Aquilon Pattern Terminator Armour

Members of the Legio Custodes Sagittarum Guard of the Tharanatoi, arrayed in modified Aquilon Pattern Terminator Armour during the Great Crusade.

Aquilon Pattern Terminator Armour is a variant pattern of Terminator Armour uniquely designed to operate in conjunction with the physiology of the Legio Custodes, the elite cadre of genetically-engineered transhuman warriors who are responsible for guarding the Imperial Palace and the physical body of the Emperor of Mankind.

The origins of the Aquilon Pattern lie with the Cataphractii Terminator suits of the ancient Space Marine Legions, but the Aquilon Pattern possesses far greater power capacity and customised neuro-fibre uplinks which it is said were redesigned by the mind of the Emperor Himself for His elite forces.

This pattern of Terminator Armour is still in use by some warriors of the Adeptus Custodes in the 41st Millennium. It is worn by Allarus Custodians though they prefer to wear Allarus Pattern Terminator Armour into battle.

Aquilon Pattern Terminator Armour was said to have adjusted for the enhanced physique of the Custodes, who were capable of bearing more weight and strain than even Space Marines. This allowed it to be fitted with additional power systems and capacitors, increasing its durability and maneuverability.

Aquilon Pattern Terminators were given more advanced weaponry than their Astartes counterparts, wielding weapons such as Lastrum Storm Bolters, Solerite Power Gauntlets and Power Talons, Infernus Firepikes, and twin-linked Adrathic Destructors. Within the ranks of the Custodes, Aquilon Pattern Terminator Armour was deployed by the Tharanatoi caste.

History

A Legio Custodes of the Tharanatoi caste outfitted in Aquilon Terminator Armour during the Horus Heresy era, armed with a Twin-linked Adrathic Destructor and a Misericordia.

Although the Tactical Dreadnought Armour project was conceived first and foremost for the use of the Legiones Astartes, it was inevitable given the success of Terminator Armour that its principles would also be adapted for Legio Custodes use. The first pattern developed for the Custodes was what became known as Aquilon Pattern Terminator Armour.

Advancing yet further upon the Cataphractii Terminator Armour patterns, the Aquilon Pattern took into account the enhanced physique of the Legio Custodes as being able to bear more weight and strain than even a Space Marine, and so was fitted with additional integrated power systems and capacitors which make up for some of the limitations of the origin-pattern.

This allowed for the Cataphractii Terminator armour's famous durability to be retained in the Aquilon Pattern, but with a degree of speed and manoeuvrability the former lacked.

The use of Aquilon Terminator armour was only utilised on those rare occasions when it was required for the Legio Custodes to operate under extreme conditions designated as "Zone Mortalis" or when they were required to storm a breach during an assault.

In such operations, the Custodians were loathe to risk unwarranted loss of life, and the superior defences of the Aquilon Terminator Armour was relied upon to mitigate the risk as much as possible as well as provide a platform for mobile heavy firepower.

Sources

• The Horus Heresy - Book Seven: Inferno (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pp. 61, 242, 261
• The Horus Heresy: Collected Visions (Artbook), pp. 67, 148, 151, 239
• Forge World Webstore: Legio Custodes Aquilon Terminator Squad
• Forge World Webstore: Legio Custodes Aquilon Terminators with Infernus Firepikes
• Forge World Custodes Datasheets

Gallery

A trio of Tharanatoi arrayed in Aquilon Pattern Terminator Armour and armed with Infernus Firepikes.

Three Terminators of the Tharanatoi in Aquilon Pattern Terminator Armour.

Close-up details of an Aquilon Terminator's formidable panoply of war including Solerite Power Talons and an Infernus Firepike.

An Aquilon Terminator Squad armed with Solerite Power Gauntlets and Twin-linked Adrathic Destructors.

An Aquilon Terminator Squad armed with Solerite Power Talons and Infernus Firepikes.

An Aquilon Terminator Squad marches into battle.