Brethren of Spite

"Foolish Templar, do you have no idea of what you serve? I have seen the reality of this universe, and I realise what a fool I have been. If freeing the rest of you from your deluded state the requires the burning of a thousand worlds, so be it. You will wake and smell the ashes."

- Cain, leader of the Brethren to an unknown Black Templar.

The Brethren of Spite are a group of fleet based Chaos space marines operating in the Imperium of man’s Eastern Fringe. Originally making up the core of the “Brotherhood of Man” Space marine chapter, the Brethren formed from secessionist splinters that remained after the chapter collapsed in late m.37. The Brethren are led by Cain, the former captain of the 2nd company and now Chaos lord of the Brethren. The Brethren of Spite are known to worship Chaos undivided, while certain squads have adopted a specific god to worship.

History
"Death will not be the punishment of our foes, no, it will be much worse. When they crawl from their blackened holes, they will look up at our glorious accession into the heavens, lit by the golden light of the Emperors throne."

- Cain, Captain of the second company

Though not much is known about the Brotherhood of Man before their civil war and re-formation into the Brethren of Spite, what is known is that the organisation of the chapter and it's tactical doctrines are relatively the same. The Brotherhood of man extensively used it's fleet as the basis of it's chapter and recruited on selected worlds across the Imperium, which it's forces where spread across. With the constant warfare that raged thought the galaxy, the Brotherhood found their fleets spread thinly across the void of space. The chapters numbers began to dwindle to a mere four hundred strong as the eternal conflict of the galaxy took it's toll, and soon members of the chapter began to object to chapter commands actions, and the perceived future extinction of the chapter.

The leader of those who objected was Cain, a skilled shipmaster who had served the chapter faithfully for two hundred years. He believed that the chapter needed to regain it's numbers before involvement in any further major engagements, but chapter command would have none of it. Ordered by it's over zealous chapter master, the command demanded that Hemlock be stripped of his title and executed for heresy. Cain simply cared for the survival of his chapter, and rallied his forces against those loyal to the chapter master. After several years of vicious fighting, only 370 of the chapter remained, with a jaded and aged Cain as it's leader.

Cain realised the chapter needed to be re-built, starting with it's numbers, but the chapters recruiting worlds had been ravaged by the war. Billions had died and only a quarter of the tenth company remained, with little recruiting stock to chose from. Within a year, the chapter was still only at 400 members, and feared if it was driven into any major combat it could be lost in a limbo of high casualties until they were finally driven to extinction. The chapters gene-seed tithes became increasingly strained, as the chapter sought to increase their numbers. An Inquisition fleet of 20 ships arrived at the Brotherhoods location and demanded it surrender and allow it's members to be interrogated for heresy. The Brotherhood fled, and was declared renegade.

Organisation and tactical overview
"We do this not because we are hateful fools, pointlessly burning planets in an attempt to heal old wounds, or feed juvenile vendettas, but to survive."

- Anonymous Brethren.

The Brethren as a loyalist chapter where highly supported by their fleet, with numerous craft from different eras within their fleet. When the chapter turned traitor, they maintained such an organisation, and used their fleet strength to conduct raids on shipping lanes and lone worlds. Most of these craft are commanded by vetered Space marine shipmasters, with crews hand picked. Some smaller craft are commanded by human renegades or even xenos, though they rarely advance above anything other than command over a frigate.



Most squads and units in the ground army have lost most of their original codex orientated organisation. Much of it has been replaced by that of rule through cunning and strength. Squads are made up of bolt gun and special weapon armed space marines, led by champions or veterans who have ascended above their brothers through cunning or brute strength. Groups of champions may band together to form enforcers or act as lieutenants for Shipmasters, making their will known to unruly troops. Insubordination is rare, but any occurrence is quickly stamped out by the swing of a fist or blunt sword.

Some squadrons have fallen into the cults of chaos, becoming Plague marines or Khorne Bezerkers. Such troops have not become alienated from their fellow brothers though, maybe developing rivalries, or becoming more competitive, but maintaining the sense of brotherhood all Brethren share. Any attempts to break it are dealt with quickly, ending in death or worse.

Fleet
The Brethren's of Spites fleet contains a varied array of ships, though several have been noted in their regularity in raids and attacks;
 * Covenant of Sin: The Covenant acts as the flagship for the Brethren of Spites war-fleet, and is a feared sight among Imperial admirals. The ship has been heavily modified to support more weapon batteries, along with heavier armour and shielding. The Covenant was discovered by the Brotherhood of man after they fled the Imperium, drifting on the eastern fringe, and quickly formed the center of their naval strength.

Ranking
While much of it's original ranking is gone, some of the Brethren's original forms of hierarchy remain;


 * Ship masters: Commanders in the Brethren's fleet, a ship masters statues is measured on his commanding skills and tactical ability. The strongest of Ship masters are found commanding cruisers and dreadnoughts, while the lowest are found commanding far smaller craft. These could be compared from Lords and Sorcerers to Aspiring Champions.
 * Fleet masters: Some Ship masters will come into the command of small group of ships, these powerful champions are known as Fleet masters. Both cunning and vicous, Fleet masters will have many years, if not centuries of experiance and have gathered a group of ship masters to their cause.
 * Grand admiral: A title given to the current leader of the Brethren, Grand admirals are highly powerful individuals, with the power to have entire star systems reduced to smoking rubble. The current Grand Admiral is former chapter master Cain, though his position is sought by many.

Culture and beliefs
"We are not traitors. We have simply seen the reality of our situation."

- Brethren of Spite

As a loyalist chapter of the Imperium, the Brethren where a closely knit chapter. Bound by their belief in the Imperium and their own brotherhood, the chapter has continued to maintained such beliefs in their brotherhood, even as piratical raiders and corsairs. A honor among thieves if you will. Even with members falling into the worship of specific chaos powers, the chapter has held together under beliefs.



Another major factor of the Brethren of Spite is the way they see themselves. They do not believe themselves traitors, but they see themselves as those who have seen the Emperor for what he is. They have become servants of Chaos because it will allow the chapter to survive far longer than it would under the Imperium, and believe they must spread such a message to all other Astartes. They see this as 'freeing' the other Space marines from slavery, though this view has become corrupted over time. More jaded Brethren see themselves as traitors, who simply joined Chaos in an attempt to survive and shun their brothers for such an acceptance.