Hive Fleet Gorgon - Ferron Splinter Fleet

[dwez]

Hive Fleet Gorgon was a Tyranid Hive Fleet which invaded the Tau Empire in 899.M41. It was relatively small compared to other Hive Fleets, but it was exceptional for its ability to quickly adapt on a biological level to new circumstances of battle. Gorgon in fact manifested more bioform varieties than any other Hive Fleet. This rapid pace of adaptation may have been unique to Gorgon, or it may have been a response to conflict with the Tau, a race who are also highly flexible and adaptable but on a technological level. Gorgon was destroyed in 903.M41 by the combined forces of the Tau and the Imperial Guard.



However, it has since been identified that a splinter of Hive Fleet Gorgon separated from the main Hive Fleet before the final battle presumably to ensure the retention of the bioform and tactical knowledge learned during the conflicts. This splinter fleet headed towards Segmentum Obscurus where it has spent much of it's attentions on the Ferron Sub-sector, in particular focussing on the largest planet Ferron Proxima. Ferron Proxima is mainly a recruitment world for the Dark Angels, it's native people have long been chosen to join the ranks of the first Legion and it's subsequent second founding chapters. The fallen chapters have a strict rota system for choosing worthy aspirants due to the high levels of successful candidates.



Hive Fleet Gorgon's innate ability to change their genetic structure may explain perhaps their specific interest in the planet. Recent samples of captured bio-forms have shown that they are somehow absorbing the wraithbone liberally spread across the surface. Their chitinous bodies become infused with the Eldar material, making them even more psychically attuned to their synapse creatures. What is even more disturbing is that they do not seem to need to harvest the fragments, just prolonged exposure on the planets surface will slowly mutate their gene code. It's this discovery that troubles the many Bio-magi and Xeno-biologist who flock to Ferron Proxima to study the various unique fauna and flora who inhabit the red planet's barren, desert like environments, rich in iron deposits and basking under sulphur yellow skies.

[dwez]

Hive Fleet Gorgon - Ferron Splinter Fleet continues to target Ferron Proxima. Latest reports have revealed that unknown to the populace hundreds or even thousands of Genestealers have been laying dormant in the desert regions of the planet.



As more and more incursions from the splinter fleet happen more of these creatures are awakened from their slumber and burst forth from vegetation, caverns or even the very ground itself.



As each new nest is disturbed a writhing mass of tentacles, chitinous armour plates or sharp talons erupt from the surrounding terrain hungry and inflamed with an alien need to kill. The populace has been warned to not leave urban centres, in the belief that whatever construction work that's taken place in those areas would already have disturbed these creatures whereas the wide open spaces have lain unmolested for millenia, until now!



Kill squads from the planetary defence force, backed up by Adeptus Astartes and members of the Inquisition, including Magos Biologis Alder Garrick have set out to exterminate these life forms before they can connect with the splinter fleet. Who knows what information their alien biometric knowledge of Ferron Proxima will do to help the alien menace adapt and mutate in it's insatiable desire for Ferron Proxima.

[dwez]

The Scourge of Oktavia is a Xenos abomination that has only recently begun to terrorize the good citizens of Ferron Proxima. The Scourge is a bioform of the Hive Tyrant [Tyranicus Praefactor] genus but it has evolved with the ability of flight due to its leathery wings.



Alongside the winged biomorph it has also adapted two oversized Devourer weapons. These horrific mutations allow the beast to lay down heavy fire that can decimate small vehicles as well as the brave people of Ferron Proxima.



The Scourge has taken to roosting in the abandoned Edvard Henri Memorial Cathedral Tower in the coastal hive city of Oktavia Profundis. Despite sharp shooters from the local militia and planetary defence force they have been unable to remove it from it's nesting area and the Winged Tyrant continues to plague the populace killing with abandon.



A call for support from the Dark Angels has been despatched, as Ferron Proxima is a recruitment world for them and their Sucessor chapters. The Tyrant may have the skies for the moment but in time it will have to face the might of the Adeptus Astartes.

[tofu]

Awww Yissssss. Beautiful. I love the fluff too.

Very nice work on the 'stealer conversions.

[dwez]

Amongst the more common Tyranid genus found to frequent the Hive Fleet Gorgon Ferron Splinter fleet are Termagants armed with the fearsome Devourer weapons. 'Devgaunts' or 'Devilgaunts' as they're often called by the more superstitious residents of Ferron Proxima are often found amongst the broods that strike without warning. Usually joined by it's monstrous brood mother - the loathsome Tervigon. Or bursting from the remains of the sub-orbital deployment pods known as Mycetic Spores, these beasts are not to be dismissed despite their position in the Xenos hierarchy.



The Devourer weapon is a rotting mass of flesh filled with pulsating worms that are ejected from the weapon thanks to a bio-electric shock. Upon impact with their victim the parasitic invertebrates begin to bore into exposed flesh or infest any orifice they can find. The victim becomes a seething mass of agony as the worms eat through to their brain and certain death. The horrific display can be too much for the companions of the victim. Quite often the sight of their colleague being eaten from the inside and screaming in agony can cause witnesses to flee in horror.



These particular Devgaunts caught on camera by servo-skull Xt-36^9 show what appear to be a Toxin Sac biomorph. These glands are a breeding ground for caustic poisons and virulent toxic fluids that coat the creatures claws and teeth making it far more dangerous than it's stature would suggest. However, some Bio-magi have posited the suggestion that sometimes these are just vestigial sacs, with no real function aside from providing its brood mother with a means to keep track of its offspring. The very concept that such alien intelligence is at play has brought Inquisitorial censure for those magi foolish enough to publish their works openly.

[Uhtin]

Very nice, love the fluff

[alamomelt]

These look really great!

[dwez]

In the early days of Hive Fleet Gorgon arriving on Ferron Proxima there was some confusion surrounding some of the larger bio-forms that had descended with the splinter fleet. Various xeno-biologists and bio-magi believed the larger creatures were belonged to the Carnifex family yet some of the more outlandish claims were that these were a 'missing link' an evolved 'proto-Tervigon' that had the ability to spawn the Termagant beasts.



In time these wild claims were borne out. It transpired that Gorgon was once again adapting to it's surroundings, utilising the Carnifex as a chasis for what would later evolve into the Tervigon. It was supposed that in a previous encounter the Hive Fleet had an abundance of these bio-forms and had added bio-matter and symbiotic incubation sacs to upgrade them into Tervigons until it could find the requisite abundance of biofuel to create the Tervigons from scratch.



Despite the different scales between the two beasts there are now clear evolutionary steps evident between the Carnifex - proto-Tervigon - Tervigon and despite the intial confusion it is now clear to see that these beasts are related.



Regardless, these proto-tervigons continue to be seen roaming Ferron Proxima and in slightly different evolved forms across the Imperium. Whilst the bio-magi squabbled and awaited a clear evolutionary apex progentior these proto-Tervigons turned up on world after world. Now that the Tervigon has been classified and catalogued in the Tyranid genepool the proto-Tervigons cannot be dismissed and nor should they be as they continue to fulfil a specific role in the Hive.



To discover more about the proto-Tervigon please point your cogitators to Imperium data fill #61Z-5L#proto-tervigon#

[FTGTEvan]

Love catching up on your fluff here. I particularly like the proto-tervigon bit, a little tongue-in-cheek. As always, beautiful minis.

[dwez]

When it became apparent that Hive Fleet Gorgon had managed to create a foothold in the more remote parts of Ferron Proxima there was little the Planetary Defence Force could do by that stage. The alien intelligence had gambled on citing their incursion in some of the desolate wildernesses so as to avoid detection, the gamble being the lack of bio-mass available to fuel their breakout from their planet fall. However, in time the brood nest was able to use hastily formed digestion pits to reclaim what vegetation and local fauna resided in those areas and with this bio-mass were able to evolve their proto-Tervigons into their natural state.



Aside from the increase in size there was little difference to their earlier counterparts, although some would say they possess a visage many times more frightening than their forebears. Unfortunately those that did voice such thoughts were soon removed from the populace by the local Inquisition or summarily executed by their PDF Commissars. What did hold true between the two strains was their ability to spawn Termagants. Often they would projectile birth them ahead of their charge, using them as shield, to fearlessly engage the PDF before their brood mother slammed into the preoccupied Ferrons. The only respite the PDF could discern was once again due to their limited stocks of bio-mass as often the beasts spawned would number just a dozen although very occasionally it could be many dozen!



As the encounters increased Bio-magi continued to record all reports of the nature of this new Xenos threat. Tervigons were a whole new genus they were rapidly having to come to terms with to draw solutions up for their eradication or at the least containment until the arrival of support from the Adeptus Astartes. It soon became apparent that the creatures had some form of psychic abilities. Initially those skills allowed them to force their progeny to greater feats of endurance or allowing them to control the weaker minded beasts from further distances whilst they stayed in the rear. However at some indeterminate point something changed, whether it be the natural absorption of the Wraithbone shards scattered across the surface of Ferron Proxima or some alien signal that evolved the psychic ability of the creatures following the arrival of the Dark Angel relief force in the battle barge 'Dark Vengeance' no one knows.



The result though was that suddenly the Tervigons were performing much more varied elements of witchcraft, invariably making them stronger and tougher or giving them the ability to move faster than the eye could see and faster than anything of that size should be in nature. Additionally these skills allowed them to be more aggressive, leading from the front and using further skills to weaken the forces arrayed against the, or making their progeny even more durable in the face of oncoming fire. Regardless it soon became apparent the even the most devastating of creatures the Great Devourer could bring to the battlefields - Trygons and Mawlocs could be pale shadows of what an enraged Tervigon could be - they were seen to tear large tanks apart with ease, smashing Bastions and whole formations apart with their giant crushing claws or scything talons.



Currently the Tervigons are being kept in check through the efforts of the Dark Angels, disallowing them access to further biomass to increase their numbers. We can only hope the Emperor's Finest will prevail and stamp out their kind.

[t⊗theark]

Wow, these are really nice. I like the spottled look of the carapace.

[Squire]

I was sure I'd posted in this thread before to say how good your models are... maybe I just imagined it.

Anyway, I love it. Nice colour scheme, well executed. I particularly like the brown weapons! I think too often people have a good looking colour combination with the carapace and skin, then go and paint the guns in a bright colour that takes away from the main look of the army. I get the impression your scheme was carefully thought through, and it's worked out well. Particularly in the case of devourers. The brown is perfect

The MC's are incredible. That carapace technique looks better and better the larger the model it is applied to. My favourite things are probably the tyrant's wings and fleshborer hives. They're VERY well done!

[dwez]

Cheers Squire, I think before the board got updated you may have commented. I was sure I'd posted these before but couldn't find the original thread. Regarding the weapons, as time goes on they have got more red. The early one were all based on a 'liver' colour but after the sepia and devlan mud washes they ended up brown. However as you can see in the Warriors they got revamped to be more red after I noticed the Deathspitters had started to look a bit shabby. I really like the introduction of more reds [and it fits my fluff] but they are beginning to look more garish, that's a fact, especially when you add in the yellow for eyes and lime green for toxin sacs.

[dwez]

It has been noted recently that in many of the Xenos incursions into occupied areas of Ferron Proxima that amongst the hulking beasts and chittering hordes there is a being of immense psychic potential. This creature can be seen floating above it's smaller bretheren, an eldritch light sparking from it's immense cranium and exposed synaptic cells. Unfortunately most field reports stop there as whatever witchery this creature holds results in the decimation of whole ranks of heroic defenders of Ferron Proxima. One minute they are upholding the faith of the Emperor, the next minute they are but lifeless husks.



Bio-magi have found numerous reports from other worlds of creatures similar to these but one in particular has even more commonality with this brain beast, a creature designated the Doom of Malan'tai, although very little evidence exists of the immense Psychic Blast employed by this so-called 'Doom'. The Ferron brain beast has instead been known to emmit a piercing scream, so powerful as to render armour and defensive fortifications useless. The sonic tyrade causes the heroic planetary defence forces and Astartes alike to fall to their knees as their ear drums explode and their brains are liquified. What is worse is that cyber skull bio-data recording of the brain beast has shown it to somehow gain strength from this wholesale slaughter.



A priority one kill order has been sent to all forces, however this is proving difficult as quite oten the first indication that the brain beast is in the vicinity is when a giant fleshy pod-like creature falls from the sky and the beast bursts from it's thrashing carcass into the midst of the brave defenders. Before they can react they become overwhelmed by the brain beast or the writhing pod lashes out with it's tentacles spitting individuals on the serrated barbed tips. Additional weaponry is often brought to bear on anybody brave enough to try and tackle the brain beast head on, but not before they run the gauntlet of the brain beast itself.



These two creatures form an unlikely but effective symbiotic relationship, often with the pod being left ravaged by defenders eager to meet out some revenge for the horrifc devastation the brain beast creates. Quite often the brain beast will be left untouched by enemy fire, surviving hundreds of rounds of ammunition and feasting on the life-force of anything within reach. Many reports also suggest that despite this energy field and prodigious strength one crack shot in the right place is enough to render all this psychic energy pointless as it's vaporised into the warp. Sadly though, for every confirmed kill there is another confirmed sighting. Once again reminding us that the Great Devourer is constantly evolving, mutating and gestating new horrors that must be destroyed for the Emperor and the safety of the Imperium.

[vespa]

That pod looks awesome! How did you make it?