VI - Catechism
[This chronicle is best read from the beginning.]
When Governor Schrödinger evacuated Barfunweltz-2 he prioritised his military personnel over civilians - a reasonable course of action when faced with an existential threat. The greater part of these soldiers comprised the purple and gold ranks of the Planetary Defence Force of Barfunweltz-2, a well-equipped regiment with proud traditions of pageantry, vociferous loyalty to the Emperor and a penchant for plumes of feathers.
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| Colour Sergeant Endellion |
However, when his daughter inherited the Warrant of Trade, it was abundantly clear to her that the PDF was profoundly ill-suited to the mission of Schrödinger's Syndicate. First of all, like most Astra Millitarum regiments, it had never been envisaged that they would be garrisoned, let alone deployed, entirely aboard ships traversing the void - and indeed the Warp. In the rush to evacuate, the vast majority of the PDF’s majestic tanks, artillery and other armour had been left behind and had vanished with the planet they were intended to defend. Now solely comprised of infantry, the PDF would need to be retrained for an entirely different theatre of war.
Second, and perhaps more seriously, Schrödinger knew that the Barfunwelt-2 PDF had in truth been a force designed and trained for the parade ground rather than the battlefield. The planet's rich culture involved many military pageants and parades and the PDF were the masters of glorifying the Emperor with a truly magnificent show of pomp and circumstance. Furthermore, given the near constant presence on the pleasure world of high-ranking Terran officials, the planet and its orbit was invariably swarming with security details, bodyguards and occasionally escort fleets. It had not been uncommon for contingents of the mighty Adeptus Astartes to be present, and even occasionally the god-like Adeptus Custodes. In the presence of such mighty heroes, it was understandable if the local PDF might privately consider itself somewhat superfluous. Schrödinger would never discourage her troops by saying so, but centuries of peace and prosperity had made them soft.
Therefore she instructed her father's Chief of Staff to oversee the recommissioning and retraining of the Barfunweltz-2 PDF as a ship-borne force suitable for the prosecution the Syndicate's mission. Commissioner Piran threw himself into the task with a zeal that belied his years.
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| Commissioner Piran |
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