Order of the Crimson Cog

[chmcclellan]

I'm building a homebrew chapter with ties to the Mechanicus. I'll be playing a Pedro list with Sternguard and Scouts which partially motivated the chapter. This is the story I plan to hand out to opponents at BAO 2013. Please give me comments on the story, even grammar nit picking etc. If you have questions about the chapter or advice I appreciate those as well.

 

Anyway, without further ado...

 

Mechanical Perfection

 

 

Brother Neamiah peered through the port hole at the approaching blue green orb and wondered what he and his brothers would find on the planet’s surface. The Order’s small fleet had translated back into real space only hours prior after what had seemed like months sailing the currents of the immaterium. “No matter”, he said to himself and returned his attention to the disassembled bolter sitting on the work bench in front of him. He held the trigger catch up to the light cast by the lum globe and polished the piece as he had a hundred times in the last weeks. Despite a noticeable improvement during his recent trip to the strike cruiser Crucible’s training range, he could not shake the memory of their last engagement . . . the vision of the xenos beast flying toward him, clawed arms spread for a deadly embrace, and the feeling of doubt in those moments after he pulled the trigger but before the special issue ammunition rocketed from his bolter’s suppressed barrel, turning the creature’s head into a mist of chitinous bone and ichor. The trigger catch must perform perfectly in order for his bolter to perform perfectly, his bolter must perform perfectly so he may perform perfectly, and he must perform perfectly so that his Order may achieve perfection.

 

***

 

Enlightened Gamaliel smiled inwardly as he heard the hiss of the arming rack’s limbs retracting and the hum of the micro-fusion generator encased in the ancient suit of armor returning to life. It was the warm hug of a loyal friend, a feeling he had missed in their weeks of relative inaction. As his mind’s eye incorporated newly arriving signals from the numerous sensors studding his armor, the shadows of his sanctum receded and his expanded peripheral vision revealed two servitors drawing his deep crimson robes around his shoulders. “Enlightened.” The appellation was not his personally, but was bestowed on those members of the Order privy to its entire history. Every member of the Order bore the cog and skull on their breast plate and was taught the importance of mechanical perfection, they were all accustomed to the frequent issue of newly modified and experimental machines of war, but only the Enlightened knew the depth of their ties with the Adeptus Mechanicus.

 

That the Tech Priests of Mars have long desired a chapter or chapters of Adeptus Astartes to wield as their own is no secret. The Order was not the first and is probably not the only such chapter: the Steel Confessors were created by the Adeptus Mechanicus in the 36th millennium and served it exclusively until their discovery and mainstreaming by the Inquisition. Plying the distant reaches of the galaxy, assisting and protecting their Mechanicus brothers in their search for ancient and advanced technologies, the Order of the Crimson Cog has come under no such scrutiny.

 

The Order bears little resemblance to the revered chapters of legend. Founded not five centuries ago, Gamaliel is its first and only Grand Master. Whereas the leaders of established chapters carry both the benefit and burden of a chapter history which predates them, the triumph or failure of the Order is his alone. Despite an aggressive recruiting program, the extended periods without human settlement contact, a consequence of their remote deployment, have prevented their numbers from yet reaching 500. As a result of extended periods between recruiting classes, it is not uncommon for an Order strike force to be composed entirely of veteran marines and new initiates. However, what the order lacks in man power it makes up for in advanced technology. Foundery, the Order’s flagship and the closest thing Gamaliel had to a home, housed in its bowls a munufactorum whose productivity rivaled that of the largest forgeworlds. Behind doors which opened only for the Enlightened and the tech priests who accompanied the Order, newly discovered technology was examined, understood, and quickly incorporated into improved weaponry for the Order’s use.

 

To Gamaliel, his role was the logical extension of his existence. Were not the Astartes themselves the product of the search for knowledge? Their forbearers, including Ferrus Manus from whose geneseed the Order was wrought, were born not in a sanctuary but in a laboratory: an expression of scientific achievement. When the Emperor launched his great crusade, he did so not on hopes and prayers, but on the wings of great war machines conceived of and crafted by the Adeptus Mechanicus. Every advancement of humanity had been driven by new understanding, and each failure was a result of the return to ignorance. What better way is there to serve humanity than to facilitate the acquisition of new knowledge?

 

***

 

Neamiah savored the excitement as he and his brothers stood in the embarkation hall awaiting their deployment. He felt a tingling energy in his left leg, or rather, in the augmetic construct that had replaced it. Like a coiled spring, the metal was alive in a way even his flesh hadn't been. With a hiss of steam the gigantic cog shaped doors at hall’s end began to open and his attention snapped from the sensation of his new limb to the figures he knew would soon emerge. There, slate battle plate draped in crimson robes, stood Enlightened Gamaliel, Grand Master of the Order of the Crimson Cog, flanked on each side by the Enlightened, their faces hidden under the same crimson robes which marked their rank.

 

“Our revered guests believe that technology of great value lies dormant on the world below” announced Gamaliel to his anxious brothers. Neamiah had until now not noticed the figures in crimson robes who accompanied the Enlightened, far shorter than the Astartes and displaying a level of mechanical enhancement which made the Order look untouched by comparison. “Its recovery will strengthen this Order, and by extension, our entire empire.” A cheer rang through the embarkation hall as the assembled marines and initiates gave voice to the excitement that accompanied their first deployment following an extended warp journey. “We are few, so our mistakes must be fewer. Initiates, look to your elders. Observe the skill and commitment with which they fight and strive to emulate it. Veterans, look to our initiates. Lead and inspire them, so that our perfection may be multiplied.”

 

Without a further word the assembled marines broke into their squads and began boarding the landing craft which would ferry them to the surface. Springing toward the Thunderhawk Gunship to which his squad had been assigned, Neamiah dry fired his bolter a few times prior to slamming home a freshly prepared magazine. He was happy with the additional time and effort he had spent improving the device and was confident today it would show no hesitation.

[Beachymike123]

pretty good stuff so far brother. they almost have a feeling that they are legion of the great crusade trying to find new technology and human worlds than a secret chapter, but i like it as it adds to their character. do you have any pics of them?