Red Scorpions

"There is no greater transgression than to betray the Emperor's will; for a normal man there may be atonement for such a sin in death, but for a member of the Astartes, even the grave cannot hold suffering enough to pay for this crime." - Lord High Commander Carab Culln

The Loyalist Red Scorpions Chapter of Space Marines is known to be composed of conservative Imperial purists who are famed for their complete and utter devotion to Imperial doctrine, even when pragmatism or even reason would seem to require otherwise. Their absolute adherence to the Codex Astartes is unheard of in any other Chapter, including the Ultramarines. Due to their history of conflict with the Forces of Chaos, they refuse to deal with any xenos species or any humans that they consider as tainted by mutation of any kind, even Imperially-sanctioned Abhumans like the Ogryns or Ratlings. They will obviously not serve with Beastmen, but they also utterly refuse to serve with te few remaining Squats. The Chapter is most renowned among other Astartes for their strict adherence to the Codex Astartes. Equally unique in nature is the frequency with which the Red Scorpions' Apothecaries are present in the Chapter's Tactical Squads as squad leaders in place of a Sergeant.

Chapter History
The origins of the Red Scorpions Chapter are unknown. Despite the Chapter's long and unimpeachable record of service, there are still those within the Adeptus who distrust them on the simple grounds that their origins as a Chapter remain a complete mystery, as does the identity of the founding to which they belong or the Primogenitor Chapter from which their gene-seed has been taken. This secrecy has led to some of the Imperium's heirarchy questioning the loyalty of a Chapter that keeps its history secret. Despite this, the Chapter is willing to assist the Imperium of Man wherever it can, carrying out thousands of aid missions. It is known, however, that the Chapter has existed for at least 5,000 years, since the 36th Millennium. In the early years of their existence, they were primarily a Crusading Chapter, their Chapter fleet almost continuously on the move, traveling between war zones and making their forces available to those who would petition their aid (if the Chapter deems those that petition them, worthy). Although the Red Scorpions have appeared to be lost several times in the Imperium's long history, they have always returned again from the abyss to draw their blades again in the Emperor's service. A historic example of this would be during the Ordon Rift campaign, when the entire Chapter undertook a crusade into the perilous Ordon Rift region deep within the interstellar wilderness of the south-western regions of the Segmentum Tempestus in M39. Remaining out of contact with the Imperium for an extended period of time, they were deemed lost. The Chapter reappeared more than three centuries later. What occurred during their time within the rift remains unknown, but the Red Scorpions had established their primary base of operations upon a battle station named Vigil around the feral world of Zaebus Minoris deep within the perilous regions of the Ordon Rift surrounded by spatial rapids, and gravitic storms and other lethal phenomena. Save for the Chapter itself and a handful of high ranking members of the Administratum, the Red Scorpions have kept the exact location of the Zaebus system and the safe routes through the treachorous passages required to reach it a deathly secret, thus ensuring their Chapter's security and the safetly of their gene-stock. Using Vigil and Zaebus Minoris as their base of operations, the Chapter has continued to range across the southern and western Imperium in search of the enemies of Mankind.

Notable Campaigns

 * Helios Campaign (857.M38) - The Red Scorpions Chapter is called to assist in the prolonged siege of the Traitor Marine stronghold on the world of Helios. The Chapter's Master of the Forge creates the Land Raider Helios pattern by mounting extra Whirlwind Missile Launchers onto existing Land Raiders. He took this step because the Red Scorpions mistrusted the Imperial Guard units they were sent to work with, fearing the Chapter may become tainted by those forces already exposed to the Traitors' Chaotic corruption.
 * Ordon Rift Crusade (Late M39) - The Red Scorpions undertake the Ordon Crusade, which sees the entire Chapter deployed in the wilderness space of the Ordon Rift in Segmentum Tempestus for 300 years, during which time it was feared they had been destroyed. It is unknown what happened during these three centuries. When they later emerged from these hazardous area of space, it was established that the Chapter had founded an orbital battle station named Vigil around the feral world of Zaebus Minoris deep within the Ordon Rift as a permanent base.
 * Galen V Suppression (M41) - involved Land Raiders in Codex-approved Cobalt/Ammonium desert camouflage for the cobalt chromate deserts of Galen V.
 * Siege of Vraks (826.M41 & 830.M41) - In 826.M41, a strike force composed of elements of the 1st, 3rd, 6th, and 8th Companies of the Red Scorpions arrive on the world of Vraks in the Strike Cruiser Arx Fidelis. Led by Force Commander Ainea, the Red Scorpions strike force aided in the final breaching of the curtain wall surrounding the Fortress of Vraks. Veteran Sergeant Carab Culln leads the Vanguard squad that carried the teleport homer used by Commander Ainea and his squad of Terminators to arrive, and subsequently hold, the breach in the curtain wall where the besieging army would pour through. The Red Scorpions return to Vraks in 830.M41, this time with a strike force personally led by Lord High Commander Verant Ortys in response to Inquisitor Lord Hector Rex's request for aid. The Red Scorpions' battle barge Sword of Ordon arrives in orbit, carrying 400 of the Chapter's Battle-Brothers, including Veteran Sergeant Carab Culln. The Red Scorpions proceed to participate in the retaking of the Fortress of Vraks, particularly the battle of Saint Leonis' Gate.
 * Beta Anphelion IV (850.M41) - Marines from the Chapter's First and Sixth Companies, led by Commander Carab Culln, assist Ordo Xenos Inquisitor Solomon Lok during an investigation and subsequent battle against the Tyranids on Beta Anphelion IV. The Chapter comes under surveillance by the Inquisition's Ordo Hereticus for their actions, along with Inquistor Lord Varius of the Ordo Xenos.
 * Badab War 906-911.M41) - The Red Scorpions Chapter played a key role in the Badab War, commanding the Loyalist Space Marine forces throughout the war's duration with the blessings of the Imperial Legates, even though there were some initial misgivings about the Chapter's fiercely independent reputation. The High Lords of Terra requested their direct involvement to intervene in the conflict.  Not currently involved in any other engagements, the crusading Chapter were able to swiftly move to the Maelstrom Zone, arriving in 906.M41.  Lord High Commander Verant Ortys was appointed as the overall commander of the Loyalist Space Marines by their common assent, due to the famed Chapter Master being a veteran of many campaigns.  The Red Scorpions were at first limited to countering the Secessionist raids on Imperial shipping and conducting probing attacks against several outposts to gauge their foes' strength.  The Badab War took an ill-fated turn of fate for the Chapter, when Verant Ortys and his bodyguard were killed in mysterious and likely treacherous circumstances while conducting a parley with the Secessionist's leader Lufgt Huron of the renegade Astral Claws Chapter.  The Chapter's heir apparent, 1st Company Commander Carab Culln immediately assumed control of the Red Scorpions, and despite some minor dissent, was made the overall commander of the Loyalist Space Marine forces.  His first act was to sideline the Fire Hawks venerable Chapter Master Stibor Lazaerek and bring in further forces from his own Chapter.  This increased the his Chapter's presence within the combat zone to eight full battle companies, two battle-barges and four strike cruisers.  Leading from the front lines, the Red Scorpions took part in numerous engagements throughout the rest of the war, playing a key role in many major battles of the Badab War.  After the Badab War ended, Lord High Commander Culln and the Red Scorpions were awarded the rare and lauded honour of a Vexilla Imeprialis by the assent of the High Lords of Terra for their role in crushing the uprising, to serve forevermore as a mark of victory and stand as a relic of the Chapter.
 * Second Tyrannic War (992.M41) - The Red Scorpions are involved in operations against the Tyranid menace of the encroaching Hive Fleet Kraken.
 * Third War for Armageddon (999.M41) - A single company of the Red Scorpions arrives at the end of the first year of conflict during the Season of Fire and awaits the Season of Shadow to commence hostilities on Armageddon.

Chapter Organisation
The Red Scorpions are considered a Codex chapter in almost every detail, conforming very closely in structure and doctrine to the tenets of the Codex Astartes. Though it has been noted that the Chapter's commanders and chaplains have their own particular interpretations and emphasis on the text. The internal structures of the Chapter are highly authoritarian - discipline and order within the ranks being absolute. Those of superior rank are to be obeyed without question by the battle-brothers beneath them in any circumstance on or off the battlefield. The Chapter's Captains are known by the honorary title of 'Commander' whilst the Chapter Master is known by the title of 'Lord High Commander'. His second-in-command is always the Master of the Apothecarion as a matter of Chapter tradition. As an adjunct to the highly honoured place genetic purity holds within the Red Scorpions doctrine, they maintain considerably more Apothecaries than most Space Marine Chapters. These Apothecaries' sacred task is to maintain total vigilance over the Chapter's brethren for genetic or biochemical corruption. Apothecaries are often attached to tactical squads and commonly deployed to the front line in combat in order to grant them every chance to harvest their fallen battle-brother's gene-seed.

The Chapter is noted for the purity of its gene-seed tithes to the Adeptus Mechanicus, which are heavily tied to its fanatical belief in purity, in deed and thought as well as physically.

The Red Scorpions are characterized by their extreme traditionalism, unyielding devotion to the Codex Astartes, and their hatred of Abhumans and other mutants and anything deviating from the pure human physical form. They have a fanatical belief in their own purity and this has led to the Chapter's isolationism. They do not venerate any Primarch above any other, preferring only to venerate the Emperor. As a Chapter, they are extremely xenophobic; they will not serve alongside Abhumans, and due to the Imperial Guard's willingness to allow Abhumans in their ranks, they view the Guard as inferior and untrustworthy.

Although the Chapter relies heavily on the Codex for its tactical deployments and strategy, it has shown an ability to innovate unexpectedly when needed in the past (as proved by the Angstrom Incident during the Badab War), the Red Scorpions are known to have a profound dislike of covert operations in favour of meeting and defeating an enemy in open battle. They consider the use of camouflage and infiltration as fundamentally dishonourable, and shun them unless strictly needed. As a result, much of the Chapter's Scout-equipped Neophytes of the 10th Company are deployed to the main battle lines rather than on reconnaissance duties, and are often tactically used to secure fire bases in dense terrain or act as an auxiliary force to respond to the changing tide of battle.

The Chapter's armouries are known to operate an extensive range of armoured vehicles and Dreadnoughts in a wide variety of patterns, and have an extensive resource of drop pods and Land Raiders in particular. Their Chapter forge is also known for it ability to maintain and manufacture in limited quantities of a variety of patterns of Space Marine Power Armour. They most commonly employ the renowned Mark IV 'Maximus' pattern power armour amongst the Chapter's veterans as a mark of rank and honour. Quality of arms is also highly valued by the Chapter. Often a weapon of extraordinary quality is granted as an award to its Veterans rather than a mere honorific or decoration to mark their deeds. The serves as both a symbolic symbol denoting the warrior's veteran status as well as serving as effective tools of war. The Chapter's commanders are granted the singular honour of carrying a number of ancient and potent relic blades, known collectively as the 'Tears of the Scorpion'. Each of these superior weapons are master crafted weapons with its own revered story and legend. Unfortunately the Chapter's only deficiency in wargear is a dwindling supply of Terminator armour, the consequence of sustained losses over the last few centuries. The Red Scorpions 1st Company can only deploy roughly half of its veterans in Terminator armour if the situation demands it.

Chapter Homeworld
The small, arid world of Zaebus Minoris is inhabited by a primitive human culture of roughly stone-age development. Missionary Galactica reports that these tribes each have a central temple complex, at which each newborn male child is presented to the gods for their approval. On the first full moon of the newborn’s life it is presented to the High Priest and placed upon the temple’s stone altar. The tribesmen believe that the gods look down from the moon in judgement upon their children. In the night, those that are judged inadequate die (usually from exposure). Most are allowed to live, the infant being returned to its father at dawn to begin a normal life amongst the tribe. A few – those judged to be the very best be the High Priest – are taken by the gods. For a tribe this is the greatest honour and shows they have the gods’ blessing. All tribes hope that their children will be taken, to live amongst the gods as one of them.

Of course those children that go missing are indeed taken, selected by the Chapter’s Apothecaries, (after vigorous genetic screening) to begin the process of becoming a Space Marine. As these newborn recruits have had no experience of their primitive culture they carry none of this cultural baggage with them. As they grow they will have no memory of their parents, background or culture, and life within the Chapter will be all each recruit ever knows. Because recruits are inducted at an early age, the Red Scorpions exhibit no cultural influence, unlike other Chapters that recruit from primitive cultures.

Chapter Beliefs
The Chapter's most notable core beliefs are founded precisely on the purity and consistency of their gene-seed, and they will go to any lengths to preserve that purity and harvest the Chapter's due from its fallen brothers and so ensure the Red Scorpions' future. To the Red Scorpions, gene-seed corruption would fundamentally weaken them or any other Chapter of the Space Marines, and thereby weaken the fabric of the Imperium itself - something they simply cannot allow. The Red Scorpions are fanatically loyal to the Emperor in whose divinity they believe without question, they are strict adherents to the Codex Astartes which they view as holy scripture. This Chapter's endless hatred for the alien and the mutant has become legendary across the galaxy, as is their fanatical devotion to purity and contempt of divergence from the pure human form. the Red Scorpions are notoriously xenophobic, and for no cause or in no dire need will they aver consider serving alongside or allying with the alien, even at the cost of their own lives. They are furthermore, extremely intolerant of any genetic deviation from the pure human form, despising abhumans, mutants or augments of any kind. The only exception they allow being those deemed to have been created through the divine Emperor's hand (Adeptus Astartes and the Navigators, for example). Even then, these few exceptions are only tolerated within certain limits.

Gene-Seed
The Red Scorpions' gene-seed is notable for its extreme lack of any form of deterioration or corruption. It is also noteworthy for bearing no specific hallmarks that would allow it to be sourced (even inconclusively), to one of the original Space Marine Legions.

Notable Red Scorpions

 * Lord High Commander Verant Oryts - Former Chapter Master and Lord High Commander of the Red Scorpions last seen active during the Siege of Vraks, who personally lead a strike force of 400 Battle-Brothers in the retaking of the Citadel of Vraks, capturing Saint Leonis' Gate from waves of heretics, mutants, and finally daemons.
 * Commander Carab Culln - Carab Culln is generally seen as the most skilled Commander (Red Scorpions Captain) among the Chapter's officers and is seen as the next Lord High Commander-in-waiting by the rest of his Battle-Brothers. He is known to be courageous and loyal and rabidly adheres to the Red Scorpions' literalist reading of the Codex Astartes with every word and deed. Culln was placed in command of the elements of the Red Scorpions Chapter that saw combat on behalf of the Inquisition against the feral Tyranids unleashed by the Adeptus Mechanicus' unsanctioned Anphelion Project on Beta Anphelion IV. He led a squad of Terminators that cleansed the Tyranid infestation from the Adeptus Mechanicus research station on that benighted world.
 * Veteran Sergeant Raum - Sergeant Raum was a squad leader of the Red Scorpions Chapter who successfully completed 109 missions for the Chapter. He was killed in action against the feral Tyranids on Beta Anphelion IV.

Chapter Fleet
The Red Scorpions are assumed to have a large fleet at their disposal, given their history and salvage rights following the Badab War, but so far only three starships have been mentioned in Imperial records, including:


 * Auel's Bane - Battle Barge
 * Sword of Ordon - Battle Barge
 * Arx Fidelis - Strike Cruiser

Chapter Colours
The Red Scorpions' Power Armour was originally painted black with a yellow helmet stripe and yellow shoulder plate, leg and arm trims. The Imperial record was later amended to indicate that the Chapter's currently prefers a charcoal gray colour scheme with a mustard yellow helmet stripe, shoulder plate trim and Aquila (irrespective of company designation). A single knee-plate can also be in the same yellow, though this varies between individuals. The shoulder plates are black.

Chapter Badge
The Chapter's badge is a red scorpion centered on a white field. During the Angstrom Incident, the Pursuit Squad of this Chapter wore a red and black camouflage pattern.

Gallery
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