Kingshaven

Departmento Cartographicae pict-file of Kingshaven, prior to its loss in 102.M42.

## Location

### System

Kingshaven Centrum System

"*Well I can't stand the chossin' heat! Still, better than a punch in the gut, innit sir?*"
— Anonymous Escalian Mountaineer, when asked his thoughts on the planet.
**Kingshaven** was an Imperial Hive World, albeit only just, and a lynchpin of the Dixean Sub-Sector. In 094.M42 the world called for aid when plans for a coup were discovered. Imperial forces arrived in 098.M42, and over what became known as the Fall of Kingshaven, were eventually defeated by a Genestealer Cult and Tyranids of Hive Fleet Leviathan. Following the evacuation of the surviving defenders, the planet was abandoned to the mercies of the Hive Fleet, and was lost to the Imperium forever.

## Details

### The Planet

Kingshaven was a Hive World, however beyond the bounds of the city walls, it may have otherwise been considered a jungle planet. The world had relatively little tectonic activity, producing large areas of little geological note. The planet's surface composed largely of porous rock types, leading to little surface water and vast underground aquifers. Where tectonic activity was at play, it produced great plateaus, casting rain shadows that produced pockets of arid land, known locally as Dust Bowls. A great deal of Kingshaven's surface was given over to its remarkably hardy and fast-growing jungles. Changes in latitude would find the observer still surrounded by heavy vegetation, albeit of different species, as some of these jungles could stretch for thousands of miles. Indeed, regions which the inhabitants wanted to keep clear would often require semi-regular aerial spraying with military-grade defoliants to maintain, spawning a whole vast industry.

The planet exhibited an unremarkable, and mostly consistent orbit with negligible axial tilt, producing a world with no seasons. A Kingshaven year was approximately two hundred and fifty Terran days, and the day about 30 Terran hours, which contributed to a notably high daily variance of temperature. It had no notable natural satellites. The system contained five other planets, one closer, and the rest further from the star than Kingshaven. Three of these were dead worlds, and two gas giants, the latter both being further from the star. The Imperial Navy maintained a small listening post near the system's outer edge, and two defense monitors for the planet. These were unfortunately destroyed by Hive Fleet Leviathan shortly before the world's invasion. Orbital defence platforms were under construction following the recent destruction of nearby Escalia, however these were not completed in time.

### History

Kingshaven was one of the few Alamae worlds to be colonised after the Age of Strife. The deed was done in early M32, as the Imperium recovered from the events of the Horus Heresy. The dense and ever-growing jungles made sprawling settlements impractical, and isolated communities from one another. The construction of towering hives connected by large highways came to be seen as the best solution to these problems, and the world embarked on the path to becoming a Hive World. Curiously, as these grew, their pollution slowed the encroachment of the surrounding foliage, but never stopped it, and the jungles endured until the planet's death in M42.

In M36, the age of Apostasy caused political division within the ruling noble houses. It was the wish of the Planetary Governor, Paol De'Guerre, not to involve the planet in any way with either Vandire or Thor, as he wanted to risk no ire should the wrong side be chosen. He was somewhat out-spoken however, and was eventually forced to vacate his position in favour of his son, Fabien De'Guerre. Upon receiving his new position, Fabien announced his intention to declare Kingshaven for Vandire, though not out of any love for the man. In truth, he simply felt it more likely that the status-quo would prevail, and that the madman would in all probability view neutrality as hostility. This enraged his political opponents, who immediately sought to depose the De'Guerre family, taking advantage of the instability involved in the change of Ruler. Their strike was only partly successful however, and led to a civil war which would, at its height, even destroy a hive city. To this day, Hive Septus remains an overgrown fallen spire, inhabited only by the desperate, rumours and ghosts. The war finally came to an end as the Age of Apostasy did. Now robbed of their Casus Belli, the two sides relented, and the De'Guerres managed to keep their power.

### Cities

Kingshaven was home to some fifty hives of varying sizes. The largest of these was Hive Nossus, the capital and home to around eight billion souls. This was the centre of trade with the wider Imperium, and the heart of the world's web of highways. The pollution of this city was also the worst on the planet, and slowed the jungle growth around it to a near standstill, which allowed much easier and less frequent clearance sorties. It would also be the site of the Imperial defenders' last stand in 102.M42. The smallest settlement to qualify as a hive was Hive Daley, positioned near one of the planet's poles, Daley was a mining settlement. It was overrun by rioting and presumably destroyed by the Tyranids during the planet's fall.

Kingshaven was also home to many smaller settlements, often surviving by hunting for exotic meats in the jungles, or sometimes undertaking limited agriculture. These were not cities however, and qualified as villages at best, some dating back millenia. No effort was made to defend these sites during the fall.

The world also had a dead hive, Hive Septus, also known as Seven Spires or the Lost City of Kingshaven. The main spire of this city had been collapsed during the civil war and abandoned ever since, leading to a mythical status as a place of wealth and danger. Several groups made their home there, and it would be investigated by Imperial and Genestealer troops during the fall.

### Flora and Fauna

Despite its apparent similarity to planets such as Catachan, Kingshaven was by no means a Death World. It was home to a great many species of both plant and animal, almost all of which had proven remarkably resilient in the face of pollution from the world's many Hives. The foremost problem these caused was the threat of overgrowing areas and structures that needed to be kept clear. The main examples were the immediate surroundings of the hives, both as a defensive measure and to prevent them from becoming overgrown, and the highways that linked them, as it was obviously an issue to have undergrowth sprouting from the roads. The actual direct effect of these jungles on humans was a secondary concern. The primary dangers were presented by poisonous plants and wildlife, and also by outright predators. Whatever latitude of forest an observer might have found themselves in, it would almost always have been possible to stumble upon a deadly plant. Most were mercifully only poisonous when eaten, however a good number of stinging varieties did exist, often causing the lion's share of deaths. Fortunately, the plants of Kingshaven seemed to have a sense of fair play, as all but very few of these plants were brightly and distinctively coloured, meaning a novice explorer could simply "stick to the green".

On the zoological side there were many small creatures and bugs capable of delivering a fatal bite, though these were often rather small and tended to avoid humans where possible. Nevertheless, these smaller creatures often went largely unseen, and were almost certainly the most dangerous aspect of the jungles. There also existed much larger creatures, which would attack by more deliberate and conventional means. The largest of these predators was known as the Umber, a cat-like creature named for its guttural mating call. These were well camouflaged ambush predators, and were often more than willing to chance an attack on a lone human. Should that human prove capable of defending themselves however, they also had no qualms about retreating in search of easier prey. As stated above, Kingshaven was no Death World, and even the worst of these beasts could be easily driven off by a light wound, or even the mere sound of a firearm.

### Religion

The isolation of communities during Kingshaven's formative years led to cultural and religious divergence between the different populations, however enough interaction was able to take place that the various practices manifested often as a gradient, becoming most extreme at their point of origin, and less so as one's distance increased, though still present. The capital city of Hive Nossus was perhaps the most "typical" in terms of its religious worship, being in line with the views of the wider Ecclesiarchy in all regards. It followed then that the antipodean regions to this were the least so. These distant groups held beliefs that the Emperor was a form of spirit that permeated all life, and was therefore literally responsible for the fact that men's hearts kept beating. Naturally these two views of the Imperial Creed could often lead to conflict, and so Guard regiments were often raised from one city alone, or at least neighbouring ones.

### Imports and Exports

As a Hive World, Kingshaven had high rate of importation and exportation. Its primary import was naturally food, mostly coming from the nearby Agri-World of Glenmore. Additionally, raw materials were shipped from the Mining World of Baegis, supplemented by the nearby civilised worlds. In return, it exported finished goods, largely automotive in nature, such as the various agricultural vehicles required by Glenmore. The world was able to furnish its own regiments with armour, trucks, Chimeras, basilisks and Leman Russ tanks, with the Lasgun being the only regular off-world item. Surplus items would be stored up for Imperial tithes.

## Military

The wealth, population and industry of Kingshaven allowed the production of very well equipped regiments. With a handful of exceptions, these were always one of the following:

* Kingshaven Rifles - Motorised Infantry
* Kingshaven Breakers - Mechanised Infantry
* Kingshaven Cannoneers - Self-Propelled Artillery
* Kingshaven Tankers - Heavy Armour

The majority of Kingshaven regiments were Rifles, with promising candidates normally being siphoned off to the Breakers. New applicants would undergo a simple screening test on taking their oaths, and those whom scored highly in relevant areas would then be earmarked for vehicle or gun crews, with the rest being sent on to the infantry. The various services were universally equipped as standard with the Duopedes pattern lascarbine and mostly with simple flak armour of local manufacture. The exceptions were artillery crews, who were not issued with armour, and the Breakers, who were given full carapace armour. The overall Kingshaven aesthetic was notably similar to that of the Elysian Drop Troops, however lacking the specialist equipment of airborne operations. The Rifles were normally mounted in lightly-armoured half-tracks, with reserve elements in trucks. Breakers enjoyed the additional protection of chimeras. Cannoneers were armed exclusively with Basilisks, as Kingshaven lacked the tooling to produce any other types of artillery, and the Medusas produced on Duopedes were always in high demand elsewhere. Tankers could expect to be outfitted with Leman Russes, with several variants being available from manufactorums both on Kingshaven, and in the wider sector.

Unlike most planets in the area, Kingshaven could afford to maintain its PDF at the same level as its Imperial Guard regiments. Following news of Escalia's destruction in circa 090.M42, and prior to his death, allegedly in 094.M42, Governor De'Guerre had increased the production of PDF elements for the world's defence. This was later countermanded by his presumably traitorous successor, however not before military presence on the world had been increased by around ten percent.

## Fate

Kingshaven was officially lost in 102.M42, when the unprepared Imperial forces were driven from the world. By the time they were able to escape the influence of the Shadow in the Warp, the Tyranids had been left unmolested for some time, and the Admirals of Battlefleet Alamae were unwilling to risk engaging a recently fed Hive Fleet. As such, Kingshaven would surely be consumed, and left as the system's fourth dead world.

Due to the involvement of Genestealer Cults in the planet's fall, the Ordo Xenos took an immediate interest in those that had survived. The few members of Kingshaven's PDF that had escaped were shot as a precaution immediately following the withdrawal, however even those that had been sent in from off-world were closely examined for corruption. In addition, all personnel in the Emperor's service whom had originally hailed from Kingshaven were also recalled and placed into the Inquisition's custody. The precise nature of their eventual fate remains unclear.