The Moebian Domain is a territory that the
Imperium of Man can ill-afford to lose. Trillions of souls live within its borders
on worlds both ancient and new, and it is their faith and their toil upon which the
Imperium has come to rely. Within the labyrinthine mines of Morax, armies
of thralls strip the minerals and metals so desperately needed by the Domain’s unquenchable
industry. Across Crucus, countless pilgrims flock to
the holy sites of Saint Messelina, their tithes swelling the coffers of the local Ecclesiarchy. On Rocyria, endless farms stretch to every
horizon, their Grox-meat and Algae-sludge the only defense against mass famine on a
dozen neighboring worlds. And over the sparkling oceans of Incron dock
the vast warships of the Imperial navy, a fleet-base and anchorage vital to the entire
sector’s defense. There are no unimportant worlds within the
Moebian Domain. The consequences of losing one would be disastrous,
to lose them all, is unthinkable. The Adeptus Administratum has worked tirelessly
to ensure that the populace of the Moebian Domain persists in ignorance as to the dangers
that surround them. Every citizen is at least vaguely aware that
forces aligned to the Ruinous Powers and hostile Xenos races threaten their survival, but very
few can speak to their specific nature. Collectively, the great enemy of the domain
is known simply as the Darktide. The conflict against the Darktide is similarly
named the “Fringe War'', a deliberate choice meant to imply its distance from the core
worlds of the Domain. Most assume the campaign is being exclusively
waged in some far away border-systems, and perhaps at one time this was true. But while ceaseless broadcasts extoll the
heroic sacrifices of the Moebian Regiments and the tremendous victories they have achieved,
none dare mention that the front lines are far closer than is believed. The Darktide is no longer contained on the
frontier, but in the very heart of the Moebian Domain itself. The battle to survive will not be won or lost
in a faraway theater, but in a single world, a single city. The world is Atoma Prime. The City is… Tertium. Like most Hive Cities across the Imperium,
Tertium is a massive arcology, a self-sufficient urban center within which many tens of billions
will spend their entire lives. Even by Imperial Standards however, it is
unusually widespread. Its foundation stretches for over a hundred
and fifty kilometers, while its tallest spires extend well beyond the planet’s troposphere. Hive City Tertium is an artificial mountain,
a bastion of civilization that rises from the inhospitable surrounding seas of drifting
sands and dust. Generally, Tertium conforms to the typical
layout of an Imperial Hive City and can be grouped into five broad sections. The first and largest is the Lower Hive, which
forms the city’s base. This is by far the most populous section for
it holds much of Tertium’s residential housing and principal industries. The citizens that live here are almost universally
members of the Hive’s enormous workforce, either laboring within enormous industrial
sectors, power plants and manufactoria, or responsible for the endless maintenance required
to keep such areas operational. “Moebian Iron” forms the core of these
industries. It is largely unique to Atoma Prime and renowned
for its valuable metallurgical qualities. While it has been used in a wide variety of
applications, it is most famous for its inclusion in the armor of Moebian-Pattern Leman Russ
Demolisher tanks. These siege-vehicles are produced throughout
the hive-city and are considered essential for the continued persecution of the Fringe
War. As Moebian Iron veins have been increasingly
depleted however, different methods of extracting the remaining traces have been developed. Enormous intakes have become a common sight
across the Lower Hive, part of a crude method of extracting raw ore particulates from the
dust-storms that wreathe the entire world. These intakes wear out rapidly and are constantly
in the process of being replaced, but have helped to sustain the planet’s overall production. The Upperhive is the home of what might be
considered Tertium’s middle-class within the Imperium’s socioeconomic hierarchy. Its residents are typically members of the
Administratum, or other valued Imperial agencies, and include the various bureaucrats, managers,and
officials necessary for the city to function with any degree of efficiency. Merit is rarely enough on its own to secure
a space within the Upperhive. Instead, its comparatively spacious and well-appointed
residences are often gifted to those in some way connected with the Hive’s cultural elite. The elite themselves are found exclusively
within the Spires, enormous structures that extend outwards to form the Hive City’s
tallest points. The Spires possess levels of extravagance
unheard of anywhere else in the hive, with fresh food, advanced medical care and luxury
goods. Imperial nobility, merchants lords, industrial
barons, Church officials and important off-world visitors form the core of its population. As the Capital World of the entire Moebian
Domain, the Spires further host the primary or secondary residences of the planetary governor,
the highest commanders of the Moebian regiments and even Lord Margrave, sector lord of the
entire Moebian Domain. Only immense wealth or power can secure a
spot within the Spires, well beyond what those in the lower levels can hope to amass in even
a thousand lifetimes. The Outskirts form the perimeter of the Hive’s
foundation, where the city collides with the surrounding wastelands. There is a constant battle to keep the outside
elements of Atoma Prime at bay and large sections of the Outskirts have fallen into ruin or
otherwise been swept up by the planet’s prevelent dust storms. Industrial runoff and other pollutants have
made this area toxic to human life, while even the barest amenities of the hive, like
power and water, are intermittent, if not entirely absent. Mutants and other undesirables displaced from
the hive itself often prey upon the Outskirts for resources, with skirmishes across its
sections especially common during the desperate months of the year. Yet the Outskirts are also the one place largely
free from Imperial oversight, and have become a haven for smugglers, mercenaries and all
intrepid souls who desire a life in which they serve no masters but themselves. The last major section of Hive City Tertium
is the Underhive. Reminiscent more of an animal warren than
urban center, it is a collection of ruins and abandoned structures within which the
poorest residents of the Hive have taken refuge. Like the Outskirts, the necessities of life
are rare here, with every utility deliberately severed so as to not be wasted. The Underhive is something of an emergent
prison, a place where gangs, criminals, and the dregs of Tertium society might be left
to die. There is no law within the Underhive, only
the crude decrees of ganglords built upon the tenet of might makes right. A seething, violent anarchy rules the Underhive,
one that has come to hate all those, rich and poor alike, within the other sections
of the Hive City. Each section of the Hive City has been constructed
from hundreds of thousands of urban blocks, specialized to fulfill a certain need. The most common are habitation and industrial
blocks, though transit, religious, administrative, Arbites, military and countless other kinds
of blocks have been scattered across Tertium. At one time these would have been placed in
such a way as to facilitate the easy and efficient movement of the Hive’s workforce and the
materials they produce, but millennia of urban decay have perverted the city’s original
design. Through the Age of the Imperium, blocks added
to Tertium have been placed haphazardly with little consideration given to their effect
on the greater Hive. Smelter complexes are located on top of residential
clusters or Missile propellent silos built alongside temperamental power matrixes. Entire levels of the hive might have only
a scattered few Precinct Fortresses while others might be overburdened with twice as
many as they require. The newest blocks are increasingly built wherever
it is deemed easiest, and many are completely useless, too distant from the supporting blocks
necessary for their operation. Additionally, the once distinct nature of
blocks has been eroded by those that live or work within them. Living space is always in hopeless demand
and it is common for rudimentary, ramshackle residences to be constructed within every
kind of block, particularly in those located too far from purpose-built residential zones. Likewise, abandoned structures within the
Hive will invariably be retrofitted, at various levels of proficiency, to include new homes,
markets and everything else required by its residents. This can be particularly dangerous, as those
desperate enough to move to an abandoned are, are not always able to accurately discern
what has been abandoned. Entire communities have been incinerated after
being constructed within smelters incorrectly believed to have been deactivated. The risk however, is always outweighed by
the thought of having a few extra square meters to live, and in this sense, every block within
Tertium might be considered a habitation block. The extent of these modifications has even
begun to deteriorate the divisions between the various sections, and it can be difficult
to ascertain where the border between the Upper and Lower Hive truly is. Enclaves of luxury might be found within slums,
while urban rot and those who dwell in such places exist even in the highest spires. Only the border to the Underhive remains conspicuous,
guarded by elements of the Adeptus Arbites or Militarum. Their presence here is not triviral. Rumors continue to swirl that a new power
is growing within the lowest levels of Tertium, something far more dangerous, from which even
the most violent gangs have been forced to flee. That battle tanks and anti-aircraft batteries
have been mobilized within the Hive City itself would seem to support these rumors, and it
is whispered that the Imperial Inquisition itself has taken interest in the area. Gunships and troop transports are now a common
sight across the Lower Hive, conducting sorties deep into the lower levels and depositing
groups of Inquisition-aligned agents; condemned prisoners if the rumors can be believed. That Hive City Tertium faces a new threat
to its existence is now obvious beyond even the ability of Lord Margrave to suppress. But in what is likely its darkest hour, there
are still signs of hope for the teeming billions that call the city home. For millennia, the Moebian Regiments deployed
to the Fringe War have held back the Darktide, and none have accrued more honors than the
famed Moebian 6th. They have been deployed back to Hive Tertium,
a city many of its guardsmen call home, and their deployment within the city has revitalized
its population. In their fighting on the battlefields of the
fringe, the 6th have come to understand a great truth to the universe, and are now determined
to use this knowledge for the betterment of all those in Tertium. The challenges they face are almost insurmountable,
the rigid hierarchy of a corrupted system, the intolerance of a fanatical church, and
ignorance in those who should be natural allies. But with truth, also comes power, and the
Moebian 6th is said to have been blessed with the gifts of the divine. Wherever they advance, life flourishes in
their wake, in such abundance and diversity never seen before on the planet. Laughter too might be heard, amidst all the
effervescent sounds of regeneration. If the 6th is successful, if they can convince
the Hive of the power of Admonition, then Tertium might be reborn. It will stand atop Atoma Prime not as a pile
of crumbling adamantium or rockcrete, but as a vibrant living oasis, an incubator for
every fertile seed, and wondrous dream. A garden worthy of the Grandfather.
