Beneath the crew decks, below the engine cathedra, and far from the voice of command at bridge, lie the bilge levels of the Ignis Aeternus—a forgotten maze of rusted catwalks, stagnant pools, and foundarions of ancient, humming machinery.
Light and Architecture
Dim red emergency lamps—some flickering, some fused—cast the entire deck in a sullen crimson gloom. Shadows dance along the bare steel beams of the hull, exposed like an autopsy of the ship’s skeleton. The floor plating is warped in places; hatches bulge slightly, as though something beneath presses upward.
A few areas are completely dark. Others are lit only by flickering pict-displays still wired to long-dead servitors.
Pools of Oil and Runoff
Centuries of condensation, coolant seepage, and unknown fluids have collected into shallow black lakes, their surfaces broken only by slow drips or the movement of unseen things. An oily sheen reflects the occasional flash of hazard strobes, staining the water with swirls of violet, copper, and slick green.
Pipes jut like broken ribs from the walls, some still belching hot steam or icy vapor. Where pressure valves have failed, slow leaks hiss constantly, feeding the filth that collects on the grated walkways.
The Mold that Grows in Shadow
Black mold—threaded and clumped—grows in thick patches across walls, ceilings, and even on servitor corpses that were never retrieved. It is spongy and fibrous, with odd branching patterns that some claim respond to presence, as if aware. The Tech-Priests insist it is simply biofilm reacting to heat and moisture.
Function
Though technically still part of the ship’s active systems, the uninhibited bilge is never patrolled unless necessary. Its roles are grim:
- Waste collection & atmospheric bleed-off
- Coolant overflow and tertiary venting
- Storage of unusable salvage
Crew who venture here—often as punishment—report strange echoes, the sound of footsteps that don’t match their own.
!GM only!
Ignis Aeternus WH 40K campaign notes 