Void Angels

"And the guardians, who guards them?"

Void Angels
Battle Cry	"For the Imperium!"
Number	V
Founding	First Founding
Successors of	N/A
Successor Chapters	Scores, including the Angels Imperious, Angels Vigilant, Chastisers, Covenanters, The Infernals, The Mercurials...
Chapter Master	Phan Van Ty
Primarch	Gaspard Lumey
Homeworld	Ciban IV
Strength	140,000 at the beginning of the Heresy, growing to a peak of over 200,000. 1,000 after the Reforms of the Institurom Astartes
Specialty	Terror tactics
Allegiance	Imperium of Man
Colours	Pale blue and dark blue

This page details people, events, and organisations from the /tg/ Heresy, a fan re-working of the Warhammer 40,000 Universe. See the /tg/ Heresy Timeline and Galaxy pages for more information on the Alternate Universe.

The Void Angels are a Loyalist Space Marine Chapter, originally one of the great Legiones Astartes and led by the Primarch Gaspard Lumey. Their early history was clouded with controversy. In the time of the Great Crusade they were regularly accused of cowardice, rebellion, and especially cruelty. Yet the Void Angels emerged as the foremost defenders of the Imperium, credited with re-establishing its borders at the end of the Hektor Heresy. Their Primarch also had the wisdom to lay down his arms at the end of that great campaign, breaking up his Legion and establishing the modern form of the Space Marine Chapter.

History of the Void Angels

The Void Angels are the greatest of the Space Marine Chapters. Though their history has had no shortage of setbacks, the genius of the Void Angels is their ability to emerge stronger from each failure.

Beginnings

It was not the Space Marines who fought the early battles of the Emperor's unification of Terra. Another generation of genetically-enhanced soldiers, the bygone Thunder Warriors were made to win through the savagery that had overcome humanity's birth-world. But even as the Thunder Warriors sacrificed for the future, their successors were taking shape. Deep below the Himalazian Mountains, the Emperor developed his greatest creations, the Primarchs. Of these mighty beings, all but one would be stolen by the Ruinous Powers and scattered across the Galaxy. The progenitor of the Fifth Legion was not the exception, but samples of his genetics were still used to create the gene-seed of a breed of heroic Space Marines.

Disaster at San Angelus

Hektor Cincinnatus, the first and last of the Primarchs, was the original leader and tutor of the Space Marines. His Sacred Band, made up of the first squad from each of what would become the Legiones Astartes, contributed to the hard-fought Pacification of the Merican Hives. Mamercus led the Fifth Squad in Hektor's Sacred Band with some success in the early part of the campaign. However, Fifth Squad would meet a tragic end in the Battle of San Angelus. During the confused fighting within the great hive, Mamercus' men encountered a band of enraged Thunder Warrior. The mighty, but primitive warriors were running amok, and did not recognise Fifth Squad as their allies. Mamercus and his men were all slain.

Some believe that this unfortunate episode set the Fifth on the path of mistrust and suspicion. Others claim that their psychological tendency was determined by Gaspard Lumey's gene-seed. A third theory holds that the Fifth's status as outsiders stemmed from their members being lost from the Sacred Band, robbing them of bond of fellowship that Hektor Cincinnatus sought to forge throughout the Legiones Astartes. Whatever the precise combination of reasons, the Fifth would be set apart from their brother marines and lost the men who had been singled out as their most promising officer candidates. Mamercus and his fellows, drawn from the Emperor's bodyguard, were all outstanding warriors and natural leaders of men. The man to whom the responsibility of leading the nascent Legion now fell was neither of these things.

Regrouping

Antoine Antonelle was - by the standards of the Astartes - an adequate warrior, no more. His advancement as an officer candidate hinged on his natural talent for explaining complex ideas in simple terms, the critical ability of a master organiser. The Terran adepts charged with grooming the Space Marines had singled Antonelle out as a future quartermaster for the valiant warriors of Fifth Squad. Yet by a quirk of fate he was pushed forward to preside over the development of the whole Legion. Though Antonelle was undoubtedly a highly competent officer, his mild manner failed to convince anyone that the Fifth were a worthy participant in the Emperor's Great Crusade. As a result, his "Legion" was constantly starved of recruits and material, and deployed piecemeal to support other Legions in need of additional Astartes. Scattered and under-supplied, the Fifth numbered only barely over a hundred when Roman Albrecht, Primarch of the Steel Marshals was discovered. On assuming command, Albrecht took it upon himself to aid the leaderless Legions and requested that the First (and only) Squadron of the Fifth be transferred to his command from The Crusaders. With the help of the Steel Marshals, Antonelle slowly built his force up to three squadrons before the rediscovery of the Fifth's own Primarch.

Even during this dark time the Fifth were not without their victories. Their most famous commander was the tempestuous Fabrice Diallo, who served under the Primarch Arelex Orannis. As the Second Legion pushed into the Ultima Segmentum, Diallo's men were often used to unlock defences with quick, decisive movements. Their crowning victory at the Battle of the Caspian Heights, part of the Pacification of Nihos III, is still preserved in the Institutorum Astartes as a model of manoeuvre warfare.

Yet the glory Second Squadron had won would pale into insignificance beside the rediscovery of Gaspard Lumey on the Civilised World of Ciban IV. Unlike many of his brothers, Lumey had not conquered his homeworld. Instead, he had fought alongside its people in their wars of liberation and was content to be an ordinary citizen, if a highly-respected one. The Emperor seemed well-pleased by Gaspard Lumey's achievements, and if the Primarch did not shake the Fifth's maverick reputation his presence at least commanded a certain amount of attention and respect.

A Legion in the Great Crusade

The tiny cadre that Antoine Antonelle had assembled before Gaspard Lumey was found now became the nucleus for a rapidly-growing Legion. Though Ciban IV and the Markian Pact did not have the population of Old Terra, these were worlds full of healthy humans, largely free of mutations and steeped in a rich culture already close to the Imperial Truth. Whereas before the Fifth had struggled for even a trickle of recruits, the gene-wrights and bio-Magi newly assigned to the newly-established Collegium Majoris on Ciban IV were astonished by the quantity and quality of aspirants presented to them. Rather than swamping the Antonelle's limited staff with a flood of Neophytes, the decision was made to select only the very cream of the crop. In the process young men who would have been considered for the honour of joining the famous Warriors of Dawn had they been presented on Terra were instead turned away and inducted into the officer programmes of the Fifth Legion's increasingly-powerful auxilia.

While these recruits were inducted, turned into Space Marines, and readied for war the first years of Gaspard Lumey's rule of the Fifth seemed quiet. Fabrice Diallo's squadron, with the aid of troops from Ciban IV the Markian Pact only managed to round out the pacification of the Al-Sherar Sector. But when the new classes of Astartes took to the field, Fifth Legion would explode into the Great Crusade, conquering worlds at an astonishing rate. It is from this period that their famous moniker Winged Victory dates. If weakness had brought contempt, strength now raised fears. The strong ties of culture that bound Winged Victory's Space Marines, their homeworld of Ciban IV, and their allies in the Markian Pact led to mutterings that Gaspard Lumey was attempting to build his own power-base, independent of the Emperor. The Sacred Band of Hektor Cincinnatus were particularly hostile, and the Primarch of the Warriors of Dawn became increasingly suspicious of Lumey's activity. The Fifth had also racked up a fearsome reputation for ruthlessness. Though they welcomed those who were prepared to accept the Imperial Truth, they consistently met resistance with brutality, punishing those who dared to defy the Emperor as an object lesson for other peoples.

851.M30: Pacification of the Markian Pact

Though Gaspard Lumey would become infamous for scouring planets that spurned the Emperor's offer of universal human brotherhood, his first acquisition of new worlds for the Imperium was accomplished without a shot being fired. In the first months after he was rediscovered by the Emperor and granted a Legion, the Primarch had little in the way of military affairs to occupy his time. He had undertaken a study of the Imperial way of war and its weaponry, but such matters were not overly difficult and in any case required a certain amount of time to mull over before drawing firm conclusions. He had also met with his new "Equerry", Antoine Antonelle and judged him a competent man more than able to supervise the transfer of the Fifth's rather modest forces to Ciban IV and the establishment of recruiting centres there. Rather than simply find busywork or interfere with Antonelle's work, Lumey decided to personally investigate the reports of a small alliance of worlds to the Galactic South-East, supposedly similar in culture and ethics to his own homeworld.

When he arrived on the water world of Kouralia, Lumey made little secret of his origin or purpose for being there. But he did not immediately demand that the Markian Pact submit to the Imperium. Instead he requested permission to travel the worlds of the Pact and speak to ordinary people there, assessing their culture and making clear his own views of the Galaxy. The Primarch also pledged to avoid any military installations and refrain from espionage. After a short delay, he was granted travel papers.

The Markians were extremely courteous to Gaspard Lumey. He was not only given the right to travel. He was invited to cultural and scientific events, and given many opportunities to lecture both to elite and general audiences. As he journeyed around the worlds of the Pact, Lumey was greatly impressed by their sophistication and outlook. He wound up his tour by giving a speech to a joint session of the representatives of the Markian Pact.

The Primarch began with an apology, explaining that it was necessary to tell the representatives much that they already knew so that the basis on which he would make his proposal could be understood. He then spoke at considerable length on the achievements of the Pact, especially in uplifting the lot of the ordinary citizen. Lumey rounded out this section of his address by remarking that the kind of society that the Markians had established was what he understood as the goal of the Imperial Truth. He then made two extraordinary requests.

Firstly, Lumey asked to be granted citizenship of the Markian Pact on the basis that he cherished their liberties and culture and would unhesitatingly fight to protect them. Secondly, he proposed that the Pact accede to peaceful annexation by the Imperium, that it might best take part in the great task of uniting and uplifting the human race. The Assembly, greatly impressed by the Primarch, granted his first request unanimously and the second by a considerable majority, then gave three cheers for "Citizen Gaspard" and three more for the future of mankind.

853.M30: Pacification of the Chwiorydd Hardd

The Chwiorydd Hardd system was an outpost of a slaving race known as the Amatteir. Gaspard Lumey chose to start his pacification of the Al-Sherar Sector here in order to eliminate a possible threat to the Imperium's new conquests. The operation was successful and blooded the Fifth's Auxilia, having a particularly strong effect on the soldiers from the Markian Pact.

857.M30: Al-Sherar Sector War

Following their success at Chwiorydd Hardd, Fifth Legion faced a severe test. The vengeful Amatteir launched a planetary invasion of Gaspard Lumey's homeworld. A bitter resistance campaign, eventually reinforced by the Legio Cataegis of Ghalhal, threw off the Xenos. Lumey then seized the initiative and launched a brilliant series of counter-attacks, shattering the Amatteir Empire and rediscovering the mighty Forge World Al-Sherar.

973-976.M30: Pacification of the Harakien Sector

As the threat of the Harakien Eldar Empire became more clear, Gaspard Lumey was tasked with its elimination. Fifth Legion spearheaded the operation, but the great ranks of the Imperial Army played an important role. After the campaign, the Primarch greatly praised the heroism shown by ordinary men and women, such as the stubborn 38th Auron Infantry and Captain Jeanne d'Orléans of the Ciban Chasseurs.

998.M30: Core Worlds Campaign

Fabrice Diallo at the battle of Karazak

The Core Worlds confederation was one of the most developed human space realms encountered by the expanding Imperium. Conscious of their strength, the Core Lords expected the Imperium to make an accommodation. Had these proud aristocrats been better-briefed on Gaspard Lumey, they might have negotiated with the Primarch more carefully. Instead, the Core Lords' arrogance and greed ruined any hope of peace. On the third day of fruitless talks, Gaspard Lumey called an end to the proceedings with a sharp, bitter denunciation. "You have answered every concession with another demand. Your greed will be your end." Winged Victory quickly moved to attack, and hostilities lasted just a few months. The Fifth Legion laid waste to the Core Worlds that dared to resist, while their meeker brethren hastened to submit. Though others muttered that Gaspard Lumey had cost the Imperium potential loyal subjects and industrial facilities, the Emperor never censured him.

003.M31 to 004.M31: Political conflicts

At the Council of Nikaea, Lumey took the podium to demand strict regulations of psykers. However his bitterness towards The Voidseer drove his case into extremism and a universal condemnation of "any and all traffic with the Irrational." If the immediate decision of the Emperor was to his liking, the outcome of the Council was costly for Lumey. His tirade turned many of the other Primarchs against him and the action at Karazak was put under investigation. Eventually, the Military Council ruled that the Fifth had employed excessive force in subduing the Core Worlds and Winged Victory was dispatched to the Galactic fringe, where worlds were less populous. Hektor Cincinnatus remarked, "Though none can doubt the crusading zeal of the Fifth Legion, it is a cause of great regret that their fervour led to the ravaging of a world as useful as Karazak."

On the long voyage out, Lumey circulated an essay among his men explaining his acceptance of Imperial censure. According to the Primarch, censure of the Fifth proved the good health of the Imperium's institutions. Had they escaped without investigation, trial, and appropriate punishment, it would be a sign that the dream of mankind was imperiled by its own armies. The irony of this statement has not been lost on later generations, but Lumey's message and especially his concluding phrase, "If we are to dwell in the Void, then let us be its Angels!" was eagerly taken up by the Fifth Legion: the Void Angels.

005.M31: Dolsene

Although the Fifth took with them the great city-ship Light of Reason, it was critical that they establish a base of operation in the Galactic fringe. Months of crusading, fighting against the orks and other xenos that inhabited these reaches, finally turned up a human world that had defied the terrors of Old Night. Dolsene's inhabitants were proud of their resilience and their traditions, and greeted the Void Angels dourly, but accepted an audience with Gaspard Lumey.

If the Primarch had hoped to be received with the same rapture that the Markian Pact worlds exhibited, he was sorely disappointed. Dolsene would work with the Imperium and abide by a treaty, but its tough people would not hold up Gaspard Lumey as their idol. Nonetheless, much came of their co-operation. Factories aboard the Light of Reason helped to upgrade Dolsene's production facilities, and the Void Angels set up orbital fortifications. In return, Dolsene tithed troops to Lumey's crusade, the first of the famous Dolsene Rifles.

Position on the Eve of the Heresy

Numeration: The Vth Legion

Primogenator: Gaspard Lumey

Cognomen (Prior): Neverwas, Tag-along, The Butchers of Kazara, The Extras, Winged Victory.

Observed Strategic Tendencies: Manoeuvre warfare, propaganda and political terror.

Noteworthy Domains: Markian subsector

Allegiance: Fedelitas Constantus (applied retroactively - their allegiance was considered unknown until 014.M31)

Our past is not a curse, but a great series of lessons. We have had the opportunity to know insignificance, infamy, and suspicion, all without wavering in our beliefs. As we set sail for an Imperium riven by strife and disorder, we shall draw on that history of pure purpose. Do not just take heart, brothers, but establish your confidence on the basis of the objective truth.

Antoine Antonelle, Deputy Speaker of the Legion, 009.M31

Exile to the periphery of the Milky Way was not overly hard on the Fifth Legion. They had long been outsiders among the Legiones Astartes; cut off from the Sacred Band, alternatively sneered at for their weakness then feared for their strength, mocked for softness and finally censured for actions less harsh than those of the Life Bringers or Sons of Fire. The distance from Terra was even viewed by some as a reprieve from the politics of status and privilege that was so foreign to the Void Angels' homeworlds in the Markian subsector.

Task Force Rubicon

"Gaspard Lumey never told me why he decided to believe Thomas Gaudin and the other Primarchs. There's a popular story that he heard the psychic voice of his father, but it never stacked up for me. After all, the story of Hektor's death suggests that the Emperor was exhausted by their duel. If I had to guess, I'd say that Darius had a hand in it. Gaspard always said that the Sandkeeper's Primarch was the only one he trusted."

(Excerpt from A Marshal in the Great Crusade, the memoirs of Jeanne d'Orléans.)

Forget the myths. I was there. This is why Gaspard Lumey chose to cast in with the Loyalists.

My Lord Alexandri of Rosskar went to speak with Lumey on the Void Angels' flagship. The two Primarchs had never liked each other. They argued at some length. In the end, Alexandri declared that he was with the Loyalists and would never have rebelled just to serve another man. That is how the fate of two Primarchs was decided.

(Excerpt from The Confessions, apocryphal.)

During the Fifth's journey back towards Sol they encountered a mysterious group of warriors who came to be known as the Void Wraiths. It was from the Void Wraiths that Lumey first learned of the Heresy in detail, although he remained sceptical about the particulars of their story. Nonetheless, the Void Angels determined to move on Sol to aid the Emperor and defeat his enemies, whoever they might be.

In preparation for this campaign, the Void Wraiths were incorporated into the Void Angels, forming the first Commando Squadrons. They also contributed a full combat Corps, the so-called Wraith Corps, under command of their own leader, "Fallen Angel". These warriors took on many of the most difficult combat assignments during this period. It is not clear whether they were deliberately used as cannon fodder or volunteered for these duties. Most point to Fallen Angel chasing the Traitors into the Eye of Terror itself as a sign that the Void Wraiths were seeking redemption or vengeance against the forces of Chaos.

Lumey also called up new classes of infantry from his homeworld, Ciban, replacing suspect Imperial Army formations with fresh troops whose loyalty was beyond question. In all, the Fifth's Task Force Rubicon numbered over 200,000 Astartes and over two hundred million ordinary soldiers together with a powerful naval element.

This mighty force only arrived at Sol in time for Wraith Corps to engage in a brief clash with the Black Augurs in the Saturn theatre. But once the Fifth concentrated their full strength in the outer Solar system, difficulties arose. Neither the Emperor nor Malcador was available to vouch for the Loyalists on Terra, leading Lumey to question whether they were the Imperium's defenders or its would-be conquerors. A week of terse communiques went by, hampered by Lumey's refusal to attend his brother Primarchs at the Imperial Palace. Humanity held its breath - then the Void Angels departed the Solar system and dispersed their great fleet across the Empire.

The ruthless campaign Lumey led against every trace of Heresy and betrayal became known as the Great Scouring. No account of the casualties of the Void Angels' purge was never made, as the traitors had already made their lives forfeit, but there can be no doubt that hundreds of billions perished. Few protested Lumey's actions. In fact, during the years of the Scourging, the Void Angels and their Primarch became the popular face of the Astartes. Victories, especially the hard-fought battle against the Life Bringers at Rai, were a greater source of hope than the memories of Bohemond and Kleisthenes.

Leading the Great Scouring of Traitors and Renegades made the Void Angels seem indispensable to the Imperium. Lumey's decision to resign his command and, along with Arelex Orannis, supervise the dismantling of the great Legiones Astartes into Space Marine Chapters came as a shock, but would in later years be seen as the Primarch's greatest achievement. Who else had risen so high without falling to ambition?

Culture

Uniquely sheltered from the fighting of the Hektor Heresy, the Void Angels never felt the need to drastically alter the beliefs and methods that they had cherished during the Great Crusade. The Chapter still believes firmly in the old Imperial Truth and sees itself as a guardian of the Emperor's great vision of a united Humanity ascendant over the stars. The old-fashioned beliefs of the Void Angels sometimes raise eyebrows in other parts of the Imperium, especially as the sons of Gaspard Lumey still hold that the denizens of the warp are merely ill-understood xenos of an extraordinary nature, rather than fundamentally different creatures.

Notable Domains

Despite their slow start in the Great Crusade, the Fifth established a secure base in the Al-Sherar Sector.

Lucky Ciban IV

Gaspard Lumey's homeworld of Ciban IV is a hospitable planet, often compared favourably to a young Terra. The Void Angels are recognised by the Imperium as the world's feudal overlords, but on Ciban they recognise the elected civilian government as their superior. This unusual arrangement has aroused suspicion, but it is effective, generating a steady supply of gifted recruits for the Void Angels and a great mass of mortal regiments (or Demi-Brigades, in the local dialect).

The Markian Pact

Close to Ciban IV and culturally similar, the worlds of the Markian Pact were quick to accept Gaspard Lumey and made great sacrifices for his cause.

Decorations

The Fifth Legion developed its own system of medals and awards. All of the soldiers who fought under Lumey's banner were eligible for the same awards, and it was not unusual for the Astartes and Auxilia to be recognised in the same ceremonies.

• The Markian Star was awarded to soldiers who showed conspicuous courage in the line of duty. It was famously given to the planet Ciban IV during the Al-Sherar Sector War in recognition of the stubborn civilian resistance.

Notable Members

Antoine Antonelle

Antoine Antonelle (b. 762.M30, d. 016.M31) Antoine Antonelle was the first master of the Void Angels Legion and became Gaspard Lumey's right-hand man after the Primarch was rediscovered. He was notable for his patience and humility, although these virtues would initially be sneered at as "cowardice" by the Sacred Band. Antonelle's time as the chief of the Legion was the most difficult in the Void Angels' history, as they struggled to recruit and develop following the loss of their officer cadre in the disaster of San Angelus. During this period, he pioneered the Legion's squadron formations and tactical doctrine. Antonelle was generally unpopular due to his quiet nature, but he made a favourable impression on the War Scribes Primarch, Arelex Orannis. After Lumey took over the Legion and established its new recruiting base in the Markian subsector, Antonelle worked tirelessly to integrate and train the Legion's new recruits, who affectionately nicknamed him Papa Antoine. His continued role as the Primarch's right hand would never be showy, but it would always be important. Though the work required him to depart from the field of battle for a year and a half, Antonelle's careful planning led to the Winged Victory's famous victory in the Pacification of the Harakien Sector. Antoine Antonelle died during the Battle of Rai, when the Strike Cruiser Endurance was lost with all hands. His eulogy was written by Gaspard Lumey but the Primarch was too overcome with grief to deliver it in person.

Fabrice Diallo

Fabrice Diallo (b. 808.M30) As an aspirant he was almost ejected from the recruitment process for fighting with other recruits and was only barely accepted for the inglorious Fifth. Diallo's aggressive streak never wore out, and it drove him through the difficult process of becoming one of the Astartes. By the time he had completed his training, Diallo was considered a highly promising Neophyte and some expressed their regret that he would go on to serve in such a lowly outfit. The young Marine couldn't care less for such opinions. He relished the opportunity to redeem the Fifth, and rose quickly to the command of newly-formed Second Squadron, joining the campaigns of the Primarch Arelex Orannis. In Orannis, Diallo found his ideal commander - a thoughtful strategist who was glad of Second Squadron's talents. Many splendid victories were won through their combination. Gaspard Lumey was much more demanding, but came to rely on Diallo, entrusting him with critical missions such as the ground assault on Karazak. As a decorated hero of the Great Crusade and the Great Scouring, it was no surprise when Diallo was chosen to head a new Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes: the Angels Imperious.

Jeffrey Dinola, b. 845.M30 He was a former slave, rescued from CH-4 and inducted into the Fifth Legion after being found to have an outstanding psychic talent. Dinola's prodigious abilities required him to be tutored by the Sand Keepers, as Winged Victory lacked Librarians of their own. On his return, the young marine was assigned the daunting title of Chief Librarian of the Legion, a responsibility he would uphold with honour until the Council of Nikaea. At that conclave, Dinola spoke ahead of Gaspard Lumey, trialling what he believed to be the Primarch's position of a carefully monitored Librarium. Although he was shocked by Lumey's damning revelations, Dinola accepted that the truth had to be told and took his demotion to ordinary battle brother with good grace.

Uli Dreier

Uli Dreier, b. 771.M30, d. 973.M30 He was one of the Fifth Legion's first field commanders of any note. Dreier served adequately under the command of the War Scribes, before a transfer to the Crusade Fleet of Roman Albrecht. The Steel Marshals Primarch was extraordinarily sympathetic to the difficulties of the Fifth and made a point of upgrading their equipment under the guise of making them fit for his own purposes. Dreier also prospered from his command's change of combat role from melee assault to airmobile warfare, repaying Roman Albrecht's faith in many campaigns, including the famous Battle of Five Legions. After Gaspard Lumey was rediscovered, Dreier spent several years at the Fifth Legion's new Collegium Majoris, helping Remus Alsara to groom the new classes of recruits. His heroism during the Al-Sherar Sector War led to a resumption of field command. Although Dreier never achieved a high rank, he served with honour. His final campaign was the Pacification of the Harakien Sector. Dreier led the force that relieved the 38th Auron Infantry at Destino, but would be slain in the ferocious fighting on Gelden.

Kesh Kanak, b. 810.M30 Born to a spacer line who had plied the short trade routes within the Solar System for thousands of years, Kanak hardly set foot on a planet until he took part in a trial of aspirants shortly after his eleventh birthday. Though recognised as prodigiously gifted among his own people, the youth was seen as merely adequate for the Adeptus Astartes and assigned to the ill-fated Fifth Legion. But as he underwent the painful process of becoming a Space Marines, Kanak benefited from the personal oversight of the Legion's master, Antoine Antonelle, who saw that his peculiar heritage would bring something special to the Fifth. It would be decades before that plan bore fruit, decades in which Kesh Kanak learned the arts of war and gained the confidence of his battle brothers. Once the Primarch Gaspard Lumey was rediscovered and the Fifth became a significant supply priority, Antonelle did not hesitate to put forward Kanak to supervise the rapid expansion of the Legion's naval arm. It was an astute decision, as time would prove the advantage of a commander who had grown up in an environment with no up or down. Kanak not only guided his own commands to stirring victories, as against the Harakien Eldar Empire at Gelden, but established the Fifth Legion's naval doctrine. In the Second Founding, he was tasked with guiding the new Angels Vigilant Chapter.

Joso Nikolić commanded the cruiser Ténacité during the opening stages of the Al-Sherar Sector War.

Organisation and Doctrine

What do you need to succeed as warriors of the Fifth Legion? It is very simple. Audacity, more audacity, and always audacity!

Remus Alsara, Master of Recruits

Due to their difficult beginnings, the young Fifth Legion had to fulfil many different roles, according to the whim of their commanders. When serving Arelex Orannis of the War Scribes, they fought as a dedicated melee unit. Thomas Gaudin set the men of the Fifth as a static gunline force, while Roman Albrecht wanted them to be his air-mobile reserve. But as the sons of Gaspard Lumey are fond of saying, "no year passes in vain". Their varied experiences prepared the cadre of the Legion to train a great new intake of warriors once their own Primarch had been rediscovered.

The essential part of the Legion's doctrine is the role of military friction. Unlike other fighting organisations, the Fifth do not attempt to bring order to the battlefield but instead seek to overwhelm the enemy's ability to co-ordinate their forces. Once the opposition has been turned into an incoherent mass by the tempo of the battle, Gaspard Lumey taught the Legion to press home their advantage to destroy their enemy and make an example of them. The futility - and terrible cost - of opposing the Imperium must be proven. In brighter days, complaints at their brutality were not uncommon, but their effectiveness has won the test of time.

849.M30: Tag-along

The Fifth Legion's tactical and operational doctrines began with the work of their first commander and, later, the Primarch's Equerry, Antoine Antonelle. Antonelle believed that the critical task of a commander was not to boldly inspire or physically lead his troops, but to clarify his subordinates on the essential tasks of the operation. This conception still underlies the Void Angels' planning sessions, which often involve very junior Astartes and allied commanders, so that all can be clear on the main objectives. Within this loose framework, subcommanders are left to determine their own methods for achieving the objectives, but common training and equipment has seen the Legion adopt a general "game plan".

Antonelle's squadrons were meant to be self-reliant, both in their operations and in the training of new Marines dispatched from Terra. The notion of an establishment manpower was completely foreign to the Fifth at this point, as their headquarters fought for every recruit and had little say in the deployment of the "Legion"'s limited forces. About all that Fifth's commanders could managed was the decision of whether to raise new Squadrons or to feed new recruits to the existing formations.

Locating the Legion's headquarters on Terra and focusing on training won Antonelle no favours with the Sacred Band. He was generally sneered at as a coward, and on at least one episode the Primarch Hektor Cincinnatus had to be reminded that the Fifth had survived their disaster in the Merican Hives. However, Antonelle's priorities let him put his own imprint on his new officers, fostering free-thinkers and leaving the close-minded in the ranks. Although this spirit of independence produced some stunning successes - especially under the aggressive leadership of Fabrice Diallo - it jarred the sensibilities of many of the Legion commanders that the Fifth fought under. Were it not for the personal intervention of Arelex Orannis, the Fifth might have been disbanded in their early years.

In the void of space, however, the Fifth were more successful. If the Tech Priests of Mars were not kindly to Antonelle, they treated him as a respected captain of the Emperor's Legions and readily fulfilled his modest requests for ships and modifications. Careful husbanding of fleet resources and a spirit of experimentation led to the development of a solid naval cadre. Many of the Legion's officers and sergeants became highly skilled ship captains, confident and experienced in three-dimensional conflict.

By the time of Gaspard Lumey's rediscovery, the so-called "Tag-along Legion" fielded three squadrons of Astartes, equipped as air-mobile infantry due to their association with the Steel Marshals and War Scribes, plus four cruisers and seventeen escorts. Although they co-operated with Imperial Army formations on campaign, no formations were particularly associated with them in this period.

Headquarters: Terra

• Legion Commander: Chapter Master Antoine Antonelle
• Staff: Master of Recruits Remus Alsara, Master of Armaments Kimmel Freeman
• Training Squadron (eighty-five Neophytes, separated into year-grade Sections)
• Command ship: Endurance (modified "Avenger"-Class Grand Cruiser)
• Naval Reserve: Assuré ("Sword"-Class Frigate), Aventurier ("Spectre"-Class Warp Runner), Constant ("Sword"-Class Frigate), Dard ("Spectre-Class Warp Runner), Tigre" ("Thunderbolt"-Class Heavy Frigate)

First Squadron (attached to Steel Marshals operations in Segmentum Tempestus)

• Commander Section: (Lieutenant Uli Dreier, Techmarine Sándor Ozséb, Techmarine Merle Marcheterre, Apothecary Kensei Nan)
• Section 1.1: Tactical (Sergeant Khurush Danaad + 13 Battle Brothers)
• Section 1.2: Tactical (Sergeant Astor Bellerose + 12 Battle Brothers)
• Section 1.3: Reconnaissance (Sergeant Vincent Généreux + 8 Battle Brothers)
• Section 1.4: Reconnaissance (Sergeant Yohann Sauveterre + 6 Battle Brothers)
• Section 1.5: Reconnaissance (Sergeant Yuan Hao + 7 Battle Brothers)
• Section 1.6: Heavy Support (Sergeant Parris Herriot + 8 Battle Brothers)
• Air Support: Three Storm Eagle Assault Gunships, one Fire Raptor Gunship
• Naval Support: Persévérance ("Olympia"-Class Cruiser), Catapulte ("Vigil"-Class Siege Frigate), Hussard ("Cobra"-Class Destroyer), Lansquenet ("Cobra"-Class Destroyer), Mameluck ("Cobra"-Class Destroyer).

Second Squadron (attached to War Scribes operations in Ultima Segmentum)

• Command Section: (Lieutenant Fabrice Diallo, Techmarine Hoàng Doãn Quốc, Techmarine Samuel Yegorov, Apothecary Mherke Dawewda)
• Section 1.1: Tactical (Sergeant Marcus Iustus + 16 Battle Brothers)
• Section 1.2: Tactical (Sergeant Jalal Samaha + 14 Battle Brothers)
• Section 1.3: Assault (Sergeant Quintus Iuventus + 15 Battle Brothers)
• Section 1.4: Reconnaissance (Sergeant Jeremy Gallop + 9 Battle Brothers)
• Section 1.5: Reconnaissance (Sergeant Salaheddine Wisman + 6 Battle Brothers)
• Air Support: Two Storm Eagle Assault Gunships, two Fire Raptor Gunships
• Naval Support: Détermination ("Olympia"-Class Cruiser), Bombarde ("Vigil"-Class Siege Frigate), Carabinier ("Cobra"-Class Destroyer), Tirailleur ("Cobra"-Class Destroyer), Voltigeur ("Cobra"-Class Destroyer).

Third Squadron (en route to join Sand Keepers operations, Segmentum Pacificus)

• Command Section: (Lieutenant Unai Garrastazu, Techmarine Baltasár Lucero, Techmarine Rajmund Król, Apothecary Bhenam Khanhsaz)
• Section 1.1: Tactical (Sergeant Publius Spurinus + 18 Battle Brothers)
• Section 1.2: Tactical (Sergeant Delfin Armenta + 17 Battle Brothers)
• Section 1.3: Assault (Sergeant Kesh Kanak + 14 Battle Brothers)
• Section 1.4: Reconnaissance (Sergeant Renan Rodrigues Santos + 7 Battle Brothers)
• Section 1.5: Reconnaissance (Sergeant Joso Nikolić + 7 Battle Brothers)
• Section 1.6: Heavy Support (Sergeant Mario Mueller + 9 Battle Brothers)
• Air Support: Three Storm Eagle Assault Gunships
• Naval support: Ténacité ("Olympia"-Class Cruiser), Baliste ("Vigil"-Class Siege Frigate), Arquebuse ("Cobra"-Class Destroyer), Harpon ("Cobra"-Class Destroyer), Javeline ("Cobra"-Class Destroyer).

851.M30: Gaspard Lumey's Establishment Decree

Gaspard Lumey

Gaspard Lumey's first reforms of the Fifth Legion were based on the newly-established values of his homeworld. Though the ethics were unfamiliar to the small cadre of Terran Astartes, these positions and institutions helped to familiarise the huge intakes of new Marines from Ciban IV and the Markian Pact.

Antoine Antonelle worked alongside his new master to create a regular structure for the expanding Legion's squadrons. With so many new officers, the old days of improvisation could not be sustained. However, the Fifth's cadre lacked experience in modes of warfare beyond their air-mobile light infantry role of the last few decades and it was determined to rely on auxilia to provide heavy support weapons until this deficiency could be made good.

Under the Establishment Decree, a squadron was to consist of 100 Battle Brothers plus officers, supporting marines, and clerks, organised as follows:

• Headquarters. Lieutenant, Apothecary, Iterator.
• Reconnaissance element. Ten Battle Brothers.
• Tactical element. Sixty Battle Brothers.
• Manoeuvre element. Twenty Battle Brothers.
• Motor Pool. Two Techmarines, presiding over three Storm Eagle Assault Gunships, six Rhinos, twenty Space Marine Bikes.

Together with the new structure, the Establishment Decree set up new ranks or renamed old ones.

The Chosen In the wars of liberation, the Cibanese had little trust for the officers who defected to their cause, but still had need of their talents. The few military men among their own ranks, such as Lumey, were not sufficient to lead the armies of the Republic. Therefore, the ordinary soldiers would elect a committee from among their number to serve as bodyguard and watchdog over their commanders. Though the Fifth Legion were much more confident in their new Primarch than the Cibanese rebels had been in former aristocrats, they readily chose from among their number a bodyguard unit for Lumey, on the basis of one man from each section, elected to serve for five years. The level of representation would gradually decrease as the Legion grew, eventually falling to just one man per Corps at the time of the Heresy, but throughout Lumey's tenure they served both as a bodyguard and a consultative body. As with much of the Fifth Legion's customs, they were content to simply call this body "The Chosen" and leave others to imagine that the Primarch had hand-picked his men.

Clerks The notion of enserfing recruits who washed out of training was anathema to the Cibanese mindset. Lumey wasted no time in declaring that the Legion's serfs were free men, welcome to settle on Ciban IV with the hospitality of that gentle world. Those who chose to remain, along with new generations of failed aspirants would be given professional positions in the Legion's administrative and logistical staff. Clerks are generally well-respected and have a similar rank structure to Marines.

Iterators Lumey was also deeply concerned with his Legion's acceptance and understanding of the Imperial Truth. To accomplish this task, he dictated that a cadre of recruits be trained in the arts of the Iterators who carried out the task of spreading the Emperor's word to newly pacified world. The Fifth Legion's Iterators became mighty warriors of great strength of will, trained in logic and rhetoric. The presence of such an exceptional individual on the battlefield fills his Battle-Brothers with a sense of their part in Mankind's destiny. Iterators also serve an important role in the life of the Legion, counselling their fellow Marines, acting as judges on matters of internal discipline, and often serving as envoys to other Chapters. The Prime Iterator is the Legion's chief justice and carries out certain ceremonial roles, while his counterpart, the Master of the Collegium is the chief of the Void Angels fortress-barracks on Ciban.

The Chirurgeons, renamed to better suit Cibanese and Markian ears, performed the same role as Apothecaries. Techmarines, though bearing the same title and duties as in the other Legiones Astartes, were more often trained at Ghalhal or Nhà Máy and absorbed the cultures of those Forge Worlds.

The binary corps structure used by the Fifth Legion early in the Great Crusade.

Lumey's first conquests in the Al-Sherar Sector would be made using just one squadron of Terran Astartes, strengthened by the redoubtable auxilia of his homeworld and soon augmented by the mobilisation of the Markian Pact. As the first Cibanese Neophytes rapidly expanded the ranks of the Fifth Legion, Lumey and Antonelle developed the so-called "binary" corps structure, allowing the Fifth's few seasoned officers to closely supervise their squads. This organisation was not long-lived, but its ideas would be returned to during the Imperial Reformation. The first binary corps was led by Gaspard Lumey himself, with Fabrice Diallo and Augustin Caron as the Battalion commanders, though Diallo and Caron would soon be tapped to head the Fifth's second and third corps. Alongside the lack of good officers, the Fifth initially struggled with a shortage of trained Techmarines due to these specialists requiring lengthy training on a Forge World, and for a time it was not uncommon to see ordinary Tech Priests assisting Lumey's men.

Along with his organisational reform, Lumey also imparted a new sense of purpose and understanding to his Legion. The ideals of the Great Crusade, close to their own culture, were taken up easily by recruits from the Markian subsector. What the Primarch added was the understanding that the Xenos, Witch-kings, and petty tyrants who had long preyed upon mankind were pitiless and unyielding. He taught the defenders of humanity that they had to be just as resolved and uncompromising as their foes. Those who put petty self-interest above the need for a united humanity were almost as bad as its avowed enemies.

Lumey and Antonelle were also concerned with organising, training, and equipping volunteers from the ordinary population of Ciban IV, but the demands of the Legion's budding Space Marines required most of their attention. Jean-Davide d'Orléans, a hero of Ciban IV's wars of liberation was tapped as their inspirational leader. Despite his advancing years the Marshal's supple mind readily grasped the realities of mechanized, inter-stellar warfare. D'Orléans' work would lay out the basic structure of the Ciban Chasseurs

874.M30: The Librarium and Jeffrey Dinola

The return of Jeffrey Dinola from his apprenticeship with the Sand Keepers was cause for great celebration among the Fifth Legion. Although the new classes of Marines raised from Ciban IV and the Markian Pact worlds had swelled Winged Victory's numbers to something more closely resembling the other Legiones Astartes, the lack of any trained psykers had seemed to many as a sign of the Legion's incompleteness. With Dinola among them, the Fifth could finally regard themselves as the equal of their brother Legionaries.

The young psyker's first task was establishing the rules of his Librarium. As a true son of Gaspard Lumey, Jeffrey Dinola was reluctant to delve into poorly understood mysteries of the Warp, especially in light of the lessons of the Emperor - and history - about the perils of sorcery. However, this was not a matter of simple closed-mindedness. There was a great deal to be studied and categorized about the interaction of psykers and the Immateria that relied on comprehensible principles. Dinola believed that it would be through a slow process of establishing these principles that the more mysterious processes - "Sorcery" - could be properly understood. Thus, the Fifth Legion's Librarium worked under a cautious code of ethics to develop their abilities and knowledge. A constant fixation was the effort to negate the warp-based powers employed by Xenos races such as the perfidious Eldar and foul Orks.

004.M31: Kesh Kanak and the Hegira

For much of the Great Crusade, the Legiones Astartes were unaware of their precise fleet strength. Ships were parcelled out in different Expeditionary Fleets, lost, replaced, diverted, reassigned, lost to the warp, found again, and so forth with the Legion HQ only ever getting a partial and tardy accounting. However, with their new orders to regroup and proceed to the far reaches of the Galactic North, the Fifth Legion were in a unique position to take account of their full naval strength.

Master of the Fleet Kesh Kanak took full advantage. His staff recorded the names and classes of the Legion's 112 battleships, 44 grand cruisers, 178 heavy cruisers, 241 light cruisers, 318 frigates, 423 destroyers, plus 87 auxiliary military vessels. Also taken into account were the 27 battleships, 8 grand cruisers, 834 heavy cruisers, 506 light cruisers, 1,769 frigates, 1,882 destroyers, and 177 auxiliary military vessels sworn to the Legion by its allies in the Adeptus Mechanicum and Imperial Army. A full accounting of the pure transport assets of the Fifth Legion is sadly lost to history, but it can be assumed from the quantity of warships available to Gaspard Lumey that these were sizeable.

Beyond the mere book-keeping, Kanak also restructured the Fifth Legion's squadrons from ad-hoc associations of vessels into purposeful task-forces of complementary vessels. The naval chain of command was overhauled, with dedicated fleet commanders being given complete tactical authority while under the operational direction of the combined land-naval commander. Winged Victory had always had a reputation for excellence in the void of space, and Kanak was determined that the Void Angels should exceed their previous incarnation.

013.M31: Task Force Rubicon

Antoine Antonelle commanding in the field

When Lumey assembled his great Task Force Rubicon for the decision at Sol, a typical Corps had three Marine Brigades of three Battalions apiece. The Battalion somewhat resembled a Codex Astartes Chapter, with a Veteran Squadron, Commando Squadron, Four Battle Squadrons and Four Reserve Squadrons. Squadron specialties were similar to those of Codex Companies. Veterans are grouped together in the First Squadron, although the Void Angels rarely deployed their Terminator armour. Commandos formed the Second Squadron. Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth were flexible Battle Squadrons, with Seventh and Eighth in Reserve. Ninth Squadron specialized in Assault while Tenth carried the Battalion's heavy weapons. Squadrons varied in their strength, each composed of four Sections with ten to twenty Battle Brothers and one or two Sections of Scouts. Veteran Squadrons usually lacked a Scout Section.

Acting on the advice of the Void Wraiths, Gaspard Lumey reassembled his Legion's Librarium under their old commander, Jeffrey Dinola. The Void Angels Librarians were charged with protecting the Task Force from the powers of the Warp, but they were watched carefully by their battle brothers. Lumey assured the psykers that he would accept full responsibility for their actions if charges were pressed under the Nikaean decrees.

Dubious of traitors within his ranks, Lumey detached the Imperial Army formations that had accompanied the Void Angels to the Galactic Fringe and stationed them as garrisons on less critical worlds. In their place, a great mass of brigades of ordinary soldiers, organised along similar lines to Marine Brigades, were raised from Ciban IV and the Markian Pact.

Headquarters

• Task Force Commander: Primarch Gaspard Lumey (commanding from the Redoutable)
• Deputy Commander: Marshal Antoine Elkhabar (commanding from The Light of Reason)
• Naval Commander: Senator Kesh Kanak (commanding from the Resolve)

Forces under Gaspard Lumey's direct command:

• Legion Librarium (Headed by Jeffrey Dinola and dispersed through the Task Force)
• 1st and 2nd Void Angels Brigades (6,000 Astartes)
• 3rd Void Angels Marine Corps
  • 3 Marine Brigades (9,000 Astartes)
• 4th Void Angels Marine Corps
  • 3 Marine Brigades (9,000 Astartes)
• 8th Void Angels Marine Corps
  • 3 Marine Brigades (9,000 Astartes)
• Airmobile Reserve Army
  • 6 Corps (approximately 300,000 soldiers)
• Naval Task Groups
  • Task Group R1
    • Task Element R1.1 "Resolve" (Gloriana-Class), "Terrible" (Retribution-Class), and escorting vessels
    • Task Element R1.2 "Redoutable" (Emperor-Class), "Formidable" (Nemesis-Class), and escorting vessels
    • Task Element R1.3 "The Light of Reason" (Ciban-Class), "Glaive" (Ironclad-Class), "Halberd" (Ironclad-Class), and escorting vessels
  • R2 (reserve cruiser force)
• Security Force
  • Equivalent of 10 Army Groups (20,000,000 soldiers)

Advance Forces

Commander: "Fallen Angel"

• Wraith Corps
  • 3 Reinforced Marine Brigades (12,000 Astartes)
• Naval Task Group R3
  • Task Element R3.1: VASC-022, VASC-039, VASC-104, VASC-106, VASC-118 (presumed to be Strike Cruisers)
  • Task Element R3.2: VASC-005, VASC-044, VASC-084, VASC-119, VASC-120 (presumed to be Strike Cruisers)
  • Task Element R3.3: VASC-048, VASC-051, VASC-080, VASC-088, VASC-098 (presumed to be Strike Cruisers)
  • Task Element R3.4: VABB-022, VABB-023, VABB-028 (presumed to be Battle Barges), and escorts
  • Task Element R3.5: VABB-015, VABB-018, VABB-025 (Presumed to be Battle Barges), and escorts
  • Task Element R3.6: VABC-008 (presumed to be a Battle Cruiser), VACA-058, VACA-77 (presumed to be heavy cruisers), and escorts
  • Task Element R3.7: Fast Transports and escorts
  • Task Element R3.8: Fast Transports and escorts

First Echelon

Commander: Senator Fabrice Diallo

• First Army (Commander: Gabriel Naudé)
  • Four Marine Corps (36,000 Astartes)
• Second Army (Commander: Tahar Djaout)
  • Four Marine Corps (36,000 Astartes)
• Third Army (Commander: Quế Đường)
  • Four Marine Corps (36,000 Astartes)
• Naval Task Group R4
  • Task Element R4.1 "Téméraire" (Retribution-Class), "Triumphant" (Retribution-Class), and escorting vessels.
  • Task Element R4.2 "Impossible" (Emperor-Class), "Imperious" (Avenger-Class), and escorting vessels
• Naval Task Group R5
  • Task Element R5.1 "Élan" (Basileus-Class) and escorting vessels
  • Task Element R5.2 "Esprit" (Basileus-Class) and escorting vessels
  • Task Element R5.3 "Arrogant" (Legatus-Class) and escorting vessels

Second Echelon

Commander: Senator Mai Dac Kien

• Fourth Army (Commander: Alexandre Awala)
  • Two Marine Corps (18,000 Astartes)
  • Two Army Corps (40,000 soldiers)
• Fifth Army (Commander: Richard Dogbeh)
  • Two Marine Corps (18,000 Astartes)
  • Two Army Corps (40,000 soldiers)
• Sixth Army (Commander: Augustin Caron)
  • Two Marine Corps (18,000 Astartes)
  • Two Army Corps (40,000 soldiers)
• Naval Task Group R6 (Cruisers)
• Naval Task Group R7 (Transport ships and escorts)

Third Echelon

Commander: Marshal Jeanne d'Orléans

• Army Group A
  • Six Armies (approximately 2,000,000 soldiers)
• Army Group B
  • Six Armies (approximately 2,000,000 soldiers)
• Army Group C
  • Six Armies (approximately 2,000,000 soldiers)
• Army Group D
  • Six Armies (approximately 2,000,000 soldiers)
• Army Group E
  • Six Armies (approximately 2,000,000 soldiers)
• Naval Task Group R8 (Transport ships and escorts)

Fourth Echelon

Commander: Grand Marshal Marius Marie-Gaston Verdun

• Army Group F
  • Six Armies (approximately 2,000,000 soldiers)
• Army Group G
  • Six Armies (approximately 2,000,000 soldiers)
• Army Group H
  • Six Armies (approximately 2,000,000 soldiers)
• Army Group I
  • Six Armies (approximately 2,000,000 soldiers)
• Army Group J
  • Six Armies (approximately 2,000,000 soldiers)
• Naval Task Group R9 (Transport ships and escorts)

The Void Angels Chapter

As Space Marines, the Void Angels are no strangers to direct assaults. However, they generally prefer to destabilise their enemies using infiltrators. Against enemies who know fear, the advance troops kill targets of opportunity and leave the bodies in the open so that the enemy may know what awaits them, but their main role is to sow confusion in the rear. Mobile forces follow in their wake, seeking to exploit weaknesses, while heavier battle elements surround and eliminate enemy strongpoints.

During the Scourging, the Legion developed particularly fine marksmen and snipers. These specialists are despised and feared for their practice of inflicting mortal but slow-killing wounds. The Void Angels are well aware that a downed comrade screaming in agony is a detriment to morale.

The Void Angels arsenal is lacking in no respect, but prized equipment such as Terminator armour is generally held in reserve on Ciban and rarely deployed to expeditionary forces. While ancient technology is respected for its efficacy, the Void Angels make no fetish of it and attach little significance to the history of their weapons and armour.

Gene-seed and Successors

The Void Angels are the great sire of the Adeptus Astartes. Dozens of Chapters were founded from among their ranks during the Second Founding and their geneseed, prized for its stability, has been the most frequently used in later Foundings.

Angels Imperious

Angels Imperious
Battle Cry	"Fear not - and conquer!"
Founding	Second Founding
Successors of	Void Angels
Chapter Master	Fabrice Diallo (Founding)
Primarch	Gaspard Lumey
Homeworld	Kouralia
Strength	1,000 at establishment
Specialty	Planetary assault, close-quarters fighting
Allegiance	Imperium of Man
Colours	Blue and pale blue

The Angels Imperious were a Codex Astartes-compliant Space Marine Chapter and a proud successor of the Void Angels from the Second Founding.

Chapter History

The Angels Imperious prided themselves on their ties to the Gaspard Lumey. Their first Chapter Master, Fabrice Diallo, was a particular favourite of the Primarch and led many of the critical assaults of the Void Angels campaigns in the Great Crusade. Diallo was especially famous for commanding the ground attack on Karazak during the Core Worlds Campaign.

Notable Campaigns

Like many of the Void Angels' Successors, the Angels Imperious were sorely tested in WAAAGH! The Beast.

Chapter Combat Doctrine

This Chapter was militant in its observance of the Codex Astartes, but Diallo's influence in their early decades left a legacy of aggressive close-quarters fighting. The Angels Imperious were also known for their combined arms operations alongside the Imperial Guard regiments raised in the Markian Pact.

Chapter Beliefs

The Angels Imperious carry on in the tradition of the Fifth Legion; dedicated to the Imperial Truth, resolute in the defence of mankind, ruthless in the persecution of its enemies. Their position in the Markian subsector makes close ties with their parent chapter easy to maintain, and the two are extraordinarily close.

Chapter Homeworld

When the great Void Angels Legion was divided up, Diallo was entrusted with protecting liberties of the Markian Pact worlds. Much like Ciban IV, the worlds of the Pact maintain their own government and, according to the letter of their laws, exercise control over their Chapter. In the eyes of the Imperium, however, the situation is reversed and the local governments are mere vassal administrations subordinate to the Chapter Master of the Angels Imperious.

Angels Vigilant

Angels Vigilant
Founding	Second Founding
Successors of	Void Angels
Chapter Master	Kesh Kanak (Founding)
Primarch	Gaspard Lumey
Homeworld	Fleet-based
Strength	1,000 at establishment
Specialty	Space combat, boarding actions
Allegiance	Imperium of Man
Colours	Blue, dark green, and gold

The Angels Vigilant were a Loyalist Space Marine Chapter of the Second Founding. Their first Chapter Master, Kesh Kanak, and the founding cadre were veterans of the Fifth Legion's many space battles. The expertise of that original generation has been passed down and refined through the ages.

The Light of Reason

During the Core Worlds Campaign, the Fifth Legion captured two immense spacecraft, relics of the Dark Age of Technology. One was gifted to the Adeptus Mechanicus, and became known as The Light of the Omnissiah. The other, after a refit by the Techpriests of Mars, entered the Fifth's service as The Light of Reason. Yet it also became a devolved component of the Republic of Ciban, settled by a civilian population that would grow to over a million souls.

The Light of Reason's commissioning was timely. Barely out of its shakedown cruise, the great city-ship was called on to serve as the Legion's base of operations in their long sojourn in the Galactic fringe. While not able to produce weapons of war on the scale of a Forge World, the citizens of The Light of Reason toiled to keep the Void Angels stocked with ammunition, food, and other supplies.

The great vessel would go on to become the base of the Angels Vigilant Chapter.

Chapter Combat Doctrine

The Angels Vigilant are expert spacers and have spent much of their history fighting alongside the Imperial Navy. Although technically required to orient themselves towards planetary assault, the Chapter's strike cruisers and battle barges are still formidable warships.

Planetside, the Angels Vigilant have a higher-than-usual number of jump-pack equipped troops, highly valuing the manoeuvrability of this technology.

The Infernals

The Infernals are a Second Founding Chapter that began a descent into savagery during the horrors of WAAAGH! The Beast. Though still loyalist, they are unresponsive to any instructions that deter them from attacking the Orks.

The Mercurials

The Mercurials are a Second Founding Chapter, first led by Augustin Carron. They have carried on his legacy of high-intensity warfare - and ruthlessness.

The Saracens

The Saracens
Battle Cry	"We shall prevail!"
Founding	Second Founding
Successors of	Void Angels
Chapter Master	Salah Yusuf
Primarch	Gaspard Lumey
Homeworld	Kurdan
Strength	1,000 at establishment
Specialty	Skirmishing and raiding
Allegiance	Imperium of Man
Colours	Grey and gold

The Saracens were a Codex-divergent Second Founding Chapter, first led by the Salah Yusuf. They took the Fifth Legion's independent-mindedness as their cardinal virtue and are among the most individualistic of Space Marines.

Background

Salah Yusuf was recruited to the Fifth Legion from the wild parts of Gaspard Lumey's native Fennechia. Unlike the Primarch, he grew up in a tribe still nomadic and semi-lawless, learning the arts of horsemanship and hunting on the arid Fennec plains. After his warlike father was killed in a skirmish with the authorities, Yusuf was put in the care of his maternal uncle, who taught the youth a little patience and discipline. Rather than carry on the futile struggle for a dying way of life, Salah Yusuf sought to enlist in the military academies of Ciban. Testing quickly revealed his phenomenal aptitudes and a genetic scan indicated a high compatibility with Fifth Legion geneseed, seeing the youth brought to the Collegium Majoris for implantation.

If the physical difficulties were bad enough, the requirement to conform with the ideals of Gaspard Lumey chafed at the young nomad's spirit. Salah Yusuf could accept the virtues of human betterment and liberty (especially his own), but despite his native intelligence he detested book-learning. Only superlative results in physical testing and an acceptance of the core Imperial Truth kept the aspirant in the Legion - and nobody expected that he would amount to much more than a Battle Brother.

Combat Doctrine

The Saracens use light vehicles and assault troops to launch diversionary and swift strikes, hitting weak points and raiding depots. Their main and devastating strike is launched by mechanized infantry and armour formations. When heavy firepower is required, the Saracens trust to their air support.

Chapter Beliefs

Although he had accepted the Imperial Truth as an aspirant, Salah Yususf spent his childhood as a worshipper of the primitive Fennec faith. This, perhaps, explains why he and his Chapter would be drawn to the Imperial Cult during the Reformation. Regardless of its origins, the piety of the Saracens is undoubted. Except when actively engaged in the Imperium's crusades, each battle brother observes a strict religious regime. This includes regular fasting and six prayers every Terran day.

The Gore Suns

The Gore Suns are a late-Third Founding Chapter currently led by Gherryck Nyrsul and are known for "improving" upon their Primarch's psychological and terror warfare tactics.

Rules

Expeditionary Fleets (Battlefleet Gothic)

The Fifth Legion's total fleet strength would grow to become one of the most powerful among the Legiones Astartes, especially when the warships pledged to their aid were taken into consideration. They were also famed - and feared - for their skilful manoeuvres and outstanding gunnery.

To represent the outstanding acumen of the Fifth Legion's crews, ships crewed by Void Angels have a minimum Leadership of 9 and gain one column shift to the left when firing weapons that use the Gunnery table, at a cost of +25 points for a battleship or grand cruiser, +15 points for a cruiser, or +5 points for an escort (this is cumulative with the cost of upgrading a ship to a Space Marine crew). They otherwise use the standard rules for a Space Marine crew.

Unique Ships

RESOLVE, Gloriana-class Battle Barge (775 points)

The mighty Resolve served as the flagship of the Fifth Legion since its delivery to Ciban IV in 856.M30. Surprisingly, Gaspard Lumey rarely chose to command from the vessel, preferring to station himself on a swift cruiser or the Emperor-class Battleship Redoutable. Though the Primarch made little use of the ship, it certainly did not suffer neglect. Guided by the Legion's Master of the Fleet, Kesh Kanak, the Resolve featured in many of the Void Angels' great victories.

By the time of the Hektor Heresy, the vessel had been through several major upgrades. In 888.M30, the old weapon batteries had been replaced with a terrifying array of linear accelerators, capable of shattering warships and ground targets alike. A major overhaul in 931.M30 saw improved armour and powerful new engines added. Finally, her original launch bays were expanded to accommodate the new Thunderhawk gunship, keeping the Resolve among the most modern and capable vessels in the Imperium's arsenal.

The Resolve may be included as a battleship choice in a Void Angels fleet of over 3000 points.

TYPE/HITS	SPEED	TURNS	SHIELDS	ARMOUR	TURRETS
Battleship/14	20cm	45°	4	6+	4
ARMAMENT	RANGE	FIREPOWER/STRENGTH			FIRE ARC
Port Bombardment Cannons	45cm	12			Left
Starboard Bombardment Cannons	45cm	12			Right
Dorsal Bombardment Cannons	45cm	8			Left/Front/Right
Port Launch Bay	Thunderhawks:20cm	3			N/A
Starboard Launch Bay	Thunderhawks:20cm	3			N/A
Prow Torpedoes	Speed:30cm	8			Front

Notes: The Resolve has a Void Angels crew and an Honour Guard included in its points cost. You must assign the Fleet Commander to it.

ENDURANCE, Battle Barge (Modified Avenger-class Grand Cruiser) (405 points)

The Endurance served as Antoine Antonelle's command ship from the early years of the Great Crusade until the two met their end at the Battle of Rai. Building on the original design's purpose as a line-breaker, Antonelle specified additional protection and the modification of the Endurance's weaponry to better fit to the role of a planetary assault ship.

The Endurance may be included as a grand cruiser choice in a Void Angels fleet of over 1,000 points.

TYPE/HITS	SPEED	TURNS	SHIELDS	ARMOUR	TURRETS
Grand Cruiser/10	20cm	45°	5	6+	4
ARMAMENT	RANGE	FIREPOWER/STRENGTH			FIRE ARC
Port Weapon Batteries	30cm	8			Left
Starboard Weapon Batteries	30cm	8			Right
Dorsal Bombardment Cannons	30cm	8			Left/Front/Right
Port Launch Bay	Thunderhawks:20cm	2			N/A
Starboard Launch Bay	Thunderhawks:20cm	2			N/A

Notes: The Endurance has a Void Angels crew and an Honour Guard as part of its points cost. This ship always has Leadership 10, representing Antoine Antonelle's command qualities. You may purchase up to three Fleet Commander re-rolls for Antonelle for +25 points each. Antonelle's presence satisfies the requirement for a Praetor, but in a fleet of over 2,000 points an additional Praetor may be taken and assigned to a different vessel. (If you are fielding both the Resolve and the Endurance, you must purchase this additional Praetor for the Resolve.) You may give the Endurance a Terminator boarding party for an additional +50 points.

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Winged Victory Expeditionary Fleet

FLEET COMMANDER

0-1 Praetor

You may include one Praetor. If your fleet includes any battleships, he must be assigned to a battleship in preference to a cruiser. If the Fleet is worth over 750 points, the Praetor must be included to lead it.

Praetor (Leadership 10)					50 points

You may buy Fleet Commander re-rolls for the Praetor.

One re-roll						25 points
Two re-rolls						50 points
Three re-rolls						75 points

If the Praetor's ship has a Space Marine crew, it may carry a Terminator boarding party for +50 points.

CAPITAL SHIPS

Battleships

You may include one battleship in your fleet for every three cruisers or grand cruisers.

Apocalypse Class					375 points
0-1 Basileus Class (BB)					465 points
Desolator Class						300 points
Emperor Class						365 points
Infernus Class						325 points
Retribution Class					345 points
0-1 The Resolve	(BB)					775 points
Victory Class						345 points
Warspite Class (1) (BB)					450 points

Notes: A battleship may be upgraded with a Void Angels crew at a cost of +50 points. In addition to gaining the benefits described above, a vessel that receives this upgrade also converts its launch bays to carry half the number (rounded up) of Thunderhawks.

1. Use the Battle Barge rules from the Space Marine Fleet.

BB. A vessel of this class has a Void Angels crew included in its point cost and may not be fielded without this upgrade.

Grand cruisers

You may include one grand cruiser in your fleet for every two cruisers.

Avenger Class						220 points
Charibdys Class						270 points
0-1 The Endurance (SC)					405 points
Inflexible Class (SC)					340 points
Vengeance Class						230 points

Notes: A grand cruiser may be upgraded with a Void Angels crew at a cost of +40 points. In addition to gaining the benefits described above, a vessel that receives this upgrade also converts its launch bays to carry half the number (rounded up) of Thunderhawks.

SC. A vessel of this class has a Void Angels crew included in its point cost and may not be fielded without this upgrade.

0-12 Cruisers

Armiger Class						160 points
Cardinal Class						190 points
Crusade Class						185 points
Dodona Class (SC)					180 points
Hades Class						200 points
Hellfire Class						285 points
Lunar Class						180 points
Olympia Class (1) (SC)					160 points

Notes: A cruiser may be upgraded with a Void Angels crew at a cost of +30 points. In addition to gaining the benefits described above, a vessel that receives this upgrade also converts its launch bays to carry half the number (rounded up) of Thunderhawks.

1. Use the Strike Cruiser rules from the Space Marine Fleet.

SC. A vessel of this class has a Void Angels crew included in its point cost and may not be fielded without this upgrade.

Light Cruisers

You may include any number of light cruisers in your fleet.

Dauntless Class 					110 points
Siluria Class 						90 points

Notes: A light cruiser may upgrade to a Void Angels crew at a cost of +20 points.

ESCORTS

You may include any number of escorts in your fleet.

Cobra Class Destroyer					30 points
Havoc Class Frigate					35 points
Nova Class Frigate					45 points
Spectre Class Warp Runner				25 points
Sword Class Frigate					35 points
Thunderbolt Class Heavy Frigate				60 points
Vigil Class Siege Frigate				40 points

Notes: An escort may be upgraded with a Void Angels crew at a cost of +10 points. (Note that the Nova Class does not automatically come with a Void Angels crew.)

ORDINANCE AND UPGRADES

Ships designated BB or SC are equipped with drop pods.

A ship with a Void Angels crew may; launch boarding torpedoes or regular torpedoes from its torpedo tubes, launch a mix of Thunderhawk Annihilators and Thunderhawks from its launch bays, and/or purchase an Honour Guard for +10 points.

A ship without a Void Angels crew may; launch regular torpedoes from its torpedo tubes, and/or launch a mix of Fury interceptors and Starhawk bombers from its launch bays.

ATTACK RATING

A fleet which contains only ships with the Void Angels crew upgrade has an attack rating of 3. Otherwise, the attack rating is 2.

Fifth Legion (Warhammer 40k using Forge World's Horus Heresy supplements)

Although the name "Void Angels" would not be used until late in this period, all forces representing the Fifth Legion use Void Angels rules. Forces that represent the Fifth Legion in particular periods of the Great Crusade and Heresy era must obey these additional restrictions:

Early Crusade Era: Tag-along

Prior to the rediscovery of Gaspard Lumey, Void Angels forces must use the Angel's Wrath Rite of War whether they are fielded as a primary or allied detachment. In addition, the following restrictions apply:

• Legion Praetors and Legion Veteran Tactical Squads may not be selected.

• No special characters or units may be taken. (While Antoine Antonelle is the overall commander of the Legion in this period, he was extremely anxious about the continuity of command. Having lost their senior officers once had crippled the Fifth and Antonelle suspected that a second such loss would end them.)

Great Crusade Era: Winged Victory

No additional rules or restrictions apply to the Void Angels during this period.

Age of Darkness: Void Angels

When fielding a Void Angels force after their censure and exile, treat their relationships with all other Space Marine Legions as "By the Emperor's Command". Mechanicum forces may field Void Angels as allies using the "By the Emperor's Command" relationship; however, Void Angels may use Mechanicum allies as normal (representing Gaspard Lumey's ties to the Forge World Ghalhal). Relations with the Imperial Army are unaffected.

Special Characters and Units

Antoine Antonelle (HQ: CXX Points)

Papa Antoine, Equerry of the Fifth Legion

	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld	Sv
Antoine Antonelle	5	6	4	4	3	5	4	10	3+

Unit Composition

• 1 (Unique)

Unit Type

• Infantry (Character)

Wargear

• Power Armour
• Refractor Field
• Frag and Krak grenades
• Bolter
• Bolt Pistol
• Power Sword

Special Rules

• Legiones Astartes (Void Angels)
• Master of the Legion
• Independent Character
• Mobile Fire

Warlord Trait

• Master Tactician: If chosen as the army's Warlord, Antoine Antonelle automatically has the Master Tactician trait rather than rolling randomly.

Mobile Fire: Antoine Antonelle may fire a Bolter as an Assault 2 weapon. Legion Tactical Squads in his force may be given the same option for +XX points each.

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The Chosen

	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld	Sv
Chosen	4	4	4	4	1	4	2	8	2+
Chosen Sergeant	4	4	4	4	1	4	2	9	2+

Unit Composition

• 4 Chosen
• 1 Chosen Sergeant

Unit Type

• Chosen Infantry
• Chosen Sergeant Infantry (Character)

Wargear

• Terminator Armour
• Combi-bolter
• Power Axe

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Gaspard Lumey (LoW)

Speaker of the Void Angels, The Incorruptible, The Razor

	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld	Sv
Gaspard Lumey	7	7	6	6	5	6	5	10	2+

Unit Composition

• 1 (Unique)

Unit Type

• Infantry (Character)

Wargear

• Protecteur
• La Minute
• Le Rasoir Impériale

Special rules

• Primarch
• Sire of the Void Angels
• Bulky
• Voidwalker

Protecteur: Lumey spent his first decade of the Great Crusade using the same forms of armour as his gene-sons. However, in 862.M30, the Primarch was gifted a set of magnificent armour by the Tech Priests of Ghalhal and henceforth wore it to honour their commitment to the Great Crusade. Originally entered into the records simply as "the armour of the protector of Ghalhal", the suit's name was later abbreviated and standardised in the common language of the Markian Worlds. Protecteur includes teleportation and protective systems especially suited to warfare in the cold void of space. It provides a 2+ armour save and a 4+ Invulnerable save. In addition Lumey and any attached unit from his army may choose to Deep Strike, and will not scatter while doing so.

La Minute: A heavy slug-throwing weapon based on frontier weaponry used across the rising Imperium. La Minute combines great reach with formidable stopping power.

Range: 36” S7 AP3 Special Rules: Assault 2, Sniper

Le Rasoir Impériale: In the tongue of Ciban, this power axe's name means ‘The Imperial Razor’. Although it is a deadly weapon in Lumey's hands, the axe is also a symbol of the unity between the warriors of Ciban IV and their civilian kin.

Range: Melee S+1 AP2 Special Rules: Melee, Master Crafted, Murderous Strike

Voidwalker: Lumey is a master of both battles from ship to ship and the orbital assault, appearing out of nowhere to spread death and destruction to the foes of the Emperor. Hammer of Wrath attacks in an army lead by Gaspard Lumey may be re-rolled, and Drop Pods and teleporting Terminator Squads gain the shrouded special rule on the turn they arrive.

Sire of the Void Angels: To the Void Angels, their Primarch is the foremost defender of the ideals of the Imperial Truth. All Void Angels in an army containing Gaspard Lumey have +1 to combat resolution. This includes Lumey Himself.