Nullepart

Nulleport is a inhospitable death world and also the Adeptus Astartes Homeworld of the Illuminators Space Marine Chapter.

Background
A force to be reckoned with, with influence stretching across almost the entire Imperium, the mighty warriors of the Illuminators are paragons of strength, power and versatility, even amongst the superhuman ranks of the Astartes. Their fortress-monastery, the moon Nullepart Secondus, houses training arenas the size of hab-blocks, with manufactorums ran by their bondsmen producing all manner of specialised equipment, all overseen by their Chapter Master, the venerable Charrat Medjo. Nullepart Secondus is a captured asteroid, in orbit around the death world of Nullepart, Secondus carries a strange shape, looking reminiscent of the head of some gargantuan creature, but tests show it to be very conclusively dead. Individual battle-brothers of the Illuminators pride themselves on achieving perfection, and as such will spend every spare moment rehearsing weapon drills or running live-fire training operations in one of Secondus’ labyrinthine training arenas.

The planet Nullepart itself was once a shining bastion of imperial might, but at some point, before the arrival of the Illuminators, it fell apart under brutal civil war, the once-proud hive world reduced to barren wastelands and treacherous wreckages. A death world in the truest sense of the term, Nullepart's roaming bands of scavengers and raiders make up the chapter's recruits, the ferocity and toughness required to live such a life making for fine Space Marines.

Chapter Recruitment
"It is said that the Illuminators are akin to a diamond, providing a shining light in these dark times. And to make a diamond, one must first crush some rock."

- Kyang Nolligan, Master of Recruits

The apocalyptic Death World Nullepart is no place to take lightly. Individuals hailing from the toxic wastes are known to on some occasions outperform those from Catachan, but the Catachans being what they are means this is a rare thing indeed. The Illuminators see the recruitment process as simply the first stage in their rigorous training programs, and the recruits are, as such, gathered through a method that reflects that. Every Nullepart year, the 99th Deployment of the Chapter, containing the Master of Recruits and the current Scout Marines, goes down to the Colosseum on the planet's surface, named The Tonnerredôme and activates the vox systems, spreading the message that the Illuminators are recruiting far and wide through the use of strategically placed vox relay systems. After three days of broadcasting, the vox systems are shut off and the recruitment begins. Each wastelander hoping to become a space marine must undertake a series of challenges, the first of which being a test of endurance: in order to prove their worthiness, the Aspirants must put on backpacks, laden down with Ferrocrete and run around the perimeter of The Tonnerredôme, continuing around and around until at least half of the Aspirants have collapsed, at which point the running is halted and the backpacks of the fallen Aspirants are placed on the backs of the remaining wastelanders and they start the run again. This, in turn, continues until half again of the Aspirants have collapsed, at which point the fallen are sent home and the remaining Aspirants are given a break of one Terran hour before the next trial.

The second trial for the Aspirants is a test of reflexes, this is done through a technique the current Master of Recruits Kyang Nolligan has taken to calling "The Tempests' Wrath" in reference to The Illuminators' steadfast allies in The Steel Tempests. Each of the Aspirants must stand 100 metres from a Boltgun that has been retrofitted by the Techmarines to fire non-lethal bolt substitutes, the Boltgun is then fired on full-auto, with the pace steadily increasing and the aim gradually improving until the Aspirant is finally struck. This is repeated for all of the remaining Aspirants and the half with the longest times in the Wrath are put forward to the next task after another hour's wait, while the rest are left to go home.

The third test is a test of physical might and combat ability. For each Aspirant, a Scout Marine will lay down in front of them, the Aspirant can use any means necessary to keep the marine from getting up while the Scout Marine must try to force their way off of the ground. The Aspirants who manage to pin their Scout Marine for the longest are put through to the final round, while the rest are sent home.

After half of a Terran hour, the fourth and final challenge begins, a test of intelligence. An Illuminator's strong body is no good with a weak mind, and as such the Aspirants must complete a written examination to determine their final placing, with the half that achieved the highest marks being awarded the honour of joining the Chapter. This last test serves another purpose though, providing the Master of Recruits an insight into the Aspirant's thought patterns and allowing him to place them in a role best suited for them.