The Markian Corps

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

The Markian Corps
Homeworld	The Markian Pact
Doctrine	Combined Arms
Signature Equipment	Atashia/Markia-Pattern Lasgun, Mountain gun
Colors	Red on Black
Associated Legion	Winged Victory/Void Angels

The Markian Corps is the collective Imperial Army forces supplied by the combined worlds of the Markian Pact, that share standardized equipment and organization. Though of greater quality than the average Imperial Army force, the strength of the Markian Corps is not prowess in a particular kind of warfare, but in the ability for its regiments to communicate and coordinate. When the Markian Corps's regiments are raised they are not sent their separate ways across the galaxy, but rather formed into grand corps containing as many as dozens of regiments of many kinds. Thanks to rigorous joint training by the five worlds, the grand corps have a level of combined arms rarely found in the Imperial Army, with high morale and a camaraderie between soldiers from many different regiments.

History of the Markian Corps

The Markian Corps have their origins in the wake of the war against old Ghalhal. Unified in purpose and dependence, the Markian Pact organized their armed forces into a single host of soldiers, combining the strengths of their regiments to counteract their weaknesses. When the Mechanicum came to Ghalhal, the Markian Corps strengthened further with new materiel. Unfortunately, until the Imperium came there was little conflict in the Markian Pact, and so little use for the Markian Corps. It wasn't until the arrival of the Winged Victory in the Pact that the Markian Corps knew conflict again, but when they came into the Imperium they did so with a fervor that carried the grandeur of Markia across the galaxy for five thousand years

The Great Crusade

"The time is now near at hand which must probably determine whether humans are to be freemen or slaves; whether they are to have any property they can call their own; whether their houses and farms are to be pillaged and destroyed, and themselves consigned to a state of wretchedness from which no human efforts will deliver them. The fate of unborn billions will now depend on the courage and conduct of the Markian Corps. Our cruel and unrelenting enemy leaves us only the choice of brave resistance, or the most abject submission. We have, therefore, to resolve to conquer or die."--Sky Marshal George Valjean

Throughout the Great Crusade the grand corps of Markia were attached to the Winged Victory as Imperial Army auxiliaries, often alongside or mistaken for their cousins in the Ciban Chasseurs. In the Pacification of the Chwiorydd Hardd, the Markians, who have not known war for centuries, had their first taste of conflict since the war with old Ghalhal, facing the race of slavers known as the Amatteir. It was not battle itself that unsettled the Markian soldiers, however as they were still professional soldiers; it was the condition of slaves upon the world Chwiorydd Hardd 3 after contrasting with those on CH-4 that greatly disturbed many soldiers. As Karmian photo-journalist Verrell Boucher said:

"It was not their physical deprivations that struck me so. I had seen men and women lost in the wilds of my homeworld and returned to civilisation starved and sick before. It was their eyes. Our poor kinsmen, brutalised and degraded, looked at me with the mute ignorance of beasts. Foul aliens have taken human beings and made into them animals! How many more worlds is this happening on?"

Upon return to the Pact worlds for various military and civic reasons, veterans much like Boucher brought word of the atrocities committed by the xenos. Tales of the sheer harm and humiliation suffered by their fellow men galvanized the Markians, and aligned them sternly against the enemies of the Imperium. After further encounters with only more brutal aliens such as the Amatteir's full empire, the Dark Eldar of the Harakien star-empire, and the barbaric orks, the Markians' hatred for xenos was further validated, and to this day the Markians believe the only kind of xeno friend is one used as a sandbag to protect humans.

During the first part of the Great Crusade the Markian Corps served admirably alongside the Fifth Legion, especially their sapper regiments who proved vital in the Core Worlds and Harakien Sector campaigns. However, it was only after the Winged Victory's exile to the galactic fringe that the Markian Corps showed its greatness. As their masters departed to the fringe, many Markian regiments stayed behind to carry on with their crusade. It is during this time that names such as Grand Marshal Caieton and Marshal Judas Ranc became known to the larger Imperium, their campaigns leading to the pacification of over a hundred more worlds before the Great Crusade's end.

The Crucible Sector Campaign

"Here, there, everywhere. In front, behind. To the left, to the right. We are surrounded and outnumbered ten to one. We have caught the enemy in our grasp!" --Marshal Judas Ranc on Inkan

One of the first campaigns after the Winged Victory's departure, and Markia's greatest. An empire of hive-mind arthropods known as the Arakan made itself known in the Crucible Sector, consuming neighboring worlds to expand their dominion. With the Fifth Legion sent to the edge of the galaxy and no other Astartes available, it was up to the Markian Corps to purge this threat to the Imperium. The Sky Marshal of the Markian Pact, military leader of all Markian forces, organized the largest army of Markians ever assembled under the direct command of Grand Marshal Caieton, with the goal of neutralizing the Arakan at all costs. With the assistance of Mechanicum forces under Archmagos Khazal ibn Tekhalla, discoverer of the mountain gun STC, the Markian 31st Army set out for the Crucible Sector.

Grand Marshal Caieton decided to make his first strike on planet Pahoehoe, a recently-conquered periphery world of the Arakan Empire. Though it was only freshly colonized, the world was already crawling with Arakan warriors. While the initial landing forces were able to secure solid ground, the 95th Shrike Corps found itself divided, isolated, and unable to complete its mission to discover the enemy base. Caieton was quick to respond, and ordered his subordinate, decorated soldier Marshal Judas Ranc of the 78th Grand Corps, to enact a rescue operation. The 78th abandoned their heavy armor and artillery for the sake of mobility, and rushed quickly through the enemy lines, relieving whatever elements of the 95th Shrike Corps they could find. In the end, 70% of the 95th survived to fight another day, but the Markians were still unaware of the location of the Arakan base.

The Mechanicum had better luck finding the Arakan headquarters; or rather, knowing the nature of the Arakan's command structure. Using seismographic data gathered from sensors planted by forward scouts, Archmagos Khazal located dozens of seismic concentrations where the subterranean bases of the Arakan were located, but lines connecting the bases were nowhere to be found. Regardless, they now knew locations of the enemy, and the 31st Army immediately directed actions against the Arakan. The Markians prepared for several subterranean operations led by the Lemartian Sappers.

As expected, penetration of the enemy hives was difficult. Many tunnels were simply too narrow, and armor and artillery supper was useless. To end this battle quickly, Marshal Ranc proposed use of nuclear weapons place precisely in the hives to destroy all enemy resistance, an idea Caieton was reluctant to swallow. Unfortunately, Caieton yielded, and the Markians conducted operations to place nuclear bombs in the hives; one of such was led by Ranc himself, so that another commander would not risk his life in such a perilous and immoral mission. But despite the dangers, Ranc survived the mission where others fell, and was commended once again. After the Purge of Pahoehoe, Khazal deduced that the Arakan were not a monolithic power that initial research on their hive-mind suggested, suggesting there were multiple hive-minds based on the autonomy of Pahoehoe's bases. The campaign in the Crucible would be much more difficult than expected.

Following Pahoehoe, there was the battle for the water world Inkan's sole continent. Unlike Pahoehoe, Inkan was heavily colonized, and Arakan lived above ground in massive cities. Worse, is the system was defended by the Arakan fleet, complicating the naval forces' support. On the ground, nothing was as simple as on Pahoehoe; the Arakan were relentless, and only the strategic intervention of the Shrike Corps and L'Infanterie de Marine saved the 31st Army from destruction early on. Once again, the 78th Grand Corps distinguished themselves by chasing the routed xenos. However, Marshal Ranc discovered too late that Arakan do not flee without reason, and the 78th Grand Corps found itself surrounded by Arakan. Ranc was neither perturbed nor shocked, and simply stated,"Here, there, everywhere. In front, behind. To the left, to the right. We are surrounded and outnumbered ten to one. We have caught the enemy in our grasp!"

The 78th Grand Corps fought its way back to friendly lines with only moderate casualties for an encirclement, inflicting heavy losses on the enemy. Meanwhile, the navy finished its battle with the Arakan, in the void, and proceeded to assist the ground forces with bombardment of the Arakan cities, only to find the cities to be defended by void shields. Grand Marshal Caieton hatched a plan: elite rangers of the 95th, 66th, and 180th Shrike Corps would drop directly into the Arakan cities, deactivate the shield generators, and extract before the navy opens fire. The operation completed without any problems, and the navy destroyed Arakan cities long after the rangers were gone.

As deduced by the Archmagos, the Arakan were not completely unified. In fact, Arakan society resembled a feudal empire, where the hive-mind nobles sacrificed the mindless bodies of the Arakan to further their goals, united under the massive Hive-Emperor solely by fear. However, the Imperial forces were proving greater than any horde of bugs, and many hive-minds feared for their own existence. To continue living, several hive-minds cracked a struck a deal with Marshal Caieton to continue living, in exchange for the location of the Hive-Emperor on the world of Culainn. The Imperial Army mobilized, and gave special passage for the traitor hive-minds' fleets.

The battle for Culainn was a difficult one. The Mechanicum deployed its titans, Thallaxi of the Ordo Reductor, whatever forces it brought from the forges of Ghalhal on that burning hive world. However, even with the full might of the Mechanicum backing them, the Markian Corps found themselves outnumbered by the Arakan a hundred times over; numbers only the Legiones Astartes could face. Still, the Markian Corps had one last trick up its sleeve: void missiles. Utilizing these ancient weaponry, the Mechanicum vaporized the cities of the world, shattering the psyche of the Hive-Emperor by destroying the cognitive brain-caste that sustained its thought processes. The Markian Corps and Skitarii finished off the disoriented rabble with ease, and took the world in the name of the Emperor. Meanwhile, the hive-minds that betrayed the Hive-Emperor set course for the outer fringe of the galaxy, settling in a sector under the jurisdiction of the Void Angels, who proceeded to slaughter these random xenos who appeared out of nowhere, and later received a written apology from the Sky Marshal of Markia for the failure in communications.

The Mortekaiser Campaign

"Officially, my first command served on Ryleh in Segmentum Pacificus. But the truth is, we were in the Eastern Fringe. One day, an Astartes... approached me, and told me my regiment had been selected for a tour on the Eastern Fringe. Do you know those tales of fantastic xenos there? They are true, but it is not those irregularities who frightened me. It was those… Spires. I only ever saw pictures of them, but I knew where they were from the streaks in the sky. Their soldiers… Terrifying in their silence, their rough black armor, the crackling sparks arcing off them, the grotesque beasts they ordered about. I know those spires; they are the same. I cannot let them rampage unmolested. I must stop them."

"How many nukes does it take to destroy a titan legion?" "Three if you're Verdun."

"What starts with A and is a techpriest's worst nightmare?" "Verdun starts with a V."

Markia's other notable independent actions include the battles undertaken in the Mortekaiser Campaign against the foul Intax Empire and misplaced elements of the Morkai. When Imperial explorers discovered the human realm of Intax, they were terrified to find unrivaled levels of degeneracy: heathen machine-worship, unsanctioned pursuit of knowledge, human sacrifice, and playing with xenotech. Appalled by the level of heresy, the Mechanicum requested that the Markian Corps personally see to the empire's destruction. The Sky Marshal assigned the task to Grand Marshal Vivyan Broussard, whose command included the decorated war hero Marshal Judas Ranc, the young Marshal Marius Marie-Gaston Verdun, and the lesser of the three, the 35th Army. Among other forces present were the Mechanicum Forces of Ghalhal and their Legio Cataegis, knights of House Davion, and the Sky Guard of Atmos.

The Intax Empire had dismantled a forgeworld. Verdun and the 101st Grand Corps discovered this when they fell under fire from titans on the bridge world Ulysses. With Legio Cataegis and superheavy support still underway, Verdun had to work with what he had to slow the enemy titans. So, the 101st lured the titans under a bridge-city, collapsed the three bases of it with tactical nuclear weapons and brought several million tons of steel and flesh down atop an entire cohort.

Meanwhile, on the other side of Ulysses, Marshal Ranc had a different dilemma: AI. Abominable automata assaulted the 78th Grand Corps in the thousands, cornering them on a bridge-city where they faced both droids and human partisans. However, the odds were in the 78th's favor, for they had experience with cramped environs, numbers skewed towards the enemy, and generally being surrounded and outmatched. The 78th fought on for several days in a desperate fight, until support from the Skitarii and Sky Guard arrived. By the time they were relieved the 78th was decimated, and so the equally-exhausted 101st Grand Corps was folded into them, with overall command being given to Ranc while Verdun was reassigned to the 79th Grand Corps on Koal.

In the wake of the battle for Ulysses, the Imperium became aware of the full extent of Intax's crimes. The campaign hastened, and Markia marched on the volcanically active Burning World. Tough many parts were unsafe for the ill-equipped Markian Corps, the Intax battalions could move unhindered thanks to their bionic enhancements and automaton support. The Burning World was left to the Ghalhallan Skitarii, who too were safe in the wastes of the planet. Meanwhile, the Markian Corps proper moved on to the world of Carixis and Helion Prime, where they faced light resistance compared to other worlds, regrouping with Ghalhal on Talia in preparation of the invasion of the pillaged forgeworld Shazakh, capital of the Intax Empire.

The battle for Shazakh was a long one. Titans, knights, xenotech of unknown origin, abominable intelligences, even the machine-halls of the manufactorums conspired to destroy the Imperial forces. From floor to floor, building to building, even in the throne room the Markian Corps fought, not resting until a grenadier places a lasbolt in the Intax Emperor's head; and even still, there was brief respite, as the Imperium now had to dismantle the entirety of the Intax population, and destroy the automata roaming the worlds of the Mortekaiser Sector. Ultimately, fighting continued for centuries after the campaign ended.

The 78th Grand Corps did not fight on Shazakh, as their commander had what were in his opinion more pressing matters to attend to. On the eve of the final assault Imperial patrols detected long and pointed vessels venturing near the plains world Dread. Most generals would pass this off to another, but Ranc was familiar with these ships; they were undoubtably transports of the Morkai, a race from the distant east he was somehow familiar with, and their presence in Segmentum Pacificus was both curious and unsettling. Immediately Ranc set out with the 78th, against Grand Marshal Broussard's wishes, and pursued the Morkai craft, finding they were already shooting troops to the ground, tiny black spots screaming through the atmosphere like burning meteors. The 78th did likewise, landing to engage the Morkai soldiers while the Imperial fleet engaged the spires. Battle was fierce, mores than even the battle on the bridge city. Morkai were nothing like the automata of Ulysses: their aim was true and deadly, their jagged jet-black armor deflecting all but the most harrowing lasfire, their assaults were relentless, and their biomechanical horrors wreaked havoc on the Markian troops. The battle only ended when the Morkai suddenly began retreating to their spires, the Markians doing the same in fear that their opponents fled from something greater on the surface. This proved wise, as the planet's surface shook with an eery vigor, and green maws opened all around the world, spewing skeletal machines. The 78th and their Morkai adversaries had just narrowly averted their destruction at the hands of the necrons, who stirred from their slumber briefly, only to return to their ancient rest once Dread was once again confirmed devoid of sentients.

In the wake of the Mortekaiser Campaign Imperial scholars unmasked the truth behind the Intax religion. Based on their machine worship, macabre face-paintings, myths, and proximity to a neuron tomb world, the Intax probably worshiped the necrons of Dread as gods, revering them as purifiers who slumbered until the time came to purge the galaxy of the heathens. As for the Morkai, their presence on Dread was baffling because Morkai had no way of reaching the galactic core in a timely manner, let alone the Mortekaiser Sector; nor is it known why they landed on Dread beyond that it was related to the necrons. Though it was not all questions and confusion; promotions were in order after the campaign. Verdun was promoted to Grand Marshal and commended for his actions on Ulysses. Unfortunately for Ranc, who was in line for a promotion as well, was condemned for his insubordination, and was not promoted, though he still received several commendations.

The Great Scourging and the Verdunian Reforms

Before the Hektor Heresy the Markian Corps possessed a vast fleet beyond the venerable voidships used to fight Old Ghalhal, consisting of manyfold battleships and cruisers crewed by indigenous Markians. Though the Markian fleet had replaced its native hands with various press-ganged conscripts over its existence, the ships themselves had always been Markia's until the Imperial Reformation post-Heresy, when Markia's fleet, including their eight most ancient voidships, was divided from the Markian Corps and absorbed by the new Imperial Navy to the ire of the Markians. Worse, is that the Imperial Navy demanded the Markian Corps give all their aircraft, from air superiority fighters and bombers to dropships and support craft, to them, an order vehemently opposed especially by Kouralian officers who relied on air support. Ultimately, despite fighting tooth and nail, the Markian Corps surrendered their void and aerial craft, except for Kouralia's airships, and the Markians' fervid defiance made the Navy reluctant to assist the Markian Corps. For centuries the Adeptus Mechanicus, having better relations with the Markian Pact, would ferry the Markian Corps to other worlds; a nonissue, since only the Adeptus Mechanicus had the voidships necessary to carry Kouralia's STR regiments anyway. Meanwhile, Ghalhal continued supplying valkyries and Avengers to Kouralia, but after a second fiasco with the Navy it was barred from giving them other craft such as Marauders and air superiority fighters.

Following changes in warfare's conditions, the Markian Corps too needed to change tactics. Sky Marshal Marius Marie-Gaston Verdun was the first to address this, by inducing many reforms in the Corps. It was Verdun who introduced the Markia-Pattern lasgun which replaced the Atashia-Pattern, as well as the chimera transport. His reforms also more closely integrated Mechanicus support from Ghalhal, with grand corps often including a small detachment of Skitarii and a larger complement of enginseers and servitors.

The Crimson Reign and the Fall of the Markian Pact

Though the Markian Pact suffered a slow decline for millennia, the Markian Corps did not feel it. The grand corps were scattered through the Imperium fighting wars in the name of the emperor, and the worries of their home were the least of their concerns. Only heroes that catch the aristocracy's attention ever returned, as was the case with one Grand Marshal Athenais Vernier, commander of the 73rd Army of the Markian Corps. Invited home by an aristocrat, Vernier came to Atashia for celebrations. But there, Vernier was subject to a great culture shock, becoming unable to reconcile the contrast between the hopeful lies and hopeless aristocracy of Markia, and the brutal truths that Vernier had seen in her long campaigns.

Vernier left the Markian Pact once again, only to return shortly after with not one but three armies of the Markian Corps. The Markian Corps stormed the capital, and Vernier personally marched into the council chambers, and randomly shot several councilors. Upon a steel throne atop a Leman Russ Vernier ensconced herself in those chambers, surrounded by politicians too terrified to so much as move or utter a word. The Crimson Reign of Vernier had begun, but it would not be Vernier but the people of Markia themselves who would enact bloody vengeance upon each other, for they had at last succumbed to the despair that consumed the purest of hearts. The Crimson Reign would continued for only a year, however, as Vernier committed suicide by throwing herself into the seas of Atashia, her own spirit broken by years of tragedy and war.

When the Crimson Reign ended, the Markian Pact followed. The ties between worlds were severed down to a gilded string of trade, and the old council dissolved. The Markian Corps, the last vestiges of the old Pact of Verdun and Ranc, drifted with the warp's winds, the various grand corps finding new lives as Navy armsmen, Inquisitorial militants, rogue trader mercenaries, planetary defense forces, Ghalhallan auxiliaries, or the simple Imperial Guardsmen they always were; and to this day, they maintain their traditions even with new commanders and soldiers. They became the Legion of Lost Souls, bringing old customs to new lands, introducing their practical weapons and tactics while accepting innovations from the cultures they joined. Even in the 41st millennium new regiments and grand corps sprout up, resurrected by the rediscovery of ancient Markian relics lost in the course of campaigns of old.

The Corps's Grandeur

The Markian Corps does not split its number to fight on countless worlds throughout the galaxy. Rather, the Markian regiments are gathered into grand corps, each serving on one world. Should even a grand corps be insufficient, the Markian Corps organize an army of multiple corps, including specialist formations such as artillery corps, shrike corps, siege corps, and assault corps. Excuse me sir, do you have a moment to talk about our hero, Yuki Yuna?

Regiments

• Line Infantry Regiments (LIR) are the most common units in a grand corps, consisting primarily of infantry with light armored and artillery support. Highly disciplined and able to handle any situation, though not excelling in any in particular.
• Artillery Regiments (HAR) are highly prominent in grand corps, being able to smash a hole in any line. Artillery regiments are rather large, possessing a mix of mortars, basilisks, medusas, and mountain guns. In case multiple grand corps come together to form an army, the artillery regiments form a single artillery corps.
• Tank Regiments (LTR) are hardly notable. Though well-equipped and handled by trained crewmen, the tank regiments of Markia are simply there to fill a niche, and do not hold a distinct advantage over true tread-heads. In an army, tank regiments are often arranged with either sapper and artillery regiments into a siege corps, or with mechanized regiments in an assault corps.
• Mechanized Regiments (HIR) are mobile elements of the Markian Corps meant to exploit breakthroughs and plug gaps in the line, originating from Atashia.
• Les Régiments de la Sapeurs de la Lemartia (SIR), or simply sapper regiments, are heavy siege specialists equipped with breaching drills, mole weapons, mole transports, heavy armor, and special weapons. Its men, being from the high-gravity world of Lemartia, are thick-skinned and stocky, and their smallish stature and experience let them maneuver tunnels with little hassle.
• Drop regiments (AIR) originate from the world of Kouralia, trained in high-altitude insertion. As with most other regiments, drop regiments are disciplined but far from the best at their job; though they do have mountain guns for more punch, and have air support from avengers and valkyries. If multiple grand corps come together to form an army, drop regiments come together with air-mobile artillery and air regiments to form a shrike corps.
• The Air Regiments (ATR) of Kouralia consist solely of aircraft. Once plentiful in the Great Crusade, limitations placed by the Imperial Navy led to the downfall of the Air Regiment, and now only have avenger strike fighters in their numbers.
• The Air-Mobile Artillery (AAR) regiments of Kouralia are a strange contradiction. The linchpin of the air-mobile artillery regiment is the mountain gun, a light cannon capable of transport by valkyrie; a feature that makes rapid air deployment possible. AARs also contain at least one airship as a command and heavy lifting vehicle.
• L’Infanterie de Marine (STR) are another unique force from Kouralia, as each regiment is an entire fleet of maritime vessels with supporting naval infantry. Vessels within an STR are designed to be easily transported by specialized Mechanicus voidships from Ghalhal, and are equipped with enough firepower to match an artillery regiment, and supported with a complement of highly trained marines to take shore positions and perform maritime operations.
• The Mountain Infantry Regiments (MIR) of Thenar are light infantry specialized in alpine warfare as their name suggests, although they also have advanced experience with forests and plains. What sets apart the mountain infantry from other light regiments the most is the mountain gun, which provides long-range anti-armor firepower to the regiment without losing much in terms of mobility.

Armaments

• The primary armament of the Markian Corps during the Heresy is the Atashia-Pattern bold-action lasgun. Based on primitive designs from the Age of Strife, the Atashia-Pattern's powerful but easily-fried capacitors require a new cell to be loaded after every shot, sacrificing rate of fire for extra punch. It should be noted, however, that expert users of the Atashia-Pattern lasgun can fire dozens of times in only a minute, even including reloading of the ten-shot magazine. After the Verdunian Reforms, the Atashia-Pattern was phased out and replaced with the Markia-Pattern, though the Atashia-Pattern continues to see use as a ceremonial weapon.
• The Karmia-Pattern lascarbine is an improvement upon the Atashia-Pattern. Produced for drop regiments, L'Infanterie de Marine, mechanized regiments, sappers, tank crews, and all Karmian forces, the Karmia-Pattern is semiautomatic unlike the Atashia-Pattern, and is loaded via a twenty- or thirty- capacitor magazine on the bottom. Though it was mostly replaced by the Markia-Pattern lasgun after the Heresy, Karmian regiments continue using it out of tradition.
• The main service weapon after the Hektor Heresy is the Markia-Pattern lasgun, designed to receive the laspacks used by the rest of the Imperial Guard. It boasts equal firepower to the Atashia-Pattern while also being semiautomatic, but also possesses modularity, allowing it to be modified for use by snipers, drop troops, light infantry, sappers, and tank and artillery crews.
• The mountain gun is the main piece of air-mobile artillery and mountain infantry regiments for many reasons. Besides being light enough for transport by valkyries or horses, the mountain gun can also be disassembled easily, allowing it to be moved around in pieces and stored with ease.
• The sniper mantlet is a high-caliber anti-materiel rifle mounted on a heavy shield. Built for trench warfare and countering light armor, the sniper mantlet is capable of sharpshooting enemies, even on the frontline of a siege.
• As experts on siege and tunnel warfare, the Lemartian sappers make heavy use of mole transports to bypass enemy lines, an ability they used to great effect during the Core Worlds Campaign.

Legion of Lost Souls

Though the Markian Pact is no more, the Markian Corps, now oft-called the Legion of Lost Souls, lives on. Regiments, grand corps, and even entire armies have taken a variety of loci as their homes. Some continue traveling the galaxy as imperial guard formations; others found homes in the defense forces of a world; many more still choose routes as arms men for rogue traders or Imperial Navy vessels. Some have even joined the inquisition as general-usage line troops, demonstrating greater loyalty and efficiency than simple guardsmen once inquisitorial indoctrination is introduced to their training regimen.

Most regiments of the Markian Corps remain in His service as imperial guard regiments, or to a lesser extent as Planetary Defense Forces. These guardsmen typically continue their doctrine of combined arms, although circumstances often necessitate changes in tactics and equipment as well. Though no longer supported by their original home, these units draw recruits from the world they take root on or liberate.

Ironically, given the Markians' history with them, some join the Imperial Navy, becoming the esteemed arms men of many a vessel. Choosing only the toughest from the countless slaves on a ship, the Markian Naval Corps train fine naval infantry to defend their vessel and to board the enemy's, and sometimes even as the pilots of aircraft and void fighters for added irony. Needless to say, the Markian Naval Corps forgoes armor and artillery, given established doctrine forbidding such. In some cases, regiments have even become the forces of Rogue Traders, pledging themselves to the adventurous captains to travel to the farthest reaches of the galaxy.

The greatest of all Markian forces come from Ghalhal, last bastion of Markia. The Markians of Ghalhal, numbering twenty entire grand corps, have melded with the Skitarii, becoming the Ghalhallan Corps. Bringing together the best of both Markian combined arms and Ghalhallan super-science, further enhanced by the Ordo Reductor, Legio Cataegis, and Legio Cybernetica, the Ghalhallan Corps boasts the best equipment of any Markian force.

Though the Markian Corps is no longer strictly "Markian," the worlds of Greater Markia still have an obligation to supply the Imperial Guard with men. The worlds of Greater Markia no longer identify as Markian, though they preserve their traditions as best they can. However, given there is no Markian Corps proper, the regiments formed no longer come together, and each world now stands alone with their regiments' specialties. Lemartians are still sappers, Kouralians have succumbed to the Imperial Navy's nitpicking and no longer possess aircraft, though they still have airborne and STR regiments; Thenarans are sill riders and scouts; and Atashia and Karmia produce a variety of regiments.

The Doctrine of the New Corps

The chain of command of the Legion of Lost Souls closely follows that of the old Corps: commanders lead regiments, marshals lead grand corps, and grand marshals command entire armies. There is even a Sky Marshal, commander of the 99th Army of Ghalhal, whose duty is to travel the galaxy to take account of Markian outfits, keep records of historical units, sanction the founding of new formations, and discover Markian relics.

Since the Markian Corps is no longer a unified body under a well-grounded institution capable of replacing destroyed formations, new regiments, grand corps, and armies are not made but resurrected. Many Markians explore the cosmos searching for relics that serve as the basis of a regiment's reestablishment, finding anything from a simple banner of a regiment to the premier baneblade of a specific army to build the formation around. Once a relic is found, the Sky Marshal verifies its authenticity and sanctions the creation of a new unit cut from old cloth. A new home for the regiment is found based on lottery, auction, merit, geopolitics, or simply picking the nearest planet.

To become a Markian is to take their culture, and so one must have a name befitting the culture. Markian soldiers take a nom de guerre upon induction, a symbol of their new identity that soldiers of the old Corps would've wore. A long list of names is available, from revered names such as Broussard and Ranc, to simple names that were mere descriptors in Greater Markia's tongue, such as Prettaboire (Ready to drink).

Though tradition remains, there is typically a change in armament. Whether its due to practicality or forgetting something, the arsenals of various Markian units vary widely. For example, some regiments continue using the Markia-Pattern lasgun while others have adopting a design native to their homeworld. Often are weapons such as the mountain gun and sharqi tank phased out while more relevant weaponry such as mole transports and sniper mantlets are fielded in greater numbers. Sometimes, a regiment's world simply cannot provide the equipment for certain kind of regiments such as horses for roughriders, and so either use the closest analog or turn the regiment into something completely different.