Helos

Icon of the Helosian Mechanicus.

Departmento Cartographicae pict-file of the Forge World Helos.

Situated in ideal life-supporting conditions amidst a binary star-system, **Helos** is a rapidly-developing Mechanicus Forge World. Perhaps unique amongst their Omnissian brethren, the Fabricator-General of Helos has prioritized the preservation of as much of the world's ecosystem as possible. As a result, Helos produces a great number of Magos Biologis specialists.

Largely dominated by vast swathes of swampland and bogs, Helos' crust provides a bounty of the radioactive element Uranium, to such an extent that current analyses declare it to be comparable to Holy Terra's ancient abundance of Aluminum. The planet's fauna has, therefore, adapted to the unusually high presence of Alpha, Beta, and Gamma radiation. Bioluminescence is commonplace, and a wide array of massive amphibian predators stalk many of the lowland marshes.

Covered as it is in crisscrossing streams and river-systems, Helos supports an incredibly robust variety of life, and its poles are covered in great, sparsely-forested Plateaus. The tops of these massive land-forms are populated by a series of bogs, from which the majority of the planet's numerous river systems flow. It is within these bogs that the Mechanicus makes its home. From their polar research and fabricator facilities, Helos' mechanical guardians catalogue the planet's innumerable species, specifically adapted to high radiation levels. This wealth of information allows the forge world to churn out vast legions of particularly resilient Skitarii Vanguard, their research allowing for a dramatic reduction in the negative effects that come with prolonged use of radiation weaponry. The planet's Rangers excel in navigating the densely packed vegetation of both the polar regions and equatorial swamplands, and generally act as the eyes and ears of their Biologis overseers, aiding in the pursuit, capture, and observation of the world's creatures. Additionally, these research teams generally contain one or more heavily augmented, bipedal servitors, comparable to standard Kataphron-Pattern automata in armament, to probe the denser pockets of radiation. These elite acquisition and observation forces are generally deployed in modified Skorpius-Pattern transports, referred to on Helos as "Swampriders." An overseeing Genetor tech-priest almost always accompanies these retinues, generally flanked by a Skitarii Marshal advisor. These delegations are sometimes flanked by a personal guard of Electro-Priests; most commonly of the Fulgurite variety, the electro-priesthood of Helos is visually distinct, save for their armaments, due to the heavily shielded environmental gear in which they gird themselves.

While Helos does not currently support the means to produce Titan-Class God-Engines, they do frequently employ the services of several cells of Freeblade Imperial Knights. These erstwhile nobles are called in to deal with particularly vicious examples of Helos' megafauna, often operating in teams including several smaller, Armiger-Pattern knights to outmaneuver their massive quarries.

When these venerated war machines cannot be called upon, the priesthood of Helos is left to fend for itself. Fabricator-General Vodyanoy has not left his world undefended, however. Helos maintains an elite corps of Mechanized cavalry. Spearhead formations of Sydonian Dragoons and Serberys Raiders run blocker for lines of Ironstrider Ballistarii and Onager "Marshcrawlers," weaving with machine grace between the dense, wooded foliage to confound their prey. These are supported by the planet's airborne Pteraxii formations, acting as advance recon trackers. Sterylizors serve the additional purpose of clearing the more impassable congestions of vine and root, while the Skystalkers contribute their long-range firepower from the treetops.

## Appearance

The Helosian Mechnicus garbs itself in the colors of their verdant world, their coats colored a deep olive-drab on the outside, the tan of old bones on the inside, with a stripe of yellow ringing the bottom of their coats. The metals of their augmentations are a highly varied mix of copper and steel hues, the eye-lenses and sensor clusters glowing with amber luminescence. Ranger sergeants mark themselves with yellow stripes along the shoulder plates, and down the middle of their hoods. Vanguard sergeants bear the same shoulder stripes, but sport hazard stripes along their helmet crests. Marshals are likewise marked, though they also bear a yellow stripe down the middle of their helmets, and an inner olive stripe on the shoulder pads.

The Sicarians of Helos are more sensibly marked, as befits their roles as infiltrators. They bear the same olive-drab tone, though they generally avoid the patchwork metal composition common to the rest of Helos' defenders, instead opting for shadowed steel. Rank markings are painted black, rather than yellow, and run down the middle of the Alpha's head.

Helosian Vehicles are colored to match their Skitarii operators, often bearing custom, naturalistic patterns displayed in yellow over top of their olive hulls, which are accented in tan. Many vehicles also display the unique mix of copper and steel metals.