'No Impediment to Progress' – The Gatebreakers

[Xin Ceithan]

Always a pleasure to see a update on the Gatebreakers. On this occasion I feel the story outshines the models, but I am probably a bit jaded since they are on a continuously high level.

[apologist]

His head ached. This was, perhaps, to be expected; as Member-Ordinary Gond had been roundly clouted by a Taran's cudgel while suppressing the turquoise-skinned biped's foxhole. He grinned. 'Suppressing', he thought, as orange blood trickled and dripped from his armour. I'm picking up the Coreworlder's coy speech-patterns now. Musing on this, he jogged after the rest of the squad.

The arrival of the Primaris marines had heralded changes for the Gatebreakers. New armour, new equipment. New training to take it on. Adaptation and compromise – not every marine would relinquish his hard-won and ancient wargear; though many welcomed the opportunity to replace their patchwork or jury-rigged systems with the clean lines of the new Mark X plate.

More than that, though; there was a fundamental change in the Chapter. All the long-hidden maladies of their failing biology: the lost organs, the fading rituals; all that had seemingly been resolved. Indeed, Gond was perversely glad of the pain in his head – it reminded him of all the bodily ailments from which he no longer suffered. The Belisarian furnace within him roared; and its voice meant that the Gentles would no longer need to wear the black and surreptitiously steal material from their Deathwatch cousins, merely to stave off a terminal decline. It was more than physical improvement: it cleansed the Chapter's collective conscience. Pride could be felt once more; the yellow and gold of Andocrine could stand in the light.

Even the marines who steadfastly refused to 'cross the Rubicon' – another euphemism – felt the optimism. After an age in which the Chapter had suffered incremental losses, from which they could not recover, the arrival of Scipius and his men – a thousand tall, clean-limbed Primaris marines – had given the old Chapter back its teeth; and swollen the strength of the various Strikeforces. Contact had been made with Eremites on previously abandoned frontiers.

It was good to be back in the field. It was good to reclaim lands lost generations before. It made Gond, and all his brethren, glad. The simple joy of feeling one's body moving and working in the way it should was revitalising.

And yet... something nagged at Gond, as it nagged at all the old Gatebreakers, and none of the new. The sorry state of their domain was not owing to a failing Imperial grip; it was considerably more than that. As all Gatebreakers once had known – though none would speak it for shame – the Endworlds had never been Imperial, not truly.

Would their new strength be sufficient to break the shackles of Uridimmu?

Edited November 20, 2020 by apologist

[BadgersinHills]

LOVE THIS!!

[Brother Dallo]

Always nice to see updates Apologist.

 

Keep up the good work.

 

Dallo

[deathspectersgt7]

Great update.

[apologist]

LOVE THIS!!

 

Always nice to see updates Apologist.

Keep up the good work.

Dallo

 

Great update.

 

Thanks all; much appreciated! I sat down and polished off a trio of Gatebreakers last night:

 

 

That's propelling me onwards to having three complete squads – and that explains why we have our first Member-Cardinal (the Gatebreaker's sergeant equivalents):

 

 

Nothing hugely flashy, but it was fun to paint up one of the new Assault Intercessors at last, and nice to have a close combat weapon to paint.

 

Talking of close combat weapons, I think Emblem is also coming along nicely:

 

 

Not quite finished yet, but nearly there.

[BadgersinHills]

They are looking wonderful. 

[Xin Ceithan]

Very nice, as always. Emblem looks good already,too  - the colors of  Uridimmu go surprisingly well with the Gatebreaker scheme

[Noctus Cornix]

Gods, I love the yellow and green colors. 

 

The gritty, grimy oil work on the yellow really makes me want to go back to Marines Malevolent as a Primaris force.... Maybe... 

[apologist]

 

The claviger-wielding Rift Team had come through here; as evinced by the heavy percussion fractures in the solid plate of the deck and walls – and the aerosolised gore still hanging in the microgravity. 

 

Member-Cardinal Boegnor picked his way over the brittle bodies of the Sa; the rest of the sweep group following in his footsteps. His face was puckered into its usual scowl as he took in the dead; his unflickering eyes set deep in creased, leathery skin. 

 

'Just dead Stilties,' he growled, 'Nothing of salvage here. Move on'. He waved his squadmates forward, two fingers of his bionic hand indicating the route.

 

I quite like incorporating asymmetry – like this Mark III helm – into this army, as it adds to the hodgepodge, salvaged feel. While this force's bases show scrubby plants and soil, this sort of look also helps to reflect the Chapter's void-boarding specialism.

 

Use of reliable close-in weapons like flamers and snub-bolters help this group fit in with the background, too. Besides the equally low-tech grenade launchers, this is the only special weapon in the army so far. Not sure whether to embrace the reliance on small arms, or scatter a few special weapons in. What do you reckon?

 

Mark VII helm, pauldrons reinforced with molecular bonding studs, and a backpack covered with extracts from the Tenets of the Ten Divine Princes. Again, nothing hugely remarkable, but little variations and details like this add up across the army.

 

I've deliberately used pieces from various different Chapter and Legion upgrades. The main advantage is giving me access to loads of cool bits; but it also stops the Gatebreakers from looking like they owe too much to any one particular Legion or Primarch; which in turn hopefully raises some questions and makes the army more engaging visually and conceptually.

 

The flip side of using such a wide range of material is that you need to be careful to make it a bit more neutral. This White Scar helm, for example, has has the cheek decorations trimmed away, the radio ridge on top squared off, the topknot plucked, and generally been tidied up to make it less distinctively of the Fifth Legion. I find converting pieces like this quite fun – you're basically cutting away the bells and whistles to find the form beneath.

 

...and last today, Member-Cardinal Boegnor; one of the officers of the Gatebreakers Ninth Strikeforce. I've used an arm from the Space Wolf Primaris upgrade spread here, though you'd be hard-pushed to tell: the stock component is completely lacking any features that would identify it as such.

 

This is the other nice part of expanding your eye to look at other ranges and sub-factions when building your models; you realise that there's frequently nothing beyond the label that identifies a particular component as 'belonging' to a particular group. It's easiest to see on Space Marines, but the principle applies across the GW range – and beyond.

[Deadass]

The models and the fluff blurb are good as per usual, but I found what you said about the legion-specific bits particularly interesting. I'll definitely keep that in mind for when I start my own homebrewed force next year!

 

As for the addition of specialist weapons, I'd say spread a couple more out among your combat squads. Meltaguns in particular seem like a no-brainer for a chapter with a knack for boarding and counter-boarding actions, being used to cut doors and enemy defences apart when a terminator's chainfist is unavailable.

[StratoKhan]

 

This is the other nice part of expanding your eye to look at other ranges and sub-factions when building your models; you realise that there's frequently nothing beyond the label that identifies a particular component as 'belonging' to a particular group. It's easiest to see on Space Marines, but the principle applies across the GW range – and beyond.

 

 

Yes! Totally agree. I have my eye on a few of those upgrade sprues for that very reason. a lot of those are not as chapter-specific as they initially seen and others look like a minimal amount of trimming can solve any extant issues.

 

Nice work on the Gatebreakers so far.

[apologist]

A fun evening of painting has got the first of the non-astartes Dramatis Personae all polished off. Here's Inquisitrix Barbari Kills, of the Ordo Propter.

 

 

Righteousness, willpower, divine grace... You'll hear them all used as justifications for why you should do as an Inquisitor says; but right now, the fact I've got an n-point discharge derringer pressed to your forehead should suffice.

 

+++

 

 

 

 

The models and the fluff blurb are good as per usual, but I found what you said about the legion-specific bits particularly interesting. I'll definitely keep that in mind for when I start my own homebrewed force next year!

As for the addition of specialist weapons, I'd say spread a couple more out among your combat squads. Meltaguns in particular seem like a no-brainer for a chapter with a knack for boarding and counter-boarding actions, being used to cut doors and enemy defences apart when a terminator's chainfist is unavailable.

 

Thanks for the feedback, and glad the commentary was helpful. Your comments on the chapter specialism stuck with me – I think the Rift Teams should pack some lasercutters, too...

 

 

Yes! Totally agree. I have my eye on a few of those upgrade sprues for that very reason. a lot of those are not as chapter-specific as they initially seen and others look like a minimal amount of trimming can solve any extant issues.

 

Nice work on the Gatebreakers so far.

 

Thanks for the kind words. 

 

+++

Edited December 8, 2020 by apologist

[Nomus Sardauk]

The Woman of the Hour herself! Nice to see the honoured Inquisitrix join us at long last, I'm looking forward to seeing more of her and learning more of that sweet, sweet lore.

[Xin Ceithan]

Looks like the Inquisitor is going to put an end to some very fishy  business there...

[Sandalphon]

Looks like the Inquisitor is going to put an end to some very fishy  business there...

A triumph of the gilded over the gilled?

[apologist]

 

 

 

 

The cover was up. For whatever reason, humans did not adapt well to the empty night skies of the galaxy's rim. Haim felt it. They all had; though in different ways. She had tried to explain it to Brunski, a few weeks back, as the ship glided silently through the black, empty void. 

 

"Like... being watched; but not enough? Do you–" She had paused; started again. "It's just as though there's nothing holding me down; no anchor. Nothing secure. It's all too..." she had waved her hands in slow, loose, frustrated circles.

 

Brunski had just grunted, got up and left.

 

+++

 

Lowering her weatherhood, she cast a glance over her shoulder. A nod to Brunski saw him holster his rifle. He and Castaway turned and went back out; hoods up, eyes down. 

 

The sign read, in the peculiar glyphs of the backwater, 'Teleroftaels'. It wasn't hard to see the derivation – particularly not for an ideodact like Haim. Teller of tales. A village bard, then, she supposed; some sort of archivist, she dared to hope. A job as old as humanity. 

 

From the rear of the spare, stone building, came a voice. "Come; come." The voice was surprisingly deep, and rich; though it was cut through with a scratch. Haim was reminded, for a brief, absurd moment, of her father's audiorepeater. "The arrangement details are all in order; you are well come here." 

 

The woman's smile was warm; her skin folded and tanned like soft leather. Her head was shaved completely bald, save for two tufts at the other edges of her eyes, where the remnants of her eyebrows had been extended into short, beaded braids. A bold stripe, darker brown than the rest of her skin, ran over the crest of her head. Paint? Make-up? Some sort of tattoo?

 

If she noticed Haim's vacant look, the teleroftael's face showed no sign. Her smile remained soft, unwavering.

 

"Ti?"

 

Haim blinked, and embarrassedly demurred the offer; waving away the proffered cup. The water here required adaptation. Inquisitrix Barbari Kills hadn't intended to stay longer than was necessary; and so nor did her team.

 

"No, no; thank you. Do you mind if–?" Haim gestured at her own flask, securely gathered on her webbing. The teleroftaels nodded permission. You'll have my gratitude for information, rather than refreshment, mam. Even so; thank-you." At the other woman's gesture, Haim looked for a place to sit. There was a brief, awkward pause before the teleroftaels smiled apologetically, and lifted aside a pile of soiled textiles from what turned out to be a low bench.

 

Stepping back, the teleroftaels squinted gnomically, assessing Haim. The moment stretched. Just before Haim spoke, the teleroftaels announced, "You'll be want the history."

 

Haim nodded. Odd phrasing, but for such an isolated region, it was reassuring to find anyone that spoke anything resembling Gothic. Most of the populations Corewards of Saxa Tarpeia had been utterly incomprehensible to Kills and her team. 

 

"Thank you, yes. Solid form if you have it. I tell you," she continued. "It's been a hell of a time getting any cartography or records of this entire region." The teleroftael's smile broadened, perhaps in pride. Haim carried on. "It's such a relief to find an historical repository. Even if it's just the local... " She stopped herself as she watched the teleroftaels shuffle backwards towards the back of the room; clearly uncomfortable with  turning her back on her guest. "Sorry; I'm gabbling. It's been a long search. I'm just excited. Should I ask my colleague to help carry them?"

 

The teleroftael's smile slipped for a moment; wrong-footed. Haim wondered if she had strayed over some cultural boundary.

 

"Not think that'll be needed."

 

Unsure, Haim made a small half-hearted nod; and the teleroftaels disappeared behind a curtain.

 

+++

 

"Rimworlds, you Imperials call 'em. Most here just call it Edgeside. Out beyond the galaxy's rim. It's an... odd place. Liminal; know what I mean? Out beyond it's the big black. Just nothing. Sounds simple when I say that, but it's..." she paused. "Heh. Comes to something when even my words fall into the black."

 

"Like I say, it's odd. The big black. It's the end of it all, see? Sure, there's other galaxies out there, but they're just like us. Little island universes gradually wearing away. And make no mistake –" she waved a finger in the Rogue Trader's face, "It sure is wearing away." She paused, looking out of the colossal window once more. "Look far enough, and you can see it happening. Slowly, sure, and dust – just dust. Trickling away from the galaxy's edge into the true void. But nothing comes back in."

 

Her faraway gaze suddenly switched; as though a lever had gone off in the back of her mind. Fear. That was all Taiwo saw in her eyes.

 

"Nothing you want to meet, anyway."

+++

 

Edited June 18 by apologist

[deathspectersgt7]

Great read. I have have my Gatebreaker built. Also found a book in my bitz box.

[apologist]

A few pics of this important character in the project:

 

 

 

[deathspectersgt7]

Fantastic !!!

[Monstra Sumus]

I am thoroughly impressed with the Gatebreakers.

 

I am eager to see more of your patchwork terminator.

 

This was a good thread to read through for my return to the B&C.