Inquisitorial Report: SRW4201991 - Titan Legion: Legio Libertas (Formerly Legio Valorum)

Author: Inquisitor Solran of the Ordo Hereticus

Thought for the day: Adamantium walls and plasteel bulkheads may seem formidable, but an unshakeable faith in the Immortal Emperor of Man can overcome any barriers.

Subject: Titan Legion: Legio Libertas (Formerly Legio Valorum)

Moral Threat Grade: Modicus

Clearance Level: Orange

Location:

Ultima Segmentum

Sector: Lithesh Sector/Damocles Gulf

Subsector: [Redacted]

System: [Redacted]

Homeworld: Forge World [Redacted]

Size: ~30 or so Titans (originally over 80 Titans)

Imperator(s): Destroyed (Formerly 1)

Warlords: 3 (Formerly 10)

Reavers: 19 (Formerly 28)

Warhounds: 8 (Formerly 44)

Color Scheme: Black colored main body, red colored limbs, gold trimmings

This is Inquisitor Solran of the Ordo Hereticus reporting on the Legio Libertas, formerly known as the Legio Valorum.

Once, the Legio Valorum was a noble Titan Legion; with a history of service spanning back to the rediscovery of their Forge World by the fleets of the Great Crusade. During the dark days of the Horus Heresy, this formerly venerable Legio maintained their oaths to the God-Emperor; defending their Forge World from countless hordes of traitors who tried to claim it in the name of Horus.

Therefore, it is with great sorrow that I must report on their fall.

For they now serve the heretic Ciaphas Cain, Arch-Heretic of the Gentle Heresy, the 'Liberator', (Many continue to refer to Cain as the Black Commissar. I swear I will find the Munitorum aid who made that name and punch them).

The former Legio Valorum was never a large Titan Legion. Though at their greatest extent they could be considered a medium sized Titan Legion; at one point numbering up to 100 titans. They have many battle accolades, having participated in conflicts from the Great Crusade, Horus Heresy, War of the Beast, Black Crusades, and many more.

With such a long history of loyal service to the Imperium, it is even more disturbing that they ended up in the service of a heretic like Cain. And I feel this should serve as a warning to all my fellow Inquisitors. Anyone can turn. No matter what. Lineage, history, honors, traditions. None of these are sacrosanct. Everything must be turned over if we ever suspect even the slightest hint of treachery. For our duty is to Him on Terra.

From what my Acolytes have gathered, I have begun to piece together how the former Legio Valorum fell. It appears that the Legio Valorum and their home Forge World [Redacted] came under assault from an Ork WAAAGH! This WAAAGH! caused significant damage to their world and a major loss of titans; including their Imperator-Class.

Records of astropathic messages and what garbled together vox transmissions my servants were able to acquire seem to corroborate this.

The Ork WAAAGH! targeted Forge World [Retacted] primarily for, and I hope my readers will forgive me for this, "Sum big exzplody dakka for da boyz!" My apologies for that crime against Gothic. Unfortunately that is what all Ork language, if you can call it that, is like.

Millions of Orks stormed the world of [Retacted], eager for the bounty of weapons that the Forge World produced, and wanting to use the planet's abundant resources to build ever greater war machines.

While the tide of greenskins overwhelmed the Skitarii and what few Imperial Guard regiments were available, Ork Gargants dueled with the Titans of Legio Valorum. From the records, it appears the Legio Valorum acquitted themselves well, felling 3 of the Greenskin Gargants for every one of their own that fell.

Unfortunately the Orks were winning in spite of the heavy losses; their numbers too great. And the intensity of battle only strengthened them. For every one Ork that fell, 1000 more replaced them. Any Titan lost was taken for scrap. Meanwhile the Ork Gargants could be repaired and replaced within weeks.

The doom of Forge World [Redacted] seemed certain. The Imperium couldn't answer their calls for aid, busy as we were dealing with other threats. That we would abandon a Forge World with a Titan Legion attached is evidence of how desperate our strategic situation was.

Yet someone did answer those desperate cries for help. And unfortunately for the Imperium, it was none other than the Arch-Heretic, Ciaphas Cain.

The Protectorate's Fleet came and smashed aside the Ork Warfleet; the Orks unable to deal with the Cainite's fighter doctrine.

With their red power-armored legions, the USA landed planetside and engaged the Ork tide in brutal combat. Meanwhile, Cainite fighters won air supremacy from the Orks and provided invaluable air support to the USA. The Protectorate Navy in orbit assisted by targeting Gargants and blasting them to pieces.

Caught between the newly arrived USA and the [Redacted] defenses, the Orks' destruction was inevitable.

And in the aftermath of that victory, the heretic Ciaphas Cain came forth and swayed the Forge World and the Legio Valorum, and thus they fell to become the Legio Libertas.

I can imagine that Forge World [Redacted] must have been easy to corrupt. After their near destruction they would have been desperate. And, as we all know, the Arch-Heretic of Slawkenberg possesses a high degree of charisma and political acumen.

I have no doubt Cain offered vast resources for the Forge World to rebuild itself, without requiring any form of repayment in return.

This is a common tactic of the 'Liberator'. He will often make generous agreements that seem to completely disfavor himself. And in doing so, he lures his victims in. Presenting the air of a kind, humble, and charitable man, he subtly influences those he seeks to corrupt. Though his way takes longer, it is horrifying to witness how effective it is. Those who deal with Cain often find themselves walking willingly into damnation, having completely fallen to Cain's ways.

This contrasts the rather brutish methods more typical Forces of Chaos use. And I have seen its terrifying results. Those who fall to Cain become so blinded to their own corruption that they believe themselves to be righteous. And they are fanatic in their loyalty to Cain. As an example, the Legio Libertas donated one of their surviving Warlord-Class Titans to the permanent defense of Cainopolis, capital of Slawkenberg. That the Legio would donate such a significant asset to a world they only recently swore loyalty too is insanity. Especially as the Legio only had 3 Warlord Titan's left, and now have only 2 available for active deployment.

Due to the devastating losses the Legio Libertas suffered at the hands of the Orks, they are now vastly understrength, with only around 30 Titans left. Of which an overwhelming number are of the Reaver-Class.

I suspect this is because the Orks typically prefer targeting bigger opponents, due to their belief the bigger one is always the enemy Warboss. (Though I am no expert on Orks and I welcome any Ordo Xenos perspective on the matter.) Thus most of the Warlord-Class Titans were targeted by the Orks, meanwhile the Imperator was destroyed in the first month of fighting. Though the records show the Imperator took down 10 Ork Gargants, one being a Mega Gargant even, before it finally succumbed. A noble end. And I am glad it did not survive to see what the rest of its Legio became.

The Warhound Titans on the other hand, likely suffered due to being the lightest class of Titan. With the sheer intensity of the fighting, the Warhounds' lighter armor and weaker Void Shields meant they were far easier for the Orks to take down. By comparison, the Reaver Titans were neither big enough for the Orks to favor as a target, nor light enough to be easily destroyed. Thus, the disproportionate survival of Reaver Titans within the Legio Libertas.

Though it is a decimated Legio, I fear that with the aid of the Borg and their heretical technosorcery, the Legio Libertas will be able to rebuild itself far too quickly.

It sickens me to think of this once noble Titan Legion consorting with heretics, indulging in Warpcraft, and embracing daemons to rapidly rebuild their strength. Their added might will make Cain's Gentle Heresy all the more powerful.

I wish that the Legio had been destroyed by the Orks instead, and that Forge World [Redacted] was in their hands. For whatever perversions the Orks would inflict on the Forge World, they are a simple race at the end of day. Their foulness does not carry the taint of the Warp with it; it is simply the foulness of the Xenos.

An Imperial Force could have eventually reclaimed Forge World [Redacted] had it been taken by the Orks. And the former Legio Valorum, though it would have died, would have stayed true to the light of the God-Emperor. The Legio Valorum's end, though tragic, would have left their legacy untainted.

Now, despite the Legio Valorum's millennia of loyal service, they are traitors to the Golden Throne. Forever tainted. It is both disturbing and heartbreaking to place this label upon an Imperial Force that gave such an outstanding history of service to the Imperium. But they chose to serve the heretic Ciaphas Cain. And I can do nothing to change that.

Let this be a warning to all my fellow Inquisitors. Ciaphas Cain presents one of the greatest dangers to the Imperium not because of the strength of his forces, but because of the strength of his personality. His capacity to lure once loyal Imperial Forces to his cause, such as the fallen Valhallen 297th and 18th are proof of that. Cain's capacity to threaten the very moral fabric of the Imperium is his greatest power. For time and time again Imperial Forces have proven all too susceptible to his wiles.

And so ends my report.

This is Inquisitor Solran of the Ordo Hereticus.

The Emperor Protects.

On an unrelated note, I have found the Munitorum aide who made that stupid nickname, the Black Commissar, and successfully punched them. That was a good day.

Afterwards, I ordered my Acolytes to make sure the following happens to this aide. All of their standard sized sticky notes are to be replaced with page marker sticky notes. Thus the aid will be required to write their usual notes within a ridiculously small space, forcing them to use far more sticky notes than normal. All of their auto-quills' ink levels have been decreased to the point they are almost empty; forcing the aid to continuously purchase new ones, which will also be subsequently emptied. After extensive study of their writing style, the paper they use for writing has had its margins decreased precisely so that they will always need one extra page to write the last word of their final sentence, and only the last word. Wires have been placed all over the path the aide uses to get to their workroom such that they will always stumble over them but never actually fall. An Acolyte is on standby to ensure no one else runs into the wires. A small device I commissioned the Mechanicus to make has been placed inside the doorknob to their workroom. Upon opening the door, they will receive a mildly painful shock that is easily mistaken for static electricity. It is gene-coded to only recognize the aide so no one else will be shocked if they open the door. The door frame of their workroom has been adjusted so that it is just a bit too large for the door. Every time they try to close the door it will be slightly ajar. They are a frequent purchaser of grox-strip meals for lunch. As such, whenever they order a grox-strip meal, they will always receive one less strip than what they ordered. Their meal will always come with the wrong sauces. And they shall receive one less sauce packet than what is necessary to finish the meal.

Upon being questioned by my fellow Inquisitors if my pettiness was going too far, I asked them all to look me in the eye and justify to me why the Black Commissar was a good nickname. When none of them could do it I told them all to frak off.

I have approached other Inquisitors who hold similar feelings about the nickname, and we are in the process of forming a sub-Ordo for the purpose of targeting this Munitorum aide. I invite any Inquisitors who also despise the nickname to join and share their ideas for how to punish this Munitorum aide. (Nothing too extreme of course, the aide is not an actual heretic. Just terrible with naming things).

I'm thinking of calling ourselves the Ordo Petticus.

And here is my idea for a Titan Legion that Cain recruits to his side after saving their asses. Which is how I imagine Cain gets most former Imperials to his side. (And also a great number of headaches)

I went with an Orange clearance level, meant to be a mid level clearance. I [Redacted] the Forge World and its specific location mostly because I was too lazy to come up with them. But hey, at least this leaves things very open for when Cain could encounter them.

The color scheme of the Legio Libertas is meant to resemble Cain's commissar uniform.

I wanted to make a Titan Legion that was Reaver heavy as I feel the Reaver-Class gets shafted frequently. There is plenty written about the Warhound-Class and Warlord-Class. And everyone loves the Imperator-Class.

But Reaver Titans are just kinda there. Mentioned in stories yes, but never a central POV. So I made this legion to give a bit more spotlight to the Reaver-Class. Plus I thought that would make the Legio a bit more unique.

Of course once the Legio rebuilds its strength that will kinda go away.

The Legio Libertas is similar to the Valhallan 297th and Valhallan 18th in that they were completely loyal to the Imperium. But they end up in a no-win-situation through no fault of their own. Then, they are abandoned with the expectation to die fighting. The typical callous attitude the Imperium takes towards its own forces.

Shockingly a lot of people don't want to die fighting. Especially for a government that just treats you as though you exist entirely for their convenience, and considers you completely disposable.

Suddenly salvation comes. The Legio is relieved. They haven't been abandoned to die! Only to discover their savior is considered a heretic in the eyes of the Imperium of Man.

And they just got helped by him. They associated with him.

And because of the Imperiums uncompromising attitude with heretics, now they are considered heretics too.

But what was their other option, to die fighting the Orks, which would accomplish nothing? Per the Imperium, yes, that is exactly what they should have done. And so once more, the Imperium's own extremism and inability to see the nuances drives an otherwise loyal force into the arms of traitors.

And this Legio (that I made up of course), had a stellar history of service. They dedicated themselves to fighting for the Imperium since the times of the Great Crusade. They are practically as old as the Imperium itself. They stayed true to the Emperor during the Horus Heresy when it would have been easiest for them to go turncoat.

And this is how they are repaid.

As for the Munitorum aide, cut my Inquisitor character some slack. He had to inherit the frakked up situation Karamazov left behind. This is one of his only forms of entertainment. Even if it's very petty. Like repainting the walls that were their favorite color to a slightly off-shade color so it's just noticeable enough kind of petty. Besides, what's the use of ultimate power if you can't be extremely petty with it?

I also welcome any other extremely petty things other people want to do to the Munitorum aide.