vizn3r/warhammer40k-lore huggingface dataset:
Port Wander - The Footfall Affair: As the Imperial Navy's new Battlefleet Koronus' operations in the Koronus Expanse grow, its warships come into increasing conflict with those already there. Though these certainly include the Expanse's native inhabitants, there are those nominally affiliated with the Imperium -- such as more than a few Rogue Traders -- who find the Navy's presence disruptive to their plans.Amongst these individuals, one incident stands out as particularly infamous. A half-century ago, a pirate wolfpack began operating through the Maw. The pirates raided around Port Wander, then would flee with their loot through the Passage to Footfall, where they claimed two of the outer hab asteroids as their base. One of these marauders was actually a Rogue Trader who turned to piracy to supplement his meagre fortunes, and the powers of Footfall showed little interest in dislodging him.As the situation persisted, a coalition of brokerage houses and mercantile interests led by House Krin petitioned the Imperial Navy to take action and protect their interests. The newly promoted Admiral Nathaniel Horne (the current commanding officer of Battlefleet Koronus) agreed to aid them. However, instead of reinforcing the patrols around Port Wander, Horne took a direct action.A task force consisting of the Cruisers Gryphon, Sirius, and Gethsemane, escorted by a reinforced squadron of Frigates and Destroyers, travelled to Furibundus and attacked the pirates directly. The resulting battle quickly devolved into a confused melee, with Battlefleet Koronus warships dodging amongst the asteroids of Footfall while exchanging point-blank broadsides with pirates. Besides the pirate Rogue Trader, several other Rogue Traders and Free Captains found themselves drawn into the battle, often unsure just whose side they were on.Though the Gethsemane and Frigate Pride of Vaxenhide took heavy damage and the Cobra-class Destroyers X-11 and X-24 were lost, the Navy destroyed a dozen pirate vessels, shattered their habitat asteroids, and sent the scattered remnants fleeing deep into the Expanse. Other Rogue Traders including Aspyce Chorda and Elizabeth Orleans raised a flurry of protests against the Navy's "heavy-handed and barbaric actions," which the Imperial Adepta ignored, tacitly approving Horne's actions and giving him free reign for operations deeper into the Expanse. In the following years, many have speculated that this was the Admiral's goal all along.
Port Wander - Rubycon II System: Rubycon II is the star system that is home to Port Wander in the Drusus Marches. It is centred on a a bloated red star that is nearly a thousand times larger than Blessed Sol and burns a deep crimson. It is a dead system of two large gas giants whose pale surfaces flow with great typhoons that spread and die like bruises on flesh. These two planets are named the Ruby Brothers, and between the two worlds lies a wide and dense field of asteroids that may be the remains of a lesser sibling planet whose death occurred long ago.This broken string of asteroids is a common hiding place for those wishing to avoid Imperial notice, and has become a meeting place for agencies of ill repute who would still chance the Koronus Passage to the Expanse. Beyond the orbit of these two bloated twin planets is Port Wander itself, set amongst a clutch of asteroids, many of which have been converted into other installations, ship yards, housing units, research stations, repair docks, and storage facilities.Surrounded by vessels of all shapes and sizes, it glows with the lights of hundreds of beacons and tens of thousands of souls. Beyond this island of life are the comets, untold hundreds of thousands of chunks of ice and carbonaceous soot, each a glittering mote in the heavens. Finally there is the true void, still and serene except for the silent roar of mighty Plasma Drives as voidships pass in flight or in hope.
Port Wander - Port Wander Central Bastion: Though the entirety of Port Wander is technically the dominion of the Imperial Navy, their stronghold in this den of rogues and wanderers is the Command Bastion. It sits at the heart of the station, separated by code-sealed hatches, isolation bulkheads, and sentry weapons. Behind these defences are the staff and systems that keep Port Wander functioning and safe.
Port Wander - Command Deck: This cavernous room rises above the upper reaches of the superstructure, forming a grand deck house with dozens of consoles and displays, dimly lit and filled with the smoke of purification incense. The station weaponry is directed from here, along with other vital systems. Usually the centre is manned by junior officers unless there is a major docking or military operation ongoing.
Port Wander - Sensorium: One of the main spires reaching above the central axis of the station houses is Port Wander's Sensorium, in which vast Auspex displays watch over the movement of all vessels of interest throughout the area and voidships in dock, logging them when they arrive, and monitoring them until they leave.
Port Wander - Communications Stations: For those requiring in-system communications between ships and the port on commercial business, the Vox Centre Office will route messages as needed for a nominal fee, usually included with routine docking charges. For longer-range messages outside the system, the port's Astropathic Choir-Sanctum can provide psychic communications -- though since they are servants of the Imperial Navy, they may not give such requests priority without reciprocation in Thrones or favours.
Port Wander - Medicae: Port Wander has several top-notch medicae amenities for those who can afford premium care. For the rest, there are smaller back-room offices that provide more basic services, such as setting bones or staving off infections. Most visitors rely more on the care their own ships provide, while Imperial Naval personnel have official care facilities for their treatment. The Adeptus Ministorum operates a crude hospice to the rear of the port, where they tend to those with no other hope of care. Service is free to all, and often the last place many unfortunates spend their days.
Port Wander - Crew Quarters: All Imperial Naval personnel are quartered in the Central Bastion; from the commander's lavish quarters to the fetid bunkrooms for the lower ranks. Visiting Naval officers are quartered in fine cabins. Ratings and enginarium workers exist in huge barracks where dozens rest from the long day's labour in squalid conditions.
Port Wander - Barracks: Imperial Guardsmen are usually sequestered in these spartan quarters when their transport ships are in dock. Like most Naval installations, officers on both sides of the Aquila know the less the two intermix the better for everyone's health. Many Rogue Traders who employ fighting brigades as part of their ship's complement also use these facilities for their warriors, but grant them more leeway in travelling through the port.
Port Wander - The Stockade and Pressment Centres: Discipline for the crewmen on any Imperial Naval vessel is harsh, and violators of regulations are sent to the stockyards for sentencing, assuming summary judgements are not carried out on the spot. The kiss of the lash, gruelling days in the stockade or void-pillory, or even a swift round to the head are all punishments that can be meted out without trial for a myriad of crimes should the officer class see fit.Located next to the stockades, the pressment centres house those hapless souls who have been impressed into service either at the port or by a visiting ship in need of ratings. All voidships require untold bodies toiling in unending labour for them to function, and the pressmen do their best to fill these needs from wherever they can find warm bodies.For affairs of honour there is "The Circle," located not far from the stockades, where offended parties can settle disputes through trial by combat (or more frequently have their seconds fight for them). Crowds often gather as these are considered great sport (and free to boot), with numerous side-wagers conducted on everything from first blood to last punch (or strike if blades are used).
Port Wander - The Underdecks: There are many dark places throughout the void station, walled away by new constructions, powered only by flickering, half-exhausted lights and forgotten by almost all. These are the homes of the wretched refuse of the port, those who have escaped impressment or slavery, run from the law or debts, or simply fallen through the cracks of the station.Housed literally underneath the main decks, they rarely venture outside their lairs, unless in packs to pilfer food or other easily stolen items, only to vanish back into the depths of the dark tunnels when pursued. As the station builds more and more layers, older sections often lose power or airways are blocked, forcing the denizens of the Underdecks to move elsewhere in search of new dwellings. Clashes with other groups are a frequent result, or worse still clashes with "civilised" areas unprepared for such encounters out of the darkness.
Port Wander - Adeptus Arbites Precinct Complex: At the bottom of the Central Bastion, separated by Arbitrator-manned blast doors, the Adeptus Arbites watch and judge those who govern Port Wander. Here is where the servants of the Emperor's Law reside and His Law is faithfully adjudicated. Heavily fortified like all Arbites Precincts, it can withstand almost any assault if needed and will stand as the last bastion of the Imperium should the rest of the station fall. There is rumour that the Arbites also maintain a hidden asteroid precinct-fortress as well, which they will neither confirm nor deny.
Port Wander - Civilian Quarters: Port Wander has a population of roughly five million, and the majority of these people are civilians, all of whom must be housed within the port. From elaborate state rooms, simple berths, bunked quarters, or doss spaces near the outer hull all are available and all cost the local currency, Thrones. For those not choosing to live in the station there are of course their own ships, if they are moored within a short distance and accessible by shuttle.
Port Wander - Gilt Processionals: The Gilt Processionals are the vast and labyrinthine markets of Port Wander in which one can barter for strange and exotic wares or lose one's life to a thief's blade. The Gilt Processionals stretch for nearly a kilometre in a wide arc across the port, meandering between levels down wide holds that have long lost their original purpose, and twisting through cramped compartments thick with the scent of burning spices and heady narcotics. This ragged arc houses thousands of traders, whose stalls compete for space with criers hawking theirs dubious wares. Almost anything can be found in the Gilt Processionals if one has enough coin and knows who to ask.
Port Wander - Chamber of Gold: The Chamber of Gold is a great colonnaded chamber that opens off the Gilt Processionals. Here, beneath a painted ceiling showing Saint Drusus the Warrior, the Gelt Brokers and money changers do their business. Vast loans may be negotiated from the rich robed factors of House Krin, and treasure from strange worlds bartered into the currency of Throne Gelt. On brass walkways above the factors and their scribbling scribes stand plate-armoured guards, their weapons and eyes watching for any attempt to interfere with the business of the Chamber.
Port Wander - The Court of the Dead: The Court of the Dead is the largest of the open holds that make up the Gilt Processionals. Some three hundred metres across, it forms the heart of the Processionals. Along its sides sit clusters of stalls from which spiced food and drink can be bought, and amongst the thoroughfares the greatest of Rogue Traders may exchange crude jests and rumours with void-crazed pilgrims.In the centre of the Court of the Dead one can find letter writers, watch displays of swordsmanship, pay to have one's limbs or organs replaced with augmetics, and give coin for charts that claim to show passage to the untapped reaches of the Halo Stars. Above this swirling confusion of people, the faces of Rogue Traders stare down, etched into the metal of the ceiling and covered in precious gilt, each one the likeness of one who died seeking their desire beyond the Great Warp Storms and into the Expanse.
Port Wander - Gambling Dens: Most Rogue Traders are gamblers at heart, and it is only natural they would frequent such facilities while on the port. There are scores of basic games of chance to be had in almost any bar, but Rota Fortunae is the finest dedicated hall for gamblers of all types, from high rollers wagering thousands of Thrones to smaller types pushing single gelt coins at a time. The décor rises with the stakes, and the rooms in the rear are dedicated to exclusive, invitation-only games. Here entire fortunes may be lost or made, and even entire starships are wagered on the turn of a card.At the other end of the spectrum is Last Chance. It has no fixed location and it moves from place to place each night, with games where the stakes are not always measured in mere Thrones. The regulars know where to look for it based on word of mouth and hidden runes left by the enigmatic operators. For novices who stumble across it or rollers desperate to try their luck, it may be their last chance indeed.
Port Wander - Taverns: It is not surprising that a station as large as Port Wander has numerous places to purchase food and drink. The station's taverns run a brisk business, both as public meeting houses and as places to grab a hot meal.The Blind Eye - This small-but-popular tavern lies near the station's sunward shuttle bays, frequented by void travellers looking to do business. Many Rogue Traders use it as a meeting place for recruiting new comrades for their next voyage, especially those with prior experience in the Expanse.Bloodstone - A much more dangerous place, the Bloodstone is a lowdecks tavern that lies off the Gilt Processional and is uncomfortably close to some of the passages leading to the station's Black Holds. Only the toughest will ever gain the respect of the regulars; those who do not will rarely survive their second visit. To become regarded as a regular here is a mark of true respect among the scummers and heavies in the port.Voidfarer’s Rest - A larger tavern near the Basilica, frequented by Navy officers. Operated by an ex-Navyman, it is covered with military decorations and battle prayers inscribed on yellowed parchment. By custom, the senior captains and command crew remain away from the place, and the mid and lower officers see it as somewhere to relax away from the pressures of the service. Civilian captains and their officers are exempt from the custom however, and friendly rivalries have resulted in some legendary brawls, leaving most with bruises, but also new drinking companions.
Port Wander - Places of Faith and Devotion: Faith is the essence of the Imperium, and on the edge of the unknown faith in the God-Emperor is one's strongest shield against what waits beyond. Pilgrims on fool's quests, Crusaders, Missionaries, and fanatics are drawn to Port Wander like predators to a bleeding wound. The Port is thick with Imperial Cult shrines and chapels tucked away in dead spaces, tended by ragged flocks who murmur prayers and light candles for hope. In the Central Bastion the formal cathedral echoes with entreaties of protection for those lost on the Sea of Souls.The Ecclesiarchy chaplains and ministers who watch over the port's spiritual level are zealous in their task, for each day they see the signs of xenos corruption brought back from the dark places. Many believe the Emperor sealed off the Koronus Expanse for a reason, and any who would defy His actions are Heretics who deserve the pyre. Others view the Expanse as an opportunity to reclaim untold numbers of lost souls, and eagerly await their chance to make the journey. Internecine clashes between these and other differing views amongst the Ministorum are usually kept away from others, but outbreaks on holy days do occur where only the Arbitrators' truncheons can restore calm.
Port Wander - Solstice Imperialis: The Solstice Imperialis is a derelict pilgrim ship that once ferried pilgrims to the station for many years, until their Plasma Drive failed to ignite. Despite the catastrophic implosion, no one was injured and the pilgrims took it as a sign of the Emperor's grace. Over time the vessel was worked into the fabric of Port Wander itself and is now given over to chapels and sanctuaries of a hundred different branches of the Imperial Creed. Missionaries wishing to recruit militias of the faithful to accompany them beyond the Great Warp Storms often come to the Solstice to find strong souls willing to follow their faith beyond the circle of Imperial rule.
Port Wander - Void Docks: Numerous docking ports line the edges of the void station, managing the off-loading of hundreds of ships, from small inter-system ships to gigantic mass conveyors. The docks are also where most minor overhaul work and replenishments occur as ships take on all manner of provisions. Here, overworked Administratum Adepts are also charged with checking cargo, levying tariffs, and detecting contraband and proscribed goods; though as any smuggler will tell you, they are far from universally successful. A purse of Thrones works wonders in removing any bothersome questions amongst the dock officials.
Port Wander - Shuttle Traffic: Port Wander has shuttle bays located in roughly equidistant notches around the station. Given the multitude of voidships nearby, there is constant traffic into them. While most craft are dedicated to a starship or are Imperial Naval vessels, there are many for hire when short hops are needed. Some clans of shuttle pilots have been operating the same shuttles or lighters for generations, passing the ships from parent to child.
Port Wander - Repair Yards: Port Wander has extensive repair yards located underneath the station where skilled void wrights can rectify damages caused by combat or accident. The station's repair facilities are varied -- smaller ships such as transports and Frigates can be worked on in cavernous, yawning zero-gee spacedocks that can be sealed against the void. For larger craft, there are yards on nearby asteroids that can accommodate even the vast bulk of the largest Imperial Battleships and mass conveyors.
Port Wander - Resupplying in Port Wander: For captains looking to fill their empty stores, Port Wander is a welcome sight. The merchant provenders of the station can usually supply whatever may be needed provided the captain has money. Weapons, ammunition, shuttle fuel, Promethium, food, water, apothecarium supplies, Servitors, and more flow constantly out of Port Wander in exchange for Throne, Gelt or bartered goods from the Halo Stars: thus is the wealth of Port Wander maintained by this simple exchange.
Port Wander - Halls of the Mechanicus: The Halls of the Adeptus Mechanicus occupy a large, blister-like extrusion of metal and sensor spines at the base of the station. Here is where the Tech-priests conduct research into the strange objects brought out of the Koronus Expanse, and monitor the data sent from their many stations scattered throughout the star system, only some of which are known to the Navy.The cavernous interior also hosts the altar to the Machine God, where hundreds of priests chant in binary rhythm with the station's cyclic bass rumbling. The Main Enginarium is located not far from the Mechanicus Hall, and its enormous Plasma Reactors provide power for the station's various systems, station-keeping thrusters, weapons systems, shielding, life support, and more. Extensive backup systems are in place in case of emergencies. With so many demands on its limited capabilities, however, large power drains such as Void Shield activations cause lights to dim across the port.
Port Wander - Around Port Wander: The space around Port Wander is filled with a clutch of asteroids that share its stable orbit. Nowhere near as large as the asteroid belt that girds the Rubycon II System, the asteroids have been extensively mined and developed since Port Wander's founding. Some of the larger asteroids have been converted almost entirely into vast shipyards and drydocks, while others have been converted into habs, low-gee farms, foundry stations, refineries, and sustenance processors. The population of all these asteroids is roughly equal to that of Port Wander, though spread out over a much wider area. Some of the more notable stations and asteroids include:S/914 R IX - This asteroid-turned-repair yard and its attending hab-stations are largely left unbothered by Imperial authority. Led by Foremistress Rhaelee Mahvorn III, the yard has a reputation for reliable and fast repairs with no questions. However, the yard does not suffer those who cannot (or will not) pay their debts, and are rumoured to have contacts among some of the pirate vessels that drift out-system.B/017 C III - The largest shipyard in the system, B/017 is a gigantic Gothic-tiered scaffolding almost twelve kilometres long, designed to house all but the very largest Imperial warships and mass conveyors. It is controlled jointly by the Imperial Navy and House Krin, and its clients are a mix of military and civilian vessels. Although there is little new voidship construction in the Port Wander system, B/017 does turn out a new heavy transport every half-century or so.Hab 21 - Amongst the numerous drifting hab stations around the port, Hab 21 is far more infamous than its modest 500-metre size would suggest. The small station is a critical node in one of the infamous "Cold Trade" smuggling operations in xenos artefacts from the Expanse, and a steady stream of unregistered shuttles constantly enter and depart its docking bays.The Bounty Ring - A chain of mined-out asteroids turned low-gee farms, the Bounty Ring provides half the foodstuffs for Port Wander and the surrounding space. All aboard the station recognise just how important the Bounty Ring is to Port Wander's existence, and the Imperial Navy keeps an intrasystem Defence Monitor and two orbital weapons platforms on station at all times.
Port Wander - Station Defences: As it is a fairly isolated space station on the edge of the Calixis Sector, Port Wander must be able to defend itself. In this regard, the station is quite capable. Batteries of Macrocannons dot the outer edges of the station. Interspaced between them are Multi-Laser, Autocannon, and Vulcan Mega Bolter turrets for point defence and ordinance suppression. The station's main offensive weapons are the dorsal and keel long-range Lance batteries in the Central Bastion. In addition, the station has a dozen orbital weapons platforms in close attendance. Together, Port Wander's defences rival the firepower of an Imperial Navy Cruiser squadron.For offensive operations in the Rubycon II System, Port Wander maintains five Defence Monitors -- slow but heavily-armed intra-system vessels -- and the starfighter and bomber squadrons of Vanguard Wing. Although under-strength compared to most Imperial Navy wings, Vanguard considers itself an elite formation, with good reason. Fighters and bombers can operate where larger ships cannot, such as Rubycon II's dense asteroid belt, and the Furies and Starhawks of Vanguard Wing have launched many vicious (and successful) attacks against pirate vessels since the Imperial Navy returned to Port Wander.
Port Wander - Ruling Factions: Port Wander is a domain of the Imperium of Man ruled in the name of the Emperor of Mankind and divided by the desires and ambitions of His servants. Port Wander was originally built by the Imperial Navy and technically remains in their control to this day. However, as Port Wander grew fat on the riches of Rogue Traders, wanderers and explorers returning from beyond the Great Warp Storms, other parties took interest in the station and its governance, and its rule is now a complex interplay between factions whose interests intersect and conflict in an ever-shifting web of power. These battles for dominance are commonly waged with deceit, lies, and diplomacy, but sometimes descend into assassination and sabotage.
Port Wander - Battlefleet Calixis: The Imperial Navy's Battlefleet Calixis has formal primary authority over Port Wander. Without their guns and warships Port Wander would likely not exist today as anything more than a drifting shell or Ork-infested wreck. They have the means to destroy ships, enforce embargo and quarantines, and (potentially) bar the Koronus Passage to a vessel.These powers are theirs by virtue of the Imperial Navy's duty in the Calixis Sector to protect the domains of the Emperor of Mankind. These are powers that they must exercise cautiously, however, lest they risk antagonising other influential factions in Port Wander. As powerful as the Imperial Navy is, its officers and men are by no means beyond the reach of other Imperial factions.
Port Wander - The Adeptus Mechanicus: The Adeptus Mechanicus are the guardians and maintainers of the secrets of technology within the realm of Mankind. Without the Tech-priests and their arcane lore, Port Wander would soon become lifeless, defenceless, and blind. It is by the knowledge and consent of the Mechanicus that the voidships that flock to the station are repaired and the spirits of their machines calmed.Their shrines anoint the port in mysterious sectors, unremarkable except to those who know the secret histories of the station and its hidden mechanical pathways. Their presence is always in demand to offer consecrations to newly-repaired vessels, and for binary prayers as the ships depart for the Maw. They operate the huge Auspex arrays located below the port, monitoring the Maw's relative calmness and surrounding Warp Storms, the better to advise the captains who would make that passage. They are the foundation for all operations in Port Wander.For their part, the Tech-priests have a great interest in the station, as it functions as a staging point for Mechanicus Explorator expeditions into the Halo Stars. It also keeps keen watches over the artefacts brought out of the Koronus Expanse by Rogue Traders, its eye ever searching for prohibited technologies or sacred relics of the lost past. The Xenos Biologis and Technologis factions often engage in a conflict hidden from all not privy to the aetheric communication networks between Tech-priests, with data blasts and canted logic accusations wielded as violently as swords in their desire for first examination of all recovered items.
Port Wander - Merchant Cartels and Gelt Brokers: Representatives and factors of the merchant cartels, gelt brokers and great trade houses of the Calixis Sector swarm to Port Wander like ravenous predators. The flow of wealth and goods of all variety is controlled by them, and they have the ability and will to bankrupt nobles and strangle enterprises.It is to these keen-eyed factors that treasures from beyond the Great Warp Storms may be sold, and from cunning provender merchants that a Rogue Trader's supplies are purchased. Of all the factions of Port Wander, this loose grouping of cartels and merchants is the most internally fractured and the most dangerously unstable; their disposition is constantly uncertain and the limits of their greed and spite are hard to gauge.
Port Wander - Navis Nobilite: The Navis Nobilite hold the keys to the stars: it is only with their consent and complicity that any can venture from Port Wander into the Koronus Expanse. Without the Navigators' third eye -- their ability to see and navigate the tides and currents of the Warp -- there could be no exploration of unknown regions such as the Koronus Expanse, and so it is that Port Wander (and all drawn to it) depends on the noble families of Navigators for its continued existence.For their part, the Navigators are little concerned with controlling Port Wander, but the station is a battle ground for clan struggles: exploration into the Koronus Expanse offers priceless insight into the process of navigating uncharted space. As Port Wander is the gateway to the Expanse, many Navigator Houses see a dominant presence in the station as vital in securing contracts to explore the unknown.This knowledge improves the fortunes of a Navigator House, especially if a route leads to a valuable world or is later designated for an Imperial Crusade or colonisation. In such cases, the exclusive knowledge of a route and the skill of the house's Navigators to steer it mean that they can command a fortune in bonds from the Imperial Navy or Merchant Cartels.
Port Wander - Celebrations and Feasts: In many ways Port Wander operates like its own city, and over the many years of existence has adopted its own unique holidays to accompany the standard Imperial and Calixian dates. These include:Feast of the Alignment - This marks the date the Imperial Navy regained control of the station. It is a grand holiday for Naval personnel, with double rations and amasec for the ratings as well as a huge feast for the officers. Unsurprisingly, the civilian population does not celebrate it with the same fervour.Salvation Day - A celebration to mark the end of the siege from WAAAGH! Gulgrog, who surrounded the port with a huge fleet in 422.M41. Unlike many of the other festival days, it is marked with some degree of acrimony as many of the Rogue Trader fleets refused to come to the port's aid in those dark times, finding it more profitable to stay out of the conflict or request impossible fees for their efforts. The vile Greenskins had almost brought the station to collapse with constant bombardment and Fighta-Bommer attacks until the valiant Imperial Navy came to the rescue. It is common for many a toast to be raised to Battlefleet Calixis on this day, and for many a drink to be poured on the floor at the mention of any of the Rogue Traders who demonstrated their true colours during the conflict.Discovery Day - A somewhat fanciful holiday "honouring" Rogue Trader Vivaldi Jontur's "discovery" of the Rubycon II System. It is celebrated in a humorous fashion mostly by the station's civilians, who spend the day searching for lost items or cleverly hiding things from their friends. On occasion, however, this has been used as a cover to steal valuables with the thieves claiming they "were only celebrating" should they be caught.Comet Fall- This happens whenever a comet comes near the station. Though it is probably stripped of most of its ice by that time, there is still plenty to be harvested if it is large enough. Most of the comet miners gather at the port for a collective effort, and indulge in friendly rivalries to see which clans can mine the most water before the remains drift too far from the station. Days of hard work take place, with much feasting and camaraderie to follow, and additional water rations are available throughout the port in the weeks thereafter.Opening of the Maw - This day of feasting celebrates the successful return of Purity Lathimon from the Koronus Expanse, opening the way for reliable passage through the Maw. This is often celebrated by feasting, though other, more sinister excesses are also prevalent. It has become a matter of honour for some nobility to provide the most exotic delicacies or darkest indulgences from the distant corners of the Expanse, resulting in an influx of smuggling in the weeks before.
Port Wander - Crime and Punishment on Port Wander: Despite this awkward mish-mash of squabbling officials, mercenary security forces, and roving packs of armsmen from Rogue Trader and Free Captain ships who tend to keep the peace in the civilian docks, Port Wander is generally a safe and lawful place. The laws, when actually applied, are a strange mix of laws from the Imperial Navy and the Arbites, with a healthy dose of obfuscation and legal loopholes generated by nearly every Rogue Trader dynasty and merchant house with a controlling interest in the station.Much of the crime aboard Port Wander is property crime, theft, vandalism, and the like, with a constant stream of kidnapping, public drunkenness, brawling, and murder. There is also a large underground economy based on the trade of stolen goods, proscribed artefacts, and other ill-gotten gains from the constant stream of pirates and smugglers that put in to refit and give their men liberty.Punishments tend to follow more Naval traditions, with a particular emphasis on flogging, imprisonment, and summary executions. One particularly unique punishment meted out on Port Wander is "spacing," or execution by being blown out of an airlock without a voidsuit. Spacing is typically reserved for heinous crimes against Naval materiel or personnel, or sabotage of or damage to any of the numerous infrastructural systems aboard the great space station.Another exceedingly brutal punishment on Port Wander is being "flogged 'round the fleet." Typically handed down to Naval personnel, but not unknown amongst civilian and Rogue Trader fleets, a sentence of being flogged 'round the fleet involves a sentence of hundreds of lashes. The convicted is lashed to a whipping frame, bundled into a shuttle with an Imperial Priest, a chirurgeon, and someone to administer the punishment like a boatswain's mate or a Naval Commissar, and flown to each of the ships in the fleet currently in port.At each ship, the convicted is debarked and, as the ship's officers and a large portion of her men are assembled to witness punishment, he is administered a number of his lashes while the Priest recites the convict's crimes and prays over him. This continues at each ship until the convicted receives all his lashings -- with the chirurgeon stepping in only to keep him alive so that he may endure his complete punishment.In fact, it is not uncommon for the convicted to die despite the chirurgeon's best efforts. Being flogged 'round the fleet is, again, more punitive than rehabilitative and is designed to make a public example out of the convicted more than anything. It is also, in many cases, a death sentence.
Port Wander - A Hive of Scum and Villainy: Port Wander supports a thriving underclass of criminal activity. This ranges from pirate raiders that drift in the outer cometary clouds, to smugglers, thieves, brokers and murderers that infect the station itself. Smuggling is a common crime; most captains cannot resist an opportunity to supplement their income by hauling some additional, illegal cargo. Smuggling is so common that many intersystem ships or transport shuttles contain hidden stowage spaces for that very purpose. Many of the shuttle clans are known for making a tidy profit as go-betweens for larger vessels returning from the Halo Stars and brokers aboard the station.There are also larger smuggling networks, with Warp-capable vessels, intrasystem ships, and even hidden asteroid bases. The infamous "Cold Trade" of xenos artefacts runs through Port Wander, and it is not the only smuggling venture in the Rubycon II System. The Calixis Battlefleet would have to station at least a quarter of its starships at Port Wander to even put a dent in the smuggling, something the Imperial Navy has little interest in doing.Pirates also infest the system, attracted to the rich bounties being harvested from the Koronus Expanse and the heavily-laden vessels supplying the system. A common tactic is to attack transports as they translate from the Warp into realspace or lure them with false distress calls. Many merchant vessels approaching the system operate in fleets in an attempt to stave them off, but with little success.Xenos raiders are also a threat, though major attacks have been rare in recent decades. Be they human or alien, pirates are ruthless and generally leave no survivors. Captured ships are either stripped for parts, refitted and re-crewed as prize vessels, or left to drift and die without power.
Portal (Necron) - Portal (Necron): A Portal is a Necron starship weapon system that is mounted on Cairn-class Tomb Ships, Scythe-class Harvest Ships, and Jackal-class Raiders.Portals are vast stone gateways located within a Necron warship that act as extradimensional conduits for boarding enemy vessels.More precise than conventional Imperial teleport technology, they are most commonly used to flood enemy starships with a relentless host of Necron Warriors and swarms of Canoptek Scarabs.
Positional Relay - Positional Relay: A Positional Relay is a sophisticated T'au device that actively records detailed battlefield data before relaying it in a tight-band, encrypted burst to T'au assets in orbit, allowing them to better coordinate forces operating in strategic reserve.The Positional Relay is a T'au Battlesuit Support System available to most forms of Battlesuit. Whilst the Positional Relay system is now a commonly available Support System for use, when first introduced, it was special-issue and entrusted only to Battlesuit pilots of the rank of Shas'vre or higher.The previous rarity of the system also meant that its distribution was originally limited to only one per Hunter Cadre, although this has since changed.
Possessed - The Daemon Without: The true origin of Possessed Chaos Space Marines within the history of the Imperium remains murky at best to Imperial scholars, and information remains scarce within the domain of the Emperor. On a single piece of parchment crafted from human skin, which can be found only in a forgotten library within the Eye of Terror, the foul, heretical words are written in blood.This same parchment explains how Daemon forms materialised within the bodies of a band of Word Bearers -- the so-called Gal Vorbak -- yet their acts and deeds are lost amidst ten thousand years of bloody warfare. Likewise, a single venerated bronze plaque deep within the sacred halls of the Adeptus Custodes, which is tended to by auto-cantillating Servo-skulls, tells of noble warriors who fell to these same Daemon-possessed Traitors within the dark days of the Heresy. These are the earliest fragments of knowledge that concern the first Possessed Chaos Space Marines in Imperial records. But their heinous deeds soon became all-too familiar.One of the first recorded incidents of the raw potential for violence of the Possessed occurred on Ptolemax XI. In 674.M31, a Night Lords warband veered out of the Eye of Terror to raid the city's treasury and reclaim the treasured Black Claw, an artefact of the Night Lords Legion. Among the warband, eight Possessed in particular fought with a ferocity and rabid violence hitherto unseen in the sub-sector, let alone the planet.With the Possessed at the front of the attack, the Night Lords punctured the city's defences with raw daemonic fury. The Possessed smelled out the planet's governor, Ang Mantral. Ransacking his mansion, it was those eight warriors who slaughtered all of his bodyguards and administrative menials.With fevered delight, the Possessed seized the Black Claw and the Night Lords vanished into the Eye of Terror once more. Only bodies and nerve-shredded menials were left in their wake, and Ang Mantral's skinless corpse stood in place of the Imperial banner.Later, raids including bands of the Possessed became more frequent. By the middle of the 32nd Millennium, there was scarcely a star system that did not suffer the brunt of Warp-borne Chaos incursions that featured the Possessed.
Possessed - The Daemon's Grip Tightens: As the Ruinous Powers seduced more Heretic Astartes into offering themselves as hosts for Daemons, the Possessed became firmly established among the Chaos warbands and Traitor Legions. Their depraved and loathsome acts grew to become frequent sights across the galaxy.The Possessed soon stood at the very front of each Chaos assault. With their Daemon-enhanced senses, they navigated the violent tides of the Immaterium, guiding Chaos fleets out into the mortal realm to embark upon reigns of terror. At the deformed hands of the Possessed, the structures and settlements of the Imperium suffered greatly, and their foul deeds have become infamous.During the events of the 5th Black Crusade, while the Imperial forces battled against Abaddon's relentless assault, a Flawless Host warband led by squads of Possessed tormented the Agri-worlds of Galvan II and IV. Not only did they smash their way through Imperial defence emplacements -- woefully undermanned as Abaddon's forces kept reinforcements from reaching the beleaguered worlds -- but they went on to massacre the populations of several cities in a horrifically violent fashion.They raided temples and sacred shrines, leaving with powerful artifacts requested of them by Abaddon. Not satisfied with their haul, before the Flawless Host exited the planet’s orbit, they destroyed its shipyards and major manufactorums, delivering a critical blow to the Imperium during a dark hour.During 982.M41, in the shrine slums of St. Harrod, an enormous horde of the Crimson Slaughter Possessed spread great devastation. The Daemonkin came from out of a dawn sky with no warning, great winged, rib-horned and betentacled monstrosities clad in crimson ceramite. The reshaped creatures proceeded to pillage the cities' temples, committing acts of violence with lustful savagery.Members of the Ecclesiarchy were slaughtered in the cathedral-lined streets. Senior Adeptus Ministorum Priests were impaled on sky-puncturing spires. Others simply fell to their knees and babbled litanies of faith; they were swiftly beheaded by monstrous claws, the expressions on their rolling heads forever agog at the horror before them. The horror of these events was accentuated by the tendrils of the Immaterium that leaked through in the wake of the Crimson Slaughter's attack; manifesting around the corpses of the slain and causing their blood to drip upwards like a red rain in reverse.It is worthy of note that the Possessed are involved in a disproportionately large number of atrocities involving the Ecclesiarchy. Some suggest that so powerful is the devotion of the Possessed to the Ruinous Powers, that their anger is focused on those most likely to speak against their foul gods.
Possessed - Vessels of Chaos: Along with unnatural and debased augmentations, a Possessed gains heightened senses. As a consequence of its enhanced perception, it is able to track its prey across ashen wastelands or through toxic swamps. When one finally gets close to its prey, be that in the front line of battle or a stealthy assault deep behind enemy lines, the Possessed unleashes the full force of the Daemon within.Any weapons that the Chaos Space Marine once carried have long been discarded, for a Possessed has little need for conventional tools of destruction. A Possessed stands ready to rip its foes limb from limb with newly sprouted claws and barbed appendages.The forms of the Possessed are boundless, but the mutations they undergo are not limited to their physical forms. Their former personalities are also subsumed, giving rise to increasingly inhuman behaviours. Whatever sentience the Chaos Space Marine displayed before possession by a Warp entity -- whoever strode into battle with his Bolter roaring -- is forever lost to the Immaterium, for his entire mind has been surrendered to a Daemon. Only a dark echo of their original essence remains.Those Heretic Astartes who were of a more devout nature end up slaughtering their foes whilst screaming the names of their gods. These Possessed are relentless hunters, roaming ahead of their Traitor brethren. When they kill, such is their devotion to the Ruinous Powers that their victims are often arranged into ritually significant contortions, or have heretical runes carved into bloodied foreheads, the Possessed chanting debased litanies all the while.Chaos Space Marines who were sadistic killers in their previous existence are transformed into frenzied and uncontrollable slaughterers. They fight with wild abandon, gleefully carving wide bloody paths through advancing infantry, delighting in the carnage they bring.After they have been bonded with a Daemon, the Possessed will still march to war clad in the same colours as the warband or Legion in which they previously fought. They can often be found fighting alongside others of their Possessed kin. It is thought that this is simply because such formations of Chaos Space Marines are more effective in battle, or perhaps they share some bestial pack mentality.
Possessed - Enduring The Mortal Realm: Daemons are only able to exist in the material realm for a short time, unless they are bound to a mortal host. While a Daemon might be able to terrorise a city or even a world while bound within a human host, a Chaos Space Marine provides a Daemon with the means to endure indefinitely outside of the Warp, inhabiting the body of a peerless, transhuman killer with the means to cause immense damage across numerous Imperial worlds.Therefore a Chaos Space Marine is a highly-prized vessel for the horrors of the Warp. These warriors prove to be hardy hosts, and can endure mutation and torment that would easily tear apart the weak flesh of an unworthy Chaos Cultist.To harbour a Daemon within, a Heretic Astartes must prove their unflinching loyalty to the Chaos Gods. Yet service alone is not enough to warrant possession. The destruction of flesh and souls are quotidian acts, and duly expected of any individual in the service of the Ruinous Powers. Therefore, the journey to possession by a Daemon requires a Chaos Space Marine to commit to a specific sequence of actions. It culminates in a debased act conducted by either a Sorcerer or Dark Apostle.
Possessed - Daemon Banished: It is not unknown for a Daemon to be banished from the mutated form of the Chaos Space Marine. The reasons for this are always unclear, but it is seldom long that such a prized vehicle for carnage stands empty.When a Daemon is banished, other creatures from the Warp jostle to occupy the former Possessed. The strongest Daemon burrows into the Heretic Astartes' physical form and reshapes his flesh in hideous new ways. There is nothing that the Chaos Space Marine can do to influence this.All the while, his mind howls with the pain of the new possession. His skin shudders as a new Daemon's grip closes once again on his form. But these are pains to be relished rather than just endured, for the Possessed knows his form is becoming faster and stronger, gaining sharper senses still.On rare occasions, a Possessed Space Marine may be void of a Daemon for a sustained period of time. Whether this is because they have not caused enough mayhem to satisfy their patron gods, or for some other reason, remains a mystery. Once empty of a Daemon, though, a Daemonkin becomes a husk of his former self, weaker in battle and craving to be a vector for the power of the Chaos Gods once again. Some have been known to re-attempt their original rituals and continue to stray throughout the galaxy in search of ways to bring back their former powers.
Possessed - Possessed Chaos Champions: Perhaps the most potent forms of the Possessed are those rare few Champions of Chaos who seek to prove their ultimate devotion to Chaos by allowing their forms to be possessed by one of the entities of the Warp.These individuals enjoy a much more symbiotic relationship with their possessing Daemon rather than one of brutal subservience and are the present-day equivalents of the ancient Gal Vorbak of the Word Bearers Legion, the first of the Space Marines to be possessed by daemonic entities.
Possessed - Greater Possessed: Those warriors who commit the most notable acts of monstrosity attract the attention of more powerful beings still -- those named as Heralds by the Dark Gods. Towering over even their fearsome kin, Greater Possessed are not only stronger and far more savage, but radiate an unholy charisma that even pure creatures of the Warp recognise.Fellow Daemonkin look upon these deformed champions with great reverence, for they are living proof of the ultimate ascension that awaits them all. With gigantic pincer-claws and scythe-like talons of twisted bone, these malformed abominations slash and tear their prey apart, delighting in the gory carnage they wreak.Both mortal and daemonic warriors are driven to an exultant frenzy when they fight alongside the Greater Possessed, desperate to claim such eternal honour for themselves with a worthy display of brutality.