Tech-Enclaves of Phoebe
The Tech-Enclaves of Phoebe, also known as the Phoebian Tech-Enclaves, were a secretive tech cabal, who ruled the Saturn moon Phoebe and created the Saturnine Terminator Armour for the Emperor.[1a]
History
Little is known about the Tech-Enclaves' earliest history, save that they were exiled from Mars' Mechanicum before the Age of Strife. The cabal later settled on Phoebe and came to rule the moon, though they kept themselves entirely secluded. This lasted until 797.M30, when the Emperor of the Imperium secretly met with the Tech-Enclaves, even as His forces fought to conquer Saturn and Jupiter,[1a] shortly after the Unification Wars.[1b] Their meeting is not documented in any record, but by the time it was over, the Emperor had forged a compact with the Tech-Enclaves, called the Phoebian Accord. The terms for this agreement, were separate from the Mechanicum's Treaty of Olympus and ensured the Tech-Enclaves kept their independence, while also placing them under the Emperor's direct protection.[1a]
In return, the cabal had to pay the Emperor a tithe and He charged the Tech-Enclaves with creating the Saturnine Terminator Armour.[1a] This was because the Enclaves' divergence from the Mechanicum had granted them the capability to create designs from the Dark Age of Technology. In addition to providing the armour for the Space Marine Legions and ensuring their maintenance during the Great Crusade,[1b] the Tech-Enclaves also had to give the Emperor any inventions they created in the future.[1c] The Saturnine Dreadnought was a part of this agreement, but the cabal was never able to get it past the prototype stage.[1d] Also in accordance to the Accord, the Tech-Enclaves sent attachés of Phoebian Tech-Wrights to each Legion, as only the cabal could maintain the Saturnine armour.[1b]
However, this proved to be problematic as the Great Crusade wore on and its Expeditionary Fleets outgrew the number of Tech-Wrights the Enclaves could send. Eventually, many fleets were forced to keep their damaged Saturnine Terminator Armour in storage, until they took on Tech-Wrights or returned to the Sol System. By the end of the Great Crusade, this limitation had led the Saturnines to be replaced by the more easily available and repairable Cataphractii and Tartaros Terminator Armours. The Salamanders Primarch Vulkan, sought to rectify this[1c] and he succeeded in learning how to repair the Saturnines, without the Enclaves aid. Vulkan also discovered how to create several versions of the armour and went on to share all of this knowledge with his brother Primarchs. This then gave the Legions and the Mechanicum the ability to create and maintain their suits of Saturnine armours. Vulkan was also able to revive the Saturnine Dreadnought and he figured out how to get it into mass production.[1d]
The Horus Heresy began soon after Vulkan's breakthrough[1d] and several Legions went on to create their own variants of the Saturnine Terminator Armour as well. Because of this, the suits created by the Tech-Enclaves became known as Phoebian-issue Saturnine Armour.[1e][1f]
