Steel Drakes

"'Remove the brain from the body and the strongest enemy will fall and surrender beneath your feet.'""— Chapter Master Aradus Zephon, the Scalpel."The Steel Drakes are a Loyalist Space Marine Chapter and an Ultima Founding successor chapter Iron Warriors Chapter.

They are known for their brutal tactical precision, striking at exactly the right moment and place to cripple and demoralise the enemy force, using both melee and ranged options to surgically render an opposing force into its separate pieces, terrified and ripe for surrender or slaughter.

The Steel Drakes are notable for their use of lightning claws, unique amongst Ultima Founding Chapters. This predilection is due to the several ancient lightning claws bestowed on the Steel Drakes by Archmagos Belisarius Cawl. It is said that these relics were forged by their gene-sires, and they are objects of great reverence to the chapter. When they are brought to war the marine entrusted with them is said to experience heightened, almost preturnatural reflexes above and beyond even those of a normal space marine.

The Steel Drakes have a close association with the Forgeworld Vogelskeitt due to their actions in liberating the planet during the Indomitus Crusade.

Chapter History
...

Chapter Fleet
The Battlebarges that make up the Chapter Fleet are known as the Wings of Steel, 8 ships that carry the 8 companies of the Steel Drakes wherever they are required to go.

Fortress Monastery
The Battle-Barge Bahamut....

Recruitment
The Steel Drakes recruit primarily from the Vogelskeitt System, containing Forgeworld Vogelskeitt III and Hive-City Vogelskeitt IV, as well as recruiting from other nearby worlds. Their good relationship with the Vogelskeitt system has allowed their fleet to remain stationed in this system for some time no w, bolstering their ranks for conflicts inevitably on the horizon.

Geneseed
The gene-seed of the Steel Drakes has been shown to be even less susceptible to mutation than other Primaris gene-seed. Blessed by fortune, the Steel Drakes treasure this purity. The skin of the Steel Drakes generally has a sallow and pale cast about it, despite the healthiness of the marines in question.

Captain's Guard
Each captain keeps a squad of specially chosen marines as his Captain's Guard. This squad usually numbers 5 or 6 and will include the Company Champion and his chosen elites drawn from the ranks of the company. This squad will almost always take to the field with their Captain, their purpose to defend him from all threats. As masters of eliminating the chain of command, the Steel Drakes are well aware of the virtues of their own, and devote these honoured marines to defend it. Each captain personally selects his Company Champion from his company, who then selects his fellow Captain's Guard.

Company Structure
While mostly codex compliant, the Steel Drakes are slightly divergent in that they only have 8 companies, each of which is larger than a normal company to achieve a full Chapter of 1000 marines. Each company has some element of combined arms, as while the Steel Drakes are the masters of taking out the command structure and will of an opposing force, they are well aware that this is not a valid tactic in all situations.

Psychosupportive Command
The Steel Drakes do not have a chaplaincy within their ranks. Instead, the role of Chaplains in supporting the mental well-being of the space marines is undertaken by the chain of command. A culture of support is drilled into the battle-brothers during their indoctrination, and every commander from Corporal all the way up to Chapter Master is responsible for the mental health of those under their command.

1st Company - The Jaws
Captain X

Flagship: X

2nd Company - The Wings
Captain X

Flagship: X

3rd Company - The Tail
Captain X

Flagship: X

4th Company - The Body
Captain Balthazar

Flagship: Ouroborous

Command: Lieutenant Resheph, Lieutenant Adonhes, Lieutenant Zidon, Librarian Ashtoreth, Apothecary Sikarbaal

List of squad names and monikers for the 3rd Company:

Honour Guard - (To-be-released Primaris Melee Unit) - Squad X - Sergeant Asherah,

1st Squad - Intercessor - Squad X

2nd Squad - Intercessor - Squad X

3rd Squad - Intercessor - Squad X

4th Squad - Intercessor - Squad X

5th Squad - Reiver - Squad X

6th Squad - Reiver - Squad X

7th Squad - Aggressor - Squad X

8th Squad - Aggressor - Squad X

9th Squad - Inceptor - Squad X

10th Squad - Inceptor - Squad X

11th Squad - Hellblaster - Squad X

12th Squad - Infiltrator - Squad X

13th Squad - Infiltrator - Squad X

14th Squad - Supressor - Squad X

15th Squad - Supressor - Squad X

16th Squad - Eliminator - Squad X

17th Squad - Eliminator - Squad X

18th Squad - Eliminator - Squad X

Redemptor Dreadnaught X

Redemptor Dreadnaught X

5th Company - The Body
Captain X

Flagship: X

6th Company - The Body
Captain X

Flagship: X

7th Company - The Body
Captain X

Flagship: X

8th Company - The Neophytes
Captain X

Flagship: X

Non-Astartes Personnel
Chapter serfs...

Unique technology
The Steel Drakes have few unique technologies at their disposal. Most of their equipment is standard Primaris Astartes pattern weapons and vehicles, though a few variations unique to the chapter do exist.

Atypical Power frequencies
Steel Drakes power weapons have an abnormal energy field, which has very little real effect other than turning the energy field a brilliant orange. When a weapon with this alteration strikes a solid object the field flares and crackles, spreading low level sparks of lightning across the surface of the object it struck.

Deathwatch Service
Very few Steel Drakes have served in the Deathwatch...

Role Markings
Tactical/Intercessor: Right shoulder pauldron and backpack exhausts marked with squad colour.

Tactical Lieutenant: Both shoulder pauldrons, backpack exhausts and helmet marked in squad colour

Sergeant: Bronze backpack exhausts. Pauldrons in blue.

Assault: Shoulder pauldrons in sky blue, jet cowlings in squad colours.

Heavy and Special weapons/Devastator: Black pauldrons and exhausts. This applies to those who wield heavy weapons within non-devastator squads such as tactical squad heavy weapons.

Veterans: White helmets and pauldron trims.

Chapter Fleet
Each company in the chapter, save the 10th, are given command of a fleet of warships, ranging from 5-15 ships depending on the company that wields them. Some of the fleets are adapted and used for a specific purpose, the 9th Company Fleet is almost perpetually kept in orbit of Dusthaven while the 6th contains a disproportionate amount of Drop-pod launch ships and orbital transports.

Each of the fleets have a flagship that is the personal vessel of the company commander and whatever retinue he has seen fit to elect for his command squad. In addition to the 9 company fleets, the Will Breakers maintain a reserve pool of vessels that do not belong to any specific fleet but can used to re-enforced any damaged fleets or if the time is dire, be deployed as a separate fleet.

The Chapter Master also has a small personal fleet made up of ships whose captains and crews have proven themselves worthy of defending the most senior members of the chapter. This includes Teryfun’s Ironclad-class Battlebarge Reaper’s Arrow. The overall fleet contains far more heavy ships than most other chapter fleets. In addition to the 10 fleets, each speciality of the chapter has its own small fleet and a flagship which is given over to the head of the division. Libros Harx commands the largest of these flagships in the smaller divisions under the flag of the Fleet Librarii.

The techmarines command the smallest fleet, the barest few frigates to their name but their presence is always a boon as their crews can repair other ships with far more speed and efficiency than crews compromised of serfs. Any large ships operating alone will commonly be escorted by a cohort of 3-4 Nova-class frigates to provide anti-capital firepower. These ships: Lanceflame, Irata Imperatii, Purgeherald and Stiletto make up a squadron of ships in the Will Breakers fleet dedicated to capital ship protection.

Currently the chapter maintains 3 Battle Barges: Reaper’s Arrow (Ironclad-class), Amadeus (Legate-class) and Traitor’s Dread (Warpspite-class). The chapter also has a slightly larger fleet than most because they have an agreement with the shipyards of Respallia whereby a small portion of the world’s ship production will be devoted to producing ships for the Will Breakers.

Notable Steel Drakes Vessels
Battle-Barge Bahamut - Fortress Monastery of the Steel Drakes

5 Battlebarges:
Bahamut

Wyvern

Ourobourus

The Claws of the Dragon
8 individual Lightning Claws. One is bestowed on the Captain of each Company of the Steel Drakes.

The Talons of Tiamat
A pair of lightning claws wielded by Chapter Master Aradus Zephon.

Memorium Eternius
No space marine chapter is without casualties and each honours its dead in a unique way.

Allies
Imperium of Man -

Enemies
Xenos -

Mutants -

Heretics -