Sterbelicht - One Sacrifice At A Time Against The Galaxy (40K) Mature - Sci-Fi (2024)

"I DON'T CARE WHAT IT TAKES; WE NEED THOSE WEAPONS IN THE HANDS OF OUR PEOPLE YESTERDAY!" The Master of Arms shouted, one heavily augmented fist smashing into the table, the heavy steel construction denting and splintering under the sudden stress and force exerted against it, with the augmetic suffering severe damage in turn. "THE LAST FORCES WE HAD IN WEZNICRRIT WERE OVERRUN, AND WE DON'T HAVE THE SHIPS TO CONTEND THEM IN SPACE! FOR GOOD AND ILL, UNTIL THE IRRITA MAKES GOOD ON THEIR PROMISE, WE ARE ALONE IN THIS!" They continued, huffing at the exertion of air and the pure, unadulterated rage that flowed through them, compounded by stress, a lack of sleep, and days of horrific news after abysmal failures.

"We can't," the Master of Production replied with a hiss, visibly trying to stay calm. Their dirty and crumpled uniform, once neatly pressed and clean, once proudly adorned with the patches of their long shifts, now looked like a mockery upon their gaunt frame. "We are already running double shifts as the standard, with SDPs scheduled every seven days, alongside mandatory stimms for everyone in Type 2 to 4 Industries," she spoke, the various production reports before her spelling the numbers out as clear as they could, failing utterly to reassure anyone that they would be able to produce what was needed when it was necessary before they were required in hands that would die without them.

"And What Do You Want Me To Tell My Troops, Then?!" The Master of Arms ground out, leaning against the table with both hands beginning to dig their nails into the metal surface. "We cannot survive without those weapons; we need the bunkers and the munitions! Create more servitors from the invalids if necessary, and take the children from every family! If we fail here, we will suffer far worse than working in an doverclocked manufactorum! Grab the f*ckers from Culture if you are that lacking in workers!"

"What?!" The Master of Culture replied, looking up from their silent staring contest with the table, their arms and hands still perfectly positioned to hold their head in place. Red eyes focused, and dark rings shone from underneath; the tell-tale signs of Urmna abuse snaked through their veins in blue-silver snakes shining through their dark skin. 'The ever-awake serpents had made their nest within them' as some would say for those who substituted too much sleep and rest with chemicals. "Y-YOU CAN'T!" They shouted, panic rising in their voice. "We are barely stamping out the unrest as it is! You take my people, and we will have revolts on our hands in days!" They spoke, some words drawled strangely as others were spoken like they could not escape the mouth too soon.

"You mean the DAILY RIOTS IN THE LOWER SECTORS?!" The Master of Arms shouted in reply, and the meeting continued for hours. No solutions were found, but plenty of blame and stress were thrown every which way. In the end, the Master of Arms, Production, and Culture left with heated words and worse mental states, the Masters of the Ships, Yards, and Outreach remaining behind grim-faced and with the minds of those knowing that the end was to come. Still, they could do nothing but spend their lives and the remaining time as weapons against the oncoming tide of Chaos.

"Captain Eisha?" An aide spoke up a few minutes after a tentative discussion was struck up to calculate the feasibility of evacuating the most valuable machines and workers from Refuge Sanctorum so they could continue the fight from their other worlds. "An Outrider Report," the boy spoke, holding up the data slate with both hands to the small woman to take.

"More bad news?" The Master of Yards said in resignation, leaning back with a sigh. "Saint Mara, why do you test us so?" He asked, looking at the fresco of the woman with wings of engines and eyes of blazing reactors on the ceiling, her gaze of utter contempt leveled at those who dared to take charge of four billion souls, telling well of those bygone emotions felt by her, the one who had once taken charge of seventy-eight trillions in those ancient days when the Abominable Intelligence was more than an ancient shadow of horrors.

"Are those readings accurate?" The Master of Ships spoke calmly, looking up at the boy from the slate, her eyes hardening with a gleam of adamantium deep within. "I need to verify this again," she said and left without another word, her cloak fluttering behind her in the breeze of her hurried steps.

"Dramatic," the Master of Outreach muttered...once she had left the room. Just to be safe.

"Shut your asses up and listen," the Master of Ships spoke up the second she had crossed the doors into the meeting room, the Master of Production and Culture once more at each other's throats. Yet, both stopped at the words of the otherwise quiet woman content with listening instead of speaking. "We have a Fleet of Chaos, Xeno, and potentially Imperial ships barreling down the routes to us. Note that I said 'Fleet' here, not 'fleets.'"

"What?" The Master of Culture said succinctly, blinking with incomprehension.

"Yes. They are transmitting codes that my archives tell me are valid and correspond to a Space Marine Chapter, the Lamenters," she spoke grimly, the faces of everyone shifting and morphing in a dozen ways at her words. Some went happy and relieved, while others grew grim and worried. One of them, the Master of Yards, opened his mouth before an aide suddenly rushed from the back of the room with a data slate in hand. The Master of Ships took it with a hand and read it within a second, her face turning with a shade of an unidentifiable emotion before turning a forced neutral. "Scratch that; we have that fleet in our system as of an hour ago."

"That...that is good, right? Space Marines are a good sign? We have won now, surely?" The Master of Culture spoke haltingly. Whatever had propped them up was visibly falling apart as decades of stress seemed intent on claiming their piece of his body.

"No." And with that word, whatever the man had hoped for died an ugly death. "They are not Imperials; that much is certain from the fact they fly with Xeno and Chaos ships. I am hereby invoking my right as Master of Ships to call in Clause 4." Shocked silence followed her announcement, the mere utterance of the Clause driving deep what she believed was about to happen.

"As the Master of Arms, I invoke Clause 4 in turn," another ashen voice spoke up, heads snapping to the one who uttered those words like one signed their own execution.

"I..I-" another of their round began to stutter, the reality of the situation settling in, dread spreading from the Masters to their aides, one even leaving unnoticed, only to run once outside in the hopes they would be able to gather their family and reach the evacuation ships before the stampedes began.

And yet. While the Masters of the Shipwright's Alliance invoked Clause 4. While the ships slowly woke their Captains to begin what may be the last fight they shall ever have in the hopes they could delay the deaths of the fraction of a fraction of civilians who would be able to escape the claws of Chaos...the people of Refuge Sanctorum stopped in their tracks, the voice and face of a man beyond men spreading from vox to pict caster, servo skulls set into motions to spread the word and the news by techpriests once they understood the situation.

THIS IS THE MASTER OF SHIPS OF THE LAMENTERS SPACE MARINE CHAPTER. REJOICE, ALL THOSE WHO YET HOLD TO HUMANITY AND THE IDEALS OF THE EMPEROR: HIS ANGELS OF DEATH HAVE ARRIVED.

You Have 3 [Three] Actions. You Have 1 [One] Action for laying Teeln and Bnuy to their Final Rest. Currently Active ISC: [New Dawn R&D]
(6-Hour Moratorium)

[] [General] Develop The Federations'...
-[] Food Production VI
-[] Civilian Infrastructure VI
-[] Heavy Industry VI
-[] Void Industry X
-[] Medical Services VI
-[] Military Industry VI
(Gain: A boost in production focusing on the chosen option.)

[] [General] Colonize (Planet/s)
It is time to bring two more worlds into the fold. Thanks to the Kil'drabi becoming our Kin, we can now categorize Frozen, Ash, and Volcanic Worlds as Habitable instead.
(Gain: Two colonized Worlds.
Habitable Worlds: Ultima Sigritta - Sira (Mesa and Savannah), Silista - Silista X (Temperate Continent), Itani - Grubbub (Lichen and Fog), Gnatiila - Smug (Outback and Canyons), Turriamnish's Hope - Hope (Steppes and Moss), Monresast - Monresast Major (Arboreal and Savanna)
Hostile Worlds (-1 Void Industry): Qulach's Forge - Node 17c (Acidic Atmosphere)
Deathworlds (-1 to All): Qulach's Forge - Qulach's Forge (Fallout, Glass, Industrial Ruins, and Chemicals))

[] [General] Research:
01001101 01100001 01100100 00100000 01000010 01101001 01101110 01101000 01100001 01110010 01101001 01100011 00100000 01010011 01100011 01110010 01100101 01100101 01100011 01101000 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100001

[AUTO] [General] Begin Archive/Arsenal Inventories - [7/10]
Though it will likely take over two centuries to go over everything both planets have archived or put into storage, we may find some things that are of import to us. Slowly Auto-Completes after one Action spent.
(Gain: Stuff?)

[] [General] Propaganda For The Foreign Masses - [0/4]
With the Glimmering Federation struggling to digest its recent mass-acquisition of systems and populations, some have raised the possibility of using the Federations more diplomatic abilities and capabilities to subvert, convert, and then integrate new systems without causing mass-casualties or widespread destruction. A Propaganda office outfitted with ships, Choirs, materials, factories, and a mandate to do just that should bring foreign systems into our sphere of influence and then Federation as a whole. It will be pricy, though.
(Gain: Allows you to slowly convert one [1] random system at a time to the Glimmering Federation without Action cost.)

[] [General] Jolly Economic Co-Operation - [1 Remaining]
Despite what people may think, selling a sh*t-load of materials at discount prices will make you more money than trying to sell them at the standard mark-ups. However, there is only so many materials to sell until the industries lack behind order to restock and supply the same.
(Gain: 50% Discount on your [Develop] Actions taken in the same Turn (1 Dev into 2, 2 into 4). Ashan Families like you more.)

[] [Military] Create A [Blazing Sun - 4x War-Packs] or 3x SAGs - [System/s] - [Weight: Light/Medium/Heavy] - [Type: Infantry/Mechanized/Tanks/Augmetic Legion] - [Classification: Sabotage/Assault/Engineering/Demolition/Ogryn/Kil'drabi]
Sabotage Units will focus on raiding and disrupting the enemy with lighting raids and plundering logistics; Assault Units will punch through the enemy in weak points and sow confusion with overwhelming firepower; Engineering Units will focus on creating fortifications and using turrets, mines, and barricades; Demolition Units will be comprised out of heavy weaponry squads with plenty of explosives, from mines to rockets; and Ogryn Units will be Ogryns armored in heavy metals and armed with shields and Beatin' Sticks led by soldiers with spiffy hats that will not be disobeyed. Kil'drabi Units can go into temperature enviroments Humans would require special equipment with ease. Infantry Units consist mainly of boots on the ground, while Mechanized Units are equipped with vehicles that increase mobility and durability at the cost of logistics and all-terrain capability, with Tanks allowing a myriad of armored spearheads or operations to proceed, and an Augmetic Legion consists of cybernetically enhanced humans, equipped with high-end implans and prosthetics that set them far above the human baseline, allowing for far more dangerous deployments. Light Units are better for Low-Logistic scenarios, while Medium Units rely more on regular shipments yet strike a good balance between supply consumption and effectiveness, with Heavy Units reliant on solid logistics to continue working while also offering an equal force-concentration in return. A War-Pack consists out of 15 Karnivores grouped in Packs of 3 Knights each, alongside the infrastructure/logistics to support and rebuild their Knights.
(Gain: Two SAGs. These contain [Four Units] chosen from the above choices. Tanks require no Classification.)

[] [Military] [Construct/Refit] A Fleet - [36 Fleet Points]
Ships are produced at these rates: Scouts at 1 FP, Destroyers at 2 FP, Frigates at 4 FP, Light Cruisers at 8 FP, and Heavy Cruisers at at 18 FP.
You can refit Two Libra-S to Two Libra-T, Three Crux to Three Crux-S, and Four Taurus into Four Taurus-S in one Turn.
(Gain: Chosen Fleet.)

[] [Military] Refit All Proof of Our New Path-Class Battlecolonies
"Long Overdue. Long Awaited. Direly Needed In The Days To Come." -Speaker-Of-Engines-And-Spirits
(Gain: All Proof of Our New Path-Class Battlecolonies have their Armor set at Thick Bulwark Hull and their Shields at Three Lattices.)

[ ] [Military] Design New Voidship Classes - [Available: Destroyer (1 FP), Frigate (2 FP), Light Cruiser (4 FP), Heavy Cruiser (8 FP)] - [8 FP]
From what we can tell, thanks to our history, what information we, the Kil'drabi, Yeeni, and the archives of our planets tell us, the difference between a prosperous interstellar polity and one naught but ash is the strength of their navy. At the moment, we have the beginning of a proud Void Fleet, yet purely defending against our enemies is a great way to get ground down into dust over time; we need to be able to bring the fight to them.
(Information: Ship Classes requiring more FP than you posses take more than one Action to produce.
Gain: Newly designed and built Ship Classes.)

[] [Military] Begin Military Operations (Assign SAG/s) (Choose Location/s) (Designate Objective/s)
-[] 23x Free Celestial Choirs
-[] Task Fleet Alpha (20/20 Ship Capacity)
(2x Andromeda-Class Command Ship, 3x Proof of Our New Path Battlecolony, 1x Libra-Tertium Light Carrier, 2x Libra-Secundus Light Carrier, 3x Crux-Class Missile Frigates, 2x Aries-Secundus Class Corvette, 5x Words of the Writ-Class Frigate)
-[] Task Fleet Beta (10/10)
(1x Andromeda-Class Command Ship, 5x Aries-Secundus Class Corvette, 5x Crux-Secundus Class Heavy Frigate)
-[] Task Fleet Gamma (20/20)
(2x Andromeda, 1x Proof of Our New Path Battlecolony, 1x Leo-Primus Heavy Cruiser, 1x Dauntless Mk.1 Light Cruiser, 2x Endeavour Light Cruiser, 2x Viper-Class Missile Destroyer, 2x Cobra Destroyer, 2x Falchion-class Frigate, 2x Words of the Writ-Class Frigate, 1x Aries-Secundus Class Corvette, 4x Taurus-Class Troopship (0/2 SAG Capacity))
-[] Task Fleet Delta (7/10)
(1x Andromeda-Class Command Ship, 1x Libra-Tertium Light Carrier, 1x Scorpio-Class Light Cruiser, 2x Words of the Writ-Class Frigate, 1x Chamleon Class Infiltration Carrier, 1x Taurus-S Troopship, 1x Scorpio-Class Light Cruiser)
-[] Independent Operations Task Force
(2x Chamleon-Class Infiltration Carrier)
-[] Lamenters Chapter Fleet (7/10)
(1x Andromeda-Class Command Ship, 2x Risen Dirge-Class Boarding Ship (0/2 Companies), 3x Lantern Bearer-Class Commandeering Ship (0/3 Companies), 1x Resurgence-Class Torpedo Hunter, and 1x Bloody Dawn-Class Light Cruiser (0/2 Companies))
-[] Scout Fleet Alpha
(4x Circinus-Class Scout Sloop, 1x Spirit of Discovery Scout-Class Light Cruiser)
There is war to be had and battle to be made. Send troops to resolve issues and squash opposition to the Star Child and Humanity and all Their Protectorates, and send ships to scout neighboring systems to understand what is happening there.
(Gain: Military dispatched to put down opposition violently. Scouts are dispatched to look at other systems.
Scouting Range: ~10 Systems from Claimed Systems. Scouting Efficiency: 75% Adjacent Systems, 40% Three+ Systems, 10% Five+ Systems.
Note: For use outside your territory or in support of forces specified within another Action.)

[] [Psykana] Conduct Two Melodies (Choose two below.) (0.0/1 - Auto Complete) - [Choose Melody]
The Celestial Choir has been given the means; with time, they shall conduct their songs. They will listen to the Warp and filter out the false whispers from the slumbering guidance of the Star Child. In halting prayer and stumbling humming, the truth will be stripped until nothing but it remains in the hands of those who shall make it anew into power to be wielded by the Choirs to come. As there are 10 Celestial Choirs free to pursue research, the High Council can ask them to pursue a target instead of what comes close. This will, naturally, be lost once they dip below 10 Choirs.
(Total: 30
Uncovered: Technology.
Secret: Slumber, Silence, Perception, and Grounding.
Star Child: Hope II, Compassion II, Humanity II, Mercy, Creativity III, Health II, Unity II, Innovation, Machinery, Logic II, Progress II, Protection II, Justice, Wisdom, The Sun II, The Home II, Death, Ruthlessness, Brutality, and Fire II.
Kil'drabi: Paths, The Void II, Struggle, Community, and Family.
Gain: Two Melodies newly Conducted.)

[] [Psykana] Sing a Song (Choose at least Three below.)
Mere Melodies are not the end of the journey, nor should they be the start. They are the middle, from which all things shall grow and wither.
(Star Child: Protection I, Fire I, The Sun I, Humanity I, Creativity II, Song III, The Home I, Logic I, Unity I, Progress I, Compassion I, Hope I, Health I, and Void I.
Gain: A Song.
Sung: Dirge for the Innocent, Bound To The Stars, A Web Of Song.)

[] [Faith] Sermons To The Families
Though the Ashan Families are no fan of strangers walking into their home and preaching about strange deities, they are a fan of allowing honored guests to preach an interpretation of a sanctioned faith (even if it a weird interpretation) in exchange for money. Though they will still check if said guests are preaching Chaos. Just to be sure.
(Gain: The Ashan allow your priests to preach in their territories.)

[] [Faith] The Great Heresies
Though it is infuriating to many that splits and cracks have already started to appear within the structure of our faith, especially when the Prophet hasn't even been laid to rest in his last resting place, these splits were inevitable. There was no way to prevent those who strayed from established Doctrine, so we must expend effort to bring them back into the fold, even if some start to whisper about altering Doctrine itself to incorporate some parts of their beliefs into ours.
(Gain: Reconcile, Syncretise, Legalise, or Crack Down on a Heresy.)
-[] The Particularists
The Droman Creed emphasizes the different qualities and roles of each of the Five, encapsulating the Co-equal Oneness of the Five-One, One-Five, yet some believe this to be a Pantheon. For the Particularists, this is the furthest from the truth, as they believe the Five-One to not be co-equal within their shared Divinity, but One-As-Five, mixing everything into one being by denying the uniqueness of each Five to not deny the Oneness of them all.
-[] The Anti-Particularists
The opposite to the Particularists, they have twisted this section of the Creed to its utter limit: I believe that these Five, Omnissiah, Emepror, Motive Force, Body of the Faith, and Star Child, are Indivisible and One, and Two, And Three, Four, and Five. They believe one can pair the Five-One according to their "Co-Equal Hierarchy," represented by a square with four edges and the Star Child in the middle. In this, they claim that the Emperor and Omnissiah are on the Left and Right of the square, with the Community of Faith and Motive Force in the lower left and right, relating to each other in their respective roles and relations as they come together to create the Star Child.
-[] The Imperial Syncreticists
The Imperial Syncreticists are the left-overs of the Imperial Dogma from within Neon, their believers and priests seeking to reconcile the differences between the Droman Creed and that of the Imperial Dogma into one unto the Holy Child. To say that this has to be stamped out is to tell the obvious, as several portions directly threaten our Kin, and others seek to undo the protections granted to those mutated under the aegis of the Star Child with extended mercy by enforcing genetic isolation.
-[] The Adherents of the Divine Lines
Those who call themselves the Adherents of the Divine Lines hold to the idea that a Divine Lineage exists at all, claiming that, as the Space Marines and Primarchs are the children of the Emperor-and-Omnissiah as well as the Star Child, a clear line of Divine Heritage exists that allows those who partake in its shared blood to better understand and enact the will of the Five-One unto the face of the galaxy, and that the Glimmering Federation need only right what has so long been silenced.
-[] The Order of the Nurenor Roses
The Order of the Nurenor Roses is the epitome of those Cerberus hunts, for they are a Heretical Sect most foul. They believe the Star Child to be a woman instead of genderless. They seek a society split by task and by gender, with women as the spiritual rulers and men as the material leaders, the place of one designated by birth and skill, using the Thules as evidence for the success of such a practice despite all the evidence to the contrary, and more.
-[] The Supplicants of the Aetherical Cog
This outgrowth of the Star-Mechanicum was recently discovered and has, as far as Cerberus knows, been founded by an unknown Magos after the Nuking of the Forge, when they found an artifact of unspecified power and nature. However, interrogations have since revealed that this artifact was a receptible of data and contained several teachings within its form that range, by their descriptions, from "perfectly acceptable" to "utterly heretically." The various sects of the Aetherical Cog are cellular by nature and differ in several ways, even amongst themselves, but all hold to the central belief that a Divided Consciousness is no longer tolerable. Instead, they seek the Convergence, the day when all minds are joined as one under the guidance of the Star Child to be but a cog for their designs of peaceful unity.

[] [Chapter] As The Codex Demands (5/7)
Once again, unto the fields of training.
(Gain: The Lamenters fill out completely for the first time in millennia.)

[] [Other] Take Care Of [Future Or Current Problems]
(Write-In the problem being addressed.)