Union Astarte

Union Astarte
Capital	Macragge
Official Languages	High Gothic
Power	Major Power
Size	Nearly the entirety of the Galactic East
Head of State	Supreme Chancellor
Head of Government	Council of Ultramar
Governmental Structure	Military Confederacy
State Religion/Ideology	[[]]
Demographic	Space Marines, Humans, Minor Xenos

This page is part of the Warmasters Triumvirate, a fan re-working of the Warhammer 40,000 Universe. See the Warmasters Triumvirate page for more information on the Alternate Universe.

"Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?"

– Luke 6:41

"Ce qui constitue une République, c'est l'extermination totale de tout ce qui lui est opposé. - What constitutes a Republic is the total destruction of that which is opposed to it."

– Louis Antoine de Saint-Just

"The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting."

– Sun Tzu

Culture

The Union Astarte has a strict social structure as dictated by the Council of Ultramar that is observed amongst most Council compliant sectors. The social ranks are divided into the Deformis, the Plebius, the Literatorii, the Arcanium, the Astartes, and the Vox Concilium. Each caste has a few recognized ranks within that enforce a strict social structure, and regional variations on the caste system may add further complexity or simplification to suit the needs of the region.

The Deformis are the lowest of the low, mutants, defectors, slaves, assimilated Xenos, the shamed, the guilty, the Deformis is the designated caste for the downtrodden and outcast, utilized as cheap labour, experimental subjects, cannon fodder, and object of derision from the higher caste. Once one has found themselves amongst the Deformis, there is typically no escape. It is a fate worse than death, for oneself, and their descendants.

The Plebius is the backbone of the Union, standard humans who work, play, fight and die under the watchful eyes of their genetic, economic, and intellectual superiors. Life in the Plebius can range from little better than an Imperial citizens or the Deformis to a grand and lavish life far and away from the horrors of the greater galaxy. The Plebius is often stratified by economic or professional classes, labourers are often separated by those of more skilled professions. Typically the highest house of the Plebius is retained for government roles, families of traditional nobility or royalty, or members of the local guard or PDF, giving them full rights of citizenship and more.

The Literatorii is a recognition that this particular citizen is outside the traditional Union, and is instead a part of a financial, industrial, corporate, scientific, or scholastic institution. Originally the Literatorii was reserved for Magi and Tech Priest defectors from the Imperial Adeptus Mechanicus. As the Union became more settled, an internal economy began to form that outstripped the capabilities of government held means of production. To combat this larger, sometimes Crusade Era, industries and corporations were given the same “outsider” status as the Magi, instead their work was for economic and logistical good as opposed to scientific. The difference between Plebius and Literatorii at the lowest level is simply a matter of being a “public” citizen, or a member of the Union and therefore owned by and subject to its laws, or a private citizen, owned by ones parent institution and subject to their laws and ownership, which often align with the Union but not necessarily. Life at the lowest levels of the Literatorii can be better or far worse than the Plebius, or even the Deformis, as the individual is not subject to the basic rights that the Plebius is guaranteed, but is also free from taxation, drafting, and government screening.

Often called the House of Learning, the Arcanium is the caste of the Psyker, the Magos, and the Scholar. Psykers are a valued resource in the Union, and government screening allows the Union to detect and claim psyker children to grant to the Arcanium. Each region of the Union has at least one world that houses an Arcanium fortress, or Citadel, that trains, monitors, and houses Psykers. Also housed within the Arcanium are the “public” Magi, those who remained loyal to the Union as opposed to sequestering themselves away from the outside world those who prove ample intelligence or knowledge in government screenings are given an opportunity to further their learning, or even teach within a Citadel. There has been many times where scholars have been humbled by a largely illiterate expert in one field or another. The Psykers and Magi work closely to peel away the secrets of the Galaxy, and advise the Council of Ultramar on matters of knowledge, especially when certain truths are found to be too dangerous for the Plebius to know. The Arcanium is led jointly by the Fabricator Primus and the Incantator Primus, a Magos and Alpha-plus Psyker both of extraordinary skill and accomplishment. Both have seats upon the Council of Ultramar as part of the Vox Concilium, the Fabricator Primus leads matters of science and technology while the Incantator Primus dictates to the lesser Psykers matters of the psionic mind. The Arcanium is likewise split in half in terms of rank, Psykers given greater status according to ability and strength, Omicron and Epsilon level Psykers are little better than plebeians, and status is increased steadily according to power, the bare handful of sane and living Alpha Plus Psykers able to survive long enough to attain any political power enjoy some of the most influential lives available to a Union citizen. The Magi and scholars within the Arcanium obtain status from accomplishment and recognition foremost, and seniority second. Massive upheaval can occur when a junior scholar disproves the theory of a much older Magos, and barely contained conflict breaks out when the two switch places. This keeps the Arcanium competitive, but dangerously cut throat. Blanks are a touchy subject and a matter of debate for thousands of years. Many suggest that they should have a college of their own, as the Psykers do, and the most accomplished of them be given a seat at the Council. Most Psykers naturally oppose this, seeing them as a potential tool for further control.

The Arcanium and the Literatorii have a unique and tenuous relationship, as the private caste is loath to give their citizens to the government. Often times the Literatorii Psyker will live and train with the Arcanium to a satisfactory level then returned to their parent organization, unless the individual proves to be too powerful to allow outside of the citadel, or too talented to waste on the private sector in which case the government will buy the psyker from the institution, reparations for “theft”.

The Astartes is the caste of soldiers and the Space Marine. The Union Army, mortals that either by choice or force enlist or commission into the great arm of Union power alongside the chimeric Astartes that serve at the forefront of the Army, as well as Knight Houses, Astartes Legions and Chapters, as well as Literatorii private military groups either hired or bought wholesale by the Government. Typically the greatest divide within the Astartes is between regular human warriors, true Astartes, and everyone else. While given less technical freedom than arcanists or plebeians, they are often given a voice during elections.

The Vox Concilium is the caste of leadership, the lowest rank commands no smaller than a system. The Union Senate is vast web of political power mongering, culminating in the ultimate seats of power, the Council of Ultramar. The Senate has several chambers that each focus on separate issues and draft law and legislation to be ratified by the Council. The Council itself housed the Primarchs and Fabricator General, but has since expanded to include the greatest member of each caste, barring the Disformis, and speaker of each chamber of Senate, small enough to prevent deadlock but large enough to see that the Union is being represented fairly. The leader of the Council is the Potentate, the first being Warmaster Jon-Frederíc Aristide, typically an equal member of the Council but serves as the final say on issues and resolver of deadlock. The Potentate is the ultimate power within the Union. Typically the Potentate has been a Dragoon, following in the Warmaster's example, but members of the Iron Guard have been in the seat, after the Second Potentate Zelbezis Dyestes, as well as several Corsairs and an Astral Warden. The Potentate has no limited term, but the Senate and Council has the means to impeach the Potentate, but the majority vote for such drastic action ensures that such a maneuver is only enacted in the most dire circumstances. Traditionally the Potentate rules until death or they abdicate to a chosen successor approved by the Senate and Council after a century or so.

To a great extent, the Brotherwar was a technological schism as much as it was a political or theological one. The separatist legions battled for independence in the face of inferior leadership and burgeoning theism in the face of Kinnévail's influence. The traitors grand deceit was one of pure religious zeal. The loyalists held to the legacy of the Emperor, despite the corruption of the newborn Imperial cult.

The Mechanicus was likewise divided thricely, with Mars itself a separatist and loyalist divide, while the northern and eastern forgeworlds falling wholesale to Mot Hadad and his Hashut. And as these factions have evolved in the last ten thousand years, so have their technological forces.

The Imperium has resolved much of the theological dissonance between the Imperium proper and the Adeptus Mechanicus, with the forces of Mars no longer an empire within an empire. The ideological differences have long since been resolved, and Tech Priests are given the same heed on shrine worlds as a Deacon, and vise versa. The boundaries of different faiths are hardly as obstructive as if the Emperor had fallen later, or if the Burned Prophet had not reorganized the Martian faith into a larger Imperial Cult. Disagreements and accusations of heresy are still plenty present, but at best those who venerate the aspect of the Omnissiah recognize others who do not as brothers and sisters in faith. Because of the grand efforts to win over Mars first into the Imperial Cult, using Kelbor-Hal as a martyr, amongst the first Imperial Saints, the Mechanicus is as tightly woven into the inner working of the Imperium as the Adeptus Astra Telepathica and the Adeptus Arbites. Their ministrations of faith are instead handled by the Adeptus Ministorum the premier locus of power in the Imperium. Standardization of various systems is thusly more common, with local religious variation being more common than say technological divergence to the point of different forge worlds having incompatible technology. The famed luddism of the Mechanicus is still in effect, especially in reference to technologies that the Union utilizes or specializations that divorced from the Imperium to join the Union or Chaos, such as the Ordinatus, but while innovation is rare and often heretical, many technologies have survived the Heresy that perhaps would not of with a larger and more diffuse Mechanicus, such as Titan patterns and systems.

Conversely, the Union technological sector is diffuse and scattered, a point the Mechanicus uses to deride the Union. Almost immediately after the self imposed exile of Aristide, the forge worlds and magi that followed him in desertion fell into their own conclaves and colleges. Some retained their Martian Occultism, but most others followed the lead of Belisarius Cawl and created their own traditions, the vast majority of which would be what should be considered private industries. In the decades after the First Golden Crusades the first Union private contracts were drafted, allowing the subsidization of these foundries and think tanks in return for equipment and materiel for the centralized Union Legion. Each state has their own industrial base, either in the form of private companies, state owned foundries such as the Imperium has, or simply relies on the patronage of such entities in return for the protection of the State Legions. Because of this byzantine web of competitors and secretive lab groups, only the Legion of Ultramar and the central Union government has anything approaching standardization. STCs are hotly contested, corporations and independent forge worlds fighting shadow wars over the recovery of lost technology and the intellectual property of new technology. Many a Magos and Grand Technological Officer have been assassinated, prototype plans stolen, and another foundry group sectors away will debut a suspiciously similar product. This outright cutthroat behavior has cost the Union and its states valuable support in times of need, and the damage of outright war between foundries or corporations can be irreparable.

Likewise, the damage from projects gone haywire can be catastrophic. Notable examples are the Great Gellarpox Plague of m39.3, the subversive Shzar menace, and the infamous "Motherworld" of the Hounds Regency. Countless such horrors of unchecked amoral experimentation have left scars and stains on the Union that remain unto modernity, however they aren't perpetrated without resistance. The Dusk Phantom state is small, but highly respected for it is they that guard against the impulses of Magi and think tank engineers. The Phantoms are the most religious technological force in the Union by far, their adherence of the Machine Dharma unshaken since the Great Crusade. They travel across the Union freely, exploring the mysteries of the cosmos both great and small as wandering monks. It is considered polite and proper for forges and places of machinery to host a Dusk Phantom, and refusing to give a traveling monk shelter could prompt the legion to press the matter, and often corruption or dangerous scientific ventures will be uncovered and punished.

Errant Dusk Phantoms have saved countless lives by discovering such threats and dispatching them before they caused greater harm. State Techmarines, should they have them, often are sent to the Phantom Zone to learn the Machine Dharma, as well as the tasks and duties of a Techmarine as per the standard set by the Great Crusade. Often the Dusk Phantoms themselves will be embedded in the State to fulfill those duties, stationed on a Shrine World or in a temple on a suitable Forge World. Rarely do Dusk Phantoms have a permanent presence amongst a private entity, but "heretics" do exist and some abandon the path to lead such ventures. Sometimes a corporation will have endangered the Union such that not only are they sanctioned and fined, but Phantoms will be stationed within them long term so as to ensure no missteps occur again. The adherence to the Dharma in Techmarines varies greatly. In the Legion of Ultramar, the philosophy is understood and respected, but the Techmarines themselves are not ardent practitioners, only performing the rituals and incantations to appease Machine Spirits of older equipment or siezed Imperial technology. The Nova Dragoons, for example, have many temples amongst the Paradise Worlds of Marpiese, with nobles donating generously to the pauper monks and temples, not as a gesture of good will or for good karma, but instead as a competitive show of wealth and performative moral grace. Legion Techmarines on the other hand are quite ardent, the ancient jetbikes of the Dragoons requiring Marines that can soothe their wizened Machine Spirits. Having their own Machine Dharma adherents also allows them to resolve technological crises with a greater degree of tact than if they reached out the Phantoms.

The industry of Chaos is likewise byzantine and treacherous, but much more open and zealous in their conflict and competition. However, there is one indisputed power in the Dark Mechanicus, and the most influential force amongst warsmiths and daemon forges. The Forge Lords control the great Daemonforges of Noageddon, the dark flesh factories of Sylph, the Obliterator Crypts of Mezoa, the Hellkite Eeries of Goth, the Behemoth Pits of Solitude and more besides. The Forge Lords are the indispensable masters of thr Dark Mechanicus, and those who are not scions of Hadad do well to venerate Hashut lest he deem your forges a suitable addition to his covetous horde. Even the great Bloodsmiths of Khorne acknowledge the legitimacy of the Hashutite Eastern Orthodoxy, hated though they are. The great success of the Hashutites is simply in their quality and efficiency. To make enemies of those who worship Hashut is to make enemies with Hashut, and thus the Forge Lords. To do so is to deny yourself and your forces the finest weaponry, armour, and monstrous creatures the Dark Mechanicum can provide. Independent forges exist, most certainly, each God has their own famed tech adepts and forge worlds they can call upon, but the Hashutites are second to none. Uneasy pacts, lucrative contracts, and proxies are all used by powerful warlords to ensure that are recieving the quality of the East. Because of their fame and usefulness, the Forge Lords feel they can berate and bully smaller forge worlds and conclaves with impunity, and to a greater extent, they're correct. However, a callous act of destruction has made fatally powerful enemies for the Forge Worlds, and when all is said and done, when all exchanges are made, the friends of the Hashutites are few and far between.

Legion States

Dragoon Sovereignty

A Primaris Nova Dragoon Soldier

The Dragoon Sovereignty is the oldest Legion State, and second largest, dwarfed only by the Federation. Enveloping the Realm of Ultramar and much of the surrounding space, the Dragoons reserve the honour of defending and housing the Union capitol of Macragge. Due to the importance of such a station, the rulership of the state is left to the Emperor, an elected Astartes leader bound by the constitution of the region. The role has vacillated in importance and ceremony heavily after the renouncement of Emperor Jon-Frederíc Aristide, a title thrust upon him by his Legion after defection from the Imperium, but in recent centuries it has been subject to a more robust embodiment. Subordinate to the Emperor are the three bodies of parliament, the Consulate which drafts and proposes legislation based on the needs of their representative worlds, the Tribunate which debates the value and legitimacy of fully drafted legislation, and the Grande Assembly which ratifies bills based on the debate of the Tribunate. The Emperor holds veto power as a member of all three houses, and can propose and ratify legislature, declare war, and enact policy at will within the bounds of law. Upon the death or deposition of the Emperor, any Astartes from the region may declare their campaign for the crown, which is voted upon by the parliament. The worlds of the Sovereignty are plentiful, amongst the finest in the Union, from the crown jewel of Ultramar, to the verdant worlds of the Perdus Rift. The state is not without strife however, the cut-throat politics of the Sovereignty are only matched by those of Terra and the awakening of the Sautekh Necron Dynasty coupled with Eldar raids have kept the state in a desperate struggle to protect the Union central government.

The Astral Sphere

A Primaris Astral Warden Crewman

Though the Primarch of the Vth Legion was initially loath to extend his authority beyond his homeland of Providence, the emergence of the Union necessitated the protection of additional secessionist territories. The Astral Sphere primarily incorporates systems in and around the Warp Storm surrounding Providence, as well as recruiting worlds rich in Psykers and the borderlands between Warden space and the Imperium of Man.

Calael Bishop, and those he would appoint to administrate the territory, placed a great deal of focus on maintaining that border.

Iron Worlds

A Primaris Iron Guard Subjugator

Ussuran Federation

A Firstborn Ussuran Liberator Trooper

The Regency of the Hound

A Primaris Pale Hound Sniper

The Regency of The Hound, otherwise known as Hounds' Regency or simply The Regency, is an elective oligarchy, and the westernmost of the Union's nation-states. It is ruled by a Lord Regent, a position that holds significant executive power, primarily filtered through a parliamentary council known as the Circle of Masters. The Circle is comprised of the Masters (though they usually use trusted representatives) of every chapter that is either officially recognised as one of the legion's founding chapters, or as a legal successor. The Circle exists to select new Regents after the death of their predecessor, and moderate or even remove them if necessary. The circle is allowed to modify or even outright veto the Regent's decisions as long as they fall within a certain level of importance. They have little say in purely military matters, or during times of crisis, but this is primarily to prevent politics compromising the Regency's duty to the Union.

Its borders with the Maelstrom have turned the Regency into the first line of defence against the forces of Chaos, a duty to which the vast majority of its worlds are dedicated.

Phantom Zone

A Primaris Dusk Phantom Monk

-The Phantom Zone is centered around a number of forge worlds and their attendant supporting infrastructure. Initially, there were several forges in the area, but after Mot's Eastern Crusade and the subsequent Engine Wars culminating in the Reforging, Gyahdred established a number of new forges in the area. Some, like Arelon and Helios, were granted to refugees from Kincaid's purges and those from the Western Imperium that had supported Gyahdred from the days of the Brotherwar. Others, such as Avici and Dmyal Ba, were made of magi forcibly relocated from worlds that had supported Mot but not fallen to chaos. Not warranting purging, they were divided and relocated so that the Phantoms could keep watch over them while retaining their skills. Worlds such as Drezhnu or Laklar were simply new foundings with rights given to Magi that had somehow distinguished themselves. As a result, while the Machine Dharma is common in the Phantom Zone, it is not universal, with the Heirs of Ryza still following their ancient creed, and the Martian Exiles still venerating their line of reincarnated Fabricator Generals. This said, even when not outright practicing the Machine Dharma, ritual and theory are strongly influenced by that tradition.

Beyond these forges and their agro worlds, there are also large swathes preserved as testing ranges, which include planets with diverse habitats, strange electromagnetic phenomena, mock-cities, and even warp anomalies.

Gallant Dominion and Corsair Secessions

A Primaris Corsairs Gallant Marine

Deceptively centralized, the Gallant Dominion is, on paper, a sub-confederacy inside the Union itself. Consisting of a network of aligned worlds ruled by noble houses and merchant families and connected by marriage alliances, the reality is that the entirety of the Dominion is fundamentally controlled by the house of Keita, with its cadet branches holding prime place on individual worlds. Though the Gallant Dominion is the smallest of the Union Astartes regions it boasts one of if not the strongest economics of them, being the dominant power in interplanetary shipping and mercantile ventures, a fact that gives them power despite their relatively small size. Individual worlds are left mostly to their own devices, shipping is patrolled by the swift and large Corsair fleet, and even tributes and taxes are kept low, loyalty enforced via marriage and coin. Tension between the Gallant Dominion and the other Union factions has always been high, and are often kept because of the so called Corsair Secessions, a number of worlds that lay officially beyond the borders of the Union and also that are not de jure parts of the Gallant Dominion, instead existing as merely de facto holdings. These are varied worlds, some of which that still claim public allegiance to the Imperium, but they are isolated and fall under the sway of distant merchant princes with ease. Even with these worlds, though, the Corsair's holdings remain the smallest of the Union, and they rely upon their economic might to give them outsized say in the the political realm.

Notable Figures

>Haraan Ban'Doon

There is a common misconception in the UA that the vast majority of Imperial servants are unwashed peasants, illiterate zealots who fear the sky. Likewise, the Imperium pontificates about mindless Union drones, milling about in sunless hives, faithless slaves to the merciless technocratic regime. In reality, the Imperium has just as many hive and industrial worlds as the UA on average, and base literacy is common in many worlds to promote reading scripture. Meanwhile in the Union there are scores of feral worlds that are dedicated to producing Astartes aspirants and Union Defense Force conscripts. This particular practice is relatively common on both sides of the Hellreef, and these are prized assets to claim by the humans superpowers, afterall, a fighter competent with a crossbow or arquebus is downright lethal with a lasgun. Devilsharks will often target these worlds close to their domain in the hopes that they will deny the opposition prime recruitment material. Scaddébraugh was one such world, embedded within the Hellreef itself. Under Imperial control the world was buffeted by Ork incursions on all sides, often Devilsharks warring with invading Klans. When such campaigns were poised to cost the Imperium the planet, they would send a Chapter of Marines to liberate it, and select the surviving adolescent males for recruitment, and the adult veterans for Guard service or induction in the Fratis or Sororitas Templars. After a warp storm cut off Imperial reinforcements the planet and its late medieval level of technology was left to fend for itself against a Devilshark raiding party. . The defenders took to their keeps, their forts and their citadels, but the might of the Orks and their allies pushed them to breaking, even with their centuries of experience. A Corsair Explorator fleet caught wind of the situation, and with UDF support in tow, entered the fray. The Corsairs were well versed in dueling the Xenos of the Hellreef, and rebuffed them handily with the unexpected flank. The planet was liberated, and ostensibly, in Union control. To their surprise, the Imperial Faith was fairly sparse on this world. They venerated the Emperor as a distant and powerful High King, having united the warring clans in a time forgotten. Ancestor worship was far more common, as was worship of Imperial Saints as minor gods of various domains. The clanfolk of Scaddébraugh and their lax approach to the Faith allowed for them to be "integrated" into the Union with only minor Iron Guard reeducation protocols. The planet was then sold by the Corsairs to the central Union government, who used it extensively for UDF conscription and for the Stormtrooper programs, similar to the Imperium. . Haraan Ban'Doon was one such conscript. Made an orphan by yet another Devilshark attack he was pressed into the local lord's service, a kindness to war orphans in his lands, and raised till adolescence in the levied forces. Haraan adopted his lord's clan name, a privilege afforded to him after taking command on the battlefield when his senior man-at-arms was struck down by an enemy huscarl during a land dispute. Despite his age he was able to seize the initiative and reform the scattered ranks, ultimately seeing the day won. It was clear he was destined for great things in the service of his lord, but his potential was also noticed by the Union in an Orkish assault, where under his leadership the clan's forces prevented even a single ork from breaching the keep's walls. . He was conscripted into Stormtrooper school, on the cusp of being too old for the gruelling reeducation and indoctrination the school instills in its prospects, but he took well to the training and excelled in his tasks and assessments. Once fully inducted into the force, he participated in several black ops missions deep in enemy lines. He performed admirably, even if it became apparent that his "rustic" upbringing wasn't completely stamped out by the rigours of the school. Often he would resort to using a power sword or ordinary commando stiletto to save himself ammunition. In his own words, "A blade never needs reloading, has no recoil, no muzzle flash, and is overall more satisfying." No matter the enemy he was determined and professional, but he always became more vicious and daring against the greenskins, always bearing down on them in a fashion borderline suicidal. . His excellence as a Stormtrooper and general disposition as a leader, he was sent to Commissar Selections. To the surprise of no one he was instated and promoted into the UDF Commissariat. Here he truly shone as a peerless leader of troops, as his stalwart and bold presence inspired troops from across the Union, cases of desertion and cowardice in battle became unheard of. In many cases, troops simply didn't want to be the one to desert under Commissar Ban'Doon. At this point in his career his knowledge and understanding of Ork psychology and "culture" became apparent. Inbetween campaigns he would be invited to lectures on the greenskins, and indeed he was amongst the first to infer that the differences between the Devilsharks and other Klans were deeper than simply cultural, and that the presence of the "Admiral" induced a sort of physiological change. . At his posting at Vigilus he was involved in the Second and Third Hellreef Wars, where his expertise in the Orks was invaluable. He served alongside Grand Admiral and Fleetmaster Ousmane Keita'màario, and is distinguished amongst mankind in being one of the sparse few to actually encounter the Devilshark Admiral and live to tell the tale. The firsthand accounts by the Legion Master and Ban'Doon are one of the reasons the Galaxy at large even believes the Admiral of the Sharks exists at all. During these campaigns Ban'Doon formed a particularly intimate rivalry with the Devilshark Second in Command, Vise Admirul Thundajaw Uruk Mag Bloodteef. Ban'Doon is actually the reason for Bloodteef's appellation of "Thundajaw", as during their first duel at the culmination of months of tactical maneuvering and protracted engagements, Ban'Doon struck Bloodteef in the face with his powerfist, dislodging the Ork leader's jaw plate and dislocating the jaw itself, but shattering Ban'Doon's arm. The blow sent both sprawling, but they regained their feet, dazed and rung. They continued to duel, and despite his reduced state, Ban'Doon held his ground long enough for reinforcements from both sides to arrive, extracting the now battered fighters. This marked the end of the Second Hellreef War, the conflict ultimately resolving in a stalemate, which would lead to the Third Hellreef War. . Ban'Doon claimed Bloodteef's imposing jaw plate for himself, adorning it upon his uniform as a pauldron, and replaced his ruined arm with a Power Klaw from an Ork Warboss slain he slew in the conflict. Bloodteef reforged his plate, using the powerclaws from fallen Astartes as a grim reminder to the Union of their losses inflicted in the war. For both commanders, they left the war with something akin to respect for eachother, and Ban'Doon's long history of close combat against Ork-kind elevated him to a sort of hero amongst the greenskins. In their eyes, there was no finer human ever made, a pinnacle amongst his people. His reputation was both a blessing and a curse, due to lesser klans actually fearing him and avoiding his campaigns, and greater contenders actively seeking him out for a scrap. For Ban'Doon, he cared little, as long as Orks fell dead at his feet. . He retired soon after the war, settling in Macragge as an instructor at the Union War College, teaching both aspiring UDF high officers and Legion commanders. The effects of old age and a life of warfare began to take their toll, even with the extensive bionics and rejuvenation procedures he underwent to stay in the frontlines. Some pressured him to run for Force Commander of the Union, but he'd rather deal with the dangers of war rather than the dangers of politics. When the Third Hellreef war broke out, now with the Hive Fleets and Leviathan Host and Forge Lords in the conflict, he felt compelled to return to service as a Commisar. Even at his age the return to battle reinvigorated Ban'Doon, and he assumed his position as if he hadn't aged a day. Now joined by the Astral Wardens, Nova Dragoons, and Corsairs Gallant, the Union response was swift and deadly. When the fourfold forces met at Vigilus the Union found, shockingly, that the Devilsharks elected to ignore the Union-held fronts in favour of fighting the Great Devourer and the forces of Chaos. . When asked about this peculiar behavior, Ban'Doon stated, "Thundajaw doesn't want to share the battlefield. Frankly, I don't care to either." In a bizarre moment of solidarity, the pirate armies and the Union fighters simply ignored each other to engage the other invaders. The Admiral of the Sharks himself did battle with Warmaster Set, a legendary battle that shook the very ground they bloodied, which was brought to an unsatisfying end by Forge Lord orbital bombardment, no doubt intentional. The Warmaster and the Beast escaped narrowly, only for Set to encounter the Dragoons in the next line of defense. Emperor Leothe Merovín led the charge into the traitor lines, which found Set once again dueling a faction leader. This time he was found bested by the Lion of the East, after Leothe planted a melta bomb on Set's person whilst grappling. The victory was short lived as the witch Eris issued a psychic scream that sent Leothe flying. That front was eventually lost before the parallel lines of the Devilshark and Union navies made pressing into Union space impossible. . Legion Master Erasmus Cochrane of the Astral Wardens meanwhile used his extensive knowledge of combatting Genestealers to repel the Xenos swarms, using easily scuttled space hulks as chokepoints for the encroaching hive fleets. Once the war was simplified to the two factions, the Sharks and the Union, the war began in earnest. Once more Thundajaw and Haraan Ban'Doon sought each other out, the two forces surging into eachother with zeal. The final battle of the war was legendarily bloody, and the tide turned against the Union as the Admiral's hand was revealed. Using dark bargains with the Dark Eldar and other Ork Klans, the enemy force multiplied, and the Union found themselves vastly outnumbered. Only the last minute reinforcement of the Dusk Phantoms and the Iron Guard saved them from losing Vigilus and the entire western front. Even still, it was divine intervention that saved Ban'Doon's life. Struck by a vision, the prophetic Thundajaw saw Gork and Mork calling him elsewhere, and his Devilsharks abandoned the war. The enemy force was broken, and the Dark Eldar and Orks summoned by the Admiral turned against the Sharks, feeling betrayed. The enemy forces collapsing to infighting, Ban'Doon took his dedicated force and took to chasing the Devilsharks through the Helltrench, where he has remained since.