Astranii Machine Empire
The Astranii Machine Empire was a Human civilization.[1]
Having formed during the Age of Strife, it is unclear if the Astranii were originally a sect of the same Machine Cult as the Mechanicum or had simply evolved a similar society by coincidence. They prospered in isolation, ruling a spiral of star systems overseen by a caste of masters dubbed the Mechanism with the Emissary caste as their enforcers. The Astranii wielded a formidable military including 20km-long warships with pyramid-like constructs with emitted powerful energy beams. Many of their weapons were radically different from the Mechanicum including sonic matter manipulators, harmonic neuro-disruptors, Machine Spirit sedition devices, and sentient energy ghosts.[1]
The Destruction of the Astranii
During the Great Crusade, a single Expeditionary Fleet had made contact with the Astranii but had been decimated. Three Primarchs (Ferrus Manus, Rogal Dorn, and Horus Lupercal) were summoned for a larger invasion, this time backed by the Mechanicum which had labeled the Astranii Hereteks who must be annihilated at all costs. This objective created tensions between Dorn and Ferrus, the former of which wished for simple compliance while the latter pursued the same genocidal goals as the Mechanicum. Horus attempted to intervene in the dispute, coming to agree that compliance was the best option after hearing testimony from Sigismund, who had been witnessed to an Astranii ambush. Ferrus only agreed to cooperate with his brothers for the time being with no guarantee of anything once the fighting was over.[1]
In the subsequent Astranii Campaign the Astranii Machine Empire was smashed, but Ferrus and the Mechanicum failed to secure their complete destruction due to the intervention of Horus.[1]
Sources
- 1: Sigismund: The Eternal Crusader (Novel) - Chapter 6
