Letum
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This article is about the Calixis Sector world; for the Cemetery World, see Letum (Cemetery World). |
| Map | Basic Data | Planetary Image | |
|---|---|---|---|
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Name: | Letum | 
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| Segmentum: | Segmentum Obscurus | ||
| Sector: | Calixis Sector | ||
| Subsector: | The Periphery | ||
| System: | Annihilius System | ||
| Population: | |||
| Affiliation: | Ork / Formerly Imperium | ||
| Class: | Frontier World | ||
| Tithe Grade: | |||
Letum is an Ork Frontier World and the 6th world of the Annihilius System in the Periphery Sub-Sector in the Calixis Sector.[1]
Contents
Climate and Geography
Letum is a temperate and agreeable world of broad savannahs, rolling, grass-covered plains, vast, sweeping steppe land, and low and ancient mountains. It is blessed with untold hectares of fertile, arable land, and numerous, easy to reach veins of strategically important ores and precious gems.[1]
History
Settlement
Until a few centuries ago, Letum was nothing more than a footnote on a chart of possible inhabitable worlds drawn up for a Rogue Trader house who made their money shuttling colonists to and from the Calixis Sector. Recently rediscovered by an Imperial Navy reconnaissance group, Letum shows no sign of ever having been inhabited by humans. Further study by both the Imperial Navy and the Adeptus Mechanicus revealed no man or xenos-made structures anywhere on the world, and a generally unspoilt planet, ripe for colonization and exploitation.[1]
Almost immediately upon news of Letum’s rediscovery reaching the capital world of Scintilla, colony ships set out with charters from the numerous branches of the Adeptus Terra, the Calixian Synod, and the Adeptus Mechanicus to carve out their territories and get down to the business of settling this promising new world.[1]
For decades, the population on Letum grew by leaps and bounds, bolstered by both rising birthrates among the first generations of settlers and by the constant influx of new pilgrims. Villages grew into towns, consolidated, and grew into great cities. Agri-colonies sprang up, harvesting the native grasses and grains and tilling the rich soil to plant cash crops for export back to the Calixis Sector. Industrial concerns, both private and set up by the Priesthood of Mars, grew up around the numerous mines, drawing their power from smouldering geothermal furnaces constructed kilometres beneath the planet’s surface.[1]
As Letum grew, its communities never lost the frontier mentality developed during their first hungry and backbreaking years. Extended family groups grew and lived together, and a feeling of shared sacrifice and the strong Imperial work ethic informed the day to day lives of the settlers. Driven to perform great feats of industry and creation, the people of Letum built their cities, tilled their land, dug their deep mines, and settled in for a long and fruitful existence.[1]
Arrival of Waaagh! Grimtoof
Initial contact between the Imperium and the forces of Waaagh! Grimtoof occurred near Letum and was made by the Imperial Navy picket ship, Vindication. The vessel was part of a small squadron assigned to orbital duties over Letum, tasked with guiding inbound and outbound void traffic and safeguarding cargo convoys from pirate and scavenger activity.[1]
While on station near the system's Oort cloud, Vindication encountered the Ork fleet without warning. The Greenskin vessels emerged from the Warp in sudden, chaotic fashion, filling the surrounding void with crude, massive warships. There was no formal challenge or vox transmission—only a garbled, gleeful burst of Orkish gibberish followed by a devastating volley of fire from over a dozen Ork warships.[1]
Vindication was destroyed within moments, torn apart in a barrage of broadsides. Her remains, aflame and lifeless, drifted outward into the system’s frozen perimeter. No distress signal was transmitted, and the Ork commander, styling himself "Kommodore", immediately mobilised his battlegroup toward the heart of the system.[1]
Within hours, the Ork fleet had established orbit over Letum. The remaining Imperial Navy vessels attempted a valiant defence, deploying both mainline voidships and squadrons of Aeronautica fighters. However, unprepared for the scale and aggression of the xenos assault, the Imperial defence crumbled. One by one, the ships of the Emperor fell—burning wreckage spiralling down into Letum’s atmosphere, leaving the system vulnerable and aflame.[1]
Following the destruction of the Imperial Navy squadron in orbit, the planet Letum was left completely defenceless. With no standing Imperial Guard garrison present, planetary defence fell to local enforcer cadres and loosely organised militia forces composed of merchants, farmers, and miners. Despite their lack of training and equipment, these citizen-soldiers resisted the xenos invasion with notable bravery, mirroring the valiant effort of the voidsmen who had already perished above.[1]
The effort, however, was in vain. Ork landas disgorged swarms of Greenskins into the cities and farmlands, and the militias were swiftly overrun. Ill-equipped and overwhelmed, the defenders were slaughtered with ease. Civilians fled en masse, carrying only what they could to local shelters or wilderness hideaways. The Orks ravaged the settlements, engaging in their typical practices of looting, arson, and indiscriminate slaughter. Anyone not quick or fortunate enough to escape was either killed or captured.[1]
Occupation of Letum
After several weeks of unrelenting violence, the invasion transitioned into a crude occupation. With their bloodlust temporarily sated, Kommodore Sunsmasha, the Ork commander of the assault, began imposing some semblance of order. Survivors were rounded up, sorted, and divided. Some were enslaved and loaded aboard Ork transports to be delivered to Warlord Grimtoof for use elsewhere in the Waaagh! Others were forced to remain on Letum, pressed into labour under the direction of Ork overseers.[1]
Work camps were established in the planet’s fields, mines, and foundries. Colonists were made to toil under the brutal eyes of Mekboyz, Runtherds, and a horde of Gretchin minders. Human labour now fuels the Ork war machine, with every crop harvested and every mineral extracted going toward sustaining Waaagh! Grimtoof's ongoing expansion.[1]
Present Situation
The surviving population of Letum now endures a daily regime of forced labour and surveillance. Constant supervision by Ork forces and their underlings prevents any organised resistance or communication beyond the planet. Slaves are herded from pens to labour sites and back again under threat of violence or execution.[1]
Despite these grim conditions, the human spirit has not been extinguished. A defiant frontier resilience persists among the inhabitants. It is believed that, should aid ever arrive—particularly in the form of a full Astra Militarum liberation force—the people of Letum would rise up en masse to cast off their chains and aid in the planet’s liberation.[1]
See also
Sources
- 1: Only War: Enemies of the Imperium, pgs. 40 - 41
