Marines Errant



"Go we into the darkness, there to bring the light of faith and the fury of Mankind's judgement on the Unbeliever, the Alien and the Mutant. War without end. Ave Imperator."

- Vice-Cardinal Ichdien, Blessing at the outset of the Second Extra-Galactic Expedition

The Marines Errant are a Loyalist, fleet-based Space Marine Chapter of unknown origin created late during the 23rd Founding in the 37th Millennium, to repair the gap left in the Imperial military forces by other lost Chapters. The Chapter was well-named, for they have traveled far and wide across the Milky Way Galaxy during their distinguished history.

Chapter History
A star-spanning Chapter of noble renown, the Marines Errant's own histories record them as one of the Chapters of the 23rd Founding of the Adeptus Astartes, which many sources place in the latter part of the 37th Millennium. The 23rd Founding is generally believed by Imperial scholars to have been one of a series of linked Foundings around this period designed to repair the power and reach of the Imperium's Space Marine forces which had suffered considerable losses in the preceding millennia. According to the Requiem Malesent of Saint Kybra, no fewer than fifty-seven Space Marine Chapters had been destroyed outright, turned Renegade or declared as lost during this troubled period, which had seen calamities such as the horrors of the Age of Apostasy, the disastrous Cursed Founding, the attacks of the Forces of Chaos and a rampage of Orks almost unchecked along the Imperium's frontiers.

The Marines Errant, along with several other Chapters, were from the outset conceived as Chapters that would spend their existence on continuous crusade and were to be created from the most stable gene-seed stocks available to the Adeptus Mechanicus. Articles laid down and enshrined from this time, preserved at the Marines Errant's archives on Vilamus, entreat the Chapter to, "...forever quest and give battle, knowing no home but the grace of the Emperor's mercy, finding purpose only in the destruction of the enemies of Mankind." Since their inception, the Marines Errant have dutifully pursued this course, ceaselessly traveling between war zones across the distant, far-flung stars of the Imperium, and are one of the few Chapters that are known to have crusaded far beyond the edge of Mankind's domains and returned.

Further details of this Chapter's origins can be found in the Mythos Angelica Mortis, the great work concerning the Space Marines of this age, which lists five such new-founded Crusade Chapters and their blood-progenitors, with the Marines Errant recorded as having the Eagle Warriors Chapter as their immediate forebears. The Eagle Warriors' gene-seed was drawn from the Ultramarines' lineage, although why the Eagle Warriors in particular were singled out for the honour of a "named" Founding being drawn from their ranks at this time remains lost to posterity.

The Marines Errant have forged for themselves a glorious series of battle honours by undertaking one crusade after another in the name of the Emperor, some of which still burn in the pages of the Chapter's history, whilst others have been long forgotten. The Chapter was also notably involved in the many wars that made up the Age of Redemption in which the Ministorum's Creed was reimposed on a wayward Imperium cleansed in the blood of the apostate. However, the Marines Errant are most famous for their later crusades into the outer darkness of the galaxy.

Notable Campaigns

 * Charadon Crusade (698.M41) - The Marines Errant Chapter served as part of a combined Space Marine expeditionary force led by the Ultramarines under the command of their Chapter Master Marneus Calgar that launched a Crusade against the Orks of Charadon. The force consisted of elements of the Marines Errant, Angels of Absolution, Lamenters, and the Silver Skulls. During the heroic seven-year-long Crusade, these Imperial warrior inflicted a series of major defeats on the growing Ork Empire of Charadon.
 * Badab War (901-908.M41) - During the Badab War, in 904.M41, the Marines Errant were recalled by the High Lords of Terra from the Eastern Fringe of the galaxy to reinforce the Fire Hawks Chapter. However, they soon found themselves fully engaged in protecting Imperial merchant ships in transit.
 * Fall of Vilamus (999.M41) - In 999.M41, Huron Blackheart of the Red Corsairs hatched a plan to steal large amounts of Astartes gene-seed alongside the Night Lords warband led by the Chaos Champion called The Exalted to create new Chaos Space Marines to refill the Renegades' ranks, which had been depleted by the Badab War. The Marines Errant's fortress-monastery of Vilamus, created by the fleet-based Chapter to serve as a secure base for its gene-seed repository, was targetted due to its relatively small garrison size. Luring the bulk of the Chapter away from the world, the Red Corsairs managed to disable the fortress' Void Shields and launched a determined assault that neutralised the fortress-monastery's power network and its automated defences. This attack led to the loss of nearly all of the Marines Errant's stockpile of precious genetic material, dooming them to a long, slow demise as a Chapter, unless the gene-seed could be recovered. However, the Night Lords and the Red Corsairs soon fell upon each other as the Night Lords tried to reclaim one of their Strike Cruisers, the Echo of Damnation, and lay claim to all of the recovered gene-seed.

Chapter Organisation
The Marines Errant are a fleet-based crusading Chapter, and although they follow the tenets of the Codex Astartes in their basic pattern of organisation, in practice the Chapter has modified its tenets to better suit the needs and patterns of their deployments. An example of this is that the Chapter's company captains and high officers are also assigned flag command of a particular starship in the Chapter's fleet and expected to act autonomously of a higher authority for long periods if needed. The Chapter's Veteran 1st Company and 10th Scout Company are nominally based on their flagship battle barges with the majority of their number being dispersed as needed to individual commands which can vary considerably in size and operational terms.

Due to historical losses of irreplaceable advanced equipment that have never been fully replaced, the Marines Errant have learned to carefully shepherd their resources in terms of equipment such as Terminator Armour. The Chapter's Techmarines have become particularly adept not only in maintaining and repairing said equipment, but in reclaiming and restoring weapons and gear they might come across in their long crusades. This has led to some concern in the past over the Marines Errant's tendency to use non-Codex approved arms, and even of the incorporation of xenos technology within their ranks, though such heretical practices have never been proven.

Being a fleet-based Chapter, the Marines Errant are rarely gathered en masse except at the commencement of a major crusade called by the Chapter Master. Most often the forces of the Chapter are dispersed to multiple task forces deployed to various expeditions and war zones spread over the vast distances of space. It is not unheard of for individual task forces to be out of communication with the rest of the Chapter for years, even decades at a time. Given these factors, each company and battle group has to manage its own affairs and the recruiting of new initiates when and wherever opportunities arise. Since they have no single source of Aspirants, the Marines Errant recruit from many different worlds, returning their new brethren to the ranks of the 10th Scout Company to complete their formal training when practical.

All of this has made it practically impossible to gauge the exact strength of the Chapter at any given time, and it may be the case that at certain points in their history, the Marines Errant have stood well over their Codex-mandated strength of 1,000 Battle-Brothers.

Chapter Beliefs
The Marines Errant place particular importance and reverence on safeguarding their Chapter's future and preserving its gene-seed. Although the Chapter is fleet-based, the Chapter's number of Apothecaries far exceeds the number normally present in a single Chapter. The Marines Errant's Apothecaries maintain a repository-fortress on the world of Vilamus in addition to their usual role. This secondary duty is for very practical as well as ritualistic reasons as the Chapter itself has often suffered severe depredations of it brethren in the past in situations where their precious gene-seed could not be recovered. Since all Crusading Chapters are often deployed beyond the Imperium into the unknown reaches of the galaxy or into the heart of enemy held territory, this is very real risk they must all face. In such times of desperation the Chapter's safe-house stores of genetic material on Vilamus have saved it from ruin numerous times. This fortress is commonly garrisoned by a company in need of rebuilding its strength at the time.

Notable Marines Errant

 * Lieutenant Commander Anton Narvaez - Although a seasoned warrior, Narvaez was young for his rank and considered by some to be an untried leader when he was given command of the 4th Company, which also brought with it the flag-captaincy of the Strike Cruiser Star Jackal. For Anton Narvaez, the Badab War's unforeseen and bloody events would eventually see him survive against all odds and be appointed the de facto Chapter Master of the surviving Marines Errant contingent by the end of this conflict.
 * Watch Captain Kail Vibius - Watch Captain Vibius has a burning desire for vengeance against xenos, which has marked him out even amongst the alien-hunting ranks of the elite Deathwatch. During the Corinth Crusade, Vibius and a squad of his fellow Marines Errant were captured by the vile Dark Eldar and taken away to the dark realm of Commorragh. Surviving their cruel treatment at the hands of his xenos captors, Vibius bided his time until he was able to seize the opportunity to escape, leading a slave revolt against his surprised captors. Eventually the Space Marines fought their way to freedom and returned to the Imperium. Vibius was swiftly nominated for the honour of representing his Chapter in the Deathwatch, and rose swiftly through the ranks until he led his own Kill-team. When his former commander Bron of the Dark Sons was mortally wounded, he recommended Vibius be promoted to the rank of Watch Captain in his stead, a role he has held ever since.

Chapter Colours
The Marines Errant Chapter uses a two-color scheme of half white and blue for their Power Armour. The Second Outer Galactic Expeditionary Force of this Chapter are known to have used a black and white camouflage pattern with the Chapter badge located in a circle on the right shoulder plate that is halved white and blue.

Chapter Badge
The Chapter's original badge was a red, five-pointed shooting star, the color graduating from red to yellow. The Chapter's contemporary badge is a white star with a yellow tail like that of a trailing comet.

Chapter Fleet

 * Star Jackal (Strike Cruiser) - A Strike Cruiser and the principal warship of the Marines Errant's 4th Company. The Star Jackal was Involved in the prosecution of Secessionist forces during the Badab War.

Gallery
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