Ultramarines 3rd Company

The Ultramarines 3rd Company, known as the "Scourge of the Xenos", is a Battle Company of the Ultramarines Chapter. It won notable glory during the savage battles of the Tyrannic Wars.

Yet even before this, the warriors of the 3rd Company held a reputation for alien-hunting that drew respect even from the black-armoured ranks of the Deathwatch.

History
The Emperor's realm is beset upon every side by alien threats. The Eastern Fringe, where Ultramar lies, is a particular flashpoint for xenos aggression.

It has seen numerous invasions by Tyranid splinter fleets, Ork WAAAGH!s out of Charadon, and the repeated expansionist pushes of the T'au Empire.

When taken alongside the Enslaver plague that struck the Hrathin System, repeated Sarkydd attacks on void-shipping between Veridia and Parmenio and the recent ravages of the self-proclaimed Hrud Time-thief, it is easy to see how even in the past few solar decades Ultramar and its surrounding worlds have faced more than their fair share of xenos aggression.

In the face of this alien tide stand the Battle-Brothers of the Ultramarines 3rd Company. Long has it been the duty of this company's warriors to face the most monstrous alien threats assailing the Imperium and destroy them wholesale. To this end, the company has long emphasised anti-xenos combat techniques in its psycho-indoctrination and training regimens.

Their strike forces also often incorporate elements of the Ultramarines 1st Company clad in hulking Terminator Armour to lead operations against infested space hulks, asteroid mines and the like.

The 3rd Company further makes prodigious use of Aggressor Squads and Centurion warsuits, typically arming both types of squad for close-range firefights and then deploying them amidst xenos-infested terrain to purge the alien threat corridor by corridor, tunnel by tunnel.

The 3rd Company fought hard and long during the First Tyrannic War at the Battle of Macragge. They formed defensive complements aboard the Ultramarines void ships during the space battles in the Macragge System, repelling boarding assaults by the bio-beasts of Hive Fleet Behemoth that chewed and tore their way through the hulls of the Ultramarines Strike Cruisers and Battle Barges.



The 3rd Company led the subsequent relief of the northern polar fortress on Macragge and -- though they came too late to save the lives of the 1st Company Terminators garrisoned there -- they exacted bloody vengeance upon the remnants of the Tyranid infestation that still swarmed across the pack ice outside the broken fortress.

Warriors of the 3rd Company also see regular secondment to the forces of the Deathwatch, putting their xenos-hunting skills to great use. Those that survive to return to their Chapter almost always do so under the honorary rank of Tyrannic War Veteran; most will have been deployed against the hated Tyranid scourge during their time amongst the Deathwatch and will have gained yet more skill and experience in battling these monstrous aliens.

So, in turn, do the Veteran warriors of the 3rd Company advance and spread their xenoshunting expertise through the Chapter’s ranks.

Company Banner
The Ultramarines 3rd Company's banner is particularly distinctive, featuring the severed head of a Tyranid bioform with its teeth clenched in death's rictus. Awarded to the company following its valiant efforts on Macragge during the First Tyrannic War, and the hideously high price paid by its warriors for victory, it is a glorious symbol of their triumph over this most ferocious of enemies.

Seeing the standard snapping proudly in the wind reminds the 3rd Company of the legacy they have inherited and represent. But it also serves as a vital warning.

The Tyranid depicted, despite being defeated, is nonetheless a symbol of a continuing threat as vicious as it is dangerous. For the Battle-Brothers of the 3rd Company, it serves as a warning -- to look upon it is to know that complacency is failure.

There is only one conclusion -- to safeguard Ultramar and the Imperium, the alien must be utterly exterminated.

Captain Mikael Fabian
It was then-3rd Company Captain Jehnnus Ardias who first honoured his warriors by taking the company's Codex Astartes-designated heraldic colour and working it into his personal heraldry. This tradition has been maintained ever since, with the current commander of the 3rd Company, Captain Mikael Fabian, proving no exception.

Fabian is a hard-headed and stubborn warrior whose xenophobic hatred is so pronounced that it knows few equals, even amongst the alien-hunting specialists of the Ordo Xenos, and a direct man who prefers thorough and straightforward solutions.

He is more than happy to unleash overwhelming force in order to make absolutely sure that an alien infestation has been eradicated, and favours the deployment of Flamer weaponry, Land Raider Redeemers and copious Hellfire rounds.

For all his stern intractability, Captain Fabian expects all of his warriors to be forthright with him in sharing their strategic appraisal of the developing battlefield situation, and has been known to shift plans on the advice of a single well-placed Battle-Brother.

Notable Members

 * Captain Jehnnus Ardias: Ardias was Mikael Fabian's predecessor as the commander of the Ultramarines 3rd Company. Ardias led his company against the T'au but later negotiated a ceasefire with them when Governor Severus aligned himself with the daemon Tarkh'ax and the Word Bearers. Ardias forced an override in the communications of a T'au Fire Warrior named La'Kais and guided him against the Word Bearers and subsequently helped Kais by holding off Tarkh'ax until Kais destroyed the daemon. Ardias also commanded Strike Force Ardias during the Joran VI Retaliation where the Ultramarines fought against the Traitor Marines. His task force was deployed on the Strike Cruiser Fist of Ultramar. Despite his prior aid to them, Captain Ardias was later seriously injured battling the T'au during the Damocles Crusade in 745.M41.