Phaeton

Phaeton is a major Forge World of the Adeptus Mechanicus located in the Segmentum Solar. This vitally important forge world is home to the Legio Osedax ('Cockatrices') Titan Legion and is notable for being the originator of the common pattern of Leman Russ Tank.

History
Much of the early history of Phaeton has been lost due to the passage of time, but more than likely this vital forge world was discovered and colonised by early Mechanicum Explorators during the Dark Age of Technology, due to it's close proximity in the Segmentum Solar. With end of the Age of Strife and the launching of the Emperor of Mankind's Great Crusade into the stars, one of the first tasks of Imperial expansion from Terra was to link up with a number of key domains within the Segmentum Solar identified as vital to the Great Crusade's success. Crucial among these were several Forge Worlds with whom the Mechanicum of Mars had maintained some relationship throughout the tribulations of the latter centuries of Old Night. In many cases, these inclusions went without difficulty, who willingly bent the knee to Mars without qualm, but in others such as Phaeton, inclusions was the matter of some negotiation and difficulty, and the final acquiescence bought with considerably more autonomy than the Fabricator-General of Mars would perhaps have preferred from a vassal-domain.

What began as a coldly cordial relationship quickly grew into one of veiled and open rivalry, with Phaeton's position being further strengthened by it quickly becoming perhaps the second most productive Forge World of the Great Crusade until the later discovery of mighty Anvilus. Although never faltering in its commitment to the Great Crusade, machinations by the authorities of Mars brought matters close to outright conflict over doctrine and subtle accusations that Phaeton was building its military assets to threatening levels, and this began to have a corrosive effect on the Forge World's reputation -- to the point where the storm clouds of hostile censure and perhaps even armed retribution gathered. At last, the Revered-Comptroller of Phaeton Prime, realising that his domain could not stand before such power, brokered a compromise, offering publicly to give up a full third of his world's engines, armed forces and chattels in the interests of equanimity with Mars. This was quickly agreed, but as the Fabricator-General, no doubt with some lust for the task, despatched an assayance taskforce to Phaeton, he discovered that he had been outmanoeuvred.

Rather than give up its lore and dominion to Mars, Phaeton had created a fleet of vast Explorator Arks, and into these were divided an equal third part of its priesthood, chattels and machineries, and even as the Martian emissaries looked on, despatched them into the void. Conflict was averted, Phaeton diminished and its subservience was assured, but it and its allies gained a long-burning antipathy of Mars and its masters. After a long and perilous journey through the Warp, the Phaetonite Covenant alighted in the vicinity of the white super-giant star Atarath, on what was then the edge of known space. Here they founded the fledging Forge World of Atar-Median in its shadow, on one of the many rogue planets caught in the colossal star's gravitational pull.

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