Index Astartes: Silver Consuls

[Redneck Mario]

 

Origins:

 

The Silver Consuls are a Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes raised during the 25th "Bastion" Founding in the latter years of the 40th Millennium. Successors of the Ultramarines Chapter, the Consuls are distinct among other Chapters of their line in that they worship the Emperor of Mankind as a divine being. The battle-brothers of the Chapter are devout adherents to the doctrines and practices laid out in the Codex Astartes, cleaving closely to the culture and rich martial traditions of their progenitors. The Silver Consuls have been noted to be highly tactically flexible, capable of prosecuting war in all its forms and adapting as mission parameters dictate, but they have also exhibited a bias towards shipborne fighting and boarding enemy vessels. Aiding with these close-quarters engagements are specialized Assault Squads equipped with great ablative shields and power shortswords, known within the Chapter as Emissary Squads.

 

With the advent of the Indomitus Crusade and the Great Rift cleaving the Milky Way into two, the Silver Consuls have received Primaris reinforcement and the means to produce this newer breed of warrior. However, the Chapter was a lower priority for reinforcement by the torchbearer fleets of the Lord Regent; the Consuls had recently rebuilt to almost full Codex strength following a campaign of crippling losses. As such, while the Silver Consuls gratefully accepted the gifts of Archmagos Dominus Cawl, Primaris-pattern Astartes are still a small minority in the Chapter, filling out support squads or serving as other specialists. Only recently have fully-Primaris battleline squads begun to appear within the Consuls' companies.

 

Homeworld:

Owing to their nature as a fleet-based roving Chapter, the Silver Consuls do not lay claim to a permanent homeworld. Instead, the battle-barge Argent Herald serves as the Chapter's fortress-monastery. Though it boasts the full complement of facilities, assets, and weapons that can be expected of an Astartes flagship, the Herald contains some minor alterations to better fit the needs of the Consuls. The ship's aft bears the Chapter's personal chapel, the Sanctum Consularis, which holds shrines to both of the primary loci of the Chapter's worship, and is far more ornately furnished than the comparatively spartan remainder of the vessel. Furthermore, though largely plain and unadorned, the halls of the Herald have rows upon rows of gently fluttering parchment seals hanging from the ceiling, given by battle-brothers who upheld oaths in battle. In addition, the grand hall of the ship is lined with the gladii of fallen officers, in memory of past heroes of the Chapter.

 

Beliefs:

The Silver Consuls proudly adhere closely to the traditions and culture laid out by their forebears, albeit with some notable exceptions. They unflinchingly obey the tenets and strictures laid out in the Codex Astartes, which they believe to be divinely inspired, and any perceived blasphemy against its words is punished harshly. However, this deeply Codex-reverent nature is coupled with the "Theoretical-Practical" strategic architecture espoused by their genefather and progenitor Chapter, permitting for a higher degree of tactical flexibility and lateral thinking than is commonly assumed.

 

While the Consuls hold their heritage as a point of pride, they separate themselves from their parent Chapter in some ways. The first is that the Consuls have a marked sense of humility; they hold no arrogance for being scions of the Ultramarines, and view themselves simply as another Chapter in a galaxy of unknown hundreds. This leads them to be more diplomatically inclined when interacting with other Astartes, though this has not held universally true for every Consul across the Chapter's lifetime. Furthermore, this diplomatic tendency is not always extended to mortal humans; the Consuls do value human life in a largely similar manner to their parent Chapter, though campaigns early in the history of the Consuls dealing with recidivist human forces have led them to approach any dealing with mortals with a sense of due caution.

 

Additionally, the Silver Consuls are among those rare followers of the Imperial Cult within the Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes, slaying the foes of humanity in the names of their divine God-Emperor and their demigod genefather, Roboute Guilliman. Their Chapter cult emphasizes piety and measured wisdom, with battle-brothers spending the eve of battle in prayer and deep meditation, and scholarly study of the holy Codex Astartes is encouraged instead of blind adherence to its every letter. The warrior-monks of the Silver Consuls do not fling themselves into battle with the frothing fury of half-blind zealots; instead, they allow their faith to temper their hate into a honed blade wielded with skill and precision-shaped by centuries of experience.
 

Organization:

As befitting a Chapter of adherents to the Codex, the Silver Consuls' structure holds closely to the tenets of that great text. The Chapter maintains the standard structure of ten Companies of ten squads of ten Astartes, following the traditional pattern of veteran, battle, reserve, and Scout companies. The Chapter also makes use of all the traditional ranks found in a Codex Chapter, incorporating the use of Lieutenants after the creation of the Nova Codex Astartes. Ranking officers in the Chapter also wear a power gladius as a half-ceremonial sidearm, as a form of homage to their heritage. Furthermore, with the introduction of Primaris Astartes following the opening of the Great Rift, Chapter command elected to instate the rank of Judiciar as a parallel office to that of Chaplaincy, instead of the former being a stepping-stone towards the latter, with both roles still falling under the purview of the Reclusiam.

 

Additionally, the Chapter uses all of the different squad variations outlined in the Codex, though they have been known to field Assault Squads equipped with bolt pistols, power swords, and towering ablative shields when boarding hostile spacecraft or pushing through close-quarters environments. It is speculated that these squads are a less resource-intensive substitute for Terminator squads when such assets are unavailable or unwise to deploy. Senior warriors with extensive experience fighting as an Emissary will be inducted into the ranks of the elite Platinum Host; these veteran Astartes clad in void-hardened armor are often seconded to the honor guards of Captains. Some Imperial scholars have also noted that these squads also bear more than a passing resemblance to the Praetorian Breacher Squads fielded by the XIII Legion of the 31st Millennium, though whether this is by design or sheer coincidence will likely never be known.

 

Combat Doctrine:

The Silver Consuls are highly tactically flexible, capable of prosecuting war in any of the disparate manners that can be expected of the Space Marines. The venerated Codex Astartes guides many battlefield decisions. However, they have come to exhibit certain preferences in their approach to battle.

 

In the decades and centuries following their inception, the Consuls participated in a string of engagements against renegade and heretic Human forces; separatist uprisings, underground cults, turncoat Astra Militarum regiments, and more. As a result, the Chapter gradually came to appreciate the value of shows of force, putting the fear of the Emperor into those who had spurned His grace. Some proponents of these strategies have referred to them as "shock-and-awe warfare" or "high-visibility rapid assault"; detractors of the Chapter have less charitably described them as "terror tactics". Semantics aside, these methods of warfare have been proven undeniably effective, with small task forces of battle-brothers disrupting enemy ranks and paving the way for a larger assault. Furthermore, battlefield intelligence has reported sightings of Primaris Reiver Squads clad in the Consuls' black and silver in recent years, indicating this style of warfare is still evolving within the Chapter.

 

Additionally, the Silver Consuls are notably proficient at boarding actions and close-quarters combat aboard voidcraft. This is partly a result of necessity; the Chapter's nomadic nature, unbound from a specific homeworld, means that threats often find their way to them while sailing the boundless blackness of space. As such, the Consuls were almost forced to master the arts of boarding and breaching, with small teams of Astartes crossing the open void to embed their boarding craft in the hull of a hostile vessel, allowing it to disgorge its heavily armed and armored cargo. Passing through a breach point first has also come to be seen as a great honor within the Chapter, though it should be noted that the Consuls' relatively limited supply of Terminator armor makes these engagements highly dangerous. The Consuls have adapted with deliberate wargear selections meant to bolster survivability and combat effectiveness in the tight confines of ship corridors, from shields and power weapons to chainfists and meltaguns. Some reports even allege that Silver Consuls boarding parties have deigned to wield chainaxes on rare occasions, though these are largely unconfirmed. Furthermore, campaigns often pull Chapter vessels far away from forge worlds or other resupply points, so the Consuls have occasionally been known to seek out derelict craft and harvest equipment. However, This practice is deeply unfavored by the Chapter and is only employed in dire circumstances. Consuls salvage parties pray for their Primarch's benediction before boarding their craft, and are often accompanied by a Chaplain as well. 

 

Geneseed:

For all intents and purposes, the Silver Consuls are a successor of the Ultramarines Chapter, their gene-seed being markedly stable and free of mutation. However, while their lineage can be easily traced back to the Ultramarines, some rumors persist about the Consuls being more directly descended from the Novamarines. In all likelihood, these rumors are due to the Chapter's possession of an ancient collection of war treatises allegedly dating back to the time of the Second Founding.

 

Battle Cry:

"For Emperor and Primarch!"