Liber Challenge 2 Submission - Dark Mechanicus of Ghalmek

[Apostle of the 30th Host]

Liberalia Martiale:

The Dark Mechanicus of Ghalmek

 

01001001 Apostle of the 30^th Host, 01110110 01101111 01110111 00100000 01110100 01101111 00100000 01100011 01110010 01100101 01100001 01110100 01100101 00100000 01100001 00100000 01000100 01100001 01110010 01101011 00100000 01001101 01100101 01100011 01101000 01100001 01101110 01101001 01100011 01110101 01110011 00100000 01000011 01100001 01100010 01100001 01101100 00100000 01101001 01101110 00100000 01101000 01101111 01101110 01101111 01110101 01110010 00100000 01101111 01100110 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01000100 01100001 01110010 01101011 00100000 01000111 01101111 01100100 01110011 00100001 00100000 01100010 01111001 00100000 00110110 01110000 01101101 00100000 01000111 01001101 01010100 00101011 00110001 00100000 01101111 01101110 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 00110001 00110111 01110100 01101000 00100000 01001101 01100001 01111001 00101110

 

 

 

Mechanicum Classification – (Expedition Force XXX)

 

01000101 01111000 01110000 01100101 01100100 01101001 01110100 01101001 01101111 01101110

 

01000110 01101111 01110010 01100011 01100101

 

01011000 01011000 01011000

 

As dictated by the Treaty of Ghalmek, all Hosts of the Word Bearers Legion operating within the Maelstrom must be accompanied by a Dark Mechanicum Expedition Force in order to facilitate the acquisition of Dark Age Technology, Xenos relics or any other artefact of interest to the Magi of Ghalmek, if such artefacts are believed to be encountered. Of particular interest is data relevant to the Standard Template Construct.

 

+++ The Classification Number refers to the Host to which the Expedition Force is attached +++

 

Ghalmek

 

Ghalmek is a Daemon World located in the Maelstrom. It is under the control of the Word Bearers Legion and serves as their primary base in that area to launch Black Crusades against the Imperium.

 

The planet was once an Adeptus Mechanicus Forge World; having originally been conquered and settled by the Word Bearers Legion during the Great Crusade, who turned the planet over to their accompanying Exploratory Fleet to set up a supply base for their forces within the area. At the outbreak of the Horus Heresy, the Mechanicum of Ghalmek turned on their loyalist compatriots and sided with the Word Bearers, who had supplied them with many artefacts from the crusade in return for their support and the maintenance of their equipment. This was later ratified by the Treaty of Ghalmek following the Scouring.

 

Consumed by the warp/realspace overlap of the Maelstrom, Ghalmek was permanently occupied by the Word Bearers forces in the Maelstrom Zone as a primary base for their heretical activities in the area and to ensure the maintenance of their alliance with the Dark Mechanicum. It was not long before the planet was transformed into a Daemon World, swelling the power of the Hell Forges of the Dark Mechanicum.

Origins of Expedition Force XXX

 

The Dark Mechanicum force classified as Expedition Force XXX is a relatively new subsect of the Dark Mechanicus of Ghalmek. It was created as an attaché to the re-formed Word Bearers 30^th Host (who had been relocated from Sicarus, in the Eye of Terror, to the Maelstrom) in compliance with the Treaty of Ghalmek.

 

+++ Notes on the 30^th Host +++

 

The Word Bearers 30^th Host is reported to have been wiped out on the surface of Boros Prime following the arrival of an enormous Necron force in the system. Contradictory information has since been received from a series of worlds on the fringes of the Maelstrom which have identified the 30^th Host as being very much active and at significant strength.

 

Further information on the matter is pending Inquisitorial investigation…

 

Colours and Identifiable Markings

 

Reports identify the Dark Mechanicum Expedition Force XXX as being garbed in the standard wargear of an Adeptus Mechanicus Skitarius, however their exposure to the powers of the warp have muted the red of their robes and many areas of their once pristine war plate have become dulled and corroded.  It is said that the Dark Mechanicum of Ghalmek retained the symbol of their previous allegiance, the Crux Mechanicus, on their armour, welcoming the corrupting energies of the warp there most as a further blasphemy to the holy Omnissiah. Squads are identifiable by a symbol on the front right of their robes, whilst many also choose to decorate their robes with various Chaos Sigils and a mix of text in Binary and High Gothic.

 

Dark Technology

 

+++ The following list describes the known Tech Heresies and Dark Technology in the service of the Dark Mechanicus Expedition Force XXX. It was compiled by various Inquisitorial reports and supplemented by data from the Adeptus Mechanicus +++

 

Goleph:

‘The Golephic Heresy was discovered by the Ordos Calixis in 419.M41 when the forces of Inquisitor Embuleos, prosecuting Mechanicus renegades, were ravaged by faceless machine assassins built in the form of men. Inhumanly clever, fast, and silent, the machines stalked their victims by sound and heat-radiance before slaughtering them with ancient powerblades. Though at great cost, Embuleos was ultimately triumphant and discovered enough in the heretek ruins to put a name to these echoes of the Dark Age of Technology: Golephs…A Goleph's limbs are smooth and long, the human-sized body sleek and the head featureless; its outer shell betrays no sign or noise of the mechanisms within. Even Golephic hereteks have little knowledge of the origins of their forbidden lore. They toil in ignorance upon Goleph mind-pattern devices, seeking secrets of the Man-Machine within this dangerous archeotech. A Goleph machine is cast in the pattern of a man, is cunning as a man, and can hate as only a man can -- an active Goleph is an unrestrained murderer. To establish control, early hereteks crafted Golephic Keys, devices designed to communicate crude sigils of instruction and castigate disobedience by disruption of mind-pathways. A punished Goleph gives every appearance of torment—thrashing and writhing in silence, and then moved to sullen obedience or careful misinterpretation of sigils. A Goleph newly raised from safe storage in a stasis field is malevolent in aspect, pausing to weigh obedience to sigil-instructions against an attempt to slaughter its masters and destroy its Key’

 

Murder Gholam:

'A Gholam is an artificial construct made primarily of flesh and synthetic tissue by the arts of a gene-sculptor. Although a widespread technology within the Adeptus Mechanicus, many branches of this lore are considered heretical and forbidden. These, in particular, include so-called "Murder Gholams" -- horrific organic fabrications solely intended for violence. According to sacred legend, such fleshworks were forbidden by the word of the Emperor during the days of the Great Crusade in response to the horrors that he and his superhuman warriors encountered in the Unification Wars on Terra to end the Age of Strife'

 

 Members of Note

 

Arch-Heretek Luthor

 

The Arch-Heretek Luthor (formally Archmagos Prime Lexus Luthor), is a high ranking Magos amongst the ranks of the Dark Magi of Ghalmek and Field Commander of Expedition Force XXX. As a former Archmagos Prime of the Adeptus Mechanicus, Luthor is a master of strategy and has access to some of the finest armaments and defences. For the majority of operations, he commands his forces from the safety of the Word Bearers fleet in orbit, however, in major engagements or when overseeing the recovery of volatile artefacts, he will take to the field in person.

 

Khur’Vharadesh, Knight Paladin of Ghalmek

 

Mechanicus Identification Number: 01000111 01101000 01100001 01101100 01101101 01100101 01101011

(Translates to G-H-A-L-M-E-K)

 

+++ Identifies the Heretical Knight as being in the service of the Dark Mechanicus Forgeworld of Ghalmek +++
 

Imperial records suggest Khur’Vharadesh was once a member of Knight House (redacted) which was in league with the Mechanicus of Ghalmek before the Heresy. It is believed House (redacted) was divided during the Heresy with those that survived the destruction of their world taking up service with the Dark Mechanicus, before being inducted into the Word Bearers Legion upon their occupation of Ghalmek and union with the Hereteks residing there.

 

+++ All further details concerning the origins of the ‘Knights of Ghalmek’ have been expunged from Imperial Records by Inquisitorial Decree +++

 

+++ Note on naming conventions +++

 

It has been suggested that many of the ‘Knights of Ghalmek’ changed their names following the Horus Heresy to reflect their new allegiance. The name Khur’Vharadesh refers to the world Khur, pride of the Word Bearers efforts in the Great Crusade and origins of their betrayal and Vharadesh, the capital city of Colchis

Significant Engagements

 

M41 - Expedition Force XXX accompanied the Word Bearers 30^th Host in their assault on the three inhabited planets of the Crixes System at the fringes of the Maelstrom. The Word Bearers 30^th Host was targeting the system for its capital, Crixes Prime, an Ecclesiastical World, and beacon of hope for the surrounding systems.

XXX was dispatched as the Magi of Ghalmek believed the world had once been inhabited by the Eldar before the great crusade and an ancient Eldritch artefact of great power was rumoured to have been buried beneath the vaults of the world’s Cathedral Imperialis. Furthermore, Arch-Heretek Luthor wished to field test his newest creation, the Goleph; they would later be formed into Golephic Assassination Squads due to their success in eliminating various noteworthy Imperial Officials during the campaign.

 

Threat Level

 

Whilst the fall of any Adeptus Mechanicus technology into the hands of Chaos is a significant risk to the safety of the Imperium, the Inquisition has deemed Expedition Force XXX to be of only a moderate threat level. This is in part due to the fact that the Dark Magi of Ghalmek appear to be more interested in their hunt for STC templates and other sources of ancient technology; only committing resources equivalent to the value of the artefacts they seek to recover. As a result, they are only a direct threat when such an agenda is in conflict with the forces of the Imperium or the safety of an Imperial World.

Their relationship with the Word Bearers is a much greater concern however as much of their recovered technology is of great benefit in their attempts to destroy the Imperium. We can rest assured however as although mutually beneficial, their relationship is also fractious and many attempts to operate in cohesion are subverted by conflicting agendas. The fanatical doctrine of the Word Bearers is incomprehensible to the cold logic of the Dark Magi whilst the Word Bearers mistrust any who do not share their faith whist viewing any non-Astartes as a lesser being.