vizn3r/warhammer40k-lore huggingface dataset:
Plasteel - Plasteel: Plasteel is a type of advanced synthetic material that has the consistency of plastic but the tensile strength of a steel alloy that was developed during the Dark Age of Technology but long used by the Imperium in the construction of many types of personal infantry armour.Heavy-duty plasteel was combined with the heat-resistant ceramic material called ceramite to craft the plating of Terminator Armour when the Adeptus Mechanicus still maintained the technical knowledge required to manufacture it.
Plasteel - Trivia: The word plasteel is actually a portmanteau of the words plastic and steel and was most notably used by author Frank Herbert in the Dune series of novels, though the concept may actually have been first coined by science fiction writer Harlan Ellison in 1956.
Platoon Commander - Platoon Commander: A Platoon Commander is a junior officer of the Astra Militarum who commands one of the platoons of an Imperial Guard company.The Astra Militarum is a vast fighting formation and even basic troop movements can involve the mobilisation of thousands of men. For these operations to go smoothly the Imperial Guard has a substantial command structure.One of the first links in this chain is the Platoon Commander.
Platoon Commander - Role: Platoon Commanders are known by a variety of official ranks and titles -- lieutenant, marshal and shield-centurion are just a few examples. Their role is to ensure the platoon fulfils its Company Commander's orders and gets the job done.Sadly, for every fresh-faced officer who bravely leads their troops against the enemy there is another who panics and falters in the heat of battle. These incompetent individuals are responsible for wasting countless lives and such ineptitude is quickly punished.Those who survive multiple encounters -- both with the enemy and the commissars attached to their regiment -- are given ever greater responsibilities on the battlefield, and those who excel are highly valued.Where almost any lieutenant can be relied upon to simply herd infantry towards the enemy, senior officers turn to their most trusted Platoon Commanders to undertake more nuanced and vital missions -- gaining the high ground to outflank the enemy position or knocking out a heavily guarded shield generator so that artillery bombardments can commence.While the Astra Militarum is vast in its size and reach, its constituent units do not have infinite resources or manpower. A single company may face many threats across multiple fronts, stretching thin the organisational capacity of its commander.In such cases, a Platoon Commander with a proven record of success can be tasked with leading small contingents of soldiers without the supervision of his superior officer.Failure to adhere strictly to the parameters of the mission -- as dictated by the Company Commander -- is considered an act of insubordination, but otherwise the Platoon Commander is able to direct the soldiers in their charge as they see fit.Those who show exceptional cunning, unfailing determination and the appropriate amount of initiative in fulfilling their charge are often singled out as candidates for promotion.
Platoon Commander - Astra Militarum Platoon Command Squads: Like their senior counterparts, Platoon Commanders are often accompanied by a hand-picked Platoon Command Squad who help them fulfil their duties.The members of this entourage are typically amongst the most skilled and experienced Veterans in the platoon, and provide extra firepower and vox support in battle.In addition, should there be doubts amongst the rank-and-file regarding the competence of a new Platoon Commander, these scar-faced soldiers help to maintain order -- if the Commissar doesn't do so first.
Platoon Commander - Unit Composition: 1 Platoon Commander4 Veterans as Platoon Command Squad
Platoon Commander - Platoon Commander: Flak ArmourLaspistolFrag GrenadesChainswordRefractor FieldPower Sword (Optional replacement for Chainsword)Power Fist (Optional replacement for Chainsword)Bolt Pistol (Optional replacement for Laspistol)Bolter (Optional replacement for Laspistol)Plasma Pistol (Optional replacement for Laspistol)
Platoon Commander - Platoon Command Squad: Flak ArmourLasgunFrag GrenadesLaspistol (Optional replacement for Lasgun)Chainsword (For any Veteran who also takes a Laspistol)Vox-caster (For one Veteran)Heavy Flamer (Optional replacement for 1 Veteran's Lasgun)Regimental Standard (For one Veteran)Medi-pack (For one Veteran)Mortar, Autocannon, Heavy Bolter, Missile Launcher, Lascannon (Any two Veterans can take one of these weapons and form a Heavy Weapons Team on the Command Squad)Sniper Rifle, Flamer, Grenade Launcher, Meltagun, Plasma Gun (One of these special weapons is an optional replacement for 1 Veteran's Lasgun)
Pleasure World - Pleasure World: A Pleasure World, also known as a Paradise World and sometimes as a Garden World, is the playground of the Imperial nobility.They tend to be of outstanding natural beauty and the population of such worlds are dedicated to pampering the important Imperial visitors they often receive, such as members of major noble houses, members of the Navis Nobilite, Planetary Governors, important Ecclesiarchy officials like Confessors and Cardinals, Imperial Commanders, Rogue Traders and wealthy Chartist Captains.Pleasure Worlds are often very cultured places, and many have huge proportions of their populace dedicated solely to producing works of art, music or other forms of entertainment. Casino complexes, opulent restaurants and huge ballrooms are often found on such worlds.There is a darker side to Pleasure Worlds, particularly those who cater to the tastes of the more depraved guests they receive and Pleasure Worlds often host one or more Chaos Cults dedicated to Slaanesh, the Prince of Pleasure.Some Pleasure Worlds contain large developing cities and other major settlements. All Pleasure Worlds are considered a sub-set of the class of planets known to the Imperium as Civilised Worlds.Garden Worlds hold a unique position within the Imperium, in that they are one of the few kinds of planets with minimal technological development. The Imperial Tithes from these planets are often lower than usual or are entirely non-existent, as many are lightly populated and may have no readily available resources to extract.Instead, Garden Worlds offer the Imperium a multitude of idyllic settings, ranging from recuperative locales to private estates, in exchange for protection. They are tranquil environments, though worrisome considerations still dangle like loose threads on a beautiful tapestry.Some are rumoured to have been ancient terraforming experiments from the Dark Age of Technology, and could be environmentally unstable. Others are believed rediscovered after abating Warp Storms, and so could disappear again without warning. Still more are thought to be the lost homes of intelligent alien species, and woe to any living there should the xenos return or reawaken.
Pleasure World - Notable Paradise Worlds: Planet NameSegmentumSectorSub-SectorSystemPopulationAskelphion SecundusSegmentum ObscurusCalixis SectorDrusus MarchesUnknownUnknownBreannaUnknownUnknownUnknownUnknownUnknownCarmynSegmentum UltimaJericho ReachUnknownUnknownUnknownCyprian's GateSegmentum ObscurusCalixis SectorHazeroth AbyssUnknownUnknownDawnbreakUnknownUnknownAebrasyn SystemUnknownUnknownFarfallenSegmentum SolarUnknownUnknownUnknownUnknownPhanuel TertiusSegmentum ObscurusAskellon SectorUnknownUnknownUnknownQuaddisSegmentum ObscurusCalixis SectorGolgenna ReachQuaddis SystemUnknown/Variable (Residents estimated to less than 5 million)RethSegmentum ObscurusCalixis SectorAdrantis Sub-SectorTelphyaine System640 MillionRophanonSegmentum TempestusUnknownUnknownRophanon System1,893,300,000 (Formerly)/0 (Currently, due to Exterminatus)SendennisUnknownUnknownUnknownUnknownUnknownTerionUnknownUnknownUnknownUnknownUnknownThemiskon PointSegmentum UltimaJericho ReachUnknownThemiskon SystemUnknownWicked SistersSegmentum UltimaJericho ReachUnknownDelphos and Iatos SystemsEst. 3 MillionYspotuaUnknownUnknownUnknownUnknownUnknown
Plutonians - Plutonians: The Plutonians were a Radical sect of the Ordo Malleus of the Inquisition who believed that daemonic possession could be used as a weapon to produce elite Daemonhunters. They formed a close alliance with the Exorcists Chapter of Space Marines and maintained secret facilities within the Exorcists' hidden, subterranean fortress-monastery of the Basilica Malefex on the swampy Feral World of Banish. Within the Halls of Tempering within that facility, it was the Plutonians who carried out the deliberate daemonic possession of Exorcist initiates by Warp entities and then helped them banish those beings a short time later. The process, combined with the unusual resistance of the Exorcists' gene-seed to daemonic possession, created Adeptus Astartes who were incredibly resilient to the temptations of Chaos and extraordinarily capable Daemon-fighters.The Plutonians, as a Radical sect, were well-aware of how their practices could be viewed as extremely heretical by Puritans in the wider Imperium and so they were determined to maintain absolute secrecy at any cost.
Plutonians - First Trials: Once the Plutonians had come up with their plan and Chapter Master Trismegistus approved it, the first group of chosen initiates of the Chapter underwent a process known as "Daemonic Possession Therapy." Each Astartes was, under very tight security, deliberately subject to possession by a minor denizen of the Warp.The Inquisition arranged for each test subject to be possessed by Daemons for twelve solar hours before the Daemons were banished by Ordo Malleus Inquisitors. Some of the Astartes were so damaged physically and psychologically by the possession that they had to be terminated. But the majority of test subjects survived, needing only minor reconstructive surgery. They emerged unusually skilled in the ways of combating Daemonkind, just as the Inquisition had hoped.After a minor period of recuperation the subjects were taught the ways of combating Daemons, trained in the use of the 666 verses of the Liber Exorcismus or "Book of Exorcisms" and equipped with the weapons of Daemonhunters. This process has also caused the subjects to have no psychic signature that psykers can detect.The original test subjects, some two companies strong (200 Space Marines) were released onto a Daemon-infested planet on the northern fringes of the Eye of Terror, while a squad of Grey Knights was held in reserve, just in case they suddenly turned on the Inquisition. The Inquisitors need not have worried, for the Exorcists achieved extremely impressive results, achieving a kill ratio of 97:1.Following this test, the Exorcists Chapter was fully chartered and allowed to begin recruiting once more until it had reached its full required strength of 1,000 Astartes, all of whom were subjected to the same test of daemonic possession before rising from the Scout companies to become full initiates of the Chapter.
Plutonians - Broken Ones and the Purgatomb: Soon after the Plutonians began their work, it became clear that the Exorcists were not just capable of enduring daemonic possession. Their corporeal forms also proved strangely suited to retaining any Warp entities that were not successfully banished. In a series of horrifying experiments, the Plutonians found that the living bodies of failed Exorcists initiates were able to hold indefinite numbers of Daemons prisoner, some subjects becoming so saturated with Warp-spawn that they were sustained in a state of deathless torture, their bodies enduring for Terran centuries while their minds broke apart. Even in this ignoble end, however, the Exorcists found a use for their fallen sons.If these "Broken Ones" could not serve the Chapter on the battlefield, they could at least live on as vessels of imprisonment, harbouring in their flesh the myriad entities driven out of successful initiates -- immortal beings that might otherwise return to the Warp and scatter the Exorcists' deepest secrets far and wide. Thus arose the most chilling of all practices conducted within the Halls of Tempering, and over the millennia, the numbers of accursed Broken Ones have continued to grow.Accommodating such vessels of evil on Banish would be unthinkably dangerous, however. As the Apothecarion is concerned with retaining only the untarnished gene-seed of successful initiates, Broken Ones are dispatched into deep space under maximum security protocols, to live outtheir untold years within a secret prison-craft known as the Purgatomb. Within the pitch-black bowels of this immense drifting bastion, the Broken Ones are left to writhe and scream, locked within the hyper-dense walls of their warded cells. For some five millennia the Purgatomb has served the Exorcists' grim purposes, and though its location has become known on occasion, its abominable contents have never yet become known to any ally or enemy. This is well, as if even a single Broken One were to escape, the consequences for the Chapter -- perhaps even for the Imperium itself -- would be catastrophic.
Point Defence Targeting Relay - Point Defence Targeting Relay: A Point Defence Targeting Relay is a T'au vehicle support system that aids a T'au skimmer's forward cupola-mounted secondary weapon systems.During battle, a Point Defence Relay will automatically target and engage enemies that try to assault the vehicle and/or nearby friendly troops, thus providing superior covering fire for nearby Fire Caste units.
Poisoned Chalice - Poisoned Chalice: The Poisoned Chalice is a splinter warband or vectorium of Heretic Astartes of the Death Guard Traitor Legion. The Poisoned Chalice are led by deranged groups of Foul Blightspawn and Putrifiers. Rampaging across the galaxy with zealous vigour, they obsessively seek vile ingredients and hapless test subjects, questing to brew the perfect plague.
Poisoned Chalice - Notable Campaigns: The Great Brewing (Unknown Date.M42) - Deep within the Imperium Nihilus, the Poisoned Chalice invade the medicae world of Pelucil. They seek to use the planet's macro-alembic complexes to brew the ultimate plague in Nurgle's name.
Poisoned Chalice - Warband Colours: The Poisoned Chalice's power armour is the same as that of the Death Guard, composed of decayed and cracked plates of ceramite in dark green with black trim. The Poisoned Chalice's Chaos Space Marines, like those of the Death Guard, often wear grotesquely warped suits of antique Mark III Iron Power Armour.
Poisoned Chalice - Warband Badge: The Poisoned Chalice's warband badge is usually a modified version of the standard Mark of Nurgle, similar to that used by the rest of the Death Guard.
Polymorphine - Polymorphine: Polymorphine is the exotic shapeshifting drug that is the hallmark of the Callidus Assassins. When combined with the extensive Callidus training, it allows the assassin to change their flesh to adopt the appearance of almost any human or even a humanoid alien.It can be used to adopt a specific appearance so long as the user has seen and studied the target, or that of a more general disguise when detailed change is not necessary.A single dose of polymorphine lasts for two solar hours, but its effects can be mitigated at will by the user. Those untrained by the Callidus Temple can only assume shapes that approximate their own, as they lack the surgical implants necessary for more radical transformations.Even then, it takes a strong will to control the drug's effects, risking transformation into an abhorrent amalgam of their current and desired forms for the next half-hour.The transformation itself requires a bare minimum of five solar minutes to complete. In that time, the user is quite terrible to behold as their flesh molds to their desired form.
Polypsykana - Polypsykana: The Polypsykana is a faction consisting of like-minded Radical Inquisitors in the Calixian Conclave who believe in the ascension of Humanity into a purely psychic species. They believe that they themselves must serve as guardians and guide Mankind down this path of transformation. This way of thinking is not unique to the Calixis Sector or to the Imperium in its long history, as similar thoughts have appeared in the past.The Inquisitors of the Polypsykana believe that this metamorphosis is inevitable so long as attempts are not made to prevent it from happening. This interference is most likely from other Inquisitors who see psykers as witches and abominations that need to be purged. The Polypsykana Inquisitors and their agents seek out as well as protect psykers from Puritan firebrands who are intent on the destruction of such individuals. This is more so the case in the Calixis Sector which sees a higher number of Humans born with psychic talents than average which is attributed to the influence of the Tyrant Star.As such, Polypsykana Inquisitors are ever-vigilant for seeking any nascent psykers within a sector's population and spend considerable resources in the pursuit of this task. Any psykers that are found to be at risk are quickly moved to safety before they are burned at the stake or otherwise executed.Agents of the Polypsykana are also known to search for ways to hasten the full psychic awakening of Mankind. Such an act is to be accomplished through eugenic techniques as well as the use of powerful psy-active drugs that can transform even those without the genetic profile of a psyker into a potent wielder of the energies of the Warp. Only when Humanity has fully mastered the Immaterium do the Polypsykana believe that Humanity will possess the ablity to destroy Chaos once and for all.
Polytrinate - Polytrinate: Polytrinate is a material used by the Leagues of Votann to craft some of their most legendary weapons and other technologies.The greatest example of a polytrinate artefact is the forgewrought Plasma Axe known as the Just Blade, which is a relic of the Kronus Hegemony. Rumour has it that this is the deadliest weapon ever to be fashioned in the Forges of the Kronus Hegemony.A phase-modulated plasma field wreathes a polytrinate blade that has been witnessed to cut through metres-thick armour plating -- and even energy fields -- as though they were not there. It is said within the Hegemony that so deadly a weapon as the Just Blade must only be wielded in a truly justified conflict against a deserving foe.
Por'la Vior'la Kais'uam - Por'la Vior'la Kais'uam: Por'la Vior'la Kais'uam is a T'au envoy of the Water Caste. Por'la Vior'la Kais'uam, like many of his race, has an ambition and drive far above his current station. Although elements of his name roughly translate as "skilful mediator" and "Water Caste bureaucrat," Por'la has the fiery temperament and outgoing nature typical to those from the T'au Sept world of Vior'la.Though young by T'au standards, Por'la is extremely well-travelled, having fled the T'au Sept worlds and crossed vast tracts of space to the distant Imperial world of Karis Cephalon. The reasons behind this self-imposed odyssey hail back to one of the most important and bloody eras in T'au history -- the Damocles Gulf Crusade.
Por'O Volescur - Por'O Volescur: Por'O Volescur is a senior member of the T'au Water Caste in the Jericho Reach, known to have been highly successful in negotiating treaties with Human populations in the regions surrounding the Black Reef. Imperial authorities believe that the so-called "Lucent Emissary" has gained a specific expertise dealing with Humans.This specialisation may date from his studying under the celebrated envoy known as "Aura," who was instrumental in many of the T'au Empire's dealings with Humans before, during and in the aftermath of the Damocles Gulf Crusade.Though Aura has since disappeared from or retired from active service, those who served beneath him appear to have carried forward many of the lessons he learned from dealing with outcast elements of the Imperium as well as its representatives.The Lucent Emissary travels the area around the Black Reef in a small, but fast and highly stealthy vessel whose name translates as the Liberation. He is attended by a Fire Warrior cadre configured for and specialising in marine and escort duties, and on several occasions this group has extricated him from the otherwise fatal confrontations.Por'O Volescur is adept at forming ties with outlying Human worlds and at exploiting any misgivings such worlds might have about the encroachment of the Achilus Crusade.He has convinced dozens of planetary leaders that the arrival of the Imperium in their orbital sphere can only bring death and destruction, causing such worlds to throw in their lot with the T'au Empire instead.Several of these planets have since ascended to become full member worlds of the T'au Empire and Human troops raised from their populations serve alongside T'au Fire Warriors and other auxiliaries throughout the Jericho Reach and beyond.Needless to say, the Imperium considers the Lucent Emissary a high priority target. The Deathwatch have come close to capturing him on several occasions, yet each time he has escaped thanks to the capabilities of his transport vessel and the dedication of his Fire Caste escort.
Port Aquila - Diomedea Stella Reborn: In more recent times, Port Aquila has grown despite its shadowy past. The Warp routes to and from Diomedea Stella -- while not easy to navigate -- are stable enough for regular traffic, and as a result the population has increased dramatically. The entrepreneurial spirit has found its way back to the system as well, with prospectors and explorers once again seeking fortune amidst the thousands of asteroids. That spirit has also re-awakened some of the darkness that has always been here, seeking new ways to manifest. Governance of the star system is nominally under the Cyclopian Sub-Praefectorate, but in reality, most acknowledge that the only group willing and able to promote law and order is the Greater Askellon Trade Combine. Though the Imperial Navy has the most direct ties to Imperial law, it does not have a large enough fleet to police the system in the way the Combine can. As a result, the Imperial Navy often acts as an auxiliary to the trade fleets, though officially the relationship is reversed. While minor confrontations are constant between smugglers and prospectors, the Combine and the Imperial Navy usually only get involved when their immediate interests are in jeopardy. As a result, frontier justice is often used and accepted among the floating rocks of Diomedea Stella.Psychic phenomena are also on the rise through the system, as the tendrils of the Pandaemonium have moved closer to the system in recent years. Multiple sites in the star system have reported hulls bleeding thick red liquids, gusts of chilling wind blowing through ships' corridors, and ghostly images appearing outside of viewports. Some natives at local watering holes have claimed that they saw faces forming in the nearby asteroids, but most of those stories have been chalked up to cheap imported tafywater or even cheaper local voidsweat. Though usually no larger harm is done, there have been incidents that lack an easy explanation. All have heard reports of those refusing to leave establishments because of what they say they see out among the asteroids. Others tell of settlers and smugglers who have spaced themselves, calmly walking into airlocks without a suit and opening the outer hatch. The tale of the veteran void-master who stranded his crew when he took the shuttle and rammed an asteroid with it still quiets rooms; they say he screamed incoherently through the Vox until the impact silenced signal and pilot alike. These incidents are not the norm, however -- but they do seem to be growing.
Port Aquila - Lifestyles of the Insanely Wealthy: The merchant princes in Port Aquila, despite their cravings for respectability, often behave exactly like the smugglers and pirates they once were. The traditions of Juno and the oath-cogs of Desoleum allow for little deviation, and thus decorum is preserved in the Processional Worlds. The nouveau riche in Port Aquila, though, wield their wealth like a blunt instrument, believing that it can buy respectability and clear any obstacle. When that fails, however, they often fall back to violence and intimidation. Most easily change their tactics from seemingly measured negotiations to backroom thuggery without missing a beat. Aquillan traders deal from positions of strength whenever possible, using their wealth to get information, resources, or "collateral" to help swing the best deals they can. Many of these act as functionaries for the Combine, but some still operate independently. Regardless of their affiliations, they act as a brotherhood of sorts if the Port is threatened, and those rare souls who have tempted fate and made those threats are now cold and lifeless somewhere among the rocks.
Port Aquila - The Greater Askellon Trade Combine: The Combine is still the trading force that it has been since its origins, but with the D'Amitri family largely out of the command structure, there is less talk of the past and more talk of the future. The head of the Combine is now Zadori Whelk, a former smuggler captain who "saw the error of her ways" after being caught and has renewed efforts to eliminate the criminal contingent in the system. Following her reformation, she undertook a purge of smuggler hideouts located near Combine facilities. Those who would not convert to more honest work were jettisoned into space, their safe houses destroyed. Since her inauguration as Trademaster-General, she has opened up dialogues with the Prospectors' Guild and begun working more closely with the Imperial Navy to balance out the influence of House Surena. These negotiations strengthen her position as a law-abiding businesswoman, while moving towards greater and greater shares of Askellian commerce.Whelk has also instituted a policy of open enrollment for captains. Those who sign with the Combine come and go as they please, so long as they adhere to its simple but strict Principles. The result has been a constant stream of new talent trying to make their fortunes and an increased stability in the region, as the Combine has refused to hire anyone wanted by the Imperium. With independent trade very much on the wane, it is smart business sense to not run afoul of the law -- the enforcement of which the Combine largely handles. The Combine now controls a healthy portion of the trade across Askellon, and is even trying to expand into the neighbouring Scarus Sector and Ixaniad Sector; early forays into the Calixis Sector, though, showed that the risks were too high, given the current turmoils there. Many of its contracts are long-term exclusives to ensure consistent income, and were brokered under dubious circumstances in most cases.Many of the larger independent traders, in turn, mark these dates, and have begun currying favour with the producers of goods for solar decades prior to those termination dates to engender a level of trust -- and hopefully get the new contract. Very few do change over to an independent, however, amidst rumours of special "negotiators" being sent by the Combine. No one has overtly levelled accusations at the Askellon trade juggernaut, but most know the dangers of trying to cross it.
Port Aquila - The Four Guiding Principles of the Greater Askellon Trade Combine: The Combine approves all contracts.Do not violate Imperial Law.Fulil your obligations of the contract.No work is allowed outside the Combine. Ever.
Port Aquila - Powers of the Port: The Imperium and the Combine are not the only factions of note. As in the past, the asteroid field holds many mysteries and secrets that others are all too happy to discover and exploit. Smaller -- but still influential -- groups have found their ways into Aquillan politics. While these do not have the reach of the Combine, it would be foolish to underestimate their usefulness or their connectedness within the system, for here they hold more sway.
Port Aquila - Prospectors Guild: The stabilisation of Diomedea Stella has allowed the more adventurous pilots and explorers back into the system. The asteroid fields are colossal in scope and extremely dense; between that and the occasional odd moving cluster of planetoids, the fields to this day still remain largely uncharted. The Prospectors Guild entered Port Aquila a few centuries after the WAAAGH! was defeated and began a simple existence among the rocks. While the majority of its business is in the extraction of desirable ores and minerals, part of its continued business is in locating asteroids suitable for habitation, industry, or refurbishment into new void stations. Each team of prospectors is allowed to handle its own jobs and set its own contracts. There is no centralised location for the Guild that has been located, but that may be by design. What is known is that all teams have a strong knowledge of where their other teams are at all times, so if they cannot perform the job that is asked of them, they know where the people in the Guild are who can.Many of the smuggling rings in Port Aquila have used the Guild's services at one time or another. The Guild's teams excel at locating, setting up, and masking new sites, and reputedly are paid handsomely for it. The Combine has sought to use them, but thus far no contracts have been drawn up between the two organisations, primarily due to the amount of direct oversight the Combine requires. Once hired, the Guild tends to work without outside connection or input until the job is done. Smugglers such as the Pale League and Darriel's Blackholds actually prefer it that way, for the lack of contact with the location helps retain its secrecy. The Combine, however, has its bureaucracy to maintain, and any plan for building or expansion requires official representatives to be present at all times. The Prospectors Guild claims it uses "proprietary methods" to complete its contracts, so no one outside the Guild is allowed. The Combine refuses to concede this point, and thus has to rely on non-Guild independents to work for them. If the stories are accurate, the Combine once hired several groups of the independents to track the Guild's diggers, only to have one whole mining team return catatonic. No one else in the Combine's employ has been foolish enough to try.
Port Aquila - Aquillan Miner: Part prospectors, part tradesmen, part explorers, these individuals understand that their freedom is only won by their own hard work. Unafraid of the dangers of space, they stay afield longer than most, only coming back to a "civilised" establishment for supplies and to sell their finds. Many have tried to find a place within the Prospectors Guild, but have been rejected for one reason or another. Others have come to Port Aquila and stayed independent, and these have been known to sell their ability to locate suitable asteroids to establish bases to a less discerning clientele. The Combine reputedly keeps a cadre of some of the best freelancers in Port Aquila to find suitable nooks and crannies for its meetings. Whether working for the Combine or themselves, Aquillan miners are some of the toughest souls in the star system.
Port Aquila - Smuggling Rings: Smugglers have maintained a niche market here, and are probably some of the most resourceful captains and pilots in the system. Most of them work in the trade of items the Combine refuses to touch, in order to limit contact with what passes for the law. The emergence of Trademaster Whelk makes them a target, though, and that is bad for business. Most of the smuggling rings are local, and handle moving items within the system from one source to another for a reasonable fee. The vast majority of these groups are skilled enough to avoid detection, or are small enough to not warrant investigation or apprehension. Those with the ability to leave the system, however, are careful to kit out their voidships with hidden holds and airtight reasons to depart the system, in case the Combine or the Imperial Navy decides to stop and search them.Many of these Warp-capable rings have begun talk of banding together, but as yet have not generated any noticeable cohesion. The Pale League is a new arrival to the port, though no one can say where it comes from. While it may be a home-grown entity, it is more likely being funded from outside the system. The League operates in the Faceless Trade of forbidden goods, specifically in xenos artefacts and other illicit materials. Its members are seldom caught or spotted, and often leave traps behind for their pursuers to stumble through. This bears the mark of seasoned professionals rather than fresh amateurs, and it is this level of sophistication which has brought much outside attention. Askellon's many other syndicates, especially the Trade Sable centred on Desoleum, do not like competition, and through their agents has begun working with the Combine to help quash these rock-runners. To date, only one member of the League has been captured, and that one chose death rather than divulging information.Large or small, one thing is clear: the combination of Whelk and the Prospectors' Guild has created a problem for all smugglers. As a result, smaller groups often work together to eliminate Guild resources whenever they are found. Several exploration units have gone missing recently, and a surveying unit was found dead at its last known location, clearly victims of foul play. If rumours are true, the two attempts on Trademaster Whelk's life were also plots of local smugglers, though she has made quite a few other enemies in her time at the post.
Port Aquila - Shuttle Smuggler: With trafficking of illicit substances and trinkets on the rise, the need for discreet transportation is likewise growing. Though the accommodations leave much to be desired, shuttle smugglers can offer discretion and silence if paid enough. As they only work within the system, most of these pilots know the local environs as few others do. Regardless of the cargo, they can move it or know someone else who can. Aside from their ability to move largely unseen across the system, they are also extremely knowledgeable about the major Aquillan players -- with whom to work, and whom to avoid. Smugglers work with many types across the star system, and for solid compensation and some smooth talking they have been known to share their knowledge. Their bottom lines are profit and odds of survival -- anything else is a bonus.
Port Aquila - The Shadowed Factions: Aside from the individuals who come seeking fortune, there are a few other people who cling to the rocks of Port Aquila. The normal adventurers and treasure-seekers are common enough closer to the independent outposts and watering holes. Some of those with a penchant for risk-taking have formed a portable refuelling service called the Fyceline Flotilla, a sharp contrast to the Imperium's fees and regulations at the Pride of Askellon. The quality of their plasma fuel is sub-par, but for many on the wrong side of the law, it is the only way to keep their voidships running without making their presence known. Recently, some of their secret meeting places among the rocks have been compromised in a series of sneak attacks by the Combine, in an effort to curtail illegal activity not part of the Combine's grasp. Whether it has a mole in place or another way of detecting the lawbreakers is currently unknown.Though well-known through their recent inclusion in the Combine's governance, the House of Roth is not currently known to have any established facility within the system. This may be changing, as voidships bearing the Roth family crest have been spotted lurking in some of the darker areas of the asteroid field. Most of the areas they have scouted have been largely uninhabited and, thus far, the House of Roth has not begun any known construction. There have also been several reports of upheaval and violence at many of the way stations and trading holes, the perpetrators bearing a set of mysterious marks on their wrists. They call themselves Anointed, and disappear soon after the violence is over. Thus far, no deaths at their hands have been reported, but they leave behind them a wake of continual unrest that often lasts for solar weeks afterward.Of great concern to the Imperium's forces in the region are the growing rumours of Chaos Cult activity and an influx of new players in the Faceless Trade. Some of the independent explorers in the region have found multiple sites used in what appear to be blasphemous rituals. None of them seem to be related to each other, as the rituals all seem different, and no set of markings or messages left behind indicate a pattern, but all of them are gruesome. Several guildsmen at one site were driven mad at the sight of the human remains, and the arcane runes carved into the walls of the asteroid caverns at another site allegedly inspired a blood-soaked mutiny on one vessel. If the rumours are true, no less than fifty different cults could be operating within the belt, and that might only be the beginning of the problem. Thus far, some of the sects that have so far claimed responsibility include the bloodthirsty Disciples of Konos, the chem-worshipping Omnipresent Awe, and a techno-gang known as the Proselytes of Lud.
Port Aquila - Luminous Psyker: With psyker populations on the rise in Askellon, many of those captured for the tithes are always on the look for ways to escape. Those who do so often find their way frst of-world and then in Port Aquila, ready to leave via the Illuminated Pathway, a network of hiding holes and means to spirit the unsanctioned away to other sectors. Occasionally, some of these souls find a reason to stay and help those on the pathway in making their own connections to freedom. They are often very skilled in the use of their own abilities, but are still in many ways oblivious to the threat they actually represent. These dangerous people work the shadows and pay attention to the signs around them, able to locate others like them and help hide them until the connections can be made with Those Who Walk the Path, a shadowy group who collects those they deem worthy and leave the rest. Very few are turned away, but those who have been left behind are often found dead or declared missing. Calling themselves the Luminous, these psykers have turned their power to profit, generating enough from their efforts to maintain small hideouts among the rocks. What happens to the people they aid is unknown, for those freed are never seen again in Askellon.
Port Maw - Port Maw: Port Maw is an ancient artificial, xenos-constructed world that has been turned into one of the great harbours of the Imperial Navy by Human ingenuity.Located in ancient times at the very border of the Segmentum Obscurus and the Ultima Segmentum in what was then known as the Manachean Commonwealth, today Port Maw lies within the famed Gothic Sector of the Segmentum Obscurus and even has given its name to an entire sub-sector.Since its inception during the Great Crusade, Port Maw has always belonged to the Imperial Navy, or rather to the Armada Imperialis which preceded it.With the tactical need to establish second-line defence forces to protect the heavily industrialised and populated regions of the Manachean Commonwealth and the Cyclops Cluster Sub-sector, Port Maw was rapidly established as a great mustering and supply point for Imperial vessels heading to the Imperium's northern border.Over the millennia, Port Maw has grown into one of the biggest starports of the Imperium, being perhaps only surpassed by the great Segmentum Naval Bases of Bakka, Hydraphur, Kar Duniash and Mars itself.It still serves as the main port of attachment, segmentum fortress and headquarters of Battlefleet Gothic -- itself one of the Bastion Fleets -- while Segmentum Headquarters lies on Cypra Mundi. It is also at Port Maw that most of the reserve ships of Battlefleet Gothic are located, mothballed until events dictate their return to the frontlines.Through its proximity to the Eye of Terror and the need to defend the Cadian Gate, Port Maw is nearly perpetually on a war-footing, despatching relief convoys to the other Bastion Fleets stationed at Agripinaa and Belis Corona, patrolling along the edges of the Eye of Terror, answering countless planetary distress signals and generally trying to keep the forces of Chaos at bay.Through its long and glorious history, Port Maw has come under attack several times, most notoriously during the Horus Heresy era in the infamous Treachery at Port Maw Incident and far more recently during Abaddon the Despoiler's 12th Black Crusade, more commonly known as the Gothic War.
Port Maw - At Present: As part of the Imperium's defence measures around the Eye of Terror, apart from other means such as the creation of the Cadian Gate and the raising of the twenty Chapters of the Astartes Praeses, it was decided by the High Lords of Terra to considerably reinforce the sector and sub-sector fleets near to the Eye of Terror.As such, several of the nearest sub-sectors would harbour their own considerable warfleets to guard the Imperium's borders against those survivors of the Traitor Legions who had fled into the Eye after the Heresy.Although not directly under threat, Port Maw would play an important role in the defence of the Cadian Gate as the new seat and sector headquarters of the Battlefleet Gothic.Its works completed after several millennia of nearly constant toil, Port Maw was by now a fortress, its growing strategic importance having led to the annexation of the nearby world of Aestellica whose name is now all but forgotten.The entire sub-sector which consisted of the better part of the older Manachean Commonwealth now bore the name of Port Maw, a further testament, if such is needed, to the base's importance inside the Gothic Sector and even the wider Segmentum Obscurus.With Segmentum Headquarters established on Cypra Mundi, this placed Port Maw in second position of overall command within the Segmentum Obscurus.As the Imperial Navy chronically lacks the manpower to crew all of the vessels at its disposal, Port Maw also became the location where much of Battlefleet Gothic's reserves would be maintained until being called upon.This was further facilitated by the protection offered by Port Maw itself and the ever-expanding defences that now protected the naval base.Its position uncontested, Port Maw still remains the largest fortress and muster point of the entire Gothic Sector and has participated in almost every major conflict during the last ten millennia.On several occasions it has come under direct attack, most recently during the Gothic War and the 13th Black Crusade of Abaddon the Despoiler.Even though beleaguered and sometimes blockaded as by the famous Conqueror, once the flagship of the World Eaters Legion, during the Gothic War, Port Maw has never again fallen to the enemy since the dire days of the Horus Heresy.
Port Wander - Port Wander: Port Wander is a massive void station on the uttermost edge of the Drusus Marches Sub-sector of the Calixis Sector in the Rubycon II System, rightly regarded as the last bastion of the rule of the Emperor of Mankind this side of the Koronus Expanse and the last stop before entering that untamed region of the Halo Stars. A place of desperate hopes and vain dreams, Port Wander teems with a transitory population of traders, spies, merchant factors, pilgrims, and missionaries amongst which move Adeptus Administratum functionaries and minions of the Adeptus Mechanicus, all feeding on the riches that flow from the realms beyond the Warp Storms in the Koronus Expanse.All who travel into the Koronus Expanse share one common experience in that they pass Port Wander. Be they the pious bringing the Emperor's Light into the darkness beyond the Imperium or black-hearted monsters searching for the keys to forbidden dreams, many will stop in the last place where the rule of the Golden Throne keeps the horror and possibility of the unknown at bay.Port Wander was founded by the Imperial Navy in 917.M40 as a staging ground to investigate the loss of many vessels on the fringes of the Drusus Marches. With the discovery of the Koronus Passage into the Koronus Expanse region of the Halo Stars in the late 40th Millennium, the space station grew in importance owing to its close proximity to the Passage. Its original role as a base for Imperial military operations was slowly forgotten, and Port Wander became a way station for those daring passage into the Koronus Expanse. Merchants and mercenaries began to choke the once-deserted corridors of the station, and strangers shook the dust of distant stars from their boots while trading wondrous things from beyond the Great Warp Storms.
Port Wander - History: Standing sentry at the gates of the Maw, Port Wander is the last outpost of Imperial law and order on the far rimward side of the Calixis Sector. Located at the very fringes of the sector, Port Wander is often dismissed as a barely-lawful outpost, and never mentioned as one of the more impressive or honoured installations of the Imperial Navy and Battlefleet Calixis.Though technically a Navy station, Port Wander would not exist without the support and trade of various other Imperial Adepta, Chartist Captains, and Rogue Traders, a point that rankles many prideful naval officers. Those assigned there frequently view their posting as a punishment or an attempt by political enemies in the service to drydock their careers, and they typically serve with resentment bordering on bitterness. In addition, the station is filled with swaggering civilian captains, merchants fat of purse and jowl, and interfering factions of every sort, from supercilious Administratum functionaries to scheming Inquisitorial Acolytes. Port Wander is far more than a simple military base.Despite its poor (if well-deserved) reputation, however, Port Wander is one of the more important facilities of the Calixis Sector. It guards the entrance to a largely-unexplored section of space, rich with exploitable resources, powerful artefacts, lost souls to recover, and potentially unimaginable wealth. Also, though undisciplined when compared to a proper naval vessel, it is a veritable ideal of the Emperor's Law when compared to what lies beyond it.Here there is rightful law, though it is often tempered by gelt and influence. On the other side there is no law other than what can be enforced with Bolter and Lance. This void station is the last true outpost of both the Calixis Sector and the Emperor's Light. Beyond it there is only what law a captain imposes on his crew and his fiefdoms, or that which is imposed on him by cruel xenos or crueler fate.