User:Thisarmysucks/Scarlet Skulls

Overview
The Scarlet Skulls are a chapter shrouded in Mystery who has served the imperium of man for millennia. They are a fleet based chapter who primarily target space pirates with special focus given to pirate fleets of Dark Eldar and Chaos Space Marines. They specialize in boarding actions and raids but also have mechanized companies for protracted ground battles. The Skulls have gained a reputation for ruthlessness, and deception. They have never shied away from any kind of devious tactic that would allow them to get the upper hand in battle. Despite this, they have worked with several other chapters on campaigns who esteem them to be brave and stead fast warriors unquestionably Loyal to the Emperor. The exception o this is the Ultramarines and many of their successors. There has been no love lost between these Chapters. One account actually claims that two Captains from the Ultramarines and the Scarlet Skulls actually came to blows after an argument over how to conduct a campaign against the chaos uprising on Seclorum IV. The report says that Marines from both chapters pulled the two apart before things got too nasty, and the Ultramarines departed the world soon after.

History
The first documentation of the chapter was right after the Seventh founding. Although no records exist of their creation in the seventh founding, or any other founding for that matter. Their tradition holds that they are a ? founding chapter, but of their primogenitor chapter there is no mention. They are a chapter who keep their secrets closely guarded from all outsiders and even within the chapter secrets are kept from all but the highest ranks. Another unusual aspect to the Scarlet Skulls is their close ties to units of the Imperial Guard. The 307th Expeditionary Force, based out of Darkuk has longed worked with the Scarlet Skulls. Several regiments from the force are assigned on permanent duty to the Skulls fleet. Infect the Red Skull is a badge awarded to guardsmen in the 307th for their service to the skulls. In addition the Skulls maintain their own personal unit who serve aboard their ships in various duties such as intelligence gathering and missions unsuited for an Astartes known as the Red Guard.

998.M41 Third War for Armageddon
The Scarlet Skulls contributed their 2nd and 4th Companies algong with several members of the 1st Company, including three Dreadnoughts, to the The Third War for Armageddon. Fighting closely alongside the [|Omega Marines], members of each chapter forged strong friendships together in the heat of battle. The Campaign badge for the Third War for Armageddon is a black omega symbol added to the badge of the Scarlet Skulls signifying their respect for the Omega Marines.

Currently the 1st (Valor) 2nd and 4th Companies are on Patrol as Battlefleet Epsilon. 1st (Honor), 3rd, 7th and 11th are on Crusade as Battle Fleet Alpha. 5th, 6th, 8th, and 9th are doing defensive manuevers in subsector Incursio around their recruiting worlds.

Organization
The Scarlet Skulls is loosely follows the guidelines of the Codex Astartes, but differs widely in some aspects. The First Company is the veteran Company as per the codex; however the skulls divide it into two parts: Honor, and Valor. Honor Mans the Chapter Flag ship, Commanded by the Lord Commander, while valor joins the other company in the field and is led by the First Captain.

Each Company within the chapter is designed to be self sufficient. 2nd through 7th Companies are codex battle companies. 8th Company is the only reserve company. They man the Fortress-Cathedrals that the Scarlet Skulls have founded on each of their recruiting worlds. 9th company is based around fast attack and assault. All of the chapter’s bikes and land speeders as well as their veteran Assault Marines are housed in this Company. Often squads from the 9th are tasked out to other companies and very rarely does the 9th operate as a whole.



The tenth company is the scout and recruiting company as per codex. Each Fortress-Cathedral has Senior Sergeants of the 10th who are constantly recruiting and training new marines. As the different companies visit the recruiting worlds the new marines are immediately transferred over. There is no command staff for the tenth instead they fall under control of the Lord Black. In addition there is an 11th company which is entirely mechanized and responsible for all of the vehicles as well as the keeping of the sacred war gear for the chapter. Often they are tasked out to other companies but they insure that they keep a strong core together in case they are ever called on for ground assault.

The High Table The high table is what the Lord Master calls his advisors. The Members are as follows:Lord Master, Lord Black, Lord Admiral, Lord Captain, First Captain, Lord Chaplain, Lord Techmarine, and the Lord Apothecary. The Sarlet Skulls are not a democracey but the Chapter Masters are encouaged to heed the advice of their Table. In the event that the Chapter is without it's Lord Master, the High Table votes on the Chapters decisions, including the election of a new Lord Master. The only one who doesn't get to vote on these occasions, is the First Captain. he only votes in the case of a tie.

Lord Black and the Bloody Brothers Lord Black is the Keeper of Secrets, Guardian of the Rites, and Historian for the chapter. He is chosen in secret by the Great Council; after he is chosen his former name is erased from annals and forgotten. He will then be known as Lord Black for the rest of his life. The Lord Black never leaves the Fortress and never takes part in battle unless he is defending the fortress monastery itself. The Lord Black is assisted in his duties by the Bloody Brothers. It is said their name comes from the fact that their entire suit of Armor is painted red instead of just their Helmets. There are 24 Bloody Brothers total, which are chosen by the Lord Black and only he knows their identities. Like the Lord Black, the bloody brothers give u their former names which is then replaced with one of the following: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, Zeta, Eta, Theta, Iota, Kappa, Lambda, Mu, Nu, Xi, Omicron, Pi, Rho, Sigma, Tau, Upsilon, Phi, Chi, Psi, and Omega. Alpha and Omega typically accompany the Lord Black wherever he goes and act as his second and third in command.

Astartes/Imperial Fleet Strength
Scarlet Skulls Fleet Strength

Battle Fleet Alpha:

Astartes Ships
 * Battle Barge: Bloody Hangman
 * Battle Barge: The Wandering Skull
 * Strike Cruiser:The Red Lightning
 * Strike Cruiser: The Hateful
 * Strike Cruiser: Great Ranger

Imperial Naval Ships
 * Retribution Class Battleship:Indomitable Man
 * Emperor Class Battleship:Emperor's Servant
 * Overlord Class Battle Cruiser: Pride of Mosmarra
 * Armageddon Class Battle Cruiser:Great Fortune
 * Lunar Class Cruiser:Aggressive
 * Lunar Class Cruiser:Cape Forlorn
 * Several Dauntless Class Light Cruisers
 * Adjoining Escort Ships and Light Space Ships

Battle Fleet Epsilon:

Astartes Ships
 * Battle Barge: Pirate's Doom
 * Strike Cruiser: The Sad Dragon
 * Strike Cruiser:The Angry Storm
 * Strike Cruiser:Murderer's Bane

Imperial Naval Ships
 * Emperor Class Battleship:Emperor's Dagger
 * Armageddon Class Battle Cruiser:Admiral Achelous
 * Lunar Class Cruiser:Wasp
 * Lunar Class Cruiser:Effective
 * Several Dauntless Class Light Cruisers
 * Adjoining Escort Ships and Light Space Ships

Battle Fleet Omega:

Astartes Ships
 * Battle Barge: The Shameful Cruelty
 * Strike Cruiser:The Greedy Executioner
 * Strike Cruiser:Hades' Kiss
 * Strike Cruiser:Neptune's Curse
 * Strike Cruiser:Bloody Compass

Imperial Naval Ships
 * Emperor Class Battleship:Bainbridge
 * Overlord Class Battle Cruiser:Tempest Lord
 * Armageddon Class Battle Cruiser:The Zephyr
 * Armageddon Class Battle Cruiser:Fire Drake
 * Lunar Class Cruiser:Vital Valor
 * Lunar Class Cruiser:Good Hope
 * Lunar Class Cruiser:Safeguard
 * Several Dauntless Class Light Cruisers
 * Adjoining Escort Ships and Light Space Ships

Recruitment
The Scarlet Skulls have no homeworld but do have several recruitment worlds which they watch over and protect. The majority of all of their Astartes come from these worlds. The known recruitment worlds are Darkuk, Mosmarra, Dagos IV, Dagos V’s moon Covaas and Dagos IX. The 307th Expeditionary Force is responsible for the protection of these worlds and work closely with the Skulls to insure they are compliant. The 307th also has a history of campaigning along side of the Skulls and on several occasions guardsmen of the 307th have gone to become Astartes in the Scarlet Skull chapter.

Appearance
The Chapter's Insignia is a red skull on a steel field. The Chapter banner is silver with a blood red stripe at the flowing edge and a red skull centered. In addition each company has its own unique banner. When worn on armor the insignia is worn on the left shoulder pad; a red skull on unpainted steel with black trim. Often on campaign a design is added behind or below the skull, sometimes even the shape of the skull is changed and this becomes the Campaign badge. Heroes of notable campaigns often choose to continue to wear the design for the honor.

Rank Structure
The secret and ritualized nature of the Scarlet Skulls Have led to strict and in depth ranking structure.

Initiate Initiates make up the scout squads of the chapter and have not yet earned the honor of wearing the skull. Instead they wear plain steel or grey shoulder pads. Battle Brothers Battle Brothers are the rank and file of the Astartes, and as such have no special markings to identify them. They wear the basic colors of the Chapter. Corporal Corporals are the senior most marine in a squad other than the sergeant. Whenever a ten man tactical squad breaks up into two five man combat squads, the Squad Sergeant takes one team and the Corporal takes the other. They are designated by painting the right shoulder pad black and changing the squad designation marking from black to the company color. Sergeant Sergeants are the backbone of any army. Space Marine Sergeants are put in charge of the Company's squads and are always at the front lines in the thick of things. They are designated by painting the right shoulder pad red and changing the unit symbol to the company color. A First Sergeant is the most senior sergeant in their field (ie: tactical, assault, etc.) and typically denotes this by a diamond either on the knee, chest or shoulder. First Sergeants are also responsible for company training. Champion Company Champions is third in line of command of the company and are directly responsible for all company training. His rank is designated by two gold shoulder pads with the trim of the right shoulder pad the company color. Color Sergeant Scarlet Skulls refer to their banner bearers as Color Sergeants. Color Sergeants are designated by painting their right arm red as well as the trim of their shoulder pad. The shoulder pad itself remains the color of the company. Color Sergeants are the most senior sergeants in the company. The rest of the command squad answers to the color sergeant in the absence of the Company captain. Other duties include recording the history of the unit, managing the roll of honor and executive officer. Captain Captains rank is shown by two gold shoulder pads with black trim. First Captain The First Captains rank is shown by two white shoulder pads with black trim. Lord Commander The Lord Commanders has white Armor Lord Captain/Lord Admiral The Lord Captain and Lord Admiral are essential equal in rank. They represent the two most senior marines in the chapter and are invaluable advisors to the the Lord Master. While in space the Lord Captain differs to the Lord Admiral, however, when on the ground the situation is reversed. The Lord Captain has all black armor with gold trim, the Lord Admiral all gold armor with black trim. Lord Master Solid Black Armor

Company is designated by coloring the inset of the shoulder pad. Unit type is designated by the symbol on the right shoulder pad as well as the color of their left greave; blue for tactical, orange for assault, yellow for bikes, and red for devastators. Scarlet Skull Chaplains distinguish themselves from the black armor worn by the chapter by quartering their armor red and black. Crimson skull librarians wear the codex colors for librarians with the exception of a red helmet and black left arm to associate them selves with the chapter. Scarlet skull apothecaries wear the codex colors for apothecaries with the exception of a red helmet and black left arm to associate themselves with the chapter. Scarlet skull techmarines wear half white half black armor signifying the mechanicum.