Editing Scale Bearers (section)

==Sacred Band==
The XVII Legion Astartes were noted to have served admirably-though without distinction-during the initial stages of the Merican Campaign. This would change during the fighting in the Merican Dustbowl. The center of the continent was a vast wasteland, home to countless numbers of 'Road Warrior' tribes fighting amongst one another for dwindling resources in the shadows of burned-out hives.

As the armies of the Emperor moved inland they were fiercely opposed by these violent waste-dwellers, who cooperated for the first time in their history to face the invaders. They saw how the Imperium cleaved through the coast and were too clever to face the massed regiments of Thunder Warriors or the infantry of the Imperial Army in pitched battle. The nomads used the high mobility of their technicals and weapon-bikes to strike at supply convoys, isolated Imperial Army forces, and exposed flanks.  The actions of the 'Road Warrior' tribes slowed the Emperor’s advance to a crawl. [[Hektor Cincinnatus]] was ordered to defeat or subjugate the tribes so the advance across Merica could continue. Hektor permitted Rychad Owain of the XVII Sacred Band to copy the tribes' own 'bike' techniques for use against them. The XVIIth heavily modified these captured bikes so that each could bear a Marine's weight and weaponry, and performed a series of successful counter-ambushes which destroyed the fighting strength of one prominent tribe and proved the XVII's use of 'fast attack bikes' as an effective tactic.

This pattern would be repeated and the XVII became the core of a bike-mounted force, sweeping behind enemy formations and striking at exposed flanks in lightning attacks. The Imperial armies finally saw progress after months of stagnation, as the tribes fell one by one to the advancing Imperial forces. At the conclusion of that campaign when Imperial Forces finally reached the other side of the dustbowl, the XVII Legion was granted the title ‘The Imperial Riders’ by Primarch Hektor, among the first of the fledgling legions to earn a name for themselves.