Chyrian 9th Recon

## Regimental Backstory

Chyrios is a small dying star. Despite it's stellar class it has a low stellar output which makes the planets in the system relatively cold and barren by terran standards.

Oddly, Chyrios is estimated to be in the middle of its life lifecycle. It is thought that an unknown dark age space station in low orbit around the star is responsible for the drop in stellar output, however it appears deactivated beyond a barely perceptible pull on the star and has resisted all attempts by the Mechanicus to probe it's true purpose.

There are 6 planets in the system and several large asteroid fields, all in a relatively dense field further out. The system used to be notable for its high energy weapons which were often modified by local non-Adeptus organisations thanks to research into the confinement techniques seemingly observed by the solar station. Needless to say the Adeptus take a dim view of these alterations and have reduced support in the system to a skeleton crew, which has resulted in the populace needing to be self-sufficient.

Chyrios IV is a rock with around 0.94G which originally was the most habitable of the planets in the system. 72 years ago a freighter impacted the planet causing a mass disaster, killing hundreds of thousands. While this was tragic, the real disaster was yet to come. Shortly after response crews and nearby settlements started going dark, reports of shapes in the dark on the horizon filter in, and the area near the impact site became a dead land. Their requests for support from the Imperium failing to penetrate a disturbance in the warp.

It took almost a year for the full extent to become known. A xenos species, apparently aboard the freighter, had survived the impact and begun to feed on the population of Chryios IV. By the time the scale of the issue was known the xenos had become entrenched, nests formed in the ruins of ancient buildings, caves, and the remains of the freighter all resisted attack by conventional means. Finally the PDF turned to their last resort, an aging nuclear stockpile built originally in response to the Adeptus Mechanicus pulling out.

They nuked vast swathes of the planet. Nest after nest fell, but the xenos started to burrow deeper and deeper into the planet to survive the blast of the weapons. The Chyrians developed stealthy hard hitting mobile teams whose job was to either deliver low yield tactical weapons, or to designate targets up close before retreating at speed in Tauros recon vehicles. Slowly they managed to eliminate the larger nests, but the damage to the planet was done.

These days Chyrios IV is a world trapped in a perpetual nuclear winter. Snow, dust and ash fill the sky reducing visibility and making even mid-day a gloom filled dusk. The xenos are not gone either, their main nests were destroyed and the biomatter of much of the population and vegetation eliminated - they now form smaller nests, flying far and wide in search for food. The population mostly live underground, the PDF now a weathered force of individuals who range far and wide in search of salvage and hive to target. They are used to travelling quickly in their scout vehicles, and quietly for fear of attacking the attention of the xenos.

Chryian tactics emphasise moving fast and stealthy, forming few fixed positions that can be attacked, and striking hard at enemy weak points once detected. They produce some of the best recon, stealth, and special operations units in the sub-sector and are frequently required to provide excessive tithes to the Imperial Guard in lieu of monetary taxes. This however has drained the last of a post-cataclysmic world, and there are fewer and fewer people left to take up arms. The Chryians of Chryios IV are the last of dying people.