trio exit the ship two more of the strangely attired soldiers escorting a man with a greatcoat draped over his armor and a bionic eye shining red. He holds an active power sword in his right hand, while his left is pointing plasma pistol at Amenthes's chest. Upon his chest strangely, swings the I of the Sigillite.
"Sorcerer!" One of the soldiers escorting the pistol-wielding man shouts, quickly bringing his weapon to bear and firing at Amenaa, only for the Librarian to disappear through a portal before the laser could strike him. Though he quickly reappears, stepping out from the landed transport, the curved blade of his dagger quickly brought up to bear against the neck of the seeming leader of this group, the cloaked man's eyes widening in surprise as his hands tighten their hold on his weapons. Both groups are on edge now, the soldiers renew their beads on Amenthes and his men, Osahar is on the balls of his feet, ready to begin a running charge towards the closest soldier, Horirem's cannon is already beginning to spin his barrier glowing and obvious. Hoping to prevent whatever happens next and hopefully not have him and his men gunned down, Amenthes speaks.
""Inquisitor Harker, I presume? Do you mind explaining why you are pointing your weapons at us? And why your man decided to fire at my Librarian?"
Amenthes does not raise his voice, but Amenthes catches some of the gunmen tightening their grip on their weapons. However, the Inquisitor remains completely unfazed.
"You´ve been lost to the Warp for a long time, Captain. Plenty of things have changed in the meantime." Turning his neck as much as he can, he looks over at the soldier who fired at Amenaa, he continues. "As for my man, he has served at my side longer than most. He has not had good experiences with psychers especially ones dressed as your Librarian. Not to mention he is a bit more dogmatic in his loyalty to the Imperial creed, his homeworld affects his opinions. They have a far harsher intolerance for those touched by the warp."
You mull over his words. It isn't unheard of for vessels stranded in the Immaterium to arrive in the distant past or future, but neither is it common, reports are rare, even for them to be an oddity in the data and reports gathered by the researchers of Prospero. Despite that, no Imperial subject in the Great Crusade would have the authority or the audacity to point guns at a Space Marine, even ones as disfavored by the Emperor as the Thousand Sons.
"What year is it?" The inquisitor takes a moment to answer.
"728 of the 41st Millenium." The Inquisitor replies, the shock hitting the gathered sons of Magnus as if they were actually struck, Horirem falls to one of his mechanical knees, his mind and mechanical control hampered trying to process the new information. Amenaa removes his knife from the Inquisitor's neck, moving back to the tome that he held, seemingly searching it for any answer. Osahar simply stands still, his own mind racing with the events that may have occurred in the time that all of them were away. And Amenthes is much the same as Osahar, though a few choice Prosperan curses leave his lips in the silence of his helmet.
PS:I searched up what a Labellum was for this omake so you better be grateful. Word Count(2413)
"For the Garden!" Spluttered a phlegm filled voice as the sounds of clanging blades and screaming mortals filled the command bridge of the Lesson of Wisdom. The air is filled with the sounds of death and killing, but the sounds of the ancient marines entombed in their dreadnoughts are some of the loudest, forced to fall back to the bridge after their Tomb Hall had fallen to these warp entities, though the sounds of their mechanics and weapons are rivaled by the croaking of the giant one eyed warp amphibians, the buzzing of the gigantic insects that fly above, hidden in the vaunted roof of the bridge, and the groans of the mortal crew members who have been cruelly ripped from their rest to serve these warp monstrosities as lumbering undead.
The assault had begun quickly, the beasts invading the ship the moment after the Gellar fields failed, swarming key posts around the ship that had fallen in quick succession, then the arrival of the disease-ridden fiends on the main bridge, and it was only the arrival of the retreating Dreadnoughts that ensured that the bridge had not fallen under the first assault.
"Still." Thought Captain Amenthes of the Thousand Sons Legion as he bisected a one eyed one horned warp creature with a swing of his curved Prosperine Khophesh, his red armor showing some signs of battle damage, and covered with some of the diseased remains of their opponents. "We are holding strong." This thought is challenged as one of the giant insects, being ridden by one of the smaller creatures, dives into him, nearly knocking him off his feet, and only the quick planting of his stance prevents him from falling to the bridge's floor.
From between the insects mandibles emerges a long fleshy growth, at the end a large gaping mouth surrounded by spikes and teeth. Seeing no alternative to escape from the beast and its rider, Amenthes grabs the fleshy extension, pulling and wrapping the flesh around his arm until it grows taut, and with a sharp tug, rocks the beast, unseating the rider who falls to the deck. With an upward swing of his khopesh, Amenthes cuts through the growth allowing the slackened meat to fall from his arm, and in the same moment, flipping his blade, stabs the insect, hooking his blade's tip into the creatures carapace, before he drags it down, gutting the beast, allowing its innards and still twitching body to fall to the floor, the Captain turns his attention towards the beast's rider.
"You are unkind!" The warp creature laments. "I raised him from a maggot!" Puss filled tears fall from the creature's eye as it stands to attack the marine, only to be met with Amenthes's blade through its skull. As he does this he feels a harsh impact upon his pauldron, jarring him. Looking over his shoulder he spots his attacker, one of the mutated amphibians sports a large gaping jaw, with an even larger tongue lolling out from its cavernous mouth.
As it rears its appendage back for another swing at the captain, only for it to be cut in half by a glowing blade. Scholar Horirem, clad in his Osiron Class Dreadnought, makes short work of the opponents surrounding him as he makes his way towards Amenthes. His curved force blade makes short work of any smaller opponents in his path, while his assault cannon deals with any of the remaining large monstrosities with overwhelming firepower. The psychic shield that he bears takes much of the damage heading his way, but Amenthes can spot scratches and splotches where it appears that his mental might had failed to protect him. As the ancient grows closer Amenthes hears the Dreadnought speak. "The enemy appears endless brother. And we are growing fewer and fewer." Looking around Amenthes is forced to agree, the last of the bridge crew, along with his bodyguard are being cut down, and the few dreadnoughts remaining felled by the combined assault of the extradimensional beasts these xenos had brought with them. Amenthes and Horirem appeared to be the last of the defenders still standing.
"Then let us test your hypothesis brother. Cover me!" The metal clad Astartes did just that, his cannon roaring to life as they began firing into the crowd of rot and decay, Amenthes had drawn his bolter pistol and had begun firing as well, his shots in time with his charging steps as he rapidly advanced towards the upcoming foes. Winding his Khopesh back he swings it forward, intending to meet his oncoming foe…
Only for his blade to meet empty air, where once there was a wave of greet blotted flesh and monsters rushing to meet his charge, now there was only empty space, interspersed with a few remaining undead mortals which were quickly dispatched by bolter round to the head after Amenthes had recovered from his shock. Looking around the bridge, he spies the reason for his sudden lack of opponents, through the bridge's windows, he sees not the chaotic turbulence of the Warp, no he sees the comforting stillness and pinpricks of stars of realspace. Looking further he even manages to spy a planet, and with the objects he can barely make out with his Astartes eyes, he sees movement of ships, human designs at the very least.
Horirem had remained still, the shock of the sudden disappearance of their enemies still overwhelming him as Amenthes slipped past him to the surprisingly intact Vox Terminal. Without the astropath, this would be the only way to try and contact help from the planet. Amenthes would even take ignorant Fenrisians at this point, since he had no idea where the ship had ended up.
Hearing the telltale signal of a connection, meaning that at least someone is listening, Amenthes began to speak. "This is Captain Amenthes of the Lesson of Wisdom. We were seconded to the 561st Expeditionary Fleet until our Gellar field suffered a calamitous malfunction! We've suffered near total casualties and our ship is in great distress! Does anyone read this signal?"
"This is Inquisitor Abraham Harker. Do you read me Captain?" Amenthes let out a sigh of relief as the connection seemed to solidify, even growing more clearer…
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
"I still would like to go back and power down for a time." Horirem said as Amenthes and him made their way to the eastern hangar, hoping to connect with any other survivors and await pick up from thankfully Imperial Forces, led by whoever this Inquisitor Harker was. "The battle may have been short, but it was quite intense."
"And I said if you powered down we don't know if we'll even be able to reactivate you again. The nearest Forge World or Astartes forces with the expertise to do so could be systems away and out of our reach." Amenthes replies before stopping, his ears picking up a wet, slopping sound, one that he had grown familiar with from their recent battle, moving rhythmically towards the pair of Thousand Sons, who ready their weapons for the approaching threat.
Only to find that the beast, outside of the warp from which it spawned from, seemed to be falling apart, starting from the feet and slowly moving up, already it was walking on its shins when it spotted the pair. "Ah! You've remained unchanged! Thank the Grandfather." The beast mouth, filled with some kind of puss filled boil covered tongue engorged in its mouth, it still spoke out clearly and precisely, perfectly understandable to the two marines. Moving towards them seemed to accelerate the xenos's degradation further, its knees falling away leaving him walking on his thighs. "We're so glad to have preserved you."
"What nonsense do you speak creature?" Perhaps the greatest strength and most fatal flaw of a son of Prospero, of a son of Magnus was their curiosity, and Amenthes had his piqued by this rapidly decaying beast's words.
The monster let out a hearty mucus filled chuckle as its legs fell away leaving him a torso dragging himself towards the pair of Astartes. "Oh a son of the Red Horned one should know!" The beast answered. " The planner and plotter denied! The machination imperfect! The power of ritual incomplete! A price not fully paid! A task left unfinished!" At these exclamations one of the rotting arms fell away, leaving only a single arm pulling the xenos forward. "And it is a deal incurred by your own siblings! The shame!" The head fell from the monster's shoulders leaving the torso behind, the head rolling down the hall before it stopped just before the captain's feet. "When you learn what the Grandfather spared you from, you will cast yourself into his diseased embrace!" The xenos's voice began laughing, just continuous laughter until with a whir of machinery, a dreadnought's foot rose up, and…
SQUISH
Crushed the head beneath it's foot. Neither of the Thousand Sons spoke any further as they made their way to the eastern hangar.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Amenthes and Horirem arrive at the same time the newly arrived Gunship does. They have so little time with its arrival that they can barely say hello to the other 2 red clad figures who had made it to the hangar. More than likely the only two other survivors abord the whole vessel.
Amenaa, has his force staffed propped up against a set of crates as he browses over one of the few tomes that seemed to have not decayed under the assault of the warp xenos, the tomes pages look old and decayed, but Amenthes knew for a fact that the book was penned by Amenaa himself only a week previously. Still the Librarian is strangely calm, he always seemed to carry an edge to him, especially with the psychic discipline that he held the most aptitude for was perhaps the most dangerous out of all of them, constantly carrying risks, still, he was a good scholar, even if he was one of the more outspoken supporters of Magnus during the Council, even if he was confined to the minor meetings.
Though it seemed all of Amenaa's tension had been transferred over to Osahar, the Company Champion pacing like some kind of caged animal, his Khopesh drawn and ready, helmet constantly on a swivel. Amenthes was worried, for all that the Thousand Sons proclaimed the power psychic abilities, Amenaa was one of the few other non-psychers who had clawed his way to victory against the obstacles placed in the path of the few non-psychers who had the ambition to aspire beyond simply being a space marine, someone who sought advancement in the legion.
The transport soon arrives, and before even its landing struts touch the metal of the hangar soldiers are pouring from the ship, some jumping from the ramp, and immediately pointing weapons of several varieties, ranging from lasguns for you and your three fellow marines, and meltas for Ancient Horirem, those wielding them seeming to be even more on edge as all of Amenthes's remaining brothers tense at the open hostility some of them bear towards you. A finale trio exit the ship two more of the strangely attired soldiers escorting a man with a greatcoat draped over his armor and a bionic eye shining red. He holds an active power sword in his right hand, while his left is pointing plasma pistol at Amenthes's chest. Upon his chest strangely, swings the I of the Sigillite.
"Sorcerer!" One of the soldiers escorting the pistol-wielding man shouts, quickly bringing his weapon to bear and firing at Amenaa, only for the Librarian to disappear through a portal before the laser could strike him. Though he quickly reappears, stepping out from the landed transport, the curved blade of his dagger quickly brought up to bear against the neck of the seeming leader of this group, the cloaked man's eyes widening in surprise as his hands tighten their hold on his weapons. Both groups are on edge now, the soldiers renew their beads on Amenthes and his men, Osahar is on the balls of his feet, ready to begin a running charge towards the closest soldier, Horirem's cannon is already beginning to spin his barrier glowing and obvious. Hoping to prevent whatever happens next and hopefully not have him and his men gunned down, Amenthes speaks.
""Inquisitor Harker, I presume? Do you mind explaining why you are pointing your weapons at us? And why your man decided to fire at my Librarian?"
Amenthes does not raise his voice, but Amenthes catches some of the gunmen tightening their grip on their weapons. However, the Inquisitor remains completely unfazed.
"You´ve been lost to the Warp for a long time, Captain. Plenty of things have changed in the meantime." Turning his neck as much as he can, he looks over at the soldier who fired at Amenaa, he continues. "As for my man, he has served at my side longer than most. He has not had good experiences with psychers especially ones dressed as your Librarian. Not to mention he is a bit more dogmatic in his loyalty to the Imperial creed, his homeworld affects his opinions. They have a far harsher intolerance for those touched by the warp."
You mull over his words. It isn't unheard of for vessels stranded in the Immaterium to arrive in the distant past or future, but neither is it common, reports are rare, even for them to be an oddity in the data and reports gathered by the researchers of Prospero. Despite that, no Imperial subject in the Great Crusade would have the authority or the audacity to point guns at a Space Marine, even ones as disfavored by the Emperor as the Thousand Sons.
"What year is it?" The inquisitor takes a moment to answer.
"728 of the 41st Millenium." The Inquisitor replies, the shock hitting the gathered sons of Magnus as if they were actually struck, Horirem falls to one of his mechanical knees, his mind and mechanical control hampered trying to process the new information. Amenaa removes his knife from the Inquisitor's neck, moving back to the tome that he held, seemingly searching it for any answer. Osahar simply stands still, his own mind racing with the events that may have occurred in the time that all of them were away. And Amenthes is much the same as Osahar, though a few choice Prosperan curses leave his lips in the silence of his helmet.
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Guide to the Planets of the Aetelian Sector: Caribe IV
Caribe IV
"While I would love to get you back to your homeworld, I'm afraid that we needed to expend quite a significant amount of resources on saving your life. My apologies, but you will need to pay back your current debt before we can even begin to talk about arranging your transportation", Overseer William Beckett, to a recently acquired debt-slave, M30.
"Baron-Captain Carver is a good lord. He pays us well and takes no liberties which are not freely given. He'd be a perfect Highborn were it not for the fact that he's, by his own admission, quite mad".
Foreman John Saunders, to a new arrival on Caribe IV. M40
"You call me mad, and you not wrong. However, this is a madness of my own choosing, a way to spite the cruelty of the universe. The path I walk is not an easy one, and I don't blame anyone for not wanting to follow me. Those bastards, they take that choice away from people. They force them into a madness not of their choosing, and that is a sin which is beyond forgiveness.
Edward Reid, Caribean Highborn explaining how his people's philosophy differs from that of the Ruinous Powers.
Classification: Fortress World
Administratum Tithe: Exactis Median
Population: 50 Billion
Capital: Shipwreck Point (orbital station)
Day Cicle Duration (In terran standard): 33 Hours
History:
Before the coming of the Great Crusade, Caribe IV was ruled by the Lancaster Trading Company, an incredibly vicious interstellar cartel. Their crimes ran the gamut, from corporate espionage and assassination to leonine contracts and hidden clauses to debt slavery, chattel slavery, and exploitation of low-technology worlds. If there was a dishonest way for them to boost profits, then the Company was probably performing it.
What they were most known for though, was their use of privateers. The Lancaster Trading Company hired just about any pirate with more greed than scruples. Said privateers were used to force rivals off of trade routes the LTC wished to monopolize, or in other words, just about all of their trade routes. This resulted in a coalition of their enemies, creatively titled the Free Trade Coalition, hiring privateers of their own. Naturally, a vicious trade war ensued.
It was into this mess that the Great Crusade fleet arrived. They were asked to serve as a mediators, or failing that, a neutral force in order to prevent the conflict from escalating. This placed the Imperial diplomats into a very awkward position. They could not show any bias towards one side or the other, lest their lack of neutrality damage attempts at diplomatic annexation elsewhere in the Sector. However, the LTC possessed significant advantages over their rivals, yet could not be allowed to win. The Company's neo-mercantilist doctrine would strangle the Aetelian economy if allowed to spread.
In the end, a compromise was reached. The LTC would hold on to their contracted trade routes so long as they kept up a certain level of activity upon them. This was a significant victory, as most of these contracts were signed under questionable circumstances and potentially subject to nullification by the Imperium.
Meanwhile the FTC received a guarantee from the Imperium that they would not allow the Company to launch any other acts against them beyond privateering or what would be acceptable in normal business circumstances. Their leadership correctly figured that they could obtain more outside investment if said investors didn't need to fear assassination. Said investment allowed them to compete on a relatively level playing field with the LTC.
The Imperium won greatly in negotiations. They gained full authority over the ongoing trade conflict. All privateers working for either side would have to be a part of one of two PMC's assembled specifically for this purpose under the supervision of the Imperium. Any such privateer who "has demonstrated a willingness to go beyond the bounds of civilized warfare" would be hunted down by the Imperial Navy.
The resulting purges were far more thorough than either the Company or Coalition expected. The Navy used the past tense of the aforementioned clause to justify eliminating any who had committed such deeds before the Crusade's arrival. The FTC lost quite a few privateers, as they had not been in a position to refuse assistance, no matter the moral character of the offerer. The LTC, however, had most of their privateer fleets wiped from the map, as such cruelties were more often than not encouraged by their corporate handlers so as to dissuade the opposition.
All of this combined to doom the Company to a slow but inexorable decline. Their trade routes were taken as the Free Trade Coalition used their military superiority to force their operations to a low enough level that the counterparties could break the contract. Said Coalition then used their superior reputation and equal financial might to move in and capture much of the newly freed up supply and/or demand.
The LTC complained to anyone who would listen of the Imperium's bias, but it is a rare soul who will hear out complaints about unrepentant rapists and mass murderers being brought to justice. The other benefits the FTC received were considered by the Aetelian community, not incorrectly, to be fair when valued against the questionable contracts the Imperium signed off on.
The rage of the executives was exasperated by just who led these efforts. Elizabeth Turner was the leader of the FTC-aligned PMC, Void Bretheren Security Solutions. Turner was actually the daughter of a moderately high level LTC executive. Roughly 17 years before the Imperium arrived, she had joined a pirate crew opposing the LTC, and her charisma, political savvy, and leadership skills allowed her to quickly become Captain. This was partly due to moral outrage, partly because she wished for greater freedom than the regressive traditional gender norms of Caribe IV would allow.
As such, the executives of the LTC were easily seduced into worshipping Tzeentch. They were some of the first in the Sector to openly declare for Horus. Their direct military might was extremely limited, as their PMC, Warp Raven Defense Incorporated, had never really taken off. What they did have was large amounts of ships and logistical infrastructure free to aid the Iron Warriors. This rear-end support was vital in spreading their heretical reach.
This, in turn, lead the privateers loyal to the VBSS to join the Imperial Fleet, likewise being some of the earliest to do so. Their expertise in commerce raiding was invaluable against their old enemies in the LTC. This service culminated in the Battle of Caribe IV near the end of the Horus Heresy.
Loyalist intelligence discovered that the LTC was assembling massive quantities of orbital fortifications around Caribe IV. It was theorized that the Company intended to make their world nigh-unassailable while the bulk of the Navy was busy elsewhere. The VBSS, under the command of Admiral Elizabeth Turner, was sent to the planet disrupt the construction of these orbital defenses.
However, this intelligence was inaccurate. Many fortifications were built, but as the VBSS discovered when they arrived in the Caribe system, this was to provide added security for a massive Warp ritual, one requiring a truly obscene number of sacrifices.
The VBSS charged forward to stop this ritual, despite being significantly outgunned. Through their hatred and steely determination, they succeeded in disrupting the ritual and putting the entirety of the Lancaster Trading Company to the sword. As a reward, the surviving officers of the VBSS were granted rulership of Caribe IV. Soon, it became apparent that the Lancastrian Ritual was not without effect.
Derelict ships had been a relatively common sight amongst the orbitals of Caribe IV since time immemorial, the result of a convergence of warp currents along with warp geography that was conducive to vessels being yanked out of the Warp if they weren't careful. This phenomenon was and is popularly referred to as the Saragass Vortex. The Company used this quirk of geography to gain salvage and the occasional batch of debt-slaves.
Now though, those derelicts had an obscenely high chance of being packed with hostile Xenos, insane Chaos worshippers, or both. This destroyed any chance of Caribe IV being used of a major trade hub as previously hoped. There were many in the Aetelian nobility who wished to use this as a weapon against the new Sector Governor, even going so far as to call it the "Second New Helvetica Scandal", referring to a similar debacle which happened shortly after the Great Crusade arrived in the Aetelian Sector.
However, little would ever come of this "scandal", as the new rulers of Caribe IV were far from adverse to this change in fortunes. On the contrary, said rulers, being a collection of quasi-involuntarily retired privateers, were overjoyed at being able to both continue their former profession and be back in port in time for dinner most days. Thus, taking over and scrapping hostile ships became a major pillar of the Caribean economy.
Many of these vessels were once part of the Imperial Navy before falling to enemies without and/or within, so repair yards were built so as to return them to their rightful duties. This, in turn, led Battlefleet Aetelian to send their damaged ships to Caribe IV for repairs or occasionally salvage, as the Saragass Vortex makes towing crippled warships there relatively easy. Thus, Caribe IV became host to one of the largest shipyards in the Aetelian Sector. The Caribe Yards may be mostly focused on repair and salvage work, but those new builds that are manufactured have gained quite a reputation in the Sector. More specifically such vessels are known to be capable, also bearing a somewhat disproportionate amount of Archeotech components compared to the Aetelian average.
Famous Foes of Caribe IV.
Alas, the Saragass Vortex does not just bring minor threats easily purged by a team of Armsmen. Caribe IV would never have received Fortress World status if that was the case. Quite a few fleets have exited the Saragass Vortex to be met by the heroic Caribean SDF. Fortunately, such exits almost universally involve said fleet's Warp Engines being destroyed, else the neighboring systems would never know peace. These are but a few of the most notorious invaders.
Grimjaw Ironmuncha
Grimjaw Ironmuncha was a Warboss, little different from the countless others who have been slain in the Caribe system save for his timing. He was the first Warboss to attack Caribe IV during the Turner Dynasty. At the time, SDF protocols were focused primarily around taking enemy vessels as intact as possible so as to maximize the salvage value. Orbital weapons platforms were few and far between. This boarding-focused strategy backfired horribly against an Ork Waaagh, leading to horrendous casualties. Afterwards, much more funding went to more conventional orbital defenses, starting with the Ironmuncha's End series of orbital weapons platforms. This in turn started a tradition of naming protective measures directly or indirectly after prominent enemies which continues to this day.
Ghostmen
The Ghostmen were a Xenos race of unknown provenance which attacked Caribe IV in M33. They were named as such due to their ships' ability to phase in and out of reality. This allowed them to bypass the void defenses of Caribe IV in order to attack the world directly. The resulting disruption to food production caused millions of deaths before emergency aid could be purchased from a nearby Agriworld. The Exorcist Planetary Defense Network built shortly thereafter would be instrumental in preventing another such disaster
The Fleshwarper Cabal
Proof that high quality can overcome a lack of quantity in terms of threats, the Fleshwarper Cabal was a group of Thousand Sons Sorcerers who infiltrated the Caribe system aboard the derelict Ithacan Wisdom. They then ambushed small kill teams of armsmen in order to capture them. Once captured, they would be mutated and turned into sleeper agents. Once the ship they were on was almost cleared, they would perform a vile ritual to teleport to a fresh one, and the cycle would repeat. Eventually, the Cabal subverted enough Caribeans that they were able to attack the local Ordo Xenos outpost, steal several incredibly rare texts of Xenos lore, and steal an almost finished Sword Class Frigate to escape. Said outpost's patron, Inquisitor Elliot Rossio, then spent the next few years hunting the Cabal down, a task he eventually succeeded at.
Although the tomes were eventually recovered intact, such a betrayal could not be allowed to happen again. Armsmen were equipped with cameras that recorded their actions and were screened for mutations after, this set of precautions would be known as the Puresight Protocols. Alas, said protocols would be proven to be insufficient.
Vas'sak, the Chief Herald of Inevitable Doom
Vas'sak was the leader of a nomadic Nurgle-worshipping Xenos race known as the Heralds. He used his powers of divination along with certain malefic artifacts to foresee the likely ends of Imperial worlds. He then used his army and/or his unholy order of biomancers, known as the Doctors of Vengeance, mimic the successful tactics of the future foes. He had managed to totally depopulate several Imperial worlds using these tactics, and intended to add Caribe IV to the list.
The Doctors of Vengeance created a horrific disease, the Plague of the Seventh Generation. This disease, spread through custom biological constructs that were planted in derelict ships bound for Caribe IV, was insidious indeed. The Plague would have no obvious effects on the infected at first, but it would taint their children, making them more and more corrupted in mind, body, and soul with each passing generation. Seven generations after the first infection, the Heralds attacked, supported by a large rebellion by their mutant agents.
Caribe IV survived long enough for aid to arrive from the greater Imperium, although it was far too close for comfort. Half of the Caribean population was dead or corrupted, and they were forced to rely upon their allies on Gibson III to provide garrison troops for years afterwards until their PDF could be rebuilt.
The Heralds suffered lossses as well, which provoked the Gravebringers Warband to launch an attack against them in order to steal their secrets and accursed artifacts. They were successful in their efforts to destroy the Heralds, but were then destroyed in turn by several regiments of Yamunan Gravekeepers led by a secretly Radical Inquisitor. Those vile artifacts wielded by the Heralds are now secured on Jalente after the execution of said Inquisitor.
Afterwards, the Puresight protocols were greatly expanded to encompass the civilian population. Bathhouses were constructed and public bathing strongly encouraged so as to make hiding mutations extremely difficult. Random mutation checks of important civilians became common. Most importantly, a branch of the Order of the Healing Veil was established in Caribe IV. These Hospitallers were and still are provided with large amounts of funding to ensure that no similar tragedy could occur again. These defenses have proven to be invaluable against the Genestealer Cults which are a perennial threat, destroying them while they are in their infancy.
Trivia:
Despite the name, Caribe IV is the only planet in its system. The name is either a reference to unknown planets that were destroyed during the Age of Strife or a corruption of the original name.
Young Caribean Highborn are expected to lead at least one salvaging expedition into a hostile alien ship, with most performing this duty far more frequently than that. This makes them well suited for service leading Naval Armsmen, as does the Caribean Naval Academy's focus on the subject.
Caribean Captains are fairly common in the Imperial Navy in command of Raiders, Frigates, and Light Cruisers, but rare amongst capital ship commands. This is partly due to avocation, partly due to concerns regarding the usage of Caribean fleet doctrine with capital ships.
The planet of Caribe proper acts as an Ocean/Agri-World, dedicated to feeding the Voidborn population above through fishing and aquaculture. The need to protect said foodstuffs from the various sea monsters inhabiting said world has given birth to quite a few well-regarded Guard regiments, albeit ones that aren't particularly useful outside of planetside naval operations.
While the shipyards of Caribe IV specialize in repair and salvage operations, they do produce some new builds as well, mostly escorts and the occasional cruiser.
The original VBSS ships are held in high regard by the people of Caribe IV and the Imperial Navy in general. As such, whenever one is destroyed, whatever salvageable pieces remain are sent to Caribe IV. They are then integrated into a newly built ship of the same class and name. The people of Caribe IV are willing to go to great lengths to retrieve such a vessel, be it by purchasing it from certain Kinbands or, as in one particularly infamous case, hiring mercenaries to forcibly "reclaim" it from the scrapyards of Otabrossa.
Addendum: The Brethren's Code
Ignorant outsiders often consider the Brethren's Code (usually shortened to just "the Code") just write it off a local ethical code, one of countless many in the Imperium of Man. However, while the Code might have begun that way, it has long since evolved into something which more closely resembles a shared persona.
Those that follow the Code are generally brave, gregarious, and more than slightly promiscuous. They are happy to cheat a man in a friendly game of cards, but not to cheat him of his life savings. Their derring-do at the helm of a Cruiser strikes fear into the heart of the enemy, as well as their superiors at the thought of them at the helm of something larger. In short, they do their very best to embody the "Swashbuckling Adventurer" archetype that can be found in media across the length and breadth of the Imperium.
This is likely a coping mechanism for the incredible stresses that the people of Caribe IV suffer under, for they are particularly cursed amongst Fortress World. At least the defenders of Cadia know what foes they are likely to face. The people of Caribe IV could, and indeed have, faced Orks one week, Chaos the next, and the last remnants of horrific minor Xenos race that considers children delicacies the week after that. This would explain why the lowborn of Caribe IV follow their own variant of the Code.
It is important to note that the Code does not preclude the use of strategic thinking. Indeed, many of the Caribean Highborn are highly skilled in this regard, and it is extremely rare to find one whose skills are below-average. This is likely due to survivorship bias, as those who can't reconcile the Code and military strategy tend not to survive their martial duties.
AN: This planet was meant to be a quick one to relax after my previous one turned so massive, but I obviously failed horribly on that front. I made it mostly from Pirates of the Caribbean references and some stuff that got left on the cutting room floor for another world I am working on. One of those aspects was "World that would be an ideal place for a Genestealer Cult if it wasn't a horrible place for such a cult". The Saragass Vortex even interferes enough with the whole "Genestealers guiding Hive Fleets" thing that they can't even do that.
As for Gibson III, that's another planet I've been working on for a while. It's a rather cyberpunk world, with augmentation common as muck and corporate sabotage even more prevalent. It's a place where even the lowest peasant family can become nobles if they can obtain the necessary funds over generations, which leads to a political scene that can be politely termed as "vibrant". Less politely, the politics there are more lethal than some Death Worlds. This has resulted in Gibsonian nobles (working name) being some of the best at playing dirty. Still, if you can build a true bond with them, then you've got a friend for life, and Caribe IV managed to do so.
"While I would love to get you back to your homeworld, I'm afraid that we needed to expend quite a significant amount of resources on saving your life. My apologies, but you will need to pay back your current debt before we can even begin to talk about arranging your transportation", Overseer William Beckett, to a recently acquired debt-slave, M30.
"Baron-Captain Carver is a good lord. He pays us well and takes no liberties which are not freely given. He'd be a perfect Highborn were it not for the fact that he's, by his own admission, quite mad".
Foreman John Saunders, to a new arrival on Caribe IV. M40
"You call me mad, and you not wrong. However, this is a madness of my own choosing, a way to spite the cruelty of the universe. The path I walk is not an easy one, and I don't blame anyone for not wanting to follow me. Those bastards, they take that choice away from people. They force them into a madness not of their choosing, and that is a sin which is beyond forgiveness.
Edward Reid, Caribean Highborn explaining how his people's philosophy differs from that of the Ruinous Powers.
Classification: Fortress World
Administratum Tithe: Exactis Median
Population: 50 Billion
Capital: Shipwreck Point (orbital station)
Day Cicle Duration (In terran standard): 33 Hours
History:
Before the coming of the Great Crusade, Caribe IV was ruled by the Lancaster Trading Company, an incredibly vicious interstellar cartel. Their crimes ran the gamut, from corporate espionage and assassination to leonine contracts and hidden clauses to debt slavery, chattel slavery, and exploitation of low-technology worlds. If there was a dishonest way for them to boost profits, then the Company was probably performing it.
What they were most known for though, was their use of privateers. The Lancaster Trading Company hired just about any pirate with more greed than scruples. Said privateers were used to force rivals off of trade routes the LTC wished to monopolize, or in other words, just about all of their trade routes. This resulted in a coalition of their enemies, creatively titled the Free Trade Coalition, hiring privateers of their own. Naturally, a vicious trade war ensued.
It was into this mess that the Great Crusade fleet arrived. They were asked to serve as a mediators, or failing that, a neutral force in order to prevent the conflict from escalating. This placed the Imperial diplomats into a very awkward position. They could not show any bias towards one side or the other, lest their lack of neutrality damage attempts at diplomatic annexation elsewhere in the Sector. However, the LTC possessed significant advantages over their rivals, yet could not be allowed to win. The Company's neo-mercantilist doctrine would strangle the Aetelian economy if allowed to spread.
In the end, a compromise was reached. The LTC would hold on to their contracted trade routes so long as they kept up a certain level of activity upon them. This was a significant victory, as most of these contracts were signed under questionable circumstances and potentially subject to nullification by the Imperium.
Meanwhile the FTC received a guarantee from the Imperium that they would not allow the Company to launch any other acts against them beyond privateering or what would be acceptable in normal business circumstances. Their leadership correctly figured that they could obtain more outside investment if said investors didn't need to fear assassination. Said investment allowed them to compete on a relatively level playing field with the LTC.
The Imperium won greatly in negotiations. They gained full authority over the ongoing trade conflict. All privateers working for either side would have to be a part of one of two PMC's assembled specifically for this purpose under the supervision of the Imperium. Any such privateer who "has demonstrated a willingness to go beyond the bounds of civilized warfare" would be hunted down by the Imperial Navy.
The resulting purges were far more thorough than either the Company or Coalition expected. The Navy used the past tense of the aforementioned clause to justify eliminating any who had committed such deeds before the Crusade's arrival. The FTC lost quite a few privateers, as they had not been in a position to refuse assistance, no matter the moral character of the offerer. The LTC, however, had most of their privateer fleets wiped from the map, as such cruelties were more often than not encouraged by their corporate handlers so as to dissuade the opposition.
All of this combined to doom the Company to a slow but inexorable decline. Their trade routes were taken as the Free Trade Coalition used their military superiority to force their operations to a low enough level that the counterparties could break the contract. Said Coalition then used their superior reputation and equal financial might to move in and capture much of the newly freed up supply and/or demand.
The LTC complained to anyone who would listen of the Imperium's bias, but it is a rare soul who will hear out complaints about unrepentant rapists and mass murderers being brought to justice. The other benefits the FTC received were considered by the Aetelian community, not incorrectly, to be fair when valued against the questionable contracts the Imperium signed off on.
The rage of the executives was exasperated by just who led these efforts. Elizabeth Turner was the leader of the FTC-aligned PMC, Void Bretheren Security Solutions. Turner was actually the daughter of a moderately high level LTC executive. Roughly 17 years before the Imperium arrived, she had joined a pirate crew opposing the LTC, and her charisma, political savvy, and leadership skills allowed her to quickly become Captain. This was partly due to moral outrage, partly because she wished for greater freedom than the regressive traditional gender norms of Caribe IV would allow.
As such, the executives of the LTC were easily seduced into worshipping Tzeentch. They were some of the first in the Sector to openly declare for Horus. Their direct military might was extremely limited, as their PMC, Warp Raven Defense Incorporated, had never really taken off. What they did have was large amounts of ships and logistical infrastructure free to aid the Iron Warriors. This rear-end support was vital in spreading their heretical reach.
This, in turn, lead the privateers loyal to the VBSS to join the Imperial Fleet, likewise being some of the earliest to do so. Their expertise in commerce raiding was invaluable against their old enemies in the LTC. This service culminated in the Battle of Caribe IV near the end of the Horus Heresy.
Loyalist intelligence discovered that the LTC was assembling massive quantities of orbital fortifications around Caribe IV. It was theorized that the Company intended to make their world nigh-unassailable while the bulk of the Navy was busy elsewhere. The VBSS, under the command of Admiral Elizabeth Turner, was sent to the planet disrupt the construction of these orbital defenses.
However, this intelligence was inaccurate. Many fortifications were built, but as the VBSS discovered when they arrived in the Caribe system, this was to provide added security for a massive Warp ritual, one requiring a truly obscene number of sacrifices.
The VBSS charged forward to stop this ritual, despite being significantly outgunned. Through their hatred and steely determination, they succeeded in disrupting the ritual and putting the entirety of the Lancaster Trading Company to the sword. As a reward, the surviving officers of the VBSS were granted rulership of Caribe IV. Soon, it became apparent that the Lancastrian Ritual was not without effect.
Derelict ships had been a relatively common sight amongst the orbitals of Caribe IV since time immemorial, the result of a convergence of warp currents along with warp geography that was conducive to vessels being yanked out of the Warp if they weren't careful. This phenomenon was and is popularly referred to as the Saragass Vortex. The Company used this quirk of geography to gain salvage and the occasional batch of debt-slaves.
Now though, those derelicts had an obscenely high chance of being packed with hostile Xenos, insane Chaos worshippers, or both. This destroyed any chance of Caribe IV being used of a major trade hub as previously hoped. There were many in the Aetelian nobility who wished to use this as a weapon against the new Sector Governor, even going so far as to call it the "Second New Helvetica Scandal", referring to a similar debacle which happened shortly after the Great Crusade arrived in the Aetelian Sector.
However, little would ever come of this "scandal", as the new rulers of Caribe IV were far from adverse to this change in fortunes. On the contrary, said rulers, being a collection of quasi-involuntarily retired privateers, were overjoyed at being able to both continue their former profession and be back in port in time for dinner most days. Thus, taking over and scrapping hostile ships became a major pillar of the Caribean economy.
Many of these vessels were once part of the Imperial Navy before falling to enemies without and/or within, so repair yards were built so as to return them to their rightful duties. This, in turn, led Battlefleet Aetelian to send their damaged ships to Caribe IV for repairs or occasionally salvage, as the Saragass Vortex makes towing crippled warships there relatively easy. Thus, Caribe IV became host to one of the largest shipyards in the Aetelian Sector. The Caribe Yards may be mostly focused on repair and salvage work, but those new builds that are manufactured have gained quite a reputation in the Sector. More specifically such vessels are known to be capable, also bearing a somewhat disproportionate amount of Archeotech components compared to the Aetelian average.
Famous Foes of Caribe IV.
Alas, the Saragass Vortex does not just bring minor threats easily purged by a team of Armsmen. Caribe IV would never have received Fortress World status if that was the case. Quite a few fleets have exited the Saragass Vortex to be met by the heroic Caribean SDF. Fortunately, such exits almost universally involve said fleet's Warp Engines being destroyed, else the neighboring systems would never know peace. These are but a few of the most notorious invaders.
Grimjaw Ironmuncha
Grimjaw Ironmuncha was a Warboss, little different from the countless others who have been slain in the Caribe system save for his timing. He was the first Warboss to attack Caribe IV during the Turner Dynasty. At the time, SDF protocols were focused primarily around taking enemy vessels as intact as possible so as to maximize the salvage value. Orbital weapons platforms were few and far between. This boarding-focused strategy backfired horribly against an Ork Waaagh, leading to horrendous casualties. Afterwards, much more funding went to more conventional orbital defenses, starting with the Ironmuncha's End series of orbital weapons platforms. This in turn started a tradition of naming protective measures directly or indirectly after prominent enemies which continues to this day.
Ghostmen
The Ghostmen were a Xenos race of unknown provenance which attacked Caribe IV in M33. They were named as such due to their ships' ability to phase in and out of reality. This allowed them to bypass the void defenses of Caribe IV in order to attack the world directly. The resulting disruption to food production caused millions of deaths before emergency aid could be purchased from a nearby Agriworld. The Exorcist Planetary Defense Network built shortly thereafter would be instrumental in preventing another such disaster
The Fleshwarper Cabal
Proof that high quality can overcome a lack of quantity in terms of threats, the Fleshwarper Cabal was a group of Thousand Sons Sorcerers who infiltrated the Caribe system aboard the derelict Ithacan Wisdom. They then ambushed small kill teams of armsmen in order to capture them. Once captured, they would be mutated and turned into sleeper agents. Once the ship they were on was almost cleared, they would perform a vile ritual to teleport to a fresh one, and the cycle would repeat. Eventually, the Cabal subverted enough Caribeans that they were able to attack the local Ordo Xenos outpost, steal several incredibly rare texts of Xenos lore, and steal an almost finished Sword Class Frigate to escape. Said outpost's patron, Inquisitor Elliot Rossio, then spent the next few years hunting the Cabal down, a task he eventually succeeded at.
Although the tomes were eventually recovered intact, such a betrayal could not be allowed to happen again. Armsmen were equipped with cameras that recorded their actions and were screened for mutations after, this set of precautions would be known as the Puresight Protocols. Alas, said protocols would be proven to be insufficient.
Vas'sak, the Chief Herald of Inevitable Doom
Vas'sak was the leader of a nomadic Nurgle-worshipping Xenos race known as the Heralds. He used his powers of divination along with certain malefic artifacts to foresee the likely ends of Imperial worlds. He then used his army and/or his unholy order of biomancers, known as the Doctors of Vengeance, mimic the successful tactics of the future foes. He had managed to totally depopulate several Imperial worlds using these tactics, and intended to add Caribe IV to the list.
The Doctors of Vengeance created a horrific disease, the Plague of the Seventh Generation. This disease, spread through custom biological constructs that were planted in derelict ships bound for Caribe IV, was insidious indeed. The Plague would have no obvious effects on the infected at first, but it would taint their children, making them more and more corrupted in mind, body, and soul with each passing generation. Seven generations after the first infection, the Heralds attacked, supported by a large rebellion by their mutant agents.
Caribe IV survived long enough for aid to arrive from the greater Imperium, although it was far too close for comfort. Half of the Caribean population was dead or corrupted, and they were forced to rely upon their allies on Gibson III to provide garrison troops for years afterwards until their PDF could be rebuilt.
The Heralds suffered lossses as well, which provoked the Gravebringers Warband to launch an attack against them in order to steal their secrets and accursed artifacts. They were successful in their efforts to destroy the Heralds, but were then destroyed in turn by several regiments of Yamunan Gravekeepers led by a secretly Radical Inquisitor. Those vile artifacts wielded by the Heralds are now secured on Jalente after the execution of said Inquisitor.
Afterwards, the Puresight protocols were greatly expanded to encompass the civilian population. Bathhouses were constructed and public bathing strongly encouraged so as to make hiding mutations extremely difficult. Random mutation checks of important civilians became common. Most importantly, a branch of the Order of the Healing Veil was established in Caribe IV. These Hospitallers were and still are provided with large amounts of funding to ensure that no similar tragedy could occur again. These defenses have proven to be invaluable against the Genestealer Cults which are a perennial threat, destroying them while they are in their infancy.
Trivia:
Despite the name, Caribe IV is the only planet in its system. The name is either a reference to unknown planets that were destroyed during the Age of Strife or a corruption of the original name.
Young Caribean Highborn are expected to lead at least one salvaging expedition into a hostile alien ship, with most performing this duty far more frequently than that. This makes them well suited for service leading Naval Armsmen, as does the Caribean Naval Academy's focus on the subject.
Caribean Captains are fairly common in the Imperial Navy in command of Raiders, Frigates, and Light Cruisers, but rare amongst capital ship commands. This is partly due to avocation, partly due to concerns regarding the usage of Caribean fleet doctrine with capital ships.
The planet of Caribe proper acts as an Ocean/Agri-World, dedicated to feeding the Voidborn population above through fishing and aquaculture. The need to protect said foodstuffs from the various sea monsters inhabiting said world has given birth to quite a few well-regarded Guard regiments, albeit ones that aren't particularly useful outside of planetside naval operations.
While the shipyards of Caribe IV specialize in repair and salvage operations, they do produce some new builds as well, mostly escorts and the occasional cruiser.
The original VBSS ships are held in high regard by the people of Caribe IV and the Imperial Navy in general. As such, whenever one is destroyed, whatever salvageable pieces remain are sent to Caribe IV. They are then integrated into a newly built ship of the same class and name. The people of Caribe IV are willing to go to great lengths to retrieve such a vessel, be it by purchasing it from certain Kinbands or, as in one particularly infamous case, hiring mercenaries to forcibly "reclaim" it from the scrapyards of Otabrossa.
Addendum: The Brethren's Code
Ignorant outsiders often consider the Brethren's Code (usually shortened to just "the Code") just write it off a local ethical code, one of countless many in the Imperium of Man. However, while the Code might have begun that way, it has long since evolved into something which more closely resembles a shared persona.
Those that follow the Code are generally brave, gregarious, and more than slightly promiscuous. They are happy to cheat a man in a friendly game of cards, but not to cheat him of his life savings. Their derring-do at the helm of a Cruiser strikes fear into the heart of the enemy, as well as their superiors at the thought of them at the helm of something larger. In short, they do their very best to embody the "Swashbuckling Adventurer" archetype that can be found in media across the length and breadth of the Imperium.
This is likely a coping mechanism for the incredible stresses that the people of Caribe IV suffer under, for they are particularly cursed amongst Fortress World. At least the defenders of Cadia know what foes they are likely to face. The people of Caribe IV could, and indeed have, faced Orks one week, Chaos the next, and the last remnants of horrific minor Xenos race that considers children delicacies the week after that. This would explain why the lowborn of Caribe IV follow their own variant of the Code.
It is important to note that the Code does not preclude the use of strategic thinking. Indeed, many of the Caribean Highborn are highly skilled in this regard, and it is extremely rare to find one whose skills are below-average. This is likely due to survivorship bias, as those who can't reconcile the Code and military strategy tend not to survive their martial duties.
AN: This planet was meant to be a quick one to relax after my previous one turned so massive, but I obviously failed horribly on that front. I made it mostly from Pirates of the Caribbean references and some stuff that got left on the cutting room floor for another world I am working on. One of those aspects was "World that would be an ideal place for a Genestealer Cult if it wasn't a horrible place for such a cult". The Saragass Vortex even interferes enough with the whole "Genestealers guiding Hive Fleets" thing that they can't even do that.
As for Gibson III, that's another planet I've been working on for a while. It's a rather cyberpunk world, with augmentation common as muck and corporate sabotage even more prevalent. It's a place where even the lowest peasant family can become nobles if they can obtain the necessary funds over generations, which leads to a political scene that can be politely termed as "vibrant". Less politely, the politics there are more lethal than some Death Worlds. This has resulted in Gibsonian nobles (working name) being some of the best at playing dirty. Still, if you can build a true bond with them, then you've got a friend for life, and Caribe IV managed to do so.
Nicely done! I liked the conversation with the Daemon and the riddles he says, and I find the meeting with Harker scalating funny, with it being tenser with the Thousand Sons than with the Night Lords. Although I am curious as to what background Amenthes is. Bonus to the Chief Librarian action this turn.
Pirates of the Caribbean IN SPACE! I really like how detailed the Omake is and how you have written the evolution of the world after suffering from various enemies. Only minor nitpick is the mention of Guard regiments when this world is clearly Navy related, but otherwise this is great. Canonized
PIRATES!!! This is a cool world I never thought I would see a world in warhammer with a pirate culture. Also Otabrossa called they want their salvage back 😁
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Regions and oddities of the Aetelian Sector 2
Regions and oddities of the Aetelian Sector
Shogunate of Boshin: The Shogunate was the name of the selection of planets that were formerly tributaries of Boshin, these include
-Taicang: Mining world, Jungle World, resource extractions halted due to genestealer outbreak
-Kalagon: Mining world, Savanna World, resources depleted, pending recategorisation as Civilised World
-Bataan: Agri World, Continental World, soil fertility drastically decreased, pending recategorization as Civilised World
-Laha: Former Agri World, Former Ocean World, dislocated from the Gol-De-Lok zone by a rogue asteroid, reassigned as Dead World
-Sook Ching: Industrial World, Continental World, output reduced due to mass purges following a failed genestealer rebellion
The Badlands: The badlands encompases the region of the Ditú Subsector that lies in close proximity to the Coreward regions of space, its worlds are:
-Gygax Primus: Frontier World, Continental World, frequently raided by the Nekulli
-Urlak Krai: Civilized World, Ice World, frequently raided by the Aenos
-Madain: Feral World, Desert World, currently contested between orks and a regiment of the Durrutian Volunteers
-Harlaw: Feudal World, Ocean World, the Wensington Rogue Trader dynasty has strong relations with the planet.
The Path of Glory: The Path of Glory is a mayor warp route that leads towards the Galilean Sector to the south and ends near the Magelanic Gate, a dormant warp gate.
The Boneway: The Boneway is the warp route that connects the Cassioan Sector to the Aetelian sector and the Luxeran sector, from which it continues towards the Eastern Rim, ending near the Realm of Ultramar. The Boneway leads directly to the Maelstrom Extraction Zone and is heavily patroled.
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- Location
- Texas
Ah sorry, will edit to include what it was, Amenthes is the Reluctant Doubter. Since that is the only non-psycher origin.
I considered that, but I figured that the Guard wouldn't be willing to give up recruiting rights just because it's a Navy world.
Anyways, while I appreciate the compliment, I'm hoping to keep my next omake a fair bit shorter for the sake of my sanity. Not sure I'll succeed, given my track record I probably won't, but I'll try.
Crazy part is that this whole "heroic swashbuckler" thing is a canon subculture. Said individuals are said to act that way either as a way to ensure a more positive reputation amongst law abiding citizens or as a way to deal with the cruelty of the universe.
Guide to the Planets of the Aetelian Sector: Poltara/Zeon
Poltara & Zeon
Classification: Civilized world / Industrial World
Administratum Tithe: Decuma Prima / Exactis Tertius
Population: 17 Billion / 43 Billion
Capital: Kirama City / Va-Nox
Day Cicle Duration (In terran standard): 25 hours / 21 hours
"Let me let you in on a little secret, real power, real freedom doesn't come to those who were born the smartest, or strongest or wealthiest. No. It comes to those who will do anything to achieve it." – Silco Zabi upon the discovery of the "Compound S" STC fragment.
"We will strive for the enforcement of order across the imperium and show those who have been lost to the emperors light the truth of their mistake!"- Colonel Anissa Kiramman of the 101st Poltarian Enforcers, during the first mustering of the regiment.
"FOR THE EMPEROR, FOR ZEON!!!", - Battle-cry of the Zeon Chem-Rats
"FOR LOYALTY, FOR ORDER, FOR THE EMPEROR!!"- Battle-cry of the Poltarian Enforcers
Overview:
Located in the Karostei sub-sector of the Aetelian Sector, Poltara was found by the imperium in 456.M32. At first many of the nobles resisted joining the imperium, as they saw no benefit to joining, but many of the merchant class and lesser nobles were persuaded by the offers of trade benefits and assistance in industrial build up, so a brief coup ensued and, in the end, Poltara joined the imperium. At this time the nobles of Poltara had spent a lot of effort on maintaining the natural beauty of the planet so they had a limited amount of production faculties on world with most being ether in orbital stations or on Poltara's colony moon of Zeon. Poltara prospered under the imperium becoming known for their manufacturing of luxury goods and being the spot to visit for vacationing nobles and imperial military officers.
It was in 234.M34 when Poltara's fortunes seemed to skyrocket. On the moon of Zeon, a poltarian foreman and his guards were inspecting one of the production facilities in the middle levels when an explosion caused one of the cave walls to collapse. After the dust cleared it revealed a previously undiscovered cavern, an expedition went out and they happened upon a vault that was later discovered to be from humanities DAoT, what was discovered inside was an STC fragment, for the "Hexus power core". Despite the few voices wanting to keep the STC fragment for themselves the Poltarian nobles decided against it knowing how valued STC's are by the mechanicus, so they immediately contacted the forge world of Milan. Milan sent a delegation to retrieve the fragment almost immediately and upon analysing the STC for authenticity the tech priest expressed everlasting gratitude to the people of Poltara for the recovery of a sacred relic of the Omnissiah.
It was discovered that the hexus core when installed in any type of technology can increase the power and output of whatever it was installed in by 20%. There were however several downsides of this first is that the hexus cores were difficult and time consuming to produce, and similarly to plasma technology hexus cores need to cycle every now and then to prevent the core from melting down. along with the fact that eventually the core will degrade and need to be replaced.
As a reward for finding such a valuable labour of the ancients, Milan rewarded Poltara with full access to both the hexus cores and any tech patterns that would be produced with it. This reward became a symbol of pride for the people of Poltara as they were the only planet outside of the mechanicus with full access to this tech. With the help of some Milanese tech priests Poltara developed a culture of finding new uses for already existing technology. Several new tech patterns were developed such as the Enforcement-pattern power shield and the Piltover-pattern lasgun.
However, as Poltara rose in standing Zeon started to fall, Poltara was now in the need for more equipment and resources which was mostly provided by Zeon. With demand increasing for both the new tech and the tithe many rebellious movements started to pop up takes about independence from Poltara. What really allow for this rebellion to gain more momentum was the discovery of "Compound S". After the discovery of the hexus core STC fragment both Poltarian authorities and Milan expedition turned the cavern and vault upside down searching for anything else that may point to another STC or fragment, unfortunately they found nothing. However, in 785.M35 further down in the lower levels of Zeon capital of Va-nox a mining expedition found another vault in it they discovered STC fragment for a chemical that would later be called "Compound S" or Chem S. The miners who found the fragment gave it to Silco Zabi the leader of the independence movement of Zeon. Knowing of the feud between Smilnay and Milan, Silco hired a warp capable ship to take him to Smilnay there he personally gave the fragment to the fabricator general. Because of the situation with Milan and Poltara and seeing a prime opportunity to for vengeance against Milan, the tech priests of Smilnay, made a similar deal that was made between Milan and Poltara, where Zeon would get access to the chemical any tech made with it.
Compound S upon further study was discovered to be a highly potent physical enhancement drug when ingested by an unaugmented human their strength will temporarily be doubled, the downsides of this were that the compound is addictive and will have diminishing returns overtime with the user needing to ingest more to get similar results, eventually constant use will kill the user. Even further study revealed that when the compound had an electrical current sent through it, the compound would act like a fuel source, being able to power almost anything from mechanical limps to weapons, to ships, the downside of this was that the compound had to be properly cooled in order to prevent the compound from exploding from the constant use, along with the fact that it became radioactive to the point where many types of radiation shielding didn't work on it.
Almost two centuries after this exchange in 964.M35 what would become known as the independence war by Zeon and the Zeon uprising by Poltara, would ensue. Both sides making use of their mechanicus sanctioned tech, inflicting horrendous casualties on each other. A century after the war started Inquisitor Moris Santagar arrived and put a stop to the war by threating the leadership or both planets with being declared traitors. Not wanting to get on the bad side of the inquisition both parties agreed to a cease fire. Under the authority of Inquisitor Sanatagar, Zeon would gain independence from Poltara and Poltara would get war reparations from Zeon to rebuild infrastructure lost during the war.
In recent times Poltara and Zeon have a very cold relationship with each other, possibly influenced by their respective mechanicus backers. However, unlike Milan and Smilnay both worlds won't take every opportunity they have to undermine each other. Both worlds have agreed to leave each other alone to maintain each others wealth prosperity and power. The only outlier to this is the shared trade routes both planets share as well as the rivalry that both the Poltarian and Zeon guardsmen regiments have with each other.
-Poltara: A planet covered in large forests, mountains, and oceans, Poltara has retained much of its natural beauty, appearing almost completely untouched by pollution. Much of the human population live in 8 large cities across three continents with the capital of Kirama city being located just north of the equator. Several large predators such as Direcats, and Lycani roam the forests though they mostly don't attack humans. Many members of Poltara's nobility and middle class like to hunt as a hobby and most children know how to operate a weapon by the time they turn 10 years old.
Poltarian Enforcers: The Poltarian enforcers are the imperial guard regiment, raised on Poltara. They normally are recruited from the best of the planetary PDF; however, it is also considered a sign of strength for a child of poltara's nobility to volunteer. This regiment makes use of hexus powered tech in battle to better enhance their fighting potential although most of the more devastating and complicated tech is reserved for the veterans and officers. The enforcers specialize in siege and urban warfare.
-Zeon: Originally Zeon was a mountainous mining world known for having enough minerals to rivel planets like Milae. However, Poltara's demand for resource strip mined most of the useful resource from the planet and the world was shifted from a mining to industrial world although some minor mines still exist. The most dangerous part of Zeon is the polluted air in the under levels, the further down you go the denser and more toxic the air gets because of the toxic waste from the industrial complexes mixing with the remaining trace minerals left in some of the abandoned mines. Most Zeonite's who live in the lower levels die before they reach age 30.
Zeon Chem-rats: The Zeon Chem-rats are the imperial guard regiment, raised on Zeon. The are mostly recruited from the poor and desperate of the middle and lower levels, known for their resourcefulness and already present combat experience from all the fighting that happens in the lower levels. Zeon guardsmen are normally equipped in the standard cadian manner at the lower ranks but as you rise in rank your able to get access to more exclusive weapons and tech. This regiment also makes use of chem-tech and compound S to further enhance their fighting ability. Those who use Compound S are often used as suicide troops when they are getting highly hooked on the compound to save resources. The Chem-rats specialize in lighting strikes hitting their enemies hard and fast.
Trivia:
Authors Note: Hear it is my finished product. @ThunderOwl please let me know if anything else needs to be changed
Classification: Civilized world / Industrial World
Administratum Tithe: Decuma Prima / Exactis Tertius
Population: 17 Billion / 43 Billion
Capital: Kirama City / Va-Nox
Day Cicle Duration (In terran standard): 25 hours / 21 hours
"Let me let you in on a little secret, real power, real freedom doesn't come to those who were born the smartest, or strongest or wealthiest. No. It comes to those who will do anything to achieve it." – Silco Zabi upon the discovery of the "Compound S" STC fragment.
"We will strive for the enforcement of order across the imperium and show those who have been lost to the emperors light the truth of their mistake!"- Colonel Anissa Kiramman of the 101st Poltarian Enforcers, during the first mustering of the regiment.
"FOR THE EMPEROR, FOR ZEON!!!", - Battle-cry of the Zeon Chem-Rats
"FOR LOYALTY, FOR ORDER, FOR THE EMPEROR!!"- Battle-cry of the Poltarian Enforcers
Overview:
Located in the Karostei sub-sector of the Aetelian Sector, Poltara was found by the imperium in 456.M32. At first many of the nobles resisted joining the imperium, as they saw no benefit to joining, but many of the merchant class and lesser nobles were persuaded by the offers of trade benefits and assistance in industrial build up, so a brief coup ensued and, in the end, Poltara joined the imperium. At this time the nobles of Poltara had spent a lot of effort on maintaining the natural beauty of the planet so they had a limited amount of production faculties on world with most being ether in orbital stations or on Poltara's colony moon of Zeon. Poltara prospered under the imperium becoming known for their manufacturing of luxury goods and being the spot to visit for vacationing nobles and imperial military officers.
It was in 234.M34 when Poltara's fortunes seemed to skyrocket. On the moon of Zeon, a poltarian foreman and his guards were inspecting one of the production facilities in the middle levels when an explosion caused one of the cave walls to collapse. After the dust cleared it revealed a previously undiscovered cavern, an expedition went out and they happened upon a vault that was later discovered to be from humanities DAoT, what was discovered inside was an STC fragment, for the "Hexus power core". Despite the few voices wanting to keep the STC fragment for themselves the Poltarian nobles decided against it knowing how valued STC's are by the mechanicus, so they immediately contacted the forge world of Milan. Milan sent a delegation to retrieve the fragment almost immediately and upon analysing the STC for authenticity the tech priest expressed everlasting gratitude to the people of Poltara for the recovery of a sacred relic of the Omnissiah.
It was discovered that the hexus core when installed in any type of technology can increase the power and output of whatever it was installed in by 20%. There were however several downsides of this first is that the hexus cores were difficult and time consuming to produce, and similarly to plasma technology hexus cores need to cycle every now and then to prevent the core from melting down. along with the fact that eventually the core will degrade and need to be replaced.
As a reward for finding such a valuable labour of the ancients, Milan rewarded Poltara with full access to both the hexus cores and any tech patterns that would be produced with it. This reward became a symbol of pride for the people of Poltara as they were the only planet outside of the mechanicus with full access to this tech. With the help of some Milanese tech priests Poltara developed a culture of finding new uses for already existing technology. Several new tech patterns were developed such as the Enforcement-pattern power shield and the Piltover-pattern lasgun.
However, as Poltara rose in standing Zeon started to fall, Poltara was now in the need for more equipment and resources which was mostly provided by Zeon. With demand increasing for both the new tech and the tithe many rebellious movements started to pop up takes about independence from Poltara. What really allow for this rebellion to gain more momentum was the discovery of "Compound S". After the discovery of the hexus core STC fragment both Poltarian authorities and Milan expedition turned the cavern and vault upside down searching for anything else that may point to another STC or fragment, unfortunately they found nothing. However, in 785.M35 further down in the lower levels of Zeon capital of Va-nox a mining expedition found another vault in it they discovered STC fragment for a chemical that would later be called "Compound S" or Chem S. The miners who found the fragment gave it to Silco Zabi the leader of the independence movement of Zeon. Knowing of the feud between Smilnay and Milan, Silco hired a warp capable ship to take him to Smilnay there he personally gave the fragment to the fabricator general. Because of the situation with Milan and Poltara and seeing a prime opportunity to for vengeance against Milan, the tech priests of Smilnay, made a similar deal that was made between Milan and Poltara, where Zeon would get access to the chemical any tech made with it.
Compound S upon further study was discovered to be a highly potent physical enhancement drug when ingested by an unaugmented human their strength will temporarily be doubled, the downsides of this were that the compound is addictive and will have diminishing returns overtime with the user needing to ingest more to get similar results, eventually constant use will kill the user. Even further study revealed that when the compound had an electrical current sent through it, the compound would act like a fuel source, being able to power almost anything from mechanical limps to weapons, to ships, the downside of this was that the compound had to be properly cooled in order to prevent the compound from exploding from the constant use, along with the fact that it became radioactive to the point where many types of radiation shielding didn't work on it.
Almost two centuries after this exchange in 964.M35 what would become known as the independence war by Zeon and the Zeon uprising by Poltara, would ensue. Both sides making use of their mechanicus sanctioned tech, inflicting horrendous casualties on each other. A century after the war started Inquisitor Moris Santagar arrived and put a stop to the war by threating the leadership or both planets with being declared traitors. Not wanting to get on the bad side of the inquisition both parties agreed to a cease fire. Under the authority of Inquisitor Sanatagar, Zeon would gain independence from Poltara and Poltara would get war reparations from Zeon to rebuild infrastructure lost during the war.
In recent times Poltara and Zeon have a very cold relationship with each other, possibly influenced by their respective mechanicus backers. However, unlike Milan and Smilnay both worlds won't take every opportunity they have to undermine each other. Both worlds have agreed to leave each other alone to maintain each others wealth prosperity and power. The only outlier to this is the shared trade routes both planets share as well as the rivalry that both the Poltarian and Zeon guardsmen regiments have with each other.
-Poltara: A planet covered in large forests, mountains, and oceans, Poltara has retained much of its natural beauty, appearing almost completely untouched by pollution. Much of the human population live in 8 large cities across three continents with the capital of Kirama city being located just north of the equator. Several large predators such as Direcats, and Lycani roam the forests though they mostly don't attack humans. Many members of Poltara's nobility and middle class like to hunt as a hobby and most children know how to operate a weapon by the time they turn 10 years old.
Poltarian Enforcers: The Poltarian enforcers are the imperial guard regiment, raised on Poltara. They normally are recruited from the best of the planetary PDF; however, it is also considered a sign of strength for a child of poltara's nobility to volunteer. This regiment makes use of hexus powered tech in battle to better enhance their fighting potential although most of the more devastating and complicated tech is reserved for the veterans and officers. The enforcers specialize in siege and urban warfare.
-Zeon: Originally Zeon was a mountainous mining world known for having enough minerals to rivel planets like Milae. However, Poltara's demand for resource strip mined most of the useful resource from the planet and the world was shifted from a mining to industrial world although some minor mines still exist. The most dangerous part of Zeon is the polluted air in the under levels, the further down you go the denser and more toxic the air gets because of the toxic waste from the industrial complexes mixing with the remaining trace minerals left in some of the abandoned mines. Most Zeonite's who live in the lower levels die before they reach age 30.
Zeon Chem-rats: The Zeon Chem-rats are the imperial guard regiment, raised on Zeon. The are mostly recruited from the poor and desperate of the middle and lower levels, known for their resourcefulness and already present combat experience from all the fighting that happens in the lower levels. Zeon guardsmen are normally equipped in the standard cadian manner at the lower ranks but as you rise in rank your able to get access to more exclusive weapons and tech. This regiment also makes use of chem-tech and compound S to further enhance their fighting ability. Those who use Compound S are often used as suicide troops when they are getting highly hooked on the compound to save resources. The Chem-rats specialize in lighting strikes hitting their enemies hard and fast.
Trivia:
- Both Poltara and Zeon are ruled by a council of nobles with the chairmen of these councils acting as the "governor" to the wider imperium.
- Zeon has had multiple rebellions revolt against them however most end up destroying themselves do to infighting and the rest are wiped out by the Zeon Arbities.
- Poltara distils an alcohol called "Cosmos wine" which is popular among the officer corp of the imperial navy.
- One of the few things that Zeon and Poltara will admit to having in common is their tolerance of abhuman races, with several races like Ogryns, Ratlings, Felinids and Beastmen, being treated as equals on both worlds.
Authors Note: Hear it is my finished product. @ThunderOwl please let me know if anything else needs to be changed
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View: https://youtube.com/shorts/9EiMb8W4F9o?si=Naf5ljuj2US9vkEL
A luctusian instrument
(Also if our chapter had a theme it would be with this instrument)
Very much the witcher style music
Adrian XXIV
Average User, from Poland
- Location
- Poland
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Honestly, "Compound S" sounds like something used on Nuceria "instead of Butcher's Nails" in Slaaneshi!Angron AU
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Sounds like something that can be used and abused by penal legions, sisters repentia, or arco flagellants.
Looks good. Canonized.
Adrian XXIV
Average User, from Poland
- Location
- Poland
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Do Sororitas still use Prioris-pattern Exorcist Battle Tanks?
The major orders might have a few. The Order of the Thorned Spear didn't have any to start with.