HOME | DD

Description

Name: Bartholomeuw 'Black' Barts

Position: Master Gunner (Equivalent: Master of the Forge)

Title: The Tallyman of the Code

To say the Blackguards didn't get along with the Adeptus Mechanicus is a GROSS understatement.

Before the Blackguards came to full strength as a Legion, it was no secret that the Teleportation technology they possess were, in every way, vastly more superior than anything the Techpriests of Mars can come up with. It was more stable, more efficient, and its precision was surgical beyond compare. The only problem was its quantity. Blackguards would claim, with pride, that every Teleportation device they have were handcrafted personally by the Primarch himself with care and precision. This statement easily touched the truth. It is a technology Greybeard shared with very precious few. The ears of the Emperor Himself to name one. He personally crafted the teleportation homer for the Emperor's Custodes, enough to arm all 10,000 of them, including spares. However, Demigod or not, a single Primarch can only make so many... it would take the industrial might of Mars to achieve the kind of mass production that the Great Crusade demanded.

But for reasons he disclose to few, the Primarch had declared their Teleportation technology completely off limits to the prying eyes of the Mechanicus. The Blackguards had been given strict command... should they failed to salvage them, better they destroy every trace of said technology rather than to let it be taken, especially by the agents of the Mechanicus, even if that means destroying whoever still attached to it. So denied this, the Mechanicus accused the Blackguards for hoarding heretical technology, that their teleportation technology had actually came from Xenos origin. The Blackguards naturally took offense to this, claiming that had the God Emperor so wished it, Greybeard would share it to the wider breadth of the Imperium, but to the end, no such order ever came, proof that the Immortal Emperor shared His son's insight and the Blackguards near exclusive ownership of this Teleportation technology received His tacit blessing. The Adeptus Mechanicus had no choice but to continue their support, albeit bitterly, providing the Black Guards with all the finest resources the Forgeworlds can provide. Although... as a form of spite, the Blackguards are always at the lowest priority in receiving their tithe of supplies from any Forgeworld. Not that it matters, the ever resourceful Greybeard had his own cadre of backwater friends to count on. After all, it was he who petitioned to His father the importance in creating a militant of explorers and seekers who venture to the darkness of void, under imperial sanction. Greybeard penned the first Warrant of Trade, and with the Emperor's blessings, established the first Nobles of the Rogue Trader Militants, with he himself as the Prime Rogue Traders, to ply the unknwon stars, to expand humanity's border ever greater, ever deeper into the void. With this vast network, it was a simple matter for Greybeard to gain access to various kinds of technology and resources that even the Mechanicus aren't privy to. This simply added to the burning fumes of envy of the Martian techpriests.

The Primarch's excuse of not sharing his wares to the Mechanicus was a rather simple one: because he correctly deduced the Adeptus Mechanicus would rather destroy them rather than putting it to good use. It was not without basis. As dictated by the Pirata Codex penned by Quartermaster Morgan, the Blackguards were entilted to the plunder they can muster with each attack. Most prized of these plunders are technologies: STCs, ancient archeotechs, and their personal favorite: xenos weaponry. Oft times, the Blackguards felt disgruntled when the Mechanicus demanded the former two, but this was easily placated by the latter. However, when the Mechanicus also demanded the destruction of said latter, disagreement arises. And drastic measures has been taken by both sides to enforce their demands. When the Adeptus Mechanicus had detected Planet Sorren to house a technology that is considered anathema to Omnissiah, they dropped a Radiation Bomb that render the whole planet inaccesable, even by Astartes, never mind that some of the Blackguards are still trapped inside, still plundering after the pacification of the planet. Blackguards strike cruiser led a fleet of Mechanicus straight into an Ork Waaaagh!! to delay their arrival to a pacified forgeworld so that the Blackguards can stow away several of technology confiscated by the Techpriests, slated for destruction. These and several more incidents continue to deepen the enmity between the two factions, but insofar, despite blood being spilled on both sides, both seem quite aware of the line that must not crossed.

Perhaps influenced by their Primarch's penchant of collecting guns or the fact as an Astartes they have seen themselves the effectiveness of Xenos wepaonry, the Blackguards are quick to admit something the Mechanicus would never stoop to see: sometimes, the Alien just got the better stuff. In a rigours of the Great Crusade, it's not unheard of for an Astartes to discard their issued weapon when a better alternative is available or the situation demands it. While no self respecting Astartes would admit it, this occurence is not rare. But no Astartes would never even consider keeping alien weaponry with them. Not without handing them over first to the Mechanicus to be studied and dissected, naturally. Which is why the Blackguards penchant of hoarding Xenos tech was apalling to the Mechanicus. This was not the first time a technology was kept away from Adeptus Mechanicus, but perhaps this was the first time such a thing escalated into open hostility.

For their part, the Black Guard accused the Mechanicus loathing of Xenos technology as nothing more than petty jealousy, that something that wasn't made by the Omnissiah, however superior that maybe, especially if it's more superior, is intolerable. The Imperium, the Great Crusade, needs this technology more than Mars needs their arrogance.

Then finally came the Blackguards... 'exile'.

The popular story that surged across the Imperium, was that the enmity between Blackguards and Mechanicus finally reached a point of no return. So much so that it threatens to tear the age old Treaty of Mars that bound Terra and Mars in the Alliance that was so instrumental to the Great Crusade. The Emperor was forced to choose the lesser of two evil, and opted instead to declare His son, and his entire Legion, Excommunicate Traitoris. For conduct unbecoming, for consorting with Xenos... All the records of their existence and everything they achieved were dashed and expunged from Imperial history. Some Primarchs were secretly outraged by that final accusation. After all, as a certain Wolfen primarch would say: "The (redacted)? Consorting with Xenos? Watch your tongue or I'll cut it out, whelp! They still show their respect to the Orks... by opening fire with every gun they have at the first sign of their Kroozers at the horizon!" Regardless, to those who know not better, this was the official accepted story. The Blackguards are no longer recognized as part of the Imperium, and every military body must respond with deadly force on sight. It is a feat easier said than done.

It was said that parts of Blackguard legion were seen participating one last time during the Ullanor crusade. That the Emperor granted his now wayward primarch one last meeting before His departure to Terra was not a well known story, even amongst His other Primarchs.

Whatever the truth was, with the Blackguards officially no longer part of the Imperium, the gauntlets are off. Neither the Blackguards or the Mechanicus felt the need to be civil with each other. Mechanicus cannons will open fire whenever their augurs spotted Blackguards ships approaching their borders. Blackguards will unreservedly raid forgeworlds and isolated Mechanicus depo to forcibly take their supplies, weapons, and equipments that they need. As for tech support, even before their breakout from the Imperium, the Blackguards were never welcomed in the forges of Mars. So there have been no Astartes trained by rthe Cult Mechanicus, and there has been no Techmarines. Before their Excommunication, repairs and maintenance had been gurdgingly performed by Techpriests in Imperial shipyards, who immediately departed as soon as their duty was done. Now that was all denied from them, they have learned that they must not ask... they must take what they want. Enter Brother Bartholomeuew, most trusted ally of Francis Morgan, and one of the most technologically gifted Astartes in the Blackguards. He planned the most audicious raid yet: to besiege Mars itself and take their esoteric knowledge of the Cult Mechanicus by force.

And they succeeded. For 40 to 50 standard years, the Blackguards besieged Mars, as a cadre of their most technologically inclined warriors, led by Barts, forcibly extract all the secrets of the Machine from any Techpriest and Magos they can get their hands on and forcibly learned the way... in their own terms. Some say, such a thing was possible because there was almost no response from the rest of the Imperium from this outrage. There are many rumors as to how this came to be. Some say, it was because of the Blackguard Pariah Gene that created the blanketing void that kept any astropathic message from being sent out, thus the wider Imperium were blind to the event. Others also say that Bartholomeuw had cunningly allowed Mars' industries to continue churning out their output, albeit under the Blackguards auspices. After all, as long as production quota for the Great Crusade are met, who cares when the whole planet was under siege by a Piratical Astartes Legion that are forcibly, and literally, extracting data and precious knowledge directly from the cranials of the most senior Techpriests and Magos in Mars? Some even suggested that the other Primarchs, and even the Emperor Himself had pretty much figured out what's happening... but they allowed it to happen anyway. There are some elements of the Imperium, including one or two Primarchs, who had thought the Cult Mechanicus had gained too much political power and in need of some dressing down... So when they deduced that some unspeakable character are giving the Mechanicus some much needed humiliation... not many of them tried 'too hard' to give aid. It wasn't until another 2 decades had passed before the liberation strike force from the Imperial Fists actually came, but by the time they've arrived, the Blackguards had long since vanished, along with an entire library's worth of Mechnicus most guarded secrets of the mechanicum arts, along with Greybeard's confiscated - and now reconfiscated - Gloriana class Battlecruiser: The Accord. Enough damage to the Mechanicus had been inflicted, it'll take them many long centuries before they can even recover their losses, and their pride, from this unprecedented humiliation.

Brother Bartholomeuw did not came out unscathed of this raid. Now known as 'Black Thumb' Barts, or Black Barts, he returned to his Legion, more machine than man. Some say his deformation was self inflicted or to replace the limbs he lost during the many, many skirmishes with the Skitaari legions that happened during the Siege of Mars. Whatever's left of him, no one was certain, because no one has ever seen him outside his personally modified Catapracht armor since. And he was no longer capable of directly talking in human tongue, instead humming out binaric language out of his vocal implants, which he may, or may not, translate into basic language when he chose to talk with his fellow Astartes. Though such occurences had grown increasingly rare of late. Nowadays he only deigned to speak in high gothi with his staunchest ally, Quartermaster Morgan, and his liege and Lord, Primarch Greybeard. In recognition to his achievements and sacrifices, Greybeard rewarded Black Barts with the rank of the Master Gunner. The equivalent of a legion's Master of the Forge. And in secret and trust, Greybeard pass along to him, and him alone, the knowledge of the Blackguards Teleportation technology.

And Black Barts had proven that he was worthy of that trust many times over. Under his guidance, The Blackguards can now train ranks of their own Techmarines, or Gunner, as the Legion coined them as such - since they invariably carry at least one big gun on their person, and the Blackguards were able to maintain their machines and equipments, unburdened by their severed ties with the Cult Mechanicus, and beyond. Because as mentioned before, the team of Tech Astartes that Bart had led forcibly teach themselves the art of the Mechanicus on their own terms. Which means they were completely unrestrained by the bounds and dogmas of the Cult Mechanicus. And rightly so. For the Legion still held reservoirs of pilfered Xenos technology in their hoard, many of them were poorly understood or incompatible with Astartes interface, and therefore virtually unsuable. With the 'guidance' of the Mechanicus knowledge, Black Barts began converting many of this technology for Astartes use. Now, some Blackguards Astartes can march to war carrying Bolters with underslung C'tan phase blades, dual wielding Eldar's Shuriken pistol or some even carry Necron Tesla Carbines. Their new fortress monastery, a refurbished Space Hulk, were concealed within a pocket dimension from reverse engineered technologies stolen from Drukkhari raiders. A Drukkhari would deem it a pitiful copy of their own webway, and indeed it was, but it was more than enough to render the Blackguards base of operation virtually undetectable to those who know not where to look.

This may seem like a risk. Handing out cannibalized Xenos technology to Astartes with as little discipline as the Blackguards seems like a recipe for a disaster, or at worst, mutiny. But herein, is where Bart's strong bond with Morgan played out. If Francis Morgan penned and kept the Pirata Codex, Bart was the one who ensured those Codex are obeyed to the letter. As the Master Gunner, it was Bart who managed the distribution of loot and plunder to the rest of the Legion. Every modified gun and equipment that the Blackguards' used, every energy cartridge spent, every bullet fired, his cybernetically enhanced memory bank held a detailed record of every single one. And therefore, he also knew each and every one of its weakness. How its built, it's contruction, how to use it to cause the maximum damage... and how to shut it down should he find those same weapons are being aimed at him or his brethren. The fact he carried the trigger for the biggest gun in the entire Blackguard arsenal also helped. As the Master Gunner, Black Barts were given control... as in direct, cybernetic control... on every macrocannon, lancer, and torpedo launcher in every spaceship within the Blackguards' fleet, including their Flagship, the Accord - which Greybeard most often left under his command on a raid - which is most of the time. If he so chooses he can oder those guns to unleash an exterminatus level of destruction on a planet with but a single vox choir from his cybernetic implants.

Should anyone try to escape using say... the BlackGuards' very own teleportation technology, as mentioned before, Richard entrusted Barts with the full secrets of the Blackguard's infallible teleportation... including how to make it... fallible. Bottomline, when the Black Barts turn his gun at his targets... there's no escape; a fact that Master Gunner Bartholomeuw 'Black' Barts will never let any would be traitors and mutineers of the Blackguard legion to forget.

Wargear:

Omnissiah's Spite

This catapracht terminator armor was grudgingly put together by the techpriest that Barts 'convinced' to help him. While they did build it to Bart's specification, rumor has it, that the techpriest had placed several flaws within the suit as a form of spite. Whether this is true or not was a fact they will carry to their grave. Mere moments after the armor was finished, the Skitaarii attacked, the aftermath left the priests struck down, and Barts were permanently sealed inside the armor. None has ever seen him taking it off. If this current state of being inconvenienced him in any way, he had made no effort to change it since. The Omnissiah Spite also sport multiple additional features, chief among them were the disturbingly huge amount of mechadendrite hive that constantly hiss and slither across the insides of the massive armor. These mechadnedrite were often used by the Master Gunner to perform delicate mechanical work at whirring speed. But in battle, many had noticed that when Bart took lethal amount of damage, a large number of this mechadendrites would erupt from its open wound and quickly seal the damage and perform, what many noted to be more akin to an engine repair rather than medical care. With that in mind, many also began to question just how much of Bart's humanity that still remained within his armor.

Servo harness
A Servo-harness is in essence multiple servo arm combined into one larger caugmetic ontraption. The multiple arms jutting from the Techmarine's back wield a large variety of tools and weapons, granting him a greater capacity for both field repairs and the destruction of Mandkind's enemies. Like a Servo-arm, a full Servo-harness integrates with the Techmarine’s Power Armour and is controlled through the same spine interface that makes him one with his Power Armour. The whole contraption radiates from a boosted Power Armour fusion backpack capable of powering both the suit and the innumerable components of the Servo-harness. The composition of each such cluster of auxiliary limbs is unique, customised with the tools most preferred by its previous owners for tending to Machine Spirits and laying waste to the God-Emperor’s enemies. Bart's Servo-harness was personally customized by him and consists of one macro Servo-arm, another servo arm sport a Plasma Cutter. The Fyceline Torch is normally used for welding but its adaptable nozzle allows it to spit gouts of flame like a Flamer, while the Plasma Cutter can slice through a metre of adamantine plating up to 20 centimetres thick in a standard minute, and can also be used to project bolts of incandescent plasma upon any foolish enough to come close. The ingenious Machine Spirit (Artificial Intelligence) of a Servo-harness is capable of far more sublime communion with its master than a simple Servo-arm, and a Techmarine who has mastered the subtleties of this tool can deliver a staggering amount of blows at once with his multiple appendages, or fire multiple weapons at once without pause.

Auspex Mortis Prima
The Auxpex Mortis Prima is a high sophisticated targeting that Barts customized in light of his position as the Master Gunner. The Auspex was directly connected to a servo skull which serve as a long range vox transmitter. This sophisticated auxpex targetting system can then be directly linked to the firing system of any battle barge orbitting the planet, enabling Bart to direct the firepower of an entire armada on whatever target he designate.

φ12-ZA Cutter

A Master-crafted Combi-weapon of Bart's own design. It features a Fyceline Torch sporting a weaponized heavy rock cutter, energized with a corona of power field which turned it into a potent power chain axe. Bart wield this as a parody of the usual Power Axe often wielded by Techmarines. Many legend abound on the peculiar naming of the weapon. Some say the name φ12-ZA is a name of a powerful monster this weapon had once cut open, albeit translated to an ancient binaric code that no one but the maker can comprehend. Whatever the truth, only one know for sure and he delight in not saying.

Gauss Devastator

The Necron Gauss weapon is a form of exotic energy weapon that destroy its target by firing a green-tinged blast of lightning-like energy that shears apart the target's atomic bonds, literally stripping their bodies apart atom by atom and molecule by molecule. One of Servo harness was dedicated to mount an experimental terran version of Necron's Gauss Destroyer. Its destructive power still fall short of the Xenos counterpart, but it still more than enough to tear apart battle tanks with ease. However, the amount of energy and radiation that coursed through the weapon can strip organic flesh from its bone, thus, Bert's present constition made him the only one who can effectively wield such a weapon.

Description

Name: Bartholomeuw 'Black' Barts

Position: Master Gunner (Equivalent: Master of the Forge)

Title: The Tallyman of the Code

To say the Blackguards didn't get along with the Adeptus Mechanicus is a GROSS understatement.

Before the Blackguards came to full strength as a Legion, it was no secret that the Teleportation technology they possess were, in every way, vastly more superior than anything the Techpriests of Mars can come up with. It was more stable, more efficient, and its precision was surgical beyond compare. The only problem was its quantity. Blackguards would claim, with pride, that every Teleportation device they have were handcrafted personally by the Primarch himself with care and precision. This statement easily touched the truth. It is a technology Greybeard shared with very precious few. The ears of the Emperor Himself to name one. He personally crafted the teleportation homer for the Emperor's Custodes, enough to arm all 10,000 of them, including spares. However, Demigod or not, a single Primarch can only make so many... it would take the industrial might of Mars to achieve the kind of mass production that the Great Crusade demanded.

But for reasons he disclose to few, the Primarch had declared their Teleportation technology completely off limits to the prying eyes of the Mechanicus. The Blackguards had been given strict command... should they failed to salvage them, better they destroy every trace of said technology rather than to let it be taken, especially by the agents of the Mechanicus, even if that means destroying whoever still attached to it. So denied this, the Mechanicus accused the Blackguards for hoarding heretical technology, that their teleportation technology had actually came from Xenos origin. The Blackguards naturally took offense to this, claiming that had the God Emperor so wished it, Greybeard would share it to the wider breadth of the Imperium, but to the end, no such order ever came, proof that the Immortal Emperor shared His son's insight and the Blackguards near exclusive ownership of this Teleportation technology received His tacit blessing. The Adeptus Mechanicus had no choice but to continue their support, albeit bitterly, providing the Black Guards with all the finest resources the Forgeworlds can provide. Although... as a form of spite, the Blackguards are always at the lowest priority in receiving their tithe of supplies from any Forgeworld. Not that it matters, the ever resourceful Greybeard had his own cadre of backwater friends to count on. After all, it was he who petitioned to His father the importance in creating a militant of explorers and seekers who venture to the darkness of void, under imperial sanction. Greybeard penned the first Warrant of Trade, and with the Emperor's blessings, established the first Nobles of the Rogue Trader Militants, with he himself as the Prime Rogue Traders, to ply the unknwon stars, to expand humanity's border ever greater, ever deeper into the void. With this vast network, it was a simple matter for Greybeard to gain access to various kinds of technology and resources that even the Mechanicus aren't privy to. This simply added to the burning fumes of envy of the Martian techpriests.

The Primarch's excuse of not sharing his wares to the Mechanicus was a rather simple one: because he correctly deduced the Adeptus Mechanicus would rather destroy them rather than putting it to good use. It was not without basis. As dictated by the Pirata Codex penned by Quartermaster Morgan, the Blackguards were entilted to the plunder they can muster with each attack. Most prized of these plunders are technologies: STCs, ancient archeotechs, and their personal favorite: xenos weaponry. Oft times, the Blackguards felt disgruntled when the Mechanicus demanded the former two, but this was easily placated by the latter. However, when the Mechanicus also demanded the destruction of said latter, disagreement arises. And drastic measures has been taken by both sides to enforce their demands. When the Adeptus Mechanicus had detected Planet Sorren to house a technology that is considered anathema to Omnissiah, they dropped a Radiation Bomb that render the whole planet inaccesable, even by Astartes, never mind that some of the Blackguards are still trapped inside, still plundering after the pacification of the planet. Blackguards strike cruiser led a fleet of Mechanicus straight into an Ork Waaaagh!! to delay their arrival to a pacified forgeworld so that the Blackguards can stow away several of technology confiscated by the Techpriests, slated for destruction. These and several more incidents continue to deepen the enmity between the two factions, but insofar, despite blood being spilled on both sides, both seem quite aware of the line that must not crossed.

Perhaps influenced by their Primarch's penchant of collecting guns or the fact as an Astartes they have seen themselves the effectiveness of Xenos wepaonry, the Blackguards are quick to admit something the Mechanicus would never stoop to see: sometimes, the Alien just got the better stuff. In a rigours of the Great Crusade, it's not unheard of for an Astartes to discard their issued weapon when a better alternative is available or the situation demands it. While no self respecting Astartes would admit it, this occurence is not rare. But no Astartes would never even consider keeping alien weaponry with them. Not without handing them over first to the Mechanicus to be studied and dissected, naturally. Which is why the Blackguards penchant of hoarding Xenos tech was apalling to the Mechanicus. This was not the first time a technology was kept away from Adeptus Mechanicus, but perhaps this was the first time such a thing escalated into open hostility.

For their part, the Black Guard accused the Mechanicus loathing of Xenos technology as nothing more than petty jealousy, that something that wasn't made by the Omnissiah, however superior that maybe, especially if it's more superior, is intolerable. The Imperium, the Great Crusade, needs this technology more than Mars needs their arrogance.

Then finally came the Blackguards... 'exile'.

The popular story that surged across the Imperium, was that the enmity between Blackguards and Mechanicus finally reached a point of no return. So much so that it threatens to tear the age old Treaty of Mars that bound Terra and Mars in the Alliance that was so instrumental to the Great Crusade. The Emperor was forced to choose the lesser of two evil, and opted instead to declare His son, and his entire Legion, Excommunicate Traitoris. For conduct unbecoming, for consorting with Xenos... All the records of their existence and everything they achieved were dashed and expunged from Imperial history. Some Primarchs were secretly outraged by that final accusation. After all, as a certain Wolfen primarch would say: "The (redacted)? Consorting with Xenos? Watch your tongue or I'll cut it out, whelp! They still show their respect to the Orks... by opening fire with every gun they have at the first sign of their Kroozers at the horizon!" Regardless, to those who know not better, this was the official accepted story. The Blackguards are no longer recognized as part of the Imperium, and every military body must respond with deadly force on sight. It is a feat easier said than done.

It was said that parts of Blackguard legion were seen participating one last time during the Ullanor crusade. That the Emperor granted his now wayward primarch one last meeting before His departure to Terra was not a well known story, even amongst His other Primarchs.

Whatever the truth was, with the Blackguards officially no longer part of the Imperium, the gauntlets are off. Neither the Blackguards or the Mechanicus felt the need to be civil with each other. Mechanicus cannons will open fire whenever their augurs spotted Blackguards ships approaching their borders. Blackguards will unreservedly raid forgeworlds and isolated Mechanicus depo to forcibly take their supplies, weapons, and equipments that they need. As for tech support, even before their breakout from the Imperium, the Blackguards were never welcomed in the forges of Mars. So there have been no Astartes trained by rthe Cult Mechanicus, and there has been no Techmarines. Before their Excommunication, repairs and maintenance had been gurdgingly performed by Techpriests in Imperial shipyards, who immediately departed as soon as their duty was done. Now that was all denied from them, they have learned that they must not ask... they must take what they want. Enter Brother Bartholomeuew, most trusted ally of Francis Morgan, and one of the most technologically gifted Astartes in the Blackguards. He planned the most audicious raid yet: to besiege Mars itself and take their esoteric knowledge of the Cult Mechanicus by force.

And they succeeded. For 40 to 50 standard years, the Blackguards besieged Mars, as a cadre of their most technologically inclined warriors, led by Barts, forcibly extract all the secrets of the Machine from any Techpriest and Magos they can get their hands on and forcibly learned the way... in their own terms. Some say, such a thing was possible because there was almost no response from the rest of the Imperium from this outrage. There are many rumors as to how this came to be. Some say, it was because of the Blackguard Pariah Gene that created the blanketing void that kept any astropathic message from being sent out, thus the wider Imperium were blind to the event. Others also say that Bartholomeuw had cunningly allowed Mars' industries to continue churning out their output, albeit under the Blackguards auspices. After all, as long as production quota for the Great Crusade are met, who cares when the whole planet was under siege by a Piratical Astartes Legion that are forcibly, and literally, extracting data and precious knowledge directly from the cranials of the most senior Techpriests and Magos in Mars? Some even suggested that the other Primarchs, and even the Emperor Himself had pretty much figured out what's happening... but they allowed it to happen anyway. There are some elements of the Imperium, including one or two Primarchs, who had thought the Cult Mechanicus had gained too much political power and in need of some dressing down... So when they deduced that some unspeakable character are giving the Mechanicus some much needed humiliation... not many of them tried 'too hard' to give aid. It wasn't until another 2 decades had passed before the liberation strike force from the Imperial Fists actually came, but by the time they've arrived, the Blackguards had long since vanished, along with an entire library's worth of Mechnicus most guarded secrets of the mechanicum arts, along with Greybeard's confiscated - and now reconfiscated - Gloriana class Battlecruiser: The Accord. Enough damage to the Mechanicus had been inflicted, it'll take them many long centuries before they can even recover their losses, and their pride, from this unprecedented humiliation.

Brother Bartholomeuw did not came out unscathed of this raid. Now known as 'Black Thumb' Barts, or Black Barts, he returned to his Legion, more machine than man. Some say his deformation was self inflicted or to replace the limbs he lost during the many, many skirmishes with the Skitaari legions that happened during the Siege of Mars. Whatever's left of him, no one was certain, because no one has ever seen him outside his personally modified Catapracht armor since. And he was no longer capable of directly talking in human tongue, instead humming out binaric language out of his vocal implants, which he may, or may not, translate into basic language when he chose to talk with his fellow Astartes. Though such occurences had grown increasingly rare of late. Nowadays he only deigned to speak in high gothi with his staunchest ally, Quartermaster Morgan, and his liege and Lord, Primarch Greybeard. In recognition to his achievements and sacrifices, Greybeard rewarded Black Barts with the rank of the Master Gunner. The equivalent of a legion's Master of the Forge. And in secret and trust, Greybeard pass along to him, and him alone, the knowledge of the Blackguards Teleportation technology.

And Black Barts had proven that he was worthy of that trust many times over. Under his guidance, The Blackguards can now train ranks of their own Techmarines, or Gunner, as the Legion coined them as such - since they invariably carry at least one big gun on their person, and the Blackguards were able to maintain their machines and equipments, unburdened by their severed ties with the Cult Mechanicus, and beyond. Because as mentioned before, the team of Tech Astartes that Bart had led forcibly teach themselves the art of the Mechanicus on their own terms. Which means they were completely unrestrained by the bounds and dogmas of the Cult Mechanicus. And rightly so. For the Legion still held reservoirs of pilfered Xenos technology in their hoard, many of them were poorly understood or incompatible with Astartes interface, and therefore virtually unsuable. With the 'guidance' of the Mechanicus knowledge, Black Barts began converting many of this technology for Astartes use. Now, some Blackguards Astartes can march to war carrying Bolters with underslung C'tan phase blades, dual wielding Eldar's Shuriken pistol or some even carry Necron Tesla Carbines. Their new fortress monastery, a refurbished Space Hulk, were concealed within a pocket dimension from reverse engineered technologies stolen from Drukkhari raiders. A Drukkhari would deem it a pitiful copy of their own webway, and indeed it was, but it was more than enough to render the Blackguards base of operation virtually undetectable to those who know not where to look.

This may seem like a risk. Handing out cannibalized Xenos technology to Astartes with as little discipline as the Blackguards seems like a recipe for a disaster, or at worst, mutiny. But herein, is where Bart's strong bond with Morgan played out. If Francis Morgan penned and kept the Pirata Codex, Bart was the one who ensured those Codex are obeyed to the letter. As the Master Gunner, it was Bart who managed the distribution of loot and plunder to the rest of the Legion. Every modified gun and equipment that the Blackguards' used, every energy cartridge spent, every bullet fired, his cybernetically enhanced memory bank held a detailed record of every single one. And therefore, he also knew each and every one of its weakness. How its built, it's contruction, how to use it to cause the maximum damage... and how to shut it down should he find those same weapons are being aimed at him or his brethren. The fact he carried the trigger for the biggest gun in the entire Blackguard arsenal also helped. As the Master Gunner, Black Barts were given control... as in direct, cybernetic control... on every macrocannon, lancer, and torpedo launcher in every spaceship within the Blackguards' fleet, including their Flagship, the Accord - which Greybeard most often left under his command on a raid - which is most of the time. If he so chooses he can oder those guns to unleash an exterminatus level of destruction on a planet with but a single vox choir from his cybernetic implants.

Should anyone try to escape using say... the BlackGuards' very own teleportation technology, as mentioned before, Richard entrusted Barts with the full secrets of the Blackguard's infallible teleportation... including how to make it... fallible. Bottomline, when the Black Barts turn his gun at his targets... there's no escape; a fact that Master Gunner Bartholomeuw 'Black' Barts will never let any would be traitors and mutineers of the Blackguard legion to forget.

Wargear:

Omnissiah's Spite

This catapracht terminator armor was grudgingly put together by the techpriest that Barts 'convinced' to help him. While they did build it to Bart's specification, rumor has it, that the techpriest had placed several flaws within the suit as a form of spite. Whether this is true or not was a fact they will carry to their grave. Mere moments after the armor was finished, the Skitaarii attacked, the aftermath left the priests struck down, and Barts were permanently sealed inside the armor. None has ever seen him taking it off. If this current state of being inconvenienced him in any way, he had made no effort to change it since. The Omnissiah Spite also sport multiple additional features, chief among them were the disturbingly huge amount of mechadendrite hive that constantly hiss and slither across the insides of the massive armor. These mechadnedrite were often used by the Master Gunner to perform delicate mechanical work at whirring speed. But in battle, many had noticed that when Bart took lethal amount of damage, a large number of this mechadendrites would erupt from its open wound and quickly seal the damage and perform, what many noted to be more akin to an engine repair rather than medical care. With that in mind, many also began to question just how much of Bart's humanity that still remained within his armor.

Servo harness
A Servo-harness is in essence multiple servo arm combined into one larger caugmetic ontraption. The multiple arms jutting from the Techmarine's back wield a large variety of tools and weapons, granting him a greater capacity for both field repairs and the destruction of Mandkind's enemies. Like a Servo-arm, a full Servo-harness integrates with the Techmarine’s Power Armour and is controlled through the same spine interface that makes him one with his Power Armour. The whole contraption radiates from a boosted Power Armour fusion backpack capable of powering both the suit and the innumerable components of the Servo-harness. The composition of each such cluster of auxiliary limbs is unique, customised with the tools most preferred by its previous owners for tending to Machine Spirits and laying waste to the God-Emperor’s enemies. Bart's Servo-harness was personally customized by him and consists of one macro Servo-arm, another servo arm sport a Plasma Cutter. The Fyceline Torch is normally used for welding but its adaptable nozzle allows it to spit gouts of flame like a Flamer, while the Plasma Cutter can slice through a metre of adamantine plating up to 20 centimetres thick in a standard minute, and can also be used to project bolts of incandescent plasma upon any foolish enough to come close. The ingenious Machine Spirit (Artificial Intelligence) of a Servo-harness is capable of far more sublime communion with its master than a simple Servo-arm, and a Techmarine who has mastered the subtleties of this tool can deliver a staggering amount of blows at once with his multiple appendages, or fire multiple weapons at once without pause.

Auspex Mortis Prima
The Auxpex Mortis Prima is a high sophisticated targeting that Barts customized in light of his position as the Master Gunner. The Auspex was directly connected to a servo skull which serve as a long range vox transmitter. This sophisticated auxpex targetting system can then be directly linked to the firing system of any battle barge orbitting the planet, enabling Bart to direct the firepower of an entire armada on whatever target he designate.

φ12-ZA Cutter

A Master-crafted Combi-weapon of Bart's own design. It features a Fyceline Torch sporting a weaponized heavy rock cutter, energized with a corona of power field which turned it into a potent power chain axe. Bart wield this as a parody of the usual Power Axe often wielded by Techmarines. Many legend abound on the peculiar naming of the weapon. Some say the name φ12-ZA is a name of a powerful monster this weapon had once cut open, albeit translated to an ancient binaric code that no one but the maker can comprehend. Whatever the truth, only one know for sure and he delight in not saying.

Gauss Devastator

The Necron Gauss weapon is a form of exotic energy weapon that destroy its target by firing a green-tinged blast of lightning-like energy that shears apart the target's atomic bonds, literally stripping their bodies apart atom by atom and molecule by molecule. One of Servo harness was dedicated to mount an experimental terran version of Necron's Gauss Destroyer. Its destructive power still fall short of the Xenos counterpart, but it still more than enough to tear apart battle tanks with ease. However, the amount of energy and radiation that coursed through the weapon can strip organic flesh from its bone, thus, Bert's present constition made him the only one who can effectively wield such a weapon.