The Bulwark

This page details people, events, and organisations from the /tg/ Heresy, a fan re-working of the Warhammer 40,000 Universe. See the /tg/ Heresy Timeline and Galaxy pages for more information on the Alternate Universe.

"Bring us your best, for we will take them all."

The Bulwark
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Battle Cry	"Hold fast! "
Number	XXVIII
Founding	First Founding
Successors of	N/A
Successor Chapters	The Ramparts, The Rubble
Primarch	Sebastion Rex
Homeworld	The Arelon System
Strength	80,000 at the beginning of the Heresy.
Specialty	Prolonged Siege Warfare
Allegiance	Renegade
Colours	Dark Slate, Light Mahogany, Light Silver

Summary of Legion XXVIII

Numeration: The XXVIIIth Legion

Primogenator: Sebastion Rex

Cognomen (Prior): Gatekeepers

Observed Strategic Tendencies: Siege Warfare, Expansion and Occupation Operations

Noteworthy Domains: The Arelon system and various smaller sectors within the Empire

Allegiance: Unaligned

During the Great Crusade, the Gatekeepers Legion was used to bolster the defenses of any planets that weren't currently a warzone; after conquering a planet, they would leave behind a garrison to keep watch over the planet instead of another Legion wasting its potential resources doing so. Due to this, the Legion didn't see action nearly as often as other Legions.

Legion Doctrine

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Patience. Space Marines, the transhuman demigods; Despite being the Emperor's Angels of Death and the harbingers of humanity's victory across the galaxy, they often lack the simple human capacity for patience. A raging horde of cannibals who seeks their prey, a mechanized legion of assault tanks, an airborne strike force of assault marines; all focused on bringing the fight to their enemies, striking while the iron is hot, and grinding their foes into the dirt. These tactics result in a swift victory and a captured planet.

But what about afterwards? How many lives are lost to ensure one planet is taken? How high is the probability that the planet will revolt soon after? Statistical probability dictates that for every 3 planets conquered by force, at least one will revolt within a century period. For every planet risen in revolt, others will join the cause at the site of the Imperium's weakness. Despite the initial speed of the conquest of the system and its planets, resources are wasted by rushing and by further pacification in the future.

Ever pragmatic, the Gatekeepers Legion was known for taking their time in their conquests, minimizing losses, and pacifying the populations through extensive re-processing programs.

[More to come, expanding upon last sentence]

Legion Colors

A Sergeant in Bulwark livery

Notable Legionnaires

The Sacred Band; Members of the Inner Wall

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• Arch Forfender Ostaco

- Largest of the Gatekeepers' Towers and Tower of the Defensive Division, Ostaco rarely spoke, but when he did, his commands are heeded without hesitation. A father figure to his men, Ostaco can be considered kind by Space Marine standards, often attempting to ensure his men follow the safest plans and carry the best suited gear for the situation. Often in charge of field operations, Ostaco was known to work closely with Tower Sedonar due to the Defensive Division having the highest demand for supplies. Ostaco was strongly bonded to all of his close brethren from the Sacred Band, but none moreso than Sedonar.

A firm believer in leading his men from the front, Ostaco would often pilot a pivotal Node or primary fortress to the surface in order to ensure his men had the highest chance of survival and could benefit from his leadership.

As a kind and compassionate man, Ostaco took Arkemidea's betrayal the hardest, even moreso after losing Sedonar, one of his closest friends in the Legion. After that, Ostaco no longer laughed or smiled, as he had before. He threw himself into battle, any semblance of control or strategy long passed. Soon after, Ostaco gave his life to defend his Primarch from what would have been a fatal blast from an enemy Multi-melta during the final battle of the Crucible.

• Arch Artillerist Yakobus

- Tower of Artillery Division Survived to join the Ramparts

• Arch Quartermaster Sedonar

In charge of resource management within the Legion, Sedonar considered his job to be one of the most important within the Legion, despite his brethren often looking down on him. Tower of the Inventorial Division, Sedonar ensured that all Bastions were properly outfitted and supplied before, during, and after every campaign. A genius with numbers, it was very rare for Sedonar to make even a trivial clerical error. However, he could not have predicted the betrayal of Tower Arkemidea; Sedonar was the first to lose his life in the carnage wrought by Dz'larhonz.

• Arch Confessor Rivela

A devout follower of the Imperial Truth, Rivela is a man steeped in tradition and mysticism. He was often found inspecting the other Bastions for any inkling of heresy in its many forms; this lead to his Bastion specializing in an inquisitorial branch of information acquisition. This usually involved recon missions before a beachhead was formed on a planet, but it also held a dark secret. Any prisoners or heretics acquired by the Gatekeepers during the Great Crusade were given to Rivela. It was not a rare occasion for heretics from other Legions to end up being turned over to Rivela for "re-processing." None who entered Rivela's flagship, known as the Devout Servitude, were ever seen outside it again, but the 85% accuracy of the information sent out from it spoke for itself.

• Arch Examiner Giuseppe

- Tower of Recruitment/Training Division

• Arch Magister of the Inner Wall Callisto Arkemidea, First to Lead

What would normally be a logistical nightmare is counterbalanced by Arch Magister Callisto Arkemidea, Tower of the Management Division. As every Tower had a specialized role, Arkemidea made sure that each Bastion properly meshed with each of its brother Bastions in order to achieve optimal operational performance. However, his pivotal role within the Legion eventually lead to his downfall; ensorceled by the Dark Powers after an encounter with a daemonic artefact, his lust for power lead to his summoning of a Greater Daemon within the chambers of the Inner Wall on Arelon.

• Arch Strategist Giacomo

Always overly critical of himself and his plans, Giacomo was nonetheless one of the most experienced and knowledgeable members of the Gatekeepers during the Great Crusade. Often working alongside Tower Arkemidea, Giacomo's strategic prowess was the primary reason the Gatekeepers Legion was often deployed in the most tactically sound and easily defensible areas during deployments. Despite this, he would often berate himself for any loss of Marines that could have been prevented in hindsight. He was known to have created a shrine within his personal quarters; by the time of the Heresy, there was said to have been tens of thousands of candles present, yet they were all well-kept and lit at all times. Presumed to have been lost into the Warp with his Primarch after the final battle of the Crucible.

• Arch Constructor Soste

- Tower of Manufactorum Division

• Arch Navarch Albimare

- Tower of Naval Division

• Arch Adjudicator Andarro

More machine than man, Andarro was known to have replaced at least 75% of his body with cybernetics by the time the Unification Wars had ended. A rather brash and eccentric man, Andarro lead many tank charges against the Imperium's enemies during the Great Crusade. Andarro's resolute indestructibility become a running joke with the Legion as officers often said in jest that it was easier to kill a Primarch than Andarro. Fortunately, this was not entirely untrue. During one pivotal battle of the Great Crusade, Andarro's Fellblade suffered a mortal blow to its generator and exploded, flinging Andarro in 2 or 3 different directions. However, the Legion was able to save what little of him remained and he was interned within a mighty Contemptor Dreadnought for the duration of the Crusade.

Legion Gene-seed Status and Defects

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- Lyman's Ear; Defective

- Catalepsean Node; Defective

Legion Tactics

On the offensive, the Bulwark have limitless patience. Once an LZ has been cleared by the Vanguard, pre-fabricated fortresses and other defenses are brought in from orbit. Slowly expanding out from a central beachhead, the Bulwark's fortresses will continue to grow in number until a good portion of the planet is covered entirely by them. At this point, the Bulwark need only wait for their enemies to assault their defenses and summarily be shattered upon them. However, if this tactic does not work, bribes may be offered to key members of the resistance in return for their cooperation. As a third and final option, all areas outside of the control of that planet's Bastion will be devastated via mass missile and artillery barrages. As this wastes valuable resources, this option is only used in dire or rushed circumstances.

Legion Equipment

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Pre-fab Fortresses; - built on Doward - Legion keeps large stock at all times

Diggers; - Used to circumvent enemy frontline infantry defenses - Primarily used by Grapples

Hades Breaching Drills; - Entrenched enemies may need persuasion

Moles; - Used to undermine possible enemy defenses

Nodes; - explained in the Ramparts section, will move here eventually

Legion Characteristics

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Serious, driven, and dour, the Gatekeepers are fierce defenders who value personal toughness and stubbornness. Any conquered planet is seen as a valuable resource to the Imperium of man, but not so much that excess Astartes lives should be shed taking it. Due to this, the Bulwark almost seem paradoxical; they seek to preserve a planet and its resources, but would rather destroy the majority of a planet than lose a company of Marines.

Outside of the battlefield, the Marines of the Bulwark are a stoic and self-reflective sort, often spending large amounts of time in solitude and meditation to contemplate their true nature and contribution to the Legion. A pragmatic people, the Bulwark follow the Emperor only because their Primarch says so; to them, he is merely a man to follow, not a demi-god to worship.

Psykers are treated just as any other Marine in the Legion; they bleed, die, and fight the same, so they are treated the same. As it stands, however, this is rarely a problem due to Arelon's low psyker-to-Initiate ratio in comparison to other Legions.

Techmarines, however, are held in higher regard due to the Legion's dependence on their equipment functioning properly. Due to this, the Bulwark sends large amounts of their Marines to be trained by the Mechanicus in the technological arts.

Chaplains do not exist within the Bulwark; the pragmatic nature of Sebastion Rex deems them to be useless to his anti-dogmatic troops.

Legion Organisation

"Is the mighty mountain composed of a single stone? Are walls built of single bricks? Nay, brethren, and nor shall we be split asunder."

An excerpt from Primarch Sebastion Rex's first speech to his new Legion

After the discovery of their Primarch, the members of the Sentinels, now known as the Gatekeepers, branch of the Sacred Band were promoted to positions of higher authority within the Legion, with each member receiving a position worthy of his skills. While formerly each Chapter had been a well rounded force, Sebastion deconstructed the traditional organizational system in favour of each Chapter, now referred to as a Bastion, being specialized in its purpose. Each member of the former Sacred Band would become the head of their prospective Bastion, instructing their subordinates in the ways of their trade.

Each of the Towers, as they were now entitled, kept their command center aboard their prospective capital ship within the primary fleet. From this launching point, mixed forces from each Bastion, formed from around 8,000 Space Marines, intermingled to form what was referred to as a Palisade, or mixed fighting force. Each Palisade, usually consisting of around 10,000 Space Marines, was then broken down into Bunkers of 100 Marines and 20-50 armoured units, with each of these Bunkers being broken down into 2 groups; Anchors and Grapples. Anchors acted as the defensive force that protected the beachhead and fortresses from enemy assault, while the Grapples slowly set footholds into enemy territory in order to expand their own borders.

During the Great Crusade, the Gatekeepers barely, if ever, split their Legion into separate Bastions, instead preferring to have a large primary fleet and send Palisades on sorties into enemy space. In this way, though they lost a degree of their flexibility and reaction time, every battle the Gatekeepers fought would be fought well-supported and even better supplied. Reinforcements were never far away and supply lines were well-protected, and allies could be given needed respite. Floating shipyards were towed behind the great procession, allowing minor to medium refits when needed.

Notable Successors

The Ramparts

The largest warband to emerge from the ruins of the Bulwark. Siege and colonization specialists

The Rubble

A typical Marine of the Rubble.

Leaderless remnants of the Bulwark Empire; siege specialists for hire

Warband History

Those remnants of the Bulwark who did not join Indomitus and his Ramparts were given a small corner of the Empire to themselves in order to engage in whatever they pleased after the Bulwark collapsed on itself. They now issue small strike forces to various locations within the Imperium, only surviving reprisal due to their contract with the Ramparts; 35% of their income and gene-seed in return for protection.

Notable Members

Warchief Gaillard; de facto leader of the Rubble. Acts more like a rabblerouser than a leader.

Warband Combat Tactics

Though their morals have been lost, their combat tactics have not. The Rubble still follow the method of siege warfare that the Bulwark once did, but they tend to inject more savagery and barbarianism into their sieges.

Warband Homeworld

The Rubble, being a conglomerate of warbands barely unified at all, have a small fleet of starships at their disposal. The Palazzo, the last remaining Battle Barge after the Crucible, functions as their de facto headquarters.

However, they do retain a small subsector of the Arelon system as a refit point for their ships.

Warband Appearance

The tattered remains of the Bulwark have donned light brown and dark slate armour since their defeat.

Terran Watchmen

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A relatively small sector of the Gatekeepers seceded from the main empire after the declaration of the Heresy, remaining loyal to the Emperor. This sector, though not as heavily fortified as the Arelonian Empire, still acted as a much needed supply base during the Heresy and the Great Scouring.

The Arelon System

Main article; The Arelon System

Forming the epicenter of the Bulwark's activities and that of its successors, the Arelon system is a small system of only a dozen planets. However, each planet plays a part in the larger warmachine that is the Bulwark.

Some worlds are only inhabited by skeleton populations that crew the massive Manufactorums that span the planet, while others function as Agri-world to produce all manner of sustenance. These supplies are kept in-system for Arelon's workers due to their high demand, but this is balanced out due to the fact that Arelon's Manufactorums and shipyards contribute over 75% of their production to the Imperial War effort.

The native Xenos were purged by the human colonists long before the Legion arrived, leaving any resources ripe for Imperial exploitation. This means that freelancers often come from other Segmenta to work the fields or mines.