Dramatis Personae: Gaius of the Argent Heralds

[//Equerry Gaius accompanied by a squad from the Argent Heralds' 3rd Company +]
[//michael_w/@mwymarc+]

'We seek not to burn your homes nor drown you in blood. We come with the renewed dream of Imperium - the bright future of humanity corrupted by the slave lords of Terra. Those who would fight for the future, march with us.'

[//Gaius, Equerry of the Primarch+]

Brother-Captain Otion Gaius of the Argent Heralds. One of a number of individuals referred to as 'Equerry of the Primarch' during Operation Gauntlet – the great drive forwards during the middle period of the war. Acting as diplomats and propagandists, these individuals were drawn from all the Partisan Chapters, honoured exemplars of their kin. Their actions swelled the numbers of the Partisan armies and spread the False Primarch's heresies through the populations of the worlds they came to control.

[+'One hand, extended in friendship. The other, a gauntlet clenched about a blade. Allow your opposite number to make the decision on which you use more.'+
[//michael_w/@mwymarc+]

Understated and humble, Gaius seemed an unusual choice for Equerry – but perhaps it was this lack of bombast that the Vox Volnoscere felt most admirable and characteristic of the Argent Heralds, and which led to his selection of Gaius. 

What the relationship was between the Equerries and the Primarch's inner circle – the nebulous group known as the Kapihe – remains unclear; but while the two groups apparently shared some duties, the Equerries more typically moved alone, ahead of or parallel to the warfleets. Dispatched to the peripheral or wavering worlds of Heliopolis away from the main Gauntlet approaches, the Equerries usually offered treaties rather than military threats. In effect, then, the Equerries were the False Primarch's outriders and messengers, offering a path into the New Imperium that offered promise and opportunity rather than threat.

Of course, no Astartes is without physical presence. Indeed, even the most stalwart and dutiful exudes a certain level of menace and creastes uneases in unaltered humans. Thus the very presence of an equerry like Gaius brought with it the implication of war – for no Imperial Governor was so naïve as to suppose that a world might simply be allowed to remain impartial for long.

***

Command 

Equerries were expected to act alone where necessary, but the Argent Heralds, like most other Partisan Chapters, were alert to the many and varied threats they faced. Whether posed by Vigilant Killteams; Orthodox Inquisitorial agents; the unexpected arrival of Pentarchy warriors; or simply the treachery or obstinacy of violent Imperial Commanders, the Equerries were usually accompanied by an Honour Guard of sorts.

For the most depleted or extended Chapters, such as the Inheritors and Jade Talons, the Honour Guard was frequently provided by the Silver Stars or – less frequently – the Marines Mendicant, rather than by the parent Chapter.

In the case of the Argent Heralds, who had been reduced to just six hundred or so Astartes prior to Operation Gauntlet, one might have expected Gaius' bodyguard to be mixed. The Argent Heralds, however, formed part of the central drive towards the Myrean League region, and as a result, were largely shielded by a massive force of Silver Stars – led by none other than the 'Primarch' himself.

As a result, Gaius was typically accompanied by his own Command Squad; five staunch veterans who had served beside him for decades prior to the war. 

[//Tiberius, Champion of the 3rd Company+]
[//michael_w/@mwymarc+]

[//michael_w/@mwymarc+]

[//michael_w/@mwymarc+]

+++Transmission Ends+++