Land Raider Helios - History: The Helios was first developed by the Red Scorpions, a Chapter renowned for its especially puritanical beliefs and abiding mistrust of many other Imperial fighting forces, especially those who utilise Abhumans or Psykers. It is a highly independent Chapter that rarely allies itself with others, except those Adeptus Astartes Chapters it rates as loyal and pure.In 857.M38 the Red Scorpions Chapter was engaged in the legendary Siege of Helios. The leading edge of WAAAGH! Grimgut had overwhelmed the manufactoria of the world of Helios and the Red Scorpions swore to repel them at any cost. The task was beyond the Imperial Guard, for the Orks, showing typically low cunning, had set loose an infestation of Bomb Squigs which boiled forth from the sewers and destroyed any vehicles attempting to press the city's streets.The answer to the need for swift armoured support for any Space Marine force seeking to engage the Orks came when the Archmagos of Hive Manufactory 33 Delta Thule, an ordnance foundry which had long supplied Missile Launchers to the Red Scorpions, received what he later claimed was a vision granted to him by the Machine God. By fitting the foundry's weapons systems to the Red Scorpions Land Raiders, the attack force would be able to mount its own artillery support on vehicles all but immune to even the most concentrated effort to overwhelm them and the hive, and all of Helios, would be delivered.Within twenty-four solar hours, every one of the dozen Land Raiders deployed to Helios had been converted to what would later become known as the "Helios" Pattern Land Raider. A Helios Missile Launcher was mounted atop each war machine's hull and a dedicated targeting unit set in its forward weapons point in place of its Heavy Bolters. A payload of missiles was also mounted within the vehicle's hull, leading to a reduction in its passenger capacity that was considered a worthwhile trade-off, given the vehicle's superior survivability compared to Whirlwind missile tanks and other lighter platforms.In the resulting battle, the dozen Helios Pattern Land Raiders led the Red Scorpions strike force deep into the Ork-held hive. As predicted, tides of Bomb Squigs erupted from the sewers to break against the vehicles. Once the resulting explosions had cleared, the Land Raiders were charred black and splattered in steaming Squig blood but otherwise intact, while the entire wave of Orkoid creatures had obliterated itself to no effect whatsoever.The route into the hive was finally open and the doom of the Orks of WAAAGH! Grimgut was at hand. The lifting of the Siege of Helios saw the pattern named after it become a standard part of the Red Scorpions Chapter armoury. In recognition of the deliverance of the hive, the master of Manufactory 33 Delta Thule ceded the pattern's sanctified specifications to the Red Scorpions, who have themselves disseminated it to the small number of Chapters it has close relations with.Since that time, the Helios remains an uncommon Land Raider variant, only deployed when a Chapter is in need of extra artillery support that its Whirlwinds cannot provide due to extenuating or unusual battlefield conditions. Quite aside from enemy fire, the vehicles has proved useful in traversing especially dangerous terrain subject to threats a Whirlwind's armour would not be able to withstand. Such war zones include those set within carnivorous jungles, magma seas and fractal crystal forests.In later years, a further refinement of the pattern would be developed at Helios. Rather than mounting a standard Helios Missile Launcher, the Hyperios variant mounts an anti-aircraft version. This variant is fielded by those few Chapters with access to it when conditions make the deployment of Stalker, Hunter or Whirlwind Hyperios anti-air units undesirable because such vehicles would be vulnerable to enemy infiltrators.The main difference between the Helios and more common patterns of Land Raider is the Helios Missile Launcher mount and the extra ammunition stowage space required for any spare missiles, reducing the vehicle's transport capacity to just six Power Armoured Space Marines. The positioning of the launcher and its targeting unit also precludes the use of a pintle-mounted weapon and this means, without the standard Heavy Bolters as well, that the Helios suffers from the lack of anti-infantry or point defence weaponry. Wise strike force commanders remedy this by assigning Land Raider Crusaders or Redeemers to fight alongside the rare and valuable Helios.