+ inload: White tutorial: Painting the Silver Stars

+ Painting Silver Stars + 

+ Some things may be best forgotten, but how you paint a uniform isn't one of them. I thought I'd exload my approach to painting the cool white I'm using for this mysterious possible-Legion of Space Marines. +

+ Silver Stars Astartes: painting white +

+ Whether the Silver Stars are a Legion of marines or not, they seem to favour Mark II Crusade Armour. The bodies and legs are from Txarli Factory [+noospheric exloadlink embedded+]; the remainder of the figures from a variety of GW and FW kits. As always, this proves the benefit of a deep bits box: I bought the Crusade Armour bits used here years ago, intending to use them for my Praetors of Calth Ultramarines. One side project after another, I decided that it was a shame they sat languishing, so I dug them out, and was pleasantly surprised to find I had a decent little pile of them – some twenty in all. +

+ Painting Silver Stars +

_1 Assemble your marine as normal. The bases I've used here are from Unreal Wargaming [+noosphericexloadlink embedded+].

_2 Prime using Halford's Grey Primer.

_3 Paint the base colours. I block in the metals with black (though note I've used Dryad Bark for the gorget, which will be gold. You can use them fairly interchangeably, but I think I'll proceed with brown for gold, and black for silver). I've used Sotek Green for the blue-turquoise, which seems to be nigh-identical to the old Hawk Turquoise.

4_I've used 'Mummy Robes' from The Army Painter's Warpaints range [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+], a lovely smooth warm white. This takes two layers to get a smooth surface. Once dry, I overlay it with Apothecary White, one of Citadel's new Contrast range of paints. This is a lovely quick way to get some initial shading it – and perhaps more importantly, to help you identify where to pick out later.

5_ From here, it's essentially refining. This is a bit of a jump from the previous stage, I confess! Here, I've gone back over the white with more Mummy Robes, adding Vallejo's Off-White for highlights. I've also used Daler-Rowney's Payne's Grey acrylic ink, diluted with flow improver, to line the stronger shadows. I've used the same combination of colours to add weathering and scratches to the white armour – I suggest you do this sparingly, and don't make them so high contrast as you would on darker hues: white paint is obviously very high in value, and so marks look much more striking and obvious than on a low value hue.

The blue-turquoise highlights are simply Sotek Green with increasing amounts of Off-White. The gold is Balthasar Gold followed by Shining Gold, washed with two layers of Seraphim Sepia, with touches of Leviathan Purple added wet-in-wet. The two washes are also used over Iron Warriors (the modern Boltgun Metal equivalent) for the silver areas like the boltgun and backpack.

+++

+ inload: Squad Lazarus completed +

 + Updates from the front:
The Alien Wars continue +

+ Following the last inload, in which the Blood Angels emerged from induced hibernation, I've managed to polish off the second tactical squad – which gave me some much-needed practise in colour-matching. I'm pleased with the result; I think the four new marines match the existing figures well, despite using a different set of paints. +

+++

+ Sergeant Lazarus (Melchizadek 8:15) +

+ Touches of contrasting blue are used here as accents to draw the eye. With a big banner, the focal point (the head) needed a bit of extra help to stand out. The inspiration has a helmet, so unlike his comrade, Sergeant Furiel [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+], I didn't want to use a bare head to draw the eye. Instead, I built a lot of lines converging on the head – the gun and blade do, as does the large blooddrop jewel on the banner. I really hammered the point home with the veteran sergeant freehand on the breastplate, too. This was taken from the Age of Darkness books; which themselves have a nod to Rogue Trader. I was tempted to go further, but restrained myself – I want to leave some design space for the officers without going really over the top. +

+ I think I've hit the balance of ornamentation and keeping things close to the inspiration right; but judge for yourself. The original models are pictured above. Hopefully the poses are evocative enough of the original, even if they're not identical. +

+ It's been so long since I've worked on this army that I'd forgotten whether it was the personal name (i.e. Lazarus) or the ritual apotropaic name (Melchizadek) that should identify the squad. Judging from how I did Furiel, I think it should have been the other way round. Still; this is the sort of mistake that – firstly – can be justified fairly easily in-universe (some sort of tradition of the squad, or a personal affectation); and secondly, would likely have never been noticed by anyone but me! +

+ Getting the text onto the hand-painted scroll sent me cross-eyed. I was cursing myself for blithely giving him the apotropaic name 'Melchizadek' to fit on there. Still; it did mean the blackletter script on his banner had the easier name to fit! +

+ As per the paint scheme of the time, the sergeant has a yellow Chapter symbol on a black field. You'll note that the rim is two-tone; red and gold. I thought making it all metal would have been a bit much, and similarly all-red would have looked odd. +

+ I like the bolter strap here – it gives a sense of dynamism to an otherwise very still figure, suggesting that the boltgun is in motion; perhaps being swung to fire. +

+++

+ Brother Ilean (Rasa 1:01) +

+ Mark VI plate doesn't turn up in the Tactical squads of the original army, so I was in two minds whether to include it. In the end, I squared the circle by keeping the details minor – if you compare these figures with the ones in the Devastator squad, you'll note that the Tactical ones simply have Mark VI helmets, and are otherwise identical to the rest of the squad; whereas the Devastators are converted more faithfully, with chest cables, single-piece greaves etc. +

+ The variation helps to blend the army together, rather than having the armour marks artificially separated. In my vision of Space Marines, their armour is fairly hotch-potch – some wearing full newly-produced suits of a particular armour mark; others inheriting bits and pieces from previous brethren; or augmenting their armour themselves with recourse to the Chapter forge. As a result, the idea of a whole squad – let alone a whole army – being identically equipped just chimes wrongly to me. It would feel rather too uniform and modern, and not properly evoke the pseudo-mediaeval Dark Age feel. +

+ Of course, some uniformity is desirable, or they'll end up looking like a rag-tag warband – cool for some Chapters or periods in the 40k universe's history (the Horus Heresy period can suit the identikit Stormtrooper look, for example), but not for Nova Terra Interregnum-period Blood Angels, I think. The Chapter badge and overall clean look of the paintjob is thus important to establishing the group's retrohammer-themed identity. +

+++

+ Brother Verroccio (Ambriel 4:11) +

+ The big ol' missile launchers used throughout the army help to evoke the Rogue Trader-period inspiration. 'Proteus-pattern' is GW's in-house term for modern designs based on the older stuff, and I really like this conceit. It's a very clever way to explain the difference between older and modern designs without invalidating anything in-universe. +

+ You'll notice more tiny writing on the pauldron nameplate; again, cursing myself for including so many curly 'c's and 'o's in his name! I've added a little skull on the pistol pouch to break it up a bit – note it echoes the squad kneepad honorific. The missile launcher cowling has the same yellow stripe as in the first squad – though I've added two here. It's a minor detail that makes no odds to the background, but will be useful in-game. Simple visual indicators like this – along with squad banner and honorifics – is a nice way to help both you and the other players keep track of which squad is what. +

+ The power pack is a holdover from 2nd edition. Note also the little trigger mechanism/remote he's carrying in his left hand. That's a nod to the similar details of the single-piece missile launchers from the later 2nd ed. boxed set. I made it from an auspex, with various bits trimmed off and replaced. +

+++

+ Brother Brunellecci (Hamurabbas 1:03) +

+ The other beakie helm in the squad. There's a balance to strike – it's nice to have some variation, but too much spoils the uniformity. With both sergeant and squad leader in Mark VII, I felt I could get away with a few more than in the first Tactical squad. There's a Mark IV helm, too (see Brother Zoma below), though since this is much less distinctively different to Mark VII, it stands out less. +

+ As with Verroccio above, Brunellecci has a small personalisation on his pistol holster, though here it's a blood drop. I think little details like this, the script on the boltgun, the black-wax purity seal and so forth really help to give some realism and make the model feel like an individual. +

+ I like this Intercessor pose. I think the arms (and possibly the whole thing) are from the easy-build marines – either the three-man kit that popped up everywhere or the Dark Imperium starter – which just goes to show how easily these can be repeatedly integrated into an army without it looking like an army of clones. +

+++

+ Tactical II: Squad Lazarus +

+ And so we come to the complete Squad Lazarus, Third Company – or to use the apotropaic nomenclature: Mano Sacra, under Lord Dahavauron, Prince of the Erelim, 3rd Strateia of the Host of Angels +

+ Back row, left to right: Brother Verroccio (Ambriel 4:11); Brother Schirru (Ixael 6:05); Sergeant Lazarus (Melchizadek 8:15); Brother Pappacordo (Zether 1:09); Brother Brunellecci (Hamurabbas 1:03) +

+ Front row, left to right: Brother Ornaghi (Utchael 3:04); Brother Ilean (Rasa 1:01); Brother Simnal (Saditel 2:02); Brother Cleon (Sanael 1:02); Brother Zoma (Caraniel 9:01) + 

+++

Very pleased with these, and with a second squad completed, I've now got an officer to pick out and paint. For those who wanted to see the Scouts completed, they'll be the next squad – I started on them at the same time as the four above, so shouldn't be too long, either. +

+ inload: Simplex Surpalus +

+ Stellar Cartography +

+ Working away on the Gatebreakers got me thinking more about the region, so I whipped up a star-chart to explore the broader region a bit. It's a common instinct to fill in all the gaps, but leaving space and mystery is important, particular for a region like this. Out on the edge, far from Imperial control and mapping, Sector Surpalus – the name itself a bit of a pun on being 'beyond the pale' – is the domain and protectorate of the Gatebreakers. +

+ I've therefore restricted the map to a fairly 'top level' one of the principal systems – those that are either seemingly permanent stellar phenomena or Imperial-controlled systems that are still in some form of contact with the Imperium at large. +

+ However powerful a space marine Chapter, they can't expect to be in direct control of a sector – and that's intentional. Even the Ultramarines are exceptional in having dominion over a scanty few planets, precisely because the Adeptus Astartes are quite a scary prospect. +

+ With this in mind, the Gatebreakers are split into semi-autonomous Strikeforces that roam the regions of the Sector, occasionally returning to roost at their shattered homeworld, Andocrine. +

+ Monstrance, a relic claviger (honorific mace) +

+ The destruction of Andocrine is probably the subject for an inload of its own, but the Gatebreakers Chapter Fortress-Monastery was lost, along with a great deal of their history and relics. This didn't intrinsically alter the Chapter's method of warfare – they have always roamed semi-nomadically – but it, along with normal cultural drift, accounts for some of their oddities. +

+ Trying to get ahead of the release of Indomitus – the big boxed set for 9th edition – I've been building new figures. Those above will form expansions for the existing squads, and also allow me to add some variety and avoid duplication in the new Assault Intercessor squads. +

+ inload: Gatebreakers heraldry +

+ Gatebreakers heraldry +

"Do I look like I give a–?" his last words were mercifully cut off by another cacophonous round of firing that took the front of the building opposite out in an enormous plume of white smoke. Barbari's acolytes both ducked further into cover. The pulverised rock was in the air; laying a shroud over everything. Halm didn't much like that image. As the tense moment stretched, she tried to hear past the ringing in her ears. No movement – but Halm knew better than to trust her eyes and ears in this place. Dust hissed down outside, an occasional large ping marking a larger piece of rubble coming to rest.

Half-crouching, she scuttled over to Brunski, her companion's face screwed up in an almost comically intense stare as he tried to spot enemies – or anything – through the thick cloud. She reached out to tap him on the arm, and he looked at her. God-Emperor, she thought, suppressing an hysterical snigger, we look like albino lapids. Both the acolytes were covered in the white dust of the alien city, their eyes pink and sore. She pinched her nose, noisily snorting out the dirt.

"Look," she started, "let's just get back to the Gatebreakers." Brunski opened his mouth to reply just as another doppler-shifted whooping broke the silence. She saw his eyes crease as he tensed just as the impact came. Closer this time. The entire road surface rippled, the fabric of it turning fluid under the sudden strike.

Even from this distance, the two were thrown to the floor. Halm's wrist struck a piece of furniture on the way down, and she lost her grip on her pistol. Cursing, she peeped over the improvised cover, then froze as she saw silhouettes emerging from the weird white gloom. 

Shit. Stalker-forms.

Long-limbed, pallid, and inhumanly tall and thin, the Sabactes were clothed in a semi-transparent sheen. Their multiple backwards-jointed limbs picked through the rubble carefully, whisper-rifles sweeping back and forth like a hunting-snake's head. One carried some form of fluted, ribbed contraption hinged over its curling back – Halm presumed that had been the source of the whooping barrage. 

The lead Sabact's flat, adze-like muzzle turned, and it stooped to peer under the partially-collapsed awning. Halm dearly wished she hadn't dropped her pistol. For a moment, the thick white stonedust making her still more statue-like. Her eyes flicked left, to the shadows, where Brunski was easing his rifle to his shoulder, slowly.

Ever. 

So. 

Slowly.

The next moments stayed with Halm for a long time. Rows of small, puckered pits in the creature's muzzle flared in a peristaltic ripple, and it emitted a thin screech that ran right through Halm's spine. A fraction of a second later, Brunski's lasbolt caught it in one shoulder, sending it staggering and its own shot wild. Halm leapt forward, grasping desperately for her lost pistol as the other Sabactes whipped round with barking, breathless yelps. Brunski was yelling, his modified rifle shouldered and burping fire. The air still hung with white dust.

Then it moved. From the dust emerged massive figures – shorter than the Sabactes, but many times broader. The warriors toted thick, black, brutal-looking boltguns, but they weren't firing them. More howling doppler-shrieks echoed in the near distance, but the Gatebreakers were intent. Pushing through and into the Stalker-forms, arm-long blades came up, slitting and scattering alien limbs. Great gauntlets closed on gelid flesh, puncturing and holding while more sweeping, disembowelling bladestrokes swept in.

It was over in less than four seconds. Perfect. The Sabact's yellow-and-purple ichor was vivid against the pervasive white dust, painted in great arcs across a startlingly wide area. 

Halm remained sprawled, chest down in the rubble. Dumbfounded, petrified, she only realised she hadn't reached the pistol when one of the marines stepped forward and nudged it towards her with his boot. His head was bare, one bloodshot eye puckered up in a livid bruise that was obvious despite the deep tone of his skin. Their eyes met for a moment, then he looked back to his squadmates. Odd static, on the edge of hearing, pattered back and forth. She closed her mouth, forcing herself to calm. Comm-clicks, that's all.

Brunski stepped forward, his lasrifle pointedly aimed to the ground. He was as wide-eyed as Halm, He hooked his free hand under her armpit and helped her up. The marine turned back, and gestured with three fingers.

"Extraction awaits rearwards, Adepts. Three hundred yards." 

Another marine loomed behind him. Slightly shorter, slighter – but still head and shoulders above Brunski, a powerfully-built man – Halm wondered whether the other was Astartes or Primaris? Was there even a meaningful difference now? 

Whatever he was, the Primaris' helm was grilled and pugnacious. His armour was battered, but all the damage was old. Where the Primaris was covered in scrapes and dings and Sabact-ichor, the only thing that made it clear the other marines had been fighting was the same shroud of dust as his comrade.

"To put it another way, adept," his strange accent garbled the word – or else the honorific was intentionally being mocked – "Your presence here is no longer welcome."

+++ 

+ Barbari Kill's Notes – Markings of the Gatebreakers +

+ The Chapter symbol is a mace, with five points. It's a figurative representation of the Chapter's intentions – a brutal, direct weapon of war. The points symbolise the Chapter's multiple companies and ability to work more independently. Further, the handle contains an orb above the weapon's grip. This symbolises Terra, and the God-Emperor – it is he that directs the Chapter. The ball of the mace, figuratively distant from Terra, represents Andocrine. +

+ The Gatebreake's Chapter symbol, on Eo Daur's pauldron. +

+ It's a blunt image, and one that it quite at odds with both the Chapter that I have found here on Andocrine and their would-be Primaris successors. Despite the ready access to the warrior-monks and the extensive material I have gathered on the ephemera of the Chapter, our research has revealed little of value on the Chapter's capabilties or intentions. +

+ Member-Ordinary Blessings-be Miriode shows a typical left pauldron. +

+ It's not even as though things are consistently different. On consultation with my Primaris warders, some things are straight from the book – the Codex Astartes, that is. Tactical markings are scribed on the rear shoulder pad as one might find on a hundred Chapters across the Imperium – but they're accompanied by odd weapon badges. Halm assures me that such markings aren't without precedent; but her digging is going further and further into the past without revealing anything relevant. If it is a known Astartes marking, it hasn't been used in Millennia. +

+ Member-Ordinary Tening Gyal bears a IX strikeforce plate on his forearm +

+ Other markings hint at a organisation unlike that of their Primaris support. Scipius' men are organised in strict squads and companies; you can tick them off like toy soldiers, each one in the right place. +

+ Sho's forces, meanwhile, seem quite bemused by this – their fluid approach appears to revolve around temporary Strikeforces, with very little integral formal organisation beyond that. These strikeforces are gathered by officers – though on whose authority or by what agency I do not yet know. + 

+ I have many questions for Sho – and for Scipius, too. And yet, I understand that this is a fraught and strained moment of meeting for the two Chapters. I have no desire to prevent an alliance – an alloying – from forming, and delicacy must therefore, for now, be my watchword. +

+ [ADDENDA][APPENDNOTE:] No word yet from Taiwo. Has the man received my missive? +

+++

+ inload: Gatebreakers infantry completed +

+ Objective: Complete +

+ Thought I'd start with a bit of shameless self-congratulation today, as my Gatebreakers turned up on GW's hobby roundup last week. +

+ That nice little surprise gave me a bit of a kick up the hindquarters, and I've pressed on to complete the first sixteen. That's got me well on the way to having something ready in time for the launch of 9th edition. +

+ That, of course, meant I had to make some decisions on basing. In the end, I've gone for a rich, red earth with a variety of sprouting plants. It harmonises with the Gatebreaker's scheme, and is anonymous enough to work on most typical tables – importantly, it'll go nicely with the new mat to which I've treated myself. More on that in a future inload. +

+ Gunsight techy bits have been added in orange – another colour that harmonises with the warm shadow – and I've ticked in the Chapter symbol and other iconography. Gun casings have stayed black, with minimal highlighting. I want the guns and other equipment to look no-nonsense, and not distract from what's already a bold scheme. +

+ inload: Further painting of Gatebreakers +

'Hostis!'

+ Spent a couple of evenings developing the highlighting on all fifteen Gatebreakers. I also laid in base colours on more arms, giving me sufficient to kit out the remaining painted figures. The force is now within striking distance of begin ready to field. +

+ Highlighting is fairly simple. Taking the marks and streaks I left from the oil stage to guide me, I picked out a few shapes with a lighter tone (white mixed with Flash Gitz yellow), creating the impression of scratches and gouges. The green pads are unhighlighted here , so you get an impression of what it looks like before. +

+ I decided to paint a few spare arms in order to give me more options for posing, so I have eleven pairs for the remaining eight(?) figures. After building my Blood Angels and Ultramarine with fairly restrained poses, I thought I'd have fun and use all the cool weird arms here. +

+ The oil wash has been completed and cleaned on the arms, and I've laid in the silver on the pauldrons. These need a day or so before they're ready to varnish, and then it's a simple case of highlighting them and sticking them on – can't wait! +

+ Also on the horizon are these Outrider bikes, which have sat shamefully unpainted. They seem like they'll be a good addition here. +

+ inload: Primaris meet Astartes on Andocrine +

+ An alloy of old and new +

Scipius found Oto Yeng's manner infuriating; but then, he had found almost everything about the Gatebreakers he'd met thus far frustrating. Aside from anything else, he couldn't quite grasp why the apothecary – the Claviger-Gentle, he chided himself – had been assigned to guide him. The two strode down the wide boulevard towards the butkade, Scipius' steps crisp, placed and formal; Yeng's stride much looser, almost louche. 

"With all due respect, Claviger-Gentle," the exotic title came awkwardly to his tongue, but he could not bring himself to call Yeng 'brother'; not yet. "I would be forewarned, if we are to meet the Chapter Master."

Yeng continued his easy-paced stroll, favouring his left leg. It was not quite a limp, and raised still more questions for Scipius. The Gatebreaker nodded, glanced at the other marine, then turned back. Scipius thought he caught a gnomic smile before Yeng replied.

"Have I yet told you, traveller, of the Sage Huro? It was he who wrote that 'water will flow only once a path in rock is worn.'"

Scipius' patience had run thin. At every turn, he had been sidelined; his shuttle greeted not by an honour guard, but by a gaggle of Chapter serfs; and his questions rebuffed, brushed aside with platitudes or politely ignored. The 'fortress monastery' seemed anything but; appearing to be little more than a tumbledown ruin, populated solely by bland-faced serfs. When finally an Astartes had appeared, Oto Yeng had turned out to be more concerned with aphorisms than facts; and still less concerned with the passage of time. He had not even asked Scipius his name or rank. The two had walked, apparently aimlessly, for close to an hour across the winding straight-cornered paths of the monastery. 

Scipius came to a halt, his feet scuffing up the yellow dust that covered the open-air path. Yeng stopped a pace ahead, and half-turned back, his face blandly quizzical. The two soldiers regarded one another; Yeng with seeming disinterest, and Scipius will ill-concealed impatience. Both wore identical quartered green-and-yellow livery, but at that the similarities ended. The Primaris was perhaps a hand's width taller, though much of that was down to his upright posture, and the older Astartes' rolling gait. The Master of Chapter 333 wore gleaming Tacitus plate overlaid with heavy robes in the Imperial style. Scipius' trained eye took in Yeng's plate – a much-patched example of an Armourum Ferrum variant that the Primaris marine did not fully recognise.

"I do not know this Huro. I do not wish to know this Huro. I have brought a host of battle brothers to repopulate what I now find to be an occupied Chapter Fortress. It is a joy indeed to find that our forebears – that you – have survived, but there is much to discuss: to plan. I insist you take me to see the Chapter Master; and immediately."

Yeng pursed his lips and looked down, his hands clasped behind his back. He eased his shoulders, the much-patched armour creaking, before running a hand through his scrubby grizzled hair.

"Grant me this indulgence, traveller. You will forgive my rudeness in relating one story more." Scipius raised an impatient eyebrow as the apothecary went on. "When asked how best to seize his father's throne, the sage Huro told his Prince: 'Travelling is best when it is a return to familiarity.' The Prince, of course, understood at once."

Scipius was straightforward, but he was not stupid. All these riddles. Of course. It had been a test. He had not been snubbed. He dropped to one knee.

"I understand now. My apologies." Yeng's eyes widened briefly at the Primaris marine's action, before the apothecary's smiled broadened still further. "You are the Chapter Master. I am unworthy..."

"Alas, no," Yeng interrupted, still grinning. "That honour is not mine. I see now your eagerness. I will take you to Master." The Gentle turned, unceremoniously, and waved a hand vaguely behind him. "Come then, Unworthy." 

Scipius rose, face flushed, indignation warring with embarrassment. Following the Astartes closely along the short corridor, he laid a hand on the other's shoulder plate. Yeng turned to him, his expression once more innocently quizzical.

"That is not–". Scipius' objection was cut off by the peal of a great gong. 

The sound reverberated richly along the corridor, and Yeng's face creased into a grin. 

"Strange what we get to decide for ourselves, isn't it?" Without waiting for an answer, he paused, glancing towards the large round portal of the moon door. He gestured towards the opening. "Ah, but that will wait for another time, I think. Now is right for you to meet your Master." 

+++

+ Building and painting +

+ The Primaris Gatebreakers are coming along nicely. With the chest eagles and metallics painted, I assembled the figures. The army itself is going to represent the Chapter a little further along than in the stories above – my aim is that the stories will eventually catch up, and then events during games will provide the ongoing narrative. +

+ To this end, then, the Primaris newcomers aren't quite as uniform and clean-cut as they had been. The same supply issues that have dogged the Chapter since time immemorial continue to be in force during the dark Millennium, though the incoming Chapter 333 – that is, the newcomers – did at least come with a big stockpile of shiny new toys. +

+ You'll spot quite a variety of bolt weapons above. The marines will mostly have auto-boltrifles, though the precise pattern of that will vary. You'll spot that some are conversions of the Infiltrators' and Reivers' different styles of bolt carbines. I'm unlikely to field either of those units unconverted (I don't like the lack of greaves), but I do like the shorter, more familiar snub noses of their boltguns. +

+ Not quite finished, but well on the way now. I'm pleased (and relieved!) that the Primaris mix in quite nicely with the older armour styles. 

+ +

+ inload: Our Presence Remakes the Past +

'Our Presence Remakes the Past!' The cry thundered from a crowd of enhanced throats, deep and reverberant. In the hall serving as Chapter 333's gathering place, the echoes died out quickly.

It was borrowed, of course. One of the famed Ultramarines' many battle cries, redolent with ten thousand years of history – history that Chapter 333 sorely lacked. Inquisitor Kills had enquired after its provenance during an awkward repast at the Captain's table, which Master Scipius had attended. He had picked politely at the food, and demurred Taiwo's offer of any wine beyond that used for the toasts.

The question had been answered as the Primaris marine answered all her questions – promptly, directly, and with no expansion. It had felt like an interrogation. Kills – and she suspected the other diners too – had been relieved when the warrior had bowed out of the ceremonial meal, thanking his Rogue Trader host with a curt salute.

The marines were too large, too intense, too real for anything like a relaxed atmosphere. Every mouthful of food or drink had been overshadowed by the sheer presence of the warrior. It had been like dining alongside a Cthellan cudbear – scrupulously trained, perhaps, but something in humanity's hindbrain sat uneasily alongside superpredators.

Barbari Kills brought her attention back to the hall. The Chaplain – what was his name? – was deep into the litanies. Smartly turned-out serfs in yellow and green-piped tabards tracked back and forth along the assembled ranks of the Chapter, anointing each warrior with dabs of unguent, or murmuring catechism.

She and her acolytes, Brunski and Halm, had a position of honour, looking out over the Chapter from the side. That their podium was constructed of stacked shipping crates rather took away the glamour, but needs must. Chapter 333's own fleet, such as it was, offered no craft large enough to gather the Chapter, and so Scipius had arranged with Taiwo to utilise one of the Rogue Trader's vessels for such assemblies. Standing at ease, but crisply, the Inquisitor let her eye wander over the Chapter. There was variance – of course there was – but very little. Every figure was decked out in the same armour – row after row of the same smooth helms, the same black, heavy guns. It was a far cry from her time with the Stellar Steeds, whose laughing company seemed to revel in individualism; their plate mixed and endlessly varied.

Halm half-coughed, and Kills looked at her quizzically. Sotto voce, the acolyte murmured a word of encouragement as she handed over the scroll. It was time for the Inquisitor to address the Space Marines. Kills rather enjoyed pomp and ceremony, usually. It offered a refreshing change from the cloak-and-daggers politicking of her usual task – or at least a surface contrast, she mused.

It was a short and to-the-point speech. Halm had suggested it be so – and she had had considerably more opportunity to ingratiate herself with the Chapter serfs than the Inquisitor herself. No room for poetry here, the Inquisitor thought to herself, as she began her oration.

"You stand ready to take your place as castellans of the Emperor's domain. This outpost is distant from his light, and all the more vulnerable for it. Here at the edge of the galaxy, you will serve. Each of you is a lantern; a magnifying mirror to that light. You will bring the Emperor's hand to these benighted worlds, extended in friendship to those that seek his protection, and closed in a fist to those who would despoil or seek to desecrate his worlds. You will, perhaps, be alone in these duties." She paused, weighing the next words carefully. The assembled crowd stood, dutifully, impassively; still as statues. Licking her lip, unaccountably dry, she continued, "And perhaps you will not. We are at anchor around a planet tentatively identified as the lost world of Quercus Brant; a short translation from the rumoured location of system Androcrine. Once Quercus Brant is brought back within the fold, we will move on to Andocrine. There we will discover the fate of your forebears; there we will find answers."

Another pause. Not a single marine moved. Kills was no psychic, but a prickle down her spine told her that this was an entirely different order of silence. They had been attentive before, but the mention of the Chapter's gene-kin – and the possibility of finding their own history – had charged the atmosphere.

"I recognise that this is a strange form of homecoming. A return to a hold in which you have never set foot; and which must seem nebulous. You must be prepared to find ruins. You must be prepared to reclaim and refortify the fortress-monastery; to take arms against the strange and novel xenoforms of the region. You must guard against false hope, for such is the first step on the road to disappointment. And yet." A third pause, "And yet, I wish you well – both in your campaign upon Quercus Brant, and in our shared travails to Androcrine. Whether we find your kin or not, you have duties to perform. An Imperium to extend. An Emperor to serve. You have a history of your own to write."

The close of the speech was met with a final silence. And then, a great roar; a roar from a thousand throats:
'Our Presence Remakes the Past!'

+++

+ Progress +

+ The varnish is dry on the first sets of arms, so I finally have sufficient bits to assemble a Primaris member of the Gatebreakers. He is a little further down the line timewise from the story above, but still in 'proper' Tacticus armour. +

+ He needs highlighting, basing and still needs details like the gun and chapter badge to be painted, but I'm really pleased with how they're looking. It's not at all clear here, but the chest eagle is painted silver with a purple wash. +

+ Painting in sub-assemblies has been a fun experiment, and helped to make this batch painting a bit of a novelty. I am glad, however, that I restricted myself to a fairly reasonable number of figures – more than fifteen would have been very complicated! +

+ I'm pleased to report that the oils seem to be behaving themselves. Experimentation always has the potential to go seriously wrong, but – touch wood – it's holding together well so far. +

+ The depth of tone oils allowed me to create, together with the speed at which it could be done, has me firmly on board. I'm looking forward to experimenting further with this technique. +

+ Bloodthirsty headhunting, or sanctified relics? We'll find out soon enough, if Barbari Kills can find where Andocrine is... +

+ Eight pairs of arms – and the accompanying shoulderpads are next up. After that, it's pouches, grenades and similar bells and whistles. You'll spot a couple of beakie helms, too. Not quite sure how they fit with the Marks of armour, but who cares? Beakies are cool. +

+ ...And to finish, a couple of shots of the whole gang. Apologies if these are getting tiresome, but I find it helpful to watch them gradually get more and more developed. +