Index Astartes: Thalassians

[Kajae]

++ INDEX ASTARTES ++

 

 

SOMETHING LURKS BENEATH THE SUFACE
 

The Thalassians Space Marines Chapter

 

Cruel and fierce, the Space Marines of the Thalassians Chapter bring a ruthlessness to the battlefield matched by few others. Sailing the inky darkness of the void as easily as the oceans of their aquatic homeworld, Vathys, they have engaged enemies of the Imperium in several vicious campaigns, leaving devastation in their wake - from raids against the enigmatic Eldar to brutal wars of attrition with the endless swarms of the Tyranid hivemind. While their effectiveness cannot be questioned, the sheer carnage of their methods and their preference for taking prisoners for dark purposes leave few Imperial forces willing to fight alongside them, and have at times drawn the scrutiny of the Inquisition's most suspicious orders.

 

Origins

 

Created in the mysterious Thirteenth Founding, the true purpose behind the creation of the Thalassians is lost to time. Even within the chapter, all that is known is that in roughly M.36, a great Adeptus Mechanicus fleet arrived in the dark skies above Vathys carrying progenoid glands and all of the material necessary for the operation of a chapter. The fleet brought with it ancient technologies and artefacts that would form the foundation of the chapter's fortress-monastery beneath the waves.

 

The representatives of the High Lords of Terra sought out the populace on the various islands and atolls that scatter the surface of Vathys's endless oceans. These were hardy people, descended from ancient colonists who had adapted to survive among the world's massive predators and violent storms. From these isolated communities, the first recruits were taken to form the nascent chapter.

Preferring to allow local custom and belief to influence chapter doctrine, it was decided to call the chapter Thalassians after the natives' deep-rooted fear of what dwelled in the depths. Whether the High Lords truly understood the nature of these beliefs, and what dark things the locals whispered prayers to beneath the waves, remains uncertain. What is known is that the chapter took readily to these traditions, incorporating them into their rituals and combat doctrine.

 

The numbers of the chapter swelled quickly, and in training, it developed an affinity for close-quarters combat that went beyond mere skill. Their instructors noted a level of savagery far beyond that of even chapters as ferocious as the Blood Angels, though the Thalassians' brutality was cold and deliberate rather than born of battle-fury. They easily integrated the pack tactics they used to hunt megafauna on the high seas into Astartes combat doctrine, herding their foes into traps before closing in for the kill.

 

Once readied, the chapter easily took to void warfare, its similarities to conflict upon the sea making for an easy transition. Aboard their newly christened battlecruiser The Breaker, they set out to dispense the Emperor's justice wherever it was needed. Their first recorded campaign was a series of lightning raids against Eldar corsairs in the Damocles Gulf, where they earned their reputation for taking prisoners and conducting bloody spectacles for the chapter's entertainment.

 

Home World

 

The ocean world of Vathys is the third world in a system of eight. Almost entirely covered in water, it is dotted with atolls and short island chains - peaks of massive mountains that push through to the surface. Wracked by hellish storms and with seas full of gargantuan beasts, the human population has to fight daily to survive. Multiple moons create complex tidal patterns that can swallow whole settlements, while deep-sea predators large enough to swallow small vessels whole prowl the depths.

 

After the chapter's establishment, the Thalassians had it within their power to cull the monsters that lurk beneath the waves, but instead left them to continue their predations against the scattered settlements as they had since time immemorial. In this way, potential aspirants would be tested their entire lives, and only the strongest would survive to adulthood to even attempt the trials. The chapter views these losses as necessary sacrifices, though some whisper they serve as offerings to whatever dwells in the deepest trenches of Vathys.

 

The native population lives in a constant state of vigilance, building their settlements on stilts and maintaining extensive warning networks. Each community maintains a fleet of vessels, both for fishing and defense, crewed by warriors who learn to track and fight leviathans from an early age. These skills serve as the foundation for the chapter's own combat doctrine, though the Thalassians have transformed these survival techniques into methods of warfare that would horrify their mortal counterparts.

 

The chapter's fortress-monastery, known as the Abyssal Reach, lies hidden in one of Vathys's deepest trenches. Its exact location is known only to the chapter, though passing vessels sometimes report hearing strange hymns carried through the water, accompanied by the screams of those who have drawn the chapter's dark attention.

 

KAJAE SOMNIOS, CHAPTER MASTER

OF THE THALASSIANS

Chapter Master Somnios has led the Chapter of the Thalassians for over two hundred years. In this time he has stood at the forefront of two major campaigns. The first, in the Betalis System, saw him orchestrate a series of brutal trap-and-ambush operations against the Eldar of the Mymeara and Alaitoc craftworlds who had been harrying Imperial settlements. The second proved even more devastating - defending the Vathys system from a tendril of the Tyranid hive fleet Megalodon, where he personally led boarding actions against the largest bio-ships.

 

It was during this campaign that Somnios lost his left eye in single combat with a Tyranid Lictor in the flooded corridors of a bio-ship. His face now horrifically scarred, rather than receive cybernetic implantation to replace the eye, he instead chose to have an ornate bronze eyepatch permanently bolted to his skull. The patch bears the chapter's symbol, the eye of the kraken, a reminder to those who would challenge him of the price of underestimating the Thalassians.

 

In battle, he embodies the chapter's ruthless nature, often staging elaborate traps that result in the complete annihilation of his enemies. He has been accused of being careless with the lives of his men, and Thalassians are known to have a high rate of attrition in the process of completing their objectives. While the Inquisition has investigated these losses multiple times, they can never quite prove they're anything more than the brutal cost of victory.

 

When not called to battle, however, he displays an unsettling joviality, often found sharing tankards with rank and file Space Marines, telling tales of battles old and new. These drinking sessions frequently end with him presiding over ritual combat between prisoners in the chapter's fighting pits, his laughter echoing over the roar of the crowds. Such practices, while questioned by other chapters, are carefully maintained within the bounds of Imperial doctrine - at least on the surface.

 

Combat Doctrine

 

The Thalassians are considered by Imperial strategists to be experts in vehicular fast assault. Ever eager to meet their foes in combat, they race towards their enemies with all haste so that they may quickly engage with bolter and chainsword. Those who have witnessed a Thalassian assault describe brother marines hanging from transport vehicles like ancient whalers on their boats, ready to strike the moment prey is sighted.

 

Rather than the traditional power sword, Thalassians prefer to employ long-hafted power spears and harpoons reminiscent of those used in great hunts. These weapons, often decorated with maritime iconography and ancient runes, are as much symbols of rank as they are tools of war. Their fondness for chainswords persists, with many warriors modifying the teeth of their weapons to match the serrated patterns found in the maws of Vathys's deep-sea predators.

 

For centuries, the Thalassians have employed large contingents of bike and land speeder squadrons, treating the battlefield like ocean currents to be navigated. With the introduction by the Adeptus Mechanicus of anti-gravitic tanks such as the Repulsor, these swift and agile troop carriers have found their place in many Thalassian deployments, piloted with the same predatory grace as the watercraft native to the Vathian seas.

 

Heavy weapons are eschewed in all but the largest engagements, as the toll on mobility is often seen as too great a burden. When such firepower is required, the chapter relies primarily on vehicle-mounted weaponry, such as the twin-linked lascannons of their Land Raiders or the fearsome arsenal of their Repulsors. This preference for mobile firepower allows them to maintain their aggressive hunting strategies even in larger conflicts.

 

The incredible savagery of a Thalassian assault has made many other Imperial forces wary of fighting alongside these Space Marines. Their thirst for blood often manifests in ritualistic brutality - hearts torn from bodies with cruel, hooked weapons, trophies claimed mid-battle, and war cries that sound more like hunting calls than battle hymns.

 

Those who survive a conflict with the Thalassians quickly learn that death in battle might have been a mercy. Prisoners are stripped of their armour and dignity, given crude weapons reminiscent of ancient fishing tools, and forced to fight in bloodsport arenas while the chapter's warriors place bets on the outcomes. These grim spectacles often take place in partially flooded chambers deep within their vessels or fortress-monastery, where the losers' bodies are said to be offered to the depths.

 

Beliefs

 

It is whispered in many corners of the Imperium that the Thalassians only pay lip-service to The Emperor of mankind, and instead owe allegiance to some fel-entity lurking deep beneath the waves of their abyssal homeworld. Their rituals, while ostensibly devoted to the Emperor, often involve offerings cast into the depths and strange hymns in ancient Vathian dialects that make observers uneasy. During these ceremonies, it is said that the waters around their fortress-monastery grow unnaturally still, as if something vast were listening.

 

Others have told tales of the chapter's librarians holding some kind of psychic bond with what can only be described as "a great eye," and that it is from this communion that the Thalassians receive instruction. These librarians are known to spend long periods in meditation chambers that face the deepest trenches of Vathys, and some claim to have witnessed their eyes turning completely black during these sessions, like the endless depths themselves.

 

Some hold that the eye that the chapter bears on their shoulder guard is that of this creature, while others maintain that it is merely a representation of the massive beasts that claim Vathys as their home, and the harpoon running through the eye a symbol of the Thalassians' domination of these monsters. The chapter itself offers no explanation, though it is notable that their oldest treaties speak not of hunting these creatures, but of proving worthy of them.

 

When questioned by Imperial authorities, the Thalassians display all the proper devotions to the Emperor, and their battle records show nothing but loyal service to the Imperium. Yet those who have fought alongside them speak of battle-prayers that sound more like ancient summonings, and victories that come at suspiciously opportune moments, as if guided by some unseen intelligence from the depths.

 

The chapter's chaplains hold a particularly complex role in maintaining this duality of faith. Officially, they are responsible for tending to the spiritual needs of their battle-brothers and maintaining devotion to the Emperor, as in all chapters. However, the Thalassians' chaplains, known informally among the chapter as "Deep Speakers," perform their duties in ways that differ subtly from Imperial doctrine. Their skull helms are cast in bronze rather than black ceramite, with eye lenses that glow with an unsettling blue-green light in darkness.

 

These Deep Speakers lead their brothers in what they claim are ancient Vathian variants of Imperial litanies, though the words they speak seem to make the air heavy and cause nearby water to vibrate in unnatural ways. Their ceremonies often take place in partially flooded chambers, where the chaplains wade chest-deep in the waters while leading their warriors in call-and-response prayers. Whether these rituals truly venerate the Emperor or something else entirely remains a matter of grave concern to those few outsiders who have witnessed them.

 

Most troubling to Imperial observers is the chaplains' role in overseeing the chapter's prisoner combats. What should be merely brutal entertainment is transformed into something more ritualistic under their guidance, with the Deep Speakers marking victorious prisoners with strange symbols in bronze paint before their next bouts. These marked warriors often fight with unusual ferocity, as if driven by more than mere survival instinct, though few live long enough to explain what the markings mean.

 

 

Gene-Seed

 

The true lineage of the Thalassians, like many chapters of the mysterious 13th Founding, remains a subject of speculation and debate. Their gene-seed displays several distinct characteristics that have led to various theories about their origins, though the chapter itself maintains no records of their genetic ancestry.

 

The most obvious manifestation is their heightened predatory instincts, even by Astartes standards. While some point to this as evidence of Blood Angels lineage, the Thalassians lack both the Red Thirst and Black Rage that plague the sons of Sanguinius. Their aggression manifests not as uncontrolled fury, but as a cold, calculating brutality that speaks of different genetic stock entirely.

 

Their innate grasp of rapid assault tactics and preference for lightning warfare has led others to suggest White Scars ancestry. However, the chapter lacks the tribal traditions and distinctive facial features common to sons of Jaghatai Khan. Moreover, their preference for terror tactics and psychological warfare stands at odds with the honourable combat doctrine of the White Scars.

 

More troubling are the subtle changes that occur in long-serving battle-brothers. Their eyes gradually develop an unusual opalescent quality, appearing almost luminous in darkness, like those of deep-sea predators. The Apothecarion maintains that this is merely an adaptation to the dark waters of Vathys, though some whisper of similarities to certain pre-Heresy genetic markers that should have been long purged from Imperial record.

 

Of particular note is the chapter's unusual resistance to pressure changes and ability to operate in both void and underwater environments with remarkable ease. While the Adeptus Mechanicus has recorded these traits as beneficial mutations, there are those who question whether these adaptations arose naturally, or if they speak to darker truths about the chapter's genetic heritage.

 

The High Lords of Terra's records regarding the founding of the Thalassians remain sealed, and inquiries into their genetic lineage are routinely denied. This official silence has only fueled further speculation, particularly regarding why such a remote ocean world was chosen for their inception, and what purpose their creation truly served.

 

Hunter's Wake

The scattered lasfire did little to illuminate the corridor of the drifting hulk. Privateer Captain Lohrn cursed as another of his men fell to precise bolter fire. They had thought the ancient vessel would be easy salvage. Now they ran, pursued by ceramite-clad monsters who turned their own ship into a killing ground.

 

"Seal the bulkhead!" he screamed, but it was already too late. The massive pressure door, designed to contain void breaches, opened smoothly at the command of better authorization codes than his own. Through it came the Thalassians, their deep sea-green armor marked with battle honors and their blue helmets reflecting the emergency lighting. Bronze aquilas gleamed on their chests, though the eyes of the Imperial eagles seemed oddly focused, almost alive.

 

"Please," he began, "We surrender! We—"

 

"The hunt is joined," spoke their leader, voice cold through his helm's vox-grille. "And you are witnessed."

 

The last thing Lohrn saw before they took him was the chapter badge on their pauldrons – that stark white eye, pierced by its harpoon. In his final moments of freedom, he could have sworn the pupil followed his movement, like something vast and ancient gazing through from impossibly far away.

 

Three weeks later, an Imperial Navy patrol investigated the derelict. The ship's logs showed a lawful boarding action by the Adeptus Astartes. Of the privateer crew, they found only corpses - those who had died fighting, their bodies bearing the precise wounds of bolter fire and power weapons. Of Captain Lohrn himself, they found nothing but his void suit, bearing strange marks that might have been claw marks, or might have been bronze ritual scarring. The suit's internal sensors recorded only a final spike in pressure, as if its wearer had been dragged down to impossible depths.

 

The Thalassians had long since moved on, patrolling the void in search of new prey. But they had left their mark, as they always did. Another offering to the deep, another secret kept beneath the waves.

 

Battlecry

 

“Beneath the waves, we hunt!”