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Yeah, you read that right. They're a legion. Read and see why...
A brief history of the Onyx Warriors Space Marine Legion, as recorded by servitor 284024-342398-B, recordkeeper class. Assisted by servo skull 54323902-23143294-L
Thought for the Day: If a man dies that another should live, that man's spirit shall eat at the Emperor's table.
Begin Transmission…
The Onyx Warriors were formed by a select group of candidates from the Salamanders and the Iron Hands legions, during the days of the Great Crusade. This was part of an experiment to breed out the stubborn qualities of the Salamanders, and machine worshipping tendencies of the Iron Hands, which ultimately proved to be a failure. During the early stages of the project, the Emperor granted the two men a small agri-world system in one of the outer arms of the Milky Way galaxy to grow their legion. After much deliberation, they decided to call it the Onyx system. Due to the fact that the legion was partly descended from the Iron Hands, and had inherited its parent legions veneration of all things mechanical, a small forge world was established deep in the Onyx system, mainly devoted to producing things for the chapter and the Imperial Army contingents under its command. To this day, Mars still maintains unusually good relations with the legion, and members of the Onyx Warriors are usually used as mediators in disputes between the Adeptus Mechanicus and the Imperium of Man. During the years preceding the Horus Heresy, the legion was still getting off the ground, with records stating it had only 100 fully grown Marines to its name, and thus, the Emperor chose not to inform Warmaster Horus of its existence. This is seen by many today as a sign that the Emperor knew all was not well within Horus, and thus, he was slowly cutting him off. At this point in time, only a select few outside of the legion itself knew it existed. This included the primarchs of the Salamanders and Iron Hands, the Emperor, and the Fabricator General of the Forgeworld in the Onyx System. Due to this small circle of outsiders, the wars of the Horus Heresy never reached this system, but the data engines containing all of the information on the legion and its location were damaged beyond repair during the Chaos attack on Terra, where all information on the Legions was kept at the Emperor’s palace. And so, when the Codex Astartes was penned, no one thought to inform the Onyx Warriors that they were supposed to downsize their legion into a mere chapter. They probably wouldn’t have listened anyway, as millennia of isolation from the Imperium caused by warp storms, and the stubborn qualities associated with the Salamander geneseed, has led to them adopting an extremely independent attitude. So much so that they are rarely accompanied into major engagements without an Inquisitorial attaché, “In case they get any ideas.” This has led to a bitter rivalry between the Grey Knights and the Onyx Warriors, who can’t stand the Knight’s blind faith in an Emperor who, in their eyes, overlooked their system for eons.
When the warp storms around Onyx finally died down, the Imperium immediately sent colony ships to claim this “new” system. When the colony ships entered Onyx space, they were met by a flotilla of ships from the Onyx Warriors fleet, and were escorted to Onyx Prime, the dusty-red, Mars like planet containing the legion’s fortress-monestary. As the colonists sent back nervous vox and astropathic signals to their port of origin, the Legion Master, Xavier Deus, was preparing an honor guard to receive these long lost members of the Imperium. Because Astartes are immortal (See attached file: 20-12/A, Physiology of the Adeptus Astartes, subsection K, Lifespan) all of the marines remembered what they truly were, and thus, a catastrophe, which may have devolved into loyal Astartes fighting loyal Astartes, was averted. Thus, the newest space marines were welcomed into the Imperium with open arms, after thorough investigation by the Inquisition of course. Aside from finding that the Onyx Warriors contained over 50 companies, enough for five chapters of space marines, and an overabundance of archaic technology long chalked up as lost by the Adeptus Mechanicus, the Inquisition could give no reason why they should not be allowed to continue their Imperial service. Plus, the intact Standard Template Constructs on the Onyx forgeworld were to tempting to pass up. The Onyx Warriors were angered when the Inquisition attempted to return control of the forgeworld to the Imperium at large, and displayed the full might of their legion, all 50,000 marines and their associated support vehicles, in a carefully coordinated parade through Onyx Prime’s capital city, Valemas. This was broadcast all across the Imperium, and a digi-tape was hand delivered by Legion Master Deus to the Inquisitorial offices on Terra. The thinly veiled threat, when combined with a letter from the Fabricator General of Mars informing the High Council of Terra that they would pull all support from the Imperium if the Imperium attempted to wrest control of the forge world from the legion, caused the Inquisition to back down. Because of this incident, some Inquisitorial circles have gone so far as to label the legion the Adeptus Mechanicus’ own personal attack dogs, and are wary that if Mars attempts to break away from the Imperium, that the Onyx Warriors may go with it.
The Onyx Warriors have a unique organizational structure; as the only remaining Space Marine legion in the Imperium, they have to bend a few rules set forth in the Codex Astartes in order to conform to the Imperium’s demands. For examples, 1st through 15th are all battle ready companies. That includes 10th company, which, in a traditional chapter would bear the full brunt of training the chapter’s scout marines. However, the Onyx Warriors leave this responsibility up to two companies, the 10th and the 50th. The company 50th takes in the scouts when they first are recruited by the chapter. Once they are deemed ready for the battlefield, they are paired up with a veteran sergeant from 10th company. The sergeant takes full responsibility for their training, and, when they are deemed ready, the scouts are assigned to one of the other forty eight companies.
1st through 5th are all veteran companies, although, following the rules laid down by the Codex Astartes, the 1st company veterans are the best of the best, and are only deployed in the most dire of situations, such as the defense of the Onyx system itself, or by Inquisitorial order to take place in a major campaign. 2nd through 5th see much action though, and each company specializes in a certain type of warfare. For example, all devastator veterans are grouped into 5th company, and all assault marine veterans are sent to 2nd company. 3rd and 4th are for the tactical squad veterans, and many marines who prove themselves in these companies are sent back to the other companies to act as veteran sergeants for the newer marines.
As befits a Marine legion based in a system with its own forgeworld, the Onyx Warriors have an abundance of vehicles. The chapter makes extensive use of Drop Pods, Landspeeders, Attack Bikes, Razorbacks, Predator Battle Tanks, Land Raiders, and to a lesser extent, Vindicators and Whirlwinds. After a disastrous assault against an Onyx Warriors mechanized column by Tau armed with heavy pulse weaponry, the legion retired most of its Rhinos, citing their light armor and insufficient armament. The same thing happened when a large force of bikes was ambushed by Chaos Raptors and overwhelmed. The substantial fleet of Rhinos and bikes was donated to other chapters, and remains in use by many smaller chapters who before had little to no vehicles to speak of. They now use Razorbacks as their prime mode of transportation, because, even though the armor is little better than a Rhino, the increased weaponry makes an enemy think twice about attacking a large force of them. All assault marines who used to ride bikes to battle were retrained in the use of the jetpack, and now use those instead. Of the battle ready companies, the 11th-15th are completely devoted to vehicles and vehicle maintenance.
The Onyx Warriors have participated in a number of major campaigns since their re-incorporation into the Imperium. Among those are:
-The Fall of Medusa V, in which their fleet destroyed a substantial amount of chaos transports attempting to escape the planet and the 34th company was completely destroyed when it’s Captain, Brother Captain Killian, decided to stay behind and protect a sacred chapel to prevent it’s corruption by chaos. The Onyx Warriors wear a seal of remembrance on their left shoulder pad to commemorate the sacrifice of the company.
-The Battle of Xenaven Prime, in which elements of the 2nd, 7th, and 13th companies, totaling only 500 marines and 30 vehicles in all, held the line around the last remaining Imperial starport for 241 days without relief or support. When they were finally relieved by the 17th Cadian regiment, there were only 61 marines and 3 vehicles left.
-The Hoven Campaign, in which fleet elements provided fire support for Inquisitorial forces on the ground and provided enough covering fire for Inquisitor Brent Yorrick and his forces to withdraw from an ambush laid by Daemon Prince Ye’Glenasshi and his forces. It is estimated that they killed over 5,000 enemies of the Imperium that day.
End Transmission…
A brief history of the Onyx Warriors Space Marine Legion, as recorded by servitor 284024-342398-B, recordkeeper class. Assisted by servo skull 54323902-23143294-L
Thought for the Day: If a man dies that another should live, that man's spirit shall eat at the Emperor's table.
Begin Transmission…
The Onyx Warriors were formed by a select group of candidates from the Salamanders and the Iron Hands legions, during the days of the Great Crusade. This was part of an experiment to breed out the stubborn qualities of the Salamanders, and machine worshipping tendencies of the Iron Hands, which ultimately proved to be a failure. During the early stages of the project, the Emperor granted the two men a small agri-world system in one of the outer arms of the Milky Way galaxy to grow their legion. After much deliberation, they decided to call it the Onyx system. Due to the fact that the legion was partly descended from the Iron Hands, and had inherited its parent legions veneration of all things mechanical, a small forge world was established deep in the Onyx system, mainly devoted to producing things for the chapter and the Imperial Army contingents under its command. To this day, Mars still maintains unusually good relations with the legion, and members of the Onyx Warriors are usually used as mediators in disputes between the Adeptus Mechanicus and the Imperium of Man. During the years preceding the Horus Heresy, the legion was still getting off the ground, with records stating it had only 100 fully grown Marines to its name, and thus, the Emperor chose not to inform Warmaster Horus of its existence. This is seen by many today as a sign that the Emperor knew all was not well within Horus, and thus, he was slowly cutting him off. At this point in time, only a select few outside of the legion itself knew it existed. This included the primarchs of the Salamanders and Iron Hands, the Emperor, and the Fabricator General of the Forgeworld in the Onyx System. Due to this small circle of outsiders, the wars of the Horus Heresy never reached this system, but the data engines containing all of the information on the legion and its location were damaged beyond repair during the Chaos attack on Terra, where all information on the Legions was kept at the Emperor’s palace. And so, when the Codex Astartes was penned, no one thought to inform the Onyx Warriors that they were supposed to downsize their legion into a mere chapter. They probably wouldn’t have listened anyway, as millennia of isolation from the Imperium caused by warp storms, and the stubborn qualities associated with the Salamander geneseed, has led to them adopting an extremely independent attitude. So much so that they are rarely accompanied into major engagements without an Inquisitorial attaché, “In case they get any ideas.” This has led to a bitter rivalry between the Grey Knights and the Onyx Warriors, who can’t stand the Knight’s blind faith in an Emperor who, in their eyes, overlooked their system for eons.
When the warp storms around Onyx finally died down, the Imperium immediately sent colony ships to claim this “new” system. When the colony ships entered Onyx space, they were met by a flotilla of ships from the Onyx Warriors fleet, and were escorted to Onyx Prime, the dusty-red, Mars like planet containing the legion’s fortress-monestary. As the colonists sent back nervous vox and astropathic signals to their port of origin, the Legion Master, Xavier Deus, was preparing an honor guard to receive these long lost members of the Imperium. Because Astartes are immortal (See attached file: 20-12/A, Physiology of the Adeptus Astartes, subsection K, Lifespan) all of the marines remembered what they truly were, and thus, a catastrophe, which may have devolved into loyal Astartes fighting loyal Astartes, was averted. Thus, the newest space marines were welcomed into the Imperium with open arms, after thorough investigation by the Inquisition of course. Aside from finding that the Onyx Warriors contained over 50 companies, enough for five chapters of space marines, and an overabundance of archaic technology long chalked up as lost by the Adeptus Mechanicus, the Inquisition could give no reason why they should not be allowed to continue their Imperial service. Plus, the intact Standard Template Constructs on the Onyx forgeworld were to tempting to pass up. The Onyx Warriors were angered when the Inquisition attempted to return control of the forgeworld to the Imperium at large, and displayed the full might of their legion, all 50,000 marines and their associated support vehicles, in a carefully coordinated parade through Onyx Prime’s capital city, Valemas. This was broadcast all across the Imperium, and a digi-tape was hand delivered by Legion Master Deus to the Inquisitorial offices on Terra. The thinly veiled threat, when combined with a letter from the Fabricator General of Mars informing the High Council of Terra that they would pull all support from the Imperium if the Imperium attempted to wrest control of the forge world from the legion, caused the Inquisition to back down. Because of this incident, some Inquisitorial circles have gone so far as to label the legion the Adeptus Mechanicus’ own personal attack dogs, and are wary that if Mars attempts to break away from the Imperium, that the Onyx Warriors may go with it.
The Onyx Warriors have a unique organizational structure; as the only remaining Space Marine legion in the Imperium, they have to bend a few rules set forth in the Codex Astartes in order to conform to the Imperium’s demands. For examples, 1st through 15th are all battle ready companies. That includes 10th company, which, in a traditional chapter would bear the full brunt of training the chapter’s scout marines. However, the Onyx Warriors leave this responsibility up to two companies, the 10th and the 50th. The company 50th takes in the scouts when they first are recruited by the chapter. Once they are deemed ready for the battlefield, they are paired up with a veteran sergeant from 10th company. The sergeant takes full responsibility for their training, and, when they are deemed ready, the scouts are assigned to one of the other forty eight companies.
1st through 5th are all veteran companies, although, following the rules laid down by the Codex Astartes, the 1st company veterans are the best of the best, and are only deployed in the most dire of situations, such as the defense of the Onyx system itself, or by Inquisitorial order to take place in a major campaign. 2nd through 5th see much action though, and each company specializes in a certain type of warfare. For example, all devastator veterans are grouped into 5th company, and all assault marine veterans are sent to 2nd company. 3rd and 4th are for the tactical squad veterans, and many marines who prove themselves in these companies are sent back to the other companies to act as veteran sergeants for the newer marines.
As befits a Marine legion based in a system with its own forgeworld, the Onyx Warriors have an abundance of vehicles. The chapter makes extensive use of Drop Pods, Landspeeders, Attack Bikes, Razorbacks, Predator Battle Tanks, Land Raiders, and to a lesser extent, Vindicators and Whirlwinds. After a disastrous assault against an Onyx Warriors mechanized column by Tau armed with heavy pulse weaponry, the legion retired most of its Rhinos, citing their light armor and insufficient armament. The same thing happened when a large force of bikes was ambushed by Chaos Raptors and overwhelmed. The substantial fleet of Rhinos and bikes was donated to other chapters, and remains in use by many smaller chapters who before had little to no vehicles to speak of. They now use Razorbacks as their prime mode of transportation, because, even though the armor is little better than a Rhino, the increased weaponry makes an enemy think twice about attacking a large force of them. All assault marines who used to ride bikes to battle were retrained in the use of the jetpack, and now use those instead. Of the battle ready companies, the 11th-15th are completely devoted to vehicles and vehicle maintenance.
The Onyx Warriors have participated in a number of major campaigns since their re-incorporation into the Imperium. Among those are:
-The Fall of Medusa V, in which their fleet destroyed a substantial amount of chaos transports attempting to escape the planet and the 34th company was completely destroyed when it’s Captain, Brother Captain Killian, decided to stay behind and protect a sacred chapel to prevent it’s corruption by chaos. The Onyx Warriors wear a seal of remembrance on their left shoulder pad to commemorate the sacrifice of the company.
-The Battle of Xenaven Prime, in which elements of the 2nd, 7th, and 13th companies, totaling only 500 marines and 30 vehicles in all, held the line around the last remaining Imperial starport for 241 days without relief or support. When they were finally relieved by the 17th Cadian regiment, there were only 61 marines and 3 vehicles left.
-The Hoven Campaign, in which fleet elements provided fire support for Inquisitorial forces on the ground and provided enough covering fire for Inquisitor Brent Yorrick and his forces to withdraw from an ambush laid by Daemon Prince Ye’Glenasshi and his forces. It is estimated that they killed over 5,000 enemies of the Imperium that day.
End Transmission…
