Steel Marshals

Summary of Legion XXVI

Offensive Siege Experts, Close Quarters Combat

Legion Tactics

The Steel Marshal's are a force built to raze enemy strongholds to the ground and crush the heart of their resistance. While other legions crush the enemy by weight of bombardment or armor, or else defeat the fortifications by cautious planning or brutal swiftness, the Marshals wage war through grit and strength of the marines themselves. They specialize in aggressive engineering, using excavators, drills, or their own bare hands to undermine the enemy and bring their walls crashing down. "Friendly" rivals to the Gatekeepers, they were clever in building forward positions, strongpoints and muster grounds from which to prosecute the extensive mining and engineering projects that circumvent enemy defenses and drive the men into the enemy from unexpected angles.

Once a means of bypassing the enemy's static defenses has been formed, the Marshals drive the onslaught home with a spearhead of heavily armored infantry. Specialist formations equipped with flamers and area-denial weapons drive the enemy from the breach, clearing the way for their battle-brothers to erupt from the earth and get to grips with their foe. The fighting here is often brutal and close quarters, as the Marshals often emerge within the bastions of the enemy and are forced to fight from room to room with swords and axes as much as they do with gun and flamer.

Legion Equipment

Trademark of the Steel Marshal's arsenal is an extensive array of mining engines, geo-augurs, and similar devices. Heavy lift vehicles line the bays of their transport craft, which haul the equipment needed to excavate on a grand scale.

The individual marines are heavily armored; the legion boasts a large stockpile of Mk 3 "Iron" power armor. Terminator formations are common, and have developed early-pattern storm-shields. Additionally, the individual marine is quite often armed with incendiary weapons and power weapons are common, even among the rank and file. A variant of the common power sword used by the Steel Marshals was the Austrich Power Blade, a weapon designed to deflect and parry rather than block, it's use in duels and close quarters combat made it popular for officers to use.

Unique to the Steel Marshals is the Castra pattern dreadnought, which eschews long ranged heavy firepower for close in heavy weaponry. Sporting a breacher siege drill for its main weapon with underslung heavy flamer, it is meant to grind through earth, stone, rockcrete and plasteel to immolate the foe within their fortifications. It would pave the way for future developments that lead to the "Ironclad" dreadnought.

Legion Doctrine

In the wake of Roman Albrecht's arrival, the Steel Marshals adopted a strong, unified culture espousing the virtues of the crusade and the strength of man. This code quickly evolved into a fully fledged philosophy that permeated the culture of the legion. It espouses unwavering resolve, peerless courage, and above all the endless strength of man. Though bordering on a religious fervor, this ideal within the legion remained detached from superstition and mysticism. Instead, it promotes ritual to reaffirm the virtues of reason, and to prove the endurance and willpower of the individual marine through trials of stamina and tests of strength.

The shift became most marked in the prosecution of war; where the Marauders would raze the foe to the ground and move on, the Marshals burn the heart from the enemy and offer the defeated the chance to join the imperium as proven survivors and adherents to the doctrine of the Retainers Creed. In this respect, new recruits would in many cases be drawn from the best and hardiest of the natives of worlds brought into the fold; they would be claimed by the Marshals to add new blood to the legion and strengthen the belief that to be man is to be ascendant in the galaxy.

Roman Albrecht, Primarch of The Steel Marshals

Youth

It was to be fated that the young Primarch would be flung to the world of Centauri Primus, a planet of nobility and honor. Unlike many of his brothers, the young Primarch was not found by the natives of the planet, but spent many years alone in isolation in the vast wilds. It wasn't until a wealthy hunter happened upon the wild Primarch that he would be introduced to society. The lower noble took him in, giving him the name Roman, since he had "roamed the wilds so long." Roman quickly learned language, and any study that the noble, Olivaw Albrecht, taught the young man. Once Olivaw was sure that Roman was sufficiently 'civilized', the single father took him to see the rest of his world. New to the ideas of cities, Roman explored every inch of it, and eventually happened upon a manor where the rival of his adoptive father lived. Olivaw was spotted by Valrious Talon, and 'welcomed' into his home.

Though Roman had not known it, Valrious had challenged Olivaw to a duel. When weapons were drawn, Olivaw explained the situation to him. Not willing to allow his older father to die against the younger, more fit Valrious, Roman took the blade and accepted on his fathers behalf. Valrious mocked the 'wild boy' and readied himself. As the duel began, the inexperience of Roman was obvious, but even as they clashed blades the Primarchs natural strength and abilities kept him safe, until he eventually overpowered and killed Valrious in a series of rapid strikes. Shocked, Olivaw approached the boy, explaining what this meant. Since it was the House Albrecht that killed Valrious, House Talon would come under the fold of Albrecht, along with their vast network of wealth and power. Brimming with pride at not only protecting his adoptive father, Roman Albrecht had earned his last name and doubled his fathers holdings. It would not be the last time he would defend the honor of House Albrecht. He was quickly inducted into the Couro Prido as a full member, and his ascension was guaranteed.