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lumi-klovstad-games · 1 year ago

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"Any Path To Victory Will Do": The Ghestan Storm Legions

In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war. In this galaxy beset by constant blood and battle, hallmarked by hellish conditions and a cold and unrelenting hostility to the very idea of civilization itself, the residents of one world in particular have risen to the challenge, and managed to do more than simply survive: they thrive.

It is not clear when or how the world of Ghestus Prime first came to be colonized by humanity, or if the world was more hospitable when it was. In the Age of Strife, Ghestus Prime became cut off from the rest of humanity by Warp Storms, and any knowledge of how people had come to be there was lost. The planet is a veritable hellscape, a harsh and unforgiving world like no other. The atmosphere has an exceptionally low oxygen content, and is full of gasses that are toxic to humans. Outside the shelter zones, the air is packed with thick radioactive dust by never-ending dust storms that have also significantly dimmed the effective output of Ghestus Prime’s sun, rendering conventional farming impossible. The dim sunlight provides little respite from the cold on Ghestus Prime’s surface, and much of the year is spent in sub-freezing conditions, with the warmest days only crossing into the mid-40’s on the Fahrenheit Scale. It is this comfort-forsaken world that has given rise to the Ghestan people, a highly resilient civilization of abhumans who have perfectly adapted to rise to their homeworld’s challenges, on societal, technological, and even biological levels. In the dim and the dark of Ghestus Prime’s surface, the Ghestan people became pale, with translucent skin and red eyes giving them a frightening visage. Their bodies have outstanding resilience to radiation and physical damage compared to mainline humans. However, due to their world’s peculiar atmosphere that the Ghestans have adapted to breathe normally, they require environmental masks when traveling off-world to breathe effectively, as a more Earth-like atmosphere has become almost toxic to them. On top of these challenges, the Ghestans had to contend with their world’s own natural disasters, deadly predators, and frequent raids by the Dark Eldar.

The Ghestans had little choice but to meet their challenges head on, and they developed a culture that prizes survival above all, as well as resourcefulness, adaptability, and brutal efficiency. Without the extra resources to enable slower, more democratic or bureaucratic systems, the Ghestans learned to value and cultivate charismatic and iron-willed leaders, favoring powerful and indomitable men of grand vision who by force of will and force of arms could unite the Ghestan people into pursuing common goals, and who would be adaptable in the face of ever-changing conditions. They adopted a strong martial tradition, and passed on to their children their most essential lesson: the wants of the individual are inconsequential when the survival of the whole is on the line. They learned to fight back against their assailants, and on the resource and advantage-starved world of Ghestus Prime, willingly refusing anything that could give your community an edge in the survival stakes simply wasn’t done. As the Ghestan people got better at killing Dark Eldar raiders, they began to salvage the Drukhari’s weapons, vehicles, and other technology, and set their finest minds to work in determining how this technology worked and how to integrate it into their own, all for the glory and survival of the Ghestan people.

The Ghestans have a long and proud history of association with the Imperial military, with the Ghestan Storm Legions only being the most modern incarnation, emerging in the late 38th Millennium. The seeds were planted far earlier, however, during the Great Crusade, when the God Emperor’s forces rediscovered Ghestus Prime, and brought it into compliance. The God Emperor was impressed by the Ghestan people’s will to survive, their courage, and their skill, and so offered them a place in his Imperium of Man. The God Emperor of Mankind was exactly the sort of leader the Ghestans valued, and they enthusiastically took up the banner of his Empire, sending forth professional armies to fight in his name, and to kill for his cause. The Ghestan Army Legions swiftly became famed for their unbreakable determination, their resilience, and their sheer adaptability in the face of harsh conditions, while they became equally feared and maligned for their ruthless pragmatism and cruel battlefield calculus. The Ghestan Army Legions fought alongside the Emperor’s Forces in countless campaigns, burning a trail of blood and glory across the galaxy in the name of the Emperor’s promised utopia to come. During the Great Crusade, they encountered many other Imperial factions, such as the Space Marines of the Adeptus Astartes, the keen minds of the Adeptus Mechanicus, and their fellow soldiers in the Imperial Army, from all walks of life. Some of these factions grew to respect and admire the Ghestan soldiers for their accomplishments and abilities, while others distrusted or despised them outright for their history of integrating Drukhari technology into their own, as well as their callous disregard for civilian lives and those of non-Ghestan soldiers. Of the Space Marines, the Ghestans rapidly came to respect the Iron Warriors the best, as they saw in the Iron Warriors many of the same brutally efficient and calculating values that Ghestan culture instilled in all its children.

The Ghestan Armies were nearly broken during the Horus Heresy, when they were betrayed by one of their own: Lord Brigadier Lareas, who had secretly defected to Chaos. He led the bulk of the Ghestan troops into a trap on the planet of Odraustea, where they were ambushed by the Iron Warriors that they had once respected, along with a host of daemons. Lareas also sabotaged the Ghestan’s communications and supplies, leaving them isolated and vulnerable. The Ghestans fought valiantly, but suffered near-total casualties and losses before they were rescued by a host of Ultramarines. While Lareas’ heresy was exposed, and the Ghestans prosecuted their own brand of justice against the traitor, Lareas’ mission had still been a resounding success: the damage the Ghestans had suffered had been well beyond what was needed to remove their armies from the fight, and the battered survivors fell back to Ghestus Prime to ensure their people’s survival, just as Lareas had planned. The Odraustean Betrayal removed the Ghestan Armies from being an active participant in the Horus Heresy going forward, and the Ghestan people were left deeply shaken by Lareas' Judas-kiss.

The Ghestans are never a civilization to be counted out, however. They have survived and recovered from similar disasters before the Imperium, and the events of the Heresy and the Oudrastean Betrayal proved no different in that regard. Within scant centuries, they were eventually able to recover from the losses of the Heresy, and returned with pride and glory to Imperial service, albeit far more wary and cautious of allies and enemies alike. Their soldiers would face yet more challenges and temptations from the forces of Chaos, who tried to sway them with promises of power, glory, knowledge, and comfort. The new “Ghestan Storm Legions” resisted these temptations by keeping to their promised duty to the Emperor’s cause – a Ghestan promise made is not one to be broken – and remembering their obligations to their own people, and leaning on thousands of years of highly rigorous martial discipline to enforce control of themselves, up and down the chain of command.

On the war-torn world of Viyonlia, the 3rd Storm Legion's 20th Army faced a horde of Khornate cultists and daemons. They were surrounded by bloodshed and carnage, and felt the rage and bloodlust of the Blood God in their veins. They heard his voice in their minds, urging them to kill and slaughter for his glory. He promised them more power and renown if they joined his ranks and renounced their loyalty to the Emperor. The Storm Legions resisted Khorne’s temptation by remembering their duty and discipline, and by using their tactics and strategy to overcome the enemy’s brute force. Fighting with discipline, courage, skill, and a willingness to self-sacrifice for the good of the unit, they managed to break through the enemy lines and reach their objective, where they activated a powerful bomb that destroyed the Khornate forces and their portal to the Warp.

On Tocrides, the 7th Storm Legion's 667th Recon Division were sent to a hidden research facility where they discovered a cache of ancient and forbidden technology. They were fascinated by the devices and machines, and felt the curiosity and ambition of the Changer of Ways in their hearts. They saw his visions in their dreams, showing them the secrets and mysteries of the universe. He offered them more knowledge and wisdom if they joined his schemes and betrayed their comrades. The Storm Legions resisted Tzeentch’s temptation by holding to their pragmatism and caution, and by reminding themselves of the pain and horror suffered by their forefathers during the Horus Heresy on Odraustea as a result of Laraes’ treachery. They reported their findings to their superiors, and subsequently followed their orders to secure the facility. They managed to fend off an attack by Tzeentchian cultists and daemons, who tried to steal the technology and use it for their own ends, and finally, by then thoroughly wary of the visions and dreams they had endured, they ultimately destroyed the facility and its contents rather than bring them home to endanger their people.

During the Plague Wars against Mortarion, several Storm Legions were mobilized, and all were assigned to quarantine zones where they faced endless plagues of Nurgle’s diseases and toxins. They were exposed to decay and rot, and felt the pain and despair of the Plague God in their flesh. They smelled his stench in their nostrils, sapping their strength and willpower. He offered them more protection and comfort if they joined his embrace and accepted his gifts. It is recalled that not one Legion nor soldier fell to Chaos that day: for the Storm Legions resisted Nurgle’s temptation, struggling to the very last with all their famed strength and resilience, and by using their rebreathers and environmentally sealed armor as makeshift HAZMAT suits to withstand the plague. They also relied on each other, deepening fraternal ties between soldiers, with their comradery bolstering morale; through that, the same determination and endurance that had so impressed the God Emperor in the 30th Millennium now vexed the Plague Father in the 42nd. They held the line, and endured, bringing pride and glory to their forefathers, and in the end, it was the Plague Itself that broke before the Guard did.

In late M41, the 66th Storm Legion was infiltrated by a Slaaneshi spy who tried to seduce them with pleasure and pain, for a fallen Ghestan Storm Legion in the service of Slaanesh would be a powerful asset for the Prince of Excess. They were tempted by dreamlike visions full of whirlwind sensations of every stripe and hue, and felt the desire and excess of the Master of Sin in their souls. They heard his laughter in their ears, enticing them to indulge in their fantasies and passions. He offered them more satisfaction and rewards than they could imagine, if they joined his service and renounced their honor. The Legion resisted Slaanesh’s temptation by remembering their duty and purpose, and by using their balance and moderation to control their emotions, remembering that the wants of the individual are insignificant when the survival of the whole was on the line. They exposed the spy’s identity, and managed to capture him before he could carry out his plot, and tortured him for information via sensory deprivation regarding his cult’s activities before killing him quickly, bluntly. and abruptly with no experiences or sensations to savor: exactly the way a Slaaneshite fears most.

Despite the flourishing of the Imperial Cult in the millennia after the Horus Heresy, the Ghestans have, with a small handful of individual exceptions, by and large never bought into the notion of the God Emperor as a literal deity. This is not the result of any great philosophizing on their part, but rather another expression of classical Ghestan pragmatism – they simply believe that on a world as harsh as theirs, one has more practical and immediate problems to solve than fussing over who’s a god and who’s not. Those who have taken up the Imperial Faith are tolerated, so long as their practice remains isolated and does not impede in their day to day duties. Most Ghestans remain staunchly areligious, which has brought them into conflict with factions like the Ecclesiarchy and the Inquisition. Likewise, their willingness to innovate scientifically and technologically, and even incorporate xenotech, has earned them the ire and hatred of the Adeptus Mechanicus, to which the Ghestan Legions have responded with an even more infuriating indifference as they devote themselves ever further to understanding, refining, and maintaining their crafts and sciences, refusing to give up any of their self-sufficiency to such backwards and counterproductive morons as those that make up the Mechanicus.

Outside the Empire, the Ghestans maintain their powerful hatred for the Drukhari, who have caused their people so much suffering over their history. Post Heresy, they also possess a deep-seated hatred of traitors, not only because of their betrayal on Oudrastea, but because Ghestan culture maintains that success is only possible when everyone pulls together towards the same end goal. As a result, in their eyes, Traitors are selfish hypocrites who, now isolated from their original group, cannot build or accomplish anything worthwhile, while also depriving their original community of the means to do the same. More recently, they have come to form a bitter rivalry with the forces of the T’au Empire, with the Ghestans maintaining that the T’au are no more virtuous than themselves, but hypocritically cover up their monstrous nature with constant babbling about “the Greater Good''. This has not stopped the ever-resourceful Ghestans from stealing or otherwise recovering T’au technology to be reverse-engineered and assimilated, recognizing the value in the T’au’s military innovations and actively working to integrate these into their own practices.

To the incredible fury of the Adeptus Mechanicus and great concern of the Inquisition, these efforts to reproduce xenos tech have borne much fruit over the years, and the modern Storm Legions represent the very latest in Ghestan battlefield innovations. Unlike other Imperial Guard Armies, their history of coming from an inhospitable death world has left the Ghestans in a perpetual state of scrappy desperation, and they will not willingly discard tools that could give them an advantage. This has led to them fielding one of the most technologically advanced armies in the Imperium. Of special interest to their engineers is the T’au mastery of energy weapons, though to their great frustration, they have not developed the capacity to recreate this technology yet. In order to conceal what they know others will accuse as heresy, the Ghestans take their time in recreating xenotech, all the better to disguise the process as natural innovation and engineering advancement that has resulted from classic Ghestan resourcefulness, though the Adeptus Mechanicus and the Inquisition strongly suspect the truth, though their efforts to prove such have been hamstrung by the essential nature of the Storm Legions to Roboute Guilliman’s Indomitus Crusade. Guilliman and several other high ranking individuals are aware of the true origins of Ghestan technological advancement, but have made repeated exceptions for the Storm Legions and their people, under the condition that the Ghestans know that the nail that sticks out too far WILL be hammered without mercy, which the Ghestans regard as a fair trade. It goes without saying that the Ghestans' technologically progressive policies might have been catastrophic for them had the Imperium (and Mars) not had significantly larger concerns almost constantly. The Adeptus Mechanicus has frequently been left frothing at the mouth as a result of interactions with Ghestan elements, with the two societies being more or less entirely anathema to each other, only barely cooperating at all by virtue of their shared duty to the Imperium of Man. Fortunately for them, Ghestan troop divisions remain very much an apple of the Astra Militarum's eye, and they are now regarded as even more favored, elite, and utterly indispensable in the eyes of the Departmento Munitorum after the fall of Cadia. Whatever accusations the Mechanicus may shriek in their direction, no Imperial Commander who is serious about winning has so far been willing to shoot their campaign in the foot by denying themselves of the results assured by Ghestan participation.

Ghestan innovation and reverse-engineering is not restricted purely to weapons and technology, but also has informed their fighting doctrines. Their first hand observation of the effectiveness of Drukhari raids has led to the Storm Legions adopting a doctrine called “Thunderbolt Warfare'', which emphasizes a combined arms force making rapid progression from one objective to the next as quickly and effectively as possible, striking the next objective before or just as news of the previous objective has reached the new lines, giving the enemy no time to prepare an organized defense. Where such efforts have been stymied or simply are not realistic expectations, the Storm Legions reveal their full battlefield powers as their army and vanguard forces meet and combine; the Storm Legions employ mixed unit tactics, special forces detachments, heavy armored divisions, and even possess their own air superiority force, all to shift their battlefield presence and capabilities in real time as the situation demands, making them very hard to pin down. In addition, their insight into xenotech has given them some of the finest infantry armor in the Imperium, falling short of power armor. This superior armor, combined with their natural resilience to serious injury, enables the Storm Legions to directly charge enemy lines, and survive or even shrug off injuries that would incapacitate or even kill normal or less well protected humans.

The Storm Legions, unfortunately, are as harsh and unforgiving as the world they hail from. Those they tend to consider heroes, like their living legend, Radec Redblood – the so-called “Savior of Hive City Aloma”-- are often monsters willing to employ callous, machiavellian, cold-blooded, and inhumane tactics in order to achieve victory. Among the Storm Legions, Radec Redblood is a living legend, a hero of peerless repute, and the troops regard him like a demi-god, but he remains a highly controversial figure outside his Legions for his cold and calculating tactics at the Siege of Palonia. Palonia was a hive world that had the incredible misfortune to also be a Necron Tomb World. When the Tomb activated and the Necrons began slaughtering the populace and compromising the viability of Hive City Aloma, the "Second City" of Palonia, it was the 19th Storm Legions' 5th Army, under the command of Radec, who answered the call for help, but the Alomans may have preferred the Necrons in the end. A strong initial push by the Fifth was rebutted by a devastating Necron counterattack, ravaging the Fifth by targeting their most effective weapons for killing Necrons, and wiping out over 62% of the Fifth's soldiers and logistics personnel. Refusing to cede an inch of ground and desperate to turn the fight back in the Imperium's favor, Radec forcibly conscripted the remaining population of Hive City Aloma, armed them with substandard weapons, and began his war of attrition, trading civilian lives for the time he needed to be resupplied. The order was met with resistance from the civilian population at first, but Radec's firing squads, who promptly executed thousands of civilian objectors and deserters for heresy, proved to be as fearsome as the enemy Necrons to the Aloman citizens, if not more so. Millions more were mercilessly cut down by Radec's constant orders to send his new militia on suicide runs, which he neither hated or enjoyed, considering it no more or less than the brutal calculus necessary to accomplish his mission. Controversial as they were, the suicide missions met with strategic success, providing enough pressure to pin the Necrons in place while Radec waited for reinforcements and supplies. After several months, these finally arrived, and Radec then gave the order to use his new weapons and professional soldiers to turn the Necron positions into glass, finally eliminating the threat. In the end, his victory came at the cost of 88.3 million civilian lives, which Radec regarded as "acceptable sacrifices to prevent such a critical world from falling into the hands of the enemy", as well as retaining it for the Imperium’s continued use – new workers could always be found.

Radec would later justify his actions to detractors as fulfilling his mission to the letter: he was told to deny Hive City Aloma to the enemy, and if possible, preserve its facilities for further use by the Imperium. Ultimately, as he saw nothing in his orders stating the city needed to be fully inhabited, he only withheld from conscripting the most important and essential workers and laborers who would be the most difficult to replace. Even Lord Salazar Jomenga, the Imperial Governor ruling over the planet, was conscripted and forced to fight and die. When Jomenga tried to flex his nobleman's position, Radec icily replied "Noble blood is cheaper than tin, and even less useful." before handing the high lord a knife and a laspistol and sending him at the enemy. To this day, Radec Redblood, "The Savior Of Hive City Aloma" remains bitterly hated in the city he saved, his name seldom spoken aloud by the survivors, and with clear revulsion when it is. Meanwhile, to his men and at home on Ghestus Prime, Radec is regarded with an almost saintly reputation for his survival and victory against such impossible odds and determined enemies. Radec is hardly an outlier: Ghestan commanders have a well deserved reputation for employing such cruel, inhumane, or otherwise underhanded tactics to win, explained by the Storm Legion wisdom: “There is always a preferred path to victory, but the battlefield doesn’t care, and by battle’s end, any path to victory will do so long as you have the strength to walk it.”

The Ghestan Storm Legions remain some of the Empire’s most driven, talented soldiers, a testament to human tenacity, and in many ways embodying the most core values of the Imperium, though many of their detractors would be loath to admit it. Their people have endured some of the harshest conditions imaginable for over ten thousand years, and far from breaking them, it has only tempered them further at every step. They are a proud people, a pragmatic people, and their soldiers understand that victory only comes to those with the strength and the will to claim it, no matter the cost. Their current status is not precisely known, aside from taking part in some of the most bitter fighting of the Indomitus Crusade. Despite accusations of Heresy by some, the Ghestan Storm Legions remain steadfastly loyal to the Emperor, and his regent, Roboute Guilliman, for a Ghestan promise made is a promise kept. They have faced the temptations of Chaos, and remain unbowed. They have passed through fire and betrayal, and returned all the stronger for it.

As the Storm Legions call to rally on countless battlefields: “Unity brings Strength, Strength brings Victory!”

As long as the Storm Legions carry this certainty in their hearts, Ghestus Prime shall never break, and her soldiers shall never yield. Respect them or despise them as you will, for they care not. They will do what they must, as they have always done. They will fight for survival, for glory, and for the Emperor... and no force within or without the Imperium can stop them.

#I actually wrote this back in APRIL #I wanted to do something other than Space Marines #The goal was to adapt the Helghast from Killzone as an Imperial Guard faction #in the end I love what came out #they are evil by any objective measure we have irl #but I also can understand how they ended up that way; what winding and uncertain path brought them to what they are #& they are not wholly evil as they have several redeeming qualities:#they favor ingenuity + innovation + service + honor + honesty + possess a strong and incredibly loyal sense of community and brotherhood #and honestly given how cruel and barbaric the Imperium of Man actually is it's very likely that these guys are actually pretty average #one shudders to imagine #also yes they did in fact overcome the temptations of Chaos by being Very Good Fascists - this is not in any way an endorsement of fascism #like they also killed over 88 million of their fellow imperial citizens by flinging them against the enemy -- Stalingrad style #you should not be under any illusions that these are nice people who should be emulated. THEY ARE NOT.#these are people who can only be considered “good” within the context of their incredibly fucked up universe.#& even in that context they are deliberately meant to be controversial by invoking some of the worst crimes ever and dialing it up further #I should not have to write any of that disclaimer but the reading comprehension on this fucking website these days practically compels me #astra militarum #imperial guard #fanon #my OC stuff #my OCs #warhammer 40k #warhammer 40000 #wh40k

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