Sternguard Veteran

A Sternguard Veteran is a Space Marine of the elite 1st Company deploy wherever the battleline is most vulnerable, facing down the most impossible odds with icy calm and precise bursts of Bolter fire. They are the very image of what every Space Marine aspires to become, and the pinnacle of any Chapter's fighting force. In contrast to the Battle-Brothers of the 1st Company's Vanguard Squads, Sternguard Veterans draw upon the Chapter Armoury's ranged weaponry. The squad's sergeant will sometimes wield a specialised melee weapon, but this is the extent to which a Vanguard Squad will employ close combat weaponry. Most Vanguard Veterans carry Boltguns with meticulously crafted sights and modified scopes. Heavier weapons are also available, such as the Missile Launcher and Lascannon, but these are normally eschewed for the more portable Boltgun. Any potential shortfall in firepower is compensated for by the range of specialist boltgun ammunition a Sternguard Veteran can carry into battle, including unstable flux core Vengeance rounds for heavily armoured targets, propellant-rich Kraken Bolts for extended-range engagements and the acidic fury of Hellfire rounds for bringing down even the angriest Greenskin or Tyranid monstrosity. In most Chapters there is a rivalry of sorts between the Vanguard and Sternguard halves of the Veteran 1st Company. These factions compete endlessly for honours and hazardous combat duties - the glories and shames of their adherents celebrated and atoned for by all. Despite this innate rivalry,Vanguard and Sternguard Veterans remain Battle-Brothers above all else, and fight unto death for one another.