Greetings chaps,

I am looking for plot ideas or thoughts for something I'm working on. I have the back story in mind but there's a few little ideas I am keen to work on, gather some thoughts from the board on concerns with the concept etc.

So we shall commence with a bit of an IC background. I've used Quote to make it easier to read.

Image used as inspiration (found it online somewhere, will update if I find where the original was from):

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzgyjBJAzqKdWHB2dGRIMzZROEE/edit?usp=sharing

Out in the distant reaches of the segmentum is the sector named Tempuria. The sector is known for a rather strange galactic anomaly which baffles many an Imperium scholar or expert as to its origin. Much of it is surrounded by fierce warp storms, harsh energy nebulae, black holes or large asteroid fields. It is commonly named the “Hades Belt” after the god from early Terran legend, and his realm of the damned. The region which comprises the belt almost fully surrounds the Tempuria sector, obscuring travel even through the warp and spans nearly 20 lightyears across at its widest point. Ships have become lost trying to slip through the vast expanse of the belt, no ship can enter via warp or webway and all struggle to pass through the area. The only safe route through the belt therefore, is a single straight. Cleared away several millennia ago, a former asteroid field plays host to a gigantic station complex. If the surrounding hazards are deemed the belt of Hades, this is nicknamed “Hades Buckle”. Spanning almost five miles in size, this acts as the primary control gate for the sector, monitoring freight in and out. Armoured to endure a large war, having several regiments of guard from its own stations as well as having a significant naval presence, it has remained a strong imposing sentinel, its permanent garrison and staff live, work and die on this station. Needless to say then, direct assaults would most certainly fail.

And now to the sector itself, consisting of approximately three star systems and 19 worlds, Tempuria provides essential goods and services to many neighbouring sectors, playing host to a large number of agri-worlds, mining colonies, industrial refineries and forge worlds. These are produced and exported in vast quantities, hundreds of freighters passing through the Buckle on a daily basis, being put through routine inspection. It is estimated that hundreds of worlds rely on the exports and dozens of campaigns in the area. As a result of this then, the belt becomes a key target for a number of raiders seeking to plunder overladen Imperial transports, Ork looters looking to sabotage some big shiny ships, even the odd Chaos warband seeking an easy kill of the lightly defended worlds beyond the gate.

I may need to recheck some of it and reword bits but that's a side issue. Long story short then, massive space station armoured to the teeth where loads of freight ships pass through its gaze every day delivering precious raw materials in and out of the isolated sector. It's a key gateway which if fallen, would allow countless enemies to plunder its riches behind it.

Now for something I didn't mention in the brief, the entire station is under the command of "The Overseer". I know what it is and what I want it to be but the players wont. It's intended to be a hyper complex archaic machine controlling almost everything at a core level and integrated almost everywhere on the station but with one central control point for ease of maintenance, delegating other responsibilities to lesser sub systems. It controls everything and only one supreme tech magos is even vaguely capable of manipulating or altering it (to a limit). The techpriests and engineers maintain and manipulate these lesser systems which operate within the parameters set by the Overseer.

I would like to station the KT here for a while and find something to keep them on this station. With such a vast complex it is entirely reasonable to have corridors which have issues, bits where people are not supposed to go, restricted or hazardous areas etc. The plan I had was either something involving a bug hunt for a few stray tyranids which have somehow snuck onboard or something far more sinister...but yeah, I'm throwing the idea out to the crowd to see what you guys can come up with.

Any questions or if more details are required, ask away.

1. Tyranid Infiltration species is always good option.
2. Possible Heretical cult/insurrection unit trying to gain control of the station by summoning Daemons or other foul things from the Warp.
3. Maggot Men (aka Slaugth) greeping in the tunnels.
4. Umbra
5. Previously unknown Xenos species coming aboard from inside the Tempuria Sector and starting to cause havoc
6. Yu'vath artifacts
7. Eldars, having seen some possible dark future where this station plays pivotal role, attacking. See option 2
8. Dark Eldar slave raiding infiltration
9. Ork Freebooter raiding attack
10. The Overseer going haywire after unlucky Tech-Priest administration, so KT has to escort high ranking Magos to it through closed bulk heads and inner defense points

PS. Nice picture of the Station, where did you get it?

As far as why a Kill-Team would be posted aboard the station for a protracted stay, I have two ideas:

1) Some kind of unknown xenomorphs infiltrated the station and 'infected' certain key security personnel with some kind of mind-control bug (something like the Q'orl Mind Grub from The Radical's Handbook), presumably to weaken the station's defenses ahead of an impending attack. Hence the Kill-Team is assigned to the station to defend it when this anticipated attack eventually occurs.

-or-

2) An Imperial survey ship located an abandoned xeno vessel of unknown manufacture adrift in the asteroid field. They towed if back to the station and docked it there; the station promptly contacted the Ordo Xenos to take possession of the mysterious ship (hoping to curry favor with the powerful organization, of course). Unable to identify the vessel and unwilling to move it until they can, the OX has requested consultations from xeno experts from throughout the Segmentum. These experts will slowly be trickling in over the course of the next year. Since it quickly becomes obvious that various factions have taken an... unseemly interest in the xenoship, the Inquisition requests a Deathwatch team to be assigned to the station until the ship can be moved, to provide some much-needed muscle to the station's overextended security forces.

Interesting thoughts. Given some of the ideas I was thinking and believe I have something.

The Hades Belt was originally discovered by a powerful rogue trader family who, seeing an opportunity, capitalised on the bountiful region available. They built the station over several generations, adding to it before the Imperium opted to have a greater stake in it. The station is now operated in some ghastly military/trader agreement whereby the Imperium are effectively renting it out. The trader handles the maintenance and overseeing while the military patrol it and store their ships/tanks/units there.

Now as we know from the books and fiction, Rogue Traders have been known to augment xenos technology into their constructs, I was thinking of making the Overseer some sort of Xeno-tech/Imperium hybrid. Such a thing would be quite an intriguing concept for a KT. The method of its resistance is also something quite subtle. I'm talking the occasional malfunctions here and there, gravity or atmosphere issues etc. Something which suggests tech degradation but which I know is the AI. The dilemma for the team is that to wreck it would savage the connection through the entire network and leave the station into a husk, most of the sub systems only existing due to the authority of the overseer. If they destroy it, they could doom the station...

Anyone know of any pieces of intriguing tech then which could serve this roll?

Well only Xenos race I know who uses full AI is Tau.

This meshed together with Imperial Vat-grown brains/silicate crystal for computing power and storage facility for said AI.

Only problem the Rogue Traders Tech-Priest didn't take into account was the faster than normal degradation of Biological component, as these vat-grown brains were never meant for this powerfull computation.

Also this AI has started to develop quirks that have begun to take similar aspect of dementia/schizophrenia/megalomania.

The other thought that occurs is that I use the AI and the thought of a hostile alien. Imagine you are in a section of station and you find the chamber bulk heads inexplicably close and the airlocks opening into space. You would think sabotage or rogue AI but the other thought is that you would simply be in the wrong place at the wrong time with the doors sealing to vent a Tyranid lictor it detected in the same chamber skulking through vents and it was the best way to purge it.

The party would blame the machine and miss the Xenos taking a space walk.

A genestealer cult infilitrating the Rogue Trader Dynasty would be a great reason for an Ordo Xenos Inquisitor to have a KT on standby and allows you to include xnos creatures, political intrigue and cultists. It also gives the bad guys a great reason to want to control the Archaic Computer terminal.

This is an idea I want to use. The space station has a dark secret... mutant labour!

The KT finds out only after many "accidents" and other happenings. It is obvious the government does not want this found out but what will the KT do? Kill them, call an inquisitor or just say "Hey! Good job!"