Background for my Ultramarine Successor Chapter

[koran]

Sorry about this being such a big block of text but the formatting didn't copy well from windows. Any comments that help me to polish it off would be a great help :)

 

Cestus’s last few weeks had been spent further researching the Spears of Ultramar chapter. The Head Archivist had found him to tell him he was to follow through on his initial research and had been requested to document the meetings that were to take place between Lord Calgar and representatives of the Spears of Ultramar.

His “initial research”. Cestus half sighed to himself. Over six Terran months of research, since he had been assigned to correlate all the fragmented files on the initiate intake of the Spears of Ultramar, reduced to two words. He had been thankful that the project was coming to an end, the monotonous searching of library banks, data-slates and piles of parchments to glean by a few more numbers to add to his intake total. But that was the wont of an Archivist.

It was in the last days of this “initial research” when he had been doing his final sums that Cestus had started to realise something was wrong. Seriously wrong; the numbers just didn’t add up. The initiate intake of the Chapter was too high. Oh, it had been hidden well in, what Cestus now believed to be, deliberately fragmented reports sent to the Fortress of Hera on Macragge, but there was no doubting that there was something strange going on within the Spears of Ultramar. And as an Archivist of the Ultramarines, the parent Chapter of the Spears, it was Cestus’s duty to bring this to light. And so he had taken the information to the Head Archivist and assumed that would be the end of it.

He had assumed wrong. Only the next day he had been subjected to the greatest honour, but simultaneously the most terrifying moment, of his life. He had been brought before the great Lord Calgar. And there, stuttering beyond reason, he had explained what he had found.

And so, weeks later, Cestus found himself in one of the back corners this vast hall of dark granite and vaulted ceiling behind a small desk lit by four candles. In front of him was a substantial, but smaller throne of a similar white marble to that Cestus had seen in Lord Calgars throne room on a raised dais. In front of this was a stone stable in a large U of the same white marble, echoing the design of the Ultramarines symbo, and equally spaced around this were twelve stone benches, built to hold the weight of a Space Marine in full armour.

Currently the room was empty of people, except for a bank of three servitors in the back wall, adjacent to Cestus, ready to record the exact words spoken by those in attendance. Cestus went over in his head the figures he had been attempting to commit to memory. The Head Archivist had told him that his purpose was two-fold; firstly Lord Calgar preferred to have a more human record of what had occurred and servitors did not have the ability to interpret emotion or tone of voice and, secondly, he was to check that any figures or information forwarded by those present was correct.

Cestus was dreading the whole procedure. Several times in the past few week he had been called before Lord Calgar to recount any progress he had made on theorising where the initiates of the Spears were going. Even after these meetings the terrifying presence of the Lord of Ultramar had the effect of making him barely able to function when put under the great man’s scrutiny, the power that radiated from him feeling like a weight pressing down on his frail body.

His research in those weeks had been very interesting. Never before had he been left to research one of the Ultramarine’s successor chapters free of inspection. Familiarising himself with the history of the chapter Cestus had discovered that the chapter had been formed shortly after the Battle of Macragge at the behest of Chaplain Cassius and Chief Librarian Tigurius, who had deemed it appropriate that a chapter dedicated to the combating of the Tyranid menace. The request had been backed by the Ordo Xenos and, with their assistance, the High Lords of Terra had approved the formation of the new chapter. The chapter had grown quickly and, thanks to the almost infinite resources available to the Ordo Xenos, had been furnished with the best equipment the Imperium had to offer.

Apparently the Spears were unlike other chapters. They hadn’t had a Chapter Master since the sixth decade of their founding, when the chapter had been brought up to full strength. For reasons unknown the Chapter Master had stood down, decreeing that the chapter was to be ruled by a council of five Librarians. This appeared to be the only peculiarity within the chapter other than the high number of initiates but, despite this, strangely the chapter remained at normal fighting strength. So where were these extra initiates going? That was what this tribunal was to determine, Lord Calgar had decided that it important enough of a topic that it had to be done in person.

Cestus shuffled the blank parchments and his accumulated documents into more manageable piles and placed his quill into the inkwell in preparation for what was to come.

The heavy wooden doors, that Cestus had barely been able to push open, to the grand hall flew on their hinges as two Space Marines in Terminator armour forced each door open and then stood to attention as two more blue power armoured giants walked calmly into the room to take up positions behind two of the doors. The four looked similar to Space Marines of the Ultramarine chapter, multiple white enamel U’s adorned their armour but there were subtle differences. Golden embellishments depicting slain Tyranid’s were present on greaves and chest plates and on the right shoulder pad the Ultramarines U was haloed by five gold stars, each one representing a member of the ruling Council of Five Librarians of the Spear of Ultramar, changed from the original spear piercing the U after the first Chapter Master surrendered his position to the council. But the two in power armour were different still, thick robes flowed from their armour and their bare heads were surrounded by additional armoured hoods with cables snaking into their skulls. Most obvious or all was the power that emanated from them, almost as palpable as when Cestus had knelt before Lord Calgar. It was this power and the hollow feeling in his gut that made Cestus know that these two were Librarians and was backed up when he realised that their armour was actually a slightly lighter blue colour. A glance back to their shoulder pads confirmed that not only were these Librarians but they were two of the Council of Five that commanded the Spears of Ultramar, one of the gold stars on each of their chapter symbols replaces with a jewel to show which of the five they were.

The terminators moved to flank the meeting hall and stood to attention. As they did five more figures silhouetted the doorway.

The first two to enter were unmistakable. The black armour revealing a heavily reconstructed bionic face identified one as not just a chaplain but chaplain Cassius, Cestus recognised his face from the sketches concerning the founding of the Spears of Ultramar. The second of the two needed no sketch as the knot that the two Librarians had put in Cestus’s stomach unfolded into a hollow void within his chest. Chief Librarian Tigurius surveyed the hall with a cold stare, his gaze lingering for a moment on Cestus, sending ice into his veins. Then a small smile twitched at the side of his mouth, as if the scene before him reminded him of something he had seen before and remembered almost fondly.

Following the two was a figure monstrous in its size. A giant among giants, in his full terminator armour Lord Calgar strode into the room, small tremors reverberating around the grand hall with each footstep. Purposefully, he walked around the stone table and took his place at the marble thrown and, gracefully for his size, sat down. Cestus half expected the white stone to crack under such weight, but it held and four echoing thuds managed to drag Cestus’s eyes away from the God before him to the four Space Marines sitting around the table and two more space marines entering the chamber, blue armour embellished with golden wings, carrying two handed axes. These took up places next to the Spear of Ultramar terminators.

‘Brothers,’ Lord Calgar’s voice boomed, his steely gaze passing over each of those around the table. ‘I have called you to this gathering of kin to illuminate me on certain issues that have been brought to light.’

He motioned towards Cestus with one of his enlarged, servos powered fists comfortably the size of a man’s torso. ‘Archivist Veronus was piecing together the data on the recruit intake for the Spears of Ultramar when he came across a worrying piece of information. The numbers appear to be anonymously high.’

Cestus was frozen to his seat. He had never expected to be mentioned in the proceedings, doubly so by name, and he was sure that had he not been seated he would have collapsed under the scrutiny of Chaplain Cassius and the unnatural eyes of two Spear’s of Ultramar Librarians. They then look to each other briefly before returning to the mighty Lord Calgar before them. Only Chief Librarian Tigurius remained unflinching in his calm exterior. Cestus tried to quickly note down what he had seen.

‘The Archivist does not have detailed knowledge of a Codex chapter,’ Lord Calgar continued, ‘but I have looked over his results and as far as I can deduce your scout company must be at least double the man power of what the Codex prescribes. What is more, I cannot see how this can be true for the last centuries without the rest of the chapter being above their required manpower.

‘Librarian Crassus and Librarian Hector, you are here to represent the Council of Five and to explain these findings. Tigurius, Cassius, the reasons I have asked for you here are two fold; I value your opinions and advice in these matters and for your close involvement with the Spears, in fact, I hear tell that sometimes they even refer to themselves as the “Son’s of Cassius”. With the time you spend lending your expertise to the chapter, I find it hard to believe that you would not have been aware of this oddity. Why would you not have brought this to my attention?’

With that Lord Calgar seemed to stop, waiting for answers from the four sat before him and for a second after the servitor bank could be heard scribbling down what had been said, no longer covered by the magnificent voice of the Ultramarines leader. It was at this point that Cestus realised that he was sitting on the edge of his simple wooden chair writing nothing. He re-dipped his quill to freshen the ink on its tip and resolved to write something meaningful.

One of the Librarians stood up and Cestus realised that he did not know if this was Librarian Crassus or Hector. He cursed himself for not looking for signs of which Librarian was which when Lord Calgar had called their names but quickly wrote IV and circled it to denote which of the stars on the Librarians right shoulder pad was replaced with the green jewel. Their names may become apparent as the meeting continues.

‘Lord Calgar, Master of Ultramar, firstly let me thank you for your hospitability and the hospitability of the Ultramarines.’

A slight growl from Lord Calgar seemed to warn the Marine to get to his point.

‘I believe, had you the data on our losses fighting the Tyranid menace, or when seconded to the Ordo Xenos you may have a different view on our numbers.’

Lord Calgar moved forward in his seat and even from his side on view Cestus could tell that he was not even attempting to hide the disbelief that showed on his face. The standing Librarian quickly glanced to Chief Librarian Tigurius, who made an almost unperceivable shake of his head, and back to the white thrown.

‘Of course, that does not account for all of those we intake into our ranks,’ Librarian IV added swiftly. Lord Calgar moved back to a slightly less confrontational posture. ‘We have a 10th Company that numbers often over one hundred and seventy initiates thanks to the high availability of suitable candidates in our home system of Talasa Prime.’ Cestus noted that the Librarian appeared to see a look of rage flash across Lord Calgar’s face before adding, ‘I should add that these numbers do not translate to the rest of our battle companies.’

‘How is it,’ Lord Calgar’s voice roared, ‘that these excessively high numbers do not reach the rest of your ranks? And, more importantly, why would you feel it necessary to disregard the teaching of the Codex?’

Librarian IV had sat in the short time that Lord Calgar was speaking and Chaplain Cassius did not stand as he answered his lord. ‘It’s their training Marneus.’ Cestus’s quill fell from his hand and skittered across his desk and onto the near black stone floor. Never had he heard anyone refer to the Lord of Ultramar by his first name. The mere thought was almost unthinkable. ‘The final combat training exercise of their training takes it’s toll before many can become full brothers. If they did not have such a large Scout Company they would never be able to keep their other Companies at full strength.’

‘Man on man combat with the intention of the death of one participant is not permitted by the Codex,’ Lord Calgar countered, apparently un-phased at Chaplain Cassius’s casual demeanour. ‘I hope you are not about to tell me something I will not want to hear Cassius.’

The grim faced Chaplain did something that Cestus thought was a wry smile, but with half his face replaced with bionics it was impossible to be sure. ‘They do not fight each other Marneus. But I don’t think you will like what you are about to hear. Their final exam, if you will, to be allowed into the brotherhood of Marines is to fight a genestealer, armed only with a spear.’

The eyebrow above Lord Calgar’s natural eye raised in surprise. Of all the answers he had expected this was obviously not the one he had expected and Cestus recognised that his mouth was wide open. Even he had heard the tales of genestealers; the destructive power in close combat was the thing of horror tales.

‘That is impressive,’ Lord Calgar addressed the four. ‘A waste of precious lives but impressive none the less. I will need time to think on this new information and the breaking from the Codex that the Spears need to continue this practice.’ The two Librarians from the Spear of Ultramar nodded, slightly concerned looks passing between the two. ‘But one thing confuses me,’ added Lord Calgar. ‘Even with the hulk boarding actions and genestealer insurrections your chapter is famed for putting down I do not see how every initiate would be able to fight one of these beasts. And even with our substantial training I would not want to risk the lives of my Brothers in capturing such things.’

The two Librarians’ heads bowed slightly in dread but one, Librarian III stood up. ‘We don’t have to capture them my lord. They are supplied to us.’

‘By the Inquisition I suppose,’ Lord Calgar mused.

‘No my Lord. In our chapter fortress, deep within the catacombs, we have a captured patriarch. When a candidate is found....’

‘You have WHAT?!’ Lord Calgar rose from his thrown, smashing a fist into an arm rest in his fury. ‘Your chapter should know as well, as do I, the dangers of such a thing. You will draw the menace to us! I cannot accept this!’

‘We are well aware of their ability to communicate and bring the hive ships to us,’ the Librarian continued, seemingly unconcerned by outburst that had driven Cestus to tears in fear for his life. But we have nullified that threat.

‘I should explain Lord. Our Librarians have the ability to block the communications of the patriarch, it is required of them. Some have more abilities in this field than others but, to continue on the path of the Librarium, it is required that they have some skill in this area. Without this creature in our possession we could not continue this training and, despite the success in destroying genestraler incursions on innumerable occasions, without this many planets would have been destroyed as a result of a psychic beacon broadcast in their death throws bringing the Tyranids to them.’

‘It truly is safe Marneus,’ Cassius added.

‘At all times two of the member of our great Council guard the beast, keeping its conscious subdued and any unconscious communications it attempts silent,’ Librarian III continued. ‘That leaves the other three to train the future Epistolary, fight for the Emperor cause and take council to decide the future of the chapter. This has been at the core of the Spears of Ultramar for almost as long as we have existed.’

‘The end justifies the means,’ Cestus mused to himself, barely louder than if the thought had been purely in his head. Even so silent the five giants turned towards his words frowning.

‘As the man says my Lord,’ Librarian II kept on, ‘the end justifies the means. Without this the Spears could not continue to function as effectively as it does, bringing to bare the psychic force that is needed or to single out those that are fully capable to combat the great peril we face.’

Lord Calgar stood, the broken fragments of the shattered arm of his thrown falling from his lap. ‘I will have to deliberate on this. You may return to your ship or quarters, whatever you may prefer.’ And with that he stormed out of the hall like an unstoppable tornado of anger, his two golden guardians following at heel.

The two Librarians and Chaplain Cassius shared a look of concern then, in silence, moved out of the door until only Cestus, the bank of now silent servitors and, Cestus realised as he slowly came out of his terror induced stupor, Chief Librarian Tigurius.

‘Well done boy. Well done,’ the cold faced Librarian said calmly. ‘You played your part perfectly... As I knew you would.

‘Now if you wouldn’t mind, I would like some time alone.’

With that Cestus scrabbled at the almost entirely blank parchments in front of him in an attempt to collect his things. As he knocked over the inkwell he gave that idea up as impossible and fled.