“Look at me. Look at me! This is home now, Trooper! This is the zone! It doesn’t like you, but by the Throne, it’s where you are! The Emperor wants you, boy! Did no one ever tell you that? The Emperor wants you to make his glory for him! And if you’re scared, I’m terrified. The archenemy is no playmate. You’re going to see things, and be expected to do things your poor mother would have a fit at. But the Emperor expects, and the Emperor protects, all of us, even you. Especially you – I promise you that.”

– Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt

Apologist – The Nur Na Phom

The spindle trees here are long and whip-thin, and completely still. Even with half-a-ton of unman scratching its worm-ridden arsehole against the repellent bark with a look of idiot bliss, the ominous trees remain utterly, obscenely, inert.

Worse. Every single tree stretches high; maddeningly high, towards a sky as white and dead as a beached sea-ray. As though providing some cosmic balance with the impossible trees, it writhes. Flat and blank, and somehow in motion. The gelds studiously avoid looking at it.

It is in Drone’s inhabitants. You can see it. As bullet enters meat, great heavy clouds of blood – slick and red and dark as sorrow – belch out. Along with their despairing, bovine screams, they weep out clouds of luminous… something.

We are Nur Na Phom. Humanity paradigmatic. Our gene-weave has been stripped and refined and engineered to survive; parsing away inherent weaknesses of our kin. Thus we survive our toxic homeworld – and thus we resist the moon-mist better than many.

Better. Not perfectly.

No.

Other Martinets see – mock, accuse – flaws in individuals. I see further. This is not a flaw in our genescaping. Whatever is behind Drone’s fecundity underlies the fundamental limits of humanity. This is beyond us.

https://apologentsia.blogspot.co.uk/?m=1

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Harald – Faithful Servants of the Emperor

Millions of souls fight on the battlefields around the galaxy in the name of the god emperor. But even more uncounted millions toil in His name to produce all the supplies a vast empire need. Agri farmers, mine workers, administratum scribes, every kind of of profession imaginable. Some of the slaves, some of them servitors, most of them “free” people. As free as one can be in a world where there is only war….

The faithful Servants of the Emperor are just a few of those servants attached to lords, the eclesiarchy, heros and whomever thinks he might have the need of personal servants or slaves. You see them carrying banners, artifacts, religious objects. Most of them are made by humanity but some of them…..

On the Thornmoons its unclear who the faithful Servants of the Emperor follow, in hushed voices it is said that they are the retainers of a hero of legend.

As secret as their lord is, is their origin. Smallish compared to normal humans, to pious for ratlings, xenos definitly not, unknown strain of abhumans?

Only their lord may know….

Harald

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Jamie Fox – Mordant 79th “Acid Dogs” Recon team Zulu One Five, Able Company

Lieutenant Ellock watch the two member of his team ahead of him through the infra headset, they stalked waiting to find prey. They hadn’t found even a twist yet and that wasn’t right, no fun …. but it also meant no one had found them either…

The tunnel was sloping down and opening up quickly. All of them started to slow as what sounded like machines started to come louder than the trickle of water. Ahead light was appearing around the curve of the tunnel when a roar came from ahead. Gak, that’s not good… hand signs flashed for movement ahead.. lots of it… “Go load!” and the space filled with bright hot energy. That was all these green twist freaks needed, well one more thing. He singled “Holy” forward and he picked up the heat glimmer of a pilot light coming to life…

The heavy flame trooper started mumbling and then the real roar stated as the tunnel filled with fire ahead. Holy was good for two things, fire and letting you have his illo and amsec rations.

Jamie Fox

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Philip Helliwell – The Stultian 1st

It is said the Stultian 1st were created from the dreg population of a rotten hive city. Those fortunate few escaped the effects of a myco-plague that had claimed millions, but they found themselves shivering and inept in the barbarous atmosphere of the wildwood. Many perished trying to make do, but enough survived over the next two hundred years to form a hamlet robust enough to reconcile with the tenacious weed. A militia formed to fend off mutant raids and was first led by Stultas, a psyker of prodigious grove-sense. After he was killed and eaten by hogmen assassins, the militia took up his name and resolved to expand their power. They sport Stultas’ skull on their banners, depicted white and picked clean as it was found, while the ragtag uniforms taunt the hated mutant and cannibal alike with its meat-red hue.

https://www.instagram.com/philiphelliwell/

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Bolterspike – 3rd Oasis Company

Log 4015

Once again, it’s a miracle we’re still here. From the 185 of us accidentally thrown on this rock there’s around 20 left. Del left after the last rain, good riddance, hope he’ll rot on his way ”out”. The stink is growing on me. Malaise is constant and I cannot come up with ways to reduce it anymore.

We are unable to find anything edible, it’s so damp. Since Roman made an end to his misery we have gotten more nutrients. There’s just not much untouched surface left. It’s eating on my back now.

We saw an unnoticable light during last rain. I’m not getting my hopes up though. Last time we tried to go identify a similar halo the expedition ended in chaos and 5 were lost. Better guard the swamp and try not to attract the Dark. I’m sure we’ll find a breakthrough with the ship. It’s only a couple of dozen rains ago since it last worked. Just have to trust it to a less desperate soul this time.

If you read this tell Lana to remember me as the man I used to be.

Sgt. Bark de Mira (89a-56-Y)
The Damp

@bolterspike

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Pictergrammable – Theta Task Force

And you have seen these in the first part of Humble Humans, but we couldn’t resist putting up some updated photos of the Theta Task Force from Pictergrammable. We completely missed them in the huge load of incoming emails, but here you go!

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We are happy to showcase the second installment of the Humble Humans category! Some wonderful Thorn Moons Regiments here too. Together with the first part they give a small but eye-opening glimpse of the large variety of frightened but dedicated soldiers and servants of humanity that have made planet fall on the witch worlds of the boreal Thorn Moons!