Games Workshop continues the story of Warhammer 40,000 and ushers in a new, major chapter in the lore. However, there must be some sacrifices – including two well-known characters from Space Marine 2. Their end is rather inglorious and leaves fans confused.
With the latest announcement, new figures for Captain Demetrian Titus and his companions have been introduced. The hero of Space Marine 2 has regained his old title and is once again allowed to lead an entire company.
However, there was some confusion among fans during the announcement, as: Captain Sevastus Acheran is actually the head of the company. And normally, a Space Marine only relinquishes his post when he dies (and is not locked in a metal sarcophagus that keeps him alive).
Many have been wondering what happened to Acheran – and to Meduras Chairon. Because colleague Gadriel has received his own mini. However, the companion Chairon did not, instead Metaurus stands at the front, the mentor of Titus.
Games Workshop has promised an explanation “later this week” and now it’s here (on Warhammer Community). The fate of the two heroes is, however… questionable.
Two great heroes die “offscreen”
The post briefly summarizes what has been happening since Space Marine 2. The end of the story already hints at a major development, but that is probably still in the future. Because for now, it’s about cleaning up.
Acheran goes together with Chairon and a few other Space Marines to Trygg, a Macropol world (or “Hive”) with billions of people, which serves as an important stronghold for the Imperium and protects the system against attacking Tyranids.
On the planet, Acheran and his squad eventually find out that the world has been taken over by a Genestealer cult – meaning a Tyranid invasion is imminent.
The squad finds themselves overwhelmed and Acheran decides to seal off the entire Hive and trap the Genestealers with himself and his men. The result is summed up in a single sentence:
“When imperial reinforcements arrived to eliminate the remnants of the cult, they discovered that Acheran, Chairon, and the rest of their brothers had sold their lives to mow down unspeakable numbers of Xenos hybrids.”
“The Genestealer cult has achieved what everyone thought impossible…”
The decision not to dedicate a story to the deaths of two such important characters has not been received well in the community. Instead of a real outcry, there’s more bewilderment and countless memes.
Thus, the Tyranids are now attributed with a secret superpower, the “Offscreen Haki” – a reference to One Piece, where Blackbeard experiences his biggest moments without them ever being seen:
Many attribute the death of these two Space Marines to the Tyranids – even though they probably lost hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions or billions of individuals to eliminate a handful of Space Marines.
This only shows how much Astartes are actually mystified: “The Genestealer cult has achieved what everyone thought impossible. They killed two named Ultramarines without helmets.” (Pentamachina3 on Reddit)
However, Acheran and Chairon are not normal
Space Marines, but rather the new and significantly stronger Primaris variant.
A sacrifice for the greater good?
Even though the fate of Acheran and Chairon may not seem particularly glorious, its outcome is extremely important for the story of Warhammer 40,000. Because Titus as captain has a special mission: to reunite the 500 Worlds of Ultramar.
Ultramar is the system under the control of the Ultramarines and is like a small empire itself. Tasked by Primarch Roboute Guilliman himself, Titus must now, with the 2nd Company, free the system from foreign influences and bring it back under imperial flag.
Guilliman himself is the current head of the Imperium as the representative of the Emperor himself. Thus, the order comes not just from the top, but from very very top. The “500 Worlds” campaign is the next step in the story and comes directly with its own campaign battles – and new miniatures – for the tabletop.
The fact that Titus was chosen for this mission is no coincidence. Apart from his obvious fame through the games, he has also proven his ability in the lore and that is everything that matters for Space Marines: User asks why the heroes of the Space Marines in Warhammer 40,000 are not allowed to retire – veterans explain
