Spinnaker’s Landing - Supporting Data

Written by Luddite

The following information is presented as generic, system non-specific detail to allow

Spinnaker’s Landing to be used within a 40k role-playing setting.  ‘Secrets and rumours’
represent information that may or may not be true. 

Spinnaker’s Landing is a void station in geostationary orbit around an empty world at the edge
of Imperial space*.  The station has been here for at least four thousand years, and was
established by Corvin Williamus (now revered as Saint Corvin by the station population).

The station and world are privately owned by the ancient Williamus dynasty.  Whilst notionally
within Imperial authority and subject to the laws and obligations that entails, it maintains a ‘grey’
status and is a welcome haven for rogue traders, elite patrons, and those who are keen to avoid
the more restrictive practices within the Imperium.  While not openly condoning illegality and
heresy against the Imperial authorities, Spinnaker’s Landing offers a place where more opaque
activities can be conducted without fear of reprisal.

The current planetary governor and owner of the system, Bela Williamus operates a simple
policy of discretion.  He does not interfere with his guests and clients, provided they don’t
disrupt the harmony of Spinnaker’s Landing.  For that reason it is also a regular venue for more
sensitive negotiations and liaisons between Imperial authorities, and even with alien

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ambassadors.

Spinnaker’s Landing acts as a free trade zone, specialising particularly in the kinds of trade a
rogue trader might find difficulty conducting elsewhere.  It is also a popular ‘noble’s playground’
catering to the super-rich and particularly planetary governors and offering all manner of
recreations that may be frowned upon by more puritan pleasure worlds.  Is also provides a
tacitly accepted (and deniable) platform for covert Imperial activity such as illicit tech-research,
Inquisitorial meetings, non-assimilated xenos liaison, and other such activity.

* If used in the Calixis Sector, it is most likely to be somewhere near the passageway to the
Koronus Expanse.

Architecture

Spinnaker’s Landing is constructed according to a descending spatial hierarchy.  High status

activity is located near the top of the void station, whereas the service functions are located
lower down.

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The station itself is roughly disc-shaped, tapering down to its umbilical lifts so that in profile it
appears ‘mushroom shaped’.  It is roughly ten miles in diameter, with its thickest central
sections being four miles deep.  It has a permanent residency of approximately five million
people on the station with perhaps another two million on the planet below.

It is connected to the surface by two massive wood-clad umbilical orbital lifts that stretch sixty
miles to the surface below and are anchored in place by massive underground moorings.  At the
surface, the ‘public’ umbilical is surrounded by a wooden platform and serves the tourist trade. 
The ‘cargo’ umbilical, much larger, is similarly anchored and is in constant use ferrying food and
raw materials to the void station.  The station also maintains a fleet orbital shuttles and cargo
lifters.

Built around a traditional core of key systems, the majority of the station is constructed of
various types of wood gathered from the planet below.  The facia of this structure is intricately
carved both within and without in a variety of styles, but mostly baroque patterns, statues and
icons, and the occasional long-forgotten litany or symbol.  Polished, and appointed so that there
are rarely straight lines visible, the architecture has been designed to instil the comforting
feeling of a ‘natural’ environment in most humans.  Accented with plant life and the various
scents of oiled or bare wood, it is a relaxing and reassuring space.

The station is kept in stable geostationary orbit by massive suspensor engines.  Its structural
integrity is maintained and enhanced by an energy field akin to the magnetic containment used
in plasma reactors.  It is protected from orbital collision and attacks by a void shield array.

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The upper zone

Corvin’s Spire

At the very top (the section furthers from the world below, looking out into the void) there is a
large central spire.  This segregated section is the personal demesne of the Williamus family.  It
is a haven of obscene luxury, and a warren of decadent banquet halls, personal chambers,
holo-suites, museums of curios, art galleries, and other chambers filled with the trappings of the
ancient dynasty of a high noble line.  The spire also maintains its own technical support and
service systems separate from those on the rest of the station, and is guarded by an elite force
of genetically enhanced hereditary soldiers (known simply as The Guard), utterly loyal to the
Williamus dynasty.

Secrets and rumours

Corvin’s Spire is actually a self-contained void ship that can detach as a luxury lifeboat should
the station fail.

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Among the many chambers there is a ‘torture room’ where the Williamus dynasty traditionally
indulged in a passion for the macabre.  Many of the people from among the service personnel
who disappear without explanation end up here being tortured to death for the pleasure of the
nobles.

There is a large data archive deep within the spire where the Williamus family maintain a mass
of incriminating information on some of the most powerful individuals, planetary governors, and
noble families in the Imperium.  The Williamus dynasty has used this to remain relatively
independent for four millennia, and continue to gather as much information as they can on their
high status guests.

Corvin’s Spire contains an engine of alien design that suppresses psychic power on the station
and strengthens the veil of reality around the station similar to a void ship’s Gellar Field.

The Childer Spires

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Evenly spaced around the central Corvin’s Spire are six lesser spires.  They contain
hyper-luxury suites, with secure meeting halls and accommodation.  These spires are typically
used by exceptionally powerful or wealthy visitors, or for covert negotiation teams to meet in
exclusion.  One of these spires is currently permanently occupied in secret by the Inquisition
and is known as ‘the Black House’.

The Black House (spire)

It was inevitable that given the nature of Spinnaker’s Landing, the Inquisition would eventually
show an interest.  The Williamus dynasty resisted their threats and wiles for centuries, however
under the current regime, Bela Williamus has agreed to allow the Inquisition to place a
permanent covert facility here.  The agreement seems to be that they will be free to investigate
and monitor activity on the station provided they take no action within the Williamus realm.

The Black House is manned by a senior acolyte team who spend their time gathering
information on the patrons of the station, and passing that information to their Inquisitor.  The
Black House also acts as a meeting place for members of the Inquisition.

Very few people on the station know that the Inquisition is here and the Williamus authorities
strenuously deny any such rumours.  If it were to become known, it would destroy the reputation
of Spinnaker’s Landing among its main clientele.

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Secrets and rumours

The Black House is nothing to do with the Inquisition.  It is in fact another ruse of the Williamus
family to more directly gather information about their patrons and is actually another arm of the
provost secret police.

The Inquisition has discovered something significant to be able to force Bela Williamus to
accept their presence.

Bela Williamus is actually a member of the Inquisition.  Indeed his whole dynasty has been, and
something important is going to happen, which is why he has allowed the Black House to be
established.

Williamus has mined the Black House spire to allow it to be instantly destroyed should things go
against the family.

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Luxury zone

Beneath the spires, the upper decks of the station are classified as the luxury zone.  Here the
high status guests and clientele are accommodated in sprawling suites of varying luxury.  Most
suites contain many sleeping and recreation centres, meeting halls and service quarters. 
Should the guests wish it these suites can be entirely self-contained.

The décor and ambience here is exquisite, with masterful carving in various styles, mood
enhancing plant life, security and immediate service available to meet the guest’s every whim.

There are also common areas, promenades, galleries and similar amenities available for the
socially-minded.

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The luxury zone is connected by a central dedicated lift to the guest umbilical that descends to
the surface below, allowing the guests to descend to the recreations on the surface in seclusion.

Secrets and rumours

The entire luxury section and every chamber therein, are monitored by covert spying devices. 
There is a monitoring and data gathering centre in Corvin’s Spire so that the Williamus family
records everything their guests say and do.  This information is held for future use.

There is a section in the luxury zone permanently dedicated to accommodating xenos

ambassadors from the Eldar species.  The neighbouring suites are regularly affected by
‘haunting’ incidents, and other reports of strange occurrences and ‘Warp intrusions’.

Dock zone

Around the outer edge of the upper station, partially intruding between the luxury zone and the

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trade zone, there is a ring of docking bays and port pylons.  This docking zone can
accommodate numerous ships and provides cargo storage and void-ship repair facilities.

Station docking is free from the usual Administratum customs checking, and offers a discrete
service, including covered bays for those wishing to hide their presence.

The docking and repair crews are drawn from and governed by the Adeptus Mechanicus, under
the auspice of the operational and security framework dictated by Williamus.  The senior
Mechanicus controllers here are particularly interested in examining the unusual patterns and
ship configurations that are common here, and regularly petition ship captains for access. 
Mechanicus exploratory fleet vessels are also a common sight here and the crews on
Spinnaker’s Landing are well versed in dealing with unusual archaeotech or xenos technology
retrofitted into Imperium void ships.

Secrets and rumours

The repair crews often secretly deposit tracking technology on ships that they repair.  It records
where the ship has been and what it encountered.  If it returns to Spinnaker’s Landing, the
crews will extract this data for their own use as well as transferring it to the Williamus data
centre in Corvin’s Spire.

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Many of the repair crews are hereteks who will sabotage or steal parts of the vessels they work
on.

The repair crews use unknown xenos technology in their work.  Some of them are actually
aliens.  Who knows what they will do to an Imperial ship?

The technical crews here are exceptionally good at repairing plasma engines and Gellar Fields. 
Their repairs on other systems and particularly hull structures and weaponry are sub-standard.

Trade zone

The mid-station is called the trade zone.  It contains many sprawling areas of mixed or themed
sukhs, wholesale and retail storage and market chambers, meeting halls, hotel accommodation,
carousing and gambling facilities.  Many areas concentrate on a specific commodity or trade,
while others provide a mixture.  Notable themed areas include the arms hall, the slave market,
and many dedicated raw material markets.

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These areas accommodate all manner of trade, including a fairly open trade in illicit cargoes
such as stolen goods or xeno-tech.

These facilities are particularly attractive to, and geared towards accommodating the kinds of
cargo a typical rogue trader will be looking to sell.

The trade zone also includes a sizable administrative section dedicated to ensuring that the
station meets its tithe requirements, and providing bureaucratic and legal services to the station
itself and commercially to patron.

Associated with the administration block is a large but highly secretive security facility.  They
train and maintain a visible ‘brown shirt’ civil defence legion, bolstered by irregular militia taken
from the service personnel.  These brown shirts are dedicated to protecting Spinnaker’s
Landing from attack.  The brown shirts also man the Williamus defence and picket fleet; a small
flotilla of exceptionally potent warships dedicated to protection the Williamus’ interests.  They
are fast, well armed, and fitted with all manner of archaeotech and xeno-tech, making them the
match of much larger warships.  They are permanently deployed on picket duty throughout the
system and regular engage and destroy the raiders and pirates that are attracted to Spinnaker’s
Landing, and would make it a haven for lawless brigands.

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The security service also maintains a provost.  Hidden among the population they are a secret
police monitoring for any insurrection and regularly ‘disappearing’ any resident that threatens
the ongoing viability of Spinnaker’s Landing and the Williamus dynasty.

The Adeptus Mechanicus maintains a secure and restricted facility here.  It is occupied by
research laboratories and forges dedicated to conducting all manner of experiments in new
technology.  In particular these research facilities are looking at integration of xeno-tech and
xeno-genetics into the Imperium.

The final restricted section houses a series of ambassadorial suites and facilities, including
adjustable environmental controls.  These are dedicated to the conduct of liaisons and
negotiations with xenos species and cultures.  There is a permanent Eldar representation cadre
here, and regular attendance from other species.  Some of the earliest contacts with the
Demiurg Trade Fleets were established here.

Secrets and rumours

The trade zone also facilitates the highly heretical trade in warp-tainted items.

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There is a specialist slave trade in unsanctioned psykers.  The Adeptus Mechanicus here seem
particularly interested in purchasing such individuals.

The Adeptus Administratum has steadily infiltrated the administrators here.  They are almost all
secretly members of the Administratum, which is why the Adeptus Terra is happy to accept their
tithe assessments without question.

The administrators are dedicated to obfuscating and hiding the actual revenues of Spinnaker’s
Landing.  They are so successful that their actual tithe should be ten times higher than it is.

The Adeptus Mechanicus research facilities are dominated by Hereteks, researching

blasphemous warp-technology.  They are also constructing genetic horrors for some nefarious
purpose.

The Adeptus Mechanicus research here is vital to the survival of the Imperium.  They are
searching for a way to repair the olden throne.

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The brown shirts and the picket fleet regularly aid the Imperial Fleet in defending this area of the
Imperial border.  Their hierarchy has been infiltrated by Imperial sympathisers and the
independence of Spinnaker’s Landing and the reign of the Williamus dynasty is under serious
threat from a military coup.  Bela Williamus is increasing deploying his provost against disloyal
brown shirts.

Service habitation zone

Spinnaker’s Landing requires a large workforce to keep it running and these are housed in the
service levels.

These common areas are more cramped than the upper sections, creating a warren of stacked
hab corridors, barter courts, recreation zones and food halls.  The servants work to maintain a
continual service over a day-cycle, and so these decks are in constant motion with people
heading to or returning from other parts of the station to undertake their duties.  Many workers
are also involved in the work to bring food and materiel up from the surface.

Communal areas are typically a mass of carousing as these downtrodden souls seek to find

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relief from their endless servitude in the consumption of all manner of intoxicants.

Compared to their equivalents within the Imperium, the workers of Spinnaker’s Landing enjoy a
relatively good life, with a decent environment and regular provisions.  They are none-the-less
indentured to hereditary familial service.  They are also subject to the regular terrors of constant
surveillance and of being ‘disappeared’ by the Williamus provost.

Secrets and rumours

Although not officially forbidden, the Williamus dynasty has long suppressed the influence of the
Adeptus Ministorum.  Open practitioners of Emperor-worship are quickly ‘disappeared’.  The
worship of the God-Emperor has become increasingly common and overt in recent years, and
this has caused all manner of trouble among the workers.

There is a powerful union movement among the workers and they have extracted concessions
from Bela Williamus under threat of the withdrawal of labour.

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Many workers are drug addicts and they brew a particularly potent local hallucinogen (called
Blot) that seems to suppress psychic potential.  The Adeptus Mechanicus are rumoured to be
associated with its distribution.

The workers secretly harbour mutants among the lower decks, keeping them for sport or
possibly protecting them from them from being culled by the provost.  For some reason the
locals are being heavily mutated, either that or the station is part of some sort of mutant
trafficking system.  Others say they aren’t mutants but some sort of weird human-like alien.

Industrial zone

Below the service habitation zone and inhabiting the lowest levels of the station (nearest the
planet) is the industrial zone.  Often referred to by the locals as ‘the engine room’, it is a
semi-closed province of the Adeptus Mechanicus that coexists in an uneasy alliance with
independent technical specialists.

Main power is provided by a cascade of massive plasma reactors that are exceptionally stable
and provide far more power than the station can use.  At any one time at least half the reactor
cores are kept at minimum level.

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The industrial zone also houses a complex of manufactories that produce most of the goods the
station needs, as well as processing food and water from the surface.

The industrial zone is connected to the primary maintenance umbilical that descends to the
surface below.  This massive wooden-clad cable is capable of lifting 30,000 tons of cargo at a
time and is in constant use transporting good and labour between the station and the surface. 
This is supplemented by a constant stream of light and heavy lift shuttles to maintain the
required capacity.  This activity is not visible from the guest umbilical.

The lift umbilical is anchored amid a bustling industrial and logistics centre at both terminuses.

Secrets and rumours

The Adeptus Mechanicus authorities are at constant war with the non-Adeptus technicians who
they regard as dangerous radicals that compromise the sacred integrity of the machine forms,
and a threat to the authority of the Adeptus Mechanicus.

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The Adeptus Mechanicus are not in full control of the technology on Spinnaker’s Landing.  It
was originally constructed by the xenos-breed Jokaero, and the Mechanicus maintains a slave
population of Jokaero to keep the station running.  Without these aliens, there are entire
systems on board, the Mechanicus could not maintain.

The Adeptus Mechanicus here are a cult of Hereteks dedicated to the worship of the Jokaero,
who they see as a blessed manifestation of the Omnissiah.

The food manufactories chemically alter the processed food and water to keep the population
docile, or for some other nefarious purpose such as a mass genetic experiment in psyker
suppression.

The use of shuttles has increased markedly lately and the primary umbilical has been seen
dormant on more than one occasion.  Some say the umbilical and other systems are beginning
to break down and the Mechanicus don’t know why.

The plasma reactors are not what they seem, but are a massive Warp drive.  At some point, or
if they are ever all fully powered up, Spinnaker’s Landing will disappear into the Warp.

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Planetary surface

The planet below (not officially named or classified) is a temperate ‘paradise world’ akin to Old
Terra.  It is largely unspoiled and unexploited, with its resources stripped only for what is
needed to maintain Spinnaker’s Landing.

There is a population of nearly two million on the surface and the settlement is divided into two
‘zones’, the maintenance zone and the widely dispersed tourist zones.

The maintenance zone is based around a complex of deep-drilling mines that excavate all
manner of minerals and ores vital to the maintenance of the station above.  There are dozens of
mine-heads and each mine is served by permanent mining communities of oppressed and
indentured mine workers.  Many are slaves, and are forced to work at the most dangerous and
difficult faces.

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The maintenance zone also harvests various timber sources for the necessary wood to maintain
and repair the station.  Spread out between the mines are vast farmlands producing high-yield
crops and large grox herds.  The farming also includes a significant fresh water extraction
network that pipes raw water directly up the maintenance umbilical to the treatment works in the
Industrial zone above.

Vast areas of the planet remain ‘unspoiled’ wildernesses around central tourist facilities.  There
are many spread out over the surface, but the main ones are;

‘Safari-village’ set in the sub-tropical savannah grassland near the equator.  It is popular with
game hunters and includes luxury hunting lodges for extended stays.  The hunts are managed
by rangers and there are many options for all levels of hunting experience.

‘The Islands’ are set amid an archipelago of idyllic tropical islands and balmy calm seas.  It is a
haven for sun-bathing, fishing and diving and each desert island has a small spread of luxury
beach complexes.  Water cruises, yachting, water sports and deep sea fishing are also popular
activities.  Tropical storms are common, and each island maintains an emergency subterranean
shelter for the patrons to ride out such troubles in extreme comfort.

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‘The Uplands’ are a mountain zone ranging from the rocky pine lowlands up to some
spectacular vaulting snowy peaks.  There are mountain trails for all levels of skill and these are
popular with outdoor pursuit types.  For those that want the view without the effort, some peaks
have luxury peak resorts accessed by shuttle.  The northern latitudes also have several
excellent ski resorts.

‘The Jungle’ is a deep river-crossed jungle for the more adventurous ‘explorer’.  It is filled with
jungle game and all manner of wild life, including carnivorous plants.  There are luxury cabins,
and trail camps, and a ‘ruined city’ constructed over a thousand years ago for tourists to
discover.

Each tourist zone is well supported by permanent service staff, guides and experts to ensure
the perfect recreational experience.  The service staff tends to live in hidden habitation zones or
nearby settlements.

Secrets and rumours

For the right price, a ‘shadow safari’ can be arranged, allowing the less reputable hunter to try
their hand at bringing down humans.  These unfortunate humans are typically criminals
sentenced to death (or ‘disappeared’) up on the station, although at peak season, random

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servants can be abducted for the entertainment.

The grox herds are poorly managed and many escape to breed a dangerous population of wild
grox.  The farming community employ hunters to control these rogues, but they have spread out
across the surface.

The mining operations are regularly affected by insurrections and rebellions against their terrible
working conditions.  The brown shirts are regularly used to brutally suppress these protests.

There are rumours that the world has a native population of sentient creatures.  Occasionally
seen they appear to be small, red skinned with thick black hair.  They may be some degenerate
form of human or perhaps alien.  The farming community in particular spread rumours of
sighting of these creatures.

Notable people of Spinnaker’s Landing

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Lord Governor Bela Williamus

The current owner and ruler of Spinnaker’s Landing and the latest scion of the noble dynastic
house of Williamus.  Bela is a tall, proud and vigorous man.  He is likeable, a skilled socialite,
shrewd negotiator and a consummate politician.  Bela has a keen intellect and an insightful
mind.  He has a very clear focus on what needs to be done to maintain his family legacy and the
independence of his demesne from direct Imperial control.

He maintains a rigid ‘public face’ and rarely shows emotion.  He is noted for his calmness under
pressure, his lack of ego, and his ability to find a way through the most difficult situations without
losing his composure.  In private he is jovial, even mischievous, and wears his burden lightly. 
He is convinced that he can secure anything he needs through subterfuge and nepotism among
his wide circle of friends and contacts his is able to achieve his goals and secure his dynasty’s
future.

Bela makes great use of covert power and influence.  He understands the Imperial tenet
‘knowledge is power, guard it well’, and it instructs his every decision.  He maintains a wide
apparatus of surveillance across all his interests, and prefers to exert control through ‘a knife in
the dark’ rather than ‘a thousand swords at dawn’.

Bela’s network of friends, allies and contacts spreads wide throughout the Imperial nobility, the
Rogue Trader community and the senior positions among the Adeptus Terra.  He uses this

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network primarily to secure his position.  Should he ever wish to, he could exert a great deal of
influence over large parts of the Imperial infrastructure.  So far he is content to simply enlarge
his dynasty and its legacy.

As an enemy, his is terrifying.  His victim is unlikely to even know they are at war, and the blow
will be struck by someone with no evident connection to Bela.

For centuries his family has resisted Imperial authority and on many occasions the clumsy
actions of his ancestors have nearly brought the house down.  Bela resolved never to make
those mistakes.  He has concentrated on ‘winning the war, not the battles’, and as such has
made concessions his ancestors, and many of his relatives would find intolerable.

In his early life, against his father’s wishes, he travelled widely, both within the Imperium and on
occasion outside of it.  While appearing the callow youth, misspending his time frivolity and
whim, he actually laboured to build up solid friendships, contact and allies with key people, and
useful institutions.  Bela will confess he spent time working as a tithe assessor for the
Administratum, serving as a knowledge-broker aboard several rogue trader vessels, and as an
ambassador to the Adeptus Terra for the Adeptus Mechanicus.  He meets the speculation of his
other roles with a non-committal silence.

Upon his father’s death, Bela assumed control of the dynasty unopposed.  None of the familial
pretenders could muster the power or influence to oppose him, and his accession was a smooth

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transition.  Quickly, Bela expanded his burgeoning intelligence and surveillance apparatus,
eliminated potential threats and began to transform the house from its weak position to its
current strength.

His father had been insular and as a result the Administratum were on the verge of assuming
control of the administration of Spinnaker’s Landing, and House Williamus’ primary assets. 
Bela immediately reversed this and through his contacts and influence, his house is now more
independent than it has ever been.  He transferred his house notionally into the borders of the
Imperium, but somehow (and observers are still unclear how) managed to increase its
independence from Imperial control.

Since his accession, Bela rarely leaves Corvin’s Spire on Spinnaker’s Landing, save to meet
with other planetary governors or powerful rogue traders who arrive at the station.  So far he
has not publically married and has no heir.

Secrets and rumours

While travelling in his youth Bela became a member of the Inquisition.  He still is today.

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While travelling in his youth Bela became a radical, even a heretic.  He is a member of a secret
cult of alien worshippers and is trying to advance the cause of some unseen alien empire.

Bela is a degenerate and a psyker.  He remains unseen as he is mutating into a foul Warp
beast.  Spinnaker’s Landing has so few psykers because he drains all the psychic energy from
the station.

Bela is a stooge and a fool, not the master manipulator his is reputed to be.  He is in the thrall of
the Adeptus Terra and has been forced to allow the Administratum, the Arbites and the
Inquisition into Spinnaker’s Landing.  They are in control, which is why there have been fewer
and fewer rogue traders coming to the station lately.

When he became master of his house, Bela killed and ate all his relatives.  He is a murderous
cannibal, and all the disappeared on Spinnaker’s Landing are butchered for his dinner table.

People are starting to get concerned that he has not married and has no heir to take over the
dynasty.  They are fearful of a chaotic transition after his death.

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Master Tyron Cellarer, Commander of the Docks

Tyron has been in charge of the docks at Spinnaker’s Landing for over sixty years.  A squat,
rotund fellow, he maintains control of the berthing and repair yards with an iron authority born
out of respect for his fair leadership and decisions.  Tyron is a family man with fourteen children,
all of whom share his stature are now in key management positions around the dock, but he
treats all his workers as he treats his family.  He works them hard, but treats them fairly.

Given to bouts of rage under pressure, he mitigates this with meticulous planning, and likes
everything to go according to plan; when it doesn’t he has in place a crisis team led by his
eldest son, who are better able to respond.  Tyron doesn’t like surprises, nor does he like
challenges to his authority, which given the increasing presence of Adeptus Mechanicus
personnel since Lord Governor Bela came to power, is a position he’s increasingly finding
himself in.

As an independent technical specialist, he resents the practices and arrogance of the Adeptus
Mechanicus that are increasingly a part of the dock operations.  In particular he dislikes their
treatment of his own crews, as somehow inferior in skill and ability; however his biggest problem
is that the Adeptus Mechanicus only pay lip service to his authority, and often conduct work
outside of his management and procedures.

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Tyron has expressed his displeasure to Lord Bela on numerous occasions, but despite
assurances from his master, the situation continues to worsen.

The one thing Tyron insists on is that these problems never interfere with the first class service
his crews give to the patron ships that enter his docks.  His crews are masters of
plasma-technology, and have long experience of working with all manner of xeno-tech.  He is
proud that he and his crew are able to work alongside Eldar technicians on their ships and he
has driven forward a technical exchange programme to enhance this.

He is largely unaware of the threat this places him under should the Adeptus Terra ever exert
control over Spinnaker’s Landing.

Secrets and rumours

The Cellarer family is wracked by infighting.  As Master Tyron ages, his sons who are all in
positions of power are beginning to position themselves to take over.  People suspect that when
Tyron dies their will be war in the docks.

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Tyron is an abhuman; one of the remnant squats scattered across the Imperium.

The Adeptus Mechanicus are plotting to remove the Cellarer clan and take full control of the
docks.  They are seeking a way to extract his expertise in dealing with plasma technology
before they kill him.  Lord Governor Bela supports the Mechanicus.

There have been open fights between Tyron’s crews and the Adepts of the Mechanicus.

Mistress Redial Collis Administrator of Spinnaker’s Landing

The quite, reserved Redial Collis runs the administration and bureaucracy of Spinnaker’s
Landing and is a powerful ally of Lord Governor Bela.  She is a spinster who dedicated her life
to working her way up from a humble scribe at Spinnaker’s Landing, to take control of the
Williamus dynasty information, records and accounting concerns.  She is rarely seen, even in
her official capacity, but her influence is felt everywhere.

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Redial long ago found her niche in life and loves what she does.  She is calm, contented, settled
in her ways and a great proponent for tradition and continuity.  To her subordinates she appears
professionally severe but fair.  To her few peers and friends she is open, honest and genuinely
loving.  She garners respect from everyone.

Redial organises not only the day-to-day administration of Spinnaker’s Landing, but also the
tithe assessment and grading for submission to the Adeptus Administratum.  She also oversees
the information gathering and surveillance for Lord Bela.  There is little that happens within the
Williamus realm that she is not aware of.

Redial has fiercely resisted the influence and advances of the Administratum.  She is a ‘doer’
and has focussed her whole life on achieving efficiency in the management of information.  The
dogmas and institutional inefficiencies inherent in the Administratum fill her with dread and she
will resist them to her dying breath.

Redial, is also ambitious.  Although never having had children herself, she maintains a close
coterie of ‘apprentices’ and hopes to pass on her enthusiasm and practices to them.

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Secrets and rumours

Redial and Lord Bela have a long friendship which has at various times been a romantic
relationship.  There was a time when Redial and Bela were rumoured to be about to marry.

Redial and Bela are at loggerheads over recent attempts by Bela to bring in the Adeptus
Administratum.  Redial was to be restricted to his covert intelligence role.  Redial resisted,
threatening to expose his surveillance practices.

Redial has been feeding Bela false information for years.  She is actually a high ranking
member of the Administratum and has been passing all the information she can into the
Imperium.

Redial harbours designs on taking control of the Williamus dynasty.  She is planning a coup,

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and has allied with the Imperium to support her in deposing the noble line.

Mistress Hale Mercurius, Marshal of the Provost

Mistress Hale is not a native to Spinnaker’s Landing.  She accompanied Lord Bela upon his
return from his travels and maintained a position within his personal salon until his ascension. 
During that time they were rarely apart, a closeness that continues today.

Hale is a brooding, secretive woman with a penchant for the morose emotions of the Terran
High Gothic culture.  Stoic and often silent, she exudes menace and disapproval.  She is a very
difficult person to deal with, and is unrelentingly negative, often doom-saying and threatening
the end of all things.  For her the glass is half empty.

Orphaned at birth, she was raised by the Schola Progenium within the Imperium, and entered
service in the Adeptus Munitorum.  Assigned to rear echelon theatre support, she quickly
transferred into the Imperial Guard as a front-line logistics specialist and her martial career took
off.  She quickly advanced through the ranks, although to what status, or why and how she
finally mustered out of the Guard she never says.

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She is equally reticent about how she met Lord Bela or what the nature of their relationship
was.  Upon his accession to power, Hale was installed as the commander of his newly
enhanced provost force.  She has moulded them into a highly effective secret police service and
also as a well trained and well equipped ‘brown shirt’ military, capable of operating in roles as
diverse as combat void ship crew, and wilderness rangers.  Her cold aspect and ruthlessness
instils fear, respect and loyalty in equal measure.

Hale has been careful to ensure that the surveillance technology has been kept out of the
purview of the Adeptus Mechanicus.  It is installed and maintained by traditional Spinnaker’s
Landing technicians.  The Mechanicus has agreed to this although they are constantly seeking
to tap in to the data flows without alerting the provost.  So far without success.

Secrets and rumours

Mistress Hale was and remains a member of the Inquisition alongside Lord Bela.  They forged
an unbreakable bond during their time before they came back to Spinnaker’s Landing.

She was, and remains a senior member of the Adeptus Arbites.  She is here to assess the
activities of Bela and the administration on Spinnaker’s Landing for treachery against the
Imperium.  An Arbites strike force will arrive shortly following here damning reports about Lord

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Bela.

Hale was a Commissar in the Imperial Guard.  She was forced to leave the Guard in disgrace
following an incident of leniency that led to the fall of a key garrison and the death of fifty
thousand men.

Since taking over the provost, Hale has personally ordered the death of nearly twenty thousand
people.  Many of these have been key allies of Mistress Redial Collis.  Hale is trying to weaken
the administration for some reason.

She has established a secret provost combat training facility on the planet’s surface.  What they
are doing and why, nobody knows, but many farmers have complained about attacks on their
ranch hands and damage to their property.

Magos Pash Voda of the Adeptus Mechanicus

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Voda is a fanatical servant of the Omnissiah.  Having upgraded most of his body he no longer
conforms to notions of humanity and is a logical, dispassionate, entirely pragmatic individual. 
He harbours little affinity to those of the flesh, and rarely interacts with any but his
subordinates.  When giving audiences, he speaks though a herald and is entirely literal,
matter-of-fact and perfunctory.  He habitually conceals any information concerning the Adeptus
Mechanicus and his operations on Spinnaker’s Landing.

Pash resides in a control chamber in the Industrial levels near the main generator chambers. 
He is typically linked into most of the station telemetry systems so that he is aware in real-time
of the status of all technology across the station (except the surveillance infrastructure under the
remit of the provost).

Pash is increasingly pushing his tech-priests into the docking zone, attempting to take control of
the maintenance of the various void ships that come in.

Pash is also overseeing a variety of fringe research projects conducted in his facilities up in the
trade zone.  These are mostly focussed on bio-genetic enhancements, and the study for
retro-engineering of those xenos artefacts he is able to purchase or acquire.

Pash and the Mechanicus have little interest in taking control of the station, and are content to
maintain the technology, and busy themselves with the study of the steady stream of xenos
artefacts.

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Secrets and rumours

Pash maintains a slave population of Jokaero, whose ancestors originally constructed

Spinnaker’s Landing.  He and his Adepts have no idea how to maintain much of the technology
here without them.

Pash is a Heretek and is using his position here outside of the Imperium to conduct research
into forbidden technology.

Pash knows that Spinnaker’s Landing is actually an alien void ship with an engine capable of
instant interstellar travel without having to enter the Warp.  This is why he keeps half the
generators off-line.  They are part of the star drive.  One day he’ll turn them on.

Pash hates psykers and he has had a series of Gellar-style damping fields installed to suppress
psychic energy.

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He has established a secret research facility down on the surface, in one of the deep mines that
was mysteriously abandoned.  Apparently the miners found something and Pash has claimed
control of it…

Pash is a fierce pro-Imperium advocate.  He intents to take control of Spinnaker’s Landing and
turn it into a Mechanicus forge-facility.

King Billy, Lord of Under Land

William Shoemaker, otherwise known as ‘King Billy’ is the unofficial leader of the service crew. 
He holds no official office, nor does he seek to; he ‘rules the service decks as a benevolent
‘fixer’, ensuring that disputes are resolved without recourse to violence and that everyone toes
the line of solidarity in the face of drudgery.

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Billy is an idealist and an optimist who loves life and his fellow man; and as often as possible his
fellow woman.  He is a master carouser, a humanist and populist who is never happier than
when he’s making others happy.  Through his largess of spirit and coin, he has established a
network of fixers, mediators, community activists and advocates and arrangers that dedicates
itself to keeping life in the service zone bearable.

Billy has little ambition beyond enjoying life and rejects the political power his position as a living
‘folk hero’ gives him.  If he wished he could bring Spinnaker’s Landing to a halt through agitating
the withdrawal of labour or the resistance to authority.  The provost is desperate to remove him,
but cannot directly intervene for fear of the backlash.  Instead they consistently try to smear his
reputation, although the service population take little notice.

Billy’s entourage and advisors have managed to negotiate a reduction in the disappearances. 
In fact they secretly collude to ‘inform’ on folks who are causing trouble in the Under Land (as
the service habitation zone is sometimes known), although Billy himself is only partly aware of
this.

Billy’s ‘authority’ and entourage attracts a voluntary tithe, although they have never explicitly
sought such monies.  These resources are used to fund their charitable work, look after the
disadvantaged, and run free medicae facilities.  When there’s an excess of resources, or for
occasions such as Saint Corvin’s Day, King Billy’s court purchases as much food and drink as
possible (including the hallucinogenic ‘Blot’) and puts on a party.  Billy loves a party.

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Secrets and rumours

King Billy is a Williamus stooge.  His role is to keep the servants placated with a series of good
deeds and riotous parties so that they will better accept their indentured service.

He is a dangerous demagogue who intends to lead a popular uprising as soon as the time is
right.  His terrorist cadre have been stockpiling stolen weapons ready for the ‘big day’.

Billy is a Chaos worshipper and a licentious moral degenerate.  He is attempting to build a
heretical cult so as to doom Spinnaker’s Landing and its entire population to damnation at the
hands of the depraved Warp gods.

Billy is a member of the provost and uses his position of trust to weed out known trouble makers
to be ‘disappeared’.  He has been seen meeting with security staff up in the trade zone.

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Billy is a simpleton and a dullard who is too stupid to rule.  He is a straw man for a dark cabal
who fill his entourage and have a dark purpose.

Billy is addicted to ‘Blot’, and it has destroyed his mind.  He lives in a dream world of
hallucinations.

Mistress Cassandra Holt, Surface governor

Cassandra was born on the surface to the powerful Holt family.  She was raised in grox-herding
but her natural affinity and pleasing personality made her a perfect community spokesman and
before long she was appointed governor.

She is honest, forthright, practical and fierce advocate of the often forgotten surface-dwellers
under the auspice of Spinnaker’s Landing.  She leads a small council of elders drawn from the
mining, tourism and farming communities and represents their interests to the administration up
in orbit.

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Cassandra’s fierce advocacy has raised the conditions of the surface folk significantly, and the
flow of necessary goods down from the manufactories above has greatly increased.  She has
also managed to streamline the logistics of food and raw material transport up from the surface.

Where her feminine charms and negotiation skills have been less successful is in the liaison
with the Adeptus Mechanicus; particularly with Magos Voda.  Technical repairs on the surface
remain an issue and the lot of the miners is consistently poor, leading to some tension in the
surface council she runs.

Cassandra is a family-girl and genuinely cares about her people.  She is soft-skinned and takes
insults poorly, a weakness that can often prompt her into rash overcompensations.

Secrets and rumours

Cassandra took office as surface governor following the killing of the previous incumbent,
Artemis Gull.  People say it was a political assassination to clear the way for her, and that her
brother Michael pulled the trigger.

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She doesn’t really care about the mining community or the tourist servants.  She is just out to
get a better deal for the farmers.

Since taking office she’s ruled with an iron fist.  Dissent within the farming community has met
with killings among the dissenters and damage to their properties.  Cassandra has employed
‘strange little red mercenaries’ from off-world to take down her opponents.

She married her cousin Gregor, but actually this was one of her brothers.  Their first child didn’t
die at birth but was killed for exhibiting terrible genetic mutations.  Her other children seem
normal but they aren’t.

She has, for some reason, been releasing grox into the wilderness.  Their offspring, no longer
lobotomised and docile are becoming a serious threat.  Why would she do this?

Other issues

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‘Can’t see the wood for the trees’

Spinnaker’s Landing is an unusual construction for an orbital station.  Some sections have thick
wood cladding over a metal core.  Others are entirely wooden, and the whole structure is
maintained by an unusual structural energy field.  The wood itself contains trace moisture that
freezes in the void.  There is a constant flow of timber from the surface to repair and replace
sections that need updating (keeping the wood sculptors in work).  The station is also well
supplied throughout with living plants that are scrupulously tended and maintained.

Why is this so?  Before his death nearly two millennia ago, the technical master, Garamond
wrote a treatise that claimed the station was of alien design; Jokaero to be precise.  It had been
constructed to produce a living bio-field that interacted with the ‘structural energy field’ and
produce a naturally occurring effect similar to the Gellar Fields found on Imperial void ships.  It
also acted as a minor null-field suppressing psychic potential in humans.  Garamond postulated
that the redundant power generators were part of an unfinished section that was to be a gravity
drive capable of using the Warp to fold space, thus allowing instant interstellar travel.  For some
reason the void ship wasn’t finished, and has since been maintained as an orbital station.

Garamond died under mysterious circumstances and his theories filed away and lost; although
every now and then, there’s an outbreak of reported sightings of ‘little red men’ both across the
station and the planetary surface below.

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Most people simply think it was an experiment in a different way of building a void station using
available local materials.

Saint Corvin

The Williamus dynasty was founded four thousand years ago by its first master, Corvin
Williamus.  Dynastic records say he was a powerful and successful rogue trader who
discovered Spinnaker’s Landing during an expedition.  When he retired from the trade, he set
up his court here and used his extensive resources to establish an independent enclave that
continues to this day.  He is worshipped now as a saint on the void station; as the father of them
all, and is seen as a paragon of bravery, wisdom, and fealty to one’s family and friends.  The
benevolence of his early reign has continued through most of the rulers since, and Spinnaker’s
Landing has engaged in a constant battle to remain free of the Imperium and true to his
free-spirited ideals.

Over the centuries, various treaties have compromised this, and the small Mechanicus
presence has greatly expanded.  In recent years, the influence of the Adeptus Terra has also
been seen on the station, although as yet Saint Corvin remains the object of worship for most of
the population.

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Into the fold – machinations of the Adeptus Terra

The Inquisition

For centuries the Inquisition has known of Spinnaker’s Landing, and the ‘shadow’ activity
flowing through it.  They covertly infiltrated it on and off, but could never achieve a formal hidden
presence their, for fear of ‘scattering the herd’.

It is unclear as to whether their efforts have succeeded of late, but the establishment of the
‘Black House’ certainly points to a possible permanent Inquisitorial safe-house.

With so much information and leads flowing through the void station, it would certainly be a
major coup for that organisation if they had managed to get established.

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Of course this would represent a serious and significant threat to the survival of the station and
the Williamus dynasty.  If it were discovered, that an Inquisitorial watching post were there, most
of the patrons would cease coming.  If Williamus were involved this would be the ultimate secret
of the station; he would be ruined, and the Inquisition would have wasted a goldmine of
information.

Although not officially part of the Imperium, the Williamus dynasty maintains its obligations
towards psyker suppression and occasionally allows a Black Ship to dock to take away any they
have rounded up.

The Adeptus Administratum

For some reason the Administratum is happy to accept the local administration on Spinnaker’s
Landing.  They accept the local estimation of tithe grading without query.  For centuries they
have been trying to infiltrate the local administration in order to instil Administratum principles,
largely without success.

Since the accession of Lord Bela Williamus, Administratum infiltrators have been steadily
‘disappeared’.  This has caused serious consternation among the Administratum officials tasked
with ‘converting’ Spinnaker’s Landing.  They are considering their next move to bring the

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independent world within the Imperial fold.

Adeptus Arbites

The Arbites has little presence on Spinnaker’s Landing, and given their limited resources are
making little attempt to change that.  While the Administratum considered Lord Bela Williamus
to be a planetary governor and therefore requires certain things of him, the Arbites views
Spinnaker’s Landing as currently outside of their remit.  Until it is adopted as a formal Imperial
world, that will remain the case.

Arbites agents assessed Bela’s father and found him in breach of his notional responsibilities.  It
is therefore likely that they have an assault plan in place for when Spinnaker’s Landing does
finally enter the Imperium.

The Military

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Both the Imperial Guard and the Imperial Fleet have little concern for Spinnaker’s Landing.  It is
assessed by the Departmento Munitorum as ‘threat null’, and therefore will require little
mobilisation to suppress if required.

The Imperial Fleet in the sector has been greatly impressed by the Williamus picket ships and
have engaged their services in border skirmishing over the centuries.  Although usually avoiding
Spinnaker’s Landing, small numbers of Imperial Fleet ships will occasionally be granted access
under special condition, typically to make vital repairs.

Adeptus Psykana and Astropathica

Spinnaker’s Landing has an unusually low instance of psykers of all types.  There is no
Astropathic Choir on board (early attempts proved fruitless).  The Psykana occasionally send a
research team to assess why this would be but psykers find it very difficult to remain aboard. 
The ‘damping’ of their potential is uncomfortable and makes them feel anxious and paranoid. 
They remain very curious as to why this place has such an effect on psychic energy though.

From a past age – machinations of the Adeptus Mechanicus

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The Adeptus Mechanicus has gradually ingratiated itself into the core structures of Spinnaker’s
Landing.  There is a great deal of ancient technology on board and the chance to study,
maintain, and learn from it is too good to miss.  The authorities on Mars are intent on taking
overall control of the station, but they are patient and given the success of their current
approach are happy to continue with their successful strategy.

A succession of Magos’ sent to Spinnaker’s Landing have failed to confirm to Mars whether the
technology here is archaeotech from the Golden Age or xeno-tech from the Jokaero alien
breed.  Every replacement Magos has been sent in with orders to conform this core question,
and every one has failed to report conclusively.

Campaign Seeds

Dark Heresy

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Spinnaker’s Landing is the perfect venue for an investigation-based Dark Heresy group. 
Installed on the station, they will have a constant supply of new visitors to investigate, gather
intelligence on, and feed back to their Inquisitor.  Then there are the myriad plots and mysteries
within Spinnaker’s Landing itself.

Alternately it can be used as a stop-off or local facility to base themselves out of, and retire to
recuperate.

Rogue Trader

Spinnaker’s Landing is the perfect regular port for a Rogue Trader to off load his cargo, get
repairs done, or upgrade his ship.  It also offers the opportunity for some ‘shore leave’
adventures, including surface recreation, trading and carousing.

Deathwatch

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Spinnaker’s Landing offers the chance for some undercover work around the various xenos
activities on the station and possibly the planet below.  Like an Inquisitorial force they could be
based here to deal with or explore a xenos border threat.

Alternately, they could be sent in to destroy the xenos-infested station, only to find things aren’t
quite as simple as they thought when the local inquisition agents intercept them…

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