IA: The Imperial Privateers

[L33TFROG]

The Emperor’s Privateers, Corsairs of the Storm

 

 

Origin

 

            “The Eldar are as the worst among man, eternally conniving, deceitful, and upholding no honor. They’re witches insure they’re one step ahead. We must fight such that it doesn’t matter.”

            -Albrecht Achilles, on the Eldar

 

            After the high frequency of disasters and genetic mishaps of the 21^st founding, in the 22^nd founding the High Lords sought to create a stable chapter utilizing the pure unaltered gene-seed of Roboute Gulliman, through the Mortifactors. In its founding documents, the chapter’s training cadre had been assigned to eliminate the eldar corsairs in the operating near the Storm of the Emperor’s Wrath, and for that purpose the Mortifactors sent 5^th company captain, Albrecht Achilles, a marine, who had witnessed the threat of the eldar first hand, across his two tours in the Death Watch, he himself having personally slain a farseer in combat.

 

            While the Mortifactors even with their outward oddities cling to the codex, Albrecht sought to create a legion in his own image of how best to fight the threat, outright eschewing the traditional assault squad in favor of increased amounts of bikers and land speeders, in addition to other tactical changes, and as the chapter recruits were brought up from the icy hive world of St. Geoffrey, Albrecht compiled his own in-chapter addendum to the codex astartes, preparing to take on the eldar threat. As they undertook their first boarding actions the chapter took their name, for just as the privateers of ancient Terra pillaged and raided enemy shipping for their Kings, they acted as pirates against the eldar.

 

            As they probed for their source of the raids, they’re expeditions ventured further and further into the warp storm, discovering worlds inhabited by the so-called exodites, planet-living eldar, in addition to the once-glorious craftworld, Hevasterok, whose naval tradition created the corsairs that plagued the region. It was here where Albrecht’s strategies finally found their test, as the chapter affirmed their vow to fulfill their founding purpose and stop the attacks.

 

            With support from the Imperial Navy, in addition to the above average chapter fleet they acquired, the chapter intended to begin a grand naval battle above the exodite world, formerly known as Belosh Thraken. The chapter sent two companies to the planet’s surface and wrought havoc on ancient webway portals and ruins. This lured out the craftworld, who only foreseeing the destruction to be brought onto this ancient world, sent large parts of their forces to the planet’s surface, just as the Imperial Forces exited the warp and opened their fire. Their boarding action began and the 1^st through 4th and 6^th through 8^th boarded the ancient vessel and began their wholesale slaughter, finding success the chapter quickly took control of large portions of the craftworld, before the fighting stalemated. Over the ensuing hours a meatgrinder began, Albrecht led a strike on the heart of the craftworld, seeking out the craftworld’s leaders to cut off their leadership. His strike force cut its way through only to encounter the mighty avatar of Khaine; he slew the demigod, but at great cost to himself and he brought his forces into a full retreat.

 

            With a full 2/3rds of the chapter destroyed, the privateers were no longer in fighting order and would  take a lengthy period to recover. Albrecht sat interred in a dreadnaught, and both his wisdom and fighting would carry on albeit in a diminished capacity. However their enemy sat even more devastated, their leaders and most of the craftworld dead Hevasterok would not operate near full capacity again, and short of seeing the planet ship left a burning husk, the chapter’s purpose had been fulfilled and they looked to a new era, in service to the Imperium.

 

Homeworld

 

            The world of St. Geoffrey is a large hive world in the Segmentum Ultima on the edge of the Storm of the Emperor’s Wrath. Formerly a mecca for trade and commerce, much of its wealth and importance was lost, when the world’s it gathered resources from were swallowed up by the warpstorm, and any hope they had of taking in resources were in lands played upon by the eldar pirates the Privateers would wipe out. The world become a place of internal conflict, as the issue of hive gang’s and noble feuding only increased over the limited resources, and the planet’s decline began. When the Privateer’s first arrived the squalor had been ongoing for nearly three quarters of a millennium, and the planet’s governors welcomed the astartes.

 

            The Privateer’s relationship with the planet changed throughout it’s history and the marine’s have never actually build a fortress monastery on the planet, preferring to operate out of the battle barge, “Gulliman’s Endeavor, one of the remarkable 4 barges in the chapter fleet. In their early days the chapter directly took it over, while they grew their chapter to battle readiness, this period lasted only a short time, before the chapter mobilized and began to protect the shipping lanes surrounding the planet, and more often than not, recruiting from whatever societies they came across, regardless however in times of rebuilding, they would always return to St. Geoffrey.

 

            In such cases as they recruit outside St. Geoffrey, they generally, in a contrast from the usual hive, prefer to recruit from tribal and feudal worlds, those without access to the technologies of the larger Imperium, so as to find those who are honorable, uncorrupted, and innocent, rather than those corrupted by the conniving backstabbing of life in the city. The difference in location is often worked out  in their time as an initiate, but the fundamental and stern values some recruits enter with are not lost, only strengthened.

 

            This relationship has proved mutually beneficial, as the chapter both has an available base on the edge of the storm, they often expedition inside of, and the hive has found it’s shipping lanes reopened, and some of it’s former majesty restored.

 

            Beliefs

 

            In spite of a quite tenuous relation with many of their fellow sons of Gulliman, at times verging on disownment, the Privateers quite revere the Consul of Maccrage. They see him as a man of utmost and complete honor and read the tactics of the codex as much as any other would, however to them the codex is a system for fighting in an honorable battle and to the Privateers their archfoe, the eldar, are beneath such appreciation. In this context they believe that they must outthink and overpower the eldar, such that their infernal plots and guile will prove no use. They view their faith through this lens as xeno-slayers.

 

            Their chaplains most assuredly speak of the threat of chaos, but they speak of purity as being human, and in that sense abhor those whose mutations destroy said humanity. While they look down on abhumans and the deformed, they look up to psykers in spite of their abhorrence of the eldar witches, due to their belief that psykers draw their power from the very paragon of humanity, the Emperor, while eldar draw power from their blasphemous pantheon. For them, they are already perfect as the Emperor’s supersoldiers and firmly believe in humanity’s perfection that it is only those who forgoe their humanity for the lull of chaos and sin, that must be purged.

 

            Organization

 

            The chapter takes their organizational core from the codex Astarte, possessing ten companies of 100 marines and chapter specialists, but it is in the roster of these companies that they diverge. The most glaring or these changes is their refusal to use assault marines. While the utilize limited vanguard veterans among 1^st company squads, who choose to organize themselves as such, the battle companies replace their assault squads with tactical squads that like the 6^th and 7^th reserve companies are trained to operate land speeders, bikes, and fliers, in order to match the eldars own jetbikes. This extends to the 8th reserve companies, who are taught to operate the same, and the chapter has been able to acquire these very items, through bartering with descendants of the blood angel’s, giving Sanguinus’ sons jetpacks in exchange for bikes and speeders.

 

            In addition to this they possess a large fleet, and thus have four masters of the fleet, one dedicating to maintaining each of the chapter’s sacred battle barges. To supplement this the 5^th battle company serve as literal space marines, acting as crew for and performing void operations with the central fleet, the foremost of the masters of the fleet, is in fact usually the captain of this group. The chapters best recruits are sent to this specialized company in order that they may not only beat the xeno, but trap him on a planet for extermination.

 

            Combat Doctrine

 

            In surface combat the chapter believes in a doctrine of overwhelming force. For them it matters not that the eldar have foreseen the locations of their ambush, but they see to it that it won’t matter. In this process heavily utilizing plasma and grav weaponry. They contrast their well-defended fortifications, with their brutal airstrikes and bikers, who smash their enemies against said fortifications, Luring out their enemies and then exterminating them. The chapter rarely fields dedicated melee units, viewing anyone who attacks, without first demoralizing and suppressing an enemy as foolish.

 

            In space the chapter relies on a well-versed and studied naval doctrine, preferring to view each battle in isolation, before making a decision of whether to maintain broadsides from a distance or begin with a rapid boarding. They utilize their own divination to map out the enemy fleet and it’s tactics, to plan around.

 

Gene-Seed

 

            The Emperor’s Privateer’s are in spite of their eccentricities still stable sons of Gulliman, while their yen for purity does lead to them maintaining a large apothecarium, there does not appear to have been any risk and their tithes to Mars have always been prompt and pure.

 

Battle Cry

 

“For man and our Imperium!”

[Messor]

While I'm not quite 100% sold on the privateer angle, I really like the thematic element to it. The Chapter's hallmark battle is a great, touch, too, with them taking as many losses as they did. It paints the Eldar in that area as a threat worth a Chapter of marines to defend. Nice job putting this together!

[Bjorn Firewalker]

The fluff is well-written, overall, but for one problem: no jump pack-equipped (Assault) Marines.

 

Something similar to a jump pack (see the Wikipedia article on "astronaut propulsion unit") is of IMMENSE use in the vacuum of space, e.g., to board an enemy ship (though the jump packs may be discarded once the Marine is aboard the enemy ship), and to fight off enemy boarding parties. And don't the Eldar use similarly equipped troops (see the Swooping Hawks), meaning you must have Assault Marines to counter enemy Swooping Hawks?

[Olis]

Irrespective of everything else, when I saw the word 'privateer' I imagined the chapter to be under the yoke of the High Lords (like the Minotaurs) that would strike out at rogue elements and agencies that had over stepped their mark. They'd (at least partially) be allied to the Inquisition like the Red Hunters and the Exorcists. Hmm. Perhaps this is an idea I should follow myself...

[Tiberius Cato]

I've seen somewhere the exhaust on standard back packs were used in the void as a means of propulsion, I don't know how effective they are though.

 

I really like the boarding action prowess the chapter displays, it's a unique element not commonly seen amongst Astartes. Good work brother!