Betalis III Campaign - Search for Arms and Armour: Even with thousands of Astra Militarum regiments in a constant state of readiness, the wheels of bureaucracy within the Departmento Munitorum grind woefully slowly. The order for the Hammer of the Emperor to strike may not be issued for solar weeks, months, or even standard years once a request for aid is first received as it makes its way through the seemingly endless chain of command.Those seeking assistance are therefore wise to look to their own defence in case they do not receive reinforcements in time or at all. Therefore, invoking his full powers as Consul Militant of the Betalis System, a position granted to him upon his return to active service, General Odon first issued a system-wide decree that all resources, both military and otherwise, were now part of the building war effort.Attached to this decree was notice that anyone who dared to object would be swiftly transferred to the ranks of the Adeptus Arbites penal battalion, charged as traitors for supporting the Aeldari cause.As the superior military force on the planet, the Cadian 6th Armoured Regiment would form the core of the army, but what the regiment delivered in terms of experience and ability it lacked in equipment.It was sorely in need of tanks and had only half of its usual complement available. The remainder had not yet been replaced after they were destroyed in the war against the Orks on Saras VII.The Cadia 6th Armoured Regiment's officers first scoured Betalis III for anything with tracks and armour they could use. All of Betalis III's heavy armour, what little there was of it, was immediately stripped from the Planetary Defence Force and added to that of the Cadian regiment, along with its squadrons of Malcador Infernus flamer tanks and Crassus armoured assault transports.General Odon's next action was to gain consensus from the system's Imperial Navy commander that all non-essential flights be grounded on the planet to protect what little air support he would have to call upon during the conflict.The Imperial Navy's small defensive air fleet was comprised of little more than a squadron of Marauder Destroyers and another of Thunderbolts, with the majority of its "civilian" craft being Arvus cargo shuttles and bulk transports.General Odon knew that the Craftworld Aeldari would first and foremost seek superiority in the skies before committing any ground troops. With little to match their craft in terms of speed or manoeuvrability, this would be a hard battle for the Betalis System fleet, but one it would participate in regardless.Then the general's staff turned their attention to the colonists of the Ice World. The planetary governor had been in the process of building up and training recruits to meet the planet's Departmento Munitorum manpower tithes. The recruits, men and women mostly drawn from the Planetary Defence Force and workers militia, had been given the temporary title of the 28th Betalis Rifles.They had virtually no equipment or heavy weapons, but had already undergone training with the Cadian 6th Armoured and were considered battle ready. General Odon gave the order for their reassignment.These near-raw recruits had little experience but he needed the manpower. If nothing else they would free up more experienced Guardsmen from garrison and security duties. Their commander, Colonel Empteda, was a capable and loyal officer who had achieved good results in training the conscripts, and General Odon saw no need to replace him.The search for troops also led directly to the cells of the Adeptus Arbites. The life of the common man of the Imperium is rarely an easy one. War and disease take all too many from the Emperor's light too soon and those who survive will likely endure such hardships that each day is a constant struggle with little reward or comfort other than what one can take, whether willingly or otherwise, from another.On Betalis III the descendants of the original colonists survived their grim existence with their ancestors' bitter hatred for their overseers bred deep into their psyche. With absolute control over their lives, the cartels' enforcers made sure there was little time between work shifts for them to dwell upon their discontentment.Still, tempers regularly ran high and even minor scuffles or disagreements frequently escalated into riots among the general populace, and the swift, harsh penalties dealt out for even the smallest infraction meant there was rarely a cell empty in the many Arbites compounds on the world.It was to these that the general's staff turned next, and each prisoner, regardless of his crime or sentence, was armed and given the chance to redeem himself.The final addition to the burgeoning defence force was the primary mining cartel family's personal guard. The absent cartel family's representative on the planet, Lord-steward Vlaar, was a practical man, who recognised that the sooner the Aeldari threat was removed from Betalis III, the quicker normal operations would resume.The cartel's personal guard consisted of a thousand troops granted for ceremonial duties and protection should the members if the noble mining family who owned the Administratum mandate ever visit. The guard looked smart on the parade ground and had their own squadrons of Leman Russ tanks and Chimeras, but like the Betalis 28th had never seen any combat action.The general's staff took them anyway. In return Lord-steward Vlaar lobbied for and, to the surprise of many of the rival cartel families' representatives, was given the rank of colonel.Having exhausted what Betalis III could offer, the general's staff then turned to other sources of manpower. Neighbouring Betalis IV, also now on high alert, was currently the staging point of the Vaust 14th Armoured Regiment. The Vaustian commander was ordered to turn control of the regiment over to the Cadians; theirs was the senior force and the needs of the Betalis System overrode his previous orders.The regiment comprised troops conscripted from Vaust's hive gangs and workers, and although they lacked the Cadians' tradition of service and sacrifice, the regiment was well-equipped with Chimeras and Leman Russ tanks.It also had a heavy tank company of ageing but fully-functional Macharius heavy battle tanks. These would be essential, especially as the Cadians had little in the way of truly heavy armament, just a few surviving battle-worn squadrons of Baneblades, Stormblades and ShadowswordsA flotilla of vessels used by the mining cartels had already been prepared for the regiment's immediate transfer when its young colonel, in command of the regiment through nothing but sheer fluke of birthright, sent his response.Although he sympathized with the predicament that General Odon faced, he would not deviate from his original orders until sector command sent new instructions. The Vaust 14th Armoured Regiment would stay on Betalis IV. A skirmish on some backwater planet was not part of the Vaustian colonel's current concerns.