Last week, we got to see the Vespid Stingwings who make up half of the airborne operatives duking it out in Kill Team: Hivestorm, and with not too long to go until the boxed set goes up for pre-order it feels like a good time to meet their opponents. The Tempestus Aquilons are among the finest human troops in the galaxy, but they all begin their military careers in dire straits, and things don’t get much easier from there.
To understand what makes the Tempestus Aquilons such exceptional soldiers, we first need to talk about the Schola Progenium. These brutal and dehumanising academies scoop up the orphans of high-ranking Imperials and distinguished military leaders – of which there are many – and forge them into unquestioning servants of the God-Emperor fit for the Imperium’s most demanding careers, such as Commissars, Battle Sisters, and even novitiate Inquisitors.
A great many graduates end up in the ranks of the Militarum Tempestus, where their intense military training and unshakeable obedience shines. Reborn as Tempestus Scions, they undergo further training in the use of the grav-chute and are equipped with weapons and armour a step beyond that possessed by the Astra Militarum, giving Imperial commanders a rapid response force able to strike like a thunderbolt and complete the most impossible missions.
However, while all Scions perform aerial grav-drops, the hand-picked teams of Tempestus Aquilons deploy exclusively using this method. They are drawn from those recruits who show above-average levels of self-sufficiency, free thought, and improvisation – all qualities usually frowned upon by the Imperium – and deployed on high-risk, high-reward missions that often leave them deep in enemy territory without support.
Aquilons exhibit an unusually high aggression, and they are especially good at fighting in close quarters. Their specialist gunners are equipped with melta and plasma carbines, while their hot-shot las carbines accept magazines so they can fire while they drop without getting tangled up in cables. Once they’re on the ground, they are free to then swap to their back-mounted powerpacks.
These qualities make the Tempestus Aquilons the go-to choice when distant and dangerous missions must succeed at all costs, as is often the case for the kinds of tasks given to kill teams. Their uncommon adaptability and ability to improvise has snatched victory from the jaws of defeat countless times, and should their mission demand the ultimate price, the Aqulions pay it without question.
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