Kade

After three years, Kade dons his Judge Armor with pride.

Sergeant turned 2nd Lieutenant, and then Judge for HQ Section of the There is Only War campaign.

## Appearance:

Kade has been described as rather "Sharpe"ish, similar in looks to Richard Sharpe from the series of the same name, though usually with either a healthy mustache or more likely a beard. Kade prefers to keep himself armored and ready to take a hit, wearing the full Melyrian 1st purple and gold carapace armor, including helmet despite his position as a Sergeant. Alongside his armor, he's rarely seen without his shotgun, customized for his own personal use with a chainsaw bayonet and red-dot scope.

As the mission went on, Kade's outfit underwent some minor modifications, including a backpack in order to power the prototype ghostblade that Spider leant him, a survival suit he wears under the armor to protect himself from the frost of Tenebris, and cybernetic legs after his near death experience at the hands of a Tomb-guard. At this point, he sports a full on beard, given the cold of Tenebris requiring a bit of extra warmth wherever he could get it.

After having left Tenebris, and fully joined the Inquisitions employ as an on call agent, Kade has worked hard to grow within the Adeptus Arbites. As such, he now wears the badge of a judge proudly, along with the customary armor. Rather than bearing a shotgun into combat, he wields a thunder hammer, combat shield, and can bring along a wider variety of ranged weaponry. He's grown a bit more hopeful since having entered Ananka's employ, seeing this as an opportunity for further growth than he ever could have hoped for.

## Personality:

Kade could be described as reckless, daring, with a lack of self-preservation. He will try to stay close to his team when he thinks it is best for them, but when necessary, he will draw his melee weaponry and charge into the enemy lines to disrupt them, or shift to block opposing melee combatants. He often will face off against things much larger than himself, including but not limited to vehicles, large Necron entities like Tomb-guard, large Tyranid bioforms such as Carnifex and Genestealer Mutants, and even an Ork Warboss. Often his plans are personally dangerous, or place himself at the most risk, using himself either as bait for the enemy, or giving himself some of the more dangerous roles that he himself can handle. While he does try to take on as much burden as he can personally, knowing that he has the highest chance to survive, he tries to take the ones that have the highest chance of success, or will have the greatest effect on their foe. Though he does often miscalculate.

When asked about why he joined the guard in the first place, or what his goals are, he will simply reply with "It was a chance to escape from a dead end at the Arbites. I guarded nobles all day and did nothing. So when the chance to grow through the ranks, and become something more showed up, I took it." This, to him, sounds like the most reasonable answer he could give, and one that would inspire others to trust him. Simple goals like this are easily understood after all. If he was to be honest with himself, something he would not do with others, he prefers the Guard and the Inquisition for a far simpler reason. It places him in the best place possible to do good for the rest of the Imperium. The Inquisition has a terrible reputation when it comes to saving lives, but he trusts Ananka. After having studied more about the Inquisition, Xenos, and learned more about his role, has has come to realize that they do not perform their duties without exhausting other options first. That makes him the line to defend humanity, and with that in mind, he is willing to go to greater lengths than usual to protect humanity.

## History:

Before joining up with the Melyrian 1st, Kade was an Adeptus Arbites Arbitrator. His role was a rather boring one, stationed up in the nobles quarters, mostly having to deal with nobility and their small, petty squabbles, many of which he had to look the other way for due to their position. He hated his position, feeling that he was useless, just another piece in the nobles' gallery. He wanted to aid others on his home planet, but never saw an opportunity until the Melyrian 1st was formed, when he signed up. He was placed as a Sergeant, and went on to prove that his daring, reckless actions could help far more than they at first seemed.

Kade's first few missions were marked with the usual Imperial Guard style. Equipment no one needed, some of which was non-functional. Dangerous, near suicidal operations. What he didn't know at the time was that high command had been infiltrated by a genestealer cult already, and that he was being sent on purposely suicidal missions to eliminate him and his squad, along with 2nd section at the time. If it wasn't for Zia and Trudy contacting their superiors, he likely would have died eventually, but with how skilled his squad was at avoiding utter peril, perhaps he would have become a thorn in his superior's side. Regardless, he was rapidly promoted to 2nd Lieutenant of the newly reformed Melyrian 1st Stormtrooper Regiment, directly under the command of one Sister Superior Ananka.

His first mission under Ananka involved assaulting an entrenched position that was held by genestealer cultists. They had vehicles that would cause trouble for the Sister of Battle assault on the cathedral nearby, a building that had the controls for the planetary defenses. They would need those, as a tyranid hive was approaching the planet rapidly. Under the ash cover of a nearby volcano, the squad assaulted the position, destroying it before being airdropped by Seraphims onto the cathedral and assaulting it from above. Thanks to Ceries' assistance, the enemy drones were disabled, and the squad progressed inside swiftly, taking heavy fire and wounds, but thankfully no casualties. Kade and others had taken enough wounds to be considered walking dead, but they held on as much as they could, capturing the position inside and eliminating the local genestealer command forces. While resting afterwards, a few of the more mischievous members of 1st Section placed Kade and Ananka together in one bed, and thus the infamous photo of him and Ananka, as well as the shipping of the two began.

## Abilities:

Inspirational Leadership: Kade's abilities in combat revolve around ensuring his squad is in peak performance, and capable of handling the task at hand. He co-ordinates with his comrade, Janine Osterman, to guide his allies and their comrades in their firepower, placing shots where they're needed most, snapping them out of shock and awe, entrenching into the proper positions. Whatever is required. His presence emboldens them on the field, helping them resist the horrors of war.

Melee Specialist: Kade started out with just a chainsword, but soon proved himself more than capable of engaging deadly foes in close combat and coming out bruised but victorious. His weapons have changed over time, but he has shown himself to be skilled with a variety of deadly weaponry, more so after training as a Judge, where he attained his brutal thunderhammer, the Gavel of The Tribunal, and his storm shield. He even customized his shotgun to utilize a chain attachment, wielding it one handed alongside his chainsword, eventual power sword, and finally his ghostblade. So enamored with the ghostblade's effectiveness, Kade requisitioned a unique one, with an internal power sword that could not overheat. When he wields both this and the Gavel of The Tribunal, Kade is a merciless warrior against his foes, cutting them down in swaths and parrying their blows with ease.

Emperor Blessed Shotgun: Many a time has Kade fallen back onto his shotgun. While he has wielded meltaguns, long-las rifles, and many other weapons, it is his shotgun that he is famed for at range. With it he has disabled sentinels, turrets, damaged heavily armored foes, and cut down enemies in heavy cover from range with a shot. When the squad needs a miracle and he is unable to get into close range, the shotgun has been there for him. After three years, he requisitioned a new one, and immediately began customizing it to his own specifications, including a silencer, red-dot sight, fire selector and extended barrel. When equipped with Executioner Rounds, it becomes an incredibly deadly force on the battlefield, capable of picking off enemy leaders with ease.