Editing Void Angels (section)

==A Legion in the Great Crusade==
[[File:Lumey.jpg|225px|thumb|Gaspard Lumey]]
{{See also|Gaspard Lumey}}
The tiny cadre that Antoine Antonelle had assembled before Gaspard Lumey was found now became the nucleus for a rapidly-growing Legion.  Though Ciban IV and the Markian Pact did not have the population of Old Terra, these were worlds full of healthy humans, largely free of mutations and steeped in a rich culture already close to the Imperial Truth.  Whereas before the Fifth had struggled for even a trickle of recruits, the gene-wrights and bio-Magi newly assigned to the newly-established '''Collegium Majoris''' on Ciban IV were astonished by the quantity and quality of aspirants presented to them.  Rather than swamping the Antonelle's limited staff with a flood of Neophytes, the decision was made to select only the very cream of the crop.  In the process young men who would have been considered for the honour of joining the famous Warriors of Dawn had they been presented on Terra were instead turned away and inducted into the officer programmes of the Fifth Legion's increasingly-powerful auxilia.

While these recruits were inducted, turned into Space Marines, and readied for war the first years of Gaspard Lumey's rule of the Fifth seemed quiet.  His '''Establishment Decree''' of 851.M30 laid out new roles for the Legionnaires and formalised the structure of its squadrons.  Along with his organisational reform, Lumey imparted a new sense of purpose and understanding to his Legion.  The ideals of the Great Crusade, close to their own culture, were taken up easily by recruits from the Markian subsector.  What the Primarch added was the understanding that the Xenos, Witch-kings, and petty tyrants who had long preyed upon mankind were pitiless and unyielding.  He taught the defenders of humanity that they had to be just as resolved and uncompromising as their foes.  Those who put petty self-interest above the need for a united humanity were almost as bad as its avowed enemies.

In the field of battle, Fifth Legion managed to round out the pacification of the [[Al-Sherar Sector]] with the aid of the Forge World [[Ghalhal]] and auxiliary troops from Ciban IV and the Markian Pact.  The bitter fighting on Ciban IV during the [[Al-Sherar Sector War]] hammered home the lessons that Lumey had taught, and the counter-offensive that secured the Sector proved the correctness of his programme.  More importantly, the discovery of the mighty Forge World [[Al-Sherar]] gave the Fifth access to a flood of advanced equipment to make good the supplies they had been denied from the Segmentum Solar.  At this juncture, Gaspard Lumey and his senior commanders decided to found a covert training center, or ''Collegium Minoris'', to train additional recruits on the moon of Ciban IV, Mikkeline.  A second Collegium Minoris was founded shortly afterwards on [[the Markian Pact]] world, Kouralia.  These secret facilities were supervised by Fifth Legion's own apothecaries and assisted by the Kazi of Al-Sherar.  Battle brothers trained in the Collegia Minoris were assigned to secret units, so-called ''Wraith Corps'' tasked with combating Xenos on the flanks of the Fifth Legion's publicly acknowledged Expeditionary Fleets.

The rationale for this deception remains unclear.  In the secret histories of the modern Void Angels chapter, the matter is explained as a safeguard against internal enemies and implies that the Fifth Legion commanders feared a military attack organised by the Sacred Band.  This theory has a superficial plausibility but does not sit well with the decision to disband the Wraith Corps and integrate their manpower into the main body of the Legion following the [[Latoti Crusade|hard fighting]] against [[WAAAGH! Rok'Ed]] in 897-898.M30.  During this period of refit, the Collegia Minoris were given official founding ceremonies and would henceforth openly contribute to the Legion's ever-expanding demands.  With their strength now open to the rest of the Imperium, Fifth Legion set out on an audacious display.  The Legion's famous accomplishment of bringing one thousand sectors into Compliance during the year 900.M30 might be somewhat exaggerated, but it won them their famous moniker '''Winged Victory''' and considerable attention.

Yet if weakness had brought contempt, strength now raised fears.  The strong ties of culture that bound Winged Victory's Space Marines, their homeworld of Ciban IV, and their allies in [[the Markian Pact]] led to mutterings that Gaspard Lumey was attempting to build his own power-base, independent of the Emperor.  The '''Sacred Band''' of Hektor Cincinnatus were particularly hostile, and the Primarch of the [[Heralds of Hektor|Wolves of Dawn]] became increasingly suspicious of Lumey's activity - perhaps justifiably, given the Wraith Corps deception.  Further attention to the Fifth's combat records also won them a fearsome reputation for ruthlessness.  Though the Legion welcomed those who were prepared to accept the Imperial Truth, they consistently met resistance with brutality and punished those who dared to defy the Emperor as an object lesson for other peoples.

At the [[Council of Nikaea (Hektor Heresy)|Council of Nikaea]], Lumey took the podium to demand strict regulations of psykers.  However his bitterness towards The Voidseer drove his case into extremism and a universal condemnation of ''"any and all traffic with the Irrational."''  If the immediate decision of the Emperor was to his liking, the outcome of the Council was costly for Lumey.  His tirade turned many of the other Primarchs against him and the action at Karazak was put under investigation.  Eventually, the Military Council ruled that the Fifth had employed excessive force in subduing the Core Worlds and Winged Victory was dispatched to the Galactic fringe, where worlds were less populous.  [[Hektor Cincinnatus]] remarked, ''"Though none can doubt the crusading zeal of the Fifth Legion, it is a cause of great regret that their fervour led to the ravaging of a world as useful as Karazak."''

On the long voyage out, Lumey circulated an essay among his men explaining his acceptance of Imperial censure.  According to the Primarch, censure of the Fifth proved the good health of the Imperium's institutions.  Had they escaped without investigation, trial, and appropriate punishment, it would be a sign that the dream of mankind was imperiled by its own armies.  The irony of this statement has not been lost on later generations, but Lumey's message and especially his concluding phrase, ''"If we are to dwell in the Void, then let us be its Angels!"'' was eagerly taken up by the Fifth Legion: the '''Void Angels'''.


===Notable Campaigns===

*'''853.M30: [[Pacification of the Chwiorydd Hardd]]'''.  The Chwiorydd Hardd system was an outpost of a slaving race known as the Amatteir.  Gaspard Lumey chose to start his pacification of the Al-Sherar Sector here in order to eliminate a possible threat to the Imperium's new conquests.  The operation was successful and blooded the Fifth's Auxilia, having a particularly strong effect on the soldiers from the Markian Pact.

*'''857.M30: [[Al-Sherar Sector War]]'''.  Following their success at Chwiorydd Hardd, Fifth Legion faced a severe test.  The vengeful Amatteir launched a planetary invasion of Gaspard Lumey's homeworld.  A bitter resistance campaign, eventually reinforced by the Legio Cataegis of Ghalhal, threw off the Xenos.  Lumey then seized the initiative and launched a brilliant series of counter-attacks, shattering the Amatteir Empire and rediscovering the mighty Forge World [[Al-Sherar]].

*'''868.M30: The [[Curis-4 Compliance]]'''  Gaspard Lumey's [[Expedition Fleets (Hektor Heresy)|25th Expedition Fleet]] encountered an advanced human civilisation, dominated by a fierce warrior caste.  The Fifth Legion's methods, though bloody and ruthless, broke the enemy resistance and left most of the civilian infrastructure intact.

*'''897-898.M30: [[Latoti Crusade]]''': [[WAAAGH! Rok'Ed]] batters the Fifth Legion's Crusade Fleets.  Lumey and Antonelle oversee the campaign to contain the rampaging Orks, but their victory is only assured by the intervention of Eldar from [[Craftworld Meros]].

*'''900.M30: One Thousand Victories'''.  In an outstanding feat of military planning, Fifth Legion secures a thousand sectors in a single year.  Mopping up operations by the Imperial Army continue until 904.M30, but Imperial Remembrancers overlook this in favour of repeating Roman Albrecht's glowing tribute to "Winged Victory" throughout human space.

*'''973-976.M30: [[Pacification of the Harakien Sector]]'''.  As the threat of the [[Harakien Eldar Empire]] became more clear, Gaspard Lumey was tasked with its elimination.  Fifth Legion spearheaded the operation, but the great ranks of the [[Imperial Army (Hektor Heresy)|Imperial Army]] played an important role.  After the campaign, the Primarch greatly praised the heroism shown by ordinary men and women, such as the stubborn [[the Auron Infantries|38th Auron Infantry]] and Captain Jeanne d'Orléans of the Ciban Chasseurs.

*'''998.M30: [[Core Worlds Campaign]]'''.  The Core Worlds confederation was one of the most developed human space realms encountered by the expanding Imperium.  Conscious of their strength, the Core Lords expected the Imperium to make an accommodation.  Had these proud aristocrats been better-briefed on Gaspard Lumey, they might have negotiated with the Primarch more carefully.  Instead, the Core Lords' arrogance and greed ruined any hope of peace.  On the third day of fruitless talks, Gaspard Lumey called an end to the proceedings with a sharp, bitter denunciation.  ''"You have answered every concession with another demand.  Your greed will be your end."''  Winged Victory quickly moved to attack, and hostilities lasted just a few months.  The Fifth Legion laid waste to the Core Worlds that dared to resist, while their meeker brethren hastened to submit.  Though others muttered that Gaspard Lumey had cost the Imperium potential loyal subjects and industrial facilities, the Emperor never censured him.