Autek Mor's Secret Treasure (Massive Spoilers)

[NoLats_McGee]

So massive spoilers for Retribution, but in some fluff it presents Autek Mor hears about quite a major Forge/Manafactorum World named Bodt going rogue, and deploys his warband there in quite the hurry. Despite dooming the planet by shooting its moon into it (seriously), he risks his entire warband by landing and going after some heavily sealed vault.

 

He descends the vault, insisting on doing it alone. He comes out looking quite battered and burnt, and emerges with a 'large stasis casket' which is covered in 'the sigils of the Emperor's gene-wrights'. After getting this he immediately leaves, right as the planet goes full Majora's Mask.

 

My question is what could be worth all that much trouble? It only gets more mysterious when you look at the actual description of what he stole.

 

Some of my friends think it could be the corpse of a lost Primarch. If this is indeed the case then what exactly would he plan on doing with it? Could there be secret chimeric/full-blood XI and II legion marines in Autek's little band of misfits?

[Charlo]

Either that or its some sort of perfect blueprint for Astartes/ custodes etc!

[depthcharge12]

The first question would be, why the hell would it be in World Eater hands in the first place? (Bodt is their staging world)

 

It's possible that the casket contains a dead thunder warrior as the Workd Eaters had been sent to eradicate the remaining ones on an asteroid, so it's likely someone kept a souvenir from that.

[GhostMalone]

But to go that full on it has to be something bigger than a thunder warrior etc.

 

Maybe it's a failed primarch not lost or anything just genetically failed and the gene seed was never utilised as most legions needed their primarch to increase the success rate, maybe he has a cache of unused Geneseed

[depthcharge12]

Or maybe it's the Emperor's secret recipe for his Imperium IPA. Bypasses whatever type of alcohol processing organs you may have.

 

"Imperium IPA. The Emperor's Finest."

[Nakuth]

Or maybe it's the Emperor's secret recipe for his Imperium IPA. Bypasses whatever type of alcohol processing organs you may have.

 

"Imperium IPA. The Emperor's Finest."

 

Imperium IPA; the true double IPA!

[Marshal Rohr]

Its probably whatever technology the World Eaters had been using to push the limit on how fast a legionary can be created. IIRC, Its been mentioned in almost every FW book that statistically, when compared to normal human-to-legionary transformation time, the World Eaters casualty figures would've rendered them extinct but they have access to some technology that allows them to keep pace with their losses. Its heavily implied in the 40K universe, Krieg Guardsmen are created the same way, but from test tube to adulthood in a very short time. Just a shot in the dark though. If I was Mor, I would look for a magic formula to grow legionaries. Between that and the Iron Hands brutal doctrine, Im wondering if we won't see thousands of brainwashed, growth accelerated iron hands grinding across the traitor lines in the next few book. 

[depthcharge12]

Wasn't it Angron that streamlined the process and upped the hypno indoctrination? I believe it was mentioned in Betrayal in the WE section.

 

The World Eater gene seed is also surprisingly receptive too, almost on the level of stability of the Dark Angels, Ultramarines, and Sons of Horus.

[N1SB]

This is very interesting.

 

 

My question is what could be worth all that much trouble? It only gets more mysterious when you look at the actual description of what he stole.

 

Some of my friends think it could be the corpse of a lost Primarch. If this is indeed the case then what exactly would he plan on doing with it? Could there be secret chimeric/full-blood XI and II legion marines in Autek's little band of misfits?

 

Those are all good questions and I don't know, and look forward to ideas.

 

What I do know now is something I've discovered with 30k: the 30k narrative does NOT end with the boarding of the Vengeful Spirit and the death of Horus.  Previously, what held me off from 30k was this preconception I had that it was a closed-off story, something not worth investing in because it's a done deal.

 

All of this is very, very interesting, thanks for sharing this, will look more into Book VI.

[NoLats_McGee]

One thing I actually did want to include in my force (obviously i'm doing post-Istvaan Autek and friends) is a contingent of 'mass-produced' Iron Hands who have been rapidly grown and psycho-indoctrinated. Whether these are truly Iron Hands or actually World Eaters/Chimeric/lost legion is still a mystery to me.

 

How would you guys go about modelling this? Specific marks of armour, features, etc?

[b1soul]

This question shall never be answered. It's just a story hook

[Marshal Rohr]

One thing I actually did want to include in my force (obviously i'm doing post-Istvaan Autek and friends) is a contingent of 'mass-produced' Iron Hands who have been rapidly grown and psycho-indoctrinated. Whether these are truly Iron Hands or actually World Eaters/Chimeric/lost legion is still a mystery to me.

 

How would you guys go about modelling this? Specific marks of armour, features, etc?

 

Personally, to represent Dorn's accelerated inductees I use plain mark 3 armor. The only difference is the occasional ablative strike plate on the over the grill of the mark 3. 

[NoLats_McGee]

Part of me wants to use MK V, given its reputation for being hastily thrown together and it's relatively rough and brutal look. The 'Gerasene Host' of mass-produced marines in Book 6 comes to mind.

 

I'm also thinking there wouldn't be much in the way of bionics or the classic Iron Hands aesthetic (cog teeth, chains, super-played armour etc) given they're relatively 'new' and probably rather lacking in personality.

 

Even more interesting is how you'd approach their personality and temperament..

[Marshal Rohr]

I'm partial to Borg drones myself :D

[Dantay VI]

Bodt: If it has the Emperors genewrights seal, it is pre-heresy. Could it be a genetic sample from the Primarch project which saw the creatin of Primarchs and Astartes?

 

A back-up to the genetic materials on Terra?

 

Mor is looking for a way to clone Ferrus Mannus

[Athrawes]

Bodt: If it has the Emperors genewrights seal, it is pre-heresy. Could it be a genetic sample from the Primarch project which saw the creatin of Primarchs and Astartes?

 

A back-up to the genetic materials on Terra?

 

Mor is looking for a way to clone Ferrus Mannus

 

As odd as it may sound, I actually like having a hint that perhaps Autek Mor Can clone Ferrus Manus. Not for the lore as it cheapens the tragedy of his death, but that it allows an Iron hands Player who doesn't like to break the fluff to use Ferrus Manus in a 'Post Istvaan' battle, being able to claim that it is a degenerating clone of the primarch created by Autek Mor.

[Kol Saresk]

 

 

Bodt: If it has the Emperors genewrights seal, it is pre-heresy. Could it be a genetic sample from the Primarch project which saw the creatin of Primarchs and Astartes?

 

A back-up to the genetic materials on Terra?

 

Mor is looking for a way to clone Ferrus Mannus

As odd as it may sound, I actually like having a hint that perhaps Autek Mor Can clone Ferrus Manus. Not for the lore as it cheapens the tragedy of his death, but that it allows an Iron hands Player who doesn't like to break the fluff to use Ferrus Manus in a 'Post Istvaan' battle, being able to claim that it is a degenerating clone of the primarch created by Autek Mor.

Considering the Iron Hands IA article already says that even ten thousand years later when the Heresy is the almost-forgotten memory of a bad fart, there are rumors of the Iron Hands trying to resurrect their Primarch during the Heresy by replacing his head, cloning him and etc, it wouldn't cheapen the background imho. In fact, it'd be nice to see those little pieces pop up so we can see how those rumors were created.

[God-Potato of Mankind]

Why would Mor want to clone him though, they famously didn't get along. He wasn't called to Istvaan and he declines to join with Meduson.

 

He's almost a Blackshield, in everything but name.

[Dantay VI]

Well IF it was a means to clone a primarch, would it not be just as well to steal it away from the traitors and deny them the use of it, as much as not to use it yourselves.

 

Also maybe he is doing a Corax and wants to use the technology to increase the size of his black shield contingent or remake the Iron Hands.

[GhostMalone]

But he could control the power of a primarch in his arsenal imagine a clone of ferrus bound by mental capacitors binding him to auteks will

[Kol Saresk]

The other thing to consider is that just because it is a clone of Ferrus, it doesn't mean it will act like Ferrus, even if it has the original's memories. In fact, I'd hazard the only reason the clones Fabius has created have Ferrus' memories is because the Traitors took his head, and by extension, his brain.

 

Besides, could you imagine an army of Primarchs?

[Sandlemad]

Its probably whatever technology the World Eaters had been using to push the limit on how fast a legionary can be created. IIRC, Its been mentioned in almost every FW book that statistically, when compared to normal human-to-legionary transformation time, the World Eaters casualty figures would've rendered them extinct but they have access to some technology that allows them to keep pace with their losses. Its heavily implied in the 40K universe, Krieg Guardsmen are created the same way, but from test tube to adulthood in a very short time. Just a shot in the dark though. If I was Mor, I would look for a magic formula to grow legionaries. Between that and the Iron Hands brutal doctrine, Im wondering if we won't see thousands of brainwashed, growth accelerated iron hands grinding across the traitor lines in the next few book. 

 

Whatever they were doing during the great crusade, they're doing it x10 in the heresy. In Retribution, Mor faces off against a few thousand WE legionaries but also eleven thousand half-trained WE inductees, made in months, not years. Basically after Istvaan some WE apothecaries returned to Bodt with mad flesh-science learned from the Emperor's Children and presumably the casket NoLats_McGee mentioned. They set to work on the planet's Mad Max-style population and went wild with recruitment.

Seeing as how the FW books have mentioned all the legions ramping up astartes production, even if the WE are the standout example, I'd say Mor is up to something more sinister.

[Charlo]

I hope he makes an army of cyborg abominations :D

[m_r_parker]

This question shall never be answered. It's just a story hook

This is why I love Alan Bligh writing this series, he drops these little gems in there with absolutely no explanation and allows everyone to speculate what it could mean. Plus he has this annoying habit of vaguely answering questions with a glint in his eye, making you think you've hit upon the right answer but leaving you doubting that maybe he does that regardless of what gets put in front of him...

[God-Potato of Mankind]

I doubt they can re-rereate Primarchs anyway. Isn't it pretty solid cannon the Emperor wove in some sorcery or otherwise factored the warp into their creation? Having the casket and pure science probably won't yield a Primarch.

 

Lots of mega-legionaries though? Maybe.

 

Also the World Eaters only made it possible by using the surgery-sorcery of the Emperor's Children. I doubt the Mor will be so keen to use Bile's methods.