Lyster Larrey

This page details people, events, and organisations from the /tg/ Heresy, a fan re-working of the Warhammer 40,000 Universe. See the /tg/ Heresy Timeline and Galaxy pages for more information on the Alternate Universe.

Lyster Larrey
Title/Honours	High Genetor

High Genetor Lyster Larrey was the foremost Magos Biologist of the pre-Civil War Mechanicum, and considered the foremost master of Genetics outside of the Selenar Cults of Luna. He would become closely bound to the Life Bringers legion, and would share in their fall, becoming a dark master of genetics and biology, using the gifts of Nurgle to create yet more misery for the Imperium of Man.

History

The Time of Monsters

He first began the long road to heresy studying dead humans brought back from Terra by Martian Expeditions. His interest was in the degradation of the human genome after centuries of nuclear holocaust, and how damaged the genome of Terran humans was. Having seen first-hand the Martian mutants, he was interested if a similar fate yet lay in store for the hapless humans of Terra. However as the Unification Wars gained pace, he could get less and less material to study. The armies of the Terran Warlord known simply as ‘The Emperor’ seemed to be very hostile to the Martian visits and the kidnapping of Terran civilians and he often launched strikes on Martian camps.

On one of the final expeditions to Terra, a new subject was brought back for Larrey to study. The corpse of a Thunder Warrior, the gene-modified shock troops of the Emperor. This proved to be a revelation for Larrey. The Emperor was himself a master of biology, and was converting humans into elite soldiers for his conquest of Terra. Furthermore, this meant the Emperor might yet be able to stabilize the genome of the Terran survivors. Larrey set aside his study of human genetics and thrust himself into the study of the Thunder Warrior, noting the many modifications made to the standard human form, including increased size, boosted muscle, modified bone-structure and implants to increase aggression and combat ability. Unfortunately, he could only retrieve only so much data from what samples he had, and with Terra now off-limits to the Mechanicum he needed to look elsewhere for more information on genetic modification. Fortunately, there was one place in the solar system which specialized in such knowledge.

The Raid on Luna

The Gene-Cults of Luna were regarded as the greatest repository of information on genetics anywhere, and Larrey now pressed for an expedition to Luna to try and recover as much material as he could from the Gene-Cults there. With the threat from Terra growing by the day and the potential for knowledge that could help neutralize the Thunder Warriors, his request was granted. In 780.M30, a force of two Mechanicum War Arks, supported by Kraken Servitors and Martian Cruisers was dispatched to Luna. Luna’s defences were tough, and many ships were lost attempting to force a landing. However eventually Larrey and a force of Skitarri and Praetorians, with a maniple of Warhound Titans of the Legio Tempestus landed upon Mars and forced their way into the Gene-Forges of Pallas Eugenesis, considered the foremost practitioner of the art. It was while here that Larrey first encounter Luna’s own answer to the Thunder Warriors: The Selenar Ironclads, gene-modified superhuman soldiers every bit as fearsome as the Thunder Warriors. Their bodies were thick with muscle and armored with subdermal plates, and they were filled with implants that increased their speed and stamina, helped them heal quickly from light wounds and could even keep them going after receiving mortal wounds just long enough to bring down their killers. The Martian troops found themselves surrounded and cut to pieces, with the Titans the only bastions of defence. This though had been Larrey’s plan all along. As the Martian forces drew the Selenar defences upon them, Tech-Assassins secretly dispatched by Larrey found their targets and swiftly secured them, before retreating to the waiting Martian Ships. The Titans swiftly followed, and once they were embarked the Martian fleet cut and withdrew, leaving the remaining Martian troops on Luna to their fate.

Though most of the Martian assault force had been destroyed, dozens of data slates and several Selenar gene-wrights were captured, as well as the bodies of several Ironclads, and Larrey considered the action a resounding success. There was more than enough material to study for years to come. Larrey busied himself with the new trove of data, and even began to experiment with creating genetically modified super-soldiers himself, though these experiments were only on a small scale and not sponsored by any within the Martian Mechanicum. His work on learning how to counter these gene-bred enemies was more productive, with the creation of a nerve gas specifically keyed to the additional organs of the Thunder Warriors and Ironclads, shutting them down and leaving those troops crippled and unresponsive. He planned another raid on Luna to test his new weapon, but before he could do so the news came that Luna had fallen to the Emperor’s armies, armies spearheaded by a new type of gene-modified warrior, the Astartes. Larrey did not know how these Astartes differed from the Thunder Warriors, and feared his weapon would not be rendered useless. Fortunately for him, the union of Mars and Terra meant he never had to test this hypothesis.

In the Emperor's Service

In the wake of the union of Mars and Terra, Larrey was recommended by the Fabricator General to be the Martian liaison to the Legion Apothecarion School on Terra, there to learn more about the Space Marines and their unique biology so that Mars could use that information to perfect their new forms of armor and equipment. It was during this time that Larrey met and befriended a member of the XIIth Legion's Sacred Band with a deep interest in genetics named Wilmut Sachs. This connection would later bring doom to both. His time with the Apothecarion was short but productive, and Larrey could now add a deep and growing knowledge of Astartes Biology to his many talents.

Shortly after the Treaty of Mars, Larrey's old rival Pallas Eugenesis recommended that he take responsibility for supervising the gene-seed of the Second Legion. This gesture came as a great surprise and Larrey was greatly moved by the apparent conversion of Pallas from a petty and grasping monarch to a believer in Imperial unity. He was even more delighted to find that the work involved bringing the newly-discovered Primarch Arelex Orannis into his laboratories to provide tissue samples. Larrey was able to duplicate Pallas's achievement of incorporating Primarch genetics into the Legion gene-seed with the Second Legion, strengthening and stabilising the gene-sons of Orannis. When news of this great work reached the Emperor, He personally requested that Larrey be seconded to Him as part of the Legiones Astartes expansion project.

Larrey was deeply impressed by the Emperor’s skills and his laboratories, and was swiftly integrated into the Emperor’s team. His knowledge of how implants bonded with their human hosts meant that the number of rejections of gene-seed was reduced by a third, and his input led to a number of improvements to the implantation process. Many of the human and Selenar gene-wrights called him ‘The Mad Magos’ for his endless enthusiasm for his work. Though he was held in high regard, there was one thing that remained off-limits to him. Despite Larrey's constant requests he was forbidden to experiment on improving on the gene-seed or organs used to create Space Marines. To Larrey this restriction was a source of great frustration. His reports continually made reference to possible improvements, creating a rift between him and his peers. When several illegal experiments on modifying such organs as the Occulobe and the Ossmudula were uncovered, he was unrepentant. Finally, the Emperor was forced to order him to leave Terra. Larrey felt betrayed, cast out over an earnest desire to ensure that the Astartes project would continuously grow, develop and improve. He had never been popular on Mars and his old associates had little interest in giving him sanctuary. After a period of drifting, the Genetor was surprised to find a more permanent refuge at Crater City, under the protection of the kindly young Forge Lord Vilyon Luthier. Although relatively secure, Larrey's skills were ill-suited to work at a Forge City specialising in civilian goods. He simply did not know what to do with himself. It was now that an unusual summons came to him.

The Life Bringer

The latest Primarch to be discovered was Johannes Vrach of the XII Legion. He was an expert in disease, and was gathering talented individuals for his Legion’s biological research cadre. He had heard from Gentor Wilmut Sachs, himself a pupil and disciple of Larrey that there was no greater expert within the Mechanicum on biology and biotechnology than Lyster Larrey, and Vrach determined to seek him out personally. The two immediately hit it off, with Vrach finding himself enamoured of this master of genetics. Larrey himself was deeply impressed with Vrach’s own understandings, and decided to make Vrach his pupil. Larrey worked closely with his old student and protege Sachs, who could even teach Larrey a thing or two. As the crusade continued Vrach eagerly absorbed Larrey’s teachings. Larrey also became a mentor figure to the Legion’s Apothecarion, where his techniques gave the Apothecaries of the Life Bringers one of the highest success rates in the entire Legiones Astartes. It is known that Aubrey the Grey Himself sent his most promising Apothcaries to be taught by Larrey when the two Legions served together against the Drozass. It was Vrach who upon learning of Larrey’s desires to improve on the Space Marine Organs, secretly allowed him to experiment on some dead Life Bringers, reasoning that in death they could help Larrey ensure that the next generation would be stronger and better able to fight their battles for mankind. So Larrey began to experiment on Space Marines with an enthusiasm that bordered on madness. At last he could do what the Emperor had forbade him to do, and he would show the Emperor the folly of his ways.

Larrey was soon caught up in Vrach’s own growing madness, which paralleled his own experiences in the past. Larrey was always on hand to encourage Vrach and support him whenever and wherever he could, becoming an accessory to Vrach’s decline. Larrey himself was intrigued by Sachs new discoveries and experimented with incorporating it into certain Space Marine organs to test the effects. His work was seized upon by the Primarch as the answer, a way to create Marines that not even death could stop, and together with Sachs they spearheaded the creating of a new breed of Astartes, the Sym-Biomes.

The Lord of Life and Death

Larrey was a key part of keeping these new Astartes a secret, but when Aubrey The Grey himself joined the Life Bringers just after Ullanor, he revealed he knew about them and could show Larrey the true secret to what sustained them. Larrey agreed, and Aubrey showed him the way of Nurgle, the Lord of Death and Rebirth. Larrey realized that he had always been following down the path of Nurgle, even if he did not realize it, and did not need encouragement to embrace the way of the Lord of Plague. He helped Aubrey bring the good news to Vrach as well, and once done Larrey requested leave to return to Mars and prepare the ground there for the coming storm. Vrach agreed, promising to meet him again on Terra. Sachs and his other disciples left to join other traitor Legions and teach them how to use the Warp and genecraft to enhance and improve themselves beyond what the Emperor had engineered.

His return to Mars was without any pomp or ceremony, but he immediately began to set to work, spreading his creed among the Gentors of the Mechanicum and creating an army of gene-wrought monsters filled with the power of Nurgle, an army that would be part of the assault upon Olympus Mons. Furthermore he began a new avenue of study: fusing flesh and warpcraft together to create superhuman beings fuelled by the Warp and even more powerful than any Space Marine. When the rebellion broke out, he unleashed his armies of warped beings that were once humans upon the loyalist Mechanicum and later the Legiones Astartes. For much of the Heresy his location was unknown, moving from place to place, using captives from the Loyalist Legions to experiment on and using his expertise to help speed up the creation of new Marines for the Traitor Legions to replace battlefield losses. Several times agents of the Emperor tried to assassinate him, but every time it failed, only adding to his grim reputation.