| abstract | - During the Gallows Heresy of 205.M39 it was the Archangels Terminator Assault Squad Rathaen that destroyed the Vorterrofex Beacon. Fighting their way through the ranks of the Lunarian Madmen and their throngs of Tzeentchian daemons they breached the inner sanctums of the Impossible Temple. In the midst of the frost currents of the world of Xerko XXI, it was the arrival of the Archangels' Vanguard Veterans that turned the tide of battle against the Ork pirates of Warboss Grimskar. Jumping from the planet's halo-zone, the Archangels plummeted down through five miles of raging ion-winds and furious Ork anti-aircraft fire, protected only by their Power Armour. Even so, many survived to land atop Grimskar's rust-ship and cut their way in, hacking down the Warboss and his hundred-strong bodyguard of Nobz. In 872.M40, it was Archangels Terminators that finally broke the Siege of Tullok. For fifty standard years the Renegade Planetary Governor Urlos Grador had defied the Imperium from behind the fractal energy shields of his grand palace, the shifting force walls seemingly impervious to attack. Finally, the Callidus Assassin U'var managed to infiltrate Tullok's sub-strata Generatorium and interrupt power to the shields for a few short seconds. In this briefest moment, a single squad of Archangels Terminators teleported into Grador's palace and brought the siege to an end in just a single solar hour of brutal Imperial vengeance. Great deeds like these have defined the Archangels for thousands of standard years, their Battle-Brothers proving the Blood Angels' mastery over their foe time and again. As the 41st Millennium comes to a close, the annals of the Archangels fill with accounts of some of the most desperate battles in Imperial history. The Second War for Armageddon, the Tyranid Wars and the Black Crusades have all seen the Archangels push back the enemies of mankind. However, it is rare for the Archangels ever to gather in numbers beyond a single squad of Terminators or Veterans, such is the precious resource they represent to the Chapter. Commander Dante may send a handful of Archangels to support a strike force drawn from the Chapter's other companies, the Archangels forming a core of Veterans either leading the army's vanguard or forming the solid centre of its defence. As has been proven many times, even a small group of Archangels is enough to make a difference. Far rarer are the times when the Blood Angels gather the Archangels into a fully-fledged demi-company. Rather than a few select Veterans, fifty battle-hardened warriors stand ready to enact the will of the Emperor and the orders of their Chapter Master. Only a handful of times in the last thousand standard years has Dante ordered the Archangels to gather in great numbers, often as part of an Avenging Host or specialist strike force. This is almost always for a vital mission, where time is of the essence and failure unthinkable. In 434.M37, when the Arch-Heretic Magos Solor returned to the Imperium, it was the Archangels who were tasked with the destruction of his Icarion Explorator Fleet. Such was the Imperium's judgement for Solor's heresy of enlightenment that the Blood Angels 1st Company were ordered to leave none alive. After a brutal teleport assault they sent the Magos' void-ships tumbling into a nearby star, destroying them utterly. The fall of Leryer V in 112.M40 saw another great gathering of the 1st Company when an Archangel demi-company retook and held the Oath Spires against a massive Ork army. For thirty solar days the Archangels protected the sacred towers. As they fought they drew inspiration from its graven walls and the sacred words of the Emperor inscribed there. The most recent gathering of the Archangels has been to defend the Shield Worlds of the Cryptus System from the advance of Hive Fleet Leviathan. Fought in close proximity to Baal, the war would have long-lasting repercussions for the Blood Angels' Chapter Planet. Because of its vital importance, the protection of Baal could not be trusted to others alone. Under the command of First Captain Karlaen, the Archangels would experience some of the toughest and most bitter fighting they had ever known against the forces of the Hive Mind in the ruined cityscapes of Phodia. However, as they had so many times before, the Archangels steeled themselves with their faith in their Chapter Master and their unshakeable loyalty to the Emperor.
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