Kerberos

[SUBJECT TO GM REVIEW]

Kerberos XI is an archaeotech space station that was discovered in the Triton sector fifty years ago, when the sector was reclaimed. It's discovery was by none other than Rogue Trader Ajax Nestor VII of House Nestor, where he found it past the Cygnus Arm on the edge of the known Universe. Kerberos XI has become the de facto Primary Imperial settlement of the Sector.

It was named by Lord Nestor, upon claiming the station in the name of his House. Kerberos is his own affectation, but the XI is in reference to the XI symbol that has been engraved frequently throughout the architecture. This has lead to wild speculation that the station may be connected to the lost legion XI. Perhaps the most intriguing feature to lend credibility to this claim is the fact that all data, physical and electronic has been purged from the ship, presumably before being set adrift towards the warp rift.

Kerberos XI sits at the focal point of a Warp Rift in the sector named the Proteus Cascade. It has evolved into a neutral ground for any and all parties who wish to meet.

House Nestor
House Nestor is one of the most powerful Rogue Trader Houses in the Imperium.it boasts large and prestigious lineages of both Astropathic and Navigator Psykers, as well has having roots buried deep within the Administratum. It is rumored that several of the High Lords of Terra are allied with the Nestor family.

The Kerberos Court
Trader-Lord Nestor annually appoints a Seneschal from among the Station’s upper echelons. The Seneschal acts in all ways as a “Planetary Governor” on board the station, however is expected to be able to maintain the station by their own means. They receive little in the way of support from House Nestor. To be in charge, the supplicant requires the power, influence or resources to hold it.

At the beginning of a Seneschal’s term, they are given a sizeable budget. At the end of their term, whatever funds are left within the account, are profit for the Seneschal, and a potential, very influential Patron.

Factions
While ruled by Trader-Lord Nestor, Kerberos XI is inhabited, and regulated, by five major factions:

The Nobilite comprises the administrators, bureaucrats, nobles, and other aristocrats that detail the high society and political functionaries. Most have close ties to House Nestor.

The Creed represents an assortment of Imperial cultists, priest, clerics, and missionaries, there to bring the word of the Empire of Mankind to this remote forsaken place.

The Collegia Mechanicus contains the Tech Priests, Explorators, Tech-Adepts, Tinkers, who work tirelessly in toil to maintain the often-decrepit systems of Kerberos XI, but also to study its wonders.

The Triton Confederacy is an informal alliance of progressivists, Xenos, Xeno scholars, xenographers, and cold traders. They take advantage of the unique constellation of xenos presence and weak imperial authority to truck their fare.

The Pioneers are drawn to the very edge of this horizon, representing various explorers, minor Rogue Traders, other pilots, and scavengers.

Miranda Nestor
Her grace, the matriarch of the station. Miranda is a powerhouse of a woman, and the power behind the throne. No Seneschal is ever appointed without her tacit approval, save once, and that reign was constantly undermined, corrupted, and thwarted. Miranda is a woman whose will is adamant, and takes vindictive pleasure in taking opponents to task. She is both a psyker, and one of the consorts of Trader-Lord Nestor himself.

Lord Ludovic Greystorm
The Captain of House Nestor's guard in Kerberos XI. He's survived manifold conflicts and attained the status of a veteran, and has been retired to Kerberos XI as the unofficial bodyguard of Lady Miranda. He is ill at ease with his gracious 'retirement' and often takes joy in abusing what little power he has over other lofty lords and masters, tolerating no nonsense from "24 carrat pissants" disturbing the peace.

The Librarian
If she ever had a name, it is lost. She is an Eldar who has become the official archivist of the station, and through it has become one of the official power-brokers of the Nobilite and even House Nestor itself. The command of her domain in the Pentateuch Library is absolute.

Bastard King Adross
A hulking brute of a man who is central to the criminal underworld. He reputedly commands the loyalty of hundreds and even thousands of scum in the Grey. He seemingly holds loyal to Trader-Lord Nestor, though none publicly opine as to why.

Brother Pykon
A heterodox monk who leads a populist cult that thrives among the scum of the Grey. He formally holds court in the Kalaidescope Breach, but is reputed to live in or near the brown pit for undisclosed reasons. His works often have him subject to accusations of heresy, but the fanaticism of the scum around him make him a difficult target to prosecute. Much of his following derives from the oracular visions he divines from gazing into the Rift.

Bess Bartlby
Bess is an ork raised by a pair of misguided human parents, and 'she' finds home with neither race now. She is seemingly disconnected from the WAAAGH for reasons unknown, and now runs "Mama's House of Joy", a tavern in the Cruciforge. She runs her venue with the temerity of an honest woman, and dresses like one.

The Solarium
An entire sector is in fact one building known as the Solarium. It is the tall cylinder that runs through the centre of the station, and has been converted as the official religious sector. Albeit the space taken up for official church functions reflect only 10% of the space of this elongated chamber.

The apex of the chamber is designed to catch the light of the nearest sun and reflect it down throughout the hole in a myriad of light and shadow.

The Kalaidescope Breach
The side of the station facing the warp rift. It represents the home of the strange, whether whimsical, wondrous, or weird. Yet, the presence of the stable warp remains an eminent tourist attraction, and features a stream of casinos, hotels, bars, and all in defiance of typical class stratification. The elite are shored up against the squalid, and the large promenade facing the warp itself is bathed in a sublime and eerie after glow.

At the centre of the breach head lies the largest throng of religious congregations. Though the great monument stands as the most magnificent of the churches there (dedicated to the Emperor of course), it shared unlikely company with all manner of houses to various cults new and old. It is almost cosmopolitan.

The Cruciforge
This is commercial bazaar of the station, which has a large spiraling tower that has become the most prestigious residence in the station. It's peak contains the official estate of House Nestor, and naturally attracts the most affluent of traders. Though the ring most closest to the spire contains a range of specialist and boutique shops, though the alleys are filled with numerous stalls and stands of quasi-legal merchandise.

The guard personnel in this sector are entirely loyal to House Nestor and have a primary mandate to remove any obstacles impeding free trade of its merchants (those who pay the luxurious resident's tax are given special privileges).

The Marrow
The Marrow is the station Sector specifically adapted for the different needs of the resident xenos members. It is located between the docking bays and the Command Deck.

Most of the sector has been especially reinforced to provide both ease of containment and a means of segmenting the various populations in times of crises.

The Grey
The Grey he underside of the station, with numerous levels home to atmosphere monitoring, the power core, fabrication furnaces and maintenance facilities. It is a labyrinth of tunnels, tubes, pipes, and a hoarde of scum that rarely come up. They are clannish and protective of their world below, being given much latitude of Down Below by Lord Nestor in exchange for maintaining the joint. The last rebellion prompted Lord Nestor to send in some rather brutal mercenaries in an event known as the Cull.