The Order of the Talon are a homebrew Space Marine Chapter heavily influenced by the faction of the same name in the Command and Conquer Red Alert mod Paradox. All intellectual property, including common lore, unit names and the Chapter Badge are used with permission from Open_Sketchbook and the mod team, Infinity Realms.
The Talon's Chapter Symbol and Banner
Order History
The Order of the Talon less closely resembles Codex Marine Chapters than it does the Deathwatch and the Grey Knights. Just as the Grey Knights are the militant arm of the Ordo Malleus and the Deathwatch is the fighting force of the Ordo Xenos, the Order of the Talon is the army of the Ordo Hereticus, alongside the publicly visible Sisters of Battle. Their existence is known only to the upper echelons of the Ordo Hereticus and the Lords of Terra, and their mission is simple. They deal with heretical threats the Sisters, mere humans, are unable to combat. Strong, wide-spread Chaos cults, entrenched heretics, and renegade Guardsmen regiments are often too strong or too politically hot for the Adeptas Sororitas to deal with, and too small-scale for the Ordo Malleus or the Astartes to bother with. The Talon use their bureaucratic invisibility and elite units to excise the heresy and keep the Emperor’s domain pure.
Gladius, Deus, Ignis
-The creed of the Order of the Talon
Talon gene-seed is primarily donated from Black Templar Sword Brethren, making the Order of the Talon technically an Imperial Fist successor chapter, although they have more in common with the Deathwatch force organization. Each gene-seed tithe is used to create five battle brothers from one donating Marine's five donations. These groups of five brothers train with the Deathwatch and the best of the ranks of the Ordo Hereticus Inquisitors, until they are ready for their first assignment. Each squad of 5 Footmen will unanimously select one of their brethren to take responsibility for the squad, and he is given the title of Exemplar. The squad is equipped with holy Bolters and sent to redeem the wicked. After several successful deployments, the squad may collectively be promoted to one of several specialized groups. Those that display an aptitude for close combat and a superior zeal are given the title of Devouts, armed with Power Swords, meltabombs and grappeling harnesses, and hunt armored foes. Sappers are given Bolt Pistols and demolition charges, and destroy the enemy infrastructure. The most religiously zealous and pious Footmen are equipped with flamers and called Cleanser squads. Rogues are equipped with long-range sniper rifles and drawn from the recruits with the steadiest aim and the calmest demeanor. Finally, the elite Templars are drawn from the bravest of their comrades, and given jump packs and meltaguns, to hunt down the largest enemies and face them in combat. Those Footmen that distinguish themselves beyond the expected are equipped with Terminator armor and given the distinction of Paladins, and out of those the most noble are given close combat weapons to face the enemy in single combat.
Warriors of Steel
The vehicular corps of the Talon more or less follows the Codex approved vehicles, with several important deviations. Each Footman squad is assigned a squad Razorback, renamed a Bastion. Usually these are equipped with twin-linked Lascannons to complement the squad anti-infantry loadout with anti-vehicle power. They provide additional hitting power, quick transport and additional armor for the squad. Since no single squad of Talon ever numbers above five, Rhinos are not required in the force organization. Bastions and their infantry squads are supported by Cavaliers – Predators of any pattern – and other specialized Talon infantry. Paladins and their brethren ride to battle in Charger Assault Transports, modified Land Raiders. Cataphract-Pattern Chargers are armed with Hurricane Bolter sponsons and Lucifer-Pattern Chargers are armed with Flamestorm cannons. In battle they provide a mobile shield for the more fragile Bastions and advance their deadly cargo into the enemy firing lines. Carrying the Talon warriors from their Battle Barges to the planet’s surface are Apostle Assault Rams, loosely based on the Caestus Ram favored by other non-Codex-adherent chapters.
Artillery support is provided by modified Whirlwinds and Vindicators. Ribault Missile Platforms are capable of unleashing a flurry of promethium missiles upon designated targets, and the Culverin Heavy Gun Platform fires close-support Demolisher shells on to opposing infantry blobs and vehicle columns alike.
When a fast attack is needed, the Talon rely on their Archangels and Hussars. Hussars are flamethrower-equipped jetbikes deployed to hunt down fleeing enemies, and Archangel squads use Landspeeders with Assault Cannons and Heavy Bolters to cut off enemy supply lines and troop reinforcements.
Fire and Fury
The elites of the Talon form groups of fighters called a cell. Each is commanded by a Crusader, the equivalent of a Captain. Each cell has a balanced army of Footmen and their specialized brethren, along with fast attack and vehicular support. The Crusader’s retinue includes Hospitallars, Abbots and Craftsmen, whose duties are roughly equivalent to Apothecaries, Chaplains and Techmarines in Codex Chapters. Along with the Crusader and their retinue, Talon Dreadnoughts, called Dragoons, accompany each cell to provide the counsel of ages and the experience of several thousand years of fighting on the worst battlefields in the Imperium.
The Land of Milk and Honey
The Talon’s Fortress-Monastery Hawk’s Perch is located on Canaa, a largely desert planet in the southern reaches of the Segmentum Obscurus. It is on this arid world that the Talon train endlessly to combat the droves of heretics that threaten to splinter the Imperium of Man from within.
Notable Battles
Siege of Golan Monastery
2 cells dispatched to lay siege to a monastery overrun by a Tzeenchian cult. A suicide run by a chapter Apostle Assault Ram opens a breach in the monastery walls, allowing Paladins and Dragoons to halt a ritual about to divert a Warp-fueled asteroid into Terran orbit, opening a Warp Rift within the Sol system itself.
Defense of Hawk's Perch
During the 13th Black Crusade, the chapter Fortress-Monastery on Canaa came under attack by a Chaos warband known as the Black Hand. Led by a former Word Bearer Dark Apostle known only as Cain, the warband used mobile siege guns to lay siege to the Fortress-Monastery for nearly a month before the beleaguered defenders were relieved by field teams from Task Force Acre.
Cleansing of Sarajevo
After the defense of Hawk’s Perch, the Talon as a whole swore vengeance on Cain and the Black Hand and tracked the survivors to the Industrial World Sarajevo, where the Black Hand survivors took refuge inside a large Cult catacomb beneath the sprawling Hive City. Dedicated Talon kill teams infiltrated the ventilation shafts and side tunnels, cleansing cultists with flamers and hellfire grenades. Once the true extent of the catacomb network became known, the Talon decided to use a localized Exterminatus technique, detonating promethium bombs in the access tunnels. This led to the unfortunate explosion of ammunition and stockpiled promethium supplies, collapsing the entire Hive City and reducing the catacomb network to ash. The Talon were able to quietly slip away before any note of their presence was made, and Sarajevo Hive is still officially reported as “destroyed due to an unfortunate promethium leak in the below-ground refineries”.
Completed Units
Chapter Master, Crusader and Hospitallar
Footmen
Bastion
Templars
Paladins
Dragoon
Assault Dragoon
Lucifer-Pattern Charger Assault Transport
Ribault Missile Platform
Army List (1350)
HQ:
Chaplain
- Plasma Pistol,
- Jump Pack
Troops:
Tactical Squad x4, Sergeant
- Storm Bolter
- Razorback
- TL Lascannons
Scout Squad x4, Sergeant
- 4x Sniper Rifles
- Teleport Homer
Scout Squad x4, Sergeant
- Heavy Bolter
Elites:
Ironclad Dreadnought
- Hurricane Bolter
- Chainfist
- Drop Pod
Terminator Assault Squad x4, Sergeant
- Lightning Claws
- Land Raider Redeemer
Fast Attack:
Vanguard Veterans x4, Sergeant
- Thunder Hammers
- Sergeant Thunder Hammer
Author Comments
This army is the result of a rabid fascination with both the lore created by the development team and fans of Red Alert 3 Paradox, a mod for Command and Conquer Red Alert 3, and a similarly rabid fascination with the fluff of Warhammer 40,000. This army is the love child of these two devotions, helped into existence by lots of money and time invested in the models and loving care invested into perfecting the lore.
The Order of the Talon lore in the Red Alert 3 Paradox universe can be read here (http://wiki.paradoxmod.com/index.php?title=Order_of_the_Talon
), along with their army list in the Paradox Mod. I have drawn on the vast creative potential of both the fan-written lore and the developer-created lore stored on the Red Alert 3 Paradox Wiki, of which I am a loyal contributer. Thanks for reading this far, and I hope you enjoyed hearing the lore as much as I enjoyed creating/converting it!