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The Imperfect - Heresy Era Loyalist Emperor’s Children

Laborious

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Laborious Battle-Brother

Laborious

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I think that all marine heroes should be issued with - alongside their bolter, chainsword and male-pattern baldness, of course - a little child-servitor familiar that follows them about wherever they go, ready to leap into action as an impromptu footstool whenever the occasion demands they pull a heroic pose. Which should be all the time. ;) 

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Laborious Battle-Brother

Laborious

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Hahaha, I imagine the situation : " Oh, ennemies approaching, SERVITOR !!! Come here, right now, on your knees, quick quick, i need to look Badass !" ^^

 

 

:)

 

 

 

Sergeant Awesome, as he shall henceforth be know, he now has some mates!

 

http://i1274.photobucket.com/albums/y429/Laborious101/Emperors%20Children/null_zpsf56d19db.jpg

 

http://i1274.photobucket.com/albums/y429/Laborious101/Emperors%20Children/null_zpse4a8cfa3.jpg

 

http://i1274.photobucket.com/albums/y429/Laborious101/Emperors%20Children/null_zps4a1b6fb0.jpg

 

http://i1274.photobucket.com/albums/y429/Laborious101/Emperors%20Children/null_zps0fb850ff.jpg

 

*Note* Any similarities between the above model and any late 80's action-franchise hero are entirely coincidental. ;)

 

http://i1274.photobucket.com/albums/y429/Laborious101/Emperors%20Children/null_zps7e268a21.jpg

 

 

Again they're just tacked together in places for the photo, so don't worry they're not modeled clumsily dropping their guns. :o All that's left to do is use some hot water to bend some of the ammo belts into place and Johnny Rambo's fingers slightly.

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BrotherJim Veteran

BrotherJim

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WOW! just wow mate

 

really top notch work in this thread, loving the paint job, and the fluff is fantastic, if you don't already write for a living, you should.

 

my favourite so far is sergeant awesome, cant wait to hear his back story

 

I've always liked the Emperors Children and you may have just pushed me over the edge!

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GodEmperorOfMankind Venerable Brother

GodEmperorOfMankind

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Haha! Love it!

 

Can I ask why the mix of armour on a heavy support squad? Just personal preference or is there a specific reason?

 

I ask because for my army, mk4 goes to elites/fast attack in the first instance, then line troopers get a mix of some mk4 and lot of mk3 and mk2, the support squads then have almost purely mk2, as they see less of the front line and so don't have as great a need for the newer gear.

 

But that's just the way I imagine my guys getting their armour.

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Laborious Battle-Brother

Laborious

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WOW! just wow mate

really top notch work in this thread, loving the paint job, and the fluff is fantastic, if you don't already write for a living, you should.

my favourite so far is sergeant awesome, cant wait to hear his back story

I've always liked the Emperors Children and you may have just pushed me over the edge!

Why thank you, that's a very great compliment seeing as I don't but I would like too. smile.png

Haha! Love it!

Can I ask why the mix of armour on a heavy support squad? Just personal preference or is there a specific reason?

I ask because for my army, mk4 goes to elites/fast attack in the first instance, then line troopers get a mix of some mk4 and lot of mk3 and mk2, the support squads then have almost purely mk2, as they see less of the front line and so don't have as great a need for the newer gear.

But that's just the way I imagine my guys getting their armour.

Partly just for some variety within the squads, partly for fluff. Partly because I just love both types. smile.png When I got all these guys they hadn't released the legion sets, so I'm limited in leg and torso variety. That's not so much an issue now I'm comfortable taking the knife to them, but back when I started it was. smile.png I had planned to use mkiii armour for devastator squads, but some of my bits were pretty badly miscast and FW ended up very kindly replacing the entire sets affected, not just the individual parts. So I ended up with 2 sets of MKII marines and 1 MKII assault squad and 1 MKIV assault squad, which was nice. Has left me a little heavy with MKII bits. Fluff wise, as these guys are the ones who were betrayed on Istvaan, I figure they'd have been quietly neglected when it came to choosing who would get the newest kit. smile.png

Been really busy today so I haven't done any modelling really, but Rambo's pose was irritating me so I twisted his torso back round to a more natural angle. Think he looks better but now I'm not sure if his left arm is too far forward?

http://i1274.photobucket.com/albums/y429/Laborious101/Emperors%20Children/null_zps0fb850ff.jpg

BEFORE

http://i1274.photobucket.com/albums/y429/Laborious101/Emperors%20Children/null_zpsd1283a14.jpg

AFTER

Thoughts?

Also took a group shot for the ETL of everything together, here it is.

http://i1274.photobucket.com/albums/y429/Laborious101/Emperors%20Children/P1000294_zpsd994dcd6.jpg

Think they look quite pretty. smile.png

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Telencephalon Battle-Brother

Telencephalon

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Once again, the fluff around your dreadnought gave me goosebumps. I absolutely love it! I have to second what jimmy101 wrote, you should really consider going into writing as a career! Your first novel could be a collection of stories about betrayed loyalists among the traitor legions! I'd purchase it right away! :)

 

Also, the army shot looks brilliant! A very original and dynamic army, I'd love to meet those guys on the battlefield.

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Excessus Venerable Brother

Excessus

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Nice colours/models/fluff!

 

Just like the rest of your men, Rambo looks quite good! But if I may have a suggestion, try and get a hold of a Grey Knight hand for him.

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Laborious Battle-Brother

Laborious

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Yeah they look really nice, something to be proud of for sure!

the characters really come to life in the group shot

Cheers guys. smile.png

Once again, the fluff around your dreadnought gave me goosebumps. I absolutely love it! I have to second what jimmy101 wrote, you should really consider going into writing as a career! Your first novel could be a collection of stories about betrayed loyalists among the traitor legions! I'd purchase it right away!

Also, the army shot looks brilliant! A very original and dynamic army, I'd love to meet those guys on the battlefield.

So pleased you enjoyed it, mate; it ended up being a much longer piece than I had intended (think it clocked in at just under 3000 words ohmy.png) so thank you ever so much for persevering. smile.png Hehe, well if Black Library offered I'd happily accept the commission. If I suggest it to them, can I put you down as a reference? With one guaranteed sale they surely could not refuse me! msn-wink.gif

Keep going mate, loving this thread.

Cheers, Dog. Was so pleased to see the start of your new project last week, can't wait for more. smile.png

think I preferred the before shot on rambo. Maybe try moving only slightly back from that pose?

Thanks for the reasoning behind the styles, makes perfect sense, I just wondered

I've kind of settled somewhere in between for the moment, mate. Bit more of a twist than the second pose, but not as extreme as the first. Picture below for your appraisal. smile.png

Nice colours/models/fluff!

Just like the rest of your men, Rambo looks quite good! But if I may have a suggestion, try and get a hold of a Grey Knight hand for him.

Yeah, thanks for calling me up on that. Hand was a bit rough and I was almost too lazy to fix it, but your extremely welcome criticism has spurred me to change it. smile.png It's not a grey Knight hand, but rather the open hand from the terminator Librarian. Didn't think it would work on a power armoured-model, but the proportions are actually pretty damn good which surprised me. Think it looks much better now with that hand, so thanks.

http://i1274.photobucket.com/albums/y429/Laborious101/Emperors%20Children/null_zpsdd8d42fc.jpg

Been a bit of a crappy week here, and every time I've picked up a brush I've kind of faffed around for half an hour or so before giving up so I've not made as much progress as I would have liked I'm afraid. I don't really like posting up WIP's when there's not much to show but I wanted to thank you guys for all the lovely and helpful comments you took the time to leave me, so I hope you will forgive me this very blurry shot of not very much. smile.png

http://i1274.photobucket.com/albums/y429/Laborious101/Emperors%20Children/null_zps3bab0070.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...
Laborious Battle-Brother

Laborious

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Hey guys, I'm still here - promise! I finished painting "Sergeant Awesome" last weekend, but that facetious nickname he was given inspired me to come up with a back story for him that I haven't had time to finish writing up. Hopefully will find the time to sit at the keyboard for a few hours sometime this weekend and get that done. Think the painting has come out really well, so hopefully the wait will be worth it. His fluff's pretty dark as well, wanted to add a little contrast to the Imperfect and show that not all of the Children sent to Istvaan III were saints.


In the meantime, it was my birthday in the week and I was very kindly given a nice heavy box full of resin. smile.png

http://i1274.photobucket.com/albums/y429/Laborious101/Emperors%20Children/null_zpse0c037c4.jpg


I have to say the Sicaran is fantastic. Absolutely stunning kit and really well put together. Bloody heavy, as the sides are just solid hunks of resin. Really like that the tracks are moulded on, so much more sensible.

Let me know if you want any better shots of the various parts etc. Hopefully I will have a proper update for you guys in the next few days. smile.png

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Laborious Battle-Brother

Laborious

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The Nameless Warrior




The men of the Third who were sent to die on Istvaan III came from a dozen different worlds. On ancient Terra and the outer worlds of Sol were they born; from Chemos in their thousands did they hail. But one man stood apart. One man amongst them had no memory of the place of his birth, or it's people. The last of those who might have known that truth had died by his own hands.
 

***


In the earliest days of the Great Crusade, when the reunification of the colonies of Sol and Holy Terra was still fresh in the memory, the growing Imperium first came upon the Jersheti.

As the Crusader fleets swept onwards into the void, one of them encountered something extraordinary. Itself a vast armada comprising dozens of huge capital ships and hundreds of troop transports and escorts, it was nevertheless dwarfed by the sheer size of the dozen vessels arrayed before it.

No sooner had the Imperial fleet dropped out of warp than the hulking alien craft began to close with them. As they did so they started broadcasting in a multitude of languages, the same message over and over. The standard Imperial response to such a provocative gesture already had the crusader fleet firing up their weapon systems long before the broadcast cycled through a passage of broken, bastardised Gothic.   

WE ARE THE HOUSE OF AWL, OF THE JERESHTI COMBINE! YOU WILL SUBMIT TO THE YIELDING! ALL ARE PROPERTY!

Despite their obvious hostility, the xenos ships had yet to open fire when they crossed into effective range of the Imperial fleet. They, however, had no such compunctions, and as soon as their targeting systems flashed green their escorts unleashed a torrent of fire upon the strange ships. Salvo after salvo of torpedoes flashed from their tubes as lance weapons and macro cannons pulsed in the dark.

Yet still the oncoming ships held their fire.

The onlooking crews of the Imperil fleet let out a great cheer of relief as the first angry swarm of torpedoes slammed into the leading vessels. That relief quickly turned to disbelief as they emerged from the tempest apparently unscathed. Disbelief then turned to terror as the craft opened, their prows distending to form gaping maws that then proceeded to swallow vessels whole. A dozen at a time they gobbled down before snapping shut. Back peddling furiously, the Imperials tried to escape the net they had unwittingly allowed to close on them, but to no avail. Within the iron bellies of the Jereshti ships the trapped crews began to hear the ominous sounds of their hulls being peeled slowly open.

Within a matter of hours all had been consumed.
 

***


Ensconced in luxurious comfort within their command modules at the heart of the ships, the Overseers of the House of Awl nodded to each other in satisfaction when the reports began to filter in from their Slave-takers down below them. Many Strangers had been made Property; strong and healthy one and all.

It took the Overlord of the Gatherer fleet many hours to notice that a few of his vessels had not reported in for some time. Barely had his request for information from them been dispatched than the vessels in question began to break apart in great gouts of fire and gas. Out of the clouds of rapidly expanding debris sped a few dozen vessels of purple and gold; heading not away from the rest of the Jereshti vessels but towards them!

Enraged at the temerity of the interlopers, and putting the destruction of their sister ships down to their being caught unaware, the rest of the Harvesters bore down on these creatures that seemed so eager to offer themselves up to the Yielding. One by one the strange ships were swallowed; and one by one those Harvesters too fell silent.

Hours passed once again.

Then, in perfect unison, those Harvesters were also blown apart as their meals bloodily regurgitated themselves. They were joined by those freed Imperial vessels that were still spaceworthy. Together, they rushed the remaining Harvesters.

Finally realising the true peril he faced, the Jereshti Overlord ordered his ships to flee. But it was to prove a futile gesture, and a fatal one. For as much as the prows of the Harvesters were armoured to near impenetrably, their backs and bellies were soft and weak. Those ships that turned to flee were popped like rotten fruit by concentrated bursts of lance fire.

Thus ended the first recorded encounter between the Imperium of Man and the Jersheti Combine. The official records of that event merely stated the following:

 

+++ First Contact +++

+++ 821.M30 +++

+++ Location: Elzara Sector, Segmentum Solar +++

+++ Designation: Jereshti Combine (Xenos) +++

+++ Disposition: Hostile +++

+++ Response: Exxterminated +++




Which was true, to a point. Every single soul aboard the Jereshti ships, slaver or slave, had perished in the action.

All save one.
 


***


Deep in the bowels of one of the ships, well away from the spacious living quarters of the Jereshti where even now the last resistance was being crushed, two young Legionaries stood side by side, contemplating the child chained in the pen before them. He was so dirty and malnourished it was impossible to put an exact age on him, but he looked to be about twelve or thirteen. How he had survived in that hellish place, alone, defied belief. Crammed cheek by jowl with a nightmare menagerie of creatures each more grotesque than the next, the boy studiously ignored them as he stared straight back at the two men.

The two were as different in look and temperament as any two people could be, but the bond of brotherhood they shared was stronger than any forged by mere blood.

"We should take him with us, Lucius."

"Of course," said the man, who possessed a deadly grace his comrade lacked. Impatiently waving over one of the Navy troopers behind them, he instructed the nervous soldier to open the cage, "take him back with you to your ship when you leave. Have him seen to." A sniff, "I suggest you wash him first."

"No, Lucius, I meant with us."

"Why, Saul? Look at him. He's weak. Broken. Look at these other creatures. Cast-off's and cripples. These are the chattel they don't know or care what to do with."

He wasn't wrong. The Jereshti seemed to have little care for the comfort or even all but the most basic health of their livestock, but they did seem to have an appreciation for a certain sense of order. Through fifteen decks the Children had fought, up from the docking bays and into the holding areas. The slave pens stretched for miles along the spine of the great ship, deck after deck. On every floor each slave had been meticulously sorted and divided by sex and age and health. Species by species, like for like. A perfect catalogue of misery.

Not so these poor brutes. There was no order to the inhabitants of this particular cage, save that they all looked too old, or too young, or too useless. Discards. Most of them seemed to lack even a modicum of curiosity for the sudden, violent intrusion into their world. All but the boy.

"Weak? I think not. No, Lucius. Look into his eyes. Past the fear, past the despair. That is hate, brother. It has kept him alive when most others would have fallen. This child burns with it."

Leaning forward, Lucius peered intently at the boy for a few seconds, before grunting noncommittally.

"If you say so, Saul. Do ass you wish, but it's no business of mine."

Watching his friend stalk off, the other man knelt down before the child and laid an armoured-hand upon his shoulder, "Be not afraid, boy. Do you understand me?"

A nod.

"Are there any others with you?"

Hesitation, then a shake of the head.

"That grieves me, but done is done.

You have a choice to make, child. If you wish it, these men will take you back to their ship and see that you are cared for. If you cannot be returned you to your home," a pause, "or your family, I will ensure that you are well taken care.

Or you can come with me. I will not lie to you, the path I offer is a perilous one, one you in all likelihood will not survive. Even should you do so the life you live will almost certainly lead to death. But I see the anger in you, boy, the rage. If you chose the harder path, and survive, you shall be as a god, and there will be nothing that can withstand your wrath.   

They will take you safety. I will take you vengeance. You must choose."

There was no choice to make.
 

***


Over the following decades, the Great Crusade would encounter dozens of such slave fleets. Each time they were destroyed without mercy.

Finally, when the 69th Expeditionary Fleet was pushing deeply into what would one day be classified as the Segmentum Tempestus, they came upon vile Jeresh itself. The child was amongst them still; now a man grown. An Astarte.

Though his health had recovered and then burgeoned as he underwent the slow and torturous transformation into a space marine, the ordeal had left scars that refused to fully heal. In all the years since he had gained his freedom he never once recalled the name of his birth, and stubbornly refused to answer to any other but that which the Jereshti had given him. The one name they had allowed their slaves, each and every one, branded into the flesh. Awl-Sum - Property of the House of Awl.

As dropods rained from the heavens and the earth shook with the concussions of an orbital bombardment of cataclysmic scale, the last days of the Jereshti Combine had dawned.  

In mere hours the planetary defences were overwhelmed, the slave-solders hastily pressed into service by the Overlords proving no match for the fury of the Third. Within days all organized opposition had been destroyed. All that remained were the Houses themselves.

Seeing the failure of their forces, the ruling caste had abandoned their people and their Property alike and retreated into their heavily fortified palace complexes. Located high up in the mountains that bisected the planets northern continent, they barred their doors and waited for death. They would not have long to dwell.
 
Over the following weeks the Children systematically stormed each House's stronghold in turn, putting all to the sword, until only one remained.

Larger and more strongly garrisoned than any of the others, it took six days of fierce fighting to force a breach in the giant edifices wall's, but once it was made the Children swept in like the tide. Amongst them was a former slave.

Vengeance had come.
 

***


Saul, Captain Tarvitz now, found Awl crouched amidst a scene of slaughter, the last stand of the last of the House of Awl. Not a single creature, master or slave, who had born the mark of Awl yet lived now save one.

"Are you well, Awl?"

The name he had been forced to bear; the name he had claimed for himself. As unique now as any other.

He smiled.
 
 

***

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l38/RAPTOR192/Citadel%20Minatures/Emperors%20Children/P1000295_zpsb6f127b9.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l38/RAPTOR192/Citadel%20Minatures/Emperors%20Children/P1000296_zpsf59ddda3.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l38/RAPTOR192/Citadel%20Minatures/Emperors%20Children/P1000297_zps7992f552.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l38/RAPTOR192/Citadel%20Minatures/Emperors%20Children/P1000298_zpsa39dca5f.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l38/RAPTOR192/Citadel%20Minatures/Emperors%20Children/P1000299_zps5d459c8c.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l38/RAPTOR192/Citadel%20Minatures/Emperors%20Children/P1000300_zpsaee16bdc.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l38/RAPTOR192/Citadel%20Minatures/Emperors%20Children/P1000301_zps3126a3d3.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l38/RAPTOR192/Citadel%20Minatures/Emperors%20Children/P1000302_zps22729517.jpg


Sergeant Awl-Sum, XIV Company, XIX Millennial, Emperors Children.


*Note*

Sergeant Awl is equipped with heavily modified Mark II Crusade Armour. As well as having the chest plate reinforced for added protection, the legs, ankles and feet of the suit have been substantially altered to provide greater load bearing and stability. Such modifications were commonplace, in function if not in form, in the early days of the crusade as the Legion's Techmarines made adaptions to meet specific combat roles. This tinkering quite quickly led to the development and standardisation of of the Mark III for use in boarding operations and close assaults.

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Laborious Battle-Brother

Laborious

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Sergeant "Awl-Sum"/Awesome is great, and his fluff is stellar. Great job, Laborious! Looking forward to the rest of his squad biggrin.png

Hehe, glad you liked it. Hopefully the next trooper won't take me quite so long to finish. :)

Loving that mini crest, did you GS it?

The crest itself is from Anvilindustry.co.uk, but I bedded it in with greenstuff. Red = the crest, Gold = Greenstuff. :)

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Chronotonic Venerable Brother

Chronotonic

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I have overlooked this project since the beginning but now I am glad to have gone thru this...made me want to write some fluff up myself about my 96th company of night lords...

 

well done on...well everything haha

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