HRE/Teutonic Order Concept

[Grey Hunter Ydalir]

Not exactly, I used it as more as a descriptive term and yes, somewhat inaccurately. Plenty of stuff get's misused or bastardized though history and I simply wanted to use something that was relevant to the period they draw from historically, but also a bit of a misnomer. A reference to what was originally intended, but hasn't been practically feasible. I wanted to use a different term than 'Battle Company' considering how different the companies are from your codex chapter, to differentiate them without too much explanation.

 

I also didn't want to include a big explanation of it in the piece, but I might have to include some throw away line, since I know well enough it's in the title but not referenced in the piece below it, but I do need to add a little more to it anyway.

 

*edit*

 

These guys almost seem like Iron Warriors, I could always jump on the Loyalists of Traitor Legions bandwagon, and I've always loved the Pre-Heresy Iron Warriors (though not Purty), but I think they work better overall as an Imperial Fist successor.

Edited September 2, 2020 by Grey Hunter Ydalir

[Grey Hunter Ydalir]

The Fleet.

 

The Imperial fleet within the Rift has been a bastion, striking the enemies of the Imperium from the skies of the Rifts worlds, opening supply lines for the Imperials and blockading hostile worlds in preparation for invasion. The Imperial Navy has arguably been the single most greatest asset available to the expedition, almost single-handedly bringing the space-borne assets of multiple hostile worlds to heel while simultaneously blockading larger threats and clearing space lanes for supply. The Naval arm of the expedition was one of the only fully fleshed arm of the entire ordeal.

 

The Leos Alatus by contrast had few ships to their name. The half-chapter that had shipped out were provided with three Strike Cruisers and six Gladius - Class Escorts. As such the Astartes ships were initially used only for engagements where they could be used to the absolute maximum of their strengths, such as Orbital assaults or close-range ambush tactics. For all other duties, the Navy had to take up the slack. To combat a comparative lack of presence, single squads of proven veterans were detached from individual companies to act as boarding shock troops and bodyguard for fleet commanders.

 

Over time the chapters fleet has fluctuated somewhat, with ships going in and out of service due to battle damage, having to be held by a makeshift dry-dock of Mechanicus forge ships, a process slowed down all the more by additional Naval repairs and refits. The fleets of the expedition were not immune from some of the unrest and mutiny that had plagued the Imperial forces since being cut off from the greater Imperium. While the larger ships were mostly immune due to an overwhelming presence of either attached Imperial Guard, Astartes or loyal Armsmen, as well as a far stronger internal culture of history and loyalty, some others were not so lucky.

 

With the lifting of the Rift's surrounding nebula once again, the Chapter has been forced to spread it's fleet and men thin to cover the new threats arrayed against them. While the chapter still has a relatively small fleet compared to even those of a relatively similar length of service, the Indomitus Crusade has brought not only men but also materiel and weapons to the chapter, including a mandate for the Mechanicus to provide them with the ships needed of their now increased numbers.

 

 

[bOXOUT - The battle for the Intractable]

 

The most infamous Naval mutiny in the Rift was of the Cruiser Inescapable, which, while performing a planetary suppression operation had it's recently press-ganged crew and ratings turned against them by a handful of rebellious orators from the world below, whom had allowed themselves to be taken to then whip the newly pressed crew into a mutinous tide. The ships Command officers died at their posts, holding out long enough to send out a distress call, while the rest of the ships Armsmen battled back and forth from deck to deck against the mutineers.

The closest and fastest response was the Strike Cruiser Dark Star and it's Escorts Eternal Lament and Woe's Instrument. Elements of the Lions 3rd Company boarded the ship only to be faced with a human tide whipped into a veritable fury, while the true threat came from those technically minded traitors who were desperately attempting to work out how to operate the arcane artifices of Imperial Technology. As the Marines battled their way to the bridge they were able to liberate pockets of Armsmen who had been able to hold out. The ships internal defenses were eventually turned against the Astartes and their allies, turning the bridge access ways into a killing ground.

Unfortunately for the mutineers, the Astartes weren't concerned with taking the bridge totally intact, as a rapid flanking force affixed and detonated multiple melta charges on the bridge's shuttered view-ports, causing a devastating breach, sucking the turncoat leadership screaming into the void.

 

After the Orators and leaders had been dealt with, the rest fell like chaff. At the end of the line, the ship had suffered a catastrophic 80% casualty rate among it's officers, with only a couple of hundred Armsmen remaining. Naval command didn't have the officers to spare to man the ship, nor the will or resources to train an entirely new crew. As such the Inescapable was given to the Lions as 'prize', in naval tradition. The ship was towed to 'dry dock' by the Adeptus Mechanicus for repairs where it stayed for many years, a low priority for the Adepts as well as the Chapter itself.

 

With the formation of the Forlorn Hope, the ship was chosen to be the home for the members of the company during their tenure. Rechristened the [NAME], it now travels the length and breadth of the Imperium, carrying the marines of the Forlorn Hope to wherever they are needed.

[END BOXOUT]

Edited September 10, 2020 by Grey Hunter Ydalir

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Suggested name for the former Intractable: Inescapable. Just as there was no escape for the mutineers and the traitors aboard the ship, so will there be no escape for any prize the Forlorn Hope seeks- nothing shall be beyond the reach of the Emperor or His agents (including the Leos Alatus).

[Grey Hunter Ydalir]

Suggested name for the former Intractable: Inescapable. Just as there was no escape for the mutineers and the traitors aboard the ship, so will there be no escape for any prize the Forlorn Hope seeks- nothing shall be beyond the reach of the Emperor or His agents (including the Leos Alatus).

 

That's a great suggestion. I'm usually really, really bad with names, so this is really, really helpful.

 

 

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So this chapter is getting very blown out with lore, and I think I should pretty much call it here and start editing it down where I can, making things more concise where needed and remove any un-needed chaff.

 

If anyone has any suggestions for either things that I haven't yet covered that I need to include, as well as any suggested edits or restructures to pare things down, I'd be more than appreciative.

Edited September 10, 2020 by Grey Hunter Ydalir

[Grey Hunter Ydalir]

I just realized I don't have a quick 'summary' opening paragraph.

 

So I'll just write up a quick piece below but I had a question if anyone is still around to answer. 

 

I had the idea the other day to make these guys legitimate Dark Angels successors, albeit ones who lost their Inner Circle training cadre early on, were never truly inducted into the Unforgiven and, since they were cut off from the rest of the galaxy for so long, have virtually no connection to their parent chapter.

 

Does this bring anything to the chapter in terms of character? Or does it just seem like adding 'drama' where there doesn't need to be any?

 

I also edited the opening post for the sake of making at least a little bit more concise.

 

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Officially the Leos Alatus are a [sUCCESSOR OF xLEGIONx] founded during the 26th Founding, though in reality they were in fact drawn up at short notice due to Imperial political machinations and a pressing need in an expeditionary fleet. A region known as Dagons Rift had suddenly become feasible for travel, and the Imperium would not squander such an opportunity.

 

While they shared the same conditions of creation as many of their cousins in the Adeptus Astartes, the Leos were in many ways disregarded as Warriors and an emerging fraternal culture in their own right. Given no Imperial writs of claim, nor more direction than their mandate to support the expedition and secure the Rift, the chapter as it stood at under even half of their codex allotted numbers bore a fatalistic streak as wide and broad as the Rift itself. Without the supreme efforts of their first Chapter Master [NAME <OF CHAPTER X>] the Leos may have simply burned themselves out in those early years of coming isolation.

 

Currently, despite severe isolation from the Throneworld and all that entials both politically and logistically and with timely intervention by Robute Guilliman's Indomitus Crusade at the eleventh hour, the chapter stands strong and has even begun to strike out from their previous prison in the Rift. A whole new swathe of challenges are now arrayed before them, both from 'allies' within the Imperium and their true enemies without, challenges the Leos Alatus face with the invigorated spirit of newly freed men.

 

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Edited October 10, 2020 by Grey Hunter Ydalir