CLASSIFICATION: *Primary Level Intelligence*
CLEARANCE: *Vermillion*
DATE: *451.M41*
AUTHOR: *Visual Record Unit 3140*
LOCATION: -UNKNOWN-
SUBJECT: *Debriefing*
++Audio activation code accepted++
++Vid-capture initializing++
++Interrogation room 337 Alpha++
++Astartes prisoner **Barquiel Myda** - day 2++
++Record starts++
The screen flickered. Static ceasing for a fraction of a second before resuming. The crackle of noiselessness interrupting the prisoners’ meditation.
The screen went black, suddenly filled with dozens of lines of emerald text. Dates, locations, code flickering across the screen. Once again, black.
One line highlighted, a single point of information remaining on screen.
Kleytal IV Massacre.
The marines’ eyes opened, his lank hair hanging across his face in untidy plaits. A ghost of a smile played across his visage as the video started.
Clear footage came through, the landscape was inhospitable, the camera showing a barren steppe. Grasslands stretched as far as the pict-recorders could perceive. The only point of reference was a prefab landing pad, it’s boxy frame filling a far corner of the screen.
The footage changed, this time showing a mess hall. Discarded meals lay untouched, chairs and tables knocked over and unattended to. A pool of water mixing with spilled cooking oil.
Another change, this time it appeared to be some type of hangar, sub orbital attack craft strewn across the deck in various states of destruction, a small fire slowly consuming the fuselage of one, the burning fuel lighting the bay in bright blue. Though the markings and identifiers were too generic to immediately place, the tails of the craft were clearly stamped with the stylized “I” of The Ordos.
The vid-log changed again. This time, it was a sea of activity. Dozens of men and women were being corralled into a series of empty Munitorum containers, their cries and pleas for mercy muffled under the screaming klaxons of the loading dock. Their battered and broken forms freshly torn by their assailants, with several sprawled across the sheet metal floors in broken piles. Each of the defeated wore the uniform of The Imperial Guard or scientific attire, the embroidered rosette of the Holy Inquisition prevalent on the left breast of each. Their captors were more varied in their attire, but to a man were head to toe in powered ceramite, uniformly black and of brutal nature. Animal pelts, blades and chains were common across the enormous warriors, though each carried a black and red boltgun in a single hand that a grown man would struggle to lift with both, let alone fire. Their eclectic collection of armour and weaponry aside, their association was made by what they were. Astartes.
The screen flickered again, though the footage showed it was the same room, simply from a different angle. The leader of the Astartes clearly visible, his aspect matched those around him, his ebony Armor festooned with makeshift repairs and modifications. Not for the sake of appearance, but to further emphasise his capability for destruction. Across his left arm was a shield of cruel aspect, a mockery of the knightly and honourable history of his kind. The red and black heraldry marking him as more than just another warrior. His right pauldron was stylized in the visage of an ancient Terran lion, the red glare of the warning lamps making its eyes almost too real to be simple ostentation.
At his feet, was a cowering man in the white robes of a Munitorum adept, the Astartes keeping him prone with a fistful of his hair. Ignoring his captive, he continued to direct those under his command to drive the prisoners into the containers. This they did with brutal efficiency. Bolter stocks crushed stomachs and shattered ribs, fists cuffed unwilling men and women into line as they steadily filled the too-small confines of the plasteel containers.
Once the crowds of pleading chattel had been herded into their makeshift cells, the lord of the host lifted the cowering man to his eye level, the crying mortal begging for mercy, though it fell upon deaf ears.
“This is what you deserve”. The post-human’s voice heard clearly by all present, the mechanical grating of an artificial larynx echoing across the room. The room went silent at the declaration. “We came for what was ours, you were given opportunity to return what your forebears had stolen from us, you had a single chance to walk away”.
The adept whimpered, his hands gripping to the wrist of his keeper to save him the pain of scalping his feet not touching the ground.
Walking to the closest container, the prisoners forcing themselves backwards, crushing those behind with nowhere to go. He threw the adept into the huddled mass of guardsmen, scraps of hair caught between his gauntlet encased hands dropping to the ground in lazy waves. The reaver held his hand out to an attending post-human, an ancient looking combi-weapon handed over as the masses began to wail once more.
Several other marines hefted similar pieces, the plasma coils of each weapon glowing in a myriad of hues.
“I do not offer second chances”.
As the executioners opened fire, the footage stopped.
Once again, static.
Hello again all.
Thanks for the comments guys, they're much appreciated.
@Dragonlover -They're all being built in a way that they can be used as a specific unit in the CSM codex. The Tac squad will be a csm squad, the vet squads will be bulked out with extra bodies and run as fallen, devastators will be havocs etc.
@PowerHungryMonkey - Well you peer pressured me into it. SO I guess I have you to thank/blame.
@ Pearson73 - Much appreciated man, that is the exact look I was going for. I have just seen your Emperors Children. Please get an update on them, they're awesome!
@FearPeteySodes - Of course man. The helm is from the
FW DA upgrade kit, the torso is a WE
FW upgrade. The right arm id the Ravenwing Command banner arm, the lions head is from the AOS White Lions kit, mkiv combi plasma, mkiii legs, the shield is chaos warrior, with a greenstuff belt and I'm not sure about the chain-mail! Found it in the bits box and went with it.
@KrautScientist - I am chuffed at this comment, been a big fan of yours for a long time!
@AHorriblePerson - Thanks so much mate, I reckon he thinks of himself in a very similar way, but I reckon hes probably a right bastard! Steal away, please, I would love to see paint skills like yours on a mini that I inspired in any way!
But fear not friendly fans of Fallen fiends! I have actually painted something!
It is just basecoats at the moment, but I have had a minor crisis of the painting variety because of a
WIP log I saw here.
My original plan was more of a black/grey mix, with finer highlights in grey as the layers went, but then I saw the AWESOME work by Johanhgg. His Consecrators have driven me to a more silver/grey highlight, with the red accentuation in the armor, as opposed to the original black I had planned.
This put a bit of a delay on my painting efforts, as I am a really slow painter and I was getting far too ahead of myself when it came to trying to emmulate Johangg's scheme.
I plan on really dirtying up the shield and cleaning up the checkers before i start focusing on the rest of the mini.
But for now, it looks like I am out of time.
Have a good one lads, ladies, mechanical death robots and alien insect hive-minds from beyond the stars.
Kraad.
Edited by Kraad Belak, 05 February 2019 - 12:47 AM.