The Praeses Mercatura is the name of the security forces assigned to protect the Nexus Axiomatic, the headquarters of the Imperial merchant fleets on Terra. They also serve as the personal bodyguards of the Speaker for the Chartist Captains who represents the merchants' interests on the Senatorum Imperialis.
The Praeses Mercatura's formation dates back to the aftermath of the Siege of Terra, where the Nexus Axiomatic and all of its precious records of Imperial commerce and tithes was nearly destroyed before the Warmaster Horus' Traitor forces were defeated. To ensure that such a threat to the Imperium's economy (and the Chartist Captains' fortunes) could never happen again, the Speaker for the Chartist Captains raised the Praeses Mercatura and armed them with ancient weaponry and technology to wield in the reconstructed Nexus Axiomatic's -- and his own -- defence.
The Praeses Mercatura are a lightly armed force clad in midnight blue uniforms whose primary focus is personal protection and internal security. Mercatura infantry wear no or only light personal armour and are usually armed only with lasguns and laspistols. They also utilise gunships and Gun-Servitors to provide heavy fire support as the situation demands.
Sources[]
- Vaults of Terra: The Hollow Mountain (Novel) by Chris Wraight, Chs. 6-7