#stormhammer

Crossover Crack Ship: Big Barda x Laxus Dreyar

Stormhammer/Bardus

Big Barda:

X

Laxus Dreyar:

Stormhammer likes to think of it as Skyhammer.

Skysledge'd rather not give it a name.

+++Dubbed 'Sepulchra Mortis', this Stormhammer Super-Heavy tank is nearly as old as the Imperium it once served. Its origins in the well-equipped regiments of the Solar Auxila, its exact origin is unknown as this has clearly been repurposed and added to the formidable arsenal of the Iron Warriors Legion (excommunicatus traitoris).

In particular, 'Sepulchra Mortis' is to be found in XIV Grand Battalion, under the command of Praetor-Warsmith Vidur, where it is used in conjunction with both the Leman Russ and Predator squadrons in pitched tank battles.

The rings on the barrel of the Stormhammer cannon appear to denote some kind of elite or command status, which is relatively unheard of in an Astartes force. This may be that the human crew have been singled out as a group of hardened veterans, which may increase the threat level of this super-heavy vehicle. +++

+++Thought of the Day+++

+++Death does not prevent your duty to the Emperor+++

------------------------------

This is my Stormhammer Super Heavy tank, the sixth super heavy vehicle that has the Baneblade chassis. This was quite fun to paint and I have been saving it for a time where I could dedicate some hours into it.

Dear Combiner Compatriot,

Their story, as with many other poor ‘bots on post-war Cybertron, begins with Cyclonus. As ambitious as he was ruthless, Cyclonus had already brought Cybertron under his heel after a well-placed coup, leaving the populace none the wiser as to the true nature of the new High Council. But Cyclonus was not content to stop there, however—he wanted to resurrect the Decepticon empire, better and stronger than it ever was, so that when Megatron inevitably returned he would find a well-oiled war machine ready to wreak destruction upon the galaxy. Cyclonus sought to purge every possible failure that had led to the undoing of the old order. In the twilight of the war, with so many of his forces dead or lost to the reaches of deep space, Megatron grew to rely on Vehicon warriors—primitive and single-minded, with no capacity for lateral thought—and this, Cyclonus believed, was the Decepticon leader’s first fatal flaw. The new Decepticon order, he decided, would have no room for such archaic throwbacks. 

Only a few weeks after Bumblebee and his team left Cybertron for Earth, the High Council announced the formation of the Badgeless—supposedly, a new pan-factional group of peacekeepers who would protect and serve Cybertron unconditionally. The reality, however, was far more sinister: Cyclonus and his many moles in the Cybertronian government were building an army by harvesting new protoforms directly from the Well of All Sparks. These unfortunate newborns were snatched from the Well the moment they came online and spirited away to a top-secret black site. Under the ministrations of Trepan and his partner Psychobat, these “recruits” received a stream of hypnotic suggestions and propaganda in between controlled dosages of high-intensity radiation; those that survived the irradiation were transformed into combiners—any one soldier could combine with any other. With the right string of code words, these sleeper agents could spring to life to become deadly Decepticon shock troopers: intelligent, versatile warriors who were twice as obedient as any Vehicon and capable of combining to become exponentially stronger than all but the mightiest Cybertronian. Skysledge, Stormhammer, Shockdrive, and Warnado were among the few recruits that made it to the end of this process, becoming high-ranking field officers in the clandestine army. 

Only a few weeks after Bumblebee and his team returned to Cybertron and established a truth and reconciliation commission to determine how far Cyclonus had been allowed to extend his tendrils into the Cybertronian government; while investigating rumors of missing persons, Strongarm and Dropforge stumbled across one ill-timed “procurement mission” and brought it to the attention of the provisional High Council. Furious that such a thing could be allowed to happen on Cybertron, Optimus Prime insisted on personally leading the raid on Black Site Alpha. He and his unit arrived just in time to save a fresh batch of would-be Decepticons from the first step of indoctrination. Several victims, including both Stormshot and Wedge, took the rescue to heart and eventually became full-fledged Autobots themselves.

Thursday, May 31: StormHammer, “Northman”

Big Barda and Laxus get into a fight to see who is tougher, and Big Barda wins. Laxus, despite losing, can't help but be attractive to Big Barda's strength?

(Love at First Fight)

The night sky over Magnolia crackled with lightning. Laxus Dreyar stood in the guild’s training field, his aura sparking with electricity as he rolled his shoulders. “They say you’re the toughest woman in the cosmos,” he drawled, lips twitching with challenge. “Guess I’ll be the judge of that.”

Across from him, Big Barda crossed her arms. The warrior of New Genesis loomed tall, armor gleaming, eyes unflinching. “Boy,” she said in her commanding voice, “you wouldn’t last five minutes against the Female Furies. But if you want to learn the hard way—fine.”

The ground shook as the two launched at each other. Laxus’s fists exploded with thunderbolts, his body moving like a storm given flesh. Barda met him head-on, her Mega-Rod deflecting the blows, her sheer strength overwhelming his bursts of magic. He struck with the force of a tempest; she countered with the discipline of a soldier bred for war.

Laxus grinned even as he was driven back. “Finally—someone who doesn’t break when I hit them.”

Barda rammed her shoulder into him, sending him skidding across the dirt. Before he could rise, she pinned him with a single foot on his chest, Mega-Rod sparking inches from his face. “Do you yield?”

For once, Laxus laughed—not the mocking kind, but something closer to respect. “Yeah… yeah, I yield. Damn, you’re strong.”

Barda stepped back, lowering her weapon. She expected bruised pride, maybe anger. Instead, she found Laxus staring at her with a spark in his eye that had nothing to do with lightning.

“You know,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck, “I’ve never been beaten like that before. And… I can’t tell if I’m more frustrated or more attracted right now.”

Barda raised a brow, a rare smirk curving her lips. “Then consider it a lesson. Strength isn’t something you measure only in yourself—it’s something you recognize in others.”

As she turned to leave, Laxus called after her, his grin wide.

“Don’t think this is over, Amazon. Next time, I’m coming back stronger.”

Barda didn’t slow her stride. “Good. I’d expect nothing less.”