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Ingenis Karthis
Lord Regent of the Ark Imperialis

Appearance

Personality

Karthis is an interesting man, one of both idealism and realism, pragmatism and generosity, faith and logic, nostalgia and rejection, grandeur and humbleness, purity and heresy. A member former Rouge Trader dynasty, he's no stranger to lies and greed as well as being as pragmatic as possible to brave the void. He sees the former Imperium as mankind's greatest achievement with great adoration, an empire unite across the stars but unlike so many others, he does not want to claim himself his own little mockery of an Imperium or purge entire worlds in the name of the Emperor.

This is because he doesn't see himself as worthy as taking on the mantle of what the Emperor was and despises those who do, especially those who proclaim they are the Emperor incarnate.  Karthis does no live for the faith of the Imperium, but for the Emperor's ideals that seemed to have been lost so many years ago and as such does what he sees as his duty of preserving the Emperor's "truth" while also bringing as many people back to the light of the real Emperor. As such he is wary of Gergori and works with him out of necessity instead of want.

History

The tale of Ingenis Karthis starts in far back to his ancestor, Datus Karthis a reputable Rouge Trader with a heart larger than his prestiege. As the galaxy crumbled, he attempted to save as many people as his ships could carry, sometimes adding to his fleet if he came across the lone ship in the void or desperate fleet of the old Imperial Navy. His charisma was so great that convincing such people was of little issue, almost blessed with a silver tongue and a voice that could inspire even the most forlorn man. However, as time progressed, it was becoming increasingly apparent that his ships weren't enough. Despite his retreats in the face of danger and refusal of fighting, the upkeep of the ships was harder and harder even if he managed to catch a few techpriests.

All of that changed when he came across the remnants of the Wardens Aegis chapter of space marines and a Deathwatch kill team, now one of the many mercenary Free Companies in the galaxy, and their spacehulk base, the Bastion Dominus. Lost and forlorn, the once proud astartes had lost their way and fallen from grace. Like so many others, they were once part of a complete chapter with proud traditions and stout guardians of the Imperium, but once their homeworld was lost they become cynical and searched for what purpose they had. When they came across a spacehulk, they threw themselves at it along with members of a lost Deathwatch killteam. Their losses were great but they did not care as they suicidally charged into battle one more time, feeding the need of war and fulfilling what they thought would be some scrap of a honorable death in battle.

Datus at this point was old and aged, but his charisma had not diminished a bit, if anything his wise and sagely appearance only increased it. He met with the "chapter master" of the Wardens Aegis, Anton Novilis to try and discuss if they could for an agreement and let his ships and refugees essentially colonize the spacehulk which the space marines actually used very little of.  Novilis would have none of it, believing that he and his men were too far in the path of damnation and nearly killed the rouge trader outright before Datus showed him a priceless relic: a recording of a speech by the Emperor of Mankind.

It was old, and aged with a price so great that priceless wouldn't do it justice. Every care and luxury had been afforded to it and its machine spirit as Datus sought to use it as a new belief that tied his people together. As the message flickered and delivered its ancient message, the chapter master could only stare at it in disbelief; the words of the Emperor, the real Emperor, alive, being told to him in the way only the master of mankind could do. Its said that space marines are trained to never feel emotions, but on that day, Novilis shed a tear once the crackling ovation at the end of the speech once finished. He showed it to his fallen brothers and they too where in disbelief, some letting their rare emotions forth. How far they had fallen became apparent, but Datus exploited it and said that no one was too far to repent in the name of the Emperor. And with that, the astartes allowed the man and his people into their home, renaming it the Ark Imperialis, dedicating to the preserving and spread of not the Imperial Creed, but the Imperial Truth as told by their glorious ruler so many millennium ago. He established the title of Lord Regent for the ruler of the Ark Imperalis as he was simply ruling in the place of the Emperor until he could come to lead once more, not as his chosen successor or will incarnate.

Ingenis Karthis is now the current head of this lineage, gathering even more colorful characters over the years such as hereteks, forgotten guard regiments, the shattered remains of a knight house without any knights, and even a few xenos. Over the years the Ark has been almost completely transformed into a livable space and although its by no means comfortable for many, the pure fact it provides protection is a luxury they are very thankful for having in these dark times. Hydroponic bays, water recycling units and repaired generators provide the Ark with its strictly monitored food and power rations. Scavenging expeditions are made to astroid belts and ruins to salvage or harvest desperately needed resources to expand and maintain the Ark and its accompanying fleet and feed its forges and workshops. Karthis met Gregori purely by chance after his fleet was tossed into one of his systems due to the turbulent currents of the waves. While he disagrees with Gregori's egotism, he does see his Imperium as the of the better ones and more "true" to the one from memories he wishes to protect in addition to the fact he can provide resources which he either would have a challenge of obtaining or simply be unable to fulfill.

Forces

Although it may look ramble shackle, the Ark is a spacehulk and one that's been modified, altered, repaired, built up and armed over countless years. It has a myriad number of weapon systems ranging from missile and torpedoes to hanger bays to lance batters to macro cannons and even autocannons and heavy stubbers jammed in where ever possible; just a junked and random appearance gives it the moniker of "Ork Imperialis" for those who still know of the greenskin menace. This and all the other technological marvels (or miracles depending on how you look at it) come by the hands of the descendants of hereteks, thrown out of the Mechanicus due to their innovating tendencies and quickening of rituals but never quite fell to Chaos.

Life on the Ark for most is anything but glamorous or luxurious as everything is tightly regulated and rationed with the average family having a cell about six and a half feet by six and a half feet with an overall standard of living just barely above that of a hive world's if at all.  Most of the food comes from fast growing grains or roots as well as corpse starch but there are xeno fungus and lichen which have proven instrumental in providing protein which the military tends to get first dibs of. More than a few people have initially joined the Ark's military on the promise of extra meat-like substances. Those of high standing however get the rare treat of actual meet provided by Eating Squigs, so generously provided by one of the space hulk's previous inhabitants; they are closely watched and selectively bred not only to be tasty and plump, but also to be wary if their spores spawn any actual orkoids.

Perhaps the greatest difference between the Ark Imperalis and the old Imperium if the knowledge of Chaos for everyone aboard the ship knows what Chaos is and what it can do. Of course its always twisted in the worse ways but its not like Chaos really needs any help in that regard. While this does mean that Chaos cults and troubles are less frequent, they tend to be more devastating if allowed to blossom, internal security measures have been increased dramatically to compensate.

The main military arm and policing force of the Ark, although it is technically volunteer only, everyone on the ship is conscripted as a militia for when the need arises. Modeled on the old Imperial Guard, the average Nova Guard is actually ironically better protected on average. They boast either lasguns or autoguns and have a median between Flak and Carapace armor known as Palisade Armor which protects the chest, groin,shoulders, forearms, thighs and shins. Squads have access to grenade launchers, autocannons, flamers and missiles for support weaponry. They see themselves as protectors of the true (if not idealized) old Imperium and its ways and can often be heard shouting "For the Imperium!".

Although there aren't many, the armored support of the Nova Militarum boasts mainly Goliaths for transports and modified armored Chimeras with various Leman Russ tank turrets as heavy support although normal Chimeras still do exist as well as various other civilian trucks pressed and modified for military use. The most common weapons of these amalgamations of Chimeras and Leman Russes called "Lemeras" are the normal battle cannons, dual autocannons, dual lascannons for anti-armor and Havoc-like missile launchers for artillery.

Interestingly enough, one of Karthis's predecessors managed to pick up a Knight house who had lost nearly all of their walkers and fell into a collective hysteria and delusion. Not wanting to have their skills put to waste, they were given what Armored Sentinels were left and allowed to use them as their new "knights". While unimpressive at first, they have since become respectable walkers having been heavily modified over the generations boasting new systems, better armor, custom weapons and noble machine spirits. This corp of Sentinel-Knights are known colloquially as "House Albnorn" after its most prominent member.

The Imperial Navy to the Nova MIlitarum's Imperial Guard; the Nova Navalis commands all ships besides the Ark Imperialis who are a part of the fleet that has been picked up over the years. All ships are equally part warship and part residences to help with the population and production of the fleet and the Ark itself and like the Ark has seen considerable jury riggings and modifications. Should a ship become too damaged or the husk of an ancient ship be found, the retired vessel will become a permanent addition to the Ark.

More importantly than commanding the fleet, the Nova Navalis also has the responsibility of conducting Scavenging Expeditions. They scout out moons and astroids to be mined, ancient ships to be plundered and added, abandoned worlds to be looted, populated worlds to trade with and recon the for the lumbering Ark Imperialis. As one might guess, to say this is an important responsibility would be and understatement. The word "Scavenging Expedition" doesn't always mean actually scavenging but has come to simply mean any action taken to interact with something externally for the gain of resources.

Like the Adepta Sororitas and Sisters of Battle, the Nova Sororitas are an all female group of elite warriors raised from birth to believe in the ideals of the Imperial Truth sometimes called "War Maidens". In combat, they are the elite soldiers of the Ark akin to a Stormtrooper on drugs (or in this case zealotry) but not nearly at the level of the old Sisters of Battle as they lack bolters and power armor. Their weapons are basically hot-shot lasguns augmented with Tau pulse munition technology with stake-launcher attachment that fires special poisoned stakes meant to destabilize warp connections of pyskers and cause excruciating pain and death to a target based on Condemner Boltguns. The Maidens commonly use flamers and the uncommon meltaguns for support weapons.

Vehicle wise they use only Chimeras/Lemerias and have access to Rhinos modified accordingly and still with a fixation on flame-based weaponry to the point that their Lemerias even use special incendiary shells on occasion. Penitent Engines and Repentia still exist but they are not crewed by hardwired sinners or made up of suicidal women. Penitent Engines have been replaced with "Zealot Engines" which do not have their pilots trapped in them and also protect the pilot from harm with armor but their rarity means that those who pilot them are prestigious indeed. Repentia have been replaced with "Sword Sisters" who still retain the use of large chainblades, but do not have the same fanaticism or lack of armor and can be considered War Maidens specialized in melee combat and the hunting of large targets.

In addition to their war time duties, the Maidens also make up the bulk of the Ark's medical professionals, educators the preachers of the Imperial Truth. Every doctor, nurse, missionary and teacher comes under the rule of the Canoness Superior of the Ordo Sororitas and they know of the happenings of every clinic, school and shrine to ensure purity and right thought.

Given that they are more often than not the ones who go into battle, the Maidens actually get priority over most vehicles and weapons over the Space Marines.

The decendents of the Wardens Aegis and their accompanying Deathwatch killteam as well as any other space marines that have managed to slip in over the years, the Knights Eternal are the space marines of the Ark but are severely under strengthed at just barely a single company's worth. However, they aren't not warriors first, but commanders. They commonly lead companies of Ark Guards or units of War Maidens or serve as senior officers in the Nova Navalis, the Ark Fleet. As such, their recruitment process is highly selective as not only do they look for martial strength, but mental capabilities severely limiting their pool of recruits.

They may be seen as clerks and officers, but they are still Astartes and are more than capable of matching Free Company mercenaries space marines in combat with their collective experience as they tend to live long lives without the constant struggle of eternal crusading. The Knights also do not live separate from the people and live amongst them albeit in better conditions than most. Its not uncommon to see a Knight out of armor and some have even managed to form families and have kids through the help of artificial impregnation (War Maidens tend to be the most common wives for some reason but such pursuits are allowed so long as they don't interfere with work).

Their arms and armor are old but not junk and their bolters have exclusive right to any bolt shells produced and the right to have priority over any force or power weapon they so please to have as well as lascannons. Beyond that, missile launchers and autocannons are popular weapons for the Knights in combat as a Breaching Shields. Equipment such as Terminator armor and jump packs are rare and Rhinos and the few modified versions are given mostly to the Maidens. However, the Knights maintain a single Fire Raptor gunship with great care, the Herald, and is more often used to make landfall by Karthis himself and his retinue of guards and compatriots when attending contact with planetary governments.

Officios are organizations within the Ark that take up more civilian duties or specialized areas. The three major ones include the Officio Praetorn, the Officio Arcana, and the Officio Fabricus.

Officio Praetoran:
Basically the Inquisition but specialized to keep watch over the ships and the Ark as knowing about Chaos and its ruinous powers doesn't mean that the fear of uprising and heresy is gone. They have both public and private agents and rumors persist of Eldar being in the Officio Praetoran but every single person in power denies the claims stating that the Eldar are supposed to be dead and no normal haughty Eldar would work for them.

Officio Arcana:
The organization dedicated to the protection, training and surveillance of psykers and astropaths as well as other Warp-related entities, relics and events. More normal and mundane historical relics are also kept here barring relic weaponry. They are understandably heavily watched given both their value of the history they oversee and their connection to the warp.

Officio Fabricus:
Children of outcasted hereteks of the Cult Mechanicus, they are the protectors of the technology and guardians of repairs for the Ark and her fleet as well as the main body of knowledge and research as their heretek ancestors where exiled due to their taste for innovating and creating new things as well as "quickening" rituals. Given the lack of abundant resources, members of the Officio Fabricus do not sport such heavy machine implants and even revile having it to a degree after hearing about what happened to Mars but can still be seen with artificial limbs, joints, organs or eyes that still keep them looking human even under their red robes. A handful of Tau have been noted to work with the Officio as xeno helpers and invaluable assistants.

Aligence

N/A

Personal Effects

• Rosarius
	- A "gift" from a particularly zealous, backwards priest who died of "sudden cardiac arrest"

• Two Tau Gun Drones
	- Gifted when Karthis took in a lost Tau ship and granting them asylum and protection aboard the Ark

• Power Sword "Stout Allegiance" 
	- Obtained by Datus from "Chapter Master" Anton Novilis as a symbol of allegiance and unity.

• Master Crafted Laspistol "Finest Hour" 
	- Master crafted relic that's been in Karthis's family since before the collapse of the Imperium.

• Libre Imperialias: Book of Truth 
	- Manifesto of the beliefs and goals of the Ark Imperialis, teachings of the Emperor & the Imperial Truth.
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