Arrakia: Outpost Judo

++Outpost Judo++
Seventy-six Kilometers from Leytan City. Roughly three years after the capture of the city, It remains engulfed in the warp spawned sandstorm. The command elements in the city have only scattered reports from garrisons outside the storm-wall. All forces are operating with only local command elements and support. 

++Fifth Platoon, eighth company, XII Regiment++
-Lieutenant Parker, four squads of ten men. 
-Support element of six Chimeras, four heavy bolter teams


It was another day of standing guard under the unforgiving suns of Arrakia. Private Fox stood upon the walls of Outpost Judo staring out into the endless sea of sand that surrounded the isolated post. The only thing he had to look forward to was the occasional pot-shots taken from Chaos cultists that were encamped a few kilometers out. Their 'raids' had been few and far between as of late, and Fifth Platoon showed signs of lowering morale as their boredom took hold. The Lieutenant attempt to curb this with daily physical training and drills, but the heat of the sun proved to be a strong deterrent even to the officer corps. Lack of communication, mail, supplies, and fresh equipment proved to be an issue as well, with some men openly beginning to modify their kit to accommodate the environment. While this practice was frowned upon by quartermasters, the regimental commander had authorized it directly for men who had been planetside for more than a year. Fox leaned against the bulwark of the permacrete wall, lighting a lho stick and staring down at the sand below, thinking about home and the hellish world he was on now.
A thunderous explosion rattled his teeth as a large chunk of the wall a ways down from his was reduced to rubble. The shock sent him hurtling across the ramparts and face first into the steel walkway. He removed his helmet and squinted into the desert. To his surprise, several plumes of exhaust and sand were being kicked up by rapidly advancing rhinos.
"Contact Eastern Wall! It's the Marines, all hands on deck!"
Alarms rang loudly as men rushed up the wall and into the rubble caused by the breach. The men waited in silence as the rhino's advanced. Lieutenant Parker quickly rushed up to Fox's position. "Status Private?" he inquired calmly
"Six Rhinos sir. Rapidly advancing" Fox replied with some hesitation.
Parker scoffed. "It's just like before, they'll stop about sixty meters out, fire on our position and realize they can't break through, then pull back." he turned to face his men. "Steady yourselves, we've all done this before. Keep discipline and fire once they disembark the vehicles."

The Rhinos roared forward at a breakneck speed not slowing nor stopping. The clouds of sand being kicked up behind them serving as a natural smoke screen only barely keeping up with the vehicles that caused them. Fox's eyes widened as he saw the insignia on the front of the lead Rhino.

"Uh.. Sir."
"Yes Private?"
He choked on his words. "Those.. Those are World Eaters."
Parker panicked as he saw the devouring fangs engulfing an ancient Terran like planet. "By the Emperor.."

With a great roar a Corrupted Land Raider tore through the cloud of sand and smoke toward the Outpost, quickly outpacing the Rhinos and smashing into the breach made by earlier artillery fire. The red and Brass of the tainted vehicle gleaming in the sunlight, Desecrated corpses and skulls littered the behemoth of a tank. Quickly, it's forward ramps dropped. There was a briefest moment of silence before the roar of a dozen chain axes filled the air. A single battle cry was the last thing the defenders of Judo heard.

"BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!"

Luther's Finest: Behold the Thunder Dragons! *Fixed*

Finally, after a long period of delaying and procrastinating, I have completed 3/4ths of my Space Marines: The Thunder Dragons. In Total, I have roughly 80 Marines. I only have about 50 painted, and only 35 are present in the picture to the right.
I have names and ranks for them, I will fill out the list complete wit pictures when I finish my remaining Astartes.

Command Squad 'Praetorians'
Lord Hector Apophys
Honoured Brother Gabriel
Honoured Brother Jeremiel
Honoured Brother Michael
Honoured Brother Rafael

II Tactical Squad 'Lupus'
Brother Sergeant Dante
Brother Sirus
Brother Homer
Brother Desolae
Brother Klaus
Brother Yule 
Brother Enri  
Brother Maximillius  
Brother Yongir
Brother Augustus

III Devastator Squad 'Hades'              
Brother Sergeant Virgil           
 Brother Machiavelli                  
Brother Marx                              
Brother Ingles                                
Brother Ester                                      
Brother Vex                                       
Brother Jevai
Brother Karl                                        
Brother Hongirr                                

IV Tactical Squad 'Jericho'
Brother Sergeant Bismark
Brother Dale
Brother Uriel
Brother Lucifer
Brother David
Brother Mica
Brother Jevai
Brother Sammuel
Brother Gablia
Brother Delphos

Venerable Brother Solomon                                          
(Entombed M.36)    
                       
Predator Tank
(Cazador)       
                                
Land Speeder
(Esper)




The Fluff: Long ago in M.31 when the Lion ordered the Destruction of Caliban, A select few of Luther's followers were ordered to leave the planet and spread to the farthest reaches of Imperial Space to bring unite the true followers of the Emperor to be witness to the traitorous actions of the First Legion. Their Leader, Hector Apophys, acted as a shepherd to the lost flock that was now called "The Fallen", uniting them into a singular force that quickly vanished into the unknowns of space. It wasn't until M.38 in Abbadon's Ninth Black Crusade that an unknown Astartes Chapter was seen fighting alongside Imperial forces on Corillia against the traitor marines. These Astartes wore blood red power armour with white trim, white streaks in a warpaint fashion, and deep sea blue eye visors. In the field of battle these Astartes were fearless in their assaults on Abbadon's forces, often going to suicidal lengths to destroy their enemy. The only battle cries they cried were for a man named "Luther."
At the end of the crusade when Corillia was finally relieved by the Ultramarines, the Astartes vanished from the planet without a single trace of their being there.
In various conflicts following the Ninth Crusade, these same Red Warriors would appear and smite the enemies of the Imperium. It wasn't until M.40, when questioned by an Astartes from the Black Templars about their Origin that the a Red Warrior finally spoke to an outsider. "Who are you, Brother?" The Templar was said to ask.
To which the Thunder Dragon replied: "I am a Thunder Dragon, and I fight in the name of Truth and Revelation."
The Templar was confused. "Thunder Dragon? Who do you follow?"
The Thunder Dragon stood tall. "I serve the Emperor, and follow my Lord Hector."





 These are the two pictures I have. To the right is a picture of my 'Hades' squad. The front four marines are 2nd or 3rd edition marines courtesy of Colonel Scipio. The picture is a bit bright due to the flash, but you can just make out the detail on them. Each one has a purity seal on the right pauldron to help distinguish them from the rest of the squad.

My Chapter Master is equipped Artificer armour along with a Thunder Hammer. I wanted him to look more unique, so I used Grey Knight bits along with a Commander kit to formulate a special appearance. I trimmed him with gold and silver, and added a great many purity seals and other small trinkets that I feel really bring out the model. The banner to his left I hand painted, attempting to make a Watcher in the Dark holding a sword. Considering the freehand, I feel it turned out nicely. The man to his right is my Chapter Champion. I used a Deathwing shield and a Grey Knight sword to give the appearance of an old 14th Century knight. The two guys behind the Shield-Bearer and the Standard carrier are just holding Halbards, not finished painting at the time of this picture.


Anyway guys, hope you enjoyed the pictures and the fluff. Any questions, comments, or recommendations just leave a comment and I'll get back to you. Stay frosty out there!

Battle of Charger Pass Pt. 1

Planet: Arrakia
Location: 170 km northeast of Leton City; 15 km away from Dusse Port

A week after Leton City fell to a surprise attack of Black Legion and ork auxiliaries, the last vestige of still-loyal citizens was decimated.  The PDF on the planet were still reeling, and unable to effectively coordinate a counter-attack.  This opportunity was seized by the ork forces who fractured into individual warbands.  They started reeking havoc across the main habitat region between the Sawtooth Mountains out west and the east coast of the Wave Dune Ocean.
By the time an encircling army was finally able to contain the enemy to the capitol, the orks had spread beyond the local area.  The most immediate ork concerns for the defenders was a massive horde of greenskins headed north to where the Field Marshall's last known position.  The Thunder Dragons send a force up north to lead the regional PDF in intercepting them.
They risked the only five Predators their chapter still had to eliminate the main ork assault estimated to contain close to 300 tanks.  Captain Kaga of the 4th Company decided the best course of action was to set an ambush at Charger Pass along the stretch of Leto Highway.

The dust plumes rose high above the stretches of the Red Mane Plains.  Through the rangefinders, the Thunder Dragons' three Predator tanks (Prophet of Truth, Prophet of Mercy, and Prophet of Regret) spotted the bikers ahead of the battlegroup.  "Regret, begin the attack," the commander of Truth stated.
Regret was the only Annihilator-pattern tank the chapter possessed armed with sponson-mounted lascannons.  It roared towards the highway the orks were using.  Constant adjustments to their targeters ensured that they were ready to fire as the tank slid to a stop over a kilometer away from the road.
As soon as the bikes were within range, autocannons opened fire followed by a salvo of energy bolts.  Three of the four shots hit true; the bikers raced off the pavement in pursuit.  Regret moved back while the guns continued to blast away; more bikes exploding along the way.
Now in range, the other two fired their autocannons.  When the orks got close enough, the heavy bolters started shooting as well.  Regret passed the others and turned around.  Its guns swivelled around to continue their barrage.  Mercy and Truth proceeded to follow whilst keeping the autocannons trained on the bikers.  Unfortunately for Mercy, orks caught up with it and started pounding the treads and sides of the tank.  One nob armed with a power klaw snapped the support for one of the heavy bolter sponsons.  It was quickly forgotten in the chase.
Back at the highway, smoke screen provided by the bikes dissipated.  A massive armoured column of ork tanks rolled out of the dust cloud.  They barrelled on ahead even as the road became a valley in a dense region of hills.  An explosion on the underside of the lead tank took them by surprise.  Shots boomed from the surrounding hillsides and plumes of flame and dirt leapt up all around them.
Cries of WAAAAGH!!! were drowned out by the volley by explosions in their midst.  The orks started wildly firing their guns every-which-way they could.  Thus, the first major armoured battle of the Arrakian Campaign began.

Short Story, 2nd Company Deployment

(The following takes place between the first and second battle of Arrakia)
Segmentum Tempestus 997.M41

Fetian System, Planet Maracha




　

It was another quiet morning at the Vatarian XII's Field Command headquarters in the southern hemisphere of Maracha. Lord-General Von Sica sat in his command tent patiently awaiting the arrival of the Legion's six company commanders. He heard footsteps outside his tent as Knight Commander Zaros entered swiftly and snapped to attention. "Sir, Reporting as ordered." Von Sica motioned him to sit in a chair next to him. "Come now Zaros, no need for the formalities of rank today." The knight commander hesitated for a moment then sat down. "The other company commanders should be along shortly." Zaros took a breath before he spoke. "Sir, the other commanders are unavailable. As you only made planetfall yesterday, it seemed fitting to fill you in today after a night's rest." The General seemed to go still for a moment before uttering a simple "Continue." "Well sir, My own first Company is tied up retaking the Pass to the north. companies four, five, and six are in the hive of Del-Onigrav trying to secure a space port to bring down heavier firepower. Company three is trying to clear an Oasis due west of here from an ork Infestation. Early reports are saying it's like a miniature death world there." "What about second Company?" Zaros showed a small hint of uneasiness across his face. "Well sir, They are here but they just came off the line a few days ago. They were the spearhead for the invasion. Pretty badly beaten up and quite.. Irregular." "Irregular, Zaros?" He nodded. "Yes sir. Since making planetfall they have made alterations to their uniform, Began to carry non-issue equipment, Have become less engaged in the formalities of rank, an-" The general raised a hand to cut him off. "They have adapted to the war that is being fought here, Zaros. You may not understand having come from an Academy, But when a unit fights a war as vicious as the one here it begins to adapt in order to survive. Think Zaros. Between the unholy heat, the ork raids at day, chaos incursions at night, and daily shellings, They must do what they deem necessary to survive. Give me the company records." "Yes sir." Zaros handed him a datapad with the Legion Information on it.
Vatarian Armed Forces, 8th Battlegroup

XII Legion, 2nd Company 'Backbreakers'

Current Deployment: Marachan Crusade

Previous Actions: Damocles Gulf Crusade, Kieldar Rebellion, Daratar Offensive, Siege of Grotzka

Decorations: Honour Company (x8), Occupation Medallion (x2), Assault Commendation (x8), Multiple Unit Citations

Commanding Officer: Major Aelgafar Carpenter
"Zaros, what do you know about Major Carpenter." Zaros scratched his chin. "Only what I know sir. Former Royal Marine. Taught at the Airborne Academy after that. Over three dozen decorations, No record of ever having lost a position, No record of ever having a man being declared MIA either. Met him once. He's a bit.. off." The general nodded. "To be expected. I believe i've made my choice." "Choice, sir?" "As of 0047 this morning, the planet of Arrakia has come under major threat from the Forces of Chaos. The capital has been overrun, and the PDF, along with Astartes and Localized Regiments are fighting a guerilla war in the countryside. They have called for any and all available reinforcements. I intend to Oblige them." Zaros looked shocked. "Sir!? We are barely holding the line here, and you intend to send a company, An entire company off planet?! The VII Legion is already being beaten back by the heretics on this planet and you intend to weaken our forces even more?" General Von Sica stood and spoke loudly. "Do not think because I do away with formalities that you may disrespect me so! If Arrakia falls, as does our supply line! And if that falls there is no point in continuing this lovely little war of ours! If we can assist in defending Arrakia, they will be more than obliged to send us reinforcements and the aid we so desperately need." Zaros began to speak but the General cut him off. "I do not need to hear any more of your comments. Inform Carpenter he is to pull his men back to the Naval Lifters at once. They are off planet by sunset. Dismissed."

War of Arrakia pt.2

      After the defeat at the capital city, Leton, Imperial forces were routed. The Imperial Guard company had lost itself a nearby desert due to negligence of the command staff. Nearly fifty miles away, the Space Marines were securing an already war-torn town. This puzzled the Astartes since the war had not yet reached this part of the planet.
      The Chapter Master of the Thunder Dragons, Varlen, and his newly fitted Terminator Armour was discussing possible options with Captain Lysander of the Imperial Fists. Lysander had come to this planet to try and bring back loyalty to the populace. When the chaos marines attacked, he had taken up arms with the band of  "Renegade" marines to act as their leader. Unable to agree on the best course of action, a new and experimental land speeder, the Fremen-pattern,  was sent into the centre of the battle-scarred town. Not long after it vanished over a line of buildings did gauss fire erupt from all directions. An explosion was heard and the last transmission was simple. "Unable to maintain altitude. Necron presence confirmed. Crash Landing imminent." With those three simple sentences, the battle for the town of Melange had begun.

 

 

Land Speeder Fremen crash site

 

      The advanced units of the Thunder Dragons crept up the streets without saying a word. All units stopped at the hand signal of the Lead marine. First and Second squad took up defensive positions along the side alleyways and waited patiently. A single voice broke through the silence. "Hostile Astartes spotted. Rhino approaching. Not responding to Communications." The Steel Nightmare Chapter had arrived and was in a battle formation. 

First and Second squad advancing by the numbers

      The Thunder Dragons advanced rapidly into combat positions. Assault Marines soared over the battlefield and landed behind the approaching Steel Nightmare Rhinos. A krak grenade was thrown at the Rhino to no effect. The lead scout summoned Chapter Master Varlen on the vox with an idea. Fire into the side of the Rhino and try to rend through the armour. It was a gambit. And it Worked.

Forward Scouts Spot the Oncoming Rhinos

The scouts' fire destroy the Rhino, Embarked unit evacuates

 

      The Marines from the Steel Nightmares were cut down without mercy. A librarian from the Nightmare's appeared not long after the destruction of the Rhino. As he began to summon a Vortex of  Doom, the perils of the Warp overtook him. He was torn limb from limb by the powers of the dark gods. The ground shook violently beneath the approaching Space Marine advance force.

The advance was going smoothly

 

All hell broke loose as the Necrons sprung up from the ground

 

      The ground roared as a Necron Monolith teleported onto the battlefield, bringing with it the death and destruction of Immortals and Warriors. Leading the Necron onslaught was Anrakyr the Traveler. He had come to Arrakia on the eve of the chaos invasion to reactivate a small tomb world that had laid buried far below the surface. Flying over the main force were a brutal-looking squad of Necron destroyers. Lysander ordered one of his renegade predators to open fire. At first, the autocannon only chipped away at the rugged chassis of the destroyers. But then, one by one, the destroyers crashed and burned from as the autocannon began to rip them apart. The victory was a small one, because soon after, the Monolith opened fire. The Renegade's Librarian saw an opportunity to push forward and try to carve a path through the Necron lines. They never made it to the front line. The Necron monolith fired its main weapon at the advancing Astartes.

 

And then there were none

 

 

      Seeing an opportunity to strike, Captain Lysander led a squad of Terminators against the enemy immortals. The assaulters charged against the Necron Immortals, losing only two brothers in the process. They struck the immortals like a hard tidal wave. However, from the rear of the Immortals, He appeared. Anrakyr the Traveler. He stood before captain Lysander. The challenge was made and accepted. Time seemed to slow as the two great warriors circled each other. Thunder cracked with each blow struck. The epic duel seemed to last a lifetime. Beside the two great warriors in their duel, The Terminators and Immortals were locked in vicious combat. But suddenly, as if the Emperor himself empowered Lysander, A killing blow was struck against Anrakyr. The Necron immortals seized the husk of their fallen leader and skulked back to wherever they had come from. A great cheer arose from the surviving battle-brothers.



 

 

The Epic Duel

 

 



 

     Even though Anrakyr had fallen, the battle was far from other. The Monolith roared back into combat and continuously bombarded the marine positions. The Astartes had no choice but to take cover and go to ground to prevent being wiped out entirely. During the exchange of bolter fire and gauss fire a frantic transmission had been sent from the Thunder Dragon's Scouts. "Sir! The Fremen-pattern, they have it! The foul Necrons have secured the crashed speeder. No sign of the crew of the speeder, presumed dead."

 

 

        The Necrons had won. While the forces of Astartes were occupied fighting Necron diversionary forces, a Necron warrior squad was able to raid, secure, and capture the downed land speeder. This means that the experimental technology and computing systems of the Astartes can now be analyzed by Necron spies. Unfortunately the Friendly Fire incident with the Steel Nightmares Chapter has led to many casualties. In the coming battles, The allied forces numbers are significantly few. There are three companies of Astartes, a company of Arrakian PDF soldiers, and the soon arriving 44th Arrakian Light Infantry.

 

"We are reduced to fighting a running war. We must hit them every chance we have with whatever we have. I am currently organizing a retaliation force at Con-D'Ben. Bring your respective companies back to this line. Victory is soon to be ours, but first we must regroup to hit them right where it hurts. You have your orders. Carry on." -Field Marshall Peach