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Brethren of B&C! Weary Gauntleteers! Behold the third challenge of the IRON GAUNTLET! With the initial challenge and the second one complete, we move onto the the third in our series of five to determine if indeed anyone has the chops to claim an Iron Gauntlet. This challenge, seeing as we have had our Gauntleteers draw up a background for their army and, in the second challenge, had them paint it, we now encourage them to take to the field! Show us your strategic prowess and get those dice rolling! As per usual, anyone can enter. Simple as that. You do not need to have entered the previous challenges to participate but if you haven't, you won't be getting a Gauntlet I'm afraid. However, a nice shiny badge for completing the challenge can be yours - but what rank will it be? Bronze, Silver or Gold? Feel free to sign up, preferably with a force that has a custom background or is a DIY force of your own making. If you are interested but you aren't sure if you qualify, then please PM me. The third challenge is as follows: To register for this Challenge or any others make the following statement: I, <your name>, of the <Chapter/Warband/Regiment name> take up your Challenges. I vow, before my brothers and sisters of the B&C to complete Challenge <challenge number> and submit it to the Liber before the deadline. I vow to support my fellow challengers to the best of my ability. May the Emperor/the Dark Gods/Brother Argos himself curse me if I fail. [Please leave a link to your article so I can update the first post, or PM me the link instead.]

With apologies to the balance that GW is attempting to find, these are my three Entries for the Iron Gauntlet 2017 Penultimate Challenge. =][= =][= =][= =][= =][= =][= =][= =][= =][= Espion did not come by his position with any ease, even as a young marine he has fought hundreds of battles, and completed thousands of projects to earn the title of Forgewright. He is often found assisting Forgelord Abielle during non combat operation, as the operational head of MACS, during combat he is often found in the command cupola of any of the numerous November Warriors mobile armour, preferring the Fellblade Unsung War. As a MACS instructor he knows the best ways to improve weapons accuracy and to deny the enemy the same via well placed Chaff Grenades. =][= =][= =][= =][= =][= =][= =][= =][= =][= Headmaster Falken is a presence more felt in the November Warriors than seen. He does not often take to the field, leaving that for his Sergeants and the younger Captains, preferring to train the younger minds and bodies of his Advanced School of Assault Warfare. This does not mean that he is not a prodigious warrior in his own right though. Falken pioneered many of the combat styles now practiced in ASAW, he himself trained Sgt. Johan Wu in the advanced forms of pistol based CQC. It was he who taught the Knight-Captain about the Dynamic Entry technique of battlefield arrival, and it was he who inspired the tactic of assaulting from Imperial places of worship to surprise enemy forces. When Headmaster Falken does take to the field, he prefers his custom gauntlets, Ofnir and Grabacr. =][= =][= =][= =][= =][= =][= =][= =][= =][= Farsa Kas has a long and illustrious history in the November Warriors, he first came to prominence during combat operations against a non-aligned force. His quick thinking that day saved his squad and helped bring victory. In the time since he has been fast tracked towards command opportunities. His ties to the House Garaipena reach back to his younger years, he was initially rescued by Lisandra Garaipena II during an operation to retake an Imperial Colony from secessionist forces. He was raised by Lisandra II personally until his induction in the Warriors. As a neophyte in addition to his regular duties he often volunteered to take watches with the Garaipena and in the walkers bay. This continued entwining of interests has produced an exceptional partnership. Upon promotion to Lieutenant Farsa Kas was granted access to some of the rarest of the November arms and armour. The improved communications and sensor gear his new suit of armour contains has allowed for precisely targeted danger close strikes from Knight Titans that may not have an optimal single source firing solution. In addition to his new armour, he was chosen as the purest representative of the November Ideals and thus wields the Axe of Elegy's Lament and the Hammer of Particular Justice, the very weapons that have inspired the November tactic of Axe & Hammer Edit Log: 9/12/17: Adjusted Forgewright Espion point cost while mounted in Super Heavy.

Brothers! Sisters! Members of B&C! I present to you the second challenge of the Iron Gauntlet! With the first challenge complete, we move onto the upcoming trial, the next hurdle for our budding Gauntleteers. As is custom with any event I host, I welcome all who wish to try their hand at beating the Iron Gauntlet - feel free to sign up even if you have not taken part in the first challenge. Just be aware that this is primarily a DIY focused event - if you are interested but you want to paint a canon entry, then please PM me. The second challenge is as follows: To register for this Challenge or any following challenge (details found in the original thread) make the following statement: I, <your name>, of the <Chapter/Warband/Regiment name> take up your Challenges. I vow, before my brothers and sisters of the B&C to complete Challenge <challenge number> and submit it to the Liber before the deadline. I vow to support my fellow challengers to the best of my ability. May the Emperor/the Dark Gods/Brother Argos himself curse me if I fail. [updates are welcome to be posted in this topic but, if you prefer, leave a link to your thread so I can update the first post.] Good luck and have fun!

Greetings everyone, So the Iron Gauntlet challenge has been an enjoyable experience so far, I've gotten more hashed out in the past few months than I have in YEARS of working on this army This is my second thread in the Liber, so maybe some introductions are due since I spend most of my time over in PCA. I'm NovemberIX, I share a name with my DIY creation the November IX. I've been in the hobby for 6 or so years now, and in that whole time I've pretty much built just one force. The Adeptus Astartes November Warriors. (By this point I'm sure you're asking yourself, what's with all the November this and that, and it shall explained. Soon. maybe. well not really...) I have been on and off working on my IA from my beginning in the hobby, and I'd like to believe at this point I have a pretty good grasp of it, but as with all things, this is a work in iterative progress. This first post has a lot of our of universe background information on the Warriors and the IX, but given just how long everything is, I'm gonna hide this post behind a spoiler tag.

Origins: Part of the 22nd founding of the Adeptus Astartes, The Knights Defiant have always fought with an unwavering determination that cannot be stayed except by direct order. Much like their Progenitor the Venerable Imperial Fists the Knights Defiant refuse to retreat from most any battle and much less one on their own territory. History: During the first centuries of service the Knights Defiant remained largely within their own star with few exceptions. It was during this time when Venerable Roland came to power as the first Chapter Master raised from the home planet of Eysines. Under his guidance the Knights Defiant became more aggressive and eventually this cost them dearly. During a particularly bloody Campaign in Ork held space near the Eysines System Venerable Roland was struck low by the Warboss Urgak this caused House Ferox to fly into a fury unseen by the chapter as they pursued vengeance against the Warboss Urgak who had injured their Master. This ended with House Ferox facing almost complete destruction against the Ork horde as they Recovered the body of Venerable Roland they discover he was alive although barely. House Ferox had suffered greatly at this point but due to the intervention of House Wayland the Knights Defiant had recovered Venerable Roland and some of House Ferox. Upon the flagship, The Sword of Eysines Venerable Roland was entombed inside a Contemptor Dreadnought chassis. In the aftermath of the battle that laid Venerable Roland low House Lord Wayland ascended to Chapter Master and Rebuilt House Ferox and upon its return to full strength he renewed the Campaign. Under Chapter Master Wayland the Ork horde was suppressed to only a singular planet now Known as the Cage to the Knights Defiant who now use it as a training ground for aspirants. This is all that is recounted of Venerable Roland who is the only Astartes privy to the knowledge of the Chapter’s beginning due to a rebellion within the Chapter Librarium where Chief Librarian Dordalus and a majority of the Epostolaries turned to chaos and stole with them much of the Chapters lore. Considering this the Chapter has ruled the only loyal Epostolary remaining to assume the burden of the entire Librarium and the task of hunting Dordalus and reclaiming the Chapters lore. Now Epostolary Naram is under direct watch of the Reclusiam always and during battle he must remain near a Chaplain or a House Lord always should he turn. Considering Primarch Robute Gulliman’s Indomitus Crusade and the reinforcing of front line chapters with Primaris Astartes. The Knights Defiant were sent an entire company of Primaris Astartes due to no updates on troop strength reaching Terra or Gulliman. As such the Knights Defiant have a total strength of 1,100 Astartes during the final days of the Indomitus Crusade. However, the Knights Defiant haven’t taken kindly to the Primaris Astartes and have thus kept them entirely separate from the Great Houses. Since receiving reinforcement the Knights Defiant haven’t deployed and therefore the Primaris group hasn’t experienced combat and is distrusted by the Chapter until their worth has been proven. Homeworld: Eysines is a planet capable of maintaining human life and was first colonized during the Great Crusade. During its colonization progress, it was found to be quite rich in minerals required for manufacturing of Astartes vehicles and weaponry. Eysines had its own Imperial Army regiment founded for self-defense and transportation of minerals to the Blood Angels for use in the 9th Legion. Eysines remained largely unaffected by the Crusade until the Horus Heresy began and Eysines was invaded by the 8th Legion for the resources present. When news of the reached Baal the Blood Angels sent one of its Fleets to recover Eysines and in the following campaign a majority of the population had been killed off in the fight between the Astartes. Once the Night Lords had been repelled it was determined Eysines was too damaged to be considered a priority during the Heresy and was thus forgotten and the remaining population recovered over the course of the next 7,000 years. The inhabitants of Eysines regressed severely due to the catastrophic fighting that occurred on the surface and has now re-emerged as a pre-black powder society reminiscent of medieval Terra. Eysines people have organized themselves into a semi democratic society in which the head of one of the 8 Great houses assumes complete autonomy over the sovereign for the next year. The process by which this is chosen is directly correlated to the aspirant selection games that the Knight Defiant host each year to search for possible neophytes. Combat Doctrine: The Knights Defiant fight in a manner like that of the Black Templars preferring blade and strength to overwhelm the enemy at close proximity. However, the Knights Defiant also make extensive use of Razorbacks and Land Raider Redeemers as the primary mode of transportation instead of rhinos. The use of whirlwinds is also quite prevalent among the Knights Defiant to cover the approaching Astartes. Chapter Culture: During a meeting with the Black Templars that’s long since been forgotten the Knights Defiant have also taken up the quirk of chaining weaponry to their armor during Crusades as a form of devotion to the Crusade. Astartes within the Knights Defiant also tend to inscribe oaths of combat or faith upon their power armor during times of distress and sorrow as well as upon the Day of the Emperors Ascension. Unlike Most chapters an Astartes in the Knights Defiant are recruited into the same house they fought for in the Eysines Tournament and will remain in that house exclusively unless they ascend to Chapter Master in which they no longer belong to a House but to Eysines. This is shown in the way Battle Brothers address each other e.g. (Brother Lucas of Auxilus). Any ​Constructive Criticism is appreciated. Thanks for looking!

Hi all, since starting the hobby many years ago, I've always encountered the same problem, I can never stick to one Chapter! So to curb that I decided to make my own and also, for self motivation, share it with everyone here. You can imagine my surprise and delight when I stumbled upon this sub forum looking for the right place to post about it and the great opportunity this Iron Gauntlet Challenge has presented Without further ado, here's the start I've made on this chapter. It all started when I read this small paragraph in a side note from the Gathering storm pt 3 book: It made me think, what a great base to jump-start this whole thing from, I'll be describing what has happened to this chapter and how I'll be carrying them through (story-wise) into 8th edition in the article below. +THE SWORDS OF Coccium (formerly The Knights Obstinate) + Chapter Symbol: Example marine: Miniature: Brother Sgt Ixion of the 5th Tactical squad, 2nd company He has embellished his Captains heraldry on his left shoulder pad with three bells, each represents a brother from his squad who died in combat. The chapter symbol is layed over the colours of the 2nd company. Ixion also bears several white crosses which show his veteran status within the chapter, The white cross being the sign of veterancy as well as the permanent heraldry of the first company regardless of Captain, in honour of their lost Chapter planet. Founding Chapter: Unknown Founding: 4th Known Descendants: N/A Chapter Master: Everart Homeworld: Coccium (Feudal world, overrun by Ghazgull's Waaagh, Now the Chapter is based on the Battle-Barge, Gloria Coccium) Fortress Monastery: Within the Battle-barge Colours: Grey (company Captain's colours and heraldry cover portions of a brothers armour.) Specialty: (Extremely flexible to various battle situations) Strength: Under strength. (600 full brothers 4 battle companies, one assault and one devastator company, with the 7th company being the Scout company.) Battle cry: Facta non verba (deeds not words) +CHAPTER HISTORY+ Several standard decades after the devastating events of the War of the Beast c. 544-546. M32, which laid waste to much of the known galaxy and threatened to destroy Terra itself, Lord Commander of the Imperium Maximus Thane, the former Chapter Master of the Fists Exemplar, and now the newly-appointed commander of the reconstituted Imperial Fists, decreed that the Imperium would raise as many new Chapters as possible with the gene-seed available in Terra's vaults. After enough gene-seed had been collected from the vaults on Terra, the High Lords of Terra authorised the 4th Founding of the Adeptus Astartes, sometime in the 7th century of the 32nd Millennium. One of these Chapters was to be the Knights Obstinate. The Chapter was given the task of policing a large portion of the galaxy between the borders of the segmentums Solar, Obscurus and Ultima, searching for and eradicating any greenskin threat before it grew, lest another 'Beast' could arise. Their base of operations for this undertaking would be the feudal world of Coccium. Located around 5 months warp travel from Armageddon, Coccium was a verdant world which could almost be considered idyllic if life outside any of the 9 gargantuan Bastion-cities wasn't rendered nigh-impossible by a wide menagerie of Animalistic Predator-Machines. These machines evolved from corrupted archeo-war tech left behind by the Dark Mechanicum, who where using the planet to develop these monstrosities for use during the siege of Terra however, before their plans could come to fruition, the Dark Mechanicum where purged from the sector during the scouring. The Chapter maintained an active presence amongst the people of Coccium as the Captains of each company where the Lords of each of the 9 Bastion-cities. +INITIATION INTO THE RANKS+ Recruitment for the chapter was done by organising hunting parties. Under the unseen supervision of a full battle brother, aspirants would go out into the wilds of Coccium to hunt the deadliest machines they could find. During these hunts, the battle brother would analyse not only individual strength and skill but the teamwork of the hunting party as a whole, identifying potential squad leaders along with weak links in the chain that would have to be removed if the hunt was successful. Upon success, the party would then go through the same trials any aspirants would undertake when joining a codex adherent Chapter until only ten where left as fully fledged battle brothers, joining whichever company the Lord of their hold was Captain of. As for the machines that where hunted, the chapter sent them off to the Adeptus Mechanicus to be analysed by the Tech-preists of Mars, with whom they developed close ties over the millennia as a result. An alliance that would pay off following recent events. +A PLANET OVERRUN+ In the closing months of the 41st millennium, the galaxy was in turmoil. The various warp storms made the policing duties of the Chapter impossible so, the then Chapter Master Bertrand, ordered the chapter to muster full-strength in order to discuss what to do next. Shortly after the meeting between the 10 Captains began, a massive Greenskin fleet of immense size, translated in system and immediately launched and attack on the surprised chapter. Despite the chapter fleets valiant defence, the Orks where able to crash collosal roks into the Bastion-cities of Orrum, Ashfeld and Marsh defended by the 5th 6th and 7th companies respectively completely eradicating them. It was at this time that Ghazgull Mag Uruk Thraka himself attacked the City of Valuation, home of the 1st company. Filled with righteous fury, Chapter Master Bertrand realised that the planet was lost. Naming first company Captain Everart as his successor, with final orders to deliver the news that the beast of Armageddon has returned with a waaagh to rival that of the beast of Ullanor to Terra, Bertrand, along with his honour guard, Marched out to meet Thraka head on. Thanks to Bertrands orders of an organized retreat to the surviving cities ports, Everart was able to co-ordinate the evacuation of what little remained of the forces of Coccium, along with the civilian population sheltering at the ports, off-planet to the Battle-Barge, Gloria Coccium. Everart, looking on grim-faced at the the remaining fleet prosecuting a glorious last stand and feeling a mixture of pride and regret, ordered the Gloria Coccium make for Terra. +AN OFFER OF RETRIBUTION+ Upon arriving in the Segmentum Solar, Everart sent an astropathic communique to the High Lords of Terra in answer to the hails and challenges of identification he was receiving. The message detailing the fall of Coccium and the unbelievable size of the waaagh under Ghazgull's command. Everart was met with orders to dock in high Orbit above Terra and to report directly to Lord Commander Guilliman. Completely taken aback, the Chapter Master had to send for conformation as it seemed that the message was corrupted and that he was to seek an audience with the Primarch of the Ultramarines, long held in stasis on Macragge. Upon conformation that indeed this astounding news was true, Everart made immediately for the Imperial Palace. Upon learning of this threat, Guilliman laid plans for a crusade back into the Segmentum Obscurus involving a detachment of the Talons of, the Emperor several regiments of Imperial Guard along with several Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes, including the Knights Obstinate. Who were joined by a sizable force provided by the mechanicus, along with a full company of the newly formed Primaris Space Marines, the Unnumbered Sons also known as the Greyshields. They were to locate and eliminate the various Warbosses in Ghazgulls fleet in order to stop this waaagh dead in its tracks. The last thing the Imperium needed was a second War of the beast. To mitigate the substantial losses they had suffered, Chapter Master Everart reorganised the chapter into 4 battle companies with the 5th and 6th companies being assault and devastator specialists respectively, the 7th was to be the Scout company. In order to rapidly train new recruits, strike forces where made up of elements from each company so that all experience from deployments could be shared more effectively through the Chapter. Due to heavy damage sustained to much of their armour wargear, the chapter have had to re-commission their small stores of relic mk 3 and 4 plate. It was only thanks to the close ties to the Adeptus Mechanicus that this was made possible, even then, due to the limited knowledge remaining of the maintenance and repair of said armour marks, it had to be issued, piece-meal to battle brothers in dire need, with only those further up the chain of command such as sergeants and Captains able to wear full suits. It is here, at the dawn of a new millennium that the Knights Obstinate stand eager ready to seek vengeance on the filty xenos that drove them from their home. +Organisation of the Knights Obstinate c.999.M41+ Upon receiving the mandate for a crusade of vengeance upon the vile Greenskin hordes, Chapter Master Everart, not wasting any more time than was necessary, has restructured the Knights Obstinate in such a way as to maximise the effectiveness of what remains of the Chapter. +Current Structure of the Chapter+ Chapter Command Everart Lord Warden of the Watch Plomyde Lord Warden of Sanctity --------------------------------------------- Armoury Brumear Master of the Forge 20 Tech Marines 5 Predators 80 Tech Servitors 4 Vindicators 15 Rhinos 3 Whirlwinds 10 Razorbacks 3 Hunters 38 Drop Pods 3 Stalkers 15 Bikes 5 Landraiders 10 Scout bikes 10 Stormhawk Interceptors 10 Attack Bikes 8 Landspeeders 10 Stormtalon Gunships 3 Storm Variant Landspeeders 8 Stormraven Gunships 6 Thunderfire Cannons --------------------------------------------- Apothacarion Alynore Chief Apothecary 8 Apothecaries --------------------------------------------- Fleet Command 1 Battle Barge (Gloria Coccium) 3 Strike Cruisers (Orrum, Ashfeld, Marsh) named after the lost Bastion-cities 4 Rapid Strike Vessels 7 Thunderhawk Gunships --------------------------------------------- 1st Company, Bertrand's Honour Chapter Master Everart Captain of the 1st Lord Warden of the Watch Reclusiarch, Plomyde 5 man Command squad/honour guard 2, 5man Terminator squads 10 man sternguard squads 2, 10 man vanguard squads The first company, named Bertrand's Honour after the late chapter masters heroic sacrifice upon Coccium are made up of the Chapters finest marines. Though small in number, Bertrand's Honour not only represents the sharp tip of the chisel, but the blunt force of the hammer behind it. Due to the devastating loss of the majority of the Chapters Tactical Dreadnought Armour, there are only two active 5 man Terminator squads and even that is only possible due to the mechanicums efforts to restore 5 suits of Tartaros pattern armour that is in use by the company's 1St squad. It is thanks to the Chapters close ties with the Mechanicum that a few of the suits not completely destroyed are currently undergoing repair and testing with the hope that they may re-enter service. --------------------------------------------- 2nd Company The Resolute Captain Gauen Lord Warden of the Arsenal Chaplain, Burkhard 5 man Command squad 4, 10 man tactical squads The Second company, known as the Resolute are named so as they fully embody their parent legions unwavering, some may see it as stubborn, attitudes towards warfare. It was the Resolute that where the last of the companies to board the transports to the escaping flagship in Orbit above during the fall of Coccium. Being at the forefront of the defence of the evacuation, Captain Burkhard and the marines are well liked and respected by not only the rest of the chapter, but the surviving civilian population as well. --------------------------------------------- 3rd Company Reclamers of Novatum Captain Deulake Lord Warden of the Fleet Chaplain, Gottfreid 5 man Command squad 4, 10 man tactical squads The Third company, known as the Reclamers of Novatum; are named so as the sacking of their Bastion-city, Novatum and the subsequent retreat has left a particularly bitter taste in the mouths of Captain Deulake and his men. This has led to a noticeable display of a zealous attitude from the company who have vowed that it will be the third that will take back the first Bastion-city and it shall be Novatum. This zealotry has drawn the attention of the Reqlusiam and as such, a Chaplain is always present when members of the third are deployed to ensure their zeal doesn't become recklessness. --------------------------------------------- 4th Company The Rooted Captain Pelleus Lord Warden of the Marches Chaplain, Reynald 5 man Command squad 4, 10 man tactical squads The Fourth company, known as The Rooted, are fully committed to not losing another inch of ground to the vile Greenskin. It is the Fourth that work the closest with other forces of the imperium such as the imperial guard and the mechanicum on their crusade as, due to their limited numbers, the strategy employed by Captain Reynald relies on heavy garrisons on reclaimed world's and stations. --------------------------------------------- 5th Company Coccium's Lance Captain Kay Lord Warden Executioner Chaplain, Anton 4, 10 man Assault squads 2, 3 man Centurion squads The Assault company. The Fifth, known as Coccium's Lance, are made up of marines who favour an aggressive attitude to war. Relishing in the glory of close combat these Astartes are weilded like a surgical blade by Captain Kay. The marines of the fifth are trained I'm the use of bikes and Landspeeders to ensure maximum flexibility in any particular theater of war and it is the veterans of the fifth that not only make up the sergeants of the company like the rest of the chapter, it is these experienced warriors who are also granted the honour of piloting the precious few centurion assault warsuits that are in the Chapters Arsenal. --------------------------------------------- 5th Company Gargant Slayers Captain Mordrede Lord Warden of Recruits Chaplain, Tibauld 12 devastator specialists (attached the the squads of the 3 battle companies) 3, 10 man Devastator squads 2, 3 man Centurion squads The sixth company are named the Gargant Slayers due to the massive amount of Gargant kills that where tallied by the devastator squads that make up the sixth during the fall of the chapter world. It is through the sixth company that recruits are inducted into the chapter with the novices carrying bolters in the 10 man Devastator squads and then, once enough experience is gained, the are inducted into one of the 3 battle companies' tactical squads as a support trooper then, after gaining further experience, will replace a fallen member of the squad as a tactical marine or, if possible, petition to train as a devastator centurion pilot and become a veteran of the sixth. --------------------------------------------- 7th Company Tooth Hunters Captain, Garethe Master of the Signal Chaplain, Gerard 8, 5 man Scout squads The Scouts of the Seventh company are infiltration specialists without equal in the chapter, currently there have been no more recruits inducted into the seventh since before the fall of Coccium. --------------------------------------------- Chapter strength: 335 Brothers (not including command and support staff) (As a side note I've not decided on the Chapters stance on psykers so, for now, I've not included a librarius) By drafting in new recruits from the best candidates of the rescued population, the chapter has reached a strength of over 300 marines and growing. This initially came with some teething pains as the rest of the brothers didn't see these recruits as worthy due to them not being able to undergo the traditional trials they all went through. This was quickly stamped out by the Reqlusiam, in a rousing and inspirational speech, given by Reclusiarch Plomyde, he reminded his brothers that these were also citizens of Coccium with an Emperor-given right to fight to take back their Homeworld and that, these recruits were the chapter's future and as such needed the highest standard of training possible and it was each individual brothers responsibility to ensure the Glory and high standards of the chapter be continued, to ignore this duty would be to fail all those who died defending Coccium and it's people and that failure was not acceptable. It is squads from the 5th that exclusively fill in the assault role in all theaters of war whereas the 6th company, handle recruits, whom form 2 10 man devastator squads with the bolter bearing marines being the newest members. As for the rest of the company, rather than form squads of their own, a full brother will fill the role of heavy weapons specialist in one of the squads of the 3 battle companies when a position becomes open, usually due to the previous specialist being promoted to full tactical marine to replace losses. The only exception being when use of one of some of the few centurion suits is needed. When this is the case, one of the 3 permanent 3 man centurion squads is called into action. It is to be noted that, due to the close relationship the Knights Obstinate share with the Mechanicum, in order to make the most of their limited Armoury, they are able to rapidly re-fit their vehicles to different variants to suit whatever needs a particular theater may demand. + Chapter Beliefs+ The Knights Obstinate are not a religious chapter. Holding on to the tenants of the Imperial truth, they have no fondness of the Ecclesiarchy and its various branches. They do not tolerate any interference or delays brought on by their practices. This has occasionally brought the chapter into conflict with the organisation throughout history however, the chapters necessity in defending against the greenskin threat has prevented any sanctions that would otherwise be visited upon them. +Recent engagements The initial engagement of The Knights Obstinate where a resounding success. Advancing into the Ultima Segmentum information was gathered from a Dark Angels patrol inbound for the Rock of a sizable gathering of orks in a nearby system rimward of the galactic core. The Chapter had their target. Arriving at the edge of the system, the Chapter, reinforced by elements from nearby Ryza and Catachan, set about developing a strategy. Being the first engagement for the Chapter following the Honing, Chapter Master Everart wasn't prepared to accept any failure. Before any forces where dispatched, a request was sent to the vessels of the Mechanicum for a thorough scan of the system; the scan revealed that the largest gathering of the green skins where on the northern hemisphere of the 5th planet out from the binary stars. They had their target. As per the pre determined plan, the seventh company where sent in to assassinate the warboss present on the planet, which the scans showed was a death world overrun with dense jungle, much to the delight of the Catachan platoons. Further scans conducted by the mechanicum revealed that the southern continent was completely covered by an ancient city; though, as it was completely overgrown, it initially appeared to be simply mountainous terrain. As such the tech priests where eager to get to the surface. It wasn't two days before a transmission was received from Captain Garethe of the Seventh that the task was completed. Without hesitation, Everart launched the full weight of his forces at the planet. The fighting took just over two standard weeks before the system was considered purged: the force remained to weed out the stragglers, lest the crusade had a fledgling waaagh at their backs, and to establish a base of operations near to the front in order to resupply and launch attacks. One standard month on, the crusade made to push further into the Ultima Segmentum, aiming to move rimward in order to reclaim the world's along the border between the Ultima Segmentum and the Segmentum Obscurus with the ultimate aim to drive on to Coccium and from there, regroup and rebuild before purging the rest of the green skins for the region. A year into the undertaking things seemed to be going well. Aside from the painstakingly slow rate of travel due to the extremely tumultuous nature of the warp of late. It wasn't until they got closer to the Cicatrix Maledictum that operations had to grind to a halt, several imperial guard ships and mechanicum exploratoe vessels had been lost in trying to navigate a way through the massive warp rift and with no way to tell whether Coccium has been swallowed by it. As imposing whispers echo inside communications and a mysterious sense of death and decay permeate every vessel: the future of the crusade seemed unsure. +Chapter's Current Situation+ After several failed attempts to navigate the rift. Probes, dispatched by the Archmagos of the Ryza contingent, sent back disturbing returns, indicating that the rift had completely engulfed the region of space that Coccium had occupied. Uncertain of what this meant for the Orks that had infested that region of space, the Chapter had a large amount of new targets. It was during a grand ceremony of remembrance, attended by all elements of the crusade, guard, mechanicus, space marine and primaris alike. That Everart renamed the chapter The Swords of Coccium and proclaimed that an external war of vengeance be declared upon the forces of chaos spewing forth from the rift. I look forward to everyone's comments, as I've only built and painted one guy, changes that need to be made will be easy to implement so I welcome all constructive criticism Thanks for looking (and taking the time to read all this XD)

I was going to wait to start this, I've got chunks of other text written, but I'll put up a breakdown here of the overall picture of what I'm going for. After the prompting in the main thread to get our asses into gear, just to get the ball rolling I'll start like this and see if anyone has some initial input, based on this outline. So! This will finally be my IA for the Desolators, that I've been working on (with the help of many of you, especially Zhiv) over the last 6 months, originally as the canon Chapter the Destroyers. As some of us are doing again lately, I'm going to keep this list of core concepts and inspirations up the top here, to keep myself honest and refer back to when stuck: - part Cossack/old Slavic, part Game of Thrones Thenn (30% Nordic, 70% Slav) - cannibalism, ritual and symbolic - Chapter ruled and lead by psyker elements and their foretellings/divination - worship and seek to emulate the Khan to the extreme (hit and run, independent, "at peace" with the warp, value strategy) and tend to go overboard frequently - on supposed great quest; after huge vision event, the Chapter believes they are fated to be part of something highly significant to come +++ ORIGINS - Founding undecided as yet - White Scar geneseed, via Destroyers - created originally to retake forgotten worlds taken by Xenos in far reaches of ignored imperium HOMEWORLD - feral planet, mixture of swampland, semi-mountainous terrain and plains. Lightning storms and resulting fires/floods keep the people nomadic - tribal but highly organised people, lead by shamanic caste who are also mighty warriors and leaders (muscle wizards), value placed on both a warrior's skill and his insight equally - cannibalism prevalent throughout, belief system places this and associated practices at core of Homeworld culture BELIEFS - the soul/spirit is housed in the body - absolute faith in the utility and near-divinity of those with psychic power (like the Khan but overboard) - ritualistic consumption of the brain, heart and certain other organs can imbue one with the dead warrior's essence. Meaning depends on situation and ritual involved (also eat friendlies under certain circumstances) - the Emperor is no God but a hugely powerful psychic force in the universe, who influences fate of everything - the Khan was the "purest" warrior of all time ORGANISATION - largely Codex, as the Khan - companies as Scar brotherhoods, independent hunting forces - Librarians ("Kolduns") ultimately rule over Chapter in all major decisions and influence many minor ones. Warrior-mages, active in the field of battle more than they are lore keepers (Chaplains take these responsibilities) - Head Koldun ("Porahn") lords over Chapter - Chapter master is First Warleader, still prime director in martial and Chapter affairs and officially the head of the Chapter when a face is required to represent the Chapter in major events, but is ultimately second in command and able to be vetoed - leadership basically shared. Chosen by Kolduns whenever new one is required - no Dreadnoughts (unless very rarely decreed necessary by seers), minimal Devastators - very Landspeeder heavy, see this as the best expression of the Khan on his jet bikes - specialist veteran scouts, natural progression to Tactical marines is not always the case and some marines stay on in scout roles permanently (need to flesh this out) COMBAT DOCTRINE - "terror tactics" (?) and psychological warfare used - prefer to defeat their enemies by weakening them first (cutting off supply lines, sabotage, feints and distractions to separate forces, etc). - all manoeuvring and stalking to set up prey before striking with overwhelming force. Prefer not to hang around in prolonged warfare if they can avoid it - the hunt and strategical pre-game is just as significant as the conflict. Some tales are told of the strategical outwitting of enemies by great heroes in the Chapter's history without referencing the battle itself at all CULTURE - hunters above all. Hunting contests to track and kill a visited planet's megafauna whenever possible. - heavy ritual scarring commonplace (like the Khan but overboard) - poets. Contests of wit not uncommon. Known to play games of strategy as a past time - idiosyncrasies and minor habits/superstitions make them seem odd - brotherhood and reverence for past heroes important. Brothers will be acquainted with role, honours etc of every other Brother of the Chapter, even those they have not met (updated repository etc), both out of respect and in order to track the great essences of the Chapter's past. Creates sense of openness and unity among all - shaved bald heads by choice is standard, heavily bearded/moustached DISPOSITION - insightful and grim but not without humour. "Laugh while you are killing" - fierce, but still mystics and poets in nature, as the Scars. Encouraged to learn of the universe. Superstitious, eccentric to outsiders - cunningness is approved of and fostered - in all things, hunters - highly independent, usually dismissive of other Imperial organisations, trust few HISTORY - roamed out far and revelled in it, like the Khan for millennia. Upon initial mission statement of "attack all the xenos invaders in lost areas of Obscurus" chose Dark Eldar footholds with the background intention of beginning a search for information on the Khan's disappearance. Blooded themselves on them thoroughly and first developed their tactically subtle and cunning war style here, and began culture of terror and psychological warfare - asked repeatedly to return, never do, too free-spirited (like the Khan but overboard), then threatened. Here begins negative imperial relationships - went overboard in their compliance. "Want us to purge this cult? If you say so!" *eradicates cult, then sends specialist scouts to discover where original instigators of cult conspiracy started, do same to them and everyone they know*. "Want us to purge this new alien race? Sure!" *proceed to crush their forces and save the planet, then leave the current campaign and pursue them for decades until extinct* - create reputation for being unreliable but effective and utterly thorough in their approach when they turn up/do as they're asked, leaving no job half finished and taking every mission statement to the Nth degree. Scare whole systems into long term compliance with their bloody reputation and creating safe havens for imperial populace before moving on again, never hanging around - Created enemies and alliances (various stories written about these instances to flesh out their reputation and character) - Kolduns all have vision that the Chapter must go and roam once more, "until called upon" - not seen again for X hundred years - imperial record shows they suddenly return: the Kolduns have all divined that they must return to the Imperium, needed for a not yet clear but profoundly significant task to come. See themselves as fated and on an Emperor-guided path now, which they will journey on to its end no matter the cost RELATIONSHIPS - Marine Chapters: differs wildly depending on Chapter. More dislike them than are comfortable with them. Fiercely loyal to Scars and other successors - Imperial Guard/general human forces: as above. Indifferent towards mankind, somewhat aloof but no inherent disdain - Adeptus Mechanicus: neutral - Ecclesiarchy: strained - Inquisition: generally under close scrutiny whenever possible though certain Inquisitors quietly believe in their agendas +++ There's more but it's late and I need to break it down into bullet points better. It's a start though! If anyone has thoughts they'd like to share, I'm all ears This will grow and be refined in the weeks to come.

THE IMPERIAL SONS [/td][td=70%]CHAPTER NAME: .............. THE IMPERIAL SONS FOUNDING: ..................3RD [M.32] CHAPTER WORLD: .............BASTION FORTRESS MONASTERY: ........ECLIPSE GENE-SEED (PREDECESSOR): ...ULTRAMARINES KNOWN DESCENDANTS: .........NONE BATTLECRY: ................."IMPERIUM UNITED OVER ALL!" "We must put this misery behind us. We must enter a new chapter! And so I say to you that, as of this day, we are no longer Ultramarines! In honor of the ideals we fight for, in honor of the sacrifices of our brothers, in honor of the Emperor...as of this day we will take the name of our true purpose! As of this day, we are the Imperial Sons! For the Emperor!" - Galen Diomes, Praetor of the Imperial Sons Captain of the Imperial Sons, 2nd Company Member of the Crimson Guard, Imperial Sons 1st Company ORIGINS The origin of the Imperial Sons is one of betrayal, retribution and idealism. Once a part of the XIIIth Legiones Astartes, the Ultramarines, they were known as one of the fiercest followers of the Imperial Truth, which was delivered by the Emperor himself. As part of the Xth chapter, the Legionnaires under Arceas Odinathus witnessed some of the hardest fights the Legion had to endure. Before their gene-father, RobouteGuiliman was rediscovered on Macragge, the Xth chapter fought alongside the VIIIth Legiones Astartes, the Night Lords, for several times. From them, they learned how to use fear as a tool to bring entire wars to end. Though fear and intimidation were not the final means, they were useful in themselves. From destruction came rebuilding. From intimidation came trust. Those worlds, which were brought into compliance by Arceas Odinathus and his men, were glorious examples of the potency of mankind. From these worlds, the system sorrounding the world known as Corusca became their very masterpiece. Never did the Xth, also known as the Sons of the Imperium for outliving the tenets of the Imperial Truth, ever reform a world into such an efficient and prospering world. Corusca was said to potentially become a prime world like Macragge, a bastion of hope and future expansions. That all changed, when the first bombs fell on Calth. The dreadful betrayal of the XVIIIth Legion left its mark on the entirety of the sons of Guiliman. An invisible bond of shared horrors bound those, who survived the attrocities of Calth. Unfortunately, those, who were not present, like the Xth chapter, became outsiders within their own Legion. While their brothers bled in the dust of Heresy, Odinathus and his men fought in the northern realms of the Segmentum Ultima against the Heldaxi alliance. After finally hearing of what happened to their brothers, Odinathus decided to turn his forces against the retreating elements of both, the Word Bearers and the World Eaters. Thus, the Sons of the Imperium dived into the unstable region known as the Dominion of Storms, chasing down their traitorous brothers. In doing so, they reconquered Honourum and fought within the Nostraman sector against the remnants of the Night Lords traitors. In order to engage as much traitors as possible, Odinathus tasked his second in command, Galen Diomes, in plunging more into the Dominion, destroying every renegade force they would encounter, while he would be heading northbound. With half of the chapter under his direct control, Galen Diomes stayed within the Dominion, trying to eradicate the hiding traitors. Their main antagonist in this campaign became the Brotherhood of Kain, a confluence of both, the Word Bearers and the World Eaters. While fighting their nemesis, the Sons of the Imperium were trapped within the Dominion alongside their enemies because of rising storms and unpassable nebulas. Years later, the tides lifted and the few survivors of Diomes’ task force returned to the Imperium. It is assumed that the Brotherhood of Kain was completely eradicated. However, rumors were recently arising, heralding the return of Kain’s followers. In the meantime, the Second Founding was already done and the Third was drawing closer. Before they returned to Macragge did Diomes traveled to the nearby Corusca in order to resupply and enact crucial maintenances. However, when they entered the orbit of Corusca, they found nothing more than ashes and madness. Corusca had fallen beneath the merciless advance of Horus’ forces, turning it into a pit of anarchy and chaos worshipping cults, corrupted beyond salvation. Diomes had no other choice than to scorch the entire system, destroying everything they had once achieved. Blaming themselves for not being able to prevent Corusca’s demise and for not having prepared it against all odds, did they swore an eternal oath never let this happen again. From the ashes of Corusca did they arose anew as the Imperial Sons. It was they, who would bring the unquestionable truth of the Emperor to every world within the Imperium. The personal convictions and ideals of Diomes and his men were immingled with the tenets of the Imperium Truth and later with the Codex Astartes, forming the Corusca Doctrine. When they returned to Macragge, they found out that all loyal Legions had been divided into several chapters. As their brothers of the Scyths of the Emperor chapter, were Diomes’ men reformed into an independent chapter, the Imperial Sons. As such, they returned to the northeastern corner of the Dominion of Storms, claiming a new homeworld for their own, naming it Bastion. Once a former base of operation of the Brotherhood of Kain, it was conquered and reformed into a proud and loyal fortress world, serving as both, a social center and training grounds for the Imperial Sons. From Bastion did the Imperial Sons start their crusade of reclamation, slowly discovering the dangerous realm of the Dominion. While half of the chapter fought within the Dominion against rediscovered kingdoms of man and xenos alike, did the other half fought across the Imperium, serving in the name of the Imperial Truth and those, who had fallen in its name. HOMEWORLD Bastion, a name that speaks for itself, for Bastion is the incarnation of an imperial fortress world. This large, high-gravity world was covered in everything from rocky mountains and frozen ice fields, to rain forests full of carnivorous plants and deserts. As such, this planet was the perfect training ground for combat in difficult terrain. Its cities built at the shores of the seas gave birth to strong and resistible people, which again were the perfect pool to recruit for the ranks of both, the Imperial Guard and the Imperial Sons. But like most of the more famous worlds across the Imperium, Bastion has its dark secrets, deeply hidden in its history. Centuries ago, while the galaxy burned in the flames of betrayal fratricide, the world, which former name was lost in time, was once a base of operations for some of the most cruel and corrupted members of Horus’ forces, the Brotherhood of Kain. The Brotherhood fought against the forces of Galen Diomes, a high ranking member of the XIIIthLegionesAstartes. This conflict lasted for years and its degree of bloodshed and ferocity caught them in a rising warp storm, separating them for centuries to go. When the storm had finally lifted, the Brotherhood was no more and the victorious sons of Guiliman returned home. Shortly after did Diomes return to Bastion, a world that was more home to him than even Macragge. Rebuilding and reshaping it into a proud world of the Imperium, the newly founded Imperial Sons were allowed to take this planet as their new homeworld, naming it Bastion. Academies for the Imperial Guard were founded as well, all over Bastion as its environment was well suited for all kind of terrain exercises. One of the most notable academies of Bastion was the Caridan Academy, known for its excellent recruits. The Imperial Sons, having such a potent pool of possible neophytes at their doorstep, integrated their recruiting process within the academies. From their recruits did the Imperial Sons select the most promising ones for their own process. Those, who would fail these trials, would continue their "normal" drill, which will make them superb candidates for both Imperial Army and further the Tempestus Scions. If a recruitwas founded not suitable for military life, he or she rejoined their communities as disciplined and dedicated members. Under the imperial rule and under the guidance of the Imperial Sons, Bastion became one of the most reclusive and heavily guarded worlds in the Dominion of Storms. Most natural routes were mined and its defense fleet, which headquarters was an ancient space station, known only as Valor’s Fist, covered the rest. Valor’s Fist itself served as the Imperial Sons fortress monastery, thus making it the center point of all military actions of Bastions scions.Besides its numerous regiments, which exercised within its academies and the forces of the Imperial Sons, was the planet itself surrounded by a chain ofplanetary shields, protecting its most important cities and strategic facilities. ORGANIZATION Although being a true successor of the Ultramarines, the Imperial Sons did not follow the tenets of the Codex Astartes as some might suggest. For them, the regimentations of Roboute Guiliman were more of an advice role than a dogmatic rule. Adhering to the ideals of the Imperial Truth, did they kept the organizational structure of the Great Crusade, which was laid down in the Principia Bellicosa and written by the Emperor Himself. As such, the chapter was divided into two Battalions, which again consisted of four companies. Learning from their mistakes in the past by leaving compliant worlds on their own again, one Battalion staid within the Segmentum Pacificus in order to safeguard their assigned territory. Stationed aboard the chapters’ fortress monastery, the Valor’s Fist, they fought across the Segmentum Pacificus against uprisings and incursions. In the meantime, did the other Battalion fought, aboard the chapters’ flagship Chimeara, across the Imperium to hold up their duties towards mankind and to become more experienced in battling all kind of foes, be it Ork, Necron or traitor. After a century of waging war, both Battalions switch places in order to do several things: restock their supplies, initiation of new recruits, while the refreshed Battalion continues the chapters’ never-ending quest of unifying the galaxy under the Emperors’ rule. Either each Battalion, which was led by the Commander himself or his second in command, consisted of the following: A command squad, including the advisors of the Battalions leader 4 Companies, each divided into four Platoons and led by a Captain Each Platoon consisted of three squads and was led by a Lieutenant 48 Squads in total, each led by a Sergeant Half of the elite 1st Company, the Crimson Guard, about 80 Troopers Half of the 10th Scout Company, about 80 Neophytes Each Platoon in every company had its designated role. For example, every first Platoon consisted of the company’s veterans, with the first squad being the command squad of said company. As the Imperial Sons were a secretive and distrustful chapter, the following assumptions regarding their dedicated tactical composition is basing on third party observations and eyewitnesses. First Platoon: Command Squad and veterans Second Platoon: Tactical Squads Third Platoon: one Tactical and two Assault Squads Fourth Platoon: one Tactical and two Devastor Squads This way, the Imperial Sons proofed to be a very flexible and adaptable force to be reckoned with. It was not uncommon for them to deploy a Platoon instead of an entire company if they had to deal with a lesser threat. As the companies number way more members than codex aligned chapters, the entire chapter of the Imperial Sons is far larger than most of the known, established successors of Guiliman, having about 1300 members in total. Specialists like Chaplains or Apothecary were spread across both Battalions like the elite first company, the Crimson Guard. Acting as the Commanders personal bodyguard and the ultimate enforcers of the chapters’ ideology, the members of theCrimson Guard are the pinnacle of the chapters’ dedication and martial proofness. Each Trooper of the Imperial Sons desired to become as excellent as these red clad warriors. To become a member of the Crimson Guard, one had to proof himself in numerous battles until he was chosen to join the ranks of the company’s cadre of veterans, the Black Hand. These veterans served as a pool of experience for their company and as a source of recruits for the Crimson Guard, whose leader acted as the second in command of the Commander, leading an entire Battalion on his own. Furthermore, the Black Hand designation was to do what had to be done to keep order by any means. Even the use of terror tactics and sabotage missions were a usual mean, which was justified by the end. If the Commander did fell in battle, the Sovereign Protector, how the Crimson Guards’ leader was called, immediately took command over the entire chapter. Another note of importance was the fact that the Imperial Sons did not run any form of a Librarium. The reasons for that are deeply hidden in the vaults of Valor’s Fist but by analyzing the chapter’s past, one can conclude that fighting against numerous chaos cults and its demonical masters, left its mark on the chapter. Furthermore, it seems that the battle of Chorryn was the event in which the chapter abandoned its entire Librarium. Eyewitnesses have reported of a civil war within the Imperial Sons’ ranks. With their chief librarianor even their Commander having fallen to chaos, the chapter had to fight itself, leading to the death of all psykers within their ranks. From that day on, no further mentioning of any form of psi wielding Imperial Sonwere to be found. If it is a result of the loss of their Librarium or just a sign of further radicalism cannot be said for sure but the Imperial Sons do rank more chaplains as codex aligned chapters. Preaching their visions and ideology of the Imperial Truth, these chaplains spread their word across the worlds of the Imperium. It is they, who are heavily involved in reshaping those worlds, which were saved by the Imperial Sons. This impression is underlined by the following quote: “We are the true sons of the Imperium. We do not requirewitches or cursed souls within our ranks. We are His blade and bolter. We are His vision incarnate. None shall stand against His truth!” COMBAT DOCTRINE When the Imperial Sons were still a part of the XIIIth Legiones Astartes, the Ultramarines, they were recognized as Lord Guilimans jack of all trades, excelling in every combat on every battlefield and environment but never having mastered any specific form of waging war like siege warfare or boarding actions. Therefore, they compensated the lack of mastery by making use of multi-vector operations, regardless of terrain. In doing so, they finally specialized in a certain way of waging war, adding their expertise to Guilimans resources. Ten thousand years later did the Imperial Sons perfect this preferred doctrine, whose tenets were laid down in the Corusca doctrine. It is a manifold compendium, including the visions of their genefather, Roboute Guiliman, the ideals of the Great Crusade and the additions of their founder, Galen Diomes. As they had once served along the formerly loyal VIIIth Legion, they had learned how to use fear and intimidation in such a way, which allowed them to end conflicts without a bolter shell being fired. This usage of psychological warfare combined with multi vector operations made the Imperial Sons a potent opponent. A good example of their way of fighting would be the battle of Jandor. There, they had laid an ambush for a large cell of rebels. After the trap had sprung, the Imperial Sons entangled the rebels in the void, aboard nearly stolen ships and on the surface of Jandor. Everything was perfectly timed. While the Imperial Sons troopers did deal with the rebels, massive air support came from the cold void, dropping their bombs on top of the rebel encampments. In the meantime, did the Imperial Sons fleet encircle their enemies, unleashing hundreds of boarding parties, which again took over the hostile fleet, annihilating any form of resistance. The Imperial Sons prefer the usage of energy based weaponry instead of bolters, like volkites, plasma guns, melters, etc. This weaponry is more adaptable to certain battlefields like underwater engagements or vacuum battles. As such, they made use of a certain, heavily modified version of laser fangs, which were originally used by Stormhawk interceptors and were redefined as infantry weapons. With the support of the nearby forgeworld of Jandor, the Imperial Sons are able to equip their troops with this kind of weaponry. Furthermore, Jandor provided the Imperial Sons with a very rare and special vehicle, the Diadectes class transport, an amphibious transport class, which was basing on the ancient Mastodon transporter. GENESEED Like their primogenitor, the Ultramarines, do the Imperial Sons have a stable and pure geneseed without any known flaws. But still, it was never used for the any foundation of a successor chapter. It seems that, because of their wayward behaviour and sometimes marginal deeds, did the High Lords of Terra concerns about using their genetic heir. Some argue if the „rebellious“ character of the Imperial Sons is in fact a hidden flaw in their geneseed but none of these rumors were proofed to be real. Furthermore, it was observed that the Imperial Sons seemed to be more obedient towards orders than normal chapter, although this refers to orders given by within their own ranks. Orders and requests done by other imperial authorities, especially the Ecclisiarchy and the Inquisition were not answered immediately, if any. This strengthened the impression of tensed relations between them and official, imperial authorities. BELIEFS / CULTURE It is not uncommon for chapters of the Adeptus Astartes, to envision themselves as born warriors of the Emperor, the incarnate Angels of Death. But sometimes, there is a chapter who despises this self imposed depiction. The Imperial Sons are one of the latter. The Imperial Sons saw themselves as the soldiers of the Emperor and not as savage warriors, conquering for the sake of it. Their duty was one of reconquering and reshaping the galaxy itself in the tenets of the Emperors own decree, the Imperial Truth. As such, they embodied the Imperial Truth, which was written down by the Emperor Himself, with every fibre of their very being. The key facts of it were summarized and expanded by the founder of the Imperial Sons, Galen Diomes, adding the teachings of his genefather, Roboute Guiliman and his own experiences since the Great Crusade. He named the result the Corusca Doctrine, honoring his chapters greatest loss during the merciless years of the Horus Heresy. Though it based upon the Emperors work, the result was more of a twisted version of this noble and honorable decree. In using fear and indimidation as a mean to bring world into compliance, the Corusca Doctrine taught that effectiveness and succes against all odds mattered above everything else, ensuring mankinds survival. Failure was not acceptable and had to be eradicated. If a population had to be purged from the weakness of a ruling cast, which was founded guilty of failing the Emperor, than so be it. This behaviour resulted in a reputation of cold, ruthless and sometimes fearsome warriors, which walked amidst the stars. Fear followed in their wake, forcing adversaries to lay down their weapons in order to prevent sanctions like the infamous Ghorman-massacre. As the Imperial Sons declared every form of worship being a heresy to the Emperors vision, they were at odds with the Ecclisiarchy and other religious institutions. Nevertheless, other institutions like the Astra Militarum or the Ordos of both, Xenos and Malleus are more than willing to reap the fruits of the Imperial Sons merciless labour. Therefore, the sons of Bastion are both respected and feared within the Imperium. Growing up within the storm-tossed and still untapped region known as the Dominion of Storms, the officers and citizens of Bastion grew up with the Corusca Doctrine. Under the guidance of Imperial veterans and the Imperial Sons, along with approved literature, vids and mandatory viewings of morale sessions twice a day for cadets, officers would learn of the glorious past of the Imperium and how it had been robbed by the doings of both, Horus and those, who later called themselves the Ecclisiarchy. Many of Bastions citizens believed that only they could have the power necessary to wrest the galaxy from a path of chaos and corruption. Pre-recorded speeches often filled the airwaves, in which the leaders of Bastion would often comment on the depravity of the Imperium with revolts on several worlds, the corrupted horrors of heretics, and unchecked xenos advances throughout the outer realms of the Imperium. Following which stories of the Imperial Sons victories such as liberation of Galbak or winning a fleet battle in the Voluzar sector against a ravaging Ork fleet. Now, with the rise of the Avenging Son, their gene father Roboute Guiliman, are the Imperial Sons rejoice the coming of a new age. Immediately did they send half of their chapter towards Macragge in order to support their liege. SELECTED BATTLE HONORS The Jandor ambush: When the Adeptus Mechanicus came to the northern realms of the Dominion of Storms, it was looking for miscellaneous. Be it artifacts, lost archeotech or a place to test their newest inventions, everything seemed to be of value for the Lord Magi of Mars. But their thirst for new resources and worlds to exploit and civilizations to assimilate was the true cause behind the uprising commonly known as the Rebellion. Revolting against the Mechanicus’ oppression, the leaders of the Rebellion waged a guerrilla war against the seemingly overwhelming forces of Jandor, the centre of the Mechanicus approach of exploitation. Unable to get rid of the disturbing assaults and raids, did the Lords of Jandor contact the Imperial Sons. Together, they set a trap above Jandor itself. There, in its massive shipyards, was a mighty battleship near its completion. By withdrawing their forces to engage rumoured bases of the Rebellion, did the Imperial Sons give them an opportunity to strike. As suspected did the Rebel fleet emerge from the warp, trying to assault the seemingly defenceless Jandor. Ground forces boarded the shipyards, trying to capture the mighty vessel. Distractions were sent to bind Jandors forces on the surface. When the boarding party reached the helpless vessel did the Imperial Sons spring their trap. The fleet of the second battalion emerged from the warp, cutting the rebel fleet off from any escape route. Entire companies had waited aboard the battleship and within the hive cities of Jandor, waiting for the right time to strike. In a massive ambush did the Imperial Sons make use of their preferred way of waging war. With their multi vector attacks and ambushes on the surface of Jandor, within the shipyards and the in the planets orbit, did the sons of Bastion annihilate the entire military force of the Rebellion once and for all. The remaining rebels lost any hope and laid down their weapons, resulting in their capture and conversion into mindless servitors. As a result of their close collaboration did the Lord Magi of Jandor pledge their loyalty to the Imperial Sons, ensuring their supply with individual wargear, such as the Diadectes-class transport. The genocide of Konig Secundus: When the Imperium lost contact with the entire star system of Konig Secundus and its surrounding outposts at once, a nearby crusading fleet of the Imperial Sons chapter was recruited to engage the incident. With an emergency strike force, consisting of elements of the 26th Alphic Scorpions and the Phantom Blades chapter on route to support them, the Imperial Sons hurried to arrive as soon as possible. Entering the outer rims of Konig Secundus just in time to support the last survivors of the local Astra Militarum, the Imperial Sons witnessed the carnage which was unleashed here. The Scion of Madness, a massive Space Hulk which was led by the traitor warband known as the Iron Fist, hung deep in the lower orbit above Konig Secundus, the defending fleet scattered around it. There was nearly no response from Konig Secundus itself but those survivors, who had gathered within the southest fortress, Tal Dabor. Engaged by the Imperial Sons’ fleet, the Scion of Madness was long enough distracted until imperial reinforcements had arrived. Outnumbered and in a desperate battle for survival, the Iron Fist was about to flee. Sacrificing much of its warmachines to secure the escape, the Scion of Madness was barely able to flee but it made it into warp. As both sides had taken heavy casualties and with the completed genocide on Konig Secundus' people, no one dared to call that a victory. The Devourer of worlds: When more and more Hive fleets of the ferocious Tyranids appear at the border so the Imperium, did the Second Battalion heed the distress call of a range of imperial worlds. Facing a small tendril of the Hive Fleet Moloch above the world of Manwantes Tertius, the sons of Bastion fought fiercely and boarded the massive bio ships, trying to destroy the cerebella connection between the organisms and the upper hive mind. Although being successfull, the Imperial Sons were nearly annihilated. They were barely able to escape and had to take heavy casualties, depleting their numbers tremendously. Even with the final victory denied to them, the sons of Bastion did not hesitate and joined a combined fleet of Storm Rider and Phantom Blade elements and return to the Manwantes system, extinguishing the remaining xenos forces APPEARANCE “The chrome of my armor once coated the blades of the Primarch'sHonour Guards- blades that broke in their final battles, as the Honour Guards gave their lives for our father. As the wearer of the chrome armor, I must serve as a living memorial to their sacrifice, and an example to my brothers in the Crimson Guards." Vow of the Sovereign Protector The Imperial Sons heavily derive from their Ultramarine predecessors. They choose the colors of white, blac and red for them to bear. Each color has a distinctive meaning for them and in order to resemble their various ranks, the follow a strict code. The color of white resembled the purity of their purpose, the unification of mankind and the propagation of the Imperial Truth. Red stood for the sacrifices they were willing to make in order to accomplish their goals. If those sacrifices were of their own losses or civil casualties did not matter. The loss of the Emperor and their beloved father was of such impact that the Imperial Sons still bear the color black as a symbol of their mourning. Furthermore, it also represents their self-proclaimed role as the executors of the Emperors’ grand vision. As they loosely follow the tenets of the Codex Astartes, they implemented their own ranking system. The distinctive colors stood for certain ranks. They wore these colors on their right shoulder: Troopers, white shoulder inlet; white armor with black trim Sergeants, green shoulder inlet; white armor with black trim Lieutenant, yellow shoulder inlet; white armor with black trim Captain, red shoulder inlet; white armor with black trim Black Hand, white / green shoulder inlet; black armor with white trim Crimson Guard, white / green shoulder inlet; black armor with white trim Sovereign Protector, black shoulder inlet; chrome armor with red trim Commander, black shoulder inlet; black armor with red trim Furthermore, the Imperial Sons honor their armor in a different way than most other chapters. Instead of wearing their armor from their initiation until their death, each Imperial Sons obtains his armor with a certain rank. Acting as both, status symbol and recognition of their deeds, the variety of armor patterns are restricted as rewards. Besides very few and rare occasions, the different armor patterns were used as such: Trooper: MK V & VII, most widespread and common Mark within the Imperial Sons' ranks Black Hand: MK IV & VI, the most advanced patterns in terms of stealth abilities and combat proofness Crimson Guard: Indomitus Terminator armor, though telics as such, the Indomitus pattern is still the most commonly used by all chapters Sovereign Protector & Commander: heavily customized Terminator armor, basing upon the Tartaros pattern Color schemes: --------=][=-------- #End of record# To proceed, please open attached note *Opening attached note* Thought of the day: Ignorance can be a blessing to the soul... Hello there, first of all: I'm impressed of how active this subforum as become! All of these great, new ideas and chapter. Really glad that the subforum, which brought me into this brotherhood, is flourishing again! Thanks for that and keep it up! :tu: With the recently started Iron Gauntlet and Brotherhood of the Angels challenges, I though, why not participating as well? And why inventing something new if you already got a rough theme? Some of you might have noticed the Brotherhood of the Lost aka the Icarion Insurrection project. While working on it, I got an idea for a Second Founding chapter for the later years of the Insurrection. I'll be using this idea for the Liber Astartes challenges. As these are just a compilation of ideas, I'd require your assistance in order to make it a fitting article which makes sense in the end. ;) So what am I intending to do? Basically this: oh wait...before I start...this might help you to get into the right mood: So yeah, you might have guessed it: I'm intending to transfer the Galactic Empire / First Order from Star Wars into Warhammer 40K. Wait, don't leave right away, ok? Let me present my ideas and then you can leave if you want. Some bits are not yet decided. - Name: Imperial Sons - Origin: Ultramarines - History: former chapter / company of the XIIIth Legion, which brought many worlds into compliance; during / after the Heresy; they return to these worlds in order to reconquer them or support them against the rising threats of the Scouring; they see, how devastated these worlds have become and blame themselves for that for not having prepared them against all odds; become more and more obsessed with the Imperial Truth and the ideals of the Great Crusade, shaping worlds in the tenets of the Emperors grand vision - Combat Doctrine: multi-vector operations regardless of terrain; inspired by the great battles of Star Wars; take the battle of Endor as an example: precise ground and void ambushes, using the Deathstar as a killing blow and coordinated fleet operations (I'm willingly leaving the Empires failure out of this as it was most likely Palpatines fault); make more use of energy based weaponry than bolters (volkites, plasma guns, heavy lasers, etc.) - Organization: loosely follow the Codex Astartes (they see it as a guideline of their Primarch), more engaging the Principia Bellicosa as this was done by the Emperor himself; example: Chapter Master = Praetor, Captain = Centurion, etc.; maybe the'll have a special unit formation as well, resembling the Ultramarines former Destroyer squads; shoulder inlet indicates their ranks, company is displayed via numbers on kneepad - Culture: strict adherents of the Great Crusade and further of the Imperial Truth; therefore, they are at nearly hostile towards the Ecclisiarchy and the wider, corrupted imperial bureaucrats (and thus closely watched by the Ordo Hereticus); known to be ruthless, cold and sometimes brutal in their exertions; example: the successfully protected a world against an Ork-Waaagh! Afterwards, they executed the entire ruling cast as they saw them as incompetent and unworthy of ruling a world in the Emperor's name. Thus, the entire world was reshaped to be more adherent to their interpretation of the Imperial Truth. - Homeworld: name is Bastion; not a death world, but rather a climate world with several drastic climate zones like deserts, glaciers, etc.; perfect to train Astartes warriors; you can compare it with the worlds of Ultramar or the Star Wars world of Carida - Notable Elements: flagship being the Chimeara, a large and mighty vessel of a lost pattern (something like the Fists' Tribune); Galen Diomes, first praetor and founder of the chapter; it was him, who determined the chapters strict course So that is nearly all what I got so far. I did wrote down a small characterization of Galen Diomes and a timeline for the BotL, which can be adapted to the canon universe. I'm eager to hear your thoughts in order to improve and to flesh out this idea. Kelborn

This IA is a work in progress - currently at Major Update 1 (6/27/2017). After every major update, new/changed text will be highlighted in blue, while everything else will be the standard font color. http://i.imgur.com/5ux5DMb.png?1 Defend the Righteous - Torment the Wicked Chapter Name . . Tormentors Parent . . . . . Red Spectres Primogenitor . . Imperial Fists Founding . . . . 25th Descendants. . . None As of 999.M41: Homeworld . . . . Bellos Prime Allegiance. . . . Loyalist Chapter Master. . High Marshal Beatrio Key Chapter Data The Tormentors are a Chapter of Adeptus Astartes based in Castrix Sector, in the outer reaches of the Ultima Segmentum, close to the Ghoul Stars. Descended from the Imperial Fists and Red Spectres, the Tormentors defend their territories from deep space alien threats, and provide rapid regional responses as needed. In the middle of M40, a cluster of sectors reentered realspace after several millennia of warp storms, and Imperial forces began to build a reclamation fleet. During the build up, the High Lords declared a new founding of Astartes Chapters, and a number of these new 26th-Founding chapters, including the Tormentors, were designated to join that effort. The Chapter was a fleet-based, crusading chapter, until the conclusion of the campaign several centuries later. At this point, the Chapter laid claim to one of their re-assimilated planets, and began bolstering the new territories. The Tormentors are a very active organization, and at any time is operating in three areas at once, so the Chapter is divided into three Brotherhoods, each consisting of three Companies, which can easily deploy anywhere in the region with little notice with pre-assigned ships and assets. At any given time, one Brotherhood is on an active crusade, a second is either supporting that crusade or responding to other emergency calls for aid, and the third defends the home sector against warp anomalies and periodic xenos incursions from the Ghoul Stars. The company is divided into three Sections, instead of two Demi-Companies, to provide greater tactical flexibility for the commander. The Tormentors are a serious and determined group, valuing practicality over glory, and tend to scorn the pomp and circumstance that they perceive other, more established Chapters to be distracted by. The Battle Companies tend to coordinate intensively with Astra Militarum and other Imperial forces to determine key targets, then execute quick orbital strikes with infantry, land speeders, aircraft, and drop pod resupplies. The Chapter prides itself on completing missions violently and in quick succession, and tend to avoid the fanfare associated with larger operational victories, preferring instead to move onto the next objective or respond to a new request for aid. The Chapter will typically only deploy vehicles and armor to the surface when they expect to be mired in a protracted ground campaign, or other unusual circumstances. The Chapter has been compared to the Raptors Chapter by those observers lucky (or not) enough to have seen the two in combat. Appearance Selected examples of Tormentors uniform features and insignia: http://i.imgur.com/E9PZwD3.png Tormentors in the field (5th Battle Company) http://i.imgur.com/xTBqPDK.jpg details to come: Chapter Origin Geneseed Chapter Homeworld Combat Doctrine Battle Cry details to come: Command Structure Brotherhoods Chapter Fleet Auxiliaries Grand Cohort of Castrix details to come: Beliefs Recruitment Rituals Rank System Honors, Relics, Decorations, and Awards Retirement?! details to come: Activities as of 999.M41 Roll of Honor Castrixian Schism Chapter Masters Chapter Heroes Chapter Banners / Standards details to come: Grand Cohort of Castrix Affiliated chapters and nemeses details to come: Chapter Disposition Primaris debate

The Violent Gods Identity unknown Date:999.M41 Ref:................LBC//BLO Re:.................Adeptus Astartes; Renegatus- The Violent Gods "The love of wisdom walks a mere step in front of its eternal cohorts: blissful ignorance and wanton temptation. Fate would, of course, not deign to have them run in opposite directions, but, rather, they run in the same." -(Ancient Terran Philosopher, Unknown) +++TRANSMISSION INCOMING+++ +++TRANSMISSION RECEIVING+++ + + + 999.M41 Our Gracious Lords, In what follows we share new developments within our ongoing investigation into the renegade Astartes faction known as Saevus Dei, the Violent Gods. We are imminently grateful for the opportunity to provide assistance and hope you will find our work helpful to the ongoing progress of your invaluable research. May the Emperor protect. + + + We argue here that the available evidence suggests, specifically, that the rogue Astartes warband we will hereafter refer to as the Violent Gods is led by the Prognosticator assigned to the missing Silver Skulls Strike Cruiser Aevum immediately prior to its disappearance. + + + The facts of Aevum's otherwise-unremarkable disappearance return to the fore of our project given the involvement of the rogue Astartes warband known as Saevus Dei, the Violent Gods, in a number of conflicts preceding the specific grouping of events composing what has been called "The Night of a Thousand Rebellions". [The involvement of the Violent Gods in this specific grouping of events- and the events that now can be seen as leading up to them- constitute the reason(s) for this report.] It is not only, however, the mere existence of structural similarities between two extant Strike Cruisers that we think constitutes good reason to give credence to the thesis advanced at the start. It is, furthermore, the striking similarities among belief systems to which we point to further our case. We have long keep at merely an arms distance the Silver Skulls Chapter due to their deviation in the form of the use of the so-called Prognosticators instead of Librarians. As you well know, Prognosticators are assigned to each company and are highly revered in a manner unique to the Silver Skulls. In addition, the belief among the Silver Skulls in the power of the divination methods of the Prognosticators makes them spiritual advisors, taking on some of the duties assigned to Chaplains in Codex-compliant chapters. As such, we consider that (ceteris paribus) a detachment of Silver Skulls is more likely to fall under the sway of an influential rogue Prognosticator than a typical detachment falling to a rogue psyker in the average chapter, given a culture of distrust of psykers (given that the psykers in question command such reverence) is conspicuously absent among the culture of the Silver Skulls. If the aforementioned two reasons justify continued investigation, one would expect to see two types of evidence: first, a case in concreto of a deviant Prognosticator, and, second, a case in concreto that substantiates an explanatory route from a somewhat overenthusiastic belief in divination to full-blown heretical cult of personality via the manipulation of an otherwise benign trust of the approved forms of divination. Here we submit that we have instances of both, with the former causing the latter. We now move to a demonstration of both points, taken in turn, interspersed with arguments for their connection. Origins 584.M41 The Disappearance A simple archival search shows the rather abrupt cessation of transmissions from Silver Skulls Strike Cruiser Aevum while on a mission of unknown (classified) specification near the Minisotira sector within Segmentum Pacificus. Internal reports disclosed by the Silver Skulls note increasingly erratic transmissions from Aevum, which contained a task force drawn from the 5th and 8th companies (in toto significantly less than a full company), with the entire detachment falling under the command of an 8th Company Captain Kehan. Correspondence mentions mild unrest among the battle-brothers, including increasing paranoia from the some of the assigned specialists, in particular from the assigned Prognosticator. After reports involving steadily increasing intensity in the aforementioned ways, transmissions (as noted previously) ceased altogether. Aevum is officially listed as lost in the warp anomaly known as "the Gate of Fire" and the erratic reports preceding its disappearance have (in our estimation) so far been justifiably dismissed as unrelated to the direct causal circumstances of Aevum's disappearance. +++TRANSMISSION INTERRUPTED+++ +++DOCUMENTS INCOMING+++ LOG: 140.583.M41 We have arrived at [redacted], as per Jaruk's guidance. Though I confess that I am puzzled as to why our mission has taken us this far from Varsavia- and with relatively small numbers and limited resources- I am not one to question the readings of the Prognosticators. Time will tell- as it always does- the precise nature of our business here. LOG: 200.583.M41 Jaruk has been unable to read the runes. Protocol demands that we wait to move on until Jaruk no longer suffers what from what the other Prognosticators call the Deep Dark, an inability to understand the will of the Emperor using the runes or the Tarot. Periods within this closed window of communication are said to only ever be temporary, momentary lapses in access that fade with time such that the ability eventually fully returns. Jaruk, however, does not seem encouraged by this apparently common piece of knowledge and has become increasingly isolated. He is, as is well known, normally a well-liked and inspiring figure, both charismatic and wise. He has been in his chambers for over two months as of the time of this log and has spoken to no one. Even as Captain, I fear to ask of his well-being as to not disturb his attempts to successfully use his gift of sight again. May the Emperor protect. LOG: 289.583.M41 The Prognosticators continued silence has engendered a number of violent episodes in the fighting cages, with loyalties often divided along regional affiliations. Brothers from the southern tribes of Varsavia have most often been the aggressors. Disciplinary actions have been taken but the number of incidents continues to rise. I worry that my ability to properly adjudicate between the two factions will erode if Jaruk's silence forces us to remain in limbo. The indefinite nature of the halting of our progress has clearly made members of our detachment restless. Whatever its true cause, it nonetheless remains that I cannot afford to have continued erosion of trust between us due to infighting. LOG 293.583.M41 I sense whispering. I know not of what, or how, but I am beginning to expect that some of the brothers are unified against my command. I am convinced the southerners do not trust me. Or, rather, perhaps they do not trust me nearly as much as they trust Ovis, the southern-born Techmarine, or his twin brother Kelsus, our Apothecary, who are the highest ranking of those born of the southern tribes, and seem to speak for them. More than half of my command is southern-born, including my chaplain. Only with the first sergeant, my delegatus and confidant, am I willing to share these thoughts. Jaruk has been around far longer than I, and will prevail if we do not end up on the same side and the situation escalates. I have no direct evidence of Jaruk's machinations, but I have long suspected that there was far more to his silence than mere penitence or even the semblance of genuine faith. Indeed, paranoid as I feel for even entertaining the thought, I know his silence has been quite productive for his aims. Warp storms continue to make outside communication difficult for days on end, all the more reason to suspect that he sees far more than I. It is only now that I can see that he has only tolerated my command, and it now seems that I am not in charge in anything more than name. If Jaruk speaks, we are bound to it. If I question his judgment, I question the word of the Emperor himself. When he finally speaks the word as given him by the runes, perhaps only then will I know if I am betrayed or not. Until then, I dare not utter such thoughts to anyone, save the first sergeant, whom I have asked to investigate the matter by any means necessary. I speak these thoughts only to give voice to them in case such ominous events do come to pass. I pray they do not, and if my suspicions are wrong, then I ask forgiveness for ever harboring them at all. LOG 297.583.M41 Nothing has substantiated my previous delusions, and I expect nothing will, as the first sergeant has found nothing out of the ordinary to report. I am embarrassed by my lack of faith. The Emperor has finally made our fate clear to Jaruk, the bickering has ceased, and we are set to return home when the warp storms subside. With the burden of the Deep Dark relieved, I suspect my doubts will subside as well. I remain alert regarding the fissures in our detachment that has been born out of this regional rivalry, but for now, I am happy to report that it seems as if my worries were in vain. May the Emperor protect. +++DOCUMENTS RECEIVED+++ +++TRANSMISSION RESUMING+++ First Encounter 866.M41 Imperial forces arrive to the dying throes of rebellion on Enneardia, a feudal world in the Sabbat Worlds in the galactic northwest region of Segmentum Pacificus. Upon further investigation, authorities also find evidence of past activity in the forms of unauthorized (assumed to be excommunicate) Astartes presence (including extensive vehicle activity) as well as evidence of several forms of outright butchering by the locals of human and animal bodies in conjunction with forms of ritual divination. Drawing and inscriptions at the various sites show what seemed to be rough versions of Astartes figures- clad in dark metallic armor, and almost always labelled with what translates from the local lingua franca as Violent Gods. Though at the time it was unclear as to which Astartes faction might be responsible for such depictions, a pattern emerges with later discoveries elsewhere within Segmentum Pacificus. Reavers of the West c. 940.M41-951.M41 Imperial Navy escorts throughout Segmentum Pacificus begin compiling reports of sightings of several Astartes vessels of unknown designation, largely unadorned and colored dark metallic. Boarding actions by then-unknown Astartes result in significant casualties and pillaging, in several cases leaving the vessels functionally immobile. Elsewhere, Astartes (presumably of the same faction) make planetfall and are thought to be responsible for several cases of abductions of a number of adolescent males, often leaving significant casualties in their wake and quickly disappearing with little more than a few eyewitnesses. Reports from those eyewitnesses speak of the same dark metallic armor, adorned with totems, severed skulls, runes, etc., and subsequent investigation corroborates mentions of increased psyker activity. In 951.M41, a Dark Sons Gladius Class Frigate is the subject of a boarding action by same dark-ironclad warriors, with all but a few being killed or captured. It is from this incident that we have most of our knowledge of the actual tactical tendencies of the Violent Gods. Consistent with reports elsewhere, they are reported to have arrived quickly and with little warning, were equipped for maximum versatility, and were thought to have access to resources beyond those possible from simple piracy, a point to which we shall later return. Confirmation 960.M41 The discovery of a ruined and abandoned Astartes-class Strike Cruiser on a sparsely-inhabited moon known as Taru in the Adrantis system (also northwest Segmentum Pacifus) marks what we consider to be the primary piece of direct evidence for our claim(s). Within the ruins of the vessel are quarters clearly marked off for what seems to have been the commander of the vessel, filled with objects of a similar sort to those found during the investigation of the aftermath of the events on Enneardia. They are speculated to have been used for heretical forms of divination, specifically haruspicy. Furthermore, the vessel has been refinished in a dark metallic color, consistent with the depictions at Enneardia. Though most of the insignia that would otherwise show the original Imperial owners of the vessel is defaced, the investigation returned with a pair of Mk VII pauldrons, obviously repurposed and refinished, but still bearing the outline of Silver Skulls insignia, prompting the investigation undertaken here- though their mere existence in this context need not imply anything further. Contact was initiated with the Silver Skulls, who quickly provided necessary ship specifications for comparison. As thought, analysis reveals this ship to have no significant structural differences between the ruined Cruiser found on the Adrantis moon and Aevum. Mysteriously, however, little was found in the way of bodies, wargear, vehicles, etc., leaving authorities to assume that the ship was successfully unloaded and its contents salvaged before it was abandoned prior to its eventual descent to the surface of Taru. Thus the evidence here is admittedly circumstantial. + + + For further context, we offer the following (tentative) profile of what we currently know of the so-called Violent Gods: Homeworld It is so far unclear where the faction is based, and so it is equally likely that they are simply nomadic and fleet-based. At least the one relatively uncorrupted aformnentioned Strike Cruiser- otherwise indistinguishable at a distance from a loyal Astartes Strike Cruiser- is confirmed to have once been under the control of the Violent Gods, though it seems as if they are capable of drawing upon resources of unknown origin. In particular, there exist confirmed evidence the activity (from the Enneardia site) of relatively extensive vehicle use, including both Predators, Land Raiders, dreadnought(s), drop pods, and Thunderhawk-class gunships, suggesting either the existence of alliances with other renegade factions, or even perhaps a larger fleet than what has been thus far observed. Organization They do not seem to lack access to more fundamental resources generally, however, and we suspect they have a number of competent Techmarines and Apothecaries, given the evidence of the activity of vehicles at their disposal and the seeming influx of new gene-seed, though we can only speculate as to how the new geneseed is acquired. How they are formally organized (and if at all), however, is as yet unclear. Combat Doctrine Despite limited contact, generalizations can be reasonably made regarding a coherent fighting style. Seeming to favor lightning assaults using drop pods and close quarters fighting, the average member of the Violent Gods is nonetheless equipped for maximum versatility, and have even been observed to be quite adept at effectively operating the boltgun one-handed, a feature responsible for leading earlier researchers to speculate a VI Legion lineage, though that theory, we argue, ought to be discarded and replaced with the one we defend here. Geneseed Though it is now suspected that many of the Violent Gods are indeed of Silver Skulls lineage, it cannot be the case that all members now are, given the size of Aevum's originally assigned detachment and what we know of the current fighting strength of the Violent Gods. If, as suspected due to their fairly robust access to resources, they are in collusion with other more established renegade factions, we maintain that it is likely that their ranks may include other traitors, perhaps even those allied with Huron or otherwise involved in the Badab conflict, though we dare not speculate here. Further, this explanatory gap means that we cannot rule out the existence of new rebel Astartes of their own creation with genetic material and/or aspirants acquired from unknown sources. This being the case, some of the Violent Gods may very well have geneseed of chimeric heredity. Beliefs The Violent Gods- given what was found at the site at Enneardia and at the site on Taru- are thought to practice trophy-taking, haruspicy, and likely even ritual forms cannibalism, perhaps focusing on consumption of the liver and the brain, presumably for the benefits they have been known to impart via the function of the omophagea. We have attempted to reconstruct a possible belief-system that may serve as a profile that may add to the resources of those who may come into contact with the Violent Gods, given what we now believe are the facts regarding their origin. It is likely that the average member of the the group in question is-if it is even helpful to speculate that they have any reasons beyond pure treason for their compliance with the agenda of traitors- explicitly or implicitly adheres to some sort of pantheistic/animistic mysticism, characterized by the belief in the efficacy of omens, tokens (such as the skulls/teeth of a number of different megafauna), runes, and other primitive practices of divination. Consistent with our thesis, similar beliefs are present among the brutal, southern tribes of Varsavia, the source of aspirants and homeworld of the Silver Skulls. Though great care is taken in the psycho-conditioning of aspirants to analyze and eliminate beliefs that are inimical to orthodoxy, the chapter cult of the Silver Skulls (in particular- their abnormal reverence for their Prognosticators) we think all but ensures that the eventual attraction to unorthodox forms of divination would not arise as spontaneously as it might otherwise be expected to in chapters with fundamentally different chapter cults. The same general caution we have emphasized for those who investigate or otherwise monitor the Silver Skulls has (at least in this case) been urged for the sake of cases like this one, where such beliefs are now thought to have manifested themselves here in the case of the Violent Gods. Battle Cry From an inscription at Enneardia: "Astra inclinant, sed non obligant." + + + We leave the decision on whether or not to notify the Silver Skulls of this hypothesis and the evidence that we have amassed in its defense to your discretion. The composition of the Violent Gods that are of Silver Skulls lineage could turn out range anywhere between just a single member and the entirety, as we believe Jaruk to continue to be alive. Whether it is made up of many or even just one would likely be of little import to the Silver Skulls, and we have scant direct evidence that could further demonstrate our hypothesis in any way other than in the (admittedly) circumstantial way in which we have been proceeding. Nonetheless, the similarities between the profiles of the renegatus Astartes faction known as the Violent Gods and the unquestionably loyal Silver Skulls is one that suggests reason for caution in our dealings with the Silver Skulls, present or future, and provides some reason to continue to keep a watchful eye of the Chapter, particularly now given the existence of a plausible scheme for how such beliefs may yield a particular kind of traitorous Astartes, particularly the case a of a rogue Astartes psyker. To continue with this line of investigation would be to develop a richer schemata for how and why a special sort of deference to divination in the case of the Prognosticators might make such a case as this one possible, but such a task has not yet been attempted, though we suggest that it ought to be. We hope to have succeeded in supplying useful information for the aid of those who may come into contact with the Violent Gods when the current unrest in Segmentum Pacificus can be addressed. May the Emperor protect. M. D. C., A. X. N.; Ordo Hereticus + + +

"We have always been here. We are farmers, we are shepherds. We are warriors! We drink, we dance and we fight!Long had we lived on these mountains, the land of our forefathers, defending it with our blood. Some things never changes no matter who comes... We always been here, we will always be. We were here when the Sun God faced the Moon Wolf, and we will be here when their sons decide the fate of the stars... We are Dragani, And we have been chosen!" Dragani Tribe Elder at the start of the "Ascencion" ritual. The Grey Talons are rumured to be part of the 13th founding in the early 36th Millenium. Despite the lack of reliable information, the Chapter gene seed is suspected to be from the White Scars, due to their wild savagery and thirst for war typically found in the sons of the Khan. The Chapter Keep named Herminium Mons, loosely translated into High Gothic as "The Hearth", is situated in the highest mountain range of the feral Planet Ophiussa, situated in the west of Segmentus Pacificus. At this mountainous and rocky planet, lacking in natural resources, the tribes that make this world their home fight each other for survival. These tribal wars tend to be brutal and provides the chapter with hardened recruits used to the realities of war. The chapter recruits from several of the most tough and unyielding tribes. The coming of the Sons of the Sun God is a event worth of celebration in every tribe visited. These visits to recruit aspirants are well integrated within the tribal culture which calls these events the "Ascension". Chosen recruits are given a night with a fertile female of their choosing so they can leave their bloodline within the tribe. The chapter seems to have abandoned the Codex Astartes in organisation and disposition, but without further evidence collected by the Imperial institutions it is considered conjecture. The Grey Talons don't seem use Devastator Squads, or any kind of heavy weaponry in their infantry squads,the heavy support being provided by the chapter vehicles, especially the Predator. Mobility is key to their engagements, and Tartarus Terminator armour is one of the most prized relics within the chapter. The Veterans are awarded the Honour of using Terminator armour, and this much revered armour is only used in the direst of situations. This particular style of engagement is called the "Saunion", a thrust to the hearth of the enemy army. Each company is a self sustained army on its own right, the most experienced battle brothers, leading the squads. The chapter also as an independent organisation called "Slí An Chroí", under the direct orders of the Chapter Master. Loosely translated as Body, Mind and Spirit, this organisation brings together the Chaplains, Apothecaries and Librarians, dedicated to the spiritual/physical healing and balance of the battle brothers of the chapter. They are the adjudicators, lore-keepers, medical professionals and political advisers of the chapter, but much of their practices are secretive even within the chapter. The Chapter also lacks ancient technology using more common vehicles such as the rhinos and predators and whirlwinds, but oddly enough bikes are rarely seen. Land Speeders are widely used within the chapter as well, being used to a great extent to scout, harass and cut off enemy positions. Techmarines skills are highly valued by the chapter, and these brothers rarely see battle. The warriors of the chapter also carry the skulls of worthy allies fallen in battle so their spirits can take joy in the heat of battle once more. Often the skulls of fallen battle brothers are taken back to the Chapter Keep, and kept in the Chapel of Bones. Entrance is only permitted to the Chapter Chaplains, and above the chapel door it can be read "We bones that here are, for yours await"... This chapter tradition is seen with dread outside the chapter, and most Imperial institutions tends to the avoid the chapter due to their terrifying reputation. They are especially feared by the Imperial Guard, where rumours of this infamous tradition spread like wildfire. Due to their Tribal background the warriors of the chapter are highly superstitious, and adopted several costumes from the tribes of their home planet. The Librarians tend to focus in the art of divination to better help direct the course of battle, and it is a skill greatly appreciated within the chapter. After battles, enemy skulls are collected, and burnt so their spirits are destroyed, and worthy allies or brothers skulls are taken back to the chapter fortress, and some might be given the Honor of seeing battle again. The Grey Talons space marines prefer Brutal Assault, Close Combat actions. The Chapter seem to split into a number of Battle Companies designed to operate independently. Each has an augmented auxiliary force of Scout Marines for reconnaissance and evaluation of the enemy forces. Some accounts indicate that they seem to have abandoned the Codex Astartes, prescribed symbols and insignia that signify rank and assignment in a Battle Company. In their place, the Battle-Brothers use a wide range of tribal markings, corresponding with their Tribal traditions. This is naught but conjecture, however, as again, the Grey Talons are quite unwilling to discuss the intricacies of their Chapter’s organisation. Only a few intelligible accounts of the Grey Talons exist that tell of the Chapter's very disciplined order of deployment and combat, despite the evidence from casual observers that they are a barbarous and savage Chapter in nature. Their tactical deployments and use of shock-assault tactics is highly reminiscent of the Black Templars. Although these Chapters are diametrically opposed in character, they both tend to display an overriding desire to close with the enemy and shatter their foes in bloody personal combat. The core of their tactics rely on large detachments of mobile Space Marine infantry. In this way, the Grey Talons make use of the bloody prowess of their combat brethren to carry the day in battle. They often endeavour to be the initiator of combat actions and prefer not to fight on the defensive. Tactical operations often begin with a Battle Company using its integrated Scout Marine forces to probe enemy positions and identify weak points and any target with strategic value. Once identified, a preliminary bombardment to weaken the enemy lines is made followed by a complete and overwhelming assault. They may use Drop Pods, Storm Ravens, or teleportation to make these attacks, and the assaulting forces are often a mix of Tactical and Terminator Veterans. Every warrior of the chapter also owns a "faca", a large-bladed fighting and utility knife, occasionally used to settle arguments "of honor". In these situations two warriors will attack each other with slashing attacks to the face, stopping the fight when one of the participants has blood seeping from one facial cut. Many of the Chapter veterans prefer to use Greatswords, which they use to deadly perfection slaying scores of foes in wide arcs. Some even use cyber falcons to distract and harass the enemies, sometimes making them miss deadly blows or even forcing them into the path of one... The gene-seed of the Grey Talons appeared to be stable and displays no aberration or mutation. "Desperta Ferro" is the warcry used by the chapter warriors, which loosely translates into "Awaken Iron" and they do so before charging into battle, Its a call to invoke the armour and weapons machine spirits, symbolising that battle will be joined. With the return of Primarch Guilliman, came the Primaris Space Marines. The Grey Talons did not received any reinforcement except the visit of a lone Adeptus Custodes with the secrets of the creation of these new breed of warriors. The matter was long debated within the higher echelons of the chapter. Reluctantly a decision was made... New recruits would undergo the new Primaris transformation, and they would spearhead the chapter in this new Dark Millennium. But whispers of the Rubicon Primaris reached the far corners of the Segmentum Pacificus... It seems a new age was ushered for all Space Marines...

Hail brothers and sisters of the Liber! Once again the Liberalia has come around and we have ourselves the honour of being the centre of attention. Regardless, I would like to ask both Liberites and other members of B&C to dust off any old DIYs they have and give them another shot. Now's the time to crank out the old creativity. We are honoured to once again host Grand Master Belial's Brotherhood of Angels event, which shall be posted by the man himself both in the Liber and the Dark Angels subforums. Any and all Liberites are encouraged to have a go, to prove their mettle. But, I say, there is more! This year we have something special. The IRON GAUNTLET returns! After so many years gone, it comes back - with thanks to efforts made primarily by Dosjetka to bring it back - and a welcome sight it is. Now, of course, just entering is not enough! There is a an expectation that we will have members who will accomplish all five challenges. If the old Iron Gauntlet challenges are anything to go by, they will not be many! But, certainly, those who push themselves and achieve all that is asked of them, then they shall be rewarded with a specific and unique badge. But do not be daunted. This is supposed to be fun... in a roundabout way. If you think you can only complete specific challenges, then only enter those ones. There is nothing here saying that you must complete them all or automatically fail. Do what you can. Just remember the idea is to push yourself. Also, before I forget, I urge anyone entering the Iron Gauntlet to consider entering the Brotherhood of Angels, too. GMB works hard to host these events, so I'd be pleased to see some entries this year. To register for this Challenge or any others make the following statement: I, <your name>, of the <Chapter/Warband/Regiment name> take up your Challenges. I vow, before my brothers and sisters of the B&C to complete Challenge <challenge number> and submit it to the Liber before the deadline. I vow to support my fellow challengers to the best of my ability. May the Emperor/the Dark Gods/Brother Argos himself curse me if I fail. [Please leave a link to your article so I can update the first post, or PM me the link instead.] Vows Dosjetka - Hounds Rampant Cryptix - Eternal Sentinels NovemberIX - November Warriors Dizzyeye - Knights Penitent Captain Lenoch - Dawn Blades BrotherSP - Iron Heralds + White Talons + New Eden Rifles + Sisters of Battle Order (threads yet to be posted) Ferrus Manus - Arctic Lions Brother-Captain Alecto - Argent Grenadiers (thread yet to be posted) KingHongKong - Astral Reavers Badass_Spaz - Brass Phantoms Draakur - The Desolators Halandaar - Sanguine Eagles Sete - Grey Talons MysticTemplar - The Wardens of Mercury bloodhound23 - The Violent Gods Coldfyre - Tormentors Kelborn - Imperial Sons Evz - Void Vermilion TheBlindPrimarch - The Specters of the Purged Lephisto - Elysian Phoenixes LancsHotpot90 - Knights Obstinate joschlumpf - Genocide Angels Lord Th

Index Astartes The Void Vultures "For the Emperor. For Sanguinius. For every last citizen we spill blood for. Dine upon their flesh! Feast upon their marrow! Let none of them survive! In the name of Sanguinius, death! Death! Let all blood fly!!" ~ Commander Donal, previous Chapter Master of the Void Vultures. The Chapter known as the "Void Vultures" ("Gypaetus Astra" in High Gothic), also known as the "Vultures of Ochim", Void Vermilion, and the Eaters of the Dead are a group of berserk, cannibalistic warriors hailing from a barbaric planet. Origins They were once known as the Vermilion Wings Chapter. One of the 23rd Founding. The High Lords of Terra found one area of space on the Eastern Fringe to be unprotected, within the Oshim system, and under constant threat of being invaded by the Greenskins. A petition had been signed, and the creation was underway. A training cadre was created from the Red Wings Chapter, and Mars had forged them a number of ships, arms and armor to begin with. The Brother-Captain Saon, formerly of the Red Wings, was put in charge of this cadre while a larger force of Red Wings space marines led the fight into the Oshim system. Within they had discovered that the Orks were terrorizing the Imperial planets in the sector. The entire system was in chaos. From the Battle Barge Angel’s Flame, Saon sent his cadre to several worlds, alongside the large force of Red Wings space marines who had come in with their own small fleet, retaking the worlds from the Orks. The final battle against the Orks was upon the planet Callisto, where Saon did battle with the Ork warboss. The warboss was defeated within a massive desert valley in the largest battle of the campaign. Callisto, and the Oshim system had been conquered. Saon was named the first Chapter Master. The system’s local Techpriests began construction on the new Fortress Monastery on Callisto. Whilst the Fortress Monastery was being built, the newly formed Vermilion Wings used the Angel’s Flame as a base of operations. After a Puritan Inquisitor had discovered that the Astartes on Callisto were engaging in cannibalistic rituals they had deemed heretical after investigating the disappearance of several Imperial nobles and governors, along with an Inquisitor, they stormed the Feudal World en-masse with a full detachment of Tempestus Scions and Astra Militarum. After several days of fighting, the Marines made a final retreat from their home, leaving its fate to the Inquisition. The barbarian and medieval inhabitants that made up the Planetary Defense Forces who fought the Inquisitorial forces using guerrilla tactics were made into a penal legion, sent out to various fronts across the galaxy. The Chapter then took on the name Void Vultures. They became renegades, running from the Imperium that they fought for, losing many along the way. They hid within the fleet of a rogue trader of the Everec Dynasty for many decades. They have since reclaimed their homeworld after aiding Baal during the Tyranid incursion and participating in the Indomitus Crusade fighting the Tyranids and the forces of Chaos. Home World Callisto is a temperate Feudal World located in the Ochim Sector. The world is mostly swamps and bogs, snow-capped mountains and gnarled forests in the north and desert wastelands with a few jungles in the south. One vast ocean could be found in the northern hemisphere, inhabited by fishing communities. The ancient fortress monastery of the Void Vultures was built in a wasteland full of Ork and Imperial wrecks leftover from the first engagement in the sector. The Astartes mainly recruited from the various barbarian tribes found throughout the desert region and the various mountainous regions that surrounded it. Fortress Monastery The Fortress Monastery of the Void Vultures is known as The Spire, a vast castle complex within the wasteland where they first battled the Orks on Callisto, still surrounded by wrecks and ruins. The insides are lined with the bones of dead battle-brothers. Organization Each company is made up of one hundred marines each, and led by a brother-captain. The first company is made of veterans and Terminators, the tenth are entirely made of neophytes, and the rest are full of a mixture of assault, devastator and tactical marines. Beliefs They have embraced the fact that, even though that Astartes are by far much longer than the average human citizen, the vast majority of them die in battle. Due to their curse, they all expect to die in battle one day, and sometimes entire forces are wiped out if only to hold the line to the last man. But they pay love and respect for their fallen. Once a battle is finished, they collect their dead, and lay them out in rows, and then devour their flesh. This horrific act will give them the memories of those who have passed on, and will sometimes rarely give them a brief glimpse at the memories of Sanguinius due to their hyper-sensitive Omophagea organ. The only ones allowed to eat the body of a fallen brother are those within his own squad. Before the body is consumed, a servitor sucks out the blood of the marine through a giant needle. This blood is put within the Pool of Remembrance. The Pool of Remembrance is a vast underwater lake within the Angel's Flame full of the blood of every dead battle brother, it is unknown what keeps the blood warm. When an initiate is first taken aboard, they must take a ritual bath for some time within the Pool, so that they may become one with their brothers before entering the chapter in-full. Once a battle is over, and their own dead are separated from the enemy's dead, they cook and consume the flesh of their enemies in a great ritualistic feast. If a battle-brother is caught devouring a Chaos warrior, he is brought to a chaplain, who will put him out of his insane misery. They will also transport the bones of the fallen back to the Angel's Flame, where they would be put within the Fortress Monastery to decorate the corridors lined with bones. They see themselves as servants of the Imperium, but being renegades, they fight battles on their terms, for whatever reasons that they deem worthy. Combat Doctrine The Void Vultures fight with a tendency towards aggressive assault actions using mobile forces, along with guerrilla warfare and surprise attacks. They make a heavy usage of scout squads to do recon after making landfall and use little in the way of vehicles. Recruitment The Void Vultures recruit from the various tribal and feudal societies on their homeworld of Callisto. Those who do not pass the requirements for joining generally help the Chapter as serfs. Gene-seed They have a hypersensitive Omophagea organ. This, mixed with the Red Thirst, makes them bloodthirsty killing machines on the battlefield. They will stop at nothing to get as close to the enemy as possible, and rip their hearts out and, if possible, devour it in front of their enemy. After a battle is done, they will build a camp and cook their enemies, then dine upon their flesh. Usually this is done in secret. This flaw appeared not long after they were created. Even in the earliest days of the Oshim campaign, the newly-made marines were found tearing off their helmets and ripping into grots after a victory and devouring them raw, along with eating anything that died, civilians, battle-brothers, and enemies. This was first thought to have been just the Red Thirst, but Sanguinary Priests of the chapter have discovered otherwise. Within months they had learned to control themselves to an extent. Regardless, whereas the Blood Angels are noble warriors, the Void Vultures are vicious monsters in comparison. Battle-cry ”Let all blood fly!”

DESERTER Nothus peered over the fallen wall during a brief respite from constant autogun fire while his armor's auspex registered potential targets within the hazy mess of the keep's breach. Ducking back down again as another wave poured out from behind the ruined barricade, he readied himself for the approaching horde of poorly-equipped militia. "Vita brevis", he sighed to himself as he stood up and took aim. Chunked entrails spewed outward almost instantly as his neatly-placed shell detonated within the chest of the one of the city's still-fervent defenders. As he lept into the foray, boltgun still blazing, the violent screams surrounding him slowly coalesced to a cacophonous roar. A few ominous clicks preceded a brief moment of silence before the frag grenade cleared the smoked-filled killing field before him. + + + "The Bastard", as he is known among his fellow warriors, abandoned his oaths to the Imperium upon being captured during the Fall of Badab. His lower half was found to be all but destroyed, and he had suffered extensive melta burns from his chest to his nose, which had since been replaced with a bionic rebreather. He had chosen life when it was offered along with his surrender and personal service to technical and medical genius known "Ovis" of the enigmatic renegade Astartes group known as "The Violent Gods". Nothus Dega spat on his former allegiances quite willingly when given a chance to subvert his fate by transcending the limits of the body- a body he had finally been made to understand was as mortal as anything else made of flesh and blood. The nickname was indeed well-earned. He had recently been assigned as a squad leader while the Gods' officer ranks were thinned as part of his long journey toward induction into the group's inner circle,. Despite his considerable combat prowess, however, his primary interest was found outside the battlefield. He had not been chosen from among his class of aspirants to study the ways of the Cult Mechanicus, and the sting of failure had haunted him throughout his tenure with the Sons of Medusa. With new life had come a new sense of reverence for the mysteries of existence and a deep desire to master them. Now with the wisdom garnered from his near-death experience, he cared little for the orthodoxy of the source from which such knowledge might be acquired. The knowledge to which he now had access surpassed his wildest conceptions, and so there were no limits to what he would subject himself to in order to maintain his access to it. Though he had started off as simply a de facto heretic, he now found himself among the true believers. Achieving his masters' military objectives was his duty for the time being, however, and his own interests would simply have to wait. + + + The field in front of the wall's opening had not been cleared entirely by his grenade, and he would now have to clean up after himself. Nothus rarely said much before entering the field of battle, and even his centuries now spent fighting for the cause of the Violent Gods had not changed his old ways. Far more terrifying than any voice was his cold silence, and Nothos took a certain sort of pleasure in experiencing the simple sounds and smells of warfare without distraction. The rhythms of the dull thuds of slumping bodies accompanied a dozen final breaths as Nothus let loose a quick burst of boltgun rounds into the disorganized mob. Blood-curtling yelps threatened his trance-like advance as his fellow warriors surged forward on both sides. All the while, he squeezed his power axe tightly as he continued to let loose into the smoke-wrought carnage before him. A lone defender somehow trudged through the overwhelming firepower and set his path directly towards Nothus, who sidestepped the hail of poorly-placed autopistol fire and slashed low and wide as he stepped forward. The move left the man groaning pitifully as his legless torso dropped, intenstines flopping onto the ground in a sputtering haze of blood and bile. A familiar series of symbols flashed across Nothus' visual field as his enhanced armor confirmed the presence of the chemical he had already tasted in the city's blood-soaked air: iron, the indelible marker of human mortality. All around him the city's ragged vanguard continued their dogged advance, even if their efforts must have felt quite fruitless. Behind him, friendly lascannon fire from Ovis' detachment rained down into the breach, carving holes into the city's desperate counter-attack, including the failing walls that continued to funnel the city's defenders directly into the spearhead led by Nothus himself. The enigmatic techno-mystic, however, was absent as usual, preferring instead to keep company with his esoteric bio-mechanical research and sending his equerry to command in his stead. Nothus recalled his surrender and conversion to the cause of the Violent Goes quite vividly. Though his memories of his final battle as a sworn Medusan still remained vague, his revival on a cold operating table in Ovis' laboratory came back in exquisite detail. An acrid itch pulsed all across his chest as his visual field remained a dark void, spotted by fuzzy pockets of orange light. The image cleared to the dull outline of a dark figure hovering over him in the dimly-lit and bitter-smelling chamber. "Would you like to know why you're alive?" The bite of the metallic voice sent shivers down Nothus's spine, further exacerbating his increasingly desperate urge to pull his bound arms up to rip out whatever thing had replaced his ruined face and chest so as to stop the maddening itch. His violent thrashing calmed and he grunted pained assent as the figure paced around to the other side of the operating table. "You have an air of tenacity about you, a quality I observed in you even from across the battlefield. Should you renounce your vows to the Imperium and swear allegiance to me, I can allow you to continue on and to learn from my technically-gifted friend Ovis here the ways of machines and of the flesh in this world, and of the subtle interactions between them. On my end- I, Jaruk the Apostate, can teach you the secrets of the universe, for they are many, and our keys to our access to many of those secrets themselves lies hidden in various parts of our material domain. The Imperium has- for the entirety of its existence- endeavored to hide certain truths from us. Perhaps those motivations were for simply our preservation, or perhaps for intentions more nefarious, but nonetheless, kept from us despite the crucial role we played in its very sustenance. I suspect that you, too- particularly in your training regarding the circumstances of your chapter's birth- came to wonder if such things might be true. They are true, and you are only alive because they are true. Since the alternative is that Ovis transplants a new head onto your torso and throws your current one away, have you made your decision?" + + +

This is my Iron Gauntlet FINAL CHALLENGE submission. The recommended playlist for this fic is as follows -Soldiers -Resist and Bite -Back in Control -I am the Vengeful One (eventually, next installment) Broken Glass Prologue: "Boy! Over here!" Vernatus's head snapped up toward the senior apothecary of the 4th company, Kalas. Medi-servitors surrounded the post-human doctor, carrying cadavers and medical supplies. "Good to see that you're here. We need to get these dead bodies tested to see what the devil killed them. Have you done autopsies on humans killed by the Tau?" "...yes. I have. Why do we not know why they died?" "No burns or puncture wounds on their bodies. Just...died. Poor buggers. Probably never even saw the Tau coming; ripped right through their regimental CP, and well, a guard regiment loses the regimental CP, and it's game over, y'know?" Vernatus nodded. It was odd Kalas was so concerned with the operations of Guard regiments, but he was right. If you killed the Colonel and their Major, the regiment was essentially beheaded. "So what should we be looking for, sir?" "Anything out of the ordinary. Oh, and what's your name, son?" "Vernatus, Apothecary Kalas." The elder Apothecary grunted. "Vernatus. Good, strong name. Parents?" "Dead thirteen years ago, gunnery accident. My uncle's a senior instructor for the snakes, though. He's looked after me." "Tell me more at another time, get your scalpel and cut this man open," he ordered. Vernatus complied, drawing his combat scalpel from a holster next to his bolt pistol and unzipping the dead Imperial Guard Colonel from neck to groin in three brutal strokes. Shoulder to shoulder, hip to hip, and then right down the center. With one hand he pulled the flesh back and barked orders for the medi-servitors to clamp them open. His eyes roved across the internal organs, searching for anything that might give a hint to the cause of death. With no wounds on the outside the Tau had either acquired Necron interdimensional phase tech, or this was the work of some chemical weapon. He began to look for signs of the latter. All the organs at initial inspection appeared degraded, which was expected, though they were further along than they should have been if this had been a regular death. He dismissed it as currently unimportant and proceeded. What was-no, just a poorly-done appendectomy. Wait, what was-no, residue from smoking and lung cancer. Given the lho-sticks he saw in the breast pocket, this guy was a smoker. Rolling his eyes-couldn't they ever make it easy on the coroners?-Vernatus reached further in and peeled the organs back to reach the ones at the back of the chest cavity. And that-ah yes, jackpot. Exploded liver, spleen, and kidneys. Major filtration organs gone. He had a strong hunch this was a poison. "Kalas," Vernatus called, "have a look at this." Kalas replaced his helmet onto his head and came over, futzing with the optical control dials as he did so. Grunting, he leaned into the cadaver and looked closely. "Poison?" Vernatus nodded. "That's my guess. The liver, spleen, and kidneys are all splattered bits of goo. Everything else looks like it was on the way of getting there, or at least would have been if we hadn't refrigerated the body. I saw something on the lungs but didn't think it important, because he was a smoker." That earned him a cuff upside the head-with a ceramite gauntlet. "Idiot! Never discount anything! That gunk isn't lho-stick residue, that's an after effect of the poison!" Rubbing the back of his head, because damn had that hurt, Vernatus apologized. Then, at Kalas’s direction, he took syringes and began to take samples of everything. When he was done, he moved on to the next cadaver. Given the speed of the elder Apothecary, Kalas and Vernatus were able to be done within three hours; all of the guardsmen were dead by by way of poison gas. After reporting to the Shinsengumi what they had found, and recommending a general order be given to have all personnel in the warzone, human and posthuman, wear gas masks or their helms to protect themselves, Vernatus retired to his chamber to catch up on some Legio Bolter and Chainsword Apothecary circulars. =][=Dawn Blades=][= The next morning Kalas woke Vernatus from slumber with the sound of a deactivated power maul smashing on the door. "Vernatus! Wake up, man, you're deploying in 3! I'm sending you with a kill-team as an attached specialist, now get your ass moving so you can go kill some tau! If you can keep the rest of the team alive, I’ll certify you as a full Apothecary!” "Yes sir," Vernatus said as he sat up and stood. "I'll be in the mess deck once I'm armored." Pushing a button on the wall, Vernatus summoned his serfs to come and armor him. As the apothecary waited, he turned to his desk and retrieved three things. First was a pict-capture of his parents and his younger sister, which would be kept inside his right gauntlet. After that was safely tucked into the slot in his gauntlet, Vernatus took a purity seal given to him when he graduated from the snake training regimen and promoted to full Astartes. It would be affixed to his breastplate, with a proper prayer, as it always was. The third was his Narcethium, which would be fitted over his left gauntlet when the serfs were finished. His serfs entered the room and began to armor him, beginning first with the leg and waist armor so Vernatus could attach whatever he needed to it. After the lower armor was attached, Vernatus grabbed his weapons belt and buckled it over his waist. It contained holsters for four things: his bolt pistol, his chainsword, his combat knife, and his medical tools. His serfs placed the chestplate on him, then the arm and shoulder armor. Vernatus slapped their hands away from his gauntlets and attached them himself. That was something he alone did. Having to train new serfs was quite frustrating. Then he took his helmet from the now-trembling serfs and placed it on his head, sealing it with a pair of taps just below of the left 'ear'. Ensuring all of his weapons and tools were on his belt, Vernatus placed his purity seal to his chest and gave his short prayer as he always did. Taking his Narcetheium from its rack, Vernatus fitted it over his left vambrace and walked out the door. Break As he approached the mess hall aboard the strike cruiser, the chaplain joined Vernatus. His Terminator armor was not the full traditional black but rather regular plate with a single black pauldron opposite the chapter sigil, and the armor plate itself was covered in purity seals as was to be expected. “Apothecary JG Vernatus, I assume,” grated the helmed Chaplain. “Yes, Chaplain Arkant. You assume correctly,” Vernatus said with a bow. “I am the Apothecary for this upcoming sabotage mission. Can we talk while we eat? I have not eaten since yesterday morning.” The skull helm nodded, the grim visage giving Vernatus pause, even though he knew the face behind it was-theoretically-friendly. Vernatus entered the mess hall, followed by the Chaplain. There was a smattering of brethren around the hall, most eating the soupy nutrient gruel that formulated most of an Astartes’s diet. A few brothers were congregating together in squad-sized groups around kegs of ale and small feasts to celebrate one brother’s achievement or the squad’s survival with no injuries from their last mission or any myriad of reasons. Vernatus, having no cause to celebrate today, walked over to the gruel station and retrieved a bowl of the stuff, along with a protein-calcium shake. Arkant took nothing but a mug of water and a piece of bread, clearly either fasting or snacking from a meal earlier in the day. As they walked to a table, Vernatus scanned the room and felt a pang of discontent. Here were those he would know, and eventually see die. He was at the same time the person they would always and never want to see; if they were injured fatally they would want their gene-seed to be in safe hands, but if they saw him in the heat of battle it tended to mean they were mortally wounded and would not live much longer, and that meant they could no longer serve humanity, or see their brothers for a long long time. And contained therein was another matter. He had no squad to cling to for support. Having demonstrated aptitude for the medicinal sciences, he had been shunted to a lonely track with few other candidates and fewer graduates. He would always stand apart from his brothers in the chapter, and damn if that didn't stab at the heart somewhat. He sat down and removed his helmet, eyeing Arkant as he did the same. The Chaplain did not sit but rather stood, though Vernatus knew from his study of body language that Arkant had locked the legs of the suit and relaxed his biological legs. They both began to eat. Arkant took his time, relative to Vernatus, as Vernatus had much more to consume in the time he had. “Vernatus. Your face is grey and cloudy, much as the rising storm front preludes its deluge with clouds over the sun. What troubles you?” He took a sip of water and inclined his head ever so slightly, prompting Vernatus to speak. The JG Apothecary glared and shoveled another mouthful of gruel into his mouth. He didn't like talking much, and he absolutely couldn't stand poetry. The only talk he preferred was the medical discourse that happened during treatment and the only beat he cared for was the beep of a vital signs monitor, proof that he hadn't frakked up yet and killed his patient. The chaplain blinked. "I see. Well, in any case, we should probably be discussing the mission you’ll be going on. How much do you know about the fourth company?" Vernatus through for a moment, then spoke between mouthfuls. "Skilled at hit-and-run attacks. Hard to catch and pin down in a straight up fight unless the company wants one. Good at crypto attacks and cryptography, good espionage network. Am I missing anything?" "One or two things. We're exceptionally good at all of what you named because we are the students of the Raven Guard; specifically stealth and stealth missions. Our kill teams are the best of the best. The original 4th company captain was of Raven Guard stock. And that has carried through the years to today." The chaplain raised an eyebrow and smirked. "How good are your sneaky-skills, Apothecary?" =][=Dawn Blades=][= After embarking on the Cobra Destroyer that would ferry the kill team to their covert infiltration craft (a much-modified civilian ship with warp capability and the proper ID but enough hidden firepower to level a small hive), Vernatus retired to his bunk to continue to read. Or at least that’s what he wanted to do, anyway. Arkant, who would be with them for the fourteen days it would take to reach the Unseen Manipulator, had decided that he would find the stealthiest marine onboard the Cobra and press-gang him into teaching Vernatus the finer points of infiltration, beyond what was taught in the 10th company. After three days of searching, they found him skulking around the reactor room, keeping watch over the door and the techpriests within. After negotiating a relatively large chunk of the marine’s time away to train Vernatus, the Apothecary went to go pull records on the marine. The only things he could find were basic information and a number (0076563), which roughly translated to ‘Slope’ on a number pad. The days passed with training, meals, and meditation. The day before they were due to rendezvous with the Unseen Manipulator, Arkant called a meeting of the kill-team to one of the mess halls aboard the Cobra. Arkant briefly took in the gathered marines and spoke. “Right then, settle down. We’ll begin with prayer.” He cleared his throat and began. “Gracious Solis-Imperator, give us the strength to do your bidding. Let us be your finest blades, wrought to bring ruin to your enemies. Guide our minds so we may know your will, and guide our hearts as we cling to you and our brothers. Blaze Bright!” “Blaze Hot!” was the response. With prayer finished, Arkant turned to the hololith and activated it. Displayed was the Dawn Blades’s intelligence report of the Tau-held Gue’vesa planet Rolyn. “Gentlemen, I will warn you now. As a Samurai qualification mission, or in Vernatus’s case his Apothecary trial, this mission will not be easy by any stretch of the imagination. You’ll be spending an entire year deep undercover, on a sabotage campaign against the Tau and the Gue’vesa sympathizers. In a year’s time there will be a combined Imperial Guard and Astartes assault, which you will need to be ready for. If you don’t destroy critical infrastructure, this world’s chances crumble. We are this world’s best hope. We are hope for this world. You might be shadows in the dark, but I’ll be damned if you won’t be the brightest shadows that Rolyn has ever seen. Understood?" Those present nodded their heads solemnly. "Good. Now then, your infil point will be the main spaceport. The local Guard regiments have a tradition of keeping trophies from the battlefield, and as far as anyone else is concerned you're just a group of imposing sets of armor, but trophies nonetheless. Once you've landed and departed for the General's Museum, the truck carrying you will be 'hijacked' by Inquisitorial agents. They will provide you with a base of operations and supplies for the time you're here, to the best of their abilities.” “The invasion will arrive in approximately a year’s time from the start of the mission. In that time you are to conduct as much sabotage operations as are deemed feasible, with priority given to disrupting command chains, global logistics trains, and antispace batteries. An extraction team will deploy to support and remove you in the fray. Any questions?” There was a small chorus of nays. Arkant nodded. “Excellent. You’re dismissed until evening meal and prayer, 1930 hours. =][=Dawn Blades=][= Vernatus crawled through the air duct, trying to locate Slope before his time ran out. He had precisely 2600 beats of his secondary heart to find him before Slope was allowed to retaliate, and then Vernatus had to hide for 3000 secondbeats to ‘win’ the exercise, if Slope wasn’t found before the first segment was done. There were, of course, other obstructions. The ship was on high alert, to simulate a Tau base on full lockdown. Therefore Vernatus has a half dozen other marines keeping an eye out for him, as well as the rest of the human crew (who were mostly an unknown to the Apothecary JG). It was hard to judge how they would react, which made them unpredictable and therefore dangerous. This was not fun, that was for certain. But then, neither would the mission. After all, keeping five other Marines on active duty healthy and in fighting trim was never easy, given the sheer number of missions they would undertake. He shook his head to clear the extraneous thoughts and listened intently. Ah, there. Ceramite on steel. But was it his target? He slowly inched forward to the vent grille. Yes, there was Slope’s helmet, his pack, and his weapon. The marine was standing at a table, studying a dataslate that held, from the looks of it, information of the ship’s supply list. Something else, however, wasn’t right. Upon close observation, the marine shifted onto his other leg-his right one, clearly favoring a limp in the left. But Slope had been shot in the right knee. This wasn’t Slope, this was a marine trying to trick him. This was an excellent opportunity to eliminate some of Slope’s phase two assistance. Grinning, Vernatus began to lift the vent up to eliminate the target from the exercise and as he dropped down, he suddenly felt the cold steel barrel of a bolt-calibre paintcannon pressed to the back of his head. “Good try spotting the decoy, Vernatus, but you didn’t account for anyone else in the room. Checkmate, you’re dead.” Vernatus cursed and then turned. “Dammit. Good game, then. Who’s the marine failing at mimicking your limp?” Slope smiled. “Senior Corporal Farnok, about-face, helmet off.” The now-named senior corporal turned wordlessly and nodded. A pair of grav-pistols hung from underarm holsters, and as he removed the helmet, Farnok revealed the grim-yet-joyous face characteristic of all assault officers Vernatus had ever met. “Apothecary.” “Corporal.” There was uncomfortable silence before Slope sighed and appeared to vanish into thin air. When they both were looking at him, he was there, but when they looked away-nothing. “Well, he’s good, I’ll grant him that,” Farnok muttered. He put the helmet down onto a gurney and began to remove the rest of his borrowed armor. “Would you like a hand with that, Corporal?” Vernatus asked, after a stretch of somewhat awkward silence. “No thank you, Apothecary. I can manage.” He continued to divest the armor, then spoke again. “This is your first company assignment, isn’t it? I can tell by the way you’re talking. Guarded. Closed off. No sense of brotherhood established yet. It all shows up. Now, would you like some help with that?” Vernatus backpedaled a step. Was everyone in this damn company a training-cage psychoanalyst? He was fine! “You...are correct. This is my first company assignment.” “Hmph. And your first mission is a Samurai Qualification Mission. Depending on how you view it, that’s either good or bad. Good, because your tutor thinks you’ve got enough experience and guts to handle this mission. Bad, because you are going underground for an extended period of time with six other Astartes you don’t know and won’t know after the mission is over, either because we’ve been transferred or killed.” Upon seeing the slightly imperceptible impact that had on the young marine, Farnok snorted. “Oh please. You thought there wasn’t a chance of death here? This is an SQM, boy. They’re meant to be hard. Yes, one of us might die. Yes, you’ve been entrusted with keeping our sorry asses alive. Yes, I know the potential psychological damage of being entrusted with lives and failing to keep them alive. I failed, forty years ago. But I got over it. We’re the Solis-Imperator’s Angels of Death. And sometimes that means dying. We live, we fight, we die. We don’t like it, but we deal with it.” He shucked the upper arms and stepped towards the Apothecary. “I understand you’re scared. I understand your pain. But you’re strength is here,” he said, pressing an armored finger against the neck progenoid gland. “in the Solis-Imperator and your brothers. And so help me, I will get you through this mission if it is the last thing I do, because I can tell that if you don’t form some brotherly bonds now, you never will, and you’ll be ridiculously less effective. So get your head screwed on straight and your Narcethium primed, because you’ll likely need both. Got it!?” The thirty-two year old gulped against the ceramite gauntlet. “Yes sir. I understand. Head on straight, Narcethium primed. Ready to use both. Got it.” The Corporal smiled and stepped back, disengaging the locks on the rest of his upper body armor. “Good. After I’m done here, I’ll introduce you to the rest of the team." "y...Yes sir. I'll wait." =][=Dawn Blades=][= Vernatus followed Farnok after he was done doffing his borrowed armor, and they ended up in the ship’s Astartes exercise section, where the rest of the group was just getting started with individual exercise routines. Recognizing that he hadn’t done any PT since breakfast, Vernatus shucked his outer garments and began his standard routine that didn’t need a spotter. Farnok did the same, moving to the sparring cage to begin a combat with a number of servitors. The rest of the kill-team began their own routines, and one moved off to a target range immersion tank while another two—identical twins, by their looks—paired off and began to spar. Another shed his armor and began a wild series of acrobatics with his knife and pistol, beginning what appeared to be a very complex anti-Eldar training course. The clash of metal on metal and the thunder of weaponry began to permeate the chamber as the exercises got more heated. After about a two and a half hours, all the Marines were sweating heavily and panting from their exercises. As was custom for the chapter, they convened in the sentō for washing and cooldown. On the far wall, a large mural displayed an image of a breathtaking mountain and river from one of the Ocrod system worlds-details had long since been lost to time, and bureaucracy. Still, it, combined with the statues of old chapter heroes created a spiritual sense of calm and belonging. This calm was engineered, as every other aspect of Astartes life, to sharpen the edge for war. Here the marines could think and become cleansed, both physically and psychologically. In doing so they would become focused, ergo efficient, ergo deadly. It was also a good place for socialization, which the chapter encouraged to a degree to promote cohesion on the battlefield, between both squadmates and squads. The marines washed up quickly, then stepped into the heated pool of water in the center of the room to soothe tired muscles. Farnok nodded once at Vernatus and began to speak. “Brothers, who among you have met this young marine here?” he said, motioning toward the Apothecary. Everyone shook their heads. They had seen him in the halls and briefings, but none had spoken to him. “Well then. Clearly we are all lacking knowledge. Tell us young one, what is your name?” an old, wizened marine growled, his voice rocky and scarred from a trio of tyranid claw marks across his throat. Vernatus recognized him as the Samurai sergeant from the command squad attached to the mission to pass or fail the marines. “I am Vernatus, ancient one,” Vernatus replied. “And who are you?” “I am Samurai sergeant Kirn. I am the overseer for this mission, and guidance. I’ve been in this chapter for two and a half centuries. Don’t worry about me, Apothecary. I’ll be fine,” he said, with the slightest hint of a smile. Vernatus bowed as best he could in the water. “Well met, Samurai.” The marine who had been doing acrobatics training bowed in greeting. “I’m sergeant Ofjin. Pleasure to meet ya,” he said, voice rough with an accent Vernatus couldn’t quite place. “Likewise, Ofjin.” The two brothers spoke up next. “Well met, Apothecary. I am Iesada Ishiyama, and—“ “I’m his brother, Seishisai. We’re both tactical—“ “Sergeants, and we’ve never—“ “Missed a beat on the field.” Vernatus knocked his head back against the concrete side of the pool and muttered under his breath, “oh Solis-Imperator, they’re one of those sets of twins. Ferrus preserve me.” Of course, they heard that and nodded in the affirmative. Kirn spoke up, his hearing, of course, being just as good. “The Ishiyamas are eccentric, but very good and they mesh so well that their squads are one unit on the TO&E.” That raised Vernatus’a eyebrow. The Table of Organization and Equipment was maintained by the human serfs that were more inclined to paperwork than ship’s crew and battlefield support positions, but they were advised by the senior officers of the company. That meant at least half the sergeants plus the captain and maybe even the chaplain thought that the Ishiyamas meshed well enough to be one unit. That was...impressive, to say the least. “If such is the case, then I commend you on your skill. I trust your squads will handle well in your absence?” They smirked, Iesada to the right and Seishisai to the left, their mirrored dragon tattoos seeming to smirk as well. “We left our corporals in charge—“ “They’re quite competent—“ “And we’re fairly sure that they’re staying—“ “On the battle barge as security—“ “For the year that we’re gone.” Vernatus shook his head to clear the confusion and nodded. “I...see.” “Indeed,” they spoke in unison. Farnok turned to Vernatus and gestured to a scarred and muscular marine with a bionic hand. “He’s sergeant Xul-chun. He’s sergeant of ninth squad, AKA the Smoke Plumes, and his entire squad carries lascannons and hotshot lasguns. Odd, I know, but as he always says...” Farnok said, clearly leading up to a common phrase from the devastator, “If I can shoot it, I can kill it, so I had better use the best gun I can,” he growled. “Additionally, lasweapons are so low-maintenance that we’re never wanting for fully operational equipment.” “‘Smoke Plumes’ comes from the fact that they light enough fires to recharge their packs that you can track their passage easier than an ork horde,” supplied Kirn. Vernatus’s eyebrow shot up and his head cocked in disbelief. “And he’s part of the stealth company, assigned to a stealth mission. None of you see anything wrong with this?” The twins spoke up. “Well— “He gets results—“ “And he hasn’t taken a casualty—“ “In a decade of combat.” Vernatus rubbed his forehead. “Are you sure you two aren’t minor telepaths? Because you honestly seem like you are.” “Not that we—“ “Have ever noticed—“ “Or that’s been recorded—“ “By the Librarius.” Yep, Vernatus definitely had a headache, and it would take many hours with the medical journals to relieve it. He would request some servitors to practice the operations on before reading, however, so if he wished to replicate a surgery, he could, using live subjects. Deciding he would like to alleviate his headache a little bit before the evening meal, he excused himself from the sentō, dried, and redressed in his robe before returning to his quarters to practice his techniques. =][=Dawn Blades=][= Vernatus spent the next hour and a half reading his journals, and, finding nothing worth practicing immediately, returned the servitors to their depot. There were several interesting articles on tyranid toxins and their antitoxins, but there were no Tyranid biomaterials to experiment with, and having seen what they did to an Astartes, wouldn’t wish that on anyone, human or transhuman, ergo wouldn’t experiment with them even if they were to hand. His headache from the Ishiyama brothers no longer an issue, he stood, dusted his shoulders off, and walked to the evening meal. Upon entering the small Astartes mess hall, he walked to the table the rest of the kill-team was sitting at, along with Arkant, and took a seat alongside them. The kitchen servitors brought what was a small feast by Astartes standards—actual human-type food, and relatively larger portions than were required for an Astartes metabolism and lifestyle—but it was the final day before they departed for the Tau-held world, merely two day’s travel by the Unseen Manipulator[i/]’s souped up warp and subspace engines. (On paper, the upgraded engines were gifts to a Rouge Trader household from a grateful shipyard planet after the ship had stopped a minor ork invasion in orbit. In reality, they were the result of the genius of a previous Master of the Forge more than a millennia prior, which made for a powerful vessel, and recent upgrades had done nothing to dull its capabilities.) Arkant led the group in the pre-meal prayer, and the marines dug into their food, the older marines using their utensils like the ancient cultures of Terra, and the younger ones, especially Corporal Farnok, ripping into their food like so many Space Wolves. Despite having been introduced so very recently, Vernatus stayed at the end of the table and ate quietly, having sips of ale as opposed to the mugs his older brethren were having, and eventually ignoring the drunken, off-key, songs that began to issue from their throats. Songwriters and poets the Dawn Blades were, but talented singers they were not (as a general rule). Eventually, though, the Ishiyama brothers came over to Vernatus and began to, ah, convince him to have more than the few sips of ale that he’d had, and at their goading he began to down more of the stuff (though it was rationalized as providing a baseline for a post-drinking night morning and his effectiveness after one. A picture was worth a thousand words, so video would surely provide endless data points that he could study, yes? He wanted to be sure that if he was to ever come in contact with one of the more...rambunctious...chapters that he could still function the morning after a feast). Eventually Vernatus began to no longer care and upon seeing that even Arkant was imbibing heavily and singing just as loudly and poorly, he joined into the drunken war-song that was currently being sung. “And we’ll come right on down, knock from your head that crown, burn and plunder the town, and gather such renown, Oh you won’t have a chance, for when we advance, we cut through like a lance, without even a glance! “We are! Undefeatable! “We are! Indefatigable! “We are! Indestructible! “We are! Forged in flame! “We are! Annihilation! “We are! Domination! “We are! Termination! “We are! The Sun’s Might! “Dawn Blades! HOO-RAH!” With that last line, the song concluded. Vernatus stood, and to ensure he had somewhat of a decent ‘party baseline,’ drained another flagon of ale before saying a goodnight and stumbling off to bed. Technically this was the time of Spiritual Expression, but given the chaplain was drunk as a guardsman on leave, there was no forge project Vernatus wished to start, and being averse to almost anything poetic, Vernatus felt he could spend the time better resting for the mission tomorrow, and ensuring he had enough chemicals to reanimate his brothers from their Sus-An states they would enter for transport to fool the Tau scanners. Thusly, upon reaching his quarters, he laid out a basic medical kit for what he would need to hand immediately, and then flopped on the bed and fell asleep. =][=Dawn Blades=][= On the morn, Vernatus rose with a slight headache, but nothing more. The previous night he had apparently had the presence of mind to activate a pair of cameras, though he did not recall doing so—no matter. His data would be sufficient. With that, he smacked a button on the wall and a trio of serfs came to armor him for the journey. When they were finished, they fell in step behind Vernatus as he walked out the door. As the single marine required to stay awake for this whole frak-show, he was the highest security risk for this phase of the op. If they were boarded and he was discovered, a fair number of serfs were being press-ganged into service to provide a cover for him—he was a prisoner, and the serfs were task-masters for him, and he was going to become both a research subject and a living exhibit in the regimental museums. While not perfect, the story would allow him to pass through Tau security nets long enough to get on the ground and wake his compatriots up, so they could get to the killing. And when that time came—well, Vernatus was an Apothecary, but one from the Adeptus Astartes. He lusted for war surely as a tyranid did for biomatter. No, wait, bad comparison. He lusted for war just as surely Old Terra had lusted for sunlight—both needed it to survive. A savage grin rose to his face. It would feel good to have Tau blood coat his blade. The serfs behind him glanced at each other uncomfortably at the grin, but the group continued toward the Thunderhawk that would ferry them across the interstellar void of space. As they arrived, Arkant waved the group over to the rest. Each marine had a gaggle of serfs about them, some clearly serfs that the Astartes had known for years, even decades, while a couple groups were clearly just assigned baseliners who didn’t care one way or the other, so long as they got out alive. “Ah, Vernatus. Good. You’re the last group. Are you ready?” Arkant asked, a hand extended out in greeting. Vernatus reached out and clasped Arkant’s wrist. “I am ready. My blade is thirsting for blood, and my scalpel is primed to do the healing work of the Solis-Imperator.” The second part was all bravado, of course. He was being trusted with the lives of a combined millennium of battlefield experience, and he had all of a decade of medical training. A fair bit of time, to be sure, but the order of magnitude that he was outlived was nothing short of stupefying to him. He mentally sighed. The Chief Apothecary must have been chasing the dragon when he assigned him here (and Kalas, too, on that thought). “Excellent. Now, before you depart, we shall pray.” And with that, Arkant and the others all bowed their heads, and murmured along with the Chaplain. After prayer was concluded, the Astartes and their attending serfs entered the transport ship, which was not marked with any Astartes symbols, or indeed anything to link it to the chapter. Vanus assassins training in the area were often told to track the ship’s parent organization as part of their final assessment. Few failed, but all found the tasking difficult. Tracing the Unseen Manipulator was harder, which gave the Astartes complete confidence in their anonymity. All the necessary equipment was aboard, and there was enough war supplies to last the team the entire mission, and then some. Bolt shells, power cells for las-weapons and various swords, rations for the marines and their serfs, and enough explosives to keep an entire company of Militarum sappers happy for a month (and that was a conservative time-estimate). To support himself, both psychologically and physically, Vernatus had a dozen stealth-dataslates he could use to download new journals as they were published, and sufficient medical supplies for the mission. Everything was loaded onto pallets, which in turn were mounted on grav-sleds that dominated the cargo hold of the ship. The marines and serfs squeezed around the grav-sleds to start themselves in as the engines rumbled and the craft lifted from the deck of the Cobra’s docking bay. As the craft enrered hard vacuum, the serf to Vernatus’s right began to hyperventilate in panic. The Apothecary JG shook his head and fixed the serf with a not unkind look, forgetting the personal authority he held over a regular human as an Astartes. What was meant to be a stern but welcoming face evidently appeared terrifying, as the human shied away from him, covering his face. Vernatus sighed and placed a gauntleted hand on the serf’s shoulder, forcing the arm down and tilting the serf’s head towards him. “It is alright. What troubles you?” “Th...the shields, milord. I have never been outside the shields, except when I was tithed as a serf. I’ve always stayed on the Cobra, for thirty years now. They’ve been there...always there. The hum...oh Emperor the hum, it’s so beautiful, it was the Emperor’s armor and shield made manifest...and now it’s gone, I can’t here it, I can’t hear the Emperor’s voice, his power....” The serf broke down into a quiet sob, breaking from the Apothecary’s loose grasp and placing his head in his hands. Vernatus lifted the serf’s head. “What’s your name?” In between the sobs, the serf choked out, “My name?” Vernatus nodded. “Your name.” “A...Akinao Nima.” “Akinao Nima, I am going to let you in on a secret about the shields.” Akinao looked up. “A...a secret, milord?” “Yes. The shields, they are the Soli-the Emperor’s armor. But they are not his entire suit of armor. Tell me, have you ever seen Astartes fighting in full combat gear?” “N...no. Just armor maintenance, an...and provisioning, lord.” “Here. I am going to fully power my suit reactor. The shields are the Emperor’s armor. The Astartes are his mailed fist. Listen closely, and know that the Emperor’s protection is here with us, even now.” Vernatus blink-clicked his powerpack to 90 percent of maximum (the rest preserved for emergencies and actual combat. This was the highest he was allowed to power his pack to, by chapter bylaw). Soon, a throaty thrum, thrum, thrum, thrum began to emanate from the powerpack as the reactor spun up. The serf, with no regard for propriety, practically clambered on top of Vernatus to be as close to the thrum as possible. Akinao quickly found a relatively comfortable position to curl up in between two walls and Vernatus’s armor, and with a whisper of “the sound! I can hear my Emperor’s strength and protection,” drifted off to sleep, tears rolling his down face, but not of sadness. Ofjin scoffed, but when Vernatus looked at him down the beak of his MkVI helm, Ofjin just shrugged and catnapped. =][=Dawn Blades=][= As it happened, the transfer and infiltration went smoothly, even taking into account the margin of error that resulted from the inquisitorial agents’ mild baseline human incompetence. The ‘heist’ had gone off without a hitch, and pieces of defunct, damaged, or otherwise worthless Astartes weapons and armor were distributed on the black market to make the Tau authorities less suspicious of the missing shipment. The 4th Company of the Dawn Blades had planned this mission; there would be nothing unaccounted for, nor anything left to chance. The sabotage campaign itself displayed superb results, leaving Tau infrastructure and defensive structures in ruins. Factories were destroyed, antispace cannon that took months to construct were left a shambles, adding valuable time to reconstruction periods. Labor camps and sterilization camps were infiltrated by the human inquisitorial agents, in preparation for freedom when the marines brought war to the planet for real. Not all of it had been smooth sailing, however. Three times the Tau had come close to either locating their secret bunker, or discovering they fought Astartes. It was not until after the scheduled invasion failed to show up that things began to go wrong. =][=Dawn Blades=][= First, the invasion was delayed by a week of the expected arrival date. This fell well within the expected Warp margin-of-error that every Imperial operation ever had had to include in its timetable. The Astartes planetside began to get suspicious when the fleet became three weeks overdue, which was the upper limit of the mission’s WMoE. At this point, Kirn made an executive decision and emitted an emergency signal that would hopefully catch Arkant‘s ear and find out what the Warp was going on. The pulse was dispatched from a comms relay a hundred miles from their bunker. Not twenty minutes after the signal was sent a Tau orbital strike obliterated the relay, destroying any chances of a reply. Some time later, the Tau finally contacted the Astartes in battle proper, severely wounding Seishisai, causing him to slip into a Sus-An coma. A month past, an ambush killed Sergeant Xul-Chun, Tau snipers punching two neat holes through his braincase. Morale started to become crippled. Astartes did not need supplies such that a human did—but their serfs and inquisitorial aides most certainly did. Food, water, even ammunition. The Astartes had plenty for themselves, and to spare for a dozen more, but a baseliner could not eat the rations the marines did (the caloric value and the varied additives in the rations of a marine were enough to kill a regular human, when combined) and the only ammunition the base liners could utilize was Xul-Chun’s laspacks—and the laspacks were beginning to deteriorate. Something had to break; that which shattered was only a matter of time. In the end, very little was actually required to break the Astartes, and Vernatus didn’t even know how it had happened. With the death of an Astartes and the crippling of another, Kirn had ordered Vernatus to stay with the valuable gene-seed and Seishisai’s broken body to protect them. The remainder of the team had left and he had not seen anything more of them. He had set out to find them, but had been wounded and forced to retreat back to the bunker, where he would rest and rearm. =][=Dawn Blades=][= Vernatus staggered into the bunker, and sighed as he allowed his special cocktail of painkillers and autoheal stims to flow through his system. This wasn’t something he broke out often, given it was both hard to make and reacted with the Sus-An membrane to slow down other bodily functions to help the autoheal stims achieve maximum potential. He’d administered it perhaps seven times this mission. Every time it had had potent effects, but the recipient had been out of commission for three days at least. He’d only given himself a quarter dose; he didn’t have three days. He needed to be infiltrating the Tau scientist’s lab the next day to try and free his brothers, or recover their gene-seed, to add to Xul-Chun’s gene-seed and Seishisai’s broken, twisted, Sus-An’ed body, mangled but alive. (He would need dreadnought internment, and that wasn’t Vernatus had either the equipment or expertise for.) Vernatus slumped, and only his armor kept him standing as the drugs began to take effect. He directed the armor over to the nearest bunk, and once there collapsed in a heap of armor and weapons. When Akinao emerged from the human barracks a little while later, he saw Vernatus, and, though he knew it unnecessary, took one of the blankets from an uninhabited bunk and lay it over the marine. It was the best he could do, and with that he gently took the weapons Vernatus was carrying from the sleeping marine one by one and set them out on the table to clean, maintenance, reload, and recharge. =][=Dawn Blades=][= Vernatus rose groggily, his Catalepsean node and Sus-An membrane fighting consciousness, effects the drug was engineered to induce. However, as soon as he could feel his fingers, Vernatus activated his blink-controls and selected some combat stims from his armor reservoirs, and exhaled slowly as a heady rush of adrenaline, both of the natural and man-made variety, flooded his bloodstream. Walking towards the central table, Vernatus saw laying upon it his pistols and swords. The bolt pistol and chainsword were his weapons, but the power sword, hotshot laspistols, and plasma pistol that lay next to his own belonged to Xul-Chun and Seishisai. Vernatus had hardly dared use them, but after running out of ammo and powerpacks deemed that dying in transit and losing these relics of the 4th company a greater mark upon their honor than the one inflicted on their owners by using their weapons without permit. Vernatus said a prayer to the machine spirits and began chaining weapons to his armor and wrists, then walked to the door. He knew where the rest of the team was being kept, and precisely how he would infiltrate it. Armed with that knowledge and all the ammo he could carry, Vernatus knocked an armored hand against the door console six times. Knock, knock knock, knock, knock-knock. With that, a trap armed itself and the cogitator recorded the precise time of departure and the number who had departed. Vernatus set out with murder on his brain. =][=Dawn Blades=][= Kirn swam through a haze of drugs to come into consciousness with an ugly xenos fish-face in view. Muted Tau conversation flowed in and out of his ears as what appeared to be a team of scientists walked about, attaching various cords to both him and the computers. He saw no Fire Warriors, and only one blade, carried by someone who appeared to be the chief scientist. Experimentally he flexed his limbs, to much disappointment. His limbs were bound tightly with steel binding chain, wrapped tightly around winches clearly meant to restrict movement as much or as little as the scientists wished. The Tau were clearly aware of his enhanced strength, as he had almost no freedom of movement. Kirn stretched his jaw, and was surprised to find it unbound. But not, apparently, aware of my acidic capabilities. He stretched his neck and found it free as well. Inwardly he grinned savagely. This would be fun indeed. Surreptitiously he spat a small amount of acid at the analog mechanism that held his right arm in place, then at the one securing his left arm. His unusually powerful acid began eating away at the metal. He estimated perhaps seven minutes until his arms were free, with a pair of chainwhips for weapons, along with his natural abilities. The one with a blade walked forward. “So then, Astartes. Tell me your name.” His-for Kirn assumed it was a male, these damn xenos never used females in combat roles, he’d yet to eviscerate a female xenos that wasn’t an Eldar witch. Perhaps today he’d get the chance. He smirked. “I tell you so you may know the name of your doom, alien filth.” The scientist twitched almost imperceptibly, and a current of electricity flowed through the Astartes’s body, shocking him and causing his muscles to spasm. The shock was not particularly strong, but the electricity hurt Kirn because he knew these uncontrolled spasms may release him from his weakening binds early, which would hamper his escape efforts. “Do not grandstand, Astartes. Now, your name and chapter.” The scientist had a paper clipboard, which would make this job much easier. Kirn could give more information than normal, and then destroy the notes when he was free. Thusly, he spoke. “I am Kirn Solakana, of the Dawn Blades chapter, in service to the Solis-Imperator and the glorious Imperium of Man. You and your pathetic race shall be crushed under-gahhh!” Another shock, more powerful this time, flowed through the Astartes, but thanks to luck or a merciful Imperator, the acid hadn’t eaten through enough to accidentally release the marine prematurely. “What. Did. I say. About. Grandstanding?” Kirn simply laughed in the xeno’s face. His plan was advancing just fine. “Where is the rest of your force? Surely six men cannot wreak this much havoc. Tell me where your base is, and the remainder of your forces, and I shall be lenient”, commanded the interrogator. “Ha...foolish xeno, you don’t have enough experience with an Astartes, do you? We were all. There is no one else, you hold everyone.” This of course was a lie, Vernatus, his serf, and the other Inquisitorial agents were holed up in their bunker, but he wasn’t going to tell these xenos that. “No! You lie! Where is your base? Where are your men?” Kirn laughed long and hard, then when he was finished he clamped his mouth shut and didn’t move it a millimeter. The scientist/interrogator began to proceed with questioning. Kirn didn’t say a word, but not of refusal to talk. No, he was quite willing to talk. He would talk of the glories of man, of the Tau inferiority, their futility, and the Imperium’s eternalness. However, he would not talk now. He would much rather have a massive blob of acid spittle in his mouth, ready to be spat out as soon as he was free. L He let the interrogator ramble for a couple of minutes, making threats he would not keep and boasts he could not back up. This continued until he heard a faint click of metal falling on metal, and chains slowly easing loose from their spool. Just before they were to clatter to the floor, Kirn muttered around his saliva, “Tau.” The interrogator leaned in. “Yes, human? Are you ready to talk?” Kirn flexed his muscles slightly, coiled up and ready to move. “Ebo svoya mitri,” whispered the Astartes, which was a very strong imprecation in the gutteral-but-lyrical Frensan Tertius tongue, usually only said when someone had a knife at your throat. The Tau, while holding no concept of the extent of the insult, still took offense to the tone of the statement and expressed as much with a rather loud shout and a slap-or at least, an attempted one. As the interrogator reared his hand back, Kirn spat four ounces of pH 0.5 acid, which blinded the interrogator and sent him backpedaling, one hand rubbing his eyes and the other scrabbling madly for anything with which to rinse them. In the commotion, as others raced towards doors, comms consoles, or in search of water, Kirn flexed his arms and broke his wrists free of the stone plinth. He spat on the chains binding his feet, much larger globs this time, and aimed at the weakest area-he wanted his feet free ASAP. As he waited, he swung his fifteen-foot chainwhips, targeting first those heading for doors, then those at the computer consoles. When they were dispatched, he lashed a whip towards the interrogator. It crushed his skull with the force of the blow, and sent the blue blood of the creature splattering across the notepad and other valuable equipment. A louder clatter of metal on metal echoed the room, and Kirn smiled savagely. He was free. Soon enough, the room was clear of hostiles and full of corpses. Kirn grinned. None had gotten out alive. It was time to hide here and eliminate forces as they entered the lab. =][=Dawn Blades=][= Vernatus approached the Tau research complex. The ground around it was bulldozed and cleared of anything that could be used as cover. It didn’t matter to a marine who’d spent an entire year with some of the best of the 4th company. Vernatus was silent as the night, and swift as the wind. He avoided the meager drone patrols, and, to prevent reinforcements from the base he knew was nearby, destroyed communications relays and cameras with globs of acidic saliva that he kept in vials. Soon he was at the door. The time for subtlety was done. The time for brute force was now. Vernatus took a deep breath and scanned the area one last time. The Apothecary started. He had not realized it, but the mission had timed itself to arrive at the main door when the sun was beginning to rise over the horizon. A good omen. He drew his chainsword from his back, and after pouring a generous dose of salivary acid onto the door, revved it and plunged it into the door. The door bent and buckled under the assault, and caved in with a crash and a blaring alarm. Well, stealth was gone now. Not that he’d wanted it, anyway, after he was there. He didn’t plan on sticking around, anyway. He’d have his brothers rescued before anyone could reach the facility. It wasn’t far from the nearest full base, but this was a very small facility, and a very small garrison, with a drone overreliance. He sheathed the sword and drew the twin pistols that belonged to Xul-Chun. They would draw the honor of first blood. He descended into the underground station, ready to kill. =][=Dawn Blades=][= Shas’La Me’lek Firoth stepped around the corner into the lab, the door ajar. He had been ordered down here after the scientists had failed to report for their scheduled check-in. Firoth stepped inside, nudging the door the rest of the way open using his pulse carbine. There was blood on the floor; a lot of it, and all of it was blue. That didn’t bode well. He raised a hand to his comm, but as he did so, a massive shadow reached out and crushed his hand. A scream of pain died with the fire warrior as a metal hand clasped around his throat and crushed it into bloody chunks, then dragged the body over to join the pile of Tau corpses. =][=Dawn Blades=][= The Apothecary JG stepped onto what appeared to be the detention level. Surprised to see no guards, Vernatus warily walked into the dark, enhanced vision providing him a decent view of the darkness. There were cells here, to be sure, with what appeared to be the unconscious bodies of his brothers. As he approached the first cell, though, something seemed...off. He activated the biosign scanner in his helm and looked about. There were four life-signs in the room—but none came from the mannequins of his brothers. He quickly brought both pistols up and dodged to the ground, squeezing off a pair of hotshot lasbolts into the nearest stealth suit. He missed, of course, but so did the stealth suits. They had not anticipated the human to notice them, and were ill-covered and more casual than they should have been. They had expected a defenseless human, and in turn received a cornered, violent posthuman that was far more lethal than they had experience with. A dance of death soon ensued. In the confined space, with his enhanced reflexes, Vernatus quickly slaughtered one, then another. Having honored Xul-Chun’s weapons, as he dodged backwards he holstered them both and drew the two swords on his back. He decapitated one cleanly, then as the body slumped to the ground, the last Tau took off into a dead run, then into flight with his jet pack. Vernatus soon lost him in the corridors and the dark of the station. Setting his scanner to maximum range and sacrificing some sensitivity, the Apothecary JG looked about the entire facility. No one. At all. It had been a trap, and he’d fallen for it. Vernatus let loose a long list of Dawn Blade naval curses, his vernacular a mongrel breed of Frensan, the Ocrod language, and many other languages the Dawn Blades spoke. When he finished, he deactivated his bioscanner and activated the IFF scanner, set to look for Imperial IFF codes, to see if he could locate gear or weapons. After several tense minutes looking about the facility, Vernatus was about to let loose on another tirade, when his scanner began to ping softly. His own personal weapons drawn, Vernatus slowly approached, wary of another trap. He needn’t have worried, however, as all he found was Xul-Chun’s broken helm, a pair of neat holes punched into it. Touching it to his own helm, Vernatus sat for a moment before mag-locking it to his hip and swiftly exiting the facility. He had failed, and would need to try again soon, lest his brothers misbehave and get themselves killed. =][=Dawn Blades=][= Shas’Vre Me’Lek Al’wra deactivated his stealth field and ascended into the clouds, throwing protocol to the wind. He’d seen three of his bond brothers slaughtered in the space of about 30 seconds, and hadn’t been interested in sticking around to become cadaver number four, especially given the human’s unusual ability to see them even with their stealth fields activated. Once he’d calmed down, Al’wra opened a comms link to the nearest ship with a relay. “Shas’Vre Me’Lek Al’wra to nearest ship, please patch me into Science Command.” “Please hold,” came the air caste’s voice. “Science Command, Shas’Vre.” Al’Wra launched right into a report. “Fio’El, the remaining human insurgent has escaped ambush, repeat, escaped ambush. I’m the only one left, it didn’t take him but a minute to kill my brothers, and he could see us! How could he see us?! We had fields up, invisible, how could—“ “Shas’Vre, breathe. Continue,” the Fio’El commanded. “Terminate the subjects immediately, otherwise we’ll have a leviathan of a problem. Kill them and he’ll go away. Kill them now!” “Can you confirm what you just said, for record?” “Yes! Kill them immediately!” “Kill-order confirmed. We shall proceed. Thank you, Shas’Vre. For the Greater Good,” the Fio’El replied. “For the Greater Good.”. =][=Dawn Blades=][= Five hundred miles away, Science Command was a buzzing hive of activity. ”Fio’Vre, I have something for you,” the Fio’El said, handing a large canister to the ‘Vre. “And what is this, Fio’El?” “The Silence.” The Fio’Vre raised an eyebrow, or what passed as one for the Tau, “We are deploying it this early?” “The field report indicates it is time. Now, quickly, to the airway hub! We must release this before the Astartes finds this installation!” The Fio’Vre nodded, shifting his bulky frame to carry the large and fragile chemical weapon. “Of course, Fio’El.” The earth caste Tau took off down the corridor, careful to not drop the canister and waste the chemical. =][=Dawn Blades=][= Kirn stretched as he dropped the twentieth corpse onto the pile, and made a decision. No longer would he tarry here, rather he would go and find the central control center, and do his best to not get himself killed. Wrapping his chainwhips up, and picking up a pulse pistol, he stepped cautiously into the corridor. He aimed and fired the pistol once, striking the camera dead center and destroying it. With a satisfied grunt, he moved on, eliminating all Tau he came across. However, all was not well. Soon a hiss and a tinged green gas filled the air. Recognizing it for what is was (a nerve toxin, from the smell and the way it caused his body to ache), Kirn sealed his lungs and activated the multilung. He pushed forwards. He would find the control center, or his brothers (whichever he came across first) and end this game. His pride still smarted at being captured, and was determined to murder the entire planet to get vengeance and reclaim the world for the Imperium. =][=Dawn Blades=][= In four separate cells a quarter mile deeper underground, each a hundred yards away from each other, the same sickly story played out. Stunned and unable to activate their multilungs, the remaining members of the kill team slowly and painfully died, their gene-engineering fighting tooth and nail to keep their bodies alive. Unfortunately for the Emperor’s work and the Emperor’s suns, this was a very well designed nerve gas, targeted specifically to kill humans in a way that wouldn’t kill Tau. It took about half an hour, but they died. The Tau guards entered the cells and dragged the bodies to another room for dissection, and eventually disposal. =][=Dawn Blades=][= Kirn smashed into the command room, punching his way through the door with his hand after weakening it with his spittle. Before any of the Tau could blink, or bring up a weapon, Kirn had dispatched three with his stolen pistol and one with his whip. In the next three seconds, all but five Tau of the perhaps 20 present were dead. The remaining five were not yet dead because they were three Shas’Vre’s, a Shas’El, and the Fio’El—Science Command and his bodyguards. The fire warriors were all in battlesuits, and had their weapons glowing. Kirn had his pistol trained on the Fio’El. They had their blasters pointed directly at his progenoids—what ancient Terrans called a Mexican standoff. Oh, he could easily kill the unarmored Tau this instant—but then his genetic legacy was shattered, never to return to the chapter, an unbearable prospect. But he had a timer, and they didn’t. All they had to do was keep their weapons trained, hope he didn’t move, and wait until he died. This nerve gas was starting to affect his mind. Kirn’s thoughts were nanoseconds slower, and it should only have taken him two point five seconds to slaughter the Tau in here, as opposed to the 3.1 seconds it had taken. “Yes. You feel the Silence, don’t you, human. Impressive you are still able to fight after spending several minutes breathing in a gas specifically designed to kill you. How does it feel? As a scientist I value my test subjects’ input,” the Fio’El spoke, with level tones in his voice. Did he not comprehend the danger he was in?” “It’s not fast enough,” Kirn granted through the pain. His Betcher’s gland was empty of overuse, and his mouth dry, at least partially due to the nerve toxin. His weapons wouldn’t pierce the armor of the Fire Warriors’ battlesuits. That left him one option, decided before he even finished his sentence. His leg muscles coiled tightly and he dove forward the fifteen feet separating him and the Fio’El, dropping the pistol and jumping through the XV-88 Crisis suits guarding the scientist. They attempted to bring their weapons to bear, but he moved too fast for their suits to compensate and turn. His whips lashed forward to impact upon— Nothing. A loud crack filled the air, reminiscent of the crack that he heard whenever he’d conducted terminator operations. “Marvelous, isn’t it? I took this from an Inquisitor that I killed with the Silence. It’s saved my life, many times,” came the Tau’s voice—from behind Kirn. Displacement field, Kirn thought. I’m dead. “Enjoy death, Space Marine. Perhaps your Emperor will welcome you to his table. Perhaps not. Your progenoids will not survive.” “Nam Claritas Solis-Imperaaaagh!” screamed Kirn as he made one last futile attempt to kill even one of them. As he twisted, the Crisis suits opened fire and riddled his body with pulse fire, killing him. It was an ignominious end for a storied Astartes, and he would soon be forgotten. =][=Dawn Blades=][= Vernatus arrived at the bunker, and stayed just long enough to do two things. Firstly, he deposited Xul-Chun’s helmet with his progenoid cylinders. Then he grabbed a ration bar, shoved it down his throat, and turned right back around to leave again. As soon as he was out of the door, he took geopositional data from the automatic data-hack all of their helmets had been upgraded with and used that to locate the proper facility, based on size, protection, and other Imperial IFF signals in the area (there were very few), and began to run directly toward the triangulated area. Vernatus was not the fastest marine on the kill-team—that honor belonged to Farnok, as the tallest marine on the team as well he could average more than sixty miles per hour—but he could still run a sustained pace of more than fifty miles an hour without his armor, for at least seven hours straight. With his armor on, he would be slower (the high end of 45 miles an hour), but his endurance would be greatly increased, due to the armor’s natural enhancements and kinetassist function, and be able to run for more than a day without stopping for anything. And speaking of kinetic energy and not stopping, he thought, given I’m going to crash right through everything I’m not exactly going to be stealthy./i] “Oh well” Vernatus muttered as he angled his shoulder to plow into and through the first obstacle in his way (an abandoned hab-building). Soon the only sign he’d been there was a very large hole in some of the walls, in a roughly linear path from the bunker to the Apothecary’s destination. =][=Dawn Blades=][= It took close to 11 hours, but Vernatus reached the Tau’s Science Command Base. A very light green tinge was in the air, and it registered as toxic in higher concentrations on Vernatus’s medi-HUD. There had been no defense to speak of. A thousand pounds of steel, rock, and muscle impacting lightly armored flesh at a delta-vee of greater than 35 meters per second (his running speed plus the actual throwing of the punch) had a tendency to absolutely splatter the impacted flesh in question, and a power sword at a similar delta-vee cut through even heavy armor (of which the Tau had none) like a chainsword through a scrap of parchment. Anything that he touched died, and what he didn’t touch was very, very terrified and quickly outstripped by a half-ton bipedal tank blowing by them faster than it had any right to be moving. Vernatus began to slow over the last two hundred yards, so he didn’t crash into the doorway and then right back the other side. By the time he had reached the gate, Vernatus had friction-braked enough to toss up a massive dust cloud that hid him from whatever defenses were left. As he broke the gate, he brought his own personal weapons up, and began to slaughter the interior defenders that had been summoned in the last ten hours. SciComm was no idiot, and had known that the man who had attacked the other installation had defeated some of the best he had under his command. Thusly, he’d brought more troops and suits. It didn’t matter. Vernatus was a Space Marine Apothecary who had brothers to save and progenoids to recover. Nothing could track him, and what did manage to get shots off before dying had a boot, gauntlet, or bolt buried in their torso before they could blink. The Tau were experiencing something Imperial cataloguers designated ‘transhuman or posthuman terror.’ Anyone who saw the Apothecary would have sworn that the Marine could not move faster than an XV-88–but he did. This shock allowed Vernatus to rip through the defenders. As he approached what he presumed to be the detention level, he received a patchy transmission, on an old Imperial channel they had been instructed to use for interplanetary communications in an emergency, or upon the invasion’s advent. The transmission started choppily but became smooth and clear. “...ill team Kirn...ome in, ki...irn. Th...Chap...Arkant...Strike Cruiser Malevolent Sunset, I repeat, Kill team..., come in, kill ...team Kirn, This is Ch...Arkant, aboard Strike Cruiser Malevolent Sunset, come in kill team Kirn!” “This is Apothecary JG Vernatus, I read you, Chaplain. Go ahead,” Vernatus yelled over the sound of combat. “What is your status, and what the hell took you so long? You’re three months overdue!” “The 4th company is ready for combat, Apothecary. We’ve been held up by a combination of slow Warp currents and a surprise ork raid during the transition. Apologies for that; but now isn’t the time. Where is Kirn?” “MIA.” “Xul-Chun?” “Confirmed KIA.” “The Ishiyama brothers?” “One’s SIA, the other’s MIA. And so is everyone else.” “WHAT?!?!?!?” Arkant yelled in shock. “Is there anyone left except you?” “Some serfs, sir. Right now I’m looking for everyone that’s MIA. Bring a techmarine and a dreadnought chassis to the planet. We’re gonna need one. Vernatus out, BLAZE HOT!” he roared, revving his chainsword in unison with the battlecry. Aboard the Strike Cruiser in orbit, Arkant nodded grimly and offered a characteristically poetic line. “Be their sunset, brother. Blaze Bright.” Deactivating his comm, he turned to the deck officer. “Commander Vylata, you are to enter geosynchronous orbit over and begin orbital bombardment of the area surrounding the Apothecary’s transmission, excluding an interior circle with the radius of one mile, assuming the usual margin of error. I shall begin drop pod assaults with my men. Are these orders clear?” Vylata was an aging commander of sixty years, and in any sane world would have had no place on the combat deck. She was the youngest person on command staff, and had a vivacity and range of movement to make an Astartes scout jealous. “Perfectly, milord Chaplain. Go give those Tau a whooping they won’t ever forget, soldier.” “Yes’m. Nam Claritas Solis-Imperator,” Arkant intoned in High Gothic. “Nam sumus sed huius serves,” Vylata replied. With the exchange complete, Arkant left the bridge, followed by two Samurai in Tartaros armor. His destination was the drop deck, and he had blades to paint as blue as the cold sky of Ocrod Primus. =][=Dawn Blades=][= “FEEL THE WRATH OF THE SOLIS-IMPERATOR, WORMS!” Vernatus cried, as he saw the bodies of his dead brethren laying in a lab, their postmortem scientists, and their guards. Posthuman terror manifested itself once more, as Vernatus leaped off the walls and ceiling to close rapidly with the Tau, twin swords flashing in the low light. Blue pulse fire ricocheted throughout the corridor and room as walked shots impacted full meters behind the moving marine. Two shots connected, but did nothing but scorch his armor, and then he was within the Tau. Vernatus dived off the ceiling, and landed with a loud thud, disorienting the Tau as a thousand pounds of Astartes, metal and ceramic impacted the ground. They didn’t even see the twin swords come about as Vernatus pirouetted and decapitated or disembowled each one of them in turn. As they fell dead, Vernatus dropped both weapons and ran to his brothers’ sides. He activated the bioscanner to confirm what he already knew—dead. Every last one of them. He grimaced under his helm. Unpleasant, but not unexpected. Fortunately, they all appeared to have been suffocated to death, with no marks on their skin at all, and relatively peaceful eyes. Their progenoids should be intact, which was a small stroke of luck. He readied the reductor in his Narcethium, and without hesitation placed it against Farnok’s neck, where one of his progenoids would be. The device entered the flesh, and cleanly withdrew the gene-seed incubator, ejecting it into a clear holding container, which Vernatus looked at with satisfaction— And then horror. The organ was deformed beyond all use, blackened and twisted, not green and healthily fat like it should be. Trepidation began to build within the Apothecary JG, and he removed the reductor and readied it once more to remove the gland in the chest. Shakily he triggered the device, eyes shut even as the even hiss of pneumatics withdrew the misshapen lump of flesh from Farnok’s chest. Genuinely frightened now, Vernatus reached out with a trembling hand to so as to fold Farnok’s hands over his chest in prayer, and close his eyes, so his eyes did not appear like lightless globes of glass. Afraid of what he would find, Vernatus retrieved Ofjin‘s next—and they were destroyed as well. Vernatus shut down. Mechanically he removed the gene seed from the remaining cadaver, marked each container properly, with the marine’s name and the progenoid’s location within the body. Visual data would be retrieved from his helm aboard the Malevolent Sunset, and audio data was not required. When he was finished with his grim task, he barricaded the door to the room they were in, and wept as he laid down next to his dead and legacy-less brethren. =][=Dawn Blades=][= Arkant and his two Samurai escorts Kolonara and Leyng materialized with a crack inside SciComm’s central command room. Autocannon shells and plasma blasts began to perforate the walls as three very annoyed Tartaros Terminators let rip with their weapons and tore the defensive forces to shreds. The Fio’El had long since fled the facility, having escaped to orbit in between the attack on the satellite station and Vernatus’s arrival, but many skilled scientists were present, along with several Tau commanders. Arkant and his companions slaughtered them all mercilessly, glorifying the Solis-Imperator as they did so. The Chaplain raised a hand to his ear and activated the comm in his helm. “Vernatus, this is Chaplain Arkant with two Samurai. What is your location?” No response. “Apothecary Vernatus, report! This is Chaplain Arkant. What is your location?” Again, only silence filled the vox. “Damnit,” Arkant cursed. “Where is he? Leyng, can you find him?” “Of course, Chaplain. Triangulating now.” Leyng was a 1st company Techmarine of the martial leaning, and had been honored when he had been presented with a sacred Tartaros suit to wear in combat. After a few more moments of wholesale slaughter, Leyng spoke again. “I have found him, brothers. Follow me.” With that, he exited the command room, Arkant and Kolonara trailing close behind him. S =][=Dawn Blades=][= They arrived at a locked door. "He is behind this portal, Chaplain." ​Arkant nodded behind his helm and smashed the door with his crozius. Behind it lay four corpses and a seemingly-comatose marine in full armor. The Chaplain walked over and kicked Vernatus in the side. "GET UP SOLDIER, THAT'S AN ORDER! ON YOUR FEET AND AT ATTENTION!" Vernatus didn't move, much to Arkant's chagrin. That had been one of his better Sukuato imitations, too. He just didn't have the same cadence to his voice. It was no matter, though. He motioned to Leyng. who activated one of his mechandendrites and used it to activate a drug reservoir in the armor that was guaranteed to wake the recipient up. Vernatus visibly spasmed and rose to his feet, eyes flashing and breath catching under his armor. "y...yes, Chaplain?" "Where is the rest of the team, Apothecary?" Vernatus shuddered imperceptibly. "Dead...all dead but Sei...Seishisai...hyyyeeeugh...hyyyeeeugh...forgive...me, Ch...Chaplain, but I wish to...submit myself for...censure...." The armor locked up and Vernatus slumped inside it, the marine in shock at having lost the genetic legacy of four powerful warriors, after having been entrusted with them. He had failed. There was no excuse for that, and that thought was the last conscious one he had before he slipped into a blissful unconsciousness. ​=][=Dawn Blades=][= ​Epilogue: ​Vernatus raised his head to look at the oath of moment that laid before him, having replaced the ink quill and finishing it. Arkant stood beside him and withdrew his own quill, and affixed his signature to the bottom of it, approving it. ​​I, Vernatus, brother of the Dawn Blades, ​do swear this oath of moment, to be kept until ​completion, or death. ​To each brother dead on Rolyn, I owe one hundred T'au heads. ​For each progenoid lost, ​I owe one hundred T'au broodlings. ​To Xul-Chun, I owe twenty-five T'au snipers, ​in addition to one hundred heads. ​To Seishisai, I owe the support and training ​of his great-great-grandson, in lieu of him. ​To Kirn, I owe twenty-five commanders, ​in addition to one hundred heads. ​And to the coward that has designed ​this new poison gas, ​I promise the most painful death ​imaginable, courtesy of the Solis-Imperator. ​I shall not remove my armor until I have completed this task. Vernatus ​Arkant Vernatus sighed. This was the first step. Arkant held the strip of parchment to Vernatus's torso, and poured wax over the top of it. He pressed a single finger to the blob of wax, his armored hand pressing the insignia of the Dawn Blades Chaplaincy into the wax. Arkant cleared his throat, and spoke thusly: "Rise, Apothecary Vernatus. Rise into the darkness. I welcome you to the ranks of the Fallen Dawn. May your journey for redemption be filled with challenge, so as to earn it in the eyes of the Solis-Imperator." Vernatus rose, feeling the wax slide down his armor ever-so-slightly. "And may I ever blaze with his light." With that, the private ceremony was complete, and Vernatus collected naught but his weapons as he walked out the door. His dataslate pinged, a new journal having just been published. The beaked Mk. VI helm looked over its shoulder for a second or so before turning back forward and closing the door on both the chaplain and Vernatus's--well, not his past, perhaps, but certainly on his old pastimes. Vengeance would be his pastime now. End of Broken Glass.

​ The Dawn Blades 2nd Company veteran Shonar was the first of the Dawn Blades to receive the Primaris upgrade by unanimous consent of his brothers. +++-----------------------------------------------------------+++ "Company veteran Shonar, your presence is requested in the Company mess within fifteen minutes. Do not be late." Shonar glanced up from his desk at the announcement, shrugged, and replaced his quill in the inkwell. Gesturing for his serfs to follow, he left the room, leaving the poem entitled "Death and Rebirth" unfinished on the desktop. +++-----------------------------------------------------------+++ Shonar arrived in the 2nd Company mess to the sound of 108 clashing pairs of ceramite boots, and 108 fists slamming against their breastplates in salute. Chaplain Katz stepped forward and began to speak. Arrayed around him were Shonar's brothers in the command squad, Daimyo Lenoch, and all 10 squads of the 2nd Company. Behind him stood the three dreadnoughts of the company, strangely silent but unquestionably watching. "Company veteran Shonar," he intoned. "You have been selected by unanimous vote of your brothers to be the first of the 2nd Company to have your wargear and biological functions upgraded to the Primaris baseline. In concordance with this honor, you are being promoted to the rank of Lieutenant, an ancient rank resurrected by the Primarch Rouboute Guilliman. Step forward and receive your honor." Shonar looked warily about, seeking jest in his brothers' eyes. Finding none, he walked to the head of the hall and stood in front of his brothers. "Shonar," Lenoch said, "you have no idea what this means to all of us." "No, captain. You don't know what this means to me," he replied, fighting tears. There was little a marine could hope for, other than the respect of his brothers, and this proved he had the respect of all of them. And that was something powerful. Smiling, Lenoch snapped his fingers. Four serfs approached the center, bearing a suit of power armor. "Lieutenant Shonar, it is my great honor to present you with this suit of MkX Tacticus armor. May it serve you well." He raised his voice. "Warriors of the 2nd Dawn! Come and armor your brother!" Each marine from each squad swarmed the slab, dismantling the armor, taking one piece each. Then they each placed their piece on Shonar, and then went to their squad's table. Within ten minutes he was armored. "Our ceremony is complete, now let us feast in our brother's honor!" Lenoch called. A great "HUZZAH!" went up from the 2nd company, and the serfs began to bring in food for the feast. Lenoch smacked Shonar on the shoulder, seeing the apprehension behind the helmet. "Don't you worry, brother. You're the most righteous and pious of this company, even above me. You won't let us down, I know it." Shonar nodded as he stumbled. This armor would take getting used to. "My thanks, Daimyo. I'll try and be worthy of the honor." "So I trust. ​ +++-----------------------------------------------------------+++ Lieutenant Shonar exited the Apothecarion after three months of surgery, bio-reaccomodation, and physical therapy. He was a half foot taller than what he had been when he had walked into the Apothecary's domain, and 12 percent heavier. His bones felt tougher, his muscles stronger, and he swore his hearts beat slower but more powerfully then they ever had. And...he had this strange sense of immortality, back when he was a teenager and began to become a marine, but this felt...more real. Like he really was invincible. This would require meditation. His serfs began to armor him when he returned to his quarters, and soon he was wearing the new Tacticus suit. It felt just like his old armor did not three months ago, a second skin that would never fail him. Shonar proceeded to the company forge, where he was greeted by two brothers on guard duty. They saluted, and as he strode through the door he saluted back. He located an empty anvil and drew his combat knife. Pressing it to the anvil, he muttered a prayer to the weapon's warrior spirit, set it aside, and began to construct a power field generator. +++-----------------------------------------------------------+++ Six days later, the power field was built and it was time to attach it to the knife. He took a drill and began to carve a small space in the hilt, just below the crossguard. Here he inserted the field generator, with two smaller holes to run the emitter prongs through the guard and up the blade. He attached the emitter prongs, and sealed them in, then attached the switch for the field. Shonar refilled the remaining dead space in the knife and then muttered a prayer. Taking the new knife in one hand and the ritual knife from the anvil base, he pricked his neck, just where the progenoid was, and began to speak the Litany of Modification. "Oh great machine spirits, I beseech thee, come to my weapon and enter it. Accept this offering of the blood of Ferrus, a pure sacrifice to anoint a holy weapon of the Solis-Imperator." The blood from his neck dripped down to cover the blade, and Shonar flicked the switch. The blood boiled off, leaving an iron-red residue as the power field activated. "May this blade bring vengeance to the slain and death to mankind's enemies. Let it taste the blood of a to rest at the feet of the Solis-Imperator." He felt the blade vibrate and watched it glow as the field generator accepted a machine spirit, and he grinned. He mag-locked the knife to his leg and walked out of the forge, and took from a forge-serf a brand new and shining bright stalker bolt rifle, with his Marksman's Honor badges already attached. Shonar stretched once and then walked to the firing range to test his new weapons. It was a good day, and he would do his best to be an example for his brethren. +++-----------------------------------------------------------+++ Lt. Shonar, 6 power, 100 points (with wargear) Lt. Shonar uses the Primaris Lieutenant rules and statline, with the following modifications. LD9, W6, and A5. Replace 'Company Heros' with the following rule: "Most Righteous and Pious of the 2nd": all models with the <Adeptus Astartes> and <Dawn Blades> Keywords that can draw line of sight to Shonar, or are within 6 inches of him, add 1 to their LD stat. He is armed with a power knife, master-crafted stalker bolt rife, bolt pistol, and frag and krak grenades. Power Knife: Type: Melee|Range: Melee|S:U|AP:-3 Master-crafted Stalker Bolt Rifle, Bolt Pistol, and Frag and Krak Grenades: see Primaris Lieutenant datasheet