Exirans

This article is about an Imperial Army formation from the /tg/ Heresy project, a fan re-working of the Warhammer 40k universe.

Exiran Armored Mercenaries
Homeworld	Exirus
Doctrine	Mechanized Warfare
Signature Equipment	Rapid-Deployment-Wagon(RDW)
Colors	Dark Blue with Gold Livery

The Exiran Armored Mercenaries were a peculiar addition to the armies of the Imperium. Formed up from warriors sent through a crucible of wargames and conflict on their homeworld, the Mercenaries brought with them a odd form of rugged discipline along with plenty of mechanized support. Their Kaiser-Elect willingly surrendered his authority to Shakya Vardhana of the Eyes of the Emperor. Resentful of this, during the Heresy several Prince-Foremen joined along the side of Hektor Cincinnatus to exact revenge.

History

Foundation of Exirus

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After the invention of the Gellar Field, Terra's hunger for colonization knew no bounds. To meet the supply demands of the homeworld, humankind darted out across the void reaching to new found astral depths. These fringe colonies were largely autonomous, and Terra had issues maintaining control over them. A large portion of the Core Worlds were colonized at a rapid pace to give a central region of controlled space to Terra. The Core Worlds provided mining facilities, agricultural worlds, and factory planets at the very heart of a growing galactic effort to expand mankind's dominion. No planet was deemed too inhospitable for humanity's boundless ambition however.

Exirus was no different. Despite the lack of water, large size, and far off position from the heart of the Core Worlds it was taken by starry eyed colonists all the same. The first cities were towering spires and hab-blocks, with the more menial workforce laboring in the mountain ranges carving up metals to be shipped offworld. Then the Long Night arrived, at first it seemed Exirus would be able to thrive in the chaos. The losses incurred by the vengeful Men of Iron had been largely contained. Efforts were being made to send help to nearby colonies. Hope was dawning.

That is until the Komra came.

Rakizor's war-engines cracked open the hives of Exirus and legions of slave-soldiers - the vicious Scabs ran amok, terrorizing the population. For weeks they had the run of the planet and nothing could stand in their path. Millions were captured and thrown aboard slave-transports, their fates given up to the dark purposes of the Cult of Krenz. Far more were slaughtered to entertain Rakizor's twisted warrriors. Exirus did not win liberty from these invaders, but simply awoke one day to find that the Komra had left their world, satisfied by their harvest of human lives. For most of the survivors, their sole refuge had been deep in the sub-levels of the hives. Hardy gangers steeped in the knowledge of the underways were transformed from a blight on society to its salvation. Together with the heads of the privileged few who had seen out the invasion in the remote parts of Exirus, the gang leaders became the chieftans of a primitive order.

Survivor clans warred and skirmished with one another, the immediate needs of survival more pressing than a far-off dream of co-operating and rebuilding. But slowly the alliances that formed in these petty wars stabilized into larger realms, a patchwork of realms led by hereditary warrior-aristocrats. Many would-be Kings and Emperors arose, attempting to subjugate their neighbours by force or diplomacy. The first to succeed in forging an enduring realm was Johan. He had the humility to style himself merely the Kaiser-Elect of Exirus, pledging himself as the justice of the realm and protector of the wronged. This unsteady regime would endure internal wars and Xenos raids for thousands of years.

As the years grew into centuries, and the centuries into millennia, strange developments occurred in places long thought dead. Peasants seeking out new life began to bring themselves together in an effort to rebuild the cities of yore. Using far less advanced technology, it took them hundreds of years to restore the Hive Spires to even a partial state. But the Free Cities arose all the same due to generations of effort. From these places arose the Burjar, civilians with unseen personal freedoms compared to the field peasants. Urban centers grew, with technology being not rediscovered but invented to return Exirus back to an industrious state.

War became a past time among the Exirans as Princedoms would bring themselves into conflicts utilizing Burjar Mercenaries named Lantzers to offset the loss of peasant farmers used in their levies. Conflict could now rage on regardless of the changing seasons only changing due to the political whims of the Princes. The Lantzer Brigades were moderately trained, armed with simple equipment used from scavenged parts built by men who only knew basic weapon maintenance. The most famous of these hired bands used recovered armored tanks, which were once mining vessels meant to crawl along the gravity dense surface of Exirus.

Great Crusade

Service in the Imperial Army was a prestigious affair for both the Princes and Lantzers. The former mercenary outfits held by wealthy regal lords readily assisted in the final actions of the Core Worlds Campaign helping the Eyes of the Emperor Space Marine Legion bring a swift end to their interstellar neighbors. Afterwards, the Exirans heavily mechanized forces were in high demand by Lord Commanders across the Crusade to form an armored backbone for the Imperial Army.

Hektor Heresy

The Exiran regiments in the Imperial Army became divided in allegiance. During Hektor's push towards Terra, a planned coup by the Princes against the current Kaiser Orno Ironside fails. This is due in no small part to the Lantzers overthrowing their noble commanders. Exirus is overwhelmed shortly into the Heresy, being directly in the path of Hektor's advance to Terra. The Kaiser is able to retreat off world, taking with him a few million survivors out of the four billion populace which is purged by Traitor Legionnaires. After the Heresy Orno returns to repopulate Exirus. It would not become the Exirus of the past, with Orno rebuilding it without much of the vestigial feudal structure. His design would make Exirus into a standard Hive World. Later generations of Exirans would have no recollection of their proud, rich culture before the Heresy being hardly distinguishable from citizens from other Hive Worlds.

Mercenary Culture

In the regiments of the Armored Mercenaries, an opulent lifestyle is enjoyed. Due to still being paid by the Princes, these men can afford many services when not on duty. Some soldiers have even been given vacations during lulls in a campaign. A favorite commodity to purchase is yeast-produced alcohol, which is dark in coloration. The Exirans have been known to hold quite a few 'Drinking Brawls', in which they feast on nothing but alcohol inviting any other regiments in their vicinity to join in.

Music is highly valued in the ranks of the Exiran regiments. Drummers, pipers, and singers are usually formed in bands to play songs for the soldiers even when entering battle. These musicians normally write their own songs, usually about the current campaign the soldiers are fighting. A few ballads have survived past their initial conception, living on to become famous tunes sung long after the men who made them have passed. Which is a rarity for Exiran music. A choice selection of Exiran songs include, "Trum, trum, the engine's hum", and "I wish I get to kiss a Terran girl".

Exirans are unusually gaunt and pale due to the smog of the factories on their large world, and oddly stuntish. The average Exiran however hides an unseen strength, having grown up on big Exirus. While their muscles are thin, they can hold the same strength as average human muscles. Much debate has been had by the members of the Mechanicum on whether or not this means the Exirans should be placed under Abhuman status, but experiments are still being conducted.

Homeworld

The world of Exirus is situated at the edge of the Core Words region of space, just outside of the Core Words Confederacy's space. Aware of the presence of the interstellar nation but unable to interact with it to any degree, the Exirans were content to keep themselves prepared for aggressive action from any direction. In the forty-first millennium, Exirus is an industrial world reformed by Kaiser-Elect Orno after his return to the world at the conclusion of the Great Scouring. It produced tanks, but to help offset the population loss was not demanded to field Imperial Guard regiments to the Imperium. Due to a clerical error, this had remained the case for millennia.

Geography

Exirus has a 0.1 addition in size to holy Terra, giving it a larger land mass. Water only covers 56% of the total area of the world, making the central mega-continent considerably larger than all of those on old Earth. Soil is not as fertile here requiring harder efforts by farmers to produce crops. The planet is resource rich with an abundance of carbon-based metallics. Gold was found in abundance on Exirus before the Heresy, which allowed the nobility to wear obscene amounts of it. But after, such material was lost and with the removal of the nobility it faded out of style. The planet's only continent is named Zielewelt. It's northern area is highly mountainous while hill lands dominate its central area with roving plains found in the south.

Politics

Pre-Imperium, the myriad territories of Exirus were subject to the rule of the Kaiser Elect, chosen from among the thousands of Prince-Foremen that own territory and oversee production throughout the Exiran worlds. In theory, the Kaiser was responsible for defense of the Realm and setting priorities for diplomacy. In practice, the challenges of directly ruling such a vast decentralized proved too great, and many Princes would act as free agents. Each of these princes would oftentimes own precious factories, plentiful farms, or rare mines. Some larger installations being split between multiple princes. These properties would be maintained by serfs, men and women that would be born, raised, and die on the Prince's land. Every Prince considered themselves of equal rank to the others, which only heightened the competitions that sprung up between them.

The Free Cities were merchant republics, each ruled by a council of elders. A representative of the council would vote when the time came for the choice of a new Kaiser, but beyond this very little business was done with the wider Empire. The youth of the Cities would find themselves with a decent education and a built up income allowing them to purchase a rifle and armor. Joining up in the Lantzer regiments was a common practice, paying far better than any academic position or menial labor. These young men would be subject to the games of fancy between the Princes, but were able to after a decade of service retire quietly.

Military

While normal Imperial Army units have been drafted from the main Exiran populace, their true power comes from the mercenary brigades. Exirus has a long tradition of wargames among the Prince-Foremen for territory and resources. These battles of Kriegspiel would play out on areas specially set aside for them, using real soldiers, real ammunition, and real tanks. These competitions came to emphasize mobility and armor, ditching the mass levees available to the average Prince in favor of an elite core of troops. Each squad consists of a dozen men or less, trained in a specific weapon. They often work with APC support, but with the abundance of other armored vehicles these people carriers go lightly armored and nearly unarmed, focusing more on delivering troops to the field as quickly as possible.

This is a consequence of the nature of Kriegspiel, which has often blinded Princes to broader strategic implications. There's been more than one occasion when Exirans might have taken the day if only their Prince remembered that he had air support at their disposal, or had pressed too far forward on the offensive only to be cut off from their supply lines. And the shortlived nature of these conflicts has created logistic expectations that supporting forces cannot always fulfill.

Despite these difficulties and drawbacks, when properly supplied and directed the Exirus Armored Mercenaries make for a fine tactical force. Due to frictions with the normal Imperial Army and its command structure, Princes are often allowed to command their mercenaries directly in the field. While this has proven effective, it proved troublesome during the Heresy when Princes would bring their entire mercenary force (and attached tanks) to the side of the Traitors. This nearly led to the downfall of Exirus.