Ulaka

"If you go to Ulaka, be sure not to draw attention to yourself. The prideful always taste the best."

- Inquisitor Sindiswa Dlamini

The Imperial world of Ulaka (or more popularly, the World of Cannibals), is a hive world located within the Vuma Sector in Ultima Segmentum, and home to the abhumans known as the Xhasa. Ulaka formerly classed as a feral world, rediscovered by the Imperium of Man in M37 during the Age of Apostesy. Despite it's feral state before contact with the Imperium, it's people kept huge stores of weapons and technology left behind from the Dark Age of Technology to wage wars across the planet, along with records from that time. Today, the people of Ulaka are violent, ultra-agressive cannibals. They are also known for their production and usage of high-grade, heavily adorned bionics, as well as their production of weapons so rare elsewhere in the Imperium, that they are more valuable than the people handling them. The harsh laws and culture of Ulaka insure that only those who have legitimate business on the planet are the only visitors to Ulaka. The Imperium has given Ulaka wide berth in dealing with it's "unique" food requirements, allowing them to set up holding facilities on Ulaka's five moons, where the failures of society are rounded up, and allowed to breed and grow, suppling the Xhasa with all the food they'll ever need. They are allied to their old enemy, Zelus, protecting them from the Inquisition. The Xhasa only have this alliance because they couldn't eat them.

Colonization
The world of Ulaka was discovered and colonized in 679.M18, during the Dark Age of Technology. The colony ship known as the Insindiso, hailing from the region of Terra known as Afrika Australis (or uMzansi in Zuluensis, the native tounge of the Xhasa). It was sponsored by a group of cultural revivalists from the region, seeking to restore the culture of their ancient ancestors. The planet was originally named Vuma, meaning "thrive" in Zuluensis. The colonists set up their colony in the northern hemisphere of Vuma, where the most fertile lands of the planet were located. They named the settlement Inkaba, which would serve as the capital of the colony for next several millennia. As they were located more than 39,000 lightyears away from Terra, any help they would require would be impossible, forcing them to become completely self-suffient in all areas of life. The colonial government was lead by the Imantshi, or "head", who was the absolute ruler of Vuma. Much after what happened between the initial colonization of Ulaka and start of the Dark Age of Technology is unknown. But is known that the first ruler of Vuma was Kwanele Nxele. What he did during his administration is vague, but it is known that he established the laws and infastruture needed for the colony to thrive.

The Golden Age
The Golden Age of Vuma correlated to the beginning of the Dark Age of Technology on Ulaka, a period of Ulaka's history the Xhasa have plenty of information on. 7,000 years after the colonization of Vuma, and during the administration of Imantshi Nhlahli Dlamini, warships from Terra arrived in the sector of space Vuma was located, and in a stroke of sheer luck, ran into mining vessels from Vuma. The mining ships lead the Terran warships to Vuma, where the Terrans brought news of an alliance of human worlds under Terra's leadership, and offered Vuma a chance to join. The inhabitants jumped at the chance, and an influx of new ideas, technologies, and ideals flowed into Vuma, thus beginning the Golden Age of Vuma (today known as the Age of Progress). The people of Vuma gained amazing new technologies from their alliance, and the one that interested their people their people the most was that of cybernetics, and form of robotics few sought to thoroughly exploit. As the years of passed, the inhabitants harnessed the art of making bionics, and soon became known as some of the best cyber-engineers in the galaxy.

The people of Vuma inhanced their bionic-making abilities to a tee, and soon began making works of art that they have remained famous for to this day. The custom of replacing their eyes with cybernetic ones, came from their belief that they adored their work so much, that they intrusted their sight to it. Using the plentiful rubies on Vuma, the inhabitants carved the gems in gorgeous glimmering red balls, with circuitry hidden within, afterwhich their old eyes were replaced with these new ones. Life one Vuma had become one of leisure and thought, but with this increased prosperity came enemies, one of which was Vuma's old ally, Zelus. Zelus was a small world located 200 lightyears away from Vuma, and home to some of the most powerful humans in the galaxy. They coveted the knowledge of Vuma, but though they were a close ally, they were not of Vuma. Having come from a path of life where everything was handed to them, the leaders of Zelus became enraged with Vuma's percieved belief of superiority, and plotted their downfall.

Betrayed
Zelus could not accept the fact that Vuma was prosperous than it was, and it's leader began planning Vuma's demise. In M24, not long before the before the Age of Strife, the Zelus government accussed Vuma of helping the Orks during the Alien Wars, and called for their expulsion from the confederacy of worlds. Terra called for a formal investigation into the accusations, but using it's leverage with several other worlds, Zelus managed to bypass Terra's attempts for a peaceful resolution to the issue. Vuma was expelled from the alliance, and barred from rejoining. However, this would not be the final act of betrayal. Zelus did not want to compete with Vuma, which was still far more powerful than it was, would undoubtly attack them for their lies. Thus, with several other envious worlds, Zelus assembled an assault force, and prepared to destroy Vuma, and remove a vital threat to their planned hegemony in the sector. The government of Vuma knew an attack would come, and knew that it would not be able to counter it with it's small fleet. Thus, the Imantshi, Londisizwe Sogodi, ordered the transfer of Vuma's historic knowledge and records of it's technologic work moved underground, in the hope future generations would find it.

The warships from Zelus and it's allies arrived in the Zonda system not to long after the transfer of knowledge underground. The fleet tore into the Vuma defense vessels, which had been waiting for the attack. The Vuman forces managed to destroy a number of Zelian ships, but could not overcome the enemy's superior numbers, and was in the end, destroyed. The Zelian fleet entered into orbit around Vuma two hours after it destroyed the defense fleet, shooting down any fleeing vessels. As the Vumans contemplated their fate, the Zelian warships bombarded each of Vuma's five moons, turning each into a lifeless no man's land. It didn't take long for the people on Vuma to discover what was going to happen to Vuma, and the roiting began. With their backs against the wall, the Vumans entered into a feral state, killing, raping, looting, and commiting virtually every barbarism possible. The Zelian commanders, delighted to see their enemy turning into monsters, recorded the events for later use, afterwhich they began bombarding Vuma. The once great farmlands were turned into barren wastelands. The many rivers and oceans were transformed into toxic, radioactive acid. And the great, towering cities were flattened. Vuma was no more.

Geography
"Well, if the people don't kill you, the rain will."

- Imperial Guardsman, speaking of his tour on Ulaka

Landscape & Climate
Ulaka is a barren, gray rock, covered with massive mountains, and deep, green oceans. Thunderstorms endless wrack the planet, showering the several mega-cities with toxic chemical rain, which would kill outsiders who are exposed to the rain for too long. The oceans supply the thick, toxic clouds with the fuel needed to keep going, and hurricanes are common occurence on Ulaka. Thus, the cities are built out of a long-lasting, stone-like material which prevent the acidic storms from eroding the infastructure of Ulaka. The grey clouds that surround Ulaka blot out the sun, giving inhabitants nothing but a dark, grey landscape to look at. The cities of Ulaka are connected to one another by pipe-like super-highways capable of housing several millions of people. These highways are flanked by other pilelines which transfer goods, minerals, fresh water, waste, and fuel from one city to the others. From orbit, observers can see great, grey bloches (the cities), connected together by long thin lines (road networks), which criss-cross the world of Ulaka.

Fauna

 * Ulaka Panther -
 * Black Ocelot -
 * Silver Mamba -
 * Ulaka Goshawk -
 * Iron Falcon -
 * Ulaka Kudu -

Demographics
"The Xhasa are a race of cannibalistic monsters. The Inquisition would have loved to sterilize the planet if the High Lords and the Ecclesiarchy hadn't meddled in our affairs before we could act."

- Inquisitor, remarking on failed attempt to destroy Ulaka

Abhumans
The native people of Ulaka, known as the Xhasa, are a race of abhumans, the result of which came from their need to adapt to the barren wasteland that had become their home. When the food supplies left from before the razing of their homeworld, the Xhasa needed another source of food. With few choices to choose from, the Xhasa began eating each other. After sometime had passed, the Xhasa became immune to the effects of rotten flesh, and a number of misfortunes lead to the Xhasa evolving into an abhuman race. Because their diet consisted of human beings for well over 15,000 years, fruits and vegetables are unpalatable to the Xhasa, and cooked meat taste bland to them. Only raw meat or blood will suffice. The Xhasa are capable of sensing fear in others, as well as hear their heartbeats, and smell the phermones in humans, traits they picked up, which allowed their to hunt human beings for food. Added to their sharp eye-sight, Xhasa are natural-born predators, with few others of their skill. The only reason the Inquisition hasn't destroyed them is because they were close enough to pure humans to still serve the Emperor. However, the Inquisition has kept a close eye on the Xhasa people for any signs of corruption.

The Xhasa have powerful a mouth and tounge to help them consume other humans. They can split their jaw from it's socket to accomadate large pieces of meat. Also, it allows them to fit an entire human head into their mouth. They have twelve-foot long tounge, which though quite thin in appearence, is a powerful muscle which they have rather amazing control of, allowing them to either suck the blood out of their prey through a small opening on the tip, or strangle their food for consumption. However, Xhasa have stated they prefer their to be alive and very alert when they eat them. Finally, the Xhasa have sharp, surrated teeths, which appear to have some silverish coating, is needed to prevent the teeth from cracking or gaining cavities. It is believed their teeth are similar to adamantium in strength. These functions allow the Xhasa to feed efficently, and also serve as potent weapons, and also as marks of strength and power, as male Xhasa will usually show off the size of their teeth, while women usually brag of how long and sharp their tounges are, sometimes putting elaborate piercings or rings of their tounge, while the men have intricate markings cut into their silver teeth.

Psykers
The Xhasa have plenty of sanctioned psykers who were allowed to remain on their homeworld to serve there (as well as an attempt to prevent the Xhasa from spreading to other worlds). They are marked by their heavily tattooed skin, which marks their positions as psykers. During the Age of Apostasy, the people of Ulaka made an agreement with the High Lords of Terra which allowed any psykers born on Ulaka to attain sanctioned status, in return for a group of old STCs they had (the Xhasa had known of the Imperium's search for such items, and fabricated new ones). The Imperium has kept it's word, but the Ordo Heriticus has become rather hostile toward the psykers of Ulaka, believing them not be of the grade needed to serve the Emperor. The psykers of Ulaka are trained at the Grand Citadel of Abeka, where older psykers pass on their knowledge and skills to the newer psykers. The weakest of Ulaka's psykers are sent to Terra to become Astropaths, and the rouge psykers are sent there to feed the Emperor. So far, Ulaka has remained loyal to the Imperium, and there has been no reason thus far to eliminate the inhabitants.

Military
"An army of hungry, cannibalistic humans. With tanks and lasguns. Very...powerful...lasguns. No flashlights here."

- Imperial trader

Xhasa Terror Troops
The Xhasa Terror Troops are the multi-billion man army tasked with protecting both Ulaka and it's assets. It is made up of volunteers trained in the vast barren wastelands of Ulaka. They specialize in terror tactics as their name suggests, as well urban combat, and warfare in hostile terrain. They are usually sent to fight on worlds that are typically undergoing geological development, or torrent worlds where lightning and hurricanes tend to hamper Imperial Guard formations. They are denoted by their black power armor, and silver and gold trims depending on the rank of the wearer. As is the Xhasa way, they usually come with enormous bionic additions, and are completely or partially bald from the increased radition on the homeworld. The standard weaponry of a Xhasa terror trooper is usually a Blazegun, which a deadlier variant of the Hellgun. Blazeguns are quite advanced weapons, and require no energy cell backpacks for power. Additionally, the elite soldiers known as the Flayers, carry Neutron Blasters, which are basically the beefed up versions of the Plasma Guns in the Imperial Guard.

The Xhasa Terror Troops operate primarily within the Vuma Sector, serving in the place of the Imperial Guard, which ceded control of the sector's defences to Ulaka. Thus, it has a hightened alert status, attempting to prevent another Chaos incursion like the once in 988.M41 from happening again. The Inquisition, as is it's habit, keeps a close eye on Ulaka's PDF, ensuring that it remembers to whom it's loyalty belongs. The Terror Troops recruit their members from Ulaka and the surrounding Xhasa colonies, and maintains a standard of quality found on few other worlds. Their technological edge and superior numbers help make up for their slow reaction times due to the limitations of Warp, a problem Xhasa scientists have secretly been trying to bypass. All equipment used by the Terror Troops are produced on Ulaka, do to a hatred of the "poorly designed and fabricated" wares of the Imperial Forge Worlds. One notable fact of the Xhasa Terror Troops is their intergration of both sexes, and their regiments consisting of infantry, armor, and artillery, two things the Imperial Guard has prohibited it's own regiments from doing.

Ulaka Tek-Legions
On worlds where the terrain is too hostile for even the Terror Troops of Ulaka, or where massive casualties are expected, Ulaka makes use of their robotic armies known as the Ulaka Tek-Legions. The Inquitions has attempted to condemn the Xhasa's use of robot soldiers, but both the High Lords of Terra and Ulaka have stated that the Tek-Legionnaries have no A.I., and the Xhasa have even told the Inquisitors to think of the robots as "servo-skulls with bodies", or "servitors with without the flesh". Ulaka has been pushing the limits of their authority, and it's sickening the Inquisition.

Federal Ulaka Navy
As Ulaka is typically avoided by Imperials due to the Xhasa's hunger for the flesh of sentient beings, the planet is thus responsible for it's own protection, which also includes building and maintaining it's navy. The Federal Ulaka Navy is charged with the defense of Ulaka, the Unya system, and the Izimu Sector, all of which have been handed over to the Xhasa by the High Lords of Terra. They did so not because they trust the Xhasa, but because they felt that that region of space, located in the far northeast of Ultima Segmentum, as relatively worthless, and not worth transporting millions of Imperial troops to the sector to defend. The Federal Navy is granted great freedom in handling it's own affairs, maintaining a seperate command structure than the rigidly established one within the Imperial Navy. Do to the freedom granted them, the Navy uses technology significantly more advanced than the Imperium's. In the place of Lance Batteries, the Ulaka Navy makes use of Neutron Cannons, which fire black-in-red lasers, which as about twice as strong as a standard lance.

Culture
The people of Ulaka, known as the Xhasa, are a canniblistic race of cybernetic abhumans, who have built their culture around hate and mistrust of outsiders. As for their canniblistic hungry, it come from the days of regression during the Age of Strife, when the only food on the planet were fellow humans. The Xhasa are thus avoided for that very reason, as they are keen to watch out for any person that is too foolish to stay remain outside of a group. Once alone with a person, a Xhasa will usually attempt to devour them. If the thought of getting eaten by another person wasn't bad enough, the Xhasa have hunting parties which rotiunely travel to other worlds of the Imperium to "harvest" the poor, the homeless, the prisoners, and unwanted nuisances living there, and bring them back to Ulaka for food. Additionally, the Xhasa have even set up internment facilities on the five moons of Ulaka, and filled them with humans from other worlds, who's sole purpose is to serve as a steady food source for Ulaka. A grim fate for any caught by the Xhasa.

On a brighter note, the Xhasa are profilic users of bionics. During the Dark Age of Technology, the world of Ulaka was reknown for it's masterly crafted bionics, the creation of which they saw as an art. Every level of Ulaka society, from the rich to the poor, to the young and the old, has use form of bionics. It is not uncommon for middle-class Xhasa to have a low-grade suit of power armor, or a wealthy Xhasa to have a completely cybernetic body. The Xhasa put in years of work into intricately creating detailed bionics armor and weaponry. They would lovingly design each piece of technology, and ensure that it would come out as a true work of art. Of all of their bionics, the Xhasa are best known for their cybernetic eyes. They replaced their old eyes with ruby gems, with unnoticeable circutry underneath. These gems allow them to see thermal trails, which help them hunt for food. The Xhasa managed to hold on to their ancient, culturally advanced Dark Age culture, in which they see technology as an art within itself.