Illuminators

"It is our duty to pursue perfection, and nothing less, but we have allowed our quest for improvement to impede our ability to serve the peoples of the Imperium. We may have seen the light now but much damage has been done, it is time we helped rebuild"

- Charrat Medjo, Chapter Master of The Illuminators The Illuminators are a loyalist Space Marine chapter originating from the 8th Founding, presumed to be descendants of the Raven Guard. They hail from the tight-knit Caedis Sector, more specifically Subsector Illustrant, operating out of the moon Nullepart Secondus, repurposed as a Fortress-Monastery. The Illuminators are known for their use of extremely specialised infantry, and notoriously high training standards, as well as their practice of sending out marines in deployments similar to a Deathwatch kill-team to support allied forces.

Chapter Homeworld
"It is said that the Illuminators are akin to a diamond, providing a shining light in these dark times. And to make a diamond, one must first crush some rock"

- Nogee Mariandia, 19th Deployment

A force to be reckoned with, with influence stretching across almost the entire Imperium, the mighty warriors of the Illuminators are paragons of strength, power and versatility, even amongst the superhuman ranks of the Astartes. Their fortress-monastery, the moon Nullepart Secondus, houses training arenas the size of hab-blocks, with manufactorums ran by their bondsmen producing all manner of specialised equipment, all overseen by their Chapter Master, the venerable Charrat Medjo. Nullepart Secondus is a captured asteroid, in orbit around the death world of Nullepart, Secondus carries a strange shape, looking reminiscent of the head of some gargantuan creature, but tests show it to be very conclusively dead. Individual battle-brothers of the Illuminators pride themselves on achieving perfection, and as such will spend every spare moment rehearsing weapon drills or running live-fire training operations in one of Secondus’ labyrinthine training arenas.

The planet Nullepart itself was once a shining bastion of imperial might, but at some point, before the arrival of the Illuminators it fell apart under brutal civil war, the once-proud hive world reduced to barren wastelands and treacherous wreckages. A death world in the truest sense of the term, Nullepart's roaming bands of scavengers and raiders make up the chapter's recruits, the ferocity and toughness required to live such a life making for fine Space Marines.

Notable Campaigns
Due to the nature of their chapter structure, the Illuminators have had a place in a great many conflicts since their founding.

War of Recovery
During the Adeptus Mechanicus' expedition to recover more STC fragments, the 28th and 42nd Deployments of the Illuminators, led by Rigalis Nurma and Toutio Mallerong respectively, aided the Imperial Knight house Anubis on a selection of brutal battlefields. It was these events, including the safeguarding of their flagship Knight: The Heart of Ra after it mysteriously lost all power to the legs, protecting it for 53 hours without pause, that led to the lasting bond both House Anubis and The Illuminators now share to this day.

9th Black Crusade
When Abaddon the Despoiler launched his 9th Black Crusade in 537.M38, the 23rd, 87th and 43rd Deployments (led by Judju Noorabury, Gnuger Burrajarra and Atecilus Mulyenoora respectively) of The Illuminators took part in the defence of the Imperial Navy fortress of Cancephalus, fighting primarily alongside the Celestial Swords. Unfortunately, all three of the deployments were slain by the forces of chaos, as were the Celestial Swords, but The Illuminators feel a sense of pride for having been around for both Chapters' last moments and standing by them until the end.

Sancta Angelis Campaign
When the RaptorsChapter was cut off from the wider Imperium in 339.M39, the 79th Deployment, led by Cagi Mungar, fought alongside them against the Ork Warboss Irongol. During this period Mungar learnt much from the marines of The Raptors, and by the time the campaign had ended the two chapters had established a strong working relationship.

Damocles Gulf Crusade
When the Imperium moved to wipe out the young Xenos race known as the T'au, the Illuminators were among the forces called to join the fight. This being the largest campaign the Chapter had undergone, a special task force consisting of the 39th, 61st, 56th, 47th, 40th, 77th, 99th, 12th, 4th and 10th Deployments was assembled and deployed as a company-sized force of Space Marines, a first for the Chapter. Despite the loss of the 56th, 12th and 61st Deployments, the battlefields the Illuminators fought on were all victories for the Imperium, with the exception of the fighting on the T'au Sept of Dal'yth, where the arrival of the Tyranid Hive Fleet Behemoth necessitated a swift withdrawal.

Battle for Macragge
After the end of the Damocles Gulf Crusade, the Illuminators deployments shifted to combat the threat of Hive Fleet Behemoth, resulting in the loss of the 99th Deployment, the surviving Deployments were eventually sent to Macragge to aid in the defence of the Ultramarines, seeing that their homeworld would face Behemoth head-on. In an attempt to buy Marneus Calgar more time to fortify the planet, the remaining Deployments assaulted Behemoth's Hive Ships to try and disable their propulsion, rendering them unable to make their way to Macragge. The 39th, 10th and 40th Deployments were wiped out before they could breach the chitinous hulls of the targeted ships and the remaining Deployments were killed by Tyranid forces before they could destroy anything that affected the ship's movement.