Void Angels

"And the guardians, who guards them?"

Void Angels
Battle Cry	"For the Imperium!"
Number	V
Founding	First Founding
Successors of	N/A
Successor Chapters	Scores, including the Angels Imperious, Angels Vigilant, Chastisers, Covenanters, Eyes of the Void
Chapter Master	Phan Van Ty
Primarch	Gaspard Lumey
Homeworld	Ciban IV
Strength	140,000 at the beginning of the Heresy, growing to a peak of over 200,000. 1,000 after the Reforms of the Codex Astartes
Specialty	Terror tactics
Allegiance	Imperium of Man
Colours	Pale blue and dark blue

This page details people, events, and organisations from The /tg/ Heresy, a fan re-working of the Warhammer 40,000 Universe.

The Void Angels are a Loyalist Space Marine Chapter, once led by the Primarch Gaspard Lumey. Their early history was clouded with controversy. In the time of the Great Crusade they were regularly accused of cowardice, rebellion, and especially cruelty. Yet the Void Angels emerged as the foremost defenders of the Imperium, credited with re-establishing its borders at the end of the Hektor Heresy. Their Primarch also had the wisdom to lay down his arms at the end of that great campaign, breaking up his Legion and establishing the modern form of the Space Marine Chapter.

History of the Void Angels

The Void Angels are the greatest of the Space Marine Chapters. Though their history has had no shortage of setbacks, the genius of the Void Angels is their ability to emerge stronger from each failure.

Beginnings

It was not the Space Marines who fought the early battles of the Emperor's unification of Terra. Another generation of genetically-enhanced soldiers, the bygone Thunder Warriors were made to win through the savagery that had overcome humanity's birth-world. But even as the Thunder Warriors sacrificed for the future, their successors were taking shape. Deep below the Himalazian Mountains, the Emperor developed his greatest creations, the Primarchs. Of these mighty beings, all but one would be stolen by the Ruinous Powers and scattered across the Galaxy. The progenitor of the Fifth Legion was not the exception, but samples of his genetics were still used to create the gene-seed of a breed of heroic Space Marines.

Disaster at San Angelus

Hektor Cincinnatus, the first and last of the Primarchs, would be the first leader and tutor of the Space Marines. His Sacred Band, made up of the first squad from each of what would become the Legiones Astartes, contributed to the hard-fought Pacification of the Merican Hives. Mamercus led the Fifth Squad in Hektor's Sacred Band with some success in the early part of the campaign. However, Fifth Squad would meet a tragic end in the Battle of San Angelus. During the confused fighting within the great hive, Mamercus' men encountered a band of enraged Thunder Warrior. The mighty, but primitive warriors were running amok, and did not recognise Fifth Squad as their allies. Mamercus and his men were all slain.

Some believe that this unfortunate episode set the Fifth on the path of mistrust and suspicion. Others claim that their psychological tendency was determined by Gaspard Lumey's gene-seed. A third theory holds that the Fifth's status as outsiders stemmed from their members being lost from the Sacred Band, robbing them of bond of fellowship that Hektor Cincinnatus sought to forge throughout the Legiones Astartes. Whatever the precise combination of reasons, the Fifth would be set apart from their brother marines and lost the men who had been singled out as their most promising officer candidates. Mamercus and his fellows, drawn from the Emperor's bodyguard, were all outstanding warriors and natural leaders of men. The man to whom the responsibility of leading the nascent Legion now fell was neither of these things.

Regrouping

Antoine Antonelle was - by the standards of the Astartes - an adequate warrior, no more. His advancement as an officer candidate hinged on his natural talent for explaining complex ideas in simple terms, the critical ability of a master organiser. The Terran adepts charged with grooming the Space Marines had singled Antonelle out as a future quartermaster for the valiant warriors of Fifth Squad. Yet by a quirk of fate he was pushed forward to preside over the development of the whole Legion. Though Antonelle was undoubtedly a highly competent officer, his mild manner failed to convince anyone that the Fifth were a worthy project. As a result, his "Legion" was constantly started of recruits and material, and deployed piecemeal to support other Legions in need of additional Astartes. Scattered and under-supplied, the Fifth numbered only barely over a hundred when the Roman Albrecht, Primarch of the Steel Marshals was discovered. On assuming command, Albrecht took it upon himself to aid the leaderless Legions and requested that the First (and only) Squadron of the Fifth be transferred to his command from The Crusaders. With the help of the Steel Marshals, Antonelle slowly built his force up to three squadrons before the rediscovery of their Primarch.

Even during this dark time the Fifth were not without their victories. Their most famous commander was the tempestuous Fabrice Diallo, who served under the Primarch Arelex Orannis. As the Second Legion pushed into the Ultima Segmentum, Diallo's men were often used to unlock defences with quick, decisive movements. Their crowning victory at the Battle of the Caspian Heights, part of the Pacification of Nihos III, is still preserved in the Codex Astartes as a model of manoeuvre warfare.

Yet the glory Second Squadron had won would pale into insignificance beside the rediscovery of Gaspard Lumey on the Civilised World of Ciban IV. Unlike many of his brothers, Lumey had not conquered his homeworld. Instead, he had fought alongside its people in their wars of liberation and was content to be an ordinary citizen, if a highly-respected one. The Emperor seemed well-pleased by Gaspard Lumey's achievements, and if the Primarch did not shake the Fifth's maverick reputation his presence at least commanded a certain amount of attention and respect.

A Legion in the Great Crusade

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 Wolves of Dawn had they been presented on Terra were instead turned away and inducted into the officer programmes of the Fifth Legion's already-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. Fabrice Diallo's squadron, with the aid of troops from the Markian Pact only managed to round out the pacification of the Al-Sherar Sector. But when the new classes of Astartes took to the field, Fifth Legion would explode into the Great Crusade, conquering worlds at an astonishing rate. It is from this period that their famous moniker Winged Victory dates. The Fifth also racked up a fearsome reputation for ruthlessness. Though they welcomed those who were prepared to accept the Imperial Truth, they consistently met resistance with brutality, punishing those who dared to defy the Emperor as an object lesson for other peoples.

851.M30: Pacification of the Markian Pact

Though Gaspard Lumey would become infamous for scouring worlds that spurned the Emperor's offer of universal human brotherhood, his first acquisition of new worlds for the Imperium was accomplished without a shot being fired. In the first months after he was rediscovered by the Emperor and granted a Legion, the Primarch had little in the way of military affairs to occupy his time. He had undertaken a study of the Imperial way of war and its weaponry, but such matters were not overly difficult and in any case required a certain amount of time to mull over before drawing firm conclusions. He had also met with his new "Equerry", Antoine Antonelle and judged him a competent man more than able to supervise the transfer of the Fifth's rather modest forces to Ciban IV and the establishment of recruiting centres there. Rather than simply find busywork or interfere with Antonelle's work, Lumey decided to personally investigate the reports of a small alliance of worlds to the Galactic South-East, supposedly similar in culture and ethics to his own homeworld.

When he arrived on the water world of Kouralia, Lumey made little secret of his origin or purpose for being there. But he did not immediately demand that the Markian Pact submit to the Imperium. Instead he requested permission to travel the worlds of the Pact and speak to ordinary people there, assessing their culture and making clear his own views of the Galaxy. The Primarch also pledged to avoid any military installations and refrain from espionage. After a short delay, he was granted travel papers.

The Markians were extremely courteous to Gaspard Lumey. He was not only given the right to travel. He was invited to cultural and scientific events, and given many opportunities to lecture both to elite and general audiences. As he journeyed around the worlds of the Pact, Lumey was greatly impressed by their sophistication and outlook. He wound up his tour by giving a speech to a joint session of the representatives of the Markian Pact.

The Primarch began with an apology, explaining that it was necessary to tell the representatives much that they already knew so that the basis on which he would make his proposal could be understood. He then spoke at considerable length on the achievements of the Pact, especially in uplifting the lot of the ordinary citizen. Lumey rounded out this section of his address by remarking that the kind of society that the Markians had established was what he understood as the goal of the Imperial Truth. He then made two extraordinary requests.

Firstly, Lumey asked to be granted citizenship of the Markian Pact on the basis that he cherished their liberties and culture and would unhesitatingly fight to protect them. Secondly, he proposed that the Pact accede to peaceful annexation by the Imperium, that it might best take part in the great task of uniting and uplifting the human race. The Assembly, greatly impressed by the Primarch, granted his first request unanimously and the second by a considerable majority, then gave three cheers for "Citizen Gaspard" and three more for the future of mankind.

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. The Emperor's policy towards the Core Worlds confederation can be best understood by the two Primarchs dispatched to resolve the matter. Uriel Starikov, affable and charming, opened the negotiations. Gaspard Lumey stood back until the Core Lords' arrogance and greed ruined any hope of peace, then called an end to the talks with a sharp, bitter denunciation. "You have answered every concession with another demand. Your greed will be your end." Even as Starikov concluded the formalities, Winged Victory moved to attack.

Until the coming of the Imperial Legions, Karaza was said to rival Terra itself in its technology, industry and population. The greatest of the Core Worlds was dominated by immense underground cities and its citizens were confident that they had little to fear from a direct assault. They did not count on Lumey's resolve. The Primarch opened his attack with a horrifying fleet bombardment that fractured the crust of the planet and killed tens of billions. A petition to surrender brought not relief, but the descent of the Fifth Legion, the slaughter of the remaining defenders and the destruction of the planet's installations. Karaza never recovered and neither did the Core Worlds confederation. Collective defence evaporated as every Lord sought to defend their own realm; the meekest threw themselves at Starikov's feet in the hopes that the Children of Armok would show mercy, their proud cousins were slain by the Astartes.

003.M30 to 004.M30: Political conflicts

At the 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." Darius Cyaxares, speaking immediately after Lumey, declared for regulation as a compromise between the bickering Primarchs. 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 Kazara was put under investigation. Eventually, the War 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.

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.

Position on the Eve of the Heresy

Numeration: The Vth Legion

Primogenator: Gaspard Lumey

Cognomen (Prior): Neverwas, Tag-along, The Butchers of Kazara, The Extras, Winged Victory.

Observed Strategic Tendencies: Manoeuvre warfare, propaganda and political terror.

Noteworthy Domains: Markian subsector

Allegiance: Fedelitas Constantus (applied retroactively - their allegiance was considered unknown until 014.M31)

Our past is not a curse, but a great series of lessons. We have had the opportunity to know insignificance, infamy, and suspicion, all without wavering in our beliefs. As we set sail for an Imperium riven by strife and disorder, we shall draw on that history of pure purpose. Do not just take heart, brothers, but establish your confidence on the basis of the objective truth.

Antoine Antonelle, Deputy Speaker of the Legion, 009.M31

Exile to the periphery of the Milky Way was not overly hard on the Fifth Legion. They had long been outsiders among the Legiones Astartes; cut off from the Sacred Band, alternatively sneered at for their weakness then feared for their strength, mocked for softness and finally censured for actions less harsh than those of the Life Bringers or Sons of Fire. The distance from Terra was even viewed by some as a reprieve from the politics of status and privilege that was so foreign to the Void Angels' homeworlds in the Markian subsector.

Task Force Rubicon

"Gaspard Lumey never told me why he decided to believe Thomas Gaudin and the other Primarchs. There's a popular story that he heard the psychic voice of his father, but it never stacked up for me. After all, the story of Hektor's death suggests that the Emperor was exhausted by their duel. If I had to guess, I'd say that Darius had a hand in it. Gaspard always said that the Sandkeeper's Primarch was the only one he trusted."

(Excerpt from A Marshal in the Great Crusade, the memoirs of Jeanne d'Orléans.)

Forget the myths. I was there. This is why Gaspard Lumey chose to cast in with the Loyalists.

My Lord Alexandri of Rosskar went to speak with Lumey on the Void Angels' flagship. The two Primarchs had never liked each other. They argued at some length. In the end, Alexandri declared that he was with the Loyalists and would never have rebelled just to serve another man. That is how the fate of two Primarchs was decided.

(Excerpt from The Confessions, apocryphal.)

During the Fifth's journey back towards Sol they encountered a mysterious group of warriors who came to be known as the Void Wraiths. It was from the Void Wraiths that Lumey first learned of the Heresy in detail, although he remained sceptical about the particulars of their story. Nonetheless, the Void Angels determined to move on Sol to aid the Emperor and defeat his enemies, whoever they might be.

In preparation for this campaign, the Void Wraiths were incorporated into the Void Angels, forming the first Commando Squadrons. They also contributed a full combat Corps, the so-called Wraith Corps, under command of their own leader, "Fallen Angel". These warriors took on many of the most difficult combat assignments during this period. It is not clear whether they were deliberately used as cannon fodder or volunteered for these duties. Most point to Fallen Angel chasing the Traitors into the Eye of Terror itself as a sign that the Void Wraiths were seeking redemption or vengeance against the forces of Chaos.

Lumey also called up new classes of infantry from his homeworld, Ciban, replacing suspect Imperial Army formations with fresh troops whose loyalty was beyond question. In all, the Fifth's Task Force Rubicon numbered over 200,000 Astartes and over two million ordinary soldiers together with a powerful naval force.

This mighty force only arrived at Sol in time for Wraith Corps to engage in a brief clash with the Black Augurs in the Saturn theatre. But once the Fifth concentrated their full strength in the outer Solar system, difficulties arose. Neither the Emperor nor Malcador was available to vouch for the Loyalists on Terra, leading Lumey to question whether they were the Imperium's defenders or its would-be conquerors. A week of terse communiques went by, hampered by Lumey's refusal to attend his brother Primarchs at the Imperial Palace. Humanity held its breath - then the Void Angels departed the Solar system and dispersed their great fleet across the Empire.

The ruthless campaign Lumey led against every trace of Heresy and betrayal became known as the Great Scouring. No account of the casualties of the Void Angels' purge was never made, as the traitors had already made their lives forfeit, but there can be no doubt that hundreds of billions perished. Few protested Lumey's actions. In fact, during the years of the Scourging, the Void Angels and their Primarch became the popular face of the Astartes. Victories, especially the hard-fought battle against the Life Bringers at Rai, were a greater source of hope than the memories of Bohemond and Kleisthenes.

Leading the Great Scouring of Traitors and Renegades made the Void Angels seem indispensable to the Imperium. Lumey's decision to resign his command and, along with Arelex Orannis, supervise the dismantling of the great Legiones Astartes into Space Marine Chapters came as a shock, but would in later years be seen as the Primarch's greatest achievement. Who else had risen so high without falling to ambition?

Culture

Uniquely sheltered from the fighting of the Hektor Heresy, the Void Angels never felt the need to drastically alter the beliefs and methods that they had cherished during the Great Crusade. The Chapter still believes firmly in the old Imperial Truth and sees itself as a guardian of the Emperor's great vision.

Lucky Ciban

Ciban IV
Segmentum	Segmentum Pacificus
Sector	Al-Sherar Sector
Sub Sector	Markian Subsector
System	Ciban System
Population	10,000,000,000
Orbital radius	1.58AU ± 0.12AU
Gravity	1.08G
Temperature	Temperate

The Void Angels' homeworld of Ciban IV is a centre of the old Imperial Truth. Reason, scepticism, inquiry and atheism are the cherished values of a Ciban native. When the people of this world declare that "The Emperor protects!" they think of the Imperium's mighty armies, not a divine saviour.

This realism comes at a high cost. The people of Ciban believe themselves deeply isolated, even within the Imperium, and their culture has become increasingly paranoid and militarised. Great libraries, filled with priceless cultural treasures such as Plutarch's Lives, the works of Shakespeare, and Pai's Philosophy of the Space Age, are little patronised. Children spend their early years being groomed for military service, indoctrinated into the Imperial Truth but rarely given a broad education in its heritage. Most go on to spend five years or more in the brigades of the Ciban Chasseurs and Ciban Fusiliers. Even after their military service is over, citizens must work to support an immense burden of armaments.

A typical Ciban native is neither pessimistic nor optimistic about their place in the Galaxy. They are proud of their homeworld as a last sanctuary for humanity's authentic culture, but know that ushering in a new Golden Age of mankind is beyond Ciban's power.

Due to the manpower demands of the Void Angels, a majority of Ciban's senior administrators and politicians are women. This has led to popular portrayals of the Republic as mother and the Chapter as father. A major shift in this trend was Allard Gabbo's great mural, 'From the Ashes, painted in the dark days of WAAAGH! The Beast, shows Gaspard Lumey and the famous Marshal Jeanne d'Orléans standing side-by-side on a terrible battlefield, bloodied but defiant. Since Gabbo, anthropomorphic representations of Ciban are often based d'Orléans.

Ciban IV and other realms

The Angels and the Republic

In the eyes of the Imperium, Ciban IV is a fief of the Void Angels and the Speaker of the Chapter is its absolute ruler. In the eyes of its citizens, the world and its dependencies are a ruled by an elected Assembly, with the Speaker of the Void Angels serving as a military leader and interlocutor to the Imperium. The truth lies somewhere between. Although some Void Angels are impressive scholars of civics, the Marines have little interest in administering a civilian government. However, debates over the expense of maintaining the Chapter are never more than formalities. The Republic always assents to the Void Angels's requests.

The closest the Chapter and the Republic have come to a breach was during the so-called Nova Terra debates in 812.M31. As the Imperium at large slumped into religion and dogma, Ciban IV was going through a cultural golden age highlighted by impressive artistic and engineering projects. This disparity led to the "Third Earth Party" being formed and gaining traction in Ciban. Third Earthers believed that Ciban IV was the logical successor to humanity's old centres of Terra and Mars. Following the general election of 811.M31, Third Earth controlled a substantial minority in the Assembly and forced a series of debates on the future of Ciban IV. Increasingly assertive positions were advanced, from the generally accepted view that the Republic had a special responsibility to protect its Sector and other parts of the Segmentum Pacificus to the dangerous view that the Republic ought to declare its independence and rally other worlds to the banner of a New Imperium.

Mai Dac Kien, then Speaker of the Void Angels, attended many of these debates but refused to speak. This poured fuel on the fire. If the Void Angels were prepared to consider the prospect of a New Imperium, then what did Ciban IV lack? A Declaration of Independence was tabled in the Assembly and although Mai Dac Kien was late to the session, various Third Earthers rose to speak in its favour. When the Speaker finally arrived, he was accompanied by a towering, hooded Space Marine. Visibly nervous, Mai demanded the right to address the Assembly. He gave a short, pointed speech, making clear not only that the Void Angels would not support the Republic in the event of a rebellion, but that even if they did the result would only be a further set-back for human culture. The Imperium might be traumatised and damaged, but it was still mighty: Ciban and the Void Angels would be crushed and a precious refuge of the Imperial Truth destroyed.

The proposal was voted down as Mai Dac Kien and his escort departed the Assembly. Third Earth collapsed, and Mai was never seen again.

Ciban IV and Nhà Máy

I've heard it many times in this debate that our world's youth are already committed to war and that only the old and grey remain on Ciban. Well, I am old and past grey, and the matter is clear enough to me. If my neighbour's house is burning, it does me no good to stay at home and be glad I am not him. The old book says, "the surest way to secure one's own safety is by protecting that of others," and by my reckoning that maxim has done me more good than ill up so far. Any peril from here on out can draw against that balance.

(Excerpt from Elaine Akh'Ultan's resignation speech to the Ciban Assembly, 016.M31)

The Forge World Nhà Máy was first settled late in M28. Due to a warp accident, the settler fleet was scattered and badly damaged, arriving at Nhà Máy without its Titan Legion. While the colonists managed to establish a substantial industrial base and retained much of their scientific knowledge, the world's population stood at just over six million when it was rediscovered in the Great Crusade. Nhà Máy's proximity to the Fifth Legion's new homeworld of Ciban IV prompted the Adeptus Mechanicus to build up the world's facilities. New machinery was dispatched from Mars, along with a small fleet of colonists, and Nhà Máy began to produce advanced weaponry to supply Winged Victory. However, the demands of the Great Crusade meant that the Forge World continued to lack for a Titan Legion for its own defence.

While Nhà Máy was untroubled by the Heresy, its fragile existence was brutally exposed in 016.M31 when a splinter of the Gorgers Chaos Legion, accompanied by Imperial Army Traitors, attacked. The Traitors appear to have landed with the intention of resupplying their fleet, fleeing from the resurgent Loyalist forces, but on seeing the weakness of the defenders they determined to sack the world thoroughly. A desperate cry for aid from Nhà Máy found none of the depleted Space Marine Legions or Imperial Army formations in a position to respond.

A heated debate broke out in the Republic of Ciban, resulting in an unhappy compromise. The Assembly judged that only volunteers could be dispatched, given the extent of Ciban IV's existing commitments to the Great Scouring. Inspired by the example of 84 year-old Elaine Akh'Ultan, who laid down her place in the Assembly to re-enlist, a substantial body of volunteers, many of them veterans of past campaigns, formed up into new brigades. They were joined by a small force of Void Angels Scouts, newly graduated from the Chapter's Collegium Majoris, and embarked for Nhà Máy.

Months of bitter fighting cost the lives of millions of Cibanese volunteers and hundreds of Void Angels Scouts. Finally the campaign would be ended by the arrival of a force of Silver Cataphracts who dourly saw off the invading Traitors and unceremoniously departed. The tech priests of Nhà Máy, though battered by their ordeal, were greatly honoured by the sacrifices made by Ciban IV and the Void Angel Legion. Powerful trade and military ties were developed over the next centuries, and Nhà Máy's growing industrial might became increasingly important in the supply of Ciban's brigades the the Void Angel Chapter.

Notable places

Outside of the Void Angels' facilities, the d'Orléans Academy is Ciban IV's premier institute of martial instruction. Its alumni include several Inquisitors, not to mention hundreds of Marshals and countless lower-ranking officers.

Fennec Shrines. Fennechia is home to a number of fine temples dating from the Age of Strife. While these fell into disrepair late in M29 as the grand faith of pre-Gallian conquest was suppressed, many of the best examples were brilliantly restored during Ciban's golden centuries of M31. The great domes, especially that of the magnificent Sanctuaire de Sagesse, and intricate non-representative artwork still draw visitors from throughout the Sector.

Gaspard Lumey Museum in Nouvelle-Havre. This memorial museum to the Primarch was set up in his home town during the period of the Great Crusade. Over the centuries it has been through several different buildings as it increased its collection and popularity. By the end of the 40th Millenium, the museum highlights include; replicas of Lumey's armour and weapons from different times of his life, an excellent collection of his writings, and a fine exhibition of Icons from the Sabbat Worlds showing "The Angel Gaspard" as he appeared to Saint Sabbat.

The Spiral Cenotaph near Saint Vercy, dating from late M32. This great park, fully 10km in diameter, is laid out as a replica of the Milky Way Galaxy. Stately columns, bearing the names of the fallen, mark out the site of each battle fought by the Army of Ciban or the Void Angels. Replicas of the colours of destroyed brigades are also displayed in the appropriate locations. A small army of guides is employed to show visitors around the park, allowing them to retrace the steps of expeditions from Ciban.

The Light of Reason

During the Core Worlds Campaign, the Fifth Legion captured two immense spacecraft, relics of the Dark Age of Technology. One was gifted to the Adeptus Mechanicus, and became known as The Light of the Omnissiah. The other, after a refit by the Techpriests of Mars, entered the Fifth's service as The Light of Reason. Yet it also became a devolved component of the Republic of Ciban, settled by a civilian population that would grow to over a million souls.

The Light of Reason's commissioning was timely. Barely out of its shakedown cruise, the great city-ship was called on to serve as the Legion's base of operations in their long sojourn in the Galactic fringe. While not able to produce weapons of war on the scale of a Forge World, the citizens of The Light of Reason toiled to keep the Void Angels stocked with ammunition, food, and other supplies.

The great vessel would go on to become the base of the Angels Vigilant Chapter.

Notable Members

Antoine Antonelle (b. 762.M30, d. 016.M31) Antoine Antonelle was the first master of the Void Angels Legion and became Gaspard Lumey's right-hand man after the Primarch was rediscovered. He was notable for his patience and humility. Antonelle's time as the chief of the Legion was the most difficult in the Void Angels' history, as they struggled to recruit and develop following the loss of their officer cadre. During this time, he pioneered the Legion's squadron formations and tactical doctrine. Antonelle was generally unpopular due to his quiet nature, but he made a favourable impression on the War Scribes Primarch, Arelex Orannis. After Lumey took over the Legion and established its new recruiting base in the Markian subsector, Antonelle worked tirelessly to integrate and train the Legion's new recruits. Antoine Antonelle died during the Battle of Rai, when the Strike Cruiser Endurance was lost with all hands. His eulogy was written by Gaspard Lumey but the Primarch was too overcome with grief to deliver it in person.

Fabrice Diallo As an aspirant he was almost ejected from the recruitment process for fighting with other recruits and was only barely accepted for the inglorious Fifth. Diallo's aggressive streak never wore out, and it drove him through the difficult process of becoming one of the Astartes. By the time he had completed his training, Diallo was considered a highly promising Neophyte and some expressed their regret that he would go on to serve in such a lowly outfit. The young Marine couldn't care less for such opinions. He relished the opportunity to redeem the Fifth, and rose quickly to the command of newly-formed Second Squadron, joining the campaigns of the Primarch Arelex Orannis. In Orannis, Diallo found his ideal commander - a thoughtful strategist who was glad of Second Squadron's talents. Many splendid victories were won through their combination. Gaspard Lumey was much more demanding, but came to rely on Diallo, entrusting him with critical missions such as the ground assault on Kazara. As a decorated hero of the Great Crusade and the Great Scouring, it was no surprise when Diallo was chosen to head a new Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes: the Angels Imperious.

Legion Organisation

When he headed the Legion, Gaspard Lumey carried no grand title. The Primarch was known simply as the Speaker of the Legion. Beneath the Speaker were fifteen Senators at the head of a Marine Corps and extensive supporting forces. An additional five Senators are given command over the Legion's Armoury, Civilian Relations, Naval Reserve, Recruitment and Training, and Security. In matters of extreme gravity, these twenty officers, together with the Speaker, form the Void Angels' supreme consultative body.

Specialist Ranks

Chirurgeon These specialists perform the same role as Apothecaries do in other Chapters.

Clerks Recruits who wash out of training are not enserfed by the Void Angels. Instead, they are taken into the Chapter's administrative and logistical staff. Clerks are generally well-respected and have a similar rank structure to Marines. The Senators responsible for the Legion's Armoury and Civilian Relations are often Clerks.

Commandos The Fifth modified their tactics during the Heresy period, adopting specialized light infantry units of full Battle Brothers. These sections use similar equipment to Void Angels Scouts, but they are all experienced warriors and excellent marksmen.

Iterators Uninspired by the Imperial Cult, the Void Angels draw their strength from speakers of the Imperial Truth. Iterators are mighty warriors of great strength of will, trained in logic and rhetoric. The presence of such an exceptional individual on the battlefield fills his Battle-Brothers with a sense of their part in Mankind's destiny. Iterators also serve an important role in the life of the Legion, counselling their fellow Marines, acting as judges on matters of internal discipline, and often serving as envoys to other Chapters. The Prime Iterator is the Legion's chief justice and carries out certain ceremonial roles, while his counterpart, the Master of the Collegium is the chief of the Void Angels fortress-barracks on Ciban.

The Chosen Gaspard Lumey's first reform of the Fifth Legion was based on the traditions of his homeworld. In the wars of liberation, the Cibanese had little trust for the officers who defected to their cause, but still had need of their talents. The few military men among their own ranks, such as Lumey, were not sufficient to lead the armies of the Republic. Therefore, the ordinary soldiers would elect a committee from among their number to serve as bodyguard and watchdog over their commanders. Though the Fifth Legion were much more confident in their new Primarch than the Cibanese rebels had been in former aristocrats, they readily chose from among their number a bodyguard unit for Lumey, on the basis of one man from each section, elected to serve for five years. The level of representation would gradually decrease as the Legion grew, eventually falling to just one man per Corps at the time of the Heresy, but throughout Lumey's tenure they served both as a bodyguard and a consultative body. As with much of the Fifth Legion's customs, they were content to simply call this body "The Chosen" and leave others to imagine that the Primarch had hand-picked his men.

Orders of Battle

The Fifth was intended to take the same form as its fellow Legiones Astartes, but the disaster of Fifth Squad sent it down a decidedly different path. Forced by necessity as much as his own convictions, Antoine Antonelle devised an organisational structure based on small, independent formations. In the process, he laid the foundations of the great Codex Astartes reforms.

Order of Battle 849.M30: Tag-along

Antonelle's squadrons were meant to be self-reliant, both in their operations and in the training of new Marines dispatched from Terra. The notion of an establishment manpower was completely foreign to the Fifth at this point, as their headquarters fought for every recruit and had little say in the deployment of the "Legion"'s limited forces. About all that Fifth's commanders could managed was the decision of whether to raise new Squadrons or to feed new recruits to the existing formations.

Locating the Legion's headquarters on Terra and focusing on training won Antonelle no favours with the Sacred Band. He was generally sneered at as a coward, and on at least one episode the Primarch Hektor had to be reminded that the Fifth had survived their disaster in the Merican Hives. However, Antonelle's priorities let him put his own imprint on his new officers. The Fifth's organisational doctrine, immediately divergent from the Terran style of warfare, favoured close collaboration in planning sessions, so that subordinate officers would be confident about pressing objectives without needing to check with their superior.

Although this spirit of independence produced some stunning successes - especially under the aggressive leadership of Fabrice Diallo - it jarred the sensibilities of many of the Legion commanders that the Fifth fought under. Were it not for the personal intervention of Arelex Orannis, the Fifth might have been disbanded in their early years.

Headquarters: Terra

• Legion Commander: Chapter Master Antoine Antonelle
• Staff: Master of Recruits Remus Alsara, Master of Armaments Kimmel Freeman
• Training Squadron (eighty-five Neophytes, separated into year-grade Sections)
• Command ship: Endurance (Strike Cruiser)

First Squadron (attached to Steel Marshals operations in Segmentum Tempestus)

• Commander Section: (Lieutenant Uli Dreier, Techmarine Sándor Ozséb, Techmarine Merle Marcheterre, Apothecary Kensei Nan)
• Section 1.1: Tactical (Sergeant Khurush Danaad + 13 Battle Brothers)
• Section 1.2: Tactical (Sergeant Astor Bellerose + 12 Battle Brothers)
• Section 1.3: Reconnaissance (Sergeant Vincent Généreux + 8 Battle Brothers)
• Section 1.4: Reconnaissance (Sergeant Yohann Sauveterre + 6 Battle Brothers)
• Section 1.5: Reconnaissance (Sergeant Yuan Hao + 7 Battle Brothers)
• Section 1.6: Heavy Support (Sergeant Parris Herriot + 8 Battle Brothers)
• Air Support: Three Storm Eagle Assault Gunships, one Fire Raptor Gunship
• Naval Support: "Persévérance" (Strike Cruiser)

Second Squadron (attached to War Scribes operations in Ultima Segmentum)

• Command Section: (Lieutenant Fabrice Diallo, Techmarine Hoàng Doãn Quốc, Techmarine Samuel Yegorov, Apothecary Mherke Dawewda)
• Section 1.1: Tactical (Sergeant Marcus Iustus + 16 Battle Brothers)
• Section 1.2: Tactical (Sergeant Jalal Samaha + 14 Battle Brothers)
• Section 1.3: Assault (Sergeant Quintus Iuventus + 15 Battle Brothers)
• Section 1.4: Reconnaissance (Sergeant Jeremy Gallop + 9 Battle Brothers)
• Section 1.5: Reconnaissance (Sergeant Salaheddine Wisman + 6 Battle Brothers)
• Air Support: Two Storm Eagle Assault Gunships, two Fire Raptor Gunships
• Naval Support: "Détermination" (Strike Cruiser)

Third Squadron (en route to join Sand Keepers operations, Segmentum Pacificus)

• Command Section: (Lieutenant Augustin Caron, Techmarine Baltasár Lucero, Techmarine Rajmund Król, Apothecary Bhenam Khanhsaz)
• Section 1.1: Tactical (Sergeant Publius Spurinus + 18 Battle Brothers)
• Section 1.2: Tactical (Sergeant Delfin Armenta + 17 Battle Brothers)
• Section 1.3: Assault (Sergeant Kesh Kanak + 14 Battle Brothers)
• Section 1.4: Reconnaissance (Sergeant Renan Rodrigues Santos + 7 Battle Brothers)
• Section 1.5: Reconnaissance (Sergeant Joso Nikolić + 7 Battle Brothers)
• Section 1.6: Heavy Support (Sergeant Mario Mueller + 9 Battle Brothers)
• Air Support: Three Storm Eagle Assault Gunships
• Naval support: "Ténacité" (Strike Cruiser)

Order of Battle 013.M31: Task Force Rubicon

"Arrogant", a Legatus-Class Battle Barge assigned to First Echelon, the main landing force of Task Force Rubicon. Arrogant had served with distinction during the Core Worlds Campaign, launching the decisive boarding action that led to the capture of The Light of Reason.

When Lumey assembled his great Task Force Rubicon for the decision at Sol, a typical Corps had three Marine Brigades of three Battalions apiece. The Battalion somewhat resembled a Codex Astartes Chapter, with a Veteran Squadron, Commando Squadron, Four Battle Squadrons and Four Reserve Squadrons. Squadron specialties were similar to those of Codex Companies. Veterans are grouped together in the First Squadron, although the Void Angels rarely deployed their Terminator armour. Commandos formed the Second Squadron. Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth were flexible Battle Squadrons, with Seventh and Eighth in Reserve. Ninth Squadron specialized in Assault while Tenth carried the Battalion's heavy weapons. Squadrons varied in their strength, each composed of four Sections with tenth to twenty Battle Brothers and one or two Sections of Scouts. Veteran Squadrons usually lacked a Scout Section.

Dubious of traitors within his ranks, Lumey detached the Imperial Army formations that had accompanied the Void Angels to the Galactic Fringe and stationed them as garrisons on less critical worlds. In their place, a great mass of brigades of ordinary soldiers, organised along similar lines to Marine Brigades, were raised from Ciban. Since the end of Waaagh! The Beast, deployment of Ciban's ordinary brigades has become far less common, especially outside of Segmentum Pacificus. However, the Speaker of the Legion still has the formal right to request that the Republic's regular forces are seconded to his command, and this amounts to full authority over their deployment.

Headquarters

• Task Force Commander: Primarch Gaspard Lumey (commanding from the Redoutable)
• Deputy Commander: Marshal Antoine Elkhabar (commanding from The Light of Reason)
• Naval Commander: Senator Kesh Kanak (commanding from the Resolve)

Forces under Gaspard Lumey's direct command:

• 1st and 2nd Void Angels Brigades (6,000 Astartes)
• 3rd Void Angels Marine Corps
  • 3 Marine Brigades (9,000 Astartes)
• 4th Void Angels Marine Corps
  • 3 Marine Brigades (9,000 Astartes)
• 8th Void Angels Marine Corps
  • 3 Marine Brigades (9,000 Astartes)
• Airmobile Reserve Corps
  • 4th Ciban Chassuers, 8th Ciban Chasseurs, 31st Ciban Chasseurs, 33rd Ciban Chasseurs (14,400 soldiers)
• Naval Task Groups
  • Task Group R1
    • Task Element R1.1 "Resolve" (Gloriana-Class), "Terrible" (Retribution-Class), and escorting vessels
    • Task Element R1.2 "Redoutable" (Emperor-Class), "Formidable" (Nemesis-Class), and escorting vessels
    • Task Element R1.3 "The Light of Reason" (Ciban-Class), "Glaive" (Ironclad-Class), "Halberd" (Ironclad-Class), and escorting vessels
  • R2 (reserve cruiser force)
• Security detail
  • Equivalent of five Brigades security detachments (30,000 soldiers)

Advance Forces

Commander: "Fallen Angel"

• Wraith Corps
  • 3 Reinforced Marine Brigades (12,000 Astartes)
• Naval Task Group R3
  • Task Element R3.1: VASC-022, VASC-039, VASC-104, VASC-106, VASC-118 (presumed to be Strike Cruisers)
  • Task Element R3.2: VASC-005, VASC-044, VASC-084, VASC-119, VASC-120 (presumed to be Strike Cruisers)
  • Task Element R3.3: VASC-048, VASC-051, VASC-080, VASC-088, VASC-098 (presumed to be Strike Cruisers)
  • Task Element R3.4: VABB-022, VABB-023, VABB-028 (presumed to be Battle Barges), and escorts
  • Task Element R3.5: VABB-015, VABB-018, VABB-025 (Presumed to be Battle Barges), and escorts
  • Task Element R3.6: VABC-008 (presumed to be a Battle Cruiser), VACA-058, VACA-77 (presumed to be heavy cruisers), and escorts
  • Task Element R3.7: Fast Transports and escorts
  • Task Element R3.8: Fast Transports and escorts

First Echelon

Commander: Senator Fabrice Diallo

• First Army (Commander: Gabriel Naudé)
  • Four Marine Corps (36,000 Astartes)
• Second Army (Commander: Tahar Djaout)
  • Four Marine Corps (36,000 Astartes)
• Third Army (Commander: Quế Đường)
  • Four Marine Corps (36,000 Astartes)
• Naval Task Group R4
  • Task Element R4.1 "Téméraire" (Retribution-Class), "Triumphant" (Retribution-Class), and escorting vessels.
  • Task Element R4.2 "Impossible" (Emperor-Class), "Imperious" (Avenger-Class), and escorting vessels
• Naval Task Group R5
  • Task Element R5.1 "Élan" (Basileus-Class) and escorting vessels
  • Task Element R5.2 "Esprit" (Basileus-Class) and escorting vessels
  • Task Element R5.3 "Arrogant" (Legatus-Class) and escorting vessels

Second Echelon

Commander: Senator Mai Dac Kien

• Fourth Army (Commander: Alexandre Awala)
  • Two Marine Corps (18,000 Astartes)
  • Two Army Corps (40,000 soldiers)
• Fifth Army (Commander: Richard Dogbeh)
  • Two Marine Corps (18,000 Astartes)
  • Two Army Corps (40,000 soldiers)
• Sixth Army (Commander: Augustin Caron)
  • Two Marine Corps (18,000 Astartes)
  • Two Army Corps (40,000 soldiers)
• Naval Task Group R6 (Cruisers)
• Naval Task Group R7 (Transport ships and escorts)

Third Echelon

Commander: Marshal Jeanne d'Orléans

• Reserve Army Group A
  • Four Armies (approximately 1,000,000 soldiers)
• Reserve Army Group B
  • Four Armies (approximately 1,000,000 soldiers)
• Naval Task Group R8 (Transport ships and escorts)
• Naval Task Group R9 (Transport ships and escorts)

Tactics and Equipment

All of the Astartes are instruments of the Emperor's wrath, but the Void Angels are the most terrible. They know it is not enough to destroy the enemy. The futility - and terrible cost - of opposing the Imperium must be proven. In brighter days, complaints at their brutality were not uncommon, but their effectiveness has won the test of time.

The Fifth Legion's tactical and operational doctrines are mainly the work of their first commander and, later, the Primarch's Equerry, Antoine Antonelle. Antonelle believed that the critical task of a commander was not to boldly inspire or physically lead his troops, but to clarify his subordinates on the essential tasks of the operation. This conception underlies the Void Angels' planning sessions, which often involve very junior Astartes and allied commanders, so that all can be clear on the main objectives. Within this loose framework, subcommanders are left to determine their own methods for achieving the objectives, but common training and equipment has seen the Legion adopt a general "game plan".

As Space Marines, the Void Angels are no strangers to direct assaults. However, they generally prefer to destabilise their enemies using infiltrators. Against enemies who know fear, the advance troops kill targets of opportunity and leave the bodies in the open so that the enemy may know what awaits them, but their main role is to sow confusion in the rear. Mobile forces follow in their wake, seeking to exploit weaknesses, while heavier battle elements surround and eliminate enemy strongpoints.

During the Scourging, the Legion developed particularly fine marksmen and snipers. These specialists are despised and feared for their practice of inflicting mortal but slow-killing wounds. The Void Angels are well aware that a downed comrade screaming in agony is a detriment to morale.

The Void Angels arsenal is lacking in no respect, but prized equipment such as Terminator armour is generally held in reserve on Ciban and rarely deployed to expeditionary forces. While ancient technology is respected for its efficacy, the Void Angels make no fetish of it and attach little significance to the history of their weapons and armour.

Gene-seed and Successors

The Void Angels are the great sire of the Adeptus Astartes. Dozens of Chapters were founded from among their ranks during the Second Founding and their geneseed, prized for its stability, has been the most frequently used in later Foundings.

Angels Imperious

Angels Imperious
Battle Cry	"Fear not - and conquer!"
Founding	Second Founding
Successors of	Void Angels
Chapter Master	Fabrice Diallo (Founding)
Primarch	Gaspard Lumey
Homeworld	Worlds of the Markian Pact
Strength	1,000 at establishment
Specialty	Close-combat and boarding actions
Allegiance	Imperium of Man

The Angels Imperious were a Codex Astartes-compliant Space Marine Chapter and a proud successor of the Void Angels from the Second Founding.

Chapter History

The Angels Imperious prided themselves on their ties to the Gaspard Lumey. Their first Chapter Master, Fabrice Diallo, was a particular favourite of the Primarch and led many of the critical assaults of the Void Angels campaigns in the Great Crusade. Diallo was especially famous for commanding the ground attack on Kazara during the Core Worlds Campaign.

Chapter Combat Doctrine

This Chapter was militant in its observance of the Codex Astartes. The Angels Imperious are also known for their combined arms operations alongside the Imperial Guard regiments raised in the Markian Pact.

Chapter Homeworld

When the Great Void Angels Legion was divided up, Diallo was entrusted with protecting liberties of the Markian Pact worlds. The Angels Imperious are the nominal overlords of the Markian Pact, but they rarely exercise their privileges.

The Mercurials

The Mercurials
Battle Cry	"Don't mess about!"
Founding	Second Founding
Successors of	Void Angels
Chapter Master	Augustin Caron (Founding)
Primarch	Gaspard Lumey
Strength	1,000 at establishment, badly depleted by WAAAGH! The Beast but recovered by M35
Specialty	Lightning warfare
Allegiance	Imperium of Man
Colours	Red, white and black

Chapter History

The Mercurials are a Second Founding Chapter, once part of the mighty Void Angels Legion of Gaspard Lumey. Proud and uncompromising, their military traditions have come to epitomise quick-striking, relentless warfare.

While the brutal fighting against WAAAGH! The Beast badly depleted the Chapter, the Mercurials would bounce back by M35 and are one of the most famous of the Space Marine Chapters.

Notable Members

Chapter Master Augustin Caron Born on Ciban IV, Augustin Caron was one of Gaspard Lumey's most-trusted lieutenants. He was a veteran commander of the Great Crusade and one of the army commanders in the mighty Task Force Rubicon. It came as little surprise when he was selected to lead one of the new Chapters of the Second Founding. Caron based himself on the Codex Astartes of the Reformation, but emphasised the role of speed and mechanisation far more than Gaspard Lumey. During the war against WAAAGH! The Beast, Caron was crippled and interred in a Dreadnought.

Chapter Combat Doctrine

Unlike their mighty sires, the Void Angels, the Mercurials sought not to break the will of their foes but to fight at such a high tempo that the enemy was unable to effectively respond. This required a change to the Codex Astartes doctrine: rather than the second Squadron infiltrating on foot or by bike, it would deploy by jump pack from gunships. The Mercurials also made heavy use of transport vehicles for their Battle Squadrons.

The central concept of the Mercurial battle doctrine was the "decision point", a small area of the battlefield on which the Chapter can concentrate forces to achieve a break-through. Once the enemy line was broken, mobile forces poured into the enemy's rear areas to disrupt lines of communication. The independent spirit of Mercurial subcommanders was critical to their success in this fast-moving style of warfare. Rather than issuing strict instructions, this Chapter's commanders merely expressed their general intent and left their subordinates to interpret the best course of action according to the situation on the ground.

Chapter Beliefs

Caron was a proud inheritor of the Imperial Truth. He was also a chauvinist whose belief in the superiority of man tolerated little deviation from the ideal. As inheritors of his legacy, the Mercurials have an ugly habit of carrying out mass purgings of mutants and psykers.

Chapter Homeworld

The Chapter knows no single homeworld, instead crusading across the Galaxy on its fleet of strike cruisers. However, the Mercurials think of Ciban IV as their true home, and are always keen to receive news from Lumey's homeworld.

Chapter Appearance

The Mercurials are notable for spurning robes when out of armour, preferring to wear fatigues or dress uniforms.

Eyes of the Void

(placeholder for the re-establishment of the Eyes of the Emperor in the Third Founding)

Wraith Corps

A clandestine Chapter unacknowledged in Imperial records.