History and Regimental Culture[]
Sarton tradition dictates that the name of an Imperial Guard regiment comes from the region where it was founded and by tradition its commanding officer comes from the regional capital.
Typically a regiment is founded, campaigns until it is no longer needed and then is disbanded to be reformed at a later date. They are usually rebuilt around experienced PDF commanders and their troopers.
Colonel Adair and many of its members came from the city of Blackwater, the capital of the Blackwater region. Once called "Clearwater" the name changed when the river was polluted by industry and mining.
Blackwater: Wealth and Poverty[]
While Blackwater appeared to be a pleasant, well lit and safe city of red brick and decorative wrought iron, with cars and horse drawn buggies traveling the clean cobblestone streets this was only a façade. While this appeared to be the case for the city as a whole it was only the case in wealthy areas. The poor of the city had flocked there drawn by jobs in the factories, breweries and slaughterhouses. a visitor would later remark that the city "smelled of blood and beer."
Far more people entered the city than there were jobs for and so these areas also saw the rise of illegal gambling dens, taverns, underground fighting rings and worse staffed by men and women willing to do anything to survive.
These men and women would sometimes revolt against their poor conditions and lack of work- leading to harsh reprisals by the local PDF, forcing the draftees to make impossible choices- kill their friends and neighbors or join them?
In short the poor, used to terrible living conditions, poor hygiene little food,little medicine and the daily fear of death of disease, starvation, a random raid by the Arbites or any of a hundred things would be perfect fighting men for the Imperial Guard.
As time passed factory owners began increasing their profits by using Ogryns as workers instead of hiring the people of the city. With their only income gone many of these already desperate men turned to the Blackwater Rifles, sending their pay home to their families or taking them with, not unlike many Imperial armies. Traveling with many other regiments and their civilian contingents aboard the Universe class Mass Conveyor Brightstar
The Sarton 6th Heavy Infantry(the sixth of sixteen Sarton regiments and the only one of note)earned its reputation and history participating in the Crusade for Nightshores once the fighting was over The Blackwater Rifles were disbanded by the Sarton Parliament since they were no longer required. Many, who had joined out of desperation, never returned home settling instead in the newly claimed worlds of Nightshores or on Akoni.
Akoni[]
The Imperial Guard of Akoni(the Akoni 3rd Drop Infantry) and the Imperial Guard of Sarton fought together in the Crusade for Nightshores developing an Intense respect for each other's skills. Most notably in the case of the third Akoni and the Blackwater Rifles. Lacking in every way but in Heavy Infantry the Sarton Imperial Guard found themselves in danger of being outflanked in a major battle early in the Crusade- only the timely deployment of the 3rd Akoni saved them and later won the battle. While the units had traveled together aboard the "Brightstar" it was this incident which saw them interact for the first time, a pattern followed by their civilian contingent as well.
From that moment forward the High Command deployed these units together for the remainder of the Crusade. The Akoni remained completely fascinated by Ogryns(which none had seen in person) and "The Black Velvet Vixens" and the Sarton were struck by Akoni tattoos and the exotic women depicted in aircraft nose art. Many friendships were born of the working relationship- they remained close friends, allies and trading partners after the end of the Crusade, they fight together to this day.
Notable Battles[]
Crusade for Nightshores[]
Tolomai Heights (the Clash of Legends)[]
While the Blackwater Rifles fought in many battles in the Crusade their earlist and perhaps greatest is the Battle of Tolomai Heights, on the world of Lanuar V- also known as the Clash of Legends. Tolomai Heights saw the Ogryn companies,themselves legend to their Akoni allies, face and defeat Beastmen who had sworn loyalty to Khorne in a brutal close quarters melee fight. While Ogryns were a common sight to the men of the Sarton Imperial Guard other Abhumans were not- existing only in fairy tales meant to frighten misbehaving children or in jokes poking fun at Ratlings. Tolomai Heights was a sobering lesson. They lost seventy nine Ogryns including a beloved BONEhead sergeant named Gamjee who died in a duel with a Minotaur and the captain of the first company, Markus Holman, noteworthy as the only Human to die that day.
They traded eighty dead on their side for more than seven hundred Beastmen and the capture of the Tolomai Heights, later used as an artillery position by the Crusade army.
Ashoria[]
Sardari[]
Early in the year of fighting for this world the Akoni 3rd and many other drop regiments were deployed directly into the spires of the great city of Sardari, attempting to destroy command and control. The gambit failed, leaving the drop units to fight for every inch of territory they had taken as long distance battles raged among the kilometers high skyscrapers and dogfights tore through the skies over both the city and the world as a whole. All other units in the city, including the Blackwater Rifles fought through the street and sewers supported by armor and artillery.
Arming their Ogryns with hammers battering rams and armor made from destroyed enemy vehicles they easily conquered the slums and poor districts of the city below despite facing heavy but disorganized resistance. One particular incident would see Colonel Adair fight a pistol duel with a gangster who claimed a section of the city that they had to pass through. He won and ordered the area leveled to prove his point. Sardari fell after four long weeks of fighting, Ashoria would fall after a little more than a year of further conflict. When the world was placed under the control of the Lysian Imperial Guard they were quickly redployed to Vostronov.
Colonel Adair and his wife rescued three orphaned children from the ruins, raising them as their own.
Vostronov and Bostrovil[]
Vostronov and Bostrovil were the two core worlds of a small empire controlled by a minor Xeno race called the Y'geht. Vostronov and Bostrovil originally belonged to the Y'geht- Bostrovil fell to the first noble houses who conquered the planet, it eventually became a Knight World and sometime after that the ruling nobles on Bostrovil exiled one of their more troublesome rivals.
With nowhere else to go Alexei Vostronov and his wife Oksana raised an army from among their vassals and any ordinary citizens willing to fight under their banner. They took the then unnamed planet, naming it for themselves and acting as its first human rulers. In time, these worlds would again fall to the Y'geht and only the Crusade would totally break the hold this xeno species had over their populations.
Three Departmento Munitorum Super Heavy Detachments proved the key to retaking Vostronov but the years of fighting beforehand fell to the Imperial Guard.
While the Y'geht were far larger and stronger than the average human they were not larger and stronger than Ogryns, whom the Y'geht came to fear. When Vostronov fell the Y'geht kept up a fighting retreat all the way to Bostrovil. While not the key to the Knight World they played an important role in the eventual victory, holding the regions taken by the Crusade armies against fierce counterattacks.
Seroon, the city of Anison
They were redeployed to Seroon alongside the Akoni 3rd in an effort to break the siege that had been ongoing for several years. Part of the problem was the city of Anison, built around several railway hubs and held by a segment of the Dark Mechanicum who used the railways to move large guns. Those guns, capable of hitting targets hundreds of kilometers away, or straight up to target vessels in orbit had to be silenced and the city had to fall before the campaign could continue. The Akoni 3rd were the spearhead of this operation, beginning with an all night march from their drop point fifty kilometers from the city. They entered the city just before dawn, catching the enemy's Combat Servitors completely by surprise and silencing the anti aircraft positions. With this done, they signaled the rest of the Imperial Army including the Blackwater Rifles, by broadcasting their Regimental Haka.
With Akoni gunships and Marauder bombers flying air support they knocked out the railway guns and took the city in only one day. Anison would serve out the remainder of the conflict on Seroon as a staging area for Imperial forces, including the penal troops sent to replace losses suffered by the Crusade army. The civilians following the Crusade army moved into Anison and rebuilt, living some semblance of a normal life despite the conflict around them.
Sioa[]
The Crusade armies conducted their landings on a series of narrow beaches overlooked by pitted gray-brown stone monoliths covered in overgrown plants, giant examples of local floral caused by a piece of long forgotten xenotech. These overgrown monoliths concealed the army they were fighting. After more than a month of fighting, the Crusade army drove Sioa's "Unified and Perfected Dynasty" off the rocks and cliffs and into the vast plains to the interior.
At first glance the enemy stronghold appeared to be a kilometer wide plateau in an otherwise empty plain- the truth however was far stranger, it was really an enormous fossilized tree stump, in any case it had to fall, as those within controlled everything around it. When weeks of artillery bombardments failed and an orbital strike leveled the surface instillation but failed to destroy the vast underground complex beneath the only remaining option was an infantry assault. While lighter units like the Akoni 3rd drew enemy units away from the battle to destroy them piecemeal all available Heavy Infantry assaulted and ultimately took the stronghold, destroying it and leaving vast scars in the surface of Sioa.
Vermillion Rock[]
They were among the first to enter the underground city of Fora after the Drop Troopers captured the High Fells. The Crusade Army broke through the heavy blast doors and easily took the outer regions of the city but were slowed down after less than a day.
The advance into the depths of the city slowed to a crawl as they faced constant fighting and daily ambushes among the buildings and houses of Fora. They quickly learned to fear the signature Razor Wire grenade employed by Vermillion fighters but also employed a new tactic of their own, dropping overcharged power packs and grenades down the airsafts connecting the upper and lower districts. The battle took eight weeks, costing the Blackwater many good men including Commissar Xavier Holger (whose death remains unexplained) and the Blackwater were left in place as garrison troops where they faced stubborn defenders who still fought despite the city's surrender. When the time came to force them to the surface they took the task easily as they were eager for revenge.
Chando-Rish[]
Not a planet but the assumed name of a Traitor Guardsman who attracted a small army of fellow traitors and deserters. Amassing a small army of roughly 3500 like minded individuals, he conquered a few small settlements on a world the Crusade armies had already taken. His poor decision brought the wrath of the Blackwater Rifles and the Akoni 3rd Drop Infantry on him and his army and were annihilated in a single battle. This only deepened the relationship and intense mutual respect between these two units.
1911[]
Facing the Chaos tainted Tech-Barbarians of the planet with their long time allies, the men of Akoni for almost three years of conditions they could describe only as "Hell." They held the lines time and again,standing firm against countless Barbarian counter attacks as Imperial forces slowly advanced across the poisoned world. A year and a half into the fighting they and the newly reinforced Akoni 3rd assaulted a primitive genetics laboratory producing crude copies of the legendary Thunder Warriors. While they both suffered against these new Barbarian warriors there were too few to make a difference and they were victorious, burning the lab and its creations to ash.
But such victories were not to last. A major counteroffensive broke the Imperial lines and forced them back but the Warmaster's arrival with naval elements and reinforcements saved the campaign and their morale with it.
As the regiments and the Scarab Tribe lined up for the final battle on the Ash Fields Drabak,champion of the Scarab Tribe Challenged their greatest champion to single combat, a primitive lasgun on his back and holding a chainaxe over his head. Every man present called for Colonel Adair to answer the challenge and so he stepped forward with chainsword in hand. The two combatants raced toward each other both revving their chain weapons. Colonel Adair's first strike chewed through the barbarian's armor and into his chest. Colonel Adair turned away as Drabak died slowly. The Barbarians, enraged by this outcome, charged.
The Barbarians charged into a firestorm of lasgun fire, grenades and mortars. The few survivors were easy prey, falling victim to point blank fire and bayonets. The battle won they and all other front line troops fell back, allowing the fresh units to finish the conquest of 1911.
With their role in the Crusade over they saw a brief stint as garrison troops before those who decided to return home found a hero's welcome waiting for them. After twenty long years of fighting the exhausted Regiment was disbanded until it was needed again and the fighting men of Sarton and their civilian followers returned to their former lives.
In following Millenia they and the Akoni 3rd would develop a shared tradition. The Akoni 3rd would be disbanded and rebuilt alongside their Blackwater allies in order to share the same battlefields.
M41[]
Ceolweard (710)[]
The Devouring Wurm Homstead, a unit of the Einherjars of Ymir led by Jarl Herraud were deployed alongside them to fight Khornate fanatics. While initially at odds over vastly different tactics and attitudes toward warfare they found they were kindred spirits- the more disciplined Blackwater proved a balance to the wild, uncontrollable natures of those they nicknamed the "Tall Men" for their imposing size.
Ceolward was a world not unlike Sarton, and the Rifles found themselves at home amidst the red brick and half timber buildings of the capital city of Aelwold. It did not take the men of the Imperial Guard very long to find the city's rougher quarters where they spent their downtime drinking, gambling, brawling with the local gangs and chasing women.
The taverns and dance halls proved a welcome relief from the hellish "Killing Fields" only a few kilometers from the city walls. There was no single great battle- the fighting dragged on for close to a year and left close to a million people dead including many of their comrades. However, despite the horrors they had seen both units would fondly remember the good times they had spent together and the Wurms would speak of the Black Velvet Vixens for years afterward.
Turilia(843)[]
- "Xenos are different- you cannot reasonably hold them to the same standard as humanity. The Humans fighting alongside these Tau- they are worse than traitors, they deny their blood and the world on which humanity was born. They deny Holy Terra, they deny the Emperor. They must not be allowed to live."
- — from the journal of Malakai Jenkyns-dated only hours before his attack
The year 843 M41 saw the Blackwater Rifles and the Akoni 3rd Drop Infantry sent to Turilia, responding to an aid request from the planetary Governor, known to be loyal but incredibly paranoid. According to his information the pirates in the area were planning to overthrow him and take Turilia for themselves with aid from rebels planning an uprising.
TheAr'Cyr'Ru Mercenary Fleet was already on the world- they had been hired to bolster the PDF despite the events on the Hive World Irwyn several years earlier. The Imperial Forces looked at these aliens with disgust and complete distrust they did not bother to hide, only working with them due to the greater threat. One of the Blackwater, a man named Malakai Jenkyns was more disturbed by the presence of humans in their ranks than the Tau themselves.
He acted on his belief that they were traitors not only to the Imperium but to humanity itself, throwing a grenade into a crowded room where they were gathered killing or wounding many of them. The survivors returned fire killing him instantly. The situation spiraled out control very quickly each side was unaware that Jenkyns had acted alone, each side believed the other had fired the first shot and that they were simply acting in self defense. This set off a very brief but very intense battle that soon saw Akoni gunships and Blackwater Ogryns take the field.
Imperial and Tau leaders agreed to a ceasefire to collect their dead and wounded and the truth came out- ending the matter between them roughly three hours after it began. Despite the increased tension between the two groups the mercenaries stayed to fulfill their contract though relocating so as to avoid another such incident.
The so called rebellion emerged several days later but it consisted of no more than five hundred poorly armed farmers, easily dispersed by the two Imperial Guard Regiments with no further loss of life Their contract fulfilled the Tau departed- with equipment stolen from their former allies.
Syprios[]
Metius[]
The Blackwater Rifles and the Akoni deployed near a small town on Silve named Metius, their civilian followers doubling the population almost overnight.
The Akoni gunships ripped into the armored columns headed toward the town while the Akoni outmaneuvered the cultists behind them, letting the six hundred Ogryns in the Rifles finish them off, the Militia serving in a support role.
While non combatants the Black Velvet Vixens were vital in keeping the morale of local militia intact and when Metius was secure they would travel with the armies, staying far behind the lines entertaining the sick the injured and the demoralized.
Syprios- Northern Glaciers[]
While far inferior in terms in numbers to the local Militia the three Imperial Guard regiments on the world faced resistance as well- they were redeployed to the far north fighting in the icy wastes of the northern glaciers, having broken the siege of the world's cities while the PDF were still finishing their role in the defense.
The Akoni did were completely unused to the cold environment but performed admirably all the same using their environment, letting the cold work in their favor as they destroyed enemy food supplies and equipment. Like the militia none of the Imperial Guard were interested in prisoners, the Cadians least of all, simply shooting any prisoners and throwing the bodies into the sea.
Straggling into the cities after roughly three weeks of intense fighting the 517th was rewarded with a single day of rest before continuing on their way back home while the Akoni and Blackwater Rifles entered yet another campaign.
Structure[]
Officer Corps[]
1.Officer Corps of 20 men composed of
1. Colonel
2 18 captains
3. Regimental Commissar
Ogryn Companies(Companies 1-6 (Ogryn)[]
The people of Sarton had no real dislike toward Ogryns, treating them as they would a simple minded relative albeit one far larger and suited to harder and more dangerous tasks. and so a full third of the Blackwater Rifles consisted of Ogryns armed with heavy weapons, high explosives, clubs and makeshift body armor made of scrap. They were used as the first wave in assaults or the front line in other battles,the reasoning being that Ogryns would not die as easily as ordinary humans and that no enemy could be prepared for a charging mass of six hundred of them.
These Ogryns fell under the command of human captains and the Regimental Commissar but beyond that organization was rather irregular- with no set platoon or company size beyond what the Ogryn BONEheads who acted as Sergeants could control.
Riflemen(Companies 1-12(Riflemen)
The other 12 companies were simply ordinary humans.
1.12 companies of 100 each lead by a Captain broken down into
2. 5 platoons of 20 each commanded by a Vice- Captain(equivalent to a Lt.) broken into
3. 4 squads of 5 men each-
- 1 Sgt.
- 2 troopers/mortar crew
- 1 medic
- 1 grenadier armed with the Shatterpoint Auto Rifle
Civilan Contingent[]
Like most Imperial Guard units on extended campaigns they amassed a civilian following as well. As was typical of such things it was composed of the families of those serving and those looking to make a profit. The presence of Sarton civilians aboard the Brightstar and the many years of fighting would see some young men come of age and follow their friends and family into battle, becoming another generation of the Regiment. It would also produce families with mixed Sarton and Akoni blood, Akoni regulations forbade men in service to marry but said nothing about relationships.
Black Velvet Vixens[]
"It's amazing what a couple dozen attractive women can do for the morale of a few thousand fighting men." - Colonel Adair
Kamylla Cole performing for Imperial Guardsmen at Anison
Amongst these civilains was a woman named Kamylla Cole, who saw the need to keep morale among Sarton's fighting men high during the many years of fighting to come and saw an opportunity to expand her audience at the same time. Her Burlesque dance troupe "The Black Velvet Vixens" had nowhere to perform since their usual venue "The Black Velvet Club" burned down shortly before the men of Blackwater left. Cole convinced her dancers to come with her, they weren't respected in Sarton society but they would be appreciated among the Imperial Guard.
She was right and they gained a loyal following amongst the Blackwater Rifles and the other units to travel aboard the Brightstar including the Akoni 3rd(all single men) They would also visit other Imperial Guard units at the front as a way to boost morale. Especially during the years long siege on the planet Seroon which not only saw a distinct lack of progress against a splinter group of the Dark Mechanicum but also prompted rumors that Commissars cut down their own fleeing soldiers when the battle turned against them.
For the Penal Troopers sent to Seroon in response they were a source of comfort and inspiration, they were the first women, attractive women at that, they had seen in many years and one of the survivors would remark that seeing them perform had made him "feel human again".
One of them, "Skye Blue" would perform for Grand Marshall Roi Rocha himself at a private victory celebration for his staff in Anison.
Skye Blue
Later generations would follow the regiment throughout their campaigns, incorporating dance traditions from many Imperial worlds including Akoni, and growing to well over 100 members including their own band.
Famous later members include Miryam "Cherry" Farryl
"Cherry" performing on Syprios
who was among twentywho would perform for "The 27" members of the Syprios Militia the sole survivors of a militia force once more than ten thousand strong.
Tactical Doctrine[]
As heavy Infantry they were often deployed as the center line of a battle or as assault troops for taking enemy fortifications. As most of these men came from industrial or farming backgrounds they tended to build up enormous muscle strength as well making them ideal for close quarters action.
As a unit The Blackwater Rifles, and Sarton units as a whole, were rather inflexible, making them best suited to facing equally immobile units. They were excellent defensive soldiers, once they had taken a position they could be trusted to hold it whatever the cost. Anyone facing them would have to expect to pay a high cost of their own.
Famous Members[]
Since the end of the Crusade the unit has earned countless medals and awards but many heroes in the intervening millennia were overshadowed by the men who fought in Nightshores.
Colonel Mateus Adair[]
Colonel Mateus Adair, seen here with the gorget and sword belt that marked him as an officer
Born in Blackwater slum, he grew up in an orphanage never knowing who his parents were as they had died shortly after his birth. He was a problem child- the staff simply cast him out onto the street at age thirteen. He was forced to care for himself for the next two years but his life changed once he found work at the "Rose Street Meat packing plant."
Receiving a steady income for the first time in his life he saved his money he made plans to leave the city and head offworld he never got the chance, he was drafted into the PDF at age eighteen first but this was not all bad. His work ethic quickly earned him promotions, a modest living and the respect of those he found himself commanding, these men would become the core of the 6th Sarton Heavy Infantry.
His life would change forever one night going to "The Black Velvet Club" for a drink he encountered a group of unemployed men planning another revolt. He emptied his savings to pay them off ensuring that they would not do as they planned.
Impressed that he had handled the situation without bloodshed his commander invited him to his home as a dinner guest. That night he met the woman he would marry two years later, however an illness shortly after their marriage left her unable to have children, a fact which saddened her deeply.
When Colonel Haryson died he inherited command of the PDF unit that was absorbed into the Blackwater rifles. His beloved wife Sienna Adair(nee Haryson) would follow him when he and his men embarked on the Crusade. While he would survive the stress of command an leading men into battles they had never trained for would take their toll on him aging him beyond his years.
After their safe return he retired from the Imperial Guard to spend more time with his wife and their adopted children. When his unit returned to its role as a PDF unit only then would he meet the eight siblings he had never known. Like him they too had risen from poverty into positions of authority, giving him some peace after a lifetime of war.
Gamjee[]
" We lift things up... and put them down. "
Once a household servant to the Harysons and later Colonel Adair he would be one of the first Ogryns to join the Blackwater Rifles out of loyalty to the family. At some point Colonel Haryson had paid for the surgical procedures to make Gamjee a BONEhead and this let him command his own squad. Despite being an Ogryn, he was known to display almost frightening flashes of insight and intelligence along with his enormous strength. Slow to anger but unstoppable when enraged he killed hundreds of the Emperor's enemies before dying early in the Crusade at the Battle of Tolomai Heights.
Urk and Zurk[]
Ogryn brothers famous for towing a disabled Leman Russ out of enemy fire. Angered by the attack on their allies they would run back into the fight unsupported. After three days they came back soaked in enemy blood. The enemy the regiment was fighting would surrender soon after.
Markus Holman[]
"My mother was a drunk and my father was obscurity"
Born to a destitute mother who would die of liver cirrhosis shortly before his fifth birthday, he was raised in an orphanage until he was twelve years old. This institution was less than respectable and was targeted for a raid by the local Arbites. When it was shut down he was taken in by the lead officer. However he quickly rebelled against the man's authoritarian style of parenting and worked a series of odd jobs and criminal enterprises before hiding in the PDF to avoid prosecution.
Colonel Adair's gambit, giving him responsibility to get his life on track worked and he rose in the ranks becoming leader of the first Company(Riflemen) shortly before they departed Sarton. Like Gamjee he died early in the Crusade and the first company suffered without his leadership until a suitable leader was found.
Tyrell Braydon[]
A meat packer turned back alley prize fighter he was drafted into the PDF and ended up serving as an informal instructor in hand to hand combat,favoring a meat cleaver instead of a knife. He continued in this role when the Regiment went to war, serving as a mentor to the younger soldiers and their go between to their officers as he was a respected PDF veteran himself.
He would survive the Crusade, retiring with a Captain's commission and a pension paid for by the grateful government of Sarton. This allowed him to care for his wife Amira(a former member of the Black Velvet Vixens who went by the stage name "Honey") and their children.
"Honey" in her performing days
Jarvys Klayton[]
Turning aside from his studies for the priesthood he chose to serve The Emperor in action rather in words. He was seen as a good soldier and a source of constant support and encouragement to the men around him, however they saw him as too uptight as he refused to drink or associate with anyone outside the regiment.
He would not live to see the end of the Crusade, he threw himself on a grenade during the battle for Sioa to save his squad. With nothing left to bury his squad would inter his dogtags and holy books instead.
Wylder[]
- "I fought alongside him for more than twenty years- can't say I ever really knew him."
- —a comrade in the Rifles
He simply showed up to enlist one day shipping out with the rest of the regiment. A man of very few words anything he did say, never more than a single sentence was delivered in a rumbling baritone described as "The peal of distant thunder."
This fit him well- he was more than two meters tall, wearing a heavy beard and black hair he wore in a long ponytail tied back with a red ribbon and a gold ring. Rumors he never confirmed or denied stated that this ring had belonged to his late wife. The gold ring he wore on his scarred and burned left hand would seem to confirm this however. Others would see him standing alone staring into the distance for several minutes, mouthing what was perhaps a prayer before continuing on his way.
Enlisting as a common soldier he never showed any drive to be anything else, and so he never climbed the ranks any higher than Corporal.
He would use his large size to good effect on many occasions once using a mortar as a shoulder fired weapon to knock out the treads of an enemy tank before finishing the crew with a meat cleaver. Another incident saw him gut an Y'geht with a chain dagger he salvaged from a fallen guardsman from another Guard regiment.
He would survive the Crusade leaving the regiment somewhere between sixty five and seventy fiive years of age, no one was sure. Upon his return home to Sarton he would vanish just as quickly, no one ever heard from him again.
Jamyson Cooke[]
- "I served in the Imperial Guard- my result was beyond my wildest dreams. I hope you never have to live that life. For most it ends only in death far from home under a stranger's star."
- —Cooke speaking to his son Kanaloa
Born in the city of Blackwater sometime in late M40 he joined at age eighteen to escape a life of poverty and to avoid paying various debts he had already incurred.
He would rise to command his own squad by age twenty eight leading them against rebels on one of the regiment's campaigns. During an intense urban battle he and his squad would capture a building, only to fall through the damaged floor and into a tunnel network below. This tunnel network was full of wealth that their rebel enemies had stolen and then hoarded.
The Regiment was to be disbanded following the end of the campaign so the Colonel allowed them to keep their find. Even divided among the hundred men of the company it was still enough that Cooke could retire. He did so on Akoni, buying an island that he shared with the men in his squad. He would meet and later marry a local woman who gave him a son they named Kanaloa, and three daughters.
Equipment[]
- M36 Kantrael pattern lasgun with four extra drum magazines
- "Shatterpoint" pattern autorifle/grenade launcher(carried by grenadiers)
- three Sarton pattern "Ball Lighting" pattern frag grenades
- Sarton "Thunderclap" pattern mortar
- Fighting Knife/bayonet
- Chainsword(Vice captain and up)
- Sarton "Hammerhand" Revolver
- Imperial Guardsman's Uplifing Primer
- Sarton flak armor/helmet- on those ranked Sergeant and above the right pauldron is made of blackened metal, those ranked Captain and above also receive a gorget made of blackened metal.
- seven days of rations (including a daily ration of the beloved "Blackwater Brown")
- Bedroll/pack
- Meat cleaver- not standard but many men still carried one.
- Laspistol(various patterns)- not standard but many men also carried one
"Blackwater Brown Ale"[]
Only brewed in the city of Blackwater this beloved alcoholic beverage, named for its deep brown color was a favorite of the men and officers of the Blackwater Rifles. When they shipped out they carried enormous kegs with them- enough that the civilians of the region would be forced to go without it for several months. When the regiment received reinforcements it also received fresh supplies of Blackwater Brown and the raw materials integral to its production to replace their strained reserves. The stop gap supplies were produced by the civilian contingent aboard the Brightstar in elaborate but improvised brewing plants that left their section of the ship smelling of beer. The results were deemed "Inferior but acceptable."
Author's note[]
Sarton is meant to be a stylized version of Victorian England- as the Crusade for Nightshores takes place in M37- millennia before the main stories of 40k I created units for it inspired by the ancient (Asharas Yek Taxamada) or simply old, as I did here.
The "Shatterpoint" rifle is the "Falchion" rifle from The Order 1886- I felt that it fit in perfectly.
I also like happy endings so some of these guys get one. I think they earned it...