Erebus Corp

The Erebus Corp or Erebiti are a special forces unit of the Crimson Empire’s elaborate military apparatus, dealing exclusively with the occult and the Outer Worlds. Their goal is to find, evaluate and exploit phenomena, rifts and spheres beyond the veil and bring them under Roman military control.
The Crimson Empire is a place where phenomena and occult happenings strive and are very much part of everyday life and culture. On Roman soil almost all large phenomena and rifts are already explored, spoken for and being exploited or contained and the Erebus Corp is a huge part of keeping that up. Maintaining constant control over the erratic outbursts of the Hellfire itself is both a sacred duty and a massive piece of work for Roma Aeterna. And the responsibilities don’t end there. To stay on-top of the world, this Apex Nation needs to constantly evolve, expand and conquer new territory and resources to feed the growing number of citizens therein.
Aether Theology is a science that is constantly evolving. The goal is exploiting the occult resources needed to expand the influence and wealth of the Crimson Empire as well as fueling its eternal conquest. Aether as a substance is invaluable in technological advancements today, as a resource, fuel and field of study. Rifts hold passage to spheres in the Outer Worlds yielding rich splendor of Olde Tech and materials. But the path to access these riches and resources is dangerous and full of conflict. And as that’s so, the Crimsons take the matter very seriously and go to great lengths to bring their specialists up to snuff; especially because the Alliance isn’t sleeping on the job and their Voidwalkers are a terrifying special unit of equal skill and technologically more advanced equipment. The only way to make up for it, is recruiting and training true beasts of burden so powerful in their egocentric pursuit of the Burning Crusade, they are willing to burst with anguish to fulfill their mission.
The Erebus Corps has three divisions, Cerberus, Moloch and Leviathan.
Cerberus Division:
Pioneers of extraordinary cunning and versatility, the Cerberus guard the gates of hell and sniff out new leads to unknown realms of splendor. The ‘Mad Dogs’ are in for the thrill, venturing into unknown territory in small, specialized groups, eluding hostile forces and facing the dangers of the Outer Worlds with minimum back-up and equipment. They fly under the radar if possible, and if not, their techniques are quick and deadly, all bite and no bark, leaving no witnesses. Their duty is to beat a path for the Crimson Empire to spiritual spoils and aether riches - but never take the loot for themselves. They know no fear and are fiercely loyal to the cause, driven by maddening passion and nightmarish kinks; once they’re on the trail, you can’t shake them off or sway their mind.
Mad Dogs are surprisingly subtle with everything off-worldish and smooth in the face of any culturally loaded exchange. They are trained to deal with problems in a diplomatic way and to be as least invasive as possible - it’s not their job to stir trouble, but to assess the situation and return with their bounty, which is information. They are still Roman elite soldiers, though and shouldn’t be under-estimated as they have all the tools of the trade you would imagine on a skilled assassin - but they are indeed the least violent of the three divisions.
Moloch Division:
Heavy hitters in both equipment and raw power, the Molochs are the proverbial cavalry of the Erebus Corp. Powerful heavy weapon and explosive specialists, well-equipped and well-versed in using the latest and greatest in Aether Tech, artefacts and firearms, the so called ‘Boom-Brigade’ is called when a path needs to be carved with brute force, enemy forces are overwhelming or if a place is too dangerous and unstable to be kept secure. They are highly mobile units deployable all across the empire within days, equipped with vehicles capable of high velocity and large bulk load. Moloch brings the toys to the party and makes sure to start and finish with a bang.
The Moloch Division is the most frequently deployed Erebus Division because they support the common war effort as well; bringing strong arguments to any battlefield with their aether fueled weapons of mass destruction, high-velocity cannons and resonance-indulged explosives. Many a battlefield has seen an end of reality as we know it because the Romans are known to be sore losers. Before they lose a battle, they will bring in the big guns and erupt aether tessellators sacrificing both their own troops and the enemy to turn the battlefield into a monochromatic wasteland of aether resonance bombardment, tearing the veil apart like wet paper, throwing everyone involved in combat to the depths of some far away hell.
Leviathan Division:
As their namesake the great Dragon-Goddess of the Depth, One of the Five Beasts of the Apocalypse, this unit specialises in exploring the Deep. After Cerberus has prepared the path and Moloch has opened the gate, it’s Leviathan who dives deep into the Outer Realm, even as far as the dreaded Void, to return with long lost treasure of knowledge, riches and aether.
The ‘Hell-Divers’ are well equipped with rituals, weapons, and artifacts to face both, unfathomable peril and despair at the edge of the world and the most powerful and terrifying spectres the Outer worlds have to offer, but paraphernalia will only last them so long when under the growing pressure of the depth. The most important thing in this job is your soul strength within. Only very powerful and well-balanced Sinners can withstand the call of the deep; after you cross a certain point diving head-on into the depth of hell, your soul can be swallowed whole, leaving an empty shell to surface if anything is left at all.
While regular Sinners might thread through Limbo occasionally, trespassing Purgatory is no small feat and entering Tartarus is usually beyond one’s wildest nightmares. The rules of the world as we know it don’t apply here. Reality is literally falling apart, transforming the diver along with it when assembling anew. There Be Dragons and Devils and Angels alike - all Lost Ones who have been slumbering since the Final War - and they won’t be pleased to meet you; let alone share their knowledge or part with their valuables willingly. Most of the Lost Souls strive for the Meta Realm and will happily hitch a ride if they can when an unwary soul from the flesh realms enters their domain. Unfortunately that means you will have to enter negotiation for your body with a being as mighty and powerful as the sun and stars; as there’s only room for one in this vessel of interdimensional travel.
But Leviathans are well-equipped for the job with EGOs as big as the Coliseum and the knowledge of ancient rituals beyond comprehension, the Hell-Divers rarely fail to deliver the price or eliminate any other-worldly threat.

Composition

Training

All Erebus special units are recruited from promising Sinners with special talents. Only the best of the best sporting special kinks of value will be admitted to the program building the next supernatural elite for the empire. You need powerful allies, family ties or a recommendation to apply to the Nesachnaadob Military Academy in Roma Aeterna. As a plebeian you usually have to have served in the regular military before even getting a stab at one of the places at the academy, and a strong recommendation on top of that.
After being admitted to the academy, it's a solid 16 months of training, then assessment, which you fail or pass. If you pass, you are in for another 10 months of training regimen and studies. The Outer Worlds are an ever-changing place with strange rules and their inhabitants are both a constant threat and only source of information for those who trespass beyond the veil - so learning how to deal with them is important. During this period, science is replacing superstition as the Crimson Empire is a place where the whereabouts of the spirits, spectres and apparitions are the basis for all popular culture from novellas over theater plays to everyday-rumors and stories. But that means there's a lot of hyperbole and misinformation around and aspiring Erebiti find themselves challenging their own believes during this period, learning how to properly deal with everything from a common haunting to a full-blown Avatar-Breach.
Training never stops between missions, but while the academy is a place Erebus soldiers frequently return to during their career, as the campus, the practical part of the training is usually held in various smaller military bases scattered across locations with high occult and supernatural activity. And there's really no shortage of those.

Type

Special Forces

Overall training Level

Elite

Assumed Veterancy

Experienced

Some of the most important Erebus bases are:

• Mouth of Hell Sons of Erebus Headquarters scientific station and training grounds at Mount Vesuvius, a vulcano half. active in the meta- and the other realms and the biggest hell-ladder of the empire. 
• Scirocco Military Base at Blood Rain Pass near the half-sunken phenomenon necropole of Venice.
• Cerisio Pass Fortress at Lake Lugano - predominantly build to monitor the shifting aether climate in the alps and functioning as a base holding Erebus troops to deploy all over the mountain pass due to its unstable state.