Human Space: Arqualan the Glorious

Since Time Immemorial, Arqualan has been one of the great bastions of humanity. Competing legends hold that the world was terraformed by the first great wave of settlers from Earth or that it was seeded with human slaves by the Adversary who won their freedom even before the defeat of the Reticulans. Perhaps both are true.

In any event, Arqualan was venerable even at the founding of the old Solomani Imperium. Ectin the Great afforded it special rights in recognition of its ancient glory, including Salvage, Hyperspace Jetsam, and Treasure Trove, notably giving it sole claim over any stargates, spacehulks, and antecessor artifacts. The great world was even afforded the rare rights of Imperio Sol, by which Arqualan was free to independently colonize and rule other bodies in system, and Fleet and Ferry, which permitted the Arqi to raise their own fleets and armies and transport them offworld without notice to the Emperor.

The major reason for Arqualan’s timeless significance is because it is one of the Hub Worlds worlds of the Pontus Shell, sitting astride some of the most important stable hyperspace corridors in human space. As such, it has figured prominently in galactic history even during the inevitable cycles of civlizational decay and collapse which even the proud Arqi are not immune to. For most of the last millennium, Arqualan has been a third rate power at best, a jewel in the crown of conquerors rather than its own master. But much has changed in the last two centuries, beginning with the Androvin Crusade, which ended the domination of the petty foreign oligarchs and restored the monarchy. Amid its cultural renaissance, Arqualan has become a first rate power once again, as proved by victories against its human rivals in the Pontus Shell and against the alien Nevoar and Saharduin.

In the crisis on Xiandao, the Arqi see a challenge worthy of them, and a chance to reclaim their ancient mantle as leaders of humanity. Thus, the emperor dispatched an entire Tacma (roughly equivalent to the old galactic standard ‘Surface Group’ of 16 million men) to destroy the Blessed Concordance. Alas, the bulk of the fleet did not arrive before the Night of Comets, leaving only a handful of advanced units in position to carry out the fight. The Arqi have concentrated their forces in the Interzolia region, forming the nucleus of the Eighty Power Alliance forces there.

Arqualan
Planetary Type: Terrestrial
Surface Gravity: 1.14 G
Atmosphere: 1A (Human breathable gas, ideal pressure and temperature)
Climate: Variable Frigid through Tropical; Intermittent polar icing
Surface Coverage: 4:1 Oceanic/Land
Biosphere: Probable Terraformed, DNA-based
Demonym: Arqi
Governance: Imperial (House of Androvin)

The armies raised on Arqualan must rate among the finest in the Pontus Shell. Besides an ancient and honorable martial tradition, Arqualan and its moons provide a versatile and autarchic industiral base free from the stultifying control of the Consensus of Moravech and its Court of Reason. Arqulalan’s navy, numbering tens of thousands of fighting ships, supports one of the most extensive and sophisticated logistical systems in the Imperial military. These factors allow them to field more expensive and resource-intensive formations, including mechanized infantry, exo-armored heavy infantry, and interface landing units. Arqi forces are therefore more technologically advanced than the galactic average, with a mobility rivaling that of the Void Knight legions.

Besides this level of technical sophistication, one of the most notable deviations from the contemporary standard is that the Arqi eschew beam weapons in favor of projectile arms. Whether in the form of the rugged and simple caseless autoguns or the more complex and expensive magrifles, projectile weapons are favored for their reliable performance in all weather and environments, whereas the added logistical burden is easily taken up by their supply corps. Laser and particle beam weapons are still employed where they are better suited, however, including sniping, anti-aircraft, and void operations. 

Because of their more complicated supply train and their focus on combined arms, the Arqi consider the brigade, rather than the regiment or columnus, to be the smallest formation capable of long-term, independent operation. A typical interface (dropship) brigade deployed for off-world operations might include a regiment of light infantry (Armavantz), two heavy (exo-armored) or mechanized infantry regiments, an armored support company, and two atmospheric aviation squadrons (typically one combatant and one transport). Battlefield artillery is usually provided from orbit, but when heavy artillery concentrations are needed on the ground, they are typically organized at the divisional level. 

Sample Infantry Company

Abel Company, 11th Arqualan Interface Regiment

-Three (3) Mobile Infantry (Intavari) platoons (manuido), each consisting of:

• Three (3) infantry squads (digido) of 12 men
• One (1) command section of 6 men
• One (1) light support section of 6 men and 2 rapid-fire mortars
• One (1) aviation support section of 2 technicians and 12-24 guardian angels
• Five(5) Chimera or Sirrush APCs

-One (1) Infantry Fire Support platoon, consisting of:

• Three (3) infantry squads of 4 men with exo-frames and heavy weapons
• Three (3) Chimera or Sirrush APCs

-One (1) Heavy Infantry (Destrini) platoon, consisting of:

• Three (3) squads of 6 men in powered armor
• Three (3) Automat drone tanks
• One (1) command section of 6 men in powered armor
• Four (4) Chimera or Sirrush APCs

-One (1) Command platoon, consisting of:

• Two (2) infantry squads of 12 men 
• Company Commander (Captain/Hectopol or Major/Mestropol)
• First Sergeant
• Forward Air Controller and Gunwasp
• Communications detachment of four musicians
• Medical detachment of 4 chirurgeons and multiple servitors
• Five (5) Chimeras or Sirrush APCs

A similarly organized airborne/spaceborne regiment would omit the Chimeras and Sirrushes and each man would be equipped with a grav-drogue.

Most of the advanced force that had landed on Xiandao are in the Interzolia region, headquartered in Lanziago, with forward elements on the frontier. During the Night of Comets, several more units landed at the Lost Hope spaceport and are isolated on Fire Island. Among the most important units are the aforementioned 11th Arqualan Interface Regiment, 99th and 4452nd Naval Infantry Battalions, Naval Beachmaster and Construction Group 4, 64th Arqualan Dromathestra (armored cavalry brigade), and various elements of His Imperial Majesty’s Somuzan Cataphracts (elite armor brigade).