Alpharius

The Alpha Legion was always the most secretive of the Legiones Astartes. Hence, what little information we possess comes from the discoveries of Inquisitor Kravin of the Ordo Malleus.

Pre-Heresy

Alpharius, Primarch of the Alpha Legion, was the last of the lost sons of the Emperor to be found. While most other Primarchs, aside from Rogal Dorn, were found on the worlds they had been cast upon, Alpharius came upon Horus' Fleet in an unnamed system.

Using a ragtag fleet of primitive one and two-man fighters he cleverly put the advance ships of the Luna Wolves' fleet in a precarious position, which necessitated the intervention of Horus himself. Arriving on his endangered cruiser, he soon learned that a small team of boarders was making its way towards the bridge. The cruiser was at high alert as the five boarders burst onto the bridge. Quickly four of them were dispatched by Bolter shots from Horus. The fifth one, who towered even over the Luna Wolves' marines dodged Horus' fifth shot, and continued to advance regardless of the other bolts that were hitting him. Alpharius stopped inches away from Horus, who then started laughing, as he recognized that he had found the last Primarch.

No mention did Alpharius make of his homeworld. However, he was clearly impressed with Horus, who kept him at his side for some months before sending him back to Terra to meet the Emperor. Their meeting was, as all times when the Emperor found one of his lost sons, surrounded with much celebration. However, since the Great Crusade was in full swing, little time was spent in idle rejoicing and Alpharius was quickly given command of the Alpha Legion, created a few decades before. Following their Primarch, they also had no clear homeworld, just many bases scattered across the Galaxy most of them secret or hidden.

The marines of the Alpha Legion were tall and strong as well as extremely smart like their Primarch. Alpharius wasted no time and began to develop original strategic doctrines that have dictated the actions of his Legiones Astartes to this very day. Indeed, eschewing brute force in favor of cunning, the Alpha Legion quickly developed a style that was uniquely theirs. Instead of wasting men through frontal strikes led by savagery and/or fanaticism or individual courage, Alpharius believed in a flexible approach to combat. He encouraged adaptation and self-sufficiency amongst his men, training them as teams, rather than as individuals, not believing in useless personal courage. Sometimes he would even disappear just before a battle to see how his Legion would fare in his absence. He constantly insisted on his Legion's adaptability, and routinely set upon them challenges, even in the midst of combat. He emphasized attacking from many directions at once, using misdirection by leaking false information to his foes, fomenting dissention in opposing forces, using inflitrators to strike at the enemy's rear or center, and coopting some of his opponents for his own cause. Deception and psychological warfare were clearly at the center of his doctrine.

This had two major consequences. First, since this approach required very little in terms of manpower, his forces were far more spread out than other Legions, with no adverse effect. Secondly though, this approach took more time than the more traditional strategies as favored by the other Legions. Furthermore, this led Roboute Guilliman Primarch of the Ultramarines and writer of the Codex Astartes, to question Alpharius' approach to fighting. Since the first believed mostly in discipline and structure, and the second in initiative and flexibility, a violent discussion erupted which was closed when Guilliman pointed to his own Legion's record, something that Alpharius could never hope to achieve, since his Alpha Legion was almost two hundred years younger than the Ultramarines.

This led Alpharius to push his Legion even further. More and more were the situations where he would take the more difficult course of action to force his Space Marines to grow. Plans were more complex, more subtle, while at the same time relying on more and more factors to achieve victory. Training was more intense and new strategies and approaches were constantly developed.

The Heresy

Since Alpharius was only familiar with one other Primarch, Horus, it is not difficult to see which side he chose when the Heresy came. Indeed, the very plan at Isstvan V where Horus struck his first blow against his fellow Legions by destroying most of the Iron Hands, Raven Guard and Salamanders Legions in a massive ambush, was very reminiscent of plans that Alpharius elaborated in the past.

However, at this point, the Alpha Legion's path differs clearly from the other Traitor Legions. Indeed, rather than blindly following Horus to Terra, Alpharius it appears was more interested in proving his own Legion's worth by fighting, at every chance he got, the best of the Loyalist legions. Thus, even after Horus was cast down, the Alpha Legion kept on fighting, moving more and more towards the galactic east, towards the Ultramarines. It was on the world known as Eskrador that Alpharius and Roboute Guilliman would meet for the last time.

Believing that Guilliman would adopt his standard Codex deployment procedures, Alpharius was surprised by the Ultramarines, as a splinter force including their Primarch made a quick strike at the Alpha Legion's headquarters. Both Primarchs met in combat and Alpharius was killed. Believing the combat over, for who could ever survive the loss of their Primarch in battle, the Ultramarines were taken by surprise by the remaining elements of the Alpha Legion, when they struck back a day later. After a week of constant fighting and heavy losses, the Ultramarines strike force managed to reunite with their main elements, and quickly evacuated the planet. Even though they had lost their Primarch, the Alpha Legion had soundly beaten the Ultramarines, who proceeded to bombard their foes' position from outer space. It should be noted, however, that Alpharius death is still considered suspect, even by the Ultramarines, and he may still be at large.

Post-Heresy

Let us say before we close, that Inquisitor Kravin's information on the Alpha Legion was believed to be tainted by the sons of Alpharius. Indeed, after the Ikrilla Conclave, it was posited that the Inquisitor had been coopted by the very traitors he was investigating. Thus, all of the previous should be read in a critical fashion, as it could all be fabrication and disinformation spread by the Legion...

Today still, the Alpha Legion use their cunning tactics, to elude and mislead the forces of the Imperium. They are not as clearly Chaos worshippers, in as much as it is another tool used to better themselves. Eschewing the Eye of Terror, the Alpha Legion still lurks, hidden in plain sight at the heart of the Imperium, using deception and misdirection to spread fear, confusion and death.

Sources

Index Astartes IV

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