Story:The Shape Of The Nightmare To Come 50k section12

Section 12: Warriors of Fortune: Mercenaries in the Second Age of Strife

Chaos was not the sole benefactors of the anarchy inflicted upon the galaxy in the wake of the twin traumas of being nearly slaughtered wholesale by the New Devourer and losing the Emperor's guiding light. Hired guns and soldiers for sale preyed upon the misery of the galaxy like vultures picking at the black, distended eyes of a water-logged corpse. It is an inevitable part of any way of conflict that these callous, dead-eyed pragmatists would seek to make a swift profit from the anarchy. And throughout the ten thousand years of strife, these mercenary groups and factions found themselves with a eager market for their services. These forces, loyal to nothing but profit, were a common sight across the entire breadth of the galaxy.

1) The Serf-soldiery of Krieg

Krieg, a planet of barren toxic deserts and choked, murderous skies, found itself in a terrible predicament during the initial stages of the period. The planet produced no food and had very little industry that was not blasted to ruins,or in a permanent state of grim disrepair. With the sudden loss of supplies from the wider Imperium and a vast population of soldiers, who could not be used for other purposes on their world, it would seem Krieg verged on extinction.

However, the problem of so much soldiery would soon become a peculiar advantage to the beleaguered Krieg. The Planetary Governor of Krieg opened communications with a nearby semi-forge/industrial world, Cocentrine, which happened to be in contact with an agri-world known as Garden Omega-Hex. This triad of worlds, each within a few short warp transits of each other (each transit only taking a few months), hatched a plan to save themselves and their direct neighbours. Krieg would re-initiate the previously-forbidden false-womb procedure, creating ever more soldiers ever more quickly. These men and women matured swiftly, and from the age of one, they began to be trained in war across the vast wastelands of Krieg. These Krieg Marines were equipped by Cocentrine, which churned out massive numbers of lasguns, flak jackets, helmets, artillery, and even a special kind of carapace armour of highest quality, not to mention other battlefield equipment (like shovels); these were exported to Krieg, where the soldiers were outfitted for war. Cocentrine also exported more productive agricultural tools and luxuries to Omega-Hex, which in turn exported numerous foodstuffs to both the industrial world complex and to Krieg in order to feed their populaces. Of course these imports were not sufficient to feed both Krieg's civilian populace and the massive numbers of soldiers. This is where the genius of Krieg's governor, Viktor Van Conenburg, came into play.

The massive numbers of highly trained, determined and efficient soldiers of Krieg were converted to a new purpose. The Death Korps of Krieg became the Serf-Soldiery of Krieg. Krieg soldiers were sold to any petty Imperium or empire (xenos or otherwise) that could afford them. After a one-off payment of something valuable that Cocentrine needed, the purchasers could acquire varying numbers of Serf-Soldiers, anywhere from a couple of squads to an entire, fully equipped regiment of Kriegmarines. The Serf-soldiers, indoctrinated at birth to believe that serfdom and servitude to foreign masters was the highest form of piety, did not question their commercialisation. Once sold to the buying empire in question, the triad of Krieg and its neighbours relinquished any responsibility for their soldiers. The empire that bought their new soldiers has to feed and look after them at their own expense. They were worth this price, as the Kreig remained, as ever, excellent soldiers.

Thus by M44, there were examples of Krieg troopers fighting in armies across the entire galaxy, from tyrannical alien warlords' armies of conquest to the most pious and self-aggrandising of petty Imperiums. Even the Ophelian Imperium at some point purchased Krieg-muscle to aid in their second war against Tallarn. Krieg, the world of war, soon became a world of commercial conflict, growing wealthy and prosperous on the backs of its own self-imposed slave trade.

2) The Kroot

The Kroot, a race whose biological imperative is to encounter as many diverse opponents as possible, would inevitably retain its mercenary traditions regardless of increasing Tau pressure to stop this practice. This became more than just a moral issue to the Tau. The bitter Tau, who had seen the older races ruin and despoil so many worlds, believed said races did not deserve the galaxy and enslavement or coerced servitude was the only solution. The mere suggestion of the Kroot actually helping their foes was disgusting and abhorrent to them.

Nonetheless the Kroot continued this process, sending out war spheres far out into the ever-more anarchic galaxy. Kroot were a common sight across the galaxy throughout the period, lending their services to any race willing to permit them to devour the slain, or take a share of the plunder of a successful raid or invasion. Soon, this had to become much more secretive and undercover as Tau influence expanded beyond and around Pech. The Kroot could not openly dissent lest they be brought into conflict with the Tau Imperial war machine. The Kroot could not hope to continue this practice indefinitely. Eventually, several Kroot war parties, returning from a successful war against the Nekulli Republic, were intercepted by Tau patrols and destroyed. This sparked outrage amongst the Kroot and equal but opposite anger from the Tau high command who saw this as evidence of Kroot dissent.

In 634.M45, Commander Hawksight, current leader of the westward reaches of the Tau Empire, mobilised an expedition into the Kroot-held worlds. The war lasted almost two decades. Forbidden from exterminating the Kroot from orbit by Ethereal decree, the Commander was forced to engage the Kroot on the ground, on their home worlds of Pech and the neighbouring terraformed worlds abundant in Kroot life. The Tau, by this point, had technology almost seven centuries in advance of the Kroot; despite this, the Kroot fought a masterful guerrilla war, assaulting the Tau at weak moments before melting back into the wilderness. The Infuriated Tau forces used ever more devastating tactics in a vain attempt to engage the Kroot in open war. The war depleted many resources and cost many, many lives on both sides. Such was the apparent slaughter that many of the Ethereal councils of the inner Sept worlds began to call for withdrawal from Pech. After all, they argued, were the Kroot not intended to be allies? Even Aun'Va became restless over the war. He did not want his forces bogged down in internal conflicts when there was an entire galaxy to conquer.

Eventually, war broke out between the Tau and their allies, and the Thexian trade empire and their own allies, in the galactic north. Resources were needed, and so Aun'Va ordered withdrawal from Pech, effective immediately. Thus, the Kroot survived. However, what really, really annoyed Commander Hawksight was that throughout the entire conflict, the Kroot mercenaries continued to operate, somehow evading Tau patrols. No amount of conflict could prevent the Kroot from spreading themselves throughout the Segmentum, in their quest to biodiversify.

3) Janisar's Freemen

This brutal band of mercenaries had a humble start, deep within the Hexian Imperium to the galactic northwest. They were initially a shipping group, a private company of merchants who had maintained a fleet of transports. When the galaxy suddenly shattered into rival groupings, they offered their services to the Hexian Imperium-- a particularly weak Imperium which hadn't the military power to requisition the Freemen's cargo fleet, so the Freemen could charge whatever they wanted and became quite wealthy. However, due to the lack of military protection provided by the Hexians, the Freemen, under Janisar, the sickening mutant CEO of the fleet-based enterprise, began to hire soldiers to protect them from piracy and rival post-Imperial shipping companies. Eventually, the Freemen discovered that they could get far more money from helping to fight in conflicts across the sectors, and perhaps even beyond. With their wealth ever more former naval frigates, captured xenos craft, and converted cargo ships were purchased from diverse entrepreneurs.

Janisar's Freemen became infamous across a dozen sectors as brutal and cold mercenaries, loyal to no one but themselves. They hired professional killers and soldiers from a wide range of backgrounds: orphaned Imperial Guardsmen and stormtroopers; former Rogue trader staff, now penniless and desperate for work; soldiers from destroyed Imperiums and fallen empires; thugs, murderers and dregs from all across the galaxy's underworld; bizarre xenos from hundreds of different worlds. All were permitted to join, provided they pulled their weight and made the Freemen a tidy profit. Their equipment was of the highest quality, bought from any xenos or human empire they could buy from. They became one of the most successful of mercenary brigades across the entire galaxy.

Of course, these three are but the tip of the iceberg. Thousands of separate bands and companies sprang up during this period, all hungry to get a share of the undoubtedly lucrative trade of war. For depressingly, in a universe of such misery and pain, war was the only consistent franchise left.