Editing Red Scorpions (section)

==The Geneseed Question==
[[File:Scorpions Badab War.png|thumb|left|360px|The Chapter during the height of the [[Badab War]]]]Their isolationism and obsession with purity raises some interesting questions. The reason that so many Chapters are successors of the Ultramarines is because theirs is the purest [[geneseed]] of any of the ''loyalist'' Legions (or at the very least tied with [[Lion El'Jonson]] of the Dark Angels). The only geneseed purer than Guilliman's is that of (pre-Heresy) [[Fulgrim]], but for [[Drop Site Massacre|obvious]] [[Slaanesh|reasons]] he isn't exactly the most reliable choice of [[Primarch]]. If he indeed was the Red Scorpions Primarch, they would probably want to keep it on the down low.

Did we mention that coincidentally, the Red Scorpions are [[Blood Ravens|very secretive about their origins]] and even refuse to submit to genetic sampling by the [[Inquisition]], instead insisting that they report directly to the [[God-Emperor of Mankind|Emprah]] himself? [[Just as planned]]. One of these days [[Fabius Bile]] is going to fuck with their gene-seed... and then they will [[RAGE]] harder than even [[Angry Marines]] ever could.

When speculating about [[Traitor Legion Loyalists#List of suspected chapters|chapters with possible traitor geneseed]] it is important to distinguish tactical and cultural traits from the purely "genetic" ones. Just because a chapter likes to siege doesn't mean they descend from the [[Iron Warriors]], but if a chapter shows an innate preference for rationalism or displays a martyr complex, then perhaps they do carry the geneseed of [[Perturabo]].

With the Red Scorpions, there are several parallels to be drawn to the pre-Fulgrim [[Emperor's Children]]:
*"Horus Heresy 1: Betrayal" mentions that ''"The nature of the IIIrd Legion's psychology meant that they would carry the precise meaning and intent of any order without deviation and with their last breath if needed."'' This carries striking similairities to their obsession with their beloved Codex Astartes, and implies said obsession is rooted within their gene-coding. This also contrasts with the post-Fulgrim legion, known to be a fighting force renowed for it's creative tactics and speed.
*Outside observers have noted that the Red Scorpions show a "surprising" capacity to innovate, despite their inflexible personality. Unorthodox practices such as using a reduced scout company, attaching apothecaries to tactical squads, giving the chief librarian an honour guard, and sticking a helios launcher to a [[Land Raider]] chassis suggest they may not be THAT Codex compliant after all. This is doubly interesting because it all happens ''in spite'' of what their Chapter culture instils into them and not because of it, hinting the penchant for creativity might be tied to that oh-so-pure genseed of theirs.
*The Scorpions are religious, which not being the default for astartes, begs the question of why. According to the [[Inquisition]]; the IIIrd legion may not have literally deified the Emperor in the times of the [[Great Crusade]], but the strength and passion of their belief in was equal to that of any later adherent of the [[Ecclesiarchy]]. With the [[Imperial Truth]] gone, it would make sense for loyalist remnants to have slowly drifted towards the [[Imperial Creed]].
*Many of their views on leadership (such as the emphasis on leading from the front and by example) bear near-perfect parallels to the teachings of Solomon Demeter, Fulgrim's loyalist 2nd company captain who was killed at Istvaan III. How could've these teachings survived to reach the Scorpions when Demeter didn't is unknown, though it's possible that a few astartes outside the 2nd Company took up his views.
*[[File:Scorpions Mastodon.jpg|thumb|right|295px|Where does this [[Mastodon]] come from?]]The armoury of the chapter is loaded with ancient patterns of wargear. Aside from their MKIV suits, many of their Predators are [[Predator Tank#Deimos Destructor Pattern Predator|Deimos-pattern]], and lots of their Castaferrum dreadnoughts are MKIV (the non-boxnought variant of the regular dread). They are also not without actual Heresy-era relics: [[Land Raider#Phobos Pattern|Proteus Raiders]], a [[Spartan Assault Tank]], and a pair of [[Dreadnought#Leviathan Pattern|Leviathan dreads]]. The Chapter's oldest recorded action may be in M35, but their arsenal is that of a 2nd or 3rd Founding chapter. And unlike the [[Minotaurs]], the provenance of their wargear cannot be explained by High Lords favoritism.