The Fists of Archimedes

## *"From the darkest ashes grow the strongest seeds"* -Anonymous

The Fists of Archimedes are a group feared across the galaxy for their military prowess and deadly skill. They are survivors of the Battle of Archimedes, and the bringers of some of the highest death tolls for the Dardarian Dominion. The Fists of Archimedes are fueled entirely by unfiltered, raw rage and a righteous enthusiasm seen nowhere else. They travel the galaxy, fed information by the KBI or KAD commanders in the area, and are let loose against any Dardarians to be found there. The Fists stop at nothing, undertaking their unending crusade against the Dominion with pride and a sense of holy, empowered responsibility seen in only the most devoted and insane cultists of the Great Spherical Church. A man named Michael Simone leads The Fists, having been elected commander after it was discovered that he single-handedly managed to hold off a small army of Dardarians on Archimedes with only his fists.

## Origins:

The Fists of Archimedes began as any normal set of KIND, KGB, and KAD soldiers. They were sent as part of the Kodian QRF to respond to Archimedes's calls of distress. After a long battle, Archimedes exploded. Many KGB died, leaving only 1,500 of them alive. 40% of the surviving KAD soldiers, or ~58,290 men and women, were sane enough to continue fighting. The 2 surviving Radia-Class Carriers that took part in the battle carried these beaten and slightly-deranged veterans back towards their home, leaving the asteroid field of Archimedes behind them. While on-route, the soldiers aboard these vessels made a unanimous decision- to bring death to every Dardarian in the K0 Universe, avenging the deaths of their comrades and civilians on Archimedes. This began their crusade to slaughter, maim, kill, and massacre anyone and everyone associated with the Dardarian Dominion until they gave their final breathes to their new god- The Great and Esteemed King Kodian Venclorus

## The Cult of Archimedes

Yes, it seemed that this unanimous decision also included the choice to worship the Esteemed and his Cabinet as deities, come down from the Heavens to aid in the genocide of all Dardarian-kind. This cult of soldiers and veterans were fanatically loyal to the Esteemed and his assets, pushing their human and Kodian bodies beyond their normal capacities to battle and deal death to the enemies of the Esteemed.

The first ritual established by The Cult of Archimedes occurred shortly after the veterans reached Kodian space once more. They immediately decided to force their way into the DOPI records about Archimedes, noting down every name of every citizen. They also accessed the records of all soldiers and navymen that took part and lost their lives in the Battle for Archimedes. Once they accomplished this task, they proceeded to cut and scar every name into their bodies, one at a time. To make matters worse for the atheist Kodian Empire, they did this publicly on the Spacedock of Mars. To quote the testimony of a bystander:

*"The leaders of the Fists, canonised every single fallen human, from infant to old woman, from frail ill boy to vibrant and beautiful girl, each life cut miserably short. The Fists memorised every face, every name, carving them into their flesh with the martial determination they always did everything. They would avenge every death, one day. They promised that."*

Luckily for the Kodian Empire, the cult's fanatic beliefs and extremist doctrine have done good to repel the attention of the civilian populace. According to the DOPI, less than 1% of the Kodian Empire's entire population, military forces included, follow the teachings of The Cult. However, 65% of the RPF and 90% of the Scribe Program follow these beliefs to the letter, making The Cult small but incredibly dangerous and powerful. Anyone indoctrinated into The Fists are also converted to The Cult, but are not forced to undergo the ritual scarring of the original members. Only the original members of those few survivors have every name, but the lists decorate almost every room in the Radia-Class Carriers as a constant reminder of their purpose.

## The Fists in Modern Times

Now that Archimedes has passed, The Fists continue their battle wherever they can. They are notoriously unruly and disobedient to any commander not of their "Division." Commanders that find themselves leading The Fists are usually killed in "accidents" or displayed publicly throughout the camp as war banners or crucified in No-Man's Land as examples to the rest. Anyone even suspected of being a traitor is killed without trial or second thought. Torture, ejecting out of airlocks, crucifixion, burning at the stake, flaying, and more are all infamously employed by The Fists and their loyal Cult members. They wander the starts in barely-recognizable Radia-Class Carriers, painted and decorated with the depiction of Archimedes citizens and fallen soldiers across it's once shiny and cyan surface.

Membership has increased at an insane rate since Archimedes, pushing The Fists from just over ~64,000 into the hundreds of thousands. The hangars of the Radia-Class Carriers have been converted into more sleeping quarters, the fighters once held in them recycled and repurposed to reinforce the hangar doors and permanently seal them shut. These vessels bristle with weaponry, each individual bullet and railgun rod etched with at least one name from that planet.

## (Mostly Unconfirmed) Rumors:

1. A trail or stream of corpses follow the Radia-Class Carriers whenever they enter and remain in a system for very long, the bodies all people deemed traitors that were subsequently tortured and thrown into the vacuum of space through the ships' airlocks.
2. The Fists have installed torture rooms in their airlocks, as well as adding several more to each side of both vessels, to allow for executions on a wider scale to occur.
3. The Fists once massacred an entire Spacedock of life, claiming them all to be traitors, before sending the massive construct into the planet below.
4. The KGB members of The Fists decorate their armor with various Dardarian skulls. It is said that the soldier in charge of The Fists' KGB detachment, Nero Africanus, decorates his armor with the skulls and bones of Warmongers and Preachers, all intricately carved with the names of Archimedes victims.
5. Because dying in combat is considered the highest holy action, Fist members often carry bomb vests into combat in case they are injured or no longer able to fight. It was said that on Haybos, Fist soldiers once placed a number of injured members into a gunship and flew it over the ranks of Droves before diving into the ground, erupting in a massive explosion that rocked the ground for miles in every direction. Fist members supposedly visit this site every so often, and claim that is a holy site.
6. It was once claimed that the psychic commander of a Dardarian invasion force died of brain-bleed after coming into contact with a large concentration of Fist members. Some believed that this was due to the extreme stress the commander felt, while other yet preach that The Fists have created a psychic sphere of hate and anger around themselves that is strong enough to light Dardarians on fire and melt the brains of any psychic Dardarian commander.
7. Some say that the leading members of The Fists carry themselves with such anger and purpose that they can train a civilian population simply by walking through their ranks.
8. Witnesses have claimed that they once saw an entire KAD Division charge alongside The Fists into an oncoming Dardarian invasion force. When questioned afterwards, the soldiers all explained that they all felt compelled to follow the orders of the enthusiastic Fist commanders, rather than follow the orders of their own commanders. These soldiers were subsequently decimated for their disobedience in combat, but similtaneously rewarded for their brave deeds in combat against such a large and outnumbering foe.