Daughters of Athena

Banner of the 18th Kori

Holo-vid pict-capture of the Daughters engaging the Forces of Chaos during the Trojan War, 999.M41.

## Regimental Data

### **Nickname(s)**

Shieldmaidens, Huntresses, Azure Warriors, Shadow Walkers

## Commanders

### **Notable Commanders**

Astraea

"*You have gained great renown noble Shaka, to be risen to the ranks of the Emperor's finest is a feat mere mortals can merely dream of... But what of us? Are we to just stay behind and hear tales of glories that are denied us? We cannot become Lions so let us become Lionesses, let us loose to hunt the Xenos and Heretics which plague our beloved Imperium, restore the Tithe so we may forge legends anew.*"
—Excerpt from Queen Astraea's speech to Regulus Shaka of the Nemean Lions.
The **Daughters of Athena** are the collective Astra Militarum Regiments raised on Caelus Secundus in the Map:Aeaean Cluster since the 38th millennium. This Feral World is sister to the home world of the mighty and ferocious Nemean Lions Space Marine Chapter, Caelus Prime, which is also a significant source of voluntary recruits for the regiments.

## Regimental History

While the planet of Caelus Secundus has steadfastly raised regiments of Astra Militarum for the Imperium since the Aeaean Cluster was brought to compliance in M31, these have been overshadowed by the newer, yet also more renowned Daughters which have complimented then in more recent years. The decision to raise these specialised formations of warrior women can be laid at the door of a single woman, who actually hailed from the neighbouring planet of Caelus Prime.
In the 38th millennium, Caelus Prime was chosen as the homeworld of a new Chapter, as a result the planet was no longer required to provide the Tithe of regiments it had previously faithfully raised and dispatched to fight for the Emperor. It soon became clear however that there was a strong demand from the inhabitants to reinstate the creation of regiments as a way of dealing with a large population surplus. Nemean culture revolves around hunting the dangerous prey of the planet, which leads to a large percentage of the male population being killed off in these hunts and a gender imbalance in the global population as a result. Previously the tribal leaders had corrected this imbalance by ensuring that the Tithe regiments were mostly female, which went a long way towards solving the issue. It had also built up a strong martial tradition amongst the women of a number of tribes.

Several decades after the Founding began, a young Nemean tribal Queen called Astraea sought an audience with Regulus Shaka, Chapter Master of the Nemean Lions Chapter and the former Prince of the combined tribes. She laid out a plan to create a series of regiments, raised from the martial females of the various tribes, to be offered up to Imperium. Shaka was impressed with these arguments, but he knew that the raising of regiments from Chapter home worlds was a murky area in Imperial law, something it was unlikely he could bypass. However he realised that a loophole could be found, for the other planets of the Caelus system had not been similarly constrained. He arranged for transport ships to be laid on between Caelus Prime and Caelus Secundus, to transport any woman who wished to join these fledgling regiments to travel off world. Astraea later became the Promachos (Colonel) of the first Kori (Regiment) raised and sent to fight for the Emperor. Since then these two worlds have ensured a steady output of soldiers for the Astra Militarum, raising many Kori over the four millennia that have passed since.

## Notable Campaigns

* **The Cleansing of Zintanica V** -
* **The Trojan War** -
* **The Third war for Armageddon** - Two Kori participated in the defence of Hive Hartivus against multiple Ork assaults before the beginning of the season of fire.
* **Coele-Myr (~003.M42)** - Several Kori were dispatched to the Coele-Myr Sub-Sector, participated in the campaign against heretic forces alongside a number of Astartes Chapters, including the Nemean Lions.
* **Archtal IV (562.M42)** - Four Kori fight alongside other Imperial forces and the Craftworld of Keil-Xin in a temporary alliance against an Ork Waaagh.

## Regimental Homeworld

*Main article: Caelus Secundus*

A large number of the Daughters hail from the world of Caelus Prime, a planet of huge, sprawling savanna plains that have a wide variety of animal species which either closely resemble Terran specimens or were deliberately seeded long ago for reason unknown. The majority however hail from Caelus Secundus, a significantly smaller world with a cooler, more temperate climate and fauna of equally mysterious origins. The landscape features significant forests and mountainous regions. The native inhabitants are very similar to the Nemeans of Caelus Prime, having likely descended from the same pool of original colonists, but are lighter skinned and of slighter build thanks to the lesser gravity. They too are a nomadic people, with a strong warrior culture. From a young age males participate in ritualistic hunts to gain pelts. While this is not typically a tradition embraced by the females, some also participate and adorn their armour with furs to show prowess.

## Regimental Recruitment & Training

The Daughters of Athena are a volunteer organisation, drawn predominantly from the PDF of Caelus Secundus. There is also a steady flow of recruits from Caelus Prime, due to the desire amongst some of their women to fight off-world, something they cannot achieve through joining the Astartes Chapter present.
Due to the nature of Caelus Prime and Secundus and their peoples, most recruits to the Daughters of Athena have already grown up as tough and skilled individuals, versed in fieldcraft and hand weapon skills. Most have served previously in the PDFs of those worlds and already possess combat training of a high standard. Those that volunteer to join the Daughters of Athena (without having previously served) undergo ranged weapon training and tactical training to mold the traditionally individualistic warriors into cohesive teams, before joining the rest of the recruits for further training to ensure they are at a level suitable for off-world use. The completed Kori are then held in a constant loop of training while they await the arrival of the Tithe fleets to dispatch them to wherever the Imperium needs them.

Like most Astra Militarum regiments, the Kori of the Daughters of Athena do not receive reinforcements after they have left Caelus Secundus, and thus either have to draw upon new recruits from elsewhere or simply dwindle with attrition until they are merged with other depleted regiments.

## Regimental Organisation

The organisation of the Kori of the Daughters of Athena adheres to a standard layout, which is maintained by all extant examples. The only occasion where deviation from this occurs is when battlefield losses are so severe that the Kori must reduce the number of companies or merge with another unit.

**1st Taxis** - Command/Veteran company, composed of the best soldiers in the regiment.

**Composition:**

* Company HQ
* 5 veteran infantry Enomotiae
* 2 heavy weapon Enomotiae
* 1 light vehicle Enomotia (Drop Sentinels)
* Airborne detachment (Valkyries, Vultures)

**2nd Taxis** - Mainline mixed company, the blueprint for the remaining companies.

**Composition:**

* Company HQ
* 5 infantry Enomotiae
* 2 heavy weapon Enomotiae
* 1 light vehicle Enomotia (Drop Sentinels)
* Airborne detachment (Valkyries, Vultures)

### Regimental Ranks

#### Officer Ranks

* **Promachos** - Regimental commander.
* **Lochagos** - Company commander.
* **Ypolochagos** - Platoon commander.

#### Non-Commissioned Officers & Enlisted

* **Anthypaspistis** - Company 2IC.
* **Archilochias** - Platoon 2IC.
* **Lochias** - Squad leader.
* **Dekaneas** - Section Leader, 2IC.
* **Ypodekaneas** - Veteran Troopers entrusted with carrying important equipment such as special weapons or Vox casters.
* **Stratiotis** - Line infantry.

### Combat Doctrine

Lacking heavy armour and artillery, the Daughters focus on rapid, surgical strikes to shatter and overwhelm the enemy before they can respond and bog down these light infantry in a war of attrition. Typically they soften the enemy with air strikes before landing support weapons to cover the deployment of the line infantry. Grenadier squads will pierce soft points in the enemy defences while the rest batter the foe with disciplined volleys of las-fire. The close cooperation with the Imperial Navy ensures that they always have a strong contingent of aircraft available to ferry these predominantly airborne troopers around.

### Specialist Infantry

* **Grenadiers:** Locally created Stormtroopers. While a typical *Stratiotis* is already equipped and trained to a standard close to that of a Stormtrooper already, the Grenadiers are still nonetheless still a step up, with their more powerful Hotshot Lasguns and further training.

## Regimental Equipment

The Daughters of Athena benefit greatly from their proximity to the Forge World of Tvastar which also supplies the Astartes of the Nemean Lions. They are well equipped with full plate Carapace armour and high quality Autoguns/Lasguns as well as a wide range of light and heavy weapons. The various Kori typically have specialised Navy aircraft assigned to them on a semi-permanent basis to ensure they can maintain their high mobility tempo of combat and counteract their relative lack of standard vehicles.

### Standard Regimental Kit

The standard regimental kit for a Daughter is as follows:

* **1 M38 Tvastar pattern Lasgun/Autogun and 6 charge packs/magazines**
* **Laspistol/Autopistol and 2 charge packs/Magazines**
* **Bayonet/combat knife**
* **2 frag grenades or 2 krak grenades**
* **Helmet** - This helm incorporates a rebreather
* **Uniform** - Durable fatigues which can be sealed to permit limited void operations or for toxic environments
* **Carapace armour** - Unlike most AM regiments, the Daughters of Athena are equipped uniformly in Carapace armour, due to their elite role and more limited numbers.
* **Micro-bead**
* **Poor weather gear** - Includes a ground sheet which can be used to construct a rudimentary shelter.
* **Rucksack** - This is a solid construction armoured pack with a limited airsupply which can be connected to the rebreather when required.
* **Entrenching tool** - While they avoid prolonged engagements, it would be foolish to be unprepared for this occuring.
* **Basic toolkit**
* **Mess kit and water canteen**
* **2 weeks rations**
* **Blanket and sleeping bag**
* **Rechargeable lamp-pack**
* **Grooming kit**
* **Dog tags**
* ***Imperial Infantryman’s Uplifting Primer***

### Optional Wargear

Like any regiment of the Imperial Guard, the Daughters of Athena deploy a wide range of special and heavy weapons. In particular autocannons and plasma guns are prized.

* Lascannon
* Heavy bolter
* Mortar
* Missile launcher
* Autocannon
* Flamer
* Grenade launcher
* Plasma gun
* Meltagun
* Shotgun
* Heavy flamer
* 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

As befitting their airborne nature, the Daughters have no access to heavy armour, relying upon the air support of the Aeronautica Imperialis and Imperial Navy to defeat enemy armour, as well as their own heavy weapons teams. Nonetheless they do possess a small quantity of the following vehicles:

* Drop Sentinel

## Regiment Appearance

The Daughters wear plain combat fatigues under full body Carapace armour which has been designed to resemble the medieval plate armour of ancient Terran legend. The armour is enamelled blue and trimmed with gold. Full face helmets are common, even amongst officers. While comparatively rare, some members of the Daughters display pelts and other trophies of hunts, much like their Astartes brethren do.

## Notable Daughters

* **Queen Astraea of the Salt Grass Tribe** - The creator of the Daughters of Athena and the Promachos of the first Kori raised. Astraea would lead this unit through several decades of conflicts before her death in the last stand of Lectraeus VI, leading a small rearguard so that the bulk of her soldiers could be evacuated.

## Allies

* **Nemean Lions** - As they hail from a sister planet to Caelus Prime and contain many women who hail from Caelus Prime within their ranks, the Daughters of Athena naturally have a closer connection to the Astartes of the Nemean Lions than other AM regiments. While the Chapter cannot dictate whom they fight alongside, if they do happen to be serving nearby to the Kori of the Daughters, they will request their presence in campaigns.

## Enemies

* **Orks** - As an ever present threat to the forces of the Aeaean Cluster and the surrounding area, many within the Daughter of Athena has spent more than their fair share of combat battling these greenskinned xenos.