The Assortment
Summary: The Assortment function as the largest criminal organization within the Ixaniad Sector. Dealing in weapons, narcotics, and most importantly, information, they work with Imperials, agents of Chaos, and Xenos to ensure that the precarious balance of power is maintained within the Sector. With agents in the Imperial Guard, Battlefleet Ixaniad, Arbites, and the Administratum, itself, the Assortment is well-funded, well-informed, and well-entrenched within the very fiber of Swedesia's existence. A member of the Assortment carries themselves with a professional, calm demeanor, and is always a human, with very few mutants as exceptions to the rule, provided that they can hide their mutations.
History: The Assortment has humble enough origins; it began its life as a Chaos Cult in the ruins of the old Bjerkshield family manse, led by a Chaos Sorcerer known as Sval the Kinslayer. Carrying out clandestine operations of sabotage, subterfuge, and murder against important Imperial targets, such as Administratum and Ecclesiarchal personnel, the Assortment's main goal was one of becoming as a weed, turning over the downtrodden population of Swedesia into a fighting force of cultists that could overthrow the current Imperial government and install a puppet ruler for Sval himself. However, during the cult's budding days, Sval noticed that Swedesia was currently in a time of great turmoil. There were dozens of other cults like his own, and each one seemed to be less subtle than the last one before it. Killing villages and offering their blood to the Dark Gods, replacing mayors and priests with half-mad lunatics that screamed about the end of days, or even cults dedicated to Karl the Deranged. Sval looked upon these cults and saw a great similarity to his former Legion, the Word Bearers in their devotion to Chaos, and noted that every day, these cults were destroyed time and again, only to be brought back just as often. These cults were upsetting the delicate balance of power that the Kinslayer needed to make his move. Using his centuries of experience causing these sorts of uprisings and cults to happen in the first place, one by one the different cults were either absorbed into the Assortment, or completely destroyed. He noted that with every cult, there were new assets; businesses, men and women that were displaced and seeking a purpose in life, orphans caused by these conflicts. With that, there was a spark of inspiration; one didn't need to use a puppet to control a world. One could simply take it from the bottom up; from the dregs and scum, to the office workers, to Arbites and Guardsmen, and finally to the offices of government. In time, Sval's name changed - the alias of the Fresh Sorcerer is what he's known as these days. As his sphere of influence expanded outward, the Assortment became less of a cult and more of a para-military criminal organization - no longer was the glory of the Dark Gods in mind, but profit and stability for it's members and associates. World domination has changed into maintaining the balance of Imperial, Heretical, and Xenos power within the Scandavus Sub-sector. With this in mind, over the course of four centuries, the Assortment's control over the criminal underworld of Swedesia is near absolute - those criminals that are not under the Assortment's umbrella of influence are still expected to pay tribute and their respects to the organization. More than a few upstart crime bosses has either mysteriously disappeared, or turned up in meaty chunks clogging the gutters.
Tactics: The Assortment has one rule of open engagement; don't. The members of the Assortment that are trained in combat tend to be well trained, well armed, and well armored, but they operate in cells of five to six members, and these cells are directed to either retreat to a more advantageous position whenever they are brought into an engagement, or to prepare a kill-zone where operatives can bring down targets as hard and as swiftly as humanly possible. Aside from that, every cell is given a great deal of operational independence - as long as a target or a location is secured with a minimal casualties and collateral damage, along with a minimum of witnesses, tactics vary greatly from cell to cell.
Organization: The Assortment has a very clear cut hierarchy between the three main leaders; The Fresh Sorcerer is in charge of Human Resources, the branch that handles invidual cells and recruitment of the Assortment, and has the final say in any decision if it should come to his attention. Nost Algia is Grand Seneschal, and is in charge of Accounting, the civilian branch of the Assortment that looks over Adepts, Tech-Adepts, the odd Heretek, Servants, and Treasury Staff. Kiwi is the Grand Poobah, and is in charge of Security forces - a kind name for the various armed forces that the Assortment has, meant to instill a sense of professional pride in their jobs. Each Cell has a Cell Prime, and their second in command is called a Cell Minor. These ranks are oftentimes switched between members of a cell who feel that someone else might have better experience in a given mission at a time - encouraging a sense of trust and independent thought within each of it's members.
Forces: A total count of Assortment membership is hard to discern; during the four centuries of expansion, almost every facet of Swedesian society has been infiltrated by the Assortment itself. Arbite offices, Imperial Guard posts, Planetary Defense Forces to the countless mundane businesses of Swedesian citizenship to the planetary government itself all feed Fresh valued information - and information is power. Fresh is also not a fool; operatives are no good to him dead. They are each armed with Boforce Boltguns or finely crafted autoguns, Enforcer Carapace Armor and Helmets, and though it varies from cell to cell, there are several psykers that provided their gifts for the benefits of the cell. For heavier targets, Krak Missiles are brought in with RPGs, and special task units are armed with hellguns. Each cell is allowed three clips of manstopper rounds for their autoguns, which can penetrate through most forms of conventional armor.
Notable Locations: The main base of operations for the Assortment - not known as public knowledge - would be the Fresh Sorcerer's castle. Formerly the Bjerkshield family manse, over the centuries it has been built up into a veritable fortress against siege and assault. The castle itself has a small town within it's walls, a courtyard for the main castle itself, servant's quarters, a motor pool, an enclosed section of forest for casual strolls, and a full garrison. Self-sufficient, it is far away from civilization so that most simply assume it is an eccentric nobleman's palace.
Notable Members
- The Fresh Sorcerer, Grand Master of the Assortment, Head of Human Resources
- Nost Algia, Grand Seneschal of the Assortment, Head of Accounting
- Kiwi, Grand Poobah of the Assortment, Head of Security
- Pastor of Argentinius, CEO of Turbo Shipping and Associates