Legio XXVIII

The Illuminators

Colors: white, black, and red

Banner: A crowned eagle’s head

“Into Hell, by Imperial Grace”:
A contemporary Legion formed by the esteemed Legate Aquila Clarus Aquila some decades prior to the Synth wars, The Illuminators specialize in mass assault and mobile warfare, relying on faith and zealous loyalty to Aquila and the Throne to overcome obstacles.

The 28th Legion was originally founded in the traditional style, followed by a huge celebration in their honour, on Diomikato. Their glory was short lived however, as immediately following this they were assigned to the ill-fated ‘Operation Lucious’.

Operation Lucious:
The operation was a tactical misadventure from the beginning, with the majority of the Legion's forces caught in heavy fog and unable to contact the higher command still in orbit. By the time Clarus and his senior command became fully aware of the miscalculations a large amount of the Legion’s forces were trapped and pinned down by a combination of heavy artillery, small arms fire and disadvantageous terrain. To make matters worse, the fog cover and interference made co-ordination on any level higher than Centurie difficult.

Clarus would eventually find a secondary landing zone and deploy the remainder of the Legion, including most of its armoured assets, in an attempt to relive the trapped legionnaires. This manoeuvre was successful; however, the trapped forces had been under fire for multiple hours before their relief and despite fighting bravely had suffered severe losses in all branches and at all ranks. The attack that followed earned the legion its name, The Illuminators, as it is said that the fog cleared in front of their advance, revealing the enemy positions which were promptly overrun and destroyed.

Rebuilding the Legion:
Following this initial failure Clarus rebuilt the legion in a new light. Focussing on heavy firepower and assault doctrine, the legion was restructured to focus on mobile and close quarters warfare. Soon, under Clarus’ supervision, the Legion garnered much respect as faithful and loyal soldiers of Aquila renowned for pressing the attack even in the direst of circumstances. Despite this, the Legion continued to suffer disproportionately heavy losses and often became cut-off from allied forces only escaping by sheer ferocity of arms.

reorganization:
In adaptation of the legion for close combat roles, it was the Lorica groups which would see the most change. From this point forward, the legion would make heavier use of Lorica Armis to spearhead mass attacks and provide close support. Lorica Fortis in the legion would be mostly of an assault variety, armed with heavy anti-armour and anti-personnel armaments, used to support attacks and punch holes in enemy fortifications which could then be exploited by the Lorica Armis and the infantry. At its founding, the legion was not entrusted with any of the rare Lorica Invicta and, due to their record of losses, they have not been entrusted with any since. As such the legion makes use of less traditional assault ground vehicles armed with high-calibre cannons for anti-personnel close support.

The legion makes very little use of snipers and scouting infantry, relying mostly on reconnaissance information provided by other legions or orbital scans. This is because the assault doctrine used by the legion often sees the legion advancing far beyond the reconnaissance provided by scouts who must advance slowly to avoid engagement. Many imperial tacticians have identified this as being one of the main reason that the 28th legion so often finds itself trapped and encircled.

Partially by design, and Partially as a result of repeatedly high losses, the legion often relies on a smaller core of veteran soldiers whose faith and courage are tried and true.

The Synth Wars:
At the beginning of the synth wars, the legion was in transit to Diomikato to receive recruits. Upon being informed of the situation panic spread through much of the legion’s command resulting in a series of skirmishes on-board the transport ships. Luckily Clarus’ mistrust of Synths meant the legion possessed relatively few, however fighting was fierce and sudden. One ship was lost as a result of these struggles and Legate Aquila Clarus Aquila was found murdered in his quarters soon after the fighting finished.

It was at this point that recently promoted Tribune Aquila Lyons Oppius was selected as the new Legate. After receiving the recruits on Diomikato, the legion joined the imperial effort against House Cygnus and their Synth forces using the name of the former Legate as a rallying cry.

Proxima Reach:
Throughout the wars with the Synths, the legion continued to suffer heavy losses. The fiercest fighting was experienced at Proxima Reach where the forces of the 28th, in one of their relentless advances, once again became separated from allied forces. Although casualties were high, the Legion was successful in causing major disruption behind the Cygnus lines, forcing many of their heavy assets away from the front.

Post war:
By the end of the wars, having suffered heavy losses at every turn, the 28th Legion was barely hanging on. The legion had continued fighting mostly because of zealous hatred for Synths following the murder of their founding Legate, however with the war ended, their situation was dire. In the time since the legion has made a steady resurgence, re-gaining numbers at a slow pace, however they are far from full strength and as such are largely restricted to limited action within Imperial borders.