The Liber Cluster

[Harlan Skorus]

More things to kill! Came up with a Kabal using the 1d4 random tables while writing stuff for the Void Jumpers. Tried to keep it fairly vague so people can mess with it a bit.

 

 

 

 

 

+++RESTRICTED FILE CLASIFICATION OHMA-PHILO-MUTA: PLEASE AUTHORISE+++

+++AUTHORISATION: DdLa21jiRe8+++

+++WELCOME LORD INQUISITOR+++

+++LOADING...+++

+++LOADING...+++

+++OPENING FILE JK789AFJ: OVERVIEW OF THE BLISSFUL REPRISE+++

+++AUTHOR: INQUISITOR HARROMAN MERS+++

+++DATE: 578684.M38+++

+++THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: LIVES IN NUMBERS, FAITH IN DEEDS+++

 

The Kabal of the Blissful Reprise

 

The fall of Alam heralded a new threat to the Liber Cluster; one that has no doubt plagued us for millennia, but only with the events that took place on Alam have we seen the true nature of this threat. The Xenos warband known as the Kabal of the Blissful Reprise present a serious impediment to Imperial progress within the Cluster, and I would urge this conclave to consider a coordinated response against these heinous foes before we lose more lives and worlds to their threat.

 

The Blissful Reprieve are a Kabal of the Dark Eldar, that are responsible for a number of strikes against the Imperium within the Cluster's boundaries (file AM832AFK contains a full report of incidents that suggest on current evidence to have been perpetrated by the Kabal) . The Fall of Alam is the most recent and documented of these strikes, but data gained on their methods suggests that events such as the Scorrion Anomaly and the Vanishing of the Solar Pilgrim may well have been our first evidence of attacks from the Blissful Reprieve.

 

The Blissful Reprieve strike without warning or mercy, utilising speed to isolate and harry their target. As the with Fall of Alam, they often accomplish this over months rather than days, even when they maintain the upper hand in a conflict; this suggests that war, for them, is seen as a manner of sport by them as much as it is necessity for us. Multi-pronged attacks often leave opposing forces confused and unable to effectively strike back, and the Kabal employ a large number of the Xenos-subtype Mandrakes in comparison to other known Kabals. Similarly, they are known to take a high number of prisoners even among the reavers of their kind; we have long known that the Dark Eldar engage in this practice, but rarely to this extent.

 

The Blissful Reprive can be identified in a number of manners. One, as mentioned above, is the high prevalence of Mandrake subtypes within their ranks; also note the increased number of Wych-cult gladiatorial warriors. The majority of their warriors are clad in silver armour edged with green runes of arcane propensity; this contrasts with the more common darker tones found among their brethren. The most telling sign of an attack by the Blissful Reprieve is the presence of what we assume to be their leader; a Mandrake-subtype, he clothes himself in the skins of his enemies as do many Mandrakes, but to the grim extent of wearing masks formed of the flayed faces of his most recent victims (see pict-cap below). As during the Fall of Alam and the Scorrion Anomaly, designation Mandrake-Alpha is known to appear before his forces in order to 'negotiate' (no Imperial force to date has tried pursuing this clearly futile route) and has displayed a cursory understanding of Low Gothic.

 

http://i.imgur.com/Ow2Pl6f.jpg

 

Pict-cap of target designation Mandrake-Alpha, Fall of Alam 677.M38.

 

I have compiled further findings into the full report on the Kabal of the Blissful Reprieve (file AM832AFK), which I urge this conclave to examine at their earliest convenience. As of the current date we now know that the Blissful Reprieve are responsible for the loss of at least six world's entire populations within the last millennium alone. These Xenos should be considered a grave threat to the stability of the Liber Cluster, and left unchecked will no doubt attack again. A proper response should be sought to eliminate this threat lest they grow in strength and daring; the Imperium cannot afford to continue letting the Kabal of the Blissful Reprieve strike at us unchecked.

 

+++END FILE+++

[TDF]

COMMENCE DECRYPTION

xK46-T-D-ejokF-38-{{CORRUPTION}}

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WELCOME INQUISITOR

OPENING MESSAGE 683-24-Θ

SENT: {{DELETED}}

RECEIVED: {{DELETED}}


My Lord,

I offer sincere apologies, but I’m afraid that much of the information contained in this message will already be known to you. My inquiries have borne much fruit, but the information is too sensitive to transmit astropathically. I have followed the procedure outlined in Inquisitorial Order {{DELETED}} and hope to relay my findings face-to-face soon.

Your Servant,

{{DELETED}}


1 (ONE) ATTACHED FILE(S)

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+The Shadow Star+

One of the most feared pirate ships in the Liber Cluster, the Shadow Star is believed to have once been a modified Astartes strike cruiser. It is equipped with rare reflex shields that trade physical protection for excellent stealth capabilities, and much larger launch bays than is typical. The Star rarely fires its weapon batteries or bombardment cannon, preferring instead to appear from nowhere and launch wave upon wave of stealth-capable bombers and assault craft at point-blank range. One common tactic is to slip through the escort screens of Imperial convoys, destroy the vulnerable transports within and then escape, leaving the escorts completely unharmed.

+Venyadha the Reviled+

LOADING IMAGE...

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Little is known about the captain of the Shadow Star. He is described as an albino Astartes wearing rusted grey power armour, but descriptions of the iconography he bears are wildly conflicting. The albinism suggests Raven Guard heritage, but it may alternatively be a random genetic quirk or a symptom of Chaotic taint. Reports suggest Venyadha treats his crew with a level of compassion unheard of amongst the forces of Chaos. If so then this compassion does not extend to his enemies. When Imperial ships are boarded by the Shadow Star or its assault boats the crew are usually kept alive – welded into the interior walls of their ship with powerful warp magick. This process is unimaginably agonising and absolutely irreversible. Holy fire cannot scour them and the hymns of the faithful cannot block out their screams. Current Inquisitorial orders are that all ships thus afflicted are to be towed to uninhabited systems and plunged into the heart of a star.

The relationship between Venyadha and the Sereiki Lions is unclear. The Shadow Star has appeared alongside warships of the Lions on at least five occasions and the stealth technology of its strike craft appears to be the same as that used by the Swift Foxes’ VTOL craft. On the other hand, the Star has been encountered in regions far beyond Sereiki territory. As recently as 024.M36 it was identified in the Granyimas system in Segmentum Tempestus. It is hard to believe that a Chaos Lord such as Al-Rashid Ibn Khroda would allow a subordinate such a degree of freedom.

[TDF]

Speculative timeline, because people asked for one:

 

401.M34 - The Howling. Rogue Trader House Barandion loses half of it's fleet and a war of succession begins. 

328.M35 - First settlement of the Liber Cluster. 

?.M35 - The Sereiki Lions disappear from the greater Imperium

443.M35 - The Sereiki Lions reappear in the Liber Cluster [Possibly needs to be advanced a century.]

514.M35 - Final settlement fleet of the 'first wave' sent by the Imperium.

527.M35 - Last contact with the Liber Cluster. The Silence begins.

988.M35 - House Barandion taken over by Lady Ysbeta. Soon after the entire House departs for the Liber Cluster. 

991.M35 - The 21st (cursed) Founding begins.

?.M36 - The 'second wave' of settlement into the Liber Cluster begins.

?.M36 - The Eighteen Worlds Crusade against the Sereiki Lions begins.

c.188.M36 - The Reign of Blood Begins. [This date is entirely speculation on my part because Vandire's reign lasts seventy years and, plausibly, the earliest age Thor could be to                           overthrow him is about twenty, thus this date has been extrapolated to be fifty years before the birth of Thor.]

238.M36 - Sebastian Thor is born.

c.258.M36 - Vandire is Kkilled and Thor becomes Ecclesiarch. The Reign of Blood ends.

270.M36 - Sebastian Thor leaves Terra to tour the Imperium for 80 years.

350.M36 - Sebastian Thor returns to Terra and dies six months later at the age of 112.

Thanks for including my Barandion dates, Olisredan. When the 'second wave' dates are finalised I'll probably adjust Lady Ysbeta's take over date to fit better with that.

[Wade Garrett]

Couple of things that have occurred to me:

 

According to Lexicanum, the Ordo Hereticus wasn't founded until after the Reign of Blood. Meaning that the lore behind heathens Inquisitorial partisans (I refer to them as such because 'good guy terrorists' is a bit of a humdinger for me to process) might need an adjustment, since Olis's timeline has the 18 Worlds Crusade before Vandire.

 

Or the Inquisition in the Liber Cluster was ahead of the game. Whichever.

 

Also....good grief this Goge Vandire. I know that 40k and nuance do not often go together, but this guy:

 

He shoots out all the lights in the Imperial Palace because he finds the dark soothing, orders atrocities because "AH HA HA HA!" and regularly collapses into visionary trance states which drive him even further into whackadoodle land...how in the Emperor's name did reincarnated Konrad Curze get to be in charge of the Ecclesiarchy and the Administratum?

 

(Yeah, I know. Because GRIMDARK. Still...)

Edited July 6, 2014 by Wade Garrett

[Conn Eremon]

The two ?.M36s are:

 

001.M36, as it has already been mentioned that it was almost immediately after the Founding.

 

c. 250-300.M36, as it has already been mentioned that the campaign is close to 3 centuries into the Imperium's return.

[Nomus Sardauk]

 

 

The Kindred remind me so much of the Darkspear trolls. I love it.

Awww....I was shooting from Troy Landry and his bunch from "Swamp People".

 

"CHOOT'EM, DEVASTATUH SQUAD!"

 

I just imagined Gambit's Thief kin from the old X-Men cartoon of the 90s - good ol' Cajun boys.

 

Likewise, Gambit-style cajun boys and haitian voodoo priests, that's the Kindred in my mind.

 

-----

 

"Aye, I shall return to my brothers and-" Nicholan's statement died mid-sentence as the portal to the Strategium opened and a new figure strode inside. Clad in beautifully-artificered red & white mk.III Iron Armour and bearing a Trident & Shield emblem upon his left shoulderpad shaped from white marble, Commodore-Captain Faranis Drake cut an imposing figure.

"I'm afraid your departure will be a little delayed, Captain Biddale, this briefing is not yet finished, we have some new intelligence on the target..." He said, retrieving a data-slate from his belt before tapping a few keys, in response the holographic projection in the room's centre switched from the display of Dolrado City to a model of the planet Barluarte, it's two moons Luare & Terua and the orbiting Space Station Junker's Jump.

 

"Our advanced scouts have discovered the existance of two Theta-Class Planetary Defence Complexes, one on each of Barluarte's moons. They bear three Defence Lasers and one Macro Cannon emplacement apiece and pose a considerable threat to our fleet and must be dealt with." Two red icons blinked into life on the holographic moons as Drake spoke, before he finally turned to face Biddale, who was listening intently. "Therefore I am charging you, Captain Biddale, and your men with the capture, or if necessary, destruction of these two facilities. Can I count on you to do this?"

 

Biddale was quiet a moment, processing everything he had just heard before replying with more serious expression than before. "By the Emperor's will, the Eagles can do this for you Commodore. As the attack begins my men and I can assault the moon bases and deal with them, then after leaving a few squads behind to maintain control the rest of my strikeforce will make planetfall on Dolrado." A ghost of a grin passed over Drake's stoney features. "Excellent. Return to your Cruiser and make ready Captain, it is time the Imperium de-clawed the Sereiki Lions."

Edited July 6, 2014 by SanguiniusReborn

[Olis]

The two ?.M36s are:

 

001.M36, as it has already been mentioned that it was almost immediately after the Founding.

 

c. 250-300.M36, as it has already been mentioned that the campaign is close to 3 centuries into the Imperium's return.

 

Hmm. Now those two dates are solid(ish), it appears that the Reign of Blood is in full swing before the Eighteen Worlds Crusade is launched. Hell, it's pretty close to the end, by the look of it...

[Conn Eremon]

 

 

The two ?.M36s are:

 

001.M36, as it has already been mentioned that it was almost immediately after the Founding.

 

c. 250-300.M36, as it has already been mentioned that the campaign is close to 3 centuries into the Imperium's return.

Hmm. Now those two dates are solid(ish), it appears that the Reign of Blood is in full swing before the Eighteen Worlds Crusade is launched. Hell, it's pretty close to the end, by the look of it...

Precisely.

[Wade Garrett]

Well, this is the Imperium of Man we're talking about, where Imperial Guard Task Forces show up to fight xenos invasions centuries after said xenos have reaved the worlds they were supposed to be fighting for clean of all life and moved on.

 

It's likely....it's almost a certainty that there were armies and fleets fighting and dying in Vandire's name for decades if not centuries after Alicia Dominica put a power sword through his gullet, simply because of how long it takes for news to travel from Terra out to the far corners of the Imperium.

 

And given the extra galatic nature of the Liber Cluster, it might well be a looooong time before the effects of the Reign of Blood and its aftermath hit our little corner of the cosmos.

Edited July 6, 2014 by Wade Garrett

[Conn Eremon]

Valid point.

[Hyaenidae]

Couple of things that have occurred to me:

 

According to Lexicanum, the Ordo Hereticus wasn't founded until after the Reign of Blood. Meaning that the lore behind heathens Inquisitorial partisans (I refer to them as such because 'good guy terrorists' is a bit of a humdinger for me to process) might need an adjustment, since Olis's timeline has the 18 Worlds Crusade before Vandire.

 

Or the Inquisition in the Liber Cluster was ahead of the game. Whichever.

 

I'm gonna go with Occam's Razor here, and just call it a Ordo Minoris that later gets absorbed by the Ordo Hereticus.

 

For now, Inquisitor Grendel belongs to the Ordo Proditorem, a Minoris group that developed naturally in the wilds of the Imperiums' edges.

[Conn Eremon]

 

 

Couple of things that have occurred to me:

 

According to Lexicanum, the Ordo Hereticus wasn't founded until after the Reign of Blood. Meaning that the lore behind heathens Inquisitorial partisans (I refer to them as such because 'good guy terrorists' is a bit of a humdinger for me to process) might need an adjustment, since Olis's timeline has the 18 Worlds Crusade before Vandire.

 

Or the Inquisition in the Liber Cluster was ahead of the game. Whichever.

I'm gonna go with Occam's Razor here, and just call it a Ordo Minoris that later gets absorbed by the Ordo Hereticus.

 

For now, Inquisitor Grendel belongs to the Ordo Proditorem, a Minoris group that developed naturally in the wilds of the Imperiums' edges.

It could also be that the Hereticus existed prior as an informal conglomerate of like-minded Ordos Minoris, such as the Proditorem, that is given sanction to legitimize its existence as a Ordo Majoris.

[Hyaenidae]

*shrug* whatev's. This is bordering on the political structure, so really ain't my cup 'o' joe, lol.

 

Just tell me what to change it to, and I'll be more than happy to do so.  :)

[Sanguine_Knight]

Brother Olisredan- thanks for fixing that image and header for me. Went in to try my hand at it today and Yay for me! it was done!

[Dizzyeye01]

 

 

Couple of things that have occurred to me:According to Lexicanum, the Ordo Hereticus wasn't founded until after the Reign of Blood. Meaning that the lore behind heathens Inquisitorial partisans (I refer to them as such because 'good guy terrorists' is a bit of a humdinger for me to process) might need an adjustment, since Olis's timeline has the 18 Worlds Crusade before Vandire.Or the Inquisition in the Liber Cluster was ahead of the game. Whichever.

I'm gonna go with Occam's Razor here, and just call it a Ordo Minoris that later gets absorbed by the Ordo Hereticus.For now, Inquisitor Grendel belongs to the Ordo Proditorem, a Minoris group that developed naturally in the wilds of the Imperiums' edges.

It could also be that the Hereticus existed prior as an informal conglomerate of like-minded Ordos Minoris, such as the Proditorem, that is given sanction to legitimize its existence as a Ordo Majoris.

I like the sound of that. I've been thinking over an idea where an Inquisitor helped create a company of Imperial Guard who are trained to deal with traitors. Since the Sisters weren't in existance these Guardsmen would as the Thunder Warriors are to the Space Marines.

[Olis]

Brother Olisredan- thanks for fixing that image and header for me. Went in to try my hand at it today and Yay for me! it was done!

 

No problem. I spotted the problem when I was skimmed through the thread and just fixed it on my way.

 

Just tell me what to change it to, and I'll be more than happy to do so.  

 

Would it be possible to delay the Sereiki Lions' appearance in the Cluster by a century? At the moment they arrive there before the first settlement wave does...

Edited July 6, 2014 by Olisredan
Yep. Prolong definitely means the same as delay does...

[Conn Eremon]

So the Lions are a pre-Imperial presence in the Cluster, by a century? Could work, but a reason for why a mercenary force would go to the Cluster when there is no known human presence at that time would need to be given.

[Olis]

So the Lions are a pre-Imperial presence in the Cluster, by a century? Could work, but a reason for why a mercenary force would go to the Cluster when there is no known human presence at that time would need to be given.

 

Maybe they had to hide from someone...

 

(I'm not convinced by that line of reasoning, even though I just wrote it.)

[Hyaenidae]

The original Lions that ran from the Imperium were trash, falling apart and hunted, their old command sitting with bounties on their head.

 

What appeared in the Liber Cluster that called itself by the same name were not the same creatures. Such buildup and re-org would take some time, even guided by renegade Astartes.

[Conn Eremon]

Okay, so the Lions flee to the Cluster some time before the Imperials arrive (I would leave exact dates for when they arrive out) as a broken, unorganized confederacy of mercenaries. Imperials arrive, driving them from their safety zones and close to extinction. Lions disappear into the Deep (area of space around the Cluster) for a time, until returning more as they would prefer, as mercenaries looking for jobs. They are taken advantage of, by those who don't quite realize that something has changed in the Lions.

 

The Lions grow more powerful, wealthy, and begin using their employers' arrogances against them, taking charge in many indirect ways. When an alliance of worlds determines to break the upstart Mercenary kingdom-of-sorts and return to the days of old, just how much the Lions have changed is revealed in full, leading to the alliance's utter annihilation as per Heathens' initial post.

 

Does that about sum it up?

 

 

As an aside, is anyone else thoroughly reminded of the Big Boss' attempts at mercenary nations, of the Metal Gear franchise fame?

[Tiberius Cato]

Yes, very much so! I feel like a Outer Heaven reference is due.

[Olis]

If someone can drop a reference without the rest of us instantly recognising it (presuming that you are all as familiar with the franchise like I am), I'd be impressed.

[Conn Eremon]

I think there are enough references as is. We already have walkers, mercenaries gaining more power than local 'nations,' units named primarily on animals, each with distinctive, over-the-top identities . . .

 

I don't think there is any more room for a 'subtle' reference.

[Hyaenidae]

Over the top? Am i going too far? If so, I can re-adjust.

[Conn Eremon]

Over the top, but in ways acceptable, and in many ways required, by the 40k setting.

 

Like the Conflagrators and Aetheric Swords are over the top, y'know? Nothing needs to be changed in my opinion.

 

Edit: And honestly, it is less over the top than actual Metal Gear characters and units.

Edited July 6, 2014 by Cormac Airt