GM “PC-5728”

Penal Colony 5728 is an Imperial penal colony situated on the desolate, toxic planet of Nothus, established in 798.M41 by the Imperial Navy. Its purpose is twofold: to serve as a resource extraction hub and to provide replacement crew for the Imperial Navy and visiting star vessels. Despite its functionality, it stands as a grim testament to the harsh realities of Imperial justice.

Key Features

Location and Infrastructure

  • Ancient STC Arcology: The colony occupies a sprawling, ancient Standard Template Construct (STC) arcology, predating its Imperial foundation. Its immense hive domes were not designed for penal use, leaving most of the arcology desolate. Only Hive Dome 1 is fully operational, housing the colony’s population.
  • Toxic Atmosphere: The planet’s atmosphere is poisonous, necessitating life-sustaining infrastructure. The toxic environment also provides a layer of obscurity, making external detection more challenging (-5 to detection and awareness checks).
  • Mineral Production: Prisoners extract minerals from the equatorial lowlands, which are processed in a chemical facility. These operations are maintained under contract with the Chorda Dynasty, which also supplies the colony with new prisoners.

Population

  • Current Inmates: 575,000 prisoners, far below the arcology’s potential capacity of 10,000,000. Most of the domes remain unpowered and unused.
  • Social Structure: Prisoners self-govern within the confines of Hive Dome 1, but the colony’s Fortified Rally-point ensures strict control over power and life support.

Operations and Management

Imperial Role

  • Supplies replacement crews for Imperial Navy vessels.
  • Maintains a chemical processing facility of poor quality for mineral refining.
  • Includes a Medicae Deck and Imperial Figurehead for administrative and symbolic purposes.

Governance

  • Vladir, Prison Warden: Oversees the colony’s day-to-day operations, maintaining a fragile balance between Imperial oversight and the prisoners’ semi-autonomy.
  • Morcutor, Rune-priest: Adds a spiritual and mystical dimension to the colony, potentially stabilizing the volatile population.

Unique Components and Features

  1. Grand Gladiator Arena: Located in Hive Dome 5, this arena seats 100,000 spectators and serves as a brutal form of entertainment, control, and population management.
  2. Cult of Alkaline Water: A peculiar faction inhabiting Hive Dome 17, this cult focuses on health and exercise, existing semi-independently with its own power and life support.
  3. Fortified Rally-point: The heart of operational control, enabling the warden to exert power through life support attrition if necessary.

Challenges and Opportunities

  1. Underpopulation: Despite its massive capacity, the colony remains severely underpopulated, which limits productivity but allows for future expansion.
  2. Harsh Environment: The toxic atmosphere and poor-quality chemical processing facility create persistent logistical challenges of high mortality rate.
  3. Chorda Dynasty Dependence: The reliance on trade and external prisoner supplies ties the colony’s success to the Chorda Dynasty’s stability.

Penal Colony 5728 is a stark, oppressive facility emblematic of the Imperium’s unforgiving nature. While its potential is vast, it remains a barely populated outpost, struggling under the weight of its harsh environment and the burdens of Imperial bureaucracy.

Speed: — Manoeuvrability: — Detection: 0
Armour: 10 Void Shields: — Habitat Integrity: 40
Space: 100 Power: 45 Turret Rating: 1
Weapon Capacity: — Crew rate: 25

Population: 575.000/10.000.000

Pow output: +45 Pow consumption: 23 Reserve: +22
Space used: 42/100

Essential components:

  • Fusion Core (Industrial configuration) Pow: +45 Space: 6
  • Prison HQ Pow: 2 Space: 2, +10 scrutiny checks, +20 to command checks vs mutiny/rebellion.
  • M-1 Life Sustainer Pow: 4 Space: 2
  • Quard Quarters Pow: 1 Space: 2, +20 to command checks vs mutiny/rebellion
  • M-100 augur array Pow: 3 Space: 0

Supplemental components:

  • Chemical Procession Facility Pow: 4 Space: 6, quality poor
  • Medicae Deck Pow: 2 Space: 1, donated by Judge Mordechai
  • Imperial Figurehead Pow: 1 Space: 0, donated by Judge Mordechai
  • Hive dome 1, Pow: 1 Space: 4: Prison dome, each dome can house 1.000.000 convicts
  • Hive dome 2, Pow: 1 Space: 4: Prison dome
  • Hive dome 3, Pow: 1 Space: 4: Prison dome
  • Hive dome 4, Pow: 1 Space: 4: Prison dome
  • Hive dome 5 , Pow: 1 Space: 4: Prison dome Grand gladiator arena, able to seat 100.000 spectators, see below
  • Hive dome 17: Health center of Cult of Alkaline Water, over 10.000 ecstatic exercisers, independent power and life support. See below.
  • 14X abandoned Hive Domes Pow: 0/1 Space: 56, UNPOWERED
  • Luxury quarters Pow: 2 Space: 1
  • Lighter Bay Pow: 1 Space: 1
  • Fortified Rally-points, concentrated to the control room of the active hive dome.

Weapons:

  • Minefield Pow: 1 Space: 0

Special:

  • Ancient Arcology: was not originally designed to hold prisoners. Fortified Rally-point controls the power and life sustainers and if prisoners do not comply they can be forced with attrition to submission. But within the hive dome the prisoners rule themselves.
  • Toxic atmosphere: gives -5 to detection checks of the arcology.
  • Easy to spot: Focused augury automatically reveals hive domes as they are visible beyond planetary sphere.

New components:

Hive Dome Pow: 1 Space: 4 (foundation, actual height 300 meters), Scarce
-Gravity bound, suitable for surface habitatations only.
-Component has independent life sustainer.
-Is able to house 1 million citizens.
-Visible component and detected by augury automatically.
-Requires supply of air, water and nuclear fuel.
-Space: 40, divided between structural reinforcement space: 10, housing projects space 20, essential components space: 9, sumplemental components space: 1

Pow: 8/8 Space: 40/40

Essential components:
4 pcs Genatorium Fissio Pow: +2 Space: 1
Control Room Space: 1 Pow: 1
Hive Life Sustainer Pow: 6 Space: 4

Suplemental components: (Pow: 1 and Space: 1 available)
-Common components are Shrine to God-Emperor, Imperial figurehead, Scholarium, Librarium Vault, Trophy Room or Crew Reclamation Facility.

Special:

Easy to spot: Focused augury automatically reveals hive towers as they are visible beyond planetary sphere.

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Hive Dome 5: Gladiatorial Entertainment Complex

Hive Dome 5 of Penal Colony 5728 has been transformed into a temporary  Gladiatorial Entertainment Complex, a grim spectacle of brutality and excess catering to the Imperium’s elite. This vast, ancient STC dome houses a sprawling arena city, blending monumental architecture with advanced technology to create a hub of entertainment, exploitation, and control.

Key Facilities and Features

The Great Games of Nothus 823.M41

The Arena of Redemption

  • Central Combat Pit: A massive, circular battleground reinforced with impervious walls and retractable floor sections, concealing lethal traps such as spikes, flame jets, and pit traps. Occasionally, live creatures or hazardous environments are introduced to challenge the combatants further.
  • Dynamic Scenarios: The arena floor can shift configurations, creating battlegrounds simulating urban ruins, dense forests, or harsh desert landscapes.
  • Projection Systems: Gigantic hololithic displays encircle the arena, showcasing live action, fighter statistics, and tactical commentary. Overlays highlight weapon usage, injuries, and key events in the fight for the spectators.

Noble Spectator Facilities

  • Grand Observation Decks: Reserved for the most prestigious guests, these areas feature luxury seating, private balconies, and automated servitors offering refreshments.
  • Elite Viewing Chambers: Private rooms equipped with state-of-the-art displays for a personalized, immersive experience, including live fight feeds and betting updates.
  • Entertainment Lounges: Lavishly appointed spaces with fine foods, imported wines, and luxurious furnishings for the comfort of noble spectators.

Gladiatorial Operations

  • Fighter Cages: Reinforced cells where common fighters are held before their matches. The cages are dimly lit, with integrated restraints and monitoring systems to prevent escape or rebellion. Guards and servitors patrol constantly.
  • The Beast Pit: A dark, cavernous chamber connected to the arena via reinforced gates. It serves as the holding area for ferocious creatures bred or captured specifically for arena combat. The pit is outfitted with massive restraints, electrified barriers, and automated feeders to keep its monstrous inhabitants in check. When unleashed, the beasts add an element of chaos and terror to the spectacle, often proving as much a threat to the arena’s fighters as to the audience on lower seats.
  • Champion’s Quarters: Housing for elite fighters, featuring private quarters with training equipment, weapons workshops, and recovery tanks for injured combatants.
  • Medicae Bay: A grim medical facility staffed by servitors and surgical experts, focusing on patching up fighters between matches. Services include crude cybernetic enhancements and life-extending procedures for crowd favorites.
  • Xenos Torture Chambers: A secure area where xenos are held and tortured by wishes of paying patrons. Some of them pay extraordinary sums to try it by first hand.

Entertainment Complex

  • Betting Halls: Large spaces filled with cogitator terminals and servitor-operated kiosks for placing bets on matches. Spectators can view live updates of odds, fighter analyses, and predictions for upcoming battles.
  • Market District: A bustling area where vendors sell rare goods, exotic weapons, combat enhancements, and curiosities from across the sector.
  • Announcement Chambers: Dedicated rooms where patrons can gather to watch detailed hololithic analyses of fighters, including their past performances, strengths, and weaknesses.

Additional Features

  • Combat Museum: Displays of past fighters’ gear, trophies from arena events, and preserved remains of defeated creatures, held in stasis fields.
  • Training Arenas: Smaller combat pits where fighters hone their skills and test weapons before the main events.
  • Underground Slums: Lower levels of the dome, where the less affluent visitors and guards reside, often serving as hubs for illicit trade and back-alley deals.
  • Control Tower: Oversees all aspects of the dome’s operation, from environmental systems to security protocols, ensuring the spectacle runs smoothly and any unrest is swiftly suppressed.

Atmosphere and Aesthetics

  • Monolithic Architecture: The complex is characterized by towering columns, intricate engravings, and imposing statues that loom over the arena, creating a sense of awe and dread.
  • Dramatic Lighting: Dim, atmospheric lighting highlights the brutal spectacle below, with powerful spotlights tracking the fighters in the arena.
  • Hymns of Exaltation: A relentless background of ceremonial chants and percussion fills the dome, adding to the oppressive grandeur of the spectacle.

Events and Activities

  • Execution Battles: Condemned prisoners and other unfortunates are thrown into the arena to face impossible odds, their fates determined by the skill of their opponents and the whims of the audience.
  • Beast Hunts: Dangerous creatures are unleashed into the arena, challenging fighters to prove their mettle in the face of overwhelming threats.
  • Main Tournament: Large-scale event where fighters and penal champions compete for prestige and rewards, drawing crowds from across the system.

Hive Dome 5 stands as a grim monument to the extremes of entertainment and punishment, where the spectacle of violence serves both to entertain the elite and reinforce control over the masses. The fusion of advanced technology and harsh aesthetics ensures a visceral and unforgettable experience for all who enter.

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Hive Dome 17: The Alkaline Enclave

From the outside, Hive Dome 17 appears as a derelict and abandoned structure, its towering walls weathered by the planet’s toxic winds and pitted with corrosion. The dome is disconnected from the life support systems of the main penal colony and operates independently. Despite its decrepit exterior, the interior is a sanctuary for the Cult of Alkaline Water, a mysterious and fervent sect cloaking its true purpose beneath the guise of health and purification rituals.

External Features

  • Decayed Appearance: The dome’s outer shell is dark and crumbling, with cracks and gashes exposing rusting support beams. Toxic atmospheric vapors swirl around its base, making it seem inhospitable and barren.
  • Guarded Entrances: Each access point is heavily monitored by members of the Alkaline Health Association, a zealously loyal militia-like faction within the club. Clad in faded robes smeared with alkaline mud, they wield improvised weapons, stun rods, and even auto-guns. They intercept any intruders with fervent resolve, their eyes glazed with fanaticism.
  • Isolation Systems: The dome is entirely cut off from the main colony’s power grid, water supply, and life sustainers. It operates through crafted technologies, its self-sufficiency raising questions about its origin.

Interior Atmosphere

The Outer Sanctum

  • Health Ritual Grounds: Upon entering, visitors are met with a sprawling expanse resembling a derelict gymnasium or health club. Cultists jog in synchronized lines around the dome’s perimeter, chanting hymns to “alkaline purity.” Many are drenched in sweat and covered in thick layers of alkaline mud, which they believe purifies their bodies and souls.
  • Mud Vats and Water Fountains: Large vats filled with bubbling, chemically treated mud line the walls. Adjacent fountains spurt glowing, faintly irradiated alkaline water, which the cult members consume continuously. The air is heavy with an acrid, metallic tang, tinged with an unidentifiable psychic presence.
  • Enthroned Overseers: Elevated observation decks allow higher-ranking trainer to oversee the health rituals. They chant commands, urging their followers to push their limits in service to “the Great Purity.”

The Processional Core

  • At the heart of the dome, the Great Ritual Procession continues without pause. Cult members jog in a massive circular formation around a central chamber, chanting mantras and carrying glowing containers of alkaline water. Their movements are entranced and robotic, as though driven by some unseen force.
  • Sacrificial Rites: Occasionally, Club members are brought down by procession’s pressure, where they are “offered to the mud” while tread upon. Their fates are clear and the chilling screams and sudden silences reveal their fate.

The Psy-Flux Nexus

  • Deeper within the dome, the air begins to shimmer and distort, and reality itself seems to bend. Walls pulsate faintly, and strange symbols glow and disappear intermittently, etched into the surfaces as if by some unseen hand.
  • The Psychic Core: At the center of this shifting reality lies the source of the dome’s unsettling power. A massive, glowing pool of psychically charged alkaline water radiates pulses of energy that warp the surroundings. The water bubbles with an eerie luminescence, casting shadows that move unnaturally. Rising from the center of the pool is a colossal crystal, its facets shimmering and flowing with shifting hues of magenta and blue. The crystal hums with a low, resonant frequency, each pulse releasing waves of psychic distortion that ripple through the air. Its surface is marked with faint, alien glyphs that seem to rearrange themselves when observed, further enhancing the sense of unease and otherworldly power emanating from it.
  • The Ritual Circle: Surrounding the core are high-ranking club members, their bodies emaciated and twisted by exposure to the psychic energies they revere. They chant in a low, guttural tone, maintaining the psychic charge while reinforcing their rituals of “purity.”
  • Warp Distortions: The psychic energy has begun to bleed into the material realm. Small rifts in reality flicker sporadically, causing disorienting phenomena such as time loops, sudden vertigo, or fleeting glimpses of impossible landscapes.

Defenses and Purpose

  • Cult Defenders: Any intruder who ventures into the dome is met with immediate hostility. The cult’s fanatical guards strike without hesitation, their physical prowess enhanced by the ritual waters they consume.
  • Psychic Threats: Those who penetrate too deeply into the dome risk being overwhelmed by the psychic distortions, succumbing to hallucinations, insanity, or worse.
  • Hidden Purpose: While the cult outwardly portrays itself as a health-focused group, its true intent seems tied to harnessing the psychic power of the alkaline pool at the core. The distortions hint at a larger, more sinister agenda, potentially involving warp-based phenomena or the manipulation of reality itself.

Hive Dome 17 stands as an enigmatic and chilling anomaly within Penal Colony 5728. To outsiders, it is an eccentric cult’s haven; to those who delve deeper, it reveals itself as a malevolent force, twisting both its members and the fabric of reality around it.

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Great game of Nothus

-“First rule of the Great Games is that you do not speak about the Great Games.”
-Regular games that are arranged through Calixis sector and Nothus as first placefrom Koronus expanse approved to circle of games.
-Main diplomatic effort of Chorda dynasty. Usharillo and local xeno life-form are the key components for succesfully selling games of Nothus to high society.
-Games are attended by high society of Oscurus sector and many influential. At the end of the festival members of high society bet even entire colonies and star vessels
-During games Chorda frigatte “Relentless” blockades Nothus and prevents any outside interference.

Influential attendants at the games:
-Judge of high court of Calixis sector
-Emissary of Malfi Noble House, Seeks to gain influence for the house at the Koronus Expanse
-Obscurus sector emissary for Terra, seeks information about development of Koronus Expanse
-Cult of Tseentch, “The Donors of the Realms”.
-Aurora Orlov and her retinue,
-Imperial navy admiral, Tries to win favor of Obscurus Sector emissary
-Open Agents of Victoria Eldrich, shadows
-Deep agent of Victoria Eldrich, shadows Aurora Orlov
-Cult of Alkaline spring, Challenges the Donors of the Realms”
-Nytram Red Handed, Seeks favor of Tseentch
-Louis of Grand Falls, Seeks influence in Koronus Expanse and Calixis Sector
-Independent druglord of Pugia, Seeks customers from Calixis sector
-Boltazar Chorda Conciliatrix Avaritas, Seeks high society contacts
-Simion Chorda Conciliatrix Gravis Major, Seeks high society contacts
-Usindra, Seeks to connect with high society
-Arcdiocese Humer, To relax and enjoy for a while before returning to building plans of the great cathedral. To spend a some on betting.
-Chorda dynasty family member, to negotiate flow of Stryxis drugs to Calixis Sector. Promote paradise world beyond borders of the Imperium, arrange sector wide distribution of replacement limbs and organs.
-Dark Mechanicus, Seeks further influence at the Ultima Tectum
-Calixis sector Navigator, Seeks warp gate co-odinates at the Koronus Expanse. Seeks reppoorts Koronus expanse astropathic signals and astronomicon.
-High position Adminstrator, Inquires carer development of Adeptus Börn, seeks to win big to fulfill sector adminstratumm coffers he has borrowed from.
-Druglord from Calixis sector, Seeks new products for Calixis sector. Will be assasinated by Chorda dynasty.
-Envoy of cold trade syndicate, Seeks contacts for xeno and archaotech. Interested about local xeno drugs.
-Omnisheim, Seeks contacts for the Levelists conspiracy
-Noble from Calixis Sector who seeks fame and possibility to fight against Ozmot.
-Quintus Chorda Conciliatorix (Scutum), Seeks contact for xeno cold trade
-Idiomus, Seeks contacts to high society, increase of funding of Collegio
-Rogue trader captain ??, High betting after succesful exploration mission.
-Rogue trader captain ??, Needs desperately profit to repair and fuel star vessel.
-Noble from another sector, seeks archaotech weapons
-Elderly rejuvenation seeker.
-Collegio assasinorum envoy, watches over the situation.??