Battlefleet Airtha

Battlefleet Airtha was once the first line of defense for the Airtha Sector, a region of space just to the galactic north of the Realm of Ultramar and the T'au Empire. With the majority of their space engulf in the Cicatrix Maledictum, the vast majority of their Battlefleet is no longer needed to patrol their region of space and is thus sent throughout the Imperium, lending their aid where ever they can. While they primarily prioritize their actions based on need, they have a particular grudge against the Knights of Laeran, a Slaaneshi warband responsible for both frequent raids into their original territory and converting their former capital world, the Shrine World the sector is named after, into the Daemon World of Laeran.

Fleet History
From its very inception, Battlefleet Airtha has struggled with both constant warfare and resource shortage. The Airtha Sector's proximity to the Damocles Gulf, along with the relative unimportance of its planets, saw it more often than not passed up for resources and reinforcement in favor of supporting the war against the Tau Empire. For other nearby fleets this was generally fine, but for Battlefleet Airtha this was especially difficult to sustain, due to suffering as collateral damage in the eternal feud between the Knights Celestial and the Knights of Laeran for millennia. Because of this, they were forced to rely more heavily on relatively old classes of ship that most other fleets had either retired or relegated to reserves, such as the Oberon-Class Battleship. The crews of these ships likewise needed to be replaced faster than the Schola Proginium could normally output Imperial Navy officers, so the fleet primarily drew from the orphans of planet Airtha's various invasions, whose life on the streets of a shrine world made them a unique combination of tenacious, resourceful, and faithful. In fact, the only Naval officer still in the fleet today with a formal Schola Proginium education is Lady Admiral Sarus Belicosa, who leads the entire Battlefleet. It was only by relying on the versatility of their ships and their faith in their patron saint that they managed to maintain morale and accomplish their duties.

However, everything changed when the Great Rift ripped the galaxy in half. The vast majority of the Airtha Sector was lost, engulfed within Riftspace. Worst still, the Knights of Laeran converted their former capital, the world of Airtha, into a Daemon World of endless sin and debauchery.

With most of their former patrol route no longer accessible, the fleet was now significantly larger than was needed to perform their duties. Rather than transfer to neighboring Battlefleets, however, Lady Admiral Sarus Belicosa deployed the vast majority of Battlefleet Airtha on crusade throughout the Imperium, lending their aid to those in greatest need. Belicosa joined this portion, as it included the majority of the fleet, while leaving Admiral Regulus Aetherius to guard what little remained of their duty to the Airtha Sector. The surviving successors of the Knights Celestial, the Knights of St. Beaucard and the Order of Palatine Knights, regularly clash with Admiral Aetherius, as they feel they are better suited to protect what remains of the Airtha Sector's space. The two forces continue to clash to this day. The only thing that prevents the two forces from coming to direct blows more often is the nearby Daemon World of Laeran and the Slaaneshi forces it houses.

Fleet Tactics
Battlefleet Airtha has always strongly favored versatility. Both their ships and their crew are expected to excel in all things, and ships that exemplify this ideal are greatly favored, in particular the Oberon-Class Battleship (the fact that most of these ships are typically decommissioned by the other Battlefleets they typically rescue in their travels, and those fleets can sometimes be talked into parting with them, certainly helps as well.) The Mars-Class Battlecruiser is also strongly favored for similar reasons, as well as any ship capable of fulfilling multiple roles in a naval conflict.

The crew and officers are expected to be equally versatile, with even the lowliest deckhand given at least basic training in how to fulfill most roles on the ship, including command if necessary. This versatility has allowed those who would have otherwise been lost in the background to potentially become rising stars and allowed crews to remain functional even in the face of catastrophic casualties, but at the cost of a significantly longer period of basic training for each recruit. Because of this, officers of Battlefleet Airtha are often much older than their counterparts in other fleets of equal rank.

The Airtha Crusades
As the resident Battlefleet in the entirety of the region of space the Airtha Crusades took place in, Battlefleet Airtha was at the forefront of every single Crusade, be it as the first targets hit whenever the Knights of Laeran took Airtha, or as the vanguard whenever the Knights Celestial arrived to drive the Slaaneshis off the world again. Official records may focus on the actions of the Astartes, but this humble Battlefleet suffered the brunt of every enemy blow and performed countless heroic acts throughout the crusades, almost all of which are drowned out by the glories and tragedies of the Knights Celestial.

The Indomitus Crusade
Not long after Battlefleet Airtha began deploying the majority of their fleet elsewhere, Roboute Guilliman called Indomitus Crusade, and Battlefleet Airtha gladly answered. They fought valiantly in support of the Primarch's campaign, helping to clear the void of any threats between their Astartes allies and the Chaos forces they were sent to purge.

Lady Admiral Sarus Belicosa
Lady Admiral Sarus Belicosa is the only member of Battlefleet Airtha to receive a true traditional Schola Proginium upbringing, and as such was the natural choice to lead the Battlefleet when it was formed. She appears relatively youthful, but she is actually several centuries old, kept young through rejuvinate treatments and enough bionic and cybernetic replacements to rival many tech-priests. Despite her significant rank, she prefers to command Battlefleet Airtha from The Lady's Own, a Dauntless-class Light Cruiser, rather than a Battleship like most Lord Admirals, because she insists on being with the vanguard of any fleet engagements and personally leading any scouting parties likely to meet hostile resistance. She is renowned for being fair and personable with those who serve her, but completely unforgiving when it comes to cowardice, stupidity, or insubordination, and utterly merciless towards the enemies of the Imperium. She will also frequently go out of her way to get to know any Imperial Guard regiments their fleet transports, and will insist that her subordinates do the same, as she believes they should care about those they bring to and from the thick of the galaxy's most intense warzones.

Fleet Appearance
Taking inspiration from their patron saint and his holy crusaders, both the ships of Battlefleet Airtha are primarily gold with purple prows. Despite their relatively humble means, their uniforms are kept similarly regal in appearance, and their officers are expected to epitomize the perfection of their saint in all things, be it naval strategy, personal combat, diplomacy, or the arts. They have made the most of their humble status, rising from the ashes of their lost homes much like the phoenix that is their symbol.

Allies

 * Knights Celestial
 * Ordinators

Enemies

 * Knights of Laeran
 * Servants of the Truth
 * Angeli Antiquis

By Battlefleet Airtha
Feel free to add your own "Yes, they were once the God-Emperor's Angels of Death. They have superhuman strength, speed, reflexes, endurance, and aim. They have a plethora of genetic enhancements and Emperor knows how many mutations from their foul gods. A single one of them can rip through dozens of voidsmen without breaking a sweat, and there are hundreds on that ship. All of this is true, all of it... including the part about them being on that ship. That ship, thousands of kilometers away. If they want to use those Emperor-given enhancements they've squandered for the last 10,000 years, they'll have to cross all of that void space to do so. None of those things matter until they do so. But we are the Imperial Navy. We sing the Emperor's praises with macro cannon and lance battery, and unleash His wrath with torpedo and nova cannon. They'll have to cross OUR domain to get to us, and we'll send their wretched husks back to the hell that spawned them long before they can reach us. Now, all hands to battle stations! Show them the fury of the Emperor's will!"

- Lady Admiral Sarus Belicosa

"The Emperor may have given you His genetic legacy, Space Marine, but what He gave us is our duty. Protecting the space between worlds is that duty. Stand down, or you'll learn the Emperor's will at the end of a macro cannon."

- Admiral Regulus Aetherius

About Battlefleet Airtha
Feel free to add your own