SUBJECT: THE HERG
SUBJECT REF: 546284/54-B
AUTHOR: INQUISITOR DUBUQUE
Background: The Herg were first encountered in the Sirian Qudrant as mercenaries working for the Mercian's Manglers pirate fleet. The pirate vessels were largely refitted system ships with a captured Cobra class destroyer. A fleet task force cornered the pirate fleet around Jiccon VIII. The Task force was comprised of a Lunar class cruiser and two Sword class frigates. The purging of these pirates was going as planned when four vessels appeared. Admiral Swaynies reports:
"We were following the last of the pirate vessels, three Erycries class system ships and the Cobra, when four vessels jumped from the warp. None of our warp surveyors activated and the Navigator and Chief Astropath swore they felt nothing when they jumped in.
"The ships were like nothing I've ever seen in 40 years in the fleet. A heavy looking front plate, a large vertical disk with the rest of the ship trailing behind it. The front disk was smooth, no Turrets, no Torpedo bays, nothing. As they passed us by, the rear of the enemy ship opened up with some energy weapon. Went straight through our shields like they weren't there. A broadside from our cruiser crippled one easily enough and the others fled."
The crippled Herg ship was captured soon afterwards and delivered to the Forge World Tentium II for examination by the Magos there. Three representatives from my Order, Inquisitor Hearst, Inquisitor Georg and the infamous Inquisitor Vernum were present to attempt to judge the potential threat of this species.
Their findings are presented below.
The Herg have been sighted, usually as mercenaries, with many armies throughout the Sirius sector. So far no major incursions have occurred within Imperial space, but many believe it to be a matter of time.
Physiology:
The Herg are one of the most blasphemous of all Xenos breeds so far documented. While many Xenos races are hideous in countenance and form, the Herg are more so than most.
Their torso, abdomen, arms and heads are humanoid in about the same proportion as one of the larger of the Orkoid races. Their lower bodies resemble nothing more than the Terestrial Milipede, but nearly thirty feet in length.
Their heads are mockeries of the human form, being completely blank. The head contains no brain, rather it appears to be a large sensory organ that can "see" roughly the same portion of the electo-magnetic spectrum that a human can.
The internal organs, for the most part, are spread amongst the segmented lower half. Findings show that each individual segment contains two legs, a portion of the brain and an organ that combines the properties of heart, lungs and parts of the digestive system.
The single most interesting feature of a Herg's body, however, is their ability to regenerate. A Herg warrior can survive having the majority of the lower half of its body removed and will only fall into a coma if the entire upper body is removed. The regenerative rate of a Herg warrior clearly outstrips that of even a fully fledged Space Marine or the more durable of the Orkoids.
Technology:
Herg technology is both very simple and very complex at the same time. Their weaponry seems to be able to ignore standard Imperial Void Shields and the psychic wards as used by many Inquisitors. Magos Physic Fresc has proposed the theory that there are many different levels of reality, of which the Warp is the closest to ours. Fresc believes that the Herg utilize another level of reality and use that to power their weapons and stellar craft, much as we might use Warp engines and fields.
Aside from their utilization of this other reality level, their technology is quite simple. Their primary weapon is a fairly basic slug thrower, similar to the MKIII Imperial Heavy Stub Gun. The main difference is that the ammunition contains a small device that "skips" the shell between realities, much like the Imperial Warp Missile, as mounted on Titans. This system is effective even against personal shielding.
Rules:
WS
BS
S
T
I
Sg
Wp
Nv
Ld
Speed
65+2D6
45+2D6
80+2D10
150+4D10
30+D10
50+3D6
45+2D10
80+2D10
65+D6
3
Acid Blood, Regeneration, True Grit
All Herg get a 360-degree arc of vision, but are still restricted to normal firing arc.
All difficulties to use a psychic power against a Herg are halved.
All improvised attacks made by the Herg count as being poisoned with Choke.
Weapons:
All Herg weaponry is 20 points heavier than their standard counterparts and MUST be carried in both hands, yes, even for Marines.
Herg Accelerator: Same stats as Heavy Stubber, bug ignores 5 points of armour and all force and psychic fields.
Herg Fletchett Launcher: Same stats as Flamer. No chance of setting target alight. Ignores 5 points of armour and all force or psychic fields.
Herg Missile Accelerator: Same stats as a Missile Launcher with Super Krak missiles. Ignores 5 points or armour and all force and psychic fields.
HERG MAY NOT AT ANY POINT WEAR POWER ARMOUR!!!!
The Ralthathi is the plane of reality that the Herg utilize to power their craft and add more destructive force to their weaponry. To date, the Adeptus Mechanicus have been baffled by the Ralthathi and how it interacts with the Warp and our own reality.
They are looking in the wrong direction.
The Warp is a realm of pure energy. The inhabitants are comprised of pure force and interaction between the Warp and our reality is in the form of destructive psychic powers and chaotic warp space-real space overlaps.
The Ralthathi is a realm of absolute density. To the inhabitants of the Ralthathi realm, our reality is as empheryal as the warp is to us. Ralthathi -real space overlaps are situated in the middle of Neutron stars and the singularities of black holes.
The Herg utilize this realm by making a reverse warp field effect. Their craft take on the aspect of the Ralthathi; ordinary matter becomes as nothing and normal inertia is negligible, the lightest touch of power is all that is needed to travel faster than the fastest imperial craft. Thanks to the sheer density of the ether that makes up the Ralthathi, the fundamental constant of the universe, the speed of light in vacuum, is, in relation to the Inverse Warp Field, nearly infinite.
A similar effect is used in Herg weaponry. The various projectiles are skipped between the two realms. When in the Ralthathi state, normal armour is as nothing. Fortunately for the enemies of the Herg, the projectiles aren't capable of carrying a powerful enough power source to permanently stay in the Ralthathi for any length of time.
[Note-all physics in this post have absolutely no basis in reality...sounds good though]
