A Hive world located in the far east of the Omasix sector of the Imperium of Man. Hakran is a highly militarised planet with an atmosphere with large percentages of sulphur and other toxic elements. It provided large quantities of industrial goods and military supplies to the surrounding worlds as well as a high number of highly regarded Astra Militarum Regiments. The planet has been locked in a civil war since mid M36. Both factions swear fealty to the Emperor and so are allowed to continue battling each other. Many actively praise the process as it has resulted in veteran forces of PDF and Imperial Guard which make up large quantities of the sub-sectors planet side forces.
History[]
Pre-Imperium[]
Prior to the great crusade, Hakran was a relatively well developed world with a large population and diverse biosphere. Whilst Warp storms separated it from many of the other worlds around it, they also offered a degree of protection, few threats presented themselves through the turbulent passages. Hakrans technology was well preserved, utilising designs from a semi-functional STC device buried within the bulk of the planetary capital; Hive Baska
The planets society was militarised and regimented, with nearly all resources focused towards planetary defence. Warp storms may have prevented many Xenos from approaching the system, but Ork raids were a common occurrence. Many war-bands and Entire Waaagh!s were directed to the world, the Greenskins viewing the planet as an intense challenge to their might. Space hulks were deposited into the system with surprising frequency, often remaining corporeal just long enough to deposit millions of Greenskins onto Hakrans surface before disappearing again.
Another threat came in the form of warring interstellar powers that had grown around them. Humanity had survived in uprising numbers at the far edge of the Galaxy, and had even begun to form small Cliques and factions, concerned only with growing their own power. Whenever warp storms subsided, whichever of these powers currently reigned supreme would attempts to conquer the planet. Hakran was considered a mighty prize, with its technology and growing population being a theoretical boon to any that claimed it. In reality, these attempts at occupation concluded in the same way so many Ork warbands had, total destruction of any forces on the planet.
Hakran grew to prefer its isolation, with the occasional space hulk and Greenskin hunt much less devastating that the often short and bloody attempts at conquest that came whenever they were introduced to the forces that surrounded them.
Intergration[]
Like much of the Omasix sector, integration into the Imperium occurred violently. Many of the surrounding worlds banded together and attempted to fight the Imperial Navy in the void, only for their ships to be destroyed and subsequently overrun planetside. By contrast Hakran simply waited for the Imperial Army to reach them, and engaged on their own terms. Their equipment and tactics were similar to Imperial models and the STC buried near the planets core continued to churn out advanced equipment that would otherwise be impossible to maintain. Another advantage came in the form of roaming Ork bands. Whilst the local military was well aware of them, the invading Imperium was not. One several occasions, Hakran troops ambushed Imperial troops by luring Ork clans to the invaders rear, causing severe damage.
Eventually however, the planet conceded. Astartes forces caused major damage to the Hives infrastructure and leadership, effectively resulting in much of civil society breaking down and becoming unable to operate their defences. The Imperial Army began a planet wide purge of Greenskins, although the process would never be completed.
Many in the Imperium were impressed by Hakrans military intellect and resilience, this combined with their willingness to fall in line with the Imperiums own heavily militarised culture led to a uprising amount of trust. The military government was replaced with a feudal one in line with the rest of the Imperium, although the military did retain a great deal of political power and control. Before long Hakran was designated and a local bastion from which Imperial troops would barrack and when necessary violently return worlds to the Emperors control. So far from Terra, secession was a constant threat, one that Hakran troops took extremely seriously.
Horus Heresy[]
The Heresy occurred only a few scant years after the Omasix sector had been established. Much of the ruling class wished to retake their personal fiefdoms and broke away from the Imperium almost as soon as news of the betrayal arrived. Whilst a number of these worlds and systems pledged loyalty to Horus or other Empyrial forces, the majority had no interest in galactic affairs. Even before the local Imperial forces had begun to reorganise several border skirmishes over territorial claims had erupted into a small scale war.
With only a few hundred planets and a minor contingent of the Imperial Navy, the process of retaking the sector was lengthy and brutal. Being the only world that maintained a contingent of Imperial Army forces, Hakran was forced to the front of the conflict.
Illyichs' Mutiny[]
Over the space of nearly six millenia, the Noble houses of Hakran began to strip and pollute the world beyond recognition. The planets atmosphere thickened and heated, eventually releasing sulphur deposits under the surface, making the atmosphere unbreathable. Whilst degradation of technology in the Omasix sector was significantly slower and less pronounced than elsewhere in the Imperium, it did occur. This, combined with the general callousness of the Nobility led to a dramatic decrease in the quality of their subjects. Protests began to erupt spontaneously across the planet, and were violently quashed.
It was from this that Vadim Illyich began his mutiny. Working for nearly twenty years in a manufactorum in Hakrans capital Hive, Illyich spontaneously decided to abandon his position in order to travel as much as he could through the Hive in search of purpose. Over the course of nearly two decades he made his way from the Underhive to the Spires of merchant clans, falsifying hundreds of identities throughout the time. What he found continually enraged him. Loyal workers, devoted to the Emperor, slaving away simply to enrich those above them, receiving nothing for their servitude. Billions of souls toiled to provide for the Emperors needs, only to have his gifts snatched away from them from those that had never worked a day in their lives.
The mutiny itself took a further decade to organise. Illyich quickly became a folk hero, helping those in need and enlightening all those that would listen. The first steps was teaching Hive Baskas' workers that they could not rely on any institution loyal to the Nobility. Arbites were forced out and replaced with patrols made up of local volunteers. Ministorum priests