Giovanni Nuovuomo

## Giovanni "John" Nuovuomo

Prior to promotion, Nuovuomo served in the 5th Battle Line Squad of the 5th Company "The Chaps"

## Physical Description

### **Weight**

Approx 1000kg (in armour)

"*A criminal? I could tell he was shifty by the look in his eye lens...*"
— Administratum official after meeting the Chapter Commander during the liberation of his planet from Xenos.
**Giovanni "John" Nuovuomo** is regarded as the most successful Chapter Commander that The Condemned have ever had. His victories are countless, his martial prowess is almost unparalleled, and the dedication and respect of his subordinates is unequalled amongst the most highly-regarded chapters of the Imperium. All this, despite being a convicted murderer by the age of 14. Surrounded by convicted criminals he calls brothers, John continues to fight under the watchful eyes of The High Lords of Terra, leading his chapter into battle as he seeks true redemption and exoneration in death.

## Biography

### The Gang

Whilst his actual offences may be numerous, having been brought into the world by a teenage mother in an Underhive youth gang, John managed to avoid the authorities for much of his childhood, though it was often absolutely necessary to use violence as means of escape. Not considered particularly tough by his fellow gangers, he maintained a level of back-seat leadership by way of provided the gang leaders (who were replaced often enough) with good advice concerning their criminal activities, how best to avoid detection and how to deal with the threats associated with their enemies. John never stepped up to leadership and made it clear he had no intention of doing so, though he maintained this position as valued counsel for a number of youthful years (though he was only 14 when he was eventually arrested and convicted).

The matter that eventually led to his incarceration began with an Administratum official sending out groups of illegally tasked enforcers to obtain young women for indoctrination and recruitment into venues of questionable activities. A young female, whom John knew well as an older friend and one who took pity on the younger members of the gang, was forcibly removed from her home in the dead of night and rounded up with a number of other young women, taken to another location and processed for reconditioning. The sad result of this acquisition was the death of the young woman shortly afterwards when she had apparently proven too strong-minded to acquiesce with the demands of the Administratum official who took personal charge of the processing.

John, always considered very level-headed, immediately set out on a personal journey to assassinate the official whom he had been made aware was responsible for the girl's death. Leaving his gang out of it, he was able to work his way into the Administratum complex and eventually reach the official, whom he then found out was a female of indeterminate age and cared little for the plight of the dead young woman - her only concern was actually of getting caught by the uncorrupted higher officials who were not aware of her practice. Believing the confrontation was a prelude to official reporting, the official attempted to defend herself and silence John using a personal firearm she had secreted on her person. Despite having taken a knife to a gun fight, John managed to out-pace the augment-enhanced female and reportedly crushed her skull from repeated impacts with his left fist (his right arm having suffered a gunshot wound). Enforcers made their way in and found him punching the floor through the official's obliterated head, screaming the name of the young woman he'd avenged.

It was only by sheer chance that John hadn't immediately been executed, but shortly after the event, the whole affair had become known to the authorities. John was convicted, nevertheless, but his position and goal in the assassination had become known since records had been secretly kept by the official were exposed, leading to a rapid sequence of personnel executions - John's testimony of the events assisted the authorities. It was a short time later that The Condemned were contacted regarding their next intake and informed of John's situation - it was unheard of for somebody convicted of murder to be recruited, however this event provided special dispensation, thus John was taken in.

### The Clink

John's arrival at the flagship "The Clink" had him placed in confinement for almost a year prior to his inclusion in the trials. By this time, he had filled out and physically matured, having spent every possible minute exercising and bettering himself. He felt guilt that he needed to resolve, but was conflicted at the same time with feelings of having obtained his righteous vengeance. Hearing from the other recruits regarding their own lives, he was aware that even his childhood situation had not been the direst of all, which led to his being humbled and in awe of other recruits - despite their worse childhoods and equally significant friendship and family ties, none of them had resorted to cold-blooded murder. When the aspirant trials eventually came, John passed easily and assisted others were possible, seeing his situation as only the sum of circumstances and not as a point of any personal glory - it wasn't uncommon for other recruits to feel a strong bond with John.

When John eventually began his transformation into an Astartes and inclusion in the Scout Chapter, he performer without reproach and was clearly a very capable member, practically singled-out for glory even then. Despite this, John had no hunger for glory or command, citing his need to redeem himself not only to the Imperium, but himself - on The Clink, the Imperium often seems very remote, and on Scout manoeuvres this feeling is all but multiplied. When he eventually completed his Scout training and was fully ascended, John received his Astartes number and personal armour. The number "481" was emblazoned across the armour's bare chest (as in this case it was not covered with an Imperial Aquilla), but john himself was to mark his own armour with the offences attributed to him. Instead of the offence he'd heard said a thousand times, on the right pauldron he scribbled "KILLER" in the forward-most corner so he could easily look over and see it, there to remind him of what he'd done - at the same time, he felt conflicted by considering how his crime had led to obtaining vengeance and ascension to an Astartes, however that still failed to alleviate any guilt and he maintained his desire for redemption in death.

### The Chaps

Placed in the fifth Tactical Squad of the Fifth "The Chaps" Company, John had been posted in a number not considered for it's aggressive nature, but instead to that of the cool-headed amongst the chapter. He found this placement odd at first, being what he considered a bit of a black sheep, but found himself in a squad under the command of a reliable sergeant, though the squad was otherwise occupied by "Green" Astartes. On the squad's subsequent deployment, John was forced to assume the rank of sergeant amongst an entirely new squad in order to lead them away from destruction and forward to victory - he did this by obtaining the helmet of his fallen sergeant and announcing his self-promotion, challenging anyone to oppose him.

John's success led to his full-time promotion as a sergeant and the command of what remained of his squad - additional new Astartes were added. It was at an engagement soon after that a similar occurrence led to him taking up the mantle of Captain, though he full expected it to be temporary. Despite this, he led several squads to victory and performed the duties expected of him. During a lul in the warfare, John met with members of the 2nd Company and offered up his temporary rank for the company's Captain to provide to a more experienced Astartes. The offer was refused, since by then John had already proved his (at least temporary) reliability and worthiness. When the battle was eventually won, the Chapter Commander made the promotion permanent - John did not receive this well, not having ever intended to be promoted thus, seeing his redemption less likely in command.

John had a relatively short, but very prosperous career as a captain, but eventually his command skills had him in line for a move to the 2nd Company in replacement of its fallen Captain. The move was almost set in place when John's apparent martial skills had him moved to the Chapter Commander's personal staff as his Champion. This was unprecedented, since a move from Captain to Chapter Champion had never been done before - there was talk at the time that the chapter master was aware John had successfully proven himself amongst the men as an incredibly talented commander, thus he felt moving him to a non-command role might have secured his own position as Chapter Commander for a while longer, though none of this was every known for sure. John was personally happy for the move, having been placed into a battlefield role he could enjoy without the demands of leadership - it was noted at the time that he seemed relieved and remarked upon a greater likelihood of receiving true redemption in death without the responsibility for sending others to their deaths.

### The Champion

Though John fully succeeded in his role as a champion, he was yet again forced to take control when much of the Chapter's command, including the Chapter Commander himself, were caught in an unexpected attack against a command ship en route to what was believed at the time to be a peaceful colony (The Adeptus Arbites had dropped the ball on this one) despite John having voiced his own concerns - and in total vacuum on a vessel trapped in the planet's gravity well, John was forced to remove his own damaged helmet and replace it with his fallen commander's traditional Corvus-pattern, orange-trimmer helmet. With certain branches of command already suffering on the planet, John transmitted a command if his temporary leadership and used what intel he could to control the battle from his sinking ship. Despite the odds, the crash did not kill John, though he suffered two broken limbs, several shattered ribs and various other muscular breakages (not to mention the damage to his Power Armour). John used his assumed authority and remained in effective control of the deployed forces who deferred to him, given his overview position with more advance intel, and a prolonged unexpected defensive battle was brought to its eventual successful conclusion with what was perceived as minimal losses.

Again, after the battle John attempted to surrender leadership, but found none willing to take up command over the hero of the chapter - it was initially a surprise that nobody did want Chapter Command (especially from the 1st Company Captain) until he realised that many of the other captains likely thought the same way he had, and sought redemption in close-quarters, not in the safety of higher command, and saw promotion as further removal from what they had desired most. It was reported that during a meeting with the remaining captains regarding this discussion, John remained mostly silent until he accidentally glanced over to his damaged right pauldron and saw what remained of his own painted scrawl denoting him to be a killer. Considering what was best for the chapter, John accepted the role and announced it to the Adeptus Arbites, who were always to be informed of a changed of leadership, along with the High Lords of Terra. Knowing of his conviction, the interested parties at first attempted to challenge his appointment, but the remaining chapter command, chaplaincy and everyone else with significant voice maintained that should John remain the Chapter's Commander; thus, The Condemned was henceforth led by a convicted murderer.

### The Boss

John's leadership of The Condemned has continued for centuries, and this time has brought with it greater success than any similar period. Much has been done to secure a more acceptable reputation of being reformed, functional individuals, in some cases making unlikely alliances with unusual chapters of Space Marines. Since the inclusion of the Primaris Space Marines, John has done all he can to promote brotherhood amongst the entire chapter, which appears to have worked to a significant extent, though his having not crossed the Rubicon Primaris has contributed to no other Firstborn having done it themselves. John has apparently been ordered to cross the Rubicon Primaris, though he has rebutted this by stating he will do it when he is not otherwise occupied. Thus far no period of rest has occurred and so John remains a Firstborn - is also reported to have told The High Lords of Terra that, should he cross the Rubicon himself, he would expect them to provide special equipment (citing Raven Guard Chapter Commander Shrike's updated Wargear).

## Personality

To say that John is humble would be an understatement; his self-deprecating humour, personal involvement in the development of others and his own distaste for pomp and circumstance evokes such a feeling of approachability and brotherhood that the loyalty of his chapter is not only complete, but beyond the realms of normality. It is in service to this leader that the chapter's Astartes see their own deaths as not only their redemption, but as his as well. John never intended this to happen, but his accidental rise to command had apparently brought with it a sense of destiny.

John tends to be quiet in situations concerning the leadership of other chapters, however he is known for quietly speaking up in a room full of loud people, though this tends to provide a silence in which he is easily heard. John never expects more from any of his brothers than he would willingly do for them, thus he is known for personally volunteering for dangerous missions and leading Kill Teams into certain death - each time he survives he attempts to resolve the feelings of guilt in relation to any that have been sacrificed.

Aboard The Clink, John occupies what amounts to an Astartes-proportioned prison cell with an open door and this has repeatedly led to his stored armour being graffitied in his absence, occasionally finding more words of admiration and various tribal markings of reverence inscribed across the mostly white surface (this is a common practice amongst all the Astartes where concepts of possession are a little abstract). Each time he blackens and repaints the standard livery, the armour is eventually covered in various exotic scripts and pictographs. The one he likes least, but willingly displays for his men, is the black teardrop beneath his left eye - used by the other Astartes to symbolise the murder he committed, it was first done by one of the few that disliked him at the rank of sergeant, but it has prevailed throughout his career beyond the death of the first graffito. The Condemned see it as something unique to him within the chapter (actually reproducing it on various dedication banners and simple contraband armour tokens, though John sees it as a reminder of his misdeeds against his people (including the ones for which he was never convicted) and gladly carries any symbol that places him apart from the law-abiding good citizens of the Imperium.

After the revelation of the Primaris Astartes and then the process by which one could cross the Rubicon Primaris, John was offered the means by which his chapter would be able to become Primaris marines alongside the new recruits who were to undergo the updated process. It is understood that in response, John declined the offer and stated that unless he was directly ordered to do it by the High Lords of Terra, he would never do it, as his remaining Firstborn were worth as much to him as any Primaris marine, despite the new Marines' potential advantages. Second to that, John personally felt that his own acceptance of the process without question would lead to a friction between those that did and those that did not undergo the process; thus, refusing allowed him to remain a Firstborn amongst a rising number of Primaris. Finally, John saw the risk of dying outside of battle as unacceptable as he had really come to believe that he must die in battle to receive exoneration - john kept this last reason to himself.

Apparently, John accepted the technology aboard The Clink and offered it out to anyone in the chapter wishing to undergo the process, with no expectation of doing so. It became clear soon after that none were willing to undergo the process, not only as their Chapter Commander refused to do so for his given reasons, but due to their own similar sensibilities concerning the increased risk of death outside of battle, which to them completely negated their continued existence since recruitment and ascension. To this date, no Firstborn Astartes has crossed the Rubicon Primaris (though plenty of Primaris Marines have since joined The Condemned). John later received a directive to undergo the process as soon as as was feasible between battlefield deployments; thus, John is constantly placing himself upon the battlefield.

## Notable Campaigns

**The Liberation of Rysath 5 -** John Nuovuomo was instrumental in the liberation of Rysath 5 against the forces of Chaos. After absolute victory with minor losses, John was awarded the Medal of Honour, which he immediately refused in recognition of the false respect his Astartes had earnt - the Administratum Officials, aware of their background, regarded them as criminals and as such this false show of respect was not appreciated.

## Specialization and Abilities

John Nuovuomo prefers close combat to ranged combat and this desire for close-up fighting has generally found him leading battles from the front for more regularly than a Chapter Commander ought to be found there. Whilst he is happy enough wearing the regular livery of [|The Condemned]], black-striped white, he prefers to work in arenas that provide him a greater level of concealment; thus, he is generally occupied between large-scale missions by personally taking on Kill Teams to run small-scale subversion, infiltration and assassination missions.

John's ability to rapidly make sense of rapidly degenerating situations places him in a good position to deal with unexpected events or enemy movements. He finds the regular form of battle, when he'd be expected to lead from the back, somewhat less interesting that digging into the enemy first-hand, though he laments situations where is is unable to secure total victory without heavy losses.

Sword-fighting became a stable of John's martial abilities when he took up the role of Chapter Champion, however the importance of his position and the necessity of saving as many of his brother's lives as possible, whilst securing victory, has him occasionally removing himself from certain death (should any brothers dangerously seek to save him) and balancing his attention between ranged and close-combat - currently his general Wargear setup is a Boltgun (of dubious origin) and an ancient Powerfist. (see below).

## Weapons and Relics

### Mk.6 Corvus Armour

In order to make it absolutely clear to anyone in regard of him, John personally machined plaques to be affixed to his armour's pauldrons; on the right the plaque reads "KILLER" and on the left it reads "BOSS". Though he does not wear any particularly special armour, he can be recognised from a distance from orange-painted Mk.6 Corvus helmet and matching set of Mk.6 Power armour lacking designation markings - reputedly the last remaining pieces of the plate that formerly belonged to one of the Raven Guard Astartes that assisted with setting up the chapter, which had remained in storage aboard The Clink until the chapter's Master of the Forge retrieved it for recommission solely for John's usage (the Corvus helmet replaced the Mk.7 helmet worn by the previous chapter master, which was repainted and provided to the current Chapter Champion.

In appearance, the armour in incredibly standard on the outside, though it is reported to have had several internal upgrades including an iron halo mounted invisibly in the armour's gorget - a slight difference in the armour's profiles can be recognised by experts, but the chapter's Master of The Forge refused to allow John to enter battle without one.

### Powerfist - The Fist of Vengeance

It is believed that upon hearing the story of his having punched his way through the head of his victim in vengeance of the poor, sympathetic young women he'd known as a child, a number of the men started to refer to John's actual left fist as "The Fist of Vengeance" (some even referring to John himself in this way). Upon his unexpected promotion to Sergeant, the 5th Company Captain, knowing this story and already a friend and confident of his, provided him with the ancient weapon from his own armoury. The Powerfist then became The Fist of Vengeance, which immediately led to people no longer referring to John himself, or his actual left hand, by this moniker (more is the shame that the wise Captain who had provided John with the weapon was killed in battle soon after, forcing John to temporarily replace him whilst using the inherited weapon).

### Deathwatch Boltgun

Without further examination by persons outside of the chapter, it cannot be confirmed whether or not the Boltgun indeed originated from within the Deathwatch - whilst is is fitted in a very similar manner, it could just be a modified version of a regular Boltgun, which actually can accept an array of various exotic bolts (rendering it's usage as practically identical). Since only one member of the chapter has ever represented them in the Deathwatch (though this point is disputed by many) there seems to be at least one possible origin of the weapon, but thus far no claims have been made by the Deathwatch of their weapon not being returned to them (traditionally the only item retained upon the return to a chapter is that of the inscribed left shoulder pauldron, which the Chapter Champion does possess) or otherwise obtained. This question of the origin of John's Deathwatch Boltgun is generally left hanging.

### Ancient Jump Pack

It is not known exactly what Mk. of jump pack is used by John, since it mostly resembles a Mk.7 jump pack with various indications of greater age. The most similar jump pack in current usage is that seen worn by Lord Commander Dante of the Blood Angels (three outlets from each of the twin turbine housings). It is believed that this Wargear is also from the armoury belonging to the chapter's Raven Guard forebears, which has been well-maintained and placed in stasis storage form most of the ten millennia that have past since that moment - many of that "Relics" held by the chapter are merely well-maintained ancient pieces of Wargear without any grand external improvements, with the chapter instead choosing the keep their equipment's original appearance.

### Blood Oath (Redempshank)

The personal creation of John Nuovuomo, the blade displays what appears to be reddish blood drops on a striated silver blade. The handle is kurled metal, usually coated in a high friction polymer coating. The pommel displays an embossed version the chapter's symbol.

## Relations

### Allies

[REDACTED} - Under certain circumstances, The Condemned have formed temporary alliances with other chapter of Space Marines as well as other militant forces of the Imperium, however a recent move of the High Lords of Terra is to eliminate all historic references of the chapter's involvement with other forces (outside of very public engagements): thus, the chapter is said John has no allies, and since very few are motivated to publicly announce they're friendship of this convicted murderer come Chapter Commander, any alliances remain clandestine.

## Notable Quotes

"*There is no honour here...*"
— Chapter Commander Giovanni "John" Nuovuomo, as he refused the Star of Terra presented to him by the Planetary Governor of Rysath 5