Fiction:Rebuilding Hel'Va

With their vengeful bloodlust expended, the Fordanta found themselves with a new lease on life. No longer compelled by duty to their Kin to consolidate their power and strike against their perceived enemies, the aliens felt free to return to normal lives. The 'civilian' Guilds, such as the Craftsman's, the Artist's and the Hunter's Guilds all began to take a stronger precedence in the New Fordan Empire. Furthermore, the restrictions preventing civilian Fordanta from colonising new worlds was revoked, allowing former Bastion Worlds and outposts to take on a burst of life, becoming fully-fledged colonies of their own.

This was the case with Hel'Va, quite literally 'Suffering-place' in Basic. The world was known for its inhospitable jungles- inhospitable to most, perhaps, but not the Fordanta. Having been born and raised on a predominantly jungle world themselves, the Fordanta were more than prepared for the challenges that would await them on the world.

Chapter 1: Skyfall
''Two Fordanta, males of very different backgrounds, looked out from a viewing port at the world that was going to be their home for the foreseeable future. It was unremarkable, barely larger than Forda, with an atmosphere to match. There were no pre-existing structures on the planet, that was the job of one of the two, a Master Artificer in the Craftsman's Guild. The other, a Hunstmarshal, was assigned to protect them. The fact that they were blood brothers helped the matter immeasurably.''

Bel'Fa - Magnificent, isn't it brother? To think, soon this world will be dotted with magnificent structures, each a miracle of form and function. And we are its forefathers. Truly, today we pay our debt to our Kin. Val'Ra - Do your duty, brother, and stay out of the way when I do mine. It will serve no purpose to have you dragged off into the jungle by some beast, before I get the chance to put a knife in its brain. Bel'Fa - Fear not for me, brother. I learnt well the value of destruction before I learnt the Craftsman's ways. Val'Ra - Be that as it may, this planet is not populated by Warrior runts. If it were, I would be felling Graahk on Forda. Bel'Fa - And I remember a meek little brother who jumped at closing doors. Val'Ra - That was before I earned this. Bel'Fa - You mean, before I made you that?

Val'Ra hefted his rifle, an ornate Kingslayer'' gauss rifle. True to his word, Bel'Fa had created the massive rifle from scratch, taking into account every aspect of Val'Ra's physiology. The shape and strength of his grip went into the stock, his position when standing, crouched or prone factored into the adjustable stock. The recoil compensators were carefully attuned to his brother's mass, just as the scope was matched to his eye. If anything, the rifle was as much a part of Val'Ra's body as his arms or legs.''

''To match, Bel'Fa carried a rugged but complex plasma rifle, also of his own design. Tributary arcs from three reactors generated the plasma toroid, which could then be released as a concentrated bolt or a wide fan of superheated ions. Furthermore, a grenade launcher was slung under the barrel, with a revolving magazine able to hold four charges. It was from this launcher that Bel'Fa made the most of his training as a War Artificer, deploying all manner of devices, from conventional and EM grenades to adhesive mines, all the way up to deployable turrets and temporary energy shields. Between the two of them, they also carried a wide assortment of knives and other blades, a tribute either to the Hunter's or Warrior's Guild.''

''The brothers stood, and strode off to their respective Guild-Kin. Final landing procedures were in place, and the Fordanta, twenty from the Hunter's Guild, another forty from the Craftsman's Guild, as well as a few from the Logistician's Guild, strapped in to prepare for the descent. The ship plummeted through the planet's atmosphere, before levelling out, slowing its descent and settling in a designated clearing, ready for the Fordanta to begin their work.''