Therunorians

Average height: 5'4''-5'8''
Species: Mammal
Languages: Theror, Imperial gothic, Cybek.
Homeworld: Verunak
Diet: Carnivorous
Technology: Tier 3 (Las/atomic based)
Description: Therunorians are a species on which all things unspectacular are compared to. Therunorians have been described by countless Imperial records as 'dissappointing', the species in easy reach of great technological achievements only to fall into squabbling and even civil war instead. Therunorian society has developed at a steady incline, albeit very slight, as a handful of systems more central to their wide territory have begun to conform to a newly found super-cult which practises strange rituals and ceremonies. The faith is utterly alien to the Imperium, yet has been deemed harmless (although sentry teams continue to investigate these 'Starward' chapels). Growing unity and order has come with the price of superstition and somewhat tyrannical doctrines, the populations of all 'enlightened' worlds being held in feirce check buy marauding hordes of fanatical enforcement units.

Therunorian military is brutal, overwhelming in number but utterly predictable and unimaginative. Encorperating vast numbers of heavily built vehicles and masses of artillery units, Therunorian troops have grown used to committing to simple clean-up operations, never normally being caught in firefights or close combat. This has led to the almost immediate victory by imperial forces while rebellions and daemonic cults were silenced, the deep striking and highly mobile superhuman warriors catching the Therunorians off guard and in tightly knit urban areas. In fact, many military forces of the known galaxy have found it relatively easy to overcome or at least survive a Therunorian assault.

Therunorians are considered an average height among other species, and are even considered somewhat 'common' looking. Like many other species, they hold organs that reflect their mood, digigrade feet, bioluminous organs and are carnivorous. Therunorian have their bodies covered in thick, grey fur with bioluminous spots, patches or stripes that comes in a wide variety of colours. Their faces are very feline in appearance, with bright, cat-like eyes that see in a mixture of ultraviolet and electrical impulse based vision. This allows Therunorians the advantage of being able to tell whether a creature is near them without actually being able to see them. Therunorians are considerably weaker than most other races in physical terms, their muscle mass being much less dense than others. This is evident as any Therunorian struggles to even lift an imperial assault rifle to chin level. However dispite this, they have proven themselves adapt at running extremely quickly in short boosts of energy.

Therunorian weapons:

Weapons used by troops and basic infantry normally rely on laser technology, being rather unspectacular in function and performance. However Therunorians true strength lies in their larger field weapons, guns that twin impressive range with great penetration power. Shots made by nearly any Therunorian heavy weapon is enough to put clean through any enemy vehicle, and viciously cripple imperial machines. Therunorian weapons have not changed for the better part of four thousand years, and no further advances have been made on the front, making their war doctrine extremely predictable.

Stinger carbine - This short weapon is used by only the bravest, most daring and most experienced veterans. This is due to the weapons close quarters functionality, firing short ranged laser fire at a near impossible rate of fire, nearly thirty shots a second. This stream-like fire is the bane of troops caught unaware in urban areas, yet anything with as much as flak armour may stand a chance against the weapons poor penetration. The carbine is also prone to overheat, and unlike heat-exhausting imperial weapons, becomes crippled beyond usage immediately after the overheat.

Front line rifle - The standard issue Therunorian firearm. The rifle is relatively long when compared to many others, and works with a dual-mag loading system. Although having a poor rate of fire and no more penetration power than an imperial assault rifle, the magazine system ensures the weapon is ever plentiful of ammunition. Each magazine charges the other when the weapon is fired, using both kinetic and energetic energy exchange to see that the rifle can fire up to two thousand shots before both magazines must be replaced. With an inbuilt holographic scope and respectable range this weapon is at its best when used for defensive purposes.

Pulse blaster - Firing a shock wave of compressed sonic energy that can break bone with frightening ease, this weapon is akin to many slug throwing shotguns. Although the weapons shot has a spread effect like a shotgun, its effective range is much, much further. However, any further than fifty feet, this weapons shot holds no more power than a water cannon. Groups of such weapons held at a defensive line can prove very effective, blowing enemies into pulp at mid range and throwing those further away off their feet.

Striker cannon - This multi-barreled machine gun holds not only a vicious rate of fire, but powerful enough shots to punch through even power armour given enough time. The drawback to such a weapon is how quickly its ammunition is used up and how it relies on a relatively small ammo box, only fifty shots per load. This has lead to the weapon being operated by two troops, one gunner and one loader to keep the ammo flowing in.

Star launcher - A one shot plasma based weapon, this weapon holds all the firepower of a space marine plasma gun. However the immense amount of heat buildup the weapon receives upon firing means that not only can it only fire a single shot per-tube of ammo. Each tube is loaded into a firing harness attached to a specialist Therunorian soldier, one equipped with a specialized set of heat resistant armour to prevent the user receiving horrific burns after firing the weapon.

Hazard blaster - The standard pistol used by troops and officers, firing short range lasers with laughable firepower, accuracy and ammo count. Such a weapon has rarely been lucky enough to deliver a killing shot.

Therunorian vehicles:

Vehicles used by the Therunorians are widely the cause of enemy officers burst blood vessels. Such machines are terribly irritating to dispose of, being heavily armored as well as heavily armed. Most of these vehicles are never seen clearly by the enemy, preferring long ranged volleys of devastating firepower. If a commander is courageous, or arrogant enough to send such machines to march through the enemy ranks one would see large, angular, grey, multi-limbed creations that lumber along like sickly animals. Many commander have ended up ordering an entire flight of craft to commit to a strafing run only to find out the vicious artillery that had harassed their troops has simply walked away.

Ghost walker - This two legged, one manned vehicle is built with a large, twin-linked artillery gun mounted on its back. When stood up, the vehicle is nearly impossible to catch, possessing brilliant speed and agility. When the pilot set the machine to crouch down into a more supportive stance the vehicles weapon activates. The doom-caller canon fires at an insultingly fast pace, nailing down a monsoon of explosive shell down on troops and light vehicles, and by the time a force has reacted to eliminate the threat it has most likely already walked away without a care.

Assault speeder - Such a vehicle has been rarely seen up close by enemy forces. This is down to it normally being chewed up to no more than a pile of mangled scrap before it get anywhere near a front line. This vehicle has been nicknamed the 'paper plane' by many other military organisations, due to its frail build and outstanding quickness. The machine is mounted with two striker cannons under its nose, and is built with anti-grav treads to give it quicker movement response. Its interior is able to hold up to fifteen troops, giving units the ability to speed into battle or to vital strategic locations.

Lava dog - A slow, armour clad version of the assault speeder built for fear factor more than anything. The lava dog is built with three fire-throwers in its hull; one on the nose, and one either side of what once used to be the troop carrier. The vehicle is a terrifying site for troops, its bright blue flames licking the air before it hungrily. Although no faster than a soldier can run, the machines bulky armour makes it impenetrable to all but the fiercest weapons.

Tormentor tank - The Tormentor is an enormous monster of a machine, appearing as a gigantic land creature turned into a war engine. In front of its bow mounted cockpit sits four mass cannons, weapons easily able to tear light vehicles to shreds, and on it back a multi-blaster. This giant cannon is able to fire an unknown, volatile element in various forms; solid shots being used as high velocity anti-vehicle rounds, liquid shots used at mid-velocity artillery rounds and gaseous shots used as mid-ranged scatter-shots. Built with heavy armour and multiple crew points to ensure the guns keep firing even if the pilot is slain, this persistent machine is a constant terror on the battlefield and lives up to its name well.

Therunorian ships:

Angular, grey and generally dull when it comes to their design. Therunorian ships look little different that simple space freighters, with no external weapons systems or military insignia. Their smooth, flat hulls are strong and highly resistant to energy based weapons, able to endure salvo after salvo without as much as a tremble on deck. Their shielding is equally impressive, using a technology that is far from understood and is still under vicious investigation by the Imperium. The energy shields literally ignore reality, projecting the material from an alternate universe to deny any projectiles existence as the barrier is hit. Considering this outlandish technology, along with their use of primitive warp drives, means that Therunorian ships are likely to acquire some unwanted guests while their systems are in use.

Therunorian slab cruiser - Bulky in appearance and somewhat hit-and-miss in functionality, the cruiser is an easy target for enemy ships. Although its weapons systems and navigational operations often fall short, its hull and shielding ensure that it is likely to at least survive a battle in failing to emerge victorious. Incorporating splinter craft, this ship hold the ability to detach portions of itself to use as frigates and fighters.

Therunorian war barge - This colossal flagship is rightly feared by friend and foe alike. Not down to having all the functions of its smaller cousin tripled in potency, but down to its hazardous nature. Its warp drives and flux shields are also tripled in potency, meaning that as soon as the ship makes a journey through the warp, or even activates its shields, the crew can soon expect to be accompanied by a handful of demonic stowaways. This means that these carriers commonly have some form of daemonic life within them at any given time, and if they make several consecutive jumps or have their shields active for a couple of days, the entire ships may be filled with enough daemons to overrun the original crew. In rare cases the ship itself begins to twist and mutate under the tender mercies of the dark powers.

Relationship with Equestrians:

The vast majority of the Therunorian empire , fortunately, remains unaware of the existence of Equestria. However, recently a war-host that had been under the torment of demonic activity made an unauthorized landing on Equestrian soil. After brief and unsuccessful negotiations the Therunorians dug deep into Equestrias southern mountains and have been engaging Astarte, Crivtos and Equestrian forces for several days. At first it appeared that the small battle company that remained planet-side was to be overrun in numbers, however soon both Halo Skulls and Star Lords space marine chapters have arrived to ensure the destruction of the traitor fleet.