Tarkus

Tarkus is a Veteran Tactical Marine Sergeant of the Blood Ravens Space Marine Chapter who serves with their 4th Company. He is a native of the Feudal World of Calderis, located in the Korianis Sector of the Ultima Segmentum. Amongst the Tactical Marines of his Chapter, Tarkus is known as a stalwart Veteran with over 350 standard years of combat experience.

He is valued for his expert tactical acumen and often serves as second-in-command for his commander, Captain Davian Thule. In battle, his steely demeanour and confidence in the face of overwhelming odds is legendary. Tarkus served in both the Dark Crusade and all three Aurelian Crusades.

History[]

The Dark Crusade[]

During the Blood Ravens' campaign on Kronus, known in Chapter annals as the "Dark Crusade", Tarkus served alongside Davian Thule and quickly established himself as one of the captain's most trusted advisors. During this campaign Tarkus distinguished himself twice: first against the T'au, and then again while fighting against the Necrons.

Tarkus was recognised for his valorous actions during the assault on the Necron Catacombs of Kronus, where he and his squad repelled wave after wave of Necron forces in order to buy his commander enough time to plant special explosive charges designed to bring down the Thur'Abis Plateau and bury the Necron force.

During the fighting, Tarkus managed to neutralise a Tomb Spyder in the critical moments while the detonator was being armed. Weaponless, Tarkus boldly charged the Tomb Spyder and managed to jam a Frag Grenade into a joint near the creature's head.

The explosion crippled the Necron horror, but resulted in the loss of Tarkus' left hand and forearm, which were later replaced with a cybernetic prosthesis, and heavy scarring on the left side of his face. Tarkus' valiant actions allowed the detonator time to go into failsafe mode and explode, bringing down the entire plateau and burying the Necrons under tons of rock. He was awarded Terminator Honours in recognition of his valorous actions.

First Aurelian Crusade[]

Surviving the Dark Crusade, the Blood Ravens were led to ultimate victory by Captain Thule in their campaign on Kronus. Tarkus next served with Aramus, the Force Commander of the Blood Ravens operations in Sub-sector Aurelia, the Chapter's primary source of new recruits. He was charged with aiding Aramus in protecting the Blood Ravens recruiting worlds of Calderis, Typhon Primaris, and Meridian.

Upon the arid wastes of Calderis, Tarkus fought against Ork invaders, most notably destroying the main entrance to the Fellhammer Mine in order to block access to the Greenskins. Soon after, Tarkus was deployed to find and rescue Sergeant Avitus, who had been incapacitated after fighting against the Orks in a key village.

With help from Scout Sergeant Cyrus, Tarkus and the Force Commander managed to eliminate the Orks, revived Avitus and recaptured the village from the Orks before being extracted. Later during the campaign, the Force Commander led the Blood Ravens strike team against two Ork leaders -- a Stormboy Nob named Skykilla and an Ork Warboss called Gutrencha, defeating them both. As the battle wore on, Tarkus, Avitus and the Force Commander redeployed to Fellhammer Mine in order to re-capture it from the Orks.

When the strike force of Astartes entered the mine they discovered an Aeldari Warp Spider Exarch and his retinue were already there but the xenos vanished before they could be engaged just as the Orks attacked. Only the timely intervention of Sergeant Thaddeus allowed the strike team to advance again.

After capturing a vital communications array, the strike team discovered that an Aeldari force was behind them, stirring up the Orks. The Blood Ravens found the Ork Mekboy Badzappa and his mob under attack by an Aeldari Warlock and a company of Guardians. Although the Astartes slew the Warlock, the wily Ork Mek escaped once again.

As the Warlock died, he spoke of the existence of a greater foe that threatened all of the Sub-sector, but the Blood Ravens remained unconcerned by what they took to be the random babbling of the member of a xenos race known for their duplicity.

The Blood Ravens next travelled to the jungled Feral World of Typhon Primaris to eliminate the Aeldari activity that had been detected on that world. A Warp Spider Exarch was stirring up the Feral Orks of the Evil Sunz klan located in Typhon's jungles into revolt and he and his force had to be put down. This Exarch mentioned nothing of the so-called "greater foe" once confronted by the Blood Ravens, but Thule asked the Aeldari to return to Calderis as Mek Badzappa was launching an attack against the capital of the desert planet, and its citizens were reporting plants mutating and the appearance of small purple creatures that were killing the local nomads' livestock.

The Space Marines returned to Calderis and finally killed the Ork Mek, but they were soon attacked by Tyranids drawn from a probable splinter fleet of Hive Fleet Leviathan who had entered the Sub-sector Aurelia intent on devouring all of its worlds.

Once the Blood Ravens successfully destroyed this new threat, they returned to Typhon Primaris. During their time there, Tarkus was convinced by an Aeldari Ranger, named Nemerian, under the guise of a truce, to set aside their prejudice and work together in common cause against their mutual enemy, the Orks. The wily Ranger led Tarkus and his squad in a devastating Ork ambush, which saw the death of the sergeant's entire squad, leaving himself as the sole survivor.

Tarkus never forgave himself for the death of his brothers. To add to his ire, the Aeldari Ranger managed to effect his escape during the fight. Weighing heavily upon him, Tarkus' guilt kindled a deep hatred of the Aeldari, which has not lessened over time.

The Blood Ravens eventually killed Nemerian, who had been the one stirring up trouble for the Imperium amongst the Feral Orks. After this grim victory, the Blood Ravens returned to Calderis to kill the Tyranid Warrior who had mortally wounded their commander, Captain Davian Thule.

Tarkus eventually left the command of the Blood Ravens' Force Commander in the Aurelia Sub-sector and went to the Hive World of Meridian in order to investigate the reason behind the recent Ork appearances at the hive city of Angel Gate. He rejoined the Force Commander's troops whilst they were planetside, searching for the force of Aeldari that attacked the vulnerable Angel Gate.

The Astartes discovered that the Aeldari planned to overload the forge's reactor to devastate Meridian and stall the splinter Tyranid Hive Fleet from reaching their own Craftworld of Ulthwé. Tarkus also discovered that the Meridian nobles of House Vandis had warehouses full of stolen Blood Ravens relics. With help from the Force Commander and his strike team, Tarkus captured and defended the warehouse, and later uses a salvaged set of Terminator Armour to assist the Force Commander in defeating the Aeldari Farseer Idranel.

Tarkus' last deployment was to the Typhon Graveyard, as part of the Strike Team that was to use biotoxin weapons to damage the Hive Ships feeding on Typhon. After injecting two samples of the biotoxin, the Strike Team made its way to a teleport relay which allowed the Blood Ravens' 3rd Company to deploy to the Strike Team's aid. With help from Captain Gabriel Angelos, the Strike Team eliminated the main Tyranid Hive Tyrant, and defeated the main Tyranid force in the sub-sector.

Third Aurelian Crusade[]

During the events of the Inquisition's Third Aurelian Crusade to cleanse the Aurelia Sub-sector some 10 Terran years later, Tarkus had taken on a penance vow of silence, unable to forgive himself for the betrayal of his close friend, the Devastator Sergeant Avitus, who had been corrupted by Chaos during the Second Aurelian Crusade.

His face was kept hidden behind his helmet, which he never removed. As a result, his comrades at the time were unaware of his true identity, and he was referred to by his fellows simply as "The Ancient." His identity as the former Sergeant Tarkus was not revealed until Captain Apollo Diomedes began to show disillusionment at the state of their Chapter, and despair at the magnitude of their task, allowing an in-road for the first signs of Chaos corruption.

It was at this point that Tarkus removed his helm and broke his vow of silence: his actions and counsel prevented Diomedes from falling to Chaos as Avitus had once done, reigniting the faith and fire in Diomedes and enabling the small band of Loyalist Blood Raven warriors to continue the fight and ultimately claim victory over the servants of Chaos.

Wargear[]

Power Armour
Godwyn Pattern Bolter
Frag Grenade

Optional Wargear[]

Terminator Armour
Power Fist
Mark IIIa Heretic Pattern Flamer
Plasma Gun
Meltagun
Bolt Pistol
Chainsword
Melta Bomb
Power Sword
Storm Bolter
Heavy Flamer
Bolter Ammunition - Tarkus has been equipped with special forms of Bolter ammunition which include the following:
- Dragonfire Bolts - Dragonfire Bolts are hollow-shelled bolts that explode with a gout of superheated gas that can eliminate the value of cover for enemy troops.
- Kraken Penetrator Rounds - Kraken Penetrator Rounds are potent, more power armour-piercing rounds than the standard bolt. The uranium core is replaced by a solid Adamantium core and uses a heavier main charge. Upon impact, the outer casing peels away and the high-velocity Adamantium needle accelerates into the victim, where the larger detonator propels shards of super-hardened metal further into the wound. These are effective against heavily-armoured infantry.
- Vengeance Rounds - Vengeance Round bolts were created using unstable flux core technology that makes them hazardous to use but extremely potent at penetrating through heavily armoured targets. As their name implies, these bolts were developed by the Imperium specifically to target the Chaos Space Marines of the Traitor Legions.

Sources[]

Dawn of War II (Novel) by Chris Roberson
Dawn of War II (PC Game)
Dawn of War II - Chaos Rising (PC Game)
Dawn of War II - Retribution (PC Game)