Hi everyone,
This is the second version of the first part of my fan-made codex.
Like last time, I hope you review and give me feedback about the Federation. I want this to be as believable as possible within the context of the 40k universe.
Thanks, and enjoy.
When I first looked upon this galaxy, I only saw suffering, corruption ignorance, and fear. Those standing before me this day know that we must end the old ways and replace it with a new order, ours. We tried diplomacy, but the races of this galaxy only desire conflict. And so, with an irrefutable sense of duty, we must fight back against the darkness! We come from all walks of life, nobles, peasants, intellectuals, businessmen, but we are united in our cause to bring light to the Milky Way once again. In the name of wisdom, courage, and liberty, go forth, soldiers of the Federation!
-President Alexander
On the southeastern edge of the Imperium, a large solar system struggles against all odds, hardened by constant conflict and with unflinching faith in its goal. Driven by the dream of having a fair and democratic government, the Gaean Federation (more commonly known as the Federation) plans to one day create a government of all sentient races so as to eliminate war, poverty, and all forms of suffering. In bitter irony, this upstart empire has created a highly efficient, dynamic fighting force, and over time has evolved to become similar to the very government it hates. While ground troops are small in number, they compensate with extensive experience and efficient technology capable of dispatching the most numerous and toughest of opponents. But their greatest strength is the Federal navy. Ship for ship, the Federation has the best vessels and most skilled personnel in the galaxy, capable of easily maintaining space and air superiority against the largest of fleets while raining death on enemies below.
Many of the Federation's enemies initially scoff at the small size of their armies, only to be bombarded by an endless torrent of red matter and seismic shells from orbit. With no hope of escape, foes quickly surrender after the shelling begins. Even if they lose, Federal citizens and soldiers alike have learned to be incredibly resilient, bouncing back from the most crippling defeats. To their warriors, every piece of land is sacred, and most would rather die than see themselves give an inch. Even civilians will rise from their houses to defend their homeland, risking annihilation. Due to this, the Federation is considered an empire that is best left alone, as they have survived countless extermination attempts, three Whaaaaaaags!, and destroyed a portion of a hive fleet. No matter the numbers, attackers respect the fanatical soldiers of the Federation.
Territorial Expansion
The Federation's ultimate dream is to unite all sentient life in the galaxy under one government, but its people realize this may be an unobtainable goal. Since every single citizen is a valuable asset in its minuscule empire compared to every other species in the galaxy, expansion is slow so as to make sure everything is ready before colonists are sent. Every life lost due to poor planning is a major cost. An entire battle fleet is usually deployed with a million colonists, scientists, and engineers to ensure that the operation is successful. Using upgraded Imperial technology and traded (or stolen) Tau terraforming devices, it could take up to a century to create a thriving colony planet. However, many of these colonies are subject to offensives from neighboring empires before the terraforming process is complete, and scores of worlds have had to been colonized two or three times. As a result, the Federation chooses mostly to continue developing the many moons, asteroids, and less habitable worlds in its original solar system. Those planets in neighboring clusters have learned to remain in a total war stance, with massive underground cities and fortresses which can sustain orbital bombardment and hold out for decades. But as living conditions improve and technology slowly crawls out of the abysmal level of Imperial machine worship, population growth rate is increasing by the day, so that more worlds may be liberated by the Federal troops.
Out of the Darkness
Federal history is a mircochasm of humanity, as it is one of bloodshed in the name of a higher ideal. And no other person represents that more than the founder, President Alexander. With promises of a better tomorrow, he led a group of backwater worlds into becoming an empire.
In 528.M39, a black hole suddenly appeared close to the planet Saturn in the Sol system before vanishing. It left behind a strange, ancient ship. Commander Victor Ignacious of the Imperial 1st Fleet was sent to investigate. After a very strong Warp signature and the taint of Chaos were picked up by sensors, the commander ordered the ship destroyed. As the guns of the capital ship and surrounding frigates began to target the vessel, weapons began powering up on the mysterious ship and fired in all directions. The old weapons managed to badly damage one frigate, but the ship began to be destroyed amidst a hail of las-fire. However, before it could be completely obliterated, Ignacious was hailed by the last of the ship's crew, a man named Alexander who begged for a cease-fire, explaining how the weapons were malfunctioning after attempting to Warp through a black hole. But the commander would show no mercy, and in that moment Alexander knew the way of the Imperium. The last known transmission from the commander was him ordering his ships to fire once more. But Commander Ignacious was never heard from again. Another fleet was dispatched to find the three ships, but only the corpses of two frigates remained. The capital ship was gone. They managed to find Commander Ignacious's corpse, and a message written in blood was found on his chest: "No mercy for the merciless."
The entire event was wiped from Imperial records, and all members who investigated the ships were sworn to secrecy or disappeared. High Inquisitor Zenius managed to find an ancient document in Terra's scriptorium; they were notes dating back to the fifth millennium about the theory of using black holes to bypass the Warp for long-range space travel. However, later notes written by another author in the same document suggested that the entire experiment failed, as the subject ship never returned and it seemed that the singularity actually was another gateway to the Warp. It could only be assumed that Alexander was from a time when humanity was still united in a federation-type government. He was ordered to keep watch for this man, lest he try to overthrow the Imperium.
A New Home
Years later, a missing Imperial Capital Ship appeared in a solar system, to the galactic west of the Damocles Gulf. When searched, nobody was found on board. The solar system was quite large, with nine planets orbiting a medium-sized sun. It had only been recently discovered by the Imperium, as a great series of Warp storms had kept it isolated from the outside for thousands of years, since the days when the Emperor ruled the Imperium. The scientific method had survived, but when the Warp storms erupted and the system was cut off, chaos ensued. Over millennia, techno-barbarians had staked their claim upon each planet. They developed a culture of fierce independence, as each was keen to try to conquer their neighboring planet while defending their own from conquest. This was quickly destroyed by the Imperium when it arrived after the Warp storms subsided. Initially the people welcomed the newcomers, as it meant an end to the eternal war and strife that had ravaged the land. But as a people who was used to new technological innovation and had never experienced the infestation of chaos, many quickly resented their new rulers. Scientists were accused of tech heresy and disappeared. Anyone who spoke up was executed on the spot. And the measures of the Inquisition were believed to be unnecessarily brutal, especially due to the lack of daemon activity in the area.
Inquisitor Ivan "The Butcher" as he was called by the inhabitants, controlled all levels of society, and even the planetary governor was intimidated by his presence. But starting in 550.M40, he began to notice problems. Inquisitors would mysteriously disappear, and the missions to purge mutants became less numerous as guardsmen could not find their targets, or were found hanging from ropes in the streets. Measures became harsher and harsher as unrest increased. Inquisitors began to find anti-Inquisitorial pamphlets, urging people to shake off the yoke of the Inquisition. The Ordo Hereticus was deployed in response. More than ever, innocents were executed in the streets for merely not reporting pamphlets. Even more disturbing, news traveled to the other planets of these events, and the people became more and more restless.
In the upper levels of society, a mysterious figure began approaching leaders, financiers, and wealthy idealists. All were promised benefits. The leaders would be able to increase their power, the investors were promised lower taxes, and the idealists could be free from the harsh rule of the Imperium. How one man seemingly organized an entire resistance movement by himself across nine planets without the aid of a ship is still unknown to this day, but he was everywhere at once, rallying people from all classes and walks of life to his cause.
The Great Gaean Revolution
The time was ripe for an overthrow in 560.M40. In a dramatic act, Alexander commandeered a vox station broadcasting system and called for the people of Gaea and all other planets to rise up. In every hive city, town, and house, people took to the streets, demanding that the Inquisition leave and never return. Inquisitor Ivan deployed the entire Gaean planetary defense force to crush the revolt, but as they lined up to fire into the crowd which had gathered around the base of the governor's mansion, Alexander appeared between the two sides and urged an audience with both.
He revealed to both sides that he was in fact a simple physicist from the golden age of technology, who through an experiment with singularities had led him through the Warp. Before leaving, he collided with a shard of the Emperor's soul giving him his memories, knowledge, and some of his power. Before the Imperium, he explained how people lived much better lives. When the Emperor was set upon the Golden Throne, his dream of creating a brighter future collapsed into darkness, and that new leadership was needed to pick up the Emperor's torch. Alexander urged the guardsmen to be on the right side of history and help him fulfill the Emperor's dream. And the only way accomplish this was to declare independence from the Imperium. Although their orders were clear, most of the guardsmen were tired of living in constant fear of the Inquisition, and many felt guilty for their past deeds. Some were convinced quickly, but still hundreds stood there, lasguns ready. It is said that Alexander spoke with every soldier individually that day, the mob of people anxiously waiting in silence behind him. It took him much time, but eventually he managed to convince every soldier to join him.
Together, Alexander, the guardsmen, and the people opened the gates to the governor's mansion and began making their way to the top. The people were urged not to harm the officials, although some were killed as the mob trampled and burned their way to the top floor. Once they reached the top floor, the final part of the plan was executed as the governor and the entire council peacefully capitulated. All Inquisitors were taken into custody except for Ivan, who had escaped in the confusion. They were tried and found guilty, but Alexander defended them, claiming they were victims of propaganda, and that they should be offered a second chance on Gaea. Those who refused were imprisoned for life.
Forging a Government
Around the same time, people on all nine planets in the system rose up. Some revolts were mostly peaceful like on Gaea, but most were violent, bloody struggles before the governors capitulated. Because of the lack of bloodshed on the system's capital planet it is known as The Great Gaean Revolution.
Soon, all planets had declared their independence, and Alexander called their greatest political minds to travel to Gaea and help create a new government. Everyone had little experience in politics, but Alexander guided them to creating a government which would hopefully last for millennia. After months of debate, the final draft of the Constitution was accepted.
The Federal Constitution
Not unlike those from millennia before, the Federal Constitution set out to make an efficient government which could deal with major crises, such as Imperial invasion, while simultaneously being respective of and responsible to the people. The document created a single house legislature, called Parliament. Due to an earlier compromise Alexander made, half of all members had to be of noble birth. The President had sweeping powers and command over the military, but could be overridden if 75% of Parliament overruled him. The judicial branch could restrict the government from making an unconstitutional law or violating individual liberties during peacetime. All liberties were explicitly stated in a bill of rights which could only be dismissed if Parliament declared war.
Some critics of the new constitution feared that it did not provide enough safeguards for individual liberties. They believed the president, even though he would only serve one ten year term, could easily become a dictator. Others thought that with the danger of the Imperium eventually returning, they needed more power concentrated into the hands of the president so as to quickly respond to such threats. However, one by one, the planets of the new Federation accepted the document, and Alexander was sworn in as the first president in 565.M40.
The First Years
The political, technological, social, and military tasks ahead seemed to appear so daunting that some went as far to call it impossible. A new government, which was highly unstable, was born after a violent and sudden revolution which could collapse at any moment. This new federation only had technology at the Imperial level, which would need to be drastically improved if they wanted to repel the inevitable Imperial response. And the people wanted massive change in their lives, especially an increase in living conditions. It was only through Alexander's political skill that the new government was able to keep itself together.
Project Square One
Alexander realized that the level of technology was abysmal, mostly because nobody understood how to work or make new devices. To survive, they would have to make major technological advances, and so Alexander began to request all funds go into scientific research and public education. The young parliament, still very much in awe of their president, agreed unanimously in minutes. A secret base was established in close orbit around the sun, where Alexander spent the vast majority of his time teaching aspiring students new techniques. Over the years, hundreds of new students of Alexander learned and grew on the station, learning the teachings of ancient inventors and professors.
However, because Imperial technology was so far ahead of even Alexander's vast scientific knowledge, he decided that the only way to create advanced technology was to start from the latest possible point he knew. This would put the Federation at a major initial disadvantage, but it was the only way to surpass other races. In addition, Alexander calculated they had approximately 400 years before the Imperium was able to summon a massive response. Therefore, the plan began to be called "Project Square One."
For the next two centuries, Alexander's life comprised of spending as much time as he could on that space station, training generation after generation of scientists. But whenever needed, Alexander would rush to Gaea to help parliament make decisions, and rally the precarious confidence of his people. So loved by the people was he, that when his 10 year term ended, citizens across all planets took to the streets, demanding that he stay for another term. Alexander, who actually hated political office, looked to the judiciary branch to help remove him from power. The judges ruled that if 90% of the people took to the streets, the constitutional law of the president's term could be overridden. So over the years, it became a tradition of Alexander attempting to step down, only to be stopped (to his utmost chagrin) by massive protests. But with an irrefutable sense of duty, he solemnly accepted the mass's decision. Even though he hated the life of politics, he was the thread that kept the Federation together in these early, uncertain times.
The Age of Terror
The first centuries of Federal history are marked by mass hysteria and lack of faith in the Federal army. Their world could have come apart at any moment. They near-worshiped a president they seldom met, living conditions barely improved for most, and the Federal army and navy were incredibly fragile organizations. In the Federation's first true conflict, a large group of Orks lead by warboss _ descended upon the planet of Hades, the system's outermost colony. The entire Federal army and navy, nothing more than re branded planetary defense forces, imperial guardsmen, and ships, suffered humiliating losses. Half of all ships were lost in the first hour of the engagement, as Ork sabotage crafts crashed into ship after ship. Infantry on the ground panicked as the Leman Russ Tanks were lost in the advancing mass of green muscle. The entire planet may have been overrun hadn't Alexander appeared, rallying the remaining. His incredible swordsmanship managed to hold off the entire army as the soldiers picked off the now-stagnant hoard with lasgun fire. In one stroke with his energy katana, he decapitated the warboss and destroyed the greenskin advance.
The Federation's first war had been won, but at the cost of most of the armed forces. This marked the beginning of the Age of Terror. Parliament called for a rebuilding of the army, but Alexander refused this measure, believing that the very precious resources needed to make new ships, such as adamantium, should be stored until Project Square One could create machines and equipment worthy of the materials. Alexander spent much more time among the people, visiting the planets and taking personal control of the army, training the troops to know no fear, marksmanship, and dedication to the Federal Constitution. Luckily, there was less of a demand for Alexander with Project Square one, as revered technicians, engineers, physicists, mathematicians, and chemists such as Abraham Marx and Samuel Freeman began to make great discoveries of their own, closing the gap with Imperial technology and establishing their own teaching methods. This also allowed Alexander himself to lead many exploration missions into deep space, looking for potential mining colonies.
In one such mission, his small Federal ship managed to discover a battle between Eldar, Space Marines, and Necrons. As he attempted to approach the battle without risking detection, a squadron of Necrons teleported aboard the ship. Scores of crewmen were lost before Alexander dispatched the xenos, but to his complete surprise, they began to regenerate! Again and again, Alexander attempted to cut them and shoot them in different ways, attempting to find a weakness. But with one, he damaged so badly that it couldn't regenerate. Before he could examine the dead machine, it disappeared. Deciding that removing the monsters from his ship would be more beneficial than trying constantly cutting them down in an attempt to study them, Alexander began cutting the necrodermis into smaller and smaller pieces. One by one they disappeared, but before the last one could be teleported back to safety, the Space Marines and Eldar managed to destroy the Necron harvester. After minutes of waiting, the last Necron corpse did not disappear, and so the president warped back to the space station, with new experiments in mind.
The Beginnings of the Federal Supersoldiers
Alexander did not emerge from his office for many days aboard the space station after returning with necrodermis. During this time he analyzed the chemical compound for necrodermis and discovered that it was, in fact, a living metal. While not incredibly strong, it was resilient. He managed to fabricate a similar version of the material, but it was not as durable, nor did it regenerate as quickly. But he had accomplished a major task, which he believed would save the Federation.
Alexander had done much research upon the Imperial Supersoldiers, the Space Marines. He knew that in order to prevail on the battlefield, they would need a counter to them. While it would be impossible to keep enough supply to make large crafts or structures, he created a multitude of weapons with his new metal. In order to increase this material's strength, he created an alloy of his necrodermis copy and adamantium. He called this new alloy, which would be the staple material for the Federation, Gaeum. This would become the bone structure of his new supersoldier prototype: the Spartans.
The War for Sovereignty
It had taken two centuries in the materium, but warp storms and the very madness that is the Warp slowed the aging of the crew. Finally, Inquisitor Ivan's vessel emerged from his long journey. He promptly reported the Federation's declaration of independence, and this created much unease within the Imperial Council. While a smaller logistical threat than other races such as the Tau, the Federation could serve as an example for other long-oppressed Imperial worlds, and might lead to the fragmentation of the empire. The Federation was branded a dangerous group of heretics, xenos, and chaos worshipers. A crusade fleet was amassed with unusual speed by Imperial standards, with a hundred of ships, a company of Iron Hands space marines, and half a legion of Imperial Guardsmen.
Even with such leaps and bound in progress, the Federation was still not prepared for the conflict to arrive so quickly. For only 100 years after the crusade fleet departed, it emerged near the planet of Hades. Moons surrounding the planet bristled with lance batteries, but they could not hold off the massive assault. However, they managed to hold off the attackers long enough for much of the population to escape, and finally detonating the defense platforms in sacrifice to prevent the first wave of landers from reaching the surface. Even though the planet was taken swiftly, enough time passed to allow the Federation to mobilize and prepare for further attacks.
Since the Imperial fleet had to travel from planet to planet without the assistance of Warp drives, the Federation was able to wreak havoc in an odd synthesis of space and guerrilla warfare. Every asteroid was outfitted with explosives and acted as mines. The deeper and deeper the attackers advanced into Federal space, the more ships they lost. But they kept up the advance, taking another five planets with relative ease. Those who could not escape in time knew they would be shown no mercy, and civilians made desperate charges against uncountable numbers with homemade firearms and las pistols. The Iron Hands and Guardsmen left no survivors, but they were only able to destroy the small portion of the planetary population which did not have the means, time, or ability to escape. Most citizens were relatively safe aboard trade vessels.
The Battle for Gaea
The crusade fleet began to close in around Gaea. If it fell, the last two planets would easily succumb. The Federal army, horribly outnumbered, was deployed at the capital hive, with civilian ships fleeing towards the sun and the seven last Federal vessels ready to make a final stand. The president was nowhere to be seen. Many people began to believe Alexander had panicked and abandoned them. But while small in number, the soldiers remained calm, ready to die to protect humanity's last democracy.
When the attackers, anxious due to its many losses before even seeing a single Federal ship, saw the pitiful last stand they laughed at the miniscule size of their opponent. Federation ships opened fire, and the engagement began. It was said that every ship destroyed two Imperial vessels, and once on the verge of complete destruction, crashed into the largest craft they could reach. The Last Stand of the Seven became a legend, becoming the subject of many songs, books, and feature films for centuries to come.
The Iron Hands readied their exterminatus cannon, about to crush the rebellion permanently. But scanners indicated a strong gravity signature was suddenly being emitted in the direction of the sun. Space itself seemed to bend, and all watched in awe as thirty massive, spherical ships appeared in the blink of an eye, without breaking the materium. The Crusade Fleet was hailed by Alexander himself, who gave an ultimatum: surrender, or face obliteration. Iron Hand Captain _ refused the offer, and as soon as his response left his lips, weapons targeted the exterminatus cannon and destroyed it. The new Federal ships, led by Alexander, opened fire on the confused fleet. Even though outnumbered two to one, the Federal war fleet delivered major damage, with devastating red matter weapons which created brief singularities. These black holes would rip out huge chunks in the Imperial ships. The ships blinked in an out of existence, unleashing devastating hales of fire before disappearing again, making it impossible for Imperial gunners to lock on to their new elusive enemies. Eventually, the new Federal navy surrounded the remains of the crusade fleet and began to tear it to pieces, but not before the powerful battle barge of the Astartes managed to destroy many ships. All ships were completely incapacitated, including the Iron Hands' battle barges. During the engagement, the Federation lost fifteen vessels.
But as they were losing space superiority, all troops were deployed to the ground to purify Gaea. Only 20,000 of the once-mighty Imperial Guard survived the drop, and the Iron Hands lost all of their vehicles. But despite this, and the lacking space superiority, the Space Marines and Guardsmen valiantly charged the hive's defenses amidst wave after wave of devastating orbital bombardments, destroying nearly all emplacements along the walls, and killing all of the outermost defenders. But the Iron Hands suffered losses as well due to the accuracy of the Federal fleet orbiting above, as twenty Space Marines and 10,000 Guardsmen were killed by the highly trained Federal army. Alas, it did not matter. For once they breached the mighty defenses, the attackers killed everyone in sight. If they could not complete the crusade, then at least they would exterminate as many people as they could on the planet.
Although they fought bravely for every inch of territory, the Federal troops were pushed back to their last line of defense, the large Athenian Plaza. Whatever civilians and soldiers were there knew they could not be helped by an orbital bombardment; they could risk being killed as well as their enemy. So they barred the gates and prepared to die as honorably as they could.
As the attacking army pounded at the gates, a storm of transport ships landed. As their doors opened, the people began to cheer for joy. Alexander, their president, had finally arrived to rally his forces! But he was not alone. With him came a group of tall, armored warriors. They carried spears and shields, donned magnificent armor, and had plumes atop their helmets. These were the first Spartan warriors; the supersoldiers Alexander had created to turn the tide of battle. But that was not all. They began to hand new firearms to the battered soldiers. These weapons fired projectiles, to their initial dismay. But what they did not know was that the rounds were of sharpened industrial diamond with a core of iron, which was fired from a hand-held magnetic acceleration unit. The simple bayonet was replaced by a small chainsword. With these new armaments and reinforcements, the men steadied themselves and prepared for the coming storm.
The gates to the plaza exploded, and the soldiers of the Federation gave a war cry, unnerving the attackers. They had not anticipated reinforcements of any sort. The first volley from the new weapons caused the first five lines to fall, dead or in pain. The rounds went through two or three of the lightly armored guardsmen, and they never reached the defending army. Soon, the plaza was piled with the corpses of guardsmen.
But then, the Iron Hands emerged, with their fearsome bolters and impenetrable power armor. They, too, were caught off guard by the salvo of diamond. The soldiers were showered with a hail of bolters, but they could not penetrate the thick shields of the Spartans quickly enough. Troops, behind the cover of the phalanx, picked off many Astartes and disrupted their attack. Realizing they would lose the firefight, the Iron hands charged the Federal line. But this, too, was part of Alexander's plan. The Spartans made of line after line of defense, and locked their shields in a deadly phalanx of Gaeum. The Iron Hands were completely surprised when the wall of Spartans halted the Astarte's advance, breaking their charge like a wave upon a rock. While the Spartans held the stunned Iron Hands in place and penetrated their armor with their spears, regulars thinned the ranks with volley after volley. But the untrained, physically weaker Spartans could only hold the line for so long, and so the phalanx broke. The battle devolved into a chaotic melee. While the Astartes had a major advantage in armor and firepower, the Spartans made up in dizzying speed and precision, literally blurring around the Iron Hands' inhumanly fast blows. Alexander was a whirling blade of death, and that combined with overwhelming fire support to reduce the two companies of the Iron Hands to nothing and forced them into submission. The losses were high on both sides, as the inexperienced Spartans had never before tasted battle. But after much fighting, only ten remained of the once 200 man army of Astartes, and only 10 Spartans out of the original 1,000 clung to life. Those who survived on either side were exhausted, horrendously injured, and battered by the fray. They were prepared to fight to the death, and the Federal troops called for their blood. But Alexander appeared before the commander, and quickly negotiated a ceasefire. The Iron Hands would be allowed to leave in peace, but only this once. For their crimes against humanity, Alexander declared that all Iron Hands shall be classified as vermin, beasts with no rights and protection under Federal law. From that day forward, anyone who bore the emblem of the Iron Hands was shot on sight.
The Prosperous Era
The war left great scars on the Federation. Six planets were completely devoid of human life, and industry was crippled during the conflict. There were many more positives. People now had trust in the government, as it had proved it was a formidable force on the battlefield. The Federation now had a means of creating an army and navy capable of allowing for a safe period of growth for the economy. And grow it did. On the planets that were invaded, entire hives were completely torn down and replaced by great, elegant cities with paved roads, parks, and brand new factories due to the work of Project Square One. People had jobs and new lives almost as immediately as they had lost them. A minimum wage law gave people something they never had before: purchasing power. Suddenly, these industrial workers could buy new clothes and other consumer goods. Many could also afford cheap speeders.
The demand was felt everywhere, and every sector of the economy boomed. But industry was not the only beneficiary. The massive education budget created a well-learned populace, allowing for massive corporations and finance industries to grow. Banking became a central part of the Federal economy, and soon even Imperial planetary governors would secretly store their wealth within the bank vaults of Gaea. A generation of philosophers, historians, writers, and musicians flourished, creating a distinct culture.
Next Part: The Second Republic, Description of the Federal Army, and Weapons