Garras Astrales

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Plantilla:CapítuloDemasFundaciones Los Garras Astrales eran un Capítulo Astartes creado durante la 10ª Fundación, a mediados del M35, a partir de una semilla genética desconocida. Los Garras Astrales fueron fundados específicamente para defender la Franja Este del Imperio de la Humanidad de cualquier amenaza del Caos que surgiera de la inmensa Fisura Disforme conocida como el Torbellino y situada en la región del Segmentum Ultima adecuadamente bautizada como la Zona del Torbellino. Durante siglos los Garras Astrales sirvieron como miembros de la alianza de Capítulos conocidos como los Guardianes del Torbellino, que protegía a la población de la Zona del Torbellino. Al final, sin embargo, en el M41 los Garras Astrales renegaron del Imperio e iniciaron la gran rebelión conocida como la Guerra de Badab. Al ser derrotados por las fuerzas Leales, que incluían a varios Capítulos más, los Garras Astrales supervivientes huyeron al Torbellino y fueron corrompidos por el Caos. Actualmente lideran una poderosa partida de guerra de piratas y Marines Espaciales del Caos llamados Corsarios Rojos, y representan una grave amenaza para el comercio y los mundos imperiales en la región.

Historia

Orígenes

Los Garras Astrales son vilipendiados en el Imperio, como sinónimos hoy día de infamia y traición, y con el tiempo quizás serán un nombre borrado por completo de la historia, pero no siempre fueron así. Durante más de cinco mil años, el Capítulo Astartes de los Garras Astrales luchó codo con codo con los mejores guerreros del Imperio, sus hazañas eran legendarias y su honor incuestionable. Fue su glorioso historial de servicio ejemplar lo que les hizo ganarse el mando supremo sobre los Guardianes del Torbellino cuando fueron asignados al Sector Badab en el 587.M41. Lufgt Huron ascendió y tomó el puesto del Señor del Capítulo en el 697.M41. Es notorio para los eruditos imperiales de hoy en día que un solo hombre, incluso uno tan extraordinario como Lufgt Huron, pudiese llevar a un ejército tan poderoso y leal al borde de la herejía y la rebelión, pero no obstante lo hizo. Algunos argumentan que Huron no fue más que el resultado de la altiva arrogancia y prepotencia de su Capítulo, y que un hombre como Lufgt Huron jamás debería haber sido ascendido.

Se cree que los Garras Astrales formaron parte de la 10ª Fundación, aunque algunas fuentes discrepan sobre esto; de todas formas, parece seguro que fueron creados durante los oscuros tiempos del Interregno de Nova Terra, seguramente para paliar la rápida erosión y división interna del Imperio durante este periodo. Los pocos registros sobre ellos que quedan los representan como un Capítulo Cruzado, enviado de guerra en guerra para enfrentarse a los enemigos de la Humanidad. Se pueden hallar pruebas de su presencia en los registros del Departamento Munitorum sobre las Guerras Perfidianas y las purgas de Orkos del Lord Solar Jurastis Macro, y también en santuarios de batalla relacionados con las últimas batallas contra las fuerzas de Nova Terra durante el Cataclismo de las Almas. Una de sus más aclamadas victorias tuvo lugar en la defensa de Cadia frente a la 5ª Cruzada Negra, y por su encomiable actuación se colocó su estandarte capitular en los salones de la Puerta de la Eternidad en el Palacio Imperial de la Sagrada Terra.

Durante buena parte del M37 y principios del M38, parece que los Garras Astrales limitaron su radio de operaciones al Segmentum Obscurus. Sus hazañas se mencionan repetidamente en el Apócrifo de Kaali, un valioso recurso histórico recopilado y aún conservado por el Scholastica Corpus de Cypra Mundi, que detalla los turbulentos sucesos de la Guerra Oclusíada y sus consecuencias. El Apócrifo menciona además que los Garras Astrales tenían "tres hijos", lo que seguramente implica que tres Capítulos Sucesores habían sido fundados a partir de ellos. De ser cierto, sería un número remarcable para su relativa juventud como Capítulo y un testimonio del aprecio que se les tenía.

No obstante, parece que las cosas se torcieron para el Capítulo a principios del M38, ya que son registrados como destruidos en combate durante la Cruzada de Altid del 288.M38, en la que luchaban junto a los Ángeles Oscuros. No fue hasta la caída de la Pentarquía de Gorgon, casi dieciocho siglos después, que los Garras Astrales fueron avistados de nuevo luchando a pleno rendimiento, con algunas menciones a una supuesta Cruzada de Penitencia emprendida en ese periodo sin datos. Su historial de servicio entre el M39 y el M40 describe claramente a los Garras Astrales como un Capítulo Cruzado con base en su flota, que se desplazaba entre el Segmentum Solar y el Segmentum Tempestus respondiendo a emergencias y aportando sus fuerzas a conflictos activos, a menudo inclinando la balanza a favor del Imperio. Sin embargo, algunos comentarios de la época acusaban al Capítulo de ansiar más la gloria que las recompensas del deber. Una acción de los Garras Astrales que tendría repercusiones imprevistas posteriormente fue el rescate del asediado Capítulo de los Ejecutores en Stygia-Aquilon. La batalla creó una deuda de sangre entre los dos ejércitos de Marines Espaciales que más adelante aprovecharía Lufgt Huron para recurrir a su ayuda durante la Guerra de Badab.

Guardianes del Torbellino

En reconocimiento a sus servicios, los Altos Señores de Terra les incluyeron en la coalición Astartes de los Guardianes del Torbellino y les confiaron el liderazgo de las fuerzas conjuntas. Durante este tiempo en Badab Primaris, el Capítulo medró, gobernando el Sector Badab con habilidad y diligencia. Usaron la capacidad productiva de su nuevo mundo natal y sus conexiones con el aislado Mundo Forja de Angstrom para aumentar aún más sus capacidades bélicas.

Garras de Tigre

En el 680.M41, muy lejos de la Zona del Torbellino, una secuencia de sucesos llegaría a tener terribles ramificaciones para el Capítulo de los Garras Astrales. El Bakasurra, un Crucero de Asalto de los Garras de Tigre, reapareció al borde del Segmentum Pacificus con más de cien Hermanos de Batalla a bordo, cuando hacía más de catorce siglos que se les creía destruidos. La nave parecía haber sufrido una severa distorsión temporal en la Disformidad, ya que para los pasajeros no habían pasado más que unos pocos meses. Tras contactar con una fuerza de ataque de los Alas de la Tormenta y apoyarles en una batalla contra esclavistas Eldars, los Garras Astrales fueron reaprovisionados y partieron de vuelta a su Fortaleza-Monasterio en Krodha. Allí descubrieron que en su larga ausencia, su anciano sol se había dilatado y había dejado su planeta reducido a una cáscara irradiada sin vida, y que su Capítulo no era más que una leyenda olvidada. El Capitán Vetala, ahora el Señor de facto de un Capítulo prácticamente muerto, viajó a Terra para solicitar acceso a la semilla genética del Capítulo y permiso para reconstruir a los Garras de Tigre. El Capitán Vetala desapareció sin dejar rastro mientras aguardaba a ser recibido, y en consecuencia su demanda fue desestimada. Los rumores en los círculos inquisitoriales daban oscuras pistas sobre que algunos consideraban contaminado al Capítulo perdido, y que al ser parte de la llamada Fundación Maldita era mejor dejarlo morir. El Bakasurra, visto por última vez realizando operaciones en la región de su destruido mundo natal, no pudo ser localizado por las naves enviadas al área para rastrearlos.

Siglos más tarde, el orgullo de los Garras Astrales llevó a que absorbiesen en secreto a los restos de su Sucesor tanto tiempo perdido, y al final hizo que Lufgt Huron soñase con expandir su Capítulo hasta convertirlo en un ejército con la fuerza de una de las Legiones Astartes de antaño, a fin de pacificar para siempre el Torbellino y aplastar a los enemigos de la Humanidad. Algunos eruditos imperiales afirman que cuando los últimos supervivientes de los Garras de Tigre fueron acogidos en el seno de los Garras Astrales, estos antaño leales hermanos dejaron entrar a una ponzoñosa víbora en sus corazones, lo que causó que al final cayesen en desgracia.

Acciones notables

• 5ª Cruzada Negra (723.M36) - Cuando Abaddon el Saqueador dirigió una gran incursión del Caos en el espacio imperial, los Garras Astrales defendieron Cadia. Por sus valerosos esfuerzos, recibieron la mayor recompensa que puede otorgarse a un Capítulo Astartes: su estandarte capitular fue desplegado en el Salón de los Héroes ante la Puerta de la Eternidad del Palacio Imperial de Terra.

• Cruzada de Taninim (678.M37-714.M37) - Tras el final de la Guerra Oclusíada, la Cruzada de Taninim fue una campaña lanzada por el Imperio de la Humanidad para recuperar el control de varias regiones perdidas a lo largo de la franja noroccidental del Segmentum Obscurus. No menos de once Capítulos Cruzados fueron enviados a la amenazadora región conocida como la Extensión de Taninim, que abarca más allá del borde exterior del espacio conocido, a fin de identificar, localizar y destruir cualquier amenaza emergente que pudiera encontrarse allí. Algunos de los Capítulos enviados a la Extensión nunca regresaron, mientras que uno, los Llamadores de Tormentas, se hizo infame por ser corrompido por el Caos y dividirse en una guerra civil interna. Los Garras Astrales, sin embargo, fueron uno de los pocos Capítulos capaces de completar la Cruzada tras más de cuatro décadas y regresar relativamente ilesos de la experiencia. Al retornar al Imperio, los Garras Astrales recibieron un Cetro de la Victoria en la capital del Segmentum, el mundo de Cypra Mundi, en reconocimiento de sus hazañas, y se levantó un templo imperial en su honor (que fue deconsagrado tras la Guerra de Badab) en el Mundo Santuario de Pycentos.

• Asedio de Darkenvault (M39) - In what is now a largely forgotten episode of the Imperium's history, the southern fringe of the Segmentum Tempestus was assailed by wave after wave of Ork nomad fleets, xenoform migrations and strange psychic phenomenon which themselves caused a near epidemic of Witch Cults, alien infestations and daemonic incursions. Seen now by some sources within the Ordo Xenos as a precursor to the coming of the Tyranids, these events were largely unrecognised at the time as forming a pattern, as the eyes of the Imperium were focused on threats elsewhere. Suffering severe attrition in a series of campaigns defending the Imperium's borders against invading Orks, Enslaver outbreaks and worse, the Executioners Chapter had been reduced to less than 300 Battle-Brothers when their own twin Chapter worlds of Stygia-Aquilon came under siege. The attackers were a nightmarish xenos species of worm-ridden, writhing charnel-feasters never before encountered by Mankind. Again and again they struck without warning, their strange disk-like ships all but undetectable to the defences of the Executioners' fortress-monastery, Darkenvault, until the last moment of their attack when their ghostly energy rays seared through tens of metres of ferrous asteroid mass in an instant to spill a tide of horror into the fortress' lower levels. The resulting battles in the catacombs at the heart of the Executioners' fortress-monastery were unceasing and terrible, and in a short span of time few Space Marines remained to defend the inner sanctum and the Chapter stood on the brink of extinction. It was the Astral Claws, supported by the Cruisers of Battlefleet Tempestus, that broke the siege of Darkenvault; their arrival came just as the last of the Executioners were gathering for a final stand. Many Astral Claws died in breaking the siege, and among their losses they counted their Chapter Master, Acas Seneca. The handful of Executioners that endured owed a blood debt to the Astral Claws for the salvation of their Chapter, and swore that should the Astral Claws ever be so threatened they would respond in kind. It would be almost a century and a half before the Executioners returned again to full strength as a Chapter, and they would never forget their oath. When the time came over two thousand standard years later, they would heed Lufgt Huron's call, siding with the Tyrant of Badab and the Secessionists during the infamous Badab War.

• Campaña del Azote (640.M41-651.M41) - La Campaña del Azote fue la mayor operación de su época lanzada al interior de la Zona del Torbellino. Los Garras Astrales y sus aliados Astartes de los Guardianes del Torbellino realizaron una serie de grandes ataques, golpeando profundamente en el corazón del propio Torbellino para llevar la batalla al enemigo, siendo las primeras fuerzas imperiales en hacerlo en siglos. La fuerza de ataque de los Guardianes logró localizar y destruir docenas de bastiones enemigos y arrancar de raíz los escondrijos de muchos Renegados infames durante la campaña. A pesar de los éxitos de los Guardianes, sus esfuerzos quedaron restringidos cuando el Capítulo de la Guardia del Osario fue retirado abruptamente de la Zona del Torbellino y separado de los Guardianes para emprender campañas en otras regiones. Esta repentina pérdida, que redujo un cuarto las fuerzas de los Guardianes, acabó de hecho con las campañas.

• Campaña de la Fisura de Lycanthos (780.M41) - In the aftermath of the long-running and infamous Fourth Quadrant Rebellion, the Astral Claws answered a general call to arms among the Astartes of the region and despatched a powerful force under the direct personal command of Lufgt Huron in 780.M41, undertaking the Lycanthos Drift Campaign against one of the last major stronghold systems of the revolt located to the galactic south of the Maelstrom Zone. Lufgt Huron was elected battle leader of a number of Astartes contingents by common consent, comprising companies from the Astral Claws, Fire Hawks, White Scars and Celestian Guard Chapters, backed by Krieg and Cal-Sec Imperial Guard Regiments and the Titans of Legio Venator. The Fire Hawks' Chapter Master Stibor Lazaerek was bitter that he was not given command of the campaign, and is known to have born a grudge against the Astral Claws from this time forward. Under Huron's inspired command the taskforce ruthlessly purged the heavily fortified system of traitor and Chaos forces in under a year. This conflict confirmed Lufgt Huron's reputation as a masterful strategist among Space Marine commanders.

• Cruzada de la Ira (869.M41) - At the instigation of Chapter Master Lufgt Huron, the Black Templars Chapter declared a Crusade of Wrath into the Maelstrom, assaulting it from its eastward marches. Meanwhile the Astral Claws, Lamenters and Mantis Warriors launched their own assaults into the pathways of the great storm from its southern and north-eastern approaches. Due to Huron's strategic planning as well as the mettle of the Chapters involved, no fewer than 23 alien or heretic stronghold worlds were purged, including several on the Maelstrom's fringes that had fallen into the hands of the Word Bearers Traitor Legion and their apostate followers. At the height of the campaign, having made inroads deeper yet than any recorded Imperial fleet had attempted, the Astral Claws and Mantis Warriors directed their massed assault to smash the subhuman flesh-haunters of the Howling Gyre. At the culmination of the battle against the flesh-haunters, the Astral Claws' 1st Company led by Lufgt Huron fought their way deep within the foul creatures' carcass vaults before unleashing the life-eater virus upon the abominations. By this single act, they had ended a threat that had plagued the Imperium since before the Age of Apostasy, affording a great and lauded victory. But once again, wider events intervened, putting a premature end to the Astral Claws plans, as the Black Templars were suddenly called away to aid the beleaguered realm of Ultramar in the wake of the Tyrannic War. Having sustained substantial losses, and with readings from the Emperor's Tarot portending oncoming doom, the Warder Chapters were forced to withdraw from the Maelstrom unable to complete their objectives much to Huron's fury.

• Guerra de Badab (901.M41 - 912.M41) - The Astral Claws were, ironically, founded during the 35th Millennium to guard against the numerous daemonic and alien threats emerging from the Maelstrom. Under the leadership of their Chapter Master, Lufgt Huron, the "Tyrant of Badab," in the late 41st Millennium, the Astral Claws sought to have the Badab Sector secede from the Imperium of Man in protest against the Imperium's continued attempts to use the resources of the Badab Sector outside the region rather than dedicating them fully to the defeat of the Chaotic and xenos threats that emerged constantly from the Maelstrom Zone. The Astral Claws and the Tyrant of Badab were able to convince several other Astartes Chapters also dedicated to the protection of the Maelstrom Zone, including the Executioners, Lamenters, and the Mantis Warriors to stand with them against the Imperium in what they believed to be a just cause and an attempt to maintain the traditional autonomy of the Adeptus Astartes in the face of unwarranted interference from the Imperial nobility, economic interests and the often hated Inquisition. Unfortunately, Lufgt Huron had slowly been corrupted by his desire for power into the service of Chaos, and eventually the Imperium was forced to respond to the Secessionists in the Maelstrom Zone by unleashing the full might of the Imperium in the terrible civil conflict that became known in the Imperial record, before the Inquisition ordered before the Inquisition laid down an Order of Obliteration that sought to remove all records of the Astral Claws' existence from Imperial history, as the Badab War. This conflict was fought between 901.M41 and 913.M41 and ended in the complete destruction of the Astral Claws' defences and the devastation of their Chapter homeworld of Badab Primaris. Only 200 Astral Claws survived the final Imperial assault, and these Astartes, all corrupted by Chaos, fled with the maimed body of their leader into the Maelstrom, where they founded a new Chaotic empire. In the aftermath of the death of Badab Primaris, the remaining Secessionists from the Astral Claws, Executioners, Mantis Warriors and Lamenters were put on trial before a specially convened Consistorial Court of their peers with their very existence at stake. The Consistorial Court found all of those Chapters who had taken part in the Badab Secession guilty in breaking with both the Codex Astartes and the ancient covenant it represented. In punishment, all the Astral Claws in custody were blindfolded and shackled in dishonour and then put to the sword. The other Astartes Chapters who had served the Secessionist cause were eventually forgiven by the Imperium since they had only been misguided and not corrupted, in return for launching themselves upon a series of penitent Crusades. But Lufgt Huron swore his soul and the souls of his remaining Astral Claws to the eternal service of the Ruinous Powers in return for the restoration of his health and the power needed to make war upon the Imperium that he believed had betrayed him and his fellow Astral Claws. Replacing the ravaged portions of his body with bionic augmetics, Lufgt Huron, now calling himself Huron Blackheart, ironically led his corrupt Astartes, now calling themselves the Red Corsairs, back into the Maelstrom Zone to become the piratical raiders that he had so long fought against. In time, the Red Corsairs became the leaders of a vast Chaotic pirate force of Renegades and Traitors that represents a major continuing threat to the Imperium in the Ultima Segmentum.

Organización

While still a crusading Chapter, and during the opening centuries of their Chapter's deployment to the Maelstrom Zone, the Astral Claws maintained an organisational structure very close to that of the Codex Astartes with its standard division of ten companies, Chapter command, Apothecarion and forge armouries.

Lufgt Huron, as newly appointed Chapter Master, started a significant re-organisation and shift of focus for the Chapter that would eventually lead to outright heresy. First, he fully exploited the economic power of the Badab Sector to his Chapter's advantage, massively increasing the Astral Claws' stockpiles of arms and equipment far beyond the possible operational needs of a single Space Marine Chapter. Badab's advanced manufacturing capacity to fabricate enabled the Astral Claws to easily fabricate less exotic materials such as Rhino STC pattern vehicles and bolt weapons. As a result, such things became almost disposable to the Chapter, and were distributed to the other Warder Chapters, further binding them to Huron's debt. Though thankfully, they were unable to readily produce some items of wargear such as Terminator Armour or Land Raiders because of the meticulous requirements of certain rare resources and lost techno-arcane arts.

As the Badab Schism worsened in the lead-up to the war, and later as the secession gathered pace, the Astral Claws Chapter changed, expanding dramatically beyond the limits set down within the Codex Astartes. Slowly but with gathering speed they became something more akin in structure to an ancient Space Marine Legion. As part of this transformation an entire additional chapter-sized force of battle companies was raised, with a heavy emphasis on the use of concentrated firepower and fighting close boarding action inherent in their makeup, and seeded throughout the Chapter fleet.

Legión del Tirano

Further to this, another force, totaling well over a thousand additional battle-brothers was dispersed widely throughout what was known as the Tyrant's Legion. This force was a series of mixed armies comprising human Defence Auxilia troops (along the lines of the Imperial Guard) formed around a specialised core of Astral Claws Space Marines, whose task it was to secure the Badab Sector from any who would dare to invade. It was the creation of the Tyrant's Legion that was the most egregious offence committed by Lufgt Huron, let alone his massive expansion in the ranks of Space Marines he commanded. They Tyrant's Legion specialised in using their 'inferiors' as disposable cannon fodder and as living shields to maximise their own effectiveness in battle.

The Tyrant's Legion was also created to be a force that Huron could trust to be loyal above all else, and while it relied on the military nobility of the Badab Sector for its field officers, it was always the Astral Claws themselves who had absolute final authority, and any Tyrant's Legion detachment of any real size in the war was assigned its own Centurion. Each Centurion was an Astral Claws veteran who could be entrusted with both tactical command and to make bloody examples to shirkers, cowards and those that failed their masters. To the human ranks below them, these armoured giants were literally seen as Angels of Death, and were figures both of holy awe and terror.

Unidades especializadas

Found only within the ranks of the Astral Claws were a number of non-Codex Astartes specialist positions of Huron's own design:

• Corpse-Takers - Appearing only in the final days of the Badab War, the Corpse Takers were specially-tasked Apothecaries who specialised in harvesting gene-seed from fallen Space Marines -- from both friend and enemy alike. When this final betrayal of their fellow Astartes by the Astral Claws was revealed, it proved to be one blasphemy too much and guaranteed the bitter hatred and enmity of any Loyalist Astartes the Astral Claws fought in open battle. It also ensured that no prisoners were taken on either side.

• Legion Centurions - The Centurions were Veteran Astral Claws chosen to both command and if need be punish the human Auxilia of the Tyrant's Legion. They were selected for their might of arms and utter devotion to Huron's cause. They were objects of religious awe and genuine terror by those they commanded, and also served as the eyes and ears of the Tyrant across his fledgling pocket empire.

• Legion Iron Hunter Squads - Having a long tradition of maintaining highly adept Biker units in its Battle Companies stretching back for millennia, Huron employed rapidly moving Astartes Bike Squadrons known as Iron Hunters. They were utilised principally in harrowing and running down a broken or scattered foe, and to counter-assault against flanking attacks or breakthroughs by numerically superior enemies in the field. As the secret expansion of the Chapter got underway, Huron increased the number of Iron Hunter Squads at his disposal, deploying them to the Tyrant's Legion in sizable numbers and providing the Legion's often unwieldy ranks with a hard-hitting and rapid moving strike force.

• Legion Retaliator Squads - Retaliator Squads were special units of Astartes created to exert the Astral Claws' control directly where needed, and they were drawn initially from the Astral Claws Reserve Assault Company which had long specialised in close-quarters assaults and space-borne boarding actions. Retaliator Squads were given leave to sow terror and enforce loyalty amongst the Chapter's Auxilia by bloody example. With the advent of the Tyrant's Legion, these Retaliator Squads were expanded, forming a feared spearhead strike force, freeing the Chapter's assault reserve to fulfill its tactical duties in the wider conflict.

• Legion Space Marine Cohort - These specialty units were drawn from the expanding Chapter who hid its illegally increasing numbers amongst the sector's human defence corps in the guise of training and field command. Huron deployed and organised these Cohorts along the lines of the Space Marine Legions of old, with reconquering the Maelstrom in the name of the Emperor as his long-term goal. Even after that dream was to wither and he was to set himself and his Chapter against the Imperium, the Cohort deployments persisted as the brutal and irresistible killing hand of the Tyrant's Legion forces.

• Retaliators - The Retaliators were hand-picked Space Marines assault troops, selected for their brutality and unquestioning obedience to Huron who served as line breakers in battle and as the bloody hand of the Tyrant's will inside his own realm, conducting punitive extermination missions against political "dissidents" when needed.

Fuerzas irregulares

The Tyrant kept his use of outside and irregular forces a secret even from his closest allies right up until the end of the war. Displaying a highly unusual grasp and even enjoyment of intrigue and espionage for a Space Marine Chapter Master, Huron had long cultivated contacts and agents amongst those Imperial recidivists, outsiders and Renegades in the Maelstrom Zone that it was both his sworn duty and passion to hunt and kill. It was intelligence gathered from these channels that contributed to many of the Maelstrom Warders' successes before the Badab War, and as the conflict worsened for the Secessionists, Huron turned to many of his erstwhile agents and through a mixture of fear, blackmail and bribery brought them to fight directly in aid of his cause, although they seldom did so willingly.

Servicio entre los Guardianes de la Muerte

While in service to the Deathwatch before the outbreak of the Badab War, the Battle-Brothers of the Astral Claws always possessed about them an air of superiority bordering on the disdainful, an attitude that often extended even to members of other Adeptus Astartes Chapters. This demeanour might be the main reason the Chapter only rarely submitted brethren to stand the Long Vigil. Perhaps another reason lay in the fact that service in the Deathwatch was likely to bring a Battle Brother into close contact with senior members of the Inquisition, perhaps precipitating the asking of questions the Chapter had no desire to see answered.

Doctrina de combate

When the Astral Claws were still a Crusading Chapter, they maintained a strong fleet and favored rapid strike missions and boarding actions, and as such fielded strong additional auxiliary contingents of assault bikers and Dreadnoughts in its armouries. Rapid speed and relentless attack were the cornerstones of the Astral Claws' combat tactics, although their pride in their prowess occasionally led them into overconfidence, and to assaulting superior forces or failing to retreat when a more rationally governed Space Marine Chapter might have otherwise regrouped or withdrawn. The Astral Claws themselves saw no folly in this - there was no foe they would not challenge, and they were proud to fight and proud to die if needs be in the Imperium's great cause, and the graver the odds the greater the chance for glory.

Creencias

When Lufgt Huron took over mastery of the Chapter, the Astral Claws' grip on the Badab Sector grew measurably and rapidly tighter. As the sector's direct rulers and defenders, this very much fed into the existing psychology of the Chapter, who had always been proud and imperious, much enamoured of martial glory and the veneration of the heroes of the past. They saw themselves as the inheritors of the Emperor's will and sworn to his task of reuniting all of Humanity under the Space Marines' protection. While it cannot be doubted that in the past they saw themselves as first and foremost as Mankind's defenders, they also believed Space Marines to be set above those they ruled and worthy of subservience, even reverence by the common citizenry. Under Huron's command, the fervour and degree in which this belief was held strengthened greatly, as did their Chapter's conviction in their own superiority over other agencies of power within the Imperium, along with a growing resentment of what they saw as outside interference in the Chapter's holy mission.

To Huron and the Astral Claws, Humanity was to be preserved at all costs, believing that individual human lives mattered little. As far as the daily lives of those that toiled in the Maelstrom Zone was concerned, the authority of sacrificing millions, even billions of lives was not invested in the Tyrant's hands but in the hands of the High Lords of Terra - a fact he soon came to resent. It was such presumptions as these, embraced by the Astral Claws Chapter as they were, that lay at the heart of the secession and the Badab War.

Semilla genética

The source of the Astral Claws' gene-seed remains suppressed, and speculation has it that its provenance ranges from basic Ultramarines stock, to that of the Dark Angels, pointing to the supposed un-degraded quality of their gene-seed as well as certain factors of temperament and style of warfare that were common between the two Chapters. But due to the Order of Obliteration passed by the High Lords of Terra during the Badab War which called for the eradication of all records related to the Chapter and the Astral Claws' own systematic destruction of their archives by their own hands during the final bitter battles of the siege of Badab Primaris, no records or personnel now survive who know the full story of their arrogance and sin. The truth of whom their genetic forebears were will more than likely never be known.

Miembros conocidos

• Chapter Master Lufgt Huron, Master of the Astral Claws, Scourge of the Maelstrom, The Tyrant of Badab (known as Huron Blackheart following the Badab War) - Huron was the brilliant, ambitious and power-hungry Chapter Master of the Astral Claws, whose hubris led to the bloody internecine conflict known as the Badab War and his Chapter's eventual fall from grace. It was originally assumed that he had died during the final assault on Badab Primaris during the closing days of the Badab War after taking a melta-gun blast to the whole right side of his body. But Imperial authorities were unable to confirm this as his body was never found.

• Acas Seneca - Former Chapter Master of the Astral Claws, he met his end at the close of the 39th Millennium when the Executioners' twin Chapter worlds of Stygia and Aquilon came under siege from a nightmarish xenos species never before encountered. Having already been reduced to 300 battle-brothers from the constant attacks by invading Orks and Enslaver outbreaks, the resulting battle in the catacombs of the Executioners' fortress-monastery of Darkenvault reduced the number of Space Marines within the Chapter, until they stood on the brink of extinction. Only through the timely intervention of the Astral Claws, supported by the cruisers of Battlefleet Tempestus, were they able to break the siege, just in time as the last of the Executioners prepared to sell their lives dearly in a final stand. Many Astral Claws died breaking the siege, including Chapter Master Acas Seneca. The handful of Executioners that endured owed a blood debt to the Astral Claws for the salvation of their Chapter, and would pay this debt a thousand years or more later, when they heeded Lufgt Huron's call.

• Ancient Kleitor, Venerable Dreadnought of the Tabernacle of the Old Ones - A venerable dreadnought of the Astral Claws, Kleitor was a former Captain of the Astral Claws 5th Battle Company prior to internment.

• Captain Corien Sumatris, The Tyrant's Champion, Warden of Piraeus - Corien Sumatris was the Captain of the Astral Claws 2nd Company. A mysterious figure, even within his own Chapter, amber-eyed and grey of countenance, Sumatris rose swiftly to prominence first as one of Huron's Honour Guard. His fierce savagery paved his way up the ranks, and by the the outbreak of the Badab War, he had not only been made Captain of the 2nd Battle Company, but had also gained the wardenship of the world of Piraeus within the Tyrant's demesne. He also won the coveted title of "Tyrant's Champion," slaying the Chapter's 1st Company Captain in order to attain the honour in ritual combat. He came to be one of Huron's most trusted officers. This favoritism was distrusted by some within the Chapter who believed him a "lost son," which is to say a scion of the Tiger Claws Chapter given a new identity and concealed in the Astral Claws' ranks prior to the war. Sumatris was believed to have been killed in action leading the defence of the fortress station of Sentinel-Sigma on the edge of the Badab System just before the final siege of Badab Primaris, although his body was never conclusively identified afterward by the Inquisitorial forensic conclave.

• Armenneus Valthex, The Alchemancer, Honoured Patriarch of the Forges of the Astral Claws - Valthex was the Astral Claws' Master of the Forge, the chief Techmarine, and so an individual of great importance to the Chapter during the Badab War as Lufgt Huron's chief Armourer and most loyal servant. Valthex's skills as a crafter of poisons and chemical weaponry were as infamous as his abilities as a forge-wright and tech-smith were famed. During the Badab War, Valthex fought as a field commander and as the Astral Claws' chief siege engineer, and it was believed that it was he that carried away his fallen lord's body into the Maelstrom after the apocalyptic final battle for the Palace of Thorns during the Loyalists' final assault on Badab Primaris.

• Garreon, "The Corpsemaster" (Chief Apothecary) – Garreon was one of the Veteran Battle-Brothers of the former Astral Claws Chapter that survived the final assault on Badab Primaris during the closing days of the Badab War. The Red Corsairs now call Chief Apothecary Garreon "The Corpsemaster," not because he harboured any desire to see the dead walk, but because he took a pathological interest in the biology of the dying and the dead among the Astartes, both of whom provided him with a harvest of precious gene-seed. He believed, as had many Apothecaries throughout the history of the Adeptus Astartes, that the future of their brotherhood lay in a better understanding of human genetics and xenobiology. He performed regular dissections on enemy Space Marines and his fellow Red Corsairs both—in some cases whilst his subjects were still living. He could keep his victims alive for a phenomenal length of time, reducing them to skeletal, still-living things that begged for a release that was an eternity in coming.

• Carnac Commodus, Arch-Centurion - A Veteran warrior of the Astral Claws and commander of the strike cruiser Hyrcania. Following the destruction of his home base on the world of Shaprias by a Loyalist strike force, he craved vengeance and a chance to make up for his failings in the eyes of his lord. Seeking assistance from his Secessionist allies, he found an unexpected ally in the Phaeton's Wrath, the flagship battle barge of the Executioners Chapter, and her accompanying Gladius class frigate escorts. The combined battlegroup attacked the Loyalist vessels, disabling the Salamanders battle barge Pyre of Glory after a surprise attack at the warp-transfer point near Calah. They forced the mighty Space Marine ship's surrender. The Astral Claws set about attempting to massacre their prisoners and harvest their gene-seed, but the Executioners would not countenance this vile action. They renounced their alliance with the Tyrant of Badab, saying that the blood oath binding them had been violated. The Executioners freed the captives and turned on the Astral Claws, taking more than 200 heads from their former allies in a single hour of furious conflict known as 'The Red Hour.' From this point onward, the Executioners Chapter became a rogue element in the conflict. High Mortiurge (High Chaplain) Thulsa Kane came alone before the Salamanders' commander, Captain Pellas Mir'san and presented a single gory object which rolled at Mir'san's feet—the head of the Arch-Centurion Commodus.

• Watch Captain Andar Scarion - Andar Scarion arrived at Watch Fortress Erioch in 782.M41, which was met with much controversy due to the Astral Claws' actions in recent decades. Nevertheless Scarion was allowed to commence his Vigil with the Deathwatch and served for over five decades with honour, achieving the rank of Watch Captain. Like his Chapter Master, Scarion is a proud and ruthless warrior with a keen grasp of strategy and military politics, and had proven himself to be a valuable asset in liaising with the Achilus Crusades' officers. He expects the Kill-teams under his command to perform to the most exacting of standards and does not tolerate laxity, weakness or failure. As is common to many of his Chapter, Scarion regards non-Astartes with a mixture of scorn and pity, holding that the Astartes ideal is fundamentally superior to the frailty of humanity. He masks this well in times of politics, but discards the façade when amongst other Astartes, seeing little issue with collateral damage amongst human allies and regarding them as expendable.

Reliquias conocidas

• Chimeric Talons - This set of Lightning Claws is as old as the Astral Claws Chapter itself, a work of forgotten forgecraft beyond the reach of more recent artisans. The power fields incorporate a unique phase disruption envelope designed to tear apart protective fields, making a mockery of even the most advanced defences. It is told how neither psychic fields, relics of technology, or even the unnatural flesh of daemons can resist the Chimeric Talons.

• Ghost Razors - The Ghost Razors is the name given to a heavily armoured gauntlet that housed a number of articulated blades. Fragmentary evidence suggests the relic was gifted to Chapter Master Lufgt Huron by the remnants of the Tiger Claws Chapter in gratitude to their saviour. In close combat, the Ghost Razors was an all but unmatched weapon, the unidentified phase-frequency disruption fields imparted to their cutting edges proved able to slice though solid matter at a sub-molecular level, parting ceramite and adamantine plate effortlessly and sundering any energy fields or force barriers they encountered. The Heavy Flamer incorporated into the Ghost Razors is commonly used as a squad support weapon by Terminator units deployed into closely confined battle zones. The use of such a weapon by a Space Marine commander is an unorthodox choice, but one that clearly reflected Lufgt Huron's preference for participating at the forefront of battle and heavy assaults. The Heavy Flamer's specific pattern remained unknown, and it was likely a direct creation of Armenneus Valthex in his capacity as the Tyrant's personal armourer and weaponsmith.

Flota conocida

The fleet assets of the Astral Claws were considerable, and included two powerful Battle Barges, and an ancient Cardinal-class heavy cruiser, recaptured as a wreck in the Maelstrom and brought back into service, as well as seven Strike Cruisers and over thirty Escort vessels of various classes. The exact number of Escorts the Chapter maintained is a matter for some debate as it was known to possess a number of captured vessels taken from within the Maelstrom, as well as armed transports of its own. The known, named vessels within the Astral Claws Chapter fleet include the:

• Seraph of Judgement (Battle Barge).

• Hyrcania (Strike Cruiser).

• Piercing Nova (Strike Cruiser).

• Thoth's Hound (Cardinal-class Heavy Cruiser).

• Dreadchild (Gothic-class Cruiser).

Apariencia

The Astral Claws wear silver Power Armour with blue shoulder plates, trimmed in yellow. As the Renegade Red Corsairs, they wear predominately red and black Power Armour with gold trim.

The Chapter iconography is a tiger's head coloured gold and black on a dark blue background.

Conflicto de Canon

In the original iteration of the Badab War which appeared in the Warhammer 40,000 Compendium, "The Badab War" article by Rick Priestly, the Tiger Claws were the primary Chapter that was responsible for this civil conflict. In its newest iteration, re-released in Forge World's Imperial Armour Volumes Nine & Ten - The Badab War, Parts One & Two, the name of the Tyrant of Badab's Chapter has been changed to the name Astral Claws. In the updated background information the Tiger Claws Chapter had instead become a Successor Chapter of the Astral Claws.

Galería

Lufgt Huron, Tirano de Badab

Garra Astral Veterano en armadura de Exterminador

Dreadnought Venerable Kleitor el Antiguo

Dreadnought de Asedio MKIV Voral

Veterano de la Guardia en armadura MKIV

Hermano de Batalla en armadura MKVII

Apotecario Iscario Seneca "Recogedor de Cadáveres"

Centurión Ricimer de la Legión del Tirano en armadura MKIV

Garra Astral Vengador con mezcla de armaduras MKIV y V

Líder de los Vengadores de Asalto, en armadura MKVIII

Escuadra de los Garras Astrales

Leer más

Lista de Ejércitos de Marines Espaciales.

Lista de Legiones Traidoras y Capítulos Renegados.

Guerra de Badab.

Corsarios Rojos.

Fuentes

Extraído y traducido de Wikihammer 40K UK.

• Imperial Armour IX-X.

• Warhammer 40,000: Compendio (1ª Edición).

• White Dwarf 101 y 303 (Edición inglesa).

• Deathwatch: Honour the Chapter (Juego de Rol).

• Deathwatch: The Jericho Reach (Juego de Rol).

• Héroes de los Marines Espaciales - La Cosecha de Cráneos, por Graham McNeill.

• Legends of the Space Marines - The Trial of the Mantis Warriors, por C. S. Goto.