Editing Vulpis Canem (section)

===Birth of the Canem===
Vulpis itself realized the dangers of xenos and what was required of them fairly early in the fall of the Confederacy. Its first instinct was to devote what scientific resources it commanded to researching xenos armor, equipment, abilities, and strategies. In addition to their futile attempts to unite the planets, they also pushed numerous manifestos, guides, and research papers towards the outer systems to assist them in their defenses. These worked as well as their unification attempts. Despite having every battle, xenos cadaver, and their equipment moved to the capital and examined for potential weaknesses and ways to improve on their own abilities, the majority of the planets viewed the material with disdain. It was a commonly held belief that a planet that was being untouched by the wars would have no idea what was actually happening in combat.

Seeing their attempts to aid the Confederacy were going unanswered or ignored outright, several members of the Confederacy Senate decided to push forward a radical idea called the Canem Initiative. Though interstellar law forbade Vulpis itself of raising a military force, many believed it necessary for survival. The project started small. Volunteers were secretly trained and sent to fight on other planets. They would then fight with the planetary military to gain firsthand knowledge of their enemies' capabilities and tactics. Though most died, some returned with extremely valuable xenos technology to study. Solid doctrine was developed from what was learned. As planets would fall, Vulpis itself would reach out to gain anyone with military experience and firsthand knowledge of xenos. These would be the core instructors for future generations of soldiers.

Shortly before the Orks descended upon the Confederacy, the knowledge of this secret military became public. This would have brought catastrophe had it been revealed any sooner. As luck would have it, the sudden realization that the Confederacy must unite to survive overrode the various planetary objections to the practice. The coming of the green tide also marked a shift in overall strategic planning. No longer was the plan to deny entry to planets. The goal was to slow them down as much as possible and draw out the fight until the Canem forces could be brought up to proper numbers. Across every remaining free planet, drives to collect whatever infants could enter the Canem were created. The Confederacy spared nothing, realizing far too late this was a fight to the death.