Yagyu Takeshi, Domaru Butai

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Takeshi’s eyes opened when he felt the car hiss to a halt.  His read-out flickered into his peripheral vision as his armour came alive.  He had spent the last hour in meditation, locked within the dormant suit in the back seat of the vehicle.  Waiting.

He knew the brief.  Four hostiles, known Aleph spies, in a supposedly safe house.  They must be dealt with, quickly and bloodily.  It was what he had been born to do, what the generations of samurai before him had done.  He leapt from the black armoured car and made his way through the night, moving around the pale circles cast by the street-lamps.

Breathe in.  He exploded through the door, read-out tracking the four milky-skinned humanoids as they sprang into action.  As expected they were Aleph operatives, two at a table, two near the door.

Breathe out.  His chain gun roared, obliterating the two near the door in a welter of blood and scrap metal.  He threw the spent weapon at the faces of the two at the table but they were quick.  Small-arms fire clattered off his armour like rain.

Breathe in.  His katana flashed from its sheath and he crouched slightly, waiting, the blade held two-handed in waki kamae.

Breathe out.  One of the freaks lunged with a tactical sabre that his read-out told him was sheathed in an EMP.  Takeshi surged forward, avoiding the thrust, and cut him in half.  He spun and brought his weapon down on the head of the other enemy soldier in a textbook men cut.

Breathe in.  He shuffled forward and watched the stunned Aleph spy fall to his knees.  He raised his katana over his head into jodan kamae.

Breathe out.  It was over.  With a flick he scattered the blood from his weapon and sheathed it, then walked forward cautiously and retrieved the chain gun.  His heart began to slow to a regular pace.  Rain started to fall outside, pattering on the quiet street and the waiting black car.

****

This is my domaru butai, who I have decided is an exponent of Yagyu swordsmanship.  Because he’s a domaru he needs to look grave and dignified.

I’ve been trying to go for a clean and realistic style with my Infinity models to get away from the loose and dirty look of my 40k guys.  I can’t resist a bit of grime and weathering though.  As usual now with my JSA guys I glossed his armour and scabbards to give them a shiny look.

I’m not convinced about the metallic chaingun.  It doesn’t seem realistic, but I wanted it to look heavy and brutal, seeing as it’s basically a sci-fi blunderbuss!

I know the sashimono banner is a bit impractical for cyberpunk shenanigans so I’ve made it removable.  I figure he can pop it up when he needs to terrify people in open ground. I got the Yagyu crest from the net.  No offence is intended to any koryu practitioner of course, it’s for (fake) historical purposes 😉

I’m quite enjoying the real-world connections you can make with Infinity, unlike 40k.  It’s like historical gaming without the guilt.