Machaenix Canonical
The 'Dust Zone of Ophelia VII dates to the immediate aftermath of the Age of Apostasy and the reforms of Sebastian Thor. When the Brides of the Emperor were reorganized into the modern Adepta Sororitas to confirm with the dictates of the Decree Passive, the Ecclesiarchy negotiated pacts with Adepts of Mars, ensuring their warriors would be well equipped with powered armor, bolters and even the formidable RH1N0 troop transport.
The Sisterhood was split between two convents - the Convent Prioris on Earth and the Convent Sanctorum on Ophelia VII. The soil of Holy Terra was deemed too-sacred for munitions manufactorums to be built, and so the Convent Prioris was supplied from the forges of Mars. On Ophelia VII, a mountainous region - rich with mineral deposits - was chosen to supply the Convent Sanctorum. Under the command of a small coterie of Adeptus Mechanicus Techpriests, a myriad of toiling workers from local hive- and forge-worlds delved deep into the mountains, mining ore and fuel, building manufactorums and workshops, and raising a laboratory-citadel into the sky. It was here that the techpriests lived, watching over the growing industrial zone.
As part of the supply agreement, the masters of the shrine world gave the 'Dust Zone (as it came to be known, not least because of the thick silvery-gray powder - a mixture of sundered rock, metal shavings, soot and graphite lubricant - that covered every surface and piled in drifts in the streets) over to the ownership of the Adeptus Mechanicus, with only the The Via Imperator - which was the personal property of the Ecclesiarch himself - remaining under Adeptus Ministorum control.
Because the area was not under the Cardinal's control, its workers were out of sight and out of mind. For their part, the techpriests were concerned only with fulfilling their obligations under the agreements with the Ecclesiarchy and didn't care about the welfare of their workers, except as productive units within their factories.
Over the centuries, as the power and wealth of Ophelia VII grew, ever-more glorious palaces and temples encroached on the 'Dust Zone, crowding the workers into a cramped ghetto. Millennia of mining and manufacturing poisoned the air and water, and generations of neglect left the workers uneducated and uncatechized, ignorant of the most basic doctrines of the Imperial Cult and knowing nothing except the bare minimum they needed to work in the factories. Crime increased, subversive cults and gangs gaining a foothold.
Emperor-only knows when - if ever - the downward spiral might have ended, but the arrival of the Order of Our Crystal Lady - if not reversing it - at least halted it. They established their cloister-fortress in the heart of the 'Dust Zone, worshiping the Emperor and pursing their unique charism of care, compassion and education of the workers there.
For their part, the Mechanicum were pleased - if such an emotion can be applied to people who have cogs and cogitators rather than hearts and souls - with the arrival of the Order. Although they did not care about the workers, the techpriests recognized the units' performance was sub-optimal and the services of the Order improved it.
Because of their close association with the Mechanicum, the Order of Our Crystal Lady is able to field a number of weapons and war-engines rarely seen in other Sororitas armies, including a number of walkers and larger tanks. These engines - and the rest of the wargear of the Order - are maintained by a unique cadre of Adepta Sororitas, the Machaenices (sing. Machaenix) Canonical. Performing the role normally filled by Engineseers, the Machaenices Canonical are full members of the Order but also initiated into the mysteries of the Machine Cult.
There is always conflict between the worship of the God-Emperor and the Machine God, but this should be deeper for members of the Order of Our Crystal Lady - who can neither lie nor be lied to, and so for whom the theological fudging that allows the Treaty of Mars to endure is harder to swallow. But, uniquely among the Adepta Sororitas, they manage it. Perhaps the nature of the Crystal Lady herself allows them to square that circle - who knows what this might reveal about the mysterious patroness of the Order, the Cult Mechanicus or even the Emperor himself?
The Machaenices Canonical dress in red robes and are blessed with many cybernetic enhancements, including mechadendrites. They make use of servo harnesses tipped with all manner of tools and are accompanied by servitors and assistants. These workers are male and so, according to the strict interpretation of the Decree Passive, cannot bear arms. They instead carry industrial tools - hammers and saws, plasma cutters and hydraulic shears - which, in the grim darkness of battlefields of the 41st millennium, serve just as well as more sophisticated weapons. For personal protection, a Machaenix is accompanied by Gynosynthaeces (sing. Gynosynthaecix) Tactical - heavily-armored servitors based on vat-grown females with advanced combat programming subroutines, armed with slow but deadly close-combat weapons.
Machaenix Canonical painted by me
Type
Religious, Military
Alternative Naming
pl. Machaenices Canonical
Equates to
Engineseer, Techmarine
Reports directly to
Related Organizations
