Catachan Jungle Fighters

Catachan is a Death World, a planet almost completely covered in dense jungle where it seems the entire ecosystem is hostile to human life. Catachan's only export is its people, who through natural selection are naturally bred tough and strong from living in such a dangerous world.

The flora and fauna of Catachan include the famous Catach Devil, a voracious predator, looking somewhat like a scorpion. They can be up to 40 paces long but it is in its bulk, it is slow moving and escape is possible. The brainleaf, a vegetative carnivore, can attach its tendrils to the spine and brain of a person, taking over control of their body. Grox, domesticated for pack and food on other planets, are wild here and are deadly predators. They are most famous for the galaxy spanning food consortium producing 'Grox Burgers'. The spiker, another deadly plant, fires its spikes into people's bodies, which then sends out a mutation chemical which literally turns the person into another spiker. Not a good way to go. The mantrap (close relation to the venus flytrap) is able to move towards its prey and actively swallow them! Finally, there are many serpents on Catachan, including the Flying Swamp Mamba, the Coiling Death Cobra and the Catachan Black Viper, are all deadly to most beings. Some can kill in under 30 heartbeats.

Catachan Jungle Fighters are among some of the deadliest experts of jungle warfare in the entire galaxy and their reputation precedes them. They make use of many close combat weapons including the Catachan Fang, measuring up to 20 inches of gleaming steel, which is the most common weapon. It is also used for settling disputes between Catachans. Another knife is the Night Reaper, which is smaller and blackened, effective in night infiltration and assassinations. They are sometimes poisoned to improve their kill strength, the poisons coming directly from Catachan. The Devil's Claw, named after the great predator on Catachan, is the longest weapon, up to four feet long. It is closer to a sword than a knife and has achieved status among the Orks who call it 'Da Cutta'. The blade is hollow and half filled with mercury in order to improve swing strength and control, and the design of this weapon has been copied by Catachan regimental officers for use as a power weapon.

They also make extensive use of traps, mines and other unpleasant surprises. They use traps, spring mines, shredder mines and plasma charges, each specializing in killing certain types of troops.

Notable regiments

Catachan XXIV 'Waiting Death' - use of extensive traps, using 'baiter' squads to lure the enemy onto the traps.

Catachan XVIII 'Swamprats' - attacked a Tyranid horde, masked themselves in Tyranid ichor and successfully wiped out the Tyranids. They then had to spend two years on a decontamination ship.

Catachan XVII 'Screaming Devils' - led by Captain Thorn, including famous sniper, Sniper Dell, who won the Silver Bullet seven years in a row.