Aeris

"*Fascinating, isn't it ? Who would have suspected that the Orkoïd and T'au DNA could deteriorate so quickly with such a minuscule variable in the virus genome. Truly, it is a blessing from the Omnissiah!*"
— Fabricatrix General Aelia Ferro Frigus overseeing one of the many experiments in Forge Zero
Colonized during the waning days of the Great Crusade to insure that the forces of the Imperium would never lack resources, the Forge World of **Aeris** has been one of the main power in the Ougrean Rift, specializing in the study of the many natives primitive xenos forms and bacteria of its system and the others in this dangerous region of space. The ability of its techno-priests to turn even the most minute of their discovery into a formidable weapon has made them famous in the whole Ultima Segmentum and beyond.

## History

The world now named Aeris was for the longest period of its life a savage planet, left alone to its own devices. The colonists who would settle the worlds of Suami and Torndheim refused to risk their life on a world so torrid and covered at 80% with tumultuous oceans while vast jungles sprawled over the three small continents which dotted its surface. It was not before a vast Explorator fleet came from Mars as a prelude to a proper exploration of the Rift that the world became populated by humans. At the time, this fleet was seeking to avoid the consequences of a failed bid to reinforce the biologist factions of the Red Planet over the supporters of mechanical augmentation. Having failed to convince the lords of Mars, Archmagos Ignatius Mons gathered his loyal servants and departed as far and as quickly as possible, avoiding the wrath of those he had wronged but barely. Even his unilateral declaration of his colony as a full-fledged and independent Forge-World angered many in the Mechanicum. The onset of the Horus Heresy and the Martian Civil War allowed him a reprieve however, and when the madness which had engulfed the galaxy finally was contained, none came to dispute his claims, as tenuous as they were.

As the easiest system of the Ougrean Rift to access at the time, and with abundant ore deposits detected deep in the crust and mantle of the planet, the Ocean World was deemed a perfect location by the Mechanicum. In mere months, the first complexes of Forge Prima were erected, and the newly dubbed Fabricator General Mons issued a series of decree, named the *Bio-xenological Imperative*, which pushed the research in the vast domains of xenobiology, bio-engineering and viral researches as the most important axis of development for the budding Forge-World, a decree which is still active to this day and explains both why the pure manufacturing capabilities of Aeris are far less developed than most other Forge Worlds of his age, but the abilities of its denizens when it comes to the creation of viral weapons, genetic aberrations to unleash on the enemies of Mankind or even deep knowledge of most of the Xeno races discovered in the galaxy, are unmatched.

Over the ten thousands years of its existence, Aeris saw its industry grow ever more massive, with no less than a dozen of immense factories carved into the bedrock of the world. To an unsuspecting eye, beyond the rows after rows of shipyards and defensive platforms which extend around the entirety of the world, often just outside its atmosphere, the planet seems almost untamed, with but the spires of Forge Prima piercing the sky. However, each of the complexes which have been built over time have been linked to it, save the lone Forge Zero, a massive station, situated on the largest barren satellite of Aeris, where the deadliest and most dangerous genetic alterations are tested on viruses, xeno poisoners. Many rumors abound about the research of this Forge complex, but none outside the leaders of the Forge World truly know what happens there.

Because of its origins, the fleet sent by Forge-World Aeris have often been met with resentment, if not outright hostility by the other forces of the Adeptus Mechanicus. It has never prevented the Fabricatrix General Aelia Ferro Frigus, who succeeded -some says usurped- Mons when the later mysteriously succumbed to a particularly voracious flesh-eating virus in M.36- from expanding her reach to the whole galaxy, lending her techno-priests to many a Rogue Trader, in exchange of exotic remains, live xenos and other, more esoteric relics and information to use against her rivals. As the centuries passed, many were forced to begrudgingly admit that Aeris' values was too great to be ignored, which helped bolster the influence of this Forge-World, both in the Ougrean Rift and the larger Imperium.

## Wars and Crusades

### Conquest of the Rift - 133-756.M32

The war known on Aeris as the Conquest of the Rift is in truth comprised of dozens of smaller campaigns, launched to expand the influence of the newly created Forge-World in a portion of space largely unknown, even long after the Great Crusade. This era was made all the more complicated by the relative lack of resources that the Adeptus Mechanicus could muster, forcing them to put a stop to their operations for quite long time, as the systems claimed had to be garrisoned and their planets prepared to be used for their natural resources. In fact, less than half of this period was truly military in nature.

Nonetheless, this era saw the influence of Aeris expands only thanks to the courage and efficiency of its still nascent Legio Clipeum and Legio Tonitrua. As the imperial gateway to the Ougrean Rift, Aeris vied for supremacy with its newly discovered rival, Tornheim IV, for the right to become the Subsector Capital, for at that time, the Rift was only deemed a large Subsector of the Shortak Sector. The Conquest of the Rift allowed the Forge-World to compete with the ancient Hive-World, by expanding it's borders so much that even to this day, the Aeris Subsector of the Rift is the largest, comprised of seven systems and more than forty planets.

The only reason the Conquest was halted was that the resources necessary to expand it further were deemed too heavy a toll on the Forge-World itself, for they were now not only facing directly with the Torndheim IV's desmene, but also with the borders of the mysterious and deadly Kajaani Nebula. Furthermore, political upheaval on Aeris itself, with the rise of Aelia Ferro Frigus to the rank of Fabricatrix-General also negatively impacted those campaigns. Nonetheless, it was quite obvious that when the Conquest of the Rift ended, Aeris was already the wealthiest and most secure of the future Subsectors of the Ougrean Rift.

### The WHAAAGH !!! Ironeater - 215-235 M.34

the WHAAAGH !!! Ironeater started as a lone Space Hulk smashing on an uninhabited planet in the Kajaani Nebula. There, the Greenskins grew in numbers and dangerosity, undiscovered by the meagre forces of the Kajaani's subsector, which was just newly established as the Ougrean Rift had been recognized as a true Sector mere six years before the crash of the Hulk. Therefore, the countless hordes of Orks which poured from the Kajaani Nebula to assault Aerisian outposts in the nearby systems caught those off guard.

It quickly became clear for the Forge-World that the forces of Ironeater, a massive monster whose mind was consumed by the need to achieve more dakka, would quickly assault in full force Aeris' own system. However, the Fabricatrix-General also knew that giving up the outer systems for the Orks to plunder was madness. Orkoid agression needed to be used and directed directly toward the Forge-World. Therefore, Macroclade Ira was dispatched, its weapons slaughtering countless Orks and drawing them toward the Aeris system.

There, the war grounded to a halt for almost eighteen years, the Orks unable to breach the outer defenses of the system, until the Warboss unleashed a titanic monstrosity, an asteroid as massive as Endurance itself, which was hurled through the outer defenses, shattering them and allowing the WHAAAGH !!! to pass. Many of the outer planets were utterly ravaged, dirty bombs raining from the sky, crude Gargants polluting their soils without a care for the wonders they destroyed under their clumsy feet. And onward thundered the countless Boyz of the Greenskins.

Terror griped the Skitarii and their masters, and thus was used for the first time the ultimate order of Macroclade Custos. The Skitarii's will was overridden, they were themselves turned into nothing more than deadlier Servitors and when the Orks reached the Inner-Belt, they were finally stopped. Ironeater still fought for two years, until he was finally killed and with his death, his WHAAAGH !!! disbanded. The forces of Aeris hounded them, using the genzetic knowledge that they had achieved during those twenty years to utterly purge those greenskins. To this day, no Ork infestation ever threatened the Aeris Subsector after this one.

### The Reign of the Machine-Smasher - 345-367.M35

"*Never again shall we accept that social and genetic experiments be as wide-ranging as those which led to the near destruction of Mining-Complex 2. I therefore proclaim that any who would take the risk to do so again would be reduced to a Servitor.*"
—Proclamation of the Fabricatrix-General after the defeat of the forces of the Machine-Smasher
Those tumultuous 22 years forever changed the Mining-Complex 2 on Aeris itself, when one of its social experiments utterly escaped the control of its creators and threatened the very existence of the Forge-World. The man today known simply as the Machine Smasher was but the result of centuries of social engineering and selective - if discreet - breeding, in an experiment spanning the millennium. He was meant to be a leader of slaves, in the hope of proving stronger of body and mind than any other, his genes thus passed down to the generations, and especially among the Skitarii, to improve their abilities.

However, the Machine-Smasher managed to exceed far beyond what the lords of Aeris had expected. He didn't just gathered the lowest of the Mining-Complex to rise in revolt, but managed to defeat the early forces sent against his rabble with contemptuous ease. Soon, his troops were seizing more and more weapon caches, factories and hab-blocks. The ranks of the revolt grew until it became a full-blown revolution. The soldiers of Clipeum sent against his forces were slaughtered and their weapons retrofitted to be used by his elite soldiers. Soon, it became obvious that the full forces of Aeris had to assault the labyrinthine tunnels of the Complex.

For nearly two decades, the forces of the Machine-Smasher managed to repel any and all assault against them, their elader proving incredibly competent not only in battle, but also in organizing the civilian life. he earned his moniker when he ordered all non-essential machines to be destroyed, so as to free his fellow humans from their tyrannical rule. Such abjections against the creations of the God-Machine probably angered the divine being, for, while he was able to feed his followers, he grew ever more ill until he finally died in 365.M35, his whole body ravaged by the wasting disease which had reduced him to nothing.

After his death, his heirs fought with themselves, allowing Aeris to finally destroy this small empire. The Fabricatrix-General herself led the charge and purged tens of thousands of people outright, hundreds of thousands of other were vivisected to be studied and punished. Finally, in 367.M35, the last embers of the rebellion had been quashed, but they managed to return once every centuries. Even to this day, descendants of the Machine-Smasher appears, starting another revolt, threatening the whole complex once more.

### The War of Three Suns - 852-859.M36

The War of Three Suns is the greatest war ever waged by Aeris against the corrupted servants of the Dark Mechanicus. Led by Princep-Maxima Agrippina Juvii Valian and the Fabricatrix General herself, the full forces of Macroclade Ira and Progressus were unleashed, alongside all the devine machines of Legio Tonitrua, on the unholy world of Nifalgar. The volcanic planet, its crust heated by the twin suns of the system, had become a bastion of Heretek, who melded holy mechanics with Warp-born fluids, unleashing untold monstrosities which would be used against the Imperium. The fury of Aeris put an end to this madness, when the 8 millions Skitarii and the Titans came crashing on their defenses.

As the forces of the Imperium touched ground, a sphere of pure Warp-energy appeared over the planet, forming the famous "third sun" of Nifalgar. Demons, mutants and horrible constructs, mockeries of Aeris' sacred templates, were unleashed against the invaders. However, the holy fury of Valian and Frigus was not swayed and their forces endured all manner of horrors, ever advancing, until they finally reached the walls of the main Warp-Forge. There, the three mightiest Titans of Tonitrua, *Rex Bellum*, *Pax Perpetua* and *Imperatoris Bellum* combined their weapons to blast the main gate open.

Once the forces of Legio Clipeum, diminished as they were, stormed the forge, killing and destroying all they saw. However, Fabricatrix General Frigus secretly acquired several warp-tainted viruses and bacteria, which she spent thousands of years working on, to create her own "purified" versions. Once they left the planet, in spite of its many resources, the fleet of Aeris utterly destroyed it, leaving only a vast new asteroid field encasing the Warp-Sun of Nifalgar.

## Geography, Habitability, & Infrastructure

Mostly comprised of water, the surface of Aeris is dotted with three small continents, all comprised between the tropics of the world, where what appears to be the main settlements are situated, due to a greater accessibility and easy expansion. Lacking great bodies of ice, save two small rings on its Western and Eastern hemispheres, while the magnetic field surrounding the planet indeed rest on its North and South poles, this world is rather hot, humid and prone to terrible storms during the rainy season, lasting roughly two third of the fifteen months Aeris takes to make a full rotation around its sun.

However, with the exception of Forge Prima, where the ruler and upper echelon of the Adeptus Mechanicum lives, the other two continents are not settlements in the usual sense, instead having been turned into Biodomes I and II, where most of the natives creatures were tinkered with by the techpriests, becoming highly unhospitable for human life, beyond the walled laboratories and structures lining the borders of the continents to prevent the twisted creatures from entering the seas and polluting the experiments underway beneath the waves. Many of those monsters are captured and turned into support for the Skitariis of Aeris.

The millions of inhabitants of Aeris toil thanklessly in subterranean cities and industry complexes, where they'll never see the light of die, suffering from lack of clean air and lack of foods and water. In most complexes, the conditions are so bad that slavery had to be put in place to try and keep the workforce in line, a practice which only works so long as no charismatic leader appear. Therefore, slave revolts are quite common on the Forge-World. However, such apparent disorder is actually encouraged by the techpriests, for those among the rabble who rise above their station that way makes for wonderful experiment subjects.

The rule of the Martian Priesthood has extended far deeper than the bedrock of the world, however. Gleaming cities and biodomes illuminate the depth of the oceans of Aeris, where important genetic research take place, away from the Forges and factories were more base goods, from bolts to Primaris wargears, are produced to meet the demands of the whole Ougrean Rift. Each and every biome of the world was colonized to create new controlled environment, where new creatures, viruses and technologies can be field-tested. Such drive is what allowed Aeris to rise above its original station to become a true Gorge-World and a great power in its Sector.

## Politics, Culture, & Dogma

Ever since its settlement, Aeris has been more a dictatorship than any form of even the smallest oligarchy. Fabricator General Mons and his successor Fabricatrix General Frigus have held absolute dominion over not only Forge Prima and Zero, but also oversight over all the complexes and Forges of their world. Under the rule of Frigus, the power she held were even consolidated with the creation of a special rank of Priest, the Geno-Priests Primus, her envoys -some would say lackeys- who report everything they see and know to the Fabricatrix, whether they want it or not. Their constant surveillance was resented by some but all grew to accept them, for the tasks that the Priesthood of the God-Machine have to complete on this world are of utmost importance.

The core of their faith remains the Cult Mechanicus; however, special emphasis has been given to the research and productions pertaining into genetic research and xenobiology, in accordance with the Bio-xenological Imperative which has given rise to a specific sect, the ***Transcendance of Flesh***, which pervades all the echelons of the Aerian society. All, from the lowest worker to the Fabricatrix General herself, adhere to its tenets, which proclaims that the human form is the perfect template, laid out by the God-Machine, but that it has to be perfected not only through the use of crude mechanical assemblages but by discovering all the secrets of the genomes. Only when Mankind will be able to remake itself at a whim through his knowledge of genetics will it have truly achieved greatness, or so believe the Adepts of the Transcendence of Flesh.

At a Sector level, Aeris always was one of the most important planet, only eclipsed by the Hive World of Torndheim IV. It led to a bitter rivalry between the two to achieve dominance over the Ougrean Rift, with the Hive World dominant for ten thousand years. However, the last quarter of M.41 saw the rise of Suami thanks to the Founding of the Sons of Iron on this toxic Death World, almost able to compete with the more ancient sieges of powers in the Rift. After the Temporal Wars, Torndheim was left a desolate planet, unable to recoup its losses and reclaims its ancient glory, only to see the fanatics of the Ecclesiarchy from the world of Uolo, also affected by the temporal anomalies, to rise to such prominence that only an alliance of convenience between Aeris, Suami and the Sons of Iron, insured that a trimvir would be put in place to preserve the Sector from the blind faith of the Uolons.

Having received the STC to create weapons, armors and vehicles for the newly bred Primaris from the returning Kardan Rauth, the late first Inflexible of the Sons of Iron, and other secrets from Archmagos Belisarius Cawl, whom they have supported since at least the rise of Fabricatrix General Frigus, Aeris has enjoyed a new resurgence of influence, and has cemented its relations with the Astartes from Suami, offering to train their Iron Remembrancers and even Apothecaries since the travel to Mars has became almost impossible because of the Cicatrix Maledicutum. Coupled with their output of Primaris equipment, many suspect that Aelia seeks to achieve greater influence over not only the Space Marines but also the world of Suami.

## Production Output and Capabilities

With a Production grade considered a high III-Secundus, Aeris is able to support almost all the demands for weapons, infrastructure and other goods required for the Ougrean Rift to survive, mainly because of the poorly populated nature of this sector. A good half of the Forges and complexes are devoted to such mundane but fundamental tasks as the production of military weapons, ammunitions and vehicles, both for the Planetary Defense Forces and the Astartes of the Sons of Iron. However, like almost all Forge-World, it lacks the ability to grow its own food and is thus dependents on the agri-worlds of the Kaajani Nebula.

While such an ancient world of the Adeptus Mechanicus should have been able to produce far more than Aeris does, the Forge World restrained its production of normal weaponry because of its enormous production of viral and biological weaponry. Viral bombs, viruses and other deadly weapons come out of its Forges and laboratories. However, it is far from the sole use of the bacteria discovered or created on the oceanic world. One of the most renown in a specific variety thriving in the conditions of plasma weapons and generators, but unable to survive outside of such environments.

This bacteria decrease considerably the temperature of the plasma generators, allowing for a 17% percent increase in output, which is considered particularly useful in the case of the Titans and starships, which are thus able to produce incredible outburst, surprising their foes. It also allows for a longer period of use before overheating, usually up to 20%, which explains why the secrets surrounding this bacteria, which cannot be extracted from the generators and weapons it has been implanted into, are considered of utmost secrecy. Any leak is punishable by the Servitude Punishment, and many an over-ambitious techno-priest was turned into a mindless Servitor for a loose tongue.

## Military Forces

### Legio Skitarii

"*We are the outer cells defending the living organism of Aeris. We are the steel of its armor, the fire of its spit and the roar of its soul! Blessed we are, for the God-Machine's hand is on us!*"
—Common sermon of the Legio Clipeum before an engagement, translated into High Gothic from the binary dialect of Aeris.
The main armed forces of Aeris is the vast Legio Clipeum, a 20 millions strong army whose main purpose is to protect the Forge World and any and all Exploration Fleet or diplomatic mission the Fabricatrix General and the upper echelon of the Priesthood deem fit to send beyond the confine of their vast and secured sector. The Skitarii forces have been divided in four distinct macroclades with distinct roles and duties. One never move between the macroclades, to cement powerful *esprit de corps* and allow the Adeptus Mechanicus to study the lineage of each Skitarii, to ensure that each new generation will be ever more suited to its task.

In spite of this, each and every member of the Legio Clipeum wear the same indigo robes covering the black armor and garments underneath, and display the symbol of Aeris, most often in embroiled with golden threads on the back, shoulders or torso. Armed with the deadliest and most potent weapons born in the forges of Aeris, those men and women have all undergone drastic surgical procedures and selective breeding to be stronger than all but the Astartes of the Emperor, all in the name of the Omnissiah.

#### Macroclade Progressus

The 2 millions strong Macroclade Progressus is the smallest of the four, whose sole purpose is to protect the Explorator Fleet of Aeris. Its members are easily recognized by the lightning bolt added underneath Aeris' iconography. Bred and trained to endure the rigor of space travel and years, if not decades without setting feet on a planet, Macroclade Progressus' soldiers are considered the quickest and perhaps deadliest of the Macroclades, for while the resources of an Arch-magos or even a simple Magos granted the honor to helm an Explorator Fleet are vast, they are but a pale reflection of a Forge World's potency, and yet those Skitarii have proven their worth time and time again, against all foes and odds.

Of all the members of the Legio Clipeum, the Progressus have been the most heavily augmented with machinery, to be able to with stand the emptiness of space, endure the greatest punishment and still be able to return fire with such an overwhelming rate that not even the toughest Ork will survive. Still, Macroclade Progressus is often stretched thin and its ability to replenish is harder than most, for the Fleets are often away for such a long time than the losses are hardly compensated by new birth or inductment into the Macroclade of valuable and compatible natives. Still, it hasn't prevented this Macroclade from being recognized as one of the deadliest fighting force of the galaxy.

#### Macroclade Custos

Mobilizing 9 millions Skitarii, this Macroclade is the largest of the Legio Clipeum divisions. Created to protect the Aeris system, from the Forge-World itself to its many outpost, its members have been bred over generations to be particularly stoic and determined. Should they face an enemy able to make their moral waver, the members of Macroclade Custos are all implanted two implants in their brain. One release a chemical cocktail reducing the amount of cortico-releasing hormone (CHR) produced by the Skitarii, which makes them more resolute. The second implant, used only under the direst circumstances, allow the technopriests to override the subject and turn him into little more than a Servitor.

Such a last resort has only been used twice in Aeris history, during the calamitous WHAAAGH !!! Ironeater, in 215-235 M.34 and the Assault of the Kraken at the end of M.41. In both cases, hundred of thousands of Skitarii had their brain reduced to mush and had to be reconditioned into Servitors, once their reproducting organs had been acquired to be used in the birth of new recruits. Thanks to the size of Macroclade Custos, even such terrible losses were easily replenished, several breeding grounds having been affected to produce a constant flow of Skitarii. Specifically designed low-level Magos-Biologis are also tasked with the scouring of Aeris' population to find new potential recruits for this Macroclade.

#### Macroclade Ira

The 6 millions Skitarri of Macroclade Ira are the closed fist of Aeris, the unsheathed blade which slays all its foes. Unlike the Progressus, who venture far and wide into the Galaxy, or the Custos, who remain in the Aeris system, the soldiers of Macroclade Ira are deployed during massive campaigns, such as Imperial Crusades, where the possibility to discover archeotech, lost STC or even new technologies which has to be studied and catalogued, so see if it is fitting in the holy work of the Machine God. This is this Macroclade which, most often than not, walk alongside the Titans of the Legio Tonitrua, and they too deploy colossal tanks and other engines of war able to annihilate all opposition. Unlike the members of Custos, they add to the Aderis iconography a knife, symbol of their fury.

The Skitarii of this Macroclade are augmented in subtle but important ways, such as additional organs, augmented limbs, reinforced muscles and auspex-like transplants. More importantly for the Techno-Priests of Aeris, they have been selected over the millennia to be born stronger and more ferocious than any of their peers in the Legio Clipeum. As all the members of the warrior-caste on the Forge World, they have had their genome tampered with to ensure that the correct genetic traits have been passed down the generations. Because of the need to ensure great ferocity, the members of this Macroclade are often reinforced by natives from the deadliest environments of the Ougrean Rift, from the hardy survivors of Suami to ganger from the Underhives of Torndheim iV.

#### Macroclade Poena

The Skitarii of this Macroclade are perhaps the most frightening of the Legio Clipeum for the inhabitants of Aeris. Comprised of 3 millions soldiers, the Poena's sole task is to dish out punishment on the rebelling workers and slaves toiling endlessly in the subterranean industrial complexes of the Forge-World. Those are the shadowy figures patrolling the vastness of the caves and tunnels dotting the crust of Aeris, from the fringes of the outer mantle, where human life outside of the sealed installations is impossible, to the excavations where rebellious leaders try to carve out a way toward the surface. Because they have to be used against poorly equipped traitors and rioters, those Skitarii rarely use the heaviest weapons of the Forge World's arsenals.

However, they do possess a formidable equipment, for they are all recruited among the upper echelons of the common citizenry of aeris, those servants of the Technopriests who are quite happy to dish out punishments to the rabble who would bite the hand which feeds them. Because of this, the Skitarii of Macroclade Poena are particularly arrogant, cold and even cruel. Those traits are actively thought after by the Geno-adepts tasked with insuring the survival of this portion of the Legio Clipeum. Its members use the standard iconography of Aeris, albeit with the addition of a whip replacing the lower half of the sacred cog, a rendition displaying for all to see their brutal tendencies.

### Legio Titanica

The Legio Tonitrua is the pride of Aeris' armed forces, its deadliest weapons and greatest champions. Those holy machines, all incarnations of the God-Machine's wrath, have been fitted with the mightiest weapons born in the forges of the Oceanic World, their circuitry patiently built by the greatest of its technopriests. Many an esoteric discovery, unique to Aeris, has been built into their chassis, from the plasma-thriving bacteria allowing those monsters of metal to fight longer and more ferociously, to the Viral Thunder megabolts, which unleash deadly viruses able to kill even the most robust of Orks in seconds, before succumbing to their own entropy.

Despite its power, the Legio Tonitrua is a relatively small cadre of Titans, for the world of Aeris is hardly suited to house a larger armada of the god-machines. Therefore, all of them have been put on its moon, protecting the incredibly important -some would say vital- Forge Zero. Comprised of 15 Titans, the Legio Tonitrua is nonetheless able to deliver enough fire-power that it was never bested when in conjunction with the forces of the Legio Clipeum. Many adepts on Aeris wish to expand the Tonitrua, but resources are scarcely deployed to such end, due to the ***Bio-xenological Imperative*** which require focus elsewhere. Therefore, it is said that the Princepts are petitioning for the search, or even creation of a Knight World to supplement the Legio in time of need, to no avail so far.

The most sacred engines comprising the Legio Tonitrua are as follow :

* 8 Warhounds Class Titans, *Purpura Bellum*, *Ferrum Iram*, *Alba Ira*, *Bellum Canum*, *Clypeus Fortium*, *Ferrum Virtuti*, *Virtus Martis* and *Aeris Praeco*.
* 4 Nemesis Class Titans, *Pura Mortem*, *Salus Remala*, *Redemptionis Proditores* and *Rubrum Custodes*.
* 2 Warlord Class Titans, *Rex Bellum* and *Pax Perpetua*.
* 1 Emperor-Warmonger Class Titan, *Imperatoris Bellum*.

### Combat Doctrine

For the military forces of Aeris, battle must start only once victory is certain. The prognosticars and cogitators of the Forge World must have analyzed the threats and devised the proper counter-measures. In any and all situation, the use of viral agents and other pathogens deployed en masse against their opponents is the first action taken by the Legio Clipeum and the Legio Tonitrua. Each of the Macroclade of the Clipeum obviously follow distinct patterns, from the lightning-strike assaults of the Progressus, who unleashes a torrent of esoteric weaponry against their foes, to the monstrous machines thundering along Ira, battering the ranks of those who have earned the fury of Aeris.

It is alongside Ira that the divine engines of war of the Centurio Ordinatus, their fury battering the enemy formations with powerful lightning arcs, accelerated plasma and other antique projectiles whose knowledge is all but lost to the Imperium. As for the Skitarii of Custos, they are used to fight alongside the Titans of Legio Tonitrua, adding their mass and hail of fire to the divine salvos of the God-Machines. And should even the fury of the deadliest weapons of Aeris fail, millions of primitives beasts, turned into ravening monsters by the prodding and deft handling of the Tecnho-Priests.

Because of its lower than average reliance on mechanical augmentation, the Skitarii of Aeris are often wrongly considered to be weaker or less sturdy than their cohorts on other Forge-World. however, the genetic manipulation and selective breeding over the thousands of years has made sure that they are the equal of even the forces of Mars itself, at least individually, even if Aeris is far from able to field as many Skitarii or equip them with the deadliest weapons of the Adeptus Mechanicus.

Furthermore, the glaring lack of Knights leave a hole in the ranks of the Aeris forces, affecting their versatility. However, the Priests of Aeris are obviously aware of this weakness, and have thrived to find or even found a Knightly House, to no result so far, even if the Temporal Wars could have opened some possibilities. Should the Legio Clipeum and Tonitrua be reinforced by the smaller Knights, then it would significantly enhance their danger.

## Personnel of Note

### Fabricatrix General Aelia Ferro Frigus

Ambitious, tyrannical and devoid of almost all trace of empathy, the Fabricatrix General Frigus has ruled Aeris with an iron fist for thousands of years. Born on the Red Planet itself, she followed the former lord of the upstart Forge-World, Archmagos Ignatius Mons. Like him, she saw the glory of the God-Machine not in the cold mechanics of robots and augmetics but in the arcane secrets of the flesh. Those were living machines, able to adapt and evolve without conscient intervention, truly the work of a divinity of unfathomable intellect. For centuries, she was content to toil under Mons, until she grew tired of his timidity.

Aelia was -and still is- driven by an almost insane need to improve herselfs and others. She was the one ensuring that Aeris would support the Arch-magos Dominus Belisarius Cawl in any way shape or form, and when Ignatius Mons grew suspicious of his actions, she had no qualm orchestrating his death and assuming command of the still relatively young Forge-World. In truth, she had taken control of the planet long ago but didn't feel the need to make it official. Once at the top of the local Adeptus Mechanicus, she proved even more ruthless and cold than her predecessor, devising the atrocious bio-experiments of Forge Secunda, Tertia and Zero, while putting the poorest of the poor in the appalling living conditions they still endure.

Physically speaking, the Fabricatrix General almost look human at a first glance. However, sould one peer under her heavy cloaks and hood, she'd discover a flesh in constant revolution, its veins containing potent viruses, bacterias and mutagens allowing Frigus to grow ever stronger and deadlier. Her size, thrice as tall as a baseline human, also makes her a terryfying figure. Furthermore, she also has several extensive mechanical augmentations, well hidden, which makes her a living weapon-platform when the need arises.

All those pale in comparison with her well concealed heresies for, in truth, the Fabricatrix General holds little love for the rules of the Imperium, or even the larger Mechanicum. In her secretive Data-Vault Omega, she compiles throves of secrets and ancient STC and the results of monstrous hybridation's experiences. No creature in the galaxy is too abject to prevent its genome to be spliced with the holy DNA of humans. Only in this way will her species will be able to transcend their primitive nature and truly ascend to their rightful place as the heirs of the God-Machine.

### Arch-Magos Corintius Ventus

Ventus is the oldest ally of the Fabricatrix General, having served as far as any of them can recall. There has never been a time when the grim and incredibly effective Tech-Priest did not support his muse. For behind a cold, almost emotionless exterior, Corintius Ventus has been hopelessly in love with Aelia since the first time he saw them, when they were but the lowest of the low among the hierarchy of the Mechanicum. However, Ventus has never acted on those feelings, for he find the idea of consuming them like the rest of humanity to be hopelessly base and primitive. his is a purer, more intellectual love, at least in his eyes.

Because of his talents, dedication and utmost drive to always catalogue and classify correctly all crumb of knowledge he may discover, he was made Arch-Magos in charge of Data Vault Alpha somewhen during the 34th Millennium. Ever since, he has served as the perfect keeper of Aeris many secrets and discoveries, even if he never shy away from hiding some he deems too dangerous for the common imbeciles and arrogant fools who populate even the holy order of the Adeptus Mechanicus. Many an upstart priest found himself dead or reduced to the status of Servitor for trying to discover the information he had been officially denied access by Ventus.

The Arch-Magos is one of the very few individuals who know of the Fabricatrix General's secret and heretical experiments. When he first discovered those, he was extremely shocked and had to mull over those for years. Finally, he revealed to his muse that he knew what she was doing and wanted to support her, having decided that she could never be in the wrong and that she was only pursuing the goals set upon Mankind by the God-Machine in a way that small-minded and blindsided peoples couldn't comprehend. Ever since that day, he has devoted a considerable amount of his time making sure that none other could replicate his discovery of Aelia's experiments.

### Arch-Magos Justinia Frigidaqua

Justinia Frigidaqua has been the highest priest always present on Forge Zero. She rose from the lowest strata of Aerisian society, born among the ragged and unwashed primitives toiling in the forges, factories and mines dotting the mantle of the planet. Unlike her peers however, she always possessed a drive to learn more, and never hesitated to experiment, on herself but mostly others. She was discovered by the Tech-Priests when she raided minor facilities to access to higher technologies to try and vivisect her fellows dregs of humanity and better understand why they were unable to match her incredible intellect.

The Fabricatrix General Aelia Ferro Frigus took a keen interest in this young woman, and decided to allow her to become a Tech-Priest, in effect taking her under her wing. Quickly, Frigidaqua proved herself to be not only incredibly talent but also fanatically devoted to the Transcendence of Flesh, while displaying an almost compulsive need to augment her body with ever more metallic and mechanical elements, as if driven by an innate if never conscious hatred of the bag of flesh she was born with. This drive explains why she proved herself as incredibly suited to the atrocious experiments of Forge Zero.

Having become the highest ranked Arch-Magos on Zero, she is mainly tasked with the protection and supervision of Data Vault Beta, where the knowledge archived since almost ten thousand years has been preserved. Justinia is known to be particularly protective of such knowledge and many a low-tanked Adept has found himself dismembered for having broken one of the many rules she set in place to protect the secrets of her Forge. As a fervent follower of the Fabricatrix General, she share her interesting near or even heretical researches, but if she has dared pursue them beyond the theoretical, she has been even more discreet than her mentor.

### Arch-Magos Diplomaticus Aurelius Titus Tolosa

The representative of Aeris on the newly created Triumvir ruling over the Ougrean Rift destiny in those turbulent time, Aurelius is known to place the honor and primacy of his Forge-World as the utmost value. Only his world has endured ten thousand years of war unscathed, unconquered, and is thus deserving of the First Siege in this Council, or even the right to rule alone over the whole Sector. It wasn't as if Mars nor even Terra could oppose their veto to such an event for, in the imperium Nihilus, all those faithful to the Imperium are given greater leniency in the way they act to preserve it and its rule.

Still, the Arch-Magos Diplomaticus is far from being an obtuse or brutish man. An epitome of the ***Bio-xenological Imperative*** and the ***Transcendance of Flesh*** which allows him to at least pass for a normal human, which smooth the relations he has to entertain with both his Triumvir comrades and other, lower ranked-individuals whom he has to court to ensure that the preeminence of Aeris will be strengthened and able to outlast anything the upstarts from Uolo or even the grim warriors of the Sons of Iron could concoct. For, behind his polite exterior, Aurelius despise greatly those fanatics and technophobic soldiers.

Many on the Forge-World were surprised to see the Fabricatrix General allow someone else to ascend to this position of incredible influence and power, for many court Tolosa, seeking earn his favors in the hope that their worlds will receive more support from Aeris, in the form of weapons, technology or even arcane knowledge. But in truth, the Arch-Magos Diplomaticus is but a creature of Frigus, whom birthed him in her secret pods, molded him and made sure that Aurelius would always be a zealous servant of her will, never trying to usurp her position or threaten her in any way. Many a would be conspirator discovered too late the indomitable loyalty of Aurelius Titus too late and suffered a terrible fate, turned into a Servitor after days or even weeks of torture.

### Magos Aurelian Julii

Aurelian Juvii is the traitorous blade in the dark, the sugary taste of rotten fruit. Born less than five centuries ago on Aeris itself, his fanatism toward the larger Cult Mechanicus makes him an extremely dangerous individual, whose potential is only heightened by his patience, cunning and ability to hide his true feelings. Where others of his kind have risen from time to time on Aeris, usually in a brutal fashion, attempting to destroy the tenets of the Trenscendance of Flesh, he has chosen to hide his true beliefs and rise through the ranks, until he'll become Fabricator General.

As far as he can remember, Aurelian always hated his body. Born sickly in a relatively wealthy family of Forge Secunda, his childhood was spend learning the necessary secrets to be able to become the lowest ranking acolytes of the Mechanicus. His superior intellect allowed him to succeed and he rose slowly but steadily until, aged 123, he was finally ordained a true Techno-Priest. Dedaigning the siren calls of the genetic research, he has devoted himself entirely to the creation of weapons and armors. Only the coldness of steel and the implacable logic of the cogitators appeased his burning mind.

For, beyond even his ambition, Aurelian's soul is constantly ablaze, incensed by the corruption and heresy he sees everywhere around him. His people debase themselves, in his eyes, perverting the sacred tenets of the God-Machine, helping Hereteks like Belisarius Cawl, who dared twist the holy work of the Omnissiah by tempering with the gene-seeds of the Astartes to create those repulsive Primaris. Having carved a secret database, called Data Vault Epsilon by the few who knows of his existence, all like-minded individuals that Julii subjugated, he is slowly but surely building a powerbase from which he'll purge Aeris in fire, to make it reborn purer.

### Magos-Explorator Juvii Maximus

No matter how much knowledge can be discovered - or re-discovered, considering the tenets of the Cult Mechanicus, even on a Forge-World where the Transcendence of Flesh is law- on a planet like Aeris, much more secrets lay dormant in ancient human worlds, often long dead or devolved into far more primitive civilizational state. Furthermore, creating data banks compiling the genetic makeups of various human worlds, up to and including the many death and Feral Worlds from which Astartes are commonly recruited, even to this day. And long-lost SCT await the Explorator-Fleet of the Mechanicum.

Therefore, while he often spends centuries away from Aeris, the Magos-Explorator Juvii Maximus is held in high esteem. Indeed, none has brought has many ancient technologies, rare genetic specimens and a general deeper knowledge of the Galaxy to his homeworld. he has also been one of the main bearer of bad news, informing Aeris of mortal enemies trying to get their hands on the secret which rightfully belong to the Forge-World. At the head of the First Explorator Fleet, Maximus often posses the firepower necessary to wipe out those who would dare to oppose him, but on rare occasion, he has found himself bested.

Such an occurrence was the war against The Betrayed, an infamous and ever-growing Chaos Warband in the Eastern Fringe. Those vile Heretics assaulted his forces while he was exploring a ruined and dead planet. Realising quickly enough that he wouldn't be able to defeat them, the Magos-Explorator reluctantly retreated, vowing to get revenge on those defilers. This was but one event in the long list of encounters with the servants of the Ruinous Powers, explains why he's known for being particularly aggressive and unrelenting against those foes.

### Princep-Maxima Agrippina Juvii Valian

The supreme authority on Resilience, the greatest defensive elements of Aeris' system, is the Princep-Maxima Agrippina Juvii Valian, an old and stern warrior who is said to have killed more enemies of the Mechanicus in her life than a whole Macroclade of Skitarii. Having risen through the ranks of the Legio Clipeum, as a member of Macroclade Ira. Starting as a simple Skitarii, she quickly proved her worth as a soldier and displayed incredible tactical acumen. However, her harshness and habits of opposing vehemently decisions she deemed ridiculous or detrimental to the war efforts had her being passed by other, less skilled individuals.

However, her fortunes truly changed at the Battle of Carenos, during the 34th Millenium, when the Macroclade Ira descended on the Heretek World of Carenos, an outpost of the Dark Mechanicus at the fringe of the Somnium Stars. The heretic technology allowed them to kill the leaders of the army with their opening salvo. It was Agrippina who took command, her forceful personality and natural charisma allowing her to not only salvage the army, but lead it to an incredibly victory. When she came back with the spoils of war, she was granted the newly-created rank of Princep-Maxima by the Fabricatrix General and allowed to chose to remain in Clipeum or join Tonitrua.

For three thousands years, The Princep-Maxima thus commanded of the Titans of the Legio, the mightiest of them all, *Imperatoris Bellum*, which she used to crush countless foes. However, she grew tired of the all-powerful weaponry of the Divine Machines and returned to the ranks of the Legio Clipeum, where she led the forces of Aeris to victory. Having grown older, she decided to lead the defenses on Resilience for the foresaw the troubles ahead when the Cicatrix Maledictum opened.

## Forges, Data-Vaults, & Extraction Sites

### Forge Zero

Crafted into the sterile rock of Aeris' moon, Forge Zero is the most important piece of the defensive grid of the system and the location where the direst and deadliest experiments of the priesthood take place. During ten thousands years, the complex grew over half of the planetoid's surface, forming a labyrinthine body of laboratories, bunkers and las-cannons able to tear from the sky the mightiest vessels of the Imperium. Forge Zero remains a self-contained environment, with several space stations considered a part of it hovers of its surface, where Tyranid genetic materials are prodded, twisted and grafted on native creatures from Aeris.

Others see all manner of xenos being dissected, their body submitted to atrocious viruses and bacteria, the Adepts of Aeris scrupulously noting any and all information they can gather, allowing for the birth of ever deadlier viral weapons and other infectious agents able to reduce an Ork to a smoldering ruin in minutes. The laboratories on the moon proper see humans being submitted to genetic and mechanic ameliorations, often to the point of death, all in the name of research and the enhancement of the human body. Many poisonous elements are also tested and concocted in here, often based on toxins found somewhere in the Ougrean Rift, especially Suami.

### Forge Prima

The oldest and largest of the three Forges situated on Aeris itself, Prima is the nevralgic center of the whole system, where the Fabricatrix General resides, with most of the upper echelons of the Adeptus Mechanicus. This continent-sized complex is comprised of dozens of factories, some producing humble bolts while others see the birth of the holy components of the God-Machines of the Legio Tonitrua. Almost fourteen millions people toil endlessly, surveyed by the regiments of Macroclade Poena to ensure that no rebellion while ever even there, a place which has been deemed too holy and vital for the Priesthood to have social and breeding experiments taking place in its walls. Rebellion would not make the best impression to the larger Mechanicus or Imperium.

Because of the paranoid nature of Aelia Ferro Frigus, Forge Prima has been emptied of its most vital data, which has been distributed between Forge Zero, Secunda, Tertia and secrets data-vaults where only the Fabricatrix General and her most trusted servants may access. Nonetheless, the knowledge protected in this mighty citadel of the Omnissiah ranges from ancient STC to centuries of painful recording of the human genome and how to improve it through selective breeding and controlled environment. Furthermore, it is here that the Titans of Legio Tonitrua are assembled, before being sent to their cathedrals on the same moon as Forge Zero, where they'll be waiting for foes fool enough to assault the Aeris system.

### Forge Secunda

One of the two subterranean Forges, Secunda is based underneath the second continent of Aeris. While it is highly unusual for a Forge complex, the teeming jungle over the surface is considered as much a part of Secunda than the labyrinthine tunnels, factories and habitations which have been carved in the bedrock of the planet. Indeed, it is on the surface that the most daring experimentations of the Forge are done. There, all manner of species see themselves being altered by the Priests to enhance their aggressivity and deadliness. Tiger-likes beasts have developed over generations poisonous fangs, acidic spits or all other kind of evolutions which makes them better predators.

Such bio-engineering on primitives animals are considered necessary for the success of the advancement of the Human race. Only be working on the baseline templates of wild and primitive creatures is it possible to start devising the next step in the Human's template ameliorations. Indeed, the knowledge earned above-ground is coupled with the superior basic humans bred in the hellish conditions of the lowest-ranked sectors of the Forge, who sometimes see the birth of individuals of exceptional charisma. Because of their field of study, the Priests of Forge Secunda are also the handlers of all the Skitarii Macroclades, making sure that each new member will add to their strength, both in the present and through selected breeding.

### Forge Tertia

The second of the two subterranean Forges, Tertia deal in the creation of robust and resilient beings, able to endure deadlier viruses and weapons being unleashed. Because it rely far more than Secunda on bacterial and viral research and deployment in the vast jungle expanses of this continent. The vast subterranean factories, hab-blocks and sheds are not connected to the rest of the tunnels linking the Forge World. To be affected to Tertia is more a punishment than any other assignment possible, for the Forge is the poorest of the four, and forced to live in autarcy, even if its contribution is deemed indispensable.

Because of its nature, the Skitarri of the Macroclade Poena are far more numerous here than in any other location on Aeris, for no revolt may be tolerated, no matter its scale. Only absolute compliance to the tasks handed down by the masters of the Forge is awaited from its inhabitants, for any rebels could unleash a deadly virus into the life stream of the Forge World. All those who approach the sole entry point in Secunda, and the gate leading to freedom for many of its inhabitants, are striped bare, even the highest of the Priesthood and strict procedure insure that nothing dangerous will come in or out. Of course, tensions and resentment have bred here for thousands of years.

### Data-Vault Omega

This most secret Data-Vault is the personal repository of Fabricatrix General Aelia Ferro Frigus. It is but a remote and isolated asteroid, hidden in the central belt extending between Aeris and the outer three planets of its system. Dozens of transport ships pass near each hour, speeding to access the outer mines and space stations. It allow the Fabricatrix General to hide her library in plain sight, for none is too surprised when a ship stop at the small outpost carved in the 1km long, 250m large asteroid. Even then, Aelia only ever go there personally when she is quite certain that none will be able to track down her actions.

Only the Fabricatrix General can enter the secret passage leading to a large vault, occupying most of the space inside the asteroid, hidden by all the technological wonders that Aeris may produce. There, preserved for the sole purposes of Aelia are ancient STC she discovered and deemed too dangerous to be shared with the rest of the Mechanicus, rapports of secret research on the deadliest viruses, bacteria and even tyranides organisms, or other heretical experiments on the human body, such as the creation of artificial hybrids of Humans and Orks, Aeldari or even less savory creatures. Should this be revealed, there is no doubt that Aelia would be deemed Excommunicate Traitoris, and possibly all of Aeris with her.

### Data Vault Alpha

This titanic vault has been carved deep beneath the ocean floor of Aeris, using the coldness of deep water to keep the temperature down enough for monstrous quantities of information to be perused, transferred, added and removed. A literal beehive, with thousands of techno-priests at all time compiling the arcane knowledge kept in the hundreds of sealed chambers, each cataloguing a very specific elements of the vast research undertaken on the Forge-World, from the reproductive cycle of a given xeno species to the various components of a bolter. Because of the paranoid nature of the upper echelon of the local Adeptus Mechnicus, this division may have hindered some advancement, but the safety it provides is deemed necessary.

Arch-Magos Corintius Ventus is, when not preoccupied by his own research, lording over the vault. An old ally, some would say even lover -if the adepts of the God-Machine hadn't overcome such petty and foolish emotions and ties- of the Fabricatrix General, he ensures the safety of the knowledge kept in Alpha, never hesitating to pronounce Servitor-sentences to those he discover sneaking in forbidden areas, or who try and steal information from the general pool. Because of this, the vault remains well-organized and one of the most efficient cogs in Aeris complex and interconnected fiefdoms and factories. However, unknown to almost all but the staunchest allies of the Fabricatrix General, troves of knowledge are hidden away from most of the Adepts, away in Vaults Omega and Epsilon.

### Data Vault Beta

The desmene of Arch-Magos Justinia Frigidaqua is situated deep into the dead core of the moon where Forge Zero has been created. Each and every laboratory, even the smallest and most benin of them, is directly linked to the vault, where the Arch-Magos, far more machine than human, or even biological personally read and classify each of them. The Arch-Magos, known for being a fanatical follower of the ***Transcendance of Flesh*** even if she did enclose her body in cold machinery, as ensured that only those she deems worthy of this knowledge will be allowed to access it, often refusing to comply with even the direct orders of the Fabricatrix General.

Because of the extremely dangerous experiments which take place in Zero, this behavior has been tolerated. After all, short of the secretive and heretical practices of Aelia, nothing else can be considered as sensitive as the codexes and grimoires of Beta. Because of the influence the Arch-Magos posses, a veritable army of Logos-Priests maintain and classify the troves of knowledges, never hesitating to punish any and all who disturb their orderly peace with their private forces of Servitors, guards and Skitarii who stand outside of the forces of the Legio Clipeum.

### Data Vault Epsilon

Despite its grandiose name, Epsilon is but a minuscule and secretive lab and vault, used by Magos Aurelian Julii, serving on Forge Secunda. Julii, an extremely ambitious man and fanatically devoted to the Machine-God, secretly despise the Transcendance of Flesh, for he truly believe that flesh is a limitation which must be left behind. That is why his personal research are so secretive, seeking a way to not only achieve great breakthrough in the secretive objectives of Aeris' upper echelons but also find a way to circumvent them and achieve the rank he so desperately crave, Fabricator General.

Therefore, this small room his choke-full with manuscript, notes and data-crystals. Each of those elements concern the knowledge and secrets he has gathered over the decades. Many a superior of the Magos has found himself ensnared in his plots because of the meticulous work Julii has done. However, because of his youth and relatively low rank, he is still unable to produce the information he so desperately crave. Nonetheless, Epsilon does contain many of the Magos heretical rantings and his enemies and even his unwilling pawns would be more than happy to get their hands on such a treasure.

### Defense-Station *Endurance*

"*I repeat, you will remain at your stations and ensure optimal effect of each salvo delivered by our defenses. Your weapons have been upgraded, your communications reinforced, information can be conveyed faster than ever. The honor of the Endurance will not be tarnished again today. I repeat, you will...*"
—Automated message sent by the Fabricatrix General Aelia Frigo Ferrus when an enemy fleet approach the Endurance.
The *Endurance* is the outermost lynchpin of the Aeris System defense. A massive asteroid, it was hauled out of its erratic orbit and made into a battle-station able to contend with a Ramilies-class Fortress. Thousands of Skitarii are stationed here, with countless Servitors, servants and techno-priests whose only role is to ensure that, should an enemy be foolish enough to assault the system, the wrath of the God-Machine would repel them and leave their carcass bloating into the void, their bodies a grim reminder of the price to pay when assaulting the desmesnes of the Adeptus Mechanicus.

In all its long history, Endurance has only been bested twice, during the WHAAAGH !!! Ironeater, in 215-235 M.34 and the Assault of the Kraken at the end of M.41. In both cases, even the formidable defenses of the fort and its linked battle-stations and automated mines, missile-launchers and las-cannon were not able to destroy enough of the invaders and the outer defenses were overrun, forcing desperate measure to preserve Aeris. Those two events are considered a terrible stain on the history of the Endurance, and many a soldier or techno-priest assigned to it has vowed to never let such a failure happen again.

### Inner-Belt *Resilience*

The Inner-Belt *Resilience* is the name given to the largest defensive formation of the Aeris system. Carved into the central asteroid belt, dozens of stations and space-ships ensuring that inner-most planets always remain secure. No enemy ever managed to break through Resilience, with its thousands of small stations and outposts, which are able to transform the emptiness of space into a deadly hailfire, able to stop even the densest of Orks dead in their track. Even seemingly safe passes can be turned into deadly traps with mines deploying from nearby stations and detonating with enough force to tear through the hulls of all ships trying to force their ways.

The highest concentration of the defensive grid's nodes and Skitarii tasked with the defense of Aeris, Macroclade Custos from Legio Clipeum. The supreme authority on Resilience is the Princep-Maxima Agrippina Juvii Valian, an old and stern warrior who is said to have killed more enemies of the Mechanicus in her life than a whole Macroclade of Skitarii. Under her commands, the defenses of the whole inner belt have been reinforced perpetually, each and every flaw, no matter how small, being corrected as soon as it is discovered.

### The Gordian Grid

The Gordian Grid is the name of the system-wide defensive organization of Aeris. Hundreds of space stations, thousands of militarized asteroids, dozens of vast space-ships, and various fortresses and weapon platforms on the worlds of the system. from the esoteric bane-blade sized munitions of Forge Zero, filled to the brim with deadly bio-weapons to the monstrous las-cannons of *Resilience*, the Gordian grid is truly a formidable machine of destruction, unleashed against all those who would try to pillage or sack the vaults of Aeris and its vast factories.

Like most defensive grids used by the Adeptus Mechanicus, the Gordian is decentralized, with over a dozen main redundancies and at least four separate Primary Nodes, each able to morph into a Central Command should anything, from betrayal to corruption of its holy circuitry, should befall the original Central Command, situated on Forge Zero. Combined with the Macroclades of Legio Clipeum, the Divine Machines of Legio Tonitrua and the countless servitors and the Techno-Priests themselves at her command, the Fabricatrix General uses the Gordian Grid as an unbreakable chokehold on all her foes.

### Mining-Complex 1

"*It appears that the social tensions and unrest are reaching the tipping point. Riots and tentative of revolution expected in 1.236 week. The need to seek out and neutralize any Chaotic occurrence is now priority alpha - vital installations must also activates their true defensive equipment and soldiers. May the Omnissiah guide us, for the need of superior genes in the labor force is needed now more than ever.*"
—Extract of a rapport from Mining-Complex one a week before the start of the Months of Fury, in 886.M37
Comprised by more than half a dozen distinct mines, twice as much refining factories and seven large inhabiting complexes. Fifty millions people toil in those subterranean hells, each either suffering either the magmatic warmth of the outer mantle, the toxic fumes of hidden gas deposits or simply the the atrocious living conditions imposed harshly by the servants of the God-Machine on Aeris. Few, if any, of those poor souls realize that they are all considered as valuable as the minerals, oils and other resources they dig up, for it is from their throngs of unshaven and enraged kind that some incredible jewels of genetic can be found.

Nonetheless, the main role of the Mining-Complex 1, mostly situated under the Northern hemisphere of Aeris, is indeed to provide enough raw minerals to the immense Forges and factories doting the crust of the planet, ensuring a constant supply of energy and resources necessary to craft anything, from the humble bolter to the mighty Titans, necessary to the defense of the Imperium. However, unbeknown to the natives, their hellish work barely is sufficient to cover the daily needs of Aeris' insatiable hunger.

Only through the pillaging of the many planets, asteroids and other celestial bodies in the system and even some beyond is Aeris able to produce as much as it must to retain its rank and even upgrade it. In the last few decades, the cadence of extraction has been boosted, however, by a mixture of new technologies and harsher punishments to the lowest castes of the Forge-World, which is a tell-tale sign of the Fabricatrix General wish to foment a new revolt, to cull the genetically inferiors from their brethren and strengthen the future generations of Aeris unsung feeders.

### Mining-Complex 2

"*We are the sons and daughters of the Machine Smasher ! We will finally break free from the tyranny of the Mechanicus today !*"
—Extract from a painting calling for revolt in Mining-Complex 2
Even larger than its brother complex, the Mining-Complex 2 is the home of seventy millions people in total, gathered in twenty subterranean hellish cities, as many factories and immense mines, diving deep into the world itself, creating terrible magmatic slums and throves of unofficial excavations where rebels, mutants and other otucasts gather and then, once their population have reached a critical mass which allow them to assault the nearby settlements, gathering like-minded rebels, unsatisfied inhabitants and hundreds of thousands of slaves and other warriors that they drive before they to try and overthrow the Adeptus Mechanicus.

Unlike the Mining-Complex 1, where the Techno-Priests have always managed to keep a secretive but real control over even the most violent of revolts, the Mining-Complex 2 long ago escaped their grip, and required the deployment of almost the whole of the Legio Clipeum, the four Macroclades descending on it to break the hold of the Machine-Smasher, the tyrant who had conquered almost all of the complex from 345.M35 to 367.M35. Ever since this distant era, large swathes of this region have periodically escaped the rule of the Priests and even the most brutal repression never broke the spirit of the inhabitants.

Even so, the production of the Mining-Complex has always remained sufficient since the defeat of the Machine-Smasher, and while the Fabricatrix General hates her inability to finally crush the indomitable spirit of the Mining-Complex 2, she also know that such stubbornness and frequent revolts allow for the propagation of strong genes, which explains why most of the members of the Legio Clipeum can trace their ancestry to some locals, since they are often used to supplement the Macroclades and better their basic genome.

## Forge World Relations

### Allies

#### Sons of Iron

The relation between the Astartes of Suami and their main supplier of Aeris is complex and often rife with misunderstandings, even if it remains largely cordial. When the 26th Founding was discussed on Holy Terra, the Adeptus Mechanicus quickly learnt that the Tarot of the Emperor deemed necessary to station a successor Chapter of the Iron Hands in the Ougrean Rift. In spite of the many tensions between Aeris and the larger Mechanicus, Mars informed the local Forge World, which petitioned the High Lords to have the new Chapter Founded on their planet, stating that the strange poems surrounding this yet unborn Chapter could apply to them.

However, it was the technophobic world of Suami which was selected, leading to many a divergent behavior compared to the usual heirs of the Gorgons. Such a choice angered the Fabricatrix General Frigus, whose wrath grew even more when the tensions between the original Iron Hands officers and the Suami-born Astartes resolved in a way which cemented the influence of the natives. Still, the two forces proved to be able to fight alongside each other easily, the Sons displaying great respect and comprehension toward the Aeris' forces. As of today, the techno-priests are still trying to reinforce their influence on those Astartes, and have forged an alliance with them to prevent the Ecclesiarchy from dominating the Ougrean Rift after the Temporal Wars.

#### Order of the Sacred Night

The Order of the Sacred Night makes the complex relations between Aeris and the Sons of Iron look like an idyllic and simple one. Those thousands of fanatical Sisters of Battle, ailing from the world of Uolo, are the sole reason this backwater agri-world emerged from the Temporal Wars to become the new beacon of Imperial Civilization in the Ougrean Rift, a power-house which simply couldn't be ignored by any player in the Sector. That those warriors are openly clamoring for the other forces of the Ougrean Rift to recognize them as the true heirs of Torndheim IV legacy has only made matters worse.

Still, Aeris agreed to supply the Sisters with the thousands of of power armors, bolters, flame-throwers, vehicles and various engines of war that they need to prosecute their never ending hunt of the foul Heretics and the twisted Witches. Even with its own considerable capacities for war, the Forge-World knows that the Sector needs ever more warriors to stave off the countless hordes of Lost, Damned and Xenos threatening it and the Imperial way of life. Still, the Techno-Priests try to leverage any advantage they can find to keep the Order of the Sacred Night from usurping Aeris' rightful place as the capital of the Ougrean Rift.

### Enemies

#### The Betrayed

The Magos-Explorator Juvii Maximus was the one who declared the Betrayed Chaos Warband to be a particularly heinous enemy of the Forge-World. Communications are often scarce and fragmented compared to the usually pristine data compiled by the Adeptus Mechanicus. However, what is known is that, somewhere in the Eastern Fringe, the Magos-Explorator discovered an ancient and ruined planet, where genetic secrets dating back to the Dark Age of Technology had been preserved. But just as his forces were starting to uncover the long lost secrets of this unnamed planet, they were assaulted by the forces of the Betrayed.

Led by the foul corrupted psyker known as the Wailsinger, tens of thousands of cultists and two hundred Chaos Astartes stormed the weak defenses that the Magos had been able to deploy. Faced with potential annihilation, and able to confirm that the once weak and feeble Warband had grown strong and deadly, Maximus ordered all his discoveries secured, those he couldn't bring aboard his fleet destroyed and managed to flee the world. Alas, he knew that whatever secrets still hidden on this sphere of ash and mud would fall into the hands of the Heretics, necessitating the Forge World to act to recover it, at any cost.

## Quotes

#### Quotes by Forge World Aeris

"*Ours is not the cold and static knowledge of metal, but the ever-changing mysteries of the flesh. Remember that when the Omnissiah walked among us, he crafted half-gods of flesh, not iron! Ours is but the continuation of his divine work.*"
—Fabricatrix General Aelia Ferro Frigus addressing a select cadre of techno-priests assigned to Forge Zero.
"*Yes, we recognize the holiness of the machinery based on the STC, for they have been handed to us by our ancestors and through them from the God-Machine and discovering more is a sacred task. But so are our bodies, which are the baseline template which needs to be upgraded to achieve our rightful place in the Galaxy. And discovering new knowledge allow us to* "
—Magos-Explorator Juvii Maximus explaining his mission to a Rogue Trader