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As a note, this is my first time really attempting to flesh out a space marine chapter. The idea behind it was a way of making a 'not-Grey Knights' chapter or group within a chapter, mainly so that I'd have an excuse not to paint GK's red, gold and silver to help distinguish them from my red, gold, and silver Necrons.

The Steel Specters:
Codex Space Marine Chapter
Founding: Unknown, but sometime during the 36th millennium
Progenitor Chapter: Unknown, hypothesized to be the Iron Hands or Salamanders
Gene Seed Purity: Slightly divergent. The most noticable mutation is a variation in the Oolitic Gland, resulting in a slightly silvery complexion.
Preferred Chapter Tactics: Mechanized Assaults, Tanks
Important Allies: Order Malleus, Ordo Xenos. Specifically moderate and radical inquisitors.
Uneasy Relationships: The Ecclesiarchy.
Chapter Homeworld: Rellan Prime (original, declared Exterminatus in M38), Altarax (current)

The Steel Specters chapter were founded sometime during the 36th millennium in order to help protect a large region of space near the Halo Stars in the galactic west. The chapter made a name for itself over the course of the centuries, eventually developing a reputation for not only the their precedence towards armoured warfare, but the quality and quantity of their weapons and vehicles. Their perchance towards technology and their ability to maintain their wargear to such a high standard has lead some to speculate that they are descended from either the Iron Hands or the Salamanders, although there is no concrete evidence to support either claim, and if a record proving or disproving those claims would exist, it has not been disclosed.

However, during the mid 38th millenia, when most of the chapter was fighting in the far corners of the galaxy, disaster struck. Alandis Vess, a sorcerer of Tzeentch and leader of an undivided warband of about 100 traitor marines and a thousand human cultists, decided that it was time for him to extract vengence upon the Steel Specters, who had prematurely stopped an up uprising on the nearby Hiveworld of Vermire, slowing is planned ascension to Daemonhood. To extract his vengeance, Alandis needed a pawn, a powerful pawn, but a pawn none the less, and found his ideal servant in the Ordo Malleus Inquisitor Mihkial Dontoros. Dontoros carried the Daemonblade Vax'Kanda'Vi, the soul of a similarly named Daemon trapped within. A daemon of that power would do nicely, however the question remained how to unleash it.

Vess devised a deviously clever, if somewhat simple, plan. Sacrificing a portion of his cultists, he made it appear that a chaos rebellion was occurring in Rellan Gamma, a populated planet in the same system as the Steel Specters home planet while Inquistor Dontoros was in the region, and then while the Specters and Inquisitor were distracted, he would quietly slip onto Rellan Prime and begin the process to open large warp rifts on the planet. The plan worked almost better than he could have hoped for, not only did the majority of the 3 companies that were bastioned on Rellan Prime almost immediately leave to put down the uprising, but Dontoros began to accuse the Specters of heresy themselves, for allowing a rebellion to occur on their doorsteps. Before either party could determine that the rebellion was spread a little too thin, that the rebels were a little too easy to defeat, Vess had completed his work. Massive warp rifts opened across Rellan Prime, allowing Daemons to overwhelm the world.

Realizing that they had been tricked as Vess boasted of his glory to them through telepathic message, Dontoros and the Specters set aside their differences to attempt to reclaim Rallan Prime before the daemons could spread beyond the planet. Calls for help were issued to both the remainder of the chapter and the Grey Knights, but the Specters and Dontoros could not wait for reinforcements. They struck fast and hard, working their way to the Chapter Keep, which Vess had captured with his Daemonic allies shortly after the rifts opened. By the time they arrived, the only portion of the keep that had not fallen to the invading Daemons was the Librarium, held thanks to the combined efforts of Chief Librarian Markus Daniels, and Daniel Clyde, Captain of the First Company. After regrouping the the survivors, Dontoros and Clyde lead the remaining marines to the Fortress's grand hall, where Vess was working to open an even greater warp rift, dooming the planet.

As the battle raged, many Marines sacrificed their lives to the Daemonic invaders, but the force made swift progress towards the grand hall, Vess sprung the final phase of his trap. As the Marines crossed the massive courtyard, his traitor marines, untouched by the conflict, burst out, catching the loyalists by surprise. The fighting was the bloodiest yet of the campaign, with many loyalists and traitors alike falling in the onslaught. During the melee, Inquistor Dontoros lost his arm to an Aspiring Champion, though Clyde was able to save the Inquisitor before the traitor could extract the final blow. However, by the time Dontoros realized the loss of his Daemonblade and was able to inform Clyde of what had happened, it was already too late. A daemonic servant had brought the blade to Vess, so that he could begin to unravel the runes and sigils binding the beast, the first of which he broke by plunging the blade into the captured and bound chapter master's heart.

Despite being ambushed by a foe nearly equal their number, the Specters and Dontoros somehow managed to fight their way into the Grand Hall, where the corpse of their chapter master lay, lumped on the floor surrounded by foul runes and swirling rivers of blood. Realizing that all he had to do was stall the Steel Specters long enough to finish the ritual, he ordered his chosen guard and daemonic allies to throw everything at the loyalists. Yet, the Specters fought on bravely, pushing their way through daemon and traitor, though every step was paid for by a cost of blood. Vess came to realize that the battle was lost, he could not finish the ritual to free the Daemon in time. So, in one final act of spite, he pushed the Daemon blade through his chest, laughing as he fell backwards into the warp rift he had created.

At first, the specters saw this as a triumph. Vess failed in his ritual, the rift had closed, the Daemons vanished and the last of the traitors either dead or in retreat. However, it quickly became obvious that although Vess had played his final card, the game was not yet over. A massive tremor tore through the keep, and outside signs of a warp storm began to brew. Realizing that Vess had used himself as a sacrifice to ensure the destruction of the Rellan system, Dontoros ordered the remaining Steel Specters to evacuate whatever they could. Loading as many weapons and artifacts into their thunderhawks as they could, the chapter fled the planet as warp rifts began to tear it apart. Using the strike cruisers and battle barge in orbit, they retreated to Rellan Gamma, evacuating as many civilians as they could before the calamity on Rellan Prime grew into a full warp storm. By this point in time the Grey Knights had arrived, bravely returning to Rellan Prime in an attempt to slow the events unfurling while help arrived to evacuate civilians, and of course the Inquisition decided what to do with the 78 surviving Space Marines who had fought against Vess.

Under normal circumstances the survivors would have all been subjected to memory wipes, however, Dontroros, either through the recognition of the honour and purity of the survivors, or through a feeling of guilt towards his unfounded declaration of heresy, thought that it would be for the best not only to allow the survivors to retain their memory, but to use this experience to remold them into specialized warriors, ones who would be able to fight hard to defeat the forces of Chaos. Although others, both within the Inquisition and the Grey Knights, initially opposed Dontoros's suggestions, he argued their case with a combination of a old favors and a new-found passion.

Officially, there was a single survivor of the Rellan Prime Incident. Markus Daniels, Chief Librarian of the Chapter, who selflessly escorted Inquisitor Mihkial Dontoros from the planet as chaos consumed the survivors. However, unofficially, sometime after the chapter had relocated themselves to Altarax, there were reports of marines in Black Armour, a small band of warriors, appearing out of nowhere to fight the foes of the emperor, using powerful weapons which shred traitors and banished daemons to the warp. There are also rumors of promising young marines, particularly those with a slight uncanniness about them, resembling a minor psychic gift, being sent on 'special assignments' by the chapter master or chief librarian, or mysteriously disappearing during exercises. There are rumours of secret meetings of the masters of the chapter behind closed doors with members of the Inquisition. Unofficially, there is the Stormguard, the survivors of Rellan Prime, who to this day fight the forces of chaos,

Very good I enjoy your background.

Thanks, after I work out a couple of details I'm planning on adding a more in-depth background to the Storm Guard, exploring their activities since their creation.

The Storm Guard

Following the Fall of Rellan Prime, Inquisitor Mihkial Dontoros was able to successfully convince enough of his fellows to create the Storm Guard, an organization of highly skilled Space Marines second only to the Grey Knights in their knowledge of Daemonkind. The organizations training and equipment is extremely similar to the Grey Knights, using his contacts within the Ordo Malleus and the Adeptus Mechanus Dontoros was able to requisition one hundred suits each of Mystic class Power Armour and Terminator Armour. Aesthetically, the Mystic armour is extremely similar to the Aegis armour worn by the Grey Knights, but it differs in one key aspect. The suits are reinforced with a mysterious psi-crystal known as Zantium acquired from a mysterious yet apparently benevolent Xenos race from the Halo Stars. The Zantium infused within the Mystic armour creates an unusual psychic effect which has the combined effect of not only protecting those who wear the armour from the effects of the warp, but also amplifying the psychic strength of those wearing it. The end result is that the armour grants even the least warp-sensitive Marine not only an unparalleled resistance to the warp, but also some level of psychic ability, not enough to perform any great feat on their own, but when a squad of Storm Guard work together they can achieve some basic effects. The Zantium alloyed into the Mystic Armour also darkens the metal to a near black.

Additionally, despite the fact that officially the Storm Guard do not exist (Imperial records state that the 77 original marines of the Stormguard all perished during the Rellan Prime Incident, and all new recruits are merely listed as Missing in Action), they still have some degree of contact with their original chapter, the Steel Specters. Although most brothers of the chapter regard the Storm Guard as something of a legend, with the occasional reports of mysterious marines in armour which somehow shines as bright as day while being as dark as the void appearing to fight the most dangerous of foes, only a select elite within the chapter know the full truth. This group is historically limited to the Captain of Scout Company, the Chapter Master, and the Chief Librarian, although at various points in time important captains, sergeants, and even brother marines have needed to become privy to the truth for some reason or another. Of those marines who are aware of the secret, they are constantly on the lookout for brothers and recruits who would be worthy of the Storm Guard.

The Early History of the Storm Guard

Shortly after obtaining enough support for his Storm Guard project, Inquisitor Dontoros requisitioned the creation of Outlier Station, a Large Fortress-Monestary for the Storm Guard to use as their base of operations. In secret, the massive space station was built and moved into the dark space between stars, set to watch over the warp storm that had engulfed the entire Rellan System. For the next two decades, the Storm Guard recruited and trained, receiving instruction from trusted Inquisitors and even members of the Grey Knights as to how best equip themselves against the terrors of the warp. Then, Dontoros decided that the Storm Guard were finally ready to test their steel against their Daemonic foe. He had received reports from the Inquisition of cults of pleasure running rampant on the agri-world of Ocia, and that both parties on the planet were preparing for a full scale rebellion. Sensing an opportunity to prove the value of his project, he mobilized a full two-thirds of the Storm Guard (now roughly 160 men strong) to stop the rebellion and deal with any daemons lurking on the planet. As per his initial agreement, however, a Grey Knight strike cruiser would remain just outside of orbit while the operation occurred, ready to step in should the Storm Guard fail to meet expectations.

The Grey Knights were unneeded. The operation was a resounding success, even though the PDF were already on the back-foot by the time the Storm Guard arrived, with Daemonic sightings soon following their arrival. Using their Zantium forged Nemesis weapons and the holy knowledge taught to them by the Ordo Malleus, the Storm Guard were able to purge the traitors and daemons from the planet with acceptable losses. Upon their evaluation, the Grey Knights were harsh but fair, calling the Storm Guard on their every mistake, no matter how minor, but admitting that they were surprised by their performance, offering no objection to the continuation of the program before departing.

Following this victory, the Storm Guard continued their success. Their first major blow came about 50 years after their formation, with Grand Master Daniel Clyde giving his life to defeat a Bloodthirster of Khrone. Yet, their success continued until 39.537M, when the greatest calamity the Storm Guard endured since the Rellan Prime Incident struck, an event which would almost lead to the total destruction of the Storm Guard.

The Kell Event

A dark whisper emerged from they decaying waves of the Rellan Storm. Over one hundred and fifty years after the Rellan Prime Incident, the storm had decayed, spitting a full half of the planets consumed by it back out into the world. This dark shadow, no larger than a man, flew out from the storm at impossible speeds before cutting through to the catacombs of Kel, where it rest in the darkness... unseen... waiting paitently for the day it knew would soon come.

Meanwhile, the Storm Guard were dealing with issues of their own. Armour wears down, weapons break, and the Storm Guard needed more Zantium. Their usual alien benefactors, an unknown and undoccumented species, were currently tied up dealing with the incursions of a small Necron Dynasty awakening from its eons long slumber. This race offered Inquisitor Dontoros and the Storm Guard a deal, one which, due to both his relationship with these Xenos and the prize offered, Dontoros was wiling to accept. The Necrontyr, as the race referred to the undead machines, had an important Tomb World on Kel which the Xenos had been able to weaken, but because of advances made on other fronts, they could not yet strike the killing blow, and feared that by the time they had repelled the Necrontyr elsewhere, the Tomb World will have either fully repaired and fortified their defenses, making their previous efforts for naught, or even worse, have phased off of the planet entirely to rebuild their strength to strike again. In return for destroying the Tomb World, the race offered not only a sizeable sum of Zantium (enough to ensure the chapters needs were met for the immediate future), but the planet Kel itself, which held a vast natural bounty of the material. This is what made the planet so important to the Necrons, as they used Zantium in the process which they manufactured the Gloom Prisms found on their Canoptek abominations. As Dontoros left, however, the xenos offered a warning. They had detected some sort of disturbance on Kel, although they were not sure what that disturbance was, suspecting it to be some kind of advanced Necron war machine. Had they the detailed insight of a more powerful psychic race like the Eldar, they perhaps could have offered information which would have prevented the great calamity to come.

The purging of Kel was a costly campaign. Using his Inquisitorial powers, Dontoros was able to requisition a small Imperial Fleet to provide airborn support while one hundred Storm Guard, clad in their black Terminator Armour, Teleported to the catacombs to destroy the reactor and stasis chambers, and thus, the Tomb World. Accompanying the Storm Guard were Grand Master Adam Macharian, Inquisitor Dontoros, and his small retinue, including his heir apparent, Emilia Vastrell. Fighting their way through silent warriors and flickering machines, they split up into 6 Groups, each lead by a Brother-Captain, Librarian, or Inquisitor. Each group claimed a key system as their target, with Master Macharian claiming the central chamber, the house of the Overlord of Kel and the central fusion reactor powering the entire complex.

As Macharian fought his way to the central chamber, had he not been caught up in the grand battle, he might have noticed that something was wrong. The machinery was growing increasingly unstable as he approached, the lights flickering, Canoptek wraths and spyders stumbling, and the silent necrons suffering unusual malfunctions, malfunctions unsuitable for the domain of a king. Had he been looking at the signs surrounding his opponents, and not just forward to the objective, he would have noticed the eerie darkness encroaching the tomb, the shadows forming with nothing to cast them. Yet, he and his brothers had no time for such observations in the midst of battle, every pushing forward until he opened the doors to the royal amphitheater...

Dontoros was growing worried. More and more reports were coming in of successful operations, yet one group remained unusually silent. Little had been heard of Macharian since his group headed off towards the central chambers, so after destroying one of the Canoptek repair bays, he began to fight his way towards the central chamber. Then, he heard a request for help. From Macharian. "Pinned down by an ambush. Royal Amphitheater. Can't reach the central chamber. Need assistance. Repeat. Need assistance." Wasting no time, Dontoros and his mean press on, redoubling their efforts to reach Macharian.

Emilia was assigned to the Terminator group lead by Brother Captain Desmond Taylor, and although they suffered heavy casualties, the two of them had succeeded in destroying the Phase Engines for the Tomb World. As they were preparing to regroup with the other survivors, they heard a faint echo on the radio. "This is... Macharian.... Pin... Ambush.... Amphitheater..... Assistance....". Wasting no time, they race off to the regroup point, hoping to collect any remaining survivors before going to press on toward the final chambers.

When Master Macharian burst through the doors to the Royal Amphitheater, he realized something was wrong. Expecting the room to be filled with Immortals, Lychguard, and more importantly, the Overlord, he instead found the large chamber empty, save for a shadowy sword jutting out of the central dais. As he reached out to inspect the blade. The shadows dispersed, and the sound of Gauss fire filled the room. Cursing his inability to see the trap, he and his mean turned to face the Necron defenders.

When Dontoros found the path of destruction, he was relieved. He had reached the path which Macharian had taken, and decided to follow it as the fastest way to reach him. He and his men were starting to tire, having fought through countless mechanical soldiers to reach this place. Racing along the path, he offered a silent prayer to the Emperor that he would reach Macharian in time.

Emilia and Taylor had finally managed to regroup with the survivors of all of the remaining teams. Of the 100 Marines and 20 Inquisitorial support staff, only 44, including Emilia, Taylor, a Jokaero, and 4 Inquisitorial Stormtroopers had reached the rendezvous point. Deciding that they can afford to wait no longer, they head towards Macharian.

As Dontoros bursts through the door, he finds Macharian standing on the central dais, his nemesis force halberd resting in the ground next to him. He had his back to the door, watching his men prepare the meltacharges near the fusion reactor, as Dontoros and his escort approached him.

"Macharian! Are you ok? What happened to the ambush?"

"Don't worry about me, old friend. I dealt was able to deal with the Necrons. We should be able to finish our business uninterrupted." Macharian calmly replied, all while continuing to watch his men work.

"Why didn't you signal that you were clear, did you want to risk the lives of our men fighting their way to you while you were already safe!" Dontoros angrily replied.

"That's because I wanted them here"

"What, why would you want to move your men FARTHER from the extraction point!"

"Because we still have to finish our business." Macharian coldly replied while swinging around, with a blade apparently made of shadows in his hand, heading straight for the Inquisitor.

As Emilia, Taylor, and their Terminator escort approached the Ampitheater, they heard the sound of fighting. As they rushed forward, Emilia noticed something was off.

"STOP" she yelled, bringing the group to a sudden halt, the less agile battle brothers almost tripping over themselves due to the weight of their armour.

She listens in the quiet for a second, before asking "Do you hear that?"

"Yes, bolter fire. It means we must hurry" replied one of the terminator brothers.

"Yes, but no Gauss or Telsa. Something is not right here. Brothers, be on your guard" replied Taylor as the Terminators resumed their long march forward.

"Macharian, what are you doing?" Yelled Dontoros, as his blade parried the Grandmaster's sword.

"Getting a little revenge for past transgressions, 'old friend'" Marcharian replied in a voice that was not his own.

Emilia and her Terminator guard burst into the Ampitheater, only to find Macharian and Dontoros fighting over the central dais. Noticing the new enterents, Macharian calmly ordered "We have pests, my friends. Dispose of them."

And with that, the 13 Terminators surrounding the conflict launched themselves at the newcomers with a fury only the combination of man and Daemon could achieve. The first few loyal Storm Guard fell within moments, but soon the line formed, with the brothers skill and number allowing them to hold back their fallen counterparts. All the while, Emilia and Taylor fought side by side, pushing themselves towards the dais, where the possessed Macharian and Dontoros fought their deadly duel. Just as they were about to reach the dais, Macharain, in an arching blow, removed Dontoros's remaining arm, stating "This is for Rellan Prime".

"Vess..." Dontoros, gasped as he fell to the ground....

"Yes, good to see you too 'old friend'" Vess replied, as he slid the shadowy blade through Dontoros's skull.

"NO!" Cried Emilia, as she watched the life drain from her mentors body. Vess, cast the Inquisitors corpse aside before turning to Emila and Taylor, and calmly saying "As for you, sons of the Steel Specters, my vengeance will have to wait. I prey the Inquisition permits you to live long enough for me to claim it. This new body is much more too my liking than my old one, and my time with that blade has given me some... surprising new abilities."

And with that, he, and the 13 Daemon Terminators whom he corrupted, vanished into the shadows as the melta charge behind them detonated.

The blast through the survivors across the room. There only remaining were Taylor, Emilia, 18 other Terminators, and the Jokaero. The detonation had set off a chain reaction, and the survivors would not have time to reach their exit point before the cascading failure claimed the facility. However, the Jokearo guided them back to the Phase Engines that they had previously destroyed, stopping only so that Emilia could recover the Inquisitorial Seal from Dontoros's neck. Re-purposing the technology in a way that only Jokaero could, he was able to convert the Phase Engines into a makeshift teleporter, evacuating the surviving Storm Guard minutes before the Tomb exploded. Of the one hundred and forty four souls, only 21, including the Jokaero, managed to survive. To make matters even worse, their Grand Master and 13 other brothers had fallen to chaos, and not a single one of them was able to be freed from the Daemons grasp and given the Emperor's Peace. In the fallout of the events the Storm Guard program was put under suspension pending review by the Inquisition, although they would eventually be exonerated, it would be nearly 3 decades until they returned to active duty. They also underwent a massive reorganization, subjecting themselves to much stricter recruitment practices, choosing only the best recruits not just from the Steel Specters, but from other chapters they encountered who's warriors were pure of body and soul. While they retained their specific doctrines and practices, the event itself was a stark reminder for the organization, that despite their many victories, they were not unstopable. Furthermore, it was a reminder for not only the Storm Guard, but the Inquisition that unlike they Grey Knights, they were not completely immune to the effects of the Warp.

The Kel Event impacted all of the survivors, yet the most important changes were those to Emilia and Desmond Taylor. After being determined as being free of the taint of chaos, Emilia was granted the rights of a full inquisitor, who would go off to hunt the reborn Vess, who as a result of the Rellan Incident completely absorbed the essence of the greater daemon within Dontoros's daemonblade, granting him an unusual form of Daemonhood. Desmond Taylor was likewise found to be pure, and after much effort, was able to convince the Inquisitors managing the situation to grant him leave to assist Emilia in hunting Vess, although half the Inquisitors simply hoped that he would be killed on his quest. Originally planning on rejoining the Storm Guard after defeating Vess, after his victory the Inquisition offered him an Inquisitorial Seal of his own, which he accepted upon realizing that he would be out of place among the radically changed Storm Guard, and a relic such as himself would be detrimental to the organizations future.

Works in progress:

The Purification of Ocia

The Kell Event (In Depth)