Chapter Sigma
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.
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| Chapter Sigma | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Battle Cry | Greater as Whole! | |
| Founding | Second Founding | |
| Successors of | Unknown | |
| Chapter Master | Quan | |
| Primarch | Unknown | |
| Homeworld | Fleet-based | |
| Specialty | Combat Flexibility | |
| Allegiance | Imperium of Man | |
| Colours | Navy, Black, and White | |
The Chapter Sigma are a codex-compliant Second Founding Chapter. Formed from a warband of loyalist blackshields during the heresy, the warriors of Chapter Sigma would pledge their alleigance to Gaspard Lumey and the Imperium, reforming themselves to fit the Institutorum Astartes. Uniquely the Chapter Sigma also strictly follow another piece of combat doctrine, referred to as the Codex Mathematika, or simply the Mathematika. As the only surviving link to their pre-heresy past, the Mathematika governs their pragmatic efficiency-based approach to combat.
Chapter History[edit]
The origins of the Chapter Sigma are muddled in the chaos of the Heresy. Originally operating as a blackshield warband under the command of Warsmith Napha Sigma, the Chapter Sigma appeared condemned to die from attrition in their skirmishes against traitor forces until one day they were met by the Primarch Shakya Vardhana and his Eyes in the wreckage of the traitor shipyards of Zenaal VI.
Expecting to be purged due to their heretical origins, Warsmith Sigma and his warriors resigned themselves to annihiliation but were surprised by an invitation of peace instead. Napha Sigma himself was invited to speak with Primarch Vardhana alone and after three hours he emerged from the primarch's chambers and declared his support to the Eyes of the Emperor. On that matter, Shakya Vardhana acknowledged the Warband of Sigma as his honorary sons.
It is clear that Vardhana had forseen the eventual fate of the warband but his true intentions remain unknown to this day. Together with the Eyes, the Warband of Sigma participated in the Siege of Terra as the defenders, losing much of their number at Eternity Wall spaceport. Warsmith Sigma himself faced the Lord of Change Sa'loxir'ath, who offered him the truth behind Vardhana's decision to preserve his warband. Upon Napha Sigma's refusal, Sa'loxir'ath promptly decapitated him.
Following the Siege, the survivors expected to be granted the Emperor's Mercy, but once again Shakya Vardhana intervened. What he shared with his brother primarch Gaspard Lumey remains undocumented and unknown, but following his meeting with Vardhana, his initial decision to exterminate the survivors was reversed. Ultimately after extensive tests for their purity, the Warband of Sigma would be allowed to continue as a chapter, albeit with certain caveats.
Their geneseed was deemed too tainted to be passed on to future generations, future marines of Chapter Sigma would carry the genetic legacy of an unknown loyalist legion instead. In response to that the 493 remaining members of the Warband of Sigma symbolically removed their Progenoids for destruction, a declaration that they would be forever free of their tainted gene-legacy. Today, certain agents of the Inquisition believe that the Primarch Vardhana foresaw a future where the Chapter Sigma would carry his genes and acted accordingly; others believe that he was merely acting to preserve a future where the Chapter Sigma served the Imperium.
Shakya Vardhana would have one last surprise for the Chapter Sigma, he informed them of a series of writings by Warsmith Napha Sigma, a secret project undertaken by the Warsmith following his first meeting with the primarch on Zenaal IV. These writings, the Codex Mathematika would form the foundation of the Chapter Sigma, doctrine where each battle-brother is equal and the chapter is greater than the sum of parts. Guided by the vaguest of hints by Vardhana, it took the Chapter Sigma over 100 standard years before they successfully compiled the Codex Mathematika.
Notable Members[edit]
Warsmith Napha Sigma
A quiet and reserved tactician, Napha Sigma led his force of blackshields during the heresy and penned the Codex Mathematika, a distilling of combat behaviour into a quantifiable number, usable by all marines.
Chapter Master Quan
The current chapter master, Quan is a veteran of numerous battles against the enemies of the Imperium. Once considered brash and unreliable when a mere neophyte over two centuries ago, Quan has had his fiery temperament tempered by the crucible of war. Unique amongst the chapter masters of the Chapter Sigma, Chapter Master Quan only has one censure band remaining, a reminder to him that he cannot tolerate even one failure.
Chapter Combat Doctrine[edit]
The Chapter Sigma closely follow the guidelines of the Codex Mathematika during combat operations, which assigns value to all facets of combat, including damage to enemies, harm to self and collateral damage. Each Space Marine has been extensively trained to maximise the sigma value of these combat calculations, to achieve the greatest possible effect with the least effort.
This has led to backlash against their tactics when they allow enemies to retreat because the cost of total annihilation was too great, or when they let civilians die in order to assassinate an important target.
The chapter has a great amount of flexibility, with captains serving as the first of equals, and the chapter master considered as the first of firsts. Ordinary marines are encouraged to counteract their commanders if they have judged them to have made a miscalculation, due to the flexible and subjective nature of the Codex Mathematika.
Apparently due to a quirk in their geneseed, many psychically-gifted aspirants either perish during the implantation procedure or see their gifts diminished to the point of uselessness. As such, librarians are highly valued amongst the Chapter Sigma, totalling between 2 to 5 usually. As such, the chapters librarians are highly prized and tend to serve support roles, far away from the heat of combat. The value placed on the librarians is extremely high, with entire companies willing to sacrifice themselves for a single librarian. Due to those dangers, the chapter rarely confronts the forces of chaos which would threaten their librarians, except in the case of the accursed Sa'loxir'ath.
Chapter Beliefs[edit]
The Chapter Sigma are heavily influenced by the Codex Mathematika, which prioritises the maximisation of success. They employ a unique form of punishment, in the form of censure bands. Following 10 years of service in Chapter Sigma, a marine is judged to have sufficient experience to make appropriate judgement, and will receive three censure bands. Should the marine make a grievous mistake which threatens the safety of his brothers, his chapter or the Codex, he will be stripped of one band. Once a marine loses all of their bands, they are punished in an ultimate, irreversible way, the removal of their chest Progenoid, mirroring the original removal of Progenoids at the end of the Heresy. This is considered the ultimate shame by members of the Chapter Sigma and the third-censured will usually join a Censure Company, where they undertake risky and suicidal missions that may result in the total loss of gene-seed of their other uncensured brothers.
The Chapter Sigma also greatly despises the hero worship of specific marines. Upon death, the deeds of each space marine is added anonymously to the Hall of Deeds aboard the flagship Summate Infinitium, a chronicle of the sum of successes and failures of the chapter.
Chapter Homeworld[edit]
The Chapter Sigma are a fleet-based chapter, operating primarily from their flagship Summate Infinitium. They have no fixed base of operations, preferring to travel wherever they feel that they are needed, though recently they have been trying to stop the machinations of Sa'loxir'ath in the Segmentum Pacificus.