[Sithis]

Raptors Battlegroup
The 4th Company

Raptors

Spoiler

Much of the Raptor's early history is lost. What little is known is that they were a Second Founding successor of the Raven Guards. They began their existence as a fleet based chapter, before being granted a homeworld near the Eye of Terror sometime in 31.M. Beyond that, little is known for sure.

During either the 4th (or 5th, no one is really sure) Black Crusade, the Raptors original home planet was destroyed. Along with it, they lost most of their historical records and much of it's most ancient and powerful equipment. It took them nearly two thousand years to properly rebuild, re-equip, and find a new homeworld. In fact, it took so long that much of the Imperium believed they had been destroyed after the loss of their homeworld! But in early 39.M, the Raptors re-emerged, ready to once again destroy the enemies of the Imperium.

Since then, the Chapter has found itself embroiled in many conflicts, most notably the Badab War, the Third War of Armageddon, and the Taros Conflict.

Tactical Doctrine

Spoiler

The Raptors, in many ways, emulate the strategies of their founders, the Raven Guard. They favor stealth tactics and surprise attacks, generally preferring a battle to be as one-sided as possible. This means that they also favor the use of Scouts quite heavily, using them to gather intelligence, harass the enemy, and strike at weak points.

However, in contrast to the Raven Guard favoring going into melee with Jump Packs and Lightning Claws, the Raptors prefer to keep their enemy at arms length. They favor overwhelming application of ranged firepower, meaning that they tend to have little use for Assault Squads and generally don't include them in their Companies.

After the loss of their homeworld, much of their most ancient and powerful equipment was lost. As such, the number of Terminator suits, Land Raiders, and other very rare pieces of technology the Chapter can wield is very limited. They attempt to make up for the lose of this specialized equipment through tactical flexibility and and emphasis on individual judgement and initiative.

4th Company

Spoiler

As with much of the Chapter, there are few surviving records of the 4th Company from before the destruction of their homeworld. However, since the Chapter's re-emergence during the Caberiad Wars, the 4th Company has found itself embroiled in a large number of small conflicts, most hardly worthy of mention. That is, until their inclusion in the 3rd War of Armageddon. They were but one of many Space Marine Companies to participate in the fighting, but they did their part.

Now, they've been sent to secure the Cauldron for the forces of the Imperium. Or, should that prove impossible, deny it to any heretical or xenos forces.

Composition and Equipment

Spoiler

The 4th Company largely goes by Codex standards as far as organization and equipment goes. Though the Chapter's preference for ranged combat sees the two Assault squads that would normally be part of the Company replaced by another Tactical and Devastator squad. The Company also includes many Rhino and Razorback transports, allowing their forces to be highly mobile. Notably, the Company currently lacks any Dreadnaughts, and only has access to a single Land Raider, of the Crusader variant. This means the 4th lacks much of their heavy firepower, and must rely on their mobility to allow them to outmaneuver their enemies.

In addition to the Company's normal forces, two squads of the Chapter's Scouts have been allocated to the Company, as well as a squad of Sternguard Veterans of the 1st Company.

All of this is currently staged from the Strike Cruiser Dawn of Battle, and old and reliable Cruiser that has seen innumerable conflicts. The cruiser has a small but significant number of frigate escorts, meaning that the 4th Company is almost as much a threat as they are planetside.

VIPs

Spoiler

Captain Andreas Serro: Serros has been Captain of the 4th Company for going on 50 years, and has proven himself to be a very effective commander.

Epistolary Quarus Erastus:

Chaplain Caius Vorenus:

Techmarine Arachtus Thales:

Veteran Sergeant:

Stats

Spoiler

Ground: ( Very High ) They are SPESS MAHREENS, they are the EMPRAHS FUREH! Ehhmm. Yes, they are Astardes, some of the finest warriors in the galaxy. With bolters and chainswords, they destroy the enemies of the Imperium in the name of the Emperor.

Navy:( Low - Moderate ) The 4th Company operates largely out of the Strike Cruiser Dawn of Battle, which is accompanied by several frigate escorts.

Scouts: (Medium - High ) The Raptors are masters of infiltration, ambush, and sabotage. As Scouts, their training heavily emphasizes stealth and subterfuge, and these are skills most marines bring with them long after they've joined the ranks of the Tactical Marines.

Psykers:( Whatever an Epistolary level Librarian would be. )
The 4th Company has exactly ONE psyker, (Barring a few astropaths on their ships, of course.) And that is Epistolary Quarus Erastus. It was thought he would be sufficient.

Lore: (Low) As far as most Astardes are concerned, you only need to know two things about the enemy: Where is it, and how you most efficiently kill it. Anything else is simply extra.

Reinforcements: ( None ) The 4th Company has called for reinforcements, but the Raptor's Chapter is scattered throughout the stars. They will come, but they may take too long to arrive.

Traits

Spoiler

Masters of Ambush: The Raptors are, (at least as far as Space Marines are concerned) masters of infiltration, ambush, and sabotage. They excel at wreaking havoc upon their behind enemy lines before their foes even know they are there.
Perhaps their Scouts are much better when used offensively?

The Raptors Assemble: When Captain Serro realized the true severity of the situation, he sent out a call to the rest of the Chapter to send everything it could to assist. Unfortunately, the Raptors tend to opperate in small groups, and fairly scattered. Elements of other Companies have been arriving in small groups at irregular intervals. Hopefully, it will be enough.
As we talked about earlier, the Raptors receive reinforcements at some kind of weird interval, but receive more reinforcements than normal when they do get them.

Edit: Changed up a little bit because of what we talked about in the other thread. In particular, changed the negative trait. I'll try to finish up some of the fluff stuff some time in the next few days.