Pyromaniac Hellhound Pilot
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Here's a re-write of a previous thread; since the forum auto-appends double posts and doesn't bring the thread up, I've made a new thread so that interested people can read this.
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Atesh is an arid and tough world in the Ultima Segmentum. It is currently the Chapter World of the Askari Chapter marines, who rule it and the local system absolutely. It was discovered and catagorized in 987.M38, but was not settled until early in M39.
The Settlement of Atesh
Early in M39, a fleet of outcasts from a now forgotten world brought themselves to the rough planet of Atesh. A primitive world when first recorded hundreds of years before, the land was dry and rocky with few living creatures known on its surface. Seas of sand and great oasi broke up the rocky surface, and it was around these rock-fast bodies of water that the first settlements (called whyt or dmi if large enough) were constructed from many of the ships they came to this world upon. These early settlements had lofty names: New Haven, Last Home, Far Reach. They were strict autocratic societies, independently ruling themselves. Under the sometimes brutal governing of the local strongman, many began to flourish, growing in population and intricacy. Land and water use were of a premium, and during this time the stories tell of the worth of a man being measured in liters of water. These were tough times, during which several oasi-dwelling settlements went quiet and empty. It was also during this time that a terraforming project was put underway by one particularly "educated" group of settlers.
The Terraforming of Atesh
Utilizing ancient technology, likely stolen or smuggled from a now unknown source, this group of settlers sought to transform the world. They put under way an esoteric project which utilized some of the few remaining ships not cannibalized for use in creating surface settlements and machines of unknown design. The first stage of this project was the creation of an enormous body of water to span the planet's equator. Legends say this had something to do with altering the rotation angle of the planet, but none now know for certain. For several generations this process underwent amongst the rise and fall of various oasi settlements across the planet. The secrets were handed down from father to son, mother to daughter and the whole of their people (dwelling in underground settlements called sitches near the northern portion of the equator) were reclusive and involved absolutely in this project. The other clans became, in time, suspicious of them, but lacked the reason and resources to confront them over their secrecy and isolationism. Though these terraformers (calling themselves the Bringers of Rain) possessed potent technology that might well have made the immediate situation of the other settlements less harsh and tough, they did not share it because they simply did not have the spare resources to deviate from their project.
The War of Absolute Ignorance
With the completion of the Great Sea (as it is now called) spanning the circumference of the entire planet around the equator, war came to the Bringers of Rain. Four generations of secrecy and what seemed like selfishness had driven the southern settlements into jealousy, as they assumed the Bringers would utilize this sea to hold power over the heads of those who dwelt upon the surface and not below it. Wanting the technologies for themselves as well as an assurance that no secretive group of techno-sorcerers would rule their lives, a cobbled together militia was created and armed. Bringing everything from hafted stones on steel rods to lasguns and autoguns copied in fab-shops from early smuggled designs, they marched out across the desert under the command of a very charismatic man known now as Seth. On foot and Mukaali-back they marched across the rocky landscape to strike at the very heart of Bringer territory. Crossing the sea in boats crafted from wood growing along the very shore, they visited doom on the Bringers, who did not maintain any form of defense, isolated and without enemies as they thought they were. Assaulting their primary settlement of Oribes, the militia systematically slaughtered 85% of the Bringer population, driving the rest into the deserts. Without their command center, the other Bringer settlements quickly fell apart, and their kind were obliterated from the face of the planet.
For the attackers who sought the technology to change their world on their own terms, nothing. Shortly after the militia entered the compound, the Headman of Oribes began the count down on a massive nova charge, a piece of equipment originally designed to vaporize stone for expanding their settlements. Overcharging the device, he destroyed Oribes and the invading militia (and several square miles of surrounding area) instantaneously. All but a few examples of the high technologies brought with them from their now forgotten homeworld vanished in an instant, along with all the knowledge of the Bringers' secret plan.
The Generational War
In the wake of the bombing, word slowly spread from the southern settlements throughout the planet regarding the events that lead to the destruction of that secretive group. Many of the southern settlements backed the action of Seth and his warriors, and lauded those who had put their support behind his actions before his death. They saw it as a sign of growing solidarity amongst the southern settlements, as Seth's dmi had not supplied his forces alone. Across the now present sea,however, the northern settlements were afraid. The few remaining bits of technology involved in the process were now isolated on the southern side of the sea. The southern settlements were beginning to work together, forming a union that threatened the concept of self-rule of each whyt and dmi on the planet. They had invaded, under arms, the northern portion of the planet and attacked a settlement that had rightly been considered part of the northern hemisphere. The settlements in the north began their own union, one based on self rule but mutual defense, calling it the Northern Alliance. Preemptively they attacked the southern forces, reacting on news that they had begun making use of the newly fertilized lands along the central sea. A freshwater body, the Northern Alliance was very interested in controlling both sides of the water to relocate their surplus populations there, and to make use of the new food resources planted there by the Bringers. Thus began the Generational War, which was to last on and off until 678.M41.
During the Generational War, combat was fierce and bold. Neither side possessed the technological know-how or the real resources to make a complete victory theirs, and much combat revolved around raids on exposed mining operations and equatorial shore farms. Sieges became the common way to force the hand of the other side, though the arid landscape made them difficult to maintain an army for. For many generations this continued, until the coming of the Space Marines.
The Decent of Menes the Uniter
Menese Greman was born on another desert world long before his arrival. An Imperial Fist by rebirthright, he had risen through the ranks and become entrusted with the founding of a new chapter. Taking with him a few personally loyal marines he set out recruiting and forming this new chapter, which held a dozen full members by his arrival on Atesh in 678.M41.
When Menes descended upon Atesh, he was already well aware of the situation on the ground. Though they were primitive, they were not lost, and possessed technologies like radio communication, manufacturing and laser weapons. Making planet fall in the midst of a large and violent battle between two of the greatest generals either side had to their name, the Nameless Chapter under Menes commanded them in the Imperial Tongue to drop the fight and bow before the servants of the Emperor. At first nothing worked, as the fighters were not educated in the Imperial Tongue. A lull fell over the fighting as both sides were in awe at the landing of such strange beings, but the Northern Alliance pressed their attack to take advantage of this momentary weakness. The Marines fell on them, a dozen against more than a hundred, and killed many on both sides before the fighting men routed and the generals came forth to surrender their swords. Both men, bitter enemies their entire lives, fell together on their knees in awe and worship of this lethal being who could turn aside any weapon. Using these two, Menes and his Marines created a stable peace, culling nay sayers and making trouble makers vanish.
Educating the Ignorant Masses of Atesh in the Glory of the Emperor
The masses of Atesh had not kept up their adherence to the Imperial Creed. Coming from a world not too strongly religious and having little need for it during a war of obliteration over material goods and land, Menes took to educating the people during the early stages of his reign. Using Chapter knowledge he established hospitals, enhancing local medical knowledge with that of Chapter Apothecary Ian Vant. Using Chapter Machines he enhanced agriculture and manufacturing, allowing even the poor to eat well within five years. He expanded the tiny fab-shops into great factories, entrusting them to the rule of Techpriest Hagar Brent, master of the Chapter's ship technologies. He brought the Imperial Creed into every house, posing as servants of their Legendary Tiu'Septah, the creator of All that Is. He disarmed old feuds with subterfuge, cunning and force where needed, always bending the perception of his actions to conform to the Creed. He created an economy, using the knowledge of the Techpriest to help the natives expand their production capabilities to bring a higher standard of living to all those who he ruled over. He showed uncanny kindness and generosity for one who's only profession was war in the name of his God-Emperor; does the Codex Astartes not speak of cunning and subterfuge to obtain the furtherance of the Emperor's Name?
Within twenty years the entire planet was absolutely his. The people worshiped his name and those of his followers. The Chapter's battle brothers and support masters were to the people demi-gods, surely touched by Tiu'Septah, the All Seeing, now taught to the people as the name of the Emperor. Chapter Master Menes was all -but- a god, the Marine taking great care not to allow them that belief lest the Ordo Heraticus come down on them all. A great culture had arisen around the Chapter, their Creed (enhanced and told from the legends of these people as to gain an enhanced credibility that has not grown from the barrel of a bolter) and their seemingly super-human abilities. An official fighting force was founded as the masses were educated in the gathering darkness of the universe, of Mutant and Heretic, of Xeno and Dark, Thirsting Gods. The people even opened themselves to recruitment by the Chapter, and more marines were made from the first ten years onwards. They took the name "Askari", which to the people means "Soldiers of the Gods".
The Pyramid War and the Fall of Menes
In 899.M41 a great event took place on the surface of Atesh that was to change the face of the Chapter forever. Deep beneath the surface of the planet and out amongst the uninhabited zones far from oasi, there became known the terrible tombs of the Necrons. Atesh was a Tomb World; one under which the ancient warriors of the Necrontyr sleep in their terrible pyramids, a skeletal host of lost souls. Though not awakened by the planetary terraforming or the wars that brought the end to so many lives, now something caused them to stir underneath the sands, awakening from thousands of years of slumber. They Hungered...
With his few marines and his newly armed but untested Planetary Defense Force, Menes found himself alone in the defense of his new fiefdom. No call for aid came answered as the undead army came forth from their fell black pyramids. The early battles were terrible losses in which thousands of Guardsmen died. Their faith in their God tested, the people began to succumb to madness. Riots within the towns and cities took place as people began to feel like trapped animals, unable to escape the threat consuming their world. With no ships, no one could evacuate and no one was willing to entrust negotations with such a horrific foe. But then a victory came.
On the rock flat of Akabis Menes and his Marines joined battle against the Necrons for the first time. Having decided not to risk his Chapter in combat too early until something could be known about these robotic fiends, Menes retained his forces at the cost of thousands of Guardsmen. Now he, his chapter and a host of thousands of fighting men made battle with this new enemy, bringing to bear their newly manufactured war machines - a new concept to these hardy desert people. With beast and machine and sweat and blood a great battle was fought on the flat of Akabis, in which every single Necron was brought low, teleported to their evil temples to await resurrection. Hundreds died, and the only saving grace this world possessed was the relatively small number of skeletal minions present on the planet; a mere thousand at most - a virtually empty tomb world. Using the sensors of his Chapter's ship, Menes sought out their bases and hiding spots, finding three great pyramids. One fell to the wrath of the Emperor's Servants, then another, and finally the greatest of them all was under assault. The lesser two, filled with damaged Warriors from the previous battle, were no resistance and were destroyed utterly. By the time this third one was found, a dozen warriors stood ready. Landing with fifty warriors, Menes assaulted the Necron position, taking out the warriors and their lesser scarab-like servants before making his way into the complex to place the final charge himself. He was confronted there by a fell creature, a lordly beast that eminated evil deeper than the other skeletal minions faced so far. Weapon in hand, Menes engaged this foe and was mortally wounded moments before issuing the final death blow to his worthy opponent. Stricken, he died as his Marines swarmed the chamber. There, they extracted his body and set the charge, ensuring that no further Necron threat would be known to their world from below.
Menes was laid to rest in the new Chapter Mosoleum, a towering pyramidal structure of stone and gold erected a mere year before the Necron threat became known. With him his weapons and armor, sacred wargear interred for all time. And so the chapter passed to Chemesh, former Captain and Battle Brother, under the blessings of Tiu'Septah, the Emperor.
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There's the fluff bit. No Crunchy stuff set in stone other than these guys being a Codex chapter, likely with a bias towards mechanization. There will be a guard chapter written about with these guys, assuming this is an agreeable story. As an amateur writing I welcome critique, criticism and praise with equally high value. I do not often recieve much feedback beyond simple silence about my works, so I'm trying to improve up to the "this sucks" level at least :p
M.
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