IA: The Royal Martyrs (WIP)

[Bjorn Firewalker]

The details on 6th Company are grim and, sadly, quite appropriate for the setting of 'Warhammer 40,000'.

[Formosus XVI]

+ Royal Martyrs Order of Precedence +

 

Below is the order of precedence used for when the Royal Martyrs gather for great ceremonial occasions, and is a relatively good proxy for actual rank. Of course, the chapter is rarely gathered fully together, but smaller subsections of this are used as necessary

1. Honored Guests¹
2. The Chapter Master
3. Dreadnoughts by previous rank in the order of precedence, then length of service with the chapter.²
4. The Master of Sanctity
5. The Master of the Apothecarion
6. The Chief Librarian
7. The Master of the Fleet
8. The Master of the Forge
9. The Reclusiarch
10. The Captain of the First Company
11. The Captains of other Companies, by length of service with the chapter
12. The Chapter Champion 
13. The Chapter Standard Bearer
14. The Chapter Honor Guard by length of service with the chapter
15. The Champion of the First Company
16. The Champions of other Companies, by the length of service of their captains
17. The Honor Guard of the First Company by length of service with the chapter
18. The Honor Guards of other Companies, by groups in length of service of their captains, then internally by their own length of service. 
19. The Standard Bearer of the First Company
20. The Standard Bearers of the other Companies, by length of service of their captains with the chapter
21. Sergeant captains of the Chapter’s Armada, by length of service with the chapter
22. Specialist Marines attached to the Armada by length of service with the chapter
23. Specialist Marines attached to the First Company, by length of service with the chapter
24. Sergeants of the 1st Company, by length of service with the chapter
25. Specialist Marines attached to the other Companies, by length of service with the chapter
26. Sergeants of the other Companies, by groups in length of service of their captains, then internally by their own length of service. 
27.  Apprentice Chaplains, by length of service with the chapter
28. Brothers of the 1st Company, by length of service with the chapter
29. Brothers of the other Companies, by groups in length of service of their captains, then internally by their own length of service. 
30. Apprentice Apothecaries by length of service with the chapter
31. Librarian Codiciers by length of service with the chapter
32. Librarian Lexicaniums by length of service with the chapter
33. Apprentice Techmarines by length of service with the chapter
34. Ordinator of the House
35. Vowed Serf captains of the chapter’s frigates by length of service with the chapter
36. Scout Marines by length of service with the chapter
37. Vowed Serfs and Astropaths by length of service with the chapter
38. Neophytes, prior to sufficient geneseed implantation to be considered Scout Marines, by length of service with the chapter
39. Hereditary Serfs by sex (males take precedence) and then age³

​​¹ The Royal Martyrs rarely play host to honored guests, who in any event do not participate in the events, but are simply announced first and given a seat of honor to view the proceedings. The only people that regularly appear as honored guests at the chapter's events are the chapter's Navigators.

² The Royal Martyrs rarely awaken their dreadnoughts (they possess only three of them), even for the most solemn occasions, preferring to let their brothers rest. A request from a high ranking honored guest, such as a sector governor or one of the High Lords, to review the dreadnoughts, is about the only time other than for battle that they will rouse them.

³ Hereditary serfs never take part in large ceremonies of the Royal Martyrs; much like dreadnoughts, they will only take part if a high ranking guest requests that they be present at the ceremony.

 

+ Election of the Chapter Master and Appointment of Officers +

 

When a chapter master of the Royal Martyrs dies, at the earliest opportunity, a new Chapter Master is elected by the following electors: The Master of Sanctity, the Master of the Apothecarion, the Chief Librarian, the Master of the Fleet, the Master of the Armory, and the Captains of the 10 companies. Only one vote is taken, and a candidate is elected by simply receiving the most votes. It is therefore possible for someone to be elected Chapter Master without receiving the the majority of the votes. If there should be any kind of tie among leading candidates, the Ordinator of the House is permitted to cast the tie-breaking vote. Votes are cast in secret, but revealed at the end of the process.

 

Almost any full battle-brother or higher is technically eligible to be elected Chapter Master. The most common candidates for election to Chapter Master, in order from most likely to be elected to least likely to be elected, is as follows: 1st Company Captain, Master of the Fleet, most other company Captains, the chapter Champion, most other members of the chapter, the 10th company Captain, the Master of Sanctity, the Master of the Apothecarion, and finally the Chief Librarian. Techmarines are barred from the position of Chapter Master.

 

The Chapter Master directly makes all appointments to the chapter's officer class (rank 13 and higher on the precedence list) except for the Reclusiarch. He also selects new members of the chapter's honor guard. Other positions are usually filled by their officer superiors, though the Chapter Master does have the right to veto any such decision. Specialist commands work closely with the 10th Company Captain and the Chapter Master to identify candidates among the recruits who show promise in the specialist fields; only the Chapter Master can officially allow training as a specialist to commence. Specialist commanders discuss with company Captains and the Chapter Master which members of their command would be best assigned to a particular company when a vacancy comes up; as always the Chapter Master makes the final decision. Though specialist Marines can technically be reassigned, it is chapter tradition that once appointed to a company, they remain there for life. Apprentice specialists, when they need field training, are temporarily assigned to any of the 10 companies as needed by the agreement of their commanders and the company's Captain. Usually the Chapter Master is not bothered with such minor details, but he does have the authority to block such a decision if he finds out about it.

 

+ Methods of Address +

 

Hereditary serfs and neophytes of the chapter are usually simply called by their first names. Scout Marines are also either called solely by their first names or sometimes their title "Scout <first name>"

 

Battle-brothers and Vowed Serfs are formally addressed as Frère  <First Name> ( or Brother <First Name>), though this can be shortened simply to the title without insult. Sergeants, champions, and specialists are addressed as Frère-(rank) <First Name>, which can similarly be shortened to just the title. For example: Frère-Epistolary Lance or just Frère-Epistolary,

 

Officers of the chapter (rank 13 and above in the order of precedence) are addressed directly as monsieur ( or my lord) by their subordinates. When referred to in the third person either their whole titles are used or the word Master. An example would be "I was speaking with Master Guénolé yesterday, and he said that you should spend more time reading the Life of Saint Trask. After you are done, he asked that you give the dataslate to Master Jagaddeva." The exception to this is the company captains; there the word master is replaced with captain when speaking about them in the third person; e.g. "Captain Michelin is out on campaign in subsector Brahe."

[Formosus XVI]

+ Royal Martyrs Fleet +

 

The Royal Martyrs maintain a relatively large fleet for a Space Marine chapter. Listed below each capital ship are the escorts that are permanently assigned to it. Normally the fleet is broken up into three sections consisting of a battle barge, three strike cruisers, and their attendant frigates. Each capital ship entry names the Space Marine command crew assigned to it; frigates are commanded solely by Vowed Serfs.

 

The Navigator House of Ys, a minor house based on Terra, has a 1500 year contract with Royal Martyrs, signed at the beginning of the 41st millennium. They provide all navigators for the Royal Martyr's warp capable ships.

 

Noblesse Oblige – Battle Barge:

Ship for the personal use of the Chapter Master

Usually remains close to Asón

Commanded by Veteran Sergeant Parsifal de Fénelon

Resident Librarian Epistolary Asharaja

Resident Apothecary Oliphant de Persigny

Resident Chaplain Severin-Gaston-Pierre de La Mark

Resident Techmarine Dumolin

· Gladius-class Frigate Main-gauche

· Gladius-class Frigate Merovech le Roi

· Gladius-class Frigate Bombast

 

Dieu et Mon Droit – Battle Barge

Official flagship of the Chapter

Has a teleportarium and numerous other archaeotech components

Commanded by Master of the Fleet Théodore Marie Chevignard

Resident Librarian Epistolary Guy Oligny

Resident Apothecary Marcel de Maintenon

Resident Chaplain Valentin Hippolite

Resident Techmarine Matthaeus de La Mark

· Gladius-class Frigate Haute-Loire

· Gladius-class Frigate Shepherd of Savoy

· Nova-class Frigate Lions and Lambs

 

Prince Étranger – Battle Barge

Long-range recruiting, scouting, and military relief fleet flagship

Has a teleportarium and a few other archaeotech components

Commanded by Veteran Sergeant Joscelin Hamilton

Resident Librarian Epistolary Govindaraja

Resident Apothecary Mallobaude

Resident Chaplain Bernard-Clarice La Salle

Resident Techmarine Gunter von Luxembourg

· Nova-class Frigate Imperial Visit

· Nova-class Frigate Vision of Terra

· Nova-class Frigate Urbi et Orbi

 

Porphyry – Strike Cruiser

Commanded by Veteran Sergeant Chlodio

Resident Apothecary Mortimer Gotha

Resident Chaplain Berengar Le Mans

Resident Techmarine Gianluigi Campofregoso

· Gladius-class Frigate Peacock Dreams

· Gladius-class Frigate Watermark 

 

St. Honorius – Strike Cruiser

Commanded by Veteran Sergeant Louis Emmanuel d’Espence

Resident Apothecary Gaspard Le Houx

Resident Chaplain Samuel-Henri Chrétien

Resident Techmarine Jacques-Joachim de Mirepoix

· Gladius-class Frigate Magnum Praesidium

· Nova-class Frigate Cardinal’s Gift

 

Far Horizon – Strike Cruiser

Commanded by Veteran Sergeant Byfrons Hague

Resident Apothecary François le Pard Dontangiac

Resident Chaplain Goa Frém

Resident Techmarine Kurt-Rémy Andrieux

· Nova-class Frigate Abbé de l’Épée

· Nova-class Frigate Gâchette

 

King’s Gambit – Strike Cruiser

Commanded by Veteran Sergeant Graeme Howard

Resident Apothecary Millard de Gaussen Le Calliard

Resident Chaplain Lucerne Rabelais

Resident Techmarine Truguet de Quelen

· Gladius-class Frigate Monsieur Orgon

· Gladius-class Frigate Checkmate

 

Le Sang des Justes – Strike Cruiser

Commanded by Veteran Sergeant Olivier Montpellier

Resident Apothecary Ormus Hippolite

Resident Chaplain Ywain de Rohan

Resident Techmarine Lucius Duval

· Gladius-class Frigate Triskelion

· Nova-class Frigate Renfield

 

Duc de Vauguyon – Strike Cruiser

Commanded by Veteran Sergeant Hebrard

Resident Apothecary Sixtus Basingstoke

Resident Chaplain Hunefer Sestius Nons 

Resident Techmarine Portius Cassius Brissac

· Nova-class Frigate Pairie de France

· Nova-class Frigate Cursus Honorum

 

Irminsul – Strike Cruiser

Commanded by Veteran Sergeant Friedrich von Ritter

Resident Apothecary Barthélemy Mornay-Barrot

Resident Chaplain Teobald von Roedern

Resident Techmarine Philibert Motard

· Gladius-class Frigate Senatorial Privilege

· Gladius-class Frigate Peryton

 

L’Etoile Polaire – Strike Cruiser

Commanded by Veteran Sergeant Christophe Adolphe de Castelbajac

Resident Apothecary Eustache Le Breteuil

Resident Chaplain Pascal Napoleon della Rimini de Herault 

Resident Techmarine Campredon Enférac

· Gladius-class Frigate Fomalhaut

· Nova-class Frigate Comte de Kersaint

 

Mémoire d’Honneur – Stike Cruiser

Commanded by Veteran Sergeant Boniface d’Usson de Bonnac

Resident Apothecary Jaime Howard Roboute FitzGerald

Resident Chaplain Lambrecht d’Oily von Cassel

Resident Techamrine Layton Richeaux

· Nova-class Frigate Sagacité

· Nova-class Frigate Astuce

 

Many non-warp capable civilian ships.

[DaBoiKyknos]

What about my idea, you know, with the lightnings?