Rise of an Empire - The Arachnid Hades Strain (pic update)

Doghouse

Mongoose
Hades

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The Gormangan system lies on the northern most edge of Federation space, a small insignificant solar system comprising of six desolate planets.
The electromagnetic storms and barren landscape of fourth planet made active service on the isolated H36 research station, affectionately known as Hades to it's personnel, a less than attractive posting.
Being stationed at Hades was a clear indication that your career was efectively over and as a result was a dumping ground for disfunctional or maverick scientists and militant MI personnel.

Project: "Bug Corps"
Commodore Horton had served a long and distinguished career with the fleet before being retired from frontline duties for his controversal and unorthorised studies on the Arachnid menace.
Horton believed that through genetic manipulation it would be possible to manipulate the Arachnids into becoming bio-weapons through understanding the function of the Brain bugs. Apon his retirement from active service few questioned his request to be posted as commander of H36.
Using his former fleet connections Horton secretly gathered a group of misfits and outcasts who jumped at the chance to create a psyonic weapon capable of manipulating the Arachnids to do the bidding of SICON.
Although it had proven impossible to secure an actual Brain bug they were successful in engineering a hybrid clone using tissue samples acquired on the black market.
The hybrid was nicknamed the "Emperor Bug" by the research team. The Emperor whilst not a pure strain Brain possessed incredibley powerful telepathic abilities. The theory was that the Emperor would act as a conduit for a SICON operative to control the Arachnids through use of Talents. In effect the Emperor was to act as a psyonic amplyfier and control system.
The Emperor Bug wasn't the only experimental hybrid created at the Hades facility. Variations of the Warrior and Guard bugs were also created with enhanced telepathic receptors and increased reasoning abilities. These engineered variants were to provide the "Bug Corps" as the project was jokingly known amongst the science teams with a core of troops that were to be used in a similar manner to the K9 Corps neodogs.

Horton's Folly
Whilst the exact details of the destruction of Hades facility is classified it is speculated that there had been a breach in the containment unit of the Emperor Bug. Whilst it is not know exactly what unfolded it is believed that the Emperor had unintentionally absorbed brainwaves from the station's personnel and achived sentience. Utilising the enhanced psychic receptors of the hybrid warriors and through telepathic manipulation of base personnel it is believed that the Emperor was able to stage an uprising and escape using the station's only transport.
The Emperor's current location as of this time is unknown.

H-36A Able strain Warrior bug.
It is apparent that the science teams were limited in their selection of Arachind genetic material due to the prominant feature of the Rippler bug within all of the Hades strain Arachnids.
The Able strain or "Prowler" was originally concieved to function alongside Pathfinder teams deep within Arachnid colonies. Whilst smaller than the standard purestrain Warrior it is of equal abilites and possesses a far greater reasoning capability. It is speculated that these hybrids are capable of a basic fundimental independant thought process far greater than anything seen before amongst Warrior bugs.

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Very nice conversion, simple and effective. I prefer it to the normal warriors by far. Good luck!
 
Cheers Rob! :) That's the beauty of the conversion, it's dead easy so anyone can do it and looks quite nice.
More to follow... :)
 
Quick update...

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Size comparrison with regular Warrior
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This is the first Warrior of a unit of ten. I'm aiming for a woodlands theme to the bases to be a little different from the regular desert kind. :)
I'm sticking to the classic Warrior paint scheme but with more elaborate carapace markings to indicate squads.
More to follow...
 
Cheers Hiromoon. :)
No I just made it up, I haven't seen the RPG. Is there any info in the RPG that'd improve what I already have here?
 
There's a particular planetary system that breeds arachnids that are particularly hardy. Its in the Arachnid Empire Book. I believe it's called Gargahna, and it's beleived that king tankers were first bred there.
 
That's awsome work and paintjob right there! Also some really cool background.

Wich makes me wonder, is the Emperor Brain on the SICON side or the Bug side? Or maybe it is on it's own side? Hmmm.....
 
Wich makes me wonder, is the Emperor Brain on the SICON side or the Bug side? Or maybe it is on it's own side? Hmmm.....

More importantly Kris, who's side are YOU on? :D
Excellent conversion, I love the paint scheme. It looks more menacing than the "purestrain" warriors!
 
Very nice and very simple conversion, but if I were you I'd try to spread the legs to the sides a bit, and possibly switch the legs - the bigger, more 'muscular' limbs should IMO go to the back, since these will give more strenght to propel the bug into leaping at its pray.
 
Cheers guys. :)

It should be a pretty cool looking force, once the new Brain bug I ordered has arrived in the post I'll pot more background info. :)
 
Quick update

Emperor Bug Concept

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This the first couple of concepts I've come up with for the Emperor bug.
The look I'm going for is an unatural melding of human technology and big ugly bug. The cradle on the front houses a clone, a blank conduit for the SICON officer to communicate through using talents. It translates human to bug thoughts more cleanly than a standard human to bug telepathic link.
I can see the clone now functioning in a more sinister function, imagine the defiant trooper on his knees as he is about to get his brains sucked out and the bug starts talking to him using the clone as a mouthpiece...creepy. :shock:
I'm also thinking about adding a second malformed clone to the side floating in a tank as a psychic enhancer. Everything about the model needs to scream "this is pretty messed up!"
All the add-ons need to look painful, so lots of huge surgical staples and pipes with festering sores.

More Warriors
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Well, I would not put the slave in such a 'conserve seat', instead I would fusion him with the Bug, maybe hangig in some organic Tentacles (on his neck and his back) like a puppet.
I think that would look more creepy (and less like a cyberzombie).

Technology is for the weak. Bugs don't need it.
Nice Idea though 8)
 
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