House Orthesian

**Warrant Age:** Age of Redemption

**Fortune and Fate:** Rising Star

**Acquisition:** Prize of War

**Sanction:** Fall of the Tellarium Combine

**Contacts:** Merchant House

**Warrant Renown:** Unknown

Originally based in the Scarus Sector the Orthesian family were of military stock, many generations of loyal, and skilled, commanders. However while decades of service pathed the way for promotions and favourable postings, it did little to provide a legacy for the family and their descendants.

This changed in the closing years of M37 when a particularly violent uprising in the Trailing Rimward edge of the Sector flared into being. Having command of the 5th Sector Fleet at that time, Iriad Orthesian plunged his ships deep into the area suppressing the revolt within months. Unwilling to leave the prosecution of the rebels with the repacification of those worlds Iriad requisitioned the 7th and 10th Fleets, which had arrived in support, and followed the fleeing remnants of the rebel forces rimward into unheld space.

It was there that the Orthesian name was carved out in the surface of nearly a dozen new worlds across three systems and with the blood of hundreds of thousands of Imperial men and women. Discovering a collection of previously uncharted systems, Iriad immediately declared a Crusade to bring the loose alliance of void kingdoms under Imperial heel and prevent them from interfering with the Scarus Sector ever again. While the war initially favoured Iriad, so too did Sector Fleet Command committing the 6th and the 9th Fleet to the cause under his command, but the loses were high. Several times the Imperial fleets were beaten back and Iriad requests reinforcements, already committed and hesitant to withdraw after such significant loses, the Sector Governor ordered another three Fleets into the engagement. Seven years later and with the loss of nearly 90% of the fleets under his command Commander Orthesian declared the Crusade victorious.

The newly secured territory brought established worlds and new wealth into the Sector, while creating an example for any other would rebellious elements in the fringes of the frontier Sub-Sectors. As a reward for bringing such prizes under his rule, the Governor himself petitioned for the awarding of a Warrant of Trader to Commander Iriad, creating the first scion of the Rogue Trader House Orthesian. Along with it the Governor granted him a personal gift of his renowned Orion Class Star Clipper, the Stella Tenebris, reputed to be one of the fastest Imperial ships in the Sector.

The level at which the war torn Sub-Sector recovered was quite astounding and the Sector records are still unable to balance the rate at which the fleets naval assets were replaced. Rumours persisted for centuries that while Orthesian did indeed wage a war in the area, it was not against the void Kingdoms but in fact against the Imperium itself. Initially attempting to carve out his own empire and, after, fighting off the ‘reinforcing’ fleets agreed to cede the new territories in return for the Warrant and amnesty.

The Orthesian Dynasty did little to dissuade people of the alternative history and, sometimes, encouraged it to give themselves an air of danger. Over the centuries the founding of the Warrant became shrouded and even records of the original Crusade which led to the granting became difficult to locate. The focus of House Orthesian had shifted from a military force roving the fringes to one of mercantile networks and trade convoys. With the opening of the Calyx Expanse the family expanded their holdings, pushing deep into the, soon to be conquered, Calixis Sector.

Having significant holdings in both the Calixis and Scarus Sectors House Orthesian was seen to be a major player in the trade politics of the area and maintained their position, at least in the Calixis Sector for centuries to come. It was of no surprise, then, that the burgeoning Tellurian Combine approached the Dynasty quite early into expansion. Liquidating their assets in the Scarus Sector, the family invested heavily into the Combine, sending larger and larger portions of their own fleets out into the Expanse to secure themselves a more lucrative slice of the Cold Trade.

By the time the Inquisition discovered the true nature of the powers behind the Combine, House Orthesian was deeply connected within the collective. Whether naively oblivious to the true nature of the Combine, or they were simply seen as the weaker of the core members, the Inquisition targeted the Dynasty to become their inside rats. Over the course of the following months the Dynasties connections and information regarding the Combine and its members were integral in the dismantling of its power base and assassination of many key members by the Imperium. Although the entire conflict was played out largely as a Shadow War between the trade houses and the Inquisition there were a number of notable power plays made in the public arena which saw House Orthesian take considerable loses to its holdings.

Whether these were targeted attacks by the reeling Combine against a traitorous informant, punitive strikes by the Inquisition to maintain the Dynasty's cooperation or simply poor business judgement on behalf of the family can never be known. It is estimated that the House lost close to two thirds of its wealth over that time, many smaller trade houses snapping up the routes and contracts amidst the chaos that ensued with the dismantling of the Combines power house.

Post the fall of the Combine the Warrant of House Orthesian pass to no less than six more family members before Yauch Orthesian inherited the title. Those before him had languished in the dwindling wealth of the family, unwilling to venture far from home for fear of reprisals, unable to secure lucrative contracts with the new cartels who had little trust of the House and constantly scared for their own lives. Some of that fear may well have been justified as a number of their deaths during those centuries curious at best, badly concealed assassinations at worst.

Such plotting and threats came to a head at the return of Yauch’s completion of a three year trade mission, the first of its kind for decades and one which was intended to make a turning point in the Houses fortunes. Indeed it did, but not in the way Yauch intended. Upon his return a grand feast was arranged at the family holding on Alactra, one of the few left in a good state of repair. The entire family and its many scions were present to celebrate such a momentous occasion, the Stella Tenebris itself moored in orbit over the planet as the Rogue Trader and most of his closest command crew made planet fall.

The explosion which tore through the villa killed the majority of the family instantly, vaporised along with the upper seven levels of the mansion. Most of the family members who survived the initial blast were later found executed or died within hours of the attack. The entire compound and the Houses assets were placed into protective custody of the Adeptus Arbites as they investigated the incident and the Adminstratum commenced the process of identifying the Dynastic heir.

The initial finding by the Adept was that there were no surviving scions of the primary House of Orthesian and that the Warrant was to be transferred to a Cadet House (Grekarn) located on Sigurd IV. Before this report could be ratified, however, a hold was placed on the investigation by an authority, two weeks later a patient at the primary Medicae Facility suffering from minor injuries was confirmed to be a direct blood relative of Yauch via gene coding. While Tadlock protested that he did not want the title, the Warrants progression was maintained and he was declared Rogue Trader, head of the House Orthesian.