Brotherhood of the Divine Protector
The galaxy is a cold and unforgiving place……….
The backwater world of Cetania Prime was the 2nd planet in a four planet system, not an interesting place at all, part terraformed to grow crops the local population would never eat and the other half was the dark side of the planet, permanently in the night.
This half was a barren waste land, being stripped bare of all resources and mined for the valuable minerals which lay in the ground below
Colonized around M35, this newly populated world was not on the main through routes that feed the Imperium of man but was on the lower part of some forgotten part of the galaxy, the ships that came either got lost in the immaterial of the warp or were the scheduled ore carriers and tithes ships that would come and take the young generation away, never to be seen again, to fight for a distant idea on a distant planet somewhere else.
The tithes were strong because of the training that was under taken on the planet, with half of it constantly in darkness, the regiment were able to train and gain experience fighting during the darkness. From a young age, those selected for recruitment would be taken to this area to learn and hone their killing craft.
The planets forge was converted by the mechanium to produce selected numbers of battle tanks and support vehicles every cycle, when it wasn’t producing standardized mining machinery or orbital shuttles of the Arvus pattern.
Every 6 standard years the ships of the holy Emperor would return, there would be celebrations and a parade through the main hab centre for these brave souls, they would march in line through the boulevards, past the statues honouring the time, A long forgotten space marine chapter stopped at the planet to refuel, its chapter colours and marking long warn away by the harsh grey sand that covered the planet.
This was a joyous time for this latest regiments who were going off to fight for glory and honour.
Cargo would be loaded, the latest materials from the Imperium would be landed. The ships only stayed long enough to take their fill and then leave, Cetania was always the last stop on their route. The crews tired of the space travel and the extra time it took to get to Cetania
M41
So it was decreed that the tithe ships schedule would change from every 6 years to every 12 but production would have to be increased as with the strength of the regiment that was going to be taken. This was a shock to the population who gave so much and got so little in return.
The latest cargo from the imperium was just 6 standard shipping containers carrying imperial data slates reciting the glorious actions of the forces of man.
The tech adept passengers who disembarked were servants of the machine god, there to update and improve the mining and production facilities on the planet, to make it more productive.
One of the containers was different, different markings, a transfer from another planet no one had ever heard of.
Why would they be sending anything to Cetania?
……….
All across the galaxy now the very fabric of space was ripped apart by the powers of chaos, great warp rifts split the galaxy into fractures, whole systems were lost to the madness of the warp and Cetania was cut off from the universe, the astropath station nearest to them went quiet, the signals from outside the system stopped.
……….
Nothing is known of how it was started on Cetania, but the movement was powerful, its mission was simple, to make the planet self-sufficient, self-reliant and glorious. Everything the people of this lonely world wanted and needed.
The movement started in the lower areas of the planet at first, the mines and out laying farms. A zeal overcame the population over the space of 6 standard months. People started gathering and wanting answers why the Imperium had not sent word.
These questions went unanswered and people were sent on with their business of mining or farming,
A great calm coved the planet for the next 4 years.
Production steady increase in both raw materials and materials of the imperial war effort.
……….
The tech adepts who arrived with the last cargo modernised and improved the forges to produce so many different variants of the standard battle tanks, and now the larger Praetor class and Macharius class light super heavy tanks.
………
The signal for the rising of the movement was the solar eclipse, this once in a thousand year event was celebrated, the time when the planet was whole, both sides of Cetania were covered in darkness. Families would gather and celebrate as it symbolised the new dawn.
The movement used this
And used it well, it was to symbolise a new dawn and also the night the Imperium would be stuck from Cetania for good.
In a well organised and almost surgical strike, the Imperium was cut out of the planet like a cancer, the movement had been waiting for this moment, planning in the shadows. And now was the time it revealed its hand.
The governor of the planet and his entire ruling class were removed, the loyal forces of the imperial guard stationed on the planet were removed, and anyone one seen or believed to be a threat were removed.
The Brotherhood of the Divine Protector was now in control of Cetania.
Prosperity reined on the planet, this was a glorious time, and the celebration of the Brotherhood’s ascension to power lasted for days. This was the time where Cetania would grow.
And that’s what happened.
The shackles that kept the population in control were taken off and smashed, the ruling class system removed. Now there was a common goal planet wide.
..........
The Divine Protector had waited, waited for so long, its body had been in a self-imposed status until the warm cargo hold of the tithe ship had caused it to wake.
The ship was easy to scout, he knew his targets and how to take control of them, and its gift would be given to the ones controlling the machines, the systems and the very ship itself.
They would be controlled and aid it.
Swiftly it moved across the ship, avoiding areas that would see it detected,
He found the target, tech adept’s chanting to the machine god. These were the ones that would serve it.
One by one they were freed from their formed masters.
The Divine Protector as they called it, was now learning more, growing and waiting.
The next planet on the ships course would be where he would see the sunlight again.
