Port Aquila

Diomedea Stella is a blue supergiant surrounded by a huge asteroid field, the size and scope of which far surpasses any known logical parameters. It forms an almost perfect ribbon, with narrow bands of denser formations in diferent areas that cannot yet be explained, making this a source of inquiry for the Askelline Mechanicum. Individual asteroids also seem to relocate, causing havoc as the belt seems diferent every time it is mapped—to this day no one has a complete or accurate map of the field.

The term “port” is a misnomer, as there is no single centralised location in the field. It is home to numerous bases, refuelling posts, and strongholds of all kinds. From the Greater Askellon Trade Combine's huge Atticus Compound to the hidden caverns used by the Unknown and other smugglers, deals happen everywhere. It is also a major anchorage for ships arriving from the neighbouring Ixaniad Sector. For centuries, pirates and traders have also made it their home, but more and more recidivists and heretics have also found a haven in its dark corners. It has always had activity, but its past was far less pleasant or peaceful.

Much of the history of the first settlers has been lost. At the high point of expansion in Askellon, Diomedea offered little. There were no planets to colonise and no immediate resources to capitalise on. The field provided a fair amount of shelter, and the bravest of the initial explorers built liveable, self-contained homes out of the rocks. Many began mapping out the ield, occasionally finding valuable mineral deposits. Even then, the initial scans showed strange things. The estimated mass and density of the belt far exceeded any other known fields, as if several planets had
been destroyed and their remains kept in loose orbit. As people settled in, more odd reports began to filter in. Mineral deposits would change from one scan to the next. Asteroids marked for future mining would be rediscovered months later far from their projected orbital location. The belt became widely occupied, though, as the lure of profit throughout the belt exceeded these frustrations.

Where there is profit, there is also greed. Word of opportunity reached the ears of more people, many hoping to start a new life, others hoping to take it from someone else. Raids against the settlers became more commonplace, with many of the families slain or driven back out of the system for good. Piracy and violence became the new norm. A few groups banded together and fortified, finding ruins among some of the larger asteroids and reinforcing existing defences. Trade routes that had started forming from the rest of the sector were attacked and pillaged, and quickly evaporated as the risks were too great. The system stayed like this for centuries, with little hope of change—until the greenskins came.

The fighting between the original settlers and raiders proved fruitless. Little by little, both sides were finding themselves unable to maintain their craft or support their own, yet they knew no other way. That all changed when Waaagh! Oggrim appeared near Diomedea Stella and began hunting for people to fight. Many of the initial contacts were devastating; the Orks were hungry for battle, while both the Aquillans and pirates were exhausted and ill-equipped. Still, all of the humans knew that none of them would survive unless they united against the xenos. Using their knowledge of the field, they began to chip away at the flanks of the Ork fleet, but even then it was not enough. It took the coincidental arrival of the D’Amitri trade fleet to turn the tide.

The D’Amitris were a merchant family on the decline in neighbouring Ixaniad Sector. Seeing contracts and resources drying up, the matriarch, Leah Venria, made a bold move to leave with their remaining ships and fortune and try to rebuild in Askellon. Coincidentally, their entry point was Diomedea Stella, on the outskirts of a major skirmish. Hearing the calls for aid, they responded quickly and decisively, routing the Orks and saving the locals. After hearing what had been happening, the D’Amitri trade fleet offered their services in exchange for the right to conduct commerce in the system when the threat ended.

There are many accounts of the battles for the Diomedea Stella system, most of them highly fictionalised to highlight a specific family’s contributions to the defeat of the Orks. The two things that are consistent in all of them, however, are the resolve of all who fought for humanity, and that without the D’Amitri family’s aid, they would have fallen. That universally accepted truth enabled the D’Amitris to unify all factions into a single entity that would shape the system and later the sector: the Greater Askellon Trade Combine.

The Combine did not start off successfully. Uniting all of the prospecting families, pirates, smugglers, and merchants was not an easy task, but Venria took to it with an almost religious zeal. She set the Four Principles for the Combine, making sure that individual captains could negotiate contracts, but that they would require approval to confirm routes and the Combine’s share. She made sure that all ships were able to defend themselves and capable of transporting cargo. Venria made sure that her captains knew they were partners in the organisation, and she commanded fierce loyalty from those in her employ.

Breaking into the trade dealings of Askellon was another issue altogether. Because the main base for the Combine operated in one of the most remote places in the sector and half of her captains were former criminals, Venria knew she would have to establish the Combine’s presence in Desoleum. Bit by bit, she found contracts with smaller trade houses, building a solid reputation. The proceeds went to expanding the operations; by the time of her death, she had established footholds on all of the Grand Worlds and fortified the main fleet hub in Port Aquila.

As the organisation grew, however, more and more of the proit was being turned over to the Combine, rather than staying in the hands of the captains who made the routes. The D’Amitris, anxious to protect their legacy, sided with the captains and were largely removed from the governance of the Combine. This act sparked a small rebellion among the captains, who began doing work on the side—and endangered the good standing of the Combine by getting caught with illicit goods in their holds. Rather than see the Combine splinter and fail, its leaders re-dedicated the organisation to Venria’s original edicts. Captains were entitled to a larger share of the fruits of their labour, and from those profits a portion would be paid to the Combine for support and resupplies.

In more recent times, Port Aquila has grown despite its shadowy past. The Warp routes to and from Diomedea Stella—while not easy to navigate—are stable enough for regular traffic, and as a result the population has increased dramatically. The entrepreneurial spirit has found its way back to the system as well, with prospectors and explorers once again seeking fortune amidst the thousands of asteroids. That spirit has also re-awakened some of the darkness that has always been here, seeking new ways to manifest.

Governance of the system is nominally under the Cyclopian Sub-Praefectorate, but in reality, most acknowledge that the only group willing and able to promote law and order is the Greater Askellon Trade Combine. Though the Imperial Navy has the most direct ties to Imperial Law, it does not have a large enough leet to police the system in the way the Combine can. As a result, the Imperial Navy often acts as an auxiliary to the trade leets, though officially the relationship is reversed. While minor confrontations are constant between smugglers and prospectors, the Combine and the Navy usually only get involved when their immediate interests are in jeopardy. As a result, frontier justice is often used and accepted among the loating rocks of Diomedea Stella.

Psychic phenomena are also on the rise through the system, as the tendrils of the Pandaemonium have moved closer to the system in recent years. Multiple sites in the system have reported hulls bleeding thick red liquids, gusts of chilling wind blowing through ships’ corridors, and ghostly images appearing outside of viewports. Some natives at local watering holes have claimed that they saw faces forming in the nearby asteroids, but most of those stories have been chalked up to cheap imported taffywater or even cheaper local voidsweat. Though usually no larger harm is done, there have been incidents that lack an easy explanation. All have heard reports of those refusing to leave establishments because of what they say they see out among the asteroids. Others tell of settlers and smugglers who have spaced themselves, calmly walking into airlocks without a suit and opening the outer hatch. The tale of the veteran void-master who stranded his crew when he took the shuttle and rammed an asteroid with it still quiets rooms; they say he screamed incoherently through the vox until the impact silenced signal and pilot alike. These incidents are not the norm, however—but they do seem to be growing.

The Imperiam Within the Port

In most Imperial systems, there is a centralised location for the functionaries of the Adeptus Terra to set their camp and branch outward. The inherent difficulty in finding a safe singular location to do that in Port Aquila limits the ability of the Imperium to do its work. As a result, the presence of Terra mirrors the reach of the Astronomican to Diomedea Stella: relatively weak and tenuous at best. Stationed in the Pride of Askellon, a Ramillies-class station outside the asteroid ield on the edge of the system, the small Naval garrison and the other Adeptus representatives sit and let the inhabitants live their lives, largely left alone.

Unbeknownst to most, Port Aquila has a military governor who is, at least on paper, in charge of the system. The current one is Severine Cantrella, once a bold ship commander, but now seldom ever seen outside her offices and living space on the station. Her arrival to the station brought with it a sense of hope and renewed purpose for those who yearned to take Aquila by the reins and tether it to Imperial Law. The previous sixteen governors had lasted a total of only 28 years in service, the longest for 19 months, the shortest for ive hours. All sixteen of them had died while in oice and on active duty in the system. To a person, unexplained events were the cause of death. From a spontaneous explosion of an asteroid under one governor’s landing party to having a malfunctioning thruster launch another governor toward Diomedea Stella, strange things have happened to those who tried to strictly enforce Imperial Law.

Severine apparently read the accounts, and made a different plan. She courted the Combine’s favour and allowed them to act as the eyes, ears, and hands of the Imperium. The result has been a marked decrease in the amount of violent crime, and Governor Cantrella has been in office for more than eight years. She has had her share of close calls, however, likely a reason for her staying aboard the station. She gives most of her orders through communiqués, and only emerges from her offices to walk among the troops once a year.

Other branches of the Adeptus Terra are not represented equally on the station. The Navy has a patrolling force of a battlecruiser, a light cruiser, and six squadrons of five escorts— nowhere near enough to patrol the system, and too much to just sit at a base. Governor Cantrella has them run training missions and provide support for the Combine when they engage any unruly traders. On board the Pride of Askellon, aside from the fifty-
man strong Adeptus Arbites precinct, there are very few other branches of the Adeptus Terra. A small Adeptus Mechanicus contingent studies the unusual properties of Diomedea Stella, and chart the ebb and low of the Pandaemonium across the area. The Astropathic choir consists of ten members who are rotated out yearly, rare for such posts. Residents on the Pride have noticed that many of the psykers seem worn and almost sapped of their vitality by the time they leave. Overall, though, the Imperium largely stays away from Port Aquila except for its regular tithes, allowing the Combine to maintain internal justice.

The Imperium and the Combine are not the only factions of note. As in the past, the asteroid field holds many mysteries and secrets that others are all too happy to discover and exploit. Smaller—but still influential—groups have found their ways into Aquillan politics. While these do not have the reach of the Combine, it would be foolish to underestimate their usefulness or their connectedness within the system, for here they hold more sway.

Smuggling Rings

Smugglers have maintained a niche market here, and are probably some of the most resourceful captains and pilots in the system. Most of them work in the trade of items the Combine refuses to touch, in order to limit contact with what passes for the law. The emergence of Trademaster Whelk makes them a target, though, and that is bad for business. Most of the smuggling rings are local, and handle moving items within the system from one source to another for a reasonable fee. The vast majority of these groups are skilled enough to avoid detection, or are small enough to not warrant investigation or apprehension. Those with the ability to leave the system, however, are careful to kit out their ships with hidden holds and airtight reasons to depart the system, in case the Combine or the Imperial Navy decides to stop and search them.

Many of these Warp-capable rings have begun talk of banding together, but as yet have not generated any noticeable cohesion. The Unknown is a new arrival to the port, though no one can say where it comes from. While it may be a home-grown entity, it is more likely being funded from outside the system. The League operates in the Faceless Trade of forbidden goods, specifically in xenos artefacts and other illicit materials. Its members are seldom caught or spotted, and often leave traps behind for their pursuers to stumble through. This bears the mark of seasoned professionals rather than fresh amateurs, and it is this level of sophistication which has brought much outside attention. Askellon’s many other syndicates, especially the Unknown centred on Desoleum, do not like competition, and through their agents has begun working with the Combine to help quash these rock-runners. To date, only one member of the League has been captured, and that one chose death rather than divulging information.

Large or small, one thing is clear: the combination of Whelk and the Prospector's Guild has created a problem for all smugglers. As a result, smaller groups often work together to eliminate Guild resources whenever they are found. Several exploration units have gone missing recently, and a surveying unit was found dead at its last known location, clearly victims of foul play. If rumours are true, the two attempts on Trademaster Whelk’s life were also plots of local smugglers, though she has made quite a few other enemies in her time at the post.

The Shadowed Factions

Aside from the individuals who come seeking fortune, there are a few other people who cling to the rocks of Port Aquila. The normal adventurers and treasure-seekers are common enough closer to the independent outposts and watering holes. Some of those with a penchant for risk-taking have formed a portable refuelling service called the Fyceline Flotilla, a sharp contrast to the Imperium’s fees and regulations at the Pride of Askellon. The quality of their plasma fuel is sub-par, but for many on the wrong side of the law, it is the only way to keep their ships running without making their presence known. Recently, some of their secret meeting places among the rocks have been compromised in a series of sneak attacks by the Combine, in an efort to curtail illegal activity not part of the Combine’s grasp. Whether it has a mole in place or another way of detecting the lawbreakers is currently unknown.

Though well-known through their recent inclusion in the Combine’s governance, the House of Roth is not currently known to have any established facility within the system. This may be changing, as ships bearing the Roth family crest have been spotted lurking in some of the darker areas of the asteroid field. Most of the areas they have scouted have been largely uninhabited and, thus far, the House of Roth has not begun any known construction.

There have also been several reports of upheaval and violence at many of the way stations and trading holes, the perpetrators bearing a set of mysterious marks on their wrists. They call themselves Unknown, and disappear soon after the violence is over. Thus far, no deaths at their hands have been reported, but they leave behind them a wake of continual unrest that often lasts for weeks afterward.

Of great concern to the Imperium’s forces in the region are the growing rumours of cult activity and an influx of new players in the Faceless Trade. Some of the independent explorers in the region have found multiple sites used in what appear to be blasphemous rituals. None of them seem to be related to each other, as the rituals all seem diferent, and no set of markings or messages left behind indicate a pattern, but all of them are gruesome. Several guildsmen at one site were driven mad at the sight of the human remains, and the arcane runes carved into the walls of the asteroid caverns at another site allegedly inspired a blood-soaked mutiny on one vessel. If the rumours are true, no less than fifty different cults could be operating within the belt, and that might only be the beginning of the problem. Thus far, some of the sects that have so far claimed responsibility include the bloodthirsty Unknown, the chem-worshipping Unknown, and a techno-gang known as the Unknown.