Index Astartes - Midnight Wolves

[Balkor Wolf]

Index Astartes

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The Midnight Wolves Space Marines Chapter

 

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Origins

Founded: 740.M41 26th Founding

Progenitor: Dark Angels

Successors: None

Combat Strength: Battle Ready (Some Casualties)

 

The Midnight Wolves, similar to other chapters formed during the 26th Founding, were created to help defend Imperial borders against the growing threat of Xeno incursions.  The Eldar are becoming more bold, the Tau show signs of another sphere of expansion, and the Orks forever raid unprotected settlements far from the nearest Space Marine force.  For this reason The Midnight Wolves were created to stand vigil in Segmentum Obscurus to protect Imperial interests against raiding Xenos while also remaining ready to fight against future Black Crusades that emerge through the Cadian Gate.

 

Upon creation, The Midnight Wolves were immediately deployed to their home world of Lutov where awaiting their arrival were 5 squads of Space Marines belonging to other successor chapters that were to make up The Midnight Wolves veteran company.  Included in these numbers were a squad of Dark Angel's Deathwing, tasked with overseeing training and growth of the newfound chapter until such a time they deemed The Midnight Wolves capable of operating independently, although none of the Dark Angel's secrets were to be passed onto the fledgling chapter just yet.

The Lutov System

Segmentum: Obscurus

Sector: Yurus

System: Lutov - 7 Planets

 

Lutov Prime - Feral World

Lutov Prime is the home world of The Midnight Wolves, as well as numerous tribal clans and vicious apex predators that threaten the lives of the natives on a regular basis.  It is from this world that The Midnight Wolves find most of their new recruits, and is the location of their fortress-monastery, The Fang Citadel.

 

Qonus - Feral World

Secondary recruitment world, the population of Qonus used to rival that of Lutov Prime until the planet became victim of an Ork assault that decimated the majority of the native inhabitants during M33.  Luckily for those that lived on Qonus, the Ork warband was being tracked by a Space Marine chapter which quickly came to the aid of the defenders, it was from that day the Lutov system was brought under the control of the Imperium and it's other worlds colonized.

 

Goliv - Civilized World

After the Orks were eradicated, and the system deemed free of xeno presence, there was a colonization attempt made upon a planet named Goliv, a temperate planet similar to that of Terra although with a smaller land mass that consisted mostly of flat plains and few mountainous regions.  The world quickly became known as a local trade hub due to regular patrols of Imperial Fleets and its centralized location of other populated sectors.

 

Odrion - Mining World

Established shortly after the colonization of Goliv, Odrion had been found to contain heavy deposits of minerals that could help to supply local forge worlds for centuries.  The planet itself is almost completely barren, although very mountainous which does make it difficult for conventional transport of materials and equipment around the planet, often having to rely on space shuttles.

 

Scuiter - Forge World

Scuiter was set up in tandem with Odrion, built on the closest planet to the sun where the majority of the surface consists of molten lava oceans.  Despite the difficulties of creating a habitat on such a planet, it was deemed necessary due to the presence of a mining world for a rich supply of minerals, and a newly established civilized world that could supply all the workers that the forge world would require.

 

Yolara - Dead World

A planet with little to note of, a similar state to how Mars was before being terraformed during the golden age.  While such a possibility exists for this planet too, it would be close to the bottom of a very long list due to its strategic insignificance and little in the way of valuable resources.

 

Dotis - Dead World

Another dead world, this time completely Arctic in nature due to being on the very edge of the solar system.  Originally this world had been considered just as insignificant as Yolara until the recent impact of a meteorite smashed the thick layer of ice which hid an abandoned Tau research post.  While seemingly long forgotten by the Tau Empire, The Midnight Wolves keep an ever vigilant eye out should they ever return.

 

Combat Doctrine

The Midnight Wolves follow similar doctrines to those dictated by the Codex Astartes, however through their own tacticians and via input of the loaned Deathwing veterans, the Midnight Wolves have developed some of their own doctrines, which they have named battle plans.  Currently there are three main battle plans that are used most regularly on deployments:

 

Battle Plan Alpha - Rapid Strike

Battle Plan Alpha was developed as the initial stage of any campaign or assault, relying heavily on Drop Pods, Thunderhawks, and Storm Ravens to rapidly assault a strategic position in order to either earn a quick overall victory, or to gain a superior foothold for a campaign before the recipients of such an assault can organize into an effective defensive force.  While tactics vary from mission to mission, more often than not Terminators will be deployed onto key strategic sites in a take and hold mission while a mix of Tactical and Assault marines will form the vanguard of the assault against any defenders with air support from Storm Talons and Storm Ravens.

 

Battle Plan Omega - Overwhelming Firepower

The closest thing to a defensive doctrine that the chapter has, Battle Plan Omega is built around having a solid line of Tactical Marines and Devastators being supported by heavy armour and artillery.  Anything that approaches the kill zone will become subjected to a blizzard of bolter fire, auto cannons, plasma cannons, and all other matter of heavy weapons in The Midnight Wolves armoury that few, if any opponent can withstand.  While defensive in nature, this battle plan is often used in tandem with others, acting as a diversion of the main enemy forces while a splinter force can complete it's own objectives with little harassment from hostile forces.

 

Battle Plan Solitarus - Expeditionary Force

Battle Plan Solitarus is unique amongst the other battle plans due to being purely composed of aspects from the Scout company and the Veteran company.  It is often used as a final test of the neophytes before they are promoted to full battle brothers while heavily disrupting enemy forces by either taking out key equipment or assassinating important leader figures.  The scouts generally do most of the infiltration work while the veterans act as both fire support and distraction, relying on their superior experience and skill in order to hold off any encountered enemies long enough for the scouts to complete their objective before air support is used to extract both teams out of the danger zone.

 

Organization

Organization of The Midnight Wolves is mostly Codex adherent with the exception of some noticeable, although mostly superficial changes that better suit the tactics and overall growth of the chapter.  One of the first things that outsiders may notice is that company commanders are referred to as Paladins, this is due to their almost religious like commitment to the chapter and their almost unbeatable skill in one to one combat, recently promoted paladins are given full access to the Chapter's armoury, never failing to select a power weapon with which they lead their company to further glory.

 

The second biggest change is the organization of the Veteran Company, the first squad is composed of the most experienced and loyal brothers of the chapter, close to rivalling the skill of the Chapter Master and each of them have the potential to take over his position should he ever perish.  The following four squads are made up of Sternguard and Vanguard veterans, two squads of each respectively and are masters of their respective arts, using their expertise to train up assault squads and devastator squads between deployments.  The remaining veterans, while by no means unequal in skill or ability to their fellow company brothers, are organized the same as most other chapters, being equipped as each individual situation requires.

 

The final change is how forces of The Midnight Wolves get deployed.  No matter the objective or potential threat of each mission, the usual battle companies will always have at least one squad from the reserve companies in order to ensure they stay battle ready and gain the live combat experience they require to rival the skill of any of their other brothers in arms.  Its not uncommon for reserves to make up 20% of any strike force's composition, with particularly large deployments consisting of up to 50% split of reserve and battle companies taking part.

Naval Forces

In order to fulfil their duties as protectors of the Yurus Sector, the Terran High Council commissioned a fleet of three battle barges, ten strike cruisers, and an innumerable amount of support ships to serve as The Midnight Wolves naval forces against Xenos, Heretics, and potential unknown enemies that threaten the Imperium.  There have been no significant losses of the chapter's navy yet, although they do currently have another battle barge and multiple strike cruisers being produced to serve as reserves should any losses be sustained.

 

The Lion's Fury - Flagship Battle Barge

Largest of the three battle barges, The Lion's Fury acts as the flagship and command ship during naval engagements while also being used to transport the veteran company and the scout company into major conflicts, as well as the chapter's command and high support staff.

 

The Scourge of Chaos  - Battle Barge

The first of two twin barges, a little larger than a conventional battle barge in order for it to hold four complete companies.  This particular vessel is the home of the four battle companies during deployments and will often lead the assault against incursions into Imperium space.

 

Emperor's Bulwark - Battle Barge

Sister battle barge to The Scourge of Chaos, completely identical in both construction, capabilities, and assignment, the only difference being that the Emperor's Bulwark is used for mass transportation of the reserve companies in particularly large deployments.

 

Notable Conflicts

Since their creation, The Midnight Wolves have had no shortage of conflict or engagements with enemy forces of the Imperium, quickly helping to develop the skills of it's battle brothers and allowing it to build its own company of veteran marines, allowing the original squads to return to their respective chapters.  Within all these conflicts though, there has been multiple events of particular note, including a rebellion, high tensions with another chapter, and the defence against the 13th Black Crusade.

 

The Feral Insurrection

Date: 791.M41

Location: Goliv - Segmentum Obscurus

 

Ever since The Midnight Wolves took up residence within the Yurus system, there has been discontent and protests by the inhabitants of Goliv over how the two feral worlds get more protection and military presence than the other planets combined.  Such protests were usually harmless that the PDF could easily handle, although unbeknown to both the PDF and the Space Marines, an underground movement had been growing in order to make their disapproval known.  The main events kicked off upon detection of a ship from Goliv inbound towards Lutov, something that was forbidden within the system as to preserve the tribal lifestyle of the feral worlds to ensure their constant source of unique, battle ready intiates.  Upon interception by a strike cruiser the ship refused all attempts at communication, continuing its journey towards the home planet in both defiance of the law and the commands of the Space Marines.  Without hesitation the strike cruiser opened fire, instantly destroying the ship and it's occupants.

 

The whole thing was staged, revolutionaries knew how the Space Marines would react and so used the destruction of a civilian vessel as a catalyst for their insubordination, their surprisingly large mass of home trained troops rising up and quickly defeating the PDF forces.  The Midnight Wolves were quick to react, sending the Emperor's Bulwark in orbit over the planet, along with a compliment of strike cruisers and other support craft as a show of force to quell the rebellion, a message seemingly ignored as the planet's defences were turned against the chapter.  Without hesitation drop pods were launched from the space craft before they retreated to a safe distance, two of the pods containing a tactical squad and assault squad were intercepted and destroyed before they could make planetfall, but the rest of the forces landed unharmed and took little time in retaking the planet's defensive installations.  Within 24 hours the planet was soon back under Space Marine and PDF control, although due to the loss of twenty battle brothers and their equipment, the lords of the planet showed no mercy, every citizen identified in having some relation to the revolt was executed without trial.

 

The Qonus Stalemate

Date: 873.M41

Location: Qonus

 

Before the system was brought under Imperial control, the planet of Qonus was set upon by an Ork warband that decimated the feral planet's population, and would have resulted in it's extinction if not for the intervention of the Flame Eagles, a suspected successor chapter of the Raven Guard.  The Flame Eagles defeated the Ork incursions and claimed some of the surviving tribesman as neophytes to replenish their losses during the short campaign.  Despite being saviours of the system, by the time the Midnight Wolves took over, their deeds had long since been forgotten, so it was much surprise to the wolves when a strike cruiser belonging to the Flame Eagles suddenly appeared out of warp and in orbit of Qonus.

 

The two chapters confirmed identities of each other and began to discuss why the Flame Eagles ship was hear, after a brief discussion it was learned it returned here to collect new recruits, something that didn't sit well with the Midnight Wolves.  Despite protests, the Flame Eagles deployed drop pods to the surface, forcing the Midnight Wolves to mobilize in response, its land forces already in position to surround the intruders while nearby ships blockade the now hostile strike cruiser.  The stalemate lasted for days, neither party giving in yet neither wanting to take the first shot, although on the 6th day, for some unknown reason, the intruders backed down and after agreeing for their drop ships to be escorted by Midnight Wolves own Thunderhawks, the Flame Eagles returned to their cruiser and left the system.

 

Why the Flame Eagles suddenly stood down is still a mystery, some believe they knew they were out matched and wanted to leave so they could return with reinforcements, not that any have yet shown up.  Others believe they were stalling for time, perhaps scavenging for relics in the mini fortress they took up residence during the stalemate although sweeps through the complex afterwards suggested no major disturbances.  Whatever the reason, it has left the Midnight Wolves untrusting of the Flame Eagles, and are likely to treat any return visits as a hostile incursion into their sovereignty.

 

The Thirteenth Black Crusade

Date: 999.M41

Location: The Cadian Gate

 

The dreaded Abaddon has returned, leading another crusade against the champions of the Emperor and resulting in the biggest ever mobilization of Imperial forces ever recorded.  The Midnight Wolves have also answered this call, committing two battle barges and four companies (2nd, 3rd, 6th, and 7th) to the cause both as their sworn duty to protect the Emperor and all he holds, and due to the proximity of their home world in relation to the Cadian Gate.  So far there has been no clear winner shown in this war, the Midnight Wolves having already lost around 15% of its forces but is prepared to send the rest of the companies to fight should it ever seem that Chaos is gaining the advantage.