Index Astartes: Legion

[Nineswords]

Disclaimer: This is not intended to be used as an actual force in WH40k (you'll see why!), rather, it is simply a plausible idea for a chapter I wished to flesh out, and would most likely be used for WH40k RP or some fan fiction. All comments and corrections most welcome, enjoy! - J.

Updated to reflect changes based on further discussion.

______________________

"Many intelligence reports in war are contradictory; even more are false, and most are uncertain." - Attributed to the ancient strategist Cal Van Clausewitz, c. .M2

The Legion is an Astartes task force created in .M34, specialising in infiltration, intelligence gathering and covert missions, and deployed the Officio Assassinorum.

Origins

The Legion was instigated as a singular highly classified programme by through a joint collaboration between the Grand Master of the Officio Assassinorum, the Inquisitorial Representative, approved by the Council; following the successful implementation of the Exorcists chapter into the Imperial armed forces. Reasoning that if the Grey Knights, the Death Watch and the Exorcists at the Inquisition's disposal practiced direct warfare against the daemonic entities of the Warp and other xenos threats - then there would be situations when a more subtle and deceptive hand would be required, boosted by the considerable intrinsic qualities of an Adeptus Astartes chapter; that would be of great benefit to the Officio Assassinorum, the Inquisition and the Imperial spy network.

Note that the Legion is not a Chamber Militant of the Officio Assassinorum, and does not mirror the special relationship between the Ordos and their own Chambers Militant. Rather, the Legion is a singular, specialised Astartes task force sanctioned with tacit approval from at least two representatives of the Senatorum Imperialis when circumstance demands, and are seconded to the Officio for deployment in the field.

Chapter Approval

The Legion are sanctioned as a legitimate Imperial Astartes Task Force operating under Causa Insolita status, and are involved in covert operations in collaboration with the Officio Assassinorum.

Organisation

"From this day, you are no one. You will cast aside your former lives and Chapter loyalties. Your purpose and loyalty alone is to the Emperor of Mankind. You will die in His Service as His instrument of death. From this day, you are no one, and you are Legion."

Unsurprisingly, the task force is highly unorthodox and operate in too few numbers to be Codex Astartes compliant. Like their counterpart the Death Watch, the Legion is made up of Astartes from all Chapters, but here the similarity ends. Whereas serving a vigil on the Long Watch is considered a great honour and is usually a temporary posting before recruits are dispatched back to their Chapter, initiation into the Legion is a permanent fixture. There are many reasons why an Astartes may choose (or be clandestinely recommended) for Legion duty, but in most cases these warriors share some sort of personal circumstance for atonement, outcast or unable to operate within their Chapter. In one instance, an Astartes who has undergone the Black Shield ritual and is not recommended for posting in the Death Watch may instead be re-assigned to the Legion instead. In another, operatives within Imperial intelligence network may be come aware of a warrior in Chapter exile or who may be the sole survivor of their squad in an active theatre. Whatever the case may be, an Assassinorum vessel is dispatched to retrieve this displaced Astartes and make the voyage to Terra for further compatibility testing.

When inducted into the Legion, all previous ranks, names and past Chapter loyalties are cast aside; the metaphorical slate is wiped clean. All Legion Astartes are ranked Battle Brother, even if the Legionnaires former rank was within the command chain, and are given a code-name designation. Each Battle Brother's origin information is classified, and Battle honours accrued by each Legionnaire is attached to a permanent classified file administered by the Officio. Once the Oaths of Duty are taken, Legionnaire operatives begin their specialised training.

Due to the highly unusual modus operandi of the task force's remit, there is no command hierarchy within the chapter’s structure. Instead, all detailed mission parameters are outlined by an Officio Assassinorum Director Primus, following sanction from the Senatorum Imperialis. The Legion’s battle brothers then deploy kill teams or single agents as required by a mission's specific requirements.

Given the extremely specialised training of these Astartes, the total number of Legionnaires fall very short of the standard 1000 Codex standard. There may be no more than 100 Legion Astartes operating throughout the entire galaxy, and battle companies of the Legion are unheard of; any kill team numbering over 5 Legionnaires is very rare.

Legion power armour bears no markings, sigils or other identifiers, save for a single Imperialis to denote their loyalty to the Emperor of Mankind. As the Legion operates in exceedingly small numbers, the manufactorums of Mars currently issue the Legion with Mark VIII Errant as standard, rendered in factorum standard grey undercoat. However, the chapter can procure any mark of armour from Munitorum, Mechanicum, Officio or even other chapter stores in order to better infiltrate the target objective. In many missions, identifiers, icons and colour palettes of other chapters or even Traitor Legions are applied to increase the chances of successful infiltration.

Combat Doctrine

The Legion’s modus operandi varies, but they are in effect, undercover Astartes; operating in contexts where human intelligence agents cannot, or when it is impractical to dispatch an assassin from any of the Officio Assassinorum's temples. The range of missions varies in the extreme, and may include parameters such as infiltrating a traitor legion warband to gather intelligence or de-stabilise them from within, kidnap renegade marines for interrogation, or even infiltrate Loyalist chapters deemed suspicious by the Senatorum Imperialis, in order to determine whether or not they are declared Excommunicate Tratoris.

The Legion strives to ensure total secrecy in its operations, much like the Officio Assassinorum, and therefore its exploits are patchy at best. Given the extremely dangerous and highly sensitive nature of the Legion's remit; covert missions parameters may take decades to achieve - Legionnaires are supremely pragmatic. Any extreme to achieve a mission's goal is considered and ultimately sanctioned, including psychically and physically altering Legionnaires to match the parameters of a mission.

Beliefs

Astartes serving under the Legion put aside former Chapter ties as their loyalty is solely to the Emperor alone - it is considered contrary to the severe pragmatism of the Legion's operations to place loyalty to a Chapter or Primarch. However, a renewed sense of purpose and the remorse of personal circumstance are reasons enough to adhere to the Legion's Oath of Duty. Fraternisation between brothers is limited at best, and it is better to think of the Legion as a collection of singular warriors who are drawn together to fulfil a mission objective. In most cases, only a single Legionnaire is dispatched. Admissions of past transgressions, chapter ties and ranks are forbidden by the Legion's Oath of Moment, although in some cases one may induce the former chapter of a Legionnaire through accent recognition or terminology. Sometimes, a transgression may be so great in the eyes of the Legionnaire, that they may elect to undergo a process that changes their features or accents to disguise their origins before they swear their Oath of Duty.

Legionnaires are encouraged to study and consider the different cultural and combat approaches of all the Emperor's Primarchs and indeed the intrinsic methods of other Legionnaires, most if not all have had considerable battle experience; so that they may be tempered with the Emperor's goal of creating warriors that fulfil different functions, and if the need arises, a means to infiltrate the Traitor Legions should a mission parameters require it.

Given that the Legion often operates under difficult circumstances usually beyond the authority of Imperium, a Legionnaire's spiritual purity is rigorously tested at all times, doubly so if an Legionnaire successfully completes a mission involves infiltrating the Traitor Legions. On many occasions, a loyal Legionnaire is placed under custody by his own battle brothers if there is any risk of corruption before debriefing. If there is no immediate obvious danger, then as a courtesy, the Legionnaire in question is placed under stasis and delivered via one of the Black Ships to an Officio Assassinorum temple on Terra for debriefing - and if necessary - euthanisation. This is an accepted part of the Legionnaires indoctrination, and mirrors the extreme sacrifice the Astartes has made in service to the Imperium. As such, some Legionnaires may only ever undertake one significant infiltration action before being executed with full battle honours.

Home World

Seconded to the Officio Assassinorum, the Legion shares all facilities and assets of the Officio, including classified moon or asteroid bases, warp capable ships, or indeed any other facilities built and maintained by the Assassinorum. As part of the compact and healthy working relationship between the Legion and the Officio, it is a Legionnaires sacred duty to stand guardians of these highly classified assets when not on active duty.

War Cry

None. However, Legionnaires will not hesitate to adopt the war cry (and indeed, cultural idiosyncrasies) of any other Chapter or Traitor Legion the Legionnaire may infiltrate.

[Octavulg]

The Legion is a highly specialised Astartes force created after the 13th Founding in .M34, as a counterpart to the highly-classified creation of the Exorcists chapter.

 

Mutter mutter, stupid GW, Exorcists didn't need to be 13th Founding, mutter mutter.

 

Ahem. Pardon me.

 

the Legion specialises in infiltration, intelligence gathering and specialised undercover missions under the sovereignty of the Senatorum Imperialis, and deployed by the Officio Assassinorum.

 

1) Giving an Imperial organization pet Space Marines would be a bad idea. Especially if that organization once rebelled and slaughtered the High Lords, having to be put down by the Space Marines.

 

2) Second, Space Marines aren't naturally good at infiltration and going undercover. They're eight-foot superhuman warriors. As someone once commented to me, "don't they notice Bob in accounting is an eight-foot giant in power armor?"

 

You mention infiltrating warbands and other Chapters - but both are very insular groups where everyone knows each other. I can sort of see Chaos warbands, but how do you infiltrate a Chapter with a Marine? And considering all the murderin', deceptionin', and betrayin' that goes on in the average warband, wouldn't it be easier to sneak in a mechanical or normal human spy? And less risky, since you don't risk giving them a super-elite Space Marine spy to work with?

 

It's a neat idea. I just don't know that a chapter of Space Marine spies would actually fill a gap in the universe.

[Nineswords]

1) Giving an Imperial organization pet Space Marines would be a bad idea. Especially if that organization once rebelled and slaughtered the High Lords, having to be put down by the Space Marines.

 

As noted, the Legion are specifically not a Chamber Militant of the Officio Assassinorum - they have enough very good operatives at their disposal, they are simply seconded to them for deployment in the field.

 

2) Second, Space Marines aren't naturally good at infiltration and going undercover. They're eight-foot superhuman warriors. As someone once commented to me, "don't they notice Bob in accounting is an eight-foot giant in power armor?"

 

You mention infiltrating warbands and other Chapters - but both are very insular groups where everyone knows each other. I can sort of see Chaos warbands, but how do you infiltrate a Chapter with a Marine? And considering all the murderin', deceptionin', and betrayin' that goes on in the average warband, wouldn't it be easier to sneak in a mechanical or normal human spy? And less risky, since you don't risk giving them a super-elite Space Marine spy to work with?

 

It's a neat idea. I just don't know that a chapter of Space Marine spies would actually fill a gap in the universe.

 

Again, we are talking about extremely rare circumstances, where human agents or assassins dispatched by the Officio are impractical. I think even a Callidus doped up on Polymorpine couldn't keep that up for a significant time span. The Legion may only ever undertake one or two missions a decade throughout the entire galaxy and we're talking about a task force that is very, very small, most likely in the tens. I'd like to point out that the Alpha Legion deployed agents in the Raven Guard to extremely good effect, so therefore it is plausible that this level of infiltration in both Loyal and Traitor forces *could* happen, and of course, there is a very high chance that the mission may fail, such is nature of these operatons.

 

How would you infiltrate a warband? That's a good question - it may take decades, and there's a high chance of being discovered, which makes it all the much harder. There's definitely some great short story material in here for sure...

 

Cheers!

[Octavulg]

As noted, the Legion are specifically not a Chamber Militant of the Officio Assassinorum - they have enough very good operatives at their disposal, they are simply seconded to them for deployment in the field.

 

And debriefing. And documentation. And mission planning. And "all facilities and assets". Which they guard.

 

And who did their original training? I know who seems likely at this point...

 

That's a much closer relationship than I'd allow, and I'm hardly paranoid enough to make it to High Lord.

 

we're talking about a task force that is very, very small, most likely in the tens.

 

In that case, I'd suggest not having them be a chapter at all. Have them be one of the places Marines without chapters (for various reasons) end up.

 

I mean, right now they don't look like a chapter, they don't act like a chapter, and their name isn't particularly chaptery. Why be a chapter?

 

I'd like to point out that the Alpha Legion deployed agents in the Raven Guard to extremely good effect, so therefore it is plausible that this level of infiltration in both Loyal and Traitor forces *could* happen,

 

During the Heresy, no? Things were a lot slacker then. And the Legions were a lot bigger. Slipping an extra adult into a recruitment levy for a ten thousand-plus man force is a lot easier than slipping in an extra fourteen year old into one for a thousand man force. Ambushing a patrol is a lot easier when you're all working together already. This is especially so since the Legions didn't have insidious creeping forces like Chaos to worry about back then. Chapters are a lot more worried about purity etc than their pre-heresy counterparts were.

 

and of course, there is a very high chance that the mission may fail, such is nature of these operatons.

 

In which case you've given them an extra Space Marine. An extra Space Marine who probably knows a lot of sensitive information, at that. That's a hell of a loss. Not that it wouldn't be worth it sometimes, of course.

 

Also, just as a suggestion: if they're going to be infiltrating another chapter long-term, shouldn't these Marines have some battle experience and such? Otherwise they'll be rather limited in their capabilities...

[Demus Ragnok]

For me the name Legion and the MO of this group just scream Alpharius!

 

Given the structuring of the Imperium post heresy I'm hard pressed to find a need for undercover astartes.

 

The ][ does the undercover and calls the space marines when the time comes for busting heads.

 

However the Blood Game story about the custodes could give ideas about astartes sneekin' around. It is a cool idea.

[Nineswords]

And debriefing. And documentation. And mission planning. And "all facilities and assets". Which they guard.

 

And who did their original training? I know who seems likely at this point...

 

That's a much closer relationship than I'd allow, and I'm hardly paranoid enough to make it to High Lord.

 

Points taken!

 

In that case, I'd suggest not having them be a chapter at all. Have them be one of the places Marines without chapters (for various reasons) end up.

 

I mean, right now they don't look like a chapter, they don't act like a chapter, and their name isn't particularly chaptery. Why be a chapter?

 

The crucial point of difference between a Chamber Militant such as the Death Watch and the proposed Legion is one of chapter loyalties and culture. Death Watch essentially throws marines for specific missions together despite their differences. It's seen as a pragmatic nature of their operations for Astartes from different chapters to overcome their differences and cultivate harmony over individual beliefs over the course of a vigil on the Long Watch - to the point where the Death Watch does not despatch two Marines from the same chapter as it may influence the culture of the Kill Team and compromise the integrity of the mission. The reason I'm proposing the Legion as a chapter, is technically they are - a singular force composed from a single gene-seed stock. They don't look like or act like a chapter simply because of the nature of their existence. The name reinforces this, as it is simply a generic term. In the same way Alpha Legion did not give their ships names, merely designations, so do the Legion.

 

However, saying that, in their operational structure of despatching single agents or at the very most, a single kill team, they act as a specialised task force. I'll give that comment about Marines sans chapters some real thought, because having them as a small collection of disperate marines provides some really interesting backgrounds - I like to think of it like the French Foreign Legion. Many of the French Legionnaires are given new names and identities, in order to leave behind an old life. Maybe perhaps this would provide purpose for singular marines who have broken an Oath of Duty, or for some reason find themselves in exile. Rather than becoming completely useless, they simply assume a new identity in the Legion - in a way echoing the role of Garro and his special task force for the Sigilite. I think of that line the Dark Angels use for neophytes inducted into the chapter, leaving behind their past lives and past names, and putting aside their old chapter loyalties so that they may serve the Emperor alone. An atonement for these poor souls, who would be willing to make the ultimate sacrifice by undertaking some highly unusual missions...

 

Look forward to hearing your thoughts - your last comments were really, really insightful.

[Nineswords]

Given the structuring of the Imperium post heresy I'm hard pressed to find a need for undercover astartes.

 

The ][ does the undercover and calls the space marines when the time comes for busting heads.

 

However the Blood Game story about the custodes could give ideas about astartes sneekin' around. It is a cool idea.

 

So in the entirety of the entire galaxy, given million and millions of possible scenarios, there wouldn't be a single instance where where it would be practical to send an Astartes undercover? I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel or kill the sacred cow here, simply filling a gap for an exceedingly rare, but not all together impossible scenario. It's not like these guys are infiltrating an Eldar aspect force, that's what Polymorphine is for! :)

 

Legion Pros:

Can infiltrate, gather intelligence, and do everything a standard marine can do.

 

Legion Cons:

An exceedingly small group, no more than 100 in the entire galaxy. Given the highly unusual nature of their remit, may come back corrupted depending on the mission, and will need to be summarily executed.

[Octavulg]

However, saying that, in their operational structure of despatching single agents or at the very most, a single kill team, they act as a specialised task force. I'll give that comment about Marines sans chapters some real thought, because having them as a small collection of disperate marines provides some really interesting backgrounds - I like to think of it like the French Foreign Legion. Many of the French Legionnaires are given new names and identities, in order to leave behind an old life. Maybe perhaps this would provide purpose for singular marines who have broken an Oath of Duty, or for some reason find themselves in exile. Rather than becoming completely useless, they simply assume a new identity in the Legion - in a way echoing the role of Garro and his special task force for the Sigilite.

 

Sure. It also gives them a range of genetic identities to work with, which'd probably be handy. More experienced marines, too.

 

I think of that line the Dark Angels use for neophytes inducted into the chapter, leaving behind their past lives and past names, and putting aside their old chapter loyalties so that they may serve the Emperor alone. An atonement for these poor souls, who would be willing to make the ultimate sacrifice by undertaking some highly unusual missions...

 

Sounds workable.

 

The major problem I think you still have to overcome is the issue of inserting marines into chapters and warbands. How is it done? How is it made convincing? How is detection avoided, when even Space Marine minds are regularly programmed and messed with?

 

I'm honestly not trying to be unhelpful. :)

 

I can think of two ways I've seen this sort of thing done.

 

1) My Ice Lords had their training cadre ambushed and replaced by three Fallen. The battle was disguised as one against pirates (or something of that nature). They've since avoided their former founding chapter like the plague, other DA successors like the plague, and done a lot of lying.

 

2) I'll let you work out what's going on with the Steel Ghosts.

 

Anyway, there's two points at which marines would seem to be vulnerable: before they enter the chapter and when outside the Fortress Monastery on assignment. I can't think of other points where the chapter process can be suborned. This would seem to lead to a lot of ambushing patrols and replacing their members.

 

Another possibility might be somehow suborning existing chapter members, which'd probably be safer, if less reliable. All kinds of sneaky methods might be able to do that. Librarians would probably be very, very useful for your boys.

 

Direct "guy-into-chapter" infiltration would probably work best in the short term. For longer term things, I think setting up deep-cover long-term agents through corrupting a recruitment group would make more sense.

 

Your thoughts?

[Demus Ragnok]

So in the entirety of the entire galaxy, given million and millions of possible scenarios, there wouldn't be a single instance where where it would be practical to send an Astartes undercover? I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel or kill the sacred cow here, simply filling a gap for an exceedingly rare, but not all together impossible scenario. It's not like these guys are infiltrating an Eldar aspect force, that's what Polymorphine is for! ;)

 

Yes undercover astartes could be very useful. My thought is, could the constant fear of heresy in the Imperium be overcome long enough for even a super secret unit of SMs to be created outside the mold of the Codex. Just wondering about the politics of the resources needed to create a Alpha Legion like force thats all. How many whistle blowers are there running around in the grimmdark of the far future.

 

But I do like the idea of sneeky marines.

[Marshal Rohr]

I didn't read the other posts, just the original.

 

 

Ask yourself what use is a 7 foot tall 350 lb spy? How effectively can a giant infiltrate a complex through vents and other small, discrete openings? How would it be possible for a marine to integrate into a criminal organization on a hive city with stunted mutants and short people? How can they effectively disappear in a city where everyone is super short (under 5'10") and raised on nutritional paste made from the reprocessed forms of their dead neighbors?

 

As for the infiltrating traitor warbands, they can't. You cant come back untainted when you INTEGRATE with them. You know, taking part in their initiation rituals and dark prayers and branding blasphemous marks on their body, etc?

 

If you want to come up with something more akin to a Imperial Intelligence agency, pick a nice corner of the Imperium, build up an interesting sector, and install it as the Sector High Command's intelligence operations. Because anything else is impossible due to the size and fractious nature of the imperium.

 

 

If you want to play loyalist Alpha Legion, I dont blame you, but its not feasible under the codex astartes. Even using a 'special sanction by the High Lords' doesnt cut it, because its weak writing and a plot cop out. The whole espionage and counter espionage aspects of 40K are best left to mortals. Space Marines are angels of death, its not their job to sneak around. Even the Alpha Legion uses humans to do the MAJORITY of their work. They only show up to confuse the defenders of the planet they are attacking. They'll come in and pretend like space marines are giving both sides aide to confuse the other, or lead an imperial governor's war council or something, not sneak around hacking computers and shooting surveillance cameras ith their large man portable hand cannons.

[Conn Eremon]

Here's an idea: What if you're not about infiltrating Space Marines as one of their own, but infiltrating non-Space Marines as a Space Marine they're more likely to trust or mistrust?

 

For instance, the Assassinorum might need to keep tabs on the great Navigator Houses. A lot like the Mechanicus, they wield exceptional power by utterly controlling a specific, all-important use. The Legion could provide an alternative manner of keeping tabs through a venue utterly closed to the Assassinorum: its Marine allies. The Space Wolves, for instance, have a very close relationship with one such house. A Legionaire masquerading as a Space Wolf might learn much about that House, and they'd be far less likely to be called out on it. There might be a number of reasons why a Marine could infiltrate another Chapter, but ultimately a Chapter is based off of very tightly-knit battle-brothers. But an organization outside of the Adeptus Astartes? How'd they be able to tell, outside of demanding a full biological scan?

 

A Legion squad posing as a Deathwatch squad, all with different Chapter markings, would be able to convey a very distinct threat, with their very presence declaring the location to be very intently under the scrutiny of the Inquisition, and deigned a dangerous threat.

 

Two traitor warbands team up in a loose sense, wreaking havoc. A Legion strike force posing as one such warband attacks a somewhat minor target of the other warband. Afterwards, the Dusk Tigers withdraw while the traitors collapse into internecine warfare, cancelling their threat.

[Nineswords]

Hi Marshal, thanks for your comments!

 

Ask yourself what use is a 7 foot tall 350 lb spy? How effectively can a giant infiltrate a complex through vents and other small, discrete openings? How would it be possible for a marine to integrate into a criminal organization on a hive city with stunted mutants and short people? How can they effectively disappear in a city where everyone is super short (under 5'10") and raised on nutritional paste made from the reprocessed forms of their dead neighbors?

 

What use is there indeed! In 99.999999999% of cases, there is no use for an Astartes spy - and I am assuming we are making a distinct separation between Astartes scouting units and genuine spies, which the Legion are. I would challenge your perception however, that all hive cities are filled with "stunted mutants and short people", living off nutritional paste. There are estimated to be a million settled worlds in the Imperium, and they almost certainly are not the same. As a for instance, the first third of the original Ravenor book by Dan Abnett set in .M41 features amongst other things, hive scum gang members who have vat grown muscle mass and gladiatorial pit slaves:

 

Ekkrote was one of the Carnivora's headline gladiators, something of a local hero in G. Two and a half spans tall, an ex-clanster, formed like a mountain range from grafter muscle, he was blessed, oiled, armoured in gold mono-bond ceramite armour, armed with a chainsword, and loyally in the pay of his friend and dealer Ranklin Sesme Duboe. He was also standing right behing Kara Swole.

 

Take an Astartes out of Power Armour, and although big, isn't *that* big when compared to other denizens of the 40k universe; muscle enhanced gang members, mutants (I seem to remember some of the original Scavvie mutants from Necromunda being big), weapons servitors, etc. - When considered in this light, it wouldn't be too much of a leap to have a Legionnaire pose as something like a gang member (or gang leader, think Babu Dhukal in The Outcast Dead - thanks for the idea btw!) or something similar. A mission objective may take years to complete, and would require a total commitment to learning cultural idiosyncrasies or other variables before - or during the operational phase. We're not sending in a battle company, we're talking about a single highly trained operative, not unlike an agent despatched by the Officio or the Imperial spy network.

 

 

As for the infiltrating traitor warbands, they can't. You cant come back untainted when you INTEGRATE with them. You know, taking part in their initiation rituals and dark prayers and branding blasphemous marks on their body, etc?

 

If you want to come up with something more akin to a Imperial Intelligence agency, pick a nice corner of the Imperium, build up an interesting sector, and install it as the Sector High Command's intelligence operations. Because anything else is impossible due to the size and fractious nature of the imperium.

 

They can't? Why not? It's been done in canon (Deliverance Lost), and would present an interesting context to explore. In either case, as noted in the original post, on many occasions, even if the mission is a success, they would present such a liability, that they would most likely be executed anyway - we're talking about Astartes making the ultimate sacrifice in service to the Imperium, they know what they are getting into. If it turns out they do 'go native', then great! It then serves as a brilliant plot device to send in an actual kill team or even a battle company from another chapter.

 

Just because it's not written about extensively, it doesn't mean it hasn't happened. Consider the reverse, how much could the Black Legion gain by placing agents - human or Astartes - into the ranks of the Imperium, ready to sow deception and destruction and gather intelligence before another Black Crusade. The Imperial Intelligence Agency/Spy network does exist - the original Gaunts Ghosts novel revolves around it, and it is established in Prospero Burns that the Legionaires Astartes run their own spy networks - albeit I will concede based on Octavulg's comments that this would be considerably harder due to Codex Astartes organisation post Heresy. I'm not making any of this up out of thin air - everything I am proposing is based on accepted canon, I am simply stretching it ever so slightly to create a plausible scenario. We're talking about a franchise that features 8 ft tall bio engineered monks and 9 ft tall green gorillas that talk - again, I'm not reinventing the wheel nor trying to fudge the universe in a way that allows this proposal to work. Either way you look at it, it's not impossible, simply improbable, but as everyone here does agree, it is an intriguing idea.

 

If you want to play loyalist Alpha Legion, I dont blame you, but its not feasible under the codex astartes. Even using a 'special sanction by the High Lords' doesnt cut it, because its weak writing and a plot cop out. The whole espionage and counter espionage aspects of 40K are best left to mortals. Space Marines are angels of death, its not their job to sneak around. Even the Alpha Legion uses humans to do the MAJORITY of their work. They only show up to confuse the defenders of the planet they are attacking. They'll come in and pretend like space marines are giving both sides aide to confuse the other, or lead an imperial governor's war council or something, not sneak around hacking computers and shooting surveillance cameras ith their large man portable hand cannons.

 

Who said anything about wanting to create a loyalist Alpha Legion force? As far as I am concerned, Alpha Legion *are* loyalist, and therefore it would be disrespectful in my opinion to do such a thing. Yes, many of the tactics the Legion would employ (just so we're clear, the name 'Legion' was a generic term for Astartes cohorts in .M31, and it is not a reference to Alpha Legion in any way) mirror that of the Alpha Legion, but such is the nature of this brand of warfare. It isn't Codex Astartes Compliant - it was never supposed to be. You could never have a. the numbers, or b. the structure of a typical Codex hierarchy for this to work. Other very well established Chapters disregard the Codex Astartes in some way (*cough* Vylka Fenrika *cough*), so why not this one?

 

The special sanction from the High Lords is not a cop out; what other agency could grant the authority for this to exist? I can think of none. Even if I was to make up my own sub sector, then the Legion's existence based on local political structuring would not be legally allowed to operate - if the High Lords found out about such a dangerous programme without their consent, they would virus bomb the entire sector out of principle.

 

On use of human agents: most likely, the Legion would employ human agents would participate (un)knowingly and (un)willingly, it is a practical thing to do. But there would be situations where you need an Astartes hand. I simply don't think that Astartes are simply 'Angels of Death' - they have been physically and cognitively enhanced considerably to adapt to any situation and they are more intelligent than we give them credit for - time and time again, some of the best bits in the books are when marines display some tactical or philosophical insight that challenge our established perception of their function. And we're leaving out the scouts here - not all scouts are neophytes - and yes, they would most certainly be "hacking computers and shooting surveillance cameras ith their large man portable hand cannons".

 

I'm not trying to beleaguer every point you've made with some sort of counter, your comments are critical and that's a good thing, as it allows me to really think about how something like this would actually work. As stated before, this is most likely not a fieldable 40k force, most likely the scenarios conjured up from the obvious tensions in this context make some great fan fiction or role playing. I think some of the other discussion points that have been made in this thread are worth a read too.

 

Cheers!

[Ace Debonair]

Um, the Dusk Tigers are in a different thread, Cormac.

 

A fellow victim of reading too many tabs at once, I suspect! :lol:

[Nineswords]

Just wondering about the politics of the resources needed to create a Alpha Legion like force thats all. How many whistle blowers are there running around in the grimmdark of the far future.

 

But I do like the idea of sneeky marines.

 

It would be a considerable effort, even if there no more than 100 Astartes operating through out all the sectors of the Imperium, which is why it would need sanction from the High Lords.

 

I like the idea of sneaky marines too!

[Nineswords]

Um, the Dusk Tigers are in a different thread, Cormac.

 

A fellow victim of reading too many tabs at once, I suspect! :lol:

 

Haha yes, I was a little confused here myself!

 

Here's an idea: What if you're not about infiltrating Space Marines as one of their own, but infiltrating non-Space Marines as a Space Marine they're more likely to trust or mistrust?

 

But an organization outside of the Adeptus Astartes? How'd they be able to tell, outside of demanding a full biological scan?

 

That's certainly very plausible, and it would be a great plot device. In Deliverance Lost, Alpha Legionnaires who had successfully infiltrated the Raven Guard in the end were rooted out following a full biometric scan initiated by Corax. The give-away was Primarch DNA matching Alpharius rather than Corax. That being said, much of the technology has been lost, and therefore in either case, it would not only be harder to infiltrate Chapters, but by the same token, it may be harder to spot.

 

As to your indecision over the army's look, my advice would be to use all of them. If this is a Chapter of misdirection and espionage, a Chapter dedicated to the idea of being no one and everyone, then the best way to convey that would be to have their very color scheme a constantly shifting beast. If the Alpha Legionnaires take after the many-headed hydra, perhaps the Dusk Tigers are the ever-shifting chameleon?

 

I'm not sure whether or not you're referring to the Legion here or UltraWorldWolves post about his Dusk Tigers. If you are indeed referring to the Legion, there is no ambiguity over the Legion's look - generic, fresh out of the manufactorum, devoid of sigils and identifiers save for a single Imperalis.

 

Over-all, I say your idea is good. It's ambitious, but what young teen's ideas aren't? When I was that age, about a decade ago, me and a school friend created a webcomic following the efforts of Death's apprentice (my stand in) and a ninja commando (the old friend's stand in) over the course of World War III, which was literally due to the misunderstandings between Russia and the US over an innocently intended food fight. All things considered, your 14 year-old idea is far less likely to embarrass the future you than mine did.

 

I'm definitely not sure if you're referring to me here or UltraWorldWolves, because I am older than you! ^_^

[NightrawenII]

Disclaimer: In my own view, each institution of Imperium has its own function and responsibilty. Adeptus Astartes are His Angels of Death, that's it their responsibility and what's more important privilege.

 

So in the entirety of the entire galaxy, given million and millions of possible scenarios, there wouldn't be a single instance where where it would be practical to send an Astartes undercover?

What use is there indeed! In 99.999999999% of cases, there is no use for an Astartes spy - and I am assuming we are making a distinct separation between Astartes scouting units and genuine spies, which the Legion are.

There is the question, though. What can a Astartes spy do better than mortal spy? Or what can Astartes do, while the mortal spy cannot?

 

Second, you shoot your own argument into groins. With such insignificant possibility, there wouldn't be any need to keep regular force. Indeed, irregular scenario does not require foundation of standard tools.

 

Legion Pros:

Can infiltrate, gather intelligence, and do everything a standard marine can do.

Space Marine is genetically-altered superhuman killing-machine, its purpose is to kill stuff - infiltration and inteligence gathering is rather pointless bonus.

 

As for the infiltrating traitor warbands, they can't. You can't come back untainted when you INTEGRATE with them. You know, taking part in their initiation rituals and dark prayers and branding blasphemous marks on their body, etc?

 

If you want to come up with something more akin to a Imperial Intelligence agency, pick a nice corner of the Imperium, build up an interesting sector, and install it as the Sector High Command's intelligence operations. Because anything else is impossible due to the size and fractious nature of the imperium.

They can't? Why not? It's been done in canon (Deliverance Lost), and would present an interesting context to explore. In either case, as noted in the original post, on many occasions, even if the mission is a success, they would present such a liability, that they would most likely be executed anyway - we're talking about Astartes making the ultimate sacrifice in service to the Imperium, they know what they are getting into.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the Deliverance Lost was not about loyalist marine infiltrating Chaos warband.

 

If it turns out they do 'go native', then great! It then serves as a brilliant plot device to send in an actual kill team or even a battle company from another chapter.

Not so great for Imperial authorities, which should permit such deployment in the first place.

 

I simply don't think that Astartes are simply 'Angels of Death' - they have been physically and cognitively enhanced considerably to adapt to any situation and they are more intelligent than we give them credit for - time and time again, some of the best bits in the books are when marines display some tactical or philosophical insight that challenge our established perception of their function. And we're leaving out the scouts here - not all scouts are neophytes - and yes, they would most certainly be "hacking computers and shooting surveillance cameras ith their large man portable hand cannons".

Neither of these attributes is strictly reserved to Space Marine. What makes Space Marine different from mortals is the gene-seed. The rest is result of various procedures not unfamiliar to other Imperial Institutions.

 

Second, you are confusing nature with nurture here. The Space Marine is result of rigorous selection, testing and traning. The gene-seed doesn't turn him in Da Man or something.

 

 

~NightrawenII.

[Nineswords]

Sure. It also gives them a range of genetic identities to work with, which'd probably be handy. More experienced marines, too.

 

Having slept on it, I think I will roll with your suggestion of outcast marines as it provides some really great context, but doesn't compromise the proposal in any way. A specialised Astartes task force focusing on espionage rather than direct combat (i.e. other Chambers Militant) provides an interesting scenario that would be plausible in the scenarios and numbers that I envisage. Also, it gets around the major plothole of Astartes training, and yes, these guys would need to be seriously experienced marines, given the specialised nature of its operations. What is interesting is that in its provisional structure, it mirrors the Death Watch only in the way that it accrues Astartes from different chapters and the similarity ends there.

 

Death Watch is seen as a temporary assignment and a great honour, and yet operationally Astartes are required to set aside Chapter/Primarch pride and work harmoniously with other warriors to be effective as a kill team. The Legion is an entirely different beast. We're talking about a diaspora of singular marines who have lost their purpose or simply cannot operate within their chapter for any number of reasons. Just like the French Foreign Legion, it provides a context to serve the Emperor and be an instrument in service to the Imperium. We know who you are and what you've done, but we will wipe the slate clean but only if you're prepared to undertake the most dangerous and thankless of missions and make the ultimate sacrifice (i.e, being successful and accepting the fact you will most likely be executed anyway on completion).

 

This alone gives credibility to the entire organisation and MO of the Legion. New identities, a different culture - these marines do not enjoy nor seek the camaraderie found in other Chapters. They are alone, isolated and utterly in service to the Emperor alone.

 

 

The major problem I think you still have to overcome is the issue of inserting marines into chapters and warbands. How is it done? How is it made convincing? How is detection avoided, when even Space Marine minds are regularly programmed and messed with?

 

This presents the most interesting plot device, and would most likely emerge from writing a bit of fluff. Even without cognitive manipulation, we're talking about an extremely difficult situation here. The same can be said for real life undercover missions undertaken by the police and armed forces. The most successful infiltrators require time to garner trust. Now if we scaled this to 40k, it becomes very interesting - a. the physiology of an Astartes regarding their age allows them to play the long game over decades, unless he dies in battle, in which case the risk of dying before you even complete your mission parameters is anywhere near close to achieve, and b. Time is meaningless in the Warp anyway!

 

Consider this basic scenario. The confusion of the Black Crusade gives enough cover to insert an agent into the numberless warbands of the Primordial Annihilator. A Legionnaire is psycho conditioned and surgically altered, complete with Mk2 or Mk3 heresy PA, procured from battlefields or other stores rendered in Traitor Legion standard, like this image, for example:

 

http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110629054742/warhammer40k/images/thumb/f/f2/ChaosSpaceMarine.jpg/320px-ChaosSpaceMarine.jpg

 

For the sake of proving this plausibility - cult legions such as the Thousand Sons, Emperor's Children, World Eaters and Death Guard are out of the question. However, that leaves a substantial number of warbands dedicated to Chaos Undivided. Given the fracturing over the last 10,000 years of force structure into warbands and the mutable nature of time in the Immaterium, then all of a sudden, it may be possible to implant a lone warrior or 4 onto a daemon world or indeed, any Chaos held territory (think self destructing drop pod) and just leave them there. Most likely, these operatives would die, but they would die trying, in which case, at the very least, these Legionnaires have wreaked destruction on the Traitor Legionaires or other Chaos entities before they are killed. However, maybe, just maybe one of them is skilled or lucky enough to start his own warband, a warband that plunders Imperium forces like pirates, before vanishing back into the Warp or somewhere in real space, but not before a coded signal or message is implanted into an Imperial vessel, unknown to an Imperial crew who manage to escape the raid (or more likely, is allowed to get away).

 

Perhaps this warband may encounter other warbands and they are either destroyed, victorious or in some way absorb more recruits, including other Traitor marines. Perhaps these Traitor Legionaries are simply not interested or distrustful. They all are, and simply allow a Legion Astartes to live because they are skilled in combat and are useful to have around. This could go on for 60 years standard before anyone even knew anything was up.

 

Once again we're talking about a really, really difficult scenario and a very low success rate here. It may be that only 1 in a 100 missions are considered a success, in either case, death is the only option, either in combat at the hands of Traitor Legions or at the hands of the Imperium as they are proved to be too much of a liability. We're talking about the hardest missions here, where an Astartes has to infiltrate another chapter or a Chaos warband, but the nature of the missions vary in the extreme. It may be as (relatively) simple as masquerading as a servitor for a human agent to incite a revolution against a corrupt planetary governor, in which case the Legionnaire will live to undertake another mission.

 

The point is, the sheer number of reasons why this proposal can't/will not work are the drivers for some really interesting contexts. I trained as an architect and let me say that trying to design a house with no rules is bloody difficult. When you undertake project work, certainly when in architecture school, the vast majority of your time is spent researching and building a context for your proposal to plausibly exist - we simply stretch reality, that is based on something familiar and just take it to a logical extreme. I see this exercise as no different, I've been involved with the hobby on and off now for about 16 years, and I know that you have to have a deep understanding of the franchise your working with to suggest some slightly improbable, but not impossible scenarios.

 

 

I'm honestly not trying to be unhelpful. :lol:

 

I know, which is why this discussion is brilliant. Pointing out the potential flaws allows the idea to be refined and become stronger, so no stone should be unturned. So far, all of the commentators have provided some sort scenario that has triggered the imagination!

 

I can think of two ways I've seen this sort of thing done.

 

1) My Ice Lords had their training cadre ambushed and replaced by three Fallen. The battle was disguised as one against pirates (or something of that nature). They've since avoided their former founding chapter like the plague, other DA successors like the plague, and done a lot of lying.

 

2) I'll let you work out what's going on with the Steel Ghosts.

 

Anyway, there's two points at which marines would seem to be vulnerable: before they enter the chapter and when outside the Fortress Monastery on assignment. I can't think of other points where the chapter process can be suborned. This would seem to lead to a lot of ambushing patrols and replacing their members.

 

Another possibility might be somehow suborning existing chapter members, which'd probably be safer, if less reliable. All kinds of sneaky methods might be able to do that. Librarians would probably be very, very useful for your boys.

 

Direct "guy-into-chapter" infiltration would probably work best in the short term. For longer term things, I think setting up deep-cover long-term agents through corrupting a recruitment group would make more sense.

 

Your thoughts?

 

Exactly! There are a number of points of entry that allow something like this to work. Taking your Steel Ghosts as an example, you have a plot device involving a radical inquisitor using the Astartes for their own purposes. Regarding infiltration of other chapters, yes, there are very small time frames. However, it would not be impossible for an agency such as the High Lords to implant a pre-conditioned aspirant into the recruitment pool of a loyal chapter under their suspicion. Providing the aspirant survived the trials, then they would be an unknowing agent within the midst of a chapter, particularly those who have to recruit from a number of locations. They would be Legionnaire agents as they undergo the Astartes process and very much enmesh themselves within the chapter. After a considerable period has passed and the now Astartes has achieved whatever battle honours he has undertaken, then a trigger would simply activate and the Legionnaire would complete whatever mission parameters need to be achieved from pre-programmed parameters. Just like real life sleeper agents. Again, improbable, but not impossible.

 

To summarise: the Legion are pragmatic, and are willing to undertake long term missions spanning to decades to achieve an objective, knowing that in most likelihood they would be killed, such is their devotion to the Emperor. They are willing to make the decisions other chapters would find detestable. They are anonymous and isolated, and there is little chance of success. Now there's a plot driver!

 

Looking forward to hearing further potential plotholes or thoughts from you, or indeed anyone else!

 

Cheers!

[Nineswords]

Thanks for your comments, really appreciate your insight here.

 

Disclaimer: In my own view, each institution of Imperium has its own function and responsibilty. Adeptus Astartes are His Angels of Death, that's it their responsibility and what's more important privilege.

 

I would put to you that the goal is the same, just the methods differ. Alpha Legion practiced this form of warfare for over 100 years pre-Heresy, before their perceived corruption. I am skeptical that Alpha Legion were the only Astartes force (loyal or otherwise) capable of practicing this brand or warfare over the entire galaxy.

 

There is the question, though. What can a Astartes spy do better than mortal spy? Or what can Astartes do, while the mortal spy cannot?

 

Second, you shoot your own argument into groins. With such insignificant possibility, there wouldn't be any need to keep regular force. Indeed, irregular scenario does not require foundation of standard tools.

 

A mortal spy cannot infiltrate an Astartes structure in the same way an Astartes could. Perhaps a mortal spy could become a valued chapter serf, but even then, their access and operational context is limited out of principle, thus reducing their effectiveness. A mortal spy would find it exponentially more difficult to infiltrate a Chaos Warband. A mortal spy could not take apart a localised corrupt institution on their own if the need arises.

 

Secondly, I haven't shot myself in the foot. It's an irregular scenario, and is responded with a highly irregularly structured force and does not employ any conventional tools.

 

Space Marine is genetically-altered superhuman killing-machine, its purpose is to kill stuff - infiltration and inteligence gathering is rather pointless bonus.

 

I respectfully disagree. An Astartes by principle is the pinnacle of the Emperor's ideals for a warrior. Warriors come in many flavours, which is why the Emperor in principle created 20 different flavours of super warriors - some excel at siege warfare, others at rapid strikes. One of them specialised in espionage. Whatever gets the job done. It's like saying that you only need a hammer to solve all problems. There are many tools available and any strategist knows this, especially one with cognitive enhancement like an Astartes warrior. Most of the time, you can achieve your goals by deploying human spies, but there is a one in a million situation where this wouldn't work and you'd need to send something of a different magnitude.

 

Also, your last statement renders the Codex Astartes 10th Company in all of its flavours (depending on chapter) completely and utterly pointless.

 

Neither of these attributes is strictly reserved to Space Marine. What makes Space Marine different from mortals is the gene-seed. The rest is result of various procedures not unfamiliar to other Imperial Institutions.

 

Second, you are confusing nature with nurture here. The Space Marine is result of rigorous selection, testing and traning. The gene-seed doesn't turn him in Da Man or something.

 

I'm not entirely sure if we disagree on this point. I completely agree that gene-seed integration is only part of the process, but referring to my previous comment, there is more than one way to practice warfare. These marines are no different than any other Astartes. They are not stronger, nor more intelligent - they simply operate in a different context - the biggest virtue is one of adaptation and resilience, and there a lot more cons going for them than pros.

 

Cheers!

[Octavulg]

Exactly! There are a number of points of entry that allow something like this to work. Taking your Steel Ghosts as an example, you have a plot device involving a radical inquisitor using the Astartes for their own purposes.

 

They're not my Steel Ghosts, they're flintlocklaser's. :)

 

And I think you've missed what's going on.

The Steel Ghosts are victims of the brain-hopping sorceror mentioned in their appendices. He hopped into young Severstal, and has basically suborned the chapter for the Alpha Legion. Not that the Chapter is aware of that.

 

 

Regarding infiltration of other chapters, yes, there are very small time frames. However, it would not be impossible for an agency such as the High Lords to implant a pre-conditioned aspirant into the recruitment pool of a loyal chapter under their suspicion. Providing the aspirant survived the trials, then they would be an unknowing agent within the midst of a chapter, particularly those who have to recruit from a number of locations. They would be Legionnaire agents as they undergo the Astartes process and very much enmesh themselves within the chapter. After a considerable period has passed and the now Astartes has achieved whatever battle honours he has undertaken, then a trigger would simply activate and the Legionnaire would complete whatever mission parameters need to be achieved from pre-programmed parameters. Just like real life sleeper agents. Again, improbable, but not impossible.

 

He'd need to be drawn out of the usual group, though.

 

I would really, really, really hope that chapters have counter-measures in place to try to stop that sort of thing. Not that they can ever be 100% successful, of course, but just because it'd seem necessary.

 

You basically would end up with two tiers of Legionaries: the ones from old chapters who go undercover against Chaos (and maybe occasionally in Chapters) for relatively short-term missions, and the ones who are created as sleeper agents. Is there transition from the latter to the former?

[Nineswords]

They're not my Steel Ghosts, they're flintlocklaser's. :P

 

And I think you've missed what's going on.

The Steel Ghosts are victims of the brain-hopping sorceror mentioned in their appendices. He hopped into young Severstal, and has basically suborned the chapter for the Alpha Legion. Not that the Chapter is aware of that.

 

Apologies, I had only just woken up when I read the Steel Ghosts article and didn't take time to read the appendices, yes, really good stuff and totally in keeping with Alpha Legion's MO.

 

He'd need to be drawn out of the usual group, though.

 

I would really, really, really hope that chapters have counter-measures in place to try to stop that sort of thing. Not that they can ever be 100% successful, of course, but just because it'd seem necessary.

 

You basically would end up with two tiers of Legionaries: the ones from old chapters who go undercover against Chaos (and maybe occasionally in Chapters) for relatively short-term missions, and the ones who are created as sleeper agents. Is there transition from the latter to the former?

 

Essentially, yes, I think so - but this has only come out of the discussion that we've been having. Both are relatively long term time spans compared to most chapter based actions. I would tentatively guess that once a sleeper agent has performed his duties, then a number of things could happen, such as altering the agents psychological state so that he feels the need to leave the chapter and would be then picked up be a Legionnaire cohort, or the agent could simply return to the infiltrated chapter, perhaps even unaware that another agenda was achieved - in either case, it matters not, simply because the Astartes are in service to the Imperium. I personally feel it would be great to use some of these suggestions and turn it into a a short story (already started penning one) to flesh out some of the details.

 

After reflecting on many of the comments over the course of the discussions, I just simply think that the idea of a bio engineered warrior undertaking infiltration and intelligence missions isn't even that special a context - the 41st Millenium throws up some very strange circumstances involving biological weapons from the Galactic East to an ongoing battle with daemonic entities that inhabit another plane of existence. These marines as stated before are not stronger, more intelligent or powerful than any other chapter - they are essentially veteran scouts from different chapters operating under a certain condition when other agents cannot fulfil the mission practically.

[Conn Eremon]

Um, the Dusk Tigers are in a different thread, Cormac.

 

A fellow victim of reading too many tabs at once, I suspect! :D

 

*insane gibbering*

Yes that would appear to be the case, and now I feel the height of the fool. The post will be edited appropriately.

 

Haha yes, I was a little confused here myself!

 

*sigh*

 

That's certainly very plausible, and it would be a great plot device. In Deliverance Lost, Alpha Legionnaires who had successfully infiltrated the Raven Guard in the end were rooted out following a full biometric scan initiated by Corax. The give-away was Primarch DNA matching Alpharius rather than Corax. That being said, much of the technology has been lost, and therefore in either case, it would not only be harder to infiltrate Chapters, but by the same token, it may be harder to spot.

 

Considering that there are many tests going on concerning the purity of gene-seeds, it might not be quite lost. However, being 40k and all, such things might be so wrapped up in ritual that a possible infiltrator could anticipate such a test beforehand and act accordingly. So I agree: Harder to infiltrate, but harder to be spotted.

 

I'm definitely not sure if you're referring to me here or UltraWorldWolves, because I am older than you! ;)

 

Yeah . . . damn, I hate being the fool.

[Nineswords]

• Changed the premise of the Legion from a Chapter to a Task Force
  
• New material added to flesh out revised origin
  
• I've been considering Marshal's statement regarding sanction from the High Lords of Terra being a lazy plot device. Unless anyone else can suggest anything else, I just can't think of the Task Force being sanctioned for these kind of missions without express authority from the High Lords.
  

 

Just to reiterate: this is a one off task force that undertakes very few missions with a high casualty rate, with marines that are no more powerful than anyone else. The proposal hopefully will flesh out a decent plotline for a short story or two and probably WH40kRP. If anyone can think of any rules for 40k, I'd love to hear them!

[Octavulg]

Have their level of sanction vary. Sometime a High Lord supports them. Sometimes several. Sometimes none, but a few Inquisitors do - enough that they can scrape by until they're back in favor. Sometimes everyone forgets about them altogether.

 

As to their creation: one or two High Lords, I think, perhaps with the tacit approval of the others.

[Nineswords]

Yes that definitely makes sense. The only change I've made to your suggestion was that operational approval would need to be ratified by two representatives of the Council of the High Lords; It would be unseemly and rather suspicious that a single representative would dispatch that magnitude of covert operations, especially given the history of the Assassinorum and the Vandire incident.

 

Apart from that, have the bare bones of a short story I'm penning for my own (and hopefully everyone else's) entertainment. Thanks for all your insight Octavulg!