Gang Briefing: Band of Basterds

Band

Of

Basterds

By Chief Scrivener Hannan

Vae Salubrious Subsector, .M41

Deep in the darkest recesses of some of the seediest places in the Imperium, there are those who live permanently beyond the reach of the law.  For some, this is a welcome freedom, and for others it can be a death sentence with no hope of reprieve.  Unsurprisingly, in some of the most lawless reaches, folks take action into their own hands when the time comes for fighting.  Others hire mercenaries.

In the Vae Salubrious subsector, mercenaries roam all over the space lanes.  Recently there has been a surge in the number of available mercenary companies, but these are usually limited to a single world or system.  Alarmingly, at least one company of drifting mercenaries seems to have been spotted all over the subsector, appearing in documentation across no less than seven worlds.  These are the outlaws the Adeptus Arbites are keenly interested in – the Band of Basterds.

Mercenary Vendettas

            The Band consists of several ex-guardsmen who have banded together after their unit was granted settlement rights after it was almost wiped out.  Only a few dozen remained after the carnage of their old battles, which may have been the wars of heresy on Lucruzu Primus.  They possess several weapons, and the skill to use heavier, Munitorum issue arms and explosives.  The skills of the various fugitives combine to make a quite effective team that is entirely for hire, anywhere in the subsector.

            This is the most alarming problem.  It seems the Band of Basterds is able to move about the Vae Salubrious subsector.  They have been pursued by authorities on Abraxia, Attono Vittium, Praesaepes Caementum, Corgarth Contineo, Lucruzu Prime, Velan Thracia and even Vae Salubrious itself.  How this can be is uncertain, but what is certain is the fact that the Inquisition would be highly interested in their activities especially where warp travel is concerned.

            It isn’t entirely known where the Band’s loyalty truly lies.  They have committed crimes against Imperial Law and do not seem to be repentant.  Last known activity for the Band was around Velan Thracia, but it is suspected by the Judges pursuing them that they have made it offworld to parts unknown.  The full extent of this threat has yet to be determined, but in some places the stories of mercenaries being hired to attack Imperial authorities are becoming legend.