The Liber Cluster

[deathspectersgt7]

Can do. It is not very long so five weeks yes I can.

[Olis]

No I didn't. I also don't have the planet names any more. Most of the files I see just have the planets marked with lens flares and grids for sub sectors but none of the text layers.

Keep in mind these are Badab style maps and not the stylized HH maps of the more recent books, the Orpheus map requires tools I can't emulate in gimp for the warp route markers.

There should, hopefully, be a list of most of the planets in the opening posts. Here's what I could salvage from Lucernius' old posts:

Hidden Content

[Marshal Rohr]

You are gonna wanna use those instead :D

[Olis]

Fair enough. ^_^

[Conn Eremon]

If you are interested in contributing cartographically, the EWC could do well with a Badab War style of maps.

 

What Lucernius provided were some very good, galactic maps, along the lines of the Imperial segmentum maps.

 

Besides, it's fitting to have multiple, differing maps. The EWC is early in the Cluster's history, and an EWC map could have all the faults of those early explorers. Lucernius's maps could be 41st millennium, official Cluster cartography.

[Marshal Rohr]

I think stylistically I wouldn't be able to create something comparable with my current tools. He's got the cluster laid out in a way that with the renders and effects like the FW Badab maps you'd have three or four lens effects overlapping and a solid grid render instead of a faded one. I'll take those pictures and strip everything out and see if I can't make it work, but I'm afraid if it becomes too 'busy' with the FW style effects it will do a disservice to his initial work.

 

Do you have a link to the EWC info?

[Conn Eremon]

I really, really wouldn't worry about that.

 

This is a project where we just have fun creating stuff, not one where we hold each other to standards of quality.

[Nomus Sardauk]

+++Accessing Archive+++

 

+++WARNING: ACCESS LEVEL VERMILLION REQUIRED. PLEASE IDENTIFY+++

 

+++INPUT DETECTED: ANALYSING+++

 

+++Access Level Vermillion Verified: Welcome *:>?~#*%"&^!)+++

 

+++Searchwords: "Zavatista" "Eighteen_Worlds_Crusade" "2nd_Battle"+++

 

+++Searching...+++

 

+++1 Matching File Found. Display File: Y/N?+++

 

+++Retriving File...+++

 

-----

 

The 2nd Battle of Zavatista

 

Taken during the first wave of the Imperium's Eighteen Worlds Crusade, Zavatista was badly ravaged by the intense fighting that took place on it's surface. Two Astartes Chapters, the Conflagrators and Blackjaw Kindred, as well as several regiments of Imperial Guard launched an invasion of the planet, turning the vast refinery-ships and the skies above into warzones. By the end only four Refinery-Ships were still afloat, all others having been sunk or were firebombed by the overzealous Conflagrators in the aftermath. Though they received much criticism for their actions the Chapter was vindicated merely three weeks later, when contact with the Imperial garrison on Zavatista was mysteriously lost.

 

Fearing that Serekei forces had outflanked the Crusade's main body to strike at her supply lines, Crusade High Command immediately ordered any nearby Imperial forces to make all haste to Zavatista, ascertain the situation, and re-take the planet. Among the first to respond was the Blades of the Lion 5th Company under Company Master Gullen aboard the Strike Cruiser Path of Virtue, who quickly diverted course from Heroda IV to investigate.

 

Dropping out of the Warp just beyond the system's edge the Blades were surprised to find they had been beaten there, the sable-and-stone form of a Black Falcons Vanguard Cruiser, the Tireless Pursuer, was awaiting them. Communications were quickly established and Gullen met with his opposite number, Captain Rudiger of the Falcons 3rd Company, who quickly explained that they too had received word of Zavatista's plight and had already covertly deployed infiltration teams to reconnoitre the situation planet-side.

 

While scornful of the Falcons' caution, Gullen's mood shifted when a transmission came back from the infiltration teams, pict-captures and vid-logs painting an unpleasant picture. The four remaining Refinery-Ships now sailed together in a closely packed defensive formation, allowing their self-defence guns to provide overlapping areas of AA coverage as miles-long trails of bodies littered the sea in their combined wake. The corpses of the murdered Imperial Garrison callously dumped overboard by the masked figures of Swift Fox infiltrators while elsewhere Ash Wolves toiled ceaselessly to load a dozen Orbital Conveyors with as much promethium, weapons, ammunition and other vital supplies as possible. The most eye-catching cargo by far being four dozen recovered suits of Mk.VI Power Armour and another eleven Terminator suits in Untaken colours, likely dredged up from the sunken ships.

 

Alarmed by this news, Gullen demanded an immediate assault to reclaim such valuable war materials before the enemy could escape with their prize. However Rudiger advocated caution, pointing out that the Orbital Conveyors were not warp-capable, useful only for surface-to-orbit transfer, yet the Infiltration Teams could detect no ships in orbit to receive them. Rationalizing that a ship had to be hidden nearby in ambush, he put forward a plan to reverse the trap. Infiltration Team One would sabotage the enemy's planet-side defences whilst Team Two would stowaway on-board the Conveyors and disembark after landing aboard the hidden vessel. Once there they would activate their Locator Beacon to reveal the ship in preparation for boarding & capture by the Tireless Pursuer, meanwhile the Path would move into orbit to deploy an assault force of aircraft & Land Speeders to retake the Refinery-Ships.

 

Although unhappy about the underhanded nature of the Falcons' strategy Gullen reluctantly agreed, strategic sense winning out over knightly pride. As a precaution he ordered an Astropathic message be sent back to Crusade Command, informing them of the situation, just in case. As planned Team Two deftly slipped past the Ash Wolves sentries, concealing themselves within the Conveyor holding the armour suits as Team One snuck their way towards the first Refinery-Ship's command centre.

 

Monitoring Team One's signal the Astartes Commanders waited as the bulbous Conveyors streaked up out of the atmosphere towards a seemingly random patch of space before vanishing suddenly. Thankfully the Team's signal was quickly replaced by that of their Locator Beacon, the Pursuer re-acquiring their location in roughly the same spot they'd disappeared. Coded data-bursts via the Beacon signal informed the Commanders that the Conveyors had landed in the hanger of a cloaked vessel, confirming the Rudiger's suspicions. Of even greater interest though was that the Team had identified the vessel as the infamous Shadow Star, a Pirate Cruiser captained by a dangerous renegade known as Venyadha the Reviled. Immediately Team Two were given new orders to find and disable the cloaking mechanism for the Pursuer to engage her, if the Shadow Star could be destroyed it would be a great boon to the Imperium.

 

The next phase of the plan began swiftly as the Path initiated a short-range warp jump, minutes later tearing back into realspace above Zavatista, spewing Gunships and Nephilim Jetfighters from her launch bays with frightening speed as they deployed onto the surface below. Once through the atmosphere Land Speeders of varying shapes and sizes deployed from their cradles beneath the Thunderhawks, swooping down to race alongside the troop-laden gunships as they neared the Refinery-Ships. Self-defence batteries rumbled into life as the Blades drew within range, only for them to turn on the Serekei defenders. Team One had been successful, covertly re-assigning the local defence grid's IFF priorities to wreck havoc for the Lions. The response was immediate as the renegades sprang into action, some dug in to defend themselves or moved to disable the rogue turrets while others raced to launch their aircraft.

 

Meanwhile in space Rudiger sent warning to the Path, the Shadow Star had begun moving and was on an intercept course with them. Not wanting to tip the Lions off, Master Gullen grimly elected to hold off on deploying their remaining fighters and raising the shields, instead readying both for last-minute use as the Pursuer prepared itself to jump in to assist.

 

Captain Rudiger could only watch as the Shadow Star's sensor blip rapidly closed in on the Path, the vessel was within weapons range now and if it came any closer he feared the Path's shields wouldn't raise in time to save her once the renegades fired.

-

Abruptly, a small light flared into existence in the empty space far to the Path's port side, an explosion, but not from a cannon or torpedo tube firing. Instead the blaze persisted amidst the void, quickly followed by the equally sudden appearance of the Shadow Star as it phased into visibility, whatever mechanism that concealed it lost in the fiery wound that now blazed upon it's ashen hull. As the Tireless Pursuer leapt into the warp to intervene a message was received from Team Two. Objective complete, new orders? Captain Rudiger is said to have laughed aloud at the news, not only had his men succeeded in their mission but they had done so by "appropriating" several of the Terminator Suits the Serekei thieves had thought to steal!

-

As the Pursuer burst back into realspace over the exposed vessel Rudiger quickly ordering his Team to secure the Star's engine room, assuring them that reinforcements would be joining them shortly as both Loyalist vessels' guns opened up on their treacherous counterpart, fighters and boarding craft swarming forth like angry hornets. The Star's void shields held despite the punishment she endured, engines blazing as she furiously sought to escape the hammer and anvil she'd been caught between.

-

Regrettably not everything favoured the Imperials, word from the Imperial's Astropaths warned of fluctuations in the Warp. More vessels were approaching from out-system and they were most certainly not allies, the clock was ticking.

Planet-side the Blades' assault progressed with ruthless speed, the unprepared defenders struggled to hold the line as a third Refinery-Ship fell to the vengeful Marines' rampage. Sensing the end drawing near, many Serekei sought to flee rather than stand and be butchered. Few of their drop ships were lucky or skilled enough to slip through the cordon established by the prowling Nephilim Jetfighters & Land Speeders, and those that did were inevitably claimed by the awaiting guns of the Loyalist fleet in orbit. Astartes aircraft relentlessly bombarded the remaining vessels' defences, raining missiles and shells that silenced the self-defence guns one-by-one as the triumphant Blades rapidly redeployed to assault the final Ship. Thunderhawks & Stormravens swiftly delivered their charges onto the floating construct's upper decks, forging beachheads for those to follow as Assault Squads leapt to-and-fro through the dense jungle of catwalks and piping, carving apart or flushing out pockets of Ash Wolves & Swift Foxes for the Tactical Squads to mow down. It was in all, a chilling display of precision & brutality, but it was not enough to save them from what came next. 

-

With a earth-shattering roar & a furious shockwave that nearly capsized it's brethren the final Refinery-Ship detonated in fiery blast that was visible from orbit. It took with it every remaining Serekei Lion on Zavatista's surface and roughly sixty-eight battle-brothers of the Blades of the Lion, as well as over two dozen aircraft either immolated in the explosion or struck down into the blazing chem-oceans by the blast-wave. Later investigation would rule this explosion a suicidal last act of spite by the Lions, using one of the very Conflagrator firebombs the Blackjaw Kindred had defused three weeks prior. Cornered with no-where to run, the Lion's commander had evidently chosen to follow his patron's motto of "fight hard and die laughing" by taking as many lives with him as possible. The raging chemical inferno this resulted in would force the surviving Loyalists to reluctantly abandon the other Refinery-Ships until the fires had subsided, leaving them to drift aimlessly until they were reclaimed & repaired by Mechanicus relief elements weeks later.

-

In space things had gone from bad to worse, as Serekei reinforcements had arrived in the form of a trio of Sword-class Frigates that had translated in-system and were now burning hard towards the Loyalist Cruisers and the embattled Shadow Star. Hesitant to risk letting their prey slip away but mindful of their tenuous hold on the situation the Tireless Pursuer reluctantly broke off her attack on the wounded Star, trusting the Path & their forces already aboard the enemy vessel to finish the job while they moved to intercept the new arrivals.

 

Lances blazing the Pursuer met the Frigates head on, deploying attack craft as the enemies' gun batteries hammering her Voids with concentrated salvoes as they sought to surround the lone Cruiser. Outnumbered though she was the Pursuer fought with all the ferocity & skill her Chapter were famed for, deftly manoeuvring between much of the smaller vessels' fire while answering in kind. The Cruiser unleashing punishing broadsides that stripped one Frigate's shields before gutting it with macrocannon fire, while another Sword narrowly avoided all but one torpedo out a five-shot spread. The fateful missile, surely guided by the Emperor's hand, struck just below the bridge, explosively decapitating the vessel and leaving her to tumble blindly through the void and out of the fight. The remaining Frigate however did not die so easily, absorbing multiple hits with it's armoured prow as it stripped the Pursuer's final Void with a barrage of Lance fire, raking her rearward starboard hull with deep, molten scars that knocked out one of her engines and badly damaged another.

Injured but not out, the Pursuer pushed her damaged engines to the limit & executed a high-energy turn to swing her hammerhead nose around with harrowing speed, catching the Sword as it sought to speed away with a volley of Lance fire that imploded it's shields followed by a spread of torpedoes that struck deep enough to detonate her Plasma Reactors. Like a miniature star flaring into life, the last Sword Frigate exploded into chunks of molten wreckage as the triumphant Cruiser sluggishly turned to rejoin the Path, her engines struggling to propel her forward.

 

Meanwhile aboard the Shadow Star the mixed Chapter strike force had made excellent progress, with a beachhead secured in the Starboard docking bay from which Tactical & Terminator Squads pushed deeper into the Cruiser's innards towards the vessel's Engine Room which was even now under siege by Team Two in their "appropriated" Terminator suits. Outside the Path of Virtue constantly manoeuvred to-and-fro to block the Star's attempts to disengage, both ships maintained a steady barrage of fire as they danced about one another, trying to knock out as many of the others' batteries and systems as possible.

Soon word came from the strike force, the Engine Room had been secured despite intense resistance from defending Hyena & Kodiak squads, casualties had been moderate due to the Lions' disorganised defence with Team Two already inside the cavernous chamber wreaking havoc as the strike force launched their assault. Master Gullen & Captain Rudiger both agreed, trying to capture the Shadow Star for study would be too risky with the threat of Venyadha & an unknown number of Lion forces still alive on-board as well as possibly more Serekei reinforcements en-route, the order was given to plant explosives and scuttle her. Complying, the strike force were forced to fend off multiple assaults from the vengeful Lions as the Engines were rigged to blow, but once the charges were set the majority of the marines withdrew to the Starboard Docking Bay where they & the Rearguard units loaded up the last of the stolen supplies and promptly evacuated, leaving a handful of Terminator Squads behind to ensure the renegades could not undo the sabotage.

 

Wave after wave of scum launched themselves at the Terminators as the Lions desperately sought to prevent their end, but the Loyalists held firm as the Blades' Deathwing Knights formed an impenetrable bulwark with their Storm Shields while their Falcon counterparts laid down a harrowing maelstrom of fire. Storm Bolters, Assault Cannons & Heavy Flamers reaped a hellish toll in lives as Venyadha himself finally descended from the Star's bridge to vent his fury at the Loyalists' trepass, striking down Astartes left and right with bolts of vile witchfire as he sought to save his doomed ship. This effort proved too little, too late however as twisting of space & blinding flash spirited the Terminators to safety aboard the Path of Virtue leaving scarce minutes for the renegades to attempt to find and disarm the dozens of charges set.Like the Sword Frigates before it, the Shadow Star was torn apart in a hellish conflagration as the charges detonated, rupturing her Plasma drives and unleashing the molten starfire to atomise the stricken vessel.

 

In the aftermath of the battle a battle group of Imperial Navy warships would arrive to relieve the two mauled Strike Cruisers, followed by a transport flotilla carrying a replacement garrison force along with a Mechanicus detachment to begin the lengthy process of rebuilding. The Blades of the Lion & Black Falcons would receive numerous commendations and praise following the conclusion of the Eighteen Worlds Crusade for their hard-won triumph against a highly unfavourable situation and for ridding the Imperium of the threat Venyadha and his Shadow Star represented.

 

 

 

_{+++ADDENDUM NO.1+++}

With the considerable damage inflicted by both the Lions' initial attack and the following battle to re-take Zavatista conservative estimates predict complete repair of the damaged Ships and recommencement of fuel processing will take up to 17 Terran standard months, likewise replacing all sunken vessels lost during the course of the EWC is estimated to take close to a decade.

 

_{+++ADDENDUM NO.2+++}

Despite the complete destruction of the Shadow Star and the seeming impossibility of his escaping before said destruction there have been multiple reports of a pirate using the name Venyadha from all across the Cluster and even a few all the way from Segmentum Tempestus in the centuries since his supposed death during the Eighteen Worlds Crusade. While this is most likely nothing more than a few over-ambitious Pirate Captains seeking to use the infamous reaver's reputation to gain power and influence there is still troubling evidence to the contrary, and given Venyadha's known use of sorcery [see File: Shadow Star] it is theorised by several Inquisitors that the cur might have somehow opened a Warp Portal to escape his well-deserved fate. Until such time as these theories or Venyadha's survival can be confirmed all Imperial Captains and Governers are warned to be vigilant and remain cautious when dealing with unknown vessels.

 

 

 

[Olis]

Looking pretty good so far. :tu:

[Nomus Sardauk]

Looking pretty good so far.

 

Glad you think so, I've been wrestling with this damn thing longer than I'd like to admit, as such please feel free to nag and pester the everliving hell out me to make sure I actually finish the accursed thing. 

[Reyner]

Sounds good so far :)

[Captain Nameless]

Great, we've started back up again! Anything open?

[Olis]

Great, we've started back up again! Anything open?

 

Here's what we are doing for the third wave. 

 

Helfen -  Aetheric Swords + All Seers   Olis

Caecus - Blackjaw Kindred + Doomsayers   Teetengee

Naxa Secundus + Ogris - Black Judges + Conflagrators   Ace Debonair (DONE)

Unnamed planet - Eagles of Glory + Lords Inviolate   Reyner

Unnamed planet - Iron Ravagers + Angels Exultant   Wade Garrett

Thravis Prime Round 2 - Scarlet Sentinels + Heralds of Letum   Conn Eremon

Zavatista Round 2 (Optional) - Blades of the Lion + Black Falcons   SanguiniusReborn  (IN PROGRESS)

 

Do you wish to help any particular writer?

[Captain Nameless]

I'll help Teetengee with Caecus if he's okay with that.

[Olis]

That's fine, just shoot him a PM about it and let him know you wish to help. You've both got just under four weeks.

[Captain Nameless]

Will do.

[Nomus Sardauk]

Hey guys, just a quick update, I'm still working on the second half of the 2nd Battle of Zavatista but I've also commissioned Blazbaros on DeviantArt to create a piece of art for my Scarlet Sentinels which I've now integrated into their original profile post for anyone who's interested to check out.

[Captain Nameless]

Blazbaros draws some nice looking space marines, and this one is no exception.

[Olis]

[captionright=Brother Raleigh of 1st Company, art by Blazbaros.][/caption]

Well now. That's pretty nifty. What did that commission count as? Just a simple character?

[Nomus Sardauk]

Mmm sort of, Blaz has a chart of basic Marine line art templates that for $10 you can have one done up in your own Chapter's colours, emblem & name plus you get to choose the armour mark and customise the look a bit. He's also willing to adapt the line art into Chaos Marines if you if the buyer wants it.

 

Any major edits, like adding different weapons, adding a jump pack, changing the arm positions, adding pouches or other accessories require an extra $10, I really wanted a Boarding Shield for my marine so I paid the extra cash and added a Tigris-pattern Combi-Melta for good measure.

 

Here's the link if you're interested: http://blazbaros.deviantart.com/art/Chapter-Approved-2-Approved-Harder-590223094

[Olis]

If I'm not mistaken, the process looks like it's pretty quick. Provided I recognised the right Deviantart member as yourself... 

[Nomus Sardauk]

If I'm not mistaken, the process looks like it's pretty quick. Provided I recognised the right Deviantart member as yourself...

Yep, I'm Saguinius, real imaginative I know. To make matters worse I made the account years back before I realised there were two "n"s in Sanguinius. :sweat:

[Olis]

Had a brain-fart yesterday, so I'm just going to leave this here:

 

Adeptus Mechanicus faction: The Hyparxians

The Hyparxians of the Liber Cluster, in essence, are a supremacist offshoot of the Machine Cult. The genesis of the Hyparxians hark back to the Moirae Schism, with many of the original members purged from the Mechanicus at large during that turbulent time. The merest fraction of the original brotherhood survived and scattered, taking the philosophy with them to far flung worlds across the galaxy. These splintered elements began their new lives in secret, each unsupported by the others. Over time, some were culled in turn by the danger they represented to the Imperium. Now, the Hyparxian Cult has very few sects any more, the largest splinter faction being the one in the Liber Cluster itself. 

 

They are exceptionally secretive, going so far as to wipe the memories of it's adherents frequently and eliminating problematic members long before they become a danger. It is hypothesised by Saneslau that only the very uppermost echelons retain contiguous memories of the meetings of each particular cell, and even these tech priests will likely receive mind-wipes on occasion. Very little direct evidence has ever been recovered from this rogue group, much less anything to form a complete theory on.

 

For the Hyparxians, it is a given that the Emperor and the Omnissiah are not one and the same. For them the Treaty of Olympus was a sham, a way for the Imperium to shackle the Machine-touched and marry a potentially dangerous competitor to the future of humanity with itself. Any Hyparxian will gladly endeavour in the Quest for Knowledge without ever giving away their true ideology - they are no different to the vast majority of their brethren. But for their anti-Imperial supremacist leanings they are doctrinally identical, and even under psychic interrogation could not give up their fellows. The cult is highly compartmentalised, even down to each cell, with cell-mates often not personally knowing even their most immediate fellows. But that matters not. To be a Hyparxian is to labour for the power of the Mechanicus in secret. 

 

The Imperium, to them, is the enemy within. For as long as the Imperium demands of the Mechanicus, the Hyparxians will seek a way to diminish it or empower the Martian Brotherhood. Some would call them zealots and fanatics, those that do not hold true to the ideals of the Mechanicus. Each Hyparxian considers themselves realists, seeing the survival of the Mechanicus as of paramount importance on the galactic stage. And to maintain the life of the Martian empire, survival is not enough. They must thrive. 

[Ace Debonair]

Very interesting!

 

Looks as though the Cluster is just crawling with potential insurgents.

 

I wonder if Penumbra might not find some allies of convenience amongst the Hyparxians - both of them want the Imperium's grip on the Cluster weakened or removed entirely, and both of them prefer to operate discreetly rather than openly.

 

I'm sure they could come to... arrangements.

[Olis]

Very interesting!

Looks as though the Cluster is just crawling with potential insurgents.

It does, doesn't it?

Well without Chaos around to cause trouble as much as normal, we're just going to have to settle for sectarian violence.

I wonder if Penumbra might not find some allies of convenience amongst the Hyparxians - both of them want the Imperium's grip on the Cluster weakened or removed entirely, and both of them prefer to operate discreetly rather than openly.

I'm sure they could come to... arrangements.

It occurs to me that the Hyparxians have two automatic enemies from the factions we've dreamt up - the two Inquisition factions of the Aleph-Null Directorate and the Cydonists (ironically, two factions I created ). Maybe they'll need a friend or two once in a while...

Also, I had a chat with this Blazbaros gentleman, and he kindly did me a space marine too. What are the chances of that happening, eh? Actually, quite high. It was a commission.

Voila: