Actium

Actium's Heraldry

A Ranger of Actium's Legio Cataegis

The Forge World of **Actium** is located on the far western fringe of the Galaxy, in Segmentum Pacificus, and a vital lynchpin in the Imperium's effort to bring order to the frontier. Actium was first brought into compliance during the Great Crusade, but was lost sometime after the War of the Beast to be rediscovered near the latter half of the Macharian Crusade. Actium's prominence in its home sector as well as to a limited degree the wider Segmentum is due to its ability to produce Battle Titans like the Reaver- and Warlord-Classes and the overall extremely high quality of its goods.

## History

### Great Crusade and Horus Heresy

During the middle years of the Great Crusade, Rogal Dorn's 3rd Expeditionary Fleet arrived in the Actium system, identifying the presence of a Forge World and sending emissaries to the Tech Priesthood requesting Actium's submission to Imperial rule. Whether out of fear of the consequences of refusal or a genuine desire to rejoin wider human civilization the Fabricator-General agreed and invited the Primarch to the surface to finalize the details. When the Imperial Fists' Primarch passed through the blanket of storms surrounding Actium's sole supercontinent and landed in the capital Forge City of Tempestus Mons he was greeted by the assembled armed forces of Actium, thousands of Skitarii arrayed for his viewing along an avenue leading to where the Fabricator-General stood. Behind the ruler of Actium stood an honor guard of Legio Fulminata's God-Engines. The intended message was blatantly clear; Actium would join the Imperium, but would do so on its own terms, to be backed up by force of arms.

But there would be no battle for Actium, at least not then, for an accord was reached and the great manufactorum complexes of Actium began to churn out war material for the Great Crusade. Not only manufactured goods left the planet however, maniples of Legio Fulminata would serve alongside many Expeditionary Fleets, include the 3rd. Also dispatched were macrolades from Actium's Skitarii Legion, Legio Cataegis.

Actium was spared the horrors of the Tech-virus that crippled loyalist forces on Mars at the onset of the Horus Heresy and so was in a position to strike back against the Traitors immediately both industrially and militarily. Fresh shipments of arms, armor, ammunition, vehicles, and other equipment flowed to the beleaguered loyalists, guarded by Legio Cataegis and Fulminata.

### Great Scouring

For their decision to honor the pact they had made with the Emperor the Tech Priests of Actium drew the ire of the Word Bearers. Traitor marines assailed the Forge World when it was most vulnerable, with the majority of its armed forces elsewhere aiding in the Great Scouring. However salvation would come when the Imperial Sentinels chapter, of Rogal Dorn's genetic legacy, shattered the Word Bearers' fleet in the void and then travelled to the surface to help Actium's defenders finish off the traitors. In payment Actium provided the Sentinels with a wing of Xiphon Interceptors which had been kept in storage after production of the fighters was ceased.

### War of the Beast

It is at some point during the chaos of the War of the Beast that Actium disappears from Imperial records for almost nine thousand years.

### Macharian Crusade and Heresy

At the tail end of the fourth century of the 42nd millennium Lord Commander Solar Macharius's crusade reached Actium. As had happened so long ago the Forge World gladly rejoined the Imperium, receiving Macharius in the same manner they had Dorn. Resupply and replenishment of the Crusade's forces was Actium's foremost task, one they performed admirably.
After the death of Macharius and the fracturing of his conquests into petty empires Actium supplied the campaign to suppress the Macharian Heresy. From this dark series of events would arise Actium's principle customers and allies in the Macharian Steelborne.

## Geography, Habitability, and Infrastructure

Actium itself is a world comparable in size to Terra itself, with a single supercontinent surrounded by roiling oceans. Despite the size of Actium the population is far smaller than would be expected of a planet over fifty-thousand kilometers in diameter but the cause is quite simple, Actium's surface is ninety percent water. Dotting the Aecor, the name given to Actium's ocean, are hundreds of artificial islands which have the sole purpose of tapping into Actium's boundless but hidden natural resources. The mineral wealth of Actium is assumed by modern historians to be almost the sole reason it was settled in the first place. These mining platforms then send the raw materials back to the Forge Cities on the continent via monumental monorails large enough for ten trains to run side by side. Actium is almost perpetually covered in storms that can rage for weeks on end, grounding most high altitude air travel, thus the Tech Priests rely on orbital lifts that rise from the nine main Forge Cities to the docks above the planet.

## Politics, Culture, and Dogma

Actium has a very quirky philosophy as well as a pivotal role in sector politics. The Tech Priests of Actium believe that perfect symmetry is the correct design method and to violate said symmetry is to cause offense to the Machine Spirit and the Omnissiah. Also included in Actium's creed is the belief that cheap, mass-produced, goods are likewise an offense to the Machine God, thus they strive to put the utmost care and quality into the anything that comes out of its forges.
In the Macharia Sector the Administratum and Ecclesiarchy battle in the political arena for dominance as they have for thousands of years all across the galaxy. Actium and by consequence the Adeptus Mechanicus have thrown their weight behind the Administratum at least within the sector. The reasoning Actium's Tech Priests employ to justify their decision is their close relationship with the planet of Macharia Ultima and the Macharian Steelborne Regiments of that world.

## Production Output and Capabilities

Actium is home to nine major Forge Cities, each the size of small nations with manufactorum complexes sprawled out across hundreds of square kilometers. The majority of Actium's populace are employed as manual laborers in these gargantuan factories, performing menial tasks endlessly to pump out arms, armor, ammunition, vehicles, spare parts, reactors, and other items.
Actium takes in roughly five hundred megatons of raw materials per annum from both its domestic mining operations and from those across the sector such as the Adamantium mines on Macharia Ultima. Following 100.M42 the per annum production capacity has expanded by one point six percent per year. Another of Actium's prized productions is its Teleportarii, which are exported across the Segmentum for installation into voidships. Finally is Actium's ability to create new Battle Titans, which it exports to other Forge Worlds who cannot produce their own.

## Military Forces

### Legio Cataegis

Every Forge World maintains a Skitarii Legion to defend itself and its interests, Actium is no different. Legio Cataegis, commonly referred to as The Storm, is organized into eight Macrolades of twenty-five thousand Skitarii. Each Macrolade consists of five Cohorts of five thousand Skitarii. Each Cohort consists of ten maniples of five hundred. Each maniple is divided into twenty-five Squads of twenty Skitarii. Each Skitarius has their name erased once they join the Legion, replaced with a simple identification code that includes the combat role, Macrolade, Cohort, Maniple, and Squad. For example R-251311 is the eleventh Skitarii Ranger of the 2nd Macrolade, 5th Cohort, 13th Squad. Legio Cataegis's duties include maintaining order on Actium, manning the planetary defenses, providing security aboard Actium's Basilikon Astra vessels, retrieving technological artifacts from less than willing owners, and escorting the Titans of Legio Fulminata on campaign. Because of this Cataegis has a higher than normal ratio of Rangers in comparison to other classes of Skitarii like Vanguards and Infilitrators. The individual Skitarii of Cataegis fall in line with the Forge World's core philosophy of quality over quantity, and as such even the rank and file Skitarius outclasses its peers from other Forge Worlds that do not share the same opinion. This acts as a force multiplier for an otherwise small formation by the standards of the 43rd millennium. One specific class of Skitarii to note is the Vanguards, who amongst Cataegis have their Radium weapons configured to make use of electromagnetic radiation which have the effect of rather than poisoning their targets instead overloading their nervous system.

### Legio Fulminata

When the might of lesser war machines proves inefficient to achieve victory Actium can call upon the God-Engines of Legio Fulminata, the Thunderbringers. Legio Fulminata is large by the standards of many Titan Legions, kept at relatively full strength due to Actium's ability to repair or replenish any combat losses the Thunderbringers sustain. The armaments of Legio Fulminata's Titans tends to lean heavily towards Turbolasers and Plasma Annihilators given Actium's specialization in those technologies. Fulminata is divided into six Maniples of ten for a total of twenty-two Warhounds, nineteen Reavers, seventeen Warlords, and two Warmongers.

### Cybernetica Cohort Sigma Chi

Actium maintains a cohort of Battle-Automata from the Legio Cybernetica for defense primarily, spreading out individual maniples throughout the Forge Cities to reinforce the Skitarii garrisons.

### Ordo Reductor Cohort Kappa Rho

The personal guard of Fabricator-General Galerius Taenaris is a unit of elite Thallaxii shock troops, soldiers only equaled by the genhanced Adeptus Astrtes. Galerius can rarely be seen without at least a trio of towering Thallax bodyguards nearby leading Kappa Rho to become as much a symbol of Actium's power and prestige as Fulminata or Cataegis.

## Combat Doctrine

Actium rarely directly intervenes in military campaigns, choosing to act through proxies, allies, or other methods to achieve their goals. However, when needs dictate the Forge World's personal involvement Cataegis and Fulminata will march to war.
At the start of an offensive campaign Actium's Basilikon Astra will gain void supremacy, followed by the preparation of a landing zone through orbital strikes and probing assaults by Skitarii Infiltrators. When the groundwork has been laid a general assault is launched by Skitarii Vanguard contingents, clearing a path for the deployment of further Skitarii formations, armored vehicles, and in some cases Titans. If Fulminata has taken the field the Skitarii are relegated to gathering intelligence on the enemy and defending the Titans from flanking maneuvers. If Cataegis alone is present then the tactics employed are more refined. Ironstrider-mounted units like Balistarii and Dragoons will still be used to gain a measure of the enemy, striking outlying positions to provoke the defenders into pursing them only to be whittled down by Rangers who disappear into the night or shattered by speartips of Onager Dunecrawlers. Over time the enemy will be destroyed through attrition with as few casualties to Actium's forces as possible.

## Relations

### Allies

* The Macharian Steelborne - Actium is responsible for the production of much of the Steelborne's more advanced equipment
* The Cobalt Consuls -

## Quotes

### About Actium

"*The symmetry of Actium is valuable as is their innovative spirit, I cannot help but find kinship with them. Their technological advancements will be invaluable in the days to come, glad our lost brothers are found.*"
—Forge World Mjorn Techpriest