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Mk7 Mars Pattern Jump Pack

Adeptus Munitorum schematic of a Mark 7 Mars Pattern Space Marine Jump Pack

A Jump Pack is a bulky, man-portable, vectored-thrust jet pack fueled by promethium that can be worn by a single Imperial soldier, designed to be attached to the backpacks of the Space Marines' or the Sisters of Battle's suits of power armour. They are used to make powered jumps across the battlefield, allowing the warriors wearing them to cover ground quickly and unexpectedly drop into the midst of their foes to launch a close-combat assault.

Jump Packs are thus used by assault troops, primarily the Assault Marines and Inceptor Squads of the Space Marine Chapters, and the Seraphim of the Adepta Sororitas. All Space Marine Chapters have at least one Assault Squad equipped with Jump Packs, and even some of the more notable Chapters, such as the Soul Drinkers, only possess one Jump Pack-equipped team.

InceptorSquad

An Inceptor Squad of Primaris Space Marines of the Ultramarines Chapter wearing Mark X Gravis Power Armour that possesses a built-in Jump Pack.

Unlike the other equipment used by the Space Marines, such as Assault Bikes, main battle tanks and Terminator Armour, Space Marine commanders do not use Command Squads that are equipped with Jump Packs. The exception to this general rule can be found in Astartes forces that are particularly oriented towards the use of assault tactics, such as the Blood Angels Chapter.

The use of a Jump Pack by Assault Marines is often paired with the ubiquitous chainsword or some type of Power Weapon and Bolt Pistol, as the pack's ability to traverse great distances makes the use of long-ranged weapons pointless.

Developed in the Age of Technology, the Jump Pack used by the Adeptus Astartes is a bulky, thrust-vectoring rocket engine worn upon the back. A Space Marine so equipped can make bounding jumps to quickly close with the foe, leaping high over the most hazardous terrain to close upon a foe at great speed and launch unexpected close combat assaults.

Such troops often deploy via airborne craft, leaping from Stormravens or other Adeptus Astartes aircraft. Then, using controlled bursts from their Jump Packs, they guide themselves downwards to strike where they can do the most damage, whether that be some vulnerable point deep behind enemy lines or straight into the heart of the opposing forces.

Most Space Marine Chapters employ close support squads equipped with Jump Packs, but some Chapters, like the Raven Guard, are known to deploy Bladewing Assaults -- entire Jump Pack formations that swoop down to strike with the surety of eagles on the hunt.

Among the Primaris Space Marines, the assault role is carried out instead by Inceptor Squads, who wear Mark X Gravis Power Armour. The Jump Pack of Mark X Gravis armour is fully integrated into the rest of the suit, unlike the prior patterns of Jump Pack used by standard Astartes Assault Marines, who wear it separately over their earlier marks of power armour.

History

Jump Pack - Lathe Pattern

The Lathe Pattern Jump Pack usable by non-Astartes and known to be in the possession of certain Rogue Traders of the Koronus Expanse.

Based on ancient STC technology, Jump Packs are a form of archeotech most likely developed during the Dark Age of Technology. At the time of the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy elite Jump Pack-equipped Assault Companies within the Legiones Astartes were considered rare and highly valued Imperial troops. At that time Jump Packs were a rarity, and they were usually only issued to elite units of Space Marines.

These earlier patterns of Jump Pack were rather more sophisticated and efficient than the ones commonly used by the Space Marines of the Imperium in the 41st Millennium, being considerably lighter and less bulky, while at the same time having a higher thrust-to-mass ratio which allowed slightly longer and higher jumps to be performed.

Such was their complexity, however, that only the most skilled Tech-adepts of the Mechanicum could attempt their construction, and with time even this ability was lost, so now all that can be done is to maintain those packs that still remain.

If it had not been for the discovery of the Standard Template Construct (STC) for the pattern of Jump Pack currently used by the Imperium (by an unknown Tech-priest on the backwater planet known only as DH2), it is likely that the Chaos Space Marine Raptors would have been the only Space Marines still using Jump Packs in the 41st Millennium.

Jump Pack Operation

BloodAngelsJumpPackInterceptorCaptainMini

A Blood Angels Primaris Captain serving as a Jump Pack Intercessor armed with a Hand Flamer and Power Fist.

The Jump Pack is affixed to a warrior in power armour, drawing energy from the suit's own power pack to augment its high speed motors. Intake vents on the top of the pack greedily suck in air to feed the jets, while the turbine blades expel a long plume of vapour. Even with the aid of the power armour's energy coils the jump pack has its own fuel supply, such is the power required to send a fully armed and armoured seven-foot tall warrior into the sky.

A Jump Pack is usually good for a dozen or so "jumps" before it must be refuelled or discarded. This is usually enough to get a Space Marine into the fray, or allow him to descend from the sky, striking deep behind enemy lines. An empty Jump Pack can be a liability, and even with his prodigious strength a Space Marine can find it impedes his ability in combat.

For this reason, the Jump Pack commonly incorporates a quick-release mechanism on the Battle-Brother's chest plate. Keyed to his specific power armour gauntlet, it is a lock that can be opened with a touch, allowing him to shrug free of the pack in moments.

Though Jump Packs are an ancient technology that has served the Adeptus Astartes for millennia, the Space Marine Chapters of the present limit their use to specialist formations within each company. In battle, these Assault Marines are ideal for striking at the flanks of the enemy or hitting behind their lines. Many Heretics and foul xenos have met their end at the hands of jump pack equipped Space Marines, their final moments watching transfixed as armoured warriors descend from the sky on shimmering vapour trails.

Jump Packs are also used to make high altitude battlefield insertions, where Assault Marines will leap from Stormraven gunships or other Space Marine aircraft, their packs slowing their fall at the last moment. Space Marines can also use their packs to leave battle in the same way, leaping up straight into the air and into hovering transports or even grabbing onto the side of a Land Speeder or Stormraven as it screams across the battlefield.

UltramarinesJumpPackIntercessorCaptainMini

An Ultramarines Primaris Captain serving as a Jump Pack Intercessor armed with Heavy Bolt Pistol and Astartes chainsword.

In this way, a Space Marine with a Jump Pack can throw himself out into space in the upper atmosphere of a world, guide himself down through swirling clouds and enemy fire to come crashing to ground near a high priority target. Then, once he has destroyed his target with either a well-placed melta-charge or several blows of his Chainsword, he can leap once more into the sky, vanishing into the fog of war before the enemy has even reacted to his arrival.

Many Space Marine commanders personally favour the use of a Jump Pack, especially those that seek out personal combat with the foe. A Jump Pack allows such a hero to leap across the battlefield far faster than he could run, ensuring he is always in the thick of battle. Nowhere is safe from the Space Marine hero, and he can use his pack to leap up onto battlements, over massed enemy formations and past formidable trench-works with equal ease. If the hero can see his foe then he can reach them, and with a roared challenge can charge upon wings of smoke and fire.

Jump Packs are a symbol of the might of the Adeptus Astartes, and many are ornately crafted with intricate gilt-work or even unfurled wings. The sight of scores of power-armoured giants arcing over a battle is an awe-inspiring sight, enhanced by the image of glowing wings and billowing clouds of fire upon which the warriors seem to walk. An enemy witnessing such a grand and terrible vision can be left with no doubt he faces the Angels of Death.

Notable Jump Pack Users

BA Assault Marine

A Blood Angels Assault Marine outfitted with a Mark 7 Mars Pattern Jump Pack

  • Blood Angels - The Blood Angels Chapter is known for its use of assault tactics. Furthermore, all Blood Angels have an innate affinity towards aerial combat. Though the mutation that produced their Primarch Sanguinius' wings has never been repeated, his genetic progeny still share a love of flight that is impossible for another to understand. To a Blood Angel a Jump Pack is therefore no simple machine or battlefield tool. It is an extension of their physical form, a manifestation of the spiritual bond between Primarch and scion. This is reflected by the use of the dedicated Assault Squads that often accompany this Chapter's captains, who are treated as an honour guard. The members of this Honour Guard are chosen only from a company's most experienced warriors. Indeed many are Veterans seconded from the Chapter's famous 1st Company. These elite Veterans are marked out by their gold coloured helmets. Within the Blood Angels' organisation, this predilection for the use of Assault Marines is reflected by the specified formula of two Assault Squads per Battle Company, plus one reserve Assault Company. This means there is rarely a shortage of Battle-Brothers with the suitable training and temperament to fill the Chapter's Assault Squad rosters as casualties occur. As a result, Blood Angels Assault Squads are likely to remain at full strength even when the rest of a Blood Angels strike force is woefully undermanned. The Blood Angels also possess a unique, elite group within its order of battle, the Sanguinary Guard, who wear special Single-Thruster Jump Packs. These Jump Packs work in the same way as normal Jump Packs save that instead of having two thrusters, they possess only one. These Jump Packs are often hidden by ornamental wings to emulate Sanguinius' own wings.
Dark Angel DW Assault Marine2

Deathwatch Assault Marine of the Dark Angels Chapter, armed with a Bolt Pistol and Power Fist, outfitted with a Mark 7 Mars Pattern Jump Pack

  • Deathwatch - The elite xenos-hunting Deathwatch, the Chamber Militant of the Ordo Xenos, make use of Deathwatch Assault Marines -- specialists of the brutal art of close quarters combat. A Deathwatch Assault Marines carries a range of weaponry, usually a lethal combination of a pistol and a melee weapon, the most common being the iconic Bolt Pistol and Chainsword. Many choose to take to the battlefield equipped with a Jump Pack, allowing them to close rapidly on their foes, often descending from above in a devastating charge. A Deathwatch Assault Marine is likely to be a warrior who has mastered all of the methods of war, and discovered that he is most skilled at close combat. To serve as an Assault Marine is to go quite literally face-to-face with the most terrible of humanity's foes, and to have pitted wits against the vilest of beasts countless times, and won. When serving in a Deathwatch Kill-team, it is the task of the Assault Marine to close with and engage the enemy in an overwhelming charge. Many of the alien foes the Deathwatch must face are ravening beasts sporting multiple, diamond-hard claws, whipping tentacles, slavering maws or carrying all manner of deadly close combat weaponry. In addition, many are protected by such tough armour (technological or biological) that they can only be defeated in the deadly whirl of close combat. Ranged weapons may be all but useless against such foes, or the environs in which they lurk may preclude the use of ranged weaponry. In any given mission the number of Deathwatch Battle-Brothers deployed as Assault Marines depends largely upon the mission itself, and the nature of the enemy. When fighting in the cramped environment of a boarding action, or undertaking an exploration of an ancient alien tomb complex for example, several may be assigned. Even in missions where fewer are likely to be required, it is common for at least one Assault Marine to be deployed, for all too often it is close combat that determines the ultimate victory.

Notable Jump Pack Variants

  • Alatus-Pattern Jump Pack - Drawing power directly from a potentia coil, the Alatus-Pattern Jump Pack links directly into the user's nervous system allowing for far greater control than more mundane Jump Packs. Often taking the form of a sweeping pair of intimidating mechanical wings, the Alatus is a common sight among the elite of the Crimson Guard (specialised Venatorii soldiers who fight for the Adeptus Mechanicus of the Lathe Worlds) and it is a frightening sight indeed to see even a single Crimson Guardsman darting about the battlefield with such lethal precision.
  • Custodian Jump Harness - Also called the "Alular Jump Pack," but best known as "Auramite Pinions," the Custodian Jump Harness is a form of winged Jump Pack used only by the elite Venatari Custodians of the Adeptus Custodes. The Auramite Pinions consist of a lightweight suit of vestments which interface with the Custodian's own breastplate. The jump harness consists of hand-bonded and reinforced leather armour enhanced with auramite plating to ensure the protection of a warrior's vital organs. This harness is integrated with the sophisticated Jump Pack, which is hand-crafted into the form of the Raptor Imperialis by master artisans in the spire-tops of the Imperial Palace's Tower of Hegemon. The wings of the Jump Pack are incredibly responsive in flight, allowing a Custodian Venatari to soar through the air to reach their target, even under heavy fire. Once on the ground they are no less useful, however; the Auramite Pinions' wingspan can be swept round to deflect opportunistic attacks from the sides and rear, as well as actively used to turn the blade of an opponent in a duel.
  • Type 12 Jump Pack - Dual-vector thrust style Jump Pack that has an extended lift capacity.
  • Lathe Pattern Jump Pack - An ancient, more advanced pattern of Jump Pack that required less thrust to produce the same amount of lift as a standard pattern Jump Pack. This pattern of Jump Pack is capable of being used by non-Astartes and has been seen in the armouries of certain Rogue Traders in the Koronus Expanse who have been lucky enough to recover such archeotech.
  • Mark 7 Mars Pattern Jump Pack - The Mark 7 Mars Pattern is the standard pattern of Jump Pack in use amongst Firstborn Space Marines in the 41st Millennium.
  • Seraphim Jump Pack - More streamlined and stylised, this Jump Pack variant is based off the same technology as those used by the Space Marines. The design has the added effect of giving the Adepta Sororitas the appearance of avenging angelic hosts. The aggressive use of them by the Sororitas has made that design work tremendously well. Aside from the normal usage, an alternate tactic, seen in the re-consecrating of Pilgrims’ Pause, was as a lateral boost to redeploy Seraphim strike teams while staying behind cover.
  • Hawk Wings - Hawk Wings are specialised Jump Packs used exclusively by the Hawk Lords Chapter. Though they appear to be normal Jump Packs they also have a vast ammunition supply built into their harnesses that double as an Astartes backup ammunition supply, increasing the magazine size of any requisitioned heavy weapon. The Hawk Lords Chapter has long emphasised aerial superiority and rapid deployment, and all the skill of its Artificers have been bent towards these ends for untold centuries. One of their greatest successes was the creation of a pattern of Jump Packs that could bear a Devastator Marine into battle without costing him the use of his heavier armament. The artisan responsible died after creating but a few such masterpieces, and his accomplishment has not yet been matched. Watch Fortress Erioch has come into the custody of one Hawk Wing jump pack, and it has served with distinction with the Deathwatch across the Jericho Reach.

Pre-Heresy Variants

  • Serpha-V Pattern Jump Pack - The Great Crusade-era suit of Mark II Crusade Power Armour made use of a less advanced version of the Jump Pack than that used with the present-day Mark VI and Mark VII suits of power armour that prevail among the Firstborn Space Marines of the 41st Millennium. The Mark II's Jump Pack design, known as the Serpha-V Pattern, featured two large cylindrical jet engines connected by a pack containing cryogenic fuel canisters and coolant systems. The Serpha-V Pattern Jump Pack's engines were much higher on the Astartes' back than found in present day Jump Pack Patterns.
  • Sol-Harrier Pattern Jump Pack - The Great Crusade and Horus Heresy-era suit of Mark IV Maximus Power Armour made use of a different and less advanced pattern of Jump Pack than that used by the standard Mark VI and Mark VII Aquila Power Armour that prevails among the Firstborn Adeptus Astartes of the current era. Its Jump Pack design featured a similar design to that of the Serpha-V Jump Pack. An alternative, unnamed pattern of Jump Pack also deployed with Mark IV Maximus Power Armour used a single, cylindrical main thruster with lateral maneuvering jets.
  • Mark V Heresy Power Armour - The Horus Heresy-era suit of Mark V Heresy Power Armour made use of a less advanced pattern of the Jump Pack than that used with the present-day Mark VI and Mark VII suits of power armour that prevail among the Firstborn Space Marines of the 41st Millennium. The Mark V's Jump Pack design, whose name remains unknown, was very similar to that seen in the Mark II, the Serpha-V Pattern, with two large cylindrical jet engines. However, advancements in technology over that of the Serpha-V allowed the jet engines to be made larger and lighter and for the cryogenic fuel and coolant systems present in the systems connecting the engine outakes to be significantly smaller in size.
  • Phaeton Pattern Heavy Lift Jump Pack - The Phaeton Heavy Lift Jump Pack was a rare and specialised pattern of Jump Pack created on the Forge World of Phaeton that was deployed during the Great Crusade as part of Mark IV Maximus Power Armour that was capable of generating far more thrust than the standard Jump Packs used by the Astartes of that era. It was designed as a single, cylindrical main thruster with lateral maneuvering jets.
  • Thyrsis Pattern Jump Pack - Two hundred of these Jump Packs were sent to Caliban for transshipment to the Dark Angels' fleet from the forges of Mars in the 200th year of the Great Crusade.

See Also

Sources

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