I am currently populating my expanse with interesting characters, locations, ships, etc...

And I'd like to put some "third party" stuff in it from other players, using their line of thoughts and characters so everything is really different.

What's the most cool stuff you have in your expanse?

- A huge mass conveyor that salvages random ship across the deep expanse?

- A RT that keeps an ork plantation inside his cargo hold?

- C'tans?

- A Space Marine chapter?

- A black ship? (Inquisition)

- etc...

Give me nice ones and I will put them into my universe! (like Remi's red fleet)

missionary (insert name here) abord (insert ship name) that can walk in the void with out a void suit. no one knows how or why.

frontier planet that worships the emperor and his 20 sons. (planet separated from imperium before the heresy. and they know the names of the 2 "lost" primarchs,)

deathwatch/chapter fortress. they have been out of contact for a few thousand years and their gene seeds have become mixed from the original contributing chapters. (haven't been able to send any to earth for those years either.

deathworld with a 'nid hive fleet over it. the catch. the local flora and fauna ate every creature the nids sent down now they don't have enough energy to leave to find easier pickings.

a world with a rogue (and mad) magos who has populated the world with hybrids of human, ork, kroot, elder, and several other races. all combinations covered.

indestructible blue box that says "police". never found in the same place twice.

And I'd like to put some "third party" stuff in it from other players, using their line of thoughts and characters so everything is really different.

What's the most cool stuff you have in your expanse?

- A huge mass conveyor that salvages random ship across the deep expanse?

That would be the Gorgonaut, operated by the Lathe world mechanicus.

In my fiction, I have several fun, if not heinously cliche, and possibly broken things and people:

• The Silver Ravens and the Korvallus Dynasty. Led by Edric "Boss" Korvallus, one of the greatest, most honorable Rogue Traders in the Expanse. He's an old man with stories to tell, and a number of Lieutenants that keep his Dynasty powerful, if they do it honorably. He is the light in the benighted darkness. Owns several big ships (might even get a battleship, one day), at least a few planets and stations, and set himself up as Governor of an out of the way farm planet, to enjoy his golden years. He's sort of a mix of a little Winterscale and Wrath Umbolt.
• The Emperor's Deliverance. This pimped battleship was built to house some sort of warp lance/cannon, and then lost to the warp and the void. Now, the Oberon-class vessel waits, derelict, pitted, and still very much a prize for anyone to come along and claim her. Sort of a take on the Reclaiming the Light of Terra idea many people bat around.
• Melfina. In a complete moment of creativity block, I couldn't come up with a name, but she is a Necron-forged humanoid Korvallus found during a short, ill-fated trip to the Jericho Reach. She is a fully synthetic human with the Navigator gene, allowing the Necrons to keep a track of their warp-based foes, while staying safely separated from the anathema that is the Empryean. Like Melfina of Outlaw Star, she is nice, innocent, and a bit naive, not needing a more defined personality before her tomb world went to sleep, and the project that she was of was abandoned, and forgotten. She spends much of her time in a secluded stasis vault.
• Asteira Volaris. A hyper-hot Navigator Scion; the result of her father's work to clean out all the junk that garbles up his races' genetics. She is very cool, and can pass for a Human noble with no effort. She is now involved in some internal family issues, and having a baby; a test as to whether she is a success, or just a fluke. She is also involved with ace pilot Arin Trenn, another issue.
• Kaevas. A full-blood Eldar. He travels aboard a Rogue Trader's ship with a deal in place; he helps them tear through ruins, using his centuries of knowledge about lots of stuff, and in return, he gets first dibs on anything Eldar they find. Weapons and such are not a biggie, but he combs everything they find for soulstones, which he collects, and eventually finds a chance to return to his Craftworld. It's a small price to pay for his varied aide. He's also talked their way out of combat with several Corsair ships, once they understand the help their people have gotten, even if they don't know exactly how they have.

In some manner or fashion, most of this stuff is worked into my on-again/off-again fiction that I write.

Thanks guys,
I think I will implement all of those at some point. (except for the battleship, I already did some crazy sh*t in a similar adventure)

My idea that've shamefully yet never came to life is a 1. world of flying rocks (Avatar style) 2. inhabited by Ogryns 3. riding on winged rhino/grox-like creatures. 4. (...) 5. profit

I had a planet inhabited by 'primitives'.

On the surface, it looked like any other feral world. Only trick was, pretty much everyone was a sorceror.

The inhabitants were descendants of people who'd crash landed on the planets centuries before and one of the few salvageable resources had been a rather extensive library of grimoires and other forbidden tomes of sorcery.

It was fun. Gave the players a bit of a start when they realised that appearantly everyone was a psyker. I think they even realised why they'd only seen young people on the planet.

I had a planet inhabited by 'primitives'.

On the surface, it looked like any other feral world. Only trick was, pretty much everyone was a sorceror.

The inhabitants were descendants of people who'd crash landed on the planets centuries before and one of the few salvageable resources had been a rather extensive library of grimoires and other forbidden tomes of sorcery.

It was fun. Gave the players a bit of a start when they realised that appearantly everyone was a psyker. I think they even realised why they'd only seen young people on the planet.

Did they have any titans?

http://1d4chan.org/wiki/1st_Membranes

A former Arbiter who was horribly murdered then rebuilt as an advanced battle servitor who somehow retained some of his previous intelligence and personality. He's slow, plodding, and has no in-built weaponry, but is hideously durable and can wield most everything you put in his hands.He's somewhat brutal in his methods, but provides the PC's a bonus on suppressing crime (crime against the captain at least) and unrest/mutiny aboard their ship.

My players have recently acquired him in a stasis pod. It took them about twelve seconds to figure out that he's robocop.

Haha 12 seconds is slow, I wasn't even half-way through the first sentence when I saw where you were going with that one.......

Funnily the concept works surprisingly well in 40K.

Void-whales.

Specifically, a hibernating one which had grown a 'shell' of ice and rock debris and was mistaken for a large asteroid. The explorers set up a mining outpost on it, assuming there were radioactive minerals at the core (it was warm, after all). Then the exploratory shaft hit a wierd, translucent gooey layer a metre or so thick, covering a smooth surface of white rock.Then the pupil rolled into view.

Some running may have been involved...

Did they have any titans?

http://1d4chan.org/wiki/1st_Membranes

Nope, sorry. They did however have a salvageable Light Cruiser crashed on the planet, which is where the Gorgonaut came in.

And I'd like to put some "third party" stuff in it from other players, using their line of thoughts and characters so everything is really different.

What's the most cool stuff you have in your expanse?

- A huge mass conveyor that salvages random ship across the deep expanse?

That would be the Gorgonaut, operated by the Lathe world mechanicus.

Not sure if this really counts, but some neat things from my game (most of them are from my players, so I can take little if any credit):

-The group's Arch-Militant has constructed gladiatorial fight pits in one of the lower decks of a transport vessel and every time they hit a populated planet he press-gangs a few thousand, runs them through the arena, and whatever comes out the other side becomes part of his personal retinue. He just knocked out a giant predator called an Acidic Jolshark on a death world and can't wait to add it to the fighting pits.

-The Order of the Charcoal Feather, a Sisters of Battle Order created by another player which is perpetually underfunded. Due to lack of support from the Administratum/Munitorium/Games Workshop/Ecclesiarchy, she must travel the stars drumming up funds by encouraging everyone with discounts at the "spirit store" and sending the funds back to her Order in the hopes that they can get some new equipment and an update.

-The Emperor's Finest Cavendish, the Navigator's favorite blend of pipe tobacco.

- Also here are some latin phrases I have made up which we use in the campaign at various points:

Insufficientia Gubernare - Insufficient governance, an invocation high-ranking Imperial authorities can use to declare a planetary government ineffectual. Often used by Rogue Trader's to reorganize worlds before they descend into "anarchy".

Gloria Imperator Eternum - Eternal glory tot he Empire, a phrase which dates back to the period immediately following the Horus Heresy, and the title of a particularly popular mass often favored by local nobility.

Certamine Capax Personarum - Combat capable Personnel, an ancient phrase which is used as an all call across ships which bear warriors from various military, religious, governmental, and private organizations. Generally used during boarding actions or all-out planetary landings.

Tene Tuus Natibus - Hold on to your butts, a phrase pilots use as an invocation to the machine-spirit of their craft before taking off, especially common with those who pilot a craft capable of carrying passengers.

Awesome stuff. I will surely be using a large portion of this content in my expanse.
They have some stasis vaults lost around the space hulk they just salvaged, I can get a lot of surprise stuff coming from the vaults they didn't open/found yet (robocop!).

(...)

- Also here are some latin phrases I have made up which we use in the campaign at various points:

Insufficientia Gubernare - Insufficient governance, an invocation high-ranking Imperial authorities can use to declare a planetary government ineffectual. Often used by Rogue Trader's to reorganize worlds before they descend into "anarchy".

Gloria Imperator Eternum - Eternal glory tot he Empire, a phrase which dates back to the period immediately following the Horus Heresy, and the title of a particularly popular mass often favored by local nobility.

Certamine Capax Personarum - Combat capable Personnel, an ancient phrase which is used as an all call across ships which bear warriors from various military, religious, governmental, and private organizations. Generally used during boarding actions or all-out planetary landings.

Tene Tuus Natibus - Hold on to your butts, a phrase pilots use as an invocation to the machine-spirit of their craft before taking off, especially common with those who pilot a craft capable of carrying passengers.

I just have to add this:

"qui p*nis aquam turbat" - its meaning translates to ... ekhem: who is behind this?!

Glad you guys like it. I felt the list of unique items found on the Light of Terra were a little bland, so I spiced things up a little.

Here's a couple more items they found.

The Art of Trade: This thick byzantine book is a much sought after work penned by one Sun Tzu, who was among the first of Rogue Traders. A man who founded almost the entirety of a sector on the basis of his own personal skills. There are only four remaining copies known to exist, and this fifth copy is very valuable. The reason for this is that it is widely believed that each copy was penned by Sun Tzu himself and that a curse he laid upon them results in great tragedy befalling anyone who attempts to make copies of the original.

The book provides an in depth look at commerce and the tactics and techniques by which a merchant can ensure his business empire flourish and his enemies wither and are absorbed.

One who thoroughly studies this book and has it on hand for frequent reference and examination receives a +10 bonus to Commerce and Barter checks as well as the Scholastic lores Beauracracy and Judgement specifically pertaining to trade and business.

Warp Weasel hoverbike. The Warp Weasel is a piece of archeotech found among dozens like it in a hidden bunker on Holy Terra ages ago. Most of them were shipped to Mars to be disassembled and studied. While it required some up-scaling the technology was eventually reverse engineered sufficiently to become the modern Land Speeder, the design for which was lost for a time before being recovered. This particular unit is utterly pristine and looks as though it has never seen use.

The machine's arceotech power source has yet to be activated, and will be good for hundreds of years of continuous use. However due to overheating it's best not to leave the machine running for more than a day or two at a time.

Type: Skimmer. Tactical Speed: 30m Cruising speed: 300kph

Manoeuvrability: +15 Structural Integrity: 20 Size: Hulking

Armour: Front:20 Sides:16 Rear:15

Crew: One Driver Carrying Capacity: One passenger and armored cargo compartments equal to a couple of backpacks.

Weaponry: High intensity laser. Damage:1d10+6 Pen:10 Rof:S/2/- Range:150m. Never jams. Ammunition is effectively unlimited since it is hooked into the machine's power source.

Special Rules

Skimmer: As per skimmer rules in Into the Storm Pg170+

Open topped: Enemies may target the driver or passenger of this vehicle with a called shot.

Sweet Ride: When dealing with go-gangers, bikers, and other people with a penchant for racing and motorcycles this vehicle provides a +10 on social skills.

Availability: Unique

Endural Freeport : A bulbous cylinder 32.5km long and 6km in diameter, with large docking arrays at either end (referred to as 'Northport' and 'Southport'). The main body of the station is divided into 30 sectors, from north to south, each separated by a "transfer section", with 5 decks arranged from the core to the outer hull.
Despite its' size and advanced nature, there are no artificial gravity generators anywhere aboard. Instead, thanks to advanced magnetic bearings and motor systems, each sector and deck is capable of rotating independently of every other sector/deck to give the illusion of whatever gravity is required. As a result, the only means of travelling between decks are the ladders and lifts in the transfer sections between sectors, as these, the docking arrays and the station's core remain in free fall. There are small craft bays in the transfer sectors, but full-on starships that wish to dock must do so at either Northport or Southport. Either port is capable of handling up to 6 ships simultaneously, although only 3 of them may be cruiser-sized or larger at any one time.
Using a transfer section requires moving fast enough in the appropriate direction that the sector you wish to enter is appears stationary relative to you (and vice-versa with the section when leaving). There are a number of flatbed electric vehicles available in all sections and sectors to make this easier, although many of the station's inhabitants appear to prefer to run. Using a transfer section is understandably risky, particularly if the sector is spun up to a high gravity, or on one of the inner decks, and there are always a few accidents among people who misjudge the transfer and slam into a bulkhead (or someone else) at high speed. This is considered an (occasionally fatal) faux pas.
The station has very few rules about who gets to visit, welcoming trade and business from anyone, of almost any species. However, members of the Adeptus Mechanicus are warned that attempting to "salvage" or study too intently the bearing and motor systems will result in the offender being used as fuel for the station's plasma reactor. Members of the Scholastica Psykana are restricted to the outer docking arms (in theory, all psykers are, but many people have trouble picking them out if not dressed in the robes of the Psykana). The only other restrictions are- no weapons that could cause serious damage to the station, no bioweapons, the station's neutrality is to be respected, and no trying to avoid paying your bills.

*I should also note that in my campaign, suspensors, anti-grav and counter-grav systems require an actual gravity field to work against. Centrifugal force isn't going to cut it. This means servo-skulls, lifter thrones, grapplehawks and uppity floating techpriests tend to fall out of the air (sideways) when leaving their ship's gravity field (which would usually cover much, if not all of the arm of the docking array they had moored to) and entering one of the sectors. Ah, good times...

Endural Freeport : A bulbous cylinder 32.5km long and 6km in diameter, with large docking arrays at either end (referred to as 'Northport' and 'Southport'). The main body of the station is divided into 30 sectors, from north to south, each separated by a "transfer section", with 5 decks arranged from the core to the outer hull.

Despite its' size and advanced nature, there are no artificial gravity generators anywhere aboard. Instead, thanks to advanced magnetic bearings and motor systems, each sector and deck is capable of rotating independently of every other sector/deck to give the illusion of whatever gravity is required. As a result, the only means of travelling between decks are the ladders and lifts in the transfer sections between sectors, as these, the docking arrays and the station's core remain in free fall. There are small craft bays in the transfer sectors, but full-on starships that wish to dock must do so at either Northport or Southport. Either port is capable of handling up to 6 ships simultaneously, although only 3 of them may be cruiser-sized or larger at any one time.

Using a transfer section requires moving fast enough in the appropriate direction that the sector you wish to enter is appears stationary relative to you (and vice-versa with the section when leaving). There are a number of flatbed electric vehicles available in all sections and sectors to make this easier, although many of the station's inhabitants appear to prefer to run. Using a transfer section is understandably risky, particularly if the sector is spun up to a high gravity, or on one of the inner decks, and there are always a few accidents among people who misjudge the transfer and slam into a bulkhead (or someone else) at high speed. This is considered an (occasionally fatal) faux pas.

The station has very few rules about who gets to visit, welcoming trade and business from anyone, of almost any species. However, members of the Adeptus Mechanicus are warned that attempting to "salvage" or study too intently the bearing and motor systems will result in the offender being used as fuel for the station's plasma reactor. Members of the Scholastica Psykana are restricted to the outer docking arms (in theory, all psykers are, but many people have trouble picking them out if not dressed in the robes of the Psykana). The only other restrictions are- no weapons that could cause serious damage to the station, no bioweapons, the station's neutrality is to be respected, and no trying to avoid paying your bills.

Where? Sustained by who? Factions? Why? Who built it?

This seems very contrary to STC layouts and so probably wouldnt have AdMech support and also I don't see why it wouldn't get some attacks from Orks and Rak Gol, or even Iniquity pirates).

Maybe built by a lost human colony that no longer exist? Or that has been lost? The long gone original owners of Naduesh?

Endural Freeport : A bulbous cylinder 32.5km long and 6km in diameter, with large docking arrays at either end (referred to as 'Northport' and 'Southport'). The main body of the station is divided into 30 sectors, from north to south, each separated by a "transfer section", with 5 decks arranged from the core to the outer hull.

Despite its' size and advanced nature, there are no artificial gravity generators anywhere aboard. Instead, thanks to advanced magnetic bearings and motor systems, each sector and deck is capable of rotating independently of every other sector/deck to give the illusion of whatever gravity is required. As a result, the only means of travelling between decks are the ladders and lifts in the transfer sections between sectors, as these, the docking arrays and the station's core remain in free fall. There are small craft bays in the transfer sectors, but full-on starships that wish to dock must do so at either Northport or Southport. Either port is capable of handling up to 6 ships simultaneously, although only 3 of them may be cruiser-sized or larger at any one time.

Using a transfer section requires moving fast enough in the appropriate direction that the sector you wish to enter is appears stationary relative to you (and vice-versa with the section when leaving). There are a number of flatbed electric vehicles available in all sections and sectors to make this easier, although many of the station's inhabitants appear to prefer to run. Using a transfer section is understandably risky, particularly if the sector is spun up to a high gravity, or on one of the inner decks, and there are always a few accidents among people who misjudge the transfer and slam into a bulkhead (or someone else) at high speed. This is considered an (occasionally fatal) faux pas.

The station has very few rules about who gets to visit, welcoming trade and business from anyone, of almost any species. However, members of the Adeptus Mechanicus are warned that attempting to "salvage" or study too intently the bearing and motor systems will result in the offender being used as fuel for the station's plasma reactor. Members of the Scholastica Psykana are restricted to the outer docking arms (in theory, all psykers are, but many people have trouble picking them out if not dressed in the robes of the Psykana). The only other restrictions are- no weapons that could cause serious damage to the station, no bioweapons, the station's neutrality is to be respected, and no trying to avoid paying your bills.

Where? Sustained by who? Factions? Why? Who built it?

This seems very contrary to STC layouts and so probably wouldnt have AdMech support and also I don't see why it wouldn't get some attacks from Orks and Rak Gol, or even Iniquity pirates).

Maybe built by a lost human colony that no longer exist? Or that has been lost? The long gone original owners of Naduesh?

It was Built by advanced space faring humans with support from even older races to help prepare the galixy for war with an ancient evil. Carved in what appers to be an ancient form of high gothic on a plaque in the command center is the phrase" last best hope for peace."

Guess that'd be...

The Door

exploring the Ruins on Naduesh, the players suddenly found a Emperor-class Titan-sized door of and unknown material. They weren't Equipped to break it, but what's inside must surely be valuable, or dangerous, or both... only I know

The Totally not-blatantly-ripped off of various Anime-characters inquisitor and her totally not ripped off from even more cliches and references Team

Good old Selvaria Bles used to be the Inquisitor for my Dark Heresy group and has become a recurring character throughout all of my 40k-Campaigns. She usually doesn't give a ****, having the audacity to simply go and have a picnic in a warzone, which then gets interrupted by a Warlord-Class Chaos Titan she then boards and destroys for "giving her tea a bad taste.". Oh, and she loves tea, operating in the Expanse mostly to find the most rare and exquisite flavours. Her Ship has a greenhouse for that reason.

Her trusty killing-machine Ahab Grey with twice the firepower of an Eversor-Assasin but unfortunately ten times the witty comments of one. Loves dual-wielding shotguns linked to a backpack-ammo supply cause sometimes you just need a memorable badass for those Cutscenes.

Xanathos Diercker, another killing-machine, but also a Mechanicus-Priest. Glued two Plasmacannons to his back who are controlled by his trusty companion and machine spirit Wilfried, who "Is nice enough to keep my back free while I'm working"

Zarkov Wollsey, her Psyker-Pet. Very old and always pissed, constantly calls other people fools (not his boss though, cause that'd be rude)

Frank Stein loves dissecting stuff... Xeno-Biologist and for whatever reason a decent Pilot. He also glues the parts back together sometimes, which is usually quite gross.

Nicolas Irving cares for the spiritual well-being of the group (didn't work out that well with Frank though). He also carries a huge Aquila with him, filled with Boltguns and Flamers, "For when a Heretic needs smiting"

Miria Cortez is the personal secretary of Selvaria, who is usually too busy drinking tea to mind her schedule. Miria doesn't talk much (the many tea parties got her traumatized probably) and for some reason always manages to avoid any danger ever.

Victtris Quinn, another desk-hero. Boring, plain, always arriving late to briefing, loosing his papers, etc. But that doesn't matter, since he seems to have swallowed the whole effin' Black Library. After reading all those books, of course.

created that team for Dark Heresy as enjoyable NPCs (got a lot of positive feedback, luckily ) and am now too attached to them to simply stop using them.

The Tau-Suit

Yeah, I gave my players a XV8 Crisis-Suit. Archmilitant's player had Birthday, so "have something nice, here you go." Only service it saw was against the players though, since he didn't want to use it before the problem of ammunition was solved. Ship was boarded by Chaos-Forces, who found the thing and less qualms about using it, so it ended up destroyed.

Also, there's someone out in the Expanse who must have taken it there in the first place^^

Boarding a raider to find that instead of a command throne on the bridge they had a command hot tub. (Slaanesh cultists, ew).

(...)

- Also here are some latin phrases I have made up which we use in the campaign at various points:

Insufficientia Gubernare - Insufficient governance, an invocation high-ranking Imperial authorities can use to declare a planetary government ineffectual. Often used by Rogue Trader's to reorganize worlds before they descend into "anarchy".

Gloria Imperator Eternum - Eternal glory tot he Empire, a phrase which dates back to the period immediately following the Horus Heresy, and the title of a particularly popular mass often favored by local nobility.

Certamine Capax Personarum - Combat capable Personnel, an ancient phrase which is used as an all call across ships which bear warriors from various military, religious, governmental, and private organizations. Generally used during boarding actions or all-out planetary landings.

Tene Tuus Natibus - Hold on to your butts, a phrase pilots use as an invocation to the machine-spirit of their craft before taking off, especially common with those who pilot a craft capable of carrying passengers.

I just have to add this:

"qui p*nis aquam turbat" - its meaning translates to ... ekhem: who is behind this?!

If you want another High Gothic Phrase, then one used in an old Inquisition novel is "Triple D":

Per Auctoritas Digamma Decimatio Duodecides

This is the formal first line of an official, sanctioned exterminatus order. "Triple D" situations - supposedly standing for 'Doom, Death and Destruction" is a common "it's all gone to ****" shorthand for mid-ranking inquisitorial acolytes who aren't senior enough to know what it really stands for. The ones who do, tend not to find it funny anymore...

Endural Freeport : A bulbous cylinder 32.5km long and 6km in diameter, with large docking arrays at either end (referred to as 'Northport' and 'Southport'). The main body of the station is divided into 30 sectors, from north to south, each separated by a "transfer section", with 5 decks arranged from the core to the outer hull.

Despite its' size and advanced nature, there are no artificial gravity generators anywhere aboard. Instead, thanks to advanced magnetic bearings and motor systems, each sector and deck is capable of rotating independently of every other sector/deck to give the illusion of whatever gravity is required. As a result, the only means of travelling between decks are the ladders and lifts in the transfer sections between sectors, as these, the docking arrays and the station's core remain in free fall. There are small craft bays in the transfer sectors, but full-on starships that wish to dock must do so at either Northport or Southport. Either port is capable of handling up to 6 ships simultaneously, although only 3 of them may be cruiser-sized or larger at any one time.

Using a transfer section requires moving fast enough in the appropriate direction that the sector you wish to enter is appears stationary relative to you (and vice-versa with the section when leaving). There are a number of flatbed electric vehicles available in all sections and sectors to make this easier, although many of the station's inhabitants appear to prefer to run. Using a transfer section is understandably risky, particularly if the sector is spun up to a high gravity, or on one of the inner decks, and there are always a few accidents among people who misjudge the transfer and slam into a bulkhead (or someone else) at high speed. This is considered an (occasionally fatal) faux pas.

The station has very few rules about who gets to visit, welcoming trade and business from anyone, of almost any species. However, members of the Adeptus Mechanicus are warned that attempting to "salvage" or study too intently the bearing and motor systems will result in the offender being used as fuel for the station's plasma reactor. Members of the Scholastica Psykana are restricted to the outer docking arms (in theory, all psykers are, but many people have trouble picking them out if not dressed in the robes of the Psykana). The only other restrictions are- no weapons that could cause serious damage to the station, no bioweapons, the station's neutrality is to be respected, and no trying to avoid paying your bills.

Where? Sustained by who? Factions? Why? Who built it?

This seems very contrary to STC layouts and so probably wouldnt have AdMech support and also I don't see why it wouldn't get some attacks from Orks and Rak Gol, or even Iniquity pirates).

Maybe built by a lost human colony that no longer exist? Or that has been lost? The long gone original owners of Naduesh?

Well, as originally envisaged, it was human, pre-Imperial, and that explained the design. However, then I found a couple of references to Imperial structures that used spinning to create gravity, during the Great Crusade (one was in the process of being shot to pieces by astartes because the inhabitants were not and almost could never be Compliant, the other was a rich-man's asteroid retreat in the Sol system). Neither were treated as anathema by the Mechanicum.

Coupled with the fact that not everyone in Footfall can afford to have gravity in their habitat, and that humans do not do particularly well if forced to live in freefall for a prolonged period (at least, not if they ever want to go anywhere with gravity), and the O'Neill cylinder becomes a technically elegant, if technologically obsolete design for someone wanting to set up a self-contained port without spending exorbitant amounts on gravity generators and their maintenance.

Which is a long way of saying "I stripped out much of the original notes as they are under revision".

Your point about attackers is well taken; I had originally included a number of radically off-bore weapons delivery systems in the ports (consider it the equivalent of 4 keel-mounted Jovian Missile Batteries, and maybe 2 keel-mounted torpedo components, maybe 3-4 tubes per port?), plus point defence stations along the length of the station mounted on the rotating sectors. I guess that got stripped out as well for revision.

I deliberately left "where" out of the description as that is not massively important, with the proviso that it is in a star system, and not in Imperial space, since a fair few of their regular customers would be on the Imperial Navy's "shoot on sight" list, and/or the Inquisition's "Ask questions later". For reference, however, I put it on the Rimward by Trailing edge of Winterscale's Realm, in a system with plenty of metal- and mineral-rich asteroids, with one technically habitable planet (no solid ground beyond a few small coral islands. Lots of water, lots of fish, lots of seaweed, and that's about it), several airless rocks and a gas giant.

It's maintained primarily by the resources available in-system, although that is little more than subsistence (try the sushi whisky...or not), so much of the fees it levies on visitors are in the form of foodstuffs and entertainment supplies (like alcohol). Mostly it offers a neutral port to meet and trade. Even the worst slaves of the Archenemy have to go somewhere to pick up supplies they need and offload loot they can't use, after all.

Everything else... under revision, with the notes on another computer, or would constitute spoilers for my players, who do come to these boards now and then.