Shinzaren

I hate you so much Lysimachus. So much. Man, this is another brilliant IA. Well written and well thought out. I only wonder about what the possible effects building the new Chapel/Shrine on top of such a tainted site would be? Any possible warp based corruption there?

Shinzaren was on his way to the Liber Department of Heraldry, a known stomping ground of the one known as Ace Debonair, when he heard the unmistakable sound of the a vortex grenade. It was less a bang than a muted thump, and then a sharp suction of air, as if some great beast was drawing breath. All the hair on his head stood up on end, and then the bang came. A blast swept through the halls of the Liber, nearly knocking Shinz from his feet. As he heard the growling sound of matter being desperately and inexorably pulled into the gaping maw of the vortex, he swept his gaze towards the Culinarium, where a pile of marines was slowly gaining their feet after a head-long dive out of the blast radius. Among them he noticed Ace and Aquilanus, along with Messor. He decided he would head there and see what had happened. "Hey gents, I was supposed to come find you. Something about a secret mission?" Shinzaren greeted his old mates with a firm wrist grip. "MIssion? Ah, you mean LEVEL TWO! No, not that to, the other too. No, that's four. Shut UP!" As usual, Aquilanus was a little out of it, that many spirits in one head was never easy on conversation. "How'd you know about it anyway? Messor brought up the idea like five seconds ago. Are you a psychic? He's a witch! Nah, just lucky! I think he's handsome. You would. ENOUGH." Shinzaren just chuckled and nodded, as if he had some idea what the maddened marine was muttering mutedly. He didn't. Still, a mission was a mission, and Shinz had been aching to test his new glaive. Ace meanwhile was muttering about how he had finally did it, and how they would sing songs of his glorious defeat of the terrible...oven? Was that right? Shinz must have been hearing things. Messor came over as the Liberites were chatting and hung a duty roster sign up on the remains of the Culinarium wall. Already a hoard of liberites was swarming to sign-up for the newest adventure, and Shinz figured a good stretch would do him some good. He grabbed Ace's hat, plucked a feather from it, and dipped it in some of the...sauce...that was spattered across the floor. With a quick swipe of his gauntleted hand, he added his name to the list of volunteers for the latest Liber Astartes mission.

Shinzaren strode down the long hallways of the Liber Astartes, quietly enjoying the sights, sounds, and smells of his brothers-in-arms. Nearly two years deployed away from the Liber had left him with a severe sense of nostalgia. So severe in fact that he never really blinked or questioned the massive explosion coming from the Culinarium, or Ace's shouted expletives. It just seemed familiar to him. He supposed that the Typo Wars had wrapped up, and that the Space Wolves he had met earlier had returned home to their own rowdy barracks. He stuck his hands into the large molded durasteel and plasteel pockets of his leg armor and whistled a jaunty tune as he strolled the halls, waving hello to his fellow brothers. All in all, it was good to be back. "Sergeant!" His reverie broken, Shinz turned around to see Olisredan addressing him. "Oli!" Shinz said heartily, extending his hand out before he noticed the black tinted glasses and gold-plated melta at the hip of his old friend. Across his back, a mighty power hammer was slung, with the letters B, A, and N carved across the head in glowing runes. It appeared that someone had gotten a promotion in his absence. Shinz quickly transformed his outstretched hand into a more formal salute, "I mean, sir Oli." Olisredan dismissed his salute quickly and gestured for the Sons of Lightning Sergeant to walk to him down the halls. "I'll be straight with you Sergeant, a lot has changed since you've been gone. Wars have been fought. Good men lost, and good men gained. You may need to adjust to the new rhythm of the place. Go find Tech-Sergeant Debonair and have him bring you up to speed. Also, find Aquilanus and Battle-Brother Ludovic, and request the presence of Dark Apostle Thirst as well. I'll need the 5 of you for a special mission." "Sir." Shinz replied with a sharp salute, "Might I inquire as to the nature of our mission?" "Let's just say it's time to shake things up in the Liber, Sergeant. Big things are afoot. Big things and big deeds." Olisredan gave a sideways glance and chuckle. " They'll sing songs about this one Sergeant, make no mistake about that. Now go, round up those men. And tell Ace he's had 3 hours to heal his blasted leg. How much more does he need? I thought he was a Space Marine, not a bloody PDF pup. Baahh" With that the mighty warden turned and went on his way, mumbling under his breath about Ace's leg. Shinz couldn't make out all of it, but he was sure he heard the words 'creative ways to avoid working' and 'fake broken leg gag.' Unsure what that was all about, Shinz decided the best thing to do would be to follow orders, and find Ace, though the mere thought of the 'Haphazard' Techmarine only brought up an old ache in his chest where Ace had once smashed him with a Legio Board of Combative Actions-issue power axe. Ah, the good old days, back when the Axes weren't just for juggling and slicing up Ludo's hearty mystery meat omelets. On his way, Shinz swung by the armory and picked up his newly refurbished power glaive, his Legio Board of Combative Actions-issue power axe, and his flamethrower, a gift from his old commander, Dark Apostle Thirst. When dealing with rogue Techmarines with a habit of smashing first and fixing later, one could never be too careful. After a bit of deliberation, he also grabbed his brightly colored and savagely plumed hat, a gift from old Ace Debonair himself. It was a poor comparison to Ace's magnificent Phoenix feathered hat, which pulsed different colors depending on his mood, but it's weight felt good. Properly armed and armored, Shinz set off in search of his former mates, unsure where, or when, he might find them all. EDIT: Also, when asking what this thread is, I don't think that there is a good answer. It started out as a sort of love letter from myself to the Liber as a whole, as it is easily the best place to spend your hours. However, it quickly, very very quickly grew into something more, something better. It's a free place for everyone to spin little stories that make you feel better, feel welcome, and feel a part of something. The rule of the thread, if there is one, is simple. Respect your mates. The thread is for everyone, but it only works as long as the teasing and the jabs never get to real or too mean. Just keep it light, blow off some steam, and have a good time. Read through the old stories and try to keep up with them all. See if there is something you would like to add, and add it. But more than anything, have a good time with it. Those are my two cents and my impressions of the thread, and of the Liber as a whole really haha. Everyone takes something different from it though, Cormac, so what you get out of it is up to you!

I think the only issue I have with this article is one that Olisredan has already hit upon. The ruling of the sub-sector. The resources of a Sub-Sector or System are VAST, almost beyond imagination. The amount of manpower, firepower, and wealth that rests in the hands of the ruler of a System is large, comparable at times to the might of entire chapters of Space Marines, more so in an economic sense. The dictates of the Codex Astartes prevent the commanding of Guard or PDF regiments because of the fear of one man acquiring too much power and becoming a threat to himself and the Imperium. When you talk about running a system and being granted the rule of a system, that entails the command of all Guard regiments raised by the native worlds, a portion of all planetary tithes, the authority over local governors and their PDF regiments, and the local Naval assets assigned to the sector. That is a LOT of authority, especially when coupled with the 1000 marines already waiting for their Master's command to be unleashed. The Imperium does not one person to have that much power, excepting the HIgh Lord of Terra. They aren't comfortable with anything that is large enough to threaten them.

Their gene-seed issue seems relatively minor, in the grand scheme of bad mutations. You don't have six inch long fangs, or a blood craze, or bony spikes coming out of your elbows, so I think you're doing okay. However, you do make mention of their battles with the Eldar, and their hunt for Jaghatai Khan. I think you should expand on this, as this is what the defining thing to your chapter is. Without something to really separate them, I don't quite understand what they do exactly. I know they have cool brotherhoods and different clans based on worlds, and that is really interesting, but it doesn't tell me what they do. Who they are. What defines them as a chapter. If they are hurtling defective marines in the Webway to hunt down their primarch, that is cool. That is unique. That is awesome. Let's see more of that. I want to see more of that aspect, as it is the unique thing that makes the Guardians of Midas who they are.

This is still going?! I leave for 2 semesters and I just assumed this would get buried. I dunno whether to be proud or scared haha. You guys are truly the best!

Actually, the Space Marine chapters are limited in their ability to use Battleships, as dictated by the divisions of power in the Codex. This keeps any one chapter from every posing the threat that the Legions did, which is the same reason they cannot command and raise Guard battalions. Also, the chapters you use as reference in upsetting the Inquisition are all First Founding chapters with huge amounts of sway in the Imperium. Their history and their alliances and brotherhoods go back 10k+ years, so they get a little more leeway than the average chapter. Plus, trying to bring war to a first founding chapter would require more influence than any one or group of Inquisitors possess. Other chapters don't have nearly that level of influence and prestige and are much more subject to the scrutiny of the Inquisition. EDIT: All that aside, you raise a good plan with the secret Mechanicum alliance. That could definitely patch some holes in the idea of denying info the Inquisition, but it doesn't work if the Void Wraiths want to hide their secrets from the AdMech as well. If not, it could totally work.

That would work for awhile, but eventually Mars will get curious if you don't turn in any tithes at all. It's a short-term solution, since eventually you will be required to tithe. At least that is how I would see that. Tithes are mandatory but Mars is way behind and backlogged and a million other things, but eventually they will realize you haven't tithed in 3000 years and get a little curious. EDIT: Plus he states that the Inquisition is already on his case and watching his every move. They would definitely be required to tithe, as the Inquisition is already suspicious of them. If they were any other run of the mill Chapter than they would be ok, but since they are already under suspicion and being tested thoroughly, their gene-seed tithes would not be something they'd be allowed to shirk.

The idea of them discovering a dead world definitely has appeals/parallels to Mass Effect. Like the vanished colonies, the Marines arrive late to the party and are left to pick through the rubble. To give them a definitive scale of threat, you could have a battlefield littered with empty armor of other Space Marines and Baneblade Tanks, their organic and biological material all drained to feed the Hive. The Apocaplypse books give some cool indications of how a Hive fleet consumes a world, and I will look into them when I get home to see if I can help there. What I remember for sure is that any form of organic material is stripped away, and the planet is transformed into a spawning pool for future Nids. Think Zerg and Char from SC 1&2 (appropriate, since the Nids are the basis of the Zerg). When the fleet moves on, the world just pumps out more NIds until all genetic material and biological/organic matter is used up. The world is then truly dead, devoid of atmosphere, any and all life, and ability to ever support life again. When they return to their chapter for findings, have them follow the path of dead worlds, eventually coming on either a recently conquered/still Nid infested world, or a world on the edges of the invasion that is suffering pre-invasion attacks/minor raids from splinter factions. This allows them to confront the enemy for real and get a true sense of the Horror the Nids represent. Especially a recently conquered world. The bulk of the Hive could have moved on, leaving just enough Nids to defend the spawning pools. Your lads come in with a hail of gunfire and finally realize what they are up against. They may or may not win, but either way, they are too late to save the world and the Nids have already fed. This could really drive home the point that the Nids are biggest, the baddest, the toughest threat ever, and your lads have to sacrifice anything to stop them. That's my 2 cents on the topic. I am hugely interested in seeing how this progresses Messor, since you have a lot of great ideas you are incorporating.

Well, since it would be a relatively new event for the Imperium, being one of the earliest Tyranid actions, they could approach however they pleased. Also, you could definitely incorporate the Nids as the Reapers, since the chapter shifts from paragon defenders of humanity to evil/pseudo evil villians willing to sacrifice anything. Also, the tech aspect could be incorporated as well. They could see the Reapers/Nids absolute control via the Hive Fleet and desire it for themselves. By experimenting on the Geneseed with Tyranid genes they can unlock new abilities/dangers, as well as making sure that their "control" over these test subjects was absolute. This would lead to multiple circumstances of mutation/dangers, all very much like the risks Cerebus and TIM are willing to take. New psychic abilities could be unlocked, as well as abilities like control over lesser Nid beasts. They could be so focused on defeating the Nids that they don't realize the damage they are causing to the Imperium as a whole. Lastly, the Nids present the classic Out of Context Villain that the Reapers so clearly represent. The galaxy is at war with Villains of every sort, but it isn't remotely ready for world devouring hives from beyond the known galaxy. Seriously, entire Space Marine Chapters go up against this monster and are destroyed and it just keeps coming.

Boom! Nids! You know it's good if Octavulg agrees with me. That alone is rare enough to make the idea a winner.

Not Necrons, Nids. They could be harvesting unique genetic specimens to grow the Hive's abilities. I dunno about the timing, but the Nids fit more as an enemy to match the Collectors. Whole colonies/worlds disappear without a trace. No one has a clue. Also, perhaps you could implement the CAT6 connection to Cerberus that ME3 opened. They utilize those deemed unfit/unsafe/incapable of duty. Perhaps they utilize their failed applicants in some twisted manner? Also, if you wanted to get really dirty, you could be secretly recruiting the unwanted of other chapters/organizations? Curing/manipulating gene-seed definitely seems right up the Illusive Man's alley, especially if it comes at the cost of his troops well-being? After all, it's the results he is interested in, he doesn't care about the human cost.

Shinzaren woke with a start, blinking to clear the fog from his brain. What terrible nightmares he had been having; dreams of textbooks, exams, and papers. Thank the Emperor he awoke when he did. Rising from the floor of the Liber where he had been unceremoniously laid out, he shook his head as he tried to remember what happened. The last thing he could recall was doing battle with some Typos. The invasion must have been halted though, since he couldn't hear any reports of fighting on his vox and it looked as though the Liber was entering the rebuilding stage. As he walked the hallowed halls of the Liber once again, he took a moment to check his wargear. His power glaive was still mag locked securely on his back and looked to be in working condition, but the jetpack he had taken on the typo hunt was noticeably missing. His Liber Board of Combative Action Approved Chainaxe was still there though, and was fully functional. Satisfied that most everything was as it should be, Shinz set off to see who else was around. As he wandered the halls, he noted the many signs of battle through the Liber, from bolter holes to scorch marks from meltas. That meant the Mods had gotten involved, which suggested that the Typo assault was more serious than he had first thought. Still, the place looked altogether intact, so that was good. However, he didn't recognize a lot of the faces he saw, and he scanned the Great Hall for someone he recognized. Turning down one of the side paths, Shinz found himself in a darkened hall, smelling of mold and decay. Shrugging his shoulders, he walked on, not really going anywhere in particular, just walking and thinking. Ahead in the gloom, he saw a cadre of forms huddled around a marine of the Liber. Recognizing the hat as belonging to Ace, Shinz broke into a cheshire grin at the opportunity. Readying his Chainaxe in throwing position, Shinz brought his arms over his head and prepared to loose the giant projectile, catching Ace off guard and avenging the hundreds of defeats he had suffered by forfeiture during his absence. He brought his arms down and released the axe in a smoo- "Shinz! Is that you?" Startled by the voice behind him, Shinz shook as he released, turning quickly to address the new speaker. It was Dark Apostle Thirst, recognizable by the eight-pointed star on his chest and the melta at his hip. As he turned and quickly saluted, Shinz heard a crash, followed by some barking and a lot of curse words. A glance over his shoulder made Shinz realize that his thrown axe had went a little wide and was currently embedded in the power pack of one of the strangers, which he now recognized as Space Wolves. What they were doing in the Liber and why they were talking to Ace were all questions for a different time, as now he was too concerned with the fact that he had just hurled a chainaxe at one of them... He looked at DAT for help, but the moderator's face was only disapproving stone, as DAT shook his head reproachfully. Looking back at the Wolves, he noticed they had finally wrenched the axe free and were all looking at him with decidedly questionable eyes... Okay, this is my sad little attempt to reconnect with the Story. I apologize if people are out of place or if I am totally off. I tried to read and get caught up on anything, but I got a little lost. Hopefully this makes sense. Also, hello to the Space Wolves that are reading. You're all new since the last time I read this! :)

Edited. Gotcha. Tried to rewrite it a bit to make them more aggressive. Alrighty. I can rework that section a bit. Alrighty. I'll try and work in some examples of them getting a beat down for awhile. Alrighty, alrighty. I yield. It prolly won't be there in the next draft. T Alright, this can definitely get some reworkage. I like the idea of viewing them as an infestation. :P Gotcha. Some of it is creative hyperbole. God-Shard and God are fairly close. Agreed, I reworked the sidebar. Easy enough. Something mysterious. I can remove that. Not a big issue. Alrighty :) Ok, I can definitely work with that. I will rewrite that in the next edit. Hopefully it makes a little more sense on the next read through. Thanks Octy!

Thanks. Took long enough to come to a perfectly obvious solution. True, he'd be dead already for allying with the Eldar. Speeches to the soon to be dead always fall on deaf ears... Yeah, that's a hold over from a time before names and such. Haha, nice. I can certainly change that. It's not super important to me one way or the other, and it is an easy fix. Noted. Although infantile was the idea. They were giant baby-faced kids who got their lunch money taken by the Eldar, after which they pooped a little. Enter war montage where they get tough and take on said bully. Kidding aside, I'll work on it The idea here is that they're sneaky and the marines aren't really good at Hide-And-Go-Seek yet. Although I do like your idea about bypassing all the problems with fighting Eldar by heading straight for the throat. I wanted to give the feeling that they were off doing stuff, and someone gave them an order to go clear out the neighboring system because the Eldar were making a muck of it.They weren't really going to that system on their own, because they had their own stuff to do. But, they got orders, so they saddle up and try and fix the system. However, by the time they got there, everything was pure chaos. People starving, no trade, worlds isolated and preyed upon. Just a mess. So, they started with the obvious things, food, trade, supplies. They didn't really have any experience personally in the area, so they just started with what they knew. I can work on it. I am remembering the advice you gave me about Hatred. This was written shortly after you had me rea, "I have no mouth and I must scream." I was trying to justify that level of hatred. Having the marines defending a system didn't seem like it would be enough. They would have regular old marine levels hatred, sure, but I wanted them to have that burning hatred that blinds them to everything but the foe. I don't really have a good way/reason for them to hate the Eldar with all their souls. Check the earlier posts. That has been there for years. Literally. It was a suggestion from Sigismund Himself, who said he'd name an Inquisitor after me if I could pull it off haha. You clearly disagree with him haha. I rather liked it. It will go if I decide to have the Chapter be the aggressors. The Sons were stretched thin, fighting a defensive war against the Eldar all over the system. They were not winning. Plus, the Eldar are sneaky. They hid behind some moon so they couldn't be found. The marines are the losers at this point. The lucky underdogs! Everyone loves a lucky underdog! Kidding aside, I needed a reason for them to get their asses kicked a little, and I really liked the idea of a crazy old man trying to talk to the moon. Adapting could be changed. More like surviving. Tactics forged in fire and all that. They had to learn to survive, and this was the ultimate school in sneaky warfare. Also, nothing I could find says they know. My Eldar codexes say it is a super closely guarded secret, and the Imperial ones never mention it to my knowledge. If they knew it would be HUGELY helpful to me, since they could focus out of the gate. It was the random chance that helps the IA conform to the more general universe, since I didn't really know. Yeah, rereading it I certainly notice how it reads. I can certainly adjust that. The marines don't know that. This 20ft tall fire demon appeared and laid waste to everything. For all they know, he is Khaine. They're new to the whole Avatar thing, and I imagine that he makes a pretty big impression... DOH! Totally forgot the Webway! Durh. Yeah, I think I will take out the Homeworld sidebar where it just repeats what I say in the main section and make that a blurb about the time period immediately following the big battle. Its a better use of the space and I can use it to better establish ties with other Imperial organizations and better establish their antagonistic relationship with the Eldar. It's a big deal yo! Craftworlds and what not, all up in this place! Not something that happens everyday. Gotta make sure people are aware. They live on an Eldar Spaceship/Planet/Moon/Deathstar. Thanks I'll remove the dialogue haha. These are perfidious aliens with perfidious alien tech! This can't be regular vengeance! This has to be elaborate super-villain vengeance beyond the abilities of mankind! They are evil Eldar and stuff! So adding the Tesla tanks to the armory is a no go...? Darn. I'll rework to make it a bit easier. Yeah, I felt like the section was too short otherwise. I can see about reworking it a bit. It's the fuel economy. The Predator is such a gas hog. The Rhino gets like 6 mpg! That's nearly 12 times what the Predator gets! You can't pass up the savings. Pays for itself in the long run... Plus, tanks are boring. Shooting your enemy with a tank is boring when you can get in his stupid elfy face and headbutt him. Them, They, Those, The People In The Know, Scholars, People Who Care About The Reason That The Sons of Lightning And The Eldar Hate Each Other. Honestly, it just sounds scholarly. I guess we could try? I don't even know how that would taste. I'll work in a bit about how they note how the Gems are psychic and are trying to discern the nature of the energy, perhaps turning it into a weapon or something equally vicious. They read and stuff? I dunno. I didn't really have a good gene-seed quote, and they are missing the Betcher's Gland. It worked. I could change E.C. to Bob, if that would help? * * * Only real issue I am having is developing their hatred for the Eldar without an outside motivator/event. Right now I have the betrayal of the Guardsmen, but I don't have a really good reason to hate the Eldar more than any other enemy of Mankind. I could definitely use some help there. Otherwise, I just need info on what Eldar fighting Humans looks like across the various battlefields, and more info about how much Mankind knows about the Eldar. Thanks for the feedback though sir, I will get started on it right away. Most of it anyway. I quite like some of it as is