Hive Fleet Erlik

Hive Fleet Erlik is one of the many tendrils of the Hive Mind's Tyranid invasion. First located on the Imperial Hive World of Bilup II in the year 862.M41, Hive Fleet Erlik's Tyranids were noted as being able to memorize individual locations, people and even items to the point that higher ranking warriors such as Hive Tyrants and Tyrant Guard are noted as showing signs of holding grudges. Currently located within the Segmentum Obscurus, Hive Fleet Erlik is currently spending its time corrupting the planets of Obscurus in the name of the Hive Mind.

Hive Fleet Erlik was first seen in action on the Hive World of Bilup II in the years 862-865.M41, during a catastrophe that would later be known as the Fall of Bilup II. Erlik, having managed to corrupt the higher ranking citizens of Bilup II, made planetfall to assist them when the Bilupian PDF and a strike force of Sisters of Battle fought back. Though Erlik would, as expected, turn the tide and allow the Genestealer Cult to achieve victory, a large chunk of the Sisters of Battle managed to escape the planet. This was when the grudge-bearing nature of Hive Fleet Erlik was realized, as it spent the next 10 years chasing after the Sisters, eliminating their higher-ups one by one until the Sisters decided to engage the foul xenos chasing after them. What followed was a slaughter: The Sisters of Battle, who had lost a large chunk of their best leaders and had to replace them with their lessers, were caught with their guard down when Hive Fleet Erlik fell upon them in full force and devoured those who would oppose them. This behavior would quickly become the signature of Hive Fleet Erlik and was the reason it was given the nickname of "Bearer of Grudgers" by the Ordo Xenos.

History
Chaos Worshippers, Greenskins and the Imperium of Man are Hive Fleet Erlik's favorite quarries. The organisms spawned by its bio-ships are perfectly designed to eradicate the endless hordes of these three factions.

Fall of Bilup II (862-865.M41): Hive Fleet Erlik assits the Genestealer Cult of Bilup II in dealing with the Bilupian PDF and the Sisters of Battle. Though Erlik reigned supreme, a large chunk of the Sisters of Battle managed to escape its ever-reaching grasp.

The Begrudging Chase (865-875.M41): Hive Fleet Erlik chases the Sisters of Battle that managed to escape Bilup II across the galaxy, killing their leaders one by one until falling upon them in full force while they are the most vulnerable. One survivor, a young Battle Sister named Wyazilah, manages to escape but disappears without a trace two days after she begins getting psychological treatment.

Death of The Skullbearer (945.M41): A Khornate Lord only known as The Skullbearer unleashes his 888 Khorne Berzerkers on the Promethia sub-sector only to cross paths with Hive Fleet Erlik, who too had its eyes on the Promethia sub-sector. Through a set of precise corruptions, Hive Fleet Erlik manages to get the populace of the Promethia sub-sector on its side and, with their help, devours The Skullbearer and his 888 Khorne Berzerkers. Though the people of the Prometiha sub-sector prepare a grand celebration, it is short-lived as Hive Fleet Erlik devours them too before leaving the sub-sector.

Indomitus Crusade (999.M41 - 112.M42): Hive Fleet Erlik, who had been chasing after the scattered armies of the Warmaster of Chaos after their victory during the 13th Black Crusade, was caught with its guard down when Roboute Guilliman, Primarch of the Ultramarines, unleashed his Indomitus Crusade against the enemies of Man. Though the Hive Fleet suffered major losses during the Crusade, all hope was not lost for them. During the Battle of The Beasts, where the recently bloodied and weakened Hive Fleet Erlik fought an unknown Fallen Angel Warband, Hive Fleet Erlik chased the last living members, the Chaos Lord and Chief Sorcerer, of the Fallen Warband across the Segmentum Obscurus. This chase would go on for longer than anyone would care to remember, but what is known that once Hive Fleet Erlik successfully killed the surviving members of the Fallen Warband, they had successfully corrupted two Space Hulks dubbed the Bane of Morkai and the Blissful Ignorance respectively but had lost too much of its fleet to continue without reinforcing itself. Now Hive Fleet Erlik lies in the heart of these two Space Hulks, waiting for the right time to strike out and be great once again.

Tactics
Hive Fleet Erlik begins its wars against humans by first sending its Genestealers to find the strongest yet most easily corruptable inhabitants of the planet it laid its eyes upon to make them the elite of the upcoming Genestealer Cult. Once these powerful figures gain a large enough following to rebel, Hive Fleet will then come down to assist their Cultists.

Once Hive Fleet Erlik comes down to assist the Genestealer Cult it has created or if it never tried to precisely corrupt the planet and made planetfall to devour everything before it, it is brutally straightforward in battle. Hive Fleet Erlik believes that strength in numbers can and will win battles and thus relies on large units, such as Carnifexes, Tyrgons and Haruspexes, and follows it up with Tyranid Warriors, Termagaunts and Hormogaunts to create an unstoppable tide for the enemy to drown in. Instead of utilizing the bigger creatures as distractions while the smaller ones do all of the actual damage, Erlik instead utilizes the bigger creatures to wipe the floor with its enemies while the smaller ones devour the remainders. This ensures that every gigantic strain deployed by Erlik gets to carry out missions that aren't just acting as distractions for smaller strains.

Fleet
Hive Fleet Erlik currently lacks any Hive Ships, instead utilizing two gigantic Space Hulks liberated from the hands of Erlik's enemies as its fleet. Originally, Hive Fleet Erlik's was somewhat comparable to that of Hive Fleet Leviathan when it first entered the Milky Way Galaxy but now it is an unfortunate shadow of its former self.

Unique Strains

 * Ignisgon: The fearsome Ignisgon is an evolution of the already terrifying Trygon. These creatures are the same in appearance to the Trygon in every way except for their red, glowing veins. Whenever an Ignisgon attacks, its talons release an unknown type of red liquid that, once it comes into contact with the ionised spray Trygons release, engulfs those around the Ignisgon in a flame capable of melting even the finest set of Power Armor. However this liquid, interestingly enough, is completely ineffective against Tyranid bio-forms whether it comes into contact with a Trygon's inoised spray or not.
 * Flator: The Flator is a rather unimpressive evolution of the Lictor. This creature, like the İgnisgon, is alike its ancestor in appearance except for the green liquid dripping from the Flator's tentacles that changes color when the Flator changes color. This terrifying beast serves the exact same purpose as its ancestor except, once it is caught, it will explode and release a green liquid. Though this liquid does not seem harmless at first, coming into contact with it even for a second can spell disaster for the one that came into contact with it and for those around him, her or it. As soon as the liquid touches anything, it will release brain-eating parasites onto the body it has come into contact with. After a few minutes these brain-eating parasites will begin eating away at their host's brain, causing them severe headaches. If the host is not moved away from their comrades in arms, the brain parasites will eventually re-produce too much to stay in one host's brain and move to the brains of other hosts via air or water. Once these brain-eating parasites are fully done devouring the brain of their host, they will explode and leave the body of their host in unrecognizable ruin.
 * The Seeder Crone: An evolution of the Hive Crone, the Seeder Crone is an odd one. On its back, it carries a cannon similar to that of the Pyrovore, however this cannon is not used in the same way a Pyrovore would use it. Instead, this cannon is used to launch bio-forms smaller than the Crone such as Hormogaunts and Rippers. This allows Hive Fleet Erlik to launch small bio-forms at enemy fliers it cannot take care of and kill its crew, thus rendering the flier a non-threat.

About Hive Fleet Erlik
Feel free to add your own!"Ah ha haaa! This is interesting! I would have taught you bugs smarter than to come after me! Fortunately, Khorne accepts all skulls, so the mortals can be ign-"

- The last words of The Skullbearer.