Xomia "Youngbloods"

author's note- if it's written in the present tense the "present" I'm writing is the years following the first Tyranic War(early 750s)

History
The Xomia(Zo-mee- ya) “Youngbloods” were the 1st Imperial Guard unit founded on Xomia. 6 generations of war against Orks (represented by the 6 pointed star) had left them isolated from other Imperial worlds that assumed them lost when the Orks first landed. They were forced into fortress cities in mountain valleys and fortified farming outposts that ensured the people could stay strong and continue to fight. They became a world of survivors with each family producing at least one soldier. But with each generation they got better at fighting and life slowly began to improve. When contact was finally restored The Youngbloods were established according to Imperial Guard guidelines and with help from the newly arrived reinforcements from the Kashidaan worlds and the Khazamga 7th, all of which had a reputation as Ork fighters, finished the job.

Uniform flak helmet with goggles

flak armor painted in gray and black with matching cammo

tall steel toed boots with steel buckles.

black fingerless gloves unit patch on the right shoulder- a bloody sword flanked by 2 6 pointed stars.

Equipment
Infantry- bullpup lasgun with bayonet

fighting knife(clip point with a serrated edge)

single handed mattock with a metal handle,

auto pistol

2 frag grenades and 2 krak grenades

Armor- the same but missing the grenades, and with a shotgun instead of the grenades. officers fought alongside their men and so used the same equipment- the only difference was rank markers on the sleeves

Structure
8 companies of 200 each A company is commanded by a captain (the 8 captains act as the Colonel’s “War Council”)

who oversees

•	20 squads of 10 men led by a Sgt.

•	1 man in each squad is a heavy gunner armed with a lascannon.

•	1 man in each squad is a grenadier.

•       2 Chimeras

1st company “The Honored”

the veterans of the regiment, the Colonel was always promoted from within the 1st company only those with 10 or more years of service were eligible.

Bloodbound
It was not uncommon to find mixed gender couples within the ranks of the Youngbloods and other Xomia regiments. The commanders did not encourage it outright but did not discourage it either. In these “Bloodbound” pairings a female soldier chose the man she thought most worthy of her attentions due to some heroic action and if the man in question wished to keep her he had to continue to impress her. (gifts of Ork teeth or scrap metal converted into jewelry or hair pins usually helped too...) These often grew into real love and their commanding officer, acting as a legal representative of the government would marry them in a “field wedding”(often done en masse), painting their helmets to mark them as “Bloodbound”

Xomia marriage customs
marriage within the family was fine as long as they were distant relatives 3rd cousins at the very least but most married outside it. in such cases married couples kept their own surnames, The children of these marriages chose which surname they wished to use, leading to a confusing situation to outsiders when siblings did not have the same last name. The families of married couples would be allied. This system led to a series of interlocking family loyalties which served them very well.

Aghvani Derian and Avetis Azarian
Aghvani Derian first became aware of her future husband, Avetis Azarian, when he saved her pinned down squad from a Wartrukk with a well aimed grenade. She decided he was worthy of her when he broke his knife in a Nob's skull. It failed to kill the Ork so she jumped in to help him. Her precision fire distracted the Nob long enough for Azarian to finish the job.

He gave her a gift of the Nob's teeth and she invited him to a family dinner when their PDF unit returned home. They fought together for close to 3 years, her shooting skills and his skill with blades complimenting each other perfectly, before he proposed marriage using a ring made from a piece of a spent shell casing. She accepted and they were married, their skills earned them command of the 2nd company of the newly formed "Youngbloods"

Relations
Though the Xomia were not a part of The Kashidaan Cluster they maintained good relations with them and like the Kashidaan worlds their Chimeras were built on Medici and shipped to their world aboard Medici vessels. They got along especially well with the Szerkasians, neither of them cared about social niceties and were concerned only with survival and enjoying themselves when the fighting was over.