"For the warrior, the only crime is cowardice."
- — Attributed to Primarch Horus Lupercal
The Justaerin were one of two distinct sub-formations within the elite 1st Company of the Luna Wolves and later the Sons of Horus Legion.
Led by the Legion's First Captain Ezekyle Abaddon, the Justaerin were the pride of the XVIth Legion, sporting their signature black armour, which denoted their specialisation in harrowing actions, shock assaults and strategic decapitation strikes. Tasked with forming the "point of the spear" for the XVIth Legion, they went where the fighting was thickest, their attack directed usually at destroying the heart of an opposing target or conducting the decapitation strike of an enemy force.
Early proponents of the use of Tactical Dreadnought Armour, many Justaerin entered combat as Terminators, relying on the resilience this gave them to smash aside any resistance and close in for the kill.
Notable Justaerin Members[]
- Ezekyle Abaddon - First Captain Ezekyle Abaddon was fanatically loyal to Horus and one of the foremost warriors of his Legion and commander of the elite Justaerin Terminators. A hulking brute of a Space Marine, given his size and appearance there had long been whispered rumours within the Sons of Horus Legion that he was the direct clone-progeny of the Warmaster himself. In truth, Abaddon echoed his Primarch in many ways, not least in his savage power as a fighter and skill as a tactician which gave him the greatest tally of victories of any within the Sons of Horus bar his Primarch. Once regarded as a great hero of the Imperium, Abaddon was first and foremost devoted to Horus always, and walked willingly into damnation with his master. Soon his name became among the most feared and despised of those who had turned Traitor. On Istvaan III, Abaddon took the field of battle and was personally responsible for slaying many of his former comrades who remained loyal to the Emperor. After the Heresy, it was Abaddon, now named Abaddon the Despoiler, who would rise to replace Horus as the Warmaster of Chaos and commander of the reborn Black Legion. Viewing Horus now with contempt for his failure to defeat the Emperor of Mankind during the Battle of Terra, Abaddon dedicated himself to winning the Long War against the Imperium and winning the prize for himself that had been denied to his gene-father. To this end, Abaddon became the primary force behind the Black Crusades which periodically spill out of the Eye of Terror to threaten Imperial space.
- Falkus Kibre, "Widowmaker" - Falkus Kibre, known as the "Widowmaker," was a Captain of the elite 1st Company who led the black-armoured Justaerin Terminator Squad known as the "Widowmakers", Horus' personal honour guard. Following the Warmaster's fall to Chaos and turn from the light of the Emperor, Kibre willingly followed his Primarch into damnation during the Horus Heresy. He led the Justaerin during some of the most infamous campaigns during this period of upheaval and rebellion, including the Drop Site Massacre on Istvaan V and the Battle of Terra. Following the dissolution of the Mournival with the losses of Captains Garviel Loken and Tarik Torgaddon on Istvaan III during the conflict between the Traitors and Loyalists within the Sons of Horus, Horus Aximand suggested the reformation of the Mournival, proposing to First Captain Abaddon that Kibre be one of its members. Kibre was eventually recommended to become a member of the Mournival by Abaddon following the Battle of the Mausolytic Precinct on the planet Dwell to replace the Mournival members who had been lost. Ten millennia later, Kibre still serves Abaddon, the new Warmaster of Chaos, as part of the Black Legion's Terminator elite and the leader of the Bringers of Despair, Abaddon's bodyguard.
- Ekron Fal - Veteran-Justaerin Fal was a warrior of enormous renown within the ranks of the 1st Company, 12th Chapter of the Sons of Horus. He gained prominence in the later battles of the Ullanor Crusade and was admitted to the ranks of the Justaerin at its conclusion. According to later cult-material captured in the Sack of Hybarix, he also covertly held high rank in several tiers of the Warrior Lodges operating within the XVI th Legion. Veteran-Justaerin Fal led his Justaerin Terminator squad, known as the "Seventh Occluded," as a part of the Umbra Sons Terminator Cohort throughout the opening defensive phase of the Drop Site Massacre, repelling attacks on the fortress-line by the Salamanders, Iron Hands and Raven Guard, before leading a decisive counter-charge in the battle's final act. Shortly thereafter, Ekron Fal was promoted to the rank of Centurion by his Warmaster.
Wargear[]
- Cataphractii Pattern Terminator Armour (Justaerin Warplate)
- Combi-Bolter (Twin-linked Bolter)
- Grenade Harness
- Krak Grenades
- Frag Grenades
- Power Weapon - The Justaerin wield a personal Power Weapon of any type for close combat.
See Also[]
Sources[]
- Horus Heresy: Collected Visions
- Index Astartes IV, "Sons of Horus - The Black Legion Space Marine Legion"
- The Horus Heresy - Book One: Betrayal (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pp. 70, 245, 248-249
- The Horus Heresy - Book Two: Massacre (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pg. 57
- White Dwarf 268 (US), "Abaddon the Despoiler" and "Index Astartes First Founding: Sons of Horus, The Black Legion Space Marine Chapter"
- Horus Rising (Novel) by Dan Abnett
- False Gods (Novel) by Graham McNeill
- Galaxy in Flames (Novel) by Ben Counter
- Fulgrim (Novel) by Graham McNeill
- Age of Darkness (Anthology) edited by Christian Dunn, "Little Horus" by Dan Abnett