Danilus Voltek

Lord General Danilus Voltek wielding a boltgun.

**Danilus Voltek** (born 943.M41) is a Lord General of the Ashimar Nova Guard and the former commander of the renown Ashimar 43rd “Blue Devils” Infantry Regiment. An inspirational leader of men who always leads from the front, Voltek has earn great fame as the "Old Wardog of Ashimar" over his many decades of service. A man of principle and duty, he has little interest in internal Guard politics, which has kept him out of Ashimar High Command even after attaining the rank of Lord General. He has led campaigns across the Imperium and fought in the defense of his homeworld during the Siege of Ashimar before joining Fleet Primus of the Indomitus Crusade.

## History

Danilus Voltek was born in 943.M41 to working-class parents in Centorsa, a coastal city on Ashimar's eastern continent. Throughout his formative years, he aspired to rise above his station and make a difference, and saw joining the Ashimar Nova Guard as the best route to accomplishing this. Voltek applied for and won a scholarship to the Kinodia Military Academy, where he would study and train to become an officer in the Ashimar Nova Guard. It was here that he met Ludara Kresh, future Lady General, and the two become rivals, both in academics and other matters, due to both being prodigies and being from different backgrounds - Kresh was from the aristocracy and Voltek was a commoner. When they graduated in 965.M41, they were at the top of their class, tied for number one. Both were commissioned as Lieutenants, with Voltek going to the Ashimar 42nd “Golden Arrow” Infantry Regiment and Kresh to the Ashimar 31st “Azure Exemplars” Infantry Regiment.

Due to a desire to be close to his men, Voltek always made sure to fight on the front lines alongside those under his command, and proved to be a highly adaptable battlefield leader. He would lose his left eye and left arm over the course of his service as a platoon and company commander in the Ashimar 42nd, replacing both with augmetics. Voltek would rise to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and served as a brigade commander in the Ashimar 42nd. When several new Ashimar Nova Guard regiments were raised due to increased Chaos activity in the galactic west, Voltek was promoted to Colonel and given command of the newly-refounded Ashimar 43rd. While on Ashimar overseeing the regiment’s raising, he became romantically entangled with Lady Diona Katalyn, an Ashimar noblewoman. The relationship ended upon the departure of the 43rd, as Voltek did not wish to marry and leave behind a wife he may never see again, or potentially endanger her by bringing her with him. He would leave Ashimar unaware that the affair would result in the birth of a child, who Diona named Ursula. Voltek would not learn of his daughter’s existence until she was 20 years old, something which weighed heavily on his conscience.

Voltek spent several years as the commander of the Ashimar 43rd, leading the regiment in many battles, such as the Battle of Kaluga. Following the Silura Campaign in 985.M41, Voltek was promoted to General, though he did not leave his beloved Ashimar 43rd behind as it still served under his command. He oversaw many great Imperial victories over the following years, leading to his elevation to the rank of Lord General, and he became widely known throughout the western Imperium.

Following a campaign against an awakened Necron Dynasty that threatened Ashimar, Voltek returned to Ashimar in triumph, only to find that things had changed. Segmentum Pacificus was in chaos, the Astronomican had gone dark, and his old rival, Ludara Kresh, had assumed control of Ashimar and declared martial law in the face of an impending heretic invasion spearheaded by the Grand Hellguard Traitor Guard warband. Yet Voltek knew that defending his homeworld came before any petty personal rivalries, and dutifully worked alongside Kresh to defeat the invaders.

After ten grueling years, the Siege of Ashimar would be broken by the arrival of forces from the Indomitus Crusade. Heeding the call of the returned Primarch, Roboute Guilliman, battle-hardened Ashimar regiments would join the greatest military undertaking since the Great Crusade itself. Voltek and his regiments would join Fleet Primus and head east, where they participated in the Plague Wars and later battled the Tau Empire's Fifth Sphere Expansion in the Eastern Fringes.

## Personality

Danilus Voltek has an inspiring presence and great charisma, able to quickly gain the attention and respect of those around him. Voltek holds those who serve under him to high standards, not out of harshness, but a desire to see the men and women under his command be the best and most effective soldiers that they can be. He holds little regard for those who show repeated failure or dangerous incompetence, dealing with them swiftly.

While many Imperial commanders hold "victory at all costs" mentalities, Voltek is not one of them. Having fought in many wars of reclamation over his career, Voltek believes that his forces should act as liberators, not conquerors. His sense of justice has often bring him into conflict with other Imperial commanders, and Voltek was careful to make like-minded allies in other branches of Imperial service, such as Lord Commissar Franz Lieber, who has served on his staff in several campaigns.

Voltek has always held a special attachment to the Ashimar 43rd, the regiment he once commanded. He watches them very closely, and fought to keep them assigned to his army group. Voltek always puts the "Blue Devils" at the forefront of his campaigns, especially for critical operations that he does not trust any other regiment to carry out.

## Equipment

Voltek commonly carries a boltgun into battle, along with a hot-shot laspistol and a power sword. Like many Ashimar Generals, he wears carapace armor and a greatcoat.

## Quotes

### About Danilus Voltek

"*I've never hated your father, Lieutenant. I may not agree with all of his methods, but I always have respected him. I simply couldn't get over my pride. I couldn't accept that the son of a dock worker was as good an officer as the daughter of a General. He could have challenged me to become First Marshal, yet he accepted serving under me without hesitation. Danilus Voltek is a good man and a great leader.* "
—Lady General Ludara Kresh, to Lieutenant Ursula Voltek of the Ashimar 43rd Nova Guard.
"*I was never close to Voltek, only met him once or twice at meetings, but when he entered the room no one spoke out of turn. All were quiet, hanging on every word he said as if he were the Ecclesiarch delivering a sermon on Ophelia VII. The Old Wardog of Ashimar is a man who commands respect.*"
—Lord General Icarus Kallus, speaking of Danilus Voltek