"Report it -- are you mad? If we tell anyone we found out trooper Vielens was a... whatever he was, how many executions will there be to ensure there is no wider corruption? How long until an Inquisitor arrives? Burn the body. Say nothing. It was only Vielens, and we've dealt with him like Cadians should; it's over now."
- —Sergeant Kosphar of the Cadian 917th, prior to her disappearance and assumed desertion.
A kill-team of Cadian Neo-917th Brood Brothers and Genestealer hybrids known as the "Wardens of the Verse" charge the force of Leagues of Votann Hernkyn Yaegirs known as Need's Gaârd.
The Cadian Neo-917th, originally designated the Cadian 917th, is an Astra Militarum regiment of the Cadian Shock Troops that was corrupted into a regiment of Brood Brothers and Genestealer hybrids in the Era Indomitus during its deployment on the conflict-ridden Forge World of Bheta-Decima by a Genestealer Cult known as the Cult of the Chittering Verse.
After its corruption the regiment altered its name to the "Cadian Neo-917th" to represent its change of allegiance and purpose. Thereafter the regiment operated as a critical military asset for the cult's xenophile agenda.
History[]
Mission to Bheta Decima[]
A selection of the forces available to the Cadian Neo-917th Regiment on Bheta-Decima after its conversion into a regiment of Brood Brothers and Genestealer hybrids in thrall to the Cult of the Chittering Verse.
The Cadian 917th Regiment was originally deployed to Bheta-Decima, a Forge World of the Adeptus Mechanicus located in the Nemesys Sector of the Segmentum Tempestus that was ravaged by conflict and xenos incursions. The space hulk Gallowdark had emerged in Bheta-Decima's system when the greedy ruling magi used a gigantic Graviton Cannon to pull the space hulk into their orbit in order to plunder it of its hidden technological riches.
However, during the process of its capture, the Gallowdark broke apart, raining debris across Bheta-Decima and decimating its settlements. In the aftermath of the catastrophe anarchy and violence reigned across the Forge World, and the planet fell into a crime-ridden apocalypse dominated by the workings of the black market.
It was into this situation that the Cadian 917th was deployed by Segmentum Tempestus High Command to quell the rising tides of Chaos Cultists, Aeldari Corsairs, and Ork Kommandoz that soon afflicted the world. However, a shadowy enemy lurked in the depths of the planet -- "the Seethe," a mysterious subterranean region that was home to the Genestealer Cult known as the Cult of the Chittering Verse.
The regiment suffered heavy casualties during its time trying to quell the chaos rampant on Bheta-Decima, losing twelve out of the regiment's fifty-six companies in two standard years of deployment. However, they remained resilient, gaining a reputation for discipline and tenacity, particularly through the exploits of their pious 4th Company.
Genestealer Influence[]
As the multi-sided conflict on Bheta-Decima dragged on, the Cadian 917th Regiment lost troops in unexplainable ways. Ambushes by enemies with crude firearms, drownings in flooded chambers, and the gradual disappearance of entire squads to unknown causes were common. However, many of these vanished troopers would later return, infected by the Genestealer's genetic curse. Unknown to their comrades, these returned troops were now Brood Brothers, subservient to the Genestealer Patriarch of the Cult of the Chittering Verse. Over time, entire squads and even the company captain of the 4th Company became infected, leading to a shift in the regiment's operations.
The cult's influence spread rapidly within the regiment. Local recruits drawn as replacements for the 917th, were themselves Genestealer hybrids, and soon filled the regiment's ranks under the orders of their corrupted leaders. Gradually, the 917th turned its efforts away from fighting external threats to Imperial order on Bheta-Decima and instead targeted the local Adeptus Arbites, Adeptus Mechanicus, and other Loyalist Imperial forces, branding them as traitors and obstacles to the cult's grand plan to welcome the Star-Children to their world.
When the Genestealer uprising on Bheta-Decima finally began in earnest, the Cadian 917th fully embraced their new identity, renaming themselves the "Cadian Neo-917th." As the mailed fist of the Genestealer Cult, they brought their Cadian discipline and training to bear in the service of their new masters. The regiment's military prowess, once used to defend the Imperium, was now turned against it.
Need's Gaârd[]
The Genestealer Cult's activities on Bheta-Decima eventually succeeded in drawing the attention of a small splinter of Hive Fleet Leviathan which was soon en route to the benighted Forge World, but its bio-ships were detected and engaged by the Farsail of Thryk Kindred of the Leagues of Votann's Trans-Hyperian Alliance league. The Kin sought to trap and harvest the splinter fleet, as the Kin had discovered they could render bio-ship matter into rare and exotic compounds.
Kin scout vessels were deployed ahead of the Tyranids to identify the splinter fleet's prey worlds, but the Quicksilver-class Scout Ship Vektrônn's Eye was shot down over Bheta-Decima by the Genestealer Cultists of the Cult of the Chittering Verse. The Kin ship crashed into the central hold of the cult's Genestealer Patriarch that had been named the "Deeprealm." In a desperate panic to protect their Patriarch, the Chittering Verse has decended upon the wreckage of the Leagues of Votann ship and battled with its Kin, seeking to eradicate them.
One of the Cadian Neo-917th Regiment's elite kill-team 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 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.
Wargear[]
A squad of Brood Brothers from the Genestealer Cult-corrupted Cadian Neo-917th Regiment.
The Brood Brothers of the Cadian Neo-917th Regiment are armed with a variety of Imperial weapons and equipment designed for ambush tactics and close-quarters combat. They typically don tattered and stained Astra Militarum uniforms, reflecting their subservience to the Cult of the Chittering Verse and their grim surroundings. The most common Brood Brothers utilise standard lasguns or autoguns, often equipped with bayonets for melee encounters.
Specialised heavy weapons squads among the Brood Brothers are outfitted with devastating weapons like flamers, Meltaguns, and plasma guns, providing both area-denial capabilities and firepower with greater stopping-power. Specialists also fill the ranks, including snipers and medics to deal with any medicae needs of wounded troopers, as well as troops outfitted with a lethal but limited Gene-needler weapon for dire situations. Grenades of all types and varying sizes of combat knives can also be seen amongst the Brood Brothers.
The leadership of the Cult of the Chittering Verse among the Cadian Neo-917th is represented by the Genestealer Cult's Brood Coven including the magus or in truly dire circumstances, the Genestealer Patriarch itself, who not only commands but also wields potent psychic powers that are channelled through the magus for leadership of the cult.
The magus often carries an autogun along with a Force Stave, while the Patriarch is a fearsome presence, capable of mind-controlling enemy forces or simply ripping through even ceramite with ease using its cruel claws. Pairs of Genestealer Familiars can be sent in its stead to observe the conflict, acting as scouts for the Patriarch.
Sources[]
- Kill Team: Termination (Specialist Game), pp. 4-9