Ghost Fox Chapter

Ghost Fox Power Armor
Biographical information
Homeworld
Birth
Died
Family
Occupation(s)	Transhuman super-soldiers
Alias
Physical description
Species	Human or very close to Terran
Gender	Any.
Hair color
Eye color
Height	Over 7 feet.
Statistics
Weapon(s)	Various
Abilities	Enhanced time sense. Superhuman strength, reflexes, and durability. Superior ground combat training.
Affiliation	Van Saar Federation, Humankind Empire Abh
First Appearance

The Ghost Fox Chapter is a chapter of of the Adeptus Astartes.

Much of the information laid out here was taken from the following report:

>CIA Field Report Local Dateline May 2016, Rassilonian Era Submitting Agent: 002.461517neminixblipsonara<

I have finally obtained in-depth details on the Ghost Fox Chapter. Under no circumstances should we dismiss them as their establishment now effectively doubles the strength of the Van Saar Federation.

Rites of Selection

Unknown. So far nothing has been determined on just where and how they recruit their neophytes.

Origins

Strategic prognostication

<The Imperium is a realm governed as much by superstition and paranoia as it is by the enormous bureaucracy of the Administratum. While many long-term policy decisions come about due to the work of generations of planners and strategists, just as many are the result of arcane predictions, ritual auguries and use of future-scanning methods such as the Emperor's Tarot. Often these two methods are interwoven over decades of debate and analysis until both become one and the same. This discipline is known as strategic prognostication (or strategic precognitive divination as the Federation has sometimes called it).

In the case of Space Marine Chapters, strategic prognostication may warn of a threat that has not yet been revealed. It's been theorized that the Scythes of the Emperor were established and placed near the Realm of Ultramar long before the emergence of the Tyranids for that reason.>

Based on all of the time travel that has been documented in the early years of the Ghost Foxes, and the fact that so much of the Chapter's necessary infrastructure has been assembled so quickly with no major setbacks or mistakes evident, it can be surmised that the origins of the Ghost Foxes are based almost entirely on strategic prognostication.

Foundation

The Ghost Fox Chapter was founded in the 42nd Millennium (Dark Millennium).

Progenitor

Clearly based on the Dark Angels.

Gene-Stock Purity

A New Generation

Efforts have been made to breed out certain flaws in the gene-seed stock. The Chapter itself is too young to make an accurate determination on whether or not those efforts were successful; they are far less antagonistic about and towards aliens, but they seem to be JUST as secretive and insular as the Dark Angels.

Gene-seed Deficiencies

None have been documented. Dark Angel gene-seed has already been determined to be extremely pure despite the Chapter's age. Whether new deficiencies emerge over time is anyone's guess.

Demeanor

Scions of Mars

The Ghost Foxes train themselves to possess a certain expertise in the use of advanced war gear above and beyond that of most other Astartes Chapters. The universal use of Signum networks amongst all Ghost Foxes in battle, plasma weaponry, and even volkite weaponry (which were discontinued after the Horus Heresy) is an indication of just how technologically adept the Ghost Foxes are. Even sophisticated xenos technologies such as markerlights and pulse weaponry from the Tau have been reverse-engineered and incorporated.

Chapter Flaws

We Stand Alone

The Ghost Foxes are very secretive and avoid contact with outsiders, especially anyone who might be actively affiliated with the Imperium (this goes triple for the Ecclesiarchy and the Inquisition). Given the organization of the Ghost Foxes (actual female and abhuman members) and their widespread usage of technology of xenos origins, this is understandable. Many aspects of the Ghost Foxes would be considered xenophilic, techno-heresy, and fully heretical within the Imperium and would likely result in instantaneously being declared Chaotic if the Imperium ever found out.

Unique Characteristics

Stringent Hypno-Conditioning and Pre-Heresy Throwbacks

All Ghost Foxes undergo much more extensive hypno-conditioning than most other Space Marine Chapters, resulting in fighters with enhanced mental awareness and strength. What's most unusual is just how quickly the Chapter has formed: what would normally take the Imperium fifty years was accomplished in less than ten. Actual examinations of footage from the few battles that have occurred in 2016 has determined that the Ghost Foxes are, on average, slightly LESS capable than normal Space Marines. Also, Veteran-Sergeant Trajan of the Dark Angels (who is a genuine Fallen Angel just like Solarchos) has been determined to have played a key and active role in the Chapter's training and establishment.

This leads to two conclusions.

First, historical records indicate that prior to the Horus Heresy the Dark Angels who had been exiled back to the Dark Angel homeworld with Luther (of which Trajan was not only one of, but an Instructor-Sergeant as well) had developed an optimized training program that not only could fully convert a novitiate child into a full-fledged Space Marine in less than three years, but also had an 85% success rate.

Solarchos Langister was one of those accelerated novitiates. Between him and Trajan enough knowledge of the Dark Angel's optimized training program may have survived to be reconstructed for the Ghost Foxes.

The second conclusion is that the Ghost Foxes themselves are a throwback to the Gene Warriors: the predecessors of the Space Marines who were created by the Emperor during the Unification Wars that occurred on Terra prior to the actual establishment of the Imperium. Historical records obtained from Ignus Karkazi's journals are spotty, but the Gene Warriors were believed to have been created from genetically-enhanced ordinary humans using a method that the Astartes conversion process was a refinement and improvement of. This may explain how it is that females and non-humans have been successfully converted: the genetic modification process isn't as exacting, allowing for a wider range of potential candidates with fewer complications but slightly reduced results in return.

Footage of one of a Ghost Fox Sororitas!

Home World

The Ghost Foxes are a fleet-based chapter. Records from the Zealot War indicated that at full strength the Ghost Foxes had a fleet of almost a thousand ships, consisting of a hundred battle-barges (of which the Kirshwasser was one), a few hundred strike cruisers, and the remainder being made up of escort frigates, supply ships, and mobile factory ships.

<Some Space Marine Chapters make their homes in fleets of starships (such as the Black Templars or the Astra Charcharodons) or hollowed-out asteroids and vast space stations (such as the Dark Angels and the Imperial Fists). These Chapters travel the galaxy in large circuits that take decades or centuries to complete. Fleet-based Chapters typically recruit from a wide variety of worlds within their spheres of influence, although the populations may or may not know about those arrangements. Fleet-based Chapters are the most unlikely to inherit any cultural aspects of the worlds they recruit from due to the fact that the Chapter's own identity is so established and ingrained that even the most extreme of outside influences can barely affect it.>

Organization

...or How Closely Do These Guys Follow The Codex Astartes?. Their organization is unique. The Ghost Foxes are definitely organized and based upon Pre-Heresy models, most likely due to the heavy influence of First Founding members like Trajan and Solarchos. Their total numbers have been documented as greatly exceeding one thousand, putting them firmly in the category of a Legion based upon the 31st Millennium, not the 41st. (and yet another violation of Imperial doctrine).

Combat Doctrine

Lightning Strike

A lightning strike is an assault carried out with overwhelming force from such an unexpected quarter that no defense is possible and the enemy is smashed aside. Chapters that specialize in these tactics tend to maintain highly mobile forces, foregoing heavy firepower for maneuverability. These forces tend to feature Rhino-borne squads and/or vehicles modified for greater speed or range. Others will use large numbers of bike-mounted forces and/or Land Speeders.

Lightning strikes are often preceded by large numbers of infiltrators to thoroughly scout enemy positions prior to the attack. This definitely fits the Ghost Foxes perfectly, for their scout-novices and especially the Specters are optimized for reconnaissance, one whole section of the Legion (dubbed the Ravenwing) is made up exclusively of assault bikes and Land Speeders, large numbers of Predator-Fafnir grav-tanks have been seen in action (and these models are even more advanced than what the Imperial Guard uses), and their Signum network gives them a significant tactical edge.

Noted Tactical Methods

Stoic Defense

The Dark Angels are famously stubborn in attack and defense, holding their ground even against the most furious of assaults and becoming almost immune to injury in the process. The Ghost Foxes have definitely inherited this trait from their Dark Angel cousins as the footage I'm including shows scenes from Exile where whole squads of Ghost Foxes are being pelted by Sontaran weapons fire and seem to just ignore it while they fire right back.

Sustained Suppression

Dark Angels are also famous for being masters of holding ground with enhanced overlapping fields of fire and kill zones, making it difficult at best for enemies to advance or even to retreat. The Ghost Foxes have also been noted utilizing these tactics against the Sontarans, attacking them from so many different angles with rapid fire that the Sontarans have been getting consistently pinned down and immobilized.

Swift Advance

In a deviation from Dark Angel tactics, the Ghost Foxes have demonstrated the practiced ability to advance quickly through enemy barrages in order to get to positions of cover or objectives. This fits in well with their lighting strike combat doctrine, as they've been documented on Exile rushing forward into combat with the Sontarans, overwhelming them and securing positions, then stubbornly holding those positions when the inevitable counterattack comes and pushing the Sontarans back only to have them return with even more reinforcements...which leaves other Sontaran-held areas less defended and open to attack which other Federation forces immediately attempt to exploit.

Overall, these combinations of tactics have been enabling the Ghost Foxes to continually outflank the Sontarans, with the Sontaran's extreme physical durability and tenaciousness being the only thing preventing them from being utterly overwhelmed.

Specialty Restrictions

The Ghost Foxes do not seem to have a veteran-exclusive 1st Company like most other Space Marine Chapters, but this may be more due to their "youth" as an organization. The male members of the Chapter seem to be largely cast into the role of combat operations, while specialties such as Apothecaries and vehicle crews are made up mostly of females (though not entirely). This appears to be a practical decision. The Astartes conversion has affected females differently in that none of them have developed gigantism like all male Space Marines do: <where males become massively-muscled seven foot tall giants, the females retain a height of under six feet and physiques more along the lines of gymnasts or acrobats. While they're stronger than normal Humans, they're weaker than male Space Marines but do develop enhanced dexterity that surpasses the males. Their comparatively smaller bodies make it easier for them to move around inside vehicles, and their superior dexterity enables them to perform precision tasks with greater ease. As such, quite a few females are Techmarines too.>

In a unique deviation from any Space Marine chapter, the Ghost Foxes are organized into two distinct operational groups, with the males structured along the lines of a typical Chapter, while the females are organized in a manner almost identical to a Sororitas Order. Female Apothecaries are equipped almost identically to Imperial Sororitas Hospitaleers, and the Canoness of the "Order of the Ghost Fox" fills a role within the whole Chapter similar to a Space Marine Chaplain, extolling and maintaining the faith among all the Battlekin

Unique Equipment

Mark-6 Corvus Power Armor

The Ghost Foxes are distinctive in their widespread use of an earlier pattern of power armor: the Mark-6 "Corvus" suit. The Mark-6 is the lightest variant of Astartes-exclusive power armor available in the Imperium, featuring dual-mount circuits that allowed the replacement of rare or sophisticated parts with common or basic alternatives. It also incorporated several levels of redundancies and has a reputation for enhanced agility and better sensors than the standard Mark-7 power armor that's almost universal amongst Space Marines. Ghost Fox armor is also notable for the fins that stick up on either side of the helmet, giving the armor its distinctive "fox ears". These fins are actually the protective cowlings for the suit's Signum links and transceiver arrays, enabling any Ghost Fox to connect with an active Signum network and coordinate with all other Ghost Foxes on the battlefield.

Sororitas Power Armor

Female Ghost Foxes who aren't vehicle crews always wear the distinctive Sabbat-pattern power armor worn by the Sisters of Battle. While it gives slightly less protection than the power armor worn by males, it's designed exclusively for the female body and can be worn by the genetically-enhanced girls of the Ghost Foxes without any modification at all. It also serves a double-purpose of enabling the girls of the Ghost Foxes to impersonate actual Adeptus Sororitas; within the Imperium there are no such thing as female Space Marines, and there are no such thing as male Sororitas. However, it isn't unheard of for Space Marines and Battle-Sisters to join forces, so this was likely done as a way of deflecting suspicion.

Pulse Rifles

The Ghost Foxes' favored weapon is a massively-reinforced version of the Tau pulse rifle that's been resized and redesigned to match the mass of an Astartes-standard boltgun. The Tau pulse-rifle has a much greater range than a boltgun with a similar rate of fire and greater ammunition capacity. However, it has slightly less armor penetration and inflicts less damage overall.

The Ghost Foxes also use a version of the Tau pulse carbine that's been redesigned with a pistol grip that can be easily wielded with one hand that fulfills the same close-combat role of a bolt pistol but has double the range (but again inflicts less damage). The Ghost Foxes view this as an acceptable tradeoff, viewing the ability to engage their foes at a distance before they can effectively return fire as yet another aspect of their combat doctrines.

Boltguns are still frequently used, especially when dealing with enemies known for wearing heavy armor or toughness (such as Sontarans or Orks) and all Ghost Foxes who use pulse rifles carry a bolt pistol as a short range weapon, and Ghost Foxes armed with boltguns will carry a pulse carbine as a secondary weapon.

Volkite Weapons

An ancient design of weaponry from before the Horus Heresy, volkite weapons fire powerful blasts of lightning capable of causing their targets to incinerate explosively. Their usage was almost completely discontinued after the Horus Heresy, partly due to the enormous amount of technical knowledge that was lost during that conflict, but mostly because of the limitations of the entire series of weapons: regardless of their type, volkite weapons all suffered from short ranges and were difficult to maintain properly. The Ghost Foxes have resurrected these weapons from obscurity, most likely for use against robotic foes.

Vehicle Crews

All Ghost Fox vehicles, from Land Speeders to Land Raiders and Predator tanks, are operated by females. Because their smaller bodies take up much less space compared to a regular Space Marine wearing power armor, the Ghost Foxes are often able to include an extra crew member onboard most of their vehicles. This extra "tank-girl" acts as an assistant engineer who will help repair the vehicle in the event something gets damaged.

The Specters

During the Zealot War it was documented that a whole section of the Chapter was dedicated to an all-veteran unit of elite scouts called the Specters. Most likely patterned after the veteran Wolf Scouts of the Space Wolves, the Specters were all equipped with auto-camouflager armor and heavy railgun weaponry. All of them specialized in infiltration, sabotage, and assassination, and utilized equipment normally seen only within the Deathwatch and Inquisition. No Specters have been identified on Exile, but it may be that the Ghost Foxes have not yet grown large enough or experienced enough to establish them.

Xiphon-Pattern Interceptor

The Xiphon is an ancient class of attack fighter that was originally used prior to the Horus Heresy. Used exclusively by the Space Marines, Xiphons are armed with multiple powerful laser cannons and rotary missile launchers. Xiphons are noted for their high maneuverability, medium-strength armor, and heat-resistant armored ceramite plating. Xiphons can operate both in an atmosphere as well as deep space.