Eternum Conclave Sector Headquarters
Overview
Located in the Excrutio system and Headquarters of the Eternum Inquisitorial Conclave guarded by the Inquisitorial fortress Sepulcher, Eternum's Conclave was officially convened millenia ago in a former Naval headquarters, created to safeguard Eternum and the greater Segmentum Tempestus from the threat of the Bubonic rift. Possessing representatives from the Ordo Malleus, Ordo Hereticus, and Ordo Xenos along with Ordo Minoris, the Conclave agrees on little beyond their philosophy of NIhil Est Super Suspicio, none are above suspicion.
Operations and History
Access to this Headquarters is strictly regulated, with the elaborate security of the Sepulchur protecting the countless secrets kept within it and Remiticulum. Over the millenia, the headquarters has been shaped through expansion to resemble a 5 pointed star, each wing representing either the Ordo Malleus (smallest), Ordo Xenos (second smallest), the collected Ordo Minoris (third smallest), the Ordo Hereticus (second largest), and the largest wing holding the assorted soldiers and adepts seconded to the Inquisition. The Conclave strategizes among their peers here, and monitors the situation in Eternum at large while also collaborating (sometimes at least) in researching closing the Bubonic Rift.
While its general area is listed on Imperial maps as a reminder of the power of the Inquisition, warp routes to headquarters are forbidden knowledge for those without Inquisitorial authorization, and there are no visitors save other Inquisitorial elements or incredibly rare and closely monitored invitations of the absolute elite of the sector, like those amongst the Crimson Bulwark. For anyone else who is not affiliated with the Inquisition, being brought to Conclave Headquarters either means they've been forcibly recruited from their previous life, or they about to undergo brutally efficient torture designed to rip as much information as possible out. No prisoners ever leave this system, with their fate set as either execution, or for those whose crimes are not severe and who show a possibility of repentance (like guardsmen or servants who were tricked into serving the aims of a traitor), they will spend the rest of their lives either as indentured prisoners assisting Remiticulum's archivist adepts (with processing the world's work, archiving data, or forming Archival Custodian Squads to hunt down more dangerous records that got loose) - rarely being formed into Inquisitorial penal squads, both as a cheap way for Inquisitors to garner political favors with sector Militarum command, and for a readily and easily disposable force when extra bodies are needed.
The Conclave is led by a council of the most powerful Inquisitors, five at any given time. Each Inquisitor operates mostly independently, and while the conclave can call on its own massive resources and forces at any given time, the Inquisitors rarely agree and instead use the forces of the conclave in Inquisitorial power games as pawns. So rare is the conclave agreeing on a course of action, the last proper deployment of the Conclave's forces was the investigation of the world now known as Magos's Mistake. Originally an agri-world, the planet disappeared overnight and all Astropathic messages were never returned. The Conclave, fearing an incursion of some kind, immediately agreed to deploy their fleet in full force to counter the threat. Upon arrival, they found just a Magos in his ship which they soon boarded and captured. Interrogation revealed the misguided Magos had attempted to deploy a found super-fertilizer, a super-fertilizer that caused all plant life to rapidly grow and mutate causing such an influx of oxygen that the world ignited in a flash fire, scorching it of all life.
The world was cordoned off and declared off limits lest there be a remaining sample left, and the Magos was transferred to Filimars to be punished for tech heresy. Outside of this incident, the Council of Inquisitors have operated independently, each pursuing their own campaigns, though the advent of the Second Poxwar has led many lower ranking Inquisitors of the conclave to anticipate a new Council of Inquisitorial Inquiry to be called. A recent addition to the Conclave, reluctantly amongst some of the more prim Lord Inquisitors, Ordo Xenos Inquisitor Juan Rico has made his way to the sector with dire tidings- he believes that a tendril of a Tyranid hive fleet is making it's way to the sector, specifically the worlds in the area of Ita or Blufall, based off astropathic shadows and several frontier worlds (themselves not even worth a place on the Imperial maps) going silent. The bulk of the conclave, including Lord Inquisitor Barborasa, are skeptical of this claim, especially given there has been no recorded incidents of Genestealer activity or Tyranid lifeforms in the sector, but Inquisitor Rico is adamant that they will arrive very soon. Time will tell if the Inquisitor is correct, and the Eternum sector will face the greatest xenos threat it ever has.
The conclave possesses the best medical facilities in the sector, and Inquisitors barter their services for particularly large favors as influential generals, governors, and other nobles will oft agree to anything to cure 'incurable' diseases, though those who receive medical treatment from the conclave never remember what exactly happened nor are they able to entertain negative thoughts no matter what the Inquisition asks or does in their domain, as part of the medical treatment is a healthy course of psycho-indoctrination. Their medical skill cannot be denied though, and more than once they've healed someone facing certain death, or kept a sizzled husk alive. This is not often perfect however, with some of the more fatally wounded forever interned in complex mobile life support systems. This is rare however, as only the most driven Inquisitors would survive this state, forever isolated from normal human feeling and reliant on advanced technology or their psychic skills to interact with the world.
Eternum at Large
The Inquisition maintains a secret, officially a Stormtrooper training barracks, facility on the largest Tetuanis moon, Theutonicorum. While the bulk of the Inquisitorial forces assigned to Tetuanis stay in that facility, they will occasionally make rounds on Tetuanis to investigate rumors of sedition. Unknown to almost the entire population of Tetuanis, the facility is comprised of Ordo Malleus and Hereticus operatives ordered to watch the ruins of Hyacinthum and investigate any serious issues that may arise there and research possible ways to close or weaken the Bubonic rift. Lead by Lord Inquisitor Barborasa, Inquisitorial forces may occasionally requisition Tetuanis regiments to aid in the course of their investigation. While far more dangerous an assignment than an average mission, guardsmen are generally only purged if they've seen an unbelievable horror that will corrupt them or learn knowledge that is too dangerous to know. Select members of the regiment will be allowed to be mindwiped instead of executed or recruited to permanent Inquisitorial duty, with casualties reported as lost in Inquisitorial duties. Some regiments work very closely with Inquisitor Barborasa, and have proven themselves enough to only have selective purges or wipes in the most extreme cases.
In Sector Eternum, there are other Inquisitors running independent investigations or missions that occasionally overlap with a Militarum deployment. The only other inquisitor who has somewhat frequent contact with Militarum elements not party to the Conclave is Ordo Xenos Inquisitor Liepeld Eisentotz. Unbeknownst to the Guard elements who he occasionally requisitions (or even his peers in the Inquisition), Eisentotz is a radical inquisitor pursuing his own secretive objectives, while obstinately loyal, he has crossed into the heretical with his weapons, the summoning of a daemonhost, and the pursuit of forbidden knowledge on the Bubonic Rift. Only brought out in the most extreme cases, few have seen the daemonhost. Fewer still are those who have seen it and not died to enemy fire or the backwash of psychic energy from the bound daemon, those who have are told it is a powerful sanctioned psyker, sworn to Inquisitorial secrecy and later mind wiped or executed if Eisentotz has the time. Though Eisentotz has been lucky to avoid detection thus far, it is only a matter of time before a member of the conclave catch wind of this and declare him diablus excommunicato. Ordo Xenos Inquisitor Thumbear Veol has been also been spotted operating independantly in the sector as well, but it is unsure what mission he is pursuing.
Inquisitorial Council Members
Lord Inquisitor Barborasa
A particular long lived Ordo Malleus and psychic Inquisitor, Barborasa has built a sizable retinue and personal army to assist his missions across Eternum. Inquisitor Barborasa's flagship is the grand cruiser Library of Judgment, though the Conclave contains several other ships of varying classes including cruisers, light cruisers, and escorts, with only the Library of Judgment and the other Lord Inquisitor flagships allowed to carry cyclonic torpedoes. These ships are capable of dealing with most standard enemies the conclave will face, but any serious engagement will be accompanied by requisitioned Imperial Navy forces from Battlefleet Eternum. Barborasa has worked closely with Justicar Tycho Ectar in recent years, himself feeling the psychic shockwave the Bubonic Rift emanates.
The conclave is not shy about recruiting those who show potential, and adding promising individuals to their retinue. One such unit, from a lost regiment only they and the Lord Inquisitor know, is Tactical Squad SK-2, more commonly known as the Suicide Kings. Comprised of officers and senior enlisted that survived the calamity that ended their regiment, the Suicide Kings are an elite unit used to capture and hold critical locations against all odds while also commanding in the Inquisitor's absence.
Remaining Council Members
The most feared member of the conclave's council, Lord Inquisitor Thomas Toddbearer of the Ordo Heriticus, strikes fear in even the most grizzled Inquisitorial acolytes, and has a reputation for brutal scorched earth strategies that lead whole cities graveyards. His attention focused primarily on taming the Phobox Reaches, his brutality has brought him into conflict with Rogue Traders and even Imperial forces in the wrong place at the wrong time, or who accidentally discovered one of his secret operations. These conflicts have even led to him deploying Inquisitorial stormtroopers against the Emperor's Angels, straining the conclave's already terse relationship with the Crimson Bulwark. His unyielding pursuit of secrecy has also led him to fight other Inquisitorial forces, and his and Barborasa's Hammer of Judgment and Imperial allies of both sides have quarrelled in the past. Only Toddbearer's support in the upper echelons of Segmentum Tempestus Inquisitorial and Naval command, and his alliance with fellow Inquisitor Amberlei Graffolk have prevented the rest of the conclave from assassinating or declaring him ex communicado.
Inquisitor Graffolk, an Ordo Hereticus member, focuses her efforts on rooting out apostates and heretics on Bellapheron and the shrine worlds of the sector, though she has also attempted to police Filimars to strong protests from the Forge World. Inquisitor Argyll Dompert of the Ordo Hereticus represents the Ordo Hereticus forces more aligned with Barborasa, and works closely with the Order of the Purple Communion (although the Order works with all Heriticus conclave members, Dompart is trusted most by them and thus will certainly take his side in any dispute). Dompert works closely in the Caligulas subsector, rooting out any plagues or cultist conspiracy that threatens the Aural gate and its supporting worlds.
The newest member of the conclave, Lord Inquisitor Alisabeth Baccarin of the Ordo Xenos, was posthumously recommended by her conclave predecessor, Ordo Xenos Lord Inquisitor Pyotr Yakarov who was believed to be killed by xenos during an investigation into odd augar readings in Richmon. Though no body was found, the disappearance left a void in the council she filled according to his death-writ. Hailing from outside sector Eternum and making her career hunting xenos in Segmentum Ultima, she nonetheless was a welcome addition owing to the resurgence of the ork threat and increased Eldar activity, and suspicions that even more xenos activity was to come. A more moderate Inquisitor, Baccarin has used and still uses xeno weaponry and devices, leading to suspicion among some of the conclave. Still, her political connections outside of Eternum ensure she's left alone, and she is currently investigating Inquisitor Rico's reports of an impending tyranid invasion, while at the same time looking into odd activities on the world Riker.
Inquisitorial Strike Forces
Hammer of Judgement
Inquisitor Barborasa's personal small army, an idea he inherited from his mentor the late Lord Inquisitor Charlamagne, his strike force consists of survivors from Tempestus Scion units that were effectively destroyed as a fighting unit in battle, or more rarely, individuals who have impressed the Inquisitor or his subordinates. Wherever the Inquisitor or his subordinates go, the strike force is sure to follow to execute his will. Equipped with superior gear and weaponry compared to the Guard they normally fight alongside, they can be seen in pivotal engagements the Inquisitor has taken an interest in. Adorned with red and black, the only other identifier is the holy symbol of the Inquisition emblazoned on vehicles belonging to the strike force.
His retinue includes lower ranked inquisitors and interrogators, as well the Grey Knight Justicar Tycho Ectar whose normally kept in the shadows, but if a particularly powerful enemy daemon manifests the Knight can be seen in the field and covers his true nature by the Inquisitor claiming he is detached from a minor space marine chapter. Inquisitorial stormtroopers are led by Colonel Agrippa.
As befitting a regiment of an Inquisitor, the Judgement has an extensive armory and possesses some of the best crafted items in the sector and the Judgement is rarely seen without a fleet of Taurox Primes, Valkyries, or Vendettas. Each vehicle is marked with their respective cohort and squad's letter and number (ex. Alpha Cohort First Squad's Taurox has a A and 1 on it). The force is split into two sections, the strike force (which is deployed on missions, accompanies the Lord Inquisitor and his subordinates in the field, and is the more elite and experienced section), and the security detachment (who guard the Inquisitor's outposts, facilities and ships). New recruits (after training) are sent to the security detachment until the unit's commanders believe them ready for more intense combat. Although they're expected to see less combat in their role, they share the loadout of the strike force although special weapons are regulated to one per squad and there is a vastly different organization. Not all facilities are secret, and thus the security forces can expect to deal with the occasional jumped up greedy noble paid mercenaries and cultist raids, although more rarely heretic astartes or xenos may try to claim the facility's possessions or research for their own. The strike force as a whole, while effective, is nonetheless not a proper army and is designed for surgical strikes and missions or defense of Inquisitorial assets. Any large scale engagement would be accompanied by requisitioned Guard elements, the Purple Communion, or space marine allies while the strike force focuses on critical zones where their expertise would offer the most help or where the Inquisitor's interests lie.
Cohorts
Organized into Cohorts and led by Colonel Agrippa whose aided by the Inquisitorial Psyker Leuben Fubles, the Hammer of Judgement has organized into an effective fighting force. Each Cohort has 4 squads and one attached commissar, each squad has one attached Taurox Prime or Chimera. Each Cohort is commanded by a Tempestor Prime or Captain or higher and accompanied by a command squad. Although all are seasoned warriors, the lower the cohort symbol/squad number, the more veteran the unit. A cohort is either made of Inquisitorial stormtroopers or scions. The skill level is effectively identical, but the armor and weapons vary slightly, with scions using their more ornate armor while stormtroopers have a more rugged appearance. Regular Inquisitorial stormtroopers are preferred where situations are more fluid and require more dynamic tactics, whereas the scions strong adherence to orders are best used where the role or battle is more static.
Alpha Cohort
Identified by their red stripe and white symbol, Alpha Cohort is led by Major Kol Lachlan and composed of Stormtroopers.
Beta Cohort
Identified by their grey-white stripe and red symbol, Beta Cohort is led by Tempestor Prime Grundle Thackery and composed of Tempestus Scions. Thackery has an obsessive interest in relic weaponry and has amassed quite the collection over his many years of service, including xenos weapons he keeps hidden in vaults for 'containment'. When the opportunity presents itself, he is not above deviating slightly to acquire more for his collection, and has occasionally granted one of his relics to a scion or stormtrooper that has impressed him.
Gamma Cohort
Identified by their black stripe and white symbol, Gamma Cohort is led by Captain Elrec Sturn and composed of Stormtroopers. Sturn was hit by a malfunctioning flamer's flame in a prior battle and suffered effectively total loss of his face and portions of his frontal lobes, requiring him to permanently wear an integrated bionic facial mask. His unbridled fury has suited Gamma cohorts disposition well, and their reputation for brutality and collateral damage has only grown under his leadership. Although he may too trigger happy for Barborasa's liking, his tactical acumen is too critical to lose. A hobby he had before his accident, he has continued his collection of mounted heads of particularly nasty enemies he has bested in battle, but has expanded to mounting human heads as well to gloat over beating them, from traitor warband leaders to an Imperial noble who stood in his way, Sturn has amassed quite the showroom of heads and wounds.
Cursed by a particularly nasty chaos cultist warlock at the culmination of a long campaign by a dark magic that resists Imperial science, Sturn's many facial scars open up and begin to bleed when he is near psykers, friend or foe. While he doesn't actually seem to lose blood, the same pain is present causing him to abhor psykers even more than the average Inquisitor - making it incredibly difficult to work alongside Fubles. Although Barborasa and many of his subordinate Inquisitors have some psychic gift, they are of a skill level to neutralize the effect of their Prescence on Sturn, avoiding the animosity that plague all others. On the other end, as this is a warp based malady, nulls and blanks end the effect completely in his presence, as such (at Sturn's and Agrippa's request) the Lord Inquisitor has assigned one of his few blanks to accompany Sturn-although the blank is too valuable to risk in battle, they do allow Sturn some measure of normality outside of combat. Besides his lack of social grace, Sturn is also subject to the rumor mill that his excessive hate of his enemies, his extreme reaction to psykers, and his morbid collection of decapitated heads mean he is not as loyal as thought and may even be a follower of Khorne. Even though he has suffered through many trials and tests to confirm his loyalty, the rumor persists.
Delta Cohort
Identified by their red stripe and black symbol, Delta Cohort is led by Tempestor Prime Mercurial Daerun.
Barborasa's utilizes fleets of sleek destroyers and frigates, with a few light cruisers to augment his larger actions. Any larger scale naval engagement would be handled by a proper Battlefleet, but the Hammer of Judgement can protect its own during his missions and investigations.
The Lord Inquisitor frequently requests dedicated armsmen for naval actions and investigations, and Battlefleet Eternum's Lord of Purgation's elite breacher teams, specifically 2nd Squad, 1st Platoon of the cruiser's breacher 2nd Company, "The Scuttlers"", named for their excellence in breaching difficult entries. As a boarding action or ship battle progresses, it is somewhat common for Inquisitorial armsmen to join the naval armsmen breacher squad once the initial action is complete and a foothold established. This serves a dual purpose, first to act as the primary Inquisitor's eyes in the field (although the armsmen do frequently work with the conclave, they do not have the training nor the same level of hands on experience with the inquisitor to focus on the more relevant parts of his missions and goals), and second to reinforce and add more firepower to the naval armsmen.
Unfortunately, they are not quite as effective and lack the more specialized training and advanced equipment of the armsmen which regulates them to a more general close combat infantry role. Additionally, they lack the more sophisticated void armor of the navy and are instead equipped with more general hardened void suits from the conclave's armory. Although the conclave prefers trained naval breacher armsmen for ship actions and space hulk expeditions, they will make use of their own armsmen for longer campaigns or sensitive missions where the armsmen tactical naval skill doesn't outweigh the stormtrooper's training. Inquisitor Crucibald's strike destroyer The Symphony of Faith accompanies him during his investigations, and he often makes use of The Symphony's armsmen to supplement naval breachers. His most experienced armsmen squad, Skyer Squad, is a frequent site whenever he conducts void operations, and even sometimes on the ground or where stormtroopers are also being deployed, such is his trust in them.
The Library of Judgment also makes use of armsmen to defend herself, but Barborasa is less likely to deploy them - both in preference of his stormtroopers who have more overall training, and due to the Judgement not having a large complement of armsmen (due to both secrecy and Barborasa's preference for servitors (regular and combat/murder servitors) and automated defenses. Still, the Judgement's armsmen squad the "Paragons" is occasionally called on to accompany the Inquisitor on void operations.