Editing Realm Guard and Mercenaries (section)

=Mercenaries=
There are many worlds that lie outside the control of both the Dark Imperium and the Crusader States, especially within Segmentum Tempestus. Such planets are at the mercy of xenos and other invaders, and so must fend for themselves. Their defense forces, hardened by their home and the many battles there, are peerless combatants, and immediately available reinforcements if a commander is willing to pay.

==Suka Steelborn==
The planet Suka is a grim world: its surface is devoid of any atmosphere, almost lifeless save the beasts that brave the distances between settlements and the plants which reach deep into the tunnels for sustenance. Not a human soul lives on the surface, but must reside in various airtight villages scattered around the planet, ancients structures from the Dark Age of Technology revered by their denizens with worship. In such a world resources are scarce, and so the tech-tribes must fight using their ancient artifacts, bringing void-suits and lasguns to bear against each other.

The tech-tribes of Suka do not wage war themselves, but instead send forth their gods. Among the most ancient technologies of Suka are ancient incubation vats, automated apparatus that give birth to flesh. What beings emerge from these metal wombs are not mere men to the tech-tribes; they are gods, born of machine, whose exclusive right is to lay waste to the bodies and spirits of machines. Only the Steelborn, sons of metal, can break metal; the lower born of flesh have no say in the affairs of spirits. Steelborn cross the airless surface of Suka, fighting other steelborn for their tech-tribe, scavenging archeotech, providing valuable services to the tech-tribes as they explore the world.

Occasionally, when the stars are too many, gods from the sky descend to Suka. Representatives of the Astartes, greater gods of machinery, come to the planet to spirit away hundreds of Steelborn into the larger galaxy's endless conflicts. Other times it is techpriests, truly divine men to the Sukans, searching for archeotech, bringing more technology to the tech-tribes to trade for rarer items. Sometimes, it is not gods but demons who come to Suka. In such times the Steelborn must defend their world against the horrors of the galaxy.

==Sabbath Ice Maidens==
In the zone contested by the Crusader States and the Dark Imperium lies the frozen ocean world Sabbath. It is an unforgiving planet devoid of warmth and land, where inhabitants live in the massive floating cities that smash through the ocean ice and move with the marine megafauna. In most ways it is a world that lacks strategic significance; forces both Chaos and Crusader would pass over without bothering with sacking such a useless planet. What little it does supply, however, could make all the difference in a battle. The cities of Sabbath can only be connected by either the massive icebreakers that smash the sea, or by the brave pilots who take to the skies. Men are mariners, whalers, walkers; but women are pilots, leaders, and ultimately the fighters desired by the galaxy. Fleets dare come near Sabbath in hopes of trading vital materiel for the service of Sabbath women and their craft, not merely because they are good pilots, but because they are dangerous pilots. The skills of the Sabbath Ice Maidens are honed in the winds and darkness of their frozen home, and so have mastered nights and gales.

==House Rammstein==
There are men in this galaxy who owe their allegiance to no one. Mercenaries, black knights, renegades, blackguards. Their loyalty is with gold and good food, and nothing may persuade them with anything but those. So tied is their integrity with their salary that it is said Segmentum Tempestus is so named for the tumultuous nature of the countless mercenary forces among its stars. Typically, the word "mercenary" is associated with simple men, soldiers of fortune with a lasguns, who run at the sight of a space marine they outnumber a thousand to one. Never mind that there are more disciplined or bloodthirsty mercenaries out there would would throw themselves at the space marine for a shot at glory, there is a greater force among them than normal humans. Within Segmentum Tempestus there are many houses of knights who desire honor above safety, glory above life; and among them is House Rammstein of the White Realm, the Black Bands of Meinherz.

Unlike the cowards who call themselves soldiers of fortune, the Black Bands are hard and unwavering. Their hearts are like hot stones, burning and unbreakable, heated by passion and hardened by battle. Their tongue is anger, and their weapons are the guns of their knight suits. They are bound by their contract to the highest bidder, till the day the battle ends and it is time to return to their knightly fortress.

==Avalon Manslayers==
Avalon is a hot deathworld, its one massive continent is home to countless man-eating beasts, and the only safety for civilization is on the islands around it. However, despite all its terrors the Continent is not feared by Man, who desire the hides and meats of exotic animals. Every years hunters travel to the Continent for a great hunt, their expeditions taking them as deep into the jungles and plains as provisions and courage can carry them. Many die in these expeditions, and many fail to catch their prey, but those that return with an animal's corpse on their backs earn the celebration that follows their homecoming. Those who survive are warriors, having mastered the skills of stealth and killing like no one else in the world. These hunters' skills, honed against violent and unpredictable beasts, are easily used on humans, and so it's from the hunters that the Crusader States draw Avalon's regiments.

The Avalon Manslayers are an elite force of commandos whose expertise is in scouting and beast-slaying. Their skills as hunters translate into skills as warriors; their patience, their aim, and their cool heads let them kill men as easily as any beast.

==Iscarynn Ronin== 
As the Thirteenth Crusade stretched on, the forces of the Unyielding Vigil launched a devastating assault upon Imperial Eldar space, hoping to cleave through the faithless xeno and encircle the Chaos Legions rampaging through the upper Segmentum. The first to feel the brunt of this offensive were the Corsair Princedoms at the edge of Imperial territory. Many worlds were abandoned as the Eldar made a fighting retreat, but some territories were struck harder, such as those of Prince Uledainn. The Prince's flagship was destroyed in the fighting and his fleet scattered, his Princedom falling into chaos. As the tides turned and the Eldar began to push back, the scattered elements of his fleet returned with new masters to reclaim Uledainn's worlds, but the Eldar underestimated the indigenous populations' loyalty to their former master. The Princedoms played fast and loose with the laws of the Empire, and many human Custodian Worlds within Uledainn's domain were bound to the deceased Prince not only by veneration, but by a sense of mutual respect.

Disgusted by the sight of their celestial lords bickering over Uledainn's holdings, the world of Iscarynn declared itself ronin, pledging that if they could no longer serve their former Prince, their only master would be fortune. Successfully fighting off the small, hastily-assembled force sent to reclaim it, the planet has since settled into a state of truce with its neighbours, and has become valued for the quality of its warriors, few Princedoms wishing to risk losing such an asset in an attempt to take the world for their own.

Since then, the Iscarans have fought on battlefields across the Segmentum and for a multitude of employers. Specializing in mobile warfare, they utilize large numbers of Stinger (simplified versions of the Eldar Wasp walker design, dumbed down for use by Custodian World humans) squadrons to great effect, engaging in perilous skydrop maneuvers to outflank their marks.

==Jhokanin Void-Men==
In the vast, winking dark of the void, it isn't hard to lose one's way. The tale of the Jhokanin is a fable whispered among naval academies throughout the Loyalist Realms - the story of the ancient ''Joukahainen'', one of the last colony ships of the Golden Age, directionless and floundering through the vacuum of space in its attempts to leave the Iron Men and their terrors far behind. The ''Joukahainen'' never saw planetfall, but its people adapted, and tribes of their descendants - the pale, dark-eyed Void-Men - rove between the stars to this day, their bodies optimized by generations of gene-therapy for life in the void. A fleetbound people, the Jhokanin can be found across the breadth of the galaxy, trading and selling their services as mercenaries. Equipped with vacuum-sealed, servo-strengthened mesh armour and high-yield, limited-charge lascarbines, the Void-Men specialize in zero-g combat and daring boarding actions, utilizing carefully-maintained techno-charms to generate variable grav-fields as they leap between passing voidships or glide confidently across whirling asteroids.

Highly traditional and culturally insular, the Jhokanin reveal few of their customs to their employers, but rarely turn down an offer of employment. Wherever asteroid bases are to be secured or voidships are in need of scuttling, the Void-Men can by found plying their deadly trade.

==Akyat Hive Racers==
Akyat is the only surviving hive on the planet Pintus. Once a thriving industrial world on the border of the Protectorate and the Imperium Minorum, an Ork invasion quickly destroyed the majority of the world's factorums. This forced the people of Akyat to use whatever they could find to keep their vehicles operational, and eventually improve them. Supercharged, fitted with hydraulics, and fitted with enough weapons to make a Titan blush, the armour of the Akyat Hive Racers has more in common with the vehicles of the Orks they fight than any human tank or transport. The only reason they have been left alone by the Mechanicus is their effectiveness, and relatively small numbers.

It is not uncommon to see a Hive Racer challenge an Ork to a "Death Race", where the only rules are go fast, no brakes, and kill the other guy. Winner is the one who isn't dead in a heap of burning fuel and twisted metal. These are seen as a way to please their God of Speed, and are the only way to receive promotions.

Light vehicles such as bikes and walkers are rarely seen in use by the Hive Racers, as it is seen as a more difficult challenge to convert a Leman Russ into something that can outpace a Thunderhawk. That, and Basilisks drifting at incredible speeds look awesome.