Editing Setting:Cloudburst/Maskos (section)

===Maskos Military===

Maskos Warriors make greater use of local-variant armaments than any other civilized population in the Cloudburst Sector.  Though they have the means to make more Martian models of military hardware than they do, the Maskos population made a conscious choice long ago not to depend too much on Cognomen or any other Forge World for its defenses.  The Maskos A12 Assault Tank, roughly comparable to an up-gunned Salamander, is one such example.  The B1 Artillery, a 203mm monster, is another local variety.  Although a Maskos war-artisan would admit under duress that Mechanicus equipment is generally superior, the Maskos armies are able to field these weapons in profusion.  The most common local design is the D4 Kukol rocket SAM.  Armed with a rack of anti-air, ultraviolet-seeking missiles, with a pair of heavy stubbers for defense, the Kukol finds common use protecting headquarters detachments of Maskos field deployments.  Furthermore, Maskos regiments are able to field their own logistical assets for their initial deployments, thanks to the troopship-manufacturing berth in orbit, and Grendel’s massive farms.  Maskos regiments specialize in urban, alpine, and amphibious assaults.  Grendel Cleavers use the same equipment as Maskos Warriors, but their focus is on breachers, close assault, and plains warfare.  Grendel officers are also unable to choose their issued weapons, though they may buy their own.  They may carry the mandatory weapons alongside whatever they buy, and have similar restrictions on trophy taking and plunder to those of the Septiim regiments.  This stems from past issues; Ork Kommandos successfully slaughtered a Grendel regiment’s officer corps when they were caught off-guard behind what was thought to be secure territory.  Every officer is issued a .45 caliber revolver and a combat knife.  They may augment their loadout with whatever they wish to buy.

Other unique Maskos Warrior equipment is worn on the body.  Maskos manufactures its own local variants of the fingerless Precision Guidance gloves and gauntlets used by some Skitarii and Scions for their snipers, as well as crossed chest belts to carry explosives, and utility belts for combat sappers.  Grendel leather is often used to make this.  Grendel itself has little manufacturing capability for munitions, but they do make the knives and guns that officers receive themselves, and some small shops have popped up to supply wargear and attachments for officers who wish to customize their simple revolvers with something to make it distinct.  Laser sights and suppressors are popular, since the revolvers have entire sealed chambers to prevent water damage.

The surface of Maskos lends itself well to military construction.  The equatorial fortresses are especially large on Maskos, as many late Imperial colony defenses tend to be.  Thanks to the abundance of sand, stone, and metal, the surface fortresses tend to have high, thick walls, and can afford either void shields or heavy guns to defend themselves.  Thanks to the Cloudburst Sector’s preference for the defensive installations and mobile response forces that help protect the planets of the Sector from the Glasians, the fortresses in question tend to also have significant nearby airport facilities, or hybrid air and water ports for those near seas.  These serve as the taxi strips and landing pads for rapid transports of the Valkyrie series gunships, which can ferry the Warriors to sites of unrest and conflict at great speed.

Maskos Warriors sometimes sortie at the order of the Imperial Navy, although the Navy must ask the Guard first.  The Warriors are excellent at combating human armies from primitive worlds, and pirate groups with mismatched equipment.  In the distant past, Maskos regiments sometimes flew to help defend or even repopulate Naxos Sector worlds damaged but not rendered uninhabitable by forces of Nurgle.