Mechanicum and Astramalleus History

Didn't really get much of anything done painting wise over the weekend being that it was Father's Day and I was feted from so many directions. Actually, it wasn't that packed. I just spent much of the weekend resting with the wife and family. Among my Father's Day gifts was a gift certificate to Hobby Lobby. I'm thinking that I may use it pick up some suitably elder looking jewel stones for those warpgates I built. I may be painting them a little sooner than I originally thought.

Started on the Mechanicum last night. I didn't have a lot of time so I gave it a quick wash with some boltgun metal and then highlighted some parts with mithril silver. After thinking to myself that it looked a little bland and generic, I decided to water down some blood red and do the outer panels. I guess mecharite red might have been better and more fitting, but I don't use that color enough (or even at all) to justify buying some. Better to use what you have if you ask me. I didn't have time to finish so I'll try to continue tonight, maybe while I'm doing laundry or something.

When I'm done with the Mechanicum, I'm thinking about two mini-projects. One is to assemble a Razorback that I've had for a couple months that I haven't touched. The other is to update my command squads. More to the point, I've never been a big fan of command squads so I never used them much in 4th Ed. even though I made a few. Now that they have changed their makeups slightly, I'm thinking it may be time to update them and get them in line with the current codex. I may never use them, but I'd rather have them and not need them than need them than not have them. I have a couple of Tac Squad boxes sitting around so I'll probably update a few of the guys I'm already using and use a few guys from the new tac squads with some bits to fill out the rest. Or maybe I have enough bits to just build new guys. I'll have to root around a bit and figure out which I need to do. After that, I think I'll do the Predator I have sitting around and then I think I'll return to the Terminator project. When Black Reach came out, I picked up a bunch of Termies and a Termie Assault Squad. I figure I have about 25-30 Termies and Lightning Claws to paint and a handful of metal ones to assemble and paint. That should bring me up to about 75 Termies total. I thought about an entire Terminator Company, but I think I have enough. Add in a few Veteran squads and my First Company is pretty much done. That'll mean I have a First, Second and half of a Third Companies. I think that qualifies as a huge army, but it's certainly not the biggest I've seen. There's one guy here who, last I saw 5 years ago, has seven and a half companies. He was working on an entire Chapter but I'm not sure if he made it considering I saw him a few months back and he said he hadn't even played 5th Ed. I can see how someone might stall out under those conditions. I'm not even sure, assuming I had the money and time, I would even want an entire Chapter. On the other hand, I never seriously considered that I would own two and a half companies either. Go figure…

The Astramalleus or "Star Hammers" are an Ultramarine descended Chapter chartered during the 23rd founding in the fallout of the Age of Apostasy. Because of a change in the fundamental rites and doctrines of a Marine Chapter, a young Captain, aided by many veteran troops, managed to steal a Battle Barge and defect. After wandering for years, they managed to find a planet where they could live safely but gave it up to successfully defend a world in the throes of an Ork invasion. Before they could leave, however, their pursuers found them.

When the Grey Storms arrived and recognized the renegades, they immediately changed their focus from fighting orks to capturing them. While a few of the other Marine Chapters present questioned and criticized the wisdom of the Storms' choice of actions during a wartime situation, none could afford time to investigate or forces to stop them. Walach and his band managed to avoid the Storms for a short period but knew things were about to come to a head. After receiving an ultimatum to surrender to the Storms, Walach took the biggest gamble he ever made. He surrendered himself and his entire band to the Ultramarine Captain. He requested that he and his men be tried by the sitting Lord Macragge. Part of the Grey Storm charges against the renegades maintained that by virtue of the geneseed that made up part of their bodies, the renegades were bound by the law of the Storms. Walach argued that since the Storm geneseed came from Ultramarines stock, by the same logic used by the Storms, it would belong to the Ultramarines and only the Master of the Ultramarines could choose how to dispose of it and them. The Storms disagreed but were not willing to start a fight with the Ultramarines over it so they relented and returned to the campaign as everyone awaited the answer from Ultramar. Everyone was equally surprised when word was received that Lord Macragge would hear the case.

Both sides plead their cases before the Chapter Master of the Ultramarines on Macragge. The renegades maintained that they never broke faith with the Emperor and merely resisted the manipulation of their Chapter by the Ecclesiarchy and that their loyalty during this rebellion was proven by their defense of Hajic. The Storms held that the renegades had not only rebelled against their Chapter but had also stolen materiel, experience and geneseed from them, weakening the Chapter's ability to defend against the Imperium's enemies, and had taken from Imperial worlds, misusing the authority of the Adeptus Astartes. All statements were heard, recorded and considered by Lord Macragge before his judgment was rendered.

Lord Macragge had been wary of the heightening influence of Vandire and had long kept an eye out for any attempt to extend that power over the Adeptus Astartes. With this also in mind, he rendered a judgment that would echo throughout the halls of the Astartes and the Ecclesiarchy. He decided that the renegades had remained loyal to the Emperor and had maintained that loyalty, for many even unto death. Therefore, they were not to be named traitors to the Imperium. Further, without their fortunate placement and swift action, an Imperial world and billions of citizens would be lost to the Orks and their Waagh would have an industrialized base to continue from. Therefore, it would be proper that a new Chapter be started to defend the area from more incursions. The experience and geneseed of the renegades (bolstered by more Ultramarine geneseed) would build the basis of this new Chapter. However, they had rebelled from their Chapter's rightful authority and had stolen from them. Therefore, after a sufficient period of time to train and begin this new Chapter, the original renegade Marines would begin a continual crusade until they were all dead and their Chapter would, over time, return the materiel and geneseed taken from the Grey Storms under terms to be agreed upon.

Walach never imagined an outcome such as this. He was recorded to have said "We have always remained the hammer of the Emperor and, if it is his will, we would smash the stars themselves!" From these words, the first uttered by the newly chosen Chapter Master came the name of the Chapter and so began four thousand years of glorious service to the Imperium. The Storms were not happy with the verdict but accepted it and began their four thousand year grudge...