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Dune Raiders
Overview
At war with:	Shadow Legion House of Salvation Hive Vex Taken Scorn
Allied with:	House of Spider Imperial Cabal Cabal Deserters

"I put this crew together myself. They’re loyal to me because I’m loyal to them."

— Primus Lau'urc

The Dune Raiders are a collection of Cabal renegades, deserters and criminals from across the many Legions of the Cabal led by Primus Lau’urc.

History

Broken Origins

The origins of the Dune Raiders can be traced back to the Taken War when Bracus Lau’urc of the Skyburners was incarcerated in the Prison of Elders. It was here she found the shattered remnants of the Broken Legion, that had been devastated by the loss of their leaders Valus Trau’ug and Val Aru’un. For the next four years, Lau’urc fought in the arena. With every victory, every bested opponent, her renown and respect from the remnants grew. However, agents of the Red Legion had begun to grow concerned.

These agents had been sent by Ghaul to infiltrate the Reef and disable its defenses for the Red Legion’s invasion. They utilised the Broken Legion as a Trojan Horse to easily slip into the Reef. While their plan was successful, many of their followers had begun to follow Lau’urc after Ghaul’s death and their promise that the Red Legion would free them proved false. In time, their leader, Val Gu’uam, would plot Lau’urc’s assassination.

Escape and reformation

In the chaos of the Scorned Barons’ escape from the Prison of Elders, Lau’urc and the Broken Legion would also escape. They commandeered an old Skyburners Carrier and hid from the Awoken in an uncharted part of the Reef. It was during this time that Gu’uam and his loyalists attacked Lau’urc on the bridge.

But Lau’urc had caught wind of his plan in the weeks before the prison break. She and her crew successfully fought back, killing two commanders and forcing Gu’uam to flee. However, during the battle, the Carrier crashed into asteroid 87 Sylvia with the controls and engines seemingly rendered damaged beyond repair. Lau’urc would later take full control of the Broken Legion’s remnants, dub herself their new Primus, and evict the remainders of Gu’uam’s Loyalists while recruiting those willing to serve her. Among them was Thua’urn, who had sided with Lau’urc and warned her of the planned attack prior to their escape.

Not much is known about what the Broken Legion did between their rebirth and the arrival of the Pyramid Ships. They mainly looted Red Legion outposts in and around the Reef to bolster their forces and managed to recruit some members of the Red Legion, and other Cabal factions, to their side. This included the Battle of Eunomia, which resulted in the destruction of the asteroid and the recruitment of Dhozoz, the Silent Brawn.

Armageddon

Prior to the events of Armageddon, the Broken Legion’s raids on Red Legion outposts in the Reef had been lacking, with many of them having already been cleared out. A contact of the Spider belonging to the Legion, Sha’arun, would be summoned as the Don was dealing with similar issues. As Sha’arun was leaving, he was almost assassinated by Fra’er, the Enlisted, of the Unbowed Legion. But he was able to escape thanks to the aid of local Guardians, an Associate of the Spider and a retrieval team.

Once back at their base, he relaid what he could to his Primus. When the Spider was putting together a team to strike at the Unbowed, Lau’urc was quick to join. Bringing the Flayer Twins with her, the team of them and the Guardians assaulted the Unbowed’s base, killed Fra’er, boarded their ship and killed two of the Unbowed’s Primarchs. Though the latter was thanks to the aid of Dominus Gar’hool, as was the death of Valus Legatl.

Following the supposed destruction of the Unbowed Legion, Lau’urc had begun to question the purpose of the Broken Legion. While they were victorious, she had started to view the group as forever being in Ghaul’s shadow due to their original function as a Trojan Horse, regardless of who was leading it. So, she decided to change the Broken Legion into something new, something unified, something more.

Rise of the Raiders

With the Broken Legion transformed into the Dune Raiders, they made their reemergence during Season of the Chosen where they sought to take what they could from the remnants of the Unbowed. They had also even begun pillaging the Battlegrounds of Caiatl’s army to bolster their own forces.

One splinter of Caiatl’s army, led by a Flayer named Vraltras, who had abandoned the Empress for losing the final Rite of Proving to the Guardians would seek out the Dune Raiders to join them, bringing supplies, weapons and ships with them. With the supplies from both Vraltras and the Spider as a reward for her role in destroying the Unbowed Legion, Lau’urc’s next order would be to turn the asteroid Sylvia into their new base.

With the help of Vraltras and her crew, they were able to repair the controls and engines of the Thanatos Transfuga. With the asteroid’s surface clear, they hallowed it out and converted it into Fleetbase Cerberus with enough room within to store Goliath Tanks and all of their plunder. They also converted its moons of Remus and Romulus into orbital gun emplacements for added defence.

Battle for the Reef

During the events of Season of the Lost, a Dune Raider force led by Valus Zahu’ul attacked a Kell’s Scourge force at Sorik’s Cut, intent on destroying the two Brigs and taking whatever Black Armoury tech they could get from them. However, they abandoned their mission when they discovered destroying the Brigs would destroy the Shore, as well as the Scourge recalling their Brigs as they retreated. He would also attempt to claim a new trophy from a Ghostless Hunter named Rain but gave up on it to assist in containing the forces of the Ascendant Knight Gulrurk.

After a gruelling battle, with many assists and interference from other factors, they successfully managed to push the Hive back. After the threat of a hijacked Eclipsed Blade ship, which forced Zahu’ul’s troops to pull back to his Warship, was quickly dealt with thanks to a rogue asteroid, Zahu’ul and his forces readied to start plundering the wrecked EB Carrier.

However, they would be interrupted by the arrival of Lau’urc aboard her Carrier, the Thanatos Transfuga, who had come in search of the new Evocate General of the Empire in hopes of rejoining it due to the oncoming war with the Darkness. After a meeting between him and her old friend Tlau’ark, where she had inadvertently condemned an experiment of his to death, she had received the Dominus’ approval. She would return to her crew to reveal the news and, while most reacted with positivity, some like Vraltras and Shumuv were more negative, with the latter even defecting to Emperor Calus.

Expanding horizons

During Season of the Haunted, Lau’urc had been brought to the EB fortress to see his newest invention dubbed RELIC. However, her visit was cut short due to the sudden appearance of both the Soul Scorchers and a fleet of Hive ships belonging to the Arbiters of Sorrow. During the chaos, Lau’urc had requested the Dominus to allow her to build a base on the moon of Titania under the guise of keeping an eye on the EB and ensuring they wouldn’t make anything that went against the Empire.

In reality, Lau’urc had wanted a base on Titania to expand her territory beyond the Reef, in addition to their new fortress on Mars constructed by Val Mau’uard. However, as they were building their new fleetbase, the Dune Raiders discovered something buried under the surface. A derelict Pyramid left during their return to the system. Lau’urc and the Dune Raiders would begin plundering the vessel of whatever tech, weapons, trinkets and relics they could find, intent on using them against the Witness and its servants, as well as to hopefully reclaim their home.

Many of the Dune Raiders, Lau’urc included, were concerned with how other legions of the Cabal would react to this news. Eventually, Lau’urc would find out when she was summoned to a meeting of other Cabal HICOM, where she would reveal the Pyramid’s existence. While many expressed concern, or even outright anger, at the reveal, Lau’urc assured she would take what precautions and measures she would to keep her crew safe.

Structure

Dune Raider armour is primarily Scout Legion based, but coloured pale yellow with a teal trim and with bits of Red Legion armour, such as wrist blades and jetpacks, grafted on. However, some parts of the Red Legion armour design have been removed. For example, Dune Raider Psions don’t have their heads exposed and Dune Raider Phalanxes don’t wield energy shields. But Dune Raider Colossi can have access to Solar missiles and Arc missiles and be identified by differently designed helmets, similar to Scorn Chieftains.

Commanders and other high-ranking members will feature some iconography and colour to signify their previous legions, such as high-ranking Skyburners having a brush on their helmet and high-ranking Red Legion having War Beast scales on their arms.

The Testudo Company, commanded by Valus Zahu’ul, is composed primarily of Phalanx troops with some Legionaries, Centurions, Colossi and War Beasts. They serve as frontline troops designed for high-priority raids and holding positions in enemy territory. The Phalanx Shields are said to form a wall almost nothing can get through.

The Psions in the Dune Raiders fall under a cohort led by the three Psion Flayers Vraltras, Vov and Vuv. They work with designing weapons for the Dune Raiders and studying whatever new technology or power they discover to find a use.

Members

Leadership

• Primus Lau'urc - Leader

Dune Raider Commanders Valus Valus Zahu'ul, the Bulwark Commander Comander Tluluz, Beastmaster Field Commander Calid'borok Val Val Thua'urn, the Glassbreaker Bracus Bracus Khuzun, Testudo Company Bracus Tloron, Testudo Company Bracus Vau'uam Psion Flayers Vov, the Oncoming Storm Vraltras, the Nova Eruption Vuv, the Confining Nihility

Dune Raider Elite Da'aulk, Loyal to Lau'urc Dhozoz, the Silent Brawn Duzug, Loyal to Lau'urc Fleetbase Guard Carrug Fleetbase Guard Daurun Gogoch, Resonant Protector Katch, the Occultic Eye Mulzlot, Crux Cracker Muzach, Survivor of the Spire Pyrotechnical Septun Troz, Unbowed Deserter Vopul, Renegade Other members Exileborn Shuc - Scribe Mu'ull - Adopted Royal Beast Sha'arun - Business Associate of the Spider Former Dune Raiders Bracus Shumuv, Shadow Plunderer

Command Structure

War Beast variants Honoured War Beast Hound of Lau'urc Psion variants Esteemed Psion Honoured Psion Interceptor Pilot Psion Commander Stealth Psion Tech Whisperer Assistant Legionary variants Honoured Legionary Stealth Legionary Legionary, Testudo Company Student of Dhozoz Phalanx variants Honoured Phalanx Phalanx, Testudo Company Remus Protector Resonant Keeper Testudo Company Commander

Incendior variants Glassbreaker's Torcher Honoured Incendior Gladiator variants Honored Gladiator Centurion variants Centurion, Testudo Company Dune Primus Guard Honoured Centurion Flayer Guard Infiltrator Val Resonant Warden Colossus variants Clossus, Testudo Company Excavator Val Honoured Colossus Lau'urc Devotee Romulus Defender

Technology

Slug Rifle

Projection Rifle

Heavy Slug Thrower

Cabal shield

Headhunter

Bronto Canon

Slug Shotgun

Slug Launcher

Scorpius turret

•Honoured Scorpius

 •Kitbashed Scorpius

Interceptor

Goliath Tank

Defender

Imperial Land Tank

Harvester

•Servius Nipius

Thresher

Cabal Carrier

•Thanatos Transfuga

Cabal Warship

•Glorior Rex IV

Ripper Pod

Infiltrator Pod

Mining Lander

Injection Rig

Portable Cabal shield

Resonant Splinter

Pyramid Spike

Fleet

1 Thanatos Transfuga (Command Carrier/Flagship)

Unknown amount of Carriers

Unknown amount of Warships

100+ Harvesters

100+ Threshers

Keeps

Firebase Cerberus, Sylvia, the Reef

Fleetbase Pytho, Messina Chasmata, Titania

Fortress Nox, Gusev Crater, Mars

Territory

Orbital Sentry Remus, Moon of Sylvia, the Reef

Orbital Sentry Romulus, Moon of Sylvia, the Reef

- - -

Raider’s Keep, Messina Chasmata, Titania

Fleetbase Airfield, Messina Chasmata, Titania

Excavation Site I, Messina Chasmata, Titania

Trivia

• The Dune Raiders are heavily inspired by the Banished from the Halo series.