-Every spacefaring race has encountered Space Hulks.

Even the Necrons millions of

years ago have had encounters with the Space Hulks. In their language, loosely
translated by the Imperials, they call them "Sky chariots tortured" or "vengeance
of the long dead".

-The Aeldari call the Space Hulks klais'am, haihsa'al, or "abominations birthed
from the pits of terror, nightmare, and misery".

-There is no concrete Imperial definition for Space Hulks. Each space hulk is
unique, formed from space debris fused in ways that are impossible in Real Space.
Some Space Hulks are as large as a few spaceships, while others are as large as
planets. The sudden manifestations of the latter into reality can cause planets to
quake, rip space stations from their orbits, or tear apart fleets of ships.

-The Space Hulk called the Gallowdark is an ancient Space Hulk the size of a moon.
Its history goes back millions of years, to a time even before the Aeldari were a
flash of inspiration in the minds of their creators. The first ship that made up
the Gallowdark was a funeral vessel of a race called the S'koran'igsthi. If it were
possible for the Imperium ever to translate the ship's name, it would be called
"She who mourns great loss in the eternal darkness bleak". The ship and all its
crew were lost during a funerary journey in the Warp.

-When the Gallowdark first appeared in Real Space it was made up of three dozen
ships from races forgotten by the time of 41M. It was inhabited by an alien race
that would much later be known by the Imperium as the Breg-shei

-The fifth time the Gallowdark appeared in Real Space it was made up of several
hundred ships, and it was inhabited by scores of races. Some of these races would
much later be known to the Imperium as the Fra'al, Khrave, and artificial races
granted sentience by their long-extinct creators, the Larve of Silica and the
Eclosions of the Metal.

-By the time of the Era indomitus, the Gallowdark had morphed, twisted, and mutated
so much that no atom of the "She who mourns great loss in the eternal darkness
bleak" was attached to its fellows, rather they were scattered across the countless
ships that make up the Space Hulk. The Imperium identified Aeldari, Ork, human
(traitor and loyalist) vessels among the mangled mass. Even the biomass of Tyranid
ships has been detected within.

-Daemon vessels have also fused with the Gallowdark. Only the most insane and
desperate of the Space Hulk's inhabitants dares to venture to those parts.

-The Gallowdark is home to a diverse assortment of creatures. From mutated fauna

and flora to strange sentiences like tortured machine spirits. Yet, for all this,
the followers of Chaos exceed all other inhabitants in number and power.

-Among the first vessels to reach the Gallowdark was the Kroot Warsphere Rok
Varoyaw. The battle-hardened Kroot had fought in many battles including saving the
technologically gifted Londaxi from patrols of Admech ships and defending a
Craftworld from a Dvorgite blood party. For the T'au and the Demiurg, the Kroot of
Rok Varoyaw fought Necrons, Orks, Tyranids, and more. They took the flesh of their
fallen foes and the spoils of battle as their payment. The Kroot had feasted and
plundered well.

-The Kroot saw the Gallowdark as another opportunity to increase their material
wealth and feast on new exotic species. The spoils of the Gallowdark would add to
the great bounty of genetic material and weapons aboard their Warsphere. It would
be their final mission before returning to their homeworld Pech.
-The Kroot of Rok Varoyaw. were granted technology by the Demiurg that enabled them
to detect Warp ruptures and hack into Imperium's augur buoys placed on its borders.
Using this technology, the Kroot found the Gallowdark.

-The Kroot hoped to plunder the Gallowdark before others arrived and before the
inhabitants of the Space Hulk could respond in numbers too great for the Kroot to
handle. Unfortunately for the Kroot, they were not quick enough.

-The Imperial War Group Alpha VII of battlefleet Nemesys sailed to investigate the
presence of a Warp rupture in the space near their sector. They were shocked to
find a Space Hulk of staggering size. The group's mission was updated to determine
the heading of the Space Hulk and which worlds it might threaten. Also, to claim
any archeotech that the battlefleet might find useful, before heretics, xenos, and
other Imperial factions placed their hands on it. The group has no chance to stop
or claim such a large Space Hulk but they could do all they could to plunder the
Space Hulk and mark salvage claims for the Battle Fleet before the Space Hulk
plunged again into the Warp.

-The fact that the group's navigators and astropaths were struck with nightmarish
visions and terrible sickness in proximity to the Space Hulk did not dissuade the
Imperials from their course of action.

-The War Group ordered the attack the moment they spotted the Kroot Warsphere. The
Kroot had no interest in risking their home, especially while it was laden with
great wealth that they gathered over the course of years. The Kroot Warsphere moved
to retreat while firing at the Imperial ships to slow them down and widen their
formation. The Imperial escorts used their void shields to block the Warsphere fire
acting as a shield for the cruisers following close behind them. The Kroot knew
they could not allow the full power of the Imperial Cruisers to be unleashed on
their Warsphere. They hastened their retreat and successfully transitioned into the
Warp, but by doing so, they could not complete their evacuation of the Space Hulk.
Several kindreds were left stranded aboard the Space Hulks.

-The Imperials used the Kroots' insertion points as their entry points. Navy
breaches stormed inside the Space Hulk. As man and Xenos braved the nightmarish
confines of the Gallowdark, strange eldritch portals appeared within the Space
Hulk.

Some lore bits:

-The Imperial Navy fields a huge number of non-warp capable vessels. They are
called system ships. Their task is to patrol and guard system space.

-The Imperial Navy replenish its number from various sources. The majority of Navy
ships are built in their own factories. Occasionally the Admech give some of the
ships produced on their forgeworlds to the Navy. These ships are marvels of
engineering outfitted with rare technology. Another method of replenishing Navy
numbers is the salvaging of wrecks. It uses fewer resources, but it carries great
risk. Wrecks tend to be hotspots for danger.

-The rarest and most dangerous method of acquiring new ships is extracting new
vessels from Space Hulks. The extreme dangers and the horrific melding of ships
within the Space Hulks make the process of finding and extracting void-worthy
vessels very rare. Despite all of this, some admirals see it as worth the risks and
effort. Some of the ships within the Space Hulk might be marks that the Imperium no
longer has the technology to produce. Moreover, the chance of finding valuable
archeotech and treasures is very high.

-Imperial Armsmen have it better than many others serving in the Navy and others in
the Imperium as well. They are well-trained, well-armed, and well-fed. As such,
there is plenty of volunteers. Once sworn into the Navy and their ship, the vessel
becomes their home for the rest of their lives.

-Armsmen barracks are placed between the officer quarters and the crew dwellings.
They serve as a line of defense in the event of a mutiny.

-Armsmen have no dedicated officers. They are all subordinates to Navy officers.
This is the case to prevent the creation of a parallel officer class that commands
thousands of elite troops and might contest command of Imperial ships from the Navy
officers. Despite that, armsmen have non-commissioned officers that act as advisors
for Navy officers and will take temporary command should a Navy officer is
incapacitated.

-Armsmen Breacher void-jammer operatives operate gheistskulls. They are fitted with
explosives and electronic disruption tech. They are called by the Armsmen "The last
laugh" or "The dead man's revenge". The reason behind this is that the skulls used
to make them come from fallen Armsmen Breachers.

-The Kroot secrete bodily waste in the form of oily sweat. The properties of the
sweat depend on what the Kroot has eaten. It can serve as a fire retardant and
antibiotic. It can protect the Kroot from poorly aimed melee attacks causing them
to slide off their bodies. There is a possibility that the Kroot can use the sweat
to mark territory and leave pheromone trails, and communicate with their fellows.
There is evidence that the oily sweat can be used by the Kroot to control lesser
life forms via empathetic pheromones.

-The Kroot extract insights from whatever they devour. These include memories and
language skills. Kroot that have devoured Drukhari are known to inherit some of the
race's sadism and cruelty.

-The Shaper councils oversee the kindreds of the Kroot and ensure there is a level
of homogeneity across the species. Master shapers sit at the head of these
councils, and they direct the distribution of the acquired genetic traits. It's
common for Master Shapers to become the focus of ancestor worship and develop
shamanistic powers.

-Kroot are very keen on ancestor worship, and social ties are vital for them. Older
Kroot are respected for their wisdom and the genetics they have found. Kindreds are
often made up of a number of extended families.

-The survival of the family is of paramount importance to the Kroot. A dead Kroot
is consumed by his family so that the vital genetic material is preserved. While
other races would look down on this as cannibalism, to the Kroot this is their way
to preserve the heritage of their ancestors. Furthermore, during dire events or
war, Kroot that are too weak and slow to survive or injured Kroot are devoured.
These are seen as noble and pragmatic sacrifices to preserve the heritage.

-As payment for defending Craftworld Melenshai from the Dvorgite, the Kroot of Rak
Voroyaw demanded to feast on specimens of the rare wildlife present on the
Craftworld, creatures that have chameleonic abilities, superb night vision, and
adamantine scales.