Adolescent Youth with Potential
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My fluff for my new SM chapter. New to the hobby and would love so feedback on how well my fluff fits into the overall universe as well as any suggestions on how to improve it
Emperor’s Diplomats
Of all the Europan factions, The Benelux Republic was the most cooperative in sending their sons to join the newly levied astartes. These noble princes joined the 3rd legion and quickly proved their worth as both diplomats and commanders of regiments of lesser soldiers. Most senior of these sons of Benelux was Cruyff de Reuter, chief diplomat of the 3rd legion. While a highly skilled warrior, his skills in diplomacy were unmatched in the ranks of the astartes. While he first proved himself as a rank and file marine, his intelligence and drive quickly shot him up the ranks in his legion. Within 45 years of service, he became Chief Diplomat and trusted advisor to the senior commanders of the legion. As the great Crusade left the confines of the solar system, the 3rd legion discovered the planet of Consultaria. Ruled by the Reikstadt Empire, a world comparable in technology to 19th century Terra, the architecture and natural beauty of the world far surpassed any planet discovered during the Great Crusade. A haven of culture and art, Cruyff, his Astartes diplomatic Corp, and their marine honor guard was sent to bring the world into the imperial fold, peacefully. Nasseau the Orange, Emperor of Reikstadt, was weary and fearful of the imposing warriors from the sky. After many weeks of intense negotiation, Consultaria was welcomed into the Imperial fold. During the endless meetings and debates, Cruyff fell in love with Reikstadtian people and the world itself. In exchange for imperial technological assistance, Consultaria became the base of operations for the 3rd Legion’s diplomatic Corp. As the Crusade wore on, the Diplomatic Corp became almost a separate entity from their legion. While growing and operating separately, the devastation caused by the drastic loss of 3rd legion gene-seed deeply troubled Cruyff and he devised a secret plan to ensure the future of his legion. While the vast majority of his entourage were diplomats and philosophers, all diplomats know just how important a factor espionage plays in statecraft. Out of the 114 Marines that made up the Corp, 24 of them were warriors and spies. This ancillary cadre, known to the few who knew of their existence as STOP (Special Tactics and Operations Praetorians), was commanded by Ajax de Graaf, a fellow terran-born Benelux Marine of the 3rd legion. These warriors completely repainted their armor in black paint, increasing their ability to perform stealth operations. A master sharpshooter and spy, Ajax and his subordinates were tasked at skimming from the gene-seed reserves of the 3rd legion to create a secret gene-seed reserve on Consultaria. As the 3rd legion shrunk, desperately trying to replenish their ranks during the crusade, Cruyff’s secret reserve slowly grew. As the Diplomatic Corp sent its members to support the great crusade, as Imperial militia commanders, diplomats, and spies, the Reikstadt empire grew in size and power. The upper echelon of the Diplomatic Corp were important and influential statesmen on Consultaria, helping shape policy and command their armies. Reikstadt grew to be masters of their solar system and sent large contingents of soldiers to fight in the Great Crusade.
By the time of Fulgrim’s return, Cruyff and his cadre were so far removed from the legion that they were not counted amongst the 200 marines which Fulgrim saw as his army. While delighted at the discovery of their Father, Cruyff was too weary of the newcomer to share his secret gene-seed reserve with his gene-father. Fulgrim only once visited Consultaria to meet his distant sons. Even Fulgrim was struck by the beauty and culture of the planet, decreeing it the physical manifestation of the ideals of his legion. While disconnected from their parent legion, the Diplomatic Corp very much shared the values of perfection and beauty of their gene-father. However, the demands of diplomacy prevented them from ever becoming too prideful or extreme, the more prideful and egocentric they became, the less effective they were at diplomats, reminding them of the importance of humility and balance while striving for perfection. At the beginning of Fulgrim’s command of the Emperor’s Children, Cruyff was a trusted advisor and attaché that Fulgrim greatly valued: his wealth of experience and knowledge a valuable tool to the burgeoning commander. However, after his adoption of the Laer Blade, Fulgrim no longer relied on Cruyff, seeing him as not committed to the legion or their quest for perfection. He also began to disapprove of the Diplomatic Corp’s reliance on negotiation and underhanded tactics as cowardly and weak. A mere year after the xenocide of Laer, The Diplomats adopted Oranje, the state color of Reikstadt, as one of the Corp’s official colours. Many of the men added panels of Oranje to their already Purple and Gold painted armour.
By the time the Hersey started, the gene-seed reserve on Consultaria had grown; if fully used, nearly 1000 battle brothers could be levied. Cruyff still refused to tap into it, however. Due to the activities of STOP, The Diplomatic Corp discovered Magnus’ warning and believed it. Knowing they did not have the resources or manpower to change the events sent in motion, Cruyff prioritized the survival of Reikstadt and his gene-seed reserve. Even if Horus defeated the emperor, he hoped his small solar empire could withstand the conflict and carry on the Imperium’s legacy. The Corp’s first action of the Civil War occurred when a small contingent of 500 World Eaters was sent to eradicate this loyalist enclave. These berserkers thought little of the “soft” diplomats and believed it would be an easy target. Underestimating the omnipresent intel network of STOP, the Diplomatic Corp knew of the assault force before they even cast off. STOP employed their group of their Elite Operators, known as PRDTR (Praetorians of Deception special Tactics and Reconnaissance), to negate this threat. Unbeknown to the World Eaters, the world and 3rd Legion Detachment that they attacked was actually a contingent of heretical Emperor’s Children, rather than the Diplomatic Corp. A single PRDTR agent was able to deceive the World Eaters into unknowingly attacking a world thousands of lightyears away which had a similarly sized detachment of Emperor’s Children. This simple action led to the disjointed Traitors believing that they had already dealt with the Corp.
The Dark Gods, however, were not so easily deceived. As the Traitors reached the gates of Holy Terra, a Great Warp Storm engulfed the entirety of the Reikstadt Solar System, the Zonnestelsel. All 7 of the planets and the bright sun which gave them life was cut off from the rest of the galaxy by the corrupting power of the immaterium. Daemons poured onto the planets and forced vicious warfare throughout Zonnestelsel. However, no matter how fierce the fighting got it seemed as though something was preventing the full horrors of the warp from overwhelming the defenses of the Reikstadt Empire and their Astartes Commanders. Chaos cults began to spring up throughout the empire faster than they could be put down and Daemonic possessions and corruption became an incredibly prevalent issue at all levels of society. The best and brightest of the normal humans and space marines became devoted to study of the warp and the new dangers they faced. After decades of war and study, a rudimentary understanding of what they were facing was developed. Corruption had become a serious issue for the normal citizens of the Empire while the space marines had so far been resistant to the blasphemous whispers of the warp. The Imperial science academy secretly began human trials of possession an exorcism on unwilling subjects in order to create a vaccine against the corruption. After another decade of experiments and trials, an effective procedure had been created. Unfortunately, only the strongest and purest of normal men could survive the practice. All astartes quickly underwent this procedure and it became a prerequisite for any leadership position within the empire. Draconian laws were implemented Empire wide, any trace of corruption was grounds for execution. The longer the warp storm endured, the lower the bar was set. The mysterious force which stymied the full onslaught of the warp allowed most incursions to be dealt with the Reikstadt Fusiliers with support from the Corp, leading to very few casualties to be dealt to the small space marine contingent. STOP, however, was heavily involved in infiltrating and wiping out any chaos cults that emerged. The forces of the immaterium were always large enough to pose a serious challenge to the loyalist forces, but never large enough to create any major breakthroughs on Consultaria itself. This warp storm lasted for 9000 years in the material realm, but only 1000 years in the warp storm. By the time the warp storm cleared, all the planets, save Consultaria and its fortress moon, Kasteel, had fallen to the corruption of the warp, becoming hellscapes of hedonistic excess. Cruyff had been forced to use part of the gene-seed reserve, raising 400 additional astartes from the best and brightest of the Consultarian Fusiliers. Due to tactical brilliance and the stalwart actions undertaken by generations of Consultarian Fusiliers, only 30 of the original Diplomatic Corp astartes had fallen, and of those 30 two had been interred into Contemptor Dreadnoughts, the only two dreadnought sarcophagi available to the space marine contingent. However, 250 of the 400 new marines had fallen in battle. Yitzchak van Damme, a venerable PRDTR agent, was the first to be interred into a war machine. Followed later by Geloof Van der Jagt, the oldest space marine who served with the Corp. Geloof loved to boast of his heroism during the final Battles of the Unification War.
Upon the return of Zonnestelsel to real space, Cruyff lead a war of reconquest of the Solar system, exterminating the entire remaining populations of each world and having it resettled by colonists from Consultaria. The reconquest took a few short years, but the Reikstadt Empire remained horribly crippled. Despite the precarious state of the Corp and the Empire, Cruyff knew he had a more important mission to undertake than the restoration of his weakened empire. De Reuter, along with the 4 best PRDTR agents set off into the void to discover what magic had protected them during their isolation. What being was powerful enough to cast a shield over an entire solar system and for what reason did it aid him in his hour of need? He knew he needed to find out. Geloof became the defacto head of the Emperor’s Diplomats in Cruyff’s absence while Ajax remained as the head of STOP.
The task ahead of Geloof and Ajax was great, they had no idea how the Horus Hersey had ended, and their isolation had yet to be disturbed. While Ajax was charged with ascertaining the state of the galaxy in their absence, Geloof set about restoring Reikstadt to its former strength and beauty. While thrilled to hear of the Imperial victory, the Emperor’s diplomats were horrified by the state of the empire. They knew they could not reveal their true identity and posed as an Raven Guard successor chapter and were mostly lost in the bureaucratic labyrinth of the Imperium. Reikstadt was to remain a final bastion of the Emperor’s dream, a beacon of the Imperial Truth and human glory amongst the horrors of the 41st millennium. Battered, but not defeated, the Emperor’s diplomats sought out their heretical brothers in righteous vengeance. Immune to the corruption of the warp and devote in their mission.
All seemed lost after the fall of Cadia. A rift split the galaxy in two and chaos poured out into the galaxy. Geloof and Ajax feared for the future of the Imperium and Reikstadt. However, after 750 years of a clandestine quest for answers, Cruyff returned, alone, but not empty handed. Cruyff wielded the blade of their corrupted Primarch, Fireblade, and was imbued with a fervent ambition. He refused to share what he had learned on his quest with any of his brothers, nor what fate had befallen his companions. Where and how he obtained Fireblade was a secret as well. However, he once more donned the title of Chief Diplomat (in name only, at this point there was not much need for a master diplomat) and continues to lead his Chapter in a secretive mission known only to him. What great power protected them, and for what purpose, he has yet to be revealed, but when asked, he always replies, “The truth will be known in due time”.
Original Composition of the 3rd Legion Diplomatic Corp:
5 Chief Diplomat and personal Attaches (Cruyff, Geloof, and three others)
55 Diplomats
10 Techmarines
10 Apothecaries
10 Chaplain-Philosophers
18 STOP agents
6 PRDTR operators (Including Ajax and Yitzchak)
Current Composition of Emperor’s Diplomats Chapter
10 High Council of the Chapter (Cruyff, Geloof, other Terran born marines)
50 Corp of the Ancients (surviving members of the Original Diplomatic Corp)
400 Battle-Brothers
50 STOP agents
20 PRDTR operators (including Ajax, Yitzchak, the 15 surviving original STOP agents, and the three most capable of the Consultarian born STOP astartes)
40 Guardian of the Vault (the most loyal and ancient of the Consultarian born marines, one of the highest honor a non-terran born marine can achieve in the chapter, guards and maintains the secret gene-seed vault)
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