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THE RETURN OF THE GREEN KNIGHT The strike cruiser Verdant Oath did not sound a welcoming chime. The Thunderhawk settled into its cradle amid drifting vapor and cooling metal. From its hold emerged a lone figure clad in black ceramite. Brother Martin bore the sigil of the Deathwatch upon his pauldron. The Inquisitorial mark still clung to his armor, dull and intrusive, like a scar that refused to fade. No honor guard awaited him. Marshal Calder stood at the foot of the embarkation ramp, hands clasped behind his back. To one side waited Brother-Artificer Verdug, his servo-arm locked in repose. A pace behind them stood Codicier Lucan, hood drawn low, presence folded inward like a sheathed blade. Calder inclined his head. ‘Your vigil is ended.’ Brother Martin knelt. ‘It ended early, My Lord,’ Martin said. Not defensively. Precisely. ‘As intended,’ Calder replied The black of his armor was not revered aboard the Verdant Oath. It was residue. A foreign layer to be removed. They led him into the Armorum Sanctum. Cog-etched arches rose overhead. Incense hung heavy in the air, sharp with solvents and sanctified oils. The rites of return began. The black paint was burned away. Chemical agents hissed as Deathwatch livery dissolved down to bare adamantium. Serfs worked in silence. No hymns were sung. No litanies spoken. Only the steady rhythm of cleansing. As the green was reapplied, Codicier Lucan circled Martin slowly. His eyes never lingered on the armor. They searched deeper. ‘You refused three direct taskings,’ Lucan said, eyes unfocused. ‘Not requests. Orders.’ ‘I did,’ Martin replied. ‘Specify,’ Calder said. ‘The Deathwatch required maintenance of xenos-derived weapon systems,’ Martin said. ‘Calibration. Sanctification. Instruction.’ Verdug’s optics brightened faintly. ‘I refused,’ Martin continued. ‘Each time, I cited Martian doctrine and Imperial law. Each time, I offered sanctioned alternatives.’ ‘And?’ Calder asked. ‘They recorded my refusals,’ Martin said. ‘They judged me obstructive. Ideologically inflexible. A liability to operational cohesion.’ Calder’s mouth twitched, almost a smile. 'They I was released to my parent chapter under writ,’ Martin finished. Calder inclined his head once. ‘Exactly as hoped.’ Lucan stopped pacing. ‘There has been interference,’ Lucan said at last. Calder did not turn. ‘Explain.’ ‘The Ordo Xenos attempted a surgical purge,’ Lucan replied. ‘Memory excision. Observation anchors. They were thorough.’ Verdug’s optics flared softly. ‘And successful?’ Lucan paused. ‘Incomplete.’ At a gesture from Verdug, servitors drew back a shrouded reliquary. Runes flared as seals disengaged, one by one. Beneath lay an ancient device of brass and blackened steel, its surface etched with sigils older than the Chapter. ‘Sanctioned by Holy Terra,’ Verdug intoned. ‘Recovered during the Third Scouring of Helican Reach.’ Lucan’s voice lowered. ‘Rumors claim the Ordos Hereticus uses such devices to unmask witches. To reconstruct lies stripped from the mind.’ Calder turned at last. ‘Then use it.’ Brother Martin was seated before the device. Cables interfaced with his cranial ports. The machine stirred, not with noise, but with intent. Lucan reached into the warp. The device responded. Fragments surfaced—gaps where memory had been cut away, cauterized with cold precision. The machine probed those absences, not restoring what was taken, but mapping what should have been there. Runes ignited across the chamber walls. Star charts unfolded, incomplete at first—then sharpening. Worlds returned from omission – bled back into focus. Vaults hidden by silence. Listening posts. Quarantine reliquaries hidden beneath layers of denial. Lucan exhaled slowly. ‘Nineteen,’ he said. ‘Recovered from absence,’ Verdug confirmed. ‘The rest are too degraded.’ Calder stepped forward, studying the burning points of light. ‘Nineteen worlds touched by xenos treachery,’ he said, ‘Nineteen worlds, hidden not by ignorance, but by intent.’ ‘Some confirmed,’ Martin said, his voice steady despite the lingering ache behind his eyes. ‘Some merely watched.’ Lucan’s gaze hardened. ‘Watched is enough.’ ‘Then no longer,’ Calder said. He turned to Verdug. ‘Inform the Blade.’ The words carried weight. The War Council would convene. Routes would be charted. Oaths renewed. Weapons sanctified. Calder faced Martin once more. ‘Your vigil ended early because it needed to,’ he said. ‘You were sent back because you exposed their weakness. They lack faith in humanity.' Martin bowed his head. ‘You return to us without stain,’ the Marshal said. ‘Go and rejoin your brothers.' Outside the Armorum Sanctum, klaxons began to sound—not alarms, but summons. The Verdant Oath altered course. A Crusade had been declared. It was a good day for the Green Templars. And the alien would not endure it.

Ordo Maledictum: 164th Detachment "Ash Vultures" Affiliation: Ordo Maledictum Role: Rapid Retrieval and Purification Unit Doctrine: Grav-chute insertions into rift-proximate warzones to recover warp-tainted artifacts, terminate psy-reactive entities, or destroy evidence of corruption. Motto: “By any means necessary.” Symbol: A black shoulder pad or knee guard bearing a red Inquisitorial “I” pierced by a downward silver sword — the blade representing “containment from above.” Uniform: • Fatigues: Smoke-grey and dust-tan mix, worn and scorched. • Carapace Armor: faded olive. • Markings: Red wiring, faded purity seals, patches of melted paint. Lore: Once part of the Harakoni Warhawks, the 164th were deployed for 11 years on the planet Armageddon. 16 months after the fall of Cadia, the 164th were transferred to the Vigilus Sector. Officially “lost during transit,” they were instead redirected for special duties: retrieval of warp-tainted relics, purging of psychic outbreaks, and sterilization of contaminated outposts, by the Ordo Maledictum. The Ordo Maledictum emerged after the birth of the Great Rift, and were given a near impossible task: Close the Great Rift. The 164th operate without backup, without oversight, and without limits. Each Grav Chute descent is a death sentence delayed by discipline. They’ve fought daemons, foul xenos, cultists, rogue Guardsmen, and even loyalist Astartes who impede the Ordos mission to save the Imperium of Mankind. The 164th's orders are simple: Save Humanity from Chaos... by any means necessary.

THE 164TH: Team Dossier AQUILON TEMPESTOR MASON Role: Squad Lead Weapons: Hotshot Lascarbine and a Tempestus Dagger MASON never traded up for the traditional officer’s pistol and sabre. He sticks with the same lascarbine he’s carried since his first drop, and the squad trusts him for that. He keeps a sealed relic-vial of Armageddon ash under his chestplate—grainy grey dirt Yarrick himself once trod on. MASON’s leadership style is brutally simple: “land hard, move fast, die later.” He handpicked every member of the 164th Ash Vultures after a disastrous, op that killed 80% of his previous squad at Hive Secundus. Since then, he’s shown an almost religious intolerance for incompetence and an equally religious patience for trauma. AQUILON TROOPER VESPER Role: Rifleman Weapons: Hotshot Lascarbine and a Tempestus Dagger VESPER refuses every promotion thrown at him, convinced dying starts the moment you get noticed. He blends into any formation like smoke—quiet, unobtrusive, impossible to remember until everything’s already gone to hell. Among the Ash Vultures, VESPER is the steady center. Nobody knows how old he is, but his instincts in a firefight are flawless. He and MASON share a long, unspoken history from the early Harakoni days, something involving a failed drop and a crashed Valkyrie whose crew didn’t make it. AQUILON TROOPER ECHO Role: Rifleman Weapons: Hotshot Lascarbine and a Tempestus Dagger ECHO claims her memories were wiped, that she once fought alongside silver-armoured warriors carrying halberds. The others laugh it off—mostly to hide that they believe she might be right. She’s brilliant at pattern analysis and movement prediction, often calling threats seconds before they appear. Off-mission she watches the sky like something’s going to come back for her. AQUILON TROOPER THORN Role: Rifleman Weapons: Hotshot Lascarbine and a Tempestus Dagger The sole non-Harakoni in the team, THORN survived an Ork overrunning of his Steel Legion company by sheer stubborn refusal to die. MASON dragged him into the Ash Vultures not out of pity but respect: THORN kept firing long after his gas mask cracked and his squad was gone. The others treat him like a younger cousin—respectful but merciless in hazing. THORN takes it in stride, absorbing Harakoni doctrine with frightening speed. AQUILON GRENADIER KILN Role: Demolitions Weapons: Hotshot Laspistol, Melta Bombs and a Tempestus Dagger KILN is a walking arsenal. He carries more grenade varieties than most supply officers have manifest slips for. His favorites are a pair of Krak Grenades, sizes for an Astartes. They came from a trade with a Black Templar neophyte; the reliquary he gave away in return almost certainly wasn’t authentic, but no one questions it. KILN treats explosives like fine wines—classified by vintage, flavour, and ideal occasion. AQUILON GUNFIGHTER SABLE Role: Dual-Pistol Specialist Weapons: 2× Hotshot Laspistols and a Tempestus Dagger SABLE solves problems with gunfire and is annoyed when other solutions work. Her reputation for dead spouses follows her around; the squad jokes she marries for fun and “widows” for stress relief. She and VESPER have an odd sibling rivalry: he avoids notice, she demands it. On missions, their paired advance is devastating. AQUILON GUNNER HEMLOCK Role: Melta Support Weapons: Melta Carbine and a Tempestus Dagger HEMLOCK hides his intelligence behind a slackjaw façade. In truth he’s a meticulous thinker, designing a wargame about grot submarines and Ork naval tactics. He’s terrified the others will find out—not because they’ll laugh, but because they’ll ask to play. In battle, HEMLOCK’s melta work is clinical. Anything that needs to stop existing, he deletes. AQUILON GUNNER PRAXIS Role: Plasma Support Weapons: Plasma Carbine and a Tempestus Dagger PRAXIS was raised to be a dentist, then discovered he hated teeth and loved falling out of aircraft. He took to plasma like an addict to his vice: he knows it’s killing him a little at a time, but Throne does it feel righteous. He and HEMLOCK often run paired deep-strike insertions—one melts armour, one melts everything inside it. AQUILON MARKSMAN TANGENT Role: Sniper Weapons: Hotshot Long-Las and a Tempestus Dagger TANGENT’s auditory implant plays constant choirs whenever it detects blasphemy. Given the Imperium’s general level of profanity, she’s lived in a private cathedral for four straight years. Her silence unnerves new recruits, but the Vultures consider it comforting. If TANGENT is listening to what you have to say, it means you’re not damned… yet. AQUILON PRECURSOR SPECTRE Role: Pathfinder/Forward Drop Weapons: Hotshot Laspistol and a Tempestus Dagger Youngest in the squad, SPECTRE hates aircraft with a religious intensity and prefers to free-fall whenever regulations allow. First down, first gone, he marks drop zones with burning white phosphorus—his way of telling the enemy the sky belongs to the Ash Vultures. He hero-worships MASON and distrusts ECHO, claiming ECHO “falls like she’s being watched.” SERVO-SENTRY ARGONAUT Role: Automated Support Weapons: Hotshot Volley Gun and a Tempestus Dagger The regimental Enginseer insists ARGONAUT is a standard-pattern servo-sentry. The 164th insists he’s the reassembled skull of Trooper Argus Naught, whose grav-chute failed and who crushed an Ork Big Mek on impact. The team issued the Servo-Sentry with a Tempestus Dagger, and while no one has ever seen the servitor draw the weapon (or wonder how such a miracle could occur), they find its mere presence comforting.

Heyo folks, just over a week to go until the Khunara event at Firestorm so im beginning to realise how much ive left to the last minute as is traditional :D 368377490_10161056098590797_3138072169892678941_n Ive finished up a pair of Prosecutor squads with assault needlers, having done a lot of rifle arm conversions for Anathema now, im heartily sick of them! So in this case i cut down the flamer and added a 3d printed Escher needle gun front on, i figure the gun draws venom from the bottle, turns it to crystal and fires it off at full rapido ;) 369265610_10161056098680797_7018748680417981501_n Once again they will get more Jungle, im committed now lol See an example of this on the Random Inquisition retinue i did from some bargain figures 368233692_10161042425635797_1402906192767870739_n Not my best work but it helped get my painting brain in top gear Ready for these paragons of hench :P Expurgators with Missile launchers from Diverging realms with some head swaps and a bit of reposing due to my own idiocy (You can see why if you try... Cookie if you guess right) but theyve come out great i hope :D These are already undercoated and have the base brown on, but unpainted is a clearer shot. So its going well...... Oh no... Oh no i forgot what was half built in the buckets! *Panic*