Last Updated:
28/12-2003
E-mail:
History of the Phoenixes
“The Phoenixes are a very special regiment made and renamed to replace the famous XXVIIth Harakoni Warhawks Regiment – The Doomdivers.
This honoured regiment met its end when they were required to drop in enforce to sabotage a large Speed Freek Ork Host on Ruul Prime in the Ruulian Sector in the Segmentum Tempestus. Despite valiant battle and destroying roughly a third of the Orkish Waaagh! they were butchered by the surprising numbers and only scraps survived badly mauled!
The Waaagh was naturally destroyed from orbit, and with sizable counter-assaults when their vast numbers and obvious threat to the Imperium was discovered, but the damage was done, and a proud regiment had been destroyed…
The newly promoted Colonel Haagen Icarus of the famed Icarus House was given the task of making a new regiment, and he devised a new doctrine of warfare centered around the flying vapourwyrms that occupy and harass the valleys of Harakon.
He wanted the regiment to attack in waves and flocks as they did, and give swift grievous wound and let the victim bleed to death rather than face a long struggle. Thus his regiment was formed and his pre-emptive strikes became the stuff of legends, a series of massive successes and a vital asset to the imperial guard. He would rather make a swift 5 minutes assault to take out all shelter or survival gear in extreme environments to watch their foe slowly die to the conditions, than to actually kill all of them by blast or bayonet.
He also took in the remaining talons of Doomdivers, indisposed with various injuries at the time or survivors of the brutal onslaught, and gave them a place in their fighting style, not to mention a chance to avenge the fate of their lost brethren. To this day, every phoenix has two doomdiver talons to commemorate the surviving two talons which were the survivors of the ill-fated regiment.
He also took the same regiment number to honour the Doom-divers and in a way say that the regiment survived their loss and continues to do the Emperors glorious work. He took the name phoenixes after a bird of flame in the myth of Terra, much suited to represent the talons affinity for using burning secretions and promethium to bring their foes to their knees.
He also proclaimed his theories on warfare and wrote the Tactica Phoenica, which is the epitome of their tactics to this day…
Later the regiment has expanded and now sports three Lightning Fighters each to accompany them into battle, and the training of masses of Helldragons (stormtroopers) and conscripts in their PDF force have insured a steady supply to take the place of casualties.
Presently it is the great-grandson of Haagen, Furion Icarus, that leads the Flock (as they’re now called!) and each of the colonels in charge of the 12 Phoenixes is from House Icarus, and are brothers, fathers, cousins or other relations to each other. These close ties make it possible for the phoenixes to work together without thinking of personal aspirations and rather focus on the problems at hand. It is a simple answer to a usual problem, but it has been successful to this day, and no member has disgraced the house yet…
In more recent history the regiment partook in the onslaught plaguing the galaxy around the Eye of Terror and Cadian Gate, securing the surrounding systems of Cadia, performing hit-and-run assaults on armoured columns & supply cashes, not to mention boarding actions to bring down the orbiting traitor ships. 6 Whole phoenixes in the 3rd and 4th Wave participated in this horrible campaign to liberate the Cadians…
Several phoenixes were stationed in other pats of the galaxy at this time – The 2nd wave guarded Harakon, The 1st wave, of which the 3rd Phoenix I’m a part of, was at this time attributed to the Task Force Harbinger of Lord General Hikaru Kyoshi for his crusade to retake the Abraxis sector in the Emperors name. This is the fate of our flock though and we seldom deploy in force, our talents wanted too much at many places simultaneously…” – Commissar Tichondrius
3rd Phoenix Personel
All comments by Commissar Tichondrius, prior to the Dejenol campaign
Colonel 'Ood Icarus' -
"A stout defender of humanity and the eldest of the colonels from his house, save Furion himself. Guessed to take the place as Great Wyrm after Furion dies, Ood is about the best tactitian the Phoenixes has, foreseeing the enemies move before they happend time and time again. I hope he earns the Macharian Cross one day, for the Emperor knows how he has deserved it... He never takes undue risks, although never hesitates to deploy enforce if mission permits. I forsee him leeding the phoenix for years to come, as nothing can shake his devotion and he has a talent for sniffing out ambushes and fighting his way out of them."
Commissar 'Tichondrius' -
"I come from Ryza, the famed forge world in the Segmentum Solar. Unusual that a forge world would beget a Commissar, since they are mainly about producing parts and machinery to continue our sacred battles, I know, yet with me this is the case. Born the 3rd of 5 children I never doubted the imperial creed and was spotted when I was putting down an "insurrection" amongst the children who wanted to steal from the storrage. Impressed with my skills at the young age and my devotion the Commissar took me to the Schola Progenium at Terrax, which saw my initial training as a Commissar. Yet it was only a small amount compared to what training I would recieve in the field. I was deployed with the Death Korps of Krieg for 7 years, following them through hell and back. I have nothing bad to say about them in general, and feel honoured to have served with them. I lost my arm against an Ork Nob during a battle though, and as the Death Korps valiantly retrieved me, the fact remained that I couldn't serve them for some time due to my extensive injuries. I was rotated back to the Terrax Schola for training Commissars, yet after 2 years the weariness took a hold of me, and I put in for transfer to a fighting unit. The Commisseriat finally acknowledged my request and I was sent to Harakon for my training to participate in their special drop troops regiment - the phoenixes. I have since been here the last 9 years doing the emperors bidding. Only time will show if I'm honoured further by continued life in the Emperors service."
Medic 'Helios'-
"Now here is a trooper that surprises me, born into aristocracy and destined to lead their people into battle, Helios gave up it all for the chance to stand in the muddied trenches and aid his fellow soldiers on the field of battle. He is the most battle hardened and best medic I have ever met and I have seen him perform amputations while vile orks were assaulting the positions mere meters from him with a calmness that should only be reserved for gods... He have saved my life a dozen times at least and I owe him the use of my arm, working on it when all others had given up hope, and even my bionics failed. I would like to see him commended someday, having proposed it 4 times already, yet he cares not much for such honours, besides his work, and is truly an inspiration and a reassuring factor for the men to have watch their back..."
Standard Bearer 'Decimus' -
"The glorious task of guarding the company standard goes to Decimus, who in fact is the oldest guardsman in the 3rd phoenix, and will surely stay that way until his time is up. I could almost swear that this man possess a refractor field of faith alone, standing boldly when others cover, he has remarkably never sustained a battle injury worse than a few scratches and some broken bones and with over 20 years of service this is an incredible feat. He always seem to know exactly how to position himself so he suffers the least damage, and is a shrewd man that serves as an extra advisor for the colonel, who always take his words into consideration..."
Vox-Caster 'Themis' -
"Having installed certain elements by the Adeptus Mechanicus, this man is able to sort and prioritise transmissions with the effectiveness of a servitor, all the while possessing the guile and common sense of a veteran guardsman. I am truelly amazed on how he manages to record every transmission from the Command net, Logistics net, all 12 phoenixes nets and our flock and wave nets, backup nets as well as enemy transmissions... I dread the man whose unfortunate task it will be to fill his shoes when the Emperor finally brings him into his embrace"
Plasma Gunner 'Dozan' -
"Dozan is an odd-ball. I have never seen a man so lazy off the field and so dedicated on the field of battle... Never graded on inspections he is always forced to be re-inspected, and never does more than what is just necessary to pass, much to the irritation of the colonel and myself. He is however a wonder with his weapon, showing an affinity with it, missed by more senior members in the same position, and it is this fact alone which have made him the plasma gunner in the command talon. He is a constant disgrace on parades, but I have always believed that it is more important that troopers pass combat, so I have given him perhaps too wide a berth. Still he alone has destroyed 15 vehicles and traitor marines beyond my count, while never suffering an overload, so I guess the Emperor watches over him, and I will have to forgive him his quirks..."
Lieutenant 'Aramachius' -
"An addrenaline junkie, Aramachius lives for the thrill of battle and dreads long hours of solitude through the Immaterium to the next battle. Give him a foe to smithe, a weapon to do so and he is happy. I have requested psychological evaluation for him three times during my time here, yet he is granted active duty each and every time. I do not doubt his loyalty to the Imperial creed, yet hadn't I known better I would say he's taken by the infamous 'black rage' of the blood angels... Still he is a valued member and he fields the only plasma pistol in the whole of the phoenix, a sure sign of the adoration and respect given by his commander"
Medic 'Orodon' -
"Pupil of Helios, this kid, bearly 18 years old, is a rookie by guard standard, but what he lacks in experience he makes up for with enthusiasm. Still he is a frightened child, and I have adviced Aramachius to keep an eye on him, in case he fails in battle... Still it is obvious that he worships Aramachius, since he chose to deploy with him, rather than Dethecus, although the odds of becomming a casualty is that much greater in the Inferno platoon. He may prove an invaluable asset, yet I fear he is the one most likely to have his courage fail. Due to recent casualties he has taken the role of medic in the 4th Phoenix, which I hope will bring him the calmness and experience needed by a medic."
Lieutenant 'Dethecus' -
"Dethecus is a tactician foremost and spends more time directing the fighting prowess of others than fighting himself, which he sadly isn't that good at. He does however recoup this with his shrewd understanding of the battlefield and his deployment of weapons, and ability to spur people on to greater acts of valour make him an ideal leader of the fire support claw."
Plasma Gunner 'Caron' -
"The Phoenix scrounger. Ood allows it also, because his contraptions and salvaged gear has saved the day on more than one occation, although I don't really feel it appropriate, I haven't voiced my disconcern for it yet, since this regiment survives by the adaptability and swift response-time of its troops, and he seems not to burdon himselves with treasures primarily, rather only what he feel can be turned into more enemy kills. Still I fear that a booby-trap will claim this one, and that's sooner than an overheating plasma-gun I'm afraid..."
Veteran Sergeant 'Pyre' -
"The leader of the Pyres is Gorgon Chole and he got the name 'Pyre' after his affinity for directing flamer-sporting units got known... He is a quiet and reclusive member, and the most calculative and multi-talented in the whole phoenix, part of which got him into being requested for crack commando units, when not deploying with his phoenix. Most people who hears of him pictures an arsonist-let-loose, yet they could not be further from the truth, their randomness never showing through, and even split second decitions by Chole appear thought-through. He understands only too well how to achieve the most with these weapons and his unit achieves devestating effects with them, as he is often given the honour of deploying versus tasty bunkers by the Colonel. He uses the ecclesiarchic motto: "Kill the alien, purge the heretic, burn the traitor" though and sports a large tattoo of this as well as a fire-spitting phoenix on his back. Recently his loved flamers has been swapped with plasmaguns on Oods orders due to the increased amount of tanks we face."
Veteran Sergeant 'Metheus' -
If Pyre has an affinity for flamers, Metheus has one for finding the chip in your armour... That is if you're a tank! He possess a knack for hunting them and have tried to take out virtually every vehicle type known to mankind, and been quite successful at it also. His dream is to take down one of the chaos warhound titans, yet he knows how crazy this dream is, and simply shrugs his shoulders saying: "Can't blame a guy for dreaming" when asked about it. If it was possible by melta-weaponry though, he would be the man for the job. He is the joker of the whole phoenix and he has a joke for every situation, even when up to his ears in enemies. He always lightens the mood and bring up spirits, when all seem shrouded by gloom..."
Honoured Veteran Sergeant 'Leto Icarus' -
"A decorated hero of the imperium, and recipient of the Honorifica Imperialis, Leto has my highest regards. He served as a foot-soldier with the doom-divers and is now the only living member (in our phoenix) who actually survived the ill-fated landing of the Doom-divers... While putting on some years he hasn't lost the spark of youth and lives more for flight and adrenaline than even Aramachius. Dreading no danger, he swoops to a mere feet or two above ground to place his strikes. The sad thing is that his skills are so sought after that a lot of the time he has to oversee the training of new doom-divers. His pupils follow him to hell and back with a truly pious devotion, being in the presence of greatness, they would eat their own guts and ask for seconds if he commanded it.. His talon even got the name 'Bloodwasps' by the catachans for their swift and deadly ways of operating... As the nephew of Furion, he was born to command, yet long ago gave up on commanding anything above talon size, and have thus refused further promotions as he hadn't the knack for it. He feels content at the moment only to drive his lance into an enemy and return to do it again... And I for one love to have him around to do it..."
Veteran Sergeants 'Koios', 'Morhus' & 'Verir' -
"Three men closer than brothers, working together in total harmony. They have a secret contest between themselves over who scores the most kills, although I have forbid it to avoid them doing overtly dangerous manouvers to 'get in the lead'. I don't mind some competition, but dread the prospect of loosing the three to childish rivalry. Their crafts are however looked after better than a sick infant, and they take great pride and devotion in their tasks performing at peak efficiency each and every time... Not much more to say really, as I don't know them that well. They are Veterans of 10 campaigns and able pilots, Morhus even survived an escape from his Lightning, and being hunted by Ork Hunta'-Seeka' patrols for a week, so clearly they all are resourceful persons..."