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The Steel Confessors is a Loyalist Space Marine Chapter.

They have been referred to as the "crippled Steel Confessors Chapter."

It is known that the Night Lords Heretic Astartes Talos Valcoran had taken a replacement ceramite plate for the thigh of his damaged power armour from a suit of battle-plate that had belonged to an Astartes of the Steel Confessors.

It should be noted that much of the information on this page is considered unverifiable as canon due to unusual circumstances given below.

The Chapter may have been secretly founded during the 36th Millennium by the Adeptus Mechanicus for its own use from the gene-seed of the Iron Hands.

After their discovery by the Inquisition, the Steel Confessors were forced to become an independent Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes, but they still maintain unusually close ties with the Mechanicus of Mars.

They recently successfully defended their homeworld, the Forge World of Kalevala, from an attack by the Tyranid Hive Fleet Leviathan, though at great cost to the Chapter.

Chapter History

Origins

SteelConfessorsTacticalMarine

Steel Confessors Chapter Colour Scheme as displayed by a Firstborn Tactical Marine.

Despite coming from the gene-seed of the Iron Hands, the Steel Confessors were not created as part of the Second Founding or subsequent large-scale Foundings from the original gene-seed of the Iron Hands and are in fact a relatively new Chapter in the grand scheme of things.

With the support that the Iron Hands Chapter provides to the Adeptus Mechanicus, it was only a matter of time until gene-seed was supplied to the Mechanicus that would allow them to build their own Chapter that would be able to provide a rapid reaction force able to best defend important Mechanicus facilities on the rim of the known galaxy.

And so were born the Steel Confessors. In the 36th Millennium the Iron Hands sent three clan companies to aid Mechanicus Skitarii forces in the retaking of the Barrus System, an important Mechanicus foundry and testing facility.

The system had been captured by the Overlord Barhoth, a charismatic Chaos Renegade capable of calling upon the aid of legions of followers. With the additional assistance of the Dark Mechanicum, he had overrun the system and turned the factories to aiding his war effort, perverting the will of the Omnissiah to his own foul ends.

Initial attempts by the forces of the Mechanicus to recapture the system had been repulsed with both heavy losses to the Skitarii and the local Astra Militarum regiments sent to offer assistance.

Despairing that their research facility would be lost forever to the Ruinous Powers, the magi of the Mechanicus sent an appeal for aid to the Iron Hands, a Chapter of Astartes that had aided them in the past and shared many of the same ideals.

The resulting campaign was harsh with neither side asking nor expecting quarter. The Iron Hands were a godsend for the battered Mechanicus forces, striking the overlord's armies without warning, then redeploying once resistance began to stiffen in order to attack from another direction, whilst the Mechanicus and Astra Militarum forces tied up the reinforcements sent to the area.

This saw positive results with a foothold being established on Barrus III, the main foundry within the system. Over the following solar months this was consolidated until 75% of the planet was once again under Imperial control. The three Iron Hands clan companies then began to widen the sphere of their actions to incorporate the other planets within the system.

The overlord's minions appeared to be no match for the wrath of the Emperor's chosen warriors and soon planet after planet was regained. After five standard years of constant campaigning, only one planet in the system remained under Barhoth's control.

This was Tarvor, a Mechanicus research facility that specialised in the refinement of shielding technologies. As a result the planet was heavily defended and the forces of the Imperium expected dire losses in the planet's recapture.

The Iron Hands stepped forward, eager to be at the forefront of the assault, knowing the importance of the planet and that the death of a Traitor was at hand. After a long bombardment a hole was opened in the planet's Void Shield and the Iron Hands launched their Thunderhawks, committing all three clan companies to the assault.

However, Barhoth had planned for this and as the Thunderhawks entered the planet's atmosphere, within the shield they came under an unrelenting fire from the planet's defence batteries, all of which had been retargeted on the point where the Iron Hands had entered the planetary shield.

Realising that they had been drawn into a trap, Venerable Dreadnought Grixus from the Gravehold clan company, who had been put in overall command of the Iron Hand forces during the campaign by the Iron Council, ordered a retreat, hoping that they would be able to reorganise and strike elsewhere.

As the Thunderhawks turned for the hole in the shield, all communications with their starships in orbit where cut and the breach in the shield closed over. This left Grixus with little choice but to order the Iron Hands to make their way towards the surface knowing that they were surely entering a trap. The fire from the planetary defence batteries continued unabated and barely half of the three clan companies survived the planetfall.

Grixus organised the surviving Astartes to encircle the world's spaceport, planning to hold out until relief would be able to reach them. In orbit the Iron Hands strike cruisers were not inactive and whilst a concentrated bombardment began alongside the warships of the Imperial Navy, Captain Ullenear of the strike cruiser Omnissiah's Might signalled the Iron Council to inform them of the situation and request additional aid.

Unfortunately the closest force that the Iron Hands could dispatch was a solar month away. Knowing that potentially three entire clan companies were facing complete annihilation, the Iron Council also requested additional aid from the Adeptus Mechanicus, reminding them of their ties of loyalty.

The Mechanicus responded and sent forces from all the surrounding systems, including elements of the forces on the newly won planets within the Barrus System. A vast armada surrounded Tarvor, all awaiting the destruction of the planet's shield, with over five hundred ships adding their firepower.

Under such a colossal weight of fire, rents started to appear in the previously impregnable planetary shield. The Mechanicus commanders wasted no time and deployed over 100,000 Skitarii and 4 Warhound-class Titans through the breaches, all of which headed for the spaceport as communications were re-established with the surviving Iron Hands.

The scene around the spaceport as the troops landed was one of complete devastation. The overlord had committed his finest troops to the destruction of the Iron Hands and the weight of numbers along with their loss of manoeuvrability had taken their toll.

Of the 300 Space Marines that had been committed to the assault on the planet 126 had died in their Thunderhawks. Of the 174 Astartes that had made it to the spaceport only 11 remained alive, most of them bearing grievous injuries.

As the Skitarii secured the spaceport and began to push the Traitors back once more, the planetary shield finally collapsed and the rest of the Mechanicus forces began to deploy.

This allowed the surviving Iron Hands time to recoup the precious gene-seed that would allow them to rebuild their companies and to take stock of the tremendous losses to the Chapter they had suffered. All three clan company commanders had died, the last being Grixus mere solar hours before the liberation of the spaceport.

In honour of the Mechanicus and the forces that they had committed to relieve the beleaguered clan companies, the Iron Council agreed to provide the Adeptus Mechanicus with a portion of Iron Hands gene-seed, in order that they might be able to build their own Astartes rapid reaction force.

In return the Mechanicus sent their most revered artificers to Medusa in order to assist with the rebuilding of the depleted clan companies. The tech-priests also dedicated three entire Forge Worlds to the rearmament of the decimated clan companies.

The gene-seed that the Mechanicus received was a sample from each of the clan companies that had fought in the Barrus System and some of the Chapter's greatest heroes. No time was wasted in the use of the gene-seed and the new Space Marine Chapter began to take shape.

It was not long before the Inquisition's Ordo Hereticus found out about what had transpired and petitioned for the destruction of this unauthorised Chapter, questioning the motives of the Adeptus Mechanicus, who they perceived as trying to enhance their own military power beyond all bounds.

Upon review, the High Lords of Terra allowed the Chapter to continue to exist, as long as they maintained the same primary loyalty to the Emperor over the Mechanicus, and followed all the same strictures and limitations of the other Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes, such as the submission of their gene-seed for purity testing to the Mechanicus facilities on Terra.

Feeling that they were being forced to submit to unfair limitations by the High Lords, the Adeptus Mechanicus decided to name the new Chapter the "Steel Confessors."

Notable Campaigns

Chapter Master Protonus

The Steel Confessors' Chapter Master Protonus during the defence of Kracsis IV from the Tyranids.

  • Battle of Kracsis IV (745.M41) - The Steel Confessors valiantly defended their original Chapter homeworld, the Forge World of Kracsis IV, from the attack of the first Tyranid assault upon the Imperium, Hive Fleet Behemoth. Unfortunately, the Tyranids proved to be too much for the Steel Confessors and despite the valiant defence put up against these xenos horrors by the Confessors, they were forced to retreat from Kracsis IV and watch as all of its biomass was absorbed by the hive fleet before moving on. The battle was costly for the Chapter and claimed the life of its Chapter Master at that time, Protonus. Yet the Chapter survived and built a new home upon the Forge World of Kalevala.
  • Battle for Kalevala (997.M41) - In 997.M41, the Steel Confessors faced a new Tyranid menace, this time in the form of Hive Fleet Leviathan. The Battle for Kalevala was once again fought on the Steel Confessors' own homeworld against the invading Tyranids, though this time the Chapter determined that there would be a very different outcome when they faced off against the Great Devourer. The entire Chapter of the Steel Confessors successfully engaged in battle against the Tyranids of the Leviathan. The world of Kalevala was home to the Steel Confessors' fortress-monastery, their Chapter's gene-seed stores, a major Adeptus Mechanicus manufactorum complex as well as a full psychic choir of astropaths that boosted the Astronomican to allow navigation through the difficult currents in the Immaterium created by the Tyranid Hive Mind's psychic shadow in the Warp. This being the Chapter's homeworld, there was no choice other than to defend it in open battle from the forces of the Tyranid hive fleet. The battle was colossal and brutally straightforward, with each of the ten companies of the Steel Confessors taking up defensive positions around the Mechanicus manufactorums and their fortress-monastery while the Tyranid horde attacked unrelentingly in an attempt to overwhelm the Astartes' firing lines. Despite the incalculable number of Tyranids present on Kalevala, the disciplined regimen of volley fire from the Steel Confessors' Tactical Marines and Devastator Squads, combined with surgical counterattacks by the Assault Squads, Veteran Squads of the 1st Company, and Land Speeder squadrons flying between battlefield locations to lend their firepower to those companies that were struggling, eventually thinned the Tyranid horde while minimising Space Marine casualties. The Tyranids finally depleted their own numbers after consistently throwing themselves without regard into the sustained fire of the Astartes' guns. At the end of the battle, the 8th and 10th Companies of the Steel Confessors had been utterly wiped out, the 1st Company was at 40% operational strength, the 3rd and 6th Companies were at 60%, while the rest of the Chapter's companies still possessed between 20-40% of their standard operational strength. Yet Kalevala had held against the swarm and the Leviathan soon moved on to seek easier prey. The Steel Confessors still had possession of their homeworld and there would be no repeat of the humiliation that had been suffered on Kracsis IV.

Chapter Organisation

The organisation of the Chapter follows the Codex Astartes quite closely, mainly due to the agreement between the Mechanicus and the High Lords of Terra. The 1st Company is composed entirely of Terminators and rarely deploys in standard power armour.

The 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th Companies are all standard Battle Companies, the 6th and 7th are Tactical Companies, the 8th is an Assault Company, the 9th is a Devastator Company and the 10th is a standard Scout Company.

Unlike the Iron Hands where it is known for the clan companies to fight amongst themselves on occasion, the Steel Confessors work together and there are close ties between the companies.

Indeed it is common for Steel Confessor Astartes to move between companies (with the exception of the 1st and 10th, respectively), in order to learn from different commanders and to allow them to build up a wealth of experience. This results in a high level of autonomy whatever the rank of the battle-brother.

The Chapter Master makes all the major decisions for the Chapter, but he gathers the opinions of the other company commanders in Chapter council sessions, prior to making those decisions.

The position of Chapter Master is voted for by each company commander, Chaplain, Librarian and Dreadnought. In the unlikely case of a tie, the five longest-serving Veteran sergeants vote.

Chapter Combat Doctrine

SteelConfessorsTerminator

A suit of Steel Confessors' Indomitus Pattern Terminator Armour

Like their forefathers the Iron Hands, the Steel Confessors have an uncompromising hatred of weakness in any form, though particularly perceived physical infirmities. Also given their ties with the Adeptus Mechanicus, bionic enhancement is the norm. All the Astartes in the Chapter have a degree of affinity with machinery and this is a characteristic also sought out in potential recruits.

With bionics to replace weakened limbs and organs, the Chapter's Astartes also undergo regular testing to ensure their minds remain strong. All Steel Confessors are required to go through a period of training and indoctrination on Medusa under an Iron Hands clan company, as part of the agreement between the Iron Hands and the magi of the Adeptus Mechanicus that created the Steel Confessors.

It is during this training that they learn the history of the Iron Hands. Unlike their progenitor Chapter, the Steel Confessors keep the role of Chaplain and Techmarine separate, not having Iron Fathers among their ranks.

Instead every company captain is trained in the ways of the Techmarine and artificer and fulfils both roles as proof of that he has received the blessing of the Omnissiah.

The Chapter's Chaplains are there to extol the virtues of constant struggle and intolerance for weakness, whilst ensuring the teachings of the Mechanicus are followed and due reverence is paid to the divine trinity of Machine God, Emperor of Mankind, and Ferrus Manus.

Chaplains are chosen for their ability to inspire their brethren through acts of divine courage and overcoming impossible odds.

Like the Iron Hands, the Steel Confessors advance relentlessly, giving their enemies no time to reorganise as they throw themselves into almost berserk combat.

The Steel Confessors have a full complement of Terminator Armour suits that are maintained by both the Chapter and Adeptus Mechanicus magi that are seconded to the Chapter. These Terminator Armour suits are seen at the forefront of most Steel Confessor engagements to provide inspiration for the rest of the Chapter and as a display of devotion to never-ending struggle.

With the Chapter having to evacuate its original homeworld, much of its armoured support has been heavily damaged or destroyed. Even with the Mechanicus as an ally the Chapter has been so far unable to replace all of these losses, and as a result vehicles will only be deployed in the direst of circumstances.

Chapter Beliefs

The Chapter has very strict beliefs and follows the idea of a divine trinity. This trinity consists of the Machine God, the spirit that provides succour and strength to all things, whilst rewarding the quest for knowledge and improvement.

Then there is the Emperor of Mankind, who is the physical embodiment of the Machine God as the Omnissiah, there to crush the weak and provide an embodiment of knowledge incarnate; His ascendance to the Golden Throne is seen as His final step in achieving omnipotence.

The final part of this trinity is Ferrus Manus, primarch of the Iron Hands, who is believed by the Steel Confessors to be the messenger of the Omnissiah and the bringer of light. He is seen as the closest that a mortal can get to the Omnissiah and provides an example and inspiration to the Astartes of the Chapter.

Like the Iron Hands, the Steel Confessors have an unreasoning hatred of weakness, especially any weakness of the physical form, and will not tolerate weakness of any kind from any allies they may have.

Indeed, several Imperial forces have refused to take to the field with the Steel Confessors after the Chapter fired upon them for a perceived weakness. The Chapter is currently undergoing Inquisitorial investigation after the destruction of the 54th Tallarn Desert Raiders Regiment for "failure to achieve objectives."

The link that the Steel Confessors have with the Adeptus Mechanicus is closer than that of the Iron Hands, and at any given time each company is accompanied by three magi to oversee the upkeep of their wargear and ensure the blessings of the Omnissiah.

Chapter Homeworld

SteelConfessorsTacticalMarine2

A Steel Confessors Tactical Marine armed with a bolter.

The original Chapter homeworld of the Steel Confessors was a Forge World called Kracsis IV, located on the eastern rim of the galaxy. Kracsis IV specialised in the production of small arms and was situated in what was considered to be a quiet sector of the galaxy.

It seemed like an ideal planet for the Steel Confessors to take as a homeworld, loyal to both the Imperium and the Adeptus Mechanicus, with a sizable population that the Steel Confessors could recruit from.

Kracsis IV was also central for all the Mechanicus facilities in that sector of space, allowing the Chapter to deploy with ease wherever they would be needed. The location of the Chapter could also remain a secret as the planet was shielded by a cloaking device that was taken from Tarvor and made the planet appear as a barren rock to any sensors sweeping its surface.

In a relative backwater that would allow the rest of the galaxy to forget about them, the Steel Confessors were given time to hone their skills. This secrecy was to prove a double-edged sword when the Tyranid menace first surfaced.

As the Great Devourer that was Hive Fleet Behemoth tore its way across the galaxy, the Steel Confessors were in the forefront of the battles against it, buying time for Mechanicus planets to evacuate essential personnel and materials. This spread the Chapter thinly across the entire eastern rim of the Imperium.

The Steel Confessors cared not where they fought so long as they could serve their masters on Mars. This unflinching loyalty was to prove the undoing for their homeworld, as they believed the planet safe behind its shielding, and Chapter Master Protonus did not consider the Tyranids a threat to Kracsis IV. When the hive fleet appeared on the outer edges of the system the only Astartes present were Protonus and half of the Veteran 1st Company.

Protonus immediately ordered the return of the 3rd, 5th, 6th and 9th Companies, all of them being closer to Kracsis IV than their brethren; he then turned to the defence of his homeworld.

The Battle of Kracsis IV lasted three solar months as the reinforcing companies arrived and took up positions beside their battle-brothers. Every metre of ground given up by the Steel Confessors was paid for at a horrendous cost by the Tyranids, however, numbers were on the xenos' side and for every ten that died fifty more took their place.

Realising his world was lost, Protonus ordered transports to be readied in order to salvage as much as possible for the Chapter. As if sensing the end was near, the Tyranids renewed their assault, finally gaining entrance to the fortress-monastery.

Whilst the Steel Confessors survivors made for the transports, Protonus and the 1st Company provided a rear guard. After a vicious struggle the remnants of the 1st Company made it to the transports, bearing the body of their Chapter Master, who had suffered horrendous injuries destroying a Hive Tyrant in order to slow the Tyranids' final advance.

Kracsis IV was then left to its fate as the surviving Steel Confessors escaped to rendezvous with the rest of the Chapter off-world.

Since the loss of Kracsis IV the Chapter has been fleet-based, with the exception of its Librarium and the Tomb of the original Chapter Master Avonis, who it is said is still alive and held in stasis until such a time that the Chapter needs him.

Both of these are now located on the planet of Kallevalla, a place that the Steel Confessors have sworn to defend from any threat.

Notable Steel Confessors

  • Chapter Master Protonus - Chapter Master Protonus was killed during the valiant defence of Kracsis IV from the Tyranid Hive Fleet Behemoth in 745.M41. He would later be buried on Kalevala alongside the Steel Confessors' first Chapter Master, Avonis.
  • Chapter Master Avonis - Avonis was the first Chapter Master of the Steel Confessors, chosen by the magi of the Adeptus Mechanicus to lead the new Space Marines when they covertly created the Chapter in the 36th Millennium. Avonis was buried on the Chapter's now devastated original homeworld of Kracsis IV, though his remains were later returned by the Chapter to its new homeworld of Kalevala where Avonis was laid to rest beside Chapter Master Protonus who was slain defending Kracsis IV from the assault by Hive Fleet Behemoth that ultimately drove the Steel Confessors from that world. Chapter legends maintain that Avonis never died but is only in stasis until such time as his Chapter needs him once more.

Chapter Appearance

Chapter Colours

The Steel Confessors primarily wear metallic silver power armour. The shoulder plate trim is dark green. The inset of the shoulder plates as well as the knee guards are bone white.

The Aquila or Imperialis on the chest guard is metallic silver. The black squad specialty symbol -- battleline, close support, fire support, Veteran or command -- is located on the right shoulder plate.

A black High Gothic numeral is stenciled on the inside of the shoulder plate, next to the squad specialty symbol, indicating squad number.

Chapter Badge

The Steel Confessors' Chapter badge consists of a black cross crosslet. A white lightning bolt surmounts it in the middle of a red oval. The cross crosslet is centred on a field of bone white.

Canon Conflict

The Chapter gained notoriety at the Games Day & Golden Demon event at the NEC in Birmingham, England, in 2005, when they were featured in the Warhammer 40,000 mega-battle, the "Battle for Kalevala"; also displayed was a life-sized statue of a Steel Confessor Tactical Marine, a Steel Confessors' Terminator's helmet and a bolter.

You will find most of the information here reproduced from the complete Index Astartes: Steel Confessors handout on the Chapter which was distributed that day. The source for this information was Index Astartes: Steel Confessors which claimed to reproduce the text of that handout in its entirety.

While this website claims to be a faithful recreation of the text of the original 2005 hand-out, this could not be verified as no original copy of the hand-out has yet been found. Thus, much of the information on this page must be taken with that understanding that its canonicity is unverifiable.

Sources

  • Index Astartes: Steel Confessors, A Games Day 2005 hand-out
  • Index Astartes: Steel Confessors (This website claims to be a faithful recreation of the text of the original 2005 hand-out; this could not be verified as no original copy of the hand-out could be found.)
  • Games Day & Golden Demon 2005 (Archived Site)
  • Soul Hunter (Novel) by Aaron Dembski-Bowden, Ch. IX
  • White Dwarf 313 (UK), "Games Day & Golden Demon 2005 - On With the Show," pg. 17
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