Grijs
Enzayne
MarshalSolgriev
Lord Zee
Frettzo
DracoLunaris
Cao the Exiled
Vec
Name: Usriel Andredth
Gender: Male
Homeworld: Vion 5
A world that seems to be part fortress-world and majority forge-world as littered throughout the vast factory complexes of the planet are the Fortresses and outposts loyal to Usriel and his Legion. The great complexes, while managed mostly by the tech-priests of the Cult Mechanicus, are jointly controlled by Usriel, whose Astartes and Neophytes patrol the planet where local enforcement cannot fight effectively.
Appearance:
Usriel has been described as twelve feet tall, looming over others with his mauled and otherwise scarred body on his body. These scars are all different in nature, though many are from combat and others from ceaseless work. His head shaved and kept clean, his pale body a mass of muscle built as if he were a very wall that he aspires for his legion to be. It is perhaps, that this is why his tired eyes continue to look on, ever vigilant of a threat against the threats of his legion and the Imperium itself. It is perhaps, that the endless vigilance leaves him somewhat thin, at least to the standard of primarchs. It is perhaps, the raising of tech-priests that his back is burned with the mark of the Omnissiah, the Cog Mechinicum.
Personality:
The Primarch Usriel’s mind is less focused on its devotion to his father and the Imperium and more upon the paranoia of a rebellion or sudden attack from one of the Imperium’s enemies. He is less driven by faith and more motivated by the understanding that he is required for the survival of humanity. He is less driven upon the belief that life is precious and more understanding of the cruel nature of the Imperium and the tech-priests are needed upon worlds in order to ensure that the war machine does not fail. It is through this that he is seen less angry or more calloused against the unexpected and the cruelties of reality.
Through this, Usriel has become seen to be a cold individual, uncaring for the independence of man or the creativity brought behind it. Though his body is largely unchanged by the likes of the Cult Mechanicus, his psyche has been changed as he grew upon the forge world. When as a child he may have smiled as he listened to stories so long ago stated on Mars, now he only gives a cold expressionless look as he wonders how best to carry on his tasks. He sees humans only as beings to produce the endless need of weaponry and as a source to recruit further Astartes from. Then, when someone falls or his own men are felled upon the battlefield, he does not mourn and instead thinks of how that may affect the efficiency of their operations.
Though, under this cold and otherwise heartless exterior is the lust for knowledge instilled into him by the priests he had served as knowledge was divinity and it was through that divinity he could find some happiness or relaxation from the endless burden of constant defense. He seeks to understand how things, not just machines, operate and how to create weapons to drive back the enemies of man.
Skills:
The focus of Usriel Andredth is less upon the matters of charging and forth and taking the enemy position as quickly as possible and more allowing the enemy to waste their resources upon a fight that they could not hope to win. As such, he is a master of designing fortresses and a master tactician in the area of defense, allowing him to drive off attacks that other primarchs may have trouble against.
Additionally, Usriel is a master in the use of plasma weaponry, the greatest weapon against those who try to use their armor to advance, and equally as good against standard infantry. While he has had plasma weaponry overheat in his hands, he now knows the precise means of using the unstable weaponry. When he shoots it shall hit its target, and when he continues to use such a weapon it shall nevermore sully his own hands for he knows its limitations.
Finally, Usriel has become a savant of the state, a man who knows how to properly manage and otherwise keep a state held together in the face of adversity. His people know that to rebel is to mean certain death and to stray from their lives of production is to endanger the very fabric of their only protectors. While perhaps not inspirational, his pragmatism allows him to look past the emotions of the populous and use their bodies to keep the very society continuing. It is his rhetoric and vision that allow him to rally people behind him.
Assignment Grade:
Beta
While a powerful psyker, his abilities are unrefined and untapped for the most part, though he is known to react very quickly to sudden changes in a battlefield. As far as the more strange aspects of this nature, it is said that he can drive the machine spirits from enemy weapons and vehicles and that he can crush men with a wave of his fist should he have the need to do so. Though, none of these can truly stop an enemy's attack unlike his ability to make sure that enemy munitions cannot reach his men and that explosions hit something in the air that cannot be seen by the likes of mortal men.
Biography:
Vion 5, a world colonized by the Mechanicus from Mars, has known much in the way of rebellion since becoming a proper forge world, not through lack of trying of course. It had seemed that the colonizers of this planet had taken humans of a particular heart, those wanting a life that they could dictate on their own and a life that was not forced to be horrid in the name of efficiency. It would be those humans that would become the first family of Usriel, his pod crashing into a residential district and otherwise being taken on by a man that had been a part of a scavenging crew that had gotten to the pod before the tech-priests could get their hands upon it.
This man, Ike Andredth, and his wife, Leasah, took in this child in secret, hiding him from the wandering eyes of the tech-priests and what law enforcement that were loyal to them. Unto him did they bestow the name Usriel, and they would bestow unto him the curiosity of what every child would have. Unlike their other children, Usriel would not know what it would be like to be quantified at birth and what it would be like to truly work as he was not known outside of his family. It was a slow “childhood”, one filled with boredom and reclusiveness within the family's living space though he was loved and doted upon by his adoptive parents in every way imaginable. However, he was a very large child, a child far stronger and quicker than what any normal child should have been, and one with latent psychic abilities. Not to mention the accelerated growth he had as a primarch.
Due to this, Ike and Leasah thought him to be a gift sent from the Omnissiah himself and brought the child forwards to their overseer who in turn brought him to the tech-priests. It was these tech-priests that looked upon the child, only a year old and already showing great promise, and would praise him as a gift from the Machine God. Upon his back did they mark him with the Cog Machinicum, branding him as divine. However, when they asked him what it was that he would want to do while upon the forge world of Vion 5, they would be disappointed as he merely stated that he wished to be with his family. This request was refused, for surely one sent by the Omnissiah would seek to do more than mingle with mere fully-organic humans. Twice more would they ask, and twice more would the child of Ike a Leasah seek to be with his parents.
Reluctantly, would the cultists of the Omnissiah allow the child to leave but he would be sent to work if he so chose to stay with them. He had been assigned menial work out of spite, specifically by order of the Fabricator-Technis, the planetary governor, despite Usriel’s talents being clear and his psychic potential noted and monitored. Usriel would work as a specialist alongside his adopted kin to manufacture the radium weapons that the Skitarii enforcers use in order to quell the rebels deeper within the world itself. He quickly learned how to manufacture these weapons, and for him, it was almost too easy to meet the quotas imposed upon him much to the ire of the Fabricator-Technis who wished to change the mind of the gift. Yet it would not be until nearly a year later that the Fabricator-Technis would have his wish granted.
Rebellion had spread from the heart of the planet, festering its way through the cracks of the skitarii that tenaciously fought to quell. The residential district in which Usriel would have called home had become a warzone, Skitarii had limited the rations being given out of fear of giving food to enemy insurgents and he would regularly see suspected traitors being dragged from their quarters and killed, innocent or not. This had little effect on Usriel who now looked to be a teenager, as he focused on making sure that his family was safe and unaffected, overall attempting to lead a normal life amidst the rebellion. This was not meant to last as during one particular attack the rebels had broken into the families home to use as cover in a firefight and, upon seeing the one mythed to be the sign of the Omnissiah, attempted to kill Usriel to lower the morale of the planetary leaders. They only managed to kill his parents and two of his siblings before meeting their own end.
Out of anger and fury, Usriel would take the plasma weapons of the traitors and rally those of his remaining kin to fight off the enemy attacks from their home. They exacted a great toll upon the enemy, though his kin died due to weapon malfunctions and he suffered great scars upon his hands and body due to his own weapon barely being held together by the machine spirit that inhabited it. It is said that Usriel had killed thousands in the defense of his home, but that is an over exaggeration by the local populace and in reality, it was probably a figure only in the hundreds.
Regardless, the next day when Usriel would ask to meet with the Fabricator-Technis and when he would be asked to state what he desired to do while on the forge world, Usriel would answer simply, “To lead an army against this rebellion.” Pleased, the tech-priest would grant him this wish and forge for him his weapons and his armor, armor similar in design to the Skitarii and made from the same material. When asked of what he would like his soldiers to consist of, he merely answered, ”I would lead those who are not needed to forge our weaponry.” This would be the birth of Usriel’s army, one consisting of conscripted humans in their late teens, already convicted of petty crimes, that would be basically trained but used to terrifying effectiveness of the morally complicated rebels, who would go out of their way to merely scare these units. While this tactic would have worked, Usriel would use the Skitarii to act as pseudo-commissars in order to keep the squads in line.
Usriel, would go on to wage a bloody war of attrition against these rebels for nearly thirty long years, allowing the rebels to relentlessly attack the heavily defended positions on Usriel as he began to block off the entirety of the lower levels, disconnecting their pathways as insurgents and making fortresses around the planet purely to block off concentrations of rebels forces before slowly advancing them and backing them into their respective corners, and when the last sheet of metal be laid for his fortresses, the most would have surrendered. However, due to the Cult Mechanicus’ ways of dealing with traitors, those that continued to fight only grew in resolve, not wishing to have their minds and bodies taken from them. This would ultimately lead to the final battle of the war, named “The Massacre-Charge”.
The Massacre-Charge, dated to have taken place 797.M30, was the final desperate attempt of the rebellion against the combined forces of the Tech-Priests’ Skitarii and Usriel’s army, charging from their makeshift fortress in the depths of Vion 5. In a final charge numbering in the tens of thousands, the sounds of fighting could be heard throughout the lower sector as men charged into their deaths, meeting their end but others managing to overrun certain lines where Usriel’s men retreated from battle. This did not spare them, for Usriel himself would slaughter many, gunning them down out of the anger for their killing of his family and ultimately for them taking away the life he had wanted. It was said that Usriel had gone through thirty different guns that day, each one unable to keep up with the demands he had placed upon them. Yet, in the end, the rebels were defeated and the survivors converted into servitors.
The Fabricator-Technis looked upon the now man and offered him a choice, he could go to Mars and meet the Fabricator-General or he could stay on Vion 5 as its protector and enforcer. Only wishing to live a life of peace, Usriel chose to stay in the forge world and for it, he was venerated as being the champion of the planet. He would live in relative peace, sitting in his personal fortress where he managed it as though he were managing a state and for most intents and purposes, he was. For the army he led had not been disbanded and instead, would live across the many fortresses built across the planet.
As such was his life until the Treaty of Mars had reached the Forge World, ushering in a new age for the planet as it was subjected to the Imperium of Man’s law, though the Fabricator-Technis remained in charge. When news of this treaty reached Usriel, he wondered who could have been the avatar of the Omnissiah could have truly been. He wondered if there was any connection between him and this new power, and so he asked for his presence to be notified to the Imperium and send a formal invite to Vion 5. When this Emperor of Mankind arrived, Usriel knew of his immense power without any words being spoken between in their meeting. And when Usriel received command of Legion XIX, he would rename them to the Steel Sentinels and he would use the legion to overall replace the humans of his fortresses, though allowing the humans to live within them as loyal servants, though in time they too would be replaced by the likes of the Cult Mechanicus.
However, there were merely not enough Astartes to garrison the fortresses and proceed on with the Great Crusade as the Emperor willed. As such, he began to integrate the future Neophytes into his legion, using them to fill out the ranks that they would need in order to continue the Crusade.
When he first made planetfall on a resisting planet, it became a quick battle as his legion dug into the planet and established its outposts before waiting for enemy attacks that would always come in waves, and they would always fall. These Astartes proved useful and Usriel would use them as living bunkers, felling enemy troops out in the open and drawing out into no man’s land before these Astartes squads would counter attack and take whatever objective he set them upon. He knew that if the Astartes had been available to him during the days of the Vion 5 rebellions then it would have taken him significantly less time.
The Meeting:
Standing at the edge of the landing pad, Usriel watched the descent of a transport shuttle, bearing the marks of the Imperial Eagle. Usriel was not nervous nor was he happy at the prospect of meeting what was inside of that shuttle, though curiosity of who could bring the Mechanicum of Mars into an Imperium did run through him. The Fabricator-Technis Arx stood next to him, green, robotic eyes shifting between Usriel and the drop ship as it went through the planet’s atmosphere. Arx was clearly nervous about meeting the physical avatar of the Omnissiah, nervous about what this Emperor would think of the planet that he had built.
“Are you nervous, Usriel?” The cyborg asked in his synthetic voice.
”No.” Usriel answered simply, not bothering to look at Fabricator-Technis.
“Why?” Arx asked.
”Because no matter what, we serve this ‘Emperor of Mankind’. Whether or not he is an avatar of the Omnissiah, we will all serve,” Usriel answered, finally bothering to look at Arx as he spoke. The two shared a brief silent gaze without each other before the golden ship itself made landing upon the pad, Arx went down onto a knee as he awaited for the Emperor to show his form while Usriel did not. The primarch looked on as the ramp to the dropship lowered to reveal a man larger than himself stepping out, clandestine in golden armor with long hair flowing with the breeze that swelled around their elevated position on the platform. Usriel continued to watch as the man walked towards him, soldiers adorned in power armor stepping behind him.
”My son,” the golden one began, Usriel raising an eyebrow, ”I believe it is time for you to rejoin the ranks of your brothers and sisters.”
”Is that why you have come?” Usriel asked.
”Yes. You shall take command of the nineteenth legion and embark on a great crusade to reunite humanity,” the Emperor stated, looking down upon his son before giving an inquisitive look. ”Usriel, it is your place to join me, and yet, I can see the impassiveness upon your face,” he noted.
Usriel nodded before speaking, ”My impassiveness is merely because the prospect of war does not excite me, though I will serve if that is the duty that you wish to bestow upon me.” The Primarch looked to the soldiers behind the emperor, before asking, ”Is this the legion that you would have me lead?”
”Indeed it is,” the Emperor answered. ”This planet shall be the home of your legion,” the Emperor then looked to the Fabricator-Technis before continuing, ’And you shall lead the manufacturing of their weaponry and their armor.”
“If that is the will of the Omnissiah then it shall be done,” Arx stated without hesitation, the decree already spreading across his neural network.
”If I am to embark upon this great crusade alongside you, my emperor, then let it be know that I shall defend where we cannot attack and that your enemies shall know what it is like to die against a fortress,” Usriel stated, finally bowing his head to his Emperor, even as the golden one stepped past him.
”Come, my son, we have much to discuss and I am eager to see your fortresses.”
Legion Name:
The Steel Sentinels
Legion Number:
XIX
Legion Strength:
15,000 Astartes
80,000 Neophytes
Mechanicus Assets for purpose of maintenance and construction.
Armour Appearance:
Warcry:
”Let them die upon unbreakable walls!”
“Hold until the Eagle’s death!”
Dramatis Personae:
Non-Astartes
Favored Tactics/Battlefield Role:
The Steel Sentinels prefers tactics revolving around defense in depth, sapping an attacking force's strength before it can reach its ultimate objective. Their defense is absolute and should a forward position show signs of being overrun by the enemy, this legion is not afraid to pull back to other defensive positions to continue exacting heavy tolls on attacking forces. It is exceedingly common to see these units wield plasma weaponry, as unreliable as they might be, in order to pierce enemy armor. However, when it comes to advancing their own position against a similarly defended force, this force will employ tanks and artillery in order to close the gap before full space marine squads can do their work.
When close to a hardpoint such as a bunker or outpost, however, this legion takes on the Hedgehog Defense tactic, similar to defense in depth. This is where they will delay an attacking army and keep its forces focused on the hardpoint and when that position is taken, allows the enemy to be surrounded and slaughtered.
Legion Characteristics/Ideology:
The Steel Sentinels are a very cold legion, calloused to the suffering of humans and oftentimes regarding them as expendable casualties if they are in the line of fire or in an area designated for bombardment. However, they do attempt to minimize this damage where they can out of the will of the Imperium itself, though this does not mean they are unafraid to kill them should they need to. The legion itself rarely associates with mere humans, only acknowledging their existence while patrolling and in fact they hold those of the Cult Mechanicus in higher regard purely for their pursuit of knowledge, and it is that knowledge that the Steel Sentinels seek, if not to improve their weaponry and defenses then to advance the Imperium as a whole.
Additionally, a common practice, outside of using Neophytes in the vast majority of their armed forces, is that these Neophytes are actually treated as full members of the legion and are often respected as such. They share many of the same luxuries as the full Astartes, due to the sheer fact that they serve alongside them on the field of battle, despite not having access to proper armor. However, outside of combat, it is expected that the Neophytes maintain the plethora of plasma weapons employed within the legion and that they learn proper use and techniques before becoming a full astartes. For, while it is acceptable for a neophyte to have his weapon malfunction, it is seen as a great dishonor to allow it to happen in the hands of a true astartes warrior.
This dishonor, while it does not lead to banishment or execution as every man is needed in order to hold a proper defense, is punished through assignment of a “penance quest”. These quests may vary on what its details are though the most common would be to patrol the lowest depths of Vion 5 without reinforcement for days or potential weeks on end, without proper plasma weaponry, most often a bolt pistol or unarmed if they are so inclined. After this punishment, the astartes is welcomed back into the legion and allowed use of plasma weaponry once more, though will often be monitored by the legion consuls.
Given this, all astartes of the legion must have knowledge of proper handling and maintenance of these often sacred weapons, so that the machine spirits within them should be appeased and less likely to malfunction. These machine spirits are often prayed to, and it is common to see groups of Neophytes praying to the weaponry inside of the armories, as well full astartes praying to their own weapons.
The first trial of the Sentinels is one of survival, where they are left upon a planet where they will have hike a predetermined amount of miles which typically scales with how hazardous an environment it is. Typically his is done at the age of 7 and done in groups to encourage teamwork and kinship. They are monitored the entire time and the children who become leaders of these are typically put through other trainings.
The next is one of identifying a fault in a plasma gun, pistol, etc. in which a plasma weapon is intentionally made faulty. They must fix this fault and test fire it, they pass if the weapon shows no fault or signs of instability, though a minor instability is not cause for them to be rejected from the legion as they may attempt again, though failure can often kill an aspirant all together. Those who show an inherent understanding are often sent to become full tech-marines.
The next is one of tactics, each aspirant is given a scenario that is impossible to win with an allotted amount of supplies and forces. They are typically set to defend a position and as they are meant to fail this trial is meant to guard their understanding of tactics and how to counter a myriad of enemy advancements. Those who last the longest in these war games are typically put under training of the higher ranking Astartes as their successors.
Then come the combat trials where the Aspirants must combat the following, a serf then an Astartes, failure to beat a serf four times results in disqualification from becoming a neophyte. Given it is impossible for an aspirant to beat an Astartes, it is another measure to see how they approach the situation.
Relationships:
The Emperor of Mankind
The Steel Sentinels acknowledge the Emperor of Mankind as their supreme ruler and god. However, they are not zealots in his name.
Other Legions
The Steel Sentinels are indifferent towards other legions, except for the Daughters of Iron and the Knights of Awe, with whom they dislike due to difference in belief. Many of the legions will ignore working with the two specified legions unless directly ordered to by internal legion command.
Imperial Army
Given the Steel Sentinels disregard for human life, friendly or otherwise, the Imperial Army and this Legion do not get along properly and will often operate separately. It is noted that guardsmen working alongside the Steel Sentinels have shown fear and hesitate to advance in front of the Sentinels out of fear of their lives. Additionally, an officer attempted to give orders to a squad of Neophytes, whose squad leader had fallen, and they refused to follow his orders, instead holding their original position until instructed to move by legion command.
Cult Mechanicus
This Legion gets along well with the cult due to their close ties to them and reliance upon them to construct and maintain their weaponry and fortresses. Oftentimes, Steel Sentinel members will go out of their way to protect the interests of the Mechanicum as well as personal, unlike with the Imperial Army.
Legion-Specific Weaponry
The Steel Sentinels
Legion Number:
XIX
Legion Strength:
15,000 Astartes
80,000 Neophytes
Mechanicus Assets for purpose of maintenance and construction.
Armour Appearance:
Standard Space Marine
Neophyte
Neophyte
Warcry:
”Let them die upon unbreakable walls!”
“Hold until the Eagle’s death!”
Dramatis Personae:
Non-Astartes
- Fabricator-Technis Arx - joint ruler of Vion 05, supplier of the Steel Sentinels
- Tech-Priest Foton - Representative of the Mechanicum, Head of Mechanicum Auxiliary
- Captain Achilles Fenris - Representative of the Imperial Army, Head of Imperial Army Auxiliary
- Serf Belloris Miniro - Ordinator of the House, Head of Steel Sentinel Fortresses - Serf Defenders
Astartes - Nerus Shiel - Head of the Legion Consuls of the Steel Sentinels
- Master of the Forge Aschwin Von Braun
- Chief Librarian Nodis Solallis
- Honour Bearer Maren Kantit - Head of Honour Guard and Standard Bearer of the Legion
- Chief Apothecary Demetes Octacos
Favored Tactics/Battlefield Role:
The Steel Sentinels prefers tactics revolving around defense in depth, sapping an attacking force's strength before it can reach its ultimate objective. Their defense is absolute and should a forward position show signs of being overrun by the enemy, this legion is not afraid to pull back to other defensive positions to continue exacting heavy tolls on attacking forces. It is exceedingly common to see these units wield plasma weaponry, as unreliable as they might be, in order to pierce enemy armor. However, when it comes to advancing their own position against a similarly defended force, this force will employ tanks and artillery in order to close the gap before full space marine squads can do their work.
When close to a hardpoint such as a bunker or outpost, however, this legion takes on the Hedgehog Defense tactic, similar to defense in depth. This is where they will delay an attacking army and keep its forces focused on the hardpoint and when that position is taken, allows the enemy to be surrounded and slaughtered.
Legion Characteristics/Ideology:
The Steel Sentinels are a very cold legion, calloused to the suffering of humans and oftentimes regarding them as expendable casualties if they are in the line of fire or in an area designated for bombardment. However, they do attempt to minimize this damage where they can out of the will of the Imperium itself, though this does not mean they are unafraid to kill them should they need to. The legion itself rarely associates with mere humans, only acknowledging their existence while patrolling and in fact they hold those of the Cult Mechanicus in higher regard purely for their pursuit of knowledge, and it is that knowledge that the Steel Sentinels seek, if not to improve their weaponry and defenses then to advance the Imperium as a whole.
Additionally, a common practice, outside of using Neophytes in the vast majority of their armed forces, is that these Neophytes are actually treated as full members of the legion and are often respected as such. They share many of the same luxuries as the full Astartes, due to the sheer fact that they serve alongside them on the field of battle, despite not having access to proper armor. However, outside of combat, it is expected that the Neophytes maintain the plethora of plasma weapons employed within the legion and that they learn proper use and techniques before becoming a full astartes. For, while it is acceptable for a neophyte to have his weapon malfunction, it is seen as a great dishonor to allow it to happen in the hands of a true astartes warrior.
This dishonor, while it does not lead to banishment or execution as every man is needed in order to hold a proper defense, is punished through assignment of a “penance quest”. These quests may vary on what its details are though the most common would be to patrol the lowest depths of Vion 5 without reinforcement for days or potential weeks on end, without proper plasma weaponry, most often a bolt pistol or unarmed if they are so inclined. After this punishment, the astartes is welcomed back into the legion and allowed use of plasma weaponry once more, though will often be monitored by the legion consuls.
Given this, all astartes of the legion must have knowledge of proper handling and maintenance of these often sacred weapons, so that the machine spirits within them should be appeased and less likely to malfunction. These machine spirits are often prayed to, and it is common to see groups of Neophytes praying to the weaponry inside of the armories, as well full astartes praying to their own weapons.
The first trial of the Sentinels is one of survival, where they are left upon a planet where they will have hike a predetermined amount of miles which typically scales with how hazardous an environment it is. Typically his is done at the age of 7 and done in groups to encourage teamwork and kinship. They are monitored the entire time and the children who become leaders of these are typically put through other trainings.
The next is one of identifying a fault in a plasma gun, pistol, etc. in which a plasma weapon is intentionally made faulty. They must fix this fault and test fire it, they pass if the weapon shows no fault or signs of instability, though a minor instability is not cause for them to be rejected from the legion as they may attempt again, though failure can often kill an aspirant all together. Those who show an inherent understanding are often sent to become full tech-marines.
The next is one of tactics, each aspirant is given a scenario that is impossible to win with an allotted amount of supplies and forces. They are typically set to defend a position and as they are meant to fail this trial is meant to guard their understanding of tactics and how to counter a myriad of enemy advancements. Those who last the longest in these war games are typically put under training of the higher ranking Astartes as their successors.
Then come the combat trials where the Aspirants must combat the following, a serf then an Astartes, failure to beat a serf four times results in disqualification from becoming a neophyte. Given it is impossible for an aspirant to beat an Astartes, it is another measure to see how they approach the situation.
Relationships:
The Emperor of Mankind
The Steel Sentinels acknowledge the Emperor of Mankind as their supreme ruler and god. However, they are not zealots in his name.
Other Legions
The Steel Sentinels are indifferent towards other legions, except for the Daughters of Iron and the Knights of Awe, with whom they dislike due to difference in belief. Many of the legions will ignore working with the two specified legions unless directly ordered to by internal legion command.
Imperial Army
Given the Steel Sentinels disregard for human life, friendly or otherwise, the Imperial Army and this Legion do not get along properly and will often operate separately. It is noted that guardsmen working alongside the Steel Sentinels have shown fear and hesitate to advance in front of the Sentinels out of fear of their lives. Additionally, an officer attempted to give orders to a squad of Neophytes, whose squad leader had fallen, and they refused to follow his orders, instead holding their original position until instructed to move by legion command.
Cult Mechanicus
This Legion gets along well with the cult due to their close ties to them and reliance upon them to construct and maintain their weaponry and fortresses. Oftentimes, Steel Sentinel members will go out of their way to protect the interests of the Mechanicum as well as personal, unlike with the Imperial Army.
Legion-Specific Weaponry
Plasma Flare
The Plasma Flare is a plasma-based sniper rifle with an official designation as an anti-material rifle, able to puncture armor comparable to that of a Wolfram Modular Battle Tank with far more ease than than the standard plasma weaponry. Its plasma, much like the standard plasma rifle, consists of hydrogen liquid fed into a miniature fusion reactor and is propelled forwards by a magnetic accelerator, however, the difference between the Flare and the standard rifle is that the magnetic accelerator’s length is increased, making the barrel of the weapon 74 cm. Additionally, the containment field is maintained upon hitting its target, allowing the plasma to bore through armor. While this does not offer the ability to vent the superheated energy onto the target as a whole, it does allow it to hit a much more concentrated area which allows for this anti-armor capacity.
The scope of the weapon is able to adjust between, 2x all the way to a 40x distance as well as feed the user the range of the object. This allows for the shot to be fired from a relatively close range to one that leaves the user unseen, but easily tackable due to the plasma being incredibly obvious to see. Granted, this does allow the user the ability to better see where their shots should hit and be able to subsequently adjust for the next shot.
However, the biggest drawback of the weapon, perhaps, is that it must vent the heat of each plasma shot immediately and has a safety mechanism in place to prevent it from being fired until it has had time to cool to a non-dangerous level. While this negates the fear of the weapon overheating as commonly as most other plasma weapons, the Flare suffers from an incredibly slow fire rate, only being able to fire five shots per minute.
Denial Anti-Air Flak Battery
The Denial Anti-Air Flak Battery is a stationary weapon emplacement, only able to be deployed via a sufficiently large enough vehicle such as a Thunderhawk, as the battery itself is the size of a Wolfram Battle Tank. This large piece of plasma equipment shoots much larger rounds in comparison to most other plasma weaponry, with the containment field being designed to detonate at altitude of an effective ceiling 3,000 meters and a maximum of nearly 7,500 meters before the containment field naturally depletes. That said, when the containment field ruptures, the plasma detonates far with a radius far greater than any other plasma weapon meaning that even if the shot itself misses, it will singe any nearby aircraft, able to hit an aircraft nearly twenty meters away. However, these rounds are slower than most anti-aircraft weaponry, requiring for the shots themselves to be led far more and that an aircraft nimble enough can dodge the rounds given how noticeable they are.
To compensate, the Denial Battery is outfitted with four barrels that are able to fire sequentially, each housing its own cool system, which is what makes up the bulk of the battery’s mass, along with the weapon’s targeting systems and other essential equipment. This gives the battery a significantly lower chance of venting superheated steam onto its gunner, or exploding in general. However, it still has the chance to have be overtaxed just as any plasma weapon does and, being so large, can be destroyed by concentrated bolter fire which could potentially cause the weapon to detonate outright. Though, the weapon does include a 75 mm frontal shield, capable of absorbing direct enemy fire effectively.
While this weapon’s primary role is to act as anti-aircraft, it can be used as an anti-personnel or anti-tank weapon in a dire situation. Though, the weapon suffers from the disadvantage of being unable to be aimed directly in front of it, making this effectiveness questionable unless the weapon were to be slanted. As such, this battery is often seen employed as a part of fortress defenses or key outposts given how expensive and near irreplaceable these weapons are.
The Plasma furorem
The Plasma furorem is perhaps one of the oddest plasma-based weaponry at the disposal of the Steel Sentinels as the weapon maintains a continuous stream of plasma energy so long as the trigger is held. This weapon could be surmised to a longer ranged plasma projector, but that is an ill comparison for this weapon tends to everseriate heavily armored enemies should the beam hit one spot continuously for a few seconds, even less if it hits a spot where the armor is lightest. As such, this weapon is feared, even by its user for the machine spirits that inhabit these weapons have proven to be bloodthirsty for any being around it.
This weapon sacrifices a bit of its armor piercing capabilities, in order to become a weapon more adept at decimating infantry. For its role as a supportive weapon, this weapon is always equipped with a bipod to allow for improved accuracy and stability for continuous firing. However, the biggest downside to this weapon is, perhaps, the fact that it does need to be “refueled” quite frequently, meaning that the wielder has to carry around extra canisters of hydrogen. Though it works best when it has a back mounted supply of hydrogen to feed into the weapon. However, it has been noted to be exceptionally unreliable and the machine spirits of those weapons have been proven to be far less amenable.
As such, it has been stated that the Steel Sentinels have revoked the dishonor of having this weapon vent while under use which was not believed at first until it was first deployed in battle. This weapon has even earned worry from the likes of Usriel, who has not seen a weapon vent in his own hands.
The Plasma Flare is a plasma-based sniper rifle with an official designation as an anti-material rifle, able to puncture armor comparable to that of a Wolfram Modular Battle Tank with far more ease than than the standard plasma weaponry. Its plasma, much like the standard plasma rifle, consists of hydrogen liquid fed into a miniature fusion reactor and is propelled forwards by a magnetic accelerator, however, the difference between the Flare and the standard rifle is that the magnetic accelerator’s length is increased, making the barrel of the weapon 74 cm. Additionally, the containment field is maintained upon hitting its target, allowing the plasma to bore through armor. While this does not offer the ability to vent the superheated energy onto the target as a whole, it does allow it to hit a much more concentrated area which allows for this anti-armor capacity.
The scope of the weapon is able to adjust between, 2x all the way to a 40x distance as well as feed the user the range of the object. This allows for the shot to be fired from a relatively close range to one that leaves the user unseen, but easily tackable due to the plasma being incredibly obvious to see. Granted, this does allow the user the ability to better see where their shots should hit and be able to subsequently adjust for the next shot.
However, the biggest drawback of the weapon, perhaps, is that it must vent the heat of each plasma shot immediately and has a safety mechanism in place to prevent it from being fired until it has had time to cool to a non-dangerous level. While this negates the fear of the weapon overheating as commonly as most other plasma weapons, the Flare suffers from an incredibly slow fire rate, only being able to fire five shots per minute.
Denial Anti-Air Flak Battery
The Denial Anti-Air Flak Battery is a stationary weapon emplacement, only able to be deployed via a sufficiently large enough vehicle such as a Thunderhawk, as the battery itself is the size of a Wolfram Battle Tank. This large piece of plasma equipment shoots much larger rounds in comparison to most other plasma weaponry, with the containment field being designed to detonate at altitude of an effective ceiling 3,000 meters and a maximum of nearly 7,500 meters before the containment field naturally depletes. That said, when the containment field ruptures, the plasma detonates far with a radius far greater than any other plasma weapon meaning that even if the shot itself misses, it will singe any nearby aircraft, able to hit an aircraft nearly twenty meters away. However, these rounds are slower than most anti-aircraft weaponry, requiring for the shots themselves to be led far more and that an aircraft nimble enough can dodge the rounds given how noticeable they are.
To compensate, the Denial Battery is outfitted with four barrels that are able to fire sequentially, each housing its own cool system, which is what makes up the bulk of the battery’s mass, along with the weapon’s targeting systems and other essential equipment. This gives the battery a significantly lower chance of venting superheated steam onto its gunner, or exploding in general. However, it still has the chance to have be overtaxed just as any plasma weapon does and, being so large, can be destroyed by concentrated bolter fire which could potentially cause the weapon to detonate outright. Though, the weapon does include a 75 mm frontal shield, capable of absorbing direct enemy fire effectively.
While this weapon’s primary role is to act as anti-aircraft, it can be used as an anti-personnel or anti-tank weapon in a dire situation. Though, the weapon suffers from the disadvantage of being unable to be aimed directly in front of it, making this effectiveness questionable unless the weapon were to be slanted. As such, this battery is often seen employed as a part of fortress defenses or key outposts given how expensive and near irreplaceable these weapons are.
The Plasma furorem
The Plasma furorem is perhaps one of the oddest plasma-based weaponry at the disposal of the Steel Sentinels as the weapon maintains a continuous stream of plasma energy so long as the trigger is held. This weapon could be surmised to a longer ranged plasma projector, but that is an ill comparison for this weapon tends to everseriate heavily armored enemies should the beam hit one spot continuously for a few seconds, even less if it hits a spot where the armor is lightest. As such, this weapon is feared, even by its user for the machine spirits that inhabit these weapons have proven to be bloodthirsty for any being around it.
This weapon sacrifices a bit of its armor piercing capabilities, in order to become a weapon more adept at decimating infantry. For its role as a supportive weapon, this weapon is always equipped with a bipod to allow for improved accuracy and stability for continuous firing. However, the biggest downside to this weapon is, perhaps, the fact that it does need to be “refueled” quite frequently, meaning that the wielder has to carry around extra canisters of hydrogen. Though it works best when it has a back mounted supply of hydrogen to feed into the weapon. However, it has been noted to be exceptionally unreliable and the machine spirits of those weapons have been proven to be far less amenable.
As such, it has been stated that the Steel Sentinels have revoked the dishonor of having this weapon vent while under use which was not believed at first until it was first deployed in battle. This weapon has even earned worry from the likes of Usriel, who has not seen a weapon vent in his own hands.
Vion 5
Segmentum Pacifica
”A manufactory as much it is a fortress, lines of production unimpeded by the forces that wish to bring more change to an already resistant people. Vion Five has those very weapons meant to keep intruders out, pointed to the enemies that lay below, as well.”
-Usriel Andreadth
Geography
Vion 5, at the time of its initial rediscovery by the Mechanicum, was noted to be an alpine world of a size similar, albeit smaller, than that of Venus in the Sol System. Mountains and valleys covered the planet with a singular vast ocean covering only 57% of the planet’s surface in great lakes and oceans; remarkably, early Mechanicum explorators noted that a 37% of this water was able to be classified as freshwater. However, as of present time, all of the planet’s surface is covered in a mixture of factories, hive spires, and fortresses with only hints of the planets previous geography able to be glanced upon as many of the fortresses built under Usriel were constructed into the largest of the mountains of Vion 5.
The largest of these mountains, once named by the natives as Gotteshause, stood 9,034.76 meters high. Albeit now, that mountain is now home to the primary fortress of the planet, constructed by Usriel and neigh inpenentrebale to even orbital interference due to the presence of void shields covering the fortress. This fortress had been named the Steel Watch after the introduction of the Astartes legion, the Steel Sentinels, had begun to use the planet as their base of operations.
History
The earliest records of Vion 5 is that it had been founded in the late 23rd millennium, whatever those original intentions for the planet had been have long been lost to time. This fledgling colony would fall out of communication with Terra due to a rogue warp storm, isolated and alone. Mechanicum personnel theorize that in this time, the people had reverted into tribalistic societies with a predominantly polytheistic religion as contact and travel were unable to be done. It was only until the storm subsided and the early Mechanicum colonists came to the planet during the Age of Strife, during the 26th millennium, that an in depth record began to emerge, albeit scarce and heavily biased against the native peoples of the planet.
The bias is largely due to the Mechanicum and the native populace being outwardly unfriendly to one another as the Machine Cult wished to spread its faith across the planet, this led to missions being sent all across the planet in an attempt to induct native peoples into the machine cult. However, this step led to aggression from the people who used what technology that they had to strike out against the missions and killed a few tech-priests whilst others fled to report the outright declaration of war. While the killing of these tech-priests was not a planet-wide action, it was enough for the current governor, Fabricator-Technis Antillian, to launch a brutal and barbaric campaign against the natives as retribution for those killed. In Imperial records, this is known as the ‘Vion Cleansing’ as Antillian led his armies of Skitarii to commit a horrid planet-wide genocide, killing nearly a quarter of the planet’s native population.
Only after Antillian had captured and executed the leaders behind the killings was an armistice signed, acknowledging the Mechanicum as the sole rulers of the planets and to make the Cult of Mars the primary religion of the planet. This allowed the Mechanicum, once moderately administering the planet and restricting its access to allow for a peaceful transition, to assume total control of those few states that remained. Those very Skitarii involved in the cleansing of the planet’s population were dispersed planet wide, with many engineers to start construction of what the planet was determined to become prior to the colonists even leaving Mars, a Forge World. Whilst the population was repressed and further efforts to convert the faith of the people were taken, there was a vast resentment that grew over the span of generations, leading to small and isolated rebellions that were swiftly crushed.
By the late 26th millennium, the population, while identifying as citizens of the Mechanicum, were still disgruntled as the stories of the people’s history were still passed down through oral or text. However, the declining nature of the planet’s environment proved to lead to the second great rebellion, the War of the Mountains, a final effort to stop the Antillian regime from ruining the planet’s biosphere. This war proved far more difficult for Antillian to overcome, his previous tactics of brutality and wanton slaughter proved to only bolster the support of the rebels. It soon became clear that this war would become a costly endeavor, but the height would come at the dawn of the 27th millennium when saboteurs detonated a powerful explosive under the administrative seat of the Mechanicum’s presence, killing Antillian and a majority of his court. An attack that was meant to leave the armies of the Mechanicum without leadership, only increased their resolve. The War of the Mountains would leave millions dead, known to be one of the greatest wars fought in the history of Vion 5.
