THE LIBER CLUSTER II

[Kelborn]

Reserve a Thrawn-ish T'au Commander for me, when the time is right. ^^

[Ace Debonair]

Actually I might need to wait and see *where* we're going to be putting the Chaos forces in the Cluster before I start solidifying any Dark Mech concepts, if only to figure out where my new Dark Magos and his forgeworld are situated in relation to Saneslau.

 

But I suppose I can at least start working out concepts.

[Olis]

While I have some free time, I thought I'd put pen to paper and see what people think of what happens to each group of primaris (yes this is a primaris/Liber Chapter post). This list (because I like my lists) is purely a preliminary placeholder. 

 

In my mind, having the rejected/orphaned Primaris largely rolled into a singular entity reduces the potential footprint of them in this project and allows other factions to hold more of the limelight. While they may still have some clout, they won't dominate the collective setting quite as much as their respective Chapters did in the original thread (for several other reasons, too).

 

Conflagrators: Rejected, Joined True Sons, Ref. Sons of the Forge detachment

Doomsayers: CHAPTER MISSING, Joined True Sons 

Blades of the Lion: Rejected, Joined True Sons

Aetheric Swords: Accepted

Lords Inviolate: Founded the True Sons

Angels Exultant: Chapter Refounded

Blackjaw Kindred: CHAPTER MISSING, Joined True Sons

Sons of Calderon: CHAPTER MISSING, Gene-seed shipment stolen

All-Seers: Rejected, Joined True Sons

Black Falcons: Accepted

Black Judges: Rejected, Joined True Sons

Eagles of Glory: Accepted

Heralds of Letum: Rejected, Joined True Sons

Iron Ravagers: Rejected, Joined True Sons

Scarlet Sentinels: Accepted

 

Any input or suggestions is more than welcome - it's actively encouraged! Again, this is all preliminary stuff using the info we've got so far (and some liberty-taking on my part). 

 

Also, while we're on the subject of the True Sons: We know there were "original" chapters, before the OG Liber Chapters, namely the Chevaliers, the Knives of Guilliman, the Hell Tigers (the three of which would eventually combine and became the Blackjaw Kindred, but that's not widely known in the Imperium iirc) and the Raven Brotherhood. What of their potential reinforcements? I'm of half a mind to simply roll them into the True Sons, for one reason or another. Or, perhaps, keep one or two of them and list the others as casualties.

Edited April 2, 2018 by Olis

[Conn Eremon]

Just a brief mention to say that the Sons of Calderon only had Primaris gene-seed, which was stolen in its entirety while en route.

 

No True Sons of Calderon.

[Olis]

Noted, brother. List amended. :tu:

[Dizzyeye01]

I think the reinforcements of the founding chapters as mentioned ( Knives of Guiliman etc ) alongside any of the other chapters that are considered missing be part of the True Sons -however- they task themselves with finding out the ultimate fate of their parent chapters. What happens to these forces in the end is open to anything. That way they still have their own storyline within the Cluster however it is more something in the background.

[Olis]

Interesting idea, Dizzy - I hadn't considered that. 

[Kelborn]

A force of Primaris marines popping up here and then, aiding other chapters or following their own agenda.

Liber Cluster's LotD? :)

[Ace Debonair]

Why would the All-Seers reject the Primaris marines?

 

I'm not saying they wouldn't, necessarily, I'm just curious as to the reasoning behind it.

[Olis]

Why would the All-Seers reject the Primaris marines?

 

I'm not saying they wouldn't, necessarily, I'm just curious as to the reasoning behind it.

 

It may be a little bit of an ass-pull but how about... Prophecy? Omens? My thoughts about it were that, if we need a majority rejection (not that we REALLY do, it's just a preliminary list), then we'd have to have one or two that bucked assumptions.

 

That said I'm always looking for a better narrative. ;) 

[deathspectersgt7]

Why would the All-Seers reject the Primaris marines?

 

I'm not saying they wouldn't, necessarily, I'm just curious as to the reasoning behind it.

They do not trust Outsiders and do not care for others looking into the Chapter.

[Olis]

 

Why would the All-Seers reject the Primaris marines?

 

I'm not saying they wouldn't, necessarily, I'm just curious as to the reasoning behind it.

They do not trust Outsiders and do not care for others looking into the Chapter.

 

There's that, too. :lol:

[Fat Necron]

Hello everyone, I have kinda\sorta returned. I have writen the opening gambits, conflicts, and freaky Warp non-sense for my Chaos dudes. 

 

Do I submit them to anyone in particular to be confirmed or do I just post them? ( Trigger Warning: Imperium Doesn't Curb Stomp )

[Ace Debonair]

Righto, here's some DarkMech for us to pick a fight or two with.

I don't know terribly much about the Dark Mechanicus (or the regular Mechanicus, come to that), so please excuse me if I've got some of the details wrong.

That said, open to any all thoughts on the character or his faction:


-=-=-=-=-= Tagaroth the Awakened, Dark Magos of Guletor =-=-=-=-=-=

The Forge World of Guletor in the [REDACTED] Subsector of the Liber Cluster, was once an impenetrable fortress and proud representative of the Saneslau Mechanicus. Home to the Titan Legion known as Legio Kosomot, and with strong ties to the Knights of House Ashgarn, Guletor was considered an unbreakable emblem of Imperial might. Guletor's reputation was first established when Guletor broke the advance of Waaagh Deffspitta, a millions-strong horde of orks that had simply overwhelmed every other obstacle placed in front of them, and solidified when - at great cost - Guletor repelled a full-scale interplanetary war against the numerous regiments and assets of the Hive World Cassidio, instigated by a Tzeentch-worshipping cult to turn humanity against the Mechanicus.

Morthar, the ruling Magos of Guletor, was an eccentric sort. His vision was one of perfect harmony between man and machine - using the strengths of both flesh and metal to create perfect vessels for the Omnissiah's will.

And where the flesh was weak, he sought to augment it.
But in the aftermath of the cultist war, where daemons and other unnatural creatures of weak flesh showed strength enough to withstand and almost overcome the servants of the Machine God, another option presented itself to Morthar.

Where the flesh is weak, seek stronger flesh.

So Morthar carried out experiments in secret, summoning and attempting to bind daemons to machines, to create better and more worthy servants of The Omnissiah.

He was discovered by his keenest pupil, Tagaroth the Artisan, brought before the leaders of the Saneslau Mechanicus, and executed for Tech-Heresy.

Tagaroth took over the duties of ruling Guletor. Such was his skill at crafting weapons and armour that he was personally commissioned to make several weapons of war for the Space Marines of the Liber Cluster. From the fabled power spear Snakebite, gifted to the Iron Ravagers, to the honoured Land Raider Limitless of the Lords Inviolate's 1st Company, many of Tagaroth's creations still see active service today in the Chapters' armouries.


It is unknown what, exactly, caused Tagaroth to eventually follow in his predecessor's footsteps.

Some believe that he simply felt the execution of Morthar was unfair, and wanted revenge. Others contend that he was jealous that Saneslau and not Guletor ruled the Mechanicus presence in the Cluster, or that the world of Guletor was cursed by Chaos during the cultist's attack. Yet others believe that he simply sought ways - no matter how dubious - to create more and more artifacts of incredible power. Some whisper that Morthar may even be controlling the Magos that was once his student. Others, more outlandishly still, posit that Tagaroth was the one controlling Morthar all along.

Whatever the truth of the matter, many of Tagaroth's latter-day artifacts were darker in nature than their earlier creations. Those around them felt a subtle 'wrongness' to them, as though something unnatural had marked them, somehow. Those that carried them for any length of time nevertheless became extremely defensive of these prized possessions, loath to relinquish or part with them, even to the point of disobeying orders or causing conflicts over them.

It was the Black Judges who first levelled accusations of heresy at Tagaroth. Returning from a hard-fought victory over the marauding aliens called the Ziathu, their words were the spark that ignited the flames of the Imperium's paranoia. Inquisitors and visiting Magos became more incisive, hostile and paranoid about Tagaroth and the world of Guletor. When the Eagles of Glory's Third Company fell to murderous infighting over who should carry the artifact standard Light of Libertas, a recent gift by Tagaroth, the evidence became too great to ignore, and the numer of notable figures calling for the condemnation of Tagaroth left the Saneslau Mechanicus with no choice.

Tagaroth was ordered to turn himself over to his Saneslau-based superiors for what they termed 'decommission'.

Instead, Tagaroth declared total war on the Imperium, his followers razing three nearby worlds to ashes before a proper response force could even be marshalled.

But When the Imperium's retaliation force closed in, expecting a bitter, brutal fight to the death, they found themselves unprepared for the level of corruption to which Tagaroth had delved.

For in secret, Tagaroth had built a vessel, a ship large and powerful enough to outmatch even most Imperial Cruisers. Yet it was not wholly machine - here and there, bits of twisted, unnatural flesh or scale were visible, twitching and convulsing. When the Imperium's forces sought to close with and destroy this nightmare vessel, it vanished into the warp as though sucked into a vortex, leaving behind only a heretek bomb of fell and terrible power that destroyed not only the sixteen nearest Imperial ships, but ripped the world of Guletor itself into pieces.


Centuries later and Tagaroth is still at large. His vessel, the ship "Doom of Guletor", has been sighted in no fewer than three different subsectors across the Cluster in the time since his betrayal. Weapons and armour of his manufacture have sometimes been found in the hands of numerous enemies of the Imperium. Legio Kosomot and House Ashgarn still serve as his allies, and Tagaroth's shambling, cyber-daemonic servants have been the bane of almost every battlefield they have attended.

Tagaroth himself is rarely sighted, but it is said the Artisan has become a machine of great and horrifying power, with daemonic limbs grafted to his metallic frame, capable of shifting in form and function.

It is known that Tagaroth the Awakened, as he now calls himself, has allied with various Chaos Warbands that populate the Liber Cluster and its' surroundings. In particular, his forges have provided the malevolent Corsairs of Azahan with many of their myriad Daemon Engines, from the daemonfire-spweing Warpkiln artillery tanks to the many-tentacled and animalistic Ironmaw monsters.
 

[Conn Eremon]

There we go, some nice Dark Mechanicum to lend their industrious weight to the side of Chaos. It brings to mind Fabius Bile, a sort of hyper-valuable auxiliary asset to Chaos Warbands. Just on the mechanical, rather than the biological, side of things.

 

Well, it's been a little over a week and what we've had so far has pretty much remained as is. So, let's loosen the rules up a bit.

 

For those who have contributed Chapters in the past thread, you can contribute either a Primaris Chapter, a Chaos Warband, or a Renegade Force.

 

For those who are new to the Cluster, but have already contributed an idea, you can contribute something from one of the other categories. For example, if you've contributed a Primaris Chapter, you can now also contribute a Chaos Warband or a Renegade Force.

 

If this is enough to fill in all the slots, then the rule of First Come, First Served will hold true. If there remain slots left, we will continue with them unfilled.

 

 

Xenos

Nearly every Xenos race has a presence in the Cluster, and the turn of the millennium brings each of them great change and opportunity for glory or disaster. If you're not interested in contributing guman-centric ideas, please feel free to provide Xenos contributions instead.

 

There are only two Xenos restrictions.

 

One, the T'au are unfortunately not available to the Cluster. Lore as provided makes it pretty clear that the Cluster is entirely out of their reach at this point in their development. Perhaps by the 43rd Millennium, but not now even with the forwarded timeline.

 

Second, tying in with above, is let's hold off on creating new Xenos races.

 

With the T'au being unavailable the Cluster should certainly have its own Xenos race native and bound to the Cluster itself. Some alien kind that sees the Cluster as rightfully theirs and not humanity's, or any other xenos for that matter. So we definitely should and will create new Xenos, but if we're going that big I think we should make it a more collaborative effort, and save it for an assignment dedicated to it.

[Kelborn]

If I got an idea for a warband / xenos / whatever which is mentioned in an old (I'd even call it outdated) Liber Article of mine (just as an enemy in a 200 word paragraph in the notable battles section), without having any background, etc. does that contradict the rules?

 

For example, the Iron Fist is a warband which harassed a system nearby the homeworld of my Storm Riders. Throughout three small paragraphs, I described how the Riders fought against the Iron Fist before they fend them off.

 

Does that also count under "no old stuff?" Back then, they were just a random name / idea, which I kept in mind for later use.

 

Would be great if I'm allowed to contribute them! :)

Edited April 4, 2018 by Kelborn

[Beren]

Will this do?

 

Kabal of the Plucked Eye and Heart

 

The web way in the Liber Sector, as in all Sectors, has portions which have broken and shattered. They lie hidden or lost. In some places they lay adjacent to the mortal realm, entrances built over by the architects of Man. In others they are but a short way away, hidden in the woods or on forgotten paths. It is in these forgotten and unlit paths that the Cabal of the Plucked Eye and Heart take root.

 

The Kabal does not follow the typical structure or tactics of the Drukhari. It lacks many of the warriors and vehicles of war that it should possess. Instead it seems to be formed of a loose coalition of powerful individuals. While these may have retinues of their own they are small, and the mass raids of their kind are all but nonexistent. Instead when the walls between the Web way and our worlds flicker, or some fool is desperate enough to attempt to call upon the ancient forest spirits if their world's legends, they bargain. The Kabal has been known to whisper and lie to seal pacts that should they be fulfilled would defy the makers expectations. For whatever gain they should be granted, the human will soon find that someone, somewhere has suffered for it. Entire cities are cursed. Populations vanish into the night. The most callous or cowardly never think on the matter again. Many attempt to renege on their pacts. Some will try to divulge their information to the proper authorities. And where they are opposed the toll grows greater still, for while these Drukhari are few they are ancient and steeped in power. They will not hesitate to unleash destruction.

 

On one final note, there are 16 separate occurrences where a military group has launched an incursion through what is believed to be an entrance to a realm of a Kabal member. These have ranged from Explorators to Inquisitorial groups to Astartes scout parties. None have returned. Hundreds of vanished PDF patrols may be attributed the same fate.

[Conn Eremon]

I like it! It's a different take on xenos to whisper cold nothings rather than to raid and tear. It is a different, but believable, Kabal.

 

Kelborn, there's no gray area to that rule.

Edited April 4, 2018 by Conn Eremon

[Ace Debonair]

Getting a very strong "The Fair Folk" vibe from the Kabal of the Plucked Eye and Heart, and I totally approve.

[Fat Necron]

Kabal of the Plucked Eye and Heart makes me think of ye ole Grimm Fairy Tales and European folk lore. Lets take that, add in a sprinkle of Dark Eldar Kabal and we've got some rather nasty neighbors. Personally I'm wondering who's apart of this Kabal. Are there Haemonculous Covens who deal in half truths, revealing the other half when their former dealers are moaning Grotesque or is this an ever present Kabal who've existed millennia prior to the Clusters founding?... Maybe both. 

I'm just finishing up the edits now and touching up my own stuff. I'm still stifled on how to post pictures and resize them but such is life.

In the future, if you want, I'd be happy to type up some macabre little events involving your oh-so dubious Kabal.

[Beren]

 

This was a five minute conceptualisation based of the book of Jonathan Strange and Dr Norrell. Other than what I have written here I have nothing in particular in mind for the Kabal at all. Basically, feel free to pitch in with anything at all.

[Fat Necron]

So this took a long time to write up, that's for damn sure. I've written a solid forty odd pages of random non-sense, deleting most and revamping others. I'm not even sure what I think of this but I'm kinda/sorta proud of it. It's essentially depicting the first large scale conflict with the Singala Cadre in all its terrifying glory. 

I'm positive it needs oodles of work but I felt compelled to introduce my, hopefully, terrifying Chaos Space Marines to the cluster.

I hope you enjoy my wall of jibber-jabber!

 

The Underground Hell of Saikos-6

 

The escape of unsanctioned Psyker, Ashra-Malzul, lead mutant populations to plummet drastically. Small congregations were discovered in the wake of Ashra’s exodus from Saikos-6 and systemically purged. City Administratum began contracting Bounty Hunters to operate alongside PDF and Arbites to aid in these purges. The gatherings were becoming more and more frequent as Ashra’s escapades became increasingly embellished into fantastical tales. There’s was hope among these bedraggled, unfortunately this same hope condemned them.

 

Ten months after Ashra-Malzul’s escape, commissioned Bounty Hunters moving deeper into Saikos-6’s guts vanished. Beacon Points (Communication Outposts) established beneath the city began relaying disturbing messages. Mutants began striking back at their assailants. An unknown Mutant breed began appearing more and more frequently. Nicknamed as Pale Men, they’re sightless abominations with an almost transparent skin. Their mouths are a long garish oval of jittering serrated teeth extending into their necks. From these grotesque orifices are their teeth fired in a semi-automatic fashion. 

 

 

First encounters with the Pale Men were gruesome affairs. If their nigh-on alien biology wasn’t abhorrent enough, their biological armaments brought mans nightmares fears to life. If stricken by a Pale Men’s fang the recipient will be infected by a mutant pathogen. Those infected will undergo agonizing physical mutation the days preceding initial infection. Some perish from shock as their inner most organs undergo a hasty metamorphosis. Eventually, if they’re unfortunate to survive the trauma, become a variant of Pale Men themselves. 

 

One peculiar aspect to this whole affair was the ethereal incidents reported. Beacon Points documented emergency klaxons spinning to life for minutes, sometimes hours at a time before abruptly stopping, as if never active. Deserted factorums springing to function as conveyer belts began carrying abandoned cargo. The echo’s whispered through the labyrinth of gantries ways and decaying, underground factorums. A fading echo later translated to Convergence Imminent.

 

Any and all operations into Saikos-6 depths to purge the mutant congregations were immediately abandoned after the first encounters. Dedicated forces fortified main corridors as the situation underwent immediate reorganizing. Commander Prestin Borsh of Saikos-6 PDF orchestrated an impressive blockade around previous engagement zones. Tech-Adapts from the city’s Forge Temple lent their support via mobile sensorums to better detect the carnivorous packs of Pale Men.

Borsh and his command staff successfully contained the Pale Men threat. The Saikos Pattern weaponry proved invaluable. PDF, who’ve never encountered such a threat, learned to appreciate their heavy caliber autoguns. The phrase ‘Kicks’em like a Grox’ was a reference to Saikos Pattern weapons considerable recoil and exceptional damage. These weapons would prove invaluable to the threats to come.

 

Three weeks after PDF successfully withdrew from previous operations to establish the blockades would another threat arrive. The Pale Men, whom attempted to harry the defenses, learned quickly the defenders wouldn’t be so easily goaded from their bunkers. This wouldn’t deter the would-be predators, only force them to adapt. 

Patrols seldom disappeared, presumed ambushed, and those recovered were immediately executed. Borsh’s heavy handed nature insisted survivors be executed to eliminate the threat of infection throughout the blockades. Some protested against this, their voices heard, ignored and shot for insubordination. 

 

Wranglers, as they’d be deemed, were sentient, barbarous mutants whom orchestrated dozens, perhaps hundreds of feral Ghurst mutant hoards. Typically a species of mutant found on forgotten void borne vessels; their arrival baffled Borsh and his command staff. Blockade perimeters were dispersed to utilize various choke points known as ‘Stretches’. Each Stretch was given a letter and numeral (A1, A2, A3, ect) to distinguish the depth (Signified by letter) beneath the city and which access point (Signified by numeral) a squad secured. 

 

The Wranglers forewent any notions of self preservation and herded numerous Hullghast into the deepest Stretches. Smaller bands of Hullghast squirmed and crept underneath the defenders position and erupt from the grates beneath their very feet. The valiant PDF defenders stood little chance. Hullghast were stupendously strong beasts and wrenched limbs from their sockets with a fraction of effort. 

Beacon Points roared with distress signals as the deepest Stretches fell one after another in quick succession. Lurana Ela Sykes, Overseer within Borsh’s command staff, gave the order to retreat.

 

Levels Z/B (28) to level M (13) fell within days. Tens of thousands threw themselves against the Saikos defenders while more still navigated the darkest passages to flank. Beacon Stations fell silent as echoing gun fire and ravenous beast herald what was to come. 

Fortified fall back junctures established by Lurana held, for a time. Levels P (16) up until level L (12) transformed from bustling head quarters to charnel houses. Pale Men crept through hidden ventilations, pricking the unwary, never to be seen. Choke points were clogged with mounds of body which the Ghurst used as impromptu shields. Defenders fought and died but not without reaping a bloody toll. 

 

Commander Borsh instructed Lurana to oversee an organized retreat while he and his hastily gathered squad would bolster the retreat. She vehemently protested this course of action, sighting that his leadership vital if Saikos-6 was to survive; he’d hear none of it. His squad armed themselves with krak grenades, as were others, in an attempt to collapse choice corridors to hinder enemy advancements. The God-Emperor himself, in all his divinity, had not foresaw the next hurtle to come.

 

 

Before his eyes Borsh would witness the true enemy to come. In a brief break of violence, after a PDF Private blasted a Wranglers head into bone fragments, another monster took its place. Two and a half meters tall, clad in clicking Mark IV power armor, an Astarte’s fixed its crimson lenses on the stunned defenders. A hand held the under carriage of a bolter integrated into its burdensome, cybernetic arm. From the Astarte’s back sparks sputtered as a drum magazine ground down rails, riding the length of his arm before clicking into place beneath the integrated bolter.

The cheering Private’s body burst into a squall of gore. Bolter rounds hammered the young lad again and again, each round delivered with pin point precision. Borsh grabbed the heavy gunner to pull back only for another volley of bolter rounds to render his gunner into a mess of gore. A bolt round was methodically delivered to each individual appendage before a final two ruptured the privates torso. Overkill. Borsh and his remaining squad made the vein attempt to respond in kind and failed miserably in doing so. The fusillade of high caliber munitions fired kept the Astarte’s at bay, for a moment. Four more rounds came blaring out with deafening bursts, systematically blowing gaping chest wounds into Borsh and his squad. 

 

The Singala Cadre arrived as grim imitations to their valiant loyalists counterparts. 

 

Despite the Traitor Marines disturbing yet equally precise cooperation alongside the Pale Men and Ghurst masses, PDF Defenders managed to successfully retreat to the final fall back juncture. Beacon Points communicated thousands of defenders stranded in deeper levels, doing their utmost to coordinate them to safety. Tasked with preserving a fleeting hope of victory, it was quite the contrary. Lurana sent a private vox transmission to the surface, twelve kilometers above. She instructed remaining PDF to begin destroy, seal, barricade any and all gantries, mag lifts, any feasible entry to Saikos-6. 

Missile from unsanctioned krak launchers soared down corridors, muzzle flashes from heavy stubbers illuminated the dark underworld. Men and women who’s torso were wrenched open or bones protruding from limbs clutched their guns with a fleeting hope of victory. Every life given and every life taken bought the innocent above a few more precious moments of life. Convergence Imminent followed the ever advancing chaotic hordes. The klaxons spinning emergency lights as the otherworldly voice continued to repeat; Convergence Imminent. Mortally wounded soldiers screamed and flailed as Singalan Marines dragged them into the deepest darkness. Pale Men and Hullghast consumed the dead, leaving not even a bone to waste. 

 

Lurana preached into the wider vox network about glory and sacrifice, how the God-Emperor embraces their fallen comrades into a new, golden dawn. She continued, hours after the fighting had ended, when the only sounds were gnashing teeth of mutant beasts consuming the dead. Convergence Imminent the voice continued, never ceasing to repeat every forty-five seconds. 

Her eyes raw from crying yet she simply couldn’t bring herself to stop preaching though no one heard, except herself. Singalan Marines approached her plasteel, fortified outpost built upon two adjacent walkways with malevolent intention. Their purposefully heavy footfalls spelled an impending doom she couldn’t bring herself to accept. 

 

Thus, a las pistol to her temple and prayer on her lips, Sub-Commander Lurana Ela Sykes claimed her own life.

 

 

Arch-Nemesor, Lord Agamemnon, anointed by his fellow Chosen and Possessed Singalan Marines, lead what is best described as A Haunting. The brave yet feeble PDF defenders were cleaver to demolish the main access hubs and lifts, however, they presumed too much. Saikos-6 was an aspiring hive city, one so vast its length and width stretched thousands of kilometers. Its guts sank dozens of kilometers into the planets guts. Thus, their valiant attempt to contain the invaders was futile. Then again, these same invaders weren’t hurtling through the surface, wasting countless hours, even days excavating debris. 

Venerable Casamore-16, ancient among his kin, crafted an illusion of invasion. His bleak Marines, so sympathetic to the whimpering mutants, found themselves connected, almost spiritually. Within the Convergence, the connection between mutant and Marine grow strongest as Singala, Our Deliverer, bounds them as one. Pale Men, hardly sentient and more instinctual, acts upon the desires felt by their Singalan guardians. The Hullghast beasts do as well but more effectively when lead by their whip lashing Wranglers. If Convergence cannot spread, if the Psykers invoking Singala’s essence into reality fails, so to does the link between Marine and Mutant.

Lord Agamemnon leads the hosts of Possessed, Chosen Marines, Warp Spawn and numerous other immaterial creatures to follow in the mutants wake. Their presence, visible or heard, ensures obedience long after the mutants have left the Convergence. Human innocents above must remain blissfully unaware, except for what the Imperium’s own propaganda feeds them. If the Pale Men infection found the surface the immense Imperial response might become so inclined to wipe Saikos-6 away with orbital bombardment. The unknown was their chosen weapon.

 

Explorator teams of PDF in conjunction with Forge Temple Skitarii cohorts established potential zones of engagements. Lurana’s timely execution to demolish the primary entry points bought the Imperium time but how much? They expanded the hundred kilometer perimeter directly above previous engagements to a staggering four hundred kilometer. Astra Militarum forces, summoned by the Planetary Governor, made planet fall weeks after Lurana’s final order and began mass evacuation of designated potential engagements zones. 

The minor Skitarii cohort present reported hostile activity thirteen kilometers below surface level. Astarte’s, malformed as they were, made advances to higher levels. Pale Men already present proved problematic as Skitarii were shadowed by the would-be predators at every turn but never engaged. This constant threat rattled PDF and Guardsmen teams acting as rear guards. 

The Astarte’s were wretched monstrosities who howled into empty chambers. Their powerful lungs and daemonic constituents echoed ethereal energies. Guardsmen urinated themselves as terror petrified them. Others rushed ahead consumed by a sudden fits of rage. Skitarii executed those who broke rank, for mercy sake or protocol was up for debate. Any who rushed off were sent back in gruesome pieces.

 

For a bloody month Imperial forces couldn’t make heads or tails of the enemy plans or even breach the first hurtles. Twenty teams of forty were deployed, three returned. The Singalan invaders were effectively bleeding them and the Imperial’s had nothing to excuse said loses. Generals advised rather galling actions, one being executed for cowardice.  Leaving the invaders to their exploits wasn’t an option, bombarding Saikos-6 without sufficient enemy intelligence would never be sanctioned and playing this cat and mouse game got them nowhere. Only one course lay before them and no one approved yet, reluctantly, agreed. 

 

Six months after PDF first engaged the Singalan invaders two hundred thousand men and women, PDF, Guardsmen and Skitarii would storm the abyss. Across the four hundred kilometer perimeter a well-orchestrated force would storm every access hatch simultaneously. An army of vox officers were assembled to accurately record vox traffic, follow teams and ensure requests for assistance were hailed immediately. 

 

The resurrection of industry transpired without detection. Hordes of slaves, devote mutant artificers and insane tech magi worked in tangent. Barely cognizant servitors served manic tech adapts without fault though their thoughts screamed otherwise. Slaves incapable of pledging blood, flesh and soul to Singala died in droves constructing obelisks resembling fangs. 

Convergence herald Singala’s domain, and with it, everything which dwelled within. Klaxons whirred and speakers bristled with malevolence life as Convergence Immiment echoed far beyond the Imperiums established perimeter. The world churned in and around; slate gray genderless faces appeared on walls, their empty oval mouths whimpered and groaned as if in perpetual agony. Grates along corridors writhed with weeping prisoners, their fingers wriggling helpless between the grates. 

 

Far below the mythical Daemon World of Singala converted Saikos-6’s innermost guts to resemble the tormented hell of Singala.

 

Imperial forces dispatched in good order made exceptional progress. Skulking Pale Men were executed shortly after discovery. Ghursts beasts lurking in wait suddenly found themselves overwhelmed by a cacophony of blinding las-bolts turning their bodies to ash. Possessed and Chosen Marines were wise enough to fall back in light of this grandiose offensive. 
Reconstitution facilities, hastily constructed beneath the Imperiums established perimeter, resuscitated wheezing Marines. Of the eighteen companies, a small legion of ghastly wraiths, more machine than Astarte's would be roused from their tormented dreams. Daemons caressed the sarcophagi of Casamore-16's ancient brethren. He watched and listened as Daemons clamored among the chamber halls, from coffin to coffin, whispering and bartering with his ill-fated brothers. Once roused he knew the daemons temptations would deliver many to the possessed hosts. Despite his grief, the Prophet deemed their sacrifice necessary, thus must comply.

Lord Agamemnon's considerable forces rendezvoused with Companies 5th, 6th, 8th, and 9th. Companies 17th, 16th, 15th, and 12th spread out at key intersections and choke points. A maximum of eight companies could function at any given time and rotate with another eight with a reserve company, if required. Imperial forces continually sent shoveled soldiers down the levels where the first engagements were recorded. Hundreds of branches forces deployed in similar fashion down various access points throughout the four hundred kilometer perimeter. The main force, choking corridors with well-drilled guardsmen found themselves woefully unprepared for what lay in the dark. The brittle, wriggling fingers beneath corridor grates crunched under power armored boots. Guardsmen dared not travel such passage ways and those left as rear guard froze in disbelief. Singala Marines strode across the crossing of fingers and desperate pleas without even a cursory glance. Onlookers fell silent as blades whipped from holsters quietly dispatched guards.
Casamore-16 successfully positioned his four companies at the Imperium's flanks. The initial ambush was a rousing success as seven man squads tore through dozens in mere moments. Their advantage, however clever, was quickly stripped away by sheer weight of fire. His four companies were forced into confined spaces and intersections. Heavy bolters, plasma guns and other heavier armaments forced a swift withdraw. Three-hundred eight-two Singala Marines fought grueling fire fights against literal thousands. A bolt shell tore open many, the fragments claiming more yet a dozen more immediately replaced. The original objective was circumvented for a more favorable one. Casamore-16 relayed new orders to cut the offensive and stagnate Imperial forces until regiments from their homeworld arrived. 

Agamemnon's Possessed Hosts spread wide and far, supporting other companies. The twenty-seven hosts were unleashed sporadically. His daemon infused warriors couldn't contain their innermost desires much longer, and against established planned, broke off in waves. The flocks (Squads) of Possessed found easy prey, utilizing earlier terror tactics to startle the other branches of attack. This deviation from plan rippled downwards. Warp Spawn disobeyed their fearsome overseers and lunged into the fray. Singalan Marines attempted to restore order by deviating from previously plotted routes to provide support. Their hails for withdraw fell on deaf ears. A forth of Agamemnon's murderous hosts kept advancing, heedless of the Imperium's defenses on higher levels. 

The third day after the Imperium's massive offensive saw a thousand Possessed cleave a ruin of gore and murder through the Imperial army. Reports began pouring in confirming the berserk hosts deaths. There were successes, though far and in between, the offensive wasn't a complete tragedy. The army of communications clerks and vox officers aided tens of thousands of Guardsmen to small victories. Warp Spawn were cornered and executed, Possessed lured into firing lines and Singalan Marines making a slow but recognizable withdraw. The casualties were horrendous yet dents, even cracks revealed themselves in the Singalan lines. 
Imperial Command, days after the first engagements felt compelled to press on. Commissars executed dozens, eventually hundreds for cowardice. The previous days of fighting demoralized the collective. They witnessed comrades be bisected by Warp monstrosities and others swallowed whole. Craven prisoners of Singala eventually burst from their grated prisons and, quite literately, cannibalized unsuspecting Guardsmen... Yet they were forced to press the days, soon to be week, long offensive.

The following advance drove Guardsmen to unfathomable acts of betrayal. Reports tell of a squads flaying commissars and begging fellow Guardsmen to flay them. Roaming prisoners draped themselves on dead Possessed and Ill-Fated Astarte's, molesting their power armored form. Signals continually faded and vanished the deeper platoons went, most never returning. Singalan Astarte's and Possessed Hosts made tactical retreats after composing themselves, leading the Imperial army into the Convergence. Ill-Fated Astarte's, promised an eternity of slumber remained to contest the encroaching Imperials. Thousands tread the pitch black underworld. Few collapsed in mid stride, both hearts bursting in unison. Others strode on, either mutated to a daemons whim or collapsing due to irreparable organ failure. Their presence, even after left filled the darkness with a soul consuming melancholy. Guardsmen feared entering rooms despite not seeing the dead Ill-Fated. Braver souls ignored their baser instincts, eventually taking their own lives as a result. 
Psykers eyes liquefied in their sockets as visions of a tormented god assailed their psyche. Those attached to regiments, however few they were, became unwilling hosts to Convergence. The anomaly had gone unchecked, unchallenged and its etherial power was incomprehensible. Psykers found their bodies pressed against walls and witnessed with terror as their flesh expanded and contorted into macabre tapestries. Guardsmen tugged and reeled against the consuming power of Convergence to free their ally. The Psykers mouth would distend and expand as quickly as their bodies flowed throughout entire intersections. Voracious beasts, beckoned from a Daemon's realm, would burst into reality to reap a bloody toll.

Higher command bickered with one another over this course of action, stating the casualty figures were becoming to gross to even speak of. A number of them reasoned leaving uncontested only invites further damnation. 

Debates raged on yet the conclusion remained the same- Advance.

 

Fanged obelisks of flesh and heretical technology ripped from the depths of Saikos-6, dozens screaming psychic cries into the minds of every devout Imperial. Armored columns, preemptively assembled, dispatched themselves to retaliate against the heretical constructs. 

Hullghasts and Pale Men flooded from these obelisks, drawn by the radiant energy of Convergence. Civilian casualties sky rocketed moments following the Obelisks sudden erection. Lemun Russ columns and Chimera transports whipped down streets and alleys, taking every route possible to confront their objective. Innocents corralled from their habs by ravaging Pale Men and Hullghasts slowed the advance. . Reluctant drivers came to a crawl as an ocean of screaming civilians congested the streets and alleys. Daemon masked mutants clad in heretek armor hid among the panicked populace, either crouched low or high above. Missile launchers screamed to life unleashing rockets above the panicked crowds. The Chimera's stomped the gas pedal in response, ripping through the crowd. Others unloaded passengers and made for a hasty retreat. Guardsmen unloaded fought through screaming crowds, bashing civilian faces to locate their attacks yet finding none. 

Similar ambushes occurred where fleeing civilians gathered, typically where roads were choked. Orders came through demanding armored columns to forgo any civility and press on, regardless of civilian casualties. Drivers did so as ordered, others more hesitant became smoldering wrecks. 

Lemun Russ columns lagging behind the Chimera vanguard eventually caught up. A single ambush against a trapped cluster of tanks responded with indiscriminate fire, forcing the would-be predators to withdraw. That reaction soon became regular throughout the armored columns advances. All pretenses towards civility were cast aside for the greater objective ahead. Ordnance fire screamed over head when it became apparent Imperial Armor wasn't slowing. Cluster bombs toppled sky scrapers, flung debris and limbs far and wide yet the armored columns advanced. Chimera's swerved and manuevered through a no-mans land. Infected civilians, plagued by the Pale Men's fanged, flung themselves at the armored vehicles. Cluster bombs popped overhead, dispersing explosives payloads in wide births. Chimera's swung from side to side drenched in a layer of mutant bodies, narrowly avoiding bombs. Lemun Russ tanks chugged on, their thick plating less susceptible to such feeble ordnance. Their tracks, however, were another story. 
Several columns of Lemun Russ tanks were forced back when newly established no-mans lands gripped entire columns. Buildings collapsed on some, others wrestled with ruined tracks. Chimera's stuffed with Guardsmen continued their advance, insane may it be, and accomplished small victories. What few Chimera's remained after braving no-mans land discovered the short range artillery pieces. Rag-tag bands of humans, mutants and abhumans hastily erected ramshackle artillery pieces hoping to stall the armored advances. The cluster bombs proved remarkably effective yet not effective enough.

The race to the Obelisks commenced once again. 

Imperial Naval Officers recorded and collected visible pic-feeds of the engagements below. Adapts aboard said vessels studied this new enemy with a disturbing interest. Skitarii, or rather what few lived fighting below ground, recorded and transferred each engagement to better understand the threat arising from the core of Saikos-6. This data will prove invaluable for wars to come. The great armored column sent to destroy the Obelisks would never arrive on time. The ambushes, artillery strikes, congested streets and a myriad of other obstructions delayed the cities only salvation. The Maw of Singala, the Obelisks depicting the fangs of an immaterial deity, swallowed Saikos-6 whole. Every man, woman and child consumed by Convergence, torn from their world and sent to another.

[Kelborn]

@Conn: Understood. Just wanted to ask.

 

@Fat Necron: Bravo. Well done! Have to reread it again as I'm currently in a rush but I enjoyed it! :D

 

So here is the first draft of a potential chaos or renegade warband. Eager to hear your thoughts. Right now, I just have some basic ideas. Curious of how the Blackened Fist may end up.

 

THE BLACKENED FIST

 

Symbol, currently a placeholder. I'm currently working on a fist crushing a chaos star:

 

* GENE-SEED (PREDECESSOR) - Iron Hands
* FOUNDING - unknown
* LEADER - The Father
* HOME WORLD/BASE OF OPERATIONS - Fleet Based (Space Hulk Strength of Iron)
* OBSERVED STRATEGIC TENDENCIES - Line Breaker Attacks, Precision Assaults, coordinated multi-vector warfare
* BATTLE CRY - "Embrace your demise!"
* CURRENT STRENGTH - unknown
* KNOWN DESCENDANTS - None

 

 

"I was there. On the day of betrayal. When brother fought brother. I was there, when Manus died. Our revered father, our ideal, the epitome of ourselves. I have not witnessed it, as my brothers and I were not able to catch up with him and his elite during his headless charge. But I've felt it. I've felt the cursed blade of this mucous bastard Fulgrim, slicing through my flesh and bones as if it was me who got beheaded. When the Gorgon died, my hearts stopped beating. Our father...dead? A distillate of mankind's potential? The epitome of our Legion? DEAD? Confusion turned to rage, turned to hate. It fueled my body until we lost control of our feelings. With a feral battle cry on our lips, we charged at the enemy front lines of what we once called brothers. Killing for hours, we were finally overwhelmed until there was no other way than to retreat and too safe ourselves. We were able to capture a couple of crafts and shuttles and to return to our ships...or at least those who were able to run. After leaving Istvaan behind, I gathered my brothers. Others joined us, brothers in our desire to avenge our comrades. The sons of Vulkan proofed their worth to our cause. We decided to carry on. To fight all those who turned against us. The traitorous Sons of Horus, the cursed Word Bearers, the cowardly Raven Guard, it did not matter to us anymore who we were fighting. Everyone was guilty of being weak, to abandon their duties and of being not able to overcome their flaws. They all deserved death. That is when we turned against all others, regardless of their fealty. We carved our way through the Imperium slaying all those, who stood in our way. We ravaged traitor-aligned worlds and harassed so-called loyalists supply lines. The Great War shook them all and made them shiver before our blades. We became the sole and true adherents of the Gorgons teachings. We remained strong. I cannot remember when we first heard the dark gods. Does that even matter now? If we kept fighting our enemies and they were pleased about it, so be it. If our crusade pleasures them and they grants us their weapons and war machines, so be it. We are not interested in the promises of false gods. We fight for our own cause: the purging of the galaxy. We fight to swath it in blood until only the strong remain. The Gorgon fell. The Angel sacrificed himself for a lost cause. The Emperor, the one was destined to lead us all, was slain by his greatest failure. We realized that His vision has become hollow and filled with mortal sins and flaws. It has become weak, the very thing we despised. However, for now, we have chosen another target: the Liber Cluster. It became vulnerable due to latest events. It calls us for salvation. We are here now, eager to deliver it to blade and fire. The Strength of Iron thirsts for conquer. We, the Blackened Fist will close its palm around your realm. The flesh is weak and thus, you were condemned to be purged. Blood for the Gorgon. Embrace your demise."

--------

Received transmission by Adeptus Mechanicum outpost KL-781-Rhota B, shortly before all contact was lost

 

Edited April 5, 2018 by Kelborn

[Ace Debonair]

Bitter, angry old killing machines. I approve!

 

If not for their intense dislike of everyone else, they'd make fine allies for the Corsairs.

 

They've both got the same ideal in mind, at least - the strongest should rule the Liber Cluster!

[Fat Necron]

Ace Debonair, Thank you. That mess I posted is just an outline. I'll be writing up different stuff here and there to better explains different phenomenons and spooky warp stuff. I'm sitting on things for a few weeks while I dabble with a few idea's

 

Right now I'm trying to think of a good name for the Cult of Destruction I'm sluggishly typing up for Tagaroth and friends. An emphasis on Mutilators seems apt wear they seek stronger flesh. Nice chitinous techno monsters scurrying across the battlefield slashing holes in Land Raiders. Hehe

 

Kelborn, I'm liking the call back to the Horus Heresy you're doing there. I'm looking forward to future updates for your renegades.

Edited April 7, 2018 by Fat Necron