Hanna bar Arcmit and the Adamantium Coalescence
By author reluctantuser
The Fourth Primarch: Hanna bar Arcmit
Name:
Lady Hanna bar Arcmit. Known as the Socialite, the Imperial Court's Schemer, or the Adamantium Maiden.
Appearance:
Stands out among the Primarchs for her apparent youth, despite being as old as the rest of her siblings. Not a lot taller than her daughters, though very lithe. Amber, freckled skin with long black hair, worn in a headscarf in combat and in elaborate styles outside of it.
Outside of the battlefield, she is often seen wearing extravagant but not distasteful dresses, the style and cut depending on the audience. This often sets a trend for fashionable women of standing and those aspiring to be one.
In battle Hanna wears a heavy suit of armour in her Legion colours, desert beige camo.
It notably contains a launch system for various types of gas grenades that can be used both defensively and offensively. It is often paired with the Final Say, an Assault Cannon painstakingly constructed by the Primarch herself, and Final Touch, a heavily customised Power Fist.
Talents and Personality:
"Charm is an inexhaustible resource. Use it generously, but do not be thriftless."
—Attributed to the Primarch
Hanna has an outgoing, cheerful personality and often finds herself the centre of a gathering. She strives to include everyone and make sure all voices are heard, making even bystanders feel valued. On the rare occasions her welcoming personality is not reciprocated, she quickly adapts to a more subdued personality. But this is rare and mostly happens with a few of her more reserved siblings, few mortals would ever be so impertinent as to insult a daughter of the Emperor himself.
In the presence of her esteemed siblings, Hanna downplays (but never denies) her own achievements in favour of her fellow Primarchs, often using humour to break the ice. This is the same for her Legion as a whole, despite their substantial achievements. 'Always a bridesmaid, never a bride' is held up as an ideal for the Adamantium Coalescence, not a complaint.
Hanna is something of an art aficionado and loves to explore the different art styles of various human cultures. It is said that her personal collection is an eclectic mix of art from around the galaxy that rivals even those found on Terra itself. Not surprisingly, due to her upbringing, her biggest focus is on music, opera and poetry.
Hanna is a breathtakingly skilled conversationalist able to maintain the interest of just about everyone. She is able to seamlessly combine even the most disjoint of topics and can get even the most obstinate adversary to seriously consider her point of view. Her eloquence is arguably second to none.
Being one of the earlier-found Primarchs, her contacts and acquaintances are massive by now. It is doubtful she would be able to remember their names and where they left off if not for her superhuman status.
While only slightly above average in melee (by Primarchical standards, mind you), where she truly shines is short-to-mid-ranged combat. More than one foe has mistaken her sudden disengagement as a withdrawal instead of a repositioning. Given her custom weaponry, it is not a mistake many can make twice.
Her bubbly personality on official and private gatherings is notably toned down on the battlefield.
A brief meeting between commanders of two different Expeditions of the Great Crusade can lead to a clearer understanding of the greater picture of war. Perhaps another force lacks a critical specialist force to take a specific strongpoint and would have to resort to a prohibitively expensive assault unless one were to act. Perhaps a 'new' xenos foe has already been encountered by an ageing veteran elsewhere, who could surely be seconded for a simple favour.
Perhaps a seeming imperfection in one war theatre, e.g. allowing a sizable Ork force to escape a campaign, would lead to a windfall elsewhere—say, if said hypothetical WAAAAGH! were to run straight into a small Eldar Craftworld that was left standing for that reason.
Due to her upbringing, she has unique knowledge in the handling of adamantium.
Homeworld:
Deep in the galactic core lies the Desolation system (the original name was 'Mining Colony #2387/A', until the colonists chose something more upbeat). Of little interest are the two gas giants and an asteroid cloud. The only solid body, Desolation, is positioned unfavourably close to the sun, resulting in daylight surface temperatures of several hundred degrees Celsius and comparably mild nights of -60 degrees during the 84 hour planetary rotation. Due to the rapidly changing temperatures, dawn and twilight are accompanied by devastating lightning storms.
The planet's atmosphere is thick with nitrogen, in contrast to a notable lack of oxygen. The harsh desert is laced with craggy mountain ranges and treacherous crevices. If there has ever been natural life on Desolation, it has long gone extinct.
The only reason anyone ever came here is the same reason that gives the Legion its immense influence: the sheer inexhaustible reserves of adamantium found below the planet's surface.
Adamantium is an extremely rare metal, most sources found near the galactic core. So high is its concentration on Desolation that the planet cannot simply be cracked by cyclonic torpedoes, something that was likely done to the nearby asteroid field, which was utterly sucked dry of adamantium in millennia past. The hydrodynamic instabilities are simply too low. This problem had plagued mining companies in the Golden Age of Technology as well, which was why they went through the momentous effort of constructing several dozen bases on the planet. Each base consists of a heavily fortified base on top of a massive mining operation that goes down many kilometres into the planetary core. To this date these fortresses, each housing a small city, are the only regions supporting life on this otherwise forsaken rock.
The planet itself remained unchanged after the arrival of the Primarch and the unification with the Imperium. It is now the Adamantium Coalescence's homeworld, prime training ground and source of a critical resource for the Great Crusade. As such, the already impressive fortresses were substantially fortified. In space, numerous orbital defences and a dedicated fleet dot the entire system, guarding this valuable planet.
Psychic potential:
Hanna discovered her innate psychic potential only during the late stages of the unification of Desolation, when the physical strain of a trek across the heated desert caused her mind to wander. She had only begun to experiment with this game-changing talent when the planet was connected to the rest of mankind again and she met the Emperor of Mankind. The explanations of her progenitor about the Warp were as haunting as they were concise. Her brother Derwyn, who happened to accompany the master of mankind, enthusiastically agreed to a round tour of the ancient fortifications and artillery from the Age of Technology. During these walks he validated the Emperor's claims and warned Hanna about the danger of unchecked psykers. Horrifying displays of rampant sorcery during her earliest campaigns in the Crusade made it abundantly clear that these warnings were not spoken in jest.
Nevertheless, there are a few uses that are just too good to be ignored.
Hanna and those of her daughters talented in the Art communicate via the Warp when the need arises and conventional communication would not suffice, most notable during the Elder Councils. It is a taxing method of communication that heavily relies on all participants to be in tune, though that is easily handled, given the sister's close-knit fellowship.
As with everything else about the Elder Councils, this is not well known outside of the Legion and a topic that is never brought up in conversation.
Secret to all but her closest confidantes is the fact that Hanna herself has experimented going one step further—teleportation, that is, a very brief travel through the Warp to exit it elsewhere. While the immense tactical benefits are self-evident, Hanna is highly wary of this prospect. The revolting experience made her skin crawl, so she is loath to pick up this research again.
The Legion's librarians don't have dedicated formations and are embedded alongside their sisters. If they use their talents, it is for communication, obfuscation and the gathering of information, on and off the battlefield.
Direct, flashy displays of Warpcraft are frowned upon in the IV Legion, and this is—politely, of course—mentioned when this topic arises in public. Not that they would ever be so gauche as to condemn those of their cousins who prefer to use their gift more openly.
Background:
There is only one reason that makes the remote planet Desolation interesting, and that reason is adamantium. Even in the heydays of the Terran Federation, developing this hostile planet would have been a major investment large enough to overwhelm any single company. Thus mining rights were given to several competing mining conglomerates.
Using superior technology that might as well be magic to today's mankind, the rival companies erected massive fortresses on top of their extensive mining operations that could withstand the cruel nature of Desolation. Sporting massive walls dozens of metres thick, safely protected from the hostile environment, each housed a small city of its own, complete with an ore refinery and small space port to serve the company freight shuttles that arrived once or twice a year.
They were also home to thousands of miners, technicians, company management, service and security personnel and their accompanying families.
In order not to fall prey to hostile forces—be they opportunistic xenos species or overeager competitors—each fortress sported sizable defence mechanisms, from numerous anti-infantry guns to massive surface-to-space artillery.
What they did not have, however, was any sort of industry beside excavating and refining adamantium ore. A simple cost-benefit analysis made it obvious that adding these to the planet would have been woefully inefficient compared to just shipping whatever goods were needed in from elsewhere.
So when the outbreak of the Warp Storms heralded the Age of Strife, Desolation was utterly unprepared. In mere days communication to the rest of mankind was lost, the fearful dwellers only receiving brief, confused reports that were brutally cut short. With neither ore freighters nor navy vessels entering the system and the total communication blackout turning from days to months to years, the shaken company contractors were forced to confront the grim reality:
They were alone in a world utterly hostile to human survival. And help was not coming.
Without the outside support that had been a given mere weeks ago, life on Desolation was on a knife's edge. The human settlements, while durable to the outside, had never been intended to be fully self-sustaining.
In each settlement, the leadership—whether they be the original company managers, newly elected democratic leaders or self-declared rulers risen by force—quickly came to the conclusion that they could not survive on their own.
Everybody had something irreplaceable, but nobody had everything. One settlement had an excess of water purifiers—originally intended as a cost-cutting method to save money on pricey water deliveries via starship, now possibly the most valuable technology on the planet. Another settlement had a small workshop fit to create solar-powered atmospheric flyers, the only way to reach other settlements if one didn't want to tempt certain death by crossing the murderous surface on foot.
Another settlement had a working arcology, the only available food once the stored food rations would go out.
It was a desperate time that taught the survivors harsh lessons in the most brutal way possible. Mass starvation culled a sizable portion of the already small population even while there was a frantic effort to grow plants just about anywhere. The shortage of air and water was even more pressing—the sheer need forced the traumatised survivors to even harvest their deceased loved ones for precious fluid.
The only reason the settlements didn't descend into total anarchy was the institution of martial law. Most of the time the original company managers used the existing small security forces and emergency procedures to establish quasi-states.
Sometimes the labour force elected popular leaders out of their midst.
On more than one occasion leadership was overthrown in a violent coup.
It was a time of hardship and terror, the population came close to extinction several times.
A few years later the impromptu reorganisation was done, with the most immediate danger of starvation averted in most settlements—either because air, food and water were successfully raised to sustainable levels, or because most of the population had succumbed so that the little they had was enough to support the rest.
Nevertheless nobody was under the illusion that this was safe. Even a relatively small mishap in a settlement would rapidly deteriorate the situation.
Everybody came to the same conclusion: they needed more resources. And thus they turned to the only resources left on the planet: each other.
The original mining conglomerates had long engaged in fierce rivalry, though this fight had been restricted to the battlefield of boardrooms, stock markets and the public court. Now, facing oblivion, their progeny turned up the heat.
While communication was possible via video calls, travel via land was impossible. Major settlements were hundreds or thousands of kilometres apart, the surface a blasted desert where everything either boiled or froze depending on the time of day. The temperature was only briefly survivable during dawn and twilight, when immense storms rose instead, and closed breathing gear was required in any case.
The only way to actually come into physical contact with another fortress was by air. This was a problem of its own—the few space worthy shuttlecraft required prometheum, for which there was no source apart from what had been in stock when contact with the rest of the galaxy broke down. A few crafty engineers developed tiny atmospheric flyers that were powered by solar energy, though these lightweight craft could only carry a handful of passengers or a limited amount of freight.
Nevertheless they had to deal with what they had, and so it was through these tiny flying machines that the settlements traded and met each other.
Obviously this prohibited even low-scale warfare. Nobody wanted to dismantle their massive anti-space batteries to target their sister settlements—both because this bombardment would ultimately destroy the very resources they wanted, and because this would cause everybody else to target them instead.
So the only option left was individuals. So it came to be that the same traders and diplomats that negotiated between settlements were also implicitly used as spies and saboteurs.
This constant quarrel soon encompassed the entire society. It became a necessity to keep track of every other settlement's resources, lest one might find one's city blindsided. Curiously enough, this did not impede contact with other settlements. To the denizens of Desolation, it was an explicitly accepted fact that a trader from another settlement was ultimately looking out for their own and highly likely to make use of any perceived weakness. One traded even with the foe of today in order to get in a better starting position over the friend of today, who would become the foe of tomorrow. In politics, one could neither afford altruism nor grudges.
Despite this seemingly anarchic state, war followed implicit rules. Massive damage to infrastructure was taboo, as was killing essential non-combatants, for nothing on Desolation can easily be replaced. There was no sense in dying last.
Of course turn cloaks were a constant factor as well, though with no way of extraction if a coup failed, this was not for the light-hearted.
One might wonder whether there was any serious fighting at all possible given these unusual constraints. Surprisingly enough, there was a significant amount of it.
If an intruding force managed to completely overwhelm another settlement—whether by economic hegemony, assassination or brutal force—the underdogs submitted to the victors. In general this worked with surprisingly little resistance—while civilians were fiercely loyal to their settlement, sentimentality, like everything else, was in short supply. It thus became that most settlements changed hands over the years, some quite often depending on their resources and the geopolitical position.
The border between assassination and military subjugation was fluid. In both cases the enemy leadership was to be destroyed to an amount that left no room for doubt on which side was stronger. In any case the personnel performing these deeds was the same anyway: Operatives.
The logistic bottlenecks of minor personnel available, limited and almost irreplaceable gear as well as the limitations of terrain and transportation meant that a settlement's military force consisted of no more than a handful of these highly trained professionals. Grown out of the original company security personnel, these men and women were excessively trained in all forms of combat, assassination and espionage. They were then seeded among regular traders and diplomats and brought to other settlements, unrecognisable from their civilian counterparts.
If the right conditions were met, the small commando unit began their decapitation. If they were not able to catch a settlement's leadership in the open, they had to storm the most fortified part of a fortress, the heavily protected command bunker.
As the numbers were always heavily stacked against invaders in this case, a direct combat operation was only rarely launched and often resulted in the loss of the entire team. Though the gain of an entire settlement as well as the massive prestige in case of success was more than enough incentive.
The one resource Desolation had in abundance—adamantium—was put to good use in this matter. Through excessively time-consuming work, both operative suits and weapons were augmented with adamantium. While extremely heavy and cumbersome, this made the wearer practically immune to anything besides a similarly armed Operative.
Of course, if one's Operative's guarded the homebase, they could not be deployed elsewhere on missions of their own. Between capable opponents, conflicts could last for decades without a single shot being fired, the war being waged with intel and counterintel, constantly changing alliances, trade proposals and deployment of a handful of potential combatants. At the same time the mere redeployment of a single flyer from a superficially uninvolved third party could cause such a conflict to break out in a minute.
This paradox of close cooperation despite being in a state of war existed until an outside element was introduced to Desolation, one that would change the planet forever.
On distant Terra, the Emperor of Mankind was close to finishing his crowning achievement when the fickle Chaos Gods interfered and stole his work. The Primarchs in their lifepods were scattered across the galaxy.
It came to be that one of those pods came down on Desolation. Like so many of her siblings, she was soon found by humans from a nearby settlement, who had been alerted by automated auspex that something had impacted on the surface.
Given how tight supplies were, the settlement's inhabitants fiercely debated on whether to spare the expense and feed this unexpected addition, yet concluded that the added genetic diversity was beneficial enough to society. This debate was rendered gratuitous after mere weeks, when the rapidly developing child already began to contribute. Hanna, as the child was named, quickly outpaced her peers and even adults. The ever curious girl was able to stand her own during debate, ask deeply profound questions and possessed a wisdom not seen before, to say nothing of her feats of body.
This quickly proved to be a detriment.
Given that the planet was a closed system, it did not take long for rivals to learn of this wondrous child and foresee her potential. The rival settlement of Arcmit performed a brilliant campaign that culminated in armoured strike teams blindsiding the defenders and systematically taking out the settlement leaders.
Realising that something was amiss, Hanna acted. The adolescent Primarch faced several dozen armoured Operators, the best warriors Desolation could produce.
The outcome was never in question.
When they realised with shock that this child was leagues above them, the survivors quickly executed the remaining settlement leaders and retreated.
Afterwards an enraged Hanna swore fierce revenge before the assembled survivors. Her surprise was total when both elders and young admonished her vow to turn the war around.
The war was already over. With several critical personnel eliminated, the settlement lacked vital skills that could only be acquired from another House. Striking back at House Arcmit would end up with two Houses near extinction, a devastating blow to the very survival of mankind.
No, this wasn't fair, but life wasn't about fairness, it was about survival.
After intense debate and reflection, the Primarch would finally stand down. But deep inside, she swore she would one day find a way to unite the planet so that the need for violence was removed.
On the next day, the settlement formally switched allegiance to House Arcmit.
It was only a few years later that Hanna, despite nominally still being a child, took part in the traditional graduation ball that formally marked the beginning of adulthood. As was custom, her future vocation was decided, and she became the youngest Operator in history.
She would soon make up for her earlier decimation of Arcmit's operators.
What followed was the most intense phase of inter-House fighting the people of Desolation had ever seen. Honed by years of training and education by the elders, the Primarch soon proved her complete and utter superiority over everyone else, be it in combat, diplomacy or subterfuge.
In her most audacious operation, she airdropped out in the middle of the desert and trekked a hundred kilometres to infiltrate and take over one settlement, which hadn't been deemed physically possible. During her trek across the murderous wastes she ordered the diversion of a water shipment on the other side of the planet, which destabilised a future coalition that would have formed against holdings she had yet to acquire.
After effortlessly handling the entire security team, she crowned her masterstroke by finalising an alliance with another settlement.
It is no surprise the entirety of Desolation was under Arcmit hegemony a year later. For a time, everything was good.
However, Hanna soon noticed a worrying trend. Despite the entire population being united under one rule, despite conflict being eliminated for the first time since over five thousand years, discontentment was rising. Even though all material needs were being met (by Desolation standards that is), productivity began to sink and the population started to bicker and scheme. Alarmingly, this was even starting to affect inner-settlement cohesion to a much larger degree than ever before since the Age of Strife.
The troubled and disturbed young Primarch came to the conclusion that mankind needed something to struggle against. If no outside problems existed, mankind began to create ones themselves, ultimately turning against each other. While a life of total peace and luxury was an ideal, it could never be permanently achieved for everyone.
Without conflict, there cannot be peace.
The Primarch mused how to keep their society from breaking itself. Should she initiate a limited conflict—something simple, like a five-side civil war—or was it possible to bundle the meagre resources they had and create a space program in order to reach the nearby moon?
Perhaps it was for the best that she never had to make that decision. Because for the first time since her arrival (and the second time in five millennia), outsiders visited Desolation.
Decades ago in the Imperium, an excavation into ancient ruins on a broken Forge World had unearthed a partially readable freight manifest. While any clues about what the cargo was or who it had belonged to had long gone into the digital abyss, it did hint at a freighter once making a stop at a remote planetoid.
Hoping that there might be ancient ruins to salvage, the Mechanicum Explorator Fleet Octa-Kappa-52QC made the journey. Initially pessimistic, their surprise turned to alarm when they noticed they were coated with powerful Augur emissions originating planetside. Soon enough communications were established.
Naturally Hanna bar Arcmit was part of the initial contact group. Once the Mechanicum realised just who they had found, they wasted no time and contacted the Emperor immediately. The leader of mankind went with haste to welcome his lost daughter.
Their meeting was very agreeable. The Emperor was pleased to see his progeny had wasted no time uniting the planet and showed no sign of the taint of Chaos. That her home planet possessed what was possibly the largest resources of adamantium in the known galaxy would be an unexpected boon to the Great Crusade on top of that.
Hanna was equally pleased by what she learned of the Imperium. Through oral tradition, it had always been known on Desolation that there had been other human-settled planets when their ancestors had been cut off by whatever catastrophe had occurred all those millennia ago. The long awaited arrival of their cousins was the best one could hope for. Joining the Great Crusade and aiding the rest of their kind was only logical.
With the population size of Desolation as minuscule as it was, psykers and mutants had never been a serious issue, so Hanna had no reference to the dangers of the Warp. There was no reason to doubt the Emperor's dire warnings, she supposed it was only right to be wary.
No xenos had ever visited Desolation, so there was no objection to Imperial policy either. (Xenos had in fact entered the system twice in the last five-thousand years, but left immediately after noticing active defence systems guarding an uninviting Death World.)
The more she learned about the Imperium, the more she was convinced joining was the correct decision. The Imperium in the Great Crusade was simply an alliance of Houses on Desolation writ large, was it not?
A House in a fortress in the large hostile deserts of Desolation was similar to a star system home to billions in the vast emptiness of space.
A simple trader flying to a neighbour fortress to trade a barrel of water for air purifier parts was now the vast fleets of a forge world delivering machines and crude materials to a trade hub and receiving food and settlers in return.
A lone Operator infiltrating a fortress to further his House's needs became a fighting force of millions of thousands of super soldiers, fleets of gargantuan starships and massive armies with uncountable men and women.
It had not escaped the Primarch's notice that the newcomers were practically salivating at the sight of Desolation's abundant resource. She acted accordingly. While control over the planet and the mining was to remain in the hands of the natives and her new-found daughters, she quickly established very lucrative trade deals with dozens of forge worlds. She did not stop there. Having gotten the eye of the Sigillite, she blindsided him with an audacious plan.
She was going to auction off the right to join the IV Legion.
Malcador was stumped, but quickly saw the appeal. Desolation didn't have anywhere near the population base to supply an entire Legion. Normal procedure for a Legion that had found their Primarch was to establish recruitment grounds on worlds they had recently conquered, but Hanna did not see the point. Why reward a world that had possibly resisted the Imperium when there were other worlds out there—rich, powerful worlds that had entire realms of their own—that were on the edge of joining the Imperium and needed just the right incentive? Worlds that would surely appreciate the immense prestige—and, in more practical terms, the protection—that being a recruitment world for an Astartes Legion implied?
Mere months later, the wider public was stunned when, during a grand and lavish ceremony, half a dozen major worlds like Jallador or Araneus Prime—each with spacefaring capabilities and a small realm of their own—joined the Imperium at once. They were further lifted to prominence by being granted the honour of providing recruits to the IV Legion of Space Marines. Coincidentally the Emperor used this occasion to present his latest daughter to the realm.
Since that day, Hanna bar Arcmit and her Legion—the newly dubbed 'Adamantium Coalescence'—have been a constant presence in the public. Apart from their exemplary service on the battlefield, the Legion is famed—or notorious, if one were negatively inclined—for the ease with which they form connections. One would have to look long to find a major Imperial court that doesn't have someone with a connection to the Legion, often enough one or more of Hanna's daughters are present themselves in their duty as advisors and diplomats. Many a conflict—whether full-scale war or a major clash between two Imperial forces coming from drastically different cultures—has been resourcefully resolved by the daughters of Desolation before it could get out of control.
For the original population of Desolation, the unification brought a plethora of changes. They had gone from a life constantly on the brink of extinction to one of the richest worlds of the Imperium practically overnight. They now had the means to settle on worlds without extreme destitution or strict family size restrictions. Many chose to settle on the new recruitment worlds, thus establishing links beyond the technical relation of the Legion itself.
Still they haven't forgotten their old homeworld. Mining personnel, service personnel and security forces, and of course the Astartes themselves, are exclusively recruited from the recruitment worlds according to the terms of the contract.
Despite being aware of their origins, reunification with the rest of mankind was nevertheless a culture shock to the residents of Desolation. Sometimes this was light-hearted discovery—with nobody having seen any animal life besides the few insect breeds farmed for proteins in millennia, house pets had become romanticised beings of legend. The behaviour of the common household cat was equally disappointing and mysterious.
At other times this was much more sobering. The immense wars on numerous planets, with single conflicts often costing more lives than Desolation had in people, stumped the Houses. For the denizens of a planet that had waged war for miniscule gains in essential resources, the sheer material quantities frequently lost were hard to wrap their heads around
The only entertainment humans had on Desolation was each other. This led to a strong love of songs and oral history, both trivial and thoughtful. They are known to discuss everything and everyone. To outsiders this seems like a habit of gossiping over the most trivial things, but the denizens of Desolation are sharp observers, often prizing themselves of reading others by tiny social cues. It is also a common pastime to mislead others in this regard.
Women in general have a slightly higher social standing, as one doesn't need many men to regain numbers after a catastrophic population drop. Major decisions are handled by a council of mostly older women.
Given Desolation's strategic value as both a critical mining world and Legion homeworld, nothing is left to chance, the planet is effectively if not legally owned by the Legion. Hanna wasn't about to foolishly give mining rights away to the Mechanicum or anyone else—the Legion controls all of Desolation's fortresses, they control the adamantium flow.
Enormous orbital fortresses, meticulously developed in-system defences and a dedicated fleet ensure that the flow of material is both steady and well-protected. Any attacker that were to overcome those formidable obstacles would then have to contend with the defences on the ground. In addition to the cruel weather, the fortresses are extremely well defended, for they also serve as the IV's training grounds.
After an initial assessment to sieve out all but the most promising recruits, hopeful young girls are shipped to Desolation. There those arriving within a few months are consolidated into training cadres and assigned a fortress for the duration of their training and nominal House for the remainder of their life.
While these Debutantes are slowly moulded into full Astartes, they are not only meticulously trained in all forms of war, their elders also educate them in topics as wide as diplomacy, etiquette, subterfuge, art and history.
A notable highlight fondly remembered in later life is the constantly present 'war'. Each House is tasked with establishing hegemony over all others during their training in addition to their education. The only restrictions established are a ban on taking another sister's life, and the artificial restrictions of their instructors—it would not do for a cadre of seventeen-year-old sisters to wipe the floor with a cadre of ten-year-olds on equal terms, after all.
The outcome of these 'wars' is noted on constantly updated world maps in the fortresses. Gaining House hegemony over all of Desolation is a massive gain of prestige and renown all recruits strive for. No training cadre has ever been successful in doing so since the days of the Primarch herself, though a few came close.
It is not a 'war' full battle-sisters can take part in, besides setting the rules and events. Nevertheless, following the everlasting game is a common pastime among the seniors, yet another topic fiercely debated and discussed. More than one Debutante entered their first unit after graduation only to find her elders were already aware of her and her record, receiving a wealth of suggestions of what they would have done in her position.
Besides being a common form of shared entertainment, this ensures every piece of the planet's surface is zealously guarded by the Legion. It also teaches Hanna's daughters the ways of their ancestors—they are literally fighting the same war she fought before them.
The IV Legion: the Adamantium Coalescence
Name:
Adamantium Coalescence. Formerly known as the Vaunted Falcons, prior to their Primarch's rediscovery by the Emperor.
Insignia and Appearance:
Like their mother, the Space Marines of the IV Legion paint their armour in desert beige camo. An often overlooked detail of huge importance is the colour of the armour trim. Astartes on Entourage colour their armour trim in dark green, Debutantes use red.
The left pauldron displays tactical role and formation in accordance with the guidelines established at the start of the Crusade. The right pauldron displays the Legion emblem, a black and a white hand shaking.
Gene-seed Status:
Originally deemed to be flawless, the Great Crusade was already well in progress when an unusual deviation was found in a few older Space Marines. Those affected suffer a Biscopea operating below estimated levels. While this does not affect ordinary duty, it means a veteran Space Marine might find herself at a disadvantage where sheer strength is required.
The same hormonal imbalance overstimulate the Omophagea. An affected Sister is able to experience a consumed being's last moments more vividly; in extreme cases this has led to short-term personality changes.
As this alteration has only affected a fraction of all Astartes, only occurs very late in their service and affects several organs, it was not deemed a flaw that was to be given priority. Apothecaries are hopeful that access to the Primarch will fix the issue altogether.
In contrast to some other Legions, the Progenoid Gland in the neck is removed as soon as possible. There is no medical requirement for this, this is merely another expression of the Legion's tendency to safeguard resources whenever possible.
Legionary Assets:
"Having resources sit by unused is almost as bad as not having them at all."
—Hanna bar Arcmit educating her youngest companions
Due to the immersive education a Debutante receives on top of an extensive training regime, creating a new Space Marine ready for action takes a relatively long amount of time. This is not helped by the substantial gene-seed rejection rate. In contrast, the Legion's preferred modus operandi results in a relatively low amount of losses. The Legion grew to a respectable size of 140,000 Space Marines.
It has been theorised that the numbers could easily be increased, given the ample supply of gene-seed, and that the IV could shorten their extensive education in non-combat related topics. So far, Hanna has not seen a reason to put this into practice.
The discovery of their homeworld was a boon for the Legion in more ways than one. Under supervision of senior Mechanicum engineers and the Primarch herself, several surface-to-space guns constructed during the late Golden Age of Technology were painstakingly unplugged. Similar to Nova Cannons in principle, with somewhat lower yield but much higher firing rate, three of these 'Rail Guns' were then used as the main armament of dedicated battlecruisers. These Outreach-class battlecruisers, variants of the Aquila-class battleship, sport relatively low armour and other weaponry, but their engines were significantly upgraded. Used in conjunction with deliberate use of minefields, an enemy fleet has the dubious choice to either retreat or close up under very unfavourable conditions.
The final removed artillery piece was integrated in the Legion's Gloriana-class flagship, the Oasis. The Oasis is notable for exemplifying the nature of the Legion, and serves as a showroom of all the Imperium has to offer to lost human worlds and tentative allies. On the surface it is an immaculate jewel, more pleasure barge than a dedicated warship, with its ballrooms and art galleries. There is never a moment where it isn't host to numerous dignitaries from various worlds, both those relishing in the favour of Hanna's daughters, and those seeking it.
This impression is an intentional ruse. Below these palatial estates is an extensive network of bunkers. Housing every trick from remote-controlled autoguns, minefields, misleading architecture to nerve gas injectors, not to mention the thousands of Space Marines onboard, they are intended to trick a greedy opponent into boarding this seemingly undergunned vessel so that their forces can then be destroyed piecemeal. Orks are especially susceptible to this, unable to grasp that the shiny human vessel is an especially poisonous bait.
To the surprise of nobody, the Legion makes extensive use of Terminator armour, securing preferential delivery from the Mechanicum due to their frequent shipments of adamantium. Legion Tech-Marines have even gone so far as to install Legion-specific modifications originally devised by the Primarch herself, improving their mobility without compromising protection.
As the Legion's preferred strategy requires a reliable way to deliver troops and material to newly-taken positions, the Legion's air element is well maintained. The same goes for their artillery elements.
In contrast, ground vehicles meant for direct combat, like tanks and bikes, are not a focus of the Legion. Never ones to leave a resource collecting dust, these elements are delegated to other parts of the Crusade with much more regularity.
Legion Organisation:
The Coalescence's nominal organisation is simple:
—A Presence is of 5 Space Marines, led by a Sister-Corporal, the original capacity of an atmospheric flyer.
—A Strike is of 30 Space Marines, led by a Sister-Lieutenant.
—An Ensemble is of 120 Space Marines, led by a Sister-Captain.
—A Partition is of 600 Space Marines, led by a Sister-Major.
—A Department is of 3,000 Space Marines, led by a Sister-Colonel.
—A Faction is of 15,000 Space Marines, led by a Sister-General. This is the largest subdivision, under the full Legion.
No bigger formation exists within the Legion. It is rare that more than a single Faction operates on the same battlefield, in which case they are led by the Primarch or senior Sister-General present.
The additional rank of Chatelaine is given to emphasise the commanding officer of a ship or fortified installation.
Special units:
However, it must be noted that a significant portion of the Legion's Space Marines operates outside of these parameters.
Entourages—Entourages are seconded to allied formations, governments of Imperial and Imperial-aligned systems, fleet formations and the like. Entourages are independent commands subordinate only to the Elder Councils and vary greatly in size according to the importance of their mission, rarely numbering above 20, with some consisting of only a single sister. Their mission is to facilitate and maintain close relations between all parties present, not limited to the Legion itself. Their role is bodyguard second, diplomat, advisor and coordinator first. They are the ones most shaping the public's perception of the Adamantium Coalescence—highly skilled diplomats and capable advisors, able to effortlessly arbitrate between the various organisations and cultures that make up the Great Crusade.
Special care is made to ensure that forward elements of the Crusade possess Entourages, so that the Legion is always aware of new developments on the front. If this is not possible for whatever reason, it is to be ensured they at least maintain cordial relations to one. It is likely the IV would install an Entourage on every single Expeditionary Fleet of the Great Crusade if they could, though there are a few Legions who are not welcoming to outsiders, like the Red Cossacks.
Delegations—A Delegation is a mix of the two. It is essentially a Legion formation temporarily seconded to another part of the Crusade outside of the IV's nominal control. These are created from bigger Legion formations and are intended to advise, support and strengthen other human detachments.
This can be a single Presence possessing the diplomatic flair necessary to smoothen a planet's integration, potentially negating the need for a costly campaign of subjugation.
It can also be an entire Ensemble of close-quarter specialists in heavy armour, giving less durable formations an armoured strongpoint to rally behind. Some Imperial Army formations are so keen on this that the Delegations have become a quasi-permanent institution.
Entire Factions have been delegated to the Imperial Army or other Legions, though not all Primarchs are keen to draw this option, some see this as an implicit admittance of inadequacy.
The Companions—The Companions are the Primarch's personal unit. Acting as a mixture between bodyguard, secretary and sounding board, to be chosen for the Companions is a sign of great honour, marking a Space Marine for higher future positions. The relationship isn't one-sided, the Primarch uses this unit to get a feel for the mood and impressions of her younger daughters.
Expertise and Combat Doctrine:
"Everything is a resource. A smile isn't the least of them."
The Coalescence strives to always maintain an information advantage over the enemy, with Entourages and Delegations always keeping their eyes and ears open. One never knows where an opportunity presents itself to shape the battlefield of tomorrow.
Harking back to the Vaunted Falcons' beginnings in the Great Crusade, where they were heavily used in urban warfare, the Adamantium Coalescence excels at breaking enemy forces in infantry combat. Clearing them out of a fortified hive in house-to-house combat requires a painstaking effort even by Space Marine standards.
A large focus is put on the occupation and fortification of strategic locations. This can be a choke point or a hill overlooking terrain just like a fresh water well in a desert world. The goal is to force the opponent to suffer from their disadvantageous position until they are forced to move in on the now fortified Legion positions, where they are dismantled.
This is true in void warfare, where enemy fleets are forced to pass quickly assembled minefields under punishingly accurate long-range fire.
This is true on a battlefield, with numerically superior foes under fire forced to enter entrenched positions where their numbers advantage is a hindrance until they are inevitably cut down by terrifyingly durable and well-trained killing machines.
This is true in diplomatic gatherings and social functions, where sisters well-versed in rhetoric and psychology inevitably lead their interlocutors onto a point of view favourable to the Imperium and the Legion, through nothing but a deft application of charm and wit.
It should be noted that should everything go wrong and the opponent still prove to be too formidable, too numerous or too obstinate, the sisters are still not done.
After all, a ship can still retreat to fight on another day.
The majority of a force can still be evacuated in good order while the dedicated casualties sell their lives to ensure their comrades' survival.
Admitting a point to your antagonist is a basic rhetoric skill that temporarily sets them on the backfoot for a riposte.
Legion Weaknesses:
On a theoretical level, the Legion's preferred tactics assume that an opponent operates under the same restrictions and guidelines as they do. A foe that puts no consideration into gaining strategic superiority can hardly be goaded into committing mistakes doing so.
The Coalescence operates in many theatres, but often in much lower concentration than comparable Legions, preferring to work alongside others. This can naturally cause friction if sudden differences in strategy and objectives arise. If the accompanying forces are routed, the Legion has to either retreat as well or face a superior opponent alone.
The IV is notably lacking in armoured warfare, both in vehicles and doctrine. This is not helped by their tendency to delegate parts of what tracked formations they have. Against a heavily dug in foe with no obvious weaknesses or approaches, or simply against long-range artillery on an open field, there isn't much they can rely on besides orbital strikes before sending in the infantry. It is here that their connections to other Imperial formations, whether they be other Legions or the Imperial Army, hopefully come into play.
Beliefs and Practices:
The denizens of Desolation never lost hope they would be united with mankind again. The Age of Strife, as terrifying as it was, was a scientifically explainable catastrophe, not a supernatural event. While the odd superstition developed here and there over the millennia, organised religion never gained traction on Desolation, and is seen both by mortals and their Astartes descendants as a baffling quirk at best.
The way Hanna and her Legion see it, the rules of old still apply, merely on a drastically bigger scale. What was a settlement with a population of a few thousands is now a star-system home to billions. What was a bottle of water bartered for a wrench is now a million tonnes of food traded for a Forge World's yearly production of servitors.
What was a single Presence decapitating a rival settlement is now a planetary invasion with ten thousands of Space Marines and their supportive elements liberating a planet's human underclass from their alien overlords.
Following those beliefs, the Imperial Truth is the best system of governance that exists so far. How could it not be, when the Imperium has recovered so much? It would have been a folly to resist.
Less ponderingly, a notable quirk of the Legion is their love for elaborate gowns, the Coalescence are the Legion most likely to be seen outside their armour. This is not seen as a luxury but a necessity. One does not perform a task without appropriate gear.
One custom that transcends the boundaries of battlefield and ballroom is that of the chainmail skirt. Handcrafted from segments awarded by one's sisters, these are individualised to display personal beliefs, achievements and career highlights.
The Daughters of Desolation are famously outgoing, always interested in learning more about others and their cultures. This does include culinary experiences, understandable given Desolation's limited variety of nourishment. A wide selection of tea can be expected whenever Adamantium Coalescence Space Marines are present.
It has to be noted that due to their history, there is a sharp distinction in what is considered tasteful and what isn't. An intricate landscape painting, sculptures depicting mythical ancestors or a clever play is tasteful. A simple water fountain, if gifted to a Space Marine or descendant of Desolation, is considered a scandalous waste bordering on insult. They obviously understand water isn't as critical in most of the galaxy, but gifting it to them is seen as a clear sign that one didn't even make a basic effort in preparing the meeting.
As the only replicable entertainment Desolation had was oral, this led to a notable love of songs, poetry and tales of any kind. The daughters of the IV are known to discuss practically everything and everyone. To outsiders this seems like a habit of gossiping over the most trivial things, but the denizens of Desolation are sharp observers, often prizing themselves of reading others by tiny social cues.
It is also a common pastime to mislead others in this regard.
Due to their widespread schooling on topics outside warfare, the daughters of Hanna have an easier time than other Astartes when understanding, interacting with and influencing mortals, both on and off the battlefield.
Recruitment and Discipline:
"An eye for talent, an eye for targets."
—Chatelaine-General Prita Nayar
Following their arrangement, both recruits and adamantium mining personnel are taken solely from the Legion's six recruitment worlds. Desolation's original population gladly moved to these worlds with a substantial increase in standard of living.
The training happens on Desolation, where recruits of the same age are put in training cadres. A cadre stays together from induction until their graduation ball, where they give their oaths to Emperor and Imperium, are formally declared full battle sisters and presented to the rest of the Legion. Nominally a purely Legion affair, selected outsiders can be invited to participate, which is a highly sought honour.
Elder Councils are an assembly of senior commanders from different Factions, Entourages and Delegations. It is here that information from the different battlefronts, courts and contacts is aggregated and new directions are given.
To an outsider this might seem like a circle of elderly women bickering and gossiping endlessly. It might as well be, if not for the Legion's talent for moderation and compromise. In any case outsiders are not allowed, so this does not pose a problem.
Training cadres are expected to regulate themselves and come up with a functioning system of discipline and punishments agreeable to all. In the rare case this does not happen, their superiors provide intentionally harsh punishments to incentivise future cooperation.
Members of the Legion are immensely social creatures. Isolation is thus considered a disproportionately harsh punishment. Sisters can lose the right to join an Entourage or Delegation, in extreme cases they are further punished with guard duty guarding fortresses that are considered isolated even by the standards of Desolation.
Characters of Interest:
"What do you want?"
—A smiling Sister Merton in a first meeting with a diplomat
Chatelaine-General Juliet bar Yangsim Ko—A young Operator of a rival House at the time of unification, Juliet has proved her Primarch's trust in her was well-deserved dozens of times. A veteran of uncounted battlefields, her Faction and fleet are currently operating at the forefront of the Great Crusade.
Colonel Shima bar Viidren-Furt—She recently finalised a successful pacification. Widely believed to be next in line for promotion to General, she is noted for being exceptionally similar to the Primarch in looks and temper, perhaps more so than any other sister.
Major Coline—Coline is a rarity among the Legion beyond her obvious declination of a House name. This old Terran veteran is unusually stoic and short-lipped (by the standards of the IV). Instead of sidelining her, Hanna has put her where she serves the Legion best. As the Primarch's personal champion, her ceaseless fixation on battle is yet another asset.
Sister Callista bar Yrel—She has displayed immense credentials by successfully leading her training cadre to landslide victories against senior cadres, coming closer to achieving 'Hegemony' over Desolation than anyone else in generations. This one will go far.
Captain Eris bar Viidren-Furt—She and her Ensemble are lending crucial support to a chapter of the Abandoned Eighteenth. While this is good, fulfilling work, Eris still hopes they can find their Primarch soon. The mood among the XVIII Legion is dire.
Lieutenant Zhao bar Viidren-Furt—She recently returned back from a Delegation to the Scourge, with whom she hit it off well. Very well. Concerningly well. Her superiors are discreetly putting out feelers on when they can delegate her back.
Senior Librarian Marianne bar Arcmit—A constant but often silent presence in Elder Councils, Marianne bar Arcmit is responsible for maintaining contact with those sisters too far away for conventional means, a duty she performs with ever professional demeanour.
Sister Sybil bar Eos—This battle-sister holds the stunning record of being in Entourage for over a century. While her combat skills have rusted somewhat, her diplomatic achievements more than make up for it.
Venerated Sister Oliandra bar Mazin—Barely a teenager when the Primarch casually overcame the best of House Mazin, she vowed to cut Hanna's throat for being, quote, 'bullshit'. The following integration into the Imperium saw her needing to readjust her worldview, though she still criticises the Primarch to a degree unthinkable in other Legions. A veteran of the fiercest fights, Oliandra has seen it all and is sure to let you know it. Unusually sprightly for a walking sarcophagus, she has lost neither spunk nor proficiency and can always be counted on to impart her comprehensive wisdoms to younger sisters, whether in a bunker or on a reception. Why, back in her day, Orks had bite!
His Excellence Gaius Sedarius McIntosh, Third Standard-Bearer Of The All-Encompassing Realms of Man of the Subay Worlds and Voice Of The Eternal Imperator of Mankind—He originally only came to the Oasis to personally recite his liege's ire about the sheer audacity of this 'Imperium of Man' to demand their fealty. Well. A few weeks later, he's seen their stunning technology, their artworks from ten thousands of worlds, and witnessed the breathtaking scope of their undertaking. He also couldn't help but notice the frankly ludicrous military strength of their war machine, and the kind of destruction this ship alone can put down across a system. He is beginning to have… second thoughts about his emperor's course of action. Luckily these 'Sisters' have given him a very generous deadline to find a compromise acceptable to all.
Gunnar Middenbrok, envoy of the Votann Leagues—He was heavily involved when first contact between Man and Squat was made. He has since extended his stay on the Oasis numerous times and is a respected advisor to the Primarch, as well as honorary senior oenophile.
Mechanicum Acolyte Rhodius 45-J is eager to learn the secrets of working adamantium straight from the source herself. So far without success.
Keen observers among the many Remembrancers aboard the Oasis have noted a mysterious robed figure. With no explanation given as to their identity, the rumour mill runs wild, theories range from 'a sister on a top-secret mission' over 'the Eighteenth Primarch about to announce his return' to 'an Eldar delegate seeking peace'.
Battle-cry:
The Coalescence uses a two-stage battle cry. The eldest sister shouts "For the Emperor!", which is answered with "For mankind!" by everybody else. This is often accompanied by grasping each other's fists.
Legionary History:
"There is not a single female among the entire Ork race. I find that it explains a lot and yet so little."
—Sister Alice Black, explaining the finer details of Orkish physiology during the Primarch's first campaign
—Formerly known as the Vaunted Falcons, recruited primarily from the hive cities of Franc. They were used as an assault formation to establish and hold beachheads as early as the Unification Wars of Terra.
—Once their Primarch had been found, additional recruitment worlds were established at selected systems throughout the Imperium.
—First campaigns after reunification saw fierce fighting on wholly Warp-tainted worlds, impressing the need for strategies not seen before by an impressed Primarch. The Primarch had never seen a wheeled vehicle, animals or clear sky before.
—Dogged resistance successfully tied up a major Tarellian offensive on Parshal until a relieve force could destroy the by now demoralised xenos forces.
—Campaign in the Carpation Sector was deemed a failure at the time as a sizable Orkish fleet escaped. In light of these elements later wiping themselves out in mutual destruction with an Eldar Craftworld, assessment of that campaign was later revised.
—A wholly unexpected breakthrough in gridlocked talks with the Tucana Amalgamation saw the small alliance join the Imperium, averting a costly pacification campaign and freeing up several Expeditionary Fleets.
—A major Ork WAAAAGH! at Breklaw V was first isolated by systematic destruction of their void elements and then wiped out by the combined reinforcements of several Imperial Expeditions.
—The Adamantium Coalescence fought often alongside the Bringers of Light for decades, culminating in the Sundering of Legan VII.