The Liber Cluster

[Nomus Sardauk]

OK, how about...

 

Aetheric Swords: Brother Jaran Stormhound

Wargear: Bolter, Combat Knives (maybe a Bolt Pistol to go with the knives)

 

I'm seeing him as a tracker - an expert in reading tracks, moving (comparatively) quietly and picking out hidden details.

The knives are mostly used for tasks that require minimal noise, such as ambushes or sneak attacks, but the Bolter is for when noise level isn't an issue.

I like him, the Killteam could use a man of Jaran's talents given where I have them going, although he might need something bigger than a couple knives... ;)

 

I like the idea of an eviscerator and perhaps a jump pack for the Angel Exultant. Barin for a name, perhaps.

The Eviscerator is good, although I'm unsure on the jump pack, might make his identity a bit obvious.

 

Did we decide on wargear for Brother-Devotee Clasticus? A combi-flamer and a power maul spring to mind... :D

Sounds fitting for a Conflagrator, break their legs, drag'em into the pile and light'em up, nice.

[Teetengee]

Aren't assault marines the only space marines with eviscerators these days? (hence my reasoning, actually)

[Conn Eremon]

Tabletop rules do not encompass the whole of possibility within the setting.

[Teetengee]

Tabletop rules do not encompass the whole of possibility within the setting.

Absolutely, I tend to think they just represent the more common options (on a unit by unit basis). Hence Eviscerator+Jump Pack might be less conspicuous than just an eviscerator. I really don't have enough knowledge to say.

[Nomus Sardauk]

Okay, so that's Jaran the Aetheric Sword & Barin the Angel Exultant Blackshield named and equipped, all that remains are the Iron Ravager, the Blackjaw Kindred and the Son of Calderon Blackshield Dreadnought (if I decide to include him, probably not given there's only one Son left and that's Ashwin).

[Conn Eremon]

Who's to say the Dreadnought isn't Ashwin?

[Doctor Perils]

Okay, so that's Jaran the Aetheric Sword & Barin the Angel Exultant Blackshield named and equipped, all that remains are the Iron Ravager, the Blackjaw Kindred and the Son of Calderon Blackshield Dreadnought (if I decide to include him, probably not given there's only one Son left and that's Ashwin).

You're only going to be hinting at the Blackshields' original chapters right ?

 

Also, are blackshields really called for in such a small "community" of space marines ?

[Nomus Sardauk]

 

Okay, so that's Jaran the Aetheric Sword & Barin the Angel Exultant Blackshield named and equipped, all that remains are the Iron Ravager, the Blackjaw Kindred and the Son of Calderon Blackshield Dreadnought (if I decide to include him, probably not given there's only one Son left and that's Ashwin).

You're only going to be hinting at the Blackshields' original chapters right ?

 

Also, are blackshields really called for in such a small "community" of space marines ?

Correct, I've no intention of having some big dramatic reveal (or do I?), the Blackshields' past lives are theirs and theirs alone to know.

 

I believe so, remember our Liberite Chapters aren't the only Astartes in the Cluster and Blackshields can come from literally any background, so long as they're proven free of taint and treacherous intent, all are welcome.

 

On a seperate note I imagine that despite the distance from the greater Imperium the Clusterwatch would still contain marines from non-Cluster Chapters as a sort of transfer-student thing with a few Liberite marines swapping places with them, they'd be few in number of course, but still present. I mean, someone had to set up the Clusterwatch back when the Liberites were freshly-founded and inexperienced, right?

 

EDIT: Also, I'm thinking of dropping Pentecost's rank to Sergeant as it might make more sense story & lore-wise as Watch-Captain usually only deploy with their men out on immensely important and dangerous missions that require additional kill-teams and support, rather than single team missions, plus if Dorian was that highly ranked he'd use his authority to ensure there's no way in hell he'd be in the same squad as Eisenhower. 

[Olis]

On a seperate note I imagine that despite the distance from the greater Imperium the Clusterwatch would still contain marines from non-Cluster Chapters as a sort of transfer-student thing with a few Liberite marines swapping places with them, they'd be few in number of course, but still present. I mean, someone had to set up the Clusterwatch back when the Liberites were freshly-founded and inexperienced, right?

 

I'd be of the opinion that the Cluster is not an enclosed eco-system. We've not yet dealt with or discussed expeditions, task forces and strays from the Greater Imperium (a term I believe may be of use to inhabitants in the Cluster). It's certainly an avenue we could explore in future.

[Olis]

Double post ho! As promised, here's the last battle of the EWC.

 

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The Pacification of Korvalian Epsilon

 

Commonly in the Eighteen Worlds Crusade, the forces of the Imperium have met with stiff opposition, often enough to delay regular Guard elements for months and slow Astartes units past usual mission parameters. What would be not so common would be virtually undefended worlds under supposed Sereiki Lion occupation.

 

One of the last planets to be wrested back under Imperial control, Korvalian Epsilon posed a strange conundrum to Crusade strategeos. Evidently used by Lion affiliated merchants, hauliers and traders, the world was, at best, minimally defended. Question was, had the enemy forces already fled before the task force sent to conquer the planet? Who had known? Many of the prisoners of war from earlier conquests could not or would not say.

 

 

Force dispositions:

• Eagles of Glory  - 106 Astartes + mission assets
• Lords Inviolate  - 98 Astartes + mission assets
• Imperial Guard - 4 Regiments (Rusk Mechanised Urbanite Division (Reconstituted), Rusk Light Infantry Yoral Division, Cardinalis ‘Red Jackets’ Volunteer Regiment and the 104^th Nabaretti Regiment)
• Estimated mission time: One day

   

   

 

 

 

The Landings

The main strategy applied in the opening phase on Korvalian was a mass landing, centred on the capital. Barring a few armsmen and bodyguards for local notaries, there was no resistance. Even the Regent’s Guard stood down when faced against dozens of astartes suddenly appearing from the skies. Of course, armed with only ceremonial autoguns and blades, it was a wise choice.

 

The Guard, plunging through the thick clouds in flocks of dropships and landing craft, camped outside of the city after all but the most cursory of skirmishes with Lion loyalists and deluded militia. The landing fields were closed and every merchant still planetside was arrested, their ships impounded.

 

 

http://s019.radikal.ru/i637/1205/9e/5aba8d855b9d.jpg

 

 

 

+Imperial forces readying for deployment over Korvalian +

 

 

 

As it turned out, Lion forces had indeed abandoned the world, knowing merciless retribution was coming. But that was not the end of it. A call had gone out from a remaining Lion commander, exiled some had claimed, to any that would listen. Korvalian's regent had the man killed when he learned of the response. A Kabal of Dark Eldar were coming.

 

Amongst the Crusade task-force an order travelled down the ranks – they would enter the city, occupy it and defend themselves as best as possible. The Red Jackets planned to blockade the streets, not content to hunker down in the buildings themselves, unlike the Ruskites and the Nabarettis. They intended to turn the city into a warren of death.

 

The Eagles of Glory and the Lords Inviolate, however, had other plans. The arrangement was to leave a force of Lords to stymie the Dark Eldar on the ground while the Eagles would detach from the city, range into the wilderness and return, catching the xenos between the anvil of the city and the hammer of their own assault. None of that was to matter, however.

 

Before the Eagles even had a chance to leave the city, the Dark Eldar had arrived. What was worse was that half of the Guard had yet to enter the city. It was here, at the gates of the capital, that the first battle – and the first casualties – would occur.

 

 

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bKJz6p2s3tE/U_PJci8N2vI/AAAAAAAAU-A/_wSYMWEknUY/s1600/bc1de448ee4e7a8270497ae4dcb3a475.jpg

 

 

 

+The sudden assault of the accursed xenos punishes the Nabaretti forces still outside of the capital +

 

 

 

For the Nabaretti regiment and the troops from Cardinalis, the first battle for Korvalian would prove a bloody and nightmarish affair. Even if the faithful believed themselves to be the chosen people of the Emperor, it did not stop the xenos from butchering them. In places outside of the capital’s walls pockets of humanity held on, beating back the blades and horrors before them with little more than grit and luck. Hundreds lay dead, both in the crimson of Cardinalis and Nabar green.

 

The counter-attack, led by the Lords, struck from the city like a wave. Two hundred astartes crashed upon the xenos raiders, plucking their skimmers from the sky and slaughtering dozens in the first salvo. Instead of sallying out of the gates, many chose to scale the walls and either rain fire from there or leap into the fray, several using just their bulk alone to claim their first kill. Like a wave, the Lords and the Eagles swept over the filthy xenos that still fought with the Guard elements that survived, hounding those that chose not to stay. Soon the battlefield quietened, leaving only the cries of the dying and the crackling of flames to punctuate the post-battle evening gloom.  

 

The second battle would not be so easy. And it would be fought at night, too. 

 

Leaving the dead and dying outside of the walls, the Imperial forces retreated inside the city and fortified where they could. Here the Lords split into squads, waiting for the Eldar around the main square and the Keep. The Eagles, however, chose to stand amongst the Rusk troops. The Eldar, it seemed, knew this. First, those left outside of the city wailed and begged for aid before going entirely silent. Word rippled through the ranks that they had been killed, or worse, taken. Then the killing began. Isolated individuals and squads died without any indication that someone had been there at all, barring the blood on the walls. It was only when the Eagles began to encounter the xenos that the alarm truly sounded and the second battle started. 

 

The Rusk troops, already spooked, found it hard to keep their morale. On several occasions the residing commissars had to resort to summary executions to keep the men in line. Again the casualties mounted for not a lot in return. Foul horrors, some hulking and some lithe, pushed back the Guard towards the Regent's Keep and Merchant's Square. Jetbikes swooped over the retreating units. Incubi ploughed through the rear guard like paper, even besting Eagles as they courageously barred the way. At the Square, however, was where the tide would turn. 

 

Here, the Lords had sighted the avenues and the Square itself. The commander of the Lords, one Idris Aristide, held his position in the face of mounting casualties against Hellions and Mandrakes. Even when the xenos had raided his most secure positions, he held. Now the Imperial forces had been pushed back far enough that his men could cover them, the Lords loosed a fusillade at any Dark Eldar that dared come within line of sight of the Square. Jetbikes were brought down, their riders dead at the controls. Incubi fell in small numbers, the remainder choosing to stay out of sight. Wyches had made inroads on the Square, starting a slaughter that only ended with a counter-charge from the Eagles. 

 

With the sport now fighting back hard, the Dark Eldar left. They had had their fun. They had their prisoners. To continue fight for the sake of it was a step too far for their Archon. His host had suffered but the pink ones had been bled ten-fold, no, twenty-fold. Enough for today. 

 

For the Lords, they were correct in providing a bastion for the Imperial forces to fall back to. And yet they were held as callous, particularly among the Rusk, willing to spend the lives of others like coin just to entice the enemy into their guns. To the mortals of the task-force, the Eagles were the saviours of the day. They had fought and died with the Guard. They had saved them from destruction with their counter-assault. They had done everything that the Lords had not in that second battle. 

 

With Korvalian Epsilon saved for now from the evils of the xenos, the Lords Inviolate left. They had fought hard, died harder and reaped a tally of the Eldar that neither the mortals or the Eagles could challenge. All of that for the reputation of being cold of heart. They could live with that, so long as the Emperor's work was done. 

 

The Eagles themselves lingered, basking in the glory that they had earned with blood. They took it upon themselves to dispose of the xenos while the Imperial dead were recovered and buried. They also chose to 'install' a new regent. What happened to the old Regent, no-one knew, except the Eagles themselves.

 

Korvalian was now firmly Imperial.

 

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And there we have it. C&C welcome.

[Ace Debonair]

I'm not gonna lie, I wasn't expecting the Dark Eldar.

 

But then it's a nice reminder that even out in the Liber Cluster, humanity is not alone.

 

I also like that the Sereiki Lions got the heck out of town before the fighting even started this time.

 

It occurs: is Khroda still on the loose?

'Cause it strikes me that failure to kill him in the EWC will almost certainly come back to bite one or more Chapters later...

[Conn Eremon]

It's always been an intention that the Lions be exiled out into the Deep (emptiness outside the Cluster and a presumed death sentence). Khroda is assumed dead in the end, and those Lions that survive flee Imperial retribution.

 

The Imperium accepts the victory at face value, only to be surprised much later when they discover that the Lions have not only survived out there, but have flourished.

 

It looks like the actual conclusion of the EWC went unwritten. Which is fine, I believe I said before that not every aspect of the campaign need be detailed. I also said I hadn't been paying attention to the EWC for a while, so I guess Olis must have rearranged some of the assignments to better conclude our writing.

[Olis]

I'll be honest, I had forgotten about Khroda himself. As for the Conclusion (capital C), that was going to be the next order of business. An Imperial Historian or some such chronicling the accounts of the EWC in his own way... ^_^ 

[Nomus Sardauk]

Personally I hope Khroda survives, maybe fakes his death to throw off the Imps while he makes a stealthy get-away, he's too interesting a character to just casually kill off.

[Conn Eremon]

I agree he is a good, interesting villain, but I think it takes away from his story if it's outright revealed he survived. Leave some doubt for the readers, sure, but in-universe the Imperials will know he is dead, from their point of view.

 

The EWC really needs to end with the fall of Lion leadership, including Khroda, and the diaspora of remaining Lion forces into the Deep.

 

Now that we have all of the EWC campaigns completed, the Conclusion can take on the form Olis mentioned and gather all of the campaigns into a single, narrative account that leads to, and elaborates upon, the finale of the Crusade. Make it all nice and tidy, and a much shorter, easier to read (for newcomers) account that could use the actual pieces we have all written as in-universe references the historian utilizes.

[Nomus Sardauk]

What about the Den? Ya'know, that Asteroid field the Lions slaughtered the Eighteen Worlds Alliance forces and allowed them to seize said worlds? And they were hiding a derelict Ark Mechanicum in? Have we decided what happens to that place?

[Olis]

What about the Den? Ya'know, that Asteroid field the Lions slaughtered the Eighteen Worlds Alliance forces and allowed them to seize said worlds? And they were hiding a derelict Ark Mechanicum in? Have we decided what happens to that place?

 

We can decide now and include it in the EWC Conclusion, if you like? I would imagine they'd take the Ark with them (or use it as an elaborate ruse, involving it's destruction and Khroda's "death")...

[Conn Eremon]

Seems suitable as the end conflict. All-out assault on the Den, culminating in a fighting retreat where the Ark, and presumably Khroda, acts as the sacrificial goat.

[Nomus Sardauk]

I imagine it wouldn't be as dramatic a showdown as you'd think, at least not in the way you'd think. What I'm picturing is this, the Lions had been completely driven out of the Eighteen Worlds by the Crusade (albeit at a high cost) so they retreat to their faithful old haunt, the Den, but the Imps have learned well the lessons of their predecessors. The varied arms of the Crusade rejoin together into a vast fleet and blockade the Den, and in a huge gesture of contempt refuse the Lion's bait by instead launching untold nuclear torpedos and other cataclysmic weapons of mass destruction into the field. The plan works and the sheer volumn of devastation flushes the Lions out, forcing them to risk a breakout or be annihilated. However the Imps fail to consider just how far the Lions will go to escape them, and instead of fighting to the last the Lions rush the Imperial blockade and dive into the Deeps, they lose most of their fleet in the process, but a handful of ships escape, and with them the total victory the Imperium desired.

[Olis]

Okay, well, with some unexpected time off of work I think I can begin working on the Conclusion over the course of the next couple of days. :)

[Olis]

Right, I have a request for the brothers that still contribute to the thread: Can you find your past write-ups for the EWC and provide the links to the posts themselves, please? I've got as far as page thirty trawling for entries and I found, well, less than a handful. There's seventy-four more pages in this thread and I'd rather try to get this done in a clever manner than burn myself out just skim-reading the thread. Although I will not be using the full write-ups in the actual conclusion, there will be links preferably.

 

On a lighter note, the thirty-page skim read has taught me that, with all of the information that has been added over the months and years, I may have to attempt a monster summary (judiciously using the Hidden Content tags, methinks) for the new thread. Seeing as it's Conn that's helming this, any result of this will be handed over to him I think for the fresh topic unless I'm told otherwise. 

 

Also, for the next thread, I think we may need to reassign a couple of our Chapters to other Fraters - Both Sanguine_Knight and Astus have not returned to us for about a year or so. We can't continue on with their Chapters if they are technically in limbo. I believe the new thread will need newer blood, fresh to the party. 

[Doctor Perils]

Right, I have a request for the brothers that still contribute to the thread: Can you find your past write-ups for the EWC and provide the links to the posts themselves, please? I've got as far as page thirty trawling for entries and I found, well, less than a handful. There's seventy-four more pages in this thread and I'd rather try to get this done in a clever manner than burn myself out just skim-reading the thread. Although I will not be using the full write-ups in the actual conclusion, there will be links preferably.

 

On a lighter note, the thirty-page skim read has taught me that, with all of the information that has been added over the months and years, I may have to attempt a monster summary (judiciously using the Hidden Content tags, methinks) for the new thread. Seeing as it's Conn that's helming this, any result of this will be handed over to him I think for the fresh topic unless I'm told otherwise. 

 

Also, for the next thread, I think we may need to reassign a couple of our Chapters to other Fraters - Both Sanguine_Knight and Astus have not returned to us for about a year or so. We can't continue on with their Chapters if they are technically in limbo. I believe the new thread will need newer blood, fresh to the party. 

Sounds reasonable.

 

Let me know if you need some new shoulder pad art, or updated art for the older ones :)

[Olis]

Let me know if you need some new shoulder pad art, or updated art for the older ones

 

If any brother wishes to take you up on the offer, I fully endorse it. If we could get all of the Chapters done in the same style, it'd be a great way to homogenise the group, I think.

[Conn Eremon]

Also, for the next thread, I think we may need to reassign a couple of our Chapters to other Fraters - Both Sanguine_Knight and Astus have not returned to us for about a year or so. We can't continue on with their Chapters if they are technically in limbo. I believe the new thread will need newer blood, fresh to the party.

While I agree, fresh blood would be great, there's no hold on any Chapter here. Literally anyone can pick up where someone has left off, whether they are absent or not. None of the Chapters are really assigned.

[Olis]

Not to be stickler but unless we can offer more DIY Chapters to the Liber (previously created or otherwise), then I believe we'll have a hard time luring fresher blood to the new thread. Is there something else we can do? Thin the herd in whatever way (of the dead Chapters or those that are unhelmed) and then open up a few spots for new guys, maybe?

 

Perhaps, with the Heralds of Letum for example, the Chapter still exists in Cluster lore but has migrated to the Greater Imperium after the EWC, again, for whatever reason.