Justaerin

"For the warrior, the only crime is cowardice."

— Attributed to Primarch Horus Lupercal

Justaerin Astartes of the Sons of Horus attack a pair of Legio Custodes

The Justaerin were one of two distinct sub formations of the elite 1st Company of the Sons of Horus Legion. Led by the Legion's First Captain Ezykyle Abaddon, the Justaerin were the pride of the XVI Legion, sporting their signature black armour which denoted their specialisations in harrowing actions, shock assaults and strategic decapitation strikes. Tasked with forming the "point of the spear" of the 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 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

First Captain Ezykyle Abaddon

• Ezykyle Abaddon - Abaddon was fanatically loyal to the Warmaster 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 appearnace there had long been whispered rumours within the Sons of Horus Legion that he was in some part the direct clone-progeny of the Warmaster himself. Regardless of this he echoes 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 hero of the Imperium, Abaddon was first and foremost devoted to Horus always, and walked willingly into damnation with his master and soon his name became among the most feared and despised of those that turned traitor. On Istvaan III he took the field of battle and was personally responsible for destroying many of his former comrades who remained loyal to the Emperor.
• Falkus Kibre, "Widowmaker" - Falkus Kibre, known as the "Widomaker," was a Captain of the elite 1st Company who led the black-armoured Terminator Squad known as the "Widowmakers" of the elite Justaerin, 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 Loken and 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 First Captain Ezekyle 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.

Wargear

• Cataphractii Terminator Armour
• Combi-Bolter
• Power Weapon

See Also

• Honour Guard

Sources

• Horus Heresy: Collected Visions
• Index Astartes IV, "Sons of Horus - The Black Legion Space Marine Legion"
• The Horus Heresy Book One: Betrayal by Alan Bligh, pp. 70, 245, 248-249
• White Dwarf 268 (US), "Abaddon the Despoiler" & "Index Astartes First Founding: Sons of Horus, The Black Legion Space Marine Chapter"
• Horus Heresy Novel Series:
  • 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