Geno Five-Two Chiliad
"Company first, Imperium second. Geno before gene."[1g]
The Geno Five-Two Chiliad was a regiment of the Imperial Army raised on Terra, one of the Old Hundred, those Terran military formations that the Emperor allowed to continue past Unification and on into the Great Crusade.[1c]
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Regimental History
Originating on Terra during the Unification Wars, the Geno Five-Two Chiliad were selected to be one of the Terran military formations allowed to continue fighting under the banner of the Emperor, and were part of the initial Crusade force sent out into the galaxy. As such, by the approach of the Horus Heresy, they had one of the longest and finest military histories of any Imperial unit.[1c]
The Geno Five-Two Chiliad fought throughout the Great Crusade, but their most notable actions were those under the command of Lord Commander Teng Namatjira, where they battled the heretical forces present on the world of Nurth[1c], and then were deployed — and subsequently lost — in mysterious circumstances upon the world of 42 Hydra Tertius around 003.M31.[1i]
A group of Excertus Imperialis troops including at least some of the Five-Two was seen during the Siege of Terra. These sharpshooters put down Sons of Horus legionaries with high-power shots to the head during an ambush alongside what remained of the Templars.[2]
Notable Campaigns
- Unification Wars — The Chiliad fought on Terra, pledged to the Emperor's service.[1c]
- Great Crusade[1c]
- Siege of Terra — Units seen aiding the Templars.[2]
Organisation
The Geno was formed of one thousand companies. More akin to a brigade, the regiment appeared to treat the company as the primary tactical unit, assigning one or more to every undertaking that came their way. As such, each company - while being mainly an infantry unit - possessed enough organic armour and supply elements to sustain it in the field.[1c]
Regimental Hierarchy
- Uxor Primus: Overall command rank for the regiment.[1h]
- Uxor: Command rank, having authority over one or more companies and/or part of the regiment's logistics and intelligence departments.[1a][1c][1e]
- Genewhip: Political Officer. Responsible for regulating Chiliad's ethos, maintaining conduct and morale, and enforcing discipline.[1f]
- Hetman: Company Commander. Apparently the most senior military rank achievable in the Geno, due to its nature as a brigade of companies.[1c]
- Bashaw: Subordinate rank to Hetman, several in a company.[1c]
- Trooper: the lowest and most numerous rank in the Geno, that of front-line soldier. Selected to be at peak physical condition.[1f]
Notable Commanders
- Uxor Honen Mu[1b]
- Uxor Rukhsana Saiid[1b]
- Hetman Hurtado Bronzi, "Jokers" Company.[1b]
- Hetman Dimitar Shiban, "Clowns" Company.[1b]
- Hetman Peto Soneka, "Dancers" Company.[1b]
Equipment
The Geno wore a bulky-seeming uniform that nevertheless allowed them to operate with some grace of movement. A thick leather and armourchain bodyglove formed the main item of clothing, with waist-length coats and waist-length capes of yellow merdacaxi (a Terran variety of silk) commonly worn over the top. Their armour segments were lined with fur, and coats and capes were embroidered with company symbols and other military devices. Helmets were of the spiked variety, either in orange or silver and often trimmed with beads or fur. Standard issue gear was carried in a lightweight pack, with a long sword-bayonet slung at the waist. Uxors wore black, lightweight variants of the uniform, often covered over with grey cloaks or coats.[1c]
The standard issue weapon of the Geno was the lascarbine, with support weapons being RPG-sowers, fire poles and support cannons.[1c] In conjunction with ranged weapons, troopers carried telescopic pikes: these could extend to reach 10 metres, were lined with las-spines at the tip of the blade, and had gravitic counterweights at the base of the haft.[1h] Additional equipment issued during the Nurth campaign consisted of glare-shades and liqnite sprayers.[1c]
They possessed some amounts of light armour, such as the Centaur Carrier[1c], and transport vehicles such as the Scarab[1d].
Recruitment
A genic unit, the Geno Five-Two Chiliad bred the majority of their manpower, in a tradition of genetic engineering that was said to have been part of what inspired the Emperor to create the Primarchs and their Legions. The standard Geno troops, being genetically selected, all displayed physical characteristics deemed preferential for a warrior; they were big, tough, muscular men. Junior officers, normally selected from the troopers, appeared similar.[1c][1e]
In order to keep the gene-stock fresh and to ensure flexibility and originality of thought, the senior fighting rank in the Geno, that of Hetman, was only open to non-Uterine soldiers—resulting in these officers usually not being as physically impressive as their subordinates. There was no shortage of recruits for this position, due to the reputation of the regiment.[1c][1e]
The highest rank in the regiment was that of Uxor, a position only able to be held by women. Upon selection for the future position of Uxor, teenage girls had their ovaries removed and stored in the regiment's gene-banks, there to be used in conjunction with the gene-codes of established martial lines. The resultant children were born to be Geno warriors and uxors. An additional part of the process, not fully understood, resulted in the awakening of extremely weak psychic powers in the female candidates. These powers typically took the form of a 'felt connection' to their men, and an ability to perceive their operational situation at a higher level. This manifested practically on the battlefield as a quicker and more intelligent response to strategic situations, and a well-informed command tree. Known as "'cept", this power burned out quickly, with the result that most uxors became powerless as they approached the age of thirty, thus lessening their usefulness, and their having typically slim and small frames, with their aides being teenage girls.[1d][1e] Removal from command and reassignment to other duties (e.g. medicae, cartomancer, or Munitorum commander)[1d] quickly followed the loss of 'cept, and it was an uxor's responsibility to train at least one aide, or junior, in order to replace her.[1]
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Trivia
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Etymology
- Uxor is the Latin word for wife.
- A hetman is a political title from Central and Eastern Europe, historically assigned to military commanders. For example the highest military officers in the hetmanates area of modern Ukraine, the Zaporizhian Host, and the Ukrainian State of 1918 (also called the Second Hetmanate) were called hetman. The title hetman was used by Ukrainian Cossacks from the 16th Century. It was also the title of the second-highest military commander in the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from the 16th to the 18th Century. Used by the Czechs in Bohemia since the 15th Century, in the modern Czech Republic the title is used for regional governors. Throughout much of the history of Romania and the Moldavia, hetmans were the second-highest army rank.
- Bashaw is the anglicised version of Pasha, a senior rank in the Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignitaries, and others. Pasha was also one of the highest titles in the 20th Century Kingdom of Egypt. The title was also used in Morocco in the 20th Century, where it denoted a regional official or governor of a district.
- Chiliad is late Latin for a set of 1,000 elements.
