Auto-reactive power armour shoulder plate displaying the command heraldry of the captain of the Ultramarines 2nd Company.
The Ultramarines 2nd Company, also known as the "Guardians of the Temple," and the "Avengers of Ultramar," is the most famous and honoured Battle Company of the Ultramarines Chapter.
The 2nd Company of the Ultramarines Chapter has cultivated a reputation as dynamic heroes. In the years prior to the opening of the Great Rift they were led by Captain Cato Sicarius, and have retained his daring approach to warfare even in his absence.
The 2nd Company was commanded by Captain Cato Sicarius until his voidship the Emperor's Will became lost in the Warp as he sought to deliver the first Primaris Space Marines from Terra to Ultramar.
The vessel was part of the task force dubbed "Fleet Avenger" during the onset of the Noctis Aeterna after the birth of the Great Rift. In his absence, the 2nd Company was commanded by Captain Sevastus Acheran, who still retained the position after Sicarius was reunited with his Chapter during the Plague Wars.
By tradition, the Ultramarines 2nd Company bears the title of "Guardians of the Temple". This is no mere honorific, but alludes to their long-held duty to protect the fabled Temple of Correction within their mighty fortress-monastery known as the Fortress of Hera upon Macragge -- for there was once found the shrine of Primarch Roboute Guilliman. With Guilliman's reawakening in ca. 999.M41, the primarch suggested that the 2nd Company not only maintain its traditional title, but also add a new one. For their heroics during the battles of the Plague Wars, the battle-brothers of the 2nd Company were dubbed the "Avengers of Ultramar".
The newly rewritten Codex Astartes following Guilliman's resurrection allows for each Battle Company of an Adeptus Astartes Chapter to be reinforced with additional troops reassigned from the Reserve Companies. These seconded battle-brothers typically form Squads 11 upwards. Once attached to a Battle Company, it is standard practice for the newly joined reserve squads to take new markings corresponding to their new company, although the rapid nature of war does not always afford time for such a formality.
History[]
It is common practice amongst many Codex Astartes-compliant Space Marine Chapters for the 2nd Company to be considered their foremost Battle Company. These warriors uphold the finest traditions of their Chapter and are expected to set a shining example to their battle-brothers. They are also the most likely warriors to be elevated to veterancy, and so will fight their hardest at all times to prove themselves worthy.
All of this is certainly true of the Ultramarines 2nd Company. So pronounced is their predilection for spectacular heroics that they have on more than one occasion earned censure from Chapter Master Marneus Calgar for conduct bordering upon the reckless.
The warriors of the 2nd Company storm into the fray with the speed of a lightning strike; they formulate battle plans so risky and demanding that few other warriors would even countenance putting them into practice. They rely upon the element of surprise and their overwhelming transhuman strength to utterly crush enemy resistance and seize victory for Ultramar, often before their enemies even realise that the battle has begun.
Yet the skilled observer can see that the 2nd Company are anything but foolhardy. They fight in this fashion only because they know that they possess the discipline, unfaltering will and martial skill to prevail, and they expect only the best of themselves and their brothers at all times.
Amongst the greatest acts of heroism ascribed to the 2nd Company are those performed on the world of Damnos. An Imperial colony planet whose surface was a glacial mass of deep-packed ice and snow, Damnos had the misfortune to play host to a huge and undiscovered Necron tomb complex. When that tomb awoke and the warriors of the Sautekh Dynasty stalked up onto Damnos' surface, they plunged the planet's luckless defenders into a desperate battle for survival. It was the Ultramarines 2nd Company who came to the rescue.
Through daring heroism and no small degree of sacrifice, the Ultramarines struck a series of telling blows against the overwhelming enemy forces and succeeded in evacuating much of Damnos' population during the relief of the city of Kellenport.
When an Imperial crusading force returned some standard years later to crush the Necrons of Damnos, Captain Cato Sicarius and his 2nd Company were amongst the vanguard of the immense Imperial army. They fought furiously to exact vengeance for the fall of such heroes as Dreadnought Brother Agrippan during the First Damnosian War, and though they suffered many casualties battling the inhuman Necrons and their eldritch technologies, the 2nd Company emerged victorious.
Company Banner[]
Company banner of the Ultramarines' 2nd Company
The Ultramarines 2nd Company are deeply honoured to bear the Aquila Maximus upon their company banner.
Set above the Ultramarines Chapter badge and a laurel of victory, this combination of honour markings is redolent of the awe-inspiring history of the 2nd Company.
Borne into battle in this bloody age by Company Ancient Maxim Calaginos, the banner of the 2nd inspires all who fight beneath it to ever-greater acts of heroism.
Below the laurel, it displays a High Gothic oath of eternal fealty to Ultramar, a blazing star -- said to embody the Emperor and the guiding light of Terra -- and an honour scroll that has grown longer as the company's most notable deeds have multiplied over the millennia.
The most recent additions include honourable victories around the Damocles Gulf against the T'au Empire and glorious citations for selfless fighting in defence of Ultramar itself.
Company Commanders[]
In recent years the Ultramarines' 2nd Company has been commanded by quite a distinguished roster of Adeptus Astartes officers, going back to the time of the Battle of Macragge during the First Tyrannic War against Hive Fleet Behemoth in 745.M41.
Severus Agemman[]
Captain Severus Agemman of the Ultramarines' Veteran 1st Company, outfitted in Indomitus Pattern Terminator Armour.
Though better known today as captain of the Ultramarines' Veteran 1st Company, Severus Agemman originally commanded the 2nd Company until the previous first captain of the Ultramarines, Saul Invictus, was killed at the height of the Battle of Macragge -- more than 250 standard years before the opening of the Great Rift in ca. 999.M41 of the old Imperial Calendar. Most recently Agemman has been appointed to the position of Tetrarch by Primarch Roboute Guilliman and ordered to reclaim the worlds that once comprised Ultramar's northern borders during the Horus Heresy, a task perfectly suited to his boundless experience and wisdom.
Lucian Trajan[]
Captain Lucian Trajan rose to command the 2nd Company in the wake of Severus Agemman's promotion to command of the 1st Company. He had served under Agemman as first sergeant of the 2nd Company, and benefitted greatly from his former captain's tutelage. His tenure lasted for over a standard century of glorious victory, until a battle against the Aeldari of Craftworld Biel-Tan on the world of Beta-Arcturus turned sour.
While defending an Imperial world from the xenos, Trajan slew the enemy's autarch in single combat, only to learn that the retreating Craftworld Aeldari had taken one of his Ultramarines, the young Brother Leandros, captive. Leading a squad to rescue them, Trajan fell into the clutches of an enemy trap and was gunned down -- leaving his Command Squad sergeant, one Demetrian Titus, to rout the xenos foe and recover his body.
Demetrian Titus (First Command)[]
Firstborn Ultramarines Captain Demetrian Titus, Master of the Watch, in Mark VII Aquila Power Armour armed with chainsword and Bolt Pistol during the Time of Ending.
Though he was content to remain a sergeant of the 2nd Company and had no aspirations for overall command, Demetrian Titus eventually accepted Chapter Master Marneus Calgar's request that he lead the 2nd Company and take up the role of the Master of the Watch. A decade after taking up the mantle, Titus embarked on his fateful mission to the Forge World of Graia, during which he slew the Chaos Sorcerer Nemeroth but was taken into custody by Inquisitor Thrax after his subordinate, Leandros, questioned the captain's seeming continual and unnatural resistance to the influence of Chaos and the power of the Chaos Sorcerer Nemeroth.
Thrax was later be consumed by Chaos himself -- a workplace hazard for the Inquisition -- and Titus was freed when the Grey Knights purged the Inquisitor's holdings. Believing he had brought shame on his Chapter, Titus elected to join the Deathwatch as a Black Shield rather than return to the Ultramarines.
Cato Sicarius[]
Captain Cato Sicarius during his tumultuous tenure as the captain of the Ultramarines 2nd Company.
With Demetrian Titus missing in the Inquisition's hands and his own First Sergeant Sidonus slain during the Liberation of Graia, it was decided that Cato Sicarius would take the reins of the 2nd Company due to his exemplary martial skills and uncompromising service to the Chapter. He accumulated many honours and awards during his time leading the company -- such as earning the Valour Crest and being hailed the "Knight Champion of Macragge".
Sicarius captaincy covered many decisive campaigns for the Ultramarines, including the notorious Damnos Incident and the resurrected Primarch Roboute Guilliman's Terran Crusade. After being dispatched back to Macragge with Fleet Avenger and the first host of Primaris Space Marine reinforcements for the Ultramarines, his ship was lost in the Warp for five long standard years, during which time the Ultramarines declared Sicarius missing in action and instated a new captain of the 2nd Company in his place.
Sevastus Acheran[]
Captain Sevastus Acheran wearing Mark X Phobos Power Armour and serving in the role of a Vanguard Marine in combat with the Ultramarines' 2nd Company.
Like many Adeptus Astartes captains, Sevastus Acheran originally served as a company officer under his predecessor, but was not with Cato Sicarius when his fateful voyage to return to Macragge in the wake of the Terran Crusade was swallowed up by the thrashing of the Great Rift. Acheran, appointed as Sicarius' replacement, led the 2nd Company through many of the defining conflicts of the early Indomitus Crusade, seeing action on Vigilus during the War of Beasts, within the Pariah Nexus, in Ultramar during the Plague Wars, and in the Fourth Tyrannic War in the Segmentum Tempestus. Most famously, he commanded the company when Lieutenant Demetrian Titus was reclaimed during the Ultramarines' campaign against the Tyranids and Thousand Sons Legion in the Recidious System.
Acheran's illustrious service finally came to an end upon the Hive World of Trygg -- a vital and seemingly Loyalist stronghold that safeguarded the Pyremoat System from Tyranid incursion. After a Departmento Munitorum survey vessel and its escort of Mordian Iron Guard disappeared, its crewmen and guardsmen letting out a single psychic scream before vanishing without a trace, Acheran led an Ultramarines strike force to investigate, accompanied by his decorated lieutenant, Brother Meduras Chairon.
What they found was a powerful Genestealer Cult embedded in Trygg's primary hive city, their influence stretching from the undercity all the way up to the spires, poised to crack open the world's defences when the Tyranids arrived. The xenophile cult's uprising had already begun, and threatened to spread across the planet. In order to contain it, Acheran chose to activate the hive's anti-atomic lockdown protocols, sealing his entire force inside the hive city with a nearly endless horde of enraged cultists.
This noble choice, to sacrifice himself and his brothers, kept the Genestealer Cult bottled up, and saved the world -- and an entire vulnerable sector -- from certain doom in the Fourth Tyrannic War. Every last Space Marine that landed on Trygg was slowly worn down in a series of increasingly desperate battles. When Imperial reinforcements arrived to purge the last of the cult, they discovered that Acheran, Chairon, and the rest of their brothers had sold their lives to cull untold numbers of xenos Genestealer hybrids.
Demetrian Titus (Second Command)[]
Primaris Captain Demetrian Titus after his promotion to command of the Ultramarines' 2nd Company and his designation as the "Warden of Ultramar".
After his legendary victory against the Tyranids and Thousand Sons in the Recidious Campaign, his survival on a seemingly suicidal mission to destroy Chaos artifacts on Zsah'Uj, and further successes against the Tyranids on several worlds in the Bastior sub-sector, Lieutenant Demetrian Titus was the clear candidate to succeed Sevastus Acheran after his death. Misgivings from many of his peers had long since been silenced, and Titus took up the role, swearing to honour his former captain's legacy as he led the 2nd Company once more, and fulfils the duties of the Master of the Watch, a responsibility of the rank.
It is now Captain Titus' duty as the newly named "Warden of Ultramar" to fortify the borders of the Realm of Ultramar and defend his Chapter's home realm even as it expands back to its pre-Horus Heresy size of five hundred worlds at Primarch Roboute Guilliman's command. Every new conquest is another drain on Ultramarian resources, and his task is difficult in the extreme -- but with his Wardens of Ultramar command staff adding their substantial strength to his cause and an agile fleet of elite warriors at his command, Titus is exactly the Space Marine for the job.
Original Company Order of Battle[]
Command Squad[]
The Ultramarines 2nd Company in ca. 999.M41, at the time of the Invasion of Ultramar and the Ultramar Campaign of the 13th Black Crusade, was led by the Command Squad known as the "Lions of Macragge". This squad included the following members:
- Captain Cato Sicarius - In addition to being Captain of 2nd Company, Cato Sicarius has several other titles including Master of the Watch, Knight Champion of Macragge and Grand Duke of Talassar.
- Apothecary Venatio
- Honoured Brother Gaius Prabian
- Brother Vandius - Brother Vandius is the company's Ancient.
- Brother Malcian
Tactical Squads[]
The 2nd Company was comprised of 6 Tactical Squads:
- Squad Vandar - Also known as "The Victors", Squad Vandar is noted for having the youngest recipient for an Iron Halo. This was awarded to Veteran Sergeant Vandar for tactical brilliance during the Tamari Rebellions in 929.M41.
- Squad Octavian - Squad Octavian has earnt a total of fifteen Markman's Honour badges for their precision. They are also known as the "Swords of Judgement".
- Squad Solinus - Nicknamed "The Indomitable", Squad Solinus was first into the breach after Captain Sicarius at the retaking of Fort Telrendar. For this they earnt Victorex Maxima honours.
- Squad Manorian - Known as "The Shield Bearers," Squad Manorian is used in the vanguard during Chapter and company level assaults.
- Squad Vorolanus - Squad Vorolanus is used for reconnaissance and deep strike missions when Scout Squads are unavailable. They are known as "The Thunderbolts."
- Squad Fennion - Squad Fennion is known as "The Immortals" due to the fact that they haven't taken a single loss since 829.M41.
Assault Squads[]
There were 2 Assault Squads in the 2nd Company in this time:
- Squad Ixion - Squad Ixion is known for having honed their fighting skills against Hive Fleets Leviathan, Kraken and Jormungandr as they seek vengeance for the Ultramarines' losses at the Battle of Macragge. For this, they are known as "Macragge's Avengers."
- Squad Strabo - Squad Strabo is responsible for the death of Ork Warboss Bonehamma on the Hive World of Selonopolis. They are known as "The Heroes of Selonopolis."
Devastator Squads[]
There were 2 Devastator Squads in the 2nd Company in this time:
- Squad Tirian -Also known as "Guilliman's Hammer," Squad Tirian is known for their unwavering conduct in battle.
- Squad Atavian - Squad Atavian is responsible for the destruction of the Renegade Titan Soulmauler. For this they were awarded the Principes Maxima and the nickname "The Titan Slayers"
Dreadnoughts[]
The 2nd Company had 2 Dreadnoughts:
- Brother Agnathio - Agnathio was interred within Dreadnought armour in 141.M36 after the Fall of Chundrabad.
- Brother Ultracius - Ultracius was interred inside the shell of a Dreadnought after the Pyra Crusades in 453.M39.
Era Indomitus Company Order of Battle[]
Presented below is the composition of the Ultramarines 2nd Company as it entered battle during the later stages of the Death Guard attacks upon Macragge during the Plague Wars.
With its former commander, Cato Sicarius, declared lost and missing in action for some five standard years before his return to the Chapter, the company's command during this period and in the early stages of the Fourth Tyrannic War at the time of the Recidious Campaign fell to Captain Sevastus Acheran.
Command Squad[]
Captain Sevastus Acheran assumed command of the 2nd Company in the Era Indomitus after the birth of the Great Rift in the absence of Cato Sicarius, and was accompanied by the Company Veterans in his Command Squad known as the "Lions of Macragge". Additional leadership elements included two lieutenants, one a newly joined Primaris Space Marine and the other the recently returned former captain of the 2nd Company, Lieutenant Demetrian Titus, and a Chaplain. An Apothecary and Company Ancient were also attached to the 2nd Company's command.
Following Sevastus Acheran's death on the Hive World of Trygg, Lieutenant Titus was promoted by Marneus Calgar to retake his old command as the captain of the 2nd Company and Master of the Watch. Titus was also named to the new position of Warden of Ultramar and was ordered to carry out Primarch Roboute Guilliman's dictate that the Realm of Ultramar expand back to its pre-Horus Heresy size of five hundred member worlds. To this end, Titus decided that he needed an unusual Command Squad comprised of both mortal Humans and Astartes that was named the "Wardens of Ultramar".
Newly promoted at Titus's express recommendation, despite his relative youth among Ultramarines Veterans, Ancient Valorem Gadriel hefts the massive banner of the 2nd Company and can always be found in the thickest fighting alongside Titus' own mentor, Bladeguard Veteran Sergeant Metaurus. Both have ample experience fighting alongside Titus, and he values their advice and counsel above all others.
On the shorter side among the Command Squad's mortal members, Commodore Gaius Silva commands a vast fleet of the Ultramar Defence Fleet and is an expert at handling the tensions between an overworked mortal crew and their often-pitiless Astartes masters, making him an essential part of Titus' muster.
Amelia Minervas is a highly respected legatus of the Ultramar Defence Auxilia and serves as the 2nd Company command team's liaison to its legions of Human soldiery. Lucia Vestha joins Titus' war councils as a valued Ultramarian plenipotentiary and diplomat whose keen negotiating skills have saved the 2nd Company from needless battle on countless occasions, while the sharp-tongued and forthright Dainal Kornelius is a veteran astropath who has survived for over 100 standard years in the Ultramarines' employ.
Tactical Squads[]
The 2nd Company is comprised of 4 Tactical Squads:
- 1st Squad - This squad boasts the company's most experienced and honoured warriors. They are known as the Avenging Sons, or Squad Kellion after their Veteran Sergeant Kellion.
- 2nd Squad - These warriors earned the appellation of "New Crusaders," as the entire 2nd Squad was replaced after the first battles with the Death Guard.
- 5th Squad - "The Victors", led by Sergeant Vallern, are tasked with taking out the enemy's most heavily armoured formations.
- 6th Squad - "The Lineholders", led by Veteran Sergeant Tallum, typically form the centre of any battle plan and are known for their marksmanship.
Intercessor Squads[]
The 2nd Company is comprised of 3 Intercessor Squads:
- 3rd Squad - This squad has not attained a moniker yet, but earned the respect of their 2nd Company brethren when they downed an entire swarm of Plague Drones.
- 4th Squad - The "Sons of Terra", led by Sergeant Athos, are eager to prove themselves before their more experienced brethren.
- 11th Squad - Originally from the Ultramarines 6th Company (Reserves), this squad is led by Veteran Telemachus, one of the first Primaris Astartes to reach Macragge.
Assault Squads[]
The 2nd Company is comprised of 2 Assault Squads:
- 7th Squad - "Macragge's Avengers", led by Sergeant Laedrus, prefer to enter the battlefield by Thunderhawk in order to close with the foe as quickly as possible.
- 12th Squad - "Squad Skythunder" from the Ultramarines 8th Company have been attached to Captain Acheran's company in order to give his upcoming counteroffensive more striking power.
Inceptor Squads[]
The 2nd Company is comprised of 1 Inceptor Squad:
- 8th Squad - "Squad Gloccus" has developed a friendly rivalry with "Macragge's Avengers," and both close support squads vie to accumulate the most honours upon the battlefield.
Devastator Squads[]
The 2nd Company is comprised of 1 Devastator Squad:
- 9th Squad - Commonly known as the "Titan Slayers", this squad is led by Sergeant Atavian, and the 9th was awarded the Principex Maxima for their destruction of the Renegade Warlord-class Titan Soulmauler.
Hellblaster Squads[]
The 2nd Company is comprised of 1 Hellblaster Squad:
- 10th Squad - "Squad Dryden" and their new weaponry gained much respect when they drove back an assault by plague-toughened Death Guard Chaos Terminators.
Dreadnoughts[]
The 2nd Company has 2 Dreadnoughts assigned to it:
- Brother Agnathio - Having originally fallen in the line of duty at Chundrabad in 141.M36, Agnathio has spent much of his lifespan as a Dreadnought in cryostasis, but fights with as much fiery wrath as ever once awakened.
- Brother Ultracius - Ultracius was interred inside the shell of a Dreadnought after the Pyra Crusades in 453.M39. The interred warrior’s name is picked out on the Dreadnought's sarcophagus. Numerals on the armour plating indicate that Brother Ultracius is the second Dreadnought attached to the 2nd Company.
Canon Conflict[]
In the animated film Ultramarines, the commander of the 2nd Company is stated to be a Captain Severus, while in the parallel Warhammer 40,000 universe shown in the video game Space Marine, the commander is Demetrian Titus.
But in Games Workshop tabletop wargame and novel canon, the captain of the Ultramarines 2nd Company at that time before the Era Indomitus was Cato Sicarius.
With the release of Space Marine II, this inconsistency has been retconned. Captain Demetrian Titus is now the former commander of the 2nd Company, who led it before Cato Sicarius. After his imprisonment by the Inquisition on suspicion of heresy following the Liberation of Graia, he was freed from that imprisonment following the death of Inquisitor Thrax. Ashamed of the suspicion against him, and believing himself unworthy to return to his Chapter, Titus turned to service as a Black Shield in the Deathwatch before being rediscovered by the Ultramarines near death following a failed Deathwatch mission during the Recidious Campaign.
Titus eventually returned to Macragge and reunited with the Ultramarines, though to save his life he was forced to cross the Rubicon Primaris and become a Primaris Marine. Since his former position as commander of the 2nd Company was already held by Sevastus Acheran, Chapter Master Marneus Calgar decided it would be fair to make Titus a Primaris Lieutenant in his old company. Titus took no offence at the demotion and was simply glad to be able to rejoin his battle-brothers in service to the Emperor once more.
After the death of Acheran, Calgar took the opportunity to promote Titus back to his rightful place as the commander of the 2nd Company and assigned him the even more onerous duties of the Warden of Ultramar, tasked with restoring the Realm of Ultramar to its pre-Horus Heresy size of five hundred member worlds.
Sources[]
- Codex Adeptus Astartes - Space Marines (8th Edition), pp. 26-27, 98
- Codex: Space Marines (5th Edition), pp. 18-19
- Codex: Space Marines (6th Edition) (Digital Edition), pp. 50-58
- Codex Supplement: Ultramarines (8th Edition), pg. 13
- Dark Imperium (Novel) by Guy Haley, Chs. 4, 17
- Warhammer 40,000: Rulebook (6th Edition), pg. 394
- White Dwarf 498, "Lieutenant Titus of the Ultramarines", pp. 54-61
- Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine (Video Game)
- Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II (Video Game)
- Warhammer Community - World Championships Preview – Captain Titus battles Nekrosor Ammentar for the Five Hundred Worlds of Ultramar
- Warhammer Community - 500 Worlds – How did Titus become Captain of the Second Company (again)?
Gallery[]
