The Boros Legion, Take 3

[Cromat]

So I've gotten this IA pretty much to where I want it, but It still needs some work. C&C welcome.

Name: Boros Legion

: Heraldray and Colour Scheme

Origins: 26th founding. They were created to restore order to the Progressia system. Warp storms had driven the system’s inhabitants insane and had also attracted several renegade and traitor warbands. It was a serious threat to the rest of the imperium.

Geneseed: Blood Ravens. Their oldest members are from that chapter.

The Boros Legion is a relatively new and optimistic Space Marine Chapter. Led by the former Blood Raven Lord Uther Razia, the Boros Legion serves as the enforcers of His will in Progressia. The Boros Legion’s soldiers are the system’s guardians and honored residents, serving to protect and advise the system against the Imperium’s enemies. The chapter’s creation is largely thanks to Razia himself. In 737.M41 he had a vision from The Emperor showing a shining future for the Imperium. In the vision, the Imperium stretched united across the galaxy. The Tau and the Eldar had made peace with man and the three races were able to coexist. The rest of its enemies had been destroyed and all darkness was gone. Holy Terra was covered in towers of gleaming white, the skies were no longer chocked with smog and the Golden Throne was no longer needed. The Emperor walked among his people once again and had banished Chaos into The Warp forever. An unfamiliar chapter stood with Him: soldiers in pristine white armour to reflect His purity and red shoulders to reflect the blood that had been spilled to attain peace. When Razia woke, he understood. This chapter he was seeing had no name, but most certainly represented the future of the Space Marines. In order for this vision to come true, the Imperium had to reform and Razia decided that the best way to go about that was to create a new Space Marine Chapter to lead it. When, how or even if these reforms would come to pass was not clear, but Razia believed in this vision with all his heart and consulted his brothers at once. He described this vision to all who would listen and urged that a small, elite cadre of Blood Ravens break away from the chapter and help form a new one. Many did not listen to Razia, skeptical of his vision and some even going so far as to accuse him of madness. How could The Emperor rise from the Golden Throne and lead the Imperium into an age of glory when he has sat immobile for ten thousand years? How could this not be a trick of the ruinous powers? Razia had nothing but his faith to answer these questions, and for many that was not enough, but a small few looked into his eyes and believed.

He and thirty-six others congregated and discovered that Razia was not the only one who had seen this vision. They had all seen it. Now knowing they were not alone, they took this experience as a mandate from The Emperor himself and consulted the High Lords of Terra. Razia was able to make his case that a new chapter was needed and after consulting the Imperial Tarot, the High Lords gave him their blessing. Some members of The Inquisition questioned this decision however and vowed to keep a close eye on these wayward Blood Ravens. At best these men were victims of magical thinking and could weaken the Imperium in the long run. At worst, this was a plot by Chaos to divide a loyal chapter with a questionable history. Rather than go against the High Lords, these skeptics wanted to interrogate Razia and hold creation of his new chapter until they could discern what he was really up to. Razia had supporters in the Inquisition however. Some believed in his vision, some merely owed him a favor, but all helped to protect him and his followers. The request to hold his chapter was denied. The Tarot clearly showed great fortune for the Imperium if this chapter was to foster. Razia and his followers had done nothing wrong so far and the rest of the inquisition saw no reason to delay the creation of more Space Marines. Training began immediately and Razia had an entire company of marines at his command within a year. This was fortunate, as a dire situation had evolved in the Progressia sub-sector. Warp Storms had always been a minor concern but they had recently increased tenfold and the colonists were suffering widespread bouts of madness and heresy all across the sub-sector. The first colonies had been established over a hundred years ago but these raids started only a year after settlement. Urgent distress calls from the sub-sector had gotten lost in red tape and were only just discovered now. The reports read that in the confusion, the hive world of Malice was crippled by raids from the Alpha Legion and its ecosystem was poisoned beyond repair by virus bombs. This severe loss of manpower and production capability, coupled with the warp storms, gutted Progressia of any organized resistance and several traitor warbands and chaos cults took advantage of the situation to sow madness and despair. It was decided by the High Lords of Terra that everything had to be purged. The system was not within reasonable reach of any other chapters, and the Grey Knights could spare no troops.

Razia and his men however were up to the task. The first company of what would become the Boros Legion was eager to test itself and more than willing to liberate this wayward system. The Adeptes Mechanicus was able to provide them with a strike cruiser and basic wargear in addition to what Razia and his men had brought with them from the Blood Ravens armouries, but he feared that it would not be enough. He petitioned his former brothers for wargear and supplies, but most would not hear him. He had made many enemies during his chapter’s creation and some of these enemies were powerful enough to convince their brothers not to help men who had essentially abandoned them for some wild fantasy. The strongest voice in the anti-Boros movement was a brother named Librarian Szadek. Szadek was an old friend of Razia’s but was convinced that his friend was a fool. Razia tried to convince him that he was mistaken, but Szadak would not listen to reason. Szadek gained the support of Razia’s enemies and they began looking for ways to charge Razia with heresy. Viscous rumors began circulating about Razia’s “false vision from the dark gods” and by the end of it most of the chapter was ready to throw him out. The Blood Ravens have many dark secrets however and Razia knew enough of them to blackmail Szadek into helping his cause. He knew Razia’s friends in the Inquisition well and to anger them was to bring a visit no one wanted. That, and Razia was able to avoid several “accidents” during the worst of these days. Chapter Master Kyras eventually took Razia’s side in the matter and supplied him with additional ships and weapons. With these new weapons, the Boros Legion made for Progressia and set up a stronghold on its main planet’s moon. This came to be their new home which they named Boros and from where they launched a series of devastating raids, bringing planet Progressia to heel. Over six months, the Boros Legion was reinforced with other imperial forces, thanks in no small part to the Inquisition’s help, and they were able to take the rest of the sub-sector for The Emperor. The Boros Legion had become a worthy addition to the Space Marines.

The Gift of Szadek

For all their nobility, the Boros struggle to live with a great shame. The chapter had a major civil war that nearly destroyed it and, though its brothers remain pure and uncorrupted, its legacy is forever stained. The cause of this war goes back to the chapter’s early history. It had no librarians during its founding and therefore had no way to train psykers. The Blood Ravens were able to provide them during the war to free Progressia but could not spare them as a permanent addition to the new chapter. Of all people, Szadek was able to offer a solution. After seeing Razia’s purity of spirit and renewed purpose, he realized he had been wrong about his brother. Not only was he a pure servant of The Emperor, he inspired purity and hope in those around him. After the war, Szadek congratulated Razia on his victory and offered a formal apology for his treatment of the Boros. In order to make amends, Szadek offered to join the chapter and train any psychically gifted initiates Razia found into Librarians. Seeing no other option to fix this problem and wanting to bury old hatreds, Razia accepted. Training began immediately, and as the years passed the Boros established a strong librarium with Szadek at its head. As centuries passed, he conducted sincere efforts to give the Boros the best psykers in the Imperium in order to help Razia realize his dream. A dream to build a better tomorrow for the entire Imperium and that everyone in the chapter fought for.

In his heart however, Szadek remained jealous of Razia’s power and influence. He always felt second best and resented the fact that Razia’s victories always overshadowed his. He eventually came to despise Razia. He saw him as weak and arrogant for trying to use the Empror’s Angels of Death to build anything. For trying to build trust between races such as the Tau and Eldar rather than just wipe them out. These thoughts of jealousy and resentment eventually twisted inward and drove Szadek toward Chaos. He would destroy Razia and take the Boros for himself by corrupting the very librarium he was responsible for building. Over the centuries he seeded thoughts of heresy and chaos into every initiate the Boros sent him, while training them to be the best psykers the chapter had ever seen. Not even the recruits knew the danger they were in or the subliminal messages they were subject to until it was too late.

On the first day of 900M41, Szadek activated the long-dormant conditioning in the Boros libarium’s consciousness. This couldn’t have come at a worse time for the Legion, as most of their forces were intercepting a chaos fleet preparing to attack Boros itself. Just before engaging the traitor fleet, Szadek’s signal reached the loyalists and they were thrown into chaos. Most of the fleet’s navigators and Librarians turned instantly and amplified the signal to affect much of their non-psychic brothers. The loyalist forces found themselves fighting a desperate battle against their own brothers and were completely unprepared for the Chaos fleet’s counterattack. The traitors smashed aside the reeling Boros fleet and after three days of both external in internal fighting the loyalists were forced to fall back. Szadek and his fellow traitors were forced to flee Boros after the loyalist counterattack but were able to join the Chaos forces and slowly turn the planet to their cause. Much of the planet’s Imperial Guard garrisons, Planetary Defense Forces and civilian population turned to Chaos and swelled Szadek’s ranks. Within a week, the loyalist forces were outmanned and outgunned and Razia ordered them to abandon the planet rather than be slaughtered in a vainglorious last stand. This started a conflict that would last 15 years and be forever known as The War of the Gift. The entire Progressia system was plunged into chaos as the populace was split into following traitor marines or loyal Boros. Any who did not choose were quickly killed. The only loyal librarians left were psychically gifted initiates or newly promoted codiciers who had not yet completed their unholy conditioning. These men were not only forced to kill their own brothers, but prove their innocence to the rest of the chapter. Every day the traitors gained ground, subverting one planet after another in bloody uprisings. Malice saw some of the worst fighting as both sides vied for its massive factories and forges. For the second time, it was nearly destroyed. The Inquisition, fearing that things would spiral out of control and that the Boros Legion’s creation was indeed a mistake, began considering exterminates should the chapter fail. It seemed as if the Progressia system would burn.

All was not lost however. Razia still had loyal brothers at his side, and they worked with their lord to find others in the chapter who wielded The Emperor’s light. These few were able to rally around their Chapter Master and the rest of their loyal brothers and regroup on the small agri-world of Illumia. Illumia was the most pious of all the worlds of Progressia and its citizens remained mostly loyal. There, resistance began. The system’s loyal defenders were pushed back to this small world but no farther. They rallied around Razia and his Boros and drove the traitors back, planet by planet. As the chapter gained momentum, other imperial forces began to join the fight. This provided the Boros much needed reinforcements and gave them hope that they would survive. On the last day of the 15th year of the war, the loyalists launched an all-out assault on Boros and finally defeated the chaos forces and their traitor masters, ending with Razia running his sword through Szadek himself. For the role it played as the last beacon of The Emperor’s light in the war, Illumia was renamed Hope.

The chapter had survived the war untainted, but it much to prove to the rest of the Imperium, and much to account for. For two years, the chapter was on lockdown on Boros as the Inquisition conducted a mercilessly thorough investigation of their purity. The librarium was devastated and it would be many years before it could be rebuilt. Razia himself slew Szadek during the final battle in Temple of Light, the Boros Fortress Monastery, but his influence lingered on. The chapter’s librarians were under the worst scrutiny and it would be many years before they were fully trusted again. Even when this happened, what Szadek had done could never be expunged from chapter memory. Though the Inquisition deemed the Boros pure, their leader would still have to pay for his chapter’s crimes and his own failure. They then presented Razia with a choice: Undertake a crusade of penance in the Eye of Terror for one hundred years, bringing a few hand-picked marines with him, or be declared a heretic and have his entire chapter destroyed. Razia chose the former. Over the last century, the chapter has rebuilt and grown strong again, but they await Razia’s return, when he may lead the Boros once again.

Homeworld: Boros. The cold rocky moon of planet Progressia, the sub-sector’s capital and the planet it was named after. Many of Boros’ people live exceptionally hard lives as nomads salvaging old technology for trade in the few cities that exist. These cities are widely spaced throughout Boros’ central continent and the largest cities and villages are built around the Boros Legion’s fortress Monastary, the Temple of Light. This makes the Temple of Light the cultural and political center of the planet and has made the chapter a beacon of hope to rally around. Many chapter brothers are able to live in and protect the towns and cities of their birth. This has brought the chapter close to its citizens and has given it a humanitarian view similar to the Salamanders.

Recruitment and Training

The toughest, strongest and bravest kids on Boros are recruited for the Boros Legion, given purpose and unity through trials of teamwork and cooperation. These numbers are bolstered by recruits from all over the sub-sector. Every planet can contribute to the recruit pool and all of them do. The first step in training is the transport of all aspirants to the northern mountain regions of Boros’ central continent. Anyone interested in joining the chapter can go, but they must make it back to the Temple of Light to be considered worthy. If they cannot make it back within a month, they fail the trial. Rough terrain, freezing cold and wild beasts weed out anyone too weak or too uncooperative to make the journey. The ones that return are either exceptionally strong or stick together in order to survive. Once they make it back and are given proper rest, all initiates must kill an ice drake and bring back its skull in order to prove their individual worth. Everyone has to do this and all may advise each other on the best means of killing one, but each recruit has to do it alone. Any who pass the trial move on to their final test.

Training culminates with a three day hike to the stronghold of Camp Typhon on the jungle world of Dawn. All recruits are given transport to the planet but are scattered within a radius of a few miles once they get there. Each recruit is given minimal gear and a piece of a map leading to the camp. This ensures that the recruits must find each other in the dense jungle and work together in order to survive, lest they die alone and lost. Upon reaching the camp, they are congratulated on making the journey, restocked with food and supplies and given a full arsenal of weapons. This is for the horde of feral orks that is thrust upon them without warning. Anyone who survives gets their geneseed and becomes a scout provided they survive the surgery.

Combat doctrine

The Boros Legion values discipline, planning and teamwork in all things. Fleet actions are built around surprise and careful planning. The fleet learns all it can about an enemy determines the best plan of attack then carries it out with ruthless efficiency. Ground combat is all about firepower. Centuries of fighting Chaos Space Marines, hordes of madmen and their daemon allies have developed a chapter of crack shots who specialize in vehicles and heavy weapons. Devastator marines are highly sought after. The chapter focuses on long range firepower and line combat in order to kill as many of the enemy as possible before going into assault. One stuck in, each squad operates in concert with the rest of the army, putting constant training and drilling to the test. Each battle brother in turn acts in unison with his squadmates to create a cohesive, disciplined fighting force that has all of its parts working together. The chain of command is absolute and any break in discipline is dealt with harshly. Sergeants also have full authority to execute insubordinate battle brothers should they deem it necessary. This only used in extreme cases however, such as when a brother loses control in the heat of battle, becoming a danger to himself and his squad’s mission. Each member of the chapter also is trained to maintain his own wargear and conduct moderate repairs to his power armour. He can even rebuild his basic weapons if necessary. One of the final tasks of a recruit is to build a bolter from the ground up in a limited amount of time.

All battle brothers are equipped with bolt pistols and chainswords, in addition to their other wargear, as they must be ready to fight at any given time. Almost all of them are expected to shoot first and slash later however. As such, the chapter’s assault marines are almost exclusively veterans. Exclusive close combat duty is a privilege reserved for those with enough experience (or steel) to keep from raging. As such, initiates are not trusted with such duties as they are wild and unseasoned and are a great risk to themselves and their brothers. Ranged combat improves ones concentration and patience as well as focuses the mind. You’re also less likely to get killed while firing a bolter from behind a rock than flailing about with a chainsword!

Assault marines and other fast attack units (mostly land speeders) are used in flanking attacks or rear actions, trapping the enemy between themselves and the main gun line or cutting them down as the retreat.

During planetary invasions, the chapter strikes hard and fast: Once they have gathered sufficient information on their enemy they go in with orbital strikes and drop pods. Tactical squads are always out first, providing covering fire so that the devastator squads may attack from positions of strength. The goal is to bring as much firepower as possible as soon as possible. Thunderhawks perform bombing and strafing runs to disorganize and harass the enemy while dropping in assault squads and dreadnoughts to further confuse the enemy.

The chapter’s fury burns particularly hot for traitor legions and renegade chapters as well as all who follow them. Because of this, the chapter has a great many plasma weapons in order to counter traitor power armour and properly burn the warpflesh of daemons. The Boros do not take unnecessary lives when they go to war but known heretics are nailed to crosses and put on display for all to see. This provides a clear warning to the rest of the populace. Common citizens are given the benefit of the doubt after a rebellion has been crushed and are given a chance to prove their loyalty to the Emperor in order to repent, but only once chance. If the Boros have to cleanse the planet a second time, they’re not nearly as nice.

Organization

For the most part, the Boros Legion is a codex chapter. They have the standard chapter organization and are usually around full strength due to their efficient battle tactics. There are some minor deviations however.

The chapter has a higher amount of librarians due to the large amount of psykers they posess, a holdover from their Blood Ravens geneseed. These librarians work to preserve as much knowledge as possible in order to compensate for the events of The War of the Gift. The librarians are encouraged to learn as much about the Imperium and its enemies as possible, and to share this knowledge with their brothers so the chapter as a whole might benefit. This also allows the chapter chaplains to easily review anything that might be dangerous to the chapter’s well being, including the librarians themselves.

Unlike their parent chapter, secrecy and narrow mindedness are highly frowned upon. The librarium works closely with the Machine Cult and its techmarines to preserve and learn as much ancient knowledge as possible, the better to serve the chapter and the Imperium. The chapter commits substantial resources to find lost imperial records of any kind and does everything in its power to search for lost technology and history. Their ultimate goal is the retrieval of an uncorrupted STC unit and to teach everyone in the Imperium how to use it. All attempts at this, some frustratingly close, have failed.

The chapter has no servitors: At all. During the founding, Razia outright refused them, believing them to be inhuman abominations. Instead, the chapter maintains a large amount of serfs and puts them into highly specialized groups. Serfs are highly respected and seen as valued members of the chapter, often just as important as the marines themselves. They are also subject to the same martial discipline in their duties. They are broken into four broad groups:

Menders: These guys do everything servitors would normally do, up to and including accompanying the techmarines into battle. They usually serve as a mobile pit crew for damaged vehicles. They build, repair and maintain all wargear that the battle brothers do not build themselves, leaving the techmaries to pursue more specialized tasks, such as the construction of exceptionally fine wargear or machines too complex or too ancient for anyone else to understand. Menders also often act as an auxillia to a main strike force, guarding the flanks of a unit or holding objectives so that other units can advance.

Scribes: Scribes assist the librarians in lore keeping and cataloguing as well as being teachers to initiates and anyone else who wants to learn. There are several scribes for every area of study that can be taught in an academic environment and all Boros must maintain some sort of academic study during his service. This ensures that all brothers are well educated and have as comprehensive an understanding of the Imperium, its history and its enemies as possible. All initiates are taught a basic curriculum once they have earned their place as scouts. This covers everything from basic reading and writing skills to imperial history and comparative anthropology of xenos.

Acolytes: Acolytes assist the chaplains and perform most day to day religious duties. They also undertake the role of teachers alongside the scribes, but their focus is on the teaching of faith. The Boros see The Emperor as a father to be emulated and lived up to and its acolytes drive home the point that if He never saw Himself as a god, they shouldn’t either.

Orderlies: Orderlies act as nurses for the chapter apothecaries, assisting them in tending to their brothers wounds and assisting in geneseed and implant insertion. They are also equipped to treat normal human wounds and are often set up medicae centers for wounded civilians and guardsmen so that the apothecaries can treat solely fallen brothers.

Beliefs

Victory through order. The Boros try to save as many imperial citizens as possible from a warzone as they engage the enemy. That way, things can get back to normal as soon as possible after the conflict is over and the warzone becomes productive again. They are not afraid to sacrifice civilians if saving them compromises the mission, but they go out of their way to save them in order to maintain long-term order. This has made the Boros popular with most of the citizens of the worlds they have saved, usually able to deploy refugee camps with their serfs or other imperial organizations before moving on. Every battle brother is expected to learn as much about the Imperium and her enemies as he can to remember the mistakes of the past and to work towards a better future. The Boros fight not just to protect the Imperium, but to restore it. They look forward to the day when no more xenoes threaten mankind and order can be established in the galaxy. They fight every moment of their lives to bring that day as close as possible.

Battlecry: “Hope brings courage! Courage brings victory!” or “Victory through discipline and discipline through order.” The former is shouted during battle or broadcast over vox during fleet actions. The latter is more of a mantra.