Bheta-Decima, originally known as Emperor's Bounty, is a fume-shrouded Ocean World in the Nemesys Sector of the Segmentum Tempestus that in the Era Indomitus is in the process of becoming a Forge World of the Adeptus Mechanicus.
A chaotic, multi-faction conflict erupted on the world after its ruling magi unwisely sought to claim the space hulk Gallowdark so that they could ransack its technological secrets and the hulk accidentally crashed into the world, devastating the planet and its population.
History[]
Origins[]
Emperor's Bounty was an Ocean World of the Nemesys Sector in the Segmentum Tempestus that was only recently colonised in the 41st Millennium by the Adeptus Mechanicus, who sought to use its low gravity to make it easier to move heavy equipment and thus enhance the speed and efficiency of their mining efforts.
The greedy tech-priests of the Mechanicus swept aside the small Human population that already called the world home with the deployment of their military power. They proceeded to transport millions of Mechanicus menials to the world to serve as a vassal labour force from elsewhere in the Mechanicus' vast domains. The tech-priests then redesignated Emperor's Bounty as "Bheta-Decima" and had the Administratum register it as the Priesthood of Mars' newest Forge World.
Fall of the Gallowdark[]
When the space hulk designated Gallowdark by the Imperium emerged from the Warp in Bheta-Decima's star system, the greedy magi of the Forge World used a massive, capital-ship-sized Graviton Cannon to pull the passing space hulk into the orbit of Bheta-Decima so that they could plunder it at their leisure of any archeotech riches it might hold.
However, once the massive vessel was held in the grip of the Graviton Cannon the tidal forces unexpectedly proved too much for the composite vessel and the Gallowdark broke apart, raining debris and massive sections of the giant voidcraft across the surface of Bheta-Decimus and damaging most of its settlements, killing millions in the process.
In the aftermath of this cataclysm anarchy and violence erupted among the world's survivors as they faced a decidedly more dangerous environment and a struggle for continued survival with the collpase of civilisation across much of the Forge World. The planet regress after the crash into an apocalyptic environment defined by high levels of crime and the oppotunities offered by the black market for continued survival. The world's devastated planetary defence forces and Enforcer police units were quickly overwhelmed by the desperate survivors.
At the same time, various creatures that had called the Gallowdark home survived the crash and emerged from its wreckage to plague Bheta-Decima, including Orks, Beastmen in service to Chaos, Aeldari Corsairs and even mechanical horrors of unknown provenance. Mechancius hunter-clades were dispatched by the world's Skitarii Legions and its Battle Congregation to take on these foes, though before long units of Traitoris Militarum who had defected from the Astra Militarum sought to carve out their own private fiefs. The arrival of these xenos and Chaos foes only further contributed to the growing chaos across the Forge World.
By this time, all Imperial authority on Bheta-Decima has simply collapsed. Its ruling magi and fabricator-general who served as the planetary governor had fled the planet with their most vaulable assets, battling the rebels, xenos and pirates seeking to ransack the shattered worlds all along the way. Schisms over Cult Mechanicus dogma as well as outright opportunism on the part of some of the tech-priests like Magos Virellan who chose to remain on the world further added to the anarchy.
The Chaos-aligned Beastmen, mutants of the group known as the "Stichkin Gloomlings" and the Genestealer Cultists of the Cult of the Chittering Verse, who had long hidden themselves alongside their Genestealer Patriarch in the subterranean region of the world known as "the Seethe" where they established a hold to serve as their central headquarters called the "Deeprealm", became the greatest threats to the remaining Human population. Much of the fighting was focused around the artificial toxic sea of Hypersump IV and its wharf cities.
Rescue of Torc Dystari[]
Meanwhile the ambitious Magos Bartolomus Virellan had captured a Craftworld Aeldari Farseer named Torc Dystari from the ruins of the Gallowdark to serve as the subject of his own dark experiments and research. The capture of such an important prisoner led to a search party being dispatched from the Farseer's home craftworld of Biel-Tan to the Forge World to rescue him from the Mon-keigh.
After Dystari's location was confirmed to be Bheta-Decima, Biel-Tan Farseer Di'sar Caman organised the retribution and rescue operation. They deployed a cadre of Striking Scorpions Aspect Warriors from Biel-Tan's Onyx Claw Shrine via a stealth corvette used by an Aeldari Corsair warband. The team of Biel-Tan Striking Scorpions soon came into conflict with a Raven Guard Chapter kill-team under the command of Shadow Sergeant Kyrin Torvaec, which had been deployed to Bheta-Decima in search of pre-Imperial technology once utilised by the Raven Guard primarch Corvus Corax.
Cult of the Chittering Verse[]
In the wake of the fall of the Gallowdark, the Genestealer Cult present on Bheta-Decima known as the Cult of the Chittering Verse has since managed to finally draw the notice of the xenos they call the "Star-Children," who they believe will soon arrive to save them from the present conflict and usher in their long-promised spiritual salvation.
As such, a small splinter of Hive Fleet Leviathan is currently en route to Bheta-Decima, but its bio-ships were detected in transit and engaged by the Farsail of Thryk Kindred of the Leagues of Votann's Trans-Hyperian Alliance league. These Kin seek to trap and then harvest the resources of the splinter fleet, as the Leagues of Votann have discovered that they can render bio-ship organic matter into rare and exotic compounds that can be used in all sorts of highly profitable applications, from new medicae treatments to voidship engineering projects.
Scout vessels were deployed ahead of the Tyranid splinter fleet to identify its prey worlds, but the Quicksilver-class Scout Ship Vektrônn's Eye was shot down over Bheta-Decima by the Genestealer Cultists. The ship crashed into the central hold of their Genestealer Patriarch in the Seethe, the Deeprealm. In a desperate panic, the troops of the Chittering Verse, including the Traitoris Militarum Cadian Neo-917th Regiment comprised of Brood Brothers and Genestealer hybrids, descended upon the wreckage of the Leagues of Votann ship and battled with its Kin to eradicate the intrusion.
One of the 917th Neo-Cadian's elite kill-teams called the "Wardens of the Verse" was responsible for assaulting elements of these Kin forces. The acting commander was Jerran Krauss, who led the Wardens of the Verse alongside the Chittering Verse's cult magus.
During the combat over the Deeprealm, Extrication Craft Thargr 7 carrying a unit of the Kin's Hernkyn Yaegirs called Need's Gaârd from the Vektrônn's Eye was shot down by enemy fire. The Kin's team leader Vynn Dreygr and his squad survived the crash but were forced to regroup as they sought to secure a Legacy Vault present in the Deeprealm, a critical artefact present on Bheta-Decima that they sought to secure and return to the Votann. A Legacy Vault is an advanced Leagues of Votann cogitator technology that allows the neural makeup of individual Kin who have been slain far from their holds to be secured and stored in order to one day be rejoined with their distant Ancestor Core. To recover these neural patterns is a primary task of the Kin's Hernkyn.
The Kin kill-team fortified their position at the crash site while fending off repeated ambushes from infected Brood Brothers of the Cadian Neo-917th. The guidance of the cult's magus was pivotal in this first contact, as her psychic focus allowed Jerran Krauss to discover the Kin's movements after they unleashed a counteroffensive on the Brood Brothers as a distraction.
As the Brood Brothers of the Wardens of the Verse launched coordinated attacks under the guidance of Krauss and the magus, the Kin retaliated fiercely but were ultimately forced to seek out a generatorium that could be used to power-up the damaged Legacy Vault so that the transfer of its precious data could begin. The Kin discovered their communications had been compromised by the cultists, leading to an ambush by the Brood Brothers at a generator site.
The situation became dire when a Genestealer revealed itself, accompanied by more Brood Brothers and a powerful female Clamavus. Despite heavy losses, including the near-death of Vynn Dreygr, the Kin managed to fend off their attackers temporarily.
In the end, the remaining members of Need's Gaârd held out at the generatorium site while Dreygyr made a solo journey back to the Vektronn's Eye for reinforcements, leaving his team to defend the Legacy Vault. The team was resigned to fight to the death, knowing that through the Legacy Vault, their knowledge and sacrifice would return to the Votann, ensuring that their legacy would endure even if their lives did not.
Sources[]
- Kill Team: Salvation (Specialist Game), pp. 8-12
- Kill Team: Termination (Specialist Game), pp. 4-9