Steel Tigers

The Steel Tigers are a Fifth Founding Chapter, intended to perform the role of the Imperium's Rapier. Intended to be the pinnacle of Imperial shock troops, they have no Parent Chapter, per se, but are a genetic melding of several Gene Seeds taken from several First Founding Chapters and replicated on a massive scale (though not exceeding the numbers of other such Chapters. They received the boons of this amalgamation of Gene Seed, but also suffered dreadful side-effects, combining the shortcomings and mutations of their parent Chapters. In many ways, this has resulted in the Steel Tigers being counted among the Cursed Foundings, alongside the likes of the Sons of Antaeus and the Legion of the Damned.

Origins
By the time of the Fifth Founding, the Imperium was beset by many foes, among them were foes conventional forces simply could not defeat without impractical commission of resources and manpower. And so, a Chapter of Space Marines was ordered to be created by the High Lords of Terra. While this order seems odd to the casual observer, if not downright insane, it was founded on solid history, as the Grey Knights and the Deathwatch Chapters were both commissioned for an express purpose to combat foes conventional Space Marines could not overcome without great risk. And so the gears were set in motion for one of the most beloved and reviled Space Marine Chapters in recorded history.

The Steel Tiger's baptism by fire was during a large-scale counter-assault against Chaos Space Marines of the Word Bearer's Legion as they surged out from the Warp-Real Space Tear known as the Maelstrom, to the Galactic East of Terra. As expected, the Steel Tigers assault struck like a hammer, throwing back the Word Bearers with a savagery even the Daemon-Worshipping blasphemers were unprepared for. Again and again, the Steel Tigers overran enemy positions, severing supply lines and leaving them isolated in the Imperial thrust. Eventually, the Word Bearers were forced to band together to hold against the wild, relentless charges and reckless assaults. Were any force other than Space Marines to attempt these tactics, they would fail. But the Steel Tigers crashed on the Chaos defences, riding a wave of bloodshed akin to the World Eaters Traitor Legion, slaughtering all in their path, whether or not it fired, even after cultists or slaves surrendered, they were gunned down or put to the sword.

On world after world, the Steel Tigers received immense praise for their courage and skill as they pushed the Traitors back towards their home. Many observers admired their zeal and unshakeable conviction, while the more cynical observers claimed that the Tigers were every bit as savage as the World Eaters, and every bit as resilient as the Death Guard. Obviously, none of these opinions were voiced in the presence of the Steel Tigers, as they had sworn no oath nor come to any agreement about the Campaign, and so could, in theory at least, abandon their meteoric advance as and when they chose to. Just as they had before, the Steel Tigers hurled themselves at the final bastion of the traitors as the Warp Storms surrounding the system abated. Robbed of their Daemonspawn allies, the Word Bearers could not hope to weather the coming storm of steel and fire that the Tigers brought, and so they fled. However, not satisfied with the rout of their foes, the Steel Tigers relentlessly hounded the Word Bearers as they turned tail and headed back towards the Maelstrom, the Tigers gnashing at their heels until the very border of the Warp Storms around the massive tear in Space-Time. It was a glorious moment for the fledgling Chapter, as they were hailed heroes by all.

However, their bloodlust and battle-rage had not gone unnoticed, and the Ordo Malleus and Ordo Hereticus began monitoring the Chapter for any signs of corruption, gravely irritating the higher echelons of the Chapter Command with their probings and constant evaluations of the Chapter's purity. So much so that the Steel Tigers began training an inordinate amount of Chaplains to look after the spiritual well-being of the Battle Brothers. To this day, the Steel Tigers Chapter contains more Chaplains than any other, in a similar manner to the Blood Ravens containing inordinate amounts of Librarians (although the Tigers' reasons are clearer).

The Scouring of Perseii IX, 836 M.40
Perseii IX was a verdant Agri World in the Perseii System in Segmentum Ultima. While the Steel Tigers were performing a tour of duty through the Ultima Segmentum, searching for potential bastion and recruitment worlds, they received a call for aid. The Perseii System had recently come under attack by Ork refugees of a recently defeated Waaaagh!, and Perseii IX had not responded to communications for almost a month now. As might be expected from a Chapter carrying the blood of the Space Wolves, the Steel Tigers were the first to respond. What they found as they approached the striken world, they saw that it was surrounded by ramshackle Ork Kill Kroozas and Roks. The Tigers opened up their assault with long-range attacks on the Roks from Wrath of God, their Star Fortress and Fortress Monastery, accompanied by attacks from their Battle Barge's Dorsal Bombardment Cannons and Lance Batteries. Pillar of Wrath, the most powerful of the Battle Barges, having undergone engine, targetting system and Void Shield upgrades, truly excelled in the battle, shrugging off horrific punishment and laying waste to all in it's path.

As the orbital battle raged on, Wrath of God moved into low orbit and split it's efforts between bombarding Ork camps on the surface of Perseii IX and ravaging the orbiting Ork Fleet. The Strike Cruiser Terra's Blade was severely damaged at this point, when a damaged Kill Krooza attempted to ram it. Performing an expert about-face turn, Terra's Blade fired her frontal lance batteries at point-blank range, preventing a devastating ram, but damaging herself in the explosion. She disengaged under escort by several Gladius Class Frigates, and took no further part in the battle.

After this, enraged by this attack on his Brothers, Trask ordered a drop pod assault on the largest Ork camp on the planet. The Tigers went about this with typical savagery, dropping right into the heart of the enemy positions, setting up a perimeter with modular drop-fortifications, set up under a hail of fire as the Space Marines cordoned off a large section of the camp, which was several hectares in size. Trask, Drago and Steelhide dropped into battle shortly after fortifications were completed to finish plans for levelling the Ork camp. Strategy finished, the Tigers launched a characteristically devastating counter-attack. They burst a salient into the Ork Camp, and pushed ever-harder into the green tide, chainswords and bolters singing a battle march as they went. Trask himself rode at the head of this wave of bloodshed, mangled and dismembered bodies trailing in his wake.

At the height of the battle, Trask met the Ork leader, a Warboss known as Orkomungous da Third, in single combat. While the Ork outstrengthed Trask by a wide margin, the more agile Chapter Master easily evaded the Ork's clumsier attacks and landed a single killing blow, driving his Lightning Claws through the Ork's skull. As word of Orkomungous' death spread among the Orks, infighting and bickering characteristic of the Greenskins erupted as each Ork tried to prove they were best set to take the Warboss' place. With all sense of organization gone from the enemy, it was merely a matter of mopping up. Not two months later, the Steel Tigers were hailed as heroes for cleansing Perseii IX of the Green Scourge.

Gene Seed
The Gene Seed of the Steel Tigers is one of their most interesting traits, as it is not like the Gene Seed of most other Chapters. Rather than containing the genetic blueprint of a single Primarch, it contains the genetic legacy of many. The majority of the Steel Tiger's genes can be traced back to the Space Wolves, the Blood Angels and the Raven Guard, three of the Imperium's most famous Space Marine Chapters, all of whom prefer close action and slaying the foe face to face. Other genetic markers can be traced to other Chapters, though only in trace levels, such as the White Scars. This granted them the traits of the most brutally efficient assault forces in the Imperium. However, it also forced upon them some of the most tragic flaws of any Chapter.

Mutations and Genetic Flaws
It was assumed that the flaws of the parent Chapters would be diluted by the genetic melding, and to an extent this is true. The flaws are rarer than the parent Chapters, but are often compounded. They are susceptible to both the Black Rage and the Curse of the Werekin. While both being present at the same time is rare, there are records in the Chapter Archives of deranged and psychotic Wulfen suffering from the Black Rage. They became utterly uncontrollable and had to be euthanized at battle's end. Members of the Steel Tigers all display elongated canine teeth like the Space Wolves, and are every bit as temperamental as the Blood Angels and their own successors, though the presence of Raven Guard genes temper that to an extent.

Combat Doctrine
As their original purpose, the Steel Tigers prefer close action. That is not to say they are not capable of long-range destruction. They are trained in all aspects of warfare, as are most Space Marines, but to fight at long range would be to waste their incredible genetic legacy of close-quarters bloodshed. Unlike many Space Marines, who rarely use the corrosive poison of their Betcher's Gland, Steel Tigers consider it a useful ability to effectively use the poison offensively. In fact, many of them are proud to be highly skilled spitters, and will gladly display their ability to any who would ridicule it. Many a would-be funnyman has suffered horrific burns at the hands of an irritated Steel Tiger.

A detailed fireplan is always prepared, using the battlefield as markers, rather than intended or assumed troop positions, as it is a far more reliable method. The command structure is extremely flexible, and all members, of any rank, are expected to be able to take command of a situation should the need arise. Independence is a valued trait in battle, but fire support is usually centralized, so that any given infantry or armour formation could call in exactly the right kind of artillery support. Armour plays a large, but not central role in the battle plan, often spearheading assaults while accompannied by devastating infantry support. The true workhorse of this assault Chapter is the infantry soldier. Be it a Tactical Marine or a Devastator, they will be mobile, either on their feet or in a Rhino or Razorback Transport. Assaults will be staggered, with the time interval between each attack shorter than the last, while heavy support moves up to support the next infantry thrust. While heavier units are moving up, Chapter armour and Devastators will typically maintain heavy fire to maintain pressure on enemy positions. At the end of battle, there will be a final, devastating assault, often involving Drop Pod Assaults and teleporting Terminators.

Infantry is expected to be able to overcome any given opposition. As such, many Devastators carry knives or shortswords of some description and Devastator Veteran Sergeants will almost invariably be heavily armed for close combat to defend their less melee-oriented Battle Brothers. The Chainsword and Bolt Pistol are as common an armament as the Bolter alone, given the close combat-oriented nature of the Chapter. All Tactical Marines are trained in armed and unarmed combat, as with all chapters. Unlike other Chapters, the Steel Tigers are taught to fight dirty. They are taught to put their fang-like canine teeth, inherited from the Space Wolves, to good use, taught to rend their foe's throats out with their teeth and to tear at their foes heads and faces with them. They are proud to put the acidic toxin generated in their Betcher's Glands to frequent use, to the disgust of older Chapters. While they admit their headbutting, biting, and gouging fighting style is "uncivilized", but are proud to state it is brutally effective, and unpredictable to the point of being able to catch other Space Marines off-guard. As such, they earned a name for themselves in the Badab Uprisings.

Battle Cry and its Significance
Before a battle, or a significant event in a battle, a ranking Chapter Member, such as a Chaplain or Captain or even a Sergeant or Veteran Sergeant will call to the Space Marines under his command: "Our wounds will heal, our scars will fade.". The Space Marines under his command will respond with: "Our glory, and the glory of the Imperium is eternal!" This is a defiant statement of Imperial might, stating that no matter what damage it suffers, the Imperium of Man will endure in all its glory. The bellow of a single voice, followed swiftly by a rousing Imperial cheer, amplified by the Space Marines' vox-caster units, is often enough to shake the morale and resolve of a foe by itself. It also gives the misguiding impression that the Space Marines are willing and totally unafraid to die, as long as the foe is defeated. To reassure himself in times of hardship, a Space Marine of the Steel Tigers will often recite a condensed version of that mantra, "Wounds heal, scars fade, glory is forever".

It is also used as a Friend or Foe identification system. When confronted by another who they cannot identify, a Steel Tiger will usually state "Wounds heal". A friend will respond with "Scars fade". Many foes have tried to catch the Space Marines of the Steel Tigers by giving a wrong response along the lines of "Glory is eternal" or "Our glory is eternal". Such foes swiftly find their dishonesty earns themselves nothing but a short stint on the business end of a Chainsword.

Chapter Master Kain Trask
Kain Trask is an old Space Marine, one of a long line of Chapter Masters, and a Veteran from the Steel Tigers' First Company. A skilled and experienced warrior, he embodies everything the Steel Tigers hold dear to themselves. Strong, even for a Space Marine, and quick with a blade or a shot, he has never declared war in his entire carreer, striking savagely and without warning, leaving nothing but ruins and mass graves in his wake. While this ruthlessness has been criticized by other Imperial organisations, and even other Chapters, the element of surprise is highly valuable, and several rebellious planets have been pulled violently back in line by a Steel Tiger Battle Barge dropping from the Warp in low orbit and launching Drop Pods and Thunderhawks at the very heart of their organisation.

Trask is known for weilding a pair of Lightning Claws in battle, a weapon combination almost unknown among Chapter Masters. With his chosen weapons, he becomes a whirlwind of destruction among the enemy, and this wild fighting style has been the end of many foes in Trask's long carreer. His front-line fighting style and shock assault tactics have won enough battles for Trask to have earned an Iron Halo, among other honours, including an Order of Guilliman. Given the animosity between the Ultramarines and the Steel Tigers over divergence from the Codex Astartes and surprise assaults, the Order of Guilliman is among Trask's most amazing honours.

Master of Sanctity Jeremiah Steelhide
Jeremiah decided to forsake his own surname, Ulgore, in favour of a title, as a show of devotion to the Emperor. Hailed as the Chapter's wisest Master of Sanctity, he is several centuries old, and wise beyond even that. He is among Trask's most valued advisors, and a strong arm in combat. A pillar of the Chapter, Jeremiah observes every Chaplain to ensure they are taking good care of their charges in their assigned company. A firm detractor of the Inquisition's pryings, it was on Jeremiah's suggestions that Chaplains be trained as a sign of the Steel Tigers' faith in the God Emperor.

Jeremiah wields a large Crozius Arcanum in battle, like a large axe. This is complemented by an ancient Plasma Pistol. Jeremiah was well known for holding the line single-handedly during a Word Bearer assault while the Tigers were touring the Ultima Segmentum, searching for new vassal worlds and recruits. Holding the breach single-handedly against the Chaos Marines, Jeremiah held out for 48 hours alone, heaping the carcasses of the Traitors dozens deep around him in the ruins of a battered Imperial Cathedral. He oversees the training of all Chaplains and tends to the Companies himself on their mobile Fortress Monastery.

Chief Librarian Ferrus Drago
Drago is an enigma, even to his fellow Steel Tigers. A made-in-the-mould killer, Drago is considered a loose cannon by many Librarians from other Chapters, but his power is undeniable. Not as old as either Steelhide or Trask, Drago is nonetheless old by Chapter standards and wise beyond his years. He was found by the Librarium while he fled from Inquisitors of the Ordo Hereticus, and was taken in. It was later discovered that he was an Alpha-Level psyker, even more powerful than the Steel Tiger's Chief Librarian at the time. During his training, he ascended through the Librarium quicker than any Neophyte to come before him or ever since him. When Drago's master, the Chief Librarian, was killed fighting the Green Menace in the Armageddon System, Drago was an obvious successor, in spite of the seniority of many other Librarians.

Drago weilds a Force Sword in battle, a finely-balanced longsword variant, and in his skilled hands, it is more than capable of splitting a man head to groin in one swipe. Rather than weilding a pistol or bolter, he uses his immense psychic power in battle. He also performs examinations on recruits to test for Psychic Potential or any corruption they may suffer from.

Fleet

 * Ramilies Class Star Fortress - Wrath of God Fortress Monastery


 * Battle Barge - Pillar of Wrath


 * Battle Barge - Dream Breaker


 * Battle Barge - Emperor's Scourge


 * Strike Cruiser - Terra's Blade


 * Strike Cruiser - Traitor's Bane


 * Strike Cruiser - Traitor's End


 * Strike Cruiser - Fist of Vengeance


 * Strike Cruiser - Vindicator


 * Strike Cruiser - Roar of Thunder


 * Strike Cruiser - Broken Sword


 * Strike Cruiser - Screaming Cage


 * Strike Cruiser - Shattered Earth


 * Strike Cruiser - Emperor's Lance


 * Strike Cruiser - Terra's Retribution


 * Strike Cruiser - Burning Sky


 * Various Frigates and Support Ships