Dreadtober 2025, Fire in the Void - part 2.

 

Fire in the Void.

The chronicled account of Brother-Sergeant Kael'en Dra'vok, Salamanders 4th Company .

---

Part II – First Push

Through the atrium, the Salamanders surged like a tide of living flame. Bray’Arth’s claws shredded reinforced armor, scattering renegades like chaff before a storm. Kael'en moved beside him, the thunder of his boltgun merging with the rhythm of his heart, each burst a promise of vengeance.

The Astral Claw’ numbers were great, yet disorganization marked them. Brother-Captain Jorath Vey'len, a stalwart of the fourth company, directed flanking maneuvers against the renegades with grim efficiency. Corridors became crucibles; fire licked every wall, every ceiling vent, and every corner became a tomb for the overconfident enemy.

Yet the enemy struck with cunning. Explosive charges littered junctions, and close-range firefights erupted as loyalist warriors were forced to leap from cover to cover. Despite these trials, Bray’Arth moved like a sentinel of flame, shielding the advancing Salamanders, a living engine of destruction.

Kael'en’s squad cleared a reinforced door with a Melta charge, revealing a command nexus within the ship. Holo-screens flickered in alarm; the Astral Claws were attempting to regroup. The Salamanders pressed, each step forward bringing them closer to the heart of enemy command, each shot fired a statement that mercy was extinguished in the void.

The first push ended with the corridors of the Obsidian Vigil littered with bodies, yet the Salamanders held their formation. For a moment, victory seemed near. But the void is patient, and patience harbors its own horrors.

*****

So, the first proper post of Dreadtober 2025 will be a short one, but decent progress has been made.

Bray'arth Ashmantle is now assembled, but in four sub-assemblies for painting.

I managed to get a slight striding forward pose with the legs without too much work which I am happy about, on e I've angled his body for final assembly he'll be purposely moving forward.

The base, I have a mixture of industrial type bases for Project Badab as everything is going to be based upon spaceship boarding (I'm writing my own campaign system to follow, more on this soon). Some of the bases are as thick as this one, other are a base topper thing type, so I made the decision to just put everything ontop of a base and go from there making a unified basing scheme.

Next was priming.

Bray'arth I primed Death Guard Green this is because I am heading towards the darker Horus Heresy colour scheme e rather then the really bright primary green of 40k.

The next step will be getting a layer of Waaagh! Flesh down as this is the best green I have available for the scheme, without going out and buying new paint. Abaddon Black, Runelord Brass, Retributor Armour and Leadbelcher will finish off the main colours, the flame motif's will get their colours later after the wash stage.

The base was primed white in readiness for a light off-white style basing scheme, think like the corridors in the habitation unit in the first Alien film, but weathered and lived in.

That's the image I have in mind, and everything will contrast nicely against it, and the planned scenery I have in mind for Project Badab.

*****

The Melta Breach

The bulkhead ahead was a barrier of black iron and defiance. For a moment, silence reigned—then Bray’Arth stepped forward. “Stand clear,” he intoned, his voice low, ancient, and absolute, clear through the vox-grille.

He raised his claws and unleashed twin streams of searing flame. Metal softened, screaming as it warped, before the Dreadnaught’s shoulder drove forward. The door burst inward with a detonation of sparks and superheated air.

Through the breach, the Astral Claws rallied, their defiance commendable but meaningless. Bray’Arth surged into them like a living siege engine, one claw crushing a defender against the wall, the other tearing a bolter from another’s grip before reducing its bearer to cinders. The corridor filled with smoke and heat, but to him it was home—an echo of the forges of Nocturne

Sergeant Kael’en’s voice filtered through the vox, steady and reverent:

“The way is open. The fire leads.”

Bray’Arth did not answer. His sensors were already sweeping ahead, tracking movement deeper within the vessel. The machine-spirit within him burned with purpose. The flame had found its fuel.

Until next time, have nice day...