Hecaton Aiakos
"The Minotaur more than justifies the existence of the labyrinth"
- – Jorge Luis Borges
Hecaton Aiakos is a Contemptor Dreadnought of the Minotaurs Chapter.
And you might ask: "what is so special about a Contemptor Dread"? Well, for starters his Forge World model is an absolute beauty. But aside from that? This thing is one big walking bag of secrets.
The Guardian of the Daedalos Krata has served at the forefront of a dozen campaigns in the last centuries, including many of questionable honor such as the boarding of a Lamenters strike cruiser during the battle of Optera, and a friendly fire incident during the Bifrost uprising. The incident in question occurred when guardsmen of the Bifrost Huscarl infantry under the brevet command of a Viper Legion sergeant mistakenly opened fire on the Dreadnought, which at the time was covered in gore. Angered, the dreadnought rampaged trough the imperial lines killing 37 Huscarls as well as the Viper Legion marine, and ripping in half a Leman Russ Battle Tank that attempted to stop him. His carnage only stopped when he received a command from his Chapter Master in orbit, telling him to stay put.
Outsiders have noted that despite his power and battlefield record, Aiakos isn't treated in the same way as most Space Marine chapters treat their ancients. Instead of being admired and respected, the battle-brothers of the Minotaurs Chapter treat him with cold indifference. Aiakos is not alone in this however, as many other dreadnoughts in the chapter are treated the same way. This had led the rest of the Imperials to ponder on the meaning of the "Hecaton" title given to Aiakos by his Chapter. According to the fluff "Hecaton" is an ancient Terran word meaning "legion" or "giant", but can also be interpreted as "enslaved monster". Interestingly enough, only the Contemptor-pattern dreads have the "Hecaton" title, suggesting that it is only the ones entombed within those relics that the Minotaurs dislike. Very ungrateful of them considering that most chapters consider themselves lucky to even have one of these, while the Minotaurs themselves have at least one per company (having fielded at least 10 of them during the Orphean War against the Maynarkh Dynasty).
Instead of being put in stasis awaiting his next awakening like most dreadnoughts, Aiakos remains in a state of sleepless vigil guarding the doors of the "Daedalos Krata" (The Heavy Assault Carrier that the Minotaurs use as Fortress-Monastery). Given that the Daedalos Krata is described as "maze-like", it is safe to assume that the dreadnought is left to roam the corridors of the ship like the beast of legend in his Labyrinth.
On the Tabletop[edit]
8th Edition[edit]
An HQ choice for your army, but can't be your Warlord. Sporting 13 wounds, a 2+/4++ save, and the ability to ignore wounds on a 6+, he and Moloc apparently both believe that defense is the best offense. Not that either is lacking in that regard. He sports a heavy plasma cannon with all the pain that entails as well as the standard Dreadnought combat weapon. "Groundstrike" allows him to immediately inflict mortal wounds on a unit in 1" of him if he charged. Also worth mentioning is that, as a RELIC, he gives access to the Relic of Ancient Glory stratagem. All this will set you back in points, beating out even Huron for sheer points, but he sure kicks ass. Just let him stay around Moloc for the sweet sweet re-rolls and unleash the moo-moo.