Another explosion rocked the command bunker causing a trickle of rockcrete dust to fall from the ceiling.
Zayn Von Meyer, Colonel of the Cadian Ninety-Second, hurriedly swiped it away so that it didn't obscure his data readout on the map projector in the center of the room.
He barked a series of orders about reinforcing the western flank and ordering the Twenty-Second Cadian Armoured to disengage. This sent adjutant's scurrying away to various vox-sets set against the bunker walls and the hurried issuing of curt orders to begin.
His brow creased with frown lines, thrown into crazy angles by his bionic eye implant, Von Meyer studied the pict intently. Red runes for traitor forces approaching, Green runes for friendly Imperial units defending. Distressingly there was far more red then green on his chart.
Another explosion caused more dust to fall, then a deeper thud drew his attention. It came again a rhythmic thud against the out wall of the bunker, again and again, each time seeming more insistent. More dust fell and sparks flickered from a ruptured lumen strip in the ceiling.
After a moment Von Meyer realised that all activity in the command center had ceased, orders were not being given, calls for aid or reinforcement were going unanswered.
He began to turn to reprimand the officers when the wall at the end of the access hall exploded inwards, armoured doors disintegrating from the superhuman pressure placed against them.
A booming noise, so loud it was painful in the close confines of the room sounded, accompanied by a brilliant strobing flash. Too late he realised that it was sustained bolter fire and that screams punctuated the sounds between firing explosions.
Officers and servitors came apart messily under sustained fire, vox units and pict readers sparked as they were hit. Von Meyer looked around at the ruins of his command squad and turned towards the breach in the wall.
Silhouetted against the firelight from outside was a baroque hulking monster. Ten feet tall, jagged pauldrons displaying iconography which made his head feel dizzy, above them were rows of tall spikes studded with trophies, many of them skulls loosely chained in place. As the muzzle of its massive bolter fired he caught glimpses of scorched black armour overlaid with gold trims, in the midst of it all was the blood red eye of the arch-traitor.
Von Meyer took all this in within seconds of laying his eyes on the monster. He felt the thud of a bullet impact in his shoulder and barely had time to panic before the mass reactive round exploded and blew his left arm off of his body, hurling him backwards over the map projector in the process.
The monster stalked into the bunker, followed by a second and then a third of its fellows. The metal grill of the floor distorted under their weight as they walked forwards, swinging brutal melee weapons they cut through any survivors of their assault. The first crashed through the projector hurling it against the far wall and stopped looking down at the crippled major, shock keeping the unfortunate man alive long enough to register more details.
"Does the Warmaster still want prisoners?" One asked with a deep grating voice, dirty beard spilling over it's mouth and eyes covered with an iron circlet, as he leaned over the fallen Imperial officer. Horrified the Cadian noticed faces writing across the surface of the armour as it moved.
"No, that one appears to be damaged" a second traitor growled back through the slit in his helmet. A pair of vast curved horns erupted through the black armoured plate and a skull was mounted between them glaring menacingly over the scene. A dead eyed Astartes helmet was impaled upon a trophy spike, it's one pure white wing raised majestically against the darkness.
With a dawning sense of cold dread Von Meyer watched as the first reached out a clawed powerfist and cradled his head for a moment seeming to stare deep into his soul with those iron covered eyes. Then he knew know more as the powerfist closed around his head, blood welling from between the claws.
"Bunker clear!" A third grating voice boxed in the spark filled gloom.
*****
Some of the last miniatures I finished painting before I arranged the
Apocalypse Game with Dave.
These are some more Black Legion Astartes for my Project Eye of Terror, this time eight bolter marines and three Terminator veterans to add to the legion, the last two bolter marines need finishing at some point.
Champion Ezigon and his Legionaries, I stuck to the same overall scheme as the previous close assault veterans and Helbrute, just with a couple of non-chaos bare heads thrown into the squad for some variation, one is a space wolf head and the other from the mk.iv marines I believe.
Plasma gunner, Champion Ezigon, Heavy Bolter and a Chaos Marine.
A close up of the plasma coils on the plasmagun and pistol wielded by Ezigon. I do like star trek so wanted to try the 'warp coil' effect on the plasma. I used red to tie the models together and limit the palette of colours overall.
The reminding four members of the squad I finished. Notable is the space marine helmet trophy, I chose to paint this in Dark Angels colours to really cement home the Eye of Terror campaign. Other trophies will be in Space Wolf colours as I have a plan for the future involving those.
Next we have 'The Voidsworn' Terminator Veterans led by Champion Alekan. These are the stars of the story above incase you didn't get the descriptive elements.
They are a legal unit at just three members strong, but I have a couple of other Terminators to finish for this unit, just waiting for some shoulder pads from eBay to turn up.
Of note is that none of these models have the proper Terminator helmets, I replaced them all with others culled from the bitzbox.
A Chaos Marine head, a fantasy Chaos Warrior head and a fantasy Flagellant head for the bearded one. Again the marine helmet trophy is a Dark Angel and the Tyranid skull is Hive Fleet Kraken I believe.
When I bought these miniatures second hand from
Mirfield Miniatures, this is what they originally looked like:
I think the original owner was going for an Emperor's Children theme maybe?
Anyway, I'll get the last few finished after the apocalypse game as I'm now on with adding Greenskins to my WAAAGH ready to fight on Helsreach Highway.
Until next time...
.jpeg)
