Name: Bethuel Cortexus
Age: He gives his age as 204, though with the reputation of the Alpha Legion, who knows if this is the truth
Legion: Alpha Legion
Planet of Origin: He states his home planet as Terra, though the Alpha Legion is known to draw from a near-uncountable amount of worlds, so this could prove false.
Physical Description:The sons of Alpharius Omegon are rumored to share a vast similarity to that of their Primarch, and anyone who has seen both the Primarch of the Alpha Legion, and met Bethuel, would believe that as true. Bethuel is most notably bald, with his eye sockets rather deep on his face. He has a scar running down the right side of his face, starting just above the eye. He stands a fair bit taller than other marines, and would be roughly the same height as Alpharius, were they standing side by side, though Alpharius *is* the shortest of the Primarchs.
Bethuel wears a cobbled-together suit of armor, designed to pull from the most lightweight pieces of marks II through IV, to give him armor that still acts as power armor, while being suitably light and mobile for his operations. His armor bears no markings to indicate his former legion, and any investigation into his armor will likely show that none of it appears to be from his original legion-given suit. He routinely recolors his armor to fit the environments the next engagement is set to take place in, never leaving it to take one appearance for too long.
Skillset:Clandestine tactics are the known mainstay of the Alpha Legion, ranging from infiltration and sabotage, to guerrilla warfare and rapid-pace assaults. Bethuel was a member of one of the latter unit types, designed to fight in prolonged conflicts, using hit-and-run tactics, traps, disguises, weapon caches, tunnels, and other such methods of indirect warfare. Bethuel's specialities are in ambush tactics, designed to strike enemy troops as they move through roads, canyons, forests, and other open positions. He also received additional training, following his ascension to a full Astartes, in the arts and methods used by Scout Marines, such as sniping and reconnaissance.
A flaw in Bethuel's fighting style, that becomes apparent if one decides to study him, is that he seems to fight as though he were a missing part of a larger unit. His movement, stances, and directions of fire all indicate that he's watching out for squadmates that simply aren't there. This can negatively impact his performance when on the field of battle alongside other Astartes, so one would do well to ensure a respectable distance between him and themselves.
History:Hailing from the Alpha Legion, Bethuel experienced Astartes training in a manner few others can claim to know. The Alpha Legion specifically trains their Astartes to work as a combined unit at all times, rather than the more independence-focused training that had become the standard for the Great Crusade legions. Bethuel and his squad were trained to act as a complete fighting force, designed to fight in prolonged guerrilla conflicts, setting up traps, utilizing captured or makeshift weapons, and lasting on little open supply drops. Bethuel in particular was the squad's designated marksman, trained to operate an Astartes Sniper Rifle, as well as act in a marksman role with more unconventional weaponry, such as bolters, lascannons, and even the ancient Volkite weaponry used by the Astartes before and at the start of the Great Crusade.
When he and his squad were inducted into the legion as full-fledged Astartes, they engaged upon missions that to this day he insists must remain classified and under secrecy. What he has divulged tell of instigated uprisings on worlds in the path of the Great Crusade, assassinations of anti-Imperial figures, and other operations that greatly contrast with the expected open warfare of an Astartes involved in the wars of the Great Crusade.
Bethuel began to suspect the hostile intent of his legion and Primarch long before Horus's betrayal. Rumors of weapons designed to pierce Astartes armor, infiltration of other legions, and even plots to assassinate the other Primarchs all fell upon Bethuel's ears, and he was horrified that such words had even been conceived within the brain of one of the Emperor's Chosen. This all came to a head when the Alpha Legion received word of Horus's actions at Istvaan, and prepared for engagement there. Bethuel found that the Bolter rounds being issued for the conflict were the ones rumored to exist for the express purpose of piercing the armor worn by the Astartes themselves.
This solidified Bethuel's perception of his legion's intent once they arrived at Istvaan, and he knew he had to take action, do something to ensure that someone from his legion remained loyal to the Imperium and the Emperor. So Bethuel decided that he would submit his squad to act as an advance force,
arriving at the Istvaan system early, to "gauge the forces and strength of the enemy". Once they had touched down at Istvaan III, Bethuel did something he regrets to this day. Unable to convince his squad that the betrayal of Horus and their own legion was wrong, he was forced to slay them himself, using the now-infamous rounds given to him by his legion to pierce their armor, and giving them as respectable a burial as he could muster on the planet.
When the initial loyalist forces arrived, Bethuel attempted to make contact before the battle began, but he was not fast enough. Instead, he took to the field of war with his skills as a marksman, taking out traitorous officers and key personnel in the tactics of the traitor legions. Fighting until the battle was over, Bethuel managed to escape aboard a loyalist Imperial Army transport, after striking his legion's iconography, and telling them a somewhat-altered version of his own story.
They took him aboard the vessel, and he eventually found himself aboard a Rogue Trader's own ship, alongside other Astartes with similar stories. The Trader says he is taking them to a world where they can be helped in their plight, though Bethuel sees this claim as dubious at best.
Psychological Profile:Bethuel is a quiet individual, a trait anyone who has interacted with another member of the Alpha Legion can recognize well. He rarely speaks of his actions during the Great Crusade, and what he does tell is not pretty. When he does speak, he seems to do so in longing, as though he misses some part of the days before the Heresy, and if one can sneak up on him when alone, they will find him looking to an object in his hand, greeting people who aren't there, speaking names of nonexistent friends, and telling them stories of his recent endeavors. Though Bethuel has found fellow Astartes with similar tragic stories, he chooses not to become much more than an acquaintance and ally, rarely discussing much beyond the next plan, as though he wishes to avoid forming a close relationship with others.
Equipment:- Modified Lightweight Astartes Power Armor
- Astartes-style Sniper Rifle
- A soon-to-be-called 'Heresy' bolter, cobbled together from various previously-existing patterns of Bolter Rifles. It most directly resembles the future designs of the Bolt Carbine, sacrificing ammo capacity and rapid-fire capabilities for a more lightweight and ergonomic design.
- Combat Knife, designed to be wielded in many different grips and stances, and easy to conceal within power armor or Astartes-size clothing.
Notes:He carries an Imperial aquila pendant, with the names of four people engraved into it: Zahariel, Ishmael, Moradius and Domindus. He does not speak of these names to anyone, and he denies the existence of this pendant, or any past relations with people of those names.
