Davis Churchill

Davis Churchill and Montgomery during their time in the Arbites

**Davis Churchill** is a former Cyber-Mastiff handler of the Adeptus Arbites, and current retinue member of the Inquisitor Marshall Aulirus. A veteran of over eighty years of fighting for the Imperium, Churchill and his Cyber-Mastiff, Montgomery, are loyal devotees of the God-Emperor, and fight together as if of one mind.

## History

### Youth

Davis Churchill grew up as the child of a rich family on Harriet's World in the Segmentum Solar. As a child he was gifted a massive hound who he affectionately named Montgomery, or Monty for short. He quickly showed that he had a natural desire for justice, wielding his authority as the son of one of the world's richest families even among his younger playmates, not to get his own way, but to punish those who did wrong.

It was little surprise, then, when Churchill volunteered to join the Adeptus Arbites, the Imperium's highest level of police force. Despite protests from his parents, who would have preferred he not risk his life, they eventually gave up and offered their blessing to Davis's career.

### Adeptus Arbites

Upon joining the Arbites, Churchill faced criticism from his fellows. They blamed the status of his parents for the fact he was even allowed to join in the first place. The instructors seemed to give preference to him during training, seemingly unwilling to harm in for fears of retribution from his parents. He was appointed as a Cyber-Mastiff Handler after one of the shortest training periods in the history of the Adeptus.

It didn't take long, however, for Churchill to prove himself worthy of this preference. During his first mission, on a Hive World on the edge of the Segmentum Solar, the leader of his detachment was slain by a particularly upstart criminal warlord. Churchill quickly took command, organising the surviving Arbitrators with a strictness akin to a Commissar, in the words of one Arbitrators. Him and Monty, who by this point had received several cybernetic enhancements, led the Arbites backlash himself, and the Warlord was slain.

Davis's performance in the battle led to his promotion, and for years after he led Arbites across the galaxy, earning a reputation for strict adherence to the rules and traditions of the Adeptus.

### Drukhari

After many years of fighting alongside Monty, Davis was assigned to work alongside the Investigator Nomyar von Hulf. The pair worked together for many years, gaining an almost spotless track record. The "Grinning Jackal" as Nomyar came to be known proved to be almost the polar opposite of Davis in temperament and methodology, yet somehow the two made it work.

The largest case in the pair's career came when Nomyar discovered a Drukhari human smuggling ring in the underhive of Kian II in 401.M41. Upon discovering it, the pair alerted the greater Arbites fleet in the area and gathered a group of Arbitrators to uncover more of the operation and attempt to delay them. They had limited success.

While investigating the underhive, the group was beset upon by a Drukhari. Davis sent Nomyar to call for help, convincing him that he was willing to sacrifice himself if it meant the xenos would be killed by the Imperium. Nomyar fled, reluctantly. Meanwhile, Davis, Monty, and the rest of the Arbitrators fought the Drukhari.

The fight went on for what felt like hours but was likely only a matter of minutes. The Arbitrators were killed one by one, and eventually only Davis and Monty had survived. The two attacked as one, surrounding the wounded Drukhari. It spun with inhuman speed, knocking Monty into a wall before turning and lashing back at Davis. He fell, and, thinking it was safe, began to slowly but surely torture Davis. It started with his left eye, gouging it out of its socket and leaving a deep scar across his face. It managed to remove and cauterise his right arm and both of his legs, evidently taking incredible pleasure in the act. Just as Davis was beginning to pass out, Monty leapt onto the Drukhari's back, biting deep into its neck. Once again, the xenos stood and stabbed at the dog, but the distraction was great enough to allow Davis to reach for his shotgun and shoot it. The Drukhari fell, succumbing to its wounds.

As Davis passed out, he saw Imperial forces rushing into the chamber. He woke up in a medicae wing with his missing limbs replaced with prosthetics, and a massive sleeping robotic form in the edge of the room. It seemed to sense his waking and bounded up to him. Davis instantly recognised it as Montgomery, saved from his wounds by the same cybernetics that saved him.

After recovering successfully, Davis met with Nomyar again, greeting him as an old friend. Nomyar told him an Inquisitor was requesting their services, though requesting might be too light a word. Davis saw no choice but to agree, and from then on joined the retinue of Inquisitor Marshall Aulirus.

## Personality

Davis Churchill appears incredibly stern and severe, punishing any transgressions from the Imperium. He possesses the self-confidence of a veteran and will stand up even to Astartes. He gives off the air of a military veteran through and through, walking with a trained posture.

Beneath this outer hardness, Davis can be incredibly empathetic. To those younger than him that he can see have potential, he will do his best to protect them and train them, acting like a father. When in private with his Cyber-Mastiff, Montgomery - or Monty - he is very playful and can seem to be an entirely different person.

## Appearance

Davis is grizzled and scarred. His large beard and close-cropped hair are dyed black, and his face is covered in scars. In particular, the left of his face is dominated by a large scar that claimed his eye. He often wears a red eye patch to cover the ruins of his eye. When questioned about why he chose not to replace it with a bionic - like he has his legs and right arm - he reliably responds that he wants to have a more visible reminder of the dangers of the xenos.

Davis wears matte black standard issue Arbites carapace armour, scarred by years of battle, sometimes beneath a large coat.

## Abilities and Traits

Due to his years of fighting as an Arbites, Churchill is an expert fighter with his custom-made Shock Maul. He can also use his shotgun to great effect and is talented at crowd suppression and horde fighting.

Davis also has incredible strength and speed, in part due to his advanced prosthetic limbs, and claims to have beaten a Heretic Astartes in single combat, but this is likely just a myth that he made up to scare new recruits. It is known that he has killed a Drukhari, however.

His ability to fight alongside his Cyber-Mastiff, Monty, is almost flawless, the pair seemingly able to predict each other's moves and attack seamlessly.

## Equipment

* **Matte-Black Carapace Armour**
* **Custom Shock Maul**
* **Arbites Shotgun**
* **Autopistol**
* **Cogitator Augmentations**
* **Prosthetic legs and right arm**

#### Montgomery

Montgomery - also known as Monty - is a massive Cyber-Mastiff that has been loyal to Davis since his birth. Standing at a metre tall even before his cybernetic enhancements, Monty can be a terrifying sight. He often walks alongside Davis as a visible deterrent, especially now that he stands at almost 1.3 metres on all fours.

* **In-built Vox reciever**
* **Strengthened muscular systems**
* **"Power-teeth"** - A series of small power-field generators implanted in Monty's jaw to enhance the lethality of his bite. Can be turned on or off, and its power can be reduced.