[b]Province/Kingdom/Faction/Tributary Name:[/b] 8th Outer Tract
[b]Ruling Body:[/b] IA-appointed governor
[b]Home Planet:[/b] Crucible
[b]Primary Resource:[/b] Recycling alien building materials.

[b]Armed Forces[/b]
(Leave this blank until the main IC thread is up with details about the technology available k thx.) mmkay

[b]Imperial Assessment[/b]
In the course of the Most Stupendous Empire's inexorable expansion into the farthest reaches of the cosmos, Man has encountered numerous races of barbarous alien. Such was the case when colonists attempted to settle a system inhabited by an indigenous race 12 anni past. The name by which they called themselves was lost with their civilization, but Man knew them as the Aylma. When imperial colonists attempted to colonize planets settled by the Aylma, conflict arose as it so often does between Man and Xeno. The Aylma attempted to defend themselves from imperial incursion, but their's was a futile effort. Xeno resistance is always futile.

The Imperial Authority dispatched the 27th Tagma to the Aylma homeworld in response to Aylma resistance to colonization efforts. The battleships of the 27th, a Tagma trained for planetary assault, effortlessly subdued the pitiful defenses of the Aylma and sterilized their world from orbit. When the 27th left the system, the xeno homeworld was naught but a burnt cinder covered in ashes and ruins.

In the absence of the Aylma, the xeno world was occupied by criminal outcasts from the Empire. Living amidst the extensive xeno ruins, the lawless squatters were able to evade apprehension by the Imperial Authority. Piracy became rampant in the nearby 7th Outer Tract and it was clear that something needed to be done. The Imperial Authority dispatched forces to the planet once again; this time the 51st Tagma led by the disgraced Commodore Augustine Hellefax. The 51st captured the pirate strongholds and established Imperial control over the ruined world, which was summarily rechristened as Crucible. Commodore Hellefax was charged as governor of the newly-established 8th Outer Tract, responsible for rooting out all criminal enterprise and terraforming Crucible from a burnt cinder to a thriving colony.

At the time of this writing, four anni have passed since Commodore Hellefax was assigned governorship of Crucible and the 8th Outer Tract. It is reported that the terraforming efforts have made little headway; Crucible's atmosphere is only barely breathable and only cheatgrass and saltwort grow in sparse grasslands over the vast plains of ash. Crucible's population growth is anemic at best. It is little secret that Commodore Hellefax despises his current post. Given his history of questionable loyalty, it is strongly recommended that he be watched over closely. Even so, joyless execution of the Emperor's Will is preferable to seeing Crucible descend into banditry once again.

- Lu-Han Zeman, Imperial Chronicler and Mentat