Adeptus Astartes Covert Ops?

[Alyster Wick]

Dapper Anarchist and I were gchatting the other day batting around ideas about Astartes, potential interesting backstories, etc when the idea came up to have an Apothecary investigating reports of bizarre Astartes-like humanoids (with highly advanced implant organs etc) being utilized by a Dark Mechanicus splinter army.  Naturally, this would prompt interest from a number of groups, especially Space Marines.

Anyway, from this basic concept sprung the idea that each Chapter would likely find it advantageous to have operatives that able to blend in better than a 7 foot tall super human. It would make sense for them to have some type of internal organization to handle sensitive operations involving issues they don't wish to make public (certainly the Dark Angels and Blood Angels would find this especially necessary).

I had no idea if there was already established canon on such groups within the Astartes or if others had thoughts on the subject (or reasoning behind why they wouldn't exist). 

[Wifstrand]

Have you read the Horus Heresy novel Prospero Burns? I don't think it is a good book, I haven't even finished it yet, but the character Hawser may be of interest to you.

[MarcoSkoll]

I'm almost certain Kaled said something about Chapter serfs and other "human" resources of a chapter in Inquisitor at some point, but my search-fu is failing me.

However, I can say for certain that I did something similar at one point - creating a Kill-Team for 40k that, while it used the IG Veteran rules, was fluff wise made up out of genetically unsuitable Space Marine candidates (after all, they had at least proved themselves in the other trials).

Part of the justification was they could blend in with Guard forces, not giving anything away to the enemy until the Space Marines wished to show their hand* - at which point they swung into action, breaking away from the main guard force and hitting with the aggression you'd expect of a Marine chapter.
It also saved Battle Brothers for other tasks and provided the chapter with a mess of individuals they could use in other situations where a Marine might have been unsuitable or unnecessary.

*Which reminds me of a hand of Rummy I played with my family while on holiday in Spain. I was dealt the 4 of Diamonds... and the 2, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 of Spades. Guess which card I drew on my first turn.

[DapperAnarchist]

The other part of this chat, if I remember, was the idea of unmarked Astartes - for when the Imperium needs something done that can be blamed on renegades. A raid on a major Tau Sept might be necessary to kill off a traitor, but if it were visibly Imperial, that could lead to a Tau invasion, when Imperial forces in the Eastern Rim are already overstretched (fill in for Tau any other race than can be negotiated with - Eldar, just about, non-Imperial human, other minor race). So unmarked Astartes can both get the job done, and can be blamed on Renegade or Traitor Astartes. Or may even be Renegades, acting for hire. Lots of options there.

Kaled has been pushing that Chapter Serf idea for ages! He really needs to get his act together and make it...

[Kaled]

It' still on my list of future projects along with my Inquisitorial mutants warband, and maybe an eccentric and mysterious Ordo Chronos Inquisitor and warband (plus an Arbites Vox Booth to go with him), but I've got my Rogue Trader and Tau warbands to finish first...

[Ulgavitch]

Bizarre this - about two years ago I put together an 28mm army list for a Astartes Chapter, whose Gene-seed was failing year by year. Because of this, they recruited 'squires' and other infantry formations to assist them, created a lot of Apothecaries to help save those they could (every squad leader could be an Apothecary) and generally tried to fill the battlefield with more targets than just the few remaining Astartes.

The reason it's bizarre is that I was trying to find it last night for a totally unrelated reason. 

The human serf makes a huge amount of sense, because most of the Marine background is broken without their inclusion. A Chapter Battle Barge would not work without human crew, nor would the chapter be able to deploy it's marines without vast technical support. I've always wondered who helps the marine in and out of their power armour!

In inquisitor terms, you could have a small team, loyal to the chapter rather than the Imperium, who investigated and fought skirmishes on their behalf ... of course, they'd have a big brother to call if things got that little bit sticky. A good excuse to use that 52mm drop pod a friend once built for me.

[InquisitorHeidfeld]

To conceal the colours of the Chapter is cowardice...

However (and look at Beginnings and Endings for a fiction take on it), if I remember my old fluff correctly then more than 50% of Aspirants never make it to Neonate and implantation (in the case at least of conventional Chapters - the dodgy ones with insta-implantation are another matter entirely). These Aspirants can't really go home, they've generally been exposed to far too much for a Seed World to maintain its uncorrupted state should they return, they have few options... But a Battle Barge has transport space for (IIRC) 4 companies, on a ship which would require a crew in at least the tens of thousands. An Astartes world must produce food and beer (or mead, wine...etc) in vast quantities (and cannot afford Battle Brothers to farm the land)...
The Fortress Monastary of any Chapter is far to large to be defended by its Marine Garrison alone.

Very much like the story of Thermopalae, the 300 Spartans, who went through the the trials of their youth and were indoctrinated into their warrior culture, get the glory - the 5000 or so Spartan Hellots slain at the goat path are forgotten and even the Hoplites of other city-states barely get a mention...

[DapperAnarchist]

To conceal the colours of the Chapter is cowardice...

is an Imperial Fists dogma, and one suited to defense and Praetorian duties - but other chapters, such as the Raven Guard, some of the Ultramarine successors, and probably some Dark Angels, would be willing to use camouflage. And the perfect camouflage is to redirect the enemies attack, rather than simply confound him as to where it came from.

[InquisitorHeidfeld]

I was under the impression it was written as appearing a little after the Badab insurrection - the Tiger Claws (who became the Astral Claws more recently) being the primary folks using camoflague in the Rogue Trader days...

Regardless - the Astartes have numerous non-Marine assets, many of whom will have been failed aspirants and therefore ideally suited to operating where an implanted Marine cannot go.