Black Book - Insurrection (PUBLISHED)

[simison]

Aside from the confusion about who the First Sentinal is, is that ok as an ending for the Madrigal Purge?

 

Yeah, I especially love the marble tomb bit at the end. It emphasizes that, while he is a traitor, Icarion is still the idealist at this point. The only thing need correcting in your two posts is the tone. It doesn't sound like a remembrancer in the Betrayal section, there's too little academic objectivity. It should be more restrained, but I can fix that when I do my editing run. Besides that, everything else is good.

 

I'm not sure what the status is of Underwater Madness, but the last section should sum up the results of the Day of Revelation and the current state of the Imperium and the new Madrigal Empire. Because that is the last narrative piece that will launch us into Book 2. 

[Sigismund229]

Iron Bears are done sim, just need editing.

[Doctor Perils]

"Raiden LIVES !"

 

His artwork is just too awesome for him not to become the arch-master of the Arch-enemy. But in that case it might be interesting for him to keep his power/artificer armour instead of Terminator armour.

[Sigismund229]

Oh and to the rest of you I'm now free to help with writing again for book 1 legions(collapses head first exhaustedly into french essay)

[bluntblade]

I agree with Thorn on the look front

[simison]

Iron Bears are done sim, just need editing.

 

Excellent. Grifft is going on a 10-day vacation, so I've made sure he has easy access to the Prosecution chapter so he can upload it when he gets back. In the meantime, PDF work will be paused, so I'll switch over to editing. I'll do run-throughs on the Iron Bears chapter and the campaigns' lore. 

 

While I'm at it, Invictus won't be back with us until late June, due to a school reasons. I know that the Jackels were picked for the third red section slot featuring the other Day of Revelation ambushes, but with his absence, let's trade them out with the Azus vs. Kozja & Jade fight.

 

EDIT: We'll give the Jackel more screen time and set up in the Revolutions book to make up for the trade. Before I get into editing, I'm going to collect the rest of my written pieces and put them in the Stories thread. (All I've grabbed so far were the two hiding in the General Discussion thread.)

[simison]

Finished putting all of my complete stuff in the stories thread. Next, editing.

[bluntblade]

I'll copy-paste a few things into there shortly, just as soon as I hear from Athrawes viz the fate of Raiden's.

[Skalpynock]

[Wrong thread]

[simison]

Appreciate the fix. 

[simison]

The Iron Bears

 

Numeration: VI^th Legion
 

Primogenitor: Daer'dd K'Chi Pewabomekwa Niimkiikaa

Allegiance: Fedelitas Totalis

Cognomen (Prior): The Sixth, The Iron Giants. 

Observed Strategic Tendencies: Orbital Assaults, Zone Mortalis Engagements, Massed Artillery Strikes, Heavy Armored Assaults, Guerrilla Strikes. 

Noteworthy Domains: Three Fires Sub-Sector, Huron (Homeworld) 

 

Larger than life, both in body and in spirit, the Iron Bears were humanity's steel tide. Washing over the their enemies in waves of metal behemoths, the Iron Bears presented an implacable foe, whether they utilised their bionic upgrades to crush their enemies face-to-face or rolled over them in their superior fleets of super-heavy tanks. Yet, the VI^th Legion never allowed themselves to be separated from the common man by their size or by their modifications. Afflicted with an unusually long implantation process to transform man into transhuman, the Iron Bears possessed a stronger physical bridge between the two that allowed them to sympathize with the plights of the average Imperial citizen. It was this connection that spurred them to great heights of self-sacrifice. And no legion made as great of a sacrifice as the Iron Bears did on the Day of Revelation. 

 

 

Origins: Advent of the Giants

One of the first legions to be founded after the Lightning Bearers, the VI^th Legiones Astartes were created at a time when the Emperor's armies were enduring unyielding foes. In need of more Astartes to break this deadlock, the Emperor created the VI^th, using youths from the warlike Lake tribes of Nord Merica as its first warriors. Thanks to the extreme stability of the VI legion gene-seed, many more aspirants survived the transformation into Space Marines than was the norm and the VI^th​ were soon fighting on the front lines of the Unification Wars in a strength that surpassed all but the Lightning Bearers. However, it was soon discovered that these Legiones Astartes of the VI^th​ were more human than their less numerous brethren of other legions. Within a very short space of time, it was discovered that the gene-seed of the VI^th took longer to mature than that of other legions, rendering freshly recruited Legionnaires of the VI^th "human" for longer than the neophytes of other legions. While this length of time being between a Space Marine and an unaugmented human eventually passed, the mental effects of it remained and so the Legionnaires of the VI^th were always found to be more relatable by unaugmented humans than their brothers of other legions, save perhaps the V^th. 

 

 

[There wasn't an intro paragraph, so I whipped one up. How does it look, Redd? Sig, I ran through your work and a couple of pages prior and couldn't find an Organization/War Disposition chapter. Is it earlier in the thread or is it not finished?

[Sigismund229]

It's earlier in the thread, Redd wrote it and I saw no need to re write it. If you like I'll fish it out and edit it while you do the sections I wrote

[simison]

That works. But, for the love of writing, stop with weird spaces and not adding to the legion numerals the th', please.

[Sigismund229]

That works. But, for the love of writing, stop with weird spaces and not adding to the legion numerals the th', please.

You put a 'th' on the end of roman numerals in America? And wierd spaces?(a lot of the writing is done on my phone so it may be down to that)

[simison]

 

That works. But, for the love of writing, stop with weird spaces and not adding to the legion numerals the th', please.

You put a 'th' on the end of roman numerals in America? And wierd spaces?(a lot of the writing is done on my phone so it may be down to that)

 

 

 

I'm not sure if it's an American thing, but it's definitely a Forge World touch. For the weird spaces, here's an example: "un augmented". I'm confused why there's a space here, I asked earlier, but I didn't see an answer. 

[simison]

However, those Iron Bears who developed at a standard rate were soon noticed to be excellent support troops and were rapidly deployed to serve such a role in campaigns being fought by their brother legions. The reason for this excellence in a supporting role was that the Iron Bears' natural strength and fortitude saw them carry heavy weapons with ease and their natural inclination to tinker saw them modify their equipment to suit whichever role they were called on to perform. In those early days, the favoured ranged weapon of the legion was the volkite caliver as it allowed them to saturate their enemies with fire before moving in to finish their shocked opponents with heavy chainswords that they were able to wield with ease. 

By the end of the Unification Wars, the VI^th legion were enormous compared to their fellow legions, easily dwarfing many save for the I^st and the V^th, and were thus able to serve independent of other legions - in fact, the more unstable III^rd legion was attached to the VI^th for a time. Over the following years, until the discovery of Daer'dd, the VI^th would subdue world after world by their relentless march forwards, simply soaking anything that was fired at them and then massacring their physically inferior opponents in melee. Because of this bullish method of fighting in which they relied on raw strength, courage and endurance more than any form of strategy, the VI^th were given the cognomen the Juggernauts by their fellow Legions and those Imperial Army units who served alongside them. The only exception to this were the III^rd legion, who instead called them Bjønir or Bears in the language of Jurfik. 

[simison]

The Bear's Cradle
One night, as the cold winter was drawing to a close, a small comet slammed into the shallow sand of a Huronian beach. However, it was not a comet but a small metal pod and from within it emerged a child, bleeding and shocked by the sudden crash he had survived. As he wondered the beaches of the world he had landed on, the child was found by a young couple, a maiden of great standing within one of the largest knightly households of Huron and the finest warrior of the tribe Niimkiikaa. Their union had dramatically changed the balance of power within the Three Fires sector and earned them many enemies. Already parents to a daughter, they now had a son and heir who they named Daer'dd. Daer'dd Niimkiikaa. 

However, unknown to them their adoptive son was no ordinary child but a son of the Emperor, a Primarch. It would only take a few years before Daer'dd had matured sufficiently to begin taking to the field in war alongside his father, Noodiin Niimkiikaa. A master of tomahawk and knife fighting as well as a skilled pysker, Noodiin had been a feared champion of the Niimkiikaa people in his youth and now, he took to the field alongside his son to do battle with his enemies and expand the territory of his people. In an age of las and accelerator weaponry, Noodiin was able to carve a bloody path through his enemies' ranks, and it was this art which he had taught his giant son, Daer'dd, who simply bulldozed his way through the hail of enemy fire, until he was able to use his melee weapons. While Daer'dd and his adoptive father triumphed on a hundred battlefields and won almost 5000 miles for their people, these were not the only triumphs Daer'dd made in his youth. 

In addition to being preternaturally fast and superlatively skilled warrior, Daer'dd had also undertaken the task of learning the smiths' crafts. This he did in a remarkably short space of time and when he had learnt it, he began to transform Huron's technology. Studying the crude suits of power armour used by Huronian warriors, he improved upon them drastically and discovered how to work the metal known as adamantium. With these new technological innovations, the armies of the Niimkiikaa people swept all before them, uniting Huron behind a single leader. While Noodiin remained Chieftan of the Niimkiikaa, his adoptive son became King of Huron. It was around this time, as Daer'dd stepped into his role as King of all Huron, that a son was born of his father and mother, Aandeg Gitchi Noodiin Niimkiikaa. While Daer'dd didn't know it at the time, his greatest ally had just been born. 

Using his swollen army of tribal warriors, clad in a crude power armour somewhat similar to the Thunder armour of Terra and armed with tomahawks of adamantium, Daer'dd set out to unite the Three Fires sector. For another ten years, he fought across the worlds of Three Fires, with each victory bringing more warriors to his cause, each conquest easier than the last. When Daer'dd reached the final world of the Three Fires system, Accer Ferris, his army had grown so large that the king of this mighty fortress world bent the knee rather than waste his people's lives in a futile act of petty resistance. 

Over the next twenty years, all of Three Fires prospered under Daer'dd's benevolent rule. Every person found a role in his new kingdom. Ogryns served as the Kingdom's foot soldiers, combating Ork incursions alongside the knightly houses and towering titan legions of Three Fires, while the Demiurge and Cult of Mars settled their differences, ensuring that the furnaces of Huron and Acer Ferris glowed white hot once more, while the beastmen watched over the agricultural fields and halflings the kitchens. So it was that the Emperor and his sons found the kingdom of Three Fires when they arrived to seek out Daer'dd in order to give him leadership of the VI^th legion, peaceful and prosperous. 

[simison]

Cub Meets Father

When Daer'dd first met his true father, the Emperor, his reaction was not to challenge him or even fight as was the reaction of many of his brothers. Instead, he bent the knee, surrendering the Kingdom of Three Fires to his father's rule. However, instead of shameful humiliation, this became a cause for great celebration as the Emperor instructed his son "Rise, Lord of Three Fires, for you have built a kingdom the likes of which all must respect. You must bow to no man". Following this declaration, the Imperial party knelt before Daer'dd, who simply laughed at this show of of respect and declared such a thing to unnecessary, whereupon he ordered that a great feast be prepared for his guests. This great celebration lasted for three days and three nights as Daer'dd told his father and brothers of how he had conquered Three Fires and was in turn told of the Great Crusade and of the Legiones Astartes. 

Accepting his task with humility, Daer'dd readily accepted command of the VI^th legion, the Juggernauts. Upon reunification with his legion, he is said to have declared "You shall be no juggernauts but bears of iron and steel, fierce and hardy, ready to take the light of Imperial Truth to all corners of the galaxy and feast until the final sunset of the universe!". So it was that the Legion took a new name: the Iron Bears. 

Following this reunification with their Primarch, the Iron Bears adopted his nature as their own, particularly after the Iron Bears began to take in recruits from the Three Fires sector. Of the first group of these young neophytes, many had been ambitious young warriors of Daer'dd's Totem Guard, among them Aandeg Niimkiikaa. While the Iron Bears remained as boisterous as ever, more emphasis was now placed upon the quality of an individual warrior rather than group cohesion. They began to disregard ranged warfare in favour of closing with their enemy hand to hand as it was here that a warrior could truly shine and come into his own, when killing the enemy face to face. However, this was not all as the Iron Bears began to learn the art of a smith in emulation of their Primarch, meaning no two Space Marines' equipment were the same as each would have modified his armour to suit his own tastes and desires. 

Yet it was not only the armour and way of war which changed upon Daer'dd joining with his legion. The organization of the Legion underwent several revisions, with companies becoming War Tribes and of the Iron Bears coming to reflect the structure of the warbands of Huron. The greater a warrior's individual glory and honour, the more warriors would follow him as part of his War Tribe, making the size of these units relatively fluid. With one exception, there was one War Tribe whose size was set in stone: the Totem Guard. Akin to his bodyguard as King of Huron, Daer'dd's Totem Guard numbered 10,000 of the Iron Bears finest warriors, Legiones Astartes who had proven themselves time and again of the decades of their service.

Following their Primarch's discovery, the VI^th also began to use a rising number of bionics, actively removing limbs in order to have a bionic put in its place. While this may seem nonsense, it was an attempt to emulate the great deeds and strength of their father, a strength not even the gene-enhanced bodies of the Space Marines could reach. 

[Chief Captain Redd]

The intro paragraph looks really solid Sigi, I liked it quite a bit.

 

I grabbed the Structure and Tactical stuff from my thread as well updated it a bit too.

 

Legion Structure: The Iron Bears legion was heavily restructured after being reunited with there genesire Daer'dd Niimkiikaa. Daer'dd based the legion structure on the Grand Wartribes he used to conquer and unite Huron and the whole Three Fires sub sector. Daer'dd reorganized the legion into six Grand Wartribes all roughly numbering around 20,000 warriors each. Daer'dd also formed a personal retinue called the Totem Guard numbering around 10,000 veterans from Terra and his most trusted Huronian recruits. He gave command of each Grand Wartribe over to six hand selected Lord Chiefs. Each Lord Chief selected a council of seven Chief Praetors whom acted as advisors. Each Grand Wartribe is then broken down into Clan Companies organized by Clan mark. Because of this the number of Astartes in each Clan Company fluid. Each Clan Company is named after it's commander whom holds the title of Chief Captain. Clan Companies would often fight in groupings commanded by one of the Tribes Chief Praetor.

 

Chief is used in the legion as an honorary, to show that the commander has the respect of his men.

 

As it currently stands the 4th Grand War Tribe the "Leviathans" of Lord Chief R.Damon Redd is the largest standing War Tribe at 35,000+ Astartes. And the 5th Grand War Tribe the "Wind Riders" of Lord Chief Echo Pontiac is the smallest at roughly 17,000 Astartes. Current estimates put the legion between 150,000-160,000 Astartes in part due to low death/attrition rates thanks to the noted tough nature, high augmentation rates, and talented armour artificers.

 

The system of totem marks.

After reuniting with Daer'dd the legion adopted the Huronian practice of Totem marks. There are three primary marks, the Mark of The Warrior, The Mark of the Slayer, & The Mark of the Hunter. This allowed all Astartes of the legion to focus on their given natural talent.

 

Slayers focused on close quarters combat, regular use of blades, pistols, and shields. Slayers are also typically found in heavily reenforced armor with extra motivation units in the legs of their armour and modified jump packs. Slayers are also noted for their development of the Ironbound subculture of the legion.

 

Hunters focus on range and stealth. Units typically associated with hunters include Recon, Tactical Support, and Heavy Support clans, as well as Tanks and Artillery support.Hunters have access to the Legion's most archaic and rare ranged weaponry, and have use of quick insertion tactica including limited use of personal teleporters outside of Tactical Dreadnought Armour.

 

The Warrior mark is the most common of Legion and therefore most commonly associated with Tactical clans. The mark is given to those with strong tactical sense and whom are balanced in both blade and bolter. The Warrior mark does carry a very esteemed role in the legion, they are the masters of the phalanx, Shield Bearers become the anvil to break the enemy upon and typically grind the enemy down.

 

Combined the forces of the VIth legion prefer an ever moving onslaught, whether in the halls of void craft or in the open field the Iron Bears rely heavily on crushing their enemy as an unstoppable tide of iron, whether the iron of shields and Tomahawks or war machines like vast Leviathans or mighty Fellblades.

[simison]

Pillar of Valour

The Iron Bears' exemplary service would continue throughout the Great Crusade as they lengthened their rolls of victories and honours beyond several brother Legions. When the Emperor retired to Terra and named the Primarch Alexandros as Warmaster, Daer'dd embraced the transition with boundless faith and optimism, praising the Emperor's decision. To signify his unconditional support, Dear'dd, working in tangent with the Emperor, would craft the Spear of Terra, the official emblem of the Warmaster's authority. Likewise, the Iron Bears harboured no doubts over the transition of power and would prove themselves to be reliable allies of the Warmaster again and again.

 

When the Remembrancer Edict was issued by the Council of Terra, several legions protested over the violation the remembrancers represented into their operations and culture. In contrast to them, the Iron Bears welcomed these new mortal additions to their fleets with open arms. Aided by their slowed implantation processes, the remembrancers would find the Iron Bears unusually easy to get along with and this, in turn, would lead to an unexpected boon as the news of their renown were recorded and spread throughout the Imperium. In time, the average citizen would liken the Iron Bears to one of the crucial pillars uplifting the Imperium. 

 

It was perhaps this faithfulness that would mark them for tragedy by dark forces. 

 

 

[i noticed there wasn't a section that brought the Iron Bears up to the point of the Insurrection, so here it is. How's this one, Redd? Also, given the emphasis on their reliability, I've decided to upgrade their allegiance from 'Fedelitas Constantus' to Fedelitas Totalis'. Sound fair?]

[Chief Captain Redd]

Yeah I whole heartedly agree with that change, and the paragraph is very good.

[Sigismund229]

Edited

 

Legion Structure

The Iron Bears legion was heavily restructured after being reunited with there gene sire Daer'dd Niimkiikaa. Daer'dd based the legion structure on the Grand War Tribes he used to conquer and unite Huron and the whole Three Fires sub sector. Daer'dd reorganized the legion into six Grand War Tribes all roughly numbering around 20,000 warriors each. Daer'dd also formed a personal retinue called the Totem Guard numbering around 10,000 veterans of Terra and his most trusted Huronian recruits. He gave command of each Grand War Tribe over to six hand selected Lord Chiefs. Each Lord Chief selected a council of seven Chief Praetors whom acted as advisers. Each Grand War Tribe is then broken down into Clan Companies organized by Clan mark. Because of this the number of astartes in each Clan Company fluid. Each Clan Company is named after it's commander whom holds the title of Chief Captain. Clan Companies would often fight in groupings commanded by one of the Tribes Chief Praetor.

Chief is used in the legion as an honorary, to show that the commander has the respect of his men. 

As it currently stands, the 4^th Grand War Tribe the "Leviathans" of Lord Chief R.Damon Redd is the largest standing War Tribe at 35,000 or more astartes. And the 5^th Grand War Tribe the "Wind Riders" of Lord Chief Echo Pontiac is the smallest at roughly 17,000 astartes. Current estimates put the legion between 150,000-160,000 astartes in part due to low death/attrition rates thanks to the noted tough nature, high augmentation rates, and talented armour artificers. 

The Totem Marks
After reuniting with Daer'dd the legion adopted the Huronian practice of Totem marks. There are three primary marks, the Mark of The Warrior, The Mark of the Slayer, & The Mark of the Hunter. This system allowed all astartes of the legion to further hone the talents and skills given to them by nature. 

Slayers focus on close quarters combat, regular use of blades, pistols, and shields. Slayers are also typically found in heavily reinforced armour with extra motivation units in the legs of their armour and modified jump packs. Slayers are also noted for their development of the Ironbound subculture of the legion. 

Hunters focus on range and stealth. Units typically associated with hunters include recon, Tactical Support, and Heavy Support clans, as well as Tanks and Artillery support. Hunters have access to the Legion's most archaic and rare ranged weaponry, and make use of quick insertion tactics, including limited use of personal teleporters outside of Tactical Dreadnought Armour.

The Warrior mark is the most common of Legion and therefore most commonly associated with Tactical clans. The mark is given to those with strong tactical sense and those who are skilled with both blade and bolter. The Warrior mark carries a very esteemed role in the legion, they are the masters of the phalanx, Shield Bearers become the anvil to break the enemy upon and typically grind the enemy down.

Combined the forces of the VI^th legion prefer an ever moving onslaught, whether in the halls of void craft or in the open field the Iron Bears rely heavily on crushing their enemy as an unstoppable tide of iron, whether the iron of shields and Tomahawks or war machines like vast Leviathans or mighty Fellblades. 

 

Pillar of Valour

The Iron Bears' exemplary service would continue throughout the Great Crusade as they lengthened their rolls of victories and honours beyond several brother Legions. When the Emperor retired to Terra and named the Primarch Alexandros as Warmaster, Daer'dd embraced the transition with boundless faith and optimism, praising the Emperor's decision. To signify his unconditional support, Dear'dd, working in tandem with the Emperor, would craft the Spear of Terra, the official emblem of the Warmaster's authority. Likewise, the Iron Bears harboured no doubts over the transition of power and would prove themselves to be reliable allies of the Warmaster again and again.

 

When the Remembrancer Edict was issued by the Council of Terra, several legions protested over the violation the remembrancers represented into their operations and culture. In contrast to them, the Iron Bears welcomed these new mortal additions to their fleets with open arms. Aided by their slowed implantation processes, the remembrancers would find the Iron Bears unusually easy to get along with and this, in turn, would lead to an unexpected boon as the news of their renown were recorded and spread throughout the Imperium. In time, the average citizen would liken the Iron Bears to one of the crucial pillars uplifting the Imperium. 

 

It was perhaps this faithfulness that would mark them for tragedy by dark forces

[simison]

The defeat of Waaagh! Skulkrak
Shortly after the 100^th year of the Great Crusade, the Iron Bears stumbled upon the Ork empire of Warboss Skulkrak. Spanning nearly a dozen systems, the empire was a hornet's nest of Greenskins, and the Iron Bears arrival woke it. The campaign which followed would be one of the bloodiest in the history of the VI^th legion, and it would eventually drag in the X^th legion as the fighting intensified, making it one of the largest campaigns in the history of the Great Crusade. 

When the Iron Bears first encountered Waaagh Skulkrak, they numbered only those of the legion who had been attached to the 76^th expedition, around 27,000 Iron Bears, including the elite Totem Guard. Meeting the Orks in battle, instead of using any complex stratagem, the Iron Bears simply hurled themselves into battle, seeking to hammer the Orks into oblivion, fighting brute force with brute force. However, far from subjugating the vast horde of Orks, this merely drew more of them to the fight as they saw in the Iron Bears a foe who would truly be a challenge to defeat. So it was that, as the Orks' numbers grew, Daer'dd was forced to muster his entire legion, all 140,000 of the Iron Bears. With his iron fist assembled, Daer'dd drove on into the Ork empire with renewed determination. 

However, while each battle fought against the Greenskins was a tactical victory, each was bought at a high price in VI^th legion blood and as the ranks of the Iron Bears were slowly whittled away, the Greenskins numbers seemed to be unharmed or even to have grown. However, retreat was not an option. They would either triumph or they would die in the attempt. Yet, it was becoming increasingly evident that Daer'dd and his sons, for all their formidable strength, lacked the numbers to see the campaign through and so, they sent out word requesting aid even as they pushed on, advancing ever further into the hornet's nest. Soon, their calls were answered by Niklaas and almost the entirety of the Fire Keepers Legion. 

United with the implacable X^th, the VI^th were able to resume their relentless advance and, while casualties were still heavy, they continued to be victorious over the Orks. In these battles, the implacable wall of the Fire Keepers often provided the anvil upon which the Greenskins were broken by the unstoppable hammer of the Iron Bears. However, while this alliance enabled them to crush the Orks, problems also arose from the two Legions' differences. On many an occasion, the headstrong sons of Huron would rush on ahead of the relentless advance of the Fire Keepers or the X^th would insist upon eradicating every trace of the Greenskins before moving on while the Iron Bears sought to crush the larger bodies of Orks, willing to leave the smaller groups until the main body of the enemy had been defeated. Despite these differences, the two Legions pushed the Orks back until, finally, they arrived at the heart of the beast's lair, the capital of Warboss Skulkrak's empire, Aexoris. 

It was upon the huge river valleys of Aexoris that the final great battle of the campaign was fought. With the full might of both legions deployed, the battle would last two days and the rivers running across the battle field would run black and red with the blood of both Orks and Space Marines as the ranks of the Iron Bears and Fire Keepers clashed with the hordes of Greenskins. As the two legions fought the Orks, Niklaas strode through the Orks, smashing dozens aside with his hammer at a time, while his brother Daer'dd and his Totem Guard charged Warboss Skulkrak and his Nobz. Being almost as large as the giant primarch, Skulkrak was without a doubt the mightiest Ork warlord ever encountered by the Imperium to that date. However, when dawn finally came on the second day, it was the Bear who was victorious, having ripped off both of Skulkrak's arms and torn the beast's spine from its back. Seeing their leader defeated, the Orks broke with many being slaughtered as they attempted to escape. 

While fighting in the former empire of Skulkrak would carry on for years after this final battle, as the Orks fought each other and the Imperial Army cleansed the systems of their presence, the Battle of Aexoris broke the back of the empire and the Waaagh. However, such victory came at a high price. Almost 18,000 Fire Keepers and more than 40,000 of the Iron Bears had been killed in the process of defeating the Waaagh. Still, after the campaign was finished, none could doubt the strength possessed by the VI^th. 

 

 

[Redd, did you have any red sections written?]

[simison]

The Breaking of the Iron Citadel Siege
An urgent request for reinforcements brought the Iron Bears to the Auretian Technocracy, where the Shepherds of Eden were aiding the Auretians against a vast Ork invasion. While Wartribes peeled off to meet the greenskins on several worlds, Daer'dd went straight to Aureus itself with the 4^th Wartribe, where a Chapter of the Shepherds and the Brotherhood of Aureus held off the Orks below the Iron Citadel. 

The Shepherds and the mortal warriors of Aureus fought bravely, and the Technocracy boasted remarkable weapons and defences, but they were gradually losing ground to the massive forces arrayed against them. The mountainous landscape around the stronghold worked against the Bears as much as it did the invaders, preventing them from simply flanking the Orks.

The greenskins were lead by a tech-caste and fielded bizarre, devastating siege weapons, which made it difficult to hold the defences against them or land further reinforcements, let alone attempt a drop-pod assault. These had to be neutralised if the Orks were to be driven back, and in any case the Bears preferred the opportunity to fight in open battle rather than hunkered down on the battlements.

To this end, Daer'dd orchestrated a feint and, after landing as many Astartes as he could risk behind the lower walls of the Iron Citadel, allowed the Orks to break a gate into the lower rings surrounding the fortress. As the horde instinctively charged forward they were caught and destroyed in carefully prepared kill zones within the walls. Daer'dd had consulted carefully with the Shepherds and Brotherhood in divising these traps and the Orks suffered ruinous casualties under the volume of fire.

In the confusion, several Clan companies deployed over the walls with the Primarch at their head. Charging into the enemy ranks, they swiftly reached the vast siege weapons, sabotaging or even turning them on one another. Despite their prowess and heroism, it would have been a suicide attack if not for the Primarch's next gambit.

The rest of the defenders pushed the Greenskins back into the outermost defences, and now the Bears could bring their vaunted mechanised units to the surface. These broke out from the defences, shattering the Ork forces as they went, while assault marines cleansed the ruined outer city. Waves of vindicators and predator tank squadrons ripped open holes in the Ork lines with thunderous explosions and high-powered lascannons. Ork counter fire aimed to stop this mechanised assault, but the Iron Bears' vehicles are infamous for their unusual modifications. One tankbusta unit managed to immobilised a vindicator, the Onslaught of Huron, at the forefront of one armoured column. To their unhappy surprise, the vindicator's crew activated a system that blew off the damaged tracks and activated a miniature grav system. Although the grav unit burned out after a few dozen metres, it was enough distance to move it into a nearby alleyway, allowing the rest of the column to continue the charge. It was a costly tactic, but incredibly effective and, with the death of the Orks Warboss at the hands of Chief Captain Cass, the invasion unraveled completely. After a short clean-up campaign the Technocracy gladly joined with the Imperium, with both the Shepherds and Bears earning great acclaim for their actions. 

 

 

[This one should appear before Skullrak. Question, what are the mechanised units mentioned? Since the Skulkrak battle emphasises the legion's infantry tactics, I think this one should focus on the Iron Bears' technical know-how.]

[simison]

The Razing of Melanaath
As humanity began to spread across the stars at an ever increasing pace, they began to encounter ever more of the Eldar vessels known as Craftworlds. Each of these vessels was aeons old and each Craftworld seemed to have a different agenda than the last yet many were actively hostile to the Imperium. One such Craftworld was Craftworld Melanaath. Launching an assault of the Angva system, the Craftworld razed two Imperial worlds before it fled at the approach of the VI^th legion. However, they had gravely underestimated the VI^th and their Primarch as well as the anger that the Eldar's actions would evoke in Daer'dd. The Primarch went into a great rage, the like of which the VI^th, his brothers and the crew of the Dragon of Autumn had never seen before. While he initially intended to give chase himself, he was persuaded by his brother Alexandros that he could not afford to do so, for he was needed on the front lines of the Great Crusade. While he accepted this to be true, Daer'dd also knew that he would know no peace until Craftworld Menalaath was destroyed and the human lives lost avenged. So it was that he despatched Chief Damon Redd and the 4^th and 5^th Grand Wartribes to enact his will. 

As the Craftworld sought to escape and their liege returned to the front lines of the Great Crusade, the Iron King and his forces eagerly took up the chase. Rapidly catching up with the Craftworld, the vessels of the VI^th put their plan into action. 

Three VI^th Legion ships, the Emeperor's Levaithan, Hideous Strength, and Terrible Weight, closed with the Craftworld. Once within range, they fired their ursus claws at the Eldar ship, pinning it in place and then loosed a volley of cannon fire and boarding torpedoes. These early boarding parties were then followed by units of Totem Guard terminators launching a teleport assault onto the Craftworld. The objective of these units was to secure landing zones for VI^th Legion armour and knight support to board the Craftworld. 

For almost six hours, the fighting around these zones swung back and forth between the two armies, with the Eldar desperately trying to throw the Iron Bears off of their Craftworld, and the Iron Bears clinging on to the zones by whatever means necessary. However, the Eldar could not move the VI^th's elite and, while costly, the Totem Guard were able to secure the landing zones, allowing the 4^th to board the Craftworld with armour and knights. 

Over the next five days, the Iron Bears would engage the Eldar in a brutal battle amidst the winding corridors and fake forests of the Craftworld. In this savage battle, there were no front lines, only individual combats. Iron Bears squads were frequently ambushed by units of striking scorpions or aspect warriors as they fought their way through the Craftworld and no mercy was given nor was any expected. By the fifth day, the Craftworld resembled an abattoir more than what the healthy home it had once been. It's forests burned and the ship itself was gradually being blasted apart as the Iron Bears destroyed many vital structures within it and slaughtered it's inhabitants, earning the nickname the "Dread Blades" from the Eldar. 

During this savage fighting, many warriors of the VI^th​ accomplished deeds of martial skill and determination that are worthy of their own epics. One Iron Bear, Enoch Awanjish held out against the Eldar for four hours despite having lost his legs below the knee and having to amputate his own left hand. Using the bodies of his dead brethren for cover, he fought off four separate attacks by Eldar aspect warriors before being relieved and was later promoted to sergeant for his actions. Then there was Chief Ah'nek, the "giant", who slew countless Eldar warriors. However, by far the most heroic deed was that accomplished by Damon Redd himself, who bested an avatar of Khaine in single combat after a duel lasting almost an hour and slaughtered his way to a kill count exceeding one thousand. 

By the time the battle was over, Melanaath was a graveyard, a hollow shell of what it had once been. Every last one of it's inhabitants had been butchered and vengeance exacted for the destroyed Imperial worlds. However, the price payed by the VI^th​ had been heavy, with them losing nearly 10,000 brothers amidst the corridors of Melanaath. Such is the price payed to keep safe the Imperial domain.