The Jade Vipers

The Jade Vipers are an Ultima Founding Chapter established ca. 999.M41. Unlike most Ultima founding chapters the true Gene lineage of their founding is not fully known with dark whispers being they are from Gene Stock that Belisarius Cawl had access to but was ordered not to utilize. Even with their possible Dark Lineage the Vipers have proved themselves time and again especially in the arts of close combat and in particular close quarter areas such as jungle warfare thanks in no small part to their chosen Chapter Home World of Yuc’anti XIII.

The Jade Vipers were originally attached to the 383rd Indomitus Battle fleet ordered to pacify several systems in the Segmentum Solar near the newly formed Ciatrix Maledictum, the Great Rift. Along with so many other Crusading fleets dispatched by the reborn Robute Guilliman the 383rd fleets mandate was the complete elimination of the rampaging Chaos hoards that were spilling from the Rift and its surrounding smaller warp storms and anomalies. One such system that became accessibly ironically thanks to the force of the Great Rifts birth was that of the Yuc’anti System. This system had been cut off for millennia due to a localised Warp storm and as such the Imperium had bypassed this area. Now with a certain amount of clearing of these vicious storms the 383rd fleet made its advance and exploration of the planets contained within. Initial scouting vessels reported that of the numerous planets and their surrounding planetoids and moons described a mostly uninhabited desolate outer regions but as the progressed closer to the systems core words they became more and more vibrant with vast wilderness until Yuc’anti XIII was found to actually still sustain human life albeit a very primitive and regressed humanity. This planet had 3 moons in its orbit and it was here that the scouts discovered traces of Chaos forces.

Strike Crusier - Chontalli MkI

With the Great Enemy discovered the command elements of the 383rd dispatched its military might to descend on these moons. The spear head of the assault was led by the fleets attached Primaris Marines contingents. These warriors smashed into the Chaos forces at first so hard that the initial 2 moons were scoured clear of trace of Chaos within a matter of weeks however the final moon which was by far the largest of the three was home to an extremely large Night Lord fortress and these warriors would prove to be much more stubborn than the simple chaos cultists and minor demons that the Imperium forces had faced to date.

Halcon Intercessor Sergeant and Intercessor

The fortress was designated the Citadel of Screams by the intercepted Night Lord communications and it appeared that the Night Lords had taken control of the system centuries before protected by the raging Warp Storms that surrounded it. In that time the Warband had taken great delights in terrorizing the population of Yuc’anti XIII. As the full picture formed the rage of the Primaris Marines became what could only be described as almost psychotic but controlled rage. Channelling this rage, the Marines made planet fall in Thunderhawk gunships blasting the outer defence bulwarks that were poorly maintained due to the Night Lords arrogance that their fortress was unbreachable by the local threats that until now they had only faced. This poorly maintained defence was ripped to pieces but these were warriors of the Long War and the initial successes quickly dried up and a truer defence formed.

Jade Viper Warbands

Instead of organizing into the squads dictated by the Codex Astartes, the Jade Vipers form their Battle-Brothers into "Warbands." Each Warband will generally be made up of Astartes who have fought together for some time and will work together.

For the Jade Vipers their finely honed senses of smell and hearing are just as important to them as their keen eyesight. Warbands will work together to sniff and sound out their foes, hunting their prey methodically, identifying the locations of their comrades as much by their enhanced sense of smell as by any technological means.

The Jade Vipers have four primary types of Hunting Parties in the Chapter, including the Holcan, Reivers, and the Temple Guard. There are also Viper Scouts, who are an oddity among the Adeptus Astartes.

Holcan Assault Intercessor

Holcan  - If Neophytes survive long enough to mature into seasoned Astartes, they are promoted to the ranks of the Halcons. These veteran Astartes are the equivalent of a Codex Astartes-compliant Chapter's Interssesor Marines. The Halcon Hunting Parties form the greater mass of the Jade Viper's warriors. They are strong and resolute fighters, tempered by battle but as hungry for honour as any proud warrior of Yuc'Anti Xiii. They are experienced warriors, dour and sombre, proud of their skills, and rightly honoured by their younger brethren.

Viper Scout  - For some Jade Viper Astartes, the close-knit and boisterous brotherhood of the warband(squad) is not well suited to their personality, as they yearn for the open spaces and isolation of the Yuc'Anti jungles. These Space Marines are selected to become part of a Warband's Viper Scout force, providing reconnaissance and disrupting enemy movements. These Space Marines are often already Veterans, as opposed to the raw Neophytes commonly used in other Chapters' Scout Marines Squads.

Reiver  - Where Viper Scouts are stealthy hunters, Reivers are terror troops who instill in their enemies a sense of inescapable doom. Like the Viper Scouts they often fight alongside, Reivers are adept at flanking actions, setting up ambushes and targeting seemingly safe rearguard troops. As Primaris Space Marines, the full capabilities of Reivers are still being discovered by the Viper Lords. On occasion, packs of Reivers are placed with the main body of a Warband, their arms and armaments making them more than capable in a straightforward firefight; but they have also shown exceptional flair for less conventional methods of deployment. Their sleek and lightweight Mk X Phobos armour can be fitted with grav-chutes that allow the Reivers to be dropped into battle from low orbit. The grav-chutes' paired fins are used to guide the Reivers' descent, allowing them to glide along mountain ridges and around hive spires without leaving the contrail of a jump pack or Drop Pod, which would alert the enemy to their presence. The innate savagery of Reivers makes them a natural fit in the Warbands of the Jade Vipers. However, they tend to avoid the feasting halls where possible, and rarely engage in conversation with other battle-brothers. Even their Primaris brethren are kept at a distance. The only warriors outside of their own tight-knit packs with whom they openly converse are the Viper Scouts, and even then their communications take place whilst out on shared patrols. Though Reivers and Viper Scouts have been seen talking – and on occasion even laughing - in the distance, their stalkers' camaraderie remains dormant when in the presence of others not of their ilk. What Reivers lack in ebullience they make up for in battlefield effectiveness. Their reputation for swiftly and violently dispatching any enemy they are loosed upon has quickly spread through the ranks of the Jade Vipers, and while they make poor drinking partners, their War Captains know that Reivers can be counted upon to fulfill the duties of the Chapter. The Saga of the Reivers is still in its opening verses, yet already it is replete with tales of their glorious victories.

Temple Guard - Some Jade Vipers, having achieved feats of exceptional valour and martial prowess, may become members of the Chapter's Temple Guard. These mighty Astartes can lead smaller forces of Jade Vipers drawn from other Warbands, serve as the Jade Viper's version of an Honour Guard for the most experienced warrior in a deployed Jade Vipers force or serve as the Nacom for a Warbands's Hunting Parties, imparting their knowledge and experience to their younger charges and serving as the equivalent of standard Space Marine Sergeants. In addition to access to the best suits of Power Armour and the most advanced wargear available to the Chapter, the Temple Guard have earned the right to wear Terminator Armour. Unlike other Chapters, entrance into the elite ranks of the Temple Guard is not the result of seniority or Veteran status but is an honour earned directly through merit, through the display of extraordinary acts of courage and heroism under fire. Eventually, it is possible for a Temple Guard to rise to the position of War Chief, the mighty officers equivalent to standard Space Marine Captains who command one of the 10 Warbands that comprise the entirety of the Chapter.

Jade Viper Chapter Totem

Specialist Ranks

Ahau Chapter Master - The Ahau is the Jade Viper's equivalent of a Chapter Master. The Ahau is generally considered only a steward of the Chapter rather than its true lord, since he is only awaiting the return of the Emperor who has always been the Jade Viper's only true leader. The Ahau leads the Chapter in the Emperors' absence. Chosen from among the Chapter's War Captains, the current Ahau Chapter Master is Och-Kan, who has lead the Chapter for over four standard centuries from 999.M41.

4th War Captain Apoxpalon

War Captain - A War Captain is the Jade Viper's officer who is the equivalent of a standard Space Marine Captain and who commands one of the 10 Warbands that comprise the full Jade Vipers Chapter's military force. A War Captain may be accompanied by a contingent of Temple Guard specifically loyal to him. The Chapter's Warbands are led by the 10 current War Captains, a number that includes the current Ahau, Och-Kan. Much of the time the attrition rate for War Captains is fairly significant because of the Chapter's preference for close combat. However, some War Captains have managed to see their hundredth year pass in service to the Emperor.

Nacoms - is the Jade Viper equivalent of a standard Lieutenant officer rank first found among the formations of the Primaris Space Marines. In the wake of the resurrection of the Primarch Roboute Guilliman in 999.M41 and his revisions to the Codex Astartes, the rank has been introduced to all the Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes since the start of the Indomitus Crusade. A Nacom serves as a Demi-company leader, with two assigned per full company of 100 Space Marines. Nacoms act as the right hands of their War Captains by providing flexibility and helping to direct their Battle-Brothers in engagements. Jade Viper Warbands and are frequently divided into two Battle Demi-Warbands of 50 Astartes each in order to spread their forces across multiple combat zones.

Ah K'in(Blood) Priests - Blood Priests are a unique officer class within the Chapter. A combination of the roles of Chaplain and Apothecary found in Codex-compliant Chapters, the Blood Priests administer to the physical and mental well-being of the Chapter's warriors and also choose the Aspirants to the Chapter from among the feral barbarian tribes of Yuc'Anti Xiii. The Blood Priests are also the sole progenitor of the Blood Oath and bloodletting ceremonies and rituals.

Balam(Star) Priests - The Jade Vipers do not have Librarians as such because of their great abhorrence of psychic abilities, which they equate with foul sorcery; instead the Chapter maintains a number of Star Priests -- potent psykers who examine the minds of all Aspirants to the Chapter for any sign of Chaotic taint or treachery. Armed and equipped differently from Librarians, Star Priests do not wear the Psychic Hoods of Librarians, and do not always carry Force Weapons, what the Jade Vipers prefer to call Celestial Weapons. The Star Priests, however, are actually quite potent psykers in their own right and as fierce warriors as any man born of Yuc'Anti Xiii.

Curse of the Tiger

Ocēlōmeh(Tiger) Warriors - The Ocēlōmeh or Tiger Warriors are Space Marines of the Jade Vipers Chapter who have succumbed to the Curse of the Tiger and transformed into savage, malformed feline mutants. Within every Jade Viper's gene-seed is the specific genetic sequence known as the Felis Catus which invests the Jade Viper's with the acute predatory senses of the Yu'Canti Tigers native to their homeworld of Yuc'Anti Xiii.

When Aspirants undergo the beginning of the physical changes that will transform them into superhuman Astartes during the brutal trial known as The Blooding, not every candidate is able to overcome the feral Curse that the activation of the Felis Catus unleashes within them, and they suffer the horrible fate of transforming into one of these fell creatures.

Many Jade Vipers warriors do not succumb to the Curse for many Terran centuries. But once he drinks from the Cup of Tiger the warrior must continuously fight against the beast that rages within him for the remainder of his days. Some Jade Vipers eventually surrender, unable to contain the ferocity of the Tiger within during the heat of battle.

Battle Honors

• The First Seraphon War (Unknown Date.M42) - The Warp Storms that emanate from the Great Rift darken the whole Yuc’Anti System, and in the ensuing maelstrom, the Seraphon Kroxigor Nocto'ax and his Tribal Legion rise to slaughter and enslave the worlds' feral populations. It is the Jade Vipers, in Chapter strength, that halt their abattoir rituals. The Jade Vipers work their way Noj(city) by Noj, freeing those who can be liberated and avenging those who cannot.
• 118.M42 - Battle of the Pit of Raukos - Two full companies of the Ultramarines and four Companies from the Jade Vipers are joined by over 30 regiments of the Astra Militarum engage a vast alliance of Black Legion, Word Bearers and Iron Warriors traitor Legions near the Pit of Raukos as they try to destabilize the region again after the first battle in 111.M42 that was won by Lord Gilliman.
• 201.M42 - The Leglok 246 - Incident Chapter Master Ahau Och-Kan leads a force of six Companies in a clash with a Tau expeditionary force looking to scout the 4th sphere expansion on the world of Leglok 246 .When it becomes apparent that Leglok 246 is in fact a Necron Tomb World waking from hibernation thanks to the initial Marine and Tau engagements, Och-Kan forms a precarious alliance with the Tau against the Necrons. The Fighting however proves futile and Och-Kan initiated Exterminatus via cyclonic torpedoes on the planet, but not before allowing the Tau forces to honorably disengage and withdraw.
• 174.M42 - Och-Kan lead his entire Chapter in an assault on the Chapters regarded Mortal enemies of the Night Lords Traitor Legion. The Rogue trader Karl Corvex had been dispatched on scouting missions on the personal request of Robute Guilliman and discovered a large Warband of Night Lords terrorizing several Mining Worlds near to the Great Rift. The Night Lords were raiding out from the protection of the Chaotic region and as such were beginning to interrupt vital war supply routes for several Battle Groups in the surrounding sectors. Guilliman order a total of five Chapters to intervene and one of these chapters was the Jade Vipers and Och-Kan was nominated the overall commander of the effort to destroy the raiders.In 032.174.M42 the initial engagements revealed that the Night Lords attacking the region were actually made up mostly from the very same Night Lords that had escaped the destruction of the Citadel of Screams at the founding of the Jade Vipers. This fact made the destruction of these traitors all the more personal for the Jade Vipers. The war progressed slowly at first until Och-Kan came up with a strategically act of genius that saw the lions share of the Night Lords being lured into an ambush near the System of Gamma Eion. The resultant void battle saw the Night Lords suffer unsustainable losses and therefore completing the primary objective of the war. Unfortunately for Och-Kan he was unable to claim a lasting honour as during the final boarding actions on the Night Lords command ship the Warlord of the Traitors Kalex Kur revealed himself to be the same Warlord who had brought so much horror in the past to the Jade Vipers Home World. This revelation sent Och-Kan into a frenzy of uncontrolled righteous rage to the point where he lost control and to his eternal shame allowed Kur to escape into a Warp rift while taunting the Chapter Master. From this day on Och-Kan has sworn a blood oath to find Kur and put an end to his existence.