Saepio

Saepio is the Homeworld of the Steel Legion and the base of it's Fortress-Monastery, the Vaults of Psyche.

## History

A small and barren world originally settled as an research outpost in the shrouded days of the Dark Age of Technology, Saepio was chosen for it's unique position deep with the vast spacial anomaly known as the Coronid Prohibition Zone. There Saepio and its parent star sit within a secluded pocket of reality, linked to the greater Galaxy by a scant handful of stable, twisting corridors. This isolation made Saepio a perfect place to pursue controversial avenues of research far from prying eyes or ethical oversight, sprawling research facilities littered the planet's sparse surface, within whose walls both miracles and nightmares untold were created in the name of progress.

When the hubris of the Dark Age finally gave way into the nightmare of the Age of Strife and Old Night smothered Mankind's empire, Saepio, hidden away in it's little pocket of space, was quickly forgotten by the rest of the galaxy. Cut off from both rescue and the vital supply shipments that kept the colony fed and it's vital infrastructure running, Saepio quickly descended into it's own private hell as delicate experiments gradually went awry without the means to maintain them or broke containment in the chaotic scramble for resources that ensued. The cataclysmic energies unleashed devastated much of the surface and left it an irradiated wasteland, with anarchy taking hold of the Hive Cities as society broke down and people fled underground to escape the radiation.

### A New Order

This chaotic state of affairs would continue until the eventual rise of a powerful group of technocrats known as the Prudens, or "the Wise", who would force the rest of the survivors into submission with a combination of military and industrial might. Hoarding the vast technological wealth of Saepio for themselves, the Prudens dwelt in luxurious sky-cities that floated high above the radiation and dust storms whilst the rest of the population, known as Laborans, slaved their short lives away as menial factory line workers, miners or scavengers, producing raw materials taken as tribute by their overlords. Any thought of revolt was quashed by the Prudens' Overseer AI, it's ever-present automata enforcers and a drip feed of vital machines & material only they had the knowledge and means to produce.

All this changed with the Primarch Nomus' rebellion, fostered from within the Pruden's own networks after his forced integration into the Overseer. One-by-one the great sky-cities were brought down to the scarred earth and overtaken by Rebel armies, their systems sabotaged and riches reclaimed for all Saepians. Free at last, Nomus would work to reconstruct Saepio's industry to solve the resource shortages that had constantly threatened the planet's survival, plundering long-abandoned labs and constructing great arcologies to properly house and feed his people. For the first time in millennia, the people of Saepio breathed clean air and ate food not recycled a thousand times over.

And then, a miracle.

### A Reunion Long Overdue

When Saepio's orbital infrastructure, though largely derelict and in dire need of repairs, was finally able to be brought back on-line a startling discovery was made. Long range sensors were able to detect faint signals from beyond the Prohibition Zone's borders which, although garbled beyond all hope of understanding, were recognisably Human in nature. Sensing opportunity, Nomus oversaw the construction of a high-powered signal array, setting it to broadcast a focussed signal burst strong enough to penetrate the interference caused by the Zone. Sure enough, the signal caught the attention of the outsiders and within a month an Imperial flotilla from the nearby Port Maw arrived at the boundary of the Zone to investigate.

Contact was swiftly established and Saepio was at last brought into the Imperial fold, quickly established as the new Homeworld of the XVIIIth Legiones Astartes, supplies would pour in through the newly re-mapped Saepian Corridor as the planet underwent a renewal the likes of which none had dared dream possible. The Arcologies grew exponentially, expanding into great, shining cities shielded beneath shimmering environmental domes, complete with extensive parks filled with flourishing greenery. The decaying orbital infrastructure and the derelict industrial complexes were rebuilt, that they might support the newly-reformed Steel Legion's resurgent war effort. Long-abandoned research labs and archives were uncovered and plundered of their secrets, accumulating a vast treasure trove of knowledge carefully for both Saepio and the Legion's benefit.
By the time the Legion returned to the Crusade with Nomus at it's head, Saepio was utterly unrecognisable. Though the surface was still a wasteland plagued by rad and dust storms it's people no longer lived short, painful lives of gruelling labour, but were blessed with safe homes and meaningful work. Within less than two decades the planet had been transformed from a forgotten backwater doomed to a slow death into a bastion of humanity, defended by a network of reconstructed Dark Age killsats and the mighty fleets of the Steel Legion.