Editing Iron Rangers (section)

=History=
The XX Legion had a tumultuous and controversial history. They have been known as a Legion of outcasts and renegades throughout their existence. Often their only supporters were [[Hektor Cincinnatus]] and [[Uriel Salazar]]. This bond greatly assisted their fall to Chaos but most believe that the Iron Rangers were doomed to that fate since their inception.
==Sacred Band==
The XX Squad of the Sacred Band began tumultuously. The few candidates who were able to accept the gene-seed were considered stubborn and anti-authoritarian at best. The implantation of the gene-seed only seemed to exacerbate these issues. Orders were routinely ignored or simply followed to a definition of the squad's making. Laying out specific orders would result in malicious compliance or simply following the orders given to them while ignoring implied tasks. They were passive-aggressive towards their authority figures. and The Emperor considered abandoning the XX altogether several times. This gave them the nickname "The Tarnished Ten." Ultimately Hektor was given one last chance to prove their worth. Knowing what was at stake he took a personal interest in the squad. He learned their outlooks, how they thought, and why they acted the way they did. Eventually he found the perfect mission to prove their worth as a fighting force.

Early in the conquest of the Merican hives intelligence reported a unique opportunity for the Imperial forces. A resort hotel was located which was frequented by much of the Merican nobility and general officers. A direct assault was unfeasable as it was deep within enemy territory and would be abandoned before a traditional force could arrive. Hektor volunteered the XX to infiltrate and eliminate the hotel and its inhabitants.

A plan was hatched by Sergeant Yon Mikneli of the XX squad to eliminate the resort and all officers located within. It was believed that the resort was nearly inaccessible. The Ten took that as a challenge. The Squad infiltrated the resort in an elaborate and well-planned strike. They were discovered after one of the members of the squad, Neophyte Grueben, began opening fire too early. As the assorted generals and staff ran to the underground bunker for protection they were shot down en masse with volkite chargers. Many still made it to safety and reinforcements were called in. The Ten were now forced to make a decision. Breaching the door would take time they didn't have. Abandoning the mission was not an option. Battle-Brother Agino grasped at a fast plan and began throwing grenades and explosive charges through the bunker's ventilation shafts. The entrances were further rigged for explosives detonated by tripwire. The resulting blasts collapsed the roof of the fortifications and destroyed the entrance, killing all within.

The plan was completed with a total of two casualties. Neophyte Grueben was [[Blam|shot in the back after one of the Mericans wrestled his charger from his hands]], and Neophyte Penikle was killed while holding off the Merican reinforcements during the escape.

The impact on the Merican resistance was immediate and noticeable. A large segment of their forces were left [[Not as planned|leaderless and without orders]]. Nobles started infighting as power vacuums were created in the wake of the slaughter. With the successful mission, the XX Squad cemented their place in future legions. The Tarnished Ten became a term of endearment among the Sacred Band and they started to cement their future reputation as saboteurs, assassins, and guerrilla fighters.

Hektor found great use of the squad throughout his campaign. Mikneli was a natural at infiltration and spotting weak points in enemy defensive measures. They found themselves used increasingly in combat as flanking elements. Often they were put to use as a vanguard force where they would strike an enemy defensive position at their weakest spot and create an opening for their brothers to exploit and overwhelm their enemies. Their excellence in this avenue convinced The Emperor to move forward with their gene-seed. In short time they were approved to become a Legion.

==XX Legion in the Great Crusade==
Morale and unity continued to plague the XXth squad in their early days as a Legion. Commander Mikneli and Hektor began to run an internal campaign to unite his troops. They took the name Ash Wraiths as a rallying point to spread esprit de corps. The name itself came from a nickname given to the squad by one of the Merikan tribes after several successful infiltrations. Rumors began to spread of the squad managing to melt into the ashes of the wastes only to reform themselves behind formations. He carefully cultivated an image of his Legion that focused on their ability to fight smarter than the others. Others were bigger, stronger, and faster, but none could do quite what the Twentieth could. He worked constantly towards cultivating pride in that identity. They were quiet. They were smart. They were efficient. This idea slowly took hold in the early Legion. One or two Astartes would walk with firmer gait. Others would apply themselves harder towards training than before. The fledgling Legion still suffered issues when dealing with "outsiders," but the members of the Legion would stand together against their rivals. By the end of the Merican Campaign the Ash Wraiths were a Legion in more than just name.

As the Crusade left Terra the XX Legion distinguished themselves for exceptional work in thoroughly spreading the Imperial Truth and were applauded for their efforts. Their methods were considered effective despite taking somewhat longer to achieve success. Worlds taken by them were quick to follow the Imperium. Oftentimes their efforts would leave much of the planetary infrastructure intact. Commander Mikneli considered the additional time worthwhile as reconstruction times were reduced and planets were producing goods and soldiers for the Imperial Army much earlier than some of their brother Legions. They were awarded numerous citations by the Mechanicum for successfully retrieving several STC's and other technological marvels long lost to time.

The strategic doctrine during this time was fairly straight forward. They would often work in concert with large numbers of the Imperial Army. The Ash Wraiths would infiltrate into enemy territory to outflank them and destroy supply lines. The Imperial Army would follow with Tactical Squads at their van acting as a hammer to smash against the assembled Legionary anvil. Their reputation from Terra was well remembered when working with other Astartes elements and those who reported directly to the Emperor. Joint ventures often saw them do little more than sabotage and assassination missions. The mindset of the Imperium seemed to keep focusing on that aspect of their abilities despite their excellence in all aspects of warfare.

These issues came to a head after the disaster of Operation Wakiya. The Legion was stripped of its ability to gain conquest honors and delegated to supporting Imperial Army forces and other Legions in their conquests. The blow to morale was devastating and created a long downward spiral lasting until well after Rogerius Merrill took command of his forces.

Rogerius Merrill was discovered in 870.M30. He had a brief stay with The Emperor to learn of the advances in technology. Command of the planet of Profi Tiroedd was officially handed to the Tribal Council and the X Chapter (Recruits). Merrill was awarded command of the XX Legion in a small ceremony officiated by The Emperor once these tasks were complete. The official statement described throngs of Marines cheering for the return of their beloved Primarch and a myriad of celebrations for the auspicious occasion that it was. Firsthand accounts tell a different story. One of a disheartened Legion stoically and dispassionately accepting a new commander while a quiet and subdued Primarch reluctantly and falteringly accepted command before embarking towards their new homeworld.

Rogerius was swift to rebuild the Legion in his image. He pushed each Marine through a vigorous trial through their harsh new planet. Once complete he set his mind to overhauling the Legion's structure. Morale througout the Legion grew slowly during this time. This was a drastic change of mindset as the Legion set about with one goal. If others were to call them nothing but assassins and saboteurs they would teach them the true meaning of the titles. They were the Iron Rangers now. They would not conquer. They would not drive to the heart of their enemies. They would hamstring them. They would cripple their ability to fight and continue to inflict pain until the enemy begged to surrender. This is how a fighter won not only the fight, but ensured there would be no future conflicts.

The new philosophy would soon be put to the test. The Legion was sent into the fray of a colonization effort beleaguered by Eldar Pirates convinced the new real estate of man was theirs to control. The resulting battle was longer and more drawn out than what was initially expected. Rather than fighting the xenos in force and outright annihilating them the Iron Rangers fought on their own turf and almost by their own rules. The following weeks were a drawn-out series of hit-and-run fights, infiltration, and sabotage. Each force constantly tried to sneak past the other and eliminate their strong points. In the end it was the XX Legion that stood victorious. Rogerius Merrill walked his men out of the conflict, handed the colony fleet their system, and promptly contacted his father with a full battle report and a statement that bordered on demanding the return of the Legion's Rite of Conquest. After some thought and inflection, The Emperor agreed and the honor of the Iron Rangers was restored, if only in writing.

Over the next several years the Iron Rangers would make a name for themselves in conflicts. Planets fell in quick succession to their Expeditionary Fleets. Through it all they were followed by the whispers of human and astartes alike. Imperial Army forces often requested working with the Legion as the Iron Rangers would bring training, expertise, and equipment to their forces. Other Legions would avoid the XX for fear of tarnishing their reputation. A conquest meant significantly less to a Legion when they were fighting an opponent whose command and supply were completely crippled. Both of these responses caused the Iron Rangers to bear their heraldry with pride.

Ultimately this momentum haltered with the Battle of Konigratz V. The system was set to be taken by a combination of Iron Rangers and Scale Bearers forces. Several members of the XX found themselves surrounded and cut off from supply. They found themselves out of ammunition and fuel long before reinforcements could clear a path to their position. A Scale Bearers force finally carved a path through the xenos horde only to find the Iron Rangers alive and well but fighting using the weapons of their enemies. Reports were filed of the incident and eventually Rogerius Merrill was forced to take action against his men for their indiscretion.

Over the next several years small unsubstantiated reports began to filter through of a disturbing nature. None ever met The Emperor's ears but they collected to form a pattern. This culminated in the battle of Hyptheria III. A report filtered through that accused the Iron Rangers of eliminating a small Imperial Army detachment. The commander of the unit believed Rogerius Merrill had the force eliminated for witnessing the Legion use xenos weaponry. Merrill vehemently  denied the accusation, claiming the lost unit was killed during an ambush by enemy forces. Hektor would attempt to suppress both reports, but not before Tiran again discovered the issue. He looked through past reports and noticed a trend of Iron Rangers using scavenged alien technology. Pages of battlefield reports in hand, he left to contact The Emperor of his discovery.

The Emperor was not pleased with Tiran's accusation and ordered the XX Legion fleets to assemble immediately in orbit above the planet Rubis V. But not before Hektor sent a discrete message to Merrill detailing the nature of the orders and instructions to use the time he had to cleanse his fleets of any possible xenos taint. Once all parties were collected the Emperor Himself interrogated Rogerius Merrill of the reports in front of his legion. The Primarch expected to simply provide evidence that any xenos tech and any possibly tainted astartes were removed. He found himself forced to deflect accusations that he knowingly fostered an environment which allowed the use to grow rampant. Merrill's excuses and plausible deniability found no purchase in his father's eyes. He was forced to watch as the XVII Legion stripped his men and ships of any equipment not directly issued to all Space Marines by the Emperor. All fleets were further accompanied by a Mechanicus attachment dedicated to ensuring the proper use of Imperium equipment and enforce the ban on xenos items.

Many sources state that the xenos corruption had already began its influence by that time. The answer to that is unknown. What is known is there was a shift in the attitude of the Legion after that day. As a whole they became more suspicious of outsiders. Imperial Army attachments were pushed into swearing oaths of allegiance. The XXth would slink to the shadows in the presence of other Legions. The only exception would be the presence of Hektor himself, who they embraced with open arms.

===Notable Campaigns===
*'''785.M30 [[Unification_Wars_(Hektor_Heresy)#Pacification_of_the_Boeotian_Lowlands|Boeotian Lowlands]]''': Many consider the attack on Boeotia to be both the high and low point of the early XX Legion. The attack itself was extremely successful in all its objectives. It gained a considerable amount of glory and honor to the Ash Wraiths. It also started cementing the idea of using the Legion as assassins in the mind of the Imperial Commanders and other Legions. Mikneli himself considered it a tactical success and strategic failure.

*'''814.M30 Operation Wakiya''': While assisting a Mechanicus takeover of a hostile subsystem the XX Legion was tasked with hunting down and eliminating various targets determined by the Mechanicus. Once the fighting was over the Emperor was given the choice of punishing the Legion or Mechanicus for attacking civilian targets. In an attempt to maintain the Treaty of Mars, the Emperor permanently censured the Legion as a scapegoat for the Mechanicus' actions.

*'''873.M30 The Long Hunt''': The first major campaign with Rogerius Merrill in command of the Iron Rangers Legion. Merrill used the newly retrained Legion in a long stealth and subterfuge strategy against a major Eldar task force. The victory allowed Merrill to remove the censure imposed on his Legion.

*'''879.M30 The Konigraz Campaign''': An Iron Rangers Expeditionary force was tasked with assisting the Scale Bearers in taking control of an alien controlled system. During this time a small element was forced to utilize eldritch xenos weaponry in order to survive a battle. The actions of the astartes in question and Merrill's attempts to cover up the incident began a slow descent of corruption within the ranks of the XX Legion.

*'''883.M30 The Siege of Habsgrad''': Considered one of the Iron Rangers' finest victories. The campaign to take Habsgrad was over within 24 hours of the breakdown of talks. There were a total of 175 casualties in the conflict.

*'''887.M30 The Conquest of Hyptheria''': The Iron Rangers found themselves fighting against a xenos opponent alongside Imperial Army forces. During the battle for the capital of Hyptheria III a detachment of Imperial Army soldiers was killed immediately after contact with Iron Rangers forces. This led directly to the Emperor's inspection of the XX Legion and their temporary disarmament by Tiran Osoros.

*'''897.M30 The Cleansing''': A rearmed Iron Rangers was sent to assist the conquered world of Hrath against an unknown xenos assailant. Merrill deployed his entire Legion to cull any who were not immediately loyal to him and his own beliefs. The resulting campaign left the Legion bloody and bitter yet united in spirit and cause.

==Heresy==
===[[Hektor_Heresy#Diamat|Diamat]]===
Simultaneously with the battles of [[Hektor_Heresy#Ostium_and_Olmer|Ostium and Olmer]] Rogerius Merrill engaged Tiran Osoros above the forge world of Diamat. The battle was swift and brutal. In the end the Iron Rangers were victorious and fled towards Hektor's fleet while the Scale Bearers were bloodied and scattered.

===Red Road to Terra===
After destroying the Scale Bearer chain of command and scattering its Marines beyond conceivable threat, The Iron Rangers joined Hektor's forces as they advanced to Terra. The XXth Legion Fleet worked in concert with the IX Legion as the vanguard. The Legion's role was to utilize its' fleet's disruptive capabilities to distract, delay, and scatter the fleets of the Silver Cataphracts.

'''The Martian Expedition:''' As a sign of good faith from Hektor to the growing Mechanicus rebel forces a small contingent of Iron Rangers was sent to support Vilyon Luthier and other Autopostate forces. The group was selected because a sampling was necessary to both solidify diplomatic ties and allow an Astartes presence which was more suited to infiltration and sabotage than direct warfare. The group was led by Cysgodol Dawnsiwr and Arth Codital.

===Sol===
The Iron Rangers deployed largely to take and destroy the fortifications to the Palace. The direction of their forces was performed largely by Cellweirwyr. Robyn Auldmann was directing the Legion's air and void assets throughout the system. Hektor attempted to coerce Merrill into leading his forces, but the Primarch was engulfed in his own lunacy by this point. Instead he and numerous members of the Milwyr Cwyn used Terra as a massive hunting ground, targeting the Terran nobility, Auxiliaria officers, and the occasional member of the Custodes as per the whims of the Primarch.

After Hektor's death, the XX Legion was amongst the first to abandon the planet. Many attribute this to Rogerius Merrill's pragmatism and believe he was simply retreating from a fight he could not lose. Firsthand accounts point more towards Merrill simply losing interest in the battle and withdrawing.

==Post-Heresy==
===The Scouring===
During The Scouring the XX Legion again presented itself to be problematic. They showed almost no interest in recovering their losses and retreating. Merrill seemed determined to simply spread chaos and disorder. Their pattern of movement was incoherent. Targets for slaughter were seemingly selected at random. An aggravated and enraged Alexandri gathered the Cataphracts and Strelki forces to assault Profi Tiroedd in an attempt to force the XX Legion into conflict. The siege was successful in that goal. Yet Alexandri found himself fighting a guerilla army on the ground while simultaneously defending his forces from a newly-formed Daemon Primarch in the void. A stalemate ensued as Alexandri continuously goaded Merrill into attacking his lines of armor and artillery while Merrill attempted to draw Alexandri's forces into spreading thin to perform his signature hit-and-run strikes against the Silver Cataphracts.

Eventually Alexandri's forces on the surface of Profi Tiroedd began to siege Merrill's home fortress monastery. The assault forced the Iron Rangers to perform one more daring maneuver and punched a hole through the Silver Cataphract blockade. Once on the ground the Iron Rangers put up a bloody defense while recovering all of the weapons, armor, tribesmen, and geneseed possible.

The final result was a narrow victory by Alexandri, as Profi Tiroedd was almost completely destroyed and the Iron Rangers were forced to retreat to the Eye of Terror with what little remained of their geneseed banks and loyal local tribesmen, at the cost of heavy damage to the Rosskar chain of command.

===The Legion Wars===
After the Scouring, the Iron Rangers found themselves adrift in many ways. Merrill had failed them and was spiraling even further into insanity. Their homeworld was lost and destroyed. They had no purpose save the destruction of all order. This purpose turned inwards first, with many of the Legionnaires abandoning their perceived doom and scattering most to the wind. A small contingent stayed true to their Primarch and followed him to their new home, naming it Yr Helfa Annherfynol. They were the first to claim it as belonging to the XX Legion and instated its customs of hunting. Marines roamed without direction or concern through the possessed forests, hunting and being hunted.

The majority of the Marines of the XX found themselves merged into one Warband after another. Yet there were always problems. They found themselves fighting against common interests often. Warband Lords and Champions found they could neither motivate nor control the former Iron Rangers. Their skillset was always in demand, yet they did not work well for more than a few battles with a larger force. Each Marine found his own fate. Some would assassinate their leaders and tear the warband apart from within. Some would become careless and find themselves killed by an especially paranoid Chaos Lord. Many more would simply leave their Warbands or be ejected. Then a strange thing started to happen. They would find themselves, in ones or twos, sometimes a squad. These small numbers would band together into larger groups. Never would they truly be a Warband, but they would continue to grow. Slowly growing, these groups would find themselves moving inexorably towards Yr Helfa Annherfynol.

Merrill would welcome these groups with open arms as only he could. By forcing them to prove themselves to him by joining in his eternal hunt. And so the Marines found the only home they could live in, with the only leader they could follow.

===Modern Times===
The XX Legion rarely leaves its home unless necessary. When it does enter realspace, they often act as part of the early stages of a Black Crusade. They quietly infiltrate and destroy loyalist regimes in order to prepare planets for assault and give the Chaos forces room to maneuver and expand. While widely accepted to fill this role, many new Warmasters come to despise the Legion after their initial push. Merrill himself loses interest in massive campaigns rather quickly, preferring to sit on a planet and "play with its inhabitants." The rest of the Legion rarely shows any more initiative than their Primarch. Occasionally they attack Imperial territories on their own. These attacks are greatly feared by select individuals for the amount of havoc they can cause. This is multiplied by the fact that Merrill usually prefers Hive Worlds and other centers of industry, as many resentful workers make for a prime target to exploit.