The Liber Cluster

[Olis]

It's an avenue I'd explore. Whether or not it works, well, we'll see.

 

 

Now then, aside from our world-building exercise, I'd like to pose an idea to the group. The original motivation for the Untaken to return to the Cluster was a pure and simple power grab. Carve an empire from the Liber much akin to the Eighteen Worlds. Clearly that idea is a dud - it's not original and it asks waaaay too many questions about the motivations and the mentality of the Untaken who are supposedly reavers by heart. They are acting against their own character.

 

So, here's the new motivation: They are after a certain piece of fabled archeotech/STC/universe-bending-trinket. What this is and why the Untaken want it, I haven't thought out yet. It's essentially going to be a MacGuffin, although I'm open to the item being actually used at some point. Now, they have already been written as returning en masse to the dead world of Moribus (the old homeworld to the now defunct Raven Brotherhood chapter), so there is certainly some sort of a goal they are setting out to achieve, which will be obvious to Imperial forces. What the Imperium does in response to this will define how and what the Untaken will do after finishing on Moribus.

 

Also, of note on the Untaken, if folks think their current projected number (5000) is a little fantastical, I can revise the number down (below the precedent set by the Astral Claws). Bearing in mind the 'little brothers' suggestion (by Wade, I believe) didn't take flight so I've stuck with them being non-codex and overstrength but typically astartes in nature.  

 

 

Edit: It's entirely plausible that the reaction to the Untaken, by some at least, is to try and get the item first. Whether this means something akin to racing the Untaken across the stars to the next clue or confronting them and acquiring the knowledge another way or something else entirely, is up to anyone and everyone.

Edited March 10, 2015 by Olis

[Wade Garrett]

So, the first question would be "What is this thing"?

 

An STC?

 

Some kind of Warp artifact?

 

A piece of Necron or Eldar supertech?

 

A long lost Gloriana class battle ship?

[Conn Eremon]

Or is it something we, the audience/Imperial viewpoint, are unaware of?

 

Do we only know that they were stopped, or that they must have succeeded?

 

Either way has its risks, making it too unknown or MacGuffiny.

[Olis]

I'm leaning towards "universe-bending-trinket". What else would coax a band of reavers to descend on a location all in one go? Now, as they are essentially ignorant/dismissive of Imperial taboos and customs, then the thought that it may be xenos-tech is plausible provided that the old Raven Brotherhood would have been able to get reliable intel on it. There's also the possibility of something more esoteric than simply xenos-tech. ;)

[Wade Garrett]

What, like the galaxy killing chariot of a daemon king who made the mistake of thinking he could challenge the Chaos Gods?

 

Wait, Dan Abnett did that already.

 

I mean, a universe bending trinket...I don't know, that makes me think of the Chaos war bands whose endgame is to claim a planet within the Eye or the Maelstrom and live out eternity on a paradise that they can reshape merely by willing it so, but that doesn't fit with renegades.

[Olis]

Oh no no no no. No warp stuff. Not for the Untaken. They still have an aversion to the warp, just like Imperials (I may have to repost the Untaken stuff for a refresher). I was thinking more along the lines of cross-dimensional stuff. Not alternate dimensions, like what had occurred in This Is Liber Astartes, but genuine alternate-dimension stuff in a similar vein to the Pale Wasting. The MacGuffin could be from Random Dimension Four Billion and does... stuff. Ack. I dunno. How far do I take this without it sounding silly? :rolleyes:

[Teetengee]

Webway portal generator. I can't think of a single renegade force that wouldn't have a million uses for one.

Edited March 10, 2015 by Teetengee

[Gorkimedes]

Ancient alien tech that could drop a planet into the warp like Malcador did with Titan?

[Olis]

Rrrrrrecap!
 
The Untaken:

 

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aC8DSc3Wd64/UjohonqO9tI/AAAAAAAADyM/fe4E49NdjYQ/s1600/rn_marine2.jpg
 
Armoured primarily in Corvus battle-plate and armed with a wide variety of weaponry, The Untaken display unorthodox fighting methods, such as three-man strong kill-teams and apparently suicidal assaults by individual marines and squads. These assaults, though suicidal, are often used to eliminate high-value targets such as vehicles, officers or enemy groups. Curiously enough these tactics appear to mesh well with the high-mobility doctrines of the Lions, especially the 'strike-and-fade' mentality and the ambush strategies often witnessed.
 
They are a mercenary band supplied by whatever means they can, often relying on scavenging weaponry or stealing whatever they must. Even on Zavatista The Untaken were witnessed taking weapons and armour from fallen enemies, augmenting their own equipment as best they could. What few terminator suits the group had seem to have been lost during the fighting in the depths of the refinery-ships.
 
It is unknown when or why The Untaken became a vassal unit under the Lions but it stands to reason that the warband itself is of multiple-company strength, as evidenced on Zavatista. One theory, put forward by the Saneslau Mechanicus, is that these marines are the missing chapter last contacted in the Regahl Strip, forty years before the Silence took hold. Gene-markers back up the assertion, however three other missing/destroyed/lost candidate chapters also conform to the genetic markers of the sample, rendering the claim spurious at best.

 

 

 

 

Liber Ordo Dossier, compiled by Savant First-Grade Theogrist Pevelaine
 

The Untaken
 

http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2012/053/6/c/rogue_trader_marine_by_nachomon-d4qkw6t.jpg

 

+Unknown Astartes, dubbed 'Jenovus'+

One of the many amongst the 'Untaken' cohort, Jenovus carries what is clearly an non-standard weapon, perhaps even one of heretek or xenos manufacture. The multitude of tubes show that the suit he wears, and it's systems, have been modified or repaired using methods unapproved of by the Mechanicus. Suspected to be the equivalent of a battle-brother, Jenovus is catalogued in the Inquisition databases three times during the Eighteen Worlds Crusade.

 

 

http://cs540108.vk.me/c7007/v7007055/150a2/O5myTPWDXrA.jpg

 

+Captain Zerxis+

The only positively identified officer amongst The Untaken during the Eighteen Worlds Crusade, pictured immediately prior to his death on Zavatista. Note the chem-rain unaffecting him despite his injuries. Catalogued as killed in action against the Blackjaw Kindred. 

 

http://www.thedeathknight.com/Misc/Gerard/E3218/iron_grip_warlords_concept_art_by_tehflyguyS.jpg

 

+Coyote Irregulars+

Quite fitting that a warband often seen bearing under-powered equipment is recorded to associate and fraternise the most with a unit of the Sereiki Lions noted for it's inconsistency and tertiary-grade war materiel. It is unknown to the Inquisition at this time whether or not any of the Irregulars have been permanently seconded to The Untaken but, in this humble Savant's view, the possibility is likely.

 

http://i43.servimg.com/u/f43/16/63/10/54/warham11.jpg

=][=FILE NOT FOUND=][=

+The Untaken Fleet Assets+

Few of the vessels in the warband's fleet are Astartes ships, and even fewer are of capital class. This pict capture, taken from the cogitator database of a merchant hauler, shows what is assumed to be the flagship of The Untaken - the Broken Blade. The two vessels in shot are captured destroyers from the Castrel Run, a prominent merchant convoy that was raided and seized by The Untaken in 202.M36. 

 

 

Sender: +WITHHELD+
Transmission Location: The Bunker, Rictus IV
Astropath Relay: Kalen Firenze, Grade Secondus
Recipient: +CLASSIFIED+
Destination: Enclave Spire, Libera Mundi
Astropath Receiver: Julan Greaves, Grade primus
 
++Message Begins++
 
Greetings Gregor,
 
I have uncovered news of a disturbing nature - a significant naval force is heading to the Regahl Strip. According to my source, the objective is to pick over the dead world of Moribus that once belonged to the defunct Astartes Liber Chapter - the Raven Brotherhood. As of the last survey on record, the world is a ruin, as is the Fortress Monastery. With the passage of many centuries, most of the salvageable material should be useless, however this task force - presumed to be the astartes renegades known as the Untaken - is making best speed for that very planet.
 
We have deduced that the fleet is a grave threat to any Battlefleet Liber task force it may encounter short of the full fleet, such is the size and nature of it. I am advised that no less than twelve capital class vessels and twenty smaller craft make up this armada and so I ask, rather than waste resources by informing the Navy and thus instigating a potentially costly battle in the heavens, that you keep this information close. At least until I have divined an appropriate course of action.
 
As I write more operatives are being sent into the field to gather more information.
 
 
Until we speak again,
 
Black Friar.
 
++Message Ends++
 

The Untaken

http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20111011192112/warhammer40k/images/f/fa/Space_Marine_Squad_2.jpg

Much has changed in the two millennia since the Untaken were last seen in the Liber proper. Rumour and hearsay tell of them raiding and seizing shipping, or scouring sites of battle for vessels that can be salvaged. What the Liber Administratum does not know is that the Untaken had fled for pastures new after the Eighteen Worlds Crusade. 
 
Operating from a rogue world in the Deep known as Hammerlin, they often ventured into the Imperium proper for resources and materiel. With great care, they avoided the main warp routes and the known systems harbouring strong Imperial ties. Instead they skirted these regions, rarely daring to confront Imperial forces, and sought out worlds they could take from. Hammerlin itself has a stable orbit around a dim red dwarf, lying far into the Deep. As a base of operations it has been turned from a backwater slum into a centre of supply for the renegades, with manufacturing facilities and an orbital dock. Standard gear for an Untaken is the bolter and chainsword, with Imperial marks of special and heavy weapons few and far between. The esoteric and the exotic - heretek crafted weaponry - make up the shortfall in non-standard gear. Manufacturing is based on Imperial methods, wherever industry is capable of making astartes grade gear. This includes copies of Mk6 and Mk7 battle plate. Under close examination these local marks of Imperial gear are inferior to their official counterparts but for the most part operate closely enough to the norm that any differences are missed on the battlefield. Variants are common and it is not unusual for an Untaken to heavily modify or upgrade his gear with battlefield loot or specially crafted alterations. 
 
The Untaken also hold sway over nine other worlds in the Deep, commonly referred to as the Dominion or Domain [of the Untaken]. Only recently have they decided to return to their old pastures in the Liber Cluster, feeling that their time in the greater Imperium is over now that they are hunted by several agencies there.
 
As with any group of renegades they are excluded from all usual Imperial contact. The Techmarines of the Untaken have suffered because of this - since they have been disbarred from the Adeptus Mechanicus and exiled from Mars and any other Forge World they instead rely upon passed down knowledge from their predecessors. As such the Untaken have lost much of the necessary knowledge to build or maintain even mildly complex mechanisms - the rarity of plasma weapons is perhaps the greatest outward sign of this. Rogue Tech-priests are often welcomed, echoing the Sereiki Lions of old, bringing with them knowledge that the Untaken otherwise do not have. However, there is one thing these Techmarines do differently to their Imperial counterparts - they improvise. Rites are often ignored and simply getting down to the meat of the matter and fixing a machine becomes a mundane task rather than a holy duty. Modifying machinery relies on practicality rather than consulting machine spirits. As such, although repairs tend to occur more quickly than in the Imperium, mishaps resulting from angered or frustrated machine spirits are much more common.
 
Their Librarians, known as Wyrds amongst the Untaken, scrutinise their men constantly for taint. To pledge loyalty to a dead king in a dead empire is one thing but to truck with foul powers, powers that can eat the life and soul from every Untaken that exists, is untenable. The Untaken are raiders, privateers and rebels against a dead God. The nightmare realm and it's nightmare Gods are as unpalatable to them as they would be for an Imperial. Still, there are some who succumb. If a Wyrd does not get them, then a captain would. Relied upon to enforce discipline, for lack of Chaplains to fulfil the same roll, a captain and his chosen enforcers have the authority to put down any who turn. 
 
Of all the specialists available to astartes, Apothecaries have changed the least in the Untaken. They go about their general duties, maintaining gene-seed and tending to the wounded and dead. Despite stealing gene-seed from fallen enemies, Apothecaries of the Untaken act as honour demands of them - they will treat those they can and administer last rites to those they cannot. 
 
 

The Fall of the Raven Brotherhood

http://img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20140625103809/warhammer40kfanon/images/2/23/Wd_Advancement.png

 

The Raven Brotherhood, one of the original Chapters of the Liber Cluster standing alongside the likes of the Knives of Guilliman, the Chevaliers and the Hell Tigers, had an undetected failure in the hypno-indoctrination methods, leading to the chapter going rogue. Over time the number of Chaplains fell while the acceptance rates of otherwise unlikely candidates went up. Soon the brotherhood only recruited the strong in body, but not the strong in mind. 
 
Matters came to a head when the remaining Chaplains sought an audience with the presiding Chapter Master - Sarvakkus. They were all slain in the ensuing battle but cost Sarvakkus his trusted honour guard. With over a hundred of the Chapter still answering to the Emperor above all, Sarvakkus purged those veterans that still remained loyal to the Throne. Wily and experienced, these elder brethren fought long and hard using their many years of battlefield craft to account for Sarvakkus' lackeys. The price in manpower Sarvakkus could live with. The distress call he could not. 

 
Long after the Brotherhood had dealt with the dissidents in their ranks, a new threat appeared. The first to respond to the veterans' mayday were the Hell Tigers, no longer considering themselves brothers to what now called itself the Untaken. Gleefully they razed Moribus to the ground, Fortress Monastery and native structures alike. For as long as the Hell Tigers recounted, up until they themselves disappeared in the Silence, they never mentioned how many of the brotherhood they let slip through their fingers - more than half of the remaining chapter escaped to fight another day. 
 
 

After Moribus

http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20111011185439/warhammer40k/images/a/a7/RT_artwork_1.jpg

Since the destruction of Moribus until their employ under the Sereiki Lions, the Untaken roved across the Liber taking as they wished and slaying those who opposed them. They relished ambushing Liber space marines, using their tried and true tactics of overwhelming firepower and small kill-teams to partition and destroy their enemies piecemeal. In the Silence, few opposed them. Even the Hell Tigers disappeared for a time, leaving the Untaken open to reave and pillage soft targets as they wished.  
 
With the rise of the Pride, this changed as the Untaken saw ample opportunity to be a part of a growing empire, to have better arms and armour. The drive to act as pirates diminished and instead the desire to be rulers overtook them. The first [and last] mission in this new empire was to safe guard Zavatista for the Lions. Against xenos and minor warbands, Zavatista remained unmolested. Against the crusade force sent by the Imperium during the reconquest of the Liber Cluster, the Untaken would suffer an embarrassing defeat, despite assertions that the refinery-world would hold.
 
Cast from Zavatista by crusade forces, the Untaken retreated deeper into Lion territory. Of the crucial battles left in the campaign, they participated in fewer than their employers wished for. Victory for the Imperium lay on the horizon, the Eighteen Worlds all but theirs. The Untaken, at a fraction of their former strength and doomed should they linger further, abandoned the Sereiki Lions and fled for the Deep.
 
 

In the Deep end

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2010/12/22/165895_sm-Copyright%20Games%20Workshop,%20Retro%20Reivew,%20Rogue%20Trader.jpg

Taking the world of Hammerlin for themselves, far from warp routes and far from any conventional means of Imperial contact, the Untaken went about rebuilding. Back to their old habits they went; raiding, pillaging and seizing. Over the millennia these methods allowed the Untaken to survive and thrive. With no consideration of the codex, the Untaken grew beyond the normal limits, expanding their sphere of control over other rogue worlds in the Deep. The bastions planted on each of the nine Untaken worlds served as Fortress Monasteries in their own right.
 
Spread amongst the fleet and the dominion, five thousand Untaken ready themselves for a return to the Liber Cluster. They judge themselves to have the numbers and the ships to make another bid for power.

 

 

 

The Untaken organisation and appearance

The Untaken, informal as they are, do not refer to each other as 'brothers'. They much prefer more intimate terms amongst peers, thus they will often use given names. In the field communications between units are far from standardised, as battalions, companies and even squads practise their own battlefield cants. 

 

In an organisation that has deviated far from the Codex strictures of old, the Untaken surprisingly still use sergeants and captains. However in a force that has far outgrown the old restrictions, delegation of power was needed. Between the rank of captain and chapter master (known simply as the 'Master') arose the rank of commandant. Each commandant is likely to command several hundred warriors and multiple captains, much like chapter masters of more traditional Imperial institutions, in formations of companies referred to as 'battalions'. These commandants each answer to the presiding master, offering greater strategic flexibility than just one homogenous force under the master himself. The amount of commandants has varied over the centuries and millennia but usually they number about seven.

 

In the ranks of the Untaken specialists tend to be less prominent than they are in regular chapters - they often will bear normal Untaken heraldry (dirty grey/white) and would normally be indistinguishable if not for the specialised gear they require to operate. A coloured helm or a stripe on one is the most common way to denominate a specialist but others choose to use differing markings, from a full-on pseudo-loyalist appearance to more esoteric designs. Typically the Untaken will use the old colours held over from the time when they fought for the Throne, such as blue for a wyrd, red for a techmarine and alabaster for an apothecary. Generally, veterans and officers choose black to proclaim their prowess. Commonly amongst the Untaken an astartes will use chequered patterns, scrawl script and declarations and utilise other more orthodox ways of decorating their battle-plate, ensuring that no two Untaken look the same. 

 

In the field squad sizes - without the strictures of the codex to guide them - wildly varies. Often units are folded together when casualties are taken, creating an almost random amount of men in every squad. Techmarines, wyrds, apothecaries and commanders alike will accompany squads very much as a regular warrior and take to the field with little more than some specialised gear and a man to put in front of him when the shells begin to fly. 

 

 

Now then. This is all older stuff, so revisions can be made on certain aspects. :)

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Teetengee - Not a bad idea, brother, so maybe we'll put that one on the 'Maybe' pile.

 

GCU GravitasFreeZone - Heading in the right direction, for sure. Brainwave - has anyone been reading the ...of Mars trilogy? The end of book two has fairly impressive 'results' (read: getting into the realms of universe-bending).

[Dark Apostle Thirst]

What if, instead of an actually huge canon ramifications device, it's a dud, or carries too great a cost? Like, say, you can use this awesomely powerful device... if only you lop off all your limbs and lobotomize yourself! No, someone else cannot perform the surgery. Or you have to spend 9 out of every 10 hours doing a tap dance in front of at least 3 million astartes. Or, that brings me to a new idea - what if it has no silly requirement, it's simply impossible to interface with? You have this incredible, blemish-free white sphere that you hear whispered legends calling it the Traveller, said to be able to resurrect you with no repercussions whenever and wherever you die, and you get it, only to find out that you have no way to unlock its power, and you never will.

 

Just some ideas 

[Olis]

Oho, Destiny reference. I wondered when that would happen. :P

 

Yeah, sure, we can make it un-interfaceable. That's a good trait for an actual MacGuffin - it cannot be used. The prize of prizes, the one true immortal pill... which is ultimately as useful as a paper weight to humanity. But they don't know that. :P

[Nomus Sardauk]

Well if the Untaken are making a comeback, I hereby petion the honourable denizens of the thread that, centuries after their disappearance , the Blackjaw Kindred return from the shadows AGAINST the Untaken.

 

Not for the Imperium, not for the Dark Gods, but for cold, simple vengeance.

[Olis]

My memory fails me, brother. Vengeance for what? Surely not Zavatista? That's the only instance I recall them meeting and the Untaken ran away from that one...

[Conn Eremon]

I think that he is referring to the fact that they are both what is left from the Imperium's mysterious first colonization, and so could potentially have a bit of history if they are aware of this.

[Olis]

Oh. Ohhhhhhhh. Crap. 

[Nomus Sardauk]

Conn's quite right, I'm referrencing that the Untaken (who used to be the Raven Brotherhood) betrayed the other original liber chapters that eventually became the Blackjaw Kindred during the silence.

 

The Untaken have also preyed upon the innocents of the cluster for countless centuries, innocents the Kindred swore to protect but couldn't. They claimed a measure of revenge on Zavatista during the EWC, but now the Untaken are back and have thrown all their chips onto the table to seize this macguffin, leaving them exposed, one might even say vulnerable...

[Reyner]

I like it! The Blades will sit and watch sipping wine as the Blackjaw are destroyed by the Untaken. :P

[Nomus Sardauk]

I like it! The Blades will sit and watch sipping wine as the Blackjaw are destroyed by the Untaken. :P

Oh? What a shame, I hear you Blades are usually all too eager to smite renegades and traitors.

Still, it's a little hard to fathom isn't it? 5000 Astartes, fallen from the Emperor's Light...

I doubt all of them are actual Untaken, an army that size tends to attract all sorts of renegades, especially if they think they're being hunted, safety in numbers I suppose?

It must have taken someone with alot of experience to command and organise that many marines into suck an effective force, not to mention while using such ancient equipment and machines...

 

;)

Edited March 11, 2015 by SanguiniusReborn

[Conn Eremon]

I think 5,000 in the sense if an overall army is acceptable, but I think Olis wants them to be solidly Astartes.

 

I'm fine with the number drop. In my opinion, the extra time allowing for a greater than Astral Claws size does the opposite, making it more likely that they will have less, as the Red Corsairs show.

[Olis]

Here we go, a rewrite of the current Untaken stuff (all collated and re-jigged into one post). Do bear in mind that much of it remains unchanged but small additions and deletions can affect certain aspects. Apologies for making a near-duplicate post on the same page. I've revamped the pictures (and even added one), added pseudo-IA formatting and generally just done a tidy up. Let me know either way if you like the changes.

Note to the reader: It has occurred to me that the Untaken could easily be represented, if desired, by a Forge World Horus Heresy army list (or at least it would be easier than using a standard 'dex or creating my own). The deviations from the codex fit within the abilities of such an army list to cover, and esoteric/exotic heretek weaponry could easily represent a stand-in for Volkite guns.

Also - Lucernius, I will need to let you know where I think Moribus and Hammerlin should be on the map. Later tonight, perhaps.

THE UNTAKEN

WARBAND NAME:.................................THE UNTAKEN (FORMERLY THE RAVEN BROTHERHOOD)
FOUNDING: .........................................ASSUMED TO BE THE 18^th
HOME WORLD: ....................................HAMMERLIN (FORMERLY MORIBUS)
GENE-SEED (PREDECESSOR): ...............RAVEN GUARD
STATUS:...............................................RENEGADE

[basicheaderhalf'ORIGINS']FIRST SIGHTING: ZAVATISTA[/basicheaderhalf]

First encountered by the second wave of Imperial colonisation of the Liber Cluster during what was called the 'Eighteen Worlds Crusade', the Untaken were as much a surprise as their employers to the reclamation forces. Arrayed against them were mortals and astartes alike, intent on capturing Zavatista and the refinery-ships that plied the chem-oceans. Defending the ships and countering Imperial assault forces, although a task theoretically well-suited to the reavers, proved too much for them. Losing much in terms of men and materiel over the course of the ten day war, the Untaken escaped from Zavatista, bloodied and broken.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aC8DSc3Wd64/UjohonqO9tI/AAAAAAAADyM/fe4E49NdjYQ/s1600/rn_marine2.jpg

As witnessed during the fighting, Untaken units were armoured primarily in Corvus battle-plate and armed with a wide variety of weaponry. The Untaken displayed unorthodox fighting methods, such as three-man strong kill-teams and apparently suicidal assaults by individual marines and squads. These brazen assaults were often used to eliminate high-value targets such as vehicles, officers and concentrations of enemy troops. Alongside the 'strike-and-fade' mentality and ambush strategies advocated by the Lions, these tactics reaped a bloody tally among the crusade forces on Zavatista.

The Sereiki Lions

Led by the cunning and charismatic Al-Rashid Ibn Khroda, the Sereiki Lions carved an empire out of the remnants of the first attempt to colonise the Liber Cluster. Drawing many to it's banner, the Untaken included, the Lions forged a domain eighteen worlds strong. Many of their assets had been claimed from previous employers and, with an army millions strong, posed a great threat indeed to the next wave of colonisation and reconquest.

Imperial strategeos and tacticae officers analysed the data available, concluding that the Untaken are a mercenary band supplied by whatever means they can, often relying on scavenging weaponry or stealing whatever they must. Even on Zavatista the Untaken were witnessed taking weapons and armour from fallen enemies, augmenting their own equipment as best they could. What few terminator suits the reavers had seemed to have been lost during the fighting in the depths of the refinery-ships.

At the time, Imperial intelligence was incapable of guessing when or why the Untaken became a vassal unit under the Lions but later assumed the warband to be hundreds strong at the opening of hostilities on Zavatista. One theory, put forward by the Saneslau Mechanicus, was that these marines were the missing chapter last contacted in the Regahl Strip, forty years before the Silence took hold. Gene-markers backed up the assertion, however three other missing/destroyed/lost candidate chapters also conformed to the genetic markers of the sample, rendering the claim spurious at best.


[basicheaderhalf'LIBER ORDO DOSSIER']LIBER ORDO DOSSIER: ZAVATISTA[/basicheaderhalf]

Compiled by Savant First-Grade Theogrist Pevelaine

http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2012/053/6/c/rogue_trader_marine_by_nachomon-d4qkw6t.jpg

+Unknown Astartes, dubbed 'Jenovus'+

One of the many amongst the 'Untaken' cohort, Jenovus carries what is clearly an non-standard weapon, perhaps even one of heretek or xenos manufacture. The multitude of tubes show that the suit he wears, and it's systems, have been modified or repaired using methods unapproved of by the Mechanicus. Suspected to be the equivalent of a battle-brother, Jenovus is catalogued in the Inquisition databases three times during the Eighteen Worlds Crusade.

http://cs540108.vk.me/c7007/v7007055/150a2/O5myTPWDXrA.jpg

+Captain Zerxis+

The only positively identified officer amongst the Untaken during the Eighteen Worlds Crusade, pictured immediately prior to his death on Zavatista. Note the chem-rain unaffecting him despite his injuries. Catalogued as killed in action against the Blackjaw Kindred.

http://www.thedeathknight.com/Misc/Gerard/E3218/iron_grip_warlords_concept_art_by_tehflyguyS.jpg

+Coyote Irregulars+

Quite fitting that a warband often seen bearing under-powered equipment is recorded to associate and fraternise the most with a unit of the Sereiki Lions noted for it's inconsistency and tertiary-grade war materiel. It is unknown to the Inquisition at this time whether or not any of the Irregulars have been permanently seconded to the Untaken but, in this humble Savant's view, the possibility is likely.

+The Untaken Fleet Assets+

Few of the vessels in the warband's fleet are Astartes ships, and even fewer are of capital class. This pict capture, taken from the cogitator database of a merchant hauler, shows what is assumed to be the flagship of the Untaken - the Broken Blade. The two vessels in shot are captured destroyers from the Castrel Run, a prominent merchant convoy that was raided and seized by the Untaken in 202.M36.

[basicheaderhalf'RE-EMERGENCE']ORDO LIBER MISSIVE: RE-EMERGENCE[/basicheaderhalf]


Sender: +WITHHELD+
Transmission Location: The Bunker, Rictus IV
Astropath Relay: Kalen Firenze, Grade Secondus
Recipient: +CLASSIFIED+
Destination: Enclave Spire, Libera Mundi
Astropath Receiver: Julan Greaves, Grade Primus

++Message Begins++

Greetings Gregor,

I have uncovered news of a disturbing nature - a significant naval force is heading to the Regahl Strip. According to my source, the objective is to pick over the dead world of Moribus that once belonged to the defunct Astartes Liber Chapter - the Raven Brotherhood. As of the last survey on record, the world is a ruin, as is the Fortress Monastery. With the passage of many centuries, most of the salvageable material should be useless, however this task force - presumed to be the astartes renegades known as the Untaken - is making best speed for that very planet.

We have deduced that the fleet is a grave threat to any Battlefleet Liber task force it may encounter short of the full fleet, such is the size and nature of it. I am advised that no less than twelve capital class vessels and twenty smaller craft make up this armada and so I ask, rather than waste resources by informing the Navy and thus instigating a potentially costly battle in the heavens, that you keep this information close. At least until I have divined an appropriate course of action.

As I write more operatives are being sent into the field to gather more information.


Until we speak again,

Black Friar.

++Message Ends++

The Untaken

Much has changed in the two millennia since the Untaken were last seen in the Liber proper. Rumour and hearsay tell of them raiding and seizing shipping, or scouring sites of battle for vessels that can be salvaged. What the Liber Administratum does not know is that the Untaken had fled for pastures new after the Eighteen Worlds Crusade.

Hammerlin

Originally a struggling colony lost and isolated in the Deeps, Hammerlin has since changed drastically. Once a world of rock, scree and nomads, it is now a planet teeming with humanity and industry surviving off of recycled protein, vitamin tabs and seized cargo. Descended from prisoners, kidnap victims and the nomads of old, the residents of Hammerlin look up to the astartes in their midst as providers and warrior gods. The Untaken, however, see things differently. They are the masters of Hammerlin and every soul on it. Of the denizens of Hammerlin, the Untaken are largely uninterested outside of recruitment.

Operating from a wretched world in the Deep known as Hammerlin, they often ventured into the Imperium proper for resources and materiel. With great care, they avoided the main warp routes and the known systems harbouring strong Imperial ties. Instead they skirted these regions, rarely daring to confront Imperial forces, and sought out worlds they could take from. Hammerlin itself has a stable orbit around a dim red dwarf, lying far into the Deep. As a base of operations it has been turned from a backwater slum into a centre of supply for the renegades, with manufacturing facilities and a crude if servicable orbital dock. Standard gear for an Untaken astartes is locally made bolters and chainswords, with Imperial marks of special and heavy weapons few and far between. The esoteric and the exotic - heretek crafted weaponry - make up the shortfall in non-standard gear.

Manufacturing is based on Imperial methods, wherever industry is capable of making astartes grade gear. This includes copies of Mk6 and Mk7 battle plate. Under close examination these local marks of Imperial gear are inferior to their official counterparts but for the most part appear closely enough to the norm that any differences are missed on the battlefield. Often, the inadequacies of these power armoured suits are revealed under fire - where an Imperial astartes might whether the tide of battle with minor damage, an Untaken stands a much greater chance of suit failure, injury and death. Variants are common and it is not unusual for an Untaken to heavily modify or upgrade his gear with battlefield loot or specially crafted alterations.

The Untaken also hold sway over four scattered worlds in the Deep, commonly referred to as the Dominion or Domain [of the Untaken]. Only recently have they decided to return to their old pastures in the Liber Cluster. A hunt for something unique and powerful drives them to leave the relative safety of Hammerlin and brave Imperial territory.

As with any group of renegades they are excluded from all usual Imperial contact. The Techmarines of the Untaken have suffered because of this - since they have been disbarred from the Adeptus Mechanicus and exiled from Mars and any other Forge World they instead rely upon passed down knowledge from their predecessors. As such the Untaken have lost much of the necessary knowledge to build or maintain even mildly complex mechanisms - the rarity of plasma weapons is perhaps the greatest outward sign of this. Rogue Tech-priests are often welcomed, echoing the Sereiki Lions of old, bringing with them knowledge that the Untaken otherwise do not have. However, there is one thing these Techmarines do differently to their Imperial counterparts - they improvise. Rites are often ignored and simply getting down to the meat of the matter and fixing a machine becomes a mundane task rather than a holy duty. Modifying machinery relies on practicality rather than consulting machine spirits. Although repairs tend to occur more quickly than in the Imperium, mishaps resulting from angered or frustrated machine spirits are much more common.

Their Librarians, known as Wyrds amongst the Untaken, scrutinise their men constantly for taint. To pledge loyalty to a dead king in a dead empire is one thing but to truck with foul powers, powers that can eat the life and soul from every Untaken that exists, is untenable. The Untaken are raiders, privateers and rebels against a dead God. The nightmare realm and it's nightmare Gods are as unpalatable to them as they would be for an Imperial. Still, there are some who succumb. If a Wyrd does not get them, then a captain would. Relied upon to enforce discipline, for lack of Chaplains to fulfil the same role, a captain and his chosen enforcers have the authority to put down any who turn.

Of all the specialists still available to the Untaken, the Apothecaries have changed the least. They go about their general duties, maintaining gene-seed stores and tending to the wounded and dead. Despite stealing gene-seed from fallen enemies, Apothecaries of the Untaken act as honour demands of them - they will treat those they can and administer last rites to those they cannot.

The Fall of the Raven Brotherhood

The Raven Brotherhood, one of the original Chapters of the Liber Cluster standing alongside the likes of the Knives of Guilliman, the Chevaliers and the Hell Tigers, had an undetected failure in the hypno-indoctrination methods, leading to the chapter going rogue. Over time the number of Chaplains fell while the acceptance rates of otherwise unlikely candidates went up. Soon the brotherhood only recruited the strong in body, but not the strong in mind.

Matters came to a head when the remaining Chaplains sought an audience with the presiding Chapter Master - Sarvakkus. They intended to restore the balance lost to the chapter, to request Sarvakkus beg aid from their brother chapters. Sarvakkus refused. The Chaplains were all slain in the ensuing battle but cost Sarvakkus his trusted honour guard. With over a hundred of the Chapter still answering to the Emperor above all, Sarvakkus purged those veterans that still remained loyal to the Throne. Wily and experienced, these elder brethren fought long and hard using their many years of battlefield craft to account for Sarvakkus' lackeys. The price in manpower Sarvakkus could live with. The distress call he could not.


Long after the Brotherhood had dealt with the dissidents in their ranks, a new threat appeared. The first to respond to the veterans' mayday were the Hell Tigers, no longer considering themselves brothers to what now called itself the Untaken. Gleefully they razed Moribus to the ground, Fortress Monastery and native structures alike. For as long as the Hell Tigers recounted, up until they themselves disappeared in the Silence, they never mentioned how many of the brotherhood they let slip through their fingers - more than half of the remaining chapter escaped to fight another day.

After Moribus

Since the destruction of Moribus until their employ under the Sereiki Lions, the Untaken roved across the Liber taking as they wished and slaying those who opposed them. They relished ambushing Liber space marines, using their tried and true tactics of overwhelming firepower and small kill-teams to partition and destroy their enemies piecemeal. In the Silence, few opposed them. Even the Hell Tigers disappeared for a time, leaving the Untaken open to reave and pillage soft targets as they wished.

With the rise of the Pride, this changed as the Untaken saw ample opportunity to be a part of a growing empire, to have better arms and armour. The drive to act as pirates diminished and instead the desire to be rulers overtook them. The first [and last] mission in this new empire was to safe guard Zavatista for the Lions. Against xenos and minor warbands, Zavatista remained unmolested. Against the crusade force sent by the Imperium during the reconquest of the Liber Cluster, the Untaken would suffer an embarrassing defeat, despite assertions that the refinery-world would hold.

Cast from Zavatista by crusade forces, the Untaken retreated deeper into Lion territory. Of the crucial battles left in the campaign, they participated in fewer than their employers wished for. Victory for the Imperium lay on the horizon, the Eighteen Worlds all but theirs. The Untaken, at a fraction of their former strength and doomed should they linger further, abandoned the Sereiki Lions and fled for the Deep.

In the Deep end

Taking the world of Hammerlin for themselves, far from warp routes and far from any conventional means of Imperial contact, the Untaken went about rebuilding. Back to their old habits they went; raiding, pillaging and seizing. Over the millennia these methods allowed the Untaken to survive and thrive. With no consideration of the codex, the Untaken grew beyond the normal limits, expanding their sphere of control over other worlds they discovered in the Deep. The outposts planted on each of the four other Untaken worlds served as resupply bases and hideouts, should there come a time to fade away into the wilderness of inter-galactic space. These outposts, although reliant on Hammerlin, serve the warband well in times of need.

Spread amongst the fleet and the Dominion, twenty-seven hundred Untaken ready themselves for a return to the Liber Cluster. They judge themselves to have the numbers and the ships to return to Moribus, for what the Imperium has yet to discover.





[basicheaderhalf'ORGANIZATION']THE CODEX CAST ASIDE[/basicheaderhalf]

+The Untaken muster at Hammerlin+

A rare pict capture of Untaken fleet assets, received 008.M38 from an unknown agent of the Inquisition. No further contact was received or established. This is believed to be the moment when the Untaken gathered their cohort for their journey to Moribus. Full fleet analysis is incomplete.

The Untaken, informal as they are, do not refer to each other as 'brothers'. They much prefer more intimate terms amongst peers, thus they will often use given names. In the field communications between units are far from standardised, as battalions, companies and even squads practise their own battlefield cants.

In an organisation that has deviated far from the Codex strictures of old, the Untaken surprisingly still use sergeants and captains. However in a force that has far outgrown the old restrictions, delegation of power was needed. Between the rank of captain and chapter master (known simply as the 'Master') arose the rank of commandant. Each commandant is likely to command several hundred warriors and multiple captains, much like chapter masters of more traditional Imperial institutions, in formations of companies referred to as 'battalions'. These commandants each answer to the presiding master, offering greater strategic flexibility than just one homogenous force under the master himself. The amount of commandants has varied over the centuries and millennia with the exact number rising and falling on ever shifting tides of internal politics within the warband.

In the ranks of the Untaken, specialists tend to be less prominent than they are in regular chapters - they often will bear normal Untaken heraldry (dirty grey/white) and would normally be indistinguishable if not for the specialised gear they require to operate. A coloured helm or a stripe on one is the most common way to denominate a specialist but others choose to use differing markings, from a full-on pseudo-loyalist appearance to more esoteric designs. Typically the Untaken will use the old colours held over from the time when they fought for the Throne, such as blue for a Wyrd, red for a Techmarine and alabaster for an Apothecary. Commonly amongst the Untaken an astartes will use chequered patterns, scrawl script and declarations and utilise other more orthodox ways of decorating their battle-plate, ensuring that no two Untaken look the same.

In the field squad sizes - without the strictures of the codex to guide them - wildly varies. Often units are folded together when casualties are taken, creating an almost random amount of men in every squad. Techmarines, Wyrds, Apothecaries and commanders alike will accompany squads very much as a regular warrior and take to the field with little more than some specialised gear and a man to put in front of him when the shells begin to fly.

Edit 1 - Number revision. Dropped from 5k to 2.7k.

Edit 2 - Added a short sidebar about Hammerlin.

Edit 3 - The term 'rogue world' has been replaced.

Edit 4 - Minor format and grammar tweaks.

Edited March 12, 2015 by Olis
See edit notes.

[Conn Eremon]

Very nice read, Olis. It's nice having everything about it all in one post.

 

Couple things: Not sure if the date (M38) is before or after the Blackjaw Kindred. I tried checking, but Microsoft Word is giving me issues since the update last night. Says it's not installed for this user, online fixes got me to a point where it asks me to re-activate it, attempt it three times, online and by phone, double-checking I entered it right, and it tells me it's invalid, return product to store. I've had it for like half a dozen years . . .

 

The other thing is the rogue world. If you're using my own use of that phrase as inspiration, I wanted to let you know the actual source of it. These are planets cast out into the cosmos, orbiting no stars of their own. Which I felt were fitting out there in the Deep.

 

That said, I think it'd be pretty cool if 'Rogue World' is in fact an Imperial classification given to any known planet within the Deep, alongside Forge Worlds or Hive Worlds, rather than the modern day classification of star-less planets. So I'm not advocating you don't use the phrase, just letting you know where I got the phrase form.

[Wade Garrett]

Not to be a stick in the mud, but....

 

We're starting a major new event, and we still haven't resolved the 18 Worlds Crusade (for which I will accept my share of blame) or Whatshisname Black Legion Tzeencht Guy's Black Crusade to wipe out the Aetheric Swords.

 

Also, so far every event has featured Astartes as major adversaries (Lions, Sero?, and now the Untaken).

 

Hmmmmm.

 

The current situation is a hunt for a shiny Macguffin. Looting it, if you will.

 

Who are the galaxy's number one experts on looting Macguffins?

 

"Oi, ya gits! Dis is Boss Grimlugg Trukksmasha! Make sure Madelynn an all the other girls is fueled up for when we land! Ain't no buncha humie Nobs gonna git ahold of "Da Orb O Lottsa Dakka" 'afore I do!"

[Olis]

Very nice read, Olis. It's nice having everything about it all in one post.

 

Couple things: Not sure if the date (M38) is before or after the Blackjaw Kindred. I tried checking, but Microsoft Word is giving me issues since the update last night. Says it's not installed for this user, online fixes got me to a point where it asks me to re-activate it, attempt it three times, online and by phone, double-checking I entered it right, and it tells me it's invalid, return product to store. I've had it for like half a dozen years . . .

 

The other thing is the rogue world. If you're using my own use of that phrase as inspiration, I wanted to let you know the actual source of it. These are planets cast out into the cosmos, orbiting no stars of their own. Which I felt were fitting out there in the Deep.

 

That said, I think it'd be pretty cool if 'Rogue World' is in fact an Imperial classification given to any known planet within the Deep, alongside Forge Worlds or Hive Worlds, rather than the modern day classification of star-less planets. So I'm not advocating you don't use the phrase, just letting you know where I got the phrase form.

 

I'll be willing to edit the date, if Wade or yourself have a date in mind. No problem. Can't really help with MS Word, though. Short of blagging a copy from a friend, I'm out of ideas.

 

Hmm. I thought I had edited out the term 'Rogue World'. The fact that Hammerlin orbits a red dwarf kinda negates the whole point of it being a rogue planet, so I'm with you there in terms of knowing what it is. I'll edit the post shortly. I think 'wretched' was intended as the replacement. 

 

Not to be a stick in the mud, but....

 

We're starting a major new event, and we still haven't resolved the 18 Worlds Crusade (for which I will accept my share of blame) or Whatshisname Black Legion Tzeencht Guy's Black Crusade to wipe out the Aetheric Swords.

 

Also, so far every event has featured Astartes as major adversaries (Lions, Sero?, and now the Untaken).

 

You're quite right, brother. We can leave the treasure hunt for a new thread. The EWC needs finishing. And yes, each major event has been because of astartes. Which is something we're supposed to avoid but... it just keeps happening. The hazards of this being primarily a power armour forum, I suppose. 

[Gorkimedes]

Maybe an event that does not include the Imperium to a large extent ( a chapter or two)? Focus more on other human factions and xenos?

[Teetengee]

Did someone ask for more EWC!!!!

 

Battle for Cenicika: Prayer

     The Emperor is my marshall. He is my director and sustainer in all things. The prayer stretches through my mind as I look up from my knees at the figure before me. All in gold, this smiling giant is everything I could have hoped for. He is my marshall, my father, my god. Looking down I see the ship floor beneath my boots. The machine tang of the air is replaced by a sickeningly sweet fragrance as I pull my helmet on, but it quickly dissipates as I focus once again on the prayer. I shall lack nothing, He is my bolter and my sword, my light and my life. Without Him there is nothing.

 

     The prayer focuses me, calms the rage and the grief and the pain. We continue the chant as we ready our weapons for the enemy. Landing in five. I shalt not falter in my duty in his name. Bolter is armed and ready. Four. His light is my path through the Immaterium. I hear faint laughter and feel a knife in my shoulder blades. The sensation ends. Three. He repairs my soul. We are the angels of death, no matter our enemy, we shall be victorious. Two. The Drop pod restraints hiss as they seal, as they have a thousand times before. As we fall we shout together: Though I walk within the pits carved by treachery, though I travel along the knife-edge of the abyss of the void, I will fear no heresy, no evil can touch me under his grace! One. The shock laces up my suit and my spine. Zero, we greet the explosion of sound outside with our chants and the rapid barks of bolt rounds.

 

     The burnt fields of Signus are spread before me, but this time populated by black and checkered marines. We are meant to cut off their retreat. We move in time to the chants, cutting them down like the burnt wheat upon which they stand. One daemon nearly manages to strike me with his sword. No not daemon. Renegade, mentally shaking my head, renegade I remind myself. Still, by your spirit the enemies of the imperium fall, even if by my hand it appears to their blasted eyes,  I shout it out with the others drowning any laxity of purpose in hate for my foe. The blood rises and falls as we finish off the survivors. Behind them the cold faces of the Iron Ha-Ravagers mirror the fortress we are set to assail. Their vindicators pull up and begin to beat a ragged hole into the side of the stronghold.

 

     It takes only a few moments to open a hole large enough. Plenty of time to switch to pistol and chainsword. Chants and chainswords rev up once more as we rush over the breach. Inside are the bodies of those blasted to sprays of blood and ribbons of flesh, but not a sign of ceramite. You anoint my head with their blood; my enemies are your enemies and their lifesblood is a sacrament to your glory. Not yet, at least.

 

     As we continue through the labyrinthine paths of this foul fortress, the lighting begins to change. There always seems to be a faint glow around the corner that disappears when we reach it. Shadows dance in the light cast by Chaplain Yileus’s crozius, growing and shifting in strange patterns. Even through my helmet, I feel a faint breeze that carries the scent of burning flesh and fragrant flowers. The spoken prayers stop as the fighting has ceased for now. We run down hall after hall, the taste of the blood is in my mouth. I see the bodies of our foes crushed beneath my heels. I will kill them. I will drown them in their own dead.

 

     An explosion knocks us off to left and sets my sensors ringing. Looking to my right I quickly get to me feet, ignoring the shrapnel in my ribcage. In front of me are a hundred small daemons, only the size of men. Their claws snap and beckon to us as we all rush them down. A roar is on our lips and death is in our hands. I hit the line first, barrelling right through the first one, limbs and gore splattering to my sides. No need for chants now, the enemy is all around me. They seem slower than before, but I don’t have time to think. A jewel encrusted claw flashes down toward me. I quickly raise my whirring chainsword grinding into and through the hardened flesh and spraying an iridescent shower over the nearby combatants. We carve through them, slashing left and right, screaming out our glorious counter charge. Eventually the remainder drain into the shadows at the end of the room, leaving some great beast in front of us. It steams and clanks as tentacles whip out to the side and it stomps the ground. Great horns extend from a vast barrel at its front as it begins to pick up speed in our direction. Looking around I see that only four of us remain; myself, Crassus, Macae, and a one armed Chaplain Yileus.

 

     Rising from the crater of bodies he has created around himself and leaning heavily on his crozius, Yileus spits out words as good as any order, “My heart overflows with Your joy.” My brothers and I fall into line, arming krak grenades. The chant gets four times louder as the beast roars its challenge in a gout of fire. The bodies begin to catch and smoke as we set for the beast’s charge.

 

     Your spirit fills me with the one and only true bliss. The words have never been truer. We yell them without fear, these our last devotions. The pain in my side is nothing. The treacherous face that has pushed out from the boar is all I care about. The archtraitor means to kill my God. He will die this day instead. Crassus and Macae run towards it, skidding against its side. Crassus is crushed by one great hoof while Macae manages to lodge a grenade in the beasts hind leg. It wheels. Macae dodges the spikes of the horns but gets thrown several meters and lands with a wet thud and the heavy crack of ceramite on stone. The thing raises its sword at me. No, not a sword, a horn. It runs toward us, Yileus sidesteps left and swings low, crackling crozius smashing apart servos and tendons. A split second later, Macae’s charge blows and the beast skids to a halt in front of my, a searing pain spreading from my chest where its horn has come to rest. I reach down and place the charge at the beast’s neck even as its throat glows white hot with fire. The heat and force send me sprawling and I lose consciousness.

 

     Blinking away the fog I glance down.  My legs stop about midway down my thighs, and my armour and torso are riddled with damage. Yileus kneels before me, crozius off and between us, holding my shoulder in his remaining hand. “You fought well brother Socan; we have won the day. Rest now, I will find another exsanguinator for you. Our brothers will know of your bravery.” He pulls his arm back and then lifts the crozius to help him stand. He walks with purpose back the way we came. I think about how his stride is off, a servo must be broken. I return to my silent prayers, even as the pain threatens to take me, closing my eyes for the last time. A life lived in wholly in service of the Emperor is without fault, fear, or blame. And I will dwell in the home of the Emperor forever. For to do the Emperor’s work is to know the Emperor’s plan, it is to live in his heart and in his home and to be called to him upon the ending of my days, though he shall reign eternal.

 

     Excerpt from Iron Ravagers Report file.

...The ferocity and perseverance of our Angels Exultant brethren continue to be above average, as do their casualties. One of their brethren Yileus, a Chaplain, reported that losses were particularly steep fighting several ambushes within the compound once we had opened an ingress for engagement. Though they attained victory, the cost was high. At least eight of their number we have confirmed dead and 13 with injuries that will likely prevent them from further action in this engagement. Extensive mutation and tech-heresy was evident in the bodies of the enemy. Yileus asked that we note in particular the loss of one brother who purportedly showed great potential for strong leadership and quick action. This detail will be included in the joint report, alongside our condolences for the loss of valuable war resources….

Edited March 12, 2015 by Teetengee