Cardaces

Crest of the Solar Winds of Auximite Rogue Trader House

A Cardaces Trooper of the "default uniform".

The **Cardaces** are the private military forces of the House of the Solar Winds of Auximite, raised by Baron Tyrannux Ezana and his successors to serve their Rogue Trader House. Each unit is a self contained military force with integrated naval assets, intended to serve as a rapid strike brigade capable of independent action. The Cardaces act as both enforcers and soldiers, defending and expanding the holdings of their masters, as well as ensuring that those who owe allegiance toe the line.

## History

**Conception**

In the early years of Ezana's ascension to Rogue Trader status, before he had managed to restore the fortunes of his House, he began to look outwards, to securing his own domains to pay off the crippling debts he had inherited. To that end, he required military forces of his own to enforce his will. While he had a few naval assets, he lacked ground soldiers and thus began looking into his options. As a young (figuratively speaking) Rogue Trader with little in the way of reliable contacts or monetary assets, he was not likely to be able to secure Astra Militarum support. Likewise the Adeptus Astartes would not listen to any requests made of them. Ezana had always been wary of mercenaries and their fickle loyalties and thus this left him with the option of raising his own units and training and equipping them from his own pocket. While a much more expensive option, he felt this was the best available to him and thus began preparations. He called upon his Numerati Bravatorii to provide training for these new soldiers and began canvassing Forge Worlds, eventually settling on Tvastar in the Aeaean Cluster.

As he lacked payment for his new soldiers, he opened new lines of credit and drew up a contract which would provide the soldiers with only a small stipend initially, with the promise of great wealth if his gamble paid off. Despite the inherent risks of this, he was nonetheless easily able to gather the recruits he needed, such was the lure of future riches to the downtrodden masses of the hives he canvassed. Tvastar likewise agreed to this proposal, confident that if he reneged on the deal they would be able to extract their fees through seizing the assets Ezana did possess such as his ships.

**Mustering the Troops**

The Numerii Bravatorii, Ezana's small cadre of soldiers which had joined his cause, were excellent drillmasters, used to the exacting standards of the Astra Militarum. They began drilling the fledgling soldiers, teaching them the ways of soldiering. Ezana had envisioned these new units as droptroopers, able to rapidly deploy to the surface of a world or board another vessel, to being able to enforce his will on independent humans or minor xenos factions rapidly. To that end he also enlisted a number of airborne veterans from the Elysian Droptroopers and other notable drop regiments to teach this skill to his new soldiers. He also called upon Tvastar to provide equipment to this end, such as grav chutes, lightweight vehicles and aircraft. He designated vessels in his fleet to each detachment, under the supervision of hand picked loyalists he trusted. No detachment would have any warship of significant size, so they could not threaten his own flagship, but they would still be sufficiently well protected to engage in detached operations.

## Recruiting Grounds

The Cardaces primarily recruit from the downtrodden masses of the Imperium's underhives, ideally seeking those that have avoided the gang warfare and crime of these areas.

## Organisation

The intent of each "Grand Company" is to be a self-sufficient military asset. To that end each one contains everything it might need to conduct warfare. Transport, armour, logistics and recruiters. A grand company is composed of roughly 5000 combat soldiers, divided up into twelve squadrons, each of which further divides down into four flights. Each flight is made up of ten squads and is supported by a small attached armoured force, typically several tanks. The number of grand companies varies over time, as the requirements and fortunes of the Rogue Trader dynasty fluctuate.

### Fleet Assets

Due to their intended purpose and freed from the limitations of the Astra Militarum, the Cardaces have been assigned naval assets by their masters, drawn from the house fleet. The intent is not to provide them with a war fleet but rather to ensure they have sufficient capacity and offensive potential so they can reach their targets and engage unmolested. To that end, they possess a sizeable number of escort type vessels and armed transports, sufficient for each grand company to transport themselves and engage the majority of targets they may encounter. If a more difficult target is designated, then the Rogue Traders will temporarily attach larger vessels on an ad hoc basis and under their own command. This ensures that should a grand company (or even the organisation in its entirety) rebel, they lack the naval assets to truly pose any threat to the house as a whole. Each grand company will usually possess an armed transport vessel, two escort vessels and several support vessels. The ships have been modified to accommodate the drop pods and aerial assets of the soldiers they support.

### Ranks

#### Officers

* **Captain** - Grand Company commander.
* **Commander** - Wing commander.
* **Leader** - Squadron commander.
* **Lieutenant** - Flight commander.

#### Non-Commissioned Officers & Enlisted

* **Chief** - Flight 2IC.
* **Sergeant** - Squad leader.
* **Corporal** - Section Leader.
* **Helljumper** - Veteran Trooper assigned to the drop pod formation.
* **Specialist** - Veteran Troopers entrusted with carrying important equipment such as special weapons or vox casters.
* **Trooper** - Line infantry soldier

#### Disposition of a Grand Company

A fully equipped Grand Company is organised along the following lines.

Captain

Command Squad
Tech-Priests
Tech-Servitors
Pioneers
Engineers
Sappers
Servitors
Chirurgeons

### Recruitment & Training

The soldiers of the Cardaces are volunteers, drawn by the promise of great rewards and the chance to carve out a bright future with modest wealth if they succeed. While Ezana's successors can now afford to give them a respectable wage up front, they have retained the performance linked bonuses and generous retirement pay-out of the earlier years. While the number of soldiers that reach this age is low, the lure of this bounty is enough to keep the majority of these soldiers in his employ, even after they have earned enough to live comfortably.

### Combat Doctrine

The focus of the Cardaces is on rapid airborne strikes, utilising drop pods, dropships and grav chutes. They typically deploy in three waves, securing the dropzone via drop pod assault before bringing in the bulk of the infantry and light vehicles to reinforce the first. Finally the heavier vehicles and reserves land after the first two waves have pushed back the foe. The Cardaces are adherents to the philosophy of "the best defence is offence" and plan engagements accordingly. Airstrikes soften up the enemy formations, while commando teams infiltrate the forward positions. The vehicles punch into enemy lines, supported by tank riders and mobile infantry. The remaining troopers then follow, mopping up any survivors.

### Specialist Infantry

**"Helljumpers"**

Roughly analogous to the Grenadiers of Krieg regiments, the Helljumpers are better equipped infantry intended to act as shock troopers, clearing beachheads and assaulting stubborn positions. They are clad in carapace armour and armed with hellguns, to improve their combat potential. They form the first wave of an airborne assault, deploying via five-man orbital drop pods. Due to the inherent dangers, they receive hazard pay and their ranks are typically filled with those that are either brave, foolhardy or crazed. Excesses of narcotics and alcohol are widespread, tolerated as long as they do not hinder combat efficiency. The Helljumpers are an ill-disciplined but admittedly effective force, providing the important opening hammer which opens the cracks in the enemy's defences. Casualties are understandably high, though those that survive rapidly become rich, albeit broken men.

## Regimental Equipment

Outfitted by the master artisans of Tvastar, the Cardaces are well equipped with high quality armour and weaponry. Flak armour and Lasguns remain the predominant weapons of the soldiery, even if they are of slightly higher specification. Due to their role, an emphasis is made upon keeping gear as light as possible, with minimal excess that might hinder their swift deployment. Operations are typically short and thus little attention given to long term requirements and field repair.

### Standard Regimental Kit

The standard regimental kit for a Cardaces trooper is as follows:

* **1 M38 Enfield pattern Lasgun and 6 charge packs** - This pattern of Lasgun is bullpup, resulting in a highly compact and efficient design.
* **Laspistol and 2 charge packs** - It is not uncommon for this to be substituted for an autopistol or stubpistol
* **Bayonet/combat knife**
* **2 frag grenades**
* **Helmet** - Typically fitted with a flip down night vision sight.
* **Uniform**
* **Flak armour**
* **Gas mask**
* **Micro-bead**
* **Poor weather gear**
* **Rucksack**
* **Basic toolkit** - This is a trimmed down version of the standard AM one, as few soldiers will be in the field long enough to require more than a field strip of their lasgun
* **Mess kit and water canteen**
* **1 weeks rations**
* **Blanket and sleeping bag**
* **Rechargeable lamp-pack**
* **Grooming kit**
* **Dog tags**

### Optional Wargear

Like the regiments of the Astra Militarum, the Cardaces deploy a wide range of special and heavy weapons. In particular missile launchers, melta guns, and shotguns are prized.

* Heavy bolter
* Mortar
* Missile launcher
* Autocannon
* Flamer
* Grenade launcher
* Plasma gun
* Meltagun
* Shotgun
* Sniper rifle/Long-las
* Boltgun
* Autogun
* Hot-Shot Lasgun/Hellgun
* Hot-Shot Volley Gun
* Bolt pistol
* Hot-Shot Laspistol/Hellpistol
* Autopistol
* Plasma pistol
* Chainsword
* Power sword
* Power fist

### Vehicles

* **Drop Sentinel** -
* **Valkyrie** -
* **Arvaley Kurov Tank** - Named for Arvaley Kurov of the Steel Legion, this light tank is a recent addition to the armouries of humanity. Capable of being dropped by modified Skytalons, it is rapidly gaining popularity amongst the airborne regiments of the Imperium. As a likewise airborne force, the Cardaces have eagerly adopted this vehicle for their uses. Equipped with a Syrtis pattern Autocannon, it can easily take care of other light armour and infantry, providing much needed fire support to the lightly armed droptroopers. They can be seen occasionally with locally applied extra armour to improve their survivability.

## Appearance

The appearance of the Cardaces is highly variable, as they adopt uniforms suitable to their current environments. When conducting enforcement operations, they wear white armour over black fatigues, to maximise their visibility. This also serves as a "default uniform" for the organisation, albeit one that you are unlikely to see them wear on the actual battlefield.