The Banished Brigade

[Bruce Malcom]

The Chapter's Lore So Far--------

 

In M39, an Ultramarine Captain for a Successor Chapter was accused of Heresy by a power-mad Inquisitor.

 

The rumors were true, he did side with the Tau in an effort to save his men from death by Ork. The combined forces slew the Orks with barely any casualties, and that system was saved from inevitable destruction.

 

But the Inquisitor had sunk his talons deep into the Chapter. You see, the Chapter back in M38 was thoroughly damaged by a long campaign fighting off the forces of Chaos. As such, the Astartes sook places where they could obtain reinforcements. An Inquisitor had offered to supply them with people from his personal world, which he had owned via blackmail of the actual planetary government.

 

The Astartes took the offer, and had people loyal to the Inquisitor join their ranks. But the Chapter-Master had to go.

 

On the Eve of the 40th Millennium, the Chapter-Master was assassinated by the Inquisitor's Vindicare Assassins. The aforementioned Captain would have been the next in line to become Chapter-Master, but the Inquisitor wanted one of his own men loyal to him to be in charge, but the Inquisitor had other plans. In an insane twist of deception and blackmail, the Captain was no longer next in line; the Inquisitor's chosen one was.

 

Afterwards, the aforementioned event happened and the Inquisitor had the opening to get rid of the Captain, being the only threat to his nigh-complete control of the Chapter. The Captain had done similar things in the past, and the Inquisitor intended to frame this time as 'the one time too many'.

 

But half the Astartes knew the truth, in the hidden logs the late Chapter-Master had written. They rescued the Captain, knowing he is the true Chapter-Master, and a civil war was raged within the Chapter.

 

The ones loyal to the Captain escaped from certain death on a Long Serpent vessel, one named 'The Imperial Longsword'. The ship and it's crew became local legends, as they continued the deeds the Adeptus Astartes were made to achieve.

 

The Captain, renamed 'Validor' with no surname, led the newly formed Renegade Chapter into a war from all sides.

 

They are still around by M42, and they even have Primaris Space Marines.

 

----------------

Chapter Cry: "Even Banished We Still Stand"

 

(Please assist in fixing the Lore if it conflicts with previous lore)

Edited March 22, 2019 by Bruce Malcom

[Felix Antipodes]

How have they managed to secure Primaris reinforcements from the Imperium?

[Bruce Malcom]

How have they managed to secure Primaris reinforcements from the Imperium?

Stealing Gene-Seeds from weak Successor Chapters shouldn't be that hard, especially with a near-full strength Chapter battle-hardened from being alone in the Eastern Fringes for a few millennia. (Sorry if that came off harsh.)

[BattleBrother446]

So they are to be Renegades then?

 

How do they steal the geneseed? Are they pirating Tithe ships? Or are they ripping it straight from the bloody corpses of recently murdered Primaris Astartes?

[Bruce Malcom]

So they are to be Renegades then?

How do they steal the geneseed? Are they pirating Tithe ships? Or are they ripping it straight from the bloody corpses of recently murdered Primaris Astartes?

Preferably the first one...though the second one is still a viable option.

[BattleBrother446]

So it is true then!  Not only are they guilty of cavorting with the Xenos enemies of man, they have also turned against their Brothers!

 

Alright, I am going to tease you to flesh this out!  

 

So, this is a chapter that is loyal to the Emperor, but actively fights against his agents, both loyal and disloyal alike, to keep themselves alive.  How does the chapter reconcile this for themselves?  How do they understand their contribution to the Imperium as anything other than the self-serving hypocrisy they are accused of?  And what happened to the marines loyal to the Machiavellian Inquisitor?  Were there enough left to maintain chapter status, or where they folded back into other chapters?  Oooo, or ... did the ship carrying them to their absorbing chapter "mysteriously" disappear, with reports suddenly appearing of this Inquisitor romping around with shadowy, charge-less Astartes?

 

You might consider the example of the Astral Claws.  Their chapter master, I believe, did turn to Chaos, but he was also extremely resourceful, keeping his warriors armed and equipped by any means necessary.  Nevertheless, even he was not able to avoid capture and certain death by gallivanting around openly in Imperial space.  He retreated to the Maelstrom for safety.

 

How does your chapter remain undetected?

[Doctor Perils]

 

How have they managed to secure Primaris reinforcements from the Imperium?

Stealing Gene-Seeds from weak Successor Chapters shouldn't be that hard, especially with a near-full strength Chapter battle-hardened from being alone in the Eastern Fringes for a few millennia. (Sorry if that came off harsh.)

 

Woah there! Stealing a chapter's geneseed is never going to be an easy thing as they are the most defended part of their chapter - it is at the very core of the chapter itself after all.

 

Further, Primaris marines have special organs, and therefore a more complex implantation procedure - as such, to create one an older chapter don't just need the new geneseed, they need to get the information to actually implant it correctly. In addition, they would need all the extra gear that came with the new Primaris (mkX, bolt rifles, etc.) though admittedly this could be easier to come by.

Think of it this way: if all you needed to create Primaris marines was the geneseed itself, and if it was so easy to steal it from smaller successor chapters, why haven't chaos been doing that this entire time, rather than bothering attacking the larger geneseed stock facilities?

Like Hydra Cordatus in Wrath of Iron

 

Now, that doesn't mean you have to get rid of everything you have - all that would be needed is to transpose it all into the time period after the beginning of the Indomitus Crusade.

 

 

To be honest, the way you present your timeline is a bit confusing - you start in M39, go back to M38, and then back again to M40. It also would be more easy to read if you presented some character and chapter names (for example, presenting the "captain" as an Ultramarine in a "successor chapter" is confusing)

 

Whatsmore, it seems like your characters live really old? the way you write it, it sounds like Validor is still leading them in M42... so he's like more than two millenia old? As a reminder, Dante (Chapter Master of the Blood Angels) is stated as being the oldest space marine in the Imperium, and he's been leading the chapter for a thousand years, which is stated as exceptional, even in a chapter as long lived as the Blood Angels. The Inquisitor similarly seems like he is more than a millenium old by the time of your story, which is definitely pushing the limits of mortal lifetimes, even considering Juvenat treatments and the like.

These problems are also fixed by transposing it all into the context of the Indomitus Crusade.

 

 

And most of all, I'd like to see the personality of the chapter and the main character himself? At the moment this all feels more like a prolonged action sequence, which isn't enough to build a chapter (though it is a good start :) )

One thing I haven't mentioned is how I'm surprised there's some kind of "line of succession" which can be manipulated from outside: normally it looks like Marine chapters decide on a new chapter master after his death, generally voted for by the captains or chaplains or something of the sort. Here however you seem to have a sort of feudal line of succession? If that's the case, it could very well be the seed for putting a bit more flesh on the bones? Perhaps they hail from a feudal world with a strong sense of nobility which was copied into the chapter, along with the lines of succession?

[Bruce Malcom]

So it is true then! Not only are they guilty of cavorting with the Xenos enemies of man, they have also turned against their Brothers!

 

Alright, I am going to tease you to flesh this out! :devil:

 

So, this is a chapter that is loyal to the Emperor, but actively fights against his agents, both loyal and disloyal alike, to keep themselves alive. How does the chapter reconcile this for themselves? How do they understand their contribution to the Imperium as anything other than the self-serving hypocrisy they are accused of? And what happened to the marines loyal to the Machiavellian Inquisitor? Were there enough left to maintain chapter status, or where they folded back into other chapters? Oooo, or ... did the ship carrying them to their absorbing chapter "mysteriously" disappear, with reports suddenly appearing of this Inquisitor romping around with shadowy, charge-less Astartes?

 

You might consider the example of the Astral Claws. Their chapter master, I believe, did turn to Chaos, but he was also extremely resourceful, keeping his warriors armed and equipped by any means necessary. Nevertheless, even he was not able to avoid capture and certain death by gallivanting around openly in Imperial space. He retreated to the Maelstrom for safety.

 

How does your chapter remain undetected?

Now this...this is helpful. Thank you.

 

It's considered a necessary evil, as with the Gene-Seeds they steal they use to craft warriors they later use to protect, say, Agri-Worlds from Nurgle Cults or Orks from innocent and defenseless Fuedal Worlds. They believe that the Emperor, if he truly does protect, would want his loyal warriors to protect his people, Mankind, for him...even if it means taking another Chapter's gene-seed. Most of it doesn't leave Validor's inner circle, anyway, in an effort to keep his men in line and having less moral questions.

 

Gotta have Grimdark in there somewhere.

 

The other chapter, for now I shall call 'the Progenitor Chapter (still working on a name)' held itself together, as the Inquistior had just obtained what he always wanted; an entire Astartes chapter. He ruled over his section of the Imperium with an Iron Fist; the planets knew the Inquisitor as a dark yet protecting Archangel of the Emperor himself.

 

The Inquisitor was found guility of being a Heretic, and was slain. His Chapter became seperate once more, as their Inquisitor-Controlled Chapter-Master was also found guility by conspiring with the Heretic, as they did not need a repeat of the past.

 

The Chapter had a great stain on it afterwards, and they were forced to fight against the Green Tide soon afterwards. Since, they have always been Understrength, constantly pushed to fight in Unwinnable wars in an effort to prove their loyalty. The Inquisitor's name was uttered with Curses and dark intentions by the Chapter soon after - by the 42nd Millenium, he had become something of a myth; a boogyman to the Chapter.

 

They were forever untrusting of Inquisitors ever since.

 

The Banished Brigade remains undetected by being always on the run in a pattern across various Feudal, Feral, and desolate worlds as a chance to escape to the stars and become Astartes for children who despised being stuck on the land. Many of the Chapter's heroes came out of this noble origin.

 

 

How have they managed to secure Primaris reinforcements from the Imperium?

 

Stealing Gene-Seeds from weak Successor Chapters shouldn't be that hard, especially with a near-full strength Chapter battle-hardened from being alone in the Eastern Fringes for a few millennia. (Sorry if that came off harsh.)

Woah there! Stealing a chapter's geneseed is never going to be an easy thing as they are the most defended part of their chapter - it is at the very core of the chapter itself after all.

 

Further, Primaris marines have special organs, and therefore a more complex implantation procedure - as such, to create one an older chapter don't just need the new geneseed, they need to get the information to actually implant it correctly. In addition, they would need all the extra gear that came with the new Primaris (mkX, bolt rifles, etc.) though admittedly this could be easier to come by.

Think of it this way: if all you needed to create Primaris marines was the geneseed itself, and if it was so easy to steal it from smaller successor chapters, why haven't chaos been doing that this entire time, rather than bothering attacking the larger geneseed stock facilities?

Like Hydra Cordatus in Wrath of Iron

 

Now, that doesn't mean you have to get rid of everything you have - all that would be needed is to transpose it all into the time period after the beginning of the Indomitus Crusade.

 

 

To be honest, the way you present your timeline is a bit confusing - you start in M39, go back to M38, and then back again to M40. It also would be more easy to read if you presented some character and chapter names (for example, presenting the "captain" as an Ultramarine in a "successor chapter" is confusing)

 

Whatsmore, it seems like your characters live really old? the way you write it, it sounds like Validor is still leading them in M42... so he's like more than two millenia old? As a reminder, Dante (Chapter Master of the Blood Angels) is stated as being the oldest space marine in the Imperium, and he's been leading the chapter for a thousand years, which is stated as exceptional, even in a chapter as long lived as the Blood Angels. The Inquisitor similarly seems like he is more than a millenium old by the time of your story, which is definitely pushing the limits of mortal lifetimes, even considering Juvenat treatments and the like.

These problems are also fixed by transposing it all into the context of the Indomitus Crusade.

 

 

And most of all, I'd like to see the personality of the chapter and the main character himself? At the moment this all feels more like a prolonged action sequence, which isn't enough to build a chapter (though it is a good start :) )

One thing I haven't mentioned is how I'm surprised there's some kind of "line of succession" which can be manipulated from outside: normally it looks like Marine chapters decide on a new chapter master after his death, generally voted for by the captains or chaplains or something of the sort. Here however you seem to have a sort of feudal line of succession? If that's the case, it could very well be the seed for putting a bit more flesh on the bones? Perhaps they hail from a feudal world with a strong sense of nobility which was copied into the chapter, along with the lines of succession?

I kinda wanted to start in M38, but I do realize now how impossible that would be. I shall do a revamped post taking in your suggestions soon. I also meant the Captain was a Captain in a Successor Chapter of the Ultramarines.

 

Also, the Feudal World suggestion fixes that problem. I was a bit worried about that, you know, it wasn't a democracy like normal chapters. If you'd like, I guess I could do a complete backstory on the Progenitor Chapter.

 

The Chapter is a noble chapter led by people who aren't so noble. While they are doing the right thing, Validor has been doing incredibly shady things to keep the Chapter alive. He's a good man with a good heart stuck in the world of thieves, treachery, and Chaos. He doesn't like his position and hates the Inquisitor who did all this with a burning passion; a tad scary considering who Khorne picks up and where they are. The Chapter is made up of brave men (and if you count some of the serfs and some of the Tech-Priest's Skitarii, Women) who defend what they care for no matter the cost (well, to a degree. No heretical things.), and they have a unique Astartes Progression system, similar to how an Astartes goes to the Deathwatch.

 

The Chapter is a heroic Astartes chapter who don't care they've been excommunicated; the Chapter-Master is a tortured soul with a heart of gold (by our standards, too!), forced into the mud that is Xenos, gangs, and worse, in order to keep said Chapter alive and kicking.

Edited March 25, 2019 by Bruce Malcom

[Bruce Malcom]

In the 40th Millennium, a Successor Chapter to the Ultramarines fought a grizzly battle against the Green Tide - one barely won. The newly made Chapter-Master had risen to power mere hours before the battle began; nonetheless he was praised for turning around a battle thought lost before it began.

 

But an Inquisitor, one who loyally served the Imperium for quite some time, had plans for the Chapter. He was a power-mad maniac who was in good standing with Imperial Forces due to earlier victories, and as such he already had a strong grip on his system. Sensing the opportunity the weakened chapter was, he let them draw forces from his world.

 

But, the Recruits were loyal to the Inquisitor due to experiences before their augmentations, and they remained loyal afterwards. The Chapter-Master grew wary of the Inquisitor, and was about to break ties.

 

But the Inquisitor's work was done; his Vindicare Assassins had killed the Chapter-Master early on into the Indomtitus Crusade, and only hours before, the Astartes next in line was being accused of heresy, due to his involvement with Tau Forces in an effort to save his men from the Green Tide. Now, normally an Inquisitor wouldn't care, for the most part. But this Inquisitor had lined up his cards just right. Long after the man's death, people accused him of perhaps being a cultist of Tzeench.

 

Regardless of Chaotic involvement, the Captain was found guilty, and a new Chapter-Master, one placed by the Inquisitor, controlled the Chapter. It was all a facade, however, as the true leader of the Chapter was the Inquisitor.

 

But his friends within the Chapter knew the truth about the parasitic Inquisitor through the late Chapter-Master's notes, and ignited a civil war. They knew that the Captain was the true Chapter-Master. As they raided their former Chapter's Gene-Seed stock and equipment able to make Primaris Space Marines, they escaped on a vessel; a Long-Serpent by the name of 'The Imperial Longsword'.

 

Afterwards the Chapter saved countless civilians and killed hundreds of Xenos and Heretics, like any Space Marine Chapter should, but it all came at great costs. The Captain, now renamed 'Validor' without a surname, had to constantly do shady behind-the-back deals with Rogue Traders, Xenos, and desperate Forge-Worlds. He was truly not where a man of his kindness and good heart should be.

 

His Chapter, when in desperate times, resort to desperate measures; even willing to steal from their Brothers. Gene-Seeds, weapons, armor...whatever works.

 

The other chapter, called 'Red Calibers' held itself together, as the Inquistior had just obtained what he always wanted; an entire Astartes chapter. He ruled over his section of the Imperium with an Iron Fist; the planets knew the Inquisitor as a dark yet protecting Archangel of the Emperor himself.

 

The Inquisitor was found guility of being a Heretic, and was slain. The Red Calibers became seperate once more, as their Inquisitor-Controlled Chapter-Master was also found guility by conspiring with the Heretic, as they did not need a repeat of the past.

 

The Chapter had a great stain on it afterwards, and they were forced to fight against the Green Tide soon afterwards. Since, they have always been Understrength, constantly pushed to fight in Unwinnable wars in an effort to prove their loyalty. The Inquisitor's name was uttered with Curses and dark intentions by the Chapter soon after - by the the end of the Crusade, he had become something of a myth; a boogyman to the Chapter.

 

They were forever untrusting of Inquisitors ever since.

 

The Banished Brigade remains undetected by being always on the run in a pattern across various Feudal, Feral, and desolate worlds as a chance to escape to the stars and become Astartes for children who despised being stuck on the land. Many of the Chapter's heroes came out of this noble origin.

 

The Chapter-Masters' secretly still talk to one another; the Chapter-Master of the Red Calibers was a Marine fighting for Validor's side back during the schism. They communicate and even supply one another with vehicles and gear. All of this is heavily secured, however, and no one outside the Chapters would notice; though the Astartes within each chapter know very well of the interactions.

 

The way that the Banished Brigade run themselves is through tiers. A Scout Marine transitions into a Space Marine, and then a Space Marine becomes a Special Operations Marine; a better equipped and better trained Space Marine, usually clad in Mark Six. After that is Assault Operations Marines, blurring the lines between Terminator and Space Marine, they are equipped with the strongest Armor available and the heaviest weapons to go with it. Past that is Lieutenant versions of the aforementioned, Captains, etc. etc.

 

Validor still runs his Chapter, even after all this time, and he still hasn't broken. Willing to take torture from Dark Eldar before jeopardizing his men, Validor is a man you can count on to keep you safe. He allows any and all Marines, Guardsmen, and Adeptus Mechanicus to join him. It usually doesn't happen but he's quite happy when it does. The Sisters of Battle on the other hand is too close to the Inquisitors for it to be safe, however. His talent with a Power Sword is great enough to challenge even a skilled Grey Knight, and he has a good enough aim to snipe the head of a Hormuguant a few thousand yards away.

 

He is not without flaws, however, and when he is defeated in combat, something tragic always happens. Be it a massive causality spike, the loss of important gear, or even the crashing of his ship. He strives to be better in combat, constantly training while not in combat.

 

Though he may seem stoic, Validor has hurt himself (and nearly gotten killed) running out into the mist of gunfire to drag back a wounded Marine or human, regardless of their opinion of his Chapter. They are protectors of humanity, and it was time to start preserving that life.

 

----------------

Chapter Cry: "Even While Banished, We Fight FOR THE EMPEROR!"

 

(I made a Gallery of how they look, it's where it should be)

 

Color Scheme: Abbadon Black and Khorne Red (I know, I know, edgy tween black-and-red Space Marines, but you cannot deny they look great together, especially on Astartes.)

 

Weapon Choice: When they have the luxury of choosing, most go with Bolters, and a bit of Melta. The Plasma Wielders were most likely stolen Gene-Seeds.

 

Vehicle Choice: None, or light tanks and a few Rhinos for when they have to get around with protection. Bikes are always handy though.

[Bruce Malcom]

The Banished Brigade's Chapter Sub Cultures are primarily birthed from a certain Company within the Chapter.

 

'Dux' First Company: The standard First Company. It follows the Codex to an extent, knowing when to deviate. Contains fifty of the two hundred surviving Red Calibers from the early days of the Chapter. It is usually called 'The Glue' or 'The Seal' due to it's nature to bridge old and new Astartes together. Due to their experienced nature, only the best of the best are allowed within the Company.

 

'Malleus' Second Company: The Codex Compliant Company. They follow it as intensive as their Ultramarine forefathers. They are usually the Company that uses up the most recruits.

 

'Ferox' Third Company: The company made of exclusively Veterans of the Red Caliber Civil War. They defy death expectations and as a result have a lot of experience dealing with the mightiest of warriors. They are equipped with the hardest-to-master weapons and vehicles due to their mastery of them after all this time. They are rarely deployed.

 

'Griseo' Fourth Company: The Company which was secretly made from stolen Gray Knight Gene-Seeds. They are, like the Gray Knights, all Psykers. They are formidable foes, especially with their immense Psyker powers. They are low in number due to the amount of Gene-Seeds they stole.

 

'Furtim' Fifth Company: The Company specializing in stealth and stealing. They are comprised of exclusively Special Ops Marines and are only given Precision Weaponry. Stalkers, Sniper Bolt Guns, and of course Heavy Boltpistols. Their Primaris Marines are exclusively Reivers.

 

More coming soon.

[Bruce Malcom]

'Arbius' Sixth Company: The Company normally used for First-Contact situations. They are trained for anything. They tend to be comprised of Special Ops, but normal Astartes and Intercessors are common within their ranks.

 

'Neo' Seventh Company: The Company formed of Scouts. They are sometimes new trainees, other times Astartes from a time where they did not have the necessary resources to finish the augmentations. There tends to be a low casualty rate, surprisingly. Their leaders have taught them well. Not all Astartes survive until full augmentation, however.

 

'Salvator' Eighth Company: A strange company. A weird batch of Gene-Seeds had a minor malfunction; the receiver of the Geneseed developed a 'Savior Complex'. Kept under close watch.

 

'Ignis' Ninth Company: A Company made of exclusively stolen Salamander Gene-seeds. Nothing more, nothing less. Their armor is painted black and green instead of black and red.

 

'Ferro' Tenth Company: The Heavy Weapons Company. Usually is packed with the only two Terminators, Dreadnaughts, Bikes, Assault Ops Marines, the Deathwatch-Inspired Marines, the stolen Imperial Fist Geneseed Marines, and tanks. Well over Company standard, hundred and sixty in number not counting serfs and Guardsmen looking for some serious firepower. Who said Guardsmen can't operate Rocket Launchers?

 

The Fallen Eleventh Company: In a glorious year for the Banished Brigade, their numbers grew to a point where they could make an eleventh company. They had a couple ships, numbering at least five. This eleventh companies' ship was lost in the Warp for about a month. They came back, telling tales of scary daemons and heroic sacrifices, and missing half their Astartes, claiming they fell to the a Ruinous Powers. The very next day, their Captain began screaming truths of the universe; he was falling to Tzeench. Suddenly, a couple marines burst with their guts spilling out and Poxwalkers that were once Guardsmen began crawling from the Morgue; fifteen more began ripping apart the nearest Marine not from the Eleventh Company begging for blood and skulls. Others killed Astartes in an effort to finish a hobby project.

 

The ship fell back to the Warp, Gellar Field disabled. Their fates were unknown, although it is assumed they joined the Legions of Chaos Space Marines. Others tell the tale of the Company becoming a Warband and using Banished Brigade tactics and hierarchy, growing in number using Traitor Gene-Seeds.

[Bruce Malcom]

Coming back to this with a greater understanding of 40k lore, I...cannot help but cringe. I apologize, brothers.

 

Going to start the reworking with the companies, then tackle the rest of this beast. Can't field an army with lore like this...

 

'Dux' First Company: The standard First Company. It follows the Codex to an extent, knowing when to deviate. Contains fifty of the two hundred surviving Red Calibers from the early days of the Chapter. It is usually called 'The Glue' or 'The Seal' due to it's nature to bridge old and new Astartes together. Due to their experienced nature, only the best of the best are allowed within the Company.

 

'Malleus' Second Company: The Codex Compliant Company. They follow it as intensively as their Ultramarine forefathers. They are usually the Company that uses up the most recruits.

 

'Ferox' Third Company: The company made of exclusively Veterans of the Red Caliber Civil War. They have survived unusually long and as a result have a lot of experience dealing with the mightiest of warriors. They are equipped with the hardest-to-master weapons and vehicles due to their mastery of them after all this time. They are rarely deployed, due to the increasing rarity of veterans from that war.

 

'Griseo' Fourth Company: --Destroyed at Battle of Hembedicus IV-- The Fourth Company served, officially, as the back-up to the second and first companies, when more Astartes on the field were required. Unofficially, the Fourth Company was the testbed for many experiments that the shattered Librarium of the Chapter wished to see through, to rebuild their ranks. As an effect of the constant failures, and accidental chaos incursions, the fourth company was regularly depleted in number. Due to the rising tensions between the Chief Librarian Stinvicta and Chapter-Master Validor the First, this company rarely received any more marines than forty to sixty at a time. When the devastating battle of Hembedicus IV, a campaign to retake a system from a vile chaos warlord, occurred. The second company, taking heavy losses, requested more marines on the field. It is unknown if the captain of the second company specifically asked for the forth company, or if Validor the First purposely sent them. Either way, the company was completely destroyed during the battle.

 

'Furtim' Fifth Company: The Company specializing in stealth and stealing. They are comprised of exclusively veteran marines and are only given Precision Weaponry. Stalkers, Sniper Bolt Guns, and of course Heavy Boltpistols. Their Primaris Marines are exclusively Reivers. The fifth company is no stranger to espionage and thievery of equipment. When times get tough, the captain of the Fifth and a chosen consular, beit a lieutenant or a recently promoted tactical marine, meet with the Chapter-Master to discuss the most moral target to steal equipment and supplies from. It usually is a chapter abusing their power, but once or twice in the chapter's history, they have stolen from more noble chapters. As a result of these praticies, the company as a whole must abandon their old moral codes and replace it with a solemn, unbreakable loyalty to the chapter and nothing more.

 

'Arbius' Sixth Company: The Company normally used for First-Contact situations. They are trained for anything, beit Xenos, heretics, or rebels. They tend to have a certain skill to go from kind, understanding, and overall diplomatic, to unwavering and strategic Astartes once negotiations go south.

 

'Neo' Seventh Company: The Company formed of Scouts. They are sometimes new trainees, other times Astartes from a time where they did not have the necessary resources to finish the augmentations. Some scouts choose to stay scouts for various reasons (though this is extremely rare), and others are sometimes even promoted from scouts to veterans due to their time in the company and their services to the chapter.

 

'Salvator' Eighth Company: --Destroyed in the Vector Incursions-- An experiment within the chapter by the Chief Librarian, the eighth company suffers from over-propagandic rewriting of the brain during the completion of augmentation, resulting in a company that is alley comprised of off-tilt marines who are arguably lunatics. They believe every act they conduct is either the fulfillment of the Emperor's will, or rightly justified, due to a myriad of reasons. The eighth company was the final straw in the relationship between the Chief Librarian and Validor the First, and when they first met the Vector Royalists -a Forge World that would go on to patron them and four other chapters in the Dark Imperium, in the name of re-establishing order- they were sent in to help stop a daemonic incursion occurring in one of their neighboring mining planets. The Eighth Company and much of the Librarium that was deemed too loyal to the Chief Librarian, as well as the Chief Librarian himself, were slain in vicious combat.

 

Ninth Company: --Destroyed in the Oricnar Sieges-- History unknown.

 

'Ferro' Tenth Company: The Heavy Weapons Company. Usually is packed with the only two Terminators, Dreadnaughts, Bikes, the most experienced veterans, some marines inspired by the Deathwatch in terms of tactics and ammunition types, and tanks. Well over Company standard, hundred and sixty in number not counting serfs and Guardsmen looking for some serious firepower. Who said Guardsmen can't operate Rocket Launchers?

 

Here it is for now.

[Bruce Malcom]

In 832.M41, the Red Calibers, a chapter of Ultramarine decent, fought against a major WAAAGH in the incredibly brutal Ospellian Crusade. Only through the tactics and strategies of their newly appointed Chapter Master did they live to see the tale. This Chapter Master, Averus Aspellios the Strategist, was the last before a great schism took the chapter by storm.

 

Due to the Chapter Master before Aspellios's rash actions and glory-blinded eyes, the chapter was beaten and nearly broken. Their homeworld, lost to the fires of war against an enemy which not only pushed back, but drove into their very home system. Desperate for a new homeworld so the chapter could refill it's ranks, Aspellios struck an ill-fated deal with an Inquisitor, who also doubled as a planetary general because of a clause in a system's political structure. The chapter gained a planet and new acolytes, but at a cost still unknown.

 

The new acolytes, drawn from the Inquisitor's imperial world, were mostly still loyal to the Inquisitor, after even after the chapter's processes of becoming a full space marine. The Inquisitor, blinded by power and gleeful at the thought of adding an Astartes chapter to his collection of assets, sent in an assasin to eliminate Aspellios and appoint a new Chapter Master, one that served him.

 

The assasin completed his job perfectly. Normally, a Chapter-Master, due to the chapter's fuedal origins, was appointed as a heir to the Chapter Master, when said Chapter Master dies. However, it becomes a democracy if no appointed heir is found before death.

 

Aspellios' heir was not chosen, and so, with the Inquisitor's plan about to finish, a new, Inquisitor-loyal Chapter Master was appointed, Rodrick Dulee, the Traitor.

 

Disapproving of the direction Dulee was taking the chapter, blindly agreeing to the aging Inquisitor and seemingly having no real qualities of his own, the veterans and a few newer marines secretly sought out Aspellios' selected heir, not believing he had not selected one. Finally, they discovered the selected heir of Aspellios, locked away in one of the Chapter's vaults in their Battle Barge.

 

Aspellios selected Kaask Validor, one of the Validor brothers in the First Company. And so, a civil war was born. One side defending the chapter's rights and freedoms, with Validor as their leader, and those loyal to the Inquisitor, led by the Inquisitor himself and Dulee.

 

Three hundred years of bitter war, followed by divided Primaris reinforcements, led to the remaining Validor-led Astartes to steal one of the last remaining ships of the Red Caliber fleet; the Imperial Longsword, a Long Serpent-Class vessel. On the first fateful trip from the shipyards of the Red Calibers and an unknown destination, Kaask Validor declared that they were no longer Red Calibers. They were the Banished Brigade now.

 

Back home, a few stragglers of Validor's resistance managed to secretly worm their way to commanding positions in the chapter, and when the Inquisitor and his Chapter-Master were found guilty of heresy by other members of the Inquisition, they assumed control and did their best to realign the chapter to Validor's point of view, and the legacy Aspellios had left behind.

 

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The Banished Brigade, now on the run, normally travels between a set of systems all dedicated to the new cause of re-establishing order to the Dark Imperium. With their normal Forge World cut off from the Banished Brigade, they stumbled upon the Vector Royalists, who had similar goals in mind, or so they said. United with this Forge World and a few other chapters, they wage an unending crusade to re-establish order and re-direct tyrants abusing their power and the lack of law to foes more deserving of their wrath, such as the rampant Xenos or the foul servants of Chaos found spewing from the Great Rift.

 

With the renovations to the chapter after taking the Imperial Longsword, new traditions were born. All Chapter-Masters were to have the surname of Validor, and they were not to fire upon non-corrupted humans unless absolutely necessary, instead, redirecting them against Chaos or Xeno empires.

 

Validor the First is no stranger to traitors, and he has faced many diplomatic and personal challenges. He is skilled in both negotiation and battle, and has aim with both bolter and pen.

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With the Great Rift opened during the Civil War, the Red Calibers were divided on both sides of the rift and fighting the soon-to-be Banished Brigade. This problem persisted, even after the execution of the Inquisitor and those closely affiliated with him. This division in numbers, coupled with excessive penitent crusades, has damaged the chapter to almost a point of no return. Only with the rediscovery of the world of Ospellia did the chapter have hope for the first time in a hundred and a half years.

 

Finding a new homeworld after the end of the last of the penitent crusades so quickly allowed for the chapter to begin rebuilding before their next major assignment, against an invading chaos fleet.

 

However, their Dark Imperium half did not fare as well. Unable to establish a constant connection with their other half, and unable to find a proper homeworld, the Dark Imperium-side Red Calibers were everything but extinct. After placing themselves in the way of a WAAAGH and an Agri-World feeding tens of billions of humans, the Calibers were finally reduced to a mere two shattered companies, with a single ship and three survivng apothecaries. The end of times had seemingly come, before the Banished Brigade came to help them rebuild as well. With the assistance of the chapter and it's allies, the Dark Imperium-side Red Calibers, now known as the Crimson Calibers, was restored to five hundred marines in the duration of two hundred years.

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