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The Origins of the Squats
Millennia ago, human colonists spread from the Terran system and colonized countless worlds across the galaxy. One group of these explorers made its way to an area known as the Galactic Core. The Core is the area at the center of the galaxy and the planets here tend to be larger and consequently higher in gravity. The colonists settled on these planets and found them to be cold, inhospitable worlds circling ancient, dying suns. The obvious course of action for the settlers was to begin mining the wealth of minerals and ore in these planets.
The Age of Strife
When the massive
warp storms of the Age of Strife filled the galaxy, the Galactic Core remained
mostly unaffected. Unfortunately, the core was cut off from the rest of humanity.
Over the centuries, different factions formed and great wars were fought over
territory, mining rights, and many other trivial matters. The fighting came
to a head on the planet Durmack. The two largest factions had amassed their
armies around the capitol city of Holmguard, where bitter fighting went on for
days in the streets. Tens of thousands lost their lives, but neither side seemed
to be able to gain the upper hand. Finally, a temporary ceasefire was called
and the leaders of the two factions agreed to meet in the old palace. They talked
behind closed doors for hours as minor skirmishes carried on outside. When the
two leaders finally emerged, they had hammered out a temporary peace treaty.
Soon a great conference was held in the ruins of Holmguard and, after months
of discussions, the Treaty of Durmack was signed. All the factions, or Households,
as they were from then on known, were assigned certain territories and the mining
rights to them. The four largest and most influential of the Households were
named House Mjolnir, House Thungrim, House Kelekan, and House Bruggen. An organization
known as the Engineers' Guild was created to research, construct and distribute
all the technology that was developed during the wars. The Households settled
into an age of peace and prosperity.
The Emergence of a New Race
Thousands of years of living on these large worlds at the galactic core had slowly changed colonists that had settled there. Their bodies became shorter and stockier to deal with the high gravity encountered there, and they became a tougher, harder people, used to living in harsh conditions. The Engineers' Guild, now with the combined resources and knowledge of all the Households, developed many new technologies to assist with mining. Tunnelling vehicles took miners and equipment deep into the planet to get at the richest mineral deposits, and massive crawlers lumbered across the surface, carrying ore to be processed. Massive underground cities, called strongholds, were constructed, and airships and gyrocopters flew through the skies. The Guild even developed a new type of stardrive; a neoplasma reactor powered by a warp core held in thrall by a containment field of zero energy. No other race has ever replicated this technology, the Adeptus Mechanicus having given up their warp core experiments ever since the infamous Contagation of Ganymede. Unfortunately, this age of peace was not to last forever. A large group of Squats ,with the new stardrive, decided to brave the warp storms still surrounding the homewolds and headed out in search of something better. Unfortunately they were never heard from again and the new stardrive was discarded as a faulty piece of technology.
The Coming of the Orks
The Squats had not encountered any other races for centuries, and there had
been no wars among the Households since the great wars. Because of this, the
Squats were totally unprepared when the Ork warlord Uzebeck Merk led a mighty
Waagh! against the Squat Homeworlds. The Squats fought back valiantly, but centuries
of peace had left them at a severe disadvantage to the Orks.
The world of Durim and the Strongholds of House Kelekan were the first to fall
to the ravenous Ork hordes. The Orks fought their way into the strongholds and
slaughtered everyone they found. Only 35,000 Squats escaped the planet before
it was totally overrun by Uzebeck's forces. Fate was with the Squats, though,
as a new surge of warp storms temporarily cut off space travel around the Homeworlds.
The Squats wisely used the few months of time they had to ready themselves for
total war. Mining tools were converted into weapons and the huge crawlers which
once innocently hauled ore were refitted into massive mobile fortresses, carrying
a devastating array of weaponry. The enormous, lumbering starships that had
once carried minerals and equipment between the Homeworlds were fitted with
weapons of terrifying power. When the warp storms abated and the Orks resumed
their attack, they found that the Squats were not as easily conquered as before.
As soon as Uzebeck's fleet entered the Durmack system, which was now the homeworld
of House Thungrim, they were attacked by the newly formed Squat navy, led by
the mighty battleship Thungrim's Hammer. Yet despite the massive barrage of
devastating weapons, the Orks came on and landed on the planet. The fighting
raged for weeks in and around the cities of Durmack and several Strongholds
were destroyed. Finally, in a massive engagement outside House Thungrim's main
stronghold, the Orks were caught in a pincer between two armies and were crushed.
Peace returned to the Homeworlds for a time but the Squats never again allowed
themselves to be undefended. Much smaller Ork attacks were launched with growing
infrequency, but these were easily repelled.
Peace with the Imperium
By the time the warp storms of the age of strife ended and the Emperor of Man led his great crusade across the galaxy, the Squat Homeworlds employed a mighty military force the likes of which the Imperium had not yet encountered. Jaghatai Khan, Primarch of the White Scars Space Marine Chapter was the first of the Emperor's generals to encounter the Homeworlds and it was he who first coined the term: "Squat". The Imperials searched very closely for any taint of Chaos in the Squats, but found none, and as the Ogryns and Ratlings before, were offered a place in the new Imperium. The Squats agreed to an alliance with the Imperium, but refused to give up their independence. The Imperium allowed this as the Squats posed no danger, and conquering them would be far too costly in time and lives.The Imperium and the Homeworlds entered a state of peaceful trade or the next seven hundred years. New materials and equipment flowed into the Homeworlds, and technology and minerals flowed out. The Squats shared some of their mighty weapons of war with the Imperium, such as the chassis upon which the Imperial Leviathan was based. The Squats even aided the Imperium in some of their wars, and the Imperium recognized them as strong allies. Years went by with this arrangement benefiting both parties. During this time, several more Ork invasions took place, including the first Waagh! led by Wazik Buggerall. Wazik's invasion failed miserably due to poor planning, and only a few Orks, Wazik among them, escaped with their lives.
Imperial Invasion
All good things must come to an end, such as the peace between the Imperium
and the Homeworlds. The Inquisition and the High Lords of Terra had been watching
the Squats and decided
that they had allowed their independence too long. The Techpriests of Mars had
learned all the secrects of dark age technology they could from the Squats and
the decision was made at the highest level of authority to bring the Squats
under Imperial rule. General Jervis of the Imperial Guard, Captain Sophiel of
the Novamarines, as well as two other marines chapters, The Praetors of Orpheus
and the Storm Lords, and the titans of the Legio Indomitus as well as the Third,
Fourth, and Fifth fleets of the battlefleet Solar were sent against the Homeworlds.
After an initial moment of surprise, the Squats fought back with unnerving ferocity.
Every Homeworld the Imperials came to was defended by massive, lumbering spacecraft,
all armed with an enormous array of devastating weaponry and huge ground based
defence weapons which destroyed or crippled large numbers of Imperial starships.
Even all this was not enough to stop the Imperial forces, however. The Squat
fleet was crippled, the defence weapons silenced, and Space Marine drop pods
where released over the planet. The space marines quickly secured landing zones
and more equipment was brought down, such as tanks, titans, and mass numbers
of Imperial Guardsmen. The Imperial forces lay siege to the strongholds and
the battle raged on for decades. In the end, the Squats were unable to stand
against the might of the Imperium and the Homeworlds where conquered. The Squats
were disarmed, forced onto transport ships and shipped all over the galaxy to
labour for the Emperor. The Homeworlds were made into Imperial mining colonies.
The Forgotten
The group of Squats that had left the Homeworlds centuries ago had not been lost, however. They had settled worlds on the other side of the galactic core and begun a new life. This area of space was constantly under attack by Orks, marauding Dark Eldar, and the Tau. To defend themselves, these Squats had to create new, deadlier weapons of war to combat their foes. Huge mining operations were begun, and millions of tons of ore were extracted from these new worlds. Over the centuries, these Squats had not forgotten the old homeworlds, and eventually old grudges were forgotten and it was decided that it was time to return. A mighty armada was assembled and a course was set for the old homeworlds.
The Return
When the squats arrived, they were horrified at what they found. The glorious Homeworlds were now just Imperial mining colonies and the few Squats that remained toiled endlessly in the mines. Lord Kettri of house Kelekan was the first to make contact with the Imperial forces and was told to "surrender in the name of the Emperor". This request was answered with Particle Cannons into the communications satellite. The Squats were furious and great oaths of vengeance were sworn as the bombardment of the planet began. Particle Cannons, Heavy Mass Drivers and fusion bombs rained down upon the planet for weeks and the small garrison of Imperial Guard troops was quickly crushed by the Squat landing parties. The enslaved Squats were liberated, and all Imperial structures and monuments were blasted from the face of the planet. The Squats then moved on, and each Imperial occupied Homeworld they encountered met with the same fate. By the time the Imperial fleet had gotten word of the attack and dispatched starships, the Squats had gone, leaving only destruction in their wake. The Imperium of Man had just found a dangerous new enemy.
