Turturibus
TURTURIBUS
Character Biography
(Tur-turry-bus)
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Brief summary
Website Name: Turturibus
Character Name: Turturibus
Original Chapter: Crimson Fists
Weaponry: Maxima mark IV heavy bolter with standard issue mark III bolt pistol and Astartes combat blade.
Armour: Mark VI Corvus Pattern body and shoulders with Mark VII head, arms and legs.
Character/Personality Overview
Turturibus served alongside his kinsmen with a resolute stoicism that has carried him through the darkest of times upon Arkhona, and throughout his career as an Astartes. He was dependable to a fault, forever striving to bring honour to the name of Dorn. Through the fire of battle, he ground down his youthful enthusiasm and zeal into a cold, hard anger; like many experienced astartes, Turturibus had witnessed many great victories - but also loss in equal measure.
To falter and wallow in defeat was to accept weakness, in his eyes; any true son of Dorn knows that through pain, through challenge and hardship, true strength can be found. It was this notion that drove him.
Appearance:
Extensive scarring covers the greater part of the right side of his face, revealing significant biomechanical reconstructive surgery. His singular deep, brown eye rested below a heavy brow that, through years of unending warfare, had been tortured into a brooding frown.
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Fig.1 & 2) Turturibus aboard battle barge Sigismund's Retribution, helmed and de-helmed, respectively. (~999.M41)
Armour:
Turturibus was equipped with standard issue Crimson Fist power armour, comprising mainly of MK. VI Corvus (see figure 3, below). He wore a single purity seal located on the right side of his breast plate - a pinned strip of parchment named 'The Writ of the Defender', in honour of his efforts at Badlanding and the Siege of Rynn's World.
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Fig.3)
Wargear:
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MK. VI - MODIFIED POWER ARMOUR
Ancient's Mantle -
The origins of this venerable armour's forging have long since been lost to the annals of history. It was handed down to brother Turturibus the moment he became a battle brother of the Crimson Fists, and in his service, it had seen extensive modifications; most notably the central imperial fist logo that has been affixed to the breast plate harness.
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COMPANY BATTLE STANDARD
Shield of Arkhona -
This vaunted banner depicts a shield standing sentry over the planet Arkhona as a distant sun rises behind, representing the stalwart might of the epsilon battalion's second company.
"Glory to the 2nd company!"
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GODWYN BOLTGUN
Venerable Aim -
A standard issue Godwyn-pattern bolter, issued to Turturibus during his service among the Crimson Fists. It is said that this bolter's machine spirit can be temperamental; over time, the wielder has found its target-hud-sync systems to be somewhat unreliable at extreme ranges, preferring closer engagements during rapid assaults.
Character Biography:
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Fig.4) A console database detailing Turturibus' service. Source unknown, 999.M41.
(Commissioned artwork drawn by George Earl Abalayan)
I. Born on Badlanding - 908.M41
A planet located within the Loki Sector, Badlanding was an agri-world that exported water filtration and extraction mechanisms across the sector and beyond.
Born into a working family near outpost Rio, located along the northern hemisphere of Badlanding, Turturibus had lived a hard yet mostly happy life until his family estate was ransacked by Ork free-booters who had managed to slip past the already stretched planetary defence forces.
Turturibus' parents were killed during the raid while enabling him to escape. Barely 12 years old, he had witnessed his own father and mother being slaughtered. His mind was wracked by the horror of what had transpired, though he found strength in his memories of them – caring, yet strong and courageous with a tremendous selflessness.
He hoped he could live up to such a sacrifice one day, so that this second chance might not be in vain.
Homeless and orphaned now along the plains of Badlanding, he sought refuge in nearby outposts and colonies, stealing simply to survive.
II. Joined ‘Dust Devils’ – 910.M41
By 14 years of age, Turturibus joined a local mercenary group known as the Dust Devils. At the time, he was seen as little more than an ammunitions loader; he would tend to the weapons and supplies of the older devils, gaining some knowledge of weapons and combat passively as time wore on.
The Dust Devils were a well-funded (and highly secret) military group that were often employed by Badlanding’s planetary defense forces to tackle crime syndicates and gangs. The majority of the company were killed in an Ork raid in 912.M4, which contributed to the group's eventual disbandment some years later. Founded 893.M41. Disbanded 919.M41.
III. Recruited by the Crimson Fists - 912.M41
It was on his 5th contractual deployment to the southern outskirts of Krugerport in 912.M4 that saw Turturibus' group ambushed by
a large Ork raiding party.
Utterly overwhelmed and forced to retreat into a nearby abandoned factory, the Orks continued to press further inside until only a single mercenary, and his loader, Turturibus remained.
Between them and a grizzly death was a narrow corridor.
The pair held the passage for two hours under constant Ork assault, wielding the corridor’s defensibility to the greatest effect with a heavy stubber. The Greenskins gained more ground with each moment however, and ammunition was almost fully depleted. The situation became dire when a stray Ork slugga round struck Turturibus' partner in the throat, killing him in seconds. Alone, the young boy of 16 took to the braced weapon himself and began firing back with a desperate hail of ill-disciplined, automatic fire.
Death would have been certain, were it not for the timely intervention of a detachment of Crimson Fist Space Marines; they breached the building and decimated the Orks infesting the facility.
Impressed by the number of Orks already dead within the corridor and surrounding Turturibus, one of the Astartes invited him to return with them aboard the squad’s thunder hawk. He would later be recommended to undergo the trials of initiation into the Crimson Fists chapter.
IV. Return to Badlanding - Early 989.M41
Turturibus returned to Badlanding many years later as a part of the response to a reported Ork invasion of the planet.
By this time, he had earned his place as a fully-fledged battle brother among the Crimson Fists, serving under Captain Ashor Drakken in the chapter’s 3rd company. The Space Marines were met at Badlanding with Ork numbers that exceeded all expectation, resulting in heavy losses and the death of their captain. Despite the odds a small number of Astartes, including Turturibus, managed to escape.
V. Siege of Rynn ‘s World – 989-990.M41
The siege of Rynn's World occurred later that year; Ork warboss Snagrod had made good on his promise of a truly formidable WAAAGH, for it was the largest gathering of Greenskins the Loki sector had ever seen.
The events that followed are known by many as the 'Rynn's World Incident'. Fortunately, Turturibus was deployed with the Crimson Fists on the ground in the planet's capital city; far from the devastating loss of the chapter's fortress monastery, the Arx Tyrannus.
What transpired was a brutal siege of the planet and its capital, New Rynn city, for 18 Terran months until Imperial reinforcements arrived, with Turturibus finally witnessing the last of the Ork menace at the battle for Traitor’s Gorge.
VI. Recruitment into VM – 996.M41
Following the final victory at Traitor's Gorge, the chapter was in ruin. Pedro Kantor reluctantly spared a handful of his brothers to be drafted into specialist groups that now circled what remained of the Crimson Fists, to spare them the frustration of waiting until the chapter could regain its lost strength.
Given Turturibus' relative young age and inexperience, Kantor agreed to the requests made by Vigilia Mortis some years later, seeing it as an opportunity to not let his improving skills go to waste during the current hiatus.
Kantor stated that he would have him return, when the Crimson Fists march again.
VII. Arkhona Campaign – 996.M41
A fortress world of the Kharon system, Arkhona is located along the northern region of the Segmentum Obscurus.
Turturibus was regularly deployed to combat both xenos and heretic alike during the war for Arkhona. The conflict had cost Vigilia Mortis and other Space Marine chapters dearly. Casualties were mounting at an astonishing rate, and as the new millennium drew closer, the fighting seemed only to escalate in scale.
Indeed, Turturibus lost his right eye to Ork gunfire during this period. After being tended to by chapter apothecaries and techpriests, he was gifted a replacement optical enhancement. Following the procedure, he claimed that his aim was never the same.
VIII. Last Wall Protocol – 998.M41
Vigilia Mortis had suffered catastrophic losses in the final years of the Arkhona campaign, leading to its disbandment. The surviving astartes spread to other chapters that they had fought alongside during the campaign; Turturibus offered his service to the newly formed last wall protocol that had emerged in the wake of increasing chaos presence across the galaxy.
Over time he established himself as the standard bearer of the 2nd company, wielding his battlefield experience to great effect.
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