Chapter 12 - The Imperium ========================= 12.1 Introduction =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Thsi chapter is about the culture and organisations of the Imperium of Mankind. It aims to present an overview of its organisation, laws, traditions and principal organisations. It is supplemented by other chapters which cover specific topics or organisations in greater detail, in particular the Inquisition, Ecclesiarchy, Space Marines and Adeptus Monetorum. Its history is discussed in other chapters supplemental to this one. A general history of the Imperium and its formation can be found in the chapter entitled "Rough Guide to the Galaxy". 12.2 History =-=-=-=-=-=-= Long ago, mankind colonised the galaxy. He found races already ancient in history, but soon spread to it's furthest reaches. Mans technological expertise, held by the tech adepts of Mars, prospered. An electronic system was set up, designed to provide all colonised worlds access to the technology they required. This was the Standard Template Construct system, and all colonised worlds had an STC terminal. Then something, noone knows what, went tragically wrong. The galaxy was sent spinning into war and anarchy. Into the Age of Strife and the Dark Age of Technology. The STC network was largely destroyed. Out of the Age of Strife rose a man of power. His name is unrecorded, lost in the mists of legend. He is known only by the title he later took: the Emperor. The Emperor was, and still is, a powerful psyker (psychic power user), the most powerful humanity has ever seen. The Emperor knew of a universe coexistant with the physical universe that mankind inhabited. This alternate universe is known by many names, the most common being Warpspace, the Void and the Warp. The Warp is a universe of chaos, ever shifting currents of energy, and all people have a presence in the Warp. Warp energy *is* psychic energy, and while ordinary humans are but a tiny spark in that vast space, psykers shine like stars and none more so than the Emperor himself. Warpspace has inhabitants all its own: all dangers to human psykers, and none more so than the four great Powers of Chaos. The powers of chaos could manipulate humanity to further their own anarchic goals, and even enter material space through the mind of a psyker. But not any psyker - not the Emperor. Warp energy flowed through the Emperor harmlessly, he was in a very real way the antithesis of that which the Chaos Powers stood for. The Emperor knew the Chaos Powers for the great threat to humanity they are, and the Chaos Powers knew the Emperor for a god among men. An implacable foe who would stand against them. As mankind left the Age of Strife, many human worlds, with their technology lost, had withdrawn to feral states. Planetary rulers were feudal lords, with their own territory. The Emperor declared the Great Crusade to regalvanise human space into a whole once more. To aid him he genetically engineered 20 super humans, almost immortal with almost godlike powers compared to ordinary men. These were the Primarchs. As much as the Emperor strove to keep the project hidden from the Powers of Chaos, they caught wind of it. Unable to destroy the infant Primarchs in their capsules, the Chaos Gods spread them far and wide across the galaxy. Suffering this setback and unable to repeat the work, the Emperor took the gene codes used to create the Primarchs and prepared a set of implantable organs that could transform an ordinary human into a super human warrior. These warriors, the first Space Marines, were still nowhere near as powerful as their genetic forebears, the Primarchs. And so, with 20 legions of Space Marines, the Emperor set out on the Great Crusade. Human worlds were reconquered and brought into the Imperial fold and, one by one, the Emperor rediscovered the lost Primarchs. Each had landed on a planet, somewhere, grown to adulthood among men and often one of the most powerful men of the planet. And each had been touched by the dark kiss of Chaos, the seeds of rebellion set in their minds. Fully half of them failed to remain true to the Emperor and the greatest of the fallen was Horus, the Emperors most trusted friend, confident and general. And so it was that humanity was thrown into a state of civil war - the loyal Space Marine legions of the Emperor fighting the rebel legions of Horus. Slowly the rebels gained ground, eventually massing for the final assault on Earth. But Horus made one mistake. He lowered the shields to his battle barge. As soon as he did so he became known to the Emperors psychic senses and the Emperor, with loyal Primarchs Sanguinius and Rogal Dorn, teleported aboard the barge. It was Sanguinius that found Horus first, and was no match for Horus with his Chaos enhanced powers. The Emperor found Horus with the broken body of Sanguinius dead at his feet and a fight to the death ensued. The Emperor was triumphant, but at terrible cost. The broken, charred body of the Emperor of Mankind was found close to the defeated body of Horus by Rogal Dorn. The rebel Space Marines fled in defeat to the Eye of Terror, an area of the galaxy where Warpspace and physical space coexist and flow together. The centre of the Daemon Worlds. Meanwhile, the Emperors body, while technically dead, still held a link to his immortal soul as long as some cells still lived. At first the link was strong enough for the Emperor to partially animate the body, supervising the construction of a special life support machine - the Golden Throne. Now, 10,000 years on, strapped into the Golden Throne, the link between the Emperors soul and body grows increasingly tenuous. He has not spoken now for over 10,000 years. The Imperium is now ruled by a council of 12 of the most influential men in the Imperium, the High Lords of Terra. The Emperor is worshipped as a god, with a whole department of the Imperium, the Adeptus Ministorum, dedicated to that purpose. Mankind is under attack from all sides by alien races and, worse, from the inside by the insidious influence of Chaos. Humanity is still evolving as a psychic race and only rigorous control by the Inquisition keeps the increasing number of emerging psykers, each a potential doorway into the physical plane for chaos daemons, from being too much of a weakness. The Imperium relies on the Warp, and on its' psykers, for its continued existance. Only telepathic communication is practical across the countless light years the Imperium covers, and only super-light speed travel using the Warp keeps the Imperium from fragmenting. Worse, only the spirit of the Emperor in the Warp stands between mankind and certain destruction at the hands of the Chaos Powers. His will is beginning to fail and chaos sowing doubts in his ancient mind. For mankind, it is constant war. The war to survive, and continued survival the reward of each victory. 12.3 Geography =-=-=-=-=-=-=-= The physical limits of the Imperium are defined by where Imperial craft can safely reach by Warp travel. This, in turn, is defined by the edges of the Astronomican. Within this area, the Imperium is divided, apparently by some long gone political or arbitrary reasoning, into 5 Segmentum Majoris whose borders are clearly defined. Closest to the Earth, and centred on it, is the Segmentum Solar. Around this are arrayed the other four segments, Segmentum Obscuras, Segmentum Tempestus, Segmentum Pacificus and Ultima Segmentum, covering the galactic North, South, West and East respectively (relative to Earth). Human inhabited space is further broken down into sectors, usually cubes of space approximately 200 Light Years to a side. Each sector is sub-divided further into sub-sectors ranging from ten to twenty Light Years in diameter and centred on densely populated star clusters, important worlds, or meeting points of various trade routes through the Warp. The areas between sub-sectors and sectors - unexplored or uninhabited regions, alien empires, areas inaccessible by the Warp, etc. - are known as Wilderness space or Wilderness zones and make up a far greater portion of the Galaxy than that controlled by Humanity. A picture, however, speaks a thousand words. I refer you to the map file, "map.gif", you should receive with this file or find on the same site you found this. With "map.gif" is a text file, "map.txt" which acts as a key to the map. As a rule, worlds of the Galaxy, and most notably those of the Imperium, can be classified into one of the following categories, as they are summarised in Imperial records: * Gamma class - Civilised Worlds Population: between 15,000,000 and 10,000,000,000 Tithe grade: Solutio Extremis - Exactis Tertius Aggregate: 3,500 Aestimare: A50-F1000 Comments: This is the widest category comprising any world, generally self-sufficient, with a contemporary technology-base that does not comply with other specification. Includes major sub-categories Cardinal worlds [cc], Garden worlds [cg], Mining Worlds [cm]. Examples: Desedna, Espanor, Korsk II, Luxor, Rhanda, Tallarn * Alpha class - Agri Worlds Population: between 15,000 and 10,000,000 Tithe grade: Exactis Prima - Exactis Particular Aggregate: 2,000 Aestimare: C500-B50 Comments: No less than 850 parts per 1000 given over to the cultivation of crops, hydroponics, animal fodder or animal husbandry. Few conurbanations, population spread widely across planet surface. Examples: Bellis XIV, Chiros, Kabaal II, Silvanos II, Verdan III * Eta class - Hive Worlds Population: between 100,000,000,000 and 500,000,000,000 Tithe grade: Decuma Particular - Exactis Extremis Aggregate: 1,400 Aestimare: B50-E400 Comments: Surface generally inhospitable, even deadly, to Human life after centuries of processing. Urban conglomerations called Hives, many miles in height, are principle population centres. Factory, mining and atmosphere processing are main industries. High import/export ratio, particularly foodstuffs and fresh water incoming. Examples: Armageddon, Avellorn, Ichar IV, Kado, Lastrati, Modia, Necromunda, Vanaheim * Phi-Lambda class - Feral Worlds Population: between 100,000 and 5,000,000 Tithe grade: Solutio Tertius Aggregate: 800 Aestimare: F400-G800 Comments: Technical base considerably pre-black powder, even pre-ferrous or lithic state in most regressed cases. Sometimes good source of army and Adeptus Astartes recruits if culture shock survived. Low tithe due to unfocussed production processes. Imperial Commanders often distant, in orbit usually, with infrequent surface forays to establish purges of psychic talent and mutation. Examples: Belami, Davin, Fenris, Forman C2, Kimmeria, Oran * Delta class - Dead Worlds Population: zero Tithe grade: Aptus Non Aggregate: 200 Aestimare: G500-G1000 Comments: These worlds have minimal, even non-existent, life traces. This results from ecological catastrophe, devastating internecine war, Imperial or alien intervention or no attributable cause. Examples: Istvaan III, Naogeddon, Prandium, Truan IX, Zhoros * Delta-Tau class - Death Worlds Population: between 1,000 and 15,000,000 Tithe grade: Solutio Tertius - Solutio Primus Aggregate: 600 Aestimare: D500-G50 Comments: Planets which are too dangerous to support widespread Human settlement. Types vary from world-wide jungles that harbour carnivorous plants and animals to barren rockscapes strewn with volcanos and wracked by ion storms. These worlds are near-impossible to colonise but must be properly explored where neccesitates the provision of outposts and other facilities. Some harbour rich mineral, vegetable, animal or gaseous resources. Examples: Canak, Catachan, Cthelle, Lost Hope, Miral, Piscina V * Rho class - Research Stations Population: between 100 and 500,000 Tithe grade: Aptus Non Aggregate: 100 Aestimare: A760-D45 Comments: Includes wide variety of locations, such as orbital stations, asteroidal emplacements and other major facilities of dead worlds, death worlds or on other planets. Responsible for wide variety of research, from animal breeding and domestication to weapons testing and genetic engineering. Also listening and watch posts for planetary and system defence of major planets [Aest. B200 or greater]. Examples: A1709, Arx, Fornoth, Lucan, Purgatory, Sentinel V, Ymgarl * Mu class - Feudal Worlds Population: between 10,000,000 and 500,000,000 Tithe grade: Solutio Primus - Solutio Extremis Aggregate: 400 Aestimare: C750-F1000 Comments: Technical base just prior or just post black powder state. Establishment of wide surface cultural and political organisations. Some useful recruiting for Imperial Guard and Adeptus Astartes. Slightly higher tithes than Feral worlds, compensating for wider farming and animal husbandry. Examples: Atilla, Boras Minor, Chbal, Molov, Solstice, Yamnan * Phi class - Forge Worlds Population: between 1,000,000 and 15,000,000,000 Tithe grade: Aptus Non Aggregate: 1000 Aestimare: A1-C500 Comments: Sovereign Domains of the Adeptus Mechanicus, these are planet- wide factories. A Forge world often serves as a base of operations for one of the Titan Legions. Forge worlds are essential for the supply of arms and armour to the Imperiums combat forces. Examples: Esteban VII, Gryphonne IV, Lucius, Mars, Ryza, Triplex Phall 12.4 Organisation =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 12.4.1 The High Lords of Terra ------------------------------- The Imperium is ruled by 12 powerful men from its centre, called Earth or Terra. These men are known as the High Lords of Terra, and the group the Council of High Lords, or Senatorum Imperialis. Each High Lord is the leader of one of the most powerful organisations in the Imperium. A complex web of political skullduggery, promises of support, and considerations of mutual interests, binds them together and determines who will hold office and who will not. In practise, some of the Imperiums organisations are so powerful that it would be unthinkable for their leader not to be a High Lord. Others would lose a great deal of power if their leader lost the right to sit on the Council. Over the millenia different organisations have provided High Lords depending upon which was the most powerful at the time. Ruthless ambition and rivalry characterises all of these great men, and their organisations vie against each other for portions of the Imperial power. The following offices are almost invariably represented as High Lords because they are the cornerstones of the Imperium, the most important of its ancient institutions: The Master of the Administratum The Inquisitorial Representative The Ecclesiarch of the Adeptus Ministorum The Fabricator General of the Adeptus Mechanicus The Grand Provost Marshal of the Adeptus Arbites The Paternal Envoy of the Navigators The Master of the Astronomican The Grand Master of the Officio Assassinorum The Master of the Adeptus Astra Telepathica These nine posts are virtually sacrosanct. Should they become empty due to death or retirement, it is usual for the sucessor to the title to become High Lord. The position of Inquisitorial Representative is not held by any specific Inquisitor, but the seat is retained for whichever individual is sent on behalf of the Inquisition. Similarly, the place of the Paternal Envoy is open to whoever might be the Envoy of the current ruling family of Navigators. The remaining three posts are most likely to be filled from amongst the following mighty officials: The Lord Commander of the Segmentum Solar The Lord Commander Militant of the Imperial Guard The Chancellor of the Adeptus Monetorum Cardinal(s) of the Holy Synod of Terra The Abbess Sanctorum of the Adepta Sororitas The Captain-General of the Adeptus Custodes The Chancellor of the Imperial Estate The Speaker for the Chartist Captains 12.4.2 The Adeptus Terra ------------------------- Terra is also the site of the Imperial Palace, a vast structure many miles long with corridors among which it is all to easy to get lost. Men have been known to die of thirst and hunger looking for a way out, never seeing another person in the endless corridors. Worse are the Imperial Vaults, whose vast collection of information is kept on shelves stretching many thousands of kilometres. The Imperium is over 40,000 years old, and so vast are its records that specially made robots are used to find information - many such robots sent into the vaults never return, perhaps running out of battery power, perhaps falling fowl of a long collapsed walkway. Most of those wishing to find information in the Vaults send at least two or three robots, lest one or more of them succumb to the Vaults hazards. Most day to day running of the Imperium is done by the Adeptus Terra, based in the Imperial Palace on Terra, or one of its sub-organisations. The Adeptus Terra is also known simply as the 'Adeptus'. The core of the Adeptus Terra is called the Administratum, an organisation whose head, the Master of the Administratum, is highly influential. Imperial tithes and spending are enforced and regulated by the branch of the Adeptus called the Adeptus Monetorum (see the 'Consumer Guide' chapter for more information. The departments and organisations that run the Imperium and keep its giant cogs moving use many thousands of staff, of varying rank. From the lowest traditional serf to the highest manager, however, all are allowed to use the title of "Adeptus" or "Adept". This is a great honour, and many low ranking staff whose families have traditionally worked for the Adeptus continue to do so in order to pass the title on to their children. The title of "Master" is reserved for departmental heads of the Administratum, those in charge of an entire office or division. Most of the Masters of subordinate divisions have an additional title such as the Chancellor of the Estate Imperium, and the Historicus of the Historical Revision Unit. Officers and officials of the Adeptus Terra are entitled to use the title "Prefect" or "Prefectus". There are three basic levels of command which are, in order of seniority, "Prefectus Primus", "Prefectus Secundus" and "Prefectus Tertius". These qualifying titles are sometimes used on their own as a form of informal address (that is, simply using the title "Primus"). "Ordinates" are minor administrative officials. They deal with much of the routine work of the Imperium. Ordinates are the most common type of worker. They command those titled, surprisingly enough, "Subordinates". Both Ordinates and Subordinates are hereditary titles passed onto the workers children. "Scribes" are lowly functionaries roughly equivalent to a clerk. The title of "Scribe" too is hereditary. "Ciphers" are messengers, trained to memorise dictation and repeat whole texts after a single scan. They achieve this by self-hypnosis, the secret of which passed down from parent to child. Ciphers have no knowledge of the message they carry, but mechanistically chant their information when they reach their destination. "Curators" are responsible for maintaining the ancient records of the Imperium. They must understand a variety of ancient tongues and scripts, the knowledge of which are passed on through the generations. "Menials" are among the lowest workers, non-specialised workers shifted from job to job and serving as drivers, labourers, sanitisers, and other non-skilled tasks. They take the title of "Adept" as do all workers of the Adeptus Terra, but the position of a Menial is not hereditary. The spiritual health of the Imperium is represented by the Adeptus Ministorum, or Ecclesiarchy. More information on this highly influential organisation, its history and organisation can be found in the 'Light of the Emperor' chapter. The technical and scientific aspects of the Imperium are controlled, researched and developed by the Adeptus Mechanicus. The Adeptus Mechanicus is covered in more detail in the Technology chapter. The Adeptus Arbites provides the police force of the Imperium, with Arbites outposts on virtually all populated Imperial planets. Its membership is for the most part composed of Arbites footmen, or Arbiters. Higher in rank are the Arbitrators, and commanding them are the Judges. The Adeptus Arbites is used to handling mass riot situations, with specialist equipment available to them for the purpose, such as the Storm Shield. Arbites footmen carry specialised arms known as Power Mauls, hand held batons capable of anything from a simple stun to blasting a whole in a thick wall (or serious injury... even death). Also available to Arbites staff are special shotguns capable of taking a variety of ammunition, from conventional ammo to special 'executioner' arms. Executioner arms are capable of penetrating armour and killing in a single shot. Often, in times of rebellion and uprising, the Adeptus Arbites are the first to respond to the situation. In cases where Chaos or Genestealer cults are the root of the uprising, the Adeptus Arbites are the first line of defence until reinforcements from the Adeptus Sororitas, Space Marines or Imperial Guard can arrive. Adeptus Arbites footmen are never posted to any system within many light years of their home world or system, lest individual bias toward subjects creep in. Arbites footmen are encouraged not to become too acquainted with the locals, remaining aloof, leaving their fortress or outpost only if embarking on a patrol or to make an arrest. Apart from the Adeptus Arbites military wing on the ground, Arbitrators belong to a complex organisation - an army divided into many ranks and specialised roles. Its individual Precincts stretch across the Galaxy. On many worlds the Arbitrators fortified Courthouse is the only point of contact between that planet and the Imperium. Each Precinct is the base for an army, complete unto itself, led by Marshals of the Court, and supported by an array of highly trained warriors of justice. Patrol groups prowl the underways of city hives, shock troops break up the vicious queue wars which develop outside governmental buildings, execution teams hound the guilty through barren wastes and labyrinthine tunnels, and detectives sift the holo-records, tracking cyber-criminals through the computer matrix of the Administratum. The Adeptus Custodes are the bodyguard of the Emperor, the legendary founder of the Imperium whose all but lifeless carcass rests deep in the Imperial Palace. None may look on the Emperor except the Adeptus Custodes, whose members are all sworn never to utter a word as long as they serve in the Emperors bodyguard. The Inquisition is one of the most feared organisations in the Imperium. Its officers, called Inquisitors, travel the Galaxy, their only mission to protect the Imperium from anything that does, could or might threaten the Imperium and its continued survival. This mandate is an extremely wide one, and there are no limits to the fields the Inquisition can investigate, from unsanctioned psykers to rebellion and Planetary Governors ceceding from the Imperiums rule. The Inquisition has a direct mandate from the Emperor himself, and Inquisitors are fully entitled to demand whatever assistance they require, to be delivered without condition and with no explanation necessary. The Inquisition has within its ranks organisations dedicated to quietly monitoring the Ecclesiarchy and, perhaps surprisingly, the Inquisition itself. Even those organisations above the law - *especially* those organisations - must have someone watch them for corruption. The Officio Assassinorum is the assassins guild of the Imperium. If an important official or planetary governor is causing trouble to the Imperium, an agent of the Officio Assassinorum will be sent to "eliminate" him. More information on the Officio Assassinorum can be found below. 12.5 Fighting Forces =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= The Imperium employs four chief fighting forces: 1) The Imperial Guard 2) The Imperial Navy 3) The Adeptus Sororitas and 4) The Adeptus Astartes (aka Space Marines) Related to the Imperial Guard and Navy, but independent of those bodies, is the Commisariat, the body that monitors the Guard and Navy and ensures military laws are enforced. Commissars assess the actions and decisions of officers, and none, not even the Commander of the Fleet and the Lord Commander of the Imperial Guard, are above their scrutiny. The Commisariat also fight in campaigns alongside those they watch, and can be inspirational figures. The legendary Commissar Yarrick, who saved Armageddon from Ork attack, is one example. The failed commander of the local forces, Lord Herman Von Straub, was was found guilty of negligence under military law. 12.5.1 The Imperial Guard -------------------------- The Imperial Guard is the most numerous of the Imperial forces, with units never far from any given world, ready to respond at need. Made up of ordinary humans (unlike some of the other Imperial forces, most notably the Space Marines), an individual guardsman is relatively weak one on one with most other alien races. It is the vast numbers the Imperial Guard can muster which make it one of the most effective forces the Imperium has, able to attack and defend along an otherwise impossibly large battle line. Every world or system in the Imperium must train its own planetary or system wide defence force, and a percentage of those trained must be enlisted into the Imperial Guard. With the vast numbers of worlds the Imperium controls, this makes for a huge number of guardsmen. Guardsmen come from very differing backgrounds, some coming from cold, icy worlds, others from hot, tropical deathworlds or deserts. When a military campaign calls for Imperial Guard involvement, Guardsmen from worlds within hundreds of Light Years are brought together into a huge fighting force, by Navy ships that visit each such system in turn, expecting them to provide their share of the Imperial Guard force for the forthcoming conflict. The Imperial Guard makes heavy use of heavy tanks and vehicles, tanks with famous names such as the Predator and Leman Russ. Between its vast manpower and heavy support, the Imperial Guard is highly robust. Also, because each force is assembled as and when required from within about 200 Light Years, large forces can be assembled relatively quickly to meet whatever threat presents itself. 12.5.2 The Imperial Navy ------------------------- Operating parallel to the Imperial Guard is the Imperial Navy. The Navy keeps and maintains the Imperiums battle fleet, providing transport to the Imperial Guard and others throughout the Galaxy. Navy bases are found in all segments of the Imperium, with the main ones being: * Earth (Imperial Navy base of Battlefleet Solar), Segmentum Solar * Cypra Mundi (Imperial Navy base of Battlefleet Obscuras), Segmentum Obscuras * Hydraphur (Imperial Navy base of Battlefleet Pacificus), Segmentum Pacificus * Kar Duniash (Imperial Navy base of Battlefleet Ultima), Ultima Segmentum * Bakka (Imperial Navy base of Battlefleet Tempestus), Segmentum Tempestus The Navy is run, at the top level, by the Commander of the Fleet, with overall control and resposibility for all Imperial Navy craft. The Commander of the Fleet sometimes enjoys a spell sitting on the Council of High Lords. For all practical purposes, the largest operation naval unit is the battlefleet of a Sector, each of which is under the command of a Lord Admiral. Each batlefleet is made up of a number of battlegroups - temporary task forces, convey escorts, patrol flotillas and other fleets that have been assembled to fulfil particular functions. A few battlegroups are almost permanent institutions, such as the famous 1st Terran Battlecruiser Armada, but most are gathered and dispersed as necessity dictates. Depending on its size and role, a battlegroup may be commanded by an experienced ships Captain or Commodore, a Fleet Admiral or Admiral, or sometimes even the Lord Admiral himself. Battlefleets normally comprise of between 50 and 75 warships of varying size, though this will vary depending on the importance of the Sector and the enemies the Sector generally faces. In addition to these destroyers, frigates, cruisers and battleships, each has access to countless smaller vessels such as transports, shuttles, messenger craft and long-range patrol craft. A fleet will also have access to a number of craft incapable of Warp travel such as system patrol ships and defence monitors. All this is backed up by other stationary craft and devices such as space stations, orbital defence platforms, ground based defence lasers and missile silos and orbital mines. This may sound like a considerable arsenal, but it isn't. it must cover an area of (on average) about 8,000,000 cubic Light Years, in which only a fraction of systems will have planets and a small portion of these be inhabited. The fleet must provide escorts for merchant ships (especially along dangerous routes), transport and escort Imperial Guard forces, provide orbital support for ground based armies, have sufficient slack to build exploration fleets as and when required and, with all of this, still make constant routine patrols of the Sector, a huge area, so as to scour out any hidden enemy. 12.5.3 The Adeptus Sororitas ----------------------------- The Adeptus Sororitas, or Sisters of Battle, are the official armed might of the Ecclesiarchy, fighting aliens, Heresy and unbelief throughout the Galaxy. Under the terms of the Decree Passive, the Ecclesiarchy is banned from keeping any 'men under arms' and, indeed, all members of the Adeptus Sororitas are female. In addition to their martial prowess, the Adeptus Sororitas provides a useful tool in keeping a finger on the pulse of Imperial citizens beliefs and feelings, and a careful watch on their own parent organisation of the Ecclesiarchy. The Adeptus Sororitas is described in greater detail in the 'Light of the Emperor' chapter. 12.5.4 The Adeptus Astartes (aka Space Marines) ------------------------------------------------ Of all the Imperiums fighting forces, the Space Marines stand apart. Organised into 'chapters' spread across the Galaxy, each and every Space Marine is a super-human, genetically modified and enhanced to be the ultimate warrior. The Space Marines are the crack marine force of the Imperium, its ace in the hole against alien invaders and internal threats such as Chaos and Genestealer cults. The Adeptus Astartes is described in greater detail in the 'Space Marines' chapter. 12.6 Officio Assassinorum =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- The Officio Assassinorum is the assassins guild of the Imperium. If an important official or planetary governor is causing trouble to the Imperium, an agent of the Officio Assassinorum will be sent to "eliminate" him. All Imperially sanctioned assassins belong to one of the temples of the Officio Assassinorum, of which the main ones are the Vindicare, Callidus, Eversor and Culexus. Details on Assassins and the Officio can be found in the Assassins chapter. 12.7 Language =-=-=-=-=-=-=- The Imperium uses three principal languages: * Low Gothic * High Gothic * Lingua-Technis Low Gothic is the standard language of the common people of the Imperium. The Imperium, however, is a big place and in many places the dialect of Low Gothic used is slightly different to "standard" Gothic, in some places almost unrecognisable as the same language. Imperial linguists and the sisters of the Orders Dialogous of the Adeptus Sororitas (see the chapter on the Ecclesiarchy for more information) help to bridge the gap. High Gothic, in contrast, is an older, more pure, form of the language. It is rarely, if ever, known at all by the common people of the Imperium, and akin to Latin or Greek in our own world. Most importantly to those learned people who use it, most worlds have at least one scholarly group or sect who use it, and the language is highly uniform - the High Gothic used by scholars on one side of the Galaxy is exactly the same as on the opposite edge of the Galaxy. Lingua-Technis is the specialist language used by the Tech-priesthood of Mars and the Tech-priests of the many Space Marine chapters. It is never taught to anyone outside the Cult of the Machine God - consider it a form of jargon no-one outside the Cult is allowed to understand. Bits and snippets of Lingua-Technis describing common technology often finds its way into the Low Gothic speech used on technologically aware planets, to the chagrin of the Martian Tech-priests. Like High Gothic, Lingua-Technis is highly precise and the same form of Lingua-Technis is used by Tech-adepts all over the Galaxy. 12.8 Interstellar Travel and Communication =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- For the Imperium to thrive and continue, interstellar travel and communication are crucial. To travel much further than a few Light Years at any reasonable speed, a ship must travel through the Warp, or Warpspace. Warpspace is dangerous at the best of times, a parallel universe with different laws and fluid currents. Should a craft allow itself to get lost in the energy currents, it becomes much more dangerous still. The only safe way to travel through the Warp is to be guided by one commonly referred to as a Navigator. These are not the Astrogators and pilots who guide the ship through normal space (though they may do that as well), but individuals with the special psychic ability to navigate the currents of the Warp. Perhaps most dangerous in travelling through Warpspace is the ever present threat of running into a sudden Warpstorm. Navigators are versed in spotting the signs of a coming Warpstorm and navigating round it if possible, even so thousands have been killed, engulfed in a sudden Warpstorm that literally tore apart their ship. More information on Navigators can be found in the chapter on Psionics. If you don't have the privilege to own your own private cruiser, travelling between the stars means buying passage on a Merchant Trader ship travelling your way. Most will give travel to those unable to pay their way also, so long as they work their passage. Apart from their role providing interstellar travel for the masses, Merchant ships travel from planet to planet, buying and selling, making a living. The fees they charge for passage help there also, and those unable to pay for passage provide cheap labour to temporarily fill the nasty and demening jobs. Interstellar communication is also vital for the continued survival of the Imperium, and, with distances of Light Years to cross, radio and other electromagnetic forms of communication just won't cut it. The answer lies in Mankinds evolution as a psychic species. Some psykers are specially trained as Astropaths, whose job it is to form nodes of the Telepathica Matrix. What approximately happens is an Astropath sends out a psychic message, which is picked up and sent on by other nodes of the Telepathica Matrix in as many jumps as necessary until it reaches its eventual destination. One such Matrix Node is Thandros, near the Macragge system. Again, more about Astropaths can be found in the chapter on Psionics.