Editing Morkai

{{Hektor Heresy Xenos header}}
{{Infobox HH Faction
|Name = Morkai Republic
|Image = 
|M31 Status = Unmolested by the Great Crusade
|Heresy = None
|Region = Eastern Fringe
|Allies = 
|bgcolor = black
|fgcolor = white
}}
=Summary=
On the far side of the galaxy, in the Eastern Fringe where blackness begins, live the Morkai and their interstellar empire. Dark towers rise from the surface of their worlds, and spire-vessels fly between planets, sailing through pitch-black tunnels devoid of the warp's unnatural forces. This is the nature of the Morkai: in the shadow of the Imperium is a reflection of Man's desperation, one that has manifested through its own efforts as humanity had. For years the Morkai had weathered the forces of the Imperium, bringing mere man and great Astartes to heel with thunder and fire, raining down from high orbit to bring doom and death.

=History=
==The Fettered Age==
In the midst of the Age of Strife, in the far reaches of the galaxy, the Morkai made their home. In absence of threats no greater than equally-weak neighbors, the Morkai expanded a small sphere of influence, colonizing worlds and lording over lesser races. Though the Morkai's confederation was not wholly good, as it was a political power, it held itself to standards. However, at the confederation's height the Eldar craftworld Arkendar, fleeing an impending doom, passed through the confederation bringing ill omens. The Eldar gave the Morkai and their client races a prophecy of coming destruction, warning that only one would survive. At first the Morkai scoffed at such notion, but all doubt was destroyed when the races' burgeoning psyker populations exploded, bringing daemons to the confederation.

==The Unfettered Age==
The daemonic incursion was brief, as the birth of Slaanesh sent ripples through the Immaterium, taming the warp and sending the daemons back from whence they came. However, the Eldar's prophecy had come true, and their last warning of only one survivor shattered the confederation. Client races rose up against the Morkai and fought each other, fighting a war of extermination from which only one race could leave alive. The lengths xenos went for their kind were ruthless to the extreme, burning worlds to dust and even consorting with daemons to ensure they were the one the prophecy favored. Thus these dark times were known as the Unfettered Age, when kingdoms would turn to old foes for their kind's sake.

To survive such times, the Morkai too turned to extreme measures. Self-defense was placed above all else, all of society being reorganized to support the military. Rationing, military junta, mass conscription, total war; all enacted for the continuation of the Morkai as a species. Factories were turned over to produce war materiel. A propaganda machine aligned the citizens against all lessors who sought the downfall of the Morkai's empire. In the end, sheer willpower destroyed all others, and as was foretold, only one race stood in the end, a prophecy that fulfills itself. Thus, in absence of subjects for abhorrent behavior, the Unfettered Age ends.

==The War of Brutes==

==The Triumphant Age==

==The War of Titans==

==The Age of Judgement==

=The Hosts=
The Morkai Republic is founded upon the assumption that they would have to wage a war of survival against a larger opponent for years. From top to bottom the Republic exists to serve the continued function of the Hosts. The greatest fear of the Tereks is that should this war machine stop for one moment, then the entire structure collapses under brutal invasion or civil war.

==Skyfallers==
The fighting man of the hosts is the skyfaller. Clad in heat-retardant semi-powered armor, the skyfallers fear neither fire nor void, for they descend directly from spires to the planet's surface, braving the cold vacuum and the burning atmosphere to kill their enemy. Beside them are machines of war

The skyfaller wears a sort of semi-powered armor, that protects him from the heat of reentry and enemy fire. This armor, jagged and black, is equipped with a data visor and the magnetofield that slows its wearer's descent. For armament, the skyfaller takes the simple beam rifle capable of piercing most armors, but he may be armed with an arc projector or a beam lance to handle fortifications or armor respectively.

The size of the skyfallers' vehicular support is restricted by gravitational acceleration and power. Small enough for minimal acceleration and with a power plant that can indefinitely power a magnetofield, the linewalker is the scout vehicle of the skyfallers. The linewalker moves on two snakelike, fibrous legs that coil and whip around like tentacles; these flexible legs, coupled with sophisticated programming, let it traverse difficult terrain and climb buildings with ease, allowing the linewalker to access out-of-reach areas.

For heavy support the skyfallers cannot rely on ground vehicles, as such behemoths cannot be equipped cheaply with magneto fields powerful enough to slow their descent. Therefore, skyfallers rely on aircraft for fire support. The premier ground attack craft is the Y-shaped Anaconda, boasting multiple beam cannons and lances, as well as bombs and missiles in its two prongs. In addition, as a dedicated flyer capable of atmospheric reentry the anaconda has no need for a magnetofield.

Among the largest of the skyfallers' aircraft is the bulbous Terrapin. Brimming with blaze cannons and rocket launchers, and armored like no other aircraft, the Terrapin is a siege weapon in the skies, capable of breaking through the toughest resistance. However, it's sheer weight necessitates a powerful and expensive magnetofield to slow its descent, unlike lighter aircraft.

==Bioconstructs==
Bioconstructs serve their masters in peace and war, but mostly in war. Beside the war machines of the morkai are the biowarriors of fleshy steel. Brawny line-breakers spearhead charges, swift vultures glide silently to attack their prey, and gargantuan biotitans all augment the morkai's war-fighting.

The most famous of bioconstructs is the heavy breaker. Standing a space marine's height, the breaker does exactly what it name implies; it smashes through the enemy, tearing tanks to pieces and crushing the opposing side beneath its mighty hammer. The breaker has many uses from heavy weapons platform, to naval armsman, to shock troops, to even direct counters for the Astartes.

Opposite to the breakers are the vultures. Small, swift, and opportunistic, the vultures stalk their prey from rooftops and tree lines, swooping in with claws bare only when their victory is assured. 

Though the breaker is strong, as it should be, it is nothing compared to the kresnya's might. A massive brute of synthflesh and Morkai devices, the kresnya is the ultimate brawler of the skyfallers' arsenal, implanted with an advanced magnetofield, clad in thick synthflesh hide, armed with the potent arc whip, and capable of falling to the earth beside breakers and vultures despite its bulk.

==Spires and Leviathans==
Armies of millions travel through the void in the long spires that comprise the morkai fleet's backbone. These spires are both transport and warships that let loose a flurry of beamfire as troops deploy from their man-cannons. T-shaped escorts flank the spires, and biomechanical star-krakens charge ahead to tear enemy voidships to pieces with their tendrils. Behind the fleets linger landing castles en route to worlds, crashing down onto the surface and deploying forces and fire support directly to ground.

The spires are the premier vessel of the fleet, and also some of the largest linearly speaking. As their name implies, they are long and spindly, but are still powerful in their own right. Besides the arc and beam weapons, a mass accelerator spans the entire length of a spire, lobbing a projectile the size of a heavy tank at more than a fraction of the speed of light. All along the outer hull are tiny man-cannons that launch skyfallers to the planet below, or to board enemy ships.

The escorts are smaller, but much more maneuverable than spires. Roughly the shape of a "T," with a bulk of its weaponry located in the front of the ship, the escort patrols systems and protects spires from more maneuverable foes.

The presence of bioconstructs is felt in space as much as on ground. While surface units such as breakers are used as naval infantry, the true terror of the void are the star-krakens. Gargantuan bioconstructs brave all incoming fire, entering a literal tentacle's length to grapple with enemy ships and deploy breakers to tear the crew to pieces.

=The Morkai Atamans=
Only with the mightiest generals among them could the Morkai defend their nascent empire from the Imperium, and only the mightiest generals are fit to lead them. At the head of Morkai society is their esteemed leader, the First Terek of the Morkai, who rules by virtue of luck and skill. Chosen by lottery from the commanding Atamans of the Morkai hosts, the First Terek commands the entirety of the Morkai Republic, counseled by those who once were First Tereks like them, now ministers and fellow Tereks. From head to toe the state exists for war, and its infrastructure is built around the assumption of military action. This is not without good reason, for the Morkai are beset by beasts of Terra, and so must be ever vigilant in their defense.

Similarly, all higher positions are filled by decorated veterans. City wardens and industrial leaders alike are Atamans who led hosts and earned their lives. The only exception are the Atamans of the warp relays, masters of advanced space stations who did not earn their titles in battle but study. Already experts in organization and distribution like proper military leaders, the Atamans of warp relays have won their titles with sheer genius.

=Technology=
==Warp Relays==
Though they play a dangerous game, the Morkai do not risk their fleets. Massive warp relays connect the worlds of the Republic, carving long and wide tunnels for the spire-vessels to travel through quickly. Though reliable, sparing Morkai ships from a brunt of the warp's energies, these relays only take ships as far as they can make their tunnels, mere dozens of lightyears.

The warp relays themselves, pinnacles of Morkai engineering, are massive stations on the edge of a system. One system may hold two, or three, or even ten warp relays. The Morkai's home system, for example, contains dozens of warp relays pointed towards many different stars, pulsating frequently as traffic passes through the system. Precious assets they are, directing armadas through the warp, that any threat to them shall be prioritized against almost all else. 

The respect for the leaders of warp relays' teams are on par with generals. Considering the importance and complexity of warp relays it is no surprise these leaders hold the rank of Ataman, and thus qualify to become Tereks and lead the Republic as if they were great commanders themselves.

===Alternative FTL===
One of the greatest challenges Morkai engineers face is finding a longer-range form of faster-than-light travel than the warp relays. Though it is within their capacity, voidships traveling by the light of the Astronomicon, and braving warp energies directly, is not a preferred option for the warp-fearing Morkai. One of the predominant fields of FTL research is in the webway, which the Morkai attempt to access through discovery derelict dolmen gates and, when possible, favors from Eldar harlequins; however, both are very sparse events, and the former has a tendency to take them where they are not welcome such as the case during the Mortekaiser Campaign, while the latter is accomplished with begging and debt. Wormholes are a promising method, but like with Dolmen gates they have a tendency to take ships where they shouldn't go, assuming the wormhole's instability doesn't vaporize the ship.

==Biomachinations==
The Morkai are unfettered, shameless even, shaping life to fit their needs. Bioconstructs, a fusion of machine and bioengineered flesh, subservient to their masters in every way. Bioconstructs serve in every form, from juggernauts of war to gears in the industries of the Republic, coming in a myriad of shapes and sizes from microscopic nanites to colossal biotitans and even auxiliary voidships. 

==Magnetofields==
The Morkai skyfaller relies solely on his personal magnetofield, a mix of deflector shield and grav-chute, to survive his fate-forging fall. The personal magnetofield is a compact but powerful device that interacts with a world's magnetic field to slow their descent through the atmosphere. As it is an energy-intensive gadget, the magnetofield exhausts its share of a skyfaller's power supply by the time the soldier lands, although large bioconstructs and vehicles have a personal power plant capable of sustaining the magnetofield as a shield. As a shield, the magnetofield functions much like a superconductor. Lasers and metal projectiles alike simply go around the vehicle protected by the magnetofield. Only through other means that bypass the magnetofield can it be defeated, such as close combat, explosive shockwaves, non-metallic projectiles, or even sheer power.

==Weaponry==
The most common Morkai weapon is the beam rifle. As the name implies, a beam rifle fires a thin but tall beam of super-heated gas at high speeds, slicing and burning through its target. Besides the standard rifle, there are many variants of beam weaponry, most known being the larger and faster beam cannon. Though most weapons fire a tall beam, the beam lance directs the beam as a small point capable of piercing armor and fortifications.

The Morkai bring lightning to bear against their foes with their arc projectors. A powerful electric charge is guided by a laser, electrocuting all targets along the lasers path.

{{/tg/-Heresy-Xenos}}